Chapter 1 The News Conference

The media all wanted to go to Chen Hero’s news conference, no one didn’t want to, because chasing news was in their nature. But some people didn’t want them to go.

CCTV had already been warned internally not to attend Chen Hero’s press conference. They established three no's: no promotion, no discussion, no participation.

Apart from CCTV, almost all the influential media outlets received letters from the Chinese Football Association. The wording wasn't harsh, demanding that everyone not attend, but it hinted that if they insisted on going, there would be many restrictions on their Olympic Games coverage. For example, they would not be allowed to take photos and videos of the national Olympic team’s training and matches, they would not be eligible to attend the national Olympic team’s pre- and post-match press conferences, and they would not be able to interview national Olympic team players in the mixed zone…

In general, apart from the relatively euphemistic wording, the attitude was very clear—don't attend the press conference, don't let Chen Hero voice his opinions.

The reporters weren’t stupid. Why would the Football Association send letters to them specifically, suggesting they shouldn’t attend Chen Hero’s press conference?

Many media outlets had already smelled something unusual—the Football Association seemed afraid of letting Chen Hero reveal what he knew. But they couldn’t directly prevent Chen Hero from holding a press conference, not because of any citizen's freedom, but because they lacked leverage to threaten him… They’d already kicked him out; what did Chen Hero have to fear from them?

But when dealing with the media, they could use the Olympic team's interview rights to restrict and threaten them, preventing them from attending the press conference. A responsible media outlet with a conscience should consciously safeguard the internal and external unity of the national Olympic team at this critical moment, creating a good environment for the national Olympic team to prepare, so they could perform at their best in the Olympic Games… and so on.

To be honest, this trick worked well. In the Olympic year, with football being such a huge sport in China, the Chinese national Olympic team was always the focus of attention. Not being able to report on the national Olympic team’s news would be a considerable loss for the media… After all, this national Olympic team, preparing for several years to play at home, was being placed high hopes on. Everyone was paying close attention to them.

If attending Chen Hero’s press conference meant losing the right to report on the national Olympic team… wouldn’t that be a case of penny wise, pound foolish?

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Shuxi Metropolitan Daily, where Zhong Dajun worked, also received an invitation letter from Chen Hero. Although the influence of Shuxi Metropolitan Daily was limited to Sichuan Province, Chen Hero still wanted to give special consideration to his hometown media.

As a media outlet whose influence did not reach the entire country, Shuxi Metropolitan Daily did not receive a letter from the Football Association. Perhaps the Football Association thought Shuxi Metropolitan Daily was not a very influential media.

But news travels fast in this circle, so Shuxi Metropolitan Daily also knew that the Football Association had threatened those media outlets, forbidding them from attending Chen Hero’s press conference.

If they went, they would be disqualified from reporting on the national Olympic team.

So there was controversy within Shuxi Metropolitan Daily about whether to attend this press conference.

"What's there to argue about? I think we should definitely go!" Zhong Dajun naturally supported Chen Hero. In fact, after the fighting incident, Zhong Dajun published a commentary in Shuxi Metropolitan Daily, where he worked, strongly supporting Chen Hero and pleading for him. Unfortunately, the newspaper’s limited influence didn’t play a role in this storm.

"National Olympic team reporting qualification? Isn't that just not allowing interviews and photos? We can use other people's photos, buy the copyright of the photos, can the Football Association stop us from publishing them? Even if we don't go to the scene, can the Football Association stop us from publishing comments after watching the national Olympic team's game? They don't have that much power, so I don't think we need to be afraid of the Football Association at all! Such conditions can only scare those national media, but it’s useless to us. On the other hand, everyone is clear about the news value contained in this matter, right?"

The attendees all nodded. If there was no news value, they wouldn’t have to hold a meeting to struggle over whether to go. They would just not go.

"I think there will definitely be many large media outlets that dare not attend because of the Football Association's threats. Then we will be one of the few media outlets that dare to report, what kind of news effect can we get? I think it’s not a problem to take this opportunity to increase our popularity nationwide! So, we must go! We must go! Don’t care about the Football Association! I scold the Football Association in my articles every day, and I’m still doing fine, right? What are we afraid of!"

His last sentence amused the newspaper’s leaders.

In the end, they decided to send Zhong Dajun to Beijing to attend Chen Hero’s press conference. They really didn’t have to be afraid of the Football Association's threats, as long as it wasn’t the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and the Central Propaganda Department… they could ignore it.

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Chen Hero’s press conference was held in the conference room of the hotel he was staying in. They set up a simple backdrop—a white cloth with nothing on it. It didn’t say "Chen Hero Press Conference" or the time and place. Like a blank tile in mahjong, it was unclear what it was for.

The conference hall, which could accommodate more than two hundred people, was only occupied by about a dozen reporters.

According to Chen Hero’s estimate, if not full, it should at least be two-thirds full.

As a result, only seventeen print reporters, plus five photographers and videographers, showed up.

For such a sensational event, only twenty-odd people came, which was a bit beyond Vera’s expectations.

She thought she hadn’t done her job well and was a little depressed and dissatisfied with herself.

Chen Hero saw her like this from behind and smiled at her: "It has nothing to do with you."

Zhong Dajun called Chen Hero before coming and told him what was going on behind the scenes, so Chen Hero wasn’t surprised that only so few people came.

"Some people are afraid of me, but the more they are afraid, the more energetic I get, hehe! Just wait and see, Vera."

※※※

Zhong Dajun was sitting in the front row, waiting for the press conference to begin.

He looked to the left and right, and then turned his head back. Sparsely scattered, the reporters were concentrated in the front row. There were two cameras in the back, from two TV stations, but neither was a large, nationally influential TV station. Zhong Dajun recognized one as Sichuan TV. Their own people had become the focus of attention, being scolded bloody, so the hometown media had to come and support him.

It seems the Football Association successfully scared off a lot of media… With so few media outlets attending, Chen Hero's press conference could be considered a failure. Can he really prove his innocence?

Zhong Dajun was a little worried.

At this moment, Vera Nikolaevna Ivanova, in a smart business suit, walked onto the stage and gave the few reporters a professional smile. Then, in heavily accented Chinese, she said, "Thank you all for coming to Mr. Chen Hero's press conference. Now, let the press conference officially begin. Let us welcome Mr. Chen Hero!"

After speaking, she took the lead in applauding.

The reporters were stunned for a moment and began to applaud as well. The applause was sparse, most people just did it as a formality and then stopped. Only Zhong Dajun applauded vigorously, clapping his hands hard, so his applause was particularly loud in the empty conference hall, and it seemed particularly abrupt…

When Zhong Dajun stopped applauding, the scene quieted down.

Chen Hero walked up, sat down in the chair, and then he tapped the microphone. The entire conference hall was immediately filled with an ear-piercing buzzing sound.

The stimulating sound made everyone present have the same expression as Chen Hero—grimacing, leaning back, and tilting their heads.

Chen Hero didn’t expect the microphone to be so sensitive and react so strongly. He smiled awkwardly, then coughed and began his press conference.

"Ahem, the thing is, everyone, I think you already know what this is about, right? Even if you didn’t know, you should know what it’s about after receiving the Football Association's notice, right?" he said with a smile, not at all like the miserable guy who had been kicked out of the team and scolded by the media and fans, which surprised the media attending the press conference.

"Actually, seeing this situation, I think even if I don’t say anything, there will be some different voices in the media tomorrow, right?"

Chen Hero didn’t curse or slam the table emotionally, which also surprised the reporters. In their minds, Chen Hero was an emotional, impulsive, and mindless person. To put it nicely, he was fierce; to put it bluntly, he was a simpleton. Such a person would definitely attack the Chinese Football Association at the press conference, so this press conference was expected to be very exciting.

Who would have thought that today he would appear before everyone with a smile, looking so indifferent, which didn’t fit his image at all…

They didn’t know that Chen Hero hadn’t taken being kicked out of the national Olympic team to heart at all. This could be seen from the fact that he flew to Beijing to shop and have fun immediately after being kicked out.

If those media hadn't scolded him one-sidedly, he might not have paid attention to this matter at all and would have gone back to Naples after a trip to his hometown.

As a result, this matter had left him no time to even go home. After finishing this press conference, he had to fly directly to Naples to prepare to meet and appear before the fans.

Originally, his mother missed him very much and wanted to see him. But because of this matter, not only did he not go back, but he didn’t even have time to let his parents come to Beijing.

If it weren't for these messy things, he wouldn't bother with the Football Association.

"What I want to say is very simple, that is, I did hit someone, I admit that. The only thing I regret is that I didn't hit hard enough. I originally planned to throw a few more punches, but they stopped me. Hitting someone is wrong, I admit that. But I hope everyone knows why I hit someone. Although I sometimes have a bad temper, I always have a reason. If others are good to me, I will never be bad to them. But if someone provokes me, I will definitely not let them have a good time. Sorry, this is my style."

"Why did I hit Zhang Wei? It's because during the team match, he kept targeting me. Every defense was a foul. When he made a flying tackle at my ankle, not at the ball, intending to cripple me, I finally exploded—before that, I had always been thinking about maintaining the team's internal unity, putting the overall situation first, and that a small impatience would disrupt the big picture… You see, I considered national interests, collective honor, and the overall situation so much, how could I be someone who disregards the overall situation and puts collective honor aside?"

Chen Hero used the words that many media outlets had used to scold him to block them, but unfortunately most of those media outlets were not here today, otherwise the expressions on their faces would definitely be very exciting.

"I know that words are not proof, so I have something here that I plan to show you." After speaking, he motioned for Vera to turn on the projector. At this time, everyone realized that the white cloth behind him was actually the screen for the projector…

The screen showed the scene of Chen Hero’s training that day, as well as the noise.

It was possible to hear the voices of head coach Duikovic and assistant coach Shang Yifei.

These people were familiar to the reporters, and they could recognize their voices as soon as they heard them.

In addition, there were also the unique shouts of the players during the game, such as "Pass the ball! Pass the ball!" "Mine!" "Hey! Hey! Over here! Over here!"

This was completely a video of the national Olympic team's training!

The reporters were stunned—wasn't it said that it was closed training at the time? No reporters or fans were present, otherwise why would everyone only accept what the Football Association said?

How could there be a video recording of that time now?

But now the reporters were not in the mood to dwell on how this recording came about, because in the picture, they clearly saw Zhang Wei making a very vicious flying tackle towards Chen Hero!

If this were in a match, it would definitely be a red card foul. It was just a team match, was it necessary to use this kind of "killing move" that might not even be used against enemies?

Next, they got to enjoy Chen Hero's "heroic posture" of knocking Zhang Wei unconscious with one punch.

Then the picture began to sway, and all kinds of sounds rang out.

There was nothing to see here anymore.

Chen Hero asked Vera to turn off the projector and said to the stunned reporters below the stage: "This is the truth. I only hit those who deserve to be hit. I think Zhang Wei, this son of a bitch, deserves to be hit."