Chapter 1 The Agreement

Chen Hero officially signed a contract with Zenit Saint Petersburg. Considering that Chen Hero and his father had spent a month traveling around Europe, yet hadn't visited a single tourist attraction, the team gave Chen Hero two days off so he could show his father around Saint Petersburg.

Saint Petersburg has quite a few tourist attractions.

The Winter Palace, Peterhof Palace… these are all famous tourist spots.

Chen Tao could finally breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy some time with his son.

Actually, he wasn't very interested in visiting these tourist attractions—he wasn't much of a tourist.

If it weren't for his son, he probably would never have come to Europe in his life…

He never expected that his first trip to Europe would take him through six countries—Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Russia—covering tens of thousands of kilometers. Armed with a map, a travel guide, and an electronic dictionary, he dared to chat with foreigners. He couldn't have imagined such craziness before.

Looking back, he was a little shocked at himself.

On the Aurora cruiser, his father was chattering away, while Chen Hero held onto the steel railing of the cruiser, watching the Neva River below. The wind from upstream blew across the river, ruffling the hair, clothes, and skirts of many people on board…

A scream from a female voice came. Chen Hero immediately turned his head to look, and saw a blonde woman trying to hold down her skirt, which had been blown up by the wind. Unfortunately, she covered the front but not the back, and Chen Hero got a clear view of her round, upturned buttocks.

"Wow, black lace! Damn! It's a thong!!" Chen Hero couldn't help but whistle.

"Hero!" Chen Tao was helpless at his son's behavior and coughed.

Chen Hero quickly turned his face back, scratching his head apologetically with an innocent smile. "Heh, heh…"

"Hero… I'm leaving tomorrow, and then you'll be all alone here… This is the first time you've been alone outside… Let me tell you, you have to be strict with yourself and lenient with others, you hear? Put your mind on soccer. After all, you're still far from being a real professional, so you have to train hard. Be friendly to others, it's always good to make friends. Get along with your new teammates, and also, you have to study the language hard, otherwise there will be a lot of unnecessary misunderstandings. Do you hear me?" Chen Tao started chattering again.

"I hear you, I hear you." Chen Hero replied, his eyes still searching for beautiful women.

He heard that there were a lot of beauties in Russia, all blonde and blue-eyed, tall, shapely, and sexy. But since arriving in Russia, he had been in a state of tension, his mind filled with thoughts of becoming a professional soccer player. He really hadn't been in the mood to look at beautiful women.

Now that he had signed a two-year professional contract with the club, the biggest thing weighing on his mind was gone, and he was finally in the mood to look at the ladies. Chen Hero had had a girlfriend back in China. He was tall, good-looking, and had a good physique from playing soccer. His personality wasn't gloomy, he was cheerful, and he was good at talking, so he wasn't a stranger to winning girls' hearts.

They had been together for less than a year, then they got tired of each other and broke up. There was no melodrama, no family pressure. They just felt like there was no passion, no novelty, and they only saw each other's faults, not their strengths. And with so many temptations in the outside world, why bother hanging from just one tree? So, they broke up.

But Chen Hero didn't lose out either. With this ex-girlfriend, he ended his virginity… and tasted the pleasures of love. He was no longer a "theoretical giant, practical dwarf" who knew nothing and could only rely on watching Japanese adult videos for information.

This was important. In the domestic club, teammates always competed, comparing money and women—who had more money, whose woman was prettier. Of course, they also compared who had more experience. Those who often changed girlfriends and partied every night were always the focus of attention in the team. They liked to brag about their experiences, and a group of rookies would listen with relish, their eyes shining with admiration and envy, praising, "Brother [Surname] is really awesome! Is this the tenth one already?"

Having experience, Chen Hero wouldn't be afraid to hold his head up in front of others. Otherwise, if someone asked, "Hero, do you have a girlfriend?"

"Of course, I do."

"You do? Have you done it?"

"No…"

The response would definitely be—"Hahahaha! Hero hasn't scored yet? What a noob! Should I take you to get some action one of these days? It's hard to find a seventeen-year-old virgin!"

After breaking up with his ex-girlfriend, Chen Hero hadn't had time to find another one before he was kicked out of the team for fighting. He had no hope for the future, so why bother looking for a girlfriend?

And it had to be said, the Russian girls were really beautiful. They were good-looking in every way and had fair skin. Since Chen Hero was over 1.9 meters tall, it would be awkward to find a girl who was 1.55 or 1.6 meters tall. So, tall Russian beauties suited his aesthetics quite well. His ex-girlfriend was 1.68 meters tall, which was considered tall among girls of her age in southern China. Walking with Chen Hero, they still attracted a lot of attention because of the height difference.

But it seemed like there was a severe polarization. It was said that Russian women were beauties before marriage, but they quickly became overweight after marriage and turned into aunties.

If he married a Russian beauty, just the thought of opening his eyes the day after his wedding night and seeing a bloated, fat woman lying next to him made Chen Hero feel a lot of pressure… Okay, that was an exaggeration, but watching her figure deform, get fat, and swell up like a balloon would be terrifying too…

His father's nagging didn't stop, it was like he had endless things to say.

But Chen Hero's mind wasn't on any of that.

Teenagers always admire freedom and like a free life. When he was playing soccer in the domestic club, he would avoid going home if he could, preferring to stay in the team's dormitory, only going home once a week. The rest of the time, he would do whatever he wanted. But that wasn't the freest. Now, he was truly free, alone in Saint Petersburg, Russia, with his parents nowhere near him, but in China, thousands of miles away. He could do whatever he wanted, and no one could control him.

Chen Hero was actually looking forward to such a life…

It felt like a college freshman reporting for registration, even though Chen Hero had never been to college.

A completely new environment, unfamiliar but full of freshness. The excitement of being a professional soccer player and the freedom of living alone were impacting this eighteen-year-old's heart, filling him with anticipation and hope for the future.

As for what his father had said, he hadn't really paid attention at all.

Like a bird about to be released from its cage, he couldn't wait to spread his wings and soar into the sky as soon as the cage door opened.

After scanning around and finding a few more beauties, Chen Hero finally brought his mind back to his father.

His father was still nagging, repeating the same thing over and over again.

Chen Hero suddenly found it strange, his father had never been such a talkative person…

He interrupted his father. "Dad, I just remembered something."

"Ah? What is it?"

"When we came, there were two of us. Now that you're going back, it's just one person. How are you going to explain that to Mom?"

This was indeed a big problem. They went to Europe for a trip, and in the end, the father came back, but the son was gone. How could the mother not be worried?

Chen Tao hesitated, then tried to brush it off. "Don't worry about that, it's not related to you…"

"You're not planning to kneel on the washboard again, are you, Dad?" Chen Hero asked.

Chen Tao's face turned red, but he quickly recovered. "How could that be? Of course, I'll explain your situation to your mom. I hope your mom also hopes you can continue playing professional soccer…"

Chen Hero curled his lips noncommittally. He didn't believe his father. He must be apologizing as soon as he got back, and then explaining the reasons to his mother.

But deep down, he was very grateful for the sacrifices his father had made for him.

It was great to be able to become a professional soccer player, but he wasn't willing to stop there. His goal was to become a hero on the field, just like his name. He was very grateful to his father for giving him this name, it was so cool.

To live up to this cool and domineering name my dad gave me, I must strive to become a hero on the soccer field!

"Dad." Chen Hero interrupted Chen Tao's nagging again.

"Hmm? What's the matter?"

"There's no broadcast of the Russian Premier League in China, right?" he asked.

Chen Tao thought for a moment. "It doesn't seem like there is…"

"Then how will you and Mom watch me when you miss me?"

Chen Tao was stunned. That's right, after he went back, his wife would definitely be worried if she couldn't see her son. What would they do when they missed him? If it were the top five leagues, they could at least watch on TV—if their son made it into the matchday squad.

That was also why Chen Tao had planned to go to countries with mostly major European leagues. If he hadn't known that his son definitely wouldn't get a work permit, they would have gone to England too. Russia was really a choice of last resort.

While Chen Tao was in a daze, Chen Hero was calculating.

I wonder if Zenit is eligible to play in the UEFA Cup… but the UEFA Cup isn't broadcast in China either. The only leagues broadcast in China are the Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Premier League, La Liga… and also the Brazilian and Argentinian leagues, but not the Russian Premier League!

The Champions League is also broadcast, but is Zenit Saint Petersburg eligible to play in the Champions League?

Chen Tao coughed. "Well, if we miss you, we'll just give you a call. Buy a computer when you get your salary, and then we can chat online! Isn't online chatting popular these days? I heard you can even see each other…"

"Do you and Mom know how to use the internet?" Chen Hero retorted.

His father was silent again. Not many people of their generation knew how to use computers…

"Dad."

"Hmm?"

"Your son will become a real hero. When you miss me, just turn on the TV." Chen Hero pointed to himself with his thumb and said to his father.

Chen Tao smiled.

Chen Hero took out his camera and said to his father, "Dad, let's take a photo together. Tell Mom that if you really miss me, you can always look at the pictures."

After speaking, he ran straight towards a blonde beauty in the distance, not stopping for any of the tourists he passed. When he reached the beauty, he immediately looked shy and explained his intentions to her in broken English, taking a long time to finally bring the beauty over.

Chen Tao looked at his son and cursed with a smile, "This kid!"

The beauty was pulled over, and Chen Hero taught her how to use his digital camera in broken English. He took the opportunity to have several intimate moments with the beauty.

After teaching the beauty, Chen Hero ran back, stood next to his father, made a "v" sign, and smiled mischievously.

Chen Tao stood next to his tall son, facing the beauty holding the camera, looking slightly restrained and serious. He put his hands together on the side of his legs, standing straight, or rather, stiffly…

As the beauty counted down, the shutter was pressed. With a click, the figures of the father and son were permanently captured on the bridge of the Aurora cruiser, with the Winter Palace in the distance.