Chapter 1 The Naples Dinner Party

The Naples dinner party was held at the Margherita Flower King Restaurant, a favorite haunt of the Naples players. The club's owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, had booked the entire restaurant a month in advance. Tonight, the famous Margherita Flower King Restaurant was closed to all other guests, open only to the Naples players and their families. Security guards stood at the entrance, checking invitations.

This was to prevent overly enthusiastic fans and media reporters.

The Naples fans were too enthusiastic; Naples was perhaps the only club that had to guard against its own fans.

But in reality, it was impossible to completely prevent them, at least from shouting and taking photos of their beloved stars outside.

A red carpet was laid from the roadside parking area to the restaurant entrance, and every player had to walk this route. Security guards separated the enthusiastic fans and reporters, clearing a path in the middle.

Like a Hollywood premiere, the stars, with their carefully dressed female companions, walked the red carpet, basking in the cheers of the fans and the flashing lights of the reporters, striking their most charming poses and expressions, eliciting screams from the fans.

Some more approachable stars would sign autographs for the fans, thrilling those who received them. Bigger names hurried past or remained cool and aloof.

※※※

Cassano chatted with his teammates in the decorated venue, accompanied by his girlfriend, Carolina.

They weren't discussing the weather, but... Chen Hero's companion!

"Ah ha ha ha!"

Speaking of Chen Hero's awkwardness in not finding a female companion, a group of close friends laughed heartlessly.

As the most popular player with women in the team, Chen Hero usually made others jealous. How did Antonella Canali, that beauty, end up in Chen Hero's bed? Why did so many female guests on TV shows claim they wanted to sleep with Chen Hero? How could the new girl at the TV station be so infatuated with Chen Hero?

It was so unfair!

Now, seeing Chen Hero stumble over women, everyone was happy. They finally got some relief—no matter how popular you are with women, you can't find a partner now, ah ha ha ha!

A group of people gathered together, gleefully mocking Chen Hero and talking behind his back—such opportunities were rare, so everyone naturally had to seize them.

"I think we should start a pool to bet on which woman Hero will bring," Hamsik suggested.

"Good idea. I bet he'll bring that girl from the TV station," Cassano responded.

"I bet on the TV station girl too."

"Same, same. The TV station girl is so interested in him. I think Hero can hook her with just one phone call."

Everyone expressed their support for the TV station girl.

Hamsik spread his hands. "There's no way to bet on this. The TV station girl has an overwhelming advantage."

"Is it because he can only bring that girl at the moment?" Cassano laughed.

The group burst into laughter again.

※※※

Listening to the laughter coming from the group of players, Mazzarri was very pleased with the joyful atmosphere.

"It seems everyone is in high spirits," he said to his assistant coach, Viviani.

"The Real Madrid thing hasn't affected their mood," Viviani nodded.

"This team is becoming more and more mature. I'm full of confidence in their future," Mazzarri said proudly.

The two men stopped talking and looked contentedly at the players in small groups.

They looked around. Then they noticed the problem.

"Where's Hero?" Mazzarri was the first to notice this—Chen Hero was nowhere to be seen in the lively crowd. Chen Hero was tall and lively, and he should have been very conspicuous in such a joyful place, easily spotted.

But he scanned around and couldn't see Chen Hero.

"He's not here? Huh... he's really not here. Strange." Viviani also noticed that Chen Hero was not in the venue.

Mazzarri looked at his watch. There was very little time left before the start of the banquet. The boss, De Laurentiis, was going to speak on stage, and everyone had to be there before that.

"He's never late for training. Could he be late for something like this?" Viviani muttered, unable to understand why Chen Hero wasn't there.

※※※

"Hey, why hasn't Hero come yet?"

After joking enough, everyone had thoroughly mocked Chen Hero behind his back, and then they realized that the object of their mockery had not appeared. This was really unusual.

"He's definitely indispensable in this kind of occasion..."

"This... I say, could it be that he really couldn't find a suitable female companion, so he didn't come?" someone worried.

Cassano frowned and shook his head. "Impossible. I'd rather believe he went to find that vase girl from the TV station than believe he wouldn't come..."

Everyone turned to look at the door, hoping to see Chen Hero's figure. Although they had mocked him just now, everyone knew that Chen Hero was the core of their group. Whether chatting, joking, or doing things, everyone was used to him being the center. With the backbone missing, everyone felt like something was missing in their hearts.

"Strange..." Arshavin murmured, staring at the door.

At this moment, a sudden flash of light appeared at the door.

※※※

"My God..." Viviani, who was staring at the door, exclaimed.

Mazzarri also stared intently.

It wasn't just the two of them. Centered on the door, everyone stopped talking and turned to look. Others stopped because the people around them suddenly stopped talking and stared at the door, and they curiously turned to look, then were left speechless. The sudden silence quickly spread throughout the venue.

In this eerie silence, the protagonist who triggered this change appeared in everyone's eyes.

A long, floor-length white cashmere shawl slid off her shoulders, hanging low at her waist, with two smooth arms elegantly hanging at her slender waist. The shawl came from behind and draped over her arms. The owner of these arms wore a black floor-length dress, the hem dragging on the ground, swaying gently as she walked.

The slit at the front of the dress almost reached her navel, while the slit at the back was much higher, making one wonder if it was worn backwards.

Revealed in the slit was healthy, wheat-colored skin. From this exaggerated slit, it could be seen that the two treasures in front of her chest were not restrained in any way, and they trembled slightly as she walked, as if they would break free from the restraints of the dress at any moment.

The long dress had a very good waistline, tightly wrapping the woman's slender waist and full, rounded buttocks, without any embellishments, revealing her perfect curves.

Her hair was not long, so she couldn't create any wonderful hairstyles, but it set off her tall, slender neck. A pair of clear eyes emerged from under a snow-white forehead, eyebrows raised upwards, with a quiet but radiant expression. Unlike the other female guests' soft or hazy eyes, she looked heroic.

Her lips were slightly pursed, and she didn't seem to be smiling, her expression even a little serious, but perhaps because of this, in this room full of smiling female guests, she seemed so special and attractive. There's a saying that goes, "A smile can topple a city, another smile can topple a country," but for the men present, this beautiful woman, even without smiling, could captivate all living beings.

Some people even rubbed their eyes, thinking they were drunk and seeing things.

When they confirmed that they were not mistaken, the sound of inhaling air resounded throughout the venue.

※※※

Cabrera was very unaccustomed to this getup. She was trying to maintain her demeanor, even with some difficulty. For example, walking had to be half a beat slower than usual.

But Chen Hero liked it very much. He specially took her to the mall to buy this outfit, and took her to a professional makeup artist for makeup and styling.

It took so much time, and they were almost late, just for this moment.

Chen Hero stood beside Christine Cabrera, smiling as he looked at the dumbfounded men in the quiet venue.

In fact, after the overall look came out, Chen Hero's reaction was no better than his teammates in front of him.

Cabrera was very uncomfortable at the time, and she was rarely shy. She didn't expect her shy appearance to make Chen Hero even more obsessed.

Was this the frosty female bodyguard who gave him an over-the-shoulder throw when he tried to hug her, who pointed a gun at you at every turn, and whose speech had no tonal fluctuations or emotional ups and downs, like a robot?

He suddenly had a thought in his mind—fortunately, she's not used to women's clothing, otherwise, I don't know how many people she would harm...

Although he usually knew that Christine was a beauty, he didn't expect her to be so beautiful. When he thought that the woman he had been with day and night for more than a year was so charming, Chen Hero couldn't help but lose his composure...

※※※

"Good evening, everyone!" Chen Hero, with Cabrera on his arm, raised his hand to greet his teammates.

Everyone then realized that there was someone beside the beauty...

Chen Hero, with Cabrera on his arm, walked straight to Cassano and the others. "Sorry I'm late." Although he was apologizing, the meaning of showing off was obvious.

"This is..." someone next to him couldn't help but ask.

They had never seen Chen Hero know such a beautiful woman, and the most important thing was her temperament, which was completely different from ordinary vulgar women!

Chen Hero raised his head and chest. Cabrera's appearance stunned the audience, which made him feel very proud.

"My companion!"

He said this with full confidence.

At the end, he added, "Definitely not the one from the TV station."

Cassano, who had reacted, stretched out his hands, took a step forward, wanting to grab Cabrera's hand. "Beauty, let's get to know each other?"

Chen Hero took his outstretched hand first. "No way!"

Cassano pouted. "Stingy!"

※※※

"When did Hero get such a beautiful girlfriend?" Mazzarri also felt strange looking from afar.

If he really had such a beautiful girlfriend, it would probably be on the front page of the media the next day, so why hadn't he heard anything about it?

Mazzarri guessed correctly. In fact, just now when Chen Hero and Cabrera walked out, they had already murdered a lot of film from the reporters... uh no, now it's the digital age, it should be said that they murdered a lot of storage space from the reporters...

At that time, after the initial surprise, the reporters were as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood, pressing the shutter madly, taking pictures of the two people walking hand in hand from the parking lot to the door from all angles.

"Hero is so awesome! He changed girlfriends so quickly?"

"What, he doesn't have a girlfriend at all! You have to say—'He changed women so quickly'!"

"As expected of the most popular Naples star with women... it's really maddeningly jealous!"

"Coach, I want to play football..."

The photojournalists pressed the shutter quickly, while the reporters didn't forget their job—to complain. They had already thought about how to talk about this matter in tomorrow's news. Who this mysterious woman was, was also worthy of their exploration and pursuit.

Chen Hero's fans let out excited exclamations. Male fans marveled at the beauty and temperament of Chen Hero's companion, while female fans were madly jealous of the woman beside Chen Hero.

"I'm more amazed that he changes women like he changes clothes..." Assistant coach Viviani shook his head and sighed. He always believed that if a player spent too much energy and effort on women, it would ruin his ability on the field. Chen Hero was undoubtedly very talented, but he was worried that such a genius would eventually be ruined by women and alcohol—George Best was a lesson from the past.

At this moment, the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed.

The noisy venue suddenly quieted down, and the buzzing chatter and music also disappeared.

Even Mazzarri and Viviani, who were curious about when Chen Hero had another girlfriend, withdrew their gazes and turned to look at the temporary platform.

Everyone knew that the biggest contributor to Naples' rebirth, the helmsman of this team, the club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, who was beloved in Naples, was about to take the stage to deliver his speech.

※※※

ps, yesterday, more than 400 monthly tickets were added in one day. Everyone is very supportive, thank you all!