Chapter 1 Merseyside Derby and Moving

After the Merseyside Derby against Everton, the Premier League faced a two-week break to make way for national team matches.

Everyone returned, and Chen Hero, who had no national team duties, was not idle either. He was busy moving.

After he signed with the club, Liverpool began to arrange for him to find a house. This time, it wasn't a rent-to-buy situation, but a direct purchase, done in one step, to avoid further hassle.

Initially, Chen Xing suggested finding him a large villa in Liverpool's wealthy area, three stories above ground and one below, complete with an indoor swimming pool, a dedicated entertainment room like a lecture hall for watching movies, a game room for playing video games, a billiards room for playing pool, seven bedrooms of varying sizes, two living rooms, and a small hall. The garage had three spaces, two above ground and one below. The garden was so large that it could accommodate a five-a-side soccer field...

But Chen Hero didn't want it.

Chen Xing thought Chen Hero found it too expensive, and waved his hand, saying it was nothing, his brother would give it to him!

Chen Hero curled his lips. "I don't care about your little bit of money! This house is too big for me."

Yes, Chen Hero was telling the truth. His parents were in China, and he didn't have a steady girlfriend. He had come to Liverpool alone. What would he do with such a big house? If a strong wind blew at night, he'd probably be frightened...

So Chen Hero didn't want to live in such a big house.

When a house is too big, living alone feels lonely. He was afraid that every night he would have to keep the TV and stereo on all night, and the lights would stay on.

That would be too boring.

It wasn't that he was afraid of wasting energy; he wasn't a low-carbon, energy-saving environmentalist. He just thought it was particularly stupid.

So he insisted on a smaller house, but he was interested in that garden large enough to hold a five-a-side soccer field. He liked to have fun, and with a big enough garden, he could often have parties.

Once he stated his requirements, the club began looking for him again.

This time, it was still in Liverpool's wealthy area.

Topographically, Liverpool is somewhat similar to Shanghai, divided into eastern and western sections by a river. The Mersey River divides Liverpool, while the Huangpu River divides Shanghai, though the direction is reversed. The seaside part is in the west, a wealthy area with many villas. The eastern side is larger, including the city center, commercial center, and office center. The waterfront area on the eastern bank is like Shanghai's Bund. People who have been to both places might be surprised. Several buildings along the river look very similar to the buildings on Shanghai's Bund, as if the entire style is like twin sisters. Hundreds of years ago, colonial ships from the British Empire first sailed from Liverpool to China. Over the years after Shanghai opened as a port, countless ships sailed between Liverpool and Shanghai. The buildings that gradually rose on the Bund naturally bore the imprint of Liverpool.

Chen Hero's house was in Liverpool's wealthy western district.

His house wasn't big, only one story, with four bedrooms and two living rooms—a truly small house for a soccer star with an annual income of over ten million euros. But Chen Hero was satisfied, precisely because it was small.

The house was small, but the garden was large, and there was a garage that could park two cars.

The back of the house faced the beach, and the vast Atlantic Ocean could be seen through the huge floor-to-ceiling glass doors of the living room. Chen Hero could walk through the garden behind the house, down a gentle set of steps, and reach the beach. Although the beaches in England weren't much to look at, appearing rather grim, it was still a beach...

If Chen Hero wanted to exercise in the morning, he could run on the beach.

However, the name of the community was slightly unlucky, called... Waterloo. It was said that when Li Tie and Li Weifeng played for Everton, they lived in this community, so neither of them ultimately succeeded at Everton.

But Chen Hero didn't care about that.

Success depends on one's strength. With great strength, one naturally has luck. If one only has the kind of strength that relies on luck to succeed, it doesn't matter where they live.

So he settled on this house. Although Chen Xing repeatedly offered to give it to Chen Hero as thanks for keeping his promise to join Liverpool, Chen Hero still refused. He paid for the property himself. The house was now officially under the Chen name. Even if Chen Hero didn't play soccer in Liverpool anymore, the house would still belong to him. He didn't have the habit of buying houses he wouldn't live in. He still kept his apartment in St. Petersburg, and now he rented it out to his teammates.

The house in Naples was empty, with someone regularly cleaning it. Dekula was in charge of that, so Chen Hero didn't have to worry about it.

After buying the house, he gave a simple renovation plan to the decoration company. He didn't have any other requirements, except for the trophy wall. This time, it wasn't used as a TV wall. He specifically designated a room to be a trophy display room, like the trophy rooms in those clubs.

Besides these, he didn't want a mini-cinema, a video game room, or a billiards room. One of the four rooms was used as a trophy room, and the other three were bedrooms. He put the video games and such in the living room.

While everyone else went to participate in national team matches, he moved into his new house by himself.

He didn't have much to move—the trophies he had won in Italy hadn't been shipped yet. Dekula was in charge of that, so Chen Hero didn't have to worry about it. The furniture was delivered by the furniture company, and all the household items were taken care of by Liverpool club personnel, even the pots and pans. Liverpool prepared everything; Chen Hero only needed to say what brands he preferred.

Chen Hero didn't have any preferences—in Naples, Kristin Cabella had been responsible for all of this. He was just a hands-off owner.

When he arrived in Liverpool, he continued to be a hands-off owner, except that the person in charge had changed from Kristin Cabella to Liverpool staff.

Unfortunately, the Liverpool staff member in charge of his living arrangements was a middle-aged woman over forty-five years old. Although she had a kind face and was overweight, Chen Hero would definitely not feel any impulse...

He shouldn't even think about having a romantic encounter.

Chen Hero didn't even need to bring a bag to move in—he didn't even need to buy a toothbrush, towel, or blanket. He just needed to put his hands in his pockets and move in.

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On the day of the move, he didn't invite his teammates because most of them had already flown back to their respective countries. He planned to invite them when they all returned. The people who came to celebrate his housewarming were the club's owner, Chen Xing, and the general manager, Niang.

Chen Xing and Niang both brought their girlfriends.

Chen Hero was all alone.

"Hero, I'm surprised that your female bodyguard didn't come with you!" Chen Xing put his arm around the slender waist of the beauty he had just picked up, a cigar in his mouth, sunglasses on his face, and said this to Chen Hero with a smug look, making Chen Hero really want to punch him in the face.

"You've said that ten times already!" Chen Hero gave him the middle finger, which was clearly rubbing salt in his wounds!

Chen Xing laughed heartily, with none of the restraint expected of the owner of Liverpool Football Club. "How about it? Want me to introduce you to someone?"

Chen Hero glanced at the beauty Chen Xing was holding. She was indeed beautiful, but why did she always have a "common" feeling?

He found that whenever he saw a beautiful woman now, he always compared her to Kristin Cabella in his mind, and then he would find that in terms of looks alone, many women could easily defeat Kristin, but when compared comprehensively, he still felt that Kristin was the best, especially that aura... That woman, who was usually serious and never smiled, never flaunted herself, and didn't rely on her body to please men, yet she firmly occupied a place in his heart.

He shook his head. "Not interested."

Chen Xing exclaimed exaggeratedly, "My God! Hero, you're not interested in men, are you! It's okay! I can find you one of those too!"

Niang burst out laughing when he heard this.

The two beauties next to him also laughed hysterically.

Chen Hero gave the club owner the middle finger. "Keep it for yourself!"

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Chen Xing and Niang's visit to congratulate him on his housewarming also successfully aroused the loneliness in his heart.

When he lived in the hotel, the corridors outside the door and the lobby downstairs were always bustling with people, which was somewhat lively.

But this house located in Liverpool's wealthy area was very quiet. It was full of detached villas, and very few people walked outside at night. Everyone stayed in their own homes, enjoying their own lives.

This kind of quiet made Chen Hero feel particularly lonely.

Although a four-bedroom, two-living-room house was much smaller than those with three floors above ground and two below, it was still too big for Chen Hero alone...

Chen Xing and Niang left around nine o'clock in the evening. After seeing their car off at the door, Chen Hero returned to his home.

Closing the door, he stood by the light switch and turned on all the switches. Wall lamps, spotlights, chandeliers... all kinds of lights lit up, illuminating the living room brightly.

The stereo was on, playing the music he had stored on his iPod. To create an atmosphere, he had been playing this music for most of the day...

He listened to a variety of songs. Although he was almost a post-90s, he listened to old songs as well. He listened to Jay Chou, Wakin Chau, and all four Heavenly Kings, as well as Luo Da You's songs.

At this moment, the stereo happened to be playing such a song, perhaps by coincidence, or perhaps on purpose...

"...Loneliness is unbearable, loneliness is unbearable. Love is the most difficult wait, love is the most distant future..."

Chen Hero was really lonely.

The last time he faced such a large room and had this feeling was in St. Petersburg.

At that time, he wanted to find someone to warm his bed or something.

This time, he didn't want to find someone to warm his bed. He just wanted to find someone to have a relationship with, even if it ended up being a fruitless effort, just to pass the time.

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ps, These two guaranteed updates were actually automatically updated, so I don't know if there are enough monthly votes for an extra update. When I wake up, if I see it, I will definitely add an update!