Chapter 1 Liverpool's Captain

Chen Hero hadn't imagined that he would wear Liverpool's captain armband so soon after arriving. It was truly a coincidence; if Gerrard hadn't been injured and unable to come to China, it wouldn't have been his turn.

But, as luck would have it, Gerrard was injured, and the team currently lacked that absolute authority, someone who could command the entire field. That's why Liverpool's marketing department suddenly came up with this idea: to please Chinese fans and the Chinese market by having Chen Hero start the game wearing the captain's armband.

Dalglish was initially against the idea, of course, because it was against the rules and didn't fit with tradition.

That's when Niang stepped in and spoke with him, telling him how important the Chinese market was to the club and how important it was to maximize Chen Hero's appeal.

Dalglish figured that since Niang was the one who brought Chen Hero to him, he should listen… anyway, "just this once, never again"—that's what Niang himself said.

If the coach agreed, what could anyone else say? Dalglish's authority in the locker room was quite high. Besides, Chen Hero had been with the team for more than half a month and had always shown a good attitude. He was optimistic, cheerful, and liked to make friends, so everyone got along relatively well. Naturally, no one was going to give Chen Hero trouble over this matter. They all knew that they were in China, Chen Hero's home, so giving him the opportunity to wear the captain's armband once wasn't a big deal. After observing and hearing things for the past two days, they also knew how much the Chinese fans liked their new teammate.

Chen Hero didn't think so much about it. How could he refuse the opportunity to wear the captain's armband? A show-off like him knew that the Liverpool captain's armband wasn't something just anyone could wear. He also knew that it was a commercial consideration, but being able to wear it was an honor and something to be happy about.

And so, he walked out in front, wearing the captain's armband, leading his new teammates onto the field.

The stadium erupted in a huge cheer, telling the people who planned this that they had succeeded.

Even the commentators on Guangdong TV were surprised and delighted to see the captain's armband on Chen Hero's arm: "Wow! Hero is wearing the captain's armband? Is this a surprise for the Chinese fans?"

In reality, the Chinese people all knew what Liverpool was doing. It wasn't that Chen Hero was actually qualified to be Liverpool's captain; they were simply trying to please them, to show them goodwill, so that they would be willing to open their wallets and spend money.

But this attitude at least showed that Liverpool valued the Chinese market and Chinese fans. This was much better than those teams where big-name stars didn't come at all, or if they did, they didn't play, training was all closed off, and they didn't put in the effort during matches. Since it was a commercial game, it was basically about selling. Even the biggest star had to put on a smile for the customers, so why were those European powerhouses being so reserved?

In the past, China had encountered many such situations with commercial games. Those powerhouses and big-name players came here just to make money, but they weren't willing to put in the effort. They took the money, enjoyed the enthusiastic cheers of the Chinese fans, but still looked unhappy. After the game, they weren't even willing to exchange jerseys, and during the game, they just strolled around as if running two more steps would cause them to break their arms and legs and end their careers early…

Therefore, even though Liverpool was clearly trying to please the Chinese fans, the Chinese fans liked it. They felt that this was the kind of team worth supporting. At least they were taking the attitude seriously and positioning themselves correctly—I'm here to sell myself to you, so I naturally have to use all my skills and tricks to serve you well so that you will willingly open your wallets and give me money!

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After leading the players onto the field, both teams lined up for the photographers, then shook hands in respect, and then separated to take team photos. After that, it was the coin toss.

When Chen Hero walked to the center line with the Liverpool team flag, he looked up and saw the Evergrande captain walking toward him, and then he smiled.

Because Evergrande's captain was none other than Zhang Wei, the man he had knocked to the ground with one punch years ago!

It truly was a small world…

He also thought about his experience with the national Olympic team. At that time, although he had already made a name for himself in Russia, he was still an absolute rookie in the national team, so Zhang Wei didn't take him seriously at all. In addition, Zhang Wei didn't understand what kind of person Chen Hero was. He thought that Chen Hero was no different from the young players he had seen, and that as long as he acted like a big brother, they would have to bow down and submit.

Who would have thought… that he would make such a fool of himself and miss the Olympic Games as a result? Although that Olympics was embarrassing for the Chinese Olympic team, maybe it wouldn't have been so embarrassing if he had been there? So it was understandable that Zhang Wei harbored deep resentment toward Chen Hero.

But now…

Zhang Wei looked up and saw Chen Hero standing in front of him, wearing Liverpool's white away jersey, holding the Liverpool team flag, smiling happily at him.

He was immediately embarrassed.

To others, this smile might have seemed like Chen Hero was greeting an old acquaintance, but Zhang Wei knew that wasn't the case at all.

"Hero and Zhang Wei had… uh, some unpleasant experiences when they were on the national Olympic team. Will the two of them be able to let bygones be bygones this time?" Even the commentators knew about Chen Hero and Zhang Wei's feud.

Zhang Wei felt that Chen Hero was mocking him. Three years ago, he was still the top player in Chinese football, playing abroad, and was the captain of the national team. At that time, he was at the height of his career and didn't take a suddenly rising Chen Hero seriously at all. Three years later, the two men's positions had changed dramatically. Chen Hero was still a rookie in the national team because he had never played for the Chinese team, but who dared to say that he didn't have influence in China? Just look at Liverpool's visit to China this time; how many people were paying attention because of Chen Hero?

Not to mention that Chen Hero's achievements and experiences playing football abroad were ten thousand times better than his own back then. Three consecutive Serie A Golden Boots, two consecutive Champions League Golden Boots, one Serie A title, one Champions League title—these were all things that had happened in the past three years.

Chen Hero had not only become the number one player in Chinese football, but also the number one player in Asian football. In the international football world, he had already jumped into the ranks of the top-tier players. He was riding high.

He was doing worse than me—that's what Zhang Wei thought. He always felt that Chen Hero's situation at the time definitely couldn't be considered better than his own—now that he was doing better than him, he naturally had to come back and mock him.

It was said that Zhang Wei was now the captain of Evergrande, a top team in the Chinese Super League, and his income wasn't low, and his fame was still there. But he was indeed not doing as well as Chen Hero. Chen Hero was like the sun at eight or nine in the morning, in a vibrant and rising period, and his career could continue to expand. But what about Zhang Wei? He was already at the end of his career, going downhill, and the speed of this decline would only increase as time went on.

It really was thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river…

It was lamentable.

He guessed correctly that Chen Hero's smile was of course mocking and teasing Zhang Wei because when he thought about the two of them back then and the two of them now, he thought the situation was hilarious.

Chen Hero was definitely not the kind of person who could let things go easily.

So he was very happy to see that he was now a head taller than his former enemy. But that was all it was. He didn't have any further thoughts of stimulating the other party with words or actions. Although he was vengeful, he had already gotten his revenge because he was doing better than the other party. So there was no need to keep dwelling on the past. Back then, he realized that he couldn't keep his eyes on opponents like CSKA Moscow, because that would be too small-minded, and he would never achieve greatness. Only stronger opponents could make him progress, otherwise, at most, he would only be a second-rate player in Europe.

Since he didn't care about CSKA Moscow anymore, let alone a small Zhang Wei. Treating Zhang Wei as an opponent, holding a grudge, and being complacent after surpassing him would be too unpromising…

So the process of the two men shaking hands, exchanging team flags, and tossing the coin was all normal. Except for the difference in the two men's expressions—Chen Hero kept a natural smile on his face, while Zhang Wei was a little embarrassed.

"It looks like they've let bygones be bygones!" the commentator said.

Only the people involved truly knew whether they had let bygones be bygones. One didn't want the past to be mentioned, and the other had already stopped paying attention to the other party… His journey now was to the stars and the sea, so why bother arguing with an ant?

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From the moment he led the team onto the field, the Tianhe Stadium was filled with cheers of "Hero! Hero!" The sound didn't stop until the game started.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game began.

Chen Hero, who had won the coin toss against Zhang Wei, gently tapped the football forward, and the flashlights in the stands instantly lit up in a sea of light.

He had been expelled from the youth team of his hometown club for an impulsive act, almost ruining his career dreams. The local media said that he was a disgrace to Chinese football and the reason why Chinese football was so bad. The road ahead was uncertain, and he didn't know where his direction was.

He was an outcast, forced to escape China with his father to find his own opportunities in a strange European continent, harboring a hint of fantasy and a lot of arrogance.

Now, in the blink of an eye, five years had passed, and he had returned to Chinese football territory, but he was already a different person. He had returned home in glory, a success. Wherever he went, everyone cheered his name, even shedding tears of excitement. He had become the club's trump card and golden key to open up the Chinese market, and he was already the undisputed number one in Chinese sports.

Under the deafening cheers and dense flashes of light in the Tianhe Stadium, he returned in this way, not exactly a king's return, but better than a king's return.

After kicking the football out, Chen Hero charged forward. He left the unbearable past behind him, left the grudges between him and Zhang Wei behind him… left many things behind him.

Now, in front of him was no longer a vague and directionless fog. There was a goal in front of him, that was his direction, his path.

Go forward, Hero! Kick the football in, kick out a bright future!

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