Chen Yingxiong ultimately decided to meet this mysterious figure.

Because the other party had already come to invite him for the second time, and had even run all the way to Guangzhou—he didn't know that Wan Zongquan was a local of Guangzhou…

Since the person was so sincere, he couldn't act too high and mighty… Chen Yingxiong was not, in essence, someone who liked to cause trouble everywhere.

So Chen Yingxiong and Dracula met Wan Zongquan, the man who had sought them out twice, in a very inconspicuous coffee shop.

Wan Zongquan was a businessman; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to find Chen Yingxiong through commercial connections.

However, the fact that this businessman was also a fanatical football fan, and even a fan of the Chinese national team, surprised Chen Yingxiong somewhat.

After the two met and exchanged pleasantries, Wan Zongquan smiled, his face full of wrinkles, and took out a Chinese national team jersey in the latest Adidas style from his bag, asking Chen Yingxiong to sign it.

"Because I don't know if you'll have the opportunity to wear this jersey, I'm asking you for an autograph on it, which can be considered fulfilling a small personal wish of mine, haha," Wan Zongquan said with a smile.

"This…" Chen Yingxiong was somewhat dumbfounded after hearing the other party's explanation. However, he still signed his name on the front of the jersey, both in Chinese and English.

Wan Zongquan held up the jersey and looked at it carefully, as if he were admiring a work of art.

"Yingxiong, Yingxiong, hero, hero…" he muttered to himself. "It's a pity, Chinese football doesn't have such a hero…"

Chen Yingxiong listened to him sighing there and could tell that he seemed to be implying something else, but he obviously didn't want the other party to continue being so sentimental.

So he cut to the chase and asked, "Mr. Wan, I don't know what you want from me? I know you've already looked for me twice, right? And I still don't know why you're looking for me…"

Wan Zongquan smiled at Chen Yingxiong, then folded the jersey again, put it back in his bag, and picked up his cup to take a sip…

Seeing him like this, Chen Yingxiong frowned. He had been asking questions for a long time, but the man hadn't answered, which was too much, wasn't it?

"Don't bother drinking it. I've already tasted this coffee, and it's terrible. I think it's just instant coffee," he said. Since he was a little disapproving of Wan Zongquan's behavior, his tone of voice wasn't too good either.

Wan Zongquan didn't take it to heart and said with a smile, "It's good that it's bad. If it's bad, there will be fewer people here, and if there are fewer people, we won't always be disturbed when we talk about things."

Chen Yingxiong chuckled coldly. "This isn't some underground rendezvous. Why are you being so mysterious?"

"This matter really needs to be kept low-key. You also know that the media is very developed now, and you are a big star, so wherever you go, there will be traffic jams… So… it's like this, um, someone has asked me to pass on a message to you, just to ask, are you willing to join the Chinese national team and serve the country?"

Chen Yingxiong was stunned for a moment, completely unexpected that the other party was looking for him for this matter.

Serve the country?

He had yearned for wearing the Chinese national team jersey very much when he was young, but later his thoughts faded. After he had a falling out with the Chinese Football Association, he hadn't thought about it at all, because the FA had never sent him an invitation, so he felt that he should have been indefinitely banned by the FA. Since that was the case, what else was there to say?

Dracula narrowed his eyes after hearing Wan Zongquan's words.

Chen Yingxiong suddenly smiled. "That ‘someone’ is from the FA, right?"

Wan Zongquan smiled but didn't answer, but his expression was equivalent to a tacit admission.

"Since it's the FA who wants me to return to the national team, why don't they come to me themselves, and instead have you pass on the message? Don't the officials of the FA know that this is a very insincere and impolite approach?"

Wan Zongquan heard Chen Yingxiong constantly mocking and ridiculing the FA, and thought to himself that this person's temper was indeed as troublesome as the rumors said. And he had a bad feeling. Listening to Chen Yingxiong talking about the FA in such a tone, he estimated that this matter was unlikely to succeed…

He didn't have to be responsible for whether it succeeded or not. He was only responsible for delivering the message, so he still had to say, "Well, the FA must have their own difficulties… As for what the difficulties are, I don't know… Maybe they think that letting someone from the private sector contact you can dispel your resistance?"

Chen Yingxiong chuckled.

Wan Zongquan forgot where he had seen it, but it said that if you're talking to someone and they reply with "hehe," they must be cursing you as an idiot in their heart. He didn't know if Chen Yingxiong's "hehe" was directed at himself or at the FA, but he still had to bite the bullet and continue, because he hadn't finished speaking yet. Whatever the outcome was after he finished speaking wasn't his business. Anyway, he had delivered the message, and whether he agreed or not was between Yingxiong and the FA, and had nothing to do with him.

"So, they're looking for me to ask if you still have the intention to serve the country. Of course, as a fan, I also hope that you can wear the national team's jersey. You know, the Brazil World Cup qualifiers are imminent…"

Chen Yingxiong interrupted the other party with a smile. The smile on his face was still bright, but there was already anger in his heart.

"They still know that I have resistance? It's not easy. Those officials who enjoy their lives every day can still take the time to remember that I, this nobody, used to be at odds with them, haha! So they shouldn't have asked you to ask me this question. They should first ask themselves if they really want me to serve the country. The initiative is in their hands, not in mine. If I say I want to go back, will they be able to recruit me into the national team?"

"Well… as far as I know, they really want you to go back… ha!" Of course, they wanted Chen Yingxiong to go back; otherwise, they wouldn't have asked me to ask you. In case you didn't want to go back, they would have come out to welcome you back in a high-profile manner, wouldn't they be asking for a slap in the face? How embarrassing would that be!

Although the other party was a successful businessman, Chen Yingxiong didn't take him seriously, because there was no conflict of interest between the two of them, and it was hard to say whether they would ever meet again in the future, so Chen Yingxiong didn't have to be too polite. He was unhappy now, and he wanted to vent this unhappiness.

"Is that so? But I don't think they're very sincere…"

Again with "sincerity"! Wan Zongquan had a headache when he heard this. Did you want the FA to give you money and beg you to join the national team? What would count as sincerity?

"Uh, well, hehe, they have some inconvenient things…" Wan Zongquan hated the people from the FA in his heart. They asked him to come out as a shield, caught in the middle and offending everyone. He had already decided that after delivering the message, he wouldn't care about anything else. Whether Chen Yingxiong joined the national team or continued to have a falling out with the FA, it had nothing to do with him!

"Their sincerity is still very strong. As long as you speak up, they will definitely let you into the national team. There's no problem at all."

"How do I speak up?"

"Well, they hope that you can publicly issue an apology statement, to make an explanation and apology for the incident of bombarding the FA at the press conference after withdrawing from the national Olympic team, and then you can let bygones be bygones…"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yingxiong had already slapped the table. With a bang, the coffee cups on the table jumped up and spilled coffee all over the table.

The waiter at the bar and the few customers who were there were all startled and craned their necks to look over. However, because Chen Yingxiong was wearing sunglasses and a hat, they didn't recognize him as the big star that the entire city of Guangzhou was talking about recently.

The waiter wanted to come over to wipe the table, but Chen Yingxiong stopped him with a wave of his hand.

Turning his head, he grinned at Wan Zongquan, looking very happy.

"First of all, I didn't withdraw; I was kicked out. Secondly, it's not me who should apologize, but the officials of the FA. Finally, if this is the so-called sincerity of the FA, I also ask you to pass on a message to them, and be sure to convey it to them without any deletion or modification—'I fuck the FA's entire family'!"

"This…" Although he knew that Chen Yingxiong wasn't cursing at him, Wan Zongquan still felt a little embarrassed. "Actually, it's just a gesture, just a formality… It's not really asking you to apologize, it's just giving them a way out…"

"Giving them a way out means asking me to kneel on the ground and let them step on me? That won't do!" Chen Yingxiong rolled his eyes. "I also have a request for the FA—it's easy to let me return to the national team. They should publicly apologize, apologize for kicking me out of the national Olympic team back then, and apologize for the nonsense of that bastard Nan Yong. As long as they publicly apologize, I'll go back!"

"Well… based on my understanding of them, I'm afraid it's very difficult…"

"Then that's none of my business." Chen Yingxiong spread his hands. "It should have been a non-governmental organization to begin with, but they've really gotten used to being treated like lords. I don't even give a damn about Platini, let alone them? What arrogance!"

After saying this, he stood up, and Dracula, who had been silent and as unnoticeable as air, also stood up.

"If they want to ask you what I said, you can tell them everything I said today, without changing a single word. Some people are afraid of them, but I'm not afraid!"

Chen Yingxiong really had the confidence to say this. He didn't play football in China, so he didn't need to be concerned about the FA's opinion, nor was he afraid of the FA banning him. As for banning endorsements? The FA really couldn't control that. What kind of impression he made on the Chinese FA had nothing to do with his career in Europe.

After speaking, he and Dracula turned and walked away.

Wan Zongquan was still sitting in his chair, looking at the coffee that had spilled all over the table and the overturned coffee cup, and smiled bitterly with some helplessness.

It had always been rumored that Chen Yingxiong had a very troublesome temper, was very unruly, and was very annoying. Today, he had personally experienced it. This person… was really like that. If he disagreed with you, he might just turn hostile, without leaving any room for maneuver!

Look at what kind of difficult problem he had given the FA. This was simply slapping the FA in the face in front of everyone. It would be a miracle if the FA agreed!

But… what did this have to do with him? Anyway, he was just a messenger, and he was also very dissatisfied with the FA's request. Everyone knew what the situation was when Chen Yingxiong held the press conference back then. If people hadn't stood up to speak for him, those media outlets would have slandered a very promising young man to ruin—here, Wan Zongquan still greatly underestimated Chen Yingxiong's resilience—everyone knew about the FA's obstruction back then. You didn't allow people to defend themselves back then, and now you want people to apologize for defending themselves. Wasn't this clearly asking Chen Yingxiong to admit that he was wrong before?

No one could stand that!

Wan Zongquan suddenly felt that Chen Yingxiong wasn't as rude and uncivilized as the media had portrayed… At least he had hit the nail on the head. These officials in the FA had really gotten used to being treated like lords, thinking about everything from a bureaucratic point of view, feeling that they were officials and that the players were managed by them, so they could be manipulated and beaten at will. If you didn't listen to me, even though the Chinese football world was big, there would be no place for you! If I didn't give you a practice qualification certificate, didn't give you a league qualification certificate, didn't let you go abroad to play football, wasn't it easy to strangle you?

So they were all used to speaking with a haughty attitude, and even if there was a new leader, this atmosphere didn't change at all. Because the person who came was also an official, but he used to be in charge of water sports… This was even more absurd. For someone who managed water sports to manage football, what was the connection?

This was like a woman cursing someone, "I fuck your mother." She's not professional!

If they were really sincere, they would lower their profile a little, speak more nicely, and maybe Chen Yingxiong would agree out of consideration for face and patriotism?

Really… alas! He shook his head, and for a moment, he felt confused again about whether there was still hope for Chinese football, and this time the confusion was even deeper. If before there was a fog with a visibility of one hundred meters in front of him, now it was a thick fog with a visibility of one meter…

※※※

Chen Yingxiong was still thinking about this matter on the way back. He was really too angry and too unhappy. They really would take an inch if you gave them an inch. The FA actually dared to come and shit on his head. Their brains must be broken!

Want me to publicly apologize? Did they really think I was an idiot?

Could I still survive in this circle if I apologized? Living with my tail between my legs was definitely not Chen Yingxiong's philosophy of life. He wanted to have his revenge. Whoever made him unhappy, he would make them ten times as unhappy!

UEFA, Platini, Barcelona, CSKA Moscow… these had all been the objects of his revenge. Adding one more Chinese FA wasn't a big deal to him at all, so he didn't even consider what the consequences would be if he offended the Chinese FA. Anyway, it wasn't the first time he had offended them…

He clenched his fists, and his knuckles cracked.

Because he suddenly remembered that Liverpool was going to have a friendly match with the Chinese national team in a few days, wasn't it?

Interesting, this was really too interesting!

※※※

ps, the face-slapping is coming!

Vote for monthly tickets!