Lin Hai Ting Tao

Chapter 53 She is Sophie

Chapter 102 Reunion

Li Yan told Zhang Jun and Yang Pan that he would be returning to China for a period of time to take care of some formalities. During this time, Wang Hua would take over his work. "Anyway, the winter break is here, and there isn't much news. We'll see each other soon."

"Going back?" Zhang Jun thought for a moment. "There's something I'd like to ask you to do for me."

"Go ahead."

"You know I have a girlfriend back in China."

Li Yan nodded. He only found out about it during the last "scandal," and this kid had really kept it under wraps.

"Well, I trust you, that's why I'm bringing this up. You absolutely can't write about it and publish it as news."

"Don't worry, I won't." Li Yan raised his hand as if taking an oath.

"Her name is Su Fei." Zhang Jun took out a photo and gave it to Li Yan. "This is her."

Li Yan glanced at the photo and was immediately captivated by the girl in it. So pure, so beautiful! If she weren't wearing such ordinary clothes, paired with the gate of US University in the background, Li Yan would have thought she was a star who had just debuted. This kid is so lucky! He'd never heard him mention her before, and he didn't know how this blockhead had managed to win her over.

"I want you to take some time to go to Hefei to see her after you go back to China. Help her buy a phone, consider it my New Year's gift to her. It'll also be easier for me to talk to her. Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem!" Li Yan said decisively, shaking his head like a rattle drum. "I'll definitely do it for you!" He emphasized "definitely." Nonsense, going back to China to meet a beauty was naturally no problem at all.

"I'll call Su Fei to let her know, so she'll be prepared. When we meet again, I'll give you the money for the phone..."

Li Yan waved his hand, interrupting Zhang Jun. "Don't talk about money, it hurts the feelings. I can afford to buy the phone." He was already getting carried away.

"...No, it's not that. This phone is expensive. I want you to buy her the best color screen phone, with a camera, that can send picture messages."

Li Yan thought, that is indeed not cheap. With his salary, no matter how good the relationship, he couldn't be a fool. "Okay, then I'll keep the receipt for you, and I won't ask for a penny more."

"Hehe, that's not necessary, I trust you." Zhang Jun smiled. "I can't find Su Fei once she leaves the dormitory, and she's always out sketching, so buying her a phone will make things much easier."

"I'm a little interested in your story, can you tell it to me? I promise it won't appear in the newspaper, and I won't tell anyone else!" Li Yan's curiosity was piqued again, professional habit.

Zhang Jun looked at Li Yan, who was making a solemn oath, and thought it wouldn't hurt to tell him, anyway, he trusted him.

"Su Fei and I met when..."

Li Yan sat on the plane to Beijing, still immersed in the story Zhang Jun had told him yesterday. He hadn't expected that their love story would be so closely linked to football, almost as if football had driven the development of their love. This story could be written into a novel, although it wasn't tortuous, nor did it have the kind of oaths of eternal love and suicidal "torment" that are common in romance novels these days, it had a kind of plain-as-water touch.

After listening to Zhang Jun's story, Li Yan was even more determined not to spread the word about this. This matter would definitely have sensational news value if it were released, but Li Yan was a reporter, and also a human being. He knew what should be used to gain fame and fortune, and what absolutely shouldn't.

A happy young couple, bless them!

Li Yan decided to go directly to Hefei after returning to China. If he went back to Changsha first, he didn't know when he would be able to get out. Anyway, it would only delay him for one day, and he himself wanted to see the legendary Su Fei, Zhang Jun's so dearly missed girlfriend, as soon as possible.

Today was the last day of the New Year's holiday. Su Fei didn't know where to go to play, so she simply stayed in the dormitory to read, continuing to read that book "Dutch Conversation." The phone rang, and Su Fei answered it: "Hello, who are you looking for?"

"Is Su Fei there?" A strange voice.

"Ah, this is she, may I ask who's calling..."

"I'm Li Yan, Zhang Jun should have mentioned me to you, right? He asked me to come find you."

Su Fei remembered that Zhang Jun had called a few days ago and said that a journalist friend named Li Yan was coming to find her, saying he was bringing her something for him. Su Fei didn't expect him to come so soon. She asked Li Yan where he was, and then went downstairs to meet him.

As expected, Su Fei saw a tall, somewhat overweight man standing in front of the stone lion statue at the school gate, looking into the campus. At this time, there weren't many people at the school gate, so Su Fei thought it should be him, the journalist Li Yan.

Li Yan had taken the overnight train to get here, arriving in Hefei early in the morning. He left his luggage at the station and took a taxi to US University. After talking to Su Fei on the phone, he waited at the gate. When he saw a girl walking out of the campus, he almost immediately recognized that it must be Su Fei. He didn't even bother to take out the photo to compare, because her looks and temperament were just too outstanding.

"Zhang Jun is so lucky!" He muttered to himself, and went forward to greet her. "Are you Su Fei?"

"I am, are you Journalist Li?" Su Fei replied.

"That's me, hehe! Don't call me Journalist Li, I'm older than you, just call me Brother Li, haha!" Li Yan smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits. If Yang Pan saw it, he would definitely say how obscene his smile was.

"Hehe, Brother Li."

"Mm, mm." Li Yan was enjoying it.

"Um, the things Zhang Jun asked you to bring?" Su Fei noticed that the other party's hands were empty.

"Ah? Oh, he asked me to buy you a phone, as a New Year's gift, to make it easier for you to contact each other. Because I didn't know what brand or style you liked, I didn't buy it. I wanted to take you to see it together, anyway, I have a day. Hehe!"

"A phone?" Su Fei was a little surprised.

"Yeah, Zhang Jun said you often go out sketching, and he can't find you once you leave the dormitory, so it's convenient to have a phone."

Su Fei seemed very pleasantly surprised. She was stunned for a moment, and then said to Li Yan, "So where are we going now?"

Li Yan smiled: "You definitely know Hefei better than I do, you tell me where they sell phones, and we'll go there."

"Oh, hehe!" Su Fei stuck out her tongue at Li Yan, embarrassed. Li Yan was immediately fascinated by her extremely cute little action, but he quickly reacted: "Damn it! Li Yan, you're too inhumane! She's more than seven years younger than you, and she already belongs to someone else. One must not deceive a friend’s wife!"

"Let's go, you say where to go, we'll take a taxi." Li Yan reached out and flagged down a taxi that had been waiting nearby.

"Take a taxi? It's not far by bus, it's just at Sanxiaokou..."

"Hehe, you don't have to worry about any expenses, Zhang Jun is covering everything." Of course, that was impossible, but Li Yan said it that way so that Su Fei would feel more at ease. Now that he had seen a fairy, it was worth shedding some blood.

As the two walked down the street, Li Yan told Su Fei about Zhang Jun's affairs in the Netherlands--this was what Su Fei cared about the most, buying a phone had become an excuse. But Li Yan didn't remind her, this bachelor had finally had a date, how could he let it go easily?

The fact that he and Su Fei were walking side by side on the street would definitely lead many people to think they were a couple, and that was the kind of misunderstanding Li Yan wanted.

However, Li Yan intentionally or unintentionally avoided a problem, which was that him, who had gained weight, walking with Su Fei would definitely lead many people to scold him behind his back, "Damn! A flower stuck in cow dung!"

By noon, he had finally bought Su Fei a phone from a well-known international brand that cost nearly three thousand. When Su Fei heard the price of the phone, she was so shocked that she kept shaking her head and said she didn't want it. But Li Yan wouldn't agree, that was what he wanted. Since Su Fei had taken a fancy to it, he had to buy it no matter how much it cost, but it was only two thousand plus, so he bought it!

Li Yan paid the bill, and then helped Su Fei buy a SIM card and insert it into the phone. He tried out the various functions and everything was normal. Then he entered Zhang Jun and Yang Pan's phone numbers, as well as his own, into Su Fei's phone and saved them.

After finishing these things, both of them felt hungry, so they just found a fast food restaurant to eat lunch.

"Huh? Li Yan?"

Li Yan found that the world was really small, he actually ran into his university classmate Huang Deren in this fast food restaurant.

Seeing that it was really Li Yan, Huang Deren brought his lunch over, and the three of them sat at one table. "I didn't expect to meet you here, what a coincidence!"

"Me neither, haha!" Li Yan was also very happy to meet an old classmate.

"You're a celebrity now, I've read all your articles, you really have an eye! Huh, who is this..." Huang Deren looked at Su Fei next to Li Yan.

"Oh, she is..." Li Yan hesitated, not knowing what to say. He couldn't tell his classmate that she was the girlfriend of the popular player Zhang Jun, right?

"Ha! I know, you're having both career and love!" Huang Deren joked.

"No!" Li Yan's reaction was unexpectedly strong, "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Li Yan, you're too uncool, aren't you? Is there anything shameful about getting the girl? I'm your friend, your old classmate, are you going to lie to me too? Or are you putting on airs now that you're famous?" Huang Deren was also angered by Li Yan's roar.

Su Fei buried her head deeply. Li Yan was choked by Huang Deren, and he said impulsively, "What nonsense are you talking about? She's Zhang Jun's girlfriend!" As soon as he said the words, he regretted it, his mouth was open and he couldn't close it.

This time it was Huang Deren's turn to be frightened: "Wh...what? Zhang Jun's girlfriend? Zhang Jun, the one who plays football in the Netherlands?"

Li Yan sighed helplessly: "Since you already know, I won't hide it from you. But you must promise not to spread this matter. That's right, she is Zhang Jun's girlfriend, Su Fei, and she's still studying at US University. Zhang Jun doesn't want the media to disturb her, so he hasn't revealed any news, I only found out recently."

Huang Deren glanced at Su Fei, she was indeed a beauty, and it was no wonder that Zhang Jun had been hiding it from everyone. If it were exposed by the media, the consequences would indeed... Thinking about the scandal between Zhang Jun and Hua Fang that the media had hyped up some time ago, the momentum was indeed terrifying.

"Don't worry, what kind of person am I, Huang Deren? I keep my promises. That, Miss Su Fei, you don't have to worry either, I'm not a journalist, although I used to be, but now I'm an unemployed youth, hehe! My name is Huang Deren." Huang Deren reached out to shake hands with Su Fei, but was swatted away by Li Yan.

"Damn it! Don't try to take advantage of her! Even I haven't shaken hands with Su Fei!"

"Ha! Then you're just jealous of me!"



The two watched Su Fei disappear into the campus gate before turning to leave.

"What time is your train?"

"Ten o'clock tonight."

"That's still early, come with me for a few drinks, we haven't seen each other for a long time, I want to catch up with you. I'll take you to the station tonight!" Huang Deren put his arm around Li Yan's shoulders and patted him.

"Hey! Be careful I don't drink you under the table!"

"We're the editorial department--welcome submissions (troublemakers)!"

The holiday was short. Just after New Year's Day, the Volendam team collectively went south to train on the sunny beaches of Spain. Compared to the icy and snowy Netherlands, the Spanish sun was obviously more suitable for football. However, the naked women on the beach distracted Zhang Jun and Yang Pan a bit.

Sun, beaches, wealth, and splendor are the symbols of the entire city of Marbella. Volendam warming up here was also a good place. During the training camp, the team would play several friendly matches with a few local second division teams and an amateur team. However, these matches wouldn't attract much attention. Only the Volendam reporters and the Chinese reporters, like the sharks behind the slave ships, followed from the Netherlands to Spain.

But after the first match against a local second division team, which Volendam won 2-0, many reporters at the scene noticed a lot of scouts from big European clubs. "The sharks aren't just reporters!" Wang Hua sighed. After Zhang Jun and Yang Pan became famous internationally, this kind of scene was inevitable.

Media attention, the temptation of money, let's see how they face it.

While the team was in training camp, Hua Fang, as the agent of Zhang and Yang, was also busy. She had to communicate and negotiate with several scouts almost every day. However, she wasn't in a hurry to make a decision, but rather to take a look first, and compare prices.

Zhang Jun performed well in training and matches, scoring a goal in the first warm-up match. Although Yang Pan's performance wasn't as dazzling as Zhang Jun's, he was still stable, and his role on the field was becoming more and more important, and his starting position was becoming more and more solid. He was even better than Zhang Jun at implementing the coach's tactical intentions. In the right wing he dominated, few defenders could survive a one-on-one with him. His 10.50 second 100-meter speed, as well as his powerful long-range shots with a current top speed of 120 kilometers per hour, had become his signature.

As for Zhang Jun, as long as he could continue to score goals, it meant that there were no problems with him. Qiu Suhui was right, Zhang Jun's scoring desire was amazing. He wouldn't give up even the slightest chance in the game. Therefore, Adriannese had long ago targeted this characteristic of his and set Zhang Jun as the core of the attack.

After half a season of adjustment, the Volendam team was becoming more and more mature, and Adriannese believed that the original goal of staying in the league could be achieved.

It's just... looking at the various scouts outside the training ground, and thinking of that contract, Adriannese wanted to sigh. Perhaps he wouldn't see them next season.

After twenty days of training, Volendam returned to the Netherlands with a record of three wins and one draw in four warm-up matches, preparing for the upcoming second half of the season. In the second half of the season, the team's main goal was to continue to consolidate its ranking in the Eredivisie, while not giving up the one-shot Dutch Cup, after all, the team had reached the quarter-finals, which made that fat man Hoens very happy. The cup was the competition that could produce immediate results, and the businessman Hoens would naturally not allow the team to give up.

As the biggest dark horse of the season, Volendam's situation in Spain had also received widespread attention from the Dutch media. They generally believed that what would determine the top five places in the league this season was not Ajax, not Feyenoord, not Eindhoven, but Volendam. Their matches against several strong teams in the second half of the season would be very interesting, and for the Chinese media, Zhang Jun and Yang Pan's performance in the second half of the season was what they were really looking forward to.