Chapter 17 December 17th

December 17th, the seventeenth round of the league, also the last round of the 2004 season, saw Volendam play away against Arnhem. In the end, the home team barely managed to secure a draw thanks to a rebound shot by forward Amoah in the seventy-seventh minute. Zhang Jun didn't score, but a breakthrough and cross on the wing only fifty-four seconds into the game led to the fastest goal in the Dutch league this round.

His assist went to Hena, which could be considered a Christmas gift for him.

After drawing this match, Volendam's ranking had risen to fifteenth. The difference with and without Zhang Jun was quite obvious, and no one said any more crap about Zhang being useless. Everyone still wanted to have a happy Christmas.

After the game against Arnhem, Zhang Jun made a special trip to Saint Edron to thank Dean Stattssen, whom he hadn't had time to visit during the league season. He also stopped by the traditional Chinese medicine shop that Feng Qing had recommended for a massage to consolidate the healing effect on his left ankle.

By the time he had done all this, two days had passed. He returned to Volendam, packed his bags, and boarded a plane to Milan, Italy. However, he wasn't going to Milan to discuss commercial contracts or transfer contracts, but just to see some old friends.

Yang Pan had already called him, asking him to spend Christmas in Italy. Zhang Jun had protested why it was Italy and not the Netherlands. Yang Pan silenced him with one sentence: "Stop talking nonsense! Me, Kaka, and Li Yongle are all in Italy. The minority submits to the majority!"

He didn't know that Yang Pan's arrangement had another reason.

※※※

Yi Lan, wearing a "Chinachina" apron, stood at the door with a beaming smile, welcoming guests and seeing them off. With Christmas approaching, school was out, but she turned down all appointments to concentrate on helping out at her father's small restaurant. Although her father said he didn't need help, Yi Lan wouldn't listen. Of course, her father knew his daughter's thoughts, and after pretending to persuade her for a while, he let it go.

There weren't many customers in the restaurant, even though it was before Christmas. Yi Lan knew that although her father said "he wanted to use Yang Pan and Kaka's names to make the restaurant famous," he never actually did so. The photo of him with the two players was only seven inches big, hung on the wall behind the bar, with no text annotations. How many people would notice it?

Perhaps her father was more interested in his own collection?

The door rang, and Yi Lan hurriedly bowed and smiled, "Welcome!" But when she looked up, she saw a familiar face: "It's you?"

Yang Pan said expressionlessly, "It's me." Then he walked straight to the bar. The bearded restaurant owner knew who had arrived as soon as he heard Yi Lan's tone. He put down his newspaper and greeted Yang Pan: "Hi! Congratulations on scoring your third goal!" He was referring to yesterday's game, Bologna versus Reggina, with a score of 2:0. Yang Pan scored the decisive goal in the sixty-third minute with his signature long shot. This was also his third league goal of the season.

Yang Pan shrugged, not very happy: "But the team is only ranked seventeenth in the first half of the season, fourth from last!"

"Well, overall, the team wasn't stable enough in the first half of the season, but your performance has been highly praised!" These words weren't entirely consoling praise, because Yang Pan's stable performance in the first half of the league had proved that AC Milan had made a good deal.

Yang Pan suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit. He sat on a high stool, and the bearded man poured him a glass of water. "Are you busy here during Christmas?"

"Basically fully booked."

"So lively?" Yang Pan was surprised. "I always thought there weren't many people in this shop, and I was the only one taking care of your business..." he muttered.

"Hey, hey! It's a holiday, can't you say something auspicious?" The bearded man tapped the table gently.

"I have a few friends who were planning to spend Christmas here. I was prepared to book the whole place, but it turns out you're more popular than I thought. Never mind, I'll find another place!" Yang Pan sighed, then turned to leave. "I wish you good business."

"Don't!" The bearded man grabbed Yang Pan. "How many people are in your group?"

"Five," Yang Pan replied without hesitation, not at all surprised. As if he had known the bearded man would ask.

"It's a good thing there aren't many people, so okay. I have a private room here that I was originally planning to keep for ourselves for Christmas," the bearded man said.

"A private room?" Yang Pan was a little surprised. He had been eating at this restaurant for over a year and had never seen a private room.

"Come with me. Yi Lan, take care of the front," the bearded man instructed, and led Yang Pan out of the side door next to the bar.

※※※

"This..." Yang Pan looked at the spacious room in front of him. The decoration was very ordinary, but it was very warm, with a feeling of home. "This is a private room?"

The bearded man smiled, "Only on Christmas Eve. Usually, it's Yi Lan's and my living room."

No wonder it felt so homely, Yang Pan understood. It turned out it was the owner's home! In that case, he couldn't disturb them during the holiday. "Like this... this won't do, we can't disturb you!" This time Yang Pan really wanted to leave.

But the bearded man stopped him again. "It won't be a disturbance, how could it be a disturbance? Hehe!"

Yang Pan suddenly found that the Frenchman's smile was a little cunning.

"Because what I mean is that you and us spend this Christmas Eve together." The bearded man's words startled Yang Pan.

"Together? You? And us?" He pointed to the bearded man, then to himself.

"Yes." The bearded man nodded seriously. "Don't you think it's very lively and interesting?" Actually, he wanted to get close to the stars, and getting autographs and photos was the real reason.

Yang Pan looked around the room again. Seven people shouldn't be a problem. He had only paid attention to the front before, but he hadn't realized that there was such a different world behind. Spending Christmas together... um, it was indeed a very tempting proposition, especially with her.

"If you, the owner, don't mind us being a crowd and causing trouble, I won't refuse."

"Haha! Stop it, when have you ever been polite with me?" The bearded man said happily, the plan was successful! "Then it's settled, give me a call before you come, and I'll prepare everything here, I guarantee you and your friends will be satisfied!"

※※※

Watching Yang Pan leave and drive away, Yi Lan curiously turned around and asked her father, "What did you say to him inside? You look so happy."

"Hehe, it's nothing big. Just discussing the plan to spend Christmas together."

"With him?" Yi Lan wasn't sure how she should feel after hearing this sentence. Her father would definitely be very busy at that time. Alone with Yang Pan? Why did her father make this suggestion? Could it be...?

"No, and his four friends. This way we can finally have a lively Christmas! Haha!" Her father's eyes narrowed into slits.

Yi Lan gave him a roll of her eyes. So he wasn't alone, but had four friends. It would be lively, but she felt a little disappointed in her heart. Yi Lan looked at the gloomy sky outside the door and sighed softly.

※※※

When Zhang Jun arrived in Milan, Kaka picked him up at his house first. Li Yongle was also waiting for him there, and then he was "beaten up" by the two of them as punishment for not turning on his phone for so long and making them worry.

After resting in Milan for a day, Yang Pan drove over from Bologna to pick them up. When Yang Pan saw Zhang Jun, he naturally gave him another "beating" without saying a word. This time, in addition to the above reasons, it was also because Zhang Jun had bought a 300,000-euro sports car.

At that time, Yang Pan asked Zhang Jun very viciously if he would only be eating instant noodles and kimchi every day in the future, but Zhang Jun said triumphantly that he could freeload off Uncle Wang's house. This time, he was held down and "severely beaten" by the three of them.

On the way to Bologna, Yang Pan told them that they would go to a restaurant for Christmas Eve, and he had already booked it. Zhang Jun laughed, thinking that Yang Pan still couldn't cook. Kaka also laughed, thinking of that girl. Li Yongle only smiled foolishly because he didn't know what they were laughing at.

"By the way, where's An Ke?" Zhang Jun didn't see An Ke.

"At my house, I didn't let him come. He's too big, the car can't fit anyone else once he gets in," Yang Pan said while driving.

"When did he arrive?"

"He just arrived yesterday. The Bundesliga ended a long time ago, and he went to Munich for a few days before coming over. According to the media, he went to sign an endorsement contract with a Chinese company."

"Sign a contract? His agent..."

"Sister Hua, I introduced him," Yang Pan replied.

Zhang Jun turned to look at the two people in the back. Except for Kaka, who became famous early and was in Brazil, the rest were all contracted players under Sister Hua. "Isn't she tired? She has to take care of so many people."

"What's wrong with that? Which agent doesn't have more than a dozen stars? And I heard she's gone to Belgium again."

"What for?"

"Contact Xiang Tao and Wang Yu, planning to be their agent."

Zhang Jun grinned. This energetic woman.

"Anyway, she's not dating now, and she doesn't have a family to hold her back. Let her be busy, she's going to register and set up an agent company in a while. Maybe she'll be even busier then."

Zhang Jun thought of An Ke again: "By the way, I heard that An Ke's family doesn't seem to support him playing football."

"Only his dad has an opinion. But don't talk about this in front of him, otherwise he won't have a good mood for Christmas." Yang Pan knew this. He was most concerned about the situation of others in Europe. Perhaps because he had always been their captain, he would intentionally or unintentionally pay attention to them. Don't look at An Ke's current smug look, but in the depths of his heart, there was a "forbidden zone" that he didn't want others to mention, and he himself didn't want to think about, which was his father's attitude.

"Then what's his situation in Dortmund?" Zhang Jun rarely read newspapers and news, and he treated Yang Pan as a news anchor.

"Very good, his personal performance is very good. The former main goalkeeper is almost recovered, but the goalkeeper position is very special. An Ke is now performing quite well as the starting goalkeeper, although there are occasionally some small mistakes, but the Dortmund media and fans like this cheerful goalkeeper. Actually, I think he's stupid, he's embarrassed himself too many times and everyone's used to it. And Van Marwijk seems to value him more. As long as he doesn't have continuous mistakes and serious injuries, even if the former main goalkeeper recovers, he can only be An Ke's substitute."

Zhang Jun thought of his own situation. Fortunately, he was a forward and not a goalkeeper, otherwise he would only be watching Beukering perform on the bench now?

He suddenly thought of something and quickly took out his phone.

"What are you doing?" Yang Pan asked.

"Calling Sophie, so she won't worry," Zhang Jun said while dialing, portraying the image of a good family man.

Now all three of them laughed, whistling and coughing. Zhang Jun had become accustomed to it, and automatically ignored the interference of the "light bulbs" and talked to Sophie.

The fiery red Hummer sped on the highway. Yang Pan turned the music down so as not to disturb the sweet talk between the young couple. Li Yongle poked Kaka in the back: "When are you going to find one too? It's not good to always be a light bulb."

Kaka rolled his eyes at Li Yongle: "There are only a few chances to be a light bulb this year! Aren't you the same? Single aristocrat, and you have the nerve to talk about me?"

Yang Pan drove the car, ostensibly focused, but couldn't help but wonder when he should find one himself. No matter where he went, there would still be someone who cared, and that feeling must be good too?

Maybe, she's not bad either?

※※※

Christmas is the most important holiday in the West. It is to Westerners what the Spring Festival is to Chinese people.

For these Chinese players in Europe, due to the winter break, they almost never have the opportunity to reunite with their families for the Spring Festival. Because the traditional Chinese Spring Festival is always during the league season, they can only treat the Western New Year as their own Spring Festival. In addition to eating turkey for Christmas dinner, they naturally have to eat dumplings.

It started snowing in Bologna two days before Christmas. At first, there were only a few snowflakes, but it became heavier and heavier, turning into goose-feather snow. By the time Christmas Eve arrived, the snow on the ground was quite thick. The snowflakes became smaller, becoming the best embellishment for the holiday.

"This is God's Christmas gift to us!" The bearded man stood at the door with a pipe in his mouth, looking up at the sky, with snowflakes constantly falling on him.

"I hear Christmas songs playing everywhere," Li Yongle said to everyone after getting out of the car.

Yang Pan pointed to his car. He had been playing them all the way, but in rock versions.

Li Yongle shook his head: "No, it's outside. Their songs are much more suitable for the occasion than your rock!"

"Christmas is here! Merry Christmas! Kids!" A Santa Claus opened his arms to them.

"Wow! A pipe-smoking Santa Claus, don't you think there are enough chimneys for you to smoke?" Yang Pan recognized at a glance that this was the bearded owner dressed up.

"Don't worry about so much, let's have a hug!" The bearded man said, hugging everyone who got out of the car. Of course, hugging the 1.9-meter-tall An Ke was a little difficult.

"Welcome everyone to 'Chinachina' Chinese restaurant!" The bearded man made a gesture of invitation after hugging everyone.

But Zhang Jun, An Ke, and Li Yongle were all stunned when they heard the name of the restaurant: "This restaurant name..."

"The grammar is wrong, right?" Yang Pan pointed to the bearded man.

The bearded man hurriedly explained with a smile: "That's because the author's English is too poor, haha!"

"What did he say?" Zhang Jun suspected he had heard wrong.

"Don't worry about so much, the name of the restaurant is not important. Let's go in, it's not good to let the guests stay outside and freeze!" The bearded man opened the door, and everyone filed in.

Their eyes lit up after entering the door. A Christmas tree full of various small gifts had been placed in the center of the restaurant, balloons of various colors were hanging from the ceiling, and Santa Claus and snowman patterns had been sprayed on the glass windows. A festive atmosphere rushed towards them.

However, there was not a single customer in the restaurant. "See, I told you there's no need to worry about harassment from fans and the media, because there's basically no business here," Yang Pan said to the others.

"Cough cough! It's afternoon now, it's still early for the evening! Come and see in the evening, it'll be extremely lively then!" The bearded man hurriedly explained.

A "small" Santa Claus, a few sizes smaller than the bearded Santa Claus, was busy hanging colorful small light bulbs on the Christmas tree. Hearing people coming, he jumped down from the ladder.

With his keen sense and rich experience, An Ke knew from the tremor and range of motion of the other party's body when they jumped down from the ladder that this "small" Santa Claus was a girl, and a good-looking one at that. So he opened his arms to the other party: "Is it a tradition in Bologna to hug Santa Claus when you meet them? Okay, come on, Merry Christmas! Hug... eh?"

Yang Pan grabbed An Ke's coat from behind with one hand, without showing any effort. "If you pretend to be stupid again, I'll perform surgery on you with a dinner knife today and turn you into 'unavoidable!'"

An Ke felt a chill down his spine, lowered his hand and muttered: "If you don't hug, you don't hug, why are you so fierce?"

Kaka, however, was laughing so hard that his face cramped, because that "small" Santa Claus was the girl he had seen last time—Yi Lan.

Yi Lan didn't act like a stranger either, using Santa Claus's tone to greet everyone in a rough voice: "Merry Christmas, kids!"

Wow, this girl is taking advantage of us! Everyone had the same thought in their hearts.

Yang Pan had expected it. Why was Yi Lan's attitude so good to him today? It turned out she was still taking advantage of him.

The bearded man was laughing happily on the side, but he didn't know that according to Chinese seniority, he was also being taken advantage of by his daughter.

The chefs in the kitchen were busy, and the bearded man took the guests to take a quick tour of other parts of the restaurant before leading them into the "private room."

The others were very surprised by what they saw after entering the door. Even Yang Pan, who had entered for the second time, had to admire the bearded man. He had decorated the living room into a stage for a festive event. The lights and scenery all showed the designer's good intentions.

But the bearded man's introduction surprised Yang Pan and made him thoughtful.

"All of this was done by my daughter, hehe!"

Christmas tree, colored lights, balloons, streamers, candles, and... a pile of footballs were stacked in the corner!

The bearded man clapped his hands and said to everyone: "Everyone, don't be polite, just treat it like home!"

It was originally at home! Yang Pan thought to himself.

"You guys play as you please, I have to go out and be busy. Yi Lan, pour water for the guests." After saying that, he put on his Santa Claus hat and ran out.

After pouring water for everyone, Yi Lan also made an excuse that there were still things outside that hadn't been done and ran out.

The few people who came here for the first time were busy looking around the room with admiring eyes. Kaka whispered to Yang Pan: "Hey, you two didn't do that, did you?"

"Do what?" Yang Pan didn't understand.

"What do you think I'm talking about?"

"How do I know what you're talking about?"

"I don't mean that! Don't think about that!" Kaka explained.

"Tsk, looking at your expression, it seems you're the one thinking about that?"

"How is that possible? I am a gentleman! What I mean is have you done that yet, not whether you have that."

"Is it different? I and she don't have that, and it's even more impossible to have that!" Yang Pan said seriously, this matter couldn't be ambiguous, and it couldn't be ambiguous.

"Hey, are you underground party members making contact? That, that, that." An Ke didn't know when he ran behind the two of them.

"Damn! Don't interrupt when adults are talking!" Yang Pan and Kaka replied in unison.

After giving An Ke a piece of candy and sending him away, Kaka bluntly asked Yang Pan: "Actually, I also think it's very troublesome to do that, that, that. Let's just open the skylight and speak frankly. Is there any progress between you and Yi Lan? Why does she hide when she sees you? I think you two are a good match. Dry wood meets raging fire! You are the wind, she is the sand—" Kaka sang.

"You're the sand! I've never had a good look from her when we meet, I think you two are a good match..."

Kaka interrupted Yang Pan: "What do you know? You two superficially ignore each other, but you actually care about each other in your hearts."

A certain string in the depths of Yang Pan's heart was gently plucked.

"According to your character, you shouldn't be so procrastinating in doing things, you must care about face, right?"

Another string was gently plucked.

"Actually, there's just a small misunderstanding between you two. Of course, if you think there's a misunderstanding, there's something interesting, I don't have anything to say. In my opinion, just cut the Gordian knot, force it!" Kaka waved his hand and made a chopping gesture.

A certain string in my heart... wasn't plucked this time. "Force what! Why don't you do this kind of thing?"

"I've already said, I'm a gentleman, everyone knows I'm a good boy! For the image of AC Milan, it's more suitable for you to do this!" Kaka said righteously.

"But I'm also AC Milan... oh, so you're a born positive character, and I should play the villain?"

"Amitabha, benefactor, you have finally awakened!" Kaka put his hands together.

"Awaken your head! I'm not messing with you, I'm going out for a walk!" Yang Pan left as if he was escaping from this place, while Kaka looked at his back and smiled lewdly.

He looked at the others who were still touring endlessly and shouted loudly: "I have news, who wants to hear it?"

No one paid attention to him. Li Yongle kindly pointed to the TV, meaning that if there was any news, it was broadcast on TV every day. It was nothing more than the entangled male-male relationship between Bush and Saddam; Beckham's love-hate relationship with his twenty-sixth car; who was on and off the "Abramovich list"; and boring news such as whether the FIFA World Player of the Year selection was fair.

Kaka cleared his throat and lowered his voice slightly: "I have the latest report on Yang Pan's love affair, who wants..."

The three of them almost pounced on him, and Zhang Jun even rode on Kaka: "Quick, tell me!!"

※※※

Yang Pan wandered around the store and came to the second floor. There were three rooms on the second floor. The door of one of the rooms was different and very feminine. Yang Pan then noticed that the upstairs was the bedroom. And this room should be Yi Lan's room.

That room inside... he suddenly became curious, but soon Yang Pan realized that it was not good to do this and planned to leave. Then he casually touched the door, but the door opened a crack!

This girl didn't close the door!

Yang Pan thought of Yi Lan's teasing of him in the past and thought it would be nice to peek at her room as revenge. Anyway, he was just looking, not touching anything. Having found an excuse for his actions, Yang Pan pushed open the door and was about to go in, but he was stunned when he looked up.

His first time in Bologna, holding a number 7 jersey with the team's head coach and chairman, smiling for a photo.

The moment he kicked a long shot.

He roared and celebrated after scoring a goal.

He applauded the fans.

He wore Pirlo's number 10 jersey from Italy on his shoulders, but looked listless.

…

The walls were almost covered with posters of him and photos clipped from newspapers and magazines!

※※※

Real data the last character to appear: this issue's hidden character - Ren Yudi!

Ren Yudi (hidden character)

Height: 174cm Weight: 65kg Technical values ​​- Offensive ability: 95 Defensive ability: 14 Body balance: 97 Stamina: 37 Speed: 80 Acceleration: 84 Reaction: 89 Agility: 90 Dribbling precision: 99 Dribbling speed: 84 Short pass precision: 88 Short pass speed: 80 Long pass precision: 74 Long pass speed: 73 Shooting precision: 91 Shooting power: 80 Shooting skill: 87 Free kick precision: *Arc: 74 Heading precision: 70 Jumping ability: 68 Personal skills: 99 Aggressiveness: 91 Psychological quality: 84 Stability: 7 Goalkeeping ability: 12 Coordination: 80 State stability: 8 Weak foot precision: 7 Weak foot frequency: 6 Special abilities - Dribbling master: ☆ Dribbling ball protection: ☆ Positioning and heading ability: Good sense of position: Leading: Offside: Shooter: Commander: Passer: ☆ Two-footed feint: ☆ Penalty kick master: One-on-one ability: ☆ Powerful throw-in: Winger: ☆ Central player: Shooting from any position: ☆ Marking ability: Defensive command: Tackling: Quick long pass: Saving penalty kicks: Saving one-on-one shots:

※※※

Note: The options under "Special Abilities", marked with a five-star symbol, indicate that the player possesses this ability. If there is nothing after it, it means that the player does not possess this ability.

Considering that in the league mode of Pro Evolution Soccer 8, the player's values ​​will increase to varying degrees, this data does not represent the final values ​​of each player. As for how far they will grow, it depends on how well you, who controls them, can do it, hehe! Please enjoy the fun of football, whether in the game or in reality.

Also: The player qualities I refer to are "We Are the Champions", not "Do You Care About Me Playing Football". So some players may seem to have abilities that differ greatly from those in "Do You Care About Me Playing Football".