Chapter 1 The Beginning

After the league ended, the World Cup qualifiers immediately began. However, the confident Chinese team did not give the other three teams a chance to turn the tables. Qiu Suhui once again recalled all the players playing in foreign leagues. On June 3rd, they defeated Australia in Chengdu, and on June 9th, they defeated Kuwait away, successfully qualifying in advance. Now, qualifying for the World Cup is no longer considered sensational news for the Chinese team, because in the eyes of the Chinese people, it is a matter of course for such a strong national team to qualify for the World Cup.

※※※

"Chinese people are making a full-scale entry into Italian football!" This was the most eye-catching news in Italian football within a week after Fiorentina became the new league champion with the help of three Chinese players.

On the third day after the team won the league championship, Fiorentina officially announced that due to personnel changes in the Rez Group, Jalimian would no longer serve as the chairman of Fiorentina, and he would be replaced by a young Chinese man—Ren Yudi.

This incident also caused a considerable reaction in Florence. Contrary to the expectations of some analysts, the fans also protested, but the extent of the protests was not as large as they had predicted.

First of all, Ren Yudi chose a very good time. Announcing this matter when the team won the league championship, everyone was united, and the situation was very good, could dilute a lot of dissatisfaction.

Secondly, with his tough attitude, even if the fans opposed it, they couldn't interfere with him. Since Fiorentina was acquired by the Rez Group, changing the chairman was just a personnel change within the group. The fans had no way to put any pressure on the club through protests.

Of course, there were also adverse effects. Zhang Jun always disagreed with Ren Yudi coming to the front stage, because this would inevitably expose Ren Yudi's identity, and it would also expose the relationship between the two, which would make both of them very embarrassed.

After dragging on for a year, Ren Yudi finally couldn't help but come out. He knew that doing so would expose his identity, but he cherished the time he could spend with Zhang Jun even more. He was not afraid of others knowing the relationship between him and Zhang Jun, nor was he afraid of reporters guessing that he acquired Fiorentina for Zhang Jun. He was the kind of person who, once he did something, would not care about other people's opinions.

The protesters still came to demonstrate in front of the club's office building every day, but Ren Yudi knew that these protesters were the same people who protested when Jalimian took office. In other words, those who didn't like him still didn't like him. He, Ren Yudi, didn't intend to change these people's views on the team, and those who liked him would continue to like him. This was the crowd Ren Yudi wanted to keep.

So he quickly regarded the protests as a good pastime after work and didn't take it to heart. In addition to strengthening the team's strength in terms of players, there was also a very important thing waiting for him to do.

Standing outside the dilapidated Stadio Artemio Franchi, looking at the gray exterior walls and rusty iron railings, Ren Yudi imagined what it would be like to look down on the Stadio Artemio Franchi from the air after he got on the helicopter.

"Small" stadium with a capacity of only more than 46,000 people... Ren Yudi hummed.

"This summer, the stadium will be expanded, and the stands must be completed before the Italian Cup next season. Give me the budget tomorrow." He said to his personal secretary, Miss Susanna, and Fiorentina's manager, Lucchesi, who were standing beside him. The tone in his words allowed no doubt.

To be honest, Ren Yudi's rise to power surprised Lucchesi quite a bit. He had never known of this person's existence, and after he learned of Ren Yudi's age, he was even more surprised, and even had a faint sense of contempt in his heart. But since seeing the series of work that this young boss had done after taking office, he had to look at him with new eyes. Moreover, he himself had long hoped that someone could come up with money to let him renovate the stadium. In the past two years, with the soaring performance of Fiorentina, the number of home spectators had also soared, and the increasingly aging Stadio Artemio Franchi could no longer meet the needs of the audience. Since the conditions did not allow the team to choose a new place to build a new stadium, expanding and renovating it on the original basis was also a very good idea.

Ren Yudi didn't know what Lucchesi was thinking. He had his own ideas.

Fiorentina is now the Serie A champion and a new force in Europe, so how can such a dilapidated stadium be worthy of Fiorentina's current status and identity? Renovate, it must make the Stadio Artemio Franchi look brand new. He did not choose to build a new stadium, because the Stadio Artemio Franchi had accompanied Fiorentina for decades, and Fiorentina's fans had a very deep affection for it. Now that he had just taken office, he absolutely could not do anything to stimulate the fans' emotions at this juncture, so he could only give up the idea of building a new stadium and choose to renovate the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Zhang Jun is now on vacation in China. Unfortunately, due to his identity, he cannot attend their class reunion. And he can't go see Lao Liang. He can only do his job well here. When Zhang Jun finishes his vacation and returns from China, give him a surprise.

※※※

"No! When receiving the ball, the center of gravity should be lowered, and the legs should be closed! Why are your legs so wide apart? Be careful I kick you in the crotch!" An Ke's energetic voice kept ringing on the court.

Hearing An Ke's last sentence, Sophie frowned, but seeing Zhang Jun and the others laughing very happily. She sighed softly, then put down the notebook in her hand and looked at the players on the field. All of them were unfamiliar faces, but their smiles were so familiar.

An Ke was tutoring the goalkeeper, Kaka and Yang Pan were tutoring the midfielders, Zhang Jun was responsible for teaching the forwards, and Sophie was a qualified team manager. They were not just playing house, but were invited by the team's coach, Liang Ke, to return to their alma mater to guide their younger students in their football skills.

After participating in the Chinese team's game, they originally came back to attend the class reunion, but Liang Ke suddenly made this request. However, the few of them agreed without thinking.

Now Zhang Jun even feels that this decision was wise. They have been mixing in the professional football world for a long time, and they are somewhat unfamiliar with this kind of pure football and pure happiness. Thanks to Liang Ke, they have the opportunity to relive their old dreams. Watching these elementary school students running and laughing on the field, he feels that he is also happy.

Looking at An Ke's devoted expression, isn't he also enjoying it?

Liang Ke wiped his sweat, walked to where Sophie was standing on the sidelines, and then sat down on the chair.

"How long are you planning to play here?" Liang Ke was asking how long their vacation was.

Sophie replied, "I may have to wait until August to go back. The others may have to stay for half a month, but Zhang Jun will leave the day after tomorrow."

Liang Ke was a little surprised: "So early? I've already seen the newspaper. Ren Yudi acquired Fiorentina. Isn't his return related to this matter?"

Sophie shook her head: "No. He already knew about this matter. He's going back this time just to give himself more time to practice and continue to improve his level."

Sophie remembered what Zhang Jun said to her a few days ago: "I may only stay in China for ten days. After the commercial activities are dealt with, I will go back to my alma mater to see the teachers and friends."

"Huh? Why?" Sophie, who heard this for the first time, was a little surprised. She thought that the two of them could have a happy vacation together.

"The loss to Bayern made me think a lot. I feel that my strength is not strong enough. Even if An Ke is a match-type goalkeeper, and he played at 1500% of his strength in that game, I don't want to encounter such a thing again in the future. If I encounter someone who plays at 1500% of his strength, then I will play at 2000% of my strength. Next year is the World Cup, and this summer is my last chance to improve myself. So I plan to go back to Florence first to continue training myself."

Sophie knew that Zhang Jun still couldn't let go of the loss in that game, and she sighed helplessly: "Then I'll go back with you."

Zhang Jun waved his hand: "There's no need for that. I can take care of myself. You should stay here and spend time with your aunt and uncle. It's been a long time since they've been with you."

Sophie knew that Zhang Jun had made up his mind, and it was useless to say anything. She herself very much hoped that Zhang Jun would stay by her side to accompany her. It was not easy to have a vacation, but he had to rush back to train... really.

Coming back to her senses, Sophie heard Liang Ke muttering: "Well... he is that kind of person. On the surface, it seems that he doesn't care about anything, but in fact, he cares more than anyone else. So, Sophie, sometimes you should let go."

Sophie was shocked. She didn't understand why Liang Ke suddenly said that.

"I know that Zhang Jun used to be a little immature, but now he has been completely reborn. But you are always by his side, still worried." Liang Ke looked at the surprised Sophie with a smile. "Don't make that expression. I'm much older than you. I can still see these thoughts. You are always worried about Zhang Jun. This is a good thing, but sometimes it's not a good thing. I think the current Zhang Jun should be able to make you completely at ease. And you, you should also be able to do what you want to do."

"What I want to do?" Sophie was a little puzzled.

"Don't you have anything you want to do? Sophie, you were a very ideal girl when you were in school. Or, do you now think that staying with Zhang Jun all day long and cooking for him is your ideal?" Liang Ke looked at Sophie and said.

Sophie was stunned. She was thinking about Zhang Jun's affairs all day long, worrying about this and that for Zhang Jun, but she didn't seem to have really thought about what she wanted to do. Unconsciously, Zhang Jun matured and turned from a boy into a man. And she can also let go.

Liang Ke looked at the change in Sophie's expression and knew that she must have figured it out. So he laughed and turned to walk back to the court. Sophie bowed respectfully to Liang Ke's back: "I understand, thank you for your teaching, teacher!"

The evening sun shone obliquely from the west, casting pairs of shadows on the green artificial turf. The football jumped back and forth in the shadows. From 1998 to 2009, the football had been jumping for eleven years. Sophie looked at the people on the court and had a trance that time had reversed and returned to the past.

Two days later, Zhang Jun boarded a flight from Beijing to Milan, Italy, alone. For him, the new season had already begun.

※※※

Stadio Artemio Franchi was bustling with people and the roar of machines, a busy scene. Xiang Tao originally planned to come here for a stroll, but looking at the smoke and dust and the roaring vehicles, he realized that this was obviously not a good place to relax.

Only the youth team was still training at Fiorentina's training base. All the first-team players were gone. As soon as the vacation arrived, no one could be found. Even that kid Kru was always out goofing off somewhere.

He wasn't exactly a saint, but he still couldn't bring himself to go to nightclubs to find prostitutes. He could watch porn and *Playboy*, but he just wouldn't go looking for prostitutes. He wasn't a saint. In fact, he hadn't been a virgin for a long time. It was just because there was still a faint connection in the depths of his heart.

He didn't go back to his hometown in Sichuan this vacation. Originally, after winning the league championship, and having to return to Chengdu to participate in the World Cup qualifiers, his family and local government were looking forward to his return home. But when he heard about Zhang Jun and Sophie, he suddenly lost the interest in going back to show off his achievements. So after the Chinese team's away game, he directly boarded a plane back to Florence, and gave his family the excuse that he "planned to continue improving himself." In fact, besides occasionally participating in the youth team's training, he went to the gym every day to exercise his strength, sometimes called that homeless "poor" Kru out for a meal, and then they went their separate ways, not concentrating on improving his strength at all.

Today, Xiang Tao originally planned to go to Stadio Artemio Franchi to see how the stadium expansion project was going, but when he went, he found that he couldn't make heads or tails of it. The stadium was now full of scaffolding and various construction materials were piled up. He couldn't help even if he went.

After leaving Stadio Artemio Franchi, Xiang Tao planned to call Kru out for dinner, but when he called, he heard the sound of a woman's moaning, which made his originally lonely heart even more depressed.

"What's the matter?" Even if there was a naked woman singing softly under his body, Kru's voice still seemed lifeless.

"Nothing, I originally wanted to ask you out for dinner. But it looks like you don't have time now, so forget it."

"Oh, goodbye." Without saying a word of nonsense, Kru hung up the phone.

Xiang Tao originally thought that Kru should at least thank him on the surface for still remembering him, but he didn't expect him to hang up directly. Listening to the busy tone coming from the phone, Xiang Tao really wanted to smash this five thousand RMB high-tech synthetic object directly on the ground.

"Damn it, I'll go play by myself!" Xiang Tao cheered himself up and decided to go to the center of Florence alone.

※※※

"Hey, Yoyo, look! How beautiful!" Two beautiful girls stood under the Florence Cathedral, looking up at the colorful exterior walls of the cathedral, and exclaimed from the bottom of their hearts.

"Yeah." The girl who was called "Yoyo" dressed in a foreign style, but had black hair and yellow skin, obviously an oriental.

Her female companion was blonde, blue-eyed, and white-skinned, a typical westerner.

They were taking advantage of their school summer vacation to travel to Florence, coming from far away Canada - because there was a very conspicuous maple leaf logo on their backpacks.

Xiang Tao was wandering around the square. He was not afraid of being recognized, because most of the people here were tourists from other places. However, he still satisfied ten people's requests for autographs and photos along the way.

He had already visited the famous attractions in the square. He came to the square not for these famous ancient buildings and scenic spots, but to relax.

So he casually found a step, sat down on the ground, holding an ice cream in his hand, watching the tourists coming and going in front of him like a weaving shuttle.

If you talk about the place with the highest population density per unit area within a certain period of time, it is undoubtedly Stadio Artemio Franchi, the home of the Florence team. On the day Florence won the championship, the stadium, which could only accommodate 46,000 people, held nearly 60,000 people! What a spectacular sight that was!

But if you remove the premise of a certain period of time, then the place with the highest population density per unit area is definitely here - Piazza del Duomo.

The city has a population of only 450,000, but it receives at least three million tourists every year, so these famous scenic spots are always overcrowded.

Xiang Tao sat on the steps, and his eyes habitually searched for beautiful women among the tourists. He wasn't very interested in the attractions that he was already familiar with, but those unfamiliar beauties could still give him a sense of novelty.

Beauty is a feast for the eyes, a free feast of beauty, why not enjoy it? Xiang Tao quickly forgot his troubles and immersed himself in his fantasy world. He has now basically achieved the ability to know the other person's nationality just by looking at their appearance, skin color, hair color, and clothing. This is the only thing that Kru can admire.

However, he was a little disappointed today. Maybe the sun was scorching, so many girls were wearing sunglasses. He personally hates this kind of behavior. Because sunglasses cover the most important part of a person - the eyes. Xiang Tao can't tell whether a woman is beautiful or ugly if he can't see her eyes.

But there are always exceptions. Just when Xiang Tao was frustrated with today's harvest, suddenly, two figures broke into his eyes, a blonde and a black-haired girl. Judging from their backpacks, they were probably from Canada.

As soon as he thought of this word, Xiang Tao felt a little bitter in his heart. He originally planned to shift his gaze and stop tracking the two girls. But when the black-haired girl turned her head to look at the Baptistery of Saint John behind him, he was stunned.

"I... I just want to stay and say thank you..."

"What's your name?"

"Youyou..."

"Youyou? What a strange name..."

Originally, the girl was constantly admiring those exquisite souvenirs, but she didn't expect her companion to not say anything for a long time. She poked her: "Hey, Yoyo, look, these things are so cute, right?"

Not hearing a reply, she straightened up and looked curiously at her companion. She found that her companion was staring blankly at the front. Following her gaze, she first denied the magnificent Baptistery, although this Baptistery was very beautiful and magnificent, it was absolutely impossible for her to see it in a daze. So her eyes continued to move down, and she saw a black-haired young man sitting on the steps, staring blankly at their side, and the ice cream in his hand had turned into a pool of cream under the scorching sun, sticking to his hand.

He really looked a bit like an idiot. Could it be that Yoyo was scared by the boy's appearance?

"It's so disgusting... let's go, Yoyo." She tugged at the girl next to her, but didn't move her, and unexpectedly, Yoyo actually took the initiative to walk over.

Xiang Tao watched the girl walk towards him step by step, but he was trembling with fear and had the intention of running away immediately. Why, why did he meet her here?

The girl walked up and stood in front of him, blocking all the sunlight coming from behind. Xiang Tao looked up at the other person, squinting his eyes so he couldn't see the expression on her face clearly. The girl lowered her head and searched in her small satchel, then took out a tissue, grabbed Xiang Tao's left hand covered in ice cream, and carefully wiped it.

The movements were as gentle as a couple's.

"You haven't changed at all after so many years." The girl said softly with her head down.

"You too, otherwise how could I recognize you in the crowd..." Xiang Tao's voice was a little choked up. "Youyou, I miss you so much..."

※※※

One of the first things Zhang Jun did after returning to Florence was to call out Xiang Tao and Kru, who were still in Florence, for everyone to have a meal together after a long absence.

As a result, Zhang Jun was very surprised to see a black-haired girl who was very close to Xiang Tao, and a blonde girl next to the girl.

Seeing Zhang Jun's surprise, Kru pointed to the two people who were immersed in happiness and said, "Xiang Tao, his girlfriend Youyou." Concise and clear, never nonsense.

"Then this one next to her..." Zhang Jun looked at the blonde girl. Youyou quickly introduced, "This is my good friend, Joan."

"Hello, nice to meet you." Joan greeted Zhang Jun very politely.

Zhang Jun also returned the greeting politely. He was now very curious about the relationship between this girl called "Youyou" and Xiang Tao. Why are they a couple? He had never heard of it before. Could it be that Xiang Tao caught one in the week or so that he had been away?

"You're not locals from Florence, are you?"

"Well, we're from Canada." Joan answered for Youyou. "We're here for summer vacation and came here to travel. We didn't expect to meet Yoyo's boyfriend."

"Oh?" Zhang Jun turned his gaze to Xiang Tao, hoping to get Xiang Tao's answer.

"Well..." Xiang Tao cleared his throat, "Youyou and I had already confirmed our relationship before, but later her whole family immigrated to Canada, and we lost contact. I didn't expect to be able to reunite in Florence. Hehe, it's really a gift from God."

Zhang Jun found that when he talked about his lover, Xiang Tao's voice became much softer, and he no longer had the unruly attitude he used to have, and he didn't even use swear words. He kept laughing in his heart, the power of love is really great.

Thinking about it, they must have had a heart-wrenching love before, and now it's really great to be able to reunite.

After asking about the relationship between Xiang Tao and Youyou, Zhang Jun became the object of other people's questions.

"Why did you come back so early?" Kru asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember the boss told us to report in mid-July." Xiang Tao also asked.

Zhang Jun smiled, "Because I want to continue to improve myself. Relying on that little amount of training during the team's joint training is far from enough."

"Why work so hard? It's not easy to have a vacation." Xiang Tao curled his lips in disdain.

Zhang Jun just smiled: "Xiang Tao, have you forgotten that defeat so quickly? We lost to Bayern and said goodbye to the Champions League."

Xiang Tao was stunned. Of course he hadn't forgotten, but he didn't expect Zhang Jun to still remember it now. For him, that was just an ordinary defeat in his career.

"I've thought about it. Why did we fail? It's because I wasn't strong enough when facing An Ke. I want to make myself stronger, so strong that no one can completely block my shot. That way Florence can go further."

Xiang Tao didn't speak.

Kru coughed lightly: "Why... put the responsibility for the failure all on your own shoulders?"

Youyou and Joan realized that this was a topic for men, so they both lowered their heads to fiddle with their food.

"Because I'm the captain." Zhang Jun replied simply, but the sense of responsibility of that captain was already expressed quite clearly.

Looking at Zhang Jun's firm expression, Kru said, "Okay, I'll go train with you starting tomorrow."

Xiang Tao saw that Kru had stated his position, so he naturally couldn't lose to Kru: "I'll go too, it's been a long time since I trained properly!"

But Zhang Jun blocked him with his hand, looked at him and Youyou with a smile, "Take a few days off and spend time with her."

※※※

The morning sun shone in through the cracks in the curtains, making the whole room clear enough to see without turning on the lights. Xiang Tao was lying in bed with Youyou in his arms. Youyou was snuggled in his chest. How long had it been since they had been so close together? Xiang Tao didn't want to think about the past anymore. He only knew that he was holding Youyou now, and he was very happy.

"A Tao." Youyou said hazily, lying on Xiang Tao's chest, "I think... your captain Zhang Jun has a different temperament."

"Huh? Haha, he wasn't like this before. Being a captain can really make people mature..."

"But A Tao didn't become a captain, and he's also mature. When we first met, you were just a little brat goofing off in the Sichuan youth team." Youyou gently scratched the chest hair on Xiang Tao's chest.

Xiang Tao deliberately said fiercely: "Weren't you just a little brat back then?" He touched Youyou's full breasts and sighed, "Now you're also a mature woman... Youyou."

"Hmm?" Youyou raised her head to look at Xiang Tao.

"I must marry you as my wife in the future."

Youyou's face turned red, "You rascal! Why are you talking about such a distant thing now? I haven't even graduated from college yet!"

"Haha!" Xiang Tao liked to see Youyou's face turn red. He suddenly hugged Youyou tightly in his arms and murmured in her ear, "I'm not afraid, I'll marry you as soon as you graduate from college. I didn't have money or fame before, and your parents didn't agree. Now I have everything, and they will definitely agree!"

Youyou's expression darkened, but the room wasn't bright in the first place, and she was facing down, so Xiang Tao didn't notice it at all. Youyou quickly returned to normal: "Okay, I'll wait for you to marry me!"

"Get up, we're going shopping today!" Xiang Tao patted Youyou's butt and then sat up from the bed.

That morning, he took Youyou through the streets and alleys of Florence, and then came to the famous Ponte Vecchio, where Xiang Tao ordered a pair of rings for Youyou and himself, which would only be available on the day Youyou left. Xiang Tao wanted to use this method to tie Youyou down and make her unable to leave him again.

※※※

"Kru." Zhang Jun stepped on the football and looked at Kru opposite him and said, "Try to pass the football to me from different angles using different methods. I want to see if I can shoot at the first time I receive the ball."

Kru wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded. They had been practicing for a whole morning, mainly to practice the tacit understanding between the two. Zhang Jun hoped to be able to appear at the landing point no matter how Kru passed the ball, and then kick the football into the goal in the most effective way. Because there were only the two of them, without defenders or a goalkeeper, Zhang Jun was not sure what the specific effect would be, so he could only practice like this first.

Kru's comprehension ability was indeed high. Zhang Jun just said that, but didn't explain in detail how he should pass the ball. Kru was able to do it very well. He didn't pass the ball to where Zhang Jun was, nor did he simply pass it to the front of Zhang Jun, but he did it as he pleased, passing it wherever he wanted to pass it, feeling a bit like teasing a monkey, making Zhang Jun run around.

Zhang Jun also specifically chose a field where the turf was not well maintained, hoping to exercise his reaction ability by allowing the football to move irregularly on the ground. Of course, Kru was not happy about this. He was afraid that he and Zhang Jun would sprain their feet because of the field. Fortunately, so far, neither of them had been injured.

In addition to practicing passing, receiving, and shooting, the two would also study dribbling moves together. Kru didn't need to train these moves much. His moves on the field all depended on inspiration, not on training summaries, so he mainly taught Zhang Jun. Kru's moves were fancy, and Zhang Jun couldn't copy them completely. He needed to find an efficient and practical dribbling technique that would allow him to quickly get rid of the other party's entanglement in a small space and then form a shot.

Kru demonstrated a few sets of moves to Zhang Jun. After Zhang Jun did them once himself, he found that they were not practical enough. Kru was a little discouraged. He sat on the grass and looked at Zhang Jun, who was still playing with the ball, and said, "Actually, you don't need any feints at all. Your acceleration is invincible, and you have the advantage of being on the offensive side. You just need to dribble the football and use your acceleration to constantly change direction and feint, and that's enough to create a path."

"But what if I receive the ball while standing still?"

"That's even simpler. Just dribble the football hard and then accelerate to chase the ball."

Zhang Jun rolled his eyes. That sounded too simple. He thought about it and realized that there really weren't any feints that were both good-looking and practical for forwards. He would leave that for later consideration. He kicked the football over, "Get up, let's continue."

Kru sat on the ground, raised his foot to stop the ball, but missed it by just a little bit and let the football go past.

"Ah, passed it too far..." Zhang Jun couldn't help but shout.

But the football that flew out was stopped beautifully by someone.

"Weren't you given a vacation?" Zhang Jun tilted his head and looked at the person who stopped the ball - Xiang Tao.

Kru also turned his head to look back. He saw Xiang Tao standing on the sidelines and Youyou next to Xiang Tao.

"I brought Youyou to see our training ground, and also..." Xiang Tao moved his ankles, "My feet are also a little itchy."

Zhang Jun and Kru looked at each other. The training had not been very effective before because there were no defenders, and Zhang Jun's shooting was not difficult. Now, wouldn't it be perfect to have one?

"Okay, go change your clothes, we'll wait for you."

A moment later, Xiang Tao came out in his training clothes. Zhang Jun looked at Xiang Tao, and then looked at Youyou standing on the sidelines, and suddenly smiled maliciously, "Hey, Xiang Tao, is your lower body still weak? If so, then take a day off for now."

"Damn it! Do you think everyone is like you! Enough nonsense, watch Grandpa kick you up!"

Kru passed the ball out, and Xiang Tao and Zhang Jun immediately fought for the ball in front of the goal. In the end, the ball was successfully headed out by Xiang Tao.

Zhang Jun initially thought that Youyou was watching from the sidelines, so he had to give Xiang Tao some face, so he didn't use his full strength. Therefore, the two sides were evenly matched. However, later, as they practiced, their desire to win rose, so they began to try their best to compete with Xiang Tao. Unexpectedly, Xiang Tao also tried his best, so this practice felt a bit like the real thing.

Sometimes the dangerous moves of both sides worried Youyou, who was watching from the sidelines. Fortunately, the two were able to stop in time, otherwise Florence would have lost two important players before the season even started.

Later, Kru saw that both sides were too invested, so he had to call a stop and end today's training.

Because it was extra training, they didn't have two practices a day like normal training. They only practiced for half a day.

For the rest of the days, Xiang Tao came to participate in training on time, and Youyou still accompanied him. Zhang Jun secretly admired Xiang Tao's good fortune.

Four days later, Youyou and Xiang Tao, who had spent six days of bliss, were finally about to leave. Xiang Tao solemnly put the ring on Youyou's finger, and then told Youyou to rest assured that he would definitely go to Canada to marry her.

On the day of the send-off, Youyou's eyes were always red, and Joan next to her looked like she wanted to say something but didn't. Xiang Tao just thought that Youyou was reluctant to leave him, and that separation was always painful, so he didn't take it to heart. However, Kru, who was next to him, watched coldly and saw everything, but he didn't tell Xiang Tao.

※※※

Youyou left, and Xiang Tao suddenly felt a little lost, but he was quickly beaten by Zhang Jun and Kru until he didn't even have the strength to think about women. Since Xiang Tao had joined, Zhang Jun naturally wanted to use Xiang Tao as a one-on-one opponent and then study his feints. And Kru would occasionally play with them, so every time Xiang Tao was the one who was getting beat up. If he wanted to beat someone else, he would have to find a defender, because Zhang Jun and Kru didn't defend, so even if he got past them, there was nothing to be proud of.

The expansion project of Stadio Artemio Franchi was progressing very quickly. With the money and the strong support of the city government, Ren Yudi thoroughly renovated the dilapidated Stadio Artemio Franchi. Looking at the busy construction site, Ren Yudi said to Zhang Jun beside him, "I think, even if we apply to host the Champions League final, there won't be any problems."

By the way, the relationship between Zhang Jun and Ren Yudi has been dug out by those ubiquitous paparazzi in Italy and China. So everyone understood why Ren Yudi wanted to acquire Florence in the first place. However, not many people had any objections to Florence's league title. They all saw that this title could not be won simply by spending money. It was the result of the joint efforts of the entire Florence team, united as one.

However, those in Italy who didn't like Florence had a lot of criticism about this relationship. Ren Yudi didn't pay any attention to them at all and directly treated them as air. Zhang Jun couldn't do that, so he was a little worried. He had talked to Ren Yudi about this matter before, and he had seen Ren Yudi's attitude of not taking those people seriously, but he didn't expect Ren Yudi to become even more outrageous... He would find Zhang Jun from time to time, and the two of them would show up in public like this. For example, when coming to see the construction site, he would have Zhang Jun accompany him.

Zhang Jun didn't understand this. Logically speaking, Ren Yudi shouldn't be such an impulsive person. Although he acted domineeringly, he had thought everything through carefully. It was really beyond Zhang Jun's expectations that they would show up together for no reason like this.

Zhang Jun didn't know that Ren Yudi had been hiding in the back all the time. He had had enough of these days, so it was not easy to have an opportunity to be with him openly and honestly, and Ren Yudi seemed a little greedy.

Being able to be with Zhang Jun and announce to everyone that Zhang Jun was his good friend. This was the thing that Ren Yudi wanted to do the most besides making money and playing football.

This approach also had another effect, which was to make the outside world accept this fact in the shortest amount of time - the relationship between Zhang Jun and Ren Yudi was extraordinary.

Any team that wanted to get Zhang Jun's attention now had to back down.

Ren Yudi also knew that Zhang Jun was giving himself extra training. He just told Zhang Jun not to blindly increase his training and to damage his body. Although after reuniting with Ren Yudi, Zhang Jun felt that Ren Yudi was getting further and further away from the Ren Yudi he knew in high school, because he was becoming more and more like a businessman and was only pursuing profits in many aspects. However, when he was alone with him, Zhang Jun could still feel that strong feeling of friendship. Only at this time could Zhang Jun feel that Ren Yudi was still that Ren Yudi, the friend who played football, went to school, made trouble, and drank farewells with him.

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While Zhang Jun was still training hard with Kru and Xiang Tao, time passed quickly, and the date for the entire Florence team to report arrived. Sophie also flew back from China to help take care of his daily life. When she heard about the story of Xiang Tao and Youyou, she couldn't help but praise the two fated people.

Sabato reappeared in front of the lively players. His sinister smile showed that before the start of the season, the Florence players would inevitably have a painful training camp.

This summer, a few new teammates were added to the Florence team.

Rio D'Arno, eighteen years old, a young winger who was promoted from the Florence youth team to the first team. He was known for his speed and good at breaking through when he was in the youth team. He was also the main player of the Italian under-19 national team and a very promising player. Ren Yudi spent a lot of money on the construction of the youth team and finally harvested this treasure. Since this person can