Chapter 1 An Ke's Decision

An Ke knew his condition hadn't been good lately, so he hoped to improve it through extra practice. He was always the only one left in the locker room after these sessions. But today, when he pushed open the locker room door, drenched in sweat, he found Lunxinger getting dressed.

An Ke didn't know that Lunxinger had voluntarily given him the starting position. He thought Lunxinger's performance had been poor and the head coach had ordered the replacement. So, seeing Lunxinger, he felt slightly awkward.

Lunxinger heard the door open behind him, turned around, and saw An Ke standing at the door. He was a little surprised...

The awkwardness between the two lasted only a moment. An Ke walked to his locker to take off his clothes, ready to shower, while Lunxinger turned back to continue dressing. For a moment, the locker room was filled only with the rustling of clothes, and neither of them spoke, not even a simple "hello" or "goodbye."

When An Ke was down to his underwear, Lunxinger finished dressing and prepared to leave.

At this moment, Lunxinger suddenly spoke, "Um... I'm sorry."

An Ke turned around, looking at him strangely. "Sorry? Why?"

"I apologize for my past ignorance..." Lunxinger said, looking down.

An Ke felt even more strange. "Hey, Michel, what's wrong with you today? This isn't like you at all."

"The usual me?"

"Yeah, the usual you should be like this..." An Ke imitated Lunxinger's tone and movements, "Hmph!" His head held high, he snorted a heavy sound from his nose.

Lunxinger was amused, and An Ke laughed too. The awkward atmosphere in the locker room just now vanished.

"Stop teasing me, I'm serious, An. You are indeed more suitable for Bayern's starting goalkeeper position than I am. I'm still far from it, and I have a lot of homework to do before I can replace you."

"Is it because of the Champions League game?" An Ke roughly guessed the reason.

"Yeah." Lunxinger nodded. "The gap between me and him is too big. Facing him, I didn't even have the thought of resisting... That game made me realize how insignificant I am."

Sure enough, Zhang Jun is the culprit for crushing the confidence and hope of rising stars! An Ke joked about Zhang Jun in his heart.

"But you actually have the ability to compete with him, you should be sitting in the starting position!" Lunxinger looked at An Ke with some admiration. This change in attitude was really hard for An Ke to accept. He waved his hand, "It's just something that happened a few years ago. I was in better shape back then, that doesn't prove anything..."

"No! There are no eternal victories or defeats on the football field. Even if you beat him once, you beat him! But I can't win even half a time... I think I'm still far from him, and far from you."

An Ke saw that Lunxinger was sincere, so he stepped forward and put his arm around his neck, saying in his ear, "Since there are no eternal victories or defeats on the football field, then even if you lose to him once, you only lost once, not forever. Why not cheer up and challenge him again? That kid isn't some Golas, he's just an ordinary person like you and me. If you're afraid before the game, then you've already lost forever."

"What's the most important thing for a goalkeeper? Confidence! No matter what kind of opponent you face, you can't lose to them in terms of momentum. You have to despise them psychologically!" An Ke pointed his thumb down. "Since you used to be able to despise my existence, why can't you despise Zhang Jun in the same way? Isn't there still another round in the Champions League?"

Lunxinger's eyes lit up after hearing An Ke's words. "So... could it be?"

An Ke let go of him and smiled triumphantly. "Kid, don't think I'll tearfully hand over the starting position. If you want it, come and grab it! Haha!"

Lunxinger nodded solemnly and said, "I will, I definitely will! Before I snatch your starting position, you're not allowed to give it to anyone else! Wait for me, An!"

"I keep my promise."

The two shook hands.

※※※

Lunxinger, coming out of the locker room, felt that his future was bright again. He had finally found a goal to strive for. But this time, it wasn't the petty hope that An Ke would make a mistake so he could get the start, but rather a plan to grab the starting position from An Ke with his real skills.

Shouldn't a man be like this?

Thinking about the past self, so naive, so ridiculous!

He respectfully bowed to the closed locker room door.

※※※

An Ke found himself really handsome today. He could say such cool lines when facing an old enemy. In a great mood, he even hummed in the bathroom. He also felt that the slump in his condition was nothing. What storms hadn't An Ke seen along the way? Was he wavering because of this little thing? Ridiculous, An Ke!

He had put on a good show in front of the younger generation and made bold claims. How could he face Lunxinger if he didn't perform well?

It seems he has to work harder!

Having changed his clothes, An Ke came out of the locker room and hurried to the parking lot. It wasn't just Lunxinger who had resolved his knot, wasn't he the same? Now he couldn't wait to go home, back to Lin Jia's side. He had done so many things that he felt sorry for Lin Jia because of his bad mood recently. Now he wanted to rush back and apologize to her, just like Lunxinger apologized to him. In addition, he wanted to give her a promise:

Let's get married this summer!

Starting his beloved Mercedes-Benz, An Ke sped towards his home.

For the first time, he experienced what it meant to be "homeward bound like an arrow."

※※※

The hour hand on the wall clock pointed to "8", and the minute hand pointed to "40". The food on the table was heated and cooled, cooled and heated again. Lin Jia sat at the dining table, feeling restless. It wasn't new for An Ke to come home late these days, but she had never felt like this today. Every time she heard a car horn outside, she had to rush to the window to see if An Ke was back.

When the minute hand jumped another ten marks, Lin Jia still didn't wait for An Ke's knock on the door. Instead, she received a phone call.

"Hello, is this Lin Jia?" The other party spoke in German, and Lin Jia was sure it wasn't An Ke calling.

"This is me, may I ask who you are?"

"I am An's goalkeeping coach, you can call me Oliver." The voice was low and deep, it was Kahn.

"So, Mr. Oliver, are you looking for An Ke? I'm sorry, he hasn't come back yet. I'll tell him when he gets back, may I ask if there's anything I can do for you?"

"No need to tell him. Could you come to Munich Hospital?"

Lin Jia's heart suddenly beat faster. She asked with a trembling voice, "Please... please, is there anything wrong at the hospital?"

"..." Kahn paused slightly, "It's like this, An was in a car accident on the way home..."

Lin Jia didn't hear a single word of what was left. The reason why she was feeling restless turned out to be this! The reason why An Ke hadn't come back for so long turned out to be this! Why a car accident? His driving skills were excellent! A goalkeeper's reaction nerves allowed him to calmly reverse the situation in even the most critical moments...

Lin Jia grabbed her wallet and keys and rushed out of the house.

※※※

Please don't let anything happen! Please don't let anything happen! Please don't let anything happen!!

Lin Jia repeated this sentence countless times on the way to the hospital. Afraid of causing an accident while driving in this state, she didn't drive herself, but took a taxi. As a result, the taxi driver seemed to be looking at a mental patient as he avoided Lin Jia, who was sitting in the passenger seat... What a beautiful woman, but a lunatic!

When the car arrived at the hospital entrance, she could already see some reporters who had heard the news and rushed over. Lin Jia felt a little dizzy seeing such a scene. She tried to calm herself down, then threw a hundred euros at the driver, said "Keep the change!" and rushed in. Leaving a driver fantasizing about picking up such customers every day...

Noisy reporters, doctors and nurses rushing back and forth, the pale hospital walls, Lin Jia couldn't suppress her tears while running, and tears were scattered along the way.

When she rushed to An Ke's ward with tears streaming down her face, she found An Ke sitting on the bed eating an apple!

"Huh? What's going on?" Lin Jia was stunned. "You're not..." She didn't dare to say the rest of the words.

An Ke saw Lin Jia and waved her over, "That's right, but your husband is lucky, can't die..."

Before he could finish speaking, he received a slap from Lin Jia, "Do you know how worried I was on the way here?! Do you know how worried I am even if you come home ten minutes late?! You've been coming home late almost every day these days, do you know how worried I am?!"

Three angry questions left An Ke speechless. He had indeed been very unfair to Lin Jia these days.

Kahn and head coach Sammer, seeing this situation, knew that there was nothing for them to do, so they got up at the same time and quietly walked out.

An Ke reached out and hugged the crying Lin Jia, "Okay, I'm fine, right? Don't cry, you won't be pretty if you cry anymore... I'm sorry, really sorry, I haven't been performing well recently..." He didn't expect to be in the hospital, in this environment, apologizing to Lin Jia and asking for her forgiveness an hour ago.

"Don't cry, everything is over now. Okay, I promise you, we'll get married when this season is over..."

Lin Jia looked up at An Ke, "I don't want your charity!"

"This isn't charity, really! I'm sincere, I've actually wanted to tell you for a long time, but I never had the chance. Now I can finally calm down and talk about this important life event. Jiajia, are you willing to marry me?"

Lin Jia wiped her tears and said, choking with sobs, "Other people's proposals are so romantic, why does my proposal have to be in a hospital ward?"

"Ah, then when I get out, I will definitely arrange the grandest proposal ceremony for you, so that the whole world knows that you are going to be my wife!" An Ke thought Lin Jia was unwilling, and hurriedly tried to satisfy all of Lin Jia's requests.

Lin Jia covered An Ke's mouth and said coquettishly, "What a waste! No need for the whole world to know, it's enough for me to know."

An Ke saw that there was hope, and quickly followed up, "Then are you willing to be my wife?"

Lin Jia still had shining tear stains on her face, but her smile was as bright as a flower, "I do."

※※※

Kahn and Sammer stood outside the ward waiting, they still had something to say to Kahn's only family member in Germany. After a while, Lin Jia opened the door and walked out. Although she was no longer crying, her eyes were still a little red. It seemed she was really sad after receiving Kahn's call.

Sammer glanced at Kahn, only asking him to call Lin Jia and tell her to come to the hospital to visit An Ke, but this bastard spoke in a heavy tone as if he wanted her to come and see An Ke for the last time, he really deserved a beating.

Kahn himself was a little embarrassed. He apologized to Lin Jia, "Miss Lin, I'm really sorry just now, there was something wrong with the tone of my voice..."

Lin Jia smiled and shook her head, "Don't say that, I still have to thank you, Mr. Oliver." She didn't say the reason, but seeing her happy smile, the two roughly knew what was going on, it must be that their relationship had gone a step further.

"Hehe, that's good, that's good..." Kahn didn't know what to say, he could only laugh awkwardly.

Sammer coughed next to him. He just remembered what he wanted to talk to Lin Jia about, and hurriedly asked with a serious face, "Miss Lin, we have a few questions to ask you, I hope you can tell us the truth, okay?"

Lin Jia didn't know what made this man so serious, she nodded.

"Okay, please go to a slightly quieter place." He pointed to the end of the corridor.

After the three came here, Lin Jia's eyes swept over Kahn and Sammer, hoping to see what was going on, what couldn't be discussed at the door of the ward? Why did they have to come here mysteriously? At this time, Bayern Munich coach Sammer spoke, "Then may I ask if you have noticed anything unusual about An at home recently?"

Lin Jia thought for a while, then nodded, "He often breaks cups and plates."

"Can you tell me more about it?"

"Um. Sometimes I find that when he wants to pick up a cup, he can't grab it, he always misses it, and then reaches out and knocks the cup to the ground..."

The expressions of the two people opposite became more serious, and Lin Jia felt a little uneasy again, "Please... is there anything wrong with this?"

"Then may I ask if An has explained it to you?"

Lin Jia shook her head, "He just said he was too tired, and he was in a bad mood during that time, so I didn't dare to ask."

Sammer looked at Kahn, the two looked at each other and then separated. "Well, it's like this, we plan to explain his car accident just now." Kahn said, "As far as I know, An's driving skills are very good, right?"

Lin Jia nodded, "He can still ensure that nothing happens even when driving at high speed, he has avoided several times when it looked very dangerous. But I don't like him driving like this, I'm always worried that one day it will..."

"Your worry is correct, in fact, I don't approve of him speeding like this either. According to the police who investigated the accident site, the main responsibility for today's car accident is not An, because a truck illegally overtook from the outside lane, crossed the center line, and was facing An..."

Lin Jia seemed to be able to imagine how thrilling that scene was, because she had also encountered it once, but An Ke avoided it very beautifully in the end, and then laughed excitedly.

"If it was An in his normal state, although it was thrilling, he would definitely avoid it easily, his conditioned reflexes are very good, and his mentality is calm enough." Speaking of this, Kahn was a little proud, after all, he was his coach, and it was inseparable from his credit. "But judging from the tire tracks at the scene of the accident, the conclusion is that he didn't avoid it at the most critical moment. The tire tracks of the two cars went straight towards each other for a long distance, and then when they were about to intersect, the tire tracks of his car were staggered, but it was too late. He was touched by the truck, lost his balance, and crashed into the guardrail next to him. Fortunately, nothing happened, just some scratches. But if he was any later, you might really have to come and see him... I'm sorry, but I think An wouldn't make this kind of mistake under normal circumstances, do you know what I mean?"

Lin Jia nodded, she vaguely felt that it was related to those glass cups that were always broken.

"After being sent to the hospital, we asked the doctor to give him a comprehensive physical examination..." Speaking of this, Kahn took a deep breath before he could continue, "His body is great, like an ox, except for here." He pointed to his head. "His brain nerves have been damaged, but not because of this car accident, but as a result of accumulation over time. This makes him unable to correctly judge the distance between objects and himself, either too far or too close. So he couldn't avoid that truck in time..."

"This..." The smile on Lin Jia's face had completely disappeared, and she became restless again.

"A goalkeeper is a very special position, with high requirements for eyes and reactions. It is also very dangerous. As far as I know, An has had accidents where his head hit the goalpost, not twice or three times, but many times, big and small countless times. As a goalkeeper, he is very dedicated, but he also doesn't know how to take care of his body..." Kahn is naturally an authority in this regard, he also worked very hard when he was a professional player.

Lin Jia remembered that she and An Ke established their relationship because An Ke hit the goalpost in training, and was in a coma in the hospital for several days. That's when she made up her mind to rush over from Sichuan. Sometimes when talking about this scene, An Ke joked that he had a good crash and crashed back a wife.

Kahn couldn't say the rest no matter what, so he could only nudge Sammer and let him say it. He retreated to the side and couldn't bear to see Lin Jia's expression change from joy to unease, and then to sorrow. He turned his gaze to the night sky outside the window.

Sammer glared at the person who had deserted at the last moment, and helplessly took over the baton. "It's like this, An hasn't been in very good shape in recent games and training, you've also seen it. Multiple impacts have caused irreversible damage to his head. Doctors believe that the disease that has been lurking in his body has begun to break out, and the situation is very serious. At the same time, his left pupil is shrinking, which does not rule out the possibility of blindness in the future. According to his current physical condition, we believe that he cannot continue to be the starting goalkeeper... Even, his career is in danger of ending suddenly... More seriously, maybe he won't be able to take care of himself in life..." Sammer knew that these words were quite cruel to both Lin Jia and An Ke, but he had to say it, he couldn't tolerate deceiving others.

Lin Jia suddenly shouted, "Liar!"

"Miss Lin, we understand your feelings, but these are the words of the most authoritative experts..." Sammer planned to continue to persuade Lin Jia.

"I don't care what experts! Liars! You are all liars! An Ke is only thirty years old! I just spent his thirtieth birthday with him! Shouldn't this be a golden age for a goalkeeper? Why should we suddenly face such a situation? What retirement, what inability to take care of oneself, can experts be so irresponsible? What right does he have to decide a person's future so easily?!" Lin Jia screamed hysterically, while her angry eyes were staring at Sammer. Her emotions were out of control, you let a person just be in the happiest cloud, and then immediately fall into the most painful hell and see, no one can stand it...

Sammer didn't dare to look Lin Jia in the eye, he turned his head to the other side, Kahn just looked up at the night sky outside the window, it was a cloudy day, and he couldn't find a trace of starlight in the darkness. Both were silent, letting Lin Jia vent.

Later, Lin Jia cried again and again, and the angry roar turned into a sad question, "Why? Why? Why is this happening? Isn't he miserable enough? Why... what exactly do you still want?!"

Kahn took another deep breath, then suddenly turned around, grabbed Lin Jia's shoulders, put his face in front of her, and looked directly into the eyes of this sad woman without evading. Lin Jia was so frightened by his serious and somewhat fierce face that she forgot to cry and speak.

"Listen to me! I can understand your mood, because I am the same as you at this moment. An is the best goalkeeper I have ever seen, no, he is a god of goalkeepers! I treat him like my own younger brother, and I don't want to see this happen today either. Believe me, Mr. Sammer doesn't want to either."

Sammer was still keeping his face turned to one side, silent.

"But this is the truth. Whether we want it or not, it has happened. His head can no longer withstand fierce collisions, and the danger accompanies him for every minute he stays on the field. I think none of us want to see him fall on the field again, so if it's really for his own good, please be sure to persuade him to retire now!"

The three stood there, and no one said another word.