Chapter 1 "Son, Tell Me Honestly, Can You Win This Award?"

“How would I know?” Zhou Yi was speechless. His dad had asked a question that was so…unprofessional.

“What do you mean you don’t know? According to precedent, combined with an analysis of the situation, can’t you get a rough idea?” Zhou Jianliang was not satisfied with his son’s answer.

“It’s hard to analyze. What if the results deviate? Who’s responsible?” Zhou Yi still didn’t want to commit to anything.

“I think you can definitely win the award, but you can’t ignore what the media are saying, like Sneijder in 2010… Your mom and I went to Monaco. If you don’t win and Messi or Ronaldo take it, that’d be so frustrating, so embarrassing!” Zhou Jianliang was very concerned about this issue.

“What’s so embarrassing about that? Your son making it into the top three is already a historic breakthrough for Asian players.”

“That’s different. First place is way different from the top three. Let me tell you, history will only remember the first place and won’t care about who was in the top three,” Zhou Jianliang said seriously.

“So if I can’t be sure of winning, you won’t come?”

“That’s right! We won’t come!” Zhou Jianliang said decisively. “I don’t want to be a supporting role for others. We have our dignity…”

Before he could finish, Li Cuiyun snatched the phone from him.

“The thing is, it’s not up to me. I can’t just hand it to myself…” Zhou Yi was still trying to persuade his father when he heard his mother’s voice on the phone, “Don’t listen to your dad’s nonsense. We’re going, whether you win or not. But not to support anyone, just because we want to see you.”

“Mom… that’s great. You guys come, don’t worry about anything. After Monaco, you can come back to Dortmund with me for a while…” Zhou Yi was very happy to hear his mother say that.

“I’m afraid that won’t work. I had to take a leave of absence this time…” Li Cuiyun hesitated, frowning. She really wanted to spend more time with her son, but her workplace…

While she was distracted, Zhou Jianliang regained control of the phone and said, “Okay, okay, we’ll come and stay for a while! What could be going on at your mom’s work? Even if there is something, can it be bigger than this? I’ve wanted her to quit that job for a long time! You said there’s basically no room for advancement, just that fixed salary, what’s the point? It’s not as good as me…”

Li Cuiyun glared at her husband, “What would I do if I didn’t work? Our son isn’t around, and the two of us old folks would just be staring at each other at home all day? You might not be annoyed, but I am!”

Zhou Jianliang didn’t want his son to hear them bickering, so he quickly said loudly to Zhou Yi, “Then it’s settled, we’re going to Monaco and then staying in Dortmund for a while! Okay, I’m hanging up, international calls are expensive!”

With that, he didn’t give Zhou Yi and his wife any time to react and hung up the phone with lightning speed.

※※※

Zhou Yi shook his head with a smile. How could he not have heard the voices on the phone?

But that was between his parents, and he couldn’t control it.

His dad had indeed touched on his inner worry—whether he could win the award.

Logically speaking, based on his honors from the past season, Zhou Yi believed he was qualified. But it wasn’t just about being qualified. Think about Sneijder… He had been in European football for so many years, and in the end, he didn’t even make the top three, which was a disgrace.

The virtual space could simulate opponents and matches, but it couldn’t simulate award ceremonies.

Recently, the Dutch media had been making a fuss, arguing that Robben should have a place in the final three, and Messi should no longer be on that final list.

The Dutch media’s reasoning was that since Ribéry could be in the top three, why was Robben fifth?

In terms of club performance, Robben was also very important. His goal in the Champions League final almost helped Bayern Munich win the Champions League title.

Why was this performance not as good as Zhou Yi’s and Ribéry’s, and why was it even worse than Messi’s and Cristiano Ronaldo’s?

The Dutch media disagreed.

Zhou Yi couldn’t guarantee that no one would disagree with him either.

In fact, after the list came out, Zhou Yi had asked club CEO Watzke the same question: “Can I win the award?”

He asked this because he was also thinking that if he didn’t win the award, he wouldn’t go. It wasn’t about being a diva or lacking grace, but UEFA was too strange – the European Super Cup was held the day after the European Player of the Year award ceremony and the Champions League group stage draw, but the venue for the European Super Cup and the venue for the European Player of the Year award ceremony and Champions League group stage draw were not in the same place.

Previously, they were all in Monaco. The awards and draw were held the night before, and the European Super Cup, with the Champions League champion playing against the Europa League champion, was held the next night at the Louis II Stadium in Monaco.

But this year’s European Super Cup was in faraway Eastern Europe – Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

The award ceremony was still held in Monaco.

This meant that Zhou Yi had to go to Monaco first, attend the award ceremony, and then rush to Prague overnight to meet up with the team and prepare for the European Super Cup the next night.

Such a hectic schedule meant he wouldn’t get enough rest or training. How much energy would he have left to play in the Super Cup?

Although the importance of the European Super Cup was not as great as the Champions League, it was nominally the honor of the true "King of European Kings." If his poor condition due to the back-and-forth travel prevented him from helping the team defeat their opponents and win the Super Cup, who would be responsible?

If he couldn’t win the award, the loss would be too great. He wouldn’t get the European Player of the Year award, and the European Super Cup would also be a failure…

Just thinking about it was annoying.

Watzke certainly didn’t know if Zhou Yi could definitely win the award, but if Zhou Yi missed the award ceremony, it would definitely be a big regret. If Zhou Yi didn’t win the award, that would be fine, but if he won the award and wasn’t there, how regrettable would that be?

As for the back-and-forth travel for the European Super Cup, he didn’t care. Anyway, he wasn’t the one flying back and forth across half of Europe and having to play in the game.

So Watzke quickly reassured Zhou Yi: “If you can’t win the award, then Platini’s advocacy of authority and professionalism is a joke. What’s the difference between this European Player of the Year award and FIFA’s Ballon d’Or in the future?”

He further persuaded Zhou Yi: “You should definitely invite your family to participate in this grand ceremony at such a glorious moment! This is a very honorable thing, and I think your family will be proud of you… Of course, you don’t have to worry about the expenses for coming here, the club will take care of everything for you.”

Zhou Yi thought it was a good idea, as it was equivalent to a free trip abroad for his parents.

So he agreed to attend the ceremony.

Klopp, however, was very unhappy. He went to Zorc to protest, and then they both cursed the UEFA and Platini – in their opinion, Platini’s stupid idea of ​​letting European countries host the Super Cup in turn was to repay those Eastern European football associations who voted for him when he ran for UEFA president, so he put the Super Cup in the Czech Republic. This was completely a selfish act that took care of personal political interests without regard for the interests of clubs and players.

※※※

With Borussia Dortmund’s help, Zhou Yi’s parents’ visas to Monaco and Germany were processed very efficiently and smoothly.

The leave of absence that Li Cuiyun was worried about also went smoothly, without any hitches.

Since her son became a star, she no longer heard any gossip in the office, and the leaders of the unit were also very kind to her and never dared to cause her any trouble.

Just kidding, Li Cuiyun’s son, Zhou Yi, is now a big star. Not to mention his influence in football, just his influence on the internet is huge. There is a popular term called “Wang Hong” (internet celebrity) – Zhou Yi is now a "Wang Hong"! He has more than 70 million fans and has been praised by name by the *People's Daily*.

Not to mention the leaders of the unit, even if someone in the unit offended Li Cuiyun and her son found out and complained on the internet, their small unit would be drowned in saliva, and all the leaders would be unlucky, no one could escape.

In fact, the unit was hoping that Li Cuiyun would resign, because Li Cuiyun was like a ticking time bomb in their unit. Who knows when it would explode, and everyone was living carefully.

But Li Cuiyun was a formal employee with a *bianzhi* (government-approved staffing quota), unless Li Cuiyun resigned herself, the unit could not fire or dismiss her…

So when Li Cuiyun hesitantly mentioned that after going to Monaco, she might have to stay in Dortmund, Germany for a while, but she didn’t know how long, the personnel leader immediately waved his hand: “Just have fun! Have fun! Reuniting with your son is of course the most important thing! Work? What’s important about work? Not at all… Our unit is not doing well now, there are too many people and not enough work, it’s not busy at all! So don’t worry about the unit, just play as you like, play as long as you like! After all, Zhou Yi has always lived alone, and it’s not easy to live alone in Germany. As a mother, you should take care of his life… Let Zhou Yi eat well, sleep well, and live without worry, so that he can perform better on the field and win glory for the country, right?”

The leader almost said, "I will approve your early retirement or resignation right now"...

Li Cuiyun didn't expect the leave to go so smoothly, and the leader was so nice to talk to. Looking at the leader's kind smile, she was really confused...