Chapter 1 If

If Manchester City Football Club returned the football with the writing on it to Manchester United, and then Manchester United returned the football to Zhou Yi, then the matter should have ended there. Few people would have known that Zhou Yi had foolishly wanted to kick Manchester United's training ball to Manchester City's training base.

But how could there be an airtight wall in this world?

The administrator who found the football took a photo of it at the first opportunity and posted it on his personal social network, with the caption: "Greetings from Dortmund? wtf!"

As a regular person's social network with few followers, almost no one paid attention to his posts.

However, as the match approached, online discussions about the game clearly increased, growing explosively, so his tweet was dug up and instantly became a hot topic, rising to a prominent position.

Then traditional media began to contact him, asking him about the details of the matter and offering to pay for the use of his photo.

For an ordinary Manchester City club employee, this was a celebrity treatment he had never enjoyed before. He naturally responded enthusiastically to all media interviews and allowed them to use his photos for a fee, never expecting that his online complaints would bring him attention and rewards.

With the follow-up hype from traditional media, the matter became a household name in Manchester.

In addition to the inherent hype of a Champions League match, the matter itself was bizarre enough to attract public attention.

After all, before two teams face off, no one has ever heard of a player writing on a football and trying to kick it into the opponent's training ground. To have such an idea and actually put it into practice... that's not something ordinary people can do.

Because this matter was so strange, everyone was naturally happy to pay attention to it and wanted to know the story behind the photo.

With the help of the developed internet, in a very short period of time, the matter not only became a household name in Manchester but also spread around the world.

Even on Weibo in China, many people were discussing it.

"So the training bases of Manchester United and Manchester City are really close!"

"Pfft, Zhou Yi is so cute! He actually thought of using this method to greet his opponents. I wonder if Manchester City will be scared?"

"It is said that the local media in Manchester can't figure out why Zhou Yi did this... I want to say that we Chinese fans can't figure it out either, hahaha! Don't try to guess what Zhou Yi is thinking, you'll never understand!"

"Some media interviewed Zhou Yi and asked him about this. Guess what his first reaction was? 'So you really can kick a football to the place next door!' I feel sorry for the reporter for three seconds..."

"If I were Zhou Yi, I would write three big characters on the football—Just Kidding!"

"The guy above is terrible at math! That's clearly four big characters!"

"I wonder if Manchester City will think that Zhou Yi is deliberately provoking them... He's just crazy! [laughcry]"

"Hello, @Manchester Police Department? I want to report someone for showing off! [doge]"

※※※

In the "Excluding Old Guo" group, everyone was also discussing Zhou Yi's imaginative move.

"Zhou Yi, can you talk about your mental journey at the time? What were you thinking?" Sun Pan asked.

"Yeah, yeah, if you had written 'fuCk' on the football, that would at least be provocation, but what's the meaning of drawing a smiley face!" Guo Nu also didn't understand.

"Damn, do you think I'm as rude as you, Old Guo?" Zhou Yi said in the group.

"Zhou Yi, did you really want to say hello to them?" This was Yang Muge asking.

"Of course, what else? They didn't provoke me, why would I scold them?"

"Then your way of saying hello is indeed... quite unique..." Yang Muge didn't know what to say.

"It wouldn't be Zhou Yi if it wasn't unique," He Ying said. "I think this is something that Zhou Yi should do and could do."

"My roommate understands me best!"

"Damn, what are you so proud of!" Sun Pan couldn't stand it anymore.

※※※

Zhou Yi believed that he was just curious and wanted to greet Manchester City in this way.

But in the eyes of others, it might not be like that.

The Manchester media, which leaned toward Manchester City, simply defined Zhou Yi's move as "provocation." The reason for this definition was simple—what normal person would greet their opponents in this way!

Kicking a football from Manchester United's Carrington training base to Manchester City's Carrington training base requires both foot strength and accuracy. Being able to kick it over shows that he is very capable.

Zhou Yi was showing off!

Whether the media really believed their own judgment or were just trying to find some fresh hype for the match, they stirred things up to such an extent that many people actually accepted this claim.

So the idea that "Zhou Yi used a football to provoke Manchester City" was no longer a guess but became a fact.

When this reached the ears of Manchester City players, who would feel comfortable?

Manchester City is not Manchester United. If this had happened to Manchester United, then at least there would have been Shinji Kagawa within the team who understood Zhou Yi and could explain to everyone that Zhou Yi was just a playful person, that he didn't mean any harm, and just wanted to greet everyone in an unusual way.

Perhaps the matter would have passed in the midst of laughter.

But Manchester City didn't have any of Zhou Yi's former teammates, and no one had been in contact with him. Their understanding of Zhou Yi came from the media, and they believed whatever the media said.

So in their eyes, Zhou Yi was an arrogant, disrespectful, and hateful figure.

Although Zhou Yi stated in interviews that he really just wanted to greet Manchester City in this way, because the image label had already been formed, his explanation was not convincing. The more he explained, the more the Manchester City players felt that Zhou Yi was provoking them...

Misunderstandings are often created in this way.

※※※

On the day of the match, from the warm-up onwards, Manchester City players would look at Zhou Yi with unfriendly eyes. And when the stadium announcer introduced the visiting team's players, the Manchester City fans on the stands immediately greeted Zhou Yi's name with huge boos.

Götze, who was standing next to Zhou Yi in the player tunnel waiting to come out, leaned in and said in his ear, "It seems they really think you're provoking them."

Zhou Yi spread his hands: "What about the most basic trust between people?"

Others always thought that Zhou Yi had ulterior motives, but Zhou Yi himself felt very wronged. He really just wanted to say hello, but saying "hello" when shaking hands after meeting seemed too boring to Zhou Yi, he wanted something fresh.

This kind of behavior was too normal for a young, playful Zhou Yi with many ideas in his head. When he wasn't playing football, when he was a student, he always had such "amazing moves."

But not everyone could be on the same wavelength as Zhou Yi's brain, so Zhou Yi had always found it "difficult to find a kindred spirit"...

"Anyway, be careful, Zhou Yi. Be careful they target you in the game. I feel like you're becoming Manchester City's public enemy now."

Zhou Yi grinned: "I'll protect myself, Mario."

※※※

Against the backdrop of the stirring Champions League theme song, the players from both sides walked onto the field. But when the TV broadcast gave Zhou Yi a close-up, BBC commentator Mark Lawrenson said: "Zhou Yi is really someone who makes you not know how to evaluate him. I also can't guess why he did this... but I think he must be the most popular person in the eyes of reporters! Haha!"

He Ping's mood was not as relaxed as Mark Lawrenson's, and he said with some concern: "If Zhou Yi deliberately wanted to anger his opponents and make them lose their minds, he may have succeeded. But at the same time, he must be careful of it backfiring on him... The physical contact in the Premier League is completely different from that in the Bundesliga. Don't get injured..."

Marcel Reif was also reminding Zhou Yi: "Avoid too much physical contact, pass the football out as soon as possible, and don't let the football stay at your feet for too long... It's not a wise move to anger your opponents on their turf."

※※※

Mancini stood in front of the coach's bench, and the players from both sides had already come onto the field and stood in a row.

As Manchester City's coach, Mancini knew a little about what his players were thinking. He knew that they were discussing Zhou Yi's matter in the locker room.

He had previously worried that it was some mysterious "Eastern witchcraft," but now it seemed that he had really overthought it. Zhou Yi's kick was indeed witchcraft, but a witchcraft that was more beneficial to Manchester City. He successfully aroused the fighting spirit of the Manchester City players and also drew more attention to himself. This game would not be easy for him...

If Zhou Yi really wanted to use this trick to disrupt Manchester City, it now seemed that he was shooting himself in the foot.

※※※

"Hey, Jürgen. Did you notice the way those Manchester City players are staring at Zhou Yi?" At the same time, in front of the Dortmund coach's bench, assistant coach Željko Buvač was saying to Klopp.

"What's wrong?"

"They're looking at Zhou Yi as if he's their father's murderer..."

"That's not surprising, who told Zhou Yi to do such a boring thing?" Klopp said in a very calm tone.

"Aren't you worried, Jürgen?" Buvač asked strangely, seeing Klopp so calm.

"Worried about what?"

"Worried about him being targeted by the Manchester City players..."

"Željko, even without this, wouldn't the Manchester City players target him?" Klopp shrugged. "This is nothing to Zhou Yi."