Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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Returning to the small city of Leverkusen.
As soon as the bus pulled into the club's training ground, Lance saw a crowd of fans cheering wildly at the entrance.
"Well done!!"
"Bayer Leverkusen Allez!!"
"Great play!! Keep it up!"
"Lance—I love you!"
The female fan's public confession made the Bayer Leverkusen players grit their teeth in envy.
Why?
Aren't we handsome?
Why does Lance have so many female fans? And they're all young and beautiful university and high school students!
However, in terms of looks alone, most of the Bayer Leverkusen players felt a bit inferior.
Even according to Western stereotypical aesthetics, Lance was still considered handsome, appealing to both Eastern and Western tastes.
His facial features were very stereotypical, giving a slight impression of being mixed-race, but his actual ancestry was pure Min Province.
The players were tired from their journey and needed to drive home to rest immediately.
However, since the fans had gone to great lengths to wait at the training ground, Sascha Lewandowski still brought Lance and other key players to thank them.
"Thank you for your support! Our ability to eliminate Arsenal and reach the Champions League quarterfinals is thanks to each and every one of you!"
"Let's take a group photo. We hope you will continue to support Bayer Leverkusen in the future, and the team will try its best to advance on all three fronts!"
Surrounded by fans, Lance, the coaches, and the players knelt in front for a group photo with the many supporters.
He also accepted some autograph and individual photo requests.
After half an hour of engagement, everything finally concluded.
They still had to watch the draw tonight!
Recalling the last draw, they watched it at Lars Bender's house party, where everyone ate barbecue and talked about football.
The cute Chloe was also by his side.
This time, driving his Aston Martin back to his apartment, it was already dark.
The moment he opened the door, the luxurious apartment, spanning over 200 square meters, felt incredibly empty, especially with the lights off.
For the first time, Lance felt a bit lonely.
For some reason, he suddenly missed the girl who would blush beside him and sometimes chatter away.
He habitually pulled out his phone.
The last message was from last night:
Chloe: [Congratulations~ You played so well! We're in the quarterfinals! Keep up the good work~ Always supporting you /flower.emoji]
Lance had been busy thinking about new character templates and had partied with his teammates all night, so he hadn't had time to reply.
Would it seem a bit scummy to contact her now?
Ignoring her when not needed, then remembering her when lonely?
After pondering for a moment, Lance hesitated again.
In the dark living room, Lance's face was illuminated only by the glow of the television.
The Champions League draw ceremony was being broadcast, and UEFA President Gianni Infantino was delivering his awkward monologue.
Lance opened his contacts and dialed Lu Yongping's number.
"Hello, Dad…"
There was a noisy background on the other end, and Lu Yongping was practically shouting.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, just wanted to chat with you guys. Where's Mom?"
"What? Hey, someone, hurry up and urge them, the guests at table 3 are getting impatient! And tell the kitchen the guests are from Guangzhou, don't mess it up! You continue, what's up?"
"Nothing much, you guys are busy."
"Okay! Call us whether you have something or not. The game yesterday was good! We all watched it. Train well and play well! We're a bit busy right now, I'll call you back when I have time. Hanging up."
"Beep, beep, beep…"
The restaurant business was booming day by day.
Branch preparations were already underway in major cities like Berlin and Cologne.
Boss Lu was now considered a big boss in the German catering industry, too busy to even pay attention to Lance.
Helpless, Lance could only hang up the phone.
Busy, being busy is good!
He found that he didn't go to nightclubs to dance, nor did he like dating supermodels.
Aside from playing football, his daily life was quite boring.
His previous entertainment included console games, but ever since he had seen some future games in his prophetic dreams, the games of 2014 seemed underwhelming.
The only game Lance played was FIFA, sometimes controlling himself, using Bayer Leverkusen to play against Real Madrid and FC Barcelona.
Within the Bayer Leverkusen team, putting aside his actual football skills, his FIFA prowess was second to none! He was undefeated against the entire team!
He crushed them so badly that his teammates were generally afraid to play games with Lance.
Being invincible truly was lonely!
Looking at Chloe's number in his contacts, Lance ultimately did not dial it.
She was just his fan, after all.
Willing to be a fan ≠ willing to go on a date.
Perhaps her accompanying him last time was also out of respect for a Bayer Leverkusen star…
It was better not to bother her.
At this moment, it was the critical moment of the draw!
Lance's attention was once again focused on the draw!
The Champions League Round of 16 second legs had concluded, and the 8 quarterfinal teams were officially revealed!
————
Olympiacos 0-6 FC Barcelona
Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 Manchester City
AC Milan 2-4 Atlético Madrid
Borussia Dortmund 5-4 Zenit Saint Petersburg
Manchester United 3-3 Bayern Munich (won on away goals)
Galatasaray 1-3 Chelsea
Real Madrid 9-2 FC Schalke 04
Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 Arsenal!
————
The teams ultimately advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals were:
FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen!
As UEFA consciously suppressed the Premier League, and with the loss of Premier League stars and tactical play gradually falling behind the times, the strength of La Liga and Bundesliga has been the main theme of the past few seasons.
Both La Liga and Bundesliga had 3 teams advance to the Champions League quarterfinals; the Premier League had only Chelsea as its sole survivor; Ligue 1 still had the oil-rich Paris Saint-Germain; Serie A had become a roadside league, completely wiped out.
Since there were no longer any avoidance principles, Bayer Leverkusen could potentially draw any team next!
It could be a Bundesliga internal clash, or it could be a La Liga powerhouse!
The team Lance most hoped to meet, as he had said in a previous interview, was!
Real Madrid!
If they were going to fight, why not fight the strongest team?
Lance was already eager to know if there was a gap between himself and Real Madrid, and between himself and a world-class superstar – Cristiano Ronaldo in his prime?
With the smile of this year's Champions League ambassador, the Portuguese and Real Madrid legend Luís Figo, he began to search in the draw pot.
"The first pair of teams to face each other is—"
"Real Madrid!"
The hall erupted in thunderous applause!
Real Madrid, under Carlo Ancelotti's leadership this season, was undoubtedly the biggest favorite to win the title!
FC Schalke 04 was actually not a weak team, and their 9-2 aggregate score over two legs was enough to prove their attacking power.
Plus, with the BBC trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Gareth Bale, and Luka Modrić anchoring the midfield, Real Madrid's strength across all three lines was truly formidable!
"Could it be…?"
Anticipation grew in Lance's eyes!
Unfortunately, Real Madrid's opponent was not him.
"BVB Borussia Dortmund!"
Congratulations to our good Bundesliga brothers, Borussia Dortmund!
After eliminating Real Madrid 4-0 last year, it looked like Real Madrid would be seeking revenge this year.
Soon, the other matchups were also revealed.
Bayern Munich vs. Atlético Madrid!
Paris Saint-Germain vs. Chelsea!
Oh, wow—
Seeing this, the last group was self-evident!
When Luís Figo drew Bayer Leverkusen's small ball, he immediately opened another small ball, and the team name on the slip was very clear!
"F.C. Barcelona!"
FC Barcelona!
Bayer Leverkusen vs. FC Barcelona!
Just as Lance was unsure whether to be excited or disappointed about the draw results, his phone rang.
He casually answered the call, and to his surprise, it was Chloe's sweet, lazy voice.
"Lance, the draw ceremony, did you watch it?"
"I'm watching it."
"Me too."
"So, are you nervous about playing FC Barcelona this time?"
"What about you?"
"I really hope to play against FC Barcelona, against Lionel Messi."
Lance's voice was full of confidence and anticipation!
This surprised the young Chloe; she had thought Lance might be a little worried… It seemed she had underestimated Lance's overflowing confidence!
After a brief silence on the phone, Lance only heard the girl's voice on the other end, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet with a hint of unusual emotion.
"I knew it, I, I should have asked you to watch the draw together."