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"Harry, I thought you had abandoned me."
"That would never happen, Mr. Lance. Unless you terminate my contract, I will always be your personal assistant."
Harry Kane was like the stereotypical British butler, speaking in the most standard London accent, very prim and proper. This made Lance's jokes fall flat every time; the other party simply couldn't respond.
However, Harry Kane was the type to be meticulous in his work. His solo trip to China this time, leaving Lance, was to help Lance negotiate business collaborations.
To promote the 2014 World Cup and drive traffic to its website, LeTV.com, a newly established platform, officially announced an exclusive endorsement deal with Lance and a partnership with the Belgium National Team, becoming the exclusive media platform for the Belgium National Team in the East Asia region during the World Cup.
According to the original timeline, LeTV.com's endorser was Cristiano Ronaldo, and they also partnered with the Belgium Team. When LeTV.com approached agent Jorge Mendes, Mendes recommended signing Lance, who was a more suitable fit.
His Chinese heritage, coupled with his rapidly rising popularity, might yield better results than Cristiano Ronaldo. Indeed, when the news of their collaboration was officially announced, photos of Lance and LeTV.com's head, Jia Yueting, were exposed on Weibo, portal websites, and other media.
LeTV's PC and mobile app downloads, user registrations, and VIP user numbers all saw explosive growth, with nearly 10 million new users added in just one week.
As Lance arrived at the São Paulo training base to train with the Belgium National Team in preparation for the World Cup, LeTV.com and CCTV both dispatched their World Cup teams to São Paulo, Brazil.
"Hello, viewers! This is LeTV.com bringing you exclusive live coverage. Behind me is the training base of the Belgium National Team. The Belgium Team is currently undergoing intensive preparations under the leadership of Marc Wilmots, with only one week remaining until the World Cup kicks off. It's clear that the atmosphere within the Belgium Team is quite good, and the players all look relaxed."
The camera focused on the young man running on the field, a handsome face.
"I believe everyone is very concerned about Lance's recent form… In the past season, Lance gradually became a highly anticipated rising star in the Bundesliga. He just helped Bundesliga team Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga championship and set a new Bundesliga single-season scoring record with an astonishing 42 goals, becoming the youngest Golden Boot winner in history. As the only Chinese player in this World Cup, many fans hope Lance can appear in the World Cup and deliver impressive performances."
In the shot, Lance was passing the ball with Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, chatting and laughing with each other. It was evident that he had fully integrated into the team.
The cameraman took several segments of footage, which would all be included in the news report later. After the young intern reporter, Chao Yiwen, finished her lines, she stood quietly by the side, watching Lance play.
His elegant performance on the field was truly captivating. Many of Lance's fans did not support him solely because of his identity. There were plenty of Chinese players out there.
If they played poorly on the field, there would still be plenty of people scolding them. In fact, many domestic fans had already formed a stereotype: as soon as a Chinese player appeared on the European stage, their first reaction was that he must perform poorly on the field, not daring to take the ball, not daring to dribble past opponents, handling the ball stiffly, stopping, looking, and then passing.
Their performance would be mediocre, having no impact on the game, usually coming on as a substitute for 10 minutes with no highlights. In contrast, his teammates and opponents all seemed like gods of war. Fans had seen too many players like this.
Initially, fans didn't take Lance seriously. Until they watched Lance's matches, he dared to take the ball and handle it, with a flamboyant playing style, elegant footwork, and spiritual shooting…
He played a crucial role in critical matches, often in desperate situations. He reversed Bayern Munich, drew Manchester United, reversed Arsenal, scored a last-minute winner against FC Barcelona, and left Real Madrid in disarray…
Lance's current popularity and fan base were all earned through his tough battles, match by match. What everyone appreciated was not just his looks or his heritage, but most importantly, his excellent football skills.
A promising star who just turned 17, with a bright future ahead! Anyway, standing on the sidelines watching Lance train, Chao Yiwen was truly mesmerized.
Currently a junior in university, she was studying at Shanghai Sports Institute and had planned to find an internship during the summer. Who would have thought that on her first day at LeTV, she would be directly sent to South America?
She arrived in São Paulo with a group of famous commentators like Zhan Jun, Zhang Lu, Su Dong, Li Xin, Xu Yang, Xu Qiang, and Huang Jianxiang. On her very first day after landing, before she even unpacked her luggage at the hotel, she was forced to go to the Belgium base with the photography team to report.
She was completely bewildered. So much so that during a training break, when Lance participated in an interview with LeTV under the coordination of staff, Chao Yiwen was still in a daze even when he was right in front of her.
"Hey! Little Chao, what are you spacing out for? It's an interview."
The cameraman next to her quickly widened his eyes to remind her, then turned to Lance with a smile:
"I apologize, this is our intern reporter, still a university student. Please bear with her if there's any offense…"
Lance was 17, and he was already a true star player. The people from LeTV subconsciously looked up to him, fearing they might offend the young and impetuous new star.
In reality, Lance was more easygoing than they imagined, and he smiled suavely:
"It's okay, perhaps our training is too exciting; it's normal to be mesmerized."
He glanced at the young beauty whose face still looked a bit childish and quite student-like at the moment. Lance had already recognized her.
In one of his prophetic dreams, she seemed to have reported on a Chinese National Football Team match. Later, because of the famous scene of "RNM, give me my money back," she became a well-known "war correspondent" and "Money-Back Sister," and later an uploader with hundreds of thousands of followers.
He hadn't expected the timeline to change and to meet her here.
"I'm sorry, hello Lance, I'm Chao Yiwen, an intern reporter from LeTV. Can I conduct a brief interview?"
"Of course."
They briefly shook hands; her hand felt cold, perhaps she was still too nervous. After some basic questions, Chao Yiwen gradually found her rhythm and finally remembered the prepared interview script.
"Excuse me, Lance, what is your position in the Belgium Team for this World Cup? Will you have a chance to play in the future? If you do get to play, what are your expectations for yourself?"
The questions were still relatively sharp. As a newcomer to the National Football Team, Lance was essentially a fringe international player.
He only joined the World Cup roster as a replacement after Christian Benteke's injury. He might be like most World Cup newcomers, such as Kaká in the 2002 World Cup, who basically didn't get a chance to appear.
He might only get to play in the next World Cup, four years later. But Lance didn't mind this and was very optimistic.
"Currently, Belgium's tactical system, including the starting lineup, has been refined for a long time. The World Cup will definitely still be based on the lineup from the qualifiers. The intensity of the Bundesliga and the World Cup are also different; my performance in the Bundesliga can only serve as a reference. Whether I can play depends on the coaching staff's arrangements and the specific game situation. If I get a chance to play, I definitely won't disappoint the fans."
Lance winked naturally at the camera, just like an idol. Chao Yiwen's face instantly flushed crimson, and her HP bar was instantly depleted. Her brain started to crash again.
What Lance said in the interview was also true. In recent tactical meetings, Marc Wilmots, to be safe, preferred to use the starting lineup from the qualifying stage.
Lance might not get a starting opportunity in the initial group stage. However, as long as he found an opportunity to come on as a substitute, Lance wouldn't easily give up his position!
With less than a week until the World Cup, he felt a hidden excitement building within him!
"I never thought I'd actually stand on the World Cup stage? Come on! I can't wait to fight!"