Chapter 174 There will never be another Li in this world...

On their second day after arriving in Guangzhou, Real Madrid officially resumed training.

The club has borrowed Guangzhou Evergrande's home stadium, Yuexiushan Stadium, where a friendly match against Guangzhou Evergrande will be held two days later.

Real Madrid's daily training sessions also have tickets available for sale, with a daily limit of 5,000 tickets, just like the tickets for friendly matches. Tickets went on sale before Real Madrid even landed in Guangzhou.

But neither the tickets for regular training sessions nor the tickets for friendly matches sold out.

This is Real Madrid's own fault.

During Real Madrid's second tour of China in 2005, conflicts between the commercial and sporting departments led to many pre-arranged activities being carried out perfunctorily and inconsistently, leaving a very bad impression on Chinese fans. Tickets for the friendly matches during that tour also failed to sell out, leaving scalpers with unsold tickets.

Your attitude determines the attitude of Chinese fans. If you're going to try to make money, at least show some sincerity!

This is also why Real Madrid delayed launching its third China tour; a damaged reputation is difficult to repair. It wasn't until Florentino Pérez returned to power and brought Fino, who has Chinese heritage, into the team that Real Madrid began planning its third China tour.

During this trip to China, fans also adopted a wait-and-see attitude, determined not to be fools who spend too much money.

During the open training session on August 11, Real Madrid players displayed a very serious attitude, meticulously carrying out physical training, technical training, and positional training. Mourinho also organized a 30-minute scrimmage for tactical training, which fans found well worth the ticket price.

After the formal training session ended, the players went around the stands and interacted with the fans.

This attitude satisfied Chinese fans, and tickets for the remaining days of open training, along with tickets for the friendly matches, quickly sold out.

Even outside of training, Real Madrid's commercial activities have never stopped.

On the afternoon of August 11, all the players attended the launch event for Real Madrid's official flagship store on JD.com, a major Chinese e-commerce platform. In addition to the more than 300 invited media representatives, a large number of Real Madrid fans were also present.

After the press conference, there was a fan autograph session organized by Jingxi Mall.

On the afternoon of August 12, all the players attended a new product launch event for a Chinese dairy giant. Fino had been cooperating with this dairy company since his time at AC Milan, and after Fino transferred to Real Madrid, the dairy company followed in Fino's footsteps and became Real Madrid's Chinese sponsor.

There was also a fan interaction session after the press conference.

On the morning of August 13, led by Florentino Pérez, Real Madrid players attended the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou-Madrid Cultural Festival, an official event, where they enjoyed traditional arts such as Cantonese opera and lion dance, and promoted Spanish food and wine culture.

At the end of the opening ceremony, relevant Chinese departments presented Real Madrid with exquisite Cantonese embroidery works.

On the evening of August 13, a friendly match between Guangzhou Evergrande and Real Madrid kicked off at Yuexiushan Stadium.

This was a match with a significant disparity in strength. At that time, Guangzhou Evergrande had just been acquired by Evergrande Group in March and was still striving for promotion to the Chinese Super League.

Facing such an opponent, Mourinho fielded his strongest lineup, including Fino, Ronaldo, Di Maria, Higuain, Alonso, Ramos, Casillas, and others.

The event organizers have given them far too much. Real Madrid can earn 2 million euros for this friendly match, and they must make sure that the organizers and fans feel that it is worth every penny.

The friendly match ended with a score of 7-1. Fino scored a hat-trick for Ronaldo, and scored a goal himself, along with Alonso, Ramos, and Higuain.

In the second half, Casillas subtly let the opponent win a little, preventing the home team from losing too badly.

The result of the competition was a happy one for everyone.

Real Madrid's commanding lead showcased their status as a top club; Guangzhou Evergrande, a China League One team, challenged a top European club, holding their nerve to pull one back, demonstrating their tenacious fighting spirit; fans got to see their favorite Real Madrid stars perform up close; and the organizers made a fortune from ticket sales, broadcasting rights, and sponsorships...

Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in the friendly match, was overjoyed. He put his arm around Fino's neck and went to the sidelines to interact enthusiastically with the fans.

That's just the kind of person he is. Whether it's the Champions League or a friendly match, no matter what kind of game it is, he's super, super happy as long as he wins!

Cristiano Ronaldo's actions elicited screams from the fans in the stadium.

Fino sensed something was wrong; he didn't want to see posters of him and Ronaldo when he returned to his country next time.

That's right, in the stands, Fino saw those posters again that made him want to disappear into the ground. He wasn't the only victim; he also saw posters of Kaká and Ronaldo, Casillas and Ramos, Ronaldo and Pepe...

Even Mourinho and Guardiola...

Fino: ? ? ?

Fino saw that Mourinho's face had darkened.

Over the past few days, Real Madrid's attitude has been very serious and sincere, whether it's training, matches, commercial activities, or fan interactions, earning recognition from both the media and fans.

After the friendly match against Guangzhou Evergrande, Real Madrid's remaining three days of their China tour were dedicated to further improving their image and reputation. These were more formal activities, including charity events and visits to partner football schools. These events did not require the full participation of the players; only a few players needed to represent them.

Captain and vice-captain Casillas, Ramos, as well as players with good image and big name, such as Fino, Ronaldo, and Alonso, were all assigned tasks.

These player arrangements are not fixed; players can be substituted if they have personal business commitments.

Fino took a day off on August 14 to visit the children's welfare home where he grew up.

After Real Madrid's China tour was officially finalized, Fino had already made this plan. He wanted to know what Li Xiao's life was like after the car accident, and whether the soul of the Italian child whose body he had taken over had come to China and been reborn in his body.

He first searched online for information about the children's welfare home, since more than a decade had passed and he wasn't sure if it still existed. Fortunately, he could still find recent news reports online, and the address hadn't changed.

Fino, citing a friend's request, handed over the preparations to Julia.

The small town that nurtured Fino was about a 4-hour drive from Guangzhou. Around 6 a.m., Julia and the driver picked Fino up from the hotel. The car was filled with food, toys, books, and other items that Julia had purchased.

During the long drive, Fino initially managed to chat with Julia in a spirited manner, but the closer they got to their destination, the more nervous and conflicted he became. Sensing Fino's low spirits, Julia stopped bothering him.

When the car arrived at the gate of the children's welfare home, Fino felt a moment of disorientation. More than ten years had passed, and the children's welfare home was no longer what he remembered. Apart from the location and building layout, the gate, outer walls, and greenery had all changed a lot. There were also some fitness and children's play equipment in the courtyard, and it looked much better than when he was a child.

The unfamiliar gatekeeper approached and asked Fino and the others what their purpose was. Fino's lips trembled as she suppressed the surging emotions within her and forced herself to remain calm as she told the gatekeeper that she had come to deliver something to the children.

The security guard immediately contacted the staff in charge of reception, who warmly welcomed Fino inside.

The staff member was a kind woman in her forties. As she showed Fino around, she explained the children's welfare home. She skillfully described how, over the years, the welfare home has combined care, treatment, and education to cultivate the disabled children's ability to live independently and engage in simple labor, enabling them to integrate into society.

More than a decade has passed, and there have been many changes in the staff at the children's welfare home. Fino did not see any familiar faces.

As Fino passed by the bulletin board, he stopped. There were many new photos on the board. Fino carefully examined each photo to see if he recognized any of the staff members, but he was greatly disappointed.

"Excuse me, has Dean Li Yuying retired?" Fino asked.

The staff member was taken aback; she hadn't expected that the young man in front of her would actually know the old director.

"Dean Li retired six years ago. Do you know her?"

Fino shook his head: "I came here on the behalf of a friend. He has a deep connection with this children's welfare home. He told me about Director Li."

"Is your friend a child who grew up here?" the staff member asked excitedly.

“He didn’t tell me.” Fino shook his head again. “Can I see photos from more than ten years ago? I’d like to meet the Dean Li he respects, and also see if any of my friends are in the old photos.”

The staff readily agreed.

She led Fino to the office, found several old photo albums in the filing cabinet, opened them one by one, and looked through them with Fino.

As one old photograph after another came into view, more and more familiar figures appeared, and long-forgotten memories slowly surfaced in Fino's mind.

When his gaze swept over a certain photo, Fino's fingers suddenly stopped and then trembled slightly. He saw himself, twelve or thirteen years old, receiving a stack of school supplies from a philanthropist.

He calmed himself down and pointed to himself in the photo, asking, "This child looks a bit like my friend, my friend's name is Lin Chi."

The staff examined it carefully and shook their heads with some regret.

“He is not your friend. This child’s name is Li Xiao. He died in a car accident more than ten years ago.”

Even though she had considered this possibility, Fino was still stunned.

...

In addition to the supplies he brought, Fino also donated a considerable sum of money to the children's welfare home and promised to pay for air conditioning to be installed in every room.

Julia stayed in China during Real Madrid's China tour, and she will handle these matters.

Fino declined the staff's suggestion to invite the media for interviews and reports. He had not come for fame, and he could not bear to see the children cooperate with the sponsors for interviews and photos as he had when he was a child.

When Fino returned to the hotel, it was already close to evening.

He knocked on Alonso's door and threw himself into Alonso's arms the instant the door closed.

"Fino, what's wrong?" Alonso asked anxiously. He knew Fino had gone out early that day, but he had no idea where he went or what he did.

Fino leaned on Alonso's shoulder without saying a word.

This is a secret that cannot be told to anyone else; only he knows it. There is no longer any Li Xiao in this world; only Fino Cabrini remains.

Seeing that Fino didn't want to talk, Alonso didn't press him further, but gently patted Fino's back to soothe him.

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Author's Note: Thank you everyone for your support! [starry-eyed]