Chapter 36

It was a sunny day, just as Kaka remembered it. It was so bright that it made people feel happy, as if it was a sign that something good was going to happen today.

——There will be a team that will lift the Big Ear Cup on the final night of the 50th UEFA Champions League.

"Good morning, champion boy." Cristiano squinted at Kaka standing by the window. He raised the corners of his lips and there was a hint of smile in his voice, "You look well rested."

The heavy blackout curtains were drawn aside, and the Turkish sunshine streamed in, casting a holy light over his lover.

Cristiano knew that this was just a superficial appearance, just one of Kaka's many characteristics, and on the court, this was the least noticeable point.

Kaka walked over from the window when he heard that. He smiled and leaned over to kiss Chris's forehead: "Morning, Cris."

He thought he would have trouble sleeping the night before the final - he didn't have this problem before, but later he suffered from continuous injuries and even when he played he could not perform at his usual level. He gradually felt overwhelmed, and insomnia before the game seemed to have become a common occurrence - these rarely bothered him now, but this event was so different in meaning.

But unexpectedly, he did rest very well that night and felt very at ease.

His kisses fell on Cristiano's forehead, nose tip, behind the ears, corners of the mouth... without any lust, only tenderness and piety. Cristiano was his sleeping pill.

"When we set off later, will you go with our bus?" Kaka asked his lover with his head down.

"No." Cristiano raised his eyebrows. "I'm not from your club. I'll go by myself."

Kaka thought about the journey from the bus departure to the stadium in the previous life, paused and said: "Are you sure? It's very remote there."

"I've made a plan. I'll go with the fans." Cristiano pushed away his lover who was pressing on him, got up energetically, and took out his disguise props from the luggage bag he brought with him - sunglasses, a big beard, and the wig that was very characteristic of Marcelo.

"Don't worry, I won't get lost." Cristiano turned around and met Kaka's complicated expression, and he added.

Kaka shook his head helplessly and laughed: "My dear, I'm afraid these props won't provide much cover."

He even felt that it would attract a lot of fans' attention because it was too abrupt and exaggerated.

Cristiano said let's wait and see.

AC Milan's team bus was parked right in front of the hotel, so Kaka had to leave the hotel early.

"See you in Ataturk." Cristiano waved goodbye with a smile, "Good luck, Kaka!"

Kaka thought to himself, yes, you always bring me good luck. He smiled and bent down to kiss his ring finger.

Costa sat next to Kaka on the team bus. He looked around and raised his eyebrows in confusion: "Cristiano didn't come?"

"He insisted on going to the stadium with the fans," Kaka said helplessly.

Costa took a breath when he heard this: "This road is not easy to walk."

And with the fans? Isn’t he afraid of being eaten by the fans? Costa didn't say the rest.

If Figo knew that their golden boy was hanging out with a bunch of crazy fans, he would definitely go crazy.

The streets were full of crazy Liverpool fans, and the Reds flooded the streets like a tide. In comparison, AC Milan fans accounted for less than one-fifth of the total.

Kaka knew what Costa meant, but Cristiano had already made up his mind. He shook his head and smiled: "He knows."

Costa shrugged his shoulders and said, "I can only wish him good luck."

Their destination was in the west, and it was hard to describe what kind of place it was. The team bus crossed rocky sand dunes, passed through a desert area, and finally stopped at a place some distance away from the stadium.

The rest of the way had to be walked.

Cristiano has also set off. He is dressed in disguise and has booked a taxi to the stadium from the hotel in advance.

The pre-match atmosphere in this city was as hot as fire. The four-wheeled taxis moved slowly through the crowd like snails, and it was impossible to distinguish the lanes.

Cristiano sat in the back seat of the car and looked out. This was one of the few times he became such a fan and it was really novel for him to feel such madness.

"Which team do you support?" The driver started a topic in his unfluent English. This is the most commonly used daily spoken language here recently, second only to "Where to go?" and "Cash?".

Cristiano pretended to be confused in Portuguese. The driver became even more confused when he heard it. He smiled awkwardly and gave up the idea of ​​chatting to pass the time on the road.

Soon, he was dropped off at a place that looked like the foot of a mountain. The driver indicated that this was the destination, and pointed to the dense crowd on the mountain and the lights that had been lit in the distance: "That's it! The car can't drive up, we have to walk!"

The driver spoke and gestured at the same time, and Cristiano understood. He smiled at the driver, then took out a few cash bills and gave them to him, indicating that the rest was a tip.

The driver widened his eyes slightly. Although this gentleman looked strange and had a unique aesthetic, he was really generous! ?

He turned his head to look at the passenger in the back seat and thanked him repeatedly - this tip was enough for him to not have to drive for two days!

Cristiano showed his big white teeth to the driver in a good mood: "Goodbye!"

The driver was once again dazzled by the afro and the terrifying beard, and he remembered the look so well that when he later saw in the tabloids a Portuguese rising star whose wig was accidentally blown off by an excited fan in the stands, he recognized him instantly - this guy had been in his car!

After getting off the bus, Cristiano squeezed into the crowd and waded through the rugged road with a group of Red Army fans.

He had to admit that he had a brief moment of regret. This road was as bumpy as the surface of the moon! He has heard ladies around him exclaim more than once, as well as fans complaining.

Cristiano felt that his wig and beard were almost killing him. He was sweating all over and some of the hair was sticky on his face. Cristiano once again confirmed that he did not like too much hair.

He couldn't help but scratch it a few times, but he was afraid of loosening the fragile disguise, so he had to endure it.

The athlete's excellent physical fitness helped him walk relatively easily on this road, and he even had time to help the fans next to him who were about to fall.

A curly-haired boy who looked no older than six years old was walking with a pout on his face, looking like he was about to cry. He accidentally fell forward and was quickly picked up by Cristiano's collar.

He looked at the lady next to the boy. It was obvious that the lady came alone with her child, so he asked, "How about I hold him for you? If you don't mind?"

The lady was a little surprised, a little embarrassed, and a little wary: "This..."

Before she could say anything, her child had already hugged Cristiano's calf, looking pitiful and about to cry.

Cristiano couldn't help but smile. He was always very fond of children. He rubbed the little guy's head twice and looked at the lady again.

The child reminded him of Mini.

"Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." Cristiano bent down and held the child firmly in his arms.

Ataturk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Türkiye.

After arriving at the stadium, Cristiano returned the child to the lady. The little guy smiled sweetly at him, stretched out his soft fingers and held his hand. Cristiano's heart softened.

God, he really missed Mini.

Cristiano took a deep breath and turned into the court.

The entire Ataturk Stadium was filled with people, and Liverpool fans occupied almost half of the stands, which really surprised Cristiano.

He was glad that Costa gave him a seat far away from the fans over there, otherwise the scene would have been very embarrassing.

Cristiano adjusted his wig a little, and then adjusted his fake beard in the reflection of the glass on the guardrail to make sure he looked good.

The stickiness of the beard sticker seemed to be affected by the sweat, and it looked like it was about to fall off, so Cristiano didn't dare to fiddle with it any more.

His eyes fell on the court, and the main players of both sides had already entered the field.

Cristiano subconsciously leaned forward and his eyes quickly locked on his lover.

Kaka seemed to be aware of something and looked towards the stands. The man with the ridiculous afro and exaggerated beard stood out among the crowd of fans.

Kaka laughed softly. Seeing this, Costa raised his eyebrows, covered his mouth with his hand and asked in a low voice: "What's so funny?"

"Cris." Kaka also answered while covering his mouth.

Costa also looked towards the stands when he heard this. He of course knew where the seat he was given was, but he glanced over and didn't see the handsome boy at all.

"He's in disguise." Kaka reminded, covering his mouth.

Costa: "…Oh my god, that exploding head?! Is it Cristiano?!"

Kaka nodded slightly.

Costa gasped.

Cristiano smiled widely, he knew Kaka saw him, and even Costa noticed it.

He waved his arms more enthusiastically, then noticed that his national teammate was swaying and looked like he was about to faint.

Soon, the starting lineups of both teams were ready to enter the center of the field, while Costa sat on the bench. He had to resist the urge to turn around and look for his young teammates on the national team.

Oh my god, this kind of disguise would attract extra attention even if she went to a bar, right? ! Is there no one to teach this child? !

Costa forced himself to focus back on the field.

With the referee's whistle, the dream journey officially started in Istanbul night.

This AC Milan team is the most qualified to win the championship. It is a star-studded team in every sense - the strongest Italian left-back captain Maldini, the captain and strongest left-back of Brazil Cafu, the beast waist spokesperson Gattuso, the second center forward after the God of War Crespo, the nuclear-warhead Shevchenko...

Looking at Liverpool, no one would say that this was a completely evenly matched game.

Less than a minute into the game, Kaka got the ball, he started quickly and broke through to Liverpool's goal from the right.

His dribbling speed was so aggressive that it was like a spear breaking through the defense line.

"Kaka was brought down! The referee awarded a free kick!"

Cristiano couldn't help but stand up from his seat and raised his arms fiercely: "This guy!"

He was referring to the opponent's defense.

The fans next to him also booed.

Cristiano's eyes fell on Kaka, who got up from the ground and even smiled at the defender who had knocked him down.

Cristiano took a deep breath, his lover was obviously forgiving.

Kaka glanced towards the stands, his smile remained the same, even more obvious, but compared with the smile he had shown towards the defense before, it didn't seem out of place.

Cristiano met Kaka's gaze, was slightly distracted, and then realized - was the smile he gave to the defender actually some kind of cover? Was this actually a sign that he was okay?

Cristiano couldn't help but laugh.

The free kick created by Kaka was given to AC Milan's midfielder Pirlo to take the penalty.

He unexpectedly kicked out a low ball, and Maldini, who was on the outside, volleyed the ball, which went straight into the net!

This incredibly quick start caught everyone off guard, and the entire stadium erupted in cheers of surprise.

"Fifty-two seconds into the game! AC Milan broke the scoreline! Leading 1-0!" The commentator gasped in surprise, "A free kick created by Kaka, Pirlo took the penalty, and Maldini scored! Less than a minute! Oh my God, does this mean that the goddess of victory is on AC Milan's side tonight?"

This sweet score in less than a minute greatly boosted the Rossoneri's morale.

In the first half, in the 39th minute near the halftime whistle, Kaka got the ball again.

He dribbled the ball forward thirty meters, but Liverpool's defense was prepared this time and three players came up to block him.

Kaka glanced at the field, exchanged glances with Shevchenko, and made an accurate lob pass to the Ukrainian.

Shevchenko dribbled into Liverpool's penalty area and made a fake shot, but the ball was passed to Crespo's feet.

"Liverpool's goalkeeper was knocked out of the goal by Shevchenko's feint! Crespo was only a few meters away from the empty goal! Shoot with his right foot! The ball goes in!!"

"Great cooperation! AC Milan leads 2-0!"

There was a suffocating silence and despair among the Liverpool Red Army, and the goalkeeper held his head and looked back at his own goal.

And this is not the last dance before the end of the first half.

In the 44th minute, Kaka got the ball again in the backcourt with his back turned.

The player who was marking him was watching him closely, but he made a beautiful turn and quickly and cleverly got rid of the opponent, then made a beautiful straight pass to the defense line in the middle line with surgical precision!

Cristiano couldn't help but stand up and applaud loudly for this beautiful pass, and his fake beard almost flew off.

"GOOOOAL! Crespo scored with a single shot! Scored twice!"

"God! In the Champions League final, AC Milan took such a big lead in the first half! They almost secured the victory!"

"Unless a miracle happens, AC Milan will win tonight!"

At the end of the first half, all the players on the AC Milan bench couldn't help but rush onto the field in ecstasy. Everyone almost believed that this was a victory that was within reach!

Kaka took a deep breath, took the cup of water and rinsed his mouth. Before walking into the player tunnel, he looked up at the stands.

Cristiano gave an enthusiastic response at the first moment. He stretched out his two hands and squeezed them lightly in the air, which was a kiss from a distance.

Kaka smiled subconsciously when he saw this, and he almost wanted to respond with the same one.

Cristiano blinked, then shrank back into the stands, covering his beard, and laughing quietly for a while with the cover of his beard.

The entire viewing stand was singing and cheering victory songs. AC Milan fans seemed to have victory in their grasp, while Liverpool fans were like eggplants hit by frost.

Cristiano and Kaka both knew very well that the reason this night was called a miracle was not because of their big lead in the first half, but because of the miraculous equalizer in the second half.

Overtime is the stage where you can truly change your fate in the previous life.

Second half.

At the start of the game, Liverpool's coach immediately made a tactical adjustment by making substitutions and launched an attack on the middle.

Cristiano saw in the eyes of the opponent's center forward Gerrard the same unstoppable desire to attack and score as himself, and he knew that the opponent would definitely score.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes into the second half, Gerrard seized the opportunity and headed the ball. The ball passed the Milan goalkeeper at an extremely tricky angle and hit the far corner of the goal!

Liverpool fans were awakened by this shot and cheered loudly.

Outside the stadium, tens of thousands of fans stood up and sang "You'll Never Walk Alone". Even though AC Milan fans were silent at this moment, they could still feel the excitement that brought tears to their eyes.

On the field, Gerrard waved his hands high and encouraged the morale of the team: "We can win! Run!"

Just as he said, three minutes later, Liverpool scored another goal into AC Milan's goal.

The score is 2:3!

Kaka and his teammates watched the Red Army's ecstasy. He wiped his face hard and subconsciously looked towards the stands.

In the stands, Cristiano completely ignored the silence of the Milan fans around him. He suddenly waved the AC Milan scarf in his hand - Kaka's - to cheer his lover.

Kaka pursed his lips and smiled slightly, then lowered his head and ran quickly.

He ran past Shevchenko and whispered to encourage him: "Don't worry, this game may last longer than we think, we will win it."

Shevchenko straightened his lips, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was a punishment for them touching the trophy impulsively and eagerly before the game.

In the 60th minute, Liverpool created a penalty in AC Milan's penalty area. Alonso, who is known as the twin stars of Liverpool together with Gerrard, took the penalty kick. His shot was saved by the goalkeeper. However, the opponent reacted very quickly and his supplementary shot went into the net.

"Liverpool scored three goals in less than ten minutes! They tied the score!"

"Oh my God! Tonight in Istanbul is destined to be a sleepless night! This is a night of miracles! Ataturk Stadium witnessed this extraordinary night!"

The commentator's voice was hoarse, and the whole stadium was extremely crazy - whether it was Liverpool fans or AC Milan fans, on the night of the Champions League final, three goals were scored in ten minutes to equalize the score! This is a plot that even movies dare not film!

Liverpool successfully dragged the game into extra time.

Cristiano can completely empathize with the feelings of lovers on the field.

He adjusted his breathing and stood by the handrail of the stands, his eyes closely following his lover on the field. He knew that his lover was determined enough to win this incredible battle of fate.

He could not hear the noisy and crazy shouting and cheers of celebration around him, he could only see the red and black shadow of Kaka running across the green field. He seemed to hear his own heartbeat and breathing gradually synchronizing with the other person's heartbeat and breathing.

Cristiano tightly grasped the metal handrail, watching the opponent running with the ball like lightning, just like that night, reviewing Manchester United's entire defense with an impromptu work of one person, and now, this classic scene was reproduced before his eyes again.

"Kaka dribbled the ball into Liverpool's penalty area! Unbelievable! He still had such explosive power in overtime!"

"Kaka shoots! GOOOOOOOOAL! The shot seals the deal!!!"

"Oh my God! In the last few minutes of extra time, Kaka scored a goal that almost decided the outcome! He almost secured the final victory for AC Milan!"

The whistle for the end of the game sounded, and the outcome was decided!

Gattuso, Maldini, Shevchenko... everyone ran towards Kaka, and Kaka joyfully crossed the midfield and rushed straight to the stands at the other end!

The fans in the stands went crazy. Cristiano jumped up on the spot the moment Kaka scored. The AC Milan fans next to him waved their arms even more excitedly than him!

Cristiano's wig and sunglasses were knocked off the stands by the fans' waving hands, but he didn't care about that. His eyes were red with excitement. Without the cover of his afro and sunglasses, his face and the area around his eyelids were so red that he looked like he was about to cry. He shouted, jumped and cheered along with the fans.

His lover's eyes lit up amazingly! Cristiano has never been so surprised and satisfied. His shining lover, the most unbridled and proud lover standing on the football field, he can hardly wait to stand on the same stage with her!

For the first time, Cristiano was so deep in the audience seats and felt so deeply the two completely different atmospheres on the field, one was as hot as fire, and the other was as cold as an ice pond.

This is the charm of football. Cristiano bit his lower lip tightly, his heart beating fast - football has nothing to do with life and death, football is above life and death!

The audience seats on the big screen at the scene randomly captured and froze on the AC Milan fan area, flashed across Cristiano's face, and then quickly flashed back, freezing at this angle, as if it had discovered some incredible surprise.

The fans were so excited that they didn't notice the big screen on the field. They saw their prince of the night running towards them, pointing his fingers behind his ears, kissing him hard and then pointing to the sky.

Kaka stared eagerly and intently at his lover, who was left with only a funny beard in the stands. His boy cheered like a fan without hesitation, his eyes red and tears welling up for his winning the cup.

Kaka opened his mouth and wanted to shout something, but then closed it tightly and just stared hard. Even though his teammates rushed up to hug him tightly and threw him into the air, his eyes still followed Cristiano closely across the sea of ​​people.

I give you my glory. From now on, my raised hands are no longer just for talking to God. God's guidance gives them a whole new meaning and soul.

…

As the celebration of victory gradually cooled down, someone finally noticed the big screen on the scene.

A completely different wave of exclamations rang out again—

Cristiano was suddenly surrounded by fans on both sides, and mobile phones were thrust in front of his eyes. Before he could react, flash lights flashed everywhere.

"Cristiano Ronaldo!"

Cristiano saw his red eyelids and funny beard on the phone screen. His hair was all messy and sticky, as if it had just been rubbed hard.

He was stunned for a second, and then a thought flashed through his mind - Mendes would go crazy.

"Damn it..." Costa, who rushed up to hug Kaka, cursed and looked at the interactive big screen on the field.

His little Portuguese teammate looked completely out of shape and dazed. I don’t know if he was scared and crying or something, but he looked wet.

Is this something that can be said?

He came to his senses and subconsciously looked for Kaka, only to see that Kaka had quickly squeezed out of the celebrating crowd and was talking to the security guard on the sidelines.

Costa took a breath and at the same time felt lucky in his heart that Kaka did not impulsively rush into the viewing stands by himself, otherwise it would probably be the carnival night of the century.

Costa covered his face, not daring to think about how the national team chat group would explode today and tomorrow, especially since he was the one who secretly gave the ticket to Cristiano.

God, but he really couldn't find a private box seat!