Chapter 55 The incredible "Gazzetta dello Sport"...
The day after the Milan derby was still a rest day.
In the morning, Fino went to his teacher's for his first art lesson. He spent the whole morning drawing lines with a pencil, his hands getting black from all the drawing, his mind filled with concepts like "proportion," "perspective," "light source," "shadow," and "light and shadow boundary"...
This was a field that Fino didn't know much about, but he didn't feel annoyed. With the scratching sound of the pencil tip cutting through the white paper, he felt particularly calm inside, like listening to the rain alone in the middle of the night.
Drawing is also something that can easily give people a sense of accomplishment. Even if it's just drawing a simple plaster geometric shape, as the outline of the sphere on the paper gradually becomes clear and the light and shadow become distinct, he still feels very happy.
Based on his schedule, he will probably need to work on geometric shapes and still lifes for at least another six months before he can paint portraits.
But that's okay, he can take his time.
After class, he went home to change his clothes, ate a quick lunch, and then drove to Kaka's house.
This was something Fino and Kaka had arranged in advance. He was going to play with Kaka in the afternoon and cook her a big meal in the evening as an "apology" for not taking her to Chinatown for dinner a week ago.
Before visiting the store, Fino made a detour to a cake shop to buy some cakes.
Fino discovered this cake shop by chance. Kaka loved it, and afterwards, Fino would buy some for Kaka every time she visited Kaka's house.
Caroline had already returned to Brazil to be with her family and friends. Kaká would only be able to return to Brazil to be with her after the season ended. In just over a month, the new parents would be on their way.
Despite having a nanny to handle all the housework in Kaka's home, it still feels a bit different when you leave the lady of the house.
Fino has always lived alone and doesn't find it difficult to adjust, but Kaka is different. Kaka has a family, and after Caroline left, Fino always felt that Kaka was somewhat lonely.
Ugh, poor thing.
Even though Kaka is several years older than her, in Fino's heart, Kaka is more like a younger brother who needs her care.
It's a strange feeling. On the field, Kaka is of course a mature and reliable figure, but once he's off the field, Kaka's age in Fino's mind quickly diminishes, and his whole image becomes childish, like a mischievous and cute big dog.
Kaka's family didn't have many entertainment options, especially since there were only two of them. Some entertainment was more fun with more people. The two decided to eat cake while watching TV, but it wasn't prime time on a weekday afternoon, and there weren't many good programs on TV. Kaka kept changing the channels until Audrey Hepburn's beautiful face appeared on the screen. It was "Roman Holiday."
Kaka put down the remote control. "You're the one."
Fino was deeply impressed by "Roman Holiday," and he still remembers the incredible report in "La Gazzetta dello Sport," as well as the teasing from his teammates and Ibrahimovic's "hatred."
Kaka watched with great interest, perhaps recalling his dates with Caroline, while Fino was uninterested and soon became drowsy.
When Kaka finished eating the cake and turned to talk to Fino, Fino was already close to her eyes.
"Hey, Finni!" Kaka reached out and patted Finni's face. "Don't go to sleep. You promised to play with me."
Fino ignored him and tilted her head to the side.
Kaka raised an eyebrow. How dare you ignore me?
With a triumphant smile, he reached his hands under Fino's ribs and began to tickle him.
Caught off guard, Fino was pushed onto the sofa by Kaka, and he chuckled because of the tickling. His eyes, which were already glistening with sleepiness, became watery from laughing so hard that tears welled up in his eyes.
Such a vibrant Fino is rare; he is gentle and restrained most of the time, even his smiles are mostly gentle, and he rarely laughs heartily like this.
Kaka really liked Fino's current appearance. He continued scratching himself with one hand while using the other to open his phone and start recording a video, capturing Fino's radiant smile.
Seeing Kaka start recording, Fino felt a little embarrassed. He continued to laugh uncontrollably while covering his face with his hands, gasping and begging for mercy, "No, no, no... Richie... please spare me... please..."
After filming, Kaka posted the short video to social media with one hand.
Because he was distracted by his phone, Fino finally caught his mischievous hand and freed herself.
“How awful, Richie!” Fino rubbed his eyes.
Kaka retorted confidently, "You promised to play with me, but you secretly went to sleep!"
"But watching movies is so boring!"
Kaka pondered for a moment, then a brilliant idea struck him: "Let's play games then, I have a game console at home."
Fino nodded: "I'm going to wash my face and clear my head. Could you make me an iced coffee?"
Kaka said no problem.
Fino and Kaka don't actually play video games much.
Kaka's game console was bought when Degan lived with him and has long been stored away. Fino's family doesn't even have a game console.
When playing away games, Fino and Kaká always shared a room. While Nesta and Pirlo in the next room were practically locked in a life-or-death battle with a game controller, Fino and Kaká would usually pass the time by playing billiards with their teammates in the hotel's recreation room.
When Pirlo is not around, Nesta might grab Fino and beat him up, but even then, Fino doesn't improve at all.
By the time Kaka rummaged through drawers and found the game console, and the two of them worked together to set it up, quite a bit of time had passed.
They wouldn't even look at ordinary shooting games; both of them are noobs, what's the point of noobs fighting each other?
After careful consideration, they chose a two-player soccer game.
Two people each lead a team, with the same initial funds. They must allocate players and design formations based on their available funds before starting the match.
Because of limited funds, it's impossible to buy a large number of high-priced players to stockpile on the bench. In terms of lineup composition, it's crucial to consider whether the players' abilities complement each other and whether they have good synergy. Placing two players with conflicting abilities is like cutting off your own arm. This tests the player's understanding of formations and their eye for player selection.
This game mode piqued the interest of both Fino and Kaká. Players are essentially transfer managers and coaches, able to build a team exactly to their needs – it's pretty cool!
Fino was full of confidence.
Since being forced to change positions at the age of 16, Fino has spent a lot of time studying the tactical systems of different teams. He believes that his tactical knowledge is no less than that of Kaká, the current number one player in football.
Besides, he was mentored by Pirlo, and that's Pirlo, an absolute master. He's practically a guaranteed top coach after retiring!
The game configuration and waiting time is 5 minutes, and the match time is 10 minutes, totaling 15 minutes per game. You can play four games in an hour.
As Fino had predicted, he won three games in a row.
That feels pretty good~
When the fourth game started, Kaka clearly lost his composure and started cheating during the game configuration. He would prevent Fino from buying and using this player and then prevent Fino from buying and using that player, desperately trying to ruin Fino's ideal configuration.
Fino was somewhat exasperated; why was he still trying to cheat?
But it's just a game, meant to kill time. Giving in to Kaka isn't a big deal; if Kaka doesn't want him to buy it, then he won't. With his indulgence, Kaka completely dismantled his team.
Since that's the case, Fino simply let his imagination run wild and, regardless of whether it was reasonable or not, just bought players he liked and put them in the starting lineup.
He chose a 4-3-3 formation and placed himself in the goalkeeper position, returning to his old role in the game.
The four defenders are Totti, Nesta, Ibrahimovic and Maldini. It's my dream to get close to my idols, and I'll also fulfill Ibrahimovic's dream. Being so tall, it's great to be a defender!
As for Totti, the childhood sweethearts from the Tiber River also need a chance to reunite. Anyway, this is just a game, and Totti and Ibrahimovic won't actually fight.
In midfield, Rui Costa, Pirlo, and Xabi Alonso lined up in a row – don't ask why, they're the good-looking trio.
In the forward position, he fielded Batistuta, Van Basten, and Casillas. Since they're all playing games, it's not unreasonable to let Fiorentina's sun and moon reunite. Maldini also needs a chance to get close to his idols.
As for Casillas, this was the role model his youth coach had found for him since he was 16. After observing him closely, Fino had come to admire him. Since he was going to play as a goalkeeper, he decided to let Casillas try his hand at being a striker.
Upon seeing Fino's lineup, Kaka burst out laughing!
"Finnie, you're being way too obvious about going easy on me!"
Fino laughed along; this lineup was indeed incredible.
"Aren't you happy about releasing the water? Then I'll reconfigure it?"
"No, no, let's start the game right away," Kaka quickly stopped her. "I'm sure I'll win this round."
Unsurprisingly, Kaka won a resounding victory.
Kaka happily took a picture of the match result and posted it on social media, along with a picture of Fino's lineup.
[A resounding victory, thanks to @FinoCabrini's phenomenal formation.]
Fino was too lazy to stop him, so he just let Kaka do as he pleased. Anyway, he rarely logged into his main account; he mainly played the account "Red and Black Faith-3".
When Fino got up to go to the kitchen to get some water, she came back and found that Kaka's expression was strange, showing confusion, helplessness, and despair.
"What's wrong? Did the fans make fun of you?" Fino sat down next to Kaká and placed Kaká's water glass on the table in front of him. "They're just joking with you, don't take it to heart."
He won against a lineup he had randomly chosen, and then proudly showed it off. I'm sure many people in the comments section will make fun of him.
Kaka found it difficult to speak.
This made Fino curious. Surely not? Kaka, who surfs the internet every day, isn't used to it?
"Not this one, it's the previous one," Kaka stammered.
"What happened to the last one?" Fino picked up her glass and took a sip of water.
Kaka handed over his phone, and Fino glanced at it absentmindedly...
"Cough cough cough..." Fino coughed violently; he had choked on the water.
Gazzetta dello Sport reposted Kaká's previous short video with the caption: "Disheveled and flushed, Kaká and Cabrini engage in an indescribable game during their vacation. The reason why Caroline left Milan to return to Brazil has been found."
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