Chapter 103
The photographers on the field were all surrounding the championship team, but there were still three or four cameras aimed at Cristiano.
Cristiano's teammates have a deep understanding of the fact that he always attracts these cameras. Ferdinand and Giggs moved to Chris's side unnoticedly, more or less blocking some of the cameras.
"Okay, Ronnie, let's go back and take a shower. You look like a stray puppy on the street now." Van der Sar came over and ruffled Cristiano's sweaty and messy curly hair.
The tall Dutchman put his arm around Cristiano, and the frustrated young man hunched his shoulders slightly, moved closer, and hugged Van der Sar's waist tightly.
Alan took a look at Cristiano who was hugged by Van der Sar. He had to say that the Dutchman's description was very appropriate. He looked more like a puppy on the roadside that got wet by the rain and huddled up to keep warm, and would rub against the source of warmth.
Cristiano sniffed hard, responded softly, and lowered his head, not wanting to pay attention to the pervasive cameras.
Van der Sar noticed Chris's little movement. He reached out, covered Cristiano's head with his palm and pressed it against his chest, patted it lightly twice, then raised his arm to completely cover Cristiano in his arm area.
His eyes swept across the shots that were about to poke at them, and quickly sank. These shots clearly only wanted to record their painful and frustrated looks and were looking for topics to talk about.
Cristiano and his teammates quickly left the field. They had to clean themselves up, and soon after, they had to collect the runner-up medal that represented their failure.
It's really weird. Cristiano stood under the shower, the warm water splashing against him. He leaned against the tiles on the wall and took a deep breath.
Even though he has experienced all kinds of wins and losses, he still hates losing games and his emotions about football are always strong, just like he is still happy for every goal as if it was his first time.
Such emotions are two-way: his anger and annoyance, his joy and pride, are all equally intense.
Cristiano stayed in the bathroom for nearly half an hour before coming out. His whole body was red from the hot water. He changed into clean clothes and looked much more energetic than before, as if he had recovered.
Pique looked up at Cristiano who was walking over. He was sitting on the bench. When Cristiano walked past him, he reached out and patted his waist, and whispered in Spanish: "You did a good job, Chris, really."
"It should have been better." Cristiano paused and replied, then held Pique's hand and leaned over to hug him gently, "Thank you, Gerrard, I'm much better, I'm fine, I'll be fine after venting."
Pique raised his head and looked at Cristiano's eyes which were red from crying, and wondered in his heart, does Cristiano's "venting" mean crying a lot?
That's the adult way to deal with it. Pique wanted to laugh, but held it back.
He hugged Chris back, his icy blue eyes filled with the seriousness of a young Pike. He whispered sincerely, "That's good. If you still want to vent, you can always find me. I'll accompany you."
Cristiano smiled, patted Pique's face, and felt much better.
"Where's Rooney?" he looked around and asked.
"Maybe he's still in the bathroom?" someone said. "I didn't see him come out."
Cristiano paused, then nodded: "Then I'll go and take a look."
Ferdinand and Neville heard this and said, "Wait Ronnie, we will go with you."
Several people found Rooney, who was silent in the bathroom. Rooney was staying in the corner of the bathroom. When they went over, they saw Rooney throwing the soap far away in anger.
Cristiano walked over. He didn't sit down - after all, he had just changed into clean clothes - he walked in front of Rooney, bent down and greeted him softly: "Waza."
Rooney didn't expect Cristiano to come over. He thought Cristiano was being comforted by Keane and others.
He saw Neville hugging Chris directly after the game. Well, Neville was indeed closest to Chris, which was normal. Then Alan also went to give Chris a hug, which was also normal. Alan always preferred Chris who cooperated better with him, and then Van der Sar. Van der Sar and Chris had practiced so many times in private, so they must have a closer relationship.
Rooney envied Cristiano but at the same time despised himself - it was he who missed the penalty kick and caused the entire team to miss the Champions League. Did he still expect others to comfort him?
These people hated him.
Ronnie must hate him even more.
He knew too well how obsessed Ronnie was with the championship. Alan said that Chris was still talking in his sleep the night before, saying something about "wanting to win the championship", but now this dream was kicked away by him.
Rooney felt even more uncomfortable thinking about it.
But he also wanted to be comforted. When he first came to Manchester United, everyone was more willing to surround him, but now everyone's first reaction is always to think about Ronnie, where is Ronnie, Ronnie wants the ball, Ronnie shoots, Ronnie wins, Ronnie cries...
Cristiano couldn't tell what Rooney was thinking. He saw that Rooney looked dazed by the kick and the loss, and he was completely stunned and had no reaction. He shouted "Waza" twice but the other party didn't even blink.
Cristiano reached out and pulled Rooney up from the floor, grabbed a large towel to cover Rooney, and wiped him twice. While wiping, he whispered: "You know I can't say anything nice, and I can't comfort you. I'm sad too."
Ferdinand and Neville couldn't help grinning as they listened.
Rooney: “…”
"But I can feel your feelings, Wazza, I understand." Cristiano said, he gave Rooney a hug, "It's just that losing is losing, but we still have next season and we can fight for the championship next season."
"I believe in our team, Wazza, and you should too," Cristiano said, feeling a slight tremor under the towel.
He sighed softly. Rooney is still young, just like the younger generation of his national team.
Cristiano didn't know whether he had comforted Rooney like this when he was young in his previous life. Perhaps at that time he had not been able to get over the defeat so quickly and had no time to care about Rooney who was also in pain and frustration.
He lowered his head and placed the towel against Rooney's head, gently poked his fingers on Rooney's chest, and whispered:
"We will win the championship. We are the best and we deserve a championship. I always tell myself this. You should also tell yourself this, Wazza. You are the best and you deserve the championship."
He always comforts the young people in the national team's locker room like this. Those young people are the hope for Portugal's future.
He always hopes that Portugal can be better, he hopes that there will be another captain who can lead Portugal to go further than him, and he can do anything for this.
Ferdinand and Neville looked at each other. They felt that they had nothing to do here. Ronnie was much more comforting, reliable and reassuring than they had expected.
They were worried that the two little ones would be together in the bathroom, crying until the award ceremony was over.
The big towel covered Rooney's head completely. Cristiano couldn't see Rooney's face or expression. He didn't know whether Rooney had listened to what he said.
He was about to ask again when he heard Rooney say in a sullen voice: "Ronnie, I love you."
Cristiano was stunned for a moment, then laughed.
He rubbed Rooney's head through the towel: "I love you too, Wazza, at least for now."
"Hey!" Rooney lifted the big towel and pouted unhappily, "Why did you add the second half? I didn't add it."
Cristiano smiled and shrugged: "Then you can add it."
"..." Rooney lost his temper. He wiped the water off his body in a sullen voice, "I won't add it. I'm not like you, a stingy person."
Cristiano patted Rooney on the shoulder: "Well, generous Wazza, hurry up and get yourself ready, we have to get back to the pitch."
Rooney waved his hand to indicate that he understood.
He swept away his previous depressed and hopeless look and quickly tidied himself up.
By the time he returned to the locker room, he had fully recovered - so what if his teammates, assistant coaches, and even the boss always favored Ronnie? But Ronnie would go out of his way to find him, comfort him, and tell him that he was the best.
He also said he loved me too. Rooney thought to himself that he was not jealous at all. Just ask Alan, Ferdinand, and Keane, has anyone ever received such treatment?
Even Fanny who has already left, even Fanny whom Ronnie loved to stick to the most before, didn't get treated like this!
If I tell others about this, I'm afraid others will be jealous to death.
…
The group returned to the stadium.
There were still some streamers scattered on the field and the reverberating theme music was playing. Juventus' main players were already there. Keane led the team over and they greeted each other politely.
Buffon noticed Cristiano in the Manchester United team. The handsome boy still had a red face. When he was celebrating with his teammates just now, he caught a glimpse of him crying sadly in the palm of his teammate's hand.
He guessed that the other party was probably not in the mood to greet them at the moment.
He saved five shots on target from Manchester United in the game - two from Giggs, one from Alan, one from Rooney and one from Chris - but Cristiano scored three of them, including a penalty.
When Cristiano stood in front of him, he had an indescribable feeling. The other party seemed to be very familiar with him, as if they had fought face to face more than once. There was the ambition he liked in the other party's eyes, vigorous and energetic.
He is very young. Buffon thought to himself that they were too young. He had a hunch that they would share this stage for a long time, they would meet here many times, and this stage was destined to allow the other to shine.
Cristiano walked up to Buffon, who extended his hand to him and then gave him a hug.
Buffon was still thinking about how he should start his conversation so that his words would appear more sincere and not irritate the proud young man.
——He had heard of the other party's temper, and especially now that the two of them were in such an awkward position, anything he said might be a little weird.
"Congratulations, Gigi." Unexpectedly, it was Cristiano who spoke first. While Buffon was still struggling, he gave Buffon a hug, patted his back, and said as he leaned close to the man's temples, "Enjoy the night."
Buffon was stunned for a moment, and it took him two seconds to come back to his senses. He let his hands fall naturally and placed them on Cristiano's lower back. Hearing this, he subconsciously tightened his strength, and then quickly and politely released it: "Thank you, Ronaldo."
"You can call me Cristiano." Cristiano smiled and winked at the other party. "There are many Ronaldos."
Buffon also laughed when he heard this. He nodded and amended his words: "Thank you, Cristiano."
As he spoke, his arms still hanging down and embracing each other, he tilted his head and placed a polite kiss on the young man's neck: "I wish you good luck too, boy, and I wish you many harvests in the future."
"I will." Cristiano responded with a smile. He tilted his head slightly, getting used to Buffon's love of kissing him on the neck, especially since the young Buffon had not yet developed a taste for growing a beard, unlike in his previous life when it always made him feel itchy.
Piero blinked on the side, watching their goalkeeper emitting hormones again, kissing people everywhere, and even kissing the opposite side this time.
He noticed that several players on the opposing team were about to pop their eyes out of their sockets. He dared to say that if Gigi kissed him a few more times, the main players of Manchester United would probably rush up and push him away.
Fortunately, it was the first time the two met and they were not familiar with each other, so Gigi was able to restrain herself to some extent.
Buffon quickly let go of Cristiano and said with a smile: "I always feel that we hit it off right away, maybe because I watched too many of your goals."
"Or maybe we just get along well?" Cristiano walked towards the next Juventus main player and turned to grin at Buffon.
Buffon curled up the corners of his mouth and expressed his agreement in a good mood.
After the award ceremony, both teams had to be interviewed. Fortunately, reporters always prefer to interview the team that won the championship, and the Red Devils were quickly freed and returned to the bus.
Buffon couldn't help but generously praise Cristiano, with whom he got along very well, in the interview. He smiled and joked: "Cristiano caused a lot of trouble for our goal. He is indeed a difficult 'problem'."
"He's very young and has an incredible ability to score goals, it's a satisfaction to play against him."
"He congratulated me, which was unexpected. He is very polite, humorous, and both his football and appearance are eye-catching. Yes, I really like him."
When asked about Cristiano's tears after the match, Buffon said: "I noticed it and I wanted to show my concern and comfort him, but he was surrounded by his teammates and they left. I think crying is not a shameful thing. What is really shameful is to lose and not feel that there is something wrong with you."
"Cristiano has shown his pursuit of victory and aggressiveness as a player. This is an inspiring spirit and I am glad that you have noticed it too." Buffon smiled and looked at the reporter who asked the question.
reporter:"……"
It seems like it's not the same question, as if it has been moved around, but I can't tell.
He is indeed an Italian man with sweet words. English reporters thought so in their hearts.
After Cristiano got on the bus, he took out his mobile phone. He received many comforting text messages. By the time he had almost finished replying, the bus had already entered the hotel parking lot and was parking.
Cristiano thought about calling Kaka back after getting off the car, but the next second his phone rang.
"Kaka?" Chris answered the phone.
Alan, who was sitting next to Cristiano, turned his head when he heard the sound. It was Kaka again. He rolled his eyes to the sky.
"Well, I'm with my teammates and we're almost at the hotel. I'll call you back later?" Cristiano said. He had to get the equipment bag from the compartment above his seat, and it was inconvenient to hold the phone with one hand, so he hung up Kaka's call reluctantly.
Alan sighed softly: "I still have to call back? What can't be said in a minute?"
"How can one minute be enough?" Cristiano's eyes widened.
"'Are you okay? Don't be sad. Come on in the next game.' It doesn't even take half a minute." Alan counted on his fingers and said, "My ex-girlfriend called me like that after the game."
Cristiano curled his lips and patted Alan's shoulder with a hint of sympathy: "So you are each other's ex."
Alan: “…”
He patted Cristiano on the forehead, stood up and got out of the car silently. He didn't want to be pitied by a young boy who probably had never been in love.
He walked into the hotel lobby and suddenly felt that something was wrong. But before he could figure it out, Cristiano threw his equipment bag over to him and put his hands together without any courtesy: "Alan, help me take it to the room. I'll make a phone call outside and come back! The signal in the room is too bad!"
Alan: “…”
The signal in their room is really bad.
All right.
Alan waited for a full twenty minutes until Cristiano returned to the room. He glared at Chris and said, "I almost thought you were lost on the streets of France and considered calling the police for help."
"Oh, I went to buy some food! And I also gave some to Keane and the others. It's strawberry tart, would you like some, Alan?" Cristiano shook the things in his hand.
He had been on the phone with Kaka for too long outside. After Kaka knew that he and Alan lived in the same room, it was Kaka who reminded him -
"Cris, you talked to me on the phone for so long, will Alan doubt our relationship?" The lover on the phone asked gently, "Why don't you bring them some midnight snacks? That will also explain why it took so long."
"Probably not, he just thinks I'm clingy." Cristiano wrinkled his nose and turned to complain to Kaka about Alan's "attack" on him, "This guy always says I'm clingy, but I'm not clingy to him."
"But you are right, I will bring something for everyone, eat something sweet, you will feel better." Cristiano said.
Soon, he hung up the phone, while his lover was still struggling with the issue of "clinginess".
"Kaka, what are you thinking about? You look like someone who suddenly realized that he forgot to say his daily prayers." Cafu walked into the dormitory and teased with a smile.
Kaka: “…”
On the other side in Paris, France, the Red Devils are enjoying the sweet strawberry tart.
Alan bit the strawberry tart slowly. Few people knew that he liked sweet food, probably because his playing style was too incompatible with his hobby.
"It's delicious." Alan expressed his gratitude to his roommate.
"That's good. I was wondering if you don't like sweet food. After all, I think this strawberry tart is a bit too sweet." Cristiano licked the cream at the corner of his mouth and smiled. Eating an indulgent meal occasionally can help to make the body and mind happy.
Alan shrugged: "I think it's just right."
"The strawberries are quite sweet," Cristiano said. "They are as sweet as the strawberries in my hometown. Next time if you have the chance, I will take you to eat our strawberries if you come to Portugal. You will definitely like them."
Alan nodded noncommittally.
In the other rooms—
Ferdinand: "Ronnie brought us desserts. Was he trying to comfort us?"
Keane: "It's not right that it has to be Ronnie's turn to worry and comfort us."
Giggs: "Strawberry tart, love it."
Neville: "Little Ronnie..."
Rooney: "Ronnie is so sweet."
Pique: "Waza, it's so late, shouldn't you eat? After all, your body fat percentage is the highest in the team."
Rooney: “…” Damn, he wants to change roommates!
Ferguson, who was in a single room, had nothing. Considering Ferguson's blood lipids and blood sugar, Cristiano unilaterally cancelled the midnight snack service of strawberry tart.
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