Chapter 118
Cristiano had promised Ms. Dolores that he would let them come to watch the final, and now he has fulfilled his promise.
He asked Mendes to arrange for Ms. Dolores and her group to come to Germany to watch the final, and also sent a ticket to Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson did not stay in Germany forever because the club had too many troubles for him to deal with, especially those regarding Cristiano. In less than half a month, the club had received hundreds of red warning letters, strongly demanding that the club sell the Portuguese.
Ferguson needed to balance these things, but he still agreed to let Cristiano come to watch the final.
"I won't miss your crucial moments, Ronnie, you know that." Ferguson smiled on the phone, "I watched your semi-finals, you never let me down, I'm proud of you kid."
Cristiano smiled sincerely, he knew that Sir Alex Ferguson was always in the stands - whether it was his later Champions League nights, or the 2016 European Cup trip, even in 2018, when the elderly Sir had just undergone surgery and was still thinking about his live games.
Cristiano whispered, "I really want to hug you, Boss. I missed you."
"Oh..." Ferguson felt a dense stream of longing in his heart. The little Portuguese on the other end of the phone was like a bowl of sweet maple syrup, sticky and sweet.
He wondered, could he also come to Germany a day or two earlier?
Anyway, the club's troubles have been almost resolved.
Cristiano and his family arrived earlier, and Mendes arranged a hotel shuttle for them. After Cristiano finished his training, he immediately reunited with his family.
Simeone's family also gathered together for a lively dinner.
"If Cristiano hadn't always said that I would be nervous watching big games and didn't let me come, I would have come with you a long time ago." Dolores glanced at Cristiano in reproach. She held Simeone's hand and said, "I was just as nervous at home. How big of a difference can there be? Not to mention that so many things have happened..."
Dolores finally had a chance to pour out her grievances with her best friend, and the two ladies soon left the men aside.
Cristiano listened to his mother's complaints, grinned and did not refute anything.
Kaka knew why Cristiano did this. Too many things happened in this World Cup, and Cristiano was the eye of the storm. If Dolores were here, she would probably be scared.
He took Cristiano's hand under the table.
Cristiano felt it and turned to look at Kaka, raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, but quickly shook his hand back with force.
He smiled brightly.
Dinis looked at his younger son, raised his hand and placed it on Cristiano's head, rubbed it twice, and slightly curved the corners of his mouth proudly and reservedly, but said nothing. However, Cristiano understood his father.
"After that, we will play the third and fourth place match, and then the final the next day?" Dolores asked Simeone.
Simeone responded, then took Dolores' arm and said, "Dolly! Can we watch Kaka's game together first, and then go to the final stadium the next day? Although this is a bit rushed..."
"Of course!" Dolores agreed quickly. "My dear, I have endless energy! Even traveling between two cities is no problem."
Simone was amused. She pulled Dolores and immediately started thinking about what to do - she didn't want to always rely on her child, and coincidentally, Dolores had the same idea.
Cristiano rested his chin in his hand enviously as he watched the two ladies happily decide on their itinerary for the next few days.
Their match was the next day, and he couldn't go to watch Kaka's match. He had to concentrate fully on the next big match.
"Let's watch this game together after the World Cup is over?" Cristiano whispered in Kaka's ear.
Kaka nodded, with a hint of smile in his eyes: "I'll prepare a chicken breast salad."
"You can add some salmon, I like that." Cristiano made the request.
"Okay, salmon."
The atmosphere of the two people's whispering was not enough for a third person to interrupt.
Di Gan quickly mixed with Hugo, Alma and others. Alma needed to know the real situation of his little brother during this period, and Di Gan was the best place to start. Di Gan sold Cristiano out completely without knowing it.
Cristiano has even decided with Kaka what playlist to play during dinner together during the break after the World Cup - he has monopolized the playlist five days a week, and the remaining two days belong to Kaka. He guesses he'll have to listen to some gospel pop? He didn't know if these newfangled gadgets were available at this time, but he hoped that they were, as they were better than some of the more traditional ones.
While talking about these pleasant arrangements, Cristiano suddenly felt a gaze that made him feel cold on the back of his neck. He turned his head and saw his sister staring at him sharply, as if he had done something bad.
Cristiano swallowed instinctively and subconsciously: "...Alma?"
Alma met her younger brother's eyes, those innocent and happy eyes, which made her grit her teeth, but she couldn't bear to blame him for those things - their youngest child, a child who grew up being loved even though he was poor, was now facing the overwhelming bad words and the terrible malicious confrontations on the court alone. Cristiano concealed these from them, which made Alma, Hugo and others extremely angry, but she couldn't blame him for it.
She couldn't blame a victim for not protecting herself, nor could she blame their brothers for no longer seeking help and shelter from them.
Alma knew that everything had changed since Cristiano started playing football, and generally for the better, but the world Cristiano faced was no longer the same as theirs, and they couldn't help, so even if Cristiano hid these things from them, she couldn't blame him. She just felt depressed.
She took a deep breath, stretched out her beautifully manicured hand, and pinched Cristiano's face hard: "Chris, your face is still as chubby as before, so cute."
Cristiano: “…”
He intuitively knew that his sister didn't mean to say this, but he followed his instinct and didn't ask any more questions, nor did he refute or dodge. He grinned at his brothers and sisters with a soft smile: "Because exercise makes people look younger?"
"Youthful glow has nothing to do with your baby fat, Chris," Hugo corrected, "but at least it makes you look a little more like my brother."
Cristiano's eyelids twitched and he looked at the other party: "Hugo?"
"I mean, in terms of appearance. Now I can't find the feeling of being an older brother. You are no longer the kid who would come back to me crying with a runny nose after being bullied while playing soccer." Hugo said.
Cristiano laughed and said, "No, Hugo, I am still the same child, I still cry a lot, but now I prefer to go to him. Sorry, Hugo?"
Cristiano pointed at the person next to him. Hugo looked over and saw Kaka smiling with his eyes curved and even his ears turned red.
Hugo rolled his eyes to the sky. Damn those little lovers. Damn those Brazilians who had snatched his brother away.
Cristiano laughed even louder, leaning on Kaka and holding his arms around Kaka's waist: "Do you want me to show you, Hugo?"
"Stop, stop Cristiano!" Hugo almost screamed, and his reaction was met with a loud laugh from his brother who had obviously succeeded in his prank.
"I hate you." Hugo angrily poked the soft-boiled egg in front of him with a fork. He didn't want to see how his brother fell in love with a man at all.
Digan whistled on the side.
After the fun, Cristiano and Kaka sent their families back to the hotel.
Cristiano finally parted ways with Kaka. They laid the seats flat in the car, hid under the window and exchanged a kiss, like two cats hiding in the shadows of the corner, exchanging breaths, licking fur, and grooming each other.
"Good luck in the game." Cristiano kissed Kaka's nose and whispered.
"Yeah, you too, Cris." Kaka responded, holding his lover's face in his hands and whispering in his heart - Lord Jesus, please enlighten my prayer heart, so that my boy Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro will no longer have regrets, make him happy and make him healthy.
Cristiano looked into Kaka's eyes, paused, then leaned in and kissed the other's eyes.
There should be more in these eyes.
"Kaka on the pitch is the most shining Kaka. The whole world will cheer for you. Enjoy that stage wholeheartedly, regardless of the final result." Cristiano said, "You know, this is my thought before every game, even the final later."
Although he still hated losing, he hated not being able to play a game to his full potential even more. If he knew he could perform better and score one more goal for the team, but couldn't play, it would hurt him more than losing.
Kaka looked at Cristiano. He understood what Cristiano meant. He didn't say anything, but rubbed his lover's sensitive ears with his fingers. After a long time, he let go of Cris: "It's time to go back and rest, Cris. Good night, dear."
Cristiano paused.
Then he heard his lover whisper, "You will see that Kaka."
Cristiano looked at the other party, he smiled, and quickly kissed Kaka on the cheek: "Good night, Kaka!"
Kaka watched Cristiano's back disappear in the hotel, and he slightly curled his lips.
Cristiano didn't know that the Kaka in front of him was the Kaka who had already reached the end of his fifty years alone.
Back to his youth, back to the time when he was not injured, yes, he had an excited and hot heart, but his experience was like a rock attached to the surface of magma that was cooling rapidly. There was hot and boiling magma underneath, but it was tightly wrapped by heavier and thicker rocks - he had seen too much and experienced too much, and those things prevented him from enjoying it as ignorantly and fearlessly as the real 24-year-old Kaka.
Keep it pure. This is too difficult. Kaka didn't tell Cristiano that during his time on the fringes of football after his retirement, he saw too many opposite things, and they wore him out.
There was only Cristiano, only his lover. Even if he was just watching a game secretly in a corner where no one knew, he regained strength and warmth from the game, from his lover's running, and from the wildness of the goals - he couldn't run like that anymore, he looked at Cristiano, as if greedily looking at himself in his vision, looking at himself running beside Cristiano.
The only thing he was clear and certain about in his previous life was that he needed Cristiano. Cristiano was a generous giver, and he had once possessed him openly, then secretly stolen him, and finally lost him completely.
He still loves football and pursues victory, but he knows that something is different because he has been away for too long, while Cristiano has never left.
Kaka took a deep breath. His lover was sharp and attentive. Cristiano wanted him to get something back. He didn't know if he could do it, but he would try his best - for himself.
In fact, he had a hidden answer in his heart, a shortcut answer - if only they were in the same club, he would find Kaka.
As he once said, those four years were the most beautiful and unforgettable four years in his life, the most vivid four years in which he learned to love. All his emotions seemed to be condensed in those four years, and when he left later, he was able to take them out and savor them over and over again.
He knew that this day would come soon, but he greedily hoped that when it came there would be less regret and sadness.
It’s just that the gears of history will never stop moving because of a certain person or a certain change. A club is just a small stuck point in this gear.
Kaka restarted the engine and drove back to his hotel.
…
The third and fourth place final will be against host Germany.
On the green grass of the Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, Kaka jumped lightly twice to warm up. He promised that he would let Cristiano see that Kaka.
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