Chapter 30
The second leg of the quarter-finals was at AC Milan's home ground, and Manchester United's main players boarded a plane to Milan.
The plane landed at Linate Airport. Cristiano took several energetic selfies from different angles. Before he could choose and send them out, Van Nistelrooy, who was sitting in the back row, laughed at him: "How can there be a child as conceited as you?"
Ferdinand, who was sitting next to Ruud, said, "Isn't this cute?"
Fanny: “…”
Cristiano gave Ferdinand a happy look of approval, and then said to Van Nistelrooy: "I suggest you open an account too, there is no harm in it."
Ruud snorted. He leaned forward slightly and reached out his hand to pinch Cristiano's face accurately through the gap between the two seats. He pulled it outwards - since Ferdinand always liked to pinch Cristiano's face, they all found out how good it felt - he raised one eyebrow and teased: "And then open the screen like you? No, thank you."
Cristiano did not resist when his face was pinched, or maybe he was used to it. He just retorted: "Didn't the captain open an account? This has nothing to do with opening the screen."
—Although he was thinking the exact opposite, in a sense Fanny was right.
Van Nistelrooy probably didn't expect that Keane, who always had a tough and serious image to the outside world, actually had an account on this kind of software, and he was choked for a moment.
From what he knew so far, that social software sounded like a school forum for middle and high school students, which was out of place for them.
Keane heard his name being called, turned from his seat in the front row with Cristiano, and explained: "The club has an account on it and requires me to retweet or post something sometimes."
This is why he has an account. He himself has no interest in this kind of software.
But he paused, looked at Cristiano again, and added: "But I think the training routines Ronnie posted are very good, allowing everyone to see our upward state."
Cristiano grinned at Van Nistelrooy and said, "See?"
"Kid," Fanny sneered.
He didn't make any statement about it for the time being, but while waiting to pick up the suitcase, he took out his mobile phone, fiddled with it for a while, moved to Cristiano's side, and showed him the page: "Is this you?"
Cristiano was still stretching his neck to look for his suitcase. He looked down subconsciously when he heard this, and then couldn't help grinning: "It's me, you're still paying attention?"
That was his social media homepage, and there was a grey checkmark in the "Follow" column. Apparently Van Nistelrooy had registered an account and was following him.
Cristiano patted Van Nistelrooy on the shoulder: "Okay, I'll pay attention to you later."
Fanny paused. It sounded like he was asking for attention. He thought awkwardly in his heart, put the phone in his pocket, and rubbed Chris's face with both hands in revenge, kneading it like dough: "Oh, whatever you want."
"Hey! My luggage! It's coming!" Cristiano noticed from the corner of his eye that his bright red suitcase was slowly sliding past the conveyor belt in front of him, and he quickly broke free from Vanni's hand and shouted.
"Come on, I'll get it for you." Van Nistelrooy patted Cristiano on the head. Rather than confronting the opponent's poor physique that was pushed out of the crowd, and asking him to dive into the crowd on the other side to grab the luggage, he might as well do it himself.
Van Nistelrooy didn't realize that he had been influenced by his teammates and was almost having no bottom line towards Cristiano.
The team bus was waiting outside the airport, and once everyone was on board, they headed straight to a hotel in the center of Milan.
The club had booked standard double rooms, which meant that one person could enjoy the privilege of having a room to himself, and Cristiano naturally chose to fight for it.
"Please, I always have a hard time falling asleep when I move to another place, and my roommates certainly don't want to be disturbed by me tossing and turning." Cristiano turned to Ferguson. Although he was over 1.8 meters tall - he would grow taller, for which he still insisted on drinking milk - and his mental age was close to 40, he put his hands together without hesitation and looked at the old man with eager anticipation.
Sir Alex Ferguson hesitated for only a second: "Then it's yours."
No one was surprised by this and they had no objection. Who would fight with a little kid for a room?
"Stop playing singing games. You don't know how good the sound insulation is here." Keane said as he handed the room key to Cristiano.
Cristiano paused, then asked, "Oh, you can hear it normally? How about my singing? To be honest, I think some of the scoring software has some problems. I changed several."
Rooney showed an expression of disbelief on his face. Is it possible that it was not a problem with the software?
But he didn't say it, and Van Nistelrooy took the key and went back to the room to avoid this question. Giggs followed closely and extended the invitation to his roommate.
Soon, only Keane, Ferdinand and a few other honest people were left in the lobby.
Keane paused and replied, "I quite like your song Merry Christmas. It's pretty good."
As for the rest, it’s actually hard to match the names with the original songs.
Ferdinand said: "I think you sang in your own style, which is not bad. As for the scoring, maybe the software can't appreciate it. After all, style is a very personal thing."
Cristiano agreed with the words of his two beloved brothers.
Back in the room, Cristiano immediately showed Kaka the double room he had occupied. He recorded a video and sent it to him: "The space is very spacious, there is a massage bathtub in the bathroom, and there is a treadmill on the balcony."
"It looks great, Cris, welcome to Milan." Kaka sent a voice message, which sounded like it was coming from outside, with the sound of cars honking in the background.
Cristiano replied with a voice message: "Yes, it's a pity that no one is with me."
Kaka listened to his lover's voice coming from the phone, subconsciously narrowed his eyes, and rubbed his fingertips as if stroking something.
Chris is very honest. He has some rare qualities in adults, such as simplicity and honesty. He will express his emotions directly, like at this time.
It sounds like she's just acting like a spoiled brat.
And Kaka had to admit that his lover was born to be good at acting like a spoiled child. He sighed softly. He liked Chris's acting like a spoiled child, but he also hated his lover's acting like a spoiled child.
Because Chris's coquetry is always unconscious and indiscriminate. To be honest, Chris is good at coquetry to everyone.
To his teammates, to his coach, even to other coaches, to those older or younger than him, such as those new players who shouted that Ronaldo was their idol.
Cristiano is willing to expose his soft belly to anyone who sends friendly signals, like a lazy lion who loves to lie down and bask in the sun.
"Cris, are you extending an invitation to me?"
Cristiano glanced out the window. It was raining in the Apennine Peninsula tonight, and a rain curtain hung outside the window. He pulled the curtains, threw himself into the bed, muttered, pressed a few keys, and sent a text message.
【C: But you have plans tonight】
Cristiano knew that Kaka had club matters tonight, but they agreed to meet tomorrow night. He didn't want to be the ignorant boyfriend who liked to occupy all of his lover's private time.
But as a boyfriend, it’s okay for him to show a little emotion, right?
Cristiano held his phone and continued typing:
[C: When can we bring family members to the club? :)]
[C: If I can bring my family, I wonder if Nesta and Cafu will be embarrassed to tackle me in the future]
Kaka was blatantly playing with his phone under the club dinner. When he saw the text message from Chris, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
[K: I promise you, they will.]
【C: ...Okay, I think so too】
"Kaka, if you keep checking your phone, be careful it will be confiscated. It's too obvious." Inzaghi was sitting next to Kaka, watching his teammate lowering his head to play with his phone so hard that he couldn't even raise his head. He even had the kind of foul smile that would make girls call him "sweetheart". This made him feel like he was thrown under a spotlight and roasted, which was very unfriendly to him.
Kaka put away his phone after hearing this. He did not forget to reply to Chris: [K: I have to deal with the club's activities. I will be back soon.]
Seeing this, Cristiano did not reply. He put away his phone with satisfaction. Kaka always gave him a sense of security regarding time, and he did not have to worry about the annoying thing that someone would suddenly disappear while he was chatting.
Kaka turned to Inzaghi and thanked him sincerely: "Thank you for the reminder."
Inzaghi was delighted. He leaned over to Kaka's ear and asked, "So, who are you talking to? Who are you dating?"
"Is it obvious?" Kaka looked at his teammates.
"Oh my God, really? It couldn't be more obvious!" Inzaghi didn't expect that he actually guessed it right. He whispered, "Who on earth is so obsessed with you? You really should look in the mirror and see your expression just now. You must love that lucky guy so much."
Kaka touched his face, curled his lips and nodded in agreement: "Yes."
Inzaghi opened his eyes wide in shock, what did he hear? He heard the Son of God admit with his own mouth that he was “dead in love” with his love object. Note that he used the highest degree possible!
"Okay, I'm just exaggerating..." Inzaghi explained himself as if to make amends. He couldn't imagine how a successful man like Kaka, who came from a wealthy background, was handsome, played football very well and was madly loved by countless people, could fall in love at such a young age?
"No, I am stating it." Kaka interrupted Inzaghi and smiled. "You are right. I love that person. That will be the only person I will spend the rest of my life with."
"God, you are only in your early twenties! You are thinking about such far-reaching things?" Inzaghi covered his mouth and whispered.
"God will agree with me." Kaka smiled, "That person is the closest to perfection. It is my greatest luck to have him. I will cherish him very much."
And he had it more than once. Kaka picked up the tasteless sparkling water on the table, shook it gently and put it into his mouth. The full bubbles slightly stung the tip of his tongue.
Inzaghi shook his head at his teammate's incredible obsession with love: "Okay, okay, maybe if there's a chance you'd like to introduce that person to us?"
"Of course." Kaka agreed very quickly. He even wanted to laugh in his heart. They had met each other before and played football together.
Inzaghi glanced at head coach Ancelotti who was speaking on the stage, then he hunched over, moved to another table amid the clinking of glasses, and quickly told his other teammates the gossip.
After learning about it, Cafu simply said: "I hope he won't over-exert himself, especially before the game. Other than that, I don't think there's anything wrong."
Shevchenko almost spit out water from his mouth because of the Brazilian's open and direct words.
The Ukrainian touched his chin, thinking: "But don't you think it's strange? How can he have time for love? Have you ever seen Kaka spend time with anyone privately besides with us? Most of his friends outside the circle are in Brazil."
Nesta suddenly said: "The one called Ronaldo."
He was deeply impressed by the boy who was tall but couldn't fight and whose eyes turned red and tearful when he was tackled.
"..." All the teammates at the table were silent for a moment, and then they all laughed again, "How is that possible? Kaka is a believer in religion. He doesn't even take care of his own hand jobs after the game."
"Yes, he himself said that he had to confess his self-blasphemy to God."
"Kaka couldn't look straighter."
"That joke is terrible."
"Hmm...but Christianity is also divided into sects, and some sects do not oppose homosexuality?"
Everyone was silent again.
"You talked so much with Kaka, but you couldn't even tell his gender? Didn't he mention 'he' or 'she' at all?" The Ukrainian turned to Inzaghi in frustration.
Inzaghi recalled carefully that they did avoid all pronouns.
His teammates looked at him in speechless, slow eyes, giving him gossip but not giving him any key information, which couldn't be more depressing.
Inzaghi laughed dryly: "Ha, anyway, Kaka said he would introduce him to us when there's a chance. We'll know sooner or later."
As he spoke, he quickly bent over and returned to his original seat.
Kaka glanced at Inzaghi. He knew what Inzaghi was going to do. In fact, he also agreed to it.
He wanted to let his teammates be prepared through Inzaghi. He nodded and smiled at his teammates who were still in surprise and suspicion.
Inzaghi silently poured himself a glass of water, shrank into an inconspicuous corner, and reduced his presence.
To put it bluntly, tonight's club event is mainly a disguised sponsorship event. AC Milan's internal financial problems have already begun to emerge. If not, the top management would not have rushed to organize such a dinner two days before an important game, which shows that the situation is not optimistic.
Kaka knows the future trend of the club, and is also very clear that in this matter, the impact of change has far exceeded that of an individual. With the club's huge financial inflow of more than 10 billion operating funds, no one can change anything.
He has deep feelings for AC Milan and is willing to take a pay cut to stay here and win the championship for the club, but the problem is that this will soon not be a problem that can be solved by a pay cut.
Ancelotti seemed to have known something for a long time. He just made a simple speech on the stage, gave prospects and encouragement for the upcoming league games, and said that the players needed to prepare well. He released the main players including Kaka to move freely early.
The dinner ended much earlier than Kaka expected, and it was not even ten o'clock in the evening.
"What are you thinking about? You seemed very happy at first, but why do you look so unhappy later?" Cafu walked to Kaka and asked with raised eyebrows.
Kaka shook his head: "Nothing. Just a little tired."
He couldn't tell Cafu about the club's problems, and even if he did it wouldn't help at all. He knew that what he should do was put the matter behind him and not let it consume him.
"Well, go to bed early." Cafu patted his teammate's shoulder, and suddenly felt something was wrong. He raised his eyebrows exaggeratedly, "Wow, did you practice with us on your back? Pretty strong. Angel Kaka, Mr. Bodybuilder."
Kaka was amused. He guessed that this was the effect of the virtual space: "It seems to be working well?"
"Great." Cafu smiled and waved goodbye to Kaka.
Kaka stood outside the club and thought for a few seconds, then chose to take a taxi to Chris's hotel.
He sent a message from the car:
【K: Are you asleep? 】
He planned to have the driver turn around and go back to his house immediately if Chris didn't respond.
【C: Not yet, are you done? 】
【K: Yes】
【C: 0205, my room】
Kaka smiled.
[K: OK, I'll be there right away]
It took less than twenty minutes to get to the hotel by taxi. Milan was very quiet at ten o'clock in the evening, and the traffic was so good that it seemed like another city.
Kaka stood at the door of the room and knocked gently. Within two seconds, the door was opened quickly and he was pulled in by a force.
"Cris." The door closed and Kaka was pushed against the door by Cristiano. He was surprised to find that his lover was only wearing a scarf.
"Come on, you know my sleeping habits." Cristiano laughed, pointed at the time, smiled, and teased meaningfully, "So it's normal for me to be like this now, and it's not for anything else."
Kaka coughed lightly.
"Okay, tell me what's the problem? The club? Money problem?" Cristiano glanced up and down at his lover, he took Kaka's hand and led him into his room, and pressed him to sit on the bed.
Cristiano knew and had heard about the mess of AC Milan in the previous life. After all, if it weren't for those problems, Kaka probably wouldn't have come to Real Madrid so soon.
"..." Kaka smiled helplessly, "You are the only one who knows this, I can only tell you."
Cristiano also sat on the bed. He knelt on the soft mattress, held Kaka in his arms and gently rubbed the hair on the back of his lover's head. He knew that Kaka was in a very low mood and he could totally empathize with him.
He didn't say anything, but just listened quietly to Kaka's low voice.
They all knew that the club's problems were beyond personal control, as they were not only about money but were much more complicated.
"Kaka, Manchester United is my home. It was in my previous life, but it changed later. I realized that the reason I regard it as my home is because of the people there, not because of Manchester United." Cristiano looked down at Kaka and said.
Kaka paused. He knew about the unfair treatment Chris received at Manchester United. He knew that a 37-year-old striker was able to perform amazing hat tricks on the field in the first half of the game, but was forced to stay on the bench and leave in the second half.
It's a human.
Kaka realized that he was lucky. After leaving Real Madrid, he returned to AC Milan. His familiar teammates were still there. They were still fighting side by side and working as a team. All his good memories and complexes about the club came from this.
But Chris was different. He was once the most favored child at Old Trafford, but he was stabbed after returning home.
Kaka took a deep breath, and hugged the young man in his arms with regret and heartache. His Chris used the method of tearing open his own scars to untie his knot: "Cris..."
"You see, the fact that I can say this means it's no longer a pain point. I'm fine." Cristiano smiled, he bent down and kissed his lover's eyes. Who said that he couldn't hide things on his face? The same goes for Kaka.
He said: "AC Milan is to you like Manchester United is to me, but I think in the future, Real Madrid, we will have a better life there. All the honors I have achieved there will be with you in the future. It will be a giant ocean-going ship."
Kaka responded. He felt as if his soul was chanting and harmonizing with the soul of his lover. The satisfaction and comfort of being completely understood by each other made him let go of his mental fatigue and feel as comfortable as if he was soaking in a warm pool.
He sighed contentedly, gently pulled Chris's neck down, and exchanged a light kiss: "Thank you, Cris... I love you, I don't know how I can love you more."
Cristiano blinked and smiled with some complacency and pride: "This is the highest level, I like this answer."
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