Chapter 80
In the second half of the Champions League group match, Cristiano finally got the nod from Sir Alex Ferguson and came on as a substitute to warm up.
He was jogging and kicking back and forth on the sidelines in a substitute vest, with his black socks pulled over his knees, dressed neatly and carefully.
When Cristiano ran to his side, Sir Alex Ferguson waved to Chris and said, "Ronnie, come here."
Cristiano immediately trotted up, raised his eyes slightly and asked in confusion: "What's wrong, Boss?"
"Your little sparkly things," Ferguson said, motioning for Cristiano to come closer, then taking off the necklace from Cristiano's neck and motioning for Chris to take off the diamond earrings from his ears.
Cristiano grinned, stuck out his tongue awkwardly, quickly took off the glittering jewelry from his ears, and smiled ingratiatingly at Ferguson.
——He had not expected to play today, but when he received the news that he could play, he forgot about it in excitement.
Ferguson opened his hands to take Cristiano's diamond earrings, and patted Chris on the back of his head in a funny way: "Okay, warm up well and find your form for the game."
The score was already 3-1 ahead, almost securing the victory.
Cristiano nodded in response.
The linesman raised the substitution card and replaced Giggs on the field.
Giggs scored a goal and made an assist in the first half. It's time for this hero to take a break and catch his breath so as to better prepare for the next game.
Cristiano jumped twice on the sidelines, waiting for Giggs to run over. He stepped forward and high-fived him, grinning and saying, "It's my turn!"
"Kid, take it easy!" Giggs laughed. He high-fived Chris, then hugged him and blew on the boy's hair that had been styled with hairspray.
Cristiano had already run to the middle of the field, completely ignoring Giggs's reminder.
When the fans in the stadium saw Cristiano come on as a substitute, they immediately stood up and cheered like waves.
Their Ronnie is back!
Cristiano heard the cheers and shouts from the stands, he raised a bright smile and blew kisses towards the audience stands.
Alan trotted over to his side and lightly high-fived Chris to welcome the boy back to the game. He whispered, "How do you feel?"
"Not bad. If I'm not allowed to play again, I'll get rusty," Cristiano said, then grinned.
Seeing this, Alan also smiled, nodded, and patted Cristiano on the shoulder.
The conversation between the two was like a flash of lightning, and they immediately threw themselves into the game after a slight change of direction.
As soon as Manchester United's No. 7, with his full physical pool, came on the court, he immediately ran in the midfield and the wing, just like a cheetah suddenly breaking into a group of zebras, stirring up the entire hunting ground.
Cristiano disrupted the opponent's counterattack after they had finally adjusted themselves, making the opponent's hope of equalizing the game even slimmer.
Ferguson looked at the red figure running on the field and smiled with satisfaction. His boy was indeed in good shape, which made him feel much more at ease.
With twenty-five minutes left in the game, Ferguson asked Pique to warm up and planned to replace Ferdinand.
Ferdinand was injured this season and has only recently recovered.
Pique immediately ran to the sidelines to warm up.
But before he could run back and forth along the sidelines a few times, Ferguson suddenly called out to him: "Gerard Pique! Get over here!"
Pico shrank his neck instantly, and was so scared that he almost fell down. He ran over quickly, not understanding what he had done wrong: "BOSS?"
"Take off those fancy and useless pendants of yours! Damn it, what can these cross pendants do for you? Help you stop the opposing striker and wash away his sins? Gerard Pique! Don't let me say it again, otherwise I will let you know what regret is and make you never want to wear these damn things again!" Ferguson roared, pointing at Pique's nose and ordered him to take off those shiny jewelry immediately.
Pique was blown by Ferguson's blower so hard that he seemed to be floating. He mechanically took off his necklace, earrings and ring, and subconsciously wanted to hand them to the head coach in front of him, but they were immediately taken by assistant coach Queiroz.
"Are you still asking for a scolding?!" Queiroz rolled his eyes slightly and stopped Pique.
Pique came back to his senses and looked at Queiroz with gratitude.
When Pique ran onto the court, Cristiano gave his friend a look of pity. Even he could hear the boss's roar while standing on the sidelines.
Pique suddenly came back to his senses - Cristiano was clearly wearing a lot of shiny things just now! Why did they just shoot him? !
Is it because he looks tall and strong and can withstand firepower?
…
The group stage score was 3-1 until the end of the game. Cristiano shot on target four times in the second half. Ferguson spared no effort in expressing his approval of Cristiano's return to the game in the post-match interview:
"In the past two weeks, Cristiano has missed several games, but I am happy to announce his return now. Cristiano is an important player for us. Whenever he is on the court, you can see that he will do everything to create shooting opportunities."
"If anyone disagrees, then why not watch his previous game footage? The video footage from the past two seasons is enough to prove what I said. He can create at least three chances per game, and he makes the chances of winning the game even greater."
Cristiano sat obediently next to Ferguson and accepted Sir Alex Ferguson's blushing praise.
But he won't blush, he's used to hearing it.
He was responsible for sitting next to the lord and acting as a large puppet who kept smiling.
"Ronaldo, the Care Home recently released a documentary, and we saw you in the video." The reporter handed the microphone to Cristiano, "So did you get in touch with the child later? Did he come to see your game?"
"This is my first game back on the pitch and he has only been out of surgery for two weeks. This is not a good time to come to watch the game," Cristiano joked. "But I welcome them to come to Old Trafford at any time - accompanied by their parents. I gave the child an annual ticket and hope he can enjoy the game."
The reporter then asked: "So Ronaldo, how is your heart? I did some extra research and learned that this is a heart problem that will recur, even after heart surgery, so how are you now?"
Ferguson frowned when he heard this, and the main players who were being interviewed nearby also looked at Cristiano and the reporter with a little confusion.
Cristiano smiled and replied: "How do you see me now? I'm fine. There won't be any problem. The club will check us regularly. If I have any problems, they will know it at the first time."
"Okay, let's focus on the game and stop asking me these little questions." He waved his hand and deliberately moved his chair with his butt, moving behind Keane like a turtle, causing the reporters on the field to laugh.
Ferguson also laughed and shook his head helplessly, indulging the boy's naughty and willful actions in front of the reporters.
Seeing this, Keane took over the next topic.
After the post-match interview, Cristiano and his club teammates returned to the bus.
He had just put on his headphones and was about to take a nap when Rooney took them off: "Why are reporters suddenly asking about your heart? What's wrong with your heart?"
Cristiano had to open his eyes. He muttered, "It happened a long time ago. I don't know what's so good about asking. I don't think anyone has asked me this question before."
Ferdinand interrupted Cristiano's mumbling: "So what's going on?"
"I had a small operation here." Cristiano pointed to his chest and shrugged. "The club knows this. Like I said, every time I have a physical examination, my body is very good, so this is not a problem at all."
Neville leaned over the back of Cristiano's chair and frowned: "I haven't heard you mention it."
"Because there's nothing to mention." Cristiano replied. He looked at Neville and saw that he looked at him with obvious disapproval. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Don't look at me like that. It's just like that. Besides, if I say that, will the opposing defenders tackle me less in the future?"
Neville: “…”
Keane: “…”
Ferdinand was left at a loss for words, and Rooney retorted: "That's not the point, Ronnie."
"Then what's the point?" Cristiano looked at the other party with his arms crossed, raised his sharp and aggressive eyebrows, and pulled the corners of his mouth, "Maybe the point is, will Cristiano Ronaldo's heart problem affect Manchester United... Never mind, it's nothing."
He spoke very quickly, but he still stopped himself and swallowed the sudden anger and sarcasm that was rising up in his stomach.
He remembered that one year Rooney brought his children to his house for dinner. The children were playing on the lawn, and Rooney came to him with a glass of wine. Seeing that he still maintained his professional habit of drinking water, he asked him how he was doing recently, whether his knee injury hurt, whether it would affect his running during the game... and other similar questions.
He thought it was concern, just like now.
So he told him truthfully that his knee injury would occasionally flare up, and when it did the pain would wake him up even in his sleep. He told Rooney that he would still overcome these injuries, just like they did when they were young.
But then they all knew what happened - his "good friends" suddenly began to criticize him for no longer being suitable to stay at Manchester United, like a switch, and suddenly the overwhelming voices pressed down on him like an avalanche.
So he doesn't like to talk about injuries, as that would be like revealing his weaknesses.
Cristiano didn't realize that the expression on his face also turned cold. There seemed to be something cold and sharp about him. He was not angry, but there was a sense of oppression that made people afraid to approach him.
He subconsciously sat up straight, putting some distance between himself and Rooney who was sitting on his right and Neville who was sitting right behind him. Although he was sitting on a bus seat, he felt as if he was on his own isolated island.
Ferdinand and Keane both heard something wrong in the boy's words, and it was obvious that Cristiano suddenly became defensive. Something was very wrong. The two exchanged glances and were about to speak, but were interrupted by Alan.
"Cristiano, don't be so sensitive and nervous. You're like a hedgehog now." Alan whispered. He pressed Cristiano's tense shoulders and felt the stiff muscles under his palms. He was a little surprised and extremely puzzled. "The point is that we care about you, but don't act like a jerk and push us away."
Cristiano narrowed his eyes suddenly and looked at Alan: "Acting like a jerk? Do you really think so?"
"Is that all you heard?" Alan laughed angrily. He met Cristiano's suddenly angry gaze, pinched Chris's shoulders with his fingers, and said coldly, "Well, why don't you take a look for yourself? We asked you so many times when you were injured, but you always gave no answers. Including this time, you excluded all of us."
Rooney and Neville, who were closest, took a deep breath when they saw this, and they quickly inserted themselves between Cristiano and Alan to avoid a fight.
Neville tried to stop the fight, "Forget it, forget it. Ronnie doesn't want to talk about this, so let's change the subject."
"You guys just spoil him like this?" Alan looked at Neville.
Neville: "What kind of pampering is this..."
Before he could finish his words, Cristiano suddenly shook off Alan's hand on his shoulder, pursed his lips and was about to stand up.
Alan didn't expect Cristiano to react like this. He was thrown away without warning and fell back onto his seat.
He was stunned for a second, then he became angry and took a step forward to grab Cristiano.
Rooney was startled by their new striker's aggressiveness and quickly stood in the middle. Before he could say anything, Alan grabbed his hand and scratched his neck, leaving two bloody marks. He hissed in pain, "Are you serious?!"
Cristiano and Alan both stopped at the same time. No one expected Rooney to suddenly come in. Cristiano was a little unresponsive and stood there in a daze.
Alan pursed his lips and retracted his hand: "You rush to the front yourself, I just want to catch Cristiano."
"Just like that?" Rooney screamed, pointing to his neck. "If you put this scratch on his neck, it will be on the headlines of the newspapers the next day. The headline is that Manchester United Ronaldo's new love is like a beast in bed."
Alan: "...What the hell, Wayne, what kind of crap is in your head? I want to grab him by the collar! You're shorter than me."
Rooney: "Is this your way of apologising?"
The two of them started to argue. Alan no longer looked at Cristiano. Perhaps because he had calmed down and felt a little guilty, he kept an eye on Cristiano's movements and expressions.
Chris pursed his lips tightly and said nothing, his eyes drooped as if he was thinking about something, his eyelashes were very long, and seemed to be trembling slightly with his owner's breathing.
Alan became nervous. Was he going to cry?
Cristiano stood up without saying a word. He wanted to go downstairs to get some fresh air.
The goalkeeper sitting at the front of the bus stood up. Van der Sar was like a goalkeeper. Whether in front of his own goal or on the bus, his height and physique allowed him to block the aisle.
He stopped Cristiano, rubbed his head with his palm twice, and blocked Chris back without giving him a chance to refuse: "The boss will be back soon, do you want the boss to see you two quarreling and fighting? Then punish you by not allowing you to play in the next game?"
Cristiano: “…”
He curled his lips sullenly, and Keane and Ferdinand knew that this statement hit Chris' sore spot.
Ferdinand gave Van der Sar a thumbs up, and the two of them followed Van der Sar's words and pulled Chris back to his seat.
Cristiano opened the window and put his head outside. He just wanted to feel the fresh air and calm down.
When facing the reporters, he was already restraining himself. He obviously didn't want to vent his anger on the Rooney of this world, but he just couldn't control himself just now.
He took a deep breath and rested his head on his arms.
"Ronnie, do you have any Band-Aids?" Rooney poked Cristiano's arm.
Cristiano turned around and saw the Rooney of this world raising his chin comically, showing the medal he had just received for mediating a fight.
Rooney was relieved when he saw Cristiano turned around and looked at him. He felt that Cristiano's anger was directed at him just now. Although he felt that he had done nothing and was extremely innocent, he was relieved to see that Cristiano was still willing to pay attention to him. Maybe he was just in a bad mood just now?
He worked hard to show Cristiano the wound caused by Alan: "Look, don't you need to use at least two band-aids?"
Cristiano looked at the younger version of Rooney in front of him. To be honest, he was surprised for a few seconds that Rooney stood in front of him just now - on the court, they were teammates, he would stand up for Rooney and Rooney would stand up for him, which was normal, but what about what happened just now?
He shook his head and suddenly wanted to laugh. He didn't really want to know what Rooney was thinking when he did that in his previous life, what emotions and reasons were behind it. Anyway, he had no way of knowing, but he probably understood that the friendship in the past was real, but it was also true that it would change. People can never remain unchanged.
But what is happening now is real and is ongoing.
"Don't waste my band-aid. Do you really need it?" Cristiano twitched the corner of his mouth, exhaled, and rubbed his face. "Maybe it will be healed by the time we get off the bus."
Rooney: “?”
"You treat me like this? Ronnie? I was injured for you!" Rooney shouted.
Cristiano laughed.
The atmosphere on the bus was restored. After Ferguson got on the bus, the bus started and took everyone to the hotel where they were staying, and then set off back to Manchester City tomorrow.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to bring up the previous topic, but everyone was thinking in their hearts that they had to watch that documentary.
Manchester United booked all the guest rooms from the eighth to the tenth floor of the hotel. Cristiano still didn't feel sleepy after taking a shower, so he just wore a pair of swimming trunks. Since it was late at night and there was no one around, he planned to swim a few laps in the swimming pool to let off some steam.
When he arrived at the hotel's outdoor swimming pool, he didn't expect that there was someone else in the pool. He squinted his eyes slightly and soon a platinum-colored head emerged from the water.
"You're here?" Cristiano raised his eyebrows. "Why aren't you sleeping so late at night?"
Alan was stunned for a moment, then replied stiffly: "Aren't you the same?"
"..." Cristiano curled his lips. While doing warm-up exercises carefully, he thought to himself, he and Alan couldn't avoid the fate of fighting anyway, right?
Sooner or later there will be a fight. He gritted his teeth.
"A game?" Alan broke the silence and asked Cristiano dryly, "One round."
"Okay." Cristiano agreed readily. After warming up, he got into the water and tilted his head to look at Alan. "Whoever loses will apologize."
Alan reacted for a second, then burst out laughing. This guy was even more childish than a kindergarten kid.
"Okay." He agreed immediately.
After one round, Cristiano lost to Alan by only half a hand. He spat on the outer edge of the pool, wiped his face, and lay on the wall of the pool, panting slightly: "Okay, I lost. I apologize. I pushed you."
Alan: “…Is this the point?”
"You actually fell down, I really don't want to doubt whether you did it on purpose," Cristiano added.
Alan: “…”
A little bastard.
Alan laughed angrily, and walked over across the water as if to strangle Cristiano.
Cristiano grinned, then he pushed himself on the edge of the swimming pool with both hands, turned over and sat on the shore, perfectly avoiding Alan.
Alan raised his head slightly and looked at Cristiano, who was higher than his field of vision. He couldn't do anything about this guy in the team who was obviously spoiled by everyone - just imagine a bunch of grown men shouting "Ronnie" to a grown-up boy. It was really enough.
Alan's eyes fell on Cristiano's shoulder. The lights outside the swimming pool were always on, and Cristiano happened to be facing away from the light. He noticed that there was an obvious bruise on the other's naked shoulder. It was not deep, but it was obvious at a glance, as if it had been pinched by someone.
He narrowed his eyes and silently looked down at his hand. The size, area and shape were all suitable, and the crime might have occurred during the time on the bus.
"...I am the one who should apologize." Alan cleared his throat and said, "Although I still don't understand why you... Never mind, I think you have your reasons. Count me for meddling in your business."
Cristiano curled his lips: "Your attitude has nothing to do with apology."
"Aren't you the same?" Alan retorted.
"..." Cristiano rolled his eyes, pursed his lips, and said after a while, "It's hard for me to explain, just treat this as a chapter gone by."
Alan shrugged his shoulders and nodded, but he felt a little curious.
He also turned over and pushed himself ashore, then stood up and looked at Cristiano: "Are you still swimming?"
"No more swimming, let's go back." Cristiano got up, lazily took the towel and wiped himself a few times, then walked back to the hotel room in slippers.
In the hotel, the lights were on in several rooms of Manchester United's main players. If anyone could look inside from the window, they would find that these people were watching the same video -
"...you'll feel something burning somewhere inside you, and that's where the blockage is. It's hard to describe, but you can get through it. After all, you still want to play football later, right?"
Neville pressed pause on the remote control, and the screen stopped at Cristiano bending down to rub little Arthur's hair. He couldn't say anything. It was the first time he knew what Cristiano had experienced. No wonder he was unwilling to answer them.
He sighed with emotion, rubbed his sore eyes, and said goodnight to his temporary roommate Pique in a muffled voice: "Do you want to watch more? If you want to watch, just continue watching, don't worry about me."
"Oh, okay then," Pique replied, and he pressed the play button.
Not long after, Neville heard Ronnie's voice on TV again:
"...I remember I went in in the morning and didn't come out until the evening. When I was getting stitches, the anesthetic had worn off and they didn't refill it. That was probably the most painful time."
Neville: “…”
Fucking Gerard Pique. He can't sleep.
He grabbed another pillow and pressed it against his head, closing his eyes, and his mind was filled with crying little Ronnie.
Absolutely.
When Neville woke up the next day, he felt a tightness in his chest and couldn't breathe. He subconsciously wiped his face and found that his face was wet, as if he had been crying.
He got up inexplicably, washed up and walked out of the room, facing Cristiano, whose head was covered with hairspray.
"Good morning," Cristiano greeted him, and looked at Neville in confusion, looking exhausted as if he had been up all night. "Did you do something late at night without telling me? I saw Leo and the others just now, and they looked like they hadn't woken up yet."
Neville was about to laugh at the fact that Chris's hair was so smooth with hairspray that even a mosquito would fall off, but for some reason, his eyes suddenly became blurred, as if he saw an older Ronnie overlapping with the older boy in front of him.
Older, more capable, and quieter.
He seemed to have seen it in a dream, Neville thought vaguely, and then he had the illusion of wanting to cry.
"Hey Gary! What's wrong with your eyes?!" Cristiano was shocked.
"Maybe my eyes are too dry." Neville rubbed his eyes and coughed, "What did you just say? Late-night activities? Don't talk nonsense. If the boss hears it, we will all be in trouble!"
Cristiano shrugged.
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