Chapter 99
Alan came back with a big bowl of popcorn and a plate of Ronnie's special chicken breast, celery and broccoli, and saw Cristiano had unceremoniously occupied the best seat for watching the movie.
He raised his eyebrows slightly, but before he could say anything, Cristiano waved and shouted, "Come on, Alan! I saved the best seat for you!"
Cristiano patted the empty seat next to him. Alan responded with a slight satisfaction, carrying two plates of food through the crowd and sitting in the seat reserved by Chris.
Van der Sar was sitting behind Cristiano. Seeing this, he said with a soft "tsk". "I was wondering why you were occupying the seat and not letting anyone sit. It turns out you were trying to please the owner of the house. How cunning, Ronnie."
Cristiano's eyelids twitched, and he turned his head to retort: "This is the host seat. You people who don't know the details and manners, I have to take it for him first, otherwise it will be gone long ago."
"What about you?" Rooney was sitting in front of Cristiano. He turned around and looked around. Who was sitting in the host's seat so rudely?
Cristiano's eyes widened, he crossed his arms, and said confidently: "Someone has to sit on the side."
Rooney: “…What you said makes sense.”
Alan laughed and said, "Okay, this is your seat. No one will take it away from you. Here, your chicken breast dinner."
"Thank you!" Cristiano took it, smiled widely, and asked reservedly and restrainedly, "Can we start watching the game now?"
Alan nodded indifferently and tuned to the game channel.
"...Warming up? Not started yet?" Alan looked at the players warming up on the screen, was silent for two seconds and glanced at Cristiano, "Did you remember the time wrong?"
"No?" Cristiano lowered his head and bit into a chicken breast. The camera was now focused on Juventus. He concentrated on his dinner and answered perfunctorily, "The warm-up can also show the team's condition. Anyway, we have plenty of time now, right?"
Alan: “…”
All right.
Giggs, Keane and Ferdinand looked at each other and shook their heads imperceptibly.
When the camera cut to AC Milan's warm-up, Alan obviously noticed that Cristiano looked up more frequently. He raised his eyebrows and said, "You really pay attention to AC Milan."
"Well, my national team teammates are in that team." Cristiano coughed dryly.
"Van Nistelrooy is still in Spain, and I don't see you watching Real Madrid's games with much enthusiasm," said Pique.
Cristiano turned his head and said, "You know that? I just didn't tell you."
Pike blinked and said, "Chris, watch it with me next time."
- Looking at their derby, maybe Cristiano would be willing to join Barcelona one day in the future? They are a very strong team, Barcelona.
"I don't want to." Cristiano replied. As soon as he met Pique's ice-blue eyes, he knew what was going on in the other's mind, and he rolled his eyes.
Even though Barcelona will be very strong in the next few years, even though the road will be difficult at the beginning, he still just wants to set sail with that star-studded Galactico again and win glory together.
Gerard Pique heard his heart break.
The game on the big screen has begun.
Cristiano stuffed the last piece of chicken breast into his mouth, wiped his mouth, and began to watch the game seriously.
"The game begins! AC Milan vs. Juventus, this is a strong dialogue between two strong teams!"
"AC Milan, wearing white away jerseys, are attacking from the left to the right of the big screen, while Juventus are wearing... Watch this attack first!!"
The commentator in the broadcast room suddenly became excited: "Juventus launched a fierce fast break in their home stadium! Ibrahimovic shot!"
"Ibrahimovic's foot slipped a little. It seems that there was too much water at home this time... otherwise the threat of this kick would be even greater!"
Cristiano took a deep breath. Less than three minutes into the game, Juventus' attack momentum was very fierce. If the opponent's feet had not slipped and the force had been much reduced, it would have been difficult for AC Milan's goalkeeper to save the ball in time.
"This is the opponent we will face in the Champions League final," Keane said. "They are very strong."
Cristiano nodded slightly. This season's Juventus is a very powerful team, unstoppable. They have Buffon, the Italian national goalkeeper, and Vieira, a meat grinder-like midfielder. Now the Zebras are at the top of the Serie A standings, with AC Milan closely following.
AC Milan played somewhat passively throughout the first half, until the end of the first half, when the rhythm picked up a little.
"Kaka gets the ball!" said the commentator.
The young man in the white away jersey strode forward, dribbled past two people and passed the ball to Shevchenko on the wing. Shevchenko then took two steps into the penalty area and shot!
"The ball was confiscated by Juventus goalkeeper Buffon! Buffon kicked the ball with a long foot!" The commentator exclaimed softly, and the rhythm on the field changed very quickly!
"Juventus goalkeeper Buffon launched a very fast counterattack!"
"Piero shot from outside the penalty area! The ball went in!!! At the end of the first half, Juventus took the lead and broke the deadlock!" The commentator shouted, "The legendary shooter with black and white blood once again created an advantage for his team!"
Cristiano saw Shevchenko on the big screen angrily lower his head and kick the grass hard, then yelled out in venting his anger, while his lover trotted over, patted his partner's neck, and whispered a few words of comfort.
"Juventus has only lost one game so far this season. After conceding a goal in the first half, it will be more difficult for them to play later," Keane said.
Cristiano responded softly, and the screen began to replay the highlights of the first half. Buffon saved Shevchenko's powerful shot. He was familiar with this old friend who had been his opponent in the Champions League many times and later became his teammate in Serie A for several years. He whispered: "Although Gigi missed part of the season due to injury, he has returned with the same energy as before. It's not easy to score against him."
Who would have thought that Buffon, who is less than 30 years old now, would still be guarding Juventus' goal like a mountain god more than a decade later?
Alan looked at Cristiano and his eyelids jumped: "Gigi? You also know the goalkeeper of Juventus?"
Keane and others also looked over, with the same confusion as Alan. These two are nearly ten years apart in age, one is in Serie A and the other in the Premier League, yet they can call each other so intimately? They have a wide range of boy friends.
"..." Cristiano reacted, he laughed awkwardly, and made an excuse unnaturally, "No, I just occasionally heard people call him that, and I thought it was very interesting?"
Alan gave a fake smile, he didn't believe it.
Cristiano looked at Alan and other teammates as sincerely as possible: "It's true. The next game is against Juventus. I have done a lot of homework."
"Okay." Ferdinand said, barely resolving Cristiano's situation, "But I don't think the Italian goalkeeper will be too happy to hear himself being called 'Gigi' by a kid so many years younger than him. Next time we play against Juventus, if you need to say hello when you see each other, control it, Ronnie?"
Not to mention whether the Italian man minded - he guessed that the other party probably didn't mind - but he also sounded unhappy.
Gigi? A man who is already 28 years old should not use the double-syllable method - Ferdinand doesn't care whether that is the common way Italians call it or not.
Keane and Van der Sar nodded in agreement.
The big brothers of Manchester United are now disliking Cristiano's enthusiasm for calling others by double-letter nicknames, and they never thought that 20 years later they will still be calling others "Ronnie" and "Ronnie" in a sticky way.
——Even during the interview, they were thinking that their little Ronnie was already in his thirties and it was time to call him by a serious name like "Cristiano", but as they were talking, he was calling him "Cristiano" in a serious manner in the first few minutes, but later he naturally turned into the very intimate "Ronnie".
Just as they were used to seeing the curly-haired Portuguese boy who was always the first to appear in Manchester United's locker room and training ground, and always the last to leave the training ground gate, even though the opponent later went to Real Madrid and became a fierce offensive striker opponent they met on the battlefield, the back of the number seven in red, warm and flamboyant clothes had already left the most profound and vivid memory, which was reflected more honestly by their bodies and muscles than their consciousness.
"The second half of the game has begun!" Cristiano's eyes lit up and he quickly interrupted, trying to draw his teammates' attention back to the game.
Towards the end of the first half, AC Milan's overall offensive rhythm just started but then came to an abrupt halt, not to mention that they conceded a goal before the end. All these made the entire Rossoneri's play extremely uncomfortable.
So at the beginning of the second half, AC Milan was in a very aggressive and excited state, eager to make up for the disadvantage.
The fight on the field was fierce and intense, with Seedorf and Kaka linking up the offensive organization in the midfield.
No matter how fast Kaka is, Seedorf always appears at the right position. He is like the best assistant, creating space for the team's long spear to attack.
"Kaka dribbles into the penalty area! Juventus defenders double-team him!"
Cristiano subconsciously held his breath, leaned forward slightly, subconsciously pursed his lips, and stared at the big screen intently.
On the screen, Kaka was seen facing multiple defenders and using his body to break through the opponent's double-team, but he slightly lost his balance. He passed the ball back to Seedorf and readjusted his position.
"The ball is still there!"
"Seedorf heads the ball! Kaka quickly moves forward and shoots into the dead corner in front of the goal!!"
“The ball goes in!!”
"In the 27th minute of the second half, AC Milan equalized the score!!" the commentator slammed the table.
Cristiano cheered, shocking Rooney who was sitting in front of him so much that he spilled several grains of popcorn.
"Pick them up, don't leave any behind. I don't want rats in the house." Alan said to Rooney.
Rooney: “…”
He never wanted to attend Alan's parties again. Ronnie was better. At least Ronnie never cared if he made his house dirty.
AC Milan's golden boy Kaka, who had just scored a goal, was kissing his index finger and pointing to the sky on the screen. Alan tilted his head to glance at Cristiano, and saw that Cristiano was smiling even more obviously, as if he had scored a goal himself.
He noticed from the corner of his eye that Pique was also looking at Cristiano. He turned his head and looked at Pique, who mouthed to Alan: He is really concentrating.
Alan shrugged.
Juventus were obviously not satisfied with the result of a draw, and the fight for the ball in the midfield became more intense and the movements were more obvious.
"Kaka was intercepted! Kaka accelerated and chased after him... Kaka suddenly fell down!? The ball was still at the opponent's feet!"
"Maldini, Costa and Cafu immediately blocked the attack. Vieira, the former iron-blooded captain of Arsenal and now the meat grinder of the Zebras' midfield, passed the ball to striker Piero after dribbling past the defense!"
"Piero shoots! Scores twice! The score is ahead of AC Milan again!!"
Cristiano's face changed slightly. He stared at the screen but didn't see the ball at all. His mind kept replaying the scene of Kaka suddenly falling down while chasing the ball. He seemed to see a flash of pain on his lover's face, which made him so anxious that he wanted to order the director to turn the camera back.
"AC Milan's team doctor has come on the field. The grass must have been too slippery and he fell. The doctor gave a simple treatment and it seems that Kaka is fine. The doctor indicated that he can stay on the field." The commentator said quickly, "The grass at home was indeed sprinkled with too much water this time. Ibrahimovic slipped when he shot in the first half."
Cristiano bit his fingernails and watched silently. He noticed that Kaka's running speed had slowed down significantly.
"If you keep biting your nails, your nails will become bald." Alan said suddenly.
He casually slapped away Chris's hand that was near his mouth and was chewing on it.
Cristiano came back to his senses, put his hand away awkwardly, and muttered softly: "Why are you just like my mother?"
Alan rolled his eyes and thought that if he was, he would have cured Cristiano of this bad habit a long time ago.
Pique laughed and suddenly grabbed Cristiano's hand: "How old are you and still biting your fingers? Let me see..."
Cristiano backhanded the ball and hit Pique on the head.
Pique immediately let go and covered his forehead, yelling, "Chris, you are not as nice to me as before. By the way, are you cold? Do you want to turn up the heating? Alan?"
Alan raised his eyebrows and looked at Pique in confusion.
"His hands are so cold." Pique explained. He just grabbed Cristiano's hand and it felt like he had grabbed a handful of ice, which was completely different temperature from his own.
Cristiano rubbed his hands twice and curled his lips: "I am nervous. It's not cold, there is no need to adjust the temperature."
Alan looked at Cristiano. He had noticed that Cristiano was particularly tense. The other party was sitting next to him, and he could feel the tense and relaxed states of his body very clearly.
——When AC Milan scored and conceded goals.
He always felt that there was something here, and he would never think that the other party loved the Rossoneri.
Keane and the others looked at Cristiano after hearing this. Keane paused and said, "Slipping is a common thing. He doesn't look like he has any serious problems. There's no need to worry about your little friend."
"That's right, the team doctor has given a treatment, there's nothing to worry about. At worst you can call him after the game." Ferdinand nodded dryly in agreement.
Van der Sar went to see Cristiano for no apparent reason: "Which kid? Kaka? I thought Ronnie was here to see Costa?"
"Edwin, it seems you don't know Ronnie well enough. He has a good friend, Kaka from Brazil," said Giggs.
Alan thoughtfully added: "Is that the one who came to watch the game last time? The one who came to the locker room to wait for someone?"
"It's them two, Kaka and Costa." Rooney nodded.
Everyone was talking at once, the game was almost over, and the final score remained at 2-1. The Zebras did not give the opponent any chance to attack, and their iron-barrel-like defense made it difficult for Seedorf and Kaka to pass the ball.
Kaka left the field silently with his teammates. The strained abdominal muscles were still irritating his nerves, and his steps became even slower.
"Let the team doctor take another look at you." Maldini patted Kaka's shoulder. He noticed that Kaka was obviously pressing his abdomen. He said, "This is an uncontrollable accident. No one will blame your child."
"I have to go for the post-interview, and I know those reporters will have a lot of questions," said Kaka. He would rather let the obvious pain remind him of what he had missed.
"Those problems are everyone's problems, not just yours. You should get treatment now. Pain is not a way to punish yourself, nor can it numb the fact of losing. This will only make us more worried." Maldini said. He looked into Kaka's eyes and said in a deep voice, "We all knew before the game that this was a difficult game. There are always winners and losers in a game. There is no shame in this."
Kaka nodded and said nothing more, just went back to the locker room.
He sat on the bench in a daze, surrounded by teammates who were also in a depressed mood. He suddenly just wanted to hide in a deserted place.
He hid in the system space, but he didn't expect that he was not alone here.
Before he even opened his eyes, he was embraced by a strong and warm person.
"Hey, I guessed you would come here, and I've been waiting for you." Cristiano's voice rang in his ears.
Kaka suddenly opened his eyes. He was extremely surprised, trembling slightly and couldn't believe it. He didn't think Chris would be waiting for him here. He knew Chris had a party tonight.
He lowered his voice and called out in a low voice, "Cristiano?"
"Yeah," Cristiano responded, tightening his arms and saying nothing.
——He guessed Kaka didn’t need him to say too much. They had all experienced enough games and encountered enough frustration and unwillingness. They could digest it all by themselves, but it would be even better if someone was with them.
Kaka took a deep breath, put his head on his lover's chest, listened to the strong beating sound from there, and slowly slowed down his breathing.
It was unknown how long it was before he stood up.
"How is your injury?" Cristiano saw that Kaka seemed to have recovered. He reached out to touch his waist and abdomen, frowned slightly and looked at Kaka, "Let's do another test here?"
As he spoke, he suddenly looked at the time again and had to frown: "Okay, my time is up, Kaka, do a test and call me back!"
Not long after Cristiano finished speaking, he was kicked out of the space by the system.
Kaka glanced at the time in the system space and realized that Cristiano had been waiting here for at least two hours.
He lowered his head and walked slowly to the testing machine. He couldn't let Cristiano worry about him.
…
[K: It's nothing, it's just a strain. It will be fine after a few days of recovery in the space. Don't worry about me Cris, just rest early.]
Cristiano replied almost instantly——【C: That’s good! :)
"Ronnie! You'll be excluded if you play with your phone at a party!" Rooney grumbled as he squeezed over and complained loudly, "You've been staring at your phone for ten minutes!"
"I'm ready!" Cristiano quickly put away his phone. He felt much more relaxed and said to Rooney, "What do we want to play now? But isn't it getting late? We still have early training tomorrow, so don't stay too late?"
Rooney: "...you're still excluded."
"No, I won't, everyone loves me." Cristiano grinned at Rooney.
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