A soft, rustling sound, like a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes, slowly woke Chen Yu.
He groggily opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight that pierced through a gap in the curtains.
’I seem to be in a bed.’
Chen Yu immediately reached out, feeling the other side of the bed.
It was empty.
’Thank goodness,’ Chen Yu thought, sighing in relief.
Lifting his head slightly, Chen Yu finally identified the source of the sound.
It was the TV.
He didn’t know how he’d gotten back last night, and the TV had been left on the whole time.
The television seemed to be playing a news broadcast.
Even the host was wearing a blue and black jersey, declaring his identity as an Inter fan while speaking passionately about something.
It was in Italian, which Chen Yu couldn’t understand at all.
But he could look at the pictures.
Dazzling fireworks lit up the entire San Siro Stadium. This was Moratti’s doing, a one-hour-long fireworks show for the fans who had stayed up all night waiting for the team to return.
Then came the next day, at the Cathedral Square, where the celebrations lasted for an entire day—from the championship trophy parade through the city to the grand festivities at night.
Tens of thousands gathered in Cathedral Square, where blue and black became the only colors in sight.
A massive banner of Ronaldo fluttered in the air.
On the TV, the host was speaking rapidly in an impassioned tone.
He couldn’t understand, but Chen Yu could guess they were singing Ronaldo’s praises.
From heaven to hell, just when all the Inter fans had fallen into despair, Ronaldo became a hero, saving the blue and blacks with a hat trick.
Because of that, no amount of praise for Ronaldo would be an exaggeration.
Chen Yu looked up, watching the photos and videos of the event on TV, trying to piece together his memories of last night.
’Moratti had prepared a surprise for me, too, I think.’
’What was it?’
Chen Yu shook his head, unable to recall.
Just then, a photo appeared on the screen, and Chen Yu’s expression changed dramatically.
In the photo, numerous Inter players were crowded around a woman.
This woman was none other than the former "godmother" of Inter, Korner.
Last year, Ferrari’s shocking striptease had stunned the entire Apennine Peninsula.
So this year, Moratti planned to do the same.
And just this season, Vieri’s current girlfriend, Canalis, had just succeeded Korner as the new godmother of Inter.
It was unknown whether she would be willing to strip, but Vieri would certainly be the first to object.
At that moment, the former godmother, Korner, stepped forward with "noble" sentiment, expressing her willingness to take on this important duty.
At the same time, Korner took a bold shot at Ferrari, saying there was no problem stripping for her team, but if you were going to do it, you had to do it properly. Wearing a swimsuit didn’t count; people could see more skin than that at the beach.
So, she really stripped.
And in the photo, Korner was in the center, arms spread wide, showing off her ample bosom, her body completely pixelated.
The damning part was, to her left, was him.
’I’m screwed!’
Chen Yu cursed under his breath. He had no idea who pushed him into that spot yesterday.
And the pixelation... wasn’t it a bit too wide? The way it was blurred made it look like he was hugging Korner.
Without a doubt, this photo would soon spread across the globe, and Lexi might see it.
Chen Yu sat up and scratched his head in frustration.
’If I’d known, I should have brought Lexi with me.’
As he looked up, Chen Yu saw a medal on the table.
’I remember now. This was the surprise Moratti specially prepared.’
It was a commemorative medal for Inter’s championship victory. Only two were made. One would be placed in the Inter Club’s trophy room, and the other was given to Chen Yu.
It was half the size of his palm and made of solid gold.
And don’t even ask why no one else got one, like Ronaldo who had saved all of Inter. Moratti was already clamoring to erect a statue for him.
After sitting on the bed for a while, Chen Yu’s head cleared a bit.
Staring at the clock on the wall, Chen Yu suddenly realized it was already the 7th.
Back in the United States, the second game between the Phoenix Suns and the Kings should be over by now.
’I wonder if they won.’
Chen Yu hurried to the study next door, turned on the computer, and looked up yesterday’s game results.
The first headline that popped up on ESPN startled him.
"Ewing Bleeds on the Court at Arco Arena, Hardaway’s 29 Points in Vain."
The phrase "in vain" already revealed the outcome of the game.
’But what’s this about bleeding on the court? Was there a fight?’
Chen Yu quickly clicked on the news and let out a long sigh of relief.
’Damn clickbait.’
In the third quarter, while fighting for a rebound under the basket, Ewing was elbowed in the face by Divac on his way down. His nose immediately started to bleed.
After receiving brief treatment, he returned to the court and furiously racked up 8 points and 11 rebounds for the game.
Then there were the others.
Olajuwon had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Marion had 17 points.
J Kidd had 8 points and 8 assists.
In the end, they lost 90-101, a deficit of 11 points.
Chen Yu frowned slightly. It wasn’t that they couldn’t lose—after all, it was an away game. Winning one out of two on the road was actually pretty good.
Skimming through other analyses, Chen Yu was more interested in how the Phoenix Suns had lost.
There were quite a few commentary-style reports.
The main point of analysis focused on Hardaway’s low shooting percentage.
He may have scored 29 points, but he shot a mere 9-for-27 from the field, a field goal percentage of only thirty-three percent. He only reached 29 points thanks to his 10 free throws.
In this game, Adelman made an adjustment.
Targeting J Kidd’s weakness as an inaccurate outside shooter, they often left him open to double-team Hardaway on the perimeter.
At the same time, Weber sagged into the low post on defense. As soon as Hardaway drove to the basket, Weber would immediately come over to help, and if they couldn’t stop him, they’d just foul.
You could say that if Hardaway’s free-throw shooting hadn’t been so accurate, the Phoenix Suns would have lost by much more than 11 points.
As he kept reading, Chen Yu saw another familiar name.
Wojnarowski.
He had also written a report analyzing the game.
In it, he mentioned an issue: Skiles was relying too heavily on his starters, especially overplaying Ewing and Olajuwon, leading to excessive fatigue.
In the previous game, Olajuwon had given his all, playing nearly the entire game.
In this game, he was clearly exhausted and couldn’t keep up. In the second half, with Weber sagging in the low post, he got plenty of open shots but just couldn’t sink them.
He suggested that the Phoenix Suns could be more flexible and make more use of their bench.
After all, they had Gugliotta, a player with a ten-million-dollar-a-year salary, sitting on the bench.
Chen Yu sighed silently.
’This is definitely a problem. If I were there with the team, I could solve it easily. But now that I’m gone, Skiles is still running them into the ground.’
’When I left, I specifically told Nelson not to overplay Olajuwon. Didn’t he remind Skiles?’
Just as he was thinking this, there was a knock on the door.
He got up and opened the door. It was Ronaldo, who grinned, gave Chen Yu a hug, and said, "Chen, hurry up and pack. We’re leaving."
"Where to?" Chen Yu asked, stunned.
Ronaldo said, "We’ve chartered a yacht. We’re planning to head out to sea for a couple of days of fun."
After speaking, he leaned in closer and whispered, "It’s just us guys going. Don’t worry, in international waters, no one will know what you do."
Chen Yu understood the subtext, and his heart traitorously skipped a couple of beats.
But thinking about the timing, Chen Yu shook his head.
"Forget it, you guys go on your own. I need to get back to the United States right away. You know my team is still in the playoffs." Today was the 7th, and the next game was on the 9th. He had no time to spend a few days out at sea.
Ronaldo was taken aback.
Chen Yu added, "And you, after your two days of fun, get to the United States quickly. The World Cup is just around the corner. You should get your body, especially your groin, treated. You don’t want to play in the World Cup with an injury, do you?"
Ronaldo scratched his head and said in a low voice, "Chen, are you sure you’re not coming? We found a lot of models, the kind with absolutely top-tier bodies."
He made a gesture with his hands to illustrate.
Chen Yu’s eyelid twitched, but he still shook his head.
After saying his goodbyes to Moratti and the others, Chen Yu hastily boarded a flight back to the United States.
On the plane, Chen Yu had time to ponder a problem.
Let’s say the Phoenix Suns beat the Kings, then beat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals to make it to the NBA Finals. The Finals would last until at least mid-June.
By that time, the World Cup would have already started, and he would definitely have to go to Japan and South Korea to meet up with the National Team.
In fact, Contiguglia had already contacted Chen Yu. On May 24th, the National Team would gather and head to Japan.
The World Cup opening ceremony was on May 31st.
The United States Team’s first match was on June 3rd, against Croatia.
This meant that even if Chen Yu missed the World Cup opening ceremony, he would have to meet up with the National Team by June 3rd at the latest.
At that point, the Western Conference Finals might not even be over.
If the Phoenix Suns made it to the Finals, he would definitely have to miss it.
In that case, his trick of using massage to restore stamina would be useless.
For the Phoenix Suns to win, they couldn’t rely on his cheat-like methods; they had to find the key to victory on their own.
In fact, Chen Yu had even considered whether he should give up his spot with the National Team to fully support his team’s push for the championship.
After all, given the United States Team’s strength, going to the World Cup was little more than a formality.
They could easily find a temporary replacement for the team doctor.
But being the National Team’s doctor was a huge source of prestige and experience, and Chen Yu didn’t want to give it up.
Besides, there was no guarantee the Phoenix Suns would even make it to the Finals.
If they didn’t make it to the Finals, or lost in the Finals, and he had already given up his position with the National Team, wouldn’t he be left with nothing?
Even if he were to back out, he had to tell the National Team in advance. He couldn’t wait until the last minute, right before the Finals.
By the time the plane landed, Chen Yu had made up his mind.
’I can’t give up on the National Team.’
As for the team, he would obviously have to see them through the early stages, but when it came to the Western Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, he would be out of options.
The team would have to rely on itself.
Chen Yu decided he would have a good talk with Skiles when he got back. They couldn’t always pin their hopes on his ability to rapidly restore the players’ stamina.
Making a 40-year-old veteran play a full game... he really had some nerve.
He arrived in Phoenix on the evening of the 8th and went straight home.
It seemed Lexi didn’t know about the photo. She was busy with her research project recently and had no time to worry about news from Italy, thousands of kilometers away.
Of course, it might also have something to do with how hard Chen Yu "worked" that night.
If he had seemed drained, she would definitely have suspected he had over-exerted himself in Italy.
The next day, Chen Yu went to the clinic early as usual.
Gerrard was preparing to be discharged and return to his home country today.
Chen Yu also had to attend to Beckham, whose scheduled discharge was only about ten days away.
"Morning."
Chen Yu greeted people along the way as he headed toward Beckham’s residence first.
From a distance, he saw a person standing in front of Jordan’s house.
And who else could it be but Xiaobei.
"Michael, morning! Are you up yet? It’s time for your rehab training," Xiaobei shouted loudly toward the second floor, from behind the iron gate.
No response.
"Michael, are you awake?" Beckham called out again with a grin.
The next moment, CRASH! An alarm clock smashed through the glass of the second-floor bedroom window facing the gate, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.
"FUCK, I’M NOT AWAKE YET!"
Jordan’s furious voice could be heard faintly from the second floor.

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