This trip to the United Kingdom, Chen Yu truly felt like he had stirred up a hornet’s nest.
After Ferguson’s visit, Chen Yu immediately received calls from many people.
Gerrard, Michael Owen.
And Old Haaland from Manchester City, who said that if Chen Yu had time, he could visit Manchester. He invited Chen Yu over, saying his son often talked about him.
Of course, Xiaobei was among them.
What was rather strange was that Xiaobei, who was with Manchester United, didn’t come to Birmingham with Ferguson. Instead, he rushed over the next day, the 14th, the day the competition began.
He came with Victoria.
"Are you having issues with Alex?" Chen Yu asked during their casual chat.
Otherwise, why wouldn’t they come together since they were on the same team?
Of course, this wasn’t unusual in itself. Very few stars and head coaches had good relationships. Getting along normally was already considered good; conflicts were everywhere.
Beckham’s somber expression told Chen Yu that he hadn’t guessed wrong.
"Chen, we’re friends, so tell me, do you think I did something wrong?" Beckham didn’t hide anything.
Chen Yu looked at Beckham in surprise. "He kicked a boot at you?"
’Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?’
Beckham waved his hand dismissively. "That’s not important. It was just an accident, and I never took it to heart."
Last month, photos of him with a bandage over his eyebrow shocked the entire United Kingdom. The media even dubbed the event the "Flying Boot incident."
But Beckham didn’t really care about that. He said, somewhat distressed, "I just feel that Alex and I have developed different views on certain things. He wants me to focus on the game, to be a pure player, and to take on fewer commercial activities."
"But these two years are my peak, when my commercial value is at its highest. Of course I love soccer, but I know very well that soccer isn’t the only thing in my life. Chen, can you understand what I mean?"
’Of course I do,’ Chen Yu thought. ’How could I not understand?’
To put it bluntly, Xiaobei wanted to take advantage of his high commercial value to make more money. He wanted to use these few years to earn enough for the rest of his life.
But the old-school Ferguson believed that a player is a player and should focus on the pitch, getting less involved in off-field matters. He thought that frequent commercial activities would definitely affect their performance.
And so the conflict arose.
It was the kind of conflict that couldn’t be resolved, because it involved money.
Ferguson was trying to block Xiaobei’s path to wealth, so it was only normal for Xiaobei to be unhappy with him.
"So are you preparing to leave Manchester United?" Chen Yu asked.
Xiaobei rubbed his face and said nothing.
Chen Yu understood. He casually asked him where he wanted to go.
His silence was, in fact, an answer.
"Real Madrid?"
If he was pursuing commercial value, then it would undoubtedly be the cash-flashing Galaxy Battleship, Real Madrid.
"By the way, Ronnie also told me he wanted to return to La Liga," Chen Yu added.
Xiaobei was startled and looked at Chen Yu in shock.
’Is that something you can just say out loud?’
If a reporter heard that, it would send shockwaves through all of European Football.
Chen Yu waved his hand dismissively. He knew that even if Xiaobei found out, he wouldn’t spread it around.
Besides, he wasn’t joking about this.
This season, Inter’s performance had been outstanding, and an in-form Ronaldo still had a chance of leading Inter to defend their title.
But when Ronaldo chatted with Chen Yu on the phone, he had revealed his plans to leave more than once.
He wanted to make money, too.
At his core, Ronaldo, just like Xiaobei, was a guy who loved money.
He had said it himself: he loved three things in this life—money, women, and soccer.
On top of that, after suffering frequent injuries in Serie A, Ronaldo also wanted to return to the more relaxed environment of La Liga to avoid getting injured again.
He had even started planning for the 2006 World Cup, thinking he could play a more conservative style in La Liga to prepare for the tournament three years from now.
Of course, the most fundamental reason was definitely still money.
Seeing the complex look in Xiaobei’s eyes, Chen Yu thought for a moment and said, "Don’t overthink it. Whatever decision you ultimately make, just make sure you don’t regret it."
’Even if you do regret it, there’s nothing to be done. You have to finish the path you’ve chosen, even if you have to crawl.’
After extending a wedding invitation to the couple, Chen Yu saw them off.
The two also invited Chen Yu to be their guest in Manchester, but he declined.
Over the past two days, Chen Yu had already turned down many people.
For example, the England National Team’s head coach, Eriksson, had invited Chen Yu to London, saying he wanted to treat him to the best British food.
Chen Yu couldn’t even guess what he would be treated to.
There was also Moratti, who, upon hearing Chen Yu was in Europe, cordially invited him to stay in Italy for a couple of days and promised to show him great hospitality.
And of course, Ronaldo was among them.
Chen Yu turned them all down.
’I still have a ton of things to do back in the United States.’
Going back to Chicago and then coming to the United Kingdom had already delayed the filming of his weight-loss show.
So, as soon as the competition ended on the 16th, Chen Yu would immediately return to the United States with Liu Xiang and his coach.
「That afternoon, Chen Yu arrived at the Birmingham National Indoor Arena.」
Liu Xiang’s first race, the 60m hurdles preliminary, was scheduled to be held at four in the afternoon.
Chen Yu had a guest pass.
At the opening ceremony gala held the previous night, the organizers had specially invited Chen Yu and seated him in the most prominent guest section.
Even Feng Shuyong, the head of the delegation, could only sit off to the side.
Thus, Chen Yu had unimpeded access and sat beside the track with the best view.
The attendance at the arena was average. Of the twelve thousand seats, probably less than seventy percent were filled.
Although today was just preliminaries, this attendance rate could only mean that track and field had very low viewership.
Compared to soccer, it wasn’t even in the same league.
For a legendary hurdler like Colin Johnson, to have so few people at his retirement race... if this were Xiaobei’s retirement match, the entire city would be bursting at the seams.
On the track, the events continued one after another, and soon it was time for the first heat of the 60m hurdles preliminaries.
Alan Johnson was in this heat.
Liu Xiang was assigned to the second heat, which would follow.
As the starting gun fired, Alan Johnson took the lead and was the first to cross the finish line.
7.52 seconds!
Chen Yu glanced at the time and couldn’t help but grimace.
For the 32-year-old Alan Johnson to still be in such shape, you could only say he was truly incredible.
In the waiting area, Liu Xiang, who had been watching the first heat, saw the result, and his pupils contracted sharply.
His personal best in the 60m hurdles, set last year, was only 7.61 seconds. And this was just a preliminary heat; Alan Johnson hadn’t even gone all out yet.
’With a gap like that, how can I possibly catch up!’
"Don’t be nervous." Sun Haiping quickly came forward to comfort him. While comforting him, he helped Liu Xiang relax his body, then said, "Today is just the prelims. You only have one goal: make it to the semifinals. So, you just need to finish in the top three. Even though you have Garcia and Colin Johnson in your heat, with your skill level, getting top three shouldn’t be a problem."
Liu Xiang nodded.
But Sun Haiping could clearly feel the tension in his body. He sighed, not knowing what else to say.
Soon, Liu Xiang was at the starting line.
Chen Yu sat up straight, his gaze locked on Liu Xiang. ’Whether he’s adjusted his mentality or not, it all comes down to this moment.’
The starting gun fired, and Liu Xiang shot out of the blocks.
But Chen Yu furrowed his brow.
’He’s slow!’
’His start was definitely slow.’
During their previous training, Chen Yu had focused on improving two aspects for Liu Xiang: first, adjusting his form, and second, his start.
He had the talent for it, so they definitely had to make good use of it.
In fact, his training had gone well. He had once broken the 0.11-second barrier, achieving a start time of 0.109 seconds.
But his start today was definitely over 0.13 seconds.
Before he could think any more, Liu Xiang, mid-hurdle, brought his trail leg through a bit too low and knocked over a hurdle.
In just a few short seconds, he had already crossed the finish line.
Chen Yu quickly looked at the electronic screen.
The results were out.
Third in the heat, 7.67 seconds.
Beside the track, Sun Haiping let out a long breath of lingering fear, nearly collapsing to the ground.
The fourth-place finisher, Robert Krenkler from Sweden, ran a 7.69. It was truly a hair’s breadth difference; he had made it into the semifinals by a mere 0.02-second advantage.
Liu Xiang walked off the track, his face blank and his hands and feet cold. He immediately sat down and buried his face in his hands.
Sun Haiping, who had been about to scold him, saw his reaction and swallowed his words.
In the stands, Chen Yu’s brow was tightly furrowed.
This result was absolutely not indicative of Liu Xiang’s true ability.
Watching the silent Liu Xiang hide his face, Chen Yu let out a long sigh. ’Looks like he still needs a push from me.’
The day’s events quickly concluded.
The Chinese delegation’s performance was average, with three more athletes eliminated early in the preliminaries.
As they were leaving, even Feng Shuyong couldn’t help but lament that there was still a gap in skill level.
「Back at their respective hotels.」
Chen Yu accepted Huntsman’s invitation, went to a bar for a couple of drinks, and it was already past eight in the evening when he returned to his hotel.
He would have been back later, but Sun Haiping called him and said Liu Xiang hadn’t eaten dinner.
Chen Yu found Liu Xiang in the gym.
In the spacious gym, Liu Xiang had found a set of starting blocks and was practicing his starts over and over, completely unaware that Chen Yu had approached.
"Too slow," Chen Yu said suddenly after watching for a moment.
Liu Xiang was startled. He whipped his head around, and when he saw it was Chen Yu, his expression changed slightly as he quickly greeted him.
Chen Yu casually tossed him a bottle of water and sat down. "I heard you didn’t even eat dinner. What’s wrong, is your confidence shattered?"
Liu Xiang clutched the water bottle, remaining silent.
Chen Yu was quiet for a moment, then said, "How about this, let me tell you a story."
"Once upon a time, there was a student..."
He didn’t finish the sentence before stopping himself. "Forget it. A story is just a story in the end. There’s not much point in telling it."
’Telling a story is a waste of breath. It’s better to just get straight to the point.’
"Liu Xiang, I heard from Shi Dongpeng that Alan Johnson said something discriminatory to you?"
Liu Xiang flinched, his expression growing even more somber.
"So, are you angry?" Chen Yu retorted.
Liu Xiang didn’t speak.
Chen Yu continued, "Are you thinking he discriminates against you because of your race, because you’re Chinese? No."
Chen Yu shook his head.
"None of those are the reason. He’s a black man himself, and plenty of people in the United States discriminate against him. The reason he looks down on you has nothing to do with that. It’s simply because you’re too weak. You’re not strong enough."
"You’re the weak one, so who else would he pick on but you?"
Chen Yu’s voice grew louder.
This whole ’discrimination because of race’ thing is bullshit. Jordan is black, Ali is black, and yet tons of people worship them, tons of people go crazy for them.
There’s only one reason people look down on you: you’re weak.
These were things Chen Yu had seen far too many times in the United States.
As a Chinese-American who became a doctor, and then a good doctor, a top-tier doctor, what Liu Xiang had encountered was nothing compared to what Chen Yu had faced.
"This world is very complicated, and also very simple. If you want to earn respect, there’s only one path: become strong. When you’re strong, they’ll kneel down and lick your boots!"
Liu Xiang stared blankly at Chen Yu. ’Isn’t that a little extreme?’
"He said you can’t do it, so now you really can’t?" Chen Yu stood up and grabbed Liu Xiang’s shoulders. "If you don’t even have that little bit of self-confidence, then you might as well go home right now. You told me before that you wanted to prove that what others can do, the yellow race can do too. So what, you’re giving up now?"
"Then what have you been training for these past two months?"
"If you really have what it takes, then outrun him. Then get in his face, point at his nose, and call him trash, instead of hiding in a gym like some pathetic worm."
"Think about it."
Chen Yu patted his shoulder one last time and turned to leave.
As he walked out the door, he glanced back one last time. Liu Xiang was still sitting there in a daze, a desolate figure.
Chen Yu sighed. ’Now we’ll see if the system’s psychological effect can work its magic.’

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