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Chapter 198 Today is a big day

“I’ve already contacted Wang’s agent, and we’ll be waiting in front of Wang’s house. When the time comes, Wang will drive out—there will be two cars, one with his family members, driven by his agent, and Wang himself will drive the other. He will stop when he sees us, and Mark, you can get in the car with the equipment.”

In a rented office, Matthews Helm, owner and producer of 2M Media, is giving work instructions to his partner, friend, and photographer, Mark Medley.

"Only you can go up, sit in the passenger seat, point the camera at him, and that's it."

Medley nodded as he inspected the machine: "OK."

They've been filming Wang and Tain's documentary for many days, following Tain's team to Munich to film their training, the arrival of each new signing, and some of the team's daily routines.

They were already very experienced and shouldn't need Helm's special instructions, but today's situation was a little different, and Helm didn't want any mistakes.

Today is a signing ceremony that Tyne specially prepared for Wang Lie.

This is a big day for all of Wang Lie's fans.

On January 21st of this year, Wang Lie transferred from Sofia United to Tyne United as a free agent, but at the time the club only released a video to announce Wang Lie's transfer.

There wasn't even a press conference where Wang Lie and the head coach appeared together in front of the reporters' cameras.

At the time, some people mocked Wang Lie, comparing him to a stray dog, and even the club that had signed him was unwilling to spend money on a welcoming ceremony. This shows just how hated he was…

Although the club later clarified that it was Wang Lie's request not to hold a signing ceremony, he only wanted to get into the team's training as soon as possible and play in matches.

However, many people still only believe the so-called "truth" that they want to believe, spreading rumors everywhere that Wang Lie has been abandoned by his followers.

Even after Wang Lie performed exceptionally well at Tyne and won everyone's support, these haters would still say, "So what? He went to Tyne quietly, he didn't even dare to hold a press conference. What's wrong with him? Did he not want to?"

It wasn't until Tyne Club officially announced that they would prepare a grand welcome ceremony for Wang Lie this summer.

These trolls then lay low again, waiting for the next opportunity to emerge from the sewers and launch a coordinated attack.

The welcome ceremony that Tyne Club has meticulously prepared for Wang Lie is finally taking place today.

For this welcoming ceremony, Tyne also invited several famous singers to perform at Lize Park Stadium. Some of the invited singers have already posted on social media or in vlogs, expressing their excitement to perform in front of Tyne fans and to send their best wishes to a superstar like Wang Lie. Other singers have stated that they have always been fans of Wang Lie and that they feel inspired by him…

The social media posts or vlogs of these singers have basically become a huge gathering of Wang Lie's fans from all over the world, and it's incredibly lively.

It's hard to say whether these singers came to support Wang Lie or were just trying to ride on his popularity...

While these singers are undoubtedly stars in the music industry, Wang Lie's influence extends far beyond football. Especially after leading a relatively unknown relegation-threatened team to Champions League qualification at the age of 38, Wang Lie's influence has become even more profound.

Furthermore, it is said that the Tyne Club spent a large sum of money to commission a renowned musician to compose a heroic ode for Wang Lie, titled "Extraordinary Heart." This song will be sung for the first time at this welcoming ceremony.

Such a grand spectacle can be said to have exceeded the limits of what is typical for a football superstar signing ceremony.

Perhaps the Tyne Club also saw what those haters were saying, so they were itching to give them a super, super huge slap in the face:

Who is the real scoundrel?!

Who is truly abandoned by everyone?!

※※※

Because the welcoming ceremony is in the evening, Tyne's training today will only last half a day in the morning.

After training, the players went home first, and then gathered at Lize Park Stadium in the afternoon. In the locker room, they changed into commemorative T-shirts specially made for Wang Lie's signing, and finally witnessed Wang Lie's "signing" as guests at the event.

Their family members and relatives will be dressed in their finest attire and attend the ceremony in a special private box.

Elliott Goetz turned his gaze to Vitini, the Brazilian boy was so excited that he was swaying his whole body as he walked, as if he couldn't wait to go straight to the Lize Park stadium.

Claire Oni noticed that Goetz was staring blankly in Vitini's direction, so she asked him, "What's wrong?"

Goetz snapped out of his reverie and chuckled, “It suddenly reminded me of the past… Have I ever told you this? When the King first pushed open this door, Dean and Vitini almost came to blows. I tried my best to stop them, but I couldn’t separate them… If the King hadn’t suddenly arrived, I reckon they would both have ended up training with bruises on their faces…”

Oni was surprised: "Is that so?"

Goetz nodded: "Guess what the King said when he saw this?"

"How would I know..."

Goetz laughed. "He said, 'Is this your unique welcoming ceremony?'"

Hearing this, Oni laughed: "I can totally imagine what it was like..."

Goetz remarked, "So now we really have to give him a unique welcome ceremony... It feels like it was a long time ago, but it was only half a year ago."

"Because so much has happened in the past six months, it feels like a long time has passed." Although he wasn't in Tyne at the time, O'Neill, who was on another team, often witnessed the changes in Tyne.

Not just him, everyone has to admit that the past six months have been absolutely incredible for Tyne…

“Yes…” Goetz turned his gaze to Vitini again.

Sonny, who had the conflict with him back then, is no longer here...

As a fellow player from the same Tyne team, Goetz still feels regretful about Sonny Dean's departure.

During that half-season, he wondered countless times if the club would intervene to keep Dean since Wang and Dean were working together so well.

But the story didn't go as he hoped, and Dean eventually went to Kensington, London.

This summer, Tyne's locker room doors were constantly being pushed open as new players joined.

The Tyne team has now attracted players from all walks of life and has gained much more prestige than before.

Even players like Claire O'Neil, who are not yet fully past the end of their careers, would rather return to Tyne as a rotation player.

But our "Taiwan Boys" will have to leave their hometown this summer to wander and make their way in the world.

※※※

"Sonny!" Richard Bolton put his arm around Dean's neck as they came off the training field and whispered in his ear, "Come to my place tonight. I've invited Bobby, Silas, and Jeff. The league starts next week, let's have one last party..."

He thought Dean would agree readily because he hadn't invited many people and wouldn't be staying out late, so it wouldn't affect the training the next day.

Unexpectedly, Dean refused: "Sorry, Richard. Not tonight..."

"Eh? Why?"

"I have some personal matters to attend to tonight..."

“Private matters?!” Bolton heard the key word and his eyes widened.

“Don’t overthink it, Richard. If I had a girlfriend, I’d bring her to you first,” Dean shook his head. “It’s really a private matter.”

Seeing Dean's serious expression, Bolton didn't continue joking: "Alright, we'll have fun on our own tonight. You're welcome to come anytime if you want."

He made a gesture as if he were making a phone call.

Dean hesitated for a moment as he watched Bolton walk away, but in the end he didn't call out to him.

※※※

How do I look in this outfit?

Tang Xingmei stood at the door of the dressing room, placed a dress in front of her chest, and asked Wang Lie.

"Hey, this one looks great!"

Wang Lie nodded vigorously, emphasizing his words as he spoke.

However, Tang Xingmei still keenly sensed the mechanical feeling behind her husband's praise, as if it were a routine procedure.

She frowned and said, "You're being too perfunctory! You said every single piece of clothing looked good!"

After his wife saw through his lie, Wang Lie felt wronged: "I was telling the truth, they all really do look good..." "How could that be? There are always good-looking and bad-looking ones!"

Wang Lie shook his head: "No, they all look good. They look good because you're wearing them. If they weren't on you, these clothes would just be random clothes from the street..."

Tang Xingmei was amused and annoyed by Wang Lie's blunt, masculine praise: "These clothes look much better on those models than on me! Do you think I don't know whether I look good or not?"

Wang Lie sensed his wife's slight temper, but he still insisted on his point of view, only his tone was much softer: "But to me, you are the most beautiful, much more beautiful than those models and celebrities..."

Tang Xingmei laughed out loud, but this time it wasn't out of anger; it was genuine laughter, a happy laugh.

After laughing, she felt relieved.
She wasn't a beauty to begin with. If she hadn't met Wang Lie when she was a teenager, she would have been an ordinary person, someone you wouldn't notice no matter how many times you looked in the vast sea of ​​people.

It was only because she became Wang Lie's wife that she became known to more people and seemed to become a "star" in some sense.

But she knew that she was far inferior to the real celebrity wives and girlfriends of other players; there was a difference in appearance that she could never overcome no matter how much makeup or dressing up she did.

Wang Lie used to deliberately hide herself from the outside world, so she didn't have to appear in public often. She was happy to be her true self and didn't have any anxiety about her appearance.

That evening at dinner, Wang Lie suddenly told her that he planned to bring her along to the welcoming ceremony.

To be honest, Tang Xingmei's first reaction wasn't happiness, but... panic.

You have to understand, that wasn't just an ordinary welcoming ceremony!
Tyne began preparing for this ceremony after the end of last season.

There were 65,000 people in the stadium alone, not to mention that this welcoming ceremony was to be broadcast live to the whole world!

Countless television stations and online platforms have bought the broadcasting rights, and news reports say that an estimated 1.2 billion people worldwide may watch the welcoming ceremony...

That's just outrageous—the last World Cup final was only watched by 1.6 billion people!
Her husband was perfectly fine with appearing in front of so many people, but she was a little apprehensive…

She initially wanted to refuse, but Wang Lie disagreed, saying that he had already informed the club of the arrangement and that they were preparing for the rehearsal according to this plan.

She finally agreed to go after much difficulty, and then she started to worry about what clothes to wear, what makeup to put on, and what hairstyle to get.

This morning, Wang Lie's agent, Fernando Clement, hired a professional hairstylist to do her hair, and a professional makeup artist will be coming to do her makeup and styling later.

Then pair it with carefully selected clothes.

Only then did she have a little confidence to stand beside Wang Lie in front of the world... No, actually she was still uneasy and not very confident. She always felt that maybe people were only being lenient with her because she was Wang Lie's wife and out of respect and love for Wang Lie. Who knew how they really thought of her?

However, after hearing Wang Lie's corny pickup lines, Tang Xingmei felt relieved.

Why should I be anxious about my appearance?

Then I should tell the whole world:
That's right, standing next to Wang Lie is me, Tang Xingmei, his wife.

If you want to comment on my looks, figure... go ahead, I don't care.

Because while he was glaring at the world, this ordinary woman in front of you was treated with gentleness by him.

Thinking of this, she threw the expensive, luxurious evening gown she was holding onto a stool and said to Wang Lie, "Forget it, I'll just wear your jersey like the kids."

Wang Lie thought his wife was angry, so he quickly said, "No, you look really good in this dress. I'm not lying to you, really!"

Tang Xingmei smiled and shook her head: "I'm not being stubborn with you, I'm serious. You'll be wearing a jersey, and the two kids will be wearing jerseys too, so I'll wear one too. We're family."

Wang Lie carefully observed his wife's expression and listened to her tone of voice. Confirming that she was genuinely not angry, he asked, "Are you sure?"

"Confirmed." Tang Xingmei nodded.

"The makeup artist will be here soon..."

"Come on, you still need to do your makeup. Your wife won't really come to your welcome ceremony completely bare-faced, that's not real, that's impolite. Just wear whatever you like, a pair of jeans, a pair of sneakers, and one of your jerseys."

Seeing his wife's resolute attitude, Wang Lie stopped trying to persuade her and came up with a new idea: "Then you and the children can ride in my car later."

This time it was the wife's turn to be surprised: "Didn't you say there was a film crew following you and that we were supposed to ride in Fernando's car?"

"Hey, since we're going to be in front of the whole world anyway, what are we doing hiding in front of the camera? You're my family, but you're not in my car. It just feels weird."

Upon hearing Wang Lie's suggestion, Tang Xingmei nodded in agreement: "Okay, then tell Fernando not to come..."

Wang Lie shook his head: "We still have to let him come. I'll drive his van, otherwise it won't be comfortable. Besides, he also has to bring the makeup artist."

"Oh, right, right, right."

After Tang Xingmei finished speaking, she turned around and sat down on the sofa. Having decided to be her "true self," she felt very relaxed and began to look forward to the welcoming ceremony that evening.
"I wonder what it will be like..."

※※※

Jon Berg climbed onto the chair using both his hands and feet, and then carefully took down the photos of his wife and children that were hanging on the bedroom wall.

He moved very slowly, and his hands were trembling.

It took him some time to take both picture frames down. He first used the corner of his shirt to wipe away the dust from the glass, then stacked them together.

Then, holding onto the two picture frames with one hand and the back of the chair with the other, he slowly climbed down.

He breathed a sigh of relief only after both feet were on the floor.

Then he put the picture frame into the backpack he had prepared.

As he shakily zipped up his backpack, Robbie Dixie's loud voice came from downstairs outside the window:

"Jon! Jon! Get ready to go!!"

Jon Berg picked up his backpack, walked to the window, and saw his old friends standing outside his house, including the Collins father and son, owners of the miners' bar.

"Is the bar closed?" Berg leaned out and asked loudly.

Theo Collins pointed to his son Harry Collins beside him and said, "That unfilial son doesn't want to stay and watch the shop."

Harry retorted, "It's clearly you who doesn't want to!"

Theo Collins said matter-of-factly, "Of course! Today is the big day for me to welcome the King, how could I not be there?"

“You talk like you’re the star of the day…” Harry muttered under his breath, but everyone heard him.

"Haha!" Berg laughed when he saw the father and son arguing, and then he said, "Wait a moment, I'll be right down."

Berg quickly locked the door, then put the key in his coat pocket, zipped it up, and gently patted it to make sure the key was inside.

After doing all that, he turned around and said to the waiting staff, "Let's go."

A group of people walked towards the intersection.

They passed the miners' bar standing on the street corner, with a sign that read "Closed Today" hanging on the closed door.

They continued walking, turning from the side road onto the main road. A group of people came from the side and greeted them, "Hey! Guys!"

So they raised their hands in response: "Aha! Old buddy!"

After exchanging greetings, the two groups merged and moved forward side by side.

Then we encountered the same group of people again, greeted each other, walked side by side, and went together...

This process repeated itself, and more and more people poured out from the streets and alleys of the neighborhood, eventually merging onto this main road.

On their way to the subway station, they greeted each other, excitedly chatting about their anticipation for the welcoming ceremony, exchanging their expectations for the new season, and commenting on the team's performance in player recruitment and warm-up matches.

The chattering sounds converged, eventually forming a wave of sound above the crowd, and as the crowd moved forward, the rumbling sound surged forward as well.

Just like the River Tyne, which has been flowing through this city for thousands of years and rushing across this land for tens of thousands of years, it flows relentlessly towards the sea.

(End of this chapter)