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Chapter 215 Tyne's Lucky Child

After a quick lunch, Jon Berg couldn't wait to head out to the Miners' Bar.

Yesterday's match was so exciting, of course I had to get together with my old buddies to chat and see what the outside world thought and reacted to it – that's the best way to relax after dinner.

If the bar weren't closed in the morning, he would definitely have gone there after breakfast and even had lunch there.

Before even pushing the door open, Berg could hear laughter and conversation coming from inside.

It looks like there are quite a few people here today.

Sure enough, when I pushed open the door, the bar, which wasn't small, was packed with people.

There wasn't a single empty table; even the bar area was packed with people.

“My God, I thought we won against Clayton yesterday on the road…” Jon Berger teased Theo Collins after finally squeezing to the front of the bar.

"Although we didn't win, it's as good as winning!" Before Collins could speak, a fellow waiter chimed in.

Berg glanced at the other party, who seemed unfamiliar and clearly not a regular NPC that frequently spawned here.

This person is also a Tyne fan, but not the kind of active Tyne fan who usually watches games quietly and supports their team.

But yesterday's competition brought out many people like him who are usually "silent majority".

Berg nodded and smiled at the other person in greeting.

The other party nodded in return.

As the owner, Theo Collins, brought over the stranger's drink, he said, "After all, we came back from a two-goal deficit at halftime with one less player. I think if we had one less player and played normally, we might actually have been able to beat them."

Berg asked him, "When was the last time we beat Clayton?"

Collins was stumped; he couldn't recall the answer for a moment.

The unfamiliar face took the beer glass, took a sip, and said, "In January 2019, we beat Clayton Athletic 2-1 at home. I was there for that game."

Upon hearing this, both of them realized, "Oh, right!"

Jon Berger remarked, "My wife and I watched that game live. It's been eighteen years already..."

The stranger continued, "And including yesterday's game, Clayton Sports has scored against us in 44 consecutive Premier League matches."

Collins and Berg were both surprised: "That's outrageous?"

"It's no exaggeration. Clayton Sports has scored a total of 147 goals in all their matches against us, more than against any other team. You could say we are Clayton Sports' favorite opponent."

As the guest read out these records, Theo Collins stared wide-eyed in disbelief—he had no idea that Tyne and Clayton had such a unique record.

Then he muttered somewhat awkwardly, "I just said we could beat them..."

“There’s no conflict,” Jon Berger told him. “The past and the future don’t conflict. Just because we performed poorly in the past doesn’t mean we can’t beat them in the future. It’s like how we never participated in the Champions League in the past, but now we’re qualified for it, aren’t we?”

The patron who reported the record nodded in agreement, "That's right. If they keep this up, maybe next time on our home turf they really can..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a loud, boisterous voice behind him.

"Jon! Jon! Quickly send a message to Tang and ask him if he watched the game yesterday!"

When Berg's name was called, he turned around and saw Ryan and Dixie struggling to squeeze in.

It was Ryan who just called him; he was still preoccupied with his own deduction...

This time, Dixie, standing beside him, didn't complain about having to trust science. Instead, he stared wide-eyed at Berg, clearly expecting an answer.

Collins, recalling this incident, was also curious: "Is Tang awake yet?"

“You should ask Tang if he’s asleep, boss,” Ryan said. “I checked. We have daylight saving time, China doesn’t, so even though they have eight more time zones than us, they’re only seven hours ahead. It should be a little past eight in Tang’s time zone now.”

Berg, who was familiar with Tang Lin's schedule, shook his head: "Tang wouldn't go to bed that early..."

As he spoke, he took out his phone from his pocket. He remembered that after the game, Ryan had told him to ask Tang if he had watched the game.

But he was so excited at the time that he completely forgot about it...

※※※

The parents stood with one leaning against the door frame and the other sitting on the edge of the bed, watching their son Tang Lin pack his luggage.

Almost two months after I returned, it's almost time to say goodbye again.

Their son is going to continue his studies in a faraway foreign land.

Seeing her busy son, the mother reminded him, "Have you packed the gift for the landlord?"

"It's all installed, Mom, don't worry."

"Sigh, it's a pity we can't bring raw meat, otherwise we should have brought them some of our homemade sausages and cured meat... They've been so kind to us, waiving all the rent, saving us so much money..."

“I also help Mr. Berg clean and cook for him, Mom,” Tang Lin explained.

Mom glared at him: "Isn't that what you should do? He's old enough to be your grandfather, so taking care of him is only natural!"

Tang Lin nodded hurriedly, "Yes, yes, it's my duty, it's my duty..."

Based on his experience, you should never talk back to your mother at times like this, otherwise the argument will never end tonight.

Seeing the mother scolding her son, the father, leaning against the door frame, remained silent, only watching the harmonious scene before him with a smile on his face.

Unexpectedly, his wife suddenly turned to him and asked, "Can't you even vacuum pack it?"

The husband quickly explained, "That won't work either. It's strictly forbidden to bring any meat or dairy products into the UK by plane. Besides, what if the British don't like the food?"

The wife retorted, "Who says they can't get used to the food? Didn't our son say he enjoyed the Chinese food he cooked for the landlord?"

The father looked at his son, and Tang Lin sensed the pleading look in his eyes, so he said, "Mr. Berg doesn't eat Sichuan peppercorns. This sausage of yours is full of Sichuan peppercorns, he really can't eat it..."

Only then did the mother give up.

As Tang Lin was preparing to continue packing his luggage, his phone beeped with a new message notification.

When I picked it up, I was surprised to find that it was from Mr. Berg.

When he only saw the sender's name, he thought Mr. Berg was asking him when he was leaving, but when he saw the content, he found out that:

"Tang, did you watch the live broadcast of the game last night?"

Tang Lin thought Mr. Berg wanted to talk to him about yesterday's game, which was indeed exciting. However, he didn't have time to chat with Mr. Berg right now; he had to pack his bags...

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should wait until he was finished before returning to Mr. Berg, and pretend he hadn't seen it for now...

Seeing her son glance at his phone and then frown and stare blankly, the mother asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the plane ticket?"

Tang Lin quickly shook his head: "No, no. It's Mr. Berg..."

"He's not renting your place anymore?"

"No... Mom, why would you think that?" Tang Lin was very surprised.

"Then why are you frowning?"

"He asked me if I watched yesterday's game..." Tang Lin told his mother about his worries, "So I thought I'd wait until I finished packing before answering him."

Mom pointed to the things scattered on the bed and the two open suitcases on the floor: "How long are you going to wait? You should reply to their message first, otherwise it's impolite."

Tang Lin replied, "Yes, Mr. Berg. I watched the live stream."

※※※

Did he reply to you?

After Berg sent the message, Ryan, Dixie, and Collins were very concerned about Tang Lin's reply.

Seeing that Tang Lin hadn't replied to the message, they began to speculate: "Is Tang already asleep?"

Berg said, "I told you he couldn't possibly go to bed that early..."

"Then why didn't he reply to your messages?"

"They're not glued to their phones all the time, how can they reply so quickly?"

"Did you go to the toilet?"

"Maybe he's playing with friends..."

"Could it be his girlfriend?"

“Then I’m not in a hurry!” Ryan raised his hands.

Just as the group was beginning to imagine what Tang Lin's girlfriend would look like, Berg's phone on the bar pinged.

Everyone instinctively leaned forward, and Ryan even bumped his head against Dixie's, but they didn't care and just kept looking at their phones while covering their foreheads.

After Berg unlocked his phone, Tang Lin's reply popped up:
“Yes, Mr. Berg. I watched the live stream.”

"YEEEEES!!!"

Upon seeing the reply, Ryan excitedly raised his arms and shouted, as if he had seen Tyne score a goal.

Then he pointed at his phone screen and said, "What did I tell you? What did I tell you? I said that even if Tang is watching the live broadcast on TV, he can still bring good luck to the team! He's a lucky star!" Dixie frowned, rubbed his chin, and muttered, "That doesn't make sense... He's so far away..."

Ryan chuckled: "You've overlooked one thing, Robbie."

"Where?" Dixie asked.

"Both Tang and Wang were Chinese."

Dixie couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Of course I know that!"

Ryan continued, “But you haven’t thought about it deeply. They are all Chinese, there must be some kind of spiritual connection that we don’t know about… and Tang is in China, there are 1.5 billion people in China, Robbie.”

Dixie's eyes suddenly lit up: "I understand! Signal amplification!"

Ryan gave him a thumbs up: "Smart, Robbie! You really are smart, you get it right away! When Don is in China, even though he is far from the competition venue, because he is among 1.5 billion Chinese people, their hearts are connected, and the effect is magnified many times over. Let alone 8,000 kilometers, even if it's 10,000 kilometers, Don's lucky energy can still radiate!"

Collins quietly asked Berg, "Do you really believe what Ryan said?"

Berg shook his head.

But Robbie Dixie, who had been praised by Ryan, was clearly convinced. He grabbed Berg's arm and said, "Quick, Jon! Tell Don that we want him to watch every single one of Tyne's games! Even if he can't be there in person, watching it live on TV at home or in a bar is fine!"

Ryan also expressed his support: "Yes, yes, yes!"

Berg didn't want to be that stupid with the two of them, so he refused: "No, I won't do that, it's too stupid!"

Ryan asked him, "Don't you believe that Don is Tyne's lucky star, Jon?"

Berg said, "It's not that I don't believe Don. It's that I don't believe you, Ryan. Signal amplification, mind linking 1.5 billion people—only an idiot would believe that!"

Ryan turned to Dixie and said, "Robbie, Jon said you're an 'idiot'!"

Dixie was also excited. He pointed to the blackboard on the wall behind Collins and said, "Want to bet with me, Jon!"

Since the crushing defeat last season, Dixie always backs down whenever there's controversy or the topic of "bets" comes up.

Unexpectedly, he took the initiative to bring up the bet, which piqued everyone's interest.

Before Berg could speak, Collins asked, "What are we betting on?"

Dixie looked at Berg and said fiercely, "I'll bet on one thing: as long as Tang watches Tyne's game, whether he's there in person or watching it live, Tyne won't lose! Just like yesterday's game, no matter if we're down a man, or if we're two goals down in the first half, or even three goals down, we won't lose!"

Perhaps it was a coincidence, but the originally bustling and noisy bar suddenly became quiet, and even the music playing on repeat on the speakers happened to be in the gap between the end of one song and the beginning of the next.

So everyone heard Dixie's words clearly and distinctly.

Then the bar became even quieter, until finally there was no noise at all.

Everyone looked at Robbie Dixie.

Those who were far away, though they didn't know exactly who had said those words, all stood up and looked in the direction of the voice.

Because these words were just too explosive...

Everyone wanted to see who had said such a shocking thing.

Meanwhile, Jon Berg and Theo Collins, both at the center of the storm, stared in disbelief at Dixie.

Even Ryan, who was on his side, was shocked. Noticing the looks everyone was giving him, he quickly pointed at Dixie and said, "It was him, it was him! He was the one who said those words, not me!"

She couldn't wait to distance herself from Dixie, afraid that others would think she was the crazy one...

Dixie completely ignored everyone else's stares, his eyes fixed solely on Jon Berg. He pointed at him and said, "How about it? Want to bet with me? If I win, you buy everyone a drink. If you win, I buy everyone a drink!"

Someone shouted, "Bet with him! Bet with him! Jon, bet with him!"

Then more people chimed in: "That's right, let's bet! Let's bet!"

Some people also gave Dixie a thumbs up: "Courageous, Robbie! Admirable!"

Jon Berger had no reason to refuse a bet he was certain to win, but out of friendship, he still asked, "Are you sure you want to bet this with me, Robbie?"

Dixie's attitude was firm: "I'm sure!"

"Alright, I'll bet with you!"

Amid cheers, Theo Collins turned around and wrote the bet between the two on the blackboard behind him, placing it at the top of the page in a much larger font than usual, so that anyone who came to the bar to order a drink would immediately see the text.

While Collins was writing, Berg looked down and texted Tang Lin.

※※※

Tang Lin thought Mr. Berg wanted to talk to him about the game that happened early this morning.

But after a while, I still hadn't received a message from Mr. Berg.

His phone only started ringing after his parents had left.

He picked it up and saw that it was indeed a message from Mr. Berg, but the content of the message left him completely baffled:

"Tang, could you watch every one of Tyne's games from now on? I don't need to go to the stadium, watching the live stream is fine too."

Tang Lin was completely baffled by the news. He thought about it over and over again, but couldn't understand why Mr. Berg would make this request. So he asked directly, "What's wrong, Mr. Berg?"

Soon Mr. Berg sent his second message: "I made a bet with Robbie. He said you're Tyne's lucky charm. As long as you watch Tyne's games, Tyne won't lose..."

???

Tang Lin was losing control of his facial expressions.

What does it mean to be "Tain's lucky charm"? What does it mean to say "Tain will never lose as long as I watch him play"?
Has my English level deteriorated significantly in the two months since I returned to China?

Is this why I can't even understand such a simple sentence?

After much deliberation, he finally replied, "But Mr. Berg, I didn't watch every Tyne game last season, but Tyne hasn't lost a game since losing to Clayton... That has nothing to do with me, does it?"

Mr. Berg quickly replied, "Ha, they say it starts from the beginning of the new season. Didn't you watch the first two games of the new season? Tyne didn't lose either of those two games. Mr. Collins has already written my bet with Robbie on the blackboard."

He also sent a photo.

Indeed, there was a striking message on the blackboard of the miners' bar he was familiar with:

In every Tyne game that Don has watched this season, Tyne is undefeated! (Whether in person or on live stream) Robbie "YES", Jon "NO", a toast to everyone.

Tang Lin sighed: You guys didn't even ask me before making this decision, okay?

I've already said, I'm not a "lucky star," and I don't possess any "mysterious Eastern power"... It's all coincidence, you have to believe in science!

While mentally cursing those drunken England fans, the reply typed out was:

“Alright, Mr. Berg, I’ll try to watch every game. But I can’t guarantee I can, and besides, don’t blame me if Tyne loses…”

※※※

“He agreed…” Jon Berg looked up and said to the person next to him.

Before he could finish speaking, his voice was drowned out by a cheer that could practically lift the roof off:

"OHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"YES! YES! YEEEEEEEEES!!!"

"WOOOOOOOOW!!!"

The crowd in the bar erupted in cheers as if Tyne had won.

Ryan loudly proposed, "Let's drink to Tyne's lucky son!!"

Cheers!!!

Everyone raised their glasses and shouted.

After drinking, Dixie wiped the foam from around his mouth and said to Berg, "Let's see who comes out on top at the end of the season, Jon!"

Berg responded, "Maybe not so long—our next game is against the Scorsese."

Dixie scoffed, "Scholes? Defeated wrestlers!"

Ryan, however, was more concerned about something else: "Will Tang be back by then?"

“His flight is tomorrow,” Berg replied.

Ryan clenched his fist and pumped his fist: "Great! We absolutely have to get him to watch the game live next time! Even though he can influence the game here from China, the distance is too great, and the effect is greatly diminished... That's why we could only manage a draw against Clayton Sports away from home. But if he could watch the game live, we could beat the Scorsese!"

It has to be said that even if he didn't believe Tang Lin's claim that Tyne would never lose a game, Berg still had a newfound respect for Ryan.

Because he managed to present such a nonsensical theory in a logically consistent and completely self-contained manner...

It's unbelievable how his alcohol-soaked brain could come up with this.

※※※

P.S., I sent my wife to her parents' house for treatment while I stayed home to take care of the kids. After the initial chaotic first few days of adjustment, things are gradually getting back on track, and our parent-child relationship has greatly improved...

Thank you all for your understanding and support during this time!

(End of this chapter)