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Chapter 228 My Dad is Wang Lie

"Wang Ziqi! Aren't you coming out yet? You're going to be late!"

Early in the morning, Tang Xingmei's strong voice rang out in the villa's living room.

"I'm coming!"

Wang Ziqi's voice and footsteps came from upstairs at the same time.

When he appeared at the top of the stairs, his grandmother, Zhou Hong, waved to him from below, reminding him, "Slow down, go downstairs slowly, don't fall!"

Wang Ziqi acted as if she hadn't heard anything and still hopped down the stairs in two quick steps.

Zhou Hong scolded, "Oh, you child..."

Tang Xingmei's focus, however, was on Wang Ziqi's open backpack: "You've been tidying up for so long, and you haven't even zipped up your backpack! What are you doing up there?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the backpack that Wang Ziqi was carrying slung across his shoulder tilted to the side, and the contents of the backpack poured out from the unzipped opening—all of them were sports trading cards.

"Didn't I tell you to tidy up before you went to bed last night?" Tang Xingmei said with displeasure as she looked at the scattered trading cards on the floor.

"I forgot!" Wang Ziqi replied to her mother's scolding while kneeling on the ground to pick up the basketball cards.

Grandma Zhou Hong wanted to help, but Tang Xingmei quickly stopped her: "Mom, don't worry about it. Just sit there, Qiqi and I will finish it quickly..."

As she spoke, she squatted down to help her son pick up the cards scattered on the ground.

These trading cards are all her husband Wang Lie's trading cards from Tyne.

Each card bears the husband's autograph.

It was a "gift" that her son, Wang Ziqi, wanted to give to his classmates.

This was an idea our son had as early as when his husband went to his son's class reunion.

At first, he wanted to give his father's autograph to his classmates, but at the time he only thought about signing it on their homework.

When Wang Lie returned from the parent-teacher meeting, he heard about his son's idea. He didn't object, but said that signing it on the homework book was too unserious and using it as a gift felt perfunctory.

Sending out autographed jerseys would be too much and difficult to carry – if there were forty students in a class, and each student received a jersey, it would definitely be too much for Wang Ziqi, a first-grade elementary school student, to handle.

Need help moving things?

It's just a gesture of goodwill between children; making it too high-profile is not a good idea.

After some discussion, the father and son reached an agreement—to give him small, portable trading cards.

Each card was tiny, smaller than the palm of my hand, and I carried forty cards in my schoolbag to school.

Moreover, beautifully printed trading cards make a proper gift.

It looks more sincere and presentable than a piece of paper torn from a simple exercise book, right?

She bought all these trading cards with her children at the Tyne official merchandise store in Newcastle.

After buying it, I'll have my husband sign his name on it with a marker.

Wang Ziqi is very simple-minded. He is still wondering if it is too stingy to have only one autographed sports card.
Little did he know that such a small card, with his father's signature, could fetch a lot of money on an online secondhand trading platform...

Perhaps some students' parents will actually put it on a second-hand platform, after all, not everyone is a football fan, and not everyone likes Wang Lie.

However, Tang Xingmei did not tell her son about these things because it had nothing to do with his original intention.

He just wanted to give everyone a small gift, and what they did with it after receiving it was beyond his control.

Finally, Tang Xingmei put the last basketball card into her schoolbag, made sure Wang Ziqi zipped it up, then said goodbye to his grandmother and drove her son to school.

Before the match between Tyne and Scorsese at Tyne's home ground, she had already returned to China from Newcastle, England, with her son and daughter. Today, August 31st, is the day her son registers for primary school.

Sitting in the car, Tang Xingmei fastened her seatbelt while reminding her son, who was sitting in the back seat:
"Fasten your seatbelt... Now that your dad's identity is probably known to everyone in your class, people will all refer to you as 'Wang Lie's son.' You need to be more careful about your words and actions, otherwise if you don't behave well at school, people will say things like 'Wang Lie's son is like this and that'..."

Wang Ziqi, annoyed by her mother's nagging, quickly said, "I know, I know! I'm not just representing myself, I'm also representing Dad! If I don't perform well, it will tarnish Dad's reputation! Don't worry, Mom, I won't give those haters a chance to smear Dad!"

Tang Xingmei nodded, saw her son already fastened his seatbelt in the rearview mirror, and then pressed the smart driving button on the car's steering wheel.

The car gently steers, slowly starts moving, drives out of the garage, and then follows the pre-set navigation to its destination.

While keeping an eye on the road ahead, Tang Xingmei said to her son, "Of course, if anyone bullies you, don't keep it to yourself just because you're afraid of causing trouble for your parents. Tell us everything that happens at school when you get home, okay?"

"Okay, I heard you." His son's voice came from behind him.

The car had automatically driven out of the residential area, turned onto the main road, and navigated the traffic with ease.

※※※

"Do you know why I'm the one taking you to register today?" Shi Gaojun said to his son Shi Bo as he stood at the school gate.

"I know, you've said it several times already, Dad," Shi Bo said impatiently.

"What do you know? Speak up."

Shi Bo lowered his head and remained silent.

"Why don't you speak?"

"I already know, why do I have to say it out loud?" Shi Bo said, somewhat resistant.

Shi Gaojun wasn't going to let him off the hook: "If you don't tell me, how am I supposed to know if you really know or just trying to fool me?"

Shi Bo stamped his foot anxiously: "I really know! I'm not lying to you!"

"Alright, tell me, what are you going to do?"

The son lowered his head again, responding to his father with silence.

Shi Gaojun was speechless and could only resort to provocation: "So you're just secretly resentful. You think Wang Lie isn't anything special, so you're right to insult his father..."

"No! No! No!" Shi Bo interrupted his father in a fit of anger.

"It's neither this nor that, you have to have a reason, right?"

Shi Gaojun was also somewhat unhappy; his communication with his son seemed to have entered a vicious cycle.

Why did he insist that his son say the words "go and apologize to Wang Ziqi" in person?

It looks like the father and son are arguing for the sake of arguing.

However, he believed that his son's refusal to speak meant that he was still reluctant to apologize to Wang Ziqi.

Since he is resistant, it means that he has not fundamentally realized his mistake.

Therefore, today, fathers must correct their sons' thinking.

The two of them remained frozen in place...

Just then, a shout came from behind them: "Shi Bo!"

Shi Gaojun and Shi Bo looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wang Ziqi walking towards them with her mother.

The two parties bumped into each other at the school gate.

Although Shi Gaojun had never met Wang Ziqi and Wang Ziqi's mother before, he still recognized them.

He had seen those two faces at the signing ceremony held by the Tyne Club specifically for Wang Lie.

Therefore, he was absolutely certain that the two people in front of him were Wang Lie's wife and son.

To be honest... he was a little embarrassed.

Especially when I think about what I'll make my son do next...

Shi Bo was also embarrassed, and greeted Wang Ziqi with an unnatural expression: "Wang Ziqi..."

On the other hand, both the mother and child on the other side acted very naturally.

Tang Xingmei took the initiative to greet Shi Gaojun: "You must be Shi Bo's father? Hello, I'm Wang Ziqi's mother."

Shi Gaojun quickly introduced himself: "Hello, hello, nice to meet you, I am Shi Bo's father."

At this point, he gently patted his son's head: "Say hello! You have no manners at all!"

Shi Bo's voice was barely audible: "Hello, Auntie..."

Shi Gaojun nudged his son again, and his son turned to look at him. Shi Gaojun then looked down at his son and winked at him, reminding him:

Apologize!
But the son, whether he didn't understand, was unwilling, or was embarrassed, got stuck there, staring at his father.

Just as Shi Gaojun was about to pry the family's improved housing out of his toes, Wang Ziqi suddenly opened his schoolbag, took something out, and handed it to Shi Bo:
"Since we've met here, I'll give it to you right here. This is for you!"

Both Shi Bo and Shi Gaojun were drawn to what Wang Ziqi was holding.

It was a dark gold, deluxe sports card.

They spotted the person on the card immediately—Wang Lie, wearing a Tyne jersey.

However, Wang Lie is not actually the main character on this card.

The real star of the show was the name signed on the card with a gold permanent marker. "This was signed by my dad! I can vouch for it!" Wang Ziqi said proudly.

Shi Gaojun stared wide-eyed—he was so excited to meet Wang Lie at the parent-teacher meeting that he was so busy taking photos and videos to post on Douyin and WeChat Moments that he forgot to ask for an autograph.

I never expected that the autograph would appear right in front of me!

Shi Bo also came to his senses; what a precious gift his classmate had given him…

But instead of accepting the autographed trading card from Wang Lie, he bowed his head and said to Wang Ziqi, "I'm sorry, Wang Ziqi."

Wang Ziqi was quite surprised: "Why do you want to apologize?"

"I shouldn't have insulted your father before, and I deserved it if you hit me..."

Wang Ziqi laughed: "Hey! That was a thing before, didn't we already resolve it? What's there to say?"

Then he waved the trading cards in his hand: "Here you go."

Before Shi Bo could react, Shi Gaojun reached out and took the basketball card from Wang Ziqi, saying with a big smile, "Oh, we're classmates, why are you being so polite... Shi Bo, say thank you!"

Shi Bo said, "Thank you..."

Shi Gaojun then said to him, "Dad will keep this gift for you, so you don't get it lost at school."

As he spoke, his hand naturally slipped the trading card into his pocket.

Shi Bo did not object; he was indeed afraid of losing such a valuable gift.

After putting away the basketball cards, Shi Gaojun waved to him and said, "Hurry up and report for duty. Get along well with Wang Ziqi!"

Tang Xingmei, who was watching with a smile, waved to Wang Ziqi and said, "You go with your classmates, I won't see you off."

Wang Ziqi waved to her mother nonchalantly, "Goodbye, Mom!"

Then he and Shi Bo walked towards the school gate.

After taking two steps, Shi Bo turned back and waved to his father, saying, "Goodbye, Dad..."

Once they were a distance away, Shi Bo finally shed his reserved demeanor in front of the adults and turned to Wang Ziqi, widening his eyes as he asked, "Wang Ziqi, is Wang Lie really your father?"

Wang Ziqi raised her head slightly: "That's right!"

Shi Bo wasn't really suspicious, after all, he had seen his classmate's face at that joining ceremony.

He just found it too unbelievable that such a plot, which seemed like something out of a novel or comic book, had actually happened to him, giving him a sense of unreality.

"Why didn't you say that before? It was when I... said bad things about Wang Lie..."

“My mom won’t let me talk about it, saying it will cause trouble for my dad.”

Shi Bo thought about it for a moment. If Wang Ziqi's father had been Wang Lie, there would probably be all sorts of videos of him fighting with Wang Ziqi back then... Wait, that's not right?
If I had known that Wang Ziqi's father was Wang Lie... I would have to be out of my mind to insult his father! Even if I was a fan of Chi Zhen at the time, I wouldn't have been that stupid!
The two walked across the school playground and headed towards the teaching building.

However, they noticed from afar that there seemed to be more people at the entrance of their classroom than usual.
No, it's not as simple as just a little more...

The classroom was packed with people; there were so many that they completely blocked both the front and back doors, and even the two windows were crowded with people!
"What the heck... what's going on? Did something happen in our class? Why are there so many people here?" Wang Ziqi asked in surprise, looking at the crowd in front of her.

Shi Bo had come to his senses and said to Wang Ziqi, "They must... all be here to see you, right?"

"Look at me?" Wang Ziqi didn't react for a moment.

Shi Bo pointed at Wang Ziqi: "That's right, look at Wang Lie's son—you."

Wang Ziqi's eyes widened, then she frowned and sighed, "I only prepared forty autographed cards from my dad!"

Shi Bo's eyes widened as well: "How much?"

※※※

"...Actually, when those people started gathering at the entrance of my son's classroom, it already alerted the teachers. Later, the principal went to the scene, and even security guards had to come to maintain order...Although students from other classes were taken back by their respective homeroom teachers, many children still ran to my son's classroom to visit during breaks..."

When Wang Lie heard his wife telling him on the phone about what happened when their child went to register for school that day, he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement:

"What the heck... Am I really that influential among elementary school students?"

“After all, he’s a big star, so everyone’s bound to be curious. Even if they’re not fans, they’d still want to see him… even if he’s the son of a big star. Besides, you’ve been in such good form lately, you’re really in the spotlight, you’re always in the news, and you’re getting a lot of attention, so it’s all combined,” Tang Xingmei said.

"All right……"

His good condition has brought him so much attention, which was not his intention; it can only be said that it has caused trouble for his child.

"The principal added me on WeChat and we talked. Today was just registration day, and everything was fine. But if the students are still this enthusiastic after the normal start of the semester, it might affect the normal teaching order. So he thought..."

As his wife spoke, Wang Lie's mind conjured up some unpleasant images, so before she could finish, he eagerly retorted, "You want us to transfer schools?"

"Transfer schools? What are you thinking? How could the school possibly let Wang Lie's son transfer away?" Although her husband couldn't see, Tang Xingmei couldn't help but roll her eyes at his wild thoughts.

"Then why did the principal want to see you?"

“He said the children didn’t mean any harm; they were just curious about what Wang Lie’s son looked like and what kind of person he was… Most of them probably just wanted to take a look and that was it. So he wanted to ask for our opinion on whether we would be willing to let our son appear on the stage during the ‘flag-raising ceremony’ on the first day of school. Since everyone wants to see him, let’s let them see him openly.”

Wang Lie quite agreed with the principal's approach. Rather than hiding and enticing everyone, it was better to openly and directly reveal his identity. This was why, after getting rid of the side effects of the cheat, he was willing to attend his child's parent-teacher meeting and let his family watch his matches live, without worrying that revealing his identity would cause trouble for himself and his family—of course, this was on the premise that his family was all in China; if they were abroad, he wouldn't dare to...

However, Wang Lie did not intend to agree to this, because he was not the one in charge.

He asked, "What are Qiqi's thoughts? Is he willing to appear in public?"

Then he heard his wife on the other end of the phone snort, "Him? He couldn't be happier!"

When Wang Lie heard that his son was also happy, he had no objections. He laughed and said, "Then let him have his way!"

Hearing Wang Lie laugh, Tang Xingmei said, "Don't laugh too soon. Qiqi said he gave away all forty autographed sports cards he prepared and wanted to ask you for another one..."

Wang Lie twitched the corners of his mouth and laughed again, but this time it was a laugh born of anger: "Does he think his father's autographs are mass-produced? Does he plan to give one to every student in their school from first to sixth grade?"

"So I've already rejected him for you."

"Thank Wife!"

"Nasty!"

"hey-hey……"

“But Qiqi reminded me. I think it’s impossible to give every teacher and student in the school an autographed sports card, but since it’s no longer a secret that our son is studying here, wouldn’t it be better if you gave the school some kind of gift? It’s all about social etiquette…” Tang Xingmei suggested.

This is what she was thinking:
The son of China's top football star is studying at this school, which puts a lot of pressure on everyone there.

Take this registration situation for example. If something goes wrong, a safety incident at the school could be a huge, catastrophic problem.

They are doing their best to protect the students' safety, but because your son is here, they have to put in even more effort and pay a higher price.

Sending a gift to the school—not to the principal personally, but to the school administration—expressed Wang Lie's family's gratitude and apology, and also demonstrated Wang Lie's respect for and recognition of the school's work.

This is a win-win situation for both her son's future studies and his public image.

Although Tang Xingmei didn't explain in detail, only saying the four words "human relationships and social customs," Wang Lie didn't object and readily agreed: "Sure, I'll send the school a national team autographed jersey... There's a national team match in September, I'll go back and sign it and have Ran Hanming bring it to you. You can give it to the school on my behalf."

"it is good."

Wang Lie glanced at the time and realized it was already 6:33 PM. His wife would be home at 1:33 AM. He had been talking on the phone with her for almost an hour and a half since he returned from training, eating dinner together. He decided to end the call so his wife could get some rest.

"Go to sleep, it must be very late where you are."

Unexpectedly, Tang Xingmei said, "I'm not sleeping. I'm waiting to see the Champions League draw."

Wang Lie was speechless: "What's so interesting about this? It'll be all over the internet when I wake up after a good night's sleep."

"That's different; it lacks the sense of ritual."

"What's with all the ceremony... It's not like your husband won the Golden Globe, you're just waiting to watch the live broadcast..."

"If you really win the Golden Globe, I'll go to the stadium. Why would I watch the live broadcast on TV?" Tang Xingmei said playfully.

Her husband has won the Ballon d'Or twice and the FIFA World Player of the Year award once, which are the highest individual honors for professional footballers. However, Wang Lie did not allow her to attend any of the three previous award ceremonies, for the same reason he gave her—the same reason he wouldn't let her bring the children to watch the games.

If there's any regret, this is definitely something that Tang Xingmei has always been bothered by.

Wang Lie knew what his wife was thinking: "Yes, if I win the Ballon d'Or again, I'll definitely take you to the event. But it's just a Champions League group stage draw ceremony..."

“That’s still different,” Tang Xingmei said firmly. “This is the draw ceremony after your return to the Champions League.”

She emphasized the words "return to the Champions League".

Wang Lie immediately realized why his wife valued this lottery ceremony so much.

Returning to the Champions League...

His first group stage draw after returning to the Champions League at the age of 38.

Things he used to take for granted, things he didn't even pay much attention to, now have symbolic meaning:

It is a return, and also a rebirth.

(End of this chapter)