Starting with playing defensive midfield for Evergrande

Chapter 178 Domestic Pretense: What is the South Korean team?
Su Hao himself didn't know what his feelings were for Song Yi.

Especially after Su Hao entered Song Yi's apartment, which she was living in alone.

The strange atmosphere in the air made Su Hao, a young man with only the physical functions of an 18-year-old, suddenly realize something.
At 10 a.m. the following day.

Su Hao then opened his eyes while holding Song Yi, who was still fast asleep.

As the saying goes, alcohol is a delaying agent for emotions or something else.

Even without drinking, Su Hao is in a state where five minutes of charging allows him to play all day long, plus the numbing effect of alcohol.

The result.
"You're awake!"

She gently turned her head to look for her phone, but unexpectedly woke up Song Yi, who was lying on her chest.

"Ok!"

"Are you hungry? I'll go make you some breakfast!"

The best thing about being an adult is that you're not coy.

Knowing that Su Hao had unusual relationships with several people, Song Yi didn't mention the events of the previous night at all.

However, to Song Yi's surprise, when she stood up and revealed her flawless white back...

Until midnight.

The two of them then got up, satisfied, and began to tidy up the clothes scattered all over the floor.

Su Hao was originally thinking about whether he should take Song Yi out to eat something, but unexpectedly, Song Yi showed off her skills to Su Hao.

Believe it or not, Song Yi, who looks like a complete pretty face, is actually a great chef.

With just a few simple ingredients in the refrigerator, Song Yi managed to make three dishes that perfectly suited Su Hao's taste.

She's obedient, easy to manage, and even a skilled cook.

When Su Hao left, he even felt a little reluctant.

Of course, Su Hao eventually sneaked away.

He has three or four days left before he has to report to the national team training base. Before that, he has several commercial activities to attend.

For example, he has to go and support Huawei when they launch their new phone at 3 p.m.

Su Hao originally thought that wearing a mask and sunglasses, he could get into the car directly at the entrance of Song Yi's residential area without any problems.

But Su Hao forgot something very important!
That is, the neighborhood where Song Yi lives is the one with the most celebrities in the entire capital. For example, Brother Hu, who was drinking with Su Hao last time, also lives in this neighborhood.

With so many celebrities living in this community, you can imagine how many paparazzi are staking out the area.

Standing at 1.93 meters tall, Su Hao also possessed a physique that was significantly more robust than those of celebrities.

Therefore, as soon as Su Hao appeared at the door, he was immediately recognized by several paparazzi.

"Su Hao?"

"Su Hao, would you like to be interviewed? I'm a reporter from an entertainment weekly!"

"Su Hao, did you stay here last night? Are you Yang Mi? Does she live in this neighborhood?"

"Su Hao."

What the hell!

Su Hao was dumbfounded!

He truly hadn't expected his disguise to be so easily broken.

It was clear that not only the paparazzi had taken out their cameras, but also some ordinary people around them had gathered around.

Su Hao immediately took off running towards the van that had come to pick him up not far away.

Su Hao spent the night in Yuantian Residential Area, suspected of having a rendezvous with a famous female celebrity!

"Guangzhou Evergrande team held a gathering, and Su Hao left in a red BMW late at night!"

Breaking news! Su Hao and Yang Mi's secret rendezvous has sparked rumors of a relationship!

"Case Solved—Yu Manli, disguised as Song Yi, was spotted driving in the underground parking lot of the Evergrande Restaurant last night!"

The paparazzi in China are still very powerful.

It was just a simple appearance by Su Hao that, within just two hours, all the domestic media outlets had exposed this gossip about Su Hao on their website homepages.

Su Hao, who was on his way to the Huawei phone launch event in his car, was immediately stunned when he saw the news.

Saying
Being unmarried or single isn't really a big deal.

But the problem is that the audio scandal with Nina was just too explosive. With Nina still around, it seems a bit...unreasonable to find someone new so quickly.
"Su Hao! Can you tell me who you were with last night?"

"Su Hao! Did you and Song Yi develop feelings for each other because of the time she got injured in London?"

"Su Hao."

As expected, Huawei staff tried their best to stop him as soon as he got out of the car.

The reporters, their eyes red and their excitement boundless, still shoved their microphones toward Su Hao and shouted their questions.

Having previously inquired with Mendes about the public relations team he had specifically set up for him, Su Hao completely ignored the reporters' questions and entered the venue expressionlessly.

Once at the venue, Su Hao was finally able to relax, as the media outlets were all Huawei's designated representatives and had given him instructions.

"Mate 8! Made by Huawei, you deserve it!"

The so-called "platform" was simply Su Hao holding up Huawei's latest Mate 8, saying a few words, and taking a few photos.

In just 20 minutes, Su Hao finished his work and heard the text message notification that Huawei had received his 500 million yuan appearance fee!

The money arrived, and Su Hao was very happy. However, the thought of facing a bunch of paparazzi questioning him when he went out made him frown again.

However, just as Su Hao was wondering whether he should step forward and explain,

His phone suddenly rang.

It was a number he had saved long ago, but had never dared to call.

"Xiao Su, you young man have so much energy! But the Asian Cup is coming up soon, so you need to focus more on training and matches. Put aside romance for now! You know, fans all over the country are hoping to break history and win the Asian Cup this time, so you can't mess things up!"

This is not an accusation!

This tone sounds more like a patient admonition from an elder to a younger person.

"Yes! I know! xxx, please rest assured, I definitely will."

"Haha, alright, alright, Xiao Su, don't be so formal. This isn't an accountability call. I just wanted to let you know that I've spoken with the xx department, and I reckon the major media outlets will take down all that messy news by now. So you can relax and focus on preparing for the Asian Cup!"

What the hell!

Upon hearing those words, Su Hao was immediately startled.

What's going on?
Did they get all the major media outlets to take the news down directly?

That must have been an incredibly powerful force!
"Thank you so much, xxx! Don't worry, if we don't win the Asian Cup this time, I'll just retire!"

Of course, since this person had said it so directly, Su Hao naturally stopped being coy and thanked him, while also making a pledge.

"Haha, you little rascal, alright, I have another meeting, so I'll stop here for now. Don't mention retirement again, I'm waiting to pick you up at the airport back home!"

Even after hanging up the phone, Su Hao's heart was still in turmoil.

And coincidentally, Song Yi called at that moment. "Su Hao, I'm so sorry, I didn't know. You have to believe me, I absolutely didn't intentionally leak the information. I don't know where they got the surveillance footage of my car! I'm definitely not the kind of woman who would do anything for fame, I..."

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright! I was just thinking of calling you to put your mind at ease!"

"How could nothing be wrong! All the media outlets online are talking about this right now!"

Song Yi, who was on the other end of the phone, was so anxious she was about to cry, but suddenly she let out a "Huh?"
"what happened?"

"I'm curious! I don't know why, but the reports on Sina.com are gone, and the links are all broken?"

"Sina.com is gone? What about the others? Can you check again?"

"Wait a minute, let me check Tencent. What's going on? Tencent's gone too. No, not only Tencent, but Sogou, Somao, and others are gone too? I'll search on Baidu again."

Somewhat bewildered, Song Yi simply started searching on a search engine.

And the result
Under xxx's orders, none of the domestic media dared to disobey.

The previously noisy news about the Su-Song meeting disappeared completely in China as if it had never happened.

At this point, a woman, and a woman in the entertainment industry at that...
Song Yi naturally guessed what was going on!
"Su Hao, um, if you want a late-night snack or anything else you like to eat, just call me or send me a WeChat message! I'll always be here for you!"

"Hehe, now it's all set!"

"Ugh! You... I'm not talking to you anymore!"

Seemingly thinking of something embarrassing, Song Yi muttered something and hung up the phone.

The scandal of the secret meeting passed by so easily.

However, the news of the secret meeting quickly spread throughout the entertainment and even sports circles.

Already possessing an exaggeratedly high level of influence in its professional field, it now has such a mysterious and exaggerated background.

Naturally.
Su Hao's agent, who was in charge of his business in China, was once again overwhelmed with phone calls.

In just three short days!
Su Hao received a staggering forty top-tier and lucrative endorsement offers. Moreover, it wasn't just endorsements; all the TV stations in the country were also eager to have Su Hao appear on their flagship programs.

It's like Zhejiang TV offered 3500 million yuan to have Su Hao make a guest appearance as a mystery guest on their flagship show, Running Man 2.

Moreover, Zhejiang TV didn't have any extra requirements. Su Hao only needed to show his face in that episode and interact with a few regular guests. As for things like tearing name tags, Su Hao could choose whether or not to participate. Zhejiang TV was even willing to let Su Hao take the lead in the script structure of the entire episode.

Zhejiang TV was very generous, and its rival, Dragon TV, also offered Su Hao a hefty 4000 million yuan to participate in their "Go Fighting!" program.

The offer of tens of millions in just one day was so outrageous that even Su Hao, who now regarded money as dirt, was somewhat tempted.

Moreover, to be honest, Su Hao in his previous life really enjoyed watching the shows "Go Fighting!" and "Keep Running".

Of course, these are all things for later. With the time approaching, Su Hao turned all his attention to the Asian Cup.

There's nothing I can do; I've already made a solemn pledge.
2015 6 Month 12 Day.

There are only 10 days left until the start of the Asian Cup.

This day also happened to be the day for reporting on the national team's training camp.

At 11:00 a.m. that day.

Su Hao was the first to arrive at the airport to pick up his teammate, currently the biggest name on the national team, Arsenal's defensive general, the Han Chinese young man Virgil van Dijk.

"Crack!!"

"Crack!!!"

Wherever Su Hao is, there are bound to be a crowd of enthusiastic reporters.

With no more gossip about Su Hao to report, reporters naturally turned their attention to the Asian Cup.

Moreover, it wasn't just domestic reporters present; because all Asian teams are now somewhat worried about the true strength of this new Chinese team, many professional football reporters from Japan and South Korea were also there.

"Hello everyone! I'm very happy to be back in China to participate in the national team's training camp. I will definitely do my best and contribute to the national team!"

Interview session with reporters.

Virgil van Dijk, who had practiced countless times while on vacation in the Maldives, began his national team career with a very fluent Mandarin phrase.

The midfield has Su Hao, the forward line has Wu Lei, and the defense has Van Dijk and Zhang Linpeng.

Four players from the top five European leagues have returned from overseas!

With this lineup, plus the Evergrande players' copycat tactics.

Not only did the fans applaud Van Dijk with great excitement, but the Chinese reporters at the scene were also in high spirits.

However.
Just as fans watching the live broadcast on TV were excitedly fantasizing about the Chinese team's glorious victory.

A South Korean reporter suddenly rushed up to Van Dijk and asked him a question in English.
"Mr. Van Dijk, what do you think of the current strength of the Chinese team, which relies on naturalizing foreign players? Are they really capable of defeating the South Korean or Japanese national teams? You know, the current South Korean national team has a total of 7 players from the top five European leagues, and the Japanese national team also has 8 players from the top five European leagues. In the historical head-to-head record, not only has the South Korean team been able to crush the Chinese team for many years, but Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Iran are all teams that the Chinese team could not overcome before!"

The South Korean reporter asked very professional questions, and after releasing the historical battle records, he actually stumped Van Dijk.

There's nothing I can do. Although Van Dijk has been practicing Mandarin all this time, the problem is that apart from practicing that, he knows absolutely nothing about the level of the other players on the Chinese team!

Other sports, like basketball, can be carried by just one or two players, but football, a sport that requires 11 players, is different!

Even if he and Su Hao are world-class players, if the other players are just as good, the two of them cannot change the overall strength of a team.

Van Dijk was speechless!
The South Korean reporter who stumped Van Dijk was naturally incredibly excited, even raising his head to the top.

Many Chinese reporters around were so angry at the smug look on the South Korean reporter's face that they bit their tongues until they were swollen.

"Let me answer you!"

Just when everyone was at a loss for how to properly respond to the South Korean reporter, Su Hao spoke up.

"You want to ask if we can beat the South Korean or Japanese team?"

"Pu Pu what? Mr. Pu Duan Diao?"

"I want to say that since I joined the national team, our team's goal has no longer been to compare ourselves with South Korea or Japan!"

"In my opinion, whether it's the South Korean team, the Japanese team, or even Saudi Arabia!"

"They will not be stumbling blocks on our road to victory!"

"Our only goal in this Asian Cup is to win the championship!"

"With an undefeated record, defeat all opponents and win the championship!"

Su Hao's tone was very calm!

It was so calm that it seemed as if Su Hao was just joking with the people in front of him.

But
It was precisely this calm that instantly excited the fans and Chinese reporters present.

Yes!

These are the words spoken by the vice captain of the Chinese national team in front of so many reporters' cameras!
The Asian Cup is still ten days away from starting.

Su Hao, China's number one and Asia's number one football star, so boldly announced the national team's undefeated record and championship goal.

This confidence, this domineering presence.
This naturally excited all the Chinese fans present, and even those watching the live broadcast.
-
[Damn it, that's how you have to be bold! I've already won the Champions League, and I've defeated Messi and Ronaldo. Dealing with this little Korean is a piece of cake!]
-
[Haha, he still has to go abroad! Look at Su Hao's momentum now, that's the kind of aura a world-class star should have! He's not talking about winning or losing, he's just going to win the championship undefeated! Those Koreans are going to be furious!]
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[Our group stage opponent is Saudi Arabia, and it's our first match. If we thrash them, the other teams in the other groups, like South Korea and Saudi Arabia, will be terrified!]
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[Su Hao is awesome! I can't wait to watch the Asian Cup matches. The Guangzhou Evergrande squad + Su Hao + Van Dijk + Wu Lei, honestly, this spine of the team is definitely the best in Asia!]
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[What do you mean by "top Asian"? Even if Wu Lei, as a striker, is mediocre, just Su Hao and Van Dijk alone make this central axis world-class. I've already planned out the tactics: Van Dijk heads the ball to Su Hao in the penalty area, then Su Hao receives the ball in midfield, dribbles past five players, and finally delivers it to Wu Lei in front of the goal. I refuse to believe Wu Lei can't score that kind of goal!]
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[Cough, bro, I got hard from what you said up to the beginning, but could you please skip that last part? I'm genuinely worried Wu Lei might kick the ball straight into the stands!]
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[Haha, alright bro, you seem to be talking about our Airplane Guy, right? He really could kick the ball straight into the stands!]

PS: Hey guys, as all the book lovers in the group know, I've been studying in the Party's Central Class since the beginning of the month. Every day from 8 am to 12 pm, 2:30 pm to 6 pm, and there's evening self-study too. I can't leave the school. Last night after evening self-study, there was another discussion and exchange session. I really haven't had time to write this month!

So I apologize to all my customers!

(End of this chapter)