The path to becoming a football legend began with being ousted from Carrington by Manchester United.

Led by Manchester City chairman Calduan Al Mubarak, Lin Yi entered the tarmac through the VIP channel at Manchester International Airport, where a silver-grey Gulfstream G650 was already quietly waiting on the runway.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Lin." A European man in a white uniform bowed slightly. "I am Eric Jansen, the captain of this flight. On behalf of His Excellency Sheikh Mansour, I welcome you aboard."

Jason politely extended his right hand and shook hands with Lin Yi, then stepped aside to gesture for Lin Yi to board the gangway.

"The flight route has been fully planned. It's a direct flight from Manchester to Abu Dhabi, with an estimated flight time of six hours and fifty-two minutes and an altitude of approximately 41,000 feet. The weather will be fine throughout the flight, ensuring a pleasant experience for you."

Inside the aircraft, you'll find comfortable, spacious seats and a long sofa that can comfortably seat several people. The overall interior features warm-toned beige leather and dark walnut wood, with hand-woven carpets on the floor.

A hot flight attendant handed me a glass of freshly squeezed mango juice: "Sir, there's satellite TV and internet on the plane. If you'd like, the bedroom is at the back; the bed is already made up."

The flight attendant casually ran her little finger across Lin Yi's palm, her eyes filled with seductive allure as she gazed at his handsome face.

If Lin Yi hadn't just paid his dues a few hours earlier, it's hard to say whether he would have fired a shot on the Gulfstream G650, with Dick Cowboy's "30,000 Feet" as the background music.

Feeling exhausted after Emma drained his energy, Lin Yi crawled into the bedroom alone, pulled the covers over his head, and fell fast asleep, completely ignoring the flight attendant's mournful gaze.

When I woke up, the plane had successfully landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where a butler and two burly men who looked like bodyguards were waiting on the tarmac.

In the afternoon in Abu Dhabi, the heatwave distorted the horizon. After driving on the highway for twenty minutes, the car turned onto an inconspicuous side road. At the end of the road was an iron gate with no sign, and only two men in white robes stood in the shadows.

The butler rolled down the car window, the other person glanced at him, and the door slid open silently.

The car continued on its way, passing through a dense tropical thicket, and finally arrived at Lin Yi's destination: the private villa of team owner Sheikh Mansour in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The villa wasn't as opulent as he had imagined. Instead, it cleverly used off-white exterior walls with simple lines, making it look more like an enlarged version of a private resort hotel.

Passing through the foyer, instead of oil paintings, the walls on both sides of the corridor are LCD screens—showing all the goals Lin Yi has scored since joining Manchester City.

The two goals he scored against Tottenham were replayed from multiple angles.

"What would you like to drink?" a voice came from behind.

Lin turned his head and saw Sheikh Mansur standing in the doorway, wearing a white robe, without a headscarf, and holding a cup of Arabic coffee.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yi made a decision: "A bowl of tofu pudding, with chili and chive blossoms, please."

Seemingly noticing the confusion in the other person's eyes, Lin Yi explained, "I'm a little hungry."

Mansur smiled, nodded to the butler, then walked over and gestured for Lin Yi to sit down with him.

"This is actually our first meeting, Lin." Mansour took a sip of his coffee. "It's just that many people don't know that they have a little misunderstanding about our relationship."

However, Mansour didn't intend to explain in detail. He changed the subject and asked Lin Yi, "Do you know what it was about you that attracted me back then?"

"Exquisite ball skills?"

"A handsome face?"

"A dashing demeanor?"

"Elegant speech?"

Mansour rejected all of these answers.

Lin Yi pondered for a moment, then said with a look of sudden realization, "Don't you have a daughter who's about my age? If the dowry is generous, we can talk about this."

Mansour gave Lin Yi no more chances to make things up and directly revealed the answer.

"A young man, carrying a tattered bag, stood alone at the entrance of the Carrington training ground, hurling insults at Manchester United, the most successful team in Premier League history, much like Don Quixote challenging windmills alone."

"I've been thinking, why haven't we achieved satisfactory results despite investing so much over the past two years?"

"The players we spent a lot of money to bring in seem to treat playing for Manchester City as a job rather than a career. In their eyes, Manchester City is a sucker and a goldmine."

"I've visited the team a few times, and they gave me the impression of well-dressed, polite, and respectful professionals in an office building. The working atmosphere seemed extremely harmonious. The only thing is, we don't seem like a Premier League team that's ready to fight, struggle, and battle."

"We lack courage and conviction!"

"So the moment I saw your video, I suddenly felt that I should bring something new to the team."

"In fact, I quickly put it out of my mind, after all, I have a lot of work to do. But I didn't expect that my impulsive act would give me such a big surprise."

"I reviewed the Community Shield and the last few rounds of the league, collected various reports about you, and heard about your conflicts with other players."

"I see a glimmer of hope in you, a hope for change."

"Do you understand, Lin? I hope that one day you can grow into a flag bearer for Manchester City. I hope to see you fight tooth and nail for Manchester City. I hope you can completely change the character of this team. I hope you can lead us to defeat those arrogant traditional giants."

"For example, Manchester United, and Liverpool. In the future, there may be Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, and so on."

Mansour spoke at length, then paused to savor his coffee, seemingly waiting for Lin Yi's response.

Faced with the club owner's sincere and earnest statement, Lin placed his hand on his chest, feeling the real but intangible system within him, and confidently declared, "I am the best player in the world, even if I am not now, I definitely will be in the future!"

"Manchester United will be crushed under my feet, without a doubt!"

"I wouldn't mind making Manchester City the best as well when I become the best."

"I'm talking about the best, without a doubt, just like my name, 'the one'!"

Mansour put down his coffee, walked quickly to Lin Yi, and embraced him tenderly.

Slightly swayed by Lin Yi's words, Sheikh Mansur asked him in his most familiar tone and manner, "Young man, what is your wish?"

"I want to pay more!"

"No problem. Your current contract was indeed signed rather hastily. At the time, no one knew that you were not an ordinary young player. I will immediately inform Mubarak about this."

"I want to be the boss!"

"From now on, you are Manchester City's vice-captain. As for whether you can become the leader, that depends on your own efforts."

Having his two wishes granted, Lin Yi witnessed the other party's sincerity, so he decisively made a third wish.

"Can we sell Aguero? Or send him to the reserves?"