After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

Two days later, Arsenal will play away against Huddersfield Town, who were promoted last season.

Yan Yuan's figure appeared and disappeared in the opponent's half, and every pass or movement was accompanied by a clear strategic intention.

Late in the first half, he received the ball on the edge of the penalty area. Facing a three-man encirclement, he calmly flicked the ball with his toe, sending it over the defenders' heads and landing squarely in front of Madison, who was making a run forward.

Madison only needed to lift his foot and push the ball into the net.

He turned around and ran to Yan Yuan, giving the latter a big hug.

Not long after the start of the second half, Yan Yuan found space on the right side of the penalty area and deftly tapped in Cancelo's cross.

Goals followed one after another: Lacazette scored on a rebound in a scramble, Ødegaard unleashed a long-range shot from the middle, and Ramsey added the finishing touch with a stunning long-range strike from outside the box.

Yan Yuan then headed in Cancelo midway through the second half to complete Arsenal's seventh goal.

The commentators' voices rose in jubilation: "The seventh! Cancelo, assisted by Yan Yuan, completes his seventh goal!! Arsenal thrash Huddersfield, Yan Yuan scores a hat-trick!!"

When the final whistle blew, the score of "7-0" on the scoreboard was the best Christmas gift Arsenal could receive.

The victory brought a brief respite and pure joy.

In the mixed zone, when asked by a reporter how it felt to score a hat trick, Yan Yuan scratched his head and surprisingly brought up his teammates first.

"This match was still a great team effort, but it's a bit of a shame that Rodri was absent. We all miss him and hope he recovers soon."

Ramsey chimed in, "Yes, we're all waiting for him to come back!"

The next afternoon, after training, Yan Yuan, Odegaard, Aubameyang, and captain Ramsey, carrying autographed jerseys and blessing cards from the whole team, knocked on the door of Rodri's hospital room.

His tall lower back was half-leaning on the hospital bed, and his injured right leg was immobilized with a thick ice pack and bandages.

Upon seeing his teammates, a smile instantly bloomed on his face.

"Guys, what are you doing here!" Rhodes struggled to sit up straight.

Ramsey quickly stepped forward and pressed down on his shoulder.

"Don't move, Rodri!" Odegaard unfolded the brand-new jersey, signed by the entire team, to show him. "Look at this! It's a gift from the brothers!"

"I can only watch those seven goals of yours on TV. Oh my god, what did I miss?" Rodri looked at the highlights saved on his phone, slapped his thigh in frustration, and then let out a soft sigh of pain.

"Don't worry, Rodri," Aubameyang patted his chest, "when you come back, we'll make up for that goal we scored against Manchester City by double!"

Yan Yuan placed the gifts his teammates had prepared—mostly fancy-packaged snacks and a suspense novel supposedly helpful for passing the time—on the bedside table and asked Rodri.

"Rodri, what did the team doctor say? Is he recovering as expected?"

Rodri replied with a smile.

"No major problem. The recovery plan is already in place; it's just a race against time. Before Christmas... I might not make it, but wait for me to come back in January!"

He shook his fist.

The brief visit ended amidst laughter and mutual encouragement. As they parted, Yan Yuan squeezed Rodri's somewhat weak hand tightly once more.

"Take good care of yourself, brother. Everyone is waiting for you to come back."

……

An office on a floor of the Goldman Sachs building in the heart of the City of London.

Lin Jianwei was carefully wrapping a string of small, warm yellow LED lights around the miniature plastic Christmas tree in her cubicle.

"Hey, Weiwei, is this crooked?" Lucy, a colleague at the next workstation, held up a Santa Claus sticker to show him.

"A little to the left...yes, right there." Lin Jianwei responded, her hands still moving.

She wore a faint smile befitting the festive mood, but when her gaze fell upon the gray winter sky of London outside the window, the smile faded, turning into a hidden worry.

The phone screen on the table lit up briefly; it was a headline from a sports app, accompanied by a photo of Yan Yuan celebrating a goal, and the headline was glaring.

"Yan Yuan scores a hat-trick! Arsenal thrash Huddersfield Town 7-0 away from home!"

Lin Jianwei tapped and zoomed in on the image with her fingertip.

The focused gaze of that figure on the green field, the hair flying as he ran, and the confidence and power emanating from his goal celebration, even if it wasn't exaggerated, were all deeply imprinted in her eyes.

"Lin, are you watching your football king again?" Lucy teased, coming over to him.

Lin Jianwei panicked as if her secret had been exposed, quickly turned off her phone screen, and felt a slight burning sensation in her ears.

"No... I was just looking at the news." She tried to cover it up, continuing to arrange the tiny colorful balls on the pine branches.

That bit of panic and attempt to cover it up couldn't escape the notice of his colleagues with whom he spent every day.

"How long has it been since you two last saw each other?" Lucy's voice held a knowing tone. "It's almost Christmas, your boyfriend must be busy with competitions and training, right?" She handed him a colorful candy cane.

"Go ask him out! Christmas season is so romantic."

"He..." Lin Jianwei toyed with the smooth, colorful ball, her voice lowering. "He's very busy."

She was aware of the grueling Premier League schedule in December.

As the holidays approach, those training sessions and competitions seem like an invisible wall, separating us from what we can actually reach.

Longing was spreading in her heart.

The office lights were warm and bright, and the laughter of her colleagues was close at hand, but Lin Jianwei felt an unprecedented loneliness.

Only that figure running on the court can fill the empty space in my heart.

Having mustered her courage, in the afternoon, just before Yan Yuan finished his training, Lin Jianwei finally grabbed her phone and slipped into the break room.

The sound of the coffee machine here was just enough to drown out her slightly rapid heartbeat.

She dialed the number she knew by heart.

The call was answered almost instantly.

The background sounds slightly breathless, indicating that Yan Yuan has just finished training.

"Feed?" Yan Yuan's voice was as clear as ever, with a slightly breathless, magnetic quality.

"slight,"

"Um...it's me." Lin Jianwei felt her face getting hot, and her voice unconsciously softened. "Did you...finish training today?"

"Yeah, training just ended today. I'm in the parking lot. What's up?" Yan Yuan's tone was natural.

Lin Jianwei's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped her phone.

Inside the office, the faint sounds of her colleagues' laughter drifted through the crack in the door, and the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree reflected on her lightly made-up face.

"Nothing... I just... suddenly thought of you." She mustered her courage to begin, her voice soft and gentle, as if moistened by the light rain outside the window.

"Christmas is coming soon, and the streets of London... have a great festive atmosphere."

Lin Jianwei's prelude seemed clumsy and weak.

"Yes, it's sparkly everywhere." Yan Yuan's voice sounded calm and cheerful as ever; he was unaware of the girl's thoughts on the other end of the microphone.

He even chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

"By the way, Weiwei, I guess you want to go out and have fun, right? I remember you said last time you wanted to go to Hyde Park's 'Winter Wonderland'? But I think it'll be incredibly crowded! The Christmas market in Covent Garden might be better? Or the London Eye, or..."

Yan Yuan started talking like a tour guide about famous Christmas spots in London.

They even seriously assessed the foot traffic and cost-effectiveness, speaking with great sincerity, as if they were genuinely making travel plans for Lin Jianwei.

On the other end of the phone, Lin Jianwei's shyness and expectation gradually turned into an indescribable sense of grievance and frustration.

Yan Yuan interpreted her budding feelings as "consultation on a Christmas travel guide for London".

She gently bit her lower lip, interrupting his dutiful "tour guide".

"Okay, Xiao Yan... I understand," she said, her voice softening as she tried to remain calm. "I was just saying it offhand. You're driving, right? Be careful. I... I have to work overtime for a bit longer."

"Oh," Yan Yuan paused, seemingly finally realizing something was amiss, "Okay, then... don't work too late."

This time, Lin Jianwei hung up the phone quickly.

As she looked at the screen displaying the end of the call, an indescribable wave of emotion welled up from the depths of her heart, making her nose sting.

"Idiot... blockhead..." she muttered under her breath, as if she were sulking at someone, or perhaps scolding herself.

How could she be so stupid as to think that this guy, whose mind was as hard as stone except for training, matches, and review videos, could understand those complicated thoughts?

"As expected... as expected, he's still a kid three years younger than me..."

Lin Jianwei swiped her phone, wanting to send something to vent her small grievances, but her fingertips hovered above the screen.

The background image on the screen was a photo she had secretly taken of Yan Yuan running on the track.

He was wearing a red and white number 7 jersey, drenched in sweat, with a determined look in his eyes. Although he was covered in grass clippings and mud, it only made him more charismatic.

The thrill of that moment quietly overshadowed the anger that followed.

"Never mind, he just played a full 90 minutes a few days ago, and he trained so hard today. He'll definitely be incredibly busy in December..." Lin Jianwei thought to herself.

Maybe I'm just being too dramatic...

She leaned against the counter in the tea room, dejected, and let out a long, silent sigh, temporarily hiding the little bit of expectation and disappointment in her heart.

She swiped her finger across the screen a few times, making some edits and deletions, and finally, she only edited a very simple message:

[Xiao Yan, I was in the office just now, the signal was a bit bad, so I hung up early. I know you're in the holiday season, with a tight schedule and lots of training. Focusing on your preparation is the most important thing, don't worry about these little things. Have a great training session and a happy Christmas! :-P (Christmas tree emoji)]

After clicking send and completing this step, Lin Jianwei seemed a little more relaxed.

I opened my browser and skillfully typed into the ticket booking website.

Yes, that's settled. Lin Jianwei plans to go back to China for Christmas to spend time with her parents, and she quickly booked a flight back to Hangzhou a few days later.

……

Yan Yuan had already driven home by then.

I had just changed into slippers and sat down on the living room sofa to catch my breath when my phone screen lit up in the dim light—it was a message notification.

He picked it up and saw that it was Lin Jianwei.

After clicking, the message appeared: "[Xiao Yan, I was in the office just now, the signal was a bit bad, so I hung up early. I know it's the holiday season, your schedule is tight, and you have a lot of training...]"

I read those words, along with the jumping Christmas tree emoji and the little smiley face symbol, over and over again.

That phone call she made in the locker room that afternoon, which was somewhat sudden and ended abruptly...

At the time, I was only focused on chatting with my teammates and analyzing the match point of that crushing victory against Harding Town...

Now Yan Yuan's mind was empty, and the fragments of his memories began to piece themselves back together automatically.

What did Lin Jianwei say back then?

Yan Yuan thought back carefully.

"I suddenly thought of you... The holiday atmosphere is really nice..."

What did he say in response?

"Hyde Park's 'Winter Wonderland' is nice..."

"Everything is sparkly..."

"The London Eye..."

Yan Yuan seemed to have been struck by lightning.

"Holy crap!!!!"

He suddenly jumped up from the sofa as if he had been scalded by something, and frustration poured over him like ice water.

Yan Yuan, now 18, finally understood.

She didn't come here to ask for tips on Christmas travel in London.

She clearly wanted to spend Christmas with him; she mustered up her courage and subtly reached out her hand, waiting for him to take it.

But like an idiot, he recommended a bunch of places to Lin Jianwei that could be found in travel brochures.

Looking at the last part of the message, "Wishing you a successful training..." and that little smiley face, even that innocent Christmas tree emoji, the vague expectation or sadness I felt during the afternoon phone call was gone.

Oh no, she must be angry. This message is polite and considerate, yet it carries a sense of distance, as if she wants to push him away.

Yan Yuan jumped up, not even having time to take off his training jacket and change out of his sports T-shirt, and grabbed the car keys on the table.

The shoe rack in the entryway was a bit messy, but he didn't care. He practically jumped to the door, slipped on his usual training shoes, and rushed out.

The sound of the engine starting was particularly jarring in the quiet residential garage.

The car struggled to move forward in the increasingly congested traffic of London in the evening.

The rain became finer again, pattering against the windshield and then being swept away by the wipers.

While anxiously watching the road conditions, Yan Yuan took advantage of a gap in the traffic jam to open his phone with trembling hands and type a message:

[Weiwei, are you home? Is it convenient for you to come downstairs now? I'm temporarily parking by the roadside downstairs from your apartment building.]

There was no immediate reply after the message was sent.

Time became incredibly difficult to pass.

Every few seconds, he couldn't help but glance at his phone screen.

Yan Yuan parked the car on the side of the road and turned off the engine; his heart was pounding like a drum.

A few minutes later, the old but gleaming black door at the bottom of the apartment building creaked open.

Lin Jianwei's figure appeared in the dim yellow glow of the streetlights at the entrance.

She had clearly just run downstairs quickly, without wearing a heavy coat, only a light-colored, fluffy loungewear sweater and comfortable jeans. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, whether from running or something else.

She held up a folding umbrella, her gaze sweeping over with a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Yan Yuan hurriedly pushed open the car door, jumped out, and ran over in a few steps.

Lin Jianwei quickly handed her the umbrella.

The two arrived at the attic corridor on the first floor.

Yan Yuan still carried the scent of sweat and shower gel from his recent training.

Looking closely into Lin Jianwei's clear eyes, he felt his brain start to freeze again, and his face burned.

Lin Jianwei blushed and asked him.

"You... why did you come here? It's so cold outside, and look how wet your hair is. Don't you care about yourself at all? Come to my room, I'll dry you off..."

"Wait, Weiwei, I..." Yan Yuan licked his dry lips, his throat tightening, his voice as awkward as a child speaking for the first time.

"I'm sorry, about the places I mentioned this afternoon... actually..." He took a deep breath of the cold, damp air, mustered his courage, looked straight at her, and spoke rapidly, each word sounding like it was burning hot.

"I'm actually... a bit slow to react in this area sometimes, but I've figured it out now. Would you... would you like to go to a movie with me? Right now?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Jianwei's eyes gradually brightened, shining even brighter than the stars on the top of a Christmas tree.

That hidden, faint smile could no longer be concealed; like melting honey, it spread from the corners of her mouth, slowly covering her entire cheeks, and her ears quietly turned red.

In the small attic corridor, Lin Jianwei nodded lightly and quickly, her voice as soft as raindrops falling on an umbrella:

"Um... okay, then wait for me a moment, I'll... go upstairs and get a coat."

After saying that, without looking at Yan Yuan's reaction, she almost fumbled around in a cute panic and turned to run back to her room upstairs.

Yan Yuan stood there, holding the umbrella, watching her figure disappear behind the door.

"So this is what love is all about..." Xiao Yan gradually understood everything.

The two arrived at the best movie theater in the city center.

Yan Yuan chose an old film that was being re-released at just the right time; it was a romantic comedy.

After buying the tickets, I hurriedly went to the counter and bought the largest bucket of popcorn, plus two cups of warm caramel milk tea.

It was quite late, and there weren't many people in the screening room.

The lights dimmed, and the light from the big screen shone on the two people's faces.

The movie's plot is somewhat clichéd, the jokes aren't particularly clever, and the pacing is slow.

Lin Jianwei leaned back in the soft, slightly sunken old sofa chair, sipping her warm, sweet milk tea.

The male and female protagonists on screen bicker and argue amidst misunderstandings and coincidences.

The plot was rather bland, and her eyes involuntarily darted to those around her.

Yan Yuan was sitting a little too upright, holding a huge popcorn bucket that almost covered half of his face.

Even in non-funny scenes, he exaggeratedly reached into the popcorn box, grabbed a handful, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it with great seriousness, and kept his eyes glued to the screen.

It was like studying a replay of an important match.

That look of wanting to watch a movie but not knowing how is just plain silly.

Lin Jianwei, however, did not find it boring at all.

The air was filled with the faint aroma of popcorn, sweet cream, and the leather smell of plastic movie theater seats.

There was also the clean, crisp aura of movement that emanated from Yan Yuan as he approached.

These feelings, mixed with the flickering light and shadow on the screen, weave together an unprecedented sense of peace and satisfaction.

What's happening in the movie? Who cares?

Lin Jianwei lowered his head, but the smile on his lips grew wider and wider, impossible to hide.

Time slows down, every minute and every second is filled with warmth, and as long as he is by my side, this movie is the best story in the world.

Then, Lin Jianwei secretly moved her hand, which was on her knee and holding the milk tea cup, very slowly and carefully closer to his arm, which was resting on the armrest next to her.

Yan Yuan took her hand, and the two continued watching the movie.