I Love You, Su Dong!

Although Antonio Pereira sat motionless like an old monk in meditation, that did not mean he knew nothing about what was happening around him.

When Su Dong left the substitutes' bench and ran toward the back, Pereira initially assumed he had gone to warm up and paid it no mind. But after a while, he realized Su Dong still had not returned. He immediately stood and looked back, only to see Su Dong discussing something with two people in the stands, as though he had completely forgotten he was at a match.

This guy...

Wait!!!!

When Pereira got a clear look at one of the people in the stands, he was utterly stunned.

Cristiano Ronaldo!

Good grief! What was he doing here?

What was more, he seemed very familiar with Su Dong. At times, the two pointed at the pitch; at others, they pointed at a dark-skinned young player nearby. They looked extremely close.

What was going on?

How had Sporting Lisbon's youth-training genius come to watch a match at Sporting Portugal?

Could it be because of him?

Pereira looked at Su Dong again, and his gaze immediately changed.

As someone working in football in Lisbon, Antonio Pereira was only the head coach of a third-tier team, but he still knew quite a few people. He was especially familiar with the city's three Portuguese Super League clubs.

Many fans might only know Quaresma and Edgar Marcelino, the two youth-training talents recently promoted to the First Team, or Lourenço, who had performed well after being loaned to English League One's Bristol. But Pereira knew that Cristiano Ronaldo was in no way inferior to any of them—not even Quaresma.

But how had this proud young man from Madeira, as the rumors described him, come to know Su Dong? And why did they seem to get along so well?

It seemed this Chinese kid really needed to be reassessed.

The first half ultimately ended 0–0.

Sporting Portugal held firm defensively and kept their goal intact, while Loretano had not faced much threat.

Throughout the first half, Sporting Portugal had managed only one shot.

Their attacks broke down as soon as the ball reached the forwards, so naturally, they could not create any chances.

Head coach Pereira did not continue sitting back and waiting. Instead, he went to meet the players and deliberately walked at the back with captain Matello.

"Our attacks up front aren't creating any threat. If this continues, we won't be able to hold them off," Pereira said.

Matello nodded. "Exactly. Even setting everything else aside, we won't have the stamina to defend like this forever."

"I'm thinking of putting Su on and giving him a try. What do you think?" Pereira asked.

"Su?" Matello looked at the head coach in surprise.

As the captain who had personally trained Su Dong, Matello naturally knew his ability. He had even wanted to put Su Dong on the squad list back in the opening round, but Pereira had not trusted him much.

Before the match, the head coach had told him that he planned to give Su Dong only around fifteen minutes.

So what had changed?

"I trust your judgment, Marco," Pereira explained.

Even so, the reason sounded somewhat forced.

Matello did not think much of it. He felt it was more likely because the starting forward had performed terribly and could not hold the ball at all.

"When are you planning to make the substitution?"

"At halftime. What do you think?"

Uh...

Matello paused slightly. His instincts told him it was somewhat aggressive, but it was not unacceptable.

If they continued playing like this, the second half would not change anything either. They might as well send Su Dong on earlier. Perhaps it would turn things around.

That shot of the kid's had been getting more polished with every training session.

Su Dong was called back to the locker room by the coach during the halftime training.

He was both surprised and delighted, vaguely guessing what was about to happen.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the locker room, Matello told him what head coach Pereira had decided.

"Your task is to deal with those two center-backs and take every chance to shoot. We'll handle everything else. All of us will pass the ball to you."

Matello spoke with great seriousness, and none of the others around him objected.

After all, throughout the entire first half, Sporting Portugal had managed just one shot—and that had been a long-range effort from a midfielder pushing forward.

Third-tier teams were poor at creating chances, and low shot counts were normal, but this was still far too few.

"Don't feel any pressure. Just play normally, as you do in training. Understand?" Matello encouraged him.

Su Dong nodded heavily.

He was somewhat excited, but anticipation outweighed everything else.

He had waited a long time for this moment.

His chance had finally arrived!

"Su Dong!!!"

"Come on, Su Dong!!!"

When Su Dong followed his teammates out of the players' tunnel, he immediately heard Rony and Semedo shouting from the stands.

That flamboyant man from Cape Verde even yelled at the top of his lungs, "I love you, Su Dong!"

Su Dong nearly fell flat on his face when he heard it at the tunnel entrance. He raised his middle finger at him, but the shameless fellow, apparently determined to cause chaos, shouted back, "If you score tonight, I'll take you to Intendente to have some fun!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rony forcefully shoved him back into his seat and cursed with a laugh, "Are you insane?"

Quite a few Sporting Portugal fans nearby widened their eyes at the dark-skinned kid, as if shocked by his blatant behavior. Was he trying to do something outrageous?

Su Dong, on the pitch, was instead completely baffled.

Intendente was a station on the Green Line metro, not far from Marquis of Pombal Square. The Romario restaurant, where he had previously treated Rony and the others to a seafood feast, was nearby.

Was Semedo inviting him out to eat?

"Your friend has really gone all out," captain Matello said with a laugh.

Su Dong nodded. Wasn't that the truth?

A single meal had cost more than seventy euros. Semedo really had gone all out.

"Wait, you don't know?" Matello asked in surprise.

Su Dong paused. Had he misunderstood?

Matello immediately burst out laughing. "Looks like you really don't know."

"Know what?"

"I'll tell you after you score." Matello waved at him and walked toward the goal, laughing all the way.

Su Dong looked at him, then turned back to Jose Semedo, still utterly confused.

Why were both of these guys acting so strangely?

The two Loretano center-backs watched Su Dong slowly approach and both found it rather odd.

The immature-looking kid seemed foolish. Was Sporting Portugal out of players? Why had they sent him on?

Su Dong was still wondering what was so special about Intendente. As he walked, he turned back to look at Rony and Semedo waving at him from the stands. When he turned around again, he realized he had accidentally walked into the opponent's half.

Feeling the contemptuous looks of the Loretano players, Su Dong himself felt a little embarrassed.

This was so damn humiliating!

According to the rules, Sporting Portugal should kick off the second half, and as a forward, Su Dong should have been standing in the center circle.

Damn it. He had completely exposed himself as a rookie.

Whatever. He would focus on playing first.

But the two Loretano center-backs exchanged a glance and silently shook their heads.

This kid looked much easier to handle than the one who had played in the first half.

As Su Dong stood in the center circle preparing for kickoff, he hesitated briefly before finally deciding to take the potions.

It was his first match, after all. It was safer to play with a full set of buffs.

Fortunately, after recently clashing repeatedly with Rony, he had accumulated quite a few King of Football Points. A potion cost ten thousand points, which was painful, but he could still afford it.

He used three potions in the system. The Personal Attribute Panel immediately displayed three buffs, and his attributes increased by ten percent.

Su Dong instantly felt much more at ease.

Kickoff.

Su Dong passed the ball to a teammate with one touch and ran forward.

He stood 1.86 meters tall and had a slim build, but his height alone gave him the physique of a center forward.

The two opposing center-backs did not mark him too tightly. They both felt that the kid looked foolish and was nothing special.

Just as Su Dong charged toward the defensive line, Sporting Portugal made a passing mistake in midfield and the ball was intercepted. He had no choice but to run back.

They soon won the ball back, but still could not get it past the halfway line.

After seeing the ball lost twice, Su Dong understood the team's problem.

When Sporting Portugal won the ball again, Su Dong did not remain up front as he had in the first half or moments earlier. Instead, he actively dropped back and raised his hand for the ball.

Under the opponent's tight pressing, the ball was like a hot potato.

Soon, it reached Su Dong's feet. He controlled it, then, before the center-back closing in from behind could get near, passed it toward the other side.

It was only a transitional pass, but at least the ball was not intercepted this time.

Su Dong immediately ran toward the right. The ball soon came back to him, and this time he redirected it before passing it back into the middle.

Both touches had been clean and steady.

This was the result of his hard training over the past period.

Every touch also earned him fifty King of Football Points.

Clearly, he could farm King of Football Points during official matches as well.

The two opposing center-backs were tall and powerfully built, but players like that generally disliked running too much. They were not pleased with Su Dong darting around. At first, one of them reluctantly followed him, but later they simply watched him from a distance.

Su Dong received another impatient pass from a teammate, only to discover that the opposing center-back had not followed him. There was no defender nearby, so he did not hesitate. He stopped the ball, turned around, and carried it forward while gesturing to his teammates.

Come on, brothers, get up here!

Sporting Portugal's midfield playmaker had come through Benfica's youth system. He immediately understood and sprinted forward at top speed.

Su Dong had only taken two steps when the opposing center-back rushed toward him.

Before the defender could close him down, Su Dong gently nudged the ball forward with his right foot, sending it into the path of the midfield playmaker. He himself smiled faintly at the center-back, then pushed off with both legs and accelerated explosively.

The center-back had always assumed that a 1.86-meter-tall Su Dong would be a power-based center forward. He had not expected Su Dong to burst forward so suddenly—and so quickly. In an instant, Su Dong had left him behind.

Once he got moving, Su Dong surged forward at top speed.

The other Loretano center-back retreated rapidly, while a teammate played a through ball, sending it behind the defensive line.

The pass was slightly off target. Although Su Dong reached the ball first, the opposing center-back also returned to position in time.

Su Dong had no choice. He stopped sharply and brought the ball under control, and the center-back stopped with him.

But immediately afterward, Su Dong feinted, pretending to accelerate again and drive into the penalty area with the ball. The defender was fooled into trying to block him, but Su Dong suddenly pushed the ball sideways with his right foot, cut inside, and chased after it again.

In an instant, Su Dong forcibly burst through a gap in the opponent's defensive line.