Su Dong Is a Genius!

"Ha, not bad, kid!"

After Su Dong had showered and changed in the locker room, he came out with his duffel bag over his shoulder. Jose Semedo rushed over without a word and locked an arm around his neck, looking so envious and jealous that his teeth hurt.

"Two goals without making a fuss. Not bad, kid."

Su Dong grinned from ear to ear and let Semedo hold him. It did not hurt anyway.

"Not bad. At least you didn't embarrass me." Rony nodded smugly.

Su Dong nearly kicked the pretentious bastard right then and there.

Fortunately, Rony had guessed that he was thinking exactly that and had kept his distance, refusing to come anywhere near him.

By then, most of Sporting Portugal's fans had already left, so no one paid any attention to the three of them.

They fooled around outside the stadium for a while before leaving with their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Where are we going next?" Jose Semedo asked.

Their Youth Team had matches too, but not today. Besides, they had taken the afternoon off, so going back now would expose them.

"To eat, of course." Su Dong answered as though it were obvious. "Weren't you going to treat me?"

"When did I say I'd treat you?" Jose Semedo asked, baffled.

"Before the match. Didn't you shout that you were going to take me to Intendente?"

Rony and Semedo exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter at the same time.

This guy really had no idea.

"Come on, Su. That's a place to have fun, not a place to eat." Rony shook his head.

"Isn't Romario Seafood Restaurant over there?"

"Yeah," Semedo replied. "But the seafood restaurants aren't what the place is most famous for. There are indeed many restaurants founded by immigrants from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, but what Intendente has the most of are apartments and hotels."

Su Dong still did not get it.

Seeing his expression, Rony could only smile helplessly and shake his head before urging Semedo, "Tell him. Hurry up and tell him."

Jose Semedo laughed so hard he nearly choked. "That's the most famous red-light district in Lisbon. Do you know what a red-light district is?"

Su Dong was not stupid. How could he not understand what a red-light district was?

Once he figured it out, he immediately understood why Matello had not told him.

He had really embarrassed himself this time!

It was so damn awkward!

"You tricked me!" Su Dong swung a foot at Semedo. The Cape Verdean boy failed to dodge and took the kick directly to the butt.

Semedo let out a wail and hurriedly ran away, shouting for mercy all the while.

In fact, whether it was a seafood restaurant or a red-light district, Semedo could not afford to treat Su Dong.

He received around two hundred euros in allowance from Sporting Lisbon every month, but most of it had to be handed over to his parents to help with household expenses. His family was genuinely poor, and there were many brothers and sisters.

Rony had it even worse.

His allowance was not small. He received at least three hundred euros a month, but the problem was that the money never passed through his hands. The club transferred it directly to his mother, who gave him fifty euros in spending money each month.

So, he was not well-off at all.

The three penniless boys could not afford to go out for fun, let alone have another seafood feast.

After discussing it, they eventually decided...

"I told you long ago that Su was a good person."

Beside the indoor pitch in Edward VII Park, Jose Semedo munched on a sandwich Su Dong had exchanged with King of Football Points and pretended to have bought outside. He praised Su Dong indistinctly through his mouthful.

Rony was chewing bread and drinking Bull, nodding repeatedly in complete agreement.

Recently, he had been with Su Dong every day, and Su Dong was basically responsible for all three meals.

The food was quite simple, mostly takeout, but it tasted excellent. There was also something different every meal, so Rony never got tired of it no matter how often he ate it.

How had he never heard of such delicious takeout before?

Every time, Rony asked Su Dong which restaurant he had bought it from, but Su Dong always told him not to ask so many questions.

"If you want to eat, just come find me. Why buy it yourself?"

And every time, Su Dong secretly went out to buy it himself, never allowing Rony to follow.

This moved the Madeira boy deeply, but also made him feel somewhat ashamed. He always made Su Dong pay, and it was rather embarrassing.

As the saying went, those who ate another's food became soft-spoken, and those who accepted another's gifts became obligated.

Because he was always eating Su Dong's food, Rony would come over to practice with Su Dong whenever he had time. At the same time, he did his utmost to help Su Dong improve by every means possible.

"To be honest, your rate of improvement is really impressive." Rony rarely gave Su Dong a compliment.

When he had first met Su Dong, he had thought Su Dong was merely an amateur player—hardworking at best. He had never imagined that Su Dong could improve so rapidly.

Now, he felt that Su Dong already had the ability to become a starter for Sporting Portugal's First Team. Even in Sporting Lisbon's academy, he probably would have no problem starting for the U16s, and might even be able to establish himself in older age groups.

"That's because you taught me well." Su Dong casually tossed out a flattering remark.

Rony accepted Su Dong's praise without the slightest modesty.

"And Mr. Pontes and Mr. Nare too. I really should thank them if I get the chance." Su Dong felt grateful to the two youth-development experts he had never met. Many of their training methods had helped him greatly.

For example, Pontes's physical training had been extremely useful to him.

He did not need to go to a gym. He could complete it in his dormitory, and it was relatively safe, so he could train alone without any problems.

"Don't worry. I'll call them later and tell them." Rony patted Su Dong on the shoulder and smiled.

After eating and drinking their fill, the three of them had nothing else to do.

In fact, whether they were professional players or academy players, life was truly dull as long as they did not break any rules.

It was especially boring after they entered the senior team.

They could not eat whatever they wanted and had to pay attention to balanced nutrition. Often, they even had to control their preferences and eat foods they hated. As for cigarettes and alcohol, that went without saying. The more disciplined players could not touch them at all.

Their private lives were troublesome too.

Take someone like Jose Semedo, for example. He was not one of the outstanding players in the Youth Team, yet wherever he went, countless women, fans, and reporters still flocked to him. But every one of them had an ulterior motive.

That was why Rony kept advising Semedo. He knew all about it.

Semedo was not unaware of the dangers, but this kind of life truly held a strong attraction.

If a professional player followed every rule to the letter, he was practically an ascetic.

Rather than return to the dormitory and stare at each other, they might as well stay at Edward VII Park and continue training.

Not only did Rony stay to practice with Su Dong, Jose Semedo also took the initiative to remain, which was rare for him.

Although Su Dong had just played a match and had expended a great deal of energy, Bull had helped him recover. After walking from the home stadium to Edward VII Park and resting for a while, he had basically regained his strength.

The three of them trained in the park until after nine that evening before reluctantly saying goodbye and going their separate ways.

After returning to Tang Jose Apartment, Rony took a shower first, then called his family on Madeira Island.

He called home every day. Recently in particular, many things had happened in his family, and he was deeply worried. He followed the developments every day, afraid that something might go wrong again if he was not careful.

By the time Semedo finished showering and came in, he happened to hear the end of Rony's conversation.

"Don't worry, Second Sis. I'll buy a game console at the mall and mail it home later. Then you won't be bored."

After hanging up, Rony called Lionel Pontes.

Because of Su Dong, the two had been in frequent contact by phone recently.

As soon as the call connected, Rony went straight into the afternoon's match.

"What? Two goals?" Pontes was greatly startled on the other end.

Since it was only a Portuguese Second Division match, it would not be televised, and the next day's newspapers probably would not even report it. Having a list of all the Portuguese Second Division scores would already be enough. Apart from the respective fans, no one would care about such a match.

That was why Pontes had not heard anything beforehand and was so shocked that he cried out.

"Yes, it really was unexpected." Rony laughed.

Pontes hummed. "It seems he really is improving quickly. His talent is excellent."

No one knew that Su Dong could increase his own talent. Everyone assumed that his natural talent had always been excellent, but that he had previously been held back by poor youth training. Now that he was receiving proper academy training, he was older, yet he was still improving rapidly.

"If he'd started three or four years earlier, he definitely would have become a genius no less talented than you and Ricardo." Pontes spoke with some regret.

Ricardo was Quaresma, another player Pontes had developed.

Rony did not mind. Su Dong was his best friend, and he would not take offense no matter how much Pontes praised him.

Quaresma was different, though. He was Rony's rival.

"Lionel, I was wondering if it might be possible to recommend him to the club?" Rony asked with concern.

"With his current performances and the rate at which he has improved recently, I think Sporting Portugal will soon be unable to hold on to him. When that happens, he'll definitely have to go to a higher-level league and team."

As his friend, Rony very much hoped that Su Dong could come to Sporting Lisbon.

"That will be difficult, Rony." Pontes shook his head and sighed. "You know we don't have much of a connection with Sporting Portugal. More importantly, that team is Belenenses's feeder club. Over the years, most of the players produced by that team have gone directly to Belenenses. Only one went to Benfica."

Rony felt somewhat disappointed. He knew that feeder clubs had contractual relationships.

He could not help feeling regretful. Why wasn't Su Dong at one of Sporting Lisbon's feeder clubs?

Then bringing him directly to Sporting Lisbon would have been much easier.

Now that he had gone to Sporting Portugal, getting him to Sporting Lisbon would be far more troublesome.

The best-case scenario would be for neither Belenenses nor Benfica to take an interest in Su Dong, allowing Sporting Lisbon to make a direct move for him.

But was that possible?

If a player could interest Sporting Lisbon, would Belenenses and Benfica really have no interest?

Looking at it another way, as long as Sporting Lisbon showed interest, Belenenses and Benfica would compete for him no matter what.

That was part of professional football.

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