Monica, barefoot, gently pulled back the curtains. Outside, dawn had arrived, but the sky had not yet fully brightened.
After glancing at Dejan Lu, who was still asleep, Monica Bellucci, freshly transformed, walked toward the bathroom.
Long hair was troublesome to wash, so she did not wash hers again.
After a simple wash and freshening up, she put on light makeup, ensuring that when her lover woke up, he would see her at her most beautiful.
She had not brought any spare clothes, and merely tied her hair up with a hair tie.
Once she was ready, Monica Bellucci quietly sat on the sofa and watched Dejan Lu sleep.
They had only known each other for a few days.
She had once considered herself an absolutely rational person, but when it truly came down to it, she realized that feelings had nothing to do with reason.
Before this, she had given up law school to enter the modeling world.
Now, she wanted to change the course of her life once again.
About half an hour later, when Dejan Lu woke up, breakfast had already been laid out on the serving cart, along with several high-circulation newspapers.
"Didn't you eat?"
Dejan Lu asked.
Monica leaned in to kiss him and said, "I'm not hungry yet. I was waiting to eat with you. Oh, someone paged you earlier."
Dejan Lu found his pager in his pants and said, "It's from the club. There should be something going on. If you're curious, you can take a look."
"It's fine. I'm not curious."
Monica said with a smile, shaking her head.
Her mother was a painter as well as a housewife.
Many aspects of Monica had been influenced by her mother.
Dejan Lu picked up the phone and made a call. After listening to the person on the other end say a few words, he asked in surprise, "Who did you say? Gianni Rivera wants to see me? The Rivera I know?"
"Yes, him. AC Milan's former superstar!" The coach on the other end reminded him, "Dejan, he probably wants you to play for Milan. Don't give up this opportunity."
"Don't worry, Coach."
With the receiver tucked between his shoulder and head, Dejan Lu asked, "Do you need me to contact him?"
"No need. I'll call him back. We're old acquaintances." Scarla said from the other end.
"Alright, I'll wait for your call."
Dejan Lu said.
The moment he hung up, Monica threw herself onto him and asked excitedly, "Does he want you to play for AC Milan? Really? I'm so happy for you, darling!"
"Maybe. I can't be sure."
Dejan Lu said.
He had been excited when the call first came through, but by now, he had calmed down.
There was one unavoidable problem: AC Milan's foreign player slots.
AC Milan already had three dutchmen. Would they sell Rijkaard or Gullit just to sign him?
"If you play in Milan, you'll become a huge star very soon. You won't become a playboy like Paolo Maldini, will you?" Monica asked worriedly.
As the son of a football star, Paolo Maldini had loved hanging around nightclubs in his early years.
He only changed after Sacchi spoke with him about it, and he later even wrote about it in his autobiography.
"Don't worry. I'm not a bastard like Paolo Maldini."
Dejan Lu said with a smile, then looked at Monica and asked, "Are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine."
Monica said, holding her neck stiffly as she tried to stand steady.
"Then let's hurry and eat breakfast. We might have to go to Milan to meet Mr. Rivera later." Dejan Lu said, pulling Monica over.
Men in the throes of new love could be astonishingly clingy.
The two fed each other. If they did not have something important to do later, they would probably have changed battlefields again.
The ringing phone interrupted them at just the right moment.
"Dejan, Gianni Rivera is already driving to Genoa. Just wait for him in the hotel restaurant." Scarla hung up shortly after saying that.
Dejan Lu quickly got up to find some clothes.
Genoa was only a little over a hundred kilometers from Milan.
"What a pity you don't have a suit." Monica said as she straightened his denim jacket. "If you put on a suit, you'd definitely be the most handsome man in the entire Apennines."
"You're the most beautiful woman in the Apennines no matter what you wear."
Dejan Lu said, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Monica's gaze was so tender it seemed ready to drip with water.
They kissed again and again. Monica used a towel to wipe away his lipstick marks before the two finally headed to the hotel restaurant.
Genoa was a tourist hotspot all year round, and quite a few people were still seated in the hotel restaurant.
Dejan Lu ordered a cup of coffee to wake himself up.
"You don't look as composed as you did yesterday. I thought you weren't afraid of anything."
Monica teased as she drank lemon water.
"Because that's Rivera!"
Dejan Lu said, "A legendary midfielder for AC Milan and Italy. Anyone who loves football understands the glory represented by that surname."
"Maybe he thinks you're even better. Otherwise, he wouldn't have driven all the way here."
Monica said with a smile.
While they waited, Dejan Lu noticed an old man continually glancing in their direction.
He did not pay much attention to it.
After all, a Chinese man and a beautiful Italian woman naturally attracted plenty of looks.
Just as Dejan Lu ordered his second cup of coffee, Rivera, looking travel-worn, walked up to them. The old football star took off his hat and said, "Sorry to interrupt your date, but I truly have something important to discuss. Could you introduce your companion, Dejan?"
"Monica Bellucci, my girlfriend."
Dejan Lu said.
"Alright, Miss Bellucci, please accept my apologies again. If I were younger, I definitely wouldn't like the current me. I might even think, this old man is such a nuisance."
Rivera said self-mockingly.
Monica covered her mouth and giggled before asking, "You're very witty. Did you come today because you want Dejan to play for AC Milan?"
"Yes, that's exactly it!"
Rivera nodded excitedly. "I guarantee that Dejan will become another banner of AC Milan. Gigi was the one who introduced Dejan to me. I've learned a great deal about Dejan recently. He was born to be an AC Milan player..."
His attitude filled Monica's face with excitement.
She had never expected Rivera to think so highly of Dejan Lu.
Dejan Lu said nothing, quietly stirring his coffee with a small spoon as he listened.
After Rivera finished, Dejan Lu asked, "Sir, is AC Milan planning to sell one of Rijkaard, Gullit, and Van Basten?"
Rivera froze at once.
After coughing a few times, he said, "I'll try to push for either a four-foreign-player policy or a three-foreign-player-on-the-pitch policy. Many old friends have been thinking the same way recently. You can continue developing yourself. I guarantee that in three years at most—no, two years—you'll definitely be able to play in Milan."
Dejan Lu nodded.
He could tell that Rivera thought very highly of him.
Otherwise, this legendary player would not have driven more than a hundred kilometers early in the morning to see him in person.
But Rivera really did not have any influence in Milan right now.
The one calling the shots at Milan should have been Old Berlusconi's top lackey, Galliani.
To avoid embarrassing Rivera, Dejan Lu took the initiative to ask about some amusing stories from his playing days.
Rivera could not guarantee it.
Even if he held real power, Dejan Lu could not possibly place his future in someone else's promises.
He could not get a work permit to play in England, so perhaps he could only try his luck in Germany or Spain.
After chatting for over an hour, Dejan Lu and Rivera exchanged contact information.
Only after agreeing to visit Rivera's home next time did they stand and see the old football star off.
"It's obvious he likes you very much, darling!"
Monica Bellucci said proudly.
"Too bad he isn't Milan's chairman."
Dejan Lu said, shaking his head.
"It's not such a big deal, really. If you go abroad to play football, I'll go with you. Then I can go back to studying law. Becoming a lawyer has always been my dream."
Monica comforted him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to overhear your conversation."
The person seated nearby approached and introduced himself. "My name is Paolo, Paolo Mantovani. I own a football club. If you're looking for a job, would you consider my team? What number shirt do you like? We've been doing quite well. Sampdoria is Genoa's pride!"
Dejan Lu was completely bewildered.
No wonder the old man had been watching them earlier.
Dejan Lu asked, "You shouldn't know me, right? I'm currently a Reggina player, and the team has only just been promoted from Bing Er. Why did you suddenly invite me to join Sampdoria?"
Mantovani took the seat Rivera had just occupied and said with a smile, "The fact that Rivera personally drove to Genoa early in the morning to persuade you not to transfer and wait for AC Milan already explains everything. I trust Rivera's eye!"
Hahaha, you thought it was Milan?
Milan was far too strong at the time. That would have been no fun.
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