Finding Li's Father for Funds and Reinforcements, Mei Mei's Thoughts

Yes indeed!

Football is, after all, a sport played by eleven people.

Even with his cheat-like boost, Li Yufei might be superior to every other player on the pitch, but he still needs his teammates' help.

Otherwise, there's no way he could take on eleven opponents alone.

Looking at recent history, take the Cosmic Team, Dream Team Barcelona, which dominated for years.

Without Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets, relying solely on Messi, no matter how hard he carried, he could never have brought Barcelona such tremendous success.

For a top player to win honors, they need a supporting squad.

Messi won the Six Champions and Five-time Champion at Barcelona because he had Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets.

Ronaldo won three consecutive Champions League titles at Real Madrid because he had the Ceremonial Midfield.

Top players elevate each other; there's never been a case where someone leaves and still keeps winning.

Without Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets, even after evolving into a super number 10 in 2019 and putting up godly performances, Messi still couldn't withstand Liverpool's 4-0 comeback.

Without the Ceremonial Midfield, even with a hat-trick comeback against Atletico Madrid, Ronaldo still couldn't stop his teammates from failing to score a single goal in the Champions League knockout rounds besides himself.

You could say that even Messi and Ronaldo, once separated from good teammates, are basically out of reach of top club honors.

Li Yufei believes he still has a considerable gap compared to peak Messi and Ronaldo.

Even if he takes off later and becomes the most individually capable player since the birth of football, he'll still need his teammates' help.

It's just that his requirements for teammates aren't as high as Messi or Ronaldo's...

But low requirements don't mean just any random Tom, Dick, or Harry can team up with him.

For example, if Li Yufei had to play with players at the level of the Chinese National Team, he'd never touch top team honors in his lifetime.

No matter how amazing he was, he could only keep the team barely surviving in the Premier League.

Striving not to get relegated each season would be the best he could hope for; everything else would be out of reach!

After careful thought, Li Yufei gave his response:

"BOSS, I can convince my dad about the transfer fee. My father should support my career."

"But as for those players' willingness, that'll be up to you, BOSS, to persuade them."

"After all, there's only a week left before the transfer window closes. Is there still time?"

Upon hearing this, Wenger felt the weight lift off his shoulders, and his next words sounded almost cheerful to Li Yufei:

"No problem, I was waiting for you to say that. I've already had people reach out to those players, and none of them are opposed personally. As long as the transfer fee is in place, we can move immediately."

"Don't worry, we'll get it done before the transfer window closes."

Hearing that Wenger had already been in contact, Li Yufei couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

Wait, what's going on here?

I haven't even told the boss my thoughts yet, and he's already been working behind the scenes?

Where did he get the confidence?

After all, without money, no amount of contact matters!

Li Yufei was utterly baffled.

He probably never imagined that from the moment Wenger promoted him to the first team, the boss had already been planning this.

Everything was ready, just waiting for the final piece!

As long as Li Yufei had the idea to ask Li's Father for money, Wenger's recruitment plan could be set in motion immediately.

With a plan already in place, things naturally moved quickly.

After hanging up, Li Yufei thought for a moment, then dialed a number he hadn't called in a long time.

After a few rings, the other end picked up.

Li Yufei and the person on the other end both stayed silent.

Finally, the impatient Li Yufei spoke first: "Dad, how are you?"

He had planned to start by showing some concern for his old man, let him feel his son's filial piety, and then slowly ease into the main topic.

But Li's Father knew his wayward son too well and cut off the "father-son bonding" atmosphere right away:

"You little brat, spit it out if you've got something to say. What's with all this dawdling?"

Caught off guard by his father's bluntness, Li Yufei felt a bit awkward but still shamelessly offered his concern.

After listening for a bit, Li's Father couldn't take it anymore and directly called out Li Yufei's intention:

"Alright, cut the crap. Tell me, what do you want from your dad by calling?"

"Don't tell me you're after money. Your wife's concert tour made a pretty penny not long ago—you two lovebirds aren't hurting for cash. Don't take your old man for a fool!"

Li Yufei's forehead lined with exasperation. He nearly hung up the phone on the spot.

Steady, steady. I still need the old geezer to cough up the cash. Can't piss him off.

In the end, Li Yufei couldn't be bothered to spar with Li's Father any longer and cut straight to the point.

He'd already braced himself for rejection, ready to unleash his silver tongue.

If that failed, he'd planned to take the "save Arsenal by a roundabout route" approach—call his mom instead and have her talk the old man into it.

But to his surprise, Li's Father agreed outright after hearing the request:

"All that fuss over this little thing? Fine, got it."

The moment the words landed, the dial tone buzzed in Li Yufei's ear.

Well, that's Dad for you—same old brisk decisiveness.

Li Yufei gave a wry smile to himself, but he was genuinely grateful for his father's support of his career.

Say what you will—his old man might gripe at him constantly, but when help was needed, he never held back!

"Honey, what did Dad say to you?"

Li Yufei felt a gentle touch wrap around him from behind.

He pulled Taylor's head around and leaned in for a kiss.

Taylor didn't resist, quietly savoring her boyfriend's affectionate gesture.

"Nothing much. Our boss wants to bring in new players for Arsenal, but the club doesn't have the transfer funds, so I asked my dad for some."

Taylor nodded lightly at that, then opened her blue eyes—like a Persian cat's—and asked with a hint of concern, "Honey, these signings won't affect your playing time, will they?"

As an American girl, Taylor hadn't known much about football before.

But ever since Li Yufei joined Arsenal's Youth Training, she'd started paying attention to European football on purpose.

She was still only a half-baked fake fan, but she knew her boyfriend's situation inside out.

At the very least, she was clear on one thing: her man wasn't a regular starter yet—just a substitute ranked near the top.

So she had to ask whether this signing would threaten his position.

After all, she only watched football to see her boyfriend play on the pitch.

She couldn't care less about anyone else!

Even Arsenal as a club wouldn't have gotten a shred of her attention if not for her boyfriend.

Now that she heard the club was bringing in new players, her first concern was whether Li Yufei would be affected.

If so, Taylor would definitely urge him not to ask his dad for the money.

After all, why should their own family foot the bill only to end up cutting into his playing time? Where was the logic in that?