Looking at the Soft Rice Points he'd just gained, Li Yufei was thoroughly pleased.
It had been almost 40 days since Taylor began her tour in America, and the two of them still hadn't seen each other.
During that time, the only thing Li Yufei had gotten was 100 Intermediate Soft Rice Points, thanks to the iPhone 4 Taylor had bought him as a gift.
He'd then used those 100 Intermediate Soft Rice Points to raise his Dribbling to 85. After all, Intermediate Soft Rice Points could only raise stats within the 80–89 range.
To reach 90 and above, he'd need Advanced Soft Rice Points.
Unfortunately, Li Yufei had spent three years at Arsenal and had only received one Advanced Soft Rice Point when he first arrived.
He'd gotten another when he and Taylor had made their relationship public, but since then, he hadn't seen another Advanced Soft Rice Point.
Li Yufei suspected that Advanced Soft Rice Points were triggered by events with enough impact, or events that were especially meaningful to him personally.
If so, making his professional debut for Arsenal's first team in the near future would surely earn him an Advanced Soft Rice Point.
As for whether he'd get any other rewards, that was hard to say. Li Yufei wasn't sure, either.
"Hi, sweetheart. What are you thinking about? Are you still recovering?" Taylor waved a hand in front of Li Yufei's face, stirring up a waft of fragrance—and a lingering, colorful scent.
When Li Yufei came back to himself, he rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Come on, do you think I'm that useless? What are you talking about? I'm a beast!"
He sounded a little unsure of himself, so he put extra emphasis on the words.
Taylor giggled, but didn't call her boyfriend out. Instead, she played along. "That's right, that's right. I know my man is the most manly and the best!"
Li Yufei couldn't be bothered to argue with Taylor as she grinned at him. After all, when your girlfriend was three years older than you, the age difference did put you at a disadvantage.
Once they'd rested enough, Taylor drove them back to their home.
"By the way, A-Fei, when will you get to play for the first team? I remember Mr. Neil saying ages ago that you were more than good enough to play for them."
Li Yufei was used to Taylor switching between nicknames whenever she felt like it. It was just another way of showing her affection.
"Next week, I'm reporting to the first team. The boss spoke to me today and told me to get ready." Li Yufei repeated what Wenger had told him.
Taylor's face lit up. "That's wonderful! Mr. Arsene is finally ready to promote you to the first team."
"Even though I've wanted to play for the first team for a long time, I understand the boss's thinking."
"Bojan at FC Barcelona is a lesson right in front of us. He played for Barça's first team before he was even 17, and now he can barely get on the pitch."
Li Yufei understood Wenger's thinking. There were plenty of young players who'd burned out before their time, and Bojan was a vivid example. It was hard for the older man not to have reservations.
In fact, although Wenger had always been miserly in the transfer market because of the stadium debt, he'd kept giving young players a chance, constantly taking a gamble on them.
But he'd never been one to chase quick results, nor had he put too much pressure on young players.
He knew that young players needed time to grow, both physically and mentally.
That was why he rarely used players who were too young. He was especially cautious with underage players like Li Yufei, who hadn't yet turned 18.
What's more, Li Yufei's father, Li's father, was a major Arsenal shareholder, so Wenger had to be even more careful.
Since buying Arsenal, Li's Father hadn't interfered with the club at all. He'd left everything to the professional managers working under him.
But that didn't mean Li's Father had stopped caring about Li Yufei, his rebellious son.
Wenger was a cultured man known as "the Professor." He couldn't possibly lack that much tact.
So he was even more careful with Li Yufei's playing time and future development than he was with other youth players.
Taylor understood how Wenger felt about her boyfriend, so she wasn't worried.
She didn't ask anything else, only mentioning that she wanted to be there in person for his professional debut.
Li Yufei readily agreed.
His father had a VIP box at Arsenal, and it would be empty otherwise, so Taylor might as well use it.
"I'll call Uncle Mark and ask him to open Dad's box for you that day." As he spoke, Li Yufei picked up his phone and called a number he used often.
Mark Horner was Li's Father's professional manager.
Ever since Li's Father had bought Arsenal in 2006, Mark had handled the club's affairs. He was also the person Li Yufei had contacted most often during his years in the United Kingdom.
After the call connected, Li Yufei explained what Taylor wanted. Mark simply said, "OK," then hung up.
Well... what could he say? It was the same old story. The few trusted aides working for Li's Father all seemed to be decisive people who didn't waste words.
Li Yufei was used to it. Taylor didn't think the person on the other end had been rude, either. She was clearly just as accustomed to it as he was.
When they returned to Li Yufei's home in London, Taylor went straight to the third-floor bedroom, fetched some loungewear, and helped him change.
Li Yufei enjoyed being waited on by his girlfriend as if it were only natural.
Dinner had already been prepared by the staff. Neither Li Yufei nor Taylor knew how to cook.
At most, Taylor could bake sweets like cookies. As for Li Yufei, he couldn't do anything beyond making instant noodles.
But for rich people, none of that was a problem. How many wealthy people had kitchens that weren't spotless?
Dinner was simple: a steak, an egg, a salad with no dressing, two slices of whole-grain bread, and a plate of fruit cut into neat little pieces.
The steak and egg were for Li Yufei. The rest, none of which could remotely be called meat, was naturally for Taylor.
Before the Snakegate incident, Taylor had been almost pathologically obsessed with managing her figure.
Li Yufei had tried to talk her out of it many times, but Taylor wouldn't listen, so in the end he'd given up.
Fortunately, Taylor knew she needed to give her boyfriend a wonderful experience exploring the wonders of life, so she never went as far as becoming skin and bones.
That was the one thing Li Yufei could be grateful for.
After dinner, Li Yufei and Taylor strolled around the villa's grounds for half an hour.
The detached villa was in Zone 3 of North London and worth a fortune. Including the basement, it had five floors, seven bedrooms, and nine bathrooms, as well as a study and a music room for Taylor.
Downstairs, there was a small cinema that could seat a dozen or so people, along with a small karaoke room.
Of course, no villa was complete without a wine cellar. But neither Li Yufei nor Taylor liked to drink.
So the wine cellar was basically just for show, all style and no substance.
When they bought the villa, the total price of 15 million Pound Sterling had been more than either Taylor or Li Yufei could afford at the time.
Fortunately, although Li's Father expected Li Yufei to support himself, he'd provided him with the basic necessities, including a place to live. So the villa hadn't cost the couple a penny.
At least Li's Father was generous when it came to giving his son a romance fund for dating.
As for the other expenses?
Forget it. Handle those yourself!
Before you continue