Facing AC Milan on Debut?

July 31, 2010.

Li Yufei waited in London until Arsenal flew back from Australia, then immediately started first-team training.

Since there was a friendly match against visiting AC Milan at Arsenal's home ground, the Emirates Stadium, that afternoon, Wenger told Li Yufei to be ready to play.

After all, it was just a friendly—win or lose didn't matter. Many starters would be on the bench, making it the perfect chance for Li Yufei to shine.

The opponent was a top-tier club like AC Milan. Even though Milan, like Arsenal, might not field their full starting lineup, some starters would definitely play, and their substitutes were certainly stronger than the starters of many unknown teams.

It was an ideal touchstone for Li Yufei.

Wenger had picked a great debut opponent for him—well-known and a solid test of Li Yufei's real ability. It was a win-win.

Li Yufei had gotten along pretty well with the Arsenal first-team players over the past few days.

Unlike a typical rookie, Li Yufei had a father who was a major Arsenal shareholder. Just for that reason, even the tough guys wouldn't be stupid enough to mess with him—at worst, they'd keep their distance.

Plus, Li Yufei wasn't a complete newcomer. He'd spent three years in Arsenal's youth system, and the first-team players had all heard of him as a super talent who dominated every age group.

Among them, Wilshere, the former Arsenal youth prodigy, had the best relationship with him.

Especially since Wilshere was born on January 1, 1992, and Li Yufei on December 31—a perfect bookend. One came on the first day of 1992, the other on the last.

That stroke of fate was what first brought them together.

Besides that, Fabregas—the Spaniard Wenger had high hopes for, who later betrayed Arsenal—also got along well with Li Yufei.

Li Yufei didn't hold a grudge against Fabregas for his future "loyal" move of paying his own way back to Barcelona.

First, because in 2010, that hadn't happened yet. At the time, Cesc was still the kid beloved by Arsenal fans.

Second, because Fabregas had actively reached out during Li Yufei's youth days.

Li Yufei's personality was very much "repay kindness with kindness, revenge with revenge."

So he treated Cesc as a friend, though the bond wasn't as strong as with Wilshere.

As for the other Arsenal players, only Walcott, "the little tiger," had a decent relationship with Li Yufei.

Van Persie, the genuine "General Van," wasn't impressed by Li Yufei's rich-kid status.

Hot-tempered and rebellious, Van Persie firmly believed that on the pitch, only football spoke. Even if Li Yufei's dad was a major Arsenal shareholder, he wouldn't give him any slack—he'd just switch clubs if it came to that. No big deal.

But Van Persie wasn't stupid. He wouldn't act like a villain from some face-slapping novel, deliberately provoking Li Yufei.

At most, he'd keep his distance, not cozy up like Fabregas. That was it.

Li Yufei wasn't petty enough to think he was some big shot who needed Van Persie to kiss his ass, then seek revenge.

That was pure childishness. Having lived two lives, Li Yufei wasn't about to do something so immature.

Seeing that Li Yufei was getting along reasonably well with the first-team squad, Wenger breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

His biggest worry was that the hard-to-manage Van Persie and the proud, privileged Li Yufei would clash.

Thankfully, that didn't happen, or Wenger wouldn't have known how to handle it.

"Fry, you're starting this afternoon. It's just a friendly—play freely," Wenger said, directly naming Li Yufei as a starter.

"Got it, Boss!" Li Yufei was a bit surprised by Wenger's decision to start him.

But he quickly calmed down, because he always believed his ability was enough to earn a starting spot at Arsenal.

The other Arsenal players didn't mind, since it was just a meaningless friendly that didn't threaten their positions.

Wilshere, another youth academy talent, felt a twinge of envy, remembering his own humble beginnings fighting for playing time.

Fry, the favored son, had it way too easy!

Well, people's joys and sorrows just don't overlap.

Still, Wilshere didn't have much of a problem with it. He'd played alongside Li Yufei in the youth team for nearly two years.

He knew exactly what Fry was capable of.

In his view, Fry had been ready for the first team a year ago.

With another year of growth, he was only stronger.

Maybe he could even snatch a starting spot outright.

Soon.

It was 3 PM.

As the home team, Arsenal's players were the first to take the field for warm-ups.

The moment Li Yufei stepped onto the pitch, his heart couldn't help but thump wildly.

His entire body temperature rose noticeably.

Fabregas, who entered the grass alongside him, noticed this and offered reassurance: "Fly, no need to be nervous. It's just a friendly—even if you play badly, no one's going to blame you."

Li Yufei nodded to show he understood.

But in truth, while he put on a calm front, his mind was anything but settled.

He swept his gaze around—tens of thousands of Arsenal fans in red-and-white jerseys were singing, dancing, and roaring their support.

Wave after wave of red surged forward, delivering an overwhelming impact.

And this wasn't even an official match—just a friendly.

If a friendly carried this much force, what would a real game be like?

Shaking his head, Li Yufei told himself this was now his daily routine—he had to get used to it.

Taylor had already arrived in the box, cheering on her boyfriend's first-team debut in his professional career.