July 31, 2010.
After waiting in London for Arsenal to return from Australia to the United Kingdom, Li Yufei went straight into first-team training.
Arsenal were playing a friendly against visiting AC Milan at their home ground, the Emirates Stadium, that afternoon.
Wenger told Li Yufei to be ready to play.
Since it was only a friendly, the result didn't matter. Many of the regular starters would be on the bench, making this the perfect opportunity for Li Yufei to show what he could do.
And their opponents were a powerhouse like AC Milan. Even if Milan, like Arsenal, might not field their full starting lineup, some of their regular starters would surely play.
On top of that, AC Milan's substitutes were bound to be better than the starting players of plenty of obscure teams.
They were the perfect test for Li Yufei.
Wenger had found Li Yufei a superb opponent for his first appearance. AC Milan were a big name, and the match would also give him a chance to assess Li Yufei's true ability. It was a win-win.
Li Yufei had gotten along quite well with the Arsenal first-team players over the past few days.
Unlike most rookies, Li Yufei's father was a major Arsenal shareholder.
That alone meant that even the black guys wouldn't be foolish enough to pick on him. At most, they'd keep their distance.
Besides, Li Yufei wasn't exactly a newcomer. He'd spent three years playing in Arsenal's youth system, and the first-team players had all heard of the prodigy who'd dominated every age group.
Among them, Wilshere, a former Arsenal youth prodigy like Li Yufei, had become his closest friend.
Wilshere had been born on January 1, 1992, while Li Yufei's birthday was December 31 of that same year. Their birthdays fell right at opposite ends of the calendar.
One had been born on the first day of 1992, the other on its very last.
That unusual coincidence had helped them become friends in the first place.
Fabregas, the Spaniard whom Wenger had once pinned his hopes on, only for him to later betray Arsenal, also got along well with Li Yufei.
Li Yufei didn't hold Fabregas's "loyal" gesture of paying his own way back to Barcelona against him, despite what had happened in his previous life.
For one thing, it hadn't happened yet in 2010.
Fabregas was still the same kid adored by Arsenal fans.
For another, Fabregas had gone out of his way to befriend Li Yufei during his time in the youth system.
And Li Yufei was the sort of person who believed in repaying both kindness and grudges.
So he treated Fabregas as a friend, though not as close a friend as Wilshere.
As for the rest of the Arsenal squad, only Little Tiger Walcott was on particularly good terms with Li Yufei.
Van Persie, the real-life "General Van," wasn't especially fond of the rich kid.
Hot-tempered and headstrong, Van Persie had always believed that only football could do the talking on the pitch.
Even if Li Yufei's father was a major Arsenal shareholder, Van Persie wouldn't give him the time of day. Worst case, he'd just play for another club. What was the big deal?
Still, Van Persie wasn't stupid. He wouldn't deliberately antagonize Li Yufei like some villain in a novel who picked a fight just to get humiliated.
He'd simply keep his distance. He wouldn't go out of his way to befriend him like Fabregas. That was all.
Li Yufei wasn't petty enough to think he was some big shot and resent Van Persie for not kissing up to him.
That was the kind of childish thinking Li Yufei had long since outgrown. After living two lives, he wasn't about to do something so immature.
Seeing that Li Yufei was getting along reasonably well with his Arsenal teammates, Wenger secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
What worried him most was that the difficult-to-manage Van Persie might clash with Li Yufei, who had grown up privileged and was proud to a fault.
Thankfully, it hadn't happened. Otherwise, Wenger wouldn't have known how to handle the situation.
"Fry, you're starting this afternoon. It's only a friendly, so just play your game." Wenger named Li Yufei in the starting lineup.
"Got it, boss!" Li Yufei was a little surprised that Wenger had put him straight into the starting lineup.
But he quickly calmed down. He'd always believed he was good enough to start for Arsenal.
The other Arsenal players didn't think much of it. It was only a meaningless friendly, after all, and their places weren't under threat.
Wilshere, another talented player who'd come through Arsenal's youth system, couldn't help feeling a pang of envy. Compared to how he'd struggled for playing time when he first broke through, Fry, the golden boy, had it far too easy!
Some people's joys and sorrows really had nothing to do with one another.
But Wilshere didn't begrudge him. After all, he and Li Yufei had spent almost two years playing together in the youth system.
He knew exactly how good Fry was.
In his opinion, Fry had already been good enough to play for Arsenal's first team a year ago.
Now he'd had another year to develop, so he could only be even better.
It wouldn't be impossible for him to snatch a starting spot outright.
Before long, it was 3 p.m.
As the home side, Arsenal were the first to arrive on the pitch to warm up.
The moment Li Yufei stepped onto the grass, his heart began pounding.
His body temperature rose noticeably.
Fabregas, who had walked onto the pitch with him, noticed and reassured him. "Fry, there's no need to be nervous. It's only a friendly. Even if you don't play well, no one will blame you."
Li Yufei nodded to show he understood.
But in truth, he only looked calm on the outside. Inside, he was anything but.
He glanced around. Tens of thousands of Arsenal fans in red-and-white shirts were singing, dancing, and cheering wildly.
Waves of red rolled one after another, an overwhelming sight.
And this wasn't even a competitive match, just a friendly.
If a friendly could generate this kind of atmosphere, what would a real match be like?
Li Yufei shook his head and reminded himself that this would be part of his daily life from now on. He had to get used to it.
Taylor had also arrived in the box by then, there to cheer on her boyfriend as he made his first appearance for the first team in his professional career.
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