After spending half an hour alone with Taylor,
news came from outside that the match had ended.
Despite having a man advantage, Arsenal had needed a last-minute goal from Van Persie to seal a 5–1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
When Li Yufei heard the news, he finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
Thank goodness. As long as the task was complete, that was all that mattered.
He'd been worried his teammates might let him down and allow the gap to narrow, even after he'd gotten one of the opposing defenders sent off.
If that had happened, Li Yufei would have been at a loss for words.
Fortunately, his teammates weren't that useless. They had no problem kicking a man while he was down.
Once his teammates entered the locker room, Taylor greeted them one by one.
The Arsenal players were very courteous to the rising Pop Princess. At the very least, they looked much friendlier when facing Taylor than when facing Li Yufei.
Among them, Li Yufei's good friend Wilshere was by far the most excited.
"Wow, Taylor, I'm a fan of yours. Could I get a photo with you?"
Seeing his good friend instantly turn into a little fanboy in front of his girlfriend,
Li Yufei looked utterly bewildered.
Wait, Wilshere was a Taylor fan? How had he never known?
Searching through his memories, Li Yufei suddenly recalled seeing a related story on some green app in his previous life.
But by then, Taylor had already held the Eras Tour and become the world's biggest superstar, far more famous than the Country Pop Princess she was now!
It was hardly surprising that Wilshere had become a Taylor fan at that point.
After all, Taylor's fans spanned the globe and came from every walk of life.
But the fact that Wilshere was already a Taylor fan now was something Li Yufei hadn't expected.
Hearing Wilshere's request, Taylor smiled and agreed.
"Of course. I heard you've been friends with my boyfriend since his days in Youth Training. Thank you so much for being his friend while I've been busy these past two years."
"My boyfriend has plenty of flaws, but he really is a good person. Thank you for being there for him."
Wilshere hurriedly waved his hands, insisting it was nothing. He and Li Yufei were friends purely because they liked each other; there was no need to thank him.
Li Yufei was dumbfounded as he listened.
What did she mean, thanking Wilshere for being his friend?
Was his boyfriend really so unpopular?
Did she have to thank people just for becoming friends with her man?
Li Yufei couldn't make sense of it.
In fact, Taylor was telling the truth.
All things considered, Li Yufei didn't have many friends in this life.
One reason was that he came from a very privileged background, so almost everyone he met was a teenager from at least a middle-class family.
The fewer people he met, the lower the odds of meeting someone whose personality suited him.
On top of that, Li Yufei's previous-life mindset meant he couldn't relate to the values of many rich kids.
As a result, he didn't have many close friends in this life.
After he started playing football, most of the young players he met came from backgrounds very different from his own.
That meant few people were genuinely willing to get to know him.
And those who did usually had ulterior motives.
Having lived two lives, Li Yufei wasn't some naïve fool. He had little patience for people with hidden agendas.
That only made his social circle even smaller.
Even when he first met his girlfriend,
Li Yufei had once thought Taylor had approached him because of his family background.
Only later did he learn it had all been a misunderstanding.
At first, Taylor had taken an interest in him purely because Li Yufei's looks in this life were exactly her type.
In other words, their romance had begun with a classic case of "love at first sight"—because she found him attractive.
As they spent more time together, Taylor found that being with Li Yufei felt comfortable and inspired her music, so their relationship grew closer.
And with the system binding them together, their feelings for each other had only continued to deepen.
By now, the only thing separating this couple from a married one
was the fact that Li Yufei, as the boyfriend, wasn't yet old enough to legally marry.
In pretty much every other way, they were already like a married couple.
Their parents had met a year ago, and Taylor even called Li's Father and Anne "Dad" and "Mom."
So Taylor's gratitude toward Wilshere was less like a girlfriend looking out for her boyfriend,
and more like a wife feeling relieved that her husband had found a good friend.
Of course, that friend had to be a male friend.
If Li Yufei had some so-called female friend, Taylor wouldn't be acting like such a "devoted wife and loving mother."
After taking a photo with Wilshere, Taylor chatted for a few moments with Wenger, who had come in behind the others.
Li Yufei was too far away to hear what they were saying, but from Taylor's lip movements and the way she nodded, she seemed to be thanking Wenger for something.
Wenger was his usual gentle, refined self. He merely nodded politely and waved a hand to indicate it was nothing.
Just then, Wilshere, who had finished taking his photo, sidled over and whispered,
"Li Yufei, I'm seriously jealous. You've got such a wonderful girlfriend. She's a celebrity, and she treats you so well. What did you do in your past life, save the galaxy?"
Li Yufei rolled his eyes and shot back, "Once you're under that kind of strict supervision, you won't be jealous anymore."
At that, Wilshere seemed to remember something and shuddered. "In that case, forget it. Now that I think about it, you never go to nightclubs or bars. I bet that's your girlfriend's rule, isn't it?"
Li Yufei didn't answer. He just turned his head and left Wilshere to figure it out for himself.
Taking that as confirmation, Wilshere tried imagining himself in Li Yufei's shoes. He quickly decided that kind of life would be an absolute nightmare for him!
After all, Wilshere's private life wasn't exactly spotless.
Not long ago, he'd been accused of sexually harassing a woman he didn't know at a nightclub.
Wenger had even warned him about it, telling him to clean up his private life.
If someone like him got controlled by his girlfriend, he'd literally suffocate!
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