Signs of Poor Condition, Depart for Brazil!

The afternoon of June 3.

Li Yufei and Taylor bid each other a reluctant farewell in front of their private villa in the Maldives.

Taylor did not say a single word to make him stay, nor did she show the slightest complaint of reluctance.

She understood the man before her too well.

Football was a faith carved into his bones and blood, and the World Cup was the ultimate dream he had spent his entire career pursuing.

What she could do had never been to hold him back, but to stand behind him as his strongest support and wait for his triumphant return from thousands of miles away.

"Go. Go win everything you want."

Taylor rose onto her tiptoes and gently hugged Li Yufei, her eyes tender and her voice filled with certainty.

"No matter the outcome, I'll be in London, waiting for you to come home safely."

"I'll be cheering for you all summer."

Li Yufei held her tightly in return and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"When I come back, we'll start preparing the wedding."

"After the World Cup, I'll give you a promise for a lifetime."

Those two simple lines of farewell carried no excessive sentimentality, yet they reflected the deepest understanding between companions of many years.

Then, Li Yufei turned and boarded his private jet, leaving behind the breathtaking scenery of the Maldives as he flew directly to London, United Kingdom.

The plane landed smoothly at Heathrow Airport in London.

As the cabin door opened, the England National Team staff and accompanying club personnel who had long been waiting there stepped forward in unison to welcome him.

Though only a few days had passed, Li Yufei's condition had visibly been renewed.

The exhaustion and haggardness of an entire season of competing on multiple fronts