A Harsh Recipe: Pasta Is Only Allowed Black Pepper!

"Right here, Mr. Chivu? I..."

"Do as I say!"

Chivu's tone allowed for no questioning, so Tang Long had no choice but to comply.

In a few quick motions, he stripped down until only a pair of red briefs remained, at which point Chivu signaled that it was enough.

On the training pitch where only the two of them were present, Tang Long stood completely bare except for his red briefs.

In the distance, the old man tending to the grass turned the key to shut off his mower, leaned his hands on the handlebars, and watched the two of them with curiosity.

Chivu examined the lines of Tang Long's muscles from head to toe, carefully.

He even reached out to pinch certain areas, such as his shoulders, abdomen, thighs, and calves.

It left Tang Long feeling completely bewildered, having no idea what Chivu was trying to do.

Chivu crouched down and fiddled around for quite a while.

Finally, he stood up.

Chivu gave a faint smile, and then, right in front of Tang Long, he stripped down until he was completely bare as well.

"Mr. Chivu, what are you doing?"

Tang Long was filled with questions, looking at Chivu in disbelief.

What on earth did he want to do?

Chivu just stood there face-to-face with Tang Long.

"Tang, I am 34 years old this year, and I've been retired from Inter Milan for almost a year. Take a look at my body and tell me where the differences are compared to yours."

This was the first time Tang Long had seen Chivu's entire body exposed.

He discovered that this legendary defender, who had once helped Inter Milan win the treble, still possessed incredibly well-proportioned muscle definition despite being retired for nearly a year.

Standing at 184cm, Chivu's physique wasn't the type to be overly bulky, but the muscles were clearly defined where they should be, and his abdomen, where there shouldn't be any fat, was extremely flat.

Chivu's waist, in particular, looked very slim, accentuated by his broad shoulders.

His entire upper body presented a beautiful inverted triangle shape.

And Chivu's lower body surprised Tang Long even more!

Below thighs as thick as old tree stumps were straight calves that shimmered with muscular luster.

The scar from the surgery on his right knee was clearly visible.

This was the medal of honor granted to him by his 16-year professional career.

"Mr. Chivu, I never imagined that even after being retired for nearly a year, you would still keep your physique in such great shape!

I've been able to observe the bodies of my first-team teammates up close in the locker room, and it's no exaggeration to say that more than half of them don't maintain their bodies as well as you do!"

A look of pride appeared on Chivu's face.

"Haha, I'm not bragging, but even though I'm 34 and haven't had professional training for over a year, I could still go out there and play 45 minutes of Serie A intensity with my current physical condition without much trouble."

Compared to Chivu, Tang Long's physique seemed to pale in comparison.

He smiled sheepishly.

Tang Long was 182cm tall, a centimeter taller than the average Serie A player.

However, he weighed only 70kg.

In Eastern culture, Tang Long's body was considered quite well-proportioned.

But in the professional European arena, this weight was still too light.

"Your pectoral muscles aren't very prominent, your abdominal lines are just from being thin, and your back—your frame is okay, but it doesn't support your build, and there is also huge room for improvement in your core leg muscles."

Chivu continued his analysis: "I watched the recording of your match against Genoa. During that double-tackle, you had actually jumped, but you slightly twisted your ankle when you landed. That stems from a lack of strength in your leg muscles."

"Insufficient muscle strength doesn't just make you suffer in physical duels and get bullied; more importantly, it makes you prone to injury. You are still young now, but once you pass 20, this will be your fatal weakness!"

"Tang, I have a three-month special training plan for you. I originally wanted to start with your fundamentals, but since there is so much room for your muscle strength to improve, starting today, you are going to change your diet, sleep, and training content!"

At lunch that day, Tang Long didn't go home to eat, but instead ate with Chivu in the club's cafeteria.

Chivu had Tang Long sit down, then personally brought him his food.

A plate of pasta, a piece of pan-seared steak, a plate of chicken breast, six florets of broccoli, and a 200ml cup of sugar-free yogurt.

Chivu's meal was identical, except his steak was replaced with salmon.

Tang Long looked at the plain pasta on the plate in front of him, a look of difficulty on his face.

It wasn't that he hadn't eaten pasta before.

But when Tang Long ate it, he would add tomato sauce to make it taste better.

He would slurp it down, just like Chinese tomato-based noodles.

"Eating just pasta without any seasoning—this seems a bit hard to swallow," Tang Long said.

Chivu grabbed a small bottle from the table next to them and sprinkled it twice over his pasta.

"When pasta comes out, if you don't add any seasonings—including sugar, oil, or salt—and just sprinkle some black pepper on it, it becomes a rare delicacy. Don't believe me? Try it."

Right in front of Tang Long, Chivu mixed the black pepper into his pasta and began to feast.

Tang Long took two bites and forced himself to swallow.

It was truly awful.

Tang Long wasn't used to black pepper; he found it a bit too pungent for his nose.

Most importantly, it wasn't salty enough; it tasted bland and flavorless in his mouth.

In fact, Tang Long didn't eat much pasta.

His stomach was still a stomach from back home; he preferred rice.

"Tang, I've looked into your Chinese dietary habits. You are accustomed to eating high-carbohydrate, high-oil, and high-fat foods. Those foods are indeed delicious."

"But this habit is just like us Westerners eating McDonald's burgers; it isn't conducive to your body becoming stronger. You must start with your dietary habits first. I'm not saying your country's eating habits are bad, it's just that in many cases, the menu in front of you is more suitable for a professional football player who wants to endure 90 minutes of high-intensity competition in Serie A. Do you understand what I mean?"

Next, Chivu set a breakfast and dinner menu for Tang Long.

Breakfast was two slices of whole-wheat bread, with all sauces strictly prohibited—including but not limited to peanut butter, cheese sauce, etc.—followed by two boiled eggs, a glass of fresh-squeezed juice with no sugar, and an apple.

Dinner remained black pepper pasta, three boiled eggs, and a bowl of vegetable salad without any dressing. For meat, he could choose between boiled chicken breast and pan-seared salmon.

At the same time, he had to have appropriate snacks at ten in the morning and four in the afternoon, and protein powder was a must.

"I know you don't smoke or drink, so I don't feel the need to emphasize those; they are the bottom line."

"What I need to emphasize is that the pleasure of carbonated drinks is indeed charming, especially at your age. Fine, I will allow you one 250ml glass of cola per month."

Tang Long quickly said:

"Mr. Chivu, please rest assured, I don't have the habit of drinking carbonated beverages. It's purely because I don't like the feeling of dense bubbles hitting the inside of my mouth."

Tang Long paused and said, "I feel like you're a team nutritionist, though you are even stricter than the first-team nutritionist. The salads provided here have dressing on them."

Chivu's face displayed that "yuck" expression like the confused old man on the subway.

"It seems Mancini is still lax in this area. Of course, he is the first-team head coach; he can't handle everything personally, and the people under him don't necessarily listen to him."

"But Tang, regarding your body, please trust me completely. You are only 18 years old, and your muscles haven't fully set yet. You must be careful with what you eat."

Tang Long had always had a question in his heart, and he couldn't help but ask Chivu:

"Is eating all it takes to strengthen muscle power?"

"In your dreams," Chivu smiled. "The devilish training you did just now was only a gentle start. Every day from now on, besides completing the first-team training, you will have extra sessions with me!"

"Your goal here with me is to possess a body capable of competing for 90 minutes in Serie A."

Speaking of this, Chivu reined in his smile.

His entire demeanor became serious.

"Tang, let me be blunt with you. If your body remains as frail as it is now, your vision, which is superior to the average person, will at best only land you the role of a substitute impact player. Mancini will never let you into the starting lineup!"