Our Bonazzoli family's surname will surely become famous in the football world!
Bonazzoli's mother is undergoing leg rehabilitation at the Manchester Central Hospital's affiliated nursing home.
The old lady's long-standing leg ailment had improved considerably, but for some unknown reason, she suddenly suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and collapsed on the lakeside.
The doctors rushed him into the emergency room, but couldn't reach her son, Bonazzoli.
Fortunately, when Tang Long brought Bonazzoli's mother to the sanatorium, he was careful and left his own phone number in addition to Bonazzoli's contact information.
Because the players were completely cut off from the outside world during the match, Tang Long later added Diletta's phone number back.
During halftime at the Sky Sport studio, Diletta received a call from the hospital. Unable to reach Bonazzoli, he was extremely anxious and contacted Tang Long.
"Her mother has received a critical condition notice. Are you playing a match right now?"
Bonazzoli had just come on the field, and he was already so enthusiastic. This was a rare opportunity for him to perform, and Tang Long couldn't bear not to tell him, fearing it would affect his performance. So he asked Guardiola for leave and went to Manchester to check on the situation first.
West Bromwich Albion Hawthorns Stadium, The Hawthorns, is near Birmingham and about 140 kilometers from Manchester, a little over an hour's taxi ride away. Tang Long rushed into the hospital.
It was Twilight, and the afterglow of the setting sun cast dappled light and shadow through the narrow windows of the hospital corridor.
The sky outside the window was dyed orange-red, creating a stark contrast with the white walls inside the hospital.
Tang Long saw team doctor Gracie talking to a doctor.
"Hey, didn't you go to West Bromwich Albion?" Tang Long asked.
After a brief conversation with the attending physician, Gracie pulled Tang Long to a seat in the corridor.
"I didn't go. I wasn't on duty for this away game. I'm in Manchester. I just received a call from a female reporter, so I came."
Upon learning that Diletta had also informed Gracie, Tang Long nodded, inwardly praising Diletta for her thoughtfulness.
The rooms at this sanatorium are in high demand, and the location was secured through Gracie's connections at the University of Manchester. Given that Bonazzoli is a Manchester City player, it's only fair that she should know about this.
"I asked her, and her mother is fine. The cerebral hemorrhage only lasted about 4 milliliters, and the bleeding site was not a critical brain function area. In addition, the nurses saw her as soon as she fell ill, and she has been rescued now. She can rest assured and recover."
Gracie relayed the general outline of Tang Long's condition to him, and Tang Long finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Where's Bonazzoli? With something this serious happening, didn't he come with you?" Gracie asked, frowning.
Tang Long shook his head helplessly and said he hadn't told him yet.
"When I received Diletta's call, I had already been substituted. Bonazzoli had just come on and was playing. I wanted him to do his best, so I didn't have the heart to tell him. I couldn't let Guardiola substitute him again."
Thinking of this, Tang Long felt another wave of fear.
Manchester Central Hospital has advanced medical technology and has brought the condition under control. It's just a stroke of luck; if her mother had passed away, and she hadn't told Bonazzoli on her own initiative, they probably wouldn't have been able to see each other one last time.
Gracie pulled Tang Long to the outside of the ward where Bonazzoli's mother was being treated.
Through the glass in the door, Tang Long saw a thin Italy woman lying peacefully asleep on a clean white hospital bed.
Madame Bonazzoli meticulously braided her hair into a long braid, which she wore in front of her chest, maintaining her dignified elegance even in the sanatorium.
There weren't many people on the ICU floor, and the corridor was quiet, with only the occasional footsteps and the faint sounds of medical equipment from the wards.
Tang Long and Gracie sat on a blue bench in the corridor; the surface of the bench was somewhat cold.
The branches of the trees outside the window rustled in the breeze.
As Tang Long looked out the window, his worries gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of weariness.
He leaned back in his chair, reflecting on the day's events, and suddenly felt incredibly sleepy. His eyelids drooped involuntarily, and he closed his eyes.
This time, Tang Long didn't enter the AI Cloud Training Ground —he was genuinely asleep.
Because he left the Hawthorns Stadium in a hurry, Tang Long was only wearing a close-fitting short-sleeved shirt.
It was late October, and the temperature in the hospital corridor was only around ten degrees Celsius. Tang Long was asleep with his arms wrapped around his chest.
Gracie her hand, her two brown flat shoes tapping lightly on the ground, her snow-white ankles seeming to glow.
Seeing Tang Long's even breathing, and worried that he might be cold, Gracie got up, took off her black leather jacket, and gently draped it over Tang Long's rising and falling chest.
Bonazzoli went on a scoring spree, netting a hat-trick in the first half, helping Manchester City to a 5-1 away victory over West Bromwich Albion!
Although he was named Premier League Man of the Match for the first time after the game, Bonazzoli still felt unsatisfied and kept thinking to himself:
"What a pity! If I had ten more minutes, I might have scored another one!"
He happily took the game ball from the referee; it was signed by all his teammates except Tang Long.
When he realized he couldn't find Tang Long, he felt a little strange. Guardiola called him aside and asked him to make a phone call to Tang Long, then patted Bonazzoli on the shoulder.
When Bonazzoli rushed to Manchester Central Hospital with red eyes.
Mom has woken up and is chatting quietly with Tang Long and Gracie in the ward.
Seeing his mother's pale and exhausted face, Bonazzoli could no longer hold back and collapsed onto her body, wailing and crying his heart out. Tang Long and Gracie were deeply moved by his cries.
Ranocchia walked in, sweating profusely and panting heavily, carrying a soccer ball.
The two returned together. Bonazzoli rushed off as soon as he got out of the taxi, Ranocchia couldn't catch up. He didn't know the ward either, and had to ask around before he found it.
Ranocchia was shocked to hear Bonazzoli crying loudly at the door, but when he came in, he saw Bonazzoli's mother smiling at him, and Tang Long and Gracie standing beside him looking quite calm. He immediately realized that Bonazzoli was alright.
"Mom, I brought you a gift. Bonazzoli scored three goals today, a hat-trick! He was the best player of the day!"
Ranocchia didn't call her "Madam," but instead called her "Mama," which is a common way to address an affectionate female elder in Italy culture.
He placed the soccer ball on the bedside table, and Mrs. Bonazzoli smiled and nodded at him, a look of satisfaction on her face.
Tang Long picked up the pen and solemnly signed his name on the ball.
Finally, the football, still covered in grass clippings from the Hawthorns Stadium, was covered with the names of all 24 Manchester City first-team players.
"Mom, I brought the match ball. It has the whole team's signature on it; only the person who scored a hat-trick gets it," Bonazzoli wiped away his tears, his eyes filled with pride, his chest puffed out slightly. "There will be more and more balls like this in the future. Just you wait and see, the Bonazzoli family name will definitely become a big name in the football world! I'm going to win every championship—the league, the UEFA Champions League —and I'm going to be Italy's main striker and win the World Cup!"
"But I don't know if I'll live to see that day, my dear son." Two tears streamed down the mother's face.
Bonazzoli bent down to wipe away his mother's tears, kissed her wrinkled forehead, and then clenched his fist.
"You can definitely do it, Mom!"