Sophia Catina debuted at nineteen and became famous across Europe with The Look of Youth, turning into the dream girl of European geeks that year.
Afterward, her fame only grew. She was even hailed as one of Europe's ten most beautiful women and one of the three most beautiful women in Italy.
But it all came crashing down when she was twenty-four.
Although many of Sophia's works—and even her everyday fashion—were associated with words like sexy, beautiful, and alluring, she was actually quite conservative in her views on relationships between men and women.
When she was twenty-four, she worked with a national-treasure-level Italian director, only for him to try to exploit her for favors.
To everyone's surprise, she chose to expose everything.
The esteemed director's reputation was ruined in his twilight years, and he retired early, leaving a huge mess behind.
But Sophia's career also took a devastating hit. The Italian entertainment industry quietly blacklisted her.
And so, a generation's stunning star vanished from public view.
Later, some people said Sophia had grown tired of a life where her beauty earned her praise. She wanted people to see her more thoughtful side, and was trying her hand at behind-the-scenes film and television work, learning how to become a good screenwriter and director.
But it didn't seem to be going well.
Sophia could no longer get directing opportunities from anyone else in Italy; she was blacklisted. And it was hard to win investors' trust with scripts she wrote herself.
Four years had passed. Now twenty-eight, Sophia had been away from the entertainment industry for four years.
No one expected her to show up in San Remo, the city known as the City of Sunshine.
Even less expected was that she would be chatting so happily with Lu Yang, a star player for Sanremo Football Club.
"This is ridiculous!" Rondo rubbed his eyes over and over. There was no way he could mistake Sophia. She had been their goddess when they were young!
Nine years ago, Sophia's debut had been breathtaking. Rondo had been twenty-five then, and he was a fan of hers.
"This is too ridiculous!" Moric gritted his teeth, feeling as though someone was about to steal his buddy away.
"This is really too ridiculous!" Nagy, whose date had gone badly, condemned the unfairness of God.
Lu Yang had been given football skills, and now he was handsome, too!
"I must be hallucinating." Vedian, who had parted on bad terms with the dark-skinned girl because he was too fast, had come back as well.
In the booth.
"This is the story I know. Its basic structure actually has a lot in common with the story you wrote," Lu Yang said animatedly to Sophia. "Honestly, don't be offended, but your script is trying to say a lot of things. Those are all good ideas, but the overall story is too thin to support everything you want to convey."
"If you can make a breakthrough in the story itself—maybe by combining it with the story I just told you—I think it could be really compelling."
"A good mystery never needs to be afraid of giving the audience clues. On the contrary, every clue they offer guides the audience to make another guess about the case. But that guess is never the truth. They know how to keep the truth to themselves until the very end."
"That's the key to controlling a mystery drama!"
After Lu Yang finished, Sophia didn't respond right away. Instead, she stared at him.
"Sorry, was I too blunt? I mean..." Lu Yang trailed off.
Sophia had already planted a kiss on his cheek.
"You're amazing! Every single thing you say inspires me. You're so talented... Has anyone ever told you how charming you are when you speak?" After kissing him, Sophia hugged Lu Yang and excitedly rattled off a stream of praise. "I know how to revise the script now. This time, I'm definitely going to succeed."
"Sorry, I have to go back and write down every word you just said... Oh, can I have your phone number? I think I might need to bother you quite a few times in the coming days..."
Lu Yang readily exchanged phone numbers and names with her.
"I'd be happy to help you work things out, but I can't while I'm playing a match, so..."
"Playing a match? You're a...?"
"Yes, I'm a footballer. Sanremo Football Club."
"No wonder your muscles are so firm. Just now, my chest, uh... Are all footballers as strong as you?"
"Not all of them. See that little guy over there who's 1.72 meters tall? He's pretty weak."
"He really does look pretty feeble. Once I've finished the script, can I come watch you play?"
"Of course. Contact me in advance and I'll get you a ticket."
"Okay, I... Um... I... Forgive me for asking, but are you really only sixteen?"
"Yes, but... A person's maturity depends not only on his body, but also on his thoughts. The latter might even matter more."
By the end of their conversation, neither Lu Yang nor Sophia knew what they had asked, why they had asked it, or why they had answered the way they did.
Maybe... it was pure instinct.
They had sensed what the other was communicating through their eyes, then responded.
"I'm looking forward to seeing you again!" Sophia tossed Lu Yang a flirtatious wink before leaving.
It all felt like a dream.
It wasn't until Lu Yang woke up the next morning and saw Moric's resentful expression that he realized the lipstick mark on his face from the night before had been real.
At training that afternoon, Soto asked Tom, "Did Moric and Lu Yang have a fight? Why does Moric seem so strange when he plays today?"
Tom frowned. "I was wondering why Moric's been tackling so hard today. He really does seem upset."
Then Soto went to find Rondo and ask what was going on.
Rondo only laughed. "There's nothing wrong between them. Any European man would be jealous of what happened to Lu Yang, I guarantee it."
Soto was speechless.
Are you sure?
What would I, Soto, have to be jealous of?
Three minutes later, Soto said with a pained expression, "Lu Yang, go run laps. Keep going until you can't run anymore!"
Lu Yang was utterly bewildered.
That evening, Soto called Maniero. "Maniero, I think our youth... might be over!"
Maniero sat bolt upright when he heard that, then let out a sigh a few minutes later.
As expected, every dream girl of young men would eventually become someone else's little sweetheart.
But what did that lucky brat Lu Yang have that had won Sophia's favor?
In the thirty-first round of the league, San Remo played away against Juvista.
The latter were in the relegation zone.
Three months ago, they had both been in the same boat. But now, their situations were completely different.
That left Juvista's fans feeling a little heartbroken.
What hurt even more was that San Remo broke through Juvista's defense less than ten minutes after kickoff.
The scorer was none other than Lu Yang!
He received the ball outside the penalty area, leaned to the right, and feinted as if he were about to push the ball that way.
Juvista's center-back didn't take the bait. Last round, Lu Yang had used that same move to fool a Foggia player, then passed and shot with a Rabona.
As one of the current stars of Serie D, Lu Yang was already being studied by other teams.
But what the Juvista center-back hadn't expected was that Lu Yang wouldn't use a Rabona. He actually pushed the ball to the right.
It was like a player receiving the ball and nudging it to the side, instantly creating a perfect shooting angle.
Bang!
His powerful Dipping Shot flew into the net because the opposing goalkeeper wasn't quick enough to get down.
Lu Yang clenched one fist, visibly thrilled.
But when he went to find Moric, who had assisted him, Moric looked reluctant. "You have a girlfriend now. Why do you still need to celebrate with me?"
Lu Yang was at a loss. He grabbed Moric and said, "Buddy, Sophia and I are just friends. We were talking about her work, and that's why she got excited. Besides, even if she really were my girlfriend, shouldn't you be happy for me?"
Moric sneered. "Happy? You betrayed the 1.70m Alliance ages ago! Now even your future girlfriend is 1.75 meters tall. What exactly are you trying to say?"
"If I were 1.81 meters tall, I'd never date a girl taller than 1.72 meters just to spare your feelings!"
Pfft!
Lu Yang burst out laughing.
So Sophia's height was what had gotten to Moric. Lu Yang had thought Moric had some kind of strange preference. He'd nearly had a heart attack.
"You're only seventeen, buddy. You're bound to grow more! You'll definitely end up taller than Sophia," Lu Yang said earnestly.
"Really?" Moric finally felt a little better.
"Of course. But Sophia's a woman, so it's normal for her to wear high heels. She could easily be 1.8 meters tall then. I'd feel the pressure, let alone you..."
"Damn it, you dog, Lu Yang! I'll kill you!"
And so, on the pitch, the player who'd scored chased after the player who'd assisted him and kicked him.
The referee didn't know whether to show a card.
He'd never seen a celebration like that before.
Once the match began, San Remo displayed their strong control. If their forwards hadn't been off form, the score might have been more than one-nil already.
Just before halftime, Lu Yang received the ball. The Juvista players, who knew he wasn't a gifted passer, relaxed a little.
But Lu Yang sent a precise long pass.
It landed near the edge of Juvista's penalty area.
Vedian burst forward at top speed, leading the charge.
But Juvista's center-back wasn't far behind him.
If Vedian's first touch wasn't smooth, the defender would be able to break up the attack.
This happened all the time in football.
Plenty of forwards seemed to be in front, only to miscontrol the ball and get caught by the defenders.
Vedian, who wasn't in great form today, had already lost the ball twice in similar situations.
His touch was off.
But, surprisingly, after Vedian touched the ball, it didn't fly off course. It kept moving steadily forward. Its speed and direction were both perfectly suited to what Vedian wanted.
So he didn't lose a step.
He raced through on goal all alone.
Bang!
Vedian shot without hesitation.
Goal!
"Oh, what an unexpected result! Moric, San Remo's midfield engine, has delivered one brilliant pass after another but hasn't scored or assisted. Instead, Lu Yang, the team's formidable midfield destroyer, has produced a pinpoint long ball to set up Vedian!"
"We can see how comfortably Vedian received it. That was a superb pass—nothing like what we'd expect from Lu Yang."
"That was a Weighted Spin Pass. The spin kept the ball stable in the air and made the pass accurate. Its regular rotation also helped the receiver control the ball, which was a huge help to Vedian. His touch hasn't been great today."
"Lu Yang can create chances. I think Juvista will have an even harder time in the second half, because they can no longer focus only on Moric and leave Lu Yang unmarked as they did in the first half."
The commentator's prediction soon came true.
In the sixty-second minute, Lu Yang drew part of the opposition defense, giving Moric the chance to send a long pass to the team's right winger.
There was a huge gap on that side.
The right winger went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and took a wild shot. The ball went in.
Five minutes later, San Remo came back at them.
Moric passed to Lu Yang, who shaped as if he were going to send a long ball to the right flank.
But he used a Rabona to pass the ball back to Moric, who was nearby.
Moric didn't take a touch. He turned and sent a long, angled ball over the top in the style of Ding Ding.
Vedian once again outran Juvista's defense, took the ball through on goal, and scored his second of the match!
In the seventy-fifth minute, with no one keeping a close eye on him, Moric dribbled past the opponent's press. Then he pulled off an elaborate dribbling move he rarely used, beating another midfielder before launching a long-range shot.
Bang!
The ball hit the crossbar and ricocheted into the net. The opposing goalkeeper could only watch.
A worldie, a miracle goal—how could anyone save that?
"Roar!"
After scoring, Moric let out an angry roar. As the team's brain, he rarely put on such a dazzling display. But whose youth wasn't wild?
After staying composed for so long, he could show off once in a while.
Lu Yang was the first to rush over and hug Moric. He knew this was a distant cry from someone 1.72 meters above sea level.
The wail of a single guy.
Even though Lu Yang was single himself.
"Moric, don't let it get to you too much. Sophia and I really haven't started anything," Lu Yang explained again. He didn't want Moric going astray.
A man had to stay composed in the face of a woman's charms.
Moric said, "Oh? Then why did she invite you to dinner tonight?"
"You looked at my phone?" Lu Yang had caught Moric out.
"I only happened to see the screen when you were looking at your messages," Moric protested.
"You're sure someone who's 1.72 meters tall could see the screen of a phone held by someone who's 1.81?"
"Damn it!"
Moric chased Lu Yang around the pitch again and kicked him.
Even the Juvista players, who had been furious moments ago, didn't know whether to stay angry.
Had San Remo started fighting among themselves?
Although we've suffered a crushing defeat, San Remo's Midfield Twins are at odds. We may have lost, but they've lost too. This one's not so bad!
After that goal, Soto substituted Moric, who'd seemed a little too fired up today.
He'd put up an impressive two-goal, one-assist performance. He'd been the team's core on the pitch and had the stats to match. That was more than enough.
It wouldn't do for him to get injured.
Lu Yang and Vedian were also subbed off. They'd been playing full matches lately, and it was time to let them rest.
After that, San Remo could no longer mount a meaningful attack without their creative force. Nagy, who came on for Lu Yang at center-back, helped the team switch to a five-man defense. Even with Rondo slacking off, their defense remained fairly solid, and neither side scored again.
The final score was five-nil, another resounding victory!
But after the match, the news ran a headline reading, "San Remo's Young Soto, Lu Yang, Has a Poor Game, Contributing Just One Goal and One Assist."
That left a lot of fans confused.
One goal and one assist counted as a bad game?
What kind of godlike team was this?
Then they looked at Lu Yang's stats from the previous league match. Well, he'd scored two goals and provided two assists, so this performance really was a huge drop-off—half as much.
And so, "just one goal and one assist" became a buzzword after this round of league matches. Some media outlets even used it jokingly to describe certain Serie A stars.
When everyone learned that the phrase had originated in Serie D, they all smiled knowingly.
Lu Yang of San Remo had once again gone viral without even trying.
And the reporter who'd written the original article was none other than Hans.