Want to know who's best at making a splash?
Hans of Live Football News reigns supreme!
Hans was always able to create news that got everyone talking.
Plenty of people wanted to ask Hans about his writing techniques.
But Hans knew that his talent for writing was only part of it. The more important reason he'd become a darling of football fans was that he'd found a collaborator.
Lu Yang was so good at making things happen.
Getting headlines thanks to Lu Yang was a piece of cake for Hans.
For example, besides reporting that Lu Yang had contributed only one assist and one goal, Hans also listed the stats of San Remo's main players this season. That had shocked the whole Serie D league.
First up was Vedian, who had played in nearly every match this season.
The league had played thirty-one rounds so far, and his stats were a terrifying twenty-two goals and eight assists. On average, he was involved in almost one goal per game.
Without a doubt, he was currently top of the scoring charts, more than five goals ahead of the runner-up. With only seven rounds left in the league, he had a very good chance of becoming Serie D's top scorer this season.
But what was most surprising wasn't his goal tally. It was his assists.
He needed just two more assists to reach the "20+10" milestone.
That was an astonishing record in any league.
Some even thought Vedian could put up the monstrous "25+10" numbers.
Next was Moric.
Moric had started playing in the twentieth round of the league and had appeared in twelve matches in total.
His stats stood at three goals and eleven assists!
He was involved in more than one goal per game, an incredibly high rate.
And he was also San Remo's midfield anchor, keeping the midfield and attack running like clockwork. A player like him would impress anyone even without stats, let alone with so many assists despite playing as a defensive midfielder.
This proved just how much of a threat he posed on offense. Even when he was far from goal, he could still deliver a razor-sharp through ball that sent a teammate one-on-one with the keeper.
Last was Lu Yang's stats.
Like Moric, he had played twelve matches.
His numbers were an astonishing ten goals and six assists.
He was the most efficient player in San Remo's lineup.
Forget defensive midfielders—forget center-backs. With stats like these, you could tell people he was a striker, and they'd spam "666" in the comments.
At the same time, his tackles and interceptions per game topped the Serie D rankings.
Both stats were nearly double those of the players in second place.
His total tackles and interceptions for the season had both broken into the league's top eight, and his numbers weren't far off those above him.
If he kept up this pace, he had a very good chance of finishing the season first in both tackles and interceptions per game, as well as in total!
If he were playing in a top league, people would call a player like him a box-to-box midfielder. That was the pinnacle of midfield play in modern football: a player who could take part in every aspect of the game and have a major influence on both attack and defense.
Of course, Lu Yang could only play a box-to-box role in Serie D. Here, he seemed like a "complete player," good in every area.
But in a higher-level league, he'd probably be the sort of player who could do a bit of everything but wasn't truly great at anything. Players like that often struggled to secure a regular place in the lineup, staying for a season or two at most before quickly dropping to a lower league.
After the match against Juvista, Lu Yang received another random pack. It wasn't because he'd played well, though. His influence in Italian football had reached the point where he was a little famous.
After opening it, Lu Yang got a player skill: Fancy Ball Control.
Fancy Ball Control let him bring the ball under control in a variety of flashy ways, though there was a chance of failure.
Clearly, it wasn't as good as Marcelo's instep control.
But Fancy Ball Control had a wide range of uses.
When a teammate sent him a long pass, he could jump and catch it with a rabona, trap it with his back, or even reach behind him while running and scoop the ball over. Those were all forms of fancy ball control.
From then on, Lu Yang wouldn't be limited to controlling stationary balls. That mattered a lot.
And to celebrate having dinner with Sophia, Lu Yang opened one of the packs he'd been saving. He kept just one pack in reserve, in case he needed it.
As it turned out, opening that pack had been well worth it.
"Ding! You received a player skill: Low-altitude Passing!"
Like Weighted Spin Pass, Low-altitude Passing was a type of long pass.
The difference was that the former arced lower through the air and spent less time airborne. Put simply, the ball traveled faster.
That made it much better for fast breaks with Vedian.
Weighted Spin Pass was accurate, but it was a little slow. It was better for switching the direction of an attack than creating a scoring chance. Moric had complained about that before.
Low-altitude Passing could solve that problem perfectly.
Of course, it wasn't the ultimate in fast passing. Some players could pass even faster.
Take De Bruyne, known as the world's best attacking midfielder. He functioned more like a turbocharger on the pitch. With his incredible vision and footballing intelligence, he excelled at firing off powerful passes and shots without taking a touch.
It was more accurate to call them passes and shots than passes, because he hit the ball with so much force and speed that it felt like a shot.
Defenders found it hard to intercept those passes. Even if they did, they weren't necessarily able to stop the attack. Yet De Bruyne's teammates could still receive them. It was incredible.
Fans had even dubbed this kind of delivery "Rocket Pass-Shot"!
In fact, Moric had pulled off something similar during a match before: turning and firing off a pass without taking a touch. But he could only produce that kind of brilliant moment every now and then, and rarely tried it because it was easy to mess up.
With Low-altitude Passing and Fancy Ball Control, Lu Yang's long passing had risen from around 50 to 55, while his control had gone from 60 to 63.
He now had four attributes above 60.
His control and tackling were both at 63, while his balance—that is, his physicality and speed—was at 60.
The rest of his unlocked stats had mostly climbed to around 55 as well.
In fact, he was already a capable Serie C player.
Sophia had chosen the restaurant for dinner.
There was nothing wrong with that.
But while taking a bathroom break, Lu Yang had gone ahead and told the waiter that when it was time to pay, he should say that Lu had already settled the bill. He'd also left all the money he had on him at the front desk.
The waiter said he'd be glad to help Lu Yang become a "gentleman."
In fact, Lu Yang was nowhere near rich.
Serie D was the lowest level of professional football, and salaries and bonuses were meager.
Especially compared to a celebrity like Sophia.
The restaurant they were at that evening was the most upscale in San Remo, and Lu Yang had never been there before.
But that didn't make him feel inferior.
It wasn't some baseless confidence men liked to boast about. He was sure he'd be rich soon enough. In three years at most, he'd be earning more than ninety-five percent of the people in Italy!
By then, even the highest-end establishments in San Remo might not meet the standards of some of his teammates.
Money gave a man confidence. That saying was absolutely true.
Without that kind of self-assurance, spending time with a celebrity would be incredibly stressful.
"This is the latest version of the script I've revised. Take a look for me."
As they ate, Sophia handed Lu Yang the script.
They were in a private room, so they didn't have to worry about their privacy being compromised.
Most of the places Sophia chose had private rooms. After all, even if she was past her prime, she'd once been one of Italy's top goddesses, known as the Kiss of Europa!
Lu Yang took a sip of red wine and frowned slightly. He couldn't stand anything alcoholic—red wine, spirits, beer, none of it. "Mm, this version is clearly much more layered. At several points, the audience will think they've figured out the right answer, only for the story to turn things around. You've got a real talent for understanding and designing scripts!"
"If you hadn't started making movies so early, you might have become a bestselling novelist."
Sophia's cheeks turned red.
For some reason, if anyone else had said that, she'd have thought it was flattery. But coming from Lu Yang, it felt completely sincere, and it made her happy.
She touched her cheek and realized she was blushing.
It definitely wasn't because of the alcohol.
She could handle far more than a sip or two.
"But the rich man is revealed too early!" Lu Yang had found a flaw in the script. "And have you thought about what kind of role you could play in this story?"
"The woman who gets murdered—the mistress? Personally, I don't think that's a good role, especially after that news story about you. If you play her, people will take the opportunity to smear you."
The blunt guy might be late, but he was never absent!
Sophia grew serious. She felt moved, and also... insecure.
What moved her was how considerate Lu Yang was.
She'd said before that she hoped to write, direct, and star in the movie herself.
Lu Yang had listened and was trying to help her.
What made her feel insecure was... that scandal had been reported about her, and it had damaged her reputation as a woman. Even though nothing had happened between her and that old man, she'd heard that people in the East were very conservative about such things and cared deeply about a person's reputation.
And Lu Yang was an Italian Chinese whose ancestral home was Mianyang, Sichuan, China... Don't ask Sophia how she knew all that. She was willing to put in the effort to learn about him.
So... would he... mind her past?
"Actually, I think you could try playing the female lead!" Lu Yang hadn't noticed what was going through Sophia's mind. As he'd said, he was very interested in mystery scripts, and he was completely absorbed in the conversation. "She's supposed to be in her forties, but making her a little younger wouldn't weaken the story. People look younger and younger these days anyway."
"And if you use makeup to age yourself, you could take this opportunity to change your image on screen and explore a whole new path as an actress. You could go from being the sexy goddess every European man dreams about to a genuine acting powerhouse!"
"And as for the title, I think the old one was a little too obvious. What do you think of calling it The Invisible Guest..."
Lu Yang chatted on, completely unaware that Sophia was now deeply moved.
She pressed one hand against the table so she could rise from her seat.
Then she leaned toward Lu Yang and reached out with her other hand to touch his cheek, interrupting him. "What did you just call me?"
"Huh?" Lu Yang looked confused.
But Sophia was leaning in such a... distracting way.
Her evening dress was already cut low.
Now that she'd bent forward, Lu Yang could see everything.
Her snow-white neck... the curve of her breasts... the deep valley between them...
"From being the sexy goddess every European man dreams about to..." Lu Yang tried to repeat what he'd just said.
But Sophia interrupted him again, gazing at him warmly. "And what about you? Are you a European man?"
Lu Yang thought for a moment. "I guess... I am?"
Sophia smiled and moved to stand beside him. She breathed into his ear and asked, "Then I'm the sexy goddess of your dreams too?"
Lu Yang froze, unsure how to answer.
The atmosphere in the room quickly heated up, turning into something different.
Just then, Sophia laughed.
"Hahaha, oh my god, Lu Yang, you know what? It wasn't until you looked so confused just now that I felt like you were a sixteen-year-old boy." Sophia laughed beside him. "When you talk to me about scripts, you sound like a literary master. I admire you, even... find myself drawn to you."
Lu Yang said, "Calling a man cute isn't exactly a compliment."
"You are cute!" Sophia had been about to say something else, but she suddenly glanced around, then took Lu Yang by the arm. "Forget it, Lu. It's not convenient here. Come to my place. I'm in the mood to talk with you more tonight. I'm getting more and more curious about you."
Lu Yang nodded. He was eager to help Sophia finish the script too.
When the two of them left the restaurant, the waitstaff nearby were all staring at them in shock.
What a handsome and beautiful couple.
Though they did seem to have a bit of an age gap...
The next day.
For the first time in her life, Sophia felt sick of her own script.
That was because Lu Yang really had spent the whole night discussing the mystery with her in her pink bedroom!!!
They'd talked about how to kill someone, how to hide the body afterward, how to spin a web of lies once the crime was discovered, how to hire a lawyer to escape conviction after someone reported you, and how to scheme and plot against each other with the victim's mother, who was pretending to be a lawyer.
Honestly, that wasn't the kind of thinking you'd expect from a footballer.
Why couldn't Lu just be simple, straightforward, and rough?
I kept saying I was hot all night, so why did you turn on the air conditioning?
Who asked you to turn on the air conditioning?
Didn't I know I had air conditioning at home?
Couldn't you figure out how to take your clothes off?
How could you not get the hint?
If she hadn't been afraid of ruining her image in Lu Yang's eyes, Sophia might have gone ahead and "devoured" him.
But there was nothing she could do. People in the East cared a lot about these things. Sophia couldn't make herself seem like a slut.
She was afraid Lu Yang would be put off by her.
In the end, after the two of them finished revising the script, Sophia couldn't take it anymore and flopped onto the bed.
Lu Yang soon followed, dozing off on the bed too.
They slept until two that afternoon.
A phone call woke Lu Yang and Sophia.
"Who is it?"
"Lu Yang, where are you? You've been gone all night! We have training this afternoon. Why aren't you here yet?" Moric's voice came through.
"Who is it?" Sophia asked sleepily.
"My friend Moric. You've met him—the short guy from the bar... Oh no, oh no, I overslept! How did I sleep until now? I completely forgot about training. Oh god, Soto's going to give me hell. He's always hated how perfect a player I am..." Lu Yang said as he quickly got up from the bed, ready to leave.
But his good manners still made him say to Sophia before closing the bedroom door, "Goodbye, Sophia. I had a wonderful time with you last night. I rarely stay up all night like that. I hope we get another chance to continue next time."
Thud!
Moric's phone dropped right onto the floor.
What had he just heard?
That... was inhuman!
Lu Yang had actually...