You Might Not Be Able to Not Go In

The whole world thought Brazilians were party animals, that their lives consisted of nothing but football, samba, and Carnival.

Xu Lang was a football fan, and even more so a travel blogger. It was with that very question in mind that he had traveled thousands of miles to set foot on Brazilian soil.

From Rio de Janeiro beneath Christ the Redeemer to Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, Xu Lang had been in Brazil for almost half a month now.

Last night, Xu Lang had written this on his blog: Football and Carnival were indeed the most important parts of Brazilian life, but they were more like a kind of spiritual sustenance.

Amid congested traffic, rampant bureaucracy, and uncertainty about life, people needed a fervent way of living to vent all the pressure and frustration in their lives.

Today was his last day in Brazil, and also his last day in Sao Paulo. Xu Lang came to Morumbi District.

This was the edge of Sao Paulo's traditional wealthy district. On one side stood garden villas with swimming pools and tennis courts.

On the other side, separated by a road and a high wall, were tightly packed houses built from red brick and sheet metal.

This was Paraisopolis, one of the largest favelas in South America.

"Pass... pass..."

After walking out of a small alley, the view opened up a little. On a somewhat rough patch of concrete, a group of boys were playing football barefoot.

Xu Lang had seen scenes like this so often along the way that he was no longer surprised, but each time, he still could not help stopping to watch for a while.

"Hey... Carlos, why didn't you pass me the ball just now? You think you're Anno or something?"

The boy called Carlos flushed a little. "Of course I can't compare to Anno, but... one day, I'll play at Morumbi Stadium just like Anno."

"Hahaha... good ambition!"

Hearing Carlos's words, the adults around him applauded too.

"Anno?" Xu Lang murmured the name to himself. "He must be a star player for Sao Paulo FC, right?"

"Hello, may I take a few photos?" Xu Lang walked over to the side and asked an adult.

In the favelas, this was territory controlled by gang forces. Even the police had a hard time coming in to enforce the law, and many places did not allow photos, so Xu Lang had to ask first.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Xu Lang took a few photos and continued onward.

"Anno's performance yesterday was absolutely amazing. We Sao Paulo haven't seen such a talented player in ages."

"You're right, buddy. A toast to our Anno!"

As he passed a small shop, several young men were drinking beer and chatting.

Anno again? It seemed this player named Anno was really popular here.

Xu Lang thought to himself.

"I heard Anno went to China during the two years he was away?"

"That's right. I have a friend who works inside Sao Paulo FC, and he told me himself. Two years ago, Anno's parents got into a car accident, and his uncle took him to China. He's been living there these past two years."

"What a shame. If Anno had stayed at the club all along, maybe he could have transferred back to Europe to play this year along with Neymar."

"Hey... buddy, not necessarily. Haven't you noticed? This time Anno came back, he's obviously much better than he was two years ago. Maybe he received better training in China these past two years."

"I say, brother, is China's youth football training better than ours? That can't be possible, right?"

"What's impossible about it? Quite a lot of people from here have gone to China to play football these past few years. I heard their league is doing pretty well."

"Oh? Then we ought to thank them for helping us develop Anno so well!"

"You're right, brother! Anno also has half Chinese blood, so we have to drink another toast to China. Long live China-Brazil friendship!"

Xu Lang, listening from the side, was a little stunned. This Anno they were talking about actually had half Chinese blood? And he seemed to have just come back from China?

But... what the hell was this about China's youth football training being better than Brazil's?

Since when were we that good? How come I, a Chinese person, didn't know?

With those questions in mind, Xu Lang went up to strike up a conversation. "Hello. Could you tell me a bit more about this Anno you're talking about?"

When the men who had been drinking and shooting the breeze saw that he was an unfamiliar face, they sized him up warily.

Xu Lang noticed their caution, so he said, "Sorry, I mean no harm. I was just curious because I heard you say Anno has half Chinese blood. I'm Chinese myself."

"Woo... caramba!" When the men heard that Xu Lang was Chinese, their goodwill instantly rose because of Anno.

And so, Xu Lang learned some information about Anno from them, and his curiosity was immediately piqued.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, when Xu Lang returned to the hotel where he was staying, there was still a smile of shared pride on his face. He felt immensely glad he had made this trip to Sao Paulo.

Since Chen Anno had spent two years in China, a genius like that could not possibly have left no news behind there.

With that thought, Xu Lang searched the three characters "Chen Anno" on Baidu.

Seeing a string of results pop up at once, a smile appeared on Xu Lang's face. "I knew it..."

The next second, the smile on his face froze.

<Assaulting the National Youth Team leader! Chen Anno has no sense of organization or discipline and has now been removed from the team!>

Sao Paulo FC youth player Chen Anno expelled!

Genius? Or cancer?

The news at the very top was actually something like this, leaving Xu Lang a little lost. The player he had spent so long feeling proud of was actually this kind of person?

But he still found it hard to believe, so he scrolled down again.

At last, a report titled "Top-Secret Recording Exposed! Chen Anno's Name Cleared!" caught his eye.

Xu Lang quickly clicked in. There was even a complete recording inside.

A dozen minutes later, Xu Lang was so furious that he hurled his laptop away. Fortunately, it landed on the hotel bed; otherwise, once Xu Lang came back to his senses, his temper would have flared all over again.

"Those bastards! How dare they! How could they dare!"

Xu Lang had already watched the match footage of Chen Anno coming on as a substitute yesterday. Such a genius, yet back home he could not even get a chance to play.

Even after paying some bullshit entry fee, he still had to pay an appearance fee if he wanted to get on the pitch?

After quite a while, Xu Lang calmed down, retrieved his laptop, and wrote an article on his blog.

The title was "It's Not That We Can't Find People Who Can Play Football! They're Being Kept Outside the Stadium!"

In the article, he not only described what he had seen and heard in Sao Paulo, along with the local fans' love and admiration for Chen Anno, but also attached an edited video clip of Chen Anno's debut.

One had to know that Xu Lang was a very well-known travel blogger, with more than a million followers on his blog.

As soon as the article was posted, it drew a huge amount of attention, and many people liked and shared it.

Inside a mansion in a certain coastal city in the country.

Du Ziteng stood there like an obedient child. On the sofa opposite him sat a middle-aged man.

"Since you're out, behave yourself for a while. You're over thirty, and I still have to clean up your mess."

"Brother-in-law... I didn't expect that little bastard to actually know about the recording. If it weren't for..."

The middle-aged man set the teacup in his hand down on the table with a thud, his gaze stern. "Enough! Since the matter is already over, don't bring it up again."

"But, brother-in-law... I really can't swallow this. I heard that little bastard has already gone back to Brazil, so over at his second uncle's side..."

Before Du Ziteng could finish, his brother-in-law glared him back into silence. "Do you think you haven't caused me enough trouble already?"

Du Ziteng still wanted to say something, but suddenly a phone rang.

The middle-aged man answered the call. A dozen seconds later, he suddenly glanced at Du Ziteng, who was standing across from him. Just that one look made a bad feeling rise in Du Ziteng at once.

"All right! I understand... I see... I know what to do."

After hanging up, the middle-aged man closed his eyes. Du Ziteng, standing nearby, felt his heart lurching up and down, unable to sit and unable to leave.

After about a minute, the middle-aged man opened his eyes and looked at Du Ziteng, who was still standing there, his gaze devoid of the slightest emotion. "This time, you may have no choice but to go back inside!"