Settle Down for Another Two Years

As the team's attacks grew fiercer, the home fans' cheers rose and fell in waves.

In the 52nd minute.

Santos still went down the flank. Cicero crossed the ball into the box from near the byline, and Willian Jose got to the first point again.

But his header went slightly over the crossbar.

In the 58th minute.

Montillo launched an attack from the left. After shaking off Rodrigo's pressure, he cut inside, then squared the ball to the edge of the box. Cicero followed up with a shot, but Ceni threw himself across and saved it.

"Holy crap! Sao Paulo's keeper should already be forty, right? And he's still this steady?" Li Batian could not help praising.

"Guys, Santos have been attacking hard during this stretch. Looks like our 2-2 correct score has a pretty good chance this match."

Chen Anno covered a huge area. During this period, with the team under pressure, he also dropped back with the formation and took part in the defense.

In the 65th minute, it was Chen Anno who won the ball in midfield and immediately launched a counterattack.

Unfortunately, Fabiano's shot hit a defender, wasting an excellent chance.

Including the one in the first half, Fabiano had already missed two excellent chances, and the livestream chat was full of people cursing him.

As if he had heard the complaints from the other side of the earth, Ramalho finally made a substitution.

He brought on Aloisio to replace Fabiano.

After coming on, Aloisio was extremely active. He had excellent physical qualities and was strong in duels, and he still caused Santos's back line some trouble.

Soon, the match reached the 75th minute.

Chen Anno received Denilson's pass in midfield and drove forward all the way. After beating three defenders in succession, he played the ball to Aloisio on the left.

After receiving it, Aloisio carried the ball to the byline, then crossed into the middle. Chen Anno charged in and met it with a diving header.

The Santos goalkeeper reacted incredibly quickly and dragged the ball past the byline with one hand.

"Damn! That scared me. Chen Anno almost scored another one."

"This Aloisio who just came on has something about him. Just that build alone—he looks like a wild bull. You couldn't knock him over if you tried."

Only one goal behind, Santos had no intention of surrendering and continued frantically searching for chances.

In the 81st minute.

Willian Jose dribbled to the top of the penalty arc and was brought down by Lucio. The referee awarded Santos a free kick.

"Beautiful! I feel like this spot is even better than where Chen Anno scored from earlier. Come on, Santos, put some effort in. Smash it in, get a draw—good for you, good for me, good for everyone."

Unfortunately, Cicero, who took the free kick, did not have Chen Anno's technique and sent the ball straight into the stands behind the goal.

In the rest of the match, Santos attacked tirelessly, but Sao Paulo stood united. Even Chen Anno and Aloisio returned to their own half, putting all their focus into defense, leaving only Osvaldo up front as a counterattacking outlet.

"Damn it, don't tell me it's going to be a one-half game? Three goals banging in during the first half, then everyone goes limp in the second?"

Sure enough, Li Batian had called it.

In the 93rd minute, the referee blew the whistle for full time.

Sao Paulo defeated Santos 2-1 away from home, claiming their sixth straight league win.

With one goal and one assist, Chen Anno once again won Man of the Match.

Neymar also entered the pitch. After greeting his former teammates one by one, he came over to Chen Anno.

The two clasped hands.

"Good brother! Well played!"

Chen Anno's face was full of smiles. "Thank you, Neymar."

"Don't go back to Sao Paulo with the team later. Let's have a meal together. I'll drive you back afterward." The two hugged, and Neymar said it by his ear.

"Hehe... Anno, there's another round back in Sao Paulo later. Shall we head straight over?" After dinner, Neymar held the Ferrari with one hand and turned to Chen Anno.

"Don't worry..." Seeing that Chen Anno wanted to refuse, Neymar quickly cut him off. "It's not a nightclub this time. I know you don't like places like that, so this time I found a private club."

Chen Anno did not know whether to laugh or cry. This guy really knew how to have fun. Even so, he still shook his head. "Forget it, Neymar. I won't go. I'm already really tired after today's match, and I still have training tomorrow."

"Uh... all right then. When you come to Europe someday, I'll take you somewhere even more fun. Hehe..."

Whenever it came to having fun, Neymar's eyes always lit up. Chen Anno could do nothing about him and could only shake his head helplessly.

After more than an hour, the car stopped at the entrance to Sao Paulo's training base.

The two got out, hugged each other, and Neymar patted Chen Anno on the shoulder. "Who knows when we'll meet next time. You have to video-call me more often."

Chen Anno nodded. Then, after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and turned to look at his friend, who was just about to get into the car. "Neymar..."

"Mm?" Neymar looked up.

Looking at that smiling face under the lights, Chen Anno swallowed back the words that had reached his lips. "Drive slowly. Stay safe."

"Haha... I know. Go on in. I'm leaving!"

With the roar of the engine, the red Ferrari 458 Spider gradually disappeared from view.

In fact, Chen Anno had just been trying to persuade Neymar to drink less and go to fewer parties and gatherings like these.

But he knew his good friend's personality, and he also knew this was the life Neymar liked. If he forced his own views on him, it would only create distance in their friendship.

Just as Chen Anno did not like it, Neymar had never forced him either.

After returning to the dorm, Chen Anno called his second uncle back home. This was something he did after every match.

He wanted to share all this joy with the people closest to him.

On the other end of the phone, Chen Xiaolong shouted, "Bro, you're freaking awesome!" Clearly, they had watched the match live too.

But as soon as he finished speaking, the sound of him begging for mercy came through. His second aunt had probably beaten him again.

Listening to his second uncle and second aunt nagging, and to his younger brother's admiration over the phone, Chen Anno felt his heart fill with warmth.

Neymar left, returning to Spain to prepare for the new season.

Chen Anno once again returned to the monotonous routine of training, extra practice, and matches.

However, Chen Anno himself enjoyed it tirelessly. His dedication to training made the club's coaches and the seniors giving him extra lessons admire him immensely.

They were all people who had spent many years struggling through the Brazilian football world. They had seen plenty of talented players, but one who was both talented and as hardworking as Chen Anno—honestly, this was the first time any of them had seen such a player.

Wagner brought news that negotiations with several clubs in Europe had all reached a stalemate. Regarding Chen Anno's demand for guaranteed playing time, they were all somewhat hesitant.

In truth, Chen Anno had known when he made that demand that it would be very difficult for those European clubs to agree. After all, he had only played a few professional matches.

His goal was to make those teams back down because of it. Chen Anno knew very clearly what he wanted. For him right now, consistent matches were the most important thing.

So Chen Anno told Wagner that none of it mattered. He was still young now, and settling down in Brazil for another two years might be better for him.

Sao Paulo's July schedule was packed. Even without Copa Libertadores matches anymore, they still had two matches every week.

On July 11, Sao Paulo played Bahia at home. Chen Anno started and played sixty minutes, providing two assists to help the team defeat their opponent 3–0 at home.

Although he failed to extend his streak of scoring in seven consecutive matches, his two assists still demonstrated his currently unshakable status and role in the team.

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