A New Season, a New Challenge

The players spent their holidays in different ways.

On Chen Anno's social media feed, he saw his friends sharing their happy moments every day.

For example, Neymar's beaches, yachts, and parties.

Then there were Henderson's photos from the beaches of Hawaii with his family, beaming as he held his child.

There were also disciplined veterans like Milner, whose posts were mostly hiking through mountains and forests or visiting golf courses, always captioned with earnest words of encouragement.

And of course, there was Mane, who returned to Senegal to do charity work with his family, giving football boots and backpacks to children in his hometown. In the photos, he crouched amid a group of thin, dark-skinned children, grinning with a mouthful of white teeth. That was another kind of positive energy.

Most others were actually much like Chen Anno, returning home to spend time with their families and enjoy the rare chance to reunite.

Aubameyang was one of them. He returned to France almost every holiday, and he had called Chen Anno two days earlier, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.

He said that next season, he would be coming to the Premier League too.

His agent had already settled his personal terms with Arsenal. All that remained was the club's official announcement.

July 8.

After spending more than twenty days back home, Chen Anno finally set off for Europe.

First stop: Milan, Italy.

Anois's autumn launch show was held in Milan's Brera Design District, inside a renovated old factory.

Industrial steel frames blended with warm lighting as models emerged from the end of the runway to the music.

By the time Chen Anno arrived, the show was already drawing to a close.

He sat in the front row and watched Nicolas emerge from backstage in an off-white trench