All night, Huang Kaiwen was preoccupied with worry. He didn't even sleep with Barbara.
Early the next morning, he got a call from the club's vice president, Galliani, champion of the "Four-Country European Tournament."
"Kevin, I've got good news. Yesterday's performance caught a lot of people's attention."
"Ah... okay, but, Mr. President, it's only eight o'clock."
After a sleepless night, Huang Kaiwen had only fallen asleep at three. He'd gotten just five hours of sleep.
"Vice president, vice president," Galliani reminded him, holding back his excitement as he advised, "You're still young. Young people should learn some restraint, or you'll end up retiring early like those Brazilians."
"Fine. If that's all you called to say, then thanks. I'd like to go back to sleep. By the way, Barbara and I didn't sleep together last night."
"No, no, don't hang up yet."
Galliani hurriedly continued, "Come to the club once you've woken up. Your performance yesterday attracted a whole host of sponsors, and they're all very interested in personal endorsement deals with you."
At that, Huang Kaiwen perked right up.
Someone wanted to give him money? Great.
"Have the sponsors arrived, Mr. President?"
"Almost all of them. They've flown in from all over Europe, and they all want to sign you."
"Great, I'll be right over!"
Huang Kaiwen replied excitedly.
He'd been worried he wouldn't have enough money to buy Greece. Now that someone was offering him money, he was a little concerned about whether William Hill could handle his bet.
"Barbara, wake up~"
Huang Kaiwen went into the master bedroom, pulled back the covers, and gave the young lady a smack on her most shapely spot.
"You're awful. I was so unhappy sleeping alone last night."
Barbara grabbed Huang Kaiwen, dragged him straight into bed, and started stripping him.
Huang Kaiwen could only apologize silently to Baldy Galliani. It wasn't that he, Huang Kaiwen, didn't care about being punctual.
At noon, when they finally arrived at the club, they saw a crowd of people in the team's meeting room.
Galliani stood up and told him, "They're all brand representatives. The club has already arranged a lawyer for you to handle the contracts. As a big star, you need an agent. I know a pretty decent guy. I'll introduce you later."
"Uh, okay. Thank you."
Huang Kaiwen nodded, though he had no intention of accepting an agent recommended by Baldy Galliani.
There was no telling how many years he'd be playing for Milan, and getting too entangled with Berlusconi's right-hand man at Milan wasn't a good idea.
He'd wondered why Galliani had gathered all the sponsors together, but after a moment's thought, Huang Kaiwen understood.
Baldy Galliani really was cunning. Putting them all together meant they'd have to compete with each other.
No wonder the old guy could ride his bike all over Europe and sign players on free transfers.
After a brief introduction to the lawyer the club had hired to handle his contracts, the man, named Sampaoli, reminded him, "Don't agree to anything too easily. After your debut yesterday, everyone is convinced you'll show unrivaled ability once the season starts. So your compensation should be close to Zidane's, at the very least."
"Oh, okay."
Huang Kaiwen hadn't realized that people outside the club had such high expectations of him.
Those expectations must be worth a lot.
Come to think of it, he'd injured his toe yesterday. He'd been speechless at how easily he got hurt. If this was a real match, with all the physical contact, he'd probably suffer more than a minor injury like that.
"We at Adidas already sponsor AC Milan, so we hope to sign you to a personal endorsement contract. Adidas is willing to sign you for five years at 1.2 million euros per year."
A man with distinctly German features was the first to speak.
"Heh." Someone else immediately scoffed. "I didn't expect you to react so quickly this time, but the offer's too low. Nike is willing to sign you to a three-year personal endorsement deal worth 2.5 million euros a year, with a 10% increase each year. After three years, we'll reassess your contract based on market rates."
"None of these offers show much sincerity," Sampaoli said quietly, covering his mouth. "You have an enormous Asian market behind you. China alone could make them a fortune. It's one thing that China didn't have any star players worth signing before, but given the size of your country's market, your endorsement fees should be the highest in football."
"Mm. You handle it."
Huang Kaiwen nodded without giving anything away. In his previous life, he'd been a shut-in who wrote online for a living. He'd written scenes like this, but never experienced one himself. The lawyer seemed reliable, so he'd leave it to the professional.
At Huang Kaiwen's request, Sampaoli negotiated only with brands that could pay immediately.
In the end, he signed with more than twenty brands, including Nike, Castrol, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Pro Evolution Soccer, Fendi, and Gatorade, for endorsements covering every aspect of daily life.
He immediately received more than seven million euros in payments. The sponsors would send more once they'd talked things over with their superiors. Adding the one million he'd borrowed in advance from the club and his 200,000-euro signing bonus, he could scrape together 13.2 million today.
These endorsements alone would bring him another 12 million euros a year in the future.
Sampaoli said even more sponsors would come along later, including ones from his homeland, China.
His greatest advantage was his nationality.
China and the rest of Asia made his commercial value far greater than that of any player in European football, and there was no one who could replace him.
Signing now had already cost them a lot.
If he played steadily for half a season, Sampaoli was confident he could get them to pay twice as much.
Huang Kaiwen rolled his eyes at that.
If he played half a season, he'd be exposed. Milan might even change the lock on his locker in the dressing room. If he could, he'd rather sign a lifetime endorsement deal with them at a low rate.
If the lawyer hadn't stopped him with all his might, he would've accepted Nike's eight-year contract.
At his suggestion, and with Sampaoli negotiating aggressively, none of Huang Kaiwen's endorsement contracts required him to make a certain number of appearances. Otherwise, even top players in Europe had appearance requirements for the season. If they suffered a major injury and missed the entire season, the brands would get no exposure and take a huge loss.
The brands were also afraid that the deal might fall through if they waited too long. It was a gamble, sure, but signing Huang Kaiwen early was clearly more profitable. And he couldn't possibly keep getting injured forever. They were happy to show a little sincerity.
Once he had the money, Huang Kaiwen was so excited that he dragged Barbara off to place a bet.
Barbara stared at him wide-eyed. "You want to bet 12 million on Greece?"
"Yeah. I trust my instincts, and I trust Rehhagel."
Huang Kaiwen nodded.
"You're absolutely crazy." Barbara ran her hands through her hair, unable to understand his reckless decision. As she saw it, betting on Greece was no different from giving the money away.
"Trust me, or I'll take a taxi by myself."
"...Phew." Barbara let out a long breath before she spoke. "Even if I believe you, you need to know that players aren't allowed to place bets like that."
Huang Kaiwen: ...???
What the hell was she saying?
That morning, he'd seen that Greece's odds were already 81 to 1. A 12-million bet would bring in 972 million euros if Greece won the championship. That was over 10 billion yuan.
And now she was telling him players weren't allowed to bet?
Could he still retire now?
If he couldn't bet, wouldn't he be missing out on 10 billion?
Badly shaken, Huang Kaiwen slumped in the passenger seat, like a salted fish that had lost all hope.
Before you continue