I Lost 10 Billion

Huang Kaiwen spent the whole night preoccupied, not even sleeping with Barbara.

Early the next morning, he received a call from the club's vice chairman, the "four-nation European tournament champion" Galliani.

"Kaiwen, I have good news for you. Your performance yesterday caught the attention of many people."

"Ah... okay, but Mr. Vice Chairman, it's only 8 o'clock."

Huang Kaiwen, suffering from insomnia, hadn't fallen asleep until 3 a.m. and had only slept for five hours.

"Vice chairman, vice chairman," Galliani corrected him, suppressing his excitement as he advised: "You are still young. Young people should practice some restraint, otherwise you will end up retiring early like those Brazilians."

"Fine, if that's all you called for, then thank you. I'd like to continue sleeping. By the way, Barbara and I didn't sleep together yesterday."

"No, no, no, don't hang up yet."

Galliani hurriedly said: "Come to the club when you wake up. Your performance yesterday attracted a large number of sponsors, and they are all very interested in your personal endorsements."

Upon hearing this, Huang Kaiwen perked up.

If someone was coming to deliver money, that was great.

"Have the sponsors arrived, Mr. Vice Chairman?"

"Most of them have. They flew in from all over Europe, and they all want to sign you."

"Okay, I'll be there right away!"

Huang Kaiwen said excitedly.

He had been worried about not having enough money to bet on Greece, but now that people were bringing him money, he was slightly concerned about whether William Hill could handle his betting slip.

"Barbara, wake up~"

Huang Kaiwen went to the master bedroom, pulled back the quilt, and gave the young lady a pat on her most prominent asset.

"Annoying, I didn't sleep well at all by myself yesterday."

Barbara grabbed Huang Kaiwen, pulled him onto the bed, and started stripping him.

Huang Kaiwen could only silently apologize to the bald Galliani; it wasn't that he, Huang, didn't want to be punctual.

At noon, when they arrived at the club, they saw many people in the team meeting room.

Galliani stood up and told him: "These are all brand representatives. The club has already hired a lawyer for you in advance. As a big star, you need an agent. I know a pretty good guy; I'll introduce you to him later."

"Uh, okay, thank you."

Huang Kaiwen nodded, but he had no intention of accepting the agent Galliani recommended.

It wasn't certain how many years he would even play in Milan, and getting too entangled with the right-hand man of Mr. Berlusconi wouldn't be good.

He found it a bit strange that Galliani had gathered all the sponsors together, but after a moment of thought, Huang Kaiwen realized why.

The bald man was truly cunning; having everyone together created a bidding war.

No wonder the old guy could ride a bicycle all over Europe to sign free agents.

After a brief introduction to the lawyer the club had hired to handle his contracts, a man named Sampaoli, the lawyer warned: "You must not agree to them easily. After your debut yesterday, everyone has already decided that once the season starts, you will display unparalleled strength. Therefore, your compensation should be close to, if not on par with, Zidane."

"Oh, okay."

Huang Kaiwen hadn't expected the outside world to have such high expectations for him.

The expected value must be quite high, then.

Speaking of which, his toe was injured yesterday, and he was speechless. He really was prone to injury; if he were actually playing a match with physical contact, it probably wouldn't just be a minor injury like this.

"We at Adidas are already sponsors of AC Milan, so we hope to sign a personal endorsement contract with you. Adidas is willing to sign you for 5 years at 1.2 million euros per year."

A man with a distinctly Germanic look spoke first.

"Heh," someone immediately laughed disdainfully, "I didn't expect you guys to react so quickly this time, but the money offered is too little. Nike is willing to sign you for a 3-year personal endorsement for 2.5 million euros, with a 10% increase each year. After 3 years, we will re-evaluate your endorsement contract based on market rates."

"None of them are sincere," Sampaoli whispered, covering his mouth. "You have a massive Asian market behind you. China alone can make them a lot of money. It didn't matter before because China didn't have a star worth signing, but given the vast market of your country, your endorsement fees should be the highest in the football world."

"Hmm, you handle it."

Huang Kaiwen nodded calmly. In his past life, he was just an old shut-in who wrote novels; he had written about such scenes but never experienced them. This lawyer seemed reliable, so he would let the professional handle it.

Because Huang Kaiwen requested it, Sampaoli fought for brands that could pay immediately.

In the end, he signed with over 20 brands including Nike, Castrol, Citibank, Coca-Cola, Pro Evolution Soccer, Fendi, and Gatorade, covering endorsements in every field from clothing and food to transportation and daily use.

He immediately received payments totaling over 7 million euros, and after these people communicated with their superiors, they would send him more. Adding the 1 million advanced from the club and the 200,000 signing bonus, he could scrape together 13.2 million today.

These endorsements alone would bring him 12 million euros in income every year in the future.

Sampaoli said there would be more sponsors in the future, including those from his homeland, China.

His nationality was simply too much of an advantage.

China, combined with other Asian countries, made his commercial value far exceed that of any other player in European football, and there were no substitutes.

Signing now was already a significant loss.

If he could play steadily for half a season, Sampaoli was confident he could get them to pay double.

Huang Kaiwen rolled his eyes.

If he played for half a season, his cover would be blown. Milan might even change the lock on his locker in the dressing room. If possible, he would rather sign a lifetime endorsement with them at a low price.

If this lawyer hadn't stopped him with all his might, he would have accepted Nike's 8-year contract.

In any case, under his suggestion and Sampaoli's aggressive negotiation, his endorsement contracts had no requirements for the number of appearances. Otherwise, even for top European players, there were requirements for seasonal appearances; if they were out for a season with a major injury, the brand would lose out due to a lack of exposure.

The brands were also afraid of complications. Although there was a gambling element involved, signing Huang Kaiwen early was clearly more profitable. Besides, Huang Kaiwen couldn't be injured all the time, so they didn't mind as a gesture of sincerity.

After getting the money, a very excited Huang Kaiwen grabbed Barbara and wanted to go place his bets.

Barbara stared at him with wide eyes: "You want to bet 12 million on Greece?"

"Yeah, I trust my intuition, and I trust Rehhagel."

Huang Kaiwen nodded.

"You are absolutely insane," Barbara scratched her hair vigorously, unable to understand such a crazy move. In her eyes, betting on Greece was no different from giving the money away.

"Trust me, otherwise I'll take a taxi there myself."

"...Phew," Barbara let out a long sigh before speaking: "Even if I believe you, you need to know that players are not allowed to participate in this kind of betting."

Huang Kaiwen: ...???

What the hell did you just say?

He saw this morning that the odds for Greece were already 81. If he bet 12 million and Greece won the championship, that would be 972 million euros—over 10 billion in RMB.

And now you're telling me players aren't allowed to bet?

Is it too late for me to retire now?

If I don't bet, didn't I just lose 10 billion?

Suddenly struck by this massive blow, Huang Kaiwen slumped in the passenger seat like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.