"Nicely done, son. By the way, your Italian is excellent."
Ancelotti led Huang Kaiwen toward the players' tunnel, remembering to tell his assistant coach to seek help.
Since the trip to China involved signing several commercial contracts, the club had brought along its legal team. Now Ancelotti needed to get a professional contract drawn up as quickly as possible, then sign Huang Kaiwen.
Until the deal was signed, he absolutely couldn't let the kid out of his sight.
The organizers looked unhappy when Ancelotti left. There was still an important group photo session to get through.
With the manager gone, the remaining Milan players would just have to suffer through it.
Maldini was in an excellent mood. The result of a friendly didn't matter. The last-minute winner had felt great, but in the grand scheme of things, it was insignificant.
He wouldn't have cared even if Shenhua had scored double digits against them that day. At most, it would have been a little embarrassing.
What really made him happy was Huang Kaiwen's unexpected arrival.
At 36, with his playing career nearing its end, seeing the team sign a super talent at a time like this was truly wonderful.
He even felt it was a gift from God to him and Milan.
"That kid's really good."
"Yeah, I can feel how much potential he has."
"How old is he? Is he a professional player in China? The boss seems to be signing him, so he'll be our teammate."
"That's fantastic. We've got Kaka and Shevchenko, and now we're signing that kid too. We'll definitely make an impact next season. Maybe we can win another Champions League trophy."
"I never expected us to come away with something like this from our trip to China."
The Milan players, who hadn't been thrilled about the group photo earlier, were now grinning from ear to ear and cooperating enthusiastically with the organizers.
Meanwhile, in the locker room, Ancelotti chatted idly with Huang Kaiwen.
"Carlo, you're going to offer me a contract, right?"
"Yes. We'll sign you. Don't worry, Milan will offer you fair terms."
Milan hadn't fallen into decline yet, so he had good reason to say that.
People said Milan had signed the older Donnarumma just to keep "Money Donnarumma" happy. In reality, Milan had already signed Kaka's younger brother, Digao, to keep Kaka onside. His salary was also one million euros—the same as the elder Donnarumma's. Digao had earned that much at Milan more than a decade earlier, thanks to his brother. His salary was even higher than that of some Serie A starters.
Huang Kaiwen had considered finding a lawyer.
But in 2004, domestic lawyers had no experience handling sports contracts. Even during the Chinese Super League's big-spending era, Chinese clubs had been taken advantage of by foreign players because their contracts weren't professionally prepared.
So he couldn't be bothered to make a fuss.
He was just a lucky bum, anyway. It didn't matter whether the contract was a good deal or not. He could understand simple clauses, and he wouldn't agree to anything complicated. Even if they did take advantage of him, it wasn't a big deal.
Compared with his life, a little time or money didn't matter.
There was a popular line on the forums: "Maybe I should eat another five kilos, otherwise I won't feel right taking this money." He'd been given a second chance at life and the chance to become a professional player, perhaps with a handsome salary too.
That was such a generous reward that Huang Kaiwen felt a little uneasy.
Nearly an hour later, after the event and post-match press conference had been over for quite some time, the assistant coach finally brought the contract.
The Milan players gathered around to watch, too.
"Good grief, 2.5 million euros after tax?"
"Is that for real? I read in the papers that Kaka was on 2.5 million after tax before he renewed."
Huang Kaiwen's eyes lit up. The exchange rate was 1 to 10.3, so his annual take-home pay would be nearly 26 million yuan. It was incredible.
He hadn't expected Milan to make such a generous offer.
When Ancelotti saw him sitting there without signing, he asked anxiously, "Is something bothering you?"
"No, I'm just reading through the terms."
"If there's anything you don't like, you can bring it up. By the way, what number would you like?" Ancelotti asked carefully.
"Seven or ten."
The moment Huang Kaiwen said it, the Milan locker room fell silent.
The number 7 shirt belonged to the team's president, Andrei Shevchenko. Even if you were a genius, you couldn't take Shevchenko's shirt.
The number 10 shirt also belonged to a famous player: Portuguese star Rui Costa.
Three years earlier, Rui Costa had joined AC Milan for a record-breaking 42 million euros, the biggest transfer fee in the club's history.
Ancelotti's smile froze. He regretted opening his mouth.
Seeing this, Maldini said at once, "Go ahead and sign. I'll call them and ask. I'll make sure you're happy. If not, I'll give you my number 3."
Huang Kaiwen was stunned.
Was Maldini trying to get him in trouble?
Who was he to take Maldini's shirt? Everyone knew that when Maldini retired, the number 3 shirt would retire with him.
It was the most meaningful number at Milan. In the future, the only people who could wear it in his place would be members of the Maldini family.
After Huang Kaiwen signed the contract, the system gave him a notification.
[Quest complete: Sign with a G14 powerhouse. All physical ailments have been eliminated, and your body has returned to health. The system will now update to the full version. Estimated update time: 72 hours.]
But Huang Kaiwen didn't feel a thing.
His liver cancer hadn't caused any symptoms in the first place. It would only cause pain around the liver in its late stages, before killing him quickly. He was still young, so he hadn't shown a single sign of it. Without a medical checkup, it would never have been discovered.
At last, his life was no longer in danger. He happily joined the Milan players for dinner.
Ancelotti had wanted to switch to Chinese food to accommodate him, but Huang Kaiwen refused.
He had just joined the team and received an astronomical salary. If he also got special treatment in every other way, wouldn't everyone start resenting him?
As the new guy, no matter how talented he was, he shouldn't try to stand out.
There were too many old sayings about how a tree that stood above the others would be battered by the wind. They were all the wisdom of his ancestors.
Besides, once his trial card expired, he'd become a wage thief. The more privileges he enjoyed at first, the harder the team would ostracize him later.
So he didn't need special treatment. He also wanted to follow the example of Carlos Kaiser and become one of the most popular people on the team.
How hard could it be to take his teammates out chasing women? He could do that too.
At dinner that evening, Huang Kaiwen went out of his way to flatter everyone, and the Milan players warmed to him.
He went home to pack. When he saw the team the next day, Maldini brought him good news: "Rui Costa agreed to switch to number 14."
That same day, Ancelotti and AC Milan couldn't wait. Before boarding their plane, they held a press conference in Shanghu.
The press conference venue was packed with reporters. People were even crowded outside the entrance.
Huang Kaiwen and Ancelotti signed the prepared contract as a formality, then raised a red-and-black striped number 10 shirt with Huang Kaiwen's name on it.
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