Kaka: I Choose My Brother

Early the next morning, Huang Kaiwen saw the public outcry against Materazzi in the newspapers.

It made sense; now that he, Huang, had been "persecuted," anyone standing against him was standing against political correctness.

La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote: "Materazzi is a very savage, vicious player. His fouls carry clear subjective intent; he wasn't going for the ball. He wanted to injure Kaiwen. Perhaps he thought, 'If you can score, I can injure you,' and Materazzi succeeded. This situation is absolutely unacceptable. Serie A should not indulge the likes of Materazzi; they must be made to know that fouls have consequences."

Ancelotti also called for stronger protection for talented players after the match. During his press conference, he said: "Those malicious acts cannot just be brushed aside. If an opponent commits such an assault and gets away with it, it means everyone is not taking this matter seriously. The referees must take action; otherwise, players will lose the opportunity to participate in important matches. Unfortunately, this happens all too often. We must take action, and we must be firm, for instance by showing yellow cards. I reiterate once again: protect the talented players of the football world! At the same time, we must increase the punishment for malicious fouls. Materazzi clearly isn't doing this for the first time."

Huang Kaiwen shook his head and put down the newspaper. Materazzi was just too unlucky.

Injuring someone else might have been fine, but injuring him, Huang, meant certain doom.

Sure enough, that afternoon, the Italian Football Federation announced on its website that Materazzi would be suspended for an additional eight matches.

Even so, Milan fans were not willing to forgive him easily.

In impromptu television interviews, the citizens of Milan looked like they wanted to hang Materazzi from the gallows.

European netizens were even more aggressive in their condemnation of Materazzi. Perhaps because they didn't have to show their faces, they were even more radical than the Milan fans on television.

After putting down his laptop, Huang Kaiwen patted his chest. Cyberbullying was truly terrifying; it was a good thing he was the perpetrator.

Next, Milan's schedule was extremely tight.

There was a match every two days.

Fortunately, this schedule and Huang Kaiwen's absence did not affect the team's form. In their last two matches of October, Milan defeated Sampdoria 3:0 and Atalanta 1:0, respectively.

Midnight, November 1st.

Having just coaxed the young lady to sleep, Huang Kaiwen was full of anticipation for the store refresh.

[Free Kick Master] 1000 Destiny Points, [Pele Template] 10000 points, [24-Hour Injury Immunity Card] 20 points, [24-Hour Hardening Potion] 20 points, [Massage Mastery] 100 points, [Skill: Growth-Type Ball Sense] 200 points.

There were indeed more items than before.

He bought the [Immunity Card] as usual, then Huang Kaiwen felt a bit suspicious about the newly appeared potion. That "hardening" in the potion's name—was it the kind of hardening he was thinking of?

But suspicion aside, he bought it anyway.

Young people should be brave enough to try new things.

The new skill that appeared in this refresh was also purchased.

After some spending, his original [Destiny Points] dropped from 340 to 100.

[Skill: Growth-Type Ball Sense—Diligence makes up for clumsiness. Don't be afraid if your natural ball sense isn't great; as long as you put in the work, you too can be a Ronaldinho. The harder you work on the training ground, the higher the return.]

Ah.

This skill was actually quite good; it could solve his problem of poor ball sense.

But Huang Kaiwen felt this skill didn't really suit him. How to put it? "The harder you work, the better you get"—wasn't that just a scam for little fools? He wanted to skip the effort phase and go straight to enjoying the results.

After this injury, he had finally returned to the good life of collecting a salary without having to play football. Why would he want to start working hard again?

Whatever, better than nothing.

With his body, training too much would just lead to more injuries.

A few days later, Caroline, who was on summer vacation, arrived in Milan.

In Brazil, temperatures started hitting nearly 30°C in November and wouldn't drop until late January or February.

Aside from playing football, Kaka spent his time hanging out everywhere with Huang Kaiwen and Caroline.

Most often, the two of them would come to Huang Kaiwen's house, where Caroline and Barbara would watch the two players play PS.

And when Kaka was training or playing matches, Huang Kaiwen was responsible for taking care of Caroline.

It is worth mentioning that Barcelona returned to their home stadium and successfully avenged their loss to Milan with a 2:1 victory, which made them very smug.

La Gazzetta dello Sport felt their win was dishonorable, taking advantage of Huang Kaiwen's injury to launch a sneak attack.

Then they got into a war of words with Mundo Deportivo.

Entering December, Huang Kaiwen clearly felt that Caroline's attitude toward him had changed.

Even her voice was gentle, and she would occasionally act coquettishly toward him.

Huang Kaiwen could only sigh: it wasn't that he, Huang Kaiwen, had betrayed his brother, but that Caroline lacked willpower. If anyone was to be blamed, it could only be his own immense charm.

Having seen this outcome previously in [Destiny Manifestation], Huang Kaiwen had some mental preparation.

But when facing it for real, he was still a bit at a loss.

Faced with Caroline's overt and subtle hints, Huang Kaiwen could only play dumb.

On December 18th, the final match of 2004 for Milan ended in a 0:0 draw.

On the way to the hotel where Kaka was dropping Caroline off, Caroline pulled Kaka to a secluded spot and stopped.

Kaka, a devout Catholic, did not accept premarital cohabitation, and Caroline was also a believer.

"Ricardo, there is something I want to tell you."

Caroline's expression shifted several times before she finally looked at Kaka with a determined face.

"It's a bit cold. Can't we talk about this inside the hotel lobby?"

Kaka complained, tightening the scarf around his neck.

"No, I must make this clear to you today."

Caroline gritted her teeth and said to Kaka: "I've realized that I like Kaiwen, so I want to break up with you."

Boom—

Kaka's mind was in total chaos.

He had been cuckolded; what should he do?

Was I dumped? Can I finally stop hiding my identity as the Son of Destiny?

Or should he say, "Don't bully the young for being poor; the river flows east for thirty years, then west for thirty years"?

"How long has it been?" Kaka asked, biting his lip.

"How long has what been?"

"I'm asking how long you two have been together."

"We aren't together. He doesn't want to accept me; it's probably because of you."

Hearing this, Kaka breathed a sigh of relief.

So, Kaiwen hadn't betrayed him.

Caroline didn't notice Kaka's changing expression and continued on her own: "So I hope we can break up first. I know you're a good person, but no one can control their feelings. Although I feel a bit sorry for you, please forgive my selfishness and agree to my request..."

"I agree," Kaka said, nodding.

"You should be more carefree... wait, you agree?"

Caroline widened her eyes and looked at Kaka.

"Yeah."

"Alright then."

Caroline had thought Kaka would pester her, but she hadn't expected him to give up so quickly. It wasn't quite what she had imagined.

"Well then, I'm going back to the hotel. You don't need to see me off. Take care of yourself, Ricardo."

Caroline turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Caroline turned back, pleasantly surprised. She knew Kaka couldn't bear to let her go; having too much charm was truly troublesome.

"I won't interfere with your business, but don't you hurt Kaiwen. Also, try to handle this properly; you must not affect my relationship with Kaiwen."

After saying that, Kaka turned and walked away with a swagger.

Caroline stood frozen in place, watching Kaka's back.

Suddenly, snowflakes began to drift down from the sky.

Thank you to all the big bosses for your recommendation votes. I will definitely write the bonus chapter for the recommendation votes tomorrow. Please look forward to it, mwah!