Early the next morning, Huang Kaiwen saw the papers condemning Materazzi.
It made sense. Now that he, Huang Kaiwen, had been "persecuted," anyone who stood against him was standing against political correctness.
La Gazzetta dello Sport wrote: "Materazzi is an extremely brutal, vicious player. His fouls are clearly deliberate. He wasn't going for the ball; he wanted to hurt Kaiwen. Perhaps he thought, 'If you can score, then I can hurt you.' And Materazzi succeeded. This is absolutely unacceptable. Serie A shouldn't tolerate players like Materazzi. They need to know that fouls have consequences."
Ancelotti also called for greater protection for gifted players after the match. In an interview with reporters, he said, "We can't just let such vicious behavior go. If an opponent attacks him like that and gets away with it, it means nobody is taking this seriously. The referees have to act. Otherwise, players will lose the chance to take part in important matches. Unfortunately, this sort of thing happens all the time. We have to act, and we have to be firm—for example, by showing a yellow card. I'll say it again: we must protect the gifted players in football! At the same time, we have to punish malicious fouls more severely. Materazzi clearly hasn't done this for the first time."
Huang Kaiwen shook his head and put down the paper. Materazzi had been terribly unlucky.
He might have gotten away with injuring someone else, but injuring him, Huang Kaiwen, meant he was as good as dead.
Sure enough, that afternoon the Italian Football Federation announced on its website that Materazzi had received an additional eight-match suspension.
Even so, Milan fans weren't willing to forgive him so easily.
When television stations went out to interview people, Milan residents would have loved to hang Materazzi from the gallows.
European internet users were even more united in condemning Materazzi. Perhaps because they didn't have to show their faces, they were even more extreme than the Milan fans on television.
After putting down his laptop, Huang Kaiwen patted his chest. Online abuse was terrifying. Good thing he was the one dishing it out.
Milan's schedule was very tight after that.
Their next match was only two days later.
Fortunately, the schedule—and Huang Kaiwen's absence—didn't affect the team's form. In their final two matches in October, Milan beat Sampdoria 3–0 and Atalanta 1–0.
Midnight on November 1.
After just getting the young lady to bed, Huang Kaiwen eagerly awaited the shop's refresh.
[Free Kick Master] 1,000 Fate Points, [Pele Template] 10,000 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 really was more stuff than before.
As usual, he bought the [Immunity Card]. Then Huang Kaiwen eyed the newly added potion with some suspicion. Did "hardening" mean the kind of hardening he was thinking of?
Still, despite his doubts, he bought it.
Young people should be brave enough to try new things.
He also bought the new skill that had appeared this time.
After spending a bit, his [Fate Points] dropped from 340 to 100.
[Skill: Growth-Type Ball Sense—Hard work makes up for natural shortcomings. Don't worry if you weren't born with a feel for the ball. Put in the effort, and you can be Ronaldinho too. The harder you train on the practice field, the greater the reward.]
Ah.
This skill really was pretty good. It could fix his poor ball sense.
But Huang Kaiwen didn't think it suited him. How should he put it? The harder you worked, the better you got—that was just something they told gullible kids, wasn't it? He wanted to skip the hard work and go straight to enjoying himself.
After getting injured, he'd finally returned to the good life of earning a salary without having to play football. Why was he being made to work hard again?
Never mind. It was better than nothing.
With this body of his, too much training would just get him injured.
A few days later, Caroline arrived in Milan for her summer vacation.
In Brazil, November was already close to thirty degrees. It wouldn't cool down until late January or February.
Apart from playing football, Kaka spent his time going out with Huang Kaiwen and Caroline.
Most often, the two of them went to Huang Kaiwen's place, where Caroline and Barbara watched the two players play PlayStation.
When Kaka was training or playing a match, Huang Kaiwen took care of Caroline.
One thing worth mentioning was that Barcelona had returned to their home ground and successfully taken revenge on Milan, winning 2–1. They were quite pleased with themselves.
La Gazzetta dello Sport thought their win was unsporting, since they'd taken advantage of Huang Kaiwen's injury to launch a sneak attack.
Then it got into a war of words with Mundo Deportivo.
By December, Huang Kaiwen could clearly feel that Caroline's attitude toward him had changed.
Even her voice had grown gentle, and now and then she acted coquettishly around him.
Huang Kaiwen could only sigh, It's not that I, Huang Kaiwen, have betrayed my brother. Caroline just has no self-control. If anyone's to blame, blame my irresistible charm.
He'd already seen this outcome in [Fate Reveal], so he'd been somewhat prepared.
But when he actually had to face it, he still felt a little at a loss.
Caroline's hints, both obvious and subtle, left Huang Kaiwen no choice but to play dumb.
On December 18, Milan played their final match of 2004. The two sides ended in a 0–0 draw.
As Kaka walked Caroline back to her hotel, she took him by the hand and led him to a quiet spot where few people were around.
Kaka was a devout Catholic and didn't believe in living together before marriage. Caroline was a believer too.
"Ricardo, there's something I want to talk to you about."
Caroline's expression shifted several times. At last, she looked at Kaka with determination.
"It's a little cold. Can't we talk about it in the hotel lobby?"
Kaka pulled his scarf tighter around his neck and complained.
"No. I have to talk this through with 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 went blank.
He'd been cheated on. What was he supposed to do?
My Engagement Was Broken Off, and at Last I Can No Longer Hide My Destiny as the Chosen One?
Or should he say, "Don't bully a poor young man; fortunes change over thirty years"?
"How long?" Kaka asked, biting his lip.
"How long what?"
"How long have you two been together?"
"We're not together. He doesn't want to accept me. It's probably because of you."
Kaka let out a breath of relief.
So Kaiwen hadn't betrayed him.
Caroline didn't notice the change in Kaka's expression. She went on, "So I hope we can break up first. I know you're a good person, but nobody can control matters of the heart. I know I'm being unfair to you, but please forgive my selfishness and agree to what I'm asking..."
"I agree."
Kaka nodded.
"You should take it gracefully... Ah, you agree?"
Caroline stared at Kaka, eyes wide.
"Mm."
"Then all right."
Caroline had thought Kaka would try to talk her out of it. She hadn't expected him to give up so quickly. It wasn't what she'd imagined.
"Well, all right, then. I'm going back to the hotel. You don't need to walk me back. Take care of yourself, Ricardo."
Caroline turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Caroline turned around, a little delighted. She'd known Kaka couldn't bear to lose her. Being too charming really was a nuisance.
"I don't care what you do, but don't hurt Kaiwen. And try to sort this out properly. Make sure it doesn't affect my relationship with Kaiwen."
With that, Kaka turned and walked away.
Caroline stood rooted to the spot, staring at Kaka's back.
Suddenly, snowflakes drifted down from Team Sky.
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