When Fernandez walked into the dressing room and found all the players getting along happily, he said he was pleased. Seeing Zhang Kuang beaming with delight, he sighed... There was too much he wanted to say. Forget it. He was getting old, always with so many words he wanted to say but never did. Let it be. As long as Zhang kept scoring in every match, he did not want to bother with anything else.
Fernandez clapped his hands. "If anyone underestimates the opposition in the next league match because of our winning streak and something goes wrong, today's joy will become your shame in a few days.
"Don't start letting yourselves go just because you've won a few matches in a row. If anyone dares to drop the ball next time, get ready for a caning."
The players immediately put away their relaxed expressions and all said they would give it their all.
Then everyone packed up and, led by the team manager, set off back to Auxerre.
But the moment Zhang Kuang switched on his backup phone, he blew up. This number was done for. He would have to get a new one.
He had just switched off his backup phone when his main phone lit up again.
He glanced at it-not Jonathan, not Aisha, not those three Middle Eastern girls, but an unfamiliar number.
"Mr. Zhang Kuang, I'm Jason Wilson, a reporter with The Sun. I hope to have an opportunity to speak with you. My contact details are..."
"Fuck," Zhang Kuang swore.
The Sun. Britain's most notorious gossip tabloid, the one that specialized in digging up football stars' scandalous affairs.
They had even gotten hold of his number.
Zhang Kuang did not reply. Instead, he concentrated on using his phone to refresh the news.
Reading the news about himself, he felt something he could not quite name, something immensely complicated that he did not know how to express.
France's L'Équipe-A cool-headed blade
"The 4-0 scoreline left Saint-Étienne utterly humiliated, but Yoann's tackle was even more controversial. In truth, the real hot topic was not on the pitch, but the gossip about Chinese Zhang bedding four women in one night. This is not the sort of controversy a football superstar should be embroiled in."
Britain's The Times-The fine line between genius and bastard
"Football needs geniuses, but when that genius is utterly promiscuous, how far can his path of genius take him? Of course, let us not bring up Rooney just yet. He started hiring prostitutes at sixteen."
Germany's Bild-The bloodshed sparked by a single tackle
"In a match in round 22 of Ligue 1, Saint-Étienne could not stomach Chinese forward Zhang scoring four goals and viciously went in with a dirty tackle, trying to break Chinese Zhang's leg with one kick, only to send their own man to hospital."
Spain's Marca-The most distinctive genius since Messi
"Zhang Kuang's playing style recalls a young Cristiano Ronaldo, but his personality-that undisguised anger and flamboyance on the pitch-offers a glimpse of another Ronaldo. Not the Brazilian one, but the Portuguese one."
Italy's Milan Sports Newspaper-The shadow behind 4-0
"Auxerre, a team in the upper reaches of Ligue 1, secured a splendid victory, but Zhang Kuang's off-field news is eating away at his talent. Parties, girls, controversy-these keywords are replacing goals, assists, and trophies."
America's ESPN-The new king of chaos
"Auxerre's number 33 is becoming football's most talked-about figure. His skills are beyond question, but his private life is equally 'spectacular.'
"One party, four girls-this is hardly rare in professional sports, but when it happens to Zhang Kuang, it becomes a global headline."
Argentina's Olé-Messi is simply quietly great; he chooses another way!
"Messi earns respect through silence; Zhang Kuang trades controversy for attention. Perhaps this is football in the new era-skill and attention matter equally."
Japan's Sports Japan-Asia's pride or Asia's shame?
"As an Asian player, Zhang Kuang's success in the five major leagues is exhilarating. But his conduct-whether his celebrations on the pitch or his private life off it-challenges the traditionally humble image of Asian players. Is he Asia's pride, or Asia's shame?"
South Korea's Naver Sports-His confidence is something we cannot learn!
"South Korean players are known abroad for discipline and diligence. Zhang Kuang's talent is beyond question, but if a South Korean player behaved as he does, public opinion would probably tear him to pieces. Perhaps this is a cultural difference-or simply his personal choice."
China's Titan Sports-How should we define Zhang Kuang?
"He is the most gifted player in the history of Chinese football, bar none. But he is also its most controversial player-from a goal machine on the pitch to a storm over parties off it, Zhang Kuang is becoming a complicated person. Perhaps we should not define him with a single label. Genius, bastard, idol, villain-he can be all of these at once."
Besides these news reports, Zhang Kuang also browsed discussions about him on some major websites around the world:
"Chinese football has produced just one genius in decades who can actually hold his own. It's one thing not to protect him, but you're joining the foreign media in attacking him? The foreign media attack him because he's beaten them into submission. Why are you attacking him? Been on your knees so long you can't stand up?" (87,000 likes)
"The party thing-what's wrong with four girls? He's single, rich, and good-looking. He can have whatever fun he wants. What are you so sour about?" (52,000 likes)
"His football skills are genuinely awesome, but his character really is awful. Hooking up with girls at parties, disrespecting his peers back home, insulting the authorities-is this still a professional footballer? Isn't this an internet celebrity?" (61,000 likes)
"Chinese people value humility and keeping a low profile. Zhang Kuang certainly lives up to a name that means wild arrogance. But too much arrogance is just asking for trouble. The foreign media aren't attacking him without reason." (43,000 likes)
"Making art with four girls? Looks more like performance art to me. This sort of private life will come back to bite his career sooner or later. How many geniuses have been ruined by women and parties?" (38,000 likes)
"Zhang Kuang: I'm wild on the pitch, and I'm wild off it too. So what? If you could score four in one match, you could be wild too." (99,000 likes)
"Honestly, watching him play is now just as entertaining as following his off-field news. Football's Kardashian Family." (56,000 likes)
"When Yoann tackled him, I thought, 'That's it, he's going to get hurt.' When he stood up and wanted to keep playing, I thought, 'This kid is tough. He's got a future.' When news of his chaotic party came back, I thought, 'That's it, this kid really won't give anyone a moment's peace.'" (32,000 likes)
"Serious discussion: where do Zhang Kuang's football skills rank in Asian history?"
"First. No discussion needed. Cha Bum-kun, Hidetoshi Nakata, Park Ji-sung-those players certainly achieved a lot, but purely in terms of talent and technique, Zhang Kuang is on another level. He can change the course of a match through his individual ability."
"No argument that his football skills rank first, but there's no argument that his character ranks dead last either."
"You expect an eighteen-year-old football prodigy to live like an old cadre? Wake up. Cristiano Ronaldo was flying all over the world at eighteen too."
Meanwhile, at London Heathrow Airport.
The Sun reporter Jason Wilson and his photographer partner Mark Thompson boarded the last flight to Paris.
Jason was in his early forties, his hair already thinning, but his eyes were exceptionally sharp. He had been in this line of work for nearly twenty years and had dug up countless scandals involving football stars-
Beckham's affair, Rooney's prostitution scandal, Cristiano Ronaldo hiring prostitutes after a match... His fingerprints were on all those headlines that had caused such a sensation.
"Why are you so interested in that Chinese guy?" Mark asked as he fastened his seat belt. "An eighteen-year-old kid-is he worth you making the trip yourself?"
Jason opened his notebook. It was densely covered with French words and people's names, some circled, others linked by arrows, like a complicated web of connections.
"Mark, do you know how hot this Chinese kid is right now?"