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"Lance—"
"The ball is in!!!"
"A bicycle kick from the byline, can you believe it?"
"This is football! How can you not love football!!!"
"When everyone thought the ball was definitely going out of bounds, when everyone thought there was no chance of scoring!"
"Lance turned the impossible into possible!"
"2-2!!! In injury time! Lance helped Bayer Leverkusen equalise!"
On the phone, although the 480p image was a bit blurry, Jian Jun's commentary made the goal incredibly vivid.
Faced with such a world-shattering goal, the picture quality, the commentary—none of it mattered anymore.
Who wouldn't be excited just watching that goal?
Even after watching it countless times, even after staying up all night yesterday, Li Xin in the classroom was still surging with excitement, completely without any sleepiness.
The teacher on the podium was reading from the PPT, whilst others in the classroom were either chatting or sleeping.
After all, it was only early May, and there was still plenty of time before the final exam key points were highlighted.
Why listen so attentively to university lectures?
Li Xin was hunched over his desk, wearing headphones, the other end of which was with Xiao Yue.
Their relationship had just made a breakthrough recently, and they were currently in the honeymoon phase, Xiao Yue wished she could stick to Li Xin all the time.
The other classmates were also very understanding, completely giving up the last row to this young couple.
Who would have thought that the two of them were actually watching a goal compilation!
This was far too unromantic!
"How about it, isn't that a beautiful goal? Isn't God Lance handsome?"
"Of course, it's really brilliant."
"Then is God Lance more handsome, or am I?"
"Do you even need to ask?"
Xiao Yue's beautiful eyes sparkled, sending him a flirtatious glance.
"Hehehe, you praising me like this makes me embarrassed," Li Xin scratched the back of his head.
"Who's praising you? I mean God Lance is definitely more handsome, you're far from him."
"This…"
Li Xin almost choked.
Seeing his deflated expression, Xiao Yue was overjoyed.
"Alright, I won't tease you anymore, I also watched the match yesterday."
"Ah? No wonder you have dark circles under your eyes. Wait, you usually don't watch matches, do you?"
Li Xin was puzzled.
"It's all because of you," Xiao Yue gave Li Xin a playful glare.
"Someone insisted on watching the match at a crucial moment in the hotel room."
"I didn't… Xiao Yue, I…"
Such an embarrassing story made Li Xin blush.
"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore."
The honest, straightforward football fan was really not good at being teased, and Xiao Yue found it endlessly amusing.
However, it was truly because of Li Xin, ever since she was introduced to the player Lance, Xiao Yue had also fallen into the rabbit hole.
Many people initially aren't interested in football, falling for it because of looks is standard practice.
Many people fell in love with football because of Beckham, Kaká, Torres, Neymar, and others.
Lance's physique and looks, which instantly outshone male idol groups, coupled with his elegant and nimble playing style, made it hard not to like him.
Xiao Yue only vaguely understood the rules of football, and to this day, she still didn't understand what offside was.
Yet, she still watched last night's match with a pounding heart.
Alone in her dorm, hugging her tablet, she almost screamed with excitement when Lance scored.
Luckily, she bit down hard on her blanket to avoid waking her roommates.
"By the way, they're 2-2 now, does that mean they can make it to the final?"
"Well…"
Li Xin could hardly imagine that one day he would be able to talk about football with his girlfriend.
For a football fan, he wondered how much good karma he had accumulated in his past life.
"The Champions League semi-final is a two-legged home-and-away tie. Actually, Barcelona has a slight advantage for now. The next leg is at Barcelona's home stadium, so Bayer Leverkusen's situation isn't looking too good."
"Ah? They… won't make it to the final?"
"Don't worry, with God Lance there, they definitely can. I believe in God Lance!"
What about Camp Nou?
Lance's bicycle kick from the byline at 0-degree angle, scoring a last-minute equaliser, is a century goal that will surely secure this year's Puskás Award, a brilliant moment worthy of being etched into the long river of football history.
In Li Xin's eyes, Lance was already an omnipotent god.
"Okay, for the next match, should we watch it together?"
"But, next week is Wednesday night, and it's not convenient in the dorm. Are you… are you coming to my dorm?"
"What are you thinking?!"
Xiao Yue playfully pinched Li Xin's waist hard, making him yelp in pain.
"I mean, we can watch it online at the same time."
"Sounds good… Ow! You have a really heavy hand, you're trying to murder your husband!"
"Bah, bah, bah, who wants to marry you?"
"Hiss—you're still pinching?"
The students in the front row couldn't help but turn back to observe the commotion behind them, shaking their heads with a sour expression.
"The world is going downhill!"
"Oi, it's class time, don't be too arrogant, you two."
"Puskás Award Reserved! 0-Degree Bicycle Kick, God Descends! Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Barcelona Equaliser!"
"Lance Draws with MSN, Experts Predict Bayer Leverkusen Will Miss the Final in the Second Leg, 3 Factors Lead to Absolute Disadvantage Against Barcelona"
"Messi: We Will Eliminate Bayer Leverkusen at Home, Lance is a Respectable Opponent"
"Barcelona Coach: It's a Bit Regrettable We Couldn't Win the First Leg, This Was the Toughest Match of the Season"
Whether it was trending on Weibo or on foreign social media, the past few days had completely exploded.
"Holy crap!! Lance is simply divine!!"
"Who understands this goal! Mum asked me why I'm watching the match on my knees."
"I was so excited last night, the neighbours almost called the police."
"I still haven't slept, my mind is still replaying that goal."
"Please turn this goal into a QR code and engrave it on my tombstone."
"If you ask me, MSN combined isn't even as good as one hair on God Lance."
"Messi fans say God Lance is awesome."
"Cristiano Ronaldo fans confirm, best goal of the year!"
"Bayer Leverkusen, is there hope of reaching the final?"
"It's tough… Barcelona has a perfect home record this season."
In the other half of the bracket, Juventus 2-1 Bayern Munich, this match had no buzz at all.
All the online attention was completely drawn to Bayer Leverkusen's 2-2 draw with Barcelona.
Whether it was MSN's early two-goal lead, or Lance's brace in the second half to complete the equaliser, or the miraculous 0-degree bicycle kick from the byline in injury time, every angle provided excellent hot news material.
Just look at the reporters at the entrance of the Bayer Leverkusen training ground; it had been three days, and Bayer Leverkusen was about to face Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Yet, the reporters' questions were still focused on the match against Barcelona.
"Lance, look, so many reporters are here for you. Why can't I have a moment in the spotlight?"
Julian Brandt was filled with envy.
"Stop being so sour. If you have the ability, go score a bicycle kick from the byline too."
"I can't do that, this kind of goal only a madman like Lance can score… By the way, Lance, what were you thinking at the time?"
Looking at his teammates' curious eyes, Lance was speechless.
These days, reporters, coaches, fans, netizens—almost everyone wanted to know how Lance managed to score a direct bicycle kick from the byline.
A bicycle kick was one thing, but to score from there?
"It was an emergency situation, I didn't think much, just got lucky,"
Lance still gave a perfunctory answer, just like in the post-match MVP interview.
Otherwise, he couldn't explain the effect of the Tiger Shot.
After failing to score 4 out of 4 shots, the next shot, no matter where it was or how it was taken, was a guaranteed goal.
One could only say that when the system was unreasonable, it was truly beyond all reason.
Speaking of which, this could already be considered a Captain Tsubasa skill, right?
Forget it.
Lance wasn't dwelling on these things; his mind was entirely focused on the ultimate showdown with Barcelona in the second leg.
The regret of not making it to the final last season, the regret of not winning the last home match, this time, it must be settled!
"Can it be done? The Champions League final!"
Bang—
Lance poured all his regrets and defiance into the football, blasting it into the goal.
A crisp scoring sound echoed through the Bayer Leverkusen training ground.
Five days later, everything would be revealed!