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Lance's prediction was verified.
When he dropped Ma Fanshu off at her hotel, she did indeed hesitate for a second, as if she wanted to say something but held back.
Is this how you test cadres?
After all, she was still a young woman who had just graduated, so she maintained a little bit of reserve.
If Lance had truly pursued her, she would have been linked to Lance as his rumoured girlfriend, which would undoubtedly have been a guaranteed number one trending topic, followed by a deep red [EXPLOSIVE] tag.
With that kind of traffic, what was an intern host position on tianxia football?
She would have become a top-tier internet celebrity within a short period, potentially reaching a peak that even the later wildly popular Bingbing might not have achieved.
Afterward, whether she pursued self-media or continued at CCTV, she would have a bright future.
In any case, if Lance had persisted a little longer, she would have symbolically resisted for a bit before playing hard to get.
But was Lance that kind of person?
Certainly not.
"Get some rest, see you in Madrid."
He took his jacket off her, turned around with an unwavering gaze, and Sister Ma hadn't even had time to say anything.
Lance, the Sigma Male, had already walked out of the hotel lobby.
"Hey! Wait!"
A myriad of thoughts flashed through Sister Ma's mind.
She finally found a clumsy excuse to ask him to stay, and in her haste, she almost twisted her ankle as she ran out in her high heels.
But after looking around for a long time outside, Lance's figure had already disappeared.
"Hmph! Do I have no charm? Sigh..."
Sister Ma sighed to herself and turned to walk towards the lift.
However, her eyes quickly regained a hint of sparkle.
"This shoot will last two weeks, there's still a chance... right?"
...
"What are you doing?"
On a WhatsApp video call, Chloe was lying on her university dorm bed, habitually wiggling her fair, delicate feet.
This was always her most comfortable position when video chatting with Lance.
Lance couldn't help but glance at the top of the video window several times, at one point wondering if he had some kind of jailer fetish.
It was also normal not to have one.
With such a cute girl showing her legs and feet, what normal man wouldn't take a second look?
"I just went for a walk, getting ready to go back and rest."
"Alone? No beautiful Spanish girls with you?"
Chloe propped her chin with her left hand, her pretty little face showing some adorable baby fat, a faint smile playing on her lips as she looked at him playfully.
Close call!
If Chloe had called just one minute earlier, she would have definitely run into Sister Ma.
"There are no beautiful Spanish girls, but there is the most beautiful German girl in the world accompanying me."
"Hehehe."
A German beauty?
Chloe, the silly girl, was initially nervous for half a second, then realised it was herself and lowered her head, becoming shy again, her feet wiggling with greater amplitude.
"Oh! You so sweet."
Although Lance was usually a straight-laced football player, Chloe couldn't resist the occasional sweet nothings he uttered.
On the way back to the hotel, the two kept the video call open, chatting about what they had eaten, the night view of Sevilla, and the match they had just watched.
The 5-minute journey felt exceptionally short.
Lance swiped his room card and entered, and both were a little reluctant to end the call.
Lance simply took his phone to the balcony and sat down, continuing his video call with Chloe.
"Lance, who is that? Your girlfriend?"
Griezmann, who was in the same room, wasn't asleep yet and couldn't help but want to peek.
"Go to sleep!"
Lance quickly moved his phone away.
Griezmann was shirtless, and he couldn't let a young girl see that.
Lance's first thought was that the only shirtless man she could see was himself!
"Hehehe..."
The girl said nothing, only giggling foolishly.
She had heard Griezmann's question, and the simple Spanish was not difficult to understand.
Lance hadn't explained just now.
Did that mean he also tacitly acknowledged their relationship?
Thinking of this, Chloe's heart fluttered.
What to do?
She really wanted to see him!
...
After defeating Real Betis and returning from the away game in Sevilla, the 5th round of the Champions League group stage was about to begin.
Atlético Madrid vs. Astana
Astana had lost all 4 matches, sitting at the bottom of the group with 0 points.
This kind of fringe team from Kazakhstan, came to the Champions League not to win, but purely for the ticket revenue and advertising share.
After all, for clubs outside the top five leagues that are just making up the numbers, advancing from the group stage is impossible.
Six matches guaranteed them six appearances.
The few million euros that top clubs looked down upon were a colossal sum for smaller clubs, enough to support their finances for several years.
Just coming was a profit.
Not to mention, whenever they encountered world-class giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, or Manchester United, if they could play an away game in Kazakhstan, welcoming such popular teams to their home ground, besides the considerable ticket revenue, it would also boost local tourism, accommodation, and cultural consumption.
What if they had 0 points in the group stage?
Making money was the real business.
Therefore, with Atlético Madrid having already secured their spot in the knockout stage, Lance, Griezmann, Torres, and other key players were all rotated.
Lance didn't even make the squad list.
The remaining two Champions League matches were more about giving young players a chance to gain experience.
As for the other match in Group C, it was crucial.
Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, two mid-tier European competitors, were about to engage in a life-or-death battle.
Both teams had the same points and the same record, differing only in goal difference.
Whoever won today would secure a spot in the knockout stage as the second-placed team in the group.
Good news, Bayer Leverkusen was playing at home today, giving them a slight advantage.
Lance sat in the stands, holding his phone to watch the other match whilst also keeping an eye on Atlético Madrid's game.
"Come on, guys!"
After 90 minutes.
"I want to go to the banks of the Manzanares River, to the Vicente Calderón Stadium, where thousands of people gather, crazy for football!!!"
Above the Vicente Calderón Stadium, now the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, the loud singing of Atlético Madrid fans echoed.
Atlético Madrid, with a full youth academy + substitute lineup, won the match 2-0 without suspense, securing 5 consecutive Champions League victories.
On the other side, Benfica and Bayer Leverkusen battled to a 1-1 draw, with both teams receiving a red card, the match had entered a heated phase.
It seemed Benfica was about to secure their qualification based on goal difference and head-to-head record.
Lance was almost in despair, ready to turn off his phone and go celebrate the victory with his Atlético Madrid teammates.
"Stefan — Kießling!!!"
"Goooooal —"
The German commentator Scholl's excited roar made Lance pause for a moment.
His former good brother Kießling had done it!
The former top scorer for Bayer Leverkusen, who had faded into obscurity for many years, and whose playing time was further squeezed by the arrival of Lance and Firmino.
Most players would have completely fallen into decline.
Kießling's will was strong enough.
With most of Bayer Leverkusen's key players leaving and their performance dropping to 7th in the Bundesliga, at a time when the club was in crisis, Kießling, who was almost too exhausted to run on the pitch, suddenly thought of someone.
He thought of someone who never gave up until the very end.
In the dying seconds of injury time, goalkeeper Leno launched a long ball to the front, Kießling used his last ounce of strength to win the header, fighting off the defender, and before falling, he slid a shot past the Benfica goalkeeper.
"Beautiful!!"
Lance suddenly sat up and cheered with his arms raised!
They won!
Well done, brother!
If Bayer Leverkusen could qualify, Lance's guilt would be slightly alleviated.
Otherwise, he really couldn't bear to eliminate his old club in the final match.
With 5 rounds of the Champions League completed, if Atlético Madrid drew or lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the last match, Benfica would only be able to play in the Europa League as the third-placed team in the group.
If Atlético Madrid defeated Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica would have to beat Astana by at least 4 goals.
Bayer Leverkusen had at least an 80% chance or more of qualifying.
After the match, Lance also sent congratulatory messages to the goal scorer Kießling, and coaches Sascha and Hyypiä.
Sascha was very concerned about the lineup for the next match and called Lance immediately after the game.
"Lance, can you tell me if you'll be playing in the last match?"
If Lance played, Bayer Leverkusen's chances of winning would not be high, so there was still some suspense.
"I can't decide that; it will depend on the coaching staff's arrangements at the time. But I heard there's a high probability they'll still use a rotated squad."
Atlético Madrid had already secured first place in the group, so the result would not have any impact.
In such a situation, no team would field their full main squad; what a waste!
Moreover, just 4 days after this match, it would be "Spain's El Clásico 2.0"!
Atlético Madrid vs. Barcelona!
It was obvious that the team would need to conserve energy and go all out to fight Barcelona.
This was good news for Bayer Leverkusen, but a nightmare for Benfica.
"That's great! Anyway, let's meet up in Madrid and chat then."
"No problem, but don't underestimate our substitute lineup. If we lose, I won't sympathise with Bayer Leverkusen."
"You rascal!"
Sascha cursed with a laugh, chatted briefly about recent events, and then hung up.
Soon, Sascha's smile disappeared, and he let out a long sigh.
If only Lance were here, why would Bayer Leverkusen be in this situation?