Beckham and Victoria's wedding caused a huge sensation throughout England.
The wedding ceremony was arranged to take place at Luttrellstown Castle, one of Ireland's six mysterious castles. The castle was situated within a golf course, surrounded by nature. A magnificent ancient castle rose amid the greenery, looking extremely luxurious and grand.
Ethan and his group arrived in Dublin by plane, then rented a car from Dublin to the castle.
Although the wedding was not until the next day, a large crowd of reporters had already gathered outside the castle. They were being held back outside the ancient castle by the police and security guards maintaining order.
"Wearing this black suit feels so awkward!"
"No, I think you look even more handsome in this outfit, more stylish than usual!" Bruce said with a smile.
Unable to tell whether he was joking or complimenting him, Ethan shrugged and chose not to respond.
According to the rules of this wedding, all attending guests were required to follow a dress code. Men had to wear black suits, and women had to wear formal gowns, all to accentuate the style of the wedding.
"I heard they invited over 250 guests in total, and every single one is a celebrity. Tsk, tsk, the expense must be considerable, probably several million pounds!" Walsh said from the back seat, admiring the magnificent ancient castle ahead.
Beckham and Victoria were both stars in their respective fields. Their union was naturally extraordinary.
"They've already recouped quite a bit just by selling the broadcasting rights!" Ethan said with a smile.
Although he was not entirely comfortable with Beckham treating the wedding as a publicity stunt, he had to admit that this wedding propelled Beckham and his wife into becoming the most famous celebrity couple in England, while also broadening Beckham's path as a commercial footballer.
However, sometimes, as a friend, you should not nitpick. Everyone had the right to choose their own life. A friend only needed to offer help and reminders, not scold or lecture.
After having their identities verified at the security checkpoint at the entrance, Ethan and the others got out of the car and walked inside the walls.
As the first batch of guests to arrive, they were supposed to accompany the groom to the stag night that evening. Usually, only a group of close friends would receive an invitation to such a party.
"Ethan, I think you should buy a car, or maybe even a helicopter. Seriously!" Walsh felt a bit ashamed seeing that all the other vehicles parked outside were luxury sedans, while only Ethan and the other two had rented a car.
"You probably want me to buy another one and give it to you, right?" Ethan joked back.
But speaking of buying a car, Ethan was genuinely interested. After all, not having a car was quite inconvenient.
He could not always ask Jim to give him rides, could he?
People always needed a bit of privacy!
"Ha, Ethan, Steve, Andy, why are you so late?" Beckham had clearly received word and was waiting for them at the main gate of the castle.
"This guy just got back from Brazil, hadn't prepared anything, and then had to buy clothes and spend time primping like a girl. It's already good that he made it here now!" Bruce pointed at Ethan and said.
"That's right! If anyone is to blame or punished, go after him!" Walsh also showed a complete lack of loyalty.
Ethan put on an expression of regret at having chosen his friends poorly, then looked at Beckham. "Who told you to strictly require everyone to wear black suits? Of course, I had to prepare! Otherwise, I would have just shown up in that limited-edition Manchester United No. 7 shirt!"
Upon hearing this, Bruce and Walsh burst into laughter. After going in circles, it ended up being Beckham's fault again.
"You rascal!" Beckham also laughed so hard he almost choked. He playfully punched Ethan, then led them into the castle.
"Where is Gary? I heard that guy is a groomsman!" Ethan asked casually, his eyes scanning the walls and decorations of the castle.
It had to be said, this castle was truly luxurious and grand. Just walking in felt like an experience. Living in a place like this would be like being nobility. No, it would probably be even better than being nobility!
"He's getting a manicure!"
"What? He's actually getting a manicure?" Walsh looked utterly astonished.
The group erupted into another round of laughter.
Gary Neville never paid attention to such things. For example, his hair was usually just casually cut, his nails were never manicured, and his attire was always casual.
But it was clear that he must have regarded Beckham's wedding very seriously, as he had broken his lifelong habit of never getting a manicure.
Beckham led the three of them to one of the halls, where his friends were gathered. Besides a few Manchester United players, there were also his England national team teammates, such as Michael Johnson.
"Hi, Michael!" Ethan walked over with a smile to greet him.
"Hello, Ethan. Nice to meet you for the first time!" Johnson returned a polite smile, shaking the playing cards in his hand. "Want to play a hand?"
Ethan immediately recalled the frequent reports of card game scandals involving the England national team. But in reality, once he was in the middle of it, Ethan realized that gambling was not just popular among the England national team. Gambling culture was prevalent throughout England, it was just that English football drew more attention.
"No thanks!" Ethan politely declined.
The other man did not seem to care and immediately returned to his game of Blackjack.
After getting a drink, Ethan went out onto the castle balcony, enjoying the breeze while watching the sky gradually darken. He felt exceptionally refreshed and pleased.
The castle was surrounded by vast expanses of golf courses, so the wind blowing in was cool and fresh, feeling completely different from living in Manchester, an industrial city with terrible air quality.
However, once the night deepened, the air outside the castle would become damp, meaning fog would roll in.
"How is it? Quite unused to dressing like this, aren't you?" Ryan Giggs' voice came from behind him.
"A bit unused to it, yes. You know I usually dress very casually, so feeling like this is quite awkward!" Ethan chuckled.
Giggs raised his glass and clinked it against Ethan's glass, which was held up to his chest, making a crisp sound. He then took a sip of his drink. "Regarding Rhodri's matter, I think I owe you an apology!"
"Don't say that, Ryan. He is a professional player. Any choice he makes is reasonable. Besides, his departure had my consent, so neither I nor anyone at the club blames him. We are still friends, aren't we?"
"Thank you!" Giggs clinked glasses with Ethan again.
"Will the Gaffer be at the wedding tomorrow?" Ethan asked casually.
Ethan had heard many things in his past life about Ferguson's dislike for Victoria, and he knew quite a bit in this life too.
"He probably will. It would be quite troublesome if he didn't show up at an occasion like this!" Giggs laughed.
Ethan nodded in agreement. They were both public figures. Even if they were unwilling in their hearts, they at least needed to maintain appearances.
After chatting for a while, Giggs went off to watch the card game. This guy had been quite a playboy in previous years and had even received severe reprimands from Ferguson, though he had toned down a lot since then.
Ethan, meanwhile, walked to one side of the hall and sat down in front of Peter Schmeichel.
"Peter, long time no see!"
"Hi, Ethan. Yeah!"
Although they both lived in Manchester, Schmeichel rarely socialized outside. Outside of matches and training, he preferred staying at home.
"I heard you are planning to leave Manchester United? Are you preparing to retire?"
"Yes, I'm already thirty-six. After playing in three competitions last season, I clearly felt that my stamina was not enough to continue in the Premier League. I already told the manager last November, but he asked me to stay until the end of the season!"
Saying this, Schmeichel looked troubled. "As for retirement, I'm still considering it for now. I just want to move to a place where the matches are less intense, but it will probably only be a matter of one or two years."
"Have any clubs contacted you?" Ethan asked with concern.
"Mhm, several. Sporting Lisbon from Portugal has been talking with me for a long time. Their head coach even came to Manchester personally to talk to me, but I'm still hesitating. You know, my family and my son are here."
"It's been eight years, right?"
"Mhm. Staying in one place for a full eight years, I've achieved almost every honour a goalkeeper can win at a club. Suddenly leaving, I truly feel a bit reluctant!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't leave!" Ethan suddenly said.
"Don't leave?" Schmeichel looked at Ethan, who seemed serious and did not look like he was joking.
"Yes, stay here. New Manchester United would very much hope to have an outstanding goalkeeper like you to lead us. At the same time, your experience can help those younger players. When you eventually decide to retire, you can consider becoming a club coach or joining the management."
Schmeichel was clearly surprised by Ethan's proposal because he had never considered the possibility of joining New Manchester United. However, Ethan suddenly brought it up and offered such terms, which indeed caught him off guard.
Although it was only a fifth-tier team, those familiar with New Manchester United knew that the club's development prospects were definitely promising. Putting aside other things, just having Ethan, the major financial backer, supporting them made it hard to imagine they would remain in the lower leagues indefinitely.
If he could play football leisurely for a few years at such a club and then transition into being a team coach or joining management, that would not be a bad path. After all, Schmeichel had always worried about how he would maintain his livelihood after leaving football.
He had earned a considerable amount of money during his playing years, but relying solely on that money to live out his life would be difficult.
Just as Schmeichel was hesitating, a security guard dressed in a black suit suddenly walked in. He looked around the entrance for a moment and then directly found Ethan.
"Hello, Mr. Yu!" the guard said politely.
"Is something the matter?" Ethan found it strange.
"There is someone outside claiming to be your girlfriend looking for you. Could you please come down to the main gate?"
Ethan froze. Girlfriend? Showing up here?
What in the world was going on?
(To be continued.)
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