"In the 27th minute of the match, Manchester United takes the lead with a goal! Jeremy Ling scores a beautiful world-class strike from 26 meters out!"
Inside the Sky Sports studio, Gary Neville played the replay of the North West Derby on a loop, teasing with a mischievous expression.
"Carragher, what do you have to say?"
"Well... beautiful, nice, congratulations," Jamie Carragher muttered.
He sounded as if he had stayed up for three straight nights, utterly listless.
After the North West Derby a few days ago, Carragher had planned to sneak away, fully ready to renege on their public bet.
But who knew Neville had called for backup in advance, blocking him right at the commentary booth doors?
Neville had even started a live stream on his personal social media account to document the moment!
With over 90,000 viewers online at the same time, Carragher's heart sank, knowing there was no escaping this ordeal.
Besides, in their line of work as pundits, keeping one's word is crucial.
With a public bet signed by both, if he refused to honor it, who would dare to engage with him in the future? Even if Neville had offered to drop the bet, the spectators who love drama wouldn't have allowed it.
Carragher could only stall for time as much as possible, waiting until after sunset to leave the stadium and don that detested Manchester United No. 7 jersey.
As he ran the lap around Anfield, he seemed to find the feeling of playing in a match again.
However, his speed was almost too fast at the start, leaving him panting heavily as he ran most of the lap.
Why didn't he run the full lap? Because Carragher had been retired for so many years, and his stamina was no match for his prime.
By the end, he nearly tasted iron in his throat, almost coughing up blood.
Seeing this, Neville didn't press the issue too hard.
After all, he and Carragher had been partners for so many years, and there was genuine camaraderie between them.
The physical exhaustion eventually faded away.
However, Carragher lost all his dignity, temporarily becoming a laughingstock in English football, with Liverpool fans also bearing the brunt of the online mockery.
@GaryNeville: A bet is a bet! @Carra23 looks fantastic in the United No. 7! 🔴😂
@UtdFaithful: Seeing a Liverpool legend running around Anfield in Ling shirt is the highlight of my year.
@LFC_Thoughts: I'm deleting Twitter for a week. This is too painful to watch.
...
Back in the studio, Neville cleared his throat excitedly. "Ahem! After scoring in the Derby, Ling has moved past Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to second place in the Premier League goalscorer rankings, tying with Liverpool's Sadio Mane. With the league now at 19 rounds, I wonder if Ling has a chance to top the goalscorer chart before the mid-season finale? I think he has a great opportunity because their next opponent, Huddersfield, isn't a strong team. Manchester United, playing at home, holds an absolute advantage. Scoring is just a matter of time!"
...
Amid the roaring cheers at Old Trafford, with the stands resembling a surging sea of red flames, Manchester United launched a storm of attacks against Huddersfield Town!
In midfield, Paul Pogba's precise passes and Mateo Kovacic's rapid advances continuously compressed Huddersfield's formation.
On the wings, Marcus Rashford's speed and Riyad Mahrez's skill tore through Huddersfield's defense with two entirely different styles of dribbling.
Positioned centrally, the Manchester United No. 7 made the opposing defenders extremely nervous, unwilling to let him out of their sight for even a second.
Peter Drury: "Peter Drury here, alongside Jim Beglin, welcoming you to the Theatre of Dreams! Huddersfield face a daunting task today, trying to contain a Manchester United side that is absolutely purring."
Jim Beglin: "The movement is relentless, Peter. Huddersfield are completely pinned back in their own half."
Peter Drury: "We reach the 38th minute... Wan-Bissaka with a ferocious sliding challenge to win the ball! He shuttles it down the touchline to Mahrez. Mahrez drops the shoulder—pure poetry in motion to beat his marker! He drives toward the edge of the penalty area!"
Just as Mahrez cut inside, Jeremy suddenly accelerated diagonally into the right side of the penalty area, his explosive power leaving his marker trailing in his wake.
Mahrez instinctively played a perfectly weighted through pass.
Peter Drury: "The pass is threaded through! LING IS THERE! He barely has an angle, but he unleashes an absolute thunderbolt from point-blank range! It ricochets off the goalkeeper's forearm and buries itself in the net! He is an unstoppable force of nature!"
The Huddersfield players watched the young man leaping high and punching the air, recalling the scene from last season's encounter between the two teams.
Back then, Jeremy Ling was clearly still quite inexperienced.
Who would have thought that in just a year and a half, he would have grown to this terrifying level?
The remainder of the match passed without incident.
Ling was substituted in the 53rd minute, as he had just played in the grueling North West Derby a few days prior and hadn't fully recovered his peak condition.
In the end, Manchester United defeated Huddersfield 3-0, with Mahrez scoring a goal in the second half to add to Ling's brace.
Back in the locker room after the match, Harry Maguire approached him.
"Jeremy, where are you planning to spend Christmas?"
Maguire knew Ling had no extended family or friends in England, and he felt it would be truly pitiful if the young star had to watch others celebrate Christmas while having nowhere to go.
So, Maguire intended to invite Ling to his home.
"Thanks, Harry, but I already have plans. I'm heading to Maria's place right after this," Ling politely declined the kind invitation.
Originally, he had planned to take Maria to London for the holidays, but Pep Guardiola insisted on celebrating at home.
Ling had no objections to this, after all, he had happily attended Guardiola's family dinners before.
"Oh, alright then!" Maguire shrugged, leaning in to whisper. "I heard Manchester City almost got held to a draw by Leicester. Guardiola was absolutely furious after the match and even canceled the Manchester City players' Christmas break. You better be careful over there."
"Don't worry," Ling nodded.
He hadn't noticed this news earlier, so he made a mental note not to bring up football during dinner.
Finally, he waved to his Manchester United teammates and Mourinho.
"Merry Christmas, everyone! I'm off now! See you all the day after tomorrow!"
...
Ling drove to the University of Manchester to submit his pending assignments, then picked up Maria and headed back to Hale.
Dinner once again featured traditional Catalan dishes, though Cristina had generously prepared a few Chinese dishes as well, including Mapo Tofu.
Though the flavors leaned a bit too sweet for authentic Chinese cuisine, Ling praised the food without batting an eye. It was always important to please your future mother-in-law.
"January 1st is New Year's Day. Are your parents coming to England?" Guardiola asked, taking a bite of the Mapo Tofu and theatrically smacking his lips.
"You and Maria have been dating for almost half a year now. It's about time our two families got together."
"Sure, I'll arrange it," Ling nodded.
He had thought about this just a few days ago and had planned to bring it up during dinner today, but Guardiola beat him to it.
"What do your parents like? We should prepare gifts in advance," Cristina said, opening the notes app on her phone.
"Well, my dad likes watching football, and my mom likes reading, especially drama and literature," Ling answered without hesitation.
"Oh, I remember Maria has a rare copy of The Great Galeoto signed by José Echegaray himself. She can give it to your mother then," Cristina said with a warm smile. "As for your father's gift, let Pep handle it."
"Then I'll have to think carefully about this..." Guardiola frowned deeply, genuinely pondering what would be a suitable gift for a football fan.
"We want gifts too!" Marius and Valentina eagerly raised their hands as soon as they heard the word 'gifts'.
"Don't worry, I've already prepared them for you—they're in your rooms," Ling showed a gentle smile.