"Listen. Just listen to what Lin said!"
"He said Liverpool is priceless to him. Do you know what that means?"
"He's not leaving Liverpool. Not ever. It doesn't matter how much money you offer, two hundred million, three hundred million. Do you really think Liverpool would dare sell him?"
"Any contract from any club, whether it offers five hundred thousand or eight hundred thousand, makes no difference to Lin, because he's going to stay at Liverpool and keep fighting alongside us for a long, long time. That's why I like him."
"He says exactly what he means, clearly and directly, just like Mané did at that post-match press conference not long ago."
"None of us believed he would leave, so when that news came out, we all laughed. Every single one of us laughed at the same time!"
After Leo Lin gave that interview and said how important Liverpool was to him, the entire club, from top to bottom, was completely won over.
Klopp, in particular, could not stop praising Leo Lin in his own interview. One compliment followed another, as if there would never be enough.
La Liga News had originally intended to use this to disrupt Liverpool's form ahead of the second leg of the Champions League semifinals, but the effect was the exact opposite.
Not only did it fail to affect Liverpool's form, it made an already united dressing room even more united, and it raised Leo Lin's status among Liverpool fans once again.
"Sooner or later, when Liverpool fans look back on the day Lin said those words, they'll understand just how important that day was."
"That goes for Liverpool as a club, and for Liverpool fans as well, because they received Leo Lin's promise. A real man's promise."
After Leo Lin made it clear he would not leave Liverpool, Liverpool unleashed everything they had on the Premier League.
From the win over Newcastle onward, then through Matchdays 30, 31, 32, and 33 of the Premier League, Liverpool beat every opponent by huge margins.
As a result, before Matchday 34 of the Premier League had even kicked off, Liverpool already held a lead of as many as seventeen points over the teams behind them.
Leo Lin, meanwhile, had produced a terrifying twelve goals and six assists over the past five league matches, sitting firmly at the top of the Premier League goal contribution rankings and leaving everyone else far behind.
A seventeen-point lead also meant that if Liverpool won Matchday 34 of the Premier League, the title would be theirs, and Liverpool would officially claim the second Premier League trophy in the club's history.
On the true title-deciding night, Wolves, Liverpool's opponents in Matchday 34 of the Premier League, were shaking.
"I'm sure everyone remembers that Wolves faced Liverpool repeatedly at the very start of the season. First, they were eliminated from the cup, then they were beaten in the league, and now they have to face Liverpool again."
"If they lose, they'll become the backdrop to Liverpool's title win. You could say Liverpool have been hunting Wolves down, and Wolves can't get away no matter how hard they try!"
As Matchday 35 of the Premier League was about to begin, Gullit and Scholes looked at Wolves and were reminded of the helplessness Wolves had shown against Liverpool at the start of the season.
"Wolves have been excellent this season. They're currently seventh in the Premier League and even have a chance to break into the top six."
"After spending heavily in the transfer market and bringing in plenty of star players, Wolves have indeed achieved a respectable record in the Premier League. If they want to make the top six, they need at least six points from their final four league matches to make sure they can squeeze into sixth place."
"So I believe Wolves won't give up. If they can finish in the top six and play in the Europa League, that would be far too tempting for them."
"Playing in the Europa League would give Wolves an extra source of income, and that money could allow them to keep investing and gradually improve the team's performances."
Gullit knew Wolves would never willingly serve as a backdrop. On top of that, Wolves would definitely want revenge.
No matter what, they could not let the same team push them around like this in the same season.
With the title within reach, however, the atmosphere inside the Liverpool squad had become rather strange.
Leo Lin sensed it the moment he stepped into the cafeteria that morning.
There were no boiled eggs on either Firmino's or Rodri's plates, and the chef gave Leo Lin a bitter smile. This was the first time he had ever been ignored by the players like this.
It seemed everyone's appetite was poor. Instead of the atmosphere of a team about to win the title, the cafeteria felt strangely subdued.
Holding two boiled eggs, Leo Lin sat down across from Firmino and looked at Rodri, who was absentmindedly eating avocado. Rodri had not even noticed Leo Lin sitting down beside him.
Leo Lin wanted to give his entrance a dramatic effect with just a couple of lines, so he opened his mouth.
"Rodri, did Laura break up with you?"
"Firmino, did Vivian divorce you?"
The effect was explosive. Both of them snapped awake instantly.
"Quit talking crap. What nonsense is that? Vivian and I are doing great!"
"Exactly. Laura and I are doing great too. There's no way she'd break up with me!"
Seeing that the two of them could still respond, Leo Lin relaxed and began eating his boiled eggs.
"Then what are you two doing sitting here like statues first thing in the morning? This is the cafeteria, not a meditation room."
Firmino shifted his body bit by bit until he had moved closer to Leo Lin.
"We're about to face the match where we defend the Premier League title. Can we really defend it this many rounds early?"
"If we can win it, Liverpool fans will definitely be thrilled. They're already promoting our coming Premier League title defense on social media every day. Some fans have even prepared celebration pictures in advance."
"But for some reason, I just don't feel completely at ease."
Leo Lin said nothing more. He simply finished his breakfast quickly, then headed to the training ground with Firmino and Rodri.
"Relax, bro. Guaranteed win."
"I'm honestly sick of these questions. When have we ever lost?"
"I said it."
"Guaranteed win."
It was precisely because Liverpool fans had already treated defending the title early as a certainty that the pressure on everyone had increased.
Klopp made slight adjustments to the team's tactics based on Wolves' recent approach.
"To fight for a Europa League place, Wolves have won four of their last five league matches and taken a full twelve points."
"We need to forget how it felt when we beat Wolves at the start of the season, because the Wolves we're about to face are a completely different Wolves."
"I want you fully immersed in this match. When you attack, think only about attacking. When you defend, think only about defending. That's right, we're not playing transitions. We're abandoning Dynamic Transitions."
Ten minutes later, Leo Lin was certain that Wolves' head coach would never have expected the tactics Klopp had arranged.
Not just him. No one in the world could have imagined them.
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (60 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.