In November, Manchester was serene and tranquil, with autumn winds blowing down withered yellow leaves.
Jose Mourinho had chosen to tactically forfeit the Champions League group stage match against Shakhtar Donetsk on November 8th.
As a result, Manchester United's key players didn't have a game until the Manchester Derby on November 12th, giving them a rare break amidst the packed schedule.
However, to maintain the players' competitive form, regular training and practice matches continued as usual.
During this brief period, before heading to London for a commercial shoot, Ling made a stop at the Emirates Stadium to watch a Premier League clash between Arsenal and Liverpool—the second and sixth-placed teams in the league table.
Shortly after the match began, Ling noticed something off about Liverpool's setup.
Fabinho, playing as a defensive midfielder, was positioned further forward than the attacking midfielder, clearly underestimating Arsenal.
But Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk performed exceptionally well at the back, looking more like a top-tier center-back worth over €100 million rather than the €75 million Liverpool had paid for him.
Arsenal's manager, Unai Emery, employed some mysterious tactics of his own.
Ling noticed his former United teammate, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, was in poor form, becoming Arsenal's attacking dead-end three times consecutively in the first half.
Emery directly substituted Mkhitaryan in the second half, but Liverpool scored shortly after.
"Andrew Robertson lifts a beautiful pass over the top... Sadio Mané makes the darting run... he drills it across the face of goal! And James Milner arrives! The veteran slots it home! Liverpool draw first blood in North London!"
The match then fell into a stalemate, with Arsenal only finding their rhythm after the 70th minute, launching waves of relentless attacks.
Unfortunately, two fists are no match for four hands. Eventually, substitute Alexandre Lacazette managed to equalize for the Gunners.
Arsenal fans weren't too heartbroken by the 1-1 draw.
The team had remained unbeaten for 14 consecutive matches across all competitions and had just held the title contenders to a draw.
Meanwhile, Liverpool settling for a draw allowed Man United to overtake them in the table by one point.
As for the other Premier League teams? Man City remained their usual dominant selves—Sergio Agüero contributed one assist and two goals, Raheem Sterling provided two assists and scored twice, while David Silva and Leroy Sané also got on the scoresheet in a 6-1 demolition of Southampton.
The Manchester rivals were being closely pursued by Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea, making the title race even tougher than last season.
After watching the match, Ling and his assistant drove to Bond Street in London, the location of Montblanc's England headquarters.
The Montblanc endorsement deal secured by his agent, Jorge Mendes, wasn't quite as lucrative as Puma's offer, but it was still highly substantial.
As one of Germany's famous "3M" brands, Montblanc has evolved over a century into a diversified luxury brand encompassing high-end writing instruments, watches, premium leather goods, and men's accessories.
Montblanc's brand philosophy is "What moves you, makes you!" Translated, it means: "Follow your heart and you'll achieve your goals."
The reason Montblanc invited Ling and another football legend was because both men aligned perfectly with their brand philosophy.
As soon as he stepped out of his car, Ling spotted a familiar bald head and waved with a smile.
"Mr. Zinedine, long time no see!" Ling greeted Zinedine Zidane. "What have you been busy with lately?"
Zidane had recently resigned from Real Madrid.
The main reason was club president Florentino Pérez's firm decision to sell Cristiano Ronaldo, along with his rejection of Zidane's suggestions for future transfer plans.
A minor reason was Zidane's reluctance to get involved in a massive rebuilding process.
His emotional intelligence is undoubtedly among the best of all football managers—otherwise, he couldn't have successfully managed the star-studded Real Madrid squad to three consecutive Champions League titles.
Since announcing his departure, Zidane had received numerous offers, including a staggering four-year, €200 million deal from the Qatar national team, as well as interest from top clubs like Chelsea and PSG.
However, he wasn't particularly interested in joining any of them.
He had originally thought Didier Deschamps would step down from the French national team after leading them to World Cup glory, allowing him to take over.
But things didn't develop as he had anticipated.
Thus, Zidane remained without a club, waiting for the right team to make his comeback.
With Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and Pep Guardiola at Man City, neither club was likely to change managers anytime soon, leaving only Chelsea, Arsenal, and Tottenham as potential future options in England.
"Still learning new football tactics and practicing my English," Zidane replied with his characteristic mysterious smile.
"Who knows, I might end up coaching you someday."
Ling didn't pay much attention to the remark.
Mourinho's desire to become the second Sir Alex Ferguson meant he wouldn't easily leave Man United anytime soon.
The crew quickly set up the studio.
The main content of the advertisement revolved around the brand slogan, with minimal football-related elements.
"By the way, I heard you weren't entirely satisfied with the ad content?" Zidane smoothly changed the subject.
"The advertisers want us to portray warm father-son moments," Ling said irritably. "But the key point is you're French and I'm Chinese—it just doesn't look right! What were the advertisers thinking?"
Zidane chimed in agreement. "I still can't figure out their thinking either. I already have four sons, after all!"
It must be said Zidane's football genes are truly remarkable.
His four sons are respectively a goalkeeper, a center-back, a central midfielder, and a left winger, all playing in Ligue 1 and La Liga.
With a bit more effort, he could probably field an entire team.
In truth, Jorge Mendes's real intention wasn't just about this shoot, but rather setting up a collaboration between Ling and another retired player in the future.
The two men shared a strong work ethic and immediately dove into the shoot.
Within less than two hours, all the work was completed.
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