Italy.
Jiang Yunzhu, who had been rejected in Milan, opened the official website of Sporting CP, which she had been closely following.
She immediately saw the eye-catching headline on the homepage:
"Congratulations to the U15 squad for defeating Viktoria Plzeň 1–0 and winning the key battle in the UEFA Youth League!"
She smiled.
Because the subheading read:
"Supernova Cristiano Ronaldo runs tirelessly to deliver the assist, football Caesar Kai scores past Petr Čech with an extreme sliding finish!"
But soon, Jiang Yunzhu froze.
Because what followed were dense reports about Kai's injury.
Kai was seriously injured?
Jiang Yunzhu's heart trembled.
She immediately called her boss and requested permission to return to Lisbon.
Her superior scolded her for being impulsive. After all, the "Wahaha Team" had already begun training in China, while most rival teams had not yet fully launched their programs.
"You haven't even contacted any Serie A giants, and you dare to go back to Lisbon?"
In response, Jiang Yunzhu said,
"These big clubs clearly aren't interested in our plan. Instead of wasting time in Italy, it's better to look for opportunities in second-tier leagues like Portugal and the Netherlands."
"FC Porto, Benfica, Sporting CP in the Primeira Liga; Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord in the Eredivisie. Even Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke 04 in the Bundesliga; Marseille, Monaco, Lyon, Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1—these are all excellent options!"
"Some of their youth academies are even stronger than those of the so-called rich clubs!"
Jiang Yunzhu's view was finally accepted by her superior, and she flew back to Lisbon.
…
On the evening of the following day, Sporting CP officially released an injury update on Kai, who had attracted massive attention.
According to the medical diagnosis, Kai would miss all matches over the next five to seven weeks.
This included at least five league matches and one to two UEFA Youth League matches.
These seven matches would almost determine the fate of Sporting CP U15's entire season.
In the league, failing to finish in the top four meant no playoffs.
Out of eighteen matches, thirteen had already been played. The remaining fixtures would become nearly meaningless.
The situation was the same in Europe. Another loss would mean early elimination from the group stage.
For a time, the media was extremely pessimistic about Sporting CP U15's future.
When Kai was on the pitch, people didn't think Sporting CP were winning because of him.
But once Kai was absent, they finally recognized his impact—just in a different way.
November 3rd.
Sporting CP vs Atlético Madrid.
But Lisbon, fresh off three consecutive wins in all competitions, suffered a crushing defeat.
A humiliating 0–5 loss.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who had given everything in the previous match, was clearly short on stamina this time, and his performance was mediocre.
November 9th.
Sporting CP continued playing at home and welcomed Desportivo das Aves.
Aves were bottom of the league.
Sporting CP had only won one match before—their previous win against Aves.
But this time, perhaps affected by Kai's absence, Ronaldo began trying to link up with his teammates more, choosing to pass instead of forcing things himself.
In the end, with Ronaldo's passing, shooting, and playmaking, the team narrowly defeated Aves 3–2, barely saving face.
But struggling so much against the bottom team only hurt morale further.
Just when everyone thought Sporting CP U15's season was going to end early—
Shocking news came from the hospital.
"Kai is recovering well! He has been discharged from the hospital!"
Soon after, Sporting CP's official website reported:
"Kai has begun recovery training and will be able to rejoin team training within two days. He may feature in next week's match against Sacavenense!"
Portugal's major football newspaper Record even published an exclusive interview with Kai.
The contributor was none other than Jiang Yunzhu, a Chinese reporter from Sports Weekly.
The headline read:
"I Have No Talent! But I Train Longer Than Others and Recover Faster—Because I Want to Play Football!"
This report allowed fans to see the "real" Kai for the first time.
…
The exclusive interview was conducted while Kai was still hospitalized.
Jiang Yunzhu was surprised when she first met him.
She had expected Kai to be nervous, overly excited because she was a Chinese journalist, or perhaps dismissive because her newspaper wasn't famous.
But none of that happened.
"Please, have a seat. You're earlier than I expected," Kai said politely.
"You… your Mandarin is very standard," Jiang Yunzhu said, immediately gaining a good impression. This wasn't some ABC who could barely speak Chinese—something quite rare.
In recent years, many Chinese-American youths had looked down on learning Chinese.
Some even felt proud to shed their Chinese identity, thinking it embarrassing.
It was only later, as the country grew stronger, that more ABCs began waving the patriotic flag and reconnecting with their roots.
"We speak Chinese at home. As for domestic reporters—right now, Chinese football media mostly focuses on the top five leagues, right? In fact, even the Bundesliga and Ligue 1 don't get that much attention," Kai said calmly.
His understanding of media trends far exceeded Jiang Yunzhu's expectations.
"Why are you paying attention to Portuguese youth football?" Kai asked.
"It seems you know a lot," Jiang Yunzhu replied. "Honestly, it's partly coincidence. Our Sports Weekly is currently… well, stuck with a partner club."
"The Serie A giants won't give us face at all! I came back this time because I heard you were injured and wanted to see you. I've been following you for a long time, waiting for the right opportunity to introduce you to domestic fans."
"On the other hand, I also want to see if there's a chance to talk with the three giants of the Primeira Liga about deeper cooperation."
Jiang Yunzhu briefly explained the 'Wahaha Team' project.
Kai showed great interest.
He even asked for the specific names of the young players participating in the training camp.
He knew about the Jianlibao Team, but not the Wahaha Team. It seemed this project hadn't succeeded in his previous life.
But now… the butterfly's wings were clearly flapping.
"As for age, I can't go into detail—there are some adjustments involved," Jiang Yunzhu said smoothly. "After all, we also want the Wahaha Team's results to look better, otherwise it'll be hard to compete with the Jianlibao Team."
"This group mainly comes from two sources."
"One is the recently concluded Nike Cup National Championship, which produced several outstanding youngsters."
"Including the triple-award winner—Nike Cup Best Player, Top Scorer, and Golden Boot—Yu Shihao."
"The Nike Cup's Best Center-Back, Shao Jiawei."
"Best XI left-back, Sichuan Quanxing youth player Chen Tao."
"Best XI right-back, Inner Mongolia Tongliao No.1 Middle School player Wu Xudong."
Kai frowned slightly.
He hadn't heard of any of them.
The strength of this Wahaha Team didn't look very impressive.
Jiang Yunzhu didn't notice his expression and continued,
"The other half were recommended by top football academies across the country."
"Henan Jianye youth team center-back Zhao Peng."
"Midfield player Hao Junmin from Wuhan Football School."
"Wuhan Steel City's highly talented goalkeeper Zeng Cheng."
"Feng Xiaoting from Dalian Yiteng Football Club."
"And the gifted striker Gao Lin from the Chinese Football School, among others."
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