Chapter 524: Chapter 524
"Kompany, I’m a ball-playing center back, and I’ve made some great passes today, haven’t I? How about you polish my shoes?"
Kompany made a noise of surprise, stepped back two steps, and made a face like an old man on the subway, then gave Ranocchia a light slap on the back of his head.
"You wish! Your passes are good, but unless you get 10, no, 15 assists in a season, then you can say that to me, haha!"
Seeing Manchester City’s king, Agüero, stoop down willingly to polish the shoes of a nineteen-year-old Chinese youth.
At the Etihad Stadium, 60,000 fans were utterly stunned!
As the most popular player at the club, Agüero is undoubtedly Manchester City’s legend, the crowned king who brought the club its first Premier League title with the last-minute goal of 9320.
Tang Long is impressive, but after all, he’s just a young player who joined the team this season, their status within the club cannot be compared.
Yet today’s scene made thousands of Manchester City fans feel that maybe Tang Long’s status within the team was even higher than Agüero’s?
The fans quickly erupted in applause!
A torrential downpour of applause poured down!
The rhythmic chant of Tang Long echoed to the skies!
Thus, Manchester City ended their last game of 2015 with a neat 5-1 victory.
Led by captain Kompany, the players lined up around the pitch, applauding the fans for their support throughout the year.
"Merry Christmas! Thank you all, see you next year!"
As the players left the field.
Agüero and Bony inadvertently brushed past each other.
There was no dialogue between them, both pretending not to see the other;
The air between them suddenly chilled to the freezing point.
As professional players, both understand that wanting to secure a starting spot in Pellegrini’s lone striker tactic is ultimately a survival battle.
Entering next year, moving into the second half of the league.
Whoever secures more assists from Tang Long may win more starting opportunities.
Two men fiercely competing because of Tang Long.
Off the field, there were also two women waiting for Tang Long’s arrival.
As Tang Long just entered the player’s tunnel, Gracie rushed over with a medical kit.
"Is your back muscle okay? Quickly take off your shirt and let me see."
Earlier, Tang Long had jumped for a high ball in a clash with an opposing midfielder in the 61st minute of the second half, getting bumped in mid-air, and upon landing, his back slammed hard onto the turf.
Gracie watched from the sidelines, her heart skipping a beat, as if it was she who had fallen hard and not Tang.
Especially seeing Tang Long bounce slightly on the turf from the immense inertia after landing; her heart tightened further!
In this season’s league opener against Tottenham, Tang Long’s back had been injured once by Gualin.
This, therefore, became his old wound, often receiving therapy massage in Gracie’s room, of which Gracie was well aware.
In fact, among the over 20 players in Manchester City’s first team, Gracie had a general understanding of each player’s injuries, but she understood Tang Long’s injuries in the most detail, and they always concerned her the most.
Until the referee blew the full-time whistle, Tang Long felt no discomfort in his back;
Gracie’s reminder suddenly made Tang feel a slight pain in his back, making him wince.
Despite saying he was okay, Gracie noticed the slight change in Tang Long’s expression and insisted he take off his shirt in the player’s tunnel.
Gracie quickly discerned an area of slight swelling on Tang Long’s bare back.
She frowned secretly, feeling distressed: "I knew it! It’s this spot, an old injury!"
Immediately, she pulled out a chilled spray and spritzed it over the area.
A group of teammates passing by made a ruckus upon seeing the scene~
"You two, don’t block the way here, go to the dressing room for treatment!"
"Yeah, Gracie, we’ll clear out the dressing room entirely, and stay outside the door. We’ll only go in to shower once you’re done treating Tang!"
Tang Long waved his teammates away, "Go, go, quickly scram."
Despite the joking of Manchester City’s players, Gracie remained undistracted.
After carefully spraying, she particularly instructed Tang not to use too hot water when showering, to avoid spreading the swelling.
Tang Long, after showering and changing, stepped out of the dressing room to find Gracie still waiting for him at the door.
Gracie, without waiting for Tang’s reaction, lifted his shirt to apply an ice patch from the medical kit to the swollen area on his back.
"Is it necessary to be so urgent, Gracie? I can come to your therapy room tomorrow."
"No, we must apply ice immediately; otherwise, it’ll swell like a bun by tomorrow, and I won’t know where to start!"
Seeing Gracie being so considerate, Tang Long felt touched and took out his phone to check the time.
This was an afternoon Premier League match during the Christmas holiday, starting at 3, ending around 5, and it was now just 5:30.
After the match, it was free time for the players.
Since it was already dinner time, Tang Long invited Gracie to join him for dinner.
"The Christmas holiday is almost over, it’s the last day of the year, let’s have dinner together, Gracie. My treat."
Upon hearing they’d dine together, Gracie’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
"Oh wow, you remembered Christmas? Okay, I guess you have some decency. What shall we eat?"
"Come, I’ll take you to Chinatown for Sichuan food, how about it? Though it’s a bit spicy, not sure if you can handle it."
As someone who graduated with a degree in medicine, Gracie preferred a lighter and healthier diet and didn’t like heavy oil and spice.
But since Tang Long had invited her, she didn’t care much and readily agreed.
"No problem, I love spicy food, let’s go quickly before traffic gets bad." New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on nοvelfire.net
The two tidied up, happily heading out.
Gracie even slightly proudly linked her arm with Tang Long’s.
Just then, Tang Long’s phone rang; it was Dilata calling.
"Congratulations, super star! You bagged 4 assists, tomorrow’s headlines will likely be yours!"
"Are you free? Let’s have dinner together, I’m heading back to London tomorrow."
Tang Long paused, scratching his head, glancing at Gracie beside him.
I’ve already agreed with Gracie.
Gracie, too, tilted her head to look at Tang Long, her expression enigmatic.
With keen hearing, she had already listened to Dilata’s voice on the receiver and recognized it.
Tang Long remembered Gracie returning to London tomorrow, likely here to watch his match, didn’t want to disappoint her, so he straightforwardly suggested to Gracie:
"I have a friend who was just at the stands watching the game, how about we have dinner with the three of us?"
"Is the friend you mentioned that long-legged, beautiful reporter?"
Tang Long was taken aback, "Yes, how do you know?"
Gracie’s face darkened, with eyes seemingly inclined to stab Tang Long right there.
"Then let’s go together, let’s go."
Gracie withdrew her arm from his, walking ahead without looking back.
Tang Long quickly agreed with Dilata over the phone and sent her the location of a Sichuan restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown.
The three arranged to meet at a parking lot outside the stadium.
Dilata chuckled upon arriving, but seeing Gracie walking beside Tang Long, slightly restrained her smile, briefly nodded, and greeted them politely without asking much.
Gracie didn’t speak much, appearing lukewarm and not too interested.
Tang Long hailed a taxi, sat in the front, while the two women sat in the back.
The car headed to a Sichuan restaurant in Manchester’s Chinatown.