You will regret this. (Please continue reading and support with monthly votes.)

When Lu Deyang saw the news about himself, he felt utterly miserable.

Who told you to hype it up like this?

Regarding celebrity trending topics, he vividly remembered a certain 208 relentlessly marketing the idea that his feet were too small to buy shoes. For a year or two, every time he opened his browser, he would encounter such ridiculous news—how nauseating it was.

Earning that much in a year and only buying two pairs of shoes—does that kill you?

Eventually, netizens would sarcastically ask if the United Nations had been notified whenever a star’s family drama hit the trending list.

Though entertainment was scarce these days, Lu Deyang didn’t want to overexploit himself, lest it backfire later.

Sigh.

If only I had helped Old Bianchi handle this personally.

Now he still had to submit articles to help his teammates get trending, sharing the spotlight.

Originally, he wanted to make Giuseppe Bagnato, that handsome old fellow, the centerpiece of Hollywood gossip. But since Bianchi mentioned Dindo, then let Bagnato be the romantic lead in Dindo’s film gossip.

After all, Dindo’s movies didn’t demand much from the male leads. He was more adept at filming women, showcasing various forms of beauty. Compared to Quentin, who liked shooting feet, Dindo preferred capturing the curves of the hips.

His films often explored human nature without being overly profound, which made them so popular.

If one failed to grasp the notion of refusal, much of the intrigue was lost; treating them solely as erotic films would be somewhat wasteful.

Lu Deyang bent over his desk, writing furiously: “Undeniably, post-war erotic films are timeless classics. ‘Miranda’ and ‘Jennifer’s Desire’ both emerged in such a context.

However, Dindo Baras has now reached a bottleneck and needs breakthroughs. Regina is that breakthrough… Dreams versus reality, desire versus effort, whether hard work leads to success—this is a question many love to explore.

Recently, the Serie C2 team Regina has gained fame because of their passionate owner and their Chinese player. In truth, the real subject of interest should be Giuseppe Bagnato of Regina.

Born in 1960 and quite unremarkable, he has always worked hard at his job. A film based on him would be excellent—a tale of struggle without reward, where athletic talent is innate and cannot be compensated by effort. In his dreams, he lives in a mansion, surrounded by alluring women, a guest of European royalty, entangled with young wives of top tycoons… Yet upon waking, he finds himself exhausted on the green pitch, his feet wearing tattered boots.

Finally, he smiles as he returns home to a simple dinner. That is a classic film. Failure is the main theme of life. Rather than focusing on success, we should learn to calmly accept our own mediocrity.”

After writing two more inspirational pieces about teammates turning their lives around and about Old Bianchi’s youthful poverty and hard work to wealth, Lu Deyang checked carefully for spelling errors before massaging his right wrist.

Writing with his non-dominant hand was no challenge for him; the main purpose was to conceal his handwriting.

Praising teammates was such a good deed that it didn’t need to be signed.

...

Outside, news about Regina was swirling, both true and false.

Regina’s results remained stable. After a comeback victory over Calabria, they firmly held the top spot and never relinquished it.

Lu Deyang’s performance continued to be outstanding.

Scouts from Italian clubs frequently appeared at Regina’s Granolino Stadium.

Still, most of the clubs were in Serie B.

Even Lu Deyang sensed that his potential needed time to fully materialize, so he wasn’t overly concerned.

This season marked the ninth year since Italy restored the foreign player policy, and they had just adopted the three-foreign-player limit.

...

Each team could have at most three foreign players, regardless of whether they played or not.

When Lu Deyang first came to Italy, he applied for long-term residency on family reunification grounds and never changed his nationality. So it was natural that Serie A clubs were wary of him.

This wasn’t like the later scenario where a promising young talent was bought and loaned out.

That was the biggest problem currently.

Serie A clubs wanted to emulate Chelsea’s model of loaning players but had no chance because the pool of domestic youth talent was limited. Often, many clubs eyed the same players, or the parent club refused to sell cheaply to protect their investment in the player’s future. Hence, the rise of co-ownership arrangements.

Milanello.

The appearance of Rivera still drew considerable attention.

This legendary footballer created the second dynasty of the Rossoneri during his career and served as the club’s vice president for many years after retiring, holding significant influence over the team.

Upon receiving the news, Adriano Galliani immediately came running out, grinning widely with arms outstretched, shouting, “Look who’s here, Gianni, it’s so good to see you.”

“Come on, if I got into a car accident, you’d probably open a bottle of red wine at my funeral,” Rivera replied irritably.

After Berlusconi acquired Milan, the two had many confrontations.

Even when directly called out, Galliani showed no embarrassment. He casually walked over to Rivera and led him toward the office, chatting about recent changes in the team.

Berlusconi’s takeover of Milan was largely politically motivated, but his financial investment in the club was real.

Rivera did not refute this.

After all, the training facilities at Milanello had visibly improved.

Once inside the office, Galliani had the secretary prepare coffee and handed Rivera a cigar, asking, “You wouldn’t come here for nothing. Is there some good news today?”

He knew Rivera well.

If Rivera were in trouble, he wouldn’t come to Milanello for help.

This legendary star was too proud.

Rivera then switched on the office TV, which was airing a Serie C2 match.

This was Berlusconi’s Canale 5, and recently, the Serie C team Regina had become very popular. Berlusconi’s channel and his personal style excelled at capitalizing on hot topics, hence broadcasting the Serie C2 live.

As Berlusconi’s right-hand man, Adriano Galliani understood this well.

Pointing at the screen, he said, “Regina seems to have quite a story. That Bianchi has been very active lately.”

“See that young man?” Rivera pointed at Lu Deyang on the screen.

“You think highly of him?” Galliani squinted.

Rivera’s meaning was clear.

“Yes. I believe that in three to five years, he will be the best midfielder in Italian football and a guarantee for Milan’s next dynasty. Maybe he’s not the most technically skilled, but his game-reading ability is unparalleled!” Rivera said excitedly.

He had watched several of Lu Deyang’s recent matches; the young man was incredibly intelligent.

Often, the opponent’s moves on the pitch baffled him, but seeing the outcomes made everything clear.

Rivera even suspected that if the young man played chess, he would surely become a world champion.

Berlusconi nodded, neither confirming nor denying.

He even found it somewhat amusing.

How did he ever get into a power struggle with such a person?

To him, Rivera was too naïve and innocent.

Hitting Rivera no longer brought him much satisfaction.

Such an opponent was just too weak.

Galliani bluntly said, “Gianni, we are AC Milan. We can’t use our limited foreign player slots to sign a young foreigner who might become a star someday.”

“I’ve seen his profile; he’s lived in Italy for many years,” Rivera said directly.

“Gianni, Gianni, Gianni… Poor Gianni, you don’t understand football at all,” Galliani shook his head. “My point is clear: Milan only signs established stars.”

Got talent?

I’ll just buy World Cup champions or European Championship winners. If you fulfill your potential, I might buy you later.

Italian clubs are just that domineering now. Even when developing young players, the focus is on domestic talents. Foreign players must be big names.

No matter how talented you are, even if your capabilities rival Yugoslav internationals or the Golden Bombers, can you be better than the Dutch Three Musketeers now?

“He deserves it!” Rivera shouted. “That young man’s success is inevitable!”

“All right, I hope he causes us some trouble in the future,” Galliani shrugged.

He wanted to take back his earlier words.

Seeing the flustered Rivera was quite entertaining.

“Adriano, you’ll regret this!” Rivera slammed the table hard and strode out.

Galliani took a sip of his coffee, watching his departing figure, and quietly laughed, “Gianni, I’m the vice president of Milan!”