“The competition permit was held by that coach. Even if you transfer to another football school, it won’t work... Without the competition permit, you can’t play in matches...” Even after all these years, Brian Carter could still clearly remember the helplessness in his father’s low voice that day. “If we want to reissue the competition permit, we’ll have to change the household registration...”

“Change the household registration? No! Absolutely not!” His mother shook her head vigorously. “If he can’t play, then just go to school. Daisy isn’t young anymore, it’s time to prepare for university! I’ve always said there’s no future in football. After spending so much money, what’s the result?”

Brian Carter just kept his head down, eating, his chopsticks moving quickly, but not a single grain of rice made it past his tightly clenched teeth.

After a moment of silence, his father sighed, “Daisy, let’s stop playing football. Go to school, attend high school, and take the college entrance exam...”

Brian Carter buried his face in his rice bowl and nodded hard.

Reverse side.

The admission letter from Wimbledon School of Art was laid out in front of his parents, and both his mother and father wore relieved smiles.

“Studying in the UK, the tuition and living expenses are high...” Brian Carter said softly as he looked at his parents.

“That’s not a problem!” His father waved his hand. “We still have some savings at home. At worst, we’ll just tighten our belts, but we’ll send you to the UK! Getting into a British school is your own achievement. You don’t need to worry about the money. Just relax for a few days.”

“I told you my son has artistic talent!” His mother beamed with pride. “You can tell just by looking at his drawings!”

Obverse side.

A coin fell onto the bar counter with a trembling sound, pulling Brian Carter out of his memories.

He looked at the coin lying on the table, the Queen’s side facing up.

“Do you like playing football?”

“Do you have dreams?”

“I think you play really well. Why don’t you give it a try?”

Emily Clark’s voice suddenly rang in his ear. Brian Carter jerked his head up, but from in front of him all the way to the bar’s entrance, there was no one.

※※※

After that, Emily Clark really never came to Don’s Bar again, and Brian Carter never saw that blonde girl again either. His life finally returned to peace, back on the track he had hoped for. But for some reason, Brian Carter found himself starting to hope he could see Emily Clark again. He explained it to himself like this—Emily Clark was a beautiful woman, and not just beautiful, but exceptionally so. He was a healthy man, and wanting to see a beautiful woman was a normal thought, nothing more...

He told himself this over and over in his heart, trying to make himself believe it was true. But as for why he had to do this, he never really thought about it.

Three days later, when Brian Carter went out to deliver flyers, he noticed some eye-catching posters along the way.

“No club located in Milton Keynes can represent the 113-year history of Wimbledon football!”

The background for this statement was a huge team crest, but unlike the yellow and blue crest of the Wimbledon Football Club he was familiar with. This was a white crest, and in the center, just like the club that was moving away, was a double-headed bird, but in a different color—this was a black double-headed bird with a red beak and claws.

Clearly, this confrontational design was the new Wimbledon club’s crest.

Below was a line of small text.

Originally, Brian Carter should have just run past, but for some reason, he took a step forward, moving closer to take a better look.

“AFC Wimbledon, the only club that can represent the 113-year tradition of Wimbledon football, is officially established! Welcome to tryouts...”

Below that were details about the tryout location and time.

“Chu!”

A surprised voice suddenly called out from behind.

Brian Carter turned around and saw Emily Clark’s beautiful and delighted face.

“Ah... uh... I was just passing by...” Brian Carter was caught off guard by Emily Clark’s sudden appearance and didn’t know what to say. Then he looked at Emily Clark, hoping she would believe him, though in reality, even he didn’t believe himself.

Today, Emily Clark had tied up her long golden hair in a ponytail, wearing a baseball cap, giving her a very sporty look. Brian Carter noticed that today Emily Clark was wearing a blue T-shirt with yellow stripes on the sleeves, and on the chest it said “Wimbledon till I die”.

Emily Clark noticed Brian Carter looking at her chest, and when she looked down, she saw the words.

She didn’t care why Brian Carter was here. She pointed to the words on her chest and said, “This shirt is from two years ago. Back then, every Wimbledon fan had this phrase, and later we printed it on T-shirts. In the last round of the Premier League that season, we played away at Southampton. If we didn’t win, we’d be relegated.”

Emily Clark’s voice was soft, her London-accented English very pleasant to hear.

“To cheer for the team, every one of us who went to the away game held up this phrase. We hoped the team could create a miracle.”