Director Harris paused briefly before saying, “We used to play soccer together in Dacheng’s squad. He and I were rivals, and he’s disliked me ever since, because he was my substitute. Later, I got injured and he became a starter, and started showing off in front of me…”

　　Brian Clark said, “Mr. Harris, you retired because of your injury, but I see he’s still playing now, yet he never made it to the professional league. That means he’s really not that good…”

　　Director Harris snorted, “Of course he’s not. He couldn’t even beat me. If I hadn’t gotten injured, would he have had any chance? But even if I hadn’t gotten injured… honestly, I might not have made it to the professional league either. So you can see what his level is like.”

　　Brian Clark looked at the blond-haired Yvonne Foster, who was saying something to George Allen with a very respectful attitude. “Is the one who looks like the big brother the actual professional player?”

　　“Yeah.” Director Harris nodded, “Yvonne Foster calls that guy George Allen. As far as I know, the only person with that nickname should be George Allen, who retired last year at the age of twenty-eight…”

　　“Retired at twenty-eight?”

　　“No one wanted him anymore, so what else could he do but retire? The highest he played was in China League One, but he only stayed there for one season and played two matches. After that, he dropped to League Two, and then couldn’t even make it there, so of course he had to retire. But judging by how he looks now, he’s probably the strongest player on this team…”

　　Brian Clark stared at George Allen’s figure in the distance without saying a word.

　　Director Harris seemed a bit worried: “Actually, Brian, you didn’t have to stand up for me just now. It’s not a good idea to provoke them.”

　　“Why not?”

　　“Who knows what those people might do if you piss them off? We’re here to help someone win and make some money, so the less trouble, the better. Besides, if they make fun of me a bit, it’s not like I’ll lose a hair, so why bother…”

　　Suddenly, Brian Clark smacked Director Harris on the head, leaving Director Harris stunned for a moment. He then looked at Brian Clark in utter confusion.

　　“Idiot, I did it on purpose to provoke them.”

　　“Huh?” Director Harris’s mouth dropped open in disbelief. “Why?”

　　“Because I want this match to be a bit more challenging. That’s what makes it fun.” Brian Clark grinned so widely his eyes nearly disappeared, his gaze hidden.

　　Director Harris couldn’t tell at all whether he was joking or serious…

Chapter 6: That’s My Bro!

　　“Is that Brian Clark really that good?” On Yvonne Foster’s side, one of the other three people with them asked.

　　“Good at what?” Yvonne Foster waved his hand dismissively. “If he was really that good, would he be here now?”

　　“But didn’t the newspapers and news all report about him back then…”

　　“You guys know what Chinese media is like, right? Their favorite thing is to hype things up. If someone can play abroad, they hype him up like he’s a king, and then what? How many times have we seen this over the years? Who knows how he got to AC Milan in the first place—maybe his family paid a ton of money? We’ve seen this kind of thing plenty of times, ha!” The more Yvonne Foster spoke, the more convinced he was that he’d figured out the truth. “Has anyone here actually seen him play? Isn’t it all just media hype?”

　　Everyone thought about it and realized it was true—Brian Clark’s fame was all from media coverage, but as for his actual ability, not many people had seen it, at least none of them had.

　　At this moment, George Allen said from the side, “No matter what he’s like, we have five people on our side, and he’s just one guy. Is he really going to turn the world upside down?”

　　Yvonne Foster quickly gave a thumbs up: “George Allen is right. It’s just that kid by himself, what do we have to worry about? After we beat him, we’ll make him kneel and call us daddy, ha!”

　　……

　　As the scheduled match time approached, both teams walked onto the field. The Hongguang team wore red jerseys, while their opponents, Xinglong team, wore blue.

　　Red versus blue has always been a classic rivalry in football.

　　The college students who had been playing and fooling around on the field were cleared off. Seeing there was a match, they didn’t leave, but stood on the sidelines and in the stands, waiting to watch.

　　Brian Clark stood on the field and looked toward the stands—surprisingly, there were already over a hundred spectators scattered around.

　　He remembered that when he played for AC Milan U16, some matches only had about this many spectators on the sidelines…

　　Suddenly, he felt a bit nostalgic for his days playing in Italy.

　　Just as Brian Clark was lost in thought, a crisp whistle snapped him back to reality.

　　The match had begun!

　　……

　　Very quickly, someone from the Hongguang team passed the ball to Brian Clark—before the match, he had already met his teammates, and everyone knew he was that Brian Clark, so naturally, whenever they got the ball, they would pass it to him.

　　On the Xinglong team, Yvonne Foster was happy to see Brian Clark receive the ball. As a midfielder, he rushed forward, wanting to intercept Brian Clark’s ball and prove to his teammates that Brian Clark was just a fraud with a flashy reputation, a fake genius hyped up by the media.

　　Brian Clark had his back to him, ready to receive the ball, completely unaware of his approach—this was a great opportunity!

　　With that thought, Yvonne Foster lunged forward from the side and behind, planning to catch Brian Clark off guard and steal the ball from under his feet.