Chapter 6

The atmosphere at the gathering was a bit strange, as the hosts seemed overly enthusiastic, almost to the point of being excessive.

Cui Hao recounted his struggles when he first came to Brazil to Rongguang, and Cui Hao's wife would occasionally chat with Rongguang about their hometown, such as the crooked tree at the village entrance...

This was originally a sign of the hosts' enthusiasm.

But not only Rongguang, but Godo could also sense the odd atmosphere.

"They are covering up for their daughter," Godo said while driving back. "Correia was like an iceberg, sitting there, radiating a cold chill. I even felt the room's temperature drop a few degrees."

When Rongguang asked, "Who is Kaka?" Correia's star-struck expression immediately froze, as if she had been repeatedly frozen.

Subsequently, Correia's attitude towards Rongguang became very cold.

She put the poster back in her bag, stopped talking to Rongguang, and walked upstairs without a word.

She only came down for dinner after being coaxed by her mother. Even then, she completely ignored Rongguang, treating him as if he were air.

"But I really don't know who Kaka is," Rongguang said, spreading his hands in an innocent manner.

"But in Correia's eyes, you were insulting her idol. Do you know why Correia supports São Paulo? Because she likes Kaka, fanatically. You haven't been to her room... from the walls to the ceiling, from the bed to the table, it's all Kaka. Did you notice what she was wearing when she came back? That was Kaka's São Paulo jersey, number 8." Godo clicked his tongue in amazement. He thought it was exaggerated that someone could be so crazy about a football star, even as a seasoned fan. After all, Kaka only emerged last year and didn't have a long history of fans. It just shows how crazy these young girls are, and how popular Kaka is now.

"By the way, do you really not know who Kaka is? I mentioned him to you on the day of the trial... I thought you would hear his name often after coming to São Paulo."

Rongguang retorted, "Why do I have to know who he is?" His tone clearly showed some irritation.

Everyone kept saying, "You really don't know who Kaka is?" "You don't even know who Kaka is?" At sixteen, he felt a bit rebellious.

Godo was taken aback, sensing something from Rongguang's unfriendly tone, and then he laughed. "No one says you have to know, but if you're in São Paulo, you should at least know a bit about him. He is the most successful star from São Paulo's youth academy in recent years. He is your senior. A year ago, he was just a player in São Paulo's youth team, unknown. But now, he is the hottest young player in São Paulo, perhaps even in all of Brazil. Why does everyone talk about Kaka? Because he makes everyone unable to ignore him. So when you say, 'Who is Kaka?' Correia doesn't think you don't know; she thinks you are deliberately belittling Kaka."

Rongguang pouted, "One day, I will make everyone talk about my name."

Godo laughed heartily, "I like your fearless spirit, Rong! Starting to learn football at sixteen, many people would just see your age and declare you a failure, thinking you can't succeed. But you must prove them all wrong! Prove it to Corinthians, to the teams that rejected you!"

Speaking of Corinthians, the Corinthians supporter gritted his teeth.

He liked Corinthians, and it didn't conflict with his current mood. His fan identity liked Corinthians, but as a broker, he had a high level of hatred for Corinthians. Because Corinthians rejected his most talented player!

"Don't worry, Godo. I came to Brazil from the village with you, and I never intended to go back with my tail between my legs!"

Rongguang clenched his fist.

※※※

"Cui Yun! That's very impolite! No matter what, Rongguang is our guest! How can you ignore him like that?"

In Cui Hao's villa, Cui Hao was scolding his willful daughter. Of course, if he could control her, she wouldn't be "willful"...

"Who asked him to insult my idol?" Cui Yun, or Correia, sat cross-legged on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling, pouting, and looking even more unhappy than her angry father.

"Where did he insult anyone? Rongguang only started playing football at sixteen; he didn't know about football before. Not knowing Kaka is very normal," her mother, Liu Jifen, said more gently, trying to reason with her.

Hearing this, Correia was surprised, "Started playing football at sixteen? How could he possibly join São Paulo's youth team? Has São Paulo's youth academy become so degenerate that even a complete novice can join?"

Cui Hao was speechless with anger.

"Rongguang isn't a novice. Didn't Godo say he's a genius?" Her mother was more patient.

"Uncle Fat? His judgment... " Correia pinched her chin, looking disbelieving.

In this regard, Cui Hao and his wife couldn't say much. After all, Godo's judgment wasn't very good; otherwise, why would none of his players have made it?

But... this wasn't a reason to show weakness in front of his daughter.

Cui Hao glared, "Rongguang is my fellow villager. You should be polite to him at least for that! Apologize to him next time you see him!"

Seeing her father about to get really angry, Correia reluctantly said, "Yes, Dad..."

But in her heart, she thought, "I don't want to see him again! How dare he insult my idol! I will never forgive you, you novice!"

※※※

The next day, Rongguang went to the youth team training as usual.

When he walked into the locker room, Lucas greeted him enthusiastically, "Hey, Rong, good morning!"

"Good morning, Lucas."

After greeting, he started changing clothes at his locker.

More and more youth team players came in, greeted each other, and started changing clothes.

While changing, they chatted about the most interesting topics recently.

The most interesting topic recently was Kaka.

"Apparently, Kaka has signed a new contract with the club... his salary has increased a lot..."

"That's great! As long as Kaka stays, São Paulo can defend the Rio-São Paulo Championship title this year!"

"Kaka's performance in last year's league was amazing! They say he has caught the attention of the national team..."

"Really? So he has a chance to play in this year's World Cup?! Wow! The World Cup! Just thinking about it makes me excited... When will I have a chance?"

"When you score twelve goals in your first Rio-São Paulo Championship season..."

"Ha ha ha!"

Rongguang noticed a strange phenomenon. When he knew nothing about Kaka, he felt like he had never heard his name.

But after what happened last night, he found that the frequency of the word "Kaka" around him had increased.

He didn't seem to hear Kaka's name so often in the locker room yesterday, did he?

He asked Lucas, "Why is everyone talking about Kaka?"

"Ha, because Kaka is really great. He is the brightest star in São Paulo now, and this is his first year in the first team!" Lucas also thought Kaka was amazing.

Isn't this a normal mindset for anyone?

Kaka is sunny and cheerful, handsome, and skilled. Whether in appearance or football ability, he is top-notch. It's really hard to find anything to criticize.

But there are always some people in the world who are different from the majority.

Rongguang thought of the attitude of that little girl yesterday, being looked down upon by a twelve-year-old girl...

"Hmph, one day I will make everyone talk about me like they talk about Kaka!" Rongguang said defiantly.

The locker room, which was always noisy with everyone talking, suddenly fell silent for a moment. Rongguang's words, "One day I will make everyone talk about me like they talk about Kaka!" echoed in the locker room.

To the youth team players, these words sounded a bit harsh.

After all, who was speaking? Rongguang, the novice who joined the team yesterday! He had only learned to juggle the ball. What right did he have to say such things?

Kaka is the mainstay and star of São Paulo, a rising star, and even a potential future hope for Brazilian football.

The gap between him and Rongguang is like the difference between heaven and earth, more than ten thousand light-years apart.

Isn't it a bit too arrogant for Rongguang to say such things?

Does he understand the situation?

It's not that Kaka has no rivals, but this rival can't possibly be a novice who just joined the team!

Someone laughed out loud, "That's funny!"

"Novice, you are the least qualified to say that in this room."

"You only learned to juggle the ball. Don't be so proud just because you can juggle the ball in one day. Be down-to-earth, Chinese boy."

"Talk about you? Because of your miserable failure? You're crazy!"

"Stop talking nonsense. Trying to gain attention by insulting a star is bound to fail! Idiot!"

"How can that be? Dreaming too much, be careful not to confuse dreams with reality!"

"Given your experience of starting to play football at sixteen... it's already great that you can learn football in São Paulo. Don't set unrealistic goals; it will make you lose direction. Kaka is not someone you should try to catch up with!"

The locker room was filled with various mocking voices.

Some people, out of good intentions, tried to remind Rongguang, but their core message was the same as the others—they looked down on Rongguang and didn't believe he could achieve what he said.

This was just one of many big words spoken by an ignorant teenager.

If it weren't for the mention of Kaka, no one would have taken it seriously.

The atmosphere in the locker room, which was usually harmonious, changed.

It seemed to be filled with hostility towards Rongguang.

But Rongguang didn't care.

The rebellious feeling from last night was amplified by his teammates' mocking, forming a clear idea in his mind, taking root and growing.

He spread his hands and sighed, "A genius's thoughts are always misunderstood by ordinary people..."

Then he turned and walked out of the locker room.

"Hey! What did you say!"

"Who do you think you are? Novice!"

"What did he say? Is he challenging all of us?!"

The locker room was filled with anger, and if the captain hadn't held them back, they might have rushed out to beat up Rongguang...

Lucas Sutton looked at his indignant teammates, who were crowded at the door, with the captain and a few other teammates blocking the door to stop them from going out to teach Rongguang a lesson.

Chasing Kaka, then challenging so many people... is that kid crazy?! Just one night, and he changed so much. What happened to him last night?

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