Chapter 97

Surrounded by evergreen trees adorned with colorful decorations, red pointed hats, and the jolly old man with a white beard... when these elements are ubiquitous in life, it means that the biggest Western festival, Christmas, is approaching. In Spain, the celebration of Christmas is not just a single day, but extends from December 22nd to January 6th. Moreover, January 6th is also a traditional Spanish festival: the Epiphany, and unlike in other countries, Spanish children receive their Christmas gifts on this day.

Lin Sen declined Dina's kindness and Tapia's invitation, choosing to spend Christmas Eve as he had in previous years, planning to treat it like any other day. However, when he returned to his residence, he was warmly invited by the Cruz elderly couple, as Lin Sen had given them two VIP stadium tickets and provided them with a splendid match: a 4-2 victory over Osasuna.

Old Mr. Cruz, who had only a general interest in football, was now increasingly showing a tendency to become a Málaga fan. Now, the chances of Málaga being mentioned when he encountered Lin Sen were growing. Lin Sen wasn't sure whether he should feel happy about this, but it seemed that Mrs. Cruz supported her husband's new hobby.

Lin Sen couldn't refuse the invitation, as Mr. Cruz even waited for him at the door. However, when he entered Mr. Cruz's house, which was filled with Christmas atmosphere, he saw a familiar stranger.

"How did you end up here?"

When their eyes met, both spoke in unison.

Old Mr. Cruz, who was about to introduce them but didn't expect them to know each other, was a bit surprised: "Do you know each other?"

Of course, they knew each other.

Lin Sen marveled again at how small the world was. The girl helping Mrs. Cruz prepare dinner was Aileen, Cinderella's friend, or simply put, a friend of a friend. The last time Lin Sen came to Málaga to discuss a contract, they had met at the Picasso Museum and had a meal together.

"This is my grandfather and grandmother. I've been spending my Christmases here for the past few years. And you, why are you here? Did you follow me?" Aileen clearly found Lin Sen's appearance very surprising, her eyes wide with curiosity, still as mischievous as ever.

"Coincidence," Lin Sen shook his head and smiled. "I'm Mr. Cruz's neighbor."

"Are you really, really sure you didn't follow me?" Aileen's eyes widened even more.

Lin Sen was a bit at a loss, but he had to admit that this was indeed a coincidence. So, he joked, "Please, Cinderella will be jealous."

"Aileen?" Mr. Cruz, who was listening, became more and more puzzled, looking at his granddaughter with a questioning gaze.

"Grandpa, don't worry, we're just joking." Aileen finally smiled, then briefly explained how they knew each other. Mr. Cruz relaxed, and then he took over Aileen's role as dinner assistant, leaving Lin Sen to face Aileen's whimsical questions.

"You're so inconsiderate, changing your phone number without telling us. Cinderella was heartbroken."

"It's hard to imagine that after that, you didn't even call one of us? I asked Bo Ya, and even she didn't receive any message from you. Are you sure your preferences are normal?"

"I still don't believe this is a coincidence. Are you sure you didn't know your neighbors were my grandparents before you moved here? Don't worry, I won't be angry."

...

Lin Sen scratched his head repeatedly, realizing that football was indeed much simpler.

Lin Sen always believed in fate, which was why he was still single. He had once had a girlfriend, a Chinese girl studying in the UK. That was also fate, and they dated for more than half a year. After Lin Sen left the UK, the girl soon returned to China, and their relationship gradually faded. Their last communication was online via MSN, with the final message being "take care." Throughout, neither of them said the word that would inevitably bring sadness.

That was the only relationship in Lin Sen's memory, not melodramatic or soap opera-like, just a simple beginning and a simple end.

Lin Sen had a good impression of Aileen, or rather, of Cinderella and the others. Aileen was outgoing, Cinderella was easy-going, and Bo Ya was quiet, all good young people of the new era. Of course, the most important thing was that all three girls were very beautiful. However, to say he had no thoughts at all would be a lie. The little devil in Lin Sen's heart occasionally reminded him to use his eyes, but since he had resisted last time, and now knowing that Aileen was Mr. and Mrs. Cruz's granddaughter, he couldn't be so vulgar. In short, Aileen was just a friend of a friend, at most a "mutual acquaintance."

Before dinner, Mrs. Cruz brought out several almond puddings. Lin Sen knew this was a small Christmas tradition: before eating anything else, one eats an almond pudding, and whoever gets the whole almond will have the best luck in the coming year. Usually, if there are children in the family, parents will intentionally leave the almond pudding for the children to make them happy.

"Let's see who has better luck." Aileen, like a child, looked at the puddings on the table with big, hopeful eyes. "You're the guest, you choose first."

"Are you sure?" Lin Sen's eyes twinkled, and he pointed to one of the puddings, smiling. "I'll take this one."

"Want to think about it?"

"This one."

"Alright, I'll take this one." Aileen picked up the pudding Lin Sen had pointed to, grinning mischievously.

Well, fooled.

Lin Sen was a bit taken aback and a bit at a loss. He had forgotten that during their last meal, Aileen had mentioned that she and her friends were studying psychology.

On the side, Mr. and Mrs. Cruz smiled at each other as they watched Aileen indeed find the almond in the pudding Lin Sen had chosen.

In their eyes, both Aileen and Lin Sen were still children.

The Christmas dinner, in Chinese terms, is like the New Year's Eve dinner, emphasizing family reunion and shared enjoyment of delicious food. Mr. and Mrs. Cruz had only one daughter, so after she married, they mostly spent Christmas as two elderly people. Perhaps considering this, Aileen, after starting university, would come over to spend Christmas with her grandparents every year, and her parents naturally had no objections.

During dinner, not only did Mr. and Mrs. Cruz frequently ask Lin Sen questions, but Aileen also kept pestering him, which made Lin Sen feel both touched and helpless.

Lin Sen understood their intentions clearly: they were considering his status as an "outsider" and didn't want him to feel left out.

However, in reality, this was unnecessary. Although Lin Sen had spent more time abroad than in China, Christmas was ultimately not as important to him as the Spring Festival. Moreover, he was already used to spending holidays alone and had long since come to terms with feelings of homesickness. It was precisely because he didn't want others to feel sad for him that he had previously declined Dina's and Tapia's invitations, but he hadn't managed to avoid it in the end.

However, Lin Sen was both touched and a bit ashamed by the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Cruz. Unlike his friendship with Dina or his colleague relationship with Tapia, Lin Sen's relationship with the elderly couple was limited to being neighbors. He didn't think he had helped them much, mostly just small favors, but the elderly couple clearly valued this "neighbor relationship" more than he did.

Mr. Cruz's conversation eventually returned to Málaga. Like many new fans, Mr. Cruz was more interested in transfers than tactics, quickly asking about Málaga's plans for the winter transfer window. Lin Sen could only smile and tell him not to have too high expectations.

This was the reality. Without a commitment from Koke to stay, Lin Sen had yet to find a suitable replacement, which left him with the idea of using "the best available." If Koke really left, he would simply have Reus take his place, which would mean that Gundogan would continue to play as a makeshift attacking midfielder.

Actually, Lin Sen did have some candidates in mind, but the feasibility was low. There were many promising players on the left wing, such as the future Belgian star Hazard, who was still with Lille, and the "Argentine Kaká" Pastore, who hadn't yet arrived in Europe. However, Málaga was currently in a budget "naked run," and even after selling Koke, they would only have 2.5 million euros. Given Málaga's current league position, Lin Sen had no doubt that if he set his sights on someone, Málaga would be at a disadvantage in terms of price.

At this moment, Aileen, who was enjoying the meal, suddenly interjected while listening to her grandfather and Lin Sen discuss football, which she only half understood.

"By the way, Lin, I'll graduate next year. How about I come and work for you?"

Lin Sen, who was about to take a sip of water, almost choked. He put down his glass and stared at Aileen, who was smiling, and asked, "Work for me? Doing what?"

"Of course, as a psychologist," Aileen said matter-of-factly. "Do you think I'm going to play football?"

Psychologist?

Lin Sen was taken aback but immediately understood.

Actually, many football clubs did have such a position, though it was a more specific branch: sports psychologist.

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PS: I've created a group, the group number is 138055963. If you're interested, feel free to join. I feel like I've been a bit off since the second volume. Help!