Chapter 21

A thirty-year-old man, after all, is no longer a carefree twenty-year-old who can do whatever he wants.

To be honest, if he were ten years younger, Liu Hao would have agreed to Lai Yuxin's request without hesitation. But now, he had to weigh his options, even for a part-time job.

Who doesn’t want to earn extra money from a part-time job?

But just like how every man wants to keep the red flag at home and let the colorful flags fly outside, you often can't have both the fish and the bear's paw.

In the old society, there were three big mountains. Liu Hao felt he also had three big mountains on his back.

The first mountain was his job.

A job that hadn’t seen a promotion in ten years was truly embarrassing, but it was like a chicken rib—tasteless to chew but a pity to throw away. Especially for a man in his thirties, the fear of losing and gaining was inevitable. After weighing the pros and cons, he would definitely choose to compromise... and get used to it over time.

The second mountain was his in-laws.

As the saying goes, when a man gets married, he doesn’t just marry a wife; he marries a whole family.

If it were just that, Liu Hao would definitely be secretly rejoicing in a corner.

Sadly, it felt more like he had married a family, even though this family didn’t bring him any actual benefits.

His in-laws were both section-level officials. Perhaps because they were used to being leaders, they would often "educate" him in a commanding tone, making him feel inferior.

The third mountain was his family.

The first two mountains brought negative pressure, which he had to endure and bear. The third mountain, however, brought positive pressure, allowing him to enjoy the happiness of having a wife and a child.

In the face of these three big mountains, what was football?

Married men often feel a sense of urgency and pressure, willing to give up many things and abandon many ideas. Liu Hao felt the same way.

So, after frowning and sulking for a long time and smoking two packs of cigarettes, he finally gave up his choice, because he had no choice...

"Branches sway not far ahead, waiting for my most beautiful entrance. My bag is filled with flowers, my winter dream. Holding a pale and weak candle, the wind, please rest on my shoulder. I am a tiny pear blossom, singing on the coldest day. I know it's cold outside, but I must bloom, declaring my life and my humble strength. I know it's cold outside, but I must bloom. I am the protagonist of my life, and I have my own spring..."

Liu Hao sang the song composed by his old friend sorrowfully, as a sad farewell to football.

Days passed, and Lai Yuxin didn’t come to find him again.

Time flew by, and another half a month passed...

***

Liu Hao sat stiffly at his desk, holding a copy of the "Regulations on Road Passenger and Freight Transport," with a very serious expression.

If you didn’t know him, you might think he was reading the document seriously...

But his eyes were fixed on the computer screen.

"Barcelona lost, Real Madrid won. After this round, won’t Real Madrid be in first place? But... last night, my wife seemed to have bet on Barcelona winning? Tsk tsk, she bet a thousand?!"

His eyes rolled, and he almost had a heart attack...

"Fortunately, I secretly used my private money to bet on Chelsea winning Everton, but I only bet a hundred... I feel so unbalanced, damn gambling!"

He muttered to himself in front of the computer, talking to himself.

His phone vibrated on the desk a dozen times, but he didn’t come to his senses.

However, when he answered the call, he was still cautious.

"Is this Liu Xiaopang?"

Liu Xiaopang? Looking at the unfamiliar number, Liu Hao immediately became wary. He remembered all the phone numbers, especially those of his superiors. Usually, he would be very careful when seeing an unfamiliar number, fearing that someone might be trying to find him through connections.

But there were no more than three people who knew him as Liu Xiaopang: Cai Jin, Lai Yuxin, and himself.

"I’m looking for Brother Liu. He just went to play football and forgot his phone. What do you need him for?" Liu Hao hesitated for a moment and lied.

The person on the other end clearly didn’t know he was Liu Xiaopang, so they continued, "I’m a staff member of the Chinese Football Association. Liu Xiaopang is on our Chinese Super League player list, but it seems he hasn’t found a new team yet. We want to gather some specific data. Could you please tell him to call us back?"

...When did I become a registered player in the Chinese Super League? Liu Hao put down the phone, puzzled.

After thinking for a long time, he finally remembered what Lai Yuxin had said to him half a month ago.

Could it be her?

Is it so easy to register a name these days? Even famous director Zhang Yimou’s children were strictly investigated and heavily fined for overpopulation. Could it be that there are no consequences for fake player registrations? It seems Lai Yuxin has some serious connections.

Just as he put down the phone, it started vibrating violently on the desk again.

This time, it was clearly a call from Lai Yuxin. Speak of the devil!

Liu Hao was about to ask questions, but Lai Yuxin spoke faster, and if saliva could travel through the phone, Liu Hao’s face would have been wet.

"Eight戒 (Pig Eight), I’ve found a club for you. They’re willing to give you a trial. If you can show your skills during the trial, they might sign you. I’ve already sent them a video of you playing. They had a very good first impression. Are you at work now? I’ll come to you immediately. Wait for me..."

Lai Yuxin said all this in one breath, clearly too excited to think straight.

She hung up before he could even open his mouth.

Damn... Liu Hao rarely swore.

This woman is a demon!

How did she know I’m at work here? Fifteen minutes later, when Lai Yuxin appeared at his office door, out of breath, Liu Hao was drenched in sweat.

"You..."

He was about to speak when Lai Yuxin roughly grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the office, then dragged him straight to the balcony.

"Wow, did Little Fat’s lover come to the office? This is serious!" Liu Hao didn’t expect that at this moment, his colleague Zhang Yuanyun would just return to the office and witness this scene.

Although it was just a coincidence, in the eyes of Zhang Yuanyun, the queen of gossip in the department, this was a third party coming to confront him, a big deal!

A man and a woman pulling and tugging in a government office, sneaking around on the balcony, what else could it be?

"Let go of me first!" Liu Hao was in a panic and finally broke free from Lai Yuxin’s grip, "Your hands are like a white-boned demon, so strong!"

"Hehe, listen, you have to seize this opportunity. Even if we don’t go professional, at least we can try out, right? Don’t let your talent go to waste... Do you know what team it is? You’ll be shocked when I tell you!" Lai Yuxin was completely unfazed by Liu Hao’s sarcasm, her face beaming with excitement.