Hu Lai received the new news from Li Qingqing on WeChat. He was refreshed and quickly replied: "What did he say?"
"He said it's fine if I like it!"
Hu Lai stared at these words again and again, then carefully typed and asked: "Isn't the coach just being weird?"
"Of course not!" Li Qingqing said with certainty, "My dad is not that kind of person. In short, he promised us to be together!"
Seeing this sentence, Hu Lai clenched his fist and waved it vigorously.
Good thing!
The biggest stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
Ever since she received the news from Li Qingqing yesterday that she was going to have a showdown with the coach, Hu Lai had been uneasy.
Random thoughts pop up in my mind from time to time.
Now, the biggest obstacle no longer exists, and he can finally be with Li Qingqing openly.
He asked on WeChat: "Are we going to make an official announcement? Just like those celebrities, post a photo on Weibo or something..."
"No, right? We are not from the entertainment industry, let everything take its course." Li Qingqing quickly answered him.
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
"Good night then, Hu Lai. I'm going to bed."
"Good night."
Hu Lai thought for a while and added: "Sweet dream."
Li Qingqing responded with a blushing smile.
Hu Lai put down his cell phone with satisfaction, put on his backpack, and prepared to ask Junpei Morikawa to go with him.
At this moment, Matt Dawn knocked on the door, poked his head in, and smiled after seeing Hu Lai: "You haven't left yet, Hu, that's great. Tony asked me to come to you, he wanted to
Let’s talk to you.”
When the Leeds City players who had not left in the locker room heard these words, they all pricked up their ears, held their breath, and turned to look at Hu Lai.
The originally bustling locker room suddenly fell into an eerie silence.
Hu Lai didn't care about the changes in the locker room. He could more or less guess why the boss was looking for him.
But he did not refuse the conversation, so he nodded and said: "Okay, let's go."
Then he said to Morikawa Junpei: "Wait for me here."
Morikawa Junpei nodded: "Okay."
※※※
After Hu Lai left with Matt, the sound returned to the locker room again.
Charlie Potter asked: "Is Hu really leaving? I heard that his agency refused to negotiate a contract extension with the club..."
"It's normal to refuse to renew the contract. After all, there are still three years of contract. The new contract was signed last summer and it will be renewed this year. What the heck...it doesn't mean he is leaving." Jay Adams shook his head.
"Jay, do you want Hu to leave?" Charlie asked.
Adams frowned: "Who is willing? Are you willing?"
Charlie shook his head vigorously: "Of course I don't want to. I just don't understand, if Hu wants to leave, what reason would he have to leave? We can win the championship here and eat 'red peppers' once every season... the fans here
I love him too, why should I leave?"
"It's normal to leave," Kamara suddenly said. "Maybe other teams offer higher salaries, and maybe we can win the Champions League."
Charlie Potter turned to Morikawa Junpei again: "Morikawa, you have the best relationship with Hu, what do you think?"
Junpei Morikawa shook his head and said in Japanese English: "I don't know if Hu will leave, and I don't know why he will leave. But if he wants to leave, I will support him."
Charlie spread out his hands and shrugged: "Okay, I know asking you is in vain..."
In the end, it was captain Lorenzo who stood up: "Okay, Charlie, don't do the questionnaire in the locker room. This matter is just a rumor now. It has not been decided whether he will leave. Why are we here?
Just guessing? There will always be a result anyway."
※※※
Hu Lai followed Matt to the head coach's office. Clark was already waiting for him inside. When he saw Hu Lai, he motioned for him to sit down by himself.
After bringing Hu Lai, Matt did not leave. Instead, he went straight to the sofa on the side and sat down. At the same time, he skillfully poured himself a cup of black tea.
"Hu, I noticed that you seemed a little... absent-minded during training today. Is it because of the recent transfer rumors?" Clark said straight to the point.
Hu Lai was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and realized that his boss had misunderstood...
He shook his head quickly: "Uh, no, boss, it has nothing to do with the transfer. It's just a personal matter of mine. I'm sorry that it affected the training..."
Seeing this, Clark did not continue to ask what the private matter was, but just nodded: "I know you are a very professional player, Hu. That's why I was surprised. After all, this is the first time you have been a little absent-minded in training... I
I'm glad it has nothing to do with the transfer. But I think we should still have a good talk about the transfer, what do you think?"
Hu Lai nodded: "Of course, no problem. In fact, I also want to talk to you, boss."
"Very good. Let me hear your opinion on the transfer, and of course I will tell you mine. Let's just say it directly, no matter what the rumors are, I hope you can stay. You know,
You are the most important one in my tactics. And we work well together, don't we?" Clark went straight to the point.
Hu Lai nodded: "Yes, boss. As my first coach in Europe, you are great. I can adapt to European football so quickly, and you have helped me a lot. And Matt..."
Matt Dawn, who was sitting next to him, heard Hu Lai calling his name and glanced at Hu Lai.
"I still remember when Matt came to Jincheng to meet me and showed me things that surprised me... It was precisely because of what Matt did that I made up my mind to join Leeds City. I
I'm glad I made the right choice..."
"But." Clark raised his hand, "Hu, just say 'but'."
Hu Lai smiled: "It's not that early, boss. My feelings for you and Leeds City are sincere. Whether it is the club or the team, everyone is very good to me. I am very happy every day here."
Happy. Sometimes I think, maybe I can keep playing here until I retire. But..."
He finally said "but".
Clark's expression didn't change at all, he just looked at him quietly.
"But more often than not, when I think about playing in a team for the rest of my life, I feel somewhat unwilling..." At this point, Hu Lai turned to look at Matt again and asked: "Matt
, in "The Godfather of Champions", this should be considered too low of loyalty, right?"
Matt put down the tea cup he had just picked up and shook his head: "No. It's because the 'ambition' is too high."
Clark nodded: "I understand, you want to leave."
Hu Lai smiled: "The world is so big, I want to see it, boss."
Clark heard Hu Lai's words, thought about it for a moment, and then said: "What about staying for one more season? Finish this season and then leave."
"If this is the hope of you and the club, boss, I will respect it. But for me personally, when the opportunity appears in front of me, I don't want to miss it." Hu Lai still chose to tell the truth. "No one knows one.
What happens after the season?"
Of course he can say some nice things to make them happy, and then go back and put pressure on the club through the agency. Let the agency and agents be the bad guys, while he hides behind, pretending to be an innocent person who has no knowledge of all this, and maintains
A bright and beautiful image in front of the media and fans.
But he didn't do that. Since he came here, of course he had to be honest with his boss and others, otherwise the meaning of communication and dialogue would be lost.
"Okay..." Clark sighed. Hu Lai was so frank that he had nothing to say. "We know what you think, and the club will know it too."
Hu Lai nodded: "Is there anything else, boss?"
"No, you can go." Clark waved his hand.
Hu Lai turned to say goodbye.
But just when he was about to go out, Clark still stopped him: "No matter what the final result is, I only speak for myself. Thank you, Hu."
Matt also said: "Me too."
"I also need to thank you, you brought me to Europe." Hu Lai bowed to the two coaches.
※※※
After Hu Lai left, Clark and Matt looked at each other.
"As expected of Hu who is good at seizing opportunities..." Clark said with emotion. "He knows what he wants and how to do it."
He was referring to Hu Lai's words, "When an opportunity appears in front of me, I don't want to miss it."
"The world is so big, I want to see it too..." Matt was moved by another sentence Hu Lai said.
Clark glanced at him: "What? You want to leave too?"
"How is that possible? If I want to leave, I will definitely go with you. I will go wherever you go..." Matt laughed. "Speaking of which, Tony, will you coach in Leeds City for the rest of your life?"
Clark shook his head: "First, I don't want to coach a team forever. Second, in today's football, it is difficult for a head coach to coach a team for more than ten years. So I actually understand Hu
Why should you leave? In modern football, it is very costly and unnecessary to "stay in the same place". After all, if you stay in one place for a long time and get used to it, you will actually enter your comfort zone and you will slowly lose it.
The motivation to struggle..."
"So you will tell the club truthfully that Hu wants to leave?"
"Well, yes. The next thing will be a headache for Eric and the others."