Chapter 199: Trip to Liverpool
After finishing the Champions League group stage, Manchester City immediately faced the seventh round of the Premier League.
Although the team made many changes to the lineup, they secured an easy 3-1 home victory against Everton. Lin Quan came on as a substitute in the 65th minute of the second half and scored a goal. Everton's goal was scored by Chelsea's young forward, Romelu Lukaku.
Since Lukaku was loaned out by Chelsea, he seemed to have learned how to play football. Since his arrival at Everton, he had only played three games, but in those three matches, Lukaku scored in each of them, including a brace. Before his arrival, Everton, like Chelsea, struggled to score, with only three goals in the first four games. But since he arrived, the team had averaged three goals per game, tripling their offensive power.
Thanks to his outstanding performance, Lukaku quickly won favor at Everton. It's rumored that the "Toffees" are interested in buying out his contract during the winter break to retain their top scorer. Anyway, Chelsea's frontline is so crowded that Lukaku wouldn't have opportunities to play if he returned, so better sell him to us.
Lukaku's excellent performance increased criticism toward Chelsea and especially toward Mourinho: why couldn't Lukaku score at Chelsea, but once out of the team, he becomes a goal-scoring machine? These criticisms were supported by Torres' fans. For Torres' supporters, his move to Chelsea was a mistake. In Liverpool, Torres was unstoppable and scored goals easily. However, at Chelsea, he struggled to score, his efficiency drastically reduced, and he lost his place in the national team. Fans blamed Chelsea's playing style for this, as Torres wasn't the only forward who had problems in the team.
Not only Mourinho was under attack. Barcelona's coach, Martino, and Bayern's, Guardiola, also received media criticism after this round of the Champions League group stage.
...
The external noise didn't affect Lin Quan. After the seventh round of the league, the FIFA match period arrived. Since Spain had already secured their qualification two rounds in advance, Del Bosque didn't call up Lin Quan or the regular players, opting to select young players from the under-21 team and the league for the matches.
Thanks to this, Lin Quan had a rare two-week break. Although it was a break, it didn't mean he wouldn't have work, as he had some advertising shoots to film for his sponsors. Luckily, his agent, Pere, organized all the work so he could complete it in two days.
"Well, there's just one last commercial activity, but it's on October 12th."
"What activity?"
"A major Hollywood production is about to premiere, and they plan to invite some celebrities to the premiere."
"Well, we'll see if I have time. If I can, I'll attend; if not, cancel it."
Lin Quan responded casually. He had attended several events of this kind, mainly to make an appearance in front of the media and leverage his influence to help promote the movie. Although the process was simple, it took quite a bit of time.
"Then, I won't bother you anymore. Enjoy your vacation!"
Pere bid farewell, leaving Lin Quan with some time to himself. Lin Quan took out the fishing rod he had prepared and headed to the River Irwell to fish. When he was at Werder Bremen, he wanted to fish in the River Weser, but he didn't have a fishing license. In Germany, fishing without a license is illegal, which frustrated fishing enthusiasts.
But fishing enthusiasts don't give up easily. Upon arriving in Manchester, Lin Quan asked Pere to help him with the necessary procedures, and now he could legally go fishing. However, after two days of fishing, he hadn't caught anything.
Damn it! It must be that I'm not lucky with the fish here!
Forget it, I'd better go for a drive. Manchester used to be an industrial city, but since Thatcher implemented reforms, the British industry has declined. The factories here either closed or moved.
Driving along the road, you can see many abandoned factories. Without industrial pollution, the air quality in Manchester, located in a valley, has greatly improved. However, the cost has been high, with many people losing their jobs due to the closure of factories, and in recent years, the population of Manchester has decreased, with more and more people moving to London to seek work.
Lin Quan, being a foreigner, didn't feel this as closely. He drove along the coastal road and soon arrived at another coastal city: Liverpool. England is a small country, and Liverpool and Manchester are only a few kilometers apart, less than an hour's drive. Although they are close, Lin Quan hadn't visited Liverpool before.
Liverpool is a famous tourist city, with many attractions. After quickly visiting some of these sites, Lin Quan arrived at William Brown Street. This is Liverpool's cultural area, with many historic buildings worth seeing.
In the William Brown Library and the Walker Art Gallery, he encountered a girl twice who looked a lot like Audrey Hepburn. She also noticed him, and the second time they met, she politely smiled at him. At first, he just thought she looked a bit like her, but that smile made her resemble her even more.
However, why did she seem so familiar? Where had he seen her before? He thought for a long time, but he couldn't remember who she was, so he nodded in acknowledgment, but he didn't approach her to talk. Meeting for the first time and approaching without further ado could be considered harassment.
Sometimes, coincidences happen. They met again in the Picton Reading Room.
"Are you here for tourism?" She asked curiously.
"What makes you think so?"
"Because only tourists are so interested in visiting so many places at once."
"That makes sense. But by your logic, you're not from Liverpool either, right?"
The girl nodded and said, "I'm from Surrey county."
Lin Quan wasn't familiar with the administrative divisions of the UK, so he didn't know where Surrey was. The girl noticed his confusion and patiently explained:
"Surrey is south of London, next to the River Thames."
Although he still didn't know the exact location, at least he had a general idea.
"Aren't you British?" the girl asked curiously.
"No," Lin Quan replied sincerely, and then returned the question: "Where do you think I'm from?"
The girl looked him up and down, thinking seriously. "Honestly, I don't know. From your appearance, I'd say you come from one of the three East Asian countries, right?"
"Congratulations, you got it wrong. You have another chance, do you want to try again?"
"I can't guess, but I think you should be from somewhere in the European continent."
"Correct!"
"So, you must be from Spain for sure!"
"Eh? How did you know?" Lin Quan was surprised. With so many countries in the European continent, how did she guess he was from Spain? Could it be that she had recognized who he was?
"Because..." the girl covered her mouth laughing. "Because your skin tone fits my idea of tropical countries!"
"Well, it's true that the sun in Spain is quite strong. One day in the sun here equals several days elsewhere."
Professional players often train under the sun, so getting tanned is normal.
The girl chuckled at his comment: "When you work outdoors, use some sunscreen. It can protect you quite well."
Seeing that Lin Quan didn't seem very informed on the topic, she gave him some advice.
"Thank you for your suggestions. As a token of appreciation, beautiful miss, can I invite you to dinner?"
The girl blinked: "I'm very picky with food, aren't you afraid I'll leave you bankrupt?"
"It doesn't matter, it's just one meal. I can afford it!"
"Hehe, I didn't expect you to be a hidden millionaire. Then I won't hold back!"
The girl accepted Lin Quan's invitation casually, without any trace of shyness.
"There's a Michelin-starred restaurant nearby with good reviews. What do you think if we go there?"
"Let's go!"
The two left the reading room and arrived at where Lin Quan had parked. Seeing Lin Quan's car, she started to believe he really could be a millionaire.
"Thanks to you, this is the first time I've gotten into such a luxurious sports car."
Although she said it, she didn't seem surprised. Once inside the car, she didn't look around, showing that she had experience in these situations.
"What a coincidence, it's also the first time for me!"
He wasn't lying. This Ferrari model was new this year and only started selling in September. Mansour had ordered one especially to give it to Lin Quan as a gift. Lin Quan received the keys last week, and this was the first time he drove it.
As he started the car, the power of the engine became evident, providing a strong acceleration sensation to both occupants. Lin Quan had only recently obtained his driver's license, so he drove cautiously.
Collins, who was in the passenger seat, felt nervous at first, but seeing how carefully he drove, she relaxed.
She was calm, but other drivers on the road were frustrated.
"Wow, driving such a LaFerrari slowly! Why don't you get down and ride a bicycle?"
Although they complained, they only honked from afar. They didn't dare to approach such an expensive car. If they hit it, they could be ruined. Moreover, those who drive limited edition sports cars are usually rich and influential people, not someone ordinary citizens would want to mess with.
After eating, it was still early, so they decided to visit the tourist spots they hadn't finished seeing. Finally, at Liverpool Cathedral, they watched the sunset together.
"It's late, I should go," she said.
"I'll take you," he replied.
"Okay!"
Lin Quan drove her back to her hotel. Upon arrival, Lily Collins extended her hand and said:
"Formally, let me introduce myself. I'm Lily Collins. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Lin Quan. Miss Collins, thank you for this wonderful day. I hope we see each other again."
Collins thought that by saying her name, he would recognize her, but he showed no reaction. On the other hand, Lin Quan wondered why she didn't react to his name. Wasn't he famous enough?
Both had the same thought.
"Mr. Lin Quan, in a few days, a movie premiere is happening. I would like to invite you to the cinema as a thank you for today's meal. Do you have time?"
"It would be an honor."
Who could reject an invitation from a pretty girl to go to the movies? They exchanged contact information and set the date:
"On October 12th, at the Electric Cinema in London. Don't miss it!"
"Agreed, I'll be there!"
...
Two days later, Lin Quan received by mail the tickets for the movie sent by Lily Collins. The movie was called The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. Searching online about the movie, he discovered that Lily Collins was the protagonist. No wonder she looked familiar, she was a Hollywood star!
She had invited him to watch her movie. In return, should he invite her to a match at Etihad Stadium?
At that moment, Pere also handed him the invitation for the commercial event. Seeing the name of the movie on the invitation, Lin Quan laughed.
It was the same movie as Lily Collins'! What a coincidence.
Would she be surprised if he appeared at the premiere as a special guest?
(End of chapter)
"Lily Collins, here they made her the same age as the protagonist since Lily Collins is older"
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