"Mr. Gao, Mr. Su, you can rest assured. Our company has a well-established sales network across several central provinces. That is absolutely guaranteed."
"I believe that with our strength and your brand, this will be a powerful partnership."
In a high-end club in Shanghai, Gao Jianguo and Su Zhijun were busy entertaining a group of very important clients.
This company had strong regional influence across several central provinces. They had attempted to collaborate several times in the past without success. But this time, things had finally progressed, and today they officially signed the contract. They were now holding a celebratory banquet.
Both parties were in high spirits.
Just as the celebration was in full swing, Gao Jianguo's phone suddenly rang.
What's going on?
Gao Jianguo stood up, puzzled.
His wife, Zhang Wenying, knew he was entertaining important guests tonight. Why would she be calling now?
He walked to a quiet spot and answered the phone. "Why are you calling me at this time?"
Two minutes later, Gao Jianguo hurried back to the table and pulled Su Zhijun aside just as he was raising his glass for a toast. "Old Su, stop drinking. We need to leave, immediately."
Everyone was stunned and fell silent.
What was going on?
"Mr. Huang, I'm terribly sorry. Something urgent has come up tonight, extremely urgent. Please forgive us. We'll come personally to apologize another day, but we need to leave now."
"Oh, Mr. Gao, what's happened?"
"Yeah, we were having such a good time. What's the matter?"
Gao Jianguo couldn't help laughing, but his eyes turned red and tears nearly spilled out.
"I'm going to be a grandfather, Old Su. I'm going to be a grandfather!"
Only then did everyone understand, and the room quickly erupted into congratulations.
Who there didn't know that Gao Jianguo and Su Zhijun were in-laws, and their son and son-in-law was the famous Gao Shen?
"Congratulations, President Gao, President Su! That's fantastic news, double happiness!"
"Yes, double the joy. Congratulations to both of you!"
Gao Jianguo and Su Zhijun were grinning from ear to ear. This was the kind of major event they had long hoped for.
Truthfully, there's nothing more joyous in life than this.
"Say no more, Mr. Huang. I'm really sorry we couldn't host you properly tonight. We'll visit and apologize another time. For now, we have to catch the earliest flight to England. Please excuse us."
"I understand completely. Please extend my congratulations to young Mr. Gao."
"Absolutely. I will."
…
Gao Shen never expected that after receiving one phone call, both sets of parents would fly overnight from China.
In fact, they didn't even tell Gao Shen until after they had landed.
At that time, Gao Shen had accompanied Su Qing to the hospital for a check-up, and everything was normal.
But the moment his parents arrived home, they started scolding him the second they walked in the door. They said he was careless, didn't know how to take care of his wife, had even gone to Northern Europe while she was pregnant, and that he should change clubs altogether.
With their proper and stern demeanor, Gao Shen could only take it all in without rebuttal.
On the contrary, his in-laws were more protective and helped defuse the situation.
In the end, it was Su Qing who stepped in.
According to the pregnancy test results, she had indeed gotten pregnant during their trip to Northern Europe.
"Think about it, if we hadn't gone on that trip, who knows when we'd have had the chance again?" Gao Shen tried to defend himself.
Needless to say, that earned him another round of scolding.
At that point, Su Qing was completely helpless.
She had just tried to back him up, and now he was digging himself deeper. She couldn't help anymore.
"No, I heard you haven't found a house in Madrid yet?"
"Um…"
"Then where will Xiaoqing stay when she joins you?"
"A hotel."
"A hotel? She's in a delicate stage. How could you let her stay in a hotel?"
"She's right. I agree with your mother on this. This is serious. No hotels."
"Then I'll go ahead, find a place, and bring her over later. How's that?" Gao Shen suggested.
"Absolutely not. By the time you find a place, she'll have to uproot herself again. Xiaoqing put a lot of thought into picking the house in Cheshire. The best thing for her now is to rest, without having to worry about anything."
"I support your mother's view on this," Gao Jianguo chimed in.
"Alright, I won't push it. I'll just rent a place, okay?"
"Rent? That's a property other people have lived in. How would you know if there were issues before? How can we be at ease?"
Gao Shen was at his wit's end. He found that everything his mother said actually made sense, and he was left speechless.
On this matter, both families stood in firm agreement.
After all, everyone cared deeply about the baby growing in Su Qing's belly.
This was the third generation of both families.
"If I remember correctly, you're supposed to be traveling soon, right?" Gao Jianguo suddenly asked.
Gao Shen nodded. "The team's heading off for training. Probably for half a month, maybe even a month."
There was no escaping it now.
Originally, Gao Shen had planned to hire professional caregivers, a private doctor, a chef, and a nanny while he was away. That should've been more than enough.
But his mother wasn't having it.
What's most important for a pregnant woman?
Keeping a positive and cheerful mood.
How could she do that if she's left alone for weeks with no one to talk to?
In the end, it was decided that both mothers would stay to look after Su Qing full-time, while the two fathers would remain for a short while until everything stabilized.
As for Gao Shen… he could do whatever he wanted.
"I've never seen a father like you, so irresponsible!" Zhang Wenying scolded.
Gao Shen was full of grievances. How am I irresponsible?
Seeing his expression, Su Qing couldn't help but laugh.
In truth, as Gao Shen became more and more successful, fewer people were able to rein him in.
Now, it seemed only this "unreasonable" mother could still do it.
As for Madrid, Su Qing wouldn't be going for the time being.
Anyway, everything in Cheshire was convenient and comfortable.
After Gao Shen called Lucas, he rushed over right away. Leeds United assigned Su Qing a full-time driver, available 24 hours a day.
Private hospitals and family doctors were also arranged.
In capitalist countries, as long as you're willing to spend the money, you can live like royalty.
Gao Shen was ready to spare no expense this time. He wanted the absolute best of everything, no matter the cost.
But what was depressing was that, in the end, he was kicked out of the house with nothing.
Especially on the way to Manchester Airport, Lucas couldn't stop grinning.
When had he ever seen Gao Shen so down and out?
He was actually traveling alone.
"Honestly, Gao, you've got no status at home," Lucas joked.
Gao Shen slumped in the passenger seat and spat, "Get lost!"
Of course, it was all in good fun.
They both could feel the genuine care and love from Gao Shen's parents and in-laws. Otherwise, they wouldn't have flown all the way from China overnight after one phone call.
In fact, it all traced back to Manchester City reaching the Champions League final. They had all applied for visas at the time but couldn't make the trip for various reasons.
Who would've thought they'd end up using them now?
"Fernando, you'll have to pay more attention to Leeds United's affairs from now on," Gao Shen said.
Lucas smiled and nodded. "Don't worry. I'm here."
The two of them had started from nothing.
Back when Gao Shen took over at Real Madrid, the first person to stand by him was his best friend, Lucas.
"Do you still remember when we were in that tiny rented room, eating instant noodles and dreaming big?"
"Of course I remember," Gao Shen smiled.
"You said you wanted to become a world-renowned coach. I said I wanted to be your assistant. When I left Real Madrid, you promised to bring me back someday. Now look, you've dumped me in England."
Gao Shen chuckled. "How about you come back with me? I'll find someone to take your place."
"No way. My career path has changed. If you bring me back to be your assistant again, I don't think I'd be able to settle down."
Gao Shen understood.
People are like leaves drifting on a vast ocean. Most of the time, they don't know where they're headed, just drifting with the tide.
That applied to Lucas and himself as well.
No one could control the future, but they could control the present.
…
Gao Shen's sudden cancellation of his trip to Madrid sparked widespread speculation and surprise.
Some gossip outlets even claimed that Gao Shen's decision not to go was due to disappointment with Real Madrid's summer signings.
"He might surpass Camacho to become the shortest-tenured head coach in Real Madrid history!"
Dismissed before even officially taking charge!
This sparked panic among Real Madrid fans.
They had waited so long for Gao Shen. Why was something going wrong again?
When Real Madrid first received his call, they were shocked. But once they learned the reason, they were overjoyed and told Gao Shen to take all the time he needed.
When Gao Shen saw the conspiracy theories spreading, he immediately posted on Twitter, clarifying everything and sharing his joy with fans.
Once everyone heard the truth, they breathed a sigh of relief and joined in congratulating him.
Whether they were fans of Napoli, Manchester City, or Real Madrid, they all sent blessings to Gao Shen, Su Qing, and the baby.
There was one unexpected benefit from the sudden change of plans. When Gao Shen finally arrived in Madrid, no one outside of Real Madrid knew.
It wasn't until he appeared at the airport that tourists recognized him. But Gao Shen went straight to Zidane's car, didn't stop, and left Madrid-Barajas Airport immediately.
The media caught wind of it, but by then, they had already lost track of him.
That night, Gao Shen stayed at a luxury hotel near Zidane's home. Real Madrid had booked the presidential suite for him.
It was in that hotel that he had dinner with Zidane, Valdano, and Butragueño.
With the media watching closely, Gao Shen chose not to appear publicly to avoid unnecessary attention.
Hierro was still out of town and would return to Madrid in the next couple of days to report for duty under Gao Shen.
Carlo and the others had returned earlier and were already at Valdebebas preparing.
After discussions with Zidane, Valdano, and the rest, the first person Gao Shen called was Sergio Ramos.
To fend off outside challenges, internal issues had to be resolved first.
And that started with the locker room.
(To be continued.)