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Lance hadn't expected Zhang Xizhe to actually come.
Although the memes of 'sales-type midfielder' and 'Zhang Xizhe's hat-trick' hadn't appeared in reality yet, Lance already understood his compatriot thoroughly through the future.
He actually hoped more of his compatriots would come to the Bundesliga and to Europe's top leagues.
However, Chinese players going abroad had become a joke, a heartbreaking joke for fans.
But since the Bundesliga was currently in its winter break, Lance and Zhang Xizhe wouldn't meet on the Bundesliga pitch yet.
It wouldn't be until the winter break ended, in February 2015, during the Bundesliga's 21st round match between Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, that a 'Sino-German Derby' might be possible.
The prerequisite was that Zhang Xizhe had to have a chance to play.
If he couldn't even make the squad list, then what kind of Derby would it be?
During this winter break, De Bruyne, whose ex-girlfriend cheated on him with Courtois, was currently in a passionate relationship with his new girlfriend, Michèle Lacroix.
The two went to a small island in the South Pacific for a holiday during the winter break.
Son Heung-min also returned to South Korea for a temporary rest.
Bayer Leverkusen's other teammates were all busy with their Christmas holidays.
Lance, however, didn't celebrate Christmas and temporarily returned to Munich to be with his family.
However, his parents were busy with the restaurant business; Lu Yongping, as one of the restaurant's head chefs, strictly controlled the ingredients and the chefs' operational details.
He was busy from morning till night every day, and had to wake up early before dawn to purchase the next day's ingredients.
He couldn't be seen at all.
Zhao Ping, on the other hand, was busy with accounting every day, unwilling to be a hands-off boss and leave the restaurant to others, insisting on handling the details herself.
The two detail-obsessed individuals made Lance's family's Chinese restaurant a 'must-eat' spot in Munich, with its popularity steadily rising.
The price was that even though Lance had finally come back, they didn't have time to spend with him.
They had previously agreed to go to Leverkusen to watch Lance's matches but never had the chance.
"How about... you get a girlfriend? Find something to do yourself."
Zhao Ping felt truly bad; seeing a star like Lance helping to serve dishes in the restaurant just didn't feel right.
"Yeah, other stars can find supermodel girlfriends; you should find one too. I see so many female university students asking for your autograph; why not develop something?"
"Go away, you only know how to come up with bad ideas." Zhao Ping couldn't help but roll her eyes at Lu Yongping.
But the logic was sound.
"Lance, we won't restrict you. As long as you like her, whether she's white or black, a model or whatever, it's fine..."
???
His parents had been in Europe for too long; their views were even more open than Lance's.
However, when the topic of a girlfriend came up, Chloe's sweet face subconsciously appeared in Lance's mind, but he quickly dispelled it.
"I won't be 18 until this summer; getting a girlfriend is too early and would only hinder my training."
With the System, Lance only wanted to squeeze out its value.
Fortunately, the System was more reflected in matches and didn't have a 'get stronger through training' attribute.
Otherwise, Lance might really die of exhaustion on the training ground.
Having finally grasped his football dream, Lance wouldn't give up easily!
To pass the time, Lance simply bought a plane ticket and went to Australia to watch the Asian Cup.
Coincidentally, early January was the group stage of the 2015 Asian Cup.
Lance could support the Chinese National Team in person.
Surprisingly, during the group stage, the Chinese National Team's performance was quite good!
They narrowly won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia, defeated Uzbekistan 2-1, and beat North Korea 2-1.
They advanced as group leaders with three wins out of three!
Especially the second match, a tough 2-1 comeback victory against Uzbekistan, Lance happened to witness this exciting moment from the stands.
Sun Ke successfully broke through a double block and scored the go-ahead goal!
Lance cheered and celebrated with the fans on site, and was even caught by CCTV's camera.
The commentator was CCTV's Liu Jiayuan, and the guest was Fan Zhiyi; both recognised him at a glance.
General Fan was stunned and asked in his Shanghai-accented Mandarin, "Is that Lance in the stands?"
"That's right. We see that Lance, the hottest Chinese rising star in Europe right now, is also here to cheer for the Chinese National Team."
"Actually, he was also at the last match against Saudi Arabia. Lance is truly a lucky star for the Chinese National Team!"
Fan Zhiyi was filled with regret.
In an interview two years prior, he had famously quipped: "What are these Zhao Pengs doing playing centre-back? Can they play? They don't have the ability, alright?"
In Fan Zhiyi's opinion, if Lance could be naturalised, the Chinese National Team would definitely make it to the World Cup!
100% in, no doubt!
Even if everyone else was terrible, they might not go far in the World Cup, but at least they could qualify.
If paired with a world-renowned coach, like Lippi, they might even achieve good results in the World Cup.
When Lance turned 18, he could still exploit a loophole to choose Chinese nationality.
We naturally don't recognise dual nationality, so Belgium nationality would automatically become invalid, but Belgium does recognise it.
At that time, if Belgium didn't revoke it temporarily, and he also obtained an ID card domestically, he could completely wear the five-star jersey with his Chinese nationality.
Instead of naturalising players like Elkeson, Goulart, or Aloísio, it would be better to naturalise the authentic Han Chinese player Lance.
Unfortunately, Belgium made the first move.
Lance's first World Cup appearance, leading the team with De Bruyne into the semi-finals, becoming the biggest dark horse of the Brazil World Cup.
Defeating Portugal and Argentina, he shook the world!
Having played for Belgium, there was no hope of playing for the National Football Team anymore.
Looking at Lance, and then at the old men on the pitch playing with their hands on their hips, Fan Zhiyi suddenly felt that the Chinese National Team's victory was also bland.
Sure enough, when it came to the knockout stage, the Chinese National Team was unlucky in the first round, encountering Australia and being sent home 0-2.
Ultimately, Australia successfully won the championship.
Fans on Weibo were still sighing.
"Lance watched 3 matches in person and they all won; the knockout match he wasn't at, they lost."
"Does it mean that only with Lance overseeing the battle is it effective?"
"If only Lance joined the National Football Team."
"This topic has been discussed to death; Lance absolutely shouldn't touch the National Football Team."
"That's right, why is he successful? Isn't it because he grew up in the European football environment?"
When it came to military, infrastructure, people's lives, urban safety, economic development, high-tech development, new energy... netizens were proud, witnessing the country grow stronger and stronger.
Only football became the 'national fortune balancer'; the more hope placed in it, the more it took a nosedive.
Lance playing football in Europe was clearly the most correct choice.
This time, Lance's actions were personal; he didn't make contact with National Football Team players whilst watching the Asian Cup.
After watching the group stage, he returned directly to Leverkusen, to begin training for the second half of the season.
Bayer Leverkusen was still 3 points behind Bayern Munich.
Given Bayern's dominance this season, they couldn't count on them losing to other teams.
All Bayer Leverkusen had to do was win match after match, try to maintain the point difference, and wait for the next direct confrontation to reverse the situation in one fell swoop!
"Let me see, everyone has maintained themselves quite well!"
Sascha Lewandowski was very happy.
After the winter break, everyone's physical condition met standards, and no one had excessive body fat.
Thinking back to last season, at least half the players had excessive body fat, surely indulging immensely during the holidays.
"Because Lance reminded us this time."
"Yeah, with Lance as an example."
Lance had been praised by many German football legends such as Klinsmann, Matthäus, Beckenbauer, Klopp, and Magath as a "model professional player" and having "excellent professional ethics."
Strictly controlling diet, strictly maintaining exercise, the team was full of spirited young men, and no one wanted to be outdone by Lance.
Driven by Lance, they truly maintained a sufficient professional attitude.
Coaches Hyypiä and Sascha were both very happy:
"Very good, that's the spirit! Tell me, what is our goal for the second half of the season?"
"Champions!"
"Champions!"
"Champions!"