The next round of the Bundesliga tournament was in three days, and Borussia Dortmund had chosen to take another day off. The players were exhausted, both mentally and physically. On his day off, Jin Hayes still woke up naturally at 6 a.m. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, unable to fall back asleep even though he wanted to. As soon as he closed his eyes, his mind was like a broken media player, endlessly looping the footage of yesterday's match.
Jin Hayes sat there in a daze until 7 o'clock, then realised he couldn't lie down any longer. He decided to get up, wash up, and head to the club's gym.
"Child, you're awake so early? Sleep a little longer."
Maria had just gotten up to make breakfast for her family when she saw Jin Hayes's condition and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Anyone who saw Jin Hayes's performance yesterday couldn't help but feel moved.
A child had given it his all, scoring four goals to tie Barcelona and prevent Westfalen from falling behind. Even if Borussia Dortmund ended the season empty-handed, without achieving any results or winning any championships, based solely on their performances of eliminating Manchester United and drawing with Barcelona, the fans had no complaints. On the German internet, even Bayern Munich fans, who usually criticised Jin Hayes the most, couldn't find any way to fault him at this time.
Moreover, Maria treated Jin Hayes like her own child. "Don't carry too much on your shoulders. I just spoke with your family on the phone yesterday, and they are all very worried about you. If this continues, I won't be able to face them anymore, and I haven't taken good care of you—"
"Maria, I'm an adult now and I can take care of myself. Besides, my whole family is so good to me, my parents are too grateful to even ask."
"What adult? He's clearly still a child."
Overwhelmed with emotion, Maria couldn't resist giving Jin Hayes a bear hug, nearly suffocating him. "By the way, you got up so early today to exercise again?"
"Yes. I can have brunch at the club's cafeteria; there's no need to prepare mine."
"Hey! Come back early and get some rest."
Before Aunt Maria could finish speaking, Jin Hayes had already slipped away.
Hans yawned as he went downstairs, puzzled: "What's going on? He went to exercise again on his day off?"
"Yes, you should try to persuade him. The child has already tried his best, he shouldn't push himself so hard."
"How could I possibly persuade him? Unless Anna intervenes, no one can convince this kid."
"Do you know why Anna's words have an effect?"
"How would I know? They're good friends, aren't they?"
"Pfft."
"Why are you laughing?"
"It's nothing, I'm going to cook."
Maria almost lost her composure. Jin Hayes and Anna's relationship was so obvious, how could their father not have noticed?
Perhaps he already sensed it, but he was unwilling to admit the truth: his little darling had been taken. Maria didn't bother to remind him. Since Hans was being kept in the dark, she decided to let him continue to be the one keeping the secret. As long as Jin Hayes and Anna were happy, that was all that mattered.
The first team was on holiday, but the Borussia Dortmund youth academy was still training as usual, so the canteen was open as well. After warming up by jogging slowly on the training field for a while, it was almost 8 o'clock when Jin Hayes walked into the cafeteria and found many children from the youth training team eating inside.
When Jin Hayes appeared, the group of Borussia Dortmund children stared wide-eyed. The quieter ones were still secretly observing the team's superstar, while the lively and straightforward ones swarmed around him all at once.
"Jin!! You were amazing yesterday!"
"Wow! I watched the game yesterday, they played really well!"
"We almost beat Barcelona! We thought we had lost yesterday."
"Yes, it was so close, it's such a pity!"
"It's already good that we were able to tie the score; we owe it all to Jin—"
"I really want to play in the Champions League too."
"Jin, what was it like fighting Messi?"
Actually, these young people were about the same age as him, all 13-16 years old, so theoretically they were his peers. But Jin Hayes had been with the first team for a long time, so he always felt like he had become their senior. Even the young players in the youth training program didn't see him as a peer; they all looked at him with admiration.
"Well, Messi is indeed very strong. He moves very quickly on the pitch, and it's quite difficult to defend against him. Xavi is more cunning than anyone thinks; his passes are always unpredictable."
Looking at this group of kids so full of anticipation for the Champions League, Jin Hayes was happy to share his Champions League experience playing against top teams. He was like a storyteller, and the young players in the training camp listened with great interest.
"I want to play in the Champions League too! Jin, when I shut down Messi in the backfield, you can attack without restraint." One of the big, honest-looking young players listened with his eyes shining, wishing he could fight Messi right there and then.
"Okay, then the defence line will depend on you from now on—by the way, what's your name?"
"Rüdiger, sir. Antonio Rüdiger."
This big guy was a bit taller than him, about the same age, but much stronger. Jin Hayes looked at his physical talent and couldn't help but admire it secretly.
Wait a minute? Rüdiger?
Suddenly, images flashed through Jin Hayes's mind: him in a blue jersey holding the Champions League trophy, and him in a white jersey holding the trophy.
Wait, a champion's league harvester?
Some people don't win their first professional title until they are over 30. Some people in their 30s already have three Champions League titles, as well as more than a dozen other titles of varying sizes.
"Yes, Antonio, you'll definitely be able to defend Messi one-on-one in the future."
"Really?"
Rüdiger was overjoyed to be recognised by his idol.
...
After chatting briefly with his youth academy teammates about yesterday's Champions League, Jin Hayes went to the gym alone. With his teammates all on holiday, he could only put on his headphones and start his workout in the empty gym. After exercising until 11 a.m., Jin Hayes sat in the locker room, panting and resting while scrolling through his phone. Whether it was the news media or the Kicker Forum, everyone was talking about yesterday's game like crazy.
In the other half of the bracket, the Premier League internal matches generated absolutely no buzz. Liverpool and Chelsea were drawn together in the semi-finals last year, and the same scenario had played out for two consecutive years, which had already caused fans to become tired of it.
Similar to last year, Liverpool still couldn't beat Chelsea this year. Playing at home in Anfield, they were defeated 1-3 by Chelsea, conceding a goal. Fernando Torres scored first, but Chelsea capitalised on set-piece opportunities, taking the lead with two corner kicks. Didier Drogba ultimately secured the victory. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Chelsea should be able to reach the Champions League Final for the second consecutive year.
0:57 0:00 / 0:58
Looking at the match between Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, media outlets from various countries gave high praise to the home side.
"A stunning comeback from 2-5 to 5-5, Jin Hayes shattered Barcelona's arrogance with an unprecedented quadruple: this young player created a threatening shot for every 1.2 touches of the ball in the final stages of the match.
When a possession-based dynasty meets extreme individual heroism, Westfalen's night belongs to the indomitable spirit of the yellow and black. Messi's brace should have gone down in history, but the headlines were stolen by the younger number 10's four goals—the 22-year-old Argentine prodigy and the 16-year-old Chinese prodigy combined for seven goals, representing the future of football."
Jin Hayes glanced around briefly. While Spanish media lavishly praised Barcelona's dominance in passing and possession, Madrid media subtly criticised him, mocking his squandering of a good opportunity.
Media outlets in Germany, France, Italy, and England analysed the match from different perspectives.
Whether it was the youthful energy of Borussia Dortmund or Jin Hayes's exceptional individual performance, both the overall synergy of Barcelona and the home side had many commendable aspects. The two sides joined forces to fight a classic battle—perhaps one that would be brought up by the media in 10 years.
After reading so many of these reports, Jin Hayes became somewhat numb to them. He scrolled through the pages for a while without feeling anything. However, the comments from some world football legends surprised Jin Hayes a bit. He never expected yesterday's match to cause such a sensation.
Diego Maradona stated through Italian media: "I thought Barcelona's football philosophy was invincible, but it turns out they haven't met a real opponent yet. Jin Hayes is a bit like me when I was young—passionate and energetic. I hope this player will achieve even greater things in the future."
T/N: Pretty sure Maradona was an avid Messi supporter but what the hell!!!
Ronaldinho also publicly praised Jin Hayes in an interview: "He plays with great flair; you can see that football has become an integral part of him. Barcelona deserved this draw."
José Mourinho said: "He would look great in the blue and black jersey if possible. However, the young man still needs to practice his tactical discipline and finishing."
Florentino Pérez simply admitted it to the live stream camera: "We considered bringing Jin to the Bernabéu; he is absolutely capable of wearing the Real Madrid jersey."
Shortly after the news about Florentino broke, Jürgen Klopp was so frightened that he came out to personally deny it.
"Impossible. Jin is not for sale by Borussia Dortmund, and they won't let him go next season either."
CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke vehemently denied the allegations.
"I have never spoken to any club about Jin Hayes's transfer; he has always been a member of Borussia Dortmund."
After interviewing Watzke, Bild thoughtfully provided readers with a graph showing Jin Hayes's transfer value. It rose almost exponentially within two years. According to Transfermarkt's official website update that morning, Jin Hayes's market value had increased by €15 million overnight, climbing from €45 million to €60 million.
Jin Hayes was at a loss for words after reading this news.
I'm actually that expensive? Worth €60 million?
Of course, compared to the rumored €100 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, Jin Hayes was still some distance away.
According to well-known Italian transfer experts, Cristiano Ronaldo's signing was complete, and Manchester United and Real Madrid were expected to officially announce the news almost that month. La Liga would be really lively then—Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would fight each other at least twice a year. Seeing that all the world's top athletes were flocking to La Liga, Jin Hayes was even considering giving it a try.
Of course, the first thing to do was to solve the problem of winning the Bundesliga championship. In the next round of the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund would definitely have to field a reserve squad against their opponent Frankfurt. If Borussia Dortmund lost, Wolfsburg could overtake them.
...
The next day, sitting in front of the television, Jin Hayes nervously watched Bundesliga's 30th round. The match between Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund. Frankfurt, ranked 13th and only 2 points above the relegation zone, could be relegated at any time. Therefore, they displayed tremendous fighting spirit at home. Borussia Dortmund's reserve squad struggled to keep up.
Jin Hayes and the Heinrich family watched the game together. To avoid suspicion, Jin Hayes and Anna originally sat on two different sofas. Anna sat in her usual corner seat, while Jin Hayes and Uncle Hans watched the game together, discussing tactics.
"That ball! Hey!! If you were here, it would definitely have gone in."
"He's wasting another chance in front of the goal! What's the point of him?"
"No one's breaking through! Why don't we take him down?"
Uncle Hans watched and complained repeatedly.
Jin Hayes smiled and comforted him: "Don't worry, Frankfurt's attacking line is weak, they shouldn't pose much of a threat—"
Jin Hayes was proven wrong before he could finish speaking.
"Goooooal!! Frankfurt of the home team opens the scoring!! Ribeiropoulos!!"
"The Greek national team striker strikes again! What a beautiful shot!"
"Dortmund's defence was too careless!"
The guests on TV were still trying to smooth things over for Borussia Dortmund: "There was nothing we could do about it. The last game against Barcelona took a toll on Dedê, who came on as a substitute and played for 10 minutes. Today he has to play the league, so mistakes are inevitable."
"All I can say is that Wolfsburg just beat Hoffenheim by 4 goals. If Borussia Dortmund loses again, their title race will really be in jeopardy."
Commentator Berenberg also expressed concern for Borussia Dortmund: "But Jin isn't on the roster today. We're at a disadvantage. Who can step up and cover for us?"
Guest Bierhoff remained silent. He didn't know who could step up in this rotation.
...
As Borussia Dortmund fell behind and became increasingly disadvantaged, even Uncle Hans could no longer laugh. He gripped the beer bottle nervously, his whole body tense. Jin Hayes was afraid that he would smash the beer bottle in his excitement. Anna couldn't help but glance to the other side, equally worried, her delicate little feet with her toes tightly clenched. Jin Hayes couldn't resist the urge to grab her feet and give her a massage to help her relax.
"Uncle Hans, would you like some more beer?"
"Oh, okay, thank you."
Making an excuse, Jin Hayes quietly left the sofa, went to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of beer, and then took out a cup of ice cream. Back in the living room, Jin Hayes handed the beer to Hans, deliberately raising his voice slightly.
"Anna, would you like some ice cream?"
"Okay, okay."
Anna was nervous again, but this time it wasn't because of the intensity of the match, but because of Jin Hayes.
This guy actually sat right next to me in front of my parents.
The girl took the ice cream, her eyes slightly flustered as she glared at him.
"Sit back down quickly!"
Anna gestured repeatedly with her eyes. Jin Hayes pretended not to see her and instead sat down close to Anna. The couple on the other side were focused on the television and were not paying attention to this side at the moment.
"No, please." The girl's eyes pleaded.
Ignoring everything else, Jin Hayes grabbed her soft body and, while handing her the ice cream, seized the girl's cold little hand. Anna shuddered, then felt much more at ease. With Jin Hayes by her side, she wasn't as nervous when they were behind in the game.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine today."
"Mm."
Anna had lost all interest in watching the game. Secretly enjoying the closeness while on the verge of being discovered by her parents was way more exciting than the Bundesliga match on the field.