"Knock, knock, knock..."
"Chen, can I come in?" Lina's voice sounded from outside the door, filled with urgency and concern.
Inside, however, Ye Chen gave no response.
"Could he be asleep?"
Lina mumbled softly, gently pushing the door open. Soon, she saw Ye Chen fast asleep.
Even in his sleep, his brows were furrowed. Lina felt a sharp pain in her heart once more.
That damn Rudiger... Such a foul move should get him banned for life!
Lina carefully walked to the bedside, softly brushing Ye Chen's cheek. "Get some good rest. Tomorrow, everything will pass."
But as she saw the tear stains on Ye Chen's face, sensitive Lina couldn't help but shed tears herself.
He's alone in a foreign country, without family or relatives. He must feel so lonely, right?
There are some feelings she couldn't provide. Even though she was his girlfriend, he always hid his troubles, sharing only his joys, bearing everything alone.
He's only 17, yet he takes care of me like an older brother...
He must be exhausted.
Lina's mind replayed the image of his ever-smiling face, but the more she thought about it, the more her heart ached.
The more mature a child is, the more grievances they endure inside.
He wouldn't even show his vulnerable side to her...
Lina gently held Ye Chen's hand, her vision blurred by tears, but warmth flooded her heart.
She didn't know how long she sat there. Eventually, she fell asleep at his bedside.
As sunlight streamed through the window, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes.
Yesterday, after being taken to the hospital by ambulance for a check-up, they confirmed there were no major issues. His ankle was wrapped, and he was sent home.
It was a routine injury â an ankle sprain.
The team doctor advised him to rest for a week and undergo another examination. If all went well, he could return to training.
However, he'd definitely miss the next two matches.
Luckily, there was no need for hospitalization â he could recover at home.
The doctor had given him a list of things to pay attention to, and Ye Chen remembered them all.
Looking at the sleeping Lina, Ye Chen smiled softly.
As expected, whenever he needed someone the most, she was always there.
Ye Chen got out of bed and covered Lina with a blanket. After all, it was already December, and Germany's weather had turned cold.
She had spent the whole night sleeping like this. He didn't want her to get sick.
Before Lina woke up, Ye Chen started communicating with the system.
"System, did I complete yesterday's task?"
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for leading Dortmund to a comeback victory. Match rating: SS. Rewards doubled. Congratulations, you have received a diamond chest!"
"Another diamond chest? These seem to be dropping frequently lately," Ye Chen raised an eyebrow with interest.
"If the host doesn't like it, you can simply not use it."
"Of course, I'll use it!" Ye Chen hurriedly replied. Who wouldn't want to get stronger?
Although his stats had surpassed 80, he still didn't feel strong enough.
Take Stuttgart for example. They may be high in the standings now, but by the end of the season, they won't even make the Champions League spots.
Last season, they were fighting relegation...
Scoring three goals against them was nothing unusual!
Especially that last shot â when he struck the curving ball, the long-shot guarantee card activated... Otherwise, Rudiger's kick would have ended it.
He wouldn't have been able to break his Guinness World Record of five consecutive hat-tricks and extend it to six!
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring an SS-level attribute: Iron Body!"
Ye Chen's mouth twitched. "Damn, why didn't this skill show up earlier?"
"Friendly reminder: All skills are randomly drawn and cannot be controlled by the system."
"Wait, don't I already have Iron Man? Why did I still get injured?"
"Host, please note: Iron Man does not provide 100% immunity to injuries. Similarly, Iron Body only reduces the likelihood and severity of injuries."
So even with SS-level Iron Body, he wasn't completely immune to injuries.
"Why can't Iron Body and Iron Man merge?" Ye Chen questioned further.
"Skills can only merge if they are of the same rank. For example, the long-shot guarantee card and Bati-Goal were both S-level skills, but Iron Man is only S-level."
The system's explanations were surprisingly patient.
"Is there any way to shorten the recovery period?" Ye Chen asked with a raised eyebrow.
"The host can purchase healing potions. Each bottle reduces the recovery period by one week."
Right, how did he forget about the store?
Looking at the upcoming fixtures, Dortmund would host Olympiacos on November 2nd, and then face Wolfsburg on November 5th.
After hesitating for a moment, Ye Chen decided against using the potions.
There was an international break after those games â perfect for recovery.
Besides, he couldn't play in the Champions League anyway, and the Wolfsburg match... honestly, he wasn't too interested.
After 11 rounds, Wolfsburg sat 12th in the league, just four points above the relegation zone.
They posed no real threat at Westfalenstadion.
The real challenge was coming...
In Bundesliga Round 13, Dortmund would face Bayern Munich away!
Round 11 had concluded yesterday.
Bayern crushed Nuremberg 4-0 at home, reaching 25 points.
Thanks to Ye Chen's hat-trick against Stuttgart, Dortmund now had 22 points â three behind Bayern.
Schalke 04, in third, secured a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim, with Raul scoring first and Huntelaar bagging a brace, putting him second in the scoring charts.
The top scorer? Ye Chen, of course!
His hat-trick cemented him as the Bundesliga's leading scorer with 15 goals â one more than Huntelaar.
What made the schedule exciting was that after facing Bayern in Der Klassiker, Dortmund would host Schalke for the Ruhr derby!
But before that, there was an international break.
Checking the schedule again, Ye Chen dismissed the idea of buying potions.
Winning the last game, along with his hat-trick, netted him 40 points â bringing his total to 365. A little more and he could buy the Falcon boots.
"System, is there any training I can do now?"
"Ding! Would you like to spend 50 points to purchase a training course?"
Hearing the system prompt, Ye Chen couldn't help but twitch.
This system really knew how to squeeze him dry...