As the music ended, Ye Chen wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck before stepping out of the car.
In December, Dortmund's temperature hovered around 7 to 8 degrees, and it was expected to get even colder in the coming days...
The trees around were draped in silver, but depending on one's mood, the scenery could feel different.
The cold air and temperature made Ye Chen, already feeling lonely, feel even colder.
Click!
Ye Chen opened the door and stepped inside after changing his shoes.
Just as he turned on the lights, Lina's voice rang out.
"Surprise!"
Ye Chen froze in place...
Lina was here?
Not just Lina â that familiar baby face, his wife, their two sons, and little daughter were all present!
This...
"What are you doing here?" Ye Chen stared at Lina in surprise.
Lina didn't bother explaining and threw herself into Ye Chen's arms. "Of course, I missed you!"
Idiot, how could I let you spend the holidays alone?
Ye Chen hugged Lina tightly, taking in the scent of her hair.
A familiar fragrance filled his senses. Honestly, he could hardly believe this was real!
Lina had actually brought the whole family to spend the holiday with him...
Ahem...
At that moment, Solskjaer coughed.
A signal to say, "That's enough."
Solskjaer's wife, however, wore a warm smile.
"Boss, it's good to see you again!" Ye Chen released Lina and extended his hand.
"Boss? Still calling me that?" Solskjaer frowned.
Ye Chen felt a little awkward. "In China, we call our in-laws father and mother. What do you call them in Norway?"
"Just call them pappa and mama like I do," Lina said with a smile.
"Pappa, nice to meet you!" Ye Chen quickly adjusted.
"And this is mama..."
"Mama, hello!"
"This is Noah, Karina, and Ilia," Lina introduced her siblings one by one.
"You're Ye?" Noah raised an eyebrow, his expression unfriendly. "I don't accept you as my brother-in-law!"
"Noah!" Lina shot him a glare. "He's playing for Molde's youth team. Just signed this year."
Ye Chen laughed. "We can have a match sometime."
"Hmph, I'm not afraid of you!" Noah shot him a fierce look.
"Brother-in-law, I'm starving!" Karina, only nine years old, said with rosy cheeks and shining blonde hair. Her big eyes and round face still carried a bit of baby fat.
She looked like a mini Solskjaer.
"Did you guys buy groceries? Let's cook something."
"Of course!" Lina nodded. "Let's start cooking!"
"You men go chat. We'll handle the food," Lina's mom added.
"Thank you, mama!" Ye Chen smiled.
Solskjaer put his arm around Ye Chen. "Ye, let's talk about how you've been doing lately."
He had been watching Ye Chen's matches.
Simply unbelievable.
As Ye Chen's youth team coach, Solskjaer could only describe his progress with one phrase â a complete transformation.
And it all started when Ye Chen was cut from the Chinese U17 national team...
It seemed that sometimes, the best motivator was resentment.
"Hey, do you play FIFA?" Noah suddenly asked.
"Yeah, want to play?"
"Let's go! I'll take Man United, you take Dortmund. Let's have a match!"
"Sure!"
They set up their teams.
Noah fielded United's strongest lineup â De Gea in goal, Evra at left-back, Ferdinand and Vidic as center-backs, and Rafael on the right. Giggs and Scholes controlled the midfield, with Nani and Valencia on the wings. Rooney and Berbatov led the attack.
A classic 4-2-4 formation.
Seeing this, Ye Chen mirrored the formation with Dortmund's squad.
His lineup had Ye Chen partnering with Mane up front, De Bruyne on the left, Wang Chu and Sven Bender in midfield, and Götze on the right. Schmelzer, Hummels, SubotiÄ, and Azpilicueta formed the defense, with Weidenfeller in goal.
Dortmund's four new signings were ready to go.
But Noah raised an eyebrow. "You sure about this lineup? Don't make excuses when you lose."
Mane's rating was 63, De Bruyne 67, and Wang Chu a pitiful 59! Azpilicueta was slightly better at 73.
Meanwhile, United's players averaged in the 80s, with Rooney's rating towering above.
It looked like a massacre in the making.
But as the match began, Noah realized something was off...
"W-what...?"
Staring at the 10-0 scoreline in Dortmund's favor, Noah's face turned red, tears welling up.
"How was that? Not bad, right?" Ye Chen said casually.
"Hmph, I let my guard down! Next time, I'll win!" Noah gritted his teeth.
"Want to go again? I'll use China's national team this time."
"Bring it on!" Noah snapped. "No way I lose to China's weak players!"
Soon, Noah stopped talking...
China 5 â 1 Man United.
Rooney scored a face-saving goal, but Wu Lei netted five times.
"This game is so unrealistic!" Noah growled before storming off.
Solskjaer, chuckling from behind, said, "Couldn't you have gone easier on him?"
"In China, we believe in tough love. Letting him win would only make him arrogant."
Solskjaer nodded. "Fair point! I'll bring him to train with you tomorrow."
"Sounds good!"
With Solskjaer's family around, the house felt lively.
Of course, Klopp's villa was spacious enough, with five guest rooms.
Klopp even invited Ye Chen for dinner, but after spotting Lina, he simply grinned and said, "Keep the noise down tonight. I need my rest!"
"No problem, boss!"
With Lina's parents there, things couldn't get too wild...
Or so Ye Chen thought.
But the bed had other ideas.
Perhaps absence made the heart grow fonder.
The "music" didn't stop until 2 a.m.
The next morning, Solskjaer's dark circles said it all.