Chapter 107: Villarreal's Number 99! (20k Update, Seeking Monthly Votes!)

Valérie had tutored Tang Ye in Spanish for many days, but Tang Ye ultimately gave up.

After studying hard for several days, Tang Ye still hadn't figured anything out.

He had previously thought Valérie was a good teacher, but now it seemed this person was unreliable.

When it came to learning, one ultimately had to rely on oneself!

The club did not want language issues to trouble Tang Ye, so after communicating with him, they moved his reporting date forward by five days to July 22.

That afternoon, Tang Ye's family pushed four suitcases of various sizes as they arrived in Villarreal, Spain.

"That's about it!"

Tang Tang Zhengxiong clapped his hands, then pushed the suitcase beside him toward Tang Ye: "You go report to the club first."

"There are too many suitcases; I can't carry them all."

Tang Ye pointed at the four large suitcases around him: "Can you accompany me to the base first? I'll drop off my things, and then you can leave."

Zhang Zhang Qingqing prepared to help, but Tang Tang Zhengxiong stopped her immediately: "What kind of nonsense is this? Didn't the team say they'd send someone to pick you up? Just wait at the train station. Your mother and I are very busy."

"Very busy? What are you two going to do?"

Tang Ye paused for a moment.

He had assumed his parents would stay in Spain for a while.

"The Rio Olympics! I'm going to watch the Olympics and tour Brazil while I'm at it."

Tang Tang Zhengxiong rubbed his hands together; it was clear he was slightly excited.

He had secured an excellent seat for the 100-meter final at the Olympics!

"..."

Tang Ye looked at the four large suitcases beside him, his expression speechless.

Seeing Tang Ye like this, Zhang Zhang Qingqing pulled on Tang Tang Zhengxiong, refusing to let him leave.

"Hey, don't be like that, Zhang Qingqing. We can come back another time."

Tang Tang Zhengxiong simply dragged Zhang Zhang Qingqing away.

"... Fine then."

Tang Ye pushed two suitcases with one hand and stopped in front of a bank.

His phone rang; it was a call from Ale.

A black Volkswagen was five minutes away!

Tang Ye stood waiting in place when a white middle-aged woman approached from the right.

"H-hello?"

Tang Ye greeted her in the Spanish he had just learned, but for some reason, the woman didn't speak; instead, she used both hands to pull at the corners of her eyes at Tang Ye, making a "slanted eyes" gesture.

What...

What the hell?

Tang Ye was completely bewildered.

Seeing no reaction from Tang Ye, the woman found it uninteresting and slunk away.

Wait, what?

Tang Ye tilted his head.

Are all Spanish people this neurotic?

Tang Ye shook his head and turned his attention to his surroundings.

This was his first time in Spain since he could remember, and the unfamiliar environment instilled an inexplicable sense of tension.

"Over here, Tom!"

Across the street, a Volkswagen stopped; the window rolled down, revealing Ale's familiar face.

"Come over—oh, so much luggage. Never mind, never mind, just wait a moment; I'll go around the corner up ahead."

Ale moved quickly, driving his newly purchased car with a whoosh to the traffic light ahead, finally coming to a steady stop in front of Tang Ye.

Ale got out and helped Tang Ye load the luggage into the trunk; his movements were swift.

Two new Villarreal players appearing simultaneously on the streets of Villarreal had already attracted two or three onlookers; if they didn't leave soon, Ale and the other might get stuck there.

"Let's go, let's go!"

Tang Ye quickly got into the passenger seat, and Ale drove him toward the base.

"Sebastian, have you learned Spanish?"

Tang Ye turned to look at Ale.

Although he could have said this sentence in Spanish as well, he chose Dutch to express himself more accurately.

"I've already learned quite a bit; I arrived last week. Since I already know English and Dutch, I'm learning faster."

"What about you, Tang? Have you taken language classes?"

Ale answered in Spanish, but Tang Ye didn't understand the first half of the sentence; his attention had been drawn elsewhere.

【At 38, you are loaned from the Eredivisie to a La Liga team, joining a top-five league at an age when other players have already retired; this reflects your love for football and your pursuit of honor.】

【Middle-aged players learn languages slower than young players; balance mechanism triggered. University of Language module unlocked.】

University of Language?

What the hell is this thing?

The sudden information left Tang Ye momentarily stunned, so he decisively manipulated his system within his mind.

【University of Language Module: As a middle-aged person, you enjoy preferential social welfare; you can use Counterattack Points to directly supplement language proficiency.】

【Dutch (Mastered): Counterattack Points * 1282】

【English (Mastered): Counterattack Points * 2432】

【Spanish (Mastered): Counterattack Points *2378】

【German (Mastered): Counterattack Points *2500】

【French (Mastered): Counterattack Points *2500】

The System is truly awesome; it created a language university, only for the whole thing to boil down to buying language proficiency with money.

But thinking about it carefully.

Isn't university just paying tuition to learn? The System simply skipped the learning steps and granted the results directly.

Damn, this is exactly the kind of learning Tang Ye wants!

He quickly checked his current account balance.

2680 points!

【You have purchased Spanish (Mastered)】

"Hey, Tang?"

Ale waved his hand in front of Tang Ye, who then came to his senses: "Oh, what's wrong, what's wrong?"

"Did you fail to sleep on the plane, haha? I just asked how your Spanish studies were going; did you sign up for a language class?"

"I didn't sign up," Tang Ye said. "Earlier I found a Spanish teacher, but she turned out to be a scammer; after several days, she had only taught me a few words."

"Then you can sign up for a language class with me; I think my teacher is quite good."

Ale added, "But the class time is in the evening, so you might not have time to play games."

"Language classes? No need, it's fine."

Tang Ye turned his head and smiled at Ale: "I learned Spanish when I was a child."

Huh?

Ale stood with his mouth open, looking utterly incredulous: "You've already learned Spanish? When you were a child?"

Tang Ye nodded: "Ale, do you remember what I told you? I really love learning, specifically that feeling of full harvest after studying; do you know that feeling?"

"Hiss..."

Ale took a deep breath: "Studying is very hard, isn't it? When I attended language classes, I could barely sit still in my chair."

"I'm not afraid of hardship."

"!!!"

!

In the afternoon, upon arriving at the base, Tang Ye, with help from Ale and the club staff, moved his luggage into his room, then headed to the team's office building.

Click!

Click-click!

A club staff member followed Tang Ye throughout with a camera; this is a common practice for many teams, filming a short video when a player joins the club.

"Hello, Tang!"

The newly appointed head coach, Escrivá, extended his right hand to Tang Ye.

When Villarreal expressed their interest in Tang Ye, Escrivá was not yet the team's head coach.

However, since the former head coach Marcelino had already confirmed his departure, Escrivá had received the authority to decide on transfer window matters in advance.

"Hello, Mr. Ferran."

Tang Ye likewise extended his hand.

Click-click!

Escrivá led Tang Ye into the base's office building, surrounded by accompanying Villarreal staff members.

Arriving at the press conference room on the first floor, Tang Ye and Escrivá sat on opposite sides, with a thick document placed on the table between them.

Actually, Porto had already negotiated the detailed loan terms with Villarreal; Tang Ye's signature was merely the final confirmation.

"Tang, please."

Escrivá handed Tang Ye a gel pen; without hesitation, the latter flipped the document to the last page and wrote his name beneath the team crest.

Click-click!

Click-click-click!

"Shake hands!"

A staff member below reminded them; Escrivá and Tang Ye shook hands again, while the staff member proceeded with another round of click-click photography.

"You know, this is the prescribed procedure."

Uncertain whether Tang Ye enjoyed doing this, Escrivá now felt somewhat awkward.

"It's fine, it's fine; back when I was at Utrecht, many Chinese reporters specially came over, and the flashbacks back then nearly kept my eyes from opening."

"Hahaha, so you were already a star player long ago."

Escrivá laughed, but he immediately noticed something odd: "Wow, your Spanish is very standard; have you been learning it for a long time?"

"You could say that."

Tang Ye decided to gloss over it.

"You could say that?"

Escrivá raised his eyebrows: "Knowing the language will be a great help to you; players with language talent generally integrate into the team faster."

After a brief chat, the two stood up at the staff's prompting.

Head coach Escrivá received a pure yellow number 99 jersey from a staff member: "Come on, you hold that corner of the shirt, and we'll take a few more photos."

Tang Ye and Escrivá "held" the jersey together; finally, Tang Ye put the jersey on and went to the adjacent room to take a set of photos.

"These photos will be posted on the team's media channels, and many newspapers will publish them together; Tang, remember to strike some handsome poses."

"Haha, does that matter?"

"Yes, it matters!"

Escrivá patted Tang Ye on the shoulder.

……

After the promotional photos were taken, Tang Ye returned to the press conference room, where local Spanish football reporters were already waiting.

"Tom? That's how you're called, right? Coming from a Eredivisie champion team to Villarreal is a huge leap, because the match intensity between the Eredivisie and La Liga differs considerably; are you aware of this?"

"Aware, of course I'm aware."

Tang Ye nodded and replied, "Before coming here, I watched many La Liga matches on TV; I feel this will be a challenging place for me."

"Do you think you'll get good opportunities within the squad?"

The reporter asked the same question as Tang Tang Zhengxiong.

For a 17-year-old player moving from the Eredivisie to La Liga, skepticism was certainly inevitable.

"I will do my best to try."

The reporter turned to head coach Escrivá: "Tom was exposed last season at Utrecht for having disciplinary issues; were you aware of this beforehand?"

"I know; of course I know."

Escrivá had very prominent forehead wrinkles, giving him an amiable yet dignified appearance.

"I believe Tang will show considerable improvement in this regard after arriving at Villarreal; I am confident in handling disciplinary issues."

!?

Tang Ye took a deep breath.

He turned his head to look at Escrivá beside him.

It seemed...

It seemed a bit ominous?

Villarreal Official: Vamos! Utrecht champion midfielder tangy joins the team on loan from the Zujiejia Alliance, wearing jersey number 99; the loan lasts for one season.

……

(End of Chapter)