Chapter 167: Europa League Group Stage: A Clean Sweep! Did a Reporter Pick Up Tom's Homework?

"What's wrong?"

Tang Ye blinked his eyes; at this moment, the starting players had already emerged from the tunnel, and Dos Santos and Gaspar were going through the substitution procedures.

Ma Ti suddenly stared fixedly at him, which made Tang Ye feel somewhat panicked.

"Here."

Ma Ti handed the mobile phone in his hand to Tang Ye; Tang Ye took it, leaned back in his chair, and examined it carefully.

Ale beside them tilted his head and was likewise looking at Tang Ye's phone, his facial expressions undergoing the same changes as Ma Ti's.

At first very calm, then stretching his neck out.

Then furrowing his brows.

Finally... starting to suppress laughter?

As Newspaper front-page headline—After the match between Leganés and Villarreal, a reporter picked up a Joma backpack bearing the "Villarreal" logo in the player tunnel; the backpack was open, and inside the reporter discovered a mathematics homework notebook belonging to a youth trainee player.

According to the reporter's inference, this homework notebook should belong to Villarreal's golden boy, Tom.

"Wow."

Tang Ye lifted his head, looking into Ma Ti's eyes: "My homework has been picked up by someone."

"Hahaha! Damn, Tom, are you trying to laugh me to death?"

Although the assistant coach was present, Ale, sitting beside them, could no longer hold it in at all.

Tang Ye's mathematics homework had been picked up by some damn reporter!

Haha!

"It's fine, Ma Ti."

Tang Ye handed Ma Ti's phone back: "It's just a homework notebook; this is no big deal. Later I'll have my deskmate ask Mr. Sol for another one, and that will settle it."

Ma Ti did not take the phone Tang Ye offered but instead gestured for Tang Ye to continue reading downward.

Huh?

Tang Ye took the phone back and scrolled to the next news item.

This news came from Marca, published only five minutes later than As.

Most importantly, they were both reporting the same incident!

Marca front-page headline—The reporter originally assumed both the homework notebook and the backpack belonged to Tom, but the reporter subsequently discovered the number "18" on the backpack, which is striker Sansone's squad number. Nicola Sansone is 25 years old and has no need to write homework, so it should be that Tom's homework was placed inside his backpack; currently, the reason for the two doing this remains unclear.

"..."

After reading this long string of news, Tang Ye suddenly lifted his head.

I, I damn...

"So what is this situation?"

Ma Ti looked into Tang Ye's eyes; the latter returned the phone to the assistant coach, his right hand rubbing back and forth over his nose.

"I, I, I..."

Three consecutive "I"s, yet Tang Ye could not utter a single sentence.

Glancing at Escrivá, who was busy directing affairs up front, and at Sansone, who was on the pitch preparing to dribble past opponents, Mr. Ferran and Nicola should not yet know what had happened.

But not knowing now did not mean they would never know later!

Damn!

He clasped both hands around his head.

He was going to be scolded to death by Mr. Ferran!

Dongqiu Di repost: Spanish reporters discovered Tang Ye's homework appearing in team striker Sansone's backpack; current clues suggest Tang Ye had a teammate help him complete his mathematics homework.

【...】

【Hahahahahaha, damn, having a teammate do his homework for him—holy crap, only Tang Tang Qiuwang plays this flashy.】

【Tang Ye: "Nicola, could you help me write my homework, please, I'm begging you."】

【Understandable; having to be a starter in La Liga while also doing homework—who could withstand that pressure?】

【You bunch of haters, I'm speechless; can't Tang Tang Qiuwang's backpack simply not fit his homework, so he asked a teammate to carry it for him?】

Dongqiu Di: Spanish outlet Sexta's reporter Bauman contacted his reporter friend at the Utrecht Evening Post; he obtained Tang Ye's mathematics homework from his Utrecht period and submitted photos of both homework assignments to a handwriting expert for comparison.

"Although one is in Dutch and the other in Spanish, I am sufficiently confident to confirm these were not written by the same person; the pressure of the two handwritings is completely different," the expert stated.

【6; when it comes to stirring things up, reporters take the crown.】

【Piggy Hero has changed; back when he was at Utrecht, he would do his homework.】

【Damn handwriting expert, is this even necessary, bro? Holy crap, Tang Tang Qiuwang has collapsed.】

In order to obtain more information, Spanish reporters went to great lengths to seek assistance from Dutch reporters and handwriting experts.

There was no other way; the Spanish football world had never witnessed such an outrageous piece of news.

A La Liga player having a teammate help write his homework—holy hell, just reading those few words tells you this will be an explosive news story!

Tang Ye now sat on pins and needles in the third row of the substitutes' bench.

Poking Ale's arm beside him, Tang Ye lowered his head and asked in a small voice: "Sebastián, do you think Mr. Ferran will scold me later?"

Ale took a deep breath: "So... you actually did it?"

"I, I..."

【At 38, you had your team's young teammates help you complete your mathematics homework; ultimately, due to a single mistake, you were caught by reporters. Now you regret it immensely, but everything can no longer be redone.】

【Exploiting the young labor force within the team, Counterattack Points -1.】

【Old yet fond of learning; you obtain Counterattack Points ×5.】

"..."

He had earned 4 Counterattack Points, but Tang Ye could not feel the slightest bit happy right now.

Just then, Huang Huang Qian made an attacking error, and Escrivá waved his hand while glancing at the substitutes' bench.

Tang Ye quickly lowered his head.

The camera cut to Tang Ye on the substitutes' bench.

"We can see that Tang Ye, who was substituted off early, is not in a good mood."

"Yes, he probably hasn't understood the head coach's reasoning for substituting him off early; this is a problem many young players encounter—they feel being taken off early is deeply embarrassing, but in reality, it isn't."

"I think Escrivá should give Tang Ye a proper lesson after the match ends!"

In the 71st minute of the second half, Musacchio conceded a penalty inside the box, and Escrivá roared in anger.

Although he knew this penalty had nothing to do with him, Tang Ye still felt a bit panicked.

Bang!

Roberto Rodríguez, taking the penalty, ran up and scored in one shot, causing the stadium to suddenly erupt in cheers.

Did they sense an opportunity to equalize the score?

Although Zurich had already confirmed their elimination from the group stage, as the last-placed team in Group L, if they could thwart Huang Huang Qian from achieving six consecutive group-stage wins, it would be a remarkable accomplishment!

Suddenly conceding a penalty goal immediately shifted Tang Ye's attention away.

"Sebastian, are we going to lose?"

"Probably not."

Aleix said quietly; overall, the situation remained quite favorable for Huang Huang Qian, making an unexpected outcome unlikely.

"Get up, get up!"

"Hold the defensive line! Don't rush out directly; mark your man!"

Escrivá quickly directed the players to adjust their state.

The Huang Huang Qian players on the field still showed spirit; in the 81st minute, the team captain Bruno stepped up, scoring with a long-range shot that immediately extended the goal difference back to two.

In the 85th minute, Escrivá substituted Bruno off early, as by then the match result was virtually secured.

"Tom, how was it?"

Bruno stepped over Aleix's and Tang Ye's thighs, sat down to Tang Ye's right, and gulped down water.

"Amazing," Tang Ye said softly; Bruno raised his eyebrows.

He felt like Tom didn't seem very happy?

Was it because of being substituted off early?

"Pfft!"

To Tang Ye's left, Aleix couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Bruno:?

"Alright, the full-time whistle has blown!"

"Ultimately, Villarreal defeated Zurich 3-1 away, successfully securing their sixth consecutive win in this season's Europa League group stage; they are the only team among the 48 clubs across the 12 groups in this season's Europa League group stage to achieve six straight wins!"

"Villarreal's form this season has been excellent, and in a few days, after the Champions League group stage concludes, the draw for the Europa League knockout round play-offs will begin; it remains to be seen what kind of draw the undefeated Villarreal will receive in the play-offs!"

After the match ended, Tang Ye followed the players back to the locker room, while Escrivá was preparing in the lounge next to the press conference room to accept interviews from reporters.

!

Escrivá always loved browsing news and fan comments, so he naturally learned immediately about Sansone doing Tang Ye's homework for him.

"This..."

Escrivá felt his head swelling.

How was he supposed to handle this when facing the reporters later?

Sitting in his own spot in the locker room, Tang Ye looked somewhat surprised because Escrivá hadn't stormed into the locker room to scold him as he had imagined, which made Tang Ye breathe a sigh of relief.

"Damn, haha!"

Bruno, looking at the news on his phone, laughed loudly at Tang Ye: "Haha, you got Nicola to do your homework for you!"

"That was an accident, an accident,"

Sansone explained, while Bacca beside him burst into laughter: "So Tom asked you to write it for him, haha!"

"Well, uh, well... I..."

Sansone couldn't answer Bacca's question, which suddenly froze the smile on Bacca's face.

Sitting at the far end, Pato's smile froze as well.

Aleix had originally thought the whole matter was quite amusing, but upon noticing that both Bacca's and Pato's expressions had suddenly frozen, Aleix's expression froze too.

No... no way, right?

Click-click!

Escrivá entered the press conference room, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

The reporters below were already ready and waiting!

"Ferran, your team's golden boy Tom has been exposed for having a teammate do his homework for him; what is your opinion on this matter?"

Good heavens!

These reporters were truly a talented bunch, completely ignoring the team's six consecutive group-stage wins.

They wanted to get the homework matter clarified first!

"This..."

Although he had prepared for it, Escrivá still appeared somewhat constrained when truly facing such a question: "Well, personally, I was unaware of this matter; I briefly looked into it, however, if judging solely based on handwriting, I believe this accusation does not hold water."

"So you believe Tom completed all his homework himself?"

"Yes, that's correct; based on my understanding, he has never asked anyone to help him write his homework; this never happened before, and it is no different now."

Click-clack! Click-clack!

The sound of camera shutters rang out continuously at the scene.

The press conference room at the Zurich stadium was very small, and coincidentally, today's event had hit a hot topic.

There were nearly sixty reporters on site, among whom more than ten had hastily taken cars over after the news about "midfielder doing homework for someone" was released!

"Alright."

The reporter nodded, then asked Escrivá a question he had not anticipated.

"Ferran, if necessary, would you help Tom complete his after-school homework?"

"This..."

Escrivá laughed: "You can rest assured, that is impossible, absolutely impossible. Tom is indeed a player, but he is also a student; a student's homework must be completed by themselves, I can confirm this."

Click-clack! Click-clack!

"Then will you punish Sansone for helping Tom write his homework?"

"..."

The press conference scene suddenly fell silent; Escrivá, who was just about to speak, quickly bit his lips shut.

"Ahem, I just said that Tom's homework was completed by himself."

The reporter could not coax any information out and finally gave up on this topic.

At this moment, the reporter from *Marca* who had found the schoolbag stood up; he handed the backpack belonging to Sansone that he had picked up, along with Tang Ye's homework notebook, to Escrivá.

It is worth mentioning that the reporter placed the backpack directly on the press conference table, but held Tang Ye's homework notebook steadily with both hands before presenting it to Escrivá: "This is Tom's homework; please ensure you deliver it into his hands. If a student does not complete their homework, they must face the teacher's punishment."

"Th-thank you..."

Before Escrivá's interview had even concluded, the invited Tang Ye likewise welcomed his own interview on the pitch.

Marti had emphasized certain matters to Tang Ye in advance, namely that he must not admit to having asked Sansone to help write his homework.

Therefore, during the interview, no matter what the reporters said, Tang Ye denied it outright.

"Then, if needed, would you let your teammates help you complete your homework?"

"No, I generally write it myself,"

Tang Ye said.

"Generally?"

"Oh, that just means affirmatively; I like using it that way."

"I see."

The reporter nodded, then pushed the microphone toward Tang Ye once again.

"As a player for a La Liga team, while also having to complete school homework and exams after matches, do you find this challenging?"

"This is indeed very difficult."

Tang Ye admitted: "But there seems to be no other way; the rules are like this. However, I should be graduating from school in another half year, and I am very much looking forward to that day arriving!"

"Then... Tom, for you, between being the assist king of La Liga and completing school after-class homework, which of these two things is more difficult for you?"

"..."

Tang Ye looked at the reporter, and the reporter likewise looked at Tang Ye; the two met each other's gaze, yet Tang Ye hesitated for a long time without uttering a single word.

"Tom?"

*Manchester Evening News* front page, secondary headline: After defeating PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United will advance to the knockout stage as the group runner-up, facing a random team relegated from the Champions League or from the Europa League in the Round of 32.

*Manchester Evening News* front page, lead headline: In a post-match interview, Ten Hag stated that Tom had always properly done his homework during his time at Utrecht.

Check Dongqiu Di: Fake news! In fact, Tang Ye's homework was indeed completed entirely by himself; the difference in handwriting may be due to Tang Ye's different habits when writing in Dutch versus Spanish.

*Villarreal News* lead headline: After returning to Villarreal, fans photographed Tom riding in a white Mercedes-AMG appearing at the Ceramics International School. "He must be going to submit his homework," an eyewitness said.

Football Elements: 【17-year-old】 【La Liga Assist King】, what level is 【doing homework】?

(End of Chapter)