Chapter 24: Ten Hag: Just Say Whatever You Like

"Beep, beep-beep——!!!"

The match ended; Allé scored a hat-trick, successfully helping the team defeat Willem II 3-0 away from home.

Allé was naturally the protagonist of this match, but another person caught the attention of fans and reporters.

Invited by reporters, Ten Hag brought Tang Ye to attend the press conference together.

This was Tang Ye's first time attending a press conference and his first time being interviewed by reporters.

He felt somewhat nervous now!

Click!

Click-click!

Amidst a chorus of shutter sounds, Tang Ye sat down beside Ten Hag.

"Tang, you delivered an astonishing performance in this match; your pass in the second half helped Sebastian complete his hat-trick. What were you thinking when you made that pass?"

"Uh..."

Tang Ye thought carefully for a moment.

What had he been thinking at the time?

"Well, I was in our own half back then, still a long distance away from our attacking players."

Tang Ye spread his hands apart to indicate a distance: "If I wanted to join the attack, I would have had to run far forward, and that is very tiring."

"Very tiring?"

The reporter frowned: "What does that have to do with your stunning pass?"

"It has everything to do with it; if I just passed the ball directly to Sebastian, then I wouldn't have to run."

The entire room fell silent, only for the sound of camera shutters to erupt again shortly after.

The reporter didn't know what to say.

To avoid running such a long distance, he simply kicked the ball from the backfield directly to his teammate.

He felt there was something slightly wrong with Tang Ye's answer.

Yet he couldn't quite pinpoint where the problem lay.

After a moment of silence, the reporter decided not to dwell too long on this topic: "According to an investigation by a reporter from 'Utrecht Sports,' it seems you have been banned from entering the first-team cafeteria; is this news true?"

Tang Ye did not rush to answer, instead turning his gaze toward Ten Hag, who sat beside him.

Ten Hag wore a smile: "It's fine, just say whatever you like."

"Oh, okay."

Tang Ye nodded: "Indeed, it is th—"

He stopped speaking halfway through his sentence.

Under the table, Ten Hag's leather shoe stepped on Tang Ye's foot.

Tang Ye looked at Ten Hag again; the latter still nodded with a smile: "It's fine, speak according to the actual situation; we at Utrecht have always been very honest with reporters."

"What has been done has been done, and what has not been done has not been done!"

Tang Ye rubbed his chin: "That must be false news."

"First-team players should eat in the first-team cafeteria; I haven't been to that cafeteria since leaving the reserve team."

The reporter stared straight into Tang Ye's eyes.

"Allé's Hat-Trick: Utrecht Shut Out Willem II 3-0, Chinese Youngster Tang Ye Delivers Heaven-Defying Long Pass"

"Dragon Ao Tian of the Football World? Tang Ye Claims He Passed Because He Didn't Want to Run Too Far"

"Tang Ye Denies Being Banned from the First-Team Cafeteria!"

【Not wanting to run too far is fine; it fits my impression of Brother Meng.】

【If any other player said this, I would think they were showing off, but since these words came from Brother Meng's mouth, he truly must not want to run.】

【Can an administrator ban these haters above! Our King Tang Ball has always been extremely hardworking, you know!】

【Brother Meng: Running is too tiring; here's a kick from Meng!】

【No exaggeration, no slander; Tang Ye's running distance yesterday already exceeded 2km, are you still not satisfied?】

【Ever since Brother Meng became a substitute, Utrecht hasn't lost a match; isn't Ten Hag considering moving Brother Meng into the starting lineup?】

【Ten Hag, incompetent!】

The day after the match ended, the entire Utrecht first team was given a day off.

Of course, everyone except Tang Ye.

"This is the price you must pay to avoid writing homework!"

Tang Ye carried a barbell on his shoulders performing half-squats while Fan Fan Dejiahe pumped him up on the side.

"Think about your homework, think about that Dutch composition several hundred words long; if you don't want to write those things, then put in the effort to train."

"Use your current training results to earn the right to be exempt from homework!"

Duang!

Tang Ye lifted the barbell and stood up abruptly, the bar clashing against the weight plates with a crisp sound.

"Two more reps, come on!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe shouted; Tang Ye took a deep breath, squatted down, and then stood up again.

Judging by Tang Ye's expression, this seemed like an extremely arduous heavy-strength training session, but in reality, it was not.

Tang Ye was only sixteen years old now; for the healthy development of his bones and muscles, Fan Fan Dejiahe would not assign him heavy strength training.

What Tang Ye was training now was called "strength endurance."

It means maintaining the duration of a burst of power.

Although this isn't as grueling as speed endurance, it's not easy to train either.

"OK, that's it, excellent!"

Tang Ye completed his task, and Fan Fan Dejiahe drew a small checkmark on the paper.

Since the extra training sessions began the week before last, Tang Ye's physical strength data has improved significantly.

"You never know until you train, Tang; actually, your physical talent is quite good."

Fan Fan Dejiahe patted Tang Ye's buttocks: "If you keep this up, by the time you're 17, you'll definitely meet the physical requirements to start in the Eredivisie!"

"Endurance is hard to say, but strength is definitely achievable."

Speaking of strength, Fan Fan Dejiahe remembered something and glanced down at his arm.

Just right; the time was about up.

Fan Fan Dejiahe led Tang Ye to the doorway, where a red meal box marked with the number 99 sat outside.

"This is what you need to eat tonight."

Fan Fan Dejiahe shoved the meal box into Tang Ye's hands, along with a fork.

Tang Ye's current training volume meant three meals a day were insufficient, so after discussing with the fitness coach, Ten Hag decided to add a late-night snack to the afternoon tea routine.

"Thanks, Michel!"

Tang Ye was feeling a bit hungry anyway, so this supply drop was truly timely help.

He opened the meal box.

Rye bread, spaghetti, Dutch pancakes, and several slices of super-large herring.

Tang Ye immediately recognized this as food from the first-team canteen.

There was a very obvious clue: the herring slices in the Utrecht first-team canteen were raw, while the second-team canteen always served cooked herring.

"Michel, this stuff is raw."

Tang Ye speared a slice of herring with his fork and held it up before Fan Fan Dejiahe: "I never eat raw herring."

"Then what do you want to eat?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe turned around.

"Hmm..."

"Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, boiled pork slices, sweet and sour pork ribs, oh yes, and white-cut chicken; my favorite is definitely white-cut chicken."

"Screw you!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe rolled his eyes at Tang Ye: "I've never heard of the things you mentioned. Buddy, this is all there is; eat up."

"But I never eat raw herring."

"This is the closest you've been to the first-team canteen recently."

!!!

Damn!

(End of Chapter)