Chapter 31: Register a Social Media Account?

De Utrechtse Avondkrant, front page headline — Utrecht’s head coach denies 16-year-old prodigy access to the first-team cafeteria! The Dutch Cup MVP isn’t worthy of eating with the pros!

The Royal Dutch Football Association: Will investigate allegations of player abuse at Utrecht; if confirmed, the head coach responsible for mistreating youth players will face appropriate penalties.

Dongqiu Team pinned: The unseen side of a genius — Dutch journalists captured video of Tang Ye training outside the pitch.

Soon, the news that Ten Hag barred Tang Ye from the first-team cafeteria spread across both the Netherlands and China.

If Tang Ye were an adult player, this wouldn’t matter much.

The problem is Tang Ye isn’t an adult — he’s only 16 damn years old.

To fans, Ten Hag’s action isn’t punishment.

It’s child abuse!

[F**k, I told you Ten Hag was a two-armed idiot — what results can such a coach possibly produce?]

【Don’t let my King Tang eat? I’ll score a hat-trick and bury you alive!】

【Look closely — Tang Ye’s late-night snack was clearly from the first-team cafeteria; he’s not completely banned】

【Still, he deserves to be cursed — as Utrecht’s star player, how could he be barred from the cafeteria?】

[Ten Hag, resign!]

【Tears — I had no idea little Tang was this serious. I thought he was a slacker.】

【Behind every genius is silent effort — imagine how hard Tang Ye worked just to prove himself!】

Chinese fans are now furious.

Ten Hag has angered them!

Why should a player who trains hard and performs well in matches be denied the right to eat?

…

After the match, back at the club, Tang Ye’s mood was somewhat good.

Not to mention, the reporters from De Utrechtse Avondkrant were truly helpful.

With their help, Tang Ye regained permission to enter the first-team cafeteria.

“Next week, officials from the Dutch FA and the Youth Protection Association might come. Do you know how to speak?”

Ten Hag repeatedly confirmed this with Tang Ye.

He was truly worn out.

He only told Tang Ye to eat with the second team, yet fans heard it as him being banned from eating entirely.

Now it’s worse — originally just the Dutch FA was investigating.

Now even the Youth Protection Association wants to jump in.

“Hahaha, Eric, look at you now!”

In the physio room, Tang Ye pointed at the Ten Hag in front of him: “I’ll tell them I went days without food, even fainted during the match! Haha, just wait and die!”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Ten Hag walked over, bent down, and whispered in Tang Ye’s ear: “Student, your homework still hasn’t been done, has it?”

“!!!”

Tang Ye gritted his teeth: “I meant I was just joking. You’re my coach — I’ll definitely speak in your favor.”

…

That night, Tang Ye returned to the long-missed first-team cafeteria.

Though the first-team cafeteria wasn’t much better than the second-team’s, it gave Tang Ye a sense of belonging.

Tang Ye knew: he was a proud first-team player of Utrecht!

First-team players eat in the first-team cafeteria!

“Hey, Tang! Sofyan!”

Aale and Barazite walked over with their trays; Tang Ye and Amrabat quickly moved to sit further inside.

“You played well today, but Eric didn’t seem happy?”

Aale ate while talking to Tang Ye: “He mentioned something about the Youth Protection Association — what’s that?”

“It’s not important.”

Tang Ye changed the subject: “Sebastian, I must thank you — thank you for the penalty kick. It was my first penalty for Utrecht, haha.”

“So how did you feel?”

Aale smiled at Tang Ye.

To him, the Dutch Cup goal meant nothing; for Tang Ye, it was different.

“Very profitable.”

“Very profitable?”

“Oh, I mean — the feeling of being watched during a penalty, everyone putting their hopes on you — it’s great.”

Tang Ye picked up a herring fillet with his fork and tossed it to Amrabat across the table: “Here, eat it.”

“Why don’t you eat it yourself?”

Amrabat didn’t like herring either; he wanted to return it, but Tang Ye simply moved his tray away: “I don’t like it.”

“If you don’t like it, why did you take it?”

Amrabat was speechless — but Tang Ye had his reasons.

Fan Dejia and the cafeteria staff had specifically instructed: Tang Ye must consume at least X grams of herring daily.

The reason was simple: herring provides the zinc and iron Tang Ye desperately needs.

His levels of these two minerals were below standard.

“Putting all hopes on you — doesn’t that feel like pressure?”

Aale ate his macaroni, curious about Tang Ye’s mindset.

“If I miss, I miss.”

“Alright, your attitude is great!”

Aale and Barazite both gave Tang Ye thumbs-up.

If they had Tang Ye’s penalty mindset, their success rate would skyrocket.

“Ding ding ding ding ding!”

“Ding ding ding ding!”

Aale’s phone suddenly rang — the Ivorian quickly pulled it out: “Oh, sorry, I set a scheduled Instagram post and forgot to mute it.”

Aale turned off notifications and vibration, then showed the photo on his phone to everyone at the table.

The photo showed Aale, Tang Ye, Ramselaar, and Barazite hugging together.

“Oh, this is the second goal!”

Tang Ye pointed his fork at Aale’s phone — he instantly recognized the scene.

“Yeah, the fans took a great shot, so I asked for the photo and posted it myself. By the way, Tang, you don’t have an Instagram yet — you should get one. Instagram and Twitter both work.”

“What’s the point of this stuff?”

Tang Ye chewed his squid.

“It can help you make money.”

Barazite across from Aale jumped in: “You can do ads later, or football agents will DM you on Instagram — just register, no harm in it.”

“You keep scoring spectacular goals — you’ll easily gain fans.”

Aale agreed with Barazite, adding: “There are tons of Dutch girls on Instagram — you follow them, they’ll message you. Oh, and you must state on your profile that you’re a player in the Eredivisie!”

Tang Ye ate while listening to Aale and Barazite talk.

Start a social media account?

Might as well try!

Tang Ye had heard the club’s deputy director say he had many fans in China!

Once he registered his account, Tang Ye could chat with fans in the comments!

…

(End of chapter)