Chapter 354: Tang Ye

The league, the FA Cup, and the Champions League...

Walking out of the meeting room, Tang Ye's mind raced.

Mr. Erik's speech had pressed down on him.

But Mr. Erik was right—the English League Cup title was only the beginning.

If they wanted more trophies, the Manchester United players had to focus on the matches ahead!

Chasing more titles—that's what they needed to do right now!

As Tang Ye pondered the trophies they might win, Rashford suddenly ran up from behind and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Tom, next week there's a school shuttle donation event—people donate money so the school can offer free rides to students who can't afford the bus fare. Are you joining?"

Rashford looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Tang Ye's fan base was several times larger than his.

With Tom's help, the charity drive would be so much easier!

"Of course, Marcus, I'll definitely join."

Tang Ye enjoyed doing activities with Rashford; the sense of giving also brought him joy.

Tom and Jerry was also a fantastic duo!

"By the way, Marcus, we can invite Luo De—he'll come too."

2 vs. 1—if the big brother-little brother duo shows up, this donation will become even easier.

Tang Ye loved teaming up!

"Yeah, let's also bring in Sebastian. I heard Ale's weekly salary jumped nearly fourfold after transferring to United!"

Morning training began; the United players, freshly crowned champions, were ecstatic, and the training atmosphere was excellent.

Tang Ye now only wanted more trophies, so he and his teammates could keep feeling this happiness!

"Marcus, watch me!"

Ready, Tang Ye charged into the box from the arc.

Jump!

Thud!

De Gea dove—but Tang Ye's header was perfect!

【Header: 53→55】

After jumping, he smashed a perfect corner header—his explosive performance boosted his header stat by two points instantly. Absolutely incredible.

"What the fuck, Tom!"

Mata clutched his head: "Was that luck?"

"Hey Mata, you say I'm lucky when I play well—how's that fair?"

Tang Ye spread his hands: "That was a corner! You can't luck out a shot at that level—it's pure skill, skill!"

"Haha!"

De Gea gave Tang Ye a thumbs-up: "Damn, if you hit a ball like that in a match, no one will ever say you can't head again."

"Saying I can't head is just fan gossip—I've always been great at heading."

Tang Ye touched his head; his hair was among the shortest of all United players.

Guys with short hair should have killer heading ability!

"Stop heading, Tom!"

Van Gaal's voice came from the sideline: "Can you even get one header opportunity in three games? Focus on your strengths—your strengths!"

"I know, I know!"

Tang Ye waved to Van Gaal, then turned his attention to his system.

Tang Ye (39 years old)

【Ball Control: 86; Passing: 89】

【Shooting: 78; Header: 55; Set Pieces: 76】

【Speed: 75; Stamina: 74; Physical Confrontation: 79】

【Defense: 71; Vision: 97】

Overall Rating: 84

Based on his own feeling, Tang Ye believed shooting, set pieces, and physical confrontation were the stats most likely to level up next.

Among these three, the one he most wanted to upgrade was physical confrontation.

From 79 to 80—he couldn't imagine how much stronger his body would become.

He'd knock every opponent blocking his path flying.

Like a top-tier rugby player!

…

Dongqiu Di hot topic: Mengniu Dairy plans to invest 2.2 billion RMB in advertising for the Russia World Cup, including 50 million USD for World Cup sponsorship. Mengniu will also seek star endorsements for the tournament, and Tang Ye may be their top choice.

"Mengniu is very eager to sign Tang Ye; Messi and Mbappé will also be backups."

On March 2, Tang Ye met with Baoer at a local Chinese restaurant in Manchester to discuss endorsement deals.

Tang Ye and Baoer had originally planned to discuss endorsements after the season ended, but now companies wanted to sign him earlier to allow time for World Cup promotion.

Mengniu: 45 million RMB, Hisense TV: 42 million RMB—these were the two endorsement contracts Baoer had already secured.

"Hmm, all domestic companies."

Tang Ye had of course heard of Mengniu and Hisense.

"Of course."

Baoer said matter-of-factly: "Signing a domestic star is definitely the best choice. But sponsors generally don't think you'll make it past the knockout stage—if they did, I could've negotiated over 50 million."

Tang Ye and Baoer reviewed United's March schedule and decided to sign the Mengniu endorsement deal after the Champions League knockout round.

"By the way, I need to warn you—you'll have a ton of sponsors, so the next few months will be busy."

"A ton? How many?"

"Over forty companies have contacted me, though many are duplicates—but even after removing those, it's still a lot."

Duplicate endorsements were common—once Tang Ye signed with Mengniu, he couldn't sign with Yili, obviously.

"Hmm…"

Tang Ye nodded slightly.

He found endorsements annoying, but reason told him not to refuse them.

After all, it was nearly 100 million RMB!

A lot! A lot!

His annual salary at United was barely over 100 million RMB!

…

Dongqiu Di preview: March 6, early morning, Premier League Matchday 29—Manchester United away vs. Crystal Palace. Can the Red Devils open March with a win?

After March, all competitions grew intense.

The Champions League Round of 16 and the FA Cup Quarterfinals—both were matches United had to face in March!

The night before the Crystal Palace match, United players held a celebration in the cafeteria.

Four tables pushed together, a giant cake in the center, candles lit atop.

19—that was Tang Ye's current age!

Today was Tom's birthday!

"Holy shit, this cake is huge…"

Tang Ye sat at the table, staying alert.

Such a huge cake—if some bastard suddenly shoved his head into it, disaster!

"Of course, it's for forty people. I told the baker not to make it layered, so he made one giant one."

Mata wore a proud grin.

Photographer Ale was ready; urged by teammates, Tang Ye began to make a wish.

"Huh!"

"Wowhoo!"

The onlookers shouted loudly; Rashford snapped on the cafeteria lights.

"So, Tom, what was your wish?"

"Nonono!"

Ale and Rodri approached; Tang Ye stepped back slowly: "I won't say it. I can't say it."

"Alright, tell us this—club or national team?"

"No, I can't say that either!"

As a child, he'd heard from friends that a birthday wish must never be spoken aloud.

Not even to your best friend!

Valencia stood beside the cake. When Tang Ye came over, he handed him the knife.

Tang Ye stared at the cake, then suddenly looked up at Van Gaal.

"Mr. Erik… this cake's so big—if we eat it all, won't we be too sluggish for tomorrow's match?"

Van Gaal gestured to the players and staff around: "We've got so many people here—why are you worried?"

That's true.

Tang Ye nodded lightly, cut the first slice of cake, and placed it carefully on the plate.

As he looked at the cake on the plate, Tang Ye caught Erik Ten Hag watching him out of the corner of his eye.

"Mr. Ten Hag, are you trying to get me to give you this slice?"

Ten Hag turned his head away: "No such thing. If I want to eat, I'll cut my own."

"You don't want it? Then I'll eat it myself."

Tang Ye opened his mouth as if to swallow the whole slice, but actually passed it to Ten Hag: "Mr. Ten Hag, you go ahead."

Ten Hag took the slice and studied Tang Ye up and down: "You're sure?"

"Of course!"

"Here, Pau, and Ma Ta—I'll cut you each a slice!"

In the past, Tang Ye always ate the first slice of cake on his birthday, but this time he decided not to.

He would cut a slice himself for every teammate and staff member.

As for himself…

He'd leave it for last.

"Here, Luo De, this one's for you—it's the biggest. I promise you, I gave you the biggest slice. I wouldn't even eat this one myself."

…

He'd get home half an hour late, but Tang Ye was very happy.

It wasn't extra training keeping him at the base—it was something wonderful: celebrating his birthday with his teammates.

"Luo De, I'm already nineteen…"

Tang Ye whispered. Luo De, who was driving, glanced at him: "Nineteen? You give me the feeling you're ninety-one."

"Haha, Luo De, I just mean time flies."

Looking back now, Tang Ye felt his transfer to Manchester United had happened just yesterday.

He didn't know why he thought that—maybe because all the writers in his Chinese textbook said the same thing.

But upon reflection, those writers were right.

Time really did fly. Just a while ago, Tang Ye had been obsessed with winning a trophy at Manchester United.

Now he'd already won one!

【You celebrated your 40th birthday while playing for Manchester United in the Premier League. It's hard to imagine a 40-year-old could do this—you're not even human.】

Here it comes!

GGBond's birthday gift!

Not even human.

In the system's eyes, Tang Ye was already an extremely impressive guy.

Someone this impressive deserved an impressive reward!

【Turning 40 is a threshold. After 40, playing in the Premier League becomes as difficult as climbing to heaven. Balance mechanism triggered.】

【You've received the Ultimate Task.】

【Ultimate Task: Win a trophy this season. Trophy count determines reward tier. Current progress: 1】

【Reward: Weakness Talent Upgrade (Once-in-a-Millennium / Center of Attention / Unparalleled）】

【You may now claim the Once-in-a-Millennium Weakness Talent Upgrade: Elevate one of your Weakness Talents to "Once-in-a-Millennium" level.】

It's a talent upgrade!

This reward was absolutely favorable for Tang Ye.

His poor physical talent had greatly hindered his performance in the Premier League. If he could use this Ultimate Task to improve his physical talent, his performance in both the Premier League and the Champions League would see a qualitative leap!

"Once-in-a-Millennium"—the name suggested a one-in-a-thousand level talent. He just didn't know what the reference point was.

Professional players worldwide?

If so, that would be insane!

After all, Tang Ye's own physical talent was merely average. One-in-a-thousand was already genius.

Not the kind of genius that's extraordinary.

Hmm…

More like a small genius!

From the system's description, "Once-in-a-Millennium" was already impressive. He couldn't imagine how extreme "Center of Attention" or "Unparalleled" would be.

He'd already wanted more trophies. Now, with the Ultimate Task, that desire grew even stronger.

…

On match day, Manchester United's team bus pulled up at the side gate of the stadium.

Today was a rare clear day—too bad the match was at night.

Ding dong!

His phone suddenly rang. Tang Ye pulled it out as he walked.

His mother had sent him a WeChat message: though the afternoon had been sunny, wind was expected at night, so he should wear a long-sleeved jersey.

Perfect—he'd planned to wear long sleeves anyway.

They'd thought the same thing!

"China Central Television! This is live coverage…"

"The match has begun! Let me introduce the starting lineups for both teams!"

The CCTV commentator quickly listed both teams' starters, then focused on Manchester United.

"Manchester United just beat Arsenal to win the EFL Cup at the end of February—they're clearly in great form."

"This will be a huge challenge for Crystal Palace. The home side must seize their chances on the flanks to win!"

Not long after kickoff, the Premier League released an announcement.

In the February Player of the Month vote, Manchester United midfielder Tang Ye defeated four other candidates and was named February's Player of the Month.

"He will receive the award from the FA after the match."

Although Manchester United lost to Chelsea in the league in February, it didn't affect Tang Ye winning Player of the Month.

His performances against Tottenham and Newcastle were simply outstanding!

Besides Tang Ye, Ten Hag also won Premier League Manager of the Month for February.

Two monthly awards and an EFL Cup title—Manchester United had performed exceptionally well last month!

The match reached the 17th minute of the first half!

Crystal Palace attacked. Fullback Wan Bissaka drove forward and delivered a cross.

Wan Bissaka's cross was wayward—but it had an unexpected effect.

Rodri didn't expect the cross to come straight to his feet; he let the ball slip past him.

The ball reached a Crystal Palace player!

Plop!

A lofted pass to Benteke in the box!

"Damn!"

Tang Ye had a terrible feeling.

Benteke headed it in the box!

It went to Zaha!

"GOOOO——AAAAA——LLLLLL！！！！"

"Goal!"

"Beautiful! Zaha!"

"Though the underdogs, Crystal Palace have opened the scoring against Manchester United!"

The score was 1-0. Crystal Palace players celebrated.

"Nice!"

Manager Hodgson raised a clenched fist, his gaze toward Ten Hag again filled with provocation.

Though they were second in the league,

Manchester United didn't seem as strong as expected!

…

(End of Chapter)