Chapter 459: Do You Really Want to Leave? No, You Don't Want to Leave. Your

Tang Ye (40 years old)

【Ball Control: 88; Passing: 91】

【Shooting: 80; Heading: 60; Set Pieces: 80】

【Speed: 78; Stamina: 76; Physicality: 85】

【Defense: 74; Vision: 97】

Overall Rating: 86

After leaving the police station and returning home, Tang Ye, with nothing else to do, browsed his current status panel.

Heading could be directly ignored; currently, only his Speed, Defense, and Stamina attributes were below the 80 ability value threshold.

Moreover, Speed was already at 78, not far at all from reaching 80!

The pace of becoming stronger was truly fast, but Tang Ye was very clear about his own strength.

He knew he still had a long road to travel before becoming a true master!

Shifting from sitting on the bed to lying prone, Tang Ye pressed his body against the soft pillow while holding his phone in hand.

As per usual, after the match ended, Mr. Fan Fan Dejiahe had once again sent out the schedule for Manchester United's remaining matches this month.

November 24: Manchester United vs. Crystal Palace (Premier League Round 13).

November 27: Manchester United vs. Young Boys Bern (Champions League Group Stage Round 5).

Both matches were at home, and neither opponent was a top-tier team, so the pressure on the Manchester United players would not be too great.

Most importantly, Manchester United still had nearly ten days before their next match, allowing Tang Ye and his teammates to relax slightly!

It was just unknown whether that detestable Mr. Sitting Like would increase the training intensity?

Exiting WhatsApp and opening WeChat, Tang Ye sent a few selfies to his mother, Zhang Zhang Qingqing, then opened the national team group chat.

Having not checked for some time, the group chat now showed 99+ messages!

On November 11, Beijing time, the 2018 Chinese Super League season would conclude.

And just one month later, the Chinese national team's Asian Cup training camp was set to begin!

【Yu Yu Dabao: Yan Junling, your Shanghai SIPG team is truly ruthless; even after Lei brother left, you still took first place.】

【Yan Yan Junling: Oscar is amazing, and Brother Chao (Wang Wang Shenchao) is fierce too; otherwise, we probably couldn't have beaten Evergrande.】

【Zhang Zhang Linpeng: Do we have the training camp dates yet? Roughly when does it start? I'm planning to take my family on a trip first.】

【Zheng Zhi: It should be sometime between December 15 and 20, though it might be earlier; the Football Association feels we have great hope this year and said we're aiming for the top 4. But I don't know if I'll even be selected; I feel like I can barely run anymore.】

【...】

After a quick glance, Tang Ye gathered quite a bit of information from the chat logs.

Unfortunately, it was currently early morning in China; otherwise, Tang Ye would definitely have joined the conversation.

Besides the group chat, there were also private messages; immediately after the Manchester Derby, Madaloni had sent Tang Ye a message, and staff from the Football Association had messaged as well.

They hoped to get a clear reply from Tang Ye.

Madaloni was fine, merely mentioning it briefly.

But the Football Association had said quite a lot, amounting to an article of roughly 400 or 500 characters.

They fully understood Tang Ye's desire to win the Premier League title, but they also hoped Tang Ye could clearly understand the importance of the Asian Cup to the national team.

The Football Association had also made a concession: if there was truly a club title demand, Tang Ye could participate only in the knockout stage matches.

"Phew..."

Setting the phone aside, Tang Ye rolled over and gazed at the ceiling.

Of course he wanted to participate in the Asian Cup; that was certain.

But!

What Tang Ye worried about most was: what if, due to his absence in January, Manchester United ultimately missed out on the Premier League title by just a few points?

Would Mr. Sitting Like be angry with him?

What about Marcus and Rod?

Sky Sports: Could the title race situation change drastically in December? Reporters have learned that the Chinese men's national team's Asian Cup preparation camp will begin in mid-December; without key players, can Manchester United still remain firmly in the Premier League title contention?

There had been no Premier League matches in the last ten days, but the fans' enthusiasm would not diminish; they needed to focus their attention on something to alleviate the pain of having no matches to watch.

And the most suitable topic for fans to discuss was next January's Asian Cup.

A primary school in Hebei.

A primary school student wearing a red scarf sat on the edge of a flower bed, analyzing tactics with two friends with a serious expression.

"Han Xin with both Red and Blue buffs in the early game can definitely secure a double kill. If your Han Xin has both Red and Blue buffs early game but can't get a double kill..."

Clap clap!

Clapping hands.

"... then your development is poor, and you won't scale up."

Shrugging hands plus shaking head, the speaking primary school student had already achieved dominance in terms of momentum.

"Let me tell you, if you let those people who talk about football play Han Xin with both Red and Blue buffs early game, they could easily get a double kill."

Right next to this Honor of Kings discussion circle, two primary school students of similar age were also chatting.

Judging by the situation, these few individuals were all from the same class.

"Impossible; with Tang Ye and Rashford in the early game, Manchester United can easily win any one-on-one. If Manchester United has Tang Ye and Rashford in the early game and still doesn't take first place, then Ten Hag should be fired."

"Tang Ye will definitely play in the Asian Cup; it just depends on whether Manchester United can rush to first place in December."

The ones chatting about football pointed at the ones next door chatting about games.

"Next month Manchester United will definitely be first. If you let those people who like playing Honor of Kings manage Manchester United, they would also easily take first place."

The elementary school student's eyes were firm.

"With Tang Ye and Rashford in the early stages, yet still unable to secure first place—I'm telling you, Manchester United is finished."

Clomp clomp, clomp clomp~

"Students, class time has arrived. Please return to the classrooms quickly and prepare for lessons."

……

"Damn, we're late, we're late!"

Tang Ye and Rodri rushed into the training ground; their teammates had already assembled before Ten Hag.

"What's going on with you two?"

Ten Hag looked Tang Ye and the other up and down; these two latecomers hadn't even changed into their cleats and training kits.

"Mr. Erik, Rod's car tire exploded, so we were a bit delayed."

Before Ten Hag could speak, Mata in the lineup suddenly shouted: "Wow Tom, it's been almost 40 minutes!"

"……"

Betrayed by his teammates, poor Tom was speechless.

"If the tire exploded, couldn't you have called an Uber?"

"He told me he could fix it."

Rodri pointed at Tang Ye; Ten Hag's gaze followed to rest on Tang Ye.

"And then?"

"Then he didn't fix it."

"……"

"Uh, uh."

Tang Ye pinched his nose: "I thought just pumping air in and sealing the punctured spot would work, but I didn't expect the air wouldn't go in. Rod's car is too formidable, Mr. Erik; if you're angry, blame the car, not us, because we are innocent."

Ten Hag shook his head, signaling Tang Ye and the other to hurry to the locker room to change into their cleats.

"Seal the punctured spot?"

Fan Fan Dejiahe walked over, joining Ten Hag in watching Tang Ye and Rodri run toward the locker room: "How does Tom plan to do it? With glue?"

Ten Hag spread his hands: "Only he knows."

"Alright."

Fan Fan Dejiahe nodded gently: "Geniuses are misunderstood, but they aren't necessarily wrong. I forget which celebrity said that; I'll look it up when I get back."

"Hmm?"

Ten Hag looked at Fan Fan Dejiahe: "So you also want to deal with a blown tire using glue? Then I estimate you'll become the strongest midfielder in all of the Netherlands in a few days."

"Come on, come on, over here, over here!"

Tang Ye charged forward and bumped into Smalling.

Pretending to commit to the duel, he suddenly stepped back to create space.

He jumped!

Boom!

A header crashed into the small penalty area, but De Gea caught it.

"Damn!"

Tang Ye waved his hand.

What a pity; the header was a bit off target, otherwise that ball should have gone in.

"Impressive."

Smalling patted Tang Ye on the back.

During the mid-training break, the Manchester United players all sat on the grass.

There were chairs off the field, but they didn't sit on them because they had all been influenced by King Tom's evil magic.

Propping himself up with his hands behind him, Tang Ye stretched his legs out and glanced up at the sky.

Today he had counted 38 clouds; Tang Ye arrived at the answer in an instant.

"Tom."

Ziyech brought Tang Ye a bottle of mineral water, then sat down beside him.

"Are you leaving next month?"

Ziyech asked, and Tang Ye's attention was quickly drawn.

"Mm... if I'm going to play, I should leave in January; in December I'll definitely still be here."

Tang Ye turned his head to look at Ziyech.

"Then have you decided when you're leaving?"

"Sigh, not yet. I plan to tell Mr. Erik, but I'm a bit embarrassed."

Tang Ye glanced in the distance toward where Ten Hag was standing.

He had planned to say it yesterday, but because it felt awkward, he hadn't knocked on the door.

He planned to say it today too, he just didn't know if he'd ultimately be able to get the words out...

"Hey Tom!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe suddenly called out, startling Tang Ye.

"Are you okay, are you okay? Sorry!"

Fan Fan Dejiahe hadn't expected Tang Ye to be startled either; he raised his hand awkwardly: "Erik wants you to go to the office first; just wait there a moment, he'll be over soon."

Tang Ye glanced at Ziyech and scratched his hair.

……

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, Tang Ye waited in the office for Ten Hag.

Thump thump!

Creak—

Here he comes!

Remaining seated cross-legged, Tang Ye exchanged greetings with Ten Hag as he walked in.

He hadn't expected Fan Fan Dejiahe to come as well; that meant the matter must be quite important.

"Tom."

Ten Hag patted Tang Ye's shoulder, then went to his own seat, while Fan Fan Dejiahe sat down beside Tang Ye.

Without speaking directly to Tang Ye, Ten Hag first looked at Fan Fan Dejiahe: "Although we're level with Mancheng at 30 points, our opponents in December are much weaker than theirs, so I feel we should be able to surge into first place."

They had moved the task of charging for the league top spot forward from December to November, but failed.

But that was no major problem; if they failed, they could simply shift the timeline back and take on Mancheng again in December!

"What do you think, Tom?"

Ten Hag suddenly turned to look at Tang Ye, who nodded in agreement.

"I think so too. If we win every league match next month, we should be able to push Mancheng down."

Tang Ye believed in the strength of the team he played for.

As long as everyone worked together, defeating the mighty Mancheng was achievable.

During the Manchester derby, they had nearly done it; they were only off by a tiny margin in the end!

"By the way, Tom, when does your Asian Cup training camp start? In December?"

Ten Hag suddenly brought up the Asian Cup, making Tang Ye tense up.

While the two chatted, Fan Fan Dejiahe watched from the side but remained silent.

"It should be December, but I can go in January instead. Yeah, that's about right."

"Mm."

Ten Hag nodded: "You'll definitely have to go in January. I've looked at your schedule; matches start in early January, so acclimatization is necessary."

Tang Ye's eyes lit up; he seemed to catch something from Ten Hag's words.

"Do you think participating in the Asian Cup is mandatory?"

Ten Hag asked.

Tang Ye hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah, definitely. Mr., it's an A-level tournament."

Ten Hag glanced at Fan Fan Dejiahe, then said: "The Asian Cup is indeed very important. Mm... yes, that's how it is. Well, Tom, there's nothing more I can say on this; I can only wish you good luck."

Not expecting the matter to be resolved so quickly, Tang Ye put his feet back on the floor, stood up, and said: "Thank you, Mr. Erik."

"I'll be leaving now."

Tang Ye walked toward the door.

Behind him, Ten Hag looked at Fan Fan Dejiahe with an incredulous expression; the two seemed to be communicating something with their eyes.

"Ahem! Ahem!"

Two dry coughs.

But Tang Ye seemed not to hear, continuing to walk on his own.

No problem!

Ten Hag took a deep breath.

No rush; wait a little longer.

Yes, wait a bit more; Erik is a very patient man!

Under Ten Hag's gaze, Tang Ye slowly reached the office door, preparing to pull it shut behind him.

Damn!

"Hey!"

Ten Hag suddenly called out, stopping Tang Ye.

"What is it, Mr. Erik?"

This time Tang Ye finally heard, turning his body around.

"Ahem, ahem."

Ten Hag rose from his chair, strode quickly to stand before Tang Ye, and said: "I need to confirm once more what you just said, because this matter is extremely important..."

"Are you certain you must participate in the Asian Cup? Is that correct?"

"Yes, I just said so."

Tang Ye pointed toward the sofa where Fan Fan Dejiahe sat, the very spot where he had been sitting while talking with Ten Hag.

"Hiss... this is my fault."

Ten Hag turned his head away: "I should have given you more time to think. As you know, Tom, if someone is forced to give an answer within a very short time, that answer is likely to be wrong. How about this: go back and think it over; there's truly no rush, and I can ask you again in a week."

This...

Tang Ye frowned: "That's unnecessary; I've already thought about it for a long time."

"..."

Ten Hag looked into Tang Ye's eyes: "Are you sure? I'm confirming with you one last time; if you're still certain after this, I won't ask again! Are you sure you're leaving in January?"

"... Yes, I'm certain."

"No, you can't be certain!"

Ten Hag's tone suddenly grew much more serious: "You're lying, Tom! You're lying!"

Tang Ye took a step back, pointing at himself: "I'm not lying to you, Mr. Sitting Like, I can be certain of that."

"No."

Ten Hag pointed at his own eyes: "I can see it in your gaze; you are actually resisting. Do you really want to leave? No, you don't want to leave; your eyes are pleading with me for help."

"Tom, we have known each other for a long time; just tell me the truth, and I will support you!"

Mr. Sitting Like seemed to have become angry, and the reason for his anger was that he was being lied to.

Tom now felt extremely aggrieved.

Because he truly was not lying!

"Mr. Sitting Like, I really want to participate in the Asian Cup; that is the truth. Because I feel that my teammates and I on the national team have a chance to achieve a relatively good ranking."

"Still lying!"

Ten Hag spread his hands.

"I know you are lying, but if you are determined to answer my question with lies, then there is nothing I can do. Tom, go back to training for now."

Ten Hag turned his head away, looking as though his heart were broken.

"Sorry, sir, but..."

Tang Ye pointed at his left hand: "Sir, my hand is being held by you; I cannot leave right now."

"..."

Ten Hag loosened his grip.

"Sorry, sorry, sir; believe me, I am not lying!"

Tang Ye slipped away immediately.

Ten Hag stood motionless in place.

Turning around to look at Fan Fan Dejiahe, who was still sitting on the sofa, the Manchester United assistant coach did not dare to speak.

Hiss—

Taking a deep breath, Ten Hag squatted directly onto the ground.

"Wu wu, wu wu..."

"Hu, hu, wu wu..."

Fan Fan Dejiahe wanted to stand up.

"Sitting Like..."

"Sitting Like?"

"Wu wu, hu, wu wu wu... hu, hu hu."

(End of chapter)