****

Benjamin walked to the window, and it was raining more than he had imagined. The garden lights are on, shining on the greenery under the wind and rain. He suddenly remembered the fairy tale "The Selfish Giant" he had read when he was a child. He stretched out his palm and looked at his palm.

The little boy said, "These are the imprints of love." ”

The little boy is God. Benjamin Hamilton is not a selfish giant, and Kristen Lue is not a little boy. She won't kiss him, nor is it his salvation.

Benjamin took a step back, staring at the mirror image opposite, a clean, handsome young man. He had always known what he was like. He may not be a selfish giant, but he is.

Benjamin returned to the pile of puzzles, half-crouched down again, and continued to find the piece he needed.

Today's draw is not the same as it was after the quarter-finals. After the draw to Porto, the teammates were optimistic. No one expected that in the first leg, 50 seconds into the game, the team would concede a goal at the Dragons.

Benjamin knew what he had to face before that game started. But it all happened so fast that the cheers from inside the Dragon Stadium seemed to burst eardrums.

This season, as the media has increasingly focused on Benjamin, "England's own Xavi and Pirlo", Ian's role seems to have become less important to the outside world. But Benjamin himself knows very well, and he knows that the baby is also very clear, and this is not the case.

Some players are not visible because their strength is really not good. Not Ian. When it comes to individual and defensive ability, Ian is in the top two of the team, and when it comes to command, decisiveness, defensive positional awareness and sense of cooperation on the pitch, then I am afraid that no one can match the Scots.

Without Ian, QPR's overall passing became sluggish. Jake's sense of thought and rhythm in this position is far from enough. After the kick-off of the QPR, it didn't take a few rounds before the ball was snatched away.

Then, it was Benjamin himself who was left behind by Sergio Santana with speed. This Santana was compared to Kaka by the media. Such an unreasonable midfield assaulter, with his unrivalled explosiveness, speed and continuous acceleration ability, as well as terrifying hardness of confrontation, tore a big hole between him and Jake.

Santana then passed the ball straight to the centre-forward, 23-year-old Colombian Fabio Rojas, who had scored nine goals in the Champions League and equalled with Pat. This Rojas is the older brother of Antonio Rojas, the talented defender who played for Nick Flores, and made his debut a little later because he chose to stay in Colombia to play.

Rojas smacked the ball back with his heel.

Porto's number one star, tall Uruguayan winger Hugo Banderas, burst out of the jaw and single-handedly made waves on the edge of the QPR box. David Ruiz's top tackle didn't work. At just 19 years old, Banderas was León's team-mate in the national team, and his ten Champions League goals came from his left foot, with unrivalled speed and impact. This season, he also became the first player to score a hat-trick at Old Trafford in 18 years.

Banderas fired a powerful left-footed volley into the air, hit the underside of the crossbar, and bounced into the bottom of the net.

In just 50 seconds, that's the time it took for crazy Porto to score on QPR.

Benjamin vividly remembers the scene, with Banderas, Rojas and Santana shaking their arms in front of the Porto fans against a blue background, cheers and applause as if the day was falling apart. He tried to recall his state of mind at that time, and it was a little difficult. But he remembered what Phil said beside him.

"I'm not going to let Porto finish my Champions League campaign this season, last season it was Bayern Munich and last season it was done by Barcelona, and until now, I feel sick when I think about it. ”

Benjamin was silent. Immediately after the restart, he began to try to organize the attack of the QPR. He told Jake to hold back a little and stepped forward himself. But it didn't work out.

Porto's surging counter-attack hit QPR's half. From the flanks to the middle, Porto's attack was like a mad dragon, with three super attackers fully in full swing. You even feel like their eyes are blood-red.

Banderas and Rojas sprinted in two opposite directions, leaving the three QPR defenders unable to make the right judgment, and Santana's straight dribble down the middle once again blasted the QPR's overwhelmed defence. Ian's qpr was missing, and he was cut open with a knife. Santana chooses to shoot hard from outside the box.

Hans reacted, returning from a finger heal in that game and keeping the ball out. But Banderas rushed up and swept the ball down the middle again. Rojas took a sharp turn and shook off JT to smash the ball into the empty net.

In the opening five minutes, QPR trailed Porto 0-2 at the Dragons Stadium.

Benjamin finally found the puzzle, his eyes lit up and he smiled a little.

It's like the smile I showed at the baby at that time.

****

I don't know if Zoe slept or not. Patrick thought. Zoe is different from Tina, Zoe likes to have someone to be with her all the time. So he sent Zoe to Mom and Dad. He had met Anna when he had visited Zoe at his parents' place. Anna laughs at him, and he doesn't want Zoe if he has Tina. For God's sake...... Anna is probably right. The truth is that the schedule is so tight that he really hasn't had much time with Zoe lately.

Mom and Dad and Anna also talked about another thing together, which was the middle finger.

Anna: "Your dear Tina should kick you out of the team." ”

Dad: "You want to be a father in the future, how can you make that gesture on the field?!

Mother: "Oh, you and Tina's baby must be the most beautiful baby in the world." ”

Anna: "How long have they been together? You're already thinking about their baby? That's their business, don't talk about it in front of Tina." ”

Anna was right, Tina didn't want to have a baby at all right now. It doesn't matter if you don't have a baby, but "making a baby" should be done more often. Patrick was still staring at the dark ceiling. Okay, well, he knew Tina liked it too, but she had been too busy lately.

How could Tina not like it? She was as obsessed with wildness and passion as he was.

It's like playing Porto away.

Patrick closed his eyes, and at that moment, he rushed towards his own half.

It was the Brazilian who was dribbling the ball, Sergio Santana. He saw that Jake's strong body was knocked out by the Porto midfielder's armored combat vehicle-like body. He himself continued to accelerate and rushed towards Santana.

Santana showed no signs of slowing down, but he knew that he was already aware of his charge. He saw the Brazilian's heavy shoulders and was ready to bounce him away.

He appreciates this confidence and courage. However, he had to stop the other man from advancing.

He threw his entire body at his opponent. It was a foul move. But he didn't touch Santana's body. His feet were on the ball, and he resisted the frontal onslaught of his opponent's physical inertia.

Santana couldn't stop and slammed into him, both of them falling to the ground.

The referee's whistle blew and Santana was awarded a foul.

****

Lu Ling turned off the splash, walked out, and then ripped off the bath towel to wrap his body.

She didn't expect her team to concede a goal in 50 seconds, let alone two goals in five minutes. It was probably one of the worst starts she's had since she took charge, and it was still away.

It's not like she's never seen crazy teams, but madness and surging talent are different. She had to restrain her opponents. So twenty minutes into the first half of that game, she made the first substitution. Genk comes on for David Luiz.

David's face was not very good, she patted him on the shoulder, and there was no time to explain to him. Later she learned that Tim had told the Brazilian why he had been replaced. By switching to a back four, the team can be more open and wide-ranging, and have a better chance of scoring away goals.

In between substitutions, Ben and Jake turn to her at the same time.

Jake's eyes seem to convey determination and determination. With Ian not on the field, Jacob Harding became the captain of the QPR.

And this ......

Ben smiled.

That smile is still etched in her mind. She had never seen Ben smile so much. She had seen another man laugh like that, and in fact, to her opponents, that man often laughed like that.

That's the winner's smile.

Patrick Amber clearly plays the winner a lot.

Lu Ling wrapped a bath towel and took another towel to wipe his hair.

****

Benjamin took the piece of the puzzle, applied glue, and put it where it should be. He didn't need to confirm in advance, he knew this was what he wanted. Sure enough, it was. There are 19,887 pieces left. He stood up and looked at the messy floor.

The messy floor gradually turned into a dragon field in his eyes.

He discussed it with Jake on the field, and finally decided that he would pull back and Jake press forward.

In Ian's absence, they can split Ian's duties, and Benjamin thinks his big picture is better suited to lagging, while Jake's physicality can execute forward pressing, whether it's pressing or attacking forward. With the removal of a centre-back, the QPR backfield could be even thinner as both wing-backs and Jake are ready to assist at any moment. He has to dominate the team's backcourt defence.

He believed in Pat. He believed in Jake. He believes more in the baby and in himself.

Once again, Santana came up with the ball head-on. Banderas moved quickly behind him. With intuition, complete intuition, he made a sideways move while maintaining his distance from Santana. Santana's assault became short of space. He did a good job of jamming his passing lanes, and the momentum of the Porto midfielder waned a bit.

He suddenly took a wrong step towards his left.

Santana immediately sent in a pass.

But that's in his calculations.

He deliberately showed his flaws for the opponent to make a pass. With a jump step, he moves back and scoops the ball out.

It was a defense that even Ian would be proud of. When he got up, he saw John get the ball and attacked from the right.

Pat caught the ball. He heard him shout, and Leon and Phil immediately pulled out of each other. It's an idea that has been very skillful on the training ground. He knew at the time that Pat was well aware of Porto's shortcomings.

The midfielders are weak and unable to back up the defence, and the defenders only know how to follow each other and lack mutual protection.

So, what if Leon and Phil take the opposing centre-backs in two directions......

Like Santana, Pate took the ball straight into the edge of the opposition's penalty area.

No one can stop it, no one can even get close.

When Patrick decides to solve the problem in the most direct way possible, no one can stop him.

The shot went straight to Porto goalkeeper López. The opponent seemed to freeze in place, until the ball hit the net, and still did not react.

Maybe no one can refuse.

Benjamin turned around, took a few steps, picked up the water on the ground**, and continued to walk out of the room. Walking to the door, he looked at his watch.

10:37

He turned off the lights. He watched as the crystal chandelier dimmed.

****

Lu Ling threw away the bath towel and towel, took out clean underwear from the cabinet and put them on, and took a T-shirt and sweatpants from another cabinet. It's all gray. She got dressed, walked over to the mirror, and wiped the fog with her hands. Her face was ruddy, and so were her lips, and the gray color suited her well. She smiled at the girl in the mirror and walked out of the shower.

Her gaze fell on the laurel tree facing her again. Oh socks. She went back to the cupboard in the shower and got her socks.

She put on her socks on the couch and stared at the laurel tree carefully. Her assistant had previously liked to have this on her desk. But somehow, it's always a little dry after a month or two, and I haven't seen flowering. But since the time when Pieter sent flowers, the assistant didn't bother with her office plants anymore. This laurel tree was brought by Ben.

Before going to Portugal, Jake was called into her office to talk about captaining an important match. As soon as Jake came in that day, he looked at the laurel tree and asked her if she liked it. She didn't think much of it at the time, shrugged her shoulders, and said she didn't hate it. Jake laughed intriguingly. She knew that Jake was the closest person to Ben on the team, and probably the Newcastle boys knew where the laurel tree came from. She didn't waste time with him and went straight to the point.

And Jake's performance in that game didn't disappoint her at all.

The team went into halftime with a score of 1:2. Pat's goal was a huge morale boost. Theoretically, even if the score is maintained until the end, it is not bad, although it is a loss, but this away goal is extremely heavy.

"Our goal is more than that! We have to them upside down, completely them! Our goal is always to win! If they want to use the attack to decide the winner, then we will definitely win - the game against Bayern Munich proved that, our attacking ability is unbeatable!!

At that time, Jake's loud and strong northeast accent suddenly rushed into Lu Ling's ears. The Newcastle people are more direct and brutal than the Scots. Under his leadership, the male hormones in the entire locker room skyrocketed.

Alice later told her that she felt that all the little boys had become men at that moment. Yes, until the second before they walked out of the locker room, they were shouting "them!!

At the start of the second half of that game, Porto preferred to solve the problem with a defensive counter-attack. So they made the backcourt more dense.

Her set-up was as follows: Phil pulled more to the side, Leon had to wait for the second point in front of the penalty area, and Jake continued to charge - this is also Jake's own request, obviously, Jake is well aware of his strengths and weaknesses in this kind of game.

Jake has the punch of England's traditional box-to-box midfield, he's tall, he's explosive and he's endlessly physical.

The backcourt was left to Ben. And as it turned out, Ben did exactly what he promised her and Ian after the game against Bayern.

On one of Porto's counter-attacks, Banderas dribbled sideways to Ben's defensive zone. She saw that Ben was a little difficult to parry under the double onslaught, but he still did his best to slow down his opponent's impact as much as possible, and even distracted his opponent with his hand movements, which she knew Ben almost never did. Then, completely unexpectedly, she saw Glenn suck with his feet at Banderas, who was getting the ball with his opponent.

Glenn has always been cautious defensively, rarely making the most of his excellent physical qualities, but this time was different. If that action is in the Premier League, there is a good chance that you will be shown a red card due to special rules, and even in the Champions League, it is not impossible not to be sent off if you touch an opponent.

But Glenna took the ball perfectly with all his might. At the moment of shoveling the ball away, he quickly supported the ground with his hands and kicked the soles of his feet to give the ball to Ben.

Ben immediately gave the ball forward.

Leon, Phil, and Pat are all too late to arrive. Only Jake rushed up at high speed. It's always forgotten that Jake is one of the fastest on the team.

She remembered the captain's armband flashing on his arm as Jake jumped.

At that time, Porto's goalkeeper López also jumped up and threw a punch hard.

She almost yelled out when she saw that action on the sidelines, Jake had just returned from a concussion......

Jake hit the ball, but Lopez's fist hit Jake on the cheek.

****

The phone shook. Patrick took it slowly, and he saw that it was Jake speaking in the hatsapp group of the QPR first team.

Patrick laughed, and just as he was about to return his middle finger in the group, Phil spoke first.

Patrick didn't bother to reply, and tossed his phone aside.

Anyone doesn't like Jake? Patrick can't imagine anyone on the team who doesn't like the Newcastle guys.

At that time, at the Dragons Stadium, Jake's face was solid and he punched the ball underneath, and he rushed into the six-yard box to push the ball into the empty net. When Jake landed on the grass, his face was covered in blood, and one of his teeth had been knocked out.

Before Alice and Scott, the team doctors, burst onto the pitch, he held Jake's hand tightly.

Everyone was worried about Jake's concussion, but fortunately, the final examination was fine.

While Jake was treating on the sidelines, the QPR came up with 10 men and Porto restarted the game.

He rushed up to snatch the ball as soon as Fabio Rojas drove the ball on the opposite side. None of Porto's players reacted, except for midfielder Santana.

Brazilian New Kaka keeps up with him at a pace that is not inferior to him.

He must not be cut off the ball because Jake is still in treatment and the backcourt is too thin. So he suddenly came to a swoop.

Santana's braking movements were almost as smooth as his. But only almost.

He flicked the ball with his left foot for maybe a few tenths of a second, and then started again at a terrifying pace. He saw a look of surprise on Santana's face. He crossed Santana in a right-angled course and the Brazilian fell in place.

That's not a proper shot distance. Normally, if he is more than 30 yards away, he still chooses to shoot with his left foot. But then the direction of the ball is more suitable for right-footed shots, and switching to the left foot slows things down.

He hits the ball with his right foot.

It was a perfect arc and it flew into the top left corner of the Porto goal.

He scored a hat-trick at the Dragons.

2:3 is the final score of the first leg.

Tina knew him. For Patrick-Amber, a good game is followed by a good **. As it was too late to return to London, good ** was delayed until the next day. She whispered in his arms if it was really customary for him, and he didn't stop, and her jealous inquiry made him even more excited, and he told her that he had told her a long time ago. He only estrus with her, he's just her monster. How could there be any other woman in the world who made him so crazy?

The phone vibrated again.

****

Benjamin walked to his bedroom, his phone popping in his pocket. He took it out and saw a conversation between his teammates in the hatsapp group. He smiled and was not ready to speak. His smile froze, and Pat didn't speak. Is Pat and Baby in progress? He felt his heart tugging.

He finds a conversation with the baby. She didn't actually say anything to him, it was just one word, at most a one-sentence reply. There was an impulse in him. He decided to do it in an instant. He had to do it quickly, before reason could get in his way.

He dialed out.

****

As soon as Lu Ling sent this message to Pat, Ben's call came in. When the phone was connected, it was quiet on the other end.

"Hey, Ben, is that you?"

"Yes, sorry to bother you so late. ”

"It doesn't matter. What's the matter?"

"Are you in Harrington?"

"Yes, but I'm ready to leave now. ”

“…… Can you wait for me a while?"

"Sorry, Ben, it's late. ”

"I want to talk to you. Tonight. ”

"I don't really think it's a good idea, we can talk about it tomorrow. ”

"It won't delay you for long. ”

Lu Ling was silent.

"You know what kind of person I am, what are you worried about?"

"I just think my players should have rested earlier. ”

"I could have insomnia all night. ”

"You're blackmailing me?"

"No, I'm stating the facts. Just talking. Or, do you want to come to my house?"

"No, I don't want to. Come here. ”

"Coming there soon, waiting for me. ”

Lu Ling hung up the phone and saw the message that Pat replied:

She then returned:

Pat's call came immediately. 166 Reading Network