She actually wanted to tell Nick that if he was her player, she would be honored and would do her best to protect him. Lu Ling didn't know why Nick would think that if he was her player, she would fall in love with him. She later remembered that it should be that Nick had never let go of the regrets of his playing days. She even doubted that even if he won more championships as a coach in the future, it might not be able to make up for that regret. She knew that the dream of the little boy inside him was to become a successful soccer player.

To be honest, she was shocked when she first found out that Ben was playing a lot like Nick. The shock didn't last long, though. It's ultimately a matter of probability. If nothing else, she will have at least thirty years in the coaching career. In those 30 years, it's entirely possible to meet a player who plays like 20-year-old Nick.

What's more, Ben is very different from Nick.

So, what really happened in Nyon and what does it matter?

When Lu Ling raised her head, a large drop of rain fell on the bridge of her nose. The young man in front of her in a red elk Christmas sweater stretched out the thumb of his right hand to erase it for her at that moment. She didn't have time to dodge, but quickly took a step back. She glared at him, warning him, too. He didn't step forward, just smiled at her. That's not the smile he usually has in front of everyone, this smile of his is a little lonely. She also noticed that his gray-green eyes were a bit blue-green in the light. Pat's eyes are sometimes blue-green in warm light.

She frowned slightly and responded to Ben's question. "I'm not quite sure what you mean. ”

The corners of Benjamin's mouth showed a mocking smile. He said, "You're not so direct now, are you?"

This made Lu Ling's brows furrow a little deeper. She took a sip of champagne as she looked into the room. She caught a glimpse of some of the players looking sideways, a little curious. When Pat looked at her, his gaze made her feel like he knew what she was talking to Ben. Tim didn't look this way, but of course the assistant did.

She looked at Benjamin again, "I don't have anything to answer on this question. Whatever happens is my personal business, and it has nothing to do with you. ”

The rain is getting heavier.

Benjamin stared at the silhouette in front of him, and there was some trance. Alcohol. He thought. "Really?" he asked softly, his tone skeptical. Then he drank the champagne from his glass.

"Yes. After Lu Ling answered, his gaze fell on his champagne glass. She turned her gaze to Ben's face, which looked a little confused, especially his eyes. Her brow furrowed again, and she asked sharply, "How much did you drink tonight?"

Benjamin shook his empty champagne glass, pursed his lips, and mocked himself absently, "Not much. Obviously I'm still in control. ”

"You should know very well that even though it's a team Christmas party today and a day off tomorrow, you can't drink excessively. Lu Ling said and took his champagne glass from his hand, and said righteously, "That's it for tonight." As your head coach, I don't want to see ...... again" As she spoke, Ben's hand suddenly came over and he took her cup from her other hand.

Benjamin stared at the lipstick mark on the champagne glass, scarlet, and he thought, she really liked the color. Then he looked at her with a shallow smile and saw her anger as he wished. The corners of his mouth curled slightly, and he raised his arm and drank the liquid from the cup along her footprint. "That's it for tonight. I promise. As soon as he spoke, he noticed that his voice was a little hoarse.

"Benjamin Hamilton, that's why we need to talk!" At this moment, Lu Ling felt that his authority had been challenged. "You can't do that! You can't do it with me! I won't date you!

This may be a ridiculous picture. It was a beautiful festive atmosphere in the house, and the man in front of her was still wearing a stupid red elk Christmas sweater. But the truth is, he didn't take her seriously for the whole night. His respect for her in the past was all faked.

Benjamin still felt his mouth dry. He looked at her and frowned a little, "You're really mad at me, aren't you?"

"Isn't that obvious? Again, do you understand what I mean?"

Her voice finally had no warmth. The gaze that looked at him became colder and colder, just like this night, like the cold wind that never stopped and the winter rain that fell again.

Benjamin nodded. Her hair was wet. His voice became gentle, "I see." Let's go inside. Are you cold?"

Lu Ling stared at Benjamin motionlessly. The damn sweater he wore gave a comedic effect to what should have been a serious moment. She can't laugh, but she hates the sweater. The elk on it didn't even have a mouth, but it was like laughing at her.

"One more thing. Lu Ling felt that his lips barely moved.

"Leon?" asked Benjamin. He said as he looked up at the room. He met Patrick's gaze. Maybe Pat has been keeping an eye on what's going on here. He thought. They were late together, and Pat said it was a traffic jam, which he knew couldn't be. He wanted to know the real reason, and he was afraid to know, and he only hoped it wasn't the worst. If it was, it would hurt more than anything she said.

"Yes. ”

"Don't worry. ”

She was expressionless, waiting for him to explain further.

Benjamin smiled at her. "Leon doesn't matter, and neither does Phil. They're just my colleagues. They don't like me, so don't like it, I don't care, not at all. I'm still going to pass them on the pitch, I promise. Now, can you trust me?"

Lu Ling stared into Benjamin's eyes. That's another question. She thought. A football club is not a company after all, the dressing room is a place that resembles an army. She really can't force everyone to be good friends, but she needs something between them, especially on the field, that goes beyond co-workers. That kind of thing is called trust, it's called a sense of honor.

"I'm sure you won't get into trouble with them. Lu Ling paused, "Ben." She tries to make her voice sound more uplifting, "We're not an ordinary business. This is my blue and white legion. Do you see what I mean?"

"Of course. I will always be your soldier, my Royal Highness. Benjamin said, looking into those eyes. He didn't use the tone of **, he was stating the facts.

"No, that's not what it means. Together, we fight for honor. Lu Ling said this, and suddenly patted Ben's shoulder hard, he seemed to tremble, and her palms were full of rain. "Think about what I said. She turned and walked inside.

"I will. Benjamin said behind her. He looked at her back and hesitated, then said, "Maybe nothing really happened in Nyon, maybe it's just that I've changed." His voice was enveloped in wind and rain, drowned out by the sudden loudness of music and human voices. She probably didn't hear it at all. In short, she didn't look back.

****

The players didn't let Lu Ling dance in vain at the team's Christmas party, and four days later, they returned to the new Queen's Park to make another bloody mess, sweeping Wolves 7-0. Following the 9-0 Middlesbrough game, Leon scored another hat-trick with Phil, Patrick and Benjamin scoring as Ian scored his first goal of the season.

And, in this round, Chelsea drew 2-2 at home to Everton. The two biggest rivals dropped points at the same time, allowing QPR to basically seal the Christmas title early.

It should be the best Christmas ever in charge. Lu Ling thought.

In the 17th round of the Premier League, and the last game before Christmas, QPR travelled to the south coast to face Bournemouth.

It was dark when the team bus arrived.

As soon as Lu Ling got off the bus, he smelled the salty smell in the air. It is a city by the sea. She remembers the seaside villa, the fine private sand, the noise from nearby Poole Beach, and the blazing love and a**.

But now it's Christmas. Even in the southern tip of England, there is only gloomy cold.

Patrick walked past her, smiling a little and asking quickly in her ear, "What comes to mind?"

Lu Ling turned his head, and the guy had already gone in with Hans in first. She smiled softly and walked inside with Tim behind her.

Benjamin looked in the direction of the sea. It's an island country, but it's too high in latitude. Even Bournemouth is not a holiday destination. Unless he plays for Bournemouth, there will be no big stars buying property here. But Patrick has a villa here. Probably, that summer, she didn't have a vacation, and he didn't want to leave her.

Jacob nudged Benjamin back, "Have you finished your two papers?"

Benjamin smiled at Jacob and didn't answer. He saw ahead, and she seemed to tilt her head sideways. Anyway, she knew the answer.

Bournemouth are currently struggling in the relegation zone and the upcoming Christmas-New Year fixtures are very busy. Therefore, Lu Ling chose to rotate.

It was QPR who conceded first in the game, with Bournemouth scoring through a quick attack.

Today QPR used JT, Sadio Babaka and Pyotr Shmanovski to partner in the central defence, which is a full second-line defence. Glenn Mitchell had some hamstring tightness after the game against Wolves and Lu Ling didn't start him today. She doesn't want the main centre-back to have three strengths and two weaknesses.

Elsewhere, she also rotated Phil, Benjamin and Leão and was replaced by Brill Embolo, Jacob Harding and Thorin Mitulescu respectively. Still, she's ready for Pat to play half the court. It wasn't long before the blue-and-white number 18 equalised – a mid-range shot from mid-range after a wall link with Embolo.

Next, the visitors took over the game. Briel Embolo put QPR ahead and Gonzalo Chica scored his maiden goal from distance – and the Spaniard was so excited that he almost went in the wrong direction and went straight into the crowd of home fans.

In the second half, Lu Ling directly replaced Patrick with Leon and replaced Genk with Joey Freeman. Both men then scored and QPR eventually won 5-1.

Jamaican-born England youth international Joey Freeman has been struggling with playing time lately, but Lu Ling also knows that Joey is also deliberating whether to play for the Jamaican national team or the England national team. So after he scored, Lu Ling hugged him specifically. 'Joey, your goal is brilliant and you're going to be a top winger in the future. She told him. The 20-year-old winger has the style of Raheem Sterling when he debuted, but he is still on the bench and needs encouragement. And the other Joey of the reserve team, Joey "JT" Tomlin, has become a regular in the team due to the injury of Mensah.

Meanwhile, Joey's goal was also the 60th for QPR in the Premier League this season. It took 17 games. This is a terrible goal rate unprecedented in the Premier League.

The media is overwhelmingly blue and white.

****

Christmas is really here.

Due to the Boxing Day game, on December 25th, the team had a training session that was not heavy as usual.

Lu Ling walked to the training ground after the pre-game press conference. She cursed under her breath. In fact, today is a sunny day. Christmas this year should be neither wet nor white. However, today the temperature is very low and the wind is strong. She thought she would have to play with the players for a while to warm up. 166 Reading Network