Patrick put his hands in the pockets of his down jacket, his palms sweating slightly, but he didn't bother to take them out. He stared down at the locker room floor, and a gray spot caught his attention. And there were voices constantly coming in his ears, and if he listened carefully, of course he could tell who was talking, but he just numbly let them in without thinking.

'Bad luck, Arsenal couldn't have won the game if they hadn't scored right from the start. ”

"How many doorframes do we have? Oh damn it, why is this the case. ”

"We should have been awarded at least one penalty......

"Don't say it. Don't me. ”

……

Hans took off his shirt and threw it to the ground. He glanced first at Patrick, who was leaning against the shower door, and then at the head coach who was talking to the assistant coach in a low voice. The expression on their faces was like a virus that spread throughout the locker room. The German boy licked his dry lips and picked up the mineral water on the floor. He noticed disappointment written on every teammate's face.

Oh, that's disappointing.

The gray dot is three-dimensional for a while, and blurry for a while. Patrick suddenly felt a little hot, and he pulled the zipper off his down jacket. Someone came over and tapped him on the shoulder, and he let go of his grip on the zipper puller and turned his head to look over. It's Glenn.

“…… Pat, do you want to take off your coat?" asked the Yorkshire boy softly.

Patrick shook his head. He glanced at his teammates again, most of them topless. They sweat a lot. For a moment, Patrick missed sweating profusely after the match. And if it's a big win, it's as exciting and pleasurable as sex. Speaking of sex. He glanced at Tina. He hadn't been with her for a week. He immediately felt ridiculous again. They have been in the cold war for several days. Aside from the necessary exchanges in training sessions, they rarely even make eye contact.

Zixiang said yesterday that their tension was felt by the whole team. And at this time, perhaps, everyone in this locker room was watching him and her. They may be speculating about whether a war will break out between them.

Patrick patted Glenn on the shoulder, "what you have to do." He also wears a birthday present from her in February on his wrist. He always wears it.

Glenn nodded, and as soon as Patrick's hand left his shoulder, the head coach finally ended his conversation with the assistant coach and walked to the center of the locker room.

Glenn hurried back to his locker. The players who were in the shower also hurriedly walked back to the locker room.

Patrick looked at his watch, and in fact, it was only ten minutes before the end of the game.

In these ten minutes. She, Leon and Ian were interviewed on television.

****

"It was definitely a disappointing game. Arsenal scored in the opening kick-off, so it didn't work for us. We created a lot of chances but we weren't lucky. Patrick's absence? But we all know very well that very few players can play the full 38 league games. I don't want to talk about his suspension anymore, it doesn't make much sense. We've been in good form this season and of course I'm hoping that our unbeaten run will continue...... Now it's over, my colleagues and I and the players will adjust and we'll be back soon. Also, we're still at the top of the list, aren't we?" said Kristen Lu in an interview with BTSPORT. Despite her disappointment, she presented a surprising calm.

León said: "It was a very difficult result and probably the most uncomfortable game I've had since I came in. We should have been awarded a penalty but luck wasn't on our side. ”

Ian said: "Tonight is not ours. It's going to be a bad Christmas. But I want to say to the fans, it's not the end of the world, I know they're disappointed, I know people are crying, and that really wasn't expected by any of us...... But we're still the top team and we're going to keep working hard and we're going to try to win the games from then on. ”

Lu Ling actually heard what Leon and Ian said. She didn't think there was anything wrong with what they said.

It's been ten minutes since the whistle blew at the end of the game. She thinks she's gone from disappointment to acceptance. She was talking to Tim about the distance and the hot spots. She has a sense of intuition, but she also needs data to help analyse the situation at the whole game.

Her feet stood in the middle of the locker room. Little by little, the players quieted down and looked at her. Someone else glanced at Patrick behind her sideways.

She looked back, and he leaned against the shower door, his eyelids lifted slightly. Not carelessly, but she didn't know what emotions he was.

The feeling of shame comes suddenly. She left him out of the squad and lost the game. This is certainly not strictly causation. But the former cannot be separated from the latter.

Lu Ling felt the tightness of every muscle in his body at this moment. She thought she was at peace in her heart, but she didn't. She thought she had taken the first few minutes to accept the result, but it didn't.

She looked at her players, and thankfully they didn't know.

"I'm disappointed with the result, I don't want to end my unbeaten streak at all at all, and I'm sure you do, but it's impossible to change it. ”

'We were the last to lose the first game of the season in the league and if that doesn't prove that we're a great team, I don't know what. ”

"We have to look forward! Don't forget, we're still top of the Premier League table!"

'Three days later, we'll be back at the new Queen's Park to take on Bournemouth. Pat will also return to the main lineup. She said this, glancing back at Patrick.

Patrick was already staring at her silhouette when he met her gaze, and he stared into her eyes even more unscrupulously. She blinked naturally, turned her head naturally, and continued: "That game is what we're going to focus on next. Did you hear me clearly?"

They echoed her words. But Lu Ling knew that it wouldn't be so simple. She turned her head to look at Pat again, and he walked over to her.

Everyone was amazed.

He hugged her without warning.

In less than a second, he let go of her again, to put it mildly.

Lu Ling smiled lightly, patted the back of his head, and left the locker room. She's going to the post-match press conference.

When she closed the locker room door, her smile vanished. She felt her body like a tense cowhide band, ready to bounce out of nowhere.

He's definitely well-intentioned, he's smart, and that will reassure the players about the manager's relationship with the number one star.

But she still couldn't help but feel that she was humiliated.

****

Lu Ling nodded lightly and answered the Times reporter's question in a calm voice.

"Yes, we couldn't have thought it would be a loss before the game started. Of course, no team will pretend that they will lose a game before it starts. Even if we're a League One team, even if I'm the manager of a League One team, I'm not going to say to my players: 'Look, it's Arsenal and we're going to lose.' Sometimes, you have to believe something. I've always been a man of faith and I ask my players to do the same. For us, it's over. We're going to forget it, and we have to do it. The unbeaten run is over and I think tomorrow everybody will talk about us and it will put pressure on us. I hope that my colleagues and my players, with me, can withstand this pressure. It's not easy, but we'll do it. I knew we would. ”

Contrary to what the reporters imagined, they originally thought that Christine would come to the press conference with a black face, lose her temper over a slightly sharper question, and send them away with three or two sentences. But now the situation is that she patiently said a string. And these words, as they sound, are so sincere.

It's like Moyes or Manuel Pellegrini would say.

Is this still Christine Luke? Or maybe they never really got to know the 28-year-old manager.

"Still have questions?" she didn't smile, but her tone was very soft.

The Sun's reporter David King raised his arm and quickly asked the question: "Christine, it was a really disappointing game. We've heard you've had a strained relationship with Patrick Amber in the last week, and there have been a lot of rumours about him this week, what do you think about that?

Lu Ling looked at this reporter, she knew him. She has never had much of a liking for The Sun, not just her, and perhaps all public figures.

As she looked away, she chuckled, "Of course." ”

The reporters waited a few seconds, but she didn't add anything.

David King hurriedly asked, "So Amber is still not for sale?"

"Of course. She repeated the word without making any additions. It's just that the expression on her pretty face is more or less "this is really a stupid question".

"But your relationship with him ......"

"I've known him since he was seven years old, and there must be some of you who have such friends and know what's going on. I don't want to go into too much detail, it's a post-match press conference for a football game, not an interview with me or Patter. ”

While the QPR boss spoke, David King was still racking his brains to dig something out.

"The Guardian reporter reveals that Patrick's agent, Steve Baker, has previously met ......"

"Oh, about this...... Please don't forget, I'm also a client of Steve. Lu Ling looked at her watch, she gave them ten minutes, which was long enough.

She got up from her seat, and she felt like she was in control.

****

That night, Sanchez posted a selfie with his teammates in the locker room on Instagram. The Arsenal players, who lost for the first time of the season to the top team, can imagine their mood after the game.

After Saturday's fixtures, there was no change in the top four of the table.

QPR continues to top the list with a score of 45. Everton beat Stoke 3-1 to take 44 points, and Everton once again narrowed the gap to one point. Somewhat surprisingly, Manchester City drew 1-1 away at West Bromwich Albion, finishing third and fourth with Arsenal on 40 points.

Later in the evening, Ian tweeted:

[It was a disappointing game, the loss was the responsibility of the whole team and we are willing to take that responsibility. I know everyone in the locker room is as confident as I am. 】

A number of other QPR players have also spoken on social media, with Mensah also interacting with a fan on Twitter:

[Do you think we're going to stop because we lose a game? Don't forget, we're still at the top of the table. 】

[There is no problem with the locker room, nothing to worry about. 】

Despite the sensationalism in the post-match headlines and photos of Christine Lue and Patrick Amber, it seems that the Queens Park Rangers team did not overreact to the unbeaten finish. Especially Kristen Lue's performance in the post-match press conference -

She obviously wanted to tell everyone that the team had just lost one league game and the rest, nothing had changed.

****

Christmas lights are disgusting. It was like a silent mockery. It's disgusting, Lu Ling thought. She turned around this block, and another block and she was at the house.

Isn't that a waste of electricity, left on all night. She muttered to herself. Actually, she knew very well that it was just that she was in a bad mood. As a result, the beautiful things became diametrically opposed reflections in her eyes.

She called Patrick before she left Harrington. She didn't say we had to talk about that hug, she didn't have time to say anything. Because he said, "I watched your post-match press conference. I miss you, Tina, we need to get this done. ”

When he was still some distance away from the house, Lu Ling parked his car on the side of the road.

She hadn't figured out how to face him yet.

They don't complain about each other, she knows. She also knew that he would not mention what she had said earlier.

However, she still feels that in this cold war, he is the winner.

It irritated her.

And she wondered if she had been the winner, would she still be like this, and that would mean that the unbeaten run was not finished, that she hadn't dropped three points at the Emirates Stadium, that she hadn't allowed Nick's side to close the gap on her team again.

If that were the case, would Pat still say he missed her? Maybe still, why wouldn't he be happy to see the team continue to win?

She was a little out of breath and opened the window. The cold wind poured in, and her whole body was shaking, but she was much more awake.

In any case, she had to separate her emotional relationship with Pat from her work relationship. That's fair, for her, for him, for this team.

Lu Ling restarted the car. She was still a taut cowhide band, but she couldn't allow herself to bounce in a direction she couldn't control.

Her desire for control expanded visibly at this moment.

A minute later, she drove into the house.

Also in Surrey, it is also a very luxurious villa. In fact, it's bigger and better than the one where Pat lives now.

When she stopped the car, he had already opened the door.

He came over, and as soon as she got out of the car, he pulled her into his arms.

They didn't speak, and his lips quickly came up. The passionate kiss continued from the outside into the house. The wheezing was loud, accompanied by the sound of clothes rubbing, like a low, passionate love song.

When Patrick took off her top, she pulled the zipper of his pants down. It all happened suddenly, but without any haphazardness. Continue to kiss and touch, and take off other clothes.

“.” Two words popped out of her throat.

There was a brief impatience on his face, and he was about to say that he couldn't wait, but he let him go anyway and hurried to get it.

After that, only passion and love remained.

Maybe it was a tacit understanding, maybe it was a whole week, and this night, they didn't talk about losing, they didn't talk about football, in fact, they didn't talk about anything, except for beautiful sweet love words.

They hugged each other and fell asleep.

The next morning, when they woke up and looked into each other's eyes, they both knew that things weren't settled yet.

But still, no one mentions it.

"I have to go. She got up from his arms.

"Tell me you're going to miss me. ”

"I will. You'll see me in two hours, though. ”

"Two hours later I saw my boss, not my Tina. ”

"It's all me, and that's no different. ”

"My Tina will tell me Pat, you're ......"

"Don't say it. She covered his mouth.

"You said a lot last night. He took her hand away and held it in his palm.

"I don't remember. ”

"You're shy. There was a mocking smile in his eyes.

"I'm not shy, I really don't remember. ”

"I'll help you remember. Oh God, Pat......"

"Okay, I remembered. She quickly interrupted him. After a pause, she looked him in the eye and said, "Last night...... It's great. ”

He also looked at her, and his voice was gentle, "This is my baby girl." I'm going to miss you. Also, I must not have told you that I love your new hairstyle, it's sexy. ”

"Thank you. It's just a little cold. Tim said, I need a hat. ”

"Then I'll buy you a hat. ”

"There are a lot of clubs. ”

"But it's ugly. ”

"Am I going to be ugly if I wear it?"

"That's right. ”

"Pat, I really have to go. ”

He kissed her and ruffled her short hair, "That's what you say." 166 Reading Network