The entire restaurant may be less than half a second without a sound, and then it will erupt like a volcano. Lu Ling heard all kinds of cursing in various languages, from the coaching staff to the players, it seemed that everyone was not satisfied with this signing. But it's not just dissatisfaction, there's something else.

"Now, I wish Pat had been injured a little longer. "That's Zixiang's voice.

Lu Ling suddenly realized that the phone in her pocket had stopped vibrating.

The draw is not over yet, and there are still three matchups that have not yet come out.

She stared at the TV screen and pulled out her phone, and the banner given by BTSPORT was already clearly written QPRVS Barcelona. She glanced down at her phone, and the missed call was from Patrick. While she was still hesitating to dial it back, he called again.

George, the first-team coach, was telling her, "Damn, this is the worst signing!

She held her phone and told George that she would be back soon, and then answered the call as she walked outside the restaurant.

They haven't been in touch for a month. Since he gave her back the key, it seemed to herald the end of something.

Lu Ling can occasionally hear his recent situation from Ian's mouth, and can also see some news about him from the newspaper, and there are other aspects in terms of competition. But the strangest thing was that when she went to see Lu Yungui in the hospital last week, her father told her that they had met briefly in New York.

"Did it happen?" she asked.

Lu Yungui hesitated, and finally didn't tell her what happened.

"Tina, you're coming to Barcelona. Patrick's voice was already ringing in her right ear.

Is this a good sign for him?

She didn't have time to speak, he sighed under his breath, "I never thought I'd be your enemy one day. ”

"Neither did I. She said, only to realize that her voice was hoarse and her throat was dry.

Is it really not? Isn't the meeting in the Champions League a matter of probability? From the moment he leaves this team, it is a sign that there may be such a day.

Lu Ling looked at the court outside the window, it was empty now, everyone was in the restaurant, so she turned her head to look at the restaurant-

It seems that another matchup has been drawn.

She heard something, far away, but couldn't see the TV screen clearly. She said to the person on the phone, "Wait a minute, I'll take a look at ......."

Patrick had already told her the answer: "Arsenal vs Everton. The Premier League civil war. ”

She let out a long sigh of oh, wondering who had the better chance of making the cut, she or Nick, and it probably wasn't a big deal. Everton had just lost to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, but the two teams were evenly matched, but the QPR and Barcelona had the most attacking power in Europe this season......

"Tina......

"What?"

"Steve did give you that envelope, didn't he? I asked him, and he said it was given to you on your birthday night. But it's been a month, and you've never told me what you think. ”

Lu Ling thought it was funny. What did he want her to say? "It was a wise decision" or "You should have given it back to me a long time ago"? Or was he suggesting that she should give him the keys to his house? No, Pat was a straightforward person. That's not his way of thinking.

"What do you want me to say?" she cleared her throat, "I don't have an idea, whether you give me back the keys to my house or not, it's all over." ”

On that night when he was silent and just kissed her lips and her body over and over again, on that morning when he didn't say goodbye, on that phone call where neither of us would say a word, in Sochi, after that England was eliminated by Brazil......

After she finished speaking, he was silent for a long, long time.

Lu Ling walked a few steps to the restaurant, and the third match: Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich.

She waited impatiently, the draw would soon be over, and the remaining group was obviously Manchester City vs Dortmund. She needs to talk to the players and the coaching staff and doesn't have time to delay on the call.

"Pat, I'll call you later......"

"You never opened that envelope at all, did you? So you think the envelope was the key to your house? So you think I chose to give you back the key to your house on your thirtieth birthday? So you think I wouldn't even return it to you myself? I'm so cowardly in your heart?" he said in a quick voice. He was disappointed and angry.

If not the key to her house, what is it?

"I didn't open it. Lu Ling heard himself say this, "I'll call you again in the evening, I don't have time now." ”

He paused and agreed. But neither of them hung up.

She didn't want them to end the call like that, and he must have thought so.

So she said: "I think it's going to be tough at Camp Nou or at the new Queen's Park. ”

He whispered, "I don't know. Maybe I've already had a tougher time for me. ”

“…… Pat, I mean the game. ”

"I'm not. Call me in the evening and I'll wait. Patrick then hung up.

****

When Lu Ling returned to the restaurant, she put away all her emotions.

The quarter-finals of the Champions League have all been released.

QPRVS Barcelona

Arsenal v Everton

Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich

Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund

Each one is eye-catching, and it could really be the most gimmicky Champions League eight-in-four match in recent years. Patrick Amber is back in QPR, and not only that, but Christine Lue will meet Pep Guardiola, who has a good record in the past, Arsenal and Everton, Allegri and Flores, two pragmatist coaches in the Premier League civil war (Everton just lost to Arsenal in the League Cup final), Real Madrid and Bayern, this is a clash between two old giants, the last superstars of the last era will meet each other again, and as for Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund, it will also be a clash of different football philosophies……

Lu Ling glanced at George, and remembered some of the conversations he had with Tim earlier......

Both George and Tim want to touch Dortmund.

Indeed, among all the opponents, perhaps only Borussia Dortmund, QPR has the best chance of winning. But if the QPR draw is really Dortmund, maybe the Dortmund fans will be more fortunate than the QPR fans.

Who is the best signatory?

It's good to go to Barcelona, Lu Ling thought. Speaking of which, it was the first club she applied to when she submitted her resume, and the first club that rejected her. She remembers the reply she received:

"Dear Kristen Lu, we are honored to receive your application, but we are sorry that your resume does not meet our requirements, even though you are a coach with all qualifications......

Later, after encountering Pep so many times in the Premier League, she was really eager to ask the Catalans if they knew about it, but she never asked. Because objectively speaking, if Barcelona hired her at that time, it would have been a joke. Her resume at that time was indeed too thin. Then it doesn't matter at all whether Pep knows it or not.

In the cafeteria, there was still some name-calling, and there was still discussion about whether Patrick would be able to play in those two rounds......

Does it matter if he's out or not?

Lu Ling felt that this was a meaningless question.

If there is no Pat, it is equivalent to the only time in the chess matchup, and the opponent directly discards the king's rook casting.

But she can't tell the players that.

"Like you, I'd like to see Pat hurt May, but it's clear that even if he doesn't play in the first round, there's a slim chance he'll miss the second round...... So, we don't need to think about it, we don't need to think about things that we can't change, we should think about things we can do well. Yes, Barcelona are undoubtedly going to be a tough opponent, I mean, probably the most difficult opponent we will face. But, oh fuck, we're going to kill them! We've killed Pep Guardiola many times anyway, haven't we? And, now, everybody finally fucking knows that QPR isn't Patrick's team, in fact, this time, we're going to kill Patrick's team, yes, that's it!"

She wasn't so sure, but when she said it, she became more and more determined.

The first law is that you have to believe that you can win.

****

The work after the draw is still busy.

First of all, Lu Ling needs to attend the pre-match press conference of this round of the Premier League, and the opponent of QPR is Manchester United, led by Ryan Giggs, who have been in good form after the change of manager.

At this point in the season, the margin for error is decreasing in every link. QPR has a certain possibility of further progress in the league and the Champions League, although in the odds offered by major game/lottery companies, QPR is not the most favored.

At the moment, Barcelona is the one with the lowest odds (and the most favorites) in the Champions League. Of the top four in the Premier League, QPR is the least favourable to win the trophy – which of course has to do with their draw from Barcelona, but data analysts at Bo/Cai believe that Arsenal and Manchester City have a higher probability of winning the trophy than QPR, presumably because Allegri and Sampaoli have a lot of experience in Europe. Of course, among these four teams, the most favored is actually the Premier League champion Everton, who is tied with Bayern Munich and Real Madrid behind Barcelona.

In the Premier League, although QPR currently leads Arsenal in the standings, the probability of QPR winning the Premier League title is still lower than Arsenal's in the eyes of senior data analysts at Bo/Cai. The most favored is also the defending champion Everton, who are at the top of the table.

Everton didn't become Leicester, in fact, they became Chelsea and Manchester City under Nicolas Flores, becoming only the third team in this league to break the old order and truly promote to the giants.

Lu Ling found that when she looked back at Nick's coaching experience at Everton, it was almost like a myth. In the first season, they won the top four, the second season was the title, and in the Champions League, they reached the quarterfinals for two consecutive years. You must know that Everton qualified from the group of death in the Champions League last year, and this year they directly defeated Serie A champion Juventus in the knockout round of 16 into 8.

Is Nick's luck good? Yes, his luck is good.

Some fans and commentators who don't like him say that Flores just has a good deck of cards, he has Patrick in QPR, he has Dembele in Everton, Flores can do anything to win, even reuniting with his former assistant coach who was abandoned by him, Flores always complains about the referee, but the Toffees are obviously one of the most advantageous clubs in this league......

What they think, it never mattered to him.

In Nick's own words: "I put in so much effort, not to make everyone like me or understand me, I just wanted to get what I deserved." ”

When he said this, he still looked like he was determined to win the league title this season.

But......

Lu Ling also doesn't want the QPR to be Tottenham. For a few years, Tottenham kept themselves competitive in the top four, and even had a chance to win the Premier League, but it never came to pass.

What he was determined to obtain, she had coveted for a long time.

Lu Ling thought about these and had already walked to the scene of the press conference.

After the afternoon training session, the QPR coaching staff had the longest meeting in a long time. In addition to the details of tomorrow's game against Manchester United, there are also discussions about the preparations for the game against Barcelona. This time, Lu Linghui will need all members of the coaching staff to focus all their energy on the Champions League and the league in the recent period.

She was a little nervous, and she thought, if Tim was here, she would have said, you look too nervous, and that made everyone nervous. So she adjusted her mood a little.

But even if she's not nervous, everyone in this room will be nervous.

It's a whole new chapter for the club.

She didn't get a call from Nick until the end of the day, and she didn't have a moment to call him. Fridays are always busy, plus such a draw.

****

When Lu Ling stepped into the house in a trance, the first thing she did was to open the drawer where the letters were kept.

The drawer has been cleaned once. It should be done by the housekeeper. Her housekeeper was found for her by Steve, who would come twice a week to help her clean up and buy groceries.

Lu Ling didn't find the envelope.

The envelope was not small, it was thick, and it contained a key inside, so she should have found it easily. She called the butler, who told her that she had never seen such an envelope.

She searched again, but still couldn't find it.

It's weird.

She didn't have to call the housekeeper again, the person Steve hired, she could rest assured at all levels, if the housekeeper said he didn't see it, it must have really not seen it.

Lu Ling frowned.

The letter from one place also made her irritable. She checked it for the third time and found nothing.

How could it be gone?

Eventually, she decided to give Patrick a call.

Some late, Lu Ling looked at the table below. He may have slept, she thought, and if he didn't answer, she'd voice message him. But he quickly got through.

"Hey, just got home, huh?" he asked.

"Yes, it was a very busy day, I thought you slept. ”

"I said I'd wait for your call. ”

“…… Pat, that envelope is missing, it's weird...... I slipped it into the drawer at the door where I kept the letter, you know the drawer......"

He interrupted her and scoffed, "yes, I know the drawer. So that envelope disappeared out of thin air, is that what you mean?"

"It's really weird......" Lu Ling squatted down and flipped through it again, but she already knew it was futile.

He didn't speak, and she asked, "If it's not the key to my house, what is it?"

Lu Ling suddenly heard a low dog barking, it was Zoe.

Patrick rubbed Zoe's chin and said slowly, "It doesn't matter anymore, if you think it's the key to your home, it is." ”

She didn't say anything, and after a while, she said, "Good night then." ”

"Good night, Tina. See you next month at the new Queen's Park. ”

She didn't say anything more and hung up.

Lu Ling didn't look for the envelope again, she threw all the letters on the ground back into the drawer.

Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.

When she kicked off her shoes, she received a message from Nick.

I just finished all my work, what about you, babe, I don't know if to congratulate you or feel sorry, oh, Barcelona...... You have to admit that I have a better chance of making the cut than you. 】

She went upstairs barefoot and invited the Spaniards.

"Probability is one thing, the final outcome may be another, and if probability can determine the final outcome, there will be no fans to bet on. ”

Nicholas on the screen showed a smile, "If the probability had no effect, the company would have gone bankrupt a long time ago." ”

Lu Ling was slightly stunned, and then laughed, "Okay, I admit it, you have a better chance of advancing than me." ”

"Maybe Pep misses you a lot, or maybe someone else misses you too......"

"You mean Jose?"

Nicholas was stunned for a moment, "You know it's not." Never mind. Speaking of Jose, he told me that he would go to see you and Giggs tomorrow. ”

"It was an accident, hasn't he left Manchester yet?"

"There's a little bit of triviality, I don't know. ”

Lu Ling stopped in his bedroom, it would not be an easy matter to leave a city completely.

Jose Mourinho has remained in the media spotlight since his sacking from Manchester United, with offers reportedly received from Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco, Inter Milan and even Liverpool and Tottenham, but credible Sky Sports recently reported that the Portuguese has decided to go to Paris next season.

Lu Ling looked at his watch again, walked to the bed, and said while undressing, "Nick, I have to sleep, I still have a lot of work to do tomorrow......"

"You seem to be in a bad mood......"

"No, it's just tiring. ”

"Okay, just tell me you're going to be in Manchester for one night after you play Manchester United on Sunday, whatever the result. ”

She stared at the man on the screen, pursing her lips and grinning.

"What are you laughing at?"

“…… It's silly. Lu Ling said, "I want to see you too, Nick." ”

He rejoiced, "It's only an hour's drive away, and I'll pick you up at Old Trafford." ”

"Let me think about it, last time it was Anfield, this time it was Old Trafford......

"For me, I just wanted to see you sooner. ”

"What if you lose to Leeds that day, Nick?"

"One, that's not going to happen, and two, if that's going to happen......" Nicholas dragged out, "I'll spank you." ”

"Please, is it my fault that you lost?" Lu Ling had already gotten into the bed.

"You have a cranky boyfriend, accept that......"

……

Anyway, it should be a key, what kind of key did he give her? This was Lu Ling's last consciousness before falling asleep this night. 166 Reading Network