When the television screen flashed back to the BBC studio, to Lineker's smiling face, Nicholas turned off the TV.

"I remember they interviewed you after the game. Lu Ling said.

"That's right. Nicholas looked at his watch as he put down the remote control, and the time passed quickly, or because he didn't have an accurate sense of time after drinking.

Natalie raised her head, there was no sound of the TV, and the tavern was quiet. She had worried that she would be embarrassed to hear the two men talking, but she later found that as long as she didn't listen, she couldn't hear what they were saying. In addition to the fact that they don't speak loudly, but also because of what they talk about, she is very unfamiliar. In any case, they are more like two friends getting along and not like a romantic date. Although, Natalie felt that all this could not be more romantic.

At the end of November, on a snowy night in London, a two-hour chartered pub with Long Island iced tea and warm wall lamps was ......

The TV shouldn't be on at all, and it's a football show, and the background sound should be the same romantic music.

Natalie thought of this and felt that she should do something.

The soothing drumbeat silently broke into the ears of Nicholas and Lu Ling. They looked at each other and smiled.

Nicholas blinked, "Oldies." He said and took off his blazer.

"Very old. I guess I wasn't born when this song was released, not even you. When Lu Ling spoke, the fingers of his right hand kept sliding on the wet wall of the cup. There was no more wine in her glass, only ice. It was warm in the tavern, even too warm. She felt a little hot wearing only a thread shirt, and she didn't know how the man opposite could wear a suit all the time. And now, he seems to finally feel hot and take it off. It seems that he should have been uncomfortable with this room temperature for a long time, and he has insisted on it until now. And she thought, what is there to be surprised about? His endurance was always amazing, she thought. Tolerance for temperature is not worth mentioning at all. It's not like she's never seen a blizzard, he's also standing on the sidelines wearing only a suit, and he's standing for the entire half.

Nicholas set his blazer aside, loosened his tie again, and then he laughed at himself as he unbuttoned the first button of his white shirt, "Really? I thought you would say this is the song of our time." ”

His tie is still the same as the one from the afternoon, Everton's official tie. Such an ugly tie, he looks good when he wears it. Lu Ling winked at the man slyly, "It seems to me that someone has been telling me that he is too old. ”

"Anyone?" Nicholas asked in surprise as he picked up the can of Long Island Iced Tea, as if completely unaware that she was mocking him.

Lu Ling was amused by him, and just wanted to speak, when he lowered his eyes, he saw the man's wrist holding the wine jar, and saw the cufflink.

Only in an instant, the owner of the cufflinks realized something, and he quickly refilled her with wine, and then his understated voice came: "I like it very much." It's nothing. ”

However, the last time she saw the pair of cufflinks, it was also when they were fighting.

****

Natalie felt that the atmosphere between the two had finally become strange.

Strange is a good thing. Natalie thought. If there is not even a brief strange moment in the process of the two getting along, it can only be friends. Strange, it means that they have ghosts, and they are not just friends.

Natalie looked at her phone screen, and in the past hour, in addition to chatting with friends on Hatsapp, she also searched for the names of these two people, and saw a lot of gossip.

And now, on her phone screen is the latest article on the official website of the Daily Mail, with the headline:

lossagainstlu

Losing to Lu for the first time, Nick was not happy

The accompanying picture shows the Everton manager looking frustrated and angry on the sidelines.

It turns out that Kristen Lue won her mentor and ex-boyfriend Nick Flores for the first time today. It wasn't her class when the game was broadcast live in the afternoon, and she must have missed the frenzied celebration of the QPR fans at this tavern. And just now, what was on TV was the full highlights of that game.

The man in this photo does look unhappy, but now the man in the tavern, Natalie doesn't think his mood can be described as unhappy.

Natalie skimmed through the article, and despite her curiosity about the two men, she was really not interested in it. She closed the page and looked up at the corner.

Are they playing games?

Love game.

Generally speaking, in this game, if you want to win, you only have to do one thing, and that is to always act like you don't care more than the other person.

****

Lu Ling said thank you and looked away from the cufflinks.

"Seriously, I'd love to know what you said in your BBC interview. She tried to change the subject.

As soon as Nicholas picked up the wine glass, he thought about it, put it down again, looked at her face and said, "Nothing special, it's similar to the interview with the sky." What they are most interested in is not a tactical issue, or even a referee issue. What they were most interested in was how I felt when I lost to you for the first time. They knew how bad it felt. Do they want me to be like a brilliant writer or a brilliant actor, and to put into words exactly what it feels like? Yes, it was at that moment that I knew I was going to lose this fight. ”

Lu Ling knew that feeling, that feeling of powerlessness. The most fucked-up thing is that every moment when everyone is staring at you, you must not be too hysterical, you have to try to suppress your truest self. You'll also need to do everything you need to do after the game as a routine. Journalists are waiting for you, players are waiting for you......

However, today, she and Nick have completed the role reversal. She finally realized something she hadn't experienced before. The control is in her hands, and the one who wins becomes her.

After the game, when she walked towards him, she was the one who took the initiative to reach out and the one who took the initiative to speak.

"I won," she said. It's a pity, but I'm happy. ”

Simple, direct, and somewhat rude.

Nick's facial expression at that time could not be said to be expressionless, he was a little stiff, more of an impatience that did not want to talk more.

What he said was, "You know there's always going to be a next meeting. There always is. ”

Of course, there always is, unless one of them is not a football coach anymore, and that should be many years away.

Nicholas took a sip of his drink, saw that she was silent, and asked, "What about you? How do you feel?" Oh I remember, I watched your post-match press conference. ”

Lu Ling answered reporters who also asked this question at the post-match press conference.

"Of course it's nice to win. If the first half was hell for us, the second half was heaven for us. Everybody in this room is there, right? Nobody came after the game? yes, we scored four goals in the second half to turn the game around. It's magical. I think it's probably the happiest game I've ever won in my coach. ”

"Because of Nick? No, not because of Nick. But you reminded me that I was equally impressed by the first win over Tottenham and Manchester City last season, and if I had said that, it would have been hard for me to decide which one would make me happier. So in that case, I hope it's the next one. ”

'I don't have anything to say about the referee's decision, Rojas playing Michy Batshuayi was a red card and I think if a manager's normal emotional display is not acceptable, then the sport will be a lot less fun. But being sent to the stands didn't affect my mood. ”

In fact, she said a lot in her post-match press conference. After her performance landed on social media, she was even ridiculed by many fans for being crazy with joy.

"You acted like a little girl at the press conference, and as far as I know, you haven't been like that in a long time. Like when I first met you. Nicholas continued, with a soft smile and a somewhat mocking tone.

Lu Ling tilted his neck, "Tim and Alice said the same thing. Even Pat called and said I wasn't mature at all, can you imagine being told immature by a boy who was eight years younger than himself. He said I should act like I don't care, I shouldn't be unable to stop. She was so stupid that at the press conference, she talked to the reporters too vigorously later, and even talked about the tactical details for more than ten minutes alone, which made her mouth dry.

"Sounds like you're still good friends. ”

"Yes. Lu Ling opened her eyes, after all, it was her and Pat, who had known each other for so long and had been so close, should they be strangers?

"It looks like you really don't care that he's started over. Nicholas lowered his voice.

Lu Ling glanced at the bar, and the Eastern European girl seemed to have mixed herself a glass of wine to drink. She shook her head and didn't look at the man in front of her.

"A lot of things aren't about whether I care or not, and they don't revolve around my emotions. It's already gone, it's like a ball game, losing is losing, winning is winning. I can't go back to a certain point in the game to change anything, and even if I could, the changes I made wouldn't necessarily make the difference. ”

Nicholas listened to her and didn't make any movement for a long time, just stared at her.

What are you thinking? But she didn't ask, she looked at him too, trying to see through the transparent protective film to find out for herself. However, this was in vain.

After a few moments, he grinned and smiled charmingly, "Ah, by the way, you're an agnostic. ”

"You're a Catholic. Lu Ling hurriedly answered.

"I do. Nicholas tilted the wine in her glass, almost finished again. And that can of Long Island iced tea was empty. Perhaps, that's all for tonight. "It's more of a family tradition, though, and it doesn't really affect me." Also, I don't think my parents care about that either. Every time I went back to Spain, my mom always wanted me to accompany her to church, but she really just wanted to ask me about my relationship. She would always say, those lovers you wrote in the newspaper were not very good, why don't you just marry Sophie, and have a child anyway...... Or ......"

"Or what?"

Nicholas finished the last bit of wine in his glass and narrowed his eyes, "It's about you." Do you still want to hear it?"

Lu Ling shrugged. But Nicholas didn't say. She wanted to hear it, but he suddenly stopped talking. He just looked down at his watch.

Lu Ling also looked at his watch, it was almost one o'clock. The tavern closes at one o'clock.

"Thank you so much for coming, Christine. He smiled, he was clearly in a bad mood, "I not only lost the game today, but I also lost the top spot, thanks to you." However, the season is long and like I said after the game, there is always a next time. I'm glad to see you so happy, but I'm not happy with the result now. ”

Lu Ling pursed his lower lip and listened to him again: "Last question, if it was you who lost the game today, would you still come?"

She thought about it, just an hour ago. She looked at her glass, the walls of which were still sweating. She didn't touch her glass again, even though there was still a little wine left. She looked up and told him, "I don't know. But it's a special place, and I think there's a good chance I'll come anyway. It's the truth. She finished and stood up. He was already meant to leave, but he was polite and waited for her to get up first.

When Natalie looked up, she saw Nicholas putting on Christine's coat. She hurriedly said: "Although we close the door at one o'clock, if there are guests, we will not drive them away on time at one o'clock." ”

Nicholas turned his head, "Of course you won't, but we should leave." ”

Lu Ling was calling Alice, she needed someone to take her home, she definitely couldn't drive back by herself. After hanging up, she asked him, "Where are you staying tonight and how are you going to get back?"

Nicholas was tightening his tie with his head down, and when he heard her question, he looked up at her and whispered, "It's up to you." ”

The moment she opened her mouth, he quickly added, "Joke." I stay in a hotel. I think I could walk back, a few miles, not too far. ”

Lu Ling put on his hat and bumped into the man on his side and prepared to walk out, "Forget it, I don't think our chief team doctor will mind sending you off as well." ”

Nicholas jerked her wrist, "It's cold outside, I think it's better to wait in the tavern." Also, you're angry?"

"Why should I be angry?"

"Because of that joke?"

"Ridiculous. ”

"Then why did you hit me?"

"You're blocking me. ”

"You can say it. ”

“…… I apologize, I shouldn't have hit you. ”

"I accept your apology, but you didn't answer my question. ”

"I'm not angry. ”

"Lying. ”

"I'm not lying. ”

"Still lying. ”

"Can you not be so sure about a thing?"

"I've always been. ”

"But you could be wrong. ”

……

Natalie heard this conversation clearly. She snickered that it would be a long but never boring game. Maybe like she wrote on the blackboard, this is.

****

Alice's most surprised emotion had already been vented on the phone with a roar, which almost burst Lu Ling's eardrums. So, now, when Alice met Nicolas Flores for the second time, QPR's chief team doctor just smiled politely.

Lu Ling sat in the co-pilot, and Nicholas sat in the back seat. The atmosphere in the car is as unstable as the heating in the car.

Alice had a hundred questions in her mind, but she knew that she couldn't ask a single one at the moment. Despite Christine's assurances on the phone that she would tell her when she got back, she was still extremely curious. This curiosity not only drove away sleepiness and chills, but even made her excited.

The previous snow was small and short, so there were almost no traces on the road. It's just wet, but it's very windy.

Soon, we arrived at the hotel where Nicholas was staying. The car stopped, and Lu Ling suddenly turned his head and asked, "By the way, why did you stay in London?"

She couldn't see his face clearly, only heard him say, "Can you get out of the car?" ”

Nicholas opened the car door, and in the front seat, Lu Ling also opened the door. Alice rubbed her hands together and looked out the window.

He walked around to her from behind and hugged her.

This hug came suddenly, and Lu Ling's whole body froze in Nicholas's arms.

"Because I want to drink with you. He whispered in her ear.

His voice was low, but so clear. She felt the tip of his tongue slip over the edge of her ear. In the cold wind, it felt so warm and so familiar. She looked up at him, and he looked at her, his hand around her waist tightened again. This is the first time the two have been so close since the breakup.

She didn't speak, she didn't move. Just look at him. Both hands are still hanging at their sides.

His face was right in front of him, and his gaze drooped and seemed to fall on her lips......

He let go of her abruptly.

"Good night, Christine. He said.

****

Back in the car, Lu Ling hadn't fully recovered his senses.

Until Alice said leisurely, "I thought he was going to kiss you." ”

After a few seconds, Lu Ling looked at his best friend and whispered, "Me too." 166 Reading Network