Despite being separated by only one English Channel, the climate of continental Europe is very different from that of the British Isles. It's no wonder that Brits love to go out on holiday, and who makes the UK almost no summer?

Lu Ling arrived in Marseille on the northern shore of the Mediterranean Sea on the day of his first group game in England.

In fact, England's training base in France is in the north of Chantilly, near Paris. Marseille is the southernmost city in France and the southernmost city of the European Championship. The England squad has to travel across France to play.

Compared to London, summer in Marseille is called summer. In London, in June, you sometimes even have to wear light cotton clothes. That's a real disappointment.

The hotel was not bad. Because she also had the task of scouting the players on this trip, the hotel was actually booked by the club. Presumably, if the Spaniard comes to Marseille, he will also stay here, but I don't know if he will come to see it. As for the question of whether the gambling contract is fulfilled or not, Lu Ling has not replied to him so far. She thought, it would be better to go with the flow.

She finished checkin, pulled her suitcase, and as soon as she turned around, she saw Nicholas. Nicholas and the sexy Latina girl who had just been in the newspaper with him a while ago, to be exact.

Lu Ling was slightly stunned, then walked over calmly, and greeted with a smile, "Hi, Mr. Flores, you have also arrived." Who is this?"

Nicholas was a little surprised by his assistant's reaction, he looked at her inquiringly, and introduced, "This is my friend Sofia López. Sophie, this is my assistant Kristen Lu. ”

Isn't it a girlfriend?Lu Ling lowered his eyes and saw the Spaniard's hand on Sophia's slender waist.

Sophia has big curly brown hair, eyes like the eyes of a fawn, and there is some charm in addition to innocence. Slightly taller than Lu Ling, twenty-nine years old. As for the figure - she is one of the most famous lingerie models in Spain.

Lu Ling greeted Sophia in broken Spanish.

I didn't want Sophia to wink at her, and her mouth was in standard British English, "Oh, Christine, I'm Spanish, but I grew up in England." It's a pleasure to meet you today, Nick always mentions you. ”

It's embarrassing. What the hell was she thinking?Lu Ling's face was filled with a smile of apology and embarrassment, "I'm glad to meet you, Sophia, too." My Spanish is terrible. ”

Before Sophia could speak, Nicholas had already said with a slight smile, "It's not good, but the pronunciation is cute." ”

Lu Ling glanced at him at this time, and he stared at her as if no one was around. She tugged at her suitcase and said to Sophia, "Then I'll leave it alone, I'll see you later." ”

The Spaniard looked at the back of his assistant. The corners of his mouth moved when he saw her enter the elevator and almost hit someone. Then, facing the hall, the assistant looked up and met his gaze, but she quickly turned her face away, and the elevator door shut.

Sophia finished checkin, just in time to see this scene. She laughed at her childhood sweetheart's old lover, "You seem to like her a lot." ”

"Is it so obvious?" said Nicholas with a slight smile.

"Yes. I'm curious to see how long your interest will last, half a year at most, bet?"

"No, not this time. Nicholas said as he walked in the direction of the elevator.

****

Lu Ling always thought that he had learned French well. But when she tried to talk to the waiter in French, she realized that her pronunciation was really not good. It turned out that in addition to her poor Spanish, she also had French.

Finally, the waiter smiled politely, "Actually, my English is good, beautiful lady, you should speak English with me." Or Chinese, Japanese, Korean?"

Lu Ling asked for a bottle of red wine and a little pasta, hoping to bring it to the room, she didn't want to go to the restaurant downstairs to meet those two people again. Listening to the tone of Sophia's voice, their relationship is not as simple as boyfriend and girlfriend. Perhaps the Spanish native English expression has nothing to do with her.

Lu Ling sent a message to Patrick while eating.

[Lu Ling: Hey, Pat, I'm in Marseille.]

Patrick: We'll go straight back to Chantilly after the game.

Lu Ling: It seems that we won't have a chance to meet, but maybe we will have a chance to meet in Paris later.

Patrick: Yup. Are you alone?

Lu Ling: Yes. I met my boss and his girlfriend before.

Patrick: Interesting.

Lu Ling: What's interesting?

Patrick: Nothing. I dreamed of you last night.

Lu Ling: Really, about what?

Patrick: You won't want to know. Ready to go to the pitch.

Lu Ling: Okay, I'll be over in a while. Good luck tonight.

Patrick: Thank you. x】

****

Before the game, the atmosphere outside the Velodrome stadium was extremely hot, filled with fans from all over the world. There are also numerous television stations that broadcast live among the fans. The atmosphere of the official national team competition is rarely matched by the league. Although the so-called tournament has a large number of fans, it involves national honors, plus every four years, which is similar to the carnival.

As Lu Ling walked past the crowd of fans with bright oil paint on their faces, she could clearly feel their love for football. It's hard to tell what kind of love it is, it's not higher than life and death, it's more like a scorching heat.

After she entered the court, she met many colleagues, some of whom she had a relationship with, and some of whom she had never met at all. When she sat in her place, she felt a little lonely, most of them came with friends or family. But it doesn't matter, she's here to work after all, even though she has a position. She arrived early, just in time for the players to come out to warm up.

Patrick glanced at the VIP area and saw Tina. She wore a floral short-sleeved blouse and did look like she was on vacation. But she didn't look at him.

Ross Barkley was putting his shoulders on Patrick's shoulders and doing stretching exercises when Patrick was seen staring somewhere in the stands, and the young midfielder who plays for Everton followed his gaze. It turned out to be Patrick's assistant coach at QPR.

"Christine, is she?"

Patrick withdrew his gaze and nodded.

"My parents are here, but what about your parents?"

"They went to Hawaii, and my dad said the knockout game would come and see. "Although Jack is a fan, he has not been very enthusiastic about going to the scene to watch his son's games, and this season, he has not been to a few games in total. And if Lucy weren't for her son being a player, I'm afraid she wouldn't be able to score the field for the rest of her life. The two of them have a lot of fun in their lives, and even the European Championship with their son is a priority to go on vacation.

Lu Ling lowered his head and studied the formations of the two sides, and the noise in his ears gradually disappeared. Essentially, Hodgson's philosophy is still the traditional 442, but this man has been in Europe and is familiar with continental football, unlike Gary or Shaun, who knows how to be flexible and is trying to combine some continental ideas with England without abandoning traditional English football.

But Russia is by no means a weak brigade. England may not be able to win easily.

She looked up and saw the boy, who wore the number 23 in the national team. Lu Ling thought with a smile, next season, he can choose any number in QPR. Because, as if, he is already the number one in the team.

There was a hi from behind him. She turned around, and Nicholas was already standing next to her. He changed into a simple black polo and had a cleanly shaved beard. In fact, she sometimes thinks that he looks better with a little scum.

"Are you sitting here?" Lu Ling asked with his head held high.

"What do you think?"

Lu Ling shrugged his shoulders. The Spaniard sat down beside her.

After a while, she looked at the court and asked casually, "Isn't your girlfriend coming?"

"Sophie is not my girlfriend. In addition, she has little interest in football. You seem to be interested in her, though. ”

"No, I'm just politely asking. ”

On the field, the players warmed up and walked to the players' tunnel.

The game was about to start, and the stadium was gradually filled. The lights flickered, and the stage was so dazzling.

Holding his chin in his hand, Nicholas suddenly said, "I'm curious to see what Patrick will look like in a competition of this intensity." ”

"What kind of table do you envision?"

"Well should be good. Provided, of course, that Hodgson would let him go. ”

Lu Ling looked into the field. Players from both teams have come out of the tunnel with their caddies in tow. Pater glanced into the stands as he walked from the sideline to the bench, and she smiled at him. However, Lu Ling didn't think he could see it. There were so many people that he probably didn't even see her.

The national anthem of England and the national anthem of Russia were sounded one after the other. In addition to the carnival-like atmosphere in the stadium, there is another layer of solemnity.

England are not favourites this year. Although in the friendly match, Mr. Owl's Three Lions table was quite good, and even won against World Cup winners Germany, it was a friendly after all. Over the years, England's talent has withered somewhat. It's hard to be the favourite, but it's already a pretty good result to get to the semi-finals.

In the first half, Harry Kane opened the scoring. England led Russia 1-0. The England fans in the stadium went crazy. Harry Kane has played very well at Tottenham in recent years, and his talent is indeed not as high as Rooney's back then, but he is a smart player who can maximize his ability.

When Lu Ling applauded, he saw Pat on the bench happily high-five his teammates and coaches. He's definitely looking forward to playing.

"Russia are the strongest in this group and if England can win them, they will be secure to be top of the group. The Spaniard commented calmly.

"I thought so too. By the way, what do you think of Ross Barkley?"

Nicholas looked at the tall and strong young man, thought for a moment, and said, "There is talent, but it has been a little delayed in the past few years." ”

"You're saying Everton didn't use him well?"

"Why did you let Patrick Amber change to a midfield role in the first place? talented players shouldn't spend too much energy at the back, Ross Barkley has been a midfielder under Martinez for a few years. He spoke with a hint of pity for Ross Barkley.

"Definitely. In fact, Pat and Barkley could be a good offensive combination. Lu Ling thought of the photos taken by the two guys when they were eating together, and couldn't help but smile.

The Spaniard turned his head, looked at her smile, and asked, "What comes to mind?"

"Nothing, just a picture of Pat and him. ”

"Do you know everything about his life?"

"Sort of. Lu Ling thought about it, and this was really the case.

The two chatted casually, and their attention returned to the game.

At halftime, Lu Ling and Nicholas went to the back of the rest area together. I met a couple of his peers, including Fabio Capello, who had previously managed England and Russia, so it was normal for him to come and see the game.

In the second half of the game, England struggled a bit. Russia is clearly still very strong in this game. England held out until 70 minutes and did not concede a goal. But in the 71st minute, the goal was lost, and the score became 1:1.

Hodgson said something to the players on the bench, and then Lu Ling saw Pat get up from the bench. He went to warm up.

If Patrick Amber is able to play next, it will be his official international debut!