At around half past six, Lu Ling drove a black MiniCooper to the Harrington training base. The car she just bought yesterday was £4,500, and in '07, after a one-time payment, she only had a few hundred pounds left in her bank. She thought she would have to eat sandwiches until her salary arrived.

When Lu Ling was an assistant coach in the reserve team, he went to work around nine o'clock. If she's busy, she'll get to seven or eight early. It is never more than ten o'clock in the evening. Since becoming an assistant coach in the first team, she arrives in Harrington by 7 p.m. and comes home at 11 p.m. every day. It's just that no matter how early she came or how late she left, Nicholas was there.

Most paranoids are workaholics.

I had a morning meeting with the senior management today, so she was dressed very formally, and even wore some light makeup.

Nicholas looked up from the text, his eyes moving. The teaching assistant was dressed like a bank clerk today and wore makeup. It's not pretty, it's just a little abrupt. He didn't take a second look, lowered his head and continued to look at Wen Jiàn, "Wait a minute." ”

Lu Ling walked to the window and looked out the window. After a while, she turned around and asked, "Mr. Flores, you didn't criticize Patrick after the game. ”

"Why should I criticize him? He's a dribbler and should keep trying. Of course, he should learn to protect himself, otherwise he will be injured several times a year with his style of play. Nicholas didn't lift his head.

"And what about the wasted opportunity?"

'If I think he's really affected the team's attack, I'll replace him. Nicholas raised his eyes, "In the last game, he kept trying to decompress the team's backline, and he played well. There are a couple of balls though, which should really be passed. I can't say I'm not angry at all. ”

Lu Ling nodded ambiguously and didn't speak again. She stared out the window, it was already nine o'clock, and it was just after dawn. Winter days in the UK are short, with late dawn and early dark.

A minute later, Nicholas stood up from his seat. He was wearing an open neckline, but now he took out a tie from a drawer, which was official to the club. He quickly fastened it and straightened it again, and since there was no mirror, he asked his assistant, "How is it?"

Lu Ling glanced at it, it was a little crooked, she hesitated, and then walked over.

The two of them were close together, and the smell of cologne on the man's body was familiar and unfamiliar, the same as that night in the tavern.

The top of the assistant's head was just in Nicholas' sight, and he sniffed lightly, her hair smelled good.

The atmosphere is somewhat subtle.

Soon, though, the assistant's head left. She looked at it carefully and said, "Alright." ”

Nicholas put on his coat and showed his usual charming smile, "I haven't asked you, how does it feel to be called sweetheart by the fans?"

Lu Ling didn't expect him to come up with such a sentence, she thought he hadn't heard those voices.

"Of course it makes me stronger. She said.

Nicholas stared at his assistant's pupils as if to himself, "Damn, it's like looking in the mirror." ”

"According to your logic, I should take this as a compliment. Lu Ling didn't know much about this person's character, but she said that she touched it almost the same, but she sneered, "Dear Mr. Flores, don't fall in love with me one day, because you are so narcissistic." ”

Nicholas raised an eyebrow, "Oh, dear Christine, you're getting sharper. As for what will happen in the future, who knows. By the way, you look good. He looked at his watch again, and when he looked up again, his face was already square, "They're almost there, we should go over." ”

*********

As soon as he walked into the conference room, Lu Ling saw the team's big boss sitting in the middle.

Billionaire Tony Fernandez, 51, is the CEO of AirAsia, the Captain of the F1 Lotus Team and, of course, the Chairman of QPR. As in the photo, he has a slightly chubby body, a chocolate complexion, some white temples, and a resolute gaze. I heard that he is an adventurous boss.

Tony stood up with a smile and greeted warmly, "Good morning, Nick." And this one—" He forgot the name of the teaching assistant, but his eyes lit up.

Lu Ling hurriedly added to himself, "Good morning, Mr. Fernandez, my name is Christine Lu, and I am very honored to meet you." ”

They walked over and shook hands with him. Tony shook hands with a lot of strength and said to the two coaches very seriously, "The team has been doing well lately, and I really hope this momentum can be maintained." ”

Since Nicholas took over, he has not tasted defeat. An away win over Middlesbrough was followed by a draw with Leeds United. Four games, two wins, two draws, eight points. It has quietly advanced to ninth place in the standings. Although the team has not lost four games, it does not mean that the team lineup is no problem, and the introduction of reinforcements in the winter window will greatly affect whether to be promoted this season.

Tony Fernandes doesn't want to stay in the Championship all the time. In recent years, he has spent a lot of money and bought a lot of people, which shows his ambition. It's a pity that in the end, let alone get a good position in the league, relegation has not been successful, and it has been relegated to the Championship twice in the past three years. It's just that this benevolent brother likes to say a few words in public, so that those QPR fans who don't like him in the first place have more reason to scold him.

The board of directors proposed a good transfer budget as early as when they signed Nicholas, which was one of the important conditions for Nicholas to take over. Right now, it's time to cash out a portion of it.

Nicholas put forward his own plans for this winter window, and the cost is certain, but the amount is not large.

Tony frowned slightly when he heard the cost. He is very rich, and he is not afraid to spend money, but he has complained to the media more than once that those black-hearted agents have cheated him for a lot of money. He didn't want to be ridiculed as a fool any longer. It's okay for him to spend money, but it's worth it!

Nicholas seemed to see the owner's concerns, turned to the director of football, Les Ferdinand, and said, "The person I want is not difficult, Manchester United's Timothy Fosu Mensah, the central defender, can come on loan." Van Gaal will definitely put it, his centre-back is enough, it really can't be, he would definitely prefer to use Blind and Carrick in this position. I also want a striker, Charlie seems to have made up his mind, just Gomis in Swansea, he can't play recently, see if he can be loaned? There will definitely be a lot of talk at that time. His implication is that the QPR will definitely be upgraded.

Rice Ferdinand, a cousin of famed former Manchester United player Leo Ferdinand, spent many years at QPR as a young man before taking over the role of QPR's Director of Football earlier this year. He'd heard about Mensah. Mensah was also signed by Manchester United from Ajax only last year, and the Dutch kid should be underage. Can such a kid be rented and directly hit the main force? As for Gomis, Rice also has questions. He's 30 years old, his scoring ability is too poor, and his feet are rough, which is why Swansea don't use him. What's more, Gomis may not be able to look at QPR in the Championship. What does Nicholas want him to do?

Also, the tone in which Nicholas spoke, he didn't like it very much. His position is higher than his own, but they do not interfere with each other's daily work. When it comes to transfers, he has the same say as Nicholas.

Rice leaned back in his chair and nodded slightly, "I'll talk to Manchester United and Swansea." ”

Tony immediately had another layer of concern. Seeing Nick like this, he is only going to rent a few people, and he is not going to buy people - what if it doesn't cost money, and he can't be promoted? He touched his nose, "Nick, are you sure that's okay?"

"I think it's fine. Nicholas replied, then motioned to his assistant to report on the current situation of the first team and the issue of renewing the contracts of the young players.

As soon as the assistant coach finished speaking, Tony asked a question. Patrick's prospects. Judging by these games, the youngster has played well, with three assists in four games. This number jù is really beautiful. He saw on Twitter that many QPR fans have high hopes for him. But for Toney, it's the manager's assessment that matters.

I don't know why, Nicholas said it officially.

'I think this player has the potential to become a superstar and the team should offer him a new contract as soon as possible. ”

Tony laughed, a little dissatisfied with Nicholas's perfunctory, "Superstar, can he achieve Rooney's accomplishments?"

Lu Ling had already given the answer in his heart. Wayne Looney? In her opinion, if Pat only achieves what Rooney achieves, it is his failure.

"I think it's entirely possible. Nicholas finished speaking, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the assistant's sneering gaze.

"Then I don't have any problems, let's renew the contract. Tony's eyes lit up, "Salary isn't an issue. It's best to renew it for five years, and if it is sold to a big club in the future, it can be sold for a sky-high price. ”

Lu Ling felt that Tony was a successful businessman after all, and his eyes were full of cunning and cunning.

When the meeting ended, Tony came over and said something else to Lu Ling.

QPR has appointed an Asian female coach as an assistant coach – something that would definitely expand the club's presence in Asia. Tony didn't want to miss this publicity opportunity, he squinted, half asking and half asking, "Christine, there are a few Chinese media that want to interview you, you shouldn't refuse, right?"

Lu Lingpi replied with a smile, "I'll take time to be interviewed." ”

Nicholas said without hesitation, "If you don't want to, you can refuse." ”

Then, Lu Ling saw that Tony's face was green.

"I'd love to, Mr. Fernandez!" Lu Ling said as he glared at Nicholas.

**********

As a reporter for China's most influential sports media, Yan Jia has interviewed many famous Premier League players and coaches. When the leader offered her to interview QPR's teaching assistants, she was actually a little resistant. Her professional confession sù her that she doesn't like the two "gimmicks" of Asians and women. But in any case, there are too many "firsts" in this Miss Lu, and there is indeed no lack of news.

She waited five minutes at the reception center at the Harrington training base before the woman walked in.

Beautiful, independent, polite. This was her first impression of Lu Ling. She looked younger than herself, and of course, she was a few years younger than herself. Yan Jia checked her past experience and knew what her father's surname was. So it's not surprising that she went down the path of football coaching.

After shaking hands, the two women sat down facing each other. Photographers and videographers are on either side, signaling that you can start.

Lu Ling just came over from the court, the sweat on her body hadn't dried yet, she wiped her forehead again, and smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry to wait for a long time." ”

Yan Jia smiled and shook his head. Lu Ling thought he was being interviewed in Chinese, but Yan Jia said that English didn't hurt.

Then as soon as Yan Jia spoke, it was really authentic British English.

"Miss Lu Ling, why did you choose to coach the men's football team instead of the women's football team?"

"The reason is simple, the men's professional league is at a higher level. ”

Yan Jia was a little surprised, but she didn't expect her to answer so bluntly.

"In your efforts to become a professional men's soccer coach, have you encountered anything that makes you feel that this road is too difficult?"

"It's hard to be in any profession. Actually, it's okay, I want people to focus less on my gender and ethnicity, but on my abilities. Whether it's good or bad, people will say how the coach is, not how the woman is. ”

Yan Jia raised her eyebrows, as a woman, this has always been a problem, but it has never been that simple. They talked about other things, such as the difference between the football environment of the two countries and the youth training system.

"By the way, can you talk about your father, Mr. Lu Yungui? We all know that Mr. Lu is a former international player who immigrated to the UK in the 90s. You were still a little girl at the time, right, and your father should have played a big role in your process of becoming a football coach?" Yan Jiaman thought that the other party should be very interested in this question, but he didn't expect the assistant coach's face to change.

"Sorry, I don't really want to talk about that. ”

Yan Jia was a little embarrassed, she looked at the cameraman again, and she didn't know what the story was here. She wanted to dig again, but when the words came to her lips, she asked other questions.

After the interview, Lu Ling returned to the office. Dealing with the media is a must for every manager, but not every manager enjoys it. Nicholas has always made no secret of his distrust of the media, and Lu Ling doesn't know if he will be like him if he becomes a head coach one day.

However, that Yan Jia is really a very interesting woman - insisting on interviewing in English, after all, it is the mentality of a strong person, and she is not willing to let others accommodate her, even if it sounds ridiculous.

Lu Ling himself is not like this.

She studied the schedule for a while, it's December, it's going to be a very busy month, six league games are coming, and if she can get 15 points, she should be able to squeeze into the top six at the halfway.

Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade, she wants to go to the Premier League so much.