Boarding

From the moment they entered the ground to the final whistle, nearly three breathtaking hours had passed. Du An led Ethan out of Anfield, moving slowly with the throng of spectators. Only when the cold wind brushed against their faces did they feel themselves pull away from that feverish, boiling heat. Even so, Ethan had by no means calmed down. Words tumbled out of his mouth without pause. "That was unreal! So incredible! That’s the Premier League, that’s a real match at Anfield!" Whenever he mentioned Anfield, a fiery glow seemed to kindle in his eyes. "That’s the closest I've ever been to Gerrard and the lads in my whole life." "Du An, my legs are still shaking..." Du An nodded gently. He felt the exact same way. Watching a match live for the very first time had revealed to him the true magic of football. During the lap of honour after the final whistle, the entire Liverpool squad walked around the pitch to thank the crowd. Gerrard, Alonso, and the rest strode past just below the Centenary Stand, waving up toward the seats. They had been practically within arm's reach. It was that simple wave that had pushed Ethan's emotions right over the edge, leaving him burning with excitement, unable to settle down for the longest time. And yet, despite being keyed up the entire time and babbling incessantly about how magnificent the game had been, Ethan never once said, "I want to go again." He knew his and Du An's family circumstances all too well, and he understood just how precious this hard-won chance to watch the match was. The two tickets gifted to them by Heighway were an unexpected blessing from fate. It was a memory he would never forget for the rest of his life. By then, it was just past four in the afternoon, and the Liverpool sky remained bright. Instead of heading straight home, Du An and Ethan made their way to the Andersons', only two blocks away from their own place. It was a tidy, clean home—a typical old-style Liverpool residence. Now sixty years old, Anderson lived here quietly with his wife. Their children and grandchildren did not stay with them, leaving the house rather quiet on ordinary days. Lately, ever since Ethan had begun boarding there, the quiet house had grown far livelier. After all, Ethan was always chattering away without stopping. The two boys knocked on the door. A moment later, Mrs. Anderson opened it. Seeing Ethan, her face lit up with a warm smile. "Ethan! And this must be Du An. Come in, come in, quickly! We've only just got back from Anfield ourselves." As she ushered them inside, Mrs. Anderson called into the living room, telling Anderson that the boys had arrived. Du An and Ethan greeted her and walked into the living room. Du An stepped forward and gave them a sincere, polite thank-you. "Thank you both so much for taking care of Ethan. Sorry for troubling you." The Andersons were very easygoing people, waving his thanks away with pleasant smiles. Realizing the couple had also just returned from Anfield, Du An brought up the match they had just witnessed, mentioning that his coach had given him the tickets. A resounding, sweeping victory put every Reds supporter in high spirits. The Andersons were no exception. Naturally warm-hearted to begin with, the couple grew even more hospitable. A shared match experience bridged the distance between them in an instant—such was the power of football. Mrs. Anderson headed off to get dinner ready. Left in the living room, Anderson and the two boys launched into a lively discussion about the game that had just ended. Anderson had been a diehard Liverpool supporter for decades, deeply devoted to the club. Ever since entering the workforce, he had hardly missed a single home match. A true diehard through and through. "Gerrard was his usual self, as always. Top class at linking up attack and defence. With him on the pitch, you can always breathe easy..." Anderson moved on to the new signing. "Dirk Kuyt's movement today was brilliant. He adapts so fast. You can already tell he'll settle right into the squad before long. That lad will definitely make his mark at Anfield. "Mark looks promising too. Bold enough to step up when it counts—just the kind of big-game player the team needs..." Anderson also reminisced about many past players who had faced doubt when they first arrived, only to end up as legends. Of course, what Anderson talked about most were the generational talents—men like Rush, Keegan, and their ilk. Du An mostly listened in silence, not knowing much about that history. Ethan, on the other hand, chimed in constantly, keeping old Anderson laughing with delight. When the conversation turned to their vanquished opponents, Tottenham, Anderson burst into laughter. "Spurs! They still think they're a giant of the game, though I reckon nobody outside their own supporters agrees. Haven't won a thing in decades! Every year they dream of winning the title, and every year they finish empty-handed. Their problem isn't individual talent—to be fair, they've got some decent players. It's just that the squad is too soft. That's been their identity for years. Lots of flash and noise, but they'll never achieve anything great..." Ethan stayed glued to Anderson, peppering him with questions. Old and young chatted away enthusiastically. Anderson truly adored the boy—Ethan was fantastic company! Sitting to the side, Du An's gaze drifted onto a newspaper lying on the coffee table. It was the latest issue of the *Daily Mail*. He picked it up casually to browse through it. The first thing that caught his eye was a headline stating that Ashley Cole had publicly spoken out, asserting that almost everyone in English football suspected the current Premier League had already been tainted by corruption and scandal. The article reported that in his new book, *My Defence*, Cole held nothing back, launching a fierce attack against the illicit practices and unhealthy climate within the Premier League transfer market, ripping open the dark underbelly beneath its glamorous facade. Du An furrowed his brow. All of this was entirely new to him. He had just witnessed the enchanting, magnificent side of football. Now, here was the darkness lurking behind it. The report went on to say that an in-depth BBC investigation was digging deeper, with more and more prominent figures in English football being swept up in the transfer scandals. According to media analyses, the inquiry had already implicated over fifty instances of illicit transfers across the Premier League. As the layers of secrecy were peeled back, countless supporters were losing faith in the fairness and purity of the league. The piece also noted that Cole still harboured bitter resentment over the punishment he had received for his own transfer. The previous season, the FA had confirmed that Chelsea manager José Mourinho had made an illegal approach for the player, secretly meeting with Cole during the transfer window while he was still under contract, in direct violation of Premier League transfer rules. When the penalties came down, Cole was personally fined £75,000, Chelsea was fined £300,000, and Cole's agent, Barnett, had his operating licence suspended for eighteen months. Barnett's lawyers had since filed an appeal in accordance with the law. Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan had publicly rubbed salt in the wound, remarking that Barnett's reputation in the industry was already notorious and deserved no sympathy. In contrast to the outside controversy, Mourinho struck an entirely different tone. He had openly declared that in the Premier League transfer market, you either played your hand well and won, or messed up and lost; your fate rested in your own hands. The article cited further examples, noting that Mourinho had privately contacted big stars like Lampard and Shevchenko in the exact same manner, ultimately achieving his goals and building Chelsea's powerhouse squad. Du An found himself reading through every word with rapt attention.