Standing at the entrance of Juan's House BBQ Restaurant once again, Gao Shen paused, pulled out his phone, and snapped a photo. He posted it on Twitter with the caption:

  "I missed the smell of barbecue here so much!"

  Zidaood nearby, silently watg Gao Shen's social media ritual. He couldn't help but admire him.

  At this point, everyone around Gao Shen had grown aced to his etrid unventional behavior.

  Take the infamous card game, for example. When Gao Shen pyed cards all night with Ai, Spalletti, and Mourinho, he ed them out. Then, in true Gao Shen fashion, he posted a triumphant photo on Twitter with the caption: "The Serie A title is already in our hands!"

  The media went wild.

  Specution ran rampant, with journalists vinced something major had happened. But upon iigation, it turned out four of Serie A's most promi coaches had simply been pying cards together.

  The story caused a frenzy. Fans jumped into the versation, and it became a hot topic across Europe. Juventus fans, in particur, were furious. Many aimed their ire at head coach Cudio Ranieri, who had been absent.

  "Ranieri wasn't even ihis just proves he's not respected in the coag world!"

  "Even Roma's Spalletti was there! Ranieri must be pletely irrelevant."

  Even after it was revealed that Ranieri hadn't attehe UEFA Elite Coaches Summit, making him ineligible for the post-meeting card game—Juventus fans refused to let it go.

  "If we'd hired Gao Shen back then, this wouldn't have happened."

  "This is all Secco's fault!"

  Eventually, the bme shifted to Juventus' sp director, Alessio Secco, who was so infuriated he publicly shed out in the media, acg Gao Shen and the others of disrespeg UEFA.

  But Gao Shen, unfazed, responded on Twitter with his usual bluntness:

  "It's none of your business!"

  And really, how could someone who wasn't even io participate have a say in what those who attended were doing?

  The i spiraled further into chaos and stayed in the headlines for over a week.

  It wasn't just Italy, media outlets across Europe had a field day. It ure traffic gold.

  Fao Shen, it only boosted his popurity. His Twitter following grew signifitly, with fans and haters alike hanging on his every post. Many of his detractors obsessively monitored his at just to leave angry ents, as though their e could someh him down.

  Today, Gao Shen is arguably one of the biggest figures on Twitter.

  Zidane, who also browses Twitter occasionally, couldn't help but marvel at Gao Shen's knack for building a following. In his eyes, Gao Shen's ability to grow his audience rivaled his talent as a coach.

  "This guy could write a book on how to gain followers," Zidahought.

  ---

  Onside the barbecue restaurant, Gao Shen and Zidane were quickly reized ao Florentino Pérez's private box.

  This time, Gao Shen didn't "tally" run into the King of Spain, probably because they didn't want to risk Gao Shen joking about f an abdication.

  Joining Florentino were his assistant Manuel Redondo and former Real Madrid star Je Valdano, an old friend of Gao Shen.

  When Gao Shen saw Valdano, he greeted him warmly, giving him a firm hug.

  "It's been too long, Je. I've missed you!" Gao Shen said with a grin.

  It hadn't actually been that long, just a few months but the se was genuine.

  Valdano, who had witnessed Gao Shen's meteoric rise from obscurity to one of Europe's most talked-about coaches, felt a deep e to him. He had always believed in Gao Shen's potential.

  Valdano's good friend Arrigo Sacchi once said half-jokingly that he owed much of his moderation to Gao Shen's success. Sacow wrote ns and shared his opinions on Twitter daily, enjoying a rexed and fulfilled life.

  "If I weren't so busy, I'd probably follow Sacchi's example and start my own n," Valdano joked.

  Siepping down as Real Madrid president, Florentino had focused on his business ventures. Still, he remained closely tied to the club, frequently attending matches from his private box at the Bernabéu.

  Rumors had been swirling about Florentiurning to Real Madrid's presidency. Current president Ramón Calderón had even accused Florentino in the media of stirring up trouble behind the ses.

  "How could I have that much free time?" Florentino said with a wry smile wheopic came up. "I'm busy running my businesses. Why would I waste my time on him? If I really wao e back, do you think he could stop me?"

  There was a quiet fiden his tone, nance, but certainty.

  To outsiders, Florentino's words might seem exaggerated, but those familiar with Real Madrid knew better. At the end of the day, the club president's authority depended on the loyalty of key personnel within the anization.

  Gao Shen, who had experience managing power dynami business before transitioning to football, uood this well. True authority didn't simply e from the title; it came from the loyalty and cooperation of those below you.

  For example, if a CEO parachutes into a pany but department heads refuse to support him, what he aplish? True power is earhrough resped trust, not just a job title.

  Florentino still had signifit influe Real Madrid because many of the club's top deakers were loyal to him. Calderón and sp director Predrag Mijatovi? had spent years trying to solidate trol but had repeatedly faced internal resistance.

  This was why Florentino could fidently say he didn't o wrestle for power. Despite not holding the title of president, he effectively still wielded trol.

  Gao Shen found this dynamic fasating. Florentino's ability to maintain his influence even after stepping down was a mastercss in leadership.

  ---

  "Lately, more and more people have been urgio e back," Florentino said after taking a bite of barbecue. He wiped his hands and tinued, "They say the current administration has made a mess of Real Madrid, and the calls for my return are growing louder."

  He g Gao Shen and added, "Calderón and Mijatovi? even had a falling out over this summer's transfers."

  "A falling out?" Gao Shen raised an eyebrow.

  Florentino nodded. "They couldn't agree on how to divide the spoils."

  Gao Shen didn't press for details. He was curious, of course, but he knew better than to dig too deep.

  "In the past two or three years, I've done a lot of refleg," Florentino tinued. "If I were to e back, what could I bring to Real Madrid? How could I avoid repeating the mistakes I made before? How could I build a stroeam and a better club?"

  His gaze lingered on Gao Shen as he spoke, his words heavy with implication.

  Zidane, sitting beside Gao Shen, picked up on the unspokeion. He shot a sideways g Gao Shen, waiting to see how he would respond.

  But Gao Shen simply kept eating, fog on the barbecue in front of him.

  "I'm no expert on running a club," Gao Shen finally said, casually defleg the question. "But I do know this barbecue is fantastic. You have no idea how much I've missed it. In Naples, it's all pizza, pizza, pizza."

  His quip drew ughter from Valdano, Zidane, and Redondo. Even Florentino chuckled, though a fsh of disappoi flickered in his eyes.

  Florentino had hoped to test Gao Shen's thoughts ourning to Real Madrid, but Gao Shen had sidestepped the questioirely.

  It wasn't that Gao Shen didn't uand how to build a team—Napoli's success roof that he did. He simply wasn't ready to take on the challenge Florentino was hinting at.

  "By the way, Gao, are you fident about tonight's game?" Florentino asked, steering the versation in a different dire.

  Gao Shen looked up with a grin. "What, you wao go easy on them?"

  Florentino ughed. "Do I look like someone who would ask for that? If there are problems at Real Madrid, the only way to solve them is by fag them. If you beat us tonight, it just proves we have a lot of work to do. In fact, it might even be a good thing."

  Gao Shen studied Florentino carefully, w if this was his way of encing him to deliver a blow to Real Madrid, a subtle move to expose the current administration's shortings.

  "Don't worry," Gao Shen said fidently. "I won't hold back."

  Florentino's admiration fao Shen deepened. He had always believed that Gao Shen was sharp and thoughtful, capable of uanding not just football but the intricate dynamics of leadership.

  Still, he could sense Gao Shen's hesitation about taking on Real Madrid again.

  But Florentino wasn't oo push. He khat sometimes, the timing simply wasn't right.

  A forced decision, after all, would never lead to the best results.