It was a simple question: Does Gao Shen really like coag?

  The answer, however, was equally simple: Yes.

  But this wasn't the answer Zidane was after. What he truly wao ask was: Why?

  Gao Shen thought about it for a moment before deg to tell a story he rarely shared with a was a story that might sound unbelievable to Europeans, and perhaps even to Zidane, despite his Afri heritage.

  There was once a ese boy who knew nothing about football. He had never pyed it—not even during physical education csses—because his school didn't have a football field.

  Then came the summer of 1998. His family had saved up to buy a color television, and wheur oumbled across a football match. Only then did he learn about the World Cup.

  That tour introduced him to legends: Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, Simeone, Owen… and a pyer who leapt over defenders with an almost frog-like jump, though he could never remember that pyer's name.

  In junih, he finally got the ce to py football.

  He became friends with a group of boys who loved the game. They would py on sandy fields uhe blistering midday sun, falling and scraping themselves bloody. Sometimes they cried in pain, but they always got back up and tinued pying.

  Eventually, the school administration intervened and baudents from pying on the pyground at noon.

  "He fantasized tless times that he was a hidden prodigy, someone just waiting to be discovered. One day, like in the novels, a European scout would pick him out. He'd go abroad, py against Zidane and Ronaldo, and bee one of the brightest stars in the game."

  But reality hit hard. As his academic pressures increased, he had less aime to py, until he eventually stopped altogether.

  By the time he reached uy, he had pletely fotten what it felt like to kick a ball.

  Only when he saw the scuffed, battered sneakers in the shoe et at home or felt the occasional ache in his old ankle injuries did he remember how much he once loved football.

  Then, out of nowhere, his mind began to wao peculiar thoughts.

  When he bought breakfast at the cafeteria, he'd wonder: Does the dy serving food actually enjoy cooking?

  When he rode the bus, he'd ask himself: Does the driver genuinely like driving?

  In the , watg his teacher lecture tirelessly, he'd think: Does this teacher truly enjoy teag?

  He began asking this question about everyone he entered.

  Did they like what they were doing?

  "You have to uand," Gao Shen expined, "in my try, college students are highly regarded. Especially graduates from prestigious uies like mine. We're expected to have bright futures. I'd even mapped out my life—where I'd work, how much I'd earn, when I'd buy a car, buy a house, find a girlfriend, get married, have kids… climb the dder, get promoted, and keep rising."

  "I could imagi all, and most of it would have e true."

  "But sometimes, I wondered… many years ter, after achieving all that, would I be happy? Would I still remember what it felt like to py football with friends on a sun-scorched field? Would I miss those moments?"

  …

  Zidane listened ily. He couldn't fully empathize with Gao Shen's story, he hadn't lived that life but he could sehe sadness and helplessness in Gao Shen's words.

  He also suspected that this wasn't just a story. It was Gao Shen's story.

  Zidane had read about Gao Shen before. He khat Gao Shen had attended a prestigious uy in a before abruptly deg to study at Loughbh Uy in Engnd.

  What Gao Shen was describing now seemed to be the iransformation that led to that decision.

  Zidaayed silent, listening carefully.

  …

  Gao Shen, meanwhile, was lost in his memories.

  Not just of what happened after his time travel, but everything before it. The two timelines now overpped and iwined, merging into one indistinguishable whole.

  It was a strange sensation but very real.

  He sidered himself lucky, both in his previous life and this one.

  Time travel itself was a miracle, and to have crossed into this world as the head coach of Real Madrid, with the opportunity to carve out araordinary life, was nothing short of a blessing.

  But even before the time travel, there had been luck.

  When he had hesitated about whether to turn his passion into a career, he chose to take the leap and study in Engnd. That choice had been fortuoo.

  And Su Qing's unwavering support during that pivotal moment had made all the difference.

  When Zidane heard Gao Sheion that choice to go abroad, he couldn't help but sigh.

  "She's a remarkable woman."

  Gao Shen nodded with a smile. "Yes, she is."

  …

  By the time Gao Shen finished his story, the answer was clear.

  He thought about the versation Guardio had once had with Bielsa. It had taken Guardio a long time to recile his emotions and e to terms with himself, which is why he could ter give Bielsa su ho answer.

  But Zidane wasn't there yet. He hadn't sorted it all out in his mind.

  "For me, football started as just a hobby," Gao Shen said with a fident smile. "But now, I get to treat my hobby as my job and eveer, it's filled with challenges!"

  "Since I began coag Real Madrid, challenges have been my stant panion. Every day, tless people want to beat me, to take me down. And my job is to keep improving so they 't."

  "I hate losing," he admitted. "I love to win, and that passion pushes me forward. The pressure be immense, but it's a good kind of pressure. It's a happihat es from doing what I love."

  …

  Gao Shen couldn't recall how long he and Zidaalked, but when Zidane finally left, it was clear he felt fulfilled.

  The Fren had gained valuable insight into Gao Shen's thoughts and life, and iurn, Zidane's resped admiration for him had only deepened.

  In truth, Zidane carried a heavy psychological burden.

  Befao Shen's time travel, Zidane had beeant to coach. Rumors swirled about his coag ambitions not long after his retirement, but he always avoided the topic. It wasn't until ter, when he joined Ai's coag staff, that he made up his mind.

  At Zidane's level, teical skills, tactical knowledge, and pyer ma weren't the problem. The real challenge was embrag his new role.

  Some pyers struggled to adapt after being coaches. Schuster, for example, had failed to make the transition. His publients after a ret match were inappropriate not just as a coach, but even as a pyer. It showed he had already lost trol.

  Even legends like Maradona and Van Basten faced simir issues. Their uanding of football was unmatched, but they couldn't tra into coag.

  Gao Shen believed Zidane, like Guardio, simply ime to uand himself.

  In the end, their greatest adversary wasernal. It was internal.

  That night's versation, Gao Shen realized, was to help Zidane front himself.

  Now, Gao She like he had taken on the role of a mentuiding him treatness.

  …

  The buzz around Real Madrid's coag ge reached its peak the day.

  Youth direichel was officially announced as Schuster's rept and took over as interim head coach.

  Michel's appoi was celebrated by the club's leadership and fans alike. As a legend of Real Madrid's iic "Quinta del Buitre" era, Michel erong bag within the anization.

  At his inaugural press ference, Michel fidently decred, "The 7-0 loss to Napoli is behind us. Real Madrid o look ahead. We are still one of the stroeams in Europe!"

  The Spanish press generally supported Michel's ability to stabilize the team, though iional reas were more reserved. Real Madrid's issues couldn't be solved by a simple coag ge.

  Domestically, they had room to recover in La Liga. But in the Champions League, their disastrous opening loss left many doubting their ability to escape the "group of death."

  Gao Shen refused to ent on Real Madrid's new coach or the team's situation. He deed all reted questions, choosing io focus entirely on Napoli's preparations.

  Napoli faced a grueling schedule: two Serie A matches in the ing week and a home game against Bayern Muni the Champions League. It was a critical test for the team.

  Both Gao Shen and his staff were on high alert, determined not to repeat st season's mistakes. Bueura and Pintus worked tirelessly, leaving nothing to ce.

  Four days after their victory at the Bernabeu, Napoli hit the road again for their challenge.