For a while, the notion that San Remo was trapped in the group of death spread among the Italian football fan community.
It was indeed a group of death.
Apart from San Remo, who was making their first appearance in European competition, the other three teams had rich European competition experience, and some even had Champions League experience!
Whether San Remo could withstand the test depended entirely on their performance in the European competition.
Their first Europa League match was on September 18, and their opponent was the only powerhouse in the group competing in a top league, Ness!
...
"Morici, I feel like something’s been on your mind lately." After training, Lu hung out with Morici and noticed that the kid seemed a bit distracted.
Morici hesitated, not sure how to express the issue to Lu Yang.
"Come with me." Morici pulled Lu Yang to a corner of the training field. "Well, um... wasn’t it my coming of age recently?"
Lu Yang nodded. "Yeah, you even bought a second-hand car to celebrate your adulthood."
Morici blushed and shyly said, "Actually... well... that day... I had another coming-of-age ceremony!"
Lu Yang was shocked.
He didn’t know about this?
As Morici’s best friend, he didn’t know Morici had another coming-of-age ceremony, this... could it be that Momo had another dog outside?
"Don’t look at me like that. Not letting you know was for your own good. I was worried it might affect your relationship with Sofia!" Morici swore it wasn’t because he feared Sofia might hit him; after all, that would be setting a bad example for young ones.
"What exactly was the gift?" Lu Yang asked.
Morici finally mustered up a few words.
Lu Yang was greatly shocked.
"Morici, oh Morici! You look so deceivingly innocent, and yet you did such a thing?" Lu Yang lamented painfully, "Aren’t you afraid of catching something? Did you forget what you once said on the training field? You said that although you’re a virgin, you believe in true love. And now?"
"You actually went looking for a prostitute to find true love?"
Morici quickly covered Lu Yang’s mouth to prevent others who hadn’t left from hearing.
This was indeed his own wrongdoing.
"I didn’t really intend for that to happen." Morici hurriedly explained.
It turned out that it started as a joke from Naji towards Morici that day.
As a young virgin, Morici was naturally curious and yearning about it.
Being coaxed, deceived, and ridiculed by Naji, Morici instantly declared, "A bet is a bet, who’s afraid of who! Am I, Morici, a coward?"
So, the two of them went to a nightclub.
Soon, Naji called over two pretty girls.
Among them, a blonde, blue-eyed girl named Tia particularly attracted Morici, and she was also very interested in Morici.
The two naturally started talking.
With the influence of alcohol, Morici and Tia...
The next morning when Morici woke up, Tia had already left, leaving only a string of numbers—a phone number—on a note by the bedside table.
But at that moment, Morici felt a complex array of emotions, plunged into confusion.
Because Naji had explicitly told Morici to find some girls to have fun, and he had even collected a "fee" of three hundred euros from Morici in advance, Tia’s profession was self-evident.
Even later, out of concern about "leaks," Morici gave Tia an additional one thousand euros as a hush fee through Naji.
Therefore, when Morici found himself genuinely liking Tia, he was thrown into chaos.
Couple this with the previous misunderstandings between him and Lu Yang over the massage instrument from Sofia.
Thus, Morici kept thinking about finding Tia after returning to San Remo, to have an open and frank conversation and retrieve his hush fee.
Yes, Momo was indeed such a sensible person; emotions are emotions, breaches are breaches, everyone should mind their own business.
Upon learning about the cause and effect, although Lu Yang was still angry, he had a little understanding of Morici’s plight.
The culture in many football clubs is pretty much like that.
What did you think football stars visit nightclubs for?
To sing karaoke?
Unless your personal will is exceptionally strong, having a firm self-awareness about the world, you’d gradually accept things frequently mentioned or done by friends around you, regardless of whether those things are indecent or illegal.
This is the essence of your social circle.
Moreover, speaking of bets.
In European football, those stars, especially young stars, attract many aspiring models who hope to become the next Victoria. Thus, casual hookups are not surprising.
As long as a star is willing, they can have romantic encounters with a different, willing female model every day.
Living in such an environment long-term, many people deem such conduct normal, not falling into the realm of moral issues.
But being candid, Lu Yang was very against such behavior.
From a pragmatic standpoint, this behavior makes some sense.
However, if you believe in love, you won’t support such behaviors.
"This matter indeed needs to be resolved." Lu Yang said, "Morici, you’re a smart player, so please don’t let yourself get into such awkward situations again, okay?"
"You are someone who believes in love, but you shouldn’t seek true love from prostitutes, because even if you find it, you’d feel even worse. The so-called compatibility is sometimes not about wealth and comparison; perhaps it’s just the other person wants to find their ideal partner within a safe area, nothing more."