After he took care of the matter of Pepe, Twain felt completely settled. There were indeed many Brazilian football geniuses. However, Twain did not need to add new players in some positions. Not to mention, talents who had not been targeted by the European powerhouses getting a work permit for the Premier League was a huge issue.
After Kaka was snatched up by AC Milan, Manchester United was furious. They thought it was the bulls**t work permit policy of the English Football Association that had caused Manchester United to lose non-European Union geniuses like Kaka time and time again. Kaka’s first season with AC Milan was a great success, and it had also sent shockwaves through the English Football Association. They realized that if they still clung onto this old mindset, perhaps they would be cast further aside by the global football world.
As a result, an “exceptional talent clause” specifically for those non-EU players was released.
This clause was meant to provide convenience for the Premier League clubs to compete with the Continental European clubs for those non-EU talents. When a club was interested in a non-EU player who had not yet played for a national team or his number of appearances had not reached the criterion, then the club could make use of this right to apply for a work permit for him. After the Football Association review, he would be able to represent the club’s team. Whether or not this player was talented and qualified enough depended on the team’s public relations standard.
That was a good clause. The only problem was that every club had only one spot per season.
The Football Association always wanted reform to align with the world, but could not take the leap. That quota vividly reflected its dithering and indecisive attitude.
But now, Twain did not need to consider those problems. The troubles were for the English Football Association. Now he just wanted to spend a wonderful holiday with Shania on the picturesque Brazilian beach.
※※※
In the past, when Tang En was still in China, he probably had not seen so many bikini-clad girls in all his twenty-six years of life. They appeared in droves in front of Twain and then ran off, giggling. However, Twain was not like he had been when he had first arrived in Brazil. Now he was more composed.
Twain turned his head to look at Shania, who was happily eating her ice cream.
Last year, he had taken Shania back to his hometown. This year, Shania brought him back to her hometown. The two of them really did have an affinity.
Twain had not seen Pepe again over the past few days. Perhaps after he knew his future, he had returned to Portugal.
At the thought of being able to work with such a player, Twain had a sense of accomplishment. He had used to play FM, and had looked forward the most to the transfer period because he could recruit his favorite players. Now that he had become a real-life football manager, that pleasure was even more pronounced and intense.
Twain smiled at that thought.
Shania, who was still licking her ice cream, gave Twain an odd look. “Uncle Tony, what are you smirking about?”
Twain turned and glared at Shania, “How was that a smirk? It was a heartfelt smile!”
“Whatever you say.” Shania shrugged. “Do you feel bored, Uncle Tony?”
Twain was a little surprised at Shania’s question. “Bored? Why would I feel bored?”
“I’m always dragging you to places, and I don’t let you do your favorite things. It must be boring to accompany a little girl like me.”
Twain smiled. He turned to look at Shania and reach out to touch her head. But he suddenly thought that that action would be the same as treating her like a child. So, he pulled his hand back. “How can that be? Hanging out with you is my favorite thing.”
Shania tilted her chin up to look at Twain, “Even more important than football?”
“The most important thing. Number one. Football is below you.” Twain winked at her.
Shania smiled. “My father and mother would like to invite you to dinner this evening.”
“Don’t we already eat dinner together every day?” Twain found it a little strange.
“No, I mean to treat you. Not to have dinner at home. We’re going to a restaurant.”
※※※
It was not a fancy restaurant where he would need a jacket to get in. Many of the customers who passed by Twain and the others walked in wearing short-sleeved shirts and shorts. Some even wore flip flops as if they had just returned from the Copacabana beach.
At night, Rio de Janeiro had another kind of atmosphere. During the day, it was like a passionate young girl, cheerful and lively, and the brilliant sunshine was like a smile on her face. At night, Rio was more like a mysterious girl in black, with every inch of her exuding a seductive sensuality. The glittering lights were like priceless jewels on a young woman.
Twain turned his gaze back from the window. Shania and her mother went to the restroom. Twain was left with Shania’s father, Bruce Tenório, sitting at the table.
“Thank you so much for keeping Jordie company all this time. Her mother and I have too little time.” Tenório seemed to be a courteous gentleman. Twain felt comfortable with him.
“It’s nothing. I like being with Shania.”
Tenório looked at Twain and said, “As her parents, this is also the first time we’ve seen her smile so much. She smiles every day, all the time. I’m not exaggerating. Whenever she was with us before, she would always have a straight face. We could never tell what was on her mind.”
Twain nodded in understanding. Every parent was the same. More often than not, they did not understand their child. “Because of differences in perspective and ways of looking at issues, parents usually have a generational gap with their children.”
Tenório smiled. “Mr. Twain…”
“Call me Tony, Mr. Tenório. That’s too formal. We’re not talking about business, are we?”
“In that case, call me Bruce.”
The two men smiled at each other and accepted it.
“Well… Tony, you seem to know a lot about this. But are you still single now?”
“I don’t have children, but I used to be a child.”
This remark made Tenório go silent for a moment; he nodded thoughtfully.
“Bruce, did Shania tell you that she did not like to train as a model?” asked Twain.
Tenório shook his head. “She did not say, but we always knew. The resentment she showed during her modeling training, running away to England and meeting you. All these were done to show us. Her mother used to be a model, so she hoped Jordie could be a model too.”
Twain smiled and nodded to express his understanding. This problem existed all over the world. Parents always wanted their children to follow their planned path because they believed that their experience could prevent children from taking detours. But the children felt that their parents interfered with their freedom, that they had become their parents’ puppets, and that their lives were hollow.
No one was right or wrong. Each had their own reasons.
Since the ancient times, even an honest and upright official would have difficulty resolving family disputes and Tang En did not wish to be one.
“But … Jordie received her modelling training at a young age, starting with her mother. If she doesn’t become a model, what else can she do?” Tenório pointed out the essential part of the issue. Shania was not like Yang Yan, a golden standard of an extraordinary girl who was a clever and studious student since youth and capable of obtaining a foreign university’s master’s degree.
Perhaps her parents wanting her to learn to be a model was to provide her with a livelihood for her future, not to make their daughter famous and for their family to bask in the glory. After all, Shania’s parents did not seem like the kind of poor family who would rely on their daughter to support themselves.
That was why Twain thought that the issue was not black and white, and that it was impossible to state who was right or wrong.
Twain sighed softly. It was really not easy for a person to find an occupation that he liked and was good at. Compared to many people, he, Tang En and Tony Twain, was lucky. Perhaps the Heavens had sent him through to England to embark him on the correct trajectory for his life.
“I still want to thank you, Twain… Tony. You’ve made Shania’s life in the last two years richer and more colorful. You gave her a lot of things we couldn’t give her. Aunt Ryan is a very stubborn and traditional Englishwoman. Shania would definitely not be happy living with her. So… She is still going to stay there for a long time, and I hope you can continue to take care of her.”
Twain was stunned for a moment. He looked at Tenório and saw that the other man also smiled and looked at him.
“Is this a father’s request?”
Tenório did not answer; he just kept smiling.
“Then, I promise.”
“Thank you, Tony. You’re a good man. I knew it from the first moment I saw you…”
Twain made a face. It was one thing to seen as a good person by Shania, but now Shania’s father thought so too. Am I really a good person? It doesn’t seem right. What have I done to show that I’m a good guy?
At that point, Shania and her mother came back. They seemed to have taken a long time to go the restroom. “What are you talking about?” Shania was in a good mood. She bounced and sat beside her mother and looked at Twain and her father opposite her.
“I’m ratting you out, saying that you’re disobedient.” Twain said fiercely. The conversation just now had made him open up more in front of Shania’s parents.
Shania sniffed, but stole a glance at her father’s expression at the same time. When she saw that her father’s face was full of smiles, she put her heart at ease.
When Tenório saw that everyone was seated, he turned over an object on the table that was shaped like a common toothpick holder which Tang En often saw at restaurants in China. The originally red color on one side had flipped over to green.
Soon after, a waiter came with a long-forked skewer of meat.
“Jordie must have taken you to a Brazilian barbecue, but I guarantee that this is the most authentic.” Tenório smiled and pointed at the waiter.
※※※
The holiday in Brazil was very enjoyable. Especially after the conversation with Mr. Tenório, Twain felt that he had a much better impression of Shania’s father.
Before, he always thought that Mr. Bruce Tenório, who was busy with work all the time, was too cold towards Shania and that there seemed to be no father and daughter relationship. Since he and Shania were on the same side, he was naturally uncomfortable to see Shania being neglected. But after that conversation, Twain knew he still cared very much about what Shania thought. That was why Shania’s parents were happy to see their daughter together with him all the time.
However, the way fathers expressed their feelings might cause their children to misunderstand. They were often not as revealing and expressive as mothers. Their love, no matter how much, could only be kept within.
Twain recalled the scene of the two of them at his doorstep in Nottingham waiting for Shania. The conduct of the two parents fit well with their respective roles. Her mother was anxious and desperate and her father was calm and collected, not forgetting to show his authority.
He smiled.
“Uncle Tony, what are you smirking about?”
Twain rolled his eyes. “Cheeky.”
His vacation was very short, but Shania’s holiday was still very long. Twain had to return to England to deal with the matters in the club. A one-week holiday might not be enough to release him from the strain and pressure since the last season, but he did not want to throw his time away on personal relaxation. There were still a lot of important matters waiting for him at the club. The players’ renewal contracts, the introduction of new players, the transfer of existing players… All of that required his decisions.
Therefore, today was the day that his holiday had come to an end in Brazil. He was going to fly back to England to start work and would bid farewell to Shania, who would continue her stay with her parents in Brazil.
Since Shania’s parents were as busy as usual, only Shania came to send him off. But this could be the send-off Twain had hoped for.
Looking at Shania, who was waiting beside him for the boarding, Twain reminisced about the happy times of that week and was suddenly a little reluctant. He had to find a way to divert his attention.
“Shania, I think your father… um, is quite nice.”
“Yes.” Shania nodded, “I’ve always liked my dad very much.”
“Do you like him and fear him as well?” said Twain with a grin.
Shania scowled at Twain. “I don’t know why. Even though I spent more time with my mother growing up, I’m closer to my dad. I’m very happy whenever I see my dad. But he always looks so serious to me.”
Ah, daddy issues.
Twain cleared his throat, “That’s because you were still young. Now that you think about it, your dad doesn’t look at you with a straight face anymore, does he?”
“It’s because I haven’t been in Brazil for a long time.” Shania grinned. “And you’re here with me, so he doesn’t dare give me that look!”
Tang En thought of his childhood. If relatives and friends came to visit, he could act up a little more and misbehave without worrying about being punished by his parents. The adults called him the jester, playing and acting up all the time. If there were no visitors, he would not dare to act up. Shania was similar to himself at that time. She might be catching up to him in height, but she was still a child.
He expected that Shania would behave more obediently at home after his departure today.
When he thought of that, Twain again felt that Shania was a little pitiful, and he felt reluctant to go. He had circled back to the same mood.
The airport announcer began to inform the passengers for the flight from Rio de Janeiro to London to start boarding. Shania looked up at the ceiling of the airport hall and seemed to search for the place where the announcement had been sent from.
“Shania…” Seeing her like that, Twain said hoarsely, “I’m leaving.”
Shania glanced down and her face lit up with a smile, “All right, Uncle Tony. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Shania.”
In the end, neither of them moved.
“I’m really going.”
“Okay, Uncle Tony. Remember to call me when you get there.” Shania made a telephone receiver gesture with her hand next to her ear.
After a brief silence, the announcement came overhead again. The sweet female voice sounded particularly unpleasant to Twain. He looked up and took a deep breath. “Shania, if you… well, if you feel alone and bored in Brazil, just go back to England earlier.”
He had not expected Shania to smile and decline Twain’s kindness. “I want to stay here with them for the rest of my holiday.”
“Ah…” Twain was somewhat disappointed. But soon he realized that that was impolite. So he immediately bent down to pick up his suitcase.
Just as he put his hand on the suitcase handle, he heard Shania say, “But when I’m bored, I’ll call you. Don’t turn off your cellphone! If I can’t get hold of you when I’m bored, I won’t spare you when I get back to England!”
“Hey, when do you ever see me turn off my cellphone? I don’t even turn it off when I sleep. I’ll be on call 24/7!” Twain grabbed the handle and straightened up. His heart suddenly felt lightened. Ah, what beautiful weather, so full of sunshine…
“I’m really leaving this time, Shania. I’m really happy that I got to be with you in Brazil for the holiday; happier than when I led the team to qualify for the UEFA Champions League qualifier. Thank you.”
Twain pulled his luggage and turned to walk away as Shania was still gently waving behind his back.
“Thank you too, Uncle Tony.”