Chapter 34 Kane: I Have a Dream!

September 2010!

On the training ground of Leyton Orient, a League One club in East London, England.

The elderly Leyton manager, Blake, stood with his hands on his hips, shouting incessantly at a young man on the pitch.

"Yes! That’s it, drop deep!"

"Once you’ve turned, quickly look for your teammates' cutting lines!"

"That guy is only a year older than you, and he’s already starting for Schalke 04!"

"Whether it’s his height or his various attributes, kid, he is the perfect template for you to learn from!"

"In the last Bundesliga match, he even overshadowed Raul to be named Man of the Match!"

"God! I can’t imagine what that guy will achieve in the future, but Kane! Kid, as long as you work hard, I believe you will also have a bright future. At the very least, once you return to Tottenham, you will definitely be able to secure a spot in the first team!"

Blake kept shouting, encouraging the young man on the pitch who was repeatedly practicing dropping deep to receive the ball and passing it back.

On the training ground, the sweat-soaked young man gritted his teeth and sprinted once more.

That’s right!

Even though he didn’t know why, 17-year-old Harry Kane always felt that the Chinese player named Lin Hao was a reflection of himself.

"Boss! I will work hard! Don't worry!"

A 17-year-old is never short of drive!

Especially after seeing a peer with similar abilities already starting for a Bundesliga giant. An indescribable feeling flooded Harry Kane’s entire being.

Yes! If a Chinese guy could make it, surely he, Harry Kane—hailed as a genius since childhood—could too!

Besides, he thought, even if that guy couldn't win a championship, his own future would surely be far brighter than his!

...

"Gassen! Can we move to a different apartment?"

Just as the young version of Harry Kane was dreaming of Lin Hao, Lin Hao, who had been catching up on sleep all day, walked out of his bedroom, rubbing his messy hair.

Looking at old Gassen, who was preparing breakfast—or, to be precise, lunch—for him, Lin Hao suddenly spoke up.

"Err... I suppose we really could move to a new one!"

It wasn't that Lin Hao was being extravagant just because he had money; it was simply that the apartment he currently occupied was too far from the first-team facilities.

Beyond the long commute every day, the apartment's rooms and amenities were terribly outdated. The only piece of equipment that was remotely modern, a treadmill, was five years old; sometimes it would just suddenly shut down while he was running, and several times Lin Hao had nearly fallen off.

If he were still in the Regionalliga or the youth team, Lin Hao could have made do, but now that he was, by all accounts, a regular for the Schalke 04 first team, living here didn't feel quite...

"Lin, how about this? I’ll communicate with Schalke 04! They have exclusive villas in the city center; Raul is living in one right now!"

Although old Gassen had never handled the high-end task of securing villas for players, he had seen enough to know how things worked.

"Hmm, alright. You talk to them. It doesn't need to be anything too fancy, as long as it's closer to the club!"

Lin Hao had originally intended to rent a place with his own money, but upon hearing that old Gassen might be able to squeeze the club for it, Lin Hao decisively chose to leave the problem to the organization. After all, his money didn't come easily!

Old Gassen’s efficiency was high. About an hour later, Schalke 04 manager Horst Heldt received a call from his subordinate.

"What? He wants to change apartments?"

Having already felt stung by the signing bonus he had paid out for a player who had played fewer than three matches, Heldt immediately felt a flash of resentment. As a capitalist, Heldt naturally wanted to squeeze his players; he wasn't keen on being "fleeced" by a player repeatedly.

However, once he heard from his staff that Lin Hao was still living in those ancient, century-old apartments used by the U20 squad, Heldt immediately agreed.

Furthermore, because Schalke 04 had just signed a massive shirt sponsorship deal with the Hengtai Group from China the previous day, Heldt waved his hand and authorized Lin Hao to move into the club’s last remaining luxury villa.

This wasn't out of the goodness of his heart; Heldt was thinking that when Lin Hao moved, he could invite the reporters who were constantly clamoring for interviews to broadcast the whole thing live.

*Ahem!*

A live broadcast of a player moving house would naturally require a fee...

It would be best to get exclusive naming rights and have them bid for it...

The more Heldt thought about it, the more promising it seemed. That very afternoon, he contacted CCTV, Sina, Tencent, and the *Titan Sports Weekly*—the domestic media outlets that had been most active recently.

However, to Heldt’s absolute frustration, after he proposed that the media outlets bid for exclusive coverage, apart from CCTV offering a symbolic 10,000 euros, none of the other media outlets made a counter-bid.

This... this is only 10,000 euros?

These were supposed to be the wealthiest media outlets in China. Could they not even scrape together 20,000 euros?

What the f***!?

...

Heldt’s money-making plan failed, but Lin Hao happily secured the right to use a villa in the same row as Raul.

That afternoon, Lin Hao happily followed Gassen to his new home. As it was a villa capable of housing a top-tier star like Raul, it was, as Lin Hao had imagined, even more luxurious than the one he had seen belonging to Huntelaar.

"Lin! I can't believe it. A month ago, we were wondering if we'd have to move to another city, and now, we can actually live in such a luxurious villa!"

Lin Hao was doing fine—after all, he had his "system" cheat, so villas, luxury cars, and beauties were bound to come.

But for old Gassen, who made a few tens of thousands of euros a year and was at the very bottom of the agent food chain, he had never imagined that his player would receive such treatment... or, more importantly, that an old guy like him, wearing many hats, would also get to live in such a place.

However, looking at the massive villa, old Gassen suddenly felt a sense of loss.

It was true; although he and Lin Hao had gotten along very well over the past two years, as Lin Hao’s market value rose, he felt that he was no longer a match for Lin Hao's stature.

Old Gassen was a very practical man. Even though he was short on money, he truly didn't want to affect Lin Hao’s future because of himself.

So, after some consideration, old Gassen said to Lin Hao seriously, "Lin, I think it's time for you to change to a top-tier agent. You have the insane Chinese market behind you, and your future is limitless. My... my abilities are limited. I really am not suitable anymore..."

"Hey! Old man, what are you saying? Limited abilities? Are you just looking to slack off?"

Looking at the earnest old Gassen, Lin Hao didn't let him finish the rest of his sentence.

Yes, Lin Hao knew that old Gassen’s professional capabilities might no longer keep pace with his own, but how could he kick out the old man who had been with him for so many years just because he had achieved a bit of success?

"Actually, Lin, I can stay by your side, but my role could change from agent to personal assistant or lifestyle manager?"

Hmm?

Lifestyle manager?

That... that actually seems...