Tyias Browning...
This is a name worth putting down your instant noodles for!
Gu Ran read the name several times, confirming it was indeed the same person.
If his memories from his past life were correct, this guy was Jiang Guangtai, the future naturalized player for the Chinese national team!
Jiang Guangtai indeed came from Everton's youth academy. He was promoted from Everton's youth team to the U18 team in July 2010.
He was on a part-time contract with the U18 team until 2012, when he signed his first professional contract with the U21 team. By 2014, he made it to the first team and officially debuted in the Premier League.
It wasn't until 2019 that he completed his naturalization, officially changing his name to Jiang Guangtai.
Later, because the character "泰" (Tai) was too complicated to write, he changed it to "太" (Tai).
To be fair, Jiang Guangtai is a decent player.
He was selected for England's U17, U19, and U21 youth teams, which proves he's not a flop.
As a defender from Everton's youth academy, Jiang Guangtai possesses the traditional strengths of an English center-back: strong physique, excellent jumping ability, solid in aerial duels and one-on-one defending, and good positional awareness. He's also effective at intercepting long balls and stopping breakaways.
However... his weaknesses are also quite obvious.
As a center-back, his turning speed is slow, and his body isn't very flexible. In critical moments, his mind might react, but his body often can't keep up. His passing ability is also poor, especially when quick counterattacks are needed.
Modern football isn't just about forwards attacking and defenders defending. It requires all players to contribute both offensively and defensively.
Jiang Guangtai's biggest weakness is that while he's solid defensively, his offensive contribution is almost zero.
Pure defensive center-backs like him are becoming less and less valuable.
This is also why Jiang Guangtai struggled to make it to Everton's first team.
In terms of influence, Jiang Guangtai is definitely an overrated star.
But honestly, even with his limitations, Jiang Guangtai is still a cut above the average players in the Chinese national team.
You can't ask for too much, right?
So, regardless, Gu Ran was quite excited to face a player with Chinese heritage in the British High School Football Championship!
—Next match, let's take down Jiang Guangtai!
Gu Ran continued to review the key players of the Angel Wings team.
Another familiar name popped up—Captain/Midfielder: Ross Barkley!
This guy is also a product of Everton's youth academy, hailed as the "new Gascoigne."
By the end of October 2010, Ross Barkley had already secured a professional contract with Everton, and in the 2011-12 season, he made his Premier League debut!
This kind of rapid rise is definitely star-level.
In Gu Ran's past life memories, Ross Barkley was considered the new hope for England's midfield.
Ross Barkley is a versatile midfielder who can play as a classic attacking midfielder, central midfielder, winger, or shadow striker. He has excellent vision and precise passing, making him a great playmaker.
In 2018, at the peak of his career, Ross Barkley transferred to Chelsea for £15 million, taking over Frank Lampard's number 8 jersey and becoming the new Lampard.
Unfortunately, after that, Ross Barkley's career began to decline.
After all, there's only one Frank Lampard in the Premier League.
But regardless, Ross Barkley is undoubtedly a future Premier League star.
This is the first time Gu Ran will face a genuine future star.
Just thinking about it gets him excited!
With players like Ross Barkley and Jiang Guangtai, it's no wonder the Angel Wings team has been on a winning streak.
Gu Ran continued to study the Angel Wings team's other players while eating his instant noodles.
According to the data, eight players from the Angel Wings team had trained at Everton's youth academy, making them the team with the most semi-professional players among all of Buckhorn's opponents.
This also means that the Angel Wings team's coordination is likely much better than the average school team.
From the intelligence gathered, the Angel Wings team's preferred formation is 4-4-2, and their best tactics are counterattacks and wing play.
This is very similar to Buckhorn's formation and tactics...
This is going to be a clash of titans!
This knockout match won't be easy. We need to train harder and improve!
After studying for another ten minutes, Gu Ran confidently closed his laptop.
By now, it was already past 5 PM, and Anne was still asleep.
Gu Ran didn't disturb her. Instead, he put on his jacket, quietly left the house, started the car, and drove to Glop Gym.
He had been busy with Anne all day and still had 10 pick-up progress points left to use.
As soon as Gu Ran walked into the gym, the regulars greeted him warmly:
"Hey, Gu!"
"Got some free time today?"
"Gu, let's work on our core together!"
"You guys go ahead, I'll pass…" Gu Ran replied with a wry smile.
Every time Gu Ran came to the gym, he attracted the attention of wealthy women. However, he always handed their business cards to other gym-goers, so everyone treated him like a brother.
Sigh…
It's getting harder to freeload at the gym.
Fortunately, the gym regulars were also competing with each other.
Gu Ran spent an hour at the gym and managed to pick up 9 stamina and strength training bubbles.
His training hours accumulated to 100, automatically converting into a new talent point bubble.
Without hesitation, Gu Ran added this talent point to his stamina attribute.
His stamina attribute increased from 68 to 69.
A stamina rating of 69 is definitely sufficient for a national high school championship at the amateur level.
However, if you're aiming for professional leagues, 69 isn't enough.
You'd need at least 75 to hold your own in lower-tier professional leagues.
Especially in English football, where the physicality is intense, and full-backs rely heavily on stamina, Gu Ran set a goal for himself: by the time of the national championship final, he must raise his stamina attribute to 75.
"Ding~"
Just as Gu Ran finished adding the stamina attribute, a clear system notification sounded in his mind:
"Friendly reminder: Host needs to obtain and use 1 more talent point to upgrade personal rating to B."
"When the host's personal rating reaches B, the pick-up range will increase to 20 meters."
"When the host's personal rating reaches B, the success rate of using star-level skills in matches will slightly increase."
"When the host's personal rating reaches B, there is a chance to obtain professional-level training results when picking up ordinary white bubbles."
"When the host's personal rating reaches B, the skill cap obtained through pick-ups will increase from +3 to +4."
Holy crap!
The benefits of reaching B-level are insane!
The pick-up range increases to 20 meters! Slightly boosts the success rate of star skills! White bubbles can occasionally yield professional-level training results! The skill cap increases to +4!
Haha! This is awesome!
Just one more talent point to upgrade!
Gu Ran clenched his fists in excitement.
"Friendly reminder: To upgrade from B to A, the host needs to obtain and use 50 talent points, have at least 15 sub-attributes reach 75, and make an official appearance in a professional match."
Holy crap…
Hearing this, Gu Ran couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Going from D to C was easy, and C to B wasn't too hard either. But going from B to A is a massive leap from amateur to professional!
Not only are there talent point requirements, but you also can't be lopsided in your skills, and you must make an official appearance in a professional match!
The difficulty of upgrading is increasing, but so are the rewards!
Reaching A-level will undoubtedly bring even greater rewards!
This is the path to becoming a true professional!
I still have one pick-up progress left for today…
Gu Ran continued to wander around the gym.
After another half hour, Gu Ran still hadn't used his last pick-up progress.
There were white bubbles dropping, but they were all for flexibility training, not the stamina and strength training bubbles he wanted.
Forget it, time to go home!
I wonder if Anne is awake yet…
Tomorrow is the last day of the holiday. After tonight, we'll have to focus entirely on preparation, so no more of that… So…
Cough, gotta make the most of the time.
Gu Ran left the gym and drove home.
As soon as he got home, Gu Ran went straight to Anne's bedroom.
Before he could even push the door open, a "ding" sounded in his mind.
Gu Ran's heart sank.
"Detected 100 negative emotion points from Anne Hathaway. System bubble generating…"
As expected, the more you worry about something, the more likely it is to happen.
Anne must have woken up hungry, and hunger tends to amplify negative emotions.
Moreover, Anne's depression wasn't fully cured. She had only been in a better mood these past couple of days because of the football match and the drawing. The slightest bit of pessimism could quickly escalate into a flood of negative emotions.
Gu Ran immediately pushed the door open. "Anne, I'm back!"
The room was dark, with no lights on.
Anne was wearing only a thin, low-cut black silk nightgown, hugging her legs and curled up in a dark corner, her beautiful face streaked with tears.
She looked utterly pitiful!
Gu Ran rushed over in a flash.
Seeing Gu Ran, Anne immediately threw herself into his arms, sobbing. "Gu! Wuwuwu! Where did you go? I woke up and couldn't find you anywhere. I thought…"
Gu Ran stroked Anne's hair and comforted her, "I'm back now. Don't cry, don't cry. It's okay. I just went to the gym. Besides, with a beauty like you at home, how could I not come back?"
Holding Gu Ran's solid body and listening to his gentle words, Anne's negative emotions subsided significantly.
Anne pouted, "Gu, I think I've been poisoned."
Gu Ran was startled and quickly asked, "What? Poisoned? Why didn't you say so earlier? Let's go to the hospital!"
Anne shook her head, "No, I've been poisoned by you."
Gu Ran was confused, "What? By me? How?"
Anne blushed and playfully punched Gu Ran's chest, "Ah! Gu Ran! You're so annoying! I didn't mean it like that! I mean, I've been poisoned by your love! I feel like I can't live without you! You…"
You scared me!
I was thinking, if Sophie and Maria are fine, how could you be poisoned?
So it's love poisoning!
Gu Ran wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Uh—Anne, are you hungry?"
Anne wanted to shake her head but couldn't help nodding repeatedly, "…Yes."
Gu Ran smiled, "Then I'll cook for you. What do you want? How about scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"
Anne pouted and playfully punched Gu Ran's chest, "Ah! You're so bad! Don't mention scrambled eggs with tomatoes again! Otherwise, I'll ignore you!"
"You're so annoying!" Anne continued to punch him playfully.
Ah! So satisfying!
Being playfully punched by a goddess feels amazing!
Gu Ran was practically floating.
But he quickly regained his composure and used this moment to mentally collect the red talent point bubble that Anne had dropped!
This was the last talent point needed for the upgrade!
Gu Ran immediately added this newly acquired talent point to his stamina attribute!
His stamina attribute broke through the 60-point barrier, reaching 70!
Gu Ran instantly felt a surge of new energy—he could easily handle another full match.
Ding~
"Congratulations, host. Through your relentless efforts, your personal rating has been upgraded from C to B."
Awesome!
Now, it's time to work toward becoming a true professional player and reaching A-level!
Gu Ran patted Anne's waist, "Alright, alright. I'll go make you some… Italian noodles."
Anne's eyes widened, "Italian noodles? That sounds delicious!"
The British supermarkets didn't sell Chinese-style noodles, so Italian noodles would have to do. Otherwise, Gu Ran would have loved to make Anne a proper bowl of Beijing-style fried sauce noodles.
Gu Ran went to the kitchen, put on an apron, and started cooking.
Anne followed closely behind, afraid that if she took her eyes off Gu Ran, he might disappear.
Making Beijing-style fried sauce is quite complicated. Considering Anne's sweet tooth, Gu Ran decided to use scrambled eggs with tomatoes as the sauce instead.
As Gu Ran chopped the tomatoes and cracked the eggs, Anne hugged him from behind.
"Wow~ Gu, how do you remember all these complicated steps?"
Gu Ran: …
Complicated steps? Chopping tomatoes and cracking eggs?
Isn't this basic stuff?
Gu Ran was about to lose it.
"Wow~"
This time, before Anne could finish, Gu Ran put down the spatula, picked her up with his strong arms, and placed her on the dining table. "…Do you still want to eat?"
Anne! I've really, really been holding back for a long time!
The atmosphere in the kitchen instantly became暧昧.
Anne sat obediently on the table, pouting, "…I do. Gu, you're so fierce, but… I like it."
Holy crap… this little temptress!
Gu Ran was tempted to just take Anne right then and there.
But he had to let her eat first, right?
Gu Ran took a deep breath, trying to control his wild thoughts, and picked up the spatula again.
"If you keep messing around, I'll tie you up."
"You wouldn't dare." Anne giggled, sliding off the table and hugging Gu Ran from behind, continuing to tease him.
—At this moment, Anne had completely shed her Hollywood princess persona. She was just a woman in love, basking in happiness, like a little kitten.
"Wow~" Anne continued to whisper in Gu Ran's ear, "It smells so good! Gu, I can't take it anymore. Can I eat now?"
Gu Ran gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay calm, and said sternly, "No, this is just the sauce."
"Can't I eat the sauce?"
"You can, but it's meant to be paired with noodles to make a proper Scottish-style noodle dish."
"Wasn't it supposed to be Italian noodles? Why is it suddenly Scottish-style noodles?"
"Because Scottish-style noodles is a Chinese inside joke."
Anne: …
"Never mind, I can't figure it out. I just want to eat."
Gu Ran said, "It's almost ready. Just wait for the noodles to cook."
"Ah! I can't wait! I really can't!"
Anne kept swallowing her saliva, enticed by the increasingly rich aroma filling the kitchen.
A few minutes later, the noodles were finally ready.
Gu Ran served Anne a large bowl and poured the scrambled egg and tomato sauce over the noodles.
Anne eagerly picked up her chopsticks, ready to dig in.
"Be careful, it's hot!" Gu Ran quickly grabbed Anne's arm.
If such a beautiful mouth got burned, that would be a tragedy!
Gu Ran took the chopsticks from her, "Anne, don't rush. The proper way to eat noodles with sauce is to mix them first. This way, the flavors blend perfectly, and the noodles cool down to the right temperature. Since you don't know how to do this properly, I'll mix it for you."
Anne looked at Gu Ran with gratitude, "Gu, you're so good to me."
Of course!
Gu Ran picked up the bowl with his left hand and the chopsticks with his right, stirring the noodles vigorously.
The noodles almost flew out of the bowl, but not a drop of sauce spilled. Instead, the aroma of the sauce was fully activated, perfectly blending with the noodles, achieving a true "you are in me, and I am in you" harmony.
Anne watched Gu Ran's rapid hand movements, completely stunned. "Gu… you're so fast!"
Don't get the wrong idea! I'm just stirring quickly!
Gu Ran held his breath and stirred the noodles 180 times before handing the bowl to Anne.
Anne, starving, took a bite and immediately burst into tears of joy!
"Oh my God! My God!"
"I swear! This is the best Italian noodles I've ever had in my life!"
"Ah! It's so delicious!"
"I don't want to eat anything else ever again. I just want to eat this Scottish-style noodle dish!"
With every bite, Anne trembled with excitement.
Gu Ran watched Anne's reactions, a satisfied smile spreading across his face. "If it's good, eat more. Don't go hungry tonight."
Anne, mouth full, mumbled, "I'm going to eat three bowls today!"
Gu Ran laughed, "No way, you won't be able to finish that."
…Half an hour later.
Anne leaned back, rubbing her slightly bulging belly, and let out an unladylike burp.
In front of her were three empty bowls.
Gu Ran: …
It seems that last night and this afternoon really took a toll on Anne.
Anne pouted, "Gu, if this keeps up, you're going to make me fat."
Gu Ran replied, "It's fine. Eating a lot isn't a problem as long as you exercise more."
Anne blushed, "…You're so annoying!"
Huh?
Anne, you've got the wrong idea!
I didn't mean that kind of exercise!
I meant regular exercise!
Of course, that kind of exercise does burn more calories and is more enjoyable, but I wasn't making a dirty joke!
Anne stood up, holding the table for support, "I'll do the dishes."
Gu Ran said, "Okay, I'll wait for you. After you're done, we'll go for a walk on the beach."
"Sure." Anne smiled happily.
Anne quickly washed the dishes, then threw on a jacket and went with Gu Ran to the beach outside the villa.
This time, they walked hand in hand, their intimacy having reached a new level.
As the stars began to appear over the sea, Anne leaned her head on Gu Ran's shoulder and sighed contentedly, "The sea under the stars is so beautiful."
Gu Ran tilted Anne's chin up, "No, you're the most beautiful thing under the stars."
Anne couldn't help but kiss Gu Ran.
Westerners express their feelings so directly, rarely hiding anything.
This kind of romantic setting under the stars and by the sea was something Gu Ran had never experienced in his past life—something he hadn't even dared to dream of.
But now, this romance was not only real but also something he could fully embrace.
"The wind's picking up, Anne."
"Yeah."
"Shall we go home?"
"Huh? So early?" Anne asked in surprise.
They had only walked half the distance they did last time.
And… this is the beach! When isn't it windy?
Gu Ran cleared his throat, "We've got important things to do at home."
Anne blushed, her tone both coquettish and proud, "You're so annoying… Am I really that good? Is that all you ever think about?"
Holy crap! That's not what I meant! I really have important things to do!
Gu Ran quickly explained, "Anne, you've got the wrong idea. I actually need to do some drawing."
I mean real drawing!
I need to start working on my Hollywood side hustle plan.
Anne playfully punched Gu Ran's chest, pouting, "You're still saying that! I know what you're really thinking!"
"I'm serious this time… Anne, you've really got the wrong idea!" Gu Ran was at a loss for words!
Anne took Gu Ran's hand, her eyes filled with a mix of innocence and desire, "Alright, I'll admit it. I'm just like you—all I can think about is that. I've never been like this before… Let's go home."
…
(End of chapter)
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