83: Chapter 83 Yu Bai's Ruthless Approach: Can I Pursue You When I'm a Little Older?

"Don't get hurt... and don't catch a cold..."

Every word carried a scalding temperature and a salty dampness, melting into the mist on the car window and vanishing.

She had taken such good care of him, yet in the end, she couldn't take care of her own heart, which had quietly become tethered to him.

The end of a match.

The end of an era.

A silent farewell to a relationship.

Meanwhile, Yu Bai, completely unaware of this, was having dinner with his mother and a new friend.

His life was charging forward, yet he didn't know that someone important had quietly left the stage.

The gears of fate turned once again.

...

The set of the Head & Shoulders commercial shoot.

Lights and shadows intertwined, with murmurs of voices.

Yu Bai and Dilraba finished filming a few shots, their cooperation proving quite tacit. During a break, the two naturally exchanged contact information.

However, Yu Bai stared at his phone, his brows furrowing slightly—the system's mission to "re-establish an intimate connection with Dilraba" showed no movement in the progress bar. Clearly, simply "becoming advertising partners and adding each other on WeChat" was far from reaching the "specific favorability threshold."

That one precious "Free Definition-Breaking Point" was a divine item that could add points to attributes above 90! Yu Bai stared at Dilraba's side profile, which looked even more stunning under the professional lighting, gritted his teeth, and silently recited in his heart, "I'm sorry, Miss Dilraba, but in order to become stronger, I have to be a bit 'calculating'."

He adjusted his expression, putting on that smile that straddled the line between youthful innocence and intentional flirtation, with a touch of mischief. He leaned in closer and asked in a volume only the two of them could hear, his tone "sincere" yet tinged with nervousness:

"Miss Dilraba..."

"Um... when I grow up a little more, can I pursue you?"

Dilraba was looking down at her phone, but upon hearing this, she jerked her head up. Her big, beautiful eyes widened instantly, her long eyelashes fluttered, and her face was filled with shock and disbelief.

She looked at the handsome young man before her who wreaked havoc on the pitch, yet was smiling in a way that was somewhat "begging for a beating." Thinking of his illustrious family background and his title of "Young Master," she found herself at a loss for how to respond.

However, just as she opened her mouth, before she could utter a single syllable—

[Ding—]

[Mission "Re-establish an intimate connection with Dilraba" complete!]

[Reward: 1 Free Definition-Breaking Point, issued.]

Yu Bai was overjoyed with a "ding" in his heart, but his face remained impassive. He claimed the reward almost instantly, his mind operating at lightning speed as he unhesitatingly added that precious point to his most signature attribute—[Dribbling 91 → 92]!

As for the meaningful, playful, and inquisitive smile that subsequently appeared on Dilraba's face, and her soft nod as she said in a near whisper, "We'll see when you grow up~"...

Yu Bai's internal monologue: Sorry, I was just running my mouth to complete a mission, please don't take it seriously!

He hurriedly flashed a sunny, "I'm just joking" smile and quickly changed the subject.

...

The commercial shoot took up an entire day. The next day, as the "host," Yu Bai took his mother and Dilraba around Leicester. On the third day, Shen Muwan and Dilraba set off to return to their country. Yu Bai saw them off at the airport.

These past few days, he had been staying at a hotel.

After seeing them off, Yu Bai dragged his slightly weary body back to that familiar apartment. Using his key to open the door, a rush of air that had not been ventilated for a long time, carrying the scent of dust and a cold chill, hit him in the face.

He froze at the doorway.

It was too quiet.

It was excessively clean.

He walked inside; the living room, kitchen, bedroom... all traces belonging to Wen Wan had vanished completely.

Her slippers, her water cup, the blanket she always loved to toss on the sofa, the milk and fruit she bought in the fridge, even the faint scent of the perfume she often used in the air... everything had disappeared.

It was as if, for this past month or so, that woman who would cook for him, drive him around, chatter incessantly, and occasionally get drunk and act spoiled, had never existed.

Yu Bai stood in the center of the empty living room, and an absurd, chilling sense of loss slowly and firmly crawled over his entire body.

For these three days, Wen Wan hadn't replied to a single message. He thought she was just like before, getting dead drunk while he was away, turning night into day, and forgetting to check her phone. He had even thought about how to "teach her a lesson" when he returned.

Who would have thought that she had left.

Without a word, she had left cleanly.

Soon, he figured it out. Before his mother left, that earnest remark echoed in his ears: "Xiao Bai, for a professional player, life off the pitch and interpersonal relationships are also very important. Mom will keep an eye out for you and find someone more professional and suitable to help you manage things."

He hadn't paid much attention to it at the time, but now he understood it all.

Yu Bai tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a self-deprecating, bitter smile. He walked over to the sofa and sat down, took out his phone, and opened the chat dialog with Wen Wan.

His finger hovered over the screen, hesitating.

He typed: "Do you want to come back?"

He deleted it. In what capacity was he asking? Why she left, didn't he have any idea himself?

He re-typed: "Where are you? Are you okay?"

He deleted it again. What good would asking do? Could he change his mother's decision, or defy his father's arrangements?

In the end, he simply turned off the screen, tossed the phone onto the sofa beside him, leaned his body heavily back into the sofa, and looked up at the ceiling.

"Yu Bai," he said to himself in a low voice, his voice sounding exceptionally clear and cold in the empty room, "you might... just be a person destined to be lonely."

Family, dreams, companionship... it seemed that whenever he thought he had grasped them, they would leave or sour in various ways.

He sat for a while, then stood up, walked over to the speaker, and connected via Bluetooth with his phone.

His finger slid across the playlist and finally stopped on a song—Wang Leehom's "Need Someone to Accompany Me."

Click, play.

The soothing yet faintly sorrowful piano prelude began to play, echoing in the empty apartment.

"A person like me needs dreams, needs direction, needs tears

And even more, needs someone to light up the darkness of the sky

I am already powerless, unable to resist, with no way to retreat

In this silent night, right now, I need someone to accompany me..."

Yu Bai listened quietly, without turning on the lights. The twilight outside the window seeped into the room bit by bit, shrouding him in dimness. The singing was like a gentle yet ruthless hand, lightly plucking the string in his heart named "loneliness."

He walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. The dense steam quickly spread, blurring the mirror and his Vision. The hot water washed over his body, but it couldn't wash away the cold, empty void in his heart.

The singing faintly drifted from the living room, mixed in with the sound of the water.

He didn't know how much time had passed; he turned off the water, dried his body with a bath towel, put on clean loungewear, and walked out.

The song was still looping.

"...In this silent night, right now, I need someone to accompany me."

Yu Bai walked to the speaker, without any hesitation, reached out, and decisively pressed the stop button.

"Click."

The music came to an abrupt halt. The apartment fell back into a deathly silence, with only the sound of his own breathing.

He stood in the darkness, facing the silent air, and clearly and calmly, said the words he had thought of in the bathroom:

"No."

"I don't need anyone to accompany me."

...

October 3rd, Carrow Road.

Leicester City challenged Norwich away. Perhaps they hadn't anticipated it, or perhaps their strength was truly lacking, but the defensive intensity and physical confrontation Norwich provided were far from matching Yu Bai's near-"manic" state and his 92 Dribbling and 95 Vision.

The defensive line was like a mere formality before him.

Yu Bai started and played for 61 minutes, putting on a perfect show of his individual attacking talent.

Two exquisite chipped passes assisted Vardy and Mahrez in scoring.

Two calm shots from the edge of the penalty area pierced the goal.

Two shots and two assists, solely creating four goals! He helped Leicester City slaughter Norwich 6:1 away, continuing to lead the standings strongly!

After the match, The FA announced the Premier League Player of the Month award for September.

Yu Bai, who crazily contributed 4 goals and 4 assists in 3 matches, overcame his teammate Jamie Vardy, who scored 5 goals, to be successfully chosen!

At 17, in his first full month in the Premier League, he won Player of the Month!

Creating history!