Madrid Capital Airport, Spain.

  As Gao Shen approached Lucas' car, the first thiiced was Bueura's disgruntled expression.

  The fitness coach had arrived in Madrid on a flight just befao Shen, and as soon as Gao Shen climbed into the car, he was greeted by Bueura's pints from the front passenger seat.

  "Gao, why do I feel like in your eyes, I'm just a workhorse? A tired donkey you keep pushing!"

  Both Gao Shen and Lucas burst into ughter.

  "Lorenzo, don't think like that. You're not a donkey you're more like a mule," Gao Shen joked.

  Bueura's face darkened. "A mule? That's even worse…"

  Lucas, trying to maintain trol of the steering wheel, was ughing so hard that he nearly swerved the car. These two guys could be quite the edians.

  "Hey, focus on driving!" Gao Shen reminded Lucas, ed for their safety.

  Ohe car stabilized, Gao Shen turned his attention back to Bueura. With a smile, he said, "Look, stress gives motivation, and motivation leads tress. Every time you said something was impossible, didn't you alull through in the end?"

  Bueura let out an exaggerated sigh. "I was only able to pull through because you forced me!" he protested, though he couldn't keep a straight face.

  Indeed, ever since Gao Shen had vinced Bueura to join him at Real Madrid, he hadn't had a single moment of rest. While other fitness coaches might have had more rexed schedules, Bueura found himself stantly problem-solving and w under pressure.

  Now, with Napoli gearing up to tend for the Serie A title, Bueura had been busy fiuning the team's summer training pn. He was trying to address issues from the previous season, all while fag the immense pressure that came with raising the bar even higher.

  But before he could rex during his vacation, Gao Shen hit him with another problem a detailed file on Thiago Motta, including the pyer's physical dition, knee surgery recovery, and medical reports.

  Once again, Bueura was tasked with handling a pyer notorious for being injury-prone.

  "Alright, enough pining," Gao Shen teased. "What do you o get it done?"

  Bueura, knowing that Gao Shen wasn't going to let up, stopped sulking and got straight to the point.

  "Look, Fernando has two assistants, and I'm all on my own."

  Gao Shen raised an eyebrow. "So, you want an assistant as well?"

  "One will be enough. I've already got someone in mind."

  "Fine," Gao Shen agreed. "I trust you. You make the arras. But let's be clear you're responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly with the physical training and injury prevention for the new season. No mistakes."

  Bueura nodded eagerly. His request had been reasonable, and Gao Shen was gd to oblige, provided the fitness coach could hahe increased workload with the help of an assistant.

  ---

  Ohe serious discussion was out of the way, the versation shifted bailiar ground: Real Madrid.

  It was Gao Shen's first time returning to Madrid after leaving the club, and there was a mixture of nostalgia and mencholy in the air.

  After all, it was here that Gao Shen's coag career had truly taken off.

  "I heard Real Madrid reached out to you?" Lucas asked cautiously, ed for his friend.

  Gao Shen g the assistant in the fro. He khat Lucas, like his entire family, was a die-hard Real Madrid fan. For Lucas, the thought of Gao Sheurning to coach Real Madrid was like a dream e true.

  Not just for Lucas—Carlo, Lopis, Borrell, and even Bueura would probably feel the same way. After all, Spain was their home, and coag at Real Madrid was the ultimate goal for anyone ected to the club.

  But Gao Shen shook his head. "Yeah, Butrague?o called me, but I turned him down."

  her Luor Bueura were surprised. They both uood that Gao Shen had ied too muto his project at Napoli to abandon it now.

  After winning the league st season, Real Madrid had parted ways with Fabio Capello, much to the shoany. Though Capello had delivered the title, her the pyers nor the fans had been satisfied with his defeyle of py.

  Gao Shen knew all too well the internal ws of the club. He had seen how Calderón and Mijatovi? operated behind the ses. It was chaos a quagmire of power struggles and infted egos.

  "I don't think Real Madrid is the right fit for me right now," Gao Shen admitted. "The demands are just too high."

  The truth was, winning wasn't enough at Real Madrid. You had to win in style, with fir. The fans, the pyers, and even the media demanded beautiful, attag football. But at the same time, they wanted instas a bination that was almost impossible to achieve.

  Gao Shehat if he returo Real Madrid, it would be like jumping bato the lion's den. He o wait until the club was truly ready for him when they were desperate enough to let go of their arrogand trust in his methods.

  With his reputation at an all-time high, Gao Shen had the luxury of pig his moments. He didn't o rush.

  Lucas and Bueura nodded in agreement. They uood the pressure that came with coag Real Madrid. It wasn't a decision to be made lightly.

  "But still, you just turned down Butrague?o, and now you're having dinner with him?" Lucas asked, puzzled.

  Gao Shen chuckled. "Having dinner is ohing. Coag is another."

  Bueura ughed, shaking his head. "We know what you're really up to. We just don't want to say it out loud."

  "You guys don't know anything!" Gao Shen tered with a grin. "I'm just trying to save the future of Spanish football."

  Both Lucas and Bueura rolled their eyes. "Yeah, sure. You're doing it for the greater good," Lucas muttered sarcastically.

  Deep down, they all khat Gao Shen was a shrewd operator. His return to Madrid wasn't just for nostalgia's sake. He had his eyes set on Real Madrid's talent pool, and he wasn't leaving without getting something iurn.

  ---

  Later that evening, Gao She up with Emilio Butrague?o at the iic Juan Grill restaurant in Madrid. The Real Madrid legend greeted Gao Shen warmly, but the two of them wasted no time on pleasantries.

  "Let me guess," Butrague?o said with a wry smile. "You've got your eyes on one of our pyers."

  Gao Shen put on an i expression. "What? Me? No way! I wouldn't poach your talent."

  "Right," Butrague?o said, unvinced. "Let's just get straight to the point. I'm not the teical director anymore—I'm just in charge of public retions. I'll try to help you, but I 't make any promises."

  Gao Shen grinned. "That's all I need. Let's get to it."

  Butrague?o chuckled, knowing full well that Gao Shen wasn't oo waste time.

  "So, who do you have in mind? ho or Arbeloa?"

  "ho," Gao Shen said.

  Butrague?o nodded. "We're looking for around €10 million."

  Gao Shen shook his head. "That's too steep."

  "What about De Red?" Gao Shen asked .

  "He's not for sale," Butrague?o replied. "He's very popur with the fans right now."

  Gao Shen frowned. He had helped develop De Red, and now it was ing back to bite him.

  "Alright, then. How about Juan Mata?" Gao Shen asked, ging his approach.

  Butrague?o ughed. "No way. Mata and De Red are both off-limits. The club has big pns for them."

  Gao Shen sighed. "e on, you have to give me something."

  Butrague?o leaned ba his chair. "Okay, let's iate. What do you want?"

  Gao Shen leaned in, his eyes gleaming. "I'll take two pyers but this time, you've got to help me make it happen."