396 Santa Claus Part 2 (1/2)

Although they were missing one person, the Christmas dinner at Sophia's place was still very festive. Everyone had a wonderful evening with Sophia's meticulous planning.

Shania also received a large Totoro soft toy in Milan, Italy, sent to her via FedEx; a soft toy as tall as a person. Shania tore open the package in front of the other models, which got her exclamations of envy. That greatly satisfied the young girl's vanity. Although she ate fast food backstage during Christmas, to be able to receive such a Christmas present was enough to make her the happiest of all the girls.

However, she had a little trouble answering the girls' questions about the person who sent the gift.

Her parents and relatives?

Definitely not.

Friends?

In the end, she could only say, ”It's from a very, very good friend.”

How close are you guys?

We're just very, very close.

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After Christmas dinner, Twain led the team to their away game against Aston Villa on December 26th, which began their hellish competition schedule of two away games and one home game, a total of three matches in six days during the Christmas season.

On this day in Milan, the girls who roomed together went out to go sightseeing in this fashion capital, with most of the holiday spent on shopping. Shania declined her roommates' invitation and chose to stay in the hotel room alone. She turned on the television and searched for a television channel on which she could watch the English Premier League game.

By the time she finally found a channel that broadcasted Nottingham Forest's away game against Aston Villa, the second half of the game had already begun.

The television broadcast just so happened to show a close-up shot of the Forest team manager. Shania's anxious and restless heart suddenly settled down after she saw Twain.

Aston Villa had just equalized the score, and the television broadcast wanted to show the expression on Twain's face. But Shania did not care about the score. As long as she could see the person she wanted to see, she was content.

On the television screen, Twain could be seen staring intently at the field, unaware that the camera had locked onto him. He was also unaware that he was watched by another pair of eyes in Milan, Italy.

Sitting next to him, David Kerslake talked to him and Twain occasionally nodded as he listened. Then he stood up and walked to the sideline of the field.

He did not do anything. He just walked to the sideline and stood there with his arms across his chest. Nonetheless, his players seemed to receive some kind of motivation and the visiting team, Nottingham Forest, suddenly began to exert their force. Shania seemed to be in a trance as she watched. Although she liked Uncle Tony to joke around with her with his face full of smiles, she also liked this serious-looking Uncle Tony. Different looks had their different appeal.

When the television footage moved to the battle between the teams on the field, Shania rolled her eyes and curled her lip. She was not interested in the game at all.

The match commentary was not in Italian or English. It sounded like one of the languages from Scandinavia, perhaps Danish or Norwegian. But Shania did not care. It did not matter to her if she did not understand the commentary.

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The Villa Park stadium was full of hubbub and the home fans worked hard to cheer Aston Villa on, hoping that they could give their supporters a victory on this Christmas night as a present.

But Nottingham Forest was not willing to hand over the three points. Both sides were in a stalemate.

Twain certainly did not think that tying the away game with Aston Villa was an acceptable outcome. The Aston Villa manager said before the game that he wanted to beat the league's second-ranked team at their home ground to bring some comfort and confidence to the Villa fans who were in despair over the team's current poor record.

It was good to have a winning conviction, but it also depended on where it was to be used.