742 Leaving the Life of Football (2/2)

Shania's voice instantly popped up. ”Hey, Tony!”

”Ha, Shania,” Twain replied.

”Is it two training sessions today?” Shania asked.

”Well, no,” Twain said. ”What's wrong?”

”I was waiting for you until the lunch got cold!” Shania sounded angry.

Twain raised his wrist to look at his watch. It was already 1 p.m.

”Ah, I'm sorry, Shania! I was dealing with things. I got so busy I forgot. I'll come out right away.” While he was holding the phone, he hurriedly started getting into his car. Van Nistelrooy was right. He was also a man with a family. He could understand the want to be with family. ”I am hanging up, Shania. I promise...”

Shania quickly interrupted him. ”Slow down so you don't run into something bad. I was just a little worried that you weren't back yet. I'm OK, so drive slowly.”

Twain opened his mouth but said nothing.

”See you later, Tony.” Shania was visibly in a better mood. She gave a little kiss through the phone and hung up.

Twain was still holding his cell phone. He had kept the same stance since he got onto the car. He thought, Why play football? In order to make money. Why make money? In order to be able to have time with family. But, in order to make money, there is no time to spend with family. Then…

Players could play until 34 or 35 and choose to retire. They had most of their lives to spend with their loved ones. What about a head coach? Ferguson was 70 and still in his position as Manchester United manager.

Former Liverpool manager John Houlier was only home twice a year: once on his wife's birthday, and once on Christmas during his busiest period. He stayed at the hotel most of his time with the team.

England's head coach was the world's most highest paying coaching position, as well as the most elite in the eyes of many. In reality, many of England's coaches had been avoiding the position. Aside from the extraordinary pressure, England's head coach was busier than a club manager, and an England manager was almost as busy as a head of state. As a club manager, there could be some personal time every day if the person was good at time management. As an England manager, it was a 24-hour job.

Twain thought he was lucky. He had people like Dunn and Kerslake to help him with matters, so he could share some private moments with Shania. If he was the head coach, who had to handle everything, there might not even be time to flirt with Shania. Even so, when he was busy, Shania would retreat to a small corner of his life. He realized that he would sometimes neglect Shania. This was especially true when taking the team to play away from home or a week with two matches. In order to conveniently facilitate the management of the team and study tactics with his colleagues, he would stay in a hotel even if he was in Nottingham.

It would be good if Shania stayed busy. If she returned to Nottingham, the only thing waiting for her would be a big, deserted house with black paint.

At those times, he would be full of guilt. But, it was only guilt. He could not leave his job to spend time with his wife. He could not even make additional phone calls. The players needed to focus on the training ground and the game. The manager needed to consider 10 times more than that. As long as Twain was free, he would be always thinking about things like that. He was like a machine that functioned forever.

Sometimes, even with Shania, he would be absent-minded. It was not rare for her to be angry with him about it. It was impossible for a married couple to have no conflicts. Shania and Tony were both very rigid people. Regardless, in every quarrel, Twain always gave in to her. Once she got mad, he would immediately soften down.

He knew Shania was a sensible woman. She was usually unhappy because he gave her insufficient concern. His mind was always on football, but it had been like that since they met. Before their relationship was uncertain, she would be quietly jealous. Now, it was open envy.

Of course, he couldn't leave the job. He could only take the initiative to admit that he was wrong every time Shania was unhappy. As a gentleman, one should be able to have an open mind.

Van Nistelrooy's reason for retiring gave Twain a push, making him want to have that kind of life. Even he could be content under the blazing sun of summer. The seed of a life that required no worry and just being with his family was planted. He began to think very carefully about when he would choose to retire.

※※※

Shania waited at home for Twain. She was going to turn around and put the cold meals into the microwave to heat up, but she was hugged by him from behind instead.

”Hey, Tony?” Shania was able to feel Twain's nose coming and going around in her back. She was a little surprised by his sudden gesture of affection.

”Do you have any plans for the afternoon?” Twain asked as he buried his face in her shoulder.

”No, I do not,” Shania replied.

”Do you have anywhere you want to go?” Twain asked.

”What's wrong with you? I'm not angry about what happened just now.” Shania struggled gently, but she felt Twain hugging her with greater strength.

”Ruud is retiring,” Twain said as he smelled her hair. ”I advised him to stay but did not succeed. He said he wanted to spend more time with his family. I suddenly felt a little envious of him. So, where do you want to go?”

Shania let him rest on her shoulder and said, ”I don't want to go anywhere.”

Twain rolled his eyes. ”You said you weren't angry.”

”If you continue to hold me and not let me go and heat up the food, then I'll really get angry,” she replied.

Twain hurriedly loosened his hands, but he still sniffed with a little affection. ”There's an idiom in China that means looking at beautiful women will allow one to forget about hunger. Actually, I'm not hungry.”

”Gynophagia [1]?” Shania frowned. ”Ah! You're a pervert!”

Twain hurried to defend what he meant. ”Nonsense! I'm talking about xiusekecan of Oriental culture, not gynophagia! They mean two things!”

Even though he was married to her, he sometimes had an unstoppable sexual fantasy about Shania. In all the fantasies, he never fancied that he was going to cut her head and dismember her.

Shania looked at Tony, whose face had changed, and said with a laugh, ”Uncle Grey Wolf is hungry.”

She set the food aside and began to unbutton her shirt. Halfway through, Twain could already see the seductive rounded chest behind the thin shirt. With the sunlight coming in from behind the window, the hazy reflection was like two jelly cakes wrapped in a layer of cream. It seemed gentle touch would cause it to wobble.

Shania wasn't wearing a bra. Twain unwittingly swallowed a gasp.

She laughed even more when she saw him like that. She put her hands down. As though she were doing a catwalk, she sauntered toward Twain, who was standing at the kitchen door. She had a sexy and seductive smile, which also meant trouble.

When she walked up to Twain, she relaxed her arms around his neck and put her face close to his. Her eyes were covered with a layer of water vapor.

With a voice that sounded excessively sweet, like honey sprinkled onto butter cake, she murmured, ”How does Uncle Grey Wolf, who is excessively hungry, want to eat me?”

As Twain buried his face into her, his three last clear thoughts were, This type of life, on an afternoon, is too dirty! But, if I retire now, there would be a lot of such afternoons! Oh my God! It is really delicious…

[1] The word can also be translated literally in English as ”beauty dining,” but it is represented in the Chinese idiom ”beauty dining” as a whole different scenario. Chinese idioms say ”beauty dining” to praise women or beautiful scenery. In English, gynophagia literally means to ”eat a woman.” This is a kind of fetishism that often leads to sexual fantasies with violence and rape.