Chapter Three: Seven Minutes, Seventy Million

Lin could not hear the words, but saw Lu wave left. He pushed the ball outside, avoided the tackle, and chipped from an impossible angle. The ball crossed the goalkeeper and struck the inside of the far post. Two-two. Seven minutes. One goal, one assist. At the whistle, the whole ground spoke Lin's name for the first time. The boy ran to the advertising boards, then pointed toward Lu in the farthest corner rather than claiming the moment alone. Seventeen messages reached Lu in one minute. Redbridge asked whether the eight-million clause could be triggered immediately. A Premier League club offered two million for first-negotiation rights. Grant at Northport called six times, demanding to know why the sell-on share had changed hands.