Chapter 602: The Kiss
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After he had the breakfast made by Shania, Tony Twain sat on the couch and read the major newspapers that had just been published. In addition to giving some attention to the terrible stuff that his dear news media friends said about him, he also wanted to see if there was any amusing gossip he could also learn about every aspect of this society. After all, he was a Chinese man in his previous life and was still quite unfamiliar to capitalist society.
Besides, deep down, he wanted to see if there was any news about that man. He skimmed through the society edition and flipped to the sports section.
The draw between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea did not cause the Forest team to pull away from the first two teams, which was one reason that Twain could still laugh after the game. Since Manchester United and a.r.s.enal had tied game with 2:2, Twain’s point gap was still one point away from the two teams — a.r.s.enal and Manchester United both had thirty points. With the rankings temporarily based on the number of goals scored, a.r.s.enal was in the top spot and Manchester United was in the second. Nottingham Forest temporarily ranked third with twenty-nine points. At twenty-six points each, Manchester City and Liverpool were in fourth and fifth, respectively, while Mourinho’s Chelsea — poor Chelsea, who were forced to a tie with the Forest team in the last moments of the game — now had twenty-five points and ranked sixth.
Seeing the newly announced league points table in the papers, Twain knew Mourinho’s days would be even harder, but perhaps Mourinho still had time to adjust and save his coaching career at Chelsea. Twain did not care if he could not save it.
It was the first day after the game and the team had a vacation, so they did not have to do any training. The players and coaches had a whole day to rest. After that, the players a.s.signed to national teams would fly to various places and join their national team teammates. For those without any national team a.s.signments, they would return to the Wilford training base for their daily training. As the Forest team would be missing a large number of its main players, the team would not carry out any combined tactical practice and would mainly do physical recovery training.
During that time, Twain’s job was usually simple, as most of the things were the responsibility of the a.s.sistant managers, but Twain would look busier because Dunn was going back to his country for two days.
Nottingham Forest and the television station in Hunan, China, as well as a number of media and sports finance companies were working together on the football youth talent show, which had entered the final training stage. According to the cooperation agreement signed between the two sides, Nottingham Forest needed to send a coach to China for a short inspection and guidance. It was not for a long time, only four days, but Twain might have forgotten the matter if Dunn had not brought it up.
After the agreement was signed, he threw that cooperation or something aside. He basically did not remember any of it in the meantime. Therefore, when he heard Dunn said he was going home, Twain stared as if Dunn was joking with him.
Dunn spent a lot of energy to make Twain understand that he was not joking. He was really following the requirements of the contract to return home to fulfill the contract. Twain muttered again about why it had to be him and not any other coach. Dunn said, “because I am Chinese, and the event is held in China,” which shut Twain up.
It was true that there was no better candidate than Dunn. Evan and Allan wanted to fully demonstrate Nottingham Forest’s sincerity in its partic.i.p.ation in the cooperation, so the club’s top executives demanded that they send someone with adequate coaching standards and qualifications to China. Being Chinese, Dunn was naturally the best candidate. There was no one with a better understanding of the current state of Chinese football and understood the Chinese football youth. At least, that was how it looked to outsiders.
Twain was reading the newspapers when the doorbell rang. He was about to get up and open the door when he heard the sound of hasty footsteps. Shania trotted out of the kitchen, wearing an ap.r.o.n, and did not even had time to dry her hands. She opened the door and cried, “Brother Dunn!”
“Good morning, Shania. Is Tony…” Outside the door, Dunn saw Twain, who appeared behind Shania.
Twain noticed a suitcase by Dunn’s feet.
“Getting ready to leave?”
Dunn nodded. “This flight is this afternoon.”
“The flight is in the afternoon and it’s only morning, you don’t have to be so…” Twain moved his head to the side and saw a black cab parked on the side of the road behind Dunn, with a familiar face in the back window. He snorted. “I was going to say I’d send you off, but it appears there’s no need to.”
Dunn knew who Twain saw and nodded. “She’s coming back with me.”
Twain nodded to show that he understood.
“I will not say much, just take care of yourself and come back early.” Twain smiled. “Maybe you’ll bring a Chinese talent back with you?” Twain smiled more. “A table tennis genius?”
Dunn did not respond to his sarcastic remark. He picked up his suitcase and bade goodbye to the two people standing at the door, before he turned to walk toward the cab. Inside the cab, Tang Jing smiled and waved goodbye to Twain, but Twain pretended not to see it.
Closing the door, Shania asked Twain, “you don’t want Dunn to go, Uncle Tony?”
“Of course. With him away, I’m going to have to do a lot of trivial things. And those things are the ones I hate the most.” Twain shrugged and went back to the living room to continue reading his newspapers.
Shania looked at his back and smiled. “Good, you can get some exercise!”
Sitting on the couch, Twain did not look back and just asked, “you have been very free lately. Don’t you have any jobs?”
“My jobs are concentrated during the Christmas period. There’s plenty of time to rest now.”
Twain laid on the couch and stretched his back. “Never have I ever seen such a laid back professional model like you.”
Shania, who was not in a hurry to return to the kitchen, smiled slightly as she sat down and replied, “this time next year, I won’t have so much free time.”
“Why is that?”
“Mr. Fasal has arranged some jobs for me which have nothing to do with the runway shows.”
“Are you going to be in some television commercials?”
“No, a movie.” There was no trace of joy in Shania’s voice.
Twain sat up on the couch and looked at Shania, who sat in a chair and asked, “Why do I feel like you don’t sound very happy? I should congratulate you on…”
“It’s just a background character that doesn’t even have a line. What’s there to congratulate?”
Twain smiled. “So you’re unhappy because you’re not the lead character. There are no natural-born leading characters in the world. All those big movie stars started out in minor roles without any lines. I remember you enjoy watching movies very much.”
Shania nodded. “Yes, I like movies, so I want to try acting. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have promised to do that kind of work…”
Twain cleared his throat. “You keep rejecting the work that Mr. Fasal arranges for you, which makes things difficult for Mr. Faisal, Shania.”
Shania shrugged her shoulders and pouted without saying anything.
Twain looked at Shania’s unhappy face with her head bowed. He thought for a moment and suddenly recalled a person. The last time he saw that person, she had said she went to Hollywood to be a producer. Perhaps she could help?
Since it was something Shania liked, he should help her. Although the s...o...b..siness was messy all over the world, if anyone dared to bully Shania, he would make whoever it was pay for it.
Moreover, if that person did do well in Hollywood, it would not be difficult for her to take care of Shania, would it?
Twain heard a faint sound of water splattering from the kitchen, and he pointed to it. Shania also reacted. She had come out in a hurry to open the door and forgot to turn off the water. With a scream, Shania jumped up and ran back to the kitchen.
Twain went upstairs. He was going to call this friend and ask her for a favor.
※※※
“Tony?” Clarice Gloria was surprised to hear Twain’s voice. “You haven’t called me for so long; I thought you’d forgotten about me!”
Twain could clearly feel the enthusiasm in this voice, even across the phone and the entire Atlantic Ocean. He just mumbled in reply. He was really busy with his work and was negligent in contacting her. But perhaps there was another reason: he was a little afraid of facing Gloria’s enthusiasm.
“I’ve been really busy with work… I’m so sorry, Clarice. How are you doing in America? I haven’t heard from you much either.”
Clarice smiled. “I read your latest gossip, Tony. You’ll always be a popular man with the sports media. What about that Turkish beauty?”
Twain coughed twice. “There are all kinds of scenarios one faces in life…”
Clarice laughed on the other end of the line, and when her laughter subsided, she said, “you must have called me about something, right?”
Twain liked to interact with this smart person. There were some things he did not have, and the other person would understand, which saved a lot of ha.s.sle.
“Well… It’s like this…” Twain told Clarice about Shania and conveyed what he had thought. Then he waited quietly for her reply.
It was silent on the other end for a while before Gloria suddenly asked, “Tony, tell me, what’s your relations.h.i.+p with Shania?”
Twain was stumped by the question, and then he said, “how do I put it? Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say I’m her guardian in the UK?” When Shania moved here, her parents did communicate with Twain. Their words revealed the hope that Twain would take good care of Shania, make her happy, and supervise her.
“That’s it…” There was another silence and it was slightly longer this time, which made Twain think that the call was interrupted.
“Well, if she were to come here to develop her career, I’d do everything I can to take care of her.” Gloria said what Twain most wanted to hear, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Twain was not a person who liked to ask another person for a favor. He felt that it was not good to owe others and for others to owe him. He was used to solving his own problems. That was true both before and after his transmigration. It was just that as a football manager, he really could not help with Shania’s matter.
“Thank you so much, Clarice. I… Well, how can I thank you…” Twain really did not know how to repay her.
Gloria laughed again. “I think that to be able to hear the incorrigible Tony Twain thank me so carefully with such a gentle tone, is a good reward in itself. That is something that not everyone can encounter.”
Twain scratched his head and chuckled.
“You’re my friend, and what concerns my friend is naturally my business.” Gloria showed her capable and experienced side and was forthright, rather like the chivalrous heroes in Chinese martial arts novels. “You don’t need to thank me, Tony. Besides, I just made some inquiries and received some news that may be of some help to you and Shania.”
Did she make some inquiries during the previous two periods of silence? Twain admired the woman’s style of doing things. He seldom admired women because he was a little chauvinistic, but Clarice Gloria really impressed him.
“The film Shania had her debut role in was by the studio… United Artists.” To anyone who was in the film industry, they would be familiar with the name and they would be amazed. However, Twain was a shut-in who did not know anything but football, so he was completely unresponsive as he waited for Gloria to continue.
Gloria thought of Twain’s personality and smiled. “It is a very influential production company in Hollywood. It was first founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, D.W. Griffith and other famous Hollywood figures in 1919 in conjunction with the MGM film company.” After she listed the names of so many famous people in the film industry, Twain finally understood the status of this company, but what did that have to do with Shania? Those people were ancient history.
Gloria knew Twain would not know the marvel behind it, and she patiently continued, “A year ago, the company changed hands, and their new executive is Tom Cruise. Do you recall anything, Tony?”
When the familiar name was mentioned, Twain immediately reacted. “Tom Cruise? Isn’t he best friends with David Beckham?”
Gloria’s voice came from the other end of the line. “Correct. You can use that relations.h.i.+p to formally introduce Shania to Tom Cruise. It will be of great help not only in the film, but for her future development in Hollywood.”
That information was really useful to both Twain and Shania. Twain once again sincerely thanked Gloria, and warmly invited her to England. After the two said goodbye, he hung up the phone and walked downstairs.
Shania had finished tidying up in the kitchen and was curled up on the couch. She held the Totoro pillow as she watched a movie. Twain recalled that Shania had indeed been watching more movies than usual recently. Perhaps she was pondering on how to act?
Although it was only a background character, she took it very seriously…
With that in mind, Twain felt that he did the right thing to ask Gloria for help.
Shania did not like modeling, but she liked movies. If she could be an accomplished actress, it would be also very good!
Twain sat next to Shania with a smile and looked at her.
Shania thought that Uncle Tony was a little strange. She took her eyes off the television screen and moved her gaze to Twain’s face. “What are you so happy about, Uncle Tony?”
“Well…” Twain thought about it and decided to be direct. “I’m going to introduce someone to you. Since you like movies so much, I think you’ll be interested.”
“Who?”
“The Hollywood superstar, Tom Cruise!” Twain gestured for a moment, and announced in an excited tone, “he’s David Beckham’s best friend. I can go to David and ask him to introduce you. So, when you’re growing your career over at Hollywood, you’ll have one more friend. Isn’t it nice?”
After Twain finished saying excitedly, he found that Shania looked at him with a somewhat strange expression. She was not as happy as he had imagined. “What’s the matter, Shania?”
“Uncle Tony…” Shania cleared her throat, “Your meeting with David and his wife, was I not the one who introduced you to them?”
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
“They knew me before they met you. Victoria and I have a good relations.h.i.+p, so… I met Tom before I introduced you to them. The acting that role I got this time was obtained with Tom’s help…”
Twain’s mouth was agape as if he had just heard a marvelous story. Then he reacted and muttered with some chagrin, “so that means what I did just now was useless?”
Looking at Twain’s dejected look, Shania smiled. She got up from the couch, knelt behind Twain, and put her arms around his neck. Twain could feel two soft mounds against his back, and he was suddenly a little nervous.
“This is to thank Uncle Tony,” Shania said softly and kissed Twain on the cheek.
After the kiss, Shania let go of Twain, jumped off the couch, and stretched her back. “You reminded me, Uncle Tony. When there’s a chance, I have to introduce my friend to you. Do you like watching the Mission: Impossible movies?”
Twain answered in a daze. He was still reliving the kiss. It was warm, wet, and sweet… Even though the kiss was only on his cheek, it was still wonderful.
In the moment when Shania’s lips were on him, he could feel his heart stopping beating. His heart suddenly contracted.
That was the closest contact he had with Shania since they started living together. He seemed to hear something deep in his heart break and make a “crack” sound. He did not know whether the sound was a good thing or a bad thing.
By the time he came back to himself, Shania had gone upstairs. Twain sat alone on the couch in the living room. He slowly reached up with his hand to place it on the side of his cheek, which had just been kissed by Shania, and gently rubbed it.
Shania was no longer that child who laid in his arms, soft and defenseless as she was tormented by a high fever and covered in sweat.
He lifted his other hand and buried his face deep in them.