Godfather Of Champions

1Evan Doughty currently did not know how he should feel. Did he hope that Wood's mother would remain in a coma or smoothly regain consciousness? He told Wood to wait for his mother to wake up first and then talk about retirement. If Sophia woke up, the matter would be on the agenda. What should he do at that time? Would he agree to Wood's request for retirement? Stop kidding! He was only 32 years old and without reservations, he was the core of Nottingham Forest. If he were to retire, what would they do?!     0

There was another thing that angered him. The Arabs suddenly slowed down the progress of the negotiations.     

What made him even angrier was that this matter had to do with Wood!     

George Wood's sudden absence from the team overshadowed the team's prospect. Somehow, these Arab scoundrels obtained the information that said Wood might retire, so they would need to reconsider their bid for Nottingham Forest if that were the case.     

Allan Adams was also very frustrated with this. He thought it was simply a ploy by the Arabs. They were looking for any excuse to keep the offer low and try to buy Nottingham Forest at bottom price. Otherwise, how could one player influence the price of a football club?     

If the Arabs were to use this excuse to push down the price, Evan Doughty would not accept it. When they first went to this Arab consortium, it was because their prospective partners had the money and could afford to fork it out big time. They did not expect that the more they talked, the less money there would be...     

Now Evan Doughty prayed for God to save him from this.     

　　※※※     

There were far fewer reporters outside Wilford than usual. Everyone knew the reason why – it was clearly worth paying more attention to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University than staying here. Even the players training here were absent-minded. Physically, they were on the training ground, but their minds were in the hospital. George had not appeared in public for two days. No one knew what was going on with him. People like Gareth Bale and Aaron Mitchell, who were usually close to him, were a little distracted during training due to this matter.     

McAllister took it all in and was anxious in his heart. He had already warned his players not to put their focus on areas other than football and set their minds at ease to prepare for the next game. However, his words were useless, and the players' minds wandered as before. They knew that their next game was to challenge the strong team of Liverpool at Anfield, which was not an easy-going opponent. Anfield was not a stadium that could be conquered if their minds were elsewhere. If the team's focus were not on the game, what would be facing him as a manager?     

McAllister was afraid to think further.     

"After the training, I'm going to the hospital to visit George and his mother," Bale told Mitchell during a break in the training as he looked at him.     

Mitchell certainly knew what that meant, and he replied, "I'll go with you."     

Bale heard his answer and smiled. However, the smile only flashed across his face and was replaced with a different look. Bale looked around and motioned to Mitchell to bend down. He leaned close to his ear and said, "I heard that George might retire..."     

"What?!" Mitchell cried out in surprise. He could hardly believe his ears. He saw Bale's gesture to him, asking him to lower his voice. He quickly suppressed the shock he felt and whispered, "Where did you hear it?"     

"There was a rumor coming out of the hospital that someone had overheard George talking to his agent... It's just a rumor. I don't know if it's true or false." Bale saw that Mitchell seemed completely disinterested to continue training and wanted to leave the training ground immediately. Therefore, he hurriedly said a few words to set his mind at rest.     

Hearing that it was a rumor, Mitchell calmed down somewhat. "I don't believe it... The captain is not that kind of person. Besides, he's only thirty-two years old. How can he retire?"     

In fact, Bale only managed to placate Mitchell but did not succeed in calming himself. Inwardly, he was constantly worried that George would retire just like that.     

When they saw Freddy Eastwood calling the players back to the training ground to continue training, Bale patted Mitchell on the shoulder and soothed him as well as he could by saying, "Don't think too much. We'll go to the hospital after training and find out."     

　　※※※     

It was quiet in the ward. Only the sound of the medical equipment at work could be heard. George Wood waited by his mother's bedside. He gently held her hand and refused to let go. Vivian was at the side, recording the various data that appeared on the equipment to gather it into a report for the doctors so that they could determine upon the treatment. George's agent, Billy Woox, was outside, figuring out how to deal with the increasingly impatient media. He did not know how the news has leaked. Some of the media outlets actually guessed that Wood wanted to retire. A lot of excitement was generated all of a sudden and twice as many reporters came to sniff around today as yesterday. If these reporters were to swarm in, the hospital would not be able to carry out the day-to-day work.     

Vivian stole glances at Wood sitting in front of the hospital bed while she recorded the data on the equipment. She had already learned of the latest rumors from the newspapers, which claimed that he was retiring. She was not a hardcore fan, but as a Nottingham native, she still had an understanding of football. At the peak of the Forest team's most glorious period, a grand parade would be held in the city at the end of the season to celebrate another championship title that the Forest team had won. Besides, the hospital she worked for had a partnership with the English Football Association. How could she not know anything about football?     

Was he really going to retire?     

Vivian looked Wood and thought about it.     

Wood noticed that someone was peeking at him. He looked up and met Vivian's eye. The startled Vivian hurriedly averted her gaze and turned to look at the equipment screen. She took a pen and scribbled something in the notebook, pretending to record data. How could she actually have the presence of mind to work?     

Wood could feel that someone was peering at him, and she could also feel that Wood did not look away immediately.     

It felt like an hour had passed, when in fact only a minute had gone by according to the clock on the wall. Vivian felt that Wood had taken his eyes off her and was secretly relieved. Once she relaxed, she felt strange. When she and Wood were looking at each other outside the ward before, she was not nervous or afraid at all. So why would she feel a great pressure now when he was watching her closely? It was like he was a lion, and she herself was just helpless prey before it...     

After recording the data, Vivian should have gone straight out because her work was done. However, she said to Wood, "Mr. Wood, you'd better take a break first."     

Wood looked up again and regarded Vivian, who did not evade his gaze this time. She also looked straight at him.     

Wood did not agree to her suggestion, but he said, "Thank you."     

Vivian knew she could not persuade the stubborn man. From what she had seen and heard working here these past two days, there might only be one person in the world who could make Wood listen obediently, but she was in a coma in the hospital bed. Perhaps no one else could persuade Wood to change his mind once he had already decided, even if it was just a small matter of taking a break.     

Vivian sighed softly and turned to walk toward the door of the ward. She and Wood did not really know each other. Their first encounter was less than two days ago. She really was not in any position to be overly concerned about Wood.     

As she opened the door of the room outside the ward, she saw two men walking towards her from the end of the corridor. One of them, whom she recognized, was Mr. Billy Woox, and the other person he was with was also somewhat familiar. She could not recall who he was just then.     

"Mr. Woox." Vivian stepped aside from the door and greeted Wood's agent, who she had grown familiar with from these couple of days.     

"Miss Miller. How's George's mother today?" Woox stopped to speak to Vivian.     

"She hasn't woken up yet, but her vitals are stabilizing," Vivian answered Woox's question, and then glanced at the man next to him. She thought the man looked familiar, but she could not recall where she had seen him before.     

How could Woox miss seeing the direction of her glance? He simply pointed to the quiet man next to him and introduced him. "Mr. Tony Twain. I think you must have heard the name, so I will say no more." He smiled.     

The name was famous. How could Vivian not have heard of it? Just four months ago, he had led the England team to win the World Cup, and then announced his retirement, disappearing from the public eye. She did not expect...     

Vivian rushed to greet the legendary figure of English football. "Hello, Mr. Twain. I'm Vivian Miller, the nurse in charge of taking care of Ms. Sophia."     

She reached her hand out to Twain in an easy manner. Twain shook her hand while he stared into her eyes. Such a look was not polite, but Twain had always been like this. He was taking the opportunity to observe the other person. The eyes were the window to the soul. One could discern many things from looking into them.     

When Twain let go of her hand, he also shifted his gaze away.     

Vivian was secretly relieved. The feeling of being stared at was almost the same as being watched by Wood just now, and it all made her feel pressured.     

Woox naturally did not notice what had just happened in the exchange of glances. He informed Twain, "Miss Miller is a very responsible nurse. Both Wood and I feel reassured with her taking care of Sophia."     

Twain nodded and said, "Thank you for taking care of Wood's mother, Miss Miller."     

Vivian smiled back in reply. "This is my job, Mr. Twain, no thanks needed."     

The three people did not chat further. After thanking Vivian, Twain and Woox went into the ward, while Vivian closed the door and left.     

However, as she was leaving, she suddenly remembered that it was a well-established fact that Twain and Wood had a good relationship. Perhaps he could persuade Wood to change his mind? Since Mr. Woox appeared here with him, it was obvious that he had asked Mr. Twain to come.     

　　※※※     

As Twain entered the room, Wood clearly heard someone come in, but he did not look back. Apparently, his focus was on his mother.     

When Woox saw that Wood appeared to care about nothing but his mother, he planned to make some sound to remind him that he had a visitor. However, he was interrupted by Twain reaching out. On the way, Woox had already briefed him on Wood's current state, but seeing was believing. At the first sight of Wood's back, Twain realized that it was going to be tricky this time.     

Twain stood behind Wood and said nothing. Woox did the same until Wood felt something was wrong. He remembered that someone had just gone out and people had come in, so he turned around...     

When he saw Twain standing in front of him, he could hardly believe his eyes and a look of surprise showed on his face.     

Twain, who saw Wood's face as well, was heartbroken when he saw his old friend looking thin and pallid. Twain had no doubt that Sophia was Wood's everything. What he saw just confirmed this fact once again. It made him feel bad. His feelings for Wood were complex. It was not simply a relationship between a coach and a player, or a master and disciple relationship developed when he had taken Wood off the streets to nurture and cultivate his talents. It was hard to describe that complex relationship.     

"How many hours have you slept in total these two days?" Twain asked the moment he opened his mouth.     

"I... Five hours... I think." In the face of Twain, who suddenly appeared in front of him, Wood's mind was a little unresponsive and he even stammered a little.     

"Go get some rest." Twain's tone left no room for argument.     

Wood seemed to be getting out of his daze. He shook his head and said, "No, I want to stay with my mother."     

"Be reasonable, George. When your mother wakes up, do you want to let her see your haggard-looking face? Your unkempt beard, sunken eyes, messy hair, your entire body giving off an odor that no body spray can take away? Did you come straight from the training ground? You haven't had a shower, have you? Are you trying to knock your mother out again?"     

Watching the show on the side, Woox had to admit that Twain was better at talking glibly than he was. In addition, his special relationship with Wood allowed him to speak so brazenly without fear of facing a backlash. He himself could not do so...     

Twain's words hit the nail on the head. He just had to refer to Wood's most vulnerable spot – his mother. He dared not take the risk of causing her distress.     

Wood was still hesitant, but his stance had loosened a lot, so Twain drove home another point.     

"What are you still doing here? Go take a shower and have a good sleep. Then when your mother wakes up, let her see a healthy you. Do you want Sophia to worry about you in the hospital bed? George, do you know how many years your mother has been worried about you?"     

The last sentence touched Wood's heart. He was not ungrateful. He certainly knew that his mother had always worried about him. When he was young, she would worry that he would be as weak and sickly as she was, so she would be reluctant to eat nutritious and good food herself and would let him have it all. Growing up, she worried that he would become bad like those scumbags in the slums, that he would take drugs, go whoring and get into fights, and eventually be sent to prison. Consequently, she would rather work as a prostitute to make money to send him to school and let him receive an education so that he could find a decent job in the future. Later, when he finally became a professional player and started making a lot of money, Wood thought his mother could finally stop worrying about him because he was an adult, but he did not expect that she would begin to worry about his marriage prospects. She was worried that he could not find a girlfriend...     

Wood got up from his chair and said, "I'm going to take a shower."     

It was a VIP ward. The patient's room was inside with a visitor's room outside, as well as a sleeping area for a caregiver complete with a restroom with a shower in it, satellite television, telephone, Internet and other facilities. Wood rushed into the bathroom outside, and soon the sound of running water came from within.     

"It looks like I was right to call you," Woox laughed.     

Twain did not answer him. Wood had given up his seat by the hospital bed, so Twain walked over to sit down.     

He looked at the face of the woman lying in the hospital bed.     

He still remembered how he had seen this face for the first time.     

At that time in Sneinton, everything he saw was grey. Grey walls, grey roofs, grey skies. Everyone's faces were grey, like on black-and-white television. The first color that shone into his eyes and heart was Sophia, the only light source in that small, dark room. She was the only color in the dark grey world.     

At that time, he stared at her and was lost to the world.     

Now he was just as preoccupied.     

The colors of the past were gradually fading away, and that light that once lit up the whole room was slowly waning. With her eyes closed, she lay quietly in bed and her complexion was ash-colored. Her face was wan and sallow compared to the last time Twain had seen her. Countless tubes and wires connected her body to the cold equipment. He was unable to feel any emotion.     

Twain gazed blankly at Sophia, lying in the hospital bed, and was lost in past memories. Those things had been many years ago. He thought he had long forgotten them. He did not expect that at this moment the memories would re-surface from the bottom of his heart.     

He had given her a violet dress that made her gasp in pleasant surprise.     

To protect her from Collymore's philandering, he even confronted Collymore, who was then the first team manager, in the heavy rain.     

And that night of ambiguity, the two of them with their thoughts wandering in the room as they waited for George Wood, who was out, to come home...     

In the time that had passed, did the moment of affection for her disappear from his heart?     

As Twain was lost in his thoughts, heard Woox suddenly cry out behind him, "Madam!"     

He snapped out of his reverie in an instant. When his eyes refocused, he saw Sophia opening her eyes and gazing at him.     

"I'm so glad to see you, Mr. Twain..."     

It was heart-wrenching to hear her voice so weak.