The first half of the Bundesliga season, consisting of 17 rounds, had all concluded. On December 14th, Borussia Dortmund had just finished an away match, easily defeating Arminia Bielefeld 1-0.
Since the winter break followed immediately after the match, the Borussia Dortmund players were like office workers on their last day of the year; their minds were filled with thoughts of vacation, and their spirits had already drifted to the sunny beaches of the Mediterranean.
This match was played a bit too casually and effortlessly. Jin Hayes was also not satisfied with his own performance. After visiting Marco Reus's house a few days ago, his mind was filled with images of him embracing Anna.
Sometimes when he woke up in the morning, he might even need to change his underwear. Anna wasn't present at this away match, so Jin Hayes played with a bit of a lack of energy, and his dribbling and passing were quite casual.
His exceptional ball control could ensure that he didn't lose possession, but the threat created by his offense was much smaller, and Borussia Dortmund struggled to break through the opponent's goal.
With Jin Hayes misfiring, the entire team misfired as well, and they almost allowed the relegation-threatened team to take the lead. Fortunately, a weak team is just a weak team and failed to seize the opportunity.
Jin Hayes also came to his senses in the second half, rediscovering the joy of playing football. In the final stages, he continuously created threats and dribbled into the penalty area to win a penalty. Captain Sebastian Kehl scored the goal.
If it weren't for Jin Hayes saving the day, Borussia Dortmund's 12-game winning streak would have been snapped. Currently, the only teams in all of Europe maintaining a winning streak were Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.
Manchester United also had a 12-game winning streak, but they were about to face a congested Christmas schedule, and their streak could be ended at any time. Borussia Dortmund was expected to surpass Manchester United and become the team with the longest winning streak in the league for the 2008-2009 season.
In the dressing room, the teammates were even celebrating the victory; no one noticed the actual content of the match.
"Ole, Oleoleole! We're the champions, we're the champions!"
These guys actually had the nerve to sing?
"Wait, guys, what championship are we celebrating already?"
"Jin! You should get hyped too!" Nuri Şahin insisted on pulling Jin Hayes along to sing, dance, and celebrate. "We are the Winter Champions!!"
"Winter Champions!!!" The 16-year-old Mario Götze was also hyped, shouting in Jin Hayes's ear.
"I—... Sigh, forget it, there's no harm in getting hyped for a bit." If Jin Hayes just watched coldly from the sidelines, it would seem too aloof, so he simply joined the atmosphere and celebrated with everyone.
In his memory, the Winter Champion of the 2008-2009 season seemed to be Hoffenheim. Many Chinese fans had never heard of that name. A small village of 3,000 people had produced a Bundesliga Winter Champion, with the hope of achieving a triple jump and winning the top-flight title as a newly promoted team.
Unfortunately, Vedad Ibišević was injured and out for the season in the second half. Hoffenheim's effectiveness dropped significantly, and they eventually fell to the middle of the league. The Bundesliga title was later snatched by Wolfsburg.
"What a strange memory." Jin Hayes felt that the real world was drifting further and further away from the world in his "prophetic memories."
Under the influence of the butterfly effect, the two worlds had already split into completely different timelines.
In Jin Hayes's real-world timeline, Borussia Dortmund won the Winter Championship with an undefeated record of 15 wins and 2 draws, leading second-place Hoffenheim by 11 points.
Teams like Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim, and Bayer Leverkusen could hardly threaten Borussia Dortmund. With such a huge lead, it's inevitable for people to slack off. He only hoped that after the winter break, Jürgen Klopp would give them a proper talking-to. Jin Hayes could use his influence in the team to sternly remind his teammates. They would definitely listen to him.
However, that would inevitably be a bit uncomfortable. A group of guys in their twenties certainly wouldn't feel good being reminded by a 16-year-old. If they were all emotionless match machines, Jin Hayes wouldn't need to worry at all; he could just lead the team to crush everyone and take all the titles.
But that's not how it works.
Every teammate is a living person; everyone has their own desires and human weaknesses. Jin Hayes hoped they could realise the problem themselves and adjust as soon as possible.
Last Christmas, he had spent it at Arsène Wenger's house. As for this year—
"Dad! Mom!"
"Oh my god! You've grown taller! You've gotten quite tanned, and look at how you've trained, you're so sturdy." At Düsseldorf Airport, Chen Jianping and Ding Ru were extremely excited to see their son.
Before he left home to play football, Jin Hayes was still an ordinary middle school student in their impression—no different from any teenager in a school uniform seen on the street.
In just over a year, he had transformed from that kid into a tall and strong, athletic young man. Especially his eyes—having experienced many major football matches and gone through numerous trials, they had become resolute and sharp. He looked more like a competitor than a student.
"Good, good, good!" Chen Jianping didn't know how to start with his thousand words, so he just patted Jin Hayes's shoulder and marveled at his son's changes.
"Don't just stand here, let's go back and eat first."
"Is this the car you bought?" Ding Ru eyed the vehicle Jin Hayes had arrived in.
"It's a teammate's."
"You gave me a fright, I thought you bought such an expensive car... But since you're earning your own money now, buy what you want, don't mistreat yourself... If you want to drive a Porsche or a Ferrari, just buy one. If you don't have enough, ask us." Ding Ru didn't give Jin Hayes any space to speak at all.
He originally wanted to say that he had already bought a Lamborghini. He figured the impact might be too much for the two elders, so he'd let them experience it in a couple of days.
Coming to Düsseldorf Airport to pick them up today, considering they had been on a long flight and would be exhausted from the journey, the cramped space of the Lamborghini was clearly not suitable. Jin Hayes swapped with Mats Hummels and borrowed his Mercedes‑Benz G‑Class for a couple of days.
A 2008 Mercedes‑Benz G55 AMG—it had a rugged look and good driving comfort. Jin Hayes also wanted to get another off‑road vehicle and had already added the G‑Wagon to his shopping list.
Anyway, buying German cars in Germany wasn't expensive; the top trim only cost €165,000 on the road. With a 4.0T twin‑turbo V8 engine, it had strong power. And the interior and centre console already had a futuristic feel, not lagging behind cars from years later.
Hummels was thrilled; he had long been envious of Jin Hayes's Lamborghini Murciélago. During these two days of the car swap, he couldn't wait to go out for a drive every day. Only Nuri Şahin's eyes were full of resentment: "Why didn't you swap cars with me? Isn't my Audi R8 great?"
"Forget your convertible; it's too cold in winter, it's not convenient."
"Hello Uncle and Aunt, welcome to Germany!" In the driver's seat, the blonde, blue‑eyed young girl Anna warmly greeted the two elders in Chinese.
The Düsseldorf parking lot was too full; to save time, Jin Hayes went to pick them up himself while Anna drove to find a parking spot. After circling around and not finding a spot, she just happened to wait until Jin Hayes came out.
"Let me help you with your luggage." Anna enthusiastically got out to help Ding Ru arrange things, which caught Ding Ru completely off guard, and she hurriedly pulled Jin Hayes aside.
"What's the situation? Are you two really dating?" Ding Ru had already met Anna when she went to China last time. This time, she clearly felt that something was not quite right between Anna and Jin Hayes; there was definitely something going on with the way they were looking at each other.
"No, we haven't reached that step yet."
"Fine, anyway, we both support it. If you like her, be bold and pursue her."
"Okay, okay, okay, let's get in the car first."
It's about 70 kilometres from Düsseldorf to Dortmund, and it takes about an hour via the highway. Along the way, Chen Jianping sat in the passenger seat and chatted with Jin Hayes about the Bundesliga on and off. Ding Ru pulled Anna into the back row and whispered about who knows what. Anna's current Chinese vocabulary was already sufficient for normal communication.
Jin Hayes observed through the rearview mirror; Anna would occasionally giggle and then shyly lower her head. This made Jin Hayes a bit restless, his curiosity overflowing.
"Watch the road. We're just chatting, what are you looking at?" Ding Ru's maternal authority kept Jin Hayes from getting distracted, and he drove seriously back to Dortmund.
"Hello! We finally meet!" Hans and Maria were very happy to meet Jin Hayes's parents. The family stood at the door to formally welcome them, which made Chen Jianping and Ding Ru feel a bit overwhelmed by the hospitality.
"Oh my, we finally meet. I'm afraid we'll be bothering you during this visit."
"It's no trouble at all, we couldn't be happier. Please, come in."
"We brought some delicious food for you. Quick, Jin, help bring it in—"
"Oh, we're all family, no need to be so polite!"
Jin Hayes and Anna looked at each other; he suddenly felt like this scene wasn't in Germany, but back home. The Western Christmas unexpectedly had a hint of the New Year's vibe.
The style on the dining table was also a mix: there was Aunt Maria's specialty German crispy roasted pork knuckle, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and Bavarian sausages. There was also Cantonese roast meat brought from China: honey‑glazed char siu, roast goose, and white‑cut chicken.
On Christmas Eve, the two families sat together, clinking glasses, switching seamlessly between Chinese, English, and German, and chatting happily.
By the end of the drinks, Chen Jianping was tipsy and had his arm around Uncle Hans like they were brothers. Ding Ru and Maria washed dishes together while chatting about domestic matters. Frank pushed his grandfather's wheelchair out for a walk. Jin Hayes and Anna cleared the dining table together.
"I'll do this—"
"I'll do it, I'll do it!"
The two of them reached for the same plate at the same time, and Jin Hayes directly grabbed Anna's small hand. For a moment, Anna had a sense of what married life would be like. The young girl quickly shook her head to cast aside those messy thoughts.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Oh, by the way, what were you and my mom talking about in the car?" Anna remembered something, and her cheeks turned bright red again, though it wasn't very clear under the living room lights.
"Nothing, I'm not telling you, hmph." The blonde girl gave Jin Hayes a glance and nimbly slipped away, leaving him standing there blankly. It seemed the suspense would have to wait until a suitable time in the future to be revealed.
Previously, Jin Hayes had no feelings for Christmas or anything like that; he felt it was entirely a concept created to promote consumption. At least in China, the holiday had nothing to do with its religious origins; it was more about eating, giving gifts, and socialising, with everything eventually winding down at home. If future Christmases were all like today's setup, Jin Hayes would actually quite like this atmosphere.
"If Anna is by my side every year..."
At this moment, Jin Hayes suddenly realised something. Suppose he transferred to another club in the future, going to Spain or England. By then, Anna would have graduated from high school, entered university, and her modelling career would be more and more successful.
In that case, the two of them would inevitably live apart for long stretches, and there would no longer be these moments of spending time together day and night, going to school side‑by‑side, and being able to see each other every time they looked up.
At first, they might still be good friends. But as time passed, how long could this "more than friends" relationship last? What if she was pursued by others? What if they gradually drifted apart in the future? Could he accept that?
After clearing the table, Jin Hayes silently went to the swing in the backyard, brushed away the thin layer of snow on it, and sat down to feel the chill. At this moment, Jin Hayes already had an answer in his heart. He didn't hesitate to take out his phone, and after searching for a while, he found the number for the club's manager, Hans‑Joachim Watzke.
"Mr. Watzke, Merry Christmas Eve."
"…Thank you, I'm spending Christmas here, yes, with my family—"
"…By the way, I mainly have a request. I wonder if I could use the stadium on New Year's Eve… Yes, our home stadium."
"…Is that okay? Thank you, Mr. Watzke, I understand—"
"…Mm, we will. We'll definitely bring back a championship this season."
Step one of the plan, initiated.
"Jin, why are you here? I've been looking for you for a while." Accompanied by the crunching sound of snow underfoot, Anna's lazy and sweet voice sounded from behind.
"Are you on the phone with someone—?" Anna's expression suddenly became a bit strange.
"Don't misunderstand, I'm wishing the club boss a Merry Christmas; I'm not on the phone with any girl."
"Pfft, who's misunderstanding! You can talk to whoever you want, anyway, I have no reason to control you." Even though she said that, Anna's expression clearly relaxed a lot under the moonlight.
"Let's go, they want to play cards. Shall we join them?"
"Okay."
There were only six days left until his plan.