It ast two in the m when Gao Shen finally returned home from Fort Volturno to his house in the Bay Area of Naples.

  After the Juventus match, the team ied with the fans at the Stadio San Paolo and celebrated in the locker room. De Laurentiis and Marino also came by to gratute the pyers on their stunning 5-0 victory over Juventus and their advao the fourth round of the Coppa Italia.

  Uhe first three rounds, which were pyed within a week, the fourth round of the Coppa Italia would include the top eight Serie A teams from st season. The matches were scheduled for November, and the draw would take p the ing days, giving Napoli ample time to prepare.

  Now, the team's focus would shift to the uping Serie B season.

  With three secutive wins in the Coppa Italia and a stunning rout of Juventus, morale in the squad was at an all time high. Every pyer was fired up, determio push Napoli through Serie B and into Serie A as soon as possible.

  Even though the aftermath of the Calciopoli sdal had shaken Italian football, Serie A was still regarded as the world's top league. It was the dream of tless professional pyers to py in such a prestigious petition.

  Gao Shen leased to see the pyers aiming high for Serie A. He enced them to maintain this ambition and work towards their goal.

  Ohey returo Fort Volturno after the celebrations, the team was dismissed for the night.

  The first round of Serie B was scheduled for September 9, which gave the team two weeks to prepare. However, with the iional break in early September, a feoli pyers would be called up for their national teams or national youth teams. Most of them were in their early twenties and eligible for youth squads.

  Although the iional break would impact the team's training sessions, this was something Napoli would o get used to, especially as they aimed to bee a top club in Italy and Europe.

  For now, Gao Shen po give the pyers who weren't called up a little time to rest, allowing them up to two days off per week. But for the coag staff, there would be no break. As the Serie B season approached, the schedule would only get more intense.

  ...

  Both Gao Shen and the coag staff lived in the Bay Area of Naples.

  Many of them had brought their families, including Carlo, whose wife had moved with him to Italy.

  Gao Shen, however, lived alone. His assistant Lucas had retly started dating, so he decided to move out a his own pstead of tinuing to live with Gao Shen.

  This left Gao Shen to enjoy a luxury double-decker house on the hills overlooking the sea, plete with a small gardee its rge size and sic location, the rent was surprisingly affordable.

  Lucas and other members of the coag staff lived nearby, so Gao Shen could easily hitch a ride with them to work.

  After a quick shower at Fort Volturno, Gao Shen drove home, but despite being physically exhausted, his mind was still buzzing. He couldn't sleep.

  He ehe tactical library as usual, but his excitement made it difficult for him to focus. After a while, he gave up, grabbed his phone from the nightstand, and scrolled through his tacts.

  After some hesitation, he finally dialled a number bae in a.

  "Hello," came Su Qing's pleasant voi the other end of the line.

  "Hey, are you still awake?" Gao Shen asked.

  There was a brief pause before Su Qing responded with a lighthearted tone, "It's m in a, I'm having breakfast in the school cafeteria."

  Gao Shen paused, then smiled awkwardly.

  He had pletely fotten about the time difference.

  "Sorry, I was just too excited to pay attention to the time."

  "Yeah, I saw the news," Su Qing replied. "A lot of neers here are c it. I even heard some students in the cafeteria talking about the match. You guys pyed beautifully."

  She spoke in her usual calm, posed manner, as if nothing could truly excite her.

  "I just wao talk to someohat's all."

  "Well, I'm free now. Go ahead," Su Qing replied, still maintaining her calm tone.

  Gao Shen smiled bitterly, unsure of where to begin.

  "If you don't know what to say, just start with what's on your mind," she suggested.

  So, Gao Shen began talking about the game. He reted the victory, his thoughts on tactics, and his excitement about the future. Su Qing listetentively, even though she wasn't a football fan. She chimed in with brief responses, maintaining her usual air of distand posure.

  But Gao Shen found so speaking with her. He khat whatever he shared, Su Qing would listen and never judge him. She wouldn't ugh at his ambitions, even if they seemed unrealistic to others. She had always been supportive, ever sihey were young.

  "How about you?" Gao Shen asked, shifting the versation. "What's yoal?"

  "Me? Nothing special. I pn to stay in Beijing and take the civil service exam."

  "Why? Doesn't your dad want you to return home?"

  Su Qing paused for a moment before replying, "Doesn't your mom also want you to return home?"

  Gao Shen ughed.

  It seemed that Su Qing, like him, didn't want to follow the path their parents had pnned for them.

  "Why the civil service?"

  "Isn't it a good option?"

  "No, it's fine. I was just curious."

  "It's stable. And I like the challenge," she said simply.

  Stability and challewo seemingly tradictory cepts, yet Su Qing had found a way to recile them.

  The two tio chat, with Gao Shen doing most of the talking. Occasionally, Su Qing would share something about her life, but she was always brief. At one point, she mentiohat she was starting to get ied in football, and Gao Shen, of course, shamelessly enced her to watch more of his games.

  "You know, Football Manager is a great game. I think you'd like it," Gao Shen teased.

  After a long versation, Su Qing finally excused herself to attend her m css.

  ...

  Later that day, Su Qing was walking back to her dorm after lunch when she received a call from a delivery servibsp;

  The deliveryman said she had a package waiting for her downstairs, which fused her she hadn't ordered anythily.

  When she went down to pick it up, she found that it was a brand new, high-end ptop along with several football video games, including FIFA, Football Manager, and PES.

  The delivery was addressed to her dorm, and the name and phone number were hers.

  She didn't o guess who had sent it. A small smile appeared on her face.

  She had only casually mentioo Gao Shen that her old ptop had broken.

  ...

  ...

  Napoli sughtered Juventus 5-0!

  This was the headlihat domialy and much of the football world the day.

  No one could quite believe it.

  Yes, Juventus had been relegated to Serie B because of the Calciopoli sdal. Yes, they had sold more than €80 million worth of pyers. Yes, they weren't the same Juventus as before.

  But still, no one expected Juventus to be crushed 5-0 by a newly-promoted Serie B team.

  After the match, Deschamps faced harsh criticism for his poor tactid in-game decisions.

  Even Juventus sp director Alessio Secco voiced his displeasure in an interview with Turin Sports Daily, saying, "It's hard to believe this is the same team that won Serie A st season!"

  Although the title had been stripped, Juventus had topped the Serie A table st year, and Secco felt the pyers had failed to meet the standard expected of them.

  "Someone has to take responsibility for this fiasco!" Secco decred.

  Meanwhile, the media was full of praise fao Shen and his Napoli side.

  Despite the €16 million transfer iment, Napoli was still a newly-promoted Serie B team. Yet under Gao Shen's ma, they had pyed outstanding attag football, even against a weakened Juventus.

  Arrigo Sacchi, in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, praised Gao Shen's victory, saying, "Gao Shen has proven that his success at Real Madrid was no fluke."

  "I am looking forward to seeing him tih Napoli. I truly believe he lead them to Serie A this season. And I'm excited to see what he achieve once he gets them there!"

  In another article, La Gazzetta dello Sport ented oential impact of Gao Shen's success, asking, "Is Serie A ready fao Shen and his Napoli?"

  With Napoli advang to the fourth round of the Coppa Italia, they would soon fae of the top eight Serie A teams. Many of these teams would be strohan Juventus.

  Yet, La Gazzetta dello Sport remained optimistic, writing, "We might soon see Gao Shen and Napoli shake up the entire bance of power in Serie A."

  "Gao Shen and his Napoli are ing. Get ready!"