章節 8: Chapter 8: Borrowing Your Lap for a Moment
"Mr. Harris, you sure know how to keep things hidden!" Yang Huan teased as he looked at the chubby Englishman with a smile.
"Go on, what's the name of your team?"
"Southampton!" Cash Harris smiled awkwardly. "Actually, to be precise, this team hasn't been officially put up for sale, but I've come to know that the consortium behind it does have the intention to sell."
After pausing for a moment, Cash Harris stared at Yang Huan and added with a grin, "And speaking of which, the consortium behind Southampton has deep ties with China." He figured this rich kid from China seemed to have a strong sense of national pride, so he played into it.
"Oh?" Yang Huan was indeed intrigued. "Tell me more."
Cash Harris immediately delivered the speech he had prepared.
"The consortium behind Southampton is the Swiss Liebherr family. It was this Liebherr family that went to China years ago to invest, forming a joint venture that led to the creation of the now-famous Haier Group."
Yang Huan chuckled after hearing this. It was a roundabout way to create a connection with China, but he liked it.
"Last summer, Southampton fell into a financial crisis. With the help of Swiss banker Nicola Cortese, Markus Liebherr eventually spent £13 million to buy the club, which had been relegated to League One, the third tier of English football. However, Southampton was docked 10 points due to financial issues."
"If it weren't for those 10 points, Southampton would be in the promotion playoff zone right now and would still have a chance of being promoted to the Championship."
Yang Huan remained noncommittal, thinking to himself, "Blaming the 10-point deduction for not being promoted? Is that really an excuse?"
If you were told at the beginning of the season that you'd be docked 10 points, and you still couldn't get promoted in the end, it just means the club's management and coaching staff are incompetent.
This season's League One had been quite eventful. Leeds United and Millwall had been promoted, while Wimbledon, which had been renamed Milton Keynes after the Crazy Gang era, Leyton Orient, Charlton, and other clubs around the London area were still competing. Milton Keynes, in particular, was located in one of the wealthiest regions of the UK.
Compared to these teams, Southampton was indeed a valuable asset.
If Yang Huan remembered correctly, future international stars like Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers, Lallana, Lambert, and Schneiderlin, who would later be snatched up by big clubs for hefty fees, were all currently in this team.
And Southampton had another advantage: they were authorized to scout young players from Wales. That's why Gareth Bale had joined Southampton in the first place.
Seeing Yang Huan deep in thought, Cash Harris knew he was seriously considering the offer, so he quickly continued his pitch.
"Markus Liebherr had long suffered from heart disease, and he recently passed away. His daughter, Katharina Liebherr, inherited his £3 billion fortune, including Southampton, a club she has no interest in."
At this point, Cash Harris shifted his tone. "But there have always been rumors that Markus Liebherr, before his death, had hoped for the current chairman, Nicola Cortese, to take control of the club. This is something Katharina couldn't accept, so she's considering selling the team to get some cash, since she has no interest in investing in football."
Yang Huan listened intently. He found this very reasonable. If you can't keep control of something, it's better to sell it.
It seemed this Katharina had a few traits typical of the rich second generation.
"How much are they asking for?" Yang Huan asked casually, not wanting to show too much interest, even though he did think that buying Southampton now was a great opportunity.
A fantastic deal, in fact.
"We don't know for sure yet," Cash Harris shook his head. "But it probably won't be less than what they paid for it a year ago."
A year ago, the Liebherr family bought Southampton for £13 million. They had actually gotten quite a bargain. Under normal circumstances, Southampton would be worth over £20 million.
Leaving everything else aside, just for their century-old youth academy program—the Saints—it was worth the price!
"Mr. Harris, a year ago, they were relegated from the Championship to League One. Everyone thought they would be promoted back to the Championship within a year, but a year later, they're still in League One. From an investment perspective, their value has depreciated!"
Zhang Ning, who had been silent up to this point, finally spoke, bluntly refuting Cash Harris's words.
Promotion is something you have to seize immediately. Right after relegation, you have the best chance, the strength, and the financial resources to go back up. But if a team lingers too long in the lower leagues, its financial revenue dwindles, the quality of players drops, and eventually, the hope of promotion becomes more and more distant.
Just look at Charlton, another traditional English team, now also stuck in League One.
Yang Huan and Zhang Ning had already discussed this on the plane. One would play the good guy, and the other the bad guy. Zhang Ning naturally had to take on the role of the antagonist, while Yang Huan would step in as the peacemaker.
Faced with Zhang Ning's blunt criticism, Cash Harris could only respond with a bitter smile. He had no way to refute it.
It was the truth.
"Cash, we're friends, but I like my business dealings to be clear and straightforward," Yang Huan stepped in again to ease the tension.
"How about this: I'll authorize you to represent me in negotiations with Katharina Liebherr. If you manage to get the price down to below £20 million, I'll give you a £1 million consultancy fee. If you can get it down to £15 million, I'll add another £1 million. And I'll only authorize your firm for this deal."
Cash Harris was stunned. A £15 million purchase price with a £2 million consultancy fee? That was a huge percentage!
To put it in perspective, when Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, the total consultancy fee was only £1 million, and that was for a £140 million acquisition.
Two million pounds would be a substantial sum for Seymour Pierce, given that they weren't exactly a major investment bank. Especially in the current economic crisis, that kind of money would be a nice windfall.
"Besides, after acquiring a football team, there will always be player transfers, right? You'll need to buy and sell players, and that's all within their business scope. Of course, they're not agents; they just handle the financial transactions and investment side of things."
Cash Harris was indeed shocked by the terms Yang Huan proposed but was also convinced.
"Alright, Young Master Yang, I'll do everything I can to make this deal happen."
"Good!" Yang Huan was pleased with his attitude. He wasn't afraid of Harris being greedy; on the contrary, he hoped he would be greedy, the greedier, the better.
As long as Harris wanted money, he would go all out to get the job done.
"But, Cash, I want an answer by July 20th, which is in three days."
…
After sending Cash Harris off, Yang Huan instructed Zhang Ning and Sun Yue to look deeper into the situation at Southampton. Meanwhile, he snuck back to his room, took a nice long shower, and walked out wrapped in a towel.
When he came out, he saw Zhang Ning sitting on one of the twin beds in the room, with her long legs resting on a laptop. Her face flushed all the way to her ears when she saw Yang Huan emerge, looking incredibly adorable and bashful.
Yang Huan's heart skipped a beat. This woman was truly beautiful. Every time he looked at her, it felt like he discovered something new and captivating about her.
He walked over to the bed and reached out to take the laptop away. As he did, he noticed Zhang Ning's body tremble slightly. The way she bit her lip so gently made her seem vulnerable, and he couldn't resist reaching out to smooth her dark hair away from her forehead.
His fingers lightly trailed down from her forehead to her soft, jade-like cheek. Zhang Ning lifted her head slightly, her eyes glistening with uncertainty and a hint of redness. She was trying hard to keep her composure, but in that moment, she was breathtaking—so beautiful it was almost heart-stopping.
"Mind if I borrow your lap for a bit?" Yang Huan lay down on the bed without waiting for an answer, resting his head on Zhang Ning's legs. His head was positioned right in front of her face, and he just lay there, gazing at her.
Zhang Ning didn't dare meet his eyes and pretended to look elsewhere.
Neither of them knew how long it had been when Yang Huan suddenly asked, "Have you ever liked anyone before?"
"Ah?" Zhang Ning's response was flustered.
"It's okay. Whether you have or haven't, it doesn't matter!" Yang Huan laughed. "What matters is, from now on, this young master likes you, and from now on, you can only like me."
"How arrogant!" Zhang Ning retorted angrily.
Yang Huan burst out laughing. He enjoyed their playful bickering.
"Arrogant, huh? Don't you think you've changed a lot over the past few days?"
Before Zhang Ning could respond, Yang Huan continued speaking. "That night when I first saw you, you were like a delicate, frightened little bird. Sure, you were beautiful, but you were too much like Lin Daiyu. I didn't like it. By comparison, I much prefer the current you. At least now you seem more confident."
Zhang Ning couldn't help but ask herself, "Have I really become more confident?"
If it were true, where did her confidence come from?
Could it be... from him?
"Don't worry, I've told you before—I may be playful, but I'm not sleazy. I like you, so I'll do everything I can to make you like me too. I just don't believe that if we spend all day, every day together, even eating and sleeping side by side, you could possibly like someone else!"
This was likely Young Master Yang Huan's signature flirting technique—the ultimate method of persistence.
Zhang Ning looked helpless. She hadn't expected things to develop this way.
She didn't exactly like Yang Huan, but she didn't dislike him either. The more she interacted with him, the more she felt that Yang Huan was a complete mystery, a puzzle she couldn't help but want to unravel.
"Oh, by the way, I want to invest in something myself. Help me buy as much of something called Bitcoin as possible."
"Bitcoin?" Zhang Ning had never heard of it before. What was that?
"It's a type of electronic currency. It's already becoming popular in the U.S. Buy as much as you can, but keep it low-key."
Zhang Ning was baffled. Electronic currency? Does something like that even exist? What's the point of buying it?
While she was filled with questions, ready to ask Yang Huan for an explanation, she realized that the young master, who was resting his head on her lap, had fallen asleep. That wouldn't have been a problem, except his right hand was now resting on the inside of her thigh, warm and burning to the touch.
Even though it wasn't exactly in a sensitive area, and there was still a layer of clothing between them, she couldn't help but feel something.
At that moment, she had the urge to pull him up and kick him to death.
But as the saying goes, it's impossible to wake someone who's pretending to sleep—especially when that person is a sly wolf using the opportunity to take advantage of a beautiful woman.
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