Amid the cheers, the Liverpool players stepped forward to receive their Champions League winners' medals.
Captain Henderson took the big-eared Champions League trophy and walked to the center of the presentation stage to the roar of the entire stadium!
Leo Lin wrapped an arm around Henderson and motioned downward with both hands. Then, as Henderson lifted the trophy high, the Stade de France exploded!
Jon Champion sat in the commentary booth pumping his fist in excitement.
"And now, Liverpool fans everywhere can say it out loud once again!"
"Li! Ver! Pool!"
"Are! Cham! Pions!"
"Liverpool have reached the summit of Europe!"
"They are the biggest winners in world football this season!"
Amid the frenzy and the spray of champagne, Liverpool were champions once again!
As golden confetti drifted through the air, Leo Lin looked up at the sky. He could see the future clearly, and he could see the road ahead.
He knew he only had to keep moving forward. Everything was only just beginning!
Next would come the World Cup, the great celebration that belongs to the whole world once every four years!
But before that, Leo Lin planned to rest properly, because he knew what awaited him next was Liverpool's quadruple winners' parade!
And the end of season celebration at Anfield!
After the trophy presentation, the players flew back to Liverpool.
That night, they all went home to rest. Two days later, Liverpool would head to Anfield for the season celebration, and from there begin their quadruple winners' parade!
When the plane landed in Liverpool, the whole city turned out. Liverpool fans had gathered outside the airport in huge numbers to welcome their heroes home!
The players were exhausted to the limit. With the official celebration set to be held at Anfield two days later, they only stayed at the airport briefly to avoid a major crush or disturbance, then quickly returned home to rest.
Leo Lin first went to the club to have his arm fully treated, then called his parents to tell them he was fine and share the joy with them, before heading with Barnett to a restaurant to celebrate.
Delores and Maria were both there. After a lavish meal, the four of them returned to Leo Lin's home and began a pleasant break together.
After battling through an exhausting season, the wonderful off-season had finally arrived.
Leo Lin and Maria were still just friends. Even though the two had grown much closer, Maria still stayed in her own room at Leo Lin's home.
The most important thing in the off-season was rest. The next most important thing was income.
Barnett knew that now Leo Lin had just become a quadruple winner, a flood of offers was bound to come.
That very night, a number of offers quickly landed in front of Barnett, and after carefully weighing them up, one stood out above the rest.
He was certain this brand would do nothing to hurt Leo Lin's image. Saint Laurent from France.
Saint Laurent was a French luxury brand. Its original designer, Saint Laurent, began working in luxury fashion design in 1957 and was hailed as a genius of design.
With his advanced and avant-garde ideas, Saint Laurent created a huge number of timeless masterpieces.
Later, for special reasons, Saint Laurent left Dior and, a few years afterward, officially founded the Saint Laurent brand together with his partner.
Saint Laurent mainly dealt in fashion, especially womenswear. Because the brand had always focused its target audience on women, countless women had happily emptied their wallets for its products.
But now Saint Laurent wanted to expand its market. They had set their sights on part of the male market, mainly young men who loved sports and favored a bright, sunny, stylish look.
So Saint Laurent was seeking an endorsement deal, and they had fixed their attention on Leo Lin, a newly crowned quadruple winner and a global sensation, the perfect choice.
After watching Leo Lin's performances on the pitch, his post-match interviews, and everything else that followed, Saint Laurent's chairman and current chief designer felt this guy had been born to endorse Saint Laurent's men's line.
So much so that the following afternoon, when the two sides met at the negotiating table, Saint Laurent's top executive Francesco Belediri made no effort to hide how much he liked Leo Lin.
He knew behaving like that might drive Leo Lin's asking price higher, but he still could not hold it in. They had come with enormous sincerity.
So when Francesco put forward an offer of 2.8 million pounds per year, he was confident the deal would be done on the spot.
But Barnett, sitting across from him, reacted as if he had been bitten by a snake and shot to his feet.
If Leo Lin had not stopped him, Barnett might have climbed right onto the table.
"How much?" Barnett laughed.
"2.8 million pounds?"
"Who exactly are you trying to fool?"
"What are you doing? We're all grown men here. You come in with a number like that, how are we supposed to keep talking?"
"Do you really think this is still half a season ago, when Leo Lin had nothing to his name?"
Francesco was dumbfounded. He had never seen Barnett behave so dramatically at the negotiating table.
Was this really the Devil Barnett of legend, the one who was said to sit in silence and kill his negotiating opponents with nothing but a look?
Barnett had recently decided to change his negotiating style, because Leo Lin was now a quadruple winner, and that gave him even more confidence.
No matter who he negotiated with, Barnett felt more assured than ever. He knew perfectly well that the initiative would always stay in his hands.
"I won't waste words with you, Francesco. I know you want to break into the men's market, starting with sunglasses and perfume!"
"And if you want to compete with other brands, like Guerlain, Bolon, and the rest, then you need someone who can quickly make up for the disadvantage of entering this field late."
"And Lin is your obvious choice."
"Look across the whole football world. The ones better than him are not as handsome, and the ones more handsome than him do not exist."
"Ahem." Leo Lin nearly burst out laughing.
"This is the most talked about young player in football right now. Bright, handsome, with an eight-pack and a great ass. When he walks down the street, beautiful women keep turning their heads to stare at him."
"As soon as Lin becomes your ambassador, countless fans will follow his example. That is brand power, and Lin has exactly that kind of pull."
Francesco was left reeling by Barnett's pitch.
Seeing that his barrage had already stunned Francesco into a daze, Barnett immediately threw out his own price.
"Remember this. A quadruple winner must be priced like a quadruple winner, so I want an offer worthy of Lin's value as a quadruple winner."
"Five million pounds per year. Two year deal."
Hearing that demand, Francesco fell into deep hesitation.
But Barnett's next sentence wiped out his doubts completely.
"Don't hesitate, Francesco. Do you know what's coming next?"
"Liverpool's world-shaking quadruple winners' parade, the upcoming World Cup, and then the new player valuations that will be announced after the World Cup final."
"To be honest, I think Lin is going to become the youngest hundred-million-pound man in football history."
"The attention from the quadruple, plus the parade, plus the new valuation announcement, plus the possibility that Lin helps Spain win the World Cup."
"His global reach will skyrocket!" Barnett stared straight at Francesco.
"Francesco, by then, as long as people around the world know Lin, who won't know Saint Laurent?"
"You're really worried you won't earn back this endorsement fee?"
Everything that followed came naturally.
Forget Francesco. Even Leo Lin wanted to sign himself on the spot.
Damn!
Who the hell would hesitate?
Just hearing it sounded like a guaranteed profit!
Guaranteed profit!
They had to get this done!
Miss this chance and it would be gone!
An opportunity like this would not come twice!