The angry Crystal Palace fans had become hysterical.
They could no longer tolerate the club's farcical behavior.
They began launching attacks on the management through the official website.
"I've said it before—this generation of management is useless! They're all spies trying to get us relegated!"
"The club is so poor now, even the cheerleaders have stopped asking for pay, and the management is still wasting money?"
"We signed some cast-off from Spain? A guy kicked out of La Masia? And he's some yellow-skinned Asian kid? Sixteen years old?"
"What? He's from China?! Why even bother stressing that he's half-Chinese? Still counts as Chinese! They only know how to play table tennis—can they even play football?"
"And this kid shamelessly wore the club's No. 10 jersey?! Oh my God, let it all burn down! See you in League One next season!"
Ten years ago, when Fan Zhiyi and Kain Jihai played for Crystal Palace, the fans still held some fondness for Chinese players.
But times had changed. Fans had come and gone.
This generation of Palace supporters, influenced by international media, held a very poor impression of Chinese football.
All their long-standing frustration over the team's poor performance had finally found a target.
They poured all their rage onto Kai and the club's management.
Some fans even found the chairman's phone number—but couldn't get through.
So they turned their fury to the coaching staff.
Late into the night, head coach Ian Holloway's phone was blowing up.
Holloway was stunned!
"Damn it! These brainless thugs! They've never seen Kai play and just assume we're buying players at random!"
"When they see Kai's performance against Norwich tomorrow, they'll be in for a big surprise!"
His wife rubbed her eyes and asked, "You really plan to let that kid bear this much pressure? He's only sixteen! The media is overwhelmingly negative. The fans are furious. What if he cracks under pressure? They'll eat him alive! It's just his first match—let him sit on the bench or not play at all. At least he'll be safe."
Holloway took a deep breath and nodded, furrowing his brow.
"Yeah... you're right. I'll talk to Kai tomorrow."
The next day.
Round 11 of the Championship.
Crystal Palace vs. Norwich at home.
Before the match, all of South London was abuzz!
After a whole night of online warfare, Crystal Palace fans were fired up and poured out of their homes.
They surged toward Selhurst Park.
Palace had been doing terribly this season, and ticket sales had been awful. Home attendance was abysmal.
But tonight...
Selhurst Park was packed!
No tickets to be found anywhere!
Nearly 30,000 seats were filled. The atmosphere was thunderous and chaotic!
The whole of South London was roaring with noise!
"Damn the management! They do nothing right!"
"If we actually get relegated, I'll come for your heads!"
"Do you think you deserve the eagle on our crest? You're a bunch of wingless hens!"
"Holloway! If you dare put that Chinese kid on the field, I'll burn your house down!"
"Chinese kid, get out of Selhurst!"
The fans were raging!
Dozens of media outlets swarmed the stadium.
London is England's largest city—any drama here draws a media storm.
The Guardian, The Kain, and FourFourTwo—reporters from all over came armed with cameras, snapping frantically.
All their lenses were trained on the players' tunnel!
The news that Palace had signed a 16-year-old Chinese player from La Masia had exploded after a full day of media frenzy.
It had become London's headline story!
"An Asian face returns to English football for the first time in ages!"
"La Masia reject dumped for €500,000—Palace bravely steps in!"
Every journalist in London was waiting for the starting lineup to be revealed.
Some fans even swore that if Kai's name appeared on the team sheet, they'd tear down Holloway's house!
"Just a 16-year-old kid! With all this chaos, he'll be scared to death and won't even dare to play!"
And just like that—Kai was famous.
He hadn't even played a single minute in the Championship, yet English hooligans already wanted to smash beer bottles over his head.
The team's form was crap. One foot in the relegation zone. The fans, filled with rage, were desperate for a scapegoat.
If Kai actually stepped onto the pitch tonight, and Palace lost again at home...
The consequences would be unimaginable.
All the suppressed fury of the fans would erupt—and Kai would be the first to suffer.
Inside the Crystal Palace locker room.
"Kai, you hear that noise outside? That's English football. You'll have to get used to it."
Holloway sighed and patted Kai on the shoulder.
"Because of the pressure, I'm planning to keep you on the bench... If it's still too much, I can even leave you out of the squad entirely."
The other players nodded in agreement.
Even Vaughan, desperate to score his first goal of the season, nodded silently. He had yet to find the net this campaign despite once being a rising English star.
Given the pressure on a 16-year-old rookie, it just wasn't worth forcing him out there.
Better to wait for the media storm to blow over.
Captain Patrick McCarthy was just about to go comfort Kai...
But to everyone's shock, Kai rejected it outright!
He stepped to the center of the locker room.
Scanning every player.
"I looked at the schedule."
"We're in the relegation zone. Our next opponents are all top teams!"
"Tonight it's Norwich, then Leeds United, Burnley, Swansea, and the league leaders—QPR!"
"Every one of them is strong. But we've got nowhere to run! If we lose two more, we're basically relegated!"
His voice echoed through the room.
Holloway was stunned!
He couldn't believe that a 16-year-old was giving his pre-match pep talk!
"I know the media out there is waiting for us to embarrass ourselves."
"Here at our own home ground!"
"And most of them are waiting to laugh at me!"
"They say I'm a Barca reject? Sold off for €500,000?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Strength is the best response to doubt!"
"I want to start!"
Kai's words were firm and unwavering!
His voice reverberated through the locker room!
He had no fear of challenges!
Even if he was about to face the fiercest football hooligans England could throw at him—
He stood tall!
The locker room fell silent—then erupted!
Kai's words had lit a fire in the hearts of every Palace player!
They were filled with renewed determination!
Captain McCarthy's eyes shone. He strode over and said:
"Kai, lead us! Like the eagle on our crest—let's soar into the sky!"
Holloway and assistant coach Millen exchanged amazed looks, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
Vaughan immediately stepped forward, clapping a hand on Kai's shoulder.
"Do what you've got to do. If any fan on the stands insults you, I'll kick the ball straight at his face!"
Kai grinned and shook his head.
"Forget that. I'd rather you kick the ball into the opponent's net! We have to win tonight!"
A few minutes later.
Crystal Palace's starting lineup was announced.
Selhurst Park—and all the media outlets present—exploded.
An unprecedentedly heated Championship match swept through every corner of London!
Tonight, something extraordinary was destined to happen.