Chapter 350 A Surprise on the Training Ground, a Heartwarming Gift

The outcome of this season's Champions League had already been decided, at least in Cao Baiming's opinion. Striding with confidence, Cao Baiming returned to the pitch and walked through the corridor. In the distance, familiar figures began to appear. He was a bit late today, but it didn't matter; only a minute had passed. However, it seemed only Arteta was visible in the distance. Where were the others? Usually, his teammates would have arrived by now, especially the most dedicated ones, who would be on the pitch at least half an hour early. But today, not a soul was in sight. Something was wrong; this definitely wasn't right. Cao Baiming frowned slightly. As he walked, the place seemed much quieter than usual. He saw Arteta engrossed in a white notebook, presumably his tactical log, where he often jotted down game plans. Driven by curiosity, Cao Baiming quickened his pace towards Arteta's retreating figure. He wondered if he had forgotten about rest today, or if yesterday was the training day. That couldn't be right either; what was the head coach doing standing there? Just as he was getting close, Arteta seemed to hear footsteps behind him and suddenly turned around. "Why is no one here for training today?" Cao Baiming asked directly, skipping the pleasantries. In an instant, Arteta's expression revealed everything. The moment he turned, Cao Baiming understood. "Surprise!!" From behind, numerous teammates suddenly burst out from somewhere. Messi, Henry, Vieira, and White, walking at the back, were pushing a small trolley together. On it was a massive seven-tiered birthday cake, adorned with countless candles! Although it was daytime, the stadium corridor was rather dim, yet the candlelight burned brightly! "Ah, you guys!" Cao Baiming had to admit, he hadn't expected this at all. Amidst the cheers and laughter, he noticed the two doors at the back. For this birthday surprise, they must have been hiding in the rooms on the left and right, waiting for the opportune moment. "Thank you, but..." Everyone eagerly awaited Cao Baiming's speech, expecting him to express his emotions. "It's not my birthday today!!" Arteta also chimed in. "The cake can't be without me," Henry added. He had just arrived by plane that morning and was immediately added to a strange group chat, realizing that all this was planned on the fly this morning. "We know it's not your birthday, but that's what makes it a surprise! Giving a gift on your actual birthday is expected!" Henry stood at the forefront, taking on the burden of explanation! As he spoke, everyone around him burst into applause. Come to think of it, his words made a lot of sense. Fine, then! Cao Baiming smiled, expressing his gratitude. "Thank you all, this is truly a surprise, I never saw it coming!" "No, no, don't be so polite, we won't recognize you!" "What are we waiting for? There's no training this morning! Let's eat!" Looking at the seven-tiered cake, piled high with cream and chocolate, he wondered about the sheer amount of sugar, calories, and fat! A glance at the head coach showed no intention of stopping them. "Don't worry, the nutritionist has been temporarily fired for today, eat up!" With that, Arteta took the first slice. Everyone swarmed forward, each offering a birthday wish. Although there was a gathering planned for tomorrow night, it didn't diminish the significance of celebrating today with such gusto, and remarkably, no one in the team was holding back. The match a week later was against Nottingham Forest. Given the record and outcome against Chelsea in the previous match, playing against this team was a piece of cake, and there was no need to worry about their twenty-game unbeaten streak ending here. As of now, Nottingham Forest was ranked eleventh in the league, somewhere in the middle. Their goals conceded ranked third fewest among all teams, but everyone knew that after the next match, they wouldn't even crack the top ten. Look at Chelsea now; their goals conceded had dropped to tenth place, a shift from first to tenth in just one game. Arsenal was remarkably efficient at ensuring opponents didn't concede enough goals! There was no need to worry about getting too carried away and losing form in the next match; even the coaching staff would be attending the birthday party tomorrow night. In fact, it seemed more important than the game itself! The assistant brought everyone cutlery. Although the cake was enormous, it didn't seem like so much when divided among twenty to thirty people. Never underestimate human eating speed, especially when there are many people involved. Within minutes, only a base remained on the table, with a few blueberries and chocolate chips. Ødegaard simply picked them up with his hands. That was too fast. These people, who seemed so soft on the pitch, were now ruthless when it came to food; no one showed any restraint. This was a rare opportunity; the team would never normally allow such high-calorie food to be consumed in such quantities, a serious breach of discipline. The nutritionist would have exploded if they were present. It was just past nine-thirty, and the cake was already gone. Arteta let out a satisfied burp. Since the words had been spoken, there was no training in the morning, and it wasn't suitable for strenuous activity right after eating so much. They had no choice but to arrange for everyone to rest. During this time, Cao Baiming wasn't idle either. He collected his salary for the day, totaling four hundred million, which wasn't as good as yesterday; it was over a hundred and seventy million less. However, at this rate, if he continued to do this for a few minutes each day, he would soon become the richest man in the world, wouldn't he? In his naive youth, he thought earning money was difficult. He never expected that earning money would be the easiest thing in the world. Just then, a warm sensation came from behind. It was Messi leaning on his back, playing on his phone. "I don't even get this tired during training, I just want to sleep after eating!" Messi said, looking at his phone. Cao Baiming didn't turn around but imagined how cute Messi must look at that moment. "You ate enough for three people just now, so it's not surprising you want to sleep! Eating too much makes you tired," Ødegaard, who was nearby, suddenly exclaimed. "What, what? He ate three slices? I only ate two!" Cao Baiming chuckled helplessly. "It's my birthday surprise, you know? I only had one slice myself, sigh!" "Stop arguing."