Christmas is the most important festival of the year in the UK, so no matter how frugal everyone usually is, at this time the whole family has to rush into the mall to buy, Christmas trees are a must for every family, and also prepare Christmas gifts for children and friends. At this time, the store is full of discounted goods, which makes people dizzy and confused. Shops in the UK enter the peak season a month before Christmas, but the real ** is just before Christmas Eve.

In the afternoon, the sky darkened early, and there was a drizzle in the air, and the weather forecast for this afternoon was only -8 degrees Celsius, but this did not stop people from shopping. Shops large and small in Nottingham's business district are brightly lit, and all shops advertise discounts to attract more customers. As he walked down the streets, he often saw people passing by with a full load, and I was worried about them as they swayed through the crowd with almost half-height packages. He went from house to shop, shopping mall to mall, enjoying the festive atmosphere, it was his first Christmas in England! And this atmosphere reminds him of the Chinese New Year.

The laughter of strangers rang out around him, and their faces were filled with excited smiles, carrying large and small shopping bags, and they walked past him in pairs of threes and threes. No matter how many unhappy things have happened in the past year, it will pass.

Before he knew it, he was walking around for an hour, and his hands were still empty. Because he really didn't know what to buy for Sophia and Wood.

Don is not good at picking gifts, and if he can, he would rather give money directly.

Wood's football equipment is provided by the club, and there is no need for him to give away a pair of sneakers. As for Sophia...... Thinking of the name, Don didn't know exactly how he felt about that woman. The initial sympathy for the weak gradually faded, and another feeling gradually formed in my heart.

In the end, Don chose a red wool scarf for Sophia, and bought nothing for Wood, because he already knew what to give.

Just after six o'clock in the afternoon, when Venus at the top of the Christmas tree in downtown was lit up, Randy. James' black cab pulled up in front of Wood's house. "www.xstxt.orgerry_christmas" was playing on the radio in the car, and in the cheerful children's voices, Don took out three wrapped gifts from his arms and gave them to Randy's driver, who had been with him for a year.

"Merry Christmas, Randy. Thank you for driving me around this year, now take the car back to your family. This is a gift for you. Seeing Randy take the present, Don opened the door to get out of the car.

"Wait, Tony." Randy stopped him again, "I've got one for you too...... Well, you're a coach, and you're definitely making more than me, and I don't know what to give you, so I'll just have a greeting card. He pulled out the card inside the envelope and handed it to Donne. Merry Christmas, Tony. Have a nice evening. Call me again when you're going home. He made a phone gesture and restarted the car.

Don watched Randy leave, then lowered his head to open the folded card. As expected, there is also a passage above.

"Tony, thank you for not choosing to leave the forest in the summer. I know you were having a hard time and there were a lot of teams inviting you, so I was worried that you would go, but I can't say anything for your personal sake. Well, now you're here, and you're back. Two wins in a row! Bring us more victories, Tony! We love you! Merry Christmas! ”

Donn smiled and shook his head slightly. Brits are always used to expressing their emotions in a restrained way, whether they are happy or sad, and it is no wonder that they are so enthusiastic about football, because it is only on the football field that they can fully vent their inner emotions. Randy is one such quintessential Englishman.

He looked up and looked around the streets, and the biggest difference was from when he first arrived—the "Merry Christmas" slogan was spray-painted on the windows of every house, some houses had a string of colored lights on the walls, and inflatable snowmen were placed in the doorways...... No matter how hard and difficult it is to live in ordinary times, you must not be cold during the holidays. Although it's a slum in Nottingham, the festive atmosphere is no less than the bustling business district in the city centre.

Donn looked up at the window of Wood's house, the curtains were drawn, and orange-yellow light was leaking through it. Don thought of Sophia and Wood, who lived here and depended on each other, even on such a rainy night, it still warmed people's hearts.

Knocking on the door of Wood's house, Donn saw George with his sleeves rolled. Wood, apparently he's helping his mom.

"Ah, I came just in time. Can I help you? Don asked.

Wood nodded, "Yes." ”

Sophia, who overheard their conversation upstairs, exclaimed, "No! Mr. Donn, just sit and rest! Hearing her panting, Don laughed, and replied in the same voice, "Don't be reckless, ma'am! I'll cook Chinese food for you, and I'm new to it, haha! ”

※※※After a lot of busyness, it wasn't until after 8 o'clock in the evening that the three of them sat around the table and ate this Christmas Eve dinner.

In the corner of the narrow living-dining room-dining room-kitchen, there is a small Christmas tree full of lights and greeting cards. Ribbons are also drawn diagonally on the ceiling, and an old-fashioned candlestick is placed in the center of the dining table, on which white candles are lit and inserted. Looking at the sumptuous meal, Don felt like a Chinese Chinese New Year's Eve meal, and the family was happy together...... It's just that he and Wood are not family.

Before eating, Sophia also went back to the bedroom to change into her best winter clothes, and re-touched the makeup that had been lost due to the barbecue turkey. The hair is no longer coiled, but shawls down, black like a waterfall in the light. Don felt that the woman seemed to be radiant again. Compared with the first time they met, Sophia is like a different person, and the diseases in her body have been driven away.

When Don saw Sophia's affectionate eyes and slightly shy smile in the candlelight, he thought he already knew what had made such a big difference in Sophia...... Feeling Sophia's hot eyes, Don turned his head away a little embarrassed, just in time to see the gift he had placed under the Christmas tree when he entered. So I simply took the opportunity to get up and get the present.

"Merry Christmas, ma'am. This is for you. He gave Sophia the wrapped scarf.

"It's beautiful...... How do you know I like red, Mr. Donn? Sophia unpacked it, took out the red scarf from it, and exclaimed.

No way? Such a coincidence? Don was a little stunned. "Uh...... Sometimes, men's instincts are quite accurate. That's all he can explain.

Sophia happily tied her scarf around her neck and ran back to her bedroom to look in the mirror.

Taking advantage of this, Don looked at Wood opposite, Wood was also looking at him, no one spoke, and there was some embarrassment between the two...... After a while, Wood finally spoke, "My mother has a gift for you, and if you don't want it, I won't spare you." He lowered his voice, obviously not wanting his mother in the back room to hear it.

Don smiled: "Of course I won't refuse, why should I refuse?" ”

Hearing him say this, a smile also appeared on Wood's face.

"George, it looks like you're doing well in the youth team." Tang En cared about him by the way. "Now how many minutes does Coach Krislak give you per game?"

"Just played the whole game." Wood replied.

"How do you think you're doing?"

"Good." Not contrived at all, Wood's voice did not rise or fall as he said this, and it was as if such a performance was taken for granted.

Don nodded, not saying anything more. At this moment, Sophia came out of the bedroom with a box in her hand, and the scarf around her neck was gone, apparently carefully put away by her.

"This is a gift for you, Mr. Donn. Merry Christmas to you too! ”

"Thank you, ma'am." Don took it and opened the box to see that it was also a scarf! It's just white.

"I saw that you didn't seem to have a scarf, so I made one myself. Because I didn't know how old it was, I took George as a model. Sophia turned to look at her son and chuckled. At first, he thought I was calling him. Even said no. ”

He gently rubbed the hand-knitted scarf without a store-sold label, and felt the warmth just by putting his hand on it. In fact, it is not that he does not have a scarf, but he does not have the habit of wearing a scarf in winter. But maybe from today onwards, he'll have to get into the same habit.

Looking at Wood, who was a little embarrassed, Donn laughed. "George, I'm sorry I didn't bring you a gift today. When I get back from Norwich, you go to the office and look for me. ”

Wood nodded, but didn't ask anything. This disappointed Donn, and he planned to ask Wood to ask "why" before revealing the mystery.

"Uh...... There are two Carabao Cup semi-finals after the winter break and we are missing a midfielder. I'm going to move you to the first team and, if you do well, stay and sign a new contract...... This time it's a professional contract for the first team. ”

Wood didn't have any expression on his face, and Sophia next to him screamed in surprise. "Is it true, Mr. Donn?"

Donn nodded, "Your son is about to become a real pro, ma'am." ”

It was only then that Wood finally understood what had happened, and he looked at the smiling man across from him with some surprise. Donn liked Wood's expression so much that he smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, George." ”

(To be continued)