Sports Weekly: Yichen suspected of taking banned substances; reportedly taken away for investigation by the Bundesliga Committee.
European Football News Flash: Yichen was taken away by Bundesliga officials in uniform at 6 PM local time in Germany for an investigation into alleged doping. Doubts arise about Yichen's actual abilities!
Daily Goal: The 17-year-old Chinese sensation Yichen, who recently scored 12 goals in four consecutive Bundesliga games, tying with Huntelaar at the top of the scoring charts, is under investigation by the Bundesliga Committee for possible use of performance-enhancing drugs. Stay tuned for detailed coverage!
These media outlets, known for their collaboration with the football association, have entered full "all it takes is a photo; the rest is made up" mode.
The involvement of more reputable sports outlets caused many fans to turn against Yichen.
"I knew it! How could a Chinese player score so many goals in the Bundesliga?"
"Hey, Yichen's skills were never that great. I've followed him for two yearsâhe couldn't even make it into Manchester United's U18 matches. Now he's suddenly dominating in Bundesliga matches? Probably overusing his body with drugs!"
"Is he on Viagra or something?"
"Come on, Viagra is just for one area; he's clearly on something for the whole body!"
"No wonder he's already dating at 17. By the way, his girlfriend is stunning!"
"I used to think Dilireba was beautiful, but now Lina is my true love. Count me as a Lina fan!"
Fans are easily swayed, just as Liang Kailai said: once the seed of doubt is planted, their imaginations run wild.
Meanwhile, abroad, Yichen was casually watching a match at home. Earlier, Schalke 04's game had ended, with them defeating Leverkusen away. Thanks to Huntelaar's brace, he regained the top scorer positionâjointly with Yichen.
Yichen previously had nine goals, and after a hat trick, he now stood at 12.
Before kickoff, Bayern Munich players appeared confident. Apart from their narrow 1-0 defeat to Mönchengladbach in the opening match, they hadn't lost a single game since, including a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League and a 2-0 away victory against Villarreal.
But this time, the German giants faced trouble!
In the 23rd minute, Cherundolo's through ball to Abdul Rave resulted in a clinical finish, beating Neuer to give Hannover a 1-0 lead at home!
In the 28th minute, Bayern's main center-back Boateng was shown a straight red for a reckless tackle. Bayern was down to 10 men!
Despite trailing in both score and numbers, Bayern held Hannover 96 from scoring further.
At halftime, Yichen was munching on fruit sliced by Lina and casually chatting, "Do you think Bayern will lose?"
"Why not? Hannover isn't a weak team!" Lina replied confidently. "Do you know the score when Hannover played Dortmund?"
Yichen shook his head. "I wasn't here then."
"Hannover beat Dortmund 2-1!" Lina said, raising two slender fingers. "That was in the fifth round. After that, Dortmund fell to 11th in the league. Many media and pundits criticized Klopp's style, calling it overly aggressive and unsustainable, even shortening players' careers!"
Yichen looked at her in surprise. "How do you know so much about the Bundesliga?"
Lina chuckled, "Since you play in Dortmund, it's only natural for me to learn about it as your partner!"
Yichen gave her a thumbs up, but just then, his phone rang. To his surprise, it was Li Xinran.
Li Xinran rarely called himâin fact, she never had before. Usually, she'd wait at the training grounds for interviews.
"Hello, Li Reporter. What's the matter?" Yichen asked.
"Did you recently take a urine test with the Bundesliga Committee?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Someone leaked a photo of it online. While it's not a big deal, domestic media have taken it out of context, claiming you were investigated for doping!" Li Xinran explained directly. "Even some major sports outlets are reporting it!"
"Aren't they worried about ruining their credibility?"
"They're just quoting other sources while guiding public opinion. Check the screenshots I sent on WeChat. Also... I had no part in this despite my outlet's report."
"Got it. Let's talk later."
Yichen didn't blame Li Xinran; after all, she was just an employee.
"Wait!" she interrupted. "About my question at the press conferenceâI apologize. I shouldn't have asked that."
"It's fine. My response reflected my stance," Yichen replied nonchalantly. Life is shortâthere's no point in overthinking everything.
After hanging up, Yichen opened WeChat to find screenshots of several news stories.
Tsk tsk...
Their choice of words was impeccable. Phrases like "suspected" and "allegedly" littered the reports, skillfully steering public perception.
The intent? To make fans believe Yichen really used banned substances.
Checking Weibo, Yichen found his name trending at #1ânot for his hat trick, but for the doping allegations.
This was undoubtedly a PR crisis. But was Yichen panicking? Not at all!
"What happened?" Lina asked, sensing his unusual calm.
"Nothing much. I refused to join the football association, so they're smearing me," Yichen chuckled, genuinely unfazed.
He opened his system panel to check his die-hard fan count.
Tsk tsk... it was dropping instead of rising. The graph clearly showed a decline in popularity.
Many had already unfollowed him!
So, what now? Yichen logged into Weibo and posted:
"I heard I've been investigated for doping by the Bundesliga Committee? Looking for a way to clear my name. Online now, very urgent!"
The post instantly went viral.
"What? Investigated and still posting on Weibo?"
"Tell us what happened! We need answers!"
"Did you use performance-enhancing drugs or not?"
"Clearly, he's trying to deny it! This post is just damage control!"
"Just come back and play in the Chinese Super League. Stop embarrassing us abroad!"