Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Is Deng Kai the Gambling Tycoon?
The Benfica executives who had suffered from the Ronaldo controversy seized the opportunity to kick him when he was down, "First there was Andoya, and now Chris. If one person is bad, it’s a human problem, but when a whole group of people are bad, it’s clearly an issue with the place they’re from."
"I suggest the Football Association take a good look into Sporting Lisbon. Who knows? They might uncover some major issues."
Following this, news updates kept coming. Ronaldo was pointed at by thousands, standing on the opposite side of the media-manufactured public opinion for the first time in his life.
Even as Deng Kai kept telling Ronaldo there would be no problems, Ronaldo’s mental state was still on the verge of collapse.
Ronaldo’s mother also rushed over from Madeira Island and stayed at Deng Kai’s house to accompany Ronaldo.
Some troublemakers wanted to come to Deng Kai’s house to threaten Ronaldo, but the superiority of the Chinese community in this regard became evident.
The vast majority of them were stopped outside the community.
That’s also why Ronaldo and his mother stayed at Deng Kai’s house.
...
"Sporting Lisbon’s rising star Chris suspected of involvement in football betting!"
"Sporting Lisbon’s official statement expresses intent to deal seriously with Chris!"
"Another Andoya? Chris has ruined his life!"
"If Chris is involved in football betting, what about his best friend Deng Kai?"
"Ironclad evidence! Eyewitness claims to have seen Deng Kai dining with the Ronaldo brothers!"
"Eyewitness: They were arguing at the time, mentioning something about winning and losing. I think they were discussing football betting."
"Case closed! Photos in! Deng Kai also implicated!"
"Fan: As a die-hard fan of Sporting Lisbon, I’m heartbroken. Chris and Deng Kai have let us down."
"Jiang Yunzhu: Could Benfica fans please stop pretending to be Sporting Lisbon fans for the interviews? Damn it, I’ve seen you multiple times when interviewing at Benfica’s die-hard stands! Yes, I’m talking to you, the shameless fatso!"
In Jiang Yunzhu’s column for Record Report: "In the police’s publication of unlicensed gambling establishment information, the complete records of Chris’s brother Hugo buying football bets are clearly visible."
"The match he bet heavily on was Sporting Lisbon’s European battle against Feyenoord, the very game everyone identified as the football betting incident."
"However, he bet on Sporting Lisbon to lose, and for as few goals as possible to be scored in the game. Three goals or less, and he could make a lot... With six goals or fewer, he wouldn’t lose much."
"If he really talked to Chris, and if Chris really used his status as a player to get involved in football betting, why would Sporting Lisbon have won that game?"
"And not just any win—it was the biggest victory of the season so far! Your alleged football betting suspects, Chris and Deng Kai, contributed two goals and three assists, and three goals with an assist respectively!"
"From the second half onwards, Chris and Deng Kai took charge, aiding their team from trailing to leading, causing Hugo’s heavy bets to fail."
"Starting at minute 60, Sporting Lisbon could have stopped attacking, and Hugo would still have made some money."
"From minute 70 onwards, even if Sporting Lisbon did not attack, Hugo might not have made any money, but at least he wouldn’t have suffered a huge loss."
"But what actually happened? Starting at minute 70, Chris created two excellent chances, assisting Deng Kai in scoring. Did his state seem like someone who did not want his team to continue scoring? Were his movements the most active on the field at that time?"
Facing a tide of negative reviews.
The Chinese journalist Jiang Yunzhu went crazy.
As a staunch supporter of Deng Kai, along with Deng Kai’s brilliant performance, Jiang Yunzhu’s column in Record Report grew increasingly popular.
Even the Record Report was in talks with Jiang Yunzhu, hoping she would leave Sports Weekly in China and truly join them.
Jiang Yunzhu was still considering the offer.
Trigella, however, actively cooperated with the police investigation, submitting evidence that proved Ronaldo’s innocence.
The police and the Football Association quickly determined that Ronaldo was not involved.
Once the official announcement was made, much of the doubt vanished instantly.
However, once the media’s fervor was activated, it couldn’t be stopped.
Soon, another suspicion arose in the media.
"Bola newspaper: ’It is hasty to conclude the football betting incident from only Hugo’s losses and Sporting Lisbon’s unilateral account."
"We don’t believe Chris is innocent because, as far as we know, after Hugo lost money, he immediately paid off his debts and even funded a family shop."
"Adding up to about twenty thousand US dollars, we would very much like Hugo to come forward and explain where this money came from. Their family couldn’t possibly have such savings!’
This report sparked a new storm.
Because, during this period, the GDP per capita in Portugal was only twelve thousand US dollars.
And as is well known, most people’s annual income is lower than the GDP per capita.
All of a sudden, Hugo had an income that would take a normal person two years to earn without eating or drinking.
Where did this huge sum of money come from?
"So cunning! They almost deceived us all!"
"Hugo didn’t join his friends in betting; he tricked his friends, pretending to lose money. In fact, he placed bets elsewhere, and those were on the sure-win outcomes!"
"Could it be that he placed bets on a seven to three score? Otherwise, why would Chris and Deng Kai continue their aggressive offense even after victory was assured, so fixated on scoring goals?"
"Yeah, Chris doesn’t usually like to pass. But in the last two goals of that match, to ensure they went in, he passed the football to Deng Kai, who was in a better position, despite having a good chance to score himself. That was highly unusual!"
"That’s the evidence!"
Wow!
Now even the will to win is considered wrong.
Reality is often so magical.
Once you have a conclusion, and if you look at what happened with that conclusion in mind, you will likely find evidence in the majority of things that support your conclusion.
Even if that thing itself has nothing to do with your conclusion.
Thus, the birth of master manipulators begins.
It looks like the forces of evil are about to seize the high ground again.
Deng Kai directly disclosed the source of the funds.
It was his university scholarship.
Although it went through special procedures, it was still legitimate and not against the rules.
Deng Kai received his scholarship from the University of Lisbon in advance, and then he lent the money to Hugo to pay off his debts.
As soon as this news came out, those who had previously disparaged Chris and Deng Kai fell silent.
At this point, the fans of the two players finally gained the right to breathe.
"So touching! My Kai has done well!"
"The friendship between Chris and Deng Kai moves heaven and earth, such a friend is worth having!"
"Deng Kai’s family isn’t wealthy, and this money is very precious to him, but he was willing to lend it to Chris!"
"It’s not just a loan; according to the police transcript, there wasn’t even a written agreement. What a level of trust! That’s twenty thousand US dollars we’re talking about!"
"Damn! By that logic, Ronaldo’s assists are really valuable. Deng Kai took two assists from him and lent his brother twenty thousand US dollars!"
Just as it seemed this incident was finally being put to rest.
However, the Portuguese anti-match-fixing association discovered a truly significant event that could be related to match-fixing during the last round of data analysis before closing the case.
That evening, Deng Kai was once again "invited" to the police station to cooperate with the investigation.
And this time, the investigation was very intense.
It seemed they were already convinced Deng Kai was a criminal.
Trigella, on behalf of Sporting Lisbon, expressed strong protest.
Just when everyone was still unclear about what had happened again.
The Portuguese anti-match-fixing association disclosed a series of recent Portuguese football betting data.
Many of those figures were marked in red.
These were different individual bettors who, in their last ten bets, had won money more than eight times, with an average profit of over three hundred US dollars each.
More than thirty of these individuals had an average profit exceeding one thousand US dollars!
They weren’t really gambling; they were essentially drawing salaries!
These people had many common and illogical characteristics.
For example, they didn’t usually place bets on football matches!
Furthermore, almost all of them were of Chinese descent!
The highest earners, over ninety percent, were residents of the Chinese community where Deng Kai lived!
Once these details were disclosed, they immediately sparked intense attention across Europe!
Dr. Jabas, a renowned European economist invited by the Portuguese anti-match-fixing association as a consultant for this case, even said during a media interview, "The mastermind finally shows their true colors, the match-fixing syndicate is led by none other than ’Football Caesar’!"
All the major media outlets then used this phrase as their front-page headlines because it even rhymed!
But upon seeing this headline, Deng Kai, through the lawyer hired by the team, remarked, "Really, even a single rhyme counts?"
