Before the Bundesliga Matchday 15 focus match against Wolfsburg, Borussia Dortmund still had a German Cup Round 2 game to play: Borussia Dortmund vs. Freiburg.
Although Freiburg was a 2. Bundesliga team, this season they had been on a roll, currently leading the second division with a seven‑point gap over second‑place Mainz. Their strength should not be underestimated.
With the recent dense schedule, Borussia Dortmund's starting lineup was overly fatigued. Jürgen Klopp planned to use a complete reserve lineup for this cup match. The main lineup needed more preparation for Wolfsburg.
"İlkay, this cup match might depend on you."
"Leave it to me, Coach! We'll definitely win!" İlkay Gündoğan was full of confidence.
Beside him, Nuri Şahin's eyes were slightly complex, looking like he wanted to speak but hesitated. Jin Hayes noticed his expression and moved closer, saying: "What, do you want to play in the cup match too?"
"It's just a 2. Bundesliga team, no need for me to step in. It's good for İlkay to get some practice."
"I think he just wants to crush some weaker opponents," Mats Hummels also teased from the side.
"Nonsense! What do you know!" Şahin, embarrassed and angry, changed into his training gear and ran directly to the pitch. Jin Hayes and Hummels looked at each other and smiled. Şahin was clearly feeling the pressure.
It was evident that as İlkay Gündoğan grew rapidly, his technical and tactical level was getting closer and closer to Nuri Şahin's. Many times, Şahin was substituted due to excessive physical exertion, and the 18‑year‑old Gündoğan performed just as well, if not better, after coming on.
In some situations, he even handled things more calmly than Şahin. Klopp had publicly praised Gündoğan's performance multiple times, which undoubtedly increased Şahin's sense of crisis.
The coach entrusting Gündoğan with the important task of the German Cup match also showed his trust in him. As the midfield core, Gündoğan needed to lead the lineup composed of reserves and youth academy players to defeat Freiburg.
Of course, just in case, Jin Hayes was also included in the cup squad to be on standby. If anything went wrong, as long as they weren't trailing by more than three goals, Jin Hayes could solve the problem.
However, on the day of the match, Jin Hayes did not get a chance to play. İlkay Gündoğan himself demonstrated the dominance of a top‑tier Bundesliga team on both offence and defence.
"Beautiful!! İlkay Gündoğan!!"
In the first half, Gündoğan's precise long pass behind the defence directly found left‑winger Tamás Hajnal. Jin Hayes praised the pass—it was like a sword unexpectedly thrust into the opponent's ribs in the midst of a chaotic battle, leaving Freiburg's defence helpless. Hajnal easily broke into the penalty area and delivered a cross assist for reserve striker Bajram Sadrijaj to score into an empty net. Borussia Dortmund effortlessly took a 1‑0 lead.
In the second half, it was again Gündoğan's show. He won the ball in the attacking third, launched a counter‑attack, dribbled past the opposing defensive midfielder, and delivered a surgical through ball. Sadrijaj successfully beat the offside trap, seized the one‑on‑one opportunity, and scored. 2‑0.
Just three minutes later, taking advantage of Freiburg's unstable defence, Borussia Dortmund's reserve lineup struck again. It was Gündoğan once more, suddenly dragging the ball horizontally outside the box to beat a defender, then using a rather fancy backheel flick into an aerial elastico to get past three players and break into the penalty area. He curled a shot past the goalkeeper and into the net. 3‑0.
After scoring, Gündoğan was ecstatic, rushing directly into the dugout to find Jin Hayes. "Jin! Did you see it!! I learned that move!!"
"Amazing! İlkay!!"
Jin Hayes and Gündoğan embraced in celebration, and teammates also rushed over to congratulate the young man. Since Gündoğan started training extra with Jin Hayes every day, he often humbly sought Jin Hayes's advice on some fancy moves. These skills required a high level of talent and ball control.
Marco Reus, Şahin, Mario Götze, and others had tried them but all gave up. Even if they could replicate them on the training ground, it was difficult to use them in real matches against strong opponents—they felt more flashy than practical. In professional matches, only Jin Hayes could perform them with ease.
Gündoğan, however, was stubborn; he insisted on practising hard, and unexpectedly, he actually used the moves in a match. That's why he rushed into the dugout to thank Jin Hayes immediately after scoring. Teammates were all celebrating around Gündoğan, and Nuri Şahin also celebrated with everyone, though no one noticed his mixed emotions.
After the 3‑0 victory over Freiburg, the dressing room was once again filled with the aroma of beer. As victors, Gündoğan and the players who played were shirtless, singing and making noise together. Despite not playing, Hummels also joined in the fun, singing and dancing. Jin Hayes was also using his newly purchased personal DV to record this comical scene. The Borussia Dortmund players' dance moves were simply too infectious.
Jin Hayes recently had so much money he didn't know what to do with it, so he casually spent €3,699 on a Sony HDR‑FX1000E, often filming daily team footage and bits of his life.
In 2008, a high‑end Sony DV selling for over €2,600 was a luxury item. Jin Hayes could acquire one with just one match appearance fee. He now earned almost €220,000 per month; after deducting taxes, mandatory professional league reserves, and various insurance payments, he actually received over €110,000 per month.
Aside from his Lamborghini, Jin Hayes had no other major expenses. Since the new season began, he had already netted nearly €700,000, of which €450,000 was handled by Jorge Mendes's agent team, transferred to his parents in China through foreign exchange approval.
Looking at the figure of over 3.9 million RMB in their account, Chen Jianping and Ding Ru were stunned. They even forgot about the time difference, waking Jin Hayes up at 3 AM while he was sound asleep.
"Why transfer so much money to us? You need money everywhere abroad, and the cost of living is so expensive—" Ding Ru's nagging gave Jin Hayes a headache. He had trained all day and then reviewed his cultural studies at night, experiencing double exhaustion in both body and mind. In his hazy sleepiness, he was simply too tired to think.
"Anyway, I can always earn more. You can do whatever you want with it—buy a house for your retirement or something. I'm so sleepy, I'm hanging up now—" After hanging up the phone, Jin Hayes collapsed and fell asleep.
...
On the other side of the world, Chen Jianping and Ding Ru couldn't sleep. At 7:30 AM, Ding Ru sat up, wide awake. "Old Chen, let's go look at houses. Let's buy two more for our son; maybe they'll be useful in the future."
"Ah? Wedding houses?" The child was only sixteen, and she was already thinking so far ahead. Chen Jianping was speechless, but Ding Ru was firm, and the couple quickly ate breakfast and left.
From morning till night, they practically toured the city for a week, finally settling on two developments. Huajing New City in Tianhe District, priced at 4,800 yuan per square meter—a 127 square meter, four‑bedroom, two‑hall large apartment with a total price of 675,800 yuan.
Dongshan Huating in Yuexiu District, by the Pearl River, priced at 13,800 yuan per square meter—a 154 square meter high‑rise, exquisitely furnished river‑view apartment with three floor‑to‑ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the Pearl River night scene. The total price was 2.8 million yuan, with an additional discount of 620,000 yuan if the contract was signed on the spot.
Ding Ru, in Jin Hayes's name, bought two apartments in full within a week, with over 1 million yuan still remaining in the account. Even with that, Ding Ru still felt a pang of heartache; nearly 3 million yuan was spent in the blink of an eye. What if housing prices fell later?
...
The next call came just before the Borussia Dortmund vs. Wolfsburg match. Jin Hayes had just finished his pre‑match warm‑up. After Jürgen Klopp finished giving the necessary tactical details, he left the players five minutes to rest.
Jin Hayes's phone rang, and seeing it was a call from China, he almost got nervous again. What could have happened in the middle of the night? But as soon as he answered, it was Chen Jianping's worried complaint.
"Your mother is possessed; she bought a 3‑million‑yuan house without batting an eye. What if she regrets it now?"
Jin Hayes had just taken a sip of electrolyte water and almost spat it out. Buying a house—what was the big deal? Not to mention 3 million RMB, he could earn that back in three months. Signing commercial endorsements later would be even easier. Even if he couldn't earn money in the future, the two houses they bought would be enough to ensure they lived comfortably.
"Do you know how much these two houses will be worth in ten years?"
"How much? How much higher can they go?"
"Let me put it this way: the one in Tianhe District will be at least 55,000 per square meter. The one by the Pearl River will be over 70,000 per square meter."
"Huh? How do you know? Don't talk nonsense."
"I won't explain it to you; the match is about to start, I'm turning off my phone now."
"Okay, play well, be careful not to get injured, don't push yourself too hard on the pitch." Chen Jianping was full of doubts but couldn't ask for details. He could only hang up the phone and prepare to turn on the TV to watch CCTV's Bundesliga broadcast.
Now there was no need to worry; CCTV5 would definitely prioritize broadcasting Borussia Dortmund's matches. As for Bayern Munich, it was regrettable—they had completely fallen out of favor with CCTV.
"What did our son say?"
"He said that our two houses, in ten years, one will be worth 6.9 million, and the other 11 million."
"Oh my goodness, what are you talking about? You say this child, don't tell me playing football has made him a bit strange." Jin Hayes's figure appeared on the TV; he was chatting and laughing with his teammates, showing no signs of nervousness against a strong opponent. Ding Ru couldn't help but worry about her son's mental state.
"What if it's true?" For some reason, Chen Jianping was willing to believe Jin Hayes's prediction. Starting in 2008, housing prices indeed gradually warmed up, and the real estate market began to boom. Maybe the day Jin Hayes spoke of would really come. Of course, none of that mattered; the most important thing was that Jin Hayes shouldn't get injured on the pitch.
...
The match was about to begin. Bundesliga commentator Duan Xuan was already chatting with Director Tao Wei about this Bundesliga focus match. Duan Xuan's familiar voice was still on TV.
"Director Tao, what do you think of Borussia Dortmund's starting winger Marco Reus's absence? How will this affect their tactics?"
According to German media reports, Reus had a torn Achilles tendon and would be out for at least four months. This was definitely a huge blow for Borussia Dortmund, who were competing on multiple fronts. Tao Wei also expressed concern for Borussia Dortmund.
"Their defence is becoming more and more mature now, and their high‑press tactics are gradually gelling. They score big in home games but concede relatively few goals, unlike the beginning of the season when they conceded over two goals per game—"
"However, the offensive problem is indeed quite troubling. It's clear that in some recent matches, they created many chances, but it was difficult to finish them."
"As the team's playmaker, the attacking core Jin Hayes is more adept at creating chances through breakthroughs and passing to open teammates. As a result, even he has been forced to become the current top scorer in the Bundesliga. When Reus was there, he could still act as a finisher and take shots. Now, relying only on a more inexperienced Mario Götze, Borussia Dortmund's finishing might become a problem—"
Director Tao's words resonated deeply with Borussia Dortmund fans. Although there had been big wins recently, some 1‑0 victories were incredibly frustrating to watch. Fans loved this Black and Yellow team precisely because they could launch furious attacks without restraint.
Which European team, besides Barcelona, could beat Real Madrid 5‑0 now? Even Barcelona would find it difficult to achieve that.
Watching Borussia Dortmund play was thrilling. Unfortunately, lately, they kept hovering around the goal but just couldn't score, which made people scratch their heads in frustration.
"Conversely, their opponent, Wolfsburg, possesses the strongest finishing ability in the Bundesliga. Grafite and Edin Džeko are already close to Jin Hayes on the top scorer list; they might be Borussia Dortmund's biggest threat today."
"Alright, the match is about to begin! This Bundesliga Matchday 15 focus match for the title has now kicked off."