I changed football.

"Official announcement: Li Yuan has been officially selected for Monaco's Ligue 1 squad for the 17th round, becoming the second Chinese player to be selected for a Ligue 1 team's first team after Li Jinyu."

At 1:30 a.m. Beijing time, a thunderclap appeared out of nowhere.

Many fans are already asleep.

Of course, there are always night owl fans.

Many Chinese fans clicked on the link with disbelief.

"This isn't April Fool's joke. He only joined Monaco B team in October, and you're telling me he'll be on the first team roster in early December?"

"Please don't let this be a false alarm; Chinese fans can't afford to be fooled again."

"What a misunderstanding! Monaco's official website and social media have both confirmed it; it's true!"

"Holy crap, I've witnessed history! I was planning to go to sleep after watching the Premier League, but I didn't expect Li Yuan to be on the roster!"

"Wow! Li Yuan is a genius! I thought he'd be playing for the B team for another season or two, but he's already been promoted to the first team, and he's only 17!"

"Everyone, don't get your hopes up too high. I just checked Monaco's official website. Apparently, Li Yuan was called up to the first team during the international break in early November. He trained with the team for a week and then went back to the B team. He's only been called up again because the first team is short-handed. Li Yuan was only promoted to the first team on the 3rd, and he'll be number 5 for France. He's only trained with the team for two days, so Monaco's coach is unlikely to let him play."

"He was selected for the first team in early November? How come I didn't know? If he had been selected a month ago, the Gouhai forum would have exploded!"

"This statement was only released by Monaco this time; they didn't release it in early November. What are they doing? This is Monaco protecting Li Yuan!"

"The person upstairs is wasting their talent by not studying Machiavellianism. So what if they make it into the first team? There are plenty of Chinese players who make it into the first teams of the top five leagues."

"Is that really a lot? There are about 30 Chinese players playing in Europe, and if you take away those who haven't played, there are only about 10. Among those 10, there's no one as young as Li Yuan. Can't we be proud of that?"

The topic quickly gained traction on the Chinese internet.

Soon the mainstream media also found out.

Zhan Jun finished commentating on a Premier League match and was preparing to pack his things to go home.

Suddenly, Zhang Hu, the head of the football department, ran up to Zhan Jun.

"Teacher Zhan, it's so good that you didn't leave!"

Zhan Jun was completely bewildered: "What's wrong, Mr. Zhang?"

"You didn't know? Oh dear—"

Zhang Hu slapped his thigh and quickly said, "You know Li Yuan, right?"

Zhan Jun nodded: "Who doesn't know Li Yuan? That kid from Monaco, he's 17 years old—"

"Yes! It's him! Just now at 1:30, Monaco announced their squad list for today's Ligue 1 match, and Li Yuan is on it."

"Really?" Zhan Jun's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

"Wasn't he just promoted to the B team in mid-October? Now he's in the first team again?"

"Yes, the key issue is that we originally hired Zhao Haichuan to provide solo commentary for this match, but now the match is getting so much attention, your Weibo comments are full of people asking if you'll be commentating on it?"

"No—the key is I've never commentated on Ligue 1."

Zhan Jun is naturally very familiar with the Premier League, practically a walking encyclopedia of the league, but he isn't as familiar with other leagues as he is with the Premier League.

Zhang Hu waved his hand: "Actually, you don't need to worry. Monaco's official statement also said that Li Yuan was only promoted to the first team on the number 3. This match is played by the French team's number 5, so Li Yuan's chances of playing are very small."

Zhan Jun looked at him strangely: "Hai Chuan has been commentating on Ligue 1 this season, and he said it's more suitable for him. Besides, since you said so, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference whether I go or not."

"That's not how it is, Coach Zhan. Whether Li Yuan plays or not, this is his first time being selected for the Ligue 1 squad, which is very memorable. Li Yuan has been the hottest domestic player in the country this year. We must seize this first opportunity."

After a pause, Zhang Hu said in an enticing voice, "Mr. Zhan, don't you want people to be able to hear your commentary when they look back at Li Yuan's past matches? That would be a historic moment for a commentator. Such a young kid might actually be playing; isn't that something to be commemorated? His inclusion on the roster is an encouragement!"

Zhan Jun was clearly persuaded by Zhang Hu, but he still said tactfully in the end, "But Hai Chuan is a commentator, and so am I. Neither of us has a guest commentator, so it's difficult to coordinate our work."

Zhang Hu waved his hand dismissively: "What is it? Liu Yue is in Beijing. I'll call him right now."

As he spoke, Zhang Hu pretended to take out his phone, but Zhan Jun immediately stopped him.

"Hey, it's so late, don't bother others. Okay, okay, you've convinced me, I'll go!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hu was overjoyed and immediately turned around, shouting to the staff not far behind him, "Quickly make posters and promotions!"

Upon hearing this, Zhan Jun quickly said, "Please don't overpraise this kid! What kind of title are you planning for your homepage?"

Zhang Hu, being a leader, naturally didn't know these specific details. He turned around and called over the staff member.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Zhan. We're preparing this headline: 17-Year-Old Chinese Prodigy Debuts in Ligue 1, Expected to Make His Debut Today!"

Zhan Jun frowned: "The statement that he's expected to play today might attract a lot of attention to Li Yuan. If they're his fans, that's fine, but if some neutral fans are drawn in, and Li Yuan doesn't end up playing, wouldn't he be subjected to a lot of unwarranted abuse?"

Zhang Hu patted Zhan Jun on the shoulder: "Hey, Mr. Zhan, don't worry. We've got such a big headline, but during the game, you're the commentator. You can totally praise Li Yuan and then calm things down for the fans. You're good at that!"

"But--"

"No buts, Mr. Zhan. All the materials for this match are ready. Don't worry about that. We at Leshi have done a great job in terms of logistical support."

And so, Zhan Jun was pushed onto the commentary stage for this game.

There are only 40 minutes left before the start of the match.

Li Yuan greeted Zhao Haichuan, the original commentator for the match, and immediately got into commentary mode, quickly skimming through the information.

Player rosters for Monaco and Bastia, along with various off-field information.

Zhao Haichuan was already quite familiar with the French Ligue 1 teams, but seeing Zhan Jun watching made him a little nervous, so he quickly started watching too.

Finally, 10 minutes before the match, the live broadcast signal came on in the commentary room, and the match signal also came on.

"Hello everyone, today's Ligue 1 match between Monaco and Bastia, round 17, will be live-streamed and commentated by Zhan Jun and Zhao Haichuan."