Time slowly approached Christmas on December 25th, and the streets of Sheffield City became lively. The crowds passing by mostly wore smiles, filled with anticipation for the New Year.
Many people dressed as Santa Claus had already taken to the streets, carrying candy and beating drums, warming up the atmosphere in advance.
"Put it up quickly! Be careful!"
"Lend a hand!"
One Christmas tree after another was erected on the streets, moved onto rooftops, and even set up on sheds between two buildings. Colorful light strips were also ubiquitous, and many people even built Christmas cabins.
It was foreseeable that the night of Christmas would be wonderful and dazzling.
In addition to these, huge posters about the Boxing Day battle were hung on landmark buildings around Bramall Lane Stadium.
"December 26 Sheffield United F.C. vs. Hull City!! Boxing Day!" Underneath the lettering was a group photo of Sheffield United's key players, selected from their pre-season photo shoot and composited together.
Maël's photo, clenching his fists and roaring, and goalkeeper Robert's photo, with his hands supporting him, were placed in the center, occupying the C position, which was very eye-catching and usually the first thing pedestrians noticed.
His status in the team now was naturally different than before.
Most fans who saw this poster had no doubts and felt that it should be so.
Moreover, various audio-visual stores, clothing stores, supermarkets, etc. around the stadium were temporarily authorized to sell club merchandise.
Red and white jerseys hung outside the store, dyeing the entire block with Sheffield elements. An endless stream of vendors were also selling scarves, hats, and player poster collections.
Everything was building momentum for this game. This mid-season finale of the 23rd round of the EFL Championship had unprecedented high popularity! Fans were looking forward to the team bringing them joy on Boxing Day with a wonderful battle!
On December 23, with Christmas approaching and only 3 days left before the game, the city center was bustling with activity, and many people gathered around the fan shops and stalls.
"Give me a poster!"
"I want a Maël poster, do you have a collection of his celebration actions?"
"We have it here, but it's not in poster format, it's a photo collection, only photos."
"I'll take it!"
"Do you have scarves with Evans' number or name on them?"
"..."
Their spending power was amazing. In just an hour or two, exquisite products related to Sheffield's red and white elements became fashionable items in the area.
More and more pedestrians were holding team scarves, player posters, and wearing Santa Claus hats. The colors of Sheffield and Christmas perfectly overlapped.
People with empty hands, on the other hand, became the odd ones out on the street, and the herd mentality led them to join the consumer crowd.
A taxi drove into the city, the driver driving very slowly, with obvious impatience on his face, which was clearly not his intention.
Clermont's family of five sat in the car, wearing brand new clothes, with excited and curious expressions.
It was already overloaded, but they took out a 20-pound tip to be allowed to put the smaller Ava on her older sister's lap, hiding her head all the way.
Also because of this extra income of 20 pounds, the driver took the money and agreed when Clermont asked if he could drive slower.
"There's another poster over there."
Betty looked at the scenery outside the window, her novelty making her unusually talkative, even her words became more numerous, "It's still Maël, he's in the middle!"
This was the main reason they asked the driver to drive slower to see their nephew! They got off the plane at Manchester International Airport at noon, transferred to a coach to Sheffield, and finally took a taxi into the city.
As soon as they came in, they found many elements related to football.
And as long as it was related to football, they could definitely see Maël's figure in it.
This was beyond their expectations. Even though they watched their nephew play football on TV every week and knew that their nephew had become a small star, it was only limited to the football field.
They knew nothing about their nephew's influence in the secular world until this moment.
"Haha."
Clermont looked at the classical-style buildings with his nephew's portraits hanging on them with a silly smile, already shocked and speechless.
For small citizens like them, they never thought that their family's portraits could be hung on landmark buildings in the city center one day, which was a great honor.
"There are so many people here."
The eldest in the family sighed, expressing her longing for big cities, "In comparison, where we live is like a small town with too many tourists."
"A long time ago, our place was actually the political, economic, and cultural center."
Clermont was about to introduce her to it, but before he could finish, his attention was drawn to something outside the window again; they were passing a clothing street.
Instead of displaying tall mannequins, the storefronts were filled with Sheffield United jerseys and life-size cardboard cutouts of Sheffield players.
Fans were taking photos with their phones, beaming as they stood next to these cardboard figures, posing with their favorite stars.
The area around Maël's cutout was the most crowded, with at least twenty people waiting in line to take pictures with it. Many young people were even imitating Maël's celebration gestures.
Some were mimicking holding double pistols, others were holding up ten fingers, and some were spreading their hands open, closing their eyes, and looking up—all incredibly joyful.
"Unbelievable, it's just a dummy. If the real person stood on the street, he'd be mobbed,"
Clermont exclaimed, forgetting what he was about to tell his daughter. He smiled at his wife, Betty, "Look at your nephew's influence; he's this city's Henry."
"He must be very happy now, right?"
The taciturn second brother spoke up. He and Maël weren't particularly close as children, and seeing Maël like this now made him feel a bit complicated. "Playing football in such a big city, earning such a high salary, and having so many people supporting him."
"I guess so."
Clermont nodded, daydreaming, "If I could live that kind of life, I'd wake up laughing in my dreams every day, full of energy."
"Don't talk nonsense." Betty rolled her eyes at him, deflating his ego. "Talent aside, even if you had Maël's diligence, you'd succeed at something else."
"Haha." Clermont laughed. He didn't argue, knowing in his heart that it was true.
Ava, who had been keeping her head down to avoid the traffic police, couldn't resist her curiosity as she watched everyone chatting so enthusiastically. She suddenly jumped up and leaned against the window.
"Brother!"
She spotted the poster across the street at a glance, recognizing Maël's face. "Dad, look! I saw him too!"
Just as a team of traffic police was at the crosswalk, her eldest sister quickly pulled her down and covered her mouth. "Don't talk."
Ava pouted, feeling a bit aggrieved as she sat back down. "Can we go see brother tonight?"
"No." Her eldest sister answered firmly, not giving the little girl any hope. "Let's wait and give brother a surprise."
At that moment, the taxi driver turned his head and gave them a slightly surprised look.
Even though they had been speaking in French the whole time, he had already figured out that they were talking about Maël and were unusually enthusiastic about him.
Initially, he hadn't paid much attention, assuming they were just a group of foreign fanatics.
But while it was normal for a group of adults and young people to be enthusiastic about Maël, how could a child of a few years old be so fanatical? This piqued the driver's curiosity, and coupled with their French, he made a bold guess. "You... wouldn't happen to know Maël, would you?"
Clermont could speak some English and had no problem with simple communication. "He's my nephew; he grew up in my house."
"Oh."
The impatience on the driver's face vanished quickly, replaced by an enthusiasm that made his eyebrows dance. "First time in Sheffield City?"
"Yes." Clermont chatted with him, explaining, "We haven't seen him play live yet."
"I see."
The driver glanced at Clermont and started talking non-stop, "Maël is a well-known figure in this city; all Sheffield United fans love him.
"Even the fans of the rival team, Sheffield Wednesday, know that we have an amazing player here.
"Speaking of which, I'm also a Sheffield United fan. If I had known you were Maël's family, I would have driven slower."
He suddenly hit the brakes and asked, "How about I give you a free tour around Bramall Lane Stadium and some fan communities? They would welcome you; your identity would bring you the enthusiasm of all the people of Sheffield."
"No need." Clermont smiled from ear to ear but still waved his hand. "We'll drop off our luggage and wander around ourselves."
The driver raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit disappointed, and then stepped on the gas again, driving even slower this time. "The Boxing Day battle is about to start, and we're all hoping Maël can win the game for us.
"You came to see this game, right? By the way, why didn't Maël pick you up?"
He was also very curious about Maël's family. This was a normal reaction when people met the family of a famous person; they wanted to know more things that hadn't been reported in the media.
"We're here to see the game."
Clermont nodded, replying, "We want to give him a surprise. Please don't spread the word; I'm afraid he'll find out."
"Oh," the driver laughed, scratching his head playfully, "This is your Christmas gift to him."
After thinking for a moment, his expression slowly changed, "If you don't tell him, what about your tickets?"
"Are tickets hard to get?"
Clermont was already worried about this. The driver's change in expression made his heart sink. "I was planning to queue up to buy them later."
"They probably sold out yesterday."
The driver glanced at him, his face filled with misfortune. "I still suggest you tell Maël. As a club player, he should be able to get some tickets."
"If you buy them yourselves, you can only pray that scalpers have acquired a large number of adjacent seats and buy them at several times the price."
"I'll think about it." Clermont wasn't too concerned at the moment. He hadn't yet recovered from the shock and joy his nephew had brought him and didn't want his mood to be disturbed by other things.
The taxi quickly reached their destination, a street with seven or eight hotels, about two miles from the city center.
They planned to book three rooms here and settle down.
"The fare."
Clermont looked at the amount on the meter and took out the pounds he had exchanged in advance.
As he had guessed, the driver waved his hand and pushed it back. "No need. Maël has brought us so much joy. It's good to have a chance to repay him."
Clermont wanted to thank him, but the driver thought he was going to refuse and quickly interrupted, "But it's not a free ride. I'd like to take a photo with your family of five."
Sometimes, taking a photo with the family of a star is actually better than taking a photo with the star himself.
Because this way, you can brag to others when chatting that you are friends with the star's family, which is much more believable than being good friends with the star.
And knowing his family can naturally give others some room for imagination, making them think that this person must know that star.
The driver had already imagined the expressions of others when he showed them the photo with Maël's family in the future.
If he ever encountered a fan showing off Maël's signed wine bottle, he would pick up his car keys and leave, "Bye, I'm going for a drink with Maël's uncle."
"Okay."
Clermont, having lived for nearly forty years, was the first time someone had asked to take a photo with him, and he readily agreed.
The family of five got out of the car, stood on the side of the road, and completed a new experience in life with shy smiles on their faces.
"Benefiting from Maël's fame." Betty didn't know what to say to express her feelings and could only sigh softly to herself.
After the photo was taken, the driver took out the £20 tip he had prepared in advance and handed it to the youngest, Ava. "Merry Christmas in advance, go buy some candy."
With that, he got into the car without looking back, rolled down the window before leaving, and waved to everyone, "I love Maël, and I also thank you on behalf of the Sheffield United fans. Without you raising him, we wouldn't have him."
Clermont and Betty were stunned in place. The poster made them realize the extent of Maël's fame in this city to a certain extent.
And this driver made them truly feel the love of every Sheffield resident for him.
"He is a respected person now."
Clermont carried his luggage and smiled at Betty, "I don't know how we should appear in front of him now."
The scene of the taxi driver asking for a photo was seen by many people on this street. The passing crowds looked at this large family and speculated about their identities.
Clermont didn't know whether to enjoy it or be troubled by it, so he quickly picked up his luggage and called everyone to enter a hotel. Now, they just had to wait to watch his nephew's game!
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