Chapter 56

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Following the announcement of the bracket for the first stage of the Swiss-system competition, the most prominent media account in the esports community posted news of Titans facing off against Cobra, along with two rather amusing images—

The first image depicted the Cobra logo squeezing a titan’s palm, while the second depicted the Titans’ logo tightly crushing a ferocious King cobra.

The pictures rendered Yao Sen speechless for a spell. Eventually, he coolly said, “All right, let’s fuck up Cobra.”

Wang Yuxi meticulously combed through all sixteen match-ups and sighed, saying, “I guess we’re pretty lucky. The two teams who got matched up against the twin demons wouldn’t even be able to cry even if they wanted to.”

Yao Sen took a look at the bracket. Noah’s Ark’s opponent was a Canadian team of evenly matched strength, which meant that a first-round victory would be difficult. NL’s opponent, on the other hand, was a Brazilian team that had made it out of the qualifiers with a ranking in the 20s, but given NL’s own position at the bottom of the standings, winning was also bound to be challenging.

Coach Gou held a brief meeting with them shortly afterwards. Although Bai Yue was absent, Zhou Ziyu had since made speedy progress in this period of time, and the other three were also extremely pumped. Despite the fact that winning would undoubtedly be a laborious task, they would still give their all to seize the first round.

The first round of matches were to start tomorrow morning. Sixteen teams were divided into two sessions. Titans and Noah’s Ark were both in the first session, which meant that Yao Sen wouldn’t be able to watch Shao Han’s match live. It was quite a shame.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Yao Sen received a message from Shao Han.

Shao Han: We’re in the same session, so I won’t be able to watch your match from the audience. Good luck for tomorrow.

Yao Sen: I’d like a kiss from classmate Shao Xiao Zuo then

Shao Han: I’ll go find you at the hotel after we move, okay?

Yao Sen: I want it now

Shao Han: ……

Shao Han: [Blowing_A_Kiss_Across_The_Screen_Please_Answer_Once_Received.jpg]

Shao Han: Okay. There’s your kiss.

Yao Sen: Baby, where did you get such a cute meme

Shao Han: Xiao Meng sent it to me, she said that I can use it when chatting with you

At heart, Yao Sen had reached a consensus with his little sister-in-law. He wanted nothing more than to enter the screen and swallow Shao Han whole. Now that he gave it proper thought, what Wang Yuxi said was right—his family’s Xiao Zuo was truly far too sweet in front of him. If Shao Han were to act cute in the middle of a match, Yao Sen would most likely turn into useless trash who had been duped by a beauty.

Jiang Yang contacted them around noon and invited them to lunch, also saying that he’d send them to the hotel the organisers had arranged for them in the afternoon. Thus, the party met up in a Chinese restaurant.

The proprietor of the Chinese restaurant was Chinese himself. When Yao Sen and the others walked inside, they were immediately recognised as a team from the recent esports competition, and the proprietor’s son also ran out to ask for their autographs.

As they waited for the dishes to be served, Yao Sen noticed that Jiang Yang’s attention was on his phone the entire time, reading articles about various esports teams that were competing in the competition. When Yao Sen looked over, Jiang Yang was looking at NL-related news, his brow slightly wrinkled and his demeanour solemn.

Yao Sen: “What’s the matter?”

Jiang Yang hesitated. “When I watched a few of NL’s matches before, I always felt that their plays were odd. Especially their captain’s.”

Yao Sen pondered that for a moment before saying, “NL is playing third tomorrow. Why don’t we go and check them out together?”

Jiang Yang nodded.

Yao Sen’s phone rang shortly after their meal was served. When he saw the caller ID, the corner of his mouth raised involuntarily, and when he answered the phone, he said, “Hello, what is it, baby? ……I’m eating with the team right now…… Have you eaten yet? ……McDonald’s? Why?…… Just because I’m not there, you go and eat random food?…… McDonald’s isn’t random?”

Next to him, Jiang Yang, who had initially no intention of paying attention to his captain’s phone conversation, inadvertently choked from hearing the word ‘baby’ along with the captain’s abnormally gentle laugh and pampering, affectionate tone.

Jiang Yang looked up and saw that everyone else’s expressions were rather unfazed, with the exception of Wang Yuxi, who quietly rolled his eyes. He turned to Zhou Ziyu, who was sitting next to him, and whispered, “Does the captain have a girlfriend?”

Zhou Ziyu quietly adjusted his wording. “The captain… is seeing someone.”

“Since when?”

“Uh… earlier this year, I think.”

Jiang Yang didn’t want to gossip; he’d only thrown those two sentences out casually. In fact, it would actually be weird if their captain hadn’t been dating this whole time. Jiang Yang bowed his head and ate two mouthfuls of mood, then suddenly thought of something and asked, “It’s past one in the morning back in China. Is our team’s sister-in-law abroad? Did she come to watch the captain compete? How come we haven’t seen her these past few days?”

Zhou Ziyu went quiet upon hearing Jiang Yang’s ‘team sister-in-law’, inwardly thinking, not only have you seen him, you’ve also watched his matches.

But without the captain’s permission, Zhou Ziyu wouldn’t just tell anyone casually. “Maybe sis-in-law… is shy.”

When Yao Sen hung up, Jiang Yang immediately turned to him and candidly asked, “Captain, did sis-in-law come to watch you play? Why didn’t you invite her to eat with us?”

There was a slight shift in the atmosphere around their table the minute Jiang Yang stopped speaking. Zhou Ziyu and Song Mingzhe lowered their heads to eat and affected airs of cluelessness, while Wang Yuxi’s eyes pierced Jiang Yang, his face conveying an expression of ‘yet another one will fall victim to dog abuse’.

Jiang Yang, who was completely in the dark, had no idea why everyone’s faces suddenly became so colourful.

“Yeah, but they’re[1] not staying here,” Yao Sen replied good-naturedly. “You’ll get to meet them after we finish eating and move hotels.”

“I see… Is sis-in-law staying in the area?”

“They’ll be moving here too, this afternoon.”

Jiang Yang was shocked. “Really? If I remember right, that hotel isn’t open to tourists during the competition. Can tourists stay here this year?”

Wang Yuxi, who could no longer watch this go on, couldn’t help but say, “Yao Sen, come on. Give the kid a break.”

“I’m not sure if tourists can stay,” said Yao Sen. “But Noah’s Ark can.”

Jiang Yang wore a blank expression, puzzling over why Yao Sen had suddenly brought up Noah’s Ark. “What’s the relationship between sis-in-law and Noah’s Ark?”

Yao Sen smiled at him. “Your sis-in-law is Noah’s Ark vice captain. Don’t call him sis-in-law to his face though, he’s shy.”

“……”

After they finished eating, paid the bill, and exited the restaurant, Jiang Yang still looked like he’d suffered the biggest shock of his life, as if his spirit had temporarily left his body.

Wang Yuxi chewed Yao Sen out for his innocuous display of non-PDA. “Look at the state you’ve scared our rich kid into.”

Yao Sen: “He’ll get used to it.”

Shao Han arrived at the hotel before Yao Sen. The organisers provided each team with a suite that came equipped with gaming equipment. They had also prepared Chinese snacks as special consideration for the Chinese teams as well as stuck small stickers of the Chinese flags throughout their rooms.

When Shao Han checked the room arrangements, he found that they shared a floor with Titans. After Shao Han finished sorting out his luggage, he went to the lobby to wait for Yao Sen and his team to arrive.

The hotel lobby was bustling with esports teams coming and going. Shao Han was sitting on a sofa, vacantly watching teams come and go, when a silver white suit appeared in his field of vision.

When Shao Han looked up, Shen You was coincidentally looking his way. The former froze; somewhat awkwardly, he wanted to avert his gaze, but realised that it would come off as rude. All things considered, Cobra would be staying at this hotel too, and the possibility of running into each other was high—he couldn’t just keep avoiding Shen You like this every time.

After thinking about it, Shao Han gave Shen You a little nod and said a brief hello.

Shen You, however, approached him and asked, as if it was a casual greeting, “Are you waiting for someone?”

Shao Han nodded.

“Yao Sen?”

Shao Han paused before answering, “Mm.”

Unexpectedly, Shen You chuckled. “He’s perfect for you.”

Shao Han froze, a sense of calmness suddenly surged in his heart. The past was the past—he and Yao Sen were together now, there was no reason to cling to whatever had happened back then, and he was willing to accept everyone’s blessings.

Shao Han smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

“How is Bai Yue doing? Yao Sen probably told you, right?”

“Mm, he’s been discharged from the hospital.”

“That’s great.”

Shen You smiled and said, “Good luck for the competition,” then turned around and returned to his team. Shao Han gazed at Shen You’s retreating back, and exhaled lengthily.

Titans arrived on the heels of Cobra. When Shao Han spotted Yao Sen entering the hotel towing his suitcase, his heart surprisingly trembled—Yao Sen had always been somewhat sensitive when it came to Shen You, and if he’d seen that Shen You was talking to him just now, Shao Han would probably have to pay for it by coaxing Yao Sen in a soft voice.

Shao Han once doubted whether Yao Sen truly minded about what had happened with Shen You; perhaps he just enjoyed Shao Han coaxing him—but then again, what can be done? Every aspect of his boyfriend was lethal; even if he was only pretending, Shao Han still wouldn’t be able to harden his heart.

Shao han stood up and walked over to them. Yao Sen greeted him with a smile, saying, “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s all right,” Shao Han replied. “It’s pretty hot out today, do you want something to drink? I’ll go buy it for you.”

“It’s okay, I’ll drink something at the hotel room.”

“Give me your suitcase then. Why don’t you go and register?”

Wang Yuxi, who was walking behind Yao Sen, saw Shao Han help Yao Sen with his clothes and suitcase and silently sighed at how virtuous Shao Han was.

Jiang Yang, who was with the group behind them, suddenly stepped forward, an exquisite gift bag in his hands. He directly walked up to Shao Han and solemnly said, “Hello, Vice Captain Shao. This is for you, I hope Noah’s Ark will do well in the competition.”

Shao Han gave the unfamiliar young member of the Titans’s second team a baffled look, unable to figure out why the other party was so serious out of the blue. It appeared to be a box of chocolates that wasn’t too expensive nor troubling to receive though, so although Shao Han was puzzled, he saw that the boy’s eyes were sincere and accepted the gift, politely saying, “Thank you very much, you didn’t have to trouble yourself. I hope you guys do well too.”

After they completed registrations, the Titans retreated to their rooms. The suite was huge; Wang Yuxi headed to his bedroom and flopped on his bed, refusing to move. He repeatedly lamented that this was the treatment that the strong deserved.

Noah’s Ark and Titans’s rooms were very close. After dinner, Yao Sen invited Shao Han over to his room. Everyone in Titans conscientiously left the lone single room in the suite to Yao Sen so that Shao Han could drop in at any time.

Shao Han took a shower in Yao Sen’s room then watched the recent match videos with Yao Sen on his bed. He’d brought the chocolates Jiang Yang had given him so they could share them. Upon sampling a piece, he found it very delicious—and Yao Sen appeared to like them as well—so he unlocked his phone to look up the chocolate brand he’d never heard of before.

It wouldn’t have been a problem if Shao Han hadn’t looked it up, but now that he did, he discovered that a single box of chocolates from this particular brand costs between $100 and $200. He was immediately ashamed and siad, “It’s so expensive… I shouldn’t have accepted it.”

Yao Sen laughed. “It’s fine, just eat them. The gift represents his heart. Besides, Jiang Yang comes from a well-off family, this much is normal spending for him.”

“Why did he suddenly give me a gift?” Shao Han enquired.

“He’s just showing his filial respect to the team’s sister-in-law.” Yao Sen comfortably used the address Jiang Yang had given Shao Han, inwardly finding it quite nice.

Shao Han: “……”

Shao Han had no intention of remaining on this topic and wondered how he was going to return his thanks to Jiang Yang the next day. He shut the box of chocolates and looked at the time to see that it was almost ten o’clock.

Shao Han lay on his pillow and murmured, in a rather embarrassed voice, “Yao Sen, let’s go to bed a little earlier tonight. Do you want me to stay and sleep with you?”

Yao Sen chuckled and deliberately teased him, “Baby, are you sleeping on my bed or sleeping with me. You have to be clear.”

Hard-pressed, Shao Han said, “Sleeping on your bed.”

Yao Sen blinked. “Can’t I sleep with you on my bed?”

“…I’m leaving.”

Yao Sen laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll collect the interest I’ve accumulated from the competition later on. Come here, baby. Let’s sleep. But would this be okay with your team?

“It’s fine. I’ll just go back first thing tomorrow morning,” said Shao Han. “The captain, he… probably expected that I wouldn’t be back tonight.”

Shao Han turned off the lights and buried himself inside the covers. Yao Sen drew him into his arms and softly nosed Shao Han’s neck, taking in the scent of fresh body wash.

Shao Han suddenly held Yao Sen’s hand and looked at him over his shoulder, his crystal clear eyes enchanting in the faint light streaming in through the window. “Good luck for tomorrow’s match,” said Shao Han.

Yao Sen kissed Shao Han’s forehead and warmly said, “You too.”

☆ ☆ ☆

[1] the word for he and she sounds the same in spoken chinese, so i’m just gonna go with the gender neutral they. but jiang yang would hear ‘she’ here because of preconceived notions (((heteronormativity

Thank you to Somebody for the kofi!

Chapter 55 | TOC | Chapter 57

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