Chapter 58

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At noon, the group ate lunch at a McDonalds joint near the stadium. While eating his hamburger, Wang Yuxi exclaimed in shock, “Really? NL is that good?”

Yao Sen nodded. “That captain of theirs is probably quite the character.”

Following the conclusion of the NL vs. Brazil match, the online search rate for the two letters of NL’s name rose considerably. There were heated discussions within the esports community, and the amount of attention NL received reached unprecedented heights. Everyone, whether professional or amateur, was talking about this specific black horse.

Cheng Rui had given an exceptionally explosive performance in the third game, carrying out a brilliant counterattack in the face of his enemies surrounding him. He’d evidently reserved his strength during the qualifiers. Everyone was speculating on how strong he really was and how far he could lead his young team.

“Holy shit, he’s a genuine dark horse,” Wang Yuxi sighed ruefully. “Youngsters are playing better and better these days, they’re not leaving us da-ges any room to breathe.”

In the afternoon, the list of match-ups for the second round was released. Titans once again matched up with the German team they had faced in the qualifiers, Noah’s Ark matched up with a British team, and the currently high-profile NL faced a team that ranked sixteenth in the qualifiers.

Additionally, the fact that the legendary ‘Twin Demons of the West’ were grouped together heightened everyone’s excitement.

And at this very moment, back home, Bai Yue was preparing to board his flight after a day’s rest following his discharge.

In the second round, the Titans were unlucky with their random map and lost to the German team, bringing their score to 1-1.

Yao Sen maintained a cheerful attitude. Winning or losing was a normal part of competing, so he simply laughed it off. Zhou Ziyu, on the other hand, was a little disheartened, believing that his performance had dragged everyone down in comparison to how well they played with Bai Yue.

Noah’s Ark won again in the second round, whereas NL suffered a disappointing defeat and fell to a 1-1 score like the Titans.

The most talked-about second round match was none other than the first confrontation of the ‘Twin Demons of the West’ in this year’s competition. These two teams had neck and neck for champion and runner up year after year, taking many championships in turn. All their matches were always head-to-head, hair-raising battles.

In this match, Odin lost to Lincoln and also fell to a 1-1 score.

After learning that Yao Sen and the rest of his team had lost in the second round, there was a moment where Shao Han felt afflicted. When he had dinner with Yao Sen in the evening, he made sure to not bring up the subject, fearing that it would ruin Yao Sen’s mood.

On the contrary, Yao Sen reviewed the second round with Shao Han and even informed him what he needed to be aware of if he were to face the German team. “Losing has it’s perks. At the very least, Titans won’t meet Noah in the third round. I really won’t be able to take it if I had to play against you now,” Yao Sen half-joked. “Besides, Bai Yue will be back tomorrow. Everything will be fine.”

Shao Han slightly relaxed, saying, “Don’t get polite with me on the field. If you throw the game, I’ll be mad.”

In the past, the words ‘I’ll be mad’ had never come out of Shao Han’s mouth of his own accord. Yao Sen couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from rising, thinking privately that his family’s Xiao Zuo was getting cuter by the day.

The third round of the competition was extremely crucial to teams with 2-0 and 0-2 scores. A win or a loss would determine whether these teams would be exempted from the fourth round.

The Titans defeated their third-round opponent to obtain a 2-1 score, whereas Noah lost and therefore missed the opportunity to be exempted from the fourth round. NL, who ‘struck the jackpot’ by matching up against Team Odin, was defeated in under twenty minutes, dropping their score to 1-2.

After losing in the first round to Titans, Cobra was able to maintain their winning streak throughout their next two rounds.

Following the announcement of the 8 teams—consisting of four teams scoring 3-0 and four teams scoring 0-3—who would be exempted from the fourth round, the third round was declared over. The fourth round for the remaining 24 teams would begin the next morning at 9 a.m. sharp.

Titans planned to grab a late-night snack before heading back to the hotel, and since Shao Han couldn’t come alone due to Noah’s Ark’s coach holding a short meaning, Yao Sen directly passed him his room card so that he could head up to Yao Sen’s room right after he finished without having to wait for Yao Sen to return.

After the meeting, Shao Han went to Yao Sen’s room and waited for him. Sitting on the bed, he was bored to tears, so he watched a replay of the Titans’ game from today on his tablet.

The loss against the German team was extremely tragic. It was clear that the Germans had devised a strategy that solely targeted Yao Sen, his movements suppressed to death.

The PD would cut the camera to Yao Sen from time to time; he communicated with his teammates calmly, and when he was held back by the enemy, his brows furrowed faintly. Despite the fact that Shao Han saw Yao Sen on a frequent basis, his appearance on the field had a different charm no matter when you looked at him.

Shao Han was staring at the screen dazedly when someone knocked on the door.

Yao Sen: “Baby, I’m back.”

Shao Han got off the bed and opened the door for Yao Sen, who walked into the room carrying a takeaway bag for him. He caught a glimpse of the tablet on the bed, playing a video that was incidentally paused on a shot of Yao Sen.

Shao Han evidently noticed this and went pink all at once, but it would only make it look worse if he turned it off now. Yao Sen hugged him from behind and teased, “You couldn’t wait for me to come back that bad?”

“I was just watching your match,” Shao Han said in mortification.

Yao Sen was well aware, but he didn’t say it outright. He wanted nothing more than to wash up and go to bed early, cuddling his nice and warm Xiao Zuo under the covers and watching matches together, when all of a sudden, the phone in his pocket rang.

Yao Sen took out his phone. The caller turned out to be Qian Hao, who he hadn’t been in touch with for a while.

Yao Sen: “You can watch first, I’m going to take this call.”

In order not to disturb Shao Han from watching the match, Yao Sen heade to the balcony before picking up. Although Qian Hao had already retired, his enthusiasm for esports had not faded in the slightest. Plus, the competition had come to a head, so he couldn’t help calling Yao Sen to chat about it.

The two were former classmates as well as experienced pro players; naturally, they had many topics to discuss, and their conversation inadvertently went on for a long time.

Yao Sen still hadn’t hung up when Shao Han finished watching one match. The latter glanced at the time; Yao Sen had already been talking for half an hour.

Shao Han wasn’t someone who would usually obsess over these inconsequential matters, but this phone call was going on for a bit too long—so long that Shao Han couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

Shao Han waited for another ten minutes, yet there was still no sign of Yao Sen finishing his conversation. The man even smiled a few times, visibly in a cheery mood.

Shao Han quietly turned off the tablet, climbed off the bed, and padded to the balcony, stopping behind Yao Sen. From the contents of their conversation, Yao Sen and the other party were seemingly talking about the competition. Their discussion sounded quite professional; the other party was most likely another pro player.

Shao Han lightly scratched his head. He stood in place for a moment, not knowing how to proceed, before he eventually slunk back inside.

When Yao Sen glanced over his shoulder, he incidentally glimpsed Shao Han pulling away the covers and climbing into bed. A laugh escaped his lips, and he said to the caller, “Qian Hao, it’s getting a little late. Why don’t we continue this another time?”

“Whoa, it’s already nine. I didn’t notice how long we’ve been talking—all right, go get some rest. Good luck for tomorrow!”

After Yao Sen hung up and returned to his room, Shao Han looked back at him and couldn’t help himself from asking, “…Who were you talking to?”

“Qian Hao. I’ve mentioned him to you before, still remember?”

Shao Han had a vague impression of him. The tension in his heart was instantly dispelled, and he even felt that his actions were a little funny. He subconsciously relaxed his tone. “Is he that classmate of yours who’s already retired?”

“Mm.” Yao Sen smiled and said, “I’d be sad if you didn’t ask.”

Upon hearing what Yao Sen said, Shao Han knew that the man must’ve noticed his worries. Shao Han’s lips twisted into a small pout. “Knowing who it was is enough—I don’t care about the rest…”

Yao Sen raised an eyebrow, and said, “Really? You have that much confidence in me?”

In truth, Shao Han was a little worried, but he didn’t want to say it aloud, so he vaguely acquiesced before telling Yao Sen to take a shower.

Yao Sen naturally listened to his wife and went to shower. Afterwards, he laid down on the bed, climbed under the covers, and tugged Shao Han’s hand. Shao Han was thinking that he only wanted to touch him, like their usual displays of intimacy, when he suddenly felt Yao Sen pulling his hand over until his fingertip was pressed to an object.

Shao Han sat up to take a look and found that Yao Sen was recording his fingerprint for his phone screen lock.

Shao Han was stunned. “I’m not going to look through your phone,” he mumbled in embarrassment.

“You can look whenever you want to. My camera roll is full of your photos anyway.”

Shao Han’s cheeks heated up a little. Ultimately, he handed his own phone to Yao Sen. “Record your fingerprint on mine too then.”

Shao Han’s screen was still lit, so Yao Sen saw his lockscreen—a photo of him, taken sometime during Shao Han’s visit to his house for Chinese New Year’s earlier this year. He didn’t know when Shao Han had taken it; the photo showed his side profile, grinning from ear to ear at god knows what.

Yao Sen examined the photo for a while. “I’m quite the looker, aren’t I?”

Shao Han: “…”

Shao Han thought back to when his mom accidentally saw his lockscreen when he had returned home for the New Year’s. He had yet to tell his parents that he was in a relationship, back then, and he immediately blushed in embarrassment. Though his mom didn’t really pry, she had probably had her own guesses.

When Shao Han confessed to them later on, his mom had said, “It’s the handsome lad on your phone screen, isn’t it?”

Yao Sen: “Why don’t you change it, baby. I think I look hotter now.”

Though Shao Han thought that Yao Sen wasn’t the most modest guy, as it is, he couldn’t really refute him. He chose a new wallpaper as per Yao Sen’s instructions, then changed Yao Sen’s lockscreen into a new, matching photo of himself. Even the blind could see that they were couple wallpapers.

Yao Sen: “By the way, did you watch NL’s match against the Italian team today?”

“I did.” Shao Han gave a nod. “The Italians didn’t really have a firm hold on NL, but I don’t think NL played well. There was none of the explosiveness they displayed against the Brazilian team.”

“I think so too,” Yao Sen paused. “It’s highly unlikely that that explosiveness is a coincidence. Cheng Rui didn’t really go all out against the Italians. He was probably keeping his cards hidden.”

Such a new team dared to reserve their strength at such a point in the competition—NL truly made Yao Sen endlessly surprised and curious.

Shao Han pondered inwardly for a moment before agreeing, “Their captain should be really strong. In fact, his performance in the last few minutes of their match against Brazil even reminded me of you.”

☆ ☆ ☆

Chapter 57 | TOC | Chapter 59

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