Chapter 64

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

Once the floodgates were opened, Shao Han couldn’t stop his emotions from rushing out. He quietly sobbed against Yao Sen’s back, on the verge of collapse, the rims of his eyes flushed and watery with tears.

He and his teammates had truly given it their all, but the gap in strength was too wide, and they lost pretty badly. But however brutal winning or losing could be, it was impossible for him not to be sad at the thought that Noah was no longer able to stand on the field.

Shao Han couldn’t help but think that if he’d reacted a little faster, had a better understanding of his teammates, and had a more accurate judgement, they might have been able to stay on the field for a little longer.

In truth, Shao Han still wished, deep down, to be able to go head-to-head with Yao Sen in a competition like this, but the opportunity was unfortunately no longer available.

Yao Sen turned around and hugged Shao Han tightly before bundling him in his arms and placing him on the bed. As he gently patted Shao Han’s back, he sensed Shao Han’s tears on the skin of his neck.

Shao Han sniffled softly in the crook of Yao Sen’s neck, a slight tremor to his exhales. Even when he was upset and sad, Shao Han cried quietly, in keeping with his reserved nature.

But as the sobs continued to pour out, each and every sound tore at Yao Sen’s heart, causing it to throb with pain.

Yao Sen, as both a pro player and Shao Han’s boyfriend, knew exactly how he felt. The competition is a zero-sum game, and anything you say after losing is merely an excuse.

They rarely got to stand on the same field, and the amount of time and effort it took to leave a footprint behind was enormous, and yet all their efforts were dictated by two digits on the scoreboard.

Although everyone praised Noah for setting a new personal best, Yao Sen understood that Noah didn’t want to rest on their laurels; they wanted to go even further.

Yao Sen hugged him and spoke to him in a low voice. The gentler Yao Sen spoke, the more Shao Han wanted to cry, and eventually, he gave in and sobbed his heart out, letting out all the stuffy emotions in his heart.

Yao Sen lifted the other’s face and took it in, seeing that Shao Han was almost recovered. Shao Han’s eyes were still red and his lashes damp. He couldn’t help but laugh as he wiped Shao Han’s eyes with his thumb, saying, “Little Left Shao can now change his name to Little Bunny Shao.”

Shao Han’s lips were slightly curled in embarrassment. It was the first time he cried for so long in front of Yao Sen, and he was a little ashamed of it, but it did make him feel a lot better. Leaning over, he gave Yao Sen a light peck on the lips, and said, “Yao Sen, thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Yao Sen laughed as he got off the bed. “Let me get you a warm towel for your eyes, okay? So they won’t be swollen tomorrow.”

When Yao Sen came back with the warm towel, Shao Han had almost drifted off to sleep. He’d cried a lot earlier, and now that he’d calmed down, the exhaustion from competing was catching up with him.

Shao Han subconsciously reached out to hug Yao Sen the moment he sat down on the edge of the bed, as if he’d sensed him approaching. Yao Sen took his hand in his and placed the towel over Shao Han’s eyes after making sure that it wasn’t too hot.

Shao Han fell asleep soon after due to the warmth of the towel covering his eyes. Seeing that Shao Han’s breathing had evened out, Yao Sen tucked Shao Han’s arm under the blanket, then got up and left the room.

At the end of round four, five teams remained in the competition. To no one’s surprise, Odin sat at the top of the winners bracket and was currently the only team with a clean sweep. They would directly skip rounds five and six, heading straight to the grand final.

The four remaining teams with a one-win, one-loss record currently were Titans, Lincoln, and the German and Singaporean teams. Round five would begin the following morning, and the matchups were already set, with Titans facing Singapore and Lincoln facing Germany.

Titans were relatively more familiar with the Singaporean team, having met them at the Asian regionals. They were indeed strong, but them being able to enter the top 4 involved quite a bit of luck.

On the other hand, there wasn’t much suspense to Lincoln’s matchup with the German team—the former had consistently outmatched the latter all year round.

In other words,Titans were almost certain to face Lincoln for the first time in the final round of the losers’ bracket.

When Yao Sen walked out of his room, the rest of the Titans members were chatting in the living room. Yao Sen walked over to the sofa and took a seat, and upon seeing him, Wang Yuxi asked, “Is Shao ge okay?”

“He’s fine. He’s sleeping.”

“Cobra was also eliminated in round four by the Germans,” Wang Yuxi sighed. “And now we’re the village’s only hope.”

“The match against Singapore tomorrow shouldn’t be a problem. It all comes down to the match against Lincoln,” Bai Yue piped up. “Actually, on the bright side, we’ll at least come in third place.

“That’s nowhere near breaking Caesar’s runner-up record with Cobra back in his day,” Yao Sen said half-jokingly, his eyes closed indolently. “Lincoln made Shao Han cry. I’m not going to spare them for that.”

“……” Wang Yuxi gave him a death glare. “Lao-ge I love how pumped up you are, but please at least find something to motivate the rest of us as well.”

Yao Sen succinctly offered, “How about this then—Lao Wang, if we beat Lincoln, I’ll treat you to a month’s worth of milk tea.”

Wang Yuxi pumped his fist and hammered the sofa. “All right! That’s what I’ve been waiting for! Grand-daddy Xi will definitely fuck that little whippersnapper Kevin up real good tomorrow!”

Bai Yue: “Won’t he be the one fucking you up?”

Wang Yuxi: “No way! I’ll be the one doing the fucking! I’m going to fuck him real hard!”

Bai Yue: “…You fucking anyone is the last thing I’d ever want to hear about.”

Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Coach Gou, who had come to talk to the energetic youngsters ahead of the final two matches.

After facing such formidable opponents, it became necessary to rely on instinct rather than pre-game planning. Rather than forcing them to stick to strategy, Coach Gou advised them to be flexible and adaptable to the ever-changing situation in the game.

Shao Han awoke in a disoriented haze at 10 p.m. He instinctively reached for Yao Sen, who was supposed to be sleeping next to him, but all he touched were bedsheets.

Shao Han checked the time after some confusion and discovered that it was after 10 p.m. Yao Sen was most likely with his teammates outside. Shao Han was still sleepy and wanted to go back to sleep, but he also wanted Yao Sen to come back and sleep with him, so he got up and walked to the door, intending to call Yao Sen back.

Shao Han opened the door, rubbed his eyes, and wearily mumbled, “Yao…”

Every head in the living room turned to Shao Han in unison. Coach Gou wore a flabbergasted look on his face as he saw the kid from Noah, who was wearing pyjamas and had obviously been sleeping in Yao Sen’s room.

Shao Han had assumed that only Titans members were in the living room, and since they already knew he and Yao Sen were dating, he came out in his pyjamas without much thought. Who could have guessed that the Titans’s coach was also present? He immediately came to his senses, his voice abruptly leaving him and his face flushed with embarrassment. “Hello Coach…” he greeted respectfully.

Coach Gou: “Xiao Shao? What are you doing here?”

“I came to look for Yao Sen… I was sleepy, so Yao Sen let me sleep in his room,” Shao Han explained, blushing. “I apologise for interrupting your conversation.”

“Ah, I see. It’s all good.”

“So,” said Yao Sen, coughing. “That should do for today, Coach.”

Coach Gou didn’t give it much thought. He simply realised that it was indeed getting late and that the kids were probably tired, so he stood up and said, “Right. Do your best tomorrow. I’ll be off then.”

After Coach Gou left, Yao Sen went straight back to his room. Shao Han was utterly humiliated. “Why didn’t you warn me that your coach would be coming…” he said awkwardly.

“How could I have warned you, baby?” Yao Sen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What’s the matter? What did you want me for?”

“You weren’t there when I woke up…” Shao Han said slowly, too embarrassed to admit that he didn’t sleep well without Yao Sen nearby. “You guys have a match tomorrow. I was going to tell you to go to bed.”

“Ahhh—okay.” Yao Sen, on the other hand, had already seen through him, and he smiled as he slyly said, “Then, baby, why don’t you go back and sleep in Noah’s suite? You can sleep in tomorrow. What if I wake you up too early?”

Shao Han was speechless, giving Yao Sen a faintly annoyed look. He turned around, lifted the blanket, and lay down, tightly wrapping himself in it. “I’m sleeping here.”

He paused, ducked his head under the covers, and, voice muffled, said, “I want to sleep with you.”

Yao Sen closed his eyes ruefully. Why was that his family’s Xiao Zuo couldn’t stand his bullying, why was he so cute? How could such a cute boy exist in this world?

Yao Sen took a deep breath. “Baby, I was wrong.”

“……” Shao Han refused to believe that Yao Sen would actually admit to his mistakes.

Yao Sen immediately laughed and said, “But I won’t go easy on you next time.”

“……” Shao Han thought: There it is.

After washing up, Yao Sen lay down on the bed and turned off the lights. Shao Han held his hand under the blankets and whispered, “I’ll be watching your match tomorrow.”

Yao Sen smiled. “Mm.”

The two round five matches would be played concurrently the next day, and both arenas were once again packed to capacity. Team Odin had also come to watch the match and perhaps due to their existing familiarity with Lincoln, they had unexpectedly chosen to watch Titans play instead.

Ethan sat in the players’ section. When he saw Titans emerge, he waved energetically at Yao Sen and shouted, “Hey! Yao! Good luck!”

Yao Sen looked up at Ethan and gave him a hearty smile.

The round five matches went as expected, with Titans and Lincoln both winning in three games, and they happened to run into each other as they exited the arena.

At this very moment, both the Chinese and international esports community was entirely focused on these two teams who were about to cross paths.

The final round of the losers’ bracket would begin in the afternoon. There was a lot of excitement and heated debate about who would be qualified to stand alongside Odin and go head-to-head for the gold, whether it would be their old rival Lincoln, or Titans, who possessed a shocking explosiveness and resilience despite losing once.

Regardless of the final results, Titans had already secured third place, which was the highest finish of all the Asian teams in the competition.

Yao Sen’s name had experienced a spike in online searches, indicating that Titans’s success was no longer solely an honour for the Chinese esports community alone. It was natural that as Titans’s captain, Yao Sen’s name became more and more well-known.

At three o’clock that afternoon, the final match of the knockout round officially commenced.

Everyone had been looking forward to this moment, and among those watching, there was one pair of eyes staring at Yao Sen more intently than any other.

Shao Han sat in the audience, his eyes locked on Yao Sen, fists clenched somewhat nervously and heart pounding in his chest.

Shao Han prayed for Yao Sen’s victory—not only because Noah had lost, but more so because he wanted for Yao Sen to be able to stand on the field a little longer, for Yao Sen was deserving of the glory.

Win, he uttered in his heart, you have to win.

☆ ☆ ☆

Thank you to Kofi Supporter for the kofi!

Chapter 63 | TOC | Chapter 65

Like this:Like Loading...