Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
First, there was the hot-blooded opening game, and then there was FTW’s deep-water torpedo, setting off wave after wave and leaving the China Glory circle dumbfounded.
At first, the fans burst out in tears, and then the anti-fans poked their heads up and began to stir up the muddy waters like crazy.
If there were enough Close fans to make a circle around the earth, then there were enough anti-fans to make one and a half circles around the earth.
As a man who’d stirred up the bloody rain in the Glory circles, those who loved him loved him all the way down to their soul, and those who hated him hated him all the way down to their bones.
No matter how hard Xiang Liu worked to control the comments, he couldn’t hold back the haters who crowded together to apply pressure.
“Close is only 21. How’d he get a shoulder injury so serious that he has to leave the team for treatment?”
“If you can’t afford to lose, then just say it directly. Why put on such a miserable act?”
“Wake up, other than acting miserable, what else can FTW do? They’ve done this for three years. They’re probably unable to keep going on this year or something.”
“Laozi even thought that FTW was going to rise up this year. Like hell. Isn’t this just abandoning ship and running away?”
These were already considered good. There were more malicious ones later on––
“I’ve felt that things were weird ever since Quiet joined the team.”
“If there’s nothing going on, why change junglers? Lu Feng must’ve seen that FTW can’t continue on and was planning to find someone to take over.”
“FTW was already setting this up when they announced that Close would be switching to the top lane. He’d played jungler for four years, then said that he’s not suited to play jungler. Who would believe that?”
“He just wanted to find a way to step back, waiting for an opportunity to walk away.”
“That’s great. The contracts with their partners were signed earlier in the year, and they’ve already made enough money.”
“There’s no need to think about it. Two months later, FTW will send out a new statement––Oh hey, the treatment didn’t work, Close’s shoulder can’t recover, and he has to retire.”
Conspiracy theories, paranoia, and keyboard warriors emerged in an endless stream.
The fans who’d originally already been confused became even more of a mess when faced with these comments.
From the crying at the start to the questioning that followed, and then to the state where they were on the verge of collapse; even if FTW’s PR department was powerful, they were a bit unable to hold back the tide.
Until the professional players started forwarding Weibo posts.
First came the retired veterans, and then the popular newcomers, and then the new generation of immature future stars.
Everyone forwarded the same content. It was a simple but direct sentence––
Waiting for your light arcs to fill up the sky.
In the face of doubt, chaos, and the anti-fans who were fishing in troubled waters, strength was the strongest umbrella.
We’ll wait for your return.
Wait for you to light up the canyon with nine light arcs.
A man who could casually brush out nine light arcs, a man who was still at the peak of the competitive arena, a man who’d just crushed his opponents in a 1v3 in the canyon.
How could you say he was weak?
What gave you the right to suspect him?
Why would you think that he wanted to retreat? Why would you vilify him and accuse him of wanting to give up the game!
How could such a powerful player, a player who was still indomitable when he was in poor physical condition, stop when he was so close to that ultimate glory?
Countless professional players stepped up and stabilized the fans’ hearts with their respect for Close that came from the bottom of their hearts.
Close wasn’t going to retire.
Close wasn’t running away.
Close was using a short departure to bring back even more brilliant and spectacular glory!
At this time, the Glory competition committee also released the team chat recordings from the opening game.
The editor of Glory’s Mic Explosion King was also a loyal fan of Close. He cried as he edited, and worked overtime to release the voice clips.
“I’ll use the shadow thief.”
“Use the shadow thief for the top lane?”
“Give it a try.”
“Is it that you don’t believe in yourself, or that you don’t believe in your captain.”
……
…
The team chat voice clips came out, and countless people poured in to listen.
The fans came to find comfort, and the anti-fans came to see the excitement. Everyone was very curious; they wanted to know what the mentality of the team members who’d long known that Close would be leaving the team would be like.
Were they depressed?
Were they downcast?
Were they charged with energy and momentum, just wanting to win the game with all their strength?
Or were they dejected? Confused? Helpless?
And then––
“It’s okay, this section can be broadcast. I, Quiet, can sit right here and brush out nine light arcs with my eyes closed, but I’ll never admit that I brushed them out with my eyes open.”
“So it turns out you don’t like me, I’m a jungler, so you actually don’t like me.”
“Captain, captain, give it to me!”
In the video, the shadow thief was helping the immortal thief beat up the blue buff monster.
“Captain, I want it…”
The immortal thief in the canyon was eating the shadow thief’s medicine pack.
“Captain, you don’t love me anymore, you only have Moon-moon in your eyes!”
Oh, this was when the immortal thief couldn’t get the kill for Moonlit.
The fans who had tears welled up in their eyes and had used up a few packages of tissues with their crying, “???”
The gossip watching passersby who’d pre-cut their melons and prepared their melon seeds, “???”
The anti-fans who’d loaded up their bullets, set up their cannons, arrayed themselves majestically and were ready to start flaming, “???”
What the hell was going on here!!!
Was FTW depressed and downcast?
All they could hear was them going crazy, acting reckless, and going wild!
Were the players dispirited, confused, and helpless?
All they could hear was ‘hahahahahahahahahahaha’!
Oh, they’d guessed one thing right––FTW did want to win this game.
But other than this point, they’d overthought everything else!
By the time RR’s voice chat was released, the fans’ tearful emotions had completely melted into smiles.
Money: “You want to screw Close?”
Moonlit: “Who doesn’t want to screw Close?”
As soon as these two sentences came out, the comments in Glory’s Mic Explosion King had already been taken over by ‘6666’, ‘hahahaha’, etc.
The atmosphere in FTW’s team chat was the best heart tonic.
Wei Xiao’s ability to drive the atmosphere spread through the entire internet, making many fans laugh and giving the crowd of anti-fans no way to continue.
If FTW was depressed, they would stomp on them further.
But FTW’s mentality was excellent, so they stopped.
It sounded ironic, but the reality was also that ironic.
It was the restless person whose ID was ‘Quiet’ who’d quietly brought the events of that night to a climax.
FTW.Quiet: @FTW.Close, we’ll be waiting for your return with first place in our group.
One stone stirred up a thousand waves. The fans who’d quieted down slightly were instantly stirred up again.
“Is Quiet serious?!”
“Can our FTW take first place in their group in the regular season?!”
“Are they so confident even without Close?”
Wei Xiao didn’t reply to any of them––
There was no use in saying anything, they just had to do it. He was a pragmatic person.
The captain had already made up his mind to go abroad and treat his shoulder. How could he not perform well?
Getting number one in the regular season would be the best gift to welcome Close back with!
When they returned to the base, FTW didn’t arrange any organized training. Everyone played ranked games as they liked, or rested if they wanted to rest. Chen Feng didn’t manage them much.
Wei Xiao was now the most careful person, “Captain, it’s time to sleep!”
Lu Feng: “It’s not that serious.”
Wei Xiao himself got up first, “When you’re better, I definitely won’t let you go to sleep so early.”
Lu Feng looked at him, “Hm?”
Wei Xiao’s heart trembled.
The captain obviously hadn’t said anything, and his gaze was also calm and indifferent, but Wei Xiao could hear something else from this extremely subtle tone.
For example, when he was messing around last night and didn’t sleep, the tone the captain had used after he’d ‘coaxed’ him to sleep.
F*ck!
Wei Xiao blushed.
Brother Cai was clueless, but he still interjected, “Old Wei, do you know what you look like right now?”
Wei Xiao, whose back was to Bai Cai, looked like a little spicy crayfish.
Brother Cai: “You look like the captain’s caring little babysitter!”
Wei Xiao: “…………”
Lu Feng had a smile in his eyes. He stood up and said, “Let’s go.”
Brother Cai glanced at Wei Xiao as he was waiting for his next game, and then…
What the hell? What, what the hell?!
Wei Xiao could blush?
Wasn’t it just a babysitter? His expression didn’t even change, nor did his heart jump when he had called him a little wife!
What was there to be shy about?!
Brother Cai firmly believed that he’d gone blind.
Wei Xiao didn’t understand what Bai Cai was saying at all. When he got out of the training room, he hooked his hand into Lu Feng’s.
Lu Feng held his hand back.
Wei Xiao lowered his voice, “What if we’re seen?”
Lu Feng: “It’s okay.”
Wei Xiao’s courage fattened up again, and he leaned in close to him, “You’re leaving tomorrow.”
Lu Feng: “Mm.”
Wei Xiao: “Tonight…”
Lu Feng’s throat convulsed, “Little Xiao.”
“Don’t.” Wei Xiao couldn’t bear to hear his voice like this, “It makes my legs soft.”
Lu Feng: “……”
Wei Xiao deliberately repeated it, “When you call me like this, it makes my legs go soft.”
Lu Feng couldn’t stand it. He dragged him to the back stairs and kissed him against the wall.
After waiting for an entire day, their lips finally collided together.
Wei Xiao gasped loudly, “Let’s take a bath together.”
Lu Feng kissed his earlobe.
Wei Xiao’s entire body quivered, “I-I can’t wait anymore.”
The time it took for this bath was a little long. By the time they came out, Wei Xiao was leaning against Lu Feng, and if it weren’t for Lu Feng’s shoulder injury, he would’ve asked him to carry him.
Lu Feng liked him like this. Delicate kisses landed lightly from time to time.
After being satisfied, Wei Xiao hid in the quilt and kissed him.
Bit by bit, little light touches.
It was playing, but there was also a bit of an attempt to comfort his own heart and unwillingness to part.
Two months really wasn’t a long time.
They’d missed out on each other for two years. Two months now was nothing in comparison.
What’s more, Lu Feng was going for treatment. It was a good thing, a positive thing, and it mustn’t be delayed.
However, no matter how much he understood these things, his heart was still reluctant.
He wanted to see him every day, wanted to be able to kiss him every day, wanted to hold him every night.
Even being heart to heart wasn’t close enough. How could he stand being thousands of miles apart?
Wei Xiao didn’t send Lu Feng off.
He’d insisted on going, but Lu Feng had refused.
Chen Feng dragged him away and asked, “Are you not going to play in the training match?”
Wei Xiao looked pitifully at the captain, and Lu Feng almost kissed him on the spot.
“I’ll call you when I’m settled in.” Lu Feng spoke to him quietly.
Wei Xiao corrected him, “Call me when you land.”
Lu Feng: “… Okay.”
Wei Xiao had a stomach full of words he wanted to say, but unfortunately, he could only stare at him like this while they were in public.
Lu Feng shifted his gaze again, “Go back inside.”
Wei Xiao called him again, “Captain!”
Lu Feng turned to look at him.
Wei Xiao ultimately wasn’t able to hold back, “I’ll miss you…” I’ll miss you so, so much.
Lu Feng: “……”
Xiang Liu, who knew something about their relationship, started sweating. He was worried that the internet that had finally calmed down would blow up again.
And it would be because of this kind of ‘scandal’.
Brother Liu: “We’ll-we’ll all miss Captain Lu!”
Chen Feng picked up the conversation, “Enough, when your captain comes back, he can even accompany you to solo day and night.”
Lu Feng answered, “Mm.”
It was unknown if this was an answer to Chen Feng, or Wei Xiao.
After sending away Lu Feng, Wei Xiao’s heart felt empty.
Their training match that evening was very quiet. Chen Feng asked him, “Do you want to take the shadow thief?”
Wei Xiao: “Oh.”
Brother Cai glanced at him, “Can you be a little more promising, just based on your current appearance, how will we get first place in the group!”
Then, during their training match with RR, Wei Xiao used the shadow thief and brushed out nine light arcs.
Brother Cai: “………………”
Did the face slapping have to happen so quickly?!
RR base.
Brother Dog yelled, “Ban the shadow thief, in the future, we’ll send the shadow thief up to the ban position anytime we encounter FTW!”
It was too toxic, he was going to be f*cking traumatized!
After the training match, Bai Cai poked Wei Xiao, “Not bad, you can brush out light arcs as you like.”
Wei Xiao turned his head blankly, “Ah?”
Bai Cai’s heart thumped briefly––damn it, it can’t be that this fellow’s nine light arcs can really only be brushed out with his eyes closed, right?!
After his spirit spent 12 hours outside of his body, a transpacific phone call activated Wei Xiao again.
Lu Feng’s voice was a little hoarse, “Awake?”
Wei Xiao was instantly filled with energy, “You’ve landed?”
Lu Feng: “Mm.”
“Captain,” Wei Xiao blurted out the words in his heart, “I miss you.”
Lu Feng: “Mm, me too.”
Wei Xiao still wanted to say something else, but he heard Lu Feng continue, “I wish I could fly back to see you now.”
Wei Xiao: “!”
F*ck, the captain was too wicked!
‘Ding’ ‘Ding’ ‘Ding Ding’...
Wei Xiao hadn’t slept all night and was still in the training room. His computer hadn’t been turned off, and the sound was from a private chat channel in the game.
It hadn’t been easy for him to wait for Lu Feng’s call, so he definitely wasn’t going to pay attention to anyone else.
But Lu Feng heard it, “You haven’t slept all night.”
Wei Xiao: “……”
Lu Feng: “Go sleep.”
Wei Xiao: “No way!”
He glanced at the computer out of the corner of his eyes and saw the messages.
Yuan ‘not a person’ Ze: “Your captain came to North America?”
“F*ck, he has a shoulder injury?”
“He’s two years younger than Laozi, he actually overworked his shoulder?”
“Little Close is no good.”
“That’s not it, if he’s coming to North America, why didn’t he contact me?”
“Give me his phone and flight number. I’ll go pick… cough, I’ll go laugh at him!”
apricot: oo Yuan Ze the tsundere~ how cute haha
xiin: ahhh ~ i feel like the Glory Mic Explosion King too, crying while translating the chapter @[email protected]