CH 15

Xiao Yin returned to the training room, where the two unstoppable children, Hui Mao and Ci She, were still discussing.

They were purely there for the spectacle and didn’t mind meddling in other people’s business. They leaned in to gossip: “Another fan of E God? What did he say? How did he feel when he saw the real person?”

Rong Yi put on his earphones and heard his name mentioned. He took them off again, lifted his eyes, and met Xiao Yin’s gaze.

Although Xiao Yin was responding to the other two children, his eyes fell on Rong Yi’s, and they seemed to carry a deeper meaning while also appearing indifferent: “I didn’t expect Easy to be so good-looking.”

“It’s like a dream.”

He gazed at Rong Yi solemnly and quietly.

Rong Yi felt that this man was trying to flirt with him.

But he had no evidence.

After thinking for a moment, Rong Yi joked, “Didn’t he say you look even better?”

In fact, he and Xiao Yin were not the same type. Rong Yi had a more delicate appearance, with a non-prominent bone structure, peach blossom eyes, fair and tender skin, and a somewhat neutral beauty.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yin had a very aggressive face, with distinct eyebrow bones, sharp phoenix eyes, a high and straight nose, thin sword-like eyebrows, and a very masculine vibe.

“Is that so?”

Xiao Yin still had his strange tone, his voice slightly hoarse. He had a calm and deep look in his slightly lowered eyes as he spoke softly to Rong Yi, “So, Captain Rong thinks I look pretty good?”

Rong Yi: “…”

The air conditioning in the training room was blowing cold air, making a whistling sound. Rong Yi rubbed his arms and avoided Xiao Yin’s gaze, muttering, “It’s a bit cold, I’m going to lower the air conditioning.”

Xiao Yin glanced at him and didn’t say anything. He pursed his lips and then left.

Leaving Hui Mao and the other two huddled together, looking at each other in confusion.

They seemed to have missed ten episodes of the plot.

Hui Mao whispered, “Do you think something’s off between Captain Rong and Brother Yin? It must be! Brother Yin is such a flirt, he definitely chose the mid-laner based on looks alone!”

“Just based on looks? You underestimate Brother Yin too much,” Ci She retorted unhappily.

“He definitely knew about this good-looking and awesome player in the domestic league, so he rushed to sign him when he came back to China, afraid that someone else would snatch him up. If he could marry Yi Shen, he would go register for marriage tomorrow.”

VIT’s first training match attracted a lot of attention from various sources, and the number of views on video websites even exceeded that of the Spring Finals a few years ago.

Also because of this game, the discussion surrounding Rong Yi has been pushed up a notch. Everyone is talking about his switch from RS to VIT.

Rong Yi is very popular among casual viewers. After the game, his highlight plays immediately became several hot topics, and his fans increased by over 200,000 overnight. Every play he made had millions of views.

RS’s fans were seething with anger.

They suddenly realized that after leaving RS, Easy didn’t fall into the depths they had imagined. Instead, he gained more and more attention.

Now, Rong Yi’s popularity is not only due to his spectacular plays, but also the scene where all the league’s supports gathered together. The public suddenly learned that there was a support player who had conquered all other players, and their attention towards him continued to grow.

But Rong Yi doesn’t pay attention to these things. Ever since he became captain, he hasn’t listened to outside voices for many years.

In the early morning, Rong Yi was the first one to get up. He sat in the training room with black coffee and bread, reviewing his personal plays.

After arriving at VIT, he moved his regular schedule two hours earlier, and now wakes up at six o’clock as usual. With summer approaching, their villa faces north and south, and overlooks a lake. The morning sunlight is intense and clear, and the lake sparkles with waves. It can be seen from the training room window from far away.

Generally, the others wouldn’t wake up until after 8 o’clock, but after playing for a while, Rong Yi suddenly heard someone ringing the doorbell.

He took off his headphones and went downstairs to see who it was.

They usually hire an auntie who comes early, so Rong Yi thought she might have changed her work hours. However, when he opened the door, he found that it was a delivery worker.

The worker said, “Overseas delivery, the recipient is called Xiao Yin. Are you his family? I need a signature.”

Rong Yi looked at the time and knew that Xiao Yin was still sleeping, so he said, “Okay, I’ll sign for him.”

“Okay.” The worker waited for him to sign, and then directly crouched down and used a box cutter to open the box. “Please inspect it.”

Rong Yi did not have the idea of prying into Xiao Yin’s privacy, but the other party had already opened the box crisply and neatly. It was a large logistics package, and after it was opened, there were several layers of huge picture frames and glass plates with artistic exhibition specifications, containing several landscape photographs.

Rong Yi looked at them several times and said, “The recipient is… named Xiao Yin, right?”

“Yes.”

The other side reported the mobile phone number again for verification, and Rong Yi no longer had any doubts.

He couldn’t carry such a big thing upstairs, so he left it by the door for the time being and went on to do his own thing.

After 8 o’clock, people came down one after another. The Hui Mao found the package at the door first, looked at the recipient’s name, and then shouted upstairs, “Brother Yin! Your package has arrived!”

“I got it.”

A few minutes later, Xiao Yin appeared in the stairwell and raised his hand to let Wu Dao Gu and himself carry the package upstairs.

Hui Mao asked, “What did you buy? Decorative paintings?”

“It’s Xiao Yin’s photography works from his old place. They were sent here before to be made into decorative wall hangings,” said Ci She, who knew a bit about it. “There are still some empty walls in his room.”

Rong Yi glanced over.

No wonder he found some of the landscapes familiar. Several photos were taken in their city several years ago. The lighting and composition were both very impressive.

He just didn’t expect that Xiao Yin took them.

“I didn’t know that. Xiao Yin won a photography award in high school, and everyone wanted to be his model. It’s a shame he said he’s not interested in photographing people,” Ci She said, knowing more about Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin also went to high school abroad, which was far away from their lives. Therefore, anything related to him seemed like a big secret.

“Any of the equipment at his home would be enough to cover my salary for a year, but I didn’t see any of them this time,” Ci She casually asked, “Hey, brother, can you lend me your camera when you have time?”

From upstairs came the sound of Xiao Yin’s cold voice: “Didn’t bring it. Also, the use of cameras is prohibited in our club.”

Ci She let out a wail, “Why?”

Rong Yi knew that Xiao Yin didn’t mention his fear of cameras too much to them, only that Easy couldn’t be on camera.

He didn’t know if Xiao Yin banning the use of cameras in the VIT club and saying he didn’t have equipment had anything to do with him. He felt like it might have something to do with him, but he didn’t have the standing to ask.

He couldn’t just ask, “Did you ban cameras because I stopped taking photos?”

At noon, when Rong Yi finished his solo training, the printer in the training room ran out of ink. He went to Xiao Yin’s office to print something.

Xiao Yin’s room had almost turned into his office. Like his bedroom, it was a suite, with a complete set of equipment and a desk in the outer room, and a lounge in the inner room.

When Rong Yi went over and knocked on the door, Xiao Yin was looking at the season training plan. He said, “Come in,” when he saw it was Rong Yi.

Earlier in the morning, someone from the league had come, and he was still wearing the suit he had worn to entertain them. His cold black suit jacket was draped over the side, and the buttons on his shirt were casually undone to the second one, revealing the smooth lines of his neck.

“Can I use your printer here?” Rong Yi handed him the document, and Xiao Yin nodded, gesturing for him to wait.

The printer hummed as it ran, and Rong Yi noticed that Xiao Yin’s office now had a landscape photo hanging on the wall. Compared to the previously pure gray decor, it added a bit of vitality.

It was a rainy scene, with high contrast and cool colors, letting people know that it was a winter rain.

Rong Yi was a little mesmerized by it.

The photo was really well taken. If Xiao Yin didn’t play e-sports, he would probably be an outstanding young man with excellent family and education, playing and mastering everything, even first-class photography.

“Thank you for signing for me.”

Xiao Yin gazed at the warm paper continuously being spit out of the printer, his gaze not lifting but knowing that he was looking at the photo behind him. “This kind of delivery usually requires personal signature. I wasn’t up yet at that time.”

“No need to thank me.”

Rong Yi was polite with him and thought of something else. “Have you checked it to make sure there are no issues? I didn’t want to look through your stuff, and I only glanced at it when he opened it.”

“No issues.”

The printing finished, and Xiao Yin got up and walked in front of Rong Yi, handing it over.

Rong Yi reached out to take it, but Xiao Yin’s fingertips were still holding the document, not moving, and the two of them froze awkwardly in mid-air.

Rong Yi raised his eyes in surprise.

“Just a personal signature. They called me to confirm and asked who helped me sign for it.”

Xiao Yin’s eyes were deep and beautiful, with a deep and cold radiance, and his long and black eyelashes reflected his shadow inside.

“I’ve already answered the phone. I want to know what you think is the best way to say it.”

He moved closer again, his fingertips relaxing, but Rong Yi no longer had the mind to take the paper. His fingertips froze in mid-air, and Xiao Yin pulled him over, gently holding his hand in his palm, warm and lingering.

The sensation rushed back to him in an instant, reminding him of those days before joining VIT.

Rong Yi’s ears were red, and his voice became very small. “Boyfriend.”