CH 37.1

Weren’t these two people clamoring quite loudly at them, why are they wilting now? Confused by this situation, Xiao Li glanced at the dignified-looking stranger, wondering what his story was.

Unable to bear the current atmosphere, Zhang Jin gave in first: “Coach, we know we were wrong, could you…”

Was this Liu Jinxuan, the trainer of the Black Soul Club training camp? No wonder these two guys were so subdued that they didn’t dare to speak out.

Lin Xiao raised his eyebrows in understanding, looked at the tall man in the dim light, and concluded with a simple assessment: ‘He looks very strict. Judging by the aura he currently displays, I’m afraid he is even more severe than he appears.’

With that, he agreed with Zhang Jin’s words, smiling widely, “That’s right, coach, please forgive them, they were just trying to suppress the newcomers, it’s not a big deal.”

It was better if he didn’t say anything, because as soon as the words fell, the surrounding air pressure seemed to drop a bit, and the atmosphere became even more awkward.

If you don’t speak, no one will treat you as dumb! Zhang Jin and Feng Sheng almost exploded on the spot; if it wasn’t an inappropriate occasion, they wished they could rush over and beat this foul-mouthed guy.

Liu Jinxuan gave them a blank look and said, “Indeed, it’s not a big deal, so I will punish you with three more hours of reaction training today. If your overall score is lower than 80%, you will keep training tomorrow night.”

Feng Sheng’s mouth trembled, and he was about to argue, but Zhang Jin discreetly pulled him away and spoke first: “Let’s go now!”

Lin Xiao happily watched the two jostle away, turned his head to meet Liu Jinxuan’s gaze, and smiled, “Coach Liu is indeed as determined as they say.”

“I don’t want people to misunderstand, it would bother me if they thought everyone was like that in Black Soul Club.” As Liu Jinxuan said this, he took the documents from someone else, flipped through them, took out two sheets, and handed them to Lin Xiao. “This is all the training and testing arrangements for one month in the camp. I hope you can stay until the end. You are in Area C, so if you have any questions, you can consult Zou Qiguan. During the trial period, he will be in charge of your area.”

After these words, a weak voice came out softly: “Hey, hello, I’m Zou Qiguan. Although the second character reads ‘Qi,’1 because of how it is written, you can also call me ‘switch.'”

Although he heard the voice, he didn’t see the person speaking.

Lin Xiao looked around, only to find a boy half-hidden shyly behind Liu Jinxuan’s tall body. He looked about sixteen or seventeen. While introducing himself, he subconsciously clutched Coach Liu’s shirt with one hand because of the pressure. The originally neat outfit was already crumpled, yet strangely, Liu Jinxuan let him knead it and didn’t order to let go.

It was obviously the boy’s first time ‘going official’ and he seemed very uncomfortable being the center of attention.

“Stay here and explain the details to them. The others, follow me to Area D.” After the last sentence, Liu Jinxuan left with the others.

Without the natural shield that was the coach, Zou Qiguan looked even more at a loss as he blushed and gripped the corners of his clothes. He had a head full of slightly curly chestnut hair, plus a pretty face with red lips and white teeth that made people want to pet him. This fresh and shy aura emanating from his whole body was like a little plush toy with drooping ears, which softened people’s hearts.

“Then…then let me tell you…” After a while, Zou Qiguan finally choked out a sentence weakly.

Lin Xiao, who felt like laughing a little at his appearance, carefully pulled him into the room as if he were a small pet and waved at Xiao Li: “Come, come, don’t stand in the hall, come in, let’s sit and talk.”

As Lin Xiao had said in the training hall before, in the first month of joining the Black Soul Club, the weekly tests remained almost unchanged from that year. The only adjustment was to improve the specific testing methods and rules, which were much more targeted.

Zou Qiguan obviously did his homework seriously, and although his introduction was a bit slow, he explained everything clearly and in detail. Although Lin Xiao already understood the regulations by simply flipping through them, he couldn’t bear to disturb him, seeing his earnest appearance. Therefore, he waited patiently for him to finish all the explanations before handing him over a glass of water with a smile, “Very good, very clear explanation, thank you!”

Zou Qiguan happily took a sip of water and did not forget to remind them, “Tomorrow was still supposed to be a holiday, but just now, the club issued a notice saying that it has been canceled, so don’t forget to wake up early and get together.”

“Oh no! Why do we have to start training when we’ve barely arrived!” Xiao Li wailed, went straight to the bed, and made a pillow out of a pile of clothes that Lin Xiao hadn’t had time to arrange.

Lin Xiao didn’t pay much attention to him, and after neatly putting away the materials on the table, he asked Zou Qiguan, “How long have you been in the training camp?”

Zou Qiguan smiled and replied, “I joined last year.”

Xiao Li teased him: “Doesn’t that make you our senior?”

Zou Qiguan scratched the back of his head in embarrassment: “I’m younger than you, so I can’t be called a senior, just call me ‘Switch.'”

Lin Xiao complied: “Okay, Switch, what character are you using?”

At this question, Zou Qiguan blushed inexplicably and hesitated for a while before saying: “My character is a priest… but compared to Captain You, I’m so much worse. I guess I won’t be an official team player too soon.”

Yo, it looks like we have another fan of You Jing here. Lin Xiao patted his shoulder and said with a smile, “No priest player in the entire League dares to say that he is better than Captain You, right? It’s good for a teenager to have ambitions, but don’t expect too much of yourself in the beginning. You don’t have to compare yourself to Team Leader You and beat yourself up over it.”

Zou Qiguan shook his head, “It is not like that. Actually, coach Liu nominated me twice before as a candidate for the preparatory selection, but in the end, I was rejected both times. At that time, the coach told me that I have a fatal flaw, that is, when playing against others… sometimes, I am too timid. Thinking about it, maybe I’m not really fit to be a professional player, but actually, as long as I can continue to stay in the training camp, I’m already very happy.”

Perhaps feeling a little embarrassed at the end of the speech, he secretly stuck out his tongue, then lowered his head and drank some more water. Although such words seemed somewhat despondent, those eyes were always clear and bright, and although he laughed at himself, he did not spread much negative emotion of loss or unhappiness.

So, in terms of psychological quality, it was sufficient for the professional level. Lin Xiao observed everything and smiled softly, “In fact, timidity is not necessarily a bad thing. You should know that in a certain way, it also means caution. Speaking of this, wasn’t Vice Captain Shen also very timid when he first joined the team?”

Zou Qiguan’s attention shifted back from the glass, “Ah, so Vice Captain Shen was the same as me before?”

Thinking of the past, Lin Xiao touched his chin thoughtfully: “He wasn’t quite the same. To be honest, he was even shyer than you…”

…

At this time, in the training hall of the Black Rose team, Shen Chang, who was concentrating on the evaluation form, sneezed heavily.

Liu Zeshen, who was sitting next to him, looked up, “What, have you caught a cold?”

“No.” Shen Changyu cleared his throat and looked up just in time to see You Jing coming through the door with Liao Yuan trailing behind him. His hands stopped moving involuntarily, and he shouted, “Captain You!”

You Jing stopped at the door and looked at him: “Looking for me?”

Shen Changyu paused when the words reached his lips and asked tactfully after some deliberation: “The new battle strategy came out, but I didn’t find you this afternoon. Where did you go?”

You Jing said casually, “Oh, I just went for a walk.”

Shen Changyu looked at Liao Yuan behind him pointedly and said, “And Manager Liao also went for a walk with you?”

Hearing this question, a figure inexplicably appeared in You Jing’s mind. With a glint in his eyes and not much emotion in his voice, he said, “I found a stray cat and handed it over to manager Liao to deal with it. If there’s any sign of breaking the rules at any time, kick it out straight away.”

His eyes swept over Shen Changyu and he finished with one last sentence: “Manager Liao, explain the situation in the training camp to Vice Captain Shen.”

Liao Yuan stood there dumb until You Jing walked away, then entered the training room with a whole stack of documents.

This is a little tricky for non-Chinese speakers, his name is 亓关 – QiGuan, and his nickname, ‘Switch’ is 开关 – KaiGuan. I guess it’s related to the char design