CH 46

Onyx Blue11-14 minutes 30.04.2023

When the organizing committee announced that the Black Rose team had abandoned the match, it immediately caused an uproar in the venue.

No one expected such a thing to happen in this round, so after reading the notice received, the commentator fell silent.

The passion ignited by the two teams during the match seemed to have been completely extinguished by a cold water basin. Not only the fans of Black Rose but also the Apocalypse team’s fans could not accept this situation of winning without a fight, and there were questions everywhere.

After a scene that seemed a little out of hand, both teams exited the arena under security escort.

In the post-match interviews, the reason why the Black Rose team abandoned the game naturally became the focus of all media reporters.

When the team members came into the inner lounge for the reception, some people immediately noticed You Jing’s absence and turned their attention to Shen Changyu, who was sitting in the captain’s place, and the accompanying head coach, Li Bochuan.

Faced with a flurry of incisive questions, Shen Changyu’s answer sounded very official: “Due to some internal arrangements within the team, we have temporarily decided to give up this round. We are very sorry for that.”

All those present were veteran journalists, so how could they not hear the perfunctory nuance of the words? Immediately, someone asked a perceptive question: “May I ask why Captain You didn’t attend the reception? The match that ended earlier was really impressive. Is his absence now related to the previous game?”

This question drew everyone’s attention, and the audience immediately quieted down.

Li Bochuan pulled the microphone toward him, looked around, and calmly replied: “Undeniably, the duel against Captain Yan depleted a lot of Captain You’s energy, which is why we let him go back to rest early. However, the temporary withdrawal in this round is entirely due to the team’s strategic arrangement and has nothing to do with Captain You.”

Now, regarding the meaning of “strategic arrangement of the team”, in the subtext it actually meant “no comment.”

Seeing that they couldn’t get any breaking news so far, the reporters looked unreconciled and threw out another question: “As we all know, the Black Rose team has not performed satisfactorily so far this season and has now voluntarily given up the fight for five points in the team competition. Judging by the situation, you are likely to miss the playoff qualification. How does the team feel about the current situation, which is not optimistic?”

Such a question was obviously pointed and one might even say targeted.

Xu Yiming was the first to feel upset, and he grabbed the microphone: “Why is it not optimistic? Just wait and see, we will definitely make the playoffs!”

Shen Changyu patted him on the shoulder, motioning him to sit down, and looked at the reporter who asked the question with a faint smile: “As Yiming said, we’ll see you in the playoffs.”

Although he had the same gentle smile as usual, his tone exuded a clear sense of confidence, as if he was bound to win.

The atmosphere in the venue was weird for a while, but from the current situation, it was obviously impossible to dig out any clues from the Black Rose team.

The reporters could only watch them leave helplessly, and after the Apocalypse team entered the interview area, they directly focused on Yan Duzhou: “May I ask Captain Yan, what do you think about the ‘strategic’ explanation given by the Black Rose team for forfeiting the game?”

Yan Duzhou seemed to have the same indifferent expression for thousands of years. He paused for a moment when he heard the question and smiled slightly: “I’m looking forward to seeing what strategy they come up with next.”

Hey, hey, what we want isn’t a purely official answer, okay? Reporters almost felt like crying. Everyone was so tight-lipped, how the hell were they going to dig up valuable journalistic material?!

Unwilling to give up, they could only continue to ask tentatively: “So, Captain Yan, do you have anything else to say about Black Rose‘s strong confidence that they can make it to the playoffs?”

Yan Duzhou said: “I am looking forward to playing against them again in the playoffs.”

With such an insubstantial answer, many reporters threw their notebooks on the floor – why was it so hard to hear anything concrete from these contestants? How could they do their job under these circumstances?

…

Department of Orthopedics, Second Hospital of the H City.

Lin Xiao was waiting bored in the hallway for You Jing to finish his examination when he received a call from Xiao Li: “Hey, Boss Xiao.”

“Hey, what hey? I say, where are you now? Do you know that our team has abandoned the competition? This place is now in a frenzy!”

Xiao Li was obviously still at the scene, and from the noisy background, one could almost imagine the chaotic scene.

Lin Xiao said: “It’s too noisy, I’m in the hospital now. You can go back by yourself.”

Xiao Li was taken aback: “Hospital? Didn’t you go to the toilet? Why are you at the hospital?”

Lin Xiao said, “I am here with someone. We’ll talk when I get back.”

Without listening to what Xiao Li had to say, he hung up the phone.

When he looked up, he saw You Jing walking out, casually donning his team uniform. He looked at the wound on his hand that had been treated briefly and asked: “Does it still hurt?”

You Jing said: “It doesn’t hurt.”

From his angle, Lin Xiao saw the man’s thick eyelashes that seemed to have a thin layer of mist due to the cold air around him and were hiding the expression in his eyes, making it impossible to guess his thoughts. Amused, he followed behind, sat cross-legged on the chair next to him, and waited.

When the examination report came out, before You Jing could react, he had already grabbed it without a word, then turned and led him to the doctor’s office.

When he presented the examination results to the doctor, Lin Xiao was predictably nervous.

“From the report, it does look like it’s slightly worse than before, but the good news is that nothing vital has been hurt. But I can’t guarantee what will happen if you don’t heed my advice this time to take a break and get some good rest!” It seemed that Lin Xiao was regarded as a friend who tolerated You Jing’s capricious behavior, as the old doctor glared at him the entire time he spoke, with an attitude of disdain for someone who didn’t take good care of him. “Today, there are some new medicines, some taken orally and some applied externally. You must take care of him when you go back!”

“Yes, yes, definitely.” Lin Xiao responded with a playful smile, but after he was glared at, he put on a serious face and a correct attitude, “I promise to keep an eye on him this time, and if he messes around again, I’ll take responsibility.”

You Jing glanced at him.

Assured by such a sincere attitude, the old doctor was finally satisfied and let them go.

…

By the time they returned to the club base from the hospital, the sky had completely darkened, and for some reason, at this point in time, they hadn’t bumped into anyone along the way.

Lin Xiao strolled behind with big and small bags, all the way to the door of the dormitory.

Just as he was about to enter, You Jing suddenly stopped, turned around, and blocked the door: “Put these things down, you can go back.”

Under his gaze, Lin Xiao did not take another step. Instead, he slowly leaned over and placed the things by the door, casually looking at him: “You sure you want me to go back?”

You Jing said: “Definitely.”

Lin Xiao smiled and said, “Did you forget what the doctor said?”

You Jing frowned: “That’s my business.”

“Oh, it is indeed your business.” Lin Xiao glanced at the gauze in the bag, then at his slender and beautiful fingers, and he smiled faintly, “If you can finish the dressing with one hand, I have no problem.”

In the silence around him, the words seemed very slow: “Of course, you can also ask Vice Captain Shen or other team members to help. They probably won’t mind learning more about your condition, by the way.”

You Jing looked up, and his cold eyes flashed, seeing the smiling face before him. Without another word, he turned and entered the room, leaving the door open.

Lin Xiao happily brought the things from the door, took out the gauze and herbal patch, and looked at the room layout.

It had to be said that for a men’s room, it was indeed meticulously maintained.

Everything was neatly placed, without expensive decorations, but no matter where you looked, there was a unique indescribable feeling, just like the temperament of the owner.

After looking around, Lin Xiao paused suddenly when he accidentally caught a glimpse of the poster on the wall.

Whether it was the person on the poster or the whole scene, he was particularly familiar with it.

Better said, it was never forgotten.

It was in London, England at the GDL World Finals in a 10,000-capacity venue. The man in the center of the image was holding up the championship trophy, showing it to everyone. There was a very shallow smile on his lips, and the arrogance of a supreme king could be seen in his eyes.

No one was more familiar with the scene in the picture than he. This was his biggest moment of glory when he won the first national e-sports trophy that year.

After all these years, except for the old group of e-sports fans, the new gaming fans probably only heard of Old Ghost from some recordings. He didn’t know when and where You Jing got this poster and suddenly felt somewhat confused.

Glancing at the face that still didn’t show emotion, Lin Xiao had a secret plan in his heart– He would have to ask Vice Captain Shen to find his autograph as a souvenir some other day.

With this in mind, he crouched in front of You Jing, carefully held his left hand, and gently applied the medicine.

You Jing looked down at the serious man, and his focused expression left him stunned for a moment.

There was a sudden pain in his hand that made him subconsciously hum, and Lin Xiao immediately raised his head to look at him, “Does it hurt?”

You Jing frowned and averted his gaze when their eyes met: “It’s okay.”

“Say if it hurts, or don’t blame me if I press too hard.” Looking at his apparent calmness, Lin Xiao was angry, but despite what he said, his movements were much more careful.

It must be said that his bandaging skills were very good, professional even, and what might seem tedious to many people was done in minutes. Seeing the thin fingers wrapped like white radishes, Lin Xiao looked very satisfied and stood up after finishing his work: “Be careful and don’t touch the water. I’ll come again tomorrow night to help you change your bandage.”

You Jing looked at him quietly, without replying to his words, then suddenly asked: “Have you ever done this kind of bandaging before?”

“I did. There was a time when I had problems with my hands because I was training for too long. At those times, I bandaged myself.” Lin Xiao answered casually, then came back to his senses and suddenly paused, “Uh… Not only that but later, when my Master got hurt, I… Well, I often applied medicine for him, too.”

Following his words, there was a strange silence in the room.

In this atmosphere, Lin Xiao had a rare feeling of embarrassment, and his entire body was suddenly aware of a sudden cold sensation.

“Alright.” Just when he thought his secret was exposed, You Jing finally looked away, “I’ll be careful about the injured hand. You don’t have to talk about the specific situation with other people.”

It was enough for him to know these things, and he was not ready yet to tell Vice Captain Shen and the others about that.

Lin Xiao cleared his throat and replied calmly, “No problem.”

The author has something to say: Lin Xiao: Does it hurt?

You Jing: It’s okay.

Lin Xiao: Just say it hurts, or don’t blame me if I press you too hard.

Shen Changyu: (with a black line) What are you doing…