CH 61

Edited by kat

Xu Leng was a little afraid. 

The one who had said in high spirits that he wanted to play professionally was him, and the one who was now thinking of withdrawing was also him.

A few years ago, when he had started livestreaming on the platform, he had still been young, and obviously had some youthful vigor. Because of his good skills and voice, he gradually became the platform’s number one Ge. But in the end, that was all due to luck, and the platform back then had been in its infancy. 

After getting really popular, his mood grew to be very different from that at the beginning, and with a passion for e-sports, he had hot-bloodedly wanted to play e-sports professionally.

After today’s training match, he had thought a lot.

The captain clearly had the strength to win the championship, so why should he be dragged down by him.

With the salary the captain had signed him for, he could easily find another player with strength and experience. 

After everyone went back to their rooms, Xu Leng prepared himself mentally.

He couldn’t show any sadness. 

After going back, he could continue to be an independent game anchor. If he had a chance in the future, he could also find a small team and train in their youth training camp for a period of time.

Right now, he could also have counted as achieving one of his professional goals. 

The name QAQ-Cold would stay in his heart for his entire life.

Shen Qi smoothed his bangs and looked down at the quilt. Then, he slowly got up from the bed and dragged his slippers to open the door. 

Shen Qi tucked away the emotions in his eyes, pursed his lower lip, and the tip of his tongue touched his cheek. Only then did he open the door.

Xu Leng’s hand reaching for the door stopped in mid air. 

Shen Qi hadn’t replied to his text, so he had thought that the other party wasn’t going to listen to him.

“What? Knocking on a lone man’s door in the middle of the night?” The corner of Shen Qi’s mouth rose, he raised his eyebrows, and his tone was a little improper. 

Xu Leng choked on his own spit and pulled at his clothes. “Captain… Cough, I’m afraid Fu Ge will beat me.”

Hearing his words, Shen Qi snorted. Seeing that he was acting a bit off, he didn’t keep talking, and just entered the door. The door wasn’t closed but casually left open there. 

Taking the tablet from the bed, Shen Qi sat on the chair in front of the computer.

Then he motioned for Xu Leng to sit on the stool opposite him. 

He had bought this stool for his own convenience originally. Tch, he hadn’t thought it would be first used by Xu Leng.

It seemed that when it came time, he’d have to get another stool. 

He’d get a stronger one.

As an adult boy, sitting on such a short stool made Xu Leng a little uncomfortable. He felt like a child about to be lectured by his parents. 

When he sat up straight, Shen Qi straightened out his pajamas, then suddenly stood up, threw the tablet on the bed, and found a whiteboard in the cupboard at the head of the bed.

Xu Leng: …..??? 

Things didn’t seem quite right.

“Um… Captain… I wanted to talk to you about something…” His voice was as calm as when they had first met, and no emotion could be heard from it. 

Shen Qi sat down with the whiteboard in his arms and looked down at him.

He let out an “en.” 

Then he took out a marker and started to write on the whiteboard.

Seeing him like this, Xu Leng felt even more uneasy. 

In the beginning, the person who had mentioned his desire to play professionally to Captain was himself, and the person who had been willing to accept him was Captain.

If Captain wasn’t there, then there also wouldn’t be the him of today. 

The night and day hard training of these past few days had all meant that he was already a formal professional player.

Now that he was a professional player, could he easily say the two words “give up?” 

Xu Leng didn’t know.

In the end, he was only 18 years old. 

He opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and glanced up at the captain.

The light in the room was very bright, shining on the captain’s face. He slightly lowered his head, appearing focused, and was writing or drawing who-knew-what on the whiteboard. The corners of his mouth were even, without a smile. 

He looked a little more serious than usual.

The first time they had met was when they had queued together, and Dog Ge had thought, this person could really play. 

Later, they had teamed up, and he realized that this person could play better than himself.

After they had gotten to know each other more, he liked Sweetie very much. 

It had been the “like” of just simple friendship.

Up until they had met in-person for the first time, and his entire mind had pretty much been overtaken with joy. 

In fact, he had held some suspicions.

Although he had never heard Angry’s real voice before, he had always thought Sweetie’s gaming style was too similar. 

But Shen Qi always said that he was an iron-clad fan of Angry, and imitation was very possible.

And as for his hands, he hadn’t paid attention to that at all. 

Angry didn’t livestream, and the competition cameras didn’t have time to point at the players’ hands, at most, just showing a flash of them.

Later, because of Lu Tun and Ye Lai, he began to become more suspicious. 

Until they had really met.

Xu Leng took a deep breath, lowered his head, closed his eyes, then spoke in a very small voice, “Captain, how about you change me out ba.” 

Qlat atja, tf ofia tlr tfjga yfjalcu ilxf atecvfg.

Pa kjr cba tba lc atf gbbw, yea tf ralii ofia j ilaaif rkfja bc tlr obgftfjv. 

Vtfc Hl’r kglalcu rabqqfv, yea atfc tf qlcmtfv tlr fjg klat tlr ifoa tjcv. “Cgf sbe yeiislcu atf yjmx bo sbeg mjqajlc’r fjgr? Yg jgf sbe ifjgclcu ab tew ilxf j wbrdelab?”

He basically meant that he hadn’t heard him. 

Xu Leng’s head was lowered, so naturally he hadn’t seen Shen Qi stop writing, and thought that he really hadn’t heard him.

His previous courage to say that sentence was suddenly beaten back. 

Xu Leng’s shoulders slumped, and he clenched his hands in his sleeves.

After a moment’s silence, he said again, “I said, Captain, how about you…change me out ba…” 

This time, he said it loud enough.

“It’s over, Idol hates this attitude of giving up halfway the most.” Lu Tun was down on his knees and rubbing against the ground near Shen Qi’s door. His head poked out then drew back, and he shifted on his knees back two steps. 

“Shh, keep your voice down.” Ye Lai made a silencing gesture, and he was using the same posture as Lu Tun to eavesdrop on the other side of the door while facing him.

Shen Qi put down his pen. 

His fingertips twisted.

He narrowed his eyes a bit. 

He kept feeling that Xu Leng was a little fatter and taller than when he had first met him.

18-year-old boys were still growing up. 

He wasn’t as cold as when they had first met, nor as mature looking anymore.

Shen Qi propped his right leg up on his left knee and rubbed his fingers back and forth on his knee. 

A few seconds later, he turned the whiteboard around.

“En, come here, I’ve calculated it out for you.” 

Xu Leng: ?

Xu Leng raised his head, a little confused. 

He saw a series of numbers with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division across the whiteboard.

Shen Qi’s handwriting was very attractive. 

Just like his appearance.

With his elbow on his right knee, his chin in his palm, and the whiteboard in his other hand in front of his knee, he said, “En, your annual salary, your prize money share, and the penalty fee of when you signed the contract. 

“Did you have a good look at these back then?”

Xu Leng’s head started spinning. 

Shen Qi didn’t give him time to respond. “Ah, if you want me to switch you out, I can. I signed you as a regular player, and the salary I gave you is equal to that of one of the best professional players in China. The bonus I gave you is also good.

“Because of the high wages, the proportion of the liquidated damages is also high. 

“We signed a contract for five years, and this is the penalty you would need to pay for your breach of contract.

“Before you leave, settle this fee oh~” 

With that, he looked up at Xu Leng, who was still a bit dazed.

Xu Leng naturally had no legal knowledge. 

He also hadn’t scrutinized his contract back then.

“Is our penalty ratio so high? A tyrannical clause! This is against the law!” Lu Tun was filled with indignation. 

Ye Lai slightly frowned and glared at him. “You shut up. If Shifu discovers you in a bit, you’ll be finished.

“Also, why didn’t you read your contract seriously. The proportion of liquidated damages on it is lower than the normal proportion. 

“Shifu is fooling people again.”

Ye Lai whispered and shook his head helplessly. He continued to hold onto the door and stick out his little head to watch. 

Shen Qi snorted. “How much money did you make after working as an anchor for so long? Can you afford to pay the liquidated damages?”

He stretched out his legs, and his expression seemed to be satisfied. 

“Ah… If you can’t afford it, then you can only pay it off with your body, but I don’t know if I’ll get any money for selling you to other teams?”

His finger tapped a few times against his chin, and then Shen Qi shook his head, seeming to personally override this decision. “Not very good, it’s not like you’re worth much.” 

Xu Leng: ……

“I…” 

Shen Qi stretched out his hand and waved it around. “Don’t talk right now, and let me think about the right move. If you can’t afford it, then I can’t let you go, since I can’t lose money.”

Xu Leng let out an “oh” and didn’t dare to say anything again. 

It wasn’t like he was stupid.

He had figured out what was going on now. 

His eyes stung a little.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly fell silent. 

Shen Qi didn’t speak any more. He pressed his left hand against his temple and tapped his right fingertips on his knee.

He seemed to be really thinking about the right move to make. 

Xu Leng also didn’t say anything.

He was a bit uneasy, holding the hem of his clothes unconsciously, his legs stuck together. Sitting on the stool, his legs were a little long, and he could only hold them to his chest. His chin was on his knees, and it looked a bit strenuous. 

“I…” Xu Leng started to talk.

But he seemed a bit choked up. 

In the end, he couldn’t hide his emotions.

He wasn’t reconciled to this after all. 

Shen Qi took a deep look at him.

Xu Leng felt that the captain’s eyes were filled with a lot of regret and bewilderment. 

And, the greatest amount of emotion there was disappointment.

Those eyes made Xu Leng feel hot all over. 

His pores kept seeping out cold sweat.

It was both cold and hot. 

One part was regret.

One part was shame. 

Two minutes later, Shen Qi kicked the whiteboard behind him with his heel. The whiteboard slid several times on the ground until it hit the bedside table.

“Xu Leng.” This was the first time that Shen Qi had seriously said Xu Leng’s name. 

Xu Leng said instinctively, “I’m here!”

“In fact…” Shen Qi stroked his forehead and sneered. “What I hate the most are people who give up halfway.” 

“Sorry, Captain…I….”

“Before, I was also someone who gave up halfway.” His slippers rubbed twice against the ground. 

What he was talking about was when he had easily decided to retire.

Xu Leng let out a soft “en.” 

“You can face your shortcomings, and you can blame others for their shortcomings, but you can’t just give up after failing one training match.

“Dog Di ah…” Shen Qi’s tone suddenly became serious, which made Xu Leng think of the head teacher he had met several times. 

“You’re a professional player.

“This isn’t a profession that others see as ‘not a real job,’ but an honor. 

“Because of love, so many people choose this road.

“We have this ability, so we can continue to go down this path. 

“If you weren’t worth anything, I wouldn’t have chosen you.

“Maybe in your opinion, my decision of choosing you was very abrupt, unreasonable, or even impulsive.” 

Xu Leng held his forehead with both hands and desperately shook his head

No, this was the God A he had once loved. 

When he had retired, Xu Leng had also asked why on Weibo.

Clearly this was his dream, so why give up? 

Then he learned that he was coming back, and found out that he wanted to pick him to join his team.

Xu Leng had felt like he was dreaming. 

Shen Qi licked his lower lip and felt thirsty. “I thought at that time, we needed a brand new team and an unknown variable.

“It may have been a bit impulsive, but it was more because it was you.” 

Shen Qi said this, paused, and added, “You can’t let my family’s Gege hear that sentence.”

Xu Leng: …..??? 

The two eavesdroppers at the door: ??? What was this, wasn’t it good to stick to just a nice, sentimental piece?

He grabbed his somewhat messy hair, raised his head, and said slowly, “Gege would never allow me to say something like that to anyone else. 

“These aren’t words of love, these are words that a father would say to his son.”

Xu Leng: ….. 

Xu Leng let out an “oh.”

The stinging in his eyes was gradually fading away. 

Shen Qi let out an “en” and continued to educate him, “This is only a training competition. Losing all ability to think when participating for the first time in one of them is normal, although I wasn’t like that.

“Well, in the first training match I participated in, I chased after Bo Li for half a map. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Bo Li?” 

Xu Leng: “…..”

“Oh…” 

This was getting less and less comforting.

“But also, don’t lose heart.” Shen Qi stood up and patted Xu Leng on the shoulder like an old father. “Daddy can forgive his son’s mistake once, but if he knows his mistake and doesn’t correct it, Daddy will be very angry.” 

Xu Leng’s shoulder twitched. “Captain…your seniority?”

“What? It’s a metaphor. If you want to admit all your unsaid shortcomings, I’ll allow it.” 

“No… I don’t want to,” Xu Leng answered immediately.

Shen Qi snorted and laughed. “You want me to switch you out? I can find someone better than you in a few minutes.” 

Xu Leng immediately shook his head like a rattle drum.

Seeing his appearance, with him even choking back tears, Shen Qi patted him on the shoulder again. “Go back and buy me a new stool. It needs to be sturdier. I’ll just give this one to you. 

“From tomorrow on, continue to work hard and rest well at night.”

He went over to his bed and lifted up his quilt halfway. “Ah, right, additionally, today’s first training match was also my fault, and wasn’t all because of you. Coach’s analysis was right, so don’t feel that you are always wrong and others are always right. Of course, if it is really your fault, you should dare to admit it. 

“En, the punishment is quite simple. The fine will be inviting everyone out for barbecue.” With that, he was slightly regretful. “It’s really a pity that we can’t drink now.

“Alright. You can go now, I still have some nighttime activities with Gege.” 

Xu Leng froze while standing up.

What nighttime activities? 

Following that, he thought about why he wanted him to buy him a new stool while nodding silently, then went out with a complicated expression, and closed the door for him.

At the door, Lu Tun hooked an arm around Xu Leng’s neck. “Switching people out? You’re so cruel ah, Dog Ge!” 

Ye Lai looked at them helplessly. “Shifu’s temper has improved a lot. In the past, he often quarreled with Rong Jing.

“In fact, I also had a time when I thought about retiring, and Shifu scolded me fiercely at that time.” 

Xu Leng lowered his head, nodded, and whispered, “Thank you.”

Shen Qi waited for them to leave, and only then did he bury himself in his quilt. 

He showed a helpless smile.

He had already long ago guessed what Xu Leng meant. 

Why give up?

It couldn’t be that you wanted to give up just because of one failure? 

Look at their opposite side’s M1G. They had fallen from being the champions to being nearly last place, but weren’t they still trying their best to survive.

He was willing to give Xu Leng a chance. 

He was willing to watch Xu Leng grow up.

But if it happened a second time, he would not give him another chance. 

……

Shen Qi slept very deeply that night. 

It was probably the deepest sleep he had gotten in this period of time.

At noon the next day, he was awakened by a knock on the door. 

An arm stretched out of the quilt, and the sleeves of his pajamas had been rolled all the way up.

Shen Qi covered his ears with extra pillows and kicked at the quilt, then tunneled deeper into the blankets. 

There was a knock at the door again.

It was a very regular sound. 

After a moment, Shen Qi bounced up from the bed, squinted, and somewhat irritably went to go open the door.

If he didn’t wake up on his own, then he would usually be grumpy when getting up. 

When he got to the door, the knocking stopped.

He opened the door, his eyes open just a crack, unable to open them any further. 

He was too sleepy.

And also too tired. 

“Hello, room service.”

At the door, Fu Mingyuan stood perfectly straight with his head slightly lowered, a smile at the corner of his mouth. 

The light in the hallway was still on and shone on him.

—

The author has something to say: 

There should be another chapter tomorrow ba, I’ll just write to here for now, too sleepy.

Focusing on questions in the comments: 

I won’t say much about the good days. Cough, some people have already guessed half of them

As for Lu Ziye, he is from the side CP of another piece of mine. He got pulled out to yo-yo around a bit, and he’ll be a caster of the competition with his other CP member. I don’t like to write a lot of side CP content in the main story, those who have read my stories should know. 

If someone wants to read the CP in this story, I can write some extras.

Then Dog Di, he’s the same generation as the rest, but Dog Di is the youngest, so he also needs to grow up 

I’ll write the cut content!

I really don’t know how to @ people 3ying, so if I have any, I’ll put it in the old place. 

Thank you for the mines and nutrient solution ya. I’ve always read your comments. Bobo, I’ll try my best to write it well.