Yan Lingjiang stumbled all the way to the hotel. There was no hint of a smile on his usually sunny and handsome face. He stared blankly at the chat history on the computer and unknowingly, his dry eyes turned red.
His fingers on the mouse trembled slightly. After clicking on the webpage, he typed in the entry for “Old Ghost Lin Xiao,” but the strings of words seemed a bit blurry, and he rubbed his eyes hard. Reading paragraph by paragraph, finally, his eyes rested on the concise description of the car accident.
His hands on the keyboard trembled for a moment, and then he made no further movement.
Five years have passed since the car accident, but the leader of the Black Rose team, Old Ghost, who led domestic e-sports to the top that year, has not been forgotten by e-sports fans.
Like many others, Yan Lingjiang once imagined that if this man, who was once at the top of the league, could come back, he would lead the country’s e-sports out of the current predicament. He had a lot of respect and admiration for this man, and even if they didn’t know each other, he should actually be elated for his return. But why did it have to be this way?
He was also looking forward to the return of this powerful man, but he could not accept the price of being exchanged with his best friend.
Yan Lingjiang still remembered how ‘his’ Lin Xiao worked hard to catch up with You Jing. However, he often couldn’t understand the rules and regulations of the operation and he would stomp his feet anxiously. At that time, he couldn’t help teasing him, but the response he got was often a glare: “What’s the point of being better than me? Can you beat my Captain You?!”
Faced with such a provocation, Yan Lingjiang was naturally reluctant to accept it. However, You Jing was not a normal offensive profession, but a priest with superb operating skills, who was crucial to his team. So, every time he deliberately wanted to rush for a kill in a team match, he always came back with losses, which, over time, made him very frustrated.
After being overpowered once, then twice, he was ridiculed by Lin Xiao. After the third and fourth times, he finally found his consciousness and spoke some words of comfort to him. However, the comforting words were like these: “My man, Wild Goose, you are actually very good. However, my Captain You is too strong, so it’s only natural that you can’t beat him. To be honest, you have no reason to sulk, hahahaha!”
Seeing his careless smile, Yan Lingjiang was even more angry and speechless.
He didn’t know why his good friend suddenly became obsessed with You Jing when he was a kid. In his mind, he was also talented and good-looking. As soon as he entered the league, he killed everyone and won the “Most Valuable Player” of the season as a rookie in one fell swoop, so he should probably be more worthy of being admired! Although he occasionally messed up when facing some veteran players, even Vice Captain Zhang recognized his potential. Why couldn’t Lin Xiao see it?
In order to draw Lin Xiao’s attention back to him, Yan Lingjiang devoted himself more diligently to his training. Although it seemed that his motives were impure, he put forth more effort, and the speed of technical improvement was also fast.
However, when he had just finished the special training he first learned that Lin Xiao had actually done something out of the ordinary in order to pursue You Jing. At that time, he even forgot to take a leave of absence from the team and rushed all the way to Lin Xiao. He originally wanted to persuade him, but in the end, he didn’t even talk much and ended the conversation with a quarrel.
From that moment, it seemed to be a clear turning point.
Every time they met, the topic was always You Jing. Every time they talked about Lin Xiao’s increasingly excessive behavior, Yan Lingjiang became more impatient, and their meetings began to end on bad terms. The initial frequent meetings became fewer and fewer as time went on.
So, when did Lin Xiao in his impression turn into this “Lin Xiao”? Looking back at this moment, he had absolutely no idea.
The past events were like a tide that drowned his thoughts, but apart from the sad feelings, Yan Lingjiang also had a sense of shame.
Could everything have been different if he had cared more instead of ignoring him like this?
Thinking about this, Yan Lingjiang lowered his head and rubbed his sore eyes. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the door opening behind him, followed by a man’s deep and pleasant voice: “What, did you quarrel with someone?”
Zhang Fengyu and Yan Lingjiang were assigned to the same hotel room. He had just returned from a small gathering with other team members, and as soon as he opened the door, he noticed something was wrong.
Yan Lingjiang lowered his head upon hearing this question, and his mood became even more bitter.
Quarrel? It would be nice if they could still quarrel.
“It’s nothing. I’m going to the bathroom.” Saying this, Yan Lingjiang hurriedly stood up with his head bowed but suddenly bumped into the chest that blocked his way. Before he could take a step forward, a big palm pressed his shoulder, pushing him back in the chair.
“Have you eaten? Eat some noodles first.” Zhang Fengyu glanced at him, put the takeout on the table in front of him, took out the chopsticks, and placed them on the bowl.
Yan Lingjiang bit his lip, and under such an irresistible gaze, he took the chopsticks and put the food in his mouth as if he was tasting wax.
Because Zhang Fengyu had been responsible for guiding him since he entered the team, he had already become accustomed to unconditionally following his arrangements from very early on.
Obviously, just out of the pot, the whole bowl of noodles was steaming hot, but at this point, it was very hard to swallow.
Seeing that he was composed, Zhang Fengyu took off his coat and threw it on the bed: “Eat it, it’s delicious. I’m going to take a shower.”
Yan Lingjiang ‘hummed’ absent-minded.
He heard the bathroom door closing, and the sound of running water, but his mind was still filled with Lin Xiao’s matter. After swallowing the bowl of noodles without tasting it, he looked up and stared at the report on the screen for a while, his eyes wandering aimlessly, and then he reached out and closed the laptop directly.
As the man said, what exactly did he want to do now? Should he make this matter public or follow his advice and go to the police? Whatever it was, I’m afraid he’ll be the one who will end up being detained as a lunatic! How many people would believe such a thing?
So cunning, that man is way too cunning.
The most difficult things to accept and the most difficult problems to solve were all thrown into his hands like a hot potato.
…
When Zhang Fengyu came out of the shower, Yan Lingjiang was already lying on the bed, his whole body wrapped in the quilt, looking like a huge caterpillar. At first glance, you couldn’t tell which side was the head and which side were the legs.
After standing in front of the bed for a while, he was about to turn off the light when he heard Yan Lingjiang’s voice muffled from under the blankets: “Vice Captain Zhang, tell me, why can’t some people stay with you forever…”
Zhang Fengyu’s footsteps paused. He turned around, sat on the edge of the bed, and tugged the blanket. A head with disheveled hair was half exposed from the quilt, and in the dim light, two red eyes could be vaguely seen. He frowned and asked, “Why do you say that?”
Yan Lingjiang looked up at him: “Lin Xiao… is not the Lin Xiao he used to be. I want the old Lin Xiao, but I can’t go back to being with that Lin Xiao…”
He was muttering almost to himself, obviously not quite sure what he was talking about.
Zhang Fengyu listened to him talking without interrupting until he finally stopped and then said: “Since you can’t be with him, then give up.”
Taken aback, Yan Lingjiang sniffed and blurted out: “But I can’t do it! I had the best relationship with him since we were young, so good that we often wore the same pants. I’ve thought we would always be like this, but now…”
Zhang Fengyu frowned, and his expression became even more serious than usual: “I don’t know what happened between you two, but whatever the reason, since he left, it means he’s not the one meant to be with you for the rest of your life. Maybe it’s time to accept what happened.”
At these words, Yan Lingjiang fell silent.
Rationality and rigor have always been Zhang Fengyu’s known style. He also wished that he could accept it as rationally as the Vice Captain, but his confused mind really made it impossible for him to control his emotions.
If only Vice Captain Zhang’s strong mind could be borrowed by him now!
Yan Lingjiang was so upset that he wanted to hit his own head.
“Don’t worry, the person who can stay with you for the rest of your life will always be there for you no matter what.” It was the same cold tone without much expression, but when the words crossed his ears, it was as if his heart was gently tickled by something, making ripples.
Yan Lingjiang raised his head in a daze, and behind the thin lenses, he vaguely felt that there seemed to be a slightly different emotion than usual in Zhang Fengyu’s eyes. However, before he had time to examine it more closely, he had already turned around and walked to the wall, turning off the light: “It’s getting late, time to go to bed.”
As the words fell, Yan Lingjiang felt his chaotic mind turning blank as the lights suddenly went out.
In his haze, he vaguely heard footsteps coming to a stop next to the bed and then lying down on it.
Listening to the shallow and rhythmic breathing, his mind finally stopped running in circles, leaving only one vague thought – so, who is the person who could accompany him for the rest of his life?
…
Compared with Yan Lingjiang’s troubles and sleeplessness, Lin Xiao was actually a little uncomfortable. On the one hand, he was questioning his conscience, and on the other hand, he was caught in the lobby after his attempt to sneak in failed.
He was actually ‘ambushed!’
Xu Yiming was jumping up and down around him. He poked his obviously red and swollen forehead and wailed: “I say, Lin Xiao, are you kidding me? Did your little friend beat you up just because you won the match? This is really a cruel attack…”
Seeing that he was about to extend his claws again, Lin Xiao hurriedly raised his hands to protect himself: “Hey, can you have some sympathy? I am a wounded person now, can you be more careful?”
When Xu Yiming failed to succeed with his poke, he was a little unhappy and deliberately raised his voice: “Is it really because of the game? I could clearly see the dude’s sad eyes at that time. Just tell me honestly. Have you done something wrong to other people too?”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, just keep your voice down!” Lin Xiao could feel the surrounding gazes on him and wanted to cover his mouth.
“It’s useless to lower your voice, Brother Lin. Captain You has already heard it…” Qin Lei pointed at the side and said calmly.
Lin Xiao looked in the direction he pointed and glimpsed a piece of his coat disappearing on the stairs. Although it was just a glance, he felt a layer of coolness creeping in.
Xiao Li patted his shoulder and sighed: “My condolences, brother.”
Lin Xiao: “…”
What on earth did he do to deserve his condolences?
After silently staring wide-eyed at the rest of the Black Rose members, a few minutes later, Lin Xiao’s haggard head poked into You Jing’s room: “Hey, Captain You, I’m dizzy. I heard you have a medicine kit here?”
You Jing: “I don’t.”
Lin Xiao: “… I’m coming in!”
1 thought on “Chapter 83 – Stay Tuned For What’s Coming Next!”
so, who is the person who could accompany him for the rest of his life?
YLJ, aren’t you blind to? Ofc it’s Vice captaim Zhang Fengyu! 🤣
So now we have 4 couples? Lin Xiao and YJ, SCY and Chen Anqi, LZS and Xiao Li, YLJ and ZFY?