Chapter 12: CH 12

At noon the next day, the Internet addicts got up one after another. The R.H team members had just finished reviewing yesterday’s training game, and when they saw Shi Du coming down, they greeted him for lunch.

The lunch was a takeaway, and because there were guests, Old Tan ordered a double portion of pizza. The dining table was not big, the boys huddled together to eat, and only Yu Zhaohan has a vacant seat beside him.

Shi Du took a piece of pizza and sat down beside Yu Zhaohan: “Shine, something happened yesterday.”

Yu Zhaohan was very calm: “I know.”

“You know?”

Old Tan said: “Bi An told us. It’s fine. It’s a trivial matter, we are all used to it.”

Shi Du was a little confused: “You are all used to it?”

Qi Xian frowned and admired his captain’s prosperous beauty under the afternoon sun: “We have a beautiful captain. When there’s a little trouble, the fans will go crazy. Cheese’s feet slipped when he got off the car last year when we went to the Guangzhou competition, and the captain helped him. His posture was a little ambiguous from a certain angle. Fans went crazy for days after the photos were taken and posted on the Internet.”

Cheese got angry when he thought about this: “They said I was not good-looking enough for the captain.”

Shi Du recalled yesterday’s comment and honestly told: “It seems that no one said that to me.”

Cheese choked and his eyes were filled with resentment: “No one asked you, thank you.”

Shi Du smiled: “I dare to say I’m not the first.”

Old Tan said firmly: “It’s definitely not the last one either.”

The talk became increasingly off-topic. Yu Zhaohan showed the authority of a parent: “When eating, don’t talk too much.”

It was easy to clarify; everyone knows that R.H and IPL have a good relationship, and it was natural for players to talk to one another. Besides, it wasn’t only Shi Du who came to the R.H base this time, Xu was also there. During lunch, Old Tan took a group photo and posted it on Weibo with the caption: [Welcome @IPL. Timeless, @IPL. Xu to R.H for guest exchange! Timeless, don’t forget to return our captain’s charger [doge][doge]]

For one day, Shi Du lived at the R.H base. The next day, all R.H members and Xu were going to pay their respects to Wan Feng, and he joined them.

It was raining lightly in Shanghai. There were seven of them, and it was perfectly suitable for them to drive Yu Zhaohan’s car. Yu Zhaohan’s car is a seven-seat SUV in classic pure black, calm and airy like himself.

Shi Du got into the passenger seat next to the driver because his legs were too long. He fastened his seat belt and said, “Shine, how old are you this year.”

Cheese, who was sitting in the back, responded quickly, “The captain is the same age as me, and I’m nineteen this year.”

“Then why did he buy such a business car? It’s like the one my dad drove.”

Yu Zhaohan’s old wound was revealed in one sentence. He didn’t like the car when he bought it, and when he paid the full price, he felt like he was getting a license from someone he didn’t like. He actually agreed with Shi Du’s statement that driving this car would make him like 20 years older, but he would never admit it.

Yu Zhaohan started the car expressionlessly: “You care too much, Timeless.”

Cheese said, “Huh? I think this car matches the captain’s temperament.” Shi Du looked at Yu Zhaohan.

Yu Zhaohan looked ahead, and the hand that was normally used for typing on the keyboard and holding the mouse was now holding the steering wheel, which was another pleasing beauty. The rain was pattering down on the car window, sliding from top to bottom. In a darker surrounding, his profile appeared even colder and gloomier.

Shi Du retracted his gaze and said absentmindedly, “That’s right.”

On weekdays, the cemetery was cold and quiet. After getting out of the car, they held umbrellas in pairs and shuttled through the layers of black and white. Yu Zhaohan and Lu Yaoshan led the way, Yu Zhaohan was holding a black umbrella with a wooden handle, and Lu Yaoshan was holding a bouquet of pure white lilies.

Shi Du and Xu walked at the end of the line. Shi Du asked, “Wan Feng, what kind of person is he?”

Xu scratched his head and said, “Wan Feng was already ill when I entered R.H, and I didn’t have much contact with him, but every time I met him, he always seemed happy. I think he was born to compete in e-sports. He spent all of his time and money putting together the R.H team. I heard Old Tan say that Wan Feng initially refused treatment and wanted to leave the money to the team, but was later severely scolded by him and Coach Lu…”

After 20 minutes of walking, Lu Yaoshan stopped: “Here we are.”

Shi Du looked over and saw a picture of a young man on the tombstone. This photo should have been taken when Wan Feng was healthy, with a chubby face, ordinary facial features, and a row of white teeth showing a smile, giving people a familiar feeling.

On both sides of the photo are Wan Feng’s birth and death years, and an epitaph: [Does the support have a resurrection? It’s ok if there is none]

Wan Feng was only twenty-five years old when he died of illness.

The boys, who were usually cheerful and loud, were silent at the moment. They were dressed in R.H. uniforms and stood in a line in front of the tombstone. Old Tan cleaned up the surrounding leaves and spoke while Lu Yaoshan presented the lilies: “R.H has lost many members and changed bases this year. Only Old Lu remains on the coaching staff, and we only placed in the top eight. Wings have also left. But he’ll soon be a father, which is a good thing…”

The people in the photo kept smiling as if telling them that no matter what happens, it will pass.

Yu Zhaohan remembered the tone of the former captain and wanted to laugh a little for no reason.

There’s nothing to feel bad about. They were already so miserable two years ago, and now Wan Feng should want to see them laugh with him even more.

“Captain,” Cheese called out in a low voice, “Look.”

There was an umbrella not far away at some point, and under it stood a boy with a sparkly perm and dressed in American style- it was their former teammate, Tides, who is now playing Long/Pistol positions in Lawman.

Everyone saw Tide, but no one said anything; Qi Xian greeted Tide with a smile, “Oh Tide, you’re back.”

Tide held a bunch of flowers in his hand and smiled a bit smugly: “Qi Xian, you are still the same as always.”

Qi Xian looked Tide up and down: “You seem to be thinner than when you were in the finals, are you not used to eating in Los Angeles?”

“You still have the courage to come here,” Lu Yaoshan said through gritted teeth, “R.H doesn’t welcome you.”

“Why can’t I come?” Tide said slowly, “Wan Feng used to be my captain.”

“You—”

Old Tan stopped Lu Yaoshan: “Forget it, Old Lu, the cemetery is not run by your family, why can’t Tide come.”

Lu Yaoshan’s eyes were red as he pointed at Tide. “Do you think Wan Feng would like to see him?”

Everyone was staring at Yu Zhaohan, waiting for him to say something, and Yu Zhaohan replied, “Yes.”

Tide’s upper lips twitched. He stood up after placing the flowers in front of the tombstone, and looked directly at Yu Zhaohan, his eyes clouded: “Captain is also very beautiful today.”

Yu Zhaohan said: “I’m not your captain anymore.”

“OK, Shine.” Tide changed his words, “Do you have time later? I want to play another solo with you. Sniper 1v1 as before.”

Yu Zhaohan looked at Tide’s hairstyle, thinking it was really ugly, and Tide may have thought he was handsome. “All right,” Yu Zhaohan said, “Let’s find an Internet cafe.”

At this moment, an outsider suddenly said, “Can we not go to an Internet cafe? Your base is nice.”

Yu Zhaohan frowned: “Is there anything you do here?”

Shi Du looked innocently: “Then what about me Shine, minors are not allowed to enter the Internet cafe.”

Yu Zhaohan: “…”

So annoying, why make him laugh at such a serious time! He almost couldn’t hold back! If he died as a result of the collapse of his persona, he would turn into a ghost and must be the first to find Shi Du to claim his life.

In the end, they went to a familiar Internet cafe and opened a private room for multiple people. The underage younger brother was ruthlessly “abandoned” in the cafe and could only watch the live broadcast on Xu’s mobile phone.

The sniper solo is the most popular way for long/gun players to play. There are only two snipers on the map to snipe each other, and only headshots can cause damage. In a three-minute round, whoever has the most headshots wins.

The solo begins. Tide came out from the resurrection point and handed in a grappling hook skill. The sharp iron hook was embedded in the wall, and the sniper used his strength to jump up, expanding his field of vision instantly. He noticed Yu Zhaohan standing at the door of the resurrection point. He was at the top and clearly has the upper hand.

Tide pulled the trigger in mid-air without any hesitation.

Ding—

[R.H.Shine defeated Lawman.Tide]

Tide’s eyes widened as he watched his hero fall dramatically from the sky, and the screen went gray.

Lu Yaoshan sneered.

Yu Zhaohan changed a bullet and said indifferently: “You still have the habit of taking off the grappling hook as soon as you left the resurrection point.”

The solo went on. Yu Zhaohan didn’t have the patience to follow Tide around the map and decided to expose himself. He leaped from the high platform, and Tide, hearing his footsteps on the ground, abruptly turned around and opened the mirror. He took action before Yu Zhaohan this time.

Bang—

Tide hit Yu Zhaohan’s body rather than the headshot judgment area, rendering the damage invalid. Yu Zhaohan then pulled the trigger.

[R.H.Shine defeats Lawman.Tide]

Sweat broke out on Tide’s forehead. He had already defeated R.H in the eight-to-four knockout round, and he had already won the championship this year, but when he faced Yu Zhaohan alone, he was as overwhelmed as he had been when he first began playing professionally. There seemed to be countless pairs of eyes hidden in the darkness, staring at him, waiting for an opportunity to kill him with a single blow.

Tide wiped his sweat and spit out two words with difficulty: “Again.”

Lu Yaoshan shook his head, it was unnecessary.

Snipers were most likely to be tested mentally than other positions, and if their mental state was unstable, they will not feel at ease. Tide has already lost.

Tide only succeeded once in three minutes, and the game ended with a big score of 7:1. Cheese whispered softly: “I’m a support, I can get one point if I get lucky with the captain.”

Tide’s face was pale, and his chest heaved violently because of unwillingness. He stared at the ID on the screen, and his vision overlapped.

Yu Zhaohan’s voice was indifferent: “You are not attentive enough.”

What was this, the comfort of generosity?

Tide stood up abruptly and strode out.

Seeing the bad atmosphere in the room, Qi Xian smiled and said, “Xu, let’s play a game of solo too?”

“You guys play,” Yu Zhaohan gave up his seat to Qi Xian, “I’ll go buy water.”

Yu Zhaohan came to the water cafe and saw that Tide was gulping down water as if he was dying of thirst. He pretended not to see it and walked past Tide.

“Captain.” Tide shouted suddenly, and the empty mineral water bottle was squeezed to the point of deformation, “I am sorry about the transfer to Lawman.”

Yu Zhaohan said: “I never blame you, you don’t need to apologize to me.”

“You don’t blame me?” Tide sneered, “Then why did you… treat me like this.”

Yu Zhaohan was a little surprised: “I treat everyone the same, don’t I.”

Tide was speechless for a while. That’s right, Yu Zhaohan has always been like this, he is beautiful and accurate, arrogant and cold, even Old Tan, who has the best relationship with him, also couldn’t even say a few words a day.

But he could clearly feel that from the moment he contacted Lawman and the transfer was successful, Yu Zhaohan’s attitude towards him had changed.

He traveled alone to North America and became the only Chinese among the Lawman. He couldn’t speak Chinese there, was ridiculed as yin and yang by his Korean teammates, and was scolded by some domestic players when he won the game. He has no friends, training and games were all he has.

He has no regrets, he wanted to win, he wanted to win the championship, and he wanted to stand at the top of the world. These were the things R.H couldn’t give him.

But there were still times when he feels lonely. He couldn’t help thinking, if Shine also transferred to Lawman, if he wasn’t alone, and if Shine was on his side…

“Come to Lawman, Shine.” Tide’s gaze locked on Yu Zhaohan’s face “The current R.H is no longer worthy of you. Lawman has always wanted you, this time when I returned to China, the manager also asked me to talk to you. I know you care about Wan Feng. But Wan Feng takes you into the industry and trains you, he wants you to win the Champions. Is it important to win the championship in R.H?”

Yu Zhaohan said, “It’s not important to you, it’s important to me.”

“I don’t understand.” Tide couldn’t hide his agitation, “Winning in e-sports is the most important thing, don’t you want to win?”

Yu Zhaohan said calmly: “Yes. But I prefer to win with my friends. Is it hard to understand?”

Tide was stunned.

“I respect your choice, and you’re not wrong about R.H. Play the game well and don’t think too much.” Yu Zhaohan calmly said, “The golden period of a professional player is only a few years, we should all cherish it.”

Tide’s eyes flickered slightly, he hesitated, but he didn’t say anything in the end.

After Tide left, Yu Zhaohan came to the vending machine, and had just raised his hand when he heard a voice say, “Finished?”

Yu Zhaohan pressed the button of Americano and turned around to see Shi Du holding a cup of milk tea that was almost at the bottom, and couldn’t help but ask: “Do you like milk tea?”

“Yeah,” Shi Du admitted generously, “I like to drink something sweet.”

Damn, he likes it too. “Just now, did you hear it?”

Shi Du raised his hand and scratched his cheek: “It seems so.”

Yu Zhaohan sneered: “If you heard it, you heard it, ‘seems’ what.”

Shi Du was indifferent. The two were leaning against the wall, one drinking milk tea, and the other coffee. Because of their outstanding appearance, even wearing a baseball cap in a poorly lit Internet cafe drew the attention of passers-by.

“Shine,” Shi Du’s tone was casual, “Are you and Wan Feng close?”

Yu Zhaohan clenched his hand on the can: “Wan Feng… is like a teacher to me.”

Actually, it was nothing out of the usual; the Internet-addicted youngster was noticed by a professional club due to his long-term dominance of the national game ranking and became an R.H. teen trainee. His parents, a college professor, were not optimistic about his career path and tried to take him home several times. His captain, Wan Feng, only asked him one sentence: “Xiao Yu, are you sure you want to play professionally?”

Yu Zhaohan clearly remembered his answer: “I want to play! I love to hear the clanking sound of headshots, I feel so good, I feel like I can listen to it for the rest of my life! Captain, please help me…”

Wan Feng laughed when he heard his answer. He also had no idea how Wan Feng persuaded his parents to let him stay in R.H. For a long time after that, he followed Wan Feng and learned how to become a true professional player. Wan Feng later became ill, so he could only study on his own and learn to be a good captain.

“Before Wan Feng left, he entrusted R.H to me.” Yu Zhaohan hid a trace of loss in his eyes, “He said, I will be a better captain than him.”

But, would he really be.

He was so young that even now he was the team’s youngest member; even Cheese is two months older than him. He got oils on his clothes when he chewed pig trotters, he likes to be called Yuyu and brother, he likes to eat sweets, and he likes to hug and stick with people; he suffers great grievances that he couldn’t help but call his mother, and he would cry while watching a dog-blood romance drama.

He doubted that this kind of him could convince the entire R.H members and become a better R.H captain than Wan Feng.

He doesn’t trust himself very much.

Shi Du thought for a while and said, “Since you guys don’t want to leave R.H, why don’t you let the current boss of R.H leave?”

Yu Zhaohan sneered, and the stinky brother who had never been beaten by society said it easily. He is very popular, has many fans, and has the highest headshot rate in the league, but in front of money, he is nothing.

“I think I might be able to help you— I want to help you.” Shi Du turned his face and smiled brightly at him under the brim of his hat, “Give me a chance?”

Yu Zhaohan was taken aback, and Shi Du looked at him for a second before lowering his eyes and taking a sip of coffee calmly.

It was over, he couldn’t get through this time, and it appeared that he would be set up by the stinky brother.

“What do you want to do.” Yu Zhaohan asked.

Shi Du answered the question: “So, you agreed. Let’s have a toast first to celebrate the cooperation?”

Shi Du said while holding the milk tea in his hand.

Yu Zhaohan mocked “childish,” but still raised his coffee. While cheering, the two of them unintentionally touched their fingertips, and Shi Du immediately put on a guilty and self-reproachful expression: “Captain Yu, I seem to have touched your hand just now.”

Yu Zhaohan: “So?”

SShi Du raised the corner of his mouth with a small sense of mischief: “Didn’t Captain Yu have a serious cleanliness addiction? I touched your hands, do you have to wash your hands three times?”

“Five times.” Yu Zhaohan said coldly, “If you’re the one who touches me, I have to wash it five times.”