An unexpected incident during an away game

In preparation for their away game against the Western Conference powerhouse WC, Team AY arrived in their coastal city two days in advance. A light drizzle fell as the plane touched down at the airport, and a cool, moist sea breeze blew across their faces, a stark contrast to the dry climate of their home base. The coach, observing the players' slightly exhausted expressions, instructed them on the bus, "Return to the hotel to rest and adjust to the weather. Tomorrow morning, return to the training hall for adaptive training, and then fully prepare for the match the day after tomorrow."

Lin Yu and Su Ran shared a hotel room. As soon as they put down their luggage, Su Ran suddenly covered his mouth and started coughing violently. He was hunched over, his shoulders trembling slightly, and his face had turned pale from its previous rosy complexion. Seeing this, Lin Yu immediately put down his backpack and quickly walked over to support him. "What's wrong? Did you catch a cold at the airport?"

He reached out and touched Su Ran's forehead, feeling a scorching heat from his fingertips—clearly, a fever. Lin Yu's heart tightened instantly, and he hurriedly dug out the spare fever-reducing medicine from his suitcase. He then went to the bathroom to pour a glass of warm water and handed it to Su Ran: "Take the medicine quickly, lie down on the bed and rest for a while, cover yourself with the quilt and sweat it out." Su Ran took the pills, swallowed them with the warm water, and obediently walked to the bed and lay down. Lin Yu tucked in the quilt for him, turned up the air conditioner temperature by two degrees, and sat by the bed, watching over him, his eyes full of worry.

The original plan to go to a nearby restaurant to try the local seafood specialties that evening had to be canceled. Lin Yu sent a message to his teammates, saying that Su Ran wasn't feeling well and that they wouldn't be going out that evening. He then ordered some light porridge and side dishes in the hotel room and fed Su Ran some. But by midnight, Su Ran's fever hadn't subsided; it had gotten worse. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing was rapid.

Lin Yu was so anxious that he immediately took out his phone and wanted to call a taxi to take Su Ran to the hospital. But Su Ran held his hand and shook her head weakly: "Don't go... I have training tomorrow and a competition the day after tomorrow. I'm fine. I'll take some medicine and I should be fine tomorrow."

Lin Yu frowned, his tone firm and unquestionable: "What's more important, your health or the game? You must go to the hospital! If you delay your treatment, you really won't be able to play in the next games." Without saying anything, he helped Su Ran put on his clothes, took a thick coat and wrapped it around him, helped him out of the hotel room, hailed a taxi on the side of the road, and went straight to the emergency room of a nearby hospital.

There were not many people in the emergency room of the hospital. After the doctor examined Su Ran, he said that he had acute tonsillitis. Coupled with the long journey and climate discomfort, his condition worsened and he needed infusion treatment. After the nurse gave Su Ran an injection and adjusted the infusion speed, Lin Yu sat by the bed and gently helped Su Ran pull up his coat to prevent him from catching a cold. During the infusion, Su Ran was a little drowsy because of the fever, and his head unconsciously rested on Lin Yu's shoulder. Lin Yu dared not move, for fear of knocking off the infusion needle. From time to time, he lowered his head to look at Su Ran's face, touched his forehead, and observed the changes in body temperature.

"I'm sorry," Su Ran said drowsily, his voice a little hoarse, "I was delayed in training because of me, and I made you stay with me so late."

Lin Yu stroked his hair, his tone so gentle that water could drip out of it: "Don't say that, we are teammates, and more importantly... the most important people. When you recover, we will train together again, and we will definitely win the game."

It was past two in the morning when they returned to the hotel after the infusion. Lin Yu helped Su Ran lie down and covered him with the quilt. He then moved a chair to sit beside the bed, having not slept a wink all night. He touched Su Ran's forehead every half hour, watching his temperature gradually drop, and only then did he feel at ease.

The next morning, when Su Ran woke up, he saw Lin Yu sitting by the bed, his eyes bloodshot and a light stubble on his chin. He felt distressed and guilty, and reached out to touch Lin Yu's arm: "You didn't sleep all night?"

Lin Yu smiled and shook his head. He reached out and touched his forehead. He found that the fever had subsided and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's okay, as long as your fever is gone. You can rest well in the hotel today. I will tell the coach that you don't have to go to training."

But Su Ran insisted on going to the training hall: "No, I have a competition tomorrow. I need to get used to the venue and equipment. If I can't adapt during the competition, it will affect my performance. I am much better now and can go to training."

Lin Yu couldn't persuade him, so he had to compromise: "Okay, but if you feel uncomfortable during training, you must tell me, you can't force it." He helped Su Ran slowly walk out of the hotel and took a taxi to the training hall.

During training, Su Ran's condition was noticeably worse than usual. Skills he used to be able to dodge easily were now slow to react several times, and even his previously precise skill releases were prone to errors. The coach saw this and became deeply concerned. Halfway through training, he walked over to Su Ran and patted him on the shoulder, "Su Ran, go back and rest. Your health is more important. We'll record the training and have Lin Yu explain it to you tonight. Don't push yourself up here."

Su Ran still wanted to insist, saying that he could continue training, but Lin Yu pulled his arm and whispered, "Be obedient and go back to rest. The coach is right. If you are not in good health, the training will not be effective. I will explain the training content to you clearly in the evening. It will not affect the competition." Su Ran looked at Lin Yu's determined eyes, finally nodded, packed up his things, and returned to the hotel early.

That evening, Lin Yu returned to his room after practice, clutching a notebook and a training tape. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he detailed the tactics the coach had laid out during practice, the weaknesses of the WC team, and the issues his teammates had identified during practice. "WC's jungler likes to flank from the bottom lane, so we need to establish more vision there in tomorrow's game. Their marksman relies on the support for protection, so if we can kill the support first, the marksman will be easy to handle," Lin Yu explained, drawing diagrams in his notebook to help Su Ran understand the tactics.

Su Ran leaned against the headboard, listening attentively, nodding occasionally and asking questions whenever she came across something she didn't understand. After explaining the tactics, Lin Yu pulled out the millet porridge he had prepared long ago from the thermos. He had specifically asked the hotel restaurant to make it, adding a little rock sugar to make it suitable for those who are sick. He scooped up a spoonful of porridge, cooled it, and then handed it to Su Ran: "Eat it while it's hot. Eat more to replenish your body so you can have strength for tomorrow's game."

Su Ran sipped the porridge, the sweet porridge slid into his stomach, warming his heart. He looked at Lin Yu's busy figure and secretly made up his mind to play well in the competition tomorrow and not let Lin Yu down.

On the day of the match, Su Ran had finally recovered enough. Though still a little weak, he was in good spirits. He and Lin Yu worked in perfect harmony. Lin Yu's Lan repeatedly darted around and cut into the backline, creating damage opportunities for Su Ran's Wang Zhaojun. Su Ran, using his ultimate skill, "Winter Has Arrived," delivered precise control, helping his teammates score kills. Ultimately, Team AY defeated Team WC 2-1, securing the away game victory.

After the game, Lin Yu didn't go to celebrate with his teammates first. Instead, he walked over to Su Ran, touched his forehead, and asked with concern: "Are you feeling unwell? During the team battle just now, I saw that you were moving a little slowly. Are you tired?"

Su Ran smiled and shook her head, then reached out and held Lin Yu's hand: "It's okay, I'm fine. With you here, I'm not afraid of anything."

Seeing this, the fans in the audience cheered, shouting "Lin Su!" one after another. Orange light signs flashed in the audience, as if cheering for their friendship and tacit understanding. Lin Yu and Su Ran smiled at each other. They knew that no matter what difficulties they encountered, as long as they stood side by side, there was no challenge that could not be overcome.