Chapter 32

At four o'clock in the morning, Ling Yin lay awake for an hour and finally couldn't help but get out of bed.

In the end, we drank the whole cup of that weird stuff, one sip at a time, with Qu Xing and I. I don't know if he is particularly sensitive to tea or if the stuff is too strong, but I didn't feel sleepy at all.

Is that thing really for the elderly to drink?

Feeling uncomfortable and stuffy in the room, Ling Yin simply threw on some clothes and pushed the door open, intending to go to the terrace to get some fresh air. The terrace hadn't been used since the hastily organized New Year's Eve show. The tables and chairs had all been removed, so it should have been empty.

Ling Yin stared at the lounge chair in the middle of the terrace for a while before walking over.

"Stars?" Ling Yin was surprised.

"Huh?" Qu Xing dazedly opened his eyes and saw a tall, dark figure in front of him. He was immediately startled awake: "Oh my god!"

Ling Yin: “…”

He went to turn on the light on the terrace, and only then did Qu Xing see who was coming. He took a deep breath and leaned back on the recliner: "Damn it, brother, you scared me to death."

"What are you doing lying here?" Ling Yin looked at his not-so-thick coat and said, "Be careful not to get sick."

Qu Xing straightened the recliner and said, "Look at the stars."

"Watch with your eyes closed?" Ling Yin patted him and said, "Sit over there."

Qu Xing said as he moved, "There are too few stars here. I fell asleep while searching... It's really cold." He leaned over to Ling Yin and said, "Warm me up quickly."

Ling Yin laughed: "Then sit in my arms. It's a bit crowded now."

"Tsk." Qu Xing tilted his head to look at him. He really wanted to sit down, but if he did sit down, it would not be such a big deal. He was afraid of getting burned.

Qu Xing said, "You had to squeeze over and sit with me."

Ling Yin leaned back, his expression unchanged: "There's no other place."

Qu Xing: "Then why are you up here? Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?"

Ling Yin: "I can't sleep. Your tea is a bit strong."

"I told you not to drink." Qu Xing commented, "He's both a foodie and a playful person."

Ling Yin said with a hint of grievance: "I'm thirsty."

Qu Xing immediately felt pity for him and rubbed his face: "Okay, it's all my fault for drinking up all your water."

Ling Yin couldn't help laughing: "I don't blame you."

“…”

Ling Yin yanked his hand away from his face and put it back. Qu Xing smiled and turned back. He sat close to Ling Yin for a moment, but it felt awkward. He wanted to sit in his arms again, but a flimsy string pulled him back. He couldn't help but glance at the long legs beside him. A voice faintly told him that he could sit.

Ling Yin just noticed the gaze and turned his head to see Qu Xing slap him on the forehead. Then, there was nothing beside him. He raised his hand, briefly trying to grab Qu Xing's hand, which was hanging at his side. It wasn't impulsive, but because he sensed that Qu Xing had been in a bad mood. He wanted to ask him something, or maybe hug him again.

But Qu Xing had already quietly walked to the edge of the terrace.

He was a bit absent-minded, and in a trance, he was back in the study where he didn't want to turn on the lights - his mind was barely functioning. Whenever there was something he couldn't figure out or something that made him sad, his brain seemed to force him to clear some things out. A scene in a corner of the study flashed by, and Qu Xing was too lazy to catch it. He just looked out from the railing with an empty mind. But it was too dark in here, and he couldn't see anything clearly. There was only a faint dark light on the horizon. He stared at that place and became stunned.

After standing there for half an hour, Qu Xing suddenly remembered that Ling Yin was still on the terrace. He wondered if Ling Yin had left, but when he turned around, he found Ling Yin sitting quietly on the lounge chair, as if he had been watching him. As soon as he turned around, he raised his head and looked him in the eye.

In addition to the usual throbbing, there are some other impulses that come up.

Qu Xing subconsciously shifted his gaze downwards, noticing Ling Yin's thin shirt, which was a bit loose beneath his coat. The collar was a bit too big. He walked over and touched it: "Tsk tsk tsk~"

Ling Yin: “…”

"Is your tea still strong?" Qu Xing asked.

Ling Yin stared at the evildoer in front of him. The light shone from behind him. Although he was smiling, no light entered his eyes. Ling Yin frowned uncomfortably.

"I'm going back to sleep, Brother Ling." Qu Xing waved his hand: "Good night."

Ling Yin looked at him: "Good night, stars."

The next day at noon, the alarm clock rang precisely. Qu Xing reached out from under the covers, groping for a moment to turn off the alarm. He dozed off for a moment, then sat up. His head spun wildly, and through his half-open eyes, he saw the covers spinning around him in a clockwise motion. He felt so dizzy that he almost vomited, so he simply lay down again.

He suspected he had woken up too quickly, so he closed his eyes and slept for another half an hour. When he woke up again, he still felt a little dizzy, and his throat was dry and sore.

He washed up dazed and went downstairs. The restaurant was deserted, so he grabbed some food and carried it upstairs. He almost bumped into Zhao Hui as he entered the training room.

"Awake?" Zhao Hui patted him. "I told you I'd go upstairs to find you if you didn't wake up."

Qu Xing nodded. He'd eaten the bread slice he'd been holding in his mouth when he sat down, leaving only the edge. He ate it down, crunching it into his mouth. He went into the training room, holding the mouse, to warm his hands before the practice match. Suddenly, he felt a hand covering his forehead. Startled, he tilted his head to look.

Ling Yin frowned slightly, "You have a slight fever."

The voice was not loud, but it was accurately captured by the people in the training room.

"Huh?" Zhao Hui turned his head suddenly: "Why do you have a fever?"

Jiang Lin came over and touched Qu Xing, "So hot?! Have you taken your medicine? When did the fever start? Why didn't you tell me?"

Qu Xing: "...I don't know, I thought it was just a minor cold."

Qu Xing was surrounded by a group of people, feeling dizzy. Soon a thermometer was stuffed into his armpit, and he was dazed holding a cup of steaming water.

Five minutes later, Zhou Si arrived, followed by the team doctor. Zhou Si's brow furrowed tightly. "What's going on? Why do you have a fever? Did you catch a cold or eat something bad?"

Qu Xing took out the thermometer, his head a little dizzy and unable to see clearly, and handed it to Ling Yin. He thought about his actions of the past two days: he slept in a room without heat the night before, spent the whole morning at the cemetery, and accidentally fell asleep on the terrace in the middle of the night.

If he doesn't get sick, who will?

"I accidentally fell asleep on the terrace yesterday." Qu Xing apologized quickly: "I was wrong and I'm sorry. I won't do it again next time. I'll try not to affect the training match."

"38.5 degrees." Ling Yin said.

The team doctor took the thermometer and looked at it. "I'll give you some medicine first...Are there any other symptoms?"

"I feel dizzy and my throat hurts." Qu Xing said dejectedly.

"Is it possible?" Zhou Si's brows were so tight they could pinch a fly to death. He turned to Zhao Hui and asked, "Can we postpone the training match? Let Xingxing rest first. If that doesn't work, we can find someone to replace the AD carry."

Zhao Hui frowned and was about to speak when Qu Xing quickly spoke up, "No, Fourth Master, it's not that serious. As long as you're not dead, you can still fight."

"Bah!" Zhou Si slapped Qu Xing on the back, "Don't talk nonsense! If you feel you can do it, then fight. If you feel uncomfortable, just tell me. This isn't a formal competition, so protecting your body is the most important thing."

"Ah!" Qu Xing pretended to vomit blood: "Fourth... Fourth Master, you actually hit me."

Seeing that he still had the energy to play, Zhou's tense face relaxed a little and he couldn't help but smile. Although he didn't use any force at all, he still stroked Qu Xing's back, "No, no, take the medicine the team doctor gives you later. You must tell me if you feel uncomfortable. So many brothers are taking care of you."

Qu Xing nodded: "Okay."

Today's scrimmages were against UNG, marking their first matchup since the reorganization. Qu Xing had played against Burst a few times before, and even during the six months without a competitive match, he'd barely missed any of his live matches, so he was pretty familiar with him. He was quite capable, but his flaws were also quite obvious. His play wasn't particularly refined, and he'd sometimes give up. Overall, he wasn't as good as him.

But now there is a problem.

"I see this computer screen is spinning..." Qu Xing said, suppressing the urge to vomit. He had just taken the medicine, but it didn't seem to be working.

"What..." Zhao Hui was stunned. "Can you hold on?"

"Yes, it can, but it won't spin all the time." Qu Xing grabbed a sip of water and calmed himself down: "It might just affect my condition."

Zhao Hui pondered for a moment and said, "It's okay. It's just a training match. Everyone else, just do your best."

When the fight really started, Qu Xing realized it wasn't just a normal state of being affected. His head started to spin, and the computer started to shake as well, making it impossible to even see where his skills were.

Quan Ji was a little nervous when he was choosing the hero. This was not the time for him to ask others to play support for him. He was facing the big devil who had absolute dominance in the bottom lane.

But after fighting for a while, he was stunned. How could Qu Xing have missed an entire wave of soldiers? And it wasn't that he hadn't timed his last attack correctly, but that he had simply attacked in the wrong place.

Even an Iron-rank player wouldn't be able to even attack a creep, right? What kind of player is this on the other side? And the movement is weird, too. It looks both sophisticated and crude, like a drunken martial arts master.

Seeing Qu Xing's condition, Quan Ji gradually regained his confidence and pressed forward with his usual ferocious style. He was having a great time. The person who couldn't even hit the soldiers just now suddenly became fierce again. He cooperated with the auxiliary to perform a set of smooth movements and combos, knocking down half of his auxiliary's blood and one-third of his own blood.

Quan Ji quickly ran to the tower, and then watched helplessly as Qu Xing's skill went off in a deflection. It didn't just brush his scalp, it was about to scalp their single scalp.

Quan Ji: “…”

He really couldn't help it and asked a question mark.

The next moment, Wind and Blaze came to the bottom lane, and the four of them double-teamed and crossed the tower. Ling Yin knew Qu Xing's condition and took the kill immediately, but Qu Xing also wisely did not grab it.

Qu Xing said to Jiang Lin, "If I faint again, you'll be the one to take the blame."

Jiang Lin: "Yeah."

In the first ten minutes, Qu Xing relied on his "Drunken Fist" to force the two opponents to lose experience and keep them at one level higher.

At eighteen minutes, a team fight broke out at the dragon pit, and Qu Xing found himself in a perfect damage position. Several UNG players wanted to kill him instantly, but the other players protected him tightly and couldn't touch Qu Xing at all.

Qu Xing dove left and right through the crowd, crippling everyone in the melee and obediently giving up all the kills to Ling Yin. When the quad kill sound effect rang out, UNG jungler Upper was about to run when he suddenly saw Qu Xing, who had somehow gone off the handle and rushed directly in front of him with only a sliver of health hanging off him. Upper, bewildered, reflexively took Qu Xing's kill, only to be instantly killed by the four people chasing him from behind.

upper: “???” What kind of weird tactic is this?

Qu Xing closed his eyes and relaxed for a while.

Jiang Lin: "It's okay, your head is quite dry."

Everyone went back to the city to replenish their equipment. Qu Xing used his left hand to support his forehead, and his right hand moved quickly. Just as he was about to say "easy, come on", he felt nauseous and did not say it out loud.

Ling Yin's calm voice came from the headset: "Easy, go down."

His voice sounded so comfortable, and for a moment Qu Xing felt that he wasn't feeling so uncomfortable anymore.

UNG's lineup in this game was not as good as theirs, and they had established a huge advantage in the early stages. As long as they didn't make any big mistakes later, they would basically win.

Qu Xing leaned back in his chair, moving the mouse and keyboard by muscle memory, and suddenly realized that he didn't have to work that hard.

Qu Xing relaxed a little.

Twenty minutes in, they won a teamfight with a 1 for 3 trade and successfully took the Baron. Qu Xing's awareness was actually rigorous throughout the whole process, but his operation was sometimes brilliant and sometimes erratic.

During a high ground team fight, Quan Ji watched Qu Xing unleash his ultimate on a minion, and his curiosity peaked: "What's wrong with him? Is he drunk?"

The others were also confused.

"It's impossible to be awake anyway."

After saying this, everyone fell silent.

If he could be beaten like this while unconscious, then it's a bit... not just a bit, it's really scary.

Finally, the first practice match ended at 30 minutes and was won by DL.

In the second game, the UNG team noticed that Qu Xing was even more "drunk." He felt a bit nauseous, constantly closing his eyes to recover. He was already feeling quite good in this state, even if he wasn't AFK. He simply didn't take any gold, minimizing his kill value. Even so, the bottom lane still had a significant disadvantage.

Upper is a jungler who is very good at finding the rhythm, and Lingyin has to come to the bottom lane to help from time to time. When he goes to the bottom lane, he rarely has time to think about other things.

Today he experienced the same feeling of being constantly busy and frantic, trying to only focus on his head and not his butt. But the amazing thing was that he actually felt pity for the little hero on the screen controlled by Qu Xing. He wished he could grow wings and fly in to protect that person. It would be best if he didn't have to do anything.

Of course, that was impossible. Ling Yin leaned back, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Qu Xing leaning forward, as if trying to see more clearly. He exuded a sense of limp energy.

Although the other four players tried hard to regain their rhythm, UNG was still a tough opponent, having already addressed their only weakness this season. Facing a team that was essentially missing a player, the game ended in 26 minutes.

A BO2 game ended with each side winning one game, which Zhao Hui found acceptable.

Le Anyi lowered his head and touched his phone to communicate with the other party in a friendly manner about their situation, which silenced everyone on the other side.

I had a premonition after watching the game between DL and W8, but I didn’t know how terrifying it was until I experienced it myself.

"What should we do, Coach?" the UNG people asked worriedly.

The coach consoled him, "It's okay. This is just the first scrimmages. Find the cause and practice slowly. The main reason we lost the first game was because we didn't choose the right lineup. It's definitely not my fault. It's definitely not because of the huge gap in skill. We're all professional players, how big of a gap can we have, right?"

Everyone: “…”

Are they stupid?