Chapter 42 Perhaps
Time flies, and the Spring Festival holiday is here in a blink of an eye.
Qi Ji simply packed his luggage that day and prepared to fly to the distant tropical coastal city of Bincheng to meet Yuan Zhuo tomorrow.
Recalling the video conversation that night, in order to prevent Yuan Zhuo from noticing that he was almost out of control, he immediately agreed to it, and then pretended to be a little sleepy and wanted to sleep.
Perhaps it was because he couldn't see clearly enough through the video, Yuan Zhuo really didn't notice anything unusual.
In order not to delay his rest, he hung up the video after only a short while, which allowed Qi Ji to escape "a disaster".
Fortunately, most of the time Qi Ji was able to control his emotions. He no longer thought about those painful things. When he thought about meeting the person hidden in his heart tomorrow, he couldn't help but raise a faint arc at the corner of his mouth.
After packing up, he took out his mobile phone and just wanted to say good night to Yuan Zhuo, but saw an unexpected message.
It was Zhuo Yu.
"Meet at Jiyuan Tea House at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, okay, Qi Ji?"
Although he didn't wait deliberately, when it was nearly a month later and Qi Ji was almost ready to give up, Zhuo Yu suddenly appeared, and his mood inevitably fluctuated.
Coming back to his senses, he thought about the flight to Haicheng tomorrow at 3 pm, and there was still time, so he typed a reply to him.
"Yeah."
After sending another "good night, see you tomorrow" to Yuan Zhuo, he put his phone on the bedside table, turned off the light, and quietly looked at the ceiling in the dark, reminiscing and thinking.
This year is the 11th year since he and Zhuo Yu met.
That year HOW had just come out, he was 15 years old, and met the 18-year-old Zhuo Yu on the Internet.
At that time, although his personality was not as cold and silent as it is now, he was not as lively and noisy as most underage boys.
On the contrary, Zhuo Yu had the typical personality of a young boy. He didn't know that he was only 15 years old, but just because he was good at playing games and could lead him to win easily, he called him boss and master.
Unlike Zhuoyu, he also has to take care of his studies. Every time he finishes his homework and comes to play HOW, Zhuoyu will always be online. As soon as he sees him online, he will immediately come over to pester him and team up with him.
Zhuoyu is also never stingy with his praise for him. In his eyes, he seems to be the most powerful person in the world.
When he meets someone with no quality in the game, he will be the first to jump out to defend him and curse at each other.
Of course, this does not rule out the fact that he just likes the feeling of cursing with netizens. After all, he said it himself.
In short, they gradually became familiar with each other.
During the chat, Zhuoyu told him that he had asked someone and found out that littlecat will start the HOW professional league next year. He is very optimistic about this game and it will definitely continue to be popular.
After the professional league is confirmed to start, he will ask his father for money to form a team. Will he come to his club to be the captain?
Qi Ji didn't take all this to heart. After all, he was just a junior high school student with excellent grades at the time. His only goal at that time was to fulfill the expectations of his parents and teachers, grow up all the way, and be admitted to the top 2 universities in the country.
He didn't know that Zhuo Yu was not bragging. On New Year's Day of the following year, LC announced the official launch of the HOW professional league and announced the registration method and competition rules.
After finishing his homework that day, Qi Ji was immersed in the game. Zhuo Yu suddenly popped up a voice and said to him excitedly and proudly, look, he didn't lie to him, HOW has started the professional league, and he also wants to form a team!
He asked him if he wanted to come and play with him!
Qi Ji refused.
He remembered his original words: You are too bad, there is no way you can win.
Zhuo Yu on the other end was silent for a while, and then he immediately recovered and said with full energy.
"What if I find you some powerful teammates, will you come? I have recruited a lot in the past six months!"
A few powerful players?
Qi Ji's heart skipped a beat, and Zhuo Yu's voice was still chattering in his ears.
"Master, don't you really want to be a professional player and sit on the stage to play games?"
"Don't you want to have strong teammates and win one game after another?"
"Don't you want to be China's first e-sports world champion, stand on the highest stage, and be seen by everyone?"
Perhaps this series of "don't want" seems absurd and childish to many people.
But Qi Ji did think seriously amid Zhuo Yu's chattering and made a decision.
He thought, he likes the feeling of winning at that moment.
He wants to leave his own footprints on this road that is still full of thorns.
He wants to win China's first e-sports world champion, let the e-sports world also see the shadow of China, and let his name be left in the history of Chinese e-sports.
So after a few days of calm and sincere talks with his parents, the 16-year-old came to Zhaocheng accompanied by them.
Qi Ji still remembers Zhuoyu's jaw-dropping and silly look when he saw his ID card.
But despite this, he seemed to still call him Master. He
would call him when he supported him, comforted him, and needed him.
Also, when his parents passed away, he and the people in the team were always with him and supported him.
10 years is really too long. He has so many memories with Zhuoyu and GF that it may take several times more time to cover them, but tomorrow all this may really become the past.
...
The next morning, Qi Ji, wrapped in a down jacket, wearing a mask, and dragging a suitcase, appeared at the gate of the GF base.
Looking up, tiny snowflakes fell on his eyelids and melted slightly. It seemed that there was an unusually heavy amount of snow in Zhaocheng this year.
After getting in a taxi, Qi Ji officially set off for the place he had agreed with Zhuo Yu.
Looking back, the two had known each other for more than ten years, and this was his first time to see Zhuo Yu.
In the past, he always drove to the club, no matter whether their conditions were good or bad, or their grades were high or low, he always seemed to be like the boy who had pulled him into the team, seemingly heartless, but always warm and reliable at critical moments.
So he always had a seat among Qi Ji's few good friends.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he has been unable to make a decision. He always thinks that maybe after Zhuoyu finishes his own business, he will rush back to the club to find them.
But unfortunately, life is always like this, full of surprises and hardships.
...
As the Spring Festival approaches, the traffic in Zhaocheng is always so congested.
After two full hours, Qi Ji finally showed up at the teahouse where he had an appointment with Zhuoyu. Following the waiter's instructions, he walked to a half-packed booth.
However, he hadn't seen Zhuoyu for a few months, and from a distance, he didn't recognize him at first sight.
Zhuo Yu, who usually pays special attention to his image and never wears the same clothes for two consecutive days, and every piece of clothing, shoes and even socks are custom-made, and some of them can cost up to hundreds of thousands, is now no better than a homeless man on the street.
His clothes are wrinkled, and it is obvious that he has worn them for many days in a row. He looks haggard as if he has not rested for several days and nights.
He has also lost a lot of weight compared to a few months ago. The slender and plump hands that are always praised by others are now so thin that only skeletons are left.
He did not see Qi Ji coming, and he was staring blankly at the front, as if he had lost his soul.
This is the first time Qi Ji has seen him like this in all these years. Even when he lost his first love at the age of 20, he has never seen him so heartbroken.
After standing there and watching quietly for a while, Qi Ji finally walked into the booth carrying a suitcase.
When Zhuo Yu saw him, he seemed to be still in a daze. It took him several seconds to confirm that the person in front of him was his friend whom he had not seen for a long time.
After confirming, he seemed quite happy. A little joy flashed in his eyes that had been full of gloom and decadence just now. He squeezed his facial muscles hard, trying to make himself look as happy and carefree as before.
"Why... why are you still dragging a suitcase? Hey, is our Qi Shen going to take a vacation now? Where are you going to play with Wings?"
Zhuo Yu was exhausted from running around for family matters these days. Naturally, he didn't know the gossip about Qi Ji and Yuan Zhuo in the circle.
Sitting opposite him, Qi Ji shook his head, but did not tell him where he was going.
He just stared at him without blinking, in silence.
Meeting his cold and calm eyes, the forced smile on Zhuo Yu's face came to an abrupt end.
Slowly, the shame, despair, grievance and pain deep in his heart mixed together and drowned him in an instant.
His nose was sore and he almost burst into tears. He stretched out his skinny hands to cover the eyes that looked frighteningly big because of his sudden weight loss.
"Master, I... I'm sorry..."
Hearing his choking voice but unable to finish his words, Qi Ji felt very uncomfortable in his heart. All the confusions about him in his heart before coming here also completely disappeared in this moment.
After another silence for a while, he spoke only after seeing that his mood had stabilized a little.
"How much more money do you need?"
He knew that Yuan Zhuo had said that the hole in the Zhuo family was huge and difficult to fill.
If he was willing to lend it, it would not be a small amount. After lending it to him, he should not have anything left.
But what if this money could save his life?
At least his money was interest-free. Compared with his own affairs, Zhuo Yu's life was more important.
Zhuo Yu always knew that under Qi Ji's cold appearance, there was actually a gentle and kind heart.
It's just that his personality and experience made him unwilling and accustomed to showing it.
Although he didn't have the time and energy to pay attention to what happened in the club, he was anxious for money at the time, so he could only sell it to the coal boss who offered the highest price.
Although he was feeling lucky, he knew that these people were very likely to destroy the club and the dreams of Qi Ji and his teammates.
But he really had no choice. He couldn't just sit back and watch such a big thing happen at home.
Although Qi Ji didn't say what the matter was in the message he left him, he could guess that it was probably the new management that had brought him trouble, or even something bigger.
Otherwise, with his character of not wanting to trouble anyone, he would never have come to him.
But now, not only did he not blame him, but he was willing to lend him money.
Thinking back to the days when his family was in trouble, he had given up his dignity and begged his grandfather to be humble to those people who always hung around their family, and even knelt down and kowtowed, but there were still very few people willing to lend a hand.
Looking at Qi Ji opposite him, after enduring for so many days, Zhuo Yu finally couldn't help it anymore. Regardless of the semi-public occasion, he just lay on the table and cried loudly.
"Master, I'm sorry, sorry, sorry..."
Qi Ji was not a person who could comfort others, and the other party was not Yuan Zhuo, so he could only accompany him quietly.
Until Zhuo Yu cried enough, vented his anger, and calmed down completely, he forced an ugly smile at Qi Ji with a hoarse voice.
"Master, do you know that it will be difficult for me to pay you back in the short term?"
But he really needed this money to save his life. Even if his family could not make a comeback in the future, he still needed this money to save his father's life. His father had raised him for so many years with fine clothes and delicious food, and he could not watch him die in vain. At
this moment, Qi Ji was somewhat fortunate that he took the initiative to find Zhuo Yu, otherwise, maybe one day he would really get some news that he did not want to hear.
"Then live well and pay it back slowly. You can always pay it back in your lifetime."
Looking at him blankly, Zhuo Yu's sore eyes became hot again, and the tears that he had suppressed with great difficulty came up again.
He was indeed one of the people who knew him best in the world. These days, whenever he almost couldn't hold on any longer, he thought about dying with his father. If he dies,
he won't have to pay back his debts, and he won't have to be insulted and trampled like a dog.
But even Qi Ji, who was cheated by him, is willing to help him now. What qualifications does he have to die?
Even if he dies, he must first pay back the money that everyone lent him before he dies.
After wiping away his tears, Zhuo Yu nodded heavily to Qi Ji in a hoarse voice.
"Okay, don't worry, Master. I will definitely live well. Even if I have to beg for food in this life, I will pay you back the money until I die."
Qi Ji nodded in agreement, while calculating in his mind how much money he could take out at most.
"I'll transfer the cash in my card to you first, and help me sell all those houses. Leave me the money for the contract termination, and the rest is yours."
He picked up the pen for ordering and wrote down the number he had calculated on the napkin.
Looking at this number, Zhuo Yu knew that he had basically given him all his savings over the years.
"Master, you gave me everything, and in the future..."
"It's okay, I don't need it."
He didn't have any future, and Yuan Zhuo didn't need his money. Since Zhuo Yu needed it, he would give it all to him.
If he can make a comeback in the future, I hope he can use this money to do something meaningful.
For example, set up an e-sports foundation to help more children who love e-sports realize their dreams;
maybe he can also set up a public welfare organization related to depression to help those who are stuck in the quagmire.
Hearing this, Zhuo Yu's whole heart was trembling. He wanted to cry again, but he couldn't cry anymore. Qi Ji didn't like others crying.
With this energy, he might as well try his best to raise money to see if he could solve the problem, so that it would be worth it for him to help him.
After suffering so many days of despair, hardship and humiliation, Zhuo Yu finally saw a ray of sunshine. He was finally able to take a breath and regained a little of his previous spirit.
With a grin, he smiled at Qi Ji.
"Master, I am yours for the rest of my life. You can enslave and ravage me as you like."
Seeing that he had regained some of his previous playful smiles and frivolity, Qi Ji's heavy heart relaxed a little, and he responded to him in his usual cold voice.
"Go away."
The old friends who had known each other for 10 years and had gone through countless hardships and glory together looked at each other and smiled.
...
It was not so easy to transfer such a large amount of money. After contacting the bank for more than an hour, Qi Ji transferred the money to Zhuoyu's account. However, large transfers required review and he could not get the money until a few days later.
While waiting, Zhuoyu asked about the situation of the club, and Qi Ji simply told him the truth.
"Zhuoyu, if the worst comes to the worst, I am ready to leave GF."
Although Zhuoyu has tasted enough pain and despair these days, he still feels uncomfortable when he hears this news.
But over the years, although he has been good to Qi Ji and everyone, Qi Ji has also dedicated his best and most beautiful days to GF. He doesn't owe GF anything, nor does he owe anyone anything.
"If you want to leave, go ahead. Without you, this club has no meaning."
Qi Ji nodded. Maybe this is the final result... Although not everyone is happy, isn't life always like this?