Chapter 76 I have never been afraid of letting others...
This year's finals will be held at the newly built home stadium in Z City. To avoid travel disruptions due to the typhoon, the league requires all participating teams to arrive two days in advance.
Old Xu booked premium economy class for everyone, which meant that in addition to being seen off by fans at the airport, everyone who boarded the plane would stare at them. Nan Zhiyi clearly heard a little girl look up and ask the adult next to her if the older brothers sitting in front of her were celebrities.
Rock chuckled coldly from behind, "If I stay with you guys any longer, I'm going to start having body image anxiety."
Nan Zhiyi was sitting by the window, and You Xin was sitting next to him, looking thoughtfully at something on his phone, his chest heaving slightly more than usual.
He turned to the side and looked at the HYG team members and training staff sitting around him. He noticed that apart from the two veterans, everyone else seemed tense. Mike was nervously curling his hair, while Lao Xu was staring at You Xin with a venomous look. He hadn't originally planned for the two to sit together, but You Xin had naturally sat down next to Nan Zhiyi after coming up. The flight attendants were all staring at them, so he didn't feel comfortable saying anything.
Nan Zhiyi looked away. He nudged the person sitting next to him.
You Xin raised his eyes.
"Are you nervous?" Nan Zhiyi asked.
You Xin shook his head.
He noticed Nan Zhiyi glance at his phone screen, so he spoke up, "My dad."
"...Your father?"
"Hmm." You Xin waved her phone at him. "He heard about my relationship from somewhere and has been pressing me for the past few days to find out who I'm dating."
Nan Zhiyi naturally knew how important this person was to You Xin. In a negative way.
"Is everything alright?" he asked, a little worried.
“I didn’t tell him. I couldn’t be bothered,” You Xin said casually. “Then the housekeeper said he was going to watch the finals this week to see if I could win.”
Nan Zhiyi couldn't help but laugh when she thought about how that old-fashioned, grumpy man had to sit in front of the screen and watch eight people sit on stage playing a game he couldn't understand for three or four hours. She imagined him being shaken to the point of nausea by the 3D perspective after watching the whole thing: "You're really torturing the elderly."
"Your brother, um, I mean You Qing? Didn't he tell your father anything?"
Logically speaking, You Qing would not usually miss such an opportunity to put his brother down.
You Xin scoffed: "Him? He's been caught having a new scandal lately, he's probably too busy with his own problems to handle anything else."
You Qing himself is not a very capable actor. His works are not good, so he can only rely on creating his own persona to attract fans. However, he cannot control himself and is involved in scandals every now and then, which makes his studio busy for eight months of the year. His assistants have an extremely high turnover rate because they can't stand his personality.
At this point, the plane began to taxi, and the flight attendants came over to remind everyone to stow their tray tables and turn on flight mode.
The engine was roaring loudly, so Nan Zhiyi had to move closer to You Xin to speak: "Besides this, what else?"
You Xin: "Hmm?"
“You’re unhappy,” Nan Zhiyi pointed out. “You don’t think I can’t tell, do you?”
You Xin paused in putting down his phone, and after a moment, withdrew his hand.
He finally answered truthfully: "I was thinking, after we win the game the day after tomorrow, would you be willing to let me send you your photos?"
In Yu Xin's words, "winning the game the day after tomorrow" seems to have become a kind of established fact, which he uses as a premise.
Nan Zhiyi was taken aback, then couldn't help but want to laugh. He had guessed that it was probably because of something like this.
Since entering the playoffs, everyone in HYG has been extremely busy, and they haven't had this much time to spend together alone for a long time.
Even though they often share a room, their communication is almost always about work. In addition, they don't want to affect the team's atmosphere, so they hardly have the time or energy to have heart-to-heart talks about such personal matters.
“I didn’t ask for your consent when we talked about the championship pact during the previous interview,” You Xin continued. “If you’re not willing, I’ll post a picture of Kenken and say it’s a gift I bought for its one-year-old.”
He paused, then added, "Anyway, it's not the first time I've fooled them."
Nan Zhiyi: "...You not only didn't ask for my consent, but you know that Lao Xu was almost scared to death by you. He fell off the sofa and onto the floor."
You Xin pursed her lips.
A fleeting, almost imperceptible hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes, then vanished in an instant. He quickly composed himself, preparing to speak again—
“But well, it depends on your mood. Post it if you want, don’t post it if you don’t want to,” Nan Zhiyi said to him with a smile, his eyes bright. “As for me… to be honest, I don’t really care about this.”
You Xin was slightly taken aback.
“But you never really liked it before,” he said.
Nan Zhiyi touched her hair: "Back then... it wasn't a question of whether I liked it or not, but a question of whether I could."
"Do you remember? A long, long time ago, when we first started dating, I told my mom about it the very next day, and it terrified her."
"I have never been afraid to let others know that I like you."
Nan Zhiyi had seriously considered this question. Regarding their future.
He could have continued living with the other person like many others, saying they were just friends when asked, and the fans could have continued to happily ship them as a couple.
They won't be judged with prejudice, nor will they be seen as outcasts. They can still live "normal" lives.
But he knew very well that this was not what You Xin wanted.
You Xin is the type who, once he likes someone, wants the whole world to know. Certainty reduces his anxiety, while uncertainty causes his sense of security to quickly vanish.
But they are all different now than before. Before, they had nothing; now, they have mustered their courage, and by holding each other's hands, they hold the whole world in their hands.
As if in slow motion, You Xin's eyes gradually filled with brilliance.
Finally, he smiled and asked, "So, you agree?"
Nan Zhiyi looked around to make sure no one was watching him. Most of the HYG staff had put on eye masks and gone to sleep, while the team members were each looking at their own phones.
As if he had a guilty conscience, he gently grabbed You Xin's hand, interlocked their fingers, and raised it between them, waving it slightly.
“One day, everyone will know,” Nan Zhiyi said. “Besides, right now, to everyone, it’s just a joke you made.”
"If I can't even accept a joke like this, what are we going to do in the future? Since we've made this choice, no matter what the future holds, we'll have to face it together, right?"
“But your father might really not be able to accept it.” Finally, he added, “You’d better be careful about his cardiovascular health. Uh, here’s a cautionary tale.”
As Nan Zhiyi spoke, she glanced in the direction of Lao Xu.
Upon hearing this, You Xin couldn't help but laugh. This time, it was a genuine laugh.
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Author's Note: Emma Ka's writing has stopped. This chapter is a bit short, just a transition. I'll continue updating tonight. [Heartbroken][Heartbroken]
Red envelopes will be dropped in the comments section!
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