Chapter 21 This is basically a little girl who ran away from home...
As expected, Song Baiyu drank too much during the meal. He jumped around wildly in the private room, sometimes imitating his signature Barbarian class's hula dance, and sometimes putting his hands together and saying that he must get a weapon skin for the Barbarian this year. He swore to the heavens with great remorse that he would never let his beloved class suffer the pain of having no skins for three years after its release.
You Xin originally wanted to take out her phone to record a video for him, but Nan Zhiyi persuaded her not to.
Finally, Nan Zhiyi, You Xin, and Uncle Wang worked together to put him back in the car and drove him all the way to the WD base.
When the WD team leader came out to pick up the people, he had a dark look on his face, but he was still very polite to You Xin, who was holding Song Baiyu: "Thank you for your hard work, little You Shen."
He took Song Baiyu and then dragged him back to the base like a dead dog.
As the car door closed, Nan Zhiyi felt the world become quiet again.
But then, the car door was opened again—You Xin got into the car from the back door.
His choice of seat was strange. Instead of sitting close to the car door like Nan Zhiyi to maximize the space in the back, he sat in the middle of the back seat, right next to Nan Zhiyi.
The vehicle continued its journey into the night. Without Song Baiyu's incessant chatter, the interior was eerily quiet.
Nan Zhiyi instinctively felt that the other person was too close to him. He tried to move, but it made a rustling sound of clothes.
You Xin turned to look at him. Nan Zhiyi had no choice but to find a topic: "Have your relationship with your father improved now?"
“He’s feeling better.” You Xin looked away, staring straight ahead at the night view outside the window. “Last year he had a serious illness and spent more than ten days in the ICU. After he came out, his personality changed drastically. He suddenly became very attached to ‘family’.”
“He used to be very opposed to me playing professionally, but recently he has softened his stance and said that if I can become famous, he will support me. My brother said that he is getting old and is starting to worry that when he gets old, he will be sent to a nursing home and no one will come to visit him.”
Nan Zhiyi knew that the "my brother" he was referring to was You Yan, the eldest brother of the You family—You Qing would never be addressed as such by him.
"Isn't this a good thing?" he said. "He's still your father after all. Try to build a good relationship with him in the future. You're a big celebrity now, so it's better to avoid trouble."
You Xin hummed in response, his tone unreadable.
"I heard from Bai Yu today that you even brought a lawyer to argue with Stone?"
“He had to come here and act like a jerk first,” You Xin said coldly.
Nan Zhiyi: "...Is it completely impossible now? About your return to CG for the premiere."
“That’s all,” You Xin said.
Nan Zhiyi felt a mix of emotions. You Xin was 20 years old, in his prime. The professional lifespan of e-sports players is inherently short, and many people's true peak period is only one or two years.
Some people seize their peak, are lucky enough to have good teammates, and win the championship. But many more people encounter teammates they can't carry, internal power struggles, or major game version changes during their peak... and thus miss their once-in-a-lifetime chance to win.
From then on, he never recovered and never rose again after falling from grace.
CG.Meng is one of them.
Wind's mockery of Yux for not training for three months was a blatant reminder of this. After all, the intensity of professional play is not the same as ranked play. As the saying goes, you get used to any rank after playing for a long time. After playing ranked for a long time, you gradually become just another ordinary random player.
Nan Zhiyi sighed inwardly. How could You Xin not understand these principles? He knew that explaining them wouldn't help the other party and would only cause more trouble.
“There will always be a way,” he said. “CG can’t keep you in check forever… You will definitely win the championship.”
Nan Zhiyi spoke softly, yet with unusual firmness.
But he did not receive a reply for a long time.
Just as I was about to turn my head to look, I suddenly felt a weight on my shoulder—
Uncle Wang made a right turn and tossed You Xin, who had fallen asleep against the back, onto his shoulder.
Nan Zhiyi suddenly felt her whole body stiffen.
He raised his hand, then lowered it, then raised it again, but in the end he didn't push the other person off him.
You Xin had his eyes closed, looking quiet and harmless, his breathing rising and falling steadily, making Nan Zhiyi's body feel slightly itchy.
...Has he not had a good night's sleep in a long time?
In reality, the impact of the CG incident on him was not as nonchalant as he made it out to be.
He really, really wanted to win the championship, to stand on that highest stage, to have Kim Yu cheer for him, and to have everyone raise their arms and shout for him. He was even willing to start over for another year with teammates he didn't like.
After all, that was his biggest wish from the very beginning.
Nan Zhiyi stared at him, her thoughts drifting far away.
-
Five years ago.
Nan Zhiyi, carrying her schoolbag, sneaked out of the internet cafe.
Only after confirming that there were no familiar teachers or classmates around did he feel at ease and sling his schoolbag over his shoulder.
Tonight is the last night of the National Day holiday, and I have to go back to school early tomorrow morning.
Not long ago, the school held its first monthly exam for the senior students, and he did well, receiving special praise.
His elderly mother, having gained enough vanity in the parents' group chat, decided to reward him by letting him go out and have some fun for a day.
Nan Zhiyi walked back in a good mood, her eyes darting around among the tree canopies along the roadside.
Suddenly, he saw what appeared to be a child squatting under a tree not far ahead.
The child was curled up in a ball, seemingly trembling slightly.
Is she crying?
Nan Zhiyi stopped in his tracks. He took out his phone and glanced at it; it was already eleven o'clock.
He paused for a moment, unsure whether to go forward.
After thinking for a moment, he opened WeChat and sent a message to Qiu Cheng.
[Xiaoyi: I think I found a child by the roadside!! He was squatting under a tree crying. Could it be that he can't find his parents? I think I should go and help him.]
After sending the message, Nan Zhiyi carefully moved behind the child, and as if afraid of startling him, she whispered, "Little friend, what's wrong? Where are your parents?"
The child's body stiffened for a moment.
The next second, the "child" stood up in front of Nan Zhiyi.
Nan Zhiyi's gaze followed the other person's head, higher and higher... how did he end up being taller than him?
Are kids these days all so well-nourished?
His gaze then moved downwards, landing on the left chest area of the other person's jacket.
There is a round object there—the emblem of the No. 1 Middle School of the city.
Nan Zhiyi: "…………"
opposite:"…………"
There is probably no more awkward situation in the world than this.
Ten minutes later, Nan Zhiyi sat at the barbecue stall and replied to Qiu Cheng's message.
[Qiu Cheng: A child? Let's just call the police. We don't want to be mistaken for child traffickers.]
[Xiaoyi: Turns out I was mistaken. That wasn't a kid, it was a junior schoolmate about our age [facepalm and crying emoji]]
[Qiu Cheng: ???]
Nan Zhiyi put down her phone and looked at the new junior sitting across from her, who was not saying a word. For a moment, she wondered how she had brought him over to eat barbecue.
"Here you go." He pushed the steaming barbecue plate forward. "Have some, don't be upset. It's not safe to be out alone so late at night. Did you have a fight with your family? Did you do badly on your monthly exam?"
As he spoke, he seemed to have completely forgotten that he was also wandering alone outside in the middle of the night.
The junior student remained silent for a moment, then finally moved.
He picked a slice of roasted potato from the plate and said, "Thank you."
The streetlights were dim earlier, so Nan Zhiyi hadn't been able to see the other person's face clearly. Now he noticed that this junior was actually quite handsome, the kind of guy who would be considered a school heartthrob.
In addition, the junior also had a particularly unruly wolf tail hairstyle—although their school did not force boys to shave their heads, such long hair was still too much.
“I’m also from No. 1 High School. I’m in Class 3 of Senior Three.” Nan Zhiyi introduced herself. “My name is Nan Zhiyi. If you’re ever unhappy, you can come to my class to play with me.”
The junior student silently munched on his potato chips, without saying a word.
Nan Zhiyi was not discouraged after hitting a wall: "By the way, what grade are you in? First year? Second year? How come your homeroom teacher is so open-minded that he allows you to have long hair?"
After a long while, the person on the other end finally spoke: "They're in the first year of high school. The international department doesn't really manage them."
Nan Zhiyi was immediately filled with respect—the tuition and tutoring fees at their school's international department could easily amount to hundreds of thousands of yuan a year.
This isn't some heartbroken junior student taking the monthly exam; this is practically a runaway young master!
The young master quietly finished the skewer of potato slices and then started eating a skewer of grilled mushrooms.
After he finally finished eating all six skewers of barbecue, he made a new move—he demurely wiped his mouth with a tissue and then stood up.
"Thank you for treating me to dinner," the young master said to him. "I'm going home now."
Just as Nan Zhiyi was about to ask him if he was going home alone, she saw a black sedan speeding towards her and then suddenly stopping at the side of the road.
A middle-aged man with a worried look got out of the driver's seat: "Oh my god, you're out here all night, you're going to scare me to death..."
Wang Jianguo picked up the young master and thanked Nan Zhiyi profusely for treating him to a meal (the main point being that she kept an eye on him). He explained that the child had run away in the middle of the night because he had argued with his family. He almost pulled out a red envelope to give him, but Nan Zhiyi refused it righteously.
As the two were leaving, Nan Zhiyi suddenly remembered, "Hey, you still haven't told me your name."
The young master stopped in his tracks as he was getting into the car.
"Don't you recognize me?" he asked, turning around.
Nan Zhiyi thought to herself, "Are you some kind of big celebrity?"
"I'm You Xin from Class A of the first year of high school." For some reason, seeing that he didn't react, the young master seemed a little happier than before.
He smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for treating me to dinner."
The next day, Nan Zhiyi finally understood what "Don't you recognize me?" meant.
"You Xin? You mean You Xin from the international department?" His deskmate immediately perked up when he heard the question. "Don't you know? Last week at the parent-teacher conference, a big celebrity came to our school! His fans blocked the road in front of the school!"
Nan Zhiyi thought back for a moment, and it seemed like there was such a thing: "And then?"
"That big star is You Qing! The male lead in 'Sunrise Romance'! You Xin is his younger brother, and he's here for his brother's parent-teacher conference!" My deskmate's eyes sparkled as she talked about the handsome guy. "I saw the photos they took the other day, and he's really handsome in person! I also heard from some girls in other classes that many of his fans go to the international department after class to ask You Qing's brother for an autograph. A lot of boys go too, saying they want to give it to their girlfriends as a birthday present or something."
Nan Zhiyi was taken aback: "Are you planning to ask for one?"
"I'm not going. Although I like You Qing quite a bit, I feel like I'd be bothering him." My deskmate smiled sheepishly. "Besides, I heard that You Qing hasn't been to class for several days because those people have been blocking him everywhere... I guess he's not too happy about it either."
-
The solo tournament on the 15th featured mostly main and secondary carry players. The organizers thoughtfully placed milk and yux, currently recognized as the strongest solo players, in two different halves of the bracket, and sure enough, the final match was between the two of them.
After a fierce five-game battle, You Xin narrowly won with his Elemental Mage, managing to destroy the opponent's resurrection point with only 21 HP remaining, thus retaining his title as the league's solo king.
By the time the team competition started on the 16th, most people lost interest in watching the game because many star players did not participate.
The All-Star Game ended with WD team winning the team championship.
The spring season of roeCN resumed on Wednesday, three days after the competition ended.
On this day, You Xin took a car back to his hometown, which he hadn't visited in five years.
The family home was a Chinese-style architectural complex built along the water, in a garden style. As he walked through the round archway, a woman's voice came from behind him: "Xiao Xin!"
"Aunt Zhao."
Zhao Yafen put down the tea she was holding and happily came over to take You Xin's hand.
"Why didn't you tell Auntie you were back?" She smiled broadly, looking You Xin up and down. "You've grown up, you've really grown up, you've become a handsome young man. Come in and sit down, it must be cold outside, Auntie will pour you a cup of hot water."
As she turned her back, You Xin saw her secretly wipe the corner of her eye. He had been cared for by the family's nanny since he moved here when he was six years old, and she treated him like her own child, so it was understandable that she was moved at this moment.
Zhao Yafen pulled You Xin all the way to the living room, as if afraid he would run away if she let go of him.
"Xiao Xin, I've seen you playing computer games all day long. Are you really good at it?" She poured him a cup of hot tea. "I even saw your picture at the subway station! Are you a world champion now?"
You Xin took a sip of tea, which was too hot to drink: "Not yet, we were runners-up last year."
He paused, then added, "But it will be soon, this year, I suppose."
"You, you!" Zhao Yafen smiled broadly. She clearly didn't understand the intricacies of the e-sports world, nor did she know what the young man in front of her had endured in a modern, large club. "If you can bring back a world championship, the old man will be extremely happy. He was quite upset when you left, and you haven't been home much these past few years. The old man isn't in good health now, so when you see him later, don't upset him; try to say some nice things..."
When Mr. You entered, he was in a wheelchair. Glancing at the figure on the sofa, he snorted, "So at least you know how to come back."
Upon seeing this, the young man with long blond hair, who was pushing a wheelchair behind him, also spoke up: "Oh, look who's back?"
You Xin looked up and met a pair of smiling fox eyes, and gave a very soft "tsk".
He ignored You's father, didn't call out to anyone, and went straight to the fox-eyed man, saying, "What are you doing here?"
You Qing pushed the wheelchair through the door, smiling as she tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear: "I heard you were going home, so I came back especially to see you. If you've had a hard time outside, come back so I, your older brother, can vent my anger for you."
"Thank you very much," You Xin said coldly.
“Yeah, it’s all because you’ve always had this sullen temper since you were little, keeping everything bottled up inside.” You Qing continued, “If it weren’t for President Yan inviting me to invest, I wouldn’t have known that there were actually people in the CG team forming cliques and ostracizing other players. I heard that your teammates told the coach that from now on, when it comes to matches and training, it’s either them or you? How could you not tell your brother about something so big?”
You Xin looked away from her phone, not even lifting her eyelids: "If you're feeling dramatic, go back to the film set. Don't put on an act in front of me."
You Qing was about to speak again when You's father slammed his fist on the armrest of his wheelchair: "Enough! When will you two ever stop? How many times has this happened? You've been arguing the moment you meet since you were little!"
He was old, and although he couldn't understand what they meant by "training" and "competition," he could still sense the barbed words in their conversation.
You Xin fell silent. You Qing shrugged as well.
The living room finally quieted down for a while.
A note from the author:
----------------------
A kind-hearted citizen, Nam Ji-yi, attempted to do a good deed but failed. (1/1)
This book doesn't have too many flashbacks; I've broken them up and placed them in many places. The main focus is still on now.
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