Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Lu Donglou had recently noticed that Xu Ziyan was spending significantly less time in the training room. This might be seen as laziness by others, but when it happened to Xu Ziyan, he felt quite gratified.
After all, since joining the team, this rookie medic has always shown extraordinary effort, training until late at night, and staying in the training room all night is a common occurrence. Lu Donglou is almost worried that he will ruin his health.
Xu Ziyan now arrives at the training room on time and leaves a little later, and he's noticeably healthier, with a rosy complexion and full of energy every day. Yes, this is what a young person should look like.
Lu Donglou nodded with satisfaction.
He certainly couldn't have imagined that these performances were not due to sufficient rest, but rather to Xie Wei's efforts.
Xie Wei was initially a little troubled, wondering if this so-called "companionship" required physical intimacy. However, she later discovered that as long as they were in the same room, close to each other, and she released a little bit of her pheromones, Xu Ziyan would feel much more comfortable, so she was completely relieved.
When they're together, they certainly don't just sit there doing nothing.
Xu Ziyan made the most of his resources, taking out his laptop and immediately asking Xie Wei for advice on points to note in 1v1 and some special terrain features on the map.
Xie Wei was also very helpful, sharing his knowledge without reservation. At the same time, he noticed that Xu Ziyan's healing playstyle was completely different from the ranked game they had played together before. A strange feeling flashed through his mind, but it was fleeting and he didn't dwell on it.
After all, Xu Ziyan had previously said that he was his fan.
Xie Wei had seen even more fervent fan behavior before, but he just smiled and let it pass.
Half a month passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the Rookie Cup competition.
Despite having done thorough training and mental preparation, Xu Ziyan still couldn't help feeling uneasy when the competition approached.
Since it was an individual competition, besides the coach, he was the only team member to start. The afternoon sun shone warmly, and the wind rustled through the leaves.
Xu Ziyan stood downstairs with a backpack full of peripherals, waiting for the driver to bring the van. He casually scrolled through his phone with his eyes downcast, but he was too nervous to concentrate on anything.
Suddenly, someone gently patted his shoulder from behind.
The action came without warning, but Xu Ziyan wasn't startled. He recognized the incredibly familiar lemon-mint scent that had been lingering around him every day for the past two weeks.
He put away his phone and turned around: "Captain Xie."
Xie Wei smiled and said, "Are you a little nervous?"
Xu Ziyan nodded obediently.
Xie Wei joked, "Who was it that confidently told me last night that they wouldn't be nervous and would definitely perform exceptionally well?"
After saying that, he patted the young man's soft hair and comforted him, "Alright, don't put too much pressure on yourself, and don't think about getting first or second place. Just relax. Your professional career has just begun, and there will be plenty of competitions to come."
As Xu Ziyan listened to Xie Wei's words, he was surprised to find that his previously uneasy heart had actually calmed down.
It must be admitted that Xie Wei can be really cold when he's distant from people, but when he wants to be gentle with someone, he can be incredibly attentive, so much so that he can detect and soothe even the slightest emotional fluctuation.
Xu Ziyan had planned to spend the next two weeks gradually sobering up and trying to get her mindset back to normal.
But as a result, under Xie Wei's gentleness, he not only failed to extricate himself, but became more and more deeply involved, and now it is almost impossible for him to turn back.
It's nothing really.
It's all unrequited love anyway, and since I can't have it anyway, it doesn't matter whether the symptoms are mild or severe.
Xu Ziyan smiled and said, "Okay, I will try my best."
Xie Wei didn't say anything else, but gently squeezed his shoulder and said, "Keep it up."
--
This year's Rookie Cup was held at the local sports center in City A, not far from TWG's base, just a fifteen-minute drive away.
The competition starts at 4 PM, and it's only 2:30 PM now. But with the styling done, plus all the pre-competition preparations and schedule confirmations, it's pretty much done.
The van stopped in the underground parking garage, and Lu Donglou led Xu Ziyan through the staff-only entrance. It was still early, and besides staff and athletes, there were only a few spectators in the sports center. However, in another hour and a half, all the empty seats would be filled with people.
As Xu Ziyan walked and looked around, he discovered that many of the people he passed by were quite famous streamers and streetball stars, as well as several highly popular retired players.
Seeing his confusion, Lu Donglou explained in a low voice, "After the official competition, there will be an exhibition match. They are invited guests."
Xu Ziyan nodded.
He was looking at others, but others were also looking at him, secretly guessing the identity of this unfamiliar young man.
Xu Ziyan has an outstanding appearance, which is already eye-catching enough. Wearing a TWG team uniform, it's normal for her to receive attention.
But after discussing it back and forth, no one could think of any IDs that were recently ranked high on the ladder and joined TWG, and there was no news about it.
So the matter was dropped.
Once inside the team's rest area, Lu Donglou took out his phone, glanced at the messages, and immediately burst out laughing.
He looked at Xu Ziyan: "We've only walked around this far, and everyone's asking who you are, what position you play, and when you joined the team. Ice, you're getting a lot of attention."
After saying that, he added thoughtfully, "The new season is about to start, and it's time to put your official announcement on the agenda."
"Official announcement" as the name suggests refers to a team's official account announcing on various social media platforms the addition of new members or the departure of old members.
Xu Ziyan said, "I will follow your arrangements."
Lu Donglou knew he didn't use Weibo, and chuckled, "You're quite open-minded."
Shortly after, a makeup artist came over and gave Xu Ziyan a simple makeover. Then, the stage manager briefly explained the competition schedule, including where to enter and exit the stage, and where to go for interviews. Soon, it was almost four o'clock.
The competition was about to begin. Lu Donglou stood up and patted Xu Ziyan hard on the back: "Don't worry about the ranking. Just do your best and try to let more people know your ID!"
Xu Ziyan nodded vigorously: "Okay!"
Guided by the staff, Xu Ziyan sat down at the table with the same number as hers, connected the peripherals, and did some simple debugging, just as Xie Wei had taught her before.
Soon, the referee's voice came through the earpiece explaining the rules. After the rules were explained and the preparation time ended, the competition officially began.
The random map began to spin rapidly, and Xu Ziyan unconsciously clenched his hand holding the mouse.
Soon, the turntable stopped.
This round of maps features Gasvinia, a prosperous city located near the sea and situated on green spaces.
The map is complex, with many tall buildings, making it suitable for sniping and guerrilla warfare. However, it also has sections that are completely open and vast beaches, where hiding places are scarce.
For Xu Ziyan, who works in the medical field, survival depends entirely on luck.
He selected his equipment, let out a breath, flexed his knuckles, and clicked to enter the map.
--
Outside the Sports Center in City A.
Even from a distance, it didn't stop people outside from hearing the deafening screams and cheers from inside. Inside the black van, Qu Qingyue glanced at the live stream and said, "Hmm, perfect timing, the match has just begun. Let me see where our team's medic chose to land."
Shen Xiao, sitting at the back, stretched and practically lay down on Bai Chen beside him, asking, "Which picture?"
"Gasvinia".
"Wow." Shen Xiao whistled and laughed, "Such a complicated diagram? Looks like someone's going to suffer."
Qu Qingyue hummed in agreement, turned off her phone, and said strangely, "I don't know what's gotten into the head coach, he actually dragged our first team to the stadium to watch the Rookie Cup match. This is unprecedented."
She turned her head: "Captain, do you know what happened?"
Xie Wei, who was watching the live broadcast of the game with only one earphone, replied, "There's a host going on in the exhibition match later. He's young, plays a sudden attack style, and is a good prospect. Coach Yu wants to recruit him into the team."
Shen Xiao raised an eyebrow: "TWG's head coach personally came to invite them to join the team? Holy crap, is the other side some kind of once-in-a-century genius? That's incredible."
Qu Qingyue rolled her eyes at him: "Hey, you should also be a little aware of the danger when you're playing the same game of surprise attacks. There are always new geniuses coming one after another."
Shen Xiao chuckled and said, "Don't worry about your brother Shen. Over the years, your brother Shen has beaten up at least fifty or a hundred geniuses. I'll beat up one of them."
Qu Qingyue gave him a thumbs up.
Soon, Yu Guangzhou returned to the car, which drove into the underground parking lot. The group of people put on hats and masks, carefully entered through the staff entrance, and found several empty VIP seats in the audience area.
The view here is excellent, the commentary is passionate, and on the big screen, it just so happens to switch to TWG-Ice's perspective.
The screen showed a corridor in a building. A medic holding a healing gun deftly slipped into a room, dodging a barrage of bullets fired from behind by an assault soldier.
Timing the reload perfectly, the medic leaned out, and the bullet from the healing gun struck the assault soldier squarely between the eyebrows, the headshot damage flashing out and instantly reducing the assault soldier's health to a sliver.
It was just a hair's breadth away from death; anyone would have succumbed to that temptation. But the healer on the screen resisted. He wasn't greedy and retreated back into the room.
Seeing this, the commentator off-screen couldn't help but joke, "Ice's playstyle is still quite cautious."
Another commentator nodded in agreement: "That's true, and it has to be admitted that this strategy is very effective. Ice already has two kills and is ranked among the top in the overall rankings. For a medic with limited offensive options, this is already a remarkable achievement."
The perspective on the screen switched again, and the topic of the two commentators shifted accordingly.
Down in the audience, Xie Wei inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, then chuckled.
He didn't tell Xu Ziyan that he would be there today, partly because he was afraid Xu Ziyan would be nervous.
Seeing that Xu Ziyan is in good condition, Xie Wei is much more relieved.
Just then, he suddenly heard a small murmur coming from the back seat.
"Hey, did you know? I heard that Ice is an Omega!"
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