9. Chapter 9 [Catching Bugs]
The silence did not last long, and soon the door of the lounge was opened again.
Before anyone in the room could even look, they heard the sound of the quintessence of Chinese culture echoing one after another—
"Fuck!"
“Oh my god!”
“Is it a real person?”
The teachers from the competition and training group who came in one after another were completely excited by the scene before them.
They all widened their eyes and focused their gazes on one person.
Chi Mo heard the noise, raised his head, and greeted them with a smile.
Three years have passed, and Xiangjiu's training group is different from the one three years ago. There are people Chi Mo knows and people Chi Mo doesn't know, but he smiles at them all equally.
Several people were instantly flattered and ran up to him, calling out to Chi Shen affectionately and asking questions like "Why are you back?" and "When did you come back?" They bowed slightly to him and then extended their hands respectfully, wanting to shake hands with him.
Chi Mo did not refuse and shook hands with each of them.
This didn't seem like anything special, but it made them even more ecstatic.
As a training match for the Wanjie Professional League, they are very fond of meritorious players like Chi Mo.
To be more precise, it should be worship and respect.
Regardless of whether they were familiar with Chi Mo or not, they all, without exception, had fantasized about being his teammates. Among them, some had realized it or not, their admiration and respect for Chi Mo were real.
It is said that those who play in the game and those who work behind the scenes are two different professional systems. As a member of the training team, they are very arrogant and self-contained in front of the players, just like a teacher treats students. They are born with majesty and a sense of distance as "adults".
But Chi Mo is different. The value of ten world championships has already surpassed everything.
No one will question his ability on the field, and no one will question his understanding of the game. For the training team, a top player with a top game awareness is enough to show that even if he switches to training in the future, he will reach a height that they can hardly reach.
None of them would doubt Chi Mo's professionalism, and recognition of his abilities had long been common knowledge.
Chi Mo is not only an idol for the players of the Wanjie Professional League, but also for the training team and even the entire staff working in Wanjie.
Fans are always nervous and uneasy when they see their idols.
No matter how high a person's status is, or how eccentric and difficult to deal with they are, their true selves will be exposed under the halo of an idol.
It may be very different from their usual self, but they really can't control it.
Seeing the teachers in the training group so uneasy and cautious for the first time was also an eye-opener for the young contestants.
After this wave of noise ended, the training team, who used to hold a meeting in the locker room to educate players before the game, was silent today.
They joined the other contestants' man-marking action very smoothly, glancing at Chi Mo with ambiguous eyes, looking a bit like perverts.
However, no one found it strange. After all, it was really hard not to focus on a great figure sitting in the lounge.
At the same time, the Muyu team in another lounge was also unable to focus on the next game.
"Are they having a disco in the lounge next door?" The team's most boisterous shooter spread his hands and complained speechlessly, "What are Xiangjiu and the others doing? Just now I felt like they were going to tear the house down, and now they're so quiet again. They must be possessed by ghosts!"
The assistant sitting next to him pushed his glasses up and agreed, "Indeed, when things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy. This really doesn't seem like them."
Mu Yu's manager frowned: "Are you trying to mess with our mentality?"
It's no wonder he thought too much. After all, they had fought many times, and this was the first time such a situation occurred. It felt a little strange.
However, his words were quickly dismissed by the coach: "You're trying to manipulate our mentality like that? That's too abstract. Aren't they afraid of failing to understand our mentality and making a fool of themselves first?"
The manager nodded when he heard this: "Yeah, if the director makes trouble, after today's game, the hot search will be "The ghost screaming in the Xiangjiu locker room before the game."
"Oh, forget it. Just cheer up and take the game seriously." Mu Yu's coach lay down on the sofa and couldn't help but complain, "Sometimes I admire the sound insulation of the lounge. You say it's good, but you can still hear the screams from the other side. You say it's bad, but you can't hear what they're shouting. Even the spectators don't understand. I'm really impressed."
Finally, the team leader said, "Don't worry about it. We'll be on stage soon. Take a break."
Only then did they calm down.
There are fifteen minutes left before the evening game starts, and the coaches and training staff are about to leave the locker room and sit in the coaching seats.
Everyone in the Xiangjiu training team stood up reluctantly, and only walked out after looking back every few steps at the urging of the staff.
Just as they were following the staff into the stadium with a bit of disappointment, Zhang Yuxuan, who was the first in line behind the staff, suddenly turned around and said to his colleagues who were obviously a little absent-minded, "What's with your faces? That person will be watching the game with us later! Aren't you excited?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's breathing held. They knew immediately who "that person" was without even being told.
The people behind him all looked up, their depressed mood changed, and everyone looked surprised: "Really?"
"Can I really fool you?" Zhang Yuxuan waved his hand, "When you sit down later, give up one seat for someone else, okay?"
"Of course!"
"We definitely know this bit of hospitality."
"What an honor! I haven't even watched a game with the Big Devil yet!"
…
Chirping in response.
In a place where no one was paying attention, Jiang Hailian, who usually had a cold face, rarely showed an expression of surprise and joy. His ears were already extremely red, and his heartbeat was far less intense than the calmness he appeared to show.
At this time, only the team leader and the players were left in the lounge.
Without Zhang Yuxuan's nagging, Yuwen Yu became even more unscrupulous.
He held Chi Mo's hand, frowned slightly, and asked sincerely: "Brother, you won't leave this time."
Chi Mo smiled and teased the child, "Guess?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the lounge breathed hard.
Yu Wenyu tightened his grip on the man's hand: "Don't say such scary things, QAQ."
Seeing Yu Wenyu about to cry, he quickly stopped and comforted her: "Okay, don't worry, I won't leave like I did before. Last time I really had no choice."
"What do you mean by having no choice?" Yu Wenyu muttered, feeling aggrieved when talking about this matter.
Chi Mo looked at the man's competitive look and the smile in his eyes became more gentle. He was actually reluctant to tell the reason why he left. For him, this was tantamount to showing weakness to the other person. However, seeing the other person's concern for him, Chi Mo finally softened his heart.
He sighed, stood up and pulled the man to the corner of the lounge.
As soon as Yu Wenyu saw this action, he knew that this matter must not be as simple as he imagined. His whole state changed immediately, and he became so serious as if he had been replaced by a different person.
"What happened three years ago? Brother, was someone bullying you?" Yu Wenyu said in a low voice. The first thing he thought of was being suppressed by capital and the dark side of some high-level officials who were not allowed to see the light of day.
However, Chi Mo's next words stunned him.
Chi Mo shook his head slightly. He stared into Yuwen Yu's eyes and whispered the secret that he had kept hidden in his heart, "I'm going to get treatment, Wenyu."
"Cure the disease?" Yu Wenyu was stunned. His pupils trembled noticeably and his brows furrowed.
He had not expected this answer at all; it was totally unexpected for him.
The arrogance in my heart disappeared in an instant, and all that was left was an endless feeling of powerlessness.
"What, what disease is it? Why haven't we known about it yet?" Yu Wenyu's mood was extremely complicated at this moment, and he could only ask with a forced smile.
I knew it would be like this...
Chi Mo sighed again, then he talked about the allergic asthma he had suffered from since childhood, and gave examples of several allergens: "Allergic asthma is actually not very dangerous. As long as you stay away from allergens, it will be fine. But I have too many allergens, and it has seriously affected my life. I must get treatment, otherwise sooner or later I will have an accident and catch everyone off guard."
"I kept this from you all because I didn't think it was necessary. We're here to compete, not play house. Telling you about this will only increase your worries and won't change anything. Besides, you'll definitely be extra careful with me once you know, and that extra care will be a burden to me."
"Actually, I don't want to say it right now, but after thinking about it, I realized that I've already retired. We're no longer colleagues. We're friends now, and there shouldn't be so much hiding between friends."
At this point, Chi Mo also breathed a sigh of relief. He had kept it a secret from the league and his teammates. No one knew that he had allergic asthma except the club's top boss.
Those who knew him only knew that he had asthma and that they had to prepare medicine for him to avoid any accidents, but they did not know that he had many allergens.
Chi Mo's asthma is a relatively common allergic asthma, which is much more convenient in life than exercise-induced asthma.
Logically speaking, his condition is not very dangerous. As long as he does not come into contact with allergens, he will be able to function like a normal person.
But unfortunately, he has too many allergens.
Let’s not talk about the more common cold air and pollen for now.
Just the food alone was enough to give Chi Mo a headache.
For example, Chi Mo is allergic to rice, which is an important source of food for Chinese people.
During his years as a professional player, he never ordered takeout in the practice room, and he never ate the food ordered by his teammates. Every time he went out to celebrate after winning a game, he always only ate buckwheat noodles. If he accidentally touched rice, he would immediately run to the bathroom to take asthma medicine.
Chi Mo was diagnosed with allergic asthma when he was six years old. When he was younger, his allergy to rice was not so severe, so before he was diagnosed with asthma, he ate rice normally. He would have some difficulty breathing after eating every time. At that time, Chi Mo just thought he was choking because he ate too fast.
But for some reason, as he got older, his allergy to rice became more and more severe. He could eat it before, but now he can't touch even a grain of it. Just a little bit of it will immediately cause a very strong asthma reaction. Fortunately, he has the habit of carrying medicine with him, otherwise he would have been killed by the rice offline in the years when he started playing professionally alone.
However, this is just the tip of the iceberg of Chi Mo's allergens.
When it comes to fruit, things are even more outrageous.
Chi Mo is allergic to all fruits except bananas and apples, but the degree of allergy varies. Some fruits will only cause mild asthma, while others are so severe that they will cause shock.
Mangoes and durian are the hardest hit fruits, and people will have allergic reactions when they smell their odor.
He is also allergic to dairy products, soy products, nuts, and fish.
During the three years that Chi Mo stayed abroad, he continued to undergo allergen desensitization treatment to treat his asthma.
After three years of unremitting efforts, he was finally able to eat something.
Most of the progress has been focused on vegetables.
However, to be on the safe side, he still prepared asthma and allergy medicines to avoid encountering allergens in the crowd.
He has gotten used to it over the years, but for a normal person, hearing that someone has so many common food allergens is a shock that is difficult to digest quickly.
Not to mention that the person listening is a younger generation who cares about him with all his heart and eyes.
Chi Mo looked at Yu Wenyu who wanted to say something but kept opening and closing his mouth several times, and reached out to touch his head gently.
He was the one who was ill, but he smiled and comforted others: "Okay, let's not talk about this anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Wenyu suddenly called him "brother" with red eyes.
Chi Mo was stunned for a moment, still with a faint smile on his face. He said, "Anything else you want to ask? I'll tell you everything."
Yu Wenyu sniffed. Listening to Chi Mo say these words so calmly, he really wanted to cry.
Although he knew that this was the result of Chi Mo's deliberate concealment, he still felt deeply guilty.
They had been teammates for so long, yet they didn't even know the other had asthma! They didn't even know the other had allergies!
Yu Wenyu's memory went back to three years ago, when they were still teammates.
Scene after scene, those images that made him feel strange, surprised and puzzled all emerged in his mind.
——It turns out that there is a trace of all this.
No wonder... No wonder Chi Mo never drinks at banquets, no wonder he never eats fruit in the lounge, no wonder he always wears a coat year-round, no wonder he never eats takeout. At the time, I thought he was just a loner and didn't like being around a lot of people...
All the confusions have answers, but the answers are too heavy, making Yu Wenyu feel a little breathless.
How ridiculous...
Chi Mo took so much care of him during his professional career, and he even helped him win the world championship.
Putting aside the honor, the prize money for the world championship alone is enough to make Yu Wenyu follow Chi Mo's lead.
I can never express my gratitude enough for this kindness, and now there is one more thing - the other person's physical condition.
Yu Wenyu tried to make his voice normal, but he still trembled when he spoke: "Brother...why didn't you tell us before you left?"
Chi Mo chuckled and replied, "If you knew, I wouldn't be able to leave."
"How could it be!" Yu Wenyu raised his voice, but after realizing that it was too loud, he quickly lowered it again: "If you want to go get treatment, we will definitely not stop you!"
Chi Mo shrugged and patiently explained, "I don't want to attend the press conference, nor do I want to attend the retirement ceremony, and I don't want to be interviewed by the media. Can these be eliminated with just one click?"
"If you knew, the media and marketing accounts would know too, and I would definitely be in the spotlight. By then, I probably wouldn't be able to leave even if I wanted to."
And there was another reason—his school was just starting.
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yu was speechless.
Yes, if they knew, then the media would know, and if the media knew, then it would be difficult for Chi Mo to leave.
If Chi Mo's sudden retirement had not caught the league off guard, the top management would definitely not have agreed to his departure.
By then, let alone going abroad for treatment, it is uncertain whether he can retire or even retreat behind the scenes.
This is really a last resort and I have no choice.
With another bitter smile, Yu Wenyu raised his hand and quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes. He showed Chi Mo a big smile, and after thinking about it, he finally said, "Thank you for the hard work during these three years of treatment."
He didn't know what else to say. Just like Chi Mo had said, what good would it do to tell them? He still had so many allergies, he still had asthma, and he was the one suffering. The others could do nothing but worry, and all this extra concern would not only burden them but also affect their performance during the game.
Choosing to hide it from everyone was indeed the best approach at the time, but what made Yu Wenyu hard to accept was that those who were teammates with Chi Mo had never noticed it.
This made him wonder whether he really cared enough about this glorious captain back then?
He clearly admired him so much and regarded him as a god, but he didn't even know that he was not feeling well.
Isn't this a dereliction of duty? Whether as a teammate or as a fan, this is a blatant dereliction of duty.
The only thing that comforts him is probably that even his fans don’t know.
He hid it really well.
Feelings of guilt and self-blame continued to loom, which made Yu Wenyu more determined in his thoughts.
——I will take good care of you, and I won’t fail in my duty this time.
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