Glacier

Glacier

The two went to a hot pot restaurant near the base.

There weren't many people, but the food was delicious. Zhou Yifan ordered quite a lot of food. He waited quietly until the waiter left and the hot pot broth was boiling before carefully speaking:

“I watched those games we played many times a few days ago, and I also went through your old recordings.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” he said in a calm and respectful tone. “I’m just saying objectively that you played really well. I might not have been able to come up with those details and team fight strategies myself.”

Chen He didn't respond, but picked up two slices of meat and put them into the pot.

Zhou Yifan paused for a second before continuing, "But I can also tell that you're not the kind of person who cares about winning or losing."

When he said this, his tone was flat, without questioning or speculation, as if he were simply stating a phenomenon he had observed. It sounded more mature than one would expect from someone his age.

Shen He finally glanced at him.

"How old are you?"

"I will turn eighteen at the end of this year."

At the age of a typical high school senior, he's quite composed, though his inherent competitiveness and impatience aren't well hidden. It's not that he lacks ideas or abilities, it's just that sometimes he's too eager to prove himself, yet too concerned about the coach's opinion.

"How many years have you been playing?"

“Three years,” Zhou Yifan answered quickly, then added, “I joined the youth training program when I was a teenager, played for both the first and second teams, and also played for two different teams.”

"Did you come to see me because you watched my game replay? Or because of the two matches you lost?"

"Both are true." Zhou Yifan smiled, revealing a rare frankness that comes with his age. "Mainly, I feel that I can adapt to your way of playing."

"My playstyle is not rigid; I can change my jungle routes and map control directions."

He added, "I think if we communicate well, we can play more smoothly."

Shenhe did not respond immediately, but gestured for him to continue.

Zhou Yifan paused, his tone becoming more cautious: "The coach is too mild-mannered, always thinking about playing it safe. He's actually a good person, but sometimes his draft picks are too conservative, afraid of taking risks."

"But you also know that some situations will be lost if you don't take action."

“Sometimes I feel a bit stifled myself.” Zhou Yifan smiled, but his tone wasn’t complaining. “I’m not saying he’s no good, it’s just that there are some situations I actually want to take on.”

"You really want to win?" Shen He asked.

Zhou Yifan nodded: "Of course, I never played professionally just to make a living."

Shen He raised his eyes, his tone calm but not evasive: "I play every game seriously and try my best."

He remained calm and unhurried: "I've taken ASG's money, so I'll play well. I've always liked this game, and I won't be perfunctory. But whether we win or lose isn't something I can decide alone."

He looked at Zhou Yifan, his voice soft but clear: "Are you worried that I don't care about winning or losing, that I have a problem with you or the coach, so I won't play well?" Shen He chuckled and continued, "That kind of thing won't happen to me."

Zhou Yifan was stared at by him and didn't say anything for a moment.

That gaze was so calm, like a still pond, devoid of any emotional fluctuations or sharpness, yet it instinctively dispelled any suspicion.

A few seconds later, he touched his nose and smiled a little embarrassedly: "Okay, I was overthinking it."

The conversation had almost run its course, and neither of them were the type to actively seek out topics, so the atmosphere quieted down, but it wasn't awkward.

After finishing their hot pot meal, Zhou Yifan went to pay the bill, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he was told that it had already been paid.

He turned and glanced at Shen He: "When did you pay?"

Shen He was standing at the door looking at his phone when he heard this, so he looked up and said, "While washing your hands."

“…You promised to treat me.” Zhou Yifan muttered to himself, then quickly added, “I’ll definitely treat you next time.”

Shen He nodded at him, which was taken as tacit approval.

Back at the base, Zhou Yifan habitually headed towards the training room. Seeing that Shen He was about to go straight back to the dormitory, he seemed to realize something and called out to Shen He.

"I've hardly ever spoken to you before, I didn't expect you to be such a...normal person."

Shen He raised an eyebrow and gave him a half-smile: "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing special," Zhou Yifan said with a smile. "Anyway, we got a good deal on this hot pot meal. Let's keep in touch in the future."

Shen He stood there watching his retreating figure, saying nothing. Before, they would only exchange greetings when they met, and she couldn't even remember his voice. Now, they could probably be considered a little more familiar with each other.

Back in the dormitory, Shen He had just washed his face when his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Chen Yuchuan, who sent him a forum link. Shen He thought about it for a moment, then downloaded the forum and clicked on the link.

I really laughed during yesterday's live stream. The chat was full of comments like "male sister-in-law" and Chuanzi saying "my brother"—was it really Styx?

"It can't possibly be Styx. Didn't they just meet after playing one match? Where did this 'brother' come from?"

"Agreed. Styx is a professional player now. If they really want to play together, is it necessary to hide from the cameras?"

"Yeah, yeah, if it really is Styx, why would he be hiding it? He's shown his face so many times already, it's not like he's shameful to be this handsome."

"It's probably just a friend or stranger. Chuanzi reacted so strongly because he's afraid people will talk badly about his friend."

"Yes, I thought he was going to yell at me when he got angry, hahaha."

"That person turned off the camera immediately when I told them to. How could someone you just met have such influence?"

"In a previous interview, he mentioned meeting up with an old friend. Could that be Styx?"

"??? How did old friends and new acquaintances get mixed up?"

"Yeah, don't jump to conclusions. If you're really talking about an old friend, then anyone could be a potential candidate."

"But wasn't he going to Lanzhou to see Styx?"

"Is it possible that I went to watch Styx's match while I was at it? Anyway, I don't feel like I know these two people that well."

"Stop shipping them randomly. If your friend is straight, it would be too cruel to be labeled as his sister-in-law."

"What do you mean, upstairs? Are we Sichuanese not straight men?"

"If he were really a brother, would he be in such a hurry? Either he really has something going on, or... you know, anyway, this bastard's reaction is weird."

"But the voice sounds just like Styx! I listened to it so many times, that's the tone Styx always uses in interviews!"

"CP fans may be crazy, but don't drag Styx into this just because they sound alike."

"Speaking of which, hasn't Chuan Gou been mentioning Styx a lot these past few days? He praised him after the match, posted about it on Weibo, and even duo-queued with him as support. Is he just trying to ride on his popularity?"

"First of all, Trump doesn't need to ride the wave of popularity. Secondly, have you ever seen him interact with anyone or create any CP (couple pairings) with anyone before?"

"Looking at it this way, it's getting interesting again. Styx does seem to be River's first professional player to take the initiative to interact."

"Being a sister-in-law is an attitude. Anyway, they're the most compatible couple right now, so it's not a big deal for Styx to be the sister-in-law for a while, hehe."

"Oh my god, I've really had enough. Can we please stop bringing Styx around? Have you ever seen him even acknowledge Chen Yuchuan?"

"Yeah, it's really quite inexplicable that we were dragged into this CP (couple pairing) thing."

"It is said to be an undeserved disaster."

"Styx hasn't responded to anyone, but he duo-queued with Chen Yuchuan and even had dinner together."

"Looking at it this way... I'm hooked, so what?"

"And everyone keeps mentioning Styx Chen Yuchuan and he hasn't refuted it... fine nostrils."

"Styx woke up to find the sky had fallen; he had inexplicably become gay."

"Hey, shipping couples is just for fun, why take it so seriously?"

"0 people said they are real gay men, thank you."

The discussion went on and on. After finishing browsing the posts, Shenhe casually sent Chen Yuchuan an emoji.

Chen Yuchuan immediately replied, "Many people say we're not familiar with each other."

Shen He: "They're quite right."

Chen Yuchuan: "..."

After a while, he replied again: "Are you sure you want to hurt your brother's feelings like this?"

Shenhe was too lazy to type, so she sent him a voice message: "They all told you not to ride on my coattails, so be more careful in the future."

Chen Yuchuan replied, his voice clearly laughing: "How about you ride my coattails? Your brother here is the unprecedented three-time champion of the Rift."

Shen He replied, "Not interested."

He then sent another voice message, telling him, "I'm going to read, don't bother me."

Chen Yuchuan persisted: "How long do you want to watch?"

Shen He thought for a moment and gave a number: "Two hours."

Chen Yuchuan replied readily: "Okay, got it."

After receiving a reply, Chen Yuchuan finally calmed down, and the messages stopped flashing.

Shen He thought he had finally behaved himself this time, until two and a half hours later, the screen lit up again.

Have you finished reading the book?

Shen He glanced at it, couldn't help but laugh, put his phone face down on the table, and ignored him.

At the VLG base, the atmosphere was relaxed because of their two consecutive wins and excellent performance. People weren't playing ranked games much, just sitting in front of their computers eating snacks and chatting. Chen Yuchuan stared at his phone screen, waiting for half an hour without receiving a reply.

Shen He's words, "I want to read, don't bother me," seemed stuck in his mind.

He flipped his phone face down on the table, then flipped it back over to unlock it a little while later.

In the end, I couldn't resist putting on my headphones and opening the chat window with Shen He.

They all told you not to try and ride my coattails, and to be more careful in the future.

I'm reading, don't bother me.

The voice was cold and indifferent, but because it was close to the ear, it carried a hint of intimacy that shouldn't have been there.

He couldn't help but listen to it once, then a second time, and a third time...

The support player next to him glanced at him a few times and couldn't help but ask, "Brother Chuan, what's wrong with you? You look so lewd, are you listening to your girlfriend being affectionate?"

Chen Yuchuan glanced at him, didn't reply, took off his headphones, leaned back in his chair, and pretended to be nonchalant.

The top laner casually chuckled, "Seriously, Yu Chuan, you've been acting strange lately. Your fans are saying you're in love. You're not serious, are you?"

The assistant laughed even louder: "If Brother Chuan really hits a date, what kind of person would she be? She must be at least a god-like figure, right? Why don't you introduce her to the brothers?"

After he finished speaking, everyone laughed a few times and didn't take it to heart.

Chen Yuchuan looked down at his phone, turning it around, and after two seconds slowly said, "Indeed, it's god-like."

He paused, then added, "Whether we can catch him or not depends on fate."

It was rare to see Chen Yuchuan respond to their comments, so the other teammates got even more excited and started egging them on: "Damn! There's really something going on?"

"What? Is an iron tree blooming? Is the aloof male god in the eyes of his fans about to descend to earth for love?"

Zhonglu added: "I'm not saying this to be rude, but with Brother Chuan's top-tier persona, who wouldn't he be able to win over? If he really couldn't, how heartless would he have to be?"

"Yeah, yeah, I told you I'm afraid of scumbags falling in love. Look at Brother Chuan, he'll definitely win her over easily."

Everyone burst into laughter, and no one thought about it too deeply.

Chen Yuchuan chuckled, but the meaning behind his words was unreadable: "Heart of stone, huh?"

He picked up his coat and walked out of the training room.

Heartless? That's not entirely wrong.

Chen He is clean, aloof, and unassuming, and doesn't care much about anything.

He wouldn't show his likes or dislikes very obviously. In the past, Shen He was always curious about him and always smiled at him, which even made him mistakenly believe that he was really special.

But the interior of the sunken river is cold and indifferent, like a frozen lake, smooth and clear, yet carrying a chill. When you approach, all you see is your own distorted reflection.

When you try to warm this layer of ice, you'll find that all the heat is blocked outside the surface.

But the more things were like this, the more unwilling Chen Yuchuan became.

As he stepped out of the base, the cold, damp spring wind swept over him, like a slap in the face, pulling him back from his obsession.

Chen Yuchuan raised his hand to wipe his face, took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, his eyebrows had returned to that look of disdain for everyone.

He took out his phone and casually sent a message to Shen He.

"Why don't you change your game ID? Styx isn't really suitable for you."

"Would you be interested in changing it to Glacier?"

"I've come up with a few for you on the spot: Glacier, Coldflow, Icevein. Which one do you like?"

Shenhe's reply came belatedly, leaving only a question mark.

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