Going to sleep
After changing his clothes, Shen He casually draped his black T-shirt over the back of a chair, turned, and went into the bathroom. He closed the door, and the sound of running water seemed to rise in temperature. When he came out, water droplets still clung to the tips of his hair, making his features more defined and giving him a sharp, handsome look. He casually ran a hand through his hair, but the water trickled down his neck and into his collar, leaving a damp patch where his skin met the fabric. Chen Yuchuan's gaze unconsciously followed that drop of water, his chest tightening as if gripped, and even his breath caught in his throat.
Shen He picked up a towel and casually wiped his hair a couple more times, his expression indifferent. Chen Yuchuan squatted by the bed, still holding the unmade blanket, lost in thought.
Seeing his dawdling appearance, Shenhe casually asked, "Why aren't you washing up yet?" His voice was slightly damp and lazy.
Chen Yuchuan was stunned for a moment, then looked up and met his eyes, which were filled with steam. His throat tightened involuntarily, and he replied in a hoarse voice, "Waiting for you."
Shen He raised an eyebrow, not thinking much of it, and simply took two steps forward, pulled the blanket out of his hand and threw it on the bed: "Don't bother tidying up, you won't be able to make the bed properly by tomorrow, just make do with one bed for one night."
He spoke casually, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, and turned to close the curtains. Chen Yuchuan, however, stood frozen in place, he could even hear the drumbeat of his own heart, muffled to the point of being noisy.
"Didn't we often sleep together when we went out to play before?" Shen He added casually when he saw that he was still standing there without moving.
Chen Yuchuan moved his stiff body, pretended not to care, unfolded the blanket, and casually said, "You go to sleep first," before turning around and quickly rushing into the bathroom.
Chen Yuchuan lingered in the bathroom for a long time. When he finally came out, the bedroom was already dark, with only the soft yellow lamp on the bedside table remaining lit. Shen He lay on one side, his breathing long and quiet. The lamplight outlined his features clearly, making him appear even quieter than during the day, yet even more unapproachable.
Chen Yuchuan stood by the bed, watching him for a long while, his finger hovering in mid-air, hesitating whether to touch him. In the end, he only dared to gently touch Chen He's cheek, the movement extremely light, afraid of shattering the dream.
At dawn, Shen He woke up first. Chen Yuchuan placed his hand on him, but their bodies were far apart, in an extremely awkward posture, as if deliberately creating distance. As he got up, the other man opened his eyes, his brows full of weariness, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept all night.
"Do I have terrible sleeping habits?" Shen He asked.
Chen Yuchuan sat up, propping his head up with his hand, his voice hoarse: "No, you slept soundly."
He, however, did not sleep all night.
After breakfast, Shen He prepared to return to the base. Chen Yuchuan insisted on driving him, and without taking the keys, directly instructed the driver to start the car.
Shenhe asked him, "Aren't you going to drive it yourself?"
Chen Yuchuan leaned against the car door, his voice languid: "I'm not used to sleeping in unfamiliar beds. I didn't sleep much last night. It's been a few days since the seasons changed, and I haven't been sleeping well. It's not safe to drive."
He spoke casually, but the dark circles under his eyes were undeniable, a stark contrast to the spirited man he had been when Shen He met him at the competition a few days earlier.
Shen He nodded in response, picked up his backpack, and got into the car. Chen Yuchuan naturally followed and got in, forcing himself to use his phone the whole way, occasionally glancing at Shen He, then pretending to be nonchalant.
Shen He looked out the window, knowing full well that Chen Yuchuan's ridiculous act was an attempt to cling to him. He found it laughable, yet also somewhat helpless. After a moment's thought, he finally spoke, his tone calm: "There were many reasons why I left without saying goodbye, not because of you."
"I came to play professionally because I figured out some things, and meeting you was just a coincidence."
"Now that I'm back, you're still the same as before. Let's keep our relationship the same as before."
With just a few words, it was as if a hand had been extended, gently putting the relationship back in its place.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuchuan was taken aback for a moment, then reached out and grabbed Shen He's shoulder tightly, as if they had truly returned to their past brotherly relationship.
“Okay, let bygones be bygones.” He said quickly, his voice barely concealing his excitement, as if he was eager to hold onto this relationship firmly.
The "past" that Shen He spoke of were simply brothers, close friends. But that was enough to calm his faltering nerves.
The car stopped at the entrance of the ASG base. Shen He got out of the car, and Chen Yuchuan followed him out. Shen He walked inside, and Chen Yuchuan followed closely behind.
Shen He glanced at him sideways and asked, "Is there something you need?"
Chen Yuchuan said in a serious tone: "I've come to inspect my brother's working and living environment."
Chen He could only let him follow him into the dormitory. The room was clean, but the items were somewhat messy, and there were several textbooks he had only partially read on the table. Chen Yuchuan looked around curiously like an intruder, his gaze sweeping over the books and the desk before moving closer to the fish tank. He casually grabbed a few fish food pellets and threw them in, causing ripples on the water. The beautiful fish, however, slept peacefully in its cartoon-shaped enclosure, motionless, clearly not intending to pay him any attention.
"Why does it look different from before?" Chen Yuchuan asked, as if he wanted to join in the fun. Shen He looked up and gave him a look that said he was an idiot, without intending to answer.
There was a practice match in the afternoon, and Shen He was going back to the training room to play ranked games to get back into form. Chen Yuchuan wanted to go with him.
"I don't want to see you die in our base." Chen Yuchuan said coldly, but then stopped moving.
With his long arms and legs, he casually grabbed one of Chen He's blankets and sprawled out on the small sofa. The sofa wasn't very big to begin with, and his 1.86-meter frame looked cramped and exaggerated as he lay there, yet he managed to strike a pose of leisurely contentment.
"Your place is really nice." With his hands behind his head, he even deliberately shook his toes, his pretentious manner infuriating Shen He. She walked over and kicked him: "Here's the bed, don't pretend here."
After Shen He left, the room fell silent. Chen Yuchuan dropped his nonchalant demeanor, lay quietly for a while, and then walked to the bedside. He reached out to lift the blanket, his movements so slow they were almost precious. His fingers paused for a moment before he gently parted the fabric.
In the training room, the coach was already setting up the room when the door was casually pushed open, and Chen Yuchuan strode in, wearing a black T-shirt from Chenhe. The assistant coach quickly went over to inform him, "We're getting ready to start a training match here."
Chen Yuchuan nodded, showing no sign of difficulty. "I'm not interested in your tactics, I just want to see Styx's gameplay."
The coach was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond. Shen He took off one of his headphones, glanced over, and asked in a low voice, "What exactly do you want?"
"Go ahead and make the call." The voice returned to its playful tone, and after glancing at Shen He's expression, he said, "I'm going out to make a call."
Everyone continued their pre-match preparations. Two minutes later, the coach's phone vibrated. After reading the message, he paused for a moment, then got up and opened the training room door. Chen Yuchuan returned to the room, said nothing more, and followed the direction the coach pointed, pulling a chair next to Chen He and sitting down, his arm naturally resting on the back of the chair.
The teammates couldn't help but exchange glances, but no one said a word.
The training match began. Zhou Yifan picked a strong hero and opted for an immediate invasion, while the opposing team avoided engagement. The early game was relatively stable, but the crucial level 6 tempo was disrupted by repeated counter-ganks, resulting in the loss of resources.
"I've lost all control of the game now," Li Anze couldn't help but complain.
“Mid and support, let’s farm the jungle together first. My champion is in his power spike, so I can make a comeback,” Zhou Yifan replied casually.
You can fight freely in the river; take the lane if you can, switch lanes if you can't, and stay under the tower if the jungle is unsafe. Staying alive is a win.
Chen Yuchuan sat beside him, his brows furrowed from the very beginning. His irritation pressed down on the air; though he remained silent, his presence was as ingrained as a nail.
Within thirty minutes, the economic gap had widened to nearly 10,000. The only thing worth noting was the jungler's equipment. The situation continued to deteriorate, with all team fights lost and both carries losing their output environment. Gao Mingyuan attempted to initiate team fights several times, but with little success. Fortunately, Zhou Yifan and the top laner held on, seizing an opportunity when the opponent overextended, breaking through two lanes of high ground and dragging the game back.
The second half of the game was almost entirely a solo performance by the two top players. The hero's role was more like a sacrifice for a teammate, a testament to their immense power. When the final results screen announced victory, the team voice chat was eerily quiet.
Shen He took off his headphones expressionlessly. Chen Yuchuan glanced at him, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopped himself.
The post-match review began with the coach replaying the game. He gently pointed out, "Several key team fights still showed the same old problems: poor communication, disjointed team fights, and chaotic execution." He then analyzed each key moment one by one, and finally concluded, "The individual abilities of each position are good, but they still lack the ability to close out games." The coach's tone was gentle as he asked the players to conduct self-examinations one by one.
Zhou Yifan performed quite solidly in this round, quickly taking over the conversation with a calm and unhurried attitude:
"I've tried my best to stall the game, but the mid and bottom lanes still haven't been able to develop properly. Luckily, we managed to hold on in the end."
Upon hearing this, Li Anze's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
The coach glanced at his expression, then ignored him and turned to Shen He: "Styx, what do you think?"
Shen He raised his eyelids slightly, his tone flat: "I have no objection. I already said what needed to be said last time."
Zhou Yifan seemed unable to hold back any longer and asked him, "Are you dissatisfied with the tactical arrangements? You weren't very focused in the scrims, failing to defend the towers you were supposed to defend, and turning away when it was time to deal damage..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yuchuan's long-suppressed anger was about to burst out. Shen He quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, but clearly, he controlled his actions but not his mouth. "You really want to play, but your brain is obviously not keeping up. Can't you see that you're dragging your teammates down?"
The coach quickly stood up to smooth things over, trying to change the subject: "These things take time to work out—"
Chen Yuchuan interrupted with a sneer: "The problems are right in front of us. It's really stupid to expect to solve them through teamwork. No wonder you've never even made it into the top four."
Shen He twitched his fingertips slightly and glanced at him sideways.
He was all too familiar with this kind of scene. Only back then, he was the one who publicly called others stupid. At that time, he had inexhaustible energy, a million ideas swirling in his mind, and he was always outspoken, saying whatever came to mind, hiding nothing, laughing, joking, and cursing as he pleased.
Back then, Chen Yuchuan, who pretended to be profound, was always curious: how could a person live so much like a "living person"?
Now, it is Chen Yuchuan who is speaking for him, exposing what no one on the scene wants to break, while he himself is left only in silence, sitting on the side, watching others argue, explain, and debate, all of which are as boring as bubbles.
As the cold laugh faded away, Shen He suddenly had a strange feeling: it was as if the sharpness he had discarded had been picked up by the person in front of him. But this stubborn continuation of the past seemed a little ridiculous to him. Chen Yuchuan was racking his brains to try to hold onto his past self, while he had already completely abandoned his past self.
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