What kind of dog?
When Shenhe woke up, it was still dark. His headache had subsided, and his body was no longer heavy and feverish. Only a slight fatigue remained, a feeling of exhaustion from sleeping too long. He raised his hand to touch his forehead, and his fingertips touched something icy cold—a fever-reducing patch. The one on his back was also completely cold.
He paused for two seconds, then turned his head away.
Chen Yuchuan was curled up in the single sofa by the bed, his posture so awkward that it was obvious at a glance that he had no intention of sleeping. A thin blanket was crookedly covering half of his body, and he was holding an unlit cigarette in his hand.
The sofa was too narrow, so Chen Yuchuan's legs were resting on the stool next to him, but his body was mostly suspended in the air because of his curled-up posture, and his neck was tilted to one side at an unnatural angle.
Shenhe stared at him for a while, then sighed silently and didn't wake him up.
I picked up my phone, and several unread messages popped up, the top one being from Gao Mingyuan.
"Are you asleep? Did you see what the official account posted?"
"Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter. You handsome guys are just different."
"Go check out the comments section."
Shen He frowned, completely baffled. He had clearly seen those Weibo posts yesterday—team celebrations, post-match handshakes, casual chats in the locker room—all perfectly ordinary scenes. What could be wrong with them?
He clicked on the link that Gao Mingyuan had sent him.
He looked quite normal in the pictures: expressionless, standing languidly, and there were also a few photos of him being taken in the lounge and hallway when Zhou Yifan struck up a conversation with him.
But when he swiped down, the comments section resembled a disaster zone.
There's something interesting between these two...
[I was wondering why you played so well together this game, and I knew it...]
[Hehe, does anyone understand the smile Zhou Yifan gave Styx?]
[He was obviously so happy, what exactly did Styx say to him?]
[Styx's turn to look was so gentle, there was even a slight smile on his lips.]
[Styx can actually smile, and he's so handsome! Can I dream about him, oppa?]
[By the way, Zhou Yifan is probably two or three years younger than Styx, and our ASG already has its own older brother dog!]
[Yes, yes, yes, it's so sweet!]
[Who knows about that picture in the lounge? They're so close together. Styx isn't that heartless after all...]
Shen He felt his fever, which had just subsided, flare up again. He clicked on those pictures again and looked at them. He had only turned his head to look at Zhou Yifan normally, and his lips had only curled up without any emotion. The pictures made him look like a gentle second male lead in a movie. Even Zhou Yifan sitting next to him chatting was made to look like he was smiling affectionately.
Shen He quickly uninstalled Weibo, almost laughing out of anger. Just yesterday, he was being called "sister-in-law" by fans on Chen Yuchuan's Weibo, and today he's being called "brother" by someone else under this Weibo post.
He really didn't know what even more outrageous scenarios those people would come up with if things continued to develop this way.
Leaning against the headboard, he remained silent for two seconds before replying to Gao Mingyuan with a string of ellipses.
Gao Mingyuan was also awake, and was obviously overjoyed. He replied instantly: "Hahahaha, it's a good thing I have family, otherwise I would really become someone else's imagination material."
Shen He rubbed his temples: "How can your industry be so terrifying?"
Gao Mingyuan gloated, "Just you wait, this is only the beginning!"
Shen He had been playing on his phone while asleep for a while when he heard a noise next to him; Chen Yuchuan had woken up.
He adjusted his posture and then stopped moving, staring blankly at the ceiling with his eyes open, not saying a word. He looked so lifeless and dead that if it weren't for the rise and fall of his chest, Shen He would have already ordered a coffin for him.
Shen He stared at him for a long time, then simply picked up the water glass from the bedside table and took a sip.
"When will you stream that game you mentioned last time?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen He realized that his voice had a heavy nasal tone.
Chen Yuchuan turned his head, frowned, as if he had finally been pulled back to reality from some abyss, and looked up at him, his voice low: "Has the fever gone down? Are you still feeling unwell?"
He added, "Let's talk about it after you've recovered."
Shen He, holding his cup, was utterly speechless: "I just have a minor cold, it's not like I'm dead."
Chen Yuchuan stared at him for a few seconds, then forced a smile. Shen He looked at it and felt that the smile was very awkward.
“Alright,” Chen Yuchuan said, “The game has already been pre-downloaded. We’ll start playing it after we finish eating and rest for a while.”
He sat up, rubbed the back of his neck, and looked as if he had just been pulled out of the washing machine in his black pajamas. His brows were furrowed, and he looked like he had a deep grudge. Shen He looked at him and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Chen Yuchuan stood there staring blankly at him, as if all the gloom on his body had been swept away.
"Are you stupid?" Shen He was genuinely baffled by his behavior.
"...I'm still a little out of it." Chen Yuchuan seemed to have just come to his senses, walked over and touched his forehead with the back of his hand, then added, "If you're still not feeling well, don't push yourself."
Chenhe ignored him and leaned back to continue drinking water.
Chen Yuchuan turned and went to the kitchen. After a while, he returned with a bowl of porridge, medicine in his pocket, his clothes all buttoned up, and his collar askew. Shen He's throat hurt terribly, but he couldn't help but say, "Do you know what we look like right now?"
Chen Yuchuan looked at him in confusion: "Like what?"
"The critically ill patient and his caregiver."
Chen Yuchuan smiled upon hearing this, did not refute, and replied softly, "That's fine too."
Seeing that he was in a better mood, Shenhe still said, "Thanks for last night, brother."
I don't know why Chen Yuchuan's back view looked even more dejected.
When the aunt brought the food up, Shen He was sitting and playing on his phone, while Chen Yuchuan was peeling eggs without saying a word.
The table was laden with food. The aunt looked at the two of them and said with a smile, "Xiao Chuan told me that you two used to be good friends. It's rare that you can still eat together now."
Before Shen He could reply, Chen Yuchuan spoke for him: "Yes, we've always been the best. Brothers."
Shen He glanced at him and said calmly, "Let's eat."
The atmosphere at the dinner table was peaceful. The aunt went back to her room, leaving only the two of them.
Chen Yuchuan ate slowly, his eyes constantly drifting towards Chen He. Seeing that Chen He was enjoying his meal, he couldn't help but ask, "How are you feeling now? Does the food make you feel better?"
Shen He was getting a little annoyed by his stare: "It's nothing."
Chen Yuchuan said "Oh," placed the freshly peeled eggs into Chen He's plate, and asked casually, "You and Zhou Yifan are quite familiar?"
Shen He was taken aback, wondering what he was up to this time: "So-so, not very familiar with him."
Chen Yuchuan's expression instantly relaxed, and he leaned back in his chair.
Seeing his expression, Shen He felt puzzled, so he casually added, "But he has a lot of potential. If we cooperate well, I'll have a good time playing with him."
The moment those words were spoken, Chen Yuchuan's smile froze.
He scoffed, his tone not very friendly: "Potential? His awareness is only good enough for youth training. After playing in the wild for a few years, he's still brainless and only knows how to follow the coach's instructions."
Shen He looked up at him, her voice calm: "He's still young, and there's room for improvement in the future."
Chen Yuchuan's expression was a bit unpleasant, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out, "So you mean, only he has potential, and I don't?"
Shen He was amused, feeling that he was acting strangely today: "You're a three-time champion jungler, the core of a top-tier team, what are you comparing yourself to a second-rate jungler?"
Chen Yuchuan was still a little unconvinced, but he didn't say anything. Shen He completely ignored him and lowered his head to eat slowly and methodically.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Chen Yuchuan couldn't find anyone to vent his anger on, and soon he became depressed again, frantically shoveling rice into his mouth. Shen He was even afraid that he would choke to death.
There was a moment of silence. As Shen He chewed his food, he suddenly remembered how they used to sit in a small restaurant and wolf down their food after playing games, and couldn't help but sigh, "Actually, after playing games for so many years, the old days were the happiest."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuchuan immediately looked up: "When?"
"When this game first came out, we played all sorts of heroes randomly, and we got flamed every single game." Shen He's tone was tinged with nostalgia.
Chen Yuchuan, who had been looking sullen, now had a bright look in his eyes.
"That's not true." Chen Yuchuan said with a smile. "Back then, you didn't take Smite when you were jungling, so I had no choice but to play a marksman with Smite. Later, some people actually played like that, and I thought I was incredibly talented."
Shenhe raised an eyebrow: "Yeah, I told you I wanted to play AD, but you insisted on taking my position. In the end, you still obediently built tanky support for me."
Chen Yuchuan chuckled again, the gloom in his eyes vanishing. He looked at Chen He with a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "Back then, I really didn't like playing games that much, but I couldn't help it, my brother loved it. I never thought I'd end up playing professionally myself."
Shen He smiled and sighed, "Well, there's nothing I can do. Playing games is life, and competing is work."
Looking at the vivid emotions in Shen He's eyes, Chen Yuchuan suddenly had a strange feeling that time had turned back, and that Shen He, who always smiled and was completely open with him, seemed to have returned. However, at that time, Shen He's smile belonged only to him.
Shen He didn't notice Chen Yuchuan's gaze. He lowered his head and continued eating; his throat was still uncomfortable, but he felt much more energetic.
Chen Yuchuan stared at him for a while, but finally looked away and changed the subject: "You clearly had a cold yesterday but told me you were fine. When I came back, I saw you sleeping on the sofa. Are you trying to make this worse so I can't keep going?"
"It's nothing." Shen He didn't stand on ceremony with him. "We're all adults. It's only natural for you to get sick once in a while. What kind of relationship do we have? It's only right that you take care of your brother."
"Okay, okay," Chen Yuchuan replied perfunctorily, then casually suggested, "Let's play the first three chapters during the live stream later. There's a lot of content. I'll play the rest with you when I come to City A next time."
He paused, then added, "Brother, you're being too considerate of your health."
“Okay.” Shen He rarely didn’t object. He looked up at him with a smile in his eyes. “After all, it’s your home turf. I’ll listen to you this time.”
Chen Yuchuan looked at him without saying anything more. The smile in his eyes was faint, but it seemed particularly gentle in the morning light, as if it pierced through the separation and estrangement of the past few years. Only he could hear his own frantic heartbeat, pounding against his chest like a drum in the quiet room.
"Chen Yuchuan," Shen He suddenly called out to him.
"Um?"
"Thanks," Shen He said earnestly, "not just last night."
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