Sweet daily life during the off-season
The cheers of the finals faded, and the professional league entered its two-month offseason. The lights at the training base no longer burned into the wee hours, and the teammates began planning their own vacations. Lin Yu and Su Ran packed their belongings and moved into an apartment not far from the base. It was their first time to have a small space just for the two of them, small yet cozy. The heavy championship trophy sat on the coffee table in the living room, gleaming softly in the sunlight.
Every morning, just as the sky was getting light, Lin Yu would get up quietly and walk into the kitchen. He specially downloaded several cooking apps on his mobile phone. The page of "Strawberry Muffin Making Tutorial" was still on the screen, and the fresh strawberries and low-gluten flour prepared in advance were placed next to it. Beating eggs, sifting flour, stirring batter, the movements were unfamiliar at the beginning, but gradually became proficient. When the muffins in the pan showed golden edges and exuded a sweet aroma, Su Ran would always rub his sleepy eyes and push open the kitchen door: "It smells so good, is it strawberry muffins again today?"
Lin Yu smiled and put the freshly made muffins on the plate, drizzled a layer of honey on them, and placed two sliced strawberries on them: "Well, I know you like it. Go wash up, the milk will be hot soon." Su Ran nodded, and there was a smile on the corner of his mouth when he turned around - when they were at the base, they always ate breakfast in the cafeteria, and never thought that one day they would be able to eat food made by each other in the early morning sunshine.
After breakfast, the two would change into casual clothes and go for a walk in the nearby park. The park was very quiet in the early morning, with only the sounds of birdsong and breeze. Occasionally, you would encounter elderly people doing morning exercises, or fans who also came for a walk. When you meet fans, everyone would always stop politely, whisper "Hello, Captain Lin and Captain Su", and then send a blessing. Few people would come forward to disturb them. Once, a little girl timidly handed over a painting with two cartoon characters in blue uniforms, holding hands and holding a trophy, with the words "Lin Su Forever Happy" written next to it. Su Ran took the painting, her eyes slightly red, and Lin Yu smiled and said to the little girl: "Thank you, we will."
Afternoons were mostly spent in the apartment. The two would curl up on the sofa, playing games, not intense scrimmages anymore, but relaxing rounds of fun. Lin Yu chose the support character, Sun Bin, and followed Su Ran's mage, sometimes blocking him, sometimes shielding him, and even deliberately giving up the minion wave to Su Ran, allowing his Zhuge Liang to quickly achieve a super god.
"My skills have improved again today!" Su Ran controlled Zhuge Liang and took another kill, then turned to look at Lin Yu with pride. Lin Yu ruffled his hair, his eyes full of tenderness: "Yes, our Ranran is the best." In fact, Su Ran knew that Lin Yu was giving him a break, but he didn't expose it - this kind of tacit understanding with doting was more heartwarming than winning the game.
Occasionally, they would go to the supermarket together to buy groceries and prepare dinner. Su Ran pushed the shopping cart, and Lin Yu followed beside her. As they walked between the shelves, they discussed what to eat. When they reached the fresh food section, Su Ran saw the fresh chicken wings on the shelf, and her eyes lit up instantly: "I want to eat the cola chicken wings you made today."
Lin Yu picked up a bag of chicken wings and put it in the shopping cart, and then picked up a handful of vegetables: "Okay, buy some more vegetables, the nutrition should be balanced. You said you wanted to eat some blueberries last time, why don't you buy some?" Su Ran nodded, reached out and took a box of blueberries from the shelf and put it in the shopping cart. In the past, when they were at the base, they rarely had the opportunity to go shopping together in the supermarket. Now they found that ordinary chores in life can become particularly interesting as long as they do them together.
Halfway through the offseason, the two went on a trip to the beach together. Instead of choosing popular tourist attractions, they found a quiet seaside town and rented a bed and breakfast with a sea view. In the early morning at the beach, the sun had just risen from the sea level, and the golden sunlight sprinkled on the sea, sparkling like a layer of gold. Lin Yu held Su Ran's hand and walked slowly along the coastline. Su Ran was barefoot, stepping on the soft sand, the cool sea water gently lapping at his ankles, so comfortable that he couldn't help but sigh: "If only it could always be like this."
Lin Yu stopped, turned around and hugged Su Ran in his arms, resting his chin on the top of his head: "Let's come here every year in the future, okay? When the season is over, we will come here and stay for a few days, look at the sea and bask in the sun." Su Ran nodded vigorously, raised his head and kissed Lin Yu on the cheek. The sea breeze had a faint salty taste, but it could not cover up the sweetness between the two.
During their trip, the two took many photos. There were photos of them watching the sunrise side by side at the beach, photos of them sitting on the rocks eating seafood together, and photos of them walking hand in hand at sunset. Su Ran sorted through the photos and chose the one he liked best—in the photo, he leaned on Lin Yu's shoulder, both of them looking at the distant sea with gentle smiles on their faces—and posted it on social media with the caption: "Watching the sea with the one I love most, so happy."
The comment section was quickly flooded with blessings from fans: "So sweet! This is the most beautiful form of love!" "Lin Su, you must always be happy. I look forward to you winning more championships next year!" "Seeing you like this, I believe in love again!" After seeing this, Lin Yu smiled and handed the phone to Su Ran: "Look, everyone is blessing us." Su Ran took the phone, looked at the comments one by one, and his heart was filled with warmth.
In the last week of the offseason, the two returned to the training base and began recovery training. Although the training intensity was much lower than during the season, they were still very serious. After the training game, Lin Yu would pull Su Ran to watch the replay together and help him analyze the mage's positioning mistakes: "In the team battle just now, you could have retreated a little and waited for me to cut the back row before going up. This would have been safer." Su Ran would also give Lin Yu suggestions: "Your jungle route can be optimized. When you were counter-jungling just now, you could have gone around to the other side, so you wouldn't be easily caught."
The teammates looked at the tacit understanding between the two and joked with a smile: "After the off-season, how come you two cooperate better than before? Did you secretly practice some tricks?" Lin Yu and Su Ran smiled at each other without explaining - some tacit understanding is accumulated slowly through getting along day after day, and has nothing to do with training, it only has to do with each other.
The day before the offseason ended, Lin Yu and Su Ran cooked a sumptuous dinner at their apartment and invited their teammates over. The table was filled with a variety of delicious dishes: cola chicken wings, sweet and sour pork ribs, steamed fish, and a fruit salad specially prepared by Su Ran. Everyone gathered around the table, enjoying the food and chatting about their offseason adventures—Xiao Zhou said he went home to spend time with his parents, Chen Yang said he was traveling, and the coach, with a smile, said he was at home working on new tactics.
The training base was filled with laughter and cheer, the lights warm and bright. Lin Yu looked at Su Ran beside him. He was listening to his teammates with a smile, his eyes sparkling. Lin Yu quietly took Su Ran's hand. Su Ran turned to look at him. They smiled at each other. They didn't say anything, but they understood each other's feelings.
Lin Yu knew that while the sweet days of the offseason were short-lived, the memories would remain in their hearts forever. The new season was about to begin, and there would be more challenges and difficulties ahead. But as long as Su Ran was by his side, he would have the courage to face it all, to pursue more glory, and to create more beautiful moments for them.
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