''As you already know, SZ's core is Zizi. They would try to break the middle road and scavenge our wild areas just like how they always did.'' Coach He paused and looked toward Fu Yue. He asked in a solemn tone, ''Fu Yue, this game all depends on you to match Zizi. Can you do it?''
Despite the heavy responsibility, Fu Yue smiled without a single hint of worry in his expression; in fact, one could say that he was even excited.
''I can.''
Usually, when a rookie spoke these kinds of words, Coach He wouldn't take it to heart. After all, young people who have never climbed the mountains tend to think that they can easily reach the summit.
However, Coach He, who had seen what Fu Yue was capable of, found himself nodding his head as if it was a natural thing to do.
He and the coaching team were confident in their current roster, but the netizens had different thoughts.
After all, at the end of the day, how can a rookie Omega player win lane against the world's number one mid-laner?
It would already be good enough if he didn't cry mid-game from getting bullied too much.
Netizens' concerns were not unfounded. Since SZ played around Zizi, Fu Yue couldn't play as aggressively as he usually did. But if he were to be too reserved, Zizi would develop peacefully, and later in the game, they couldn't cry even if they wanted to.
However, Fu Yue was not afraid of playing against Zizi. Ever since he watched SZ's match against YL last year, he has been itching to fight him.
Just as he was plotting on how to make Zizi's life miserable, a slight pain was suddenly inflicted on his forehead, pulling him back to reality.
Fu Yue covered his forehead with a bewildered face and turned to look at the culprit. He asked in confusion, ''Why are you hitting me?''
After giving Fu Yue a light flick on the forehead, Wei Chen retracted his hand. He helplessly smiled, ''If someone didn't know, they would have thought that you were plotting to kill someone.''
Fu Yue was not embarrassed by having his mind read out loud. His red lips stretched into a smile, his pair of beautiful violet eyes squinted like a fox. Although his face was as beautiful as a gentle spring, his words, on the other hand, were as cold as winter. ''He bullied you so much after all these years, so shouldn't we return the favor?''
Hearing that his boyfriend was trying to avenge him, Wei Chen collectively decided to forget all the scenes of him paying Zizi back by camping his lane, making him miserable as much as possible, nodded with an indulgent smile, ''True. He likes to bully me both online and offline.''
''How did he bully you in real life exactly?'' Fu Yue curiously asked.
Although he hasn't met Zizi in person yet, he has heard a lot about him from XiaoXi.
He could more or less tell that Zizi was the kind of friend who was not afraid of courting death.
So Wei Chen, the upright lad, must have gotten teased a lot by him.
Although Wei Chen wouldn't call Zizi's childish antics harassment, since his boyfriend wanted to know, he slowly recounted his grievance one by one in a calm voice, ''He calls me Bamboo because of my wooden face, a single dog, a game nerd, a monk, he also likes to set me up for a blind date an–''
''Wait.''
Fu Yue abruptly halted. He reconfirmed, ''... He set you up with someone?''
Wei Chen's expression remained unchanged as he gave him a slight hum. He further added to avoid any misunderstandings, ''I never met any of them.''
At the beginning of their friendship, Zizi tried to set him up a couple of times, but after realizing that Wei Chen was better off left alone, he no longer insisted on doing it.
However, Wei Chen didn't say the rest out loud, which led Fu Yue to assume that Zizi was still doing this to him.
The thought of Wei Chen being paired up with another person doesn't sit well with Fu Yue.
It might be a month-long trial, but he is still the boyfriend.
Despite this, the smile on Fu Yue's face never faltered. Resuming his walk with his hands behind his back, he chuckled, ''I couldn't wait to meet him.''
Wei Chen was familiar enough with Fu Yue to know that something was off with him. It then dawned on him that the latter was bothered by his blind dates.
This thought left him stunned. Considering how the two had gotten together, Wei Chen was still under the impression that Fu Yue agreed to go out with him not because he liked him, but because of various circumstances that made him give in.
His pheromones are one of the reasons why.
At that time, Fu Yue was still heavily influenced by his pheromones.
But now, he is completely sober.
This thought alone put a smile on Wei Chen's face. With a few large strides, he caught up to Fu Yue. All the way to the training room, the smile never left his handsome face.
Although Wei Chen started to smile a lot recently, Fu Yue was still curious as to why he was suddenly in such a great mood.
Is he that happy about beating Zizi?
I guess I really should go all out next week.
''Achoo!''
Ge passed him a box of tissues and said with a voice full of concern, ''You are not catching a cold, right?''
While wiping his nose with the tissue, Zizi was moved that his teammate was worried about his health when, in the next second, Ge added with a grave face, ''I'm telling you, even if you are ending up with an IV drip, I will still drag you to play against Great God Silence next week!''
Zizi, ''...'' Oh, so you are merely worried about being bullied by that Rotten Bamboo alone.
Just as Wei Chen popped up in his mind, he suddenly received a message from him.
[Bamboo]: Thank you, and sorry.
[Handsome Zi]: … Did someone hack your phone?
[Bamboo]: See you in B City.
Zizi knew that Wei Chen was referring to their match. He smirked as he typed, [Take good care of your beautiful Omega ah]
Meaning I won't go easy on him.
[Bamboo]: Don't worry.
[Bamboo]: It is I who needs his care.
Zizi stared at Wei Chen's message and tilted his head in confusion.
Weird. He didn't deny it like last time when he called 404 'your Omega'...
Thinking that something was amiss, Zizi hurriedly clicked on XiaoXi's WeChat.
[Handsome Zi]: HEY!
Of course, his message got no response whatsoever, but Zizi had already gotten used to this cold treatment. He proceeded to spam more than a dozen emojis in such a short time, which finally summoned the furious XiaoXi.
[Flower Tea Xi]: WTF do you want with me?!
[Handsome Zi]: You have already met 404, right?
[Flower Tea Xi]: So?
[Handsome Zi]: What do you think of him?
[Flower Tea Xi]: Are you trying to dig up information about him for your next match? /eye roll/
[Handsome Zi]: /eye roll/ I won't stoop so low to bully a junior!
[Flower Tea Xi]: Then why?
[Flower Tea Xi]: I'm warning you, don't you dare put your dirty claw on him! /knife/ /knife/
[Handsome Zi]: What are you taking me for?! You know that I won't go for someone in the same circle!
[Flower Tea Xi]: With Xiao Yue's face, it is not possible for you to break the rule!
Zizi subconsciously recalled 404's beautiful face and found himself unable to disagree with XiaoXi's words.
[Handsome Zi]: True
[Flower Tea Xi]: I knew it! You sleazy dog, can't be trusted! I'm going to tell Wei Chen about this!
[Handsome Zi]: Wait!
[Handsome Zi]: I admit that he is beautiful! But even so, I won't go for him!
[Handsome Zi]: You can tell that we are not the same kind
His words seemed to finally convince XiaoXi. After all, when all was said and done, Zizi was not an unscrupulous person.
[Flower Tea Xi]: Then why are you asking about him?
[Handsome Zi]: Don't you think something is off about Bamboo and him?
At this question, XiaoXi suddenly went silent. Zizi thought that the other person believed that he was talking nonsense, so he further explained, [Recently, he has been acting really strange! Even if you were to beat me with a stick, I won't believe that he did those things with 404 merely for PR!]
[Handsome Zi]: However, our Bamboo has been single for over two decades! It is unimaginable to think that he is falling in love with someone!
[Flower Tea Xi]:... What did you take Wei Chen as? An actual Bamboo???
[Handsome Zi]: A 21-year-old Virgin
[Flower Tea Xi]: … You think everyone is in heat every day like you?
[Handsome Zi]: That just goes to show that I am capable /shy/
[Flower Tea Xi]: /vomit/ Go show it off to someone else, it is disgusting!
[Handsome Zi]: Heh. You are jealous because you are small /smile/
[Flower Tea Xi]: This damn dog! Who are you calling small?!
[Flower Tea Xi]: I'm average! It is you who is ridiculously big!
[Handsome Zi]: Aw. Thanks for your compliment~ /shy/
XiaoXi grabbed the back of his head due to high blood pressure. Had Ziz been sitting right next to him, XiaoXi would have punched his little brother by now.
Many would be grateful that he disabled this dog for a while.
In any case, XiaoXi didn't expect Zizi out of all people to be this slow when it came to romantic stuff.
[Flower Tea Xi]: There is no need for you to worry about Wei Chen's love life. He takes care of it much better than you!
[Flower Tea Xi]: I bet he is the first to get married, and you are the last!
[Handsome Zi]: Ain't no way! I may not like to be tied down, but I am confident that I at least will get married in this lifetime, unlike him, who will grow old alone!
[Flower Tea Xi]: Pei. Before you realized it, he would even invite you to his child's 100th-day birthday party!
[Handsome Zi]: If Bamboo marries and has a child in his twenties, I will call you 'Dad'!
[Flower Tea Xi]: Good, don't forget your words! I already screenshotted this!
[Handsome Zi]: Likewise, if I win, you call me 'Daddy'!
And just like that, the two entered a bet, one that Zizi would regret immensely later on.
Since an important match was coming in another week, everyone got into their training mode. Except for Li Haoran and Yang Yuxuan, who still needed to keep up with their studies, the other three ate, slept, and then trained the rest of the day without stopping.
Fu Yue and Wei Chen, the new couple, could only spend time alone during breakfast. And when that happened, all they talked about was game strategies.
Although Coach He was grateful for their devotion to the game, he also couldn't help but shake his head.
Sigh. These two game idiots really waste their honeymoon period!
One day before the match, they travelled to B city and checked into their hotel.
Fu Yue informed his family in the group chat the moment the schedule came out, simply out of duty. Unexpectedly, the night before the match took place, Fu Zhen called to tell him that everyone except Ye Heng, who was busy with his world tour, would come to watch him.
Fu Yue, with his phone still held against his ear, stood up in shock. He repeated the words as if he couldn't understand what Fu Zhen was trying to say, ''You guys are coming?!''
He may have gotten used to the Fu family's presence, but the fact that they were coming to watch his match still hit differently.
Remember all those times that he walked to his seat without looking toward the seats reserved for the family members, he felt a prick in his eyes.
During his first year as a professional player, when he was 16 years old, after their unexpected big victory, they all gathered for a family group dinner. For the first time, Fu Yue couldn't muster up a smile.
Fortunately, the coach noticed his discomfort and quickly made an excuse for him to leave early. Otherwise, he was not confident that he wouldn't go and cry alone in the bathroom.
Not knowing Fu Yue's complicated mood, Fu Zhen continued with a laugh, ''Our parents didn't tell you this, but they did go to watch you when you played for the first time.''
Fu Yue instantly froze. His voice trembled, ''... Really?''
Thinking that his little brother was merely too shocked, Fu Zhen rolled his eyes, ''They even sent pictures to me. Want to see?''
Without waiting for Fu Yue's reply, Fu Zhen sent a lot of pictures to him. Done, he concluded their phone call, ''We already got our tickets ready. We will be sitting in the back, you know why. After your match is over, let's have dinner together. I will send you the address later.''
Fu Yue dumbly nodded, but realizing that Fu Zhen couldn't see him, he quickly said, ''Got it.''
After the call was hung up, he tapped Fu Zhen's WeChat and went through the pictures one by one in a daze.
There was a picture of him first stepping onto the stage, him pulling out the chair, him being excited when he got his first Pentakill, and him smiling at the crowd after his first victory.
Father Fu and Daddy An also took a picture of them together with Fu Yue in the background, with a big word 'Victory' appearing on the big screen.
It was obvious that the two elders were excited and proud of their youngest son.
Fu Yue didn't realize that he was crying until a single teardrop fell on top of the screen.
He embarrassingly wiped his tears and sucked his nose. Just as he did this, several knocks were heard, causing him to wipe his eyes even more vigorously before hastening his steps to open the door.
Fu Yue first looked into the peephole, and upon seeing that it was Wei Chen, he didn't think twice and quickly opened the door.
Putting on a smile, he asked in a surprise, ''Are you going somewhere?''
Instead of wearing their uniform, Wei Chen put on a simple white shirt underneath a black overcoat, a pair of black trousers, and a pair of white sneakers.
It was a simple fit, but everything was put together, giving off an elegant look.
With Wei Chen's extraordinary face and figure, he looked like he was about to do a photoshoot for a famous magazine cover.
While Fu Yue was appreciating his boyfriend's handsome look, the other person first appeared stunned, and instead of answering his question, he suddenly cupped his cheeks and leaned his face closer.
Fu Yue, who hasn't built a resistance toward his beauty yet, had his brain crashed at his magnified handsome face.
His first thought was: Is he going to kiss me?! In this place where anyone can come and go???
Although Tian Meng had rented the entire floor, it was not good for the two to be seen together.
Fu Yue hurriedly said, ''Wait, you can do it inside!''
Wei Chen, who was about to say something, paused at his words, thought for a bit, and nodded.
Fu Yue secretly heaved a sigh in relief. He quickly pulled Wei Chen in after making sure no one was outside in the corridor.
After closing the door, it suddenly hit him that, rather than a normal couple, they behaved more like they were having an affair.
He was about to joke about this situation, when in the next second, he was suddenly pulled into a hug.
Fu Yue was only surprised for a few seconds before slowly returning the hug. He rested his head on top of Wei Chen's shoulder and chuckled, ''Those who didn't know would have thought that we got separated for years instead of an hour.''
Usually, Wei Chen would have followed up with his joke but this time he called his name in a firm yet gentle voice, ''Fu Yue.''
Fu Yue slightly tilted his head and issued a slight hum, ''Hm?''
''Cry if you want, I am here.''
Fu Yue's smile froze, his eyes shook. It finally dawned to him that Wei Chen didn't try to kiss him earlier but he was making sure that he saw the right thing.
My eyes and nose must have gone red from crying, huh?
So he was worried about me.
Fu Yue felt terribly ashamed of mistaking Wei Chen's good intentions. He slightly coughed, ''You are mistaken. There is nothing wrong with me.''
Wei Chen didn't move away; he simply said, ''Liar.''
Seeing that Wei Chen would see this matter to the end, Fu Yue sighed in defeat, ''Okay. I did cry but just for a bit.''
Maintaining his hold on Fu Yue, Wei Chen further asked, ''Why?''
At this question, Fu Yue went silent. Noticing his hesitation, Wei Chen patted his back in a soothing manner and said, ''It's okay. I can wait.''
Fu Yue closed his eyes. He knew that Wei Chen couldn't possibly know what he was trying to say. Yet, he was grateful and at the same time guilty.
How can he tell him that he is just a thief who stole someone else's beautiful life?
In fact, he doesn't have an affluent and loving family.
He is not as beautiful and rich as this Fu Yue.
He is just a washed-up mid-laner who is about to retire at 21.
He does not deserve such a good family, teammates, and a boyfriend like Wei Chen.
In the beginning, he was ready to return this life to the original Fu Yue whenever he came back, but now…
Listening to Wei Chen's steady heartbeat and surrounded by his warmth, Fu Yue buried his face deeper into the crook of his neck and tightened his hold on him.
I know it is unfair, but please…
Let me stay here, just a bit longer.