A professional player sitting in front of Shen Kuangye calmly gave his evaluation of the draw:
"Sh*t."
Not only the pro players fell silent, the two commentators and everyone in the livestream did too.
[As expected of him.]
[His luck in draws has always been… something.]
[With that kind of luck, he should go buy lottery tickets.]
[HAHAHAHA I'm dying! did anyone see BOOK's face? He was grinning just now, and now he's completely muted.]
[Group A is full of championship teams. This year's gonna be fun.]
[Aurora's Group D is mostly Korean and Southeast Asian teams. Feels like they've got a real shot this year.]
"This has to be an illusion."
Li Shu was still in a daze. "This is an illusion, right?"
If they were in any group other than A, making it to the finals would've been a breeze.
And yet they hit this insanely low-probability outcome.
"Shu Shu—"
Li Shu immediately got chills all over. "Try calling me Shu Shu again?!"
The one speaking was a player from HS, named GOLD.
Grinning, he said, "Wanna hang out tonight? Let's treat it like one last party. I'll call Sister Xu and the others—you bring your teammates."
"Sister Xu" was Circe's female hunter, Xu Shuang.
She was bold, highly skilled, and emotionally intelligent—her popularity in the pro scene rivaled Li Shu's.
More importantly, Li Shu had liked her for a long time.
Back then, he decided to go pro because of her. During Circe's peak, Xu Shuang, as the league's top female hunter, stunned everyone with her Sculptor and Bonbon, crushing Ella's survivors and winning the Abyss championship.
So when he heard that, Li Shu's heart leapt with joy. He almost nodded immediately—but stopped himself. "I'll ask them first."
He asked Cheng Rang and Pei Xunan first. Both shrugged. "Sure, let's relax a bit."
Then he turned toward Shen Kuangye and the others, eyes shining.
Shen Kuangye: "..."
He actually wanted to refuse.
The painful lessons from his previous life had left him with something like PTSD toward socializing—even with strangers.
But this time, Lu Xiangyang answered first for him:
"Sure, let's go."
Shen Kuangye moved his lips but said nothing.
Forget it. Whatever Lu Xiangyang says goes.
After the draw, the group took taxis to a nearby KTV. GOLD even booked a large private room.
When Shen Kuangye and the others walked in, the noise almost gave them a headache.
Inside, people were competing to dominate the mic. Players who usually maintained perfect idol images were completely letting loose—singing off-key yet fully immersed.
Li Shu quickly joined in, shyly picking a love song.
A guy asked, "Why are you going emotional today?"
Li Shu: "..."
He smiled. "Because I want to."
As he sang in his best voice, he kept sneaking glances at the girl in the middle wearing a team uniform.
Shen Kuangye thought sitting in the corner with Lu Xiangyang would keep them out of it—but after Li Shu finished, everyone started cheering for them to sing too.
"Don't just sit there! sing something!"
GOLD shoved a mic into Shen Kuangye's hand. "Pick whatever you want."
Shen Kuangye rarely sang and wasn't confident he sounded good.
He wanted to refuse...but when he saw the expectation in Lu Xiangyang's eyes, he swallowed his words.
"I want to hear it," Lu Xiangyang said softly.
"…It might not sound good," Shen Kuangye replied helplessly.
He selected "Can I."
As the intro played, the noisy room suddenly fell silent.
Shen Kuangye wasn't stage-frightened. He began to sing slowly.
His singing voice was very different from his usual tone. Normally, he sounded cold—but here, he was unexpectedly gentle.
At that moment, he was no longer the distant, aloof captain, but more like someone deeply in love, softly expressing his feelings.
His low, gentle voice carried the lyrics: "I fell for you, there's no reason… it just so happened I met you when love first bloomed…"
Lu Xiangyang felt like his ears were hot enough to fry an egg.
When the song ended, everyone froze for a few seconds before breaking into applause.
"You've been hiding your skills, WILD. Add me—we'll call you next time too," GOLD sighed.
"Now this is a real singing king. Li Shu, you can step down now," someone joked.
Li Shu raised a brow. "I admit defeat this time, okay?"
Shen Kuangye never knew how to respond to praise. He simply drank some mineral water with a blank expression.
Watching him pretend to stay calm, Lu Xiangyang found him incredibly cute.
There was always a subtle contrast in Shen Kuangye, moments that didn't match his usual aura.
After singing, everyone wanted to play Truth or Dare. They spun a water bottle—whoever it pointed to had to choose.
First, it landed on Xu Shuang.
She raised a brow. "Truth."
GOLD glanced at Li Shu, then asked, "Sister Shuang, do you have someone you like right now?"
Li Shu's hands quietly clenched.
Xu Shuang had been in the league for four years without any scandals. Even when male players tried to flirt with her on stream, she would expose them on the spot and block them. She rarely shared anything about her personal life.
She rolled her wrist and smiled. "Of course."
Sitting across from her, Shen Kuangye noticed a girl beside Xu Shuang subtly tugging her sleeve.
Li Shu's expression stiffened for a moment, then he laughed it off. "Alright, next, next."
They spun the bottle again.
This time, it pointed at Lu Xiangyang.
Shen Kuangye suddenly felt the Circe group grow excited.
"SUN! Truth or dare?!"
One girl spoke rapidly, as if she'd prepared this moment in advance.
Lu Xiangyang hesitated. "…Truth, I guess."
"Then SUN...are you in a relationship?"
The moment the question was asked, Li Shu forgot his heartbreak. His heart jumped to his throat.
Lu Xiangyang and Shen Kuangye's relationship was niche. Even their teammates kept it secret, let alone outsiders.
And he knew the people here were all active on social media. If they asked this, they probably suspected something.
Shen Kuangye lightly rubbed the surface of a soda can.
Under everyone's curious gaze, Lu Xiangyang shook his head sincerely.
"No…"
Technically, they weren't officially dating yet, they were waiting until after the Abyss tournament.
"Really?" the girl didn't believe him.
Li Shu quickly interrupted, "That's already two questions. Next, next!"
Fortunately, the bottle pointed elsewhere.
After a while, it landed on Shen Kuangye.
"My turn! WILD—tell us about your most romantic date."
Someone immediately joked, "What kind of question is that? WILD looks like he's never even dated—"
Shen Kuangye suddenly spoke:
"They gave me a bouquet of flowers."
Everyone: "…?"
"That's… it?"
Shen Kuangye didn't understand the reaction but answered, "That's it."
"And you think that's romantic?"
He replied seriously, "They were the most beautiful flowers in the world."
Of course, that night wasn't just about the flowers—but the other "gift" wasn't something he could share.
His tone was so sincere that no one joked anymore.
Some even felt curious about just how beautiful those flowers were.
"You're insane," someone said. "Jealous because you don't get flowers—no wonder you're single."
The one who questioned him earlier whimpered, "I'm sorry, WILD, don't be mad."
Of course, Shen Kuangye wasn't angry. He instinctively glanced at Lu Xiangyang.
Lu Xiangyang lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
Later, the bottle pointed at Shen Kuangye a few more times. People were clearly interested in his love life—he seemed too cold for it.
But Shen Kuangye was smart. He stopped choosing "Truth" and switched to "Dare."
Perhaps feeling guilty for earlier, they didn't push him too far—just made him drink.
He picked up the glass—
But Lu Xiangyang stopped him. "You can't drink."
Shen Kuangye shook his head. "I have to keep my word."
Then Lu Xiangyang watched him drink a full glass of beer, sitting upright with a clear expression.
Even after several more drinks, he still looked completely sober.
A few hours later, everyone wrapped up. Some drunk players waved dramatically, slurring:
"Did you bring Borrowed Time… why are you leaving so fast…"
"Are you drunk?" another said, cheeks flushed. "I can see effects—you've got Flywheel…"
Lu Xiangyang had too many drinks and went to the restroom early.
As everyone prepared to leave, Shen Kuangye suddenly murmured:
"Where's baby…?"
GOLD looked confused. "What baby?"
Li Shu broke into a cold sweat. "A heating pack! He gets cold easily—always carries one. You guys go ahead, I'll help him find it."
After everyone left, he whispered, "Lu Xiangyang went to the restroom. Get up, let's wait outside."
Shen Kuangye didn't move. Calmly, he said:
"No."
"Why?"
"Because if someone gets lost, you stay where you are and wait."
Li Shu: "."
Li Shu: "..."
He finally understood why Lu Xiangyang didn't let Shen Kuangye drink earlier.
He was already completely drunk!!
Otherwise, how could such childish words come out of his mouth?!
Feeling playful, Li Shu teased, "May I ask, young master, how old are you this year? Care to share?"
Shen Kuangye looked at him coldly.
After a long silence, he quietly scooted farther away and turned his head, refusing to look at him.
Li Shu: "…?"