Chapter 02: Chicken Pajamas
On Thursday, Xie Jingchu woke up early. After washing up, he packed his luggage and took a taxi to the NAVA training base.
During the trial period, Xie Jingchuâs meals and accommodation would be at the base.
There was some congestion on the road. The ride-hailing driverâs small sedan accidentally collided with another vehicle; the white car door was smashed in, leaving a large dent.
The hot-tempered driver got out directly to confront the other party, leaving Xie Jingchu alone in the wind, dragging his suitcase.
Helpless, he opened the ride-hailing app to end the order, then called Pei Zhi to inform him.
The traffic around him was rushing, making it hard to catch a taxi, and there were no bus stops nearby. Unable to move for the moment, he stood by the roadside, at a loss.
Inside the NAVA team training base, the “Champion of Sleeping In,” Shen Guanchaoâwho rarely woke up early once in a blue moonâwas sitting on the sofa in the living room, scrolling through his phone.
The NAVA base was located in a villa area in the city center. The decoration was luxurious and exquisite, and the area was exaggeratedly large, displaying its status as a powerhouse team.
The first floor of the villa was the leisure area and conference room for the players. The entire second floor was the training room, the third floor was the dormitory, and the top floor was a large French garden that cost tens of thousands just for annual maintenance.
When Pei Zhi answered Xie Jingchu’s call, Shen Guanchao happened to be right there.
Hearing their conversation, Shen Guanchao moved his eyes away from the phone screen and asked Pei Zhi lightly, “What happened to Siren?”
“The car he was in had an incident and is stuck on the road. He can’t come over right now; he might arrive in the afternoon,” Pei Zhi replied.
“Car accident?” The relaxed expression on Shen Guanchao’s face vanished in an instant, his brows furrowing tightly.
Pei Zhi: “It’s not a big deal, just a bump. The car is broken, the person isn’t…”
“Send me his location.” Shen Guanchao grabbed the windbreaker he had been using as a pillow from the sofa and put it on. Without waiting for Pei Zhi to finish, he rushed out.
The medic, Zoe, was standing at the entrance having just picked up a delivery. Watching the captain’s hastily retreating back, his eyes were blank.
When did their captain ever wake up this early and actually leave the damn house??
He remembered that one time during the off-season, Pei Zhi went crazy and woke Shen Guanchao up at 10:30 AM, only to be rewarded with two resounding slaps.
“…”
Center Road.
When Shen Guanchao drove up, Xie Jingchu was squatting on the ground checking if anything in his luggage had been damaged by the impact. He wasn’t worried about his trendy clothes or electronic devices; he was afraid the player merchandise inside was broken.
Inside the inner layer of the suitcase, several bags of carefully packaged tin badges were intact, but a few liquid sand blocks had leaked, and the collaboration postcards were all bent…
Shen Guanchao watched the black head of hair squatting on the ground, annoyed as he fiddled with those things left and right, completely unaware of his arrival. He said coldly, “What are you doing squatting there? aren’t your legs numb?”
Hearing this, Xie Jingchu looked up. Seeing him, his eyes looked as if they were frozen.
Shen Guanchao stood looking down at him.
This person looked like his brain had been knocked silly by the car, hugging some strange things in his arms.
There were beautiful tin badges printed with his image, support hats, and the water bottles, watches, headphones, and keyboards he had endorsed in recent years…
On all these products, a single English ID that dominated the arena was printedâ“NAVA¡Flesh”.
“I… things are broken,” Xie Jingchu pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.
He hadn’t expected Shen Guanchao to come.
When they had argued the fiercest, Shen Guanchao had cursed him with many ugly words.
That time, he had been so wrong it was a mess, making it impossible to forgive.
The hurt that apologies couldn’t fix lay across them like a wound that would never scab over.
“The person himself is right in front of you, yet you have the leisure to care about that merch?” Shen Guanchao sneered. “If you treasure those things that much, I’ll just have Pei Zhi get you a new set later. Stand up first and let me see if you’re injured anywhere.”
Xie Jingchu stood up obediently and asked earnestly, “Are you worried about me?”
“Are you sick?” Shen Guanchao retorted.
Xie Jingchu stared at him tightly. “You’re worried about me?”
“Was your damn brain knocked silly?” Shen Guanchao cursed.
“You are worried about me,” Xie Jingchu concluded.
Shen Guanchao was thoroughly speechless. “…” He slightly regretted waking up so early and driving over ten kilometers to find this lunatic.
“Is the only thing in your brain the mess from the past?”
He yanked the person over and patted him down from top to bottom, carefully checking for any injuries.
Xie Jingchu stiffened and let him touch, only speaking honestly after he finished, “Things are broken, person is fine. Thank you for coming…”
He was a bit taller than Shen Guanchao. At this distance, he could see the top of Shen Guanchao’s head perfectly. Several tufts of purple hair were blown messy by the wind, some sticking straight up.
He wanted to reach out and smooth those hairs for Shen Guanchao but was afraid of the man’s cold gaze.
After all, Flesh, who had dominated the arena for years, didn’t exactly have a temper that could be considered ‘good.’ When he was happy, you could make excessive jokes and it wouldn’t matter; when his face was cold, he would kill gods if gods blocked him, and kill Buddhas if Buddhas blocked him.
In the early years, when the Alliance wasn’t so strict with players, Flesh and the female main attacker of the RSG team, “Pear Lena,” were known as the “Toxic Twin Stars” of the competitive circle. They sprayed whoever provoked them, going on forums right after matches with combat power surpassing even some fanatical fans.
“If you’re fine, hurry up and pack your things, then get in the car.” Shen Guanchao let out a very light breath.
Pei Zhi was still alone at the base, keeping the empty room company.
In the car, the two were silent all the way. Passing a breakfast shop, Shen Guanchao stopped to buy breakfast for several people.
There were the small wontons Zoe liked, the fried rice noodles Pei Zhi liked, the plain porridge Fox never got tired of in a hundred years, and a bag of steamed soup dumplings Xie Jingchu favored…
Shen Guanchao remembered everyone’s dietary restrictions and preferences clearly. The sub-attacker Fox had stomach problems and only ate bland things in the morning.
Teammates and coaches who had fought side by side for five or six years existed in his life like family.
The car slowly drove into the villa area.
Xie Jingchu silently watched the changing scenery around him.
Top-tier team, top-tier teammates, unknown arena… the impending future suddenly made him feel a bit terrified.
Getting out of the car, Xie Jingchu followed behind Shen Guanchao, pulling his suitcase through the retro garden in front of the villa, arriving at the main door of the NAVA Club LFK division training base.
Shen Guanchao had left in a hurry and only brought his car keys; the base keys were left in his room, so he had to call someone to come down and open the door.
A few minutes later, the door opened. Xie Jingchu looked toward the sound. The man opening the door held the handle with one hand, wearing little chicken pajamas that completely clashed with his temperament. His eyelids drooped, his expression lazy, appearing as if he had just woken up.
Xie Jingchu, who often watched LFK tournaments, recognized him at a glanceâthis was NAVA’s sub-attacker, the Swordsman Fox.
Fox naturally took the several large bags of breakfast from Shen Guanchao’s hands and turned to walk inside. “I’ll take them. Come in.”
He didn’t talk much; he was a solid man of action.
Xie Jingchu watched Fox help Shen Guanchao carry things so smoothly, and his heart felt a bit subtle…
As soon as he entered the room, he met the eyes of several people sitting on the sofaâNAVA’s Medic Zoe, Head Coach Pei Zhi, and General Manager Cheng Shuyi.
They gathered in the living room discussing something, but their voices gradually faded when they saw him enter. Pei Zhi was the first to welcome him, smiling brightly. “Siren is here. Sit, let’s chat briefly. The others are our team’s players and manager. You watch matches often, so you should recognize them all, right?”
Xie Jingchu nodded and sat down at the very edge of the sofa.
To the side, Fox bent down to place the breakfast on the coffee table. “Flesh bought it.”
“It’s still those same old things you guys love. Porridge, wontons, rice noodles, steamed dumplings, and a bag of… soup dumplings?”
He didn’t recall anyone in NAVA liking those. He looked puzzledly at Shen Guanchao, who was looking for something in the entryway.
“For him.” Shen Guanchao walked over leisurely, sat down next to Xie Jingchu, and handed the box of soup dumplings to him. “Eat.”
“After eating, go upstairs and put away your luggage.” As he spoke, Shen Guanchao unwrapped his own breakfast.
On the other side of the sofa.
Zoe insisted on adding salt to Fox’s porridge, which was sternly rejected by Fox: “Get lost. Eat your own.”
Pei Zhi looked at his own team’s “nuclear” and kind atmosphere and laughed awkwardly. “Haha, actually, normally… we aren’t like this.”
Manager Cheng Shuyi rubbed his glabella and smiled gently. “Don’t mind it, they are usually like this. You’ll get used to it.”
“Fox, Zoe, meet Siren, Xie Jingchu. He plays the sniper position and is here for a two-week trial. He’ll eat and live with you guys. The second team is out for a match, so it’s inconvenient for him to live in the back villa alone.”
After speaking, Cheng Shuyi looked at Xie Jingchu, expecting him to say a few words himself.
Unfortunately, Xie Jingchu was just like Foxâa man of few words. You could hold it in for half a day and not necessarily squeeze out a “Good Morning” from him.
It was Zoe, the one who talked the most in the team, who spoke first. “So handsome, bro. You must be 185 cm tall with that height!” He patted Xie Jingchu on the shoulder.
Xie Jingchu, suddenly feeling like he had nowhere to put his long legs: “…”
“189.”
Zoe praised sincerely, “Badass.”
He secretly nudged Fox with his elbow and whispered, “So tall, do you think he can fit into Manager Cheng’s little chicken skin?”
“He can. I’m 187,” Fox said indifferently, not really wanting to pay attention to him right now.
Their voices weren’t loud, but anyone who wasn’t deaf could basically hear them, especially since Fox didn’t lower his voice at all. Xie Jingchu, who heard clearly, inexplicably had a bad premonition.
This premonition was confirmed when the coach took him upstairs to put away his luggage.
Pei Zhi led Xie Jingchu into the room and said, “This room was originally for the former sniper, Lu. The auntie has already cleaned it. If you aren’t used to it, you can switch. If you’re missing any daily necessities, just call me, and I’ll have someone send them up.”
He pointed to a few items on the bedside table and continued, “The key is on the cabinet. Oh right, and your trial gift.”
Under the room key lay several sets of brand-new Fox-style little chicken pajamas, commonly known as the trial gift.
High-end, magnificent, upscale.
So upscale that Pei Zhi was a bit embarrassed to look.
The story behind this goddamn “trial gift” was actually from an off-season trip NAVA took to Hainan one year. On the way back, the great Manager Cheng accidentally spotted this wonderful ‘Kunkun’ pajama style at a roadside stall. Due to language issues and not understanding the local dialect, he accidentally bought dozens of them in one go.
Manager Cheng was wealthy and generous; even after being ripped off, he didn’t think to return them. He simply brought them back to NAVA to give away, resulting in everyone in NAVA, from players to the cleaning auntie, having one.
NAVA’s corporate culture had always been abstract, but Student Siren, experiencing this abstraction for the first time, froze as if struck by lightning.
Pei Zhi didn’t dare tell Xie Jingchu the story behind the “trial gift,” only saying that Shen Guanchao usually wore them too, so he barely accepted it.
“…”
“Are you sure… Flesh really likes wearing this?” Xie Jingchu asked anxiously.
Pei Zhi slapped his chest. “Guaranteed he likes it. Our manager has such good taste! Who wouldn’t like it?” He blew Manager Cheng’s trumpet to the sky.
As if he didn’t know what shame was.
“You pack your things first, I won’t disturb you.”
Xie Jingchu: “…”
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