Chapter 4: Keeping the Appointment – I Will Not Accept You
Shi Wen was in a hurry to leave and didn’t pay him any mind. He patted him twice on the shoulder and walked straight out of the club.
Young and ignorant? He was truly too ignorant.
When encountering problems, he only thought about escaping. Did he think that by continually giving it the cold shoulder, the matters of the past would just blow over?
As for Xiwu Restaurant, he wasn’t afraid Mu Jiu wouldn’t come.
He understood Mu Jiu too well. Returning, wanting to play professionally, agreeing to Bleach’s duo-queue invitation; he could tell at a glance what he wanted to do.
Want to return to SG? If he doesn’t give him a complete and detailed account of what happened back then, let’s see if he lets him return.
On the other side, even though Mu Jiu exited the voice room with the fastest speed in his life, he still finished listening to Shi Wen’s words, leaving him no room to play dumb and pretend he hadn’t heard.
It could only be said that Shi Wen still understood him well enough.
His other roommates had all gone to class. Because Mu Jiu was lazy, he applied for “credit by examination” when school started; passing the exam meant he didn’t have to take the class. Therefore, after exiting the voice chat, the dorm room instantly quieted down, leaving only the sound of his own breathing.
Mu Jiu held his chest with one hand, panting, his heartbeat accelerating uncontrollably.
He didn’t want to see Shi Wen, afraid to face Shi Wen. Like a turtle sensing danger, he would shrink back into his shell, while Shi Wen aggressively and unreasonably dragged him out of it.
He had no doubt whatsoever that if he dared not to go, Shi Wen could definitely make him regret it.
But he came back precisely because he wanted to play matches with him. The person he let down the most was Shi Wen.
Countless concerns tore at him. Before he knew it, Mu Jiu’s back arched, his whole body curled up on the stool like a shrimp, his forehead pressed against the desk, sweating profusely.
The keys colliding with the door lock made a crisp sound. His roommate returned from class, and right upon pushing the door open, he saw Mu Jiu’s pale face. Frightened, he hurried over to his side, patted his back, and asked with concern, “Mu Jiu! What’s wrong?”
With his roommate’s urgent calls, Mu Jiu instantly snapped back from his own world. He looked up, his eyes gradually regaining clarity, though he still panted uncontrollably.
Forcing out a smile, “I’m fine.”
Mu Jiu took the water handed over by another roommate, twisted it open, and took a sip. His complexion also returned to normal.
Facing his roommates’ repeated inquiries, he very firmly emphasized that he was fine. His roommate’s suspicious gaze fell upon him, and indeed unable to see anything wrong, he finally felt relieved and began howling like a ghost while complaining to him about what happened in class.
“Mu Jiu, you have no idea about this professor, he’s too much of a psycho. Not only does he call roll every class, he constantly asks questions, and if you can’t answer, he deducts points. It’s truly completely over.”
The other roommate also put on a mask of pain and chimed in, “Yeah, if I had known earlier, I would have applied for credit by examination like Mu Jiu.”
The last roommate to return was the study committee member. Because he helped the professor collect homework, he was delayed for a bit. Catching the two roommates dragging Mu Jiu and wailing the moment he rushed back, he adjusted his glasses and mercilessly pierced their bubble: “If you could pass the test, you wouldn’t be howling here right now.”
At the end of the day, they were all still just college freshmen, studying in the relatively difficult math department. How many students had Mu Jiu’s courage to apply for credit by examination right when school started?
Ever since the school introduced this policy, the number of people who applied could be counted on one hand. Because not only was the exam paper difficult, but it also didn’t include ordinary participation grades. Yet Mu Jiu actually passed it. Not only did he pass, he glided by with full grade points and a high score; they couldn’t help but be convinced.
His gaze glanced over at Mu Jiu’s computer screen. The Wuxian Weidu game interface hadn’t been closed yet. His eyes instantly lit up. He went over to carefully confirm it again, and said in pleasant surprise: “Mu Jiu, you play this game too! Quick, quick, quick, get on your account, our dorm can gather enough for a four-queue.”
Only then did Mu Jiu notice the game wasn’t closed. Hearing his words, he X-ed out the interface. After hesitating for a long time, he ultimately decided to keep the appointment.
“No thanks, I have something to do, I need to go out for a bit.”
As he spoke, he picked up the jacket draped over the back of the chair and put it on, then looked for his keys preparing to head out.
His roommate flipped his wrist, looking at the time displayed on his phone screen stopping at 8:55 PM, “It’s so late, where are you going?”
The only answer he got was the sound of Mu Jiu’s keys clinking. He waved his hand backwards, “Nothing much, I’ll be back soon,” and closed the dorm room door.
The remaining three roommates were completely baffled. No longer bothering with him, they enthusiastically opened their computers to prepare for a three-queue.
Xiwu Restaurant; three years ago, SG often had team dinners at that place.
Mu Jiu got on the bus. Outside the window, the city’s bizarre and motley colors illuminated the side of his face. At this hour, there weren’t many people on the bus, and it was very quiet.
Several of his roommates played Wuxian Weidu, but only one watched the league, and he only started watching within the last year. When he played tournaments, he mostly wore a mask. It was best not to let them know about the matters of the past.
As Mu Jiu thought about this, he picked out an account with all characters unlocked on the forum and bought it, rebinding it with his newly registered campus SIM card.
He wanted to find something for himself to do, because the moment he stopped, he would think about exactly how he should face Shi Wen, to the point he couldn’t even force a smile.
No matter how slow the bus was, there was always a time it would reach its stop. Mu Jiu got off the bus, looked up at the signboard for “Xiwu Restaurant” opposite him, and unconsciously chewed on his lower lip.
Stepping one pace forward and one pace back, taking two steps forward and three steps back, he paced around the entrance for a long time, simply unable to go inside.
He regretted it. He shouldn’t have been messing with the account on the bus; if only he could have spent those few minutes thinking about how to explain things to Shi Wen. Though, he probably wouldn’t have been able to think of anything anyway.
A waiter at the restaurant noticed him, opened the door, came out, and inquired: “Sir, do you need any help?”
Mu Jiu stopped his steps, waved his hand to decline, and then waited for the waiter to go back inside before continuing to pace, rendering the waiter completely speechless.
He walked back and forth downstairs, completely unaware that everything fell into the eyes of the person in the private room on the second floor.
Shi Wen specifically booked this private room, which had a window facing the entrance, to ensure he could see Mu Jiu at the very first moment. He saw Mu Jiu the moment he got off the bus, and then he just watched him pace around down there for half an hour. The waiter came out to ask him three times, and all three times failed to call him in.
Mu Jiu might have the energy to pace around down there all night, but he didn’t have the patience to wait for him all night.
He walked out of the private room to notify the waiter to serve the dishes, then headed straight downstairs. When he stood at the doorway, Mu Jiu just happened to turn his head, and silently retracted his extended foot.
“Bro… why did you come out…”
Mu Jiu was a bit embarrassed, clearly also realizing that Shi Wen might have seen him a long time ago, and pouted his lips, muttering softly.
“Come up.” Shi Wen cast a glance at him, still cherishing his words like gold. After speaking, he turned and left. Mu Jiu obediently followed behind him up to the private room on the second floor, where the dishes were already fully served on the table.
After Shi Wen found a seat and sat down, he looked up to see Mu Jiu standing at the door with his head lowered, like a child being punished for doing something wrong, and slightly raised his brow.
“Sit down, do I have to invite you for this too?”
Inviting him to eat, inviting him to come upstairs, and now inviting him to take a seat; he didn’t remember Mu Jiu being this difficult to deal with in the past?
Mu Jiu surveyed the room, and cautiously chose the seat opposite Shi Wen, which was also the seat furthest from him, to sit down.
Shi Wen’s dining movements were extremely elegant. For a time, the only sound in the private room was the clinking of tableware. Mu Jiu finally experienced what it meant by a “Hongmen Banquet”. He ate the meal in fidgety anxiety, looking up at Shi Wen every so often, but the person opposite him seemed to genuinely be focusing on eating.
Soon, Shi Wen took a napkin to wipe his mouth, then put down his tableware and focused on waiting for Mu Jiu to eat.
Compared to Mu Jiu glancing over cautiously from time to time, Shi Wen watched him openly and aboveboard. Mu Jiu could constantly feel the other party’s burning gaze falling upon him.
After Mu Jiu also finished eating, the waiter came up and cleared the dishes. Shi Wen thought the time he had given Mu Jiu to prepare should be enough.
“Speak up. Why did you forfeit back then?”
As expected, he still had to ask this. Mu Jiu pursed his lips and didn’t speak, subconsciously reaching toward his right wrist, where he wore a black wristband.
Shi Wen noticed his small movement. His gaze fell upon his wristband, then quickly shifted back to Mu Jiu’s face.
He didn’t have the habit of wearing a wristband before.
“Bro, it’s my fault. You can hit me or scold me, I absolutely won’t fight back.” Mu Jiu’s shoulders slumped, his hands placed on his knees, his long eyelashes fluttering. The light from above cast down on him, making him look like a fragile butterfly, pleading: “Please also believe me, I won’t do it again.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Shi Wen refused to let him change the subject, and also saw that he had no intention of confessing. He picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip, his eyes narrowing slightly, “What happened to your hand?”
He had watched his duo-queue with Bleach that day; it was entirely the mechanics of a player who had just returned after quitting. He definitely hadn’t been playing games these three years, so what had he been doing to tire his hand out so much that he even had to wear a wristband to eat?
Mu Jiu acted as if his tail had been stepped on, swiftly hiding his hand behind his back. “My hand is fine, I just wear it because I think it looks good.”
This facade of calm fell into Shi Wen’s eyes as extremely clumsy acting, like plugging one’s ears while stealing a bell.
Shi Wen nodded, “As long as it’s fine. If your hand is ruined, what’s the point of coming back to play professionally.”
Mu Jiu looked up instantly, his eyes sparkling, looking expectantly at Shi Wen.
He agreed to let him come back and play professionally? If Shi Wen didn’t forgive him and didn’t want to see him on the professional stage ever again, he definitely wouldn’t have come back.
He would have hidden far, far away, and never come out to be an eyesore to him again.
But Shi Wen’s next words instantly plunged his mood back to rock bottom. “What you want to do is none of my business, and where you go doesn’t matter to me either. You have the ability, naturally there are people who will praise and elevate you. It’s just that SG doesn’t want an irresponsible teammate. Until you explain everything clearly, I will not accept you.”
And as long as he didn’t nod his head, Mu Jiu absolutely couldn’t enter SG.
After speaking, he stood up, preparing to leave.
He walked past Mu Jiu, passing by him, and then continued forward.
Mu Jiu hadn’t cried for a long time. At the moment Shi Wen walked out of the private room, he actually shed anxious tears.
But until the end, he didn’t say anything; these were all things he should endure.
Shi Wen had never walked so slowly before. Right up until the second before the private room door fully closed, he was waiting for Mu Jiu to stop him. As long as he explained, no matter how unbelievable the reason was, he would believe it.
For no other reason than that Mu Jiu was brought into the professional scene personally by him. If even he didn’t believe him, then no one would.
It was just that he didn’t.
Shi Wen came out of the restaurant but didn’t go straight to the parking lot. Instead, he leaned quietly against a wall in the shadows and lit a cigarette.
The summer night breeze was slightly cool, blowing quite comfortably against him. Shi Wen exhaled a puff of smoke, looked up at the private room on the second floor; the window radiated a warm yellow light outwards.
When Mu Jiu was stubborn, not even ten horses could pull him back. Sometimes he really did just want to beat him up.
Inside the private room, when the waiter came over to clean up, Mu Jiu’s eyes were red. After burying his head in apology, he also quickly left the room.
It took some time on the road, plus his dilly-dallying at the restaurant entrance, and eating; the time had already reached 11:30 PM. At this hour, there were no more buses.
Mu Jiu took out his phone preparing to hail a cab. However, the location of this restaurant was a bit remote. He stood by the side of the road waiting for a long time without catching a ride.
Shi Wen watched Mu Jiu come out all the way. His body thin, a solitary figure, looking like he had been abandoned by the whole world. No matter how he looked at it, it was an eyesore. Finally, he resignedly put out his cigarette, drove the car out, and stopped right in front of Mu Jiu.
He truly lost to him.
The car window rolled down, revealing Shi Wen’s superior side profile. Without even turning his head, he said: “Get in, I’ll take you back.”
Translator’s Notes
- Hongmen Banquet (鴻門宴 – hóngmén yàn): A feast set up as a trap for the invited; a tense situation with hidden motives.
- Plugging one’s ears while stealing a bell (掩耳盜鈴 – yǎn’ěr dàolíng): A Chinese idiom meaning self-deception; thinking others won’t notice something obvious just because you ignore it yourself.
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