Chapter 70: Care; Don’t Even Think About the Match
“…No way?”
Zuo Chi followed suit, touching his own forehead and cheeks in disbelief. “I didn’t do anything today. I wore enough clothes, didn’t stand in a cold draft… How could I…”
Ning Luzhao gripped his wrist to pull him up slightly, draped the team uniform behind him, and tucked in the collar. Then he turned around and half-squatted, his back to him. “Coach is just too tired… I remember there are fever reducers and cold medicine in the dorm. I’ll brew some for you when we get back. Have a good day of rest tomorrow.”
Perhaps because he was sick, Zuo Chi’s thinking had become somewhat sluggish. It took him two seconds to realize Ning Luzhao was waiting to carry him.
For some reason, he felt like laughing. “Are you really going to carry me?”
After asking, he didn’t wait for Ning Luzhao’s answer. He reached out to rest his hands on the other’s shoulders, leaned forward, and sprawled across Ning Luzhao’s back.
The nineteen-year-old looked tall and thin, but his shoulders were quite broad. His hands looped around Zuo Chi’s knees, carrying him steadily.
Only then did he feel his body temperature was indeed wrong. His jaw brushed against the back of Ning Luzhao’s neck; he was as hot as a furnace, while Ning Luzhao was ice-cold.
They had only taken two steps toward the stairs when a wave of footsteps came from the training room behind them.
The cubs had pushed the crystal, shut down their computers, and “clocked out.” They surged out of the training room chasing and play-fighting, but the playfulness stopped instantly when they saw him being carried by Ning Luzhao. They swarmed around in a flurry.
Fugui: “Ning-god, what happened to Coach Zuo—Whoa, Coach Zuo’s face is so red. Is it a fever?”
Ning Luzhao nodded. “Mm.”
Beyond opened a delivery app and searched. “There’s a 24-hour pharmacy nearby. Should I go down and buy some medicine?”
“No need, we have some stocked in the dorm.”
“Then buy some porridge. We didn’t have midnight snacks today. Coach Zuo definitely can’t take medicine on an empty stomach.” Wu Yang leaned over to look as well, but at this hour of the early morning, the only things open were BBQ shops, hot pot places, and bars. The light porridge shops had closed long ago.
The cubs looked at each other in dismay.
“I just have an ordinary fever. Why are all your faces crumpled up?” Zuo Chi let out a yawn; he really didn’t have much energy. “Go back and rest, all of you. There’s still training tomorrow… I can take care of myself.”
The cubs didn’t move. He covered his mouth and let out a cough, his voice raspy. “Do I have to say it again…”
The cubs retreated toward the dorms, looking back every three steps.
Ning Luzhao walked at the very back while carrying him, whispering, “Coach, go back and lie down first. Don’t fall asleep yet. I’ll go to the base cafeteria and cook some porridge… There should be some ingredients left in the base fridge.”
“Tomorrow’s training…”
“This hour isn’t considered late. I’ve played through the night before.”
Zuo Chi plucked a tuft of his hair that was sticking up. “Body comes before training.”
“Mm. Coach, stop talking. Your voice is already hoarse.”
Back in the dorm, Ning Luzhao set him down by the bed, brought water, and watched him wash his face. After leaving a cup of hot water, he left the dorm for the cafeteria to cook the porridge.
Zuo Chi sluggishly changed into his pajamas and shrunk under the covers.
A bit cold.
He pulled the team jacket Ning Luzhao had left behind over the quilt, and he felt slightly better.
Without eating or taking medicine, he didn’t dare fall asleep. Every day’s training content was fixed, and he had to be present for many things. If this fever delayed things for too long, the team’s training progress would fall behind significantly. Slipping up before the finals was absolutely unacceptable.
But just sitting on the bed doing nothing made it hard to resist the surging waves of sleepiness.
Zuo Chi fished out his phone, rested his head on his knees, curled up, and opened Weibo, scrolling through it aimlessly.
Before scrolling, he remembered to check and made sure he was using his smurf account, not VEX’s official one.
[“Too Delicious” Potato Chips × VEX Endorsement Shoot Behind-the-Scenes: Latest Mysterious Video Release! Extreme Either-Or—What choices will the five VEX starters make?]
Before his brain could register what the video was, his hand had already clicked in.
The video footage was from the studio where they had shot the endorsement commercial earlier. It looked like the director was randomly grabbing people for interviews. The first one caught on camera was Fugui, who looked completely bewildered.
“What segment is this? Do we have to do interviews for commercials too?”
Director: “Don’t be nervous, Million. It’s not an interview, just a little game called Extreme Either-Or. We’ll release it as a behind-the-scenes clip later. The rule is to give you two options, and you have to pick the one you prefer within one second.”
“Fine, I got it!”
“Then let’s begin—Hot pot or BBQ?”
“BBQ!”
“Shooting a commercial or training at the base?”
“Training at the base!”
“Coach Zuo or Sea?”
“Coach Zuo!”
The director was stunned. “Zero hesitation?”
“Standard.”
“How do you think Sea would choose?”
The scene shifted. After hearing the question “Ten million yuan or Coach Zuo,” Wu Yang answered even more thoughtlessly than Fugui. “Coach Zuo!”
Subtitles appeared on the video: [Even this can’t make a player ‘defect’?! Let’s see if any of the following options can surpass Coach Zuo!]
“Wall or Coach Zuo?”
Beyond’s face was tense. “Do I have to pick one?”
“You must.”
Beyond’s face was filled with guilt. “Then, then, then… Sorry, Brother Wall—Coach Zuo. I’ll explain to Brother Wall later.”
“Return to being eighteen or Coach Zuo?”
Wall: “Coach Zuo. Returning to eighteen is impossible, but Coach Zuo can make me continue playing matches at VEX, giving me the feeling of my youth.”
The last one the director grabbed for the game was Ning Luzhao. However, before Zuo Chi could see his Extreme Either-Or part, the dorm door “creaked” open softly. A faint aroma of porridge filled the room.
“Is Coach asleep?”
Zuo Chi closed the video, tossed his phone aside, and rubbed his temples. “No.”
Ning Luzhao walked to his bedside carrying a bowl of porridge. It contained chopped green vegetables and minced meat, looking very appetizing and delicious.
“Porridge tastes better if it simmers longer, but it was too late, so I…”
“If this porridge simmered any longer, I would have fallen asleep.” Zuo Chi smiled, took the spoon, and scooped up a mouthful to taste. It was just the right temperature—not too hot, and not cold. After swallowing two mouthfuls, a warmth spread through him, and his body didn’t feel quite so chilled anymore.
“Delicious,” he praised.
Ning Luzhao fished out the medicine box, checking the instructions and expiration dates on each box. Hearing this, he looked up at him. “That’s good—Does Coach have a sore throat? Do you feel dizzy?”
“Mm, a little.”
The other found two boxes of medicine based on his symptoms. Without saying a word, he busied himself nearby, pouring water and rinsing a towel.
The bowl of porridge was finished quickly. Zuo Chi set the empty bowl aside and saw that the medicine he needed to take, hot water, and a cool towel for his forehead were all neatly placed on the nightstand.
Ning Luzhao seemed to know what he was going to say, as he preempted him: “I’ll go to sleep once Coach finishes the medicine. Washing up won’t take long.”
He swallowed two tablets, lay back under the covers, applied the cool towel, and turned off the lights. Zuo Chi closed his eyes in a muddle. Although he had the cold towel, his temples felt alternately cold and hot, with occasional needle-like stabs of pain. He didn’t sleep very soundly.
In his half-dreaming, half-waking state, he seemed to hear the sound of the tap running in the bathroom. After a while, someone sat by his bed—the mattress beside his hand dipped slightly.
Every time the towel on his forehead grew warm from his body heat, a fresh, new one would be applied soon after.
In his mind, all sorts of messy hero skills were looping like a radio broadcast, incredibly noisy. One moment it was a scene from the arena, where heroes with the cubs’ IDs were killing each other on the map. Skill effects flew everywhere—pushing towers, taking dragons, team fighting…
“No…” The young man rolled over, his fingers curled and placed by his forehead. His soft black hair was scattered across the pillow. The medicine had taken effect, and he was covered in sweat, his hair somewhat damp. “Can’t fight… this team fight… can’t fight.”
Ning Luzhao, who had just leaned down to hear what Zuo Chi was saying, silently reapplied the towel that had fallen off during the turn and used another towel to wipe the sweat from his cheek.
“I said… can’t fight… who called this fight? Land, come here.”
The young man’s low mumble carried a hint of dissatisfaction. In his annoyance, he raised a hand and knocked the towel off again.
“…I was the one who called it. My bad, Coach.”
He put the towel back again.
He admitted his mistake, but the young man wasn’t satisfied. He struggled to get his hands out from under the quilt and gave Land’s arm a light punch.
“It wasn’t Land who played… so trash… not Land. Definitely, definitely… the opponent.”
Ning Luzhao curled his lips and tucked the quilt in. His voice was very soft, carrying a hint of comfort. “We won, Coach. We won… Sleep. Stop thinking about the match.”
10:00 AM, a sunny day.
In the VEX cafeteria, the cooking auntie muttered to herself as she opened the fridge: “Eh? I remember I had a piece of pork tenderloin and two heads of green cabbage left over from making dumplings yesterday. Where’d they go…”
At a dining table not far away, the cubs who had just gotten up were eating breakfast together.
Fugui glanced behind Ning Luzhao and didn’t see Coach Zuo, who usually followed him. His speed in eating buns slowed down by several beats. “Ning-god, is Coach Zuo feeling better?”
“The fever hasn’t completely broken yet. He’s still sleeping.” Ning Luzhao’s own breakfast was already on the table, but he got up again to get a bowl of pork wontons and poured some vinegar into it. “I’m going to bring him something to eat. I don’t know if the fever will break by this afternoon; if not, he’ll have to go to the hospital. We’ll train on our own today.”
Fugui nodded repeatedly as he spoke.
“No problem with training on our own. Tell Coach Zuo for us to rest easy. Don’t have him worrying about us while he has a fever.”
Translator’s Note:
- Bazi (八字): Also known as the “Four Pillars of Destiny.” It’s a Chinese astrological concept used to predict a person’s fate.
- Maladaptation/Acclimatization (水土不服): Literally “water and soil do not suit.” It refers to the physical discomfort someone feels when they travel to a new environment with different food and climate.
- Either-Or (二選一): A popular social media/variety show game format.
- Wontons (餛飩): A type of Chinese dumpling usually served in soup.
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