Chapter 15: Team Match
The evening scrim began. The five of them were poised and ready. Without discussing the lineup in advance, they relied entirely on following their hearts.
Chi Jing picked Diao Chan, with whom he could 1v5. Qi Feng picked Lan. The Shooter took Sun Shangxiang, Support took Niu Mo, and the Top Laner took Sun Ce. This lineup was prone to overturning, but its engage potential was truly powerful.
At the start, Diao Chan reached Level 2 first and directly took the enemy Dian Wei’s Red Buff. Meeting Diao Chan in the early game, Dian Wei was helpless, daring to be angry but not to speak. The five of them farmed economy rapidly. In the mid-game dragon fight, Sun Ce’s ship knocked up five enemies. Diao Chan used Skill 2 and Ultimate to follow up. Lan used his Ultimate to push the five people together, while Sun Shangxiang output damage from the back.
A game ended in eight minutes; the rhythm was flying. There was almost no communication throughout. The head coach clicked his tongue in wonder from behind; after all, they couldn’t forget how they used to be beaten like dogs by other teams.
“Alright, go play five-man queue too.”
Qi Feng stretched and spoke lazily. The group left no face for the opponents. Wu Cheng rolled his eyes at them and called the opposing manager. The five of them went into free five-man queue.
Quite a few passersby recognized their IDs and shouted for them not to plague the stars of ordinary players.
Withered Leaves Can’t Continue Spring Poetry [Grandmaster]: Begging WIND and Jing not to plague ordinary players’ stars.
FM-Jing [Grandmaster]: No.
The five opponents wanted to cry but had no tears. They resisted stubbornly, but unfortunately, they were team-wiped at the twelve-minute mark. After exiting, they took a screenshot and told their friends, “I count as a passerby who solo-killed FM.”
They queued from past 9 PM until past 2 AM. The five of them played more and more happily, and Chi Jing practiced quite a few new heroes. After finishing, they were hungry, their chests sticking to their backs.
“Captain, hungry. Go out for some food?”
Song Qi hurriedly chimed in, “I’m hungry too. I want to eat barbecue, ahhh.”
Qi Feng glanced at them and made the final decision: “Haidilao.”
Although the flavor wasn’t heavy, as long as it filled their stomachs, it was fine. They were all starving. They had played more and more crazily and intensely without feeling hungry, and only realized they were famished after stopping to rest for a while.
Mo Jingchun and Qi Feng took one car each, and the seven (translator note: text says seven, likely including manager/coach or counting error in source, context implies team + staff) set off. Although it was 2 AM, driving to the downtown area, there were still many small stalls and crowds. Qi Feng and Mo Jingchun dropped them off at the Haidilao entrance and drove to the garage. The group stood at the door waiting. Chi Jing was holding Qi Feng’s phone; he thought it was his own. He opened it to check the phone, and the lock screen was a sticky note with a paragraph on it:
“The end of the plum rain season slowly draws the curtain for midsummer. The moment the evening breeze brushes my shoulder and I look up, I happen to meet the setting sun. On the distant lawn, silhouettes hurry, and the sounds of play and chase rise and fall. In my line of sight, the crowd gradually blurs; only your side profile becomes increasingly clear. The midsummer breeze brushes past you and me; I only wish to promise forever with you at this moment. The twilight reflects our backs; seeing your cheeks faintly glowing with a smile, I realize this is a romantic encounter.
Raindrops knock on the window lattice; in the corner of the coffee shop, you are at my left shoulder. In the moment we look at each other, I paint a thousand words into your gentle eyes. After the rain gradually stops, your existence is the sunny day unique to my life. I wish to use a warm embrace and a beating heart to write of your specialness. In the poetry of summer, I wish to stroll with you in the wilderness, watching the morning and evening glow together, admiring the moonlit night together. Every shooting star that streaks across the sky will become a souvenir of memory.
When the melody of music sounds in the earphones, every frame related to you plays in my mind like a slide show. Every moment you walk towards me plants a flower that blooms successively in my throbbing heart. Having you in midsummer is like wandering in a sea of flowers; being by your side forever is a wish that touches the softness of my heart. If attachment has a sound, I will write down your name and melt it into poetry. When I call out softly, I only wish the words can make you stop your footsteps.”
Chi Jing didn’t understand what it meant, only feeling the writing was beautiful. He didn’t expect him to have a hobby of writing. He checked the phone; it was approaching 3 AM. When Qi Feng and the others returned, they went straight in and sat at three tables.
Song Qi wanted to pull Chi Jing to get food. Chi Jing said he wasn’t picky and asked them to just bring whatever back. Sitting in his seat, he couldn’t help but think of Qi Feng’s lock screen. That paragraph of text—did he have someone he liked?
With this realization, a strange feeling rose in his heart. It wasn’t until Qi Feng returned that he snapped out of it. In front of him was cake he liked to eat. Chi Jing was slightly confused; why did Qi Feng know what he loved to eat?
“I also mixed a dipping sauce for you. It should be what you like.”
Looking at that bowl of dipping sauce, the doubt in Chi Jing’s heart grew deeper. Why did he have a sense of familiarity the first time they met? Why did Qi Feng understand his appetite? Why did Qi Feng seem to know all his preferences?
The doubt in his heart grew stronger, but his face remained composed. He kept trying to fish for information through chat. Until later, he became more and more suspicious. He seemed to have been in the same place as Qi Feng since childhood; he might have met him.
Suddenly, a face flashed through his mind. Until they finished eating and went back, he was absent-minded. Qi Feng understood from Chi Jing probing into his background that Chi Jing might have remembered. He should be happy, but for some reason, he was a little panicked.
Chi Jing drank quite a bit of wine at the dinner table. Although not drunk, he was slightly tipsy. It wasn’t until Qi Feng sent him back to his room and prepared to leave that Chi Jing grabbed his clothes, stood up unsteadily, and closed the door. Following Chi Jing’s movements, Qi Feng’s heart pounded.
“Qi Feng.”
Chi Jing’s eyes stared obscurely at Qi Feng. Emotions welled up, his voice hoarse and low.
Qi Feng looked into his pitch-black eyes, which contained fragmented light. Suddenly, his heart panicked a bit.
“Mn, I’m here.”
Chi Jing looked at him and said word by word:
“We have met.”
This was a declarative sentence, not a question. Qi Feng could be sure Chi Jing definitely remembered. Qi Feng replied:
“We have.”
Chi Jing stared at him, pressing step by step:
“Why did you leave? Did you recognize me long ago?”
Qi Feng licked his somewhat dry lips, not knowing how to answer. Chi Jing continued to question, his eyes turning slightly red.
“Recruiting me here was out of pity? Qi Feng, did you do it on purpose?”
Qi Feng rubbed Chi Jing’s reddened eye corners with his hand, staring into his eyes as he spoke, “Not out of pity, but out of like. It was on purpose; I missed you, wanted to see you. Why did I leave? Because I was going to pursue my dream. Why didn’t I tell you? Because I didn’t know how to say goodbye to you. I’m sorry.”
By the end, Qi Feng’s throat was nearly dry and hoarse. His eyes also began to turn red. He really wanted to hug Chi Jing, wanted to tell him how much he liked him.
Hearing the word “like,” a tear slid obscurely from the corner of Chi Jing’s eye. The lights weren’t on in the room; moonlight shone through the window, making Chi Jing’s tear glisten. He asked with a trembling voice:
“Like me?”
Qi Feng wiped away his tear with his hand and replied:
“Like you.”
Recommended Reads
