Chapter 26: Wait for the Court Summons. Land is Not for Sale
After ten minutes of queuing, they finally passed through the gate and walked to their own carousel horses.
Since they were the last two people in this batch, there were no horses left to choose from. Zuo Chi was assigned a white Pegasus with wings. Ning Luzhao was half a position behind him on his right side; his was a pink magic pony with large “Katzlan” cartoon eyes.
Ning Luzhao was wearing a black windbreaker today. Sitting atop the pink pony, he looked humorous no matter how one viewed it.
Before Zuo Chi could even laugh, he heard a tender child’s voice from the side: “Mommy, that big brother’s horse is pink! I like that one!”
A little girl about four or five years old was holding a balloon. From a distance of several horses away, she stared longingly at the pink magic pony Ning Luzhao was sitting on.
Her mother comforted her: “Then we’ll ride the pink pony in the next round, okay?”
“But… the next round takes so long. Mommy, can we go ask the big brother if he can swap with us?”
The little girl’s mother hesitated for a moment: “Alright then, but if the big brother isn’t willing, you can’t throw a tantrum.”
“Okay—Big brother, big brother, can I swap horses with you? I like the pink pony.”
“Sorry, little one. I also like the pink pony.”
Zuo Chi was fastening his seatbelt when he jerked at the sound of Ning Luzhao’s voice, nearly dropping his Tanghulu to the ground.
Ning Luzhao.
Likes pink.
Boys can certainly like pink; he remembered a team in the Arena League whose uniforms were pink, and they looked quite good.
But this pony was a complete cartoon character. Could it be that their Little Jungler-god actually had a sparkling, childlike heart?
Then for Ning Luzhao’s future birthdays, should he consider buying a child’s toy or something…
“The carousel is about to start. Visitors, please fasten your seatbelts and take care of the elderly and children around you…” The staff member’s prompt sounded over the speakers. Zuo Chi shook his head, tossing away the messy thoughts in his mind, and turned his head back. “Land, did you fasten your seatbelt?”
“Mm.”
The carousel began to move slowly, accompanied by the familiar theme song of Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.
“Do you usually like watching cartoons?”
“What?”
“Do you usually—like watching cartoons?”
“I haven’t watched them much since primary school.”
“Then why do you like the pink cartoon pony?”
Ning Luzhao seemed stunned for a moment, then a light laugh overflowed from his eyes: “I just made an excuse. I didn’t want to swap places with that child.”
Zuo Chi had a face of confusion.
“That child’s position was a bit far from here—if I moved there, we wouldn’t be able to talk.”
“If that little girl knew she missed her beloved pink pony for that reason, she’d definitely be very sad.” He couldn’t help but smile. “How about after this round, we queue again? Maybe we can help her snag this pink pony.”
“Okay.”
Zuo Chi was so busy talking that by the time the carousel slowed down and was about to stop, he realized he’d barely touched his Tanghulu.
Now he truly had a reason to queue for another round.
[Coordinates: Nan City Amusement Park. Everyone, look at these two. Don’t they look like VEX’s new coach and Land?]
[The faces of these two are very recognizable; it’s clearly them.]
[Are they riding… a carousel?]
[Yes, I’ve been secretly observing them for a long time. They rode the carousel three times before leaving.]
[Don’t say it—even though this photo you took is high-blur quality, the faces of these two are still top-tier. Could they be ranked in the top five in the esports circle?]
[The coach and player going to the amusement park together and riding the carousel three times hand-in-hand… why does this feel a bit ‘ship-able’?]
[Is the point the carousel?! Isn’t the point that the transfer period is almost over and every team is seizing time to train, yet VEX still has time to play at an amusement park in broad daylight… since the new coach and Land are here, the other players must be too. With your garbage results from the Autumn Split, how can you afford to play?!]
[Gossip: ZAP has the intention to trial Land. Maybe VEX’s trip to the amusement park this time is to hold a farewell party for Land.]
[Fake news at a glance.]
[If you don’t believe it, go to the ZAP players’ streams. When one player was streaming, their coach was making a phone call in the room. Some CS bro extracted the audio track and pieced it together; the content was about contacting VEX to have Land go for a trial.]
[Is ZAP crazy?]
[In what way is Land better than Every?! They’d rather trial a defeated opponent than give Every another chance to adjust?!]
[Although I’m an Every anti-fan, speaking fairly, Every could easily outclass Land by ten streets.]
After three rounds of the carousel, Zuo Chi had finished a stick of Tanghulu and successfully helped the little girl get on the pink pony.
Exiting the gate, Zuo Chi opened WeChat and sent messages to the cubs, asking where they were.
Not a single person replied; they were likely having the time of their lives.
He couldn’t be bothered to look for them. “Land, where are we going next?”
“To the hot pot restaurant?”
It was actually already past eleven.
Ning Luzhao explained: “The center of this amusement park is a food plaza. I looked up guides on the way here; they said a hot pot restaurant inside tastes quite good.”
After having lunch at the amusement park, they could continue with other attractions in the afternoon.
“Alright, then we’ll go to the restaurant and order first. Once we’re there, we’ll send the location to the others.”
While scanning the QR code to order, Weibo push notifications popped up from time to time, reminding him that his account’s likes and comments were already 999+.
Ever since the official announcement of the new players joining, their official Weibo traffic hadn’t been very high. The results of the Autumn Split had caused a loss of fans, and only a hundred or so people still checked in to comment.
He had stayed logged into the official account. He hadn’t posted any promotional Weibo today, so where did these 999+ likes and comments come from?
Assigning the task of ordering to Ning Luzhao, Zuo Chi opened Weibo. What met his eyes was the red text hanging high on the hot search list.
[#ZAP Desires to Trial Land#]
The hot search following it was [#Losing Starting Spot, Where Will Every Go?#]
Without clicking in, he could imagine how blood-drenched the comment sections of these two hot searches were.
Their official Weibo had also been besieged: fun-seekers coming to ask if the gossip about Land going to ZAP for a trial was true; fans who couldn’t accept Every losing his starting spot; haters who felt Land was too “trash” and didn’t deserve ZAP; and old VEX fans desperately crying, “Stop fighting!”
He scrolled through the comments. The one with the most likes read:
[Has Land already bought his ticket and is eagerly preparing to go to the ZAP base for a trial? A third-rate player is a third-rate player; even if he gets lucky enough to trial for a champion team, he couldn’t possibly be qualified to stay! As for what methods he used to get the trial opportunity, let’s just say those who know, know.]
Zuo Chi narrowed his eyes. He exited the comments and confirmed that he was indeed logged into the official Weibo account.
A few seconds later, an extra reply appeared under that comment.
[Arena Professional League VEX Team: Land is “not for sale.” Whoever told you Land is going to ZAP for a trial, go find them. Furthermore, we have no right to interfere in ZAP’s choice of starters. Finally, please wait at home for your court summons. Smiling-face.jpg]
Translator’s Note:
- Katzlan (卡姿蘭): A Chinese cosmetics brand known for its “big eye” mascara. Used here to describe large, exaggerated cartoon eyes.
- Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf (喜羊羊與灰太狼): One of the most famous and longest-running Chinese children’s animated series.
- Outclass by Ten Streets (甩十條街): A common Chinese slang meaning to be vastly superior to someone else.
- Non-salable/Not for Sale (非賣品): Zuo Chi is officially declaring Land a core player of the team.
- Wait for the Court Summons: Zuo Chi is threatening legal action for defamation, a bold move for a team manager/coach!
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