Extra 1: Side Couple Warning!! Li Huanbin x Shen Xiao (2)
2.
After accepting Li Huanbin’s friend request, Shen Xiao sat straight up, staring intently at the screen, looking ready for battle.
Bai Chen’s seat was next to his. After getting on the bus, he glanced at Shen Xiao, who was looking at his phone with a solemn face. “…What are you looking at?”
Shen Xiao didn’t even spare him a glance, still looking at the phone. “Waiting for a hearty and dripping exchange of insults.”
“…”
Bai Chen found another spot and went to sit elsewhere.
Unfortunately, after waiting for ages, the insults didn’t come. Only a cute cat emoji arrived.
Shen Xiao stared with a complicated expression at the rolling kitten on the screen for a while before belatedly realizing that Li Huanbin’s wording and tone in the friend request just now were so polite; clearly, he wasn’t here to demand an explanation for the blocking incident.
…He had measured the heart of a gentleman with his own petty mind.
Since Li Huanbin didn’t actively pick a fight, Shen Xiao naturally couldn’t respond with harsh words. After building up energy for ages, his punch landed on cotton. He leaned back against the chair, typing with a very poor tone: “What’s your business adding me?”
It was common knowledge that he didn’t like Li Huanbin. Shen Xiao couldn’t be bothered to hide it; if you hate someone, be open about it.
Li Huanbin seemed to have nothing to do right now. Almost as soon as the message was sent, “The other party is typing…” appeared above the chat bar.
[Li Huanbin]: Nothing important really, just wanted to chat with you.
A big question mark popped up on Shen Xiao’s forehead.
Chat?
What is there to chat about between Li Huanbin and him?
He carefully recalled his way of interacting with Li Huanbin before the whole Little Bear Marshmallow incident.
Although he hadn’t shown obvious disgust, Shen Xiao had adopted a policy of avoidance whenever possible. If you can’t afford to offend them, you can at least hide from them.
So almost every time they had any interaction, it was Li Huanbin actively seeking him out.
At first, it was asking him to duo queue. Shen Xiao naturally chose to refuse.
Later, seeing he was truly resolute, Li Huanbin gave up on duo queuing and occasionally shared some interesting things and gossip with him.
Regarding these dispensable topics, to show his politeness, Shen Xiao would still reply, but he aptly interwove his refusal and indifference between the lines. Unfortunately, Li Huanbin was someone who couldn’t take a hint. As long as Shen Xiao replied, he would inevitably send more next time.
…Until that day when he blocked him.
A wave of guilt surged in Shen Xiao’s heart, only to be covered by more shame and indignation.
He picked up his phone and typed rapidly.
[Seamy]: There’s nothing for us to chat about, right?
[Li Huanbin]: Actually, I wanted to ask you to duo queue.
These two sentences were sent almost simultaneously.
Shen Xiao froze.
…Duo queue?
His only duo queue with Li Huanbin was that one time with Little Bear Marshmallow.
Fuck!
Shen Xiao ground his molars. He was sure now; it wasn’t his petty mind. Li Huanbin was just here to poke at his scars!
He typed angrily: “No need. My skill level doesn’t match queuing with Captain Li.”
This time, the “typing…” on Li Huanbin’s side displayed for a long time, but no next sentence appeared in the chat box.
Just when Shen Xiao thought he would send a long essay, a new message popped up.
But there was no text, only an emoji of a kitten looking at the camera with teary eyes, looking extremely aggrieved.
Shen Xiao’s mouth twitched.
A top-tier Alpha, a big man taller than himself, why were his emojis so cute?
He moved his fingers but ultimately didn’t reply further. Putting down his phone, he looked up just in time to see Qu Qingyue getting on the bus with the coach.
Qu Qingyue happened to look over too. Their eyes met, and both felt a bit awkward.
But unexpectedly, Shen Xiao found that the depressive feelings of unrequited love in his heart had dissipated a lot compared to before. Even at this moment, there was only the grievance of being kept in the dark; other than that, only calmness remained.
Oh, and dissatisfaction with Li Huanbin.
Shen Xiao licked his left canine tooth and looked away first, gazing out the car window, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the volume buttons of his phone.
He tried hard to move his attention away from the brief conversation just now, to avoid making it seem like that guy Li Huanbin had a huge influence on him.
But in the end, when the car started, Shen Xiao still couldn’t help thinking: Li Huanbin paused for so long just now… what exactly did he want to say to me?
Qu Qingyue left TWG after all, and Ice took over her position, becoming the starting Medic for TWG’s first team.
Although naive, Shen Xiao once thought their TWG was different from other teams, that the four of them would play until retirement without any substitutions.
Perhaps when they were young, it was indeed so. But as they aged, unknowingly, Shen Xiao, the youngest in the team, had also become an “older player” in the circle.
If a team wanted to continue, it inevitably needed the addition of fresh blood.
Moreover, the newly joined Ice was strong enough, his personal style sharp and aggressive. Even if Shen Xiao wanted to nitpick, he couldn’t find any faults.
TWG ultimately entered the playoffs ranked first in points.
After the Preseason Points Tournament ended, it was the New Year.
Shen Xiao left home to join the team at a very young age. He was away all year round and basically couldn’t go home except for New Year’s, so he wasn’t very homesick. When packing his luggage, he just felt that finally being able to rest for a while was truly hard-earned.
It was just that he had too much random stuff to bring, and his home was in City T, thousands of miles away. Moving things back and forth every time was a hassle.
After finally checking in his luggage and confirming his flight ticket, Shen Xiao habitually picked up his phone and, sure enough, saw a new message from Li Huanbin.
He opened the chat and found that what Li Huanbin sent today was a photo.
In the photo, under a dim streetlight, a tabby kitten lay by the roadside, exposing its belly to the person photographing it. The toe beans on its four paws were pink and round, looking well-behaved and cute.
Shen Xiao’s heart stirred.
Recently, ever since they re-added each other, Li Huanbin would send some interesting pictures or daily life updates almost every day, just like before. Shen Xiao looked at them but never replied, just waiting for the other side to find it boring and back off on his own.
But this time, he couldn’t hold back.
Since childhood, Shen Xiao’s favorite animals were cats. Unfortunately, both his parents were allergic to cat hair, and he didn’t have the energy at the base, so he could only occasionally ‘cloud raise’ cats with the vast netizens on video sites.
Before, when Li Huanbin sent cat emojis, Shen Xiao could barely ignore them. But right now, with this photo, the cat itself was obviously right there. Shen Xiao found it hard to turn a blind eye.
He endured and endured, but finally couldn’t hold back, typing: “Is this a stray cat?”
[Li Huanbin]: Yeah, downstairs at our base.
[Seamy]: So affectionate with people?
[Li Huanbin]: I feed him often, so he’s close to me.
[Li Huanbin]: You like cats?
He had painstakingly sent so many messages, all sinking into the sea without a trace. He didn’t expect a casual photo of a stray cat to bomb the person out.
Li Huanbin held his phone, glancing sideways at the tabby kitten burying its entire head in a can not far away. He narrowed his eyes, then laughed.
How am I comparing myself to a cat?
Shen Xiao cared about his persona. Usually, when accepting interviews outside and asked about favorite animals, he always answered with raptors or beasts like “lions” and “tigers.”
Being suddenly asked if he liked soft, cute kittens, he felt a bit awkward, feeling it violated the macho persona he cultivated. But covering it up at this moment would obviously be trying to hide only to make it more conspicuous.
So he deliberately acted fierce: “Yeah, got a problem?”
Li Huanbin saw the reply and smiled.
[Li Huanbin]: I’ll take more photos for you in the future.
The gentle and accommodating attitude on the other side clearly pleased Shen Xiao. He rolled over, not ignoring him like usual. Even when Li Huanbin asked about his specific time for going home, he answered openly.
The two chatted intermittently about trivial topics until late at night. Finally, Shen Xiao was too sleepy and called a stop first.
Having been cold-shouldered for so long, Li Huanbin was content and tactfully said: “Goodnight, sweet dreams.”
Shen Xiao groggily replied “Goodnight.”
The next morning, staring with hair like a bird’s nest at the two words he sent out last night, he zoned out for a long time.
Looking back at the chat history, he wanted to bang his head against the wall.
Was I possessed last night? To actually talk so much nonsense with Li Huanbin.
And looking back, at least half of the conversation was him being coaxed and guided by Li Huanbin to speak. It was just like that day when Li Huanbin pretended to be Little Bear Marshmallow to tease him, while he ran around wherever Li Huanbin pointed like an idiot.
Dammit!
Shen Xiao clicked on Li Huanbin’s profile picture. His finger hovered over the block option, but he hesitated and didn’t tap it immediately.
After a while, he resentfully withdrew his finger.
…It wasn’t that he didn’t want to block Li Huanbin.
I’m just curious about that tabby kitten’s situation, that’s all.
Shen Xiao convinced himself, put down his phone, and got up to wash.
📖 Advance Access: Complete Novel
You are purchasing Advance Reader Access to the complete translated compilation for:
"The Esports Big Shot Wants to Cuddle His New Teammate Every Day"
⚡ After Payment, Follow These 2 Steps:
- Option 1: Note your email on PayPal/Ko-fi.
- Option 2: Email proof to beezzzreads@gmail.com.
- Option 3: Comment below.
Notice: Manual approval. Please allow 12–24 hours for access.
Recommended Reads
