With Chen Chen’s permission, Jiang Hao immediately turned around and went next door to call people over.
Within minutes, TL’s head coach Barbecue arrived at A103 with a group of overly energetic problem children in tow. Barbecue’s real name was Li En—back in ancient times, he and Chen Chen had worked together at HDL.
Later, after the two took charge of their own teams, the bases of their clubs ended up very close to each other. Privately, they were still on pretty good terms.
“Miss waitress, could you add another pot—add one, add one, add one! Just two pots isn’t enough to eat—quick, quick, put the meat on this side!”
Jiang Hao immediately took charge with great enthusiasm. He was the most familiar-with-everyone type, and since he often laned against Wei Ye in high-ranked games, he naturally grabbed his bowl and chopsticks and sidled right over to him.
Wei Ye glanced at him with a half-smile and curled his lip disdainfully. “Funny. You dare sit next to me? Didn’t you see even Feng-bao keeps his distance when I’m at full firepower? With that trash hand speed of yours that gets solo-killed by me in lane, you think you can keep up with my meat-grabbing speed?”
Sui Ning, suddenly dragged into it: ??
Jiang Hao raised his brows just as maliciously. “Funny. My fighter top-lane hand speed is invincible—Peerless Swordsman, five slashes a second. What about you, what about you, what about you, Wei Tree-Man?”
“No way, no way—does someone actually think Verdant Treant can train hand speed??”
Wei Ye: ?
Loud swearing.jpg
Cheng Wensheng was much the same. His incomparably handsome, mature face wore the same faint smile as always, but his movements were decisive. Ignoring Cheng Su’s extreme resistance, he sat right down beside his younger brother.
He calmly raised his eyes and nodded politely toward Sui Ning across the table.
“Uh.” Sui Ning returned the greeting and glanced at the split hotpot. “Do you want the clear broth moved over to your side?”
“No need to trouble yourself. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
The senior players were all very relaxed.
By contrast, Lee Jae-Hee looked especially stiff. He forced out a polite, awkward smile and rigidly raised a hand to greet everyone from PNG. He’d only been in China for less than a year, still stumbled when speaking, and could only cling tightly to support Jian Wang like a little tagalong, afraid of being left behind.
The players each found places to sit. Chen Chen went off to reminisce with Li En and didn’t bother managing the others—everyone was grown, with hands, feet, and mouths. It wasn’t like they could starve to death in a hotpot restaurant.
“Unbelievable.”
Cheng Su let out a deep sigh, his temple throbbing. “I knew it’d turn out like this. This is the most famous hotpot place around here…”
From the moment TL showed up, alarm bells had been ringing nonstop in Cheng Su’s head. TL’s base was only minutes away from PNG’s, and there weren’t many commercial areas nearby. Running into each other while eating out was honestly very likely.
And when Cheng Wensheng sat down right next to him, that sense of irritation shot straight past the limit—right now, he was the only person in the room who wanted to grab the hotpot base and run.
Cheng Wensheng glanced sideways at him, the faint smile on his lips unchanged. He picked up his chopsticks and placed several leaves of vegetables—thoroughly cooked through in the mala broth, chili chunks still clinging to them—into Cheng Su’s bowl.
The leaves were wrapped in chili, already a deep crimson. Just looking at them, you could practically feel the choking heat rush at your face.
Cheng Wensheng acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything at all, gazing at Cheng Su with a gentle smile as he spoke softly, “Here. Your favorite boiled napa cabbage.”
“Didn’t you say you were hungry? Big brother picked it for you—try it.”
Cheng Su: …If this dish ever left my sight for even a second, I’d suspect you poisoned it. Actually, I already kind of do.
His mouth twitched.
Lin Zhaoxu, sitting to Cheng Wensheng’s right, took a moment to look up, eyes full of envy. “Damn, is this the happiness of not being an only child? Having an older brother is awesome—he even picks food for you—”
“It’s fine, you get some too.” Cheng Wensheng happily picked a piece of meat for him as well.
Lin Zhaoxu was overjoyed. “Thanks, Brother Amor!”
“Mm.” Cheng Wensheng answered with a smile.
Cheng Su was speechless, rubbing his forehead with a headache. “…Seriously, when are these two brats going to disappear from my world…”
He couldn’t help sighing again. Sitting to Cheng Wensheng’s left felt like being a cat grabbed by the scruff—utterly powerless except for impotent rage.
But come to think of it, wasn’t Cheng Wensheng trying to play the loving-brother act? Then he might as well take advantage of it—
With that thought, Cheng Su lifted his chin slightly. “I want the shrimp paste over there.”
Cheng Wensheng’s smile didn’t change. “Big brother can’t reach it. Don’t you have hands?”
Lin Zhaoxu, chewing on meat, looked at Cheng Su reproachfully. “Yeah, chew chew, why do you keep bothering your brother while eating?”
Cheng Su: ? Are you guys okay?
The fake brotherly affection was too spicy for the ears. Cheng Su couldn’t take it anymore. Using a sip of water as an excuse, he lifted his eyes and looked across the table—
Ji Yunyu was also picking food for Sui Ning, lifting it out of the spicy broth and then swishing it in a bowl of clear water.
Sui Ning stared at his chopsticks, lips pursed in dissatisfaction. “Why do you have to rinse it?”
Ji Yunyu raised an eyebrow. “What else am I supposed to do? You can handle this broth base?”
“Why not?”
“Oh, stop it.” Ji Yunyu laughed under his breath, ignoring the young man’s puffed-up cheeks as he forcibly put the rinsed tripe into his bowl. “Last time you ate cafeteria-level spicy food, you said your stomach felt bad.”
But it really smelled so good. Rinsing it in water once completely killed the mala hotpot vibe!
Thinking this, Sui Ning unconsciously put on a slightly pleading expression. “I’ve improved. Just one bite.”
“No.”
The rejected young man lifted his eyes to stare at Ji Yunyu. His dark eyes were damp and unblinking, a few strands of hair falling by his cheek, the curve of his jaw especially delicate and beautiful.
Ji Yunyu: …
Damn it. Direct hit to the heart.
“Fine, fine, just this one—”
Sui Ning immediately withdrew the expression and smiled faintly, pushing his luck as he added, “And that one too.”
Being taken care of by Ji Yunyu all the time, Sui Ning had already gotten used to unconsciously acting spoiled toward him in daily life—so much so that he didn’t even realize it himself.
Ji Yunyu, for his part, enjoyed it immensely, so there was even less reason to point it out.
“You… fine, fine—just don’t look at me like that…”
Ji Yunyu helplessly covered his face.
Cheng Su, watching with a blank expression: …
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed the plain water, then he frowned in confusion—something felt off. Why did this water taste sour…?
——
Usually, gatherings like this would involve opening a few pitchers of beer, but considering that this group of pro players couldn’t afford shaky hands from drinking, Chen Chen and Li En made a decisive call and ordered several large bottles of soda and sour plum juice instead.
Sui Ning had genuinely been hit by the spice. The corners of his eyes were tinged red as he cradled his sour plum juice and gulped it down.
Lin Zhaoxu laughed, his ingrained self-destructive instinct kicking in again, and spoke loudly into the mic: “Wow, Feng-bao, don’t tell me you got spicy enough to cry? That bad, huh?!”
“…”
Sui Ning shot him a glare. “You want bot lane to be orphaned again?”
Lin Zhaoxu surrendered immediately. “OK, that one’s on me.”
“…Feng-bao?” Cheng Wensheng raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. Holding his cola with the posture of someone sipping an ’82 Bordeaux from a wine glass, he took an elegant sip, a full combo of refined moves that nearly struck Cheng Su beside him dumb. “So this is Wind’s private persona?”
“…No, they’re just calling me that randomly.”
Cheng Wensheng smiled. “It’s fine, I get it. By the way, you and Meng Xiyue probably haven’t met offline yet, right… Looking at it this way, I win again. He doesn’t stand a chance anymore—total defeat on all fronts.”
Why did this suddenly turn into winning or losing? Sui Ning was helpless. “You and Xiyue aren’t still hung up on the trial training match thing, are you?”
Ji Yunyu immediately whipped his head around to stare at him in shock, eyes full of accusation: Xiyue? Xiyue???
Sui Ning looked back innocently: Huh? It’s common knowledge that mid laners from different leagues get along pretty well in private, right?
Ji Yunyu forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes: …And that’s your reason for calling him Xiyue? Just you wait.
“Mm.” Cheng Wensheng calmly took in their silent exchange and nodded, generously admitting it.
The TL players nearby were stunned. Jiang Hao almost choked on half a mouthful of cola. In perfect unison, several of them glanced toward Chen Chen, wailing inwardly: Brother Amor, even if you’re digging at the wall of your long-lost white moonlight, do you have to do it here?!
Right in front of the other team’s head coach—are you out of your mind?!
Thankfully, Chen Chen was deep in conversation with Li En and didn’t notice what was happening over here.
Sui Ning choked slightly, unsure what to say.
Cheng Wensheng’s gaze shifted, finally settling on Ji Yunyu, who was staring straight at him.
Ji Yunyu’s face was dark as water. His usually cute puppy eyes were narrowed, like a wolf cub whose territory had been invaded by a stranger, practically wearing “don’t touch my food” on his face.
Cheng Wensheng almost laughed out loud. He shrugged. “Relax, I know full well that this corner can’t be pried loose. Once playoffs come, we’ll just be pure opponents.”
Sui Ning looked baffled. Uh… haven’t we already been opponents for ages?!
……
The meal dragged on until the sun set, and the two coaches were still reluctant to part. When everyone was about to leave, Cheng Wensheng ignored the wolf cub’s displeasure and pulled Sui Ning aside.
“What’s up?”
“Congratulations on finishing first in the regular season. Good luck in the matches.” Cheng Wensheng said politely at first, then abruptly veered the topic by a full 180 degrees.
He glanced at Ji Yunyu not far away, and lowered his voice. “…Is he jealous?”
Sui Ning was surprised. “What? Who?”
“Ji Yunyu.” Cheng Wensheng complained. “Why is his jealousy so intense? He kept glaring at me the whole meal… and he’s still glaring now. It’s kind of annoying.”
Sui Ning: …?
Catching Sui Ning’s expression, Cheng Wensheng quickly curled his lips and asked pointedly, “What?”
“Aren’t you two a couple?”
Sui Ning: Ah… ah?????
Did I hear wrong, or did you say it wrong?? The young man looked utterly stunned, his face frozen as he repeated, “A cou—who…?”
Who did you just say were a couple??
Well, damn—so it hadn’t been said outright yet. From Sui Ning’s soul-leaving-his-body expression, Cheng Wensheng got his answer. Understanding dawned on him. He exaggeratedly shifted his gaze, signaling Sui Ning to look behind him.
Ji Yunyu.
The moment he realized that, Sui Ning’s heart skipped violently. On the stage, at the base, anywhere—Ji Yunyu had always been within arm’s reach, visible the moment Sui Ning turned his head.
But now, an action he had performed countless times suddenly became unbearably difficult. His heart thundered, his throat unbearably dry, yet he didn’t dare turn around.
He slowly steadied his breathing. All thoughts cut off in an instant, his mind going completely blank. Or rather, he had no idea what he was supposed to think in this situation.
Cheng Wensheng’s candid attitude and those sudden words were like a summer thunderclap, deafening in their impact. Sui Ning was genuinely shocked. His lashes trembled uncontrollably, his beautiful obsidian cat-like eyes widening slightly—
He couldn’t catch even the faintest hint of a joke in Cheng Wensheng’s tone or expression. The man was asking in all seriousness.
Sui Ning’s thoughts were in chaos, emotions mixed and tangled, confusion and surprise flooding through him.
Although in this parallel world, same-sex marriage had long been legal in Huaguo, he had never truly felt it as something real. Ever since transmigrating, his daily life had been sleep, eat, stream, grind ranked—later adding matches to the list. You could say he had given 90% of his time to esports.
The PNG base was full of monks. Forget same-sex couples—aside from the middle-aged cleaning auntie and the married assistant coach Sun Wei with kids, there wasn’t a single person who’d escaped being single. From the coaching staff down to the security guard, everyone was a single dog. Over time, Sui Ning had long stopped thinking about who liked whom.
…So why?
Staring at Cheng Wensheng, Sui Ning’s lips trembled. “You… why?”
“Why do I think you two are a pair? Come on, isn’t it obvious?” Cheng Wensheng sighed and muttered softly, “That kid is way too annoying. I thought I could disgust him a bit, but now it looks like I’m actually helping him instead…”
Sui Ning didn’t catch the latter half.
So he’s a blockhead. Cheng Wensheng grinned and leaned in slightly toward Sui Ning’s ear.
Sui Ning froze, frowning as he instinctively tried to avoid it, only to be held in place by Cheng Wensheng gripping his shoulder. Ji Yunyu often spoke to him in this posture too, but this was the first time it made him feel deeply uncomfortable.
Cheng Wensheng smiled, his voice light. “Wind, weren’t you asking me ‘why’? Actually, you just need to turn around right now and look at Cloud’s expression, and you’ll understand. Do you dare?”
Sui Ning trembled.
Hesitant, he slowly turned his body—
The instant their eyes met, the boy immediately withdrew the fierce expression he had shown Cheng Wensheng, tilting his head with a smile, eyes bright as starlight.
And at last, Sui Ning saw it—intense, open joy and love.
They had always been there. He just had never truly looked.
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