translator: xiin
editors: apricot & juurensha
Wei Xiao was amused.
Kim Sung-hyun also started laughing, “He smashed into a wall, but he didn’t give up. He told me that Little Close was just putting on a strong front, and he must actually be secretly shedding tears at night…”
Wei Xiao didn’t believe it at all, but his curiosity had been completely piqued, “And then? And then?”
Then, at midnight, Yuan Ze took Kim Sung-hyun with him and squatted outside Close’s bedroom door for half an hour.
Proud Flower Kim had been very naive and innocent back then, “Is he crying?”
Yuan Ze’s legs were numb from crouching, “Maybe they’re silent tears? Looking at how that boy puts up a strong front, he probably doesn’t even know how to cry.”
Kim Sung-hyun was worried, “Then, what should we do? Elder brother, should we go in?”
Yuan Ze corrected him, “Don’t use the title ‘elder brother’ in China. Others will think that we’re gay!”
Kim Sung-hyun changed his words, “Ah-Ze!”
Yuan Ze nodded, “Call me teacher!”
Kim Sung-hyun paused, “Ah-Ze!”
Yuan Ze: “…….” Fine, it was a little difficult for him to pronounce ‘teacher’.
Their voices weren’t low. FTW’s base back then hadn’t been like the ‘luxury house’ it was now, and the sound insulation was mediocre. Close, who was in the room, had basically heard most of it.
He opened the door, giving Kim Sung-hyun and Yuan Ze a scare.
Kim Sung-hyun was quite thin-skinned and was unable to speak for a long time.
Old Dog Yuan was thick-skinned and didn’t feel embarrassed at all, “Cough, you haven’t slept yet?”
After that, he stared at Close, trying to see if there were traces of tears on his handsome face.
However, other than the chips of ice in his eyes, he got nothing else.
Close: “I can cry, but there’s no need.”
Kim Sung-hyun & Yuan Ze: “!” He heard them!
Close continued, “If you want to be gay together, can you stay away from my door?”
Little Kim & Old Yuan: “…………………………..”
To hell with this little pitiful guy, this was clearly a sullen, black-bellied man!
When he heard this, Wei Xiao laughed so hard he was rocking back and forth. His brain recreated the scene completely.
Sure enough, the great demon king was still a great demon king when he was young. It was amazing!
There was a smile in Kim Sung-hyun’s eyes when he thought of these past events, and his tone became lighter and lighter.
He then shared some fragmented anecdotes. Wei Xiao was always concerned about one point, “Why were you all so worried about the captain?”
He could tell from the literal and implied meaning of the words that Yuan Ze had been very worried about Close, who’d just entered the team.
Was it because he didn’t like to talk?
Was it because he wasn’t sociable?
Or was it because Close was too young, and they wanted to take care of him?
Wei Xiao didn’t think that was it.
The 19 year old Captain Yuan and God Kim were half grown boys. How would they be so thoughtful?
He asked this, and Kim Sung-hyun was stunned for a moment.
This new teammate of Close’s looked naughty and wild and disobedient, but in his heart, he really cared about his captain.
He’d even caught the details inside these jokes.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Blw Vecu-tsec rqbxf ilutais, “Tbe’nf cfnfg rffc atf 17 sfjg biv Jibrf.”
Lf’v rjlv atfrf kbgvr fjgilfg, yea atf abcf cbk kjr abajiis vloofgfca.
Coafg ilrafclcu ab la jujlc, Qfl Wljb ralii ofia rbeg lc tlr tfjga, yea la kjr cb ibcufg j pfjiber rbegcfrr. Pa kjr j offilcu bo tfjgajmtf obg atf 17 sfjg biv Jibrf.
“…The Close from back then seemed to have been abandoned by everyone. He didn’t seem to care about anything around him.”
Yuan Ze spoke about social phobia, but in fact, he was worried about more than just that.
A youth who was so disconnected and cold, it wouldn’t be surprising if he chose to jump down from the top of a building in the next second.
It wasn’t just social phobia. Yuan Ze had flipped through psychology books out of fear that this child wouldn’t be able to work through it.
Kim Sung-hyun’s words were very obscure, but Wei Xiao could still feel the heavy, depressing pain that pressed down on his insides.
“Back then, we all suspected that his family… well…” Kim Sung-hyun said. “However, it became much better later on. Close still didn’t like to talk and was an icy cold person, but for better or worse, he could communicate. Even if it was all monosyllables.”
Wei Xiao was stunned as he listened.
Lu Feng’s monosyllables was a joke that was often used as fans for memes.
The great demon king’s ‘mm’ judgement, Close’s cold ‘mm’, and the gentle ‘mm’ that was worth dying to hear.
Wei Xiao had no way to imagine the 17 year old Close who tried using monosyllables to establish communication channels with other people.
The tingling, numbing pain spread through all his nerves, and his cell phone vibrated slightly.
Wei Xiao didn’t know what the captain had experienced before he turned 17, but he’d found a new home in FTW, found a new family, and gradually began to accept others.
It was a pity that after one short year of brilliance, FTW broke up.
What had the Close who remained standing in the ruins been thinking?
‘Ding’.
The clear sound of a lighter pulled Wei Xiao back to the present.
Kim Sung-hyun lit another cigarette and let the tiny spark burn between his fingers.
“Us big brothers of the past really owe him.” Kim Sung-hyun looked at Wei Xiao, “In the future, you…”
Wei Xiao yelled loudly, “I’ll absolutely never leave him. I’ll always accompany him!” For a lifetime!
Kim Sung-hyun smiled and said, “You’re not his wife, so how can you accompany him all the time.”
Wei Xiao: “I…”
After that, Kim Sung-hyun cleared his throat. He realized that the word ‘wife’ wasn’t appropriate; after all, he knew Close’s sexual orientation.
Wei Xiao also stopped suddenly. He couldn’t just say that he wanted to be the captain’s wif… husband, right!
Eh… Wei Xiao broke out in goosebumps from his own thoughts.
After listening to the captain’s past for a while, Wei Xiao switched to being concerned about Kim Sung-hyun, “God Kim, what are you doing out here on your own? Are you scared about tomorrow’s competition?”
Kim Sung-hyun slanted a glance at him, “Scared of what?”
Wei Xiao stabbed back, “Scared that you’ll lose to us.”
Kim Sung-hyun made a sound of disbelief.
Wei Xiao stressed, “You lost to us once not very long ago.”
Kim Sung-hyun raised his chin slightly, and the tear mole was particularly obvious, “If you guys were unable to win against me when I played so badly, would you really deserve to be in FTW?”
These words…
Wei Xiao loved to hear them. He chuckled, “I’ll be waiting for you to play well tomorrow!”
Kim Sung-hyun really admired his passion, “I’ll definitely satisfy you.”
Wei Xiao thought of his love confession plan and said, “I definitely won’t show any mercy.”
Kim Sung-hyun waved his hand, “Get lost and go back to sleep…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when Wei Xiao’s cell phone rang.
Wei Xiao’s eyebrows showed his happiness as soon as he looked at it, “It’s my captain.”
Kim Sung-hyun: “……” Was this worth showing off? It wasn’t like he was the only one with a captain!
Wei Xiao answered the phone, “Captain~”
Kim Sung-hyun’s ears trembled. He was very puzzled about how Close could bear it as a gay man.
He didn’t know what was said on the other side of the phone, but Wei Xiao bounced up and said, “God Kim, I’m going back. Bye bye.”
Kim Sung-hyun waved at him.
Wei Xiao ran back swiftly, wishing he could teleport and arrive back at the captain’s side in two seconds.
Kim Sung-hyun saw his attitude, and the smile on the corners of his lips slowly faded away.
When he looked at the present Wei Xiao, Kim Sung-hyun was always reminded of the past.
He’d entered Glory at the age of 17, his heart full of ambition, chasing after Li Heran just like the Wei Xiao who was now chasing after Lu Feng.
At the time, Li Heran had been the number one ADC in South Korea, and he was his teammate.
At the time, Li Heran was the shining star who’d won the National MVP, and he was the foil beside him.
The light shone brightly on Li Heran, while he stood behind the light.
When people mentioned Li Heran, they couldn’t recall Kim Sung-hyun.
Only when Kim Sung-hyun was mentioned would they think of the ‘Twin Stars’.
At the time, Kim Sung-hyun was very unwilling to accept this. He wanted to catch up to Li Heran, wanting to stand side by side with him.
Later on…
He went to FTW and won the world championship.
He defeated Li Heran. When he shook hands with him, Li Heran said to him, “Wonderful.”
Kim Sung-hyun had held onto him tightly, his eyes red, “Did I win?”
Li Heran: “Yes.”
But he hadn’t won!
He’d lost big time!
He’d hated Li Heran when he was sold to FTW.
When he learned the truth of the matter, he just wanted to get him back.
But…
He worked so hard and so bitterly to go home, only to see a depressed Li Heran who was full of old injuries.
The Li Heran who’d been better at him at everything as they grew up together, that he’d only been able look at his back as he followed behind him, was now downtrodden like a homeless dog.
Kim Sung-hyun had scolded him, “Why did you trick me into going to FTW!”
Li Heran had been silent.
Kim Sung-hyun’s voice trembled, “Do you know that when I was alone in China, there was, there was…”
Li Heran whispered, “Sung-hyun, you’re different now.”
Kim Sung-hyun, who’d gone to China, had won the world championships, entered the Temple of Glory and become the number one marksman in the Korean competition zone.
Li Heran, who’d stayed at home, had eventually been sucked dry by the club and fallen ill.
Kim Sung-hyun reached out and grabbed him by the collar, “I don’t f*cking want your charity!”
Li Heran: “It’s the results of your efforts.”
Kim Sung-hyun gritted his teeth, “You… I… Damn it, you’ve been lying to me the whole time!”
Li Heran bowed his head, “I’m sorry.”
Kim Sung-hyun didn’t want his apology. He wanted him to stand up, he wanted him to be just like before, always walking in front of him, always better than him, always more outstanding than him!
Li Heran shouldn’t be like this.
Even more, he shouldn’t have become like this because of him.
It had taken Kim Sung-hyun two years to build up the current Pro, two years to return to the global finals, and two years to win the doubles championship with Li Heran.
When they stood on the blinding stage, fans changed Kim Sung-hyun’s name. Nobody remembered the former number one marksman Li Heran, nobody remembered that the silent man who stood behind Kim Sung-hyun had once been so brilliant and dazzling.
Kim Sung-hyun was not reconciled, and his heart was not willing.
He wanted the championship, wanted the real championship. He wanted to tell Li Heran––
He’d never forgotten the promise they’d made when they were young.
They’d win the championship together, stand on the stage of the world’s number one together, and become the strongest players that the world recognized together!
He hadn’t forgotten, but did Li Heran still remember?
Kim Sung-hyun lit up a whole box of cigarettes, but none of them touched his lips.
Yuan Ze told him, light a cigarette if you aren’t happy. It’ll burn away your bad mood.
Kim Sung-hyun tossed the cigarette butts into the garbage can, then got up to go back to the house.
He was going to win tomorrow’s competition.
He didn’t know how to get back the old Li Heran. The only thing he could do was win.
Keep winning, continue winning, all the way until they fulfilled their promise.
After going back upstairs, Wei Xiao went into the room just in time to see the captain coming out of the bathroom.
Wei Xiaoxiao: “!”
Lu Feng had a towel tied around his waist. His upper body was still stained with water, and his cold, pale skin looked like it was coated in a layer of mist under the spotlights above his head.
Wei Xiao looked at him straight on, and his heart pounded thump-thump-thump.
It was over! He wasn’t human!
Before, he’d been greedy for the captain’s skills, and now he wasn’t even letting go of the person himself!
Lu Feng’s heart heated up under his gaze. He pulled on the bathrobe and asked, “Where’d you go?”
Wei Xiao returned to his senses, resisting the impulse to do bad things, “I couldn’t sleep, so I went downstairs for a walk.”
Lu Feng didn’t think too much about it. This hour really wasn’t Wei Xiao’s sleeping time, “There’s a game tomorrow. Sleep earlier.”
Wei Xiao nodded, “Yes!”
Sleep earlier, sleep well, keep up his energy levels, win 10 million tomorrow, then ask the captain…
Oh, he didn’t deserve to propose yet, but wanting a kiss was okay!
xiin: i read the comments from the last chapter~ so are you guys shipping Yuan x Kim or Kim x Li now? 
xiin asking the toughest question. Haha
Thank you for the chapter
Acckkkkk I’m loyal to Hyun-ssi and Ran-ssi CP!!!!!!!
Thank you for the chapter 💖
Li and Kim duhhhh
oh my bad didn’t mean to reply to u lol
It really is hard to ship now! Last chapter, I definitely jumped to the Yuan x Kim ship, but now I’m wanting to go to the Li x Kim ship… At this point, I lowkey want to just have one foot in each ship just bc I’m so hesitant ^^; Flower Kim, oh Flower Kim, why are you so shippable 😩
Anyw, when I saw the chapter title, I legit thought it would be Bai Cai to say it. Who knew it would be Little Captain Lu! 💀💀
And god, I rly hope FTW wins!! A kiss (and pretty much a confession) is at stake here!!
Thanks for the chapter! 🙂
Same here, I thought it was Xiao Bai who said that phrase:)
+1
+1
+1 for wanting to straddle two ships…
I have one foot on each boat (ㆁωㆁ)
Thank you for the chapter!
Ahhh…. 🥺🥺🥺
Thank you for the chapter ❤
🥺🥺🥺It’s kim and Lin now😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
…Did WX almost set up a flag for himself? This is a classic case of counting your chickens before they hatch.
Thanks for the chapter!
3p 3p 😂 I ship Yuan Ze with Old G more tho UwU
Thanks for the chapter as always ❤️
Proud Flower Kim!!! 😭 This novel has so many good characters, I love them all!
(I refuse to answer that question)
I love how everyone that knows that LF is gay keeps asking how he can deal with Wei Xiaoxiao, meanwhile LF is ‘conceal don’t feel don’t let him know”
flower kim has two hands for a reason ♥️♥️♥️
JAILLL 💀💀💀
I’m curious about Lu Feng‘s family… What happened? 🥺
Thank you for the chapter~~! 💜💜💜
All 3. Yuan xKim x Li
Alright, alright. I was briefly led astray, but I’m back now. Kim x Li CP….right? IDK, is this author toying with us?! Are there actually any side CPs at all? 😖😭
why do this to me, now i want both to win but for different reasons (maybe the fight with ftw will stimulate li enough and ftw will win 🤷🏻) i know little wei will try his absolute best not to confess lu if they lose, but kim and Li storty breaks my heart tho. i thought yuan and kim had a cute bromance going on but Kim and Li are saftey on a sailing ship.
at this point i dont think wei could stand not confessing the boy is ready to jump on the man and has to think about not confessing constantly hahahaha
Thx for the ch (ㅅ˘ㅂ˘)
Thanks for the chapter! ^^)❤
kimxli, yuan can be the token straight.
YuanG ok. Of course LiKim ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
But YuanKimLi is also possible ㅋㅋㅋ
In any case, our main CP need to stop blueballing themselves and us 😭
i have trauma shipping a side cp only for them to end up in angst and not together… therefore i only trust the main cp with guaranteed happy ending LOL
it’s so cute of wei xiao to want a kiss from lu feng 🥺🥺 do your best and get both your man and the championship~~
Kim x Li all the way!!! The way he feels for Li heran just makes my heart tender 😭 yuan ze has his old g haha
Thanks for the chapter! 😊
I am of course for the Koi Pairing
Li X Kim XD
I’m definitely Kim Sung-hyun x Li Heran all the way. But, what is this???:
“Do you know that when I was alone in China, there was, there was…”* There was someone…? There was what? 😲😮 I hope there’s second couple in this novel, whoever the pair is, I’ll support them!
Why is the author doing this. Now I actually don’t want Li feiran and Kim to lose. I want them to retire with no regrets and their wishes fulfilled. But I also want FTW to win and have unprecedented record, more powerful than the Tram of Gods old FTW. Ghad. I’m torn. Why are the characters so dynamic. I loooooove it
Both both both are fine
Yuan x Gary uwu for me
I really like how the author has fleshed out the other characters. You can see and feel for all the characters in the story and their are no villain’s just these kids trying their best to live their dream i. Their own way. Honestly it’s really written well and the translation is really good because it preserves that feeling.
Oh it was no wonder Captain liked his team so much back then.
I really can’t help but care for our Proud Flower Kim~ ah, he makes me so helpless (*ﾉ´□`)ﾉ~
…. It’s more Kim and Li if yuan came in he’d be shipped with Gary though…. I can see him as a switch at first I was gonna say shou but that wouldn’t seem correct T_T
Or a three way with yuan x Li x kim…. 😮😃 Call the doctor
At this point, I better not ship anyone other than the main cp. I might get destroyed if after 200+ chapters of shipping 2 people they don’t get together 🥲
I was listening On Another Love for an edit I was doing while reading this chapter and I was aboutta cry DAMN I’M SO SAD I hope Ran would be ok soon idk how but…I hate it when people grow old or have permanent injuries, illnesses IT MAKES ME WANT TO CRY AND DIE ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽