translator: Oyen editor: Ciel
As if their hearts were connected, after this time’s cooperation, Qin Mo was certain that Thousand Miles Ice was Xiao Han.
At this moment, a line of small words suddenly appeared in his private chat window: “Qin Mo, is that you?”
This sentence was the strongest evidence for Qin Mo’s inference.
—— Out of everyone in the professional circle, the person who was most familiar with him was Xiao Han, and the only person who could figure out his identity so quickly was precisely Xiao Han.
But Qin Mo didn’t know how to face this best friend from his teenage years.
Back then, he was like Xiao Han; both had good masters, and were the focus of the team, favoured, and had a wonderful future laid out in front of them. Both children originally stood on the same starting line, but ended up with completely different fates—— Xiao Han became Canglan’s team captain, winning the season’s championship and the Most Valuable Player award in one fell swoop. On the other hand, Qin Mo not only failed to inherit his master’s legacy, but also allowed Wind Colour’s performance to decline again and again, eventually retiring in dismay…
Too embarrassed to admit his identity, Qin Mo returned calmly: “Who is Qin Mo?”
Thousand Miles Ice: “Are you not he?”
Ink Mark: ” I don’t know him.”
Thousand Miles Ice: “Shall we spar one more time?”
Ink Mark: “No need.”
Thousand Miles Ice: “Why? Are you afraid I’ll recognize you once you make a move?”
Thousand Miles Ice: “I’m guessing that you want to type ellipses right about now.”
Ink Mark: “……”
Qin Mo’s ellipsis and Xiao Han’s message were typed almost simultaneously. Towards Xiao Han’s divine prophecy, Qin Mo also felt quite helpless. Not only did Xiao Han know him very well, Xiao Han was also very stubborn; now that he had found out, it would not be easy for Qin Mo to deny anything. How should he dispel the suspicion?
Thinking about it for a few moments, Qin Mo typed out a reply: “I am not Qin Mo. As far as I know, the player named Qin Mo is a summoner, but I play a swordsman.”
Thousand Miles Ice: “If you play the summoner, I will recognize it at first glance, why would I still have to wait till now?”
Ink Mark: “……”
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.
Ktberjcv Zlifr Pmf: “P uefrr la lr atf fiilqrfr jujlc.”
Hlc Zb, ktbrf tjylar tjv bcmf jujlc yffc mbggfmais uefrrfv ys Wljb Ljc, kjr rqffmtifrr. Ktlr offilcu bo j mbnfg yflcu raglqqfv jkjs kjr gfjiis yjv!
Vlaalcu lc ogbca bo atf mbwqeafg, Wljb Ljc rwlifv, atlcxlcu ab tlwrfio: Llr ilaaif tjyla bo asqlcu fiilqrfr tjr cba mtjcufv.
Back when they were young, whenever Xiao Han asked a question that was difficult to answer, Qin Mo liked to answer it with various ellipses. Qin Mo also mentioned that using ellipses in a conversation meant that he was ‘very speechless’.
These simple six dots had now appeared again after three years. Feeling his eyes start to water, Xiao Han took a deep breath and typed a message quickly: “Qin Mo, you don’t need to feel any pressure. I won’t ask why you left back then, or why you came back this time. When you want to tell me one day, I will listen.”
Qin Mo corrected: “It is ‘listen respectfully’.”
The familiar dialogue pattern filled Xiao Han’s heart with warmth.
Qin Mo liked to correct his grammatical errors just as much as he did when he was young. In the past, whenever Xiao Han used a wrong word or phrase, Qin Mo would correct him first, so as to not let Xiao Han make a fool of himself before the reporters. In fact, Xiao Han had used the word ‘listen respectfully’ long ago. He made a deliberate mistake just now, and the other party also corrected it habitually.
Smiling, Xiao Han quickly typed: “Qin Mo, I’ve missed you very much all these years.”
“……” Qin Mo had long since known that he couldn’t pretend any longer, but he didn’t expect that Xiao Han would reply with a direct “I’ve missed you very much”. Furthermore, he wasn’t sure how he ought to reply to this.
Xiao Han added another sentence: “Do you miss me?”
“……” This guy, how could he say things like that so directly?!
Qin Mo quickly changed the topic: “I want to do tasks with my teammates, chat with you later.”
After typing out this reply, he left the team and vanished without a trace.
Staring at the white-clothed figure flying away quickly with qinggong, Xiao Han suddenly thought of an idiom he had recently learned: to be defeated and quickly flee.
Was Qin Mo’s actions synonymous with this idiom? Had he been scared away because Xiao Han was too direct?
Xiao Han was somewhat helpless, but he couldn’t say how happy he was——He had admitted that he was Qin Mo! Qin Mo was finally back!!
In fact, Xiao Han would have liked to ask why Qin Mo retired, but he was well aware that Qin Mo would certainly not be willing to answer. Back then, Qin Mo had undoubtedly faced many hardships to make such a decision. If Xiao Han were to ask about it, wouldn’t he just be sprinkling salt on the wounds? Therefore, Xiao Han wisely chose not to ask.
——As long as he came back, everything else could be discussed later.
Qin Mo was very sensitive, but also very prideful. His retirement had definitely been a big blow, large enough that he might even have become more indifferent than before. Still, Xiao Han believed that even if he became more indifferent, he still had a place in Qin Mo’s heart.
They used to be innocent playmates, childhood sweethearts even. That sort of pure relationship couldn’t be forgotten on a whim.
This time, Qin Mo’s appearance in Peerless Jianghu’s public test was obviously not to play online games casually, but instead related to next year’s professional league. According to the information Xiao Han had learnt, Wind Colour’s team had long since been arranged. Furthermore, Mirage, Elegant Leaves, Hiding a Dagger Behind a Smile, and Little Medicine Fairy were definitely not professional players. Qin Mo should only be temporarily upgrading with them in the game. Esports clubs generally assigned players to act as a team, and since Qin Mo came alone, it showed that he was not affiliated to ant club.
In other words, he was still free.
Then, he could do his best to win over Qin Mo.
When he promised Liu Chuan to lead the team by himself, Xiao Han was actually holding on to the idea of ‘trying a new game’. Meeting Qin Mo in the game was unexpected, but in fact, it was the most amazing surprise for him.
***
Xiao Han left the training room of Dragon Song Club. Pulling out his mobile phone, he searched for a familiar number before dialing it.
Soon, a lazy voice replied to the call. “Hello, who is this?” Listening to the voice, the other party didn’t seem to be very awake.
Hiding in a corner of the hallway, Xiao Han whispered. “Master, it’s me.”
Li Cangyu had been sleeping, and answered the phone without looking at the caller ID. Hearing his apprentice’s voice, he forced himself awake and replied with a smile. “Oh, Xiao Han. Why the sudden call? Did something happen?”
“Master, the club has decided to let me lead a new team to Peerless Jianghu,” Xiao Han informed. “Did you know about this?”
“I know, Liu Chuan told me before…… You’re still young, and going to a new game is good for you. You can enrich your experience this way.”
“I met Qin Mo in the new district.”
Li Cangyu sat up in surprise. “Xiao Mo? He also went to the new game?”
“En, he also changed his class to play swordsman,” Xiao Han replied, “At first, I didn’t think that the swordsman could be him. I only recognised him today. Qin Mo no longer plays the summoner flow; this change is really too big.”
“Change to play swordsman……” Li Cangyu was lost in thought.
“Master, do you know why he left the Wind Colour Team?” Xiao Han asked straightforwardly.
“Ai, Qin Mo is not as straightforward as you are. He never tells anyone what he has on his mind. Even his master Ling Xuefeng doesn’t know what he’s thinking.” Li Cangyu’s tone was somewhat helpless. “When Xuefeng heard that he was going to retire, he flew directly to the club to look for Qin Mo, but as a result, couldn’t find anyone at all. Later, Xuefeng questioned the Wind Colour Team. The team members replied that Qin Mo’s state had declined, and because he did not want to drag down the team, directly chose to retire. We didn’t believe it, and downloaded the game video to check it out ourselves, but found that Xiao Mo made a lot of mistakes on the field. His state really wasn’t as good as before.”
Xiao Han remembered that Wind Colour’s ranking in the season’s scoreboard fluctuated, ranking both high and low. There were many voices of doubt on the internet, and the fans were also very panicked. However, strictly speaking, Qin Mo was not the only person responsible for Wind Colour’s failure. Back then, Wind Colour had promoted several young players who were still getting used to the pace of competitions. The new summoners, especially, couldn’t keep up with Qin Mo’s pace, and there were serious problems in terms of cooperation and tactics in the team.
Qin Mo’s sudden announcement of his retirement at that time was equivalent to him taking the initiative to carry the black pot. The anger of reporters and fans alike were directed at him, with many people cursing his name on Weibo. But in fact, Wind Colour’s performance didn’t improve after Qin Mo left, and haven’t managed to win the championship at all in the past few years.
Thinking back to the young man of merely 18 leaving the club alone, Xiao Han suddenly felt a little distressed.
—— They were both their captain’s apprentice, but his path had been so much smoother than Qin Mo’s.
Xiao Han had always felt that the reason Qin Mo left Wind Colour was not because of a ‘state decline’. Plus, Qin Mo was hiding from his master. He did not want his most respected master to find out the true reason, which implied that it couldn’t be something as simple as ‘state decline’.
Aware of Xiao Han’s silence, Li Cangyu continued. “Xiao Mo is very proud. Don’t rush to get to the bottom of things, take your time and go slowly. The two of you have been talking about everything since childhood, and perhaps only you can untie his knot. “
“I know.” Returning to his senses, Xao Han asked, “When will master come back to China? Is the tour over?”
“I will come back to Changsha this Spring Festival. See you then.”
“Ok, I’ll try to bring Qin Mo over as well.”
***
Xiao Han’s questions remained unanswered even after hanging up the call. Since neither master knew the inside story, it seemed that Qin Mo really did have an unresolved knot in his heart. But no matter why he left Wind Colour, Xiao Han only knew that Qin Mo was back. This was an entirely new beginning.
When they were young, they accompanied each other and grew up together.
In the future, they should also work together to overcome all difficulties.
——Qin Mo, I will never let you go alone again.
Thinking of this, Xiao Han immediately returned to his computer and opened the game interface. Searching for Ink Mark on his friend list, he sent a private message.
“This time, you came back to prepare for next year’s professional league, right?”
“I sincerely invite you to join the Dragon Song Club. Let’s play together and win the championship together.”
“Qin Mo, are you willing?”
😆 I still can’t get over how straightforward he is
Holy, you’re just gonna straight up ask? 😂
Sanaol with conviction and guts ha
Thank you for the chapter!
Thank you for the chapter!
Well I am glad that XH recognized XM and all but what’s up with willing or not?? Sounds like a proposal.
Thanks for the chapter.
I choke everytime Xiao Han goes straight for the kill with his straightforward talk..
Qin Mo is in for a treat again 😀
I’ve read GLS twice and remembering the 2 kids conversations now they are 21… I can’t stop smiling
and the wind colour team, the team the ling xuefeng established himself, also declined. this is so sad 😭😭
…..Doesn’t Liu Chuan seems like a matchmaker?? I mean in GLS he asked Li Cangyu to come back to Miracle, for him to lead a new team in Miracle which leads him met Ling Xuefeng again. Now here, he asked Xiao Han to lead a team in a new game—that is Peerless Jianghu, which leads him to met Qin Mo again. These situations are really similar lol