translator: Oyen editor: Ciel
Zhou Xuewei and Lin Yao pushed Yuan Xi to the ward. Sang Jun and Chu Jianxin also offered their help, and carried Yuan to the hospital bed.
Yuan Xi was a little drunk and had a plaster cast on his left leg. He looked at his leg curiously. “This pair of trousers is so strange. How come there is only half?”
Everyone: “……”
Zhou Xuewei sat by the bed and gave him a glass of water. “Captain Chu, Yuan Xi often speaks nonsense when drunk. He used to look for Lin Yao and myself when he was drunk and say ‘I like you’. I’m guessing that he didn’t realise what he said to captain Qiu just now, so please, don’t mind him.”
She winked at Lin Yao, and he immediately echoed. “Ah, that’s right! Yuan Xi confessed his love to everyone after getting drunk. This bad habit has been going on for many years!”
Chu Jianxin, who had looked embarrassed ever since he entered the room, finally heaved a sigh of relief. “It turned out to be like this, hahaha, you really scared me. I thought he really… liked Qiu Zongping!”
There was no change in Sang Jun’s expression. Xuewei’s EQ was very high, but only a simpler person like Chu Jianxin would be fooled. It wasn’t possible for Sang Jun to believe such a reason, but he didn’t want to break apart this lie, so he simply changed the subject. “Lin Yao, why don’t you stay and take care of Yuan Xi tonight? After all, you caused this.”
“No problem! I’ll stay and guard him.” Lin Yao replied hurriedly.
“We fly back to Beijing at noon tomorrow. Remember to set an alarm clock and go directly to the airport.” Sang Jun reminded him.
As he was talking, a low voice suddenly sounded behind him. “No, Lin Yao, go back with your captain. I will take care of Yuan Xi.”
—— It was Qiu Zongping and Qin Mo.
Everyone could guess that captain Qiu had been lectured by god Mo when he was called out. Although Qiu Zongping was also a captain, and was on equal footing with Qin Mo, in the end, Qin Mo and Qiu Zongping shared an almost master-apprentice relationship. If Qin Mo wanted to scold Qiu Zongping, he could only accept it obediently.
However, judging from their expressions, both of them looked calm, as if nothing had happened.
Chu Jianxin continued to mediate. “How about we let Lin Yao keep watch. Captain Qiu, you’ve been busy all day, and it is better to go back and rest.”
“No,” Qiu Zongping replied decisively. “I have something to say with Yuan Xi. You all should go back.”
Since he had already said this, it wasn’t good for anyone else to argue with him. Chu Jianxin also shut up and moved to stand behind Sang Jun. “Cough, Sangsang, shall we go back first?”
“En, let’s go back…” Sang Jun nodded. “What about god Mo and god Han? Would the both of you like to join us?”
Xiao Han had been standing off to the side watching the show. Hearing Sang Jun mention his name, Xiao Han shrugged. “I’ll listen to Xiao Mo.”
Qin Mo thought about it for a few moments. “Then let’s go back. We’ll call 2 cars; vice-captain Sang will bring the three of you in one car, while Xiao Han and I will take Xuewei with us.”
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.
No one had objections. After bidding farewell to Qiu Zongping, they took a taxi back to the hotel.
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“Your IQ has finally come online.” Sang Jun smiled.
“My reflecting arc is just a little longer.” Chu Jianxin complained, dissatisfied.
Sang Jun thought to himself: his reflecting arc wasn’t just a little longer, it took an entire hour for it to kick in. It was admirable how slow it was.
“So Yuan Xi really likes Qiu Zongping?” Chu Jianxin’s expression was complicated. “How could he like a man? He has such heavy taste!”
Sang Jun: “…”
My taste is even heavier, to like a man like you.
Smiling helplessly, Sang Jun changed the subject. “This car accident helped me to understand something.”
“Quickly, tell me!” Chu Jianxin leaned over. “What is it?”
“When god Mo retired, it should also have something to do with a car accident.” Sang Jun replied.
“Ah??” Chu Jianxin was shocked.
“Car accident, hand injury, retirement. After three years of rehabilitation, he returned to the league,” Sang Jun explained. “This should be what god Mo experienced.”
“How did you guess?” Chu Jianxin asked doubtfully.
“It’s not just a guess,” Sang Jun shook his head. “It’s a reasonable guess. Today, when the car accident was mentioned, Qin Mo’s expression suddenly changed, and Xiao Han immediately held his hand in comfort. Moreover, Qin Mo asked the doctor if Yuan Xi’s leg could recover. He also seemed to know a lot about fractures. Based on the facts, he retired, but also switched to a swordsman and abandoned his summoner after his return. This is the most likely conclusion.”
“Sangsang, if you hadn’t become an esports player, you could go write mystery novels!” Chu Jianxin’s expression was full of worship.
Sang Jun whispered. “Even if we know, we still have to keep it a secret, because god Mo obviously doesn’t want to say it. I admire him for being able to come back after suffering so much back then.”
Chu Jianxin sighed. “Having said that, I suddenly feel that we are actually the luckiest people in the Peerless Jianghu alliance. I’ve not suffered any hardships before. From the beginning, I joined a large club and received guidance from the seniors. After we started Peerless Jianghu, we led the team to the new area and became captain and vice- captain respectively, and because the players are very strong, and the pressure on us isn’t too heavy.”
Sang Jun smiled slightly. “Our experiences so far have been very fortunate. As for what will happen afterwards… we cannot say for sure.”
—— One day, in the future, if you ever realise that I like you, you might no longer think it lucky to go to a new game with me.
Sang Jun said no more. Retreating to the bathroom, he stood under the shower and let the running water wash away his messy thoughts.
***
Only Qiu Zongping and Yuan Xi were left in the hospital ward.
Yuan Xi said nothing, looking dazedly at Qiu Zongping.
Walking over to the bedside, Qiu Zongping sat down, gently touching Yuan Xi on his head. “I’m sorry.”
In the middle of his daze, Yuan Xi suddenly heard Qiu Zongping apologising to himself. His eyes turning red, Yuan Xi stared at him, aggrieved. “You really, really don’t like me at all?”
Qiu Zongping was silent for a few moments. “I don’t know.”
Yuan Xi grabbed his hand. “Qiu Zongping, I am not as good-looking as you, I am not as good at playing games, and my personality is not as calm as yours, but… I am very sincere, and I really like you,” he pleaded seriously. “It is really uncomfortable, I am both nervous and happy to see you, but I have to pretend to be indifferent… Lin Yao said that my acting skills were poor… will you laugh at me? You must be laughing at me. You think I’m very annoying, right? That’s why you keep your distance from me…”
The drunk and confused Yuan Xi spoke incoherently. He kept repeating ‘I like you’, ‘I really like you’…
Listening to Yuan Xi’s bewildered confession, Qiu Zongping only felt as if his heart had been stabbed with a sharp needle, the slight tingling sensation making him feel upset.
Qiu Zongping ran a gentle hand over Yuan Xi’s hair. “I’m not a good person. How can you like me?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know either.” Yuan Xi replied blankly.
This answer caused Qiu Zongping to feel stunned—— don’t know?
That’s right, how could one be clear about their feelings? Yuan Xi didn’t know why he liked him, and he didn’t know how he felt about Yuan Xi. Was it just friendship, or was it more important than friendship?
Today, he received a text message from Lin Yao saying that Yuan Xi was sent to the hospital after an accident. At that moment, he had the illusion that his heart had stopped beating. Without tidying up his clothes, he immediately asked Zhou Xuewei to flag down a taxi to the hospital. On the way there, his mind had been empty… Would he have been this stirred up if something happened to any other team member?
Qiu Zongping didn’t know.
As god Mo had said, he only cared about the team’s achievements. Over the years, he had neglected too many things, and couldn’t even understand his own feelings.
Yuan Xi seemed to be tired, closing his eyes and falling asleep soon after, occasionally calling out Qiu Zongping’s name while in his dreams. Qiu Zongping sat next to him, still in a complicated mood. Because he had turned off the lights, the room was dark and quiet. Yuan Xi’s face was illuminated by the light from the street lamp outside the window. He had thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, single eyelids, and a nose that wasn’t too tall. His lips were a little small, which wasn’t considered very handsome for men. When quarreling with people, he looked like a villain’s face in a TV series, but his appearance when sleeping quietly was strangely cute.
Sighing, Qiu Zongping took out his phone, intending to make a post on Weibo. He wrote a long paragraph, only to feel that he hadn’t expressed his thoughts accurately enough, so he deleted and re-typed it. After a few more times, he finally pressed send: “Please don’t blame Yuan Xi. The reason for our loss was because I made a mistake in my judgment and commands. I am the captain; it has not been easy leading the team in the past few years, so everyone is more tolerant and trusts me. However, I am at fault. I must review my own performance, and cannot let Yuan Xi take responsibility for me. Yuan Xi is an excellent player. I hope everyone will give him more encouragement, show less prejudice and reprimands. We will practice harder and come up with the strongest double summoner lineup, so as not to disappoint everyone.”
After this Weibo was posted, Sang Jun, Chu Jianxin, Han-Mo and others forwarded it immediately, which was quickly followed by the great gods of the other teams. Most netizens who followed the league players soon saw the news on their home pages. Since captain Qiu took the initiative to take responsibility, fans naturally no longer scolded Yuan Xi, and most rational netizens also left messages saying they were looking forward to the double summoner lineup again.
Qiu Zongping knew that nothing could be fixed by this, but he couldn’t allow Yuan Xi to continue being harmed by public opinion. After all, it had originally been his fault.
***
The next morning, Yuan Xi woke up to find himself in the hospital with a cast on his leg and Qiu Zongping lying next to him.
Yuan Xi struggled to get up. Qiu Zongping was woken up, and immediately came over to help him up. “You’re awake?”
“Uh… What’s going on?” Yuan Xi’s memory of what happened after getting drunk was quite vague. Still, he couldn’t look at Qiu Zongping, and awkwardly looked away.
“You were in a car accident after getting drunk last night, and you broke your left leg. Lin Yao sent you to the hospital.” Qiu Zongping explained in a low voice, “Don’t worry, the injury is not serious. You will recover after a period of rest.”
“…” Yuan Xi looked stiff. “That… where’s Lin Yao?”
“I told him to go back. I stayed to watch over you.” Qiu Zongping kept silent for a few moments before he continued. “I’m sorry, Yuan Xi.”
“Ah… Why do you want to apologize to me?” Yuan Xi was panicking. “It’s- it’s my own fault for drinking, it doesn’t concern you.”
“I apologize because I should have believed you. In fact, you are very good; you can distinguish between the game and personal emotions, and I am the one who cannot. I was too self-righteous… You are the main output of the Sky team. I should trust and cooperate with you.” Qiu Zongping apologised. “I’m really sorry.”
“……” Yuan Xi’s eyes were a little hot. In the face of such an apology, he didn’t know what to say.
“Also, I don’t hate you.” Qiu Zongping whispered, “Don’t think so much; even if I can’t respond to you emotionally, I won’t abandon you or hate you. You have always been a professional player I admire very much, can you understand?”
“I understand.” Yuan Xi lowered his head. After a while, he whispered, “I am not the kind of person who can’t bear it or let go. Since you don’t like me, I don’t have to struggle. There are plenty of fish in the world. Maybe I can meet someone better.” He looked out of the window, resisting the tears that welled up in his eyes. “You can rest assured that in the future, we will just be good partners. I will not pester you again.”
Looking at Yuan Xi’s back and listening to his brave words, Qiu Zongping thought of the scene where he repeatedly said ‘I like you’ while drunk last night…
Qiu Zongping’s heart seemed to be violently seized by a pair of hands.
Qiu Zongping knew that Yuan Xi was deliberately giving him a way out, wanting to temporarily step away from this embarrassing situation, and he could only follow.
“Because I’m currently injured in my left leg, I can’t play for the time being, which will cause you trouble.” Yuan Xi pretended to be calm.
“You just need to rest well. As for the match, I will make the arrangements,” Qiu Zongping whispered.
“En.” Yuan Xi nodded, and stopped speaking.
It was uncomfortable to like someone but not get a response. Letting go of an emotion was also more difficult than he had thought.
For the sake of the team, he could only try to be brave and say that he would let go… But if he could let go so easily, then it wouldn’t have been a genuine ‘like’.
It didn’t matter. From now on, he would secretly bury this love in his heart. He would improve his acting skills, deceive everyone, and finally- deceive himself.
Uwaaa yada that’s so wrong, I mean in my eyes Qiu is clearly gonna start liking Yuan. Given his act of jealousy whenever he sees Yuan Xi with Lin Yao. Haaaaaa my brain doesn’t want me to get my hopes up but I am.
You can get your hopes up xD They are one of the side couples~
Yes you can get your hopes up, their story will be the longest one in the extras 👀
It’s good that Qiu Zongping remembered to take the responsibility and made it clear to the fans that it wasn’t Yuan Xi‘s fault that they lost the match rather it was his own fault!
Sang Jun is really too sharp! Didn’t expect him to find out about the reason for Qin Mo‘s retirement… And so clearly…
Feeling heartbreak for Sang Jun & Yuan Xi. It must be very hard to be in an unrequited love and continuing to pretend that all is fine… 🥺
Thank you for the chapter~~! 💜💜💜
agreed, it’s good that he still remember to make it clear for Yuan Xi 😤
Sang Jun is detective lol, he knows everything 😂 And hopefully both of them will get a HE in extras 🙏
You’re welcome ~ ❤
So much angst 😥 but I know they’ll be fine…
Thanks for the chapter 🥰 But t he numbering of the chapter kinda confused me. This is supposed to be chapter 229 not 299, right?
Yes, they will be finee 🙏
LOL, stupid me, it’s 229, already fix the numbering 🤣 thanks for notice that ❤
I feel Yuan Xi and Sang Jun’s pain. It’s really hard to suppress your feelings towards the person you like the most. I can only pretend to be her ‘bestfriend’ because I don’t want to ruin our friendship. In this series, I think Yuan Xi and Qiu Zongping is my fave side couple.
Also, thank you for the update! ❤️
That’s right, it’s hard to suppress our feeling in front of the person we like, especially if we don’t want to ruin our friendship 😟
You’re welcome~ ❤
Awwww our poor baby Yuan Xi .. sniff
😭😭
my initial impression of yuan xi was a silly fellow that can’t take a hint and a bit self centered but he’s surprisingly mature and brave here.
Also I change my stance on Sangsang pushing him down.. He will never confess because he knows it will ruin their dynamics and he’ll never do it.. Guess we’ll have to wait for Chu Jianxin to develop feelings.. either for him, or for someone else so sangsang can move on.
it hurts to see yuan xi pleading 😭😭 don’t worry yuan xi, there would come a time when qiu zongping will be the one chasing you and if that happens, don’t accept him easily. let him suffer a bit and let him feel the uncomfortable feeling you’re feeling right now