Editor: Decembery
The alarm of Qiu Yu’s game cabin wasn’t set off this time.
He could still remove his headset and disconnect all the cables by himself even after two consecutive high-intensity games. The only thing was, his body was hurting so much that he couldn’t exert any strength, not even to stand up.
Doctor Qi and Coach He were waiting outside the game cabin, ready to carry him out.
However, Qiu Yu lightly shook his head, endured the waves of pain wracking his body, and called out in a hoarse voice, “Captain.”
Mu Feibai’s footsteps abruptly stopped. Surprised, he asked, “Did you call for me?”
Qiu Yu hummed in assent, a slight smile appearing at the corner of his lips, “We won, I want to go onstage.”
Mu Feibai’s eyebrows drew together in a frown, “How will you walk onstage like this!”
Qiu Yu looked at him calmly and said, “You can carry me on your back.”
Mu Feibai: ……
At this time, the ending ceremony had already begun. On the opposite side of the stage, Su Se’s members were already waiting in line, yet the Eagle Riders still hadn’t yet organised themselves. The audience’s eyes were all trained on them.
Soon after, they saw Mu Feibai place one foot into Qiu Yu’s game cabin and lean in. In a moment, he carried Qiu Yu on his back while Coach He draped the team jacket over Qiu Yu’s shoulders.
Mu Feibai was greeted with thundering applause as he stepped onto the stage.
“Ahhhh god Qiu is onstage! He’s finally onstage!”
“Tickets to this game were so worth it! I absolutely do not regret splurging on front-seat tickets anymore wuuuu…”
“Little angel cupid I love you ahhhh!!!”
Qiu Yu lay on Mu Feibai’s back, his arms dangling at the front of Mu Feibai’s body. He rested his chin on his own arm, not even a fist’s length from Mu Feibai’s ear. His body still ached, but he endured it—under the cameras, none of the pain could be seen on his face.
However, Mu Feibai could hear Qiu Yu’s slightly heavy, somewhat shaky breaths.
Mu Feibai didn’t have a very pleasant expression, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Since it’s hurting this much, why must he force himself to go onstage and not the infirmary? And even the Coach indulged him!
The two teams passed by each other and shook hands. Seeing Mu Feibai with both hands occupied, Tang Weiran didn’t try to shake his hand. However, Qiu Yu suddenly reached out and extended a palm in her direction.
The Omega’s voice was a little deeper than usual. “Thanks for letting me win.”
What do you mean, “thanks for letting me win”, shouldn’t he be saying “Good game” at this time?
Tang Weiran’s expression was a little stiff, but she still reached out and shook hands with him, “Congratulations.”
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.
Qiu Yu’s gaze fell on Tang Weiran, seeming to carry with it an invisible pressure.
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Mu Feibai piggybacked Qiu Yu, but didn’t feel much weight or exhaustion. When the Chairman of the league enthusiastically handed the certificate and ring to Qiu Yu, Mu Feibai suddenly felt that it was indeed the right choice for Qiu Yu to insist on going onstage.
After all, they were the champions of the Summer Season. It would be such a shame for him to miss out on the pride of standing onstage during the awards ceremony.
Perhaps it was because the host saw Mu Feibai carrying Qiu Yu and worried he would get tired, the host first headed to their side and congratulated them, before placing the microphone close to Qiu Yu. With a smile, the host asked, “This is the first time you’ve come onstage after a game. Is there anything you would like to say to the audience members?”
Qiu Yu moistened his lips and spoke evenly, without a trace of pain or weakness, “Omegas are also able to play professionally. So never, ever, give up on pursuing your dreams.”
A round of cheers erupted in the audience stands. Some people screamed Qiu Yu’s name, but most people were calling out ‘god Qiu‘ instead.
The host’s emotions were also fired up. “Indeed! Never ever give up on your dreams! Everyone will hear your encouragement!”
Only Mu Feibai could feel Qiu Yu’s sharp inhale by his ear the moment the microphone moved away from him. Immediately after, Qiu Yu took a couple of short breaths and the body on his back trembled slightly.
Mu Feibai stiffened his body, not daring to move an inch for fear that any movement would add to Qiu Yu’s pain.
The host asked Mu Feibai again, “In the fifth game, we noticed that team Eagle Rider’s strategy seemed a little different from usual. May I ask as to the reason your team chose to make such changes?”
This question was one that the two commentators practically begged her to ask. Post-game questions weren’t the same every time after all, and it was common for some personal agenda to occasionally bleed through.
Mu Feibai didn’t wear his usual gentle smile and at this moment looked quite cold and sharp, as though an unsheathed dagger waiting to draw blood.
However, he didn’t refuse to answer the question. On the other hand, his response came extremely quickly, “Because the commander was different.”
The host wanted to continue asking, however, Mu Feibai interrupted, “Sorry, I have to take him to the infirmary first. If there are any more questions, Zhou Shu will be able to provide you with an answer.”
As his words fell, he turned and left with Qiu Yu on his back without giving the host a chance to speak.
The host was quite professional after all and even made some explanations for Mu Feibai without any awkwardness. Immediately after, the host continued to interview the other four still onstage.
Just as the doors closed behind Mu Feibai as he carried Qiu Yu out of the arena, Qiu Yu’s head collapsed onto his shoulder. Qiu Yu vaguely swore under his breath and didn’t attempt to conceal his breathing anymore, continuously taking in sharp gasps of air.
Mu Feibai’s figure stiffened both because of shock and heartache, “It’s already this bad?!”
As he spoke, he tried to turn around to look at Qiu Yu’s complexion.
At the same time, Qiu Yu looked up wanting to tell him to hurry up, and the two’s lips lightly touched.
Mu Feibai’s soul almost flew away.
……
It was already 11:30 by the time Qiu Yu’s treatment ended.
In order to maintain a good competition state, the players hadn’t yet eaten dinner. He Jingxing asked whether they wanted to order food as Qiu Yu was undergoing treatment, however everyone rejected, wanting to wait until Qiu Yu came out and eat together.
Seeing these kids with such strong bonds, Coach He felt very reassured.
Yet he hadn’t even managed to savour that feeling for even a couple of minutes before Zhou Shu smilingly came over, “Coach, we were the champions today, so shouldn’t you treat us to some midnight snacks? It’s not that expensive, just some spicy crayfish—”
They would have spicy crayfish every year they compete here. Although they just had some a couple of days ago, he still wasn’t sick of it and continued to pine after it.
“Sure sure sure.” Coach He was also quite happy on the inside but put on a show of reluctance, “You guys go eat and come back to claim your expenses afterwards. But you’re not allowed to stay out too late!”
The Eagle Rider members knew Coach He couldn’t tolerate spice and never had midnight snacks, so this meal wouldn’t count as a celebratory banquet. The formal victory banquet was arranged to be at noon tomorrow with the team, Coach He, Qi Zhefeng and Yuan Lu would all be present.
After waiting for Qiu Yu to finish treatment and shower, the group of youths left at around zero o’clock.
They went to the same midnight snack place and got three plates of spicy crayfish instead of two, and an additional box of fruit wine—since the competition was over, they could now indulge themselves a bit without having to worry about it affecting their game performance.
“Qiu ge, a toast to you!” Zhou Shu raised his drink in Qiu Yu’s face, “There are no other words to describe this other than ‘freaking awesome’! Fuck now I also want to take you as my master, can you teach me how to play adc? I’ll call you master along with Xiao Lu, how about that? Oh right, do you have any plans if you retire later? I feel like you can definitely be a coach, I just know that you’ll be a hella awesome coach…”
Mu Feibai gave him a disgusted look, “Did you run out of things to say after talking this much?”
Zhou Shu came back to himself, “Oh right, drink!”
Qiu Yu lifted his bottle and clinked it with Zhou Shu’s in midair before leaning back and drinking a mouthful straight from the bottle.
Mu Feibai stared at his profile.
The warm glow of the restaurant lights shone down. Qiu Yu’s lashes cast a small area of shadow on his cheeks. He also wore a high-necked shirt today and the collar just covered his Adam’s apple. It bobbed up and down as he drank, the fabric of his shirt moving along with it.
After a couple of mouthfuls, Qiu Yu moved the bottle opening away from his lips. Perhaps it was because his lips covered the rim, there was a light popping sound. Some traces of alcohol remained on Qiu Yu’s lips, which he casually wiped off with a thumb.
As though burned, Mu Feibai averted his eyes.
However, it was as if the soft and moist lips were printed into his mind—he couldn’t help but recall what happened after the competition ended… specifically, that coincidental and fleeting touch.
An intense feeling consumed him, in his mind, he could see himself gripping Qiu Yu’s chin and forcefully sealing those alcohol-stained lips…
A quiet smile pulled Mu Feibai out of his wandering thoughts.
Lin Jinxi said, “Qiu ge feels even more unlike an Omega, seeing him drink like this.”
As a beta, he wasn’t able to smell pheromones which made it easier for him to occasionally be mistaken. There had been many times previously when he somehow felt as though Qiu Yu was the same as them and didn’t feel that awkward anymore seeing Qiu Yu using the hem of his shirt to dry his sweat or when he patted their shoulders and grabbed their arms.
Zhou Shu, who was similarly a Beta, nodded in agreement, “Exactly! Especially in games—Qiu ge is suuuch an Alpha!”
Qiu Yu put down his bottle, interest piqued, “So what should an Omega be like?”
Speaking of Omegas, the youths immediately became excited and started blabbering about what all the Omegas they’d encountered before were like. Even the easily shy Lu Cun added to the conversation with a reddened face.
Qiu Yu listened silently, the smile at the bottom of his heart fading. Occasionally, he would raise the bottle to his lips and take a drink.
In a split second, he seemed to have returned to the battlefields in his previous world. After a victorious battle, the soldiers would gather together and chomp on some rations. No one would talk about fighting or the war, the most popular topic was naturally girls—who encountered a pretty girl earlier, who had a one-night stand, and who was bedded by a female soldier…
…The images slowly overlapped.
As they chatted, the topic slowly turned in a potentially offensive direction. Mu Feiai interrupted with a frown, “Alright, let’s stop bs-ing, who dictated that there is only one image that Omegas must live up to?”
Zhou Shu and the others immediately realised and quickly ended the topic before taking a drink apologetically in Qiu Yu’s direction.
Qiu Yu didn’t actually feel offended.
Even with the original body’s memories, his worldview dictated that the main branching of genders was that of male and female, and the ABO differentiation was secondary to that. This meant that he himself identified primarily as a male and then a male Omega. To him, the Omegas they spoke of earlier wouldn’t directly implicate him.
However, his views were completely opposite that of the people native to this world—he was an Omega first and foremost before he was a man.
That was why Mu Feibai interrupted everyone.
The topic of conversation quickly shifted and the table full of youths ended up emptying three plates of spicy crayfish.
Before they left, Qiu Yu stood up to go to the bathroom. The restaurant was still quite lively at this time, and people who had midnight snacks usually also liked to have some drinks. For fear that he would be assaulted, Mu Feibai accompanied him.
Unexpectedly, just as they passed by the staircase, two figures just happened to walk down and see Mu Feibai.
“Aiya!” the elegant and gentle-looking man started in shock before huffing a laugh, “We were just having a midnight snack, who knew we would come across you.”
“Tsk.” The mature-looking man following behind him frowned as though looking at an annoyance.
Mu Feibai: !!?
Qiu Yu took two more steps forward before realising the place by his side was empty. He looked back, “Captain?”
Qiu Yu saw the other staring at the two men by the staircase with a strange expression on his face. Worried that there was some kind of conflict, he quickly returned to stand beside Mu Feibai—it was easier to “communicate” when there were equal numbers on both sides.
All of a sudden, the mature-looking man leaned forward in their direction. His nostrils flared a couple of times as he forcefully sniffed.
Immediately after, he gave Qiu Yu a once over. His expression taking a turn for the worse, he pointed at Mu Feibai in shock and roared, “You stinky brat!”
As expected, they were here to look for trouble.
Qiu Yu reflexively reached behind him and took out two empty bottles that were lying on the side of the corridor and stuffed one into Mu Feibai’s hand.
The author has something to say:
Qiu Yu: A fight? I never back down from one.
oops, mu feibai’s parents noticed qiu yu was marked 😂😂
Noticed and Alpha Dad is angry! 😂🤣 Gonna teach his son a lesson! Omega Dad is probably gonna ‘kidnap’ Qiu Yu for a chat. At least, I hope this is what happens. I think it would be meaningful for the omega dad to help Qiu Yu begin adjusting to his identity as an omega who can give birth and start thinking about Mu Feibai as a future partner.
… no? He’s not a baby making machine, man. Given his mindset, I’ll doubt he’ll want children. He also doesn’t need to adjust to an ‘omega’ mindset. The fact that’s he’s not bowing to society’s standards is what makes him such an inspiration in his world. Kinda like saying that all women should get subserviently get married and birth babies for their husbands, though I know that’s not what you meant. Just wanted to clarify some things.
Okay. Sorry for misinterpreting what you wrote! You explained it very well <3
I think the gender dysphoria parallel in this novel is very well written—a subject which is generally bypassed or brushed over in most transmigration ABO novels I have read. As someone who is both friends with and part of the LGBTQ+ community, I respect the way this author handled the subject of dysphoria. When I read your original comment, I got defensive, because I thought your interpretation was the opposite of the dysphoric messages so adeptly weaved into the story. Once again, sorry for twisting what you said <3
I don’t have many, but I do have a few friends who are part of the LGBTQ+ community as well. I would imagine most people reading on this website do or are members of it themselves. My relationship with the community itself is a bit complicated for a few reasons (I’m panromantic, demisexual, and in a heterosexual marriage, so I often feel like I don’t belong anywhere being among them), but people are people and all have their own challenges. This novel does a pretty good job of handling some of the challenges people would face in such a situation that allows us to draw parallels with our own world and some of the challenges people here face.
“Stuffing his hand with empty bottles”
Feibai : so i am the one going to the war? 🗿
Qiu Yu really boutta fight Mu Feibai’s parents with bottles 🫣 bet Mama and Papa Mu will like how protective he is of Feibai though! 😂
Thanks for the chapter ❤️❤️
QIU YU NO 😭😭😭😭😭
Ah, make sure he doesn’t land a hit! 🤣
Qiu You don’t just start beating people!
Qiu Yu don’t just start beating people!
haha papa and mama mu are angry at their bear child (whose just trying his best okay?) jiayou Mu ge!
God Qui ready to rumble…with the parents 👀 Hahahahaha! Thanks for the update ❤️
what a way to meet your in laws, Qiu-Qiu. 🤣
Hahahahaha Qui my guy, don’t bust your inlaws head now 🤣
Qiu**