Ch.27 – Does Love at First Sight Exist in Esports?

Jiang Yang felt troubled. He didn’t understand Yao Sen’s complete apathy when it came to these things. 

Though there were times when he couldn’t quite agree with Yao Sen’s way of thinking, he respected Yao Sen from the bottom of his heart. While he could talk about his own team’s matters, outsiders could not. 

Yao Sen said, “Behind closed doors, I understand how you feel at those words. But when that door is open, you’re not only representing yourself, you’re representing the entire Titans team. The whole team is responsible for your words and actions, so telling you off is something I have to do.”

Jiang Yang remained silent, but the anger in his eyes slowly receded, only leaving behind some reluctance.

Yao Sen patted Jiang Yang’s shoulder. He knew that the boy was a sensible person at heart and there was no need to say these words. “All right, let’s move on, otherwise I’d really have to write a letter of apology to Pioneer’s youth training team. If I really wrote one, I’m worried that they’d take my words as a provocation.”

Jiang Yang frowned. “…Got it.”

“And honestly, Pioneer is nothing. If you play against a team like them, you’re guaranteed to win.” Yao Sen was well versed in the carrot-and-stick approach. “Next time, hold back your temper. If worse comes to worst, just shut them up in the game. You’re lucky that Lao-Gou isn’t here today and I’m the one who came. You can’t even imagine what would’ve happened if Lao-Gou was here instead.”

Jiang Yang pictured Coach Gou’s face and felt that the captain was truly not just trying to scare him. 

Yao Sen: “Why don’t you find a girlfriend, I’ve heard that people who have someone they like will have a better temper.”

Jiang Yang cast a complicated look Yao Sen’s way. “Captain… don’t you not have a girlfriend?”

Yao Sen chuckled wordlessly and directly turned to leave after saying goodbye. Wang Yuxi looked at Jiang Yang; seemingly thinking that there was nothing more to add, Wang Yuxi rebuked him with a glare. 

Jiang Yang saw that Zhou Ziyu was still standing in place, looking like he had something to say but was hesitant to speak, and unhappily said, “What are you doing here? Did you come to laugh at me?”

Zhou Ziyu hurriedly waved his hand and said “No”, then replied hesitantly, “I was afraid that you’d gotten hurt, so I got you a band-aid.”

Originally, Jiang Yang had never thought much of Zhou Ziyu, but being told this by him was like punching cotton. He felt a little sullen, but his anger subsequently dissipated.

Zhou Ziyu had been Jiang Yang’s teammate for a year or two; he knew that while Jiang Yang had a bad temper, he was not at all an unreasonable guy. He was just too frank a person.

Jiang Yang looked up at Yao Sen, who was standing at the door and saying something to Noah’s Ark’s vice captain. The two of them then left together. Jiang Yang was a little puzzled as to what a Noah’s Ark member was doing here—was this commotion really worth watching?

Jiang Yang: “Is the captain close with Noah’s vice captain? I often see them livestream together.”

Zhou Ziyu: “Huh? They… have a good relationship…”

Zhou Ziyu zipped his lips, thinking that it wasn’t polite to talk about the person the captain liked behind his back.

As Yao Sen and Shao Han stepped out of the gym, the latter looked up at him and asked, “What did you want to say to me before?”

“Oh. It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to have dinner with me tonight?”

Shao Han: “…you could’ve told me that before you came down.”

Yao Sen ignored this. He actually just wanted to spend more time with Shao Han. “You coming?”

Shao Han nodded, agreeing.

The two of them went to a nearby barbecue restaurant. The restaurant happened to be busy, and they waited in line for more than a dozen minutes. Afterwards, the two went in and sat down by the window. The food on the menu looked quite appetizing under the glistening yellow lights. 

Yao Sen flipped through the menu and asked, “Is there anything to your liking?”

Shao Han: “You order, I’m fine with anything.”

Yao Sen looked up at him, the corners of his mouth raised: “You don’t have to stand on ceremony with me.”

Shao Han’s heart tightened at the sight of Yao Sen’s smile. He lowered his head to stare at the menu, not making out a single word for half a day before blindly choosing, “Then I’ll have the grilled eggplant and beef. Toast is good too.”

Yao Sen ordered a few skewers each and added a few more for himself. After handing the menu to the waiter, he picked up the jug of lemon juice on the table and poured a glass for Shao Han first. 

Their dishes were served one after another. Yao Sen raised his eyes to stare at Shao Han. Their food gave out steam, and the silhouette of the person sitting across him was covered in haze; he seemed much softer than usual.

Shao Han’s hair was soft and fluffy, and Yao Sen felt the urge to rub at it. He reached out but in the end, merely placed a beef skewer on Shao Han’s plate. 

The restaurant’s food was quite spicy. Yao Sen was a little worried that Shao Han was unable to handle it and wanted to order him some shabu-shabu, but Shao Han actually ate quite well, bite after bite. Although his lips were somewhat reddened by the spicy chili, he never once took a sip of his drink. 

Watching Shao Han’s cheeks move as he ate, Yao Sen couldn’t help but feel like he was feeding a cute animal. He then passed the skewered toast to Shao Han. Upon seeing this, Shao Han said, “Go ahead, I’ve already had two.”

As soon as he uttered these words, the phone in Shao Han’s pocket rang. Shao Han wiped his mouth before taking it out, surprised to see that the caller was Xiao Meng.

There was no need for Shao Han to excuse himself from Yao Sen’s presence to take Xiao Meng’s call, and he directly picked up. “Hello, Xiao Meng.”

Apparently, Xiao Meng simply wanted to make small talk. “Ge, have you had dinner yet?”

“I’m having dinner right now.”

“What yummy food are you eating?”

“Barbecue.”

“You’re having barbecue by yourself?”

Shao Han stole a glance at Yao Sen and subconsciously lowered his voice, “No, with Yao Sen.”

“Ah!” Upon hearing her idol’s name, Shao Meng’s voice distinctly rose a few degrees. “Ge, you’re meeting with God Sen behind my back again!”

What Xiao Meng said originally wasn’t the case, yet Shao Han slightly felt ineffably guilty and changed the subject,

Shao Meng dejectedly said : “Ge, can you not ask what all our aunties are asking?”

“Your university entrance exams are in a few months’ time.”

“I’m counting down the days! I know…” Shao Meng paused, then suddenly proposed excitedly, “Ge, next weekend when I’m on my monthly school holidays, how about I come and hang out with you guys?”

“Didn’t I just go back on New Year’s?” 

“Who wants to see you, it’s God Sen I’m meeting. I’m going to bake cute cookies for him!” Shao Meng then readily employed her usual method, “Ge, let me come. Ge! Ge, I’m begging you. Ge…”

After being worn down for a while, Shao Han’s heart softened. Although he knew that Shao Meng loved acting spoiled to trick him into a deal, it was a tried and tested method that worked every time. As soon as he thought of his sister who would be taking the university entrance exams in a few months, he finally made his decision, but still insisted, “All right, then bring your homework over and don’t play all day.”

In the end, he didn’t know whether Xiao Meng had actually heard his words. She exclaimed, “Yeay! I’m gonna go book the tickets! Bye bye ge!”

Shao Han helplessly hung up the phone, then heard Yao Sen ask, “Xiao Meng?”

Shao Han: “Mm, she said she’s coming over next week.”

Yao Sen chuckled, “Didn’t you just go back for New Year’s? Is Xiao Meng so clingy to you?”

Shao Han quietly thought that it wasn’t him she was clingy to. 

As Shao Han ate, he suddenly remembered the not-so-pleasant episode in the gym this afternoon. The words of the two Pioneer youth training team members sprang to mind, making him feel somewhat depressed. 

After a moment’s hesitation, Shao Han spoke, “Yao Sen, you won’t take what those two youth training team members said this afternoon to heart, will you?”

Yao Sen knew that Shao Han was worried about him. After all, he’d talked to Shao Han about the “Caesar Jr.” matter before. Yao Sen looked into Shao Han’s eyes, and his heart warmed completely. Even the most disgusting words seemed insignificant because of Shao Han.

Yao Sen: “I won’t.”

Shao Han: “You’re not like anyone else, you’re the best captain Titans has ever had.” 

These words were branded into Yao Sen’s mind, startling him slightly. Yao Sen had heard many words of consolation; from his teammates, his coaches, his family and friends. Shao Han, however, was different from everyone else—the simplest syllables, the flattest tone, they all carried the most weight and were able to convince him the most.

Sometimes, Yao Sen wondered why he was attracted to Shao Han from the very first time he met him, but now, there was no longer any need for him to come up with an answer because—there was simply no way he could ever finish listing all the good things about the person he liked. 

A smile slowly graced Yao Sen’s lips. The ceiling lights made his eyes seem deep and luminous, directly causing Shao Han to hold his breath. “I know, don’t worry.” 

Shao Han’s heart pounded, fluttering along with his pulse. He lowered his head abruptly, as if he would lose his cool if he looked at Yao Sen for one more second.

 

Their training period passed in the blink of an eye, and it was soon the second weekend of the month. Shao Meng came by high-speed train and Shao Han picked her up at the train station. As Shao Han was too worried about having Xiao Meng stay too far away, he found her a hotel near Yiyou.  

Yao Sen wanted to go with Shao Han to pick her up at first, but Shao Han refused, saying that if Yao Sen came, Xiao Meng wouldn’t be able to keep quiet along the way. 

After dropping off her things at the hotel, Shao Meng impatiently took her baked cookies and followed Shao Han to the Yiyou Building. The moment she caught sight of Yao Sen, Shao Han felt that his sister was a bit like a starving wolf pouncing on its food. 

Wang Yuxi and the others also took advantage of Yao Sen’s presence by grabbing a share of the handmade cookies, infinitely envious at the fact that Yao Sen had such a cute die-hard fan. 

Shao Meng looked at Yao Sen with hopeful eyes. “God Sen, would you like to go shopping with me and my brother this afternoon?”

Shao Meng looked a lot like Shao Han, and her soft, earnest look always made Yao Sen involuntarily think of Shao Han, whom he simply couldn’t resist. 

Seeing Shao Meng’s excited expression, Shao Han was a little worried.

Shao Han knew that Xiao Meng worshipped Yao Sen, but he was still somewhat worried that Xiao Meng’s feelings might exceed simple idolatry. After all, he himself had experienced Yao Sen’s charm—if their brother and sister pair…

What if he told Xiao Meng the truth?

Shao Han said coolly, “I’ll go with you, don’t trouble Yao Sen.”

Shao Meng shot big brother an aggrieved and resentful look.

Yao Sen laughed. “It’s okay, let’s go, I have nothing on in the afternoon anyway.”

Shao Meng rattled Shao Han’s arm. “Ge, let’s gooo. I promise I’ll study tonight.”

Yao Sen also looked over.

Shao Han could stand his ground against Xiao Meng, but there was no way he could refuse Yao Sen. He knew that this behaviour of his was far from good; his heart softened at anything concerning Yao Sen, and even words of refusal disappeared without a trace.

Shao Han’s lips fell open, “…Okay.”

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n – it’s so cute how they can’t resist anything when it comes to each other ;__; to make up for the lack of chapters this month, today’s update is a triple update! go forth~

⟵ Chapter 26 | TOC | Chapter 28 ⟶