Ch.41 – Does Love at First Sight Exist in Esports?

Yao Sen ran cold water over the back of his hand. The scalded skin was red, and it stung as the cold water poured over it. Luckily, the pot of boiling water had cooled for a while due to its lidless state, and the contents hadn’t been something like hot soup or congee, so it cooled quickly and the burn wasn’t too severe. 

Yao Sen had just begun to relax when he heard a flurry of footsteps at his heels. Shao Han noticed his red and swollen fingers and the back of his hand, and his eyes nearly reddened as he inquired, “How serious is it?”

“It isn’t serious.” Seeing Shao Han’s worried expression, Yao Sen’s heart softened through his pain, comforting him as he said, “Don’t worry.”

The others rushed over then, and Wang Yuxi immediately said, “There’s a pharmacy across the street, a hundred metres from here. Hurry up and get treated.”

Even so, Shao Han couldn’t feel at ease. Distressed, he couldn’t bear the sight of Yao Sen’s reddened fingers, even though he knew Yao Sen wouldn’t try to brave through his injury. “What if it is serious? Why don’t we go to the hospital.”

Yao Sen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “It’s really not. Let’s go to the pharmacy first, okay?”

Shao Han could only follow as Yao Sen rushed to the pharmacy. On the way there, he gently pulled Yao Sen’s arm, fearing that he would accidentally touch the scalded skin. 

When the group arrived at the pharmacy, the pharmacist examined Yao Sen and informed him that he didn’t need to go to the hospital, allowing Shao Han to finally relax. The pharmacist disinfected Yao Sen’s wounds and applied burn ointment to them, then told Yao Sen to return the next day to change the bandages if any blisters appeared. 

Although it wasn’t a serious burn, it was sure to impact Yao Sen’s training in the coming days. 

Yao Sen’s scalded skin was now bandaged, leaving only a dull ache. He couldn’t help but glance at Shao Han’s pale, slender fingers, and say, “I’m glad you weren’t the one sitting there. If your hand had gotten burnt, I’d die of heartbreak.”

Shao Han was a little upset. “I eat with my left hand, I wouldn’t have gotten burnt.”

On the way back, Shao Han continued to treat Yao Sen’s hand extremely carefully, as if it were a piece of tofu that could crumble into pieces with a single touch. Yao Sen felt both helpless and happy at the same time—a minor burn could make Shao Han appear as if Yao Sen had a crippling injury. 

Little did Yao Sen know that, besides him, there were others who witnessed this scene. 

Bai Yue, who was walking behind the two men, had his gaze fixed on their backs, a perplexed look in his eyes. 

Bai Yue had a doubtful moment of introspection, wondering if spending too much time around Wang Yuxi had caused irreversible damage to his brain—why did he feel that the relationship between Yao Sen and Shao Han was… Bai Yue couldn’t come up with a suitable word to sum it up, nor could he come up with anything that wouldn’t shock him out of his mind. In the end, he could only choke out the word ‘unusual’. 

Not to mention that earlier at the dinner table, Yao Sen had taken such good care of Shao Han, and when Yao Sen was scalded, Shao Han had become extremely worried and anxious. Shao Han had even gone over to Yao Sen’s house during the New Year’s holidays this year. Bai Yue and Shao Han had been close friends for many years, but the air between Shao Han and Yao Sen was completely different from his and Shao Han’s.

The more he thought about it, the more Bai Yue felt Yao Sen and Shao Han showed signs of intimacy, but he didn’t dare to pursue that line of thought any further.

After learning that Yao Sen had been burnt, Coach Gou and Manager Guo rushed over to take a look at his injury. Once Coach Gou saw that Yao Sen’s burn wasn’t serious, he sneered and said, “Who told you all to run out for late-night snacks? The rest of you can double your training in the next few days until Yao Sen’s hand gets better.”

Wang Yuxi: “Why do we have to double our training?”

“I don’t even have to guess to know that you’re the fella who suggested this little outing.” Coach Gou glared at Wang Yuxi, his square face contorting with an imposing air. The latter was struck with fear. “It’s what you deserve.”

Yet Manager Guo was still a little worried, grabbing Yao Sen’s hand and studying every inch of his skin. Yao Sen was forced to say, “Manager, there’s nothing wrong with my hand, really. It’ll be fine after a few days.”

Manager Guo: “I know you’re fine, but I’m not sure the insurance company would compensate for such a minor injury.”

Yao Sen: “……”

Every member of the main team’s hands was insured by the club, and Yao Sen’s insurance was especially high, so it was only natural that Manager Guo was concerned about the claims settlement, ready to call the insurance company at any time. 

Shao Han sent Yao Sen all the way back to his dorm and told Yao Sen to call him when Yao Sen went to the pharmacy to change his bandages the next day. Yao Sen nodded and agreed before saying goodbye to Shao Han. When he turned around, he was met with the colourful stares of everyone in the room. There were those who had long been desensitised to dog food, those who appeared to have understood something tacitly, those with a burning gaze brimming with suspicion, and also those with a level expression who only cared about Yao Sen’s injury.

Bai Yue, the owner of the burning gaze, couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up reluctantly, “Yao Sen, can I ask you something?”

Yao Sen faced Bai Yue head on, unperturbed as he said, “What is it?”

Bai Yue registered his unbothered expression. As expected, some questions really couldn’t be said out loud. In the end, he could only throw out a vague statement. “You and Shao Han… are pretty close, huh. He seemed really concerned about you.”

The look on Yao Sen’s face told Bai Yue that he’d dismissed his words as nonsense. “And?”

Bai Yue struggled inwardly for a moment, then gritted his teeth and went for broke by asking, “What’s going on between you two exactly?”

The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room subtly changed. Wang Yuxi, who was standing on the sidelines, remained silent. His gaze was fixed on Yao Sen, as if to say: “See, your PDA was even obvious to Bai Yue, the straightest dude in the galaxy. Go show off then, go.”

Zhou Ziyu’s head was lowered, as if he was trying to stay out of it, but he sneakily looked up to cast a nervous glance at the captain, breaking out in cold sweat on his behalf.

Only Song Mingzhe retained his level expression. 

Yao Sen was taken aback for a brief moment, appearing to seriously consider the suggestion Wang Yuxi’s gaze was transmitting. He quickly recovered his expression, but before he could respond, Bai Yue cut him off.

Bai Yue: “Wait, don’t answer now. If I’m just overthinking things, then you can beat Wang Yuxi up right away, okay? He’s the one who led me astray.” 

Wang Yuxi was dumbstruck. “Shit, why the hell are you shifting the blame onto me, Lao-Bai? 

“Relax, I’ll answer you.” Yao Sen covered his bandaged hand as if appeasing it, his demeanour calm and relaxed. He sounded unruffled too, as he said, “I’m Shao Han’s boyfriend.”

Those last two syllables lingered in the depths of Bai Yue’s subconscious for a long time. It had been forcibly suppressed by the owner’s logic and straight guy conscience, but now that Yao Sen had suddenly blurted out this earth-shattering fact, it was as if a bomb had exploded inside Bai Yue’s head, rendering him speechless for what felt like half a day. 

At a loss, Bai Yue contemplated on how he should react, but in the end, he couldn’t come up with anything, dazedly asking,  “…How long has it been?”

“Not that long, less than three months.”

Wang Yuxi clapped Bai Yue’s shoulder, earnestly spouting, “You’ll get used to it bro.”

Bai Yue snapped his head to glare at him with gradually widening eyes, “…you knew?”

“I knew from the moment Yao Sen started getting all lovesick,” Wang Yuxi said. “Don’t complain when I kick him out of the team next time, okay?”

Bai Yue’s gaze flitted between Wang Yuxi and Yao Sen, finally regaining his senses after the  shocking revelation. “Yao Sen! You actually told Lao-Wang not to tell us!” he accused, “You were so eager to cultivate a relationship with Noah because you lusted after Shao Han! So that’s the kind of man you are!” 

“Guilty as charged.” Yao Sen nodded. 

Bai Yue choked on his words. Only then did he realise how much dog food he’dunknowingly consumed. He turned to Zhou Ziyu and tried to drag him over to denounce Yao Sen with him. “Ziyu, aren’t you angry?!”

Zhou Ziyu rubbed his head. “Actually, I kinda sensed something a while ago…”

Bai Yue was even more shocked. He turned to Song Mingzhe: “Lao-Song, you’re not gonna say anything?”

Song Mingzhe pondered over it for a beat before saying, “Does this mean that we should call Shao ge sister-in-law now?”

“……” Bai Yue couldn’t help but begin to doubt whether he had grown out of touch with this complicated and constantly changing word. 

Bai Yue held in the large pile of questions he meant to ask; just like that, he’d become a member of the bride’s—Shao Han’s—family. As Shao Han was thin-skinned, Yao Sen specially told them not to tell Shao Han that their relationship was no longer a secret to their team so as not to embarrass him.

Yao Sen’s hand injury not only delayed training—he was also temporarily unable to livestream. 

@Titans_Sen: Accidentally burnt my hand when I went out for a late-night meal. It’s not serious. Training and livestreaming will be paused for a few days. Don’t worry, everyone.

[God Sen, how could you be so careless!! My heart fucking hurts!!]

[aaaaaaah how long will we miss out on God Sen’s livestream *cries*]

[Get well soon, Sen ge!!!]

[Remember to change your bandages, Sen ge. We’re all waiting for you]

[@Titans_Xi: Sorry, everyone. I’m the one who suggested going out to eat]

[I knew it]

[Without Sen Ge at practice, Xi ge will be hoarding three supports [doge]]

[Xi ge, stop having late-night meals. You’re plumping up]

The next morning when Yao Sen checked his wounds, he found two small blisters. Since there was no way he’d be able to train for the time being, he simply decided to go to the pharmacy to change his bandages.

Though Shao Han had told him to let him know when he’d be changing his bandages, he was currently in the middle of training, and it was only a minor thing. Yao Sen didn’t want to occupy Shao Han’s training hours and inconvenience him to make the trip, so he went downstairs on his own.

Unexpectedly, just as he exited the elevator, he received a call from Shao Han. 

Yao Sen hesitated for a moment before picking up, “Baby, you there?”

“I looked for you at your training room but Bai Yue said that you went to change your bandages.” Shao Han sounded a little unhappy to Yao Sen’s ears. “Didn’t you say we were going to go together yesterday?”

Yao Sen honestly didn’t expect Shao Han to directly look for him in Titans’s training room, and helplessly said, “You have to ask for leave to come with me. It’s too much trouble.”

“Where are you now?”

“I’m still in the lobby.”

It didn’t take before Shao Han arrived. He swept a cool glance at Yao Sen, slightly unhappy at Yao Sen doing things by himself. Shortly after that though, he carefully held Yao Sen’s arm and asked, “Does it still hurt?”

“It doesn’t.”

They went to the same pharmacy where they had gone the day before. When the pharmacist unwrapped Yao Sen’s bandages, he noticed two blisters and pricked the skin with two aseptic needles. Shao Han sat next to him, his heart pounding with anxiety and distress as the needle’s tip pierced skin.

After Yao Sen’s bandages were changed, Shao Han couldn’t help asking the pharmacist, “How long will it take to heal?”

“A week or two if it heals quickly, eat less spicy and high-fat foods.”

Upon returning to the Yiyou Building, Yao Sen sighed regretfully. “I won’t be able to eat spicy food with you for a while.”

Shao Han blurted, “It’s not like you usually eat that much either.”

Yao Sen took a step forward and hugged Shao Han’s neck from behind, lowering his head and nuzzling against the crook of his neck. He hummed agreeably in Shao Han’s ear. “Baby, can’t you not say it out loud?”

Shao Han flushed red at Yao Sen’s teasing. He wanted to push Yao Sen away, yet was afraid that he would accidentally bump his injured hand, so he could only let Yao Sen hug him for a while. 

Yao Sen’s hand recovered rather quickly. The scalded skin already started to heal the following week, but the skin around his fingers itched, which made him constantly want to scratch at it. It affected his gameplay more than the pain from the actual injury. 

Fortunately, his injury was completely healed by the time Titans went to H City to participate in the esports expo, only leaving a pale pink scar. Yao Sen posted on Weibo, telling his fans that he had recovered and that the team members were going on a trip to H City.

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n – hehe yao sen came out to his team!

⟵ Chapter 40 | TOC | Chapter 42 ⟶