Ch.52 – Does Love at First Sight Exist in Esports?

Bai Yue successfully underwent surgery in the early hours of the morning, and the remaining four Titans also packed their bags for the next day’s flight.

When it came time for them to leave, Shao Han saw Yao Sen off to the car. They had basically spent time with each other every single day for the past two weeks, so Shao Han felt a little unaccustomed to not being able to see Yao Sen for a couple of days.

Yao Sen kissed Shao Han’s forehead, smiling as he said, “You don’t need to see me off, go back, baby.”

Yao Sen’s three teammates stood nearby, one looking at the sky, one at the ground, and one standing at attention.

Once Shao Han went back, Wang Yuxi rubbed his goosebumps-filled arms and scornfully said, “You two are so corny.”

Yao Sen: “At least I have someone to be corny with.”

Wang Yuxi: “Fucking hell, you should’ve just stowed Shao Han in your suitcase!”

The minivan was parked at the airport’s entrance, and as soon as the Titans members climbed out of the vehicle, they were swarmed by eager and excited fans. While everyone was aware that the fans would send them off at the airport today, the turnout far exceeded their expectations.

After cheering, the fans remained orderly while belting out the support slogan in unison. Many fans gave them small gifts that they could carry on the road, such as cookies decorated with chibi versions of them and lucky charms.

Seeing some of the fans getting so emotional that their eyes reddened, the Titans felt that the six months of hard training had been worth it.

As they couldn’t loiter in the departure lobby for too long, they had no choice but to say their goodbyes to the fans.

To pass the time during the ten-hour trip, Yao sen watched two movies, napped for two hours, and texted Shao Han on his phone. When they stepped off the plane, they were shocked by the number of international fans who had gathered at the airport to meet them. The majority of the fans were of Chinese ethnicity, although there were several foreign fans as well.

Wang Yuxi spotted a cute foreigner sister and wanted to strike up a conversation, but felt that his english skills were limited to “How are you?” “I’m fine thank you, and you”, and could only rely on Yao Sen to swoop into action as the team’s resident academician.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Coach Gou, who had traveled with them, instructed them to go to bed early since they would be familiarizing themselves with the venue the next day.

The hotel they were staying at was in the direct vicinity to the venue, and they saw many teams participating in the competition coming and going. While they waited for the elevator, Wang Yuxi happened to glance at the sofa in the lobby and said in surprise, “Yo, isn’t that Cobra’s No. 3—what’s his name again? Shen You?”

When Yao Sen followed Wang Yuxi’s gaze, Shen You coincidentally looked their way. Their eyes met; the latter paused for a moment before lightly nodding his head in greeting.

Yao Sen narrowed his eyes slightly and raised the corners of his mouth to smile in response. Only after the group entered the elevator did Yao Sen drop his smile.

“Turns out Cobra is also staying here. Say, Yao Sen, what kind of expression was that just now?” Wang Yuxi inquired. “Could it get any more fake?”

Yao Sen inwardly thought that the smile he’d displayed was already adequate; how much more genuine did it have to be? Taking out his phone, he gave Shao Han a call and informed him that they had arrived at the hotel.

Yao Sen: “I’ll pick you up at the airport tomorrow.”

Shao Han: “It’ll probably be past 10 pm when we get there. It’s too late, why don’t I come find you on the morning of the sixth?”

Yao Sen smiled and lay down on his hotel bed. “One day without seeing you is my limit, just let me come, okay?”

Shao Han hummed and hawwed. On his end, Yao Sen could visualize how adorable he must look, lips slightly pursed in hesitation and helplessness. Eventually, Shao Han conceded, “Okay then, be careful on the way.”

Yao Sen: “By the way, I ran into Shen You at the hotel just now.”

“Shen You?” Shao Han paused. “He’s staying at your hotel?”

“Apparently,” said Yao Sen. “I still feel pissed when I see him.”

“What are you pissed for…” Shao Han said helplessly. “There’s nothing between us.”

“I’ve become petty when it comes to you, I can’t do anything about it,” Yao Sen replied bluntly. “Okay. Go to bed. You need to be up early tomorrow.”

First thing the next morning, the Titans made a trip to the venue. The venue for the WCAD was both the largest esports arena in the world and could accommodate the greatest number of spectators, as well as one of the most cutting-edge arenas in terms of gaming equipment.

The arena for the finals was the flashiest. The esports team had individual seats on aerial lifts with curved LED screens embedded at the bottom. When the match starts, the lift will rise, and the players will be right at the centre of the audience’s sights.

At present, they weren’t yet allowed to enter the arena, so everyone could only take a look from afar. Even though they’d seen it from competition videos before, seeing it in person was still extremely shocking. Wang Yuxi sighed with feeling, “My god, this place is way too fancy. There’s no way you’d be able to play if you’re afraid of heights.”

As the veteran in their team with more experience up his sleeve, Song Mingzhe had previously played here with his old team members, though their achievements had been nothing to write home about. Wang Yuxi couldn’t help exclaiming, “Hey, Lao-Song, how does it feel to sit up there? Could you tell us what it’s like?”

“What are you supposed to feel?” Song Mingzhe replied earnestly, “When you’re playing, all your thoughts are on the opponent. The team you’ll be facing in the finals are even more terrifying, one small distraction and you could lose. Who cares whether you’re high up or on the ground.”

“…You have a good point.”

That evening, Yao Sen left to pick up Shao Han at the airport. Many of Noah’s Ark fans also came to the airport, so he waited with their group, standing at the back. People recognised him soon after, so Yao Sen boldly admitted that he’d come to pick up Shao Han, which elicited a chorus of excited squeals from the fans, particularly the female fans.

Noah’s Ark flight landed on time. When the passengers filed out, Yao Sen immediately noticed Shao Han. Shao Han appeared to have spotted him in the midst of the crowd with a single glance as well, but he was swarmed by adoring fans before he could take another step forward.

Because Noah’s Ark had a significant female fanbase, most of the fans at the airport were girls. Shao Han was always shier around girls; he subconsciously spoke more gently and accepted each and every fan request, but was completely oblivious of the power he wielded.

Seeing how even the foreign girls couldn’t resist Shao han’s charms, Yao Sen cheekily snuck into Noah’s Ark’s ranks and chatted with the fans alongside Shao Han, instinctively scooping the latter’s suitcase handle into his hands like he was taking ownership of it.

After bidding the fans goodbye, Yao Sen took out the burgers he’d just bought from McDonalds and handed them out to the Noah’s Ark members, specially handing the hot sauce packets to Shao Han.

As they would be taking a car to their hotel, a few moments later, Shao Han and his teammates headed to the parking lot, but after a dozen steps, Shao Han realised that his hands were empty, and when he looked over his shoulder, he found that his suitcase had at some point ended up in Yao Sen’s hands.

At the thought of Yao Sen taking his suitcase from him right in front of the fans, Shao Han felt his face heating up.

Although they weren’t staying in the same hotel, Yao Sen’s hotel was on the way, so the car that had come to collect the Noah’s Ark members dropped Yao Sen off in passing.

Although Shao Han had never explicitly told the Noah’s Ark members that he and Yao Sen were in a relationship, the team members were all perfectly aware of this in their hearts. After getting in the car, they took the initiative to leave two seats in the back row for Yao Sen and Shao Han.

Perhaps, the dozen hour-long flight was truly exhausting; with a peaceful Yao Sen sitting beside him, it wasn’t long before Shao Han fell asleep, his head sliding down onto Yao Sen’s shoulder.

One Noah member turned his head to ask whether they wanted anything to drink, only to see Yao Sen slightly smiling at him with a finger in front of his lips, softly shushing him.

The team member choked on his spit and immediately nodded and turned back.

When the minivan arrived at the entrance of Yao Sen’s hotel, Shao Han was still asleep, so Yao Sen could only wake him up softly. Dazed from slumber and still leaning against Yao Sen’s shoulder, Shao Han sleepily said, “Let me sleep a little longer…”

Yao Sen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Baby, I have to get off.”

Shao Han froze in place; realising that he was still sitting in the car, he immediately straightened up, his entire face reddening in embarrassment. He turned his head to look out the window, unable to look his team members in the eye. “…Mm, goodnight.”

Yao Sen chuckled. “See you tomorrow.”

Upon returning to the hotel, Yao Sen washed up and laid on his bed. As he scrolled through, he abruptly discovered that he’d received many new mentions.

@Xiao Zuo’s Family Cat: I ran into God Sen when I picked up Xiao Zuo at the airport just now! God Sen is so damn hot! As a Zuo-stan, I wavered for three seconds! Anyway, God Sen came to pick up Xiao Zuo! He also helped Xiao Zuo with his luggage! Look at how smooth he was! My god, it’s so satisfying to watch! [gif][gif][gif][gif]

[It’s more than 10 p.m. over there, he’s still unfamiliar with the city, and he helped carry Xiao Zuo’s luggage. With all due respect, they’re way past the point of ordinary friends (doge)]

[Wishing you]

[A]

[Long-lasting love]

[Sen ge doesn’t look out of place at all with Noah]

[God Sen looks very practiced at taking care of Shao ge’s suitcase]

[Shao ge looks a little embarrassed]

[Honestly, I think these two are really dating. Am I wrong???]

[Everyone, let’s stop fussing. From today, Sen fans and Shao fans have tied the knot]

[@Titans_Sen Sen ge speak up]

[@Titans_Sen @NA_Left Tell us, when are you gonna go public so we can prepare ourselves (doge)]

[I’m ready! Just go public!]

[Damn, I think my ship is real]

[@Titans_Xi: Captain of the SenZuo ship checking in]

[hahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha]

[I was just wondering why Xi ge still hadn’t shown up, but there he goes]

[Xi ge, why don’t you just go and apply to be the admin of the SenZuo supertopic]

[As you all know, the captain of the SenZuo ship might be late, but he’ll never not show up]

[@Titans_Sen: Haha, thank you for taking such handsome pictures of me. But don’t expect a reply from your Shao ge, he was very sleepy on the road. He’s probably already in bed.]

[AAAAAAAAAAAH God Sen replied to me! AAAAAAAAAAAAH oh my god!!!! I’m gonna go frame this!!!!]

[No, Sen ge, your photos will always turn out handsome]

[No matter what Sen ge says I’ll always assume that he uses a doting tone]

[Sen ge, rest well! Good luck on the competition!!!!]

☆ ☆ ☆

Thank you to Somebody for the kofi! Happy holidays everyone ♥️

Chapter 51 | TOC | Chapter 53