The intensity of the regular match between R.H and Cobra was comparable to last year’s semifinals. Memorable moments followed one after another, each one bringing immense comfort to R.H and Cobra fans.

ZC endured the shame of getting door camped, while R.H fought fiercely for their blue flame. The emotional intensity moved heaven and earth, making fans deeply touched. Overnight, fan artists created fanfiction, personifying the teams. ZC was depicted as a little orange-haired loli, crying in the embrace of the older sister with pink double ponytails. The older sister gently comforted the little loli in her arms, her eyes revealing a mix of tenderness, fierceness, and strong killing intent.

After Yu Zhaohan saw it, he told Shi Du that this look was good, and he wanted to learn from it, but Shi Du blocked his mouth with the milk tea he had drunk half.

Yu Zhaohan didn’t think too much and opened his mouth to hold the straw. Shi Du watched him take a big sip of milk tea before reminding him: “I used this straw before.”

Yu Zhaohan was puzzled: “I know, didn’t I watch you drink just now?”

Shi Du smiled and said, “You don’t dislike it?”

Yu Zhaohan shook his head: “I don’t dislike it, Yuyu doesn’t have a cleanliness habit, Shine does.”

“This is not a problem of obsession with cleanliness.” Shi Du said, “Did you use a straw with others when you were Yuyu?”

Yu Zhaohan thought for a while: “No.”

Shi Du was very satisfied with this answer. He leaned closer, wanting to give Yu Zhaohan a kiss, but then he heard Yu Zhaohan say, “But when I was a child, I used to share tableware with my mom.”

Shi Du instantly became disinterested, as if he wanted nothing from the world, “Could you stop mentioning your mom at these moments? I’m almost losing my mood.”

Yu Zhaohan said with a dilemma, “But I’m a mama’s boy, and mama’s boys are supposed to often talk about their moms, right?”

He had never seen such a self-aware mama’s boy before.

At lunchtime, Old Tan called them downstairs in the group to have lunch, saying they would have a hot pot. It wasn’t a Korean-style military hot pot; it was a genuine Chinese hot pot. The dipping sauces and ingredients were sponsored by the ZC team, and it was said that their support player brought them all the way from Sichuan to Seoul. Even dipping slippers in it would be delicious.

Old Tan personally went to the supermarket to buy the vegetables, and after buying them, he felt heartbroken. When they were eating, he didn’t forget to complain to them, “Korean fruits are unbelievably expensive. Two apples cost me dozens of RMB. I wanted to buy a watermelon, but then I thought it’s better to eat more meat…”

Cheese was swishing beef in the hot pot while also browsing his phone. Suddenly, the beef he was swishing disappeared. He didn’t bother to retrieve it and excitedly said, “Xianxian, you’re on the trending list! Fifth place on the trending list with ‘R.H Nuclear Explosion Quad Kill’!”

Qi Xian was a little surprised: “Let me see.”

It wasn’t a rare thing for E-sports players to trend, but usually it was for star players like Shine and Timeless. Even if he were to trend, he wouldn’t usually make it to the front. The quad kill from yesterday was a result of teamwork, so it wasn’t expected that he would trend.

Qi Xian asked Old Tan, “Did you buy it?”

Old Tan gleefully said, “So what if I did? Your face is too marketable to go to waste. I discussed it with the marketing team. You can take a different path from Shine and Timeless and build your popularity first. Even if you retire…”

“Captain,” Shi Du scooped out a piece of bacon and put it in Yu Zhaohan’s bowl, “Try this.”

Yu Zhaohan took a small bite and tossed it back to Shi Du, “Not cooked.”

After being interrupted by the two, Old Tan realized that he almost slipped his tongue. He quickly changed the subject and said awkwardly, “Um, by the way, I just negotiated a endorsement deal for you. The endorsement fee is enough to open another flower shop.”

Cheese looked at Old Tan, then at Qi Xian, with a slightly puzzled expression.

Qi Xian asked, “What kind of endorsement deal?”

Old Tan grinned, “Shampoo. You can sign the contract when you return to China. The brand’s main branch specifically asked you not to cut your hair.”

Qi Xian laughed too, “That’s great, I like it.”

Midway through the meal, Old Tan went out to take a phone call and came back complaining, “…Unlucky.”

“What’s the situation?” Qi Xian joked, “Did the brand dad change his mind?”

“No,” Old Tan looked dissatisfied, “The official wants to punish Timeless.”

Shi Du said, “Give me the official’s contact information, and I’ll handle the scolding.”

Jiang Di’s brow furrowed, “Has Cobra’s punishment measures been announced as well?”

“Nah,” Old Tan shrugged, “The official said that Cobra’s behavior doesn’t qualify as a violation, they can only say they don’t endorse such behavior.”

Yu Zhaohan maintained his sullen expression, “If that’s the case, then Timeless shouldn’t qualify for a violation either.”

Jiang Di said in a deep voice, “There is no fairness at all.”

Jiang Di spoke in a deep voice, “There’s no fairness in this.”

Old Tan explained, “Timeless was penalized not because of that Weibo post, but for his comment in the public chat.”

The league doesn’t have a rule against players only killing enemies without capturing points, or only freezing enemies without killing them. However, they clearly stipulate that professional players cannot engage in physical fights or verbally abuse others in public settings.

Cheese felt suffocated as if a plastic bag were over his head, “All Timeless said was ‘You guys only know how to bully inexperienced rookies,’ and that’s considered verbal abuse?”

Old Tan said, “Cobra reported it to the officials like this: Timeless said R.H. was bullying rookies, implying that Cobra is a bunch of unskilled rookies.”

Vocabulary like “unskilled” and “stupid”[It was actually said in a more derogatory term.
“??” (cài b?) and “??” (sh? b?) are derogatory terms used in Chinese internet slang.
“??” (cài b?) is a slang term that combines the word “?” (cài), meaning “inexperienced” or “not skilled,” with “?” (b?), a slang term for “vagina” that is often used as a vulgar intensifier. So, “??” is derogatory slang used to insult someone by implying that they are inexperienced, unskilled, or weak.
“??” (sh? b?) is another slang term that combines “?” (sh?), meaning “foolish” or “stupid,” with “?” (b?). Therefore, “??” is used to call someone “stupid” or “idiot.”[/mfn]has long been included in the official blacklist.

Shi Du sneered: “Cobra is a bunch of unskilled rookies, and they can’t even stand being called that?”

Stone showed concern: “How will the official punish him? They can’t ban Timeless from competing, can they?”

“If they dare to do that, they might as well exit the domestic market altogether. The fine is 1000,” Old Tan paused, “USD.”

“It’s okay, it’s just a small amount of money.” Stone said, “Our Timeless is a six-figure player, this amount is…”

“$1000?” Timeless exclaimed, “Why don’t they just go rob a bank?”

Stone:”?”

Cheese chuckled, “Even though our Timeless is a six-figure player, we don’t even have enough to buy a house.”

Yu Zhaohan recalled the watch that Shi Du gave him on his birthday and the small car he let him drive. Together, they could have easily bought a small study.

After eating and drinking their fill, the six of them began training. Shi Du’s phone on the table vibrated.

[Shine transferred 7000 yuan to you]

Shi Du raised his eyes to look at Yu Zhaohan.

[Timeless: ?]

[Shine: I’ll pay the fine for you this time. Just don’t scold your opponent in public from now on]

[Timeless: That’s not possible. I can’t control myself.]

[Shine: Then don’t call them unskilled, call them inexperienced instead. You won’t get fined for that for sure.t]

[Timeless: .]

[Timeless: Thank you wife, but I would rather pay a fine]

To prepare for their match against Cobra, the six of them had been training hard. After discussing with Yu Zhaohan, they decided to take a day off to relax and unwind.

Cheese brought out an empty suitcase, as he was doing some part-time overseas shopping. He was determined to buy a bag that was sold out in China for his mother. He even drafted Jiang Di to help carry the suitcase. Qi Xian’s skincare products were running out, so he decided to go shopping with Cheese. As for Stone, it was his first time in Korea for a competition, so of course, he joined the shopping expedition.

Old Tan and the managers from IPL & 30340 went out for drinks. The temporary base was now left with Yu Zhaohan, Timeless, and Lu Youshan.

Timeless tried to ignore Lu Youshan and focus on spending some rare alone time with Yu Zhaohan. However, when he woke up, he realized that he was the one being ignored. Lu Youshan and Yu Zhaohan were busy reviewing matches from the Western Division together. Timeless had come back and forth several times, yet Yu Zhaohan didn’t even spare him a glance.

Shi Du simply didn’t leave, sat down beside Yu Zhaohan, and rested his head on the table, scrolling through videos in boredom.

Before going to bed last night, Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du watched a lot of videos together. Yu Zhaohan had even liked quite a few of them, causing his recommendations to be flooded with videos about cats eating, confusing animal behavior, and such.

Although Shi Du didn’t speak, his presence still managed to divert Yu Zhaohan’s attention. Yu Zhaohan endured so hard. Unable to hold back any longer, he finally spoke to Shi Du: “Timeless.”

Shi Du: “Hmm?”

“Move away, don’t disturb me.”

Shi Du raised his eyebrows: “I’m playing with my phone, how am I disturbing you?”

Yu Zhaohan launched a cold gaze attack on Shi Du, but he calmly met his gaze without any fear. Yu Zhaohan glanced at Lu Youshan who was in deep thought, and tentatively whispered, “Cheese is a pig.”

There seemed to be a barrier around Lu Youshan. He couldn’t hear their voice at all, and there was no response whatsoever. Only then did Yu Zhaohan say to Shi Du reassuringly, “Be good, go and play by yourself.”

Shi Du suppressed a smile and asked, “What would Yuyu want to eat tonight, I’ll make it for you.”

Yu Zhaohan became more and more unscrupulous: “I want to eat the food cooked by Shi Du.”

Shi Du rubbed Yu Zhaohan’s head: “Wait for it.”

As soon as Shi Du left, Lu Youshan released his contemplative state: “Shine, do you feel that the coach of PPZ has become lazy?”

“Oh?” Yu Zhaohan crossed his arms and said with great interest, “Tell me more.”

Lu Youshan said: “This season, PPZ has been using the same strategies, picking the lineup with the highest win rate without any innovation, it’s like they’re just copying assignments…”

Shi Du entered the kitchen and took out all the ingredients he could find from the fridge: mushrooms, carrots, eggs, and canned luncheon meat. He diced what could be diced, then stir-fried the diced ingredients with the ramen noodles, making stir-fried noodles in three portions.

Shi Du returned to the living room with fried noodles in one hand and Coca-Cola in the other, only to see Lu Youshan still absorbed in analyzing matches. Shi Du asked, “Where’s the captain?”

Lu Youshan: “…”

Shi Du: “Coach?”

Lu Youshan: “…”

Shi Du: “.”

Fine, he could find his own way.

The villa wasn’t that big, and Shi Du quickly found Yu Zhaohan in the room.

Yu Zhaohan sat cross-legged on the gaming chair and talked on a phone call. When he saw Shi Du came in, he mouthed to him: It’s my mother.

Shi Du mouthed back: Carry on.

“…Everything is fine in Seoul, except that I’ve grown tired of Korean food. Lao Tan says the fruit here is very expensive.” Yu Zhaohan said whatever came to his mind, “Shi Du takes good care of me, he will cook for us to eat.”

While drinking coke, Shi Du listened to Yu Zhaohan acting like a baby to his mother.

“But not every meal. He can’t make lunch because he has to sleep in.”

Shi Du: “…”

“It’s nothing else—by the way, Mom, Shi Du said I’m bent, I think he’s right, I really…”

Shi Du spits out a mouthful of Coke and coughed violently.

Yu Zhaohan was startled by Shi Du’s reaction. He quickly patted Shi Du’s back to help him catch his breath while continuing to talk to his mother, “Mom, don’t you know what ‘bent’ means? It’s when a guy likes another guy…”

Shi Du grabbed his silly wife’s phone and covered Yu Zhaohan’s mouth with the other hand: “Hello, Auntie. I’m Shi Du. I just wanted to say hello to you.”

Yu Zhaohan blankly kept holding the phone.

Mother Yu was also stunned and then said warmly: “Hello, Shi Du. You don’t have to trouble yourself next time. Cooking takes too much time. Being picky isn’t a good habit; don’t indulge Zhaohan.”

Shi Du said: “Captain isn’t being picky; anyone would get tired of eating the same thing for a long time. Cooking is my hobby; I don’t find it troublesome.”

Mother Yu chuckled and said, “Well, that’s still hard work. When you guys come back to China, Auntie will bring you some delicious food at the base.”

Shi Du chatted briefly with Yu Zhaohan’s mother and ended the call. After hanging up, Yu Zhaohan asked him, “Shi Du, what are you doing?”

“What are you doing?” Shi Du was both annoyed and amused, “Coming out is such an important thing. If you wanted to say it, couldn’t you discuss it with me first?”

Yu Zhaohan said, “But the fact that I’m bent, won’t my mom find out sooner or later?”

“Yes. But…”

Yu Zhaohan couldn’t understand: “Since we’ll come out sooner or later, what’s the difference between saying it earlier or later?”

“Of course, there’s a difference,” Shi Du tried to make Yu Zhaohan understand, “Don’t you like reading CEO romance novels? In those novels, the overbearing CEOs usually confess their relationships to their parents much later. They wait until their feelings for each other are stable before facing it together… Do you get what I mean?”

Yu Zhaohan half understood: “But we don’t have a female lead, only two male leads.”

Even though Shi Du hadn’t read those novels, he knew how normal people’s thought processes worked, “In a story with two male leads, it’s even less likely to tell their parents this early.”

“Okay,” Yu Zhaohan said, “So when do you think we can come out?”

“Probably… after we establish our relationship, or maybe when I’ve bought a house.”

“What counts as establishing our relationship?” Yu Zhaohan curiously asked, “Do we have to sleep together? But how do two guys sleep together?”

Shi Du paused, then covered his face with his hand.

He only knows the general idea, but he really doesn’t know the specifics.

Shi Du finished the remaining cola in one gulp to cool himself down, then in a tone that sounded like he knew what he was talking about, he said, “At the very least, we need to kiss first.”

Yu Zhaohan responded with an “Oh.” He had already been kissed on the forehead and cheek by Shi Du, and while he felt embarrassed, he was ready to go along with it. Since he had already admitted he was into guys, kissing also seemed like an inevitable step.

So, Yu Zhaohan said: “Then let’s pick an auspicious day and have our first kiss.”

Shi Du looked at Yu Zhaohan, his lips parted and closed, hesitating for a while before managing to squeeze out a word after a great struggle, “Sure.”