Yu Zhaohan must cry, so Shi Du could only accompany him to the bathroom. Time was running short, and Yu Zhaohan only gave himself three minutes to vent. He entered one of the stalls and asked Timeless to stand guard at the door, instructing him to call him in three minutes.

Yu Zhaohan endured it very hard and burst into tears at the drop of a hat. He had just finished the first round of crying when he heard a loud “thud” sound coming from the next stall as if something heavy had hit the wall, which scared his tears away.

Yu Zhaohan opened the stall door, peeking out with teary and puzzled eyes, looking at Shi Du for an explanation.

Shi Du shrugged, indicating he wasn’t sure what was happening either. He glanced at the teardrops in Yu Zhaohan’s eyes, feeling sympathy for him but also secretly thinking that even though Yuyu was a bit of a fool, he was undeniably beautiful. Timeless considered taking a picture to admire later.

The noise from the neighboring stall grew louder, accompanied by a male voice grumbling and cursing. At first, Yu Zhaohan couldn’t discern who it was, but as he heard familiar phrases like “chikushou” and “bakayaro,” his eyes widened in realization.

Yu Zhaohan: “Kaoru?”

Shi Du nodded: “Probably.”

Yu Zhaohan: “Ignore him, let’s go back and see Qi Xian.”

Kaoru heard the voices outside and opened the toilet door suddenly. When he saw Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du were about to leave, he said loudly: “You(Temae)…”¹It was said in Japanese

Anyone who often reads Japanese comics knows that this means “you.”

Kaoru stopped the two of them, glared at Shi Du, and began to speak loudly and passionately.

Shi Du said: “I don’t understand.”

Kaoru hurriedly took out his mobile phone and used a translation app to communicate with Shi Du: [Why don’t you fight me?]

This should be asking why he didn’t play solo against him.

Shi Du also took out his mobile phone: [Destination is a team game, my Brother Xian can play C position, who cares about you]

Kaoru: [Are you scared? Timeless!]

Shi Du: […]

Kaoru: [Face me, face me like a true warrior!]

Shi Du: [.]

Yu Zhaohan took advantage of Kaoru’s inability to understand Chinese and said unscrupulously: “So, the hot-blooded, chuunibyou male protagonists from anime really exist.”

Shi Du teased: “You have the nerve to say that about others being chuunibyou”

Yu Zhaohan replied, “I’m much better than him. At least I don’t lock myself in a restroom after losing a match and say ‘damn it’ and ‘bastard.’ I’d just call them dogs.”

Shi Du praised sincerely: “My Yuyu is amazing.”

The two of them were thinking about Qi Xian and didn’t want to waste time with the middle school boy, so they left regardless of Kaoru’s questioning. After walking out of the bathroom, Yu Zhaohan looked back at Kaoru. This guy seemed to be about to go berserk.

Yu Zhaohan didn’t dislike Kaoru. His provocation of declaring war head-on was still slightly better than some weird and shady tactics.

Returning to the resting room, they found that Qi Xian’s condition had improved slightly. His hand tremors had stopped, and his complexion looked better. Cheese was crouching next to him, using an ice pack to soothe his wrist. His round face was pale, and he kept his lips tightly sealed, not saying a word.

Everyone else completed Yu Zhaohan’s instructions and gathered around Qi Xian in silence. Shi Du was afraid that Lu Youshan would have an anxiety attack, so he asked Alligator to take him away temporarily.

When Stone saw Yu Zhaohan return, he called out, “Captain.” Everyone turned to look at Yu Zhaohan, including Qi Xian, who had opened his eyes. His wine-red long hair was damp with sweat from the pain, and he looked weak and disheveled.

Yu Zhaohan opened his lips and wanted to continue to take charge of the overall situation, but Shi Du beat him to it: “Brother Xian, how are you feeling? The car has already arrived at the entrance of the venue. Let’s take you to the hospital first.”

“I’m fine. No need for the hospital; I trust my specialist doctor more.” Qi Xian turned to Cheese. “Cheese.”

“Xianxian…” Cheese’s voice trembled. “I’m here.”

Qi Xian still had that gentle smile on his face. “Why are you so quiet? That’s not like you.”

“The captain said I shouldn’t disturb you and cause you more trouble,” Cheese said, his voice hoarse. “But… but I…”

“It’s okay. You can ask me anything, and you can cry if you want to,” Qi Xian reassured him. “Holding it in makes it worse.”

The more Qi Xian said this, the less Cheese wanted to show how upset he was: “I don’t cry, so what…men don’t shed tears easily! I’m not easy to cry because I’m still a man.”

Shi Du said: “Stereotypes aren’t helpful. Anyone can cry. Crying doesn’t make you any less of a man.”

Cheese said stubbornly: “No, I’m not crying!”

Yu Zhaohan: “…”

Shi Du said perfunctorily: “Okay, okay, you are not.”

Qi Xian smiled helplessly. Once the topic was taken off-topic, the atmosphere became less heavy. Not long after, Old Tan, who was responsible for calling the attending physician, came back. Cheese asked eagerly: “What did the physician say?”

Old Tan glanced at Qi Xian and hesitated to speak. Qi Xian said: “Just tell me directly. I have already prepared for the worst.”

Old Tan hurriedly said: “Don’t overthink it! The doctor mentioned that he can’t see you in person or conduct an examination, so he can’t determine your current condition. He suggests… suggests you return to China immediately for treatment.”

The atmosphere in the lounge became solemn again. Qi Xian was silent for a moment and said with a smile: “Should I give Korean doctors a chance? If I stay in Korea for treatment…”

Yu Zhaohan took over Qi Xian’s words: “Not only will it affect your own recovery, but it will also distract others. Qi Xian, I allow you to be willful for once. This time, you have to listen to the captain.”

The smile in Qi Xian’s eyes gradually faded. Probably because he always smiles, but when he stops smiling, his gloomy side becomes apparent.

He looked at Yu Zhaohan and said, “The game is not over yet.”

Yu Zhaohan said: “So?”

Qi Xian said solemnly: “I can still play.”

Yu Zhaohan didn’t like the look in Qi Xian’s eyes now. He couldn’t back down, as Qi Xian was challenging him.

Yu Zhaohan used the skill [narrowed his eyes, slowly frowned, his eyes revealed unfathomable danger] He replied, “I don’t deny that. But compared to the regular season. The playoffs, semi-finals, and even the finals are the times when R.H needs you the most.”

Qi Xian paused for a moment.

Shi Du asked Old Tan: “By the way, if we win the Sakura team today, we should be in the winning group?”

As the regular season was nearing its end, R.H ranked first in the Eastern Division with an undefeated record. Even if they lost all their remaining matches with a score of 0:3, it wouldn’t prevent them from entering the playoffs in the Winner’s Group.

In the playoffs, the sixteen teams were divided into Winner’s and Loser’s Group based on their regular-season points. Teams in the Loser’s Group would be eliminated after a single loss, while teams in the Winner’s Group would need to lose twice to be eliminated, essentially holding a “resurrection coin.”

Old Tan understood Yu Zhaohan and Shi Du’s intentions and quickly supported them, “That’s right. In the remaining matches, even if we lose 3:0 each time, we’ll still be in the Winner’s Bracket. But we have to make sure we win 3:0 every time! In the Eastern Division, we have DSD, Sakura, IPL, TCO, and us, which are the five teams with the ability to compete. We’ve already played against and won against all four of these teams. We don’t need to worry about the other teams.”

Qi Xian’s eyes curved into a smile again, “Don’t let the coach hear you say that.”

Shi Du sighed: “That’s the truth. If he overhears it, he overhears it. In the Eastern Division, there’s no one worth playing against. On the other hand, in the Western Division- Brother Xian, if I were you, I would take good care of myself and prepare to fight Lawman or PPZ and put all my energy into it. Putting effort into beating weaker teams is pointless and not fun.” Shi Du casually added, “Oh, by the way, isn’t the current Long gun of Lawman, Tide, your former teammate?”

“Timeless really knows how to hit people where it hurts,” Qi Xian chuckled, his gaze falling to his hands. “But can I really recover?”

“You can, you definitely can, I promise!” Cheese said firmly. “Xianxian, just go back to China for now. We’ll play the playoffs together!”

Once Qi Xian left, Shitou could only replace him for the rest of the game. Shitou was the last one to join the R.H team. He is usually a bit shy, but now he is shouting louder than cheese: “Brother Xian, don’t worry, I will work hard and never embarrass R.H’s tanks!”

Qi Xian’s gaze swept across the faces of his teammates one by one before returning to his usual smiling expression, and said as if he was admitting defeat: “Well, I can’t argue with you all, and the captain is so strong, I can only obey.”

Yu Zhaohan breathed a sigh of relief: “Book the fastest flight ticket for Qi Xian.”

The quickest flight from Seoul to Shanghai was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Back at the base, Yu Zhaohan canceled the post-match analysis session for the day. Cheese helped Qi Xian pack his bags. Old Tan was concerned about Qi Xian traveling alone and suggested booking another ticket to accompany him on the flight.

Qi Xian said: “I just feel uncomfortable in my hand, not that it is broken.”

“But what if there’s an emergency? You might need someone to carry your luggage or something,” Old Tan insisted. “I’ll accompany you back; it’s only a two to three-hour flight.”

Early the next morning, Old Tan and Qi Xian flew back to Shanghai. After landing, Old Tan reported his safe arrival in the group chat and said that he would first return to the base and then take Qi Xian to see the doctor. Not long after, Qi Xian posted a picture of Little Kneeling. It had lost some fur over the past month and appeared somewhat bald.

Cheese considered himself the person at R.H who cared the most about Little Kneeling, but right now, he could only think about Qi Xian’s hand. He couldn’t focus his attention even during practice matches.

In the evening, Lu Youshan made an appointment for them to play against DSD. As the second-ranked team in the Eastern Division regular season, DSD has locked up a spot in the winner’s Group of the playoffs like R.H. Both teams were currently preparing for the playoffs in advance and have tried many new lineups and new playing styles.

In one match on a map, R.H and DSD each captured points A and B and engaged in a battle for target point C. Both sides managed their energy and ultimates well, turning the game into a turn-based battle. The team with more ultimates won, and this time, it was R.H. The next round would be DSD’s turn.

Ownership of target point C switched back and forth, and the capture progress finally reached a 99%:99% deadlock. In this situation, whoever won the last team fight would secure victory.

DSD initiated the ultimate exchange, and Stone, in an attempt to protect the backline, bravely absorbed damage and fell within the enemy’s midst. Cheese, seeing what appeared to be his teammate’s “corpse,” impulsively flew over to try and resurrect him.

However, the members of DSD hadn’t moved far, and the moment they saw Cheese’s silhouette, all four of them focused their basic attacks on him, sending him back to the resurrecting point.

Shi Du couldn’t help but click his tongue in disapproval.

Cheese realized the foolishness of his actions and repeatedly muttered, “My bad, my bad.”

If it had remained a 3v4, they might have had a fighting chance. But now, it had devolved into a 2v4, R.H had lost its healer supply line, and DSD is not a bad team, so what can R.H win?

DSD won this practice match without a doubt.

Yu Zhaohan understood Cheese’s feelings. However, understanding didn’t preclude criticism. For Cheese to make such a mistake, even academy-level players wouldn’t have made it.

“Xu Lanzhi.”

Cheese lowered his head: “Cap, captain.”

“Do you know how to play games?” Yu Zhaohan said coldly, “If not, step down now and let Jiang Di take over.”

Cheese wiped his face, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry, Captain. It won’t happen again.”

Yu Zhaohan said: “Let Jiang Di play in the next training match, and you go to the US server to play solo.”

Cheese reluctantly left the team, feeling extremely fortunate that this was only a practice match. If he had made such an error in an official match leading to R.H’s loss to DSD, he would have had a thousand virtual mothers cursing at him.

Yu Zhaohan scolded Cheese and felt uncomfortable. After dinner, he and Shi Du walked around the villa, still pondering if he had been too harsh.

“Shi Du, was I overly harsh when scolding Cheese just now?” Yu Zhaohan asked. “I know he’s worried about Qi Xian, and everyone is worried, but during training, we should all focus.”

Shi Du asked strangely: “Did you scold Cheese? I didn’t see it. I only saw you giving him constructive criticism.”

Hearing what Shi Du said, Yu Zhaohan felt less blocked: “You’re right; I wasn’t harsh at all.”

“You’re quite gentle,” Timeless remarked. “If it were me giving criticism, the word ‘idiot’ would certainly be included.”

Yu Zhaohan noticed that when his little brother wasn’t intentionally being cheeky, he could actually speak quite eloquently. He was just used to doing whatever he wanted in his daily life and couldn’t be bothered to maintain a high level of emotional intelligence like Qi Xian.

Shi Du was just too lazy to do it, it wasn’t that he couldn’t do it.

“I’m comforted by you.” Yu Zhaohan said, “Could you do me a favor and go console Cheese? I gave him a hard time, so it’s your turn to play the good cop.”

Shi Du put on a troubled expression: “It’s a bit tricky. In R.H., the person who has the best relationship with Cheese is Brother Xian. Cheese has a simple mind, and he can’t think of other things when thinking about Brother Xian’s hands.”

Yu Zhaohan was very confident in his boyfriend: “You are not a stupid handsome guy, you will definitely have a way. The primary goal of this operation is to get Cheese out of the shadow of Qi Xian’s hand injury.”

Shi Du asked: “What’s the cost?”

Yu Zhaohan said: “At any cost.”

Shi Du smiled and said, “You said it, don’t blame me if I go too far.”

Yu Zhaohan gave him his word. “I won’t blame you.”

In the evening, Old Tan sent the latest update. Qi Xian’s hand injury had worsened significantly. Conservative treatment had limited effectiveness, and the doctor recommended surgery. Whether he could continue playing depended on his recovery. Qi Xian was still hesitating; he was worried that the time for surgery and recovery might cause him to miss the playoffs.

Yu Zhaohan said, “Tell him to listen to the doctor.”

Shi Du said: “Tell Brother Xian that if he hesitates for one more day, he will be another day away from the day he can play.”

After the training, Cheese returned to the room dejectedly. Looking at the empty room, he felt even more sad.

Qi Xian wasn’t just Cheese’s teammate; he was also his roommate. They had slept in the same room for so long, and Cheese had gotten used to it. Now he was all alone… Cheese was naturally a talkative extrovert. If he stayed alone, he would be overwhelmed with thoughts about Qi Xian.

He would rather go to the captain and his little brother’s room and sleep on the floor than stay alone with his thoughts.

Cheese picked up the pillow and quilt and was about to go find the captain when Shi Du arrived. He saw the pile of things in Cheese’s arms and asked strangely: “What are you doing.”

“Little brother, you arrived at the perfect time,” Cheese said. “I want to sleep in your and the Captain’s room.”

Shi Du calmed down and asked, “Are you sick or something?”

Cheese explained the reason for his decision and said sadly, “This time yesterday, Xianxian was sleeping on that bed. I feel uncomfortable when I look at it now.”

Shi Du took the pillow and blanket from Cheese and threw them onto the bed. “Stop thinking about brother Xian and focus on something else.”

Cheese said sadly: “Except for Xianxian, I don’t want to focus on anyone.”

Shi Du raised his eyebrows: “Really.”

Cheese stared at him: “Are you doubting my love for Xianxian!”

Shi Du asked, “So you don’t care about the Captain anymore?”

Cheese was puzzled. “Of course, I do, but isn’t the Captain fine?”

Shi Du said, “Your Captain is my boyfriend now.”

Cheese blinked. “…”

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  It was said in Japanese