TCWSITD – Chapter 6

But perfection? That only exists across the screen, right? The moment you meet in real life, it’s bound to be disappointing.

Shen Ju focused on playing ranked games. After getting killed by his teammates for the nth time, he couldn’t help but grab his keyboard and started cursing: [Why the hell am I stuck playing with a bunch of idiots?]

Support: [Stop flaming, stop flaming. I’m just a student.]

Shen Ju: [Even if you were an animal, it wouldn’t make a difference.]

He was promptly rewarded with a two-hour ban.

Shen Ju: …

He stood, pulling his collar high up to hide the emotions in his eyes. His phone buzzed in his pocket—it was a message from Du Lun.

Du Lun: [Shen Ju, uhm, Lin Jiang is coming to the team tomorrow to report, but the club doesn’t have any spare single rooms. Could you squeeze in with Song Zhixu for now? When I get back, I’ll rent the apartment upstairs so everyone can have their own single room, okay? Lin Jiang just joined the team and isn’t familiar with anyone yet, so it’d be awkward for him to share a room with others. Please, please, please, just bear with it for now. I’ll ask Song Zhixu to help you move.]

Shen Ju: …

Not here yet and already stealing my room?

As expected, perfection only exists online. Once you’re back in reality, it loses all its charm—

Shen Ju was forced to move rooms.

He was already exhausted, and Song Zhixu couldn’t help but tease him every now and then: “Old Du told you to move, so you move. Since when did you become so obedient?”

“Oh, I get it. You must be secretly looking forward to Lin Jiang coming. If he does, you won’t have to go back to inherit the family business, right? And yet here you are pretending…”

To be honest, Shen Ju wasn’t opposed to Lin Jiang joining, but he wasn’t particularly thrilled either. The only remaining good impression was simply a recognition of Lin Jiang’s character.

As for not having to go back to inherit the family business—that was pure nonsense. With the current state of OT, not even the gods could help them qualify for the World Championship.

Shen Ju shot him a glance. “Did you move the console?”

“Alright, alright, I’ll get it for you right away… What about your air conditioner and projector? You can’t possibly take them all down, right?”

Shen Ju looked around the room. He had lived here for two and a half years, and most of the appliances were bought with his own money. In the end, none of them could be taken with him. “Just leave them all.”

“Got it, Your Highness. This servant will tidy up for you right away.”

After helping him move, Song Zhixu eagerly cleaned the place, even crawling on the floor to scrub the door frame clean.

“The guy hasn’t even arrived yet, and you’re already sucking up to him.”

Song Zhixu didn’t mind, “As long as he can carry me to victory, he’s my boss. Wiping the floor for him is the least I can do!”

He said this with a puff of breath, polishing the glass until it gleamed.

Shen Ju couldn’t bear to watch and grabbed his backpack to retreat to his room.

Night fell, and Shen Ju—sharing a room with someone for the first time—was unsurprised to find himself wide awake.

He lay on the bed, listening to Song Zhixu babbling from the top bunk: “Do you think Lin Jiang is easy to get along with? He seems nice from his matches, but what if he’s not as easygoing in private? What if we accidentally offend him…”

“Hey, Shen Ju, have you interacted with Lin Jiang before? What kind of person do you think he is?”

Shen Ju rested his head on his arm, subconsciously recalling that calm yet commanding voice: “It’s fine. AD, go mid and farm. Focus on scaling.”

Honestly, Shen Ju had only caught a few brief glimpses of Lin Jiang in person but could tell he had a really good temper.

Lin Jiang smiled warmly at everyone he met, with none of the arrogance you’d expect from a top-tier player.

Even when Shen Ju glanced at him unintentionally, he received a polite smile in return.

Pure, bright and untainted—like the radiant white light shining overhead.

The thought only made Shen Ju more restless. He shifted positions and warned, “Keep talking, and you’re sleeping outside.”

Song Zhixu immediately zipped his mouth shut.

***

Early the next morning, Shen Ju was woken by noise downstairs. When he went down to take a look, he saw that Du Lun had the operations team organize a small welcome ceremony, complete with a bunch of overly formal speeches.

Shen Ju hated these kinds of occasions the most.

He said, “I’m not joining,” then turned and went back to his room.

The atmosphere instantly turned cold. Song Zhixu quickly chased after him, pleading, “What’s wrong with you, Shen Ju? The new captain is here on his first day, and you’re not giving him any face. How are you supposed to get along after this? My dear young master, just endure it for one day. Think about how he’s going to carry you in the Summer Split. Is a welcome ceremony really that hard to tolerate…”

He chased Shen Ju all the way upstairs, only to be met with the sharp click of the door shutting in his face.

He helplessly put his hands on his hips, looked back at Du Lun—who was equally helpless downstairs—and shrugged. He had tried his best. Shen Ju was rebellious by nature. If he didn’t want to do something, not even his ancestors could force him.

Du Lun waved him over downstairs, and the two huddled on the balcony to talk.

“Do you think Shen Ju doesn’t welcome Lin Jiang? He hadn’t said a word, it’s driving me crazy with worry.”

Du Lun looked concerned, and as usual, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, holding it between his fingers.

“Yesterday, he didn’t object when I asked him to move rooms, but today he refused to attend the welcome ceremony. What exactly does he think of Lin Jiang? What if they don’t get along in the future—what are we going to do?”

He lit a cigarette for himself and didn’t forget to offer one to Song Zhixu as well.

Although Song Zhixu rarely smoked, he usually accepted cigarettes when the manager offered.

He took a quick puff, “I tested the waters with him yesterday. Don’t worry, ge. Even if he doesn’t welcome Lin Jiang, he definitely doesn’t dislike him. Otherwise, he would’ve lost his temper when we moved rooms yesterday. And with me around, you can bet they won’t come to blows.”

His tone was light and cheerful. The 20-year-old young man had bright eyes and a carefree,[mfn]没心没肺 (méi xīn méi fèi) – lit. without heart and lungs (idiom); someone who oblivious or thoughtless, thick-skinned, or not easily hurt by others[/mfn] innocent smile—just looking at him made people feel inexplicably good.

Du Lun had always liked Song Zhixu. The guy had a unique ability to bring the team together; even someone as difficult as Shen Ju managed to get along with him.

He gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Alright, I trust you.”

After the pat, he muttered, “Did you grow taller again? It feels awkward patting you now.”

“No way, who grows taller everyday? Ge, you’re just trying to make me laugh…”

The two of them kept chatting and joking, their cigarettes barely halfway through when a message came from the front desk: [Lin Jiang had arrived.]

Du Lun immediately stubbed out his cigarette and went outside to greet him.

Song Zhixu eagerly followed behind, holding three party poppers in one hand. As Du Lun met Lin Jiang, Song Zhixu jumped out and pulled the string—pop—it burst open.

“Welcome, river, to OT!”

Bang! Bang! Bang! The poppers exploded in succession, and the atmosphere instantly ignited. Beneath the golden confetti, Lin Jiang turned around in a crisp white shirt—a sight so breathtaking, it seemed to freeze time.

Song Zhixu had only ever seen Lin Jiang during competitions before; offstage, he’d usually caught no more than a glimpse of the back of his head. This was the first time he’d gotten such a clear look at one of the scene’s top-tier legends.

Lin Jiang’s skin was fair, his features clean and refined. The white shirt accentuated his reserved temperament. He was tall, yet lacked the aloofness typical of top players—instead, he gave off a calm, approachable vibe.

“Thank you. Hello, I’m Lin Jiang.”

His outstretched hand was slender yet strong.

Song Zhixu clasped it with both hands, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

Lin Jiang looked even more delicate in person than on camera. His fingers were long and slender, his aura pure like a clear stream. And when he smiled slightly, his graceful features carried a hint of allure that made hearts flutter uncontrollably.

Even someone as loud and shameless as Song Zhixu was momentarily disarmed by that smile.

Lin Jiang was truly exceptional—far better than Sing Zhixu had imagined—so much so that it gave him an almost surreal sense of unworthiness.

Suppressing his usual jokester demeanor, Song Zhixu introduced himself earnestly,[mfn]一本正经 (yī běn zhèng jīng) – someone who is acting in a way that is very serious and proper, often to an exaggerated or slightly comical degree.[/mfn] “Hello, I’m Song Zhixu, OT’s top laner.”

Du Lun teased him, “Since when does the eternal clown have moments of shyness?” Song Zhixu quickly covered his mouth. “Stop it! At least save me some face in front of our new captain…”

The teammates burst into laughter.

Next, Zhou Wen eagerly introduced himself: “Hello, river! I’m Zhou Wen, the team’s support. Everyone calls me Old Wen, but you can call me whatever you like. I’ve watched every single one of your matches! When I heard you were joining us yesterday, I was so excited. Looking forward to working with you!”

Then came the jungler A’Deng and the substitute Zheng Yu.

Only Shen Ju was nowhere to be seen.

Song Zhixu hurriedly explained, “Captain, don’t take it personally. Shen Ju has a headache today and couldn’t get out of bed. I’ll take you around to get familiar with the environment first!”

Lin Jiang didn’t take it to heart. He had known before coming that OT’s AD had a temper. Newcomers were often hot-headed. It was normal. He had been like that when he was young too, and later gradually mellowed.

Downstairs, the welcome ceremony was in full swing, while Shen Ju lay alone upstairs, his headache worsening from the noise.

He got up and pulled back the curtains—his gaze passing through the crisscrossed railings and landed on the lively crowd below. Lin Jiang, at the center surrounded by everyone, seemed to sense something and looked up, smiling at him.

Suddenly, Shen Ju remembered the first time he had seen Lin Jiang offline. Lin Jiang had been wearing a white shirt then too, his gaze clear and bright, without a trace of impurity.

Who would have expected Shen Ju would still remember after all this time?

***

Author’s Note:

Before Lin Jiang joined the team, Shen Ju: Meh, whatever.
After Lin Jiang joined the team, Shen Ju: Instant regret.

— — — —

strawberrypoptl:

While translating this story, I encountered the words ‘scene’, ‘circle’ and ‘industry’ when the author talked about esports as a whole so I searched about it and these three actually have different usage. I thought it’s fun to share with you what I found out. I will be using the appropriate word in translating the story based on the below definitions:

Scene – local community of players, organizers, and fans of a specific game or region
Circle – informal group of players, streamers, or content creators
Industry – game developers, tournament organizers, sponsors, media outlets

Hope this helps!