WCG Chapter 75

Xie Xu watched many Jiang Shi’s replays during that period. Jiang Shi never mentioned what actually happened during that time. Instead, he would occasionally take out that close-up hand photo to reminisce. His voice was somber and sentimental, full of genuine emotion.  

It was clear that he deeply cared.  

Moreover, he shared every little detail about their relationship openly with his fans.  

Xie Xu leaned back in his chair, his expression indifferent.  

The treatment he received was completely different from the [online ex-boyfriend]—  

Today, Jiang Shi had already brushed him off twice in front of others.  

“Captain, do you want some water?”  

A thermos cup was handed over, the lid already unscrewed, and the rim still damp from being used just moments ago.  

[Gege, when we meet, can we just order one milk tea?]  

Xie Xu looked at Jiang Shi, who was wiping his lips. He took the cup, sipped from it, and drank a mouthful.  

Jiang Shi’s eyes widened as he stared at the spot where Xie Xu’s lips had touched.  

It looked like the exact place he had just drunk from.  

Truthfully, Jiang Shi had no ulterior motives when he offered the water to Xie Xu. He simply wanted to strike up a conversation and sneak a peek at whatever Xie Xu was watching on his phone.  

But now—  

Jiang Shi hastily grabbed the cup back, screwing on the lid as his ears turned red. His gaze darted around, avoiding Xie Xu’s eyes.  

“Time, are we still playing?”  

Zhao Jiu’s voice broke the silence, noticing that Jiang Shi hadn’t readied up in the queue.  

“Yes, yes, we’re playing!” Jiang Shi quickly replied.  

Due to an issue with his microphone, Jiang Shi and Zhao Jiu communicated using the in-game quick chat. In the training room, only the sound of keyboard clicks and Jiang Lele’s occasional shrieks could be heard.  

After finishing a team fight, Jiang Shi returned to base to replenish supplies. Eyeing the thermos cup beside him, he decided to try the same trick—drink from it and then hand it back to Xie Xu.  

But just as he reached for it, a loud voice startled him.  

“Back, come here!” Jiang Lele said excitedly. “I just noticed that when I use Nuka’s second skill, she leans forward. If you stand in front of me, it looks like we’re kissing!”  

Yu Hui, who had just stopped moving, twitched slightly before quickly using a skill to vault over a wall and leave.  

Jiang Lele chased after him in-game, whining, “Sob sob. Back, are you avoiding me because you’re disgusted by my saliva? I’m heartbroken~~~”  

Jiang Shi: “?”  

At this moment, Xie Xu seemed to finish watching a video. He raised his head, his gaze landing on Jiang Shi’s hand, which was hovering less than half an inch from the thermos.  

Jiang Shi recoiled as if burned. “I didn’t mean that!”  

Xie Xu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Mean what?”  

Jiang Shi: “…”  

Would he die if he didn’t act stupid for a single day?  

Fortunately, Zhao Jiu came to his rescue. “Time, hurry up! I’ve left the enemy team with just a sliver of health!”  

“Got it!” Jiang Shi responded immediately, relieved.  

He quickly turned to Xie Xu, explaining, “Captain, once I finish this match, let’s queue together?”  

Xie Xu gave a simple “Mm.”  

Instantly, Jiang Shi’s morale skyrocketed. He played fiercely, quickly finishing the match.  

The three then queued up for a trio match.  

After picking their heroes, Jiang Shi couldn’t resist asking Xie Xu, “Captain, what were you watching earlier?”  

It had lasted nearly an hour, and it seemed to be a livestream on Little Bear TV, though Jiang Shi couldn’t make out who the streamer was.  

Xie Xu, adjusting his runes after picking his champion, replied casually, “I was watching your stream replay from a year ago.”  

Jiang Shi: “?”  

Jiang Shi: “!”  

As if unaware of how impactful his words were, Xie Xu added, “I even heard you say you’d be a widow for the rest of your life for your ex.”  

Zhao Jiu burst out laughing. “Wow, Time, you’re surprisingly devoted back then.”  

Hearing Xie Xu’s indifferent tone, Jiang Shi’s heart skipped a beat. Faced with Zhao Jiu’s teasing, he awkwardly forced a smile. “I just said it casually back then.”  

He didn’t even know where his ex was buried — what was there to be a widow forever then?

Zhao Jiu, amused, chimed in, “Haha, you were young back then, just having fun! I get it.”  

Jiang Shi’s heart sank.  

Xie Xu already thought he was too young. If this “just having fun” label stuck, any chance of Xie Xu reconsidering would probably be delayed.  

His mind raced, but he couldn’t figure out how to explain himself.  

The match began. After helping mid-lane push the wave, Xie Xu rotated top.  

Jiang Shi timed his cannon minion perfectly, leaving it for Xie Xu. “Captain, you can take this for some—”  

Before he could finish, Xie Xu had already rotated to the top lane.  

“I’m helping top first,” Xie Xu said.  

Jiang Shi glanced at the enemy support, who had already positioned themselves. He sulked and muttered an “Oh.”  

Ten minutes later, Xie Xu was still in the top lane, having taken down two turrets. Meanwhile, Jiang Shi was struggling in a 1v2.  

Biting his lip, Jiang Shi Flashed aggressively onto the enemy AD. Moments later, the kill notification popped up:  

[You’re So Stupid has slain TLG-Time.]  

Xie Xu, glancing at the scoreboard, noticed that Jiang Shi’s gold was nearly equal to the enemy AD.  

At that moment, a crumpled piece of paper rolled onto Xie Xu’s desk.  

It was torn from Jiang Shi’s notebook, usually used for reviewing matches.  

Xie Xu paused and unfolded the paper.  

[Captain, I can’t beat them QAQ.]  

At the bottom was a crying stick figure, its tears as big as soybeans.  

A minute later, Xie Xu appeared in the bot lane.  

[TLG-Time has slain You’re So Stupid.]  

[TLG-Time has slain I Knew I Could.]  

Jiang Shi got a double kill on the enemy bot duo.  

Soon, another crumpled paper landed on Xie Xu’s desk.  

[Thanks, Captain. They were too arrogant. Fortunately you were here!]  

At the end was a wobbly little heart.  

As Xie Xu opened the note, he gave Jiang Shi a shield in-game as a response.  

Jiang Shi couldn’t help covering his mouth, overwhelmed with emotion.  

But in the next second, a voice came from the public chat.  

[All] You’re So Stupid: Bro, with skills like that, why’d you feed me earlier?  

[All] You’re So Stupid: Flashing in front of me to taunt? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?  

Jiang Shi: “?”  

Why did the enemy AD have so much to say?!  

Even Zhao Jiu couldn’t resist turning on his mic. “Time, if you wanted the Captain to come bot, you could’ve just said so. No need to be so roundabout.”  

“Professional players who fake gameplay and get caught by the league, you know, can be fined.”  

Jiang Shi obviously couldn’t admit to his intentions. Trying to maintain his composure, he denied, “I wasn’t faking it. I just slipped.”  

Xie Xu had been watching Jiang Shi’s video replays for many days. During that time, Jiang Shi didn’t mention anything about what had happened back then, but he would occasionally take out that hand-written note.  

Zhao Jiu worked hard to understand what Jiang Shi was saying and, after a moment of effort, gave him face by laughing and replying, “Yes, yes, the opposing AD is just talking nonsense.”  

Then, Jiang Shi seemed to hear Xie Xu let out a faint laugh, though it wasn’t very noticeable.  

He passed over another crumpled note.  

[Captain, were you laughing?]  

[Captain, why aren’t you saying anything? I like hearing you talk.]  

Xie Xu tucked this note into his pocket, the faint smile on his lips disappearing.  

[Gege, when we queue together, can you not talk?]  

Jiang Shi didn’t get a response from Xie Xu and was a bit dejected for a while. But soon, he perked up again, sending one note after another.  

[Gege]  

[Gege]  

[Gege]  

[Pay attention to me.]  

Finally, Xie Xu responded.  

[Focus on the game.]  

When Jiang Shi saw the returned note, his eyes lit up, and he continued his sweet words.  

[The game is important, but Gege is even more important.]  

As long as they weren’t face-to-face, Jiang Shi could say anything.  

Just like a year ago, when he coquettishly called Xie Xu “Gege” through an online connection, Jiang Shi now felt no sense of shame.  

[Gege, Yang-ge said we could rest early tonight. Bamboo recommended a great movie. Want to watch it together?]  

After passing the note over, Xie Xu didn’t reply. However, Jiang Shi wasn’t discouraged and kept writing furiously during breaks in the game.  

Midway through, there was a thud on the table. Xiao Hei had jumped up and meowed at the four people training.  

Ever since Jiang Lele fed Xiao Hei on the desk once, the cat had started coming up to the desk for food. And the team didn’t seem to mind. If someone was free, they’d feed the kitty a treat.  

This time, though, everyone was busy in their ranked matches. No one paid attention to Xiao Hei except for Jiang Lele, who squeezed in a quick, “Xiao Hei, wait a bit. I’m almost done.”  

As Xiao Hei’s biological (?) father, Jiang Shi hadn’t been paying much attention to the cat lately.  

Ever since coming to the TLG base, Xiao Hei had become a team favorite. Normally aloof, the cat would become very clingy when food was involved, charming everyone.  

This stinky cat was particularly attached to Xie Xu, much to Jiang Shi’s dismay. 

He never thought he’d one day have to compete with a cat for affection.  

Thankfully, the cat couldn’t talk or write.  

Jiang Shi gave Xiao Hei a disdainful look before continuing to write notes during a pause after a team fight.  

Hearing Jiang Lele muttering that he was almost finished, Jiang Shi rolled his note into a ball, flicked it with his finger, and sent it inconspicuously toward Xie Xu’s hand.  

But in the next instant, a black paw intercepted it. The ball changed direction and flew straight into Jiang Lele’s lap.  

Jiang Lele, who had just finished his game, picked up the paper ball and muttered, “Where did this trash come from?”  

“Wait, isn’t this from T Bao’s notebook?”  

Jiang Lele had seen Jiang Shi’s notebook open while he was taking notes.  

Instinctively, he unfolded the paper and read its contents aloud:  

“Come to my room tonight, or I’ll go to yours—either is fine.”  

“If you don’t want to, we can just duo queue for training.”  

“I promise I won’t do anything else.”  

After reading the last line, Jiang Lele fell silent. Yu Hui lowered his head and started picking at his nails, pretending not to hear, while Zhao Jiu fed a kill to the enemy despite having an advantage in the top lane.  

Meanwhile, Xiao Hei turned its rear end toward Jiang Shi, wiggled slightly, and then gracefully jumped off the desk, hiding his merits and fame. 

Jiang Shi: “…”  

Once Jiang Lele processed what he’d read, he looked at Jiang Shi. “You two are moving that fast?”  

What a wild playstyle.  

Jiang Shi didn’t respond.  

He was debating whether to silence Jiang Lele first or grab the note back.  

Just as Jiang Shi decided to do both, Jiang Lele stomped his foot hard, sending his chair sliding backward and colliding with Yu Hui’s.  

Keeping a safe distance, Jiang Lele raised the note high, glaring cautiously. “Don’t even think about destroying the evidence!”  

He waved the note around.  

Jiang Shi saw a faint glimpse of the back of the note and froze.  

He had scribbled something extra on the back, words that Jiang Lele hadn’t noticed yet.  

Jiang Shi pulled back his fist and forced a calm tone. “I’m not trying to take it.”  

He tried not to glance at the back of the note. “I just want extra practice with the captain. Don’t make it sound weird.”  

Jiang Shi’s serious tone made Jiang Lele suspicious. “Really?”  

Jiang Shi nodded. “Of course.”  

Looking at Jiang Lele, he frowned. “What kind of nonsense are you imagining? Training is intense enough, I just want to focus on the matches.”  

The ever-gullible Zhao Jiu chimed in to support him. “Xiao Shi and the captain should definitely queue more. Were you holding back because of me today? I’ll head to the Colosseum later, so you two can queue in the training room. Equipment’s better there anyway.”  

As a top laner, he was used to soloing anyway.  

Zhao Jiu’s assist gave Jiang Shi a much-needed breather, and he gratefully said, “Thanks, Jiu-ge.”  

But while he fooled Zhao Jiu, he couldn’t trick Jiang Lele.  

Jiang Lele wasn’t buying Jiang Shi’s pure-hearted act at all.  

Just as Jiang Lele was about to dig deeper into the note’s content, another hand snatched it away.  

Xie Xu leaned against Jiang Shi’s chair, reaching over effortlessly to retrieve the note from Jiang Lele. “Enough. Give it back to its owner.”  

For a moment, Jiang Shi was enveloped by Xie Xu’s presence. His nose brushed against the unzipped collar of Xie Xu’s team jacket, and underneath, he could feel the warmth of a knitted sweater.  

Jiang Shi’s face heated as he turned away, but he still managed to say, “Captain, give me the note back! We’ll just queue in the training room later.”  

After all the excuses he had made, there was no way he could let Xie Xu see the back of the note.  

But when Jiang Shi reached for it, Xie Xu raised it out of reach, and Jiang Shi only managed to grab his team jacket.  

Then, under Jiang Shi’s disbelieving gaze, Xie Xu’s slender fingers turned the note over.  

After seeing the words on the back, Xie Xu lowered his gaze and looked straight at Jiang Shi.  

Jiang Shi froze for a moment, then pulled Xie Xu’s jacket over his face.  

The crumpled note faintly revealed Jiang Shi’s handwriting:  

[Captain-gege, please.]  

A second later, Xie Xu’s jacket was tugged lightly.  

Jiang Shi’s voice was muffled and soft. “Reply?”  

He couldn’t have embarrassed himself for nothing.  

Xie Xu raised his hand and gently brushed the red tip of Jiang Shi’s ear through the jacket. The faint smile he had been holding back finally surfaced.  

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”