“Waiting for you to win the championship…”
The editors of “Burning Eternity” had eagle eyes, knowing exactly what the audience wanted to see. They gave Spring and Jiang Nan’an’s duo dance from the match against Very Nice a big highlight in the final cut.
Sure enough, the night the official episode was released, the popularity of “Burning Eternity” exploded again. Looking at the top trending topics, there were “#Spring Corrupts Jiang Nan’an#,” “#Jiang Nan’an Possessed#,” “#Who Really Is Makeshift Troupe’s Mid Laner#”… The entertainment industry hadn’t seen a variety show with viral memes in every episode for a long time. Each weekend when a new episode was unlocked, it would trigger a new round of celebration.
During this period, Jiang Nan’an broke away from his previous image as an untouchable, cold high-ridge flower.
After discussions with the production team and Qi Hong, they edited out parts of his daily life that contrasted too sharply with his original persona when producing the official episodes. The remaining footage could be described as “not emotionally intelligent, not very pleasant to listen to, but somewhat cute,” which didn’t completely shatter his taciturn image but added some natural, authentic expressions that were well-received by both fans and casual viewers.
In the official episodes, Jiang Nan’an’s interactions with Spring and other teammates were also highly popular. As a result, CP fans were celebrating, normal solo fans were happy that Xiao Shan finally had new friends, toxic solo fans were having meltdowns, and there was excitement everywhere.
But Jiang Nan’an hadn’t been paying much attention to these things. On the day the official episode featuring their synchronized dance aired and CP fans were celebrating like it was New Year’s, he was in Studio 9 preparing for the semifinals.
The semifinal matchups were determined by drawing lots, resulting in Makeshift Troupe versus Meow Meow Agents, and Very Nice versus Step Up.
Starting from the semifinals, matches would use a BO5 format. This time, Makeshift Troupe performed consistently and sent Meow Meow Agents home with a 3-0 victory, while the next match between the other two teams dragged on longer, looking like it would go the full five games.
Since there wasn’t much else to do, Chenghua ordered takeout for everyone, and they ate while watching the matches together.
If Chenghua were to objectively rank the five teams in the elimination round by strength, Very Nice would be first, and Step Up would be second.
Though just a casual player, as a jungler, Cai Zheng’s skills were no less than those of professional players. Chenghua had praised Cai Zheng’s operational thinking more than once. His team’s personnel configuration was also stable and reasonable. Now facing Very Nice, which also focused on mid-to-late game, the match became even more interesting to watch.
“Teacher Sheng’s top lane play is quite good, he seems to have improved again.”
Sheng Yujia was Step Up’s top laner. On screen, he had just escaped from an enemy encirclement. Watching this, Yan Jie couldn’t help but praise him.
“Mm.” Jiang Nan’an was slowly peeling and eating corn while staring intently at the screen.
Seeing him like this, Yan Jie moved closer and asked:
“Mr. Hang, boldly analyze, which team do you think will win?”
“Don’t know.”
So Yan Jie changed his approach:
“Then who do you hope will win?”
“…” This time, Jiang Nan’an glanced at him, but quickly shifted his gaze back. After thinking briefly, his answer wasn’t a team but a name:
“Sheng Yujia.”
“Alright,” Yan Jie nodded:
“Then I hope Teacher Sheng wins too.”
But their wishes didn’t come true. In the fifth and deciding game, Step Up and Very Nice battled for over forty minutes, but Step Up ultimately lost the match.
With the semifinals over, the finals lineup was set: Makeshift Troupe would face their old opponents, Very Nice, scheduled for two weeks later, with the finals night being fully livestreamed. Tonight’s losing teams, Meow Meow Agents and Step Up, would regretfully bid farewell to the competition.
That evening, Jiang Nan’an returned to his dormitory early.
He sat on his bed with his book in hand, but his eyes kept watching Sheng Yujia pack his luggage.
The two had lived together in this room for over three months, and there were many odds and ends in the dormitory. Sheng Yujia packed meticulously and slowly.
Jiang Nan’an actually wanted to help him pack, but didn’t know how to offer.
“I’ll leave these for you. You can lift them to exercise when you’re free.”
As he spoke, Sheng Yujia bent down and pulled out two dumbbells from under the bed.
“Too heavy to take with you, right?” Jiang Nan’an mercilessly exposed him.
Sheng Yujia chuckled:
“You caught me. They are too heavy and inconvenient to carry. If you don’t need them, I’ll just throw them out.”
“Then leave them there.”
Jiang Nan’an closed his book, got off the bed, and walked to Sheng Yujia’s side. He saw clothes neatly folded like tofu blocks in his suitcase:
“Need any help?”
“No need.” Sheng Yujia had already changed into his pajamas. He casually picked up the black and blue Step Up team uniform draped over the chair back, paused for a moment, then carefully folded it and placed it in his suitcase.
Watching his actions, Jiang Nan’an thought for a moment and said:
“You played very well today.”
“Really?”
“Mm.”
“You played well too. Actually, before coming to this show, I didn’t know you could play games. When this competition is over, we can duo queue together sometime.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Nan’an agreed, then after a pause, asked:
“When are you leaving?”
“Early tomorrow morning.”
“Have you confirmed your next drama?”
“Not yet.” As Sheng Yujia spoke, he straightened up and stretched his body. Then, thinking of something, he suddenly called out to Jiang Nan’an:
“Xiao Shan?”
“Hmm?”
“Who will wake you up after I’m gone?”
“.”
Good question.
“I’ll give my room card to Spring tomorrow morning,” Sheng Yujia said naturally.
“No.” Jiang Nan’an immediately rejected his suggestion:
“Give it to me. My assistant has been with the crew all along, I’ll give it to him.”
“That works too.”
Sheng Yujia packed until quite late, and Jiang Nan’an, unable to help, just kept him company.
Finally, Sheng Yujia closed his last suitcase. With the “click” of the latch, Jiang Nan’an looked at the room that had suddenly become half-empty, feeling as if something in his heart had been locked away too.
Perhaps noticing Jiang Nan’an’s somewhat blank expression as he turned around, Sheng Yujia asked:
“Will you miss me?”
“…” Jiang Nan’an carefully considered his question.
Actually, before coming here, knowing that the production team had arranged double rooms, Jiang Nan’an had felt somewhat resistant. He had long been accustomed to living alone and didn’t like sharing his living environment with others. Even after learning that his roommate would be the relatively familiar Sheng Yujia, his aversion had only diminished rather than completely disappeared.
But later, his cohabitation with Sheng Yujia turned out to be unexpectedly harmonious.
In daily life, Jiang Nan’an and Sheng Yujia didn’t communicate much, mostly going about their own business quietly. When Jiang Nan’an occasionally returned late, Sheng Yujia would leave a light on for him. When they heard something interesting, they would share it with each other, and when either encountered difficulties, they would naturally offer a few words of comfort or lend a hand. This kind of life wasn’t as bad as Jiang Nan’an had initially imagined, and even gradually led him to accept living with someone else.
Now, Sheng Yujia was leaving. Logically, he should feel relieved, as he would finally return to his most comfortable state of living alone. But now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
For some reason, Jiang Nan’an suddenly recalled something Yan Jie had said to him one evening not long ago, sitting in the bus bathed in golden sunset light-
“Emotions are inherently irrational things.”
Although Jiang Nan’an still didn’t fully understand this statement, at the moment he couldn’t find any other reasonable explanation for his feelings.
So Jiang Nan’an nodded.
Sheng Yujia seemed a bit surprised that he would admit this. After a brief silence, he sighed slightly and said:
“When I first met you, I felt you were very solitary. Even when standing with many people, you seemed unable to blend in at all. Looking back now, in all the years we’ve known each other, apart from that one collaboration, we barely exchanged two sentences, and I never heard of you having any friends. Now things seem a bit different. I feel that during this show, what you’ve learned goes beyond just gaming.”
Seeing Jiang Nan’an looking somewhat bewildered, Sheng Yujia chuckled:
“This current state suits you well.”
So Jiang Nan’an nodded again, half-understanding.
“I’ll probably come watch on the day of the finals.”
Sheng Yujia pushed his suitcases against the wall, arranging them neatly, and when he spoke again, his voice was slightly deeper:
“Good luck, Xiao Shan.
“Waiting for you to win the championship.”
The next day, Sheng Yujia left early to catch his flight. Before leaving, he gave Jiang Nan’an one last wake-up service, left his room card as promised, and departed from the compound with his assistant who had come to pick him up, without even having time for breakfast.
Jiang Nan’an continued his routine of training, reviewing, eating, and sleeping. In his view, life wasn’t much different from the previous months, but his teammates could tell that he was practicing more seriously and pushing himself harder than before.
With two teams leaving the show’s recording building at once, a floor that had housed over thirty people just a month ago now had only ten contestants left. Although everyone still joked and played around every day, the atmosphere was noticeably quieter compared to when more people were around.
With most people gone, the production team no longer managed room assignments, so contestants who found themselves in single rooms after their roommates left spontaneously formed new room arrangements.
For instance, Jiang Shanshan moved in with North Star, and Yan Jie also invited Jiang Nan’an to squeeze into his and inBlue’s room. But since the program’s rooms couldn’t fit three beds, and he couldn’t let Jiang Nan’an be uncomfortable, his solution was to let Jiang Nan’an take his bed while he slept on the floor. Unsurprisingly, this proposal was mockingly and firmly rejected by Jiang Nan’an.
From the semifinals to the finals, the production team allowed only two weeks of preparation time. Both finalist teams were training intensively, with even the usually relaxed Chenghua and Yan Jie becoming more serious.
Four days before the finals, in the afternoon, Makeshift Troupe and Very Nice arranged a practice match. Afterward, Chenghua reviewed the game, pointing out current issues for each team member, and suggested that Jiang Nan’an practice more on coordination with teammates and last-hitting minions.
So that afternoon, Yan Jie accompanied Jiang Nan’an for some extra practice, but something seemed off-he felt Jiang Nan’an wasn’t in his usual state.
After one game ended, instead of starting another, Yan Jie looked carefully at Jiang Nan’an beside him:
“What’s wrong, Mr. Hang? You seem disconnected today.”
“Really?” Jiang Nan’an’s face looked slightly pale, but since his complexion was naturally much fairer than most people, and his demeanor showed no obvious abnormality, Yan Jie couldn’t be sure, so he asked:
“Yes, are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“I don’t think so. Just not in good form. Let’s stop for now, you can go back. I’ll practice last-hitting by myself for a while,” Jiang Nan’an replied coolly.
Seeing him like this, Yan Jie initially wanted to check his forehead, but after hesitating, he felt it might be inappropriate, so he just asked once more:
“Are you really okay? Don’t hide it if you’re not feeling well.”
“Mm.” Jiang Nan’an’s tone was flat:
“Don’t worry, if one day I die, I’ll have my assistant report it to you first, but unfortunately, it’s not today.”
His mind was still quick enough to come up with creative ways to retort-it seemed there really wasn’t anything seriously wrong.
Yan Jie chuckled:
“Alright then, you’re still practicing? Are we still running tonight?”
“Mm. Yes.”
“Then I won’t keep you company now. I’ll go back upstairs for a bit. Shall we meet at the building entrance in half an hour?”
“Okay.”
Yan Jie then returned to his room, planning to change his outfit and put his clothes from the past few days in the washing machine.
So half an hour later, dressed in a vibrant, youthful autumn sportswear set he had recently bought, having casually styled his hair before leaving, he stood like a pine tree downstairs, waiting for Jiang Nan’an’s grand arrival.
But after waiting for an additional ten minutes past the agreed time, there was still no sign of Jiang Nan’an.
This was highly unusual, as Jiang Nan’an was a very punctual person who basically never arrived late, with occasional discrepancies of only a minute or two.
Yan Jie frowned, took out his phone from his pocket, and sent Jiang Nan’an a message. After half a minute with no reply, he simply called him.
No answer.
Now Yan Jie couldn’t stand still. He opened the door and turned back into the building, taking the stairs in large strides to the second floor where Makeshift Troupe’s training room was located. From a distance, through the glass on the door, he could see that Jiang Nan’an’s computer was still on.
Running closer, he could see that his computer screen was still in a custom game room, while he had already slumped over the desk.
“Jiang Nan’an!”
Yan Jie called his name, but there was no response.
Yan Jie’s heart skipped a beat. He ran over, shook his shoulder, then raised his hand to touch his cheek and forehead-
It was burning hot.
#
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
