As Yu Sibai spoke, his gaze suddenly sharpened toward Duan Chengxue. Sitting up straight, he said,
“Brother Duan, you can’t go tipping off my boss! You guys are just bound by cold business interests. Foun-god—we’re gaming brothers, okay?”
Duan Chengxue held back a laugh. Being called out, he quickly cleared his throat and waved seriously.
“Of course not… I was just texting my partner. I’ll have a drink with you guys later to celebrate, then have him come pick me up.”
“I think you just want an excuse for our Co-god to come get you,” Xue Jian shot back bluntly. “Scheming man!”
Duan Chengxue smiled but didn’t deny it.
Xue Jian asked again, “So what brings you to Shanghai this time? If there’s anything we can help with, just say it.”
“I’m here to compete for the Carnival hosting rights,” Duan Chengxue replied.
Xue Jian paused, even forgetting to chew the rib in his mouth. After a moment, he said,
“That’s tough. Don’t events like that usually prioritize Shanghai or Chongqing?”
Duan Chengxue smiled. “I renovated a venue in Chongqing at the start of the year—it just happens to line up with the Carnival. It’s in partnership with Tingji…”
At that, he glanced at Yu Sibai, who was chatting with Pupu and clearly not paying attention.
Xue Jian, slightly tipsy, lowered his voice in confusion.
“Tingji? Doesn’t he avoid esports? Back when you built that S.S arena, he didn’t even handle it personally…”
“Has nothing to do with him,” Duan Chengxue said. “I know he dislikes this stuff. I wouldn’t go out of my way to bother him.”
“Fair enough…” Xue Jian muttered. He took a sip of alcohol, only to choke on it, his eyes reddening.
“He was such a good guy… how did he end up like this…”
“…You’re talking like he’s paralyzed or something.” Duan Chengxue laughed. After thinking a bit, he added,
“Sure, there are regrets, but honestly, he’s doing pretty well now. Promoted to the top position, found a subordinate he really values, career’s booming…”
—Just might get cursed out by that subordinate on livestream sometimes.
Then again… Ji Wenze probably didn’t have the time or interest to watch streams. Maybe that was for the best.
“Who knows. I heard that subordinate has quite a temper—probably hard to deal with,” Xue Jian said before taking another drink.
“Yeah, he even has to put thought into picking gifts for him,” Duan Chengxue added with a suppressed smile.
“Doesn’t make sense. Recruiting talent like he’s proposing marriage…” Xue Jian muttered, then suddenly raised his voice.
“Oh right—Foun-god, if you win the hosting rights, invite our Res to design the venue!”
“Hm?” Yu Sibai looked up, having not caught the earlier conversation. His mouth was still full of the osmanthus rice cake Pupu had just stuffed into it.
Beside him, the baby-faced Pupu was still fussing.
“Look how skinny our baby Res has gotten from working—eat more…”
Duan Chengxue glanced at Yu Sibai and shrugged with a smile.
“That depends on whether his boss lets him go.”
The lively dinner dragged on past nine. The ICG group planned to continue at a KTV for round two, while Duan Chengxue excused himself.
“Co-god was stuck in the hotel working on a paper this afternoon. He finally has time now, so I’ve got to go back and fight for attention,” he joked.
Everyone took the elevator downstairs. Yu Sibai pulled out a black mask from his bag, put it on, and took an ICG cap from Pupu.
“This is…?” Duan Chengxue asked curiously.
“They’re going to livestream at the KTV later. I need a bit of disguise…” Yu Sibai said, brushing up his bangs to reveal his forehead before putting on the cap and removing his glasses.
Just looking at his face, most of that exhausted office-worker vibe disappeared.
Xue Jian burst out laughing.
“He better hide well—what if his boss stumbles onto a stream where he’s trash-talking him?”
Duan Chengxue coughed and looked away, feeling like he’d heard enough jokes tonight to last a year.
If Xue Jian knew who Res’s boss really was, he definitely wouldn’t be trying to recruit him into ICG.
Interesting, very interesting…
“Coco!”
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Yu Sibai’s face lit up with a smile when he saw the person outside.
The long-haired young man looked up, smiling gently.
“Res, long time no see.”
Chu Biexia—ID collapsar—was on the same team as Duan Chengxue, once a legendary championship captain before retiring.
“When did you come to Shanghai? You didn’t tell me,” Yu Sibai said, stepping forward quickly, a few strands of hair slipping out from under his cap.
“I came with my advisor for a conference. Leaving tomorrow morning. Thought you’d be busy with overtime, so I didn’t mention it,” Chu Biexia replied. He glanced at Yu Sibai’s hair and asked, “Need a hair tie?”
“Yeah.” Yu Sibai took it without hesitation, casually tying his bangs into a soft little tuft and tucking it under his cap.
Compared to Founder, he was much closer to Chu Biexia—after all, they’d both been around since the early days of the CN region, sharing a bond beyond ordinary.
Founder was from the European region… closer to K-god.
A thought struck Yu Sibai, and he suddenly asked,
“Brother Duan, are you still in touch with K-god?”
“Not much,” Duan Chengxue answered honestly. “Boss Xue probably knows him better—he’s a shareholder, after all.”
Yu Sibai shook his head.
“Boss Xue rarely mentions him. Even this celebration… he wasn’t invited.”
Neither of them said it aloud, but they both understood—it was likely Execut2’s request.
“He did say back then that once he retired, we should act like he’s gone. Not showing up is normal…” Duan Chengxue said.
As he spoke, his arm was lightly pinched. Turning his head, he saw Chu Biexia frowning slightly, as if unwilling to dwell on it.
Yu Sibai didn’t notice the small interaction. He lowered his head and gave a faint laugh.
“I know… I just thought the night looked nice. Let me dream a little.”
Duan Chengxue tried to reassure him.
“K-god really is busy now. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see you.”
But in his heart, he knew—Ji Wenze being busy was true, but keeping his distance from esports all these years was also deliberate.
Maybe it was time to persuade Res to let go of that expectation.
Through the cap, Chu Biexia gently patted Yu Sibai’s head.
“Go have fun. We’re heading out.” Then he added, “Stay well hidden. Sit far from the camera… want to change your clothes?”
“It’ll be hot in the KTV. I’ll just take off my jacket later.” Yu Sibai patted his chest confidently. “Don’t worry!”
After saying goodbye, Chu Biexia and Duan Chengxue walked side by side toward the subway.
“No one would think there’d be a serial number on that certificate,” Duan Chengxue said.
“He threw it away?”
“Yeah… but you’d never guess why.” Duan Chengxue was about to explain when his phone buzzed with a new message.
“Who is it?”
“Brother Ji.”
【Just finished a meeting.】
It seemed Ji Wenze had ignored Duan Chengxue’s earlier “good news or bad news” question and gone straight to the point:
【He didn’t notice—but he also didn’t want to add me on WeChat?】
Duan Chengxue clicked his tongue.
“Still the same old Brother Ji.”
He typed back:
【Worse than that. 】
【He even badmouthed you.】
Ji Wenze took a while to reply, probably still busy.
【It’s normal for employees to have complaints about their boss. Nothing worth worrying about.】
Duan Chengxue was surprised.
“Has he really become someone who welcomes criticism now?”
After thinking for a moment, Chu Biexia said with a smile,
“A good name can change a person’s life.”
Duan Chengxue laughed, then sighed.
“But Res… maybe it really just isn’t meant to be.”
“Since when did you start believing in that?” Chu Biexia glanced at him, amused. “I don’t think so.”
He thought for a while before adding,
“If they truly weren’t meant to meet, they wouldn’t have crossed paths again like this.”
“And even if they did, what then?” Duan Chengxue said. “You know Brother Ji—once he decides something, no one can change his mind. Especially when it comes to reconnecting with esports… Xue Jian said he doesn’t even attend ICG shareholder meetings anymore. No way he’d meet anyone again as Execut2.”
“And Res… he’s been avoiding offline events for years. Careful by nature. As long as he keeps his identity hidden, he could go his whole life without ever appearing as Respit2.”
After laying it all out, Duan Chengxue laughed at his own conclusion.
“No matter how you look at it, their future’s like parallel lines—more stable than my final-year mechanics project.”
Chu Biexia smiled.
“Want to make a bet? I think Res will get what he wishes for.”
“What’s your theoretical basis, Mr. Graduate Student?” Duan Chengxue asked.
“All stable systems eventually get disrupted. What if there’s just one unexpected variable?”
“When?”
Pressed for an answer, Chu Biexia got annoyed and lightly kicked him.
“How should I know! If I say today, does that make it today?”
“Maybe it does,” Duan Chengxue said with a grin, not taking it seriously.