Xu Qing shook his head, wanting to say that you are not funny, just a bit cute. However, Pei Shiyu might not like others calling him cute.
Pei Shiyu withdrew his gaze and continued: “That being said, I cannot guarantee whether the people who come here will be more reliable than Tiger Brother. The people we could reach through our current selection criteria are already at the bottom of the rankings.”
Xu Qing replied: “But clearly, you do not have much room for choice right now.”
Pei Shiyu hummed in agreement, looking at his teammates: “I know everyone might have doubts about me firing Tiger Brother and the current predicament of the team.”
Wan Yi immediately muttered: “Who has doubts? I have been fed up with that guy for a long time.”
Pei Shiyu continued: “You might also think that my dream of building a team from scratch and making it to the KOL stage is nothing but wishful thinking. It is normal for everyone to have these concerns, and I do not want to fill your heads with empty promises right now. Firing Tiger Brother was not an impulsive decision. My original intention in establishing the Break of Dawn team was to reach the KOL stage, and also, I do not allow any ‘troublemaking’ scum in my team to influence the squad. I know we are short on people, and I also know that every year is precious to an esports athlete. But a team destined for success cannot afford to keep people who are not a good fit. Our primary task now is to win the city championship.”
This was the first time Xu Qing heard Pei Shiyu say so much. His words were not particularly flowery, but they were sincere. Xu Qing noticed that even his uncle’s eyes began to twinkle with light.
Xu Qing looked at Pei Shiyu, feeling that this man was incredibly charming at this moment. What should he do?
Night fell.
Since Lu Xinyu joined the team, he had been living at the club. Xu Qing was the only one who returned to his grandmother’s house. Now that Tiger Brother had left and a room had opened up, Xu Qing became another person who came to stay over.
There was no helping it. The weather had been hot recently, and Boss Cai had started his late-night food stall business, setting up tables outside. Boss Cai’s restaurant was so busy that he had even started giving Xu Qing a raise.
People who liked to grill skewers and drink often stayed until the small hours of the morning. When Xu Qing finished cleaning up the last table, the team had just finished their day’s training.
Pei Shiyu was smoking downstairs alone. His shadow was stretched long by the streetlamp. The warm yellow light shone on him, illuminating the swirling white smoke, which inexplicably made him look a bit lonely.
Xu Qing walked over and sprayed him twice with insect repellent.
Pei Shiyu turned his head, looking at the simple and pungent floral water sprayed on his arm: “?”
Xu Qing squinted and smiled: “Standing here smoking to treat the mosquitoes to a meal?”
Pei Shiyu remained silent for a moment, looking at the red mark from a new mosquito bite on his wrist.
Pei Shiyu said: “I forgot to spray it.”
In reality, he had not sprayed it because he found the smell of the floral water too pungent.
Xu Qing said: “It does not matter if you forgot. Boss Cai’s floral water here is specially prepared for guests.”
After all, outdoor barbecues in summer, while atmospheric, also mean that while you are enjoying a good meal, you are also becoming a good meal for the mosquitoes.
Xu Qing sprayed Pei Shiyu two more times with a small spray bottle. He saw that Pei Shiyu did not like the smell.
However, he did it on purpose.
Pei Shiyu wanted to refuse, but in the end, he just frowned and stayed silent.
Xu Qing took a step forward. Pei Shiyu stood still, confused but not moving.
Xu Qing raised his hand, two fingers in a “V” shape, and pressed them against Pei Shiyu’s brow, then widened the “V” slightly.
“Constantly frowning will give you vertical forehead wrinkles.”
Pei Shiyu instinctively wanted to frown, but it was forcibly stopped by Xu Qing’s “V.”
Xu Qing tilted his head: “Although you look handsome when you frown, my grandmother told me that frowning represents worry.” He looked at Pei Shiyu and smiled: “So, do not worry; everything will be fine.”
Xu Qing’s black, bright pupils were clear, but for some reason, they seemed like a whirlpool drawing one in.
Xu Qing withdrew his hand, stretched, and yawned wearily: “I am sleepy. Good night. I am going up to sleep. You should rest early, too.”
Having said that, he left on his own without waiting for Pei Shiyu’s reply.
Pei Shiyu stared at Xu Qing’s retreating figure for a long time. He wanted to frown, but he held it back. The sensation of his cool fingertips seemed to linger on his brow.
Xu Qing always seemed like this, rushing into the edges of other people’s territory, and when the other party felt offended, he would retreat with a great sense of propriety.
Just like the behavior he had not anticipated, yet Xu Qing seemed to have noticed his “emotions” and did not rudely ask too many questions. The “offense” was just right, leaving him no room to find fault.
This was the first time he had encountered such a boundary-conscious intrusion, which left him somewhat at a loss for a moment. At the very least, in his life before this, he had never met anyone like Xu Qing. He was novel, yet vibrant.
The afternoon of the next day was the time Pei Shiyu had set for the nine top-tier solo laners to arrive.
Because there were too many people, the base club could not accommodate them all. Pei Shiyu arranged hotels nearby for everyone who came. Because some had come from other cities and were unfamiliar with the routes in Bo Teng City, the Break of Dawn members were sent out early in the morning to pick them up. This is what happens when a team is so short-handed that they have to pool people just to start a match; the players are also the staff.
Some were booking cars, some were picking people up, some were contacting hotels. Because they were short-handed, Xu Qing, after telling Boss Cai, also came to help.
Seeing Xu Qing arrive, Pei Shiyu rarely spoke, saying: “Thanks.” It was unclear if it was for today, or yesterday, or both.
“Then how about you treat me to a meal, or let me stay for a few more nights?” Xu Qing smiled, revealing his small canine tooth, the tail of his sentence inexplicably sounding a bit lingering.
Pei Shiyu thought he must be overthinking it. It was probably just a subtle difference from Xu Qing’s usual voice, right?
The group worked feverishly all afternoon. Although many statistics and situations could be seen online, they were afraid that after sending away one Tiger Brother, they might get a Wolf Brother, and life would truly become unbearable. They had played online together for so long and had not realized Tiger Brother was that kind of person.
The nine people arrived sooner or later, but by 8:00 PM, they had managed to pick up everyone on the list and had everyone complete several training matches. Their time was tight, focusing on efficiency.
Pei Shiyu and Lu Xinyu had already refined the ranking of everyone’s performance and ability on their list.
Xu Qing brought some sodas for the people who had been busy all afternoon.
Xu Qing asked: “How is it? Any satisfactory ones?”
Pei Shiyu took the soda and scanned the area before speaking. Everyone else had cola; only his was orange soda. He had drunk this brand during their last group dinner. He usually drank cola, but he indeed preferred orange soda. Even Wan Yi and Wan Li, who had been at the base for a long time, probably did not know his preferences.
Seeing Pei Shiyu unscrew the cap and remain silent, Xu Qing asked: “What is the matter?”
Pei Shiyu came back to his senses, shook his head, and took a big gulp. He assumed Xu Qing might just be observant. He answered the previous question: “A few are quite good. Although there are some flaws in their operation, they are already very good considering the current situation of the team.”
Xu Qing stared for two seconds at Pei Shiyu’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he looked up to drink the soda, then moved away quietly. He also unscrewed his bottle and took a sip of cola, the chilled liquid flowing through his body.
“That is quite good. It was not in vain.”
Just as the two were talking, a girl under 1.6 meters tall, wearing a black layered Lolita dress that looked like a small cake, carrying a black sun umbrella with silk, walked over. She stopped at the stall where Pei Shiyu and Xu Qing were.
Xu Qing did not pay much attention, thinking it was someone asking about what activity they were doing. Because they needed to pick people up, they borrowed a large sun umbrella from Boss Cai’s shop downstairs and made a large sign. Throughout the afternoon, several waves of people had already come to ask how to get free eggs.
Xu Qing explained skillfully: “We are not doing any promotional activities.”
The black silk umbrella was slowly pulled away by a fair hand, revealing a cold face that matched her clothing style. Coupled with her height of less than 1.6 meters, she looked like a cold little Lolita. The girl’s voice was that of a cool, icy professional woman. She asked politely and distantly:
“May I ask, is this Jingzhe’s team?”