Yan Shu did not know who had entered, so he clutched his pill bottle and leaned against the stall partition to regulate his breathing.
Once his state had more or less recovered, Yan Shu opened the door and walked out. The space outside was completely empty; the person who had just entered was already gone.
He returned to the lounge and tucked the medication back into his small personal backpack.
The fifteen-minute break was tight. The team members were either reviewing match footage or resting their eyes, occasionally moving around to grab a drink of water.
Zhuoyue picked up the bottle of mineral water beside him and tilted his head back to finish half of it. After capping the bottle, he said, “This is the next and final match. It is the match point. We are only allowed to win, no losses.”
“That goes without saying. Captain, you just wait to treat us to dinner tonight,” Lin Qi said. After playing two matches, his mindset had improved by more than just a little.
Zhuoyue nodded.
Following the brief rest, SR’s team members headed back onto the stage to greet the final match of the day.
The SR first team was a squad heavily dependent on momentum. If everyone’s morale was low or internal friction existed, they certainly could not perform at their normal level. Conversely, if everyone’s spirits ran high, their strength could not be underestimated.
Yan Shu was a veteran. He rarely let emotions affect his gameplay and only occasionally made mistakes due to psychological triggers. Lin Qi, however, was the textbook definition of an emotional player. In order to score that dinner courtesy of the captain, he proceeded to completely crush the opposing development lane.
The SR team defeated the Lions two to zero.
Walking off the stage, Yan Shu felt as though he were waking from a dream. Glancing back at the interwoven lights of the arena, for a fleeting moment, it all felt surreal.
Through several matches, Yan Shu grew even more certain that he was hopelessly attached to the battlefield.
He was unwilling to be bound by scandals for the rest of his life, unwilling to become a withered veteran, and unwilling to retire before lifting a trophy.
Choosing to return to the league this time was the absolute right decision.
Thinking up to this point, a rare smile surfaced on Yan Shu’s face. He truly loved the stage, more than anyone else.
Just as he pondered his future direction, a cheer erupted inside the lounge.
“Captain! Treat us to dinner!” Lin Qi bounded up and down like a monkey. His performance on stage alone made it obvious just how hard he had fought for that free meal from the captain.
Zhuoyue crossed his arms and couldn’t help laughing. “Fine, you guys pick the place.”
“Can we have Western food? The super expensive kind?” Lin Qi’s eyes lit up.
Ye Xuanqing remained relatively indifferent.
Luo Yan’s mood had improved by now as well. He aimed a meaningful remark at Lin Qi, “Western restaurants are so quiet. If you go there, the security guards will drag you out.”
“How could that happen? I just want to eat something nice. Captain, please.” Lin Qi made a zipper motion over his mouth with his hand, keeping his lips shut while forcing out sound through his throat. “I am closed-mouthed and very quiet.”
“Fine, Western food it is.” Zhuoyue wasn’t someone who cared about money. Although he had once been genuinely strapped for cash, his accumulated savings from winning tournament matches were quite substantial now.
Once dinner was settled, Yan Shu followed his teammates to change locations.
As the team bus rolled down the road, Yan Shu sat quietly in the corner, listening to the teammates ahead gathered together in lively, joyful laughter.
Images of his TW teammates suddenly flashed before his eyes.
Back then, the team darling who used to liven up the atmosphere just like Lin Qi was Yan Shu.
Now, Yan Shu looked at the streetlamps lighting up outside the window. His side profile reflected on the glass pane, showing what a drastic change had occurred over the years.
He offered a bitter smile, closed his eyes with a sense of quiet contentment, opened his small personal backpack, and took his medication right on schedule.
With water inside the bag, Yan Shu no longer had to swallow the pills dry like he had in the afternoon.
He held the medicine bottle, preparing to tip out a few tablets.
Suddenly, the bus slammed on the brakes. Lin Qi, who was goofing off with a teammate, lost his footing and tumbled straight into the back row of the bus. As he fell, he knocked over Yan Shu’s pill bottle.
White little tablets scattered across the floor, and one even rolled all the way to the front row, coming to a rest right at Zhuoyue’s feet.
“What’s this stuff?” Luo Yan looked down, spotted the white pills, and turned back with an expression of disgust. “Must you take meds on the bus? Are you a sickly invalid?”
Ye Xuanqing muttered under his breath, “07, you should stay seated properly on the bus.”
Lin Qi sat on the floor, unable to get up immediately. That fall felt like it had split his backside into eight pieces. Wincing in pain as he clutched the back of a seat, he pulled himself up, found the nearest spot, and sat down. With a hint of apology toward Yan Shu, he said, “Sorry about that. Looks like your pills fell all over the floor and aren’t edible anymore.”
“It’s fine.” Yan Shu crouched down to retrieve the pill bottle, noticing a few tablets still rattling inside safely. His luck wasn’t too bad.
Lin Qi was naturally gossipy. Tilting his head, he asked, “What kind of medicine is this? Do you have a stomachache too? I noticed you running to the restroom really fast during one of the matches this afternoon. Xu Ya already headed back to the club early, do you want to head back early too?”
“No stomachache.” Yan Shu shook his head, pinching the pill bottle to check if the remaining tablets were dirty.
Seeing that Yan Shu had no intention of elaborating, Lin Qi lost interest and crawled back to his seat upfront.
Up front as well, Zhuoyue narrowed his eyes slightly. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he scooped up the pill at his feet, wrapped it carefully in a tissue, and slipped it into his pocket.
Thanks to Lin Qi’s painful tumble, the bus finally quieted down. Because his backside hurt, Lin Qi sat crookedly in his seat, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
Only then did Yan Shu pop the sparse remaining pills into his mouth and swallow them down with mineral water.
He wondered when his stress response would finally disappear. He remembered Dr. Helen telling him that as long as he untied the knot in his heart, his condition could fully heal.
Gazing at the blurred shadows of the streetlamps outside the window, he silently tightened his grip on the pill bottle.
Before long, the bus pulled to a steady stop in front of a restaurant.
The teammates filed off the bus one by one, with Zhuoyue leading the way at the very front.
Just as they reached the shop entrance, a staff member stepped forward with immaculate gentlemanly manners. “I apologize, gentlemen, but due to explicit store rules, patrons are not permitted inside without formal wear. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused to your dining experience.”
“Ah,” Lin Qi wailed.
Without panicking, Zhuoyue pulled out his phone, made a quick call, and spoke directly into the receiver. “A-Qiang, do you wear formal wear just to eat nowadays? I am right outside your shop door, just finished a match, and can’t change into formal wear.”
With just a few brief sentences, Zhuoyue hung up.
Within the time it took to smoke half a cigarette, the front doors swung open, and a rugged, tough-looking man walked out. The man wore a suit, but his fierce, intimidating facial features looked completely out of place inside a Western restaurant.
The moment he stepped outside, the tough guy walked up to Zhuoyue and threw an arm around his shoulders. “Brother Zhuo, what formal wear nonsense are you talking about? If you had told me in advance, I would have rolled out a red carpet to welcome you. You are an esports player who brought glory to the country, after all.”
Zhuoyue smiled. “Cut the flattery and get me a private room.”
“Alright, since you’re here, you get top-tier treatment. Are all these guys behind you your teammates?” A-Qiang turned to the waiter at the entrance and instructed, “Remember these faces. Free meals for all of them next time they visit.”
The waiter looked visibly startled. “Yes, boss.”
“That won’t do, we still have to pay.” Zhuoyue’s expression turned serious.
A-Qiang chuckled as he ushered them inside. “You need to learn to enjoy life. The life we have now was something we didn’t even dare to imagine back in the day. I was only able to set up this business thanks to your support, so free meals are only right.”
“Even blood brothers settle accounts clearly.”
Knowing he couldn’t win an argument against Zhuoyue, A-Qiang conceded. “Fine, I can’t argue with you.”
Guided by the owner, they entered the most luxurious private room available.
Yan Shu surveyed the room and chose an inconspicuous seat near the edge.
The lighting inside the private room was bright and glowing.
A-Qiang, who had been talking to Zhuoyue, raised his head unintentionally and caught sight of Yan Shu. He froze noticeably, stared at Yan Shu repeatedly for a few seconds, and then pointed at him, saying, “Brother Zhuo, isn’t this your room…”
Zhuoyue moved with lightning speed to clap his hand over A-Qiang’s mouth. “No.”
A-Qiang hadn’t spoken softly, so everyone around had basically caught the first few words, but what Zhuoyue muffled out at the end was entirely inaudible to the rest.
“Huh? Boss, you know him?” Lin Qi picked up on the scent of gossip and latched onto the owner with questions.
With Zhuoyue’s shoe stepping heavily down on his toe, A-Qiang realized he had blurted out something he shouldn’t have and instantly pivoted his words. “Don’t know him, my eyes must be playing tricks on me.”
Yan Shu felt confused, but didn’t dwell on it.
A-Qiang awkwardly continued, “How about some drinks? I heard you guys beat the Lions today.”
“Red wine? Like eighty-second Lafite tier?” Lin Qi got distracted by the new topic.
High-end red wine was out of the question, and ordinary alcohol was too. Considering there were more matches tomorrow, Zhuoyue vetoed any alcohol on the table tonight.
Drinks were off the table, but Zhuoyue still ordered a table full of pricey dishes. King crab, abalone, sea cucumber, and top-tier Wagyu beef arrived in endless high-end courses, making his teammates drool.
“If we win the qualifiers tomorrow, I’m treating dinner again.” Zhuoyue paused, his gaze sharpening. “If you can’t win, you’re walking back to the club on foot.”
The first-team members dropped their jaws. “Huh?”
“If we lose the qualifiers, whether our club can even continue existing becomes a question. Do you still expect to have money for a cab ride back?” Zhuoyue’s warning sounded slightly intimidating, but it wasn’t an exaggeration. The SR team’s current situation was hanging by a thread. If they couldn’t even secure a GPL ticket…
Zhuoyue clenched his fists as memories surfaced of the Python team owner buying away three of his teammates and then approaching him with those specific words.
Thinking of this made Zhuoyue even more determined to break into the GPL, lead the team into S-group, and defeat the Python team. He also wanted to make the club’s upper management feel the crisis and let the Python team’s owner taste what it was like when a roster fell apart at the seams.
Armed with the captain’s words, the atmosphere at the dinner table shifted instantly.
Yan Shu ate quietly with his head down. The logistics staff sitting next to him kept their mouths shut.
The meal remained dead silent until the very end; no one dared to act up.
After dinner, they returned to the club. The other team members retired to bed early, but Yan Shu couldn’t sleep.
Half of it was due to the excitement of playing on stage today, and the other half was due to his personal training habits.
In the training room, Yan Shu played four or five Peak Tournament matches before finally preparing to head back to his dorm to sleep.
The path from the training room to the dorms passed the pantry. As Yan Shu walked past, a figure inside startled him. Looking closely, he realized it was Zhuoyue standing by the ashtray, smoking a cigarette.
Spotting Yan Shu, Zhuoyue took the cigarette out of his mouth and said in a flat tone, “Get some rest early.”
Yan Shu paused his steps and asked back, “Tomorrow, will I still be able to play in the match?”
Zhuoyue intended to walk away, but upon hearing that question, he halted his steps.
“We’ll see.”