Seeing him eager to try, Lin Chen unmercifully poured cold water on him with a smile. “Jungling requires good game sense. Since you are just starting out, you should begin with something simpler.”
Wen Ming froze for a moment, his brow furrowing deeply as if he still wanted to argue, only to be cut off by Lin Chen’s words. “You cannot even beat the bots right now. How do you expect to handle heroes that demand both mechanics and macro awareness? Haste makes waste, and President Wen should know that principle better than I do.”
Wen Ming sighed, finally compromising. “Then teach me something simpler.”
Lin Chen smiled, feeling rather curious. Folding his arms and leaning back against his seat, he looked at him. “President Wen, I wonder if a certain remark is appropriate to say.”
With a premonition that nothing good would come out of this person’s mouth, Wen Ming said flatly, “Then do not say it.”
Yet Lin Chen cheerfully continued anyway. “President Wen, you are simply not suited for gaming, let alone interested in e-sports. Why must you force yourself?”
As expected, it was nothing good. Wen Ming’s expression darkened as he stared fixedly at the screen. “People change.”
Lin Chen let out a cold snort. “Right, people change. Back when you were together with the captain, no matter how much effort he spent inviting you to the Phantom World Championship venue, you remained completely unmoved.”
Wen Ming froze, lowering his eyelashes slightly. His fingers, resting over his knees, instinctively tightened their grip.
“It is my fault toward him.”
The moment Lin Chen saw him looking like this, annoyance flared up within him. If Wen Ming had not gotten entangled with him back then, Ye Wanqing would not have fallen into his current predicament. Yet this primary culprit showed not a shred of remorse, turning right around to rush toward a newcomer, even forcing himself to practice Phantom, a game he used to look down upon.
It was hard to tell whether to call him fickle or deeply affectionate.
“Do not apologize to me. Apologize to the captain instead. He really needs you right now.”
Taking a deep breath and looking at Wen Ming’s startled expression, feeling as though the final layer of pretense had been ripped away, Lin Chen’s eye rims turned slightly red. “Those people in the league have squeezed out every ounce of his value, and now they want to drink his blood and eat his flesh. If he had not signed that unfair contract for your sake back then, he would have been free long ago, and he certainly would not have had to fight a lawsuit with the league for so long.”
Wen Ming was somewhat surprised. He only knew that Ye Wanqing was arguing with the league to terminate his contract, but he had no idea the situation was this severe, and a deeper sense of guilt washed over him. “I will do everything in my power to help him with this matter.”
Lin Chen glanced sideways at him, his mouth twitching a few times. The harsh words ultimately failed to leave his lips, and he merely said with resentment, “That is fine then. On behalf of the captain, I will thank President Wen.”
An hour later, Wen Ming stood by the roadside, feeling exhausted. After hesitating for a long time, he finally took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a deep drag and letting it numb his brain to alleviate the pain in his heart.
It had been many years since he last relied on this stuff to perk himself up.
Ye Wanqing’s affair had been an obstacle ever since his youth. Although both of them tacitly chose to forget, wounds that had healed over still left scars, not to mention hearts that were viciously pierced during their younger days.
He truly had no desire to recall those dark days ever again.
“Ding!”
His phone chimed. Wen Ming stubbed out the cigarette and picked it up. It was a message from Liang Ling: [Is President Wen done? Shall we get dinner together?]
It was followed by a little bunny emoji with starry eyes.
Wen Ming let out a sudden chuckle. When he snapped back to reality, he found himself feeling incredulous. How could there be such a person who made him feel happy just thinking about him?
[Alright, stand at the company entrance and wait for me. I will come pick you up.]
Liang Ling quickly sent another message: [President Wen, can we eat some meat today? If I eat any more vegetable salad, I am going to turn into a rabbit.]
Through the screen, Wen Ming could practically picture his dejected little expression. Unable to keep from smiling, he replied: [Alright, as you wish. Let us go eat spicy hot pot.]