“Happy New Year, ge ge.” Supports were usually quite tolerant of their AD carries, and since he’d already received a gift, Yu Xinche still went ahead and greeted him.
It still felt a bit odd, so he added, as if to cover it up, “Are you satisfied now?”
He Ci’s eyes crinkled, clearly pleased. But he still had to pretend, commenting with an air of superiority: “It feels very perfunctory, very unwilling.”
“Really? Then let me say it again.” Yu Xinche knew that he only wanted to hear those words, and he was already embarrassed enough to say them once, so he definitely wouldn’t let him have his way a second time.
He said, “Happy New Year. I hope we can win the championship in the new year.”
He Ci glanced at him, his joking expression fading: “Yes, we will.”
In the distance, beams of fireworks rose into the sky one after another, bursting into countless points of light, illuminating half the sky like a sky full of stars, and then shimmering as they fell, as dazzling as a champion’s rain.
He seemed to be muttering to himself, or perhaps responding to Yu Xinche: “I’m sure we’ll win a lot of championships this year.”
After watching the fireworks, the group sat on the rooftop for a while. He Ci’s cousin also sent Yu Xinche a red envelope, saying he wanted to treat everyone equally.
“Thank you, Brother Ye. Happy New Year, Brother.” Yu Xinche handed over the payment QR code. As he spoke, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that He Ci was looking at him. He turned his head to the other side, pretending not to see him.
His cousin had already noticed that He Ci’s new teammate had a sweet tongue, and casually asked him, “What do you call He Ci? Brother Ci?”
Yu Xinche said, “I usually call him by his name.”
He Ci chuckled, but unfortunately Yu Xinche didn’t notice this time because He Liangye had transferred 8888 to him.
It’s a bit strange. Could it be that when He Xiao and the others asked for red envelopes, the amounts on both sides would be different? Or maybe He Liangye just gave him less?
It’s unlikely.
Yu Xinche thought for a moment, then gave He Ci a meaningful look.
“What are you looking at?” He Ci looked at him too.
“It’s nothing.” Yu Xinche changed the subject, pointing to his phone, “the messages have been coming in the whole time.”
Just now, around midnight, the two of them were arguing about calling each other “brother” and neither of them checked their phones. Yu Xinche’s wechat had already accumulated a bunch of unread notifications.
Friends from his school days, as well as players and commentators he met while playing professionally, all sent their blessings.
There was so much news about him that some classmates he hadn’t been in touch with for a long time started trying to get close to him after he went pro.
For this group of people, he first edited a simple set of general blessings, copied it to each chat box, and sent it out to complete the task.
Then there were some genuine friends, and he replied to each of them earnestly.
Bian Qi said he hopes he and He Ci will win the championship next season. Ke Yiqi said he should be able to play next season. His college roommates encouraged him to keep going, saying they wouldn’t be able to watch the finals because of midterms, but they would definitely watch him play in the upcoming continental tournament.
The most outrageous one was his senior.
His senior and Yu Xinche had always kept in touch. Their chats were usually brief. The senior usually sends him encouraging messages after his key matches and occasionally shows him some interesting forum memes.
However, the senior was very careful and only sent him positive messages, so Yu Xinche was able to keep up with the times and use memes without being affected by the negativity on the forum.
This time, however, she acted out of character and posted several couple-themed posts.
Happy New Year, Xiao Yu (little fish)! Wishing you good health in the new year and may you win the championship!
There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time: are you guys really together?
-Link
What’s real or fake? Yu Xinche clicked on the picture out of curiosity, and was so shocked by the bold comments on the forum that he didn’t move for a long time.
The CP fans on the forum have already started analyzing what stage his relationship with He Ci had reached.
Analyzing their behavior from the very beginning of their duo queue, fans felt that He Ci was already acting strangely.
They said that although he was considerate of his support, they had never seen him so attentive to any other support; in one game, Yu Xinche took more blue buffs than He Ci himself had taken the red buffs.
Then they discussed how inconsistent it was with his character when He Ci took the initiative to interact with him when he first joined the team, and further discussed various small details during the live stream.
The comments listed too many “sweet moments” and the list was too dense. Moreover, according to the fans’ analysis, these actions all seemed abnormal. In the fans’ words, they were “not things that normal brothers would do.”
As one of the main characters, Yu Xinche felt increasingly embarrassed as he watched, and he couldn’t take it anymore and quit before he even finished half of it.
Even after leaving, he didn’t forget to answer the senior’s question:
-We have a good relationship, but we’ve never actually dated.
Senior: Okay
The senior posted a really sad cat emoji, as if she was genuinely disappointed that the couple she was shipping was fake.
Yu Xinche was both amused and exasperated, and chatted with her about other things for a while.
The He family didn’t have a tradition of staying up for the New Years; people could go to sleep when they were tired. None of them stayed up for too long; after putting out the fire and tidying up, they went downstairs.
Before leaving, Yu Xinche glanced at his phone again. There were no more unread messages, and the two chat windows that had been silent for so long remained quiet.
When he first started playing professionally, his parents called him. Although they hadn’t discussed it, they were in complete agreement on this matter and didn’t approve of Yu Xinche giving up his studies.
Yu Xinche was busy with training and knew it was impossible to persuade them, so he patiently told them his thoughts and then hung up the phone.
They continued to call after that, but Yu Xinche was very firm and would hang up as soon as he heard that they were trying to persuade him.
After this happened several times, they stopped calling.
He had went back to his father’s place by himself at the end of last year, and his mother even called him then.
Yu Xinche had been worried that he might soften his heart if they called to check on him today. Now it seems he was overthinking it; since he stopped thinking about his parents, they stopped remembering him too.
That’s good too. It’s a good start to the new year.
After going downstairs, they all returned to their rooms. Yu Xinche called out to He Ci, curious about the 9999 amount.
The elders were already asleep, and He Ci, afraid of waking them, opened the door to his room and let Yu Xinche in.
Yu Xinche went in and closed the door. Just as he was about to speak, He Ci gestured for him to sit down and talk.
Yu Xinche paused for a moment, then sat down.
He Ci sat down beside him: “What do you want to ask?”
Yu Xinche: “…”
When you have something to hide, being alone makes the atmosphere more ambiguous. Yu Xinche might have been able to ask him outside, but now that he’s had a second or two to breathe, and considering the CP post he just saw, he’s finding it hard to ask.
He may already have the answer in his heart, or he may be afraid that the truth was not the answer he wanted.
“Hmm…” He licked his lips, “I just wanted to ask if you’re going out to visit relatives and friends for the New Year? If you have guests at home, will I be in the way?”
“No,” He Ci said. “He Xiao usually goes to visit relatives, I don’t need to. We rarely have guests at home, so I don’t need to entertain them. We can just go out and have fun as we please.”
Yu Xinche looked at him in surprise: “No need, I can play by myself. You can do what you need to do.”
He Ci smiled and said, “It’s not because of that. Neither He Liangye nor I need to worry about these things.”
He lowered his head and thought for a moment, then explained, “His game startup and my professional gaming career can both be seen as… side quests. During these quests, we don’t have to worry about things at home, and it doesn’t matter if I go back to the base tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Yu Xinche immediately grasped the key point. “So, once the mission is complete, you have to go back to the main storyline? Inherit the family business?”
He Ci smiled and said, “Yes.”
“Then how do you define ‘complete’?” Yu Xinche muttered to himself, “Win the championship? But you’ve already won many.”
He Ci shook his head: “If that’s the case, if I don’t want to retire, wouldn’t I just be able to stay a nobody forever?”
“What are the conditions?”
He Ci asked him curiously, “Why do you think there are conditions? I want to play professionally, and my family supports me. Is that not allowed?”
“Because your cousin said he was fighting with his back against the wall, and HIT was his last hope, which sounded like there was a time limit. And…”
Yu Xinche considered for a moment and continued, “I don’t mean to offend you, but you said before that they were very strict with you when you were little. I don’t think parents like that would let you do whatever you want all the time.”
Even if they’ve become more open-minded and benevolent now, they’ll probably still have some conditions.
He remained silent for a while and Yu Xinche guessed that he had guessed correctly.
However, He Ci never mentioned these things, and he didn’t seem to be restricted in any way, so Yu Xinche guessed that they were relatively easy conditions for him.
Moreover, this was his sixth year as a professional player. If he can persist for so long, He Ci may have already achieved those conditions by now.
As expected, He Ci nodded: “There are conditions.”
“What is it?…Can you tell me?”
“Sure.” He Ci pointed to the stack of documents on the table. “The condition is that there’s an exam every off-season, and I have to pass it to continue.”
Yu Xinche was quite surprised when he first saw the documents and finance textbooks on He Ci’s desk. He didn’t expect He Ci to work so hard during the off-season.
Now that he’s said it this way, things make sense.
“So, did you pass this time?”
“I haven’t taken the exam yet.”
“…Then I think we shouldn’t go out tomorrow.” Yu Xinche’s stubbornness kicked in. “You study hard, I’ll just play games by myself.”
“…” He Ci’s brow twitched. “There’s no need to be in such a rush. We can go to the foot of the mountain to see the lambs tomorrow.”
Yu Xinche actually really wanted to see it; he was tempted when He Ci mentioned it last time. But his instinct to prepare for the exam prevailed over his desire to play, and he insisted, “Let’s not go. I don’t really want to see them.”
“What do you want to see?” He Ci asked. Even if Yu Xinche said he wanted to see viewers call him “baby,” He Ci would still be willing to start the live stream.
“I want to see you study hard.”
“…”
Yu Xinche spoke in a very sweet tone, but He Ci was too preoccupied to appreciate it.
He rubbed his temples, finally understanding what it meant to lift a rock only to drop it on your own foot.
He’s really regretting it now. Why did I have to bring up the exam a minute ago? It stirred up the competitive spirit of this top student in front of me.
“Okay,” he replied with difficulty.
He could say he had learned everything that’s going to be on the test, but if he make any more excuses, Yu Xinche might become suspicious. It wouldn’t be good if Yu Xinche found out he was lying about the test.
So in the end, He Ci actually studied for a few afternoons under Yu Xinche’s supervision. While He Ci attended online classes, Yu Xinche just played around next to him.
He Ci said he could go out and play by himself, but Yu Xinche said no, afraid that He Ci would stop studying if he left.
He Ci didn’t say anything more, as he originally wanted to stay with Yu Xinche.
Yu Xinche wasn’t as selfless as he claimed. On one hand, he didn’t want to wander around since he was unfamiliar with the area, and on the other hand, he felt quite comfortable staying with He Ci.
Although they didn’t exchange more than a few words all afternoon, it wasn’t boring.
He would take a nap in the sun on the balcony, then play with building blocks on the carpet for a while, playing games and reading books in between.
Occasionally, when He Ci wasn’t looking, he would secretly take a picture of the limited edition skin of college student He Ci that no one in the league has ever seen before.
There were still quite a few things they could do.
As for He Ci, in his eyes Yu Xinche had been like a domesticated cat these past few days, playing here and there, and time must have passed very quickly for him.
The only one carrying the burden is himself, facing his major courses.
Five days passed in this way, and He Ci finally couldn’t hold on any longer. He was very efficient when he was focused, and he had already learned most of the material before the New Year. In these five days, he had finished all the remaining courses.
“The exam is over. Let’s go back to base tomorrow.”
“So fast? It’s approved, right?”
“Yes, it’s approved.”
“OK.”
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the elders also gave Yu Xinche a large red envelope. He was very grateful and hugged He Ci’s mother before leaving.
The driver took them back to the base, and there was no one else there when they arrived. After ordering takeout and having lunch, He Ci asked Yu Xinche if he was tired.
“I’m not tired. What’s wrong?”
“When you first came to the base, I promised you something, do you remember?” He Ci asked.
Yu Xinche recalled for a moment: “What? I don’t remember?”
He Ci turned to leave, saying, “Then forget it.”
“No, wait!” Yu Xinche caught up with him. “Give me a hint? I really can’t remember.”
Walking closer to the fish tank, He Ci gently tapped on the glass.
“?” Yu Xinche stared at the fish for two seconds, then realized what he meant.
We were talking about the animals at the shelter, and I mentioned wanting to get a dog!
His eyes widened in surprise, and he caught up with He Ci, putting his hand on He Ci’s shoulder, his whole demeanor radiating joy: “Really? Shall we go see the dogs now?!”
He Ci nodded: “Aside from match days, you’ll be in charge of feeding and walking the animal. Is that acceptable?”
“Sure, sure.” Yu Xinche hook his arm through He Ci’s down jacket and pulled him forward. “Hurry up, hurry up, I’m addicted to puppies. If I don’t see a dog for half an hour, I’ll blow up the base.”
If Yu Xinche had a tail, he would be wagging it like a propeller about to take off.
He Ci looked at him amusedly: “If you had gotten the puppy before the New Year, you wouldn’t have come to my house, right?”
“Uh…” Yu Xinche thought about the scene and realized that having a dog with him would indeed make him feel less lonely.
But he couldn’t possibly get such a simple, easy question wrong. He blinked, pretending to be very determined, and looked at He Ci: “How could that be? Don’t underestimate yourself.”
He Ci still had that half-smile, half-serious look on his face, as if he hadn’t been coaxed yet.
Yu Xinche paused, then increased the intensity: “You’re still more important than a dog, ge ge.”
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