Perhaps it was because of his cold, but Zuo Tao didn’t have much of an appetite. After just a few bites with everyone else, he couldn’t eat any more.
Si Zheng hurried him back to his room to rest. Their interview was scheduled for 3 that afternoon.
Zuo Tao nodded in agreement, yawning as he walked upstairs. He brought out the clothes from the washing machine, hanging them out on the balcony, noticing that Song Shihan’s mint plant was now more alive. Just a few days ago it was almost bald, but after a night of rain, new leaves were already growing.
Zuo Tao was inspired by its tenacity. How could he not be able to fight for his image if this ugly plant managed to survive despite almost getting uprooted?
He sure had a great way of comforting himself —
Wasn’t it just a bit of craziness? Who wouldn’t go crazy after getting drunk off beer?
Moreover, it seemed that Song Shihan didn’t give last night’s events much thought after spending time with him this morning, nor did he show any displeasure towards Zuo Tao. Every cloud truly had its silver lining.
After hanging the clothes, Zuo Tao didn’t go to sleep; he was afraid that resting now would affect his sense, so he turned his laptop on and played two ranked matches. But when it rains, it pours; he was already sick, and nothing seemed to be going his way. He lost both matches in a row. He got matched with teammates who spent the entire matches criticizing each other instead of focusing on the games.
His head throbbed even worse as a result. Zuo Tao wanted to curse right back, but someone knocked on his door.
“Coming,” Zuo Tao said through gritted teeth, giving up on his teammates. He stood up and opened the door.
“Are you feeling better now?”
Jiang Ming glanced at Zuo Tao from head to toe, and then caught a glimpse of the laptop still on the game interface. His eyebrow twitched as he said, “Don’t tell me you spent the entire afternoon playing.”
Zuo Tao sniffed. “Just for a while.”
Jiang Ming was speechless. He looked at Zuo Tao’s pale face and sighed helplessly. “The doctor told you to rest. Why are you being so hard-headed, child?”
“I feel better now,” Zuo Tao insisted with a smile, jumping in place to show he was fine. “Look, aren’t I fine?”
“This kid…” Jiang Ming hesitated. “If you’d drunk the ginger tea before going to bed last night you wouldn’t be feeling this bad. Look at everyone else, they’re doing fine.” He paused and, trying to make himself feel better, “I kept what you didn’t drink this morning. Do you want to drink it now? It’s good for you.”
Thinking of the smell, Zuo Tao shook his head without hesitation, saying, “…I still can’t.”
Jiang Ming laughed. “I can’t believe you. When I was sick as a kid, I never took medicine. Colds, fever, all I had was ginger tea. I’m sure you’ll get better immediately.”
Zuo Tao simply smiled. He thought to himself that if there was such a good thing, then ginger wouldn’t be as common in the markets as it was.
Seeing that he truly didn’t want to drink, Jiang Ming stopped insisting, instead saying, “Alright, come with me. The interview is about to start.”
The 《Rising Wind》 league worked with Little Bear TV to send a group to interview them. Zuo Tao followed Jiang Ming down to the first floor lobby, seeing staff members standing around a temporary set on the corner of the living room. All kinds of photo, video, lighting, and sound equipment were also set up around the area.
“Don’t be nervous. They’re just going to ask a few questions, so just follow along,” Jiang Ming explained to Zuo Tao, as it was his first ever interview. “They’re going to show this at the venue before the games.”
Jiang Ming glanced at his watch. “Go get dressed. Your uniform is only arriving tonight.” He looked around. “I think there’s someone from the second string who wears the same size you do. Don’t worry for now, you can go last. I’ll look for someone to borrow a uniform from.”
Zuo Tao nodded, standing still where he was, looking over to the other side.
The one currently being interviewed was Song Shihan.
He was wearing the Wildfire team uniform, zipped up to the top. His legs were bent casually in front of him, and he gave off such calm vibes that he was particularly eye-catching in this room full of people.
Their uniform was designed by a senior designer, interweaving red and silver. The logo of a flame on the left side of the chest was made to look like it was cut by lasers, giving it a futuristic look.
Something like this would usually be difficult to pull off, but on Song Shihan, there was no sense of mismatch at all; instead, it highlighted his cold temperament.
After glancing at him a few more times, Zuo Tao’s gaze shifted to the other side, his eye twitching.
The man in charge of their interview was a man who looked to be in his mid or late twenties. His shoulder-length hair was pulled up in a half-do, and he was wearing a gaudy butterfly shirt. From his foundation to his eyeshadow to his eyeliner; there was a lot of makeup on his face. Each of his movements and expressions gave the impression that he meticulously planned everything.
At first glance, the scenery gave the feeling of a butterfly suddenly transforming into a fairy.
Like someone who pinched their throats to make their voice sound higher.
“That’s Wu Shuibo, people call him machine-gun mouth. When you talk to him later, prepare yourself. He asks a lot of questions and speaks too fast. I’m actually scared of getting interviewed by him.”
Si Zheng, having finished his styling, stood beside Zuo Tao. Seeing Zuo Tao staring at the interview, he thought he was being curious, so he lowered his voice and said, “He’s gay. But besides teasing handsome guys, he’s a pretty good guy.”
Zuo Tao nodded. “I know.”
“You know?” Si Zheng asked, but then he realized something. “Ah, yeah, he’s quite the online presence. Most players know about him.” Si Zheng wasn’t quite as gossipy as Wang Qiu, but he paused for a moment before saying, “Do you also know he likes the captain?”
Zuo Tao’s lips twitched.
How could he not know when an interview between those two was still in his phone?
Si Zheng continued, “The captain’s charm sure hits different.” He sighed. “He attracts even dudes.”
Zuo Tao replied casually, but when he saw Wu Shuibo leaning towards Song Shihan, his eyes twitched —
Isn’t that too much? Why is he interviewing from so close!1Aww jealous bb
Zuo Tao’s eyes were blazing so much that it seemed Song Shihan, even across the room, noticed. He lifted his eyes and looked over towards them. Catching Zuo Tao’s gaze, he nodded slightly before looking at the camera again.
“Go get dressed,” Si Zheng said, patting Zuo Tao’s shoulder. “Jiang-ge just sent a message. He said you don’t look too good so you need to get it covered up.”
Zuo Tao didn’t like putting things on his face, so he fought in the dressing room persistently for almost half an hour. Finally, after the stylist finished with his hair, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Song Shihan’s interview was already done when he came out. He looked around but couldn’t find him, so Zuo Tao planned to go to the restroom to wipe off some of the redness from his lips.
Walking down the corridor, before he even reached the door of the restroom, he was assaulted by the strong smell of cigarette smoke, voices ringing from within.
“Xiao Ding is still the unluckiest of us all, finally getting noticed on the second string but getting stopped by some nepo baby.”
“Who said it’s over? If the base can’t find a permanent starter, I can always come in as substitute.”
“I watched that Pink Head’s broadcast, and he isn’t really that good, anyway. Anyone who boasts about it is just stupid. Even if I gave him a three minute handicap, he still wouldn’t be able to beat me.”
Zuo Tao’s action of pushing the door open stopped.
“I heard he has good backing, though?”
“What else do you think? He’s Su Yueyao’s nephew, and the prime commentator for the league is his uncle. Remember the first day he ever went live? His uncle came to the livestream to give him a highlight. What backing do you think he has?”
“Tsk tsk. All I can say is he’s really lucky he doesn’t have to do anything. He can just come in because of his connections.”
“Xiao Ding, don’t overthink it. I heard he’s sick. Won’t it be better if he burns even hotter, and he can’t play, hahaha…”
“You’re right. That damned thing is better off burning.”
Zuo Tao curled his lips and pushed the door open without saying anything.
The people inside were obviously not expecting anyone to come in, especially not someone with pink hair. Their amused expressions froze, looking quite awkward.
Zuo Tao didn’t look at any of them, making his way to the sink and turning the faucet on. However, he looked at the tree people behind him with a sneer through the mirror, saying, “Don’t mind me, you can keep talking.
“Although your skills are nothing to write home about, your speech is still impressive.”
The air froze. It was the boy called Xiao Ding who moved first, taking a few steps forward and grabbing Zuo Tao’s collar, angry and humiliated, saying, “Are you crazy?”
“I’m crazy, and I have good backers.”
Zuo Tao knew he could endure their words, but when he heard them talking about him getting so sick he wouldn’t be able to play, he couldn’t help it. He pulled out every tyrannical cell in his body and said, “If you could, you’d also be just as crazy as I am.”
Although he still looked lethargic due to his fever, his eyes were clear and bright; no matter how well-behaved he looked, his words were still enough to anger those who listened to him.
“Or you could just come at me in a 1v1. If I lose, not to mention the substitute position, I’ll even give you my aunt and uncle.”
“You…”
Xiao Ding raised his arm, hand clenched into a fist in anger.
“What are you doing?”
A cold voice interrupted them from the door.
Zuo Tao was taken aback, and his clenched fists relaxed. He glanced to the side and saw Song Shihan standing outside the door. His heart skipped a beat.
He felt like he was struck by lightning, whole body numb.
I’m dead. I’m dead. Again!!!!
Song Shihan didn’t look at Zuo Tao. He walked towards their group and, having heard the whole conversation, he said lowly, “If you are dissatisfied with management decisions, you can send your complaints to them.”
As he spoke, the second string coach, Zhuo Chuanyi, who was probably running around looking for this group, ran inside. Seeing the situation, he looked from Xiao Ding to Zuo Tao, and he understood everything within a moment.
“Hurry up and drop him!” Zhou Chuanyi yelled, face ugly as he reprimanded, “You’re looking for trouble at the base, huh?”
With Zhou Chuanyi’s arrival, the group immediately dispersed, leaving Zuo Tao alone with Song Shihan.
The silence was deafening. Zuo Tao was sure his intense heartbeat was audible in the room.
He dared not speak, standing frozen in place for a few moments. Taking advantage of Song Shihan lowering his head to wash his hands, he moved towards the door.
However —
“Where are you going?” Seizing Zuo Tao’s collar from behind, Song Shihan tilted his head. “The interview is over there.”
Zuo Tao: “I know.”
He rubbed his fingers against each other, feeling uneasy. “I need to go find coach for my ginger tea first,” he said.
Song Shihan’s eyes moved, and he said, “Wait.”
Zuo Tao heard some rustling, and then he was covered by something that still emitted the man’s body temperature, enveloping his body.
Zuo Tao: …
Song Shihan’s voice was plain: “Make sure you wear the uniform later.”
Zuo Tao opened his mouth, but he was interrupted by Song Shihan once more.
“Zuo Tao, I really didn’t expect your tongue to be so sharp.”
His voice was tinged with laughter.
If you can, please support the author by buying the original work! You can also support the translator through:
