Content warning for this chapter: (explicit) language.
The next day.
Zuo Tao woke up at 6:40, washing up briefly before going to his wardrobe to see what to wear. His gaze lingered on two shirts: one had a Cardcaptor Sakura design, the other featured Hello Kitty. Sighing, he chose the less-delicate Hello Kitty t-shirt.
He had a bad habit of preferring not to wear the same clothes within the same week, and among the clothes he’d brought to the base, only those two were left.
It was his fault for being careless.
Considering that the usual style he wore was against his image, he ordered several cute but stylish clothes from Taobao1An online shopping platform, kind of like Shopee before he came to the Wildfire base. At the time, he thought that it was too much of a bother to order one by one, so when he saw a shop that sold bundles, he didn’t give it any more thought, choosing to pay for that instead to avoid any more trouble.
All he could do was stare when he finally received the package.
They were all characters of shoujo manga2Manga that is geared to appeal to young/teenage girls. Did the shop have some misunderstanding about what ‘cuteness’ meant? Shouldn’t ‘cute’ mean small animals like kittens, puppies, hedgehogs, and the like?
The weather in the middle of June was a little warmer, with even the early morning wind carrying a faint heat. After just a few days, without him noticing, the plants around the base had begun to grow wildly. From the balcony, the leaves glowed emerald and swayed gently in the wind, like a stream gently undulating in the early morning.
Zuo Tao stood on tiptoe to collect the clothes that he’d hung out to dry yesterday. Among them was Song Shihan’s jacket that had been used to cover him from the rain. As he was folding it to give back, the window of the balcony to the room next to him opened.
“So early?” Song Shihan asked. He was already dressed, holding a silver mug of coffee in one hand. He glanced at the Hello Kitty print on Zuo Tao’s shirt.
As soon as he heard his voice, Zuo Tao’s mind recalled what happened last night. His scalp began to tingle as he laughed. “Yep,” he answered, quickly handing the jacket he was still holding over. “Oh, here’s your jacket, by the way. I’ve already washed it!”
Song Shihan hummed, reaching out to take the jacket. “How’s your cold?”
Zuo Tao sniffed. He still felt a little dizzy and his head throbbed a little, but it wasn’t too bad. “It’s fine, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” he answered.
“Take medicine after breakfast before we leave,” Song Shihan instructed. “Don’t forget.”
Zuo Tao nodded and said, “Yes, captain.”
At half past seven, everyone gathered in the lobby.
Jiang Ming wasn’t the only one accompanying them today, Manager Shi Ling was coming as well.
The team provided them with a bus. Aside from the starter team, there were also several unfamiliar faces already inside that Zuo Tao had never seen before; all of them were probably strong contenders from the youth training camp —
Because the team had yet to finalize their roster of substitutes, they could only call on the youth trainees to accompany them today. If there were any untoward incidents during the preliminaries, they would come up to play in the starter’s position3First string team/starter team = QIU, SZ, CAT, FIRE and PINK — they are the ones who play in major league matches, like the summer split (also known in some circles as the playoffs), the spring split (or the regular season), invitationals, world championships, etc. Second string team = Xiao Ding, crew cut, and everyone else who solo’d the team last chapter — they play in minor leagues such as intra-city competitions, exhibition games, etc. Youth trainees are team recruits who require more training/refining before they could be chosen for either of the first or second string teams. You don’t have to be part of the second string team to become a substitute for the first string team, etc..
Seeing his team complete, Jiang Ming waved at Zuo Tao, handing him a paper bag. “Here’s your uniform. It just arrived so I haven’t had the time to get it washed. Just put it on for now.”
There were two sets, so it would be easy to switch between washes. Zuo Tao took one and changed right there, but Wang Qiu teased him, saying, “Taozi, isn’t it too bad to hide your Hello Kitty like this?”
“If you like it, I can order another for you,” Zuo Tao said, pulling the zipper of his jacket all the way up to his chin.
“Nevermind, it’s not like I can pull off that style.” Wang Qiu shook his head, pushing Zuo Tao forward. “It still suits you better, since you look better than me. You’d look good in any outfit. Right, Captain?”
Hearing him ask that, Zuo Tao instinctively turned to Song Shihan. His gaze moved on Song Shihan’s face, settling on his lips — the color was pale, the shape thin, but he didn’t know if it was as soft as was described in the novel.
Zuo Tao scrambled to wave the thought away, feeling his heart stir in his chest.
I’m doomed, I’ve been thinking weird thoughts all morning.
Song Shihan was looking right at him. From his perspective, the sunlight scattered through the window fell on the boy’s flushed face and his uniform-clad shoulders, his light pink hair drooping on his forehead, perfectly complementing his soft and obedient demeanor.
“En,” Song Shihan hummed, before bending down to get into the bus.
The venue for the summer preliminaries was at the city gymnasium located at the center of the city. It would take about half an hour for them to arrive.
As Jiang Ming had explained, the organizers made changes to the event to make it more engaging. In the past, the system would match random teams the day before the competition in a schedule, but this year, it was different. When all qualified teams arrived, each would send a representative to draw lots, after which they’d get matched up.
So the rest of the morning would be spent introducing each participating team and determining the final schedule.
The competition would begin in the afternoon.
As the bus approached the gym, it began to slow in its struggle to move forward. Outside the venue was packed with fans of various teams. After finally parking, Jiang Ming reminded everyone repeatedly to wear their masks and hats before the doors opened.
Zuo Tao was experiencing the battle for the first time. As soon as he stepped out of the car, the screams of fans almost blew his ears off. Looking around, most of them were holding posters or LED signs, and most had stickers of the team’s logo on their faces.
Their passion and excitement was undeniable.
“Tsk tsk, the captain is still as popular as ever.”
The group walked through the fast lane reserved for participants, and Wang Qiu looked around at the crowd with envy in his voice: “He has so many female fans!” After a pause, he added, “Hey? Taozi, you have a banner, too. Look!”
Zuo Tao, carrying his peripherals bag, was walking with his head down. Hearing Wang Qiu’s words, he looked up; but before he could find the banner Wang Qiu was talking about, he saw a water bottle filled with water flying straight towards him —
“Fuck4Raw is 握草, literally, ‘hold grass!’ It’s an expression for surprise! Zuo Tao, careful!”
“PINK, be careful!”
“Get out of the way!!”
However, it was too late. Zuo Tao lifted his arm to block his head, but someone grabbed his waist from behind. Then, stumbling backwards, his back hit someone’s chest.
Zuo Tao’s heart skipped a beat, looking back to see Song Shihan’s lowered eyes looking straight at him. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes were cold. “Are you okay?”
Zuo Tao shook his head, still confused, while the crowd’s restlessness roared around them. He opened his mouth, realizing how ambiguous their positions were only after he finally realized what had happened.
He was almost completely wrapped in Song Shihan’s arms and because of their height difference, his breath fell warmly on Zuo Tao’s eyelashes, like a subtle current that made his heart burn hotter.
Jiang Ming was almost feral. Shi Ling was conversing with the staff nearby with a cold face. The staff, of course, did not anticipate such a situation, and they apologized while promising to investigate the bottle as well as the person who threw it.
“Alright,” Jiang Ming finally said, rubbing his forehead and daring not to stay longer. “Let’s go.”
Before Song Shihan could release him from his hold, a loud female sound broke through the chaos around them —
“Aaaaaaaaah!
“FIRE, let go of my son! He’s not yet of age! Ahhhhh!!”
Zuo Tao: …
Noticing the arm around his waist go stiff, he heard Song Shihan chuckle, the chest pressed against his back vibrating a few times.
Song Shihan finally let him go, the amusement still lingering in his voice as he said, “Sorry.”
Five minutes later, at the Wildfire team lounge.
Remembering what had happened still gave Si Zheng palpitations. After confirming that Zuo Tao was not hurt, he said, “Fortunately, the captain had quick eyes and quick reflexes. I think there were stones mixed into the water bottle. If it had hit you, it would have caused something major.”
“That scared me,” Wang Qiu said. “Taozi5Just a note: whenever the team calls ZT “Taozi” they use the word for ‘peach’, instead of the character for Tao’s name (which is pottery) was only visible for one game, so there shouldn’t be any anti-fans, right?”
Zuo Tao also felt it strange. However, he didn’t mind it as much as people who moved in the dark6As in, people who caused trouble in secret or moved secretively, as opposed to people who did things overtly. He was just confused as to what had caused such a thing.
Was he really that awesome7That he would garner such attention?
On the first day of the season, someone was already out to get him?
He even wanted to talk to the person involved for their motives in hating him so much.
“I hope that didn’t scare you too bad, Taozi?”
Si Zheng noticed that Zuo Tao was sitting with a flushed face, not saying anything. He thought that he got scared and decided to offer some comfort: “It’s okay. We’ll protect you on our way back later. Don’t be scared.”
Although CAT didn’t say anything verbally, she still went as far as to hand him a cup of warm water.
Zuo Tao wanted to say that he was fine, but before the words could leave his throat he noticed Song Shihan looking over at him. After a moment, he simply pursed his lips.
He remembered something from his days as a student: those kids who were well-behaved didn’t overtly show they were scared when something happened; their faces simply turned pale, or they’d even cry.
However, he couldn’t force himself to shed tears with his current skills in acting, but pretending should be no problem.
“En…” he hummed instead, lowering his eyes and sniffing. “I was a bit scared. Why would anyone do something like that?”
Shi Ling sat close by, sending messages to Su Yueyao. Hearing Zuo Tao, her finger twitched and she ended up typing two letters incorrectly.
She looked up at Zuo Tao, face indescribable.
What exactly is this kid trying to do?
Shi Ling simply clicked her tongue without saying anything. She sighed and said, “Our Taozi sure is pitiful.”
Zuo Tao: …
Oh. I forgot I had an acquaintance in the room.
Jiang Ming finally joined them. “What kind of person would be so crazy about chasing idols?” He cursed several times as he approached Zuo Tao, saying, “Don’t be afraid, kid. The problem’s been solved.”
Zuo Tao: …
I know you’re not talking about me, but I still feel offended for some reason.
“What did they say?” Song Shihan asked, putting his phone down to look at Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming opened his thermos and took a sip of tea, anger still visible on his face. “A fan of WIND.”
“Hah?” Wang Qiu exclaimed, puzzled as he looked at Song Shihan. “No, why would a fan of WIND throw something at Taozi?”
With mixed emotions, Jiang Ming hesitated for a few seconds before saying, “The fairy.”
Wang Qiu was confused. “What fairy?”
But Zuo Tao had already figured it out.
Jiang Ming explained: “A few days ago, didn’t WIND meet ZZ in that ranked match? ZZ played Fairy Song and solo killed WIND a few times. The fan felt that WIND was humiliated but since he couldn’t find ZZ, he could only target Zuo Tao.
“After all, Zuo Tao was the root cause, and he even shared WIZARD’s post about that night, so he was guilty by association. Don’t you think it’s mental?”
Although Jiang Ming was speechless in the face of that fan’s behavior, Zuo Tao didn’t feel that the guilty party had made a mistake.
After all, he still found the right person.
Well, who would ever expect that ZZ is my alter ego?
Si Zheng frowned. “No matter what, someone has to be held accountable for this injustice. That post was forwarded by WIZARD first, anyway, so why go after Taozi?”
“Right?” Wang Qiu chimed. “Fuck8他媽, tā mā, literally, ‘his mother’, but it’s a curse word for when you’re so angry you have nothing else to say. Yes, there are so many ways to curse in Chinese and teenage boys are the most artistic about it., going after a soft persimmon9Someone who is weaker or easier to bully.”
“We can only attribute it to bad luck,” Jiang Ming said with a sigh, resting his hands on his hips. “After he got caught, security found a second bottle on him.”
Si Zheng: ?
“FG came behind us. If they arrived earlier, that bottle would have hit WIZARD.”
Everyone: …
“Sorry…” Wang Qiu muttered, trying to hold back his laughter. “Are we sure this is an obsessed fan and not an anti-fan?”
Unable to hold back any longer, he burst out laughing. “The issue is already so big and he wanted to make it worse? Isn’t this just going to kill WIND’s reputation once and for all?”
Jiang Ming glared at Wang Qiu, saying, “Anyway, he’s already been sent to the police station. Before the cops arrived, he was extremely aggressive, but when he saw the policemen he started apologizing.” He paused for a few seconds. “This should also be a warning, alright? Be careful of what you post and share on social media in the future. Do you understand?”
Someone knocked on the door of the lounge. Jiang Ming opened the door himself, stunned when he saw who was there.
“WIZARD?” he said, puzzled. “Why are you here?”
Zuo Tao looked at the door curiously.
The visitor was indeed WIZARD whom he hadn’t seen in a while. He was wearing FG’s navy blue team uniform, following behind Jiang Ming into the lounge.
“I heard what happened, so I came to check up on you guys,” WIZARD said. He was on the older side among them athletes, and he looked gentle with an elegant air. He saw Zuo Tao among the group and smiled. “Xiao Tao10Zuo Tao’s actual name, not peach, long time no see.”
Actually, Zuo Tao had only met WIZARD a handful of times through the years, but since he had come to check up on him, he still stood up politely, greeting, “Long time no see.”
WIZARD handed him a can of cold cola, saying, “I haven’t had the chance to congratulate you yet.”
Zuo Tao took the can while thanking him.
“Did you get hurt?” WIZARD asked.
“No,” Zuo Tao answered with a smile, scratching at his head. “Our captain helped me avoid getting hit.”
Song Shihan looked up expressionlessly when he heard himself get mentioned in their conversation, nodding at WIZARD as a hello.
WIZARD chatted with everyone else for a few more minutes before leaving, as there were still other other things to take care of.
Zuo Tao followed behind Jiang Ming to send him out. When he came back to his seat, Wang Qiu teased, “Taozi11Again, peach, that’s your gege from FG, right? You have such deep connections, you can even make friends all the way in FG.”
Zuo Tao: …
He chose to ignore Wang Qiu and sat down, playing with the can of soda in his hand. He was about to open it when someone reached out from the side, grabbing it from his hand.
“Zuo Tao.”
Song Shihan raised his eyes to look at Zuo Tao.
“Do you not have any common sense? You’re going to drink something cold when you’re sick?”
TL notes: Hey, all! In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve updated the synopsis page to add a new update schedule. I’ll be uploading chapters every Wednesday and Sunday, with donor chapters in between! I was put in charge of my first ever project at work so I’ll be cutting back on updates until the project is done. I hope you’re enjoying DPTBG so far!
If you can, please support the author by buying the original work! You can also support the translator through this link:
An extra chapter will be posted each time we reach our dono goal of 3 ko-fis~
