Song Shihan was a star-level player in the domestic league. Even though he didn’t appear in public, the match between him and STAR had already been spliced and uploaded to all social media sites before noon. Coupled with the upcoming summer split, it gave rise to several trending searches about him.
#SongShihanFIRE
#SongShihanHouhuE’ying
#FIRESTARslepttogether
【6661Awesome, God Han’s operation is still as fierce as ever. Does this mean he’ll continue playing professionally?】
【He should keep fighting, FIRE is still in his prime. Without him, the Chinese server would be uninteresting.】
【Stop fighting, everyone. The private friendship between GGF and Wildfire has always been good. My Xingxing mentioned in his livestream that he slept with God Han in a love affair /shy.jpg】
【God Han, please be gentle on my Xingxing next time.】
【Am I the only one who noticed that support? I never knew Xu Wu could be played like that.】
Zuo Tao was a habitual doom scroller on topics concerning Song Shihan. When he saw the last comment, his finger froze, and he quickly reported it with a swipe of his finger. Media was awful with its excessive marketing; even a topic as senseless as this could go viral.
“Are you on Weibo?” Si Zheng’s voice suddenly came from behind him. Zuo Tao darkened his phone screen quickly, as if guilty, and nodded.
“Yeah. Should we start training now?” he asked.
“Let’s wait for the captain so we can rank together,” Si Zheng said. He was an honest person and didn’t notice Zuo Tao’s little actions. He sat down on his seat, holding a cup of water. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be nervous. You can check your phone whenever you’re tired, as long as management doesn’t catch you. They don’t come that often, anyway. As for Jiang-ge, he turns a blind eye as long as it doesn’t affect training.”
Remembering that Zuo Tao hadn’t eaten all morning, he took out bread from a small cabinet on his desk. “Here. I checked the cafeteria and the auntie has already packed things up. Eat this to cushion your stomach first, or you can also ask auntie to make you a bowl of noodles.”
“There’s no need for that,” Zuo Tao said quickly, thanking him for the bread with a smile. “I’ll just eat this. Thank you, Zheng-ge.”
Leaving his usually thorny personality outside the base, Zuo Tao was overall softer, and adding his clear, clean voice, it made people have a good impression of him. Once upon a time, he’d gotten into a lot of trouble, but he used his good looks and managed to get away unscathed.
Si Zheng laughed, immediately considering him his own younger brother. “It’s nothing. I have more here if you want it.”
Wang Qiu, unwilling to be outdone, also came over with a bag of cookies. “I also have some food here.”
Zuo Tao: “Thank you, Qiu-ge!”
Wang Qiu: “You’re welcome. I have other snacks, too, you can just come over to take them. You don’t have to be so polite with me.”
CAT wasn’t one who liked to snack, but she still threw over a can of coffee. Zuo Tao took and thanked her as well: “Thank you, CAT-jie!”
He thought, everyone’s so kind and easy to get along with.
Suddenly the glass door was opened again, and Song Shihan walked in with his long legs. “What are you doing instead of training?”
“Hehe, feeding our new baby brother,” Wang Qiu answered, before he turned around. “He didn’t eat this morning, did he?”
“Baby brother?” Song Shihan’s gaze fell on Zuo Tao, who was biting into the bread with his head down. He pulled his chair and sat down. It had only been so long since he last saw him, but there were already so many snacks on the little support’s table. It seemed he truly was likable.
Thinking that training was about to start, Zuo Tao didn’t want to waste any time. He finished the bread with a few more bites, swallowed it quickly, and said: “I’m done, we can start!”
Song Shihan didn’t respond, looking at the marshmallow placed close to the keyboard.
Zuo Tao was confused, blinking as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Song Shihan leaned back against his chair, woke the screen, and finished adjusting his talents. He said: “Why haven’t I heard you thank me?”
It took a moment for Zuo Tao to understand, but he soon tried to defend himself: “I said it in the conference room.”
“Really?” Song Shihan’s eyebrow raised. He reached for the candy. “I didn’t hear anything.”
He didn’t hear? How could he not have heard? He was just causing trouble!
Watching his marshmallow about to be taken, Zuo Tao instinctively grabbed Song Shihan’s finger. Song Shihan looked up at Zuo Tao. “I can’t take it?”
“This is mine.”
Song Shihan didn’t answer, staring at the finger that was caught in Zuo Tao’s hand. Unlike the boney fingers of boys of the same age, Zuo Tao’s hand was rather soft, his skin cold and pale.
The people who were gathered around them and were about to leave all saw this act and sucked in cold breaths, feeling like the air had frozen for a moment. Song Shihan was notoriously nitpicky. No one was even allowed to touch his peripherals, much less physical contact. Zuo Tao was also audacious, not just touching but even tightly grabbing his finger.
Zuo Tao also realized his gaff, quickly releasing his hold. The temperature of that finger seemed to linger on his palm.
Song Shihan was still leaning against his chair, his expression still as calm as usual. He curled his finger slightly, but he still didn’t let go of Zuo Tao’s candy. Then, he opened the queue and said, “What are you all still standing around for? Get online.”
Zuo Tao obediently waited for Song Shihan to pull him into the lineup, during which he kept glancing at the man’s fingers.
Song Shihan’s hands were beautiful. His fingertips were slender and symmetrical, his wrist thin but strong. The back of his hand was bony, the faint blue veins visible through the skin. Some netizens once joked that FIRE should insure his hands, so that when he retires, he could still rely on those hands to make money.
Zuo Tao pursed his lips, thinking for a moment before finally saying: “Thank you, Song Shihan… gege.”
Song Shihan: “Gege is gege, but why did you add my whole name?”
Zuo Tao: “…thank you, gege.”
He truly was a little too obedient today. His whole life, he had never called anyone with double words.
However… he looked at the cold profile of the man beside him, moving his marshmallow to the other side of the keyboard. Gege, let’s just call Song Shihan gege. It wasn’t a loss.
Zuo Tao still used the account that Jiang Ming had given him. It was unauthenticated, the IGN still a string of numbers. Everyone was using alt accounts anyway, so no one has found out that Wildfire has already found a support.
The morning passed quickly as they played several rank matches.
Jiang Ming soon came into the training room, announcing: “I’ve scheduled a training match with GGF at 2 pm this afternoon. Don’t be late.” After talking, he looked at Zuo Tao and said, “Your aunt contacted me. She wants you to see her for lunch. She sent you a message but you didn’t reply.”
Zuo Tao took out his phone and, indeed, there was a message from Su Yueyao to see her as soon as training ended, along with a location of a restaurant. It was sent an hour ago.
The restaurant wasn’t too far from the base, but it would take him 20 minutes to get there even in a taxi.
“Is it too far? It isn’t that easy to get a ride from the base.” He thought a bit before saying, “FIRE, didn’t you have plans this afternoon? If you have time, give him a ride.”
Song Shihan was tidying up his table and was just about to stand up. He took off his team uniform and changed into his own clothes that were draped on his chair. Hearing Jiang Ming, he asked Zuo Tao, “Where do you need to go?”
Zuo Tao gave the name of a shopping mall.
“Let’s go,” Song Shihan said.
Zuo Tao quickly followed behind him.
——
Song Shihan had a silver supercar, and he drove similarly to how he usually was when he was in-game. Though the car could reach high speeds, there was a bit of traffic close to the mall, and it took quite a while for them to even move forward a few meters.
Zuo Tao saw him glance at his watch several times and hurried to say: “You can leave me here, I’ll just walk the rest of the way.”
Song Shihan did have a prior engagement, and he didn’t force the issue when he heard Zuo Tao say this. After passing the traffic lights, he moved to the curb and said, “Be careful on your way.”
“Okay,” Zuo Tao said, nodding. He opened the car door and got out of the car. “Thank you, Captain.”
Song Shihan waved at him before speeding off. Zuo Tao hadn’t even taken two steps yet when Su Yueyao called him. After hearing that he was nearby, she told him to hurry up. Listening to the familiar tone in her words, Zuo Tao’s nerves, which had been on tenterhooks all morning, finally relaxed.
Today’s lunch was mainly a celebration of the end of Zuo Tao’s college entrance exam period. Not just Su Yueyao, but his uncle, Lin Taisen, as well as his cousin, Lin Xi, were there. After learning that Zuo Tao had spent money to buy the latest LEGO set, Lin Xi also reciprocated by taking money out of his savings to buy Zuo Tao a small cake.
The meal was quickly finished.
Su Yueyao glanced at the time and remembered something. She said: “Jiang Ming told me that FIRE brought you here?” She thought that it was strange. “That’s not something you see every day.”
“FIRE is actually nice,” Zuo Tao answered, taking the cigarette Lin Taisen offered. “Thank you, uncle!”
Like Su Yueyao, Lin Taisen was also a retired player. At the moment, he was one of the most popular male streamers on Little Bear TV. He was also a 《Rising Wind》 commentator during competitions.
Su Yueyao looked at these two good men, her head aching. “Does FIRE even know that you smoke? Does he know just what kind of person you really are?”
Hearing her, Zuo Tao knew that Shi Ling must have exposed his personality change when he was introducing himself earlier. However, he didn’t really feel any guilt; he could even answer with a smile: “Auntie, I’m really trying to be a good boy now. Remember to tell Auntie Ling not to destroy my image.”
Su Yueyao retorted, “Good boys don’t smoke.”
Zuo Tao: “I can’t refuse something my uncle gives me.”
Having the pot suddenly smash his head during these two’s conversation, Lin Taisen could only smile sheepishly. “It doesn’t matter if he occasionally smokes a stick or two, right? We were younger than he is now when we were pros. What was one or two packs per day back then?”
Su Yueyao glanced at him. “Can you really say that things now are the same as they were back then?”
“Can I smoke, too?” Lin Xi, a grade schooler who was busy eating his pudding, interrupted their conversation.
Lin Taisen: “Do you believe I’m going to smoke you?”
Lin Xi pouted his grievance. “But gege is also smoking. Why aren’t you smoking him?”
“Your gege is a grown up. Can you even compare?”
Lin Xi, the genius of logic: “Then once I grow up, I’ll smoke.”
Lin Taisen: “No.”
Lin Xi: “Why!”
Lin Taisen didn’t even think. “Because I’m your dad, and I said so.”
Lin Xi anxiously thought that Lin Taisen was being too unreasonable. Being a child, he didn’t really think through his words, and immediately retorted: “The other uncle doesn’t care about gege at all. Why do you keep bothering about me?”
The atmosphere cooled down immediately.
Lin Taisen glanced at Zuo Tao in embarrassment. Not even Su Yueyao was expecting Lin Xi to say something like that. She hesitated for a moment before glaring at Lin Xi, saying, “Keep talking like that and we’ll see if I don’t buy you sample tests right this moment.”
Lin Xi cried out.
Actually, it didn’t bother Zuo Tao that much. Seeing the caution in his aunt and uncle, he smiled in assurance and said, “Oh no, why are you scaring xiao Xi?” He pressed his just-lit cigarette on the ashtray and bent down to wipe at the tears on Lin Xi’s face. “You mom’s just scaring you. Big men don’t cry!”
Lin Xi answered, “She isn’t just scaring me. She bought me sample tests just a few weeks ago!”
Zuo Tao: …
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, okay, don’t think about it anymore. Your mom isn’t buying new tests this time. It’s gege’s fault this time, he really shouldn’t be smoking. Mom and dad just love you very much, so they care about you. Only bad kids smoke, and they want xiao Xi to be a good kid.”
Lin Xi had always listened to Zuo Tao since he was young. After hearing that he won’t be punished with new test papers, he gradually calmed down, but his eyes were still red. “Are you a bad kid then, gege?”
…
Zuo Tao smiled. “Yes, I am.” He pointed at his pink hair. “Didn’t you see my hair? The legend of the pink tyrant still exists in the jianghu today!”
Lin Taisen soon took Lin Xi to settle the bill, Zuo Tao and Su Yueyao following them from behind.
Su Yueyao hasn’t forgotten what her son had said at the dinner table, and she said, “Don’t take xiao Xi’s words to heart.”
“I’m fine,” Zuo Tao answered, waving his hand. “He was telling the truth, anyway. I’m a bad kid. I even made you run to school for me every few days back when I was younger.”
“That’s not what I was talking about,” Su Yueyao said. “I meant… never mind.” She was neither shy nor taciturn with her emotions, so her temper immediately flared, and she showed it. “Your dad really is a jerk. When he gets old, don’t bother about him and just live your life.”
“Sure,” Zuo Tao answered. “I will remain filial to you and uncle, then.”
They silently agreed to quickly end the topic. Su Yueyao asked: “So, how was it at Wildfire this morning?”
“Good,” Zuo Tao answered honestly. “Everyone’s really passionate.”
“You handle interpersonal relationships better than I do. I’m not scared of how people are going to treat you, but the summer split is coming soon. Shi Ling told me that you might be able to play for the team then. The training will surely be intense, so I hope you’re mentally prepared.”
Zuo Tao wasn’t scared of exhausting training. Hearing her, his eyes lit up immediately. “Is that true?”
Su Yueyao: “…it’s true.”
Zuo Tao: “I can really play?”
“It’s not that surprising. I’ll watch the preliminaries. If you play well then, there shouldn’t be any problems.” Something else came to her mind, and she added: “But you might not be able to win first place in the preliminaries.”
Zuo Tao was puzzled. “Why?”
“Before you arrived, your uncle told me that one of Song Shihan’s former teammates from FTU, WIND, just came back to the country. He’s formed a new team and they’re expected to participate in the preliminaries against you.”
