By the end of the meal, Yu Xinche still hadn’t thought of any other name besides FREE, so he said he would think about it again when he gets back.
They ate at a mall near the school. After they left the store, Xu Le lagged two steps behind the group and said to Yu Xinche, “The money for buying you has been paid to the official, but it won’t be transferred to you until your contract is signed.”
The auction fee would first be paid to the league officials, and after deducting various handling fees, the money will be divided equally between the training officials and the players.
Yu Xinche just said “hmm” and didn’t react much.
More than one million was a huge sum of money for him, but in his perception it was just a number and he had not yet formed a real sense of money.
“I have one more thing to confirm. Do your parents know that you play professionally?”
Yu Xinche: “They don’t know. I’m an adult now, so there’s no need to inform them.”
“Well, in theory, that’s right. But in the early years, some parents of players came to our house to cause trouble, so in order to avoid risks, we need to understand the family situation in advance.” Xu Le paused, “Do they… not support you in playing professionally?”
Yu Xinche frowned. He had never thought about reporting this.
Xu Le knew most of it from his expression, but he still needed to know what he needed to know.
He thought for a moment and said, “It’s okay. If it’s inconvenient for you to tell me, you can also tell He Ci. We won’t stop hiring you because of this. We just want to understand the situation so that if there are any hidden dangers, we can prepare in advance.”
“Well, it’s not inconvenient, it’s just…”
It’s hard to explain in a few words, and he hadn’t thought of the wording yet.
Before Yu Xinche could finish his words, Xu Le stopped He Ci who was walking in front.
“Hey He Ci, come here for a moment.”
He Ci turned around: “Hmm?”
“Well, since you drove here anyway, you can take Xiao Yu back. We’ll go back to the base first.” After Xu Le finished talking to him, he looked at Yu Xinche and said, “You can talk to He Ci.”
Yu Xinche: “?”
There’s really no need to be so considerate.
He Ci was confused, but still agreed.
Xu Le also came by car, and the others went downstairs to the parking lot together.
He Ci followed after him two steps behind and asked, “Should we take the car?”
“Hmm?” Yu Xinche was stunned.
“Is it more convenient to drive or walk you back to school?”
There were three universities nearby, and the nearest one was right next to a shopping mall, so there was no need to drive.
“Oh, no need. It’s really congested near my dormitory.” Yu Xinche reacted.
“Just now, Brother Xu asked me about my family situation. I didn’t know how to explain it to him. He probably thought I didn’t want to tell him, so he asked me to tell you directly. I’ll just say it here, no need to bother sending me back.”
He Ci looked at him for two seconds, then walked ahead: “Then let’s just take a walk instead of driving. Let’s go.”
Yu Xinche stood there for a second before he followed.
They hadn’t drunk alcohol that night, so they were both sober now. Yu Xinche led him in the direction of his school.
There was a lot of traffic at the intersection leading out of the shopping mall, and the traffic lights couldn’t stop cars turning right from driving into people’s faces. Every time he walked here, it was a game between the pedestrians and traffic.
After crossing the road and stepping onto the sidewalk, Yu Xinche spoke: “It’s nothing, actually. Xu Le just asked me if I had told my parents about playing professionally… My parents don’t know yet.”
The sidewalk was also quite messy, with an electric bike popping out occasionally. He Ci walked on the outside, said “hmm”, and waited for him to continue.
“My parents are quite traditional. They were very strict with me when I was a kid. Later, they divorced and they stopped caring about me. But my father would still find fault with me no matter what I did, so I didn’t want to tell them.”
“But I can guarantee that there won’t be any hidden dangers. My parents are not the kind of people who would cause trouble. They all…” Yu Xinche paused here, looking for a suitable adjective.
After the divorce, his mother focused all her attention on her students and didn’t pay much attention to him.
And his father cared a lot about his reputation, and it would be too embarrassing for him to cause trouble in front of outsiders, and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Before he finished speaking, He Ci nodded: “Okay, I’ll tell Brother Xu.”
Yu Xinche: “Hmm?”
He Ci: “There’s something else you want to add?”
Yu Xinche shook his head and was silent for a moment: “I just think you responded too straightforwardly. Don’t reports like this require every fine detail? Talk about my family background and so on, and then you can evaluate whether there are any risks.”
He Ci smiled at him, his voice devoid of emotion: “The assessment has been completed, and there is nothing wrong with you personally. As for the elders, the base’s security is very good, and our public relations department is also very strong.”
Yu Xinche tilted his head to glance at him, and felt relieved.
He was very outstanding among his peers and had a perfect personality. Many people would think that his growing environment must have been perfect.
Therefore, when others learned about his family situation, they inevitably became curious and wanted to know more specific information, such as which family he followed and how he got over this setback.
Even if they could suppress their curiosity, they would still show regrets about this matter and wanted to comfort him.
Yu Xinche was ready for in-depth questioning, but He Ci did not ask.
He Ci was very calm and didn’t ask any questions.
Just like how he didn’t ask himself why he blocked him at that time, nor did he ask why he appeared in that community that day after his tutoring part-time job. Later, when he failed the interview, He Ci didn’t even ask himself why he didn’t practice the heroes in advance.
At times like this, He Ci’s indifference makes people feel relieved.
“Do you have anything else to say? If not, I’ll go back first.” He Ci asked.
“That’s all.” Yu Xinche originally wanted to say sorry for the trouble, but then he thought that they were quite familiar with each other now, so he stopped being polite.
He Ci stopped and said, “Okay, I’m leaving now. Remember to think about your ID.”
“Okay.” Yu Xinche also stopped and smiled at him.
After He Ci finished speaking, he turned around and walked back. As soon as he turned around, two bicycles came towards him.
Although this section of road was a pedestrian path, bicycles also use it.
Two high school students in school uniforms were riding fixed-gear bicycles. One of them had a bowl of fried potatoes and a cup of milk tea hanging on the handlebars. They were riding quickly from a distance.
Maybe they originally wanted to smoothly go around He Ci, but he suddenly stopped and walked back. They were unable to avoid him in time and were about to collide. The high school student quickly stepped forward and prepared to jump off of the bicycle to stop it forcefully.
He Ci was also shocked when he turned around and saw them. He subconsciously pulled Yu Xinche behind him and the student who jumped off.
Both sides reacted promptly and no one was injured, but the food fell off the handlebars and most of the potatoes were spilled on He Ci’s clothes.
“Damn, He Ci!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, brother.”
The two high school students were happy at first when they saw He Ci, but then they noticed the dirt on his clothes and immediately began to apologize frantically.
Yu Xinche took out some tissue paper and wanted to help him wipe it, but He Ci was wearing a white T-shirt today, which now had a large stain of barbecue oil. He observed it for a moment and then silently withdrew his hand.
The “polluted” area was so large that he really didn’t know where to start.
He Ci bit his lower lip, turned his head and took a deep breath, then turned back and said to them expressionlessly, “It’s okay, just go.”
The two students lowered their heads and did not move.
Yu Xinche looked at them and then at He Ci. He had a very grim expression on his face now, and those two people might be a little scared.
Anyone would feel uncomfortable if they were in this situation. Although He Ci was fine, Yu Xinche still felt dumbfounded for He Ci.
But he couldn’t let the situation remain deadlocked.
Yu Xinche cleared his throat and said, “Don’t be too nervous. At least no one is hurt. Can you ride slower next time?”
“Yeah, yeah.” The two of them nodded frantically and took the opportunity to secretly look at He Ci’s expression.
Yu Xinche looked at He Ci again: “I’ve helped you educate them.”
He Ci was silent for a few seconds, then his expression became a little better. He lowered his head and said to them, “Go home early.”
“Thank you, brother. I will ride slower next time.”
He Ci glared at him unhappily: “Ride slower now.”
“Okay! Love you, brother.” The two men got back on their bikes and walked two meters before one of them turned back and said, “51, you are so gentle. I love you, too!”
Yu Xinche: “…”
Yu Xinche: “Well, that might sound a bit like a green tea, but I wasn’t trying to be the good person just now.”
“I know. There’s nothing else I can say except ‘it’s okay’.” He Ci nodded.
People were always more tolerant towards students, because they had all been through that age, and they can only forgive them after getting angry. Yu Xinche said that to give him a way out.
“What are you going to do now?” Yu Xinche handed him some tissues.
He Ci took it and wiped off the dirt on his arm, then looked down at his clothes. The stained area was a bit too large and it also emitted a strong barbecue smell.
He looked at Yu Xinche and asked, “Do you have a solution?”
“It’s only a two minute walk to my dorm. You can change into my clothes.”
“Okay.” He Ci didn’t hesitate for a second. Yu Xinche was only a little shorter than him, so He Ci should be able to wear his loose-fitting clothes.
Most importantly, He Ci couldn’t bear to drive all the way back in this smell.
“Let’s go, then.”
The two walked towards the school together.
It was already dark by then, and Yu Xinche took him on a road with fewer people, so no one noticed He Ci and his clothes.
The only person who knew about it was Yu Xinche.
After they walked for a while, He Ci stopped.
Yu Xinche turned around: “What’s wrong?”
He Ci tilted his head to look at him, his face tense: “Did you not eat enough at night?”
Yu Xinche blinked sincerely and played dumb: “I did, what’s the matter?”
He Ci stared at him: “Then why do you keep sniffing?”
Yu Xinche pursed his lips, and it was obvious that he was trying to restrain himself, but in the end he couldn’t help but laughed.
Then he lowered his head, looked like he was admitting his mistake, and said in a low voice:
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“But you smell really delicious.”
For advanced chapters, visit our Patreon: