That night, even after Bamboo logged off, Xie Xu and Jiang Shi continued playing for a long time. With a little “accidental” reminder from Jiang Shi, Xie Xu even bought a new in-game heart gesture.
At first, Jiang Shi secretly made the heart gesture towards Xie Xu, and later, Xie Xu would occasionally respond. This made Jiang Shi so happy that he couldn’t stop smiling all night, his previous feelings of being neglected completely erased.
Since they hadn’t played duo for a while, Jiang Shi was reluctant to leave the game, and Xie Xu indulged him, not mentioning the time. But fans in the livestream couldn’t take it any longer and tagged Yuan Yang, afraid the two would stay up all night.
Yuan Yang crawled out of bed, threw on a coat, and stormed into the training room, pointing at his watch with gritted teeth. “Are you two crazy? It’s almost 5 AM., and you’re still not asleep? Are you cultivating immortality?”
He allowed the team to do extra practice in the mornings but not to stay up too late.
Although staying up late was common among pro players, an entire night without sleep would cause irreversible damage to their bodies.
Jiang Shi looked at Xie Xu, who had already clicked “Ready” in the team lobby, feeling reluctant to leave.
Seeing his hesitation, Yuan Yang acted swiftly, disbanding the team without mercy. “Everyone, go to bed!” he ordered.
The viewers in the livestream collectively sighed in relief.
[Oh my God, Someone finally showed up!]
[Thank you! This little idiot almost killed me with exhaustion.]
[Either he doesn’t stream for half a month, or when he does, it’s the whole night. My eyelids can barely stay open.]
[How long did Xu starve my stupid son? Aren’t they on the same team? Why is he so clingy?]
[Tsk, ever since he started duoing with Xu, he’s been ignoring us except to thank people for gifts. He only has the captain on his eyes and mouth. It’s so mushy.]
[That heart gesture must’ve been pressed to death by him, right? Now, when I close my eyes, I just see pink hearts everywhere…]
[+1]
[Can TLG’s manager please ban this gesture for him too? I’m afraid he’ll mess around on stage and embarrass us.]
Seeing these comments, Jiang Shi realized that Yuan Yang had been summoned by the fans. He muttered, “A bunch of traitors.”
He could’ve kept playing with Xie Xu!
When Yuan Yang saw Jiang Shi still ready to fight with his livestream chat, he shut down his stream as well.
After scolding Jiang Shi, Yuan Yang turned his firepower to Xie Xu.
“It’s one thing for Jiang Shi to fool around, but why didn’t you rein him in?” He noticed Xie Xu’s right hand resting on the table, unmoving. “Don’t you have physical therapy tomorrow?”
Xie Xu flexed his wrist, hiding his hand in his sleeve when Jiang Shi looked over. “Yeah, I’m going tomorrow.”
Then he patted Jiang Shi’s head reassuringly. “It’s nothing major, just routine maintenance.”
Seeing him still trying to comfort Jiang Shi, Yuan Yang rolled his eyes. “Routine maintenance, huh? Treating yourself like a machine now?”
“You’re not a young, new player like Xiao Shi. Look at how many of your peers with hand injuries had to retire early. Even Lion’s coach asked me for a referral for a hand specialist. I think Sun might have some issues too.”
TLG always prioritized players’ hand health, sending them for massages and therapy whenever there was discomfort. Sometimes, they’d even bring a doctor directly to the base.
Right now, Xu was their primary focus, and Zhao Jiu occasionally went for check-ups too.
Hearing this, Jiang Shi paused, “But we just played a scrim against Lion today, and I saw Sun in ranked matches too.”
Their scrim against Lion had been challenging as always, and Sun showed no signs of being out of form—his tone was as calm, and his gameplay as sharp as ever.
Yuan Yang explained, “We’re opponents, after all. Even if Sun did have a hand issue, he wouldn’t let it show.”
If someone with bad intentions found out, Lion’s formidable jungle could become their weak point.
“Forget it, I’m just mentioning it in passing. Don’t spread this around.” Yuan Yang changed the topic, banging his hand on the table. “Now go to bed! If any of you dare show up late to practice tomorrow, you’ll regret it!”
The bottom lane duo was dismissed on the spot by Yuan Yang.
The next afternoon, Xie Xu went for a hand check-up and didn’t come to the training room.
Jiang Shi glanced at the empty seat beside him, feeling distracted as he practiced last-hitting in custom games.
Was Xie Xu’s hand really just a minor issue? Had he kept him up too long last night, making Xie Xu’s hand act up again?
At dinner, Xie Xu still hadn’t returned.
Across the table, Yuan Yang noticed Jiang Shi’s expectant look and sighed, “He’s undergoing a full check-up today. The process takes time, plus there’s follow-up treatment, so it’ll be a while.”
Every hour or so, Jiang Shi would glance at him with obvious concern for Xie Xu.
“If you want to know when he’ll be back, just give him a call,” Yuan Yang suggested, adding, “Oh, and Sun from Lion is there too. They’re probably together.”
Jiang Shi: “?”
That show-off is there too?
At first, Jiang Shi didn’t want to bother Xie Xu, but after about ten minutes, he typed out a message.
[Obedient Jiangjiang: Captain, Auntie made shrimp fried rice tonight. It’s super tasty. Should I save some for you?]
Xie Xu replied quickly.
[Xu: No need, you finish it. I’ll be back late tonight.]
When Jiang Shi saw Xie Xu’s message, he had been fighting for the last bowl of shrimp fried rice with Jiang Lele. After reading it, he let go.
Jiang Lele happily took the bowl to the training room to find Back, while Jiang Shi stared at his phone for a long time before slowly replying with an “oh.”
Meanwhile, Xie Xu was soaking his hands in a herbal bath, with Sun sitting nearby, both immersed in their own treatments.
Sun noticed the disposable glove on Xie Xu’s right hand and raised an eyebrow. “I’ll rat you out to the doctor later if you keep refusing to properly soak your hand.”
Xie Xu put his phone aside, took off the glove, and resumed soaking his hand. “Go ahead, but don’t expect to book this specialist again if you do.”
TLG had pulled a lot of strings to secure this doctor, and without their introduction, Sun wouldn’t have even gotten in.
Sun clicked his tongue. “You old fox…”
Then he narrowed his eyes. “By the way, who was that messaging you just now? You ignored several calls earlier, but you’re so attentive to texts now.”
“Is that little lover of yours making you so distracted?”
Xie Xu ignored the latter part, flexing his fingers in the herbal bath. “It’s Time. He’s a little impatient, so I didn’t want him to worry.”
“Your little AD?” Sun’s interest piqued. “You really care about him, huh! During that last stream, the way you two were acting, I got a full dose of dog food from the other side.”
He straightened up, suddenly remembering. “Speaking of which, when I flanked you in that bush, why did you check that spot?”
Going that far out of the way to check the bush wasn’t typical of Xie Xu.
Could it be that he’d slipped up somehow?
With a rare serious look, Sun asked, “Bro, tell me. This is a big deal.”
Without looking up, Xie Xu answered nonchalantly, “Just felt like checking, burned some MP.”
Sun: “?”
Sun: “…”
“Fuck.” He cursed. “What’s with you? That hero has a low MP regen, and you’re using it like this?”
Then he suddenly paused. “Don’t tell me you did it just to bait Time into giving you blue buff?”
He had also been watching Time’s stream back then, and he’d noticed a mid-laner—apparently, Time’s friend—who’d even stolen one of his jungle blue buffs.
Sun thought about it and put the pieces together. Kicking Xie Xu’s chair, he said, “So my blue buff is your little love token, huh? Could you be any more shameless?”
Xie Xu leaned away to dodge the kick, chuckling. “Not as shameless as you. And don’t call me ‘Xu-gege’ anymore. It’s gross.”
Sun: “Alright, alright, only your little AD is allowed to call you that, huh? You are such a dog.”
“But does TLG even allow dating within the team?”
“We’re not dating.” Xie Xu replied calmly, “He acts more like my fan. That, or he treats me like a senior figure like Yuan Yang.”
“Bullshit,” Sun looked exasperated. “I’ve never heard of anyone wanting to kiss a senior, or a senior who secretly gets jealous and demands to be called ‘Gege’ as a way of staking a claim.”
Xie Xu stayed silent.
“If we’re talking seniors, isn’t that Chengcheng in your secondary team more fitting? Does the way you interact with him work with Jiang Shi?”
Xie Xu quickly had his answer in his heart:
No.
After their match against Hurricane, when Jiang Shi saw him with Chengcheng, he was visibly unhappy. Xie Xu immediately explained it and managed to coax him. But if Chengcheng got upset for such a trivial reason, Xie Xu would have just distanced himself and cut off any unnecessary emotional ties.
Seeing his expression, Sun whistled. “You’ve finally figured it out?”
Xie Xu looked up, “Jiang Shi is only 19.”
“Oh,” Sun raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t he an adult? He can do whatever he wants.”
“You’re also the captain—if you used your position, you could get away with anything. With your influence in TLG, who’d dare object?”
Xie Xu: “…”
Sun muttered, “Do I really need to teach you these things?”
Xie Xu wasn’t exactly a naïve little flower.
Looking at Xie Xu’s calm face, Sun suddenly clapped his hands, almost spilling his medicinal bath, and quickly said, “You’re not here to show off, are you?”
From what he’d observed about Jiang Shi’s attitude toward Xie Xu, he wouldn’t even be shocked if Xie Xu said they’d already shared a bed.
That little ADC was fierce with everyone else but was completely accommodating to Xie Xu.
“Even if you think he’s too young and doesn’t understand anything, you do!” Sun winked at him. “Wouldn’t it be more to your liking if you teach him to be the way you like?”
Xie Xu looked exasperated. “What nonsense is going on in your head?”
Sun lazily patted the water. “I’m curious about what you’re thinking. What’s up? Still not over the hurt from that online boyfriend from a year ago?”
Xie Xu’s eyes flickered slightly, and he fell silent.
Yawning, Sun stopped joking around, “I suggest if you’re interested, don’t wait. With the potential that little ADC of yours has, he won’t be so easy to fool once he’s seen more of the world.”
“Find out what he likes, coax him a bit.”
Sun was starting to drift off, assuming Xie Xu wouldn’t respond, when Xie Xu finally spoke: “I know.”
The Chinese herbal bath had been heated to a comfortable temperature. Xie Xu moved slightly, his soaked fingers pale.
Jiang Shi liked his face, and maybe even his hands.
Xie Xu recalled the small, recently updated Weibo account. After a while, he said, “There’s one more thing I need to confirm.”
That evening, after the medicinal bath, the two went to dinner. Sun complained about the smell of herbs on his hands, saying it ruined his appetite, so they ate lightly and then went their separate ways.
Xie Xu sent a message in the group chat, asking if anyone wanted a late-night snack, but no one responded.
At this hour, everyone was probably training.
When Xie Xu returned to the base and opened the door, he turned to find Jiang Shi leaning against the wall, looking straight at him.
Jiang Shi had a milk bottle in his mouth, eyes wide, clearly just as surprised by the encounter.
The lights in the first-floor living room were off, and the motion-sensor lights Xie Xu activated when he entered quickly faded, leaving only the dim glow from the second-floor hallway.
After a moment, Jiang Shi gulped down the remaining milk, tossed the bottle, and coughed, trying to trigger the motion sensor again.
But it didn’t work, and he ended up choking himself.
He coughed a few more times before the sensor light finally came back on.
Xie Xu had been about to turn on the main light but paused when he noticed Jiang Shi staring at him. “Did Yang-ge scold you?”
Jiang Shi shook his head. “No, I didn’t mess up today.”
Xie Xu nodded. “Then why are you hiding here?”
Jiang Shi replied honestly, “Waiting for you.”
When Xie Xu sent the message about bringing snacks, Jiang Shi had been in the middle of a game. By the time the match ended, twenty minutes had passed, and it took nearly an hour to get from the hospital to the base.
Guessing the timing, Jiang Shi kept running downstairs, sometimes using the excuse of getting milk or lingering on the second floor, listening for any noise. As it was training time, no one else would be downstairs. Yuan Yang had even turned off the lights to save power, so Jiang Shi, too nervous to turn them on himself, could only wait by the window, watching.
Looking at Jiang Shi pressed against the wall, Xie Xu asked, “How long have you been waiting?”
Jiang Shi thought for a moment. “Half an hour?”
There was always some activity in the other building, so he didn’t have high hopes. But as soon as he turned his head, the door opened, and the person he’d been waiting for appeared.
Jiang Shi’s eyes dropped to Xie Xu’s hand, nervously asking, “Captain, what did the test say? Is it because I made you play too long last night?”
“No.” Xie Xu raised his right hand, clenching and releasing his fist. “It’s mild tendonitis, an old problem. I took a herbal bath, so it’s much better.”
Xie Xu’s fingers were long and slender, with defined knuckles. Whether from the bath or the dim light, his hands appeared pale and delicate, yet when he clenched them, the raised bones and veins conveyed a sense of strength.
The contrasting beauty of it held Jiang Shi’s gaze. Soon, however, he controlled himself and softly asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Hearing the concern in his tone, Xie Xu extended his hand toward him with a small smile. “Why don’t you check?”
Jiang Shi saw the mole on the side of Xie Xu’s index finger as he closed the distance.
For a moment, Jiang Shi was consumed with other thoughts, his guilt vanishing.
How do you even check a hand?
Can he… touch it?
In the brief silence, the first-floor motion sensor turned off again.
In the darkness, Xie Xu spoke. “Forget it, my hands smell like herbal medicine. Don’t want it rubbing off on you.”
Jiang Shi’s heart raced, and he instinctively reached out, managing to grasp a slightly cool hand.
To be precise, he held onto Xie Xu’s index and middle fingers.
Almost impulsively, Jiang Shi gently brushed his thumb along the inside of Xie Xu’s index finger and quickly found a raised area.
It was a small mole.
Xie Xu let him hold on, feeling the probing pressure on his finger. He asked softly, “Do you like it here?”
Jiang Shi also seemed to like the mole near Xie Xu’s eye.
Jiang Shi murmured an affirmation, growing bolder under Xie Xu’s indulgence, lightly touching each finger.
The knuckles felt solid and strong, the veins snaking along the back of his hand reminding Jiang Shi he was holding the hand of an adult man.
Moreover, Xie Xu’s fingers were long.
Jiang Shi felt his face grow warm.
Xie Xu let him explore under the guise of “checking,” and after a moment, he asked, “Does the smell of herbs bother you?”
Jiang Shi instinctively shook his head. Realizing Xie Xu couldn’t see, he held Xie Xu’s index finger to his nose.
In the dark, he misjudged the distance, and Xie Xu’s fingertip brushed against Jiang Shi’s upper lip.
Xie Xu flinched slightly, pulling back.
Though thoroughly washed, he couldn’t be sure no herbal residue remained.
Jiang Shi held his hand tighter. “It doesn’t smell bad.”
“What kind of herbs are these? They smell really unique.”
The mix of herbs and Xie Xu’s body warmth didn’t just smell fine – it was oddly comforting.
Xie Xu didn’t answer, only gently loosening his grip.
The touch on Jiang Shi’s lip lingered in his mind.
In the darkness, Jiang Shi’s courage grew, and he began pulling Xie Xu’s hand closer, until he heard a buzzing from Xie Xu’s pocket.
Someone was calling Xie Xu.
But he ignored it, and Jiang Shi didn’t mention it either.
Just as Jiang Shi was about to attempt the same move, the main light on the first floor suddenly flicked on with a snap.
Yuan Yang, holding his phone, looked down at the two, hand-in-hand, wide-eyed. “What are you two doing in the dark?”
