There was three seconds of total silence.
Jiang Shi heard Xie Xu chuckle softly.
He then covered his face with both hands and banged his head against the wall beside him. “I did drink.”
He hung his head, his voice muffled and low. “Sorry, I lied.”
Rather than being called out, he decided it was better to confess.
Xie Xu looked at his dejected state and reached out to pull him back by his collar. “The wall is cold, don’t lean on it.”
Jiang Shi, dazed, was pulled upright by his collar. Xie Xu, seeing his confused state, paused and asked, “Did you come with friends?”
Jiang Shi nodded.
The dim hallway lighting cast a soft, warm yellow hue over Jiang Shi’s hair, making his slightly hazy eyes from the alcohol look innocent and gullible.
This appearance was too misleading, prompting Xie Xu to give a gentle reminder. “If you can’t handle your liquor, drink less.”
Jiang Shi thought of the empty bottles on the table and shamelessly nodded. “I only had a little, I won’t do it again.”
The restaurant’s heating was on, and Jiang Shi wore only a thin white sweatshirt. When he lowered his head, a glimpse of his slender, fair neck was visible.
Xie Xu glanced at it, then looked away, noticing he was standing with his feet together against the wall. He extended an arm toward him.
Jiang Shi, tipsy, didn’t immediately grasp Xie Xu’s intent. Xie Xu spoke, “I’ll take you to the restroom.”
Jiang Shi felt his face flush. He wanted to say he could manage, but then he remembered how he’d wandered the restaurant for ten minutes earlier without finding it and decided not to argue.
He looked at the slender yet powerful hand in front of him, and naturally grasped Xie Xu’s four fingers.
Xie Xu’s hand was cold from standing on the balcony, while Jiang Shi, warm from the alcohol, quickly transferred his warmth to Xie Xu’s palm.
Realizing what he’d done, Jiang Shi cursed himself inwardly for being so shameless. He’d had a bit to drink and was already taking advantage of Xie Xu!
Yet, Xie Xu’s hand felt exactly as he liked — long fingers, distinct knuckles, and a cool temperature, like a perfectly sculpted piece of ice jade.
Jiang Shi didn’t dare linger, quickly letting go and grabbing Xie Xu’s arm instead. “Sorry, didn’t see clearly.”
Xie Xu’s fingers twitched, the warmth from Jiang Shi’s touch swiftly dissipating into the air. He glanced down at Jiang Shi’s ears, which were gradually turning red again, and acknowledged with a hum.
After using the restroom, Xie Xu politely invited Jiang Shi to join their group in the private room, but Jiang Shi declined repeatedly. He reeked of alcohol, and anyone who got close could tell how much he’d drunk. He had barely dared to get close when Xie Xu helped him earlier. Entering a confined private room would be a disaster.
Though his image of not drinking was a bit shattered, he had to maintain that he couldn’t handle alcohol well. So, Jiang Shi awkwardly said goodbye to Xie Xu and quickly ran off.
Jiang Shi moved to the TLG base on a Saturday morning, three days later.
He packed his belongings simply, filled the automatic feeder with cat food, and checked the windows to ensure they weren’t sealed before leaving with his suitcase.
While waiting for the car, he saw a black figure dart past the window, balancing on the air conditioner unit. Subconsciously, his expression softened. “Greedy cat.”
Once in the car, Jiang Shi took out his phone to continue watching the match video he hadn’t finished. It was the grand finals of last year’s [God Making], where TLG won 3-2 against the Korean team YB. Despite the victory, it was a tough match.
Jiang Shi had only glanced at it before, but upon closer inspection, he realized TLG’s chances of winning were slim.
The disparity between the ADCs were too great.
Whenever Xie Xu wasn’t around, An would lose half his health just clearing a minion wave, and he was even solo-killed once before level 4.
In the final deciding game, if not for Xu’s unexpected flash initiation from an angle no one anticipated, perfectly controlling four opponents, TLG might not have clinched the championship.
During the champion interview, the host excitedly announced that this year’s FMVP was Xie Xu.
The applause was deafening, and Xie Xu deserved every bit of it.
Jiang Shi looked down at the Snowman doll on his backpack. The FMVP skin was tailor-made for Xie Xu’s performance in last year’s finals.
Thankfully, he hadn’t cut off the tag.
Jiang Shi had the video playing on speaker, and the driver in front recognized the game. Glancing at him through the rearview mirror, he said, “My daughter loves that game too. She’s a huge fan of Xu, like you, and has bought a lot of his merchandise.”
He sighed, “I hope she doesn’t pick up any bad habits.”
Jiang Shi put down his phone, “She won’t.”
He looked at the driver, “Xu is a role model with strong morals and no bad habits. You don’t have to worry about him being a bad influence on your daughter.”
Otherwise, Xie Xu wouldn’t have remained a steadfast presence in the esports scene.
Knowing he was about to join TLG, Jiang Shi had been cramming knowledge about the team over the past few days. Besides watching match videos, he also went through Xu’s career history.
Xu was a true prodigy. In his second year with TLG, he won the gold in the finals, marking the beginning of TLG’s dominant era, winning three consecutive championships until this year’s setback.
Jiang Shi noticed that TLG’s decline was predictable. Two years ago, when TLG was at its peak after winning the championship, their ADC transferred to the Korean team YB. This event had caused a significant stir and even trended on social media.
That’s when An from the second team became a starter and had been playing since.
At a red light, the driver chatted with Jiang Shi again, “Are you a fan of Xu too? You’re really defending him.”
Jiang Shi’s eyes lit up, “You can tell?”
He tilted his head to show the driver the logo on his hat, “See, it’s the team’s limited edition with the ID on it.”
He had recently bought it brand new at a high price online, tags still attached. Jiang Shi also tugged at his jacket, “This is also a limited edition.”
If time allowed, Jiang Shi would have worn all of Xie Xu’s merchandise.
No one dislikes dedicated fans, especially those who are willing to spend money like him.
–Probably, the only exception would be the money from a certain “Your Father Jiang” fan account last time.
As the car approached the base entrance, the security guard at the gate, having been informed by Yuan Yang, glanced at Jiang Shi’s hair under his hat and let him in without any fuss.
Jiang Shi: “…”
Jiang Shi thought to himself, ‘Well, his way of recognizing me is quite straightforward.’
Since he had been there once before, Jiang Shi dragged his suitcase to the main building’s entrance. He checked his outfit in the reflection of the shiny security door—
White hat, blue scarf, clean pale yellow sweatshirt, white casual pants, and sneakers. The overall look was gentle with a touch of cuteness.
No one would guess that his suitcase was filled with skull designs and ripped jeans.
As he was about to practice his expressions against the wall, the door suddenly opened.
Jiang Lele, in Pikachu pajamas, came out with a bag of trash, looking drowsy and muttering, “Who’s blocking the door so early?”
Yuan Yang had insisted on dragging him out to take the trash out at this hour, claiming the living room smelled like snail noodles and that the whole team had eaten something nasty last night.
Jiang Lele yawned and looked up, meeting Jiang Shi’s awkward expression. Jiang Shi’s attempted smile froze as he caught a whiff of the trash bag.
“Did you just finish eating?”
Jiang Lele: “?”
“This is only snail noodles1snail noodles are famous for its… peculiar smell.!” Jiang Lele’s drowsiness vanished in a flash of anger. “It’s not feces or something else!”
Their conversation drew Yuan Yang downstairs. Seeing Jiang Shi, he quickly took his suitcase. “Why didn’t you tell me you were here? I would have come to get you.”
Jiang Shi smiled, “It’s fine. I know the way.”
After throwing away the trash, Jiang Lele gave Jiang Shi a quick glare before scurrying upstairs.
“Jiang Lele, call everyone else down.”
Ten minutes later, TLG’s four main players were sitting on the couch in the living room, still half-asleep. Xie Xu looked particularly cold and indifferent, leaning back with his head resting on the couch, his prominent Adam’s apple catching Jiang Shi’s gaze several times.
Yuan Yang introduced Jiang Shi, “This is Jiang Shi. He will be joining us temporarily as the substitute AD.”
Xie Xu opened his eyes and turned his head, his voice slightly hoarse from just waking up, “Substitute?”
The title wasn’t the main issue – the difference in signing fees between a starter and a substitute was significant.
Yuan Yang nodded, “Jiang Shi lacks any foundational experience. The higher-ups feel it’s not suitable for him to start immediately. He’ll practice with you first, and if everything goes well, we’ll renegotiate his contract for the next season.”
He then looked at Jiang Shi, “I’ll give you the contract details later.”
Jiang Shi nodded obediently. Standing next to Yuan Yang, with his youthful appearance, he looked like a kid being introduced by his parents. Yuan Yang noticed his shyness and smiled warmly, “Are you feeling nervous? Let me introduce everyone.”
“That big guy over there is our top laner, Zhao Jiu, ID Nine2赵九; his give name really does mean “Nine”. The other two are our jungler, Yu Hui, ID Back3俞回; his given name means to return/to back. All of TLG starter players names are quite literal lol, and our mid laner, Jiang Lele, ID Lele.”
Jiang Shi greeted each one, but when his gaze met Xie Xu’s, he quickly looked down at his own feet. That night, after he sobered up, he wished he could bury himself in a hole.
eeting his crush for the first time and being drunk, holding hands, and needing help to find the bathroom was mortifying.
Xie Xu had been waiting at the door for him that night.
Jiang Shi later thought about it for a long time, wondering if he had held back a bit while using the bathroom, worried that Xie Xu might hear the sound of him urinating.
Yuan Yang, unaware of Jiang Shi’s thoughts, dutifully continued the introductions, “This is Xu, the captain and support of TLG. You met him during your trial.”
Jiang Shi’s hand, which had been hanging by his side, tightened and then relaxed. His mind was a chaotic mess, and he mumbled a response.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the person on the sofa opposite him straighten up and pour a glass of water.
The sound of the hot water filling the cup was long and resonant.
Jiang Shi’s nerves instantly tensed up.
Was this some kind of new hint?
When the cup of water was handed to him, he was momentarily stunned before accepting it. The warmth of the cup penetrated his numb fingers, making him realize just how cold his hands had gotten from dragging his suitcase in the chilly wind.
He instinctively gripped the cup tighter.
Xie Xu, looking at Jiang Shi’s fair face enveloped in the rising steam, lazily remarked, “Why did you greet everyone else but only give me a ‘hmm’?”
“I—” Normally confident, Jiang Shi felt his heartbeat spike at Xie Xu’s low tone. He quickly gathered his thoughts and spoke, “I’m Jiang Shi. I was once the number one in the Korean server, maintained a top ten spot in the Chinese server AD ranking for three consecutive seasons, and I’m currently at the Grandmaster tier. I’m confident I can reach the Challenger rank within a week…”
As he spoke, he suddenly heard Jiang Lele laugh behind him.
Jiang Shi clenched his fist and turned around to see Jiang Lele quickly cover his mouth.
Even Yuan Yang couldn’t help but tease, “You sound like you’re here for a blind date with Xu.”
Jiang Shi: “…”
Why did he always end up acting foolish in front of Xie Xu?
He glanced quickly at Xie Xu and then looked down, his mind finally clearing, “Xu, hello.”
He rubbed his flushed ears. “Nice to meet you.”
