Chapter 22
FOG [e-sports]
[Whisper]: Have you had your midnight snack yet? Want to grab something?
Shi Luo looked at Yu Suiâs WeChat, and an inexplicable bout of bad temper flared up and he replied, [Not hungry. Not gonna eat. ]
After sending the message, Shi Luo regretted it. Not to mention anything else, he really was hungry; very, very hungry!
Shi Luo stared, puzzled, at his mobile phone. He was never the kind of person to say one thing and mean another. So why has he developed this bad habit since meeting Yu Sui?
How could he order now that heâs said that heâs not hungry and that he wonât eat? If he gets seen when he goes to pickup the delivery ... Heâll be seen as a kid throwing a tantrum, so stupid.
Shi Luo grabbed his short hair. Irritated, he got up and rummaged through his bag. There wasnât even half a snack in it. There was only a pack of chewing gum. Shi Luo chewed his gum, looking depressed.
Five minutes later, there was a knock on Shi Luoâs door.
Shi Luo silently blew a bubblegum bubble. Inwardly, he said, this slag man is getting started. Heâs getting started again.
Shi Luo sighed. He stood up to open the door, but he couldnât help saying a few contrary words, âI told you I wasnât gonna eat, why on earth are you ...â
Outside the door, Chen Huoâs face was filled with question marks.
Shi Luo: â...â
âExcuse me ...â Chen Huo picked his ears and asked with uncertain surprise, âBut did you just ... Were you throwing a tantrum at me? Have you gone crazy from scrambling for points on the national server?â
Shi Luo and Chen Huo looked at each other, both of them feeling disgust in the pit of the stomachs. Now, he really wasnât hungry.
Chen Huo soothed his rather uneasy stomach and forced himself to say, âI came up to change clothes and Yu Sui asked me to call you. Weâre going out to eat together.â
Shi Luo looked irritable, âI got it. So, go away!â
Chen Huo shrugged and headed to his room.
Shi Luo went back inside his room. He put on his jacket and donned on a handsome-looking baseball cap. He then grabbed his mobile phone and headed downstairs.
The five headed for a private hot pot restaurant nearby.
This hot pot restaurant had a total of eight tables. Each of the partitioned rooms had no door, only a curtain. Everyone entered the restaurant and walked in. It just so happened that the room next to theirs was occupied. Fortunately or unfortunately, the diners were industry colleagues, Team Bison.
It was their opponents during the regular season game where Shi Luo made his debut, the one before his college entrance examination.
Yu Sui lifted the curtain and said hello. The Bison Team captain hurriedly returned the greeting. The two of them exchanged a few words. Shi Luo was so hungry, all he could think about was quickly getting something to eat. However, the space in the corridor was limited. Yu Sui and Chen Huo were standing at the door of the other teamâs private room and so he couldnât go any further. Shi Luo stood impatiently behind Yu Sui. When he glanced inside, he saw one of Team Bisonâs members looking at him with an ugly look on his face.
Iâm unhappy because Iâm hungry. What could you still be unhappy about when your lips are smeared with chili oil?!
Shi Luo swept a glance around the room. Besides the one who was glaring at him, there was a little man beside him who seemed to look at their team with a bit of hostility.
Were all the Bison Team members all born in the year of the Bison? Do they all have bad tempers? Are these people sick?
Yu Sui had finally talked enough, and the five of them entered the next room. Old Qiao sat down and whispered, âThat Violent Shu, if looks could kill.â
As though he hadnât heard, Yu Sui picked up the menu to order and urged them, âOrder whatever you guys want? Hurry up, Iâm dead on my feet already.â
Shi Luo picked up the menu, âWhoâs Violent Shu? Is it that a-hole with chili oil all over his mouth? Whatâs he unhappy about?â
Yu Sui frowned, âOrder.â
Puppy was sitting next to Shi Luo. He leaned towards Shi Luo and whispered, âBefore playing that last match with us, Bison was ranked fifth in the regular season, only a little lower than the fourth ranked LAD. If theyâd won that best of three, they would have jumped to fourth. â
âIf you take a look at the schedule for the playoffs, fourth place has a much more dominant position than fifth. Youâll play one less match. Of course, your chances of getting to the finals is also a little better. The fifth place ... just in case you wash out in the first round, what would you do? But fourth place is different. The fourth place team will only play from the second round. â
âWhen Bison heard you were going up, they were ecstatic.â Puppy lowered his voice even further, âWhen they heard Yu Sui was going to replace Chen Huo as striker, they were over the moon. They thought they were already a shoe-in for the second round. â
Puppy sat up properly, picked up the menu and said, âBut in the end ... you know what happened. Theyâre still in fifth and they failed to reverse their fortunes.â
Shi Luo was speechless, âI won fair and square. His skills didnât match up so whatâs he upset for?â
Yu Sui gave Shi Luo a warning look, â... Go and order.â
âThatâs because they already talked big on their official blog. Now, they feel that theyâve embarrassed themselves.â Chen Huo also turned his nose up at Bisonâs sore loser attitude. âThey thought we had a freakish lineup. A substitute medic and a non-specialized striker. They were sure they could win. But unfortunately, even if we just play casually, they still wouldnât be able to beat us.â
Old Qiao whispered, âDonât talk like that. Actually, only Violent Shu and that new substitute have a bit of a bad temper. The rest didnât take it to heart. Look, werenât they nice enough just now? Donât mention it anymore. Letâs just eat.â
Chen Huo thought about it and had a realization, âOh yeah, that Violent Shu is also a newcomer and a medic too. It just so happened it was also his first match that day. He probably wanted to show Shi Luo. I guess he didnât expect Shi Luo would show him up instead and take the MVP title to boot. Sigh ... I donât understand you medics, isnât it good enough to be a cute and gentle little milk tank? Why is your hunger for victory even more intense that us strikersâ? â
There were two medics in this table of five. Yu Sui and Shi Luo both looked up at Chen Huo at the same time. Chen Huo waved his hand and said, âSorry, sorry. Letâs order.â
The five quickly ordered their food. This restaurant served dishes slowly; they were ready just when the pot started to boil. The five of them chatted about the playoff arrangements while eating. Old Qiao took the opportunity to educate Shi Luo. âThereâs no difference between the playoffs and the regular season, except that the best of three turns into a best of five. Since weâre leading in points for the regular season, the initial games have nothing to do with us. Weâll only play in the semifinals and finals ... â
Yu Sui took a sip of his drink, âHave you guys made your preparations for the finals?â
Old Qiao sighed, âThis is the same old song and dance. Whatâs there to be afraid of?â
Old Qiao continued and told Shi Luo at the same time, âAside from having more spectators and a slightly more tedious process itâs no different from the regular season. Just follow the instructions that Yu Sui told you before, but ... you shouldnât be going up to play so, there probably wonât be any problems. â
Yu Sui nodded. âYou can just stare at the water dispenser.â
Shi Luo pouted but he himself knew clearly. The team wouldnât risk putting a substitute player like himself in the lineup for the semi-finals and finals. He took a big sip of watermelon juice and got up, âIâm going to the bathroom.â
The corridor of this hot pot was f*cking winding and strange. Shi Luo walked around for a long time before finding the bathroom. He went in, relieved himself and walked out to wash his hands.
He was just in time to run into Violent Shu, the one who had been staring at him earlier.
Shi Luo didnât feel like greeting him. He stepped forward to wash his hands.
To the side, Violent Shu had on a foul expression on his face. He washed his hands and instead of drying it using the hand dryer or wiping it, he shook it directly. The water droplets sprinkled on Shi Luoâs face.
Shi Luo said coldly, âWhat are you doing?!â
Violent Shu turned his head and looked at Shi Luo. He smiled provocatively, âRelax, Masterâs hands have been cleaned. This is water not urine.â
Shi Luo heard him and immediately placed his two fingers directly against the water faucet spout. The water pressure increased and a jet of water squirted out following Shi Luoâs fingertips, spraying Violent Shu full in the face.
Shi Luo said with a blank expression, âRelax, Master hasnât had time to wash his hands just now. Iâm pretty sure that was urine and not water.â
Violent Shu instantly blew his top.
In the private room, Old Qiao took a bite of crown daisy. âWhatâs taking him so long?â
The corner of Yu Suiâs mouth ticked up slightly, âThe young ones take longer.â
Old Qiao smirked and sighed, âIâm not that much older than Shi Luo, but just look at him ...He flew back immediately after the college entrance examinations and spent the entire night raising his rank on the national server. Whatâs with that physical constitution? Whatâs with that steely resolve? With his internet addiction as bad as this, what else could he do besides enter into our line of work?â
Chen Huo scoffed, âHeâs been getting points for so long but his still isnât as good as mine.â
Puppy said, âItâs already good enough. Did you think about when you first debuted? And really, in that game before his college entrance examination, with how calm and steady he was, who can tell that this was his first time playing?
âBut he wasnât calm and steady!â Chen Huo nitpicked and said fussily, âWhy donât you ask Yu Sui? He prepped him so well it was just short of telling him how many steps he needed to take from the backstage lounge to the stage and whether he should use his right or left foot first! If I had a senior who looked after me that well when I debuted, I would have been way more calm and collected than he was! â
Old Qiao took a look outside. âI donât know how many steps there are from the lounge to the stage but Iâm quite clear just how far it is from here to the toilet ... Itâs just a few steps, why hasnât he returned yet?â
Yu Sui frowned slightly.
Puppy took a bite of green bamboo shoots and suddenly thought of something. He said quietly, âCaptain, you taught Shi Luo so many of the complicated rules and regulations. But did you tell him about that high-voltage wire that he absolutely mustnât touch? That one that could get him immediately retired?â
Yu Sui got up and quickly walked out of the private room. He lifted open the curtain to the private room next door...
Several of the Bison team member looked bewilderedly back at him.
Violent Shu wasnât there.
Yu Sui walked directly to the bathroom without saying a word. He bypassed the winding corridor and before he even reached the bathroom, Yu Sui already heard sounds of something being smashed. His scalp instantly went numb.
The door to the bathroom was locked. The staff of restaurant were hurriedly going round in circles. Ceaseless cussing could be heard from inside. Yu Sui was hit by a bout of anxiety and with a single kick, knocked open the door to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, one of the two huge decorative vases has been smashed, and the broken porcelain pieces were littered on the ground. Both Shi Luo and Violent Shu were rolling around on the floor. Shi Luoâs face was pale, his eyes were red. He had a deathly tight grip on Violent Shuâs shoulder. With a forceful flip, he pressed Violent Shu against the floor. Shi Luo turned his wrist, and Yu Sui immediately saw that Shi Luoâs arm was stained with blood.
Yu Sui looked at the blood on Shi Luoâs hand, his brain went blank for a moment, and his heart almost stopped.
Yu Sui pounced on them and pulled Shi Luo from the ground. Shi Luo said angrily, âStop pulling at me! Iâm gonna kill this assh*le!â
Yu Sui wished he could stuff Shi Luo inside the trunk of his car. âShut up! Follow me!â
âAsk him what he said! You ask him!â Shi Luo struggled incessantly. He struck out with his foot, still wanting to kick the Violent bastard. âCome at me if you can! Come at me!!!â
Violent Shu took this opportunity to get up. He wiped the corner of his mouth which was bleeding from a hit and starting throwing insults, âI just called you a son of a b*tch, you son of a b*tch! Son of a b*tch! Which b*tch untied her pants and had you, huh?!!! â
Blue veins burst out on Shi Luoâs forehead. In an instant, Shi Luo pounced again and Yu Sui barely managed to get his arms around him to hold him back.
Shi Luo struggled and yelled at Yu Sui, âDidnât you hear what he said?!â
âI heard ...â Shi Luo was too strong. Yu Sui knew that he couldnât hold on for long. He tried his best to restrain Shi Luo in his arms. He said, âIf you donât stop, I will absolutely ... dismiss you ... I mean it.â
Shi Luoâs entire body went slack.
Not giving Shi Luo a chance to react, Violent Shu, who had already lost all reason, took the other decorative vase and swung it.
There was nowhere to dodge in this small space. Yu Suiâs eyes quivered and he instinctively hugged Shi Luo from the back.
Yu Sui locked Shi Luo tightly in his arms, and in the next second, the vase was smashed loudly straight against Yu Suiâs back.