Glory [e-sports]

They agreed to meet the next afternoon.

Wei Xiao was quite kind about it. He asked Lu Feng, “Should we go and inform God Kim?”

Forget about Yuan Ze; if they told him ahead of time, he might even purposely stir up some trouble. It wouldn’t be a stretch for that old beast to turn around, tie EVE and FTW together, and then screw them over together.

Kim Sung-hyun had a good reputation in FTW, and Wei Xiao cared about him.

Lu Feng: “Whatever you want.”

Wei Xiao’s eyes curved. “Alright, I’ll take care of it!”

He gave Kim Sung-hyun a call, but he’d never thought that God Kim would actually have his phone off.

Wei Xiao spread his hands. “In that case, there’s no helping it.”

The corner of Lu Feng’s lips also curved up slightly.

Brother Cai, who was listening to the side, felt panic choke his heart.

There was a sweet little fox hanging around the black-bellied great demon king…

Team of Gods, you’re on your own!

Wei Xiao really had made the phone call, and Kim Sung-hyun really had his phone off, but if he was serious about informing him, he could’ve asked Brother Liu to contact the club manager or someone else in the team, or even leave a WeChat message.

But…

Wei Xiao understood what Lu Feng meant with his ‘whatever you want’.

He didn’t want to give Kim Sung-hyun an advance warning that badly.

It had been three years. Playing a prank on them wasn’t so bad.

Close might feel bad doing it, but Quiet didn’t mind at all!

Why was Kim Sung-hyun’s phone turned off? There was actually a reason behind it.

Before the Chinese finals, Kim Sung-hyun had promised to go back to FTW with Xie He and take a look around after the game.

On the first day after the game, Kim Sung-hyun avoided Xie He.

On the second day, Kim Sung-hyun remained silent.

On the third day, Xie He gave him a call.

Kim Sung-hyun: “I have quite a lot of training matches scheduled. How about…”

There was a click as Xie He hung up.

If he didn’t want to go, then forget it! So, he’d arrange a training match with FTW instead and rush up to ‘send out kills’.

Kim Sung-hyun felt guilty, so he simply turned his phone off and played dead.

The next day, Lu Feng assigned Wei Xiao a driver and let him out to play.

Before leaving, Wei Xiao asked Lu Feng, “You really won’t come?”

Lu Feng really had something to do. “No.”

Wei Xiao: “Alright! Wait for my good news!”

Lu Feng smiled. “Don’t mess around too fiercely.”

Wei Xiao: “I have a sense of discretion~!”

He wasn’t going alone. Little Secretary Cai had taken a high hourly salary to accompany President Wei to go on an expedition at the old base.

Wei Xiao disdained him. “What are you coming with me for?”

Brother Cai casually spoke nonsense, “Helping the captain keep an eye on you.”

Wei Xiao: “I won’t randomly flirt with people.”

Bai Cai: “Are you not clear in your own heart about whether or not you f*cking would?”

There was no door on his mouth, and he could even sweet talk the great demon king. Was there anyone else that he couldn’t sort out?

Wei Xiao cleared his throat and actually showed a slightly shy expression. “It’s not easy having a vinegar king at home.”

Bai Cai: “……”

Wei Xiao came up to him and asked, “Say, why does the captain like being jealous so much?”

Brother Cai rolled his eyes.

Wei Xiao answered his own question, “Is it because he loves me so much?”

Brother Xiao became worked up about this topic, and had a deep discussion about this problem with him the whole way there.

Bai Cai: “………………………………”

He f*cking shouldn’t have gotten into the car!

When they arrived at the hotel EVE was staying in, Brother Cai was finally able to flee for his life and breathe again.

They arrived at just the right time. Xie He was very punctual and ran out from the lobby as soon as the car came to a stop.

The automatic door opened, revealing Xie He in a cap, a black mask, a T-shirt with a distinctive logo, and wide, casual pants. The trouser legs were tucked into limited edition sneakers, and he looked both trendy and stylish. No one else could match his 2.8 meter tall aura.

The doorman’s eyes were locked on him, and he didn’t need to speak to convey his meaning: Which star was this?

His style was really like that of an idol.

Wei Xiao greeted him, “Did God Xie come alone?”

Xie He was wearing a mask, and his voice was a little muffled, “Mm.”

Wei Xiao didn’t say anything else, and they got into the car together.

Brother Cai greeted Xie He, and Xie He made a sound in response.

FTW wasn’t far from the hotel. It was a 15-16 minute drive.

Xie He had a cold personality and didn’t speak much. Brother Cai didn’t dare try to strike up a conversation with him, but Wei Xiao didn’t care. He casually brought up yesterday’s training match, talking on his own without any embarrassment.

They went the same route as before. The car first drove past FTW’s current base, and looking out from the window, the lush gardens and the villa nestled within gave the summer afternoon a feeling of coolness and tranquility.

Wei Xiao looked at Xie He. “Do you want to see the new base while you’re here?”

Xie He shook his head. “No need.”

Wei Xiao: “In that case, let’s go directly to the old base.”

Xie He nodded and turned to look out the window at this familiar, yet strange scene.

The urban area in S City had changed a lot. Three years was neither long nor short; for a small familiar town, it might even remain unchanged over a long period of time like the flowing streams in the village. For the ever-changing big cities, three years was an earth-shaking amount of time.

The e-sports park was in the suburbs, and it was a new project that had been completed a year ago.

The old FTW base was also in this area, but there had been no concept of an e-sports park at the time. Clubs had just settled there without any pre-agreements, and only later was an e-sports park planned in the area.

Xie He was an S City native, but by now, he’d been wandering outside for three years.

How could he not be homesick?

He missed the people close to him, and he missed everyone.

His eyelashes drooped slightly. He didn’t quite dare to look at the old FTW base in front of him.

He felt anxious coming back after so many years of absence.

There was too much here.

There was laughter, passion, struggle, and glory.

And that final, lonely end.

Young and powerless, he could only go far away from home.

No matter how much bitterness one suffered away from home, no matter how tired one became, how much blood and sweat was shed, none of it could beat the feeling of this first glance of revisiting one’s old home.

––To feel aggrieved.

This was an emotion that could only grow at home.

Xie He was in a complicated mood when the car came to a sudden stop.

Wei Xiao: “God Xie?”

Xie He pressed down the brim of his cap. “Mm.”

They got out of the car together and walked towards this vacant villa, step by step.

Xie He looked at it unblinkingly with mixed feelings in his heart; although no one was living there anymore, it had been kept very tidy and clean.

Three years ago, the building had been abandoned and left empty. The fact that there was no decay meant that Close had protected it well.

He’d heard that FTW had moved out of this base a year ago, but unexpectedly, it still seemed to contain a sense of human habitation. It was quite…

His thoughts stopped abruptly.

Because of that very familiar, angry and cursing voice that he occasionally heard in his dreams, “Old Shit Yuan, you f*cking killed me four times!”

Xie He: “……”

Through the second floor window, there was a certain ADC whose mixed Korean and Chinese communication intensified whenever he was worked up, “You’re done for! Let me tell you, you and Old G are done for, I’m going to let you understand what it means for your life to be ruined with Daddy Kim here!”

Xie He: “………………”

At this moment, Xie He, who thought he was having hearing hallucinations, looked first at Wei Xiao, then at Bai Cai.

The little white cabbage trembled and wished he could shrink back behind Brother Xiao.

Wei Xiao smiled like a fox. “It’s quite lively.”

Xie He: “Kim Sung-hyun?”

Wei Xiao: “Captain Yuan is here too. Oh… the whole L&P and Pro teams are here.”

Xie He: “………………………………”

It was clear just from listening to the sounds from upstairs that the two teams were in the midst of playing a training match.

Wei Xiao didn’t act polite with them. These fellows were eating and living there for nothing, so to hell with sneaking around! He would openly and blatantly go in to watch their training match, and even a closed door wouldn’t stop him––Wei Xiao had keys!

Coincidentally, the teams upstairs had just finished a game. It sounded like L&P won, and Kim Sung-hyun had been cut down miserably, dying at Yuan Ze’s hands four times over.

They were just about to start the next game when the door opened.

The door was only so big. Wei Xiao was at the front, and Brother Cai was next. Xie He was blocked tightly from view.

The people in the training room all called out greetings when they saw that it was Little Lunatic Wei, “You came at just the right time. Do you want to watch the training match?”

They weren’t treating Wei Xiao like an outsider and invited him to watch the fight.

Wei Xiao chuckled and moved to the side. Brother Cai didn’t dare laugh, but he cooperated very well.

As soon as the two of them got out of the way, it left Xie He standing on his own at the entrance. His appearance shocked everyone in the whole training room!

Old G: “Xiexie…”

Yuan Ze bonked him on the head. Old G covered his head and shut up.

Old Dog Yuan really lived up to his name. He was still able to laugh when faced with this embarrassing scene, and he even invited Xie He to come in and watch the training match.

Xie He: “……”

His black eyes shifted to Kim Sung-hyun.

God Kim: “!”

He really wished he could hide even just half of himself behind Li Heran.

Xie He spoke half a second later, “You guys live here?” His voice was as cold as could be, making everyone in the training room feel that today’s air conditioner had been turned on a little too strong. It was as cold as the dead of winter.

Kim Sung-hyun: “…… Cough.”

At this moment, Proud Flower Kim was like the husband or wife who’d been caught cheating in bed again. It was embarrassing enough to send him spiraling up to heaven!

Yuan Ze was inhumanly good at tossing the blame around. “Yeah, I wanted to borrow a place to live at FTW’s new base at first, but Kim Sung-hyun came here afterwards, so I came over to keep him company.”

Kim Sung-hyun: “???” He had an amazing ability to confuse even black and white.

Xie He turned to Kim Sung-hyun, “You’ve been living here the whole time…”

Kim Sung-hyun: “…………”

F*ck. Kim Sung-hyun didn’t have time to deal with Old Shit. He would first explain himself before figuring out the rest, “I got fooled by Yuan Ze. You…” He glanced at Wei Xiao. “Quiet, come testify for me!”

Wei Xiao blinked.

Kim Sung-hyun urged him to speak.

Wei Xiao spoke, “If God Kim doesn’t want to live here, how about…”

Kim Sung-hyun: “……………………”

He was a little beast who had inherited his beastliness from one generation to another. How could he have any expectations for Little Lunatic Wei?!

Yuan Ze was getting into it, “Since God Kim doesn’t want to live here, Old Xie, how about moving in? You know how many rooms there are here, just enough for two teams. Anything more won’t fit.”

Kim Sung-hyun: “!”

God Xie: “……”

His eyelashes drooped slightly. This expression, could it be that he was really considering it?

Kim Sung-hyun: “Nonsense, we’ve already settled in, and the globals are coming up. What’s the point in tossing about.”

Yuan Ze: “There’s still ten days.”

Xie He: “Nine days.”

Kim Sung-hyun: “…………”

Yuan Ze: “Staying at the hotel must cost at least 20,000 a day, right?” Considering the team and its entourage, this figure was a conservative estimate.

Xie He: “Mm.”

Kim Sung-hyun: “Old Xie, you don’t have to concern yourself with the operations of the team. Who are you saving this spending money for…”

Yuan Ze: “Besides, we can play training matches anytime and anywhere over here.”

Kim Sung-hyun glared at him. “Shut up!”

Yuan Ze really did as he asked and mimicked pulling a zipper shut over his mouth.

Xie He: “Oh yeah.”