Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Two days before the TZG competition, Yan Zhun packed his bags, preparing to leave.

Sitting beside him, the coach tried to persuade him, "Don't you like staying here? Why do you have to go back?"

Yan Zhun didn't lift his head. "I don't want to disturb your training."

The coach replied, "No, you can help me keep an eye on them while you're here."

"I'm about to take exams. I don't have time to be their sparring partner," Yan Zhun said coolly.

The coach scolded him for being ungrateful, then closed the door and asked, "You're really not coming back to play?"

Yan Zhun lowered his eyes, hiding all his emotions behind his eyelids as he pulled the zipper down. "No plans to."

Shoulder bag in hand, Yan Zhun stepped out of the room to find Lin Xuhuan lying on the sofa, examining his baseball cap from all angles before bringing it close to his face to sniff.

Yan Zhun plucked the hat from his grasp, frowning. "What are you doing?"

Lin Xuhuan's eyes widened innocently. "I couldn't buy it, so I just wanted to take a look. Hey, what's that smell on your hat? It's strangely pleasant, no wonder you were sniffing it the other day."

The others resting nearby looked at them with odd expressions.

The assault player put down his chicken wing. "Come on, let me smell it too. Did you use cologne?"

Yan Zhun ignored him, pulling his hat down over his head. "We're leaving."

"Wait," the coach called out, holding out an item. It was two internal passes. "Take these. Your seats are in the front row, and if you want, you can also go backstage."

Yan Zhun looked at the TZG logo printed on the tickets before taking them. "Thanks."

Back in his dorm, Yan Zhun tossed his backpack on the table, took out his phone, and snapped pictures of the tickets. He then sent them to Pei Ran.

"Pei Ran: Huh?"

"Yan Zhun: Saturday, at the city's venue. A 20-minute taxi ride."

"Pei Ran: Alright, I'll post them on my Moments for you."

"Yan Zhun: ?"

"Yan Zhun: What kind of post are you referring to?"

"Pei Ran: Aren't you supposed to be selling tickets?"

Yan Zhun stared at the two words for a few seconds before sending a voice message.

The call was picked up after several rings.

"Why would I resemble a ticket scalper?" Yan Zhun asked.

Pei Ran was momentarily taken aback. "I just saw Lin Xuhuan post on his Moments, selling two entry tickets. Aren't these his tickets?"

Yan Zhun: "..."

What was wrong with Lin Xuhuan, selling tickets with a seven-figure annual salary?

"It's not about scalping tickets," Yan Zhun said. "It's an invitation for you to watch the match with me."

Pei Ran was in the midst of coloring his sketches when he paused, his pen stalling for a moment. He blinked rapidly a few times.

"Classes are off on weekends, so I'll pick you up. With the internal ticket, we won't have to queue. If there's anything you don't understand, I can explain it to you," Yan Zhun asked. "Do you want to come?"

The line was quiet, and Yan Zhun didn't speak, waiting patiently for his response.

After a long while, Yan Zhun folded the ticket and was about to slip it back into his backpack.

"I understand," he said.

Pei Ran's tone was gentle yet firm. "I'm not a girl, there's no need to go through the trouble of picking me up. Would it be alright if we meet at the bus stop?"

-

This was Pei Ran's first time at a competition venue. They entered through a back door, and when they did, the place was still relatively deserted.

Aware of their arrival, Lin Xuhuan had prearranged for them to take a seat backstage.

Other contestants were deadly serious, but TZG was relaxed to a fault. They were veterans of international competitions, their mentality well-honed. When Pei Ran entered, he even saw their assault player casually playing a game of Match-3 on his phone.

"Help yourself to the water, it's provided by the sponsor, all free of charge." The coach gave Pei Ran a glance and smiled. "Yan Zhun, do you know why you can't seem to win someone over?"

Upon hearing this, both of them froze. Pei Ran even paused in his action of twisting the bottle cap. Yan Zhun remained calm. "Why?" "I gave you two tickets so you could take the young lady out on a date and let the two of you foster your relationship. Yet, you... brought Pei Ran here," the coach said with a smile. "Of course, I'm not saying he can't come. You could've asked me for another ticket." Yan Zhun replied nonchalantly, "There were plenty of tickets. Save them for Lin Xuhuan to make a fortune." Lin Xuhuan grumbled, "Those tickets were meant for friends who couldn't make it, so they asked me to sell them!" The coach scolded him, "But you shouldn't have sold them using your main account! It's been screenshotted and posted on Weibo! Now, you're trending for all the wrong reasons!" After exchanging a few casual words, the team started discussing their tactics for the upcoming match. The tactics had already been decided on beforehand; now, they were just going over the details. Yan Zhun sat beside the coach and spoke up occasionally when called upon, offering concise opinions from time to time. His tone was relaxed, but his gaze was focused. The two of them spent some time in the lounge before Yan Zhun stood up. "The event staff will be in soon to film a video. I'll take him out."

This competition consisted of sixteen teams, with the waiting rooms arranged in a tight row, leaving only a narrow passage in between.

Halfway through, Pei Ran asked, "Have you participated in any matches before?"

"No," Yan Zhun replied casually. "I quit the team two days before the match."

Pei Ran pursed his lips and didn't ask further.

Their seats were in the fourth row, allowing them to see the screen without craning their necks. By now, the surrounding seats were already occupied.

As the contestants took their seats, the host began introducing each team one by one. The loudest cheers erupted when TZG was mentioned. When the camera zoomed in on TZG's players, Lin Xuhuan playfully winked at the lens.

At the start of the game, Yan Zhun slightly tilted his head and whispered, "They're planning to control the bottom-right jungle and block the bridge."

Pausing for a moment, Pei Ran realized that Yan Zhun was providing him with commentary. "They block bridges in competitions too?"

"Occasionally, depending on the zone. If the zone is favorable, they might consider it; if not, they'll just hunt in the wild, same thing." Yan Zhun watched as the other team members approached Lin Xuhuan. "TZG is about to score a kill."

Within ten seconds, the screen flashed an announcement of Lin Xuhuan's successful elimination of his opponent.

Pei Ran commented, "You have great faith in him."

Yan Zhun replied, "He's been practicing on this terrain for a few nights, just the other day. Even a pig should become proficient by now."

Pei Ran: "..."

He could even hear the girl sitting next to Yan Zhun giggling.

Noticing this, Yan Zhun's voice dropped even lower.

TZG played a decent game, securing the right lower jungle area, but unfortunately, the late-game zone wasn't in their favor, resulting in a third-place finish.

Under Yan Zhun's commentary, Pei Ran surprisingly understood every bit of it. He furrowed his brows in slight disappointment and was about to speak.

"Um..." A gentle feminine voice softly spoke up, "Listening to your commentary, you're so skilled. Are you a trainee commentator? Would you like to add my WeChat for future... gaming sessions together?"

It was the girl sitting next to Yan Zhun attempting to strike up a conversation with him.

Pei Ran quietly closed his mouth and leaned back in his seat.

Yan Zhun said, "I can't."

Girl: "Huh? Why?"

"I have someone I like here, and it wouldn't be appropriate for him to see me," Yan Zhun replied casually.

Pei Ran: "..."

Girl: "...My apologies."

In the third match, the camera focused on another team's player, giving the audience a first-person perspective. The commentators spent almost a minute discussing him, praising his versatility as a rare all-rounder and even suggesting that he was closing in on Lin Xuhuan of TZG.

True to their expectations, the player managed to defeat two opponents under critical health, securing victory.

"Very quick reflexes," Yan Zhun commented nonchalantly. "He's decent, but not quite up to par with Lin Xuhuan."

Pei Ran hummed in agreement. "Not as skilled as you either."

Yan Zhun, surprisingly taken aback, asked after a few seconds, "Am I better or is Lin Xuhuan?"

Pei Ran was engrossed in the competition, candidly voicing his thoughts, "You."

"Why?"

Pei Ran paused, "I don't know, I just feel... it's you."

Yan Zhun hummed in response, propping himself up on the armrest with one hand, hiding his lips while his eyes curved slightly in the dim lighting.

The match concluded, and TZG temporarily ranked second overall.

Pei Ran was still absorbed, rising with the rest of the audience, preparing to exit the venue.

Just a few steps later, a startled cry echoed beside him. A girl exclaimed a name in surprise.

Pei Ran froze. He recognized the name; it seemed to belong to a male celebrity.

Pei Ran didn't follow celebrity gossip, so for him to know a name... that person must be quite popular.

Like this one, whose appearance sparked a significant commotion within the venue. Not only did those in the back rows rush towards the front, but even those who had already left retracted their steps, turning the situation into a chaotic frenzy.

Pei Ran was pushed forward by the crowd, and the girl behind him had actually started a live stream, now screaming, "Ahhhh!!! It's him! It's him! He's here for the match, ahhhh!!"

Pei Ran called out twice, "Make way, please," but his voice was drowned in the shrill screams, causing his head to throb.

A hand firmly grasped him amidst the throng of people.

It first held his wrist, then moved down to take his hand. Feeling the strength of the other person, Pei Ran instinctively squeezed back and looked up to find the owner of the hand—

It was Yan Zhun.

Without turning his head, Yan Zhun led him away, leaving Pei Ran to only see the back of his head.

Their entwined hands suddenly began to heat up. Pei Ran loosened his grip slightly, but Yan Zhun tightened his hold instead.

The screams in his ears were almost drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat.

They made their way to a side entrance checkpoint. Feeling the cold wind from outside, Pei Ran tried to retract his hand.

But he failed.

But this movement made him realize an awkward fact – his palms were sweating.

Pei Ran, who had long been accustomed to holding paintbrushes, never had the habit of sweating. Yet now, he was only being held for a few minutes.

"Yan Zhun," Pei Ran said, "… We're already outside."

"Mm." Yan Zhun's gaze was fixed on the ticket counter.

Pei Ran wanted to say more but saw Yan Zhun raise an eyebrow and take a piece of paper from the box on the table.

Then, he lowered his head, pinched Pei Ran's fingertips, and wiped his hand.

Where their fingers touched and pressed, it was as if fire had ignited, burning all the way up to Pei Ran's ears, leaving him in a daze for quite some time before he remembered to pull his hand back.

His phone rang. It was a call from his roommate, and Pei Ran answered it as if he had seen a savior.

"Hello." Pei Ran held the phone, glancing away. "… You left something in the dorm? Is it urgent… You need it now? I see, hold on, it's a 20-minute drive back."

As soon as he hung up, Yan Zhun had already raised his hand to stop a taxi.

"Let's go."

Back at school, Yan Zhun bowed his head to reply to Lin Xuhuan's messages as he pushed open the dormitory door.

His roommate sat on a chair with his arms crossed, motionless, staring at the computer screen which displayed a Weibo page and a video that had just finished playing. He didn't react to the sound of the door opening.

Yan Zhun took off his hat and placed it on the table.

"Yan Zhun," Luo Qingshan broke the silence, asking, "What's your relationship with Pei Ran?"