Chapter 44 Part 1

The torrential downpour raged through the entire night.

When Yun Qi stumbled out of Yu Jin’s room, his legs were nothing but jelly.

He hadn’t even managed to push the door fully open when his knees buckled with a heavy thud, slamming painfully into the floor. His hand clutched weakly at the doorknob, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. He felt like he was dying—right here, right now…

Dying from utter mortification.

And right at that moment, someone approached: Ziwu, returning in the dead of night, who stumbled upon Yun Qi in his pitiful state.

The figure by the door was on his knees, one hand gripping the knob before going limp and falling away. His forehead pressed against the door, his entire body huddled against it, looking all kinds of wrong.

Ziwu stepped forward and stood behind him, motionless, head lowered in scrutiny.

Yun Qi couldn’t see his expression, but he knew someone was there. His ears burned scarlet, heat flooding from his neck to his cheeks like a fever. Being caught like this—he wanted to bolt, but he couldn’t summon the strength. The crushing weight of desire and shame was tearing him apart.

“Go away…” he pleaded, voice thick with tears.

Ziwu lingered behind him, listening to the pathetic beg. Just hours earlier, he’d seen Yun Qi in a whole different light—aggressive and unrelenting, cold and ruthless toward his old harasser. Could that image overlap with this one from the evening?

Not a chance.

Ziwu suddenly found the man profoundly enigmatic.

Yun Qi wished he would just leave, but Ziwu didn’t budge or look away. His gaze pinned Yun Qi like a judge eyeing a criminal. He spotted the sheen of sweat on Yun Qi’s nape, slick as water, matting his hair; the skin peeking from his sleepwear glowed an unnatural red, scorching to the touch.

Yun Qi braced against the door, trying to rise, but his legs refused to obey. Then a cool palm pressed against his arm. Ziwu had crouched down. His own skin felt like ice by comparison, while Yun Qi’s burned like fire. Ziwu froze for a beat before murmuring, “Let me take you inside.”

He scooped Yun Qi up effortlessly, nudged the door open, and carried him into the room.

The moment he set Yun Qi down, the man curled into himself. Ziwu scanned the room, then caught a faint murmur from the bed: “Medicine…”

Ziwu bent closer to make out the words, but all he saw was Yun Qi’s flushed skin. Drawing from experience, he knew this wasn’t some ordinary fever or cold.

Animals in heat betrayed themselves with wild, unmistakable behaviors, signaling their stage to potential mates. Humans, though? They could play the perfect gentleman even when desperate inside, or feign icy disinterest toward someone who set them ablaze.

But the man on the bed wore his arousal like a badge: the feverish heat radiating from his body, the raw hunger in his eyes, the way he bit his lip and clutched the sheets. It wasn’t pain—it was a desperate, unquenched craving.

Even the most brazen hustler in a nightclub couldn’t match that look.

Yun Qi mumbled incoherently. Ziwu stood frozen until a hand seized his. His brow twitched as he heard the slurred words: “In the cabinet… the cabinet…”

Ziwu glanced at the bedside cabinet, strode over, and swung it open. Sure enough, two bottles sat inside. He picked them up—all English labels, no Chinese whatsoever. But given Yun Qi’s state, Ziwu didn’t need a translation to know what they were.

He returned to the bedside and crouched down. “Which one?”

Yun Qi cracked his eyes open, breaths heaving. “Either… doesn’t matter…”

He reached out blindly, fingers brushing Ziwu’s instead. Like a fish flopping desperately on dry land: “Give it… give it to me…”

Ziwu clenched his fist around both bottles, unyielding. Frustrated, Yun Qi tugged harder, his eyes glistening with pitiful desperation. “Give it… to me…”

It was a raw plea.

Ziwu just looked down at him. “You’re hurting me.”

Yun Qi yanked his hand back, his body radiating heat like a branding iron. Ziwu tilted his head. “Don’t want it anymore?”

Yun Qi’s eyes snapped open wider, brimming with feral desire laced with outright hostility—no mask, just pure venom lancing toward Ziwu.

Ziwu chuckled softly. “So you were holding back during the day after all. Hate me, don’t you, Yun Qi? Hate me with that killer glare. Hurting? Looks like it. What do you need, then? These?”

Raindrops battered the window with a sharp patter. Yun Qi’s vision swam into a haze, but his hearing sharpened impossibly. A deep rumble rolled through—what was that? Thunder?

No, it wasn’t thundering outside anymore, even though it was still raining. But a deafening roar of thunder echoed in his ears. He was absolutely certain—that was thunder.

Not the thunder from tonight. It was the thunder from the day they broke up, the day he fled from Yu Jin’s arms without looking back.

“Sorry…” A scalding tear slid from the corner of Yun Qi’s eye.

Ziwu’s gaze darkened. “What?”

Yun Qi’s eyes were clouded over, his lips parted as if he were on the verge of being tormented to death.

“Sorry…” That was all he kept murmuring.

Ziwu cradled his head and let him rest in the crook of his arm. His expression was grim, yet brimming with extreme excitement as he fed the medicine into Yun Qi’s mouth. “A reward for you.”

Yun Qi had no idea how he made it through the night. He only knew that on the brink of death, someone fed him water. Warm liquid carried a pill down his throat and into his burning organs. After hours of sweating and shivering, his fever finally broke. His vision cleared up, his limbs stopped trembling. Only the ache in his heart lingered.

Late into the night, Yun Qi stared out the window. He felt cold, no matter how many blankets he piled on.

Just like the night they broke up. Just like the look in Yu Jin’s eyes.

The next morning, Yuan Lele showed up bright and early.

The rookies didn’t dare be late. He and another jungler were already waiting at the door before it even opened.

Yun Qi had risen early too. He was the first to answer the door. Yuan Lele greeted him politely and with enthusiasm. “Bro, good morning.”

“Eaten yet?” Yun Qi asked as he opened the door.

They stepped inside. “We just ate,” Yuan Lele said. “Bro, looks like you haven’t.”

“Yeah, I don’t usually eat breakfast.” Yun Qi stepped aside to let them in. The villa was utterly silent.

Yuan Lele glanced around. “It’s so quiet. Hasn’t everyone gotten up yet?”

Now that Yun Qi knew the place well, he could finally field questions like that. “Things don’t pick up until after ten. Some guys only practice in the afternoons and crash late, so they’re still out cold.”

Yuan Lele nodded. “Got it. So what do we do now?”

“You can head in,” Yun Qi said.

Yuan Lele eyed the training room, then turned to the jungler next to him. “You go on ahead.”

The two had only just met. The other guy headed inside, leaving Yuan Lele behind. He sidled up to Yun Qi and whispered, “Bro… there’s something I wanna talk to you about.”

Yun Qi turned to him. “Shoot.”

Yuan Lele looked troubled. “It’s about yesterday. We scrimmed with you guys already, right? I know my own skill level. I figured I’d snag a spot on the starting roster—no one in trial training could touch me. But I couldn’t beat you or Jiu Ke. I mulled it over last night. Could you put in a word with the manager? I’m not joining the first team anymore. Send me to the second team instead. I might still have a shot there.”

Yun Qi frowned, puzzled. “Why didn’t you bring this up with the trial training folks?”

Yuan Lele fidgeted. “A few days back, everyone there was begging me to come. I had my heart set on this team, so…”

So going back now, after washing out here, would look like settling for second best. The second team guys might take it personally.

Yuan Lele bowed his head. “It’s my fault. I got too cocky around them, talked a big game like I was hot shit. Now… I don’t know how to fix it.”

Yun Qi hadn’t pegged Yuan Lele as the cocky type. The kid had seemed shy yesterday. Must’ve been strutting his stuff back in trial training. Yun Qi got it—seventeen years old, still green, top of the heap in trials and it goes to your head.

“I’ll bring it up,” Yun Qi said, not committing right away. “I’ll check with the higher-ups and see what they say. Then I’ll get back to you, okay?”

Yuan Lele bowed deeply to him. “Thanks, bro!”

Yun Qi startled and steadied him. “Whoa, no need to bow. Really.”

Yuan Lele beamed. “Bro, yesterday I could tell you’re the best guy here. I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. Gentle, strong—top-notch.”

“Gentle and strong?” Yun Qi laughed it off. “I’m just your average nobody. Plenty of nicer folks here than me.”

“Nope,” Yuan Lele said, sticking close as they walked. “You know, these past two months, I’ve run into so many arrogant pricks. When I scrimmed with Jiu Ke yesterday, he didn’t say it, but I could tell he was pissed and didn’t rate me at all. Same with everyone else. You and him? You’re different…”

“Because everyone’s so busy,” Yun Qi said. “Think about it—the folks from trial training have to scrim with them. Wouldn’t that hold up their practice? If it drags on too long, they’ll lose patience naturally. I’m only chiming in because I’m still the new guy. Don’t read into it; it’s not personal.”

Yuan Lele replied, “Hope so.”

Yun Qi and Yuan Lele stepped into the training room. Yun Qi grabbed his water cup and filled it up first, with Yuan Lele trailing behind him. They stood by the dispenser as Yuan Lele asked, “Bro, has E God shown up yet? Can I catch a glimpse today?”

Yun Qi’s expression flickered for a moment. He kept his eyes down on the water in his cup, his fingertips burning hot. “…Should be able to.”

Yuan Lele lit up. “Sweet! I’ve been dying to meet E God. Oh, you hear the gossip? I overheard something wild next door—someone’s got it bad for Eidis.”

Yun Qi lifted his cup. “That’s normal.”

Yuan Lele shot back, “No way that’s normal!”

His voice rose with excitement. “Come on, bro—how’s that normal? Trial trainees are all dudes. Know what that means? We’ve got a gay guy in the mix…”

Yun Qi glanced down at the tip of Yuan Lele’s shoe.

His face felt stiff.

Yuan Lele didn’t notice, barreling on with enthusiasm. “I get that E God’s drop-dead gorgeous, but some guys losing control? Beats me. Anyway, the dirt I heard—there was this trial trainee on the third floor, totally obsessed with E God. Snapped secret pics of him, but Brother Wen up there caught on, gave him an earful, and the kid was so mortified he bolted that same night.”

Photos? Yun Qi recalled the ones he’d spotted on the third-floor computer. Had he lucked into that guy’s seat by chance?

“And then what?” Yun Qi leaned in, hooked on the story.

Yuan Lele shrugged. “That’s it. Brother Wen and the crew didn’t drag it out—just let him go. Turns out he was underage.”

Yun Qi listened closely.

Yuan Lele went on. “But those pics he took? They ended up floating around internally. Good shots, too—I peeked at a couple. And the tale spread right along with them.”

How had Yun Qi missed it? Had he hustled up the floors too fast, landing by Yu Jin’s side before the gossip could reach him?

Yun Qi took a sip of water and stood at his station, deep in thought.

Yuan Lele eyed his face. “You good, bro?”

Yun Qi shook his head. “Yeah.”

Then he asked, “Does the whole floor next door know?”

Yuan Lele said, “Plenty do, but not everyone. I only heard a couple days back.”