Huarong gave Yan Xiu a phone number. Once he exited the high-speed train station, he contacted the driver using that number.
As he sat in the car, a thought flickered through Yan Xiu’s mind: This car looked just like the black business van parked in the OLG villa’s garage. He had seen it before.
The Maybach and the white supercar were probably also owned by the club.
It was just past noon when Yan Xiu arrived at the base. Huarong was already waiting.
The driver and Yan Xiu each dragged a suitcase. Surprised, Huarong asked, “You only have two suitcases?”
Yan Xiu nodded. “I mailed the desktop and the graphics card separately yesterday. They should arrive tomorrow. As for other stuff, I don’t really have much…”
Huarong’s gaze stopped on Yan Xiu’s hair.
Last week, when the kid first arrived, his hair had been so long it even covered his eyes. He only looked good then, but she hadn’t been able to see him clearly. Qin Baotian was reliable in some ways; the classic tapered fringe cut he’d mentioned was truly stunning, making Huarong’s eyes light up again and again.
Huarong: “Have you eaten?”
“I ordered delivery before coming over, had a little something.”
“Alright, go settle in first then. It’s only one o’clock, you got here pretty early. CatClaw is still at the league office. I’ll let you know when he gets back.”
Dragging his two suitcases, Yan Xiu took the elevator up to the fifth floor.
He thought he would be going to the middle room where Qin Baotian lived. But after Huarong got off the elevator, she led him to the right.
Yan Xiu blurted out, “I’m not rooming with God Qing?”
“No. Qin Baotian snores incredibly loudly. He doesn’t want to inflict that on you either.”
Then who am I rooming with?
A name flashed through Yan Xiu’s mind, and his breath hitched.
But Huarong said, “You’re rooming with Rose. I already cleared it with Old Liu; he has no problem with it, and his living habits are excellent. He doesn’t snore and hasn’t got smelly feet. You two should get along.”
Yan Xiu: “…Oh.”
Rose and Qingbao’s rooms had the same layout. The single bed originally placed in Qingbao’s room had been moved into Rose’s room. The room was very spacious. Along the wall by the door was a full-wall wardrobe. There was still over a meter of walking space between the two beds, not crowded at all. On Rose’s side, the nightstand was cluttered with vitamin tablets, medicinal plasters, and a few comic books.
The room faced north, and the small balcony held several potted plants.
Yan Xiu didn’t have many belongings. Making the bed took a little effort. By the time Huarong came upstairs to tell him CatClaw was back, he had just finished putting everything away.
CatClaw’s handle was very cute, but the man himself was extremely strict. He was famous in the DFL, known as OLG’s sternest loving father. There wasn’t a single unpopular person in OLG. Even Coach Jack and Team Leader Little Hua were more well-known than the management of other teams.
Yan Xiu knocked on the door. CatClaw’s voice came from inside. “Enter.”
CatClaw wasn’t just any ordinary team manager; he was the founder of OLG, practically half its boss. Back when he played professionally, the underage restriction lock didn’t exist yet. At 17, he had secured a world runner-up title in Overwatch.
Watching Yan Xiu enter, CatClaw’s eyes also lit up. But he was more reserved than Huarong, carefully scrutinizing Yan Xiu’s words and demeanor. For a moment, neither spoke. The manager’s office was deathly quiet.
CatClaw finally asked, “Your bad blood with Nestle… is it just because during that Bakesh match, the fourth game of the second round of last year’s regular season, you didn’t follow his shot-calling to steal the brick?”
Yan Xiu hadn’t expected him to uncover such details. He was silent for a moment. “That was the reason I was kicked out of BOX…”
CatClaw understood. “So there was friction before that.”
Not listening to the coach’s pre-game plan and changing strategy on the fly—most coaches wouldn’t have a huge issue with it. At most, they’d nag a bit during the post-match review. If it went wrong, you’d get yelled at; even if it succeeded, you’d still get yelled at, just a bit more gently.
CatClaw: “Nestle is arrogant and stubborn, with a mediocre character. But he’s led BOX to two championships and four runner-up finishes. The BOX boss does whatever he says. There was no need for you to disobey him. If you went to steal the brick, and that match you couldn’t extract—that would be his responsibility. Since you didn’t try to steal the brick and the match went badly, you take the blame.”
Yan Xiu was speechless for a moment, then still said, “But at that time, Cola and ClearSky were both dead. I was the only one left. If I didn’t steal the brick, trying to get as many kill points as possible and looting supplies on the tower roof would have been more appropriate.”
CatClaw countered, “Cola was the IGL, right?”
“Yes.” BOX’s IGL was Cola, the flex player. He was skilled in the support and recon roles.
CatClaw: “Did Cola also tell you to steal the brick?”
Yan Xiu: “…”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you listen to the IGL?”
Yan Xiu: “…”
He hung his head, silent.
CatClaw: “Let bygones be bygones. That was last year. Although your judgment at that time was correct. I pulled up that match to review it. Weibo was ambushing at the brick point. Both teams that tried to steal the brick were wiped out. If you hadn’t secured that extra 1.5 million worth of resources, your team’s regular season points would have been third, not top two. You wouldn’t have made it to the next round; you’d have been eliminated straight away.”
He tapped his fingers on the desk a few times, his tone deepening. “But Show, coming to OLG, you must listen to the IGL. If you can’t do that, I’ll keep you warming the bench until you rot.”
CatClaw: “Can you follow Danger’s calls?”
“I will!”
Yan Xiu answered so quickly that CatClaw was momentarily stunned.
CatClaw: “Good. Now, let’s talk about this personal conflict you had with Nestle before the match.”
Again, Yan Xiu hesitated, refusing to speak. He just slowly lowered his head.
CatClaw sighed. He had already heard from Jack that Show was unwilling to talk about this matter. But as manager, he had to take responsibility for the entire team. He rephrased his question more delicately. “What aspect did it concern?”
Yan Xiu: “It was unrelated to the match…”
CatClaw: “Then what was it related to?”
Yan Xiu stammered for a long time before finally confessing honestly, “Romantic matters…”
CatClaw: “??!!” He froze, then exclaimed in shock, “That son of a bitch Nestle tried to sexually harass you?! He’s gay too?! Looking that damn ugly, dark and stocky like a goddamn jar of Nestle coffee, he tried to harass you???” There were barely a handful of words in that sentence that weren’t curses.
The statement was so shocking that Yan Xiu was too horrified to catch CatClaw’s words clearly. He hastily clarified, “No, no, Nestle isn’t gay.”
Only then did CatClaw remember. “Oh right, right, my brain short-circuited. Nestle has dated a few women.”
Yan Xiu: “…Anyway, it’s related to private feelings. I don’t want to speak ill of someone behind their back.” He paused, then added quietly, “And it’s bad for the other person’s reputation.”
CatClaw was utterly convinced of his character now.
After calming down for a while, he coughed a few times and started discussing serious matters. “Since you’re willing to follow Danger’s shot-calling, that’s fine. The next thing is the transfer fee.”
…
The Spring Split had ended a month and a half ago. Next week was the deadline for the transfer window.
Of the DFL’s eighteen teams, thirteen had already announced their rosters for the Autumn Split. CatClaw gave the final deadline: “At the very latest, the day after tomorrow, we need to finalize the roster with the league office. Which means, at the latest, the day after tomorrow, the contract with BOX needs to be completely settled.”
Yan Xiu’s intention to pay the transfer fee himself was something the OLG management could all see.
A player paying for his own freedom wasn’t uncommon in the esports circle. Young people, just coming of age, unfamiliar with the law, often got tricked into signing contracts without much thought. When they wanted to transfer later, all the traps hidden in the contract would spring out.
OLG didn’t like using contracts to trap players, but BOX wasn’t the only contract bully in the DFL. Two other teams were equally infamous.
Leaving the manager’s office, Yan Xiu returned to his room. He took his last few clothes out of his suitcase and placed them into the empty small wardrobe in the room.
The OLG first team had gone to the city center today to shoot the Autumn Split promotional video. The entire fifth floor was empty, without a sound.
After putting his clothes away, Yan Xiu opened WeChat and went to his chat page.
The latest message was still the question he had sent last night; the other party hadn’t replied.
He fell silent, typed a few words, then deleted them with a tap-tap-tap.
The sky gradually darkened. Huarong said the first team should be back for dinner after shooting the promo, so Auntie Wang had cooked dinner a bit later today. Yan Xiu didn’t dare stay in his room any longer. He walked into the bathroom around the corner of the hallway.
After a long while, he made a call.
The WeChat voice call rang for a while before being hung up. Yan Xiu’s body stiffened, but he called again.
This time, the call connected.
Yan Xiu’s lips moved. “Dad…”
“Ai.” A middle-aged man’s voice let out a long sigh.
Hearing that, Yan Xiu fell even more silent.
“Don’t call me Dad anymore. Don’t disturb my life, Little Xiu. Let’s just live our own lives now.”
A long silence. Yan Xiu spoke, his voice hoarse. “I’m sorry, I’m a little short on money. Right now…”
“Mm. Understood.”
The voice call was directly hung up. Not long after, the other party sent a transfer.
[Dragon transferred 5000 yuan to you.]
[Don’t contact me anymore.]
Yan Xiu stared at the words flashing on his phone screen.
After a long moment, he accepted the transfer and typed: [Thank you.]
A red exclamation mark made Yan Xiu’s finger freeze mid-air. His entire body stopped moving.
The bathroom was dead silent.
…
“Knock, knock—”
The sound of knocking broke the stagnant air.
Half a minute passed. The knocking sounded again.
“Knock, knock—”
Yan Xiu pulled the door open. Bai Wei’s hand was raised mid-air. He lowered his eyes and saw the boy’s pale expression. Only after a long pause did he slowly lower his hand.
Yan Xiu hadn’t expected it to be Bai Wei. His voice was unusually calm. “Is the first team back? I was using the restroom. Sister Hua didn’t tell me…”
Just returned to the base after filming the official promotional video, Bai Wei was still wearing OLG’s black-and-white team uniform. His hair was styled with setting spray, and the light base makeup on his face hadn’t been removed either. His already narrow, clear-cut eyes had been accentuated by the makeup artist, giving them a sharp edge.
The young man’s handsome face was cold, his eyes a light brown. He didn’t show much emotion, but a ripple of feeling he was struggling to suppress stirred in his gaze.
“How much more for the transfer fee?” Bai Wei’s voice broke in abruptly, yet his tone was very gentle.
Yan Xiu froze, immediately understanding his meaning. “Don’t, God D…”
Bai Wei took his phone out of his pocket and asked again, his tone brooking no refusal. “How much more do you need?”
—Can you follow Danger’s shot-calling?
—I will!
Yan Xiu’s mind flashed back to the vow he’d made to CatClaw in the manager’s office that afternoon.
Bai Wei: “Hmm?”
Reflexively, Yan Xiu whispered back, “One hundred and fifty thousand…”
Bai Wei only caught one digit. “Five?” He asked again, “What’s your bank card number?”
This time, Yan Xiu reacted. He just pressed his lips together and didn’t speak again.
Bai Wei directly grabbed the wrist of the hand holding his phone.
Warm fingertips touched the boy’s ice-cold wrist. Bai Wei’s movement paused briefly. Even though it was summer, Yan Xiu’s skin had an unreal chill to it.
Bai Wei woke the phone screen, using Yan Xiu’s face for face unlock.
Bai Wei: “Large transfers need the banking app. Alipay and WeChat aren’t convenient. I don’t keep that much money in my Yu’e Bao and WeChat Wallet; I can’t transfer it all at once. What’s your bank card number?”
“…”
“Hmm?” He asked again.
Yan Xiu obediently opened his mobile banking app.
A few seconds later.
[…Your esteemed account 9731 received 500,000.00 yuan via interbank transfer from the Suzhou branch at 19:32 on August 21, 2029. Current balance: 500,018.31 yuan. Remitter’s name: Bai Wei. Note: Mobile banking transfer (Bank of China)]
