The Berlin champion team was the equivalent of world number one. Everyone in the scene knew the prestige of an EU Server championship. Putting Yun Qi in the Berlin match was a huge call on Lao Xun’s part. Yun Qi had beaten Jiu Ke, sure, but Jiu Ke’s years of teamwork made him far less prone to errors.
Yet Yu Jin had insisted on Yun Qi, whose raw strength might truly surpass Jiu Ke’s. Lao Xun’s real worry was their synergy.
“Practice with them,” Lao Xun said, fretting. “You all familiar with each other now? Know everyone’s playstyles?”
From across the room, Yi Yang called out, “Old man, you think he’s still some newbie? Brother Jin’s been babying him so much, he’s more starter material than the actual starters.”
Lao Xun grumbled curses as he stomped toward Yi Yang.
Yun Qi had figured out yesterday why Yi Yang had crushed SK so badly. Now everything the guy said struck him as endearing. He shouldn’t take joy in his old team getting wrecked—that would smack of burning bridges—but every glance at Yi Yang conjured up the image of Yu Jin jealous, and he had to admit, it made him happy.
With the starting roster locked in, they fired up a five-stack. Yu Jin joined around three, and Yun Qi messaged him.
【Headquarters, talking Grand Tournament stuff】
【Silk Scarf: Oh oh】
【Silk Scarf: Starting roster announced this afternoon】
【Satisfied?】
【Silk Scarf: Thanks】
【What for? You earned that spot yourself. Thank yourself.】
【Silk Scarf: No, I’m thanking you for teaming up with me in the matches】
【I never retired anyway】
【But if you wanna owe me a favor, be my guest】
【I really only joined this year’s tournament for you】
Yun Qi stared at Yu Jin’s last message. He picked up his cup and stood, pretending to refill it. As he passed Yu Jin, he paused just a beat; their eyes met in silent understanding before Yun Qi hurried to the water dispenser.
Training wrapped up, and Yu Jin was waiting outside.
Yun Qi arrived fashionably late. He shrugged on his jacket—the sky outside had already darkened. As he pulled open the car door, he explained, “Sorry, I went upstairs to grab my clothes.”
Yu Jin sat in the passenger seat, twisting around to look at him. “You say sorry so much. Why not get it all out of your system on the drive?”
Yun Qi shot him a glance but didn’t take the bait. He shut the door and buckled his seatbelt with careful focus. “Has Tata gotten there yet?”
“My mom came back at noon.”
Yun Qi murmured an “oh.” “Then let’s head out.”
Yu Jin slid into the driver’s seat and pulled onto the road. The two left the KRO Base behind.
Yun Qi had been spending a lot of time with Yu Jin lately, and people had started to notice something was up—though no one had dug deeper. Just before they left, Liu Ying had asked where he was headed. Yun Qi said he was going with Yu Jin to pick up the cat, and Liu Ying remarked that the two of them had gotten pretty close lately. “My brother seems to really like you.”
Liu Ying’s version of “like” definitely wasn’t the romantic kind, but to Yun Qi’s ears, it carried real weight. He could feel how well Yu Jin treated him—no grudges over past drama, and their current dynamic had this sticky, ambiguous sweetness to it.
He liked it. He savored it. He eyed his crush with the cautious wonder of first love.
What Yun Qi didn’t realize was that the man caught every furtive glance and subtle tell, relishing it all. Yu Jin drove with apparent focus, but nothing Yun Qi did escaped him.
“Mind crashing at my place tonight?” Yu Jin asked suddenly.
Yun Qi went on high alert. “What?”
“Didn’t catch that?” Yu Jin pressed.
“I heard you,” Yun Qi said. “What do you mean, ‘crash at your place’?”
Yu Jin glanced out the window, his tone casual. “It’s already dark. If we swing by home and Mom sees us, she’ll insist on dinner. I haven’t been back in ages either—we’d be lucky to head out before eight or nine.”
“But I didn’t pack any clothes. It’s not convenient…” Yun Qi trailed off, not spelling it out. He had zero plans to overnight at Yu Jin’s place—especially not with his parents around. The anxiety he’d just calmed surged right back up.
Yu Jin sized him up. “I was just mentioning it casually. If you really didn’t want to come, I wouldn’t have brought you back.”
Yun Qi lowered his eyes to the road ahead. They had already reached a brightly lit street and were heading toward a place that filled him with tension.
After about forty minutes on the road, they arrived at their destination. It was nearly seven o’clock.
Everything before Yun Qi felt utterly unfamiliar. Yu Jin led him through a door. The residential complex was extremely upscale, with a lobby decorated in lavish splendor. Even at this late hour, the front desk staff on duty—dressed in a suit and wearing a friendly smile—greeted every person who entered with a cheerful “Welcome home.”
The elevator rose slowly. Each building housed only one residence per floor, so the elevator card in Yu Jin’s hand served as his house key. No one else could access his floor, and he could only reach his own.
The elevator came to a stop on the seventeenth floor.
Yu Jin stepped out first. Yun Qi followed close behind, glancing around. There was only one door. Yu Jin changed his shoes beside it, swiped his card, and pushed the door open. “No need to change,” he said to Yun Qi.
Yun Qi bent down anyway. “I’d better. I don’t want to dirty your floor.”
He swapped his shoes on his own initiative.
Yu Jin held the door open, and moments later they stepped inside. He tossed the card onto the table and glanced around. “Ms. Su probably hasn’t come back yet. Have a seat wherever.”
Yun Qi stood in the living room, taking in the black-and-white decor. The space beneath his feet was vast, filled with tasteful ornaments and walls adorned with works by famous artists. An air of refined artistry permeated the place. He wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling windows and discovered the view was breathtaking. The living room alone was as large as three bedrooms and a hall in an ordinary home. He had known Yu Jin came from a good family, but this exceeded even his expectations.
“Your home… it’s huge,” Yun Qi said, feeling a touch awkward. Everything here sparked vivid imaginings about Yu Jin’s mother. What kind of woman would she be? The thought made him a little nervous.
“It is pretty big. My mom likes open spaces,” Yu Jin replied. He stepped out onto the balcony and lifted the cat out of its cage. He carried Tata into the living room and set it down; it immediately scampered over to Yun Qi. “We just moved here this year. She was always complaining about the property management at the old place.”
Yun Qi scooped up Tata and held it close, his eyes tracing the paintings along the wall as he stroked its head. “These are by foreign artists, aren’t they? Originals?”
Yu Jin stood by the table, pouring water. “A few are. Most came from private collections, but some might be forgeries. Hard to authenticate.”
“Your mom has excellent taste.”
Yu Jin handed him the glass. “Ms. Su does, I’ll give her that. My dad and I? Not so much. He’s into old newspapers, I’m into gaming. We didn’t inherit any of her artistic side.”
Yun Qi turned and saw the glass being offered. He waved it off. “I’m not thirsty.”
Yu Jin set it back on the table. “I’ll leave it here, then. Drink if you want later.”
Yun Qi nodded.
He spent a moment admiring the paintings on the wall, marveling at it all. In terms of background, he and Yu Jin were worlds apart, yet fate had entangled them in this heated mess. After appreciating the artwork a little longer, Yun Qi moved to stand by the glass windows, gazing down at the ceaseless flow of traffic below.
“So beautiful,” he murmured. “Shanghai’s nights… they’re truly intoxicating.”
He had been living here for several years now.
It was the first time he had truly noticed Shanghai’s beauty. Being shut away in the Training Room day after day had caused him to miss so much of life’s splendor.
“Shanghai is beautiful, sure, but it lacks a certain human warmth,” Yu Jin said. “Ms. Su’s always resented me going to school out of town. In her mind, I should have grown up here, studied abroad, dated some glamorous foreign girlfriend, and settled into a safe, predictable life. Good thing I didn’t follow that script.”
Yun Qi smiled at him. “Your mother’s plans sound very thoughtful. If you had, you’d be quite the success story by now.”
He could easily picture the affluent, fulfilling life Yu Jin would have enjoyed.
“I’m doing just fine as is,” Yu Jin replied. “I never liked the path she laid out. As a kid, I got along better with my dad. Mom was busy, so she left me with my grandma for school. Now she regrets not keeping me close, thinks I could have turned out better. But I’m content. The people I’ve met, the things I’ve experienced—they might never have happened if I’d stuck to her plan.”
Yun Qi’s eyes drank in the glittering extravagance of Shanghai’s nightlife. “Do you regret it?”
“Do I look like I do?” Yu Jin had never regretted a thing. Whatever came his way, he saw it as destiny—no point in looking back.
“Let’s head to my room,” Yu Jin said. “I’m beat. I want to lie down for a bit.”
Yun Qi nodded. They made their way to Yu Jin’s room. No sooner had Yu Jin entered than he flopped onto the bed. Yun Qi, still cradling Tata, wandered around the space for a moment. He glanced back to see Yu Jin lying there with his eyes closed, so he approached and asked softly, “Are you asleep?”
Yu Jin gave a wry smile. “Do you remember me telling you that I’ve been having trouble sleeping these past couple of days?”
Yun Qi squatted down and leaned over by his bedside. “What should we do about that?”
Yu Jin opened his eyes and stared at Yun Qi until the other’s face flushed red. Only then did he say, “My sleep schedule’s all messed up.”
Yun Qi lowered his gaze, clenching his fingers, a little at a loss. The warm lampshade overhead draped light across his shoulders. His straight nose twitched faintly. He ducked his head, burying it in Tata’s body, and heard Yu Jin’s unabashed words:
“It’s because of you.”
