By the time Lin Meng got home, it was already past three in the morning. Lin Sintian seemed to have arrived early as her small high heels were at the entrance. The house was pitch black and silent, with everyone fast asleep.
Porsche 911, it sure is fast.
Lin Meng leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh.
I'm so tired.
It's not just physical tiredness.
She thought of Yumo's expression at that time, and indeed he was hurt. She had achieved her goal, but she didn't feel too happy about it, and even felt that she had been particularly affected by her own actions.
She didn't change her clothes before lying down on the bed and falling asleep, then had a dream.
In the dream, she went back to when she was sixteen years old.
At that time, no one paid attention to her, she roamed outside all day, coinciding with the professionalization of the BOD e-sports industry. Young people playing BOD were seen in Internet cafes everywhere. Some people set up arenas for matches, and the loser had to pay.
Electronic sports didn't discriminate by age, high school students and middle school students played the same. Lin Meng was dragged in to make up the numbers. The reason was that a player in their ninth-grade group failed an exam and was detained for copying words.
Those high school boys were confident and placed considerable bets. Each person averaged three hundred yuan, an amount that almost equaled the monthly living expenses of a student at that time. Both sides were very cautious, and the matches started with anticipation.
Because she was a girl, Lin Meng was asked to be the supply officer in the match. After looking at the job description for a moment, she said, "I don't want to play this."
"You haven't played BOD, it would be easy for you to lag behind in other roles!"
"I'm good at Bubble Fighter and KartRider."
"BOD is much harder than those, if you can handle the healer role as a newcomer, that would be impressive."
Helpless, Lin Meng had to play a round as the supply officer, and predictably, she was defeated by the opposing team.
A few players huddled together, analyzing strategies. Lin Meng, straightforwardly, asked, "Why can't you aim properly?"
"How do I shoot when he's hiding behind cover? I don't have X-ray vision."
"But, doesn't he expose himself when aiming?"
"That lasts only a few seconds?"
"Why don't you shoot when he comes charging at you?"
"He's constantly on the move, it's hard to aim properly!"
Lin Meng paused for two seconds and concluded, "You're just bad."
The sniper got angry, "If you're so good, then you play!"
"Sure," Lin Meng replied.
The opponent burst into laughter, "She actually said 'sure'! I bet she can't even tell the directions properly."
Lin Meng sat down, put on her headphones, ignoring their sarcastic remarks and took the sniper's position, familiarized herself with the controls, and started the second match.
The second match ended with Lin Meng getting five kills, taking ten minutes.
Teammates were astonished, "What's your secret?"
Lin Meng casually responded, "If I see them, I shoot."
Each of these six words seemed to have great difficulty. The opponents didn't believe it and demanded to check for cheating. After a while of fruitless searching, the third match began. Lin Meng took a different position this time, faced the opponent head-on, leaving the role of artillery to her teammates, and won again.
Three rounds and two victories, by the rules, they were declared the winners. The high schoolers on the other side were unhappy, clamoring to continue, stating that professional matches were best of five. Lin Meng directly exited the game after stating, "Even if we play more, you'll still lose. Don't waste time, pay up."
She didn't know if it was her mocking attitude that agitated the five of them, but they grabbed a bottle and attempted to pummel her. Lin Meng's quick reflexes allowed her to bolt away.
She, however, was extremely lacking in physical coordination. Just as she crossed the street, she tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face.
Her legs were temporarily not working properly after this fall. She thought, no wonder the doctor said she had a calcium deficiency. It would help if she drank more milk.
That's when the pursuers caught up.
Lin Meng finally felt fear.
But this fear did not show on her face yet. She saw a tall, slender man walking toward her.
The man was dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, with a strikingly handsome appearance. Despite his youthful face, he stood out among the students, exuding the air of a mature adult. He had already overwhelmed the other side by his demeanor, not to mention... his skills were also very good.
Lin Meng felt like she had seen him on TV, but for a moment, she couldn't remember who he was.
After he helped her, she shamelessly asked to borrow money from him to buy a bottle of milk.
"I'll pay you back when I get my allowance," she said, sipping through a straw.
"No need," the man smiled gently, "Have you considered playing professionally?"
Lin Meng opened her eyes. The words "play professionally" resonated within her, striking a chord.
Suddenly, she had a thought. Had she been too extreme?
E-sports were only a passing thing, but an engagement was for life. Perhaps anyone would choose engagement over e-sports.
Had she been too harsh on Yumo? After all, besides this incident, Yumo hadn't really done anything to upset her. She could even say... he had always been very good to her.
Thinking about Yumo's expression from last night, she rolled over restlessly, and reached for her phone from under the pillow.
She had added Yumo on WeChat, but had never interacted with him. Lin Meng hesitated for a moment, then initiated a voice call with Yumo.
Yumo was surprised at the sound of the base camp clock upon his return.
"So early?"
"Yeah," Yumo said, "if I stayed another half day, my mom would be so excited she'd burn down the house." He placed his phone on the table to charge and took out a bag of candied chestnuts, which attracted a group of team members with its scent.
While they were eating the chestnuts, Yumo pulled the clock aside and briefed Zhangxiang on what happened last night.
Zhangxiang was shocked, "You're reporting this now, after such a big incident! What if you couldn't cover it up? The consequences would be unimaginable."
"Fortunately, it's covered up," Yumo smiled, "I won't work with this platform in the future. Besides, I guess after this incident, the local team won't have any dealings with them."
Zhangxiang still had lingering fears, "I think you were too impulsive. What if he leaves evidence and you get a lifetime ban?"
"I won't let him walk out that door standing," Yumo said nonchalantly.
Zhangxiang's face was full of disdain, "Can't you be more mature at your age? Speaking like that only makes you seem particularly immature, with no other benefit."
"So, you look down on the dominant force of Tianchi?" Yumo retorted.
"Come on, in the affluent area, there are not many kids fighting. And didn't your parents spend so much money sending you to practice this and that to groom you into a hooligan?" Zhangxiang responded.
"Is it to cultivate my moral character?" Yumo quipped.
Seeing his unrepentant attitude, Zhangxiang was taken aback and asked, "This is not like you, Silence. Tell me the truth, do you actually like the substitute?"
Since yesterday, this topic had been brought up by several people, just wouldn't die down. Before Yumo could answer, a group of team members crowded over.
"What, what! The captain likes the substitute?"
"We only have male substitutes here!"
"What the heck, he likes the substitute but not the star god!"
"Come on!" Xiao Xingheng spat, "I think he's talking about the substitute he had in Kars, a fierce little girl."
The whole team was shocked, "Oh??"
Panda said, "Professional female gamer!"
Lu Deer said, "Developing!"
Yumo thought the evaluations were undesirable; as if when he brought Lin Meng into this world, it was a devious act.
"Enough with your wild imaginations," he said with a hint of anger, "at 16, not being an adult, I'm not interested in minors, thank you!"
At that moment, sitting on the sofa, the elderly man interrupted, "Captain, did you finish your call? Your phone—oh?" He stared at the screen for a moment, "Why did he hang up?"
Yumo paused for two seconds, then suddenly as if realizing something, rushed over, took the phone from the old man, and looked at the message notification.
There was a dead silence around.
The old man began to panic, "Captain, I… I didn't know I wasn't allowed to answer for you."
Yumo shook his head, thought for a moment, and sent a message to Lin Meng.
E_silence: [Don't misunderstand.]
Lin Meng replied quickly.
Lin Meng: [What am I misunderstanding?]
E_silence: [I have no intention towards you.]
Lin Meng: [You don't need to say it again.]
E_silence: [What about you to me...]
Lin Meng: [Same here.]
Yumo breathed a sigh of relief.
E_silence: [About going professional.]
Lin Meng: [I mean, now.]
E_silence: [What?]
Lin Meng: [I admit, I went to Kars originally because of you.]
Yumo's mind "thudded".
Lin Meng: [So now, there's no need.]
E_silence: [Wait! I don't understand. I'll call you and we can talk it through.]
Lin Meng: [That's not necessary, it's clear enough.]
Yumo wanted to send another message, but it showed that he needed to add her as a friend. He froze, and his mind was in chaos for a moment.
His memory was like a piece of intact glass, suddenly shattered into pieces.
Stepping in the starlight backtracking, he discovered many different things.
These things shocked him, caught him off guard, and even made him feel some... heartache.
His fingers twitched, and the phone suddenly slipped from his palm, making a "smack" sound as it dropped to the ground.
The alarm clock chimed: "Silence?"
Yumo didn't answer. He squatted down to pick it up, but failed several times. His five fingers curled irregularly, and there was a slight tremor in his wrist.
The memory of extreme pain and loss of control surged like a mountain torrent, making it difficult for him to distinguish whether it was an illusion or reality for a moment. Suddenly, he reached out with his other hand to grasp his wrist.
The expression on the alarm clock changed slightly: "Silence, are your hands hurting?"
With these words, everyone in Team E was startled. Xiaoxingheng stepped forward, crouched down, and asked, "What's wrong?" He glanced at Yumo's trembling fingertips, even though they were being held down, and furrowed his brows: "Is it a recurrence of an old injury?"
"No," Yumo shook off his hand, lowered his head, and, with his bangs covering his expression, rose dispassionately, "I'm tired, I'll go upstairs first."
Avoiding Xiaoxingheng's touch, he went upstairs, closed the door, and left a group of people in the hall staring at each other.
"What does a recurrence of an old injury mean?" Pandora turned to ask the alarm clock, "Did the captain get injured before?"
"I don't know!" the alarm clock said.
Ah Lu was angry: "What do you mean you don't know? Aren't you the team manager?"
The alarm clock felt extremely wronged: "I was also recruited by Silence to work! Xingheng has known him longer than I have!" After speaking, he immediately looked at Xiaoxingheng, "Xingheng, you explain."
Xiaoxingheng was speechless. He pulled up a chair and sat down, holding his arms with a serious expression.
Ah Lu said, "Xingheng, say something!"
Pandora said, "I'm dying of impatience."
The elderly man stepped forward solemnly and said, "Xingheng, when the E team was formed, the captain told us to share the heavy burden and bask in the glory. A team that doesn't know how to share responsibility won't last long, right?"
Xiaoxingheng hesitated: "Yes."
"Why did the captain keep his past from us then?"
"Of course, he didn't want you to worry, right?" the alarm clock said, trying to smooth things over while rubbing his hands, "But we've been through so much together, and we're all like a big family now, right, Xingheng, there's no need to keep hiding things."
Xiaoxingheng said, "The main reason is... I didn't think there was anything to say. Silence's hand has recovered very well now, completely not affecting his operation, and he also passed the psychological test at that time."
His words only made things worse, with "recovered" and "psychological test" making the people around him look extremely ugly.
Unable to bear such scrutiny, Xiaoxingheng ran his hand through his hair and said, "I can tell you, but this matter must be kept absolutely confidential, otherwise... it will ruin Silence's career."
"Why?!"
"Because, in a sense, it's a scandal."
On the high-speed train to Xitang, you are still typing. Don't overfeed, you might die while raising_(:з)∠)_ Thanks for voting for me or irrigating me with nutrient solution, little angels~
Thanks for irrigating me with nutrient solution:
Please don't ask for 10 bottles;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!