Chapter 28
July 22, 2017. Yu Sui spent the hardest birthday of his life.
When he got out of bed that morning, Yu Sui already knew something was wrong. His stomach was hurting especially badly that day. His stomach had always been sensitive, but it had never hurt that much, never started hurting first thing in the morning. The semifinals were in the afternoon, and Yu Sui didn't want to affect his teammates' moods. He forced himself out of bed and dug out the stomach-nourishing granules his parents had sent him before, then went downstairs to make himself a cup.
Chen Huo was also up, and came downstairs to see Yu Sui frowning at a steaming cup. "What's wrong with you?"
Yu Sui's lips were pale. After taking a sip of the granules, he said, "My period. Can't it be?"
"What the hell." Chen Huo laughed. "Alright, I won't灌 you with cold drinks at tonight's party. Happy birthday."
Lao Qiao and Puppy came out one after another. Lao Qiao noticed Yu Sui seemed off and pressed him a couple times. After a cup of hot drink, Yu Sui's complexion improved slightly. He waved Lao Qiao off, telling him not to be so nagging, and urged everyone to check their peripherals. If there's nothing wrong, let's head to the arena early.
Shi Luo had been standing in the distance the whole time. After everyone went to pack their gear bags, he walked over to Yu Sui and frowned. "You really okay? If not, I'll play instead."
Yu Sui glanced at Shi Luo. For a moment, he actually hesitated.
But then he dismissed the thought.
Yu Sui acknowledged Shi Luo's abilities, and knew them even better. In this semifinal, Shi Luo might not be able to handle it.
His first time appearing in a major tournament and failing, costing the team an entire regular season's worth of effort... Shi Luo would probably be cursed at by trolls for a whole year.
"Of course I'm fine." Yu Sui carried his cup toward the bathroom. "My stomach's been hurting for too many days. I'm used to it."
Shi Luo followed Yu Sui into the bathroom, squeezing in. Yu Sui rinsed the cup clean and said helplessly, "What are you coming in for? I need to pee. You gonna watch me pee?"
"You really okay?" Shi Luo examined Yu Sui closely. "You sure?"
"Sure." The first-floor bathroom was cramped. Yu Sui urged, "Get out."
Shi Luo acted like he hadn't heard, frowning at Yu Sui. "Then why is your complexion so bad? Your lips are pale. Look in the mirror yourself. It's worrying."
Yu Sui laughed despite himself.
Shi Luo was too sensitive. Yu Sui didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so he said dismissively, "I had another argument with the captain this morning. Nothing major."
"What did you argue about?" Shi Luo protested不满. "Why didn't you call me over to listen?!"
Yu Sui: "..."
Yu Sui's stomach was killing him, but he really wanted to laugh. He leaned against the wall, utterly drained, and said, "Sorry, next time I'll definitely call you to watch the live show. But unfortunately this morning was all text output—no sound from the argument. Sorry, okay?"
Shi Luo's eyes sparkled. He glanced at the pocket where Yu Sui kept his phone, looking like he wanted to say something but held back.
Yu Sui didn't need to think to know what Shi Luo wanted to do. He opened the bathroom door. "There's no way I'm letting you go through my chat records. Get lost."
Shi Luo knew he was being a bit much. He mumbled, "Then you do your thing. I'll go pack my stuff..."
Shi Luo started to leave. Before Yu Sui could close the door, Shi Luo skillfully squeezed back through the gap!
Yu Sui was closing the door, so Shi Luo basically ended up diving straight into Yu Sui's arms.
The bathroom was really too small. Yu Sui wanted to be a gentleman, but with the limited space, there was nowhere to retreat.
Shi Luo hemmed and hawed. "He... didn't say anything bad about me, right? Don't listen to him. We clearly get along better now. He's so yesterday."
Yu Sui looked down at Shi Luo. After a moment, he gave in. He released the door handle, took out his phone, unlocked it, and handed it to Shi Luo.
Shi Luo held Yu Sui's phone, his Adam's apple bobbing. He hesitated and said softly, "You... you really letting me look?"
Yu Sui nodded.
Shi Luo's lips curved slightly. He lowered his head to scroll through the records.
They were standing a bit too close. Yu Sui pressed himself against the wall behind him. From the corner of his eye, he watched Shi Luo, then said softly, "Shi Luo, do you know what you look like right now?"
"I know." Shi Luo didn't look up, grinning happily. "I'm the green-tea bitch who sneaks a look at someone else's chat records while their couple is fighting!"
Yu Sui: "..."
Yu Sui was exhausted. He snatched his phone back. "I suddenly don't feel like showing you anymore. Get out."
"Why are you rushing me again?!" Shi Luo felt wronged. He muttered quietly, "What's with your attitude... Fine, I'm going."
Yu Sui closed the bathroom door and murmured, "Idiot..."
Not the green-tea bitch who sneaks a look at couples' chat records.
More like the jealous baby who came to check on his老公's work.
Yu Sui's stomach was really hurting. He bent over the small sink and stayed still for a moment. After the meager effects of the stomach-nourishing granules kicked in slightly, he got up and left the bathroom.
Around ten in the morning, everyone was packed up. Shi Luo had changed into his team jersey too, and was stuffing his gear bag with snacks, a thermos, stomach-nourishing granules, and... something else unidentified.
Yu Sui lowered his head slightly and observed the package in Shi Luo's hand. He read each character quietly, emphasizing every syllable. "Yi—Mu—Cao—Nuan—Gong—Re—Tie?"
Shi Luo stuck his tongue out. "You just told me to get lost, but I went and bought this for you. See how nice I am..."
"Oh, so it's for me to use..." Yu Sui nodded calmly. "My mistake. Retracting what I said this morning. I'm not on my period. Thanks."
"What do you know, stomach pain patches work too—these warm patches are useful." Shi Luo stuffed the warm patch into his gear bag. "I'll tape it inside your jersey later."
"Refuse." Yu Sui really wanted to crack open Shi Luo's skull and see what was inside. "Don't put keyboards and mice in the gear bag, stuff it full of all this garbage? Take it all out. Put all of it in your own bag!"
"I'm just a substitute. I don't need peripherals at all. If it weren't for appearances, I wouldn't even carry a gear bag." Shi Luo had his own logic. "Fans can't tell what's inside anyway. Who's it hurting?"
Yu Sui couldn't take any more. "It's hurting me! Go pack. No peripherals, no you coming along."
Shi Luo had no choice. He muttered a few complaints and reluctantly threw out the snacks, stuffing in the keyboard and mouse. But he insisted on bringing the thermos and the Yi-Mu-Cao warm patch, nearly bursting his gear bag at the seams.
Shi Luo couldn't help complaining. "My gear bag's seam is gonna rip!"
Yu Sui glanced at Shi Luo and ignored him.
Yu Sui didn't want to say it, but from that morning, he'd been feeling a vague sense of unease.
Yu Sui's sixth sense had always been accurate in a bad way—the good premonitions never came true, but the bad ones always did.
He thought it over and over. The more he thought, the more he felt something would go wrong with today's semifinal. If he really couldn't handle the stomach pain, Shi Luo would have to step in no matter what.
Of course, Yu Sui would do his best to hold on no matter what. But this unease had been following him like a shadow since he woke up. Besides the match having an accident, he couldn't think of what else could go wrong.
But they cut through like a knife—3-0, they shut out the YT team.
Yu Sui's stomach was really killing him, and it was getting worse. He didn't want any变故. From the first game, he played aggressively, not giving YT any breathing room—but also not giving himself any. All three games were all-out battles, not leaving himself the slightest margin for error. After three high-intensity games, not only was Yu Sui—who was already in so much pain he didn't want to speak—but even Lao Qiao was a bit overwhelmed.
After winning the match, Yu Sui felt slightly relieved. He forced himself through the post-game interview and accepted the fans' birthday wishes. The moment he got back to the lounge, he collapsed onto the sofa. He laughed. "I really can't do tonight's birthday party. You all go ahead. Take my card... I want to go back to the base and sleep."
"If you're not going, what's the point for us? Let's do it another time." Lao Qiao sat down next to Yu Sui. "Should we just go to the hospital?"
Yu Sui shook his head. "Annoying. They'll just run the same tests, then prescribe some lukewarm medicine. Pure waste of time. Back to the base..."
Shi Luo frowned. "Then skip the tests. Let's go get some stomach medicine first. I'll go with you."
Before Yu Sui could answer, his phone rang.
It was Ji Yanhan.
Yu Sui answered immediately. After a moment, he nodded, made a couple "hmm" sounds, then hung up.
"No more折腾. The captain's already waiting at the base. We'll have dinner back there." Yu Sui stood up. "I can hold out until the finals. Don't all look at me like I'm dying..."
Yu Sui was just like this. No amount of persuasion would change his mind. Everyone knew they couldn't convince him, so they let the assistant leave early to buy some stomach medicine for Yu Sui. Everyone headed back to the base together.
By the time they got back, it was already ten at night.
On the long coffee table in front of the first-floor sofa, there were several cakes piled up. The sofa was covered with flowers and fan gifts the team manager had brought back earlier. Yu Sui looked at the birthday gifts filling the room. "Have the official blog thank the fans for me. Where's the captain?"
The manager pointed upstairs. "He came early. He's been waiting up there."
Yu Sui said to everyone, "First,收拾 your own stuff... Those who want to shower, shower. Those who want to rest, rest. The takeout should be here soon."
Everyone agreed and went about their business. Only Shi Luo's gaze stayed locked on Yu Sui.
"You..." Yu Sui smiled and asked. "Which cake did you order?"
Shi Luo raised an eyebrow, glancing meaningfully at one. "That pure white one."
Yu Sui picked up the complimentary utensils the cake shop provided, scooped a bit of frosting from Shi Luo's cake and tasted it. "Delicious. Get some rest. I'll find you in a bit."
Shi Luo looked like he wanted to say something. Yu Sui smiled. "Today really won't work. I want to have a proper talk with him. Don't cause trouble."
It was Yu Sui's birthday, and Ji Yanhan had come over to probably have a heart-to-heart conversation. Shi Luo understood priorities. Unwillingly, he nodded. "Talk fast. I still have something to give you."
Yu Sui nodded and went upstairs.
Ever since Yu Sui joined FS, he'd never had the habit of locking his door. His dorm room door was usually just pulled shut. In his room, Ji Yanhan had been sitting for quite some time.
Ji Yanhan sat on the small sofa by the window, elbows on his thighs, face buried in his hands—maybe he'd fallen asleep from waiting so long.
On the small table in front of Ji Yanhan sat a small birthday cake. A dozen shopping bags were piled on the floor, the logos on them familiar to Yu Sui. It was a streetwear brand he'd liked when he was a bit younger.
Yu Sui sat across from Ji Yanhan and casually picked up one of the shopping bags. He took out a limited-edition T-shirt and spread it out to look.
When Yu Sui first went pro, he was too young, and he grew fast—so fast that his clothes would become too small every other week. He trained every day and had no time to go out shopping for clothes. He was FS's most valuable player; his time was more valuable than gold. Ji Yanhan—already retired by then—would go out to buy clothes for him.
Yu Sui had always been picky about clothes since he was little, but Ji Yanhan had terrible fashion sense. Knowing his taste wasn't as good as Yu Sui's, he'd always buy several pieces for Yu Sui to choose from. Whatever Yu Sui didn't like, Ji Yanhan couldn't return and couldn't bear to throw away, so he'd勉强 wear it himself.
Back then, Ji Yanhan was even taller than Yu Sui. Yu Sui really couldn't stand the sight of Ji Yanhan squeezing into small-sized clothes. After a few times of this, no matter how ugly the style Ji Yanhan bought or how atrocious the color combinations, Yu Sui would grit his teeth and say, "This is really fucking cool. I really fucking love it."
Later, life got better for all of them. Yu Sui had more breathing room, and Ji Yanhan hadn't bought Yu Sui clothes in two or three years.
Yu Sui exhaled. He felt that today, they didn't need to bicker. They could have a proper heart-to-heart.
"You're back?" Ji Yanhan stirred, straightening up. His eyes were bloodshot, exhausted. "Today being your birthday, I didn't know what to get you. On the way to the base, I saw this brand again. I just picked the most expensive stuff. Take a look, see if you like anything."
Yu Sui said flatly, "I like it all."
Ji Yanhan smiled slightly. "Don't try to fool me. You could stand to like one item out of what I buy. You're just like Minmin—your taste is too good, you can't stand what I buy, but... you both say you like it."
Yu Sui paused. "How are things at her family's side?"
Ji Yanhan acted like he hadn't heard, continuing, "Minmin's just like you—good family background, never suffered a day of hardship in her life. A proper white-rich-beautiful. Back then, her actually liking me was blind as hell."
"All these years, I've been wanting to wait until everything was settled, then marry her. Throw a proper wedding, let her hold her head high in front of her小姐妹, stop people from calling her a phoenix bachelor. I really tried my best." Ji Yanhan fell silent for a moment. "But... looks like I'm going to mess it up again."
Yu Sui squinted. "What's going on exactly?"
"Her dad..." Ji Yanhan let out a long sigh. "The older he gets, the less clear his mind. The investments he made, I think none of them are reliable. But he just won't listen. Won't listen to me, won't listen to Minmin. Now... in two months, probably even the apartment Minmin's living in now will be auctioned."
Yu Sui frowned. He'd guessed there were problems on Minmin's side before, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
Yu Sui asked, "How much do you need? I still have some."
Ji Yanhan shook his head. "If you could cover it, I could cover it. We wouldn't have gotten to this point."
Before Yu Sui could ask more, Ji Yanhan looked up at him and said heavily, "Yu Sui... do you remember who paid your termination fee when you came out of Blade Edge?"
Yu Sui stared at Ji Yanhan, and suddenly couldn't speak.
Yu Sui was in a standoff with his family at the time. He couldn't bring himself to ask them for money. Ji Yanhan used all his savings and even sold one of Minmin's cars to barely scrape together enough for Yu Sui's—and the remaining players'—ransom price.
"That time, she even sold her own bags and shoes... I've never been able to pay her back for that, all these years. Yu Sui, this time, big brother has to对不起 you." Ji Yanhan looked at Yu Sui with a pained expression, eyes red. "Yu Sui, if big brother could fill this hole himself, I wouldn't think of you. I've already填进去 everything I could. The only thing I have left that's valuable... is you."
"I'm not your private property." Yu Sui tried to stay calm. "I know that European elite club is reorganizing their new team. They've contacted me too. I'm not going. You know that clearly in your heart."
"You have relatives there. The treatment there is pretty good. They can give you the best teammates, the highest team configuration..." Ji Yanhan acted like he hadn't heard, his voice trembling as he muttered to himself. "I'll handle the contract review myself. I'll add a lot of terms that are favorable to you..."
Yu Sui didn't want to hear another word.
Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that after years of friendship, they'd end up here.
Yu Sui stood up. "How much is the termination fee? Calculate it and tell me. Besides the termination fee, I'll give you everything I have... I'll leave with nothing, not even one team jersey."
"You're breaking the contract with me? Going to list yourself for transfer? Fine..." Ji Yanhan looked up at Yu Sui, coldly. "Have you carefully read your contract? Do you even know how much the termination fee is?"
Yu Sui said coldly, "I can afford it."
Ji Yanhan was silent. Indeed, if Yu Sui forcibly broke the contract, even if his personal assets weren't enough, he could lower his head and ask his family. Yu Sui's family was wealthy. They could definitely cover it. Ji Yanhan had already anticipated this.
But...
Ji Yanhan looked at Yu Sui almost with pity. "You can afford your own. Can you afford Chen Huo's? Lao Qiao's? Puppy's?"
Yu Sui's face went bloodless.
"And..." Ji Yanhan completely hardened his heart. "What about that little boyfriend of yours, Shi Luo? Seventeen years old... the best age. Black and white on paper—signed directly with me for five years."
Just a few days ago, in this very base, Shi Luo had looked at Yu Sui and said, "I just did the same thing you did back then. Why are you yelling at me?"
Shi Luo's eyes at the time had been stubborn yet firm. "You're the only person who's ever been good to me. I did it willingly."
Ji Yanhan looked at Yu Sui, mercilessly. "It's all for you."
Yu Sui's fingertips trembled slightly. He turned and勉强 walked into the bathroom, bent over, and dry-heaved. Then suddenly he vomited.
In the sink, a dark red mess—all blood.