# Chapter 30
The month after that birthday was a time Yu Sui never wanted to recall.
It really wasn't easy to endure.
After lying in that hospital bed and thinking it over, Yu Sui decided not to tell his parents.
When he'd left home for Blade Edge Club all those years ago, he'd declared with conviction: this was his own choice, and no matter what happened afterward, he would never let his parents have to support him or clean up his mess. Asking for money now would be embarrassing—secondary to everything else. But having reached this point, what did he have left to be ashamed of? And yet, what did his parents ever owe anyone?
His parents were both intellectuals. Having a son who'd dropped out at such a young age had already been embarrassing enough for them. Why should they now have to pay for his esports team? Why should they have to pay for his teammates' mistakes?
Not to mention, his parents were devoted to academia. Over the years, the couple hadn't saved much—the family savings were actually inherited from his grandparents, meant for their own children. Asking for that money now would be no different from robbing them of their retirement funds. He couldn't leech off his parents like this; it would be too heartless.
The consequences of his mistakes wouldn't touch his parents. The debt of favors was his to bear, and he'd have to repay it himself.
After deciding not to tell his parents, Yu Sui looked around at the four people in the hospital room and took a difficult, deep breath. His teammates couldn't be kept in the dark forever.
Two days later, once Yu Sui had recovered enough to get out of bed, he found a chance to be alone with Old Qiao in a private room and told him everything.
Yu Sui had prepared Old Qiao in advance, saying helplessly, "The doctor said I can't experience extreme emotions or sudden physical activity right now. Please be considerate of a patient. Let's talk facts, no emotional drama. I really want to get discharged soon. Can you do that?"
Old Qiao looked at him blankly. "What's going on? Tell me."
Yu Sui nodded, then stood up and closed the hospital room door.
Old Qiao was the most even-tempered and calm-headed person on the team. But hearing the news, suppressed grief and anger left him speechless—he bit clean through the bed sheet of his cot, nearly causing Yu Sui to have another episode.
But at least he managed to calm down eventually.
The second person was Puppy.
Sniper players were supposedly steady by nature, but Puppy was even harder to deal with than Old Qiao. Yu Sui had to use the same approach—
"If there's anything I haven't thought of that could help, tell me. But if not... please don't argue with me. I'm sick. My stomach hurts. Let's talk facts. Don't pick on a patient."
Yu Sui had handled it as tactfully as possible. Like Old Qiao, Puppy was heartsick and powerless—unable to think of any other solution. Furious enough to demolish the entire hospital building, he still didn't dare to刺激 Yu Sui into another attack.
But Puppy himself had scraped together 12.5 million and transferred it to Yu Sui's account. Yu Sui didn't refuse.
On the day Yu Sui had his showdown with Puppy, Old Qiao—who'd been put on a information lockdown and had been holding it in for three whole days—suddenly developed a high fever of 40.5°C and was admitted to the hospital himself.
Yu Sui just happened to be checking out that same day, so he gave his hospital room to Old Qiao.
Looking at Old Qiao's flushed, feverish face, Yu Sui decided to postpone telling Chen Huo for a few more days.
As for Shi Luo...
Yu Sui had given up trying to hide anything from him the moment he entered the hospital.
Being able to hide one thing from Shi Luo would've been lucky enough. With so many days passing and so many clues everywhere, Shi Luo had probably already figured out most of it by then. Yu Sui knew he couldn't fool him and was too tired to pretend otherwise.
Shi Luo just didn't quite understand one thing. He asked Yu Sui, "You're about to be sold off by him, yet you can still calmly discuss the details with him? If harming people weren't illegal, you'd be justified in harming him."
Yu Sui asked Shi Luo back, "If I sold you one day, and harming people were still legal, would you kill me?"
Shi Luo fell silent.
It was that same day that Shi Luo began to understand Yu Sui a little.
The harm he was causing Shi Luo now was real. But so was every bit of genuine kindness he'd shown Shi Luo before.
Once emotions got tangled up in things, things stopped being so black and white.
Shi Luo accepted this and felt it was actually... not bad. After this was over, Yu Sui wouldn't owe Ji Yanhan anything. But at that time, Shi Luo hadn't guessed he would be the one left behind.
Even though Yu Sui had already hinted to him, "The place I'm going to might already have a team physician lined up."
"That'd be great." Shi Luo was very optimistic. "I'd love the free time. How about I be your assistant instead? I can fold your clothes for you. I'm only good at folding clothes."
Yu Sui looked at Shi Luo. His physical strength and energy were both depleted at that point. He was worried Shi Luo might act rashly and sign some uncontrollable contract with Ji Yanhan, so he just ruffled Shi Luo's hair and didn't say more.
Shi Luo had just become a professional player less than a month ago. Under FS's protection, he was still a baby who dared to get into fights, who dared to say "I'd love the free time" without a care in the world.
So innocent, so guileless, that even Yu Sui's heart softened.
Yu Sui thought at the time, I'll drag this out one day at a time.
And so they limped along like this, each carrying their own burdens, until the night before they were supposed to meet with NSN about Shi Luo's transfer contract.
Yu Sui's illness had mostly recovered by then. He thought he could handle whatever Shi Luo might throw at him.
But Yu Sui had overestimated himself.
That day, Old Qiao and Puppy had somehow gotten everyone out of the base. The massive base was left with only Yu Sui and Shi Luo.
Yu Sui called Shi Luo to his room.
The base was far too quiet. The atmosphere was wrong. Shi Luo's face fell the moment he entered Yu Sui's room.
Shi Luo was naturally sensitive. He vaguely sensed that something beyond his control had already happened.
Yu Sui watched Shi Luo's wary eyes. His stomach, which had healed over the past month, suddenly started hurting again.
Yu Sui asked Shi Luo to sit down. After some small talk, he asked, "Do you remember NSN? They contacted you before. Their captain, Old Gu—you've met him before. He's a good guy, easy to work with..."
Shi Luo's whole body went cold. In an instant, he understood everything. He coldly cut Yu Sui off. "Don't."
Yu Sui gently pressed a hand to his stomach, dissatisfied for the first time with Shi Luo's quick, clever mind.
Shi Luo couldn't let Yu Sui finish speaking. Instinctively, he stepped back two paces, his voice turning hoarse. "Yu Sui, that's not what you said before."
Yu Sui took a deep breath. Right. That wasn't what he'd said before.
He'd said he'd never sell Shi Luo. He'd said he'd sign him for life.
How long ago was that?
The atmosphere was unbearably agonizing. Yu Sui couldn't stand it anymore. He smiled, stood up, and walked over to Shi Luo.
Yu Sui slightly lowered his head and softly asked, "Remember how you beat up Ji Yanhan that day? Come on, give me one—"
Yu Sui smiled. "Hit me. I won't fight back."
Shi Luo's eyes instantly turned red.
Yu Sui's lips trembled slightly. His own eyes nearly reddened too.
If there were any other way, he wouldn't do this.
Yu Sui tried to sound lighter. "Luoluo, I won't hurt you. Don't worry. Two years at most, and I'll definitely come find you. You—"
"Shut up."
Shi Luo's eyes brimmed with tears. He stared warily at Yu Sui, his voice cold. "Shut up. I don't want to hear a single word."
The two of them locked eyes. Shi Luo, guarded and furious. Yu Sui, calm and restrained.
After a full minute of silence, Shi Luo broke first.
"Two thousand and nine..." Shi Luo forced himself to speak evenly, slowly. "Also summer, around this time of year. I was nine..."
Shi Luo choked up. "My mom sent me to my dad's house."
Yu Sui's heart sank. Shi Luo had only started speaking, but Yu Sui felt like he'd just stepped on a line that should never be crossed.
"I begged Mom, said I didn't want to go. She said..." Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui. His voice caught. He went silent for a moment. When his tone returned to normal, he continued. "She said, 'Don't say things like that, little one. I won't hurt you. Don't worry.'"
Yu Sui's chest suddenly ached.
What had he just said to Shi Luo?
"Very familiar, right? Almost exactly what you just said?" Shi Luo raised his eyes, slowly. "She also told me not to make a fuss, not to be scared. I'd just stay one summer. As long as I was good and made Dad like me, just one summer... When summer ended, she'd come pick me up."
"What's 'being good'?" Shi Luo gave a bitter laugh. "I didn't know what being good meant. But I really tried. Yet Grandpa still didn't like me. Dad didn't like me. Uncle, aunt, and my cousin didn't like me... Every single day of that summer was agony. But I could endure it. I wrote tally marks on my bedside table, counting the days on my fingers, waiting for Mom to pick me up. Then summer ended..."
Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui.
"New semester started. Mom didn't come."
"Winter vacation came. Mom didn't come."
"New Year's came. Mom didn't come."
"Eight years passed..."
Shi Luo lowered his head. Tears streamed down his face. His throat heaved violently. He couldn't speak anymore.
Yu Sui felt a sweet, coppery taste rising in his throat. He fought to hold it back, rooted to the spot.
What was he doing?
Had he just told Shi Luo to wait for him?
Yu Sui fought to control himself, speaking low, "Holy Sword Club... is a European League team. Going there with me won't be a good thing. You've seen what the internet trolls say about me. You want to be cursed along with me?"
"I want to. I'm willing."
"I don't want to be handed off to someone else!" Shi Luo roared. "You know it's a European League you can't control! You can't even guarantee when you'll be back! Why are you casually drawing me a pie in the sky and expecting me to wait like an idiot?!"
Shi Luo was so consumed by rage, he couldn't tell if he was talking to his mother or to Yu Sui. "Last time you said one summer, and I waited until now. You've gotten married and have a daughter. What about me?! Now you want me to wait two years—what will it be like in two years? Can your body even play for two more years?! What if you've retired by then—who do I go to?!"
Yu Sui's voice turned hoarse. "I'll quit smoking. I'll quit drinking. I'll—"
"Don't make promises." Shi Luo cut him off impatiently. "Less of that骗ing. If you can't do it, don't promise. I don't believe a single word!"
Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui through tear-filled eyes, then suddenly softened his tone. "Captain... don't do this. Take me with you. Two years from now, we come back together..."
Yu Sui pressed hard on his stomach, unable to tell if the pain was in his stomach or his heart. For one second, Yu Sui thought, to hell with it—I'll just confess now. I'll take Shi Luo with me, whatever the cost.
But only for that one second.
Yu Sui instantly calmed down. He shook his head. "Impossible."
Yu Sui might not have suffered much hardship before, but he'd been in this industry for years. He'd seen plenty. He was far more clear-headed than Shi Luo.
Changing his contract to two years wouldn't be hard. Taking him to Holy Sword wouldn't be hard. But what came after would be completely out of his control.
Getting them out would be easy. Getting them back would be hard.
His own situation, plus Chen Huo and Puppy, would be relatively simple. But Old Qiao and Shi Luo wouldn't be so easy.
A purely commercial team. Players with no value would be repeatedly listed for bidding. After being sold, they'd be sent to God-knows-where.
If it were just the domestic league, that'd be different. No matter which team they went to, Yu Sui could pull some strings, call in favors. But cross-league? No.
Yu Sui could accept being treated as a commodity by Ji Yanhan. But he could not accept the thought of watching Old Qiao and Shi Luo be listed for bidding by Holy Sword, being bid on by various European clubs they'd never even heard of, then being sold off to unknown places.
Europe was huge. Team bases were scattered everywhere. They could end up anywhere.
They might even be cross-league listed again, sold to North America, to Korea...
Watching Shi Luo get shuffled around the world would drive Yu Sui insane.
Yu Sui tried to explain the situation in simple terms, then made another promise: "I don't have a hundred percent certainty, but as long as I haven't retired, I definitely won't re-sign with them. Just two years—"
"Please... don't say that." Shi Luo, whose old wounds had been ripped open by these memories, completely broke down. "I've already waited too long! I won't wait another day! If you don't take me today, don't bother telling me you'll find me later!"
Shi Luo collapsed in tears, teeth clenched. "I don't understand and don't want to understand! I'll only tell you one thing—if you dare send me to NSN today, whether you come back in two years or not, I will never look for you. And you absolutely must never contact me again. I will never, ever be on the same team as you!"
Shi Luo had thought Yu Sui would definitely give in.
When he made a fuss about wanting breakfast, Yu Sui would agree. When he eavesdropped on phone calls, Yu Sui would agree. When he went through Yu Sui's phone and invaded his privacy, Yu Sui agreed to that too. Such a softhearted person—how could he bear to leave Shi Luo behind again?
But Whisper's tenderness had its limits. This time, Yu Sui left Shi Luo behind.