# Chapter 46
After returning to the base, everyone scattered to wash their faces and take showers. Chen Huo had only slept four hours yesterday and now just wanted to bury himself in sleep. He couldn't help but complain nonstop: "When will the league change these rules? Why does every match require makeup before going on stage? The thing is, I can't even tell the difference after it's done."
Chen Huo wiped his face, rubbed his fingertips, and said with disgust: "Fine, I can tolerate the makeup. But what's the most bullshi* about this? Why do we have to remove the makeup after? It's so troublesome. Not removing it causes pimples to grow. This is f*cked up..."
"The rules are the rules. Why so much complaining?" Old Qiao knocked on Chen Huo's head from behind him. "You all go up there looking like a mess—does that look good? Under the lighting in competition venues, everything shows. Besides, they only put a little foundation on you. When washing your face, just scrub a bit more, won't that work?"
"We need makeup remover." Chen Huo turned to look at Old Qiao, confused. "Did you always scrub it off hard every time? No wonder you age fast..."
Old Qiao rolled his eyes and pressed down on Chen Huo's head.
Match days had no set schedule. Back at the base, everyone was free to do as they pleased—some bathed, some rested. Yu Sui went to the training room by himself.
Yu Sui wasn't in a hurry to wash his face. Relying on his handsome face and good skin, he usually slacked off during pre-match makeup sessions. Today was the same—he just took a spin through the official makeup room and walked out. A bunch of straight guys couldn't tell the difference anyway, so they just assumed he'd done his makeup.
With this troublesome step skipped, Yu Sui turned on his computer, intending to check out this new discovery he'd learned about on the way back—the relationship mediation show.
That thing sounded kind of impressive.
Yu Sui was twenty-one this year. The last variety show he'd watched was the Windmill program from over a decade ago. Ever since entering this industry, Yu Sui basically had no entertainment life. His usual relaxation was watching American and British dramas, so he knew very little about these weird variety shows. He opened a webpage and searched without knowing quite what he was doing. It took some effort, filtering through one option after another. After about ten minutes, he finally figured out the basics. He clicked on a program produced by a local TV station that looked the part and put on his headphones to watch seriously.
Three minutes in, Yu Sui took off his headphones.
He rubbed his brow. His eyes were burning.
Yu Sui was now very glad he hadn't blurted out on the bus ride back that he wanted to go on a show like this.
Too f*cking stupid.
The show was completely different from what Yu Sui had imagined. A dozen self-proclaimed relationship experts all arguing at once, making so much noise Yu Sui's ears hurt. He tossed the headphones on the desk, gave up on the idea entirely, and went to take a shower himself.
Ten minutes later, Shi Luo, fresh from a shower and changed into casual clothes, entered the training room.
There had been quite a few problems in today's match. Free's easy victory was entirely due to the Wild Bull team being weak and the four teammates' individual skill being too strong, but upon closer inspection, the two games had almost no decent coordination. During the mid-game pushes, there had been several rhythm breaks caused by insufficient teamwork. This was just the regular season—if such flaws appeared in a major tournament, the opposing team would definitely use them as a breaking point and turn the tide.
Shi Luo couldn't accept the game situation deteriorating because of himself. He was about to do a proper review of today's match. As he passed Yu Sui's workstation, he unexpectedly noticed that Yu Sui's computer was still on. Shi Luo glanced over, and his expression gradually froze.
In the video player on Yu Sui's computer screen, the show had reached its climax. A mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat at opposite ends of a sofa, crying their hearts out, each pointing out the other's faults.
Shi Luo stared blankly at the computer screen.
Recalling what everyone had said on the bus ride back to the base, Shi Luo's heart sank halfway.
Yu Sui really was... planning to send himself and that hotheaded newbie to a place like this?
If it had been someone else, Shi Luo would never have believed such a ridiculous thing. But Yu Sui was different—Yu Sui had a history!
The lesson from being thrown into the college entrance exam all those years ago was too deeply ingrained. Shi Luo firmly believed that when Yu Sui was ruthless, he could do anything.
Shi Luo gazed in awe at the host speaking at rapid speed on the screen, then nervously walked around Yu Sui's workstation. He carefully sat down at his own station, opened his computer in a daze, and勉强 began his match review.
After Yu Sui took a shower, Old Qiao called him downstairs.
A clean sweep victory in the first regular season match called for a celebration. Old Qiao had specially driven out to buy food. Everyone thanked him and sat down to eat. Due to his stomach condition, Yu Sui had always eaten slowly these past few years. He ate slowly, occasionally glancing at Shi Luo from the corner of his eye.
Yu Sui frowned slightly, wondering if he was being paranoid. He faintly felt that Shi Luo was avoiding his gaze.
Even though the two of them still quickly looked away whenever their eyes met, it had never been this sensitive. The feeling of evasion and resistance radiating from Shi Luo was too obvious.
If the relationship between the two of them could be displayed with a progress bar, Yu Sui felt that it had regressed at least to the day Shi Luo first moved into the Free base.
What happened?
They'd just played one match.
The match was steady and clean. During the game, the two of them hadn't even had any friction. What occurred?
Yu Sui observed Shi Luo's expression without showing his feelings, eating slowly. After a while, Shi Luo finished eating. Unlike his usual habit of sitting at the table for a while to play on his phone, Shi Luo handed his bowls and chopsticks to the housekeeper and went upstairs, as if he couldn't wait to leave.
Yu Sui also put down his chopsticks.
Old Qiao glanced at Yu Sui, swallowed a bite of food, and said: "What's wrong? You've barely eaten. Why aren't you continuing?"
Yu Sui lifted the hot soup and took a couple of sips: "Stomachache."
"What's going on?" Zhou Huo, sitting on the other side, looked over with concern. "Don't waste time! Put on your jacket. I'll take you to the hospital."
Yu Sui shook his head: "It's not that serious. Just a bit of discomfort. Two sips of hot soup will fix it."
Puppy looked up: "You sure you're okay? Want some stomach-soothing powder?"
"No need. It's not serious." Yu Sui shook his head. "Everyone finish eating quickly. After that, we'll review today's match together."
Zhou Huo worried: "You really okay? Don't push yourself. You have a ton of events coming up in the next few days that need you. You can't drop the ball."
Yu Sui nodded: "I'm fine. Don't worry."
Zhou Huo reluctantly nodded, then admonished: "Both our driver and I keep our phones on 24/7. If you feel unwell at any point, call immediately."
Everyone finished dinner one by one. Together, they went to the conference room and turned on the projector to review the match.
The two games combined were less than an hour, but Old Qiao spent nearly three hours dissecting them, filling seven pages of notes. Zhou Huo, watching his first post-match review, had also come over. Being terrible at games himself, he sat through three hours of tedious review with drooping eyelids. When it finally ended, he couldn't help but sigh once more: "From now on, if anyone dares say professional players are just gamers playing around, I'll drag them here for a review session. My eyes are bloodshot... Old Qiao, can I ask? That two-second action—just Chen Huo releasing the Purification Dish—was it really necessary to replay it thirty-something times for him? Not just Chen Huo, I was about to puke..."
"It was necessary. If he makes this kind of mistake again next time, he'll need to watch it sixty times, then go back and repeat the corrected action at least a thousand times to build muscle memory." Old Qiao handed each person the review notes recording everyone's issues. "These are all basic micro-operation trainings. When normal training slackens even slightly, problems easily arise. They're not perfected enough."
"Fine, whatever..." Zhou Huo shook his head and sighed. "I thought you all would finish in half an hour. I was planning to say a few words to boost morale after you finished. After listening for three hours, I've got no morale left myself. Everyone's worked hard. I won't take up any more of your time."
Everyone stood up to return to the training room. Zhou Huo turned back, looking worriedly at Yu Sui: "Whisper, are you okay now?"
Shi Luo, who had been looking down at his own review notes, raised his eyes to look at Yu Sui.
Yu Sui's expression was as usual: "It's fine."
The moment Yu Sui said "it's fine," Zhou Huo became even more worried: "What do you mean 'fine'? Don't joke around with your health. It's not too late yet. If you really can't take it, go to the hospital. Don't let it get worse."
"Really fine." Yu Sui refused quite bluntly. "I'm going to look over the review notes. I still want to do a livestream tonight. Don't worry about me."
Zhou Huo was helpless: "Why so stubborn? Fine, anyway the car is available. If it gets worse, speak up immediately."
Yu Sui pressed one hand against his stomach, picked up the review notes Old Qiao gave him, and left the conference room for the training room.
Shi Luo followed behind Yu Sui, his brow furrowed.
Back in the training room, everyone looked at their own review notes, summarized their problems, and then began free time activities. Chen Huo grouped up with the adjacent team's Angel Sword for a duo queue. Puppy was doing simulated training in a custom server by himself. Yu Sui, as promised, started his livestream.
Shi Luo didn't start a livestream. He was somewhat distracted, playing solo queue to push his ranking.
After getting his old account back, all rankings had been cleared. Shi Luo had been so used to grinding ranks over these years. Whenever he had free time lately, he was solo queuing to raise his ranking. Now he had climbed back into the top hundred of the server.
Once in the top hundred, queue times became very long. Shi Luo sat there with his mind elsewhere, waiting. Then his WeChat suddenly rang.
**[Manager Zhou]:** [Evil, I'm going back to my parents' house today. Not at the base. Can you keep an eye on things for me? Yu Sui wasn't feeling well with his stomach today. He won't take medicine or see a doctor. I'm worried it might get worse.]
**[Manager Zhou]:** [I've told Old Qiao too, but Old Qiao is too careless. I don't trust him to watch over it. Can you help keep an eye on him?]
Shi Luo's brow creased. As expected, another stomach problem.
Shi Luo looked up and watched Yu Sui.
Yu Sui's complexion looked no different from usual, but now and then he would touch his stomach with his left hand. He was also solo queuing, without an extra hand to take care of himself. Each time, he would just rub a bit and then continue rapidly pressing the keyboard.
Shi Luo replied to Zhou Huo: [Got it.]
Shi Luo played his solo queue distractedly, glancing at Yu Sui every now and then. Clearly, Yu Sui was rubbing his stomach more and more frequently.
But this person was oblivious, as it were. The moment one game ended, he immediately started another, not pausing at all. Medical ranked games hardly had any queue time—he basically clicked and instantly got into a map. For two straight hours, Yu Sui basically didn't stop for even a second,一直在游戏.
Shi Luo grew more and more anxious. Could this person at least drink some hot water?
Shi Luo glanced at the oblivious Chen Huo and Puppy, unable to resist the urge to complain. Are you even real teammates? Does nobody want to tell him to rest?
Shi Luo grew increasingly annoyed. Another half hour passed. When Shi Luo could no longer stand it and was about to remind Yu Sui to rest, Yu Sui himself pushed his keyboard forward, adjusted his mic, and said: "Not feeling too well. That's it for today."
Yu Sui finished speaking, removed his headphones, stood up, and left the training room.
Shi Luo's heart seized. Bad memories from the past flooded into his mind. Almost instinctively, he stood up and followed.
Yu Sui went back to his own room.
Shi Luo stood at the training room door, looking toward Yu Sui's room direction, somewhat hesitant.
Was it just that he felt slightly unwell so he went to bed early, or was he so uncomfortable that he went to throw up?
How serious was it exactly?
Shi Luo smoked a cigarette in the hallway, then gritted his teeth and walked to Yu Sui's door, knocking.
A moment later, the door opened. Yu Sui didn't look like he'd been throwing up. Shi Luo felt slightly relieved, then awkward: "It's nothing. I just—"
Yu Sui silently looked at Shi Luo: "Just?"
Shi Luo was helpless, lowering his voice in self-defeat: "Are you... having a stomachache? I noticed you... always rubbing your stomach."
Yu Sui didn't speak.
Shi Luo hesitated, his tone stiff: "Do you want... a cup of hot water?"
Yu Sui was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Sure."
Shi Luo turned and went downstairs to get hot water.
Yu Sui hadn't locked the door. When Shi Luo came back with the hot water, he pushed the door open and walked directly into Yu Sui's room. Inside the room, Yu Sui was sitting on the bed, looking down at his phone.
Shi Luo approached and handed the hot water to Yu Sui, saying awkwardly: "Here. Drink."
Something that looked like helplessness flickered in Yu Sui's eyes. Shi Luo was confused: "Wh-What?"
Yu Sui shook his head: "Nothing."
He slowly drank half a cup of hot water. Shi Luo turned his head to watch and asked: "Better now?"
Yu Sui wiped the water from the corner of his mouth with his thumb, nodded: "Better."
Yu Sui raised his eyes to look at Shi Luo, his lips slightly moving.
Shi Luo could tell Yu Sui seemed to want to say something: "Is there... something else?"
Yu Sui lowered his head, muttering to himself: "...Five hundred years have passed, and it's still just hot water."
Yu Sui's voice was too light. Shi Luo didn't catch it. He raised one brow: "What?"
"There's something... I've wanted to say for two years." Yu Sui hesitated. "Shi Luo, even if you find a girlfriend yourself someday, when your girlfriend isn't feeling well, you can't just give her a cup of hot water. Understand?"
Shi Luo's ears somehow flushed red again: "I don't have a girlfriend! Besides, why are you... why are you saying this?"
"渣男教学啊。" Yu Sui took another sip of hot water. "Not feeling well... at least help rub it a bit, right?"
Rub... rub...
Shi Luo's ears were completely red.
Shi Luo froze in place, stammering: "Are you... are you in a lot of pain?"
Yu Sui, no matter how bad his stomach pain, never showed it. Back then, even with a bleeding stomach, he could act normally and play mind games with that scumbag Ji Yanhan. Shi Luo wasn't sure how bad Yu Sui was right now. He hesitated: "Do you really need... me to rub it for you?"
Yu Sui raised his eyes to look at Shi Luo, still with his usual composed expression.
That face with that expression...
This was what Shi Luo couldn't handle most.
Shi Luo shuffled forward a couple of steps, half-kneeling, restrained: "You..."
Before Shi Luo could figure out what to do, Yu Sui extended one hand and gently gripped Shi Luo's wrist.
Shi Luo startled, his Adam's apple moved: "Wh-What's wrong?"
"Let me show you."
Yu Sui gripped Shi Luo's wrist and pressed his hand against his own stomach.
Shi Luo: "!"
Shi Luo's fingertips trembled.
Nineteen years old—peak vitality for a young man. His palm temperature ran a bit warmer than most people's.
Yu Sui held Shi Luo's hand and rubbed: "Like this."
Shi Luo was rigid all over. He gently rubbed himself: "Is... is it like this?"
Yu Sui silently watched Shi Luo and nodded.
Shi Luo's fingers moved slightly, rubbing a few more times, rather awkward: "Besides rubbing, is there... anything else?"
Yu Sui asked: "What?"
Shi Luo cleared his throat, turned his head and mumbled: "Isn't this the scumbag tutorial? Is there anything else to teach?"
"Oh, there's also—"
Yu Sui gazed at Shi Luo with longing, reluctantly moving Shi Luo's hand away.
Yu Sui politely leaned back slightly and said softly: "There's also one more thing. My stomachache was fake."