# Chapter 81
Shi Luo ground his teeth, trying to snatch back the earphones. Yu Sui dodged, holding them behind his back, and laughed. "Aren't you embarrassed? You always have those earphones on, and turns out you're listening to stuff like this?"
"During breaks at the arena, in the waiting corridors, on the way back to base after matches..." Yu Sui thought about it more and felt that Shi Luo was quite the wild one for someone so young. "Shi Shen, I've known for a while now—you put on earphones whenever you need to calm down. I always thought you were listening to relaxation music, but now I'm suddenly not so sure..."
Shi Luo grabbed the earphones from Yu Sui's hand, face burning with embarrassment and anger. "I've only listened to it a few times! I just downloaded it a few days ago."
"Proof?" Yu Sui bit back a smile. "I think the last time I listened to that audio was four years ago. You say you just downloaded it?"
Shi Luo was at a loss for words. He turned a deep shade of red and opened his music player. "It's the same account logged into my phone app. Look for yourself... only listened to it five times."
Shi Luo's usual music app kept a record of how many times each track was played. Yu Sui glanced over it—the track Shi Luo had just been listening to indeed showed "5" plays.
"I came across it by accident a few days ago. I was curious what it was... so I downloaded it to listen." Shi Luo closed the player app, stubborn to the end. "I listened to it. It wasn't even interesting..."
Shi Luo closed the app quickly, but Yu Sui's eyesight was too sharp. He noticed that among the various Chinese and English songs in the app's background, there was also a track with a garbled title, its playback count showing "999+."
No song information whatsoever—it was definitely another edited audio.
Yu Sui smiled knowingly. Four years had passed; the fans'素材库 had been updated too. They must have cut a 2.0 version.
Shi Luo was already embarrassed enough. It would be lacking in consideration to poke fun any further, so Yu Sui pretended not to see anything, lowering his voice to laugh. "Listening to my 18+ audio while practicing your shots. That's dedication, Shi Shen."
Shi Luo was absolutely furious. He'd been trying hard to practice, his手感 was pretty good, and he suddenly figured out some tricks for countering NSN. He wanted to try some strategies in a solo queue, but he was a bit sleepy, and suddenly remembered that audio. Since no one was around, he thought he'd listen to it to stay awake. After all his careful planning, he never expected the twenty-one-year-old veteran to still be awake at this hour, and to catch him red-handed to boot.
Shi Luo logged out of the game and shut down his computer at lightning speed, eyes darting nervously, refusing to meet Yu Sui's gaze. "Listening to your... whatever it's called... helps me stay awake."
"Didn't you just say it wasn't interesting?"
Shi Luo was speechless. He saw Yu Sui watching him with a smile in his eyes, speaking earnestly. "Seriously, if you need it, I can record something interesting for you. You're practically a repeat customer—just place your order."
Place an order...
Vivid images flashed through Shi Luo's mind. He closed his eyes. "No need. Can't afford you."
As Shi Luo turned to leave, Yu Sui shifted to the side, blocking him completely, and chuckled softly. "Come on, place your order. I'll do it right now, on the spot."
"One hundred yuan... No, wait." Yu Sui was being extremely accommodating. "One yuan is fine."
"You..." Shi Luo's cheeks burned red. He glanced at the decorative clock on the training room wall—it was 3:45.
Yu Sui wasn't nearly as good at staying up as he was. Whenever he slept late, even if he didn't oversleep the next morning, he definitely couldn't eat much—usually just a bowl of porridge at most. Shi Luo worried about Yu Sui's delicate stomach, didn't want him to waste any more time, and lowered his voice. "What are you being so restless for, in the middle of the night... Go to sleep."
Yu Sui glanced at the clock too, and also lowered his voice. "Who's the one being restless?"
Shi Luo was stumped again.
"Okay, okay, no more teasing." Yu Sui smiled and stepped aside. "Go to sleep."
Shi Luo fled like a startled deer.
After returning to his dorm, washing up with a flushed face, and the initial embarrassment fading away, Shi Luo started to feel a bit regretful.
He'd been doing extra training, and Yu Sui was worried he'd pull an all-nighter, so he'd quietly kept him company, staying up until this late hour. And yet, because Shi Luo felt so awkward, he didn't even say a thank you.
Yesterday, when they were eating at the restaurant, he'd run into Zhou Huo in the restroom. Zhou Huo had told him in secret that Yu Sui had said, "Thinking about what happened before, I feel like I'm not caring for him enough."
That "him" was Shi Luo.
At the time, Shi Luo felt it was quite a coincidence—he thought the same thing too.
Whenever he thought of Yu Sui, Shi Luo always felt that he wasn't caring for Yu Sui enough either.
In the past, he'd been too willful. Now, he was a bit too awkward.
Shi Luo knew himself well enough to realize he was too much of a straight guy. Take just now, for instance...
Shi Luo irritably ruffled his hair. Yu Sui was too gentle, too good at working his charm, which only made Shi Luo feel more like a jerk.
Shi Luo stepped out of the shower, shivering.
The temperature had dropped several times this week, and the base's central air conditioning wasn't on yet. In the early hours past midnight, it was already getting cold.
The temperature seemed to have dropped again. Shi Luo toweled dry his hair and got into bed.
Even under the blanket, he was still a bit cold. It was late, so he closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep quickly.
Five minutes later, Shi Luo opened his eyes again, and started worrying about Yu Sui's troublesome stomach again.
No getting tired, no getting cold.
Whenever the weather turned cold, Yu Sui always ate less. He'd usually brush it off by saying he wasn't hungry, but it was really because he wasn't feeling well and couldn't eat.
The room was really a bit chilly. Was there really any difference between Yu Sui's dorm and his own? Would he have a stomachache the next day after sleeping through a whole night like this?
Shi Luo frowned, threw off the blanket, and got up. He exhaled heavily. "I hope Ji Yanhan drops dead..."
Shi Luo put on his slippers, draped a jacket over his shoulders, picked up his phone, and left the dorm.
The entire base was deserted. The hallway was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
It was past four. Everyone in the base was fast asleep.
At this hour, Shi Luo could do anything without anyone noticing.
At the same moment, if the roles were reversed—if it had been Yu Sui standing in the hallway—Yu Sui wouldn't have hesitated for a second. He'd have grabbed his own blanket, pushed open Shi Luo's door, piled another blanket on his boyfriend who had a sensitive stomach and was afraid of the cold, and then, as naturally as could be, they'd share the bed.
Since he'd already offered his own blanket, what else was there to do but sleep together?
But Shi Luo, who was always telling people to drink hot water, was different.
With an annoyed expression, muttering curses under his breath, cursing Ji Yanhan for stealing his sleep, Shi Luo walked straight past Yu Sui's dorm room without a sideways glance, went downstairs, entered the conference room on the first floor, found the key to the control room, and also grabbed a flashlight.
Shi Luo unlocked the control room door, squeezed into the cramped space, turned on the lights, and raised the flashlight. As expected, there wasn't a single Chinese character he could make sense of. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and carefully examined which panel was the central air conditioning control.
Though Shi Luo had never worked with this before, it didn't take him long to figure it out. After fiddling with it for a bit, he turned on the heating mode for the base and adjusted the temperature.
With a deadpan expression, Shi Luo returned the key and flashlight, then went back to his dorm.
There were all sorts of gauges in the control room. The base's water, electricity, heating, gas, and cold/heat central controls were all crammed together. Shi Luo hadn't been entirely confident—if he'd accidentally turned on cooling instead, that would've been a disaster. After returning to his dorm, instead of going straight to sleep, he sat on the edge of his bed with the little plushie Yu Sui had given him, waiting to make sure the room actually warmed up before he slept.
Shi Luo looked at the little plushie in his hands and let out a soft breath.
He'd only mentioned it casually—that no one ever remembered to save something like this for him—and Yu Sui had taken it to heart. He'd asked a fan for one and given it to Shi Luo.
Just like with Tong Chen Huo, Shi Luo didn't really like plushies either. But if someone gave one to him with thoughtfulness behind it, that was different.
Shi Luo wasn't trying to gain sympathy. From childhood to now, there really hadn't been many people who'd pay attention to bringing him things.
When he was little, his parents fought all the time. Both of them wanted to escape each other, and no one had time for Shi Luo. When they finally divorced, Shi Luo went to live with his mother. He thought he'd finally have some peace and quiet, but it was too quiet—his mother had finally escaped a marriage that had tormented her for years. She was eager to enjoy a normal life, to enjoy new romance and marriage. She didn't have much time or energy to spare for Shi Luo. Even the occasional warmth and care she showed him always carried a hint of distraction. Shi Luo understood that his mother would remarry eventually. He just didn't expect to get kicked out before she even remarried.
After that, Shi Luo's childhood became a constant battle of wits against his scumbag of a father.
Fighting the heavens, fighting people, fighting his father.
Sometimes Shi Luo felt that his excellent competitive form might have come from his monkey-king-like childhood and adolescent years.
Growing up, he'd seen the warmth and coldness of human relationships clearly, but he'd never experienced much tenderness himself.
The only little bit he had...
Shi Luo fidgeted with the plushie in his hand. It all came from Yu Sui.
Such a great boyfriend—shouldn't he fix the air conditioning for him?
Shi Luo vaguely felt the room warming up a bit. He set the assault trooper plushie aside, took off his jacket, got back into bed, and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
Shi Luo hadn't been asleep long when it started drizzling outside. The outdoor temperature dropped and dropped.
Ten o'clock the next morning. Overcast and rainy.
Yu Sui woke up earlier than usual. He pulled back the curtain and glanced outside, and his heart stirred slightly.
After washing up, Yu Sui left his dorm. He ran right into the cleaning auntie, who was mopping the floor. Yu Sui lowered his voice. "The central air conditioning is on?"
"Yeah, it is. Don't know who turned it on, but it got warm last night around midnight." Everyone in the base was still asleep, so the auntie kept her voice down too,轻声细语 complaining. "I keep saying the temperature's going to drop these days. You all had a match yesterday and were rushing around. I mentioned it several times but nobody listened. I don't know how to adjust the AC around here anyway. Some saint got up in the middle of the night and did it—thank goodness..."
Yu Sui's eyes flickered slightly. Who adjusted it? Everyone had gone to sleep early yesterday—could it have been anyone else?
Shi Luo had never been afraid of the cold. Whether the temperature dropped or not, he wouldn't have cared much. The only thing he might have cared about—
Yu Sui paused for a moment, then said softly, "Sorry, I sleep lightly..."
The auntie understood immediately, and quickly apologized. "Alright, alright, I'll clean the second floor in the afternoon. You should go back and sleep some more—it's only ten."
Yu Sui nodded. "Thanks for the trouble."
Yu Sui watched the auntie walk downstairs. The moment her figure disappeared around the corner, he strode to Shi Luo's door, and without hesitation, gently turned the handle and walked in.