Chapter 92
Yu Sui murmured something to the driver in a low voice, and the driver drove more steadily. Shi Luo slept well the whole way, only waking up when they arrived at the venue.
Shi Luo hadn't expected to sleep through the entire trip. When the car stopped, he stared blankly out the window for a few seconds before saying dully, "I just woke up and saw I was still in the car—thought it was our match today. You scared me..."
The driver smiled. "First time I've ever arrived at a venue when we don't even have a match. You came way too early. Want to wait in the car for a bit? Right now fans are all lined up going through security. You two aren't even wearing masks—if you get out, you'll definitely get swarmed by fans. How about I get out and find a staff member to get you a pass? We can drive straight in and let you use the employee entrance instead?"
"No need to trouble them." Shi Luo shook his head, frowning. "Everyone's busy. We'll just wait in the car and go in last."
The driver nodded. "Alright, then let me get out and have a smoke."
Shi Luo had just woken up, still drowsy. He grabbed a cigarette too, about to get out, but Yu Sui was leaning against the side玩手机, not even glancing up. "If you want to smoke, do it in the car. The fans outside have definitely already noticed our team's car. If you get out, you'll get photographed. You believe me?"
Most of the people waiting outside were die-hard fans of whichever team was playing that day—they were there to cheer on the players. Of course they'd recognize Shi Luo.
"Whatever, everyone already knows I smoke. Whoever wants to take pictures can take pictures." The car was too cramped. Shi Luo didn't want Yu Sui breathing his secondhand smoke, so he opened the door and got out. "I'll be up in a bit."
Yu Sui had guessed right. The moment Shi Luo stepped out of the car, excited screams rang out from the nearby fans. Their visit to the venue hadn't been announced publicly, so the fans probably hadn't expected to see the Free club's car here, let alone catch Shi Luo.
Yu Sui stayed in the car browsing his phone. He checked the pre-match predictions for Saint and NSN, then casually scrolled through the esports media accounts he followed. Sure enough, the latest post from an esports gossip account was a photo of Shi Luo standing beside their team van, back to the camera, head bowed as he smoked.
Yu Sui smiled. He'd told him not to get out.
Though this esports gossip account seemed to be a fan of either Shi Luo or the Free team. They didn't stir up any trouble—the tone was unusually gentle. They just said they accidentally ran into Evil outside the competition venue, and proceeded to compliment Shi Luo from his fashion choices to his looks, praising his short white hair. They also joked that Shi Luo must think the finals are a sure thing, secretly coming to the venue to scout Saint and NSN and gather intel.
Yu Sui clicked into the comments. They were pretty harmonious. Free team members didn't usually go out when they weren't competing, and Shi Luo's fans rarely got to see him in casual clothes. Everyone was @-ing each other to come look at the photo, calling their friends over, and urging the blogger to go get a photo together, to take more pictures.
The blogger replied quickly: [No way, no way. He isn't here for a match today anyway, probably won't want a photo. Taking this pic was already risking my life. I only dared snap it because I saw everyone else taking photos. Don't ask for anything else! This time of day must be pretty early for Shi Zai—he looked really tired and impatient, shivering from the cold. I didn't dare get close.]
The blogger added: [Free's male model team is all so tall. You don't notice it normally, but seeing Evil on his own really makes you realize how tall they are. Cool and handsome.]
Yu Sui took a closer look at the blogger's photo. It really was well taken—a slightly low angle, thoughtful lighting, showcasing Shi Luo's good figure of one meter eighty to the fullest.
Yu Sui saved the image, then scrolled through the comments. His brows slightly furrowed at the dozen new comments.
[Seriously though, why did Shi Shen suddenly decide to come watch the match? Isn't his training exhausting lately? Every time I tune into Puppy's stream, Shi Shen seems to be training nonstop.]
[And it's so weird that no one else from the team came, just Shi Zai by himself. Well, the driver kind of counts, I guess.]
[Other people at this hour probably aren't even awake yet. Free's base is so far from the venue—getting here this early means they had to wake up way before dawn. Who among Free's bunch of night owls would want to get up that early?]
[Can't they just watch the stream from the base like everyone else? There's definitely a reason he came in person.]
[Suddenly realized something—Shi Shen isn't here to cheer for Wawa at the venue, is he?]
[Very possible... those two are so close.]
[Very possible +1. Shi Shen's always been so good to Wawa. Squee squee.]
[One thing I have to say—I've always shipped the cross-team CP of痞 Shi and 奶 Wa. The times those two duo queue together are really sweet. Today we finally got confirmation. Feeling blessed.]
Yu Sui watched the comment section veering further and further off track and sighed softly.
You really can't lead them.
How many more duo queue sessions, how many more streams, how many more hints would it take for the fans shipping him and Shi Luo to hold their heads high and bask in the light of day?
More and more fans noticed Shi Luo at the venue. After discussion upon discussion, they basically concluded that Shi Luo had come for Wawa.
The little fanfiction scenarios they came up with were enough to make Yu Sui feel touched.
And at that moment, the oblivious Shi Luo noticed people in the distance looking at him, taking photos. He wore a carefree expression, like he couldn't be bothered, leaning against the car and lighting his second cigarette.
After duo queuing with Puppy for two hours last night, he'd gone straight into another four-plus hours with Chen Huo, not stopping until three in the morning.
The last few hours of daily training were supposed to be free team queue time. Duo queuing with Yu Sui counted as rest, but duo queuing with Chen Huo was strength training, about as intense as regular practice matches. After grinding through all those hours, he was exhausted enough to fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Today he had to wake up early to watch the match. Shi Luo's head felt foggy. He just wanted to wake himself up.
But the moment he lit his second cigarette and hadn't even taken a drag, distant fans let out a soft gasp. Shi Luo's cigarette was plucked right out of his hand by Yu Sui, who had followed him out of the car.
"That's enough. Chain smoking?"
Yu Sui extinguished the half-smoked cigarette and tossed it in the trash, then pulled Shi Luo back into the car.
Back in the car, Shi Luo sat in a daze. When he noticed Yu Sui was ignoring him, absorbed in his phone, he thought Yu Sui was genuinely upset about the smoking. Not wanting to worry him, Shi Luo nudged Yu Sui with his knee and spoke up first. "I won't chain smoke anymore. Maximum five a day... three. Deal?"
Yu Sui didn't respond. After a moment, he handed his phone to Shi Luo. "Look."
Shi Luo first read the post Yu Sui had been looking at. He frowned. "What trouble are they stirring up now? What could there possibly be between me and Wawa?"
Yu Sui prompted him. "Look at the latest one."
Shi Luo exited and refreshed—
[Case solved. Whisper is here too. Take back what I just said. Shi Luo didn't come alone. He came with his captain.]
[I have to say quietly, Shi Zai's temper is so different around Yu Shen. When he got out of the car to smoke, he was so cool and aloof. The moment Yu Shen got out, he instantly got obedient. Even having his cigarette taken away, he was super compliant. Yu Shen said no more smoking, he stopped. Said get back in the car, he got in.]
Yu Sui had barely appeared when the comments exploded. Now every single one was gushing about Yu Sui and Shi Luo.
Shi Luo instantly forgot all about Wawa, reading the comments with relish.
"Everyone's speculating why it's just the two of us out here..." Shi Luo skimmed through them, automatically filtering out what he didn't care about, focusing only on posts about him and Yu Sui. "They're saying we're the closest on the team, that since we made up we've been even closer than two years ago, and also..."
Yu Sui moved closer to Shi Luo, arm draped over his shoulder to see the phone screen. "And also what?"
[Shi Shen before Whisper got out of the car: wild, like he owned the entire venue. Shi Shen after Whisper got out of the car: carefully explaining he only smoked his second one.]
[啧. It only takes one Whisper to turn Shi Shen into Shi Zai.]
[敢掐时崽烟的人也就只有余神了吧？话说我是真的好奇，这俩人到底经历了什么，能在重回一队后彼此毫无芥蒂甚至比以前关系还密切了，电竞圈未解之谜。]
[I don't know what they went through, but can we talk about how Evil wasn't even the focus of attention? That look Yu Shen gave just now isn't normal either, right? Besides looking at his own computer screen, when does 渣 Yu ever look at anyone with that kind of focus? Surplus level.]
[Suddenly had a wild thought...]
[Could these two actually be together?]
[I can't say if they're together or not, but that energy between them is definitely not just bromance... Saying it's just a special bond between the original Medical Twin Stars is even pushing it.]
[After all those things that happened before, if those two could still end up together... that would be something.]
Shi Luo read quite seriously. When he scrolled to the comment saying he and Yu Sui were a match made in heaven, his lips curved upward involuntarily. He murmured to himself, "We're obviously the most compatible..."
At that moment, Shi Luo wasn't tired anymore. His eyes sparkled as he read the comments, more and more pleased with what he saw. It wasn't until close to the end of security check that he reluctantly handed the phone back to Yu Sui, still wanting more. "Remember those usernames. We'll look at them again tonight before bed."
The two went through security, making it into the venue just in time. Without surprise, the moment they sat down, the broadcast gave them a close-up. The fans hadn't expected Free team members to show up either. They erupted in cheers. Shi Luo felt slightly uncomfortable, turning his face to block the camera. Yu Sui, however, waved to the camera, then gestured toward the stage, signaling the director to stop focusing on them and pay attention—the players were about to come out.
The director was deliberately mischievous, giving Shi Luo two more close-ups before cutting to the host. The host also teased Yu Sui and Shi Luo a bit, sending a greeting across the distance, then began discussing the real stars of the day—the Saint and NSN teams.
The Saint and NSN players filed onto the stage one by one. Yu Sui said softly to Shi Luo, "Guess who'll win?"
Shi Luo watched the players on stage, growing quiet for a moment. "Saint."
Yu Sui didn't respond.
Saint had exposed too many of their strategies before. Plus there was the question of whether Amaze—the old A they'd discussed before—really had a hand injury and was retiring. Too many unknown factors. Yu Sui didn't think Saint had better odds than NSN.
"Objectively speaking, Saint really does have a lot of problems." Shi Luo looked toward Angel Sword on stage, speaking quietly. "But if I were Angel Sword, and old A—who's been with me all these years—was about to retire... I'd play with my life. I'd fight my damnedest to drag old A to Worlds."
Yu Sui's eyes flickered slightly. He smiled.
Shi Luo froze, a bit flustered. "Wh-what's wrong? You laughing at me?"
"Not laughing at you." Yu Sui gazed at the stage, speaking slowly. "I think you're incredible... No matter how impossible the situation, as long as you insist, I always believe there's still a way. That we can still push forward."
Two years ago, Shi Luo had been killed thirty-four times, then gotten back up thirty-four times. It had snapped Yu Sui out of his daze completely, made him realize he hadn't rotted away in a foreign land yet, that he could keep enduring.
Yu Sui looked at the four Saint players on stage, speaking softly. "Now let's see if Angel Sword and old A can hold on."