Chapter 122
After the stream ended, Puppy suddenly started wallowing in self-pity. "I don't have a boyfriend, so I deserve to drink cold water in the middle of winter? I swear, I want a boyfriend who'd tuck a warm water bottle against me in his coat during winter!"
Yu Sui glanced up. Seeing that Puppy had actually ended the stream, he said, "I didn't know he'd brought warm water for me today. If I'd known, I definitely wouldn't have let him take it out."
"After we got to the venue, I went out to do the general registration check-in. When I came back, he was sitting by the window. He called me over and said he wanted to show me something good."
Around noon that day, Shi Luo was sitting by the window, wearing a thick jacket, with a mysterious glint in his eyes and the corners of his mouth slightly curled up. He called Yu Sui over and told him to open his jacket and take a look.
Yu Sui laughed at the time, glancing left and right. "Honey, this... the setting isn't exactly appropriate, is it?"
Shi Luo froze, unable to explain, so he opened his jacket himself, lifted the hem of his sweater, and pulled out a water bottle filled with hot water, handing it to Yu Sui.
Even after being in a relationship with Shi Luo for this long, Yu Sui couldn't speak for a full minute while looking at Shi Luo's bright, sparkling eyes.
A boyfriend who charged in recklessly with only you in his eyes... absolutely devastating.
Yu Sui pointed to his own chest and stomach area. "This whole area... it's all burned red. When we were at the venue, I asked him if it hurt and he said he couldn't feel anything. Just now when I got back to the hotel, I went to his room. I really didn't have any other intentions—I just wanted to see how bad it was, whether I needed to buy him medicine. He wouldn't let me see, telling me to stop acting like a jerk. So I pinned him against the door and forced a look..."
Puppy winced. "Stop there! Don't tell me about you two's 'reluctant but willing' shenanigans. I'm not curious. Just give me the result—is he burned or not?"
Yu Sui snorted, then frowned slightly. "It counts as no burn, I guess. If you don't look carefully, it's fine. Look closely, there's a bit of redness."
"Then it's nothing serious." Puppy said enviously. "Treasure this. This kind of thing only happens when you're young. I couldn't possibly do something this reckless even if I were dating now... even if you gave me a perfect catch, I wouldn't risk my life like this. At most I couldn't drink water for an afternoon. It's not like I'd die of thirst."
"I wouldn't die of thirst." Yu Sui lowered his head to continue playing on his phone. "But I could die from your jealousy. Let me also clarify—that down jacket was really bought for Shi Luo. Before we came, I told him it was colder here than in Shanghai and he should buy a long down jacket. But Shi Luo thought this one was too big and thick, and it wouldn't look good worn. He didn't want it... So I bought it myself, knowing he'd need it when he came..."
"Don't say another word, don't say another word." Chen Huo couldn't take it anymore, feeling浑身 sour. "Leave a path for the two single people on the team, okay? I really don't want to know about your intimate moments, really!"
"Puppy's curious, though." Yu Sui dropped the act. "He uses our stuff as streaming topics every day. I thought he wanted to hear about it."
Puppy gritted his teeth, wanting to find a cushion to throw at Yu Sui. Unfortunately, at that moment Shi Luo came out of the shower, changed into clothes, and arrived at the training room. Puppy hastily pulled back his hands, quickly returning to his computer station, pretending nothing happened.
Shi Luo never knew that just because he liked arriving at the training room at the perfect time every day, it gave Puppy so much room to work with and contributed so much traffic to Puppy's livestream.
It was only before resting for the night that Shi Luo browsed Weibo and inexplicably received a bunch of nonsensical fan comments: "[Shi Zi, I'm also afraid of drinking cold water too. Can you hide warm water in your arms for me?]"
Shi Luo turned to ask the other person in his room. "How did fans find out about me hiding warm water for you?"
"No idea." Yu Sui stood by the desk lamp, frowning as he carefully read the burn ointment instructions he'd asked the hotel staff to buy for him. The instructions were in English and German. Yu Sui had read both versions thoroughly before feeling reassured. He turned with the medicine in hand, walking to Shi Luo's side, and handed the ointment to Shi Luo. "Apply this."
Shi Luo didn't take it. Helplessly he said, "It's already healed... There's no burn at all. I'm not applying it."
Yu Sui lowered his gaze to look at Shi Luo. After a moment, he nodded and unscrewed the medicine himself. "I'll do it. You won't need to undress yourself, won't need to touch the medicine, won't need to put your clothes back on yourself after applying it, and it won't even interrupt your phone use. Will you apply it or not?"
Shi Luo: "..."
Three seconds later, Shi Luo turned his face to one side, his voice a bit unnatural. "Apply it."
Yu Sui smiled faintly, rolled up his sweatshirt sleeves, and sat beside Shi Luo. While unbuttoning Shi Luo's pajamas one by one, he spoke softly, "...You like me touching you?"
Shi Luo didn't speak.
Of course he liked it.
After arriving in Germany, the schedule was tight every day. Either training or squeezing in time for reviews. At the busiest times, the two of them might not have a single private conversation all day.
This wonderful, handsome Mr. Yu wandering around right beside him every day, yet forced to interact as teammates... absolutely torturous.
Worlds was fun, but being alone with Yu Sui was nice too.
Shi Luo leaned against two pillows at the head of the bed, lowering his eyes to watch Yu Sui slowly undo his pajamas.
He watched Yu Sui squeeze some ointment into his own palm, rubbing both hands together to warm the ointment in his palm.
Yu Sui's hands were very nice to look at—long fingers, well-defined joints.
Yu Sui gently pressed his hand against Shi Luo's chest and stomach. Shi Luo couldn't help but flinch slightly.
Then he heard Yu Sui laugh softly.
Shi Luo closed his eyes. "Do whatever... just do it casually."
Yu Sui ignored Shi Luo, carefully and meticulously applying the ointment according to the instructions, then slowly and methodically helped Shi Luo button up his pajamas again. "There. Once in the morning and once at night. I'll do it again when you wake up tomorrow."
"No need." Shi Luo took the ointment, blushing as he honestly said, "I'll do it myself tomorrow. In the morning... I can't handle you like this."
...
That night the two of them rested in the same room. The next day was Group B's advancement matches. The team only cared about the advancement results, not the process, and had no time to watch the matches.
Free had specially set aside an entire day to play a full day of practice matches with NSN.
The day after was Group C's advancement matches. NSN urgently needed a high-level team to practice against to improve their feel. Yu Sui and the others didn't say much—they'd agreed days ago, providing NSN with a full day as their practice partners.
During breaks in the training matches, both teams connected via voice chat. Wa Wa thanked Yu Sui repeatedly after listening to him explain the problems. Shi Luo also checked the practice match videos and gave Wa Wa some advice.
Wa Wa was feeling a lot of pressure. He couldn't bring himself to say it to Yu Sui, but after chatting with Shi Luo for a bit, he let everything spill out. "Shi Shen... Wow, I'm under so much pressure! It's everyone's first time at Worlds. How are you so calm?! I watched your interview video, oh my god... Comparing people really kills you. I don't deserve to be alive."
Wa Wa was genuinely a bit nervous. "If we get eliminated in the group stage, I really... even if I retired in shame, I don't think fans would forgive me."
"It's not that bad." Shi Luo frowned. "There are more strong teams in your group. There's no helping that. But... I think you'll advance fine."
"It's not the group draw's fault, I'm just useless." Wa Wa was freaking out. "That round where we dropped points was my problem. Comparing myself to the enemy medic, I'm totally useless... After that match I really wanted to find somewhere to crawl into and never come out. Why are you all so mentally stable—you're not human..."
Shi Luo was silent for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Huo. "Do you want to comfort him? You also have relatively more mistakes..."
Chen Huo gave Shi Luo a sharp glare, then went to get water. Shi Luo had no choice but to adjust his headset, saying softly, "Relax. Trust me. You'll advance fine."
"I don't know if you've noticed a problem." Wa Wa said bitterly. "In two days, once the group stage ends, the same-region protection mechanism will end. You... Do you know what I'm trying to say?"
Shi Luo froze, understanding what Wa Wa meant.
During group stage draws, when encountering teams from the same region, the other team would be moved to the next group. According to competition rules, there would be no internal matchups.
But this only applied during the group stage.
Once the group stage ended, the rules changed. The draw would become a mechanism ensuring the top-ranked teams from each group wouldn't face each other.
That North American powerhouse in Group C hadn't dropped a single point yet. Even if NSN could advance, they would most likely advance as second place in their group.
Meaning, in the quarterfinals, there was a very high chance Free and NSN would face each other.
Shi Luo took a light breath.
If given the choice, no one wanted an internal matchup.
Whether they won or lost, one team from the Chinese region would be eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Wa Wa kept wailing. "What if I meet you guys in the quarterfinals—Shi Shen, comfort me, my mentality is really not good anymore..."
Shi Luo was worst at comforting people. He looked sideways at the other people in the training room. Chen Huo shrugged. After struggling for a while, he said, "Just take the quarterfinal draw thing easy. You... might not even advance, so you wouldn't need to worry about the draw."
Shi Luo: "..."
Wa Wa choked.
Yu Sui slapped Chen Huo on the head with his mousepad. After thinking, he said, "Don't worry. You'll definitely advance. Even if you're second place... you won't necessarily meet us. Take it easy. You're more likely to face Holy Sword."
Wa Wa screamed. "Losing to Holy Sword is worse than losing to you!! If I lose to you, at least I can send you to the semifinals! Losing to Holy Sword—the trolls will tear me apart..."
Gu Qian's voice came through Wa Wa's mic: "Are you crazy, looking for comfort from those heartless Free jerks?"
Puppy laughed so hard he banged on the table.
Shi Luo was helpless. Giving up on seeking help from his teammates, he comforted Wa Wa himself. "Dying either way, what are you afraid of?"
Wa Wa broke down. "I don't want to die!!"
"Then don't lose." Shi Luo's tone grew a bit more serious. "Get your spirits up tomorrow. Win, keep winning, keep winning and you won't die. I already said something big yesterday, so my pressure isn't small either. What can we do? Just win."
"We're both rookies. Losing costs us nothing, winning is a huge gain. Stop thinking about what happens after you lose."
"I really don't think you're weaker than any medic in Group C. Just win. Tomorrow secure second place, fight for first. Advance as first place, then we'll see each other in the semifinals or finals. If you really advance as second place..."
Shi Luo paused, then smiled. "Then you got the good deal. You get to face Holy Sword early."
"Kill Holy Sword in the quarterfinals before we do. Doesn't that feel great?"