SITS CH24

Chapter 24: Slowly

Having won the match, everyone indulged wholeheartedly in the euphoria of victory.

The manager didn’t hold anyone back tonight, letting everyone cut loose. After dinner, he booked a private KTV lounge, ready for round two.

Shen Man usually didn’t care for KTV, but with everyone in such high spirits, he tagged along so as not to spoil the mood.

“Initial heartfelt conversations reduced to mundane dullness, straining eyes in vain, unable to wait for your goodnight~” Zhao Rui was a quintessential mic hog; the moment he stepped into the room, he queued up eighteen songs and belted out three in a row before reluctantly letting go of the microphone.

Fortunately, his singing wasn’t half bad, spared from assaulting anyone’s eardrums.

Shen Man had drunk quite a bit tonight. Right now, he sat quietly in the corner, playing on his phone and picking at the fruit platter.

Xu Zhouye asked why he wasn’t singing.

“Tone-deaf,” Shen Man admitted candidly. “My singing sounds awful.”

Xu Zhouye couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Shen Man lifted his glass and took a sip of alcohol. They had ordered several more cases, drinking it like water.

“Aren’t you going up to sing?” Shen Man figured that with Xu Zhouye’s personality, he would fit right in.

Xu Zhouye smiled, “I queued one up, hasn’t reached my turn yet.”

A few songs later, an eye-catching title suddenly flashed onto the screen: Slowly (Manman).

Shen Man: “?”

Zhao Rui jumped in shock, instantly throwing both hands out to proclaim his innocence: “Hey, hey, hey, I didn’t pick that!”

Xu Zhouye beamed, “I did.”

He picked up the microphone and began humming along to the rhythm.

“Slowly, slowly feeling nothing; slowly, slowly I’m neglected~” Xu Zhouye’s voice carried a clear, youthful brightness, rendering the soulful love ballad extraordinarily pleasant to the ear. Half-seated before the standing microphone, he gazed tenderly at the big screen, as gentle as an earnest suitor who had just been rejected by his crush. “Slowly, slowly my heart turns to iron; slowly, slowly I’m turned away~” Reaching this line, he abruptly turned his head to look at Shen Man, eyes brimming with laughter and a hint of playful mischief.

Shen Man was suddenly struck with the distinct feeling that he was being openly flirted with.

Beside them, Zhao Rui began clapping, exclaiming that in all these years, he had never once thought to sing this song in front of Shen Man.

Shen Man gave a hollow smile: “Found a new club for next season?”

Tears welled in Zhao Rui’s eyes: “I clearly came first, so why did you give all your gentleness to Xu Zhouye?”

Shen Man said faintly, “You’ll have to ask the manager who pays his salary.”

Recalling Xu Zhouye’s signing fee, Zhao Rui decided it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Evidently, only Xu Zhouye—who could jump ship and leave at any moment—dared to deliver such a soulful rendition of Slowly right to Shen Man’s face. Listening to Xu Zhouye finish the song, though Shen Man remained expressionless, he felt his ears burning slightly. Tugging at the collar of his T-shirt, he stood up: “Stepping out for a smoke.”

The moment Xu Zhouye finished singing, he watched Shen Man walk out. Feeling a bit flustered, he asked, “I was just joking, ge wouldn’t actually be mad, right?”

Zhao Rui patted his shoulder, saying earnestly, “No way. At your current price point, nobody in the base dares get mad at you.”

Xu Zhouye: “…” Zhao Rui, you really are something.

Shen Man truly wasn’t angry; he just felt his cheeks burning terribly. He didn’t end up smoking either, turning into the restroom instead to splash cold water over his face.

He had probably drunk too much. Wiping the water from his skin, Shen Man thought to himself that he was indeed a bit tipsy.

Singing well into the early morning hours, everyone finally headed back satisfied.

Liu Shishi and Zhao Rui were dead drunk, hauled and dragged back by the manager and Xu Xiaochong, one per person.

Shen Man and Xu Zhouye trailed behind.

At three in the morning, the breeze carried the muggy scent of summer.

With his hands tucked into his pockets, Xu Zhouye hummed softly under his breath—the very melody of Slowly.

Shen Man, who had been walking beside him, suddenly halted. Looking sideways at Xu Zhouye, he murmured, “Did you do that on purpose?”

Startled, Xu Zhouye quickly turned to look at him.

Shen Man hadn’t sung all night, sitting in the corner drinking and eating, making it hard to gauge just how much alcohol he had consumed. Yet judging by his eyes alone, the usual cool clarity was gone, veiled in a misty, dewy haze. Alcohol tended to flush his skin; wide patches of red stained his cheeks and neck, and even the rims of his ears were tinged pink…

Xu Zhouye felt his throat run dry, involuntarily licking his lips.

“Xu Zhouye, did you do it on purpose?” Shen Man stood right before him, leaning closer and closer, fixing his gaze on Xu Zhouye’s eyes, stubbornly seeking an answer.

Xu Zhouye said nothing.

“Hm? Not speaking?” Seeing no reply, Shen Man closed the distance even further, until their faces were nearly touching.

The proximity brought their breaths into overlapping warmth. Xu Zhouye’s entire body froze, not daring to twitch a muscle. Shen Man’s nose was practically brushing against his own; he could distinctly see the faint, delicate down on Shen Man’s cheeks and the small mole nestled just beneath his eye.

Shen Man kept those pitch-black eyes wide open like a headstrong child, fluttering his long eyelashes like butterfly wings, threatening to fan Xu Zhouye’s very soul straight out of his body.

“Feeling guilty?” Still speaking, the warm air he exhaled fluttered softly against Xu Zhouye’s lips. Shen Man said, “Why aren’t you answering?”

It was too close. Xu Zhouye felt the warm tip of Shen Man’s nose lightly bump against his own. Dazed and intoxicated by the sensation, he used every ounce of willpower just to squeeze a low “Mm” from his throat.

Shen Man wasn’t satisfied, frowning: “Why is your voice so quiet!” His expression turned abruptly stern as both hands reached out to grip Xu Zhouye’s arms.

Xu Zhouye’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, calling out softly: “Ge.”

Shen Man said, “I want to…”

Looking at Shen Man’s breathtakingly beautiful face, Xu Zhouye’s heart hammered violently, feeling as though it were about to burst straight from his chest—

Shen Man closed his eyes, murmuring: “Xu Zhouye, I want to…”

Gazing at his flushed lips, Xu Zhouye tilted his head slightly, just about to lean in…

Shen Man parted his thin lips, finally letting out the rest of the sentence: “I want to puke.”

Xu Zhouye: “?”

Shen Man released him, spun around, and bolted at breakneck speed straight toward a nearby trash can.

Xu Zhouye’s head remained tilted, his posture and expression utterly frozen in place like a freshly stiffened corpse.

Shen Man: “Bleuugggh—“

Thrown up along with the food was Xu Zhouye’s thoroughly shattered heart.

After throwing up, Shen Man felt vastly better and considerably more sober. Wiping his mouth, he noticed Xu Zhouye still standing frozen in place. Realizing he had indeed been rather drunk earlier, he said sheepishly, “Drank too much. My bad.”

Xu Zhouye’s expression was difficult to discern in the dark, but Shen Man distinctly caught a strained, hollow tone in his voice: “It’s fine, Captain. Drink less next time.”

Shen Man: “? Why are you unhappy?”

Xu Zhouye said, “I’m not. I’m not unhappy. I’m just naturally not someone who likes to smile.”

Shen Man: “…” What on earth happened?

The “naturally solemn” Xu Zhouye and the “cheerful” Shen Man returned to the base.

That night, Xu Zhouye tossed and turned, unable to sleep a wink. Every time he closed his eyes, the image of Shen Man’s nose touching his flashed in his mind, along with that demanding, upward gaze… Xu Zhouye drew in a deep, agonizing breath.

Unlike Xu Zhouye’s restless night, Shen Man slept soundly until broad daylight.

Having drunk far too much yesterday, he woke up with a splitting headache. Shen Man curled in bed for quite a while before sluggishly dragging himself upright.

Down in the base, everyone was nursing hangovers. The room was filled with groaning and miserable sighing. Finding it headache-inducing, the coach threw his hands up: “Fine, fine, you get the day off today.”

Cheers erupted on the spot.

Pale-faced, Shen Man sat in the corner massaging his temples. Scanning the room, he didn’t see Xu Zhouye, asking casually, “Where’s Xu Zhouye?”

Zhao Rui said, “No clue, I had amnesia yesterday.”

The coach said, puzzled, “Didn’t you come back with him last night?”

Shen Man: “?”

The coach was flabbergasted: “You don’t remember?”

Shen Man fell silent. He truly didn’t remember clearly; though he could still walk on his own yesterday, he had consumed far too much alcohol, leaving his memory blurry and details hard to piece together. Racking his brain once more, he felt somewhat uncertain: “I didn’t do anything to him, did I?”

The coach asked, “Then where is he?” Xu Zhouye was always the earliest to wake; sometimes before other players even got out of bed, he was already grinding ranked.

Shen Man stood up: “I’ll go check.”

Knocking on the door for a while, a lazy “Who is it?” finally drifted from inside. Hearing his voice, Shen Man relaxed: “It’s me.”

A moment later, the door creaked open.

The instant Shen Man laid eyes on him, he was startled by his appearance.

Standing at the doorway, Xu Zhouye sported wildly disheveled hair and a haggard complexion. Two dark, puffy swim-ring circles hung beneath his bloodshot eyes, looking as though he hadn’t slept a wink all night.

Seeing him like this, Shen Man had to admit to a split-second pang of guilt—ever since Xu Zhouye joined ACE, he seemed to feel inexplicably guilty on a regular basis.

Clearing his throat dryly, Shen Man asked, “Are you… alright?”

Xu Zhouye smiled, “I’m totally fine.”

Shen Man: “…” That smile doesn’t look like ‘fine’ in the slightest, didi.

“Last night, on the walk back…” Shen Man probed tentatively, “did anything happen?”

The probing evidently failed, because the moment the words “last night” were uttered, Xu Zhouye’s face visibly darkened.

Yet he voiced no complaint, merely plastering on a strained smile: “Nope, nothing happened at all.”

Shen Man: “…” He badly wanted to ask if that was genuinely true.

Their eyes met. This time, Shen Man was the first to look away, rubbing his nose as he murmured softly, “Get some good rest, then.”

Xu Zhouye: “…Okay.”

Shen Man left, carrying the bitter remorse of swearing never to drink that much ever again.

Leaning against the doorframe, watching his retreating figure, Xu Zhouye couldn’t help letting out a laugh after all. It was his first time seeing such an expression on Shen Man’s face, which neatly offset the emotional trauma from last night, lightening his mood considerably.

Winning the Summer Championship meant securing a slot in the World Championship.

The World Championship, as the name implied, was the tournament where regions across the globe competed for the supreme honor. It was the single most prestigious tournament in Heart of the Wasteland, bar none. The winning team walked away with a colossal prize pool—the ultimate dream of every professional player in the game.

On ACE, only Shen Man had achieved this honor before.

—Piloting his beloved Belinda the Water Dancer.

The difficulty of the World Championship was on an entirely different plane compared to the domestic league. They had to battle not only top domestic squads, but also apex foreign players. The European and Asian server regions were all fiercely formidable opponents.

However, those were matters for later. Balance was key; at least for the next few days, they could afford to unwind a bit.

Friends from other teams sent congratulations on their championship one after another. Shen Man replied briefly to each before receiving a call from MIN’s captain, Zhang Chaoyun.

“Yo, Man-shen, huge congratulations!” Zhang Chaoyun offered cheery greetings.

“Thanks,” Shen Man said. “What’s up?”

Zhang Chaoyun said, “Well, to celebrate you guys winning the title, our management gave us three days off.”

Shen Man: “?” ACE won the championship and only got two days off, so why does MIN get three?

Before he could voice the thought, Zhang Chaoyun had already guessed it, roaring with laughter. As MIN’s captain, his team’s results this season had drawn enough hate to leave anyone emotionally crippled, but his mental resilience was clearly solid—at least, judging by his hearty laughter, he seemed entirely unaffected.

Zhang Chaoyun said, “Want to hang out? Luo Zhimo booked a hard-to-get immersive escape room…”

Shen Man said, “Not going.”

Zhang Chaoyun eyed him suspiciously through the phone: “You’re not scared, are you?”

Shen Man sneered, “Me, scared of that?”

Zhang Chaoyun said, “If you aren’t scared, then come! Sigh, next season is right around the corner. Once the transfer window closes, who knows how many will even stay on our team. Just wanted to get together while everyone is still around.” He sighed wistfully, “I’m getting up there in age, don’t know how many years I can still play…”

Shen Man: “…Fine then.” Since the guy had put it like that, refusing would seem rather callous.

Zhang Chaoyun was one of the few true friends he had in the scene. When ACE had nearly dismantled back in the day, Zhang Chaoyun had even invited Shen Man to join MIN, though Shen Man had naturally declined.

“What time?” Shen Man asked.

“Tomorrow afternoon around two. Bring whoever’s free from your team,” Zhang Chaoyun said. “I’ll send the address on WeChat.”

Shen Man agreed.

He posted about it in the team WeChat group, asking who wanted to go together. He had assumed everyone would have their own plans, but surprisingly, even the manager wanted to join the commotion:

—I wanna come too

—Have you even finished this year’s physical exam checkup before talking about coming?

—Are you discriminating against me? I just turned forty, in the prime of my youth.

Shen Man thought, Fine, come if you want.

In the end, all five players plus the coach decided to go—a lineup practically identical to their tournament roster.

Shen Man delivered this “unfortunate” news to Zhang Chaoyun.

Zhang Chaoyun laughed merrily, saying that everyone had simply been cooped up for too long and wanted to blow off steam. “Bring ’em on, bring ’em all! The more the merrier!”