SITS CH41

Chapter 41: Hoisting the Trophy

Staring at his phone, Xu Zhouye heard his captain’s feeble voice: “Listen to my explanation.”

Xu Zhouye lifted his gaze toward Shen Man, silently signaling that he had all the time in the world to explain.

Shen Man: “…” Yet Shen Man had no idea how to explain either. Meeting Xu Zhouye’s innocent, bewildered gaze, words felt utterly pale and powerless. He mumbled, “Actually, some people online are just shipping the two of us as a CP…”

Xu Zhouye asked, “What does shipping a CP mean?”

Shen Man: “Fantasizing about the two of us dating…”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Both fell silent simultaneously.

Shen Man decided to give up explaining altogether.

Perhaps reading the sheer self-abandonment written across Shen Man’s face, Xu Zhouye silently handed the phone back to him. Taking it, Shen Man still didn’t dare meet Xu Zhouye’s eyes.

Fortunately, the second scrim game was about to begin over on the other side. Xu Zhouye said, “I’ll head over first, then.”

Shen Man waved his hand weakly, gesturing for him to hurry off.

That night, Xu Zhouye curled up under his blanket and earnestly typed the four characters Man Tian Bian Ye into Weibo’s search bar. His drowsy eyes widened to their limits the moment he clicked into that Super Topic, the spitting image of Shen Man earlier that day.

“Holy shit,” Xu Zhouye muttered, growing increasingly astonished the more he read. If the posts in this Super Topic were true, he and Shen Man had already been together for over a year, despite him only joining ACE six months ago.

Reading on, any trace of sleepiness evaporated completely. His face, illuminated by the screen’s glow, looked like a firefly in the dark night.

Beside him, Shen Man was wide awake as well. Seeing Xu Zhouye tossing and turning, he asked, “What are you looking at?”

Xu Zhouye flinched, struck by the sudden guilt of being caught red-handed. He mumbled vaguely, “Just browsing Weibo.”

Shen Man: “…” The mention of Weibo immediately dragged his mind back to that toe-curlingly awkward incident from earlier.

Whether because Xu Zhouye’s tone sounded rather hollow, Shen Man couldn’t help asking faintly, “You aren’t reading that Super Topic from earlier today, are you?”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Shen Man: “?”

Xu Zhouye: “Uhm…”

Shen Man: “…” Fine, you don’t need to speak, I already know.

“I was just a little curious,” Xu Zhouye said aggrievedly.

Shen Man thought to himself: I understand you, because that’s the exact damn reason I clicked into it too.

The room stayed quiet for a while before Xu Zhouye couldn’t resist piping up: “Hehe, ge, I’m the top.”

Shen Man: “…” It was fine until that was brought up, but the moment it was mentioned, his stomach burned with irritation. He couldn’t help retorting, “Their vision is defective.”

Xu Zhouye: “Hehe.”

Shen Man: “…” Hehe your head.

“Stop reading! Go to sleep!” Shen Man said coldly. “We still have scrims tomorrow.”

Faced with his captain’s embarrassed fury, Xu Zhouye chose to stroke his fur the right way, obediently putting his phone away and going to sleep.

Three days were visibly insufficient for Shen Man’s wound to recover.

When going in to change dressings, Xu Zhouye consulted the doctor again, asking if Shen Man’s current state permitted him to practice. Unsurprisingly, he received a firm negative.

The wound that had nearly healed had torn open once more. This kind of secondary trauma was far more troublesome, carrying a serious risk of muscle atrophy that could compromise the rest of Shen Man’s career.

Xu Zhouye would never allow such a thing to happen.

“Ge, the doctor said you cannot practice, and that you need at least half a month of rest,” Xu Zhouye said. “I’m going to report this to the manager down to the last detail.”

Shen Man remained silent for a long time.

Xu Zhouye looked at Shen Man’s arm. That pale, smooth forearm was now marred by a hideous wound resembling a centipede. Through the broken scabs, raw pink flesh was visible; merely looking at it brought a sharp pang of phantom pain.

Xu Zhouye said, “Ge, don’t just stay silent.”

Shen Man said, “Let’s head back first.”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

The walk back wasn’t long. With pleasant weather today, the two skipped the cab and walked.

Shen Man walked ahead with his hands in his pockets, Xu Zhouye trailing behind him. Neither spoke along the entire journey.

Though Shen Man wore no expression and said little, Xu Zhouye could faintly read a quiet air of dejection from his back.

“Ge, don’t be down,” Xu Zhouye said. “This isn’t your fault.”

Shen Man cast a sidelong glance at him.

“In a situation like this, you are the most miserable victim,” Xu Zhouye said. “Don’t feel guilty…”

Shen Man cut him off: “I was wondering.”

Xu Zhouye: “Hm?”

Shen Man said, “I was wondering whether the five of us will still be the members of ACE this time next year.”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Shen Man turned his head to look at Xu Zhouye: “Will you still be here?”

Xu Zhouye wanted to say of course, but saw Shen Man wave his hand dismissively: “Forget it, you don’t need to answer.”

A flare of anger suddenly rose inside Xu Zhouye. Stopping dead in his tracks, he called out: “Shen Man.”

Not ge, but Shen Man.

Shen Man lifted his eyes, signaling for him to speak.

“You can choose not to believe others, but please believe me,” Xu Zhouye said, enunciating every single syllable. “I came here for you. As long as you are at ACE for a single day, I, Xu Zhouye, will never leave ACE.”

He stared at him, the sheer stubbornness in his gaze feeling almost like physical chains meant to bind the two of them tightly together.

This declaration, sounding almost like a confession of love, left Shen Man somewhat at a loss. He said, “Even if you leave, I won’t blame you.”

Xu Zhouye let out a helpless smile.

Indeed, Shen Man wouldn’t blame him, just as Shen Man had never blamed Qin Yixing.

In Qin Yixing’s eyes, he and Shen Man were the ultimate partners who synergized flawlessly to claim the throne together, bound by a connection nobody else possessed. Yet he never could have imagined that he had never once stepped into Shen Man’s heart; even leaving ACE had been reduced to a trivial matter in Shen Man’s eyes.

Life was long, and parting ways had always been effortless.

Lowering expectations for everything was Shen Man’s secret to remaining calm and detached.

No one would stay for him, and no one had ever left because of him. Shen Man’s world held only Shen Man himself, with never a single spot reserved for anyone else.

Yet was there truly no one? Shen Man looked toward Xu Zhouye.

This eighteen-year-old stood before him with unwavering resolve in his eyes.

Shen Man felt he ought to say something, but in the end, he said nothing at all, gesturing with his hand: “Let’s go.”

Beaming, Xu Zhouye jogged up to follow him.

The coach learned about the condition of Shen Man’s arm from Xu Zhouye. After deliberating for over an hour, the three arrived at a mutual compromise, each stepping back a pace: Shen Man would only play three scrim games per day.

This was Shen Man’s final baseline and concession.

Though worried, Xu Zhouye knew this was the best possible outcome.

Worrying alongside him were ACE’s domestic fans. Many left comments pleading with Shen Man to stop scrimming entirely; after all, Shen Man was only twenty-one, with a long professional path ahead. Compromising his hands and jeopardizing his future career for this was simply not worth the cost.

Faced with these voices, Shen Man chose to stay away from Weibo for the next few days.

A week passed neither too slowly nor too quickly.

The day of the grand finals arrived shortly.

Upon learning that Shen Man would not sit out the finals, tickets sold out like wildfire. According to Zhao Rui’s grapevine intel, front-row seats were being scalped for five figures.

Lu Ni had initially planned on purchasing a ticket, but once Shen Man found out, he gave her a family pass.

The grand finals took place on an open-air circular stage equipped with giant screens. The venue was packed to the brim without an empty seat. Stepping onto the stage, the players heard cheers so colossal they felt like an overwhelming tsunami. Looking out, an endless sea of spectators stretched in every direction. Standing on that stage, they felt tiny yet dazzling, like stars glistening against the night sky.

Sitting down in his chair, Zhao Rui realized his body was trembling faintly. Whether from nerves or sheer excitement, he genuinely couldn’t tell.

“So nervous.” Clearly, Zhao Rui wasn’t the only one trembling. Plugging in his keyboard, Liu Shishi failed several times to find the port, looking rather helpless: “What do I do, Captain?”

Shen Man said nothing. Bending down, he reached over to plug the keyboard in for him and patted his shoulder: “What is there to fear? If we lose, I’ll take the blame.”

Liu Shishi swallowed hard, offering a strained smile: “But I don’t want to lose.”

“I don’t want to either.” Zhao Rui looked toward the dazzling trophy standing in the center of the stage. This was the closest he had ever been to it in his entire life. Reflected in his eyes, it looked like an unreachable dream. “I want to win.”

I want to win. Even unsaid, the five young men seated on the stage shared that exact same conviction in their hearts.

Under holographic projection, the Serpent King soared from the abyss. The theme song composed specifically for the finals echoed in their ears, its stirring melody stoking their fighting spirit to a fever pitch.

Putting on their headsets, every person on that stage indulged fully in the exhilarating rush of burning adrenaline.

Game 1: BP.

BBB had evidently studied ACE closely. They opened by banning Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound first and Tinall the Queen second, granting Xu Zhouye the utmost respect, while saving their third ban for the injured Shen Man.

Seeing this, Zhao Rui muttered, “His hand is hurt like this, and they still target ban his Hero?”

“Are you joking?” Liu Shishi said. “Others might get a pass, but he is SLOW.”

Over on 3B’s side, their reaction was actually similar to Zhao Rui’s. Their Marksman, inner, remarked indifferently, “Is there really a need to ban Belinda? That Hero is the most mouse-intensive, and his hand is in that state.”

Their captain, air, smiled, saying, “We’ll see next game.”

Genius players were inherently proud; none would easily bow to another.

Only when Game 1 ended and inner stared at the “WINNER” banner on his screen did he turn to his captain: “Ban Belinda next game.”

air burst into laughter: “What’s wrong? Shook?”

inner remained stubborn: “No such thing.”

Watching ACE drop the game, the caster sighed, “What a pity, truly such a pity. Such a magnificent game. If only SLOW’s hand weren’t injured…”

If SLOW hadn’t been injured, the outcome might very well have been rewritten.

Yet even so, Shen Man had delivered an astonishingly steady performance through the pain. The agony in his right arm left zero trace in his gameplay. He and Zhao Rui’s bot lane duo didn’t yield an inch against 3B’s prodigy Marksman inner, both squads trading blows back and forth until the game was decided in the Baron pit.

A gorgeous contest, a visual feast for the spectators.

It was only a shame that ACE fell slightly short.

Finishing Game 1, the initial tension evaporated completely, replaced by a much lighter atmosphere.

Xu Xiaochong apologized with a bitter laugh; had he not made an error near the Baron pit, BBB wouldn’t have found the opening.

“Don’t panic,” Shen Man took a sip of water. “Not time to assign blame yet.”

Xu Xiaochong scratched his head.

Indeed, while everyone had worried about Shen Man’s form, Shen Man had held firm, while the Mage lane suffered a slip.

3B’s Mid Laner was no walk in the park either, solo-killing Xu Xiaochong twice and virtually shattering his laning phase. Fortunately, Xu Zhouye and Shen Man coordinated with seamless synergy, trading evenly with 3B during their bot lane power spikes. While they didn’t take the win, it was far from an ugly defeat.

“Heads up,” Shen Man remained remarkably calm after dropping the first game, encouraging his teammates, “Win or lose, let the audience remember this clash at the summit.”

Seated in the audience, Lu Ni watched the giant screen with bated breath.

What Shen Man didn’t know was that ever since he entered the professional scene, she hadn’t missed a single one of his matches.

From group stages to playoffs and finals, down to All-Star events and exhibition games, Lu Ni had recorded every single broadcast. She kept a hard drive named after Shen Man, filled entirely with his journey.

Yet this was her very first time watching him compete in an offline arena.

Unlike sitting in front of a television, she was surrounded on all sides by passionate fans from various countries, cheering, screaming, and applauding every brilliant outplay, sweeping Lu Ni up in the collective roar.

On the massive screen overhead, Shen Man maneuvered his Hero to Flash forward with a basic attack, securing First Blood.

A thunderous cheer erupted across the venue.

Lu Ni widened her eyes as Shen Man’s face appeared on the big screen. The broadcast observer seemed particularly fond of his striking face, capturing every subtle, vivid shift in his expression.

First Blood, triple kill, breaching the high ground, taking down the Nexus.

Shen Man’s face flashed across the screen countless times alongside the roaring cheers of his fans. Unbeknownst to herself, Lu Ni’s eyes welled with warm tears.

To her, Shen Man was both familiar and distant. They were meant to be the closest two people in the world, yet now interacted with the polite distance of neighbors crossing paths on a stroll, greeting each other with nothing more than a simple nod.

3B was formidable, and ACE bolstered by Xu Zhouye was equally fierce. The sparks struck between the two powerhouses set the entire arena ablaze.

The score moved from 1-1 to 2-2, straight into the decider game.

Everyone yearned for victory, yet the kiss of the goddess of victory would grace the brow of only one champion.

Shen Man played brilliantly. Even carrying an arm injury, his mechanics were beyond reproach.

Oppressive laning presence, microscopic positioning adjustments, and the execution of every ability displayed skill far beyond the ordinary.

Yet only the teammates seated beside him knew the toll it took to pull off these plays.

A pale face, beads of cold sweat dotting his forehead, a faintly trembling body: Shen Man sat there like an exquisite statue gradually buried beneath wind and snow.

Every single mechanical input was a snowflake drifting softly onto his hair and shoulders.

Yet snowflakes carried weight as well.

One flake, then another, and another.

Gradually piling high, threatening to crush his slender frame.

To endure the pain, Shen Man spoke very little during the final game, leaving nearly all shot-calling to Xu Zhouye.

Level three bot gank, level six fire pool, the first major teamfight erupting at sixteen minutes; by twenty-five minutes, amidst mutual probing, the decisive war was on the brink of ignition.

The full-strength 3B displayed power for all to see, terrifyingly strong. Yet ACE refused to yield a single inch, several fresh faces stepping onto the finals stage for the very first time managing to withstand the colossal pressure.

The caster roared with stirring passion, practically moved to tears: “Peak-tier kiting!”

In that single teamfight, all ten players dropped to critical health, yet not a single one died; every player delivered the absolute pinnacle of their mechanical limits.

“Brilliant, absolutely brilliant,” Caster 2 agreed whole-heartedly. “This single sequence of mechanics alone was worth the entire price of admission!”

“Both squads are evenly matched,” Caster 1 said. “It all comes down to the Baron fight. zoop has completely cleared out the vision, ACE must contest this teamfight!”

Being from the domestic broadcast, the Chinese casters naturally leaned toward ACE, holding their breath as they stared tensely at the screen.

“Oh no! The Mid Laner got caught!” the caster gasped. “Moon Spirit was deleted in a split second!”

In a teamfight, every step of positioning dictated life and death. That tiny misstep from their Mid Laner was seized upon by 3B, bursting him down instantly.

Losing their Mid Laner, ACE was immediately plunged into a massive disadvantage. 3B gave chase without hesitation. Over the comms, Xu Zhouye yelled, “I can CC their Marksman, can we fight?”

“We can fight,” Shen Man’s voice was very low, yet rock-steady. “Can you lock him down?”

No verbal reply came; mechanical execution provided the answer. Xu Zhouye’s Horn Mountain hurled out his ultimate with pinpoint precision, snaring the enemy Marksman in place. Shen Man showed zero hesitation, as though they had rehearsed this combo ten thousand times: matching Xu Zhouye’s tempo seamlessly, his rotation of abilities vaporized the opposing Marksman in an instant.

Just then, a fiery red beam ripped across the rift, aiming straight for Shen Man’s neck. Shen Man moved to sidestep, but a violent spasm of agony tore through his arm. The pain struck so abruptly that it practically robbed him of breath. His vision darkened, gasping raggedly as his heart plunged straight to the depths.

It was over. Getting struck by this ability meant at least two seconds of hard lockdown, more than enough to kill his squishy Hero ten thousand times over.

“Blocked it!” Xu Zhouye’s voice cut through the haze. Snapping out of his dizziness, Shen Man saw on his screen that Xu Zhouye’s Hero had materialized before him like a miracle, body-blocking that lethal projectile on his behalf.

“Blocked it!” The eighteen-year-old shouted over the headset. Staring at his screen, points of light pooled within his eyes, turning into brilliant starlight as he called out, “Ge!”

Those few fleeting seconds felt agonizingly long. The rush of adrenaline miraculously washed away the throbbing in his arm. Beyond the monitor before him, Shen Man could see and hear nothing else. He seemed to have fully merged with the Hero fighting for his life in the game, effortlessly dodging every fatal skill thrown his way.

Slide, twist, pivot: transforming into his beloved dancer upon the ice, performing a dance reserved solely for victory upon the razor’s edge of blades.

Every single step was accompanied by sharp pain, yet that pain became a thorny invitation beckoning him to ascend the throne.

Answering the call, Shen Man would never let his team’s hopes fall to dust. Drawing blood with every strike, the Grim Reaper harvesting life descended upon the mortal realm once more, piloting positioning that belonged only to the gods.

Watching the teamfight unfold through a black-and-white death screen, Xu Zhouye touched his arm when it finally concluded, discovering goosebumps rippling across his skin from Shen Man’s mechanics.

“Push to end! Push to end!!”

“Hit the towers, hit the towers!”

Over the comms came the choked, weeping shouts of his teammates.

Shen Man made no sound, maneuvering his Hero slowly as if drained of all strength.

Looking over, Xu Zhouye realized the hand Shen Man used to hold his mouse was trembling violently, to the point where he could barely control his character. He asked softly if Shen Man was okay, but his voice was drowned out by the roaring cheers of those around them.

“Ge,” Xu Zhouye gripped Shen Man’s arm, raising his voice, “how are you?”

Only then did Shen Man turn his head, a faint smile gracing his pale face: “I’m fine.”

Having won, everything was fine.

From the high ground down to the two Nexus turrets.

Barely a minute passed, yet it felt like an entire century.

The moment the Nexus’s final sliver of health was chipped away, every member of ACE slumped back into their chairs, practically unable to stand. The glowing word VICTORY before their eyes was so dazzling, like a once unreachable dream.

Yet now, they held that dream firmly in their grasp.

Beneath the stage, a tidal wave of deafening cheers rolled endlessly.

The casters roared with raw passion: “SLOW aced them! Aced them all! ACE trades two for five!!”

“We won! We won! We won!” Caster 2 shouted. “Hoisting the trophy again after three long years!”

“With that injured hand, SLOW helped ACE claim their second World Championship trophy!” Caster 1 proclaimed.

“Let us congratulate ACE!!”

A dense sea of comments completely obscured the live stream screen.

[Congratulations ACE]

This sentence had arrived three years late, but it had finally arrived.

The cameras panned across the ACE roster, capturing every expression from their captain, Shen Man, down to each individual player.

Zhao Rui couldn’t hold back in the end, weeping the moment they won and trying to pull Shen Man into a hug, only to have his arms intercepted by Xu Zhouye.

Xu Zhouye stared at him, and he stared at Xu Zhouye, their eyes locked in silent dialogue: Why are you blocking me?

Xu Zhouye: The Captain’s hand is hurt, go bother someone else.

Wiping his nose with his sleeve, Zhao Rui turned his tearful gaze toward Liu Shishi, who was trembling with excitement beside him.

The very next second, Liu Shishi’s tragic wail pierced the air: “Fuck you Zhao Rui, don’t wipe your snot on me!”