SITS CH45

Chapter 45: I Like Tall Guys

The weather truly hadn’t been cooperating these past few days. Snow had been falling without pause, blizzard warnings flashing across every forecast. Watching the drifts pile up layer by layer until they reached mid-calf, one’s teeth began to ache from the mere sight of it.

Match day brought little improvement. Xu Zhouye headed out just after eight in the morning. Peeking outside before leaving, dark, oppressive clouds blanketed the sky; the snow that had fallen all night showed no sign of stopping. He didn’t wake Shen Man, washing up quietly before heading out. Today’s arena was somewhat farther away, and with cabs scarce in the heavy snow, the commute would take over half an hour.

The tournament began at eleven. Around nine, spectators trickled into the venue.

Zhang Yu was a college student who, after successfully snagging an All-Star ticket, skipped class and traveled over a thousand kilometers specifically for the event. His seat was on the arena floor and hadn’t come cheap; after searching for a while, he finally located his spot and carefully sat down.

Seated beside him was a rather peculiar figure. Bundled up with a mask, beanie, sunglasses, and scarf, the person was armed to the teeth, without a single sliver of their face visible. Although indoor, the venue lacked heating, leaving attendees stomping their feet against the biting chill. Glancing at the person, Zhang Yu struck up a conversation: “Bro, here for the matches too?”

The person let out a muffled, noncommittal hum.

Naturally extroverted, Zhang Yu was the quintessential friendly chatterbox. Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he bantered away: “It’s freezing today. If it weren’t for the matches, I wouldn’t have bothered leaving bed. Which player do you like?”

The person shook their head, remaining silent.

Zhang Yu said, “I love ACE the most—both SLOW and FEST. It’s a shame SLOW didn’t come; if he were here, today’s All-Stars would definitely be way more thrilling…” He possessed an inexhaustible supply of words, chattering endlessly until the players finally took the stage, only then reluctantly shutting his mouth.

Beside him, the bundled figure’s head was already buzzing from the sheer barrage of noise.

Indeed, this person was none other than Shen Man, who was supposed to be curled up in the warm bed back at the homestay. He had no idea how he had managed to brave the blizzard and walk all the way to the arena. Having lived in the south his entire life and rarely seeing snow, sub-zero temperatures were utterly beyond his comprehension. The moment he stepped outside, he stood frozen in the swirling snow for a solid thirty seconds, his cold-stung brain holding only a single thought: How on earth can weather be this freezing?

His phone battery had drained at roughly the same rate as the HP bar over his head… Shen Man didn’t even know how he had endured until reaching the venue. Having finally sat down and barely caught his breath, a chatterbox had planted himself right next to him.

Why were there people capable of spouting this much to a total stranger? For a moment, Shen Man couldn’t distinguish whether the person beside him was more terrifying, or the weather outside.

Just as Shen Man’s patience reached its absolute limit, the matches finally kicked off.

The players walked out, the broadcast cameras lingering on Xu Zhouye’s face.

This was Shen Man’s very first time sitting in the audience watching a match. The sensation felt… remarkably novel.

The arena erupted into synchronized chants of Xu Zhouye’s in-game ID. Wave after wave of “FEST” allowed Shen Man to directly experience the sheer scale of Xu Zhouye’s popularity. Talent in esports was strictly innate; having entered the professional scene for barely six months, the achievements Xu Zhouye had stacked already surpassed what many pro players could accomplish in an entire lifetime.

Once the match began, Shen Man took off his sunglasses.

The All-Star event was quite enjoyable to watch. Without the restrictions of pick-ban, the players locked in whatever they pleased.

“Mad Hound! Mad Hound!!” When it was Xu Zhouye’s turn to draft, the crowd roared in unison for his signature pick.

Perhaps catching the cries from the audience, Xu Zhouye actually locked in Mad Hound.

The crowd erupted in wild cheers.

In an exhibition match, winning or losing carried little weight, making the spectacle far more entertaining than standard competitive play.

The moment players hit level six, the game devolved into absolute chaos. Less than ten minutes in, over a dozen kills had been traded. Setting the outcome aside, the entertainment value was maxed out.

The audience was having a blast, Zhang Yu’s cheering never pausing for a second. Midway through his shouting, he noticed Shen Man sitting completely motionless beside him: “Bro, why aren’t you laughing at all!”

Shen Man: “…” Do you have to manage this too?

Shen Man said, “I’m naturally not someone who likes to smile.”

The voice sounded faintly familiar. Zhang Yu looked at him once, looked at him again, and his eyes suddenly widened: “You… you are…”

Shen Man: “…”

Zhang Yu gasped: “You’re… SLOW?!”

Shen Man: “I am not.”

Zhang Yu: “You definitely are!!”

Shen Man: “Are you going to watch the match or not?”

Zhang Yu gave an obedient “Oh,” holding back for two minutes before failing to resist, leaning in with a shameless grin: “Man-shen, could I get an autograph?”

Shen Man: “If you don’t say a single word to me until the match ends, it’s not entirely out of the question.”

Zhang Yu: “Awesome!”

Shen Man: “?”

Zhang Yu: “Ah, that sentence doesn’t count!”

Shen Man: “…”

Fortunately, Shen Man’s condition was to refrain from speaking to him, rather than demanding complete silence, otherwise Zhang Yu truly might not have managed it.

The game concluded with Xu Zhouye’s Mad Hound securing victory with a massive twenty-kill lead. Shen Man admired him immensely—sitting in the stands, his own hands were too cold to comfortably hold his phone, yet Xu Zhouye was pulling off razor-sharp mechanics and positioning on stage.

The second the match ended, a notebook and pen materialized before Shen Man, accompanied by an eager, pleading face.

Silently, Shen Man signed his ID across the page.

“Aren’t you leaving?” With spectators filtering out of their rows, Zhang Yu asked Shen Man.

“Waiting for someone,” Shen Man said.

“Waiting for Xu Zhouye?” Zhang Yu said. “You two are actually this close…”

Shen Man said, “What else would we be?”

Zhang Yu scratched his head with a sheepish chuckle: “Everyone assumed your relationship wasn’t great.”

Shen Man: “…”

“I’ll take off first then,” Zhang Yu waved.

Shen Man pulled out his phone and dialed Xu Zhouye’s number.

“Hello,” Xu Zhouye’s voice came through. “Ge, what’s up? I just finished, heading back shortly. What are we eating tonight?”

His tone was so natural it gave Shen Man the distinct illusion that he was a cave-dweller nesting at home every day, surviving entirely on the prey Xu Zhouye brought back. Shen Man asked, “Where are you?”

Xu Zhouye said, “Just stepped off stage. What’s wrong?”

Shen Man walked toward the backstage tunnel. Crowds swarmed everywhere, and security didn’t stop him. The moment he reached the hallway, he spotted Xu Zhouye standing there with a phone pressed to his ear, babbling, “Hello? Hello? Ge, why aren’t you answering?”

Hanging up the call, Shen Man walked up to him: “Idiot.”

Xu Zhouye froze for several seconds, followed by delighted surprise: “Ge, you came to watch my match?”

Shen Man said, “The ticket wasn’t cheap. Wasting it would be a shame.”

Xu Zhouye didn’t believe that excuse for a second. Shen Man hadn’t even given away all of his World Championship passes, let alone an exhibition match.

For Shen Man to step outside in this atrocious weather just to watch him play made him genuinely happy.

“Then how about we eat out tonight?” Xu Zhouye suggested. “There seems to be a solid instant-boiled mutton spot nearby…”

“Sure,” Shen Man agreed.

The two walked out together. While waiting for a ride by the entrance, they ran into Qin Yixing, who had lost his match.

Even though Shen Man was wrapped up tightly, Qin Yixing recognized him at a single glance. With both Shen Man and Xu Zhouye standing over 1.8 meters tall, their silhouettes stood out conspicuously in any crowd.

“Shen Man,” Qin Yixing called out.

Shen Man turned his head, spotting Qin Yixing. Right now he only wore a mask, his eyes exposed to the air. The snowfall had lightened somewhat but continued to drift down; standing not far off, Qin Yixing watched a stray snowflake swirl onto Shen Man’s long eyelashes. Shen Man blinked, and the snowflake melted softly into his gaze.

It was a breathtaking sight. Qin Yixing’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly: “Why are you here?”

Shen Man looked at Qin Yixing expressionlessly, not quite understanding why he was asking. Whether he watched the matches or not had nothing to do with him; they certainly weren’t close enough to exchange casual pleasantries.

Holding that thought, Shen Man offered no reply.

“How’s your hand?” Qin Yixing didn’t mind the silence. During his time at ACE, he had long grown accustomed to Shen Man’s languid detachment; after all, Shen Man treated everyone that way. Former teammates had even joked that before Shen Man, all men were equal.

With the person standing right in front of him, remaining entirely silent felt excessively awkward. Shen Man said, “Decent.”

Qin Yixing said, “I was worried the whole time, originally wanted to visit you at ACE.”

Shen Man said, “The boss is there.” The underlying implication: You’d better not show your face.

From the second he spotted them, Qin Yixing’s eyes hadn’t drifted from Shen Man for a single moment. That overly forward intensity made Xu Zhouye deeply uncomfortable. He glanced at Qin Yixing, then back at Shen Man.

Shen Man had his hands tucked into his coat pockets, the only visible feature—his eyes—devoid of any emotional warmth, looking less like someone engaged in conversation and more like someone talking to a stone.

Detached to the absolute extreme.

The irritation in Xu Zhouye’s chest softened considerably, the corners of his mouth curving into a subtle smirk.

Qin Yixing caught the shift in Xu Zhouye’s expression. Grinding his back molars, he suppressed the bitterness in his chest, continuing: “You came specifically to watch the matches?”

Shen Man: “…” He was suddenly feeling rather annoyed.

Qin Yixing was undeniably formidable; his jungle prowess was widely recognized across the entire competitive circuit, and across his years in pro play, he had faced virtually no setbacks. Precisely because of this, an unhindered career had bred an arrogant disposition. Unlike Shen Man’s even-handed detachment, Qin Yixing seemed utterly incapable of grasping what rejection meant.

Shen Man wasn’t one to lecture others on life principles. Knowing what Qin Yixing was fishing for, he nodded: “Yes. I came to watch the matches.”

Qin Yixing parted his lips, but before the words could spill out, Shen Man’s hand abruptly slipped from his pocket. With an unyielding, deliberate motion, he took hold of Xu Zhouye’s hand beside him.

Not a casual clasp between friends, but with their fingers tightly interlocked—

Shen Man turned to look at Xu Zhouye. That frosty gaze melted like winter snow into the radiant warmth of mid-spring, his voice dipping into gentle sweetness: “To watch him play.”

This image and these words struck Qin Yixing like a bolt from the blue. His eyes widened in absolute shock, staring at their clasped hands as if he had seen a ghost. After a long silence, he choked out in a daze: “You… you’re together with him?”

Shen Man didn’t answer.

“He can,” Qin Yixing demanded, “so why can’t I?”

Shen Man pondered for a second, answering with complete earnestness: “I like tall guys.”

Qin Yixing: “…”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

The ride-share they called arrived right on time. Shen Man offered Qin Yixing a casual wave, pulling Xu Zhouye into the vehicle with him.

Qin Yixing stood frozen in place, his rigid posture and expression resembling a petrified stone statue. Watching the car carrying Shen Man and Xu Zhouye vanish completely down the road, he finally squeezed out a venomous line through gritted teeth: “Shen Man, you fucking—” Like hell he believed Shen Man’s bullshit reason!!

Inside the car, Xu Zhouye laughed his head off: “Ge, that was amazing! You stunned him so badly he couldn’t even speak!”

Shen Man said, “Mm…”

Xu Zhouye asked, “Why aren’t you happy?”

Shen Man glanced at Xu Zhouye, wanting to say I wasn’t teasing him, but catching Xu Zhouye’s brilliant, beaming face, he swallowed the words back down.

Twenty-one-year-old Shen Man had never been in love, but before meeting Xu Zhouye, he believed he could clearly distinguish between friendship and romance. Yet Xu Zhouye’s presence had blurred that boundary into something ambiguous and soft.

Shen Man disliked physical contact, yet holding Xu Zhouye’s hand and feeling that scorching palm, neither his body nor his mind harbored a shred of revulsion.

No; it went beyond lack of revulsion—there was even a faint trace of attachment.

An attachment to that burning warmth, and that firm, reciprocal grip.

When had this shift truly begun? Was it Xu Zhouye bringing him late-night snacks every day? Was it Xu Zhouye watching over him to take his medicine? Was it Xu Zhouye guiding him to the hospital in a foreign land, or Xu Zhouye sitting beside him, chatting enthusiastically with Lu Ni…?

There was no definitive answer. In short, the change had surfaced in some quiet, imperceptible moment, leaving Shen Man completely caught off guard when he finally realized it.

And what were Xu Zhouye’s feelings toward him? Pure reverence for a senior? Or perhaps… Resting his chin on his palm, Shen Man gazed at the snowy scenery outside the window, feeling a quiet pang of vexation.

In the dead of winter, enjoying a piping-hot meal of instant-boiled mutton was a bliss beyond words.

The restaurant’s heating was dialed up high, allowing Shen Man and Xu Zhouye to sit comfortably in just their light jackets.

The razor-thin mutton was exceptionally fresh, clinging firmly to the tilted plates. Unlike the culinary style back home, instant-boiled mutton here was simply swirled in clear water broth before being coated in rich, fragrant sesame paste, celebrating the meat’s natural, unadulterated flavor.

Though not spicy, Shen Man liked it quite a bit.

They hadn’t eaten for long before fans recognized them again, signing autographs three or four times in succession. Xu Zhouye muttered under his breath, regretting not booking a private dining room.

Sniffling slightly, Shen Man said, “It’s fine.”

Noticing his pleasant mood, Xu Zhouye smiled: “Knew you’d like this. There are a few other great local spots; once the weather clears, should we check them out?”

Shen Man said, “Sure. How are you spending Spring Festival?”

With the All-Star event wrapping up right after New Year’s Day, the Spring Festival arrived early this year, landing in late January.

“Probably head back to my hometown,” Xu Zhouye chewed on a slice of mutton. “Ge, what about you?”

Shen Man said, “Might head back for a few days too.”

Xu Zhouye looked pensive.

“How are contract talks with the boss going?” Shen Man asked a sensitive question.

In truth, having secured the World Championship, Shen Man didn’t need to ask to know countless clubs had reached out to Xu Zhouye. Thanks to their cost-cutting coach, Xu Zhouye’s buyout fee was certainly not exorbitant, well within the budget of rival club owners. For the past two months of the transfer window, everyone’s hearts had been in their throats; only as the window neared its close with Xu Zhouye showing no intention of departing did the team finally relax.

“Pretty good,” Xu Zhouye said. “Signing right after we get back from the tournament. You’re only asking now, ge—you weren’t genuinely worried I’d leave, were you?”

Shen Man said, “Free to come and go.”

Xu Zhouye fixed his gaze on Shen Man: “For real?”

Shen Man’s chopsticks paused. He let out a light laugh, scoffing: “Bullshit. Of course it’s fake. If you dared leave, I’d have Zhao Rui create a hundred alt accounts to curse you out online.”

Xu Zhouye burst into uproarious laughter.