SITS CH47

Chapter 47: The Best Gift

Only after New Year’s Day did Shen Man and Xu Zhouye return to ACE.

“Yo, so you still remember to come back,” Zhao Rui said sarcastically. “Wonder if you even hold this home in your heart anymore.”

Shen Man shot him a sidelong glance.

Zhao Rui said, “Still glaring at me! Shen Man, you have no heart!”

Shen Man: “Weren’t you supposed to go traveling with your girlfriend?”

Zhao Rui said, “Right, right! Shen-ge, when are you going to reimburse me?”

Shen Man said, “Whenever you talk less nonsense.”

Shen Man had previously promised to treat his teammates to a trip if they won the World Championship, but his idea of a vacation differed somewhat from what his teammates had envisioned. His teammates had assumed all of ACE would travel together, whereas Shen Man meant: go wherever you want on your own, and just send him the bills for reimbursement.

Naturally, all rights of final interpretation belonged to the organizer. In the end, everyone returned to their own homes and their own mothers; the mere thought of traveling together as an entire group made Shen Man’s scalp tingle.

“Bought your plane tickets home yet?” Shen Man felt he was actually quite attentive to his teammates.

Zhao Rui burst his bubble, saying, “Captain, have you noticed something?”

Shen Man asked what.

“You only ever care if we bought our tickets when leaving, never once asking if we bought tickets when returning,” Zhao Rui said. “I’ve wanted to ask this for three whole years, and today I finally got it off my chest.”

Shen Man: “…”

Zhao Rui: “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Shen Man said, “It’s time for you to leave.”

Zhao Rui ran out sobbing.

He bumped right into Xu Zhouye coming in, who looked thoroughly baffled: “What’s with him now?”

Shen Man said expressionlessly, “His rebellious phase arrived.”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Fair enough, quite a belated rebellious phase by several years.

“Ge, how are you spending Spring Festival?” Xu Zhouye asked Shen Man.

“Going back to my hometown.” Shen Man looked down, fiddling with his phone, showing little interest in the topic.

For students who lived away at school or workers far from home, the New Year might carry a special warmth. But for Shen Man, the holiday was no different from ordinary days; if anything, it was even lonelier than usual.

Shen Man was a local whose hometown was located in a county town roughly two hours’ drive away.

The old house was still there, but remained uninhabited year-round. Every time he went back, cleaning it took half a day, which was rather troublesome.

In Shen Man’s eyes, spending the New Year there simply meant staying for a few days to chew over the faded warmth of old memories, with nothing particularly special beyond that.

“What about you? What date are you leaving?” Shen Man asked.

“Me?” Xu Zhouye scratched his head. “Probably the 18th.”

The 22nd was New Year’s Eve, so leaving on the 18th was somewhat late, but it wasn’t Shen Man’s place to pry: “Happy New Year, safe travels on the road.”

Xu Zhouye smiled and agreed.

With the matches behind them and the year-end drawing near, the base emptied out considerably. The cooking auntie and the security guards went on holiday a week early, and most of ACE’s members departed one after another.

“Captain, Happy New Year! See you next year!” Liu Shishi and Zhao Rui were booked on flights for the same day, saying their farewells to Shen Man while wheeling their luggage.

“Happy New Year.” Sitting alone in the training room grinding ranked, Shen Man pulled off his headset and turned around, waving toward them: “See you next year.”

“When are you heading back?” Zhao Rui asked him.

“In a few days,” Shen Man said. “I can just drive back, no rush.”

“Then take care of yourself,” Zhao Rui said. “The security guards have all gone home for the New Year.”

Shen Man hummed in response, thinking to himself that while the guards had left, surely the stalkers had families too; they probably needed to go home and enjoy the holiday before finding fresh energy to resume being creeps next year.

The base felt hollow and vast. Usually noisy and chaotic, it was rarely ever this quiet.

On the 18th, it was finally time for the last remaining person, Xu Zhouye, to depart. Once he left, Shen Man would be the only soul left at the base.

Shen Man had spent the past few days holed up in the training room. A major patch had just dropped, and all the players were adapting to the meta; having lost time to his hand injury, he wanted to use the break to sharpen his mechanics again.

Thus, while everyone else was immersed in the festive spirit of New Year preparations, he soaked in the training room day in and day out.

Around two in the afternoon, close to Xu Zhouye’s departure time, Shen Man checked the clock. Instead of queuing for a new game, he clicked open a random match VOD.

Sure enough, a dozen minutes later, Xu Zhouye appeared at the doorway dragging his suitcase.

“Leaving?” Shen Man asked.

“Yeah,” Xu Zhouye said. “Ge… Happy New Year.”

Shen Man looked at him and smiled: “Happy New Year.”

“What day of the New Year are you coming back?” Xu Zhouye asked.

“Probably the third day,” Shen Man said.

“Then I’ll come back early too,” Xu Zhouye said.

“No point coming back early, there’s nothing to do,” Shen Man said. “You haven’t been home in so long, spend a few more days with your family.”

Xu Zhouye smiled: “Alright then.”

“Go on.” Shen Man bid him farewell, “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” Xu Zhouye turned and walked away.

Shen Man watched his back disappear from sight. Only when the sound of the front door clicking shut drifted in did he finally withdraw his gaze.

Outside the window, heavy dark clouds blotted out the sun. Though it was barely two in the afternoon, it carried the gloomy chill of twilight. The howling wind sounded like a mournful wail. The lights in the training room were on, yet cast a strange, mottled dimness across the room.

It brought an eerie sensation of living through the end of the world.

Shen Man slipped his headset back on, turning the volume to the maximum.

He played alone until past eight in the evening. By the time he stopped, hunger had hollowed out his stomach.

With the cooking auntie gone home, Shen Man opened his phone to order takeout, only to see several unread messages.

All from Xu Zhouye:

— Ge, I landed.
— Ge, I prepared meals for you in the fridge. Just heat them up when you eat tonight.
— Why haven’t you replied, still grinding ranked?
— I’m in the car, I’ll message you when I reach home.

Tapping the screen, Shen Man typed a sentence, deleted it, and edited it back and forth before finally hitting send:

— Was gaming just now, didn’t see. Let me know when you get home.
— Hehehe, I knew you were gaming; that’s why you didn’t reply. Hurry up and get something to eat.
— Okay.

Opening the refrigerator, Shen Man found it packed to the brim with food. Even the freezer was stuffed with dumplings, labeled with sticky notes indicating the fillings. From their shapes alone, he could tell Xu Zhouye had wrapped every single one by hand.

He had never seen Xu Zhouye wrapping dumplings during the day; god knew when the kid had secretly made so many.

The corners of Shen Man’s lips curved upward.

The day before New Year’s Eve, Shen Man prepared to drive back to his hometown.

He had virtually nothing to pack, tossing a couple of casual shirts into a duffel bag before heading out the door.

He drove slowly. The passing scenery grew increasingly unfamiliar, even though it was unmistakably the road home.

Traffic was sparse, entirely stripped of the bustling vibrancy typical of the city. Rain began to fall halfway through the drive. Rolling up the car windows, Shen Man watched the raindrops patter loudly against the windshield.

That sensation of wandering through a solitary apocalypse surfaced once more.

As if he were the only person left in the world—originating from nowhere, with no one waiting for him at his destination.

His phone rang abruptly, startling in the quiet car.

Glancing at the console screen, Xu Zhouye’s name flashed on caller ID.

Answering the call, Xu Zhouye’s voice came through:

“Hello, hello, hello! Ge, where are you? Where are you?”

Shen Man said, “Driving. What’s wrong?”

Xu Zhouye gasped: “Eh?? This early… you went home already?”

It was barely past nine in the morning. Normally Shen Man would still be dead asleep in bed, but he had left early today planning to clean the old house.

“Mm,” Shen Man said. “What is it?”

Xu Zhouye asked, “How long have you been driving? How far have you gotten?”

Shen Man said, “Did you order something for me?”

Xu Zhouye let out a vague “Mm.”

“Does it spoil easily?” Shen Man asked. “If not, I’ll pick it up after the New Year.”

“Ah,” Xu Zhouye said. “It spoils super easily! Definitely can’t be left outside overnight… Have you driven far? If you’re not far… come back and get it, okay?”

Forty kilometers. Was that far? Probably.

Driving back would take over an hour. On an ordinary day, Shen Man would have declined with zero patience, but hearing Xu Zhouye’s urgent, hopeful tone, he remembered that night when the boy had sprinted toward him clutching a bouquet of flowers.

When that boy stood before him beaming with flowers in his hands, even Shen Man couldn’t bear to break his heart.

So he said he had just left, and would turn back to pick it up.

Shen Man adjusted his GPS route and headed back.

The rain grew heavier, pattering steadily against the roof. Shen Man turned on the music.

What could the gift Xu Zhouye sent be? Food, or flowers?

If you come at four in the afternoon, then at three I shall begin to be happy. Both of them had tasted the sweet anticipation of waiting.

Parking the car and killing the ignition, he walked through the rain to the base gates.

Yet he saw no sign of any perishable gift at the entrance.

Shen Man pulled out his phone, about to call Xu Zhouye to ask where the courier had left the package.

Suddenly, a pair of arms reached out from behind, holding him in a secure embrace.

Shen Man froze solid. The very first thought that flashed through his mind was Zhao Rui’s parting warning: The guards are gone, watch out for the perverts.

“Ge…” The “pervert” buried his head into the crook of Shen Man’s neck, nuzzling like an affectionate puppy. “If you took any longer, the rain would’ve made me reek.”

It was Xu Zhouye. The very Xu Zhouye who was supposed to be thousands of kilometers away.

Shen Man stood rooted to the spot. Why was Xu Zhouye, who had returned to his hometown, standing right here?

“Ahhh, stop daydreaming,” Xu Zhouye said. “Let’s go, let’s go! Let’s get on the road!”

Setting off, into Shen Man’s memories.

Back inside the car, Shen Man still hadn’t fully recovered his senses. Sitting in the passenger seat, Xu Zhouye grinned, asking Shen Man if he was surprised, if this was unexpected.

This kid hadn’t even found a spot to shelter from the rain, practically soaked to the bone, his hair dripping wet like an abandoned puppy left in a box by the curb, waiting for a kind passerby to pick him up. Fortunately, the kind soul hadn’t kept driving, but had turned back and scooped up the puppy.

Shen Man pulled out a handful of tissues, handing them over for him to wipe down: “Why are you here?”

Xu Zhouye chuckled: “Hehehe, talked it over with my mom. She had no objections and told me to spend the New Year with you.”

Shen Man: “…”

“Are you happy?” Xu Zhouye asked him.

Of course he was happy.

As it turned out, the Little Fox who waited for hours hadn’t received a letter, but had welcomed the Little Prince himself arriving as the courier.

Shen Man’s life held very few pleasant surprises; to him, the greatest surprise had been this pair of hands that carried him into professional esports. But now, the person beside him constantly proved through actions that there was so much more in life worth looking forward to. He could safely place his hopes on Xu Zhouye; Xu Zhouye would never let him down.

On this gloomy, overcast day, there was no better gift than a warm embrace. In this world where Shen Man could only feel his own solitary presence, Xu Zhouye had barged forcefully into his life, politely yet stubbornly knocking on Shen Man’s defensive shell, asking over and over if he was home:

Ge, are you there? Are you there?

If not today, then tomorrow.

If not tomorrow, then the day after.

If not the day after… then I’ll wait until the day you are.

Shen Man had never encountered such relentless persistence, leaving him no choice but to slowly peek his head out from his shell, responding with timid confusion: Will you come find me to play every day?

Of course. Of course I will. Standing beside Shen Man at this very moment was the finest answer Xu Zhouye could ever give.

Shen Man smiled, smiling with genuine warmth. Sincerity filled his eyes as he looked at the boy drying his wet hair in the passenger seat: “Thank you.”

Xu Zhouye smiled too, his eyes crinkling like a scruffy, fluffy pup: “Let’s go, let’s go! We’re on our way!”

Pressing the ignition, the engine purred to life, setting off once more.

This time, it wasn’t a lonely flight from an apocalypse, but a journey toward spring filled with boundless anticipation.

The rain was heavy, but couldn’t extinguish their high spirits. Connecting to the car’s Bluetooth, Xu Zhouye played a playlist as vibrant as blazing sunshine, without a trace of melancholy.

He was curious about everything, asking Shen Man about every detail of his hometown:

What was good to eat, what was fun to do, was his school close to home, was the nearby scenery pretty…

Shen Man was remarkably patient, answering every single question in detail.

“There’s a zhazha stall right outside the school gate that’s incredible,” Shen Man said. “Always grabbed a skewer or two after evening self-study.”

“What’s zhazha?” Xu Zhouye found the name adorable.

“Fried skewers,” Shen Man said. “You guys don’t call it that up north?”

“Of course not,” Xu Zhouye laughed. “You guys down here seem to love using cute reduplicated words.”

Zhazha (fried skewers), bobo (skewer bowls), penpen (washbasins), guaiguai (darling/good boy)… Ordinary things sounded exceptionally cute coming from Shen Man’s mouth.

Shen Man hadn’t felt that way: “Do we…?”

Of course you do, Xu Zhouye thought silently.

“Then you have to take me to that zhazha stall,” Xu Zhouye said. “You’ve remembered it for so many years, it must be delicious.”

Shen Man said, “Sure.”

Xu Zhouye went quiet for a moment, glancing sideways at Shen Man. Two or three minutes later, he glanced over again.

Shen Man: “What are you looking at?”

Xu Zhouye murmured softly: “Aren’t you indulging me a bit too much?”

Shen Man: “…”

Xu Zhouye said, “You haven’t refused a single thing?”

Shen Man laughed in sheer exasperation: “Being gentle with you isn’t good enough? Learning to act like an annoying brat from Zhao Rui every day, are you?”

Xu Zhouye shrank his neck: “So fierce.”

Shen Man: “…” Forget it, no point bickering with a kid.