SITS CH54

Chapter 54: Each Relies on Their Own Ability

Shen Man plugged in his peripherals, and the match was about to begin.

This year’s TKR was indeed different from last year’s. They had already witnessed inner’s prowess firsthand back at Worlds.

Hero pick-ban priorities needed to be reconsidered, and the intensity of the laning phase had risen considerably.

ACE also extended inner the most basic respect, using their first ban on his strongest signature Hero.

“Ban Belinda,” TKR’s coach instructed. “inner?”

inner nodded.

Thus, Belinda was sent straight to the ban slot.

Seeing this, Caster 1 sighed: “It looks like SLOW won’t get to touch his signature pick for the rest of this split.”

“Can’t be helped. Right now, SLOW’s win rate on Belinda is a flat one hundred percent—one hundred percent! Who on earth dares leave that open?” Caster 2 chimed in.

“Should we ban Plague Bird?” a teammate asked. “Or leave it open for him?”

“His Plague Bird looks pretty mediocre,” inner said. “Let him have it.”

During their 2-3 series at Worlds, both games Shen Man had lost were played on Plague Bird.

“Mediocre?” TKR’s coach chuckled dryly. “His Plague Bird is anything but mediocre.”

inner curled his lip in dismissal.

The coach said, “Did you forget his hand was injured during that match?”

inner: “…” He genuinely had forgotten.

Or rather, he had never paid much mind to it at all; Shen Man had performed so much like a healthy player that inner hadn’t felt his mechanics resembled someone nursing an injury.

Beside him, Yang Shanhe muttered under his breath: “One good beating will straighten him right out.”

inner shot him a glance.

Yang Shanhe blinked: “You understood that?”

inner let out a slightly hollow smile, then tapped a finger against his temple.

Yang Shanhe: “?” Why is he insulting me now?

Still, inner was undeniably formidable and remarkably sharp—evident not only in his gameplay, but in other areas as well.

Brought over by TKR just a few months ago, he could already understand most of his teammates’ in-game comms and even hold basic conversations with the coach. Yang Shanhe felt neither fond of nor hostile toward him, yet listening to his exchange with the coach, he couldn’t help feeling the guy’s attitude was excessively arrogant.

Actually daring to call Shen Man’s Plague Bird mediocre.

Not even Yang Shanhe dared boast like that; he remembered with crystal clarity how Shen Man’s Plague Bird had single-handedly carried ACE straight into the World Championship last year.

Thus, Plague Bird fell into Shen Man’s hands, while inner locked in another Marksman he was more comfortable piloting.

The match loaded in.

When inner first arrived in China, he had heard an old proverb: “Ignore the advice of elders, and suffer loss right before your eyes.” He hadn’t grasped its full meaning back then, but now, he understood completely.

His Mid Laner had been right—Plague Bird was a monster that could never be handed over to Shen Man.

At twenty minutes, having completed his core items, Shen Man stepped into the first major teamfight. In Shen Man’s hands, Plague Bird transformed into an entirely different beast; his Q skillshot practically never missed. The Q possessed a unique mechanic: landing it on an enemy champion instantly reset its cooldown, whereas missing forced a long wait—meaning in different hands, it produced wildly divergent results.

A single Q shaved off a third of a squishy target’s health bar; landing two or three rendered an entire teamfight unplayable before it even began.

inner was running a long-range poke build as well, yet the problem was that Shen Man’s abilities hurled across from miles away—before inner could even step into range, his health bar was already shredded to critical levels.

Recalling his clash against Shen Man at Worlds, inner’s complexion grew progressively darker until he finally fell dead silent.

In stark contrast, Yang Shanhe’s grin grew brighter by the minute, beaming so widely that Qin Yixing leaned over to warn him: “Grinning like you just won the lottery—do you still want your Weibo account intact?”

Anyone unaware would swear Yang Shanhe had placed bets against his own team and was acting as an inside mole.

Yang Shanhe hastily wiped the grin off his face—he had zero desire to get bombed by angry fans again.

The entire match lasted thirty-two minutes. ACE closed out the victory cleanly, with Shen Man’s Plague Bird racking up eight kills and dealing a staggering 83,000 damage—by the time the game ended, inner’s maximum health pool was barely over two thousand, meaning that damage output was enough to kill him forty times over.

Securing the win without suspense, it was time for post-match handshakes.

Leading the line as usual, Shen Man reached inner. Clasping Shen Man’s hand, inner said in clumsy Chinese: “Long time no see.”

Remaining polite, Shen Man gave a slight nod: “Long time no see.”

inner said, “You are very strong.”

Shen Man moved to pull his hand back, only to find inner gripping it like a vise; despite tugging, his hand didn’t budge…

Tilting his chin upward, inner declared: “You will make a great rival.”

Shen Man: “My hand…”

inner: “Oh, sorry.” Realizing he had been holding onto Shen Man’s hand the entire time, he finally let go.

inner had expected Shen Man to offer some spirited reply in return, yet the instant his hand was freed, Shen Man spun on his heel and walked straight away without a microsecond of hesitation, acting as if he hadn’t heard a single word.

inner: “…”

The bewildered shock written across inner’s face was glaringly obvious. Trailing behind, Yang Shanhe muttered: “One toxic solo stan leaves, and another takes his place, huh.”

Qin Yixing consoled inner, telling him not to take it personally. Shen Man treated everyone that way.

inner: “Really?” Though he had heard plenty of rumors about Shen Man’s frosty temperament, experiencing it firsthand still left a jarring disconnect; especially that feeling of treating someone as a worthy rival while the other party couldn’t even be bothered to spare you a glance… leaving inner with a rare taste of defeat.

Qin Yixing said, “Really.”

Yet the second they stepped down the backstage stairs, they spotted the very same stone-faced Shen Man standing in the corridor chatting and laughing with Xu Zhouye behind him. Xu Zhouye even had an elbow draped casually over Shen Man’s shoulder, while Shen Man tilted his face upward, eyes curved into crescent smiles like a gentle spring breeze. inner turned toward Qin Yixing, shooting him a giant question mark with his eyes.

Qin Yixing: “…”

Yang Shanhe: “…”

After a long, heavy silence, Qin Yixing patted Yang Shanhe on the shoulder: “I finally understand the emotional journey that turned you from a fan into a hater.”

Yang Shanhe: “Good that you understand… wait, when was I ever a fan? I was never a fan of Shen Man!”

Dead men tell no tales, yet stubborn mouths never yield. Qin Yixing thought to himself that plenty of people on the old roster knew how Yang Shanhe had secretly cried for three days when Shen Man refused to accept his WeChat request—though he generously spared Yang Shanhe’s pride, replying: “True enough. With your upright character, you naturally wouldn’t like a petty scoundrel like Shen Man.”

Yang Shanhe: “Well, he’s not that much of a scoundrel…”

Qin Yixing: “…” Yang Shanhe, is something wrong with your brain?

Lately, Shen Man had developed a new preoccupation. Ever since agreeing with Xu Zhouye on the principle of “those with greater ability take on more work,” he had begun cramming research on certain subjects. That Man Tian Bian Ye Super Topic had even become his regular late-night browsing haunt. The more he scrolled, the more entertaining he found this bunch of girls—writing fiction, drawing fanart, editing videos, they could do practically everything, veritable all-rounders.

Especially when videos were spliced together with fitting background music; watching them almost convinced Shen Man that he and Xu Zhouye had already been dating for several years—

During the Qingming Festival, the team was granted a three-day break.

Xu Zhouye accompanied Shen Man back to his hometown to sweep his grandmother’s grave. Rather than rushing straight back to the base afterward, the two headed to an apartment Xu Zhouye had rented near the facility.

The apartment was quite cozy—two bedrooms and a living room, one room for Xu Zhouye and the spare kept for whenever Xu’s mother came to visit.

Before heading upstairs, they stopped by a supermarket to pick up groceries for dinner.

Standing at the checkout counter, both kept their heads lowered as if absorbed in their phones. Losing patience first, Shen Man glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye, reached out smoothly toward a rack beside the register, grabbed a box in one fluid motion, and placed it before the cashier.

Thick-skinned as ever, Xu Zhouye saw Shen Man’s move and promptly grabbed a second box.

Catching sight of it, Shen Man couldn’t help asking: “What’s the difference?”

Xu Zhouye announced breezily: “Don’t you like ice cream flavor?”

Shen Man: “…”

Xu Zhouye added: “I remember your toothpaste is ice cream flavored too…”

Enduring the cashier’s startled stare, Shen Man deadpanned calmly: “You talk too much.”

Though half his face was hidden behind a mask, Xu Zhouye could clearly sense Shen Man’s nerves—not only was he tense, his entire face had likely turned crimson… judging by the bright red tips of his ears.

Stepping out of the supermarket, Shen Man broke the silence, asking Xu Zhouye: “Have you done it before?”

Xu Zhouye said, “…No. What about you?”

Shen Man: “…Me neither.”

“Doesn’t matter, though,” Shen Man said, feigning absolute composure. “I’ve already studied up thoroughly! You can safely leave it to me…”

Xu Zhouye thought to himself: Where on earth did you study up, and if buying a box of condoms makes you this flustered, how am I supposed to safely leave anything to you? Still, keeping those thoughts inside, he grinned cheerfully: “Sure thing, ge, I definitely trust you.”

Trust was trust; as for who took charge, that would come down to individual skill.

The next day dawned bright and sunny.

Past eleven in the morning, sunlight slanted through the gap in the curtains, landing squarely across Shen Man’s face.

The blinding glare forced his eyes open reluctantly, meeting the sight of Xu Zhouye—awake for who knew how long—propping his chin in his hand and gazing at him with a radiant smile.

Shen Man: “Water…” He was fine until he opened his mouth; the second he spoke, his throat felt torn raw, raspy to the extreme.

“I’ll grab some,” Xu Zhouye said, looking thoroughly refreshed and full of energy as he held a bottle of water to Shen Man’s lips.

Taking a few sips and feeling slightly better, Shen Man stared up at the ceiling, those striking dark eyes devoid of their usual spark: “What time is it?”

“Past eleven.” Finding his dazed look unbearably adorable, Xu Zhouye leaned in to press a kiss to the corner of his lips. “Want to get up and eat something?”

“Not eating.” Slinging an arm over his eyes, Shen Man muttered sulkily: “Eating food you cooked makes my ass hurt.”

Xu Zhouye nearly choked laughing: “Wasn’t it your own idea to rely on individual skill?”

Shen Man: “…” Removing his arm, he glared at the shirtless Xu Zhouye.

This guy ran and hit the gym daily. Usually hidden beneath loose team jerseys, Shen Man hadn’t fully appreciated his physique until the clothes came off: eight-pack abs, broad shoulders tapering to a narrow waist, a textbook inverted triangle.

Shen Man had been pinned completely with a single hand; the moment Xu Zhouye pressed his full weight down, Shen Man couldn’t budge him an inch—

Thus, the very Shen Man who had proposed “relying on individual skill” conceded defeat in bitter tears.

Still feeling slightly indignant, Shen Man asked: “Do you seriously only lift weights?”

Xu Zhouye said, “Really.”

Shen Man: “Chinese don’t lie to fellow Chinese!”

After a beat of silence, Xu Zhouye decided to defend his nationality: “Mm… practiced Sanda…”

Shen Man: “?”

Xu Zhouye: “And kickboxing.”

Shen Man: “??”

Xu Zhouye: “Dabbled a bit in jiu-jitsu too…”

Shen Man: “…” Raising a hand in a timeout gesture, he signaled he had heard enough and needed no further elaboration.

Xu Zhouye protested: “I seriously only learned the basics!”

Shen Man eyed him suspiciously: “How old were you when you started?”

Rubbing the back of his head, Xu Zhouye admitted: “Eight.”

His mother loved dragging him across the globe to travel, sometimes visiting places with rough security, so the entire family trained in self-defense. Having started at age eight, taking on three untrained guys in his own weight class posed zero challenge.

Shen Man was thoroughly defeated. Dabbled a bit. Learned the basics. Right.

Seeing his dejected expression, Xu Zhouye felt a pang of sympathy, coaxing: “Ge, don’t be upset. Next time I’ll let you be on top.”

Shen Man said, “A bet’s a bet! I’m not that sore of a loser!” He was mostly joking anyway; truth be told, he didn’t care all that much about top or bottom, driven only by a pro gamer’s occasional competitive streak. Shifting to sit up, a sharp twinge shot through him, making him hiss through gritted teeth: “It’s just your technique—”

Xu Zhouye said, “It was my first time, zero experience.” Leaning over to nuzzle his head affectionately against Shen Man’s cheek, he promised: “From now on, I guarantee I’ll serve ge comfortably.”

Shen Man: “…” Shameless!

“Besides, ge felt pretty good toward the end too.” Even more shameless remarks followed, a string of explicit, filter-worthy commentary tumbling straight from Xu Zhouye’s lips until Shen Man’s entire face burned bright red: “Stop—!”

Xu Zhouye blinked: “Done?”

Burying his face in his hands, Shen Man mumbled: “Done.”

Xu Zhouye: “Hehe.”

People always said introverts were extroverts’ favorite toys, and Shen Man was experiencing that truth down to his bones right now. He genuinely had zero counterplay against Xu Zhouye—the guy had skin thicker than armor, impervious to blades, spears, water, and fire, lacking the word shyness entirely from his dictionary.

Shen Man even suspected every ounce of shyness this guy had shown in the past had been pure theater.

“Ge, ge.” Utterly infatuated with Shen Man, Xu Zhouye acted like a thoroughly sated giant hound, wanting nothing more than to stay glued to Shen Man forever.

After lounging around clinging to each other for a good while, Shen Man finally murmured that he was hungry.

Xu Zhouye said, “Then I’ll go whip up something for you.”

Soon, the savory aroma of cooking drifted in from the dining area. Climbing out of bed, Shen Man hissed sharply before his feet even hit the floor, bracing a hand on his lower back with gritted teeth. Not only did his waist ache, the insides of his thighs burned with soreness, sending a tremor down his legs the second he stood upright.

Shen Man: “…” Completely defeated.

Worried Shen Man was starving, Xu Zhouye boiled a bowl of egg noodles seasoned with a splash of vinegar and fragrant sesame oil, topped with two golden fried eggs that instantly whetted the appetite.

Shen Man really was famished, yet right after taking his first bite, he muttered: “Why does my mouth hurt so much?”

Sitting beside him, Xu Zhouye wore a look of pure innocence: “Probably internal heat.”

Shen Man: “…” Really?

After painstakingly finishing his noodles and heading into the bathroom to shower, he caught sight of himself in the mirror—his lips were completely chapped, abraded, and swollen, looking nothing like internal heat and everything like someone had chewed on them for hours.

Shen Man: “…” Xu Zhouye, you absolute beast.

Taking a hot shower finally restored a bit of comfort. Picking up his phone, Shen Man saw messages from Zhao Rui asking when he would be returning to the base.

Shen Man sent back a single question mark asking what he wanted.

— Um, Captain, there’s something I wanted to discuss with you.
— ?
— I want to move out of the base for a little while.
— ?
— Don’t just reply with question marks! Is it okay or not, Captain?
— Ask the manager.
— The manager will definitely say no…
— I say no too.
— Wuuuuu, I’m begging you! This is my one dying wish—if you agree, the manager definitely won’t object.

Abruptly asking to move out—knowing Zhao Rui as well as he did, something was definitely going on. Sitting on the sofa pondering what angle Zhao Rui was playing, a neglected puppy padded over, resting his chin on Shen Man’s shoulder and sniffing his freshly washed, body-wash-scented hair while murmuring: “Ge, why don’t we move out and live together?”

Shen Man: “!” Glancing at Xu Zhouye, then back down at his phone screen, everything clicked into place in an instant.

— Zhao Rui.
— What’s up, Shen-ge? Did you agree?
— Are you trying to move out to live with your partner?
— Uh… how did you know?

How did he know? Because his own boyfriend was trying to pull the exact same stunt. Expressionless, Shen Man ruthlessly typed out two words: Not happening.

— Ah, why not?!

Why? No reason—nobody was permitted to let romance compromise their competitive form. Not Zhao Rui—

“And not you either,” Shen Man replied to Xu Zhouye’s proposal.

Xu Zhouye: “Huh? Why not? Wait—what do you mean ‘either’? Who else is trying to move out?”

Shen Man said, “Nobody. Sleepy. Going back to nap for a bit.”

Xu Zhouye: “Huh?”

“Huh” wouldn’t save him. Shen Man’s heart was forged from iron; he would never allow personal romance to delay their career by even a fraction—not for anyone.