SITS Ch9

Chapter 9: Filming

Although he caught a cold, nothing unexpected happened in this week’s matches, and they took the victory without a hitch.

Currently, ACE was tied with TKR for first place on the leaderboard.

Thanks to Xu Zhouye’s dazzling performance, he had become a highly popular rising Carry Jungler in the HCC. In just two short weeks, his Weibo follower count smashed past the three-hundred-thousand mark and was steadily marching toward the half-million milestone.

Esports was just like that—results were everything.

Though they won the matches, Shen Man’s cough showed no signs of improvement.

It worried the manager sick, and he kept nagging Shen Man to go see a doctor.

Shen Man found it troublesome. While he agreed readily with his mouth, his butt hadn’t shifted an inch from the base.

The manager finally blew his top: “Are you planning to drop dead in the base just to extort me?!”

Shen Man was currently nibbling on a tangerine Xu Zhouye had peeled for him. Facing the manager’s tearful interrogation, he answered airily, “Before dying, I’ll definitely crawl outside first.”

Manager: “Ge, you’re my real ge, how old are you already, still reluctant to see a doctor?”

Shen Man said, “Didn’t you also stall your hemorrhoids for three months?”

Manager: “…”

Xu Zhouye, standing by listening to the gossip: “…”

“In the end, Liu Shishi had to drag you out of the bathroom stall,” Shen Man detonated a thunderclap in the manager’s ear in an utterly deadpan tone. “He personally pulled your pants up for you.”

“Aaaaaah! Drop dead in the base for all I care, this daddy is done worrying about you!!” The manager wailed in rage and slammed the door as he stormed off.

Popping the last segment of tangerine into his mouth, Shen Man coughed twice. He glanced sideways at Xu Zhouye’s shaking shoulders: “He’s gone. Laugh if you want to.”

Xu Zhouye: “Hahahahahahahaha! What on earth happened there?”

Shen Man said, “Bled too much, ended up anemic, and passed out on the toilet. I wasn’t there at the time, heard about it later from Liu Shishi and the others.”

Xu Zhouye laughed, “There’s actually a story like that?”

Shen Man pulled out a tissue and unhurriedly wiped his hands: “There are tons of things like this. Why else do you think people say ACE is the laughingstock of the HCC?”

This wasn’t baseless rumor. From Zhao Rui re-posting adult video links, to the manager hemorrhaging from piles and fainting in the bathroom, to the coach getting beaten black and blue by their own security guard who mistook him for a trespasser—ACE’s blunders never ceased.

Last winter during tournament season, a teammate even invited Zhao Rui ice skating, insisting on showing Zhao Rui his graceful dance moves on ice, only to spin out and break three ribs.

When Shen Man heard the news back then, his vision darkened. He couldn’t help wondering if the name “ACE” was cursed, making this bunch actually fulfill its meaning and wipe themselves out. (In the game, ACE meant a total team wipe).

“Captain, you can’t keep going like this,” Xu Zhouye said. “You’ve been coughing for almost half a month. If you drag it out, it’ll be a huge hassle to recover later.”

Shen Man sighed: “True. Another day, I’ll book an appointment and go get checked.”

Xu Zhouye felt that Shen Man wasn’t actually afraid of doctors; one could tell from how he casually yanked the IV needle out of his own hand the other day. It was just a mystery why he was always so reluctant to go.

Two days later, under the relentless badgering of everyone in the base, Shen Man finally went to the hospital to see a doctor. After taking a chest X-ray and confirming there was nothing wrong with his lungs, the doctor prescribed some medication for him to take at home.

The medicine filled a hefty bag. Carrying it back, Shen Man casually tossed it onto the table.

“Promo video shoot tomorrow afternoon,” the manager drifted over resentfully, looking like an aggrieved ghost.

“Alright,” Shen Man said.

“How’s the cough? What did the doctor say?” the manager asked.

Shen Man replied, “Lungs are fine. Just taking medication for now.”

The manager said, “Eat properly these next few days. Look how thin your face has gotten, it hurts my heart.”

Shen Man: “…Don’t disgust me.”

Seeing that he was in decent spirits—at least not coughing while they talked—the manager finally grinned and ambled away.

Shen Man sluggishly pulled the medication out of the bag. The sheer variety was dizzying; he felt half-full just looking at them before even swallowing a single pill. Hesitating for a moment, he was just about to shove them all back into the bag when a hand pressed down on it.

“The medication Captain got from the hospital?” Xu Zhouye appeared out of nowhere, picking up the boxes to inspect them. “This much?”

Shen Man said, “I don’t think it’s actually that serious.” The moment he said it, he felt the urge to cough, but thinking it would look bad, he picked up his cup and took a big gulp of water.

Seeing right through Shen Man’s ploy, Xu Zhouye wore a half-smile. Saying nothing, he reached into the bag and took out the medicines one by one, opening the packages and reading the instructions.

Shen Man asked, “What are you doing?”

Xu Zhouye kept his head lowered, speaking softly: “Nothing, Captain. I’ll portion them out for you dose by dose, so you can just grab one and take it.”

Shen Man: “…”

Xu Zhouye said, “It’s very convenient. Be a good boy and take them all, okay?”

Shen Man suddenly felt a little embarrassed. Xu Zhouye was three years younger than him, so why did his tone sound like coaxing a child? He coughed dryly: “No need, I can do it myself.”

Xu Zhouye, however, snatched the bag away: “It’s fine, I love doing this.”

Shen Man: “…” Why were kids nowadays so strange?

Thus, the chaotic pile of medicine was neatly sorted into individual portions for several days, cleanly packed into little ziplock bags. Unable to refuse, Shen Man could only thank him.

“You’re welcome. We have a shoot tomorrow and I heard it’s pretty tiring. Remember to get plenty of rest tonight, Captain,” Xu Zhouye didn’t forget to remind him.

“Okay,” Shen Man replied.

Although Team ACE’s performance last year was mediocre, with a star player like Shen Man around, they remained the darling of sponsors.

This year’s black-and-gold team uniforms were plastered with various sponsor logos, looking as gaudy as billboards.

Today’s shoot had already been finalized in last year’s contract—a commercial for a luxury car brand. Unquestionably, Shen Man was the leading star of this production.

The day before, he had been instructed to sleep early, drink less water, and preferably use a sheet mask—though when the manager nagged him with these, he never actually expected Shen Man to listen. If the boy showed up at the shooting location alive the next day, it would be a blessing from the heavens.

The manager’s anxious heart finally settled back into his chest when Shen Man arrived at the shoot.

With tears in his eyes like an old father finally seeing his child off to university, the manager said, “I’ve delivered him to you! Keep a close eye on him!”

Shen Man: “?” Having another episode, are we? It’s not like I’m going to run away.

Xu Zhouye arrived later. When he got there, he saw several people surrounding Shen Man—stylists, makeup artists. Shen Man sat quietly in the chair like an exquisite porcelain doll.

The girl doing Shen Man’s makeup couldn’t stop praising his great skin and how handsome he was.

“Yo, you’re fest, right?” A staff member recognized Xu Zhouye and said, “Come, come, over here. Once Shen Man is done, you’re next.”

A caster once joked that Shen Man’s face was the facade of the HCC—a double entendre praising both his mechanics and his looks.

Without a single trace of makeup, Shen Man’s face was capable of withstanding death lighting and unfiltered lenses, still radiating sheer beauty on screen.

Pairing a face like that with professional makeup elevated his aesthetics to an entirely different league.

The makeup artist didn’t go overboard with Shen Man’s look, applying subtle eyeshadow and eyeliner to define his eyes with greater depth. His chilly expression was softened slightly by a light coat of lip gloss, making him look romantic and alluring. A light touch of nose contour made the bridge look even higher and sleeker.

His hair was styled into delicate waves with a flat iron. Sitting there with his eyes half-closed, an effortless aura of noble elegance radiated from him; even a careless glance from him could make one’s heart race violently.

Xu Zhouye stared unblinkingly, completely entranced.

“All done, Man-shen,” the staff member said to Shen Man after finishing. “Go change into your outfit.” Having said that, her gaze fell onto Xu Zhouye sitting beside them, her eyes visibly lighting up at whatever caught her attention.

A chill ran down Xu Zhouye’s spine from that look.

“Come, handsome, sit right here,” the makeup artist waved at him.

Xu Zhouye walked over and took the seat Shen Man had just vacated. Seeing his bewildered expression, Shen Man sighed and patted his shoulder: “I’m done, jiayou.”

Xu Zhouye: “Ah?”

Shen Man turned to change his clothes.

Ten minutes later, Xu Zhouye learned what Shen Man’s “jiayou” meant. When the makeup artist told him to widen his eyes so she could apply mascara, he felt like he too had been turned into an oversized plush doll. It was so uncomfortable he desperately wanted to blink, only to be stopped and told to open wider.

“You’ve got great bone structure too, it’s just that this hair covers all your looks,” the makeup artist sounded like she had discovered a new continent, bubbling with excitement. “Come, come, jiejie will give you a new hairstyle, guaranteed to look super handsome.”

Xu Zhouye said tactfully, “There’s really no need to be that handsome.”

“How can you not be handsome?” the makeup artist said. “Money was paid for this.”

Xu Zhouye: “…” Fair enough.

Shen Man changed into his outfit—a custom-tailored ACE uniform. It had been sized to their measurements with specific design tweaks, giving it much more flair and a sharper fit compared to their everyday team jerseys.

After changing, Shen Man found a quiet corner to sit, sip water, and rest.

Dozens of minutes later, Xu Zhouye was finally done being fussed over. He pushed the door open and stepped in to change as well.

Shen Man glanced up at him, a flicker of surprise on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Xu Zhouye walked over to Shen Man, feeling a little self-conscious. “Why that look, Captain? Did they do my makeup weirdly?”

“No,” Shen Man said. “It looks quite good.”

It really was quite handsome. The stylist had brushed Xu Zhouye’s messy mop of hair back, leaving a few wisps of bangs framing his exposed forehead. The cut fully accentuated his strong bone structure and striking contours. His brows had been trimmed into a sharper, bolder arc; his lips were thin, and when he lowered his gaze without a smile, he exuded an intense, suffocating aura of pressure.

This version of Xu Zhouye struck Shen Man as oddly familiar. Thinking carefully, he realized this was the Xu Zhouye from in-game.

Zhao Rui had joked before that the in-game Xu Zhouye was completely different from the one in real life. Wholly incongruent with his sunny smile was his ruthless, dominating Carry Jungler playstyle. Preaching peace and harmony in a gentle voice while ruthlessly unleashing lethal combos that crushed his foes to dust, bone and flesh alike.

At the thought, Shen Man turned his head to look at him.

Catching Shen Man’s gaze, Xu Zhouye asked, “Why are you looking at me, Captain?”

Shen Man said, “Nothing. Hurry and change.”

Xu Zhouye obediently agreed.

The rest of the team finished their styling, and shooting began.

Shooting was actually quite exhausting; they produced a promotional video along with two sets of print photos.

Still sick, Shen Man had to constantly sip water and pop throat lozenges throughout the process to suppress the tickle in his throat, finally wrapping up the shoot smoothly.

While resting to the side, Xu Zhouye happened to overhear the staff whispering among themselves:

“Doesn’t the internet always say Shen Man has an awful temper? He seems pretty fine to me.”

“Yeah, he’s alright. Coughing like that, he was still very cooperative.”

“He’s genuinely so good-looking, though.”

“Totally, his skin is unreal. I thought his fans photoshopped his pictures, but seeing him today in person, there’s no editing at all.”

“Not just no editing, the photos don’t even do him justice.”

“I need to ask him for an autograph later, my younger brother is a fan.”

“Hehe, I want to ask that Xu Zhouye for one too, didn’t realize he’s so handsome.”

“…”

Listening to their chatter, Xu Zhouye couldn’t help smiling—he couldn’t help it; whenever he heard someone praising Shen Man, the corners of his eyes would curl up involuntarily.