SITS Ch12

Chapter 12: The Dark Twin Stars

During halftime, the coach lavishly praised Xu Zhouye’s Twin Stars, saying that in all his years on the battlefield of competition, he had never seen such a dark and damp style of play. At that moment, it felt as if Xu Zhouye had fully merged with the original Twin Stars persona—someone who constantly lurked outside windows, spying and trying to steal others’ lives (as per the game’s lore).

Xu Zhouye responded, “Coach, are you complimenting me or insulting me?”

The coach laughed and said, “Of course, I’m complimenting you! You know I’m pretty straightforward. If I’ve offended you before, don’t take it to heart.”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Zhao Rui chimed in, “Me too, me too; I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Sitting nearby, Shen Man had a similarly hesitant expression. Unable to hold back anymore, Xu Zhouye finally complained, “What’s that supposed to mean? Sure, I play Twin Stars really well, but I’m usually quite cheerful, aren’t I?”

The coach reassured him, “Of course. From now on, I won’t tolerate anyone saying a bad word about Xiao Xu!”

Xu Zhouye: “…”

“Alright, jokes aside,” the coach continued, “I bet your Twin Stars will be banned in the next game. UN was clearly caught off guard. Let’s seize the momentum and finish them off!”

The team nodded in agreement.

In the second match, the coach’s prediction came true.

UN, clearly shaken by Xu Zhouye’s Twin Stars, made a critical mistake during the ban-pick (BP) phase, leaving both a meta-support and marksman unbanned.

Shen Man and Zhao Rui instantly locked in their choices.

Seeing their picks, the first commentator sighed, “What’s going on with UN? Are they still rattled from the last match? Letting two top-tier heroes through like this makes this round tough for them.”

The second commentator agreed, “Seems like they’re worried about Fest (Xu Zhouye) heating up on Twin Stars again and wasted a ban slot on him. But this will definitely hurt their overall BP strategy.”

The first commentator remarked, “This lineup looks bleak for UN.”

The second commentator added, “Definitely.”

Pre-match win predictions showed ACE with a 70% likelihood of victory, calculated by AI based on their lineup. Clearly, Xu Zhouye’s performance in the last match had left a lasting impression on UN.

In top-level competitions, sometimes the outcome is decided as soon as the team compositions are revealed.

Shen Man and Zhao Rui, with their dominant bottom-lane duo, had been virtually unstoppable in the HCC this season. From the moment they secured those strong picks, the outcome of this match was sealed.

At the 25-minute mark, the blue base controlled by the UN was finished off with a final basic attack. Amidst thunderous cheers that seemed ready to blow the roof off, Shen Man removed his headset.

With an astonishing 9-1-3 record, the cameras zoomed in on his exceptionally handsome face. He tilted his head slightly, his face thinner after being sick for over a month, with barely any flesh on his cheeks. This only made the lines of his profile appear more refined and elegant, his features almost painting-like under the dim light.

When his face appeared on the big screen, the crowd went wild. The audience erupted in deafening cheers, chanting, “Slow! Slow!” They raised their lightboards and various fan merchandise high into the air, expressing their overwhelming admiration.

“Captain’s popularity is off the charts,” Liu Shishi marveled. Although he had seen this countless times, it never failed to amaze him.

“It’s not as crazy as the first time he won a championship,” Zhao Rui recalled. “I remember some extreme fans back then camped outside the base every day. Shen Man didn’t even dare to leave the building.”

Liu Shishi asked, “Why aren’t there as many fans like that now?”

Zhao Rui quipped, “Well, we owe it all to our team’s performance saving the captain’s life.”

Liu Shishi: “…”

Shen Man interjected, deadpan, “Thank you all so much.”

Last year was a rough one. Over two seasons, they only made it to the Master Cup once. They got pummeled by opponents during matches and berated by fans afterward. Social media was a minefield no one dared touch. Zhao Rui, despite being less famous than Shen Man, still felt crushed under the pressure. It was hard to imagine how Shen Man endured it. Yet, since joining ACE, Zhao Rui had never seen Shen Man lose his composure. Even when falling from the peak to the depths, Shen Man maintained a calm and collected demeanor.

Shen Man was the anchor of ACE.

—

That evening, back at the base, ACE’s winning streak had already made it onto the trending topics on Weibo.

Xu Zhouye clicked on the trending post and immediately saw a photo of Shen Man’s striking face. He was wearing a headset, his expression focused. He didn’t look like a pro gamer but rather a movie star portraying one in a drama. Xu Zhouye casually saved the picture. Scrolling further, he unexpectedly stumbled upon his own face, alongside a fan comment:

[At first, I thought Xu Zhouye was cured of his drooling habit, but nope, he drooled his way through UN!]

Xu Zhouye: “…”

Next to him, Zhao Rui was also browsing Weibo. Glancing at Xu Zhouye’s frozen expression, he quipped, “Careful with that. Too much screen time isn’t good for your mammary glands.”

Xu Zhouye retorted, “I’m a guy. What mammary glands?”

Zhao Rui grinned. “Ah, you don’t know? Men can have them too. Last year, our manager—”

“Zhao Rui! Why do you talk so much?” The manager popped his head out from the front, cutting him off.

Zhao Rui immediately backed down. “Fine, I’ll shut up.”

Xu Zhouye thought to himself how their manager had also endured quite the ordeal—hemorrhoids, mammary issues, you name it. He returned to the Weibo post and checked the comments. The top liked ones included:

[UN didn’t even realize what hit them before Twin Stars rewrote their lives.]

Another read: [Love how Fest grins brightly while chasing enemies to finish them off.]

The third: [I’m smitten. Completely.]

Smitten? What does that mean? Xu Zhouye was about to read further when the car arrived at the base. The driver called for everyone to get out.

“What are you looking at? Let’s go,” Shen Man said as he stood up.

“Oh, coming.” Xu Zhouye pocketed his phone.

—

Winning against UN meant ACE now had a high chance of making the playoffs.

Having defeated two strong teams, the squad was in high spirits—it was their best season since Qin Yixing’s departure.

The manager was the same, generously offering to treat everyone to a late-night snack.

“Man, what do you feel like eating?” the manager asked Shen Man, who was peeling an orange with his head lowered.

“I want something spicy,” Shen Man said. “My mouth feels tasteless.” He popped a slice of orange into his mouth and casually handed the rest to Xu Zhouye.

Xu Zhouye took it and ate a piece as well.

“No chili,” the manager said. “You just got over your cough. What if it comes back?”

Shen Man replied, “Then you all can order whatever you like. Don’t worry about me.”

Manager: “Why are you such a stubborn kid?”

Zhao Rui leaned over. “Is the orange sour? Let me have some too.”

“Not sour.” Xu Zhouye seemed reluctant. “There’s not much left. Why don’t you peel a new one yourself?”

“Ah, I’m too lazy to peel. I just want a taste.” Zhao Rui, lazy to his bones, said, “Come on, bro, don’t be so stingy.”

Xu Zhouye handed it over. “Fine, have some.”

Zhao Rui thought, Wow, winning really put him in a good mood. He’s even sharing his snacks. Not hesitating, he snatched the whole thing before Xu Zhouye could regret it and stuffed it all into his mouth.

The next second, a piercing scream echoed through the entire base.

“Ahhh!!!” Zhao Rui’s tears streamed down as his face crumpled, saliva dripping. “It’s so sour!”

Xu Zhouye smiled. “I thought it was fine.”

Tears poured from Zhao Rui’s eyes. The orange was even more sour than the last time. The instant it hit his mouth, his body shuddered uncontrollably. He turned, teary-eyed, glaring resentfully at the smiling Xu Zhouye and the expressionless Shen Man. “You two… shameless couple!”

Shen Man: “Zhao Gong, mind your words.”

Xu Zhouye smiled as he translated, “Understand that? Let me put it in simpler terms: Zhao Rui, watch your mouth.”

The manager burst into laughter.

Zhao Rui cried, “I knew it. Xu Zhouye is so good at playing as a rabid dog for a reason!” This orange was insanely sour, yet those two didn’t even flinch after eating it. To make sure he fell for it, they’d even pretended it wasn’t sour. Thanks to them, he ate it all in one go. Despite last time’s lesson, he still trusted these two jerks. From now on, oranges given by them would go on his blacklist!

Xu Zhouye said, “I just didn’t want it to go to waste.”

Zhao Rui screamed, “Ahhh, you’re driving me crazy!”

The manager intervened, “Alright, alright. Let’s hurry and get some food. I’m starving.”

When it was time to eat, Shen Man still didn’t get the spicy food he’d been craving. Seeing his perpetually stoic expression, the manager finally caved. “Fine, fine. I’ll get you some chili powder from the kitchen. You can dip your food in it, okay? Just don’t sulk.”

Shen Man looked confused. “How am I sulking? This is just my usual expression.”

It was true. Shen Man wasn’t particularly expressive. But what he didn’t realize was that his mood created a completely different atmosphere. When he was unhappy, just sitting there was enough to make everyone lower their voices, afraid to disturb him.

This wasn’t something he demanded; it just happened naturally.

While Shen Man was talking to the coach, Xu Zhouye had already gone to the kitchen to grab chili powder and returned.

“Just a taste; don’t overdo it,” Xu Zhouye said, placing it in front of Shen Man and gently advising him. “If you end up coughing again, you’ll have to take more medicine. There’s so much of it, and it’s not good for you…”

Zhao Rui muttered quietly, “Why is he talking so gently?”

Xu Zhouye smiled. “Wasn’t I gentle earlier when I gave you the orange?”

Zhao Rui: “…” Fair point. But why does your smile look a little scary, bro?

After abstaining from spicy food for over half a month due to his annoying cough, Shen Man finally got a taste of it and felt much better.

“By the way, TKR invited us for a scrim,” the coach suddenly said.

“Huh? They want to scrim with us?” Zhao Rui asked in surprise. “For real?”

“Of course it’s real,” the coach replied.

“When did this happen?” Zhao Rui asked, glancing at Shen Man, who was slowly chewing his food. “I can’t believe they want to scrim with us.”

The coach also looked at Shen Man.

Shen Man swallowed the beef in his mouth and took a sip of Coke. “Why are you all looking at me?”

The coach said, “We were just worried you might have some objections to them.”

Shen Man said curiously, “Are you the coach, or am I? If I’m coaching, that’s a different pay rate.”

The coach, initially worried about potential tension between Shen Man and TKR, was immediately irked. “Fine, we’ll scrim. Let’s make it a BO7 instead of a BO5!”

Shen Man didn’t even blink and silently picked up another piece of beef, dipping it heavily into chili powder before eating it.

The coach suddenly realized Shen Man was busy indulging in spicy food and likely wasn’t paying attention to their conversation at all. Deflated, he said, “…Eat less. That stuff is so spicy.”

Coming from a region where people rarely ate chili, the coach could only admire Shen Man’s tolerance for spice. He still vividly remembered when he once cautiously added a single drop of chili oil to his noodles. Shen Man, sitting across from him, had said in an icy tone, “Just one drop? You might as well drip it into my eye.”

The coach: “…” Kid, why do you have to be so hard on yourself?

Shen Man didn’t find it spicy, so he didn’t say anything.

“So, are we really scrimming?” the coach asked.

Shen Man, annoyed, said, “You’re the coach. It’s your call.”

The coach beamed. “Got it!”