Chapter 167

Ye Chi was playing in someone else’s training room for the first time.

Mo Yin didn’t chase him away, just wore his headphones and played his game quietly. Ye Chi, thick-skinned, continued playing on the DSG coach’s computer.

Mo Yin was very quiet while gaming. Ye Chi had his game muted, only hearing the sounds of keyboards and mice in the training room—his and Mo Yin’s—which was pleasant and soothing.

There were fewer people queuing for ranked matches in the morning, and even fewer high-ranked players. For someone like Mo Yin, who was ranked first in the entire server, there were only a few people he could get matched with. Ye Chi was lucky enough to be queued with Mo Yin on the same team.

Their teammates were shocked.

——[Jungle God: Wow, we got MY in our team. Uh… who’s the noob?]

——[Forlove: The second player hasn’t logged in today, right?]

——[Crazy: Look at my ID, understand?]

Mo Yin selected his hero expressionlessly, while Ye Chi remained silent and didn’t type anything.

After a while, Jungle God reacted.

——[Jungle God: WTF, it’s Madman!]

——[Jungle God: WTF, Madman, you must be doublerow with MY, right?]

——[Jungle God: WTF, no, wait, you can’t duo at this rank, I’m losing my mind]

——[Jungle God: WTF WTF WTF WTF!!!!!!!]

Jungle God was very excited, perfectly voicing Ye Chi’s inner thoughts.

In truth, Ye Chi was also very excited.

Mo Yin’s friend slot, the only one in the world, of course, he was excited. He wanted to do something to release this excitement, but in front of Mo Yin, he had to pretend to be calm.

So, he was grateful to Jungle God for expressing these emotions for him.

In this game, Ye Chi was playing the top lane. He had been practicing top lane heroes for a while to enrich the team’s tactical system, so picking a top lane warrior hero was no problem.

However, the opponent’s top laner had obviously more experience in this position. The calculation of each minion wave was different. Professional players get used to a certain position, their thinking becomes fixed. Ye Chi was a bit flustered dealing with it. While he was concentrating on laning, the mid-lane mage suddenly appeared. Ye Chi had a flash of insight and moved forward to cast his skills, securing a kill.

The mage silently recalled to the base beside him. Ye Chi knew that Mo Yin coming to the top lane was purely a strategic decision. Regardless of who was playing top, Mo Yin would have roamed to help. But he couldn’t help but feel a smile forming on his lips.

The warrior sent a thumbs-up emoji.

Just before the mage’s recall was completed, he sent a “pathetic” emoji.

Ye Chi smiled and continued to focus on laning.

Unlike the last time when he played support and was overly anxious about dragging Mo Yin down, this time playing top lane, Ye Chi fully experienced what it felt like to be carried by Mo Yin. Whether in lane or during team fights, as long as Mo Yin was there, Ye Chi felt at ease, protected. This feeling excited and stimulated his nerves, making him want to become stronger, to make others feel reassured.

When the game ended, Ye Chi gave Mo Yin a thumbs-up. He didn’t expect Mo Yin to reciprocate.

After the game ended, Mo Yin took off his headphones and left the training room.

Ye Chi sat for a while, then followed him out.

The DSG base was large. Ye Chi followed Mo Yin downstairs, the sound of their slippers “slap slap” echoing in the quiet base, which was unusually empty due to the holiday.

He followed Mo Yin into the kitchen.

Mo Yin opened the fridge and took out a transparent box containing sandwiches. He opened the box, and took out a sandwich wrapped in plastic wrap, and his slender fingers seemed somewhat clumsy as he unwrapped it.

Ye Chi interjected, “Hungry?”

Mo Yin ignored him.

“The cook isn’t here today?”

Ye Chi opened the fridge, looked inside, and noticed Mo Yin already eating the sandwich. He glanced at the transparent food container and guessed, “Are you just eating this today?”

Mo Yin gave him a sideways cold look, “You’re noisy.”

Ye Chi said, “You had a sandwich for breakfast too. Eating cold food all day isn’t good for your stomach. Didn’t you say that aside from training, you value your health the most as a professional player?”

Mo Yin was silent for a moment, then said, “So what?”

The fridge was stocked with meat, eggs, and vegetables, but apart from the cook, no one else bothered to use them. Ye Chi washed his hands and decisively took out the beef and shrimp to defrost. While waiting for the beef and shrimp to thaw, he washed the green peppers in the sink. “These green peppers aren’t spicy, they have a sweet taste, perfect for stir-frying with beef. I’ll use them up, and when the cook comes back, make sure to tell her,” he said.

Mo Yin, sitting nearby and drinking tea, responded blandly, “Why should I tell her when you used them?”

Ye Chi smiled, “Alright, I’ll leave her a note then.”

Due to family circumstances, Ye Chi had lived independently since he was young and was adept at household chores. He quickly prepared a dish of stir-fried beef with green peppers and served it. He then continued making the shrimp, saying, “You can start eating, it’s better when it’s hot.”

Mo Yin didn’t respond, but when Ye Chi looked back, Mo Yin was already eating, showing no intention of waiting for the cook to join him. Ye Chi smiled and crushed some garlic.

Two dishes and a soup, and the cold rice in the fridge was turned into egg fried rice. Ye Chi was sweating as he placed the final dish, seaweed egg soup, on the table.

“It’s getting late, let’s make do with this.”

Mo Yin silently ate his egg fried rice. Both of them were young men with large appetites, and they quickly finished all the food on the table.

Ye Chi laughed, “Cooking takes half an hour, eating just a few minutes.”

Mo Yin wiped his mouth with a tissue and stacked the bowls together. Ye Chi hurriedly said, “I’ll do it.”

Mo Yin avoided Ye Chi’s outstretched hand, “No need.”

One person cooking and the other washing dishes was a reasonable division of labor, but those were MY’s hands, how could they be used for washing dishes?

Ye Chi insisted, “I’ll do it, it’s fine. I often wash dishes at the base, I quite like it.”

Mo Yin stared directly at Ye Chi and slowly said, “I’m sorry, but we have a dishwasher at the base.”

Ye Chi: “…”

Ye Chi stayed at the DSG base until around three in the afternoon before telling Mo Yin, “I’m leaving now.”

Mo Yin, who was in the queue for a game, turned slightly towards Ye Chi, his foot on the chair, and gave a small “hmph.”

This small response made Ye Chi’s heart almost burst with joy. He walked over with a light step and said softly, “Will the cook be back tonight?”

“Why?” Mo Yin turned his foot on the chair, glancing briefly at Ye Chi’s face, “Do you want to compete with our base’s cook for the job?”

“Then you’ve lost,” Mo Yin took a sip of water and looked at the computer screen, “Your cooking isn’t as good as hers.”

Ye Chi laughed, “I can’t compete with a professional.”

Mo Yin’s side profile was handsome yet cold, but his expression seemed to soften slightly, almost imperceptibly, making it hard to read. Ye Chi stood behind Mo Yin’s chair for a while, watching him queue into a game, before softly saying, “I’m leaving.”

Thinking that it might be a long time before he could spend time alone with Mo Yin again, Ye Chi added, “Good luck in the competition.”

He didn’t expect a response. Just as he was about to leave, Mo Yin set down his water cup and said casually, “Save your luck for yourself.”

Ye Chi stopped in his tracks and turned back to see Mo Yin already engrossed in his game, his intense focus making him reluctant to disturb him. Ye Chi smiled, silently saying thank you in his heart, and quietly left the training room, closing the door behind him.

On his way back to the base, Ye Chi felt unusually cheerful. He rolled down the taxi window to feel the breeze and answered a call from Chen Dong.

Chen Dong’s side was chaotic, with several people bombarding him with questions.

“Boss, you’re trending again.”

“Did you really go back to the base just to play Bubble Bobble with Mai Bao? That’s so sneaky, how could you not invite us?”

“How did you add Mai Bao as a friend? Teach us, please…”

Amidst the clamor, Ye Chi smiled silently, “Did you enjoy the escape room?”

The other side went silent for a few seconds before a barrage of complaints poured out, expressing extreme dissatisfaction with Ye Chi’s attempt to change the subject.

“I’m not changing the subject,” Ye Chi said calmly, “We’ll talk when I get back.”

Of course, Ye Chi didn’t intend to tell anyone about that day’s experience. It was a day that belonged exclusively to him and Mo Yin, and he didn’t want to share it with anyone.

The DSG team members were unusually silent on the way back. They had spent a long time in the escape room, and by the time they emerged, the internet was buzzing with news.

REAL team members were the first to start sending messages and making calls to Ye Chi, shouting excitedly. The four DSG members sat quietly, exchanging glances and looking puzzled—they didn’t have Mo Yin’s contact information. Outside the base, they were strangers, and even if they did have his contact info, they wouldn’t ask him what happened.

For a few moments, Tang Qi envied the atmosphere in REAL. His teammates also looked complicated as they watched REAL members openly discuss how their captain managed to “buddy up” with Mo Yin.

Back at the base, the DSG members silently went upstairs, took showers, and then entered the training room. Mo Yin was gaming, appearing no different from usual.

Tang Qi wanted to ask but didn’t dare. Their relationship with Mo Yin wasn’t like regular teammates; it was more like a superior-subordinate relationship. Who dares to ask their superior a non-work-related question?

Even the usually carefree Ding Wenquan kept quiet.

They opened their games, and the training room remained as quiet as always until the team leader came to announce dinner, bringing some activity to the room.

In the kitchen, the food was already laid out. The cook stood by the rice cooker, serving rice to the players, and cheerfully said, “Xiao Mo, did you have a friend visit the base today?”

Everyone paused in their steps except Mo Yin, who walked over with his hands in his pockets and sat at the table. “Not a friend.”

“Oh, really? His handwriting is quite nice.”

Mo Yin took the bowl the cook handed him. The cook took a note from her apron and showed it to Mo Yin. “I found this note on the fridge. At first, I thought someone was playing a prank, but then I saw the beef and shrimp were indeed missing. Anyway, you should have enough for dinner, and if not, there’s plenty more food.”

Mo Yin glanced at the note.

——[Hello, Auntie. I’m Ye Chi from the REAL team. Today I used a piece of beef, eighteen shrimp, two green peppers, three eggs, and some seaweed from the fridge to cook lunch. Thank you.]

“Is this R-E-A-L team also a gaming team?”

The cook struggled to pronounce the letters, while the four team members stood frozen in place.

Mo Yin didn’t respond, and the cook didn’t press further, putting away the note and calling the other team members to eat.

They sat down, and one by one, the team leader, substitutes, and manager joined them.

Ding Wenquan picked up his bowl and casually asked, “Did Quit visit our base today?” He directed his question towards the cook, who looked puzzled, “Quit…what Quit?”

Mo Yin casually replied while picking up some food, “He came.”

The team members all looked at Mo Yin in unison, except the team leader who seemed relatively calm, being in the know.

“MY,” Tang Qi couldn’t hold back, “since when did you become so close with Ye Chi?”

Mo Yin’s gaze swept over to Tang Qi, making him instinctively shrink back.

Mo Yin: “Are we close?”

“Yes…” Tang Qi stammered, gathering his courage to voice the group’s thoughts, “You added him as a friend. We’re teammates, and you haven’t added us as friends…”

“Did you add me?” Mo Yin asked.

Tang Qi: “…”

After a few seconds, Tang Qi mumbled, “I guess not…”

When Ye Chi returned to the REAL base, he was surrounded by his teammates, who began interrogating him. The scene was familiar, but this time Ye Chi deftly dodged their questions, “Let’s go for BBQ tomorrow. Raise your hands if you want to go.”

His teammates weren’t so easily swayed and pinned him on the sofa for questioning.

Ye Chi defended himself with a smile, refusing to say anything. Having Mo Yin as his only friend was enough to keep him happy for months, and his teammates’ anger was just jealousy.

Chen Dong was indeed jealous. He pressed Ye Chi’s arms, gritting his teeth, “Spill it. What underhanded method did you use? Did Mai Bao have some dirt on him?”

“If thinking that makes you feel better, go ahead.”

“Damn, you’re insufferable—wait, I need to take a call. Guys, keep interrogating him.”

Chen Dong let go to answer his phone, and as soon as he did, Tang Qi’s frantic voice came through, piercing the noisy atmosphere of the REAL base.

“I added Mabel as a friend!!!”

All the teammates froze in their tracks as Ye Chi’s actions were caught. The smile on Ye Chi’s face also stiffened, his gaze sharp as he looked at Chen Dong, who was answering the phone.

“We’ve all added him!!!”

Tang Qi was incredibly cheerful. You could imagine how happy he was, perhaps talking while bouncing around, his breath still a bit unsteady.

“Even the substitutes have added him!!!”