Chapter 178

Four weeks into the summer season, there are three teams in the league that remain undefeated: DSG, REAL, and KU.

KU spent a lot of money this year. Although they didn’t manage to bring in the two mid-laners widely considered the best in the league, they did assemble a new “Galactic Battleship” of a team.

At the start of the season, there were rumors that DSG’s dominance in training matches was declining and that they were struggling to adapt to the new version. However, after four weeks of matches, these rumors were proven false. DSG still looks like the formidable team that inspires despair in their opponents.

REAL, who missed out on the playoffs last year due to a player’s health issues, is highly regarded this year and is considered the team most likely to defeat DSG.

In the fourth week, on Saturday’s prime-time slots, the league made a grand arrangement: REAL would face KU, and ADT would play against DSG. This setup pitted last year’s spring season’s top four against each other, maximizing viewership.

On Friday night, at the DSG base, Tang Qi put away his notes and apologized to Mo Yin once more.

Although a week had passed, Tang Qi still seized every opportunity to apologize to Mo Yin for the incident when they went to the internet café.

They had unfortunate timing when they got out of the car that day. They were immediately recognized and surrounded by a group of students who came to play games. The number of fans kept growing, and they struggled to cope until Mo Yin emerged from the internet café.

In terms of popularity, Mo Yin is the most intimidating in the entire league. He alone can easily outmatch the combined fan base of all the other players.

The fans were stunned by Mo Yin’s sudden appearance. The previously noisy environment instantly quieted down, and they even made way for Mo Yin to walk through.

Tang Qi and his teammates were ducking and dodging, but they all froze when they saw Mo Yin approaching.

“Who’s driving?”

“I am,” Ding Wenquan replied.

Mo Yin turned his head slightly. “Go start the car.”

That’s how he rescued them from the crowd.

The forums and trending searches were filled with discussions afterward. Tang Qi, in hindsight, realized they had gone too far that day. On the way back to the base, Mo Yin calmly told them the truth.

He and Ye Chi were secretly training at the internet café.

“The new version requires practicing many heroes, and ranked matches are too slow,” Mo Yin said blandly. “Our teammates are useless, so I have to put in extra effort myself.”

The entire car was silent, with the jungler and support feeling particularly guilty.

Tang Qi’s head was nearly on his knees. He felt extremely regretful since most of this mess started with him. Mo Yin was trying to help the team improve by teaching him to command and adding him on a smurf account, yet he had foolishly joined in with his teammates to gossip about Mo Yin. He was full of remorse.

The jungler and support were completely silent. Ding Wenquan wisely stayed out of trouble, and only Qin Kunlun asked incredulously when the four teammates got off the car, “Did you guys go for a team-building event without me?!”

A week later, the DSG team acted as if nothing had happened. Tang Qi focused on practicing his commands to make amends. Guan Ming didn’t want to be useless. If Mo Yin could use a smurf account to practice, he should work harder too. Otherwise, he didn’t deserve to stay on DSG. Everyone had their unique strengths, and there was only one all-around player like Mo Yin. Guan Ming consoled himself and started practicing unconventional heroes on his smurf account.

DSG gradually improved as a team, becoming even more cohesive than during the spring season.

The first few times Tang Qi apologized, Mo Yin didn’t respond. That night, when Tang Qi apologized again, Mo Yin said, “You talk too much.”

Tang Qi: “…”

“Save your words for tomorrow’s command.”

Mo Yin’s social media feed returned to silence.

That day, he avoided it, gave a casual reprimand, and then left without giving Ye Chi any chance to explain or take further action.

Mo Yin didn’t care how Ye Chi felt or how he struggled. He only found amusement in looking at the social media feed that remained unchanged from that day.

DSG didn’t have any scrimmages with REAL that week, and Mo Yin didn’t train with Ye Chi individually. The two had no contact at all that week.

On the day of the match, the team traveled from the base to the venue.

Mo Yin was his usual self, occupying a row of seats alone, eyes closed, listening to music. The rhythm in his headphones was similar to what he used to listen to in the past.

Upon arrival, fans cheered from both sides. With the help of staff, Mo Yin and his teammates entered the venue. Their match was scheduled for 7 PM, and according to league regulations, they arrived at the venue by 2 PM.

In the parking lot, the vehicles of ADT and KU had also arrived.

In the lounge, the team members sat down separately. Today, there were three matches: the first one, starting at 3 PM, was between lower-ranked teams. The REAL vs. KU match was at 5 PM, and DSG’s match was scheduled for 7 PM.

The waiting time before the matches often felt the most boring. Besides doing makeup and shooting videos, the players either played on their phones or visited each other’s lounges.

Tang Qi was most familiar with Chen Dong today, but after the Internet café incident, he didn’t dare go over to visit. His eyes glanced quietly to the left.

Mo Yin was lying on the sofa, looking at his phone.

Tang Qi could only communicate with Chen Dong online.

According to Chen Dong, that day, after DSG left, their team members sneaked into the internet café and, with the help of the owner, found their captain.

Ye Chi was standing in the corridor outside a private room on the third floor, looking dark and desolate.

The four teammates who had come to question him were stunned; they had never seen Ye Chi like that before.

On the way back, the REAL team’s car was silent. Not only that, after returning to the base, Ye Chi went upstairs without saying a word and, thereafter, seemed possessed. Apart from necessary communication, he was like a mute. His presence during training sessions was so intense that it silenced the usually cheerful teammates.

Chen Dong wondered if they had gone too far and asked Tang Qi if Mo Yin was angry.

Tang Qi replied that he probably was.

The REAL team members, after conferring, decided to lie low until their captain cooled off.

REAL’s base was further from the venue, so they arrived last. When they got out of the car, they uncharacteristically wore serious expressions. The media captured videos and posted them online with the headline “REAL enters battle mode.”

In the lounge, Tang Qi saw Ye Chi with a stern face and couldn’t help but glance at Mo Yin again.

To be honest, he felt that Mo Yin seemed both angry and not angry at the same time. He couldn’t be sure.

Anyway, neither team dared to provoke the two mid-laners now.

Soon after, Chen Dong sent Tang Qi a photo he had secretly taken.

Like Mo Yin, Ye Chi was sitting alone on a sofa, expressionlessly looking at his phone.

Tang Qi didn’t dare to secretly take a photo of Mo Yin, so he just replied with, “Same.”

Besides worrying about angering Mo Yin, Tang Qi was also concerned that their mischief had caused the two mid-laners to stop their private secret training sessions.

Chen Dong mentioned that he hadn’t seen Ye Chi secretly go upstairs to log in or train against Mo Yin in the training room.

Tang Qi confirmed that it was the same on their end.

The quiet wait in the lounge finally reached 3 PM, the start of the first match, allowing them to pass the time by watching.

The 3 PM match, being between mid-to-lower-ranked teams, wasn’t very interesting. The DSG lounge remained quiet. After the match ended, it was already past 4 PM. The team leader asked what everyone wanted to eat so he could order takeout, and the lounge became lively.

Mo Yin stood up with his phone. The team leader called out to him, “MY, what would you like to eat?”

“Whatever.”

Tang Qi turned to look at Mo Yin, who had already pushed open the lounge door.

Outside the lounge, the walls were pure white. Mo Yin walked along the corridor until he stopped near the emergency exit.

During the spring season, he had stood behind that door, meeting Ye Chi during the match intervals.

That meeting must have been extremely significant to Ye Chi, as it caused a shift in the entire timeline.

Mo Yin watched the door from a distance, then walked forward and pushed it open with a creak.

Leaning against the corner of the stairs, with arms crossed and eyes closed, Ye Chi instinctively raised his head.

Their gazes met. Mo Yin remained calm, as expected. Ye Chi, clearly startled, slightly loosened his tightly crossed arms.

A breeze blew through the gap in the emergency door. Mo Yin casually closed it, sat down on the steps, and kept a certain distance from Ye Chi. He still had his earphones in, focusing on his phone as if he hadn’t noticed Ye Chi at all.

Ye Chi, looking up at Mo Yin, wondered if he was hallucinating.

Ye Chi had no idea how he survived the past week. It felt like his soul had split in two. One part remained unchanged, controlling his body to continue daily life. The other part was stuck in that internet café room, tormenting him with emotions that caused him sleepless nights.

How could he be so impulsive? So lacking in self-control? What was he thinking? What right did he have to act that way? He ruined everything…

What would Mo Yin think? Would he feel disgusted and never want to have any contact with him again?

Ye Chi’s mind was full of thoughts, none of them positive.

For today’s match, both teams had to be at the venue. Ye Chi’s expression was tense throughout the journey, almost unable to breathe in the shaking car.

What right did he have? Why did he even want to do that on that day?

He was crazy.

Mo Yin was right; he really was crazy.

Over the past seven days, Ye Chi had been feeling tormented, depressed, and pained, hating himself for his inappropriate thoughts that ruined his chance of being friends with Mo Yin. He thought the remorse had reached its peak. But now, seeing Mo Yin in front of him again, still cold and indifferent, Ye Chi realized that there was a deeper darkness beneath the abyss.

Nothing he said now would matter, not after what he had done.

Ye Chi tilted his head back, his occipital resting against the cold wall, feeling a sudden urge to let everything go.

It was already like this.

Time couldn’t be turned back. He couldn’t go back to a week ago and hit the pause button in that private room. What happened had happened.

Ye Chi looked at Mo Yin.

Separated by a dozen steps, Mo Yin was above, and he was below. When he looked up, he saw only a slender hand holding a phone, obscuring Mo Yin’s eyes.

A shadow suddenly enveloped him as Mo Yin slightly lifted his eyes, his eyelashes curving up as he looked coldly at Ye Chi, who was approaching.

Mo Yin sat with his legs apart, his arms resting on his knees, while Ye Chi stood on the step where Mo Yin’s feet were placed.

In their summer uniforms, the light fabric outlined their muscles. They were both only twenty, exuding a strong and youthful male presence.

The two of them stared at each other, as if in a silent contest, neither speaking.

Mo Yin’s eyes and expression were as cold as ice. Ye Chi, outwardly tense and calm, had an intense mix of unwillingness and obsession in his eyes, a hidden pain tangled within.

Mo Yin’s hand holding the phone slightly dropped, the screen already showing the start of the second match. Urgent footsteps passed behind the emergency door, thudding in Ye Chi’s heart.

“Why are you watching the match here?” Ye Chi spoke first.

Mo Yin lowered his eyes indifferently, “I like watching matches alone.”

His attitude suggested that nothing had happened between them.

Honestly, this was much better than Ye Chi had expected.

But was being ignored really better than being hated? If it was, then why did his tightly clenched heart not relax at all, but instead pound even harder?

After a moment of silence, Ye Chi suddenly said, “That day…”

He hesitated, watching Mo Yin’s expression. Mo Yin was holding his phone, seemingly focused on the match, completely ignoring Ye Chi.

If the worst outcome was being ignored.

Then what was he afraid of?

“That day, I actually wanted to kiss you.”

Ye Chi’s tone was calm.

Mo Yin remained with his head down, showing no reaction.

Ye Chi’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he asked softly, “Did you really not hear, or are you pretending not to?”

On the screen, the team fight ended, with casualties on both sides. Mo Yin raised his hand, took off his left earbud, and looked up, his eyes clear, “I heard.”

Ye Chi’s gaze was fixed on Mo Yin.

Mo Yin slightly curved his lips, unsure if it was a taunt or a sneer, “Are you done talking?” He motioned with the earbud in his hand towards Ye Chi, indicating that if he was done, he would continue watching the match.

His eyelashes lowered, his hand followed, and he brought the earbud back to his ear. To Ye Chi, these movements played out like a slow-motion scene in a movie, with every change in expression on Mo Yin’s face captured in his eyes. His emotions surged in the hopeless ambiguity. Just as Mo Yin was about to put the earbud back in, Ye Chi lowered his head, his breath quickening as he leaned in. Whether it was his speed or Mo Yin’s focus on the match, Ye Chi succeeded.

His lips lightly brushed Mo Yin’s.

At the moment their lips touched, Mo Yin instinctively leaned back slightly, the movement very subtle. Their lips parted, and Mo Yin’s gaze pierced sharply towards Ye Chi.

“Just forgot to mention,” Ye Chi’s heart pounded like a drum. Seeing Mo Yin’s cold, bewildered gaze, he felt an unusual thrill. Fine, he’d be the crazy one. Being crazy was better than being a fool. “Actually, I wanted to kiss you today too.”