“You’re going to H Country?”
“Yeah, this kind of thing can’t be said over the phone.”

Face-to-face discussions allow people to sense each other’s emotions and thoughts immediately. As the captain of ST, stepping off the battlefield due to injury was already a dereliction of duty. He couldn’t further disappoint his teammates, who had always supported him, by merely informing them without proper explanation.

The fans, too, deserved honesty. If he ultimately couldn’t participate in the global championship, ST would inevitably have to release an official statement about his injury and his temporary withdrawal. Many fans were traveling to the event specifically to see him—some for his gameplay, others for his looks. Whatever the reason, he couldn’t let them waste their plane tickets for nothing.

—

That evening, Kuang Ye first broke the news to the team manager via phone.

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by an explosive outburst.
“Holy shit! I gave that son of a bitch Dr. John a thank-you banner and a red envelope, and this is how he screws me over without a word?”

Kuang Ye: “…”
Zhang Qinan’s thought process sometimes even I can’t follow.

“I’m flying out tomorrow,” Kuang Ye continued. “I’ll come clean to Shen Lele and the others, and we can discuss the next steps.”

“Discuss what? Are you an idiot?” Zhang Qinan shot back. “Of course you have to choose treatment! I’m not some short-sighted idiot who’d kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.”

Kuang Ye chuckled. “I know you’re not. But ST is already under pressure playing against strong foreign teams. Even if I can’t play, I want to be there to cheer them on.

“They’re all excellent players. Even if they’re not as skilled as me, they’re not weak. I can’t let their morale falter because of my absence.”

And even though the injury left him no choice, he couldn’t just abandon them without giving them a proper explanation and apology.

Zhang Qinan thought it over and agreed. “Alright, then. When you fly over, bring some snacks from home—hotpot bases, Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, that sort of thing. The food here is awful. The guys have only been here a few days, and they’ve already lost so much weight they look like skeletons.”

“Got it!”

—

The next day, Kuang Ye stood at the door of their apartment, reluctantly saying goodbye to Mu Wan, holding a suitcase packed with spicy shredded rabbit and chili chicken.

“Jiejie, I’ll video call you every day. You have to answer, okay?”
“Okay.”

“Eat properly. If you don’t feel like getting takeout, just go to the base cafeteria. Here’s my employee card. You can swipe it to get in. Everyone there knows you, so don’t feel shy.”
“Okay.”

“Don’t work too late at night. If you’re overwhelmed, hire a couple more people. I’ll pay their salaries.”
“Okay.”

“And…”

Mu Wan thought he was dragging things out too much. She looked up at him suspiciously and probed.
“Are you angling for a goodbye kiss?”

Kuang Ye immediately leaned closer, pointing at the corner of his lips. His eyes were bright yet deep.
“Only if you’re willing, jiejie.”

Mu Wan: “…”
This sneaky little pup—he clearly wanted a kiss but was making her say it first.

Rising slightly on her toes, Mu Wan gave him an extremely perfunctory peck on the corner of his lips, then pushed him out the door and shut it with a bang.
“I still need to get ready and head to the office. Don’t dawdle. Message me when you land.”

Kuang Ye: “…”

Feeling aggrieved, he raised his voice through the door, confident since they were the only tenants on the floor.
“Jiejie, that doesn’t count—I didn’t even get to use my tongue.”

Inside, Mu Wan’s face instantly flushed red with embarrassment. She couldn’t help slapping the door and angrily retorted, “Kuang Ye, if you keep talking nonsense, don’t even think about stepping foot back in here!”

Just from her voice, Kuang Ye could tell her cheeks must be crimson. His eyes sparkled mischievously as he stared at the fingerprint lock. Unable to resist, he dropped his luggage, opened the door, and dashed inside, catching the startled Mu Wan off guard.

Before she could speak, his soft lips captured hers. His rough tongue invaded, dominating and taking freely in a passionate and lingering kiss.

When the kiss finally ended, Mu Wan was left breathless. Kuang Ye, satisfied, planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Jiejie, no brushing me off. This is a proper goodbye kiss. Bye-bye.”

With that, he walked out, closed the door behind him, grabbed his luggage, and left.

Mu Wan: “???”

She touched her slightly numb lips and, remembering that the door had been open the whole time—though there were no strangers around—felt utterly mortified.
“This bratty Xiao Didi!”

—

Having successfully stolen a kiss, Kuang Ye was delighted. His jiejie’s lips were unbelievably soft.

The New Year was just around the corner. In the past, it had always been Mu Wan preparing gifts for him. This time, he wanted to surprise her.

Maybe he could give himself to her? No, no, he already belonged to her.
How about arranging a unique experience for her, like she once did for him?

As soon as this idea popped into his head, a stream of indecent, inappropriate thoughts flooded his mind—where he’d even learned so many suggestive ideas, he didn’t know.

Shaking his head, Kuang Ye closed his eyes to purify his mind, then refocused on brainstorming proper gift ideas.

—

Walking from the parking garage to the airport terminal, Kuang Ye was just about to check in when a familiar figure, pulling a suitcase, brushed past him.

Kuang Ye: “!!”

He stopped abruptly, turned around, and stared at the person—a man who had made him jealous on countless occasions as his “screen rival.”

Why was this guy back in the country?

Damn, was he here to steal his girl?!