Chapter 21

Why was Jiang Jiashu suddenly calling her at this time?

Ying Nian was puzzled. She still had to answer the phone, and it wasn’t appropriate to let Yu Linran and Yi Shen wait around while she took the call. Ying Nian covered the phone screen and quickly said, “Sorry, I need to take this call. You guys go ahead!”

After saying that, she headed in the direction of the restroom as indicated by the sign.

She ran off quickly. Yi Shen watched the direction she ran, then looked at Yu Linran, tilting his head to the left for a while and then to the right.

“Strange! What kind of call is so important that she’s even ignoring you?”

Yu Linran lowered his gaze slightly. “Don’t you have something to do? Why are you still here?”

“Whoa! I almost forgot, I’m off then, bro!”

Yi Shen gave himself a hard slap and quickly left as well.

…

“Hello?”

Ying Nian answered Jiang Jiashu’s call outside the restroom, sounding more anxious than usual. “What do you need from me?”

“Where are you?” Jiang Jiashu’s loud voice came through from the other side. “I’m at the main entrance of the competition venue. Have you left yet?”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came here with a friend to hang out. I heard from Aunt that you were here watching the competition, so I came over to treat you to a late-night snack!” He sounded quite smug. “How about it? Am I a good brother or what?”

…Good, my foot.

Ying Nian clenched her phone tightly. If he were in front of her right now, she would really want to punch him twice!

She thought he had something urgent! And to take this call, she even left Yu Linran behind!

“I’m busy, eat by yourself.”

“Are you kidding me? I came all the way here to find you, totally unfamiliar with this place, and even left my friend behind! And now you’re telling me to eat alone?”

Jiang Jiashu was relentless, annoyingly persistent. Ying Nian had no choice and she couldn’t argue with him, so she had to agree, “Alright, alright, wait at the entrance, I’ll be right over!”

After hanging up, she retraced her steps and ran into the SF staff at the door of their lounge. She had met them several times already, so they weren’t strangers anymore. They had just eaten cake together earlier, and one of them greeted her with a warm smile, “Wanna join us for a late-night snack later? The coach was just looking for you!”

Ying Nian felt bitter inside. However, she still had to keep a smile on her face. “No, I have something to do.”

After saying this, she walked into the lounge and spoke briefly with the coach. After saying her goodbyes to everyone, she looked toward Yu Linran, who was sitting with his teammates. After thinking for a moment, she decided not to go over and speak to him alone.

She stood in front of the five of them and said her goodbyes uniformly, “I have something else to do, so I’ll leave first. See you next time!”

However, she did say an extra word to Yu Linran, “…Thanks for the autograph, Captain.”

She walked out of the lounge, and before long, her figure was completely out of sight.

Yi Shen leaned over the armrest of his chair towards Yu Linran. “Bro, where do you think she rushed off to?”

Yu Linran replied, “You’re asking me?”

“Isn’t she your fan…?”

Cheng Run sneered, “So according to you, if it’s your fan, you know everything about where they eat, drink, poop, and go out?”

Yi Shen was left speechless, and after a moment, he grumbled, “Run Bro, you always know how to tease me!”

Cheng Run squinted his eyes and joked, “I say, Shen Ah, something seems off with you. I’ve noticed that whenever it comes to Ying Nian, you’re especially attentive. Checking her Weibo before, inviting her to join us for dinner last time… Tell me, do you have a thing for that little girl?”

All eyes instantly focused on him, and Yi Shen awkwardly leaned back. Even Bo Can was looking over, which made Yi Shen’s frustration boil over. “Bo Can, what are you looking at! You never say a word normally, and now you’re joining in the fun! Damn you!”

“You only ever act tough towards him.”

“That’s because I can’t out-argue any of you…”

“Oh?”

“Alright, alright!” Yi Shen called a stop himself. “I really don’t mean anything by it; I just happened to run into her, so I invited her.”

“Then why don’t you invite other fans?”

“Well, it just so happens it’s always her! The support stuff was organized by her, the Weibo name was created by her, she was the one who came to visit the base, and she even covered for me twice with small change! How could I not recognize her?”

“Really?”

“Of course! If I’m lying, I’ll eat dirt!”

Yi Shen’s face was open and honest, but Cheng Run and Lin Shan stared at him for a long moment. He didn’t flinch, so they finally let him off the hook.

“No fun, I thought our brother Shen had finally figured it out!”

“You’re the little brother, your whole family are little brothers!” Yi Shen retorted stubbornly, and before the two of them could beat him up, he quickly diverted the trouble elsewhere. “Anyway, if anyone’s gonna figure it out first, it’ll definitely be the Captain.”

“Why the Captain?” Sure enough, the attention successfully shifted. The two of them weren’t much younger than Yu Linran.

“Because—the Captain is mature! Handsome! And has a better chance than you two!” Yi Shen made a face at them, then bolted off, running for his life.

“Hey…”

Seeing that they couldn’t catch him, Cheng Run and Lin Shan shifted their gaze to Yu Linran.

Cheng Run raised his eyebrows and asked slyly, “Yu Ah, what do you think of Ying Nian?”

Yu Linran seemed to ponder for two seconds. His lips moved slightly, and Cheng Run and Lin Shan were fully focused, waiting for his answer. Even Bo Can became curious.

The next second, they saw their beloved Captain’s lips curl up slightly, and from his thin lips came a single word:

—“Guess.”

Cheng Run: …

Lin Shan: …

Bo Can: …

…

Ying Nian met up with Jiang Jiashu near the main entrance of the venue. As usual, the moment they saw each other, they started exchanging verbal jabs. After their noisy banter, they headed to the roadside to hail a taxi.

As they walked, Jiang Jiashu glanced at her outfit. “Why are you dressed like that?”

“Like what?”

“I’ve never seen you wear such a short skirt before.”

She replied, “I was in a rush when I left, so I just grabbed something.”

He responded with an “oh,” and didn’t ask further, shifting the conversation to other topics.

The late-night meal didn’t last long. Since they were staying at different hotels, after eating and drinking their fill, Jiang Jiashu escorted her back and only left after seeing her enter her room.

Ying Nian had been busy all day, and fatigue finally caught up with her, so she went straight into the bathroom to freshen up.

After tidying up, she crawled into bed and checked the group chat, only to find out that after the competition, a live streaming platform had sent a host to interview SF. The team’s spokesperson for the interview was still Yu Linran.

Ying Nian turned over to find a comfortable position and began to catch up on the messages she had missed. She watched the post-match interview first, then moved on to the live platform’s interview. Initially, she was drowsy, but the more she watched, the more alert she became.

To attract attention, the live platform’s questions weren’t strictly limited to the competition; there weren’t many restrictions, and they weren’t confined to game-related topics. At one point, they asked Yu Linran about his criteria for choosing a partner.

In the past, Yu Linran had been asked this question twice before and had always brushed it off. She thought he would do the same this time, but unexpectedly, he glanced at the camera and answered with genuine interest.

The host asked, “Captain Yu, what kind of girls do you like?”

Yu Linran replied, “I don’t have any specific criteria; it depends on the feeling.”

This was quite in line with what “Y Shen” had said.

Ying Nian nodded as she watched.

The host continued, “So, does that mean you don’t have an ideal type?”

Yu Linran confirmed, “Yes.”

“Then what kind of opposite sex would you be less likely to consider?”

“It’s not that I wouldn’t consider them,” he said. “But there are some things I don’t particularly like.”

“For example? Is it about their style or personality? Could you be a bit more specific, Captain Yu?”

Surprisingly, he cooperated. “There are some styles I don’t particularly like.”

The female host perked up with interest. “Oh? What kind of styles?”

It was the first time Ying Nian had heard him talk about these things, and she kept her eyes glued to the screen, not wanting to miss a single moment.

With his tall stature and long legs, Yu Linran looked especially striking and upright, almost like a painting when he stood there. He gazed at the camera, suddenly gave a faint smile, and said two words—

“Short skirts.”

It was like a bolt from the blue!

Ying Nian’s hand slipped, and she nearly dropped her phone on her face. She shot up from the bed, turning to look at the short skirt she had taken off and placed to the side.

Short! Skirt!

She had worn it all day! And she had even worn it in front of Yu Linran! He actually didn’t like it!!!

Ying Nian felt a lump stuck in her throat, and was unable to continue watching the interview video. While holding her phone, she thought for a long time before quickly opening Yi Shen’s WeChat.

She messaged “Y Shen”:

[Yi Shen!!]

[Does your Captain really not like girls wearing short skirts?]

[Will girls who wear short skirts be disliked by him?!]

She anxiously awaited his reply, and if it weren’t for the concern of being impolite, she would have even considered sending Yi Shen a voice message.

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long before there was a response.

“Y Shen” said:

[He doesn’t dislike it.]

Seeing these words, Ying Nian felt a surge of relief.

She hadn’t replied yet when another message came through—

[But the thing is, I’m not Yi Shen.]