Chapter Fifteen

Ning Nanzhou couldn’t see the outside scenery; he only knew he was home from the sound of the door opening.

A soft object rested on his pillow—it must have been Chi Yu placing him gently onto the bed.

The quilt carried a faint scent of snowy mountains, a fragrance that belonged to Chi Yu. His breath involuntarily quickened.

Chi Yu, thinking he was unwell, gently lifted his neck and tenderly fed him a hangover pill.

Not drunk and unwilling to take medicine, he feigned a natural reaction and used his lips and tongue to push the pill out.

With his eyes closed and unable to see Chi Yu, he carelessly spat the pill out, his tongue inevitably brushing against Chi Yu’s hand, licking the moist palm.

Realizing this, Ning Nanzhou wished he could disappear into a crack in the floor; such an action was mortifying for an adult. Chi Yu’s hand stayed still for a long moment before he fed him the pill again, caring for him like a child.

Perhaps due to the medicine, Ning Nanzhou slept soundly until dawn, waking with a slight soreness.

Because he had slept so deeply, he wasn’t sure if he had shared the same bed with Chi Yu last night.

Knowing Chi Yu’s serious nature, it wouldn’t be a big deal even if they had shared the bed. Even if he had slept like an octopus entangling the other, Chi Yu would probably only say lightly, “Don’t kick the blanket.”

Speaking of sleeping habits, did he kick the blanket last night?

The young man, hair tousled from early rising, looked at the messy sheets uncertainly. There were signs of tossing and turning—he hoped he hadn’t left Chi Yu with the impression that he was a blanket-kicking troublemaker!

He didn’t leave the bedroom immediately but went to the bathroom to wash up and fix his hair before stepping out coolly.

He saw Chi Yu in the open kitchen making breakfast and greeted him, “Thank you for taking care of me yesterday. I’m heading back to school now.”

Chi Yu’s long hair draped over his shoulders, the buttons of his shirt partially undone, exuding a relaxed air unlike his usual public demeanor. “Eat breakfast first.”

“No need. I usually don’t eat breakfast.”

Ning Nanzhou wasn’t in the habit of eating breakfast; he either had lunch after morning classes or slept in on weekends until noon.

“Eat breakfast.” Chi Yu firmly guided him to sit down.

For the first time, Ning Nanzhou felt the weight of Chi Yu’s authority and sat down to eat.

The breakfast consisted of toast, bacon, fried eggs, and a bowl of creamy soup.

Chi Yu truly treated him like a child, adding a glass of milk and even preparing cranberry cookies.

Being a typical Chinese palate, he wasn’t accustomed to Western bread and sweets and couldn’t tell much difference, but knowing Chi Yu made this breakfast, he ate it carefully, savoring every bite.

Yes… Chi Yu was not only excellent at gaming but also a fine cook.

When he looked up and met Chi Yu’s narrow eyes, as if falling into the bottomless waters of Honiara Lake, Ning Nanzhou racked his brain for a topic: “Why don’t you live at the club?”

“I’m not used to living with others,” Chi Yu replied, sipping his black coffee. “And Xiao Qiao and the others are under too much pressure.”

He thought Chi Yu’s words were very tactful; “not used to living with others” sounded gentle, while describing him as chatty was just a rich choice of words—a warm yet distant feeling.

He glanced at the time while eating; it was already eight o’clock.

“Do you have classes on weekends?” Chi Yu asked.

“No.”

Although he had no classes today, he hadn’t streamed for two days, and if he delayed returning, his fans might suspect he’d been banned.

Chi Yu put down his cup. “Shall I show you around the club?”

A tour of the club!!!

FKW was the most popular prestigious team at the moment, and it was never open to outsiders.

He quickly agreed at the thought of seeing where Chi Yu trained, especially with Chi Yu as his guide.

Let the fans suspect all they want—they’d been doubting him for ages anyway.

—

FKW was located in the Ocean Moon District. He wasn’t sure what charm the district held; four of Shanghai’s five teams were based here, with the GZ team just a wall away.

Chi Yu swiped a card to open the main gate.

Just as they arrived, Xiao Qiao came over carrying a huge pile of supplements. “Sister-in-law, I’m so glad you’re okay. Otherwise, I wouldn’t forgive myself. I bought you goji berries and ginseng to boost your health.”

Goji berries and ginseng after just one glass of white wine?

How fragile did Xiao Qiao think he was?

Ning Nanzhou looked at the struggling Xiao Qiao and frankly thought he could take him down with one punch.

“I don’t need these,” he said sincerely. “Training is tough enough. You should take good care of yourself.”

Xiao Qiao didn’t expect the young man to turn the tables and advise him. Sister-in-law was just too kind.

He volunteered eagerly, “Captain, you go handle your business. I’ll take sister-in-law on a tour of the base!”

Xiao Qiao led the way. “This white building is the main building; the black one is the leisure building. We usually train and eat in the main building.”

He gave a floor-by-floor introduction: “First floor is the lobby, second floor has the cafeteria and gym, the training rooms are on the third floor, and the analysis department is right next to the training rooms. Brother Song said you’ll be working in the analysis department.”

Ning Nanzhou’s first impression of the base was its size, followed by the superb facilities.

The training room had just the right lighting—not too dim, not too bright—with a clean, modern white design.

His gaze lingered over Chi Yu’s seat, where the rabbit plushie he had gifted sat beside the keyboard.

At that moment, Xiao Qiao muttered something while looking at his screen. Instinctively, Ning Nanzhou asked, “What is it?”

“That streamer,” Xiao Qiao said awkwardly. “I wanted to expose him in the live room, but he hasn’t streamed for two days, so I don’t know what he’s up to.”

South: “…” Let your crystal roam wild in your own home.

Changing the subject, Ning Nanzhou said, “I’ll go check out the analysis department. I want to get familiar with the work quickly.”

“No problem.” Xiao Qiao led him to a room ahead.

The room was piled high with various documents, stacked like a snowdrift, blurring the line between desk and floor.

A round-faced man with thick glasses raised his head from the paper mountain. “You must be Xiao Ning? I’m Yang Ji, head of the analysis department. Sorry I can’t get up; my leg’s numb.”

“Hello, Brother Yang,” Ning Nanzhou greeted sincerely.

Yang Ji had been FKW’s first top laner. His individual record wasn’t remarkable and was now forgotten, but he had contributed greatly to the team, sacrificing his own playstyle.

Having entered society at sixteen, Yang Ji had seen much and could tell the young man’s respect was genuine.

He had expected the boy to be well-behaved, but meeting him confirmed it.

He waved Xiao Qiao off. “You go train. Your rank is shaky. I’ll get Xiao Ning familiar with the work.”

Xiao Qiao, recalling the captain’s orders, reluctantly left.

After a while, Yang Ji stood up. “During the off-season, there’s little analysis work. It’s mostly organizing past materials.”

—

“Here’s your workstation,” Yang Ji said, leading him to the farthest cubicle. “I’ll send you the materials to sort and categorize. The monthly salary is ten thousand.”

“That high?”

Ning Nanzhou was startled; he only worked weekends, about eight days a month.

Yang Ji looked him over seriously. “We can’t find anyone suitable at the moment, and the club has plenty of sponsorship money.”

“That’s too much,” Ning Nanzhou worried it might affect Chi Yu. “Before I came, I checked the average part-time wages for college students in Shanghai—they’re between one hundred and one hundred twenty yuan a day. Eight hundred a month is fine for me.”

Yang Ji’s mouth opened slightly. “Make it a thousand, considering travel expenses.”

After negotiating up to a thousand, Yang Ji went to the conference room and said to the long-haired man just finishing a meeting, “I did my best. Your wife is too sharp.”

Indeed, he was a good kid—not one who could be swayed with candy, but one who would call 110 calmly when faced with kidnappers.

Chi Yu lowered his eyes. “Thanks.”

Ning Nanzhou sat at his desk organizing documents, mostly pre-Season 4 materials.

The domestic league had developed relatively late; before Season 4, many clubs were informal. Coaches often just bought cigarettes or ordered takeout instead of analyzing.

He hadn’t expected FKW to have detailed analysis archives from back then—no wonder they were a triple-champion club.

Although some tactics were outdated, many were still valuable.

He studied diligently. Later, some said FKW had planned ahead—sending him straight to the analysis department wasn’t just following the captain’s example.

Ning Nanzhou worked slowly, but there was so little to organize he finished within an hour.

Although Yang Ji said he could leave after finishing, getting a full day’s pay for one hour made him uneasy, so he waited for more work.

Around six o’clock, Yang Ji returned with materials and said matter-of-factly, “Waiting for Chi Yu? I’ll take you to find him.”

Before Ning Nanzhou could reply, Yang Ji strode toward the training room.

He followed, then asked about the analysis reports. “Brother Yang, who wrote these? They’re quite… thorough.”

He carefully replaced “good” with “thorough.”

Yang Ji replied, “Xiao Ning, you don’t know. There weren’t any analysts back then. Coaches only bought cigarettes and ordered takeout. Chi Yu wrote all these little by little. The club only hired analysts later when they had more money.”

So Chi Yu had written them…

He knew Chi Yu trained relentlessly after losses, but hadn’t realized he also took on analysis work afterward.

He suddenly thought of a saying: Only standing atop the mountains can the world hear your voice.

As they reached the training room, Yang Ji called out to Chi Yu, “Your wife is here to see you.”

Ning Nanzhou felt his ears flush.

“By the way, why did you put Xiao Ning’s workstation so far away?” Yang Ji sat down. “There’s a spot right opposite.”

For the first time, Ning Nanzhou felt a bit awkward. Maybe Chi Yu just didn’t want to see him, or perhaps he feared gossip—was it his fault?

He instinctively clenched his fists, but Chi Yu spoke calmly.

“Afraid of distractions.”