Meng Qi was choked by Zhou Kanqing's words and remained silent for a long while.
He finally said sorry and hung up the phone in a hurry.
Not long after, a message popped up on the screen of the mobile phone that Zhou Kanqing had thrown on the table.
Wand: Sorry, I know I am sorry for you guys... Sorry Wind, I am not a good teammate, but you will always be my good brothers to me. I will wait for you to win a world championship, you can definitely do it! Didn’t you also say that when Xiaoran and I have a child, you will teach him to play "Doomsday"? Also, please say sorry to Wind for me, Xiaoran is due in December, I don’t know if I will have the opportunity to apologize to him in person...
wand is Mengqi’s ID.
As the phone screen returned to darkness again, Zhou Kanqing turned his eyes away from the unread message.
He stood up and left the lounge silently under everyone's gaze.
Zhou Kanqing has always been carefree and nothing can irritate him, but at this moment everyone can see that something is wrong with him.
Xue Lan was a little worried and wanted to catch up to see what was happening, but Duan Wenzheng held his shoulder and said, "Leave him alone for a while."
He hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.
It was not known whether Zhou Kanqing’s mood had affected the others, but they lost interest in continuing and quickly dispersed after the hotpot meal.
But when Xue Lan went out to take out the trash, he ran into Zhou Kanqing who was squatting in the corner smoking.
Xue Lan walked past him hesitantly. After taking out the trash, he was about to walk around Zhou Kanqing, who was looking down in thought, when Zhou Kanqing raised his head and called him, "Lanlan, come and talk to your brother."
Zhou Kanqing held a cigarette in his mouth and looked up at Xue Lan with a smile in his eyes.
Xue Lan didn't know if his mood had improved, so upon hearing that, she walked obediently to his side and squatted down.
"When I first came to the club, I was younger than you." Zhou Kanqing didn't know what he was thinking about, and his expression became cheerful: "At that time, there was Brother Qiang, A Yan, Hao Shan and Meng Qi. Except for A Yan, none of us was willing to give in to each other... But later, as we got along, we found that it was not bad to be together."
"Most people say that the golden age for e-sports players is under 24, but we didn't believe that, so we agreed to play together until we are 30." Zhou Kanqing said as he took a puff of the cigarette in his hand: "But it's only been a few years, and LGW is left with..."
Zhou Kanqing didn't continue talking, but Xue Lan's heart was still gripped by his simple words.
"Actually, they've been gone for so long, there's nothing to be sad about. I just feel very happy recently, especially happy."
Zhou Kanqing raised his head, looked at the empty night in front of him, and murmured softly: "I used to think that my e-sports era was those people from the past LGW. If they left, there would be no point for me to stay."
Xue Lan was hesitant to speak, and for a moment he didn't know how to comfort Zhou Kanqing.
"Little boy, why do you have such a sad expression?" Zhou Kanqing glanced at Xue Lan's sad face and suddenly laughed: "But if I really retire, would you want to see Brother Qing?"
"..." Xue Lan couldn't quite make out what Zhou Kanqing meant. He looked at Zhou Kanqing nervously and suddenly felt a little scared of the situation before him.
Zhou Kanqing looked at his nervous expression, but laughed: "Now I begin to understand why Duan Wenzheng likes to lie to you so much!"
"… "
"I'm going to fight until I'm thirty, with A Yan. A Yan is thin-skinned. He must be lying if he says he's a drag. I'm the best at dragging people down." Zhou Kanqing's eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled: "With you, Lu You, Duan Wenzheng, and A Yan... How can I bear to leave?"
He looked at Xue Lan's tightly frowning face, and suddenly found it very amusing, so he reached out his hand and wanted to rub his soft little head.
But before his hand could touch the head of the person next to him, it was ruthlessly opened by a hand.
Duan Wenzheng appeared out of nowhere and slapped his hand away, then snatched his cigarette and put it out in one go.
"Don't smoke in front of him."
"Okay, okay, okay." Zhou Kanqing responded speechlessly, and then saw Duan Wenzheng patting Xue Lan on the shoulder, indicating that it was time for him to go back.
Zhou Kanqing looked at Xue Lan who was pushed into the door by him, and suddenly came back to his senses and said, "Duan Wenzheng! It's okay that you don't smoke, but you won't let me touch Lanlan's head?! Why are you so petty?!"
Duan Wenzheng looked at Xue Lan, who was waiting for him obediently in the corridor after entering the room, with a gentle dark look in his eyes.
“That’s already very generous.”
"What?"
Zhou Kanqing didn't understand the meaning of his words, but Duan Wenzheng didn't want to continue talking, so he left him and walked into the club. Zhou Kanqing was so angry that he cursed, "You are such a stingy person. You lied to Lanlan all day long. You even lied to her that you were going to find a daughter-in-law for your old man when you brought her home. And you still have the nerve to show off to me!"
Duan Wenzheng stopped, turned around and looked at the indignant Zhou Kanqing with a smile.
"Why can't I show off the wife I swindled back with my own skills?"
"..." Zhou Kanqing was choked and stood still, staring blankly at Duan Wenzheng as he walked into the club without looking back, and then walked away with Xue Lan who was waiting on the side.
As expected, he still... underestimated Duan Wenzheng's shamelessness.
In the days that followed, the team once again entered the hellish training mode. A month seemed fast, but also seemed extraordinarily long.
The day of the finals finally arrived.
On the opening day, the singles finals will be held in the first half, and in the second half there will be an exhibition match involving film and television stars.
Xue Lan followed Zhou Kanqing and sat in the audience seats. He looked at the "reset" sign that stretched as far as the eye could see in the arena and recalled the first time he watched Duan Wenzhen's game as a spectator.
At that time, not many people cheered for him, but till now, he still opened the door to a new era and became the undisputed number one sniper god in everyone's hearts.
Xue Lan looked at the figure in the glass soundproof room from afar, feeling a burning sensation in his heart.
It's not without reason that Xie Zhinian set the goal of winning the singles championship for Duan Wenzhen. There are many talented people in the domestic singles competition world, but Duan Wenzhen is able to handle the masters with ease.
After the start, his statistics far exceeded those of others, and he was far behind the second-place scorer.
As the most anticipated match at the opening ceremony, it becomes a battle among top players at this time every year.
This year, however, is different. Although the singles competition still gathers the elites from various teams, it has become Duan Wenzhen’s hunting ground.
He set up his gun at a high point, and could capture the slightest movement from a distance in an instant. Every kill would cause exciting cheers in the arena.
Unsurprisingly, the final champion was Duan Wenzhen.
Amid the screams and cheers, Zhou Kanqing looked at the sign with "reset" written all over it and pressed his forehead helplessly: "It's just that A Yan is not here. Look at the show he gave him. His tail is almost up to the sky."
Xue Lan lowered his eyes, with an unnatural red on the tips of his ears.
"You can do it too!" Zhou Kanqing seemed to have thought of something, and laughed, "Next year, you two sign up for the singles competition together. I want to see if Duan Laogou dares to commit domestic violence in front of the whole country."
Xue Lan's ears instantly turned redder, and he waved his hands quickly: "No, no."
Zhou Kanqing noticed the red tips of his ears and asked curiously, "Lanlan, why are your ears so red?"
"…" Xue Lan shook his head in panic: "It's okay."
The lights in the auditorium were dim. Zhou Kanqing looked closer in confusion and said, "It's really red."
Xue Lan stood up unnaturally: "I, I'm going to the bathroom."
Zhou Kanqing seemed to have thought of something. Looking at his almost fleeing figure, he was about to say something when he saw Duan Wenzhen walking straight towards them after the post-match interview.
"Where are the people?"
The person who was there just now was nowhere to be seen. Duan Wenzheng looked around and sat down next to Xue Lan and asked in a low voice.
Zhou Kanqing looked at him suspiciously: "Are you using the competition to ask Lanlan to do something weird?"
Duan Wenzheng glanced around: "How could it be."
"That's good. I thought you were going to say something corny like 'I'll give you a kiss if you win the game.'" Zhou Kanqing looked unconvinced: "Then why did he run away when he saw you?"
Duan Wenzheng raised his eyebrows: "You want to know? Of course it's not as simple as just kissing..."
"What the hell?!" Zhou Kanqing covered his ears in fear: "You beast, let go of my ears, I'm still a child!"
Duan Wenzheng didn't want to say more to him. He looked around the seats behind him and didn't see Xue Lan next to the acquaintances, so he stood up and walked out.
Xue Lan washed his face in the bathroom, and only then did he feel the temperature on his face drop a little. He patted his cheeks and saw that it was almost time to prepare for the exhibition match. As he walked out of the bathroom, he saw a person standing outside the bathroom.
He subconsciously wanted to go back to the bathroom, but the next second he was pulled back by the collar by the person behind him.
"Why are you running?"
Duan Wenzheng's half-smiley tone made Xue Lan feel a burning sensation in the tip of his ears for the first time: "No, I didn't run away."
Duan Wenzhen glanced at several figures walking towards the bathroom in the distance, and carried him into a safe passage on the side.
The emergency passage was dark. Xue Lan listened to the people outside the door talking and laughing as they passed by. His heart was beating so fast that it almost jumped out of his chest.
After finally waiting for several people to walk into the bathroom, he breathed a sigh of relief and patted the hand that was covering his lips.
"The exhibition match is about to start. I, I'm going out first."
"There's still a while." Duan Wenzheng held the restless child still and whispered in his ear, "How was your boyfriend's performance just now?"
Xue Lan stole a glance outside the door and could only reply in a low voice: "...Great."
Duan Wenzheng seemed very satisfied with this answer. His fingertips found his vital point with ease, and rubbed it slowly and maliciously through the fabric. Only then did Xue Lan realize that the singles match just now was his hunting ground. At this moment, Duan Wenzheng was like a predator looking for food, whispering to the prey on the plate:
"There's something even better, do you want to try it?"