"Ayan?!"
Someone murmured the first word, and everyone came back to their senses from their shock.
"You're back?!" Zhou Kanqing was so excited that he didn't care about arguing with Duan Wenzheng anymore. He quickly stood up and stumbled towards Wen Yan. He didn't know whether he was nervous or excited, but he was a little incoherent: "A Yan, why are you back? I mean, you're back? Your hand..."
Wen Yan laughed when he heard this and said, "Why are you still so reckless?"
"This is not... I'm excited to see you back!"
Wen Yan smiled and turned his gaze to Xue Lan.
"Captain!" Xue Lan stood up awkwardly.
It seemed like there were a lot he wanted to say to Wen Yan, about LGW during this period, about Duan Wenzheng, about Zhou Kanqing's journey, and even about himself.
But I'm still nervous.
Just like I often wonder what I would do if Wen Yan was here. I am afraid that I haven't done well enough, and I am afraid that I haven't fulfilled Wen Yan's instructions and expectations.
"Ayan, you haven't answered my question yet!" Zhou Kanqing asked anxiously, "When did you come back? Are you...are you back? Or are you just here to see us? How is your hand injury? Is it recovering well? Are you..."
Zhou Kanqing was so excited that he spoke for half a minute before Wen Yan raised his hand to interrupt him, saying helplessly:
"So many questions, which one should I answer first?"
"this… "
Zhou Kanqing was about to say something else when Wen Yan's eyes fell on Xue Lan softly, then he turned to the others and said, "I have something I want to talk to the captain alone."
Zhou Kanqing nodded hurriedly and was about to leave with Lu You when he saw Duan Wenzheng still sitting on the sofa beside him, with no intention of moving at all.
"…" Zhou Kanqing hurried over and pulled Duan Wenzheng up: "Let's go, our issues haven't been resolved yet!"
"Who said 'we'?" Duan Wenzheng pulled his hand back and looked at Wen Yan who had suddenly returned with a bad look: "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere."
Zhou Kanqing rolled up his sleeves again when he heard this: "Duan Wenzheng, why are you so upset, A Yan..."
Seeing that he was unwilling to leave, Xue Lan quickly said, "Let's go and talk to him later."
Wen Yan nodded and was about to leave for the lounge when he saw Duan Wenzheng, who had been lying on the sofa a second ago, had stood up, and with a dark face, he quickly walked past a few people and walked into the room.
Xue Lan naturally noticed Duan Wenzheng's displeasure, but he also had a lot of things to explain to Wen Yan at the moment, so he would... wait a minute to coax him.
Xue Lan thought about this, and when he saw that only he and Wen Yan were left in the lounge, he called out respectfully, "Captain."
"I told you I'm not the captain anymore." Wen Yan sat down casually on the sofa and motioned Xue Lan to sit next to him.
Xue Lan walked over and sat down next to Wen Yan, reporting seriously: "During this period, we have already played in the quarterfinals and semifinals, and have advanced to the domestic finals. Everyone is in good shape. We haven't slacked off in practice because of the team... because you are not here."
"Look at Brother Qing's back-end attack, he's doing really well. Not only can he protect Lu You, but he can also..."
Wen Yan smiled faintly as he listened to the latest news about all the team members, and suddenly asked, "What about you?"
"I?"
He suddenly remembered that after today's game, he did not listen to Wen Yan's advice, but instead risked his life again to rescue his teammates.
She lowered her head nervously: "I, I know I didn't behave well just now. You clearly reminded me, but I still... If you were here, I could do better in my life."
"No, you did very well. Every commander has different opinions on how to arrange the game. You performed very well in this game. Even if it were me, I couldn't do better." Wen Yan couldn't help laughing when he heard it. After a simple explanation, he finally asked again: "And I'm not asking this, I'm asking...how are you doing."
Xue Lan didn't expect Wen Yan to ask this, and scratched his head embarrassedly.
"It's fine. Everyone takes good care of me. We train very hard every day. I'm just afraid of disappointing you." Xue Lan said this and looked at Wen Yan expectantly: "How is your hand? Why did you come back this time..."
"I'm not leaving." Wen Yan said with a smile, "Originally, the expected time for recovery was after the domestic competition, but the recovery is good. The doctor said that as long as I pay attention, there will be no problem."
"Is it yours?" Xue Lan looked at his hand with doubt.
"kindness."
Wen Yan's voice was convincing, and his eyes accidentally fell on Xue Lan's face, and his eyes suddenly stopped. At first, he thought that her cheeks were just slightly flushed, but after a closer look, he found that there were still faint red marks on them.
Wen Yan frowned slightly and raised his hand to touch her cheek.
"How did you do that?"
Xue Lan then remembered what Duan Wenzheng had just done, and hurriedly patted his cheek: "It's okay! It's... I pinched myself accidentally just now."
Wen Yan paused, then withdrew his hand without saying anything else.
Just when Xue Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief, he heard Wen Yan ask again: "Did Reset bully you during the time I was away?"
Upon hearing this, Xue Lan raised his head and looked at Wen Yan nervously, and sure enough, his gaze was still on his face.
"No!" Xue Lan answered seriously.
Wen Yan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, and then he heard Xue Lan's eyes sparkling as he continued:
"I am now training very hard and thinking about the team. If I hadn't held back the two opponents in the previous game, we wouldn't have played so smoothly!"
"Lanlan."
Wen Yan interrupted Xue Lan lightly. In Xue Lan's impression, Wen Yan didn't seem to call him like Zhou Kanqing, so he quickly sat up straight and said, "What's wrong, Captain?"
Wen Yan did not correct Xue Lan's address. His deep gaze fell on Xue Lan, as if it had been settled for a long time, or as if it had been through long and careful consideration.
Just as he was about to say something, the door of the lounge was suddenly pushed open, and Duan Wenzheng's unfriendly face appeared outside the door.
"Are you ready? Brother Nian asked you to hurry up."
Xue Lan stood up hurriedly upon hearing this: "Let's go right over there!"
Duan Wenzheng's expression eased a little, and he waved to the child inside the door, and Xue Lan quickly ran towards him. Only when he ran to Duan Wenzheng's side did Xue Lan turn around and said, "Captain, let's go!"
Wen Yan looked at the two people who left while chatting and laughing, and stood there in a daze.
In less than two months, I felt that their world seemed so far away from me, and I had unknowingly become an incompatible bystander.
It seemed as if he and Duan Wenzheng had switched positions, and now he had become the person who had to be guarded against at all times.
"What happened?" Xie Zhinian looked at everyone's expressions in the car and almost thought he had remembered the result of the game wrongly: "If someone didn't know, they would think you lost the game."
"Yeah, why are you all so dejected!" Zhou Kanqing looked around at everyone and suggested excitedly, "We won the game today, let's take a day off and go sing karaoke!"
The natural answer was silence from everyone.
Zhou Kanqing raised his eyebrows, intending to defeat them one by one: "Lu You?"
“…” Lu You turned his eyes away: “I still have to go back and watch the game video.”
"Lanlan?"
"I... I promised Su Yiyu that I would practice with you. Our next game will be our last chance to advance."
"... Why are you all like this?" Zhou Kanqing said, "In that case, I'll teach you guys to sing in the training room later!"
“…” Everyone looked away.
"What do you mean?!"
"Okay." Xie Zhinian interrupted his conversation with a smile, and said seriously, "You should have heard it just now, right? BTR lost the second game of the qualifying round."
The noise made everyone fall silent at the same time, and the atmosphere in the car became tense and solemn again.
"This means that our opponent in the next game will be the Thunder team, and... no matter whether we win or lose the next game, we will only be competing for the title of champion and runner-up. Even if we lose the game, the Thunder team can still advance to the world championship this year."
"When did btr become so weak? Spirit's tactics were so awesome, how come he can't even beat a Thunder now?"
"I just met Spirit, and I heard him talking about another thing." Xie Zhinian didn't care about Zhou Kanqing's mood, and replied with a serious expression: "Fake match."
Xie Zhinian's two words instantly attracted all eyes in the car. Even Duan Wenzheng and Wen Yan, who had been looking out the window, retracted their gazes at the same time.
"What do you mean, someone in BTR is playing a fake match?!"
"Yes, but it's not just that." Xie Zhinian said coldly, "BTR's situation this year is more complicated, but when he told me, he also hinted that I should pay more attention to Thunder's movements in international competitions, saying that they... seem to be in contact with a certain team."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Kanqing said angrily, "What do you want to do? Do you think that some foreign teams can pave the way for you by playing fake games?"
"I'm not sure, but Spirit said that this matter seems to be related to us. But no matter what, your training is very important, don't slack off on keeping in touch. Now that Wind has returned to the team, the most important thing is to prepare for the next game, but..."
Xue Lan was sitting in the back row, and his brows furrowed when he heard this.
I don’t know why, but I always feel a little uneasy.
"Yes." Zhou Kanqing was eager to hear this: "Don't you want to go to the international competition? Then let you go. I will let you know what it means to bring shame to the country!"
"But no matter what you want to do, as professional e-sports players, the most important thing for us is to play well." Xie Zhinian shook his head and tried to cheer up again: "However, for the next game against the Thunder Team, considering various aspects, I still hope that you can appropriately conserve your strength..."
Duan Wenzheng, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly raised his eyes and looked into Xie Zhinian's eyes.
"I remember... the first round of the international tournament was a single-elimination system?"
I don’t know why when Duan Wenzheng asked this question, Xie Zhinian felt a chill and rubbed his arms: “Yes…”
Duan Wenzhen got the answer he wanted and sat back in his seat comfortably.
"Since you like international competitions so much, let's let you form a travel team."