"Do you know what you are talking about?"
Duan Wenzheng's eyes were dark and unclear. He brushed Xue Lan's cheek with his fingertips, gently and affectionately.
"certainly."
There was still some timidity in Xue Lan's eyes, but she kissed him on the lips again firmly.
Duan Wenzheng felt that if he could still hold back at this moment, it would mean that he was really “incapable”.
He kissed the person in front of him back, then turned around and pressed the person to the position he had just been in to regain the initiative.
The clothes that had been casually stripped off were scattered all over the floor. Xue Lan leaned her back against the wall, but was gently picked up by Duan Wenzheng. She helplessly put her arms around Duan Wenzheng's shoulders.
He nervously pulled Duan Wenzheng's collar unconsciously: "Let's go to bed..."
Before he could finish his words, Duan Wenzheng rushed in.
Training had occupied almost all of their time in the past few days, and the two had little time to be distracted by other things. At this moment, Duan Wenzheng's sudden movement caused Xue Lan to freeze in pain.
In order to avoid falling, he could only hold on to Duan Wenzhen tightly like a koala.
"Stop, stop..."
Duan Wenzheng bit the tip of his ear and said with a smile: "Didn't you want to?"
But after he said this, he still didn't move.
Xue Lan gasped in pain. He leaned on Duan Wenzheng's shoulder and hummed in dissatisfaction: "You, you kiss me..."
Duan Wenzheng laughed: "As you wish."
He kissed the tips of his ears and eyebrows little by little, then turned and kissed the tip of his nose.
Be patient and gentle.
Xue Lan raised her head with a red face, wanting him to kiss her lips.
His excessive patience made Xue Lan feel even more itchy.
But Xue Lan forgot that she was lying on Duan Wenzheng, and his action of raising his head to ask for a kiss made them both reach an unprecedented depth.
Xue Lan panicked and hugged his shoulders, trying to find a balance.
But Duan Wenzheng seemed to have received an order. He lifted his legs slightly with his hands and pushed into his soft flesh.
"Hmm..."
Xue Lan had just bit his lower lip unconsciously, and Duan Wenzheng finally kissed him on the lips.
At this moment, they were like lovers who had been separated for a long time, hugging each other with all their strength, but also like exchanging vows, expressing the firmness of their hearts.
His back hit the wall behind him, causing a slight pain. Xue Lan wrapped his arms around the man in front of him without saying a word. However, Duan Wenzheng seemed to have noticed this, picked him up and walked towards the bed.
…
Although Duan Wenzheng's persistence failed at the first opportunity, he still adhered to his principles and kept his distance from Xue Lan afterwards.
The European city of Z hosted international competitions all year round, so an e-sports themed hotel was built near the competition venue. After the plane landed, everyone was sent to the temporary residence and went back to their rooms to rest.
Xue Lan woke up drowsily and saw that it was already night. Not feeling sleepy at all, he simply put on his clothes and planned to go to the convenience store.
Although the seasons in Z City follow those in other parts of China, it is exceptionally cold in late autumn and early winter.
Xue Lan didn't feel anything in the hotel, but he sneezed hard as soon as he walked out of the hotel. He quickly quickened his pace, bought a bag of candy and ran back to the hotel again.
The contestants in the hotel came from all over the world, and there were also contestants who had just arrived at the hotel and were checking in. Xue Lan pulled his coat tight and walked into the elevator quickly. After arriving at the floor where he was staying, he wanted to walk back to the room quickly, but he found that there was a faint light in the practice room on their floor, which was equipped with computers.
Xue Lan stopped and walked over curiously.
But I didn't expect -
The person in the practice room turned out to be Duan Wenzheng.
Perhaps because he heard the sound, Duan Wenzheng raised his head from the game, glanced at the door, and then returned his gaze to the screen again.
When Xue Lan walked into the practice room, he saw the surveillance equipment in the corner.
He calmly walked to Duan Wenzheng's side and turned on the computer.
He did not log into the game, but opened the video website and quietly watched the previous TXT team's game video.
"team leader."
Xue Lan turned his head and looked at Duan Wenzheng.
Duan Wenzheng smiled and pointed to his shirt pocket: "Ask for a candy."
Upon hearing this, Xue Lan took out the candy bag, grabbed a few and placed them on the edge of Duan Wenzheng's table.
The two were silent again, one was playing the qualifying match, and the other was leaning over the table watching the game replay quietly.
The practice room was very quiet, with only the sound of the video in his headset and the sounds of people around him clicking on their keyboards and mice.
Sleepiness slowly came over Xue Lan, and he fell into a deep sleep beside the table.
After an unknown amount of time, he vaguely felt someone gently pushing his arm, and then he opened his eyes in a daze and looked to his side.
"Go back to your room and sleep." Duan Wenzheng whispered in a voice that only two people could hear: "There are surveillance cameras here, so I won't carry you back."
"Who needs you..." Xue Lan blushed and sat up: "I, I can go back by myself."
Duan Wenzheng didn't comment and turned off the computer for him: "Let's go."
Xue Lan stood up after hearing this and followed him out of the practice room. As they walked side by side, Xue Lan's eyes unconsciously glanced at Duan Wenzheng beside him.
Duan Wenzheng at this moment is gradually similar to the way he was when they first met in the Internet cafe, yet he is completely different.
She has lost all the youthful frivolity, but has an addictive firmness and courage.
He is no longer the idle and wanton teenager, but a tough and steady Duan Wen Zheng. He said that he would not have met him earlier or later.
"Don't look at me like that." Duan Wenzheng seemed to notice something as he kept looking at him sideways. He turned his head and said in embarrassment, "There are so many surveillance cameras here. Even if you say 'I want it', I can't respond to you."
Xue Lan's eyes were puzzled for a moment, and when he understood Duan Wenzheng's intention, his face instantly turned red.
It was just that... because of what he said yesterday, Duan Wenzheng was actually teasing himself about it now.
But Duan Wenzheng was in a good mood and walked quickly a long way away. He could only pretend not to hear him and quickly followed him.
Duan Wenzheng said goodbye to him at his door as if nothing had happened and went into his room. Xue Lan also went into the room, intending to go back to sleep.
But when he poured out the candy in his pocket, he unexpectedly found a different kind of candy in his pocket.
This is...
When did Duan Wenzheng secretly put it in his pocket? Was it when he was asleep
Xue Lan clenched the candy in her palms, and suddenly felt that this strange and cold city was gradually becoming warm.
After everyone woke up the next day, Xie Zhinian gathered them together.
"In the first round, our opponent is the Thunder."
His words came as no surprise to anyone, and at this moment, only the expected calmness remained.
"Huoran came to me yesterday, and he tactfully said that according to our current points, we would not be eliminated directly if we lost the game, but if they lost this game, they would be eliminated from the international competition due to their total points." Xie Zhinian said this and raised his sleepy eyelids: "In this regard, I express my deepest love and blessings on your behalf."
"… "
Several people couldn't help laughing when they heard this. They could easily imagine Huo Ran's gloomy face when he heard Xie Zhinian pretending not to understand and speaking in official language.
"Ahem." Xie Zhinian cleared his throat to draw everyone's attention back: "So are you confident in this game?"
"Which game?" Zhou Kanqing leaned back in his chair and asked lazily, "Are you talking about the warm-up match with the Thunder?"
"Then I'll be relieved." Xie Zhinian nodded silently after hearing this: "The remaining order of the competitions has basically been decided. There is one thing that can be considered a lucky thing..."
Xie Zhinian frowned and confirmed the order of the matches again, then raised his head and said to everyone, "Our group draw happens to be at the top and bottom with Team TXT, which means that if we win all the matches, we won't meet Team TXT before the finals."
Everyone looked at each other without saying a word about this "lucky thing".
"But I heard..." Xie Zhinian hesitated and said, "Unknown has completely left Thunder, but he had a very unhappy relationship with Thunder because of the penalty. Thunder is really shady. Unknown wants this amount of penalty."
Xie Zhinian said this while quietly making a gesture.
"Three million?!"
Everyone was shocked.
Based on their understanding of the Thunder, their termination fee could not be easily solved with 300,000, so the "three" Xie Zhinian offered could only be three million.
"Deng Ruiqiu has only been a professional player for half a year. He is not moving to another club. Most clubs would not make a big deal about his retirement. But the Thunder wants to pay him three million? Are you crazy?!"
Xie Zhinian nodded calmly.
"This is the business of other clubs, and we can't say anything, but it's probably the Thunder who want to settle the accounts and say that these are the expenses the club has invested in him during this period of time."
"Then Deng Ruiqiu will admit it?" Zhou Kanqing's face was full of disbelief.
Xie Zhinian nodded: "You should take a good rest during this period, but you can't fall behind in training. The game against Thunder will be scheduled for next Saturday, so everyone should prepare well."
After Xie Zhinian left, Zhou Kanqing still sat there with a frown on his face. He seemed to have been thinking for a long time, then pulled Lu You over and asked, "You said, three million is more than that?"
"… "
"Although it's for my freedom, do you think Deng Ruiqiu will not count the three million on me?"
"… "
"He shouldn't be short of these three million, right?"
Unexpectedly, when Zhou Kanqing was trying to comfort himself, Lu You added fuel to the fire and said, "That's not necessarily true. After all, three million is a sum of money that many families cannot possibly save in their lifetime."
"… "
"And Deng Ruiqiu will not be able to play in the next five years after his retirement, which means his entire career is over. Even if he becomes a broadcaster, he may not be able to pay off the money no matter how many years he works."
"… "
"But don't worry too much. After all, Deng Ruiqiu made the decision himself. It has nothing to do with you. You just made a suggestion." Lu You finally noticed that something was wrong with Zhou Kanqing and comforted him simply, "After all, to him, you are just a rich woman he has just known for a few days?"
"Yes, this matter is not something I can control..." Zhou Kanqing nodded dejectedly: "I gave him so many red envelopes... I didn't know he had to pay so much money..."
Zhou Kanqing seemed very annoyed after saying this, and ruffled his already messy hair until it looked even more like a mess. Then he stood up dejectedly and said, "I, I'll go back to sleep for a while."
He then ran out in a flash.
Xue Lan was a little worried and was about to go check on him, but Wen Yan patted him on the shoulder and told him not to worry.
"Deng Ruiqiu's retirement is related to Kanqing?"
Xue Lan remembered that Zhou Kanqing had done this without telling Wen Yan, because he didn't want Wen Yan to think that they had deliberately persuaded Deng Ruiqiu to leave because they thought he was a threat.
For any of them, whether Deng Ruiqiu is in the Thunder has no special meaning, even for Zhou Kanqing.
But today Zhou Kanqing was so distracted that he even forgot to avoid Wen Yan's suspicion.
Wen Yan didn't want to get any answer from Xue Lan. After asking, he patted Xue Lan's shoulder, motioning him not to worry, then stood up and followed him out of the training room.
If it were in the past, with Wen Yan's hint, Xue Lan might have been relieved about this matter, but by now, he had already understood that some things could not be left to Wen Yan.
Therefore, he still followed her out of the room after hesitating for a moment.
Zhou Kanqing was stopped by Wen Yan. At this moment, the two were standing by the window at the end of the corridor.
Seeing Xue Lan and him coming out, the two of them stopped and talked without any prior arrangement.
Zhou Kanqing's expression was much more relaxed. He waved to Xue Lan, and when he saw Xue Lan approaching, he smiled shyly:
"A Yan has already scolded him. A Yan also listened to what I said to him and said that Deng Ruiqiu's decision was not influenced by me. I will apologize to him after we finish the international competition."
"Don't worry, we've all played professionally for so many years, it won't affect the game."
Xue Lan nodded after hearing this, his eyes were gentle and trusting, and he smiled: "I know you will handle these things well. But don't blame yourself too much. We are teammates and family. If you need me, please feel free to find me."
Zhou Kanqing was moved. He pressed Xue Lan's shoulder excitedly: "Our Lan Lan has really grown up. I am so relieved..."
"… "
"Alright." Wen Yan opened his hands and said, "Aren't you clamoring for a rest? The World Championship is about to start. Today is the last day to adjust. Don't forget to train on time tomorrow."
"I know."
Zhou Kanqing responded, yawned, and walked back to his room.
Xue Lan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that he was in good condition.
"Kanqing is right, you have really grown up." Wen Yan stood by the window where the winter sun shone brightly, looking at the person in front of him with gentle eyes.
"Captain... Brother Yan." Xue Lan smiled shyly.
"Practice well during this period. Like you said... We are teammates and a family, so no matter what happens, we are still here."
After Wen Yan finished speaking, he saw Duan Wenzhen, who was leaning against the door and looking at them without any reservations.
He couldn't help but laugh, and raised his eyebrows slightly in the direction of Duan Wenzheng: "Go, he is waiting for you."
Xue Lan turned around when he heard this and caught a glimpse of Duan Wenzheng leaning against the door of the practice room. His eyes lit up unconsciously.
While saying goodbye to Wen Yan, he quickened his pace and ran towards Duan Wenzheng.
Wen Yan lowered his eyes to hide the expression in his eyes. He turned to the window and unexpectedly caught a glimpse of the first snowflake falling this winter among the shadows of the dead trees.