"come out."
Wen Yan's voice echoed in the dim corridor. Xue Lan was so nervous that he held his breath and dared not make a sound.
Duan Wen Zheng seemed to have noticed that he was afraid to breathe. He glanced at the figure outside the stairwell door, but before he got close, he playfully dropped his fingertips on the hem of the man's uniform beside him, patiently and probingly stroking his slender waist.
Xue Lan's face instantly turned red.
In the darkness, his vision was hidden, but his other senses became particularly clear. An itch instantly spread along his fingertips, and Xue Lan quickly reached out and pushed him.
But the stairwell was too narrow. When he just hid in, he was pushed into the corner by Duan Wenzheng. At this moment, because of the narrow space, he was squeezed together with him and trapped between the wall and him, unable to move at all.
Xue Lan couldn't push him away and could only let the piercing itch make him lose his breath.
The struggle that he hadn't dared to move because he was afraid of being discovered by Wen Yan seemed completely useless at this moment. Instead, it made his breathing even more unstable.
The footsteps outside the stairwell door were getting closer, and Xue Lan really couldn't tell whether Duan Wenzheng was here to help him or... to drag him down.
The footsteps were still approaching.
Xue Lan was so anxious that she was about to cry.
He didn't dare to make a sound, nor could he push his hand away, so he could only lower his head in frustration and rest his head on the front of his clothes.
Duan Wenzheng didn't know why he suddenly restrained himself, and the hands that were wantonly itching his waist stopped moving. Xue Lan was able to catch his breath, but his ears were silent. The only sounds were him and his breathing, and the rising and falling strong heartbeat.
Xue Lan didn't know why, but his heartbeat kept speeding up in the silence.
Duan Wenzheng seemed to want to withdraw his hand, but as his hand moved down, he accidentally touched something small and hard.
Duan Wenzheng was puzzled and reached into his pocket again.
Xue Lan suddenly realized that in the pocket of his team uniform was the space bar that he had just put into his pocket.
He quickly covered his pockets guiltily!
Duan Wenzheng lowered his head in confusion and raised his eyebrows at his movement.
"Who's there?"
Wen Yan's voice came from outside the door again.
This time it seemed to be right next to the door, and Xue Lan's heart was instantly lifted up.
Duan Wenzheng lowered his head and approached, the corner of his lips brushing his ear: "It's hidden."
Before Xue Lan could react and figure out whether he was asking her to hide the things or asking her to hide them herself... Duan Wenzheng had already pulled away, quickly pushing open the door of the stairwell and walking out.
"It's me, what's wrong?"
Xue Lan's heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to jump out of his chest.
But he had never expected that things would not turn out the way he had expected.
Wen Yan was stunned for a moment, as if he suddenly realized that the person hiding behind the door might be Duan Wenzheng, and he subconsciously turned his hand behind his back before he could cover his face.
Duan Wenzheng had already noticed Wen Yan's movements. He turned his gaze away from his hidden hand and met his gaze with a hint of contempt: "Captain, I remember you once said, what does a hand injury mean to an e-sports player?"
"Yeah." Wen Yan subconsciously looked away.
"In that case." Duan Wenzheng walked towards him, as if wanting to check his hands hidden behind his back.
"Don't tell anyone else."
"Don't tell?" Duan Wenzheng observed his expression: "If I don't tell anyone, will the problem be solved? How serious is your hand injury? Will it affect the competition? Have you ever thought about it? If no one knows about it, and you conceal your illness and participate in the competition, causing you to lose the competition, have you ever thought about such a result?"
"I know my own body well. There are substitute strikers in the league's roster. I have personally coached the strikers of the second team over the years."
"Captain, you have thought it through very carefully." Duan Wenzheng said with a smile.
Wen Yan looked at Duan Wenzheng for a long while, and finally spoke: "Actually, sometimes, I envy you."
"Huh?" Duan Wenzheng raised his eyebrows in confusion.
Wen Yan did not continue speaking.
"I will definitely handle this matter properly, but please don't tell anyone else on the team for now..." Wen Yan paused, and didn't continue: "I will explain it to everyone myself."
"Others?"
Wen Yan did not answer, but his eyes moved away from Duan Wen Zheng and fell on the half-open door of the stairwell.
Xue Lan's heart was lifted up again because of his gaze, and she was afraid that Wen Yan would discover her in the darkness in the next second.
Duan Wenzheng, however, had already put his arm around Wen Yan's shoulders and led him towards his room: "Okay, Captain, I won't tell anyone else, but it's already past three in the morning, isn't it time for you to get some rest?"
After he said that, he took him to the room without further ado.
Xue Lan quietly watched the two people's backs as they left, but her eyes involuntarily fell on Duan Wenzheng's hand on Wen Yan's shoulder.
Sure enough, the common secret will closely connect the two people together. Duan Wenzheng, who always likes to go against Wen Yan, now knows Wen Yan's secret and knows that he has paid so much for this team. He obviously feels that he owes Wen Yan because he has found fault with him many times. The two will slowly stand on the same front in the dispute.
The story goes around in a circle, and although there are many small episodes in the middle, in the end it still quietly develops towards the predetermined ending.
But why did he feel lost at a time when he should be excited
Xue Lan stared at the two people's backs as they left, and quietly took out the space bar that he had carefully hidden from his pocket.
It must be because he wanted to bring this back to him later.
He would stay for just one more day, and tomorrow, tomorrow he would return it to Duan Wenzheng...
Duan Wenzheng is so good that he even changed the spacebar to wish me good luck in my solo. How could I occupy his things
Xue Lan stretched out his hand and rubbed his sore eyes.
"Hey kid, are you crying?"
Duan Wenzheng's sudden voice frightened Xue Lan so much that he quickly hid the things in his hand: "Yes."
Duan Wenzheng glanced at his pocket again: "What's hidden there?"
“… yes.”
Duan Wenzheng stretched out his hand when he heard that, but his hand had not yet touched his pocket. Xue Lan shrank back, and while he was not paying attention, he opened the door and ran out of the stairwell.
Duan Wenzheng withdrew his hand with a smile, chased him all the way to the room, and then pressed the door panel in front of him. Unexpectedly, Xue Lan still looked at him warily, and Duan Wenzheng couldn't help laughing at that expression.
"Hey, I won't watch anymore. Why are you running so fast?" Duan Wenzheng held the door and asked the alert child inside the door, "I just helped you again, and you didn't even say thank you?"
"… Thanks."
"How do you thank me?" Duan Wenzheng continued to persuade him and glanced at the room next to him: "It's so late, why don't you invite me in and sit down?"
Xue Lan felt that there seemed to be something wrong with what he said, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong for a moment.
"What if the captain finds out something is wrong and comes back and sees the two of us..."
Upon hearing this, Xue Lan hurriedly opened the door, and Duan Wenzheng took the opportunity to slip in, leaving him no chance to regret.
When he came to his senses, Duan Wenzheng had already caught him again. His hand had already skillfully reached into his pocket and took out the small keycap that Xue Lan had hidden for a long time.
He held the spacebar keycap in his hand and looked at the ever-changing expression of the child in front of him without saying a word.
Duan Wenzheng had actually already guessed what this thing was, but he didn't know what Xue Lan meant by putting it in his pocket, so he simply didn't say anything and just waited quietly for the person in front of him who was becoming flustered to speak first.
"This key and keycap are yours."
"Yeah." Duan Wenzheng nodded, motioning him to continue.
Xue Lan struggled for a while, then he lowered his head like an ostrich and finished his words in one breath:
"I know you exchanged this specifically to cheer for my solo match, and I won the match to thank you. But I didn't mean to not return it to you. I just wanted to borrow it again at the beginning of the new season. I... Can I keep it for one more day and return it to you tomorrow? Just one day."
Duan Wen Zheng looked at the child in front of him who was lowering his head as if admitting his mistake, and his heart suddenly softened.
He actually wanted to keep the keycaps with his name engraved on them for another day, so he hid them like this to avoid being discovered.
But that keycap was actually what he wanted to change for the two of them after he saw Wen Yan bought the same keyboard for everyone in order to differentiate his keyboard.
I had originally planned to pay it back.
At this moment, the kid in front of him actually thought that he changed the keycaps on purpose to cheer for his solo
"One day late..." Duan Wenzheng murmured in embarrassment.
Xue Lan's heart tensed up with nervousness at the end of his voice.
"Kid." Duan Wenzheng carefully looked at Xue Lan's expression, his eyes filled with smiles: "Why don't you want to return your brother's things after you borrowed them?"
"I don't want to return it." Xue Lan's face was red, but he answered seriously: "I will definitely return it tomorrow."
Duan Wenzheng once again pondered in embarrassment: "But I will be competing in the individual competition today..."
Xue Lan realized at this moment that Duan Wenzheng's individual competition was approaching, but he was only thinking about himself. This was really wrong.
He waved his hands and was about to say he didn't want it anymore, when Duan Wenzheng shook the space bar in his hand and asked, "Is this good for refueling?"
Xue Lan nodded hurriedly.
"In that case." Duan Wenzheng said as he took his hand and put the space bar back into his palm: "Then I'll try it out tomorrow to see how effective your refueling is."
Xue Lan looked at the space bar that had returned to his palm and raised his head blankly.
Duan Wenzheng meant that he was going to bring his own space bar to the opening individual competition? !
The blush on Xue Lan's face that had just faded reappeared, and he excitedly grasped the keycaps in his hand: "I, I will cheer for you on the spot!!"
Duan Wenzheng looked at his flushed cheeks and defenseless expression, his eyes darkened: "You're alone?"
Xue Lan raised his head subconsciously. Before he could react, he saw Duan Wenzheng approaching him without him noticing and trapping him tightly between the door panels again before he noticed.
"But hiding things randomly is not a good habit." Duan Wenzheng said hoarsely, his fingertips running across the waist of his team uniform pocket: "Let me see, are you hiding anything else?"