He Changkong ignored the message, but he felt a little uncomfortable. He had the habit of making notes for every contact. Since it was an unfamiliar number, it must have been sent by someone he didn't know, and he didn't know who it was.
It would have been fine if he had only received one text message, but during the break in training the next day, He Changkong received another identical text message from the same number.
He Changkong easily added this number to the blacklist.
He had heard before that some fanatical fans would find the players' contact information and harass them relentlessly. He Changkong guessed that he might have run into this situation. He thought that if this was the case, he would change his number when he had time.
After being blocked for a day or two, he received a new text message from the other party using another new number.
This time He Changkong knew about it, and it was probably not a text message sent by some irrational fanatical fan.
The sender asked directly in the text message: Why don't you reply to my text message? You have a game in Yuncheng in two weeks, and I will talk to you then.
He Changkong checked the location of the number and found that it was indeed from his hometown, Yuncheng.
Of course, it could also be sent by fans who call themselves mom fans, but ordinary fans would never say they want to talk.
And judging from the tone... we can basically conclude that it is Xu Yun.
He Changkong had a falling out with Xu Yun at the time. He had just left school and home. When he came to the team, Xu Yun also called him countless times and sent him countless text messages, and even chased him directly to the base. The two could not come to an agreement, and Xu Yun was a person who had to maintain a decent appearance in front of outsiders, so he did not make a scene in front of others. He only left a sentence when he was angry, "If you leave, don't come back again."
He Changkong did not go back, but later Xu Yun regretted it and tried to get He Changkong to come back, but He Changkong remained unmoved every time.
The last time Xu Yun sent He Changkong a long speech, He Changkong had forgotten the specific content, but only remembered one sentence - You are not even a bit better than your father, you only do shameful things, the thing I regret most in my life is giving birth to you.
He Changkong finally replied to her and said: I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been born.
Afterwards, He Changkong blocked Xu Yun's number, and apart from transferring money to Xu Yun's card on a regular basis every month, he had no further contact with his mother.
Later, whenever Xu Yun wanted to find He Changkong, he contacted him through Meng Yan.
He Changkong read the text message again. Only a few teammates who were close to him knew that he and Shen Yanming were together. How did Xu Jun know about it? Did she take what she saw online seriously? But would she really follow He Changkong's updates online
He didn't want to continue guessing what Xu Jun was thinking, and he felt there was no need to talk about it.
He deleted the text message again, pretending nothing had happened.
As winter deepened, the playoffs of the "Return to the Throne" professional league also kicked off. The first game was played at their home court, which was not too thrilling. The second and third games were also won smoothly and points were obtained.
Then went to Cloud City.
It’s not like he hasn’t come back here to play games before. In fact, when he came back before, He Changkong was invited by a well-known game anchor to record an online variety show as a local guide.
Perhaps because of the text message he received from Xu Jun before, He Changkong felt a little uneasy when he set foot on the land of Yuncheng this time.
He thought that everything was fine. Since he ignored the text message, he would not have the chance to meet Xu Jun - just like the last time Xu Jun said he was sick, He Changkong did not go back, and Xu Jun did not bother him during that time.
Besides, no matter what, Xu Jun is a person who cares about his reputation, and he probably won't come to the hotel where the contestants are staying.
After getting off the plane, He Changkong and Shen Yanming did not go back with the main group. The reason was that Shen Yanming was bumped into by a careless girl holding milk tea on the road, and the hot milk tea spilled on the white down jacket, leaving a large coffee-colored stain.
Shen Yanming was only staying here for two or three days, so he was too lazy to bring so much luggage, so he traveled light, and did not bring any other thick coats except this down jacket and the team uniform. It was not that he could not borrow from other teammates to wear, but Shen Yanming just wanted to go to a more lively area and see what the place where He Changkong grew up was like, so he asked He Changkong to take him to buy a new one.
After shopping and eating, when we returned, everyone else had already settled in the hotel.
When they entered the hotel, there were not many people in the lobby. Shen Yanming was in front of He Changkong. Although he had already bought a new down jacket, he insisted on unzipping the chain of He Changkong's coat and squeezed inside. The two big boys almost stretched the clothes out of shape.
Shen Yanming was not afraid of what others would say if they saw him. After all, any two men who were on good terms with each other could do this kind of thing.
The two walked forward at a snail's pace. He Changkong said helplessly: "Is it fun?"
Shen Yanming was having a lot of fun: "It's fun."
He Changkong was holding food for his friends in one hand. He lifted it up and shook it in front of Shen Yanming: "Go up first. Meng Yan and the others will need to..."
He Changkong suddenly stopped talking in the middle of his words. Shen Yanming turned to look at him in confusion, only to see that his face suddenly darkened.
Following He Changkong's line of sight, Shen Yanming turned his head and saw a middle-aged woman in a professional suit and dressed in an intellectual and decent manner standing up from the sofa in the lobby lounge and slowly walking towards them.
When she walked in front of them, the woman smiled and said, "You don't even call me mom?"
Shen Yanming was so frightened that he immediately stopped playing with He Changkong's coat and hurried out. However, when he was about to stand further away, He Changkong grabbed his hand.
Xu Jun glanced at their clasped hands and said calmly, "You are chaos."
In fact, usually no one calls Shen Yanming chaos. Shen Yanming almost didn't react. After a moment of silence, he responded, "Yes... Hello, Auntie."
While greeting, Shen Yanming secretly looked at Xu Jun. Although she was middle-aged, she had taken good care of herself and still looked bright and charming. He Changkong's face was somewhat like her.
Xu Yun did not respond to the greeting. She was still smiling, but the smile did not reach her eyes. She said, "My son and I have something to talk about. Can you step aside for a moment?"
Shen Yanming was a little embarrassed and looked at He Changkong. He Changkong squeezed his palm and said, "Well, go back and wait for me."
Shen Yanming left first, looking back every few steps as he walked. He saw He Changkong and his mother leaving the hotel together, and his heart was in his throat.
He sent a message to He Changkong, asking him to send him the specific location after he sat down.
Soon He Changkong sent him a location, which was in a restaurant downstairs from the hotel. He Changkong also sent him the name of the private room.
Shen Yanming brought the food upstairs and knocked on the door of Meng Yan and their room.
The one who opened the door was Sunday who came over from another room. He took the things from Shen Yanming's hand and said, "The brothers are insulting each other."
Shen Yanming looked over and saw Meng Yan and Pudding were playing Breakup Kitchen on the Switch together - Pudding still didn't play this time, but he still followed along.
The two were having fun. As soon as Shen Yanming entered, he heard Meng Yan roaring, "Can you stop throwing that tomato? Are you a pig?"
Shen Yanming found a place to sit down, and Pudding turned his face, which was covered with a facial mask, and said, "Hey, Luanjiang is here... Huh? Why do you look unwell?"
Shen Yanming thought for a moment and said, "No."
Pudding threw the game controller away, and without caring about Meng Yan's continued yelling, he sat next to Shen Yanming and put his arm around his shoulder: "What's wrong?"
Pudding acted like he wanted to be a close brother, and Shen Yanming suddenly felt it was hard to refuse his kindness, but he didn't know whether he should tell him or not. After all, it seemed to be He Changkong's private matter.
It was Meng Yan who asked first after looking around: "Where is your brother Kong?"
Shen Yanming hesitated: "He..."
Meng Yan saw that he had a strange expression on his face, and suddenly thought of something: "Uh, could it be that he saw his mother?"
Since Meng Yan had guessed it, Shen Yanming didn't hide it anymore: "Yeah, how did you know?"
Meng Yan curled his lips: "Before, she asked me the address of the hotel, but I didn't tell her... Damn, she even asked around?"
Shen Yanming: “…”
Shen Yanming asked weakly again: "Then why did she look for Brother Kong?"
Meng Yan spread his hands: "It's nothing more than persuading him to go home. I don't understand. If it's because they didn't make a name for themselves at the beginning, it's understandable that parents are worried about their children not doing well in professional sports, right? But Kong Ge has won two championships, and his mother hasn't given up on letting him go home."
Sunday was confused and asked: "Does Kong Kong have a mine and wants him to take over it?"
Meng Yan: "You think too much."
Shen Yanming was restless: "I don't feel very reassured."
Meng Yan stood up and stuffed both pairs of controllers into Sunday's hands: "Where are they? Let's go find your brother Kong. His mother may be a little bit weird in private, but as long as there are outsiders, she will not do anything."
Shen Yanming nodded. Pudding pointed at the mask on his face and said, "You guys go. I won't go."
When they went downstairs together, Shen Yanming heard Meng Yan talk about some things in the past, such as how no matter how well He Changkong did when they were in school, his mother was never satisfied. Shen Yanming had heard these things from He Changkong himself, but he had said them lightly, which was far less infuriating than the narration of Meng Yan, a third-person spectator.
It was said that because He Changkong didn't get full marks for a question, his mother was furious and drove He Changkong back to school, not letting him into the house, not giving him money for meals, and forcing him to finish a certain number of papers. If Meng Yan hadn't just returned to class to get something, he wouldn't have known about these things.
One year on He Changkong's birthday, Meng Yan gave him a model. He Changkong was quite happy to receive it, but he returned the thing the next day in the same condition. There was no other reason, just because his mother thought playing with things was a waste of time.
Meng Yan concluded: "That's all I know. There must be more that I don't know. Your brother Kong is a thoughtful person and doesn't like to talk about trivial things. Alas, it's really miserable, but he has been a little better since he came to our team... How should I put it, and he seems to be happier after meeting you."
As they were talking, they arrived at the restaurant that He Changkong had told him about. When they reached the door of the private room, Meng Yan said, "You go in first. I'll be waiting outside. I'll be there to take care of you if anything happens."
Shen Yanming was in a heavy mood. He nodded and knocked on the door of the private room.
He first looked at He Changkong on the side. Although he lowered his head, just by looking at his profile, Shen Yanming could see that He Changkong's face was pale at the moment.
After Shen Yanming came in, He Changkong seemed to realize belatedly that someone had come in.
He Changkong turned his head and saw that it was Shen Yanming. His usually calm face showed some panic.
Xu Yun, on the other hand, smiled a little strangely. She looked Shen Yanming up and down: "It's you, then you came at the right time. I also have something to tell you."
He Changkong stood up and tried to stop Xu Yun: "Mom—"
Xu Jun ignored him, staring at Shen Yanming, and said to himself: "What I hate most is homosexuality. Do you know why?"
He Changkong quickly walked to Shen Yanming, ready to take him out, and said to Xu Yun: "This has nothing to do with him!"
"How can there be no connection?" Xu Jun laughed again, "Homosexuality is despicable and morally corrupt."
Shen Yanming was originally thinking about what era it was, how could someone still think like this? Then he heard Xu Jun continue: "My ex-husband, He Changkong's father, is a homosexual. He tricked me into marrying him and then left. Do you understand?"