******
After finishing his breakfast, Qin Fei languidly instructs: “Before Coach returns, Yiming and Old Han, you two tag-team. Ye Zi, go solo. Jing Yu, you follow me.”
Luo Yiming: “Okie~”
Ye Hong: “OK.”
Jing Yu begins rising to his feet without thinking. Only, after seeing Qin Fei still in the same position, he falters and sits back down.
Qin Fei shoots him an amused glance. When the others have all slipped off to the Training Room, he finally takes his time to stand up, heading towards the Conference Room.
Jing Yu hastily follows after him.
Upon entering the Conference Room, Qin Fei struts along the side of the table, making a beeline to the seat at the end with the laptop. A practiced hand switches on the laptop with ease, keying in the passcode. Without even lifting his head, he says: “Come here.”
“Okay.” Jing Yu replies, pulling a chair over to sit by Qin Fei’s side.
“Get a bit closer. Can you see the screen?”
“Yes.” Jing Yu says but still wriggles his chair closer.
Qin Fei pays it no mind, clicking open a folder on the home-screen: “We’ll go over the practice game yesterday first.”
Qin Fei’s voice is as tranquil as the surface of the ocean, impossible to read at all: “Although it seemed like we were just an inch away from winning, to be honest, I think it’s only natural for us to lose against Ane. In fact, it can be considered a miracle that we managed to gain an advantage in the first half.”
Jing Yu listens attentively, not daring to interrupt.
“There were three problems: One, everyone still hasn’t gotten used to the format of me solo-laning and you jungling. It shouldn’t even have to be said, but all your demons are so rarely used, it’s hard to sync up. More practice’s necessary.”
Jing Yu’s eyes darkens, but he doesn’t speak up.
“Two, the others are all used to my command. They still haven’t gotten used to you yet. Moreover, this is your first time leading a team with an established style, right?”
“En.”
“This will also need more practice.”
“Three, I think it’s fairly obvious, but pg is not suited for playing the latter half. The more the game drags on, the more mistakes we make. It’s rare for us to be able to flip the situation around. Likewise, this will have to be trained.”
After listing these three points, Qin Fei lets the video continue playing on the screen, tipping his head towards Jing Yu: “That’s about everything.”
Jing Yu: “???”
He still thought Qin Fei was just briefly summarizing before launching into the details, and yet… This is all he has to say?!
Jing Yu turns his head uncertainly and looks at Qin Fei, wavering for a moment before mustering his courage to ask: “Did I do anything wrong during the game?”
“Didn’t I already say it?” Qin Fei gives him a ‘What the hell were you listening to’ look, “In any case, we’re going to improve on these things in the following games — Coordination, leading, and dragging out the latter half.” Pausing here, he adds, “Speaking of which, Coach intends for us to take turns leading. I’ll take command for one round before you do the next. After seeing how I lead, make sure to tailor your strategies accordingly.”
“Understood.” Jing Yu answers in a docile manner. Although what Qin Fei said fully makes sense, the way he said it is sort of lackadaisical. The worry within his heart is incapable of dissipating.
In the end, he still can’t hold himself back, saying the thing which’s been on his mind: “If I hadn’t used Frozen Heart…”
“Then that would have been another way of dying.” Qin Fei brusquely interrupts, evenly stating, “No matter what the end result is, never question your own abilities. In this aspect, you’ve still got some things to learn from Yiming. That rascal had his face grounded into the floor yesterday. He scored the bottom lowest. Yet, he still thinks he can quintuple-kill Ane next time ne.”
Jing Yu is stunned speechless — Should he say, this can only be expected of pg‘s C position?
“Your performance is far more stable than his. So, you won’t have any problems.” Qin Fei says it confidently whilst patting Jing Yu’s shoulder, “Go solo ba.”
“Alright… What about you?” Jing Yu has already risen without thinking.
He didn’t expect Qin Fei to directly splay out before the laptop: “Sleepy… I’ll nap for a while.”
Jing Yu: “……”
Jing Yu looks at him somewhat helplessly. Wavering a little, he turns on his heels to head out the room.
And yet. He hadn’t taken a few steps before he made a U-turn and cautiously says: “That… it’s easy to catch a cold sleeping on the table. Why don’t you head upstairs to sleep?”
Qin Fei doesn’t respond. His shoulders rises with each even breath.
He really fell asleep so quickly? This can’t be right ba?
Jing Yu originally still wants to gently shake Qin Fei’s shoulder. He’s already half-stretching out his hand, yet he falters mid-way.
Because he suddenly remembers Ye Hong’s story — A few months ago, the coach wanted to drag Qin Fei off the bed but almost got beaten up to the point of being crippled. Afterwards, nobody dares to wake Qin Fei up again.
As a matter of fact, Jing Yu isn’t remotely scared that Qin Fei will hit him. He only worries that he will be hated if he carelessly wakes him up.
Unexpected, the hand that has been hovering mid-way is grabbed by that person!
Jing Yu’s pupils shrink. The muscles on his arm abruptly tenses. Only after realizing the person who grabbed him is Qin Fei, then does he slightly relax.
Qin Fei is still splayed on the table. Yet, the hand that is raised had still snagged Jing Yu’s hand with complete accuracy. Only after a while then does he sits up, lifting his gaze to him: “Why are you still here?”
Jing Yu fully relaxes, allowing Qin Fei to continue holding on as he awkwardly answers: “I was worried you would catch a cold…”
“Tch. You care too much.” Saying this, Qin Fei releases Jing Yu’s hand and turns off the laptop, getting up.
Jing Yu still thought he was listening to his words and heading upstairs to sleep. Unexpectedly, an arm hooks around the back of his neck: “Not napping anymore. I’ll accompany you to practice.”
“Huan?” Jing Yu blinks twice, flustered.
“Speaking of which, you…” Qin Fei continues to haul Jing Yu along, abruptly asking without looking at him.
Jing Yu “En?”s in question.
“Nervermind.” Qin Fei swallows the words that had nearly escaped.
Just now, when he instinctively grabbed Jing Yu’s wrist, he suddenly felt a huge burst of power.
This little rascal… It seems he isn’t as delicate as he thought him to be.
At the same time, in the Training Room, three people happen to be discussing in a low voice:
Luo Yiming: “I don’t think I’ve heard Fei Ge’s hollering yet?”
Han Leng: “How mysterious. Fei Ge’s not blowing his top this time?”
Ye Hong: “Tsk. What do you all take Fei Ge as? It’s not like he’ll flare up anytime.”
Luo Yiming: “Yi**? You say that as if you’ve never gotten a taste of his wrath before.”
(**Yi: A curious sound)
Ye Hong: “Wah, shut up! Don’t remind me of my past trauma! I’ll have nightmares tonight!”
Han Leng: “From top to bottom, who within pg hasn’t been yelled at by Fei Ge before? The practice match yesterday turned out like that. I reckon Goldfish will be scolded quite a bit.”
Ye Hong: “Maybe the soundproofing of these walls is too good? Yiming, why don’t you go over and listen?”
Luo Yiming: “Not going! Don’t even think about stopping this daddy from quintupling!”
When he said he’ll accompany Jing Yu, Qin Fei really hooks an arm around Jing Yu’s neck the whole way to the training room.
They don’t know what the three people in the training room were chatting about. Exchanging one witty line after another, the atmosphere was enlivened to its highest. Upon hearing Qin Fei’s footsteps closing in on them, however, the trio immediately plunge into a deafening silence.
This is the n-th time Jing Yu is puzzled by their reactions. After taking his seat, he deliberates for half a day but still can’t help voicing his confusion: “Every time Fei Ge appears, you guys always become so quiet ah…”
Ye Hong coughs violently. Luo Yiming follows suit and coughs a few times. Han Leng’s hacking cough can only be described as theatrical.
Qin Fei side-eyes them: “Go pop a few pills if you’re sick. Eat them, then die!”
“No, no, no, we were just choking on our saliva. We’re all good now!” Ye Hong hastily clarifies. After sneaking a cautious glance at Qin Fei and seeing him looking elsewhere, he lets his own line of sight slide pass him to fall upon Jing Yu’s curious face, “Goldfish ah, just now, you weren’t scolded by Fei Ge ba?”
The face that has been carrying curiosity instantly changes into one of confusion: “No ah?”
“I only scold vegetables**!” Qin Fei casts a glare at Ye Hong. He ignores the three on his left to look at Jing Yu, “Enter the game.”
(**People who make amateurish mistakes)
“Er, ok.” Jing Yu rushes to double-click on the icon, entering the log-in page.
Just when he is about to key in his account number, the keyboard is taken by Qin Fei, who types in a new account: “The password is 123456789. Remember to change it.”
Jing Yu blinks blankly, lost.
Qin Fei can only tag on a line of explanation: “Your pro-gamer account.”
Jing Yu “ah”s in understanding, finally remembering last night, where Qin Fei told him to give an English ID: “Thank you.”
After saying this, he immediately keys in the password to enter the account, glancing at the top left corner. As expected — pg-gF.
In this moment, the feeling of being a professional gamer heightens to an incomparable intensity. Jing Yu stares at his own ID blankly for a long time.
–He’s not dreaming. He really became a member of pg!
Qin Fei takes in his reaction, giving him an appropriate amount of reaction time before adding: “Every jungling demon as well as their skins has been bought for you. This account also has a few thousand demonic coins, so use them however you like to.”
“I will!” Jing Yu begins admiring the demons and skins without further ado.
“Don’t forget to change the password.” Qin Fei can’t help reminding.
“En, En, I will go change it immediately!” Jing Yu is full of smiles as he changes the password. The animated way he smiles is like a child who just got a new toy.
“Tch–” Qin Fei snickers and withdraws his own gaze. He is just about to log into his own account when he suddenly notices…
He turns his head to his left and sees his family’s mid-laner, marksman, and support all looking at him as though they’ve seen a ghost.
Qin Fei: “……What?”
Ye Hong: “Fei Ge, you…… Goldfish’s still just a kid ah. Let go of him!”
Qin Fei: “Scram!”
Jing Yu: “?”
It’s not without reason that pg’s members go dead silent when they see Qin Fei.
There are three reasons:
One, Qin Fei releashes his temper upon anyone who disagrees with him. From top to bottom, you can say no one in pg hasn’t faced his anger before. The moment he flares up, even if you’re the coach or the boss, you’re hollered at without exception.
Two, Qin Fei is pg‘s captain, but he is also one of the founders of pg. He shares a kin-like relationship with the manager and boss. Although he has never admitted it to their faces, every member within pg more or less understands the situation — In their hearts, offending Qin Fei = offending The Boss.
Three, Qin Fei likes men.
Be it Ye Hong or Luo Yiming or Han Leng, none of them are the slightest least homophobic. However, before they met Qin Fei, they have never interacted with this kind of person, so it’s impossible to ask them not to think too much about it.
However, having cohabited for the past few months, they’ve long since accepted Qin Fei’s sexuality. They also genuinely accepted him as the Captain in their hearts.
But speaking of which, to drop the stone on the first day they move in and tell him he is gay and whatnot… Should they salute him and say, this can only be expected of pg‘s Captain?
Luo Yiming also learnt on the day he entered pg’s clubhouse that Qin Fei is gay. At that time, he had stoned on the spot for a very long time. In the end, for the sake of victory, he still marched forward without a sliver of doubt to put his own name on the contract.
This time, with Jing Yu joining them, Qin Fei will surely come out of the closet again ba?
Everyone thinks this way — Other than Qin Fei.
He doesn’t know why. But this time, he doesn’t want to do it.
******
Translator’s Musings: Interestingly enough, it occurred to me today that I still haven’t explained why Jing Yu = Goldfish here.
Their phonics are somewhat the same, but did you know the pronunciation are different? Jing Yu is Jīng yǔ while Goldfish is jīn yú. – Try pressing the audio to hear the difference.
This is also why, in those dialogues with “Goldfish” written, you can really hear the difference from his name. It’s not like the characters are calling him with the intention of “GF” so the author writes it that way.
******
In view of the current epidemic, I have decided to switch to COVID-19 Disaster Relief!
There is no bare minimum for your donations. All donations here will be handled by SG Red Cross, as that is an altruistic organization I know to be highly reputable and transparent with its figures. All donations will go to communities in need outside SG.
As usual, I will release a new chapter a day in advance for every $10 donations accrued.
Don’t forget to forward me the email receipt at [email protected] and drop a comment to let me know you donated!
Current Donations: $6/10
******
After finishing his breakfast, Qin Fei languidly instructs: “Before Coach returns, Yiming and Old Han, you two tag-team. Ye Zi, go solo. Jing Yu, you follow me.”
Luo Yiming: “Okie~”
Ye Hong: “OK.”
Jing Yu begins rising to his feet without thinking. Only, after seeing Qin Fei still in the same position, he falters and sits back down.
Qin Fei shoots him an amused glance. When the others have all slipped off to the Training Room, he finally takes his time to stand up, heading towards the Conference Room.
Jing Yu hastily follows after him.
Upon entering the Conference Room, Qin Fei struts along the side of the table, making a beeline to the seat at the end with the laptop. A practiced hand switches on the laptop with ease, keying in the passcode. Without even lifting his head, he says: “Come here.”
“Okay.” Jing Yu replies, pulling a chair over to sit by Qin Fei’s side.
“Get a bit closer. Can you see the screen?”
“Yes.” Jing Yu says but still wriggles his chair closer.
Qin Fei pays it no mind, clicking open a folder on the home-screen: “We’ll go over the practice game yesterday first.”
Qin Fei’s voice is as tranquil as the surface of the ocean, impossible to read at all: “Although it seemed like we were just an inch away from winning, to be honest, I think it’s only natural for us to lose against Ane. In fact, it can be considered a miracle that we managed to gain an advantage in the first half.”
Jing Yu listens attentively, not daring to interrupt.
“There were three problems: One, everyone still hasn’t gotten used to the format of me solo-laning and you jungling. It shouldn’t even have to be said, but all your demons are so rarely used, it’s hard to sync up. More practice’s necessary.”
Jing Yu’s eyes darkens, but he doesn’t speak up.
“Two, the others are all used to my command. They still haven’t gotten used to you yet. Moreover, this is your first time leading a team with an established style, right?”
“En.”
“This will also need more practice.”
“Three, I think it’s fairly obvious, but pg is not suited for playing the latter half. The more the game drags on, the more mistakes we make. It’s rare for us to be able to flip the situation around. Likewise, this will have to be trained.”
After listing these three points, Qin Fei lets the video continue playing on the screen, tipping his head towards Jing Yu: “That’s about everything.”
Jing Yu: “???”
He still thought Qin Fei was just briefly summarizing before launching into the details, and yet… This is all he has to say?!
Jing Yu turns his head uncertainly and looks at Qin Fei, wavering for a moment before mustering his courage to ask: “Did I do anything wrong during the game?”
“Didn’t I already say it?” Qin Fei gives him a ‘What the hell were you listening to’ look, “In any case, we’re going to improve on these things in the following games — Coordination, leading, and dragging out the latter half.” Pausing here, he adds, “Speaking of which, Coach intends for us to take turns leading. I’ll take command for one round before you do the next. After seeing how I lead, make sure to tailor your strategies accordingly.”
“Understood.” Jing Yu answers in a docile manner. Although what Qin Fei said fully makes sense, the way he said it is sort of lackadaisical. The worry within his heart is incapable of dissipating.
In the end, he still can’t hold himself back, saying the thing which’s been on his mind: “If I hadn’t used Frozen Heart…”
“Then that would have been another way of dying.” Qin Fei brusquely interrupts, evenly stating, “No matter what the end result is, never question your own abilities. In this aspect, you’ve still got some things to learn from Yiming. That rascal had his face grounded into the floor yesterday. He scored the bottom lowest. Yet, he still thinks he can quintuple-kill Ane next time ne.”
Jing Yu is stunned speechless — Should he say, this can only be expected of pg‘s C position?
“Your performance is far more stable than his. So, you won’t have any problems.” Qin Fei says it confidently whilst patting Jing Yu’s shoulder, “Go solo ba.”
“Alright… What about you?” Jing Yu has already risen without thinking.
He didn’t expect Qin Fei to directly splay out before the laptop: “Sleepy… I’ll nap for a while.”
Jing Yu: “……”
Jing Yu looks at him somewhat helplessly. Wavering a little, he turns on his heels to head out the room.
And yet. He hadn’t taken a few steps before he made a U-turn and cautiously says: “That… it’s easy to catch a cold sleeping on the table. Why don’t you head upstairs to sleep?”
Qin Fei doesn’t respond. His shoulders rises with each even breath.
He really fell asleep so quickly? This can’t be right ba?
Jing Yu originally still wants to gently shake Qin Fei’s shoulder. He’s already half-stretching out his hand, yet he falters mid-way.
Because he suddenly remembers Ye Hong’s story — A few months ago, the coach wanted to drag Qin Fei off the bed but almost got beaten up to the point of being crippled. Afterwards, nobody dares to wake Qin Fei up again.
As a matter of fact, Jing Yu isn’t remotely scared that Qin Fei will hit him. He only worries that he will be hated if he carelessly wakes him up.
Unexpected, the hand that has been hovering mid-way is grabbed by that person!
Jing Yu’s pupils shrink. The muscles on his arm abruptly tenses. Only after realizing the person who grabbed him is Qin Fei, then does he slightly relax.
Qin Fei is still splayed on the table. Yet, the hand that is raised had still snagged Jing Yu’s hand with complete accuracy. Only after a while then does he sits up, lifting his gaze to him: “Why are you still here?”
Jing Yu fully relaxes, allowing Qin Fei to continue holding on as he awkwardly answers: “I was worried you would catch a cold…”
“Tch. You care too much.” Saying this, Qin Fei releases Jing Yu’s hand and turns off the laptop, getting up.
Jing Yu still thought he was listening to his words and heading upstairs to sleep. Unexpectedly, an arm hooks around the back of his neck: “Not napping anymore. I’ll accompany you to practice.”
“Huan?” Jing Yu blinks twice, flustered.
“Speaking of which, you…” Qin Fei continues to haul Jing Yu along, abruptly asking without looking at him.
Jing Yu “En?”s in question.
“Nervermind.” Qin Fei swallows the words that had nearly escaped.
Just now, when he instinctively grabbed Jing Yu’s wrist, he suddenly felt a huge burst of power.
This little rascal… It seems he isn’t as delicate as he thought him to be.
At the same time, in the Training Room, three people happen to be discussing in a low voice:
Luo Yiming: “I don’t think I’ve heard Fei Ge’s hollering yet?”
Han Leng: “How mysterious. Fei Ge’s not blowing his top this time?”
Ye Hong: “Tsk. What do you all take Fei Ge as? It’s not like he’ll flare up anytime.”
Luo Yiming: “Yi**? You say that as if you’ve never gotten a taste of his wrath before.”
(**Yi: A curious sound)
Ye Hong: “Wah, shut up! Don’t remind me of my past trauma! I’ll have nightmares tonight!”
Han Leng: “From top to bottom, who within pg hasn’t been yelled at by Fei Ge before? The practice match yesterday turned out like that. I reckon Goldfish will be scolded quite a bit.”
Ye Hong: “Maybe the soundproofing of these walls is too good? Yiming, why don’t you go over and listen?”
Luo Yiming: “Not going! Don’t even think about stopping this daddy from quintupling!”
When he said he’ll accompany Jing Yu, Qin Fei really hooks an arm around Jing Yu’s neck the whole way to the training room.
They don’t know what the three people in the training room were chatting about. Exchanging one witty line after another, the atmosphere was enlivened to its highest. Upon hearing Qin Fei’s footsteps closing in on them, however, the trio immediately plunge into a deafening silence.
This is the n-th time Jing Yu is puzzled by their reactions. After taking his seat, he deliberates for half a day but still can’t help voicing his confusion: “Every time Fei Ge appears, you guys always become so quiet ah…”
Ye Hong coughs violently. Luo Yiming follows suit and coughs a few times. Han Leng’s hacking cough can only be described as theatrical.
Qin Fei side-eyes them: “Go pop a few pills if you’re sick. Eat them, then die!”
“No, no, no, we were just choking on our saliva. We’re all good now!” Ye Hong hastily clarifies. After sneaking a cautious glance at Qin Fei and seeing him looking elsewhere, he lets his own line of sight slide pass him to fall upon Jing Yu’s curious face, “Goldfish ah, just now, you weren’t scolded by Fei Ge ba?”
The face that has been carrying curiosity instantly changes into one of confusion: “No ah?”
“I only scold vegetables**!” Qin Fei casts a glare at Ye Hong. He ignores the three on his left to look at Jing Yu, “Enter the game.”
(**People who make amateurish mistakes)
“Er, ok.” Jing Yu rushes to double-click on the icon, entering the log-in page.
Just when he is about to key in his account number, the keyboard is taken by Qin Fei, who types in a new account: “The password is 123456789. Remember to change it.”
Jing Yu blinks blankly, lost.
Qin Fei can only tag on a line of explanation: “Your pro-gamer account.”
Jing Yu “ah”s in understanding, finally remembering last night, where Qin Fei told him to give an English ID: “Thank you.”
After saying this, he immediately keys in the password to enter the account, glancing at the top left corner. As expected — pg-gF.
In this moment, the feeling of being a professional gamer heightens to an incomparable intensity. Jing Yu stares at his own ID blankly for a long time.
–He’s not dreaming. He really became a member of pg!
Qin Fei takes in his reaction, giving him an appropriate amount of reaction time before adding: “Every jungling demon as well as their skins has been bought for you. This account also has a few thousand demonic coins, so use them however you like to.”
“I will!” Jing Yu begins admiring the demons and skins without further ado.
“Don’t forget to change the password.” Qin Fei can’t help reminding.
“En, En, I will go change it immediately!” Jing Yu is full of smiles as he changes the password. The animated way he smiles is like a child who just got a new toy.
“Tch–” Qin Fei snickers and withdraws his own gaze. He is just about to log into his own account when he suddenly notices…
He turns his head to his left and sees his family’s mid-laner, marksman, and support all looking at him as though they’ve seen a ghost.
Qin Fei: “……What?”
Ye Hong: “Fei Ge, you…… Goldfish’s still just a kid ah. Let go of him!”
Qin Fei: “Scram!”
Jing Yu: “?”
It’s not without reason that pg’s members go dead silent when they see Qin Fei.
There are three reasons:
One, Qin Fei releashes his temper upon anyone who disagrees with him. From top to bottom, you can say no one in pg hasn’t faced his anger before. The moment he flares up, even if you’re the coach or the boss, you’re hollered at without exception.
Two, Qin Fei is pg‘s captain, but he is also one of the founders of pg. He shares a kin-like relationship with the manager and boss. Although he has never admitted it to their faces, every member within pg more or less understands the situation — In their hearts, offending Qin Fei = offending The Boss.
Three, Qin Fei likes men.
Be it Ye Hong or Luo Yiming or Han Leng, none of them are the slightest least homophobic. However, before they met Qin Fei, they have never interacted with this kind of person, so it’s impossible to ask them not to think too much about it.
However, having cohabited for the past few months, they’ve long since accepted Qin Fei’s sexuality. They also genuinely accepted him as the Captain in their hearts.
But speaking of which, to drop the stone on the first day they move in and tell him he is gay and whatnot… Should they salute him and say, this can only be expected of pg‘s Captain?
Luo Yiming also learnt on the day he entered pg’s clubhouse that Qin Fei is gay. At that time, he had stoned on the spot for a very long time. In the end, for the sake of victory, he still marched forward without a sliver of doubt to put his own name on the contract.
This time, with Jing Yu joining them, Qin Fei will surely come out of the closet again ba?
Everyone thinks this way — Other than Qin Fei.
He doesn’t know why. But this time, he doesn’t want to do it.
******
Translator’s Musings: Interestingly enough, it occurred to me today that I still haven’t explained why Jing Yu = Goldfish here.
Their phonics are somewhat the same, but did you know the pronunciation are different? Jing Yu is Jīng yǔ while Goldfish is jīn yú. – Try pressing the audio to hear the difference.
This is also why, in those dialogues with “Goldfish” written, you can really hear the difference from his name. It’s not like the characters are calling him with the intention of “GF” so the author writes it that way.
******
In view of the current epidemic, I have decided to switch to COVID-19 Disaster Relief!
There is no bare minimum for your donations. All donations here will be handled by SG Red Cross, as that is an altruistic organization I know to be highly reputable and transparent with its figures. All donations will go to communities in need outside SG.
As usual, I will release a new chapter a day in advance for every $10 donations accrued.
Don’t forget to forward me the email receipt at [email protected] and drop a comment to let me know you donated!
Current Donations: $6/10
