Chapter 22
[Whisper]: Have you had your midnight snack yet? Want to grab something?
Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui’s WeChat, and an inexplicable bout of bad temper flared up and he replied, [Not hungry. Not gonna eat. ]
After sending the message, Shi Luo regretted it. Not to mention anything else, he really was hungry; very, very hungry!
Shi Luo stared, puzzled, at his mobile phone. He was never the kind of person to say one thing and mean another. So why has he developed this bad habit since meeting Yu Sui?
How could he order now that he’s said that he’s not hungry and that he won’t eat? If he gets seen when he goes to pickup the delivery … He’ll be seen as a kid throwing a tantrum, so stupid.
Shi Luo grabbed his short hair. Irritated, he got up and rummaged through his bag. There wasn’t even half a snack in it. There was only a pack of chewing gum. Shi Luo chewed his gum, looking depressed.
Five minutes later, there was a knock on Shi Luo’s door.
Shi Luo silently blew a bubblegum bubble. Inwardly, he said, this slag man is getting started. He’s getting started again.
Shi Luo sighed. He stood up to open the door, but he couldn’t help saying a few contrary words, “I told you I wasn’t gonna eat, why on earth are you …”
Outside the door, Chen Huo’s face was filled with question marks.
Shi Luo: “…”
“Excuse me …” Chen Huo picked his ears and asked with uncertain surprise, “But did you just … Were you throwing a tantrum at me? Have you gone crazy from scrambling for points on the national server?”
Shi Luo and Chen Huo looked at each other, both of them feeling disgust in the pit of the stomachs. Now, he really wasn’t hungry.
Chen Huo soothed his rather uneasy stomach and forced himself to say, “I came up to change clothes and Yu Sui asked me to call you. We’re going out to eat together.”
Shi Luo looked irritable, “I got it. So, go away!”
Chen Huo shrugged and headed to his room.
Shi Luo went back inside his room. He put on his jacket and donned on a handsome-looking baseball cap. He then grabbed his mobile phone and headed downstairs.
The five headed for a private hot pot restaurant nearby.
This hot pot restaurant had a total of eight tables. Each of the part.i.tioned rooms had no door, only a curtain. Everyone entered the restaurant and walked in. It just so happened that the room next to theirs was occupied. Fortunately or unfortunately, the diners were industry colleagues, Team Bison.
It was their opponents during the regular season game where Shi Luo made his debut, the one before his college entrance examination.
Yu Sui lifted the curtain and said h.e.l.lo. The Bison Team captain hurriedly returned the greeting. The two of them exchanged a few words. Shi Luo was so hungry, all he could think about was quickly getting something to eat. However, the s.p.a.ce in the corridor was limited. Yu Sui and Chen Huo were standing at the door of the other team’s private room and so he couldn’t go any further. Shi Luo stood impatiently behind Yu Sui. When he glanced inside, he saw one of Team Bison’s members looking at him with an ugly look on his face.
I’m unhappy because I’m hungry. What could you still be unhappy about when your lips are smeared with chili oil?!
Shi Luo swept a glance around the room. Besides the one who was glaring at him, there was a little man beside him who seemed to look at their team with a bit of hostility.
Were all the Bison Team members all born in the year of the Bison? Do they all have bad tempers? Are these people sick?
Yu Sui had finally talked enough, and the five of them entered the next room. Old Qiao sat down and whispered, “That Violent Shu, if looks could kill.”
As though he hadn’t heard, Yu Sui picked up the menu to order and urged them, “Order whatever you guys want? Hurry up, I’m dead on my feet already.”
Shi Luo picked up the menu, “Who’s Violent Shu? Is it that a-hole with chili oil all over his mouth? What’s he unhappy about?”
Yu Sui frowned, “Order.”
Puppy was sitting next to Shi Luo. He leaned towards Shi Luo and whispered, “Before playing that last match with us, Bison was ranked fifth in the regular season, only a little lower than the fourth ranked LAD. If they’d won that best of three, they would have jumped to fourth. ”
“If you take a look at the schedule for the playoffs, fourth place has a much more dominant position than fifth. You’ll play one less match. Of course, your chances of getting to the finals is also a little better. The fifth place … just in case you wash out in the first round, what would you do? But fourth place is different. The fourth place team will only play from the second round. ”
“When Bison heard you were going up, they were ecstatic.” Puppy lowered his voice even further, “When they heard Yu Sui was going to replace Chen Huo as striker, they were over the moon. They thought they were already a shoe-in for the second round. ”
Puppy sat up properly, picked up the menu and said, “But in the end … you know what happened. They’re still in fifth and they failed to reverse their fortunes.”
Shi Luo was speechless, “I won fair and square. His skills didn’t match up so what’s he upset for?”
Yu Sui gave Shi Luo a warning look, “… Go and order.”
“That’s because they already talked big on their official blog. Now, they feel that they’ve embarra.s.sed themselves.” Chen Huo also turned his nose up at Bison’s sore loser att.i.tude. “They thought we had a freakish lineup. A subst.i.tute medic and a non-specialized striker. They were sure they could win. But unfortunately, even if we just play casually, they still wouldn’t be able to beat us.”
Old Qiao whispered, “Don’t talk like that. Actually, only Violent Shu and that new subst.i.tute have a bit of a bad temper. The rest didn’t take it to heart. Look, weren’t they nice enough just now? Don’t mention it anymore. Let’s just eat.”
Chen Huo thought about it and had a realization, “Oh yeah, that Violent Shu is also a newcomer and a medic too. It just so happened it was also his first match that day. He probably wanted to show Shi Luo. I guess he didn’t expect Shi Luo would show him up instead and take the MVP t.i.tle to boot. Sigh … I don’t understand you medics, isn’t it good enough to be a cute and gentle little milk tank? Why is your hunger for victory even more intense that us strikers’? ”
There were two medics in this table of five. Yu Sui and Shi Luo both looked up at Chen Huo at the same time. Chen Huo waved his hand and said, “Sorry, sorry. Let’s order.”
The five quickly ordered their food. This restaurant served dishes slowly; they were ready just when the pot started to boil. The five of them chatted about the playoff arrangements while eating. Old Qiao took the opportunity to educate Shi Luo. “There’s no difference between the playoffs and the regular season, except that the best of three turns into a best of five. Since we’re leading in points for the regular season, the initial games have nothing to do with us. We’ll only play in the semifinals and finals … ”
Yu Sui took a sip of his drink, “Have you guys made your preparations for the finals?”
Old Qiao sighed, “This is the same old song and dance. What’s there to be afraid of?”
Old Qiao continued and told Shi Luo at the same time, “Aside from having more spectators and a slightly more tedious process it’s no different from the regular season. Just follow the instructions that Yu Sui told you before, but … you shouldn’t be going up to play so, there probably won’t be any problems. ”
Yu Sui nodded. “You can just stare at the water dispenser.”
Shi Luo pouted but he himself knew clearly. The team wouldn’t risk putting a subst.i.tute player like himself in the lineup for the semi-finals and finals. He took a big sip of watermelon juice and got up, “I’m going to the bathroom.”
The corridor of this hot pot was f*cking winding and strange. Shi Luo walked around for a long time before finding the bathroom. He went in, relieved himself and walked out to wash his hands.
He was just in time to run into Violent Shu, the one who had been staring at him earlier.
Shi Luo didn’t feel like greeting him. He stepped forward to wash his hands.
To the side, Violent Shu had on a foul expression on his face. He washed his hands and instead of drying it using the hand dryer or wiping it, he shook it directly. The water droplets sprinkled on Shi Luo’s face.
Shi Luo said coldly, “What are you doing?!”
Violent Shu turned his head and looked at Shi Luo. He smiled provocatively, “Relax, Master’s hands have been cleaned. This is water not urine.”
Shi Luo heard him and immediately placed his two fingers directly against the water faucet spout. The water pressure increased and a jet of water squirted out following Shi Luo’s fingertips, spraying Violent Shu full in the face.
Shi Luo said with a blank expression, “Relax, Master hasn’t had time to wash his hands just now. I’m pretty sure that was urine and not water.”
Violent Shu instantly blew his top.
In the private room, Old Qiao took a bite of crown daisy. “What’s taking him so long?”
The corner of Yu Sui’s mouth ticked up slightly, “The young ones take longer.”
Old Qiao smirked and sighed, “I’m not that much older than Shi Luo, but just look at him …He flew back immediately after the college entrance examinations and spent the entire night raising his rank on the national server. What’s with that physical const.i.tution? What’s with that steely resolve? With his internet addiction as bad as this, what else could he do besides enter into our line of work?”
Chen Huo scoffed, “He’s been getting points for so long but his still isn’t as good as mine.”
Puppy said, “It’s already good enough. Did you think about when you first debuted? And really, in that game before his college entrance examination, with how calm and steady he was, who can tell that this was his first time playing?
“But he wasn’t calm and steady!” Chen Huo nitpicked and said fussily, “Why don’t you ask Yu Sui? He prepped him so well it was just short of telling him how many steps he needed to take from the backstage lounge to the stage and whether he should use his right or left foot first! If I had a senior who looked after me that well when I debuted, I would have been way more calm and collected than he was! ”
Old Qiao took a look outside. “I don’t know how many steps there are from the lounge to the stage but I’m quite clear just how far it is from here to the toilet … It’s just a few steps, why hasn’t he returned yet?”
Yu Sui frowned slightly.
Puppy took a bite of green bamboo shoots and suddenly thought of something. He said quietly, “Captain, you taught Shi Luo so many of the complicated rules and regulations. But did you tell him about that high-voltage wire that he absolutely mustn’t touch? That one that could get him immediately retired?”
Yu Sui got up and quickly walked out of the private room. He lifted open the curtain to the private room next door…
Several of the Bison team member looked bewilderedly back at him.
Violent Shu wasn’t there.
Yu Sui walked directly to the bathroom without saying a word. He bypa.s.sed the winding corridor and before he even reached the bathroom, Yu Sui already heard sounds of something being smashed. His scalp instantly went numb.
The door to the bathroom was locked. The staff of restaurant were hurriedly going round in circles. Ceaseless cussing could be heard from inside. Yu Sui was. .h.i.t by a bout of anxiety and with a single kick, knocked open the door to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, one of the two huge decorative vases has been smashed, and the broken porcelain pieces were littered on the ground. Both Shi Luo and Violent Shu were rolling around on the floor. Shi Luo’s face was pale, his eyes were red. He had a deathly tight grip on Violent Shu’s shoulder. With a forceful flip, he pressed Violent Shu against the floor. Shi Luo turned his wrist, and Yu Sui immediately saw that Shi Luo’s arm was stained with blood.
Yu Sui looked at the blood on Shi Luo’s hand, his brain went blank for a moment, and his heart almost stopped.
Yu Sui pounced on them and pulled Shi Luo from the ground. Shi Luo said angrily, “Stop pulling at me! I’m gonna kill this a.s.sh*le!”
Yu Sui wished he could stuff Shi Luo inside the trunk of his car. “Shut up! Follow me!”
“Ask him what he said! You ask him!” Shi Luo struggled incessantly. He struck out with his foot, still wanting to kick the Violent b.a.s.t.a.r.d. “Come at me if you can! Come at me!!!”
Violent Shu took this opportunity to get up. He wiped the corner of his mouth which was bleeding from a hit and starting throwing insults, “I just called you a son of a b*tch, you son of a b*tch! Son of a b*tch! Which b*tch untied her pants and had you, huh?!!! ”
Blue veins burst out on Shi Luo’s forehead. In an instant, Shi Luo pounced again and Yu Sui barely managed to get his arms around him to hold him back.
Shi Luo struggled and yelled at Yu Sui, “Didn’t you hear what he said?!”
“I heard …” Shi Luo was too strong. Yu Sui knew that he couldn’t hold on for long. He tried his best to restrain Shi Luo in his arms. He said, “If you don’t stop, I will absolutely … dismiss you … I mean it.”
Shi Luo’s entire body went slack.
Not giving Shi Luo a chance to react, Violent Shu, who had already lost all reason, took the other decorative vase and swung it.
There was nowhere to dodge in this small s.p.a.ce. Yu Sui’s eyes quivered and he instinctively hugged Shi Luo from the back.
Yu Sui locked Shi Luo tightly in his arms, and in the next second, the vase was smashed loudly straight against Yu Sui’s back.