Lu Xiangyang felt like he could finally give up his little habit of checking CP fan posts every night.
Because he realized that what he had with Shen Kuangye was a hundred times sweeter than any of those CP snippets.
Shen Kuangye must have been truly exhausted these past few days, he fell asleep holding Lu Xiangyang after only a short while.
In the dark, Lu Xiangyang buried his head in Shen Kuangye's chest, yet his mind was completely clear.
He started to recall carefully what Shen Kuangye had just confessed to him, and coincidentally, it matched the murmurs Shen Kuangye had made unconsciously when he had been sick before.
If his guesses were correct, the people who had treated Shen Kuangye like disposable blood bags were the players and coaches of Ella.
Previously, Lu Xiangyang just thought his "brother" was cold and antisocial.
But considering what he had gone through, very few people could maintain their original enthusiasm under that pressure.
Shen Kuangye had once been just like him, always laughing.
Thinking of this, Lu Xiangyang couldn't help but look up at Shen Kuangye's sleeping face in the dark.
The curtains were half drawn, and the faint moonlight fell perfectly on the bed, letting him clearly see Shen Kuangye's slightly cold lips and the way he unconsciously furrowed his brows while sleeping.
He slowly raised a hand, wanting to smooth it out, but just as he touched Shen Kuangye's face, a warm hand grabbed his and pulled him back under the blanket.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Shen Kuangye was obviously exhausted; his voice lacked any inflection.
"I'll sleep now," Lu Xiangyang obediently replied.
Shen Kuangye grunted in acknowledgment and muttered indistinctly for him not to stay up late, burying his head and continuing to sleep.
In the darkness, Lu Xiangyang could feel very clearly the hand Shen Kuangye held tightly with his, warm and dry.
Suddenly, Lu Xiangyang realized: every night, Shen Kuangye hugged him so tightly, not just because he was worried about him catching a cold—it was because Lu Xiangyang was the only person in this world with whom Shen Kuangye could have a connection and absolute trust.
Perhaps Shen Kuangye no longer trusted anyone else, but he always trusted Lu Xiangyang.
Lu Xiangyang wished he could freeze time in this moment.
But he knew he still had something more important to accomplish: Ella.
When he heard how casually Shen Kuangye had brushed off the harm those people had done to him, his first reaction was heartbreak. Now, after calming down, he felt unprecedented anger.
Shen Kuangye might not say it, but that didn't mean Lu Xiangyang could forget what they had done.
Everyone at Ella who had caused Shen Kuangye's current state couldn't escape responsibility.
And Lu Xiangyang knew exactly that as a professional player, the way to hit them hardest was to take away their glory and replace it.
The former last-place player taking their championship spot, how could Ella's arrogant team stand such a fall?
This was exactly the effect Lu Xiangyang wanted.
But he also knew that their current strength was still too weak. They couldn't yet match Ella, and even making the playoffs was dangerous.
He had to work hard, really, really hard.
If Lu Xiangyang used to play for himself, now he played for both him and Shen Kuangye—to deliver a heavy blow to those who had hurt Shen Kuangye.
Ella's players seemed to have put all their talent into playing, and everyone in the IVL circle knew how ridiculous their win rate was—every stat alone was nauseating.
Why should those who hurt Shen Kuangye get away without punishment?
Shen Kuangye had once been so pure and cheerful, not the way he was now—mature beyond his years, hiding everything in his heart.
Only when sick would he subtly reveal his inner unease and sadness.
Thinking of this, Lu Xiangyang's eyes burned a little.
He angrily thought: why should this be?
Then he recalled Shen Kuangye had mentioned that Lu Ning would suddenly suffer a stroke in a few years.
What could he do now?
He could only try his best to give Lu Ning better treatment, to help avoid that risk as much as possible.
Suddenly, these two burdens pressed down on Lu Xiangyang's heart like heavy stones.
He couldn't help but think: now that he had Shen Kuangye, what about Shen Kuangye?
In the previous life, when he was alone, how did he survive all those years?
Enduring cold violence from teammates, pressure from the team, and bearing Lu Ning's medical expenses—he couldn't slack off even a bit, because moving forward or back was a dead end.
How had he gotten through it?
Lu Xiangyang's eyes turned red as he thought about it.
He bit his lip hard to keep from making a sound, letting tears slip from the corners of his eyes and soak the pillow.
He also started blaming himself for his immature actions a few days ago, which had hurt Shen Kuangye so much.
Why couldn't he have handled things more maturely?
Shen Kuangye had already been hurt many times, and Lu Xiangyang didn't want him to be hurt even a little more.
Tonight, Shen Kuangye called him "baby," and he didn't even realize that he himself had long placed Shen Kuangye in his heart as a "baby," too.
He didn't dare to even touch him.
Tonight, as Shen Kuangye revealed his experiences, Lu Xiangyang's reaction was already very restrained.
He tried to control his reddening eyes, but still let a little leak out.
Smelling Shen Kuangye's pleasant scent, his rational mind returned a bit, and his heart calmed.
"It's okay, don't be afraid anymore," Lu Xiangyang said softly.
"You have me now."
I'll always be with you, never betray you.
——
"Awake, kids? Hurry up, eat, and train!"
Yi Shui shouted loudly in the hall early in the morning, his voice extremely commanding, no wonder he used to be the team's commander.
Shen Kuangye woke up groggily and was surprised to see the sun shining brightly.
Lu Xiangyang… he touched the bed beside him—it was cold.
Shen Kuangye was instantly fully awake, subconsciously thinking he was still in the small room on the third floor.
He looked around the room and breathed a sigh of relief—last night had really happened.
But Lu Xiangyang's side of the bed was empty.
How could he sleep so deeply?
This was unusual.
Shen Kuangye checked the time on his phone, it was almost eleven.
He had slept so long.
When he changed and went downstairs, he saw Lu Xiangyang slumped in the gaming chair, completely focused on training, wearing headphones.
When Shen Kuangye came over, they exchanged a glance, then quickly averted their eyes in mutual understanding.
Shen Kuangye thought for a moment and sat next to Lu Xiangyang.
Lu Xiangyang glanced at him briefly, then focused back on his solo practice.
Neither spoke, but both had slightly flushed faces.
Shen Kuangye blinked, continuing to watch Lu Xiangyang practice alone.
After a round ended, Lu Xiangyang told Shen Luoyu: "I'm done for now."
Shen Luoyu's voice was gentle: "Alright."
Lu Xiangyang took off his headphones and finally slowly met Shen Kuangye's eyes.
"Brother, do you still remember what happened last night?" Lu Xiangyang asked softly.
Shen Kuangye paused, then whispered: "I remember."
"And you haven't forgotten our promise, right?" Lu Xiangyang asked cautiously, worried that Shen Kuangye had only said those things to comfort him last night.
Shen Kuangye hesitated slightly: "I remember."
"That's good." Lu Xiangyang sighed in relief.
His peach-blossom eyes lingered on Shen Kuangye for a moment, then his hand gently rested in Shen Kuangye's palm. Shen Kuangye responded by intertwining his fingers.
"Yo,"
Cheng Rang, who had spent the previous night hauling crates and being mocked by Pei Xunan, was already in a bad mood. Coming downstairs, he saw the two who had argued like elementary schoolers now holding hands.
Seeing this warm scene, a faint, unreadable smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Made up?"
"I thought so too. When we went for a walk upstairs, I felt something was missing."
Shen Kuangye: "..."
Seeing Shen Kuangye's sharp gaze in an instant, he felt very pleased.
Lu Xiangyang quickly withdrew his hand when Cheng Rang spoke.
Yi Shui went to wake Li Shu and Jiang Chixin, then walked downstairs saying: "After lunch, we'll train with Aurora. Don't miss this opportunity! Also—"
He walked over to Shen Kuangye and Lu Xiangyang, smiling:
"Made up?"
Lu Xiangyang was a little surprised that even the coach noticed they had argued the past few days.
"Made up is fine. I have something to tell you two troublemakers," Yi Shui said, patting their shoulders.
"Although our club doesn't have strict streaming requirements, can we at least aim for 60 hours a month? Two hours a day isn't too much, right?"
Lu Xiangyang and Shen Kuangye fell into an awkward silence.
"Lu Xiangyang," Yi Shui checked his phone records, "you've only streamed 39 hours this month."
"And you, Shen Kuangye," his expression turned grim, "25 hours."
"Less than an hour a day on average. Are you provoking me?"
Shen Kuangye: "..."
"Alright, no more excuses. You must make up the hours before the end of the month."
Yi Shui issued the final notice. "There are five days left until the 31st. Good luck, kids."
Lu Xiangyang only needed 21 more hours—four hours a day would be enough.
Shen Kuangye had it worse: seven hours a day.
Everyone glanced at him with a little sympathy.
"Why don't you just follow me? I also didn't meet the monthly hours once, then I just streamed myself sleeping at night," Li Shu suggested.
Jiang Chixin added coolly: "Then got banned for indecent sleeping positions and snoring."
Li Shu frowned: "...Who asked you?"
"Oh, it's easy. Every day, after training, you have seven free hours. Isn't that enough?" Cheng Rang teased.
"Brother," Lu Xiangyang whispered to Shen Kuangye, "if you really don't want to stream, I can do it for you. No camera or mic, no one will notice."
Shen Kuangye smiled and ruffled his head: "Focus on training, don't worry about that."
Perhaps streaming had been too heavy a burden in the previous life, making Shen Kuangye somewhat resistant.
Ella had set a goal for him to stream 240 hours per month. Shen Kuangye would train and then stream late into the night, with the camera always on. A bad expression during ranked matches could be clipped and ridiculed, so he eventually dreaded the camera, having to perform a persona that wasn't truly him.
Fortunately, EAR was more relaxed. They didn't care about camera usage, and the hours were humane. Even just a bit of ranked practice at noon was enough.
But so much had happened recently that he had pushed streaming from his mind.
"Brother," Lu Xiangyang suddenly leaned in and whispered, "want to do a duo stream tonight?"
He hesitated, then added: "After training, we could just use it to get the hours."
Shen Kuangye didn't agree: "It's too late. You can't stay up."
Lu Xiangyang didn't speak, just looked at him: Q.Q
"..."
Shen Kuangye met his gaze for a few seconds, then helplessly relented: "Alright."
Lu Xiangyang was satisfied.
He wiggled his hand while exiting the game, thinking: being cute with my brother actually works.
As a proper "pre-boyfriend," his job was to mature and share his brother's burdens!
In a good mood, Lu Xiangyang's gameplay felt exceptionally smooth.
The team's training intensity was already high; ranked games were just a way to relax.
Once the stream started, a wave of comments flooded in.
[I missed you so much, finally streaming! Do you know how I survived without you?]
[Good afternoon!]
[Why have you lost weight these days? Is club food bad?]
[Been busy with training? Haven't streamed? Missed you!]
[Did WILD make up with you? Aww, you guys argued over supplements.]
Lu Xiangyang adjusted his headset while replying to the comments: "Thanks for waiting, everyone."
Shen Kuangye also streamed for the first time in a while.
Besides his own fans, many viewers came with Lu Xiangyang's fan badges. Comments flew by.
He glanced at one asking if he had argued with SUN the past few days, and replied: "We didn't argue."
[? Who just spoke?]
[Seems like WILD.]
[Wow, he actually said more than just 'uhm'? That's rare.]
[Ten minutes in their room equals WILD's half-year.]
[Other channels ban CP fans, but theirs doesn't—they're mods of each other, truly rare.]
In front of all viewers, Shen Kuangye opened his friend list with only one friend and pinned his closest friend with supersun at the top, sending Lu Xiangyang a request to establish an intimate connection.