FOG [e-sports]

Chapter 18

In the car, Yu Sui was holding Puppy’s phone.

On Puppy’s phone, Shi Luo was still saved as “Luo”.

Shi Luo’s first registered ID with the league.

Shi Luo didn’t send a reply. Yu Sui returned the phone to Puppy, closed his eyes and continued to sleep.

“Yu Sui...” Puppy looked at his mobile phone and hesitated. “Shi Luo himself knows that when it’s announced later that he’s coming to our team, the forums are going to explode. You ...”

With his eyes still closed, Yu Sui smiled, “What do I do so the forums don’t explode?”

Puppy was helpless. He continued, “Is this necessary? This game is overflowing with strikers. There are lots of good players out there, even if they’re not as good as he is. If we find one who’s willing to cooperate with Chen Huo, that’s also a suitable choice for us. When Shi Luo comes over later on, he’s sure to get into a lot of fights with Chen Huo. But even putting that aside, there’s still going to be a lot of trouble for sure. I’m even starting to suspect some of Shi Luo’s fans might come to our base and poison us. Are you sure you want to invite this trouble...”

Puppy had come back late and didn’t know about the gamble that occurred at the club that night. Yu Sui also didn’t want to mention it again. He only said, “There’s no trouble. And it’s not like I’m baselessly looking to pick a quarrel. If he didn’t want to come back, I wouldn’t be bothering him again.”

Puppy shrugged, “I don’t understand you two ... what’s so bad about being fated rivals? Tigers on different mountains? You two had such a terrible falling out but you still haven’t learned your lesson. I’m not trying to rake up old scores here. Back then, you really shouldn’t have let Shi Luo join the team. He was such a good kid. Wouldn’t it have been better for him to go to another team than just be your substitute? In the first place, didn’t I urge you to give him to Lao Gu? Gu Gan said it himself. If he went to their team he would have been part of their starting lineup. But you wouldn’t listen......”

Yu Sui didn’t speak.

Puppy harped on and then sighed. He put on his headphones and continued listening to the comedy skit.

Back when Shi Luo had just moved into the FS base, Yu Sui really did consider sending him to NSN.

At the time, aside from their boss, Ji Yanhan, everyone in the team felt that Shi Luo should be sent away.

There really was no reason for Shi Luo to remain at FS back then.

But it was Yu Sui who arranged for him to come and the final decision on what to do with him fell to Yu Sui.

Yu Sui hesitated for a long time. During those few days, he definitely smoked way too much.

“Are you trying to smoke out mosquitoes?”

Seventeen-year-old Shi Luo shoved open the door to Yu Sui’s dorm room in the base. He frowned. “Aren’t you afraid of choking on all this smoke?”

Yu Sui looked anxiously at this teenager that he’d picked up. He blow out some smoke.

Shi Luo opened the window for Yu Sui, puzzled. “You’re not that old. How’d your addiction get so bad?”

Yu Sui flicked off the ash from his cigarette. “I’m soon going to be a four-year veteran. Is that still ‘not that old’?”

“You’re just a bit older than me ...” When Shi Luo sat, he didn’t sit down properly. He squatted on the sofa opposite Yu Sui and looked around. “Do you still play with Gundams?”

Shi Luo took one of the model figures and fiddled with it. He muttered to himself, “F*ck, isn’t this that deadly expensive one...”

Yu Sui said, “Yeah, the one that if you break, you won’t be able to afford.”

Shi Luo hastily put it back in place, and he went back to staying on the sofa.

Yu Sui was too lazy to care about his image in front of Shi Luo. After sitting for a long time, his whole body hurt. He bent his left leg and stepped on the sofa, his left hand resting on top of his knee. With a serious expression on his face, he continued to blow out smoke.

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The two teenagers stayed faced against each other like this.

Shi Luo put on an apathetic expression and said, “Can you stop smoking?”

Yu Sui put out the cigarette. “Sorry, ma’am.”

Shi Luo turned gloomy. He suddenly asked, “Are you worrying about what to do with me?”

Yu Sui never had any intention of discussing this with Shi Luo. Without batting an eyelid, he said, “It has nothing to do with you.”

Shi Luo was sure now. “Then, it is about me.”

Shi Luo tried to lighten his expression. “So...what are you thinking?”

Yu Sui hesitated and didn’t speak.

Shi Luo said, “Ke Hao really is too mean...”

Yu Sui laughed. “What does this have to do with him?”

“He threw me to you to become your problem. How is that not mean?” Shi Luo narrowed his eyes. “Did you owe him a debt of gratitude?”

“I did,” Yu Sui said simply, “but it’s not entirely because I owe him. He’s my friend.”

Shi Luo nodded and asked, “So why haven’t you contacted your good friend recently?”

Yu Sui pursed his lips. He wanted to take out a cigarette. Not giving him a chance to move, Shi Luo snatched away the cigarette case first. “There’s no need to hide it, is there? Let me be the one to spell it out?”

Yu Sui laughed in spite of himself. “What do I even have to hide?”

There was a flash of ridicule in Shi Luo’s eyes. “Fine, I won’t expose your good friend for you.”

“Ke Hao and I...these past few years, we’ve seen each other less than ten times and we haven’t exchanged more than twenty sentences. To be honest, I might not even be able to recognize him if I came across him while walking down the street.” Shi Luo held Yu Sui’s cigarette case and asked, “Same goes for him, he wouldn’t recognize me either. So why would he be so kind as to worry about my trivial matters?”

Yu Sui paused. Without waiting for him to open his mouth Shi Luo added, “Okay, even if he really does sincerely mean well for me, then shouldn’t he want me to go back to school? My uncle and aunt are very resourceful. They could have forced me into a strictly supervised boarding school. Is it difficult to find a few people to bundle me up? Or they could have shut me up at home, find a few tutors and bodyguards to monitor me 24 hours a day. They wouldn’t even have to lock me up for that long, they just have to hold out until I pass the college entrance exam. Is it that difficult?”

Yu Sui didn’t speak because inwardly, it wasn’t that hard for him to figure out.

Shi Luo laughed. “Why didn’t they do any of these? Because Ke Hao as well as my uncle and aunt, don’t actually want me to return to school.”

“But letting me float around outside won’t work, because they all know that playing at making live broadcasts won’t last long and can be abandoned at any time. I might happily return to school someday or do something else. It will be a constant worry and they’ll never be able to rest assured.” Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui, “So, Ke Hao thought of you. Why did he look for you? Because compared to making live broadcasts, being a professional gamer would last longer, and it can postpone my return to what they call the “right path”. And you ... ”

Shi Luo raised an eyebrow. “You look good-tempered, but you’re pretty intense when handling stuff. They know that once I come here, my dad would have no way to take me from you ... And that’s really how things did play out.”

Just a few days ago, Yu Sui’s obvious scorn and ridicule, successfully caused Ke Chunjie to not dare darken their door in the meantime.

“As long as my dad can’t take me back, everything in the family will be Ke Hao’s in the future. He, my uncle and my aunt won’t have anything to worry about anymore.” Shi Luo said easily. “You understood that the day when my dad left. You hated how Ke Hao used you but you can’t really say anything to Ke Hao. After all, he really had been good to you. A favor for a favor. You feel conflicted so you’re not taking the initiative to contact him. ”

Shi Luo calmly said, “But you really don’t have to feel all tangled up about this. Given all the atrocious stuff my dad has done over the years, my uncle’s family treating my like this can already be considered as pretty generous. Everyone’s just human. Everyone having their own selfish motives is just normal.”

Yu Sui looked at Shi Luo, and for a moment did not know what to say.

Shi Luo observed the subtle look on Yu Sui’s face. “What? You’re not used to laying things out in the open like this? I like it though.”

Shi Luo nastily brought up what Yu Sui least wanted to hear. He said, “Your boss also has his own selfish motives, right?”

Yu Sui smiled helplessly.

“Here ... disregarding you, except for your boss Ji Yanhan, no one wants me to stay. Everyone thinks my presence here is just troublesome and unnecessary.” Shi Luo sat down properly on the sofa, his legs stretched out, “I’ve heard Ji Yanhan on the phone with you a few times ... his business is too big now, and he can’t attend to and even more, he doesn’t want to manage this club anymore. He told you several times that he wants to give you this club, didn’t he? As an aside though, looks like this old captain of yours still treats you pretty well. I saw it in the forums. Before, when you terminated your contract with your old club, he paid for your penalty fee, right?”

Yu Sui said lightly, “And because of it, his girlfriend almost broke up with him.”

“In the beginning, I thought he really wanted you to join him in the business side of things and so he wants me to replace you. But you’ve rejected this time and again, so this was probably just Ji Yanhan’s original idea. He’s given up on it and no longer mentions it.” Shi Luo continued, “You’ve made it clear that you don’t want a substitute, so why does he still want me to stay?”

Shi Luo smugly said, “Because he thinks I’m impressive.”

“If I remember correctly, he only made it clear that he wanted to have me stay when he found out that several teams were after me.”

“Every team is on the lookout for a good medic. In order to keep his team firmly in the first place, Ji Yanhan would rather pay me a huge income to do nothing than let me play for any other team.”

“Your teammates don’t have these messed-up schemes. They all think that instead of letting me be a benchwarmer here, better to let me go to other teams to make full use of my abilities. Your teammates actually have the purest thoughts out of everyone here.”

Shi Luo stopped speaking. He leaned slightly forward, his black eyes shone as he stared at Yu Sui. “Finally, there’s you.”

Yu Sui cast his eyes down and looked at Shi Luo. He warned in a low voice, “Shut up.”

Yu Sui didn’t want his heart to be cut open and scrutinized by Shi Luo like this.

“Can’t. I’m not biased.” Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui’s with eyes that looked as if they were filled with starlight. “Your position is the most complicated. Because your motivation isn’t pure but it’s not coming from any wish to gain any personal benefit. You helped me register my player information in the league, but you’re still hesitant to let me sign a contract because ... ”

Shi Luo said, “You can’t get over that hurdle in your heart.”

“You want me to go back to school, and also feel that you should respect my own choice. You want to sign me, but you don’t want me to be just a substitute for years and years. You think I can really find a place to shine in other teams, but if you really let me go to another team ... “Shi Luo gave a rougish smile, “You’re worried that given my situation, if I were to go somewhere else, there won’t be any who’d keep a close eye on me. Then, I’d go astray and grow up to be a useless pile of shit ... This is what’s been worrying you to death these past few days? ”

Yu Sui leaned back slightly, and smiled helplessly. “You’re just seventeen. Do you really need to be so smart?”

“I’ve had a lot of practice since I was very young.” Shi Luo calmly said, “I can see with a single glance what others think about me.”

Shi Luo looked at Yu Sui and hesitated: “Except for you ... you don’t have any schemes about me, so you’re not so easy to read.”

Yu Sui looked at Shi Luo, a complex expression on his face. He could feel his head ache. “What about you? If you were to choose, where would you want to go?”

Shi Luo didn’t even have to spare a moment of thought. He said happily, “Of course, I’d want to go back to making live broadcast and pissing off my dad!”

Yu Sui’s head hurt even more. “Then you should just be my substitute.”

Shi Luo curled up on the sofa and gave a muffled laugh.

Yu Sui clearly knew that Shi Luo had forced his hand. But what could he do?

However, at that time, Yu Sui was still young and didn’t have a great amount of tolerance. Being pitted by Shi Luo once, he would inevitably think up of a way to get even.

That was Shi Luo’s first official match. Yu Sui couldn’t rest assured. Unfortunately, the previous day, Shi Luo and Chen Huo had argued over a stick of barbeque and they had a fierce row at the base. Chen Huo swore he would definitely not provide cover for Shi Luo at tomorrow’s match. Shi Luo then swore he wouldn’t protect Chen Huo with the photon shield. As a result of their quarrel, Yu Sui had Chen Huo take a break and he himself replaced Chen Huo as striker. In any case, FS’ spot at the top of the regular season was unassailable. If they lose one game then they lose one game.

Chen Huo’s mouth dropped open in surprise, “But you don’t play any other jobs, right?”

Yu Sui did find it annoying to play the other jobs, but he still knew how to play them and they still won that regular season match.

It was Shi Luo’s first game. After the game, Shi Luo’s face was flushed. Although he tried his best to hide it, the excitement in his eyes just couldn’t be hidden. Yu Sui smiled and looked at Shi Luo. When there weren’t a lot of people about backstage, he whispered to Shi Luo, “Don’t tell the others. You and me, let’s celebrate.”

Shi Luo nodded quickly.

The two avoided the others and quietly went to the underground garage of the stadium and got in the car.

“The place is a bit far away.” Yu Sui was driving. “It’s at least eight hours away. You should sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, we’ll be there.”

Shi Luo was surprised. Where were they going?

Young people always like surprises. So there were some things that Yu Sui wouldn’t say, and Shi Luo wouldn’t ask.

An unknown journey is the one most worth looking forward to.

Shi Luo spent a glorious eight hours in joy and anticipation.

The two sped through the expressway, passing by the rest areas, through the mountains, over water, and they finally entered a noisy city in the early morning. They passed through somewhat crowded streets, through more crowded streets and through very congested streets, etc. When they were stopped by traffic on the road, Shi Luo finally realized that something was wrong.

Shi Luo was puzzled. “Why are there so many cars here? But there’s no one here. What’s going on?”

Yu Sui parked his car. “We’re just in time. Come on.”

Outside the car, Ji Yanhan, holding a transparent case, waved his hand. “Over here.”

Yu Sui took Shi Luo to meet him. Yu Shi said to Shi Luo, “Mobile phone.”

Shi Luo blankly took out his mobile phone and gave it to Yu Sui.

Yu Sui checked Shi Luo’s pockets and nodded. He then took the transparent case from Ji Yanhan and shoved it to Shi Luo. He then suddenly remembered something and took out a thirteen yuan-worth children’s wristwatch from his pants pocket and put it on Shi Luo. He fervently urged, “Pay attention to the time. Everything you’ll need is in this document bag.”

Shi Luo looked at the contents of the document bag in his hand, and then looked to the left and right. He finally noticed that something was fishy.

Before Shi Luo could flee, Yu Sui kicked him into his registered college entrance examination site.

Shi Luo said vexed, “I’m not taking the exam!!!”

Ji Yanhan tried to console him. “Aiya, Yu Sui also took his exam, you know. After taking the exam, he just informed the university that he’ll be deferring schooling to pursue an e-sports career. That doesn’t matter though, go quickly. Do you know how many people I had to trouble to find your test site and these materials?! ”

Shi Luo came pretty late. There was no longer anyone outside the testing site. The uncle guard at the gate impatiently dragged Shi Luo into the school grounds and locked the gates. “We’re gonna close up the exam site, don’t you know? Not going to take the exam? Then what would you do in the future?”

Shi Luo said angrily, “I can play in matches! I’m already in the top 50 on the Chinese server! I just took the FOG regular match MVP title!!!”

Uncle guard:”......”

“Even whatever-‘P’s need to take the exam!” The uncle guard looked at Shi Luo up and down like he was a lunatic. “Young man, if you won’t take the exam and you won’t go to school, how will you earn a living in the future?”

Shi Luo choked. “My basic salary is 200,000 a month !!!”

The uncle looked at the other side of the iron railing in surprise. Yu Sui pointed to his head, and said helplessly, “Please be considerate.”

The uncle nodded, “I understand.”

Shi Luo had difficulty persuading the guard, and he didn’t dare make a commotion that could affect the other candidates. Eventually, under Yu Sui’s kindly and amiable look he was handed into the exam site.

“My salary is more than 200,000 a month ...” Shi Luo sat in his examination room, gritted his teeth and took out the 2B pencil and black pen from the transparent document bag. Mortified, he whispered, “I just took the regular match MVP title ... ”

The proctor gave Shi Luo a cold look. “Please, no talking, candidate.”

Shi Luo trembled in anger. “I’m...I’m sorry.”

——>>>

Translator’s note: Chapter 18 AKA Shi Luo is too smart for his own good. He’d be happier if he were less smart. Featuring the College Entrance Examinations: The Great Equalizer.