Chapter 33

“Hurry! Tell us! What happened?”

A large number of viewers, unaware of the situation, entered the live stream to inquire. They quickly received an innocent response from the two VIT players: “The Captain didn’t leave with us after the match; he disappeared, and we are looking for him.”

Grey Cat was in a great mood because the domestic starter support had played well. He was wandering around the streets, live-streaming with his phone in hand: “The Captain loves to eat… I’ll bring him some food. I don’t know what kind of gift the Captain likes, but I’ll secretly buy something.”

A viewer asked, “Why are you buying a gift for the Captain? Is it his birthday?”

Grey Cat naturally replied, “Because he has taught me a lot. The Captain has always been very busy and tired. He even encouraged me before today’s match. I want to buy a small gift to show my gratitude.”

The ID of the person who just asked the question was [RISINGSTAR], a not-so-obvious RS team fan.

[RISINGSTAR], seemingly unsatisfied with the answer, continued to press: “But wasn’t it actually your own good performance? You might not know this since you just returned to the country, but we viewers have heard for a long time that Easy has always been very restrictive with team members. You newcomers should be careful.”

Grey Cat was seriously examining a kitten figurine when he saw this bullet screen comment. His expression changed, and his gaze became solemn. He scrolled up to fixate on this comment and replied earnestly.

“As viewers, you might not understand what the Captain sacrificed in today’s match. He allowed Hydralisk and me to gain experience at the cost of guarding the mid-lane alone and keeping an eye on the lower jungle. With his protection, we were able to play like that.”

Grey Cat was not very familiar with the domestic fans community battles, so he started explaining seriously, “Of course, this is part of the team’s post-match analysis, and I can’t say too much, but I need to clarify this point. Your statement is very absurd and quite unexpected.”

[RISINGSTAR]: “Hmm, maybe he improved in the new team. Best wishes. His old teammates didn’t have this luck.”

At this moment, even Grey Cat, who was not very proficient in the local language, could detect the sarcasm in these words.

He politely replied, “Hello, could you be more specific? For example, you could list specific instances of how he restricted his teammates, and we can discuss them.”

The person named [RISINGSTAR] disappeared.

However, the number of people in the live stream kept increasing. Because of this incident, a large number of people started flooding in.

Some casual players seemed to know the backstory—after all, RS fans had been bashing Rong Yi for a long time. Soon, some people began to bring up common RS fan arguments.

“For example, take Xiao Yun. He’s a support who can pull off a perfect four-man crowd control, yet the Captain always suppressed him and didn’t let him be a starter. What’s wrong with saying he was restricting team members?”

Grey Cat thought for a moment, feeling he encountered a difficult-to-understand issue: “Is that necessary? From what I understand, the Xiao Yun you mentioned is the Captain’s substitute. But before that, none of your team members had substitutes.”

“If he wanted to restrict team members, wouldn’t it have been easier to just not have substitutes from the start?”

Grey Cat pondered this and felt proud of his logic, “And if the Captain really had such overwhelming power to restrict team members’ development, he wouldn’t be unable to refuse the arrangement of having a substitute, right?”

“Wouldn’t a pro player without a substitute have an easier time developing themselves?”

Looking at the bullet screen, Grey Cat confidently said, “I’ve played against Xiao Yun. I think the reason he hadn’t been a starter before is that he wasn’t strong enough.”

Not strong enough.

In other words, he was trash.

His response landed a critical hit, striking at the core.

RS fans fell silent.

Even the casual players were speechless.

The VIT team members, they really…

Each one is bolder than the last!

Seeing no one continued to talk about Rong Yi, Grey Cat happily closed his mouth, unaware that his name was about to be thrust into the spotlight as the first unrestrained, outspoken new support.

But more people were instead educated with a fact.

Casual players watching the league usually didn’t have the energy to get tangled up in the bloody battles of the fans community. They saw what was frequently posted and just believed it.

Until now, more people suddenly realized: “So that’s how it is! I’ve always heard that Easy suppressed his teammates, but I didn’t know who said it. I actually believed it.”

“Looking at it now, it makes no sense! Why would he find a substitute for himself?”

“Exactly! And if he were that kind of Captain, why are the VIT team members different? They haven’t known him for long, yet Easy is hand-holding the new team members, and every new member of VIT likes him so much. Why is it only RS that doesn’t get along with him?”

More and more casual players began to wake up: “So, could it actually be RS that’s the problem?”

“The atmosphere in the VIT team is so good! I really like it! Captain Rong sounds like a very capable and reassuring Captain!”

Meanwhile, Wu Daogu was also live-streaming. After wandering around for a while without finding Hydralisk and Rong Yi, he started buying snacks and sent a message to the group, asking if anyone wanted him to bring something back.

Grey Cat had picked out the gift he wanted to give Rong Yi—a clay figurine of a little black cat.

A bullet screen comment asked him, “Is this you?”

Grey Cat denied it: “It’s not me. I’m Grey Cat; this little black cat is the Captain.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The way the Captain looks every day, playing games alone in the training room, is like a little black cat.” Grey Cat couldn’t describe it more precisely, “Very elegant, very mysterious, and very cute.”

After buying the small gift, he prepared to meet up with Wu Daogu.

In the group chat, Xiao Yin and Rong Yi hadn’t replied yet, there was no movement. But Hydralisk replied: “What? You guys are live-streaming? I’ll join too, bring me a snack.”

Hydralisk had just gotten a number for spicy soup skewers on the other side—number eighteen, with eighteen people ahead of him. He finally had some time to check his phone messages.

He hadn’t even looked at the group messages yet but saw several live stream notifications, all with titles related to finding the Captain.

“Is this some new script murder game?” Hydralisk also started his own live stream, changing the title to match, “Buying snacks for the Captain, while searching for the missing Captain.”

As soon as he went live, Wu Daogu tagged him in the group chat, ranting: “So you were there! What’s with the fuss! Quickly tell us where the Captain is, Yin-Ge hasn’t replied yet and is probably worried sick.”

Hydralisk finally realized that everyone was looking for them and quickly explained: “The Captain is resting backstage. I came out to buy spicy soup skewers—I didn’t get the call earlier.”

“Then why the hell did you title your stream ‘Searching for the Captain’!”

Another round of furious scolding from his teammates ensued. Hydralisk meekly changed the title: “Out buying spicy soup skewers, apologizing for losing the Captain, currently being scolded by Gu-Ge.”

Casual players who watched the entire incident nearly laughed themselves silly: “What a bunch of comedians! VIT is too entertaining!”

In a panic, Hydralisk called Xiao Yin: “The Captain is in the rest area. I’m sorry, Yin-Ge, I didn’t get the call or see the messages.”

Xiao Yin replied, “Alright, got it.”

Actually, he had just asked the staff, and they had pointed out Rong Yi’s location to him.

Rong Yi was a light sleeper, a habit from the past, and didn’t sleep deeply when away from home.

In the quiet, he heard some faint noises—the sound of a door gently being pushed open, someone sitting nearby, the rustle of clothes causing a breeze, and a cool fragrance, like a summer rain at night.

In his dream, Rong Yi was feeling a bit emotional. He kept thinking about wanting to talk to Xiao Yin, about how Xiao Yin had deleted him and he didn’t know Xiao Yin’s international phone number.

He thought about explaining everything after the match, but he never got around to it. Time passed without him realizing it. Now, it seemed unnecessary to say anything.

“Ah Yi.”

Rong Yi opened his eyes.

He heard Xiao Yin’s voice and, for a moment, couldn’t process it. His eyes, still a bit dazed, looked at Xiao Yin, reflecting watery light, misty and tender, as if he was feeling wronged.

He saw Xiao Yin standing in front of him, slightly bowing his head. Xiao Yin’s cold and sharp brows were slightly furrowed, and his expression seemed unusually flustered.

“Ah Yi, what were you dreaming about?”

Rong Yi hadn’t fully adjusted yet. When he suddenly saw Xiao Yin, he thought he was still dreaming.

He thought for a moment: “I dreamed that you broke up with me and deleted me. I wanted to talk to you, but I couldn’t find you.”

When he spoke, he didn’t feel particularly aggrieved; he just recalled the scene and felt a slight melancholy.

He lifted his eyes, his clear gaze meeting Xiao Yin’s, and suddenly snapped back to reality.

It was true that the dream had been real, but now Xiao Yin was back.

Rong Yi rubbed his temples and saw that it was already dark outside. The rest area was so dim that he could hardly see anyone.

He mumbled, “Why isn’t Hydralisk back yet?”

He was about to get up but couldn’t move.

Xiao Yin suddenly leaned down, reaching out to hold his hand. His large hands were distinct and slightly warm at the fingertips.

He knelt on one knee in front of him.

Rong Yi was completely stunned, and any remaining drowsiness evaporated.

Xiao Yin, half-kneeling in the shadows, gently held his hand with warm fingers. Then, something even warmer lightly touched his knuckles.

It was Xiao Yin’s kiss.

He leaned down and gently kissed the back of his hand, his voice low: “Baby, I’m sorry.”