Chapter 35

When Yan Zhun returned to the base, everyone else was still training. The PUBG organizers had announced that morning that the tournament would resume next Wednesday.

Yan Zhun hadn't actually planned to stay here at first. For one thing, he didn't want to disturb their training. For another, although the base was close to campus, going back and forth still took time. Renting a place near school would have been more convenient.

Only after the coach brought it up several times did he agree.

"Bro!" Lin Xuhuan spotted him through the glass and took a moment to wave vigorously at him. "Over here!"

Yan Zhun set his duffel bag on the sofa and went into the training room.

It was almost ten at night, and the practice matches had long since ended. The others were practicing their aim in the training ground, while Lin Xuhuan and the assaulter were playing duos. They had already reached the final circle.

He sat down in the chair behind Lin Xuhuan and lowered his head to send a message.

Lin Xuhuan killed the last enemy, bringing up the Chicken Dinner screen, and gave a smug snort. "I told you, my 4x AK is unbeatable."

Then he took out his phone to photograph his monitor.

The assaulter asked disdainfully, "What backwater did you crawl out of? You need a commemorative photo every time you get a Chicken Dinner?"

"I'm taking it for my new apprentice," Lin Xuhuan said.

"Who's unlucky enough to become your new apprentice?"

"My Ran Baby, of course."

The moment Lin Xuhuan finished speaking, he received a smack on the head, neither hard nor light.

He froze, then turned around in confusion. "Bro, what was that for?"

"He has a name." Yan Zhun glanced at the screen after saying that and scoffed. "Four kills. That's your 4x AK?"

While Lin Xuhuan was making excuses, the coach came in carrying late-night food.

"Have something to eat before you keep practicing." He raised his chin at Yan Zhun. "I had them pack yours separately. No chili."

"I already ate," Yan Zhun said.

The barbecue smelled so good that the others couldn't take it the moment it entered the room. They all closed their games and gathered around the table.

"Bro, did you have a late-night meal with your girlfriend before coming back?" the assaulter asked. "What did you have?"

"Noodles," Yan Zhun said.

"You ate out?"

Yan Zhun tapped at his phone and asked without looking up, "Changed careers to paparazzi?"

The assaulter chuckled and lowered his head to focus on his skewers.

While waiting for a reply, Yan Zhun licked his lips.

He'd had scallion oil noodles from the shop by the school gates that had been around for ten years. For once, there hadn't been a line tonight. But now all that remained in his mouth was the taste of milk candy, which he'd tasted from Pei Ran.

The conversation at the table revolved around the tournament. After a break from competition, many teams would change their play styles. The coach was predicting where several strong teams would drop.

As they talked, someone at the table suddenly stood up, and everyone couldn't help looking over.

It was the team's sniper and shot-caller, who was also the oldest guy on the team. He picked up the lighter on the table. "I'm going out for a smoke."

Lin Xuhuan glanced at the table in front of him. There were only two bamboo skewers on it. "Brother Wei, that's all you're eating?"

"Yeah, I had a big dinner," Brother Wei said. "Take your time."

As he passed Yan Zhun, Yan Zhun looked up at the sound of his voice and happened to see the hand he was using to take out his cigarettes trembling.

Yan Zhun's heart sank, and he called out to him. Brother Wei instinctively shoved his hand into his pocket. "What's up?"

Yan Zhun met his eyes for two seconds, then said, "Smoke less."

On Wednesday, the official PUBG tournament resumed. Strong teams filled the competition, the spectator seats at the venue were packed, and the official livestream climbed to number one in popularity.

That day, Pei Ran's teacher stopped him just as class ended and gave him a few reminders. Only after all the other students had left did she wave him off.

Pei Ran went out with his bag on his back. Yan Zhun stood with his back to the classroom door, one earbud in, looking down at the tournament livestream on his phone.

Sensing someone beside him, Yan Zhun glanced over, his expression relaxing a little. "Kept after class?"

"Yeah." Pei Ran lowered his eyes. "Is that TZG's match? Are things going badly?"

Badly didn't begin to cover it.

This was the third match, and TZG hadn't finished in the top five once.

Yan Zhun picked up the other earbud. "Want to listen?"

"Okay."

As soon as Pei Ran said it, Yan Zhun put the earbud in for him. Worried it might be uncomfortable, he adjusted its position several times, his fingers lightly brushing the rim of Pei Ran's ear.

Yan Zhun had been standing outside for a while, and his hands were a little cold.

In the earbuds, the commentators were talking.

"TZG aren't in form. Were they taking it too easy in training lately?"

"He's lost another sniper duel. What's going on with TZG's sniper? He seems to have been making mistakes all these matches... and he's been finished off."

"TZG are starting out three against four. Oh no, a team on the right heard the gunfire and is coming over. TZG are about to get surrounded!"

"TZG have been wiped out, finishing in... sixth place."

Yan Zhun took out his earbud.

He was about to say something when the person beside him took his hand.

Pei Ran had spent the whole afternoon in the art studio, and his hand was warm. Yan Zhun held it in return and was just about to speak when he heard the door open behind them.

The teacher walked out of the art studio while talking on the phone. Seeing the people standing outside, she paused. When she lowered her eyes and saw their joined hands, she stopped midsentence.

Yan Zhun loosened his hand.

But Pei Ran kept holding on.

"Goodbye, ma'am," Pei Ran said.

The teacher came back to herself and nodded at them. "...Yes, head back early."

After the teacher left, Pei Ran asked, "Have you been waiting long?"

Yan Zhun had arrived early. There was a pane of glass in the art studio's back door through which he could see Pei Ran and his painting.

But he hadn't watched secretly for long before going to lean against the railing and watch the tournament.

What he'd seen a few days earlier had left a knot in his heart. Without knowing for certain, he couldn't feel at ease.

"Not long," he said.

Pei Ran lowered his eyes to the phone in his hand, which was still playing the tournament. "Not watching anymore?"

"It's still the break between matches. Shall we eat first?"

Pei Ran agreed. After walking down two steps, he couldn't help saying, "They've always been near the top in the overall standings. If they play well next match, they can still get back into the top three."

Yan Zhun was silent for a moment. "He can't play anymore."

Pei Ran said, "What?"

"Something's wrong with Brother Wei's hand. He can't play anymore," Yan Zhun said.

Yan Zhun had already picked up clues in the practice matches over the past few days. Once Brother Wei was competing, it became even more obvious.

He was slow to scope in, rarely hit moving targets, and even picked up items a little slower than usual... making this sniper the team's most obvious weak link.

Pei Ran was speechless.

Sure enough, Brother Wei was absent from TZG's final match, with the substitute playing instead. Lin Xuhuan performed exceptionally well that round. With all three teammates dead, he managed to stay alive until third place.

The two had just finished dinner and come out when Yan Zhun's phone rang.

The coach sounded serious and told him to return to the base.

"Then hurry over. I can go back to the dorm myself," Pei Ran said.

Before Pei Ran could turn around, Yan Zhun reached out and caught the strap dangling from his backpack.

"Do you have class tomorrow?" Yan Zhun asked, though he already knew the answer.

"No," Pei Ran said.

Yan Zhun hummed in acknowledgment and asked, "Want to come see your boyfriend's room?"

Despite losing the matches, everyone at TZG remained composed. Those who could train stayed in the training room, while those who couldn't went back to their rooms to shower and rest.

After competing for so long, their mental resilience wasn't that poor.

There was one difference, though. While Lin Xuhuan and the assaulter played duos, both kept glancing toward Brother Wei's tightly shut door.

When Yan Zhun arrived, the two happened to be taking a break, sprawled lifelessly on the living room sofa. Seeing Yan Zhun come in, Lin Xuhuan bolted upright. "Bro... Ran Baby!"

Yan Zhun set a box on the table. "Desserts from Pei Ran. Where's the coach?"

"In the review room. He's been there for two hours." Lin Xuhuan opened the dessert box, his words sweeter than the cream puffs inside. "They look so good. Ran Baby is the best."

Yan Zhun couldn't be bothered to correct his form of address anymore. He turned around. "Want to go upstairs first? First room on the left on the third floor. Help yourself to anything inside."

Pei Ran shook his head. "I'll wait for you."

When Yan Zhun pushed open the review room door, the big screen was on, showing the last match of the day.

He closed the door, sat beside the coach, and watched with him.

"His reactions are too slow," the coach said when the camera switched to the substitute who had played that day. "He's often somewhere he shouldn't be."

Yan Zhun gave a languid hum. "He must have spent a long time practicing sniping on his own. His weakness in close combat is too obvious."

"He can't keep up with the team's pace," the coach said.

"But his quickscoping is decent... instantly took one out," Yan Zhun said.

"A team has four people. Knocking one down is useless if you can't finish them off."

As the substitute was killed, the coach raised his hand and paused the video.

"Done watching?"

"Come back and play."

They spoke at the same time. When their voices faded, silence fell over the room.

Yan Zhun gave a scoffing laugh. "Are you out of your mind?"

The coach took a sip of tea. "No."

"A Wei's hand has been like this for a while. He had a nerve-block injection a while back, hoping to make it through this tournament, but from how things look now... he can't. During that time, I contacted a lot of people. This year alone, I poured my heart and energy into training three batches of youth trainees, and not one was ready to go straight into the lineup. The Second Team's assaulter is decent... but I don't need an assaulter right now."

Yan Zhun's smile faded. "I'm an assaulter too."

"You're different," the coach said. "You can play freelancer."

The freelancer, the team's fourth position, demanded the most well-rounded ability from a player. Beyond solid mechanics, they had to judge where the team should rotate while getting kills, cover the rear to prevent surprise attacks, do everything they could, and find a way to do what they couldn't. On many teams, the freelancer also served as shot-caller.

Throughout the past few years of competition, TZG had been the only strong team without a designated freelancer.

Yan Zhun fell silent for a moment, then said helplessly, "How long has it been since I competed? There are so many outstanding rookies. You don't need to recruit some old, broken-down invalid..."

The coach cut him off. "I'm the coach. I know better than you whether you can play."

"I know giving up your studies would be difficult, and your parents might not agree." The coach had clearly come prepared. He opened the document on the table. "But I have to try."

"This is the annual salary. It's not as high as Lin Xuhuan's and the others' for now, but it's definitely the best offer for a rookie across all the teams. All five social insurance policies and the housing fund are covered, plus two free trips a year. Advertising fees and livestreaming income are separate. Food and accommodation, everything's covered. If you're willing, we can even arrange your marriage."

"The team has a physiotherapist, a massage therapist, a nutritionist... a doctor goes with us to every tournament. Wear on your wrists is unavoidable, but the team will do everything it can to protect them. Other problems, like your stomach trouble-we won't let those flare up again."

"As for your studies... you'll still have to train, but the base is close to your school. If you can handle it, I won't force you to drop out."

"Yan Zhun." The coach closed the document and pushed it in front of him. "I'm formally inviting you to join TZG. I hope you'll give it serious consideration."

Yan Zhun looked down at the document on the table, pressing his fingers against it so hard that his nails turned white.

In the end, he moved the document a little closer to himself.

"I'll think about it."

The coach secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "If you have any other requests... we can discuss them."

Before leaving, Yan Zhun turned back and asked, "What will Brother Wei do from now on?"

"Move behind the scenes and become the assistant coach."

Yan Zhun nodded and closed the review room door.