You have no alerts.
    Chapter Index

    The shock Xu Ziyan felt was no less than Xie Wei’s. He followed Xie Wei blankly, thanking the audience, and then returned to the lounge in a daze.

    As soon as the door opened, Jiang Yuxin rushed over “impatiently.” The expression on his face was hard to read—neither joy nor sorrow. After opening and closing his mouth for a long time, he finally said angrily, “Why did you say it? Why did you say it?”

    Heaven knows how many wife fans and girlfriend fans they were about to lose!

    Xie Wei ignored him, his face sinking as he asked, “What’s the deal with that host? Was that last question her own idea, or was it written on the cue card?”

    Jiang Yuxin finally snapped back to reality and remembered the real source of the problem. He straightened his face, took out his phone, turned his back, and dialed a number, beginning to communicate with the person on the other end.

    During the time Jiang Yuxin was away on business, Yu Guangzhou had been handling these trivial matters. Now that Jiang Yuxin was back, he was happy not to deal with the mess. He even gave Xu Ziyan and Xie Wei an amused, gossipy look and chuckled, “Alright, pack up your peripherals. It’s time to head back to the base.”

    Shen Xiao’s private messages were already ringing incessantly, the notification sounds continuous, as if his phone was about to explode the next second. While turning down the volume on his phone, he laughed, “The internet has exploded now. I bet no one is even discussing this semi-final match; all the heat is on the interview.”

    Yuan Shaofeng was also being bombarded with private messages. He lowered his head, busy replying to messages, without even a moment to look up.

    Even Xu Ziyan, who rarely interacted with other players, was receiving quite a few messages on Line.

    Yet, Xie Wei, the one who dropped the bombshell, acted as if nothing had happened, leisurely ignoring his phone. Once they were in the team van, he used the cover of the seat to secretly hook his arm around the Omega’s waist beside him, leaning in to whisper in his ear, “Come to my room later.”

    Since it was the semi-finals, a BO5 best-of-five format, the next match was scheduled much later to allow the other two teams to compete for the remaining spot in the finals. Therefore, the debriefing meeting was postponed until the next day, giving the players ample rest time.

    Normally, making it smoothly into the finals would call for a celebratory dinner.

    But Jiang Yuxin was frantic over the interview incident, constantly on the phone, in no mood for celebration.

    Shen Xiao, in between replying to messages, finalized plans to go out to eat and chat with Secret from WOF, pushing off the celebration. Yuan Shaofeng, having made his debut in the top-tier league and securing such a crucial win, agreed to have dinner with his former second team teammates.

    Seeing that everyone else had plans, and Xie Wei and Xu Ziyan were glued together, looking distracted, Yu Guangzhou simply waved his hand and announced the immediate disbandment of the group.

    The only one left without plans was Bai Chen. Before Xie Wei took Xu Ziyan back to the dorms, he asked out of concern for his childhood friend, “Chen, what are you planning to do later?”

    Bai Chen gave him a cool look and held up his phone: “KK invited me out for dinner.”

    The A-Team members all had their own things to do, and as soon as the van arrived, they scattered.

    Xu Ziyan followed behind Xie Wei, feeling a strange sense of nervousness growing as the villa drew closer.

    Up until the villa entrance, Xie Wei acted normally, even bending down to set out slippers for him, attentive and gentle.

    However, once they went upstairs and Xu Ziyan entered Xie Wei’s room, he heard the crisp click of the lock engaging. The door closed firmly behind him. The Alpha turned around, shedding his previous calm and gentle demeanor. He pinned Xu Ziyan against the door, his arms forming a tight enclosure. Xu Ziyan couldn’t dodge and was forced to meet his gaze.

    “The things you said during the match…” Xie Wei raised a finger, pinching the young man’s earlobe, gently rubbing it with his thumb. “Did you find out something?”

    He didn’t suppress his Pheromone, letting the scent of lemon and mint drift around the room.

    Xu Ziyan’s face was flushed from the Alpha’s fingers and Pheromone. In this state, it was impossible to lie or evade the question. He told the truth: “A few days ago, I overheard your conversation with Chen.”

    A few days ago?

    Xie Wei thought back and realized which day it was, chuckling, “I just didn’t want you to worry. Besides, there was no need to tell you.”

    Since childhood, whether it was family, academics, or the team, he had long been accustomed to facing difficulties alone and picking himself up by himself.

    Top-Tier Alphas possess not only physical advantages but also a greater sense of responsibility.

    Xie Wei was long used to it and didn’t see anything wrong with it.

    Xu Ziyan looked at the Alpha before him and was reminded of the time he and Xie Wei went out to eat, and Xie Wei mentioned participating in the rookie competition.

    It was an unknown second place, a result of hard work that went unnoticed, even criticized, and ultimately discarded as nothing.

    That was probably the first low point in Xie Wei’s professional career.

    Neither TWG nor Xie Wei were invincible. Over the years, the number of lost matches and the resulting abuse would only increase.

    And he had actually gotten used to it.

    “There is a need. How could there be no need?” Xu Ziyan said. “We are lovers, and…”

    “I worry about you.”

    Xie Wei was stunned. A warm current surged through his chest. He embraced the young man in front of him, pecked his full, rosy lips, and smiled, “It was my fault.”

    Xu Ziyan whispered, “I’m not blaming you… I thought about it. Maybe it’s because I’m not reliable enough that you didn’t tell me.”

    “If I don’t have the capacity to help you bear the pressure, then telling me so much would be pointless, just adding one more person to worry. So… I’m not blaming you.”

    After hearing this, Xie Wei finally realized why Xu Ziyan had been so insistent about the command authority backstage after the match.

    From the beginning, he wasn’t seeking protection; he was using his own way, step by step, to walk closer to his side.

    Xie Wei’s eyes flickered, his voice slightly hoarse: “Yanyan.”

    Xu Ziyan had long been intoxicated by the Alpha’s Pheromone. After saying what he wanted to say, he stopped restraining himself and lunged forward.

    The moment his Gland was bitten, a stimulating tear rolled down his eyelashes, landing on the bedsheet, leaving a faint wet mark.

    The Pheromone, once strange and longed for, was now gradually becoming familiar, aggressively invading every inch of his body. The feeling of being possessed was not frightening; instead, it brought an indescribable sense of security.

    Behind his ear, Xie Wei released his teeth, licked the remaining bite mark, and chuckled, “Yanyan, you’re so sweet.”

    No matter how many times he heard words like that, Xu Ziyan would blush all over. He buried his face in his arm, letting the Alpha proceed with what came next.

    The next morning, Xu Ziyan woke up groggily and finally saw the congratulatory text message Bai Ke had sent him yesterday.

    He bit his toothbrush, squinting as he replied word by word: “Thank you, you keep up the good work too.”

    The next semi-final match was YNG against UNC. UNC wasn’t considered a strong team, and their performance in the preseason was average, but they gained momentum later on, performing excellently in the playoffs, managing to secure a spot in the playoff trophy contention, which was quite an achievement.

    Behind him, Xie Wei wrapped his arms around him, resting his chin on his neck, his voice lazy: “Who is it?”

    “KK,” Xu Ziyan said. “I didn’t reply to his message yesterday.”

    “Oh.”

    Knowing it was someone he knew, Xie Wei lost interest. Then, suddenly remembering something, he slowly and deliberately took out his phone: “…Right, I’ll add you to the player group chat.”

    Xu Ziyan heard the reluctance in his tone and couldn’t help but laugh.

    This kind of possessiveness didn’t make him uncomfortable; instead, he found it endearing.

    Soon, a notification sound came through on Line. Xu Ziyan finished washing up, changed into his team uniform, and picked up his phone. A group chat named [Resist China Server Pro Player Group] had appeared in his message list.

    WOF-Secret: Welcome~

    YNG-KK: I thought it was some new player joining the group, turns out it’s the aloof and mysterious God Ice.

    TWG-Yuan: Huh? Ice wasn’t in the player group all this time?

    UNC-Luci: God Ice! I’m your fan!! Finally caught you. Please add me as a friend for Duo Queue next time!

    FTK-Elia: I want a friend slot too T T

    FTK-Propro: Why are you Medics queuing together? Add me, I’m the Western Gun King.

    KW-Bee: Give me a break.

    Perhaps because it was still early, the people speaking up were all familiar faces.

    Xu Ziyan smiled, typed “Thank you for the welcome,” and sent it, passing the friend requests from the two Medics.

    Since he rarely contacted players from other teams and didn’t stream much, his rare appearance now sparked great interest among the core members of several teams. They enthusiastically pulled him into conversation, asking him all sorts of questions.

    As they talked, the topic inevitably drifted off course.

    UNC-Luci: Speaking of which, did you guys watch the interview after the match yesterday?

    FTK-Elia: Of course we did! Who didn’t watch it?

    UNC-Luci: Wuwuwu I really didn’t watch it yesterday! But when I checked Weibo today, it was completely blown up!

    UNC-Luci: Will someone from TWG please tell us who God Xie’s partner is! I’ve been so anxious about this for so long wuwuwuwu!!

    After a while, a new reply appeared below hers.

    TWG-Shining: I really don’t know about that.

    Luci only saw the team name before the speaker’s ID and didn’t look closely, so she typed mournfully: “Ah? No way, even people on the TWG team don’t know? Is it a secret relationship?”

    It wasn’t until she saw the long string of ellipses typed by Elia that she finally realized.

    UNC-Luci: God Xie????????

    Xu Ziyan had already put down his phone the moment Luci brought up the topic.

    The memory of what happened at the interview table yesterday made him feel flustered, his heart pounding as if it would leap out of his throat.

    His emotions were a tangled mess; he couldn’t tell if he wanted others to know that Xie Wei’s lover was him, or if he wished they didn’t know.

    While he was lost in thought, Xie Wei pushed the door open and walked in.

    He had already changed clothes. The loose team jacket covered his body but couldn’t hide his broad shoulders and narrow waist. The Alpha was no longer lazy or sleepy as he had been in the morning. His phoenix eyes were slightly narrowed, and when he didn’t smile, he exuded a cold, unapproachable aura.

    Xu Ziyan was slightly startled when he saw him, then stood up and said, “Is the debriefing meeting about to start? I’ll head out now.”

    Xie Wei, however, closed the door behind him and said, “No rush.”

    “I saw you chatting happily with them in the group just now,” he slowly approached, gently stroking the Omega’s wrist with one hand, his lips close to the cool earlobe, almost touching. “I’m your fan too. Can you take me Duo Queue?”

    Xu Ziyan instinctively took a step back, laughing softly: “…They are all Omegas.”

    Xie Wei didn’t say anything, only wrapped his arms around the young man’s waist, pulling him back into his embrace: “Let me bite you one more time.”

    “You don’t have my scent on you. I’m worried.”

    0 Comments

    Note