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The hospital’s emergency department was as chaotic as a pot of porridge in the early hours of the morning. It was the first time Shi Du had brought someone to the hospital for treatment. He had a family doctor at home and could go to a private hospital if necessary. When had the young master ever experienced such a scene, having to wait in line just to see a doctor?
Yu Zhaohan was instructed to sit and wait on a chair. He watched his younger brother, who was two years younger than him, follow the emergency guidelines methodically. When he returned, he brought him a bottle of water and a pack of chocolate biscuits. It suddenly dawned on Yu Zhaohan that Shi Du wasn’t as immature as he had thought.
The doctor determined that Yu Zhaohan’s injury was an external skin wound, and after applying a cold compress and medication, he would be fine. The two of them took the medicine and took a taxi back to the base, just as the sky was starting to brighten.
Shi Du went upstairs with Yu Zhaohan on his back, and by coincidence, he ran into Jiang Di who was about to go for a morning run. The three of them looked at each other, feeling that this scene was awkwardly familiar.
At least this time it wasn’t a koala hug.
Jiang Di: “.”
Shi Du explained: “The captain injured his leg.”
Yu Zhaohan nodded. This time it was true. They didn’t lie to Xiao Jiang. The bandage on his knee was evidence.
Jiang Di asked, “Is it serious?”
Shi Du said: “The doctor said it’s not serious, and that he’ll be fine after a few days of rest.”
Jiang Di nodded: “Okay.”
After the news of Yu Zhaohan’s leg injury spread through the base, Old Tan was clamoring for an elevator to be installed in the villa. Jiang Di wanted to take over the job of carrying the captain up and down the stairs, but Qi Xian said there was no need because he had bought a wheelchair for the captain. So, Jiang Di would push the wheelchair while Cheese assisted from the side, constantly asking the captain if he was in pain.
Yu Zhaohan replied: “It’s a little pain, it doesn’t matter.”
Cheese: “Oh, then how did the captain hurt his knee?”
Of course, Yu Zhaohan wouldn’t say that he injured his knee because of his clumsiness. He had coordinated with Shi Du on this. They had agreed to say that he accidentally bumped his knee while competing with Shi Du on the basketball court.
Shi Du cooperated and praised, “The captain is amazing at playing basketball. I’m not as good as him.”
Cheese: “Wow!”
Every time Yu Zhaohan sat in the wheelchair and was moved around, he wondered if he had the dignity of an emperor or if he was just being stupid. Later, when Shi Du helped him to apply medicine, he honestly told him, “You’re being stupid.”
Yu Zhaohan frowned unhappily: “Can’t you say something nice?”
“I can,” Shi Du smiled, “Even if you’re being stupid, Yuyu is a beautiful little fool.”
Yu Zhaohan still couldn’t feel happy and sighed as he looked down at his wound, “Will I get better before my birthday? I really like celebrating my birthday.”
Shi Du was afraid that Yu Zhaohan would be hurt when he apply the medicine, so he diverted his attention by talking: “Why do you like it?”
Yu Zhaohan smiled lightly, “Because I can openly eat sweet cake in front of Cheese and the others on my birthday. Even if I refuse, they will keep persuading me to eat.”
It was one of the few chances throughout the year.
Shi Du quietly looked at him for a few seconds and raised the corners of his mouth, “You’ll get better.”
Yu Zhaohan’s knee swelling subsided after two days, but he still couldn’t walk gracefully. Limping around was quite uncool, so he had to stay at the base and reluctantly give up on getting his chibi standee.
The official R.H Weibo account announced Shine’s birthday celebration. Cheese’s pleading had a great effect, and the officials mercifully didn’t prohibit recording with masks on.
After learning that the price of obtaining Shine’s chibi standee was social death, the tone of the top comments was like this:
[I love Shine very much, but I would rather stay alive in society. Sorry, wife, forgive me]
[Does the official think they’re very funny? It takes a decade of cerebral thrombosis to come up with such an ‘interesting’ activity]
[You could have just killed me directly, but instead, you’re willing to give me a standee. Grateful heart, thank you [heart emoji]]
Five minutes later, R.H’s official blog added another Weibo:
[Forgot to tell everyone, Shine’s chibi standee looks like this [picture]]
Underneath that Weibo post, the tone of the top comments suddenly changed.
[Alright, you win äșâ–œâ€]
[Wife, I’m ready! Wife, wait for me, I’ll be there soon!]
[Any Chongqing buddies here? Let’s form a group for social death]
[Seeking a team in Beijing, hesitation for even a second is disrespectful to the beautiful captain]
[Is this an ordinary standee? No, this is my family heirloom]
[I’m going to the venue to sleep on the floor]
Shi Du was lying in bed, scrolling through Weibo, scoffing at some fans’ really sweet behavior. He zoomed in on the image posted on the official blog, looked at it again and again, and then clicked save.
There’s no need, Shi Du said to himself. He was different from Cheese and Jiang Di. He had an equal relationship with Yu Zhaohan. Just ten minutes ago, Yu Zhaohan was leaning against him, talking to him. He really didn’t need to compete with Shine’s fans for a standee.
It would be a waste of energy, a waste of time, a waste of life.
At that moment, a WeChat group message suddenly popped up. Shi Du had all his groups muted, but this was a group newly created by Cheese, named: [Captain’s Standee, Come and Get Yours]
[Timeless: .]
[Cheese: Is everyone here? Then let’s get started. The official account says to record at any match venue, and there happens to be a match taking place in Shanghai. What do you guys say, let’s go together?]
[Xian: It is best to pick a place with a lot of people]
[Cheese: Ah, why?]
[Xian: There will be a lot of Shine fans coming tomorrow. Having more people is the best camouflage.]
[Cheese: You’re so smart!]
As long as they had each other, the awkwardness would be reduced by half. When most of the people at the venue were not normal, they had nothing to fear.
[Jiang: I have no problem with that]
[Timeless: Go ahead, I’m not interested]
[Cheese: Are you sure?]
[Timeless]
[Timeless: What time tomorrow]
Shi Du and his brothers met in the garage at the appointed time the following day, and there was an extra Old Tan among them.
Shi Du asked, “Why are you here?”
Old Tan smiled: “I am also a fan of Shine, I have been a fan of his face for a long time.”
“Me too.” Cheese said, “But I’m even more fan of Captain’s aura—Kaolin Flower’s eternal god!”
Qi Xian asked Jiang Di: “What about you, Xiaojian? What do you admire about our captain?”
Jiang Di said: “His skills and attitude.”
Qi Xian then asked Shi Du: “And what about you, little bro?”
Shi Du shrugged, “I’m not his fan, so I’m just here to join in the fun.”
Cheese looked at him expressionlessly, as if to say: Do we look easy to fool.
However, Shi Du didn’t think he was deceiving anyone. His feelings towards Yu Zhaohan were not like those of a fan towards an idol
 or at least he believed so.
Qi Xian recently bought a car, a sedan in a color that matched his hair, giving off a stylish vibe. Cheese sat in the passenger seat, while Shi Du was squeezed in the middle of the back seat between Jiang Di and Old Tan, unable to stretch his legs. Shi Du once again reflected on how he had fallen into the same category as these people.
At first, the five of them could still joke and laugh in the car. As they got closer to the venue, a sense of embracing death and tragedy engulfed their faces simultaneously.
For them, this was merely the darkest day in human history.
The group of people got off the car wearing masks and headed towards the place with the most people as planned. Along the way, they occasionally heard roars from the depths of Shine fans’ souls, which made them breathe a sigh of relief.
However, they soon realized that things were not going well. Even with a mask and a baseball cap, Timeless stood out in the crowd due to his height. His physique and attire were telling passersby, “There’s a handsome guy here, come and take a look.” Not to mention Qi Xian’s red-haired ponytail that couldn’t be hidden by his hat, and Jiang Di’s muscles that silenced any man who looked at them.
Their distinctive appearances made it easy for anyone even remotely familiar with R.H to recognize them when they gathered together.
“Not good,” Qi Xian made a decisive decision, “Let’s split up, hurry up.”
Jiang Di, Cheese, and Quixian formed one group, while Timeless and Old Tan formed another. As a manager of R.H and a socialite of the alliance, Old Tan has a terrifyingly powerful social ability. He saw a Shine fan who had just finished shouting, so he leaned over and asked, “Hey, buddy, can we borrow this empty space?”
The Shine fan generously made way, saying, “Sure, come on in. The limited spots will be filled soon if you’re late.”
Old Tan thanked the Shine fans and began to chant: “Re—”
Shi Du interrupted his chanting: “Wait a minute, the recording hasn’t started yet.”
“Hurry up,” Old Tan urged, “I’m already filled with emotions.”
Shi Du glanced at the Shine fan from the corner of his eye. These people did not leave after shouting; they just stood there, looking at Old Tan with a gratified and benevolent gaze, as if saying, “Shout, shout. Once you’re done, you’ll become one of us.”
Shi Du raised his phone: “We’re ready.”
Old Tan shouted R.H’s slogan three times in a row, with grandeur and enthusiasm. This earned applause and cheers from the Shine fans, attracting even more unaware onlookers who were only there to watch the excitement.
“Okay, it’s your turn.” Old Tan walked towards Shi Du with a smile on his face, “Go.”
Shi Du stood still: “I’ll just say it here.”
“Alright.” Old Tan took two steps with his phone in hand, and adjusted the camera to the best position, “Ok, action!”
The handsome young man reluctantly showed half of his face in the frame, clearly unhappy about it. Old Tan couldn’t help but laugh as he thought about how this little young master, who had always strived for excellence, ended up doing something like this. Yet, he still said that he was not a fan of Shine.
Shi Du closed his eyes and said in a low voice, “Rebirth from the ashes
”
“You can’t do this, brother,” Old Tan said, “You have to shout out! Shout out!”
Shi Du: “
”
“Come on, stop hesitating!” Old Tan held up his phone with one hand and clenched his fist to encourage Timeless. “That’s a limited edition Shine chibi standee! Limited edition! If you miss this chance, there may not be another!”
The Shine fan who lent them the space also said, “Come on, little brother! You can do it! Believe in yourself, it’s just a momentary thing!”
With such words of encouragement, the crowd grew even larger. Shi Du opened his mouth but still couldn’t shout. He pushed down the brim of his baseball cap and said, “Wait a minute.”
Old Tan said: “What are you waiting for! If you wait any longer, there won’t be a place for you!”
“Damn you, shut up.”
Shi Du clicked on the phone photo album. He saw Yu Zhaohan in school uniform, Yuyu in dinosaur pajamas, and turned to a photo of Shine in team uniform.
As pretentious as Shine was, Yuyu was equally adorable.
But whether it was the pretentious Shine or the cute Yuyu, he

“Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero.” The boy shouted desperately, “Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero! Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero! Fuck!”