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Chapter 48 – The Impending Battle
After Lin Xiao helped Xiao Li and Zou Qiguan move an astonishing amount of luggage to the second floor, he waved goodbye and went up to the third floor with his only suitcase. Passing by the corridor, he silently glanced at You Jing’s door, which was closed tightly as if no one was there. Secretly relieved, he opened his own door with the key he got.
Compared with the previous accommodation in the training camp, the dormitory of the official players was obviously much better.
Of course, this compound was only built in recent years, and he didn’t get such good treatment when he was leading the old team.
Lin Xiao opened the suitcase and quickly began to unpack. Because he didn’t have many things, everything was set up in a short time. However, at first glance, the room still seemed empty and lifeless, and it could be said that there was no change with or without the move-in.
Shabby. It was so shabby. Lin Xiao couldn’t suppress this thought.
Later, when he re-establishes his reputation, the contract remuneration will naturally be higher, and he will arrange it properly. Even if he was not as good as Xiao Li, who made the room look like an exhibition of high-tech products, at least he should not lose much of the prestige of the League players.
With this thought in mind, just as he raised his hand to close the luggage, a flat voice suddenly sounded behind him: “Are you done?”
Startled, Lin Xiao stiffened for a moment, then turned around only to see a slender figure lazily leaning against the door.
With the light behind him, he couldn’t see the expression on You Jing’s face, but he could feel the indifferent gaze cast upon him.
When did this guy get here? He didn’t even make a sound, just like a ghost.
Dumbfounded, Lin Xiao answered: “Well… It’s done.”
You Jing straightened up, with his eyes on him, and said calmly: “Then, come to my room.”
Lin Xiao froze on the spot, and when he came back to his senses, the other party had long since left.
He put his luggage aside, went out, and entered the next room.
You Jing sat at the table holding a water glass. There was only one desk lamp lit in the room, and from the entrance, one could see his well-defined collarbone showing through the slightly open collar of his shirt.
His fine eyebrows looked drawn with a brush, and if you saw him once, you wanted to look again. Although he was a thin person, his demeanor gave people an inexplicable sense of repression. This type of temperament was somewhat contradictory to his overall image, but it suited him well.
Hearing the door close, You Jing turned and looked at Lin Xiao: “There are still ten days until the match against the Seven Stars team. I want to know what are your thoughts about it.”
His thoughts? Lin Xiao did not see any emotion on his face, as usual, and felt a little helpless: “What, you still remember what happened that day at the arena? At that time, I was in a hurry to convince you, so I said something out of turn, so please, be generous and not bother with this rookie!”
You Jing asked: “So, were you rambling?”
Lin Xiao nodded with a sincere face: “I was wrong.”
You Jing looked at him, “Does Old Ghost ‘s disciple have a habit of speaking incoherently?”
Lin Xiao was taken aback for a moment, and after realizing it, he hurriedly said, “No, no, everything was true!”
You Jing smiled faintly: “Or will this ‘rambling speech’ make the team shortlisted for the playoffs?”
Lin Xiao coughed: “Of course, it was all true. I mean it…. ”
You Jing raised his eyes: “Since it’s all true, then you must have some thoughts about how to deal with the next round of battles, right?”
As for the strategy, actually, Lin Xiao originally wanted to discuss this with Shen Changyu privately, but now You Jing came to him first, which caught him off guard. Although he was slightly surprised, his heart was calm. At first, he thought about how to let Shen Changyu convince You Jing, but now that he had the opportunity to talk face to face, it saved him a lot of trouble.
Feeling relieved after thinking about it, Lin Xiao cleared his throat and said, “Since you asked me, I’ll just say it.”
You Jing nodded: “Speak.”
Pondering for a moment, Lin Xiao said: “In the next round against the Seven Stars team, since individual competition is their forte, I suggest that Vice Captain Shen go first, Xu Yichen second, and Xiao Li third.”
Noticing You Jing’s frown, he explained: “It does sound a bit reckless to let Xiao Li, a rookie, directly end the individual race. However, based on the Seven Stars team lineup, if there is no accident, the player in the third game should be Captain Wei Chengzhe. It may not be suitable for Xiao Li to fight others, but if he plays against Captain Wei, who is known for his ingenuity, I do not guarantee that he will win, but I can say for sure that he has a nine out of ten chance.”
You Jing said, “Go on.”
“Then there will be the small team and the main team competition.” Seeing that he didn’t object, Lin Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, then said, “For these two games, my suggestion is this. The three players in the small team competition are me, you, and Liu Zeshen. As for the main team, Vice Captain Shen, Er Xu, Zou Qiguan, and I will play. This lineup should be the best right now.”
You Jing pursed his lips: “Oh, so I won’t need to play for the main team?”
In fact, if it wasn’t to block the media gossip, Lin Xiao wouldn’t have wanted him in the competition at all and would even transfer to the team as the Queen’s bodyguard to keep an eye on him. This was what Lin Xiao muttered in his heart while glancing at You Jing’s left hand wrapped in gauze, but putting a serious and upright expression on his face, he said: “Recently, I found a set of tactics particularly suitable for Zou Qiguan. It makes him almost invincible in every battle. It would be wasteful not to use it.”
You Jing did not directly refuse but asked after a moment of silence, “How can I trust you with this lineup?”
Well, as long as there was no instant rejection, everything should be easy to deal with. Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes happily: “Didn’t we just sign the contract today? If we don’t get a complete victory this round, I’m willing to directly cancel the contract at the end, how about that?”
He said this with a calm expression, even with a bit of carelessness, as if throwing a few coins to a roadside vendor. It would have been hard to realize that what he said was actually a very important and serious guarantee if one hadn’t noticed his clear and deep gaze brimming with self-confidence.
You Jing was absent-minded for a moment, then he retracted his gaze and said: “Alright. I hope you won’t let me down.”
Facing such a “talkative” You Jing, Lin Xiao felt somewhat overwhelmed.
You know, Shen Changyu complained about how stubborn and difficult Captain You was, which cast a shadow in his heart. Moreover, after witnessing the sternness of this man who didn’t take him seriously at the arena that day, he was even more apprehensive. However, the current situation went so smoothly that he suddenly had the illusion that the captain was actually extremely gentle and easy to talk to.
But, he retained at least an ounce of reason to realize very clearly that it was definitely just an illusion.
…
Due to the temporary lineup change, the time left for the team to prepare for the match was extremely tight.
After Lin Xiao stayed up all night to formulate the strategy, he privately handed it over to Shen Changyu, who distributed it to everyone else. In the following days, all the team members were locked in the training room, day in and day out, and even stayed up for several nights. When they finally came out, almost all of them had pandas eyes.
Being in contact with the other team members these days, what surprised Lin Xiao the most was that they did not object to his joining. In fact, when he reported on the first day, Xu Yiming gave him a big bear hug, declaring his “long-time admiration,” which left him a little confused. Later, he realized that Shen Changyu had already disclosed his ‘identity.’
Lin Xiao’s mouth twitched, but he couldn’t refute it. He knew very well that this was definitely ‘revenge…’ But after all, wasn’t it his doing?
Soon, the day of the game against the Seven Stars team was just around the corner, and the team took two days off in advance to relax the players’ mood.
On the last day, Lin Xiao just nestled in his room, fell asleep, and got out of bed in a daze only when it was dark outside.
Looking at the time, it was already eleven o’clock in the evening.
He rubbed his hair, washed up, and went downstairs to look for food.
When he came into the corridor and looked up, he saw that the next door was only half closed, and a dim light was coming from the inside.
Why is he still awake at this late hour? Lin Xiao frowned, pushed open the door to see what was going on inside, and silently closed his mouth.
In the room, except for the light from the desk lamp, there was only a faint light from the laptop. The man in front of the computer was probably tired and fell asleep on the table.
The night wind was gently blowing the curtains, and this peaceful scene was so beautiful that, looking at it, his drowsiness immediately dissipated.
Really, he isn’t afraid of catching a cold? Lin Xiao gently pushed the door and went in. After looking around, he took the blanket from the bed and covered You Jing. He was relieved when he saw that he didn’t wake up. Looking down, he caught a glimpse of the beautifully handwritten notes caught under his body.
Impressive, even his right-handed writing can look so good…
Curious to see what he had written, Lin Xiao leaned closer and read the words, only to find that they were all the reports and statistical analyses of each player’s training process over the past few days. Stunned, he lowered his head and glanced at You Jing.
It wasn’t easy keeping him away from the training room and not letting him in, but he actually cooped up in his room to write this every day. It seemed he was worried about the team, but others were also worried about him…
Just as he was thinking of this, You Jing’s eyelashes fluttered as if a butterfly’s wings were lightly touched, and he slowly opened his eyes unexpectedly.
At this moment, because Lin Xiao had leaned toward him, they were very close to each other as their eyes met. Such a distance even seemed slightly ambiguous, like a scene of a stolen kiss.
Lin Xiao was stunned by the sudden look until he felt the coldness in the other man’s eyes, then he jumped up and immediately took a few steps back: “Captain You, no… it’s not what you think!”
As the disorientation in You Jing’s eyes due to the sudden awakening completely receded, he looked at Lin Xiao with narrowed eyes, and after a moment of silence, he said, “Get out.”
Seeing the man’s attitude, Lin Xiao made a bitter face, feeling that he could not wash clean even by jumping into the Yellow River: “Well, Captain You, it’s really not what you’re thinking!”
You Jing was expressionless: “Do I need to say it again?”
“No, no need!” Lin Xiao ran out of the room without saying a word but was a little uneasy. After a moment, he suddenly half-peeked from behind the door and said: “You go to bed early too, don’t worry too much about tomorrow’s game. Well, good night.”
“…” You Jing watched the door close again, and when he looked back, he noticed the blanket covering him. After a moment, he set aside the notebook on the table and leaned back heavily in his chair.
Although he did not participate in training these days, he meticulously recorded everyone’s training situation. Whether it was the training pattern or the extremely clear focus, it did not seem like any training content that Shen Changyu could formulate.
Looking at the starry sky, after a long period of silence, he muttered to himself: “ Old Ghost ‘s disciple…”