Nowadays, online comments were intentionally influenced by someone. The public’s attention was once again pulled back onto Wen Yan, questioning why he suddenly came to the training camp as a special coach. In addition to Huoran’s plausible hints, a lot of people were guessing again that Wen Yan was about to retire.
And Meng Qi, who had initially struggled to make a decision and didn’t know when to inform Wen Yan about his retirement, after much hesitation, finally broke the news to Wen Yan.
Since the public was manipulated by someone, maybe it was also the best time to minimize the impact of his retirement on everyone.
But Meng Qi was entirely unaware, or perhaps unwilling to believe, that the online rumors were not unfounded. Even someone as formidable as Wind, who had consistently delivered outstanding performances in competition after competition, could eventually grow weary.
Wen Yan casually seated himself on the flight of steps and motioned for him to join with a slight raise of his head:
“Sit.”
Only then did Xue Lan cautiously sit next to him.
“Do you know what LGW means?”
Xue Lan nodded. “Let Glory Wait.”
These words seemed to click the switch on Wen Yan’s reminiscence. He gazed at the muddled, starless night sky.
“Five years ago, Dawn of the Apocalypse was dominated by several well-established teams. Back then, we were merely a group of newcomers with no influential background, relying solely on our passion and determination to pave our path. It wasn’t until we crossed paths with Boss Xue that the team started to adopt a more professional appearance.
“That time, it never crossed my mind what kind of achievements me and the team wanted to attain. I just felt as long as they were at… LGW, it was fine.
“But in the blink of an eye, from five people, only me and Kanqing are left now.
“And there might be a time when I also…”
Xue Lan sat quietly by Wen Yan’s side. He had no idea what he should say to console Wen Yan, or if it was better to remain silent.
To maintain LGW’s image, Wen Yan concealed his own injury, even as he watched his teammates depart one by one. Yet, professional matches were often like this, trading a few years of youth for an uncertain future. After all, a few years down the line, it would inevitably come to an end.
“Sorry.”
Wen Yan was silent for a while. His eyes gradually regained their brightness. “You heard everything just now. How is it, do you think LGW is different from what you imagined?”
Xue Lan shook his head.
Wen Yan quietly waited for his answer.
“In every group, there are individuals with similar objectives. Everyone embarks on the same train journey, but, of course, each person has a different destination. Along the way, someone will eventually disembark.”
Xue Lan didn’t know how he should describe it. To him, everything was just a blurry contour that was intangible. “But trains indeed have a starting point and an end. Even if someone disembarks, there will always be new travelers. And even if the person beside you changes, as long as the train’s destination remains the same, as long as there is someone still committed to reaching the final destination… this train will continue its journey toward that final point..”
Wen Yan did not speak for a long time, his profound gaze stayed on Xue Lan. After a while, he stood up.
“Let’s grind that chip.”
Xue Lan raised his head, gazing at him wordlessly and with concern as if he couldn’t quite believe that he was truly well.
Wen Yan opened the door without looking back. “Don’t tell me you want to become LGW’s assaulter… without flash and stealth skills at their max levels?”
Xue Lan stood up in shock. Wen Yan’s words made him overjoyed.
Wen Yan meant —
He could join LGW with the assaulter position?!
“However.”
Amidst Xue Lan’s excitement, Wen Yan reminded:
“After you join the club, I hope you and Reset can maintain a proper distance.” He turned around and said with a stern countenance, “Since he already declared… his orientation, you should understand he… could never like you. Esports has never been just a game. I don’t wish anyone from LGW to leave because of personal feelings.”
“I…” Xue Lan clutched the corner of his sleeves. “I will definitely face every competition seriously, and…”
He looked into Wen Yan’s eyes. Stubbornly, he said, “I’m really not a girl, I’m a man.”
Wen Yan slightly furrowed his brow. When Xue Lan thought he finally got through to Wen Yan, he looked away.
“It’s very good that you have such understanding because in LGW, even if you are a girl, don’t think that you’ll get special treatment.”
Xue Lan knew that although the original owner didn’t have a lot of friendly moments with Wen Yan, Wen Yan had accepted that he was Xue Yuanshan’s “daughter.” For the past many years, it had been deeply rooted in his mind that he was female… but he still sternly explained, “No, I’m saying I’m really…”
“Reset? Why are you here?”
Qi Siyu’s puzzled voice came from inside the Internet cafe. Xue Lan quickly turned around to look, only to see Duan Wenzheng leisurely appearing. Who knows how long he had been standing there.
“Came looking for a lost child.
“I’ve always heard that Wind has never liked talking about someone’s strong and weak points behind their back. Who knew I would have the chance to witness such a rare ‘scene’?” Duan Wenzheng uttered these words and strolled over to Xue Lan’s side, but his gaze fell lightly on Wen Yan.
“But… It’s already late. Shouldn’t the captain also know what it means by ‘maintaining distance’?”
*The author has something to say: Looks like a baby misunderstood the situation. PS: Zheng-ge isn’t eavesdropping, it’s just that it’s so late already, and seeing Su Yiyu come back alone, he was worried and went out to look for Lanlan, and coincidentally ran into him!
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