coat

Xue Wei took out his ID card and handed it to him.

It happened to be facing upwards, only showing the organizing committee’s invitation code.

The light in the security passage was dim, making it impossible to see clearly.
Wen Man, however, did not release his grip on Xue Wei’s wrist: “It’s late; don’t wander around outside. Return to your team quickly. Come here.”

Xue Wei thought for a moment, then pointed at the girl behind him.

Wen Man looked back, took off his jacket, and handed it to the girl: “Busy with work, sorry. We can talk later if there’s anything.”

The girl looked at his jacket, then at Xue Wei behind him, her eyes reddening with anger: “Work, work! Besides work, can you fit anyone else in your eyes?!”

She took the jacket, then threw it to the ground, stomping on it with her high heels.
Her tone changed: “I’d be blind if I ever chased after you again! You can wait to be single your whole life, Wen Man!”

She then turned and left, her figure slender and beautiful.

Wen Man didn’t get angry.
He picked up the jacket, carefully dusted it off, then casually handed it to Xue Wei.

Xue Wei: “?”

“Wrap it around the thermos; it won’t be so hot,” Wen Man said.

Xue Wei then wrapped the jacket around the thermos, and his hand could finally hold the thermos completely.

The two walked towards the exit of the security passage.

Wen Man was silent.
Xue Wei glanced at him.

‘Fortunately, there were no media nearby, or it would be front-page news tomorrow.’
He recognized her; that beautiful lady was the host of this World Championship, who had resigned from her core news job to switch careers.

‘Perhaps everyone makes foolish mistakes for love.’

Wen Man was silent, and Xue Wei was also quiet.
His pace lagged slightly behind, as he followed him out.

He was looking down at the path when he suddenly heard Wen Man begin to speak in a low voice.
He looked up, only to realize he wasn’t speaking to him; Wen Man was on a call.

–Mm, coming right away.
–Tonight, have them gather to discuss this tactic.

After a while, Wen Man lazily said, “Exhibition match? We don’t have exhibition matches. Treat them all as training matches.”

“European FEC’s three-time champion is here; Knife wouldn’t want to be thoroughly beaten by me in an exhibition match, so they’ll all play seriously,” Wen Man said casually, “Moreover, with me here, they also don’t want to just see me playing hide-and-seek mode.”

Wen Man slightly raised his hand, and a part of the sound leaked out.
It sounded like Alan’s voice from the other end: –Then I won’t sleep tonight.
–The head coach and I will go back first.
–What do you want for late-night supper?

“Wait a moment.” Wen Man seemed to think for a bit, couldn’t come up with anything, so he poked Xue Wei on the back of his collar, “Student, do you want anything for late-night supper?”

Xue Wei abruptly shook off his hand.
He looked up, his dark eyes showing a kind of small beast’s wariness.

At that instant, his aloofness and coldness were all forced out.

He disliked intimate contact.

Especially wary of sudden intimate contact.

Wen Man’s hand paused, then dropped.
He then spoke into the phone: “Congee tonight, seafood congee, stewed until very soft. Count the people in each team and send one portion to everyone.”

Wen Man’s call ended, and the two also walked out of the security passage.

Below the hotel, national team members were gathered, waiting for vehicles to pick them up.

They first saw Wen Man approaching: “Captain Wen! You were so handsome on stage today! If you didn’t come, we would have thought you weren’t going to eat.”

“I’m not going to eat. I have something to take care of, so I’m heading back to the hotel first. You all eat well, rest well, and play seriously in tomorrow’s exhibition match,” Wen Man said.

“Ah—come with us! Just for a meal!” Several people from other teams also came to join in, a bunch of grown men collectively turning into whining creatures: “We want to eat with God Wen—”

Wen Man was cold and ruthless: “All of you, scram.”

He stepped into the hotel lobby, passing Xue Wei.

Xue Wei stopped, fumbling with his phone to check the floor and room number.
He had saved a map image before, but now he was too lazy to find it, so he sent a message in the group chat.

They had a four-person group named “Two Big Legs and Two Lying Dogs.”

[NOW]: [I forgot which floor and room number we’re on.]

Wanshi quickly replied: [A building, 1604, right outside the elevator.]

Xue Wei sent a “Thanks,” then put his phone back in his pocket.

He looked up at the hotel entrance, stopped, waited for half a minute, then walked in.

The hotel was resplendent, the marble floor echoing with footsteps.
Xue Wei turned into the elevator hall, his steps pausing slightly again.

Wen Man was still there.

He was looking down at his phone, the dark green earring dangling by his ear, his profile silent and sharp.

There were eight elevators on the west side of this elevator hall.
All were currently vacant, stopped on the first floor.
Wen Man was standing by elevator number six.

For some reason, he hadn’t gone up yet.

Xue Wei glanced at him, then averted his gaze, pressing the button for the furthest elevator, number one.

“Ding,” the elevator door opened in response.
Xue Wei walked in.
Just as he was about to press the close-door button, he suddenly heard a deep voice say “Wait a moment.”
Then a slender hand blocked the elevator door, and its owner followed him inside.

Wen Man said: “Thanks.” He lowered his head again to check his phone messages.

Xue Wei stood respectfully towards the back.

The elevator’s inner walls were as smooth as a mirror.
Xue Wei looked at himself: still heavily bundled, only a pair of eyes visible.

‘This is how youth trainees who can’t speak up in front of the team are. They usually don’t get many opportunities to talk to them, at most a greeting, and even then, the other person might not remember.’

The sixteenth floor was soon reached.
As the doors opened, Wanshi and Zhao Xiaoyi were standing outside.

They first saw Xue Wei, their expressions a bit surprised, but then they saw Wen Man beside him—their expressions almost exploded.

However, no one spoke.
After Xue Wei stepped out of the elevator, Zhao Xiaoyi stammered: “C-Captain Wen, hello…”

Wanshi also said: “Captain Wen, hello.”

“Hello, yourselves.” Wen Man also stepped out of the elevator.
He glanced at them: “Here to pick up your teammate?”

“Mm-hm.”

“Rest well, play well, remember to train,” Wen Man said, walking towards his room. “Zhao Xiaoyi, a world-class free agent is here in the league this time. Both you and Wanshi can observe his playstyle. To counter a free agent, you can only rely on your own free agent or assaulter.”

Zhao Xiaoyi and Wanshi both froze simultaneously, their footsteps stopping.

But Wen Man didn’t stop.
He swiped his card and entered his room, the door closing in front of them.

Xue Wei walked a few steps and realized their room was diagonally opposite and had its door open.

Dangdang peeked his head out from inside: “You guys just ran into him? They were planning to go down and pick you up, afraid you weren’t feeling well.”

“What’s wrong, why is everyone so quiet?”

“He actually remembered me.” Zhao Xiaoyi had a dream-like expression, “God Wen and I only matched once in a public match, and I was still in the secondary league then. I’ve never met him before, yet he recognized me and remembered me.”

Wanshi also didn’t speak.

He also hadn’t expected Wen Man to remember him, or even his role.

He himself had forgotten he was an assaulter—when God Knife played today, he didn’t even have the slightest thought of observing his playstyle.

Yet the opponent was the world’s number one free agent.

“You guys just realized?” Dangdang said, “That guy is terrifying. I heard it from people in the youth training camp… God Wen knows everyone’s position, playstyle, and operational ability in the pro league, and he almost never forgets anything. That’s why he’s so accurate every time he picks people, and can always tell everyone’s most suitable role.”

“I’m stunned, truly stunned; he actually remembered me.” Zhao Xiaoyi was almost crying, “Damn it, waiting another two years for retirement would have been worth it.”

“And I heard he doesn’t even need to watch replays after matches; he remembers every detail. As professionals, our demands for real-time and map information memory updates are already very high.”

Dangdang said, “His memory is really good, especially for people.”

Xue Wei sat down at the table, pushed aside his jacket, and took out the thermos from inside.

Seeing the jacket, his hand paused slightly, then he picked it up and stood.

“Naonao, where are you going?”

“Returning something,” Xue Wei replied curtly.

He walked out the door, gently closing it behind him, and went to the room diagonally opposite.

At this time, most people were out eating, and the hallway was quiet.

He hung the sports jacket on the doorknob.

The sensor password lock ‘beeped’, issuing an error alarm.
The doorknob was metal, too slippery, and couldn’t hold it, so it fell directly to the floor.

Footsteps came from inside, getting closer to the door.

Xue Wei had picked up the jacket, preparing to re-hang it.
Upon hearing footsteps, he simply threw it on the ground, then quickly darted back into his room and closed the door.

Alan came up the elevator, just in time to see this scene.

Wen Man’s hair was wet, a towel draped over his shoulder.
He looked down at the crumpled jacket by the door.

“What’s wrong, Captain Wen? What are you doing?” Alan walked over and took a look.

Wen Man picked up the jacket, walked into the room, and lazily said: “Someone came to return clothes.”

“Ah?”

“Lent a jacket to a little squirt.” Wen Man tossed the jacket into the laundry basket, “Thought he’d wash it for me and return it in person. Instead, he just dumped it at the door.”

And it wasn’t even washed.

Alan almost burst out laughing: “You’re acting like you’re courting a girl, lending jackets back and forth. Who among a bunch of grown men would wash your clothes?”

“Yeah.” Wen Man leaned back against the bed, his peach blossom eyes slightly closed, his tone indifferent, “Talking to him is hard.”