Going home for Chinese New Year

The new account had a one-month freezing period, temporarily only able to play casual matches, unable to proceed with normal matchmaking and ranked games.

Xue Wei looked at the date, jotted it down in his memo, set a reminder for himself, then played a few casual matches with this account.

Many people used the CHN prefix, mostly Chinese nationals and national team fans. He blended in among them, undetected, though he did encounter a few oddballs who attacked Chinese players, coincidentally running into his crosshairs, and he dealt with them.

Xue Wei’s novelty hadn’t worn off.

He first sent private messages to his two old teammates, then continued playing casual matches.

Midway, Zhao Xiaoyi and the others woke up to eat, but he couldn’t be roused.

Xue Wei played until 9 PM, when the system suddenly prompted: [Your friend [CHN.Pretty] is online.]

No sooner had he glanced at the notification bar than he saw Wen Man had sent him a message.

–You’ve been playing for almost ten hours. Go to sleep.

Xue Wei was startled by the message, then asked him: “How do you know I played for ten hours?”

Wen Man: –I logged on earlier and saw you were in-game. Guess you didn’t see me?

Xue Wei felt a bit embarrassed.

He had indeed been very engrossed and hadn’t paid attention to other messages.

He stared at the page, pondering how to reply, when he saw Wen Man quickly send him another message: –Go to sleep quickly. You need to adjust to the national team’s schedule in advance.

‘So fierce.’

Xue Wei dared not play anymore.

This game didn’t have an invisibility function.

He quickly went offline, washed up, and went to bed.

It was barely past midnight.

For the EGT members, nightlife was just beginning.

They were about to order late-night snacks when they saw Xue Wei quickly go to wash up with his pajamas.

After washing, he didn’t pay them much mind, quickly closed his room door, and said he was going to sleep.

“Do you think Brother Nao is dating? Is he dating someone over there?”

“Online romance meeting in real life?” The other few speculated.

Wanshi said: “This kid is abnormal.”

“Who cares? Brother Nao can do whatever he wants. Maybe he plans to adjust his schedule,” Dangdang said, “We’re about to disband anyway. We probably won’t see Brother Nao again after the New Year. Cherish this time!”

Indeed, that was the case.

There were only about ten days left until Chinese New Year.

Their club didn’t have much going on, so they usually left early.

They had already started packing these past few days.

Days passed one by one.

As the New Year drew closer, Zhao Xiaoyi, Dangdang, and Wanshi left one after another.

Wanshi’s family lived in this city, so he returned late, with only two days left until New Year’s Eve.

Wanshi dragged his luggage to the door.

Xue Wei, who was playing a game, politely saw him off.

Wanshi waved his hand: “Brother Nao, you go back. It’s cold outside. This little bit isn’t enough for me to carry; don’t break yourself carrying it.”

Xue Wei then lowered his hand, hands in his pockets, and stood at attention.

Wanshi’s family drove to pick him up.

His aunt and uncle also greeted him: “This is Xue Wei, right? Your captain?”

“Yes, yes, our boss,” Wanshi said.

Xue Wei’s face was a bit red; he looked very reserved.

He was small in stature, standing there obedient and pretty, making him very likable to elders, especially in the esports industry, where he could almost single-handedly change the older generation’s impression of esports players.

Wanshi’s parents liked him immensely and kept trying to talk to him.

“Come back with us and have a meal? Wanshi told us about you, said you helped them a lot. Look, it’s close. Why don’t you stay at our house for a few days?”

Xue Wei was almost incapable of handling such a situation.

He said a bit awkwardly: “I, I’m also going home soon. I won’t trouble Auntie and Uncle.”

“Then, where’s your hometown? Is it convenient to go back? If not, we can drive you.”

“My, my hometown is Nancheng,” Xue Wei became even more flustered, “It’s convenient, very close. I’ll take the bus.”

“Alright, Mom and Dad, don’t tease him. He’s not used to talking,” Wanshi urged his parents from behind, “Let’s go, let’s go, Brother Nao, we’re leaving! Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year.” Xue Wei also waved at him.

After the car left, Xue Wei breathed a sigh of relief, closed the door, and returned to the club’s living room.

Opposite the club was a mall, currently adjusting its speakers, blasting deafening New Year greetings across the street.

He sat on the sofa, hugging his knees, gazing out at the beginning of the snowfall.

He gently breathed into his hands, white mist dampening his dark eyelashes.

He hadn’t bought a train ticket home.

Year after year, he didn’t know since when, his birthdays, his New Years, were all spent in the hospital.

This was his first year not spent in the hospital.

He pulled out his phone and checked his messages.

The contact [Mom] had sent him a message.

–Not coming home for New Year this year?

Xue Wei: –Not coming back.

[Mom] transferred ten thousand yuan to you.

[Mom]: –This is your New Year’s money. Tell me if it’s not enough. Your uncle still has a lot going on, so I won’t come to see you for now.

Xue Wei: –Okay.

[Mom]: –Did you tell your dad about your new therapy surgery? When is he taking you?

Xue Wei: –Told him. He’s busy with work, hasn’t set a date.

[Mom]: –Mm, then set it early.

[Mom]: –You have new younger siblings now. Your dad will definitely be too busy to care for you like before, so remember to remind him often, and get along well with your younger siblings, be polite, understand?

Xue Wei did not reply.

And the other contact [Dad]’s last contact time had stopped four months ago.

He put down his phone, tucked a few coins into his pocket, and went out to wander around on a bus.

The EGT club was in the Fourth Ring Road.

Although the streets weren’t deserted during the New Year, there were indeed few people to be seen.

The few people walking on the road were either families out with young children picking things, or couples walking in pairs.

Xue Wei remembered that his tactical notebook was almost finished, so he detoured to a creative stationery store to buy a new one.

It was too late; many shelves were already empty, and there were only a few notebooks left.

Xue Wei fancied a wooden anime notebook; it was the last one.

He reached out to take it, when a plump little hand reached out from the other side.

It was a small boy, wearing a matching anime merchandise cultural shirt, accompanied by a woman.

Seeing this, the woman quickly told the little boy: “This big brother chose it first. Come on, let’s go look at others.”

The little boy was very obedient.

He looked at Xue Wei, then at the notebook, his eyes showing reluctance, but he still obediently let go.

Xue Wei tucked the notebook under his arm.

He was about to go back to pay, but after a few steps, he turned back and handed the notebook to the little boy.

The cool boy said nothing.

The little boy hadn’t reacted and dared not take it.

Xue Wei then put the notebook into his hood, then tucked his hands back into his pockets, and coolly and gracefully left the stationery store.

He didn’t buy a notebook.

He had originally wanted to find a rice ball shop he always liked, but the rice ball shop was also closed.

In the end, having bought nothing, Xue Wei only bought a string of small lanterns from a roadside stall, a few bags of instant noodles from a convenience store, and then took the bus back to the EGT club.

The club was very cold.

With the lights on, the pale light also seemed particularly cold and lonely.

Xue Wei rubbed his cold, red fingers, bent down to change his shoes, then walked stiffly to wash up, before jumping into bed, hugging his quilt, plugging in his lanterns, and hanging them by the bed.

He lay down in bed, quietly gazing at the bright red lanterns, silently counting down in his heart.

Ten more days.

Perhaps in ten days, the New Year would be over, and it would be lively here again.

At 7:30 AM, the young man had already closed his eyes, falling asleep under the warm yellow light.

The club was quiet. Outside, thousands of homes were lit up.

A crack in the window was open for air, and a gentle breeze came through, lightly passing through his charging small lanterns, making them sway.

Unbeknownst to him, his phone gently vibrated, showing a few new messages.

[Wen Man]: [Are you celebrating New Year, little one?]

[Wen Man]: [Don’t you have to go to the hospital this year?]

Xue Wei did not reply tonight.

Another end of China, C Province.

“Why are you always looking at your phone? Your uncle has something to say to you. Hurry up and go; don’t make people wait,” the woman said.

Wen Man sat cross-legged on the floor.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was a panoramic view of the city’s bustling night scene.

Small red paper cutouts were pasted on the window.

He didn’t respond.

He first glanced at his phone. Still no reply.

He then put down his phone and said: “I’m coming now.”

“How many days are you back for this time?” Wen Mu asked, “You didn’t make it back last year.”

“I can probably stay for three days, but it’s uncertain now. I want to take a day to visit B City,” Wen Man said.

“Are you going back to the national team? Is it an urgent matter?” Wen Mu was puzzled, “Didn’t you just get back from there yesterday?”

Wen Man ran a hand through his hair.

His handsome face showed a hint of nonchalance.

He wore a simple sports T-shirt, and at home, he surprisingly exuded a youthful charm: “Going to see someone.”

Wen Mu stopped and asked seriously: “I’m asking you, did you really get a girlfriend? Not bringing her back to see us?”

“He’s a guy,” Wen Man said.

He stated such a shocking thing very calmly, very simply, “Not a boyfriend yet. He’s three years younger than me. I originally planned to bring him back next year, but this year it’s too little time. Also…”

‘Also, he didn’t expect that Xue Wei might not be going home for New Year.’

“A guy…” Wen Mu choked on her words, “You… you and that girl from the TV station…”

“Nothing to do with her. I never dated her. In the future, you and Dad don’t need to worry about setting me up on blind dates,” Wen Man waved his hand, composed, and picked up his wine glass, “I’m going to toast Uncle.”

Wen Mu:

‘His words halted abruptly.’

She immediately pulled Wen Fu into the room and began to scold him.

“Look at this child of yours; he’s never let me rest easy!”

Wen Fu: “? He’s your child too.”

“He found a boyfriend!”

“A boyfriend is good. We won’t have to help raise kids,” Wen Fu, a local wine industry giant, truly self-made, having seen all sorts of challenges in life, lit a cigarette. “What? Why are you saying this? Has the person arrived? If so, invite them in.”

“Not yet. I just found out, came to discuss it with you,” Wen Mu was still muttering, “You said he found a guy… No, it seems he hasn’t found one yet. You think his personality is like yours? Ignoring such a good major, going abroad to study esports, running off to play games, and now he wants to find a guy…”

Wen Fu said: “We’ll talk about it later; I still need to play mahjong.”

Wen Mu tugged at him: “Our son’s lifelong happiness, aren’t we going to help advise him?”

Wen Fu said: “Advise what? He’s like me. Look at the wife I found; the one he finds won’t be bad either.”

This flattery was quite effective. Wen Mu was very pleased and immediately let him go play mahjong.

But as he reached the door, Wen Mu added worriedly: “But we might not necessarily not have to help raise kids. What if they adopt?!”

Wen Fu:

‘His words halted abruptly.’

He averted his gaze and shouted outside, “Hey, Nine of Bamboo! That’s the one I drew!!”

“Brother Wen, I discreetly asked around, and I promise I won’t tell your little friend… I’m not stupid; if he knew we were investigating him, he’d definitely get angry, huh.”

On the other end of the phone, his friend said, “I checked the phone number you gave me. That’s his dad’s number. The Xue family is quite wealthy; both parents are rich, but they divorced about three years ago and remarried separately.”

“He has a younger brother and a younger sister, but they weren’t just born; they were born a long time ago. You know, illegitimate children. It’s like the mistress became the legal wife, but his mother doesn’t seem to mind either, because she also quickly remarried and had children. They seem more like a business marriage than a marriage based on affection, and they don’t oversee the children much, generally just giving money.”

“Honestly, neither of them wanted Xue Wei’s custody, but because he’s almost an adult, it’s now with his dad.”

“I couldn’t find out more. Their family relationships are complicated, and your little friend basically never went home, right? His local records only go up to junior high school. His grades were pretty good; he participated in an aerospace model competition and won first prize for his self-made rocket model.”

In the early hours of the next day, Xue Wei replied to his message: [Celebrating New Year.]

He sent him a photo of the small lanterns he bought; the background didn’t reveal where it was taken.

He also sent: [My body is a bit better than before. This year I don’t need to stay in the hospital. The doctor said I just need to keep taking my medicine.]

Actually, he also needed to keep exercising.

It was just that he was always too lazy to exercise, and if he said it, Wen Man would definitely nag him.

After replying to the message, Xue Wei grabbed a hot water bottle, picked up his keys, and went shopping, fully bundled up.

He didn’t take the bus today, just walked.

Many stores nearby were closed.

He walked until dawn, then found an open store, went in, and ate a bowl of noodles.

Afterward, he found a bookstore and bought a book to read slowly.

His phone was old and drained battery quickly when it was cold; it automatically shut down after he looked at it for a short while.

Xue Wei thus passed the time until about two or three in the afternoon. Feeling too cold, he then stood up and slowly wandered back towards the club.

Wandering back to the entrance, he was startled.

The club door was wide open, the side window glass was broken, and there was movement inside.

It was impossible for anyone else to be back at this time.

‘Was this a robbery?’

‘Would a thief be this high-profile?’

He was pondering whether to run back and call the police when a man in a T-shirt, holding a wrench, walked out.

His forehead was covered in sweat, which soaked his hair, steaming, making his peach blossom eyes appear moist and warm.

“Oh, you’re back. I was about to call someone to find you; almost called the police,” Wen Man waved the wrench at him, “Your living room heater is quite difficult to fix. The air valve was leaking, and the resistance wire under the switch was broken. Come here, try it.”

Xue Wei looked at him, wanting to speak, but couldn’t think of anything for a moment.

Wen Man pushed him over to test the heater, and the broken heater in the living room indeed started working again, warm and a bit hot.

“Why are you here?” Xue Wei seized a moment of silence to ask, “You said the other day you wouldn’t see me until next year.”

“I thought so,” Wen Man said, his voice a bit casual, “Suddenly wanted to come back and see you.”

“Oh.” Xue Wei didn’t know how to respond, so he just said “Oh.”

His dark eyes quietly glanced at the window; the glass, which was already partially broken, was now completely shattered.

Wen Man…

‘Wen Man broke the glass window to get in?’

‘The dignified captain of the national team actually doing such low-life things.’

“Cough, I’ve already called someone to install a new one for you, double burglar-proof. The installers will arrive tonight.” The thief himself said, “You didn’t answer your phone, and I couldn’t reach anyone else for a while, so I just came in myself.”

Xue Wei almost wanted to laugh, but he held it in.

He walked to the water dispenser, poured him a cup of hot water, and offered it to him: “Here.”

Wen Man sat on the sofa, drinking hot water, and surveying the EGT club: “You’re the only one left. How are you spending the New Year? Alone?”

“Alone.”

Xue Wei didn’t feel there was anything wrong, embarrassing, or lonely about spending New Year alone.

He had always been a lone wolf.

“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Do you mind having one more person accompany you for New Year’s Eve?” Wen Man pulled a tissue to wipe sweat, and put on his jacket.

Xue Wei thought for a moment: “Are you talking about yourself?”

“Mm,” Wen Man said, hugging his arms and smiling, “I bought a plane ticket to come back, and the return tickets are sold out. The earliest is two days from now.”

“You mean, you came over to see me, so you rushed back?” Xue Wei thought for a long time, then asked him for confirmation, his tone a bit reserved, because a faint thought lingered in his mind, fearing he was overthinking.

Wen Man said: “Mm… and some other things, just incidentally.”

Xue Wei felt relieved: “Oh, okay.”

He thought again: “Then don’t you have friends or anything? The national team base is closed. You could also stay in a hotel.”

Wen Man was almost annoyed to death by this little contrarian: “I just want to stay here with you, crash at your place for two days, is that okay? I’m your captain, and your coach. Are you really going to treat me like this?”

Xue Wei quickly became embarrassed: “I also… didn’t mean that.”

Wen Man quickly said: “Then that means you welcome me. Let’s go out and buy some things. You have to eat something for New Year’s.”

He had clearly already checked the refrigerator and snack cabinet and only saw instant noodles.

Xue Wei had just returned, and was dragged out by him again.

He asked him for confirmation: “Do I need to pay? Or split the bill? If so, I’ll keep a record.”

Wen Man reached out and ruffled his head without speaking.

The force was a bit heavy.

Xue Wei immediately knew his question hadn’t been very good.

He stopped talking.

Like a child, he followed behind Wen Man.

He was more familiar with this city.

His purpose was clear.

He first took him to a large grocery supermarket, bought some daily snacks, and then went to a fresh food supermarket to buy chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

Xue Wei said: “I can’t cook.”

Wen Man said: “I’ll cook.”

Xue Wei then fell silent again.

Wen Man carried all the large and small bags himself.

Xue Wei wanted to help carry some things, but Wen Man handed him a bunch of green onions: “You carry these.”

He could only obediently take the green onions.

They finished shopping just before dark.

Xue Wei came out of the store and saw the stationery store from yesterday again.

Before he could speak, Wen Man said to him: “Come on, let’s go in and look.”

He knew he liked browsing these places.

Back when they used to play games together, they were a group of seventeen or eighteen-year-olds who loved singing KTV, drinking, and eating skewers. Only Xue Wei liked to visit various stationery stores near school entrances.

‘Like a little elementary school chicken.’

The shelves had been restocked.

Xue Wei saw the notebook he couldn’t buy yesterday.

He took one, then went to pay.

To his surprise, the sales assistant actually remembered him: “You came yesterday too, right? Also liked this notebook, it was out of stock, and then you gave it to the little boy?”

Xue Wei didn’t react immediately: “Ah, uh, yes.”

“You left quickly back then, we didn’t have time to say. We restock very fast. There were too many people yesterday, but today we’ve restocked. To apologize, we’re giving you a few small stamps for free, oh. Welcome next time~”

The sales assistant handed him a few small stamps.

They were made of wood, not delicate, but very cute.

“Finished shopping already?” Wen Man glanced at his small notebook, “Still watching anime, One Piece.”

As everyone knew, Xue Wei was a bit chuunibyou.

“I also watch Legend of the Galactic Heroes,” Xue Wei retorted, unconvinced, holding back his anger, “Our journey is the sea of stars.”

“I know.” Wen Man lowered his head and chuckled, “I’m not laughing at you.”

Returning to the club, Wen Man moved all the groceries into the kitchen, while Xue Wei put the snacks on the snack shelf, then opened his beloved One Piece tactical notebook.

This small notebook was authentic, but it came with some cheap, unsellable-looking small sticker cards.

Xue Wei tore open the sticker plastic bag, and the small cards scattered across the table.

Some had patterns printed on them, some had words.

Xue Wei casually picked one up and saw it read:

[Tomorrow, I will come with someone]

[And still admire the flowers]

[Note: A haiku left by an unknown poet. The first line is said to be “Lonely road, empty branches.” The full meaning is: Alone and lonely, with nothing, but don’t be discouraged. Tomorrow, come with your lover (or friend, family), and you can see beautiful scenery.]