After two days of intense battles, the Four-man Team Tournament of the World Invitational Championship has officially concluded.
In the audience stands all the Chinese spectators have already risen to their feet, chanting "HOG" repeatedly.
In the backstage area, four people hurriedly followed the HOG team, their footsteps quick as they made their way towards the backstage area. Lai Hua held the national flag tightly, with He Xiaoxu and Xinba following closely behind. The group walked with long strides into the player zone.
Several staff members stood guard at the entrance of the player zone, but no one dared to stop them. Recognizing the high-level members of the HOG team, two staff members courteously guided them and brought them to the HOG gaming area.
Compared to Lai Hua's tears of joy, the four individuals remained relatively calm. In order to maintain their composure for the upcoming interviews, they even exchanged some sarcastic remarks to adjust their emotions.
"It's a little awkward..." Qi Zui, the last one to exit the game, said. "Could you guys consider my feelings when you celebrate in advance? You all have already sacrificed to the heavens, while I haven't even finished the match yet."
Yu Yang choked on his words.
"I was still considering how to make it to the final circle," Qi Zui helplessly said. "You guys were already discussing how to spend the prize money in the team voice chat..."
"Nana asked," Yu Yang took a breath, still a bit unstable. He cleared his throat and continued, "I'm not in a rush to get the money."
"Of course, you're not in a rush," Bu Nana scoffed. "After the match, you'll be receiving red envelopes from your parents. Can you even be bothered with this small amount of prize money? Anyway, how much is it? How much is left after taxes?"
"Six hundred thousand US dollars..." Lao Kai calculated in his mind for a second and said, "After taxes, it's around three million RMB, tens of thousands for each of us."
"That's great," Bu Nana tapped on the keyboard. "Adding the bonus from the club, this trip wasn't in vain."
As they were talking, Lai Hua, He Xiaoxu, and Xinba had already been led over by the staff.
Bu Nana, who was just joking earlier, looked at the national flag in Lai Hua's hands, and his lips trembled. Suddenly, he couldn't hold back anymore.
His chubby face turned red, and tears started rolling down his cheeks.
Lao Kai also lowered his head and wiped his eyes.
It was truly not easy.
This is not the first time HOG became champion in the World Championship, but this time, it was truly, truly not easy.
He Xiaoxu was so excited that he couldn't articulate his words properly. He restrained his emotions and patted the shoulders of the five players one by one.
Lai Hua handed the national flag to Qi Zui, who smiled and asked, "What am I supposed to do with it?"
Although Qi Zui said so, he still took it.
He unfolded the national flag and draped it over Yu Yang.
Yu Yang looked bewildered.
Countless cameras instantly focused on Yu Yang. Qi Zui let go of him, smiling with a gentlemanly demeanor as he took a step back.
The foreign commentators on-site rapidly introduced Youth, the new God's Right Hand. The domestic commentators were already hoarse, commentating on Yu Yang's amazing plays in several matches.
Yu Yang looked around and, after a few seconds, regardless of whether the camera was zooming in on him or not, he instinctively held Qi Zui's hand.
With his left hand holding Qi Zui's, and his right hand holding Bu Nana's, they all instantly understood and held each other's hands. They raised their hands high toward the crowd outside the arena.
The honor of HOG belonged to the entire team.
The Chinese fans in the audience stands, holding national flags, unfolded them one by one, and loudly shouted the name of the HOG team.
The staff came to remind the team that they had to go receive their awards. Lao Kai and Bu Nana headed out, but Qi Zui didn't let go of Yu Yang's hand. He held Yu Yang's hand, lowered his head, and solemnly kissed it.
The cheers in the arena instantly became even more frantic. Among the foreign commentators, one of them didn't know about the relationship between Drunk and Youth, and the other two commentators explained it in detail.
Qi Zui and Yu Yang didn't show excessive intimacy. After kissing Yu Yang's hand, Qi Zui released him. Like everyone else, they climbed onto the award podium, raised the trophy, received the gold medals, and awaited the national anthem played by the organizers. Together with countless fellow countrymen in the audience, they sang the national anthem.
However, after leaving the award stage, finishing the interviews, and finally heading towards the backstage rest area, as soon as they passed the barricade between the front and backstage areas, Qi Zui pressed Yu Yang against the Champion Wall and kissed him deeply.
The composed and graceful acceptance speech was dedicated to the audience, but now, the lovers' kiss was the best post-match reward for each other.
The members of TGC and Knights team were right behind them. Everyone was slightly stunned but soon applauded and whistled.
On the way back to the hotel, they all collapsed into their seats. Despite being exhausted, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Lao Lai held the trophy, laughing and crying with Bu Nana intermittently. Lao Kai silently scrolled through the forums, while Xinba's phone kept ringing, and he smiled endlessly at his family in China, recounting the championship victory again and again. He Xiaoxu animatedly chatted via voice messages, already discussing sponsorships.
In the last row, Yu Yang leaned on Qi Zui's shoulder, nearly falling asleep.
If there was anyone on the team who had the most pressure, it was undoubtedly Yu Yang.
Fortunately, months of hard work had paid off. Yu Yang was extremely exhausted, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Leaning against Qi Zui, his body gradually grew limp until he finally fell asleep.
"Hey, what's going on?" He Xiaoxu put his phone aside and turned to Qi Zui, asking, "Where should we celebrate? Tell me what you want to eat. Today, it's on me..."
Qi Zui furrowed his brow slightly and whispered, "Shh..."
He Xiaoxu fell silent. "Did he fall asleep? What about the victory banquet?"
"There's a solo exhibition match the day after tomorrow. Let's celebrate after the solo match," Simba lowered his voice and said, "Don't drink too much, it might affect the game."
"You know it's just an exhibition match, and there's no prize money," He Xiaoxu impatiently wanted to reward everyone and urged, "Besides, the day after tomorrow is still a day away. Isn't one day of rest enough? Other teams are celebrating too. The FREE team, even though they got third place, is still going to drink."
Qi Zui remembered something and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly as he nodded. "Alright, let's go then."
He Xiaoxu chuckled and was about to ask where they wanted to go when Qi Zui added, "I won't go. Yu Yang is too tired. We'll just eat something at the hotel."
Of course, He Xiaoxu disagreed. Qi Zui casually said, "I'm tired too. We played five games in a row. I need to go back and wrap my wrist."
"Oh, right." He Xiaoxu forgot about that and became concerned. "How is it? Does your wrist hurt?"
Qi Zui was actually fine and casually replied, "It's a bit swollen, but it's nothing. I'll take care of it myself."
He Xiaoxu looked at Qi Zui's right hand, still worried but couldn't discern anything wrong, so he nodded. "Alright, you two rest well. We'll have a big celebration when we return to the country."
Back at the hotel, Yu Yang rubbed his eyes drowsily, carrying his and Qi Zui's peripheral equipment bag, and headed back to their room. The others changed their clothes and prepared to go out, except for Qi Zui, who held his room key and credit card and went to the hotel front desk.
He Xiaoxu took off his suit and changed into casual attire before coming out. As he passed by the hotel lobby front desk, he unexpectedly overheard Qi Zui instructing the front desk about something...
"Upgrade to a suite... Thank you."
"No balloons, just order more roses."
"No, no, just put them in the bedroom and living room, as many as possible, but not in the bathroom... Yes."
"Yes, don't notify him, thank you..."
He Xiaoxu turned around and saw that Qi Zui was still wearing his team jersey. Qi Zui had his back turned to him, earnestly confirming the details of upgrading to a suite with the hotel front desk.
After observing for a while, He Xiaoxu left and took out his phone to send a message in the private group chat for the HOG team.
【The Me You Can No Longer Reach - He】: I still think we should sing some songs during dinner; otherwise, we won't be doing justice to this championship. Let's come back after spending the night, it's not like we have anything to do tomorrow.
Qi Zui handed his card to the receptionist, glanced at his phone, and smiled.
While their teammates went out to have fun, Qi Zui and Yu Yang went to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner.
After dinner, Yu Yang's energy fully recovered, and he was in such a good state that he could play another ten matches. He actually thought that Qi Zui didn't go out to play to take care of him. Looking at the time, he suggested, "Should we go and find them? I'm not tired anymore, really."
Qi Zui wiped his mouth with a napkin, smiled at the remark, and said, "Not tired anymore? That's good..."
Yu Yang said, "Then... should we go? If you're tired, you don't have to come. I'll accompany you."
"I'm not going," Qi Zui stood up. "Let's go back."
The two of them returned to the hotel. Qi Zui took the newly replaced room key and led Yu Yang to the top floor of the hotel.
When they pushed open the door, Yu Yang looked at the room filled with roses and the cake and wine on the table, and suddenly understood.
Qi Zui closed the door. "God Yang... Do you remember your promise to me before the match? Regarding the top three."
Yu Yang coughed uncomfortably.
"Hmm?" Qi Zui took off his jersey and threw it aside, cornering Yu Yang against the wardrobe, smiling. "You're not trying to back out, are you?"
"No," Yu Yang's ears turned red, and he stammered, "I... I promised... to give you a... a kiss. Now... now?"
Qi Zui's eyes carried a smile as he nodded gently.
Yu Yang took a deep breath, almost kneeling down immediately, but Qi Zui pulled him up, laughing. "No, no... I prefer taking things step by step."
Qi Zui lowered his head and gently kissed Yu Yang's lips.
"Are you full?" Qi Zui placed his hand on Yu Yang's lower abdomen and lightly pressed it. "Not a fan of Italian cuisine?"
Yu Yang's mind was already a blur. He felt Qi Zui rubbing his belly button and involuntarily arched his body slightly, stuttering, "I... I like..."
Qi Zui's hand slipped into Yu Yang's team jersey, as if truly concerned about his preferences. "Do you really like it? I feel like you didn't eat much."
"I... like..." Yu Yang suddenly gritted his teeth, struggling to answer after enduring something for a while. "I like... everything."
"Everything?" Qi Zui smiled mischievously. "Even if I give you something special... would you still like it?"
Yu Yang looked up and met Qi Zui's dark gaze, instantly understanding what he meant by his words.
Yu Yang's face turned bright red in an instant.
Qi Zui gently pinched Yuyang's chin and tenderly kissed him on the lips. "Would you enjoy it?"
Yu Yang, feeling embarrassed, couldn't meet Qi Zui's eyes and barely whispered, "I-I would enjoy it..."
Qi Zui, feeling exceptionally mischievous, continued, "Then, after you've done it for me and swallowed it, tell me once again that you enjoy it?"
Yu Yang's legs turned weak, and he completely broke down. He pleaded, burying his head against Qi Zui's chest, and after a while, he nodded.
Qi Zui smiled helplessly.
It was the first time he wanted to test Yu Yang's limits to ensure he wouldn't make Yu Yang uncomfortable. But from the looks of it... Yu Yang didn't have any limits at all.
Fortunately, Qi Zui did.
"You're the world champion, after all. How can you still be so soft? Hm? Yu Yang?" Qi Zui used his thumb to seal Yu Yang's lips and whispered, "I won't let you indulge yet... I can't bear it."
After pulling Yu Yang onto the bed, Yu Yang was still concerned about the matter of oral pleasure. Qi Zui, in a fit of frustration, bit Yuyang's ear and said, "Swallow with your mouth down there, it's the same..."
