HOG Club PUBG Division Base, 3rd Floor Rest Area. He Xiaoxu sat in an esports chair, lazily playing with his phone, with his feet propped up on the table. He sighed and said, "Ever since the competition, I feel like I've become more valuable. Sometimes I even feel like you, the coach, aren't worthy of being my manager anymore..."
Lai Hua glared at him and scolded, "That's my dinner table! Put your feet down!"
He Xiaoxu had been acting cocky lately, but even when scolded by Lai Hua, he didn't get angry. He happily complied and said, "Ah... Do they really have no shame? They were so eager to withdraw their sponsorship before, and now they have the audacity to come to me..."
"Watch your attitude," Lai Hua frowned, "Don't let people think we're arrogant."
"I know," He Xiaoxu put down his phone and took the stack of handwritten materials that Lai Hua handed to him, asking, "Are these the trainees?"
Lai Hua nodded and sat down, saying, "From the previous batch, two stayed, and currently there are three in the second team. We still need one more player. Take a look at this batch of trainees... I hope we can keep one."
He Xiaoxu lowered his head and flipped through the materials.
While Lai Hua evaluated the individual skills of each trainee, He Xiaoxu had to assess their commercial value.
"I remember when Youth just joined the team..." He Xiaoxu looked at each person's photo with nostalgia, "I didn't even see the person, but when I saw his passport photo, I decided that I must keep this kid... Who would have thought that in the end, Qi Zui benefited from it. Where is Youth? I haven't seen him outside the training room since Qi Zui left."
"Today, the trainees are practicing with the team. He's an observer," Lai Hua calculated the time, "Qi Zui should be back soon, right?"
He Xiaoxu casually replied, "Yeah, he's almost here... There's actually not much to do this time, just to finalize the next phase of the rehabilitation plan and then return to China for rehabilitation."
After the conclusion of the World Invitational Tournament, the HOG travel group finally returned to China. After a few days of family visits, Qi Zui and Yu Yang also returned to the base. The short holiday ended, and everything returned to normal. After a month of regular training, Qi Zui flew to New York for a final check-up.
The new batch of trainees at HOG had been unlucky. They entered the team with unlimited expectations, but it had been almost a week and they hadn't even met Drunk.
Fortunately, Yu Yang's training schedule had been light recently, and Lai Hua assigned him to monitor the trainees. The trainees spent their days training and quietly discussing Youth.
"It's no wonder he's HOG's ace..." A chubby trainee covered his chest and sighed, "Yesterday, I watched him demonstrate how to land and fight in the early game. Wow, he landed at the airport with four other people and spun around... I almost got motion sickness just from watching."
"Amazing," a skinny trainee also covered his chest, "Youth stood behind me yesterday and watched me train. I almost shook so much that I threw a grenade by accident..."
A slightly average-sized guy joined in, "I joined HOG because of Yu Yang. I wanted Coach Lai to notice me, so I played twelve hours a day, continuously climbing the ranks on the Asian server for a month, and finally, I got contacted."
"Fortunately, the gods have been in North America for a month playing matches," the chubby guy rejoiced, "Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to climb the ranks."
"Lucky, lucky..."
During dinner break, in the training room on the first floor, several newly recruited youth training players chatted quietly while eating takeout.
"I heard that Yu Yang went directly from the youth training class to the first team, without even joining the second team," the chubby guy admired endlessly, "How amazing is that?"
"He went straight to the first team without finishing the youth training, and he became the captain after Qi Shen retired," the skinny guy sighed, "You can imagine how incredible he is."
The short guy, a die-hard fan of Qi Zui, couldn't help but say, "Qi Shen directly forced his old captain into retirement, even more amazing."
"They're all amazing..."
"Well, I actually want to seek advice from Yu Yang, but I'm afraid..." the chubby guy hesitated, "I feel like Yu Yang is strict and intimidating. If I directly ask him for advice, will he hit me?"
The skinny guy frowned, "I don't think he would hit you, but I'm also afraid..."
The short guy echoed, "I'm afraid too."
"But Coach Lai said that the youth training players who perform well in today's practice matches can go to the third floor and play practice matches with Yu Yang," the skinny guy's eyes lit up, "We have to perform well today, in the training room on the third floor! The training room of the Four War Gods! We can take the opportunity to seek advice from the senior members of the first team, it should be fine, right?"
"No problem, I'll be satisfied if I can take a picture with Yu Yang's gaming setup," the chubby guy finished his takeout and cleaned his plate, "Alright, let's stop chatting and start practicing."
This strategy was actually proposed by He Xiaoxu. He had witnessed Yu Yang's growth and understood how influential the senior members of the team were to the juniors. To motivate the youth training players to work hard, he specifically set up this incentive—those who ranked high in the weekly training matches would have the opportunity to play practice matches with the senior members of the first team on the third floor.
For the youth training players who were passionate and full of youthful spirit, there was no better reward than this.
Yu Yang was still unaware that he was being treated as a reward by He Xiaoxu. He had a busy schedule today. He would spend two hours on the youth training players' practice matches, then the official PUBG server had an update, and he needed to spend a few hours on the custom server to familiarize himself with the changes to the weapons. After finishing training at 1 am, he still had...
Yu Yang couldn't help but raise a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. After finishing a day of training, he would be able to video chat with Qi Zui.
Since Qi Zui left, they would video chat for at least an hour every day.
There wasn't always something important to discuss, but the two of them still had endless conversations, especially Qi Zui. If it weren't for his concern about Yu Yang's intense training, he would chat with Yu Yang until the early morning of the next day.
However, as the captain, Yu Yang had a busy schedule, and Qi Zui could only compress the most important and essential things into that one hour, occasionally teasing Yu Yang, and making his cheeks blush.
During their video chat that night, Qi Zui was already at the airport. Yu Yang couldn't accept Qi Zui making explicit remarks in a public setting, so he had to interject and talk about team matters as much as possible.
"There are a few promising players among the youth training players this time. After this training session, the second team should be filled up," Yu Yang whispered, "They're all hardworking, and Coach Lai is quite satisfied."
Qi Zui wasn't interested in the youth training matters unless they involved players of Yu Yang's caliber. After being separated from Yu Yang for a week, his mind was filled with inappropriate thoughts. He made a couple of serious remarks and then veered toward suggestive jokes. He narrowed his eyes and glanced at the pajamas Yu Yang was wearing. "God Yang, why do I feel like I've seen this pajama before?"
Yu Yang's expression froze. Taking advantage of the dim lighting in the dormitory, he attempted to deceive Qi Zui. "It's just my old pajamas..."
"Yours?" Qi Zui furrowed his brow. "Have you lost weight these past few days? Why are the neckline and cuffs so loose?"
Yu Yang mumbled, "Not really... the clothes are just big."
Qi Zui suppressed his laughter. "Why do I feel like this pajama belongs to me?"
Yu Yang fell silent.
Qi Zui persistently teased him, but Yu Yang awkwardly changed the topic. "What time will you arrive tomorrow?"
"I should arrive in China around four or five in the afternoon." Qi Zui felt sorry for Yu Yang, so he didn't delve further. "Go to sleep, I'll be going home tomorrow."
They spent a silent night, and the next day, after the youth training players' practice matches ended, the trio of chubby, skinny, and short players with the best performance was taken by Lai Hua to the third floor for a visit.
For the children, this was like a sacred place where the HOG War Gods trained. They kept quiet, afraid of disturbing the senior members of the first team. Like little chicks, they followed closely behind Lai Hua, everything appearing fresh and new to them.
The chubby guy occasionally whispered to the skinny guy, "That's Bu Nana's gaming chair... a customized version, costs over 10,000..."
"Yu Shen's headphones, they say it's over 40,000..."
"God Qi's keyboard! It was specially customized by a German manufacturer..."
Lai Hua walked up to Yu Yang from behind and instructed, "Someone has come for you. After you finish this round, let the three of them take over and play a game with you."
Yu Yang's practice match was not yet over. He kept his eyes on the monitor, nodding slightly without saying a word.
After bringing the visitors, Lai Hua left. The three kids stood behind Yu Yang, holding hands, and watched him play the practice match, their eyes fixed on him.
When Qi Zui returned, this was the scene he saw.
The three wild boys standing behind his boyfriend, in a somewhat irregular manner, appeared to have inappropriate intentions. Their expressions were intoxicated, their gazes infatuated.
Qi Zui remained expressionless and took a deep breath.
He had only been away for a week...
Yet the wicked man, who constantly exuded charm, remained completely oblivious. His gaze was focused, his lips moved slightly, and he commanded with lightning speed, one headshot after another.
Every time he got a headshot, the wild boys behind Yu Yang applauded together, which annoyed Qi Zui.
Unable to bear it any longer, Qi Zui pushed his suitcase back to his own room and sent two messages to Yu Yang, saying that he was waiting for him in the lounge.
Yu Yang only checked his phone after finishing the practice match. His eyes brightened when he saw the messages. He quickly told the youth training players behind him, "Wait, I'll be back in a moment."
The trio of chubby, skinny, and short players nodded eagerly like little chicks.
In the lounge, Qi Zui leaned against the edge of the table, looking down at his phone.
Yu Yang pushed open the door and entered with delight. "Why are you here so early? It's only four o'clock..."
Qi Zui put away his phone and looked at Yu Yang. "Take a look at me. Do you notice any changes?"
Without hesitation, Yu Yang approached and gently held Qi Zui's right hand, carefully examining it, and lightly touching his wrist. "What did the doctor say?"
"They said I've recovered well. What else could they say?" Qi Zui didn't want to talk about himself. Instead, he asked Yu Yang, "Don't you think I've changed in any way?"
Yu Yang looked closely but couldn't tell.
Qi Zui's gaze softened. "Don't you think my face looks a little green?"
Yu Yang: "..."
Yu Yang suppressed his laughter. "They're all youth training players..."
Yu Yang explained the new rule set by He Xiaoxu to Qi Zui. Qi Zui sneered, "Why didn't he think of this when he was still a youth training player?"
A thought crossed Yu Yang's mind, and he whispered, "If the results were good back then and we could have played practice matches with the first team, then..."
"Then we would have made up much earlier." Qi Zui held a grudge. "We wouldn't have wasted so much time. Oh, wait... Is He Xiaoxu intentionally targeting me?"
Yu Yang tried to hold back his laughter. "Why are you bringing up old matters..."
"I haven't brought them up with you yet." Qi Zui turned around, embraced Yu Yang's waist, and placed him on the table. He shamelessly wedged himself between Yu Yang's legs and interrogated him, "Whose clothes were you wearing last night?"
Yu Yang's ears turned red.
Qi Zui looked up and down at Yu Yang. "Which one did you sneakily wear?"
Yu Yang tried to explain but couldn't make it clear. He whispered, "I was careful when wearing it, it's not dirty..."
"You're evading the main point again." Qi Zui smiled. "As for my clothes, even if they were dirty, it wouldn't be a big deal if you threw them away. But sneakingly wearing them is a problem, Yu Yang... How much do you miss me?"
Yu Yang lowered his gaze. He couldn't put it into words, so he took the initiative to kiss Qi Zui.
In the third-floor training room, Lai Hua came upstairs holding a folder, looking confused. "Where's Youth?"
The chubby, skinny, and short players were even more confused. "Yu Yang said he went out for a moment..."
Lai Hua was dissatisfied and turned to search for them. The trio felt uneasy and followed closely behind Lai Hua.
Lai Hua pushed open the door to Yu Yang and Qi Zui's dormitory but didn't find anyone. Finally, he walked to the lounge and pushed the door open...
Qi Zui had already opened Yu Yang's pants zipper, and he had lifted up Yu Yang's T-shirt. As the door opened, Qi Zui swiftly blocked Yu Yang, clicking his tongue. "Lao Lai, are you doing this on purpose?"
Lai Hua's face turned purple, and he slammed the door shut.
The chubby, skinny, and short players stood outside the door without seeing anything. Timidly, one of them said, "I think I heard God Qi's voice... Wasn't he supposed to be overseas for rehabilitation?"
Lai Hua awkwardly replied, "You guys go ahead... Wait a little while, I'll be there soon."
The trio obediently waited in the training room. Half an hour later, Qi Zui, looking satisfied after having a semi-filled stomach, confidently entered the training room and greeted everyone with a smile. "Sorry about that, Yu Yang had something to attend to, so I'll play with you guys."
The shortest player saw Qi Zui alive for the first time and was overwhelmed. "Drunk..."
Qi Zui graciously responded, "Sorry for taking up your time. I'll play three rounds with you all. Come on..."
The chubby, skinny, and short players were ecstatic.
"In the future, if there's anything, whether it's training or whatever... just come to me." Qi Zui turned on his gaming device and updated the game, not forgetting to remove any cult-related content. "Yu Yang is too busy and can't handle it all. Got it?"
The chubby, skinny, and short players nodded vigorously.
