CAMP: Chapter 36

Don’t look at the words Lin Yan could still manage after the match. The moment he returned to his hotel room, he lay ‘dead’ on the bed. Jing Yuanzhou glanced at the man’s lifeless look and turned to the bathroom to soak a towel in hot water. He wrung it out, walked to the bed and handed it over.

Lin Yan raised his eyelashes slightly, not meaning to move at all. Then he saw Jing Yuanzhou suddenly leaning down with calm eyes. Lin Yan’s heart jumped a bit and he spoke vigilantly, “What are you doing?”

“You just sweated and it isn’t good to sleep like this.” Jing Yuanzhou looked down with an indifferent expression. “If you don’t want to move then I will help you wipe it. Don’t worry, there is no service fee this time.”

Lin Yan’s eyes skimmed the falling hair just a short distance away and he was stunned. It wasn’t until the wet towel touched his forehead that he hurriedly reached out to grab it. “I will wipe it myself.”

He didn’t have much strength left in his body. Fortunately, the moment he touched the towel, Jing Yuanzhou let go of his hand. Jing Yuanzhou watched Lin Yan wiping his face in a perfunctory manner and lowered his eyes. He made a small gesture. “Wipe your neck as well?”

Lin Yan inexplicably got a burning sensation from his neck where the eyes passed over. Lin Yan was startled for a moment before wiping it swiftly. Then he threw the towel back at Jing Yuanzhou’s head and wailed, “Captain Jing, let me go. I want to sleep for a while.”

Jing Yuanzhou saw this face and didn’t continue to make him struggle. “Go to sleep. I’ll boil some hot water for you so drink a little bit when you wake up.”

Lin Yan made a vague hum and rolled into the messy bedding, burying his entire body inside it. He rarely showed a state of exhaustion in front of others. At this time, he was obviously really tired. He no longer cared about Jing Yuanzhou’s eyes on him and closed his eyes.

In fact, he had already been a bit dizzy on the field before. Today’s team voice channel might’ve been kept as quiet as possible but in the course of the game, communication within the team was indispensable and the suffocation brought about by the atmosphere was inevitable. He was in such an environment for too long and every minute and every second was a test of will.

Even an extremely tenacious person like Lin Yan felt that he had almost reached the tipping point of losing control.

Jing Yuanzhou went to the bathroom to clean the towel and hung it up. Then he put on a pot of water. Once he came out again, he found that the man on the bed had fallen asleep.

Lin Yan was lying on the bed, half his face buried in the pillow. Only the smooth and distinct outline of half his face was exposed. His eyelashes were very long and fell quietly like butterfly wings at rest. The quilt was crumpled together and held tightly in his arms, as if this was the only way to get enough security while sleeping.

Jing Yuanzhou stood by the bed and watched for a while. He made sure that Lin Yan was sleeping soundly before pulling out a chair from the side to sit down. Then he started playing with his phone casually.

The latest message received was from Gu Luo, who said the recording of the show had ended and they were on the way back to the hotel. GH’s base wasn’t too far from here so they should’ve set off back directly. However, considering Lin Yan’s situation, they still chose to stay one more night.

Jing Yuanzhou replied with ‘I know’ and couldn’t help glancing at the person on the bed.

It could be seen that Lin Yan was obviously unwilling to think about his past based on the way he hadn’t told the other players about his PTSD. Even if he left early, he used the excuse of being busy. If it wasn’t for Jing Yuanzhou knowing about it, Lin Yan would’ve been prepared to fight everything silently.

No matter how casual this man was normally, in fact, he was actually the one most concerned about the club’s development. Jing Yuanzhou felt a slight tugging in his heart at this thought.

He had spent so long in the e-sports circle and was accustomed to seeing all types of people. He had also seen many hurried exits due to injuries and other reasons. He already felt accustomed to regrets and deficiencies. He was even ready to give his final speech at his retirement at any time. He didn’t expect for his self-proclaimed iron heart to feel some inexplicable pain when he saw this sleeping face.

The performance might be casual but in today’s arena, the wanton flying figure couldn’t be hidden. Lin Yan obviously also had a light he wanted to chase.

Jing Yuanzhou was silent for a moment before opening the browser on his mobile phone. He slowly entered the search term: PTSD treatment.

A faint light leaked through the hanging curtains and just happened to fall between the two people. The curtains shook slightly in the wind and became the only dynamic. By the time Lin Yan woke up, the sky was completely dark. He frowned slightly and rolled around with the quilt in his arms. Then he opened his eyes in a daze.

He reached out and rubbed lightly. He didn’t know the time so his first reaction was to grab for his phone. Then he looked up and was stunned when he saw the faint outline beside the bed. “You scared me. What are you doing sitting here?”

Jing Yuanzhou replied, “Just checking. This location has good feng shui.”

Lin Yan, “……”

Usually, he would’ve teased with a few sentences but he felt that Jing Yuanzhou’s tone was different from usual.

“Why didn’t you turn on the lights?” Lin Yan didn’t ask much. He just changed the topic in a dazed manner. He was about to get up to find the switch but Jing Yuanzhou already stood up first and turned on the bedside lamp. The eyes of the two men finally met.

Jing Yuanzhou asked, “Are you hungry? First order something to eat?”

Lin Yan only felt a bit hungry after hearing this. “Yes, you haven’t eaten yet? Then order something.”

Jing Yuanzhou responded positively. He poured a cup of hot water for Lin Yan before calling the hotel’s restaurant. After a while, the waiter who delivered the meal rang the doorbell of the room. Lin Yan filled his stomach and felt that he had recovered some strength. He glanced at the time and wasn’t greedy for his warm bed. Instead, he turned and opened the suitcase next to him.

Jing Yuanzhou finished sorting out the garbage and paused slightly when he saw Lin Yan putting the laptop on the table. “You aren’t sleeping?”

“Yes,  I’ve had enough sleep for the moment.” Lin Yan answered casually. He held his mobile phone in one hand and skillfully operated the mouse in his other hand to open a document. “I played against IBB in the afternoon and it made me discover a lot of problems, not just with the other team but in our team. Sure enough, I have to experience it on the spot to discover it. I think I have found a jungler rhythm that suits our time. I will write it down first and then tell Abyss about it later. It should be a great improvement.”

Jing Yuanzhou knew that Lin Yan was a workaholic but he hadn’t expected it to be crazy to this point. He had just been lying in bed like a salted fish and now he was working hard to improve the team.

Jing Yuanzhou lowered his eyebrows and the corners of his mouth also went down. However, he didn’t say much. He just took the empty water cup and poured more hot water. He put it in Lin Yan’s hand and sat on the sofa next to him with a phone.

No one spoke during the whole process but Lin Yan couldn’t help looking over. Seeing Jing Yuanzhou calmly playing with his phone, Lin Yan gently patted his forehead and started to organize the newly collected information.

Time passed minute by minute. Lin Yan had always been immersed while working. It wasn’t until he heard Jing Yuanzhou get up from the sofa that he realized how much time passed.

It was followed by a pause.

Then this guy had sat on the sofa and played with his phone for hours?

This thought flashed through his mind. The more Lin Yan thought about it, the more he felt there was something wrong with Jing Yuanzhou today. He was about to ask something when his phone screen lit up and a voice call notification was heard.

Lin Yan glanced down at the ‘Titans’ note on the voice call and instinctively looked over. He saw Jing Yuanzhou sitting on the bed, the interface for initiating the voice call illuminated on the phone screen.

They were obviously at such a close distance and they didn’t even need to talk to shout. Why did he need to use his mobile phone? Lin Yan was stunned for a moment before pressing to answer. His eyes watched the other person as he asked with a smile, “What are you playing at, Captain Jing?”

The room was only a certain size. Jing Yuanzhou’s voice through the air combined with the voice coming from the phone. “In fact, I have been thinking about this afternoon’s match.”

It was a bit strange but Lin Yan thought this communication method was fine. He smiled and asked, “Is there any discovery?”

“Yes,” Jing Yuanzhou answered softly. “I found something and it seems I can only use your help. I want to ask you for a favor.”

Something that only he could help with was somewhat rare.

Lin Yan raised his eyebrow slightly. “Let’s hear it?”

“You know, I’ve been studying a way to work with the team lately but after all, I am older. I am used to the stable, old method of the BK team. I feel a bit unable to keep up with the rhythm of these young people.”

Lin Yan laughed. BK used the old and stable method, this was true. However, Titans was unable to keep up with the rhythm of the team? What was this lie? There was simply no truth to the words apart from the fact that Jing Yuanzhou had been researching how to fit the team better.

Jing Yuanzhou’s expression remained unchanged in front of Lin Yan’s doubts. “However, I found that after the match with IBB this afternoon, I can instinctively play more ferociously as long as you are in the same team. Coach Lin, don’t you think it’s amazing?”

Lin Yan, “???”

He turned his chair in half a circle with his toes and smiled. “Why do I feel like this isn’t a good thing? You can release your ferocity when I’m in the team? Captain Jing, this makes me wonder if you have wanted to beat me up for a long time?”

Jing Yuanzhou raised his gaze slightly. “How is this possible? The reason for this special effect is obviously that your presence makes me feel particularly relieved.”

Lin Yan smiled and waited for this person to keep talking.

Jing Yuanzhou’s expression was still calm. “It is true. I have never felt as relieved as this afternoon on the field. It is like as long as you are by my side, I can definitely get a perfect response no matter what operations I do. I think this is the type of resonance with the team that I am looking for.”

“…You might as well say that I am the destiny you want to find.”

Jing Yuanzhou raised his eyebrow. “It seems there is no problem if you want to understand it this way.”

The room was quiet for a moment before Lin Yan let out a low laugh. “Okay, you went in such a big circle and you’re getting away from the main point. Tell me, how do you want me to help you?”

“In fact, it is very simple.” Jing Yuanzhou looked up and paused for a moment. “I just hope that when you’re free, Coach Lin can accompany me to play a few rounds of a doubles match just to find the same feeling. Maybe I can really be liberated from the old pace. Don’t you think?”

Lin Yan froze. “Practice with you?”

“If my observation from this afternoon’s match is correct, you should have a fairly high acceptance of my voice. According to your previous statement, the voice channel in a doubles match should be better than a team match. It is a lot easier at times. Occasionally playing doubles together shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

His mouth intentionally curved upward. “The feeling of two people connecting through the microphone is probably similar to the way we are communicating now. You see, we’ve been talking for so long. Doesn’t this mean that my voice is still… within your acceptable range?”

The last word emerged and Lin Yan was silent for a while. He raised his eyes and watched Jing Yuanzhou’s expression. It wasn’t known what he was thinking but the expression in his eyes changed slightly.

At this time, it was impossible for him to not know why this person had deliberately talked in such a roundabout manner for so long.

Lin Yan laughed playfully. “Captain Jing, do you really want me to practice with you? Or are you selling yourself to me for relief treatment?”

Jing Yuanzhou had spoken as tactfully as possible but Lin Yan was too smart. Jing Yuanzhou didn’t pretend to be confused. He had been exposed but he didn’t give an explanation at all. “You can think of it any way you want.”

Lin Yan was silent for a moment in the face of such a frank attitude. He didn’t say anything and directly hung up. The voice call had lost the meaning of its purpose. He sat back in front of the laptop and started to check the game data he just finished organizing.

It was just that he was slightly absent-minded. The document stayed on the first page and he didn’t scroll down for a long time. There was a strange silence in the room.

Just as Jing Yuanzhou thought there would be no answer, Lin Yan suddenly rubbed his messy hair and spoke in a slightly annoyed voice, “This matter… if you aren’t in a hurry then I will think about it.”

Jing Yuanzhou was startled for a moment before the curve of his mouth became clearer.

“Yes, I’m not in a hurry.”

Lin Yan could clearly feel the gaze on him and was unable to work any longer. He simply closed the laptop. “We will go back to the base tomorrow morning. Go to sleep early.”

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The author has something to say:

Jing Yuanzhou: Take the initiative to sell myself.

Lin Yan: I’ll think about it ~▼-▼

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Proofreader: Nao