Shen Kuangye woke up early the next morning.
After a whole night, Lu Xiangyang seemed to have treated him like a giant plush toy—his legs curled up and resting on Shen Kuangye's, his right hand placed on Shen Kuangye's chest, and his face constantly rubbing against the hollow of Shen Kuangye's neck.
Lu Xiangyang had a weak constitution; even in summer his hands and feet were always cold.
But Shen Kuangye's body was like a heater, probably why Lu Xiangyang had unconsciously moved closer to him.
Moving lightly, Shen Kuangye carefully got up to wash without waking him.
When Lu Xiangyang woke up, Shen Kuangye had already finished packing most of the luggage. The suitcase was placed by the door, and he himself was sitting on a chair in the room, playing a game on his phone.
Who knew how long he had been waiting.
Lu Xiangyang thought he had overslept. The feeling reminded him of his school days when he would wake up and realize it was already bright outside. He hurriedly grabbed his phone and only relaxed when he saw it was just a little past ten.
He quickly jumped out of bed but paused in confusion when he realized he was lying in the middle of the bed.
Didn't he usually sleep near the edge?
But there was no time to think about it. Lu Xiangyang had far more belongings than Shen Kuangye, so packing took longer.
Unlike Shen Kuangye, who could leave with just a few clothes and charging cables, Lu Xiangyang's things were messy and plentiful. He liked buying little things he enjoyed, and when packing his suitcase, he nearly broke it from stuffing too much inside.
The training camp didn't have an elevator, only spiral stairs—so Lu Xiangyang had to lift his heavy suitcase while going downstairs.
Shen Kuangye was walking ahead of him. Seeing Lu Xiangyang struggling a bit, he was just about to reach out when Lu Xiangyang suddenly checked his pocket and exclaimed softly:
"Ah—forgot my phone."
He immediately ran back upstairs.
But when Lu Xiangyang returned to the stairway, his suitcase had mysteriously disappeared. Looking downstairs, he saw Shen Kuangye standing on the first floor checking his phone—with two suitcases beside him.
Lu Xiangyang felt a bit embarrassed.
Thinking back, it almost looked like he had intentionally left so Shen Kuangye would carry the luggage.
When Shen Kuangye looked up from his phone, Lu Xiangyang had already walked over and pointed at the suitcase.
Shen Kuangye glanced at it. "What's wrong?"
"…Thank you."
Shen Kuangye put his phone back in his pocket. "It's nothing."
After all, he had experienced the weight of that suitcase before, once almost slipping down the stairs because of it.
Fortunately, his current body was in good shape and carrying it wasn't difficult.
Better for him to carry it than risk Lu Xiangyang falling.
"Come on, the car's outside."
A familiar voice came from nearby.
Shen Kuangye glanced over—it was Li Cong.
Two other boys followed behind him, one of whom had called Lu Xiangyang "Little Lu-ge" last night.
Shen Kuangye wasn't surprised.
Li Cong stiffened slightly when he saw them, then sneered.
"I heard you joined EAR?"
Shen Kuangye calmly pulled Lu Xiangyang behind him and simply replied, "Mm."
"I really don't understand," Li Cong said with a puzzled tone. "Why would you reject our conditions and go to EAR?"
Shen Kuangye looked down at him calmly.
"Because it's the right choice."
Li Cong raised an eyebrow.
"You mean our club, Ella, can't afford you two great Buddhas?"
Shen Kuangye didn't respond.
Li Cong's face turned green.
He snorted coldly.
"Fine. Let's see what you two can achieve. Don't end up still being last place."
In the Identity V esports scene, there were strange "curses." Some commentators would always end up working overtime whenever they appeared. Some streamers would "jinx" teams—whoever they supported would lose. Some teams performed well at first but somehow always ended in draws or complete losses.
EAR was exactly such a team.
While clubs like Ella competed for first place, EAR—perennial last place—had very "stable" results.
Whenever they played, the outcome was obvious: they would lose.
The only fun was sometimes betting whether EAR would finish second-to-last instead of last.
"Fine. Just wait and see."
Lu Xiangyang had felt a bit guilty about rejecting Li Cong yesterday, but now he clearly saw the truth.
Li Cong was simply looking down on them.
Young people couldn't stand provocation.
Shen Kuangye turned to look at Lu Xiangyang.
The black-haired boy's eyes shone with bold confidence as he declared:
"See you at Abyss next year."
"You?"
Li Cong had never been challenged so directly before.
Everyone usually treated him respectfully, even club managers who disliked him would still put on polite smiles.
How dare a trainee talk to him like that?
Before he could react further, he saw Shen Kuangye's lips curl slightly.
Provocation.
Blatant provocation.
Li Cong almost fainted from anger.
The other trainees hurried to comfort him.
"Manager, don't be angry."
"Angry? Why would I be angry?" Li Cong scoffed. "Let's see if they can even make the playoffs. A last-place team acting this arrogant."
Shen Kuangye listened quietly to his outburst.
Ella's results were good, but many victories relied heavily on their hunter securing more eliminations. Their survivor team was only average.
EAR, on the other hand, needed improvement in many areas.
But Shen Kuangye knew very clearly—no one in the Identity V scene had more talent and dedication than Lu Xiangyang.
So he wasn't worried about him.
The real problem was EAR's inconsistent survivor team.
Shen Kuangye, who had once topped the survivor rankings himself, thought perhaps switching roles wouldn't be too difficult.
"Kuangye-ge, thank you," Lu Xiangyang said.
Shen Kuangye snapped out of his thoughts and looked down at him.
"For what?"
"Ella clearly isn't a decent club. If I'd joined and found out they were like this, I'd probably want to retire on the first day," Lu Xiangyang said with a frown.
He simply couldn't tolerate being around people like that.
He was too straightforward, too clean-hearted.
Shen Kuangye knew this well, which was why he chose EAR—the most suitable place for Lu Xiangyang.
Lu Xiangyang continued indignantly:
"And he was way too arrogant! What do you mean last place? With me here, it'll be hard for EAR not to make Abyss!"
After saying it, he suddenly realized he had exaggerated—especially in front of Shen Kuangye.
His face flushed red.
Damn it, he scolded himself inwardly.
But Shen Kuangye didn't focus on that. He simply asked softly:
"No regrets?"
Lu Xiangyang blinked. "Regrets about what?"
"Choosing EAR because of me."
Lu Xiangyang immediately shook his head.
"I don't think so. Anything can happen in esports. Besides, EAR isn't actually that bad. I've watched their matches—the problem is unstable kiting, no clear commander, and hunters failing to secure enough eliminations. Those are fixable."
Then he rubbed his nose shyly.
"And… actually, I kind of like that manager."
Shen Kuangye's lips curved slightly.
"That's good."
His voice was low.
Lu Xiangyang suddenly felt his ears grow warm. Pulling his suitcase ahead, he said hastily:
"The manager should already be there. Let's hurry."
---
After casually mentioning for the 13th time in conversation, "Oh, how did you know those two talented trainees joined our EAR?" Xing Xing finally saw them approaching.
"Over here!"
He waved enthusiastically, like a university president welcoming scholarship students.
At that moment, another car pulled up.
It was Li Cong's Porsche.
Xing Xing glanced at the Porsche, then at his own Volkswagen.
He comforted himself: It's fine… Volkswagens have better cost-performance.
After picking them up, Xing Xing asked while driving:
"Have you guys eaten yet?"
Lu Xiangyang replied, "Nope. We're waiting to eat something good at the club."
Shen Kuangye sat by the window, quietly watching the scenery outside.
Xing Xing laughed. "Really? I thought you'd secretly snack on junk food."
Lu Xiangyang thought about the snacks in his suitcase and replied guiltily:
"Of course not."
"Of course you would! The kids at the club always skip proper meals and order takeout. Sometimes they even give me some. I tell them I don't want it, but they insist."
Lu Xiangyang sensed something.
"…Is it tasty?"
Xing Xing thought for a moment.
"Actually… it's pretty good."
"Manager, sounds like you like it too."
Xing Xing: "..."
Shen Kuangye turned his head slightly, unable to suppress a smile.
Lu Xiangyang chatted with Xing Xing the whole ride while Shen Kuangye quietly listened.
None of them knew that online discussions had already exploded over why the two trainees rejected Ella and joined EAR instead.
There were countless opinions.
[Ella is a famous powerhouse club! Facilities, salary, benefits—unbelievable opportunities! Choosing EAR over that? Hard to understand.]
[Maybe they put all their talent into gaming but none into decision-making. Joining EAR is insane.]
Some disagreed.
[Maybe they think EAR has more potential?]
[Potential? Are you kidding? EAR has never risen since the day it was formed. Their best result is third from last.]
[To be fair, EAR isn't extremely poor, but compared to other clubs it's nothing.]
[I'll say it now... if EAR makes Abyss, I'll donate Carnival gifts in every player's stream.]
[That's not even a challenge.]
[First doubt, then doubt again. I already expect nothing from EAR—just treat the players well.]
[Actually EAR treats players very well.]
[That's like saying a student is good at everything except grades. In esports, being bad is the original sin.]
[Stop arguing. By the way—NetEase, when will you finally optimize Identity V?]
[Buff Chickens please, stop nerfing them.]