Chapter 4: Conversations

[idraax]

Ye Xiu stared at the empty dumpling container that was currently the resting place for a cup of hot water. Sun Xiang had forgotten to take the container back with him, but there was no way Ye Xiu was going back to Excellent Era. 

The previous night had been strange,

he thought as he took a sip of his water. He hadn't expected Sun Xiang to be good at playing One Autumn Leaf, but he was surprisingly adept at using Battle Mage skills. Why had Sun Xiang challenged him in the first place? Ye Xiu knew One Autumn Leaf very well and Sun Xiang had only had the account for a few months. Surely he knew he didn't have a high chance of winning.

But, Sun Xiang didn't seem to be affected by the loss. He had even thanked Ye Xiu for the game.

Odd.

The sound of a throat being cleared made him look up. Chen Guo frowned at him, leaning over the counter to see his screen.

"You're not playing Glory?"

Indeed, Ye Xiu was not. Instead, he was looking up the recipe for chicken dumplings.

"I didn't know you knew how to cook!" Chen Guo exclaimed. "I thought you lived off fries."

"Someone made these for me," Ye Xiu said. He took another sip of his water and grimaced. It had gone cold.

"Oh," Chen Guo asked, surprised. "I didn't realize you were that close with anyone."

"I'm not," Ye Xiu said and turned back to the recipe. Making dumplings sounded tedious. Was Sun Xiang really that desperate for a fight that he'd go through all that trouble? No, he wouldn't be, which meant he had an ulterior motive.

He pulled up his QQ and messaged Su Mucheng.

"How is your new captain?"

The screen showed Su Mucheng typing. Ye Xiu waited for a few moments before getting up to pour himself some more hot water. She was still typing when he got back. He took a sip and did some paperwork while waiting. 

His QQ flashed after a few minutes and he pulled up the chat.

"He's weird," Su Mucheng had typed. "He acts like an old man sometimes. He's infuriating too. He's not taking anything seriously. He keeps mentioning combos that he expects us to know, but he hasn't explained any of them and we don't have any teamwork. At this rate, Excellent Era will never win another championship."

Ye Xiu took another sip of his water. He didn't think Sun Xiang would be that incompetent. He continued reading Su Mucheng's assessment.

"Once, I asked him if he was serious about Glory and he got this strange look on his face. Then, he apologized! …at least, I

think

it was an apology. He's been quiet for the past few trainings, just observing us. He's not captain material."

Ye Xiu took another sip of water, attended to several customers and thought about Su Mucheng's words. Su Mucheng had confirmed many of his own observations. Sun Xiang hadn't played One Autumn Leaf like a brawler, but he definitely tried to use skills that One Autumn Leaf didn't have. He had been quiet too, not trash-talking as many other players would have.

"He challenged me to a game," Ye Xiu typed eventually.

"Oh?" Su Mucheng typed back. "He doesn't look like he lost."

"He did."

Ye Xiu paused, his fingers resting gently on the keys, and looked at the container before typing again.

"He gave me dumplings."

"

Really?

"

Ye Xiu did not know how that single word could convey the level of disbelief that it did, but he typed the next words anyway.

"He said he made them."

"……"

Abruptly, Su Mucheng's status changed to offline and Ye Xiu felt the slightest smidge of pity for Sun Xiang.

---

 

Su Mucheng found Sun Xiang playing Glory. She watched him for a few moments. He kept muttering to himself as he moved One Autumn Leaf. His fingers slid across the keyboard awkwardly and she thought she heard him mumble a curse.

She moved forward, stepping up to stand beside him and tapped the desk lightly. Sun Xiang jerked and on the screen, One Autumn Leaf got skewered. The word “DEFEAT” flashed on the screen and Sun Xiang pulled off his headset to glare at her.

"What," he snapped.

Su Mucheng frowned at him and Sun Xiang looked away, exhaling sharply.

"I'm just frustrated," he said and she thought she heard him mumble an apology.

He turned to face her properly and she frowned a little at the faint shadows underneath his eyes. She may not like Sun Xiang, but he was her captain and needed to be in the best condition possible for the team to play well. She sighed and leaned against the desk.

"What's wrong?" Su Mucheng asked.

Sun Xiang blinked at her. A flicker of surprise crossed his face before it vanished underneath his near-perpetual scowl. 

"Nothing's wrong," he growled, then closed his eyes and exhaled sharply. 

"I'm just adjusting to playing a Battle Mage."

Su Mucheng simply raised an eyebrow and stared at him. She didn't believe that for a second. Sun Xiang had taken to One Autumn Leaf incredibly well. The silence stretched until eventually Sun Xiang curled his hands on top of his knees.

“It’s nothing you can help with,” he said tiredly. 

Su Mucheng’s glare deepened. 

“Try me.” 

Sun Xiang laughed. Hoarse and almost sounding like a sob, it sent a shudder through her. She stepped back a little, moving away from him. 

“You wouldn’t believe me,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing no one believes unless it happens to them.”

Su Mucheng felt like facepalming. Suddenly, a great many things made sense. 

“Oh,” she said quietly. Her eyes flicked to the clock and then back to him, before pulling herself away from the desk. 

“It’s late. You should get some sleep. We have training in the morning.”

Sun Xiang gave her a surprised look before nodding and turning to gently tug out One Autumn Leaf’s account card. He handled it with the same care as Ye Xiu had. She swallowed hard and left the room without another word. 

---

 

"Our captain has chunni syndrome."

Ye Xiu blinked at the message on his screen. He was in Frost Forest training Tang Ruo when Su Mucheng's message had appeared. 

"He's not taking Glory seriously."

Another message popped up. Ye Xiu's eyes flicked towards it for a moment before he went back to instructing Tang Ruo.

"He forgets about us half the time."

Ye Xiu sighed. Between Tang Ruo and Su Mucheng, he wasn't getting any time to casually play. Tang Ruo had been running dungeons with him all night and now Su Mucheng was messaging about his replacement. He felt like crying. 

He was about to look at the message when the café’s intercom system beeped. 

“One moment,” he told Tang Ruo as he pressed the talk button. 

“Yes?”

“Can you get me fries from McDonalds?” a male voice said. 

“Of course,” Ye Xiu responded placidly. Inside, he was sighing in relief. Finally, he’d get some time to himself. He could even catch a quick smoke break. 

“We’ll continue later,” he said to Tang Ruo. She was still searching for another monster to fight, but spared a moment to nod at him. 

He pushed himself away from the computer and headed out into the cold. 

The nearest McDonalds was across from Excellent Era and diagonal to the café, close enough that he would be inside before the cold really began to bite. He took one look around the place and immediately wanted to leave, forcing himself to walk up to the counter instead. 

Sun Xiang was there tapping his foot impatiently. The cashier was giving him a look that said she thought he was crazy. Ye Xiu could sympathize. He’d only met Sun Xiang twice, but even he could tell that there was something off about him. 

“Just to confirm,” the cashier said. “You want 20 pineapple pies?”

Sun Xiang nodded. 

“160 yuan.”

Sun Xiang tapped his phone against the display and Ye Xiu stared incredulously at his back. Who needed that many pineapple pies?

He stepped up to the counter and placed his own order, then reluctantly stood next to Sun Xiang to wait. Sun Xiang glanced at him, then seemed to ignore him completely as he stared intently at the area behind the counter. Ye Xiu blinked. Normally, pro players didn’t ignore him like this. 

He cleared his throat. “You forgot your container.”

Sun Xiang stared, his gaze exceedingly similar to when he had taken ownership of One Autumn Leaf. 

“You left it at the café,” Ye Xiu added helpfully. 

Sun Xiang stared some more and Ye Xiu was beginning to wonder if he had accidentally broken him somehow. Then, Sun Xiang blinked and looked away. 

“Thanks for telling me. I’ll come by to pick it up later.”

Ye Xiu nodded and turned back to the counter just as an employee came out with his fries. 

He took the bag, thanked the employee and was about to walk away when—

“Do you want a pie?”

Ye Xiu turned around. Sun Xiang was holding out a pie. Confused, Ye Xiu took it, gave him a nod, and absconded with his food. Why was this guy constantly trying to feed him?

---

 

Sun Xiang walked in through the doors of Excellent Era, carrying a large McDonald's bag. He looked around corners as he made his way further into the club and clutched the bag tightly. 

She's not going to jump out from a corner and murder you,

One Autumn Leaf said, exasperated, as they turned another corner. 

Su Mucheng stood there with her usual glare. 

I take that back. 

Some help you are.

“Hi,” Sun Xiang said and his voice didn’t squeak, no matter

what

One Autumn Leaf said. 

“I thought you said you were

practicing

.”

In answer, Sun Xiang held up the bag. Inside, he was crying at how much pie he would have to give up.

It’s okay

, he consoled himself.

McDonalds wouldn’t stop making them for another three years.

 

“I went to get food.”

“We have food.”

It was true. Excellent Era had a well-stocked vending machine and snacks in the computer rooms. He didn’t

have

to go out and get food, but McDonalds had pineapple pie, and he missed it. 

"I wanted pie," he said sheepishly and shifted the bag so he could pick one out. He held it out to her.

"Want one?"

Su Mucheng raised an eyebrow. 

"Are you trying to

bribe

me?"

Wisely, Sun Xiang didn’t answer. They stayed like that for a few moments, before Su Mucheng sighed. 

“What flavor is it?”

“Pineapple.”

Su Mucheng took the pie and gave him a nod. 

“Good choice.”

She gave him another glare and walked away. Shakily, Sun Xiang leaned against a nearby wall.

I cannot believe that worked. 

He took a breath, tried to reorient the world around the fact that Su Mucheng could be bribed with pineapple pie and peeled himself away from the wall. He needed to get back to practice. 

---

 

“Your captain keeps trying to feed me.”

Su Mucheng stared at the message on her screen. Ye Xiu rarely used his QQ and

this

was what he messaged her at 1 a.m.? What did that even mean anyway? Her captain had been playing Glory for

hours.

She didn’t think he even moved after he came back from McDonalds. 

Another message popped up. 

“I ran into him at McDonalds. He gave me a pie.”

She frowned at the screen, then abruptly got up and marched through the corridors. 

Sun Xiang was still sitting where she had left him, in front of the computer. He wasn’t playing Glory this time but was instead scratching something out on a piece of paper. 

He jumped at her entrance and a dark slash abruptly cut through one of the diagrams. It looked like a weapon mockup. 

“

What,”

she hissed, “are you planning with my

brother?”

Sun Xiang blinked and suddenly, Su Mucheng realized what she had said. Sun Xiang looked at her, confused. He didn’t seem to have noticed the slip. 

“I just want to be friends?”

Why is that a question?

Su Mucheng thought. 

“He says you keep feeding him.”

Sun Xiang turned very red and picked at his shirt. Su Mucheng waited. 

“He looks too thin,” Sun Xiang said eventually. 

Su Mucheng waited some more, but Sun Xiang continued to pick at his shirt. 

“So you gave him dumplings,” she said slowly. 

Sun Xiang shook his head. 

“That was payment,” he said, “for the duel.”

Ye Xiu would have been happy to duel without being offered food. Did Sun Xiang think he wouldn’t?

 

Su Mucheng’s thoughts spun as she tried to figure out exactly

what

Sun Xiang wanted from her brother. It didn’t seem like even he knew what.

"Su Mucheng," Sun Xiang's voice broke into her thoughts. She looked at him to find him looking at the ground. He had made a small hole in his shirt. 

"Did Ye Xiu ever come back for his stuff?"

Su Mucheng narrowed her eyes suspiciously. 

"

Why?

"

Sun Xiang shrugged, hunching in on himself. "He always seems to be wearing the same thing."

Internally, Su Mucheng cringed. It seemed like her brother had acquired a stalker. 

"Do you think he's okay?"

Su Mucheng focused back on him instead of her own thoughts. Sun Xiang still wasn't looking at her, instead focused intently on his notebook. The hole in his shirt had gotten larger too, and his fingers were still picking at it. 

"He looks too thin and he keeps wearing the same clothes. He's not in trouble is he?"

Su Mucheng had a sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't think she'd have to fend off suitors this soon!

"No," she managed to say. "He's not in trouble."

Sun Xiang relaxed a little. 

"That's good." Then, he mumbled, "we already have enough trouble coming."

And there was the chunni. Su Mucheng decided to leave before Sun Xiang started talking about saving the world again. 

“I’ll be going now,” she said and made a quick escape. 

---

 

Soon, Sun Xiang was showing up regularly at the internet cafe. Each time, he had a new container of dumplings with him and each time, he left them behind. Ye Xiu mourned his free space. His room was slowly being taken over by the containers. 

"Why do you keep spending time with him?"

Su Mucheng's confused voice broke into his thoughts. She had accompanied Sun Xiang on these visits. To keep an eye on him, she had said. 

"He's interesting," Ye Xiu replied, popping another dumpling into his mouth. There was no meat in it this time. 

Su Mucheng huffed. "He's a chunni. How is that interesting?"

Ye Xiu shrugged. Sun Xiang had been more than he'd expected. From what he'd heard of him, he had shown up to that meeting expecting an arrogant child and got a tired, apologetic man instead. He hadn't even been surprised by the Myriad Manifestation Umbrella when they had fought. 

There was potential in Sun Xiang though. He could see it glimmering through his weird personality. He might actually be a decent successor for One Autumn Leaf when he got over his habit of attempting to play skills that weren’t there.

Then, there was also that odd look in his eyes whenever he looked at One Autumn Leaf's card—regret mixed with determination. He'd had that look directed at him sometimes too. As if Sun Xiang was looking at a ghost. 

"He just is," he said to Su Mucheng and moved his cup away from her dangling hair.

Su Mucheng pushed her hair back and frowned. 

"Really.

”

“....he gives me food.”

“Lots of people give you food, but I don’t see you spending time with them.”

Ye Xiu opened his mouth. 

“Chen Guo doesn’t count. She’s your boss.”

Ye Xiu closed his mouth. Su Mucheng stared at him for a long time before smiling suddenly. She leaned back and clapped her hands together. 

“Well,” she said. “At least it seems like he cares about you. I approve.”

She gave him another smile before leaving. Ye Xiu slumped in his chair, suddenly feeling very drained.

What just happened?

He shook his head, deciding he didn’t want to know and turned back to the computer. He still had paperwork to finish before he could play Glory.