Sharpening The Knife Doesn’t Delay The Cutting of Vegetables With The Bow[eSports]: Chapter 63

63. Treatment

When the morning sunlight streamed through the curtains and cast on him, Chen Xingran finally opened his eyes, stretching in a satisfying lazy yawn.

The sunlight bathed his body in warmth, making it very comfortable. His nose felt a bit stuffy, but other than that, there was no discomfort. Chen Xingran opened his eyes, stared blankly for a moment, and his mind was still a bit groggy, not fully awake.

Strange, is my room always like this…

Chen Xingran stared at the corner of the room for a while, gradually regaining his sanity, and the previously blurry sleepiness instantly vanished. “!”

He suddenly sat up, looking around. There was no sign of Yang Yunche in the room, it was quiet, but the bed sheets and pillows underneath, and the lingering scent of Yang Yunche in the air, like a faint scent of grass after rain, remained. 

He didn’t know when he had been moved from the sofa to the bed. He was still wrapped in last night’s blanket, and there was an additional layer of quilt on top, tightly wrapped like a sushi roll. There was a pillow and a small blanket on the nearby sofa, and the blanket was open, vaguely showing the shape of someone sleeping there last night, but the person on the sofa was nowhere to be found.

So… did Yang Yunche carry him to the bed last night and sleep on the sofa himself?

Chen Xingran felt a bit embarrassed. Clearly, he was the one who did something wrong, yet he ended up in someone else’s room, occupying someone else’s bed. Although the sofa was not small, squeezing the nearly two-meter-tall Yang Yunche onto it seemed a bit forced. Chen Xingran could even imagine Yang Yunche lying on the sofa with his legs curled up, looking somewhat comical.

He got up, put on slippers, and left Yang Yunche’s room.

The door next to it opened, and Luo Baibai had just gotten up. He looked up and saw a figure coming out of Yang Yunche’s room, subconsciously greeting, “Morning, Yun Ge…”

As soon as the words were spoken, he felt something was wrong. Since when did the captain become so short… Did he shrink after a night’s sleep?

Luo Baibai fixed his gaze and said, “Xing… Xingran? Why are you in the captain’s room?”

Chen Xingran watched as Luo Baibai’s expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to an excited expression, and helplessly said, “It’s not what you think…”

“Oh? What is it, then?” Luo Baibai eagerly rubbed his hands together. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Manager Fu. My lips are sealed, you can trust me.”

Chen Xingran: “…”

No, your mouth is the leakiest in the whole ZMD. Don’t you realize that?

“Xingran!”

Fu Zhou downstairs heard the commotion on the second floor, looked up, and saw Chen Xingran standing at the staircase. He shouted, “Come down for breakfast.”

“Coming.”

Chen Xingran replied and decisively gave up on conversing with Luo Baibai, heading straight downstairs.

Next to Fu Zhou sat Yang Yunche, who seemed like he hadn’t slept well. Dark circles under his eyes were quite noticeable. Seeing Chen Xingran coming downstairs, he lazily said, “Awake? Have this.”

He casually pushed a cup of freshly brewed ginger tea over.

Chen Xingran felt a bit embarrassed looking at him, lowered his head, sat across from Yang Yunche, picked up his chopsticks, and played with the sumptuous breakfast in front of him.

“How did you sleep last night?”

Seeing Chen Xingran’s sneaky appearance, Yang Yunche couldn’t help but smile.

“Um, quite well.”

“You slept soundly, unlike me. I had to endure your snoring all night.” Yang Yunche yawned.

“Huh? Really?”

Chen Xingran was stunned; he didn’t even know he snored in his sleep.

Yang Yunche, seeing his uncertain expression, chuckled, “I was kidding. You sleep so quietly that I even doubted if you were breathing. In the middle of the night, I had to go check your breath.”

Chen Xingran raised an eyebrow and gave him a glare.

“Have you two made up again?” Fu Zhou’s deeply concerned heart finally relaxed. “That’s better, teammates shouldn’t hold grudges overnight. It’s much better this way.”

The three of them sat for a while, and then two more people came down the stairs, Xiao Nan and Luo Baibai.

“Good morning, Xingran,” Xiao Nan greeted Chen Xingran.

“Morning, Xiao Ge.”

Xiao Nan paused, wearing a mysterious expression, “I heard from Luo Baibai… You slept with the captain last night?”

Chen Xingran: “?”

Yang Yunche: “?”

Luo Baibai guiltily slipped out from behind Xiao Nan, swiftly grabbed a breakfast from the table, and tried to make a quick escape, “Um, I’m going for a walk…”

Yang Yunche’s eyes turned cold, closed the door, and addressed Chen Xingran in a serious tone, “Xingran, break his fingers and toes for me.”

Chen Xingran understood, stood up, and adopted a menacing expression similar to Yang Yunche’s, “Alright.”

“!”

Luo Baibai, terrified, used his breakfast as a shield. As Chen Xingran approached, he stepped back, and in no time, he had retreated to a corner of the wall, “Sir Chen! Please, give me a chance! I swear I’ll never talk nonsense again. I have a family to support, young and old, I really don’t want to…”

Chen Xingran remained expressionless, cracking his knuckles with a sound that echoed in the room, creating a strong sense of oppression.

Yang Yunche remained calm, tossed his chopsticks onto the table, as if he were a judge in ancient times issuing the order for execution, “Go ahead.”

“Ah—!! No, don’t! I want to see the chairman! Let me see the chairman! I’ve shed blood for ZMD!”

Luo Baibai’s miserable voice echoed through the hall, “Ran Ran, be gentle, we’re all teammates. You… Ah, not there!”

Today at ZMD base, it was still a harmonious and friendly day.

…

In the evening, at the entrance of the main building of ZMD base, a shiny black nanny car stopped in front of the main building.

Luo Baibai, with tears in his eyes, approached and held Chen Xingran’s hands, full of reluctance, “Ran Bao, remember to write to us when you get there…”

*bao – treasure, gem, precious

Chen Xingran: “…”

He helplessly withdrew his hands and waved to the team members, “No need to send me off. Go back and continue training. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

Fu Zhou sat in the passenger seat, leaning out, “Alright, alright, go back. It’s just a minor surgery. Why make such a big fuss? I’m not at ease if I don’t go with you guys. Yunche, you take them back for training.”

Yang Yunche stood behind Luo Baibai and Xiao Nan, locked eyes with Chen Xingran, smiled, and said, “Take care of yourself. Don’t worry about training. We’ll talk when you come back.”

Chen Xingran nodded, “Yeah, I know.”

“Well, we’ll be on our way. Otherwise, we’ll miss the plane. I’ll trouble you for these days when I’m not at the base, Yunche, take care of them.” Fu Zhou said, waving to them before closing the passenger door.

Although the surgery for the genetic condition could be done in China, Fu Zhou decided to take Chen Xingran and the doctor recommended by Xiao Nan to a hospital abroad. The equipment there was more advanced, and the safety measures were higher. The surgery for the genetic condition wasn’t complicated, and the entire process would take just over a week.

The group bid a simple farewell, and the black nanny car headed towards the entrance, disappearing from Yang Yunche and the others’ view in a blink of an eye.

“Child’s father.”

*孩儿他爸 – a term used by the mother to address the father of the child

Luo Baibai wiped away fake tears, nestling on Xiao Nan’s broad chest, “It’s Ran Bao’s first time going far away, and I’m so worried. I don’t know if he can adapt to foreign things…”

“…Haven’t you had enough beatings?”

Xiao Nan pulled him out with black lines all over his head. Turning around, he saw Yang Yunche had already returned to the base.

“Hmph, such a heartless man.” Luo Baibai looked at Yang Yunche’s back and continued in a motherly tone, “It’s really a waste of our Ran Bao’s sincere heart. Indeed, there isn’t a single good man in the world. Don’t you agree, child’s father?”

Xiao Nan sighed, gently patting Luo Baibai’s shoulder with a soft tone, “Get lost.”

“…”

** 

In the nanny car, Fu Zhou, seeing Chen Xingran not speaking, thought he was nervous and comforted him, “It’s okay, just a minor surgery. With the best equipment and doctors, you don’t need to be nervous. Consider it a little trip; you’ll be back in a few days.”

Chen Xingran smiled, “No, I’m not nervous.”

“Did you bring spare clothes? It’s quite cold abroad now. Remember to bring a thicker coat.”

“Mmh.”

Chen Xingran patted the bag beside him, but the feel was somewhat off. Puzzled, he picked up the bag and opened it. In addition to the spare clothes he packed himself, there was also a small white package.

What is this?

Chen Xingran took out the small package and opened it. Inside was a large box of ginger tea bags, with a small note attached, detailing the brewing method and time. There was also a small charm-like object beside it.

“Safe and smooth, worry-free for a hundred years.”

Fu Zhou also saw the talisman in his hand, raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Isn’t this a talisman from Kaiyuan Temple? I heard it was blessed by a high monk. Others say it’s very effective, but it’s hard to come by, even with money. Who gave it to you?”

Chen Xingran’s gaze fell on the ginger tea next to him. The sweet and mild fragrance of the tea bags spread in the air, entering his nostrils, faintly resembling the scent of rain-soaked grass and coincidentally matching someone’s unique fragrance.

Chen Xingran unconsciously curved his lips, took out the talisman, hung it around his neck, and then closed the bag.

“Well… probably from some annoying ghost.”

Fu Zhou blinked, taking a moment to realize who Chen Xingran was referring to.

…

The vast base suddenly felt a bit desolate with two fewer people. Although Chen Xingran had only joined the team recently, Yang Yunche and the others had already become accustomed to his presence. In the morning, without the quiet and gentle figure of that young man, and during formation, the team lacked the powerful assault of the always charging forward, providing a sense of endless security.

With the absence of an assault, they couldn’t organize training matches, so these days they had to practice individually. Meanwhile, Yang Yunche was busy analyzing various data for the new season and discussing tactical applicability with ZMD’s game data analyst.

Due to the time difference between the foreign and domestic regions, when they were ready to sleep, it was still early morning for Chen Xingran. Therefore, the time available for contact was limited, but Chen Xingran still managed to send messages to them from over there.

The good news was that Captain Yang, who had been blocked, was finally released from Chen Xingran’s blacklist.

Little Squirrel: Arrived at the hospital, so many foreigners, I can’t understand what they’re saying…

Little Squirrel: The ginger tea is delicious, thank you.

Little Squirrel: I’ll have the surgery tomorrow, wait for my good news.

Following this sentence was a rare emoticon, the system’s built-in “cheering” emoticon. It had a yellow head with a red headband, clenched fist, and a determined expression.

Yang Yunche stared at this emoticon for a while, and an image of Chen Xingran cheering himself on with a clenched fist involuntarily appeared in his mind, making him smile.

After tapping on the keyboard for a while, typing out a long paragraph of comforting words like “Don’t worry” and “Take good care of yourself,” he ended up deleting it all.

After some thought, Yang Yunche typed out a message and sent it.

Thousands of miles away, Fu Zhou was standing by Chen Xingran’s hospital bed, handling documents on his laptop while occasionally glancing towards Chen Xingran.

The young man’s face was a bit pale. The light passed through his eyelashes like crow feathers, casting shadows on his face. He lay quietly with closed eyes, looking serene and fragile, like a delicate porcelain doll.

The screen of the phone placed next to him lit up, catching Fu Zhou’s attention. He leaned over, curiously taking a glance.

Handsome Annoying Ghost: Come back soon, Luo Baibai really misses you.

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