As a Captain, You Must Be Cold

Shi Du didn’t go to bed until dawn, and in his dream, he was yelling R.H.’s slogans, occasionally mixed with “wife.” When he awoke at noon the next day, he sat at the dining table with droopy eyelids, not even looking at Yu Zhaohan in the main seat.

Cheese and Qi Xian exchanged a glance, desperately trying to hold back their laughter. “Life goes by quickly, little brother. Try to take it easy,” they said.

“Timeless, you should know that lowering your head for love is not embarrassing!” said Old Tan as he served the young master a bowl of chicken soup and patted him on the shoulder.

“Shine, tonight’s training match will be as we discussed yesterday?” Lu Youshan thought he was chatting with Yu Zhaohan about tactics, and they were having a good chat. “PPZ’s style of play is a typical style of the Western Division, so make more appointments with them.” Think of it as preparations for the playoffs a few times…”

Yu Zhaohan had stayed up too late last night and was extremely tired that he accidentally picked up a piece of ginger and ate it in his mouth. His chewing movements froze, and he quickly swallowed the ginger into his stomach, pressing between his brows: “Yeah.”

Qi Xian took the mobile phone and approached Shi Du actively: “Look, brother, there are tens of millions of social deaths, half of which are Shine fans, you are not alone.”

Shortly after the birthday celebration started yesterday, R.H’s official account announced that all limited edition Q-version standees of Shine had been given away, and the “Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero.” event came to an end. But there were still many fans who took the video and simply wished Shine a happy birthday.

Among Shine’s fans, besides ordinary players, there were also many streamers and professional players. For example, Splendid, R.H’s former substitute, didn’t even bother wearing a mask and participated directly on a high-profile account. Unlike the current R.H players, who acted sneaky and created alternate accounts even for posting on Weibo.

Qi Xian showed Shi Du each fan video one by one. “This female streamer has over a million fans. She usually portrays herself as a pampered and reversed young lady, but listen to how loudly she cheers. And there’s this old man using a loudspeaker…”

Shi Du silently ate his meal, lazily ignoring everything, as the fans’ roars and well-wishes echoed in his ears.

“Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero!”

“Happy birthday Shine, R.H will win the championship this year!”

“Happy birthday to my husband~ Love you mwah!”

“May our 20-year-old wife be happy~”

“I am my wife’s dog! Happy birthday to my wife!”

Upon hearing the rugged male voice in the last sentence, Shi Du finally reacted. He glanced at Qi Xian’s phone and indeed saw a muscular man calling someone his wife, which made him furrow his brows. Then he looked at Yu Zhaohan, who had no particular reaction as if he was already used to this type of fan banter.

The actual Yu Zhaohan: Ginger really tastes awful.

Shi Du: “…How did this video pass the approval process?”

“What’s there to not pass the approval?” Qi Xian said. “Calling someone ‘wife’ is not against the law.”

Shi Du asked, “Fine for female fans, but how can these male fans say it?”

Why couldn’t he say it last night after trying so hard?

“Because they’re just bantering,” Qi Xian explained with a smirk, trying to enlighten his younger brother. “These male fans rarely get to see the captain in person, and they know that the captain can never be their real wife. The captain won’t pay attention to them, so they can freely say whatever they want.”

Shi Du’s expression was colder than that of Yu Zhaohan who was forced to swallow ginger: “Fools.”

On Yu Zhaohan’s birthday, he trained as usual during the day, and the operation team arranged a live broadcast event for him in the evening. They prepared nearly 500,000 prizes for a lucky draw to thank the fans. The prizes included phones, tablets, keyboards, team merchandise, as well as lipsticks, and skin care products for female fans.

The operations team was well aware of Shine’s streaming style, where he would silently play games and not say much to the fans. It was fine on regular days, but since it was his birthday, the live stream needed to be more lively.

Old Tan asked Yu Zhaohan if he wanted to find a temporary streaming assistant to sit beside him and announce the lucky draw, thanking the fans for their gifts. Yu Zhaohan said there was no need to find someone else and asked Cheese to do it.

Cheese was pleasantly surprised to be chosen and said he needed to go back to his room to freshen up. Old Tan said, “You’re not the star of the stream, so what are you dressing up for?”

Cheese thought about it and nodded, “Right, right, I shouldn’t steal the captain’s spotlight.”

Shi Du: “Pfft.”

Jiang Di: “No, you won’t.”

After dinner, while the operations team was still debugging the equipment, Yu Zhaohan’s live stream quickly rose to second place on the platform in terms of popularity. Amid the anticipation of thousands of fans, the live stream finally opened its doors, and a golden-haired round-faced boy greeted them with a bright smile, “Good evening, welcome to Shine’s live stream. Sorry for the delay, let’s start with a small round of 688 red envelopes…”

Yu Zhaohan was quite satisfied with Cheese’s performance, and he was worthy of being his official spokesperson and representative. That’s right, just smile, smile hard, it’s best to smile your gums out.

[?]

[Did I enter the wrong live stream? Where’s my husband? I have such a big husband.]

After Cheese finished speaking, he consciously moved out of the camera’s view, and Yu Zhaohan’s face appeared in the center of the screen.

He was still the familiar black-haired, world-weary beauty that the fans knew, with no expression, lowering his eyes. Maybe it was because it was his birthday today, or perhaps it was because of the pink team uniform he was wearing, but Yu Zhaohan’s eyebrows and eyes seemed slightly softer than before.

“Good evening, thank you for your support.” Yu Zhaohan said succinctly, “I will broadcast it freely, and everyone can watch it freely.”

The dense barrage filled with “Happy Birthday” messages, and gifts kept pouring in, making it impossible for Cheese to read them all.

“Thank you, IPL.Bi An, Wings, er, and… Lawman.Tide. Thank you, thank you…”

[What combination are these two, father and son?]

[I get it, Cheese is Shine’s external vocal cords.]

[Can Cheese help me smell Shine’s body =3=]

[Tide still has the nerve to send gifts? Haha]

Yu Zhaohan logged into his main account and also received a birthday greeting email from the game’s official team. He entered a match, took out his Golden Swan sniper rifle, and quickly took down an enemy with a headshot before they could even react. First blood.

Yu Zhaohan glanced at Cheese from the corner of his eye.

The external vocal cords were doing a great job. Wasn’t this shot worth a compliment?

Cheese remembered his mission and treated himself as an impartial announcer. Unless he can’t bear to watch some barrage, he will answer for the captain.

“‘Ex-teammates have shown up to give gifts; why are current team members silent?'” Cheese’s eyes appeared to be fixed on the retarded comment. “Are you stupid? Of course, the current teammates have to give them in person.”

[Can we see other current teammates today? Requesting an R.H family gathering.]

[R.H family gathering +1. Let’s appear together. As the team captain, you shouldn’t treat anyone differently.]

“Cheese,” said Yu Zhaohan, “go and fetch them.”

Cheese hopped away: “Okay!”

Cheese called the others, and the camera showed each of the boys wearing pink team uniforms.

Qi Xian had his burgundy hair tied in a ponytail, and his eyes curved into two crescents: “Hi—”

[Qi Xian’s hair has grown long again.]

[Xianxian smiles gently. Shine and Timeless belong to you, and Qi Xian belongs to me.]

Jiang Di has been getting more muscular recently, the team uniform was a little tight on his body, and the lines of his chest muscles were clearly visible.

[I really want to squeeze Jiang’s chest muscles. Haha!]

[Can the muscular guy play in the next match? The output-type support is poking me too much.]

Lastly, it was Shi Du.

[Little husband, you are here~]

[Curious about what gift my brother prepared for the captain]

[Report——Timeless is here! Do you guys understand what I mean?]

[Understood]

[Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero! Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero! Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero!]

[—Fuck!]

Shi Du leaned down beside the gaming chair and said, “Captain, let me borrow the mouse.”

Before Yu Zhaohan could react, Shi Du’s hand covered him, and the palm of his hand unexpectedly pressed against the back of his hand.

The moment his fingertips touched, Yu Zhaohan faintly felt the boy’s hand stiffen for a moment. But when he looked up at Shi Du, he couldn’t see anything unusual.

Shi Du banned those who posted “Reborn from the ashes, immortal hero!” and “Fuck,” He also took the opportunity to set up some word filters.

[You dare to do it but are afraid to be criticized. Can’t you handle it?]

[Timeless, you’re handsome, but could you please stay away from my wife a bit? Thanks for your cooperation~]

[Holy shit, I won! But why would I, a man, need lipstick?]

“‘Why would I, a man, need lipstick?'” Shi Du read out the barrage mockingly. “Isn’t it…brother, don’t you have a girlfriend?”

[…That stabbed my heart.]

[As fellow single dogs, what makes you so arrogant?]

[I indeed don’t have a girlfriend, but I have Shine. Wife, come here~]

“Can you stop calling other people’s wives,” Shi Du said coolly, “Have you considered how their real husbands feel?”

This Timeless little brother couldn’t even say it himself, yet he wouldn’t let others call Yu Zhohan that.

Yu Zhaohan snatched the mouse back from the boy’s hand.

Seemingly seeing through his inner thoughts, Shi Du said, “Don’t assume that those who call you their wife are all female fans. What if it’s a rough guy who picks his feet?”

Yu Zhaohan imagined that scene and felt a bit suffocated.

Being called someone’s wife by girls and handsome boys might not affect him much, but the thought of a rough guy picking his feet was really too much. However, whether it’s a cute girl or a rough guy, they are all his fans, and he should treat them equally, or at least appear to treat them equally.

Yu Zhaohan said in a flat tone, “I don’t want to reject my mom’s care by refusing the name.”

***
“Okay,” Yu Zhaohan said, “Is Dad coming too?”

Mother Yu said: “Your father is away on a business trip for academic exchange. However, he also helped prepare a gift for our baby. I will bring it to show you later.”

After hanging up the phone, Yu Zhaohan returned to the villa.

The living room played a recent match as background music and Old Tan arranged the delivery one by one, including the usual pizza, fried chicken, Coke, Sprite, and a huge sushi boat. While taking pictures of the food, Cheese lamented that Old Tan’s presentation has always been good, while Jiang Di was calculating how many calories he would consume in one bite of these things to offset them.

Lu Youshan initially intended to relax at Shine’s birthday party, but once he saw the match playing, he couldn’t help himself and grabbed Shi Du to analyze various aspects. Shi Du slumped lazily on the couch, responding to the coach with little interest.

Yu Zhaohan announced: “Everyone, my mother will come later.”

Cheese said happily: “Ah, it’s the Queen Mother!”

Qi Xian smiled, “It’s been a while since I last saw Auntie. I wonder if she still remembers me.”

Shi Du put down his raised legs, sat up straight like an elementary school student, and asked, seemingly indifferent, “When will Auntie arrive?”

Yu Zhaohan repeated: “Later.”

Yu Zhaohan estimated that it was about time and went to the entrance of the villa to wait for his mother. Mother Yu drove here by herself and brought the desserts she baked by herself and freshly braised dishes. Yu Zhaohan took the food and took his mother inside: “Mom, you must remember later that you can’t call me ‘baby’.” He emphasized repeatedly, “Remember, don’t call me ‘baby’.”

“Understood baby,” Mother Yu showed a gentle and helpless smile, “You child, really.”

Mother Yu received a warm welcome from the boys, with everyone addressing her as “Auntie” sweetly. Old Tan was worried that she would not be used to the late-night snacks that young people like to eat, and wanted to order some more exquisite takeaways.

Mother Yu smiled and said, “No need to trouble yourself. I’ve had dinner before coming. Zhaohan, shall we take out the braised dishes and share them with everyone?”

Yu Zhaohan: “Okay.”

The two walked into the kitchen, and Mother Yu said, “My baby’s teammates are all very good people.”

“Yes.” Yu Zhaohan had a sudden thought, “Mom, guess which one of them is my good friend to who I can tell the truth?”

Mother Yu guessed, “Is it the one with the gray hair?”

“You are amazing! He is the younger brother I told you about, Shi Du.” Yu Zhaohan exclaimed, “How did you figure it out?”

Mother Yu smiled and said, “Because only he looks at you with a different gaze, my baby. But is he a little afraid of me? I feel like he doesn’t talk much.”

Yu Zhaohan said: “No, he’s actually really talkative normally.”

After arranging the braised dishes, Yu Zhaohan took out two plates first. Shi Du saw the opportunity and walked into the kitchen: “Auntie, I’ll help you.”

Mother Yu smiled: “Thank you.” She handed Shi Du a plate, “How old is Shi Du this year?”

Shi Du stood up straight, not looking like a problematic high school student, but more like an excellent student who excelled in both academics and character. “Eighteen.”

Mother Yu was slightly surprised: “Only eighteen…”

She originally thought that the person her son would rely on would be an older brother around the same age as Wan Feng back then, but she didn’t expect that it was really a younger brother who was two years younger than Yu Zhaohan.

However, she also knew that sometimes a person’s psychological age can differ significantly from their actual age. Just like Yu Zhaohan, who turned twenty today but wasn’t much different from when he dropped out of school at sixteen to pursue a professional E-Sport player career. Perhaps on the surface, her baby seemed much more mature, but deep down, he was still the same as a student in an ivory tower.

Shi Du became nervous, and blurted out: “I’m very mature.”