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The first time it happened was the day after they had just won the first Glory championship. After he went to bed, he immediately fell asleep. In his dream, he was running and running until he stopped to pant for air. Then it happened. The first time, it was blurry like he was looking through tears. It went like this:
Su Muqiu was walking ahead of him and happily looking around. He was on a phone, fiddling to figure it out. When he finally figured it out and raised his head to tell Su Muqiu, the first thing he saw was the truck coming fast. Very fast. He didn’t know how to react. He shouted Su Muqiu’s name multiple times and threw the phone on the sidewalk as he rushed to Su Muqiu. But he was late. Again .
When he jolted awake, it was still four in the morning. He walked out of his room and went to find a computer, then he was found playing Glory when everyone woke up. He played Glory and ignored what the others said and played until the afternoon, when it was time for his lunchtime and he was hungry.
The second time it happened was scarier. It happened when they had just lost the fifth championship cup. Everyone but Su Mucheng ignored him and went to their bedrooms. He persuaded Su Mucheng to go to bed while he did some dungeons for a few hours. When he finally stopped, it was three a.m. already. He went to the couch in the lounge and fell asleep there. Then, he dreamed again. Everything was a little clearer. It was similar to watching TV from the kitchen. It went like this:
Su Muqiu was holding something in his hand and he was looking at the things around them in the market as he walked ahead of him. He was on a phone which he was trying to find out how to put in a number… whose number? He couldn’t remember.
When he finally figured out how to put in the number, he raised his head and saw the truck heading straight for Su Muqiu fastly.
He was scared and afraid to the point where he was petrified into stone. He didn’t know what to do. He threw his phone into the sidewalk and he yelled Su Muqiu’s name again and again to the point his throat was hoarse, but he was too late. Again.
He jolted awake. He glanced up to the clock and saw it was four in the morning. He ignored reasoning and went to the computer room to play Glory. Everyone woke up in fairly late, somewhere around ten to eleven in the morning. When they all saw him playing, they ignored him, but Su Mucheng had a face that indicated she was mad.
“Didn’t you say ‘a few rounds?!’ Why are you playing still? Have you been playing for twelve hours straight already? Did you even get half a minute of sleep?!” Su Mucheng said as he scolded Ye Xiu angrily.
“Mucheng, don’t worry, I got sleep. I just woke up and played again,” Ye Xiu said, calming her worries.
“If you don’t rest, I’ll personally announce to the world you’re retiring.” Su Mucheng said in a stern voice.
“I’ll rest. I promise.” Ye Xiu knew that Su Mu Cheng would get harassed for lying if she did. He didn’t want that to happen. (Even if he did retire, he would be too reluctant.)
Days passed on in Happy Internet Cafe. The team was just made and they were entering the Challenger League. It was the night when they had won their first game did his third nightmare occur. It was very clear, like a newly applied glass window. Of course, windows always get dirty. This time, it went like this:
Su Muqiu had an item the size of an Glory card in his hands. Su Muqiu was walking around determinedly and excitedly, too. But he forgot why.
He was on a phone, clicking around to find how to add a contact on the phone in his hand. The number was Wu Xuefeng’s.
As he followed what little guide said on the little screen and put in the phone number, his face was full of satisfaction from figuring the phone out. He looked up, about to boast about his achievement when he saw the truck. It was fast. Too fast.
He threw the phone. It lay abandoned on the sidewalk. He screamed his name, but his throat was too dry as his sobs came like water from a broken dam. He saw Su Muqiu’s face before he was gone. Too late. Again.
Ye Xiu jolted from his sleep. It was four in the morning again. He was starting to think there was someone orchestrating this. He subconsciously wiped his eyes with the cuffs of his sleeves. He closed the door slowly so he wouldn’t wake Wei Chen, and headed off to the computer room. He played until the others woke up. Chen Guo was the first to wake up everyday, so she scolded him harshly. Her scolding woke everyone up, so it was a loud morning.
“Why are you up so early playing Glory? I saw you go to your room last night, but did you secretly skip off to the computer room once Wei Chen was asleep like a middle schooler?! This is a bad habit, Ye Xiu. You shouldn’t do this.” Chen Guo said fiercely.
“People went crazy for not sleeping.” Wei Chen said as be picked his ear with innocence.
“What?! Boss, sleep! Or you’ll grow crazy! I’m not strong enough to fight sleep yet, but I’ll grow stronger! I swear!” Steamed Bun said bravely. Maybe there was a bit off disappointment in his voice, but no one dared ask lest they start a Huang Shaotian chat. Everyone was scared of what he might do.
While everyone was scolding him— well, it was really only Chen Guo— he was counting how many hours he stayed up for. We slept at ten, I woke up at four, so I got six hours of sleep. It’s seven right now, so I’ve only been playing for… three hours.
Chen Guo noticed his dazed look and her anger immediately flared up again. “See! You’re getting sleepy! Look at your dazed look! Are you sleeping with your eyes open right now?!”
After being scolded, Ye Xiu went to his room and fell asleep.
The fourth time, it was terrifying and it had happened when they won the 10th Championship. It felt like he was there. Like he could touch anything and everything. He heard the blooding spurting, he saw the truck hitting the body, and he heard his desperate cries. It was like wearing glasses for the first time. It went like this:
Su Muqiu had an account card in his hand, his face had a happy but proud look, like he had discovered a cure for an illness.
He was on his phone, figuring out how to add Wu Xuefeng’s number. They were at a market. He didn’t notice before, but he had groceries hanging on him. He finally figured out how to make a new contact and was about to tell Su Muqiu when he saw the truck.
The truck was tyrannical like a bull and swift like a snake. The truck was honking and honking.
He froze for a second before subconsciously throwing away his phone and dropping the groceries. He kept calling out Su Muqiu’s name, but his sobs muted him. He saw Su Muqiu turning his body like he was about to look at him, but with his blurry eyes, he couldn’t see anything. He was too slow. The truck hit Su Muqiu’s body and there was blood. The blood was everywhere. It was taunting him, telling him of his failure. He was late. Again.
He jolted up and woke from his sleep with tears rolling down his eyes. He checked the time like he always did when this happened. Four in the morning, like always. At this point, reasoning had been ignored and he just went to play Glory. It was seven in the morning when everyone woke up and he remembered he had to pack to go back home. He didn’t get a scolding this time when everyone saw him. They were too drowsy from yesterday’s celebration to see the dark bags under his eyes.
“You’re not packed up yet?” Su Mucheng asked. “Are you going to stay a bit longer?”
“No. I just woke up and wanted to play.” He responded flatly.
“Your brother is going to get pissed if he doesn’t see you soon.” Chen Guo commented.
“I know.”
Then, it ended like that.
The fifth time was when they won the World Championships. Everyone went to their dorms and fell asleep, dreaming happily. Except him. He dreamt a nightmare. He felt so hopeless, like everything was falling. He felt like he was being attacked, but he couldn’t even lift a finger. He felt like he was being held back from saving him. It felt scary. Like someone was chasing and chasing you, calling out your name. Ye Xiu, Ye Xiu, Ye Xiu! It called. It never stopped. He felt like he was falling and falling. It went like this:
He and Su Muqiu exited the grocery store with a small bag. Su Muqiu was holding Lord Grim’s account card. Su Muqiu apparently had a brilliant plan to help Lord Grim, but he didn’t tell him.
After trying to convince Su Muqiu to tell him his secret numerous times with no answer, he gave up with a sigh and pulled out a piece of paper with Wu Xuefeng’s number on it as Su Muqiu walked ahead. He took out a phone from his pocket and then started searching on Baidu how to make new contacts.
They walked for quite some time which also gave Ye Xiu a good amount of time to figure out the phone, but it was almost four p.m. already. When he finally added Wu Xuefeng’s number and raised his head only to see the bright red truck heading for Su Muqiu, he felt something overcome his throat.
The bright red truck was like an angered wild boar making its way to Su Muqiu. It was as fast as an eagle but as elegant as a snow white swan. He describes it as elegant because it was similar to what he sees in Glory. The characters are swift and fast, ferocious and aggressive, but always elegant when correctly controlled. What he was seeing right now was similar to a red devil who’s similar to One Autumn Leaf. His tears made the world blurry. He shouted and shouted with no reply.
At some point, he had dropped the phone and groceries and was already running to Su Muqiu. While he was running, it felt like an eternity was taken for each step. He wiped his blurry eyes and saw Su Muqiu’s face once again. It was still bright and cheerful, so beautifully oblivious to the devil running straight at him. Su Muqiu’s face was still smiling. He never stopped smiling, even before death. He froze and stared at Su Muqiu. He saw Su Muqiu’s mouth move in a familiar way. It’s a new start.
Ye Xiu jolted awake. He realised that he wasn’t late. He was never late. It was Su Muqiu who was early. He was earlier than himself, for once. He rubbed his eyes to see more eyes staring at him. Confused, he didn’t say anything and tilted his head slightly in askance.
“Senior Ye?” Yu Wenzhou asked concernedly.
Ye Xiu didn’t answer and only scrunched up his eyebrows. He kneaded the top of his nose to get rid of the headache. When he finally regained reason, he saw everyone around him. Su Mucheng was the only one looking away from him while everyone else was looking at him. He glanced at the clock. Four a.m.
“Why?” Ye Xiu asked confusedly.
“Senior… what do you mean, why? We… um, should be asking you… that.” Zhou Zekai finished his sentence with slight stutters, but nonetheless stunned everyone for a good moment but were redirected to the original topic when they heard the contents of his speech.
“Oh? Little Zhou, you should finish your sentences, you sound very nice when you do it without your bashful voice.” Ye Xiu complimented, completely ignoring the whole point.
“Yeah, he does have a nice voice. It’s better than when he— WAIT! You! Old Ye! Answer the question!” Huang Shaotian yelled to cover up his mistake.
“Wow, Huang Shao sounded extremely patient when talking about little Zhou. Maybe he has a crush on little Zhou?” Ye Xiu said without missing a beat. He really wishes for a cigarette or something to suck on rather than being interrogated.
“Leader Ye, please answer the question.” Wang Jiexi said in a dangerously gentle tone which he normally didn’t use.
“Ah~ Big Eyed Wang, you’re really scary when you use that voice.” Ye Xiu said, pretending to be scared as he shielded his body like someone was trying to stab him.
“Ye Xiu… answer the question.” Sun Xiang said surprisingly patiently with no aggression.
“Ahh! Xiang Xiang, did someone take over your body?! Why are you all so different this morning?” Ye Xiu said as he pretended to cower at the edge of the couch which he had just noticed he was on. He ignored how Sun Xiang’s face lit up like a ripe tomato.
“Senior Ye, please answer the question.” Tang Hao said with a tone that indicated respect.
“... Xiao Tang, are you okay? After all these years, you finally used a horonific! I’m very proud.” Ye Xiu said with a wide smile.
“Oh? Elder brother, where did you get your flirting skills from? Oh wait, you’ve been hanging around so many women for so long they might have been fed up with you, so you upgraded your sister skills to flirt with men now, didn’t you?” Suddenly, a similar voice to Ye Xiu’s spoke. He had an aura of a king and looked more elegant that Ye Xiu, who was looking like a scared kitten cowering in a corner. Everyone’s eyes started bulging out as they stared at Ye Qiu.
“Oh, little brother, you’re here? I thought that Mr. CEO Ye would be in his office, forgetting what his own brother’s face look like. You don’t know how pitiful this Lao Zi was when his own little twin brother never visited.” Ye Xiu said arrogantly in a high fashioned manner. No one saw when he had properly sat down and fixed himself, but he looked even better than his twin who was in a suit while he was in his nightwear. His aura was also somehow more powerful, like an emperor’s. Now he looked even more elegant than his fresh brother.
“Tch. Always with this act. Come back home soon, or father is going to scold me. And we have the same face! Why would I forget your shameless one?!” Ye Qiu said, immediately dropping his aura and letting the pro players let out a breath they hadn’t realised they were holding.
“And then you’ll run away? You build a company from mud and turn it into gold only to leave it. Father doesn't want me to do business, so remember that the only reason he let you start a business is because he was afraid you'd run away too. It was technically my cause that made you rich.” Ye Xiu commented righteously.
“Run away? Can I really do that with father’s five hundred men basically telling him what we're doing every second?” Ye Qiu scoffed.
“Oh? Father also watches me? That's nice to hear but sends a slight shiver down my spine.” Ye Xiu said with a chuckle. He ran away but his father didn't even try sending him back home.
As if Ye Qiu could hear his thoughts, Ye Qiu suddenly adds, “He sees you’re content with life. That’s why.”
“... Can we get back to the topic, Seniors?” Wang Jiexi asks with a ‘gentle’ smile.
“...He’s the boss.” Ye Xiu says, pointing to Ye Qiu.
“He’s superior in terms of age.” Ye Qiu said back, ignoring how he said that a few minutes didn’t matter multiple times in the past.
“Hey, Old Ye. Who’s Su Muqiu?” Huang Shaotian says like a… normal person…?
“Ah.. He is… one of the most important people in my life.” Ye Xiu said looking at the group of confused gamers with a soft smile.
“Important? I hear you moaning his name the first time I see you in years. Is he here? I’ll tell him about your acts!” Ye Qiu threatens.
“Sure, if you can find him.” Ye Xiu replied back, noticing that his jacket, which held his cigarettes, was behind everyone. It seemed unintentional, but Ye Xiu doubts that.
“Find him? Of course I can find him.” Ye Qiu barked back.
“Says he who couldn’t find his own twin brother who was using his name.” Ye Xiu mumbles.
“Hey! I heard that! Plus, i couldn’t find you because i had no power yet. And why wouldn’t be able to find him anyways? Is he an illegal immigrant?” Ye Qiu suspiciously says.
“No, he’s not an illegal immigrant, but it would be hard to find someone buried six feet under…” Surprisingly, Su Mucheng was the one to answer Ye Qiu.
“Mucheng…”
“Six feet under? As in…”
“Su Mucheng?”
Rounds of questions and discussions occur to what Su Mucheng said. After that, they played Glory for a little or went back to sleep. And Ye Xiu played Glory until it was midnight again with only little breaks in between.
“Mm. If he was still alive, you all would have already aged ten years from the stress!” Su Mucheng said proudly.
“Ten years… it’s been too long.” Ye Xiu said with an unrestrained amount of laziness.
There was a long silence between everyone. Right now, they were at a famous restaurant in Zurich. It was always bustling with noise even though only rich aristocrats were present.
“...you’re about to win the championship. Are you going to go back? Back home? No leaving?” Ye Qiu asked with some expectation and anxiousness. It was clear he had been waiting for an answer for a long time.
Ye Xiu turned his head so he could face Ye Qiu and only see Ye Qiu, which was easy because he sat beside him. He looked to be lost in thought. He had a small soft smile on his lips that gradually grew wider.
“Muqiu always liked numbers like five.” He said vaguely. Nonetheless, Ye Qiu and everyone else knew the meaning of it. Ye Xiu smiled in satisfaction when he saw everyone looking at him. “I’m good at riddles, am
I not?” He asked.
“And it’s over! Team China has knocked out Team Japan’s knight, winning the game with the battlemage having one percent health left! Team China has won the first ever Glory World Championship Cup!!” The stadium erupted with applause and cheers. Especially when it was officially announced that China had won.
Ye Xiu took off the provided headphones and slowly stood up, everything looking graceful. He knew that his team was giving him a chance to play One Autumn Leaf once more and remember his best times before he left. It was really thoughtful of them, but he hadn’t practiced with a battlemage for more than one year. They had a chance to lose if Ye Xiu was careless for even a second.
Thinking of this, he shook his head and gently took One Autumn Leaf from the card reader like he always had. Before walking out of the player booth, Ye Xiu kissed One Autumn Leaf and whispered, “It’s been a long time. Sadly, we’re parting again. If you were alive, you would probably be depressed. Three important people walking out of your life.”
With that he sighed and walked out of the player booth, unaware that there was a big camera showing everything that he had done. He handed One Autumn Leaf to Sun Xiang and said seriously, “Take care of it. It might be old and worn out, maybe outdated, but it is still important.” Sun Xiang knew what those words meant. Ye Xiu had entirely trusted One Autumn Leaf to him. Knowing this, his eyes started getting misty as he stared at Ye Xiu’s back.
Ye Xiu’s hands were too tired and fatigued so he had skipped the trophy ceremony and went straight to the player lounge area, waiting for his team to come out. There were a lot of teams there, too. The teams looked at him strangely. The teams had an option of choosing a substitute, making their numbers sum to fifteen. The Chinese Glory team was an exception, though. It was possibly because their chairman didn’t understand what was said in the meeting, but they didn’t have an official substitute. Instead, their leader was also the substitute.
In addition to the Chinese team’s weirdness, their leader was stupidly too good to be true, too.
The leaders for each team were veterans who has played the game for a long time. There were only two who had been playing for ten years and the rest were in between nine and eight year veterans.
“Why did you not go up there with them?” An English speaking member questioned, standing from his seat and walking near Ye Xiu.
Ye Xiu stared at him from the couch before looking back at the large TV screen that showed the celebration on stage. They didn’t miss the glance he gave his hand, though.
“I don’t think he can understand English.” Another member said seeing Ye Xiu look away and keep silent. The member was about to go back to his seat when Ye Xiu’s lovely voice attacked him from behind.
“Oh? You got me wrong. I am accustomed to using a different way to express my thoughts. I am sorry you misunderstood. I hope you won’t get offended.” Ye Xiu hurriedly explained with a smile, thinking that he had offered the other party.
The people were surprised with his good English. There were many English speakers each team. Maybe it was the Chinese team that didn’t have one. Though there was an accent, the pronunciation was good.
The member waved his hand and dazedly said, “Oh… then sorry for disturbing you. I wouldn’t be offended by that anyways.” The member went back to his seat, embarrassed.
Thirty years later, Ye Xiu had another dream. It was peaceful, not like the other ones. He remembered coming back from work after announcing his retirement. He felt like his time was short, so he passed on the torch to his twin brother’s son. After that, he went home, showered, walked through the garden, and sat down under a tree. By the tree a red porch umbrella which was similar to Lord Grim’s. He remembered that Glory had a tree like this too. It was a willow tree. It went like this:
The world was sunny and bright. A boy carrying a luggage seemed to have seen something interesting and ran over. He stopped in front of an internet café with a small smile curling on his lips. He entered and looked around absent mindedly, as if he was trying to remember something. His head stopped looking around and ran straight to a computer after throwing some money to the cashier.
The computer had a boy sitting in it. The boy had brownish golden hair and similar amber eyes. He was aggressively shouting at his opponent which ruined his pure and delicate image.
The boy with a luggage laughed at the boy with some teasing words. “
You can’t even take care of them? I was told you were good!” The boy sitting in front of the computer was visibly angered. His hands sped up and he finally started thrashing his opponent and gained a quick victory after.
“You! Play with me.” The boy said and pointed to the computer opposite his.
“But I don’t know your name. You’re still a stranger.” The boy with the luggage shrugged.
“My name is Su Muqiu. Now fight me!” Su Muqiu raged. The boy with a luggage sat down to the computer being pointed at.
“My name is Ye Xiu. It’s a new start. Let’s have a better run this time.” Ye Xiu said with a laugh. Maybe there was some melancholy, maybe there was nostalgia, but it was all covered up by an inexplicable joy the boy had. Su Muqiu didn’t pay attention to it.
“Brother?” Ye Qiu said as he went to the garden. Ye Xiu always liked it there. He didn’t know why, but it felt like a sensitive subject, even if it didn’t seem like it. “Brother?” He called out one more time. Then, he saw his brother leaning against the tree, looking so peaceful.
Ye Qiu brought out his phone, kneeled to get a better angle, and pictured it unconsciously, as if he was being controlled by someone else. This was all done on impulse. He left his brother in the garden before hurriedly walking to the front door of the house when he finally regained control of his body. His hands were trembling slightly. His eyes were still redding but his tears had already fallen.
He remembered what Ye Xiu had said:
“Did you know willow trees mean immortality and rebirth? Their twigs mean that you want someone to stay, too. Very symbolic. When I lay here, my soul will move on and float away. Take a picture, make it very beautiful! Kneel on the ground to get a good angle too! It would be a very pretty picture. I don’t have many good pictures.”