Work Text:
"Still working?"
Chu Yunxiu crossed her arms and sighed.
She truly could not understand what part of a day-off did these workaholics not get.
The person at whom this question had been directed at seemed oblivious to her presence and continued to stare at his laptop screen.
Chu Yunxiu stood behind Wang Jiexi to see what was taking up so much of his attention.
He was rearranging his collection of Glory analysis videos and data.
There were separate folders for each team participating in the world championships and each video was neatly labelled with some codeword which probably made sense to only Wang Jiexi.
Now he was carefully copying a few of the videos from these folders to another folder marked Tiny Herb.
Chu Yunxiu watched patiently for a few minutes waiting for him to finish the task.
But Wang Jiexi opened the Tiny Herb folder and inside that there were numerous other folders each marked with the name of a player.
He then opened a video - It was a match from the group arena against England, Li Xuan versus a Witch. Wang Jiexi let the video play for a few seconds before closing it and then he dropped it into the sub-folder marked Gao Yingjie.
Chu Yunxiu looked closer and saw that there were nearly 30 to 40 more videos and Wang Jiexi started to move the cursor towards then next one.
"Oh no you don't!!"
Wang Jiexi almost jumped in fright as Chu Yunxiu closed the laptop with a sharp click and glared down at him.
"Oh hello..." he said awkwardly wondering what he had done to piss off Chu Yunxiu.
"Hello to you too!" she said "Now... Why don't we go out for some time?!"
"Huh?"
Wang Jiexi looked between her and the laptop. He had been looking forward to the day off so that he could get some work done but he didn't want to say that to Chu Yunxiu when she was looking at him like that.
"Come on!" Chu Yunxiu pulled his arm "Forget Glory for just one evening! And Tiny Herb is not going to fall apart if you don't tell them what to do for one day!"
Wang Jiexi chuckled.
"I was just collecting videos for future reference. There are many interesting players here and it would do well for the new generation to get exposed to different playstyles."
Chu Yunxiu rolled her eyes.
"Stop acting like a fussy father for once and live your life!"
Wang Jiexi blinked in surprise.
"But I do live my life!"
"Yeah... doing what?! Arranging your documents?! Marking your videos with weird codes like WHGAENS8T7?!"
Wang Jiexi was amused by her expression but he was also impressed by how she remembered the exact label of the video he had just watched.
"Witch - Group Arena - England - Stength rating of 8 and Tactics rating of 7." he explained with a smile "That's what the label means."
"I don't care!" Chu Yunxiu pulled his arm more strongly and Wang Jiexi got up so that she would not tear his arm out the next time.
"Where's Su Mucheng?" he asked "I though you girls would be doing something together."
"Su Mucheng went shopping with Li Xuan and I don't want to be a third wheel. Now why do you care about the others?? Everyone else is actually relaxing or enjoying and it irritates me to see you working!"
"Then go elsewhere." he said immediately.
Wang Jiexi didn't know whether to laugh or cry as Chu Yunxiu just stuck out her tongue at him. He was only a year or so older than her but sometimes looking at the Golden Generation, he felt he was mature by many years.
"Come on! I need company! Let's go somewhere!" Chu Yunxiu continued to urge him to leave and Wang Jiexi could only pick up his coat and follow her out meekly.
"Where are we going?" he asked.
"We can go to the town and just have fun! We have the whole evening left! I'm getting some nice ideas!!"
Wang Jiexi wasn't sure what her idea of fun was but he walked out of the building with her.
He was surprised that most of the team had gone out.
Chu Yunxiu began to rattle off the plans she had heard the other people make - Fang Rui, Huang Shaotian and Sun Xiang wanted to explore an outdoor swimming pool nearby ; Wang Jiexi thought they were crazy to want to swim in the cold weather.
Ye Xiu, Yu Wenzhou and Zhang Xinjie were sightseeing apparently but Wang Jiexi knew the three were too lazy for something so active and were probably lounging at a park somewhere.
Zhang Jiale had wanted to try some of the local cuisine and had taken Tang Hao with him for the culinary journey.
Even after including Su Mucheng and Li Xuan on the list, Wang Jiexi noticed that two members were still missing from the set of people who had gone out.
But Chu Yunxiu immediately pointed out that those two had taken the morning off already.
"And they actually have some significant preparations to make for the next match. Also Xiao Shiqin said he works better after sundown. You on the other hand - totally unnecessary..."
Chu Yunxiu poked Wang Jiexi sharply and he wondered for the millionth time if it was a good idea to go out with her.
"This is... fun?"
Wang Jiexi stared at the ice rink before him.
"Yes! I've always wanted to learn ice-skating!"
"You mean... You don't know?"
"Nope! Now put on the skates!"
Chu Yunxiu pulled on a pair of ice skates and wobbled onto the ice.
Wang Jiexi just stood at the side gaping at thin air.
He was not an athletic person, but yet could withstand some amount of sporty activities.
But this was clearly suicide and he refused to indulge in something he did not understand.
"Oh come on!" Chu Yunxiu gripped the guardrail tightly. She did want to let go but her plan was to get Wang Jiexi to come with her so that even if she did fall over, he would be a soft place to land on.
Wang Jiexi shook his head firmly. Chu Yunxiu knew he was a difficult person to manage but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Wait... isn't that the Warlock girl you beat that day?? The one who flirted with you during the post-match handshake?!"
Wang Jiexi turned around quickly and saw the person who Chu Yunxiu was pointing at.
He wasn't sure if the girl was the same one but then again he did not remember anything about that moment.
He had been so embarrassed as the girl had gripped his hand extra tight and asked him if he was so rough with every girl and then added that she was looking forward to their next match.
Wang Jiexi had thought this was mere trashtalk but the others on the team did not let this slide and had insisted it was definitely a pass made at him which he had blocked too strongly.
Wang Jiexi knew it was only psychological, but somehow he kept seeing that girl around the place and he was now low-key terrified of running into her again.
Without a word he put on the ice skates and joined Chu Yunxiu.
"Nice! Now let's move out!" yelled Chu Yunxiu confidently as she pushed herself away from the railing and Wang Jiexi awkwardly followed her.
Two seconds later Chu Yunxiu lost her balance and toppled backwards. Wang Jiexi had been expecting this though and was quick to support her.
Chu Yunxiu was surprised he was strong enough to catch her full weight and prop her back up.
She muttered a quick thank you and the two moved around slowly for a few minutes.
"Hah...this is not romantic at all!" said Chu Yunxiu finally.
"Eh? What do you mean?"
Chu Yunxiu sighed.
In one way she was glad Wang Jiexi was a dense guy. Anyone else would have jumped with joy thinking her reference to romance meant something.
"You know how they skate around in movies..." she said "It feels so magical and cool."
"That's because they are professional athletes. We are pro gamers."
"Stop being such a wet blanket!"
"Well... if you wanted better company you should've -"
"Aaahhh! Shush!"
Chu Yunxiu pressed her hands against his mouth to stop his whining.
It was true he wasn't the most fun person, but she really didn't want to wander in an unfamiliar city all alone. She knew she could've joined one of the other groups but she wanted to do different things and her presence might restrict the other parties from doing the stuff they wanted too.
Wang Jiexi was the perfect fit for someone who was jobless and possibly had no opinions on what he wanted to do. But Chu Yunxiu decided to be nice to him since he had gotten on the ice for her.
"What do you want to do then?" she asked as she tried to grab his shoulder for balance.
"You know what I wanted to do.... " Wang Jiexi sighed and moved her arms from his shoulder. He then put his own arms around her and moved her to face the way out.
"You want to leave?? Isn't there anything you want to do besides Glory?" Chu Yunxiu looked up at him sternly hoping that he would give a proper answer this time.
"Well.... nothing in particular. Whatever you want. I don't care. Just something less exciting though. "
Chu Yunxiu grinned.
"Okay! Let's slide our way back then!"
Chu Yunxiu continued to edge towards the railing carefully when she felt someone whoosh past her.
She stared in shock as Wang Jiexi easily skated to the edge and stepped out of the rink.
"You... Is there anything you are not good at??" she yelled out.
Wang Jiexi smiled.
"I said I find skating dangerous and I don't know how to do it. Doesn't mean I don't know how it works. "
"Theory! Theory! Theory! That's all you guys care about!!"
Wang Jiexi suppressed another burst of laughter as he sat at the side and waited for Chu Yunxiu to clumsily make her way back.
They left the rink and walked down the street for a while.
The street was filled with many tourists and they mingled in with the crowd easily.
"That girl back there was not the Warlock.... " said Wang Jiexi.
"Oh?? You went and checked?? Are you disappointed?" Chu Yunxiu teased playfully.
"... What I meant is you probably knew and just lied to annoy me."
"Nope... I lied to get you on the ice."
"Same thing."
"What do you want to do now?! How about a movie?!" Chu Yunxiu had noticed a theater up ahead and cinema was usually a good way to kill time.
"Um... do you think we will understand any of those movies?"
"Uh... let's check."
The two looked at the movie posters, hoping to see something familiar. Finally they found what looked like a pure action movie which probably did not require any deep understanding.
Chu Yunxiu was surprised that Wang Jiexi seemed good with an action movie. She had always assumed he would prefer something less commercial but then again she wondered how much of his dignified attitude was his true nature and how much was just the appearance he maintained for professional reasons.
Chu Yunxiu actually liked simple and direct people. People who she didn't have to think hard to figure out or understand.That's why she was good friends with Ye Xiu even though she mostly knew him through Su Mucheng.
Wang Jiexi was far from easy to figure out but right now she liked how he was just going along with her and attempting to lighten up.
"I'll get the tickets." she said as she ran over to join the queue.
Wang Jiexi wandered over to look at more posters. He had given up all hope of getting back to work. Chu Yunxiu looked like she was only getting started and there was no point in being grumpy about it.
It wasn't that Wang Jiexi did not want to enjoy himself, but he felt like he had to make use of every precious moment to be productive.
Back at Tiny Herb, he rarely had thoughts of relaxing let alone the opportunity. If it was not the team it was the club and he always had something to work on all the time.
He would be lying though if he said he was 100℅ diligent and focussed only on the work. At times his thoughts strayed to other things and he had his own methods of relaxation. The difference was, he usually spent it by himself.
He still welcomed company but at Tiny Herb he wasn't really close to someone in that way. The team were all youngsters and they usually had their own ways to hang out and have fun. Wang Jiexi wasn't particularly close with any of the staff either and spending time by himself was something he was rather used to.
So he was perplexed by free spirits like Chu Yunxiu. He admired her as a Glory player and respected her skills greatly. But her breezy attitude was something he was quite unfamiliar with. They did not know each other too well but she spoke to him in the same way she did to everybody else.
At Tiny Herb, Wang Jiexi knew that people spoke to him differently, but he had accepted it as he perfectly understood the reasons. But Chu Yunxiu didn't seem to be unnerved by his serious appearance at all and had no qualms about teasing him either.
This actually made Wang Jiexi feel a bit happy. He wasn't shy or uncommunicative but he was still reserved in his own way. When it came to Glory he could talk and talk forever, but at other things he went on the backfoot because he simply wasn't sure how to hold interesting conversations on normal matters.
He never intended to come off as strict or unapproachable but apparently it was his stern demeanor that inspired so much confidence in him from Tiny Herb and so he was used to maintaining that aura.
It was very hard to suddenly loosen up under Chu Yunxiu's command but he did appreciate the fact that she had persisted and not left him to his own devices as most others usually did.
Wang Jiexi's deep thoughts were interrupted by a loud commotion from the ticket counter.
With the sudden realisation that one of the voices belonged to Chu Yunxiu he quickly pushed through the crowd to get closer.
Chu Yunxiu was arguing with a random guy and she seemed very shocked when Wang Jiexi appeared without warning and pulled her back.
"Ask your girlfriend to mind her language!!" shouted the stranger.
"Why don't you mind your filthy ha-" Chu Yunxiu's words were cut off by Wang Jiexi though with an apology.
"Excuse us please. Sorry. "
Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Chu Yunxiu's hand and dragged her away quickly, ignoring the strange looks from the bystanders.
They got away from the queue and Wang Jiexi led them to a quiet corner.
"What are you doing?" he said with an exasperated sigh.
He noticed that Chu Yunxiu already held two tickets tightly in her hand and he took them from her.
"We are in a foreign country. " he continued "We are not just here in our role as professional gamers but also as representatives of China. We should not get involved in anything unnecessary while we are here.
The media loves stuff like this and nothing is better news to them than tarnishing the image of people like us. Do you understand? So the next time you want to get into a fight in public think about this and just walk away."
"Even if someone was being inappropriate with me?" asked Chu Yunxiu calmly.
"Wh- Wait - What??"
Wang Jiexi stared awkwardly at her for a moment.
"It's fine... Let's go." she said quietly and moved towards the cinema hall.
"Wait... " said Wang Jiexi.
He looked back at the ticket counter and then at Chu Yunxiu.
"Wait right here." he said and he quickly ran back towards the ticket counter.
"Wha- Oh!! Wait! Wait!!" Chu Yunxiu was initially too stunned to react but seeing Wang Jiexi's purposeful stride towards the offender had pulled her to her senses again.
Wang Jiexi went over to the guy and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
The man had barely turned when Wang Jiexi threw a stong punch right at his chin and sent him crashing to the ground.
"Next time mind your filthy hands." he said in a low voice.
The people in the queue made no attempt to break up the fight and watched on with mild curiosity.
Wang Jiexi was prepared to wait there from the man to get up and knock him down once more, but Chu Yunxiu quickly came over and grabbed his arm.
With a sweet smile, she looked around and said loudly "Excuse us! Sorry!!"
The people in the queue looked on in amusement as Chu Yunxiu dragged Wang Jiexi away this time and the two ran off into the cinema hall.
They settled in their seats and Wang Jiexi tried to frame a decent apology in his head. He had just jumped to the conclusion that Chu Yunxiu was being impulsive as ever and had got involved in an unnecessary altercation.
Now in retrospect he was the impulsive one. Not only had he scolded her unnecessarily, he had also added to the drama by going back to punch that guy.
But Wang Jiexi honestly felt happy he had done that though he wasn't sure what Chu Yunxiu thought about it.
Chu Yunxiu suddenly chuckled and squeezed Wang Jiexi's hand.
"Thanks"
Wang Jiexi nodded awkwardly "I'm sorry for what -"
"It's ok!" Chu Yunxiu took away her hand and smiled "Who knew there was an angry young man beneath all that??"
Wang Jiexi looked away feeling rather embarrassed. Thankfully the movie started playing and he was saved from further comments.
The movie was mostly a brainless action movie but it did have a few explicit scenes in between and Wang Jiexi looked at Chu Yunxiu each time to see if she minded.
It wasn't that Wang Jiexi had never watched these kind of movies, but it was different when he was watching it with someone else.
Chu Yunxiu didn't seem bothered at all though and once again Wang Jiexi was impressed by her unique personality.
"Eyes on the screen, kiddo!" she said suddenly with a sly look at Wang Jiexi.
He hadn't even realised that he had been staring at Chu Yunxiu and turning red, he focussed back on the screen.
Chu Yunxiu shivered slightly and rubbed her arms for warmth. After nearly two hours they had emerged out onto the street and the cold air chilled her to the bone.
She regretted not having picked a warmer jacket with longer sleeves but she had been too busy trying to get Wang Jiexi outside. She hadn't wanted to leave him alone either, lest he escaped to his room.
Wang Jiexi on the other hand had been wearing his warmest coat already and so didn't feel the chill at all until he noticed Chu Yunxiu vigorously rubbing herself.
"Wait for a moment" he said and before Chu Yunxiu could even respond he disappeared into a nearby store.
Assuming he probably wanted to answer nature's call, Chu Yunxiu took out her phone and started to search for a good restaurant. Good food would definitely warm her up and even she was curious about the local cuisine after Zhang Jiale had described it to her from a tourist guide.
Suddenly she felt something warm on her shoulders.
She looked up and saw Wang Jiexi had slipped a coat around her. She blinked in surprise and then began to laugh.
"Wow... did you just buy a new coat for me?? Seriously?!!"
Chu Yunxiu had not been expecting a romantic drama moment but this was just too funny.
But then again this was typical of Wang Jiexi.
"Well, yes." replied Wang Jiexi "Were you expecting me to give you my coat? I'm not that selfless. Also it would be too big for you."
"Haha! Ok! Remind me to pay you the money once we get back." Chu Yunxiu shook the coat to check if the price tag was still on it, but Wang Jiexi had been sensible enough to get it removed.
"Don't worry about the money... " he said quietly "Consider it a gift."
"Ooh! We are on gifting terms now??" Chu Yunxiu held up her phone and pointed at the screen "Ok then! Dinner's on me! This place look good?"
Wang Jiexi skimmed through the review and nodded in agreement.
The two navigated their way to the restaurant and were soon seated at a table with a nice view and handed an impressive looking menu.
Chu Yunxiu pointed at an item on the menu.
"This looks filling!"
Wang Jiexi's head hurt trying to read the name.
Zurcher Geschnetzeltes
But the waiter nodded earnestly and Chu Yunxiu gave a thumbs up as she placed her order of the strangely named dish.
"Rösti, rice or noodles?" asked the waiter pointing to what seemed to be a choice of accompaniments for the dish.
"Um... rösti!" said Chu Yunxiu.
Wang Jiexi had no idea what it was but Chu Yunxiu was definitely more adventurous than he had imagined. He would have definitely preferred to pick something familiar.
"What's life without some variety?" she said with a quick wink. "Order something different, won't you? So that we can try another dish too!"
The waiter now turned to Wang Jiexi expectantly.
Wang Jiexi was sure the man would be disappointed if he picked out a simple soup now.
The only other thing on the menu which he recognised was fondue. It was a staple at the common canteen and Wang Jiexi particularly liked a herb infused variety of that.
He knew if he chose fondue Chu Yunxiu would roll her eyes at him and finally he pointed at what seemed like a safe dish from its description.
Zürcher Eintopf
The waiter nodded and after pouring out a glass of wine for Chu Yunxiu he left. A few minutes later, to Wang Jiexi's delight a complimentary bowl of fondue and some bread was placed on the table.
"Ah! It's your favorite, right?" said Chu Yunxiu.
"Ah - I like it. How did you know?"
Chu Yunxiu wondered if she should say that she had seen him eat this a few times from the canteen before but she didn't want to unnerve him into thinking she was following him around.
"Well I can see you like it from the way your face lit up!" Chu Yunxiu took a piece of bread too and helped herself to the fondue "Don't fill yourself up too much! We've got a lot more eating to do!"
"Mmm... "
Chu Yunxiu took a sip of her wine and sat back. It was not as strong as she would have liked but it was still good.
"You don't want a drink?" she asked.
"Um... no. "
"Why? Lighten up. We don't have a game tomorrow. Or are you like Ye Xiu and really bad with your alcohol?"
"No... but atleast one of us should be stable enough to get us back to our rooms."
Chu Yunxiu burst out laughing.
"I just love how you say stuff like that with a straight face!!" Chu Yunxiu offered her glass to him "But it's pretty weak. You can try it."
"What makes you think I don't like it strong?"
Wang Jiexi grinned seeing Chu Yunxiu's surprised face.
"Well... I don't know... Just... Do you drink?"
"Sometimes. I admit I can't take too much and I usually don't remember a thing afterwards but yeah I drink."
"Ooh! Nice! Then we should definitely find a better place after this and get a drink!"
"What? No-"
"Yes! Don't you want to just enjoy and forget everything for a while? I know I do! And don't worry! I'm pretty strong with alcohol and I can get you back in case you pass out!"
Chu Yunxiu waited for Wang Jiexi to refuse stoically as always but he leaned forward and said in a soft voice "I don't mind. But don't you think I will be too heavy for you to carry back?"
Chu Yunxiu's smacked his hand and grinned "I'll dump you in a taxi, that's what I'll do!"
Wang Jiexi didn't reply and continued to eat.
"So... just curious." said Chu Yunxiu "That Warlock girl... Did you know she was flirting with you or didn't you?"
"Why are you talking about that again?" he replied raising an eyebrow.
"Because I'm curious! Did you actually understand or were you as clueless as the others made out?"
"Well... I did think she was trash-talking... "
Chu Yunxiu began to snigger seeing his face but his next comment made her stop.
"... But I did catch on that it wasn't complete trash-talk."
"So... why didn't you say anything?" asked Chu Yunxiu in surprise.
"Say what?"
"Well... not to her!! I mean the others! When they teased you!"
"Well what did I have to say? That I understood she was flirting with me? It doesn't make a difference."
"Well yeah..... " Chu Yunxiu's eyes narrowed suspiciously "You are... not as thick as I imagined."
"Oh? What did you imagine?"
"Thick like a 10 inch iron wall."
"Haha! Really? Look even if I didn't understand the intention behind her words she was gripping my hand rather tightly. I think I got the message."
"Wow.... Have you been confessed to by other girls before?? I did think you played it a lot more cool than I was expecting you to."
"Not in a public place like that."
"Mm... I see... Wait!! You mean it has happened elsewhere?!?" Chu Yunxiu's jaw dropped in amazement because she had only asked that question to tease him and had not expected an answer like that.
"Not anytime recently!" he said with a laugh, seeing her expression "Long back... in college..."
"Ah... I forgot you've been in college too. You look like you were born in Tiny Herb."
The two began to laugh again at this comment.
"So... Wang Jiexi... " Chu Yunxiu sat back and swirled her drink around "It seems even you have a double life. And you seem to know how to give a girl a good time."
"In theory of course." he replied immediately and Chu Yunxiu chuckled at this obvious poke at her.
"I guess the responsibilities of captaincy changed you." said Chu Yunxiu finally.
"I suppose... It never changed you?"
Chu Yunxiu was quiet for a moment and then she laughed "Maybe. But not so much that I've forgotten myself or the other things in life. I learn to keep my work and pleasure separate. You should too! Why are we talking about this now?! I wonder what kinda guy you were in college for a girl to be interested in you!! Certainly nothing like now, I bet! "
Wang Jiexi didn't immediately reply for he was focussed on the bread. But after finishing it he sat back and looked Chu Yunxiu straight in the eye.
"Are you having a good time now?"
"Huh? Well... Yes."
Wang Jiexi then gave an innocent smile.
"Then it seems I still haven't lost my charm."
Chu Yunxiu cracked up hearing this because she really had walked right into it. She had never exactly expected Wang Jiexi to be so witty at conversation but she actually liked this side to him.
She felt quite happy that he felt comfortable enough to speak with her in such a manner.
It was true he was a polite and decent person, but Chu Yunxiu had always thought he was a bit too stiff.
It wasn't like she expected him to be bubbly like Fang Rui or Huang Shaotian or even snarky like Ye Xiu but she always felt Wang Jiexi was mature beyond his years.
But unlike many others, she didn't let that stop her from approaching him. She was glad that her persistence had finally broken through and he was able to relax in front of her.
The two continued to chat casually until the food arrived.
Wang Jiexi was pleased that his choice had been right and what he received was actually a hotpot of some kind. The two helped themselves to each others dishes too and Wang Jiexi realised that he did know what the rösti was.
The team had eaten it in the canteen before and they just called it a potato pancake. This one was just a more fancy version and had a bacon flavor to it.
Chu Yunxiu certainly had a good appetite and by the time Wang Jiexi was halfway-through, she was already looking through the deserts.
Finally she ordered a slice of Zuger Kirschtorte and asked if he wanted one too.
Wang Jiexi had been thinking of ordering a plain old Chocolate ice cream but he knew Chu Yunxiu would never let it go if he has passed up a fancy dessert for boring ice-cream.
The cake was certainly delicious and though Wang Jiexi did not really have a sweet-tooth he enjoyed it too.
Chu Yunxiu settled the bill while Wang Jiexi paid the tip and the two left the restaurant.
It was past 9:00 now and Wang Jiexi was contemplating whether they should walk back or take a taxi when he saw that Chu Yunxiu was scrolling through her phone intensely.
"Aren't we going back now?" he asked.
"Nope! Let's have a few drinks and check out the night life!" she replied.
At first Wang Jiexi thought she was joking but seeing her continue trying to find a pub nearby he tapped her to get her attention.
"Listen.... are you sure? It's already quite late."
"Not really." she replied without even looking up "We don't need to hit a club or anything. I've heard Zurich has some cool spots for nightlife! We can just enjoy the atmosphere for a while!"
"Chu Yunxiu.... "
Chu Yunxiu finally looked up on hearing the different tone in Wang Jiexi's voice.
"What?"
"I... don't know. I mean... " Wang Jiexi hesitated as he did not know how to put it into words "It's just... are you sure it will be alright? Just the two of us... "
Wang Jiexi trailed off as he was not even making any sense to himself.
What he wanted to say was wouldn't it be odd for the two of them to be out so late together. It wasn't that he didn't like Chu Yunxiu's company or wanted to go back.
Far from it.
But if people could make stories from a simple flirty comment and a handshake he knew something of these proportions could be blown up like crazy.
It wasn't the team he was worried about really but there was a small nagging fear that someone else would see this and make assumptions.
Wang Jiexi was actually thinking more about Chu Yunxiu than himself.
While most of the experienced senior pros never dared looked down on their female colleagues and had immense respect for their skill and personality, the public were not so kind.
Chu Yunxiu herself was always heavily criticised for being a weak Captain and the reason was always attributed to her being a woman.
This annoyed many of the other pros but they could not speak up on an issue until they were asked for their opinion. So the only way they could show their respect was in the game or their private interactions with the ladies.
The media would make stories out of anything but if Chu Yunxiu was involved, Wang Jiexi was sure they would be more ruthless than usual and bring up the stereotypical talks again.
"Did you enjoy yourself, Wang Jiexi?" asked Chu Yunxiu suddenly.
"Yes. But-"
"Just answer the question. Do you want to spend some more time with me?"
Wang Jiexi wanted to explain in detail but seeing her piercing stare he wavered and nodded quietly.
"Yes I do."
"That's all we need to care about."
Chu Yunxiu slipped her arm through his and held up her phone.
"I found a good bar. Let's go!"
"Chu Yunxiu... Is this really -"
"You don't have to be worried about me." Chu Yunxiu smiled gently.
She could understand Wang Jiexi's thoughts perfectly.
If he had wanted to go back she would have let him. But Chu Yunxiu was beyond caring about what people would think about every aspect of her personal life.
"I don't care... " she said quietly "Let people talk. And when I shut them up on stage they will think twice the next time."
Wang Jiexi's arms suddenly relaxed as he let Chu Yunxiu hold him properly.
"If it's fine with you it's fine with me." he replied "Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed evey moment with you. It's been... so long. And I liked talking to you... and the way you talk to me.... and..."
Chu Yunxiu held up a finger to his lips and silenced him.
"Now! Now! People usually start talking like this after they get drunk! Let's just enjoy without any other thoughts, ok! I don't think we will get an opportunity to hang out like this once we are back home."
Chu Yunxiu felt a bit sad after she said that last sentence but it was not in her nature to overthink.
"Well... we can hang out." said Wang Jiexi quietly "Two times during the normal matches and provided we make it to the finals, one more time."
Chu Yunxiu punched his arm playfully.
"I'm not sure you would want to hang out with me after we beat you in the finals."
"Maybe... but I don't see what that has to do with us spending time together." Wang Jiexi smiled at her and Chu Yunxiu suddenly felt a flush creeping up her face.
"Ah! Let's go!!" she yelled as she turned away and started walking.
Wang Jiexi was surprised he had actually succeeded in getting Chu Yunxiu embarrassed about something.
But it had not been a mere throwaway line. He truly meant it.
As the two entered a bar and grabbed a bunch of drinks, he decided that he really had made a good decision by following her out that day.
Wang Jiexi hadn't explicitly said it, but he did find her pretty. While the incident on stage with the other girl had embarrassed him because it was out of the blue and in public, he hadn't really felt anything else. But throughout this evening with Chu Yunxiu, he had felt some very different emotions towards her.
Deep down he accepted he was quite lucky to get a whole evening with her.
It was true he couldn't work up the courage to express his gratitude or how he thought she was really amazing or express any of his thoughts about her.
So the least he could do now was to enjoy and give her a good time.
When Wang Jiexi woke up in the morning he had no recollection of the previous night. Thankfully he was in his own room and he got up to change his clothes.
He took off his shirt and let out a piercing scream seeing his reflection in the mirror.
Running all the way from his left shoulder to the middle of his arm was a rather vivid tattoo.
Wang Jiexi stared at the reflection of the tattoo in the mirror for a few more seconds before letting out another scream and trying to wash it off.
But it was an original tattoo - inked in professionally, and Wang Jiexi stared at it in silence.
He had no idea where this came from.
The picture was a series of strange interlocking patterns and looking carefully he could see there was writing on it too.
Most of it was artistically written in German and he did not understand what it was but the last two words were in English and with his limited knowledge he knew what it read.
Chu Yunxiu
Over breakfast he got to know from her that it was Wang Jiexi who had insisted he wanted to get a tattoo.
Both of them had been drunk and Chu Yunxiu didn't remember much of what had happened as she had fallen asleep at the tattoo shop but she was extremely delighted that her name was written so nicely on the tattoo.
"Do you know what the rest means?" asked Wang Jiexi in dismay.
The whole thing was rather mortifying and he knew he wouldn't be able to hide it for long from the others.
"Why does it matter?" said Chu Yunxiu as she traced her finger over the pattern "They don't know German! It could be 'For the most amazing person, Chu Yunxiu'! It looks great!"
Wang Jiexi wasn't sure if it really looked great and Chu Yunxiu was slightly disappointed that he wore very long sleeves to cover it up for the rest of the day.
Of course, Fang Rui And Huang Shaotian - the troublemakers they were - discovered it soon enough.
Surprisingly instead of teasing Wang Jiexi to death everyone unanimously agreed that it was very cool and the younger players looked at Wang Jiexi rather enviously for they weren't sure if they could withstand the pain from tattoo needles.
Wang Jiexi was pretty sure he couldn't have taken that kind of pain either but with little memories of that night except for a general sense of happiness at having spent time with Chu Yunxiu, he couldn't comment on the tattoo experience at all.
Chu Yunxiu remembered a little bit more about the night - how the two had talked for a very long time at the bar and then wandered the streets until Wang Jiexi had insisted he wanted a tattoo as it was a childhood dream.
Chu Yunxiu had been in too exhilarated a mood to stop him. She felt a mixture of confusion and delight seeing her name on the tattoo but had no idea how it had all happened.
She had truly enjoyed the night.
She almost regretted having got Wang Jiexi so drunk even after he had mentioned he didn't remember much after drinking alcohol.
They had talked a lot that night.
About rather personal things.
Chu Yunxiu still remembered a lot of the things Wang Jiexi had told her. But it seemed he did not remember any of it.
She felt a twinge of disappointment because it was during their drunken conversations that Wang Jiexi had really opened up.
Chu Yunxiu had truly not expected him to have such a high opinion of her.
Or have so much to say to her.
She was sure if she told the full story to Wang Jiexi now and repeated the words he had said to her, he would surely die of embarrassment.
So she just smiled and claimed to remember only the vague details.
Wang Jiexi himself felt there was something more but he could not recall anything specifically.
But looking at the tattoo he could understand he must have had very strong feelings that night to have gone and done something so impulsive.
As he let his sleeves drop over the tattoo he suddenly wondered why he was still hiding it.
Everybody knew and none of them cared too much about it.
Even though he himself had thought it was odd that Chu Yunxiu's name was on it, the others merely assumed that that the tattooist had simply added her name as she was with Wang Jiexi at that time.
The next morning as they got ready for training, Chu Yunxiu looked over at Wang Jiexi and felt a flutter of joy seeing the uncovered tattoo.
"You don't have any more long-sleeved clothes?" she asked quickly as she sat next to him.
"Well... there's no point in hiding it really. I mean.... it's only your name isn't it? And everyone has seen it already."
Wang Jiexi smiled at her and he was pleasantly surprised to see she was smiling back too.
"True! True!" she said "And maybe next time we hang out I'll get a matching one! I mean.... like matching friendship bands... that sort of thing....matching friendship tattoos..."
Chu Yunxiu felt a bit embarrassed as the words tumbled out but Wang Jiexi just laughed and nodded his head.
"I'm looking forward to that then."
Chu Yunxiu smiled and turned to her computer.
Perhaps he didn't remember whatever he had said before but if he wanted to go out with her again it meant he still had good memories about that night.
Next time she hoped she could get him to make the same memories without the support of alcohol.
And hopefully get him to open his heart to her again as he had done then.
As Team China lined up for the next match, there were a few curious looks from the audience as they noticed a very intricate tattoo on one of the senior players, the Magician, Wang Jiexi.
It was a local style very familiar to them and the few youngsters who had good eyesight could actually read the words on it.
There was a buzz amongst them as they understood the rather cringe-worthy words but they too were young and only felt a sense of respect for the bold statement made by Wang Jiexi.
Tätowiert auf meinem Herzen, Chu Yunxiu
Tattooed on my heart, Chu Yunxiu