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Waves crashed against the shore, leaving water marks on the drenched sand. Seagulls flew above, calling loudly as they passed overhead. The sky was a blue streaked with clouds, like a child had drawn over a pure blue canvas with a white paintbrush. There was the distinct sound of chattering as people played on the beach, some sitting under umbrellas in the shade, some jumping around in the water.
The bus door opened, and one very noticeable, yellow-haired pro gamer jumped out. “Beach!” He yelled, nearly tumbling over in his flip-flops as he landed, laughing. “We’re at the beach!”
“Huang Shao, have you never been to a beach before?” Zheng Xuan grumbled as he stepped out, rubbing his eyes. “So loud.”
“It’s not that,” Huang Shaotian stuck his hands on his waist. “When was the last time you’ve been to the beach? When was the last time you’ve gone outside at all, huh?”
“Didn’t we literally just get off a plane? Are you even hearing yourself?” Zheng Xuan rolled his eyes as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
“Beach!” Lu Hanwen echoed Huang Shaotian’s original call, his eyes wide as he watched the white foam disappear into the air. “Oh, I haven’t been here in so long…”
“See, Hanwen understands me,” Huang Shaotian folded his arms over his chest, triumphantly smiling.
“It’s good to be excited,” Yu Wenzhou stepped off a few seconds later, turning around and making sure all of the members of the team had gotten off the bus. “The bus will take us back around eight. Until then, you are free to do what you want.”
“Captain is the best!” Huang Shaotian cheered, running straight toward the edge and throwing his things off to the side, Lu Hanwen following close behind.
The rest of the team slowly migrated over, and Yu Wenzhou brought up the rear, a fond smile on his face. Their team had worked hard in the last season. Even if they hadn’t won the championships, they had still improved their teamwork and tactics. Not everything was about winning — of course, winning was always great and encouraged — but it was more about growth and development.
It wasn’t like Blue Rain was on bad terms with any of the teams in the Glory Pro Alliance; each game had ended with firm handshakes and the promise to beat each other the next time. But that wasn’t what he was supposed to be thinking about now. Now, it was summer, and it was a rare chance for them to relax. Why would he waste it?
Yu Wenzhou bent down to pick up Huang Shaotian’s discarded bag, pulling it under the shade of an umbrella. He preferred to stay in the shade, compared to some of the others who were laughing under the sun. Of course, some others like Zheng Xuan stayed by his side, texting someone on his phone.
By this time, it was already late afternoon. They had just landed a few hours ago; after setting things down in the hotel and eating a quick lunch, they decided to go to the beach to have some fun. Actually, the beach wasn’t too far, but since the bus that had sent them from the airport was still there, they decided to take the air-conditioned route to the ocean. There were still quite a number of people outside, but it wasn’t too crowded.
Yu Wenzhou heard a distinct laughter from a distance, looking up to see Huang Shaotian grinning as he splashed Song Xiao before running — well, swimming — away. He laughed lightly as well, pulling out his phone and taking a few photos of them in the water. His photography skills weren’t the best, but that was okay. It was more about the memories anyway; who cared if they weren’t top-tier?
“I wonder how he has so much energy,” Zheng Xuan pressed the power button on his phone, setting it down onto a towel. “Captain, how do you deal with him?”
“Shaotian’s energy isn’t a bad thing,” Yu Wenzhou said lightly. “It’s nice being to listen and not having to talk too much. You would understand that kind of feeling, wouldn’t you?”
“Hmm,” Zheng Xuan leaned back on his arms, looking up toward the sky. “Well, he talks too much. It’s nice, but too much isn’t any good either. Sometimes I wish I could just stick his head under water so he’d shut up.”
Yu Wenzhou smiled. “If he heard that, then he’d be quite glad that he isn’t rooming with you.”
“As if I’d room with him anyway.”
“Captain!” Huang Shaotian called, waving his arms frantically and splashing water everywhere. “Come into the water! It’s really cool!”
Before Yu Wenzhou even had the chance to respond, Huang Shaotian had run over, water dripping into the sand as he reached out to pull Yu Wenzhou up. “Come, come.”
Zheng Xuan snorted as Yu Wenzhou let himself get pulled forward. “The water is so clear here,” Huang Shaotian rambled as they walked toward the water. “Hanwen and I saw some small crabs too, they run so fast! I tried to pick one up but it buried itself into the sand before I could. Oh, there’s a lot of pretty shells too! Like over there… ah, where did it go? Maybe it got washed away. Oh right, captain—”
Huang Shaotian’s impromptu speech suddenly cut off as Yu Wenzhou suddenly pulled him into a hug. “Is… Is something wrong?” Huang Shaotian’s tone changed immediately.
“No,” Yu Wenzhou laughed lightly. “I’m just really happy you’re here.”
It was true that Huang Shaotian talked a lot; there was no one in the Glory Pro Alliance that could outspeak him. Many found it annoying as well, but not Yu Wenzhou. He knew, as well as a handful of others, that he spoke not only to make himself focus, but also to distract himself and others. He could easily break the tension after a loss by quickly focusing on what to improve for the next game, or help people not focus on how stressed they were by cracking a quick joke.
Sometimes, Yu Wenzhou wished he had that kind of ability, to push others’ worries away. Huang Shaotian was like the sun, a bright brilliance that would blind people who did not know better. The heat of rays would sometimes be burning, but sometimes those rays would be the warmth on a cold winter day. He truly was grateful for meeting Huang Shaotian in this life.
“Hm?” Huang Shaotian looked at him with bright eyes, oblivious to the thoughts running through Yu Wenzhou’s mind. “Me too! You’re the best captain! I can’t imagine being any other captain’s vice captain except yours. Of course, none of the captains would be able to deal with me anyway. That’s why you’re the best!”
Huang Shaotian laughed as the water splashed around their ankles. By this time, the sun had started to set, casting reddish orange glows over the skies. “Hey, captain, did I tell you about that one time I went to the beach when I was really little?”
“No, you didn’t,” Yu Wenzhou’s voice was slightly distracted.
“Ok so, my parents brought me to the beach this one time…” Huang Shaotian started to talk, subconsciously intertwining his fingers with Yu Wenzhou’s as they walked along the shore in the water.
His voice sounded in Yu Wenzhou’s ears, but the latter was unable to focus. Huang Shaotian was further away from the shore than he was, so when Yu Wenzhou turned to look at him, he could see the brilliant sun on the horizon, causing Huang Shaotian’s hair to glow slightly. He really is like the sun, Yu Wenzhou let out a soft sigh, the look in his eyes growing fond.
He felt like Icarus, recklessly throwing himself into the heat of the sun. Only, he knew that the sun wouldn’t harm him, but would instead provide him with warmth. Even since the training camp, he had been a person that Yu Wenzhou couldn’t ignore. He had never been, and Yu Wenzhou was grateful, so grateful that a person like him had stayed by his side.
Of course, there were times that Yu Wenzhou thought Huang Shaotian had overstepped his bounds or had spoken too much, but the number of times he felt like that paled in comparison to the number of times he had been glad to be in the same team as him. Huang Shaotian was able to clearly grasp key points in games and conversations, and always had the words to speak his mind. It wasn’t like Yu Wenzhou was unable to do so as well, but having someone quickfire and cutting into a conversation to direct the flow in the direction he wanted it to be was definitely helpful.
“... And then, my parents made me let it go! Can you believe them? I was only this small, but they didn’t even praise me at all!” Huang Shaotian was pouting as he finished his story.
Yu Wenzhou reached out and touched the top of Huang Shaotian’s head. “I’m proud of you,” he said with a glimmer of laughter in his eyes. “There, I’ll give you the praise in place of your parents. I hope that’s alright.”
Huang Shaotian’s eyes widened for a second before he broke out into a grin, throwing his arms around Yu Wenzhou’s shoulders. “Hehe, of course! I’d prefer captain’s praise over my parents’ any day!”
After Huang Shaotian drew back, he dragged Yu Wenzhou toward the shore again. “Here… let me write something in the sand.”
Yu Wenzhou watched as Huang Shaotian messily drew large characters in the sand with a stick, the full sentence spelling out after a minute or so of hard work.
We still have many summers of blue rain.
He smiled subconsciously as Huang Shaotian turned and looked at him. “There! It’s pretty good, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Yu Wenzhou looked at the scrawl in the sand. “But, won’t it wash away from the waves?”
“So?” Huang Shaotian threw the stick that he was using into the ocean. “The words are engraved in our hearts, not the sand. It doesn’t matter if it washes away here; as long as we remember it, that’s what really matters.”
Yu Wenzhou stared at the words for a little longer, a little lost in thought.
“Oh? What’s this?” Lu Hanwen ran over, seeing the words on the sand. “Hey, let’s take a group photo!”
“Oh, good idea!” Huang Shaotian looked around before calling their teammates over, one by one. “Photo time! Guys, come over, let’s take a photo!”
Zheng Xuan, the only one who hadn’t gone down at all, gave his phone to a bystander to help them take a photo. After a few minutes of shuffling and various complaints, they all gathered together and took a photo, the water nearly rushing over the words a few times.
“Hey wait,” Song Xiao frowned as he took the phone back from the stranger. “Aren’t the words like… upside down?”
“Oh,” Huang Shaotian looked at the picture dumbly.
The entire team burst into laughter, a few people slapping Huang Shaotian on the back. “You really are our Blue Rain’s Huang Shao!”
“Hey! It’s the effort that counts, right captain?” Huang Shaotian scrambled to defend himself.
“Yes, it’s the effort that counts.”
“Whatever, whatever. You’re just looking for an excuse!”
“Yeah, you should’ve realized from the beginning!”
“I wasn’t thinking about taking a photo when I wrote it! Otherwise I would’ve written it neater!”
“We’re not taking a second photo. I’m going back.”
As the sun set beyond the horizon, team Blue Rain started to leave the edge of the water, leaving the words behind in the sand. Yu Wenzhou lagged behind a little, squatting down next to the words. He stuck his finger into the sand, drawing a little smiley face. It was something he did on impulse, maybe just something to leave a trace that he had been there too, been there with Huang Shaotian.
“Ah- huh, captain? Captain, where are you?”
“Coming,” Yu Wenzhou stood back up, brushing the sand off his fingers.
Well, it didn’t really matter if the words got washed away by the water. Huang Shaotian was right; as long as they recognized it in their hearts, it would be fine. He smiled as he sped up his pace, quickly walking over to where Huang Shaotian was waiting for him, with the rest of the team.
We still have many summers of blue rain. :)