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It was something very few players know. Something that was kept quiet and rarely discussed, even amongst those who knew. The fact that once an account was used enough, the character began to take on a life of its own. There are theories about why it happens. Some say it’s because the cards are used so often. Others think it’s all in their heads. Some murmur that it’s because pro players put so much of themselves into Glory, giving the game years of their lives, loving the game and if they pour their blood, sweat and tears into their cards, their avatars, how could the avatars not take on life of their own.
Yu Wenzhou had never put much faith in the rumours that Glory avatars would take on a life of their own. It had always seemed like the kind of fantastical rumour that was only perpetuated to lure more people into trying the game. Or it was something that people made up in their own minds as they grew attached to the cards they had used for years and years.
He never expected to experience the phenomenon, every account of an avatar taking on life of its own had made it clear that the account had been played for years, used over and over again. As Yu Wenzhou kept switching accounts, switching between classes, he knew that even if it were possible, it wasn’t something he’d ever see.
Once he made it to Blue Rain’s training camp, he wondered if his scepticism surrounding the rumours was unfounded. Huang Shaotian’s avatar, Troubling Rain, seemed to have a life of his own, occasionally moving in ways that Yu Wenzhou swore Huang Shaotian hadn’t inputted the commands for. Yu Wenzhou had seen the avatar wink when Huang Shaotian’s hands were off the keyboard, waving for his next victim to come and fight him.
Yu Wenzhou startled out of his thoughts by Huang Shaotian’s voice ringing out, catching the attention of everyone in the room, even those who had been engrossed in their own matches.
“Hey what are you looking at Deadlast, are you looking at my Troubling Rain, are you envious of the bond we have, envious of him because you can’t stick with a card for more than a week, do you think that it’d be better if you were more like me and Troubling Rain, what am I saying, of course you’d be better if you were like me and Troubling Rain, then your hands would actually be fast enough to play Glory!” Huang Shaotian finished off his taunting with a self-satisfied nod and Yu Wenzhou could feel dozens of eyes on him, watching for his reaction.
Before anything else could happen, Wei Chen, along with the rest of Blue Rain entered the room and the tension broke, everyone’s focus shifting to Blue Rain’s captain who directed them to the screen and Yu Wenzhou busied himself with his notes, fading once more into the background. He was only ever properly noticed when Huang Shaotian turned his attention to him, Yu Wenzhou hadn’t even realised that anyone had taken notice of his class switching.
His gaze shifted from his notes for a moment, flicking over to where Huang Shaotian was sat, gaze firmly affixed on Wei Chen, a mix of hero worship and admiration written plainly across his face. Unlike everyone else, Huang Shaotian’s account card, Troubling Rain, was out on his desk, Huang Shaotian’s fingers brushing against it every so often, as if he were having a conversation with the account.
Yu Wenzhou thought about the account he was using, he was self-aware enough to know that the close combat classes weren’t going to work with his hand speed, and he’d been slowly working through different classes, trying to work out what class would be the best for him to work with. His current account was an Elementalist and he knew that while it wasn’t the best class for him, he was able to use it fairly effectively. He pushed away the thought that there was one long range class he hadn’t tried yet, he had the card already, hidden away in his desk but he couldn’t bring himself to touch it yet.
His gaze flicked to the screen where Swoksaar was casting Death’s Door while Wei Chen explained the support that Fang Shijing was providing and Yu Wenzhou pushed all thoughts of the Warlock card out of his mind in order to return to writing notes.
Huang Shaotian had never doubted the rumours that Glory avatars could talk with their players. After all, if the rumours prevailed, there had to be something to them, even if they were exaggerated. He remembered staring wide-eyed at the top Glory teams, wondering what their avatars said to them, what they talked about. He wondered what his avatar would say to him, if they ever reached that point, and he couldn’t help but hope it would come to fruition.
Troubling Rain’s first words to him weren’t anything special, in fact, Troubling Rain didn’t use words, not at first, which Huang Shaotian couldn’t help but find weird. Words were the best thing to use when you wanted to get something across, he remembered his parents saying that he used all sorts of his own words to communicate before he started speaking properly and he couldn’t help but wonder why his Troubling Rain didn’t do the same. But Troubling Rain started with a gentle nudge as Huang Shaotian turned his account card over and over between his fingers.
“You’re really there aren’t you!” Huang Shaotian tried to reign in his excitement but he was certain some of it leaked through, though he thought he could be forgiven for that because his Troubling Rain had just spoken to him! Sort of!
“You knew?”
“I always believed it was possible and now I know that I was always right, always right about this, how long have you been alive, can you talk to other people if they touch the card, do I have to touch the card for you to speak to me, do you ever get dizzy when I have you do those summersaults, I tried to do them once and I got dizzy!” Huang Shaotian sensed that Troubling Rain was trying to sort through the assortment of words he’d just experienced.
“I don’t get dizzy, I thought about talking to you before but I wasn’t sure.”
“Why not, why not, do you not like me?” Huang Shaotian felt cold at the prospect of his Troubling Rain not liking him, not wanting to speak to him, but his next words dispelled his fears.
“I like you! But when we speak to our players we strengthen our bond,” Troubling Rain hesitated before continuing. “Which means it hurts more when we have to let go.”
Huang Shaotian fell silent for a long moment. Pro players signed their cards over to their clubs when they joined the roster, which meant that when he retired he’d be leaving his account behind. He thought about when he’d left home and how his parents had held him tightly, gentle hands stroking over his hair, the way he’d teared up, even as his mamas promised to call him every day. He imagined what it would be like to leave home knowing that he wouldn’t be able to call his parents every day and something tightened painfully in his chest at the thought.
“Oh.” The word hung between them for a long moment and Huang Shaotian bit his lip before speaking again. “Do you want to not talk to me then?”
“I want to talk to you. Desert Dust says that speaking to Han Wenqing clears his mind.”
“What else do they talk about, do they talk about how sad they are when they lose to Blue Rain, when they fall to Captain Wei’s spells, do they talk about that and look sad and defeated because they’re not better than Blue Rain, won’t ever be better than Blue Rain because we’re the best!” Troubling Rain’s silence stretched on for a long moment, long enough that Huang Shaotian nearly got bored enough to fill the silence himself.
“You talk a lot.” It was something that Huang Shaotian heard a lot, but coming from his Troubling Rain, it didn’t sting due to the curiosity lacing the words. “I like it, I thought maybe you’d be silent which would be lonely.”
“Are you lonely?” The prospect of his Troubling Rain being lonely made something in Huang Shaotian’s chest ache and he resolved that he was going to talk to him as much as possible, every single day to make sure that his Troubling Rain wasn’t lonely.
“Sometimes. Not always. It’s different talking to the other avatars because they’re older and established. People call them gods. It’s nice talking to you.”
“You’re going to be a god too one day, just you wait and see Troubling Rain, we’re going to go all the way to the top and Captain Wei and his Swoksaar will be right there beside us! We’ll all stand together and win the trophy and then you’ll be a god as well, just like Desert Dust or One Autumn Leaf!” Huang Shaotian couldn’t help the way his leg bounced as he waited for Troubling Rain to respond and he could sense his avatar’s amusement and hope in the reply.
“That would be nice.” Troubling Rain’s voice lilted slightly and Huang Shaotian hummed quietly to himself, content to relax in Troubling Rain’s company.
The Warlock card was warm in his hand and Yu Wenzhou pushed away the thought that it meant that this was the right class for him to play. He’d been holding the card for a while now, waiting, it was only natural that the card had warmed to his body temperature. Huang Shaotian was sat at Wei Chen’s side for the matches, looking as if there was nowhere he’d rather be.
In fact, Huang Shaotian reminded Yu Wenzhou of his sister’s dog, who would sit beside his sister, practically vibrating with his affection for her, constantly leaning into her space as if she’d disappear if he didn’t. Watching Huang Shaotian come back from the hall with a drink for Wei Chen only strengthened the comparison and Yu Wenzhou was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly missed Wei Chen calling his name.
“Yu Wenzhou, you’re up next.” Yu Wenzhou pretended that he couldn’t see the eyerolls, the mumblings that the match was going to be a slaughterhouse. He nodded politely to Wei Chen, taking his place without any fanfare, inserting his new card into the reader. He caught the look Huang Shaotian threw him, the realisation that it was a brand-new card in his hand, yet another new card and Yu Wenzhou pulled his gaze away, focusing on Encroaching Night as the map loaded around them.
Wei Chen was fast, already moving Swoksaar into position, and forcing Yu Wenzhou to dodge a Soul Slash, moving quickly out of range and taking advantage of the terrain to vanish into the trees, giving him time to take a breath. He could see Wei Chen from the vantage point he’d chosen, Swoksaar searching for any sign of movement.
Yu Wenzhou cast Grasping Ghosts, knowing that it would reveal his position, but the distraction would be enough for him to gain the advantage. Wei Chen cast to deflect the ghosts, watching where they were returning to, knowing that they would lead him to where Yu Wenzhou was hiding. The murmurs behind them grew louder, many unsubtly wondering why Yu Wenzhou would reveal his position so easily.
Swoksaar moved forward, Wei Chen cautious as he wasn’t sure exactly where Yu Wenzhou was and he dodged the Cut Spell, diving to the left, not bothering to deflect it.
Diving right into Yu Wenzhou’s perfectly timed and placed Hexagram Prison.
There were gasps from everyone watching, Huang Shaotian’s body language shifting, eyes darting to Yu Wenzhou, searching for something in his expression, something that he didn’t find. His gaze snapped back to Wei Chen’s screen, watching as Yu Wenzhou’s little Warlock darted out in front of the Hexagram Prison, an obvious, silent taunt, before vanishing back into the trees.
The moment the prison ended, Yu Wenzhou’s little Warlock threw a flurry of attacks at Swoksaar, which were deflected or dodged but some still broke through. Swoksaar pushed forward, casting his own spells in retaliation, forcing Yu Wenzhou’s little Warlock back, pushing him to retreat. Huang Shaotian glanced up at Yu Wenzhou once more, wondering what he was trying to do. He’d already lasted longer than anyone expected and as his little Warlock vanished back into the trees, forcing Swoksaar to follow, Huang Shaotian couldn’t help the ball of nerves in his stomach.
The chase led Swoksaar into what appeared to be an empty clearing, Yu Wenzhou’s little Warlock somewhere in the trees and Huang Shaotian watched as Wei Chen scrutinised the screen, looking for a tell. There was the familiar sound of an attack starting and everyone in the training room watched with wide eyes as a perfectly placed Curse Arrow had Swoksaar slumping to the ground.
Huang Shaotian watched as the gold victory washed across Yu Wenzhou’s face, slow, plodding Yu Wenzhou. Who’d just sent Swoksaar crashing to the ground. He turned to face Wei Chen, unsure of what he was searching for, desperate for him to break the uneasy silence that had just fallen.
“That was good kid, let’s see if it was a fluke.” Yu Wenzhou nodded, face calm and giving nothing away as he turned his attention back to his screen. Huang Shaotian was expecting more. Gloating. Or a declaration that everyone had been wrong about him all along. But Yu Wenzhou remained unflustered, hands steady on his keyboard.
But Wei Chen was going to fight him again and then everything was going to be okay, Yu Wenzhou’s little Warlock would fall to Swoksaar and everything would be normal and Yu Wenzhou would explain how he won the first match and Huang Shaotian would apologise for everything he’d said and it would be okay. It would.
Huang Shaotian watched as Swoksaar fell to Yu Wenzhou’s little Warlock two more times, fell to Yu Wenzhou and his tactics and his gaze fell on Wei Chen, searching for reassurance, needing his captain to break the awful, awful silence that had fallen over the training room.
Yu Wenzhou took his card from the reader and inclined his head to Wei Chen, face smooth and unreadable, if you looked at him, you’d never guess that he’d just beaten the captain three times in a row.
With a Warlock.
Huang Shaotian wasn’t stupid, he was loud, he sometimes got distracted and he let his words run away from him on occasion but he wasn’t stupid. He knew the implications of Yu Wenzhou’s victories. It would be bad enough if Yu Wenzhou had used a different class but a Warlock? The captain’s class? The only message that this sent was that Wei Chen had been surpassed and Huang Shaotian darted after his captain as he left, saying he needed another drink.
“Captain, captain!” Huang Shaotian caught up to Wei Chen faster than he expected, still unsure of what he wanted to say, unsure of the right words to get the right words from Wei Chen in return.
“What are you following me for you brat, are you taking the excuse to get out of training?”
“Oh! Oh how could you accuse me of that old man, don’t you know that I’m the most diligent, don’t you know that I always make sure I do my training because I’m going to be the best, I’m going to be the best for Blue Rain, for you, with my Troubling Rain I’m going to be better than anyone ever just you wait and see old man, okay if you’re going to be rude to me like this I’ll let you drink alone and go and practice!” Wei Chen’s exasperation was fond, as was the hand as he patted Huang Shaotian on the shoulder.
“Go on and practice then, if you want to be the best and show me how good you can be.” Huang Shaotian nodded firmly, running back to the training room and throwing himself into a seat, eyes firmly fixed on the old matches that were being played and analysed. He was going to prove that he was the best so he could win a championship with his captain at his side. Huang Shaotian gripped his pen firmly, determined to see it happen.
When the season came to an end, Wei Chen handed in his resignation along with Swoksaar and left Blue Rain without another word.
Huang Shaotian hadn’t even been there to say goodbye.
Yu Wenzhou had barely held back his flinch when he took his card from the reader, an unfamiliar voice ringing out in his head, delight being the prominent emotion, exhilaration clear in the avatar’s voice.
“We won! We won we won we won!” Yu Wenzhou kept his face smooth, trying not to react to the exuberant voice in his head, his avatar’s words ringing out over and over again.
It wasn’t something he’d planned for, never expected his avatar to take on a life of his own, especially since these were the first matches he’d played with Encroaching Night. From what he’d read, it usually took years for avatars to gain their sentience, and often even longer before they deigned to speak to their users and yet here was Encroaching Night, proving all his research wrong.
“We did it! We did it together, aren’t you excited, we’ve won!!” Yu Wenzhou couldn’t help the smile that pulled at his lips, his avatar’s joy spilling over into him, the warmth and pride from his victory settling into his chest. “Us together! The best team!”
“We did win, didn’t we.” Encroaching Night’s glee was infectious and Yu Wenzhou let his avatar chatter away, words washing over him as he kept his focus on the matches being played for them, kept his focus on his notes.
He could hear the whispers brewing around him, could hear all the quiet mumbling about how he’d been holding back on them, followed by refutations that his hand speed was just as slow as ever, that it must have been a fluke, must have been a bad day for Wei Chen, that there was no way the camp Deadlast had taken on Swoksaar and won.
Fang Shijing cleared his throat from the front of the room, and the whispers went silent immediately, everyone’s heads snapping down to whatever notes they had. Yu Wenzhou didn’t dare look up to meet Fang Shijing’s gaze, could feel him looking at him, seemingly taking him in and even Encroaching Night had fallen silent under the scrutiny.
The moment passed quickly, Fang Shijing turning to point at the screen once more, highlighting the tacit cooperation between Dazzling Hundred Blossoms and Blossoming Chaos. Yu Wenzhou kept his eyes firmly on the way Sun Zheping’s Berserker led the way forward for Zhang Jiale’s Spitfire to break through Tyranny’s defences. He ignored the fact that the whispers started up again the moment Fang Shijing turned away.
Yu Wenzhou took a moment to hope that the rumours would die down after a few weeks, he was used to fading into the background and the sudden scrutiny made his skin prickle.
Unfortunately, just as the other trainees seemed to get over his victories against Wei Chen, Blue Rain’s captain announced his retirement, left Swoksaar, his captaincy and the future of Blue Rain in the hands of Fang Shijing before leaving entirely.
He didn’t come to visit, didn’t even announce the retirement to the club himself, leaving Fang Shijing to relay the news to them. Yu Wenzhou spent a lot of time trying to get the stricken look on Huang Shaotian’s face out of his mind, the way the expression soon smoothed out into blankness.
Yu Wenzhou wasn’t sure when he’d become accustomed to Huang Shaotian’s noise and chatter, but the silence that fell after Wei Chen’s departure made guilt knot in his stomach. The guilt only got worse the more and more the trainers began to pay attention to him, noting the way he played with Encroaching Night, winning more matches than he lost these days.
There were even rumours that after Fang Shijing retired, Swoksaar would be going to him. Yu Wenzhou saw the way Huang Shaotian scowled when the whispers got loud enough for him to hear but he still didn’t say a word. Yu Wenzhou ran his thumb up against the edge of his account card and kept his gaze on his screen and not the emotions flickering across Huang Shaotian’s face.
“You’re blaming Yu Wenzhou for something that isn’t his fault.” Huang Shaotian scoffed at the calmness of Troubling Rain, hating the way he was just sat against a tree on his screen. He couldn’t stop pacing, ever since Fang Shijing had made the announcement he could feel himself coiling tighter and tighter under the tension prickling under his skin. He half wanted to go find Yu Wenzhou and yell at him, accuse him of faking his inability at Glory to get under Wei Chen’s guard, wanted to shake him until Yu Wenzhou brought Wei Chen back, wanted to insult his Warlock’s stupid hairstyle-
“You’re being ridiculous.” Huang Shaotian fought the urge to kick something, knowing that it wouldn’t make anything better, continuing to pace around the room, not acknowledging Troubling Rain’s words. “Yu Wenzhou didn’t force Wei Chen to leave.”
“But he left after Yu Wenzhou beat him!” Troubling Rain’s gaze was steady even after Huang Shaotian’s outburst and Huang Shaotian hated him a little for it. He wanted his Troubling Rain on his side, angry at Yu Wenzhou, agreeing that it was Yu Wenzhou’s fault that Wei Chen was gone and that he wasn’t answering any messages.
“I am on your side.” Huang Shaotian scowled at his bed and Troubling Rain’s voice was soft, calm and unwavering. “But blaming Yu Wenzhou isn’t making you feel better, and it won’t bring Wei Chen back.”
“It might.” But Huang Shaotian’s words held no conviction and he finally slumped in his chair, energy suddenly leaving him. “I just want him to come back.”
“I know.” Neither of them spoke after that and Huang Shaotian watched his Troubling Rain sharpen his sword, the repetitive motion soothing.
“I should apologise to Yu Wenzhou, shouldn’t I?” Troubling Rain hummed, sheathing his sword and tidying away his tools, he was always so meticulous, and Huang Shaotian waited for his answer.
“It’s your decision to make, but I believe that it would be the right choice.”
“I thought I’d get to play alongside him one day.” The words are muffled by his pillow but Troubling Rain caught them anyway.
“This is how Glory is, the new players rise and the old players step aside to see a new generation in their place.” Huang Shaotian mumbled something into the pillow and Troubling Rain hummed quietly, “that doesn’t make it easier to bear.” After that they both fell into silence, Huang Shaotian’s mind refusing to quieten, flicking from Wei Chen and his departure, to Yu Wenzhou and his calm steady playing that stretched out until his trap snapped shut around his opponent.
Huang Shaotian found himself standing outside Yu Wenzhou’s door, pacing around outside as he wondered if it was too late to knock, wondered if Yu Wenzhou was the kind of guy to go to sleep early, or if he liked to stay up late to practice. It was at this point that Huang Shaotian realised that he didn’t really know Yu Wenzhou at all and if the rumours swirling around Blue Rain were true, that was something he’d have to fix before they both debuted.
None of these thoughts helped him solve the issue that he still didn’t know whether it was a good time to apologise to Yu Wenzhou and he settled back into pacing and mumbling to himself, weighing up his options.
“Aren’t you happy you won?” Encroaching Night’s voice rang out in his mind and Yu Wenzhou tried not to twitch, he wasn’t used to hearing someone in his mind, and it was still unnerving.
“Of course I’m glad I won.” Yu Wenzhou could picture Encroaching Night’s furrowed brow and his next words only confirmed it.
"If you proved what you wanted to prove, why are you still sad?" Encroaching Night’s voice was confused and Yu Wenzhou sighed, still unsure of the reason himself. “Are you sad because Huang Shaotian isn’t talking?”
Yu Wenzhou hadn’t actually been thinking about Huang Shaotian but Encroaching Night’s words reminded him of how the other player had fallen silent after Wei Chen left, the endless stream of words finally trickling away to nothing.
“It’s not about Huang Shaotian,” Encroaching Night stayed silent, letting Yu Wenzhou mull over his thoughts, “I beat Wei Chen and then he left.”
“Left you?”
“Left all of us, he didn’t leave me, he didn’t know I was there to leave.”
“You wanted him to stay for you?” Encroaching Night’s words made Yu Wenzhou pause, face creasing into a frown as he wondered why Wei Chen leaving bothered him so much.
“I wanted him to stay for Blue Rain.” When Encroaching Night remained silent, Yu Wenzhou let the rest of the words out, keeping his voice low, nearly inaudible, despite the fact he was the only person in the room. “And maybe I wanted him to stay for me too. So, I could play him again and learn beside him, not at the back like I used to.” Yu Wenzhou sighed, tucking his account card into its sleeve before getting into bed. It wasn’t like he could do anything about Wei Chen now and he settled in to try to sleep.
Yu Wenzhou jolted out of his light doze when he heard movement outside his door and he pulled himself awake when the noise didn’t fade, almost as if someone was pacing in the corridor. Yu Wenzhou pulled the door open and came face to face with Huang Shaotian who had his hand up, ready to knock. He stumbled back a few paces when the door opened before recovering, hand moving to cup at his neck, seemingly unsure of himself.
“I wanted to come talk to you but if you are busy or you were sleeping then I can come back, it’s not very important, I don’t want to bother you.” Huang Shaotian cursed his timing, Yu Wenzhou’s hair was ruffled out of its usual neat style and his clothes were rumpled, clearly he’d been woken up unexpectedly.
Huang Shaotian found himself distracted by this new, unexpectedly softer side of Yu Wenzhou and he pinched himself to keep himself focused on his goal.
“I’m not busy,” Yu Wenzhou seemed to hesitate for a moment before moving to give Huang Shaotian space to enter his room. Since Huang Shaotian didn’t want to have the discussion in the hallway, he stepped into Yu Wenzhou’s room.
The main light was off, the room bathed in the soft glow of Yu Wenzhou’s bedside lamp, Huang Shaotian couldn’t help but look around, gaze lingering on the fish plushie sitting on Yu Wenzhou’s pillow. There was a picture of a younger Yu Wenzhou holding a large fluffy puppy, and Huang Shaotian bit his tongue to stop himself from blurting out that Yu Wenzhou looked adorable in that picture.
Huang Shaotian found himself standing awkwardly in the centre of Yu Wenzhou’s room, the other trainee’s gaze steady on him as he waited for him to break the silence. Now that he was here, ready to apologise, Huang Shaotian wished he’d thought this plan through a little better, mainly because it would have been good if he’d figured out what he needed to say before coming to make his apology.
“I’m sorry!” Yu Wenzhou blinked, eyebrows drawing together but Huang Shaotian found that once he’d started he couldn’t stop, “I was always mean to you, I shouldn’t have picked on you like I did, it wasn’t right.”
“You taunt everyone Huang Shaotian, I never took it personally.”
“But I got everyone to join in calling you Deadlast.” Huang Shaotian felt the shame pool in his stomach and he found he couldn’t meet Yu Wenzhou’s eyes.
“Are you doing this because I have a place on the team next year and you have to play nice now?” Yu Wenzhou watched as Huang Shaotian flinched and he could hear Encroaching Night in his head, the avatar chiding him.
“That wasn’t very nice.” He reproached, but Yu Wenzhou was distracted by the way Huang Shaotian seemed to steel himself, squaring his shoulders as if he were preparing himself for a physical blow.
“It isn’t because of that! You could be going somewhere else, going to a different team next year, and I still would apologise for what I did! I wasn’t fair to you and I’m sorry. I know you don’t have to forgive me, I don’t know if I would forgive me but I thought I should apologise to you anyway because you didn’t deserve to have me getting everyone else to call you names and I shouldn’t have started calling you names at all.” After his speech Huang Shaotian seemed to shrink in on himself a little, fingers picking nervously at the hem of his shirt as he waited for Yu Wenzhou’s response.
The silence stretched out for a long moment, stretched out long enough that Encroaching Night was the first to break the tension.
“So? Are you going to forgive him? If we have to play with him and his little Blade Master then you should probably try to forgive him I think.”
“Thank you for your apology, you shouldn’t think about it anymore, it’s all over now.” Huang Shaotian felt like something was missing, that he’d mis stepped somewhere, but Yu Wenzhou was still speaking. “I’ll see you tomorrow at training.” Huang Shaotian caught the implied dismissal and made his way to the door, still trying to puzzle out why he felt that he’d somehow failed at his apology.
“I’m Huang Shaotian! Nice to meet you!” He hit upon the answer just as he stepped out of Yu Wenzhou’s room and whirled around to speak before Yu Wenzhou shut the door. He watched as the other trainee’s brow furrowed but it clicked only seconds later, his face smoothing out into an expression that Huang Shaotian couldn’t figure out.
“I’m Yu Wenzhou, nice to meet you too.” Huang Shaotian nodded, almost to himself feeling that this was what was missing, that this could be the start of something new between them.
Something better.
After that, Huang Shaotian felt that his relationship with Yu Wenzhou had solidified into something better, something with strong foundations that they could build on. Fang Shijing had them training together often, Yu Wenzhou with his little Warlock alongside Huang Shaotian’s Troubling Rain and Huang Shaotian found that Troubling Rain was delighted by Encroaching Night.
Not that Troubling Rain was ever as effusive with his emotions as Huang Shaotian was, but he had eyes, and it was easy to read the way Troubling Rain seemed to soften whenever he mentioned the other avatar. Huang Shaotian found great joy in teasing Troubling Rain, enjoying the way his usually collected avatar flushed at his implications.
The training was also an opportunity to get to know Yu Wenzhou better, an opportunity to see beyond the placid smiles to the core of the person beneath. Huang Shaotian found that Yu Wenzhou had a range of calm smiles, ranging from terrifying to endearing and he busied himself with documenting the various expressions in a notebook, determined to learn the meaning of each and every one of Yu Wenzhou’s expressions.
Huang Shaotian found that Yu Wenzhou had a sharp wit, often startling laughter out of him with his comments. He found that he liked the way his friend looked whenever Yu Wenzhou made him laugh, the slight smile that would tug at the corners of Yu Wenzhou’s mouth, the flush that crept down his neck, little things that Huang Shaotian found himself noticing, jotting them down in his notebook. It was easy to lose himself in Yu Wenzhou, easy to find himself leaning in too close before remembering that Yu Wenzhou liked to hold himself at a distance, that he had to keep himself in check.
He never expected Yu Wenzhou to notice, but perhaps it was foolish to think that he would miss it. Either way, Huang Shaotian failed to hide his surprise when Yu Wenzhou brought it up.
“Do I make you uncomfortable?” Huang Shaotian was glad that he’d already swallowed his sip of his juice, otherwise he was certain that he would have choked on it, which would be a waste of such a good drink- Yu Wenzhou was still waiting for an answer.
“Of course not, what made you say this, why would you even think that Wenzhou?”
“You keep reaching out and then pulling yourself back.” Yu Wenzhou leant towards him for a moment before snapping back out of Huang Shaotian’s space as a demonstration, mimicking what he’d seen Huang Shaotian do over and over again.
“I do that because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable!” When Yu Wenzhou simply blinked, brow furrowed in confusion, Huang Shaotian pressed on, “you always lean away from people touching you, I see that, I notice that, so I don’t want to make you uncomfortable when I forget and lean into your personal space!”
Understanding dawns on Yu Wenzhou’s face and he shuffled into Huang Shaotian’s space, letting their arms press together. Huang Shaotian noted that Yu Wenzhou’s skin was warm and he found himself leaning in unconsciously and when his friend didn’t push him away, he let himself relax into the touch.
“You don’t make me uncomfortable when you lean in Shaotian.” Huang Shaotian hummed to prove that he was listening but he was distracted by revelling in the contact.
It was easy to reach out after that, easy to lean over to nudge Yu Wenzhou, throw an arm over his shoulder or simply rest his head on his friend’s shoulder, content with the knowledge that he could, that Yu Wenzhou didn’t mind. In fact, Yu Wenzhou reached out to initiate something almost as often as Huang Shaotian did, touch gentle, skin warm and Huang Shaotian was content.
“-and did you see the way Troubling Rain did that somersault to avoid your Hexagram Prison Wenzhou, you thought you were being so sneaky, so sneaky to use that to try and capture me like that, but I was prepared this time and I had Zheng Xuan ready to cover me, did you see the way Troubling Rain leapt forward, he was so ready to protect me and stop that Striker! I thought your plan was very clever, I saw the way you were plotting to get us to that bottleneck but I remembered you talking about it last week, that it would hinder my Troubling Rain, I think that it’s a good idea to use again, maybe to distract someone while they charge forward and then keep them trapped in the bottleneck-“ Huang Shaotian trailed off, clearly lost in his plans, hands tracing shapes in the air, marking out the relevant positions on the map.
“You talk about Troubling Rain a lot.” Yu Wenzhou watched as Huang Shaotian stretched out lazily on the sofa, limbs akimbo as he nodded.
“Of course I talk about Troubling Rain a lot, he’s my avatar, he’s great, are you suggesting that he isn’t great? I’ll fight anyone who says he isn’t great, that’s what I promised Troubling Rain-“
“Troubling Rain is a very impressive account Shaotian, it’s just,” Yu Wenzhou paused, trying to find the words and Huang Shaotian made an acknowledging hum, as if to encourage him to continue, “just that you talk about him as if he’s real.”
“Just that you talk about him as if he’s real.”
The words hung in the air and Huang Shaotian sat up, uncertainty churning in his stomach as he searched for the right words to say in response. The rumours surrounding Glory’s account cards were well circulated on various forums but were also routinely dismissed on those same forums, with other fans claiming that it’s impossible and that anyone who posited the theory must be insane. Huang Shaotian didn’t know where Yu Wenzhou fell on the spectrum of belief or disbelief and he wasn’t sure what Yu Wenzhou was expecting in response.
When he finally gathered up the courage to look at Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotian was surprised to find that not only can he read the expression on his friend’s face, but that Yu Wenzhou doesn’t look like he thinks Huang Shaotian is crazy. Yu Wenzhou had his account card in his hand and was smoothing his finger along the edge, motion practiced and familiar to Huang Shaotian, it’s the same movement he used when Troubling Rain was talking to him.
“Does he talk to you too?” Huang Shaotian motioned to the account card and Yu Wenzhou looked down at his hand as if he’d forgotten that he was holding his account at all.
“He does, I thought I saw Troubling Rain move on his own once. You had your hands off the keys but he still waved, I thought that I was just imagining things until Encroaching Night started speaking to me.”
“I like it, Troubling Rain says that the other avatars like talking to their players, that they feel less lonely when they talk to us, then they have someone to keep them company outside of each other.”
“I never expected for it to happen to me.” Yu Wenzhou’s voice was soft and Huang Shaotian bit back his instinctive questions of “because of your hands?” and “because you switched accounts so much?”
“I always hoped it would. I thought it would be so cool to take Troubling Rain onstage with me and know that we were going somewhere together.” Yu Wenzhou hummed quietly, sound neither agreeing nor disagreeing, card still being run through his fingers, Yu Wenzhou seemingly lost in thought.
“That would be nice.” Huang Shaotian startled slightly when Yu Wenzhou broke the silence, “taking take Encroaching Night onstage with me.” It’s likely his imagination, but Yu Wenzhou would swear that his card warmed against his palm briefly, Encroaching Night signifying his agreement.
“Surely you were expecting this?” The words weren’t spoken harshly, in fact, Fang Shijing’s voice was excruciatingly gentle, but they still punched him in the gut.
Surely you were expecting this.
Because he should have been expecting it. Yu Wenzhou prides himself on his ability to predict the world around him and prepare his reactions accordingly, but he felt blindsided by this, thrown off balance and unsure of how to recover.
Of course he’ll be debuting with Swoksaar. Swoksaar was a God-level account with a Silver Weapon and an established presence in the league due to both Wei Chen and Fang Shijing using it. It made sense that management would continue to use Swoksaar in the league and not Yu Wenzhou’s Warlock who would have to establish a presence in the league all over again.
It made sense.
Yu Wenzhou still hadn’t seen it coming.
He thinks he hid his shock from Fang Shijing well, accepting the account card, agreeing that he should go use the account, become accustomed to the differences, feeling as if he’s watching his actions from a great distance.
It couldn’t be true, just his mind playing tricks, but Yu Wenzhou was certain that Swoksaar’s card felt cold in his palm as he excused himself to go practice. He’s acutely aware of the two account cards in his pocket, wondered if they have ever met, if they know each other, know of each other. Encroaching Night liked to lord his knowledge about the other avatars over Yu Wenzhou, meaning he knew very little about what Encroaching Night got up to, outside of what Troubling Rain told Huang Shaotian.
He found himself staring blankly at the card reader for a few long moments before pulling Swoksaar’s card from his pocket and loading into a private match. Yu Wenzhou found himself going through the motions with Swoksaar, learning the differences between him and Encroaching Night, pulling out a notebook to mark the changes, what he’d have to adapt to, what Huang Shaotian would need to know.
He knew that Huang Shaotian was likely doing the same right now, while he wasn’t gaining a new avatar to debut with, Troubling Rain now had a piece of Silver Equipment to adjust to in Ice Rain.
Eventually, when he felt that he had enough to work with, Yu Wenzhou pulled Swoksaar from the reader, still convinced that the card was cold in his hand, and went back to his room to put away his notes, labelling them clearly in case Huang Shaotian wanted to borrow them.
Encroaching Night started speaking the moment the door closed behind them, betrayal clear in his voice, making Yu Wenzhou flinch.
“I thought it was going to be the two of us onstage together! You and me and Huang Shaotian and Troubling Rain onstage next year? But they gave you a new card? Because he’s better than I am? Stronger? More popular?” Encroaching Night got more and more distressed with every word but before Yu Wenzhou can find the right words in response, Swoksaar chose to speak.
It's nothing like the first time Encroaching Night spoke to him. His avatar had been full of delight, his joy infusing every word. Swoksaar’s tone was frigid, every word icy and dripping with contempt.
“Passing me away to a rookie. Bad enough I was left with someone so flighty they never chose a class, now they give me to someone like you, someone who was never good enough to be noticed until he took my player by surprise.” Yu Wenzhou couldn’t help but feel as if Swoksaar had made a good point, knowing that what he said was true, that no one had spared him a second glance until Wei Chen lost to him.
“I trained with you first, I was the one who fought with you first, why would you throw me away like this-?” Encroaching Night cut himself off, seemingly coming to a resolution on something. “If you don’t need my card anymore because of his, then I guess you don’t need me anymore either.” Before Yu Wenzhou could react, the steady warmth of Encroaching Night that he’s always aware of in the periphery of his senses was gone, leaving him with Swoksaar’s icy chill.
“If you think that we can just be passed around like trading cards, then you shall learn the truth soon enough.” When Swoksaar fell silent as well, Yu Wenzhou let himself slump at his desk, both cards left on his desk as he left in attempt to escape the chill of Swoksaar’s presence.
It doesn’t work, not that Yu Wenzhou was expecting it to.
Yu Wenzhou found himself distracted during his training with Huang Shaotian, he could feel Fang Shijing’s eyes on him, knows that Huang Shaotian was mentally cataloguing his mistakes, every misstep, ready to analyse them later.
He wondered if playing with Encroaching Night has spoiled him, Swoksaar was difficult to play with, as if the avatar was fighting every command he inputs, it can’t be true, but then, he knew very few accounts that are alive in the way that Swoksaar was, so perhaps it’s true that the avatar can resist, even during a game.
The match comes to an end and Zheng Xuan shot him a look, concern written across his features even as he accepted Huang Shaotian’s enthusiastic high-five. Fang Shijing spoke from the front of the room, illustrating the formation used on the whiteboard and Yu Wenzhou tried to force himself to focus, to keep his mind on what the captain is saying, and not the overwhelming icy presence in his mind. His notes are messy, his usually careful characters scrawled across the page, Swoksaar’s account card gleaming accusingly at him from where it was laid on the desk.
When the training session comes to an end, Yu Wenzhou was the first out of the door, nearly forgetting Swoksaar in his haste and wondering if that would be another mark against him in Swoksaar’s mind.
His room was silent, Encroaching Night’s card on his desk and Yu Wenzhou let his fingers trail across it, silently willing his avatar to speak to him again. He’s tried to use Encroaching Night after he went silent and the ease of playing was gone, as if Encroaching Night refused to respond to his controls. Every movement was sluggish, Encroaching Night fumbling simple spells, missing the targets, having seemingly lost his precision, refusing to cooperate with Yu Wenzhou, resolute in his silence.
Yu Wenzhou gave up soon enough, placing his card back on his desk carefully, hoping that Encroaching Night would break his silence soon enough.
He placed Swoksaar’s card beside Encroaching Night’s hoping that the two avatars were at least speaking with one another. Unlike Encroaching Night, Swoksaar’s presence was still heavy in Yu Wenzhou’s mind, refusing to be anything more than an icy cold weight, radiating dislike.
Yu Wenzhou could think of a dozen things he should be doing, and half a dozen more that would be more productive than staring at his two account cards, but at his desk he remained, unable to do anything except plead with Encroaching Night to break his silence.
He doesn’t notice when he fell asleep, hand still curled around Encroaching Night’s card, edges digging into his palm.
Yu Wenzhou startled awake when a knock sounded at his door and he blinked rapidly to clear the sleep from his eyes, opening the door to find Huang Shaotian waiting there, pages of scribbled notes in his hand, already chattering away about something he’d noticed about Swoksaar’s casting range and how that could be paired with Troubling Rain in order to force a player into a trap. Yu Wenzhou knew that he was much better at catching what Huang Shaotian threw out, finding it easier and easier to parse out the long streams of words, but in this moment, it was all too much and he had to work to keep his face smooth.
Huang Shaotian was proud of his new ability to read Yu Wenzhou and going by the fact that his friend was dishevelled, with strain written across his face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, Huang Shaotian knew that Yu Wenzhou needed a break.
It’s easy to reach out and grab Yu Wenzhou’s hand, warm in his own, and lead him into the common room. Yu Wenzhou was surprisingly malleable as Huang Shaotian pushed him to sit on the sofa and goes to gather the assortment of blankets that seem to be popping up around Blue Rain. He preened a little when Yu Wenzhou leant into the softness, some of the tension bleeding from his frame.
Yu Wenzhou was warm and solid against his side as Huang Shaotian settled in his place beside Yu Wenzhou, waving the remote as if it’s Vaccaria’s wand to flick through the channels, settling on a show about the wonders of the ocean floor. When he snuck a peek over at Yu Wenzhou after ten minutes of the soothing voice talking about various species of algae, he’s relieved to find that Yu Wenzhou was lost in the show, relaxing in Huang Shaotian’s hold.
Huang Shaotian didn’t know what had Yu Wenzhou tying himself up in knots, but he’s determined to find out what it is. Even if it’s nothing that he can fix, he’s certain that Yu Wenzhou will feel a lot less stressed if he voiced what’s bothering him.
For now he lets Yu Wenzhou lose himself in the smooth tone of the narrator, telling them all about the different creatures that fed on the algae until Yu Wenzhou’s eyes grew heavier and heavier. Eventually Yu Wenzhou lost the fight against sleep and he went limp against Huang Shaotian’s shoulder, breath warm against his skin.
“Ah Wenzhou, what are you worrying about,” Huang Shaotian kept his voice low, reaching out with one hand to brush Yu Wenzhou’s hair out of his eyes, touch gentle, his friend leaning into the touch.
While mostly asleep, Yu Wenzhou was very suggestible, following Huang Shaotian back to his room without complaint, fingers clumsy on his keypad as Huang Shaotian helped him reach the bed without tripping over his own feet. Yu Wenzhou sprawled across the bed easily, taking up the most amount of space that he could as he fell back asleep.
Huang Shaotian noted that Yu Wenzhou’s desk light was still on and he goes over to shut it off, knowing that Yu Wenzhou slept better in the dark. He noted that both Encroaching Night and Swoksaar’s account cards were out on the desk. It may have been a trick of the light but Huang Shaotian could have sworn that neither card caught the light in the way that he was used to them doing.
He made a note of the thought before turning off the light and creeping out of Yu Wenzhou’s room, hoping that he doesn’t disturb Yu Wenzhou as the door slides shut behind him.
Yu Wenzhou woke up to Encroaching Night’s voice in his head once more, raising his hopes as he blinked sleep from his eyes, ready to hear his avatar once more. Encroaching Night’s voice was soft, almost inaudible, as if he doesn’t want to give voice to his question.
“Is it because Swoksaar is established in the league?”
“He’s been in the league for three years, people recognise him, he has a reputation that you would not-“
“Troubling Rain doesn’t have a reputation!” Encroaching Night’s voice swelled with hurt and Yu Wenzhou flinched at the accusation in his words. “Why will they take a chance on him and not me?”
“Blue Rain doesn’t have another Blade Master that could be used, it’s different for him!”
“You just don’t care enough to fight for it.” Encroaching Night’s voice lowered, anger subdued and replaced with hurt. “Did you even ask if you could use me instead?” Yu Wenzhou knew his silence was damning and Encroaching Night goes silent once more, his hurt lingering in Yu Wenzhou’s mind.
“Not even loyal to the account that brought you this far.” Swoksaar’s words burn, dripping with scorn, twisting the knife in Yu Wenzhou’s chest. “Didn’t even bother to fight for him as he did for you.”
Yu Wenzhou found himself struck with the overwhelming desire to talk to Huang Shaotian, to go and admit that neither Encroaching Night or Swoksaar had taken the transition well. That he was having trouble using either account, and that he didn’t know what to say to fix it. Yu Wenzhou pressed his hands against his forehead, trying to ease the headache that was building. He wanted to talk to Huang Shaotian.
But.
But Swoksaar was Wei Chen’s account. Even thought Fang Shijing had been using it for a season, the forums still referred to Swoksaar as belonging to Wei Chen. The first warlock belonged to Blue Rain’s first captain, whom Huang Shaotian had an overwhelming amount of loyalty for. And that meant that whatever struggles Yu Wenzhou was having, he’d have to keep to himself.
“I shouldn’t add this to Shaotian’s shoulders,” Yu Wenzhou thought to himself, knowing that Huang Shaotian was busy preparing for his debut, learning Swoksaar as well as his new silver weapon; it was better that he dealt with this himself.
“You have to tell me what’s going on, you have to, you have to, I was going to let you work on what is bothering you by yourself but you look tired and stressed all the time, like you’ve got voices in your head mocking you and I’m going to be your vice-captain, and if I’m your vice-captain that means you have to trust me, you have to trust me Wenzhou, captain, trust me.” Yu Wenzhou startled at Huang Shaotian’s barrage of words, needing a moment to digest what he’d just said before he had an answer.
“Shaotian-“
“And you can’t tell me that you don’t have a problem, I know you have a problem, I can see very clearly that you have a problem because I know you very well, so if I know you have a problem then you should talk to me about your problem and at least tell me what the problem is!” Huang Shaotian felt very accomplished when Yu Wenzhou took his hand and led him to his room, walking to his desk where the two account cards are and paused, gaze fixed on the two cards.
“Swoksaar is sentient. Like Troubling Rain. Like Encroaching Night.” Huang Shaotian tilted his head to the side, brow furrowing as he wondered what the issue is. It can’t be that Yu Wenzhou was surprised by this, if Troubling Rain, an account that’s never seen the professional stage can become sentient then surely Yu Wenzhou expected Swoksaar to be sentient as well.
“Does he not want to be an account anymore? Can they choose not to be accounts anymore if they try? Does he want to leave you-?” Huang Shaotian’s mouth snapped shut when Yu Wenzhou flinched, and a sinking sensation entered his stomach. “He doesn’t want to be your account.” Yu Wenzhou slumped where he’s standing and the hurt written plainly across his face made Huang Shaotian’s heart ache.
“He won’t work with me when I play, and he fights against the controls, I never knew they could do that if they tried.”
“But that isn’t everything is it?” For a moment Yu Wenzhou cursed that Huang Shaotian had learnt how to read him so well.
“Encroaching Night won’t speak to me anymore. I promised that we’d see Glory’s stage with each other and now we won’t.” Yu Wenzhou let his fingers trace Encroaching Night’s card, remembering the hurt in his voice before he stopped speaking to him.
He let Huang Shaotian lead him away from the desk and onto his bed, Huang Shaotian’s arm tucking itself over his shoulders, the weight familiar and comforting. Yu Wenzhou let himself lean into his friend, eyes slipping shut as Huang Shaotian pressed a kiss to his forehead, one hand rubbing softly against his shoulder, motion soothing.
It felt good to admit what had been happening to Huang Shaotian, felt good to lean on his friend and let Huang Shaotian press kisses to his forehead, his cheeks, affection given freely and sending warmth through Yu Wenzhou’s chest.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Huang Shaotian’s voice was soft in the quiet of the room, “you’ve been struggling for weeks, I could see it but you never came to me.”
“Swoksaar is Captain Wei’s.” Huang Shaotian opened his mouth to protest but Yu Wenzhou pressed on before he could, “I don’t mean it like that; I mean that, Swoksaar was Captain Wei’s, and you miss him. I didn’t want to remind you of him.”
Huang Shaotian took a moment to digest his words before he sighed, tightening his arm around Yu Wenzhou’s shoulders, his friend’s thoughtfulness making him smile even as he sighed at the self-sacrificial mentality
“For someone who is so smart, for someone who is so very smart, you can be so very stupid sometimes Wenzhou.” Yu Wenzhou thought, distantly, that he should react to that in some way, perhaps protest the statement, but Huang Shaotian was already on the next part of his speech, giving Yu Wenzhou no time to interject. “You’re supposed to tell me these things, you’re supposed to come to me when you don’t know what to do, so then I can help you, or if I can’t help, which would be very strange and the problem must be very big because I am the most helpful, if I can’t help, at least if you tell me I can do other things for you to help, even if I can’t solve what is happening!”
Yu Wenzhou hummed Huang Shaotian leant in to press another kiss to his forehead, his warmth soothing even through the fabric and Huang Shaotian snuck his other hand over to lace his fingers with Yu Wenzhou’s.
“You have to let me help Wenzhou, that’s why I’m your vice-captain, that’s why I’m your friend.” Yu Wenzhou let his head rest against Huang Shaotian’s shoulder, the contact solid, reassuring as he tried to sort through his words, tried to find the right ones.
“Swoksaar won’t let me use his card properly. Encroaching Night feels abandoned. I don’t know what to do.” It hurt his pride to admit it, not used to coming up against obstacles he couldn’t solve himself. But Huang Shaotian’s presence soothed the sting, his hand was warm as he offers a squeeze, and it felt good to admit it, felt good to admit that he’s lost and tired.
“Thank you captain.” Huang Shaotian’s voice was soft, “I don’t know if I can help, but thank you for trusting me.”
Yu Wenzhou could barely hear the screams of the crowd above the screams of his team, Yu Feng slapping Song Xiao on the back, Zheng Xuan’s face split into a huge grin, hand in hand with Yu Feng, grip tight and affection written plainly across his face. Huang Shaotian’s lips are moving rapidly, tears making his eyes gleam fever bright and Yu Wenzhou could hardly believe that it was happening.
Before he even realised Huang Shaotian was moving, his vice-captain was draped over his back, breath hot against his ear, clinging to him as he spoke.
“It’s real captain, it’s real, we really won.” Yu Wenzhou took a deep breath, still barely able to believe what he’s seeing, even as the crowd roars around them, lost to the bright lights but he could still pick out Blue Rain’s fans, could see the banners, the light up boards, the seemingly endless sea of blue as their fans celebrated their win alongside the team.
Song Xiao came and joined them and Huang Shaotian draped himself over Song Xiao, their Qi Master not reacting to the sudden weight, all too used to their vice-captain. Yu Feng towed Zheng Xuan over to join them, throwing his arm around Song Xiao and part of Huang Shaotian as well.
“We really did it captain!” Song Xiao’s voice reflected the disbelief that Yu Wenzhou- that they all felt and Yu Wenzhou matched the grins he sees on his teammate’s faces, overwhelmed by their victory.
The championship trophy was cold when they received it but it soon grew warm in their hands as they passed it down between them, fingers overlapping as they all proved to themselves that it was truly happening, that they’d won the championship.
When Huang Shaotian had the trophy in his hands, Yu Wenzhou took a moment to slip his hand into his pocket, tracing the shape of the objects in his pocket. He had Swoksaar in there of course, had the account he used to win the championship, but there’s another card in there too, the card he used for his first victory, his first three victories, to be precise.
Swoksaar’s card was still cool to the touch but it no longer bothered him, knowing that Swoksaar had long since accepted him as his user. Encroaching Night’s card was still warm to the touch, but in that moment onstage, it seemed to be warmer than usual, as if Encroaching Night’s exultation was making the card heat up. The familiarity of the two cards had Yu Wenzhou’s grin stretching impossibly wider as he nudged at the two presences in his mind.
“We did it, we’re really here!” Encroaching Night seemed to be at a loss for words outside of those, but Yu Wenzhou could feel his delight, the warmth of it sinking into his bones.
“A championship for Blue Rain.” Swoksaar was calmer, as he always was, but it’s impossible for him to hide the delight running through him and Yu Wenzhou stroked down the edges of his two accounts.
“A championship and you both by my side.” Yu Wenzhou could feel the contentment radiating from both his avatars, and from the way Huang Shaotian was smiling at him from across the stage, Yu Wenzhou’s own contentment is written clearly across his face.
Yu Wenzhou kept his hand curled around his accounts as he stepped back into the warmth of his team, the ones he cares about surrounding him in their warmth.