That One Rich Fan of Mine

In April, the temperature in Yangcheng was already heating up.

As the spring flowers bloomed, the city was full of vigour and vitality, and pedestrians around the city began to change into summer clothes.

In the stadium, the voices were thunderous.

When Lin Xizhou sneaked backstage, his sweat had soaked the team uniform under his sweater. 

Wearing a mask, he was taken into the BLK team’s lounge.

The lounge was very large. There was a sofa and a huge TV. The staff stood by to shoot the gags. Lin Xizhou kept his hat down and walked in from the corner. Ji Beiling saw him coming and motioned the team to stop shooting.

Without removing his mask, Lin Xizhou stood next to Ji Beiling. The slightly wet hair stuck to Lin Xizhou’s forehead, making anyone feel hot just by looking at the younger man.

Ji Beiling frowned, reaching out to take Lin Xizhou’s hat off, he grabbed the brim of the hat and fanned the younger man.

“Are you not hot?”

Because of the temperature outside, the air conditioner in the venue blasted at full capacity, so it shouldn’t be stuffy.

Lin Xizhou blinked slowly and smiled into a curved bridge. He pulled up his sweater to reveal the BLK team uniform inside.

The team uniform had the BLK players’ signatures, the same one Lin Xiting helped him get signed last time. 

Lin Xizhou quickly took off his sweater. With the BLK team uniform and a worker name tag, he became camouflaged as a staff member. He followed Ji Beiling to the other team members, clenched his fists and cheered them on.

“Good luck!” The voice through the mask was muffled, but anyone could still hear the excitement and tension in the tone. “You guys can do it!”

Lin Xizhou waved his arm and appeared as if he hated not being able to play on the stage himself.

Bighead nodded, moved by the display. “You actually flew here from the northeast. I’ll play my best.” 

“Did you have fun in the northeast?” Little Dream probed curiously. “Was the Paektu Mountain beautiful?”

Lin Xizhou chuckled and held up a bag filled with gifts.

“Ding-ding-ding, a local speciality snack, you can open them to celebrate after the game.”

Bighead immediately grabbed the bag, and several people began to study the food in it. Lin Xizhou took the opportunity to step back, pulled out a small charm in his pocket and stuffed it into Ji Beiling’s hand. 

Lin Xizhou wet his bottom lips.

“I got this when I prayed for your victory in last year’s World Championship. This year, the charm will definitely bless you with good luck!”

In Ji Beiling’s hand lay the exquisite charm bag, which still carried Lin Xizhou’s body heat. It was very warm. He smiled, spread out the red string stuffed in the bag, and put it over his head.

After he studied the charm around his neck, he looked up and met Lin Xizhou’s eyes for a split second. 

Those eyes were filled with a soft smile.

“Thank you.”

Lin Xizhou didn’t know why. In the past few months, he chatted with Ji Beiling on WeChat clearly like ordinary friends, but now standing face to face, he was still fiddling. Just like when he saw Ji Beiling for the first time, he was too nervous to speak under the older man’s gaze.

He could vaguely hear the music playing on the lively field in the competition venue. The light in the lounge was so bright that he dared not raise his head and meet Ji Beiling’s gaze again. 

When Lin Xizhou lowered his head, the ceiling lights landed on him, reflecting a circle of light on his fluffy hair. His ears were now fully red, and the small blood vessels could be faintly seen under the white skin.

Ji Beiling stuffed the charm bag into his team uniform and pressed it gently.

There seemed to be a heat flow passing out of it, pouring into his limbs and bones, warm and comfortable.

His hands suddenly itched. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

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What happened???

Ktf gfji rajoo wfwyfgr bc atf rlvf uijcmfv ja fjmt batfg lc vlrwjs. 

Rbgat Xbv kjrc’a jmalcu delaf ilxf tlwrfio abvjs…?

Glv tf pera qlcmt atlr…sbecu wjc’r fjgr?!

Lin Xizhou and Glutinous Rice sat together.

The first team and the coach went to the pre-match meeting, leaving those two sitting awkwardly on the sofa. 

Lin Xizhou played with his name tag’s strip while Glutinous Rice fiddled with the pieces of paper in his hand. The two were silent.

Glutinous Rice dyed his hair back to black some time ago, and the earrings he wore on his ears were low-key studs, also in black. His new appearance was fresh, clean and humble.

Lin Xizhou couldn’t stand the awkward atmosphere. After stewing for a long time, he took the initiative to start a conversation.

“You played very well. Good work.” 

Glutinous Rice didn’t expect that he would receive goodwill from his ‘future brother-in-law’. His whole being was in a slight trance. He subconsciously said, “Thank you…The plays you are in are also very good.”

Lin Xizhou painfully squeezed out conversational topics. “How was Xiting’s teaching? Did she goof off?”

At the mention of Lin Xiting, Glutinous Rice was nervous again.

He stammered in an instant, “It-it’s go-going great. Really, I-I’ve benefited from her teaching a lot!” 

Lin Xizhou’s face was blank for a moment.

Was he really that terrifying??

Or…

The reason Glutinous Rice acted more reserved recently was because he actually had a stammer? 

Glutinous Rice saw Lin Xizhou’s suspicious expression and silently slapped himself in the face internally.

I’m done for, TUT.

At the end of the exciting pre-show, commentators started introducing the players. The staff indicated for the contestants to prepare to go on stage. Lin Xizhou wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to the sad Glutinous Rice and waved to Ji Beiling standing at the entrance.

Good—luck—! He mouthed at Ji Beiling. 

Ji Beiling’s figure was slim and neat under the stadium’s light. His face was blurred, but his temperament was still outstanding, like the silhouette of an immortal in the mortal world. The man smiled at him from a distance and waved back.

Later, Lin Xizhou would recall and treasure this moment countless times.

All the moments Ji Beiling moved Lin Xizhou’s heart were incomparable to now. The man who went on the field was like the God of War going to the battlefield. He triumphed in every battle, he succeeded in every endeavour—he was the tower everyone admired and yearned for, and he was indomitable. When their eyes met, all the cold and fierce aura around his body melted away, revealing tender shoots of spring grass. His distant and fuzzy smile was as gentle as the March spring breeze blowing across the earth.

Lin Xizhou watched Ji Beiling disappear into the corridor leading to the stage and appear on the big screen. 

The man in the team uniform and jacket had clear eyes and a cold temperament, just like in the memory.

The screaming from the fans under the stage almost sliced through the dome of the stadium.

“Northland—Northland—Northland!!!”

This fanatical love from the fans didn’t make Ji Beiling relax his furrowed eyebrows and sharp eyes. 

Therefore, a smile from that person could move Lin Xizhou’s heart that much more.

He put his hand on his chest and felt his heart beating faster and faster.

He was not an ignorant child. He knew the difference between admiration and love. Although there were many similarities between the two, Lin Xizhou really felt his ‘love’ at this moment.

This ‘love’ was strong with a desire for monopolization. Looking at Ji Beiling’s calm side face under the camera, a fleeting thought popped into his mind—about how he didn’t want others to see this face. 

He took a deep, calming breath as the game began.

BLK had fought for many years and won two World Championships, but in the intervening years, they only won the LPL Summer Season’s championship once, nothing from the bigger championship events, such as spring competition and mid-season competition.

Fans looked forward to the new year, where BLK could truly establish a new dynasty.

Lin Xizhou was no exception. 

In the first game, BLK reversed their aggressive fighting style of last season and chose a very gentle snowball style—which was very similar to the previous Korean team. Northland and Little Dream were pressuring the bot line. They took the first tower and the Rift Herald. OW, the opposite team, had no expression on their faces—to them, this was the most annoying strategy.

The game was like a boiling frog for thirty minutes. All the turrets in the three lanes were destroyed one by one by BLK, while there wasn’t a significant difference in the two team’s KDA.

BLK chose lane split, and OW, who were at a large gold disadvantage, had no way to kill a fed Kled. There was no wonderful large-scale group fight in the first game, and not even a single dragon was slain before the game ended.

There were cheers from BLK fans off the court—because all the winning conditions were met in the game, so winning was very natural. 

Glutinous Rice laughed like a sly fox.

“Hahaha, we knew hiding this strategy up our sleeves were going to be useful. Look at OW’s frustrated expressions!”

The team members had a brief rest and a small meeting with the coach.

Lin Xizhou slowly moved away, afraid that he would distract Ji Beiling’s focus, and only dared to wave to him from a distance. 

The second game began.

In this game, OW seemed a little anxious. They chose a strong early game lineup, and BLK’s lineup was also very good at countering the other team’s lineup. Several champions were selected for their good peeling and sustaining abilities.

The atmosphere of this game differed greatly from that of the last game.

OW did a three-man level one gank at the red camp’s blush. GLUCK, who did not expect this, died at his red camp. This put BLK at a small disadvantage in the early stage, but in the later group fight, Northland successfully killed the backline and started harvesting them for gold. 

For a moment, the crowd was boiling in excitement.

In Northland’s first year of debuting in the world finals, he broke through to the backline with his own skill and destroyed the main damage output on the opposite team, ultimately saving the team from defeat at the last minute.

Many ADC players believed they were superior and would act impulsively because they overestimated themselves in group fights. So did Northland. But the Northland now was not like that.

He had become a comprehensive ADC that could lead the team down a lane in the group, could allocate the team’s resources to other members, and could also display his skill in a group fight. He became an ADC that was part of the team. 

Commentator Ya Ya sighed, “How can Northland not win?”

When his debut was at its peak, he had tasted the happiest flavours of victory and also the taste of defeat in the deepest hole.

Ji Beiling, who was mocked as an esport celebrity with a face, had grown from a teenager to a mature adult.

He respected every game, yearned for every victory, and played every match seriously. 

This LPL Spring Season final in Yangcheng was the first spring in the LPL Division after the rule of the LCK (South Korea) division for four years.

And BLK, a legendary team, won the championship they deserved again.

Three to zero, not a point lost. Not because OW was not strong enough, but the BLK now would not give up any chance of winning the game, especially Ji Beiling.

He was holding the trophy with his still trembling hands. 

The fans cheered and wept, and golden confetti covered their bodies.

Ji Beiling enjoyed such a moment because he didn’t have much time left to stand in this stadium.

The photographer next to the stage didn’t know when to squeeze past.

A face covered in a black mask was waving frantically, happy eyes that became a slit they were so narrowed. 

Ji Beiling was stunned and recognized the person was Lin Xizhou.

At this time, Lin Xizhou was no different from any BLK fan. He didn’t look like a celebrity at all. No one paid attention to him.

Everyone looked at the BLK players on the stage and Ji Beiling was in the centre of the spotlight.

Ji Beiling in the limelight showed an almost affectionate and gentle smile. 

The smile magnified on the screen and was broadcast in real-time to the joy of countless fans watching the game, which caused fans to scream like a landslide and a tsunami. The bullet screen on the livestream was all asking about that smile.

Ji Beiling was looking at Lin Xizhou, who jumped up and waved to him.

The award ceremony was over.

When the team members returned backstage, the staff greeted the heroes with hilarity but found that one person was missing. 

Ji Beiling, who was carrying the trophy, disappeared.

Lin Xizhou, who was blocked in the small storage room next to the entrance of the passage, blushed like mad and clenched his fingers. He felt his throat was dry enough to cause a fire.

Ji Beiling gazed at him and laughed softly.

He handed the trophy to Lin Xizhou and asked, “Do you want to carry it and feel the weight?” 

Lin Xizhou accepted it in a trance. The cup made of gold was heavy. He licked his lips. “It’s very heavy.”

Ji Beiling leaned against the wall, crossed his arm and looked at Lin Xizhou.

His ambiguous eyes make Lin Xizhou more and more stressed, but with the trophy still in his hand, he didn’t know how to escape.

As if he had seen through Lin Xizhou’s thoughts, Ji Beiling took the initiative to speak. 

The man’s voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was firm.

“I love esports very much. I like the feeling of winning and the pleasure of playing.”

“A few years ago, I was so proud and arrogant that I viewed everyone as trash. At that time, I hurt a teen’s dream, and later, I regretted it. But the world is really a magical place. The same teenager has become my fan and is even standing in front of me.”

Lin Xizhou raised the trophy to cover his already burning face. 

Seeing Lin Xizhou’s turtle-like behaviour, Ji Beiling reluctantly shook his head, reached out to hold Lin Xizhou’s slender wrist, and then forced him to show his face.

Ji Beiling stared into Lin Xizhou’s eyes and said word by word,

“And, more coincidentally, I fell in love with him.”

Although Lin Xizhou made full mental preparation, he almost dropped the trophy to the ground in an instant. 

Ji Beiling supported the younger man and took the trophy to put it in the corner.

He closed the distance between them inch by inch.

“Do you think there is anything more coincidental? For example…he also likes me too?”

Lin Xizhou felt that all the strings in his mind were snapped, one by one, and they exploded into fireworks, lighting his entire mind. 

The real Custard Cream Pineapple Bun has something to say:

I consider this as a confession. I’m so tired.