Chapter 373
Chapter 373 – Brothers’ Feelings (7): The Person He Couldn’t Lose Most was Actually Close at Hand
They spent a whole afternoon in the studio. The two people were in a bad state so very few photos could be selected. Fortunately, there were many good solo photos and it barely passed.
Manager Lin politely said goodbye to the company and on the road back, he couldn’t help expressing his doubts. "You both seem to be depressed today. Was there a family accident?"
"No."
"No."
The two men spoke in unison and then fell silent at the same time. Manager Link was even more confused. "What happened? Isn’t your relationship normally very good. Today the two of you stood together and it was like you were being stung…"
These two people were the pillars of the Ghost Spirits team. If there was a contradiction, the Ghost Spirits team would be finished. Manager Lin was worried about any problems between them and insisted, "It is normal for young people to have occasional conflicts but the two of you have grown up together? Shouldn’t you discuss it?"
The two people were still silent and Manager Lin was forced to continue as peacemaker. "Captain Lou, Vice-Captain Zhang is younger then you and might occasionally do something wrong. You should be magnanimous and take care of your brother."
This sentence poked their sore spot. Lou Wushuang’s face was pale and Zhang Shaohui opened his mouth to clarify, "Manager, this is my fault and has nothing to do with Brother! Leave it alone and we’ll handle it."
Manager Lin stared at the cold Lou Wushuang in the rearview mirror and found he could no longer say anything.
After returning to the team, Manager Lin noticed the two people were in a bad mood and smartly drove away to let them handle it themselves. Lou Wushuang also drove over this morning. Once the manager left, he went to the garage and opened the car door. Zhang Shaohui suddenly grabbed the car door and wondered with red eyes, "Brother, can’t you forgive me?"
His voice contained a hint of a whimper. The former Lou Wushuang might be soft but this Lou Wushuang only felt cold.
He didn’t need this person’s apologies at all and didn’t want to forgive him.
The thing Lou Wushuang wanted was his love and a promise to stay with him.
However, Zhang Shaohui didn’t understand this or need it.
He was really tired. Lou Wushuang closed his eyes and rubbed his temple as he whispered, "How can I forgive you? Pretend it never happened? But…I can’t forget."
Lou Wushuang clearly remembered all the details of that night. He remembered how Zhang Shaohui opened up his body and wildly demanded it. He remembered that they hugged and kissed fiercely and Zhang Shaohui’s hot hands touched every inch of skin. He remembered the pain and the joy, all coming from this person in front of him.
How could he easily forget?
Acting nonchalantly with Zhang Shaohui as brothers again, Lou Wushuang couldn’t do it.
In his view, if it wasn’t possible to get this person then he should force himself to let go, so as to not end up bruised for nothing. The process of letting go might be very difficult but letting go earlier was better than getting deeper and deeper.
Lou Wushuang took a deep breath and calmly looked up at Zhang Shaohui. "Zhang Shaohui, don’t call me brother in the future and I won’t call you brother. I have two years left on my contract with the Ghost Spirits team. After the two years of competition, I will withdraw from the league. We will… have never met."
Once he finished, he forced the door closed and stepped on the accelerator as decisively as when he raised his dagger on the field and accepted the other person’s head.
The stunned Zhang Shaohui stared at the familiar car disappearing from his field of view. After waiting a long time, he reached out and wiped his face. He stood there, not knowing what to do.
He had never felt so uncomfortable before. It was like all the air in his chest was being squeezed out and his heart was crushed by a huge stone. Every heartbeat and breathing involved the peripheral nerves of his entire body. A tingling sensation spread over his limbs, like a thorny whip repeatedly being wielded.
Lou Wushuang said they should never meet each other…
This sentence simply pulled Zhang Shaohui into hell.
How could they not know each other? They used to be so good, closer than brothers. For so many years, Lou Wushuang had been a part of Zhang Shaohui’s life. He never thought about how he would live if he was one day completely separated from this person.
The more Zhang Shaohui thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became. He crouched on the ground and forcefully struck his chest like it would make him feel better.
It turned out that the action of hitting his chest no longer relieved the pain in the depths of his heart.
He had been stupid from a young age and couldn’t think of a solution to this problem.
All he knew was that he couldn’t lose Lou Wushuang.
***
After returning to the dormitory at night, Zhang Shaohui felt so sick that he desperately had to write on an emotional forum for help under a pseudonym. He briefly stated: [I was drunk after going to a class reunion and slept with my friend. He is very angry and wants to end our friendship. I am particularly distressed these days and don’t know what I should do. Someone help me!]
A few night owls jumped out excitedly and replied:
[Landlord, were you on top or below?] Zhang Shaohui replied: [I should be on top.]
[Then your friend probably wants to vomit up blood and take a knife to you!]
Zhang Shaohui told them: [I wish he would beat me up but he never used force. He just ignored me for the past few days and said we won’t know each other in the future. My heart is very uncomfortable.]
[Landlord,
Zhang Shaohui seriously said: [I’m not making it up. It is true.]
He patiently responded to every reply and was obviously a first time rookie to the forum. The netizens rushed and started to reply with ideas. [If it was an ordinary person, even best friends would have their relationship destroyed over this. If you can’t endure it, do you have him in your heart?]
[Landlord, do you like him which is why you slept with him when drunk?]
[If you can’t separate, get together and come to the forum to show love!]
[Together +1]
[Together +2]…
There was a series of ‘together’ and the reply speed of the post shot up like a rocket. It became 10 pages in an instant and the scared Zhang Shaohui had to close the page and exit the forum, his heart extremely awkward.
In fact, the netizens were right. If this happened with his best friend in high school, he definitely wouldn’t be able to keep being friends with the other person.
However, Lou Wushuang wasn’t the same. He couldn’t easily let go of Lou Wushuang. This man had occupied his life for over 10 years and unconsciously became his most cherished person.
But being ‘together’? How was this possible?
If Lou Wushuang was a woman then Zhang Shaohui wouldn’t hesitate to propose marriage. However, Lou Wushuang was a man. If he went to the door to propose then wouldn’t his aunt and uncle directly drive him away with a mop? Perhaps it wasn’t a mop but a kitchen knife?
Zhang Shaohui looked at the netizens writing several pages of ‘together’ and his heart was suddenly moved. What would happen if he really got together with Lou Wushuang?
Could he see Lou Wushuang every day, hold him to sleep every night, kiss him like the dream and see the sexy and seductive side he never showed in front of outsiders?
Once this idea took place in his head, it grew like a spring weed, making Zhang Shaohui a bit excited.
Zhang Shaohui gripped his hair while worrying. He might have such crazy thoughts in his heart but he didn’t dare put it into action. After all, he never thought about ‘turning his brother into his wife’ before. It was ridiculous!
***
Time flew quickly and in the blink of an eye, the new season of the Miracle League started. All members set out to meet the gods.
It was obvious that everyone was aware that the relationship between the captain and vice-captain weren’t quite right. In the place, Zhang Shaohui followed everywhere Lou Wushuang went. The two people were inseparable and Vice-Captain Zhang was simply his brother’s stalker.
Now no matter where Lou Wushuang went, Zhang Shaohui maintained a distance but he couldn’t help following his brother’s back with his eyes. Sometimes he stared at Lou Wushuang’s back and looked stupid.
Zhang Shaohui was responsible for the Ghost Spirits team’s daily training while Lou Wushuang was responsible for the tactical arrangements. The two people were cooperative in their work and the training of the team was still good. However, the private exchanges between Lou Wushuang and Zhang Shaohui were pitiful. They didn’t even sit together when eating in the canteen.
Some team members familiar with Zhang Shaohui asked him what happened but they were all sent away with a ‘nothing.’
The Ghost Spirits team maintained this strange atmosphere until the eighth season officially arrived.
This season had another big update and many class skills were adjusted. In the day, Lou Wushuang opened a side account to become familiar with the skills and at night, he studied tactics in his bedroom. He was probably overworked and his bad mood caused Lou Wushuang to quickly lose weight.
Every time he passed by Lou Wushuang’s room and saw the warm light inside and the thin back sitting in front of the table, Zhang Shaohui’s heart clenched like it was being grabbed by a hand.
He wanted to go over and pour a glass of warm water for his brother, make a bowl of food for when he stayed up late, hug his brother and tell him to rest early… now, Zhang Shaohui could only look from a distance, not daring to do anything. He was afraid his appearance would make Lou Wushuang more disgusted. Despite living in the same dormitory, he could only minimize his sense of existence.
Three days later, the first game of the Ghost Spirits team would begin. The opponent was the Time Team. On the morning of the second day, Lou Wushuang gathered everyone to discuss coping strategies. His dark circles were very obvious and he had clearly stayed up late last night. Zhang Shaohui was particularly distressed and was so distracted he didn’t hear Lou Wushuang’s words.
At least, until Lou Wushuang stared coldly at him and called out, "Vice-Captain Zhang."
Zhang Shaohui’s spirit returned and he blushed as he replied awkwardly, "I’m sorry, I was distracted for a moment."
Lou Wushuang repeated, "In the arena, I will open the game with Ah Rong. You and Xiao Ling will be the guard. This way, we will bring two new people."
He actually split apart the Lou Zhang combination? Zhang Shaohui sadly hung his head and replied, "I know…"
Normally, there would be no objection to Lou Wushuang’s arrangement. After all, a great god bringing a novice to the field was a method that many teams used to hone the newcomers. It was just that Lou Wushuang and Zhang Shaohui’s recent Cold War was obvious. At this juncture, the ace combination of Ghost Spirits was dismantled and many people couldn’t help thinking too much as they turned their attention to Zhang Shaohui.
Zhang Shaohui’s mood was chaotic. He looked at Lou Wushuang and felt there was a huge dark cloud over his head, pressing down on him so he couldn’t breathe.
***
Three days later in Beijing, the first round of the regular season between Time and Ghost Spirits began.
At the beginning of the game, many audience members noticed that the Ghost Spirits team wasn’t in the right state. Lou Wushuang took a newcomer to the first stage of the arena and the 16 year old newcomer made mistakes because of his nervousness. However, the big god Lou Wushuang also made mistakes and this was captured by Tan Shitian.
In the Ghost Spirits’ guard stage, Zhang Shaohui’s mistake caused him to be taken away by Cheng Wei. The Time team had also torn apart the Tan Cheng combination to bring the newcomers. The originally equal game became more like a ‘master playing with food.’
Cheng Wei walked back to Tan Shitian’s side and spoke doubtfully, "Vice-Captain Zhang played the game like he was sleepwalking."
Tan Shitian patted his head and whispered, "The Ghost Spirits team might have some internal problems. Don’t be curious and ask me again after the match."
It turned out that Tan Shitian’s guess was correct. The second game was the Ghost Spirits’ home map. Ghost Spirits was completely defeated and Time pushed to the crystal in one breath.
Points in the regular season weren’t as important as the playoffs but losing in the first match caused the fans of Ghost Spirits to be worried.
The thing that increased everyone’s worries was that after the match, Lou Wushuang took the team members to shake hands in Time’s soundproof room. As a result, he just finished shaking hands with Cheng Wei when he suddenly fell to the ground.
This scene shocked the audience and even scared Cheng Wei. He cried out to Tan Shitian, "Captain Lou! Captain Lou fainted!"
Tan Shitian rushed over, wanting to help. At this time, the not too distant Zhang Shaohui rushed over like a bad beast, moving through the crowd and reaching his brother. He carefully picked up Lou Wushuang and nervously asked, "Brother, what’s wrong with you? Brother?"
His voice trembled like he was crying. The players around him were confused and didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, Tan Shitian was calmer and told Zhang Shaohui, "Quickly send your brother to the hospital!"
Zhang Shaohui heard this and carried his brother, running to the garage and driving frantically to the nearest hospital.
Zhang Shaohui was distraught as he waited for the diagnosis results. He felt like he was going crazy…
Fortunately, the doctor quickly gave the diagnosis. It was fainting caused by hypoglycemia.
"He has been suffering from a cold and fever recently. He didn’t treat it well and his nutritional intake is insufficient. The excessive consumption of physical fitness meant his body failed to support him. You should pay more attention if you are a family member." The doctor told Zhang Shaohui.
Zhang Shaohui stared at the pale man lying on the hospital bed and was stung. In the past, they lived with each other every day and he could always detect it if there was something unusual with Lou Wushuang. Recently, he had been hiding from Lou Wushuang and only thought this person was thin. He didn’t expect the situation to be so serious…
Zhang Shaohui was incredibly remorseful and wanted to slap himself on the face.
***
The nurse entered the ward to give Lou Wushuang an IV drip and Zhang Shaohui sat by the bed.
His WeChat ran nonstop as the managers, teammates and other players in the league expressed concerns about Lou Wushuang’s situation. Zhang Shaohui replied before directly issuing a Weibo post. "Captain Lou fainted because of a fever and overworking himself. The doctor said that the problem isn’t big. Thank you for your concerns and I will take care of him."
Zhang Shaohui turned back to the person frowning on the bed and a strong idea that couldn’t be ignored rose in his heart. He wanted to take good care of this person.
He wanted to stay with this person for the rest of his life and never leave.
It was because he finally discovered that the person he couldn’t lose most was actually in front of his eyes.