met free Chapter 10 I'm sorry, Mu Qiu, I failed to protect Excellent Era.
Chapter 10 I'm sorry, Mu Qiu, I failed to protect Excellent Era.
After a satisfying meal, the members of Team Happy got into their cars and drove back to their rented apartment in Shanglin Garden.
Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, and Su Muqiu took a detour and arrived at a low-lying hut.
Su Muqiu walked into the house step by step. He stroked the familiar walls, the familiar tables and chairs.
A framed photo hangs on the wall opposite the door, containing a familiar picture. The photo is clean and dust-free, suggesting that someone wipes it frequently.
The person in the photo looks very young, with a sunny disposition, a broad smile, and holding a trophy in their hand.
The person in the photo has short hair, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a light beard. His face shows signs of youth.
The person in the photo is dressed very simply, wearing a light-colored shirt on top, a pair of slightly worn jeans that have faded a bit from washing, and a pair of sneakers of unknown brand. There are no other accessories on their body.
The person in the photo is Su Muqiu. One year, Team Excellent Era unsurprisingly won the Hangzhou Internet Cafe Tournament. This photo was taken by the organizers at the final awards ceremony.
Judging from the photo, Su Muqiu was very happy at the time, full of hope for life and anticipation for the future.
Unfortunately, a few months later, the photo was hung on the wall.
Below the portrait is a small incense burner, with sandalwood incense sticks placed beside it. There is also some incense ash in the burner, indicating that people often come to burn incense.
"Have you been renting this house all along?" Su Muqiu asked.
"We rented it for a few years, but then Mu Cheng got rich and bought the old house as a memento," Ye Xiu said.
"No one lives in this old house usually, except for Mu Cheng who often comes to clean it."
"There are still many of your belongings in this room. Look at that range hood, it's been lying dormant for years, and it won't work no matter how I press it. But Mu Cheng couldn't bear to throw it away, so she still keeps it spotless."
"That secondhand refrigerator has been out of order for years. Mu Cheng couldn't bear to throw it away, so she kept it in a corner as a memento."
"And the two computers we used before are relics from ancient times. We don't even know if they can be turned on now, but Mu Cheng couldn't bear to throw them away."
"And then there's..."
Nine years have passed, and the small house still retains traces of Su Muqiu's life back then, as if he had never left.
Su Muqiu's vision was a little blurry. He picked up three sticks of sandalwood incense, lit them, and put them into the incense burner. Then he closed his eyes, put his hands together, and silently prayed for himself and his sister.
Su Mucheng boiled water, and after the three of them finished washing up, it was already very late at night.
The small house is not big, with only one bedroom and one living room.
Su Mucheng went to the bedroom to rest, while Ye Xiu and Su Muqiu squeezed into the living room as usual, just like nine years ago.
Su Muqiu pushed open the living room window, sat down by the window, and looked at the quiet night sky outside, his thoughts racing. He had originally returned with great excitement, wanting to see his sister, Ye Xiu, and their Excellent Era team.
In that world, Su Muqiu had imagined thousands of scenarios for his return, good, bad, and neither good nor bad.
However, what he encountered today was still beyond his imagination.
Su Muqiu found it hard to accept that Team Excellent Era had fallen to such a state.
Ye Xiu sat down as well, flicked out a cigarette, and Su Muqiu put it in his mouth. The two old smokers lit their cigarettes and started puffing away.
The two sat together by the window; the room was quiet except for the swirling smoke.
The room had been uninhabited for a long time, but there was no musty smell, which meant that Su Mucheng had cleaned it frequently while she was there.
In the quiet room, looking at the bustling traffic outside the window and listening to the distant honking of horns, Su Muqiu finally came to his senses and realized that he had left that world of blood and fire and returned to modern society.
They talked a lot that night.
Ye Xiu started talking about what happened after Su Muqiu's accident, then talked about Excellent Era's three consecutive championships, how Excellent Era lost a good opportunity in the fourth season, how they were defeated in the fifth to seventh seasons, how they were relegated in the eighth season, and how they continued to sink in the Challenger League in the ninth season.
After talking about Excellent Era, Ye Xiu then brought up Happy.
From that snowy night, Ye Xiu met Chen Guo, and then they talked about Tang Rou, Baozi, Qiao Yifan, Wei Chen...
Speaking of everyone on Team Happy.
Speaking of Lord Grim, speaking of the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella, speaking of Cold Mist Soft, Bun Invasion, and Wind-Facing Formation...
From Honor of Kings online game to the Challenger Series.
From online competitions to offline competitions, and finally to the grand finals.
Ye Xiu has so much to say about his experiences over the past nine years.
Ye Xiu talked for an hour or two until his throat was dry, so Su Muqiu took over and told his story.
Su Muqiu's story begins when he first arrived in that world. He gradually grew from an ordinary soldier into an outstanding commander, leading thousands of troops across the land of China.
Su Muqiu could recount countless stories of those nine years of life-and-death struggles.
"Do you know how many certificates and medals I've received? So many that I can't even count them all," Su Muqiu said.
"Compared to the scars on your body, which has more?" Ye Xiu asked.
"I can't even count them all," Su Muqiu said.
"Hahaha..." The two of them burst into laughter.
After laughing, Ye Xiu lit another cigarette, and Su Muqiu joined him.
The lights in the room were off, and it was pitch black so that no one could see each other's expressions. Only two red dots looked extremely eerie in the darkness.
"I'm sorry, Mu Qiu, I failed to protect Excellent Era and lost them." Ye Xiu's voice was choked with emotion.
This usually strong man never cried at home, never cried in front of Su Mucheng, and never cried in front of his teammates.
Only in front of Su Muqiu, his only confidant, did Ye Xiu cry.
"You have your difficulties." Su Muqiu patted Ye Xiu on the shoulder.
"It's all in the past."
"Now, we need to look forward."
"Yes, we should look forward." Ye Xiu composed himself.
"Mu Qiu, what do you want to do next?"
"I've only been back for a day, and I haven't figured out what to do yet." Su Muqiu paused, organizing her thoughts. "Now that I'm not short of money, I don't need to struggle to survive. I want to do something meaningful."
"Something meaningful?" Ye Xiu thought for a moment and continued, "Why don't you come to Happy? If we brothers work together, we're guaranteed to win the championship. That should count as something meaningful, right?"
Su Muqiu shook his head: "If it were our Excellent Era, I would be happy to do it."
"It's a pity that Excellent Era is gone."
"Ash, I know that Happy is all your hard work and all your emotions."
"But to me, Happy is just two unrelated Chinese characters, without any emotional connection."
"I find it difficult to fully commit to Happy."
"Alright." Su Muqiu refused, and Ye Xiu didn't insist.
Su Muqiu thought for a while and said, "I might go to school."
"Go to school?" Ye Xiu was stunned.
From graduating from junior high school at the age of 15 to rejoining the League at the age of 27, Ye Xiu had been separated from the word "school" for twelve years.
"Heh." Su Muqiu laughed, "At least you graduated from junior high school. I didn't even finish junior high."
"You're all so old, why are you still going to school?"
"So what if I'm old? I'm still thinking about taking the college entrance exam and going to university."
"What major should you study?"
"Sports Management"
"Do you care about Glory?"
"OK."
Ye Xiu rolled his eyes, but unfortunately Su Muqiu couldn't see it in the darkness.
"Go to sleep, you can have anything in your dreams."
"Then go to sleep."
Soon, snoring filled the air. The two brothers squeezed together on the folding bed in the living room and fell into a deep sleep, just like nine years ago.