In the end, they didn’t do anything that night.
No. To be precise, they did one thing.
They dropped from Diamond back down to Platinum.
Perhaps they’d climbed the ranks too smoothly over the past few days, because Honor of Kings had suddenly decided to punish them. Every teammate they were matched with either went AFK or fed the enemy kills. Shao Wu was dragging the team down himself, and he took Yang Shuyi with him. Together they were riddled with holes in the battlefield of the King’s Canyon.
Seven straight losses. When the voice announced “Defeat” yet again, Yang Shuyi put down his phone and let out a long, mournful sigh.
“It’s getting a little late,” he said. “How about we try climbing tomorrow?”
Shao Wu had been beaten senseless. He nodded. “Oh. Okay.”
They turned out the lights. A few minutes later, however, Yang Shuyi perked up. He gently hooked a finger under the hem of Shao Wu’s pajama top, his voice suddenly full of energy. “Want to, Xiao Shao?”
“Aren’t you sleepy?”
“…Not really.”
But Shao Wu completely ignored his hand. “Then how about another match? I’ll play Zhuang Zhou as support again. I won’t drag us down.”
Yang Shuyi: “…”
“Seriously.” The more Shao Wu thought about it, the angrier he got. “I just didn’t play Zhuang Zhou well that round. The other team kept targeting me. I’m usually really solid with him.” And their mid-laner had the nerve to yell at him over team voice chat? A mid-laner with a 3-10-4 record had the nerve to criticize him?!
The more he thought about it, the more infuriating it was!
Yang Shuyi was silent for a moment. Then, incredibly, he withdrew the hand he’d been resting on Shao Wu’s waist.
And yawned.
“I’m a little sleepy,” Yang Shuyi said. “Tomorrow, okay? Be good.”
“Big Brother,” Shao Wu said softly.
“Mm.”
“I want to get back to Diamond.”
“How about this?” Yang Shuyi paused, as if summoning his courage. “I’ll play on your account and get you up to Diamond, even King if you want. Then you could… queue solo?”
“You don’t want to play with me?”
“That’s not what I mean…”
Who are you trying to fool? Shao Wu thought.
“Oh, right. I think Chen Yimang’s in Diamond. I’ll duo-queue with him.”
“Chen Yimang?” Yang Shuyi repeated.
“A friend of mine. He’s a model,” Shao Wu said casually. “We’ve known each other for years. I stayed at his place when I was in Zhuhai.”
Yang Shuyi turned sharply to face him. “You’re that close? I… I don’t remember you mentioning him before.”
“Really?” Shao Wu gave a soft laugh. “I’ll introduce you two sometime.”
“Mm,” Yang Shuyi replied.
The subject of Chen Yimang seemed to be settled. Shao Wu closed his eyes and said lazily, “Let’s sleep. Today really was exhausting.”
In the dark, he couldn’t see Yang Shuyi’s expression, but he could hear his breathing just inches away. He knew Yang Shuyi was still facing him, still awake.
“Xiao Shao,” Yang Shuyi asked quietly a few minutes later, “is Chen Yimang gay, too?”
“Yep.”
“Then… he doesn’t play jungle, does he?”
Well, look who’s putting his new knowledge to use.
“Nope.”
“Then keep duo-queuing with me.” Yang Shuyi reached out again and lightly hooked his fingers around Shao Wu’s. “I’ll get you to Diamond.”
Shao Wu thought Yang Shuyi hadn’t even seen Chen Yimang yet. Tomorrow he’d dig out some pictures for him: runway shots, magazine covers, each one more flamboyant than the last. Would Yang Shuyi offer to carry him all the way to King then?
Speaking of Chen Yimang reminded Shao Wu that they hadn’t been in touch for a while. Chen frequently updated Weibo and WeChat Moments, but his posts were all pictures or advertisements, with nothing about his everyday life. Shao Wu hadn’t seen Zhu Jingjing for some time either. They’d spoken on the phone before, and he’d told her about himself and Yang Shuyi without going into much detail.
Unexpectedly, as if they were reading each other’s minds, Zhu Jingjing called him the very next day.
Her first sentence was a bombshell. “I’m getting married on May Day.”
“What?” Shao Wu thought he’d misheard, or that Zhu Jingjing had misspoken. “May Day? May first? Next month?”
“Mm.” Zhu Jingjing sighed. “We were planning to get married anyway, but at the end of this year. Who would’ve thought… his mom’s been diagnosed with cancer.”
Shao Wu froze. “Is it serious?”
“The tumor’s in her stomach. They caught it early, but she’ll probably need chemotherapy. We figure that while his mom is still feeling fairly well, we should hurry up and hold the wedding.”
“Mm… okay. Do you need any help?”
“It’s fine. We’re keeping it simple,” Zhu Jingjing said. “Can you make it back on May first?”
“No problem.”
“Mm.” Zhu Jingjing laughed. “Bringing your other half?”
“I don’t know…”
“I’m sending invitations to both of you anyway. You two can work it out.”
The news had come so suddenly. Shao Wu had met Zhu Jingjing’s boyfriend. The guy was a little younger than they were, but seemed dependable and treated Zhu Jingjing well. Still, they’d only been together a few months, and now they were getting married?
Then again, he and Yang Shuyi had moved even faster. They’d started living together the moment they officially became a couple. But things were different for a man and a woman, after all… How long had Zhu Jingjing and that guy been dating? Less than three months? That really was quick. Weren’t the first three months still the honeymoon phase? What if the novelty wore off and the guy did something to hurt Zhu Jingjing? And Zhu Jingjing had always been so easygoing and unsuspecting. She’d be even easier to fool…
Shao Wu almost called her back to urge her to think it over.
After some inner debate, he held himself back.
He hardly had the standing to lecture Zhu Jingjing. Compared with hers, his own love life had been far more tortuous. He’d spent nine years chasing the person he loved. What right did he have to question someone else’s smooth-sailing romance?
By the time work ended that afternoon, Shao Wu had calmed down considerably. As usual, Yang Shuyi was waiting for him outside the supermarket near his company. He had such a tall, slender figure, yet insisted on standing with his head down and his hands in his pockets, looking every bit as slouchy and carefree as some street punk.
He’d been the same nine years ago: a tall, skinny boy sleeping face-down on his desk, his long legs cramped miserably beneath it.
Yang Shuyi was no longer that boy who seemed not to care about anything. Yet since they’d gotten together, there had been so many moments like this, when Shao Wu felt that Yang Shuyi was still the same person. Those moments were like fish occasionally leaping from a river in the sunlight, their sleek backs catching a brief flash of gold.
They were only twenty-five or twenty-six, really. Nowhere near the age for nostalgia.
But that stretch of youth was gone, and he couldn’t help feeling wistful.
Even Zhu Jingjing was getting married.
The light rail was always packed shoulder to shoulder at evening rush hour. Yang Shuyi stood pressed close to Shao Wu, reaching an arm behind his lower back to grip the rail and almost imperceptibly shielding him from the other passengers.
“What’s wrong?” Yang Shuyi asked quietly.
“Hm?”
“Bad mood?”
“Uh…” Shao Wu had thought he’d concealed it quite well. “Zhu Jingjing’s getting married.”
“…When?”
“May Day.” Shao Wu hesitated. “She said she’ll send you an invitation too. I guess some of our other classmates will go. So… if it’d be awkward for you, you don’t have to.”
Yang Shuyi nodded.
Shao Wu couldn’t tell whether that meant I understand or Then I won’t go.
It really would be awkward. After all, Yang Shuyi had only recently gotten married himself, also in Yongchuan, with plenty of their high school classmates attending. If he met them again, someone was bound to ask about his newlywed life. They all moved in different circles now. When old classmates got together, what else could they do but joke around and exchange gossip?
But Yang Shuyi was already divorced. If anyone asked, he’d have to either pretend he was still married or tell the truth and endure the predictably awkward silence. Either way would be difficult.
The best solution was not to go.
Shao Wu knew that perfectly well, but it still left a sour taste in his mouth. Why should things be this way? Yang Shuyi was already divorced, yet the shadow of that marriage still hung over them. They couldn’t even attend Zhu Jingjing’s wedding together as ordinary friends.
He hated it. The more he thought about it, the more he hated it.
Shao Wu tugged Yang Shuyi’s sleeve and said with lowered eyes, “Then don’t go, okay?”
“Mm.” A few seconds later, Yang Shuyi added, “I haven’t seen her mention it in the group chat.”
“They decided all of a sudden,” Shao Wu explained. “Her boyfriend’s mom was diagnosed with stomach cancer, so they moved the wedding up. They originally wanted to have it at the end of the year.”
“…”
“Actually, I think they’re rushing it a bit. They’ve only been together two or three months.”
“Mm.”
“And the guy’s a few years younger than her. He’s just graduated. He hasn’t really settled down yet… Ah.” Shao Wu laughed helplessly. “But since both their families approve, it’s hardly my place to say anything.”
“Right.”
Shao Wu looked at Yang Shuyi. He was staring fixedly at the light-rail handrail, brow faintly furrowed, clearly lost in thought.
A few seconds later, their eyes met, and Yang Shuyi smiled at him.
“Then you should go,” Yang Shuyi said. After a pause, he added with deliberate emphasis, “Take my wedding gift money for me.”
Shao Wu felt even worse.
Why did they have to give separate red envelopes? Yes, they were both Zhu Jingjing’s classmates, but Zhu Jingjing knew they were a couple. There was no reason to give their gifts separately, was there?
Two red envelopes from one household?
But Shao Wu felt that, as a grown man, he shouldn’t get hung up over such a trivial matter. It was embarrassing.
“Fine.” He nodded. “How much are you putting in?”
“Five hundred,” Yang Shuyi said. “Back then, Zhu Jingjing gave me… five hundred.”
Oh. She’d given him five hundred when he married Zou Xin.
And he remembered it so clearly.
“Mm. Then I’ll give five hundred too.” Shao Wu turned his face away and said as casually as possible, “That’s settled, then.”
Fine. I’ll go by myself. Once he saw those classmates, Shao Wu decided, he’d make sure to pave the way for Yang Shuyi. Hey, you guys didn’t know? Yang Shuyi? Well, I heard he and his wife aren’t getting along. Yeah, yeah, you know what Yang Shuyi’s like. Quiet as anything! He called me a few days ago to complain, actually. Those two fight every day. The whole neighborhood knows about it. I don’t think their marriage is going to last!
His classmates would find out about the divorce sooner or later anyway. This was a perfect opportunity to lay the groundwork for him. It was only right.
Shao Wu fumed inwardly.