Chapter 60 – Meeting

The hour hand was pointing to 12 o'clock and Li Cangyu's flight was about to arrive. Waiting for the person you loved was a very wonderful experience. Ling Xuefeng sorted out his messy thoughts and looked down at his watch, tidying up the collar of his suit with slender fingers.

He usually didn't wear this type of formal outfit when training in the team. But when he came to see Li Cangyu today, he dressed himself up, shaved his beard and wiped his shoes. Ling Xuefeng was filled with confidence but in front of his beloved, he still wanted to show his best self.

This man's appearance was impeccable and handsome. Due to his indifferent expression, there was a suffocating temperament around him that people didn't dare approach. He stood as still as a statue, like a movie star.

The people around him looked at him with curious or stunned eyes but Ling Xuefeng ignored them. His deep eyes were only focused on the exit flight.

Li Cangyu finally appeared!

Ling Xuefeng's eyes suddenly lit up.

Li Cangyu wore a comfortable T-s.h.i.+rt and slim jeans on the flight. It was casual clothing but it was difficult to hide his unique temperament. The 23 year old Li Cangyu was old enough to retire from the e-sports industry but he was very young in this crowd. He was tall and well-proportioned, with a pair of straight long legs making him particularly eye-catching.

His nose, lips and eyes weren't particularly good but the combination of facial features were good-looking. In particular, when he laughed, there was a type of sunny handsomeness.

Li Cangyu's gaze swept over the crowd and quickly locked on the target before moving over here.

Ling Xuefeng's heart beat violently as he saw Li Cangyu stepping towards him, enough that he could hear his own heartbeat.

Li Cangyu walked very quickly and arrived in front of Ling Xuefeng in the blink of an eye. He looked Ling Xuefeng up and down and said, "You are wearing a suit. I almost didn't recognize you."

Ling Xuefeng answered him with a tight hug.

Li Cangyu wasn't very surprised at being hugged. Whenever they met before, this guy would always come to hug him. Li Cangyu hugged him and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "I really troubled you. There was no need for you to pick me up from the airport."

This sentence was obviously plat.i.tudes. If it was really troublesome then why run to Shanghai?

"There is no need to be so polite." Ling Xuefeng couldn't help smiling as he whispered, "Are you hungry? I'll take you to eat fish."

"Okay!" Li Cangyu immediately replied positively.

This att.i.tude was really like a big cat following fish.

***

The two of them headed to the parking lot together. Li Cangyu saw the black Audi in front of him and couldn't help saying, "This is a nice car."

"Would you like me to give it to you?" Ling Xuefeng asked.

“Forget it, my driving skills are terrible." Li Cangyu sat in the pa.s.senger seat.

"Should I accompany you to a driving school when you're free?"

“Say it later." Li Cangyu was lazy. He liked looking at cars but he had no interest in driving. "It is said that it is harder and harder to get a driver's license. I have to buy a car and parking s.p.a.ce. The car also has to be maintained. It is really troublesome. I would rather take a taxi directly."

'In fact, I can be your driver…' Ling Xuefeng suppressed this sentence and sat in the driver's seat, leaving the airport.

The two of them hadn't seen each other for a long time but some friends had such a deep understanding that it wasn't uncomfortable despite the long time span.

Once the car was steady, Li Cangyu casually asked,"Isn't the second round of the regular season about to start? Don't you have to go back to training today?"

“There is the vice-captain." Ling Xuefeng said, "He is currently in charge of the team's training."

"Ah, Yan Ruiwen is really more careful than you." Li Cangyu lamented. "Remember when Vice-Captain Yuan retired when he was only 18 years old? Now Yan Ruiwen is the vice-captain. Things are a lot easier for you with things helping."

"Aren't you the same? You have Bai Xuan to help and you even took him to New York with you." Ling Xuefeng said.

"I didn't take him. Xiao Bai has a serious stomach problem." Li Cangyu explained, "I went to New York to see my dad and show him Bai Xuan's stomach problems."

Once the explanation was over, he felt a bit strange. Why was he explaining these things to Ling Xuefeng?

Li Cangyu touched his nose and smiled, moving his gaze to look outside the window.

Ling Xuefeng looked over and saw his side profile. It was masculine and handsome, with a tall nose and deep facial features that gave off a masculine s.e.xiness. The contrast with his red lips and white skin was very big, making him seem like a type of safe man that girls liked.

But from his point of view, Ling Xuefeng couldn't help thinking about… kissing him.

Li Cangyu seemed to perceive eyes on him and turned away. Ling Xuefeng immediately s.h.i.+fted his gaze.

The car filled with silence. Li Cangyu hadn't slept well last night so he simply closed his eyes and went to sleep.

***

"Lazy cat, wake up and get out of the car to eat."

A low voice that contained a hint of tenderness suddenly entered his ears.

Li Cangyu opened his eyes and looked into Ling Xuefeng's deep eyes. He slept very well in the car and hadn't even dreamt. He didn't know why. Perhaps Ling Xuefeng just made him feel safe.

When they played together in the Miracle League, many players were 17 or 18 year old peers who especially loved to play. They often went out for dinner after a game. Every time, Ling Xuefeng would sit next to him and give him fish. This type of quiet care made Li Cangyu feel particularly warm.

The two of them had many years of friends.h.i.+p. They might be the most powerful opponents in the arena but Li Cangyu had no defense against Ling Xuefeng. For him, Ling Xuefeng was one of the most trustworthy people so he could sleep peacefully beside Ling Xuefeng.

Li Cangyu couldn't help smiling at Ling Xuefeng. "Cough, I've been affected by jet lag the last few days and actually fell asleep."

Ling Xuefeng spoke softly, "If you feel tired after eating, do you want to sleep all afternoon?"

"We'll talk about it again later."

He unbuckled his seatbelt as he said this and wanted to open the door. He had slept too much and wasn't completely awake. As a result, he slammed his head into the roof of the car.

Ling Xuefeng immediately reached out to his forehead. "Are you hurt?"

Li Cangyu said helplessly, "It isn't painful at all. I was just disoriented from waking up."

Ling Xuefeng looked at him carefully. The sound just now had been particularly loud but fortunately, it wasn't serious. Li Cangyu's forehead was just a bit red and it should be fine after a while.

Ling Xuefeng couldn't help sighing with relief.

In the next second, his back suddenly straightened. It was because his actions made the distance between the two people very close. Ling Xuefeng was half pressed against Li Cangyu's body and there was only one inch between their faces. If they just leaned forward slightly, they could directly kiss.

He saw his own reflection in Li Cangyu's black eyes and Ling Xuefeng paused for a moment, his heartbeat ringing in his ears.

Li Cangyu didn't move, he just quietly looked at the other person. Ling Xuefeng always felt that this smart cat seemed to see something but Ling Xuefeng didn't want to confess that he liked this person yet. He moved away and said, "Let's go eat."

"Yes." Li Cangyu didn't question it and left the car.

The two of them entered the restaurant together. This store specialized in pickled fish and was quite famous. It was peak lunch hour and there were people waiting in line. Ling Xuefeng had booked in advance so after giving their names, the waiter took them upstairs to a private room.

The waiter asked, "We use live fish here. How many pounds do you want?"

Ling Xuefeng looked at Li Cangyu, "Is four pounds enough?"

Li Cangyu replied, "Six pounds."

Ling Xuefeng nodded and said to the waiter. "Listen to him and give us six pounds."

The waiter, "…"

The two of them wanted to eat such a big fish?

Once the fish was ordered, Li Cangyu made a satisfied expression. Ling Xuefeng asked, "Do you want anything else?"

Li Cangyu said, "No, I'll only eat fish."

Ling Xuefeng ordered two other vegetable dishes before handing the menu back to the waiter.

A large pot of pickled fish arrived. The six pound fish really looked spectacular. Li Cangyu immediately started. The store chosen by Ling Xuefeng was very good. The fish was fresh and tender while the pickled taste was good. Li Cangyu was very satisfied when eating.

Ling Xuefeng saw him burying his head to eat fish and couldn't help smiling.

Li Cangyu was truly a big cat who couldn't move when seeing fish.

Li Cangyu didn't like to talk during a meal. He only concentrated on eating fish and finally finished the big pot after half an hour. Ling Xuefeng accompanied him and ate the vegetable dishes, filling his stomach.

Li Cangyu wiped his mouth with satisfaction and smiled. "You have paid off the pickled fish you owe me. Next time, let's eat steamed ba.s.s."

He deliberately emphasized the words 'steamed ba.s.s'.

Ling Xuefeng pretended to be calm as he replied, "No problem, next time I will cook for you at home."

***

It was still early when the two of them left the restaurant. Li Cangyu said he was going to find a Chinese medicine doctor recommended by his father and Ling Xuefeng willingly drove him.

The old Chinese medicine pract.i.tioner listened to Li Cangyu's description and gave him some medicines to regulate the gastrointestinal tract. He instructed Li Cangyu to drink it every day on time and it would be effective in one month.

Li Cangyu thanked him, took a few packs of medicine and walked out.

After returning to the car, Ling Xuefeng asked, "A treatment for stomach problems? Is this medicine for Bai Xuan?"

Li Cangyu nodded. "Yes, my father said that this is better for Xiao Bai's stomach problems than Western medicine. I'll bring some back this time to help him."

Bai Xuan and Li Cangyu were really as close as brothers. Previously, Ling Xuefeng couldn't help being jealous but he later found out that Li Cangyu only regarded Bai Xuan as a friend and no longer minded.

"It is still early. Do you want to go to my place for a while?" Ling Xuefeng asked.

"Is it convenient to go to the Wind Colour team?"

“We aren't going to the team, it is my house." Ling Xuefeng said, "I bought a small place here."

“Okay." Li Cangyu couldn't help feeling curious. "I haven't been to your new home."

Ling Xuefeng had bought a small two bedroom place. He didn't like a house with too much s.p.a.ce because it would look very empty. This house was located in the high-rise area and the property was very good. The layout of the north-south house was very reasonable.

The two rooms, one of which was the master bedroom with a bathroom, was very large. Ling Xuefeng placed a king size bed inside and removed a side wall, installing a big wardrobe. The other slightly smaller room was refurbished into a study. There was a wall-mounted bookcase and a brand new desktop computer placed on the big table in the middle.

The living room and dining room was decorated in a simple and stylish manner but the wallpaper was in warm yellow tones, making the whole house look clean and warm.

Li Cangyu wore slippers and agreed with Ling Xuefeng's taste. This man might look cold and serious but he was very careful. He always knew how to take care of people, making them feel warm and not embarra.s.sed. This was a very rare thing.

Wouldn't his future wife definitely be happy living in this cozy home?

He was just thinking this when Ling Xuefeng suddenly asked, "What do you think about the decorating style?"

"It is very nice." Li Cangyu praised. "I'm not very good at this. You are more careful than me when it comes to the home."

The praised Ling Xuefeng was in a good mood. He brought Li Cangyu to his bedroom and said, "If you are sleepy, sleep for a while. I will send you to the airport at night."

Li Cangyu readily took off his coat and got on the bed. He smiled and said, "I really am sleepy. I'll take a nap first and leave at 7 o'clock."

Ling Xuefeng had a dreamlike feeling when he saw Li Cangyu sitting on his big bed with a smile. Ling Xuefeng wanted to rush over and kiss him until he was breathless.

However… Li Cangyu was really sleepy and didn't take long to fall asleep.

Ling Xuefeng forcibly controlled the thoughts in his heart.

He watched Li Cangyu sleeping quietly and couldn't help getting a warm feeling in his heart.

Was it because Li Cangyu trusted Ling Xuefeng that he could sleep so peacefully in this bed?

'Li Cangyu, this trust you have given me, I will never let you down.

So before you readily accept me, I won't do anything that makes you resent me.

For you, the most important thing at the moment is the Miracle Professional League. You have longed for the Miracle League's trophy for so long. It is your obsession and your greatest dream. I will support your decision and never affect your progress.

Come back, my Cat G.o.d.

I am here, waiting for the king to return.'

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【 Volume 2: Happy Carnival 】

Chapter 61 – Farewell

Li Cangyu slept soundly and opened his eyes at 5:30 in the afternoon.

Ling Xuefeng's bed was very comfortable. It was big and the mattress was thick. There was no need to worry about falling down when rolling over. Li Cangyu was never still when sleeping. He woke up and saw that Ling Xuefeng's quilt and sheets were all rolled up by him.

This was Ling Xuefeng's home so it wasn't very good to mess up his house. Li Cangyu self-consciously tidied up the sheets and quilt before leaving the bedroom with a yawn.

To his surprise, Ling Xuefeng was cooking in the kitchen. This man usually looked very serious and was considered an abstinent male G.o.d in the eyes of many fans. It was difficult to imagine that he would cook while wearing an ap.r.o.n.

Today, Li Cangyu had the privilege of witnessing Ling Xuefeng cooking. This man's expression was still serious but under the warm light of the kitchen, his handsome face seemed to have a touch of homely warmth.

Ling Xuefeng sensed the eyes on him and looked back to see Li Cangyu standing at the door of the kitchen, yawning. A gentleness filled his eyes as he spoke in a warm, low-pitched voice. "You woke up?"

Li Cangyu hummed, speaking while rubbing his eyes. "The time difference is really tiring. I'm still sleepy."

"The food will be ready soon. You can wait in the dining room first." Ling Xuefeng took off the lid and looked down at the ingredients in the pot.

Li Cangyu suddenly smelt a strong aroma and didn't go to the dining room. He greedily came over and glanced at the pot, finding a pot of braised pork. He drooled as he said, "The colour looks good."

“The taste is also delicious.” Ling Xuefeng stated.

Li Cangyu smiled, "Don't you know how to be modest?"

"I'm telling the truth." Ling Xuefeng grabbed a piece of meat out of the pot with his chopsticks and placed it at Li Cangyu's lips. "Do you believe me?"

Li Cangyu immediately opened his mouth and ate the meat.

He was a bit hungry after sleeping. The braised pork was tender and soft, a fragrant taste filling his mouth. Li Cangyu chewed the meat with a contented face and swallowed, seemingly unaware that Ling Xuefeng had been feeding him.

Ling Xuefeng showed a faint smile. This big cat really didn't move when eating. Feeding him meat made him feel very good!

Of course, Ling Xuefeng immediately retracted his gaze after feeding the piece of meat. He pretended to calmly put all the braised pork onto a plate. There were already two vegetable dishes set on the counter, the green colour increasing people's appet.i.tes.

Ling Xuefeng handed the plate to Li Cangyu and said, "You take this to the dining room first. I will prepare the soup."

"Ah." Li Cangyu accept the task and brought the three dishes to the dining room. Then he went back to get the cutlery.

Ling Xuefeng soon finished the seaweed egg soup. Li Cangyu drooled at the sight of the three dishes and soup on the table.

“You just ate fish at noon so I didn't make fish. I will cook it for you next time." Ling Xuefeng said as he handed over rice.

“Well, I ate too much fish at lunch. It is good to change the taste at night." Li Cangyu might love to eat fish but even he would be tired of it when eating it for two meals a day. The dishes made by Ling Xuefeng also fit his taste. Li Cangyu raised his chopsticks and immersed himself in eating. As he ate, he couldn't help praising, "The peas are delicious… the dishes are delicious… the pork is the best!"

In any case, it was all delicious.

Ling Xuefeng was in an excellent mood after being praised. He was particularly satisfied after seeing Li Cangyu eat vegetables.

They were captains and the pressure on their shoulders was very big. There were many things to do but this time, Li Cangyu made an effort to see Ling Xuefeng. They might only be able to meet for a short time but Ling Xuefeng was very satisfied.

Personally cooking a few dishes for him and eating face to face, this was the more relaxed and pleasant thing for Ling Xuefeng.

***

After eating, Li Cangyu helped Ling Xuefeng clean up the table. He looked at his watch and said, "The second round of the regular season is about to start. Wind Colour must be very busy so you can return to the team first. I will take a taxi to the airport myself."

"It's fine, I'll take you there." Ling Xuefeng stated.

Vice-Captain Yan Ruiwen was very conscientious and there was no need to worry about the other old players on the team. The most troubling Qin Mo had been abused by Cat G.o.d and his mindset improved a lot. Ling Xuefeng was very confident in his team. It was rare to see a loved one and he wanted more time alone with Li Cangyu.

Since the other person was determined to send him away, Li Cangyu didn't refuse. He simply said, "Then I will go and pack my things. We have to leave as soon as possible."

"Yes, remember not to leave anything behind."

Li Cangyu didn't have much luggage so he quickly packed up. The two people arrived at the airport early. LIng Xuefeng sat with Li Cangyu for a while until it was 9 o'clock and Li Cangyu got up to go to security.

"Goodbye." Li Cangyu took the initiative to reach out to Ling Xuefeng. Ling Xuefeng's heart almost stopped from excitement and he immediately hugged back.

Ling Xuefeng clung tightly to Li Cangyu for a while before letting go, whispering, "See you in New York in October."

Li Cangyu nodded. "Yes, I'll wait for you to come."

Then he turned and waved to Ling Xuefeng. "I'm going now!"

Ling Xuefeng smiled and waved to him. "Go ahead."

Li Cangyu walked briskly away, his slender and upright back disappearing into the crowd. Then Ling Xuefeng removed his gaze and left the airport.

His heart was very reluctant but Ling Xuefeng knew this was just a short parting. They would soon see each other again.

***

That night, Ling Xuefeng returned to the Wind Colour team where all the members were present.

In this one week holiday period, many players went home to visit their parents while others travelled abroad. Now that the holiday was over, everyone must quickly regain their mindset to deal with the second round of the regular season.

Ling Xuefeng summoned all the players to the meeting room for a routine meeting.

A big projection screen occupied the middle of a wall. Ling Xuefeng calmly pointed to the big screen with a laser pointer. "This is the result of the first round of the regular season. Our team is currently first in the rankings. In the second round of the regular season, we can't relax. The gap with Flying Feathers, Time and Ghost Spirits isn't big. One mistake might reverse the situation."

Ling Xuefeng continued saying, "I want everyone here to be as effective as possible during the second round of the regular season. I'm not asking you to win every game but you should at least play in a wonderful manner."

The Ling Xuefeng in the team strategy meeting and the Ling Xuefeng who smiled at the airport while watching his loved one leave seemed like two different people.

Captain Ling's expression was currently very serious, the powerful aura making players unable to look directly into his eyes. His voice was very calm but each sentence contain a great weight.

"The first match of the second round is against the Pure Cleansing team. The style of this team is known to everyone. It is the illusion flow route. We will continue to use the most stable lineup. Vice-Captain Yan and I will each stare at a psychic. We will solve the Zhu Qingyue and Chu Yan combination as fast as possible while the others will take care of the black magicians in the back row…"

Ling Xuefeng started to arrange the tactics of the next game in an orderly way. The players listened carefully and some people took notes.

At the same time, the other teams' meeting rooms were brightly lit up. The captains of the major teams were having meetings to prepare for the second round of the sixth season's regular season.

***

8 a.m. on Tuesday, the Miracle Professional League's headquarters in Beijing, China.

The chairman of the league, Nan Jiangang and the high-level representatives of the game developers and operators were holding an emergency meeting.

Nan Jiangang sat at the head of the table and said, "I believe that everyone has seen the file sent by the Miracle World League. What suggestions do you have about the changes in the compet.i.tion model?"

The director of the Technology Research and Development department said, "This compet.i.tion format is more complicated. The R&D department needs one week to reconstruct the compet.i.tion information. The second round of the sixth season is about to begin. Should the compet.i.tion system be changed?"

“It's not urgent.” Nan Jiangang said, "The sixth season is already half over. We will keep it the same. We will fully replace the system starting with the second division next season. We have to take the seventh season as a new starting point, just in line with the first World Compet.i.tion in December next year."

It really wasn't appropriate to change the compet.i.tion format in the middle of the season. The people nodded in agreement to the chairman's decision.

The minister of the promotional department said, "Chairman, will the selection of the six players in the World Carnival based on the data of this season or the popularity of the players? We have been discussing this matter for several days and haven't come to a conclusion."

Nan Jiangang thought about it and said, "The World Carnival is an entertainment gathering. Star players from all countries will be invited so it is best to choose according to popularity. This afternoon, the second round of the regular season is about to begin. What do you think about opening a voting channel and selecting the six most popular players in to go New York to partic.i.p.ate in the World Carnival?"

"Chairman has a point." Someone nodded in agreement.

"There is no need to play matches in the Carnival or to consider the issue of lineup configuration. It is reasonable to select the six people with the highest popularity."

"Who do you think the six people will be?"

"If the voting method is followed, there is no doubt about the popularity of Ling Xuefeng, Su Guangmo and Tan s.h.i.+tian. In my opinion, Captain Lou of Ghost Spirits should also be selected?"

"Pure Cleansing's captain, Xiao Zhu is also very popular. He is the league's best auxiliary and he has quite a lot of fans."

"Cheng Wei's popularity also isn't low, right?"

“Yu Pingsheng of Flying Feathers might be unsociable but he is actually quite popular…"

Chairman Nan listened to the heated discussion and couldn't help sighing. "There are too many excellent players in the current Miracle League. It is a headache picking just six people for the Carnival!"

"This is a good thing!" The promotional minister said with a smile, "The Miracle League in China has developed very quickly in recent years. It isn't inferior to j.a.pan, South Korea, Europe and the United States. The players we choose to go definitely won't show a bad appearance to the world."

“That's true." Chairman Nan laughed. "I am even more relieved that one of our talented players is coming back."

"Talented player?" Someone asked doubtfully. "Who is it?"

"Tan s.h.i.+tian's story about a big cat and kitten, you should study it well." Chairman Nan smiled and continued, "There is also the legion defense in the new Moonlight Forest District where both the Bright G.o.ddess and Dark G.o.ddess were killed. You should be able to guess the commanders on both sides."

Someone immediately took out their phone and opened it to Tan s.h.i.+tian's Weibo. However, he found that Captain Tan had deleted the story and many people were confused.

Finally, a veteran who spent six years in the Miracle League said, "Big cat and a kitten? There seems to be only one player in the Miracle League who has something to do with 'cat'. Is it… Old Cat, Li Cangyu of the first season?"

Nan Jiangang nodded with admiration.

"Is Cat G.o.d back?" Someone exclaimed with surprise. "Are you certain about this?"

Nan Jiangang smiled and said, "Of course I am sure. Liu Chuan of the Dragon Warriors Club has contacted me. He will complete the team registration by the end of the year and Li Cangyu's personal information has been transferred to the Miracle League."

"Great!" Some people excitedly exclaimed. "Cat G.o.d's hand speed is a match with Ling Xuefeng's and is ranked in the forefront of the world. If he returns, our country's summoners will soar into the sky!"

Nan Jiangang also felt very relieved.

As the chairman of the Miracle League, he had run and tried to persuade Li Cangyu not to leave, his mouth almost breaking. However, Li Cangyu's att.i.tude was extremely firm and he was very decisive. Nan Jiangang still remembered this young man's upright back and confident appearance when leaving.

Now he was returning and was bound to be criticized. Still, Nan Jiangang believed that this man wasn't a careless person. His every choice was him following his own heart and he was clear-minded.

His return this time meant he was definitely coming for the champions.h.i.+p trophy!

Once Old Cat returns, the seventh season would definitely become quite lively!

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