Summary: The only 'one' time Sun Xiang will help Ye Xiu.
Disclaimer: I do not own 全職高手
Timeline: Right after Ye Xiu retires from Excellent Era.
Only 'One' Time Miracle
Ye Xiu's back figure walked away from the grand, imposing, three storey building that had been his life for almost a decade. He was walking away from what had been his lifeline; his account since the beginning of Glory: One Autumn Leaf. The silent cold streets met Ye Xiu as he walked away from Excellent Era, as if they expressed the mood of the former Battle God.
Ye Xiu had a slim and weak body; with a face akin to paper. An outsider would believe he had severe health issues by looking at the state of him. However, although he seemed as if he would get toppled over by the slightest brush of wind, the haunting street lights enlarged an intimidating figure behind him. The shadow that was let off from Ye Xiu did not seem like a man who could barely walk, not from Sun Xiang's point of view. To Sun Xiang, Ye Xiu seemed like a monarch who would not peacefully let himself get dethroned.
He only entertained the thought for a second before it quickly left his mind. Ye Xiu had retired. In a year's time, Ye Xiu would not have the capabilities to compete anymore on the professional stage. He was not someone Sun Xiang would need to worry about anymore. In the span of a night, Ye Xiu had become a figure of the past. If Ye Xiu still had fighting spirit, wouldn't he try to defend himself from losing One Autumn Leaf? Sun Xiang viewed Ye Xiu as a person who had already grown tired and weary of Glory, as shown by his decisive retirement.
At least that was what Sun Xiang told himself. His sixth sense tingled; telling him that it would not be the last he saw of the God of Glory. And when Sun Xiang looked back to this day, he would realize how right he was.
Ye Xiu walked off into the distance. He could feel the gaze of a pair of eyes on him as he walked off, but he did not heed them any mind. He guessed that it was most likely Liu Hao enjoying his departure with sadistic pleasure. Or perhaps it was one of the other team members who felt the need to mock his existence. In any case, Ye Xiu did not care.
He did not care about the fact that he would be looked down on and taken advantage of by the management of Excellent Era. He did not care about how Liu Hao was probably mocking him along with the rest of his prior team except Su Mucheng. But he could not care less about them in his current state. There was something that hurt far more than the thoughts of others that plagued him at the moment.
One Autumn Leaf. It had only been 15 minutes since the loss of his account yet Ye Xiu's heart was already starting to bleed. That account was more than a few gigabytes of data and lines of code to Ye Xiu. It was his lifeline. It was almost a decade of hard work and effort. Years spent researching equipment. Years spent grinding skill books for skill points. Years spent in the arena, increasing the fame of the account. Years spent on the professional stage; an accumulation of all the success in Ye Xiu's life. One Autumn Leaf was much more than just an account.
As Ye Xiu walked, he noticed the cold start to bite into him. It broke his melancholy and Ye Xiu remembered that he had to figure out a short-term plan for his current situation. He needed a place to rest for the night. Opening his wallet, he confirmed he had enough money to stay a few nights at the City H Travel Hotel before deciding to make way there. Although the hotel was inexpensive and old, the prices were cheap. It would be better to stay in an old room than on the cold street late at night. Not to add that Ye Xiu did not want to end up sleeping on the street.
Just as Ye Xiu was about to head off the nearest hotel, he noticed the dim flickering lights of computers in front of him. It was a small internet café, with a seemingly cosy atmosphere. From outside, Ye Xiu could see people playing games and interacting. He walked up to the window and watched as players of different levels played Glory. Both beginner players and long-time casual players had a smile on their face as they indulged themselves in Glory. Ye Xiu knew this internet café. Happy Internet Café. It was right across the street to Excellent Era and had good reputation in the area. He decided that it wouldn't hurt to enjoy a few hours in an internet café before going to the hotel. Ye Xiu knew that he would not be able to properly sleep that night anyways. It was not like he would lose anything from staying a few hours at an internet café.
The next day, Sun Xiang was walking to the Excellent Era club building after buying breakfast. He had woken up late that day due to the excitement of what had occurred yesterday. The big event that had happened last night was slowly moving towards the back of his mind. After all, Sun Xiang was not one to linger on the past or care much about a single person. Sun Xiang was ready to compete and felt confident in bringing Excellent Era back to its old glory days with his skill and technique added to the team.
Due to waking up late, Sun Xiang was almost late for his club activities. It was also the reason why he had hurried and bought some quick take-away street food along the way to Excellent Era. As Sun Xiang rushed closer to the Excellent Era building, his eyes glanced to the side and a figure in the internet café caught his eyes.
Soft black hair was splayed onto a keyboard. The man slept with his face towards Sun Xiang. From where Sun Xiang was, he could see the pale completion of a delicate face. The sleeping face seemed to be at ease with the world and Sun Xiang couldn't help but exclaim 'cute' in his heart. Although his sleeping face was much softer and less rage-inducing than when he was awake, Sun Xiang instantly realised who he was looking at. Ye Xiu.
Sun Xiang stared at the Ye Xiu from the outside of the internet café. Instinctively, Sun Xiang moved closer to the internet café. Before he even knew it, his nose pressed against the window. The sudden cold feeling from his nose jolted Sun Xiang as he realised what he had done. A weary smile could be traced on his lips. Why did it feel like Ye Xiu would never leave him alone? Why was he so attracted to this man? Sun Xiang sighed before he readjusted his disguise and walked inside the internet café. As he walked towards the seat Ye Xiu was in, he noticed a woman in her mid-twenties walk over in that direction. She would reach Ye Xiu before Sun Xiang. From the reactions of the staff members, Sun Xiang could tell that the lady was the boss of the internet café.
He noticed as the boss (who he knew was called Chen Guo from the people in the internet café) walked over to Ye Xiu's side. She was about to reach out her hand and shake Ye Xiu awake when a firm voice said, "Stop".
Sun Xiang didn't even know what got into him as he rushed over to the computer. He attempted to save Ye Xiu's sleeping time. Chen Guo was obviously very surprised at this statement. "Why?", she asked in a puzzled manner. She took a good look at Sun Xiang and frowned when she realised that a scarf covered his face.
Sun Xiang felt stumped at that question. Why was he helping out Ye Xiu? He had absolutely nothing to do with him. But on the outside, there was no facial change from Sun Xiang. He replied, "My friend hasn't slept since the start of yesterday. I assumed that he would have pulled an all-nighter at your internet café. Don't wake him up just yet". Sun Xiang's speech was forced, and he spoke with a rude sense of authority.
Although the lady boss was quite unhappy with the rude demeanour that the stranger talked to her in, she softened when she heard that Ye Xiu hadn't slept since yesterday. On one hand, she wanted to leave her employee to sleep, but on the other hand the internet café was getting busy and people were waiting for computers to use. After a few seconds of thought, Chen Guo decided against waking him up. She thought, 'Well what is the difference of one more customer or not'. However, the arrogant voice of Sun Xiang resounded in the room once more. "I can take my friend to his house, so that he will be able to sleep better", he spoke.
Sun Xiang slapped himself inwardly. Why did he even say that? He was already late for stopping at this internet café. But seeing the suspicious look that Chen Guo gave him, he knew he would be turned down. Which boss would hand over a customer to a stranger who was disguised? He felt relieved but also… regretful? Sun Xiang wanted to bash his head into the wall. Why was he feeling regretful!
What he hadn't expected was the reply. "Sure. Make sure my employee has some food to eat when he wakes up!", replied Chen Guo.
The second part of the conversation flew over Sun Xiang's head. The confirmation gave Sun Xiang happiness for a reason he didn't know why. At that point, he decided he needed to get checked at a psychiatrist. He picked up Ye Xiu off the table and carried him bridal style. Sun Xiang noticed how light Ye Xiu was. With ease, he comfortably held Ye Xiu in his hands. When he held Ye Xiu, he looked at his face once more and Sun Xiang felt blood rush to his cheeks. For the first time, Sun Xiang felt glad that he needed to wear a disguise when he went outside.
Then under the watchful gaze of Chen Guo, he walked out with Ye Xiu in his hands. He had the feeling that she would change her mind, so he increased his pace. He was about to walk Ye Xiu to the Excellent Era club before he remembered that Ye Xiu was no longer welcome there. With the sudden realisation, Sun Xiang changed his direction and walked to the nearest hotel. Upon seeing the worn-down state of City H Travel Hotel, Sun Xiang sighed before walking another 10 minutes to the luxurious City H Executive Hotel. It was definitely not that he just wanted the company of the sleeping man for longer. Definitely not.
The elderly receptionist at the luxury hotel was not too surprised when she saw a suspicious man carrying an asleep person walk in. He came to the instant conclusion that times were moving too quickly for him to catch up with and these youths had been participating in the latest dumb viral online trend. After Sun Xiang paid, he gave them a room without fuss.
In the hotel room, Sun Xiang released his grip on Ye Xiu and lay him flat on the bed. Remembering the words of the lady boss, Sun Xiang also decided to leave his breakfast on the hotel. He stared resolutely at Ye Xiu's face for a few minutes before sighing. Why did he help out Ye Xiu? Although they were both once part of the same team, Ye Xiu and Sun Xiang were total strangers.
Sun Xiang promised in his heart that this would be the only time he helped out Ye Xiu. The only one time. The only one. He repeated this chant in his head with the enthusiasm of Huang Shaotian. Yet, no matter what he said, he had the sinking feeling that he would be seeing Ye Xiu a lot more often. Sun Xiang sat at the side of the bed and watched the sleeping figure of Ye Xiu. He was so enthralled that he lost track of time. After an hour of staring at Ye Xiu, he broke out of his reverie. After slapping himself in the face once, he quickly left the room.
In a dazed fashion, Sun Xiang walked out of the room. He walked in a dogged manner to the Excellent Era building. By the time he reached the club, he was already over 2 hours late. Tao Xuan chastised him for coming late but he couldn't hear the scolding.
Plagued by how the image of Ye Xiu in his head, Sun Xiang forgot about his own breakfast. He starved that day.
Extra
Meanwhile Su Mucheng looked on amusedly. She first laughed when she saw the red handprint on Sun Xiang's face as he walked in for training. She then secretly watched on in enjoyment as she saw Sun Xiang get reprimanded for coming late by a few hours and then once again as his stomach growled and his face distorted from hunger. Although she didn't know exactly what happened, she still felt delight at his plight.
AN: My first time writing a fanfiction! Writing sure is a much different experience from reading! Hope you enjoyed!