——  The two Carnival days allowed the Miracle fans to enjoy a pleasant weekend, especially the fans who came to the venue. In addition to seeing the great gods gathered, there were some lucky viewers who got a precious signature souvenir.

  Once the Carnival ended, the league arranged for media reporters to interview the players. Reporters swarmed the moment Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan appeared. The host was scared by this and stood up to maintain order. “Don’t rush. Ask questions one by one!”

  A female reporter asked, “Cat God, you participated in the Carnival for the first time this year and directly served as temporary captain and commander of the Frost Team. Many people are curious since the captain in previous years is normally Ling Xuefeng. Why did he retreat and let you develop the lineup tactics?”

  Li Cangyu answered calmly, “The audience won’t feel it is fresh if he is the captain every year. Thus, he let me do it this time.”

  The reporter asked, “Is your relationship as good as rumoured?”

  Li Cangyu smiled and said, “Ling Xuefeng and I aren’t good actors. We don’t need to pretend to have a good relationship. We are opponents on the field but in private, we are excellent friends.”

  “How good is it?” A reporter wanted gossip.

  Li Cangyu thought, ‘It is good enough for me to kiss him casually. Won’t you die if I say this?’

  “I don’t know how to describe it.” Li Cangyu touched his nose and cleverly shifted the subject. “Probably… I must try to win against him on the field and then I will ask him to eat fish after the game.”

  Everyone was amused by Cat God. The rumour about him expressing kindness through eating fish was true.

  Someone stood up and joked, “Cat God, today you joined hands with Captain Ling. This scene was described as a ‘biological weapon’ by Vice-Captain Bai. The audience also saw the power of the double summoners at the time. Have you ever thought about later having an opportunity to cooperate with Captain Ling?”

  “There will be if we can go to the World Competition.” His voice was calm and his eyes very confident. Many reporters on the scene excitedly recorded this scene. They were looking forward to the two people cooperating at the World Competition.

  However, some reporters questioned it. “At the end of the first round of the regular season, Canglan is third from the bottom. Does Cat God have confidence in reversing the situation in the second round and leading Canglan to the playoffs?”

  Li Cangyu didn’t hesitate. “Of course. I am best at reversing the situation.”

  Bai Xuan sat next to him and couldn’t help smiling. He picked up the microphone and said, “We didn’t perform well in the first round because the experience of the few newcomers was still lacking. Still, I believe that everyone will try their best to grab points in the second round.”

  Bai Xuan’s nature was gentle but the self-confidence revealed in this sentence made the reporters clap appreciatively. Canglan’s performance in the first round wasn’t particularly good but there were a few remarkable matches. The key was the growth of the four teenagers. If they could complete their breakthrough as soon as possible then Canglan would have the strength to play in the playoffs.

  \r \r \r

  ***

  That afternoon, the great gods went to the airport and returned to the city where their clubs were located.

  Tan Shitian and Cheng Wei had the earliest flight to Beijing. The two of them checked out first. Cheng Wei looked at Li Cangyu reluctantly and said, “Cat God, the next time we meet will be the final week of the second round. I will go to Changsha to find you!”

  Li Cangyu replied simply, “Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

  The Lou Zhang brothers went to Shenzhen together, Su Yu returned to Kunming, Chu Yan and Liu Xiang also left. Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan had the latest flight times and rested at the hotel. Ling Xuefeng offered to drive them to the airport and Li Cangyu didn’t refuse.

  On the way to the airport, Bai Xuan was in the car so the two of them didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. They just chatted about the game and the league. Once they separated at the security check, Ling Xuefeng stretched out his arms and gently hugged Li Cangyu, saying, “Take care.”

  Li Cangyu patted him on the shoulders. “I will see you at the playoffs.”

  Bai Xuan watched them from the side. Li Cangyu was embarrassed and quickly let go of Ling Xuefeng. He gestured goodbye to Ling Xuefeng before walking through the security check with Bai Xuan.

  On the plane, Bai Xuan couldn’t help asking, “Your relationship with Ling Xuefeng seems to be better than before.”

  Li Cangyu made an innocent expression. “Is it? How come I didn’t know? You are thinking too much.”

  Bai Xuan smiled and didn’t say anything. It was just that his heart was a bit complicated. He knew Li Cangyu for many years and naturally understood Li Cangyu very well. Li Cangyu’s personality was straightforward and he hated greasy people. He rarely cuddled with people but recently, he hugged Ling Xuefeng almost every time they met. This was really inconsistent with his past style.

  Not to mention, Captain Ling was a famous abstinent male god. He was very cold to people but when it came to Li Cangyu, he could naturally stretch out his arms and hug Li Cangyu… Bai Xuan didn’t believe they were just ordinary friends.

  Of course, Li Cangyu didn’t say it so Bai Xuan thoughtfully didn’t ask. After all, Bai Xuan wasn’t interested in invading other people’s privacy. Moreover, he believed that Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were responsible captains who wouldn’t let the team be affected by personal feelings.

  The plane would soon take off and the broadcast repeatedly reminded passengers to turn off their phones. Bai Xuan took out his phone to shut it down when a message appeared on the screen. [Have you already boarded? Have a safe journey. I am waiting for you in Changsha. I’ve washed the fruit that you love to eat. Tree thinking of you O(∩_∩)O]

  Bai Xuan was stunned by the last sentence and the smiley face. Li Cangyu saw his weird expression and wondered, “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing… it is an advertisement SMS.” Bai Xuan smiled and pressed the shutdown key on his phone.

  These days, the captain and vice-captain weren’t present. A certain Shu must be particularly arrogant. Bai Xuan imagined Xie Shurong as the child king leading the four little guys to act in a lawless manner…

  However, the thing that made Bai Xuan feel complicated was that Xie Shurong seemed serious about him? Almost a month had passed of the six months contract. If it was just for fun then Xie Shurong’s enthusiasm should’ve died down but he hadn’t given up. Every day, the SMS and phone calls continued, making Bai Xuan’s head swell up.

  The dazed Bai Xuan fell asleep and woke up when the plane landed at Huanghua Airport in Changsha. The two people grabbed their luggage and left the airport. The special car from the Dragon Song Club was waiting outside. Bai Xuan wanted to talk to the driver when the door opened and a young and handsome face appeared. He smiled at Bai Xuan, “The two great gods are back?”

  Perhaps it was because the afternoon sun was too hot but Xie Shurong’s smile was brilliant. Combined with the suit, he felt like a male lead in an idol drama.

  Li Cangyu asked, “Why are you wearing a suit to pick us up on such a hot day? People who don’t know you will think you are here to pick up your boss.”

  Xie Shurong smiled and looked at Bai Xuan. “Vice-Captain Bai, does my suit look good? I bought it myself.”

  Bai Xuan glanced at the light grey suit. “…Cough, it’s okay.”

  He was tall and upright and really did look handsome in this suit. His childish personality wasn’t consistent with a suit but his body and face could fool people. As he stood in front of the car, he attracted the attention of many passersby.

  Bai Xuan raised his suitcase to place it in the trunk. Xie Shurong immediately helped him. “I will do it.”

  He didn’t care about Li Cangyu’s luggage and the captain had to say, “What about mine?”

  Xie Shurong turned back to help the captain as well, making Li Cangyu pat him on the shoulder with satisfaction. “Ah Shu has really grown up. You actually know to come to the airport to pick us up.”

  Li Cangyu got on the car and Xie Shurong asked with a smile, “Do you know why I came to the airport to pick you up?”

  Bai Xuan joked, “Do you want to show a good performance in front of the captain and vice-captain?”

  Xie Shurong shook his head and whispered in Bai Xuan’s ears. “It is because I miss you and I want to see you first.”

  Bai Xuan’s ears turned red at Xie Shurong’s deep gaze and he immediately looked away. Didn’t this guy have any shame? He said such a strange thing in public. What if Cat God heard him?

  Bai Xuan ignored Xie Shurong’s infatuated eyes and sat in the back seat with a red face. Xie Shurong followed him in.

  Li Cangyu asked, “The two of us haven’t been present. What have the four little ones been doing?”

  Xie Shurong answered, “Don’t worry Captain, I have been watching them. Apart from watching the live broadcast of the Carnival, they have been training very seriously.”

  Li Cangyu nodded with satisfaction. As Ling Xuefeng proposed before, he was ready to hand the captain’s position to Xie Shurong for a period of time after retiring. Ah Shu was currently only 21 years old and his state hadn’t declined yet. It was fine for him to play a few more years. Once Ah Shu wanted to retire, he would hand over the team to Xiao Han so that the newcomers wouldn’t feel too much stress.

  During the Carnival, Li Cangyu had handed management of the team over to Ah Shu. Ah Shu had taken the four newcomers to watch the games and gave an explanation. Xie Shurong didn’t seem like his usual frivolous self at that time and was quite reliable.

  The trio chatted casually and quickly arrived at the Dragon Song Club. The four teenagers saw that the captain had come back and like kittens seeing their father, they pounced on Li Cangyu.

  Li Cangyu was in a great mood. He rubbed their heads and said, “I bought you gifts. They are posters that contain the signatures of all the great gods present at the Carnival and you can add them to your collection.”

  “Great!” “Cat God is awesome!” “Captain, thank you!”

  Gu Siming almost jumped with joy, Li Xiaojiang stared with wide eyes, Xiao Han showed a strong curiosity and Zhuo Hang looked at Su Guangmo and Tan Shitian’s signatures with a complicated expression. Ah Shu and Old Zhang also got gifts and were quite excited. A poster signed by 12 great gods definitely couldn’t be bought from the market.

  The gifts were delivered and Li Cangyu called everyone out for dinner. The team happily went to a restaurant for dinner, which was the last time they had to relax before the start of the regular season’s second round.