Extra 1: Chapter 361 – The Covenant of Time (1) – Tan Cheng’s First Encounter
Cheng Wei walked into the training room and saw several teammates talking. He rushed to the side to listen, only to hear someone mysteriously say, “This newcomer isn’t ordinary. I passed by the training camp and he was particularly handsome!”
“He might be handsome but he can’t rely on his face to eat!” Cheng Wei wasn’t convinced. “What about his level?”
“It is said that his hand speed is very fast.” The man’s tone was positive.
Cheng Wei rolled his eyes while thinking in his heart, ‘His hand speed might be faster but it can’t be faster than Cat God!’
The Time team hadn’t absorbed any fresh blood for a long time. This time, the president of the Time Club recommended a group of qualified newcomers to interview. The captain Xu Luo and the club manager personally checked them and it was said that some people joined the team’s training camp through the interviews. This meant that Cheng Wei was no longer the youngest player on the Time team.
Cheng Wei thought of this and was suddenly a bit happy.
As a newcomer who debuted in the third season, he was only 16 years old this year. Many players on the team regarded him as a minor child. Since there were newcomers in the training camp, wouldn’t he be a senior?
That evening, Cheng Wei happily sent a message to Li Cangyu. [Cat God, we have newcomers!]
This was the playoffs stage in the third season. The FTD team hadn’t disbanded but they were facing difficulties with the team’s lack of funds and maintaining daily operations. Li Cangyu never showed any fatigue on the surface and every game was full of energy. Thus, many people in the league didn’t know the status of his team, including Cheng Wei.
Cheng Wei sent the message and soon got a reply. [Not bad.]
Cheng Wei replied: [I heard there is one person that is particularly handsome and his hand speed is also fast. I haven’t seen it but I think they are definitely bragging, like my age. How can boys playing the game look particularly handsome? Cat God, you said it right? Most otakua are acne-prone!]
Li Cangyu replied: [So curious. Won’t you know if you go to see him?]
[I don’t have time! The playoffs are so busy that I wasn’t in the mood to care about the newcomer in the training camp!]
[Is there a good tactical layout for the next game?]
[Hey Cat God, don’t take this opportunity to ask me. I won’t tell you!]
[Yes, you’re become smarter. [Smile]]
[Good night Cat God!]
There was a match the next day so Cheng Wei went to bed after talking to Cat God. The matter regarding the newcomer in the training camp was completely thrown away by him.
A week later, the Time team lost to Wind Colour in the semi-finals and had to compete with Ghost Spirits for third place in the season. The finals was between Wind Colour and Flying Feathers.
The third season was the most brilliant period for the Flying Feathers team. Su Guangmo, Yu Pingsheng and Xie Shurong joined forces to bring the melee violent play of the Three Musketeers to the extreme and finally won the championship in one feel swoop, creating the myth of the Three Musketeers in the Miracle League.
The Ghost Spirits had the best assassin Mo Quan at the time. His two apprentices Lou Wushuang and Zhang Shaohui had already debuted but their standards still needed to be honed. Thus, Time was very relaxed taking on Ghost Spirits and won third place.
Flying Feathers, Wind and Time had each harvested the championship, second place and third place. The season’s MVP award went to Flying Feathers captain Su Guangmo. To everyone’s surprise, Cheng Wei actually won the Best Newcomer Award at the awards ceremony!
The 16 year old Cheng Wei ran excitedly to the stage, bowing deeply to the audience as he held his trophy. The teenager who hadn’t grown up didn’t look nervous on the stage. His smile was honest and cute and his eyes were as bright as stars.
This newcomer award made Cheng Wei the ‘genius boy’ in the eyes of many people!
***
After returning to Beijing, the captain Xu Luo led the team members to a nearby KTV in celebration. The season of competition made everyone physically and mentally exhausted. Now that the awards ceremony was over, it was natural to relax well.
There were many strange faces in the KTV room and Cheng Wei was curious about who they were. Xu Luo picked up the microphone and said, “Today is our first full gathering of the Time team. The newcomers of the training camp have also come. I will take this opportunity to introduce them to everyone.”
The old players clapped and the enthusiastic Cheng Wei took the initiative to raise his hand. “Captain, should we have the new people sing a song? How about they give a formal self-introduction before singing?”
This proposal immediately got Xu Luo’s approval. “Let’s do it! Who will come first?”
“You first.”
“Or you first.”
Some newcomers humbly pushed each other out and passed the microphone around, but no one was willing to play first. Just then, a tall boy took the initiative to pick up the microphone. “Then I’ll go first.”
His voice was somewhat unique. It seemed to be just after the changing period and the low voice was warm and soft through the microphone. He had handsome short hair and was wearing simple jeans and a white shirt. He had a slender figure and handsome facial features. HIs lips were slightly curved in a warm smile and he looked like a teenager who came out of the comics.
He gracefully went to the middle and turned to face everyone. Then he smiled and said, “Hellow, my name is Tan Shitian and I”m a newcomer in the training camp. My class is an archer and I will casually sing first.”
Cheng Wei sat in the corner and stared at Tan Shitian with wide eyes. Until this moment, he hadn’t believed it but his teammate’s words were true. There was a particularly handsome newcomer in the Time Team!
Tan Shitian’s appearance belonged to the type that easily made people feel good. In particular, his smile gave people the feeling of a spring breeze. His smile was pure and didn’t make people feel that he was hypocritical or pretentious. His singing was also nice.
He sang the male version of ‘I’m Willing.’ HIs singing was especially affectionate and people couldn’t help revel in his singing…
Cheng Wei listened attentively. After listening for a while, he suddenly reacted and rubbed his eyes. He turned back to ask the vice-captain, “Vice-Captain, how old is he this year?”
Vice-Captain Lin smiled and replied, “He seems to be the same age as you.”
Cheng Wei, “…”
They were obviously the same age but why was this person so much higher? It wasn’t scientific!
Cheng Wei was still a child in his heart and mind. He loved playing the game and eating all day. Tan Shitian had a maturity and atmosphere that was beyond his age, making his ‘senior’ Cheng Wei feel a bit ashamed.
Tan Shitian finished the song and naturally got warm applause from the audience. He politely thanked them.
There was a vacancy next to Cheng Wei and he naturally walked to Cheng Wei’s side. He smiled and reached out, “Hello, are you Cheng Wei? I have seen your game videos. Congratulations on winning the Best Newcomer Award.”
Cheng Wei sullenly replied, “Hello.”
Tan Shitian asked, “I heard that I’m the same age as you?”
Cheng Wei didn’t shake hands with him but pretended to be serious. “Age isn’t the most important thing. I debuted earlier than you and should count as your senior.”
Tan Shitian touched his nose and coughed. “Hello, Senior.”
Cheng Wei happily shook hands with Tan Shitian and spoke seriously, “Xiao Tan, if you don’t know anything in the future, you can ask me.”
He clearly had a lovely bun face but was pretending to be old. Thus, he was funny. Tan Shitian resisted the urge to laugh and nodded, “Thank you, Senior.”
Cheng Wei smiled with satisfaction and patted Tan Shitian’s shoulder in encouragement. “Refuel!”
“…” Tan Shitian was simply dumbfounded.
——
Everyone played all night and after returning to his room, Cheng Wei fell asleep until noon the next day.
He had lunch and was informed that all members had a meeting. Cheng Wei rushed to the conference room that was filled with people, many of whom were the newcomers he met last night.
Captain Xu Luo asked everyone to find a spot to sit down and spoke calmly, “The third season is over. Today we convened a meeting and the first step is a simple summary.”
HE opened the PPT that was written in advance and said, ”Based on the data sheet, the Time team has performed well overall this season, especially Cheng Wei who debuted this season. He won the Best Newcomer Award, making him the pride of our team.”
Captain Xu looked at Cheng Wei and the meeting room clapped, making Cheng Wei feel happy and a bit embarrassed. He scratched his head and replied, “It is Captain Xu who taught me well.”
Captain Xu smiled. “The performance of the other members is also remarkable. Our Time team’s tactics have been almost the same after these seasons so next I have something to announce to you. Vice-Captain Ling has decided to retire after the third season. From now on, Cheng Wei will serve as the vice-captain of the Time team.”
Cheng Wei’s eyes widened with surprise and he didn’t seem to understand this situation.
Xu Luo explained, “Cheng Wei might be young and the time of his debut isn’t long, but his talent for playing the game has been recognized by everyone. Letting him serve as the vice-captain is the most appropriate thing.”
This dispelled the doubts in their hearts. Cheng Wei might be young but his achievements were there.
“In addition, I will leave the Time team after completing the captain handover next season.” Xu Luo spoke slowly. “I am forced to leave with Vice-Captain Lin. Due to our age, our state has started to decline and we won’t play much of a role if we stay in the team. We have thought about it and decided to hand Time over to the youngsters.”
Many players had red eyes after hearing this news. Cheng Wei opened his mouth but Xu Luo waved his hand and decisively interrupted him. “A team handover is a normal phenomenon. For example, last season Vice-Captain Yuan of Wind Colour retired and handed over the vice-captain position to Yan Ruiwen. Su Guangmo took over as captain for Flying Feathers this year. The scores of these two teams hasn’t declined so you don’t need to worry too much. Even if I retire, everyone can still ask me questions.”
Captain Xu was so calm that the group of young players were embarrassed to ask him to stay.
As a veteran of the Miracle League, Xu Luo used his gorgeous white magic since the first season of the Miracle League. He wasn’t young and his status was declining. Choosing to retire next season was normal…
Still, Cheng Wei couldn’t help being sad. His own white magician played a lot with Xu Luo. He had just won the newcomer award only for Captain Xu to retire?
Cheng Wei didn’t listen to what was discussed in the second half of the meeting because his head was a mess. On the one hand, he was dazed at taking over the vice-captain position. He didn’t know what a vice-captain had to do. In addition, he was saddened by the news that Xu Luo was retiring next season. He always felt that he would have no idea what to do once Captain Xu left.
However, rain poured when a house was leaky. Once he returned to his room and turned on the computer, he was stung by the first page news. The FTD team officially announced their disbandment today.
This news was like thunder on a sunny day, making Cheng Wei freeze in place. He immediately called Li Cangyu but didn’t get through. He sent a few messages on Q and didn’t receive any replies…
Cheng Wei was distraught and frantically typed on Q. Thus, he didn’t hear the movements in the bedroom next door.
It wasn’t until knocking was heard on the door that Cheng Wei’s soul returned and he got up to open the door.
***
Tan Shitian was unable to forget the image he saw when he went to the bedroom next door to greet Cheng Wei.
Cheng Wei was wearing short-sleeved pyjamas that revealed white arms. His hair stuck up like weeds and his eyes were red and swollen, almost wet with tears. He looked like a kitten abandoned by his owner.
Tan Shitian wanted to reach out and help him manage his messy hair but didn’t dare do so thanks to Cheng Wei’s red eyes. He was worried and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Wei sniffed and choked out, “Cat God is gone.”
“…” Tan Shitian heard that Cat God was Cheng Wei’s idol and didn’t know how to comfort him.
Cheng Wei suddenly raised his head and stared at the other person. “Why are you here?”
Tan Shitian smiled helplessly and explained. “Captain Xu said you lived alone in this dormitory. I haven’t been formally allocated a dormitory yet and he let me be your teammate. Didn’t you agree?”
Cheng Wei’s eyes widened. “I agreed?”
Tan Shitian smiled. “You seemed to be thinking about it. The moment Captain Xu spoke, you nodded…”
Cheng Wei recalled that there was such a thing. His head had been in such a mess that he didn’t hear anything Captain Xu said and just nodded. However, he wasn’t in the mood to think about this matter. He glanced at Tan Shitian and said, “Your room is next door. You should arrange your luggage.”
Tan Shitian was going to say, “My luggage has been moved and I wanted to come over to say hello to my roommate.” Then he saw the dejected vice-captain and took this sentence back.
He suddenly discovered that Cheng Wei, who won the Best Newcomer Award this year, was only radiant in the game. He was like a little tiger with powerful claws in the game. In real life, Cheng Wei was actually a simple and confused teenager, a kitten who hadn’t yet grown up.
He had long heard of Cheng Wei’s worship of Li Cangyu. Tan Shitian saw Cheng Wei’s eyes that were red from crying about Cat God’s departure and actually felt a bit distressed.