Chapter 136 (2)
That night, before Tong Yao had time to recover from her shock, the club had sent someone to come notify them that for Tong Yao’s safety, she would not be participating in the game against Red Arrow on Sunday and Lu Yue would replace her.
Tong Yao was quite calm when she heard the news. She just lowered her head to take a look at the cut on her hand and felt that the situation was a little unfair– –What she didn’t expect was for Lu Sicheng to react so strongly to the news. He was discussing a new jungler strategy with Old K when the staff member came to inform them about the club’s decision. After hearing the news, he didn’t say anything but glanced up at the staff member, then he turned to walk out of the base without a single word.
The front door of the base almost fell from the frame as he slammed the door behind him.
After Lu Sicheng left, the whole base was in a distressed mood.
The flustered staff member watched the captain leave, then turned his head back and shrunk his neck. He looked at Tong Yao and spoke carefully: “Be careful, don’t let the cut get wet. Actually, management is making the decision for the sake of your own safety. We don’t have to risk our own safety just to prove a point……”
“En.” Tong Yao responded, then asked after giving it more thought: “We don’t have to make any announcement about it, do we? I feel it’s better to not say anything. First, there may be copycats out there and if they learn about this, then I may not be the only one who gets hurt. Secondly, I don’t want our true fans to get worried and create even more issues……”
“Right, right, right, we’ll do as you say, for sure.”
The staff member raised his hand up to wipe off the sweat on his forehead and breathed out a long sigh before turning around to leave the base.
Tong Yao watched him walk out of the door. Then she took out her cell phone at the same time when she heard Old Cat ask behind her with a worrisome tone of voice: “Are you alright? Uhr, this is really terrible but there’s nothing we can do about it. This time I can actually understand where management is coming from. Don’t get upset with them. You’re a young girl, if anything happens to you, all of us would be ashamed to face your family……”
“En.” Tong Yao looked down to tap on her cell phone: “What can really happen?”
[ZGDX, Smiling: Where are you? Come back.]
Tong Yao waited for 10 minutes after sending the WeChat message, but there was no response. She stood up to put on her shoes and went to the garage to check– –Lu Sicheng’s car wasn’t there, just as she had suspected.
It was 9 o’clock at night.
[ZGDX, Smiling: I’m alright. It’s just a break from one match, it’s not like I’m banned from playing. It’s no big deal……I don’t feel bad about it. Though the only job for a professional player is to play games, fans are the indispensable collateral to the business just like in the entertainment circle. Sometimes they feel so annoying and we wonder why they don’t simply disappear. But sometimes, when we’re down in the dumps, they’re the ones who support us in places where we don’t necessarily see them……]
[ZGDX, Smiling: When I was doing the MVP interview that day, I saw someone in the audience lifting up high a board supporting me. It was very bright on the stage and I couldn’t even clearly see what the person looked like……I only knew that at that very moment I suddenly became quite courageous and was therefore able to say what I did that day.]
[ZGDX, Smiling: I don’t regret it even now.]
[ZGDX, Smiling: ……Nevermind, I don’t even know what I’m talking about.]
Tong Yao was standing in the parking lot sending out all those messages suffering attacks from mosquitoes all the while. She put her cell phone away and took a look at the empty parking space. She went back to base.
One hour later, about 10:30 pm, Tong Yao took out her cell phone again which had been very quiet for the past hour or so. She dialed Lu Sicheng’s cell phone, it was turned off.
[ZGDX, Smiling: It’s almost curfew time.]
Another hour later, around 12 midnight, she called his phone again and it was still turned off.
[ZGDX, Smiling: I don’t want to see the headline in tomorrow’s newspaper saying a professional player drove his luxury car into Huangpu River and sank to the bottom to feed the fish. Will you be able to come back?]
Another 20 minutes later, [ZGDX, Smiling: I’m tired. But my hand still hurts, I wish the captain was here to hold me as I fall asleep.]
Tong Yao stared at her cell phone for a while after sending out the last message. Then she lifted her hand to rub her eyes– –The act tugged the skin around the cut on her index finger and it stung. She put her hand down with a screech. Then she went downstairs to look for a plastic bag to wrap her hand before taking a shower. When she came out of the bathroom, it was 1:30 after midnight. Tong Yao listened carefully, there didn’t seem to be any indication downstairs that Lu Sicheng had come back, her cell phone likewise didn’t have any response from him either.
Frowning, Tong Yao went downstairs to fetch the two cats and put them onto her bed. Her cell phone rang, but it wasn’t from Lu Sicheng. Tong Yao answered the phone, it was Jinyang’s voice coming from the other end: “You aren’t sleeping yet, right? How’s your hand? I went back home this morning and just landed back in Shanghai. Shit, you haven’t answered the phone for so long, I thought you were dead!”
Jinyang was a little incoherent. Tong Yao could hear the announcement on the airplane, politely reminding everyone that the plane had just landed and that passengers shouldn’t turn on their cell phones yet.
“It’s nothing. That guy next door is really talkative.” Tong Yao rolled her eyes. “I just went down to fetch my cats and didn’t check my cell phone.”
“Why do you want to get the cats?”
“To sleep with me.”
“……”
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