Chapter 39: A Couple-Like Moment That Almost Went Too Far
"Hello. Please take off your mask. We need to check your identity."
Inside Maple Internet Café, several staff members were registering players for the tournament.
Lin Wan pulled down his mask.
The staff member looked at the photo on his ID card, then looked at his face.
Hmm?
Something's not right...
The person in the ID photo was clearly a man.
The person standing in front of them looked very similar to the photo...
But they obviously looked like a girl.
After comparing the face and the ID several more times, the staff member still felt something was off.
"Student, you can't register in someone else's place. If you break the rules, your team's qualification will be canceled."
Using a deliberately masculine voice, Lin Wan explained helplessly,
"...This really is me."
Hearing his clearly male voice, the staff member compared him with the ID again several times before finally registering Lin Wan's name.
After everyone on Team RSNDM finished registering, Coach Chen Jie gathered them in the training room.
"The registration period will last for three days. The qualifying matches will begin on the 10th, using a single-elimination format. That means if you lose one match, you're out."
"Even though we're probably the strongest team in this regional bracket, don't let your guard down. Treat every match seriously and give it everything you've got."
"Only the champion of this bracket can advance to the provincial tournament."
Chen Jie was speaking to the whole team, but he was mainly reminding Lin Wan, since everyone else had already played in this tournament before.
"From now on, stop playing on your main accounts. We don't want other teams studying us and preparing strategies against us."
"The entire college league will use the current game version, so we'll keep practicing the strongest team compositions in this patch, mainly lineups built around crowd control and team fights."
Chen Jie laid out a complete training schedule.
With the tournament getting closer, everyone on the team had become much more focused.
The lazy attitude they used to have had completely disappeared.
Especially Ding Hanwei.
He seemed full of determination, because this would be the last college league tournament he could compete in.
After a full day of practice, Lin Wan went to buy several more face masks.
He felt that for quite a while, he probably wouldn't be able to go anywhere without one.
The moonlight was as gentle as water.
After finishing their run in the park...
Lin Wan was busy using Zhuo Feng's phone.
Meanwhile, Zhuo Feng was massaging Lin Wan's legs.
As he secretly looked at Lin Wan's increasingly pretty face, a question appeared in Zhuo Feng's mind.
The human body was full of mysteries.
Is it possible...
...that some people go through a second round of development even after becoming adults?
Some people grow taller.
Some become more handsome or more beautiful.
And Lin Wan... is becoming more and more like a girl.
If that's really the case, then maybe I could—
Holy crap!
Zhuo Feng immediately shook his head hard, trying to throw those dirty thoughts out of it.
He treats you as a best brother for life...
...and you're thinking about sharing a bed with him for life?
Didn't you promise yourself you would only admire him with your eyes?
Why are you crossing the line more and more?
"Uh... Best buddy, you don't need to massage there."
Lin Wan gently stopped Zhuo Feng's hand after it had already reached his upper thigh, his eyes rippling slightly.
"Mm."
Zhuo Feng only panicked for a split second when he realized where his hand was.
His face remained perfectly calm as he explained, "Now that we're running harder, your thigh muscles need to relax too."
Damn it...
How did my hand wander off by itself while I was thinking?
When I get back tonight, I'm chopping that useless hand off!
"Oh."
Lin Wan let go of Zhuo Feng's hand.
His good bro knew much more about this kind of thing than he did, so what he said was probably right.
Feeling the soft warmth beneath his hand, Zhuo Feng's emotions became increasingly restless.
Even his breathing grew a little heavier.
After finishing the massage at lightning speed, Zhuo Feng grabbed his things and hurried back toward the university.
Lin Wan looked completely confused.
"What's wrong? I haven't even massaged you yet."
"Ahem... I suddenly remembered something I need to do. I have to get back to school quickly."
After returning to campus,
Zhuo Feng took out his phone, opened an internet forum, and anonymously posted a question.
[I'm a guy. Lately I've been feeling that my good bro is getting better-looking and more attractive to me. What's going on?]
After posting it, he went to take a shower.
The moment he finished, he immediately opened the internet forum again to read the replies.
[First of all, you're a pervert. Second, just admire him from a distance. Don't act on it. I did, and after we broke up, we couldn't even stay roommates.]
[The person above is right. Can you imagine how awkward it is when you both end up standing at the urinals?]
[Holy crap! Camera, lights, popcorn—everything's ready. Tell us the whole story!]
[If you love him, remember to use protection. Click the link on my profile and use '666' code to get lubricant and condoms at half price. Thanks.]
[Bro, I support you! Only weak men go after delicate women. Real men go after men! Just remember to send me the video afterward!]
…………
After reading the comments, Zhuo Feng could only think…
Absolutely not! No way!
Sometimes, the internet really wasn't helpful at all.
Since the people online hadn't helped him in the slightest, he began thinking about himself instead.
Could I actually be gay? Is this really my type?
He imagined Han Jinsong pinning Zhou Heng onto a bed.
Ugh! That's painful to look at. It's mentally disturbing!
But...
What if it were me pinning Lin Wan down instead?
Uh...
If Lin Wan looked shy, embarrassed, and half-accepting... maybe that wouldn't be so bad?
No. That's not right.
What attracted me was just my good bro's appearance!
He just happens to have a face that's very feminine... and he's really pretty.
So I don't actually like him. I just like beautiful things.
Everyone likes looking at beautiful things.
That has to be it!
Zhuo Feng let out a long sigh of relief. He had figured it out!
But...
Have I lowered my standards again? At first I only liked looking at him. Now it's his whole appearance?
No. I have to control myself from now on.
It's all because of this restless hand! That's why things turned out like this!
My brain never meant anything strange. It's all my hand's fault!
……………………
As the days passed, Lin Wan wore a face mask and a baseball cap every day. He also deliberately changed the way he walked.
Because of that, he didn't attract much attention in class.
After all, this was college.
As long as you weren't running around naked, people were generally very accepting.
Even if you dressed strangely, they might look at you a few times, then forget about it.
Before long, the tournament finally began.
Team RSNDM became busy, usually playing one match every day.
Since they were much stronger than most of the teams that were just there to participate, they won the Maple Internet Café regional bracket after seven days and received a total prize of 500 yuan.
When Lin Wan received his share of the prize money, he was overjoyed.
He could almost see even more money waving at him in the future.
All the hard work during this period was definitely worth it!
Next, they simply had to keep training while waiting for the provincial tournament, which would begin half a month later.
The college league lasted a long time.
There were simply too many teams participating, so the competition wouldn't end until early October.
Because Lin Wan had been training so much lately, he often couldn't go running at night.
Instead, he turned his trips between the internet café and the university into his daily exercise.
Rather than riding on Zhuo Feng's bicycle, he ran alongside the route.
Zhuo Feng couldn't wait for his bro during the evenings anymore, nor could he give him rides to the internet café.
That made him feel a little disappointed.
But at the same time...
It was also a relief.
Keeping some distance is probably better.
Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself.
Just before the provincial tournament began, Lin Wan hurried and finally completed his fifth disease treatment mission, bringing his total recovery to 12%.
As a result, his figure became even more delicate.
Combined with the warmer weather, it became harder and harder to hide the changes.
Before, he could occasionally take off his mask for a while.
Now he had to wear it almost all day.
Even his eating habits went back to the way they used to be.
He packed his meals into a lunch box and brought them back to the dorm to eat instead of eating outside.
He also entered and left the dorm much more often.
The dorm supervisor couldn't help sighing every time she saw him.
What a sweet young girl... She brings food to her boyfriend every single day.
The only thing that worried her was that the "girl" stayed in the boys' dorm for a little too long, usually not leaving until class was about to start.
I should check the dorms more often.
Otherwise, those little lovebirds might lose control and start fooling around in the dorm.