Chapter 60: The Big Bad Wolf Eats a Foot
That afternoon...
After waking up, Lin Wan sat on the bed in a daze, looking a little confused.
Seeing her blank, adorable expression, Zhuo Feng tossed her a pack of biscuits and asked curiously,
"What's wrong?"
Lin Wan tore open the package and took a bite.
"I think I just had a nightmare."
A nightmare? No wonder her lips had been pressed together so tightly while she was sleeping.
"What kind of nightmare?"
"I dreamed that a big bad wolf was chasing me. I couldn't get away. Then it caught me... and ate my foot."
As she spoke, Lin Wan curled her foot slightly.
She could almost still feel it. The dream had seemed so real.
"Uh..."
Zhuo Feng quietly clenched his right hand, which had been resting naturally by his side, while keeping a serious expression.
"Dreams are the opposite of reality."
"So... does that mean I ate the wolf's foot?"
"...Something like that."
I only put my hand there.
She was the one who put her foot into it.
Yeah... that's how it happened.
Night fell.
The city lights came on, and colorful neon signs lit up the streets, making the beauty of the big city even more impressive.
The two of them went downstairs for dinner.
After walking around the shopping streets for a while, they returned to the hotel.
Lin Wan sat on her bed, holding her phone and giggling as she watched short videos.
Listening to her laughter, Zhuo Feng couldn't sit still.
Something just didn't feel right.
After thinking about it for a while, he picked up a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
Lin Wan glanced at him before going back to her videos.
Good thing the bathroom doesn't have glass walls, she thought.
Otherwise I wouldn't even know how I was supposed to take a shower later.
The sound of running water echoed for a while. Then Zhuo Feng's muffled voice came from inside the bathroom.
"Lin Wan!"
She looked up from her phone. "What is it?"
"Can you get my bathrobe for me? I forgot to bring it."
"Where is it?"
"In the closet."
"Okay, give me a second."
Lin Wan took the bathrobe from the hotel closet and walked to the bathroom door.
She knocked gently.
Zhuo Feng held the doorknob.
He had originally wanted to suddenly swing the door open and surprise his good brother.
But after thinking about it, he felt that would be too creepy. So he only opened the door a tiny crack and reached one hand out.
After handing him the bathrobe, Lin Wan returned to the bed and continued watching videos.
A little while later, Zhuo Feng came out of the bathroom.
Instead of tying his bathrobe properly, he wore it loosely, leaving half of his stomach exposed.
Seeing that Lin Wan wasn't even looking at him, he walked over and tightened his abs before leaning over to look at her phone.
"What are you watching?"
Only then did Lin Wan glance at him.
But after just one look, she lowered her head again and turned her phone toward him.
"Funny videos."
Zhuo Feng: ???
Didn't you used to love looking at abs?
Now they're less than a meter away from you, and you're not interested at all?
How could I accept that?
"Haha... It's kind of hot in here, isn't it?"
He sat down beside Lin Wan and quietly pulled his bathrobe open a little more, revealing even more of his abs.
Seeing him sit so close, Lin Wan scooted farther away.
A trace of annoyance crossed her mind.
How big is his butt?
There's so much space here. Isn't there enough room for him to sit somewhere else?
Knock, knock, knock.
Before Zhuo Feng could make another move, someone knocked on the door.
He had no choice but to get up and answer it.
Standing outside was their coach, Chen Jie.
He looked at Zhuo Feng's outfit, then at Lin Wan sitting on the bed, and said, "I have a few ideas for the bottom lane that I'd like to discuss with you two."
As he spoke, he walked into the room.
He took out his phone, sat down at the table, and had the two of them sit on opposite sides. Then he played several bottom-lane match videos that he had carefully selected.
It wasn't until 11:30 p.m. that Chen Jie finally put away his phone and left.
After he was gone, Lin Wan grabbed her clothes, locked the bathroom door, and quickly took a shower.
She dried her few-centimeter-long hair with a towel, then threw herself onto the bed and immediately fell asleep.
Zhuo Feng looked at Lin Wan, who had already taken a nap that afternoon but could still fall asleep so easily.
He smiled, lay down on his own bed, and closed his eyes.
A moment later, though, he sat back up and stared at the ceiling.
Wait... before Coach came in... what was I planning to do again?
…………………
The next day, their pre-tournament practice continued.
There were only three days left before the competition.
The atmosphere within the team became much more serious, and everyone trained with everything they had.
After all, this might be the only chance in their lives to compete on a national stage.
That evening, after practice, they returned to the hotel.
Zhuo Feng had planned to be a little bolder this time.
He was going to leave his upper body bare and only wrap a towel around his waist, making it impossible for Lin Wan not to notice him.
But before he could even begin...
The coach showed up again.
Praising Lin Wan and Zhuo Feng as the team's strongest bottom lane, Chen Jie once again took out his phone and played videos for them to watch and analyze together.
Looking at how dedicated the coach was to helping the team, Lin Wan felt both touched... and sleepy.
She forced her eyes open while watching the videos and stayed awake until 11:30 p.m. again.
After the coach left, she repeated exactly what she had done the night before and climbed into bed at lightning speed.
Only Zhuo Feng was left staring out the window at the city lights, letting out a long sigh.
I've trained all this time, but I haven't had a single chance to show off.
This is torture...
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow I'll definitely show off my abs.
Otherwise all that training will have been for nothing.
Who could have guessed...
Every single night before the tournament, Chen Jie showed up right on time and didn't leave until 11:30 p.m.
Zhuo Feng was so close to losing his mind.
On the way to the competition venue, he even looked at a loose brick lying on a street corner.
For a moment, he almost couldn't stop himself from secretly picking it up.
……………………
In the waiting room...
The members of Team RSNDM were all dressed neatly in their team uniforms.
Chen Jie had dressed up as well, wearing a black suit.
Judging from the sweat pouring down his forehead, though, he was still feeling pretty hot.
"In a moment, the host will introduce each player one by one. Lin Wan, don't wear your mask or cap during the introductions. You can put them back on after the game starts."
Chen Jie reminded her.
After all, this was the national semifinals.
Everything should look a little more formal, and they should show respect during the player introductions.
The match slowly began.
Their first opponent was the Northern Region champion, the University of Technology from Lu Province.
It was a best-of-five series.
The first team to win three games would advance.
However, for some reason, Zhuo Feng wasn't playing well. He kept getting eliminated early in team fights.
As a result, they quickly lost the first two games.
Watching from the waiting room, Coach Chen Jie nearly exploded in frustration.
But when the players came back, he put on a relaxed smile and encouraged them.
"Don't be nervous, we haven't lost yet. There's still another game. It's not impossible to come back."
Zhuo Feng knew his own performance had been poor. He also knew exactly what the problem was.
After thinking for a moment, he grabbed Lin Wan's hand and pulled her toward an empty stairwell.
"Zhuo Feng, what are you doing? You're squeezing my hand so hard it hurts."
Lin Wan pulled her hand free and rubbed her slightly red wrist.
"Lin Wan!"
"Huh?"
His sudden shout left her confused.
"Do you want to win?"
"Isn't that obvious? Of course I do!"
"Then I need to see determination in your eyes!"
There wasn't much break time left. He quickly came up with an excuse and stared straight into Lin Wan's eyes.
Determination?
Lin Wan immediately put on the fiercest expression she could.
She wrinkled her nose, bared her teeth, and looked exactly like an angry little cat.
Zhuo Feng stared into her eyes for a full five minutes.
Only then did he return to the waiting room, close his eyes, and quietly adjust his mindset before the next game.
Sure enough...
Over the next three games, he played unbelievably well.
He dominated every match, carried the team to victory, and led them to an incredible reverse sweep after losing the first two games.
They won the series 3–2.
The championship match was scheduled for the weekend.
Their opponents would be the University of Technology from the Eastern Region.
They had three days to rest before the finals.
Later that evening, Chen Jie approached Lin Wan and Zhuo Feng’s room and knocked on the door again. This time, however, the room was met with complete silence.