6 Hunted Prey

It was currently the 10th of July, the final day before the team departed for Switzerland. There were no meetings scheduled for today. Everyone was free to do their own thing and the players had various plans on how to spend the day.

Lu Xuan and Xiao Shiqin planned to spend the day sightseeing in City B. Although, as pro players they have visited City B several times in the past, Lu Xuan and Xiao Shiqin only knew places around the Glory stadiums. As Tiny Herb was based here, Wang Jiexi was very familiar with the city. He knew a lot of tourist attractions and after coercion and a little threatening from the pair, he agreed to take them touring. They left early in the morning, wanting to get back with enough time to prepare for their journey the next day.

Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian left for a nearby cinema to watch some of the latest movie releases. Whether or not Yu Wenzhou would be able to hear anything over Huang Shaotian's constant chattering was another topic but the rest waved them goodbye, thankful for the silence that came with Shaotian's absence.

Zhang Jiale and Fang Rui went to pay Lin Jingyan a visit. After retiring, he had taken up a residence in the city and after hearing that the team would be departing tomorrow, had invited the both of them over. They would be spending most of the day there so everyone knew not to look for them.

Sun Xiang had brought some magazines over to Zhou Zekai's room and was discussing from them with the occasional comment and nod from Zekai. It seemed that they both had no plans of leaving their rooms on their day off.

Another person who had no intention of leaving his room was Tang Hao. They had only set eyes on him at breakfast before he disappeared to his room without a word to anyone. This was typical of him so no one paid it any attention. As such, the only ones present in the breakfast hall were Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, Zhang Xinjie and Chu Yunxiu.

Zhang Xinjie had previously wanted to go over some notes with Xiao Shiqin but the latter already had left to sightsee.

Chu Yunxiu was aware of this so she asked, "What do you want to do now?"

Zhang Xinjie shook his head. He was undecided.

Su Mucheng clapped her hands as a thought struck her.

"I know. Let's go shopping!"

Ye Xiu froze. Shopping. The last time he escorted Mucheng and Chen Guo shopping, they visited so many stores and bought so many items, his arms twitched for the rest of the day after carrying all of it home. Shopping was the one thing he did not want to do.

Before he could dissuade Mucheng, Chu Yunxiu exclaimed, "That's a great idea. Let's go shopping. We can buy outfits for the opening ceremony."

"Outfits?" Zhang Xinjie scrunched his brows. "But we already have our jersey. Is that not what we are required to wear to the ceremony?"

The opening ceremony was to be held in the morning of 16th of July and would take place at the Zurich International Esports Stadium, Switzerland. The competing teams, alongside tournament officials and members of the public would be present at the stadium to celebrate the first-ever Glory World Invitationals. A private dinner with only the teams and the officials would be held later in the day to foster international relations.

"I mean to the dinner." Chu Yunxiu corrected. "All the players from the other countries will be present. We have to look our best and make a good impression."

"You can wait till you get on stage to make a good impression." Ye Xiu said. He was eager to derail the trip.

"I don't agree. We have to make a good impression even before we get on stage." Su Mucheng shook her head. She was eager to shop.

"You currently own a lot of outfits. Aren't any of them fit for the event?" Zhang Xinjie asked Chu Yunxiu. He had escorted her on a shopping trip in the not-so-distant past, so he was well aware that she had a variety of dresses to pick from.

"This is a grand event. How can we show up in something old? We have to go shopping for outfits. It's settled." Chu Yunxiu said.

"Besides, you don't even have anything to wear at all." Su Mucheng told Ye Xiu and she was right.

Occasionally, the Alliance organized dinners and such for the players but Ye Xiu, then devoted to maintaining secrecy, never attended those so he had no formal attire. She had a feeling he also wanted to skip this dinner and was maybe planning to use the lack of an attire as an excuse. She figured that she could persuade him to go even if he had to wear his jersey.

But they had a day off now. They were free to go about their own business. Which is why she suggested that they go shopping. With an outfit and no secret to hide, he had no reason not to attend the dinner.

"He he", Chu Yunxiu chuckled, rubbing her palms together. "So we are not only shopping for ourselves but also for you two. This will be fun." Zhang Xinjie had a strict style of dressing. She had wanted to spice up his wardrobe for the longest time.

"He he. A lot of fun." Su Mucheng added, smiling with an odd glint in her eyes. It was obvious she also had wanted to shop for Ye Xiu for a long time

Zhang Xinjie and Ye Xiu were two very different people. One was quiet, reserved and always well-dressed; the other was arrogant, shameless and dressed sloppily. But at this point, they were feeling the same thing. The smiles of the girls sent shivers down their spines, making them feel like hunted prey.

"Uhmm... we can do something else? Like review a match?"

"Yes, let's do that. The most important thing in a competition is winning, right?"

Seeing the two guys were trying to slip out of the plans, Chu Yunxiu grabbed hold of both of them.

"Mucheng, call a cab. We're going to the mall."

"Roger that."

She gave the both of them a little shake. "It'll be fun. Don't you think so?"

Her words failed to reassure them.

The cab arrived and after donning some disguises, the group headed to the mall. Zhang Xinjie and Ye Xiu not only had to watch the girls select their own dresses but also endure as tuxedoes and suits were selected for them.

Ye Xiu was certain that if he played Glory for 36 hours straight (which he had), he would not have been as exhausted as he was now.