8 It's a good evening, isn't it? Pt. 2

When Su Muqiu died, Ye Xiu made a promise at his grave to take care of Mucheng but up to now he didn't know if he had kept that promise. Instead of taking care of Mucheng, he quickly found it was the opposite that often occurred.

Those nights when he stayed up playing the game, it was Mucheng who made sure he was well-fed and always brought him tea. When the Excellent Era he had spent all his time and energy building up had failed him and isolated him, it was Mucheng who stayed by his side, always silently supporting him.

Even when Ye Xiu had lost One Autumn Leaf, alongside the weapon Evil Annihilation, that Su Muqiu had personally made for him, she never begrudged him. Instead she left Excellent Era behind and all the other lucrative offers she received to join him in a grassroots team.

Ye Xiu sighed as negative thoughts filled his mind. Really, what had he done for Mucheng?

The sound drew Su Mucheng's attention and she asked: "Are you done?"

"No but soon."

"Same here." She replied, pointing to the neat pile of clothes inside the suitcase. "Let's go for a stroll once we're done here."

"Uhmm." Ye Xiu nodded to show his consent. It wouldn't be bad to walk around before retiring for the night. It would clear his head.

"The flight will be..." Su Mucheng was interrupted by the notification sound coming from the computer in the room. Ye Xiu had been playing Glory on it before deciding to head down in search of food. He had a message from Chasing Haze on QQ. He looked at it and it was an invitation to video chat. Ye Xiu accepted it and Su Mucheng came over to say hi.

Ye Xiu was surprised to see the entire Team Happy on the screen, smiling and waving.

"Hey!"

"Captain!"

"Boss!"

"Senior."

"Hey hey."

"Senior."

"..."

All sort of greetings directed at Ye Xiu jumped out. Even Wei Chen was present, greeting with a "Bastard" and a cigarette in his mouth.

Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng waved back and greeted as well. Su Mucheng had just been with the team a short while ago so the greetings directed to her were calmer.

"You're travelling tomorrow, right?" Tang Rou spoke up. "We all wanted to say hi to you before your trip."

"Senior, make sure you win and bring back the trophy for us!" Steamed Bun shouted.

Everyone laughed but Chen Guo frowned. She didn't want to mention anything about the competition so as not to give them any pressure. This was a big event and she knew that no matter how experienced the players were, they also felt some pressure. Chen Guo just wanted the conversation to be about their health and well-being. Who knew Steamed Bun would immediately say something like that.

"Of course. That's why I'm here. We will win." Ye Xiu didn't shy away from the topic and directly gave Steamed Bun an answer.

Anyone can say that they would win but coming from Ye Xiu, the words had a certainty to them. At the beginning of the last season, Ye Xiu had declared that Team Happy would win the Championships. The declaration was met with mockery and disdain in the Glory circle.

While it was common for teams to make such declarations, Team Happy at that time was a grassroots team that had just come up from the Challenger's League. No one took their words seriously. But everyone in Happy could see that Ye Xiu was always relentlessly pursuing Glory, without a thought to what outsiders said.

Eventually, they had lifted the Championship Trophy, beating all the other teams to the highest Glory in the country.

Now, Ye Xiu was making a similar declaration. I am here. We will win.

They would win. They knew they would.

They didn't talk about the tournament after that. They spoke about acquiring players for the new season. As last season's champions, they no longer had a lack of funding. Instead, sponsors were pouring in left and right.

As the current Happy did not a tactician in their midst, they were somewhat focused on getting someone with an eye for tactics. But they hit roadblocks wherever they looked. There was nothing they could do except to continue the search and improve their previous offers.

The conversation continued. Everyone had something to say, to report to Ye Xiu. Their personal progress, the team's and guild's progress. They also listened carefully to what he had to say and the recommendations he made, making notes in their minds. Yes, Ye Xiu had retired but in their hearts, he remained their number one God and undefeatable captain.

Goodbyes were said and blessings given but as he was about to end the call, Chen Guo called out: "I found an old picture. I'll send it to Mucheng, so take a look at it."

She waved again and ended the call.

"What picture?" Mucheng was curious.

"I have no idea."

Once Ye Xiu was done eating, they both left the hotel and headed out into the night for their stroll. As they took in the quiet city B nightlife, a message from Chen Guo came. Su Mucheng opened the message and showed Ye Xiu.

All at once, memories and emotions welled up inside him, making it a bit difficult to breathe. Su Mucheng was surprised at his reaction and took a look at the photo Chen Guo had sent. It was a simple photo. Chen Guo and Ye Xiu were in the center of the photo with Tang Rou in the right corner. The two girls were smiling at the camera. Ye Xiu had his usual deadpan look.

Su Mucheng couldn't see what caused his reaction, so she asked: "What's wrong? It seems like an ordinary picture."

Ye Xiu shook his head. It wasn't an ordinary picture. The picture marked the start of Team Happy.

"This is where it started. The boss decided that she wanted to help me build the team and started making arrangements for the team. She took this picture to commemorate the start of our team. It's been a while. The years just flew by."

Silence followed his statement. Mucheng didn't say anything because she could understand what he was feeling. She wasn't present when Happy was formed but she was present at the very beginning of Excellent Era.

Her thoughts were drawn to a different picture. A picture she took of her brother and Ye Xiu as they hung the Excellent Era symbol in the sparse room that later became their training room. Their weak arms holding up the Excellent Era symbol, trying to find the perfect position to hang it. One of them left and the other was left to hold up the club in his absence.

She searched through her phone and found the old picture. Without a word, she extended her phone once again to Ye Xiu.

"I know what you mean. The years really fly by."

Another wave of emotions threatened to drown Ye Xiu. He had never seen this particular picture. When Mucheng took it in the training room, he never asked to look at it. He felt that he would always have Muqiu beside him, so what was the importance of a photo. Now he looked down at the picture, he wished they had taken as many pictures as possible. And made as many memories as possible.

The summer night breeze blew past them, bringing with it the pain and joy of memories.

"He would have loved to play in the tournament too, right?"

"More than anything."

"I'm a poor substitute for him. I know. But I'll do my best. I'll fight as hard as I can. I'll win."

Ye Xiu felt Su Mucheng's resolve and nodded.

"We'll win." He reached out and took Mucheng's hand in his. Squeezing softly, he looked up into the night sky and said: "It's a good night, isn't it?"

"Yes, it really is."