Chapter 86 – Your Daddy Is Still Your Daddy
“Come on, don’t be like this. It’s just a minor surgery. After the surgery, your daddy will still be your daddy.”
Clearly, Shao Zhan’s attempt at comfort didn’t land. Qin Chuan, eyes red, cried out, “You call that a minor surgery? A minor surgery?” He repeated it twice, his lips trembling before he suddenly burst into tears. “Your hand, your… your hand! That hand was supposed to take care of my retirement years… ahhhhh—!”
“There, there, baby, don’t cry. Don’t cry now, alright?” Shao Zhan pulled him into a hug, soothing him for ages with no effect. Finally, he threatened, “You better cry harder, or this is gonna look bad. I’m hugging you in front of my boyfriend, and if you don’t weep like a fallen kingdom, there’s no saving this scene.”
“What the hell are you talking about…” Qin Chuan froze for a second, then scrambled out of Shao Zhan’s arms like he’d seen a ghost. His back went ramrod straight, and his eyes darted frantically between the two men involved.
Du Changcheng and Coach Li Bai were both seasoned with major events. Moreover, this was a matter of life and death for the team — no one was in the mood to fool around. Since the situation was confidential, Li Bai hadn’t even brought the junior translator this time. Instead, he sat upright, holding a translation app in his hands.
Yang Sa, who was innocently dragged into the mess caused by the two show-offs, kept a blank expression on his face. Internally, however, he had already beaten up the two motor-mouths about eight hundred times. Given the setting, he couldn’t just walk away, nor could he lash out, so he simply made a mental note to settle the score later.
Shao Zhan’s arm injury was an old one that had built up over the years. Taking advantage of this incident, he had undergone a full examination. If left untreated, the injury could cause incalculable damage to his future professional career. Given his condition, the doctors recommended surgery during the recovery period to minimize both the time cost of the operation and the subsequent rehabilitation.
This also meant that not only would he have to recover from the fracture, but he would also need to endure potential side effects from the surgery at the same time.
Amid the silence, Yang Sa was the first to speak: “I agree with the captain undergoing surgery.”
“What do you mean, you agree just like that, ancestor?” Qin Chuan tried to persuade him earnestly. This wasn’t a small decision. The World Cup Invitational was just around the corner. With Zhuang Bai gone, if Shao Zhan couldn’t compete either, they might not even qualify for entry.
Qin Chuan even wondered if he had committed some terrible sin in a past life to be facing such an enormous challenge now.
“It’s doable,” Yang Sa quickly calculated in his mind. “To qualify for the World Cup, we only need to be in the top three in the division. We don’t have to aim for first — we just need a slot…”
“Are you crazy? What about the four-man lineup if we’re short a player?” Qin Chuan genuinely wanted to crack open this kid’s skull to see what exactly was inside. He even suspected that his new captain had a bit of an antisocial personality disorder; otherwise, how could he say something so reckless?
In competitive sports, the margin between victory and defeat among top players is razor-thin. This made an athlete’s physical condition absolutely crucial — especially for a star player like Shao Zhan. His injury had already caused significant impact, and now, both for the sake of business reputation and intimidating their rivals, news of the surgery must not be leaked. Which meant…
“We’ll promote someone from the second team to play under Zhuang Bai’s account,” Yang Sa calmly outlined his plan. “We’ll calculate the captain’s recovery time carefully, and in the meantime, I’ll use his account.”
“And what about you?” Qin Chuan asked. After all, it wouldn’t be acceptable for the interim captain, who had just led the team to win the Asia Cup, to be casually sidelined.
“During that time,” Yang Sa said, “I’ll reach out to other teams and explore the possibility of transferring.”
The most important thing was to keep Xinghai’s true strength hidden. Only then would they have a chance to secure a spot at the World Cup Invitational.
“This too…” Qin Chuan kept stroking his chin, “this too is… the only option we have.”
As he spoke, he turned to Du Changcheng, who had remained silent all along. Du simply nodded in agreement.
“Alright then, we’ll settle it like this for now,” Qin Chuan said, gazing up at the ceiling. “I’ve faced enough setbacks in the past six months. I really hope there won’t be any more tests.”
Yang Sa added, “I’ll send you the passwords to all my social media accounts later.”
Qin Chuan instantly perked up. Although he had personal feelings involved, people are naturally creatures who seek benefits and avoid harm. He was worried that if someone too outstanding got close to Yang Sa, they might really lure away his precious new captain. But if he held the accounts in his own hands, it would be different. Not only would he be able to keep potential suitors at bay, but he might also have chances to prank other team managers — pure bliss!
“Then it’s settled,” Shao Zhan said, slapping the table with his good hand. “We’ll prepare a simple farewell ceremony for Lao Zhuang. As for my surgery, let’s keep it confidential for now.”
No matter the reason, a teammate retiring was always a sad event. Shao Zhan didn’t want to add any more emotional burden before Zhuang Bai’s departure. Keeping it light was the least they could do for him.
…tg3
When Zhuang Bai left, the one who reacted the most was Fat Tangyuan.
Despite being lightly injured, he had fought through the pain to compete in the Asia Cup. On the surface, he always laughed and joked, but in reality, he endured a lot of pain and pressure alone.
However, upon hearing that Zhuang Bai was leaving to join the military, all of Tangyuan’s anger evaporated.
“Lao Bai, really, no matter how unreasonable or stubborn I am, I can’t compete with the country for people,” he said.
It was the end of the year — recruitment season for the new year’s military draft. Zhuang Bai had taken a leave of absence from his university to pursue esports, but now he planned to return to school first and then enlist.
“Aiya, seriously, I thought the old bast*rd would heal up quickly and come back, and then it would finally be Fat Grandpa’s turn to take a break. But you beat me to it!” Fat Tangyuan huffed.
Qin Chuan cleared his throat awkwardly. “What nonsense are you talking about? You injured your foot — it doesn’t affect training.”
“But Manager, even if it’s just my foot that’s injured, doesn’t my wounded soul need time to heal too?” Fat Tangyuan argued righteously, the fat around his waist jiggling with his words.
“Given the team’s current situation, we won’t be holding a public farewell ceremony,” Qin Chuan announced, “We’ll just have a small gathering within the team.”
After making the arrangements, he quickly fled, afraid that spending any more time with these brats would leave him emotionally — or physically — scarred.
…
Yang Sa, however, had no intention of giving the chubby one time to wallow in sentimentality. He tapped on his keyboard and said, “Training.”
Seeing Zhuang Bai hesitating at his seat, Yang Sa took the initiative to approach him.
“Don’t worry. Before the captain returns, the coach will select a suitable player from the second team to act as a substitute. But until Shao Zhan fully recovers, can we have the newcomer use your account?”
“Of course,” Zhuang Bai said.
He truly felt guilty for leaving the team at such a critical time and causing them so much trouble. If he could still contribute to the team in some way, he would gladly do so.
Yang Sa set up a custom server and sent the password to the group chat.
“Even though this is our last time fighting side by side, don’t expect me to go easy on you.”
His fingers lightly landed on the keyboard, and Zhuang Bai solemnly nodded.
Perhaps it was the looming farewell, but that night’s training went surprisingly smoothly, without any major mistakes. After Coach Du Changcheng finished a simple review session, he went down to the second team to supervise a hastily organized scrimmage.
The players, too, were feeling the weight of parting. Even Fat Tangyuan didn’t mention anything about a late-night snack. Instead, he wheeled Zhuang Bai in his wheelchair over to the trophy wall, reminiscing about their glorious past.
Yang Sa deliberately gave them time, heading over to the second team to monitor their matches for a while before returning to his room to wash up — only to find Shao Zhan, dressed in a change of team uniform, sprawled carelessly across his bed.
“What are you doing here?” Yang Sa slammed the door shut with a bang, worried the teammates in the hallway might hear.
“Why can’t I be here?” Shao Zhan, putting on the airs of a spoiled young master, stretched out his arms.
“Come here. Give me a hug.”
“Hug your big fat head,” Yang Sa muttered, dragging a chair over and sitting down in the furthest corner from the intruder.
His body was still aching — this man had absolutely no sense of restraint. With so much going on at the team base, Yang Sa had firmly decided to keep his distance from this particular source of trouble.
“I… I came to help you apply your medicine,” Shao Zhan said pitifully, sneaking glances at Yang Sa with the corner of his eye.
And who was responsible for his injuries in the first place?
Yang Sa couldn’t be bothered to expose his fake act.
“Are you here for something or not? If not, get lost.”
“Can’t leave,” Shao Zhan said, sitting up straight, his hands folded neatly on his knees, putting on his best good boy act.
“I’m going abroad for surgery this weekend. It’ll be a while before we can see each other again.”
Yang Sa remained unmoved.
“Today’s Monday. There are still six days until the weekend.”
“That’s not how you count it,” Shao Zhan said, ticking off his fingers.
“I have to handle some business for the corporation over the next few days. You won’t be able to be with me every day. And even now, you’re hiding from me like I’m the plague.”
“Leave,” Yang Sa’s voice was soft but firm.
“Don’t make me repeat myself a third time.”
“Then how about this — let’s compromise,” Shao Zhan said eagerly.
“For the next few days, don’t stay at the base. Once you’re done with everything, just go home. I’ll be waiting for you at home.”
Under the lights, the former ace captain of Xinghai looked at him with eyes that sparkled mischievously bright.
Yang Sa was focused solely on figuring out how to get the man out of his room.
“I’ll think about it,” he said.
“Don’t think about it,” Shao Zhan said urgently, afraid he might change his mind.
“It’s settled!”
“Then can you leave now?” Yang Sa ground out the words through clenched teeth.
“Captain Shao?”
“Leaving, leaving, I’m going,” Shao Zhan mumbled, dragging his feet like a donkey reluctant to leave the mill.
In the end, he pulled out his phone, connected it to the second team’s match, and shamelessly clung to the excuse of “getting familiar with the new teammates” to drag Yang Sa into watching the entire game with him.
By the time he finally ran out of excuses to stay, the first team players were already deep in sleep. Only Qin Chuan, who had stayed up late handling various matters, was still awake, dark circles under his eyes, staring dead-on as Shao Zhan snuck out of the new captain’s room.
The figure, radiating resentment, gave Shao Zhan a fright. “Are you a ghost or something?”
“You’re the ghost, you shameless old pervert!” Qin Chuan snapped.
He had been working overtime to the point of exhaustion, and here this bastard was, fooling around with the team’s new golden goose.
He said angrily, “This is the team base. Could you show a little restraint? Your filthy behavior is seriously disrupting the team’s normal operations.”
The last thing he wanted was to find his newly appointed star captain battered and worn out the next day — especially when the team was already dealing with a major loss of players.
“I don’t want to be sneaking around the base either,” Shao Zhan said awkwardly, “but he won’t go out with me! How about… you help me convince him?”
“Are you out of your damn mind?” Manager Qin Chuan exploded.
Working overtime until midnight was bad enough — and now this spoiled brat was treating him like some sleazy pimp instead of a proper, respectable team manager.
He sternly warned Shao Zhan to stay away from the new captain and his room, and decided he would even stick a sign on Yang Sa’s door reading: [Shao Zhan and dogs not allowed.]
“Put up whatever you want,” Shao Zhan said, completely unfazed.
“When your dad was getting roasted by the entire internet, you were still running around in split pants, peeing and playing in the mud.”