Chapter 21 – Air Conditioner
After Lin Xingling left, Brother Feng also left. He said he was going to help Liu Ying in the small kitchen, but he was quickly kicked out.
“Please, stop ruining my potatoes!”
Liu Ying held a potato cube that had been peeled at least three layers deep, feeling helpless. He insisted that the coach go away and drink the northwest wind.
Brother Feng, with an air of superiority, explained while standing with his hands on his waist, “I saw a pit on it, it needs to be completely scraped off, you understand, right?”
Liu Ying retorted, “I see a pit on your head.”
“I don’t understand…” Liu Ying pointed coldly at the kitchen door, his anger softened by a gentle look. “Get out.”
“Okay…”
“I can cook dinner by myself, don’t worry.”
Although Liu Ying hadn’t seriously cooked since the K Championship Spring Tournament, he was confident in his culinary skills.
He couldn’t compare to Stars, but at least he was better than the coach who couldn’t even cook rice.
Feeling useless, Brother Feng took half a watermelon out of the refrigerator and went to the living room to cut it for the kids.
“Truth is always one!” (There is only one truth)
Cheng Che and Wu You were engrossed in watching Detective Conan when Brother Feng suddenly blocked the TV screen. They hurriedly waved at him to move.
Brother Feng, who didn’t understand their meaning, waved back at them.
“The culprit is… that’s right, right?” (The culprit is… right?)
Who is the culprit? Cheng Che was anxious to find out, but he felt embarrassed to ask Brother Feng to step aside.
After all, he had kindly brought the watermelon for everyone to enjoy.
Watching Brother Feng put the watermelon on the table and then clap his hands, Cheng Che said, “Oh, I forgot to bring a knife.”
Feeling embarrassed, Wu You spoke up, “Coach, you’re blocking our TV!”
He had the audacity to say it, and Brother Feng had the audacity to mock him, “What are you looking at? Just eat the watermelon.”
Cheng Che pointed to Detective Conan on the TV screen behind him and pleaded, “Just, just let us finish watching this episode.”
Who is the killer… I haven’t seen this episode in my past life…
“You can eat the watermelon too.” Although Brother Feng said so, he quickly moved aside… and didn’t forget to assign Wu You a task. “Xiao You, go to the kitchen and get a fruit knife.”
With a sigh, Wu You looked at Phantom beside him and said, “Xiao Pei, ah…”
“I’ll go.” Phantom, annoyed, got up and walked away without hesitation.
“After using it, remember to bring it back and wash it. It’s not easy to clean when it dries…”
Before Liu Ying’s instructions could finish, Phantom had already brought the knife back.
Liu Ying: “…”
Brother Feng cut the watermelon with the knife and served it to them.
It had to be said that he cut it evenly, with the right thickness of the melon flesh, making it easy to eat without getting the mouth dirty.
“Eat it, enjoy while watching TV. I’ll go and ask Liu Ying if there’s anything he needs my help with.”
In the kitchen, Liu Ying heard this and replied, “I don’t need your help! I don’t need help anywhere!!!”
He was like an angry little bunny.
“I’m dying of laughter. Even someone as easygoing as Ying can be provoked by you like this. Brother Feng, you shouldn’t become a popular coach; you’d be better off as an irritating coach, hahaha,” Wu You mercilessly mocked.
Phantom smiled as he watched him.
Wu You: “…Is there something dirty on my face?”
Phantom shook his head and said, “You described yourself well.”
“Annoying jungler.”
For those who watch the K Championship, it’s well known that the DCT team’s jungler, Uu, has a habit of frequently camping the top lane. There have been legendary moments of ‘taking the first blood on the enemy at level two’ and ‘coordinating ganks in the top jungle, resulting in one death and one assist.’
This forceful camping behavior is also known as Uu behavior.
Wu You’s personal gaming ID is “Xiao Pei Wo Lai Zhua Shang” (I’m here to gank).
His group nickname is even more arrogant: “Xiao Pei Wo Er Ji Zhua Shang” (I’m ganking at level two).
Wu You, as the jungler, can choose whether to gank the top lane or not, but Phantom, who plays in the top lane, cannot choose whether to allow Wu You to come or not.
Phantom is very passive.
But Phantom generally doesn’t pay much attention to Wu You.
So the term ‘Uu behavior’ has been extended by their fans to mean ‘licking dog, having nothing’ in a playful way.
Regarding this, Wu You said, “As long as there’s popularity.”
His “Piu” CP with Xiao Pei was originally a gimmick he came up with to bring attention to the team. He thought that since many female fans enjoy this kind of e-sports male idols shipping each other… so…
Liu Ying was too naive, and the support Hua Xin and ADC Xiao Nuo were too straightforward, so he could only team up with the aloof Xiao Pei himself.
Unexpectedly, it worked well, and they gained quite a few fans shipping them.
Phantom remains reserved and indifferent about it.
Annoying coach?
After hearing Wu You’s words, Brother Feng picked up the dropped fruit knife.
Wu You quickly clasped his hands together and pleaded, “Coach Liang, I was wrong. Let’s talk without using the knife. If we use the knife, it’ll escalate…”
Brother Feng said, “So much drama. I’ll go to the kitchen to wash the knife.”
In the kitchen, Liu Ying (with his ears perked) said, “You don’t have to do it. Xiao Pei, give it to me, I’ll wash it myself.”
Showing full disdain towards his own coach.
Cheng Che: “Pfft…”
“I’ll go and bring the watermelon to the captain.”
Cheng Che stood up with a slice of melon, thinking about Lin Xingling cleaning up in his room and decided to give up watching TV altogether.
“…”
Wu You continued watching TV, Phantom went to return the knife, and Cheng Che went to deliver the watermelon.
Brother Feng: “I’ll go to the kitchen and take a look.”
Liu Ying: “Don’t come over!!!” (He screamed like a startled bunny)
Wu You asked if Room 506 belongs to the ADC, and it’s right next to Lin Xingling’s Room 508.
It’s said that there’s a problem with the air conditioning, and there’s nothing major happening. He should be fixing the air conditioning now… Cheng Che was afraid of disturbing him with his loud footsteps, so he sneaked over with the melon.
Clang, bang…
Bang!
As he approached, the sounds coming from the room were ear-piercing. It wasn’t something that could be produced by fixing an air conditioning unit.
Cheng Che gently pushed open the door a crack: “Damn, smashing the air conditioning unit is about right.”
Lin Xingling stood on the ladder, holding a wrench and forcefully hitting the outer shell of the air conditioning unit: Clang, clang…
And then, unsatisfied, he knocked on the side casing: Bang!
“…”
Cheng Che blinked his eyes, rubbed them, and looked inside again. It wasn’t his imagination; his idol was emotionlessly smashing the air conditioning unit.
Um… things suddenly got weird.
He quietly closed the door and slowly retreated to the living room as he had come.
…Putting the melon back on the table, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“In the distance between most hated and most loved, it often resides in the realm of deduction and suspense.”
Wu You shifted his gaze from the TV and looked at him, saying, “Aren’t you going to eat, Dad Xing?”
“Ah?” Cheng Che realized that Wu You was asking him and shook his head, “No, I didn’t. I haven’t gone… I’ll wait for the captain to come… then eat.”
“Huh?” “Ha?”
The character on TV made the exact same sound as Wu You, and it sounded strangely pleasing.
Perhaps it was a coincidence.
Phantom frowned, remaining silent.
“Alright, let’s watch TV.” Cheng Che elegantly sat down.
“Here.” Wu You handed him a box of chewing gum, gesturing for him to take one.
Cheng Che naively believed him.
Crackle—
Naturally, the outcome was being shocked by the electric toy that looked like chewing gum.
“Ouch…”
Annoyed, Cheng Che grabbed his clothes and pounded the pillow behind him, “Wu Niu… er, Wu You!”
He immediately regretted it.
“My bad, my bad, Brother Che, I’m sorry, hahaha, Brother Che, you’re so cute~”
“Cough…”
Wu You was just teasing him when he suddenly heard Phantom cough. He turned around in confusion and saw Lin Xingling, “Oh, Dad Xing, you’ve tidied up Brother Che’s room, huh?”
Brother Feng happened to come out at that moment, “Tidied up?”
Lin Xingling looked down at Cheng Che, “No, I couldn’t fix the air conditioning in the room. For now, it can’t be occupied.”
The ‘kind’ smile on his face now looked extremely eerie in Cheng Che’s eyes.
How did I not know that Stars could be so terrifying…
What’s even scarier is that Brother Feng believed him, “Well, let’s talk about it later… We’ll find a repairman to fix it when we have time.”
Cheng Che, who saw that it was him who broke the air conditioning, looked agonized.
I don’t understand why Stars insisted on having me share a room with him… He really treats me like a helpless little kid!
“…”
“It smells so good!” No one spoke anymore, and Wu You immediately changed the subject.
Everyone took a careful sniff, and it did smell good.
The strong aroma of braised meat wafted from the small kitchen, and Liu Ying came out holding a plate. The scent of braised pork filled the entire living room.
“Time to eat~”
After the pork belly was braised, it had a strong flavor, a hint of sweetness, and a barbecue-like aroma. The meat was tender and melted in the mouth… The potatoes absorbed some of the broth, giving them a rich taste, especially good with rice.
Even Cheng Che, who usually didn’t eat greasy food, ate a big bowl of rice with it.
“Liu Ying, the food you made… it’s really delicious!”
Liu Ying took a bite of potato and smiled, “I can make many more delicious dishes. If you like them, I can make them for you in the future.”
He looked at Lin Xingling, “Although what I make isn’t as good as the captain’s.”
Really? Cheng Che bit his chopsticks and glanced at Lin Xingling beside him. He thought Liu Ying was being too modest.
This person can even mess up stir-fried vegetables… Although his plain noodles are indeed delicious.
Lin Xingling, who had his lines stolen, had a bewildered expression, resembling a little hamster.
“Oh, right, um… Since you’re so good at cooking, can I, can I live with you at night?” Cheng Che said something surprising again.
“Eh?” Liu Ying was surprised.
Lin Xingling: ?
“I… I don’t sleep well, I’m afraid of disturbing the captain.” Cheng Che calmly explained his decision not to share a room with Stars.
“It’s alright.” Lin Xingling was convinced from the bottom of his heart that he had scared him earlier, “You can stay with Liu Ying, that’s fine.”
An awkward atmosphere filled the air.
In the midst of the silence, Brother Feng poked Wu You, “Hurry up and eat. You’re always clamoring for braised pork, now that it’s made, eat more.”
When in doubt, poke Wu You.
Wu You picked up a piece of potato and put it in his bowl, “Mhm, I know… Xiao Pei, eat more too.”
Phantom, who was eating seriously, ignored him.
“That’s right, it’s already ten o’clock, let’s eat quickly. We’ll still have to wash the dishes later.” (Feng)
“I’ll give you guys the spoon later, hahaha~” (You)
After this scene, everyone resumed eating with their chopsticks.
Cheng Che turned his head to look at Lin Xingling. He wanted to explain further, but Lin Xingling gestured for him to keep quiet, so he continued eating.