First bonus ko-fi chapter

Chapter 363 – The Covenant of Time (3): Travel Together

At the end of the World Competition, all members of the national team returned to China under the leadership of Chairman Nan Jiangang. Many reporters and fans rushed to the airport in advance in order to see these great gods. Unfortunately, in Beijing, many players directly transferred to the city where their club was located. Su and Yu went to Kunming, the Lou Zhang brothers flew to Shenzhen, Li Cangyu took the Canglan members back to Changsha…

The reporters stared at the exit of the airport and didn’t see all the national team members appearing together. Instead, they only saw the Time team members, Tan Shitian, Cheng Wei and Lu Xiao coming out from the exit.

“Captain Tan, that is Captain Tan!” It was unknown who yelled from the crowd but the reporters found their target and immediately swarmed. Captain Tan saw them coming over and grabbed Cheng Wei’s hand as he whispered, “Run!

Cheng Wei was stunned and by the time he recovered, he found that his hand was being tightly held by Tan Shitian while Tan Shitian’s tall back was in front of him. Behind him was the screams of the reporters and the sound of photographers pressing the camera shutter.

It wasn’t their first time being surrounded by reporters at the airport. Almost every time, Tan Shitian would protect Cheng Wei but the mood this time seemed different from usual.

Cheng Wei followed Tan Shitian and there was a whistling sound in his ears. He didn’t know if it was because he was holding hands or running too fast. Cheng Wei only felt his breathing becoming more and more urgent and his heart was pounding quickly in his chest, almost like it would pop out.

It was hard to follow Tan Shitian all the way to the parking lot. Tan Shitian successfully found the club car that picked them up and opened the door to the back seat, letting Cheng Wei get on. He sat down next to Cheng Wei and closed the door. Lu Xiao got into the front passenger seat and panted as he spoke, “Captain, you only care about the vice-captain. What about me? Can’t you show your other teammates some love?”

Tan Shitian smiled. “A sprinter still wants me to worry about him?”

Cheng Wei’s heart was still beating quickly. In the narrow space, his violent heartbeat was clearer. He listened to the easy conversation between Lu Xiao and Tan Shitian and turned his head stiffly away, not daring to look at Tan Shitian’s eyes.

Tan Shitian still hadn’t let go of his hand.

There was something between the front and rear rows of the car and the driver and Lu Xiao couldn’t see the movements of their hands. Cheng Wei had just followed Tan Shitian all the way here and his palms were sweating. The fingers that were touching almost felt like they were burning. Cheng Wei was a bit panicked and wanted to pull his hand back. However, if he did, wouldn’t this show that he cared?

The car started moving and Cheng Wei’s mind was a mess. He wondered if he show pull his hand away or not.

Tan Shitian only realized that he was still holding onto Cheng Wei’s hand after the car reached high speed. He looked over at Cheng Wei and found that this person was thinking about something in a distressed manner. Tan Shitian smiled slightly and crossed their fingers together in an intimate gesture.

Cheng Wei jumped like he received an electric shock and pulled his hand back as he looked over at Tan Shitian. “What are you doing?”

Tan Shitian whispered into his ears. “You were holding on so tightly that I thought you wanted to hold hands with me.”

Cheng Wei’s hairs stood up and his face was red. “W-Who was holding onto you? I’m not a pervert!”

Tan Shitian stared at him seriously. “Then do you think I”m a pervert?”

At these deep eyes, Cheng Wei’s heart was numb and he didn’t know how to answer the question.

Tan Shitian didn’t wait for his answer and withdrew his hand. He looked out the window and the expression on his face seemed a bit lonely. Cheng Wei realized that the word ‘pervert’ was too serious and was remorseful, but he couldn’t apologize to Tan Shitian. He only turned his head and looked out the window.

The two of them didn’t speak at all until they arrived at the club and Tan Shitian opened the door, taking the initiative to help carry the luggage back to the dormitory.

***

They had lived in the dormitory for many years and were very familiar with the furnishings.

From the end of the third season to the seventh season, Tan Shitian and Cheng Wei lived next door in the same dormitory for an entire four years. Their bedrooms were separate but the living room, kitchen and bathroom were shared. Cheng Wei often saw Tan Shitian walking around in a vest and shorts. The two people might often quarrel about various small things but this dormitory was still Cheng Wei’s favourite place that made him feel relaxed and safe.

However, today was different. As Tan Shitian walked into the dormitory with his luggage, Cheng Wei felt a bit timid. He stood at the door and was afraid to walk into this familiar room. He stared at Tan Shitian and felt uncomfortable all over.

Once the door closed, only he and Tan Shitian would be left in this dormitory…

Would Tan Shitian do bad things? Would he press Cheng Wei into the bed again? What would Cheng Wei do if he did?

Cheng Wei was worried for a while and froze at the door. Tan Shitian put away his luggage and once he turned back, he found that Cheng Wei was standing dazed at the door. He walked in front of the dazed guy and patted him on the shoulder. “What’s wrong with you? What have you been thinking about since returning to China?”

Cheng Wei’s face reddened and he didn’t dare tell Tan Shitian that he was thinking about being kissed. The thing that made him depressed was that every time he recalled Tan Shitian’s kisses, he didn’t feel disgusted at all. Instead, his heartbeat accelerated and he was even looking forward to it.

As Tan Shitian stared at him with confusion, Cheng Wei had to grab his hair and say, “I am thinking about the news conference. If the reporter asks me a question, how should I answer? I have to prepare the lines in advance.”

Then he talked to himself as he walked around Tan Shitian. His head was so chaotic that he actually went to the wrong door and entered Tan Shitian’s bed. It was only after seeing that the sheets weren’t the right colour that he turned around and ran to his bedroom.

After seeing that he was so nervous, Tan Shitian finally couldn’t help laughing. Cheng Wei was also embarrassed about going to the wrong room and didn’t look back at Tan Shitian as he closed the door to his room.

***

Since it was currently the offseason, all players except for the national team were on holiday at home. Lu Xiao’s family was in Beijing and once he returned, he went straight home. This left only Tan Cheng behind and it seemed a bit empty.

Cheng Wei was bored and practiced with a side account in the online game. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Cheng Wei opened his door in a perturbed manner, thinking that Tan Shitian was going to tease him with a kiss. As a result, the other person didn’t do anything. Instead, he asked seriously, “There is still a lot of holiday time left. What are your plans?”

“I don’t know.” Cheng Wei scratched his head and replied. “My parents aren’t home and I’m not interested in going back. I’ll just stay here and wait for the team.”

“Would you like to go out to play?” Tan Shitian looked seriously at Cheng Wei. “You have been playing the game all season and now you are still knocking on the keyboard all day. Don’t you feel tired? It is better to go out and relax.”

Cheng Wei felt a bit touched. “Where do you want to go?”

“How about going to Suzhou? I heard that the scenery in Jiangnan is very good and suitable for relaxation. I booked a special hotel there and we can stay for a while, slowly exploring.” Tan Shitian saw Cheng Wei’s eyes brighten and continued, “The cost of eating and drinking will all come from me. I just want to go travel and I’m missing a companion. It is boring to play alone. Do you want to go?”

Cheng Wei felt some doubts? “Paying for my food and accommodation? Is that okay?”

Tan Shitian smiled gently and harmlessly. “There is the bonus for the World Competition and I have no place to spend it. I want to go eat Suzhou food but I can’t order too much as one person. In any case, you are idle so why not go together?”

Cheng Wei had low EQ but he knew that ‘being particularly attentive for a wicked act or theft.’ Tan Shitian had no reason to suddenly be good to him. What was his purpose? After careful consideration, Cheng Wei replied, “I can go with you but I have a condition.”

Tan Shitian was in a hurry and asked, “What condition?”

Cheng Wei seriously told him, “First, I will pay for my own things. I can’t take advantage of you. We won the World Competition and I also received the bonus. There is no reason for you to pay alone.”

Tan Shitian saw his firm attitude and nodded. “No problem.”

Cheng Wei continued, “Go out and play. We will just look at the scenery and eat delicious things. You can’t… can’t…”

Tan Shitian was puzzled. “I can’t?”

Cheng Wei exclaimed angrily, “You can’t tease me anymore!”

Tan Shitian smiled as he realized. “You mean, I can’t kiss you?”

The words were in a deliberately low tone that gave off an extra temptation.

Cheng Wei’s eyes widened. He never imagined that there could be anyone in the world as shameless as Tan Shitian. He wanted to tear the other person’s mouth off but once he saw the smile, Cheng Wei could only sigh. He hung his head and turned around. “Forget it, I won’t go.”

“No, it is too boring alone!” Tan Shitian hurriedly reassured him. “Don’t worry, I won’t tease you again. I was wrong before so don’t be angry. I promise that we’re only going on the trip this time. There might be some misunderstandings between us but the Time team needs us to manage it together. Let’s take advantage of this holiday to go out and relax for a few days, forgetting the past. Okay?”

Tan Shitian was warm and soft and few people could refuse.

His serious eyes, soft voice and warm smile gradually lowered Cheng Wei’s defenses.

Perhaps Tan Shitian was right. No matter what contradictions they had before or how unpleasant they were, they would play together in the future as captain and vice-captain. It wasn’t good if their relationship was too stiff.

Cheng Wei thought this and had to promise, “Okay, I’ll go pack my bags!”

That night, Cheng Wei packed his luggage with great enthusiasm. He was full of expectations for Jiangnan. He imagined a good mountain, beautiful water scenario, delicious food and a fun place.

He didn’t expect that when he went out with Tan Shitian, the person pretending to be a pure and harmless dog would gnaw at him until not every bones were left.