Chapter 4 – WCG, WCG – Part 2
When Xi Cheng arrived at the net café for training the next day, Rabbit was surrounded by X·FILES players, as he eagerly recounted the match last night.
“What happened, stop beating around the bushes. Just say it!”
Rabbit proudly clears his throat and begins: “So here is the thing – Ever since our match with JACK, the boss has been paying particular attention to that so and Yoki from that team. He even wants yours truly, the match coordinator, to arrange for a private match with so and Yoki. Yet those two kids have been quite full of themselves lately, and told me that there are too many people asking to play them, and they got no time for us”
“So, I told them, no problem, we can wait, we can wait till heaven and earth grows old. That showed those two, and they relented to arrange for a time. Still they kept on yapping about keeping the results secret. These southerners are just way too calculating.”
Someone on the side protests: “Hey, Anhui people are the most honest!”
Rabbit looks over, it turns out to be Ah Kang, from Anhui, he smiles: “Yeah, Anhui people are the best, my bad, my bad alright? Don’t interrupt anymore… They finally had their match last night. The boss is very serious about this, he even went out of his way to ask our handsome Xi Cheng to come along, probably expecting a tough fight. What did you think happened?”
Someone else complains again: “You always tell only half the story, did you have a three-piece lip like a real rabbit? Is it that hard for you to get to the point?”
Rabbit: “Fine, fine, fine, you tasteless people. I just want to make it a bit more exciting, and you all start complaining. This is what happened, they couldn’t go on after just 10 minutes. So and Yoki feels like totally different people, they couldn’t put up a fight. Boss won 74 rounds, 0 death in just 10 minutes. Those two guys surrendered ahead of time. Boss was grumpy about it for a long time.”
Some nosy person asks: “Why is the boss and Xi Cheng mad if they are so strong?”
Rabbit: “According to boss, ‘JACK have no sense of sportsmanship. They must have hired mercs for that game, you can tell from their mechanics and how they played. The two tonight are different people from the two that played the original match.’ Now the boss just wants to find those two mercs – yet JACK is adamantly denying that they hired mercs for it, let alone providing their contact info.
In the following days, X·FILES entered a period of intense training. A Jie announced their intention to participate in the national WCG tournament.
“As you may have heard, we are about to enter into the national WCG tournament. This is a key step in the professional development of E-Sports in China. We will be sending a team to participate. As a member of our team, you should know how many eyes are upon us. In recent months, we’ve had friendly matches against the top teams of almost every province, and the results are clear. We have not lost a single match.”
“Someone asked me, ‘Why play against all those teams, why bother playing match after match if you already know your strength?’ Is it because of a desire to win? Is it because of an ambitious pride? Is it to prove that we are number one in china？It is not only the other teams that have wondered, or even questioned our intentions. I know some of our own players have been discussing this as well – thinking that we are strong enough, that we don’t need more games to prove it. I will answer this question later, but first, let me ask everyone, why do you play CS?”
A Jie looks toward everyone with his piercing gaze: “I hope you can all ask yourself that question, and come up with an answer.”
Xi Cheng spoke up first: “I had been aspiring to become a sniper since my childhood, yet my old man wouldn’t agree. I couldn’t join the army, so I ended up in that BS Beijing University. Now I am VP of a company, thanks to the fact that the boss is my old man’s friend, I have the time to come out and mess around all day. Playing CS lets me fulfill the dream that I couldn’t pursue in real life, I guess it is a form of making things up for myself.”
Rabbit: “I thought CS was exciting, giving commoners like us a way to experience things that we normally won’t be able to experience.”
Ah K: “I don’t have a reason for liking CS. Heheh, don’t they always say “Love is blind”? Do you really need a reason to like CS?”
The others join in: “Because it is fun, otherwise who would play it?”
“I started playing CS after I got dumped, and got addicted before I knew it.”
“Heh, my story’s more interesting. I used to play “Legend of Mir”, maining Taoist. I got to level 40 something, even had a pet, then my fucking account got hacked. I got so pissed off that I went to play CS. CS is better after all, safe, simple, reliable.
Another person continued on smirking: “….we all love Jie Shi Bang condoms….”
A Jie waited for everyone’s discussion to settle down: “Everyone, have you wondered, whenever CS was brought up, people’s impression was playing video games. CS is almost never taken seriously today, especially in China, no one treats it like a serious E-Sport from which one can build a Career upon. Yet in Korea, in Europe, the development of professional E-Sport has been way ahead of us. In America, over 40% of multiplayer game players are over 35 years old, and there are players from all age groups. Yet in China, only young people would play things like this. If you are older and you play, people would despise you! Why? Because people are fundamentally rooted in a bias against multiplayer games. Multiplayer games are games, traditional sports are also games, why must they be treated so differently in china?”
“As a CSER, I love this sport as much as everyone here. My dream, or my ambition even, is to push Chinese CS into a professional E-sport, let more people take it seriously, recognizing the existence of E-sports. CS has elements of skill, elements of strategy, and charms of its own, no less than any traditional sports!
“Do you guys remember? When Nixon visited China, it was the Ping-Pong diplomacy that thawed our relations. Then our female volleyball team stirred up China’s passion for sports, and let the Chinese people find a sense of pride in the worldwide sport scene. People begin to take sports seriously, realizing that playing balls are not just entertainment, but also a form of serious competition.
“CS is at the same junction today. Until it is recognized by the mainstream society, it will be up to those who love CS, like us, to respect it, push it forward, and let more people accept it. When a game is played for entertainment, it is just a game. When it is played for honor, it is a competition! Why do I ask for everyone to keep up our training? Why play match after match? It is because we are speaking with our voice to urge CSER across the nation to work harder. We are all part of this circle. We all work as a team, striving for victory with our coordinated cooperation. This is something that every CSER should know and strive toward. Whether you can be the strongest might be heaven’s will; but striving to become the strongest is every CSER’s duty. As a CSER, if you really love this sport, prove it with your actions!”
There were slight hints of tears in A Jie’s eyes when he finished. Everyone was silent.
Xi Cheng began to gently clap: “Though they are legion, I shall go!” He smiles to A Jie: “Though we've been memorizing this quote since our youth, you truly helped me understand it today.”
Jing’Er hasn’t met Xi Cheng for over a week now. For some reason, she is feeling a sense of unease, as though she just lost something but couldn’t have no idea where it could’ve gone. She is having trouble paying attention in class, and even missed questions asked by the teacher.
Pang Niu pokes Jing’Er at the end of class: “What’s going on? You look lost. Hey, hey, wake up!”
Jing’Er: “Don’t bother me, please, just let me have some peace and quiet.”
Pang Niu: “Haha, I get it now. As they say: ‘Romance before friends’, if you are so impatient with me, you must be in love.”
Jing’Er: “Love? With who?”
Pang Niu: “If my guess is correct, it must be our esteemed class president.”
Jing’Er faints. Pang Niu quickly holds her: “Hold it, pres is looking at you.”
Jing’Er follows Pang Niu’s gaze, a small, pale, chubby guy is turning around three seats ahead, smiling at Jing’Er.
Jing’Er lets out a light squeal and turns to Pang Niu: “Please don’t make fun of me, sis. It’s gross.”
Pang Niu giggles: “That’s pure love from our pres~” spoken in a perfect crayon shin-chan voice. “Didn’t you realize that pres was paying too much attention to you? He even insisted on carrying your bag during the spring trip, and never letting any other boys help.”
Jing’Er: “You like him, he’s yours.”
Pang Niu: “No, I like skinny boys, like Zai Zai.”
The president walked by as the girls conversed. He smiles at Pang Niu and turns to Jing’Er: “Jing’Er, are you feeling unwell lately? It seems you aren’t very energetic lately.”
Jing’Er: “I’m fine. Oh, Niu Niu, let’s go to the washroom!”
Pang Niu Smiles: “Okay okay.”
When school is over for the day, the president insisted on escorting Jing’Er home.
Pang Niu smiles: “I just happen to go the same way as her, you can escort her when she’s alone.”
After the disappointed president walked away, Jing’Er says: “Niu Niu, I just want to give you a big kiss.”
Pang Niu: “I am a great friend aren’t I? Now it's your turn to admit what’s been happening with you lately?”
Jing’Er is silent.
Pang Niu: “Based on the deduction of this master detective Niu Niu, you must be thinking about the guy that hit you with his motorcycle.
Jing’Er: “Don’t say it like that, he just grazed me, it wasn’t a hit.”
Pang Niu: “Is he handsome? Is his family rich? Is he romantic?”
Jing’Er: “Look at you, all you think about are these kinds of things…”
Pang Niu: “I think what all women think about. These things are like the emperor's new clothes, you all think of it, but no one speaks up. But I will, heheh, I am just stubborn and unique like that. Then she lets out a sigh: “Shame that no guys appreciate that.”
Jing’Er consults her: “Bread will come, love will come, don’t worry.”
Pang Niu giggles: “Who is worried, it is you who is getting worried, right? What did that guy do? It’s the first time of me seeing you so lost like this.”
Jing’Er: “He seems to like me, for a while, he always came to my apartments and showed up when I went down to dump garbage. But recently…he hasn’t been coming. I tried to text him, but he never responds.
Pang Niu: “Maybe he gave up on you? You are always like a kid, never paying much attention to these romantic things, and never paying the guys much attention just because you are pretty. You are part to blame for this. Sigh, it’s over, he must have given up.”
Jing’Er hesitates for a while and lowers her head. Then she raises her head again: “That’s not true, it's not like I’m ignoring him… I just don’t know what to do at all. My parents always tell me to be careful with guys, don’t let them trick me… After all that while, it’s only natural I get a bit cautious towards guys. I never had a real relationship until now, what a failure I am.
Pang Niu: “It is kinda pitiful. Even I fell in love once, even if it was me chasing the guy. The feeling of being in love really is quite great.
Jing’Er: “What happened after?”
Pang Niu: “He cast me aside in cold blood. Because he fell in love with a prettier girl. After the two of them broke up, he came back to me, and asked me if I still have special feelings for him.”
Jing’Er: “And you…”
Pang Niu smiles: “I said of course I have feelings, and it is special. Other men are just a piece of shit in my eyes. You are different, you are two pieces of shit!”
Jing’Er is stunned for a moment, then begins to laugh out loud. Two young girls begin laughing loudly in the subway, completely ignoring the puzzled gaze of onlookers.
Jing’Er went down to dump the garbage that night. Her slipper leaving clapping footsteps on the side path, the dispirited Jing’Er dropped the trash into the dumpster. As she was turning around to head home, a bundle of fragrant lily appeared in front of her. She raised her head, and saw the unfamiliar face that she had come to recognize. With that, she couldn’t hold back a smile.
Xi Cheng: “Does my face look funny?”
Jing’Er: “That’s not it, I smile because I am happy whenever I see you.
Xi Cheng: “If I can make you this happy, I really hope to stay by your side every day, so you can smile like this in every moment of your life.”
Jing’Er: “Please no, then other people will think I am mentally ill.”
Xi Cheng: “We haven’t seen each other for this long, did you think about me?”
Jing’Er admits: “I did.”
Xi Cheng: “How did you think about me?”
Jing Er thought about it, then said: “After meeting you, I’d feel the moon is extra beautiful whenever I’m on my way home after dumping the trash. The moon isn’t beautiful anymore when I can't see you anymore.”
Xi Cheng is almost moved to tears, he grabs Jing’Er’s hands and drags her beside his motorcycle. He hands Jing’Er a helmet: “Put it on.”
A puzzled Jing’Er asks: “Why?”
Xi Cheng: “I will show you the most beautiful moon in the world.” With that, he took his jacket off, and carefully put it on Jing’Er. Jing’Er hesitates for a moment, then determinedly mounts the motorcycle.
Xi Cheng starts the engine and yells behind him: “Hold on tight, don’t fall off.”
Jing’Er obediently held Xi Cheng’s waist tightly. Xi Cheng almost faints from the faint fragrance of Jing’Er’s body. He reminded himself: “Steady, steady!”
Half an hour later, Xi Cheng and Jing’Er arrived at the shore of the Unnamed Lake of Beijing University.
Xi Cheng emotionally stares at the lake water: “The moon you see by this lake side is the most beautiful. Back when I was studying, I’d come to this place to have a moment of solitude whenever there was something bothering me. Right under this crooked tree. Just me facing the moon, thinking about nothing at all. After a while, all the worry disappears like the smokes dispersing into the air.”
Jing’Er: “Is it really this amazing? Shame that it is a bit cloudy tonight, and there is no moon.”
Xi Cheng: “That’s the problem with this heaven of ours, not giving us face at vital times like this.”
Jing’Er: “I am still very happy that you are willing to share the most beautiful moon with me.”
Xi Cheng: “What about sharing the latter half of our life?”
Jing’Er blushes. Her pretty face wobbles around: “There seems to be mosquitos here, it is still so early, and mosquitos are coming out!”
Xi Cheng: “Not mosquitos, bedbugs – What are the most numerous things in Beijing University? Number of students? Number of Books? It is the number of bedbugs! Haha, did I scare you?”
Jing’Er: “What major did you do in Beijing University?”
Xi Cheng: “I studied economics – I sure don’t look it, right? Actually, my dream since my childhood was to become a sniper, shame that many things in life do not turn out the way we wished.
Jing’Er: “It is still quite nice the way you are now, graduate from Beijing University, many would be jealous of you.
Xi Cheng: “Let’s drop disappointing topics like that. You like photography, right? I’ll ask my boss for a car tomorrow, and we can go take pictures out at Badaling.
Jing’Er is surprised: “How do you understand me so well?”
Xi Cheng: “I understand you because I love you.”
Jing’Er’s face is suddenly even redder, thankfully it was hidden in the dark night. She plays with a button on the jacket covering her shoulder, trying to say something but is at a loss for words. Xi Cheng gently pulls her over and embraces her in his arms. Her ponytail playfully glazes across his face, making his heart to mush.
The two of them just leaned against each other without words. Two male students happen to pass right by.
Student A sighs as he witnesses the scene: “Why do we have this lake in our school?”
Student B replies: “Because lovers need it.”
Though the two walked further and further away, their whistle of “Shameful Being Left Alone” can still be heard.
Xi Cheng quietly says: “They say we are lovers.”
Jing’Er: “I…” She swallowed her words with a gulp under Xi Cheng’s gaze.
Xi Cheng smiles at her and encourages: “What do you want to say?”
Jing’Er blushes: “I…I want to go to the washroom.”
Xi Cheng faints.
When Jing’Er returned, she said to Xi Cheng: “I am really sorry, the scene was so beautiful earlier, I might’ve …ruined it.”
Xi Cheng spoke in english: “Love means you won’t have to say sorry forever.” (TL Note 1)
Jing’Er smiles: “That is my favorite line from “Love Story” as well. By the way, I’ve sent a few text messages to you, did you get them?
Xi Cheng: “You texted me? Really? I didn’t get a single one.”
Jing’Er appears disappointed: “Is that so… China Telecommunications really is unreliable.”
Xi Cheng thought about it for a moment: “Let me see your phone.”
Xi Cheng locates his own name in Jing’Er’s phone, sure enough, the number was wrong. He corrected the number and held Jing’Er’s hands: “Please keep on texting me. Or, if you want, you can call me 24hours of the day.”
Jing Er: “Then you don’t have to keep our promise from before, you can text me and call me. Just not too late…ahh, it's so late, Dad will scold me if I don’t head back home soon.”
TL Note 1: Seems author got the line she is referencing wrong, but I will leave as is.
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