ATLAS TRANSLATES

Yu Nuo fell silent.

After Yu Ge finished giving instructions, someone called for him on the other end. He said, “Alright, that’s it then, hanging up.”

After two beeps, the headphones returned to silence.

Yu Nuo pressed her lips together and looked at Chen Yuzheng, whose expression remained neutral. She tried to explain, “Um… my brother…”

Chen Yuzheng’s slightly elongated eyes tilted upward as he absent-mindedly made a sound of acknowledgment, “It’s fine.”

Van and Ultraman were arguing about something in the front row again. Thomas rushed to the frontlines, and the three of them ended up wrestling in their seats.

The scene became quite lively.

After the phone call with Yu Ge, Chen Yuzheng didn’t say anything. He took off his headphones and just leaned back in his chair, watching the others fool around in front.

Yu Nuo sat restlessly, turning her head to observe his expression for a while before reaching out to poke him.

Chen Yuzheng glanced at her, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Nuo shifted a bit closer to him and gently tugged at the hem of his shirt, “Are you upset?”

Chen Yuzheng remained silent.

Yu Nuo felt guilty and apologized to him, “I’m sorry…”

When she said this, she didn’t realize that her expression was quite pitiful, like a neglected kitten.

“What are you sorry for?”

She stammered, “I never told my brother about us. He doesn’t know anything right now, so he might be a bit prejudiced against you.”

Although people online often joked about Yu Ge and Chen Yuzheng being sworn enemies, and fans frequently argued bitterly, in reality, they had no interaction in private and couldn’t be said to have any deep grudges. After the last Continental Championship, OG’s people even went drinking with TG’s team.

It’s just that Yu Ge was naturally difficult to approach, and given past events, he felt Chen Yuzheng’s behavior was somewhat frivolous, which led to his poor impression.

But to say he hated him probably wasn’t to that extent.

However… if he found out now that she was with Chen Yuzheng, Yu Ge might not be able to accept it right away, and might even immediately demand that she resign from TG.

Yu Nuo tugged at the hem of his clothes, “Give me some time, I’ll definitely tell my brother.”

“It’s fine, no rush,” Chen Yuzheng reached out and hooked her chin, “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Hm?”

“I’m still not confident right now.”

“What aren’t you confident about?”

His expression was leisurely, “I’m afraid your brother will break us up and take away the girlfriend I worked so hard to get.”

Yu Nuo: “…”

She couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Wasn’t I the one who pursued you?”

Chen Yuzheng laughed and made a noncommittal sound.

If he hadn’t deliberately enticed her, she probably wouldn’t have made a move even after a hundred years.

Chen Yuzheng went along with her, changing his words: “I’m the boyfriend you worked hard to pursue. How many girls have confessed to me before, and I never paid attention to any of them. So, you need to cherish this hard-won love, understand?”

Yu Nuo was completely unaware she was being brainwashed and obediently promised him: “I will.”

Chen Yuzheng nodded with satisfaction.

“It’s just being disliked by my brother-in-law,” he sighed melancholically, “I’ve already come to terms with it.”

Yu Nuo: “…”

“As long as big sister can treat me well…” Chen Yuzheng returned to his playful demeanor, drawling, “This little bit of grievance will pass with some patience.”

—

A week passed, and various teams successively released their summer season portrait photos on Weibo, coinciding with the trending topic: #What do boys who like gaming look like in real life#

Marketing accounts lined up photos of Chen Yuzheng, Yu Ge, and Zhou Dang:

[The three men who unified LPL aesthetics]

Fu Yidong took a few days off and came to visit Yu Nuo.

The two sat in a dessert shop, each playing with their phones. Fu Yidong scrolled through Weibo for a while before opening TG’s fan support group. Many fans were flooding the chat.

[SOS!!! Chen Yuzheng flirt alert]

[How is he flirting? I think he looks quite handsome…?]

[I’m tired of saying this, but Conquer, I approve!!!]

[That American military salute really made me cringe for a moment, though none of TG’s photos are normal…]

[Speaking of which, do you know about that tattoo on his hand? It’s actually a girl’s voice] [Yes yes yes yes, someone in the super topic figured it out!!!]

Fu Yidong had been quite busy with work recently, working overtime every day, so she missed this gossip about Chen Yuzheng’s tattoo. She lurked in the group watching them discuss the tattoo for a while, then went to the super topic to dig through previous posts.

After looking for a while, Fu Yidong felt like she’d discovered some secret and shared with Yu Nuo: “Hey, did you know that Chen Yuzheng’s tattoo is a girl’s voice!”

Yu Nuo was drinking sago soup when she heard this. She paused, put down her spoon, and answered, “I know.”

Fu Yidong: “You know??”

“Mm… he let me listen to it.”

“Whose voice is it?” Fu Yidong found it a bit strange, “Is it his mom or sister or something?”

Yu Nuo hesitated for a moment, then said, “It’s mine.”

“Yours??!!”

Fu Yidong froze, and after a few seconds of stupefaction, she asked: “What you said? When did you say it?”

Yu Nuo recalled for a moment, “During the Continental Championship.”

“…”

Fu Yidong went back to TG’s official Weibo, found Chen Yuzheng’s portrait photo, zoomed in, and studied the tattoo over and over many times.

After hearing Yu Nuo’s explanation of the details, Fu Yidong was completely shocked. She said “holy shit” three times, then muttered in a daze, “So, you just casually gave him a word of encouragement, and when he got back to China, he had it tattooed on his body?”

Yu Nuo: “…”

“Chen Yuzheng’s gap is really too big. I initially thought he was just that type of cocky guy, a bit bad and playboy-ish, and even if he dated, he wouldn’t care too much about girls. Wuwuwu, who would have thought he would! Actually! Tattoo your! Voice! On his body!! It’s a voice! Not a name!!!”

Even Fu Yidong, a seasoned veteran in relationships, was completely swooned, “This little brat, how can he be so smooth!”

…

…

For the rest of their time together, Fu Yidong lost interest in shopping and just kept pestering Yu Nuo to tell her various details about dating Chen Yuzheng.

Yu Nuo felt a bit helpless and thought for a moment, “…It’s just like normal couples, eating together, watching movies and such.”

Fu Yidong hinted: “We can skip over those, I want to hear the more, private stuff.”

Yu Nuo didn’t understand: “What private stuff?”

Fu Yidong linked arms with Yu Nuo and leaned in closer, being mysterious: “Like, have you slept together? You know what guys this age are like, try it and you’ll understand.”

Yu Nuo: “…”

Observing her expression, Fu Yidong worried she might get angry and quickly said: “Of course, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I really respect your privacy, I just wanted to check on my bestie.”

The sun outside was scorching, and Yu Nuo was sweating from being asked such a question. She stopped in her tracks, stammering anxiously: “You’re thinking too much, we’ve only, we’ve only, we’ve only held hands so far.”

Fu Yidong caught the key point, seeming somewhat incredulous: “Just held hands? Haven’t even kissed?”

Yu Nuo nodded.

“…”

Fu Yidong paused for a moment, then sighed lightly: “Chen Yuzheng, is he perhaps… not capable?”

Yu Nuo: “…”

—

In the blink of an eye, it was the end of June. This LPL regular season had a ten-week cycle, with sixteen teams divided into two divisions, East and West. Teams within each group would play a double round-robin format, and teams from different divisions wouldn’t face each other until the end of the regular season. According to the spring season’s final rankings, TG and OG’s flags were positioned at the top of their respective divisions.

For the remaining team groupings, OG and TG each needed to send representatives to draw lots.

After half a year of development, TG had been embroiled in controversy since their debut. As the year’s strongest dark horse, although they narrowly lost to OG in spring, their performance in turning the tide at the Continental Championship surprised everyone. In a short time, TG became the focus of attention, successfully gaining many fans.

Although their fan base couldn’t compete with traditional powerhouses yet, their popularity was already quite considerable.

In the stuffy afternoon, even the wind carried heat. From afar, TG’s platinum tour bus drove into the back of the venue. The cluster of fans who had been waiting here early immediately erupted in screams.

Ultraman, sitting on the bus, heard the commotion and secretly lifted the curtain to look. He was somewhat stunned. He had thought the previous airport reception was his life’s peak, but he hadn’t expected even more people this time.

Van turned his head and asked Killer: “Damn, these people can’t all be water army hired by Manager Qi, right? It’s just drawing lots today, is such a big show necessary?”

“Tsk, don’t be so small-minded, okay? Stand up straight, we’re people with fans now.”

Killer gave him a disdainful look, adjusted his clothes, and fiddled with his hair: “How do I look? Am I handsome? Will I captivate millions of female fans when I go on stage to draw lots?”

Ultraman: “…”

The bus stopped, and security was already waiting at the door. Qi Yanan called from the front: “Let’s go, time to get off.”

Chen Yuzheng was lying in the last row, baseball cap still covering his face, and only opened his eyes drowsily after being patted twice.

His team uniform was all wrinkled from sleeping, and Chen Yuzheng sat up, took a moment to gather himself, expressionlessly pulled out a candy from his pocket, unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth.

…

…

As soon as the five TG members got off the bus, the screams from the crowd rose another notch.

Ultraman stuck close behind Chen Yuzheng.

The security guards linked hands to form a circle around them, struggling to maintain order in the sea of people, shouting at the enthusiastic fans: “Be careful, don’t come too close!”

However, no one listened.

“Chen Yuzheng, take off your mask and cap!!! Mommy wants to see you!!!”

“Conquer!!! Ahhhhhhhh!!!! Conquer!!! Look at me!!!!”

Even after they walked into the backstage corridor, the fans’ voices behind them were still incredibly passionate.

Ultraman bumped into him, whispering: “How can you be so calm?”

Chen Yuzheng looked down, typing messages, and replied absent-mindedly: “Still not fully awake.”

“Acting cool again?” Ultraman leaned in, “Who are you messaging?”

Chen Yuzheng continued typing messages, not bothering to stop him, indifferently letting him look.

As his eyes moved to Chen Yuzheng’s phone screen, Ultraman choked for a moment.

Conquer: “Sister, I have so many fans”

Yu Nuo: “Oh? Isn’t that good that so many people like you ^^”

Conquer: “I’m scared, what should I do, they look like they want to rush up and eat me”

Yu Nuo: “…”

Looking at these messages, Ultraman’s expression went blank for a few seconds. His habit of feeling secondhand embarrassment acted up again, and he couldn’t help saying: “What the fuck are you sending, don’t you feel embarrassed?”

“What’s it got to do with you?” Chen Yuzheng snickered, seemingly completely unaware of what shame was, “Don’t spy on my private life with my girlfriend.”

—

The lot-drawing process only took half an hour. After the East and West divisions were grouped, the opening match was also set – TG would play against KKL in Saturday’s first game.

Back in the backstage rest area, the coach and team leader had a few more words with them.

“All of you need to focus now. We’ll have one last good meal tonight, then training resumes tomorrow. No need to stream either, just concentrate on preparing for the matches. You’re playing the opening match, so you better take it seriously. Don’t get complacent just because you won the Continental Championship.”

Ultraman muttered quietly: “Why does the coach sound like he’s giving last words…”

The dinner location was at a hotpot restaurant near the venue.

Yu Nuo had taken a nap and only saw Chen Yuzheng’s message when she woke up around five or six in the afternoon. She tidied up, rushed over, and when she arrived, the dishes were already served.

She found a random seat and sat down, apologizing: “Sorry I’m late.”

She caught her breath and secretly looked around.

Xiang Jiajia seemed to know what she was thinking and casually said: “Chen Yuzheng went to the bathroom with Ultraman.”

Just as she finished unpacking her chopsticks, the door behind her made a sound.

Chen Yuzheng walked in, their eyes met, and Yu Nuo smiled at him.

Ultraman shook the water off his hands and went around to find an empty seat.

Chen Yuzheng raised an eyebrow, stopping beside Van.

Van was bent over scooping up food when Killer bumped his arm, “What?”

Killer gestured with his eyes, telling him to look behind.

Van had already drunk quite a bit, slurring: “Chen Yuzheng? Why are you standing by me, playing doorman?”

Chen Yuzheng nodded his head: “Go sit somewhere else.”

Van looked at Yu Nuo and suddenly understood. He didn’t say a word, obediently got up.

Chen Yuzheng didn’t even bother to hide it anymore, quite frank about it. After Van gave up his seat, he directly sat down next to Yu Nuo.

This blatant behavior caused another round of teasing sounds at the table, everyone in the room was laughing, with playful gazes focused on the two of them.

Yu Nuo kept her head down, pretending nothing had happened.

Throughout the meal, the topic centered around Chen Yuzheng and Yu Nuo’s relationship.

Ultraman was curious: “When did you two start dating?”

Chen Yuzheng was too lazy to say much: “Stop gossiping, mind your own business.”

Ultraman: “…”

He said resentfully: “With that nasty mouth of yours, only someone as good-tempered as Yu Nuo could put up with you.”

Killer poured him a glass of white wine: “You’ve got yourself a girlfriend, you have to drink to that, right?”

Chen Yuzheng raised his hand and pushed away the drink offered to him, refusing: “Sorry, I’m not drinking today, you guys go ahead.”

His uncooperative attitude made everyone dissatisfied, so they could only turn to “bully” the more agreeable Yu Nuo.

At first, Chen Yuzheng tried to stop them, but later Killer cursed at him, “You won’t drink and won’t let others drink? That’s no fun.”

“It’s okay, I won’t get drunk from a little bit.”

Yu Nuo was cheerful, willingly letting his teammates pour her drinks. Whenever someone offered a drink, she would dutifully drink it.

However, Killer and the others didn’t have the heart to force a girl too much, so after toasting a few beers, they let it be.

…

…

The dinner lasted two or three hours. With matches coming up in a few days, everyone couldn’t get too wild.

Chen Yuzheng held Yu Nuo’s hand, “Come back to the base with me, I’ll drive you home later.”

She wanted to spend more time with him too, so she nodded, “It’s fine, I’ll go back with you, then I can just take a taxi later.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“Hm?”

Chen Yuzheng looked at her with a hint of a smile: “Why else do you think I didn’t drink?”

Yu Nuo: “…”

—

After getting in the car, Yu Nuo saw Chen Yuzheng lazily sprawled in his seat and asked with concern: “What’s wrong? Not feeling well?”

“Drunk.”

“Drunk?” Yu Nuo thought for a moment, “But didn’t you just drink some yogurt earlier?”

He narrowed his eyes, made a sound of agreement, and shamelessly said: “I’m drunk on yogurt.”

Yu Nuo: “…”

She couldn’t help but laugh.

Everyone was full from the food and drinks, satisfied and content. After chatting for a bit, the car fell silent.

Chen Yuzheng sat up slightly, his right hand dangling at his side as he turned his head, making casual conversation with her.

Yu Nuo had been given quite a bit to drink earlier. Though not drunk, she kept getting distracted, her gaze involuntarily drifting downward repeatedly.

After looking many times, even Chen Yuzheng noticed, his eyes following hers down to his arm: “What is it?”

Now, Yu Nuo didn’t need to hide anymore. She was really curious and stammered: “Can I… touch your tattoo?”

Chen Yuzheng paused for a moment, “Go ahead.”

With his permission, she reached out, still a bit hesitant, just lightly touching it at first.

Chen Yuzheng remained silent.

Seeing he had no reaction, Yu Nuo grew bolder, her fingers gently tracing the outline of the tattoo, slowly moving down his forearm.

Chen Yuzheng watched her for a while. Finding it ticklish, he curled his fingers slightly but resisted stopping her movements.

Her expression was soft as she looked down and asked quietly: “Did it hurt when you got this tattoo?”

“It hurt,” Chen Yuzheng laughed, speaking slowly: “Almost made me cry from the pain.”

Yu Nuo knew he was joking but still felt a twinge of heartache.

Night had fallen, and the bus’s main lights were off, with only the street’s neon lights filtering in.

Yu Nuo’s head moved slightly closer, as if wanting to see the pattern on his arm more clearly.

She stopped just centimeters away.

Her breathing slowed.

Though she felt a slight urge to pull back, perhaps due to the alcohol’s influence, her actions weren’t following her brain’s commands.

Before she realized it, Yu Nuo’s lips had already pressed against that tattoo, placing a gentle kiss on his skin.

Like handling a precious treasure, she had no ulterior motives, it was just an instinctive action.

Chen Yuzheng hadn’t expected her to do this at all and was stunned.

After realizing what happened, almost instantly, all his blood seemed to flow backward, a fire burning from his throat downward.

Very briefly, after the kiss, Yu Nuo’s own mind went blank for a few seconds.

Feeling somewhat awkward, her chest rose and fell once as she blinked, pretending to be composed as she looked at him, then shyly averted her gaze.

Chen Yuzheng’s eyes were dark as he silently watched her, harboring emotions she couldn’t understand.

Yu Nuo’s face was flushed red, and she didn’t dare meet his gaze anymore, turning her head to look out the window.

The whole way, she was trying to compose herself.

After that sudden kiss, they both fell quiet.

When they reached the base, the bus stopped and turned off. The people in the back got up and gradually got off.

Yu Nuo sat inside, waiting as Chen Yuzheng showed no signs of moving.

After silently waiting for a while, she fought through her embarrassment and asked: “Aren’t you getting off?”

He appeared unwilling to move, lowering his eyes: “Can’t get up, need a moment.”

Yu Nuo was puzzled: “What’s wrong?”

Chen Yuzheng’s eyes were moist as he crooked his finger, gesturing for her to come closer.

Yu Nuo hesitantly leaned over, bending down.

He moved close to her ear and said softly: “Sister’s kiss just now gave me a reaction.”