This winter’s weather seemed unusually cold.
It was still almost a week away from the Winter Solstice, but that morning, when Yin Chen woke up and opened the window, a chill hit him so hard it felt like his bones were freezing solid.
As usual, Ali arrived at the villa early.
When Yin Chen finally got up, she paused, slightly taken aback.
“President Yin… what’s going on?”
Why did he look like he had wrapped himself into a human ball?
“Hm? What’s the matter?”
Yin Chen blinked at her, wrapped in a thick overcoat.
Ali glanced down at her own thin, elegant tights, shivering slightly, then back at Yin Chen, snug in his layers.
Got it.
Apparently, this guy was afraid of the cold.
“Nothing, I just thought it’s a bit chilly today. Do you have any plans to go out? I can put together a warm outfit for you.”
As she spoke, she flipped through the sketches she had made last night.
Her slightly British-style designs looked great, but if he was sensitive to the cold, that beautiful plan had to be abandoned.
Plans to go out?
Yin Chen, still half-asleep from the cold, struggled to remember.
“Today… I’m going to the BZ team to check on their training… and…”
His gaze drifted.
And what else? He couldn’t quite recall.
Ali misread him. She assumed the rest of the schedule wasn’t convenient to share, so she nodded.
“Then you’re heading out. I noticed a coat here that would suit you—let me put together a base layer outfit, and you can carry the coat with you. Wear it if it gets cold.”
“Do as you think,” Yin Chen said nonchalantly. He trusted Ali’s professional judgment.
Thus, the staff of Yin Corporation were treated to another rare sight—a Yin Chen even more handsome than in the latest winter fashion catalog.
Lazily, he handled the morning work quickly, then delegated a minor afternoon meeting to Ah Mao.
Stretching as he stood, he contacted Ah Mao:
“I’m heading to the team this afternoon. Cover the meeting for me.”
After all, the team had been established for a while—he should check on them, right?
The base.
Zhang Taining ruffled his messy hair, grumbling silently. He couldn’t curse out loud—they all knew that any slip would cost him money. But even so, being woken up before noon was ridiculous.
Down in the dining room, he grabbed a bottle of milk, chugging it, while looking at the rare sight of their team manager.
“Xie Ge, you know we train late into the night. I just fell asleep—why wake us up now?”
Xie Liu glanced at his messy hair, about to respond, when Tang Chen yawned his way down the stairs.
“Yeah, Xie Ge… I’m so sleepy… I could sleep on the stairs zZZ…”
He flopped on the stair railing, swaying dangerously. Xie Liu rushed to steady him.
“I didn’t just call you guys. Everyone was woken up.”
After carefully seating Tang Chen and shoving a piece of bread into his mouth, Xie Liu explained.
“Huh?”
Half-awake, Tang Chen chewed the bread.
“Why wake us up so early?”
Zhang Taining glanced at him, unusually silent. He wanted to know the answer too.
Xie Liu waved to the players coming down the stairs.
“No big deal. President Yin is visiting this afternoon, so I woke you up. Plan is for two internal matches.”
As soon as he finished, Tang Chen jumped up, excited.
“Really?!”
Finally, a match! He was going stir-crazy from constant training.
Zhang Taining also showed a secret glint of excitement—mixed with a bit of worry.
Playing in front of that person…?
He nervously eyed Tang Chen, who looked so young he questioned his age.
If luck wasn’t on his side, he might have to team up with Tang Chen.
Besides Zhang Taining and Tang Chen, the other BZ team members hadn’t seen Yin Chen before. Hearing that the real boss was coming to watch two internal matches made everyone tense.
From ZWG, a former sniper/marksman named Zhuo Fan had joined.
He was the most nervous. Fingers white from gripping his hands, he carefully approached Tang Chen.
“Tang Chen… I… I have something to ask you.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Tang Chen turned instantly, eyes bright.
Zhuo Fan exhaled slightly, then forced a smile.
“I heard… you’ve met President Yin? How is he?”
Tang Chen nodded eagerly.
“He’s a big, handsome guy!”
Zhuo Fan froze.
!
Crap! He’d gotten used to friends asking only about looks in this circle. Thankfully, he hadn’t blurted out Yin Chen’s measurements.
Tang Chen inhaled sharply, patted his chest, and smiled innocently.
“He’s really handsome, and super nice too!”
Zhuo Fan hesitated. Better not say more.
Nearby, Zhang Taining snickered at his shyness. Zhuo Fan didn’t react, but Tang Chen glared.
“What are you laughing at?”
Tang Chen disliked Zhang Taining immediately.
Zhang Taining shoved a bun in his mouth, rolling his eyes.
“He’s asking something serious, and you just said he’s good-looking? You’re teasing him!”
Zhuo Fan looked surprised. Tang Chen was more surprised.
“How did you know it was serious? Maybe he just wanted to gossip about President Yin’s looks!”
Tang Chen’s sincerity was evident. If it were him, he would want to gossip!
“…This bun is free? Nice.”
Zhang Taining muttered, staring at the bun.
Tang Chen’s jaw dropped, looking at Xie Liu.
“Xie Ge! Zhang Taining is attacking me personally! He said I’m an idiot!”
“Huh?” Xie Liu turned, surprised.
“Did he? I didn’t hear that.”
Tang Chen puffed his cheeks, annoyed. He did hear—Zhang Taining was too sly to be obvious.
Zhang Taining snorted.
“I didn’t say anything. And hey, he’s your teammate—shouldn’t you at least care about your teammate?”
Tang Chen and Zhuo Fan stared, shocked.
Zhang Taining realized his words and flushed.
“What? We’re teammates—I’m just looking out for you!”
“Yeah, sure…”
Tang Chen mumbled after a while.
“But I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person…”
Zhuo Fan was also a little surprised. He hadn’t had a good impression of Zhang Taining before—like the time he accused Tang Chen of hiring a sniper cheat. He had seen the videos, Zhang Taining’s skill was lacking, yet he insisted it was Tang Chen’s doing. Hard to accept.
But now?
Zhang Taining’s nature didn’t seem so bad.
He hesitated.
“Then tell me—what did Zhuo Fan want to ask me?”
Tang Chen, looking Zhang Taining over, plopped down next to him, casually as if they’d known each other for a decade.
Zhang Taining froze.
“??? Why should I tell you?”
Tang Chen, calm and self-assured:
“You already started telling me half—if you don’t finish, won’t you choke? I’m being kind and listening. Go on.”
Zone D.
Zhang Taining used every fiber to resist cursing inside.
Does this guy even have a face?
Tang Chen shrugged.
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
…
Zhang Taining, frustrated, finally shoved a bun into Tang Chen’s mouth.
“You’ll listen, now I’ll tell.”
Easy!
Tang Chen made an OK sign, munching happily. Pork and scallion filling—so much better than the dry bread earlier!
Zhang Taining rolled his eyes, then spoke seriously.
“You know Zhuo Fan was a ZWG member, right?”
Glancing at Zhuo Fan, he spoke flatly.
“ZWG is a champion team. After Zhuo Fan left, he got a lot of attention from fans. Jumping to BZ, ZWG fans might cause trouble. He’s probably the second most stressed in our team.”
Zhang Taining edited his words mid-sentence, expressionless, but thought: biggest pressure is still me. Winning for three years is one thing—but having to team up with Tang Chen? That’s stressful.
“So?”
Tang Chen asked.
“So he wants to ask you if President Yin would mind him bringing some trouble to our team.”
Zhang Taining chugged milk.
Though roughly the same age, he was shorter than Tang Chen! No way—he couldn’t be shorter than Tang Chen!
“Trouble?”
Tang Chen glanced at Zhuo Fan.
What trouble?
Zhuo Fan met his eyes, forced a wry smile.
“Some ZWG fans might comment negatively since I moved to BZ.”
Diplomatic enough.
Zhang Taining winked at Zhuo Fan, thinking he should chat more—less swearing that way.
Zhang Taining thought casually: Zhuo Fan’s a nice, easy target.
“Ah? That’s it?”
Tang Chen: “President Yin wouldn’t care about small stuff! He’s generous!”
Just then, he saw Yin Chen walking in.
Wait—this coat! Isn’t this the one Zong Cheng liked most?
How did Zong Cheng’s coat end up on President Yin?