Little Fish and Mint - Chapter 7

Xu Yitong sighed dramatically, resting her chin in her hands.

“Xu Yitong!” CC yelled, snapping her out of it.

“Hmm?” Xu Yitong’s gaze drifted. “Go on, I’m listening.”

They were at a small, artsy bar tucked away in an alley near Xu Yitong’s home. The bartender made excellent cocktails, but he was rumored to be a rich dilettante, too laid-back to actively attract customers. This made the bar quieter than most, a favorite haunt for the group.

Today, for some reason, CC had brought her laptop, declaring she needed to discuss business with Xu Yitong.

They launched into a serious discussion about business models, renovation budgets, and profit margins…

Cai Yishi, nearly falling asleep, interrupted. “Can you stop? People are staring. Do you think you look inspiring discussing work here? You look like those multi-level marketing huns.”

Moli, stifling laughter, popped a piece of fruit into her mouth. “Where’s the new store going to be?”

“Xuhui,” CC slammed her laptop shut, also tired of the discussion. “Xu Yitong picked the location. I called them. We’re checking it out next week.”

“Why Xuhui?”

Xu Yitong dodged the question. “It’s a good location.”

CC scoffed. “Don’t think I don’t know. It’s five hundred meters from your dreamboat’s dorm.”

“It’s not a dorm, it’s a team base,” someone corrected.

Cai Yishi frowned. “What if you stop liking him after you open a store right next to his base?”

“It’s not all for Yu Ge,” Xu Yitong insisted. “I was there dropping off a friend and saw a shop for lease.”

She added, “The customer base there is great! Lots of universities in Xuhui, tons of young people.”

Cai Yishi rolled her eyes, not believing her.

“Let me tell you this,” CC said, “Men are men, and work is work. If you have a breakup and abandon the business, you’re dead meat.”

Xu Yitong slammed the table. “You guys are all hoping I fail!”

“How can we hope for you to succeed with this?”

Xu Yitong mumbled, “Maybe I will end up with Yu Ge…”

She sounded less confident now.

“His fangirls have more money than I do.”

Defeated, Xu Yitong slumped back onto the table.

Staring at the moon-shaped lamp on their table, her mind wandered. She’d been looking forward to the match the day after tomorrow, to seeing Yu Ge and returning the umbrella. But after witnessing the scene at the hospital, she hadn’t contacted him, not wanting to bother him.

He’d probably forgotten about the umbrella.

Oh well, she thought. If he’s forgotten, he’s forgotten. I can always ask him later.

✧✧✧

After days of rain, the skies cleared on Thursday. Shanghai basked in sunshine.

A red and white bus traveled down the highway.

“We’re almost there, wake up,” Hui-ge called out after checking with the driver.

Little C rubbed his eyes, and the man beside him stirred.

Awen yawned.

As the team slowly woke up, the bus slowed down, turning towards a gray and white stadium.

A crowd had gathered outside.

“Ugh, so many people. And we’re playing TG again…” someone groaned.

“So what?” Roy shrugged.

“What if we lose? We’ll be trending again,” Little C worried, looking at the crowd.

“It’s a grudge match; trending is guaranteed,” Awen said casually.

The OG-TG rivalry started at the Spring Split opening ceremony.

OG, the popular team, was expected to easily defeat the unknown TG. But they were shockingly defeated, even getting stomped in the second game.

To add insult to injury, TG’s rookie ADC not only “fountain dived” the veteran OG players (killing them repeatedly at their base), but also taunted them with dances and flashy emotes. Thus, the rivalry began.

Will joked, “Bot lane, don’t lose, or Conquer will be gloating again.”

Little C glanced at the silent man beside him, then said defensively, “It wasn’t bot lane’s fault last time. Just so you know, Fish out-CSed Conquer by 30.”

Will shrugged. “Then blame Awen. He keeps playing Sejuani and throws the whole game. ‘Sorry’ to the entire team.”

Awen punched him playfully. “Screw you!”

Amidst the laughter, the bus arrived at the stadium’s side entrance. Fans swarmed the bus.

The driver slowed down.

With no security, the crowd made it difficult to even exit the bus. Hui-ge rolled down the window. “Step back! Be careful!”

The roar of the crowd was deafening. Some male fans screamed, urging them to win. Little C felt a bead of sweat trickle down his back.

No one listened to Hui-ge. Some enthusiastic fans even started running alongside the bus.

Yu Ge frowned, removing his headphones. He waved, gesturing for the fans pounding on the windows to back off.

It was just a regular season match, but thanks to the hype, it felt like a major event.

Little C dreaded the thought of losing and facing the wrath of fans online.

Nervous and lightheaded, he said to Yu Ge, “Bro, I need some cookies. Low bl00d sugar.”

“In my bag.”

Little C reached for Yu Ge’s black backpack, unzipped it, and paused. “Huh? Why are you carrying this little pink umbrella…?”

Yu Ge, his expression unchanged, took his bag back.

His cold demeanor silenced Little C.

Yu Ge unlocked his phone, checking WeChat.

The first contact’s profile picture had been changed to SpongeBob.

She hadn’t messaged him in days.

It was at the top of his list because of the unsent draft message in their chat—

—[Umbrella]

He rarely messaged anyone besides his sister. He and Xu Yitong weren’t that close.

He only remembered the umbrella because of her recent Moments updates:

Xu Yitong: [It rained yesterday, and I didn’t have an umbrella (sad)]

Xu Yitong: [Hope it doesn’t rain today… I don’t have an umbrella anyway Orz]

Xu Yitong: [Going to the match tomorrow! No rain in the forecast ^-^]

He glanced at the updates, tossed his phone back in his bag, and left the message unsent.

✧✧✧

Xu Yitong had never felt this unlucky.

She’d woken up early, showered, dressed, had a facial, and spent two hours on her makeup, a look even more elaborate than her bridesmaid makeup. Perfectly prepared, she headed to the stadium.

Wearing ten-centimeter heels, she waited in a long line. Just as she was about to enter, the ticket attendant stopped her. “Sorry, your ticket is invalid.”

She asked them to check again.

The machine beeped, a red light flashing.

Xu Yitong was devastated.

A girl behind her said sympathetically, “Did you buy a fake ticket from a scalper?”

“Uh… yes.”

Xu Yitong wanted to cry. She’d paid a premium for this ticket!

She wouldn’t let that scammer get away with this.

Seeing her inexperience, the girl whispered, “There are usually scalpers selling tickets outside, but the seats might not be good.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Xu Yitong found a seat and furiously messaged the scalper.

Within minutes, she’d written a lengthy, angry message, her rhinestone-studded nails practically setting the screen on fire.

“Tongtong-jie?” a soft voice called out.

Xu Yitong looked up, confused.

Yu Nuo approached, surprised. “It really is you!”

…

…

Two days prior, Yu Nuo had officially become TG’s nutritionist. She used her staff pass to bring Xu Yitong backstage.

The TG team was surprised to see her. “Cousin?”

Chen Yuzheng, sprawled on a sofa, his hair messy, looked up sleepily. “What are you doing here again?”

Xu Yitong smoothed her dress and sat beside him. “I’m not here to see you.”

“I saw Tongtong-jie outside when I went to buy water,” Yu Nuo explained.

Xu Yitong felt awkward. “I bought a fake ticket. Just a little mishap. Luckily, I ran into Yu Nuo.”

The young men on the team, around Chen Yuzheng’s age, were naturally friendly to the pretty older sister.

“Next time you want to watch our match, just ask Conquer. We have internal tickets. No need to deal with scalpers,” Altman said.

Xu Yitong paused.

Thanks, but I’m not here to watch you guys, she thought.

“Jie-jie,” Chen Yuzheng called out lazily.

Xu Yitong, cringing at his saccharine tone, turned. “What?”

Another person turned at the same time.

Chen Yuzheng grinned, touching Yu Nuo’s hand. “Nothing. Just wanted to call you.”

Xu Yitong: “…”

The atmosphere turned awkward.

After Yu Nuo coughed, giving Chen Yuzheng several pointed looks, he finally turned to Xu Yitong. “Something you need?”

“Come outside with me,” she said.

…

Outside the room, Xu Yitong closed the door.

Chen Yuzheng leaned against the wall. “What’s up?”

Xu Yitong crossed her arms, then asked seriously, “You didn’t do anything to Yu Nuo that night, did you?”

Chen Yuzheng looked at her, bewildered. “Why would you ask that? Are you a pervert?”

“I’m your older sister! I have a right to know,” she lowered her voice, glancing around. “You haven’t even sorted out your own life. Don’t mess with Yu Nuo. She seems like a sweet girl. Don’t just use her and then abandon her!”

“You’re one to talk,” Chen Yuzheng said slowly. “I think my future brother-in-law deserves better.”

Xu Yitong’s face darkened.

“I’m serious, unlike you. Got it?”

She ignored him.

“Besides, don’t sh1t where you eat,” he continued. “Why are you after my future brother-in-law? This is so awkward. How am I supposed to face everyone during the holidays? I can introduce you to Killer, if you want.”

Unable to take it anymore, she retorted, “Don’t get too ahead of yourself with the ‘brother-in-law’ thing. You might be calling Yu Ge ‘brother-in-law’ or ‘brother’ during the next holiday gathering.”

Chen Yuzheng scoffed.

Annoyed by his casual attitude, she snapped, “Stand up straight!”

He glanced around, then quickly interrupted her. “Okay, okay, just stop talking. I don’t approve of this, anyway!”

Xu Yitong raised her voice. “Yu Ge and I are a perfect match! Who are you, a goblin, to object?!”

“…”

His expression changed slightly.

“Why do you keep making faces?” she demanded.

He paused, then said calmly, “Behind you.”

Slowly, Xu Yitong turned around.

The world seemed to fall silent.

Their eyes met across the hallway.