Bai Yu was stunned for a long time after hearing that.
He suddenly thought of many things from the past. He had invited Fang Zhixu to join the team, signed him personally, trained him himself, promised to take care of him, and even stepped forward to handle things when his father came causing trouble.
He thought he had taken good care of Fang Zhixu, but in the end, he had never actually resolved his hardships.
In the long silence, the light in Fang Zhixu’s eyes gradually dimmed. He could already guess. Someone like Bai Yu could never truly accept his real self.
He took a deep breath, pretended nothing had happened, and smiled as he said, "Anyway, I only left five years ago because I had no choice. It wasn’t a real betrayal. I don’t care what others think of me, but it hurts that you’d think that way… Captain?"
Bai Yu pulled him into a hug, patted his back, and his voice matched his solemn expression. "I’m sorry. I promised I’d take care of you, but I didn’t do a good job. That was my failure. But no matter what, there are some things you must not do. Once you do them, there’s no turning back."
Fang Zhixu’s eyes suddenly turned red. He wasn’t someone who got emotional easily, but at this moment, he was deeply moved.
He also wanted to hug Bai Yu openly like Xu Bo and the others, to be friends with him. But he couldn’t. He only dared to clutch tightly at the hem of Bai Yu’s shirt.
It was the only thing he could hold on to.
Where Bai Yu couldn’t see, he bit his lip hard, trying to keep his voice steady. "Captain, I really want to be on the same team as you. I’ve been working really hard in training. More than anyone else, I want to win the championship on stage with you. I’ve waited five years for that moment. I don’t know what kind of data Coach Lin reported, or what kind of mental block you’re talking about, but I want to do better than anyone else. I want your recognition."
His voice caught at the end, and he couldn’t go on.
Bai Yu noticed his reaction, looked down, and saw that Fang Zhixu was crying. He quickly handed him a tissue. "I know. I’m not blaming you. Take a moment to calm down."
Even though he had just shed tears, Fang Zhixu still tried to smile at him. "Mm."
Bai Yu had only called him out to open up his heart, not expecting to make him cry. He felt awful and patted his head gently, sitting with him for a long time.
There were many mosquitoes around. One bit Fang Zhixu on the face.
He seemed lost in his own world, dazed, with little reaction. Bai Yu reached out and touched his head again, truly feeling sorry for him. "Want to head back first?"
Fang Zhixu nodded blankly, but after standing up, he paused and seemed reluctant to return. "Captain, could you walk with me a little more?"
Bai Yu nodded in agreement. There really wasn’t a set destination.
Once things were said, Fang Zhixu seemed to let go of a burden. He could speak freely to Bai Yu now, sharing both good and bad things. "Actually, after the regular season when we had time off, I went home. My dad wasn’t there. It was so quiet. I saw my stepmother sitting in the yard washing my little brother’s feet, and I suddenly wished my dad would stay locked up forever, maybe even die in there."
His voice was calm. He no longer resisted letting Bai Yu see his true self.
But Bai Yu focused on something else. "You didn’t give your dad the money each month. You gave it to your stepmother, didn’t you?"
Fang Zhixu paused, then nodded. "How did you know?"
Bai Yu had guessed. When Zhou Xunwen had gone to his hometown to do a background check, everyone had spoken poorly of Fang Zhixu. Only his stepmother was worried he had gotten into trouble, asking nonstop, "Did something happen to Xiao Fang? Who are you to him? He’s a good kid. If something happened, you must investigate thoroughly. Don’t believe what others say."
Zhou Xunwen had messaged him then: That woman is clueless. No job, no income, yet somehow raising a kid. She even dresses decently. I’m starting to think she struck gold.
At that time, Bai Yu had already guessed that the "gold mine" might be Fang Zhixu.
He wasn’t the lowest paid on the team, but he was the most frugal, even more so than Xu Bo. Given his value and future prospects, he didn’t need to live that way.
Bai Yu looked at Fang Zhixu with softened eyes, but also with concern. "So are you planning to support them for life?"
He thought Fang Zhixu hadn’t thought it through, but to his surprise, Fang Zhixu nodded seriously. "That’s what I plan to do."
He looked up at Bai Yu, his gaze firm. "That day I went home and saw my dad beating them, taking all the money in the house. She was holding the child and looked completely helpless. It suddenly reminded me of my mother. Back then, I couldn’t protect her and could only watch her leave. Now that I have the ability, I want to stand up for them."
Fang Zhixu’s mother had left because of domestic abuse.
He would never forget that day. When the slap came flying, he was too scared to intervene. That was the day he lost his mother forever.
Bai Yu suddenly understood what Fang Zhixu’s mental block really was.
The helplessness from his childhood had already rooted itself deep in his subconscious. No matter how good he was, deep down, he didn’t believe in himself.
He felt he couldn’t protect anyone. So when crisis struck again, he would be overwhelmed by his past. Even though he had the strength, he couldn’t help but regress to that powerless version of himself. In the end, he could do nothing.
As long as his father was still alive, that shadow would remain. It was an unsolvable issue.
Bai Yu was suddenly moved. At that moment, his thoughts about the competition faded. What remained was heartache for Fang Zhixu.
He gripped his shoulders firmly and said, "You’ve grown up. You don’t need to feel regret anymore. You have the ability to protect the people you care about."
Fang Zhixu finally smiled. Having Bai Yu’s understanding made him relax completely. Suddenly, he asked, "Captain, what was the mental block you were talking about earlier? Can I fix it?"
Bai Yu shook his head and patted his shoulder. "It’s fine now. Time will heal everything."
Fang Zhixu opened his mouth but didn’t speak. He really enjoyed this feeling of being completely protected by Bai Yu. It made him feel incredibly warm.
By the time they realized, they had no idea how to get back.
Bai Yu took out his phone and called a car to pick them up.
In the afternoon, even the driver was shocked. "You two walking around the graveyard in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Aren’t you scared of running into something dirty? City folks really are gutsy."
Bai Yu froze. "What did you say that place was?"
The driver glanced at them and spoke in heavy dialect. "Graveyard. People used to be buried there. Kids aren’t even allowed to go..."
Bai Yu was terrified of that kind of thing. He suddenly felt a chill run down his back and quickly looked behind him. Luckily, nothing was there.
Fang Zhixu was puzzled. "Captain, are you okay?"
Bai Yu took a deep breath and didn’t want anyone to know he was scared of ghosts. He tried to stay calm. "I’m fine. You go rest first. I’m going to buy some water."
After the driver left and Fang Zhixu returned, the base was pitch dark. Only the streetlights were on. Bai Yu quietly recited the core values of materialism, knowing there were no such things as ghosts. But the thought of having walked through a graveyard made him uneasy.
He pulled out a cigarette to calm himself, but the wind blew out the flame twice. Suddenly, a voice came from behind, ghostly. "You went out with Fang Zhixu?"
The cigarette fell from Bai Yu’s mouth. He swallowed and stared into the darkness for a long time. "Lu Sheng?"
Lu Sheng was also smoking. As the light from his cigarette flared, his unhappy expression became visible. "You go out once and don’t even recognize my voice?"
Bai Yu had nearly died of fright and didn’t have the energy to recognize anything.
But now that he knew Lu Sheng was here, his fear faded. He figured if there really were ghosts, they’d probably get beaten up just walking past Lu Sheng.
Relaxed, he glanced at the time. "Why aren’t you asleep yet?"
Lu Sheng turned his head away, clearly unhappy. His voice was cold and distant. "Why did you go out alone with Fang Zhixu? Can’t you talk at the base? What did you two talk about? After one trip out, that kid’s looking at you all weird."
Bai Yu found his jealousy amusing. "What’s wrong with chatting about life? Shouldn’t I care about my teammates?"
But Lu Sheng became even more upset. "Why don’t you care about me? Why don’t you chat with me about life? Bai Yu, ever since we got together, is everyone supposed to come before me? If that’s the case, maybe we shouldn’t have gotten together. At least before, you used to care about me every day..."
Before he finished, Bai Yu stepped up to him and smiled. "When did I ever care about you every day? Are you hallucinating?"
Lu Sheng said nothing. He was just mad.
He reached out and hooked Bai Yu’s hand, the one hanging at his side, wanting comfort but unwilling to ask for it directly. He just kept tugging him closer. "You used to care more. Now you don’t. I watched you a few times and you didn’t even look back..."
Bai Yu wanted to say that of course he didn’t. He didn’t have eyes on the back of his head.
But he let Lu Sheng pull him in and let him hold his hand. He followed his lead and said, "Yes, yes, I’ve been neglecting you. So what do I do now?"
Lu Sheng shamelessly made a request. "I want to sleep in your room."
He tightened his grip on Bai Yu’s hand, afraid he’d run, eyes direct. "I won’t do anything. Just want to sleep holding you. We’re both men, what’s the big deal?"
As he spoke, Bai Yu suddenly leaned down to look at him. "Really won’t do anything?"
Bai Yu leaned in close. His handsome face appeared in Lu Sheng’s eyes, so close that even his eyelashes were clearly visible, fluttering slowly. His eyes carried a soft teasing light. His fingers lightly tapped Lu Sheng’s thigh. "You react just from a kiss, and you say you won’t do anything? You think I’ll believe that?"
The streetlight above cast a halo in Bai Yu’s eyes. He rarely smiled this brightly. There was a vivid glow in him.
Lu Sheng suddenly felt a rush of heat to his head. He wanted to pin Bai Yu down and kiss him, but Bai Yu had already seen through him and quickly pulled away.
Leaving Lu Sheng alone on the bench, body burning, unable to calm down at all.
Bai Yu had clearly teased him on purpose. He had completely fallen for it.
Lu Sheng felt completely defeated. He covered his face and cursed.