[Esports] Pheromones say we're a match made in heaven.

The next day, when the sun was high in the sky, Chi Feifan was awakened by the sound of arguing outside the door.

He lifted his heavy eyelids, feeling that his eyes were a little swollen, and light shone through the gap in the curtains.

He slept soundly last night, without any dreams, and even wanted to stay a little longer.

But the commotion outside the door was too much to ignore. Chi Feifan reached out from under the covers for his phone and saw that it was already past ten o'clock.

What's all the noise outside?

Chi Feifan took a deep breath and was about to sit up when something poked his hand.

He stared blankly at the bracelet on his wrist, and gradually remembered what had happened in the room last night.

Chi Feifan sat on the bed for a while, then picked up the scarf he had casually tossed aside and walked into the bathroom with a sullen face.

I will never drink again.

Chi Feifan washed his face with cold water, which cleared his mind considerably.

Last night, they hugged for who knows how long. Qin Yi didn't say anything, and he even forgot to push him away, so he still smells of Alpha pheromones on him.

Outside, Wang Kang and Yu Xingchen had just gotten up when they learned from Chen Yangyang the devastating news that Lao Jiang was retiring.

"What do you mean? They just kicked us out right after the World Cup qualifiers? Are they using us and then discarding us?"

Wang Kang was agitated, especially after learning that the person replacing Lao Jiang was Rest, who had clashed with them in a previous training match. He was so angry that his eyes turned red.

"I disagree! This qualification was earned together with Lao Jiang. If the club doesn't let Lao Jiang go, then I won't go either!"

Chen Yangyang's temper flared up instantly: "Can't you think before you speak? It's not just about Old Jiang's contract expiring, but also about Old Jiang's own health issues."

Chen Yangyang counted on her fingers: "Do you know how many occupational diseases Lao Jiang has developed after playing professionally for so many years? Lower back strain, tenosynovitis, and his cervical spondylosis isn't good either. Do you know why Lao Jiang didn't go shopping with you guys in Beijing back then? Because he persevered and finished the World Cup qualifiers. The day after it ended, he contacted a doctor to see a physician!"

"But..." Wang Kang choked up, "But why didn't you tell us before? Xiao Yu and I were just talking about taking a group photo in Union Square yesterday."

Yu Xingchen had just joined Wang Kang in protesting, but was scolded by Chen Yangyang. Now, she stood dejectedly against the wall, with two tear tracks on her face.

Yu Xingchen's voice was very soft: "Is there really no possibility of us playing together anymore? So, is this actually the last match we'll play against Lao Jiang in the World Cup qualifiers?"

When he was first promoted to the first team, he didn't dare to talk to others much, especially Qin Yi, who was someone he both respected and feared. He would often make mistakes during training because he was too nervous.

It was Lao Jiang who came to comfort him and guide him when he secretly got up in the middle of the night for extra training. He played duo matches with him and told him a lot of embarrassing stories about Wang Kang and Qin Yi, which helped him quickly integrate into their group.

He had never stood on the world stage with Chiang Kai-shek before, and he never expected that this would suddenly become so far away.

Chen Yangyang remained silent.

Wang Kang understood, and rushed over in a few steps to grab Lao Jiang's clothes: "You bastard, why won't you say anything! Do you even consider us brothers?"

Old Jiang still had a plaster on his waist, and he almost slipped when Wang Kang pulled him like that.

Wang Kang gave him a thorough dressing-down, and then hugged Lao Jiang tightly and started wailing, "Why did you only tell us when you were leaving? Waaah, I should have let you loot a few more bags during the World Cup qualifiers!"

Old Jiang was initially quite sad, but after hearing Wang Kang's words, he burst into laughter through his tears: "I'm just retiring, not dying. Don't forget what you said today when you duo queue with me on stream in the future."

Wang Kang jumped up and tried to press his head down.

With a lollipop in his mouth, Qin Yi spoke up: "Have you had enough? Come downstairs, let's get ready for training."

Wang Kang: "Captain, how come you're not sad at all? You're so heartless. If I retire someday, will you treat me the same way?"

Qin Yi put his hands in his pockets and ignored him.

Chen Yangyang rubbed his temples. If Wang Kang knew that Qin Yi had even offered to use his own signing fee to pay Lao Jiang's salary after learning of Lao Jiang's retirement, he wouldn't have said that.

Old Jiang no longer needed to follow Hawk's arrangements. He stood in the corridor, watching his teammates turn around and go down the stairs one by one. He watched the last figure disappear around the corner before his hands slowly fell to his sides.

He used to be one of them, but over time, he started to fall behind.

Old Jiang knew that as long as he spoke, his teammates would stop and wait for him, but he didn't want that. He hoped they could go faster and further, so this time he chose to stay where he was and watch them.

Old Jiang stood there like a statue for a long time until his phone rang. Only then did he answer the call and turn back to his room.

"Crunch."

A soft sound of a door opening echoed in the quiet corridor.

Having already washed up, Chi Feifan stood behind the door and pushed it out a little further, opening it a crack.

He heard and saw everything that happened in the corridor.

Chi Feifan hadn't spoken many words to Lao Jiang. In his memory, Lao Jiang always sat in the innermost seat of the training room, with a low profile. He would only speak when there was a particularly interesting topic or when someone brought it up. He spoke slowly and had a very good temper; you could mold him however you wanted and he wouldn't get angry.

The Hawk crew were used to calling him "Old Jiang," but it wasn't until Old Jiang stood there that Chi Feifan suddenly realized that Jiang Xuan was only twenty-six or twenty-seven years old. If he dressed up and went out, people would think he was a recent college graduate.

I never expected to leave like this.

Chi Feifan looked at the empty corridor in a daze, feeling a strange unease in his heart.

He clicked his tongue and rubbed his head.

Having spent so much time in Hawk, I've really come to think of myself as a Hawk member.

*

When the news of Lao Jiang's retirement broke, Hawk team fans went wild, flooding the Weibo accounts of Hawk and Lao Jiang with messages of lamentation, almost like a group mourning at a grave.

Old Jiang himself had a good attitude, jokingly saying with a smile, "Before, people online called me a 'couch potato' who won by doing nothing, but I didn't expect so many people to like me after I retired."

Wang Kang was still resentful that Chiang Kai-shek had kept it from him for so long, and upon hearing this, he gave him the middle finger.

Hawk officially announced Rest on the same afternoon. It is said that Rest is just as outstanding as Qin Yi was back then, and many people on the Internet are jokingly calling him a mini-Live.

No matter how reluctant Wang Kang and Yu Xingchen were to part with Lao Jiang, there was nothing they could do. After all, the facts were set, the road ahead had to be moved, and the competition had to continue. There wasn't much time for them to continue mourning.

On the day Chiang Kai-shek moved out of the Hawk base, Wang Kang and Yu Xingchen somehow found a bunch of firecrackers and threw an extravagant farewell party for him.

The cleaning lady was cursing as she swept up the scraps of paper and ribbons on the ground.

The group hugged each other, and Chi Feifan sat on the sofa with his earphones in, pretending he knew nothing. He just happened to be passing by and thought the scenery was nice, so he sat down to play on his phone.

Until suddenly a fist appeared in front of me.

Chi Feifan subconsciously looked up.

Old Jiang stood in front of him, smiling kindly at him: "Thank you for the World Cup qualifiers. You were one of the people who won the game with us."

Old Jiang's outstretched hand was still wrapped in a bandage to relieve tenosynovitis.

Chi Feifan's pupils contracted slightly, as if a string in his heart had been plucked, making him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"The captain said you don't like hugging and cuddling with people, so let's touch each other then."

Chen Yangyang's eyes felt hot.

Wang Kang and Yu Xingchen were stirring things up from the sidelines.

"Yeah, Brother Chi, let's have a drink."

"Don't let Chiang Kai-shek leave with regrets, otherwise he'll wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it."

Chi Feifan turned off his phone and, amidst the commotion from those around him, lightly nudged Lao Jiang with his fist.

In that instant, his heart stirred slightly, but unfortunately, he lacked the words to express himself and couldn't think of anything to say for a long time.

Finally, his lips moved, uttering only four short words—

"Good luck."

Although time may bring old age, youth and passion never grow old.

Wherever you are or what you do in the future, I wish you good luck.