[Esports] Team Leader Xie, your mid laner is causing trouble again.

Both of them were startled.

Li Zhi tensed up instantly because she recognized whose voice it was.

Ji Yu's reaction was much stronger. He bowed deeply and said in a loud voice, "Hello, Senior R...River! I've heard so much about you!"

Xie Jichuan, a man who has just won the world championship, is only nineteen years old, but his brilliant resume is enough to make him a senior to many people in the industry.

Ji Yu straightened up and met Xie Jichuan's dark gaze. Only then did her short-circuited brain process what he meant by his question.

His lips were practically falling apart from his nervousness.

"I was just joking with Lychee. I'm an Alpha, I don't need a husband. I just find it funny how he gets all worked up every time someone calls me that..."

He kept explaining, only to find that Xie Jichuan had only glanced at him once before fixing his gaze on Li Zhi, not giving him another second look.

Ji Yu: "..."

Li Zhi's expression turned even colder.

He felt extremely uncomfortable under Xie Jichuan's blatant gaze, as if he were being touched from head to toe.

He frowned and spoke, his tone not exactly polite: "What do you want?"

Xie Jichuan breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that Li Zhi was still willing to talk to him.

He nodded, then turned to look at Ji Yu, who was trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible in the corner, his tone polite but distant:

"Excuse me for interrupting, Lychee and I have something to discuss. Please wait a moment."

Ji Yu felt like she had been granted a pardon and pushed Li Zhi into the fire pit without thinking: "River, please go ahead."

Li Zhi: "..."

What does "please do as you please" mean? Is it some kind of buffet?

Xie Jichuan slightly raised the corners of his mouth, his eyes falling back on Li Zhi, his gaze burning as if he wanted to scorch her.

He spoke slowly and deliberately: "Since your friend has put it that way, why don't we speak in private?"

He emphasized the word "friends," carrying a certain indescribable meaning.

Li Zhi didn't understand what there was left for the two of them to talk about.

Two years ago, everything that should and shouldn't have been said became clear during those countless unanswered phone calls.

But given the current atmosphere, he wasn't unwilling to give Xie Jichuan some face.

He didn't say anything, but simply turned and walked towards the backstage area.

Xie Jichuan followed behind him, not too far, not too close, just a step away.

It's just the right amount of time to completely encompass the Omega within your field of vision.

Two years have passed, and the baby fat that made her look a little immature has faded, making Li Zhi even more beautiful and dazzling.

The slightly raised nape of her neck, tinged with a light pink, told everyone that this was a fully developed Omega, ready to be marked and merged into the deepest part of her being to become a lifelong partner.

The glands looked especially appetizing against the black choker, as if tempting someone with ill intentions to take a bite.

With ill intentions, Xie Jichuan licked his slightly itchy canine teeth and silently adjusted the bracelet to the highest setting again.

She restrained herself from releasing pheromones to occupy that small patch of white skin.

The two of them went one after the other to a small room backstage. The door was closed, shutting out all the noise from outside.

Li Zhi crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, expressionless.

What do you need?

Xie Jichuan had never been looked at with such an indifferent expression by Li Zhi before; it was cold, empty, like looking at a dog.

His nerves were inexplicably aroused, but he tried to keep his tone as gentle as possible:

Are you angry with me? Because I left without saying goodbye?

Upon hearing about what happened back then, Li Zhi bristled with sharp thorns and clamored to escape.

The things he had spent two years trying to suppress surged up now, choking him and making it hard to breathe.

He looked up impatiently, his voice turning cold:

"If you're here to catch up with me, I'm afraid I can't keep you company."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

But her wrists were firmly locked.

Xie Jichuan's grip wasn't strong, but it was very tight, as if he was afraid the boy would run away; his knuckles trembled slightly.

"The night you came back," Xie Jichuan's voice lowered, carrying a bittersweet feeling that had been suppressed for a long time.

"My dad just came to see me. He said he could help me sign with the Ashes team so I can go abroad with him."

Li Zhi stopped in her tracks.

He stood with his back to Xie Jichuan, neither turning around nor shaking off that hand.

I just stood there quietly and listened.

Xie Jichuan watched his retreating figure, and thinking of what happened back then, a wave of bitterness welled up in his chest, making it difficult for him to speak.

"I refused, but I never expected to faint at the base entrance that night. When I woke up, I was already in the US, and my dad used my fingerprint to sign Ashes while I was unconscious..."

"I don't want to hear what you're saying," Li Zhi interrupted him.

The emotions that had been suppressed for two years finally burst forth at this moment. He couldn't control himself, and his voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, with a sharpness he had never heard before.

"Is that all? You went to a better platform for development, do you think I'd blame you for that?"

Li Zhi's eyes were moist, and the corners of her eyes were red.

"Why didn't you tell me? I was the last person to know you'd transferred. Fine, you have your reasons, you had no choice..."

Large tears rolled down and landed silently on the ground.

"But why haven't you contacted me? Do you even know...?"

He couldn't continue.

It felt like something was choking me; the words were stuck in my throat, and I couldn't utter a single one.

Do you know that I've called you hundreds, even thousands of times?

Do you know why I specifically left my new phone number with Shi Kai?

Do you know how my heart skips a beat every time I see an international call, only to be disappointed when I answer it and find it's a scam call?

When Li Zhiyi cried, Xie Jichuan panicked completely.

He pulled Li Zhi to his side, his movements clumsy yet urgent. He raised his hand to wipe away the tears on Li Zhi's face, his fingertips rough but his touch light, as if afraid of hurting something precious.

His voice was incredibly hoarse, carrying an almost humble caution:

"I'm...I'm sorry."

He paused for a moment, as if making a very difficult decision.

"It's because I'm sick."