Yu Qingyu wiped the sweat from his forehead, panting heavily.
Thursday finally arrived, and with it another basketball training. Although Yu Qingyu's nose was still a bit stuffy, he was feeling well enough to come.
However, he still hadn't had a chance to talk with Ye Chaodan. He especially arrived half an hour earlier, hoping to get it over with before the training, but Ye Chaodan wasn't at the gym yet. He only came literally a minute before their scheduled time, eliciting a tirade of angry complaints from Jiang Lu. Thus, Yu Qingyu had no choice but to wait till the end.
During the training… Ye Chaodan acted as usual. For the most part, at least. He was friendly toward his teammates, and gave them a lot of helpful advice… Except when it came to Yu Qingyu. Then, he suddenly turned harsh and hostile, constantly berating him, commenting on how useless he was, and so on.
But Yu Qingyu wasn't a bad player, actually. He inherited Fu Zhiren's skills, after all. On all of their previous trainings, he did very well. And even today, he was certain he played better than some of the other members. But because of Ye Chaodan's treatment, he started looking like a dead weight…
His teammates, although confused, didn't really know how to react. At first, they tried to defend Yu Qingyu, but after receiving snarky remarks from Ye Chaodan and death glares from Jiang Lu, they eventually shut up. After all, Ye Chaodan was the only expert around. If he said that Yu Qingyu played badly, then surely that must have been the case, right?
Feeling defeated, Yu Qingyu plopped down on the bench. He was completely exhausted. Although he was glad that his mission seemed to be still going well, dealing with such hostile treatment was much harder than he expected.
"I'll be leaving first."
Hearing Ye Chaodan's voice coming from the exit, Yu Qingyu immediately snapped out of his thoughts. As he was trying to catch a breath, Ye Chaodan had already gotten ready to leave!
There was no time to lose. Without even changing his shoes, Yu Qingyu grabbed his bag and ran out of the gym, chasing after Ye Chaodan. "Please wait!"
Ye Chaodan paused in his steps and turned back, giving Yu Qingyu a cold glare. "What do you want?"
Yu Qingyu took a deep breath, trying to calm down as he walked over, stopping right in front of Ye Chaodan. "Can we talk for a bit?"
"We have nothing to talk about," Ye Chaodan answered curtly. He was about to walk away, but Yu Qingyu grabbed his arm.
"Please? The way you act toward me, is it because… of who I am?" Yu Qingyu asked, carefully choosing his words. Although he was almost certain that Ye Chaodan figured out his identity as a transmigrator, there was still a tiny possibility he might have been wrong, so he couldn't exactly talk about it openly.
Ye Chaodan harrumphed in response, his eyes narrowing. Before Yu Qingyu realized what was going on, he was slammed against the wall, with Ye Chaodan holding him by the throat.
"What do you think, hmm? 520?"
Looking up into Ye Chaodan's eyes, Yu Qingyu gulped loudly. Although his current body was tall, Ye Chaodan was still a good few inches taller than him, and much more muscular. Moreover, the dark look in his eyes further amplified his intimidating presence, adding the air of danger. But more importantly, after hearing his system's ID being called out, there was no room for doubt anymore. Ye Chaodan was the host of 748. Otherwise, how would he have known?
"So you're also a transmigrator," he said, his voice strained because of the hand pressing against his throat. "But why are you…" Yu Qingyu paused, trying to find the right words.
"Hmm? Why am I what?" Ye Chaodan, or rather Liu Wei, loosened his grip a bit, giving Yu Qingyu more room to breathe. Although he would have wanted to just kill him here and now, his system advised him against it… Well, he was not in a rush. As long as he was able to get his revenge and complete the contract, he'd be satisfied.
"Why are you so hostile toward me…" Yu Qingyu muttered the rest of the question, trying hard to remain calm, although his whole body was shaking.
Liu Wei let out a mirthless chuckle. "I don't know, maybe because I despise you?"
Despise him? Yu Qingyu didn't even know how to react. He didn't expect such an answer.
[Host, do you have any enemies?] 520 couldn't help but ask.
But Yu Qingyu had no idea. There were probably some people who disliked him, because nobody can be liked by everyone, but that shouldn't be bad enough to call them enemies. He never stood up too much, always tried to act friendly and nice, and never purposely did anything that could have wronged anyone.
Unless…
A sudden idea hit him. '520, do all transmigrators come from my world?'
[No, of course not. As long as the criteria are met, a potential host's race and world of origin don't matter.]
If that was the case…
Yu Qingyu bit his lip, staring into those dark, cold, tired eyes… Although their shape was different, he saw the exact same expression before. Once he realized it, his heart immediately sank.
"Have nothing to say?" Liu Wei leaned closer to him, so close that their bodies almost touched. "What? Have you forgotten me already?"
There was a lump in Yu Qingyu's throat, making him unable to utter a word. He just kept staring at Liu Wei with teary eyes, his chin quivering. Was it really…
Seeing his reaction, Liu Wei furrowed his brows. What the hell was 520 playing at, acting like that?
He clicked his tongue in annoyance, and just as he was about to release the other guy…
"What the hell are you guys doing?"
Yu Qingyu and Liu Wei were having this whole conversation just a few steps away from the gym's entrance. As soon as their teammates stepped outside, they immediately stumbled upon them.
"Well?" Jiang Lu stepped forward, demanding an explanation.