The atmosphere inside the Excellent Era camp was thick with tension, a stark contrast to the excitement of their recent victory. The celebration had been short-lived. Now, they were gathered in the common room, but the mood was anything but triumphant. Liu Hao paced back and forth, his face flushed with anger, fists clenched tightly at his sides. The rest of the team sat silently, exchanging glances as they waited for someone to break the tension.
Finally, Liu Hao exploded, his voice echoing through the room. "What the hell was that, Su Xiang? You almost cost us the entire match!" His eyes burned with frustration as he glared at Su Xiang, who sat quietly in the corner, avoiding eye contact with the rest of the team.
Su Xiang didn't respond. His silence only seemed to fuel Liu Hao's rage further. "You're just going to sit there and say nothing?" Liu Hao spat, stepping closer to Su Xiang. "You made us look like amateurs out there! Do you even care about this team?"
Still, Su Xiang remained quiet, his face expressionless.
Liu Hao slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone in the room. "Answer me, damn it!"
Su Xiang finally looked up, his eyes meeting Liu Hao's with a cold, detached gaze. "What do you want me to say? I messed up. It's not like it matters to any of you anyway." His voice was low but carried a bitterness that cut through the room.
Before Liu Hao could respond, Ye Xiu stepped forward, his voice calm but laced with an unmistakable edge. "Su Xiang," he said, his gaze unwavering. "Were you the one who gave Blue Rain our strategy?"
The room fell into a tense silence. All eyes turned to Su Xiang, who stiffened at the accusation. He opened his mouth to deny it, but no words came out. His hesitation was enough to confirm Ye Xiu's suspicion.
"You had your phone out during our practices," Ye Xiu continued his voice even but filled with quiet intensity. "You told us you were just recording for memories. But now... I think it was more than that."
Su Xiang's face twisted in frustration. "I didn't... I wasn't…"
Ye Xiu cut him off, his voice sharper now. "Su Xiang. Did you tell Blue Rain about our strategy or not?"
The room was dead silent. Everyone held their breath, waiting for Su Xiang's response. Su Xiang sighed after what felt like an eternity, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yeah, I did," he muttered, his voice barely audible.
Liu Hao's fury exploded. "You what?!" He was on Su Xiang in a flash, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him out of his chair. "You sold us out?! After everything we've been through?"
Su Xiang glared back defiantly. "What do you care? You all act like I don't exist half the time anyway! No one noticed me, no one cared if I was struggling or not! I did what I had to do!"
Liu Hao's fist shot out before anyone could react, landing a punch squarely on Su Xiang's jaw. Su Xiang stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. "You traitor!" Liu Hao yelled, his chest heaving with anger. "We trusted you, and you stabbed us in the back!"
Su Xiang wiped the blood from his lip, laughing bitterly. "Oh please, you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted to be the ghost in the room while you all get the praise? You're all too busy with your egos to even see me!"
Ye Xiu's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "That's enough."
Su Xiang turned to Ye Xiu, his face twisted with frustration. "Enough? You don't get it, Ye Xiu. You're the golden boy. The leader. You've never had to fight for a place here. I've been invisible since day one. I did this because no one gave me a second look!"
Ye Xiu's expression was unreadable, but there was an unmistakable sadness in his eyes. "If you had problems, you could have come to us. We're a team, Su Xiang. We fight together, and we fall together. You were never invisible to me."
Su Xiang scoffed, but before he could say anything, Su Mucheng stepped between him and Liu Hao, her hands outstretched to keep them apart. "This isn't helping," she said firmly. "We're all angry, but this isn't how we solve things."
Liu Hao took a step back, his fists still clenched, but the fire in his eyes hadn't dimmed. Su Xiang, on the other hand, stood there, his expression hardening as he realized he was no longer welcome here. "You know what?" Su Xiang said, his voice steady but filled with venom. "I don't need this. I'm done."
He turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind him. The team stood in stunned silence, the weight of his betrayal hanging heavy in the air.
Liu Hao, still fuming, looked at Ye Xiu. "We can't just let him get away with this."
Ye Xiu didn't respond at first. He stood there, staring at the door Su Xiang had just walked through, his mind racing. After a long pause, he finally spoke. "He's already gone."
That night, Su Xiang resigned from Excellent Era, leaving the camp without another word. The betrayal hung over the team like a dark cloud, and Liu Hao couldn't shake his anger. "He almost cost us everything," he muttered, pacing the room again. "How can we just move on?"
Ye Xiu, sitting at his desk, remained silent. His fingers hovered over his keyboard as he typed up an announcement—Recruiting New Player for Excellent Era. His mind was distant, trying to process everything that had happened. He had trusted Su Xiang, and the betrayal hurt more than he would let on.
Su Mucheng, who had been watching Ye Xiu closely, finally sat down beside him. "It's not your fault, Ye Xiu," she said softly, trying to ease the burden on his shoulders. "You did everything you could for the team."
Ye Xiu didn't respond immediately. His eyes remained on the screen, but his thoughts were far from the words he was typing. "Maybe," he said after a long pause. "But I should've seen it coming. I should've done more."
Su Mucheng reached out, gently placing her hand on his arm. "You're only human, Ye Xiu. You can't control everything."
For a moment, there was silence between them. Then, in an unexpected gesture, Su Mucheng leaned in and wrapped her arms around Ye Xiu in a soft, comforting hug. Ye Xiu froze at first, unsure of how to respond, but as the warmth of her embrace seeped into him, he slowly relaxed. He hadn't realized how tense he had been until that moment.
"Thank you," Ye Xiu said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
Su Mucheng didn't say anything, just held him for a little while longer, letting the weight of the night fade away, if only for a moment. For the first time since the match ended, Ye Xiu felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. Maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright.