2: Retirement

The melodious ringtone woke Yan Zhuohua from his slumber; today was already the fourth day since he won the championship.

Last night, he had been busy making up for over four hours of livestreaming time he had owed for more than two months, and didn't fall asleep until four in the morning. Having only slept for four hours now, he wondered who on earth would call an esports player so early in the morning!

He originally intended to pretend he hadn't heard it, but the incessant ringing wouldn't give him the chance. Yan Zhuohua took a deep breath, forced himself to sit up, and answered the phone with a calm mind.

The voice of the team manager came through the phone, "Zhuohua, good morning~ Your retirement procedures are all done, and the club has finished its process. We can announce it to the public at any time. But there are still some contracts regarding livestreams, endorsements, and such that you need to handle in person. I saw that you finished your hours last night, so find some time to come to the club today to wrap up the remaining matters, and you'll be completely free."

Yan Zhuohua endured it for a while before finally squeezing out a sentence through gritted teeth, "You know perfectly well I only went to sleep after finishing my hours last night, yet you call me so early and even say 'good morning.' Are you messing with me on purpose!"

A burst of laughter came from the other end, "Who told you to keep rushing me these past few days? Now that I've finished everything, shouldn't I tell you immediately?"

"Fine, wait for me. I'll be there in an hour," Yan Zhuohua replied through gritted teeth. "Remember to prepare breakfast for me!"

After speaking, he didn't wait for the manager's reply and hung up directly, tossing his phone aside and lying back down.

At 8:40, having washed up and packed, Yan Zhuohua headed out after all.

Yan Zhuohua hadn't been staying at the base these past few days. Once the competition ended, the team went on break, and the aunties at the base had taken their red envelopes and gone on vacation. His room was also being packed, making it a mess, so he simply stayed in a hotel. The hotel was very close to the park where the base was located, only about a ten-minute walk.

By nine o'clock, Yan Zhuohua had arrived at the base. The manager met him at the entrance, handed him the breakfast he'd bought, and then went to prepare the relevant materials, telling him to wait in the conference room for a while. Taking advantage of this time, Yan Zhuohua scrolled through the social media platform while eating breakfast.

The internet was still immersed in the overwhelming joy of FLG winning the championship again. The team's fans were busy modestly showing off their team's results everywhere, occasionally throwing snide remarks at fans of other teams who had been pessimistic before the match. The team's Super Topic on the social media platform was filled with jubilation, even livelier than the Lunar New Year.

Yan Zhuohua browsed the Super Topic for a while, admiring the fans' praise of him, and followed some guiding posts to watch the sarcasm between his fans and those of other teams. Truth be told, there were experts among the common folk; when fans argued, golden quotes appeared one after another. No wonder the captain of a friendly team had strongly urged him to stay closer to the fans' lives last time.

Just as Yan Zhuohua was about to follow another guide into the world of CP shipping, the team manager's return finally put a temporary stop to his exploration of this new world. Yan Zhuohua reluctantly put down his phone, feeling a bit regretful.

"The materials are all here, take a look." The manager handed over the documents.

Yan Zhuohua pulled a tissue from the box to wipe his hands before taking the materials from the manager.

The manager had organized the materials very clearly and logically, and they quickly finished the remaining tasks.

"Everything's really fine now." The manager put away the materials. "Are you really not considering a retirement ceremony? The officials have asked me many times. And don't you plan on saying goodbye to the fans?"

"No, I don't like occasions where everyone cries together." Yan Zhuohua refused bluntly without hesitation.

"Fine, then let our poor official account manager bear the fans' wrath." The manager leaned closer to Yan Zhuohua. "I won't comfort our grumpy official account girl for you; just wait for her phone bombardment in the middle of the night!"

"Heh, would I be afraid? Once the phone is off, nothing matters!" Yan Zhuohua looked smug.

"You'd better be. Since there's no ceremony, when do you plan to tell the fans this news? Telling them you're retiring while everyone is happy—the fans will eat you alive."

"Better a short pain than a long one; let's do it now." Yan Zhuohua had already opened his phone to edit a post on the social media platform.

The manager watched as he finished posting the announcement, immediately exited the social media platform, and turned off his phone in one smooth motion. He couldn't help but laugh, "You're scared too?"

Yan Zhuohua glared at the manager. "Isn't that obvious?"

The manager smiled and asked, "When do you plan to leave? Aren't you going to have a meal with everyone?"

"I haven't been home in five years. I already booked my flight before leaving earlier; I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I won't have a meal; everyone is on break, and it would be a hassle for them to come back. Isn't DU Team's home stadium in City A opening next season? When the team comes to City A for a match, it'll be my treat," Yan Zhuohua said.

"Alright, then we'll meet again in the world."

At 11:00 AM the next day, the plane landed. City A was the economic center of Huaxia and one of the most prosperous cities in the country. After five years, the city had become even busier. Yan Zhuohua wore a mask and a hat; the passersby were already used to people dressed like this at the airport from time to time, so they only glanced at him before looking away.

After successfully exiting the airport and walking to a less crowded area, Yan Zhuohua took off his mask. He had intended to call a car directly, but he didn't expect to see a familiar person as soon as he looked up.

Sheng Xufeng, the second son of the Sheng Family, had the look of a standard sunny boy and was one of Yan Zhuohua's good brothers from his time with the Yan Family. The Sheng Family and the Yan Family both belonged to the Four Great Families of City A—the Yan, Li, Zhao, and Sheng. Yan Zhuohua, Sheng Xufeng, and the others had practically grown up together, even attending the same schools.

"Haven't seen you in years, you've become even prettier, Xiao Huazi~" Sheng Xufeng hugged Yan Zhuohua as soon as he saw him.

"Shut up, who's Xiao Huazi? Also, stop using the lines you use to pick up girls on me, or I'll beat you up!" Although Yan Zhuohua spoke of beating him, his hands returned Sheng Xufeng's embrace.

"Five years and you want to hit me as soon as we meet? Do you have any brotherly affection left?" Sheng Xufeng let go of Yan Zhuohua and took the suitcase from his hand. "Just this one suitcase?"

"Most of it was sent back by courier; this suitcase is just for essentials."

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have driven this car. I thought there would be a lot of stuff."

The two got into the car, and Yan Zhuohua asked, "How did you know I was back?"

Sheng Xufeng buckled his seatbelt. "The famous three-time champion God Yan posted a retirement announcement yesterday, and it's been on the trending searches all day. I guessed you'd definitely be back soon, so I asked my brother to check your itinerary. And here I am, catching you! The others aren't as clever as me!"

Yan Zhuohua laughed. "I'm truly honored that Young Master Sheng is paying so much attention to me."

As the car got onto the highway, Sheng Xufeng said, "Whose fault is that? If you hadn't stayed out of touch with us for five years, would I need to go online to follow your news?"

"My fault, my fault. Once I'm settled, I'll treat you to a big meal!"

"Forget it. You've been gone for five years; do you still know which places are good? I'll treat you instead, a welcome-back banquet. The brothers have been waiting for you since they heard your news yesterday. I've already booked a place. This Saturday evening, I'll come pick you up."

"Fine, then I'll be waiting." Yan Zhuohua didn't stand on ceremony and agreed directly. "Do you have no plans today?"

"I did, but I pushed them back to pick you up."

"That's perfect. Then you can stay and help me clean the house!" Yan Zhuohua laughed happily.

"You're really shameless!"

The car drove into a high-end residential area in the city center. This apartment was bought for Yan Zhuohua by the Yan Family when he was in middle school so he could rest conveniently; the school was only a five-minute walk away. When he left home, Yan Zhuohua only kept this apartment.

The apartment was large, but since Yan Zhuohua lived alone, it was divided into one huge bedroom, while the rest of the space consisted of the living room, kitchen, storage room, and a shared bathroom—simple but spacious. Having not been back for a long time, the dust in the house was enough to plant flowers. Fortunately, the decoration followed a minimalist style, making it easier to tidy up.

"It's already twelve o'clock, let's eat first. There's a newly opened shop nearby with good food. While we're at it, let's contact the property management to hire two aunties to help clean; otherwise, sweeping and mopping such a large place by ourselves would be exhausting." Sheng Xufeng helped Yan Zhuohua carry his luggage upstairs, looked around the apartment he hadn't visited in a long time, and made the suggestion.

"Okay." Yan Zhuohua rummaged through his contacts for a long time before finding the property management's number.

By the time the two returned from eating, the two aunties hired by the property management had arrived. The four of them didn't even have time for a noon break before they started cleaning.

By six in the evening, the house was clean, leaving only the luggage brought back to be organized. After paying the wages and seeing the aunties off, both slumped onto the sofa, unable to get up.

Sheng Xufeng said weakly to Yan Zhuohua, "I haven't worked this hard in a long time. You have to cook something yourself to reward me properly."

Yan Zhuohua's physical stamina was much better than Sheng Xufeng's; at this moment, he was only a bit tired and felt much better after resting for a while.

"Then let's contact the supermarket for home delivery. I'm too lazy to go down, and we can buy the things we need while we're at it."

The service from the residential area's supermarket was very efficient; two shopping carts' worth of goods were delivered within half an hour.

Yan Zhuohua went into the kitchen to cook while Sheng Xufeng was still slumped on the sofa like a corpse, waiting with anticipation to be fed. Yan Zhuohua's culinary skills were superb, thanks to the strict education of the Yan Family.

The Yan Family always required their children to have the ability to take care of themselves, meaning they could live well on their own outside; housework was an important part of that. The standard for this education was actually flexible, as the Yan Family only required their children to reach a level they themselves could accept. However, Yan Zhuohua was particularly picky and had very high standards for the taste of food, so he had to learn cooking frantically to reach his own acceptable standard. Speaking of which, it felt a bit like digging a hole and jumping into it himself.

Although the Yan Family required their children to have these abilities, they didn't demand they take care of themselves every day; they just needed to know how to do it when necessary. That is, they could dislike it and not do it, but they had to know how. Therefore, Yan Zhuohua actually rarely cooked, which was why Sheng Xufeng was particularly looking forward to this meal.

After finishing the meal, Sheng Xufeng went home first. After seeing him off, Yan Zhuohua began organizing his luggage. The luggage sent back was a bit messy; by the time he had put everything in its proper place, it was already late at night.

Having finished washing up, Yan Zhuohua was so tired he was about to fall asleep. He simply didn't even look at his phone, plugged it in to charge, turned off the lights, and went to bed. Before falling asleep, he thought dizzily that he must sleep in tomorrow, at least until noon.