Xue Lan had never had a friend since childhood. He truly didn’t know how to get along with a friend. At this moment, he stood in his place unsure of how he should explain.

But then, the person beside him tugged on Xue Lan.

“Impromptu adaptation is inevitable in games. He’d already called to give chase. How is it that Meng Weiran could keep up but you couldn’t? Have you thought about why this is?”

Qi Siyu’s expression instantly drained of color.

Duan Wenzheng watched his expression and said in a cold tone, “After the game ended, didn’t you simply shift the blame without examining where the problem actually lies?”

Qi Siyu said in a rage, “Duan Wenzheng, what are you saying?!”

As the two sides reached a deadlock and the situation continued to escalate, the onlookers found themselves uncertain of how to intervene. They were left with no other choice but to step forward and physically restrain the emotionally charged Qi Siyu. Xue Lan, too, had the intention of restraining Duan Wenzheng, but to his surprise, Duan Wenzheng pulled away from Xue Lan’s grasp and positioned himself behind him, assuming a stance that suggested he didn’t require anyone’s intervention and was watching the spectacle unfold alongside the onlookers.

“Are children taught to deal with physical confrontations?”

When both sides were in a deadlock, Wen Yan had already walked between the two. His eyes indifferently swept across the two. “The training camp prohibits disputes and personal conflicts. Do you want to be demerited because of this?”

Qi Siyu’s face turned dark the moment he heard that and became silent.

This farce had finally ended for the moment.

Some people were invited to go to the lounge, and as Xue Lan walked by, the surrounding trainees whispered words of congratulations. Xue Lan responded to them one by one gratefully, feeling extremely flattered. As the training camp was about to approach its conclusion, the prevailing atmosphere of camaraderie made it somewhat bittersweet to see it come to an end.

In the training room, the tense expressions of some people made him sigh.

“I’m sorry.” Seeing everyone sitting one by one, Su Yiyu, standing by the door, earnestly bowed. “It was my fault in the game. I was really… I’m sorry, everyone, but — but I wasn’t intentionally throwing the match.”

“You’re still not admitting it even now?” Qi Siyu curved his lips in a cold smile. “If you weren’t, where’s the proof?”

Su Yiyu froze. He stayed rooted in place, not knowing how to respond.

“No one can prove anything they haven’t done,” Meng Weiran coldly rebutted.

“Meng Weiran, you’ve only known each other for a few days. Why are you always on his side?”

“How long we’ve known each other is irrelevant,” Meng Weiran gently said. “Everyone who wakes up late wouldn’t know this, but if you go down every morning at six or seven, you’ll see him practicing in the training room.”

The moment Meng Weiran’s words came out, not only Qi Siyu, but Su Yiyu also froze.

Meng Weiran said in a calm voice, “I don’t think someone who wakes up early and secretly practices is someone who deliberately throws the match.”

Su Yiyu’s eyes were bloodshot, but in the end, he didn’t shed a tear. “That really wasn’t my intention.”

“Then what was all that about in the game?” Even though Qi Siyu had calmed down somewhat, he still asked this with a tense expression on his face.

“I-It really wasn’t intentional. I was too — too nervous…”

“Nervous?!” Qi Siyu was speechless. “Who isn’t nervous? I’m also nervous. What kind of reason is this? Do you think we’re three-year-olds?”

Xue Lan furrowed his brow. He seemed to have heard Su Yiyu mention these words previously. Was it…

That right, before the team match last time.

Su Yiyu clutched himself. He wanted to speak but was hesitant.

Xue Lan finally understood something and he decided to move onto the issue of proof.

As he racked his mind, Wen Yan, who had come to the lounge with them, also finally heard the details. “I have some impression in the first individual game of the training camp, that time Su Yiyu… It seems like because he didn’t move in the game, he was eliminated by the opponent.”

Qi Siyu was rendered speechless. “If your mentality isn’t good, how are you going to become a professional player?!”

“I dragged everyone down.” After Su Yiyu calmed down, he clenched his teeth tightly and said firmly, “I will explain to the coordinators… and withdraw from the training camp.”

Hearing him say this, the lounge turned gravely silent.

No one could possibly not know what withdrawing from the training camp meant — it implied giving up the professional path and no professional teams would accept such “stained” players.

Qi Siyu paused. His voice dropped a little as he said, “You say it so easily. Soon, it will be the last game. If you leave, how will we find another assaulter?”

Meng Weiran suddenly said, “Do you think you don’t have your own issues yourself?”

“What do you mean?”

“Everyone please calm down.” Seeing the dispute rising again, Xue Lan hurriedly stood up and spoke with a stern countenance. “We have been teammates for a long time. Since there is still the last game, why can’t we trust each other once again? Since there was an issue, aren’t we supposed to find the solution? Besides…”

Xue Lan turned to look at Su Yiyu. His eyes were crystal clear and resolute. “I’m willing to believe in Su Yiyu. Since he wasn’t being deliberate, any weaknesses can be gradually worked out. We’ve fought side by side for so long. I hope our teammate for our last game will still be him.”

“You believe in him? So we have to let a time bomb that will possibly explode stay? Will you be responsible for him if he stays in the training camp?”

Xue Lan lowered his eyes. He remembered Su Yiyu’s expression when he told him he was nervous. He had always been a hard worker and was also the first to give him that candy —

“He is my teammate. I will be responsible for his display in the finals.”

“Responsible? What responsibility?” Qi Siyu was rendered speechless. “Will you leave the training camp with him? Is this necessary?”

“Leave the training camp?” Duan Wenzheng, leaning against the door, turned his head away from the lively spectacle he had been engrossed in. “What day is it today? Take a look, four other people also want to leave.”

——————–