Fifty: A Magnificent Lineup

Not long after the new semester began, the school's annual eSports tournament was about to start. Because I had previously posted an introduction about myself in the gaming section of the school forum, I was soon approached by a team. They were last year's runners-up and represented the Computer Club, one of the event's hosts. Since one of their team members graduated last year, they had a vacancy in their roster.

The captain, JOY, was in his final year, making this his last chance to compete in the school's eSports tournament. He was eager to win the championship and end his CS career on a high note. Among the other members, aside from JOY, Su.d, Night, and SunR!sE were all juniors. Xiao S and I were both freshmen, with him serving as the sixth man on the team.

Naturally, team training took place at an internet café. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single internet café near the school. With no other choice, we had to set our training spot in a small town half an hour’s drive away.

Today was the first team practice called by JOY. After class at noon, Lin Jie and I were having a sweaty lunch at a restaurant on Student Street. Suddenly, JOY called, urging me to reach the internet café in the small town before 1:30.

I glanced at the clock; it was already 12:40. The shuttle bus would take some time to arrive, and if I didn’t hurry, I’d be late. I quickly shoveled down a few mouthfuls of food, stood up, and said to Lin Jie, “I have to go.”

“Where are you going?” Lin Jie asked, swallowing his food with some effort.

“I’m heading to the internet café for practice. They just called to hurry me up.” I tucked money for the meal under the plate and turned to leave.

“Wait for me! I’ll come too!” Lin Jie called out before I could take a step. “I’m bored anyway, I’ll tag along.”

“Alright, then.” It was clear that Lin Jie had been dying to use a computer for a while. I was happy to have company for the ride, so I agreed. Without further delay, we paid and rushed to the school shuttle stop at the end of Student Street.

We had just boarded the shuttle when it started moving—a stroke of luck. In the old district, we transferred to a city bus. Since JOY and I had only communicated via calls and texts, and never met in person, he told me to wait for him at the stop, where he’d pick me up.

JOY kept sending me messages the entire way, urging me on, but the bus moved at its usual slow pace, stopping constantly. It wasn’t until 1:28 that we finally arrived at the meeting spot.

Seeing I was about to be late, I jumped off the bus and immediately called JOY. Soon, a slightly chubby young man riding a white scooter appeared before me.

“Are you Xiao X?” he asked, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Yes, that’s me. This is my classmate, he’s just coming to hang out,” I said, smiling and pointing to Lin Jie.

“Hello, I’m JOY,” he nodded, gesturing for us to get on.

Sitting on the back of the scooter, I couldn’t help but ask, “Didn’t you guys have class this morning? How did you get here so early?”

JOY shook his head, motioned for us to hold on, and replied, “If we’d waited until the afternoon, there wouldn’t be five computers next to each other.” As soon as their classes ended, they’d rushed over to reserve seats without even stopping for lunch. I couldn’t help but admire their dedication.

Three grown men squeezed onto a small scooter—it was definitely cramped. JOY wove through the narrow streets, and after about five minutes, we stopped in front of a modest internet café.

“This is the place,” JOY said, turning his head to indicate we’d arrived.

We got off and waited while JOY parked the scooter. Together, we entered the café.

In the farthest corner of the last row, two people sat side by side. JOY pointed to the slender young man nearest the door and said, “That’s Su.d, our vice-captain.”

Su.d glanced up from his monitor, stood, and smiled at me. “So you’re the legendary Xiao X?” I quickly stepped forward and shook his hand.

While JOY busied himself with the computers, Su.d continued the introductions: “That’s SunR!sE, who we usually call Big S…” Mid-sentence, Su.d suddenly remembered something important. “Oh, JOY! I just got in touch with Xiao S and Night—they both went home for the weekend. We’re one player short, so we might not be able to play matches today.”

“Really? Didn’t we tell them today was for practice?” JOY’s face showed his disappointment. “By the way, can your classmate play CS?” he asked, turning to Lin Jie.

“Well, um, yeah, kind of,” Lin Jie replied, a bit nervous at being asked directly.

“How about we just fill in the numbers and play anyway? The main goal today is to practice coordinating with Xiao X,” JOY suggested.

Since no one objected, JOY had us take our seats and begin training. Su.d sat at the far left, JOY next to Big S, I sat beside JOY, and Lin Jie, as the temporary member, had no choice but to take the spot at the end.

While JOY contacted the other teams online, I quickly set up my mouse and downloaded a CD-KEY. Soon, JOY called out the IP for the match.

It was my first time playing CS since the N.F team disbanded three months earlier, so my reflexes were rusty. Over several matches, my performance was average at best, and with Lin Jie’s almost negligible contribution, we were at a consistent 4v5 disadvantage. We played the entire afternoon and only won a single game.

The only consolation was that my new teammates and I were starting to develop a bit of chemistry.

As evening approached, JOY and the others headed back to campus. Lin Jie and I decided to stay. After so long at school without a proper gaming session, we were determined to spend the whole night at the internet café.

When we got hungry, we logged off and settled the bill, grabbed dinner at a nearby restaurant, then stocked up on snacks at the supermarket for the all-nighter. With time to spare, we wandered around the streets for a while before finally meandering back to the café.

Upon logging into QQ, I was surprised to find Lele’s avatar lit up. I hadn’t seen her online since our breakup. I couldn’t help but message her, “Lele, what are you up to?”

Silence. For a long time, there was no reply, and then her avatar went dark again.

It seemed she still wasn’t ready to forgive me. But what had I done wrong back then? As Lele went offline, my spirits sank to their lowest.

Tonight was destined to be a long and restless one.