Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was almost like an illusion, as though she had been transported back in time to eight years ago, when she used to game with Zi Chuan.
While they were playing in the match, her attention had not been fully focused on Shen Liangchuan’s playing.
But now…
Looking at the moves on the big screen, the familiarity was too overwhelming.
This was Zi Chuan’s style.
These were Zi Chuan’s unique moves.
And this, clearly, was their signature coordination!
Eight years ago, how many late nights had the two of them spent together to practice and train so that their coordination became perfectly seamless?
Coordination like this was completely impossible without connection and chemistry backed by time.
And just then, her initial plan had been to exchange her life for an enemy’s. That was the reason she had charged ahead. But not even in her wildest imagination would she have thought that Shen Liangchuan would step in to fill the gap perfectly!
Qiao Lian clenched her fists tightly as she stared at the big screen in disbelief. Then, she turned to look at Shen Liangchuan.
He had removed his sunglasses for the match and now wore only his mask and baseball cap.
At that moment, his head was tilted upwards, staring expressionlessly at the screen.
His face was lit by the arena’s lighting.
The baseball cap cast a shadow on one side of his face.
For some unknown reason, in that moment, Qiao Lian suddenly felt like Shen Liangchuan was a complete stranger.
She no longer knew him.
For the first time, she felt like she had never really met this man.
Compared to the cold tombstone at the cemetery, and even to that faded photograph on the tombstone, she was more inclined to believe that this man in front of her was Zi Chuan!
She gulped.
But then after a moment, she narrowed her eyes as a thought crossed her mind.
If Shen Liangchuan was Zi Chuan, then who was the person on the tombstone?
–
Purple Fairy was as astonished as Qiao Lian and Su Penghao, sitting amongst the audience.
Now she stared at the big screen with wide eyes, unwilling to believe that what she was seeing was a set of movements executed by Forget Chuan.
Wasn’t that Xiao Qiao?
How could that be Forget Chuan?
Then she suddenly remembered what Qiao Lian had said to her, “If you’re fake, you’re fake. No matter how much you try to imitate her, you’ll never capture the essence of Xiao Qiao’s style.”
Then, she had not quite understood what Qiao Lian meant.
All these years impersonating Xiao Qiao, she had worked hard to imitate Xiao Qiao’s playing style.
However, there was a certain stiffness in her movements and she lacked the fighting spirit.
And it was at this moment, when she witnessed for herself the ease and fluidity of those movements, that she realized the meaning of that remark.
So… so Forget Chuan was the real deal!
Shocked, she fell into her seat as her legs gave way while Smiling Tiger, who was their team’s reserve player, was also frozen in disbelief as he watched the replay on the screen.
Suddenly, he felt like a complete fool.
He thought of how he had left CQ Team as a main player for King Team to be a reserve player, all because Purple Fairy was Xiao Qiao. Or so he had thought.
But now everything seemed like a cruel joke!
–
At this point, Qiao Lian could not be bothered with what Purple Fairy and Smiling Tiger thought or felt.
After the match, as a coach, she needed to shake hands with the opposing team’s coach.
After she went on the stage to do this and upon her return, she realized that Shen Liangchuan was gone.
Stunned, she asked, “Where’s Shen Liangchuan?”
Su Penghao, still in a state of shock, seemed distracted as he said in a suddenly respectful tone, “He- he- he said he had something to attend to and had to leave first.”
Had to leave first?
Qiao Lian narrowed her eyes and immediately headed to the exit to catch him.
Then she suddenly felt a hand grab her wrist.
She frowned and turned around. It was Su Penghao, who asked hesitantly, “You- you are Xiao Qiao, aren’t you?”