It's time

Huobai was really amused. The way the guardian jumped in front of him was really cute. But at the same time, completely useless.

Neither to say that he hasn't seen him for a while after that. But that was a pity. Sometimes out of nowhere, he remembered how he jumped in front of him and it made him chuckle.

The first time he did that was in school. And given that from the accident up until now, he was ignoring everyone, frowning and looking inapproachable. He made the whole classroom stop what they were doing and stare at him.

A few weeks later, when he was playing with SIG, alone. They exchanged WeChat. Because they finally asked him for it.

Up until now, they never asked for anything. But he had his Weibo, QQ, and YY up together with Twitch and other streaming or social media, so they didn't have to ask.

And SIG dropped this bomb out of nowhere, exchanging IDs and giving him his private profile. It struck Huobai how handsome and cute he was.

He always thought that he would find this skinny, tall boy with bad skin and glasses. But obviously, he was wrong. It showed him that he should never judge. Because he had no idea who could be on the other side of the character.

But to be honest, he could never even guess that he would play games. So, to his excuse, he only saw those stereotypical images of gamers in dramas and mangas.

He heard a knock on his door and his mother soon opened them and walked inside. She was walking slowly, as if she was worried about interrupting something.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and Huobai frowned. Why shouldn't he be? He got used to the pain in his knee, and even to the monthly exams, looking for the growth of his bump.

"Did something happen? That I shouldn't be okay?" he asked back, saying what he really thought. Because he was confused to the point it bothered him if he forgot to be unhappy about something.

"I- I-... just…" His mother started stuttering, and it surprised him even more because he wasn't used to her being like this. The powerful warrior wasn't like this.

"Mom. Please, just say it. I have a four-on-four match soon. If we win this competition, we might get some awesome rewards." He hoped for quicker death than being tormented here like that. He was really afraid of some bad news.

"I just can't say it…" she walked up to him and hugged him out of nowhere. Huobai was really confused. Did something happen to his father?

It couldn't be him. Because he was already accepted to college for business marketing and was ready to move into dorms really soon.

"We finally found a doctor that isn't afraid of your father and will do the biopsy," she said finally and Huobai was stunned for a moment.

He would finally know if he had cancer or not? Now? He would know? Huobai jumped from his chair and hugged Song Fei as hard as he could.

"When?" he asked, excited. It was something that was on his mind often. Or. Often before he started playing. He frowned.

Why did he stop being so depressed after he started playing? The only thing he cared about now was how to be better and bring down Doom on his knees.

"Month and something. He is an unquestionably excellent surgeon, so he hasn't had free time earlier than that. And after discussion with your father we thought you wouldn't be happy skipping more serious conditions than you have." Yixing halted his thinking and looked at her, speechless.

'Excuse me, but my condition is not serious?' he thought, unable to say it. Yes, his lump wasn't growing. He had exams often, but for fuck's sake they weren't sure if it was cancer or not… How is that not serious? He was done with the system in this country.

But he couldn't say any of it aloud, so Huobai only nodded and sat back in his chair. His mother looked relieved that he agreed, and that was all he needed. Calm mother and quiet room, so that he could play.

"It will be a while after you will be at university, but we already talked to your teachers. Apparently, to the doctor, you will have to use crutches for a while after your operation. But you won't miss much of the school." Huobai's fingers were hovering above the keyboard. He fisted them and, grinning, he turned to his mother.

"Crutches?" he breathed out through his teeth. He scanned his mother, himself, and then his surroundings.

"Does it look as if I'm okay with an image like that? In university?" he asked, now more clearly, but keeping his anger in check. But it was a miracle that only mothers could do. No matter how many voice acting classes he took, she could always sense what he was trying to say.

"ZHANG. HUOBAI! DON'T SPEAK TO ME WITH THIS TONE!" Song Fei was calm, but her tone made him shiver. She stood from the squad she was in the whole time and pointing her finger made him feel tiny, even though if he stood up he would be taller than her.

"I'm sorry, mom," he said quickly, pointing his eyes to the ground. Of course, he apologized. Huobai had perfect self-perseverance and survival instinct. Because living with a person that can emanate such an aura that it dominates the whole fashion catwalk, that needs perfect calculation and retreating abilities.

That Huobai learned from his father. Who was now safely retreated to the casino in Macau.

"We will discuss this later. I just didn't want you to be scared or afraid. Oh, and another thing. I will need to leave for a week before you are going to the dorms, but I will send you off and visit you really often. I already talked to the dorm guard and I'm allowed to go there whenever I need to." His mother smiled with a sweet smile that sent shivers down to Huobai's spine.

How could anyone fall for this smile? It made his skin crawl, knowing that his mother was really a mother deep down in her bones. There was no other explanation.

When she walked away, Huobai could finally breathe out. And he was definitely and firmly decided to escape her care or he would become insane soon.