Right before the game

Yitian knocked on the door to Yixing's room and after a moment of silence, he walked in. The blinds were down and there was only darkness, so he turned the light on and saw something really bad. 

Yixing was on the floor, curled by the night tables, covered in a blanket. His face was swollen and full of tears. He still clenched the phone in his hand. 

He back walked from the room without closing the door and tiptoed to Chao, who was sitting by the computer tables. He was already singing all three of them in. Shanshan was on Huobai's computer and signed himself in. 

"Is there a reason why he would sleep on the floor and cry?" Yitian asked Chao. It was because he knew him longer and might have known things that Yitian didn't. 

Chao looked up at the window wall and then at Yitian. Without a word he got up and walked to Yixing's room. Yitian was running behind him, but as Chao walked in, he slammed the door right into Yitian's face. 

"Get up, you lazy ass!" Chao shouted, and ripped the blanket from Yixing. 

Yixing was still half asleep, but he knew what this was. He jumped up and got into a boxing stance, ready to defend himself. He had no idea that Chao was the one who shouted at him. Only when he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, he noticed. 

"What do you think you are doing?" he shouted back at him, easing up his stance. But Chal kicked him into his legs. It wasn't anything hard, but Yixing still hissed.

"I? Am I the one sleeping on the ground? What if you caught a cold, you idiot! And was I the one crying myself to sleep?" Chao shot out his arm in an attempt to punch him, but Yixing saw it and evaded it. He struck back, though, and his fist connected with Chao's arm. He caught the punch.

"And why do you care!" he shouted back, embarrassed they found him like this. He was at his lowest point now. But Chao looked at him with an open mouth, and astonished, he shook his head, let Yixing's arm go and cracked his fingers.

"Because I'm your friend, you imbecile!" he exclaimed, and threw another punch, which now connected with Yixing's stomach. It made him take a step back. But because there was the bed right behind him, he slipped and fell back onto the bed. 

"No one ever is worthy of your tears. You are someone really important to me, and if you don't think that, I will punch you till you realize it," Chao said, picked up the blanket he dropped on the ground and threw it on Yixing's body.

"I logged you in already. You have half an hour to get ready for the match. I hope you won't be an idiot and we won't lose because of you. But we can actually blame it on you if we do. That you just started playing…" Chao walked away without another word and almost bumped into Yitian, who was standing by the door. 

He curiously peeked in but he only saw Yixing laying on the bed, not moving. Scared, with all the shouting about what happened there, he grabbed Chao by his arm and looked up at him. 

"What did you do to him?" he asked, worried, but Chao smiled at him and put his own hand over Yitian's. 

"Don't worry. I just beat some sense into him. It's okay. We communicate like that. He knows what I mean." He took Yitian and closed the door behind himself. 

Chao was right that Yixing knew what he meant. He could read his movements just fine. The kicks and punches were nothing and didn't hurt at all. It was just a friendly reminder that if someone hurt Yixing. Chao was there for him, and he would do anything. 

But Yixing wasn't like that because of his father. No. He was exhausted from his family. But he was sad about his talk with Huobai. It hurt him so much that he had to hold back his feelings. But he had to do it for Huobai. It would be wrong to start something from a night Huobai regretted.

Yixing got up from his bed and went to take a shower and refresh himself. When he walked into the living room, he almost tripped over the coffee table that was right in front of his door. 

"You want me to die?" he asked, unbelieving, and looked up right at the three people already sitting in their chairs. But Chao hadn't spoken to him. He actually didn't even acknowledge his presence. 

Only Yitian and Shanshan looked at him and Yitian hurriedly came to him and took the table away, back under the bigger one. They usually had them folded together, because when they moved in four gaming tables, even though it was a huge apartment, and moved out the dining table. They still couldn't fit things together. And he wouldn't have a way to get to his room. 

Yixing was secretly thinking it was Chao's revenge, because when they talked about it with Yitian, Chao without any hesitation said even if Yixing has to jump over the couch he will be okay with it. And then they moved those things like that when he wasn't home. 

"Sorry, we just needed to put something there," Yitian apologized as he walked back to the table. Yixing just nodded and sat at his chair, looking and the blind in front of him. 

"We don't have the night view today?" he asked, curious. Usually they would play with the blinds open.

"I don't want any distractions," Chao mumbled, and then added something else that earned Yitian smacking his shoulder. But Yixing had no idea what it was.

"What, he is already troubled. Huobai is not here, and Shan isn't used to playing like this with us. We are already distracted enough." When Yixing heard Huobai's name, his chest hurt. He thought and hoped that the game would help him, but no, it was still too fresh. 

"Huobai won't be coming?" A big lump formed in his throat when he was asking that. Yitian nodded and smiled sadly. 

"He needs to be somewhere else." Yitian paused and looked at Chao, then shook his head and continued, "he won't be here, but he will play from his place. He is already in the game and we will have a meeting on what strategy to use. So get ready." Yixing nodded and put on his headset.

He exercised his fingers and ran around at the spot, just to get the hang of the character again. When he was ready, he moved himself to the arena, where the duel was supposed to be taking place. 

There were already a few people waiting for the doors to be opened, but because they wanted to go in as spectators, they had to pay for a ticket. But not Yixing. 

He walked in through the door and was added to the team by Chao. He enabled the voice chat and heard the voice that would distract him the entire game.