The Doctor said I Have to be A Kept Man - Chapter 5

Chi Ruanfan was a constant source of surprises. Jin Zhu felt a wave of relief that he hadn’t let Chi Ruanfan walk away earlier.

Being strong in a 1v1 didn’t necessarily mean a player was a perfect fit for a team, but at the very least, his mechanical execution was beyond reproach. Chi Ruanfan had already tested the Top, Bottom, and Support roles; now, only his own Jungle position and Meng Dong’s Mid lane remained.

Noticing that the Mid laner had been missing all this time, Jin Zhu asked with a cold expression, “Where is Meng Dong?”

Guzi remained silent, while Lin Huo hung his head, playing dead. Lu Lu, meeting Jin Zhu’s dark, piercing eyes, said hesitantly, “He… he went to meet some fans.”

“He spends five days a week meeting fans,” Jin Zhu said icily. “He certainly has a lot of them.”

“It’s just been recently…” Lu Lu trailed off, unsure how to continue.

Like the two of them, Meng Dong had been promoted from the second team. In the beginning, they had all trained diligently, but their match history was a sea of red. Seeing that Chaoge might not even make it through the qualifiers, and coupled with the immense outside pressure, Meng Dong had spiraled after a breakdown and gradually let himself go.

“Let him explain it to the coach himself,” Jin Zhu said, turning to Chi Ruanfan. “Let’s go.”

Chi Ruanfan searched his memory but couldn’t recall who this “Meng Dong” was, so he simply stopped thinking about it and followed Jin Zhu.

Click.

The door opened, and the team manager, who was currently frowning over some documents, looked up. Seeing Jin Zhu, he immediately hurried over.

“Jin—” The manager’s gaze bypassed Jin Zhu and landed on Chi Ruanfan. He swallowed the formal title on the tip of his tongue and corrected himself: “Captain Jin.”

“Mn,” Jin Zhu acknowledged, taking the documents from the manager’s hands and handing them to Chi Ruanfan. “This is the contract. Take a look.”

Chi Ruanfan took it, walked over to the guest sofa, and sat down to review the terms carefully. Jin Zhu sat on the sofa opposite him. “Ask me if you have any questions.”

“Alright.”

Standing to the side, the manager quietly observed the two. This boy, Chi Ruanfan, was unfairly good-looking. Even with his unconventional light-blonde hair, he didn’t look like a rebel; instead, his youthful face and clean aura made him look somewhat soft and obedient. He didn’t look like an esports pro; he looked like a teen idol ready to debut as the center of a group.

President Jin was acting strange, too. He used to never interfere with the team’s internal affairs, yet this time he had personally scouted a player and offered an astronomical 50 million yuan a year! This wasn’t a rookie contract; with a few tweaks, it could pass for a marriage dowry.

Chi Ruanfan also thought the contract terms were excessively good. If it were any other club, he would suspect a hidden agenda perhaps some unspeakable “back-door” dealing. But since the one offering the contract was Jin Zhu, he wasn’t worried.

After reading it twice, Chi Ruanfan picked up a pen, filled in the contract duration, and signed his name on the final page.

“Done.” The contract was in duplicate; Chi Ruanfan handed one copy back to Jin Zhu.

Jin Zhu scanned it, focusing on the duration Chi Ruanfan had chosen: two years. It was a duration that was neither too long nor too short. Passing the contract back to the manager, Jin Zhu extended his hand toward Chi Ruanfan. “Welcome to Team Chaoge.”

Chi Ruanfan shook Jin Zhu’s hand, then pulled him toward the door, saying as they walked, “I can leave now that I’ve signed, right? I’m hungry. What did the chef make for dinner?”

Chaoge had a restaurant specifically for its players, staffed by five-star chefs—a luxury that had made Chi Ruanfan envious many times in the past.

“…” Jin Zhu looked down at the hand pulling him along. With a mix of helplessness and indulgence, he said, “Then to the restaurant we go. You can have the chef make whatever you want on the spot.”

Facing this hard-won all-rounder, Jin Zhu was remarkably patient. Even if Chi Ruanfan wanted to play Jungle, he was willing to step aside provided the other’s skill was up to par and he could coordinate with the team.

“Then I’ll have to give it some thought,” Chi Ruanfan replied.

The manager stood at the door, smiling as he watched them leave. Once the two tall and striking figures disappeared, he looked down at the contract in his hand.

Fifty million a year, for two years… that was 100 million committed just like that. In the entire Infinite Tower Defense Pro League, was there any rookie with a higher price tag? Actually, there was one: Jin Zhu himself, though his value didn’t stem from his status as a player.

After dinner, Jin Zhu and Chi Ruanfan added each other’s personal contact info.

Jin Zhu checked the time. “Are you staying at the base tonight, or going home?”

“Are there empty rooms?” Chi Ruanfan asked. In the past, he would have just squeezed into Jin Zhu’s room, but since they weren’t close yet, he figured it would be awkward.

“Yes.” Jin Zhu led him to the third floor. “This is the dormitory area. Your room… how about this one?” Jin Zhu tapped a card with the Chaoge logo against a door, and it opened with a beep.

Chi Ruanfan glanced at the room number next door. “Not bad. I can drop by your place easily in the future.”

He turned back to look at the room’s layout: bed, desk, chair, computer, wardrobe, bathroom. Everything was there, even brand-new towels and toothbrushes. Chi Ruanfan explored the room and smiled. “It’s great. I’ll take it.”

“Need anything else?” Jin Zhu asked.

Chi Ruanfan thought for a moment. “Just… a change of clothes.”

“I’ll take you to the mall nearby,” Jin Zhu said, just as his phone buzzed. It was a message from the Chaoge coach, Flying Cloud.

Flying Cloud: I just finished arranging a scrim with King’s, and then the manager tells me you signed a new player, and a Marksman at that? Jin-ge, are you planning to swap Lin Huo out?

Flying Cloud: If you’re swapping anyone, swap Meng Dong first. His form has been terrible lately.

Flying Cloud: Speak of the devil, Meng Dong is here.

Jin Zhu turned off his phone, only to see that Chi Ruanfan had already sat down and powered on the computer.

“Not going for clothes?” Jin Zhu asked.

“No rush. If you have business, go ahead. I’ll just rest for a bit.” Chi Ruanfan gripped the mouse and clicked the Infinite Tower Defense icon.

The phone buzzed again. Jin Zhu thought for a second and said, “I’ll be back shortly.”

Chi Ruanfan put on his headset and said casually, “Take your time. Let me get a game in.”

“…”

Chi Ruanfan started a random match. The meta changed every season, and S6 was a distant memory; he needed to re-familiarize himself with everything. He had practiced Top, Bot, and Support already; now it was time to try Mid. With that in mind, he chose a Melee Mage.

His phone screen lit up on the desk. He glanced at it, it was a bank notification.

Salary credited: 100… why is this string so long?

Chi Ruanfan froze, picked up the phone, and slowly counted the digits. “Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, hundred millions?!”

Holy crap! Did he just advance his entire two-year salary?! And was 50 million actually 50 million after taxes?

While the game was loading, Chi Ruanfan quickly messaged Jin Zhu: You call this an advance? Aren’t you afraid I’ll take the money and slack off every day?

Jin Zhu: You won’t.

Chi Ruanfan: So certain?

Jin Zhu: Because, when you play, there is light in your eyes.

Chi Ruanfan choked. “…That’s probably just the screen reflecting.”

Only Jin Zhu could describe a reflection so poetically.

Jin Zhu: I can see that you love this game. You want to win.

No kidding, Chi Ruanfan thought. Who plays a game and doesn’t want to win?

He leaned back in the chair, saw the Chaoge logo on the wall, and suddenly felt the reality of being a member of the team.

In that case, let’s work hard and keep winning together.

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