Let Me Sleep a Little Longer [Esports] - Chapter 05
Su Heng put down the water bottle in her hand, her face calm and unruffled. She quietly watched the interaction between the two men without saying a word.
Sun He looked at her nervously. While becoming a professional player is the dream of most gamers, turning one’s passion into a career is something that rarely happens. But with this girl, who seemed uninterested in everything, Sun He couldn’t be sure.
As the tension lingered, Sun He, seeing that she hadn’t responded, spoke again. “Although our team’s results are only mid-tier in the professional league, there’s a lot of potential for growth. I hope you won’t be too quick to turn me down. Please take the time to get to know us better and seriously consider it.”
Su Heng was known for responding better to kindness than pressure. Hearing the sincerity in Sun He’s voice, she thought for a moment and replied, “I’m not very good at the game,” which amounted to a refusal.
Sun He, seizing on the response, ignored the subtle rejection and continued, “Your awareness and calculation abilities are exceptional. With a bit of training, your mechanics would be no problem. We really need a teammate like you.”
Su Heng said nothing, resorting once again to silence.
She was genuinely interested in the game, and the length of each match was something she could handle. But after spending the past two days learning the basics, she knew that her physical condition couldn’t withstand long hours of practice. While it was a pity, she couldn’t accept his offer.
If she agreed impulsively but later had to quit due to her health, it would end up being a loss for everyone involved. Making promises she couldn’t keep wasn’t in her nature.
Seeing her silence again, Sun He exchanged a look with the man beside him.
Zhou Lingxing pressed his lips together, studying Su Heng for a while. There was a faint trace of longing hidden in her indifferent expression, but she wouldn’t give in easily, which meant there was something they didn’t know.
After some thought, Zhou Lingxing turned to her and asked, “Are you still in school?”
Su Heng lowered her eyes and gently shook her head.
“Already working, then?” he continued.
Her eyes flickered slightly, but she didn’t answer.
From her expression, Zhou Lingxing quickly got the answer he was looking for and spoke again. “A salary of 800,000 yuan a year, plus room and board, free training. If you think the benefits are lacking, we can negotiate.”
Su Heng was momentarily stunned, her previously calm expression finally breaking.
She hadn’t expected that playing a game could come with such a high salary. While she was tempted, agreeing was another matter. At this stage, money wasn’t an issue for her.
She glanced at the man beside her and said, “Sorry, I can’t agree. I’m sure you’ll find someone more suitable.”
With that, she closed her laptop and stood up, turning to Sun He. “I’ve answered your question from yesterday. I’ll be leaving now.”
As Su Heng prepared to leave, Sun He panicked and tried to grab her, but she sidestepped him effortlessly.
Sun He’s eyes flickered in surprise. It was the same as last time—this woman seemed to have eyes in the back of her head.
Su Heng looked at him, and the coldness in her eyes made Sun He shiver. He froze for a moment, realizing his mistake and quickly apologizing, “Sorry, I got a bit anxious.”
Zhou Lingxing watched from the side, staying out of it.
He had said what needed to be said, and now it was up to Sun He to handle things.
Sun He’s persistence and sincerity were enough to move Su Heng.
After a while, she sighed and relented slightly. “I have a condition.”
Both men looked at her in surprise.
“I can’t do long practice sessions, and I might not even be able to finish a full game.”
Having said this much, she no longer intended to hide anything. “I have primary hypersomnia, which means I often feel uncontrollably sleepy no matter where I am. In other words, I have narcolepsy.”
Sun He was stunned—he had never heard of such a condition.
Zhou Lingxing, on the other hand, quickly regained his composure, as he was familiar with the disorder and knew something about it.
Seeing Zhou Lingxing’s calm reaction, Su Heng raised an eyebrow, finding it amusing. Before Sun He could react, she had already left the room, leaving the two men alone.
Inside, Sun He was still mulling over what Su Heng had said, thinking about the possibility of her joining the team.
However, Zhou Lingxing no longer wanted her on the team. Now that he understood her hesitation, he admired her honesty. But personally, he felt that her condition would bring too many challenges and instability for a professional player.
After some thought, Zhou Lingxing patted Sun He on the shoulder. “Given her situation, she’s not suitable for us. Let’s go.”
Although Sun He was reluctant, he had to admit the truth of Zhou Lingxing’s words and nodded heavily.
As the two of them walked out of the private room, Su Heng was still talking to the front desk staff about something.
Noticing that Sun He seemed a bit down, Zhou Lingxing took the initiative to approach him: “Thank you for today. Your ideas are very interesting and beneficial to us.”
Sun He nodded at her from a distance.
Seeing that the two of them had finally given up on inviting her to join their team, Su Heng breathed a sigh of relief and said lightly, “Take care.”
Watching the two of them gradually walk away, she licked her lips.
Actually, after waking up today, she had briefly looked up this game and gained a preliminary understanding of these professional players.
When they competed on stage, it seemed as if they were surrounded by light.
The cheers of the audience; the camaraderie among the team members during the match; the hugs after victory; even the tears during defeat—each moment was enough to make one’s blood boil with excitement.
Su Heng thought about this, and her tightly clasped hands became a bit damp; she quickly relaxed her grip.
Unfortunately, their world was too far from her own.
A hint of self-deprecation flashed across Su Heng’s face; she couldn’t even manage a regular job.
People often lament the unfairness of the world for giving her a brilliant mind, yet no one knew that God’s fairness lay in closing another door for her.
Su Heng shook her head, dismissing the unnecessary thoughts swirling in her mind.
After a moment, she returned to the private room, opened her computer, and slowly clicked on the game interface to log in to the account she had just registered.
She stared thoughtfully at her nickname on the computer screen.
Finally, she grasped the mouse and clicked into the game.
It felt as if something had begun to ferment in her heart.
—
When Zhou Lingxing and Sun He returned to the base, Wave and Lao Yu were indeed already streaming, while Shen Si Nian was still nowhere to be seen.
Wave heard the noise and momentarily distracted himself from the game: “You’re back! Wait for me to finish this match before the meeting.”
Before he could finish, Lao Yu from the next computer shouted loudly: “Quick, quick, quick, the card is about to fly!”
Upon hearing this, Wave immediately maneuvered his hero back: “Quick, give me the lantern.”
Before Lao Yu’s Thresh could throw out the lantern, Wave had already been stunned by the sudden appearance of the card’s yellow card. Two seconds later, Wave’s screen turned gray.
Before he could complain, Lao Yu trembled and spoke: “The lantern is on cooldown, you were too far forward; I’m not taking the blame for this one.”
Wave swallowed the words that were about to escape his mouth and rolled his eyes at his support.
Sun He glanced at the two with indifference and sat down to open his computer.
Although he had come to understand the pros and cons on the way back and agreed with Zhou Lingxing’s idea, he still couldn’t help feeling a bit irritated. He had thought that after so many years, his long-cherished wish would finally come true, only to be caught off guard by this sudden situation.
The ancients truly did not deceive me; sometimes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.
Sun He’s thoughts were in chaos; after thinking it over, he decided to discuss the girl’s situation with the coach.
Zhou Lingxing saw him suddenly stand up and guessed that he hadn’t completely let go yet, so he reached out and grabbed him the moment he moved.
“You already know the outcome,” Zhou Lingxing’s voice remained calm, making it hard to discern his emotions.
But Sun He couldn’t remain as calm as he was; his voice grew louder, “You know how rare her abilities are in our circle!”
He knows, but he also understands the extent of the risk, and this risk is something that the current GI simply cannot bear.
Zhou Lingxing calmly looked at Sun He and said, “We still have other options; there are plenty of players with good awareness and operation skills.”
“But none of them possess her abilities! You heard it too; that kind of precise calculation can’t just be explained by good awareness!” Sun He’s emotions were somewhat out of control.
At this moment, Wave and Old Fish beside them realized something was wrong and quickly turned off the live stream’s sound.
But it was obviously too late.
The audience’s gossiping mood was reflected in the rapidly increasing number of bullet comments.
【Did I just hear right? Was Sun and LING arguing??】
【What’s going on? Did GI’s top and mid declare a breakup???】
【This is too much information for me to handle; are they preparing to change junglers?】
【No problem. To be honest, it’s time to change junglers; Shen Sinian was already struggling to keep up with their rhythm.】
【What happened? Why do I feel like I missed a fortune while I was in the bathroom??】
Wave and Old Fish were drenched in cold sweat, sensing that something big was happening.
It was one thing for the audience to overhear their conversation, but if the coach found out, all four of them would likely face consequences.
Meanwhile, one of the parties involved in the “argument” was completely unaware of this.
“I know the risks that come with her joining, but I care more about the new opportunities she brings us. Don’t you want to win?”
Zhou Lingxing remained silent.
Sun He pressed on relentlessly, “Finding a jungler with good operational skills and awareness isn’t that difficult, but she is an opportunity that we can’t easily come by!”
After saying this, Sun He shook off Zhou Lingxing’s hand and walked straight out the door, preparing to find the coach.
Zhou Lingxing watched Sun He’s departing figure, his gaze deep as the ocean.
Even if Sun He went to find the coach, he wouldn’t get the answer he wanted.
He understood Shen Jiannian; even as Shen Sinian’s brother, he would never shield him and had even mentioned several times the need to replace Shen Sinian. A person who wholeheartedly devoted himself to the team would never allow Sun He to find a jungler whose physical condition couldn’t keep up.
Some things are destined to end a certain way from the very beginning.