He was in the middle of training when things started to go off the rails. It was the kind of basic training Han Wenqing wasn't strictly necessary for, just running drills and exercises, but he attended anyway because Zhang Xinjie told him every minute spent with the team led to better cohesion and performance, and he had a spreadsheet to prove it.

Normal. Routine.

One of the juniors entered the room and approached Han Wenqing, biting his lip. "Captain," he whispered urgently. "There's someone to see you downstairs."

"Who?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the screen. Just a little more, and Desert Dust would...

"Front desk didn't say," said the junior helplessly. "They just said he was wearing a mask. Did you... did you want me to tell them you're busy?"

Han Wenqing stopped and drew back from the screen. He logged out of Glory and got up. "I'll handle it," he told the junior.

The junior scurried off. Zhang Xinjie looked up as Han Wenqing passed him on the way to the door, perturbed at the disruption to their well-worn schedule.

It was definitely Ye Qiu slouching on the couches in the reception area. He somehow made the room look untidy just by his presence. He was wearing a hoodie and had a backpack at his side, no Excellent Era logo in sight.

Han Wenqing waved off the anxious front desk staff and planted himself in front of the slumped figure. "You must have a death wish, coming here in the middle of the season."

Ye Qiu looked up at him. He didn't say anything. He didn't even smile.

Han Wenqing slipped his phone out of his pocket. He'd received a QQ message from Su Mucheng a few hours earlier. Let me know when you see Ye Qiu, she had said.

Why would I see Ye Qiu, he had replied, but had received no answer.

He's here, he replied now. The message sat there unread for a minute before Han Wenqing put his phone away.

He took Ye Qiu around the back to the private elevators and keyed in the code for his suite's floor. They didn't see anyone else on the way, so he didn't have to glare anybody into silence.

There were several chairs in his room: a comfortable armchair, a desk chair and the stool that Zhang Xinjie used when he wanted to talk strategy in the middle of the night, but Ye Qiu took off his shoes and crossed the room directly to Han Wenqing's bed.

"What are you doing here?" Han Wenqing asked finally.

Ye Qiu pulled off his mask and snorted. "Haven't they announced it yet? Just wait. You'll find out." His voice sounded rough.

In his pocket, Han Wenqing's phone buzzed. He picked it up, but it wasn't Su Mucheng.

You need to come back to the practice room, said Zhang Xinjie.

Ye Qiu had taken off his jacket and slung it over the back of Han Wenqing's desk chair. He looked like he was about to pass out.

"Don't touch anything," said Han Wenqing, and left the room.

When he reached the practice room, nobody was looking at their computers. They were looking at the projector screen. It was displaying Excellent Era's logo, and Han Wenqing scowled instinctively.

"What's happened?"

Zhang Xinjie pointed at the headline that had just reappeared on the bottom of the screen.

Excellent Era announces Ye Qiu's retirement.

Han Wenqing stared at the words, demanding that they make sense. "Is he there?" he demanded, pointing at the screen but meaning Excellent Era's press room.

"No," said Zhang Xinjie. "He didn't even appear in person for the announcement." He sounded judgmental.

"No," echoed Han Wenqing. His voice seemed to be coming from very far away. "He's in my bedroom."

"He's--" Zhang Xinjie broke off with a curse. He dragged Han Wenqing out of the room and stared at him intently. "Did you already know about this?"

"No."

"Did he say anything?"

"No."

Both of their phones were now buzzing incessantly as the news spread around the league. Han Wenqing went to turn his off, but saw that Su Mucheng had replied with a single thumbs up emoji.

What the fuck is going on, he replied, then he actually did turn his phone off.

"Why would he retire?" he asked out loud.

Zhang Xinjie usually had an explanation for everything, at least when it came to Glory, but his brow was furrowed in deep confusion. "Excellent Era have been struggling recently," he started.

"Not because of Ye Qiu," argued Han Wenqing. "He's still playing well. It's the rest of the team who are falling apart around him." He rolled his eyes. Nobody in Tyranny would dare pull the kind of stunts Excellent Era had this season.

Zhang Xinjie nodded in agreement. "There's plenty of other reasons he could retire early. He might have family commitments. He might be sick." Han Wenqing felt a queasy, cold feeling take root in his gut, but Zhang Xinjie was continuing. "He might think Excellent Era is better off without him."

Han Wenqing snorted in disbelief. "That guy would never think any team is better without him."

"Perhaps Excellent Era was ready to move on without him."

The idea was ludicrous. "If that's true, they don't deserve to be in this league," he said firmly.

"Why don't we go ask him?" said Zhang Xinjie. He sounded suspiciously gentle.

"He's asleep," said Han Wenqing automatically.

"Of course," said Zhang Xinjie. "He must have travelled all night to get here. Did he bring any luggage?"

"Just a backpack."

"I see," said Zhang Xinjie thoughtfully. He glanced at his watch. "We can ask him at 3:00 PM," he said. "We have a meeting in 8 minutes."

Han Wenqing went back to his room. Ye Qiu was stretched out on the bed, facing away from the door, and didn't stir even as Han Wenqing taped a note to the inside of the door.

I'll be back at 3:00 PM. Do NOT leave the room before we've spoken.

After a moment, he grudgingly added an extra line to the top. Welcome. Sleep well.

--

Han Wenqing opened the door again at 3:00 precisely. Ye Qiu was lying on the bed with Han Wenqing's copy of the Wuzi spread out in front of him. He looked rumpled and barely awake - although that at least was normal - and was tapping a pencil against his lips thoughtfully. His expression brightened as he looked up and saw Han Wenqing, then settled into something closer to his usual resting smug face as Zhang Xinjie followed him into the room.

"Yo," said Ye Qiu. He closed the book and settled into a sitting position.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment. Ye Qiu was now leaning against the wall with his legs drawn up on the bed and his arms wrapped around his legs. Han Wenqing had never met anybody who could be so infuriating while not saying a single word.

"I think you owe us an explanation," said Zhang Xinjie.

"I got bored," said Ye Qiu. His expression challenged them to call him on the lie.

Han Wenqing was tempted to turn around and walk out again, but this was his territory. "Didn't you tell me your career would be one day longer than mine? You would never be satisfied with anything less."

Ye Qiu straightened. His expression shuttered. "It was my decision," he said, as if he'd been practicing it.

Han Wenqing was preparing to yell at him until he made sense, but Zhang Xinjie interjected with a quiet, "What were the other choices?"

Ye Qiu laughed, but it sounded uncharacteristically bitter. "Give up One Autumn Leaf and become a training partner."

Han Wenqing would rather die.

"You could break your contract," suggested Zhang Xinjie.

"Not possible."

"Not possible? If it's just a matter of money..." began Zhang Xinjie.

"It's not just mine. There's Mucheng's to consider too."

"I see," said Zhang Xinjie. "It seems like you've considered all the options, as always."

"You should talk to Su Mucheng. She's looking for you," said Han Wenqing disapprovingly.

"I don't have a phone," said Ye Qiu.

"I'll enable the guest account on Han Wenqing's laptop," said Zhang Xinjie. He sat down at the desk and logged in to change the settings. "There. Don't worry, you won't have access to anything sensitive."

"Why would I worry about that," said Ye Qiu.

Han Wenqing huffed in disbelief.

Ye Qiu took the laptop and logged in, completely dismissing them from his attention.

They left Han Wenqing's room and immediately reconvened in Zhang Xinjie's. "Excellent Era…" Han Wenqing began. He clenched his fists and released them slowly. "Excellent Era…" Words failed him.

"Excellent Era," mused Zhang Xinjie, "will be a lot easier to defeat next time we meet them."

Han Wenqing felt a slow, satisfied smile creep over his face. "I'm looking forward to that."

"Mm," agreed Zhang Xinjie. He tapped a finger on his arm thoughtfully. "The more pressing issue is what we're going to do with him."

That, he didn't have an answer for. "Why would he come here?" Han Wenqing asked, furiously. "Why would he make this my problem?"

Zhang Xinjie pushed his glasses back up his nose slowly. "If you'll forgive me, I was under the impression that you two were in a relationship."

"What!" Han Wenqing spluttered. "We're not-- He's not-- It's not like that."

Zhang Xinjie just looked at him.

Han Wenqing looked back, schooling his face into a glare while his traitorous brain provided a steady stream of memories: post-match verbal sparring that turned into dinner and late-night hotel room conversations; stolen moments at the All Star game, away from the eyes of the media; sitting together in the VIP seats in the Finals, trying to keep up with Ye Qiu's annoyingly accurate predictions. The one person who had been there since the beginning.

"It would have been very hard for him," said Zhang Xinjie, very blandly. "He must have felt like he had nowhere to go."

"It's Ye Qiu," said Han Wenqing. "He's probably here because he thought it would be funny."

"He looked very comfortable in your bed."

He snorted. "Ye Qiu has never met a limit he didn’t want to test."

"Well," said Zhang Xinjie. "You've known him longer than I have." He was looking increasingly distracted. "I need to start running some simulations," he added, sitting down at his laptop. "I'll see you at dinner."

Dismissed again, Han Wenqing went to the practice room to blow off some steam on some hapless rookies.

--

The team had a dining hall with scheduled meals, but there was also a kitchenette they kept stocked with quick meals and protein bars for impromptu eating. Han Wenqing attended the team dinner as usual, then excused himself. He prepared a random meal in the kitchenette and took it up to his room.

Ye Qiu looked surprised when he arrived with the food. Han Wenqing smiled to himself in satisfaction. Surprising Ye Qiu was always a pleasure.

After he finished eating, Ye Qiu sat back and looked at him, his eyes a challenge. "Now what?", he seemed to be asking.

"What do you want?" Han Wenqing asked.

"Glory," said Ye Qiu.

Han Wenqing nodded in understanding. It was a single word, but it was enough. Glory, and everything that encompassed. Glory. Victory.

To keep playing, as long as possible.

"The tenth server just launched," Han Wenqing pointed out. "Make a new character, help us grow the guild on the new server. Then join Tyranny next year."

Ye Qiu cocked his head to the side. "The fans would never accept it. Either side."

Han Wenqing snorted. "Since when do you play for the fans? You don't owe Excellent Era a damn thing. Players leave for better teams all the time. If Excellent Era's fans can accept Sun Xiang joining they'll have to accept you leaving."

"Better teams?" repeated Ye Qiu, amused.

"Yes. Don't you think it's time you joined the best team in the league?"

"I haven't heard anything from Zhou Ze-- Oh, you meant Tyranny?"

Han Wenqing glared at him and fumed until he could string together a coherent sentence again. "Nobody even knows what you look like! Just make a false name or something."

Ye Qiu started laughing.

Han Wenqing hesitated. Ye Qiu smirking, he could deal with. Ye Qiu spouting infuriating nonsense, he could shut down with prejudice. Ye Qiu talking Glory strategy deep into the night was a rare blessing.

This hysterical, uncontrollable laughter was something entirely new. He must be missing something, and at this point he'd thought he'd known everything there was to know about his true rival.

"Can't you be serious for five minutes?" he muttered, irritated. "Why did you even come here?"

Ye Qiu flopped back on Han Wenqing's bed and flung his arm over his eyes. He was silent for a moment. "You were the first person I thought of." He said it lazily, like it was an insult, but Han Wenqing could sense the vulnerability behind it.

After a moment, Ye Qiu moved his arm behind his head to prop it up and meet Han Wenqing's eyes.

He could find a hotel room for Ye Qiu nearby. It would be the sensible thing to do. Hiding Tyranny’s most hated rival inside their building was ridiculous.

Instead, he dug around in his drawer for an old t-shirt and threw it at Ye Qiu. "Go shower. You stink." He knew what this guy was like. If he lost sight of him for more than a second he'd disappear.

"I showered earlier," said Ye Qiu, because of course he wouldn’t have waited for permission. Despite the protest, he got up and went into the ensuite. Han Wenqing heard the water running and Ye Qiu brushing his teeth.

Ye Qiu came out again a few minutes later, wearing Han Wenqing's t-shirt and yawning. The t-shirt was too large on him and made him look even smaller. He needed to eat and work out more, Han Wenqing thought critically.

Ye Qiu pulled at the hemline of the t-shirt and rolled his eyes at the Tyranny logo on the front. He gave Han Wenqing a wry look. "I didn't say yes."

"Not yet," said Han Wenqing, and went into the ensuite.

Han Wenqing showered briskly and efficiently. When he got out, Ye Qiu was in his bed, under the covers. His eyes fluttered open as Han Wenqing slid into the bed next to him.

"It's been a decade already," said Ye Qiu softly. "It's hard to believe. Do you remember what it was like, back then?"

Back then, before there was Tyranny and Excellent Era, there was One Autumn Leaf and Desert Dust. Rivals from the moment they met. Thinking about that first defeat could still make him tense with anger.

The next time he met One Autumn Leaf, it wouldn't be Ye Qiu at the other end. Han Wenqing was looking forward to grinding that little punk into dust.

Almost to himself, Ye Qiu muttered, "Who would have thought it would end up like this."

"What do you mean, 'end'?" demanded Han Wenqing.

Ye Qiu's eyes flicked up to meet his, startled. "I'm not quitting," he said quickly. "I'm not giving up. I still want to play."

"Good," said Han Wenqing, settling down again. "My rival isn't a coward." He turned off the bedside lamp and closed his eyes.

Silence descended for a moment.

"We've been rivals for ten years," murmured Ye Qiu. "We could try being something else." Han Wenqing felt him roll over to face the wall.

"Hmmm," said Han Wenqing. He could feel the calmness of sleep starting to steal over him. Tomorrow, he thought. It could wait until tomorrow.

"If we're going to do this," said Ye Qiu drowsily, "you should know that my name is actually Ye Xiu."

It took a long time for the implication of those words to penetrate his sleepy haze. Han Wenqing's eyes flew open, but Ye Qiu was fast asleep.