The two brothers left the apartment in the early hours of the morning, appearing nine parts tourist and one part zombie with suitcases in one hand and coffee in the other. Yet, they still attracted looks from the businesswomen who passed by.
Everyone likes a beautiful face and these two siblings were effortlessly beautiful, even in sweatpants and sweaters.
Xiao Qiu had scolded Xiao Yi before leaving the house, so his mask which used to be his essential accessory was obediently left behind due to his former public appearances. “No mask. You can be recognized if you wear a mask. Gosh, I never thought I’d say that - your normal appearance is your disguise!”
Xiao Yi stared at the black mask in his palms for a moment before he glanced up and saw that Xiao Qiu was really serious - he looked like he was prepared to snatch it from him! Needless to say, the pedestrians could thank Xiao Qiu for allowing them to catch a glimpse of two beautiful faces early in the morning instead of one.
The walk to the base was quite peaceful. The sun was shining down and there was only a light, occasional breeze making it a fast travel. It was the most ideal sweater weather in Xiao Yi’s opinion, it wasn’t hot but it wasn’t freezing either, it felt like the beginning of autumn.
It was so nice out that Xiao Yi debated going on a morning walk every day, only to throw the thought out of his mind when he remembered his painful broken elevator experience.
Neither brother spoke after they left the apartment. Xiao Yi wasn’t a talkative person and Xiao Qiu was simply too exhausted to start a conversation so they decided to share airpods and listen to music. He had the bright idea to go to a small coffee shop and grab two coffees bright and early, though.
Lee would have him roasted on a stick if he passed out as soon as he entered the base!
Aside from those rushing to get to work on time, families could be seen walking hand in hand or in groups as they enjoyed the rare but welcome nice weather. It wasn’t a weekend, but due to being on the outskirts of the city, there wasn’t too much traffic, making it easy to head to the park or go shopping.
In no time, the two brothers reached the base. It was an old community hall that had been abandoned for a few years with no buyers so Lee bought it and renovated it. It didn’t look anything like it had a few years ago, the old bricks covered with ivory siding, the windows expanded, balconies added. Hell, the roof had even been renovated - Lee took up gardening and turned it into a small garden with a seating area, and BBQ.
Next to the three-story building was a smaller building that used to be an extra classroom, added to the property nearly a decade ago and used for storage after the school was moved and expanded. Lee also renovated it, turning it into a bachelors apartment but it hadn’t been used since he finished the apartment building.
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Xiao Qiu fixed his gaze on the small black-sided building and sighed. That was going to be his little brother’s home. It felt like he was the eldest young master sending his illegitimate brother to the side courtyard to stay out of his way in a historical drama.
After that thought, he felt like an idiot. His brother doesn’t sleep during the night.
Wasn’t he just going to use it as storage and to change?
The brothers made their way to the base door and Xiao Qiu inputted his code - Xiao Yi’s birthday - and swung open the door with a loud. “Honey, I’m home! Where’s dinner?”
“Asshole, make your own dinner! We just finished breakfast, want a piece of toast?” A rough voice came from another room and Xiao Yi recognized it as one of his brother's teammates, Alex.
The brothers took off their shoes and walked through the building, leaving their suitcases behind. Xiao Yi admired the interior as he took a sip of his coffee and slowly followed behind Xiao Qiu.
The three floors were connected by a spiral staircase in the far left corner, but that wasn’t what impressed him. Xiao Yi could see the roof of the building with a large, open skylight from where he was, along with the two floors above him that had hallways wrapping around the room.
The room he entered had a seating area, a long bar with fridges filled with soda and other drinks, and an oven behind the counter.
Xiao Qiu led Xiao Yi to meet his teammates in their training den, the room directly to the right of the room they were currently in. It was split in two, a meeting room with windows as walls to spy on the players, and the training space with ten high-end computer stations set up.
Xiao Yi nearly gulped seeing the equipment. It was… So sexy.
The best chairs, keyboards, and computers sat in front of him on expensive wood tables. Of course, four of them were occupied.
Xiao Yi stopped drooling over the setups and turned to greet Xiao Qiu’s teammates with a small nod.
He recognized their voices from Xiao Qiu’s streams and watched his tournaments as a supportive brother, but he never took the time to remember their appearances.
“Ah, you brought the infamous Sleeping God!”
Xiao Yi nodded toward Alex, the speaker, and was able to easily depict two identities.
Alex, or Jia Li, had joined the team with his twin brother. They were Chinese-American twins who had joined the team a month after Xiao Qiu signed his contract. Aside from their voices being different, Alex had slightly dirtier blond hair than his brother whilst Sam, or Jia Hao, had bright blond hair with a natural wave.
Other identities… He didn’t think Lee was the type to dye his hair light pink, so the other man must be Hei. Despite this, Hei didn’t look like feminine. His eyes were sharp as he focused on the game in front of him, with a cute little mole under the left eye.
He looked a bit like a K-pop idol whose persona was a delinquent or ‘bad boy’.
That only left Lee, the big boss of Xiao Qiu’s team and likely the only person his elder brother considered a close friend. He, like Hei and Sam, didn’t glance up as he effortlessly moved his mouse but he greeted with a deep. “Welcome.”
His hair was a deep brown, nearly black, and he looked like the type of person who went to the gym twice a week. He wasn’t too muscular but he had a figure.
After a few moments, the notification for the winning team popped up on Lee’s screen and he turned with a raised eyebrow. “He looks tired, what did you do to him?”
Xiao Qiu glanced over at his sibling before he let out an animated sigh and pressed his temples. “You should be asking what you did to him. He didn’t sleep yet, he was packing all night.”
“And that’s my fault? You could have come later, it sounds like it’s your fault. We have beds.”
“He doesn’t use them, he’ll be fine.”