New Beginning and Future

Chapter 79: The Dragon Draws the Line

Summary: As Worlds approaches and pressure mounts from every direction, boundaries that should have been obvious are tested once too often. What begins as careless teasing turns into a lesson no one will forget, because when it comes to his wife, restraint has limits. ZGDX stands firm, rivals learn quickly, and the message is delivered without apology, love has not softened him, it has given him something worth defending without mercy.

Notes:

⚠️ Author's Note: People really need to learn, you do not proke the dragon when it comes to his kitten.

Disclaimer: The Muse would like to remind everyone we do not own FIYS nor the beloved characters nor any dialogue from either the show nor the book...the Muse is very sad and not pleased with this continued reminder that they do not own them and never will!

Chapter Seventy-Seven

The months that followed Wei's son's arrival did not allow anyone the luxury of lingering too long in sentiment, because the OPL season surged forward with relentless force and every professional team in the league hit the ground running as if they had been waiting coiled for precisely this moment, scrims stretching late into the night, review sessions dissecting every misstep with ruthless precision, training regimens tightening until exhaustion became the new normal and rest felt almost indulgent.

ZGDX and YQCB in particular played like two storms on a collision course, each match between them a spectacle that reminded everyone why they were considered the apex predators of the league, and when the opening game of the season placed them head to head once more the arena had felt electric with anticipation, the rivalry sharpened not by bitterness but by mutual respect and the knowledge that neither side would offer mercy.

The first clash of that season ended with YQCB claiming victory by the narrowest of margins, a late-game decision turning the tide in their favor as the crowd erupted and Ai Jia leaned back in his chair with breathless disbelief while Sicheng removed his headset with controlled composure that did not quite mask the simmer beneath it.

"That was ours," Lao Mao muttered as they left the stage.

"It was theirs," Lao K corrected evenly. "By inches."

Yao had said nothing at first, her expression thoughtful rather than frustrated, and when she finally spoke it was quiet and certain. "Then we adjust."

And they did.

The weeks that followed blurred into a whirlwind of matches that left little room to breathe, public events where they were paraded before fans and sponsors alike, autograph lines that stretched for hours, interviews that circled endlessly around rivalries and expectations, and late-night flights that deposited them into unfamiliar cities only to send them back out again before the jet lag could settle.

Through it all the tension between YQCB and ZGDX remained razor thin and fiercely competitive, neither willing to cede dominance for long, and when the Championship Finale arrived once more it felt less like an event and more like destiny repeating itself with higher stakes and sharper edges.

The arena that night had trembled under the weight of anticipation, every seat filled, every camera trained on the stage where the top two teams stood face to face yet again, black and red against black and pink, eyes locked not in hostility but in challenge.

The series stretched them all to their limits, every round hard-fought and merciless, every miscalculation punished instantly, and when the final game tipped in ZGDX's favor by the slimmest thread of advantage, the explosion of sound from the crowd felt almost violent in its intensity as confetti rained down and Yao ripped off her headset with breathless disbelief while Sicheng closed his eyes for one brief second before turning toward her with the faintest, most private smile.