The Fairy Fox: Shen Yan and Lu Yin

Chapter 4

Shen Yan was miserable, and he knew why. Even his fellow basketball player friends had noticed. They've all lost count how many times the coach had scolded him due to his lack of concentration in the game even if it was just practice. They had already won the major basketball game of the year that is held between universities. The coach even thought he was doing it deliberately since he played a critical role in winning the championship when all the team members fell sick after they went for lunch during the long intermission. Therefore, even though the coach scolded him it was not severely because everyone new how dedicated he was. Which is why they could not understand what's been happening to him this past week. Some team members out of concern asked him several times what was wrong with him but every time he insisted that he was fine, and nothing was wrong with him. Those closer to him noticed even more significant and alarming changes in Shen Yan. He was a cheerful person, but this past week a smile couldn't be spotted on his handsome face. He was always distracted and often dazing faraway as if lost in something only he could see.

He was also losing weight rapidly, those closer to him could understand why, he was not eating. This is what alarmed his friends the most because although Shen Yan spotted abs that made girls in the university drool and guys envious, he was a foodie through and through. His closest friends knew that you could deprive Shen Yan of anything except food. The guy can eat, but now he claimed he had no appetite and barely touched his food during lunch breaks, his favourite time.

The coach was now fed up but thankfully the game was over, so he blew the whistle to end the game. He asked a few people to stay behind including Shen Yan. He gave the guys he had asked to stay behind the instructions he wanted carried out and then turned around and asked Shen Yan to sit on a bench far away from everyone. The bench was isolated enough that people won't be able to eavesdrop on their conversation without being seen.

"Shen Yan, care to tell me what is going on with you lately? And before you feed me the same bullshit that you've been feeding your friends know that I know better." The coach turned to look at him expectantly. The coach might seem hard and sometimes like an asshole, but the players all knew that their coach cared about them and that he was more like a roaring lion without claws or teeth. Shen Yan and the coach were close, almost like friends.

Shen Yan looked down, he was about to spout the same, 'I'm Fine, nothing is wrong', bullshit the coach called him out on. Under the coach's gaze he felt defeated. To him the coach represented his father who was back home and far away from him right now, and he was very close to his father. He suddenly felt his eyes stinging, but he held back the tears through sheer force of will.

"I...I...I really don't know what to do. I'm trying to get past it, but I can't..." He continued looking down feeling even more depressed.

"You know that whatever it is you can tell me, right? I won't judge you." The couch said, trying to get the younger man to open up to him. He could see the utter misery in this boy, the self-blame, hatred and hurt. At first he had wanted to dismiss this as a simple heartbreak which is why he called him out during game times whenever he messed up thinking that with enough scolding, he will get his head back together, but after observing for a while he realised there might be more to this than a simple heartbreak. Hence the here and now.

"I wish it was easy, it's all my fault..." Shen Yan suddenly stopped trying to explain. He took deep breathes to calm down and then turned to look at the coach, "Thank you coach for everything, I promise that I will try to get the situation handled by next week", looking at his watch he continued, "If there's nothing else I have to be somewhere..." looking expectantly at the coach he kept on waiting. The coach looked at Shen Yan and he could see that the boy had decided to keep mum about whatever was happening. He should probably apply pressure; this would work on anyone else except this boy here. He understood his personality well and pressure is the last thing to use when you want Shen Yan to do something, so he relented and nodded his head.