Tong Ruo flirted a bit more with Zheng Xiaoxiao, "I'll go down and check. You stay put here."
Saying that, Tong Ruo went downstairs. She saw everyone gathered around Lu Bingming, seemingly about to scold him. Tong Ruo clapped her hands, "What's going on with all of you? Are you trying to provoke me? I couldn't hear you from the second floor, and I thought you all had changed from before, so I came down to get you to liven things up. It's only been a few minutes, and it's quiet again? What's happening?"
The crowd pointed at Lu Bingming, who was surrounded in the center. "Sister Ruo, ask him."
Lu Bingming, at whom everyone was pointing, was currently squatting in front of the sofa, holding his head and murmuring, "I just asked if Coach Xia would play like this in the semifinals..."
Xia Huanao took a deep breath. "Li Qiufeng, Wei Chiting, Tan Yue, Tu Zhuanghai, Zhu Feng, Xing Kai, the six of you..."
Hearing Xia Huanao speak, the six responded, "Yes."
Before Xia Huanao could say anything, Tong Ruo spoke up. "The six of you, drag Lu Bingming out and beat him until he's half dead. This guy who can't read the room deserves to be taught a lesson. It's a perfectly good celebration, and he's found trouble for himself."
The six laughed and dragged Lu Bingming out to be "fed to the mosquitoes." The three girls also followed out to join in the fun, while Tong Ruo went to Xia Huanao's side. "What do you think? You're not really going to sit out the next match, are you?"
Seeing that all the school team members had gone out, Xia Huanao shook his head. "I will participate. I have a bad feeling. Even if I give it my all, I might not be able to win against my opponent."
As he spoke, Xia Huanao leaned in and whispered a few words into Tong Ruo's ear.
"What? How is that possible?"
"This is just my guess, but I should know after the match. However, even now, I'm about seventy percent sure."
The match between the Six Spirits Grand Battle and the Spirit Descent Electronic Technology University was scheduled for June 9th, after the college entrance examination. Before this, Xia Huanao had a considerable amount of time to prepare for the match. However, on the very next day, before Xia Huanao could even begin his preparations, something went wrong.
...
On the first floor of the villa, Xia Huanao looked at the vaguely humanoid life form in front of him and asked, "Where did you capture this spirit from? It's so big and looks so awkward. The league won't allow you to use such a spirit in competition."
The "spirit" lying on the ground opened its mouth. "Coach Xia, it's me, Lu Bingming..."
Xia Huanao was surprised. "Whoa, what happened to you? Did they really feed you to the mosquitoes?"
Lu Bingming said, "Well, uh, last night, I came out in the middle of the night, and I accidentally missed a step on the stairs. I fell to the first floor and ended up like this."
Xia Huanao looked at Lu Bingming's current state. "Why were you running around in the middle of the night instead of sleeping? Sleepwalking?"
"I couldn't sleep because of the mosquitoes, so I came out. Who would have thought..."
Xia Huanao looked at Yan Chunyu. "Oh dear, is he going to be alright?"
Yan Chunyu nodded. "Xiao Shui and I have already given him emergency treatment, and we called a professional doctor just now. Although he looks seriously injured, the problem isn't too serious. As long as he rests well and avoids strenuous activity, he'll be fine."
Xia Huanao pointed at Xing Kai. "Xing Kai, it looks like you'll have to take Lu Bingming's place in the semifinals. Any problems?"
Xing Kai shook his head. "No problem. I haven't played a single match since the elimination rounds. It's been so boring just playing group matches."
"Alright, then it's settled. Lu Bingming, you just need to rest well."
After arranging for Lu Bingming, Xia Huanao told everyone to continue training, while he himself focused on strategizing their lineup. In the blink of an eye, a day passed.
In the middle of the night, Wei Chiting got up and looked at the empty bed next to him. Xia Huanao's quilt was neatly untouched, but the person was nowhere to be found.
Wei Chiting crept out of his room. The lights were still on downstairs. He went down and saw Xia Huanao sitting at a desk, writing furiously. Wei Chiting tiptoed to Xia Huanao's side. "Assistant Coach Xia, it's so late. You need to rest."
Xia Huanao replied without looking up. "It's fine, I can handle it. You, on the other hand, is it okay for you not to go back to sleep? What about tomorrow's training if you can't hold on?"
Wei Chiting persuaded him a few more times. Seeing that Xia Huanao was resolute, he gave up and returned to his room to sleep. The next morning, seeing Xia Huanao lying in his own bed, Wei Chiting finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the coach had returned to rest soon.
Little did he know, Xia Huanao had been busy until four or five in the morning. Only when the sky began to lighten did he tidy up the documents on the desk and return to his bed. Xia Huanao lay down and got up about twenty minutes before Wei Chiting.
In the dining hall on the first floor, everyone ate breakfast and then organized their training. Noticing Xia Huanao's empty seat, Lu Bingming asked, "Where's Coach Xia? Why isn't he here for breakfast?"
Wei Chiting pointed upstairs. "Everyone, keep your voices down. Coach Xia was busy all night yesterday and should be sleeping right now."
Everyone lowered their voices upon hearing this and went to train after breakfast. Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo, after eating breakfast, went to the door of Xia Huanao's room on the second floor. They pushed the door open and saw Xia Huanao lying on the bed with a frown, seemingly not sleeping peacefully.
Zheng Xiaoxiao stood by the door, looking at Xia Huanao with concern. "He's just a child. There's no need for him to push himself this hard."
Tong Ruo agreed. "Yes, he's not even eighteen yet. Perhaps we've put too much pressure on him."
"This is just how he is. He seems boisterous, but once he sets his mind on something, he'll give it his all. Let's go, let him rest well."
"To enhance his rest, why don't you lie next to him and keep him company? Maybe a beautiful older sister can help him feel better."
"What nonsense are you spouting? Why don't you go keep him company yourself..."
"It's not impossible for me to keep him company, but I'm afraid you'll get jealous."
The two left quietly. Xia Huanao was destined to not have a long sleep for the next few days. His biological clock limited his sleep time. Around eight in the morning, Xia Huanao got out of bed. Calculating carefully, he had only slept for a little over three hours. As soon as Xia Huanao woke up, he sat at his desk and continued his research. Yesterday he had analyzed the mechanical technology lineup, and today he would analyze the electronic technology. However, the electronic technology lineup was much simpler than the mechanical technology's, with everything revolving around Rotom...
Although electronic technology seemed simpler, Xia Huanao was good at creating trouble for himself. After finishing his research on the electronic technology lineup, it was only a little past five in the afternoon. So, he immediately started working on the biological technology lineup, which led to another all-nighter.
There was no other way. Mid-research, Xia Huanao's mind went on a tangent, and he started thinking about mixed lineups and coordinated combat. Once Pandora's box was opened, it couldn't be closed. Furthermore, because of Lu Bingming's situation, the Six Spirits Grand Battle had replaced him with Xing Kai, who hadn't competed recently. Xia Huanao didn't research Xing Kai's lineup much, and mixed lineups were a system with a vast number of permutations. If we only consider the number of spirits that appeared, including the group stage, the Six Spirits Grand Battle ranked second with twenty-two spirits appearing, while the Spirit Descent Electronic Technology University had thirty-five appearances. The gap was too huge.
The more Xia Huanao researched, the more his head ached. He felt like various data were flying around in the sky before him. With a blur in his vision, Xia Huanao's eyes went black, and he lost consciousness.
The members of the Six Spirits Grand Battle found him the next morning. It was Wei Chiting who discovered the "corpse" again. As his roommate, Wei Chiting was so worried about Xia Huanao that he couldn't sleep. This morning, he woke up even earlier than before, around three or four in the morning. Seeing the empty bed next to him, Wei Chiting was startled. Why wasn't he still sleeping at this hour? However, seeing the towel and quilt on the bed, Wei Chiting comforted himself, thinking that perhaps Coach Xia had just gone to the restroom. But after waiting for a while and Xia Huanao still hadn't returned, Wei Chiting felt something was wrong.
Rushing to the first floor, Wei Chiting saw Xia Huanao lying on the ground and immediately shouted at the top of his lungs, "Someone, come quickly!"
Wei Chiting's shout woke up everyone in the villa. They rushed to the first floor and, upon seeing Xia Huanao lying on the ground, quickly called for a doctor. After the doctor arrived, their diagnosis relieved them: he was just too tired. It wasn't serious, but he needed to rest, even more so than Lu Bingming. Moreover, strenuous mental activity was strictly forbidden for a while.
After hearing the doctor's words, everyone in the Six Spirits Grand Battle immediately decided to have the four lovely nurses, Xiao Shui, Yan Chunyu, Chu Xiaodie, and Guo Shuang'er, accompany Xia Huanao. They would do anything to ensure Xia Huanao's safety. Not only that, but Zheng Xiaoxiao and Tong Ruo also checked on Xia Huanao every half hour or so, which made Lu Bingming feel that he should have fallen harder back then.
Not long after recovering in bed, the match between the Six Spirits Grand Battle and the Spirit Descent Electronic Technology University was about to begin. On the day of the match, the Six Spirits Grand Battle specially brought a chair to the preparation area.
The two sides stood in the center of the field and bowed. The coach of the Spirit Descent Electronic Technology University asked, "What's with the chair you brought?"
Wei Chiting, from the Six Spirits Grand Battle, replied, "It's for our Coach Xia."
"Oh, I see."
Xia Huanao collapsing due to excessive mental exertion was no longer a secret among the remaining teams. So, when Wei Chiting said that, the coach of the Spirit Descent Electronic Technology University understood. She looked at Xia Huanao and said, "You are truly a respectable coach. I admire you."
Xia Huanao smiled. "Thank you very much. I hope you'll go easy on me and take care of this patient."
The coach, a young woman, shook her head. "That won't do. We must win, and I'm sure Coach Xia wouldn't want us to hold back, right?"
"Of course, bring it on."