#chen che

So I likened Chen Che and Shen Zhouzhou to Shu Guang and Yu Liang mostly because Chen Che is also the more 'happy go lucky' character to SZZ's level headedness.

(Though they differ in the sense that they weren't childhood rivals but childhood best friends who were practically joined at the hip. Until university, where their family circumstances drive a wedge between them).

so over the course of the first few eps they break up argue at least 3 times

honestly though they just have each others best interest at heart but as I mentioned above, Chen Che has EQ with everyone but SZZ (poor guy)

SZZ also goes Abroad to train (like Yu Liang) but its Worse in his case because he didn't willingly go and well. He wasn't welcomed there either.

He does eventually manage to come back though! But It Gets Worse because Chen Che thinks that SZZ will only be able to reach his full potential in Ice Hockey if he trains abroad rather than in their small town, so he tries pushing him away (it does not go well. my boy develops anxiety).

"What do you mean the two of you are fine! You guys never communicate clearly, each one dawdling more than the other!"

and honestly everyone can see how they're hurting and messed up because of their communication issues. everyone but them im-

If my shitty sales pitch somehow convinced you to watch the drama, here are some links to watch it on YouTube:

There's the English Dub version, original Chinese version (no subs), and Indo subs version

1. Qiao Mu

Qiao Mu watches as yet another one of their new recruits stares starry-eyed at Shen Zhouzhou and Chen Che duking it out on the ice, and takes a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the Talk that they would have to give once again.

“It’s your turn,” he elbows Wang Jin, gesturing to the poor sod tiredly.

“I mean— do we have to?” Wang Jin asks, grimacing. “It would be funnier to watch it all play out, no?”

“So you would let your underclassman get his heart broken just for your entertainment, got it.” Qiao Mu says drily.

“He seems like a tough cookie,” Wang Jin shrugs.

Qiao Mu sighs, muttering a silent apology to his underclassman as he feels his resolve crumbling. Perhaps it would be okay, just this once.

—

They settle in to watch the drama unfold after training was over.

“Captain!” Yin Kai bounds up to Chen Che, faltering slightly when he spots Shen Zhouzhou’s arm slung casually around Chen Che’s shoulder. But to his credit, he quickly gathers himself to ask, “do you want to get lunch after this? There’s a few tactics that I didn’t understand…”

“Sure— Zhouzhou, you can—“ Chen Che agrees easily, unaware of Shen Zhouzhou’s steadily darkening expression, the oblivious bastard that he was.

“Sorry, this guy needs to revise for his English exam, otherwise he won’t be our Captain any longer,” Shen Zhouzhou cuts in, his tone brooking no argument as he shoots Yin Kai a cold smile. “I’m sure Qiao Mu can help you out with those tactics, though.”

Qiao Mu shrugs in agreement, not actually expecting Yin Kai to seek him out— asking for help with a topic was the oldest trick in the book, after all. But to his surprise, Yin Kai does seek him out to clarify certain competitive ice hockey rules, studying them attentively, and Qiao Mu almost suspects that he’d been wrong about him after all, until—

“Senior brother, what does the captain like to eat? I was thinking of making him breakfast, since he comes so early to wake us all up!” Yin Kai asks brightly, and Qiao Mu realises— that's just the way that he was— approaching everything with the same intense concentration and enthusiasm, and he takes pity on the poor guy.

“Don’t bother, Shen Zhouzhou has him covered on that front.” He says tiredly, wincing as he watches Yin Kai’s excited expression fall.

He had made the mistake of trying, once, and Shen Zhouzhou had him blacklisted for half a month after that incident, throwing him overboard into the cruel arms of their capitalistic society.

Qiao Mu hadn’t realised just how expensive their school meals were, until then.

[Rule no.1 of Union College’s Ice hockey team: do not attempt to flirt with Chen Che. Shen Zhouzhou will not pay for your meals or any other expenses otherwise.]

˚₊ ❄︎࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

2. Li Shengxian

It is only after the match— a failure of a match, in his books— Union College had been all too easy to beat with No.77 gone missing and No.3 a distracted jumble of limbs afterwards, that Li Shengxian watches the recordings of Chen Che’s previous matches.

Was it possible for someone’s skills to differ so drastically from one match to another? Admittedly, he had experienced it first hand, how their tactics had taken Chen Che by surprise, how he failed to improvise on the spot to keep up, but for his mental state to affect his skills to that degree— that was where the skill difference between him and his partner lay, in his opinion.

Shen Zhouzhou had all the makings of a professional player, being able to keep a cool head under pressure and strategise on the fly, and to top it off, he had the physical skills to back up his counter-strategies, whereas Chen Che was easily distracted, easily bothered by other factors.

But it is through the recordings that Li Shengxian realises why.

He had asked his coach once, why it was Chen Che who was made captain and not Shen Zhouzhou, whose skills were more outstanding in his eyes.

Now he sees it— the way Chen Che effortlessly pulls his team together, how he shone on the rink in his own way, his confidence in his own skills unparalleled and a beacon that naturally drew one’s attention to him.

He also sees the unconditional trust that Shen Zhouzhou places in him, how he tended to match his pace to Chen Che’s, playing with him one moment and playing off him the next. And he sees the exact moment when Chen Che falls after his hit, how Shen Zhouzhou immediately abandons the game to check on him, his worry palpable even through the screen.

Would he be able to abandon a game like that, just for someone else?

He wouldn’t be able to, Li Shengxian finds. Ice hockey took precedence above anything else in his world.

—

Li Shengxian finds himself standing before Union College’s ice rink even before he knows it.

Whatever for, he does not know. Out of curiousity, perhaps? Or a desire to watch Chen Che play ice hockey again— that sounded more like it— he wasn’t one to lie to himself.

“Shengxian?”

“Jian Yi,” he returns, suddenly feeling out of place standing before Union College’s ice rink.

“What are you doing here?”

“I…” he does not know either. “Where’s Chen Che?”

He does not expect for Jian Yi’s expression to cloud over, darkening in an instant at the mere mention of Chen Che’s name, spitting, “don’t mention that name in front of me.”

(And he knows just what makes Jian Yi tick— Chen Che’s unexplained disappearance during the match— but she would forgive him just as easily, if he had a justifiable reason. Jian Yi may hold grudges, but she was more bark than bite).

“He didn’t return?”

“That bastard told the coach that he is quitting ice hockey.”

“Impossible,” he hears himself saying. Chen Che’s love for the sport was obvious, his passion for it unmatched. He would never voluntarily quit ice hockey— for players like them, it would be torture to distance themselves from the sport— a life that was meaningless if they weren’t playing ice hockey.

“Impossible. Where is he now?”

Jian Yi’s expresison twists, hedging, “no one knows. He cut off all contact.”

“For someone like him, he wouldn’t just quit ice hockey for no reason.”

“You—” Jian Yi says, eyes wide. “Not you too!”

[Rule no.2 of Union College’s Ice hockey team: If said pursuer is not from Union College, anyone who successfully dissuades them from chasing Chen Che will be reimbursed handsomely.]

˚₊ ❄︎࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟ

3. Leng Jing

“Don’t even think about it,” Shen Bingbing quips.

Leng Jing jumps, having been too absorbed in watching Chen Che practice to have noticed the witch sneaking up on him. “Think about what? What are you on about now, you crazy woman.”

“I recognise that look on your face— you’re not the only one who has crushed on Chen Che before,” Shen Bingbing says, straightforward as ever. “Don’t even think about it.”

“Crushing on Chen Che? What nonsense are you spouting now?” Leng Jing blusters, genuinely baffled by how she had come to that conclusion. All he had was genuine admiration for Chen Che’s skating form, and that the extent of it, nothing more at all!

But something she said had piqued his interest, “why not, though?”

Shen Bingbing leans in closer, smiling like a cat that had got the canary, “you admitted to it yourself, it has nothing to do with me~”

And just like that, she leaves just as quickly as she had come, leaving Leng Jing with more questions than before.

—

He asks Qiao Mu about it.

Being one of the original members of the team, surely he spoke Shen Bingbing’s nonsense language, Leng Jing figures, and his captain does not disappoint. His eyes had gone alarmingly flat at his question, however, all signs of life having been drained from him, leaving behind only an empty shell of his former captain.

“That,” Qiao Mu says, his face twisting as if he had just sucked on a lemon. “I completely forgot about that.”

“I suppose we’ll have to start warning everyone again, now that they’re back.” Jian Yi sighs. That catches Leng Jing’s attention— the fact that even their aloof, fierce team leader was in on this too, this had to be a hot topic that he had stumbled across. However—

“Wait, what does it even mean?” Leng Jing asks impatiently. The two of them had withdrawn into their own little bubble, communicating in gestures that only they understood as the rest of them watched with bated breath.

How one team managed to have so much drama, he didn’t know. But at least it was more exciting than whatever the broadcasting team had going on.

“It’s exactly what Shen Bingbing said,” Jian Yi says, apparently having lost whatever debate she had against Qiao Mu. “Don’t even think about going after Chen Che.”

“Or Shen Zhouzhou, for that matter,” she adds, almost as an afterthought.

Leng jing raises a brow in question, intrigued by the unspoken rules the old hockey team seemed to have. He’d seen countless classmates attempt to confess to Shen Zhouzhou upon his return, only to be politely rebuffed by the guy— what a waste, he had thought then— but now, he realises, he has to review his opinions.

(Perhaps it wasn’t such a waste after all, if Shen Zhouzhou had already set his eyes on someone).

“But why?” Lele presses, confusion written all over his face.

“Aiya, isn’t it obvious?” Wei Guo says, exasperated. “Shen Zhouzhou has staked his claim. Do you still want your free chicken cutlets or not?”