Tong Yao swayed back to her hotel room with shopping bags in hand, about to open the door when she received a call from her best friend Jin Yang, who blurted out immediately: "Your future employer lost the finals."
"Mhm." Tong Yao responded absentmindedly, her mind still occupied by the retreating figure of that young man stepping out of the elevator earlier—for some reason, she felt his silhouette radiated a silent mockery.
"Heard Ming Shen wasn't in good condition after the fourth match, so they subbed him out. The new Mid Laner they brought in was someone no one's ever seen before, and his macro play was terrible—"
"What would a Silver rank player like you know about macro play?"
"I was going to say 'nowhere near as good as you,' but I take it back now. What's wrong with Silver rank? At least I wash my hair every day!"
"......"
Tong Yao curled her lips, pinning the phone between her shoulder and cheek as she fished out her keycard with one hand—the card beeped twice, and the door unlocked. She stepped inside, kicking it shut with her foot, just as her friend's voice came through: "What was that sound? You're back at the hotel? Alone? Didn't they check out right after today's match to return to the team headquarters? You didn't go with them?"
"Everyone's been busy preparing for the finals lately, so no one's had time to help me pack. I'm staying at the hotel for a couple more days. Besides, it's the off-season now, what's the rush—what are you really trying to say?"
There was a pause on the other end before the question finally burst out: "Did you see Cheng Ge?"
Tong Yao: "......"
Her sore spot had been unintentionally poked.
She pursed her lips and reluctantly answered, "Why are you, a taken woman, so hung up on Lu Sicheng? Yeah, I saw him. We took the same elevator back to the hotel just now. He's staying on the floor below me. Since my hands were full, he asked which floor I was on and pressed the button for me."
An excited squeal came through the phone: "Does he know who you are?"
Tong Yao: "No."
Jin Yang sounded like she was jumping for joy: "Oh my God! That's so romantic! It's exactly like the meet-cute scene in a shoujo manga! Ahhhh, Yao Yao, breaking up with Jian Yang led you to this moment, don't you see?!"
Tong Yao: "...I love how imaginative you are."
Since when was this how shoujo manga protagonists met? Any idiot could tell Lu Sicheng had only pressed the elevator button out of the kindness reserved for "helping the disabled"... Thinking this, Tong Yao scratched her head and glanced at the shopping bags at her feet, relieved that Lu Sicheng hadn't gotten a good look at her face—otherwise, she didn't even want to imagine how awkward their next encounter would be...
Just then, Tong Yao heard airport announcements in the background and asked, puzzled, "You're at the airport?"
"Yeah, A Mao's parents are getting divorced. His mom is sending him to live with his dad—my ex-husband," Jin Yang explained.
A Mao was the ragdoll cat Jin Yang and Ai Jia had raised together.
"You two didn't get back together? And the team headquarters allows cats?"
"If no one at the headquarters is allergic, it should be fine. Ai Jia's team allows it. If you want to bring Da Bing with you, you should ask your manager first." As Jin Yang spoke, another boarding announcement played in the background. She probably stood up from her seat, adding, "Boarding now, gotta go. Just called to let you know—see you in Shanghai."Tong Yao let out an "Oh" and obediently hung up the phone. She sat alone on the bed, lost in thought for a while. Eventually, unable to resist the urge to bring her cat to Shanghai, she opened WeChat and hesitantly tapped into a group chat—one she had been added to about an hour ago by the team manager, Rui Ge. At a glance, the members seemed to be the five starting players of the ZGDX team, along with the coaching staff, data analysts, and others...
At that time, Lu Sicheng and the others were still on stage playing their match, so the group had been completely silent.
Even now, the group remained as quiet as a chicken.
Tong Yao bit her lower lip and started typing—
【Smiling: HI】
Before long, someone responded—
【Magical Girl Mao Mao Mao: New Mid Laner sis! Hello hello!】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Hey there.】
【ZGDX、K: Welcome to the team <(?3?)/】
【Round and Plump Fatty: Oh wow, look who it is! The new Mid Laner! Smiling, we’re heading back to the team headquarters soon. When are you coming? Wanna go together? Haven’t met you yet!】
【ZGDX、Ming: Damn, I just retired and my corpse isn’t even cold yet, and you bootlickers are already celebrating the new arrival… Ugh, so mad!】
【ZGDX Xiao Rui: Ming Shen, stop yelling. You literally just switched to being a data analyst, it’s not like you’re actually leaving… Also, Little Fatty, the room for the girl at headquarters isn’t even ready yet. If she comes with us now, are you planning to make her sleep in the bathtub?】
【Smiling: Hehehe, um, hi everyone! Actually, I just wanted to ask—I heard some team headquarters allow cats if no one’s allergic. Does ours?】
After sending this, Tong Yao stared at her phone for a long time, growing increasingly regretful. She felt the question was way too abrupt. Just as she was agonizing over whether to withdraw the message, a flurry of responses popped up—"No problem," "What breed is your cat? How old? Male or female?" "I love cats!"—all harmonious and welcoming. Her heart lifted, and she was about to type a thank-you to her friendly teammates when her eye twitched at a sudden message that appeared at the bottom of the screen—
【fhdjwhdb2333: No.】
Tong Yao: "...?"
Who was this garbled mess?
【fhdjwhdb2333: There’s something at headquarters allergic to cats.】
Tong Yao: "..."
Oh.
Her eyes drooped in disappointment—
【Smiling: I see… Never mind then…】
【Round and Plump Fatty: Wait, hold on, Cheng Ge, that makes no sense. Since when is there anything at headquarters allergic to cats?】
Cheng Ge?
Lu Sicheng?
This garbled mess was Lu Sicheng?
Tong Yao blinked. The image of that sarcastic face flashed in her mind, instantly sapping her will to resist. Her fingers flew across the keyboard: "Never mind then, if Cheng Ge is allergic to cats, I’ll just drop it." But before she could finish typing, new messages appeared—
【fhdjwhdb2333: There is.】
【fhdjwhdb2333: My goldfish.】
Tong Yao: "..."
What the—?
Goldfish?
Tong Yao was utterly baffled.
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Cheng Ge, stop messing around.】【fhdjwhdb2333: ? Those goldfish are like family to me, like my own sons.】
Tong Yao: "..."
Holy shit, this man...
Alright, alright, I give up.
Tong Yao wiped her face, as if hearing the towering statue named "Lu Sicheng" in her heart collapsing with a thunderous crash... With a face full of exasperation, she stared at her phone, itching to screenshot the chat and post it on Weibo to announce to the whole world—come and see, the Cheng Ge you all adore treats creatures with a seven-second memory like his own sons, what a goddamn idiot—
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: You can bring the cat. Just ignore him.】
【fhdjwhdb2333: ?】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Got a problem?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: What if the cat eats my sons?】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Buy new ones then. Can’t afford it? The money you save from cutting back on cigarettes would be enough to fill your house with descendants. Speaking of which, did you sneak off to smoke again just now? Everyone else went back to their rooms, but you were dawdling behind, reeking of hand soap like you’re trying to cover something up…】
【fhdjwhdb2333: I hate cats.】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: And?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: I hate you too.】
【ZGDX、Xiao Rui: I like you. Thanks for saving the club another three grand. I’ll make sure to notify accounting later.】
Tong Yao: "..."
What followed was an endless derailment, revolving around the argument of "whether Lu Sicheng actually smoked or not," though the discussion level hovered around that of a third grader... Tong Yao, unable to bear it any longer, exited WeChat. She opened a bag of chips, munching loudly to calm her nerves, then called home to arrange for her cat to be sent to Shanghai to keep her company.
……
Three days later.
Tong Yao, dragging a suitcase in one hand and carrying an airline crate with her cat Da Bing in the other, embarked on her grand journey to the ZGDX team headquarters.
Settling into the taxi, she realized she was buzzing with excitement. The calm she’d managed to regain in recent days was shattered as her heart pounded wildly once more... Driven by the exhilaration of "I’m going pro! Holy shit, I’m actually going pro! Damn, I’m so awesome, I’m going pro!" Tong Yao couldn’t resist her impulses and posted a Weibo update—
【Salty Fish Girl Smiling: Heading to ZGDX headquarters to report in! ZGDX、Smiling connecting… Please stand by (???)?】
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