When Tong Yao came downstairs, she heard Little Fatty complaining about being hungry, spouting nonsense like he was going to starve himself thin... Tong Yao crouched in front of the shoe cabinet to find her shoes and asked without looking up, "Little Fatty, did Cheng Ge get you back to Grandmaster yesterday?"
Dead silence answered her from behind.
She turned around to see Little Fatty pointing at the dark circles under his eyes. "Do you think these are the melancholic dark circles of a Grandmaster?"
Tong Yao: "..."
She then glanced at Lu Sicheng, who was making coffee in the kitchen, and casually asked, "Cheng Ge, why are you bullying our Little Fatty?" Lu Sicheng casually replied, "I'm not," and walked over to the entrance, shoving a cup of instant noodles into Little Fatty's arms. "Go beg for hot water at the airport to make this. Stop whining."
Little Fatty hugged the noodles tightly. At the same time, Xiao Rui shouted from outside, telling them the car had arrived and to hurry up. Tong Yao responded, quickly put on her shoes, and reached for her suitcase—only for Lu Sicheng to pick it up effortlessly.
"I can do it myself—"
"Just go," Lu Sicheng said, tilting his chin.
Left with no choice, Tong Yao turned to leave empty-handed, only for Lu Sicheng to grab her again. "Slow down. You're last."
Tong Yao gave him a puzzled look. By the time the two of them finally made it out of the headquarters, the second-string players had already boarded the bus, followed by the first-string team, Xiao Rui, Ming Shen, and the staff. Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng were the last ones left.
With both teams combined, the bus was packed for the first time. When Tong Yao got on, all the seats were taken except for the last row—Lu Sicheng's usual spot. Little Fatty and Lu Yue sat in the front row, and Little Fatty grinned at Tong Yao. "Sorry, you'll have to squeeze with our captain."
Tong Yao opened her mouth to retort when someone poked her from behind. She shut her mouth, threw a "Is your captain gonna eat me or something?" at Little Fatty, and headed to the back row, plopping down. Lu Sicheng sat beside her, and Tong Yao glanced up at him.
Soon after, he saw Tong Yao take out her phone and start typing.
A moment later, he felt his own phone vibrate in his pocket—
【Bunny Hugging a Carrot: Move over. Why are you sitting so close?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: The AC is cold.】
【Bunny Hugging a Carrot: Turn it off.】
【fhdjwhdb2333: No.】
【Bunny Hugging a Carrot: What do you mean 'no'? There's so much space, why are you glued to me?】
【fhdjwhdb2333: No one's looking at us. Look up.】
Tong Yao glanced around and realized no one was paying attention to them. Some were gaming, others listening to music or sleeping, and the rest were reviewing scrim notes—everyone was busy with their own things. No one noticed them.
Tong Yao sighed in relief. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the person beside her slouch slightly, cross his legs, and pull his jacket hood over half his face—assuming the signature "China Telecom Team Captain" sprawl.
Except this time, he slid an arm behind her, silently wrapping it around her waist.
The breath Tong Yao had just exhaled caught in her throat. She stiffened slightly, sitting up straighter, only to feel the man's slender fingers pinch her waist. In a low, lazy voice, he said, "Relax."
...Relax my ass.
Tong Yao tried to pry his hand away, but his cool fingers remained stubbornly locked around her waist—until she used her index finger to pry his grip. Finally, he let go, only to grab her finger instead.
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng tugged at her finger, played with it, and succinctly commented, "Soft." Satisfied, he leaned against her and dozed off.
Left alone in panic, Tong Yao spent the next two hours terrified that Greedy Wolf or Po Jun in front of them might turn around. By the time they reached the airport, Lu Sicheng drowsily lifted his head from her shoulder—only to find the person he'd used as a pillow squished into the corner of the back row, curled up in protest.
Lu Sicheng sat up, pushed back his hood, and bent down behind the seat to kiss her hand. "Thanks for your hard work."
Tong Yao, whose waist was nearly broken, yanked her hand back, unmoved. "Shut up. Never sitting with you again. Next time, I'd rather sit on the floor."
Lu Sicheng: "Huh."
Tong Yao: "What 'huh'?"
Lu Sicheng: "Expressing disappointment. I really wanted to sit with you."
Faced with the horrified stares of the two second-string kids in front of them, Tong Yao could only respond to this absurd world with solemnity.
...
The China Telecom Team had planned to arrive in Xiamen two days before the match. Now, that decision seemed brilliant—because after getting their boarding passes at the airport, they learned the flight was delayed indefinitely due to repairs.
At first, people pestered the staff.
Eventually, the staff snapped, "The plane's broken. Still fixing it. You wanna fly on a broken plane?"
Everyone fell silent and obediently returned to their seats. The team waited in the VIP lounge for an hour before Tong Yao, impatient, stood up. "I'm going for a walk," she announced, heading out. Lu Sicheng, busy explaining tactics to the second-string players, glanced up and said flatly, "Don't go far. Take your phone. Don't talk to strangers."
The lounge fell silent.
Tong Yao stared at Lu Sicheng, hands in her pockets. Little Fatty broke the awkward silence: "Captain, you know our Mid Laner is an adult, right?"
Lu Sicheng gave Tong Yao a long look and slowly replied, "I know."
Tong Yao labeled that look as "perverted behavior," glared at him, and left.
The airport was bustling. Tong Yao, figuring the chance of running into esports fans here was less than 5%, hadn't bothered with a mask or a low-brimmed hat. Twenty minutes later, she was successfully "ganked" by a fan.
She was examining skincare products when someone tugged her sleeve. A timid voice asked, "Are you... Smiling?"
Tong Yao turned to see a kid around 13 or 14. His eyes lit up when they met. "It really is you! I—I'm your fan! I loved watching your streams before you went pro! I play Mid too—learned so much from you! I'm Diamond One in Ionia server. If I climb higher, maybe I'll get to play with you. My dream is to play one game with you!"
The kid rambled excitedly while Tong Yao stood there, grinning dumbly as he asked for an autograph and a photo—under the bewildered stares of passersby wondering who this "celebrity" was.
After the photo, the kid whispered, "I'm 13, Diamond One. I can hit Grandmaster this summer. Smiling, do you think I can go pro?"
"You're Diamond One at 13? With effort, definitely. But you'd need your family's—"
Before she could finish, a well-dressed middle-aged woman rushed over, scolding the kid. "You ran off again! Talking to strangers! The plane's boarding, and I had to search everywhere! Can't you behave?"
The kid's smile vanished. Embarrassed in front of his idol, he muttered, "I wasn't talking to strangers. She's an esports player I like—"
"What player?"
"Esports."
"Es-what? You mean gaming?" The woman pushed him. "Kids these days, wasting time on games and calling it 'esports'—"
"It's real! Esports is the 99th official sport recognized by the General Administration of Sport!"
"Oh, a 'sport'? Then why isn't it in the Olympics? Enough nonsense—let's go!"
As the kid was dragged away, he turned back and waved. "Smiling! I wanna go pro too! Win championships! But this year's World Championship—I'm counting on you!"
His mom smacked his head.
Tong Yao chuckled, waving back. As the kid disappeared into the crowd, a cold voice spoke behind her: "What kind of idiocy are you up to now?"
Tong Yao: "........................"
Ah. Her "guardian" had arrived.
She turned to Lu Sicheng. "Why are you here?"
He checked his watch. "You were gone for 30 minutes. I thought you'd been kidnapped."
"I'm broke," Tong Yao said, hugging his waist and nuzzling him. "Three months into my pro career, and I've already lost three months' salary. My net worth is negative."
"I have money. If they kidnapped you and asked for five million, I'd pay." Lu Sicheng held her close. "Who was that kid?"
"Just a fan."
Suddenly remembering something, Tong Yao tried to pull away—but Lu Sicheng pressed her head down. "What did he say?"
"Asked for an autograph, a photo, said he wants to go pro—" She smacked his waist when he scoffed. "But his mom ganked him. She said, 'If esports is a real sport, why isn't it in the Olympics?'"
"Golf only got into the Olympics this year. Does that make it not a real sport?"
"..."
"Read more. Watch the news." Lu Sicheng sighed, then added, "But if being clueless gets you to hug me like this, I don't mind. Stay clueless."
"She called me a gaming addict."
"You are a gaming addict... Not that I mind."
Lu Sicheng looked down at her. Tong Yao, still worried about being seen, buried her flushed face in his chest. His gaze softened. After a moment, he said, "Let me ask you something."
"What?"
"Is my trial period over?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Three seconds of silence.
She tugged his clothes, pulling him down as she stood on tiptoe to brush her lips against his—a fleeting kiss. As she tried to retreat, Lu Sicheng grabbed her, ready to push for more—
Then his hand froze.
Confused, Tong Yao followed his gaze—and saw Little Fatty standing amid the crowd, plastic fork in his mouth, holding a freshly made cup of noodles, staring at them with a face of utter bewilderment.
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