Lu Sicheng took Tong Yao out for a meal. Little Fatty had initially wanted to tag along as the third wheel, but when Lu Sicheng checked the restaurant location on his phone and mentioned it was a fifteen-minute walk, Little Fatty immediately turned around and headed back into the internet café without another word. Before leaving, he only managed to throw out: "I want meat. Remember to buy me some meat."
As the team captain, Lu Sicheng naturally took on the responsibility of ordering takeout for the rest of the team.
Little Fatty returned to his seat in the internet café, where Xiao Rui glanced at him and asked, "Where are our team captain and our team's 'daughter'?"
Little Fatty adjusted his mouse, his expression calm and his acting flawless: "They went to eat."
"Oh," Xiao Rui pondered for a moment, feeling something was off. "Why have they been spending so much time alone together lately? They used to be like fire and water, at each other's throats, but now they're getting along so well?"
Little Fatty didn’t answer. Instead, it was Lu Yue, who hadn’t even looked up from his game, who suddenly blurted out: "Am I going to be an uncle?"
Xiao Rui looked as if he’d been struck by lightning: "That can’t be right. Can you get pregnant just from shopping?"
Lu Yue: "Think about it. What kind of decent person would go for a brat like Tong Yao? My brother’s a beast, a wolf in sheep’s clothing."
As soon as Lu Yue finished speaking, the entire China Telecom team burst into laughter, each of them reveling in the childish joy of "badmouthing the captain behind his back is so damn fun." Only the slightly more righteous Ming Shen kicked Lu Yue’s chair in warning: "You’re the same age as Tong Yao."
Lu Yue finally looked up at that, giving Ming Shen a casual glance: "I’m older."
By then, Little Fatty was already laughing like a duck. Old Cat shook his head, muttering about how filthy-minded they all were. It took Ming Shen five seconds to realize Lu Yue had just made a dirty joke, at which point he smacked the back of Lu Yue’s head with a notebook, forcing his slightly tilted head back into place: "Deducting your pay."
The internet café was filled with harmony.
Throughout it all, Greedy Wolf remained huddled in a corner, not playing any games, just fiddling with his phone—probably texting someone—and deleting the chat history after every message.
...
Meanwhile.
Lu Sicheng held Tong Yao’s hand, occasionally lost in thought. He couldn’t shake the feeling that in the short half-hour he’d been focused on work and temporarily lost sight of his Mid Laner, something subtle had changed about her.
At the very least, before today, it would have been a once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence for Tong Yao to willingly slip her hand into his while walking down the street.
Her sudden dive into his arms outside the bustling internet café had already been an unexpected delight. But then, right after sending Little Fatty off, they’d barely taken two steps when he felt a small, soft hand—boneless, it seemed—squeezing into his, fingers desperately wriggling between his own...
Lu Sicheng had been stunned.
Thinking he might have misunderstood, he’d looked down to ask, "What are you doing?" But before he could speak, he met a pair of bright, dark eyes staring up at him. His Mid Laner had whispered, "Don’t you want to hold hands?"
At that moment, Lu Sicheng felt his breath catch, his legs nearly giving out. His mind was flooded with one thought: I want to commit a crime in public.
He did.
Of course he did.
Amidst the thousand sails passing by the sunken ship, his little boat had capsized in the tiniest of gutters.
On the open street, his heart was practically weeping with joy—he could have cried right then and there, a six-foot-tall child.Lu Sicheng was also being cheeky. Seeing the person beside him obediently letting him lead her along, he couldn't resist teasing her: "Walking hand in hand like this in broad daylight—aren't you afraid someone might see us?"
Tong Yao had been keeping her head down, struggling to match Lu Sicheng's long strides while catching her breath whenever possible. Hearing his words, she didn't have the energy to banter. She lifted her head and retorted matter-of-factly, "This is Xiamen, not Shanghai. What are the odds of being seen?"
"Most players have already arrived and are staying nearby," Lu Sicheng said. "What about your LPL Jungler fan club..."
Tong Yao: "..."
Tong Yao: "Why do you sound so smug?"
Lu Sicheng paused, touching his face: "Is it that obvious?"
Tong Yao: "Want to find a mirror and check?"
The man smirked, tightening his grip and pulling her closer to his side. He let go of her hand and instead draped his arm over her shoulder: "You're walking too slow."
"I walk at my own pace," Tong Yao said. "You don’t even slow down for me, charging ahead with those long legs of yours. It's exhausting trying to keep up, and now you're complaining about me..."
"..."
Lu Sicheng glanced down and noticed the person in his arms indeed had slightly flushed cheeks and disheveled hair, looking like she'd just finished a speed-walking race. He hesitated, then deliberately slowed his steps: "You should've said something earlier."
"Said what?"
"That I was walking too fast."
"How was I supposed to say it?" Tong Yao raised an eyebrow, visibly annoyed. "'Cheng Ge, my legs are short. For every step you take, I have to skip two. Please, slow down a little'—"
Before she could finish, the man pulled her into his arms and planted a firm kiss on her lips. Caught off guard, she swallowed the rest of her complaints, staring up at her captain with wide, slightly flustered eyes.
Her expression was too adorable. Lu Sicheng pinched her cheek, leaving a faint red mark, then let go. Remembering they were heading to the restaurant they'd wanted to try, he looked around for the sign—
He hadn’t forgotten the original purpose of their outing: to eat.
But Tong Yao’s mind was no longer on food. After a moment’s thought, she stood on her tiptoes, cupped his chin, and turned his face back toward her: "So this is how you calm a woman’s anger?"
Lu Sicheng let her soft fingers hold his chin, obediently lowering his head as he replied, "Mhm. Did it work?"
"………………………………" Tong Yao glared at him for three seconds before releasing him, muttering in frustration, "It worked. You win."
At the restaurant, Lu Sicheng watched with amusement as Tong Yao eagerly pounced on the menu to order.
He sat down on the side, pulling out his phone—
[fhdjwhdb2333: Fatty, what did you do to my girl earlier?]
The reply came quickly.
[Round and Plump: Do what? You make it sound so indecent.]
[fhdjwhdb2333: She’s different from an hour ago. Can’t put my finger on it... I went to review the second team’s match, left her alone for a bit, and when I came back, she was like she’d taken a Cute Pill.]
[Round and Plump: ?_? ??????]
[fhdjwhdb2333: She’s not the same. Before, she wouldn’t even let me touch her in public.]【Round and Chubby: ……………………Fatty here is in the middle of his Diamond I promo series, squeezing out time to check your WeChat just to see you showing off your love like some old pervert?】
"Cheng Ge, want to order a grilled salmon head?" A pair of eyes and half a head peeked out from behind the menu.
"Order whatever you want. You can even get one of each and just take a bite. We can pack up the leftovers for the human trash cans back at the team."
【fhdjwhdb2333: No matter what you said or did with her, today you’re the undisputed Alliance First Support.】
【Round and Chubby: Piss off.】
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