[3rd Floor: ????????????? (Black man question mark face)]
[4th Floor: OP, beware of Thai boxing warnings regarding your statements. You can say my wife Yao Mei is dating a teammate, I don’t mind; but saying Cheng Ge likes humans—I won’t accept that. If he likes anyone, it can only be Yu Jinle (*Little Fatty’s real name). After so many years of supporting, getting sold out by this fatty again and again without killing him can only be explained by "love."]
[5th Floor: 666, I bow to you female fans. The angles you focus on when following a player are always so bizarre—"Watched Chessman’s matches for three and a half years, from LCK to LPL. I might not understand the matches too well, but I’m confident I know this man better than anyone else." 6666666666, you’ve brought a unique flair to the esports scene.]
[6th Floor: What’s wrong with 5th floor? You guys can stare at female hosts’ chests and thighs and gossip, but female fans can’t? Did the OP even say anything? Or in your eyes, even if someone carries the game and dominates the league in every lane, they still don’t have the right to date?]
[7th Floor: ………………………………………… Looked at the photo, then at a picture with my boyfriend. His gaze… Cheng Ge’s gaze… it’s exactly the same.]
[8th Floor: Kicks over the dog food from the floor above.]
[9th Floor: Better not spout nonsense at times like this.]
[10th Floor: Waiting for OP to eat shit. Marking this and screenshotting—no takebacks.]
……
Tong Yao: “……”
About half an hour after the post went up, Tong Yao checked it in reverse order. It had already been bumped over 200 floors with 400+ replies—judging by these numbers, this thread was well on its way to becoming a skyscraper rivaling the "Xu Tailun Incident" back in the day.
After an uneasy meal, Tong Yao hoped the thread would sink quickly or that her teammates wouldn’t see it—
But hope was one thing.
Reality was that except for Lu Sicheng, who rarely checked the forum unless there was drama he had to address, the entire China Telecom team—including Xiao Rui, the manager in charge of ordering takeout—loved browsing the forum for gossip. Men could be just as relentless when it came to gossip. Who knew how many of those messy forum posts had these guys stirring the pot under pseudonyms.
In summary, after everyone ate their fill and got in the car, Xiao Rui, the first to open the forum, led the charge. They promptly discovered the post and sparked a heated discussion—
Xiao Rui: “Holy shit! ‘Have China Telecom’s dual carries already gotten together?’—excuse me?! The team manager wasn’t notified about this!”
Old Cat: “Hahahahahahahaha, the gaze is practically dripping with affection, it really looks like it…”
Lu Yue checked the forum, quickly saved the image, and switched to WeChat: “This gaze is photoshopped, right? It’s making me sick. Sending it to my mom with the caption: Summer’s here, and it’s time for your eldest son’s annual rutting season. He hid it well in previous years, but it seems he couldn’t hold back this time.”
Old K grinned and asked: “Cheng Ge, have you ever looked at Little Fatty like this?”
Little Fatty replied expressionlessly: “No.”The youngsters from the second team, intimidated by Lu Sicheng's authority, didn't dare to speak out of turn. They just leaned against their seat backs, staring longingly at the last row—where the captain of China Telecom Team's first team sat. He opened his eyes, lazily stretched his long legs, and sat up straight. "What's going on?"
Tong Yao shook her phone, its screen lit up. "Someone on the forum said you have a crush on me."
Lu Sicheng glanced at her, pulled out his own phone, scrolled through the forum, then corrected her. "Actually, they said we're secretly hooking up."
Tong Yao: "No, the OP—a girl—said she could tell from your gaze that you're secretly in love with me. Like, I was watching the match, and you were sneaking glances at me. And today, you even made up an excuse to shower in my room and show off your abs. You totally have a thing for me."
Lu Sicheng chuckled, putting his phone down. "Little Fatty kicked me out because he wanted to shower too... Fine, sure, I have a crush on you. So, are you gonna make my dreams come true?"
Amidst the whistles and laughter from the others, Tong Yao also set her phone aside, pretending to seriously consider it. "Hmm, let me think. I'm young, adorable, and everyone loves me. I can carry my own weight in matches—what do I get out of being with you? Would you even give me your Red Buff?"
Lu Sicheng replied with a straight face, "Not even if you were three months pregnant with a baby surnamed Lu."
Tong Yao: "..."
The others found their banter hilarious, laughing and teasing each other, joking about how Little Fatty had been cuckolded. But by the end, no one noticed one crucial detail—Lu Sicheng never actually denied the truth of the forum post's claims.
Neither did Tong Yao.
...
The next day, match day.
As usual, the first team accompanied the second team to the competition venue. Today, they were up against Team CK. Before leaving, Tong Yao gave the second team—especially their Jungler—a stern warning: Win at all costs. Even if they lost, they couldn’t afford to lose in jungle control.
Team CK was, after all, a Tier 1 team in the Professional League. The second-team kids groaned at Tong Yao's demands, calling it impossible, and vowed to at least not lose too embarrassingly...
When they arrived at the venue and got out of the car, they found the parking lot swarming with esports reporters—Xiao Rui, who stepped out first, froze for a second, confused. Then it hit him: the first-team members, who were originally just here for the Demacia Cup as a side trip, had somehow become the main attraction again.
Reporter A: "Cheng Ge, over here! Is it true what they're saying about you and Smiling?"
Reporter B: "Smiling, what's your take on this?"
Tong Yao: "No take."
Reporter C: "If you're not together, why were you wearing his jacket? That's pretty intimate!"
Tong Yao: "Because it was that time of the month, and my stomach hurt. The captain was worried his Mid Laner would die from the pain and leave him without one!"
Reporter D: "Do your teammates know about this?"
Little Fatty: "No, no! Move aside, make way—"
In the end, Little Fatty and the security team had to muscle their way through the parking lot, shielding the players as they made it into the venue, leaving the noisy reporters behind. Xiao Rui exhaled heavily. "Damn, is this esports or the entertainment industry? Why am I, a team manager, suddenly playing bodyguard against paparazzi like some celebrity agent?"Upon entering the competition venue, they realized that the ordeal was far from over. As they stepped inside, every seated audience member turned to stare at them—
The once lively and noisy pre-match atmosphere became eerily silent. Even the commentators, who had been enthusiastically analyzing the lineup moments ago, abruptly fell quiet. The scene was momentarily bizarre.
Commentator A: ["Well… hahahahahaha, nothing’s more awkward than sudden silence."]
Commentator B: ["I completely forgot what I was about to say. You people are really stirring things up—"]
Commentator A: ["I’m feeling a tiny bit awkward."]
Commentator B: ["Didn’t you say you don’t browse the Forum?"]
Commentator A: ["Of course, right after commentating a match, I won’t check it—same as how players uninstall the Forum app after losing a match. But let’s be real, if there’s some major gossip, I’ll still take a peek. As a commentator, I can’t afford to fall behind on the latest news…"]
Commentator B: ["Hahahahahahahaha!"]
The audience burst into laughter.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly.
Amid the commentators’ banter, the members of China Telecom’s first team sat down under immense pressure in their usual spots. Many people were still turning to look at them. Tong Yao settled into her seat and twitched her lips. "I feel like a superstar."
"Bear with it," Lu Sicheng said flatly. "Once the match starts, no one will be looking at you."
Tong Yao: "…"
Lu Sicheng was right. Those who had craned their necks to stare at them, finding nothing suspicious, eventually turned their attention back to the players already positioned on the stage. The two commentators also resumed their discussion about today’s competing lineups—
Meanwhile, on the large screen at the front, the cameraman’s lens began sweeping across the audience. First, it panned over the CK Team’s fan girls seated in the front rows, then shifted to the ZGDX Team’s supporters on the other side—ZGDX’s front rows were practically dominated by Lu Yue’s fans. It was as if his fanbase had surged overnight, with their light signs and banners impressively well-prepared.
A few fans of the Greedy Wolf and Po Jun bot lane duo were also in place.
Tong Yao tilted her head to watch the screen, enjoying the feeling of being a spectator with a smile—until her own face suddenly filled the display.
The scene felt familiar.
During the Spring Split finals earlier this year, Tong Yao had appeared on screen just like this, startling Jian Yang so much he spilled water all over his desk—a rather amusing memory. Recalling this, her smile widened. Just like last time, she raised her hand and waved cheerfully at the screen, thinking to herself: Good thing I had the foresight to put on makeup before leaving today.
Then, the camera shifted to Lu Sicheng beside her, his face expressionless.
Lu Sicheng had been looking down at a notebook in his hands but seemed to sense the attention. He lifted his head.
The venue erupted in commotion once more—
Commentator A: ["Today’s cameraman is here to stir the pot!"]
Commentator B: ["Big bro, do you browse the Forum too?"]
Commentator A: ["Alright, according to our usual on-screen etiquette, couples caught on camera are supposed to share a hot kiss—hahahahahaha!"]
The screen wobbled slightly as if in agreement. The audience roared with laughter again, and some began screaming.Commentator B: ["But let's be honest, if they're not a couple this would be super awkward. I'd literally sign a petition begging the cameraman to spare our esports circle's national sweetheart and national—"]
Before Commentator B could finish his sentence.
The audience was still caught up in the teasing atmosphere.
The next second, everyone heard a loud "thud" as Jian Yang from Team CK abruptly stood up from his seat. Meanwhile, on the big screen, the captain of China Telecom Team grabbed his Mid Laner's hand—which was still foolishly raised in greeting—and leaned down to kiss her lips.
Three seconds of dead silence followed.
By the fourth second.
The venue erupted with screams, applause, and cheers so thunderous they nearly blew the roof off the stadium.
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