Tong Yao uninstalled Weibo, the Forum, and the game app, avoiding the blood rain outside in an ostrich-like manner—so as a missing person, she had no idea that her fans and Lu Sicheng's fans had already clashed fiercely in the Forum...
Lu Sicheng's rabid fan A: [Three-year veteran fan here, can't hold back anymore! Someone is truly shameless—are you here to play professionally or find a boyfriend?! Chessman has never screwed fans or had scandals since he started his career, focusing solely on the game. If he gets distracted by a woman and ruins the team's performance, he’ll go down in history as a disgrace!]
Tong Yao's protective fan A: [No idea if the person above is male or female, but the jealousy is terrifying. Has Smiling ever been carried to victory or failed to carry a game? Chessman is skilled and good-looking, sure, but I don’t see how Tong Yao is unworthy of him—and by the way, where were you when the delusional fujoshi were shipping Chessman and Pope? Didn’t hear you complaining about that affecting performance!]
Lu Sicheng's rabid fan B: [Who the hell are you cursing at?! Shipping fans don’t bother real people, what’s your problem? Disgusting mouth!]
Tong Yao's protective fan B: [Who called someone "shameless" first? Straight relationships are a crime, but gay pairings are suddenly 1+1>2? Nice double standards, 6666666.]
Lu Sicheng's rabid fan C: [I’m a guy, and I’m disappointed in Cheng Ge this time. We were counting on him to bring home the S6 trophy—what the hell is he doing?]
Tong Yao's protective fan C: [Almost died laughing at the comment above. Is Smiling Su Daji or something? Just because she’s dating Lu Sicheng, and the league’s only halfway through, you’ve already decided they won’t win this year? Were you playing with a golden dick that stayed celibate for three years, making you a God? One slip and suddenly he’s useless?]
Lu Sicheng's rabid fan A: [Don’t twist the argument. If the championship is the dream, what’s wrong with staying celibate? All benefits, no downsides.]
Tong Yao's protective fan D: [Celibate my ass, I’m dying of laughter. When you were taking the college entrance exams, you were also fighting for your dreams and future—didn’t stop you from jerking off like crazy, calling it "relaxation."]
Lu Sicheng's rabid fan A: [Filthy mouth.]
Tong Yao's protective fan E: [Filthy heart.]
...
And so, the war raged on across the Forum and Weibo, corpses strewn everywhere.
—Meanwhile, the China Telecom Team fans and the more rational ones were caught in the middle, trembling in fear.
Rational fan: [……………………So, uh, you guys can argue all you want, but it’s not like Smiling and Chessman won’t keep being lovey-dovey. Don’t you feel ridiculous? They’ve clearly been together for a while, and it hasn’t affected their performance. Aren’t we all rooting for the team’s success? Stop fighting.]
This neutral comment sparked a century-defining battle in the Forum, with over 2,000 replies beneath it, turning into the main battlefield for both fan factions—the original commenter, utterly bewildered, went from desperately pleading, "Stop fighting!" to not daring to say another word, pretending to be dead and letting them go at it.
Two days.
Just two days.When Tong Yao and her team concluded the initial matches of the Demacia Cup, secured their spot in the semifinals, and returned to Shanghai to continue the league matches, the Forum thread about her and Lu Sicheng titled "Eyes Don't Lie" had already escalated into a three-sided battlefield rather than a one-sided barrage of insults. Within two days, it surpassed the "Xu Tailun Screwing Fans" thread, becoming a super skyscraper with 50,000 to 60,000 replies—the hottest post in the history of that esports Forum.
It wasn’t until China Telecom’s management realized the situation was far more volatile than anticipated, fearing that extreme fans might harm the players, that they stepped in to contact the Forum moderators for intervention. Only then did the momentum begin to wane slightly...
—But that didn’t stop the news about Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng from spreading like spring breeze across every media platform.
The official team blog was in complete chaos. Some cursed Tong Yao for shamelessly seducing Lu Sicheng; others called Lu Sicheng a creep for secretly harboring feelings for Tong Yao first... The remaining crowd directed their anger at the management:
"F***ing management just watches their players get bashed without standing up for them. Clearly, they don’t treat their players as human—just cash cows to milk dry. Scum!"
Rumor had it that the innocent girl managing the official blog was reduced to tears by the abuse. Choking back sobs, she stormed into the PR department, grabbing the director by the collar and demanding he say something.
Thus, the moment Tong Yao and the others landed and set foot back in Shanghai, China Telecom Esports Club finally issued an official statement—
"To all fans of China Telecom Esports Club:
Greetings.
We sincerely thank you for your long-standing love and support toward our League of Legends division members, Tong Yao (in-game ID: Smiling) and Lu Sicheng (in-game ID: Chessman).
Regarding the personal relationships between our team members, our club upholds a philosophy of freedom and openness. As long as training and competitive performance remain unaffected, we do not impose excessive restrictions on private interactions between players— "Mutual affection, a beautiful tale" is the management’s sincerest blessing and highest hope for these two players.
As for the recent online verbal attacks targeting our players, our club will pursue accountability to the fullest extent. Regarding statements that threaten the players’ personal safety, we reserve the right to take legal action, unwavering in our commitment to defend their rights.
Finally.
The official blog once came across this passage on Weibo—
*"If you observe the current state of the world, the opposite of good does not seem to be evil, but ignorance.
Evil is merely its byproduct."*
Do not let ignorance blind your kind eyes.
That is all. Wishing everyone a pleasant life."**
……
On the bus back to the China Telecom team headquarters, Xiao Rui used the onboard microphone to read the club’s official statement word for word. Setting the mic down, he turned to the two sitting in the very last row and said, "The girl managing the official blog has been reduced to tears three times in the past two days by fan backlash. But there’s nothing to fear—it’s not like you’ve done anything shameful. Just remember one thing: countless eyes are on you now. Some offer genuine blessings, while others are waiting for you to stumble so they can laugh. So for the S6 World Championship—no room for failure. Only victory."
At that moment, Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng said nothing.The atmosphere in the car grew inexplicably heavy, everyone wearing solemn expressions as they silently pondered the weight of those words—
"Many eyes are on you—some offering sincere blessings, others waiting to laugh at your downfall. So for the S6 World Championship, there’s only one acceptable outcome: victory."
…
After returning to the team headquarters, everyone scattered to shower and sleep. Tong Yao didn’t dwell on anything or do anything else. She plugged in her phone, collapsed onto her bed, and slept like the dead, dreamless through the night… The next morning, sunlight warmed her backside as the girl yanked off her eye mask and sat up. Grabbing her phone, the first thing she saw was a WeChat message from Chen Jinyang—
[From the one who got scammed by a high schooler: Your official team Weibo has lost its mind, clashing head-on with the haters. Might as well wish you a happy marriage and a baby soon.]
Tong Yao’s lips twitched.
She exited WeChat, opened the Apple Store, and downloaded Weibo, the Forum, Mobile League of Legends, and other gossipy social media apps—calm and composed from start to finish.
Once all the apps were installed, she opened each one to skim through. She replied "Noted" to a few of the hateful private messages on Weibo and "Thanks" to some supportive ones, then tossed her phone aside to shower and change. Fresh and clean, she opened her door at 8 a.m., only to nearly jump out of her skin at the sight of a large creature crouched outside—
"Jesus! What the hell are you doing? It’s so early!"
Tong Yao reached out and tugged at the man’s hair—he lifted his head, revealing dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, his hair now disheveled from her grip, stubble unshaven, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.
Tong Yao froze, her hand instinctively loosening: "…………………What’s wrong? Didn’t sleep all night?"
Lu Sicheng’s eyes rolled slightly before he spoke, his voice slightly hoarse: "Slept an hour, couldn’t sleep anymore… Worried about you, so I came to your door to listen for any muffled crying under the blankets. Instead, I heard you snoring loud enough to shake the heavens."
"………………" Tong Yao’s face flushed. She circled around to face him directly, then crouched down to mirror his posture, swiftly plucking the cigarette from his lips. "Didn’t you quit?"
"Didn’t light it." Lu Sicheng glanced at her. "Just holding it for comfort. Feeling restless."
"What’s bothering you?"
"I messed up," Lu Sicheng muttered, turning his face away. "Acted impulsively without considering the consequences."
"What consequences?"
"…The ones you’ll have to face."
Tong Yao reached out, tilting his chin back toward her. She patted his head like he was a big dog, her tone soothing and calm: "If you’re worried about me crumbling under online hate, don’t be. I’m fine."
Lu Sicheng stood up.
He pulled Tong Yao up with him.
She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his firm waist: "At first, I was really scared. I thought going public would invite backlash and doubts—and I was terrified it might affect you. Like what happened with Jian Yang—regret, deception, lies, indifference, growing apart… That’s what scared me most. But later—"“What happened next?” Lu Sicheng allowed the petite girl to cling to him, feeling her soft body fill his embrace. Lowering his head, he could catch the faint scent of shower gel from her—warm and comforting… The man paused, then couldn’t help but emphasize, “Let me make this clear—at least in this regard, I don’t regret it.”
“Later, I realized the difference between you and Jian Yang is that you wouldn’t do those things, absolutely wouldn’t. You’re so firm and clear about what you want…” Tong Yao tightened her arms around him. “I felt at ease, so one day, I decided to end your probation period.”
Tong Yao lifted her head, meeting the man’s deep, unfathomable brown eyes. “From that day on, I was mentally prepared to face all the storms that might come. You said you don’t regret it—well, neither do I—”
She paused.
Her dark eyes were brighter than ever.
“I don’t regret it.” She stared into the man’s eyes, enunciating each word clearly. “And I’m not afraid.”
The moment the words left her lips.
She felt the arm around her waist tighten instantly, as if he wanted to crush her into his very being. He lowered his head and kissed her deeply, overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude.
…
[The one who got scammed by a high schooler: Little ostrich, heard you reinstalled Weibo and the Forum. Where’d you find the courage?]
[ZGDX、Smiling: From many people—you, other friends, teammates, the club…]
[ZGDX、Smiling: And him.]
OpenNovel