Lu Sicheng released the camera and glanced at the computer screen, just in time to catch a live comment:
[Keep showing off your love. Next week against Alpha, we'll see if you're really worth your salt. Spiral explosion in the match will teach you a lesson, heh.]
The man pursed his lips slightly.
Tong Yao also saw the comment and awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear—just then, Old K, who had just woken up and booted his computer to duo queue with Old Cat, was watching Tong Yao's stream. Spotting the comment, he cursed from afar, "Explode your ass! Moderator, why isn't this guy banned? What’s it to you if they show off their love?"
"………………If you’ve got time to watch our Mid Laner’s stream, how about ganking top lane for once!" Old Cat kicked Old K’s chair. "You’ve been slacking on ganking top lately. If you abandon me like this in a match, I’ll kill you."
"Coming, coming. You’re such a moron, can’t even function without me." Old K closed Tong Yao’s stream.
"The second round of the Group Stage is almost over, with only YQCB left as the tough nut to crack," Lu Sicheng said calmly. "Let’s aim to crush them, dominate both groups, and shut the haters up."
As he spoke, the corners of his lips curled slightly, his expression mocking.
Tong Yao didn’t even have time to mute the microphone.
Sure enough, the live comments reacted quickly—
[YQCB is really strong right now]
[The fated showdown between Lu Sicheng and Li Junhe, 666666666]
[YQCB fans trembling in fear……………I’m skipping class to watch that match]
[Waiting for the haters to get owned hahahahaha]
[Talk big now, but what if you get humbled instead?]
Tong Yao glanced at the comments and turned to her captain. "...You’re getting cocky."
Lu Sicheng: "Just stating a nice wish. Why call me cocky?"
Tong Yao: "..."
The rules of the League of Legends Pro League are as follows: twelve teams are divided into two groups of six each. The league is divided into three phases:
The first phase is intra-group round-robin matches within each group;
The second phase is cross-group round-robin matches between the two groups;
The third phase is a return to intra-group round-robin matches within each group.
After these three phases, teams are ranked based on points—each best-of-three win earns one point, losses earn none. The top four teams from each group advance to the Playoffs.
Now, ZGDX Team, after weathering all sorts of storms in the Summer Split, had finally fought their way to the tail end of the second phase.
On Thursday, ZGDX Team faced Alpha Team, the second-to-last team in Group B, in a cross-group match. Originally, they were scheduled to play against CK Team on Sunday, but to boost viewership early in the Summer Split, the organizers had moved their cross-group match against CK Team ahead of the intra-group matches. As a result, they would have a bye on Sunday, completing two-thirds of their Summer Split league matches ahead of the other teams in Group A.
And before the Playoffs arrived, they wouldn’t face CK Team, a formidable opponent, again.
...
Thursday’s match was against Alpha Team.
Alpha Team was a mid-to-upper-tier team in the league, known for their resilience. They were often dubbed the "LPL Quality Inspection Squad" or the "Strong Team Litmus Test"—meaning that after playing them, it became clear whether a team was genuinely strong or just looked good because they were facing weaker opponents.The second game wasn’t an easy win for Tong Yao’s team. In this top-laner-centric meta, Old Cat was caught and spiral exploded by the enemy Jungler early in the game. By the eight-minute mark, he was already 0/2/0, a full level and a half behind the opposing top laner. By the twenty-minute mark, his Maokai couldn’t even tank properly. After getting ganked yet again in a four-man dive, he tossed his mouse aside and cracked his knuckles. “Just end this quickly. Let’s call it and move on to the next game.”
His tone made it clear he was pissed from being relentlessly targeted.
Tong Yao understood exactly how he felt.
But since the enemy had focused their roaming pressure on the top lane, both Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng had managed to farm relatively well. So Tong Yao stayed silent, while Lu Sicheng simply said, “We can still play this out. Stall for time. Old Cat, after clearing this top wave, rotate bot to catch the minions there. I’ll try to scavenge something from the jungle.”
Old Cat grunted in acknowledgment. Old K teased half-jokingly, “You give him the lane farm, then take my jungle camps. You get to play the good guy while hogging all the resources.”
The team chuckled, easing some of the tension. Tong Yao was about to say, “Let him steal the enemy jungle instead,” when Old Cat, who had been mostly silent the entire game, suddenly spoke up. “What’s the big deal if I take a couple of your camps? You’ve been farming the jungle all game—haven’t you had enough?”
Tong Yao’s words died in her throat with an audible gulp. The rest of the team fell silent too.
—Old Cat was blaming Old K for leaving him to fend for himself against the enemy Jungler’s relentless “attention” without offering any help.
After a pause, Old K replied, “If they send four people, there’s nothing I can do to help you. When they sent two, I was bot—you saw that. They’re literally ignoring buffs just to camp you. What am I supposed to do? You’ve made up your gold deficit by farming other lanes, haven’t you? Check the live gold graph after the game if you don’t believe me.”
Old Cat didn’t respond, only letting out another grunt. Tong Yao thought he might as well have stayed silent.
It was like she wasn’t the only one with monthly mood swings.
“Enough,” Lu Sicheng said coolly. “We’re in the middle of a match. Do you two want to AFK and let them mid push?”
Immediately, both Old Cat and Old K shut up. But the rest of the game was tense, with only Tong Yao and Little Fatty doing most of the talking. In the end, they barely managed a reverse sweep, carried by Lu Sicheng and Tong Yao’s late-game scaling.
At the fifty-minute mark, they finally destroyed the enemy Nexus after a grueling fight. The moment it exploded, Tong Yao let out a long exhale. When she took off her headset and stood up, she realized her palms were drenched in sweat, her body trembling slightly—
Lu Sicheng stood up beside her and immediately noticed her unusual silence. He glanced down at her. “Nervous?”
Tong Yao stiffened, her eyes darting toward him before she nodded wordlessly.
Lu Sicheng was about to mock her for being overly invested in the outcome, but then it occurred to him that she’d probably checked Weibo or the Forum before the match and seen the “blessings” from some toxic fans—things like “hope you spiral explode.” No wonder she was so tense, afraid of making any mistakes. So instead, he just reached out and ruffled her hair. “Go shake hands. Don’t be rude.”Tong Yao finally snapped out of her daze and walked stiffly toward the Alpha Team—
After shaking hands and bowing, the team members headed backstage following the post-match formalities. Old Cat and Old K still hadn’t exchanged a single word.
Xiao Rui was backstage, puzzled by the gloomy expressions on the players’ faces despite their victory. He could only console them, “What’s wrong with you guys? You won the match—cheer up! At least you’ve maintained a perfect record in the second stage…”
“The second stage isn’t over yet. Next Sunday’s match is the real challenge. The team next door is genuinely strong now. Since Pope joined, he’s been like a catalyst—their entire playstyle has changed. Even their captain and support has reverted to his former ‘LSPL Support God’ form—aggressive and relentless. If they seize an opportunity, they can suffocate their opponents.” Lu Sicheng cut him off. “You should be more concerned about that match. With the mindset you’re in today, losing isn’t out of the question.”
—ZGDX Team would officially face YQCB, the last team in Group B, next Sunday. After that, they would conclude the second stage of the league and return to the Group A round-robin matches, facing Huawei, Red Arrow, King, Storm, and Obsidian once again.
In other words.
Whether they could maintain their undefeated streak before the third stage of the league—or even throughout the entire group stage—hinged entirely on next Sunday’s match.
………………That much was true.
Xiao Rui shut his mouth and glanced at Tong Yao, tilting his chin to signal her to take over.
Tong Yao nudged Lu Sicheng’s waist. He hissed and turned to raise an eyebrow at her. “What? I’m just stating facts.”
“No one wants to hear your ‘facts,’” Tong Yao rolled her eyes at the oblivious man. “Get in the car and go to sleep. Talk less.”
Lu Sicheng sighed helplessly, casually picking up her peripheral bag. He took two steps forward before pausing, realizing something was off, then backtracked to scoop up the bag’s owner under his arm. Swaggering, he half-carried her toward the parking lot.
Xiao Rui trailed behind them like a eunuch. “You two have gotten really bold since coming out, huh?”
“Yeah,” Lu Sicheng replied lazily without turning around. “Why else would we take the risk to go public?”
Xiao Rui: “……”
The team boarded the bus, and Tong Yao obediently let Lu Sicheng drag her to the back row to sit—
Old K took his original seat, with Old Cat’s jacket still placed beside him.
Tong Yao tensed the moment she saw Old K sit back down. Sure enough, seconds later, Old Cat boarded the bus. As he passed his usual seat, he ignored Old K’s upward glance, bent down without a word, grabbed his jacket, slung it over his shoulder, and plopped down beside Little Fatty in the back row.
The edge of the jacket even smacked Old K in the face.
Instantly, Old K’s already expressionless baby face twisted into something downright ugly.
Tong Yao: “……………………”
She grabbed her captain’s sleeve and whispered, “It’s over. Top lane and jungle have severed ties.”
Lu Sicheng removed his headphones, feigning indifference. “What?”
Before Tong Yao could respond, Little Fatty turned around and shot her a grimacing look. Moments later, her phone screen lit up—【Round and Chubby: ………………Help, I'm scared, will God K bestow upon me the one zhang red at night?】
【ZGDX, Smiling: Take a look at the Noble Consort Mao sitting next to you right now. God K will undoubtedly grant you both the one zhang red and the three chi white silk to ensure your demise is thorough. Take care.】
OpenNovel