In her memory, Tong Yao hadn't seen Lu Sicheng with such an expression in a long time—stubborn and restless, his eyes flickering with uncertainty yet determined to fight tooth and nail for something he'd already set his mind on.
The last time she'd seen him like this was probably during his argument with Pope Li Junhe about Jinx's item build order. The two had quarreled so fiercely across the courtyard fence that it nearly turned into a brawl. Neither Tong Yao nor the neighboring team's captain could pull them apart, and in the end, they both gave up, holding onto the mentality of "screw it, just fight if you're so tough" as they let go of the metaphorical leash...
Usually, in situations like this, Lu Sicheng would be in a state of "I don't care what you say, I won't listen, so scram if you know what's good for you." Tong Yao was a little confused but somewhat reassured by his words. Once her brain started functioning normally again, she finally pinpointed what had felt off about what he'd just said: "You said... you didn't do well enough?"
Lu Sicheng raised an eyebrow.
Tong Yao immediately backed down: "You said it yourself just now!"
Lu Sicheng: "I did. Why are you so nervous?"
"...With you looking at me like that, how could I not be?" Tong Yao grabbed a pair of scissors and cut off the bandage that had been wrapped around her finger for too long, tossing the roll back into the medicine box. "Go on, how did you not do well enough?"
"Is this an interrogation?"
"……………………No, I'm just asking." Tong Yao glanced at him. "I'm just really curious why you think that way, why you feel like you didn't do well enough—when in fact, you've always been great. China Telecom doesn't have that many issues, and last season, we smoothly made it to the Spring Split finals. No one on the Forum talks badly about you. You're Lu Sicheng, you're Chessman, you're the God of AD carries in people's hearts. No one even criticized you before... until I showed up. I meddled in everything, gave unsolicited opinions about the scene and even about you, had too many complaints about the team, stirred up trouble, and brought endless drama. If there's a troublemaker, it's definitely me. So why do you think you didn't do well enough?"
Tong Yao counted off her fingers earnestly, growing increasingly guilty as she spoke. Her voice grew quieter and quieter. After raising her hand to let Lu Sicheng tie off the bandage, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist: "I really don’t want to break up. It's just that these past few days, you ignored me, and I started wondering if you were mad at me or tired of me. That’s why I couldn’t help but ask. If that were the case, I’d at least want to dump you first—so I could save face—"
Before she could finish speaking, her cheeks were pinched hard by the man.
The unsaid words were swallowed back down. Tong Yao was forced to pout unattractively as she looked up at Lu Sicheng, who was now staring down at her with a helpless expression."Last season, even though we made it to the finals, we still lost four or five matches during the regular season, and we lost to CK in the finals. But now, losing to YQCB or CK has become unbearable—how can you say the team was better before and has regressed now? You meddle in everything, but we haven’t participated in any pointless commercial events for a long time; you criticize this circle, but now almost all clubs have curfews, and all players are carefully adjusting their attitudes. Before, when I called the shots, I only had to think about how to execute the next step of my strategy. Now, when I command, I can also consider a broader perspective because of my teammates' suggestions, leading to better picks. Although the process of learning and adapting is tough, it’s progress. When everyone else is improving, I have to improve too to stay ahead. You’re a troublemaker who can’t keep your mouth shut, but everything you say is right. After you said those things, did the club management blame you? No, because you were right. As for the crazy fans attacking you and sending you threats, you got hurt—how could that possibly be your fault? … Did I miss anything?"
"……"
Tong Yao looked up, slightly gaping, utterly stunned as she stared at Lu Sicheng. Since the showgirl incident when she’d been lectured in the break room, it had been a long, long time since she’d heard Lu Sicheng speak so much in one go.
The scariest part was that after he finished, he asked her: Did I miss anything?
…………………… No.
And you might have said a bit too much.
Tong Yao kept her mouth open without making a sound. Lu Sicheng placed his large hand on the back of her head, ruffling her still slightly damp short hair, then leaned down to press a light kiss on her swollen eyelids: "If not, then talk about me."
"……"
"It was me who stubbornly picked the wrong Champion, me whose poor leadership made the match harder to win. It had nothing to do with you, yet you got scolded—back then, I lectured you so confidently, acting like I was some big shot, as if following my lead would guarantee success. But now it’s turned out like this… I feel…" Lu Sicheng paused, "ashamed."
… Ashamed?
… Lu Sicheng feels ashamed.
… The sun must be rising from the west—what a novelty!
Tong Yao’s ears perked up, though she kept her expression neutral as she watched him—feeling his kisses land carefully on her forehead, the tip of her nose, her eyelids, the corners of her eyes, her cheeks, the edge of her lips…
His voice grew quieter: "Then you got hurt, and I was so anxious, so angry—but I didn’t know who to direct that anger at…"
"So you directed it at me."
"I didn’t."
"Then why have you been ignoring me these past two days?"
"………… Because I insisted you play despite your injury, because I was so furious I couldn’t think straight—I didn’t even consider that your hand might really hurt, that someone might actually harm you, that resting for one match wouldn’t have been a big deal, might even have been better. I’m arrogant, unwilling to lose or be outdone, but I ended up acting like a madman, forgetting to even think about you. Even Xiao Rui and the others were more clear-headed than me."The man's voice grew softer.
Slightly hoarse...
He gently pressed the person in his arms down onto the bed—his kisses landed like dragonflies skimming water along her jaw and neck, finally lingering on her soft, slightly cool lips... His tongue carefully traced them, warming and moistening them until they took on a lovely rosy hue, slightly swollen.
His tongue slipped between her lips, parting them, and as their tongues entwined, their breaths became hopelessly tangled... It was unclear who started it, but their breathing gradually grew heavier and more labored—
The silence was broken.
When they parted slightly again, the man's deep brown eyes shimmered with quiet intensity. His gaze softened as he looked down at the girl in his arms, his large hand gently brushing over her flushed eyelids—
She looked at him.
Her dark pupils reflected his silhouette.
Only him.
The man's heart stirred, an unusual emotion spreading through his veins like blood, reaching every part of him. At this moment, it was as if the pain from the bandaged hand she had wrapped around his neck was transmitted through their lightly touching skin to his own body... He sighed, leaning down to kiss her lips again. "It's not that I don't want to talk to you. I just don’t know how to make you accept this version of me—not the lofty, perfect man you might imagine, but someone with many flaws, who doesn’t even know how to protect you properly at critical moments."
When the man spoke these tender words, he sounded like a whining, clingy large dog—
Fluffy and utterly adorable.
Realizing he hadn’t rejected her but had instead been troubled by such a childish reason, Tong Yao felt a weight lift from her heart. She marveled at how wildly her imagination had run—and how her man’s imagination wasn’t far behind.
Between the two of them, their overactive imaginations could probably form a whole new galaxy.
Seeing him now, his gaze flickering as he watched her like a puppy awaiting judgment, Tong Yao suddenly felt mischievous. Curving her lips, she teased, "You’re overthinking it. Who told you I see you as some lofty, perfect figure?"
Lu Sicheng paused. "Isn’t that the case?"
"...No. I’ve seen you with uncombed hair, unshaven, wearing cheap T-shirts, legs crossed, clipping your toenails."
"..." Lu Sicheng stared into those teasing eyes before snapping back to reality. "That’s not a reason for you to break up with me."
"I already said I wasn’t—ah!"
The strap of her nightgown slipped down.
The man’s large hand wandered upward.
Tong Yao curled her legs slightly, pressing against his waist—
"But no matter what," Lu Sicheng murmured against her lips, "from now on, you’re not allowed to casually mention breaking up."
"Unless I do it first before you dump—ahhh!" The man’s fingers brushed somewhere unexpected, and the girl’s eyes widened slightly, her pupils contracting. The hand gripping his shoulder tightened, and when she spoke again, her voice was unsteady. "I was wrong, I was wrong, don’t—"
"That day will never come." His voice was muffled against her neck. "Don’t even think about it."
The blanket was pulled up, covering the two as they tangled together, sinking into the softness of the bed.It all seemed to happen unexpectedly yet naturally. The man kept murmuring fragmented words by her ear the entire time, his scorching breath brushing against her earlobe, yet it was her face that burned red—
He said he would become stronger, to shut all those people up. In esports, there were no excuses—nothing mattered except winning. Tong Yao wholeheartedly agreed with his view and wanted to praise him, only for him to bite the tip of her tongue...
He said no matter what happened, he would always stand in front of her. He would never again wait for her to finish crying next door before knocking on her door. Touched by his words, Tong Yao was moved—until the next second, when tears welled up from the pain of his entry...
He said he couldn’t bear to see her suffer any more grievances—yet when she begged him to slow down, he showed no intention of stopping...
He said he accepted the suggestion for her to take a break from competitions because he was afraid her hands would hurt. Tong Yao thought to herself that right now, her hands weren’t the problem—her entire body ached, and she was burning up...
—They say men’s sweet words in bed can’t be trusted, because once they’re off the bed, it’s all nonsense... But Lu Sicheng was different. He proved this right then and there—making promises one moment, only to break them the next.
...
"Now I have no reason not to take care of you for the rest of my life. So as for breaking up—say it again, and don’t even think about it."
"......"
By the end, Tong Yao felt like not a single pore on her body belonged to her anymore. Covered in sweat, she was carried into the bathroom by the man to clean up, all while he energetically repeated those same nonsense words in her ear—
At this point, Tong Yao was so exhausted she couldn’t even lift a finger. Hearing him, she lay there like a corpse, giving no reaction except for a half-lidded glance at Lu Sicheng to signal she was still alive and had heard him.
Her dazed eyes fell on the discarded underwear on the floor, and she regretted it so much she wished she could travel back three hours and slap her past self for ever bringing up the idea of breaking up.
...She had dug her own grave.
Like an empress being waited on, she let the man clean her up and change her into fresh pajamas. After a while, Lu Sicheng finished washing up, climbed back into bed, and pulled her onto his chest. Tong Yao rested her head there, listening to his steady heartbeat.
Exhausted yet content, she sighed. "So when can I compete again?"
"Once your hand injury heals and the person threatening you is dealt with! You can play whenever you want."
"That generous?" Tong Yao lifted her head slightly.
Lu Sicheng pressed it back down. "What else?"
"Tomorrow, the gossip will be: 'China Telecom’s Mid Laner seduces her captain to secure a starting position.'"
The large hand on her head ruffled her hair. "Too many thoughts. Still hurting?"
For a moment, Tong Yao didn’t realize what he was asking about—her fingers or... Her face flushed instantly, and she shook her head. "If you knew it would hurt, why didn’t you stop when I asked you to? You’re not good to me."
"It won’t hurt next time. These things just require gritting your teeth and pushing through."
There were too many questionable points to address, so Tong Yao decided to focus on the key one. "...There’s a next time?"
Lu Sicheng looked at her as if it were obvious. "How could there not be?"
Tong Yao: "......"
Lu Sicheng: "But not tonight. Sleep."Tong Yao blankly responded with an "Oh," too exhausted to think straight, and actually ended up foolishly falling asleep on the man's chest—before dozing off, she vaguely felt there was something off about what Lu Sicheng had said, but after thinking about it, she couldn’t recall what it was.
The next morning when she woke up, it finally dawned on her what was wrong: he had said, "Tonight, no more."
But by then, it was too late.
That day, Tong Yao didn’t crawl out of bed and appear before everyone until three in the afternoon. She forced herself to act composed as she walked downstairs with an awkward gait, while the culprit sat at his spot looking perfectly refreshed, playing Ranked Games. Tong Yao sat down beside him and glanced at her phone, only then realizing that Xiao Rui had actually replied to her message just ten minutes after she sent it yesterday—
[ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Oh, the scrims lineup leak? Cheng Ge personally oversaw the investigation, pressing management to find the culprit… And your package incident is also under investigation. They’ve already traced the tracking number to a pickup point in a neighboring city and got police approval to check surveillance footage.]
[ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Cheng Ge is genuinely furious this time—pulling out all stops with connections, resources, and money. Tsk tsk, a man’s wrath for his beauty. Envious.]
[ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Ask him if he has any sisters like him and introduce me, please.]
Tong Yao: "..."
[ZGDX、Smiling: No sisters, but he does have a younger brother. Heard he’s currently a substitute Mid Laner for ZGDX Team. Want him?]
[ZGDX、Xiao Rui: Ugh!]
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