After being tossed and turned by Lu Sicheng all night and this morning, Tong Yao was aching all over and had no desire to train or play games. So she grabbed her phone and sat behind Lu Sicheng, watching him play while occasionally throwing in some commentary—
Tong Yao: "You missed a minion. Early-stage Alzheimer's? Or is your hand shaking from Parkinson's?"
Lu Sicheng: "Missed it on purpose."
Tong Yao scoffed: "Bullshit."
Tong Yao: "Their Jungler seems to be coming down. Don't push so far up."
Lu Sicheng: "No way they're coming."
Tong Yao: "They really are coming."
Lu Sicheng: "Impossible."
A minute later, Lu Sicheng's screen turned black and white.
Tong Yao: "See? I told you they were coming."
Lu Sicheng: "Go away. Don't sit behind me, you're affecting my performance."
Tong Yao: "..."
Tong Yao remembered a retired pro player named Wu Wu Kai once said: When a man first starts gaming with the woman he loves, his attitude is all, "Baby, can you cast Exhaust? Mwah~" "Baby, that was a great ult!" "Baby, stay behind me—no one touches my support!" "Baby, hide in the bush and watch me carry."
But after a while, when they've become an old married couple, the attitude shifts to: "What the fuck is this garbage positioning? Just go AFK." "If you love fighting so much, why don't you go play Mid Laner instead of ruining my bot lane?" "Exhaust! Where's your Exhaust? Are your fingers broken?" "You're actually trash." And—
"Go away. Don't sit behind me, you're affecting my performance."
Tong Yao: "..."
Combined with how someone had coaxed, deceived, and spanked her in bed last night, the more Tong Yao thought about it, the angrier she got. She grabbed the small notebook from her seat—the one she used for taking notes—and smacked Lu Sicheng on the back with it, her face red as she snapped, "Lu Sicheng, you scumbag!"
Then she stood up and limped her way upstairs.
Lu Sicheng: "????"
The man, still in the middle of his game, looked up at her in utter confusion. From the side, he could see her ears were red with anger—and she was limping for some unknown reason. Lu Sicheng immediately tossed his mouse aside and stood up, calling for Lu Yue to take over for him. In a few strides, he caught up to Tong Yao, scooped her up, and pulled her into his arms. "Where are you going?"
His voice was calm and steady.
"You told me not to sit behind you, so I'm leaving," Tong Yao lifted her head in his arms. "Going upstairs to change my bandages."
"I told you to let me know when you change them," Lu Sicheng grumbled, glancing around before lowering his head to nuzzle against her ear—his slightly cool lips brushing against her skin as he whispered, "Still uncomfortable?"
At that, Tong Yao's face turned even redder than her ears. She squirmed in his arms, flustered as she stammered, "Don't ask me that... I won't answer you..." Halfway through, she paused, looking at Lu Sicheng's earnest, concerned face. Suddenly, she quieted, as if giving in to him, and sighed dejectedly. "I'm fine."
"If you're fine, why are you walking like that?" Lu Sicheng set her down steadily on the stairs, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear before leaning down to speak in a voice only they could hear. "I bought medicine for you and left it in your room. Did you see it?"
Tong Yao looked up: "What medicine?"Lu Sicheng wore a complicated expression, as if he had to reluctantly admit he'd done something wrong: "……………Last night, there wasn’t enough equipment, and we didn’t take safety measures."
Tong Yao: "?"
Tong Yao: "…………………………"
It took her three seconds to realize what Lu Sicheng was talking about. Her face instantly turned a mix of pale and red, looking utterly bewildered—she’d always heard about women having safe periods and dangerous periods, but heavens above, she had no fucking clue how to calculate that. So now, she could only stare up at him like a confused deer, stammering, "I didn’t… inside, but that kind of thing isn’t foolproof, so you should still take a pill—though taking pills isn’t good either, but just this once, I promise next time… Tch, but if you don’t want to take it, that’s fine too. If anything really happens, I’ll take responsibility. You’re not old enough to get a marriage license yet, but we can get engaged first. I’m just worried a little girl like you might feel like settling down so early is a loss. I know you young girls think you’ve got all the time in the world to pick someone better, but let me tell you, even if you search for eight million years, you won’t find anyone better than me—"
Tong Yao raised her hands and covered her ears.
Lu Sicheng’s voice abruptly stopped.
Because he finally realized that if he kept talking, the person in front of him might just turn red and faint into his arms—though by the end, even he could tell his words had veered wildly off-topic…
"Done talking?" Tong Yao, seeing he’d actually stopped, finally lowered her hands and glared at him fiercely.
Lu Sicheng: "…"
That glare accidentally reminded Lu Sicheng of last night, when she’d been crying and threatening him in his arms while he made it impossible for her to speak coherently—she’d glared at him like that too back then. Instantly, the man’s expression softened, and he pulled her wrist, drawing her into his embrace before carefully pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose.
Tong Yao shrank back, trying to dodge—
"Don’t move, let me kiss you."
"I’m gonna move, don’t touch me."
As the two of them tussled, Xiao Rui came down the stairs from the third floor, yawning, and immediately spotted the two of them clinging to each other on the first-floor landing… The team manager clicked his tongue a few times, cleared his throat, and said, "Alright, you two, that’s enough. Keep it decent."
Lu Sicheng loosened his grip on Tong Yao slightly and glanced up at him. At that moment, Little Fatty let out a loud laugh: "What decency are they supposed to keep? Let me tell you a story: yesterday, Cheng Ge was taking a shower, but halfway through, he suddenly rushed out. I asked him what was up, and he said his little girl next door was crying, so he went to comfort her… I don’t know what happened in between, but all I know is Cheng Ge never came back after that."
As soon as Little Fatty finished speaking, the sound of mice and keyboards in the entire Team headquarters instantly stopped. Everyone turned their heads in unison, Lu Yue grabbed the phone in front of him—perfect for snitching—and Tong Yao’s face turned pink.
"We didn’t do anything," Lu Sicheng said expressionlessly. "We just talked under the covers.""………………" Xiao Rui stiffened for a moment, his eyes darting between Tong Yao—whose hands were being held—and Lu Sicheng, who was holding them. After a moment's thought, he said, "I'm siding with Cheng Ge on this one. At times like these, we have to gamble that his conscience isn't so black as to lay a hand on a little one like Tong Yao."
The faint blush on Tong Yao's face faded slightly as she lifted her head to stare expressionlessly at Lu Sicheng. The latter shamelessly nodded and said, "Couldn't bring myself to do it. She's like something you'd cradle for fear of dropping, or hold in your mouth for fear of melting. Couldn't possibly do something so heartless."
Tong Yao: "..."
...
The next day, Lu Sicheng received a phone call. It seemed there was some progress regarding the parcel incident involving Tong Yao in the neighboring city—the sender had been identified. The caller asked if they wanted to come over in person to handle the formalities, whether they preferred a private settlement with compensation or some other resolution...
Without hesitation, Lu Sicheng packed up and took Tong Yao and Xiao Rui on the earliest flight to the neighboring city. Tong Yao was still clueless when they boarded the plane, and it wasn't until they landed and arrived at the police station—her first time ever setting foot in such a solemn and imposing place—that she realized the person who had sent her the parcel had actually been tracked down.
A seventeen-year-old high school girl.
It was a Monday. When they met, the girl was still in her school uniform, as if she had just been taken from school, her face full of panic. Accompanied by her visibly upset parents, she kept her head lowered the entire time, only lifting it once at the beginning to glance at Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng before turning even paler and never looking up again... She looked utterly pitiful.
The police officer handling the case leaned back in his chair, took a sip of tea from his thermos, and began lamenting how young people these days often acted without considering the consequences—he dealt with similar disputes at least once a month. Most cases involved online celebrities bringing internet trolls or the like into real-life legal battles, and more often than not, the culprits turned out to be students or otherwise unremarkable individuals.
Nothing like the bravado they displayed online.
"Still, these things usually end in settlements," the officer said, shifting his tone with a smile. "The kid's been scolded and scared enough to have learned her lesson. Doubt she'll dare do it again..."
The middle-aged man chimed in, "Yes, yes, she's just a kid who didn't know any better! Our daughter's only seventeen—not even an adult yet!"
The middle-aged woman added, "We've given her a proper talking-to... We're willing to cover the medical costs and apologize properly. Why don't we just let it go? Bringing online drama into real life doesn't look good for anyone. Our child was crying the whole way here—imagine how embarrassing it is for her to be called out like this, not to mention explaining it to her classmates. And her father and I still have work to get back to..."
The girl's parents immediately rallied to her defense.
Watching the two middle-aged adults step forward, Tong Yao frowned slightly and took a step back. She hadn't thought much of it before, but their words left her feeling uneasy: If they were so worried about shame and embarrassment, why do it in the first place? It wasn't like she was the only one with parents—if her family found out about this, her dad might just grab a watermelon knife and charge straight to Shanghai...Tong Yao frowned and kept stepping back until her back bumped into a solid chest.
"No settlement."
A calm voice rang out.
"Your child is seventeen, but mine is only nineteen. If we let it slide just because your child is immature, then what about the grievances my child suffered?" The man's voice was steady, not sounding angry but simply stating facts calmly. After a pause, he emphasized again, "No settlement."
Under the stunned expressions of her parents, the girl suddenly raised her head, eyes wide as if in disbelief, staring at Lu Sicheng—Tong Yao, seeing this, felt uneasy and tightly grabbed Lu Sicheng's arm. The man didn't budge, his face showing no sign of being swayed by the other party's pitiful appearance.
"...I—I really didn’t mean to, I was wrong. Please forgive me, I won’t do it again," the girl stammered under the forceful nudging of her parents behind her, speaking cautiously while stealing glances at Lu Sicheng.
Tong Yao stayed silent, looking up at Lu Sicheng, who smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. You’re not an adult, and it’s not like you were carrying a controlled blade—you won’t be locked up. At most, there’ll be a record, some black marks, a bit of education, and compensation for emotional damages. That process definitely won’t be skipped. Our team’s players missed several matches because of you..."
Hearing "compensation" instead of "medical fees," the girl’s parents' expressions darkened. They tried to argue, saying things like, "It’s just a game, how serious could it be?" Xiao Rui cut in, "Then if I break your daughter’s hand before her college entrance exams, would you think it’s not that serious either? After all, she can always try again next year..."
The police officer coughed. "Watch your words. This is a police station. What nonsense are you spouting?"
Xiao Rui muttered, "Sorry," then smugly shut his mouth. By then, Lu Sicheng had already lost patience with their excuses. He tossed out a final "No settlement, period," before pulling Tong Yao outside to sit down—leaving the others inside to deal with the paperwork. Before being dragged out, Tong Yao overheard the girl’s mother asking whether too many such records would affect her daughter’s chances of getting into college...
Tong Yao was baffled. What did she mean by "too many"?
But before she could dwell on it, the glass door closed in front of her, sealing the whispers inside the office...
Tong Yao, Lu Sicheng, and Xiao Rui sat side by side outside. Tong Yao kept her head down, staring at the bandages wrapped around her fingers. Seeing her silence, Lu Sicheng reached over and ruffled her hair. Xiao Rui, sitting nearby, asked, "Why so quiet? Feeling bad for the girl?"
"..." Tong Yao glanced up at Lu Sicheng and mumbled, "I’m a girl too."
Lu Sicheng scoffed and nodded. "Yeah. And you’re the only one in my house."
An hour passed.When the commotion inside started up again, Tong Yao heard the office erupt into chaos—the girl's terrified cries mingled with her mother's loud protests: "Detention? What detention! Not even one day, let alone five! My daughter has classes to attend! And last time there wasn't any detention, so why now? It's the same thing! You must've taken bribes—"
Tong Yao paused before realizing that this girl had pulled a similar stunt about half a year ago. Back then, she had also sent threatening letters to someone, resulting in a minor fine after filing a report. The person she threatened had been badly frightened, but the girl likely thought nothing of it—the fine was small, and since she was a minor, she avoided detention...
The result? She repeated the same trick less than six months later.
But this time was different.
"Article 12 of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law: For those aged 14 to 18 who violate public security regulations, punishment shall be lenient or reduced. Article 20: Under any of the following circumstances, punishment shall be increased—fourth, if the offender has been penalized for public security violations within six months. Article 42: For any of the following acts, the offender shall be detained for up to five days or fined up to 500 yuan; if the circumstances are severe, detention shall range from five to ten days, with an additional fine of up to 500 yuan—first, writing threatening letters or using other means to threaten personal safety..." Lu Sicheng drawled. "First-time juvenile offenders just get a warning. But if there's a prior offense within six months, they get the full treatment. Huh, how did I know she had a record? Right? Can't blame me for that."
The man stretched his legs, lounging lazily on a chair outside the police office.
Tong Yao tilted her head to look at him. His phone was safely tucked in his pocket, so after a pause, she asked, "How do you even know all this... Did you memorize it from Baidu last night?"
Lu Sicheng glanced at her. "Before going pro, your husband was a top student at a law university."
Tong Yao stared blankly: "………………No way."
Xiao Rui: "It's true. When he came back to China to go pro, he even returned to school for final exams. While everyone else was in scrims, he sat there studying like a total dork."
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng: "Impressed?"
Tong Yao: "……………………………"
Lu Sicheng patted his pants and stood up. Amid the wails of "I don't believe it!" and "You took bribes!" from the office, mixed with the girl's sobs and the officers' scolding, he pulled Tong Yao to her feet. "Alright, show's over. Let's go home."
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