In the 2016 League of Legends Pro League (LPL) round-robin rankings for the Chinese region, the standings were as follows—
Group A: 1st place ZGDX; 2nd place Red Arrow; 3rd place Huawei Team; 4th place King.
Group B: 1st place YQCB; 2nd place CK Team; 3rd place Alpha; 4th place "The Qing Dynasty Fell Centuries Ago."
The top-ranked teams from each group secured a direct spot in the Playoffs semifinals.
So.
In Tong Yao’s view, the perk of finishing first in the regular season was that while the third and fourth-place teams were fighting tooth and nail in the quarterfinals for a spot in the top six, the first-place team could just kick back at headquarters, leisurely snacking on sunflower seeds. Then, when the top six were decided and the advancing teams clashed with the second-place teams in the semifinals, still battling furiously for a top-four spot, the first-place team… well, they were still lounging around at headquarters, munching on sunflower seeds.
And so, Tong Yao did exactly that—snacking on seeds while livestreaming to thousands of viewers, spectating the intense semifinal showdown between CK Team and Huawei Team. The winner of this match would face ZGDX for a spot in the Summer Split finals.
Compared to official commentators, pro players’ live analyses were usually more detailed and professional—at least, that was the simple reason most viewers tuned in to watch Tong Yao’s Playoffs stream. That is, until about twenty minutes into the match, when they realized the commentator in front of the computer, crunching on seeds, was even more amateurish than amateur casters…
For example.
Twenty minutes into the game, CK Team was ahead in gold, having taken the first Turret in all three lanes against Huawei Team, while Huawei hadn’t secured a single Turret yet.
At this point, Baron spawned. CK Team’s Jungler, AD carry, and support grouped up to invade Huawei’s top-side jungle, disappearing from Huawei’s vision. Meanwhile, after killing CK’s Mid Laner, Huawei quickly pushed down the mid-lane Turret, then grouped as five and rushed bot lane, securing an Elemental Water Dragon before continuing their push to take CK’s bot-side Turret, hoping to offset their gold deficit with Turret bounties.
At this nail-biting, split-second decisive moment, the official stream commentators were so excited they could barely speak coherently. Yet in the China Telecom headquarters, the calm crunching of sunflower seeds continued—
“This sudden bot-lane rotation by Huawei Team is really reckless—they have no vision on Baron and no clue where CK’s AD, support, or Jungler are. They already got a kill, a mid Turret, and an Elemental Dragon—they should quit while they’re ahead. If they don’t retreat to defend Baron now, if I were CK, I’d just sneak it… Sure, sneaking Baron is risky, but that’s why it’s called sneaking. Succeed, and you’ll be over the moon—happier than stealing the enemy base. Fail, and it’s still a thrilling gamble. Too bad our captain’s an old man who plays it safe. If I ever whisper, ‘Hey, captain, it’s dark and windy—let’s sneak Baron,’ he’d just ask me if I’m awake.”
Crunch, crunch.
“I know sneaking Baron at twenty minutes is too risky, but I just wanna see Yang Shen’s face turn pale when it gets stolen—and for that to happen, CK has to start it first. Hee hee hee.”
Crunch, crunch."Li Huanshuo's Baron steal skills are pretty decent—after all, that's Li Huanshuo we're talking about."
Crunch crunch.
"These two teams? I'd say it's a 40-60 split. CK is still stronger. If we exclude the junglers, it'd be 50-50, because in the jungle, Yang Shen and Li Huanshuo are at a 10-90 split. Yang Shen drags the overall level down."
Tong Yao set down the sunflower seeds she was snacking on, clapped her hands, and switched screens to glance at the live comments—
[666666666]
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA damn girl, give us a proper commentary! Applying for this biased commentary to be taken down!]
[666666 Does Yang Shen know you're roasting him like this?]
[My heart aches for Yang Shen. Girls these days really hold grudges—one wrong word or action and they'll remember it for eternity.]
[I won't call the cops, I just want Cheng Ge!]
Tong Yao chuckled.
"The above statements do not represent the official stance of China Telecom. Forum bros, don’t go spreading rumors and get my salary docked again."
Her tone was calm, carrying the seasoned vibe of "I know exactly what you're up to"—a far cry from her cautious demeanor when she first entered the scene half a year ago. Now, she handled everything with ease, meeting challenges head-on.
As she spoke, she switched back to the match for the viewers. Aside from continuing to poke fun at Jian Yang and Li Huanshuo, she occasionally gave serious insights about current popular item builds, why certain players chose specific items, and what they might have built under different circumstances... But the vibe in the stream had already shifted from the initial demands for proper commentary. The viewer count had skyrocketed, and compared to the match itself, the audience was far more interested in hearing her dissect the drama and rivalries of the esports scene alongside the game.
"Which team would ZGDX prefer to face in the Playoffs?" Tong Yao pondered. "Doesn’t really matter. The only difference is who they shake hands with... Speaking of handshakes, after breaking up with Yang Shen, I once shook his hand as his ex-girlfriend—during the Summer Split opening ceremony. The scene was very harmonious and heartwarming."
[6666666666]
[Is Cheng Ge still asleep? Look at you, getting all cocky, tsk tsk.]
[Spitting nothing but savage lines.]
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA "harmonious and heartwarming" my ass, can you just shut up HAHAHAHAHA]
[Where’s your Ashe? Someone here’s about to ascend to heaven.]
[If Yang Shen heard your commentary, he’d probably rage-quit the match.]
[The arrogance! Straight to the Forum wall of shame—title: "ZGDX Substitute Mid Laner Boasts: Doesn’t Matter Who We Face, We’ll Win Anyway."]
"Substitute Mid Laner? That commenter, watch your words," Tong Yao retorted, hugging her knees. Her fingers, now free of bandages, tapped lightly against them—the once-deep wound had faded to a faint pink scar. "I’ve said it before: I’m the ace, not a substitute. A secret weapon, got it? Hmph. My brother-in-law Lv Xuan Shou, though—now that’s a genuine substitute..."
While Tong Yao rambled on, CK Team had already pushed into Huawei Team’s High Ground. CK did secure the Baron, and Li Huanshuo did attempt a steal—but failed. The script played out as normally as the non-existent 10-90 jungle gap between Yang Shen and Li Huanshuo.Tong Yao watched absentmindedly, not feeling the least bit embarrassed by her earlier words. She occasionally teased with an utterly unserious expression—only the more observant viewers would notice that she sometimes sat up straight, moving her hands from her knees. At certain moments during the live broadcast of the match, she would grab a pen and swiftly jot down some data on something they couldn’t see...
In just over twenty minutes of the match, her messy handwriting, chaotic numbers, and scribbled symbols had already filled most of a sheet of paper—just as she was swiftly recording the current total gold and the enemy duo’s CS numbers, Tong Yao heard footsteps behind her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the live comments becoming even livelier.
Tong Yao tossed her pen aside and glanced at the barrage—uniformly filled with messages like: 【Ashe is here】【The King of Hell has arrived】【Your master’s here, why aren’t you kneeling?】...
The girl in the chair tossed her pen and leaned back, tilting her head to look up at the man standing behind her—he had probably just woken up and showered, his hair still damp, a black towel draped over his head. Sensing her gaze, he looked down, and a drop of water fell onto Tong Yao’s forehead.
She shrank back slightly.
The person behind her naturally reached out and wiped the droplet from her face.
“Watching the match?”
“Yeah.”
“Which one?”
“Yang Shen and Li Huanshuo.”
“Hm.” Lu Sicheng acknowledged, glancing at the screen where CK Team and Huawei Team were locked in a heated battle. After a pause, he asked, “Enjoying it?”
Tong Yao grinned. “Not as much as I enjoy looking at you.”
Her reply came effortlessly. The man’s eyes flickered, and he gave another indifferent “Hm,” seemingly unmoved. Though he wasn’t particularly interested in the match, he didn’t leave either, standing like a mountain behind Tong Yao… She didn’t shoo him away, so one stood behind the chair watching the match, while the other sat in the chair watching the person standing behind her watching the match.
A long moment passed.
Just as Tong Yao felt her neck might snap from craning it so long, Lu Sicheng finally moved. His large hand tilted her chin up before he leaned down, capturing her lips—shadows eclipsed her vision as the cool, soft touch met her lips, the scent of soap from his body filling her nose. Her fingers, resting on her knees, twitched slightly.
But she didn’t push him away.
Instead, with a sigh, she parted her lips, letting his tongue slip in.
This exchange—hardly scandalous, even somewhat routine, clearly something the two were accustomed to—was broadcast live through the camera...
No one cared about the ongoing match anymore.
The spectator masses were electrified—Aaaaaah, this stream is way better than the official match broadcast, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
The platform’s Super Administrator was equally excited—in their excitement, they forcefully shut down Tong Yao’s stream for “inappropriate content.”
When Lu Sicheng finally released her and straightened up, his brown eyes flicked to her now-black stream, where viewers were frantically spamming “？？？？？” His large hand brushed over her lips, now flushed from pale pink to deep red, a hidden smile lurking in the depths of his dark pupils. “Your stream got banned by the Super Admin.”Tong Yao glanced at the live comments, shot him a glare, then stood up and went to find Xiao Rui—the PR guy who had to clean up her mess—to apologize and make amends... Lu Sicheng sat down in his seat, opened his live stream, renamed it "Dragging the Whole Family Along to Commentate and Kill Some Broadcast Time," then called Tong Yao back. The two stuck together again, continuing to watch the match while streaming...
The audience wasn’t surprised to see Tong Yao reappear in Lu Sicheng’s stream, nor did they have time to pay her any attention—because at that moment, they were too busy jumping up and down to tattle on her to Lu Sicheng. The specifics included things like: "Smiling praising Li Huanshuo’s jungling skills is downright treasonous!" "Your wife said shaking hands with her ex felt great and she’d like to do it again!" "Tong Yao said your shot-calling style is outdated and lacks daring!" "Give us back normal commentary instead of a caster who thinks he’ll lose the Baron because he’s ugly!"—
Lu Sicheng rested an arm over Tong Yao’s shoulder, calmly reading through each live comment one by one without a flicker of emotion.
Before he could offer any commentary, the person leaning against his chest yawned and said flatly, "I didn’t say any of that. They’re slandering me."
Lu Sicheng glanced down at her. From his angle, he could see her fair cheeks, the slight flutter of her lashes, and the faint shadows under her eyes—clearly the result of being "overworked" the night before... The rough side of his index finger lightly brushed beneath her eye. The man let out an "Mhm," then lifted his head to warn the live chat: "She says she didn’t say it. Watch yourselves."
The frenzied barrage of live comments paused for about a second.
A perfect reflection of the audience’s collective bewilderment.
Then Lu Sicheng’s stream was completely flooded by a tidal wave of three-word comments: 【Tong Daji】.
……
The final match result was CK Team defeating Huawei Team 3-1, advancing to the semifinals where they would face ZGDX Team the following week for a spot in the 2016 LPL Summer Split finals—
Well.
Though that hardly seemed like the main point anymore.
OpenNovel