After bowing in front of the competition stage, Old Cat went for the MVP interview. In the final match, his Gnar was ambushed under the tower, but he turned the tables with a counterplay that took out the enemy AD—showcasing the same unyielding brilliance as Marin, the world's former top laner, who had once been relentlessly targeted in the LPL yet never backed down. It was truly a standout performance.
Perhaps because ZGDX’s dual carries had always been dazzling, Old Cat—who often played the role of a blue-collar top laner—was frequently overlooked. Most of the time, he focused on cautious farming, stabilizing the team’s early game and waiting for the mid laner and AD to scale and take over. In such calm scenarios, Old Cat didn’t stand out much, and if he ever faltered or failed to hold the line, he’d even be labeled as ZGDX’s weak link.
Yet in reality, a top laner like him—who could consistently stabilize, step up when needed, and had a deep champion pool—was an exceptionally rare presence in the entire LPL.
"Is this Old Cat’s first MVP interview this season?" Tong Yao asked.
"If he plays poorly and doesn’t get MVP, whose fault is that?" Old K rolled his eyes.
Tong Yao shook her head with a laugh. "You’re just looking to pick a fight with him, aren’t you?"
Little Fatty chimed in, "Old K’s tone is like: ‘My son didn’t do well on his college entrance exams this year—just missed Tsinghua, barely made it into Peking University. Gave him a beating when he got home for not studying hard enough.’"
Tong Yao: "..."
As she packed her peripheral bag, Tong Yao glanced toward the interview area. The host was asking Old Cat why they got scolded by Ming Shen during the final match’s Ban & Pick phase. After a moment’s thought, Old Cat replied, "Because during Ban & Pick, everyone was talking nonsense except Ming Shen, who was the only one working seriously. No one listened to him, so he got mad and started hitting people… Actually, I was the only one who didn’t talk nonsense, but I still got hit. Pretty unfair."
Tong Yao: "..."
The audience and host burst into laughter, the atmosphere at the interview lively.
Tong Yao withdrew her gaze, about to say something else—when she suddenly noticed something off. For instance, their captain had been unusually quiet since earlier.
While the others were cheerfully teasing Old Cat about his first MVP interview of the season, Lu Sicheng silently finished packing his peripheral bag, slung it over his shoulder, and strode off the stage—only to backtrack, bend down, grab Tong Yao’s peripheral bag, and then ignore its owner entirely as he marched away.
Tong Yao hurried after him, grabbing the strap of his backpack. "Slow down."
Lu Sicheng paused, glanced at her, then coldly turned away without a word—though his steps did become noticeably smaller afterward. Back in the break room, he drank some water, his expression still stern and silent, before leaving for the parking lot—
His demeanor stood in stark contrast to the otherwise jubilant atmosphere of the players’ lounge.
Xiao Rui watched the tall figure disappear behind the door, baffled. "What’s up with him?"
They won the match, didn’t they? And it was a clean victory too.
So why the sour face now?
Meanwhile, Tong Yao was frantically asking the staff where the bandages were. After getting directions, she dug through a pile of folders on the table, grabbed them, stuffed them into her pocket, and was about to follow Lu Sicheng when she heard Xiao Rui’s question. Pausing briefly, she tossed back two words: "He’s jealous."Then he too vanished out the door like his butt was on fire.
...
Tong Yao: "Players shaking hands after a match is proper etiquette—it's not like I made up this rule. Just a handshake, we've been doing it all season—in the entire LPL, whose hands haven't I shaken besides my teammates'? Should I start disinfecting with alcohol after every handshake now? That makes no sense."
Tong Yao: "It's just a handshake."
Tong Yao: "You shook hands too, didn't you? Why the jealousy?"
Tong Yao: "Be more optimistic."
Tong Yao: "Honestly, after all this time, even though I like teasing Yang Shen verbally, I don't actually have any lingering feelings—no anger, no nostalgia. I just say those things for fun. Even Yang Shen knows that's just how I am—haven't you heard the saying? After a breakup, when you can calmly re-save their deleted number, re-add their WeChat, and joke around as friends, that's when you've truly moved on."
Tong Yao: "Doesn't that make perfect sense?"
Tong Yao: "Captain."
Tong Yao: "Cheng Ge."
Tong Yao: "Husband."
Tong Yao: "Baby."
Tong Yao: "Lu Sicheng!"
Tong Yao: "...And you're the one who went on blind dates!"
Tong Yao: "Your WeChat moments must be full of pretty young girls! You probably stare at their photos every day!"
Tong Yao: "Did you delete that blind date girl's WeChat? Hand over your phone—I'm checking!"
Tong Yao bounced after the man, even trying to snatch his phone at the end—bending down, her fingers slipped into his pants pocket. She heard him hiss, his icy expression finally cracking as he frowned and dodged slightly...
After a moment's thought, he seemed to decide there was nothing to hide and moved his hand aside, letting her fish out his phone—the team uniform pockets were deep. As she groped around, she heard the man's cold voice above her: "Just take the phone. What are you feeling around for?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Pinching the phone between two fingers, she pulled it out and unlocked it with her own fingerprint. Under Lu Sicheng's watchful gaze, she checked his WeChat. The most suggestive conversation was someone asking him last night, "Your Majesty, will you be sleeping with the Empress or this humble concubine tonight?" The sender: Little Fatty.
Tong Yao then scrolled through Lu Sicheng's WeChat contacts, hoping to find some random pretty girl to accuse him of secretly admiring—not the most honorable tactic, but desperate times called for desperate measures. After much scrolling, she finally found a good-looking girl who seemed to be a streamer from some platform. She tapped into her moments—the girl posted selfies daily, but Lu Sicheng had set her moments to "Don't Show," completely blocking the content.
Tong Yao: "............"
Lu Sicheng snorted coldly in mockery.
Lu Sicheng's record was spotless.
So spotless that Tong Yao couldn't even muster a counterattack.
"Done?" Lu Sicheng snatched his phone back. "Before I met you, I was the Fahai of esports, okay? At least I didn't promise some blind date to meet in two months at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, rain or shine, no backing out."
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Lu Sicheng let out a disdainful "hmph" through his nose.Tong Yao decided to temporarily refrain from mocking his so-called "Esports Fahai." She took out her phone to search and found that the so-and-so auditorium was the venue for this year's S-series World Championship Group Stage, located in San Francisco, USA.
Putting her phone away, Tong Yao said, "………………Be reasonable. We’re definitely aiming for the Summer Split finals. CK versus Red Arrow—even if it’s not a guaranteed win, they have at least an 80% chance. I’m just stating the facts and politely expressing my sincere and heartfelt blessings."
Lu Sicheng paused mid-step: "Sincere and heartfelt blessings?"
Tong Yao: "……Fine, hypocritical and worldly blessings. Happy now?"
Lu Sicheng glanced down at her but said nothing—this was the first time he had actually looked at her since the match ended. Tong Yao let out a sigh of relief, dragged him to a corner, snatched the peripheral bag from his hand, tossed it to the ground, grabbed his wrist, and pulled out a bandage from her pocket to wrap it carefully.
Because Lu Sicheng had walked too fast, the driver hadn’t even gotten out yet.
No one was there to open the car door for them, so they had to hide in a corner to avoid being mobbed by fans. Tong Yao lowered her head, meticulously wrapping the bandage around Lu Sicheng’s wrist as if handling something fragile… When Lu Sicheng looked down, he could see her lashes trembling slightly, her gaze focused.
After a moment of thought, as if to confirm something, he asked dryly, "You really have no feelings left for Yang Shen, right?"
"My only thought is gratitude for teaching me League of Legends and pulling me into this pit," Tong Yao replied without looking up. "Otherwise, where would I have gotten the chance to win the heart of a big shot like you?"
Lu Sicheng let out another "hmph." It was clear he appreciated the flattery, though his tone remained stubborn: "Sweet talker."
Tong Yao’s fingers paused, unable to suppress a smirk. "Sweet talker, huh? Do you like hearing it or not?"
Lu Sicheng stared at her for a moment before finally sighing in resignation and leaning down to kiss the smile at the corner of her lips. "No, I don’t. Get lost."
Even as he said this, he let her finish tying the bandage, then—completely contradicting his words—pulled her into his arms. Just then, the rest of the team shuffled downstairs. Xiao Rui, leading the pack, spotted their Mid Laner and ADC glued together like sticky candy and let out a few "tsk tsk tsk"s, rolling his eyes. "Hugging so tight—who’s gonna snatch her away from you?"
Lu Sicheng looked up at him, expressionless. "Half the Junglers from the twelve LPL teams."
Xiao Rui blinked. "Huh?"
"Are trying to snatch her." The captain lifted his chin, his face radiating pride: I’m just stating facts.
Xiao Rui glanced between Lu Sicheng and the girl in his arms—who, if she hunched a little more, could pass for his daughter on a snack run—and twitched his lips. "I admire your dedication in the honeymoon phase, treating each other like treasures and delusionally believing the whole world sees her that way. The level of blindness is intoxicating."
The car door opened.
Lu Sicheng led Tong Yao toward the car. "You didn’t see it when she shook hands with CK’s Jungler and promised to meet at S6. He looked like he was about to cry, veins bulging on the back of his hand."
Xiao Rui: "So mad? Go chop his hand off then."
Lu Sicheng: "Already considering it."Tong Yao reached out and patted Lu Sicheng's back, then turned around and stuck her tongue out at Xiao Rui.
Everyone boarded the car one after another and headed back home.
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