Ten days later.
Tong Yao swore that ZGDX Team had made good use of those ten days—adjusting their form, resting properly, having fun, and seriously playing scrims while reviewing replays from other groups' matches. The World Championship had begun, and every single point in the Group Stage was crucial. The top teams were gradually unveiling the strategies they had kept hidden in their respective leagues, so in just ten short days, Tong Yao’s notebook was nearly filled to the brim.
…
October 12th, afternoon, U.S. time.
After finishing a scrim against the European team G4, everyone agreed to take the night off—no more scrims—so they could face the second round of the Group Stage the next day in peak condition. On paper, this decision was perfectly reasonable. But when a bunch of restless people suddenly find themselves with nothing to do, trouble is bound to follow.
So, Tong Yao couldn’t even remember who started it, but some restless soul suddenly suggested: After eating Western food for so many days, I’m practically turning into a foreigner. Let’s go borrow some instant noodles and Lao Gan Ma from next door!
—This was the first mistake they made that night.
Having endured ten straight days of steak, fries, and pasta, everyone’s eyes practically glowed green at the idea. They unanimously agreed and stormed over to the training rooms of YQCB and CK Team. But to their surprise, the two teams that had promised to build a "revolutionary friendship" before coming abroad outright refused to open their doors upon hearing their request. The three teams ended up shouting through the door—
YQCB’s captain, Liang Sheng: We only brought one bottle of chili sauce, homemade by our team auntie! If you take it, you might as well take our lives! Lao Gan Ma is sold in supermarkets—go buy your own!
YQCB’s Mid Laner, Ai Jia: All I brought was the pickled cabbage beef-flavored instant noodles!
Tong Yao: That’s exactly the one I love!
YQCB’s Mid Laner, Ai Jia: Love my ass! No way! Not giving! I’m already splitting one noodle cake into two halves and saving the broth for breakfast to dip my bread in!
Tong Yao: Screw you!
YQCB’s Mid Laner, Ai Jia: Mind your manners!
The ZGDX crew then turned their attention to CK Team, only to find that these bastards had even worse manners—not only refusing to share but also mocking them. CK Team’s support, Lao Wang (also a chubby guy), stood firm against the door like an immovable mountain: Asking us for food? Damn it, aren’t you the All-Chinese Team? How could you come abroad without Lao Gan Ma?! Who are you trying to fool?!
CK Team’s AD, Hu Die (a Korean), came over to join the fun, speaking in a Xinjiang-accented Mandarin: What do you want? Chili sauce? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—Nope! Not giving!
Lu Sicheng patted Tong Yao’s shoulder and silently mouthed toward the door: Yang Shen. Tong Yao glared at him: So you’d even sell out your girlfriend for a bite to eat, huh?
Lu Sicheng remained unshaken: You said it yourself—it’s just a trick. Empty-handed, we’re fishing for a wolf. I’m here, don’t worry.
And just like that, the so-called "manly man who’d spend nine-fifty out of ten bucks on you and use the remaining fifty cents to buy you a steamed bun so you wouldn’t starve" crumbled before a jar of Lao Gan Ma. Tong Yao stomped hard on his foot, then turned and knocked on CK Team’s door: Tell Yang Shen to come out and negotiate with me! The CK Team's training room erupted into chaos. Lao Wang bellowed, "Hold down Yang Shen, don't let him collude with the enemy!" The sound of chairs being kicked over and Hu Die's uproarious laughter filled the air. Moments later, Lao Wang's voice rang out again: "Our Yang Shen says he refuses to negotiate with you—he heard that after the Group Stage ended, you wished for us to lose a few more matches so we'd place second in the group, securing your spot in the semifinals. He's furious!"
Tong Yao was stunned. "Holy shit, we have a traitor among us!"
As the ZGDX members exchanged furious glances, Little Fatty scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Heh heh, it was me and Hao Yun Lai. We asked if they could lose a few matches to secure us a spot in the semifinals."
Everyone: "..."
Damn it, Fatty, you absolute liability!
By then, the hallway outside the training rooms was packed with players from other regions who had come out to see what the commotion was about. Unable to understand the conversation, they watched in bewilderment as the three LPL teams descended into chaos—it wasn’t exactly infighting, but ZGDX had clearly been shut out by the other two teams, while laughter and rowdiness spilled from the CK and YQCB training rooms. No one could tell what was going on.
Finally, Lu Sicheng decided that if they embarrassed themselves any further, their dignity would be trampled into the dirt. He forcibly herded everyone back into their own training room. Only then did the crowd in the hallway begin to disperse, though the Korean players immediately pulled out their phones to gossip with Pope and Hu Die about what had happened.
Back in the training room, Little Fatty plopped onto the floor and started rolling around dramatically. "No way, my stomach’s already turned into Lao Gan Ma’s. If I don’t get Chinese food tonight, I won’t survive!"
Tong Yao sighed. "The Chinese food abroad might not suit your taste. Even if there’s something authentic, it definitely won’t be near our team headquarters or hotel..."
A dreadful silence fell over the training room. It wasn’t just Little Fatty—now that Chinese food had been mentioned, everyone was craving something rich, spicy, and flavorful. As they wallowed in despair, Lu Sicheng spoke up. "I think there’s a Sichuan hotpot place nearby. Want to go?"
Little Fatty immediately sprang back to life from his near-death state.
—This was the second mistake they made that night.
Half an hour later, the entire ZGDX staff and players marched in a grand procession to the hotpot restaurant.
Meanwhile, international social media was flooded with tweets and Facebook posts from players of various regions:
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA the three LPL teams almost started a fight over food!]
[Witnessed it firsthand.]
[ZGDX won the match but lost their dignity—shut out by their own region’s teams. Justice is served! :DDDDD]
[Now that they’ve left, I’m starting to miss my homeland’s food too T_T Can’t wait to finish the tournament and go home to my mom’s cooking.]
[Missing kimchi and grilled meat.]
[I want fried chicken and beer so bad 55555555]
Unaware that they had just been branded as "food-obsessed," the ZGDX crew settled into their seats at the hotpot restaurant. To their emotional delight, the place had everything they could ask for, and the broth was authentically flavorful. They were moved to tears—Little Fatty even declared that not even the posh 666 Hotpot Mansion back home could compare to a single slice of meat here.
The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Especially by Little Fatty.One person single-handedly demolished two plates of hot pot meat, and no one could stop him.
—And this was the last fatal mistake they made that night.
...
At 8 PM, Little Fatty, holding his stomach and burping, returned to the hotel with the team. His stomach started rumbling on the bus, and Tong Yao joked, "Oh no, oh no. Your ten-day-old 'American Stomach' can't handle the heavy oil and spice anymore."
At 9:15 PM, the bus arrived at the hotel. Little Fatty snatched the jacket with Lu Sicheng's room card and dashed upstairs like a rabbit, clutching his butt... Lu Sicheng, speechless, went to Tong Yao's room to cuddle with her for a while.
At 9:30 PM, he returned to his own room. Little Fatty opened the door for him and then immediately retreated into the bathroom for the second round of the "Five Grains Cycle."
At 9:40 PM, Lu Sicheng noticed something off about the sounds coming from the bathroom—aside from the usual noises, there were also intermittent sounds of vomiting. Frowning, he stood up and knocked on the bathroom door, "Hey, fatty, you okay in there?"
The bathroom fell silent for a few seconds.
Then Little Fatty replied honestly, "I'm not okay."
At 10 PM, Xiao Rui, already in pajamas and ready for bed, grumbled as he threw on some clothes and opened the door to find their team captain standing outside. He froze for a moment before Lu Sicheng dragged him to their room, where they found Little Fatty sprawled on the bed, pale as a sheet... Xiao Rui was left to take care of Little Fatty while Lu Sicheng went out to find a pharmacy.
At 10:30 PM, Lu Sicheng finally found a pharmacy, but before he could step inside, Tong Yao called. There was no need to buy medicine anymore because she, Xiao Rui, the rest of the team, and a few staff members were already on their way to the hospital with Little Fatty. Fifteen minutes earlier, their support player had heroically sacrificed himself over the toilet, vomiting until he passed out.
At this point, things had escalated a bit too far.
When Lu Sicheng arrived at the hospital, he immediately spotted the rest of the team and Xiao Rui sitting in a row outside the emergency room. He glanced at his watch—it was 11:30 PM local time in the U.S., and they had a match against the Wild Card region at noon the next day.
Lu Sicheng frowned but said nothing as he walked over and sat down beside Tong Yao. She immediately leaned into him, giving him a worried look. He took her slightly cold hand in his, patted her shoulder reassuringly, then draped his jacket over her shoulders.
Not a single word was exchanged between them the entire time.
Only the soft rustling of fabric could be heard.
The emergency room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
After a while, Little Fatty was wheeled out of the emergency room—acute gastroenteritis, now with a slight fever. Tong Yao, who had been dozing off against Lu Sicheng, startled awake at the commotion and hurried over to check on Little Fatty. The usually energetic fatty was now hooked up to an IV, pale as paper and covered in cold sweat from the pain.
Tong Yao rummaged through her pockets, pulled out a pack of tissues, and wiped the sweat from Little Fatty's forehead. When she turned around, Lu Sicheng and Xiao Rui were already discussing how to notify the tournament organizers and request to use the substitute roster for tomorrow's match against the Wild Card region. The only substitute they had brought was Lu Yue, so naturally, he would be the one to step in.Fortunately, Riot Games and the tournament organizers acted swiftly, sending personnel to verify the situation. Seeing Little Fatty barely hanging on, they immediately approved ZGDX Team's request. That very night, a shocking announcement spread across domestic and international platforms—
"Due to ZGDX Team's support player, Pang, being hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis and unable to participate in tomorrow's match, ZGDX Team will field a substitute. However, as ZGDX did not register an emergency substitute slot and their only registered substitute, Lv, is locked into the Mid Laner position and cannot be changed, tomorrow's starting lineup will be as follows—
TOP: Mao
JUG: K
MID: Lv
SUP: Smiling
ADC: Chessman"
The moment the news broke, major media platforms exploded.
At this moment, the clock struck midnight.
Tong Yao sat in the chaotic hospital hallway, watching translators, ZGDX staff, and tournament officials bustling back and forth. Beyond the wall, Little Fatty lay in the ward, barely clinging to life. She glanced around but couldn’t find Lu Sicheng—probably holed up in some stairwell smoking in frustration. Tong Yao was utterly speechless—
Alright, alright.
Happy birthday to me.
This "gift" is truly… surprising .
Author's Note: Tournament rules vary, and technically, emergency substitutes should be able to play any position. But ZGDX didn’t bring an emergency substitute—only Lu Yue. As far as I know, regular substitutes aren’t allowed to switch roles.
So I’m not sure if this would fly in reality.
Let’s just assume it does for now…
If I had to fact-check everything, I wouldn’t be able to update tonight.
OpenNovel