Before the match between YQCB and RP began, a young girl who loved browsing Weibo noticed some reposts from Facebook circulating online. Roughly ten minutes after team CK left their hotel, a substitute player from team RP posted on Weibo: "Saw the LPL teams leaving—feeling great, soon we'll send the second team following their footsteps... This region only picks up what we discard, what progress can they even make?"
Within five minutes of this Facebook post going up, it was collectively bombarded by netizens from both China and Korea—LPL fans naturally defended their own. Meanwhile, Korean fans were furious because YQCB had Li Junhe, who commanded a powerful Wife Squad. They harshly criticized the post: "Li Junhe is still your senior, have you no respect?" "Even if he went to LPL, he’s still Li Junhe. What the hell are you, you dog?" "Who are you calling discarded?" "Have you even played in a match to be barking like this?"
Though many Korean netizens supported the player, finding his words amusing and satisfying, and even a handful of clueless Chinese netizens chimed in with comments like "You're not wrong, LPL is trash" or "Can't argue with that," the player quickly buckled under the pressure and deleted the post.
But it was too late—the damage was done, and many negative remarks had already spread.
Tong Yao caught wind of this pre-match drama in time and gleefully remarked, "The Koreans just had to add their own trash talk segment before the match."
Lu Sicheng leaned over to glance at her phone. "How did it turn out?"
"Exploded into chaos."
Tong Yao shook her head, smiling on the surface while internally cursing this obscure substitute player she’d barely noticed before, along with his ancestors for eighteen generations. However, this was just a minor storm. As the match time drew closer, the online crowd in China temporarily forgot about the Korean player’s pre-match taunt and had already learned to find humor in the pain—
[Heard team CK already went back? Their manager posted a Weibo check-in at the airport... In such a hurry? They could’ve at least stayed a few days to sightsee or do some shopping to earn back the plane ticket money.]
[The comment above makes sense. If they waited a few more hours, they could’ve returned with YQCB—at least they’d have company on the way back.]
[Why not wait another day and bring ZGDX along too? The three teams could charter a flight together—now that’d be perfect... Ahahahahaha!]
"These people really never run out of trash talk! If we actually lose, they’ll be just as devastated as us..."Already seated in the spectator area with Jin Yang on her left and Lu Sicheng on her right, Tong Yao put away her phone and glanced around. Since today's match was entirely a battle between two non-LCS regions, the fan distribution was roughly even. YQCB naturally had a massive overseas student fanbase supporting them, while RP Team—composed mostly of Korean Aids returning after Season 5—also had considerable domestic fans. The Korean region had always attracted casual fans worldwide due to their dominant strength. When the RP Team members entered the venue, the cheers were deafening. The players walked in with light steps, smiling and chatting, clearly in a relaxed state of mind. In contrast, every member of YQCB looked solemn. Ai Jia even tripped over his shoelaces while walking onstage, nearly crashing into Pope. The person on Tong Yao's left raised a hand to cover her eyes as if she couldn't bear to watch, though her other hand gripping Tong Yao's tightly betrayed her nerves...
"Don't be nervous," Tong Yao patted her friend's claw. "Ai Jia has seen it all—from that miraculous reverse sweep in the Spring Split Relegation to stay in the league, to—"
Lu Sicheng: "Is this really supposed to be comforting?"
"Shut up," Tong Yao stepped on his foot, then continued unfazed, "From that unbelievable Spring Split reverse sweep to avoid relegation, to crushing Group B in the Summer Split with a seven-game streak, defeating ZGDX in cross-group matches, charging into the Playoffs to claim the Summer Split runner-up, then dominating Red Arrow in the Gauntlet to secure the last ticket to Season 6 Worlds, and now breaking into the World Championship quarterfinals—this team's journey is like something out of a novel. They're unstoppable, aren't they? Infinite potential. If not for my ZGDX, I'd suspect they might even take the S-series crown this year."
Jin Yang: "The crazy part is, from Spring Split till now, they only changed their AD."
Tong Yao: "What do you mean 'only changed their AD'? That was the final piece of the puzzle."
Tong Yao: "I've watched the replay comparisons. Before, YQCB kept losing because they played too passively, letting resources slip until they couldn't fight anymore. But now, they're the most LPL-style team in the entire League of Legends Pro League—aggressive, fearless, diving straight into fights, refusing to treat League of Legends like a tower-pushing game and giving it the respect it deserves..."
Tong Yao grinned at Jin Yang. "RP Team is a new squad formed from returning Korean Aids, and the LPL's influence on them is still obvious. Do you know what they fear most right now?"
Lu Sicheng: "YQCB actually got a really good draw."
Tong Yao: "I think so too."
Jin Yang looked utterly lost, her face screaming: What are you two talking about?
But she soon understood—
After losing the first game, YQCB, fueled by their unshakable mentality of "We were in relegation matches last Spring, what the hell do we have to fear?", quickly found their rhythm in the second game. They reverse-swept RP Team 3-1, advancing to the semifinals where they would face LCS region's G4 Team!In the final match, as YQCB destroyed RP Team's headquarters, Tong Yao shoved her phone into Lu Sicheng's arms, demanding he guide her. When the man reluctantly pulled up the Korean e-sports forum most favored by Korean fans and handed the phone back, Tong Yao snatched it and meticulously scrolled through the entire forum—
Lu Sicheng: "Why bother? You don’t understand Korean."
Tong Yao: "But I understand the endless flood of question marks."
Tong Yao: "The awkwardness seeping through the screen and the deafening silence."
Lu Sicheng: "..."
Tong Yao: "What?"
Lu Sicheng: "Nothing. I just enjoy your optimistic delusion of moral victory."
During the post-match interview, Liang Sheng, as the team captain, took the stage—clearly aware of the pre-match taunts. The foreign host, no stranger to such drama, boldly asked if he knew about it. Liang Sheng didn’t answer directly, only offering a shy smile: "I didn’t notice. Before the match, I was too busy studying G4 Team, our semifinal opponents. After all, they’re strong."
The silent slap echoed loudly.
Instantly, the venue erupted in laughter and whistles.
Tong Yao: "I’ll sleep well tonight."
Lu Sicheng reached out and patted her Dog Head.
……
The tension only intensified as the quarterfinals unfolded.
The camaraderie seen in the Group Stage vanished, replaced by fierce rivalry across regions.
After the second matchday, YQCB—once a Relegation-tier team in the Spring Split—stormed into the Season 6 World Championship semifinals, a feat that electrified fans.
That night, the gloom from CK Team’s elimination the previous day lifted across the domestic scene, easing even ZGDX Team’s psychological pressure. The squad returned to the hotel in high spirits, enjoyed a hearty meal, and later, while gossiping in their rooms, Tong Yao heard rumors that RP Team’s starting players—well-respected in the LPL—had privately apologized to YQCB. She didn’t witness it firsthand, though, so the details remained unclear.
Late that night, she exchanged a few WeChat messages with Lu Sicheng.
Then hunger struck. Little Fatty generously invited her to their room for biscuits and Lao Gan Ma chili sauce. Since Lu Sicheng’s room was one floor up, Tong Yao threw on a jacket and shuffled out in hotel slippers.
Stepping off the elevator, a chilly draft greeted her. She glanced up and spotted a tall young man leaning against the half-open window in the dimly lit hallway, a faint glow from his cigarette casting shadows across his sharp nose.
Tong Yao averted her gaze immediately.
It was A Tai from TAT Team.
Damn. Of all people.
Feigning blindness and deafness, she tightened her jacket, checked the room number sign, and prepared to stride past him. But just as her slippers scuffed hurriedly across the floor, the figure by the window straightened and called out—
"Smiling."Tong Yao stumbled slightly, her mind exploding with a barrage of live comments—"WTF," "What do you want calling me like that," "Ignore him," "Pretend you didn't hear," "Show some backbone"—flashing through her head. Frozen with her back to the person behind her for a moment, she eventually sighed and turned around, bidding him goodnight in English. Fine, she'd acknowledge him just this once.
After all, China was the land of courtesy.
At that moment, A Tai took in Tong Yao's forced smile and scoffed, speaking in surprisingly decent English: "Don’t lose to OP Team tomorrow."
Tong Yao paused, then nodded. "Of course not."
A Tai stubbed out his cigarette and tossed the entire pack into the trash. Then, after a brief hesitation, he tilted his chin up. "See you in the semifinals. Don’t ban Leblanc—let’s prove to the world who the real number one Leblanc is."
Tong Yao blinked.
It took her a second to realize this was a direct challenge.
Instead, a wave of "childhood trauma" crashed over her—back when she first started her pro career, the first time she cried from the overwhelming pressure, realizing Leblanc wasn’t her exclusive champion. Drunk out of her mind, she had clung to her team captain’s back, throwing a tantrum, then stayed up all night practicing Azir. The humiliation, the frustration… She lowered her gaze, silent.
Until, at the end of the hallway, a door opened. Lu Sicheng poked his head out, eyeing Tong Yao standing dumbly in the corridor in her hotel slippers. He raised a brow. "What are you doing?"
Only then did Tong Yao snap out of it.
A cool breeze brushed past her cheeks, chilling her skin.
Yet her mind burned.
Her expression shifted—wavering for just a second before settling into resolve. She cast a casual glance at the boy who had just openly provoked her, then smiled faintly and replied calmly, "Sure. Looking forward to meeting TAT Team. The championship trophy will shine even brighter with your defeat."
Author's Note: Here we go, here we go!
New contemporary romance novel "Moonlight Serenade" is live! A sweet story about a legendary author and a little editor who transforms from a lamb into a big bad wolf!
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