The ZGDX Team inexplicably organized a solo competition with tonight's supper as the ultimate prize. Participants: Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng; co-organizing spectator masses: Little Fatty, Lu Yue, Ming Shen, Old K, Old Cat, and all staff represented by the coaching team.
Before the match began, people spontaneously and unanimously stood on Tong Yao's side—
"If we win, we get crayfish; if we lose, it's just mala xiangguo," Little Fatty patted Tong Yao's shoulder with a sigh.
Tong Yao let out a surprised "Huh?" and said, "...Actually, even if it's crayfish, I could—"
Little Fatty interrupted, "Crayfish that one person can't eat ten jin of in one go isn't real crayfish."
Tong Yao mentally calculated the price of ten jin of crayfish and nodded, "I'll try my best to win."
Meanwhile, Lu Sicheng, sitting nearby, had already set up a separate game room for the solo match and sent the room password to Tong Yao—both of their live streams were also on. Tong Yao's live comments were filled with things like "It's like watching Cheng Ge's martial arts competition for marriage," "The room is his arena," "I wanna try too, what if I win?"; whereas Lu Sicheng's live comments were much more optimistic—
[Cheng Ge, look behind you, there's no one there.]
[No one loves you.]
[We don't love you either.]
[The people praising you on the Forum must be paid shills from Taobao. You have no fans, no friends.]
[My heart aches for our captain, so unpopular.]
[ZGDX Team on the verge of discord, teammates united in isolating the captain!]
[No matter what, I support you, my Cheng Ge!... Not like I’ll get to eat the supper anyway kkkkkkkkk]
Lu Sicheng glanced at the comments and coldly said, "Shut up, I'm turning off the stream."
Then he turned to look at Tong Yao and asked, "Do you know the rules of a solo match?"
[Attention! Cheng Ge is about to announce the rules for the martial arts competition for marriage!Will our Markswoman manage to win the captain today?]
[I volunteer to join!]
[Hahahahahaha you guys are so annoying!]
[I don’t know, I don’t know, Cheng Ge please explain!]
Lu Sicheng turned his head and "snapped" the stream off. Ten seconds later, the number of viewers in Tong Yao's stream skyrocketed, and the comments were flooded with spectator masses who instantly switched sides, all chanting in unison: "Sister, crush that tsundere who turns off the stream without warning!" We’re cheering for you!
Tong Yao rubbed her hands, which were cold from nervousness, and said, "I know, I know. Three kills or one tower."
The so-called "three kills or one tower" refers to the solo rules in League of Legends—
First, no runes or masteries allowed;
Second, no Heal, Clarity, or other Summoner spells with recovery abilities;
Third, the duel takes place in the mid lane, with the two bushes leading to the river as boundaries—stepping beyond the bushes counts as forfeiting;
Fourth, the core rule: victory is determined by killing the opponent three times or destroying one of their towers.
Both sides are free to choose their Champions, but in most cases, when two people want to compete purely on skill, they will pick the same Champion for a mirror match—originally, Tong Yao and Lu Sicheng specialized in two different roles, making it hard to find a balance. But coincidentally, they are Mid Laner and AD, and there are quite a few Champions in League of Legends that can perform well in both roles.For example, Ezreal, Varus, Quinn, the Demacian Wings, Jayce, and others...
Tong Yao glanced at the Champion list: "Mirror match, right? Then I'll go with Ezreal?"
Lu Sicheng gave an "Mhm" in response. Both sides locked in their Champions, and the game began—
Without runes or masteries, the base stats and damage of the Champions were different from usual. For professional players who often relied on calculated damage to secure kills, this could easily lead them to their deaths due to ingrained habits—even last-hitting Minions would be difficult. There was only one way to avoid this: practicing last-hits in solo mode regularly.
Only then could they fully grasp a Champion's damage output without any runes.
At the start, as both sides sent out their Minions and headed to lane, Tong Yao felt a little nervous—she had been with ZGDX for a while now and had played League of Legends for even longer, yet she had never directly faced Lu Sicheng in a one-on-one lane before... Listening to the crisp clicking of the mouse beside her and watching the smooth movements and perfectly timed last-hits of the red-named opponent on the screen, she could almost hear her own heartbeat.
She knew this level of last-hitting fundamentals could only come from countless hours of solo practice—
If her slight overcoming of fear toward the Mid Laner of the Meme team was because she knew most people in life were as ordinary as her, then she was also acutely aware now: Lu Sicheng was not.
Debut as one of the few Chinese players bought by a Korean club as a trainee, securing a spot in the world's top Professional League—when people thought of Chinese players, the name "Lu Sicheng" came to mind without hesitation.
He had risen to fame early.
And had remained at his peak ever since.
Even the strongest players acknowledged him. Admired him. Because he possessed extraordinary talent and worked harder than most.
From level one, he aggressively traded with her in her face.
Pushed all the way back under her Turret, she even missed the experience from one or two Minions. Tong Yao's heart sank, and from then on, she cautiously hid behind the Minion wave, carefully securing her own last-hits. Occasionally, she would take a bit of damage from stray abilities. When she saw her experience bar nearing level two, she quickly retreated—
Sure enough, with one last-hit advantage, Lu Sicheng hit level two first, unlocked his second ability, and went in for another trade. His mechanics were lightning-fast—even as Tong Yao immediately backed off and tried to sidestep, she still had to endure a few of his basic attacks. In a panic, she drank a health potion, clicked the ground, and auto-attacked a Minion to reach level two herself. But by the time she leveled up her ability, Lu Sicheng, still at near-full health, had already started retreating—
Chasing him down for a counterattack was impossible. Tong Yao's only chance was if Lu Sicheng got overzealous and chased her, giving her an opening to turn the fight around...
But the man clearly had no intention of giving her that opportunity.
What followed was another period of peaceful farming. During this time, Tong Yao realized that if she let Lu Sicheng farm undisturbed, she would forever be suppressed due to that one missed last-hit. So she constantly weaved through the Minion wave, trying to harass him—
Unfortunately, he wasn’t falling for it at all.By the time both sides reached level three and a half, Tong Yao had pushed the minion wave too aggressively due to excessive harassment, leaving her overextended. Lu Sicheng, having cleared his wave first, swiftly dashed in with a mobility skill and unleashed a rapid combo, nearly depleting her health. As her HP dropped critically low, Tong Yao retreated toward her own minion wave while using her Q ability and basic attacks to retaliate.
When her health fell below 200, she saw him charge into Turret range. The moment the Turret struck him, her eyes lit up—she thought her chance had come. But that split-second hesitation cost her life. While tanking the Turret shot, Lu Sicheng instantly ignited her and then dashed out of Turret range with his E ability. As his Q skill came off cooldown, he twisted mid-movement to release it. Tong Yao was hit by the Q—enhanced by his W’s attack speed boost—followed by a basic attack, all while the ignite’s burn effect ticked away.
Ignite deals 50 + (20 × Champion level) damage over five seconds and applies a healing reduction debuff. So even though Tong Yao retreated under her Turret, avoiding further damage from Lu Sicheng, the lingering debuff burned her to death.
The screen darkened, and as the "First Blood" announcement echoed in-game, Tong Yao slammed her mouse and sighed in resignation.
The Live Comments flooded with "6666" tributes to Lu Sicheng. Ezreal wasn’t a mechanically flashy Champion, but in that sequence, Lu Sicheng demonstrated impeccable precision in calculating damage, cooldowns, and execution.
During her respawn timer, Tong Yao bought items. When her Champion reappeared in the fountain, she realized that if she kept playing cautiously, Lu Sicheng would dominate her until the solo match ended.
So when she returned to lane—despite being slightly behind in items—she fought with newfound aggression.
Three minutes later, at level five, Tong Yao replicated Lu Sicheng’s earlier play, killing him under his own Turret.
Lu Sicheng raised an eyebrow. As the enemy minion wave pushed into his Turret, his own minions were picked off by the structure, denying him experience. Worse, he had to watch helplessly as Tong Yao stood comfortably under his Turret, chipping away at its health.
The crumbling stone animation of the Turret signaled that Tong Yao had clawed back her early disadvantage, balancing the scales once more.
...
The solo match lasted a full twenty minutes.
Back and forth they went, neither yielding an inch. The kill score was tied at 2-2, and both their first Turrets were on the brink of falling.
By now, Tong Yao had tuned out the chatter around her and the Live Comments. Her focus was solely on her opponent. He initiated with a Summoner spell, dropping her to a precarious 40% HP. But as the minion wave advanced, he hesitated—perhaps playing it safe—and retreated slightly.
This was Lu Sicheng’s miscalculation of the mid-lane wave’s timing. In truth, he could’ve crippled or even killed Tong Yao before the wave arrived.But his mistake in choosing to retreat gave Tong Yao a small opportunity—when someone prepares to abandon an attack and fall back, it's often the perfect moment for the defending side to sound the horn of counterattack!
Q for damage—follow with W to boost attack speed—A-A-E-A-Q—
Apply Exhaust, apply Ignite!
When she saw the enemy's health drop critically low and they used their E skill to quickly retreat and create distance, Tong Yao pressed the R key—
After a one-second charge, the crescent-shaped ultimate was unleashed. Though its effect was weakened after hitting a few Minions, it still managed to finish off Lu Sicheng, who was left with only a sliver of health!
Three to two!
"We won!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Tong Yao flung her mouse and keyboard aside, raising both arms in triumph. Behind her, led by Little Fatty, the crowd erupted in tears and thunderous applause, knowing the crayfish feast was secured. The live comments were also a jubilant mess—
[Hahahahahaha damn, my girl is amazing!]
[The esports Mulan has defeated General Lu! Next up is a happy marriage, no doubt about it hehehehehe!]
[AHHHHHHHHHHH I was this excited when LPL won the S6 championship too!]
[I was so nervous I couldn’t breathe… You guys are all veterans, even EZ can be played like a god.]
[Damn, I was so nervous! My palms are sweaty!]
[I’m testing!!! I forgot what I was here for after lurking for thirty minutes!!!! Congrats Smiling, congrats Cheng Ge, now I can focus on taking a DUMP, mwah!!!]
Tong Yao turned around with a grin to look at Lu Sicheng, who calmly switched to her stream to glance at the live comments. He muttered, "Congratulate me for what? Hope you get constipated," then closed the stream and reached for his headphones—
Tong Yao grabbed his arm: "Crayfish, crayfish, crayfish."
Lu Sicheng glanced at the hand on his wrist: "Got it."
Just then, his phone, placed nearby, rang. Tong Yao let go, and the man picked it up, seeing an unknown number. He answered with a "Hello," and his previously relaxed expression shifted—
Meanwhile, Tong Yao was turning off her stream, obediently waving at the camera and saying "Bye" to her fans. With a click, she closed the stream and turned back to Lu Sicheng, noticing his odd reaction. She blinked and asked, "Who was it?"
"Su Luo," Lu Sicheng hung up. "She said she wants to meet me one last time tonight for dinner, and then she’ll stop bothering me."
Tong Yao froze, her good mood quickly fading. After a pause, she said, "Oh! Can’t you not go?"
Lu Sicheng shot her a look: "She said if I don’t, she’ll come to the team headquarters."
Tong Yao let out another "Oh."
Lu Sicheng clicked his tongue, visibly irritated as he put on his headphones and opened a music player at random… The people around them had already scattered to their own tasks, and the surroundings grew quiet.
"Cheng Ge."
Tong Yao called.
Lu Sicheng ignored her, crouched on his chair, staring intently at his computer as if deeply engrossed in reading the next League of Legends patch notes.
"Cheng Ge."
Tong Yao called again, but Lu Sicheng still didn’t respond.She turned her head to glance at him and asked, "Can't hear me?" Then she muttered, "With your headphones so loud, aren't you afraid of going deaf?" She bent down to pick up the cat meowing on her chair and turned to leave. But after a few steps, she suddenly backtracked.
Standing behind Lu Sicheng's chair, she paused for a moment before speaking in a calm, measured tone, "I don’t want you to go."
After saying this, she lowered her eyes, tightened her grip around the cat in her arms, turned, and went upstairs to her room.
The person squatting on the chair, still wearing headphones, remained motionless, staring at his news.
...
One minute later.
Little Fatty's door swung open as he wobbled down the stairs, his plump body jiggling with each step. In a voice that wasn’t particularly loud, he announced, "Cheng Ge, today’s lobster has to be from XX’s—the most expensive kind… and we need thirty pounds!"
"……Got it."
Beside the computer on the first floor of the team headquarters, the man lazily lifted his eyelids, tugged off one side of his headphones, and replied in a bored tone.
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