【Round and Chubby: Why was I the one to see this.】
【Round and Chubby: Why did I have to see it again.】
【Round and Chubby: Out of the 365 days in a year, I probably only wake up early for no more than five days—why did you have to choose these exact days to assault my eyes—……………………Wait, or do you actually do this every day……………………】
【Round and Chubby: ?_?】
【Round and Chubby: I’m calling the police.】
The phone in her hand kept buzzing. Tong Yao watched helplessly as the messages grew increasingly absurd and outrageous. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore and threw Lu Sicheng’s phone aside, then grabbed the hand pressing down on her head and yanked it away—
Lu Sicheng was dreaming of a terrifying female ghost dragging his hand, trying to make him lie on train tracks for a double suicide. His heart lurched in shock, and he reflexively clamped down on the ghost’s icy hand—only to jolt awake at the same moment. His eyes snapped open, landing first on the team headquarters’ big cat squatting on the coffee table, staring at him intently, and then on what he was gripping in his hand…
His Mid Laner’s wrist.
At that moment, she had one hand braced on the edge of the sofa, her body tilted at an angle, her hair disheveled as if she’d just suffered inhuman abuse. Her other wrist was locked in his grasp, the pale skin already marked with red fingerprints from his grip—
Tong Yao was leaning over him, their faces dangerously close.
Lu Sicheng: “…”
Lu Sicheng: “Eek!”
His usually expressionless, handsome face showed a rare flicker of panic. The man hastily released her wrist, recoiling into the corner of the sofa as if he were the one who had been violated.
Tong Yao: “？？？？？？？”
Lu Sicheng: “What are you doing? Why are you getting so close while someone’s sleeping?”
Tong Yao lifted her wrist, examining the red marks, then glanced at her captain, who looked like he’d just been harassed. Suppressing the urge to slap him, she pointed upstairs and deadpanned, “I came down this morning to check if my cat was still alive…”
Lu Sicheng’s dark brown pupils contracted slightly, his expression still distrustful. “Why would you randomly check if your cat’s alive? What kind of excuse is that? Why would a perfectly fine cat die?”
Tong Yao let out an “Oh” and nodded, thinking, I wasn’t clear enough, huh? So she emphasized, “I came down this morning to check if you had strangled my cat and were trying to flush it down the toilet—”
Lu Sicheng: “…”
Tong Yao: “But instead, I found you asleep mid-Ranked match, having idled for hours on stream while your chat was flooded with question marks and people playing poker. So I closed it for you—then, out of misplaced kindness, I worried you might get cold, so I grabbed a blanket for you.”
She pointed at the blanket draped over Lu Sicheng’s knees.
Tong Yao: “While I was covering you, you suddenly shoved my face into your stomach.”
She pointed at her head. “And messed up my hair.”
Lu Sicheng: “No way.”
Tong Yao: “You thought I was Da Bing.”
Lu Sicheng: “…How—”
Tong Yao: “And finally, the grand finale—Little Fatty saw everything.”Tong Yao picked up Lu Sicheng's phone and tossed it to him—the man caught it steadily with one hand, glanced at his WeChat, his expression shifting from confusion to surprise before settling into calm. Under Tong Yao's serious gaze, he dialed a number. The call was answered after two rings. Lu Sicheng said, "Hey, Fatty? You saw wrong earlier, we weren’t doing anything—and who does anything in the living room? If you left your brain at home, I still have mine."
Then he hung up.
Tong Yao: "You’d sound more convincing if you weren’t so aggressive—even I think you’re just being unreasonable."
"Oh," Lu Sicheng said, "What do you think Little Fatty thought we were doing?"
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng: "Still think I’m being unreasonable?"
Tong Yao: "......"
Tong Yao lowered her head, silent as a chicken.
Lu Sicheng yawned, threw off the blanket draped over him, and stood up. He walked to the fridge, opened it, took out an ice-cold cola, and took a sip. Pausing, he glanced at the person who was now watching him intently, as if suddenly remembering something, and asked, "What did you need me for?"
Tong Yao: "...It’s Tuesday today."
Lu Sicheng: "Yeah."
Tong Yao: "No Scrims."
Lu Sicheng: "Hmm?"
Tong Yao raised her hand, somewhat awkwardly tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Sunlight streamed in from outside, and from Lu Sicheng’s angle, he could see the side of her fair, almost translucent face—her earlobe was tinged a cute shade of pink at that moment...
Lu Sicheng averted his gaze, tilting his head back to take another sip of the cold cola, his Adam’s apple bobbing.
After a long while, he finally heard his Mid Laner speak slowly from nearby: "Originally, I thought since everyone’s free today, maybe we could go to the flower and bird market so I can replace your Goldfish—but you pulled an all-nighter playing Ranked matches and didn’t sleep at all, so I figured—"
Lu Sicheng: "..."
Clang.
The man tossed the empty cola can into the trash bin, the crisp sound cutting Tong Yao off mid-sentence. He glanced at the girl sitting on the floor by the sofa, then after a long pause, said flatly, "Sure. Give me half an hour to shower and change."
Tong Yao: "..."
Lu Sicheng looked down at his hands, rubbing his fingers together before adding mercilessly, "You should wash your hair too before we go."
Tong Yao: "......"
Only after Lu Sicheng went upstairs, opened the door, and closed it behind him—the soft "click" of the door snapping shut—did the girl frozen by the sofa finally snap out of it with a shudder. Her brain struggled to function properly, and after what felt like an eternity, she realized: ………………… Lu Sicheng had agreed. To go. To the flower and bird market.
Tong Yao: "………………………………"
It was as if something had exploded in her mind. She even forgot to retort that her hair wasn’t oily at all and that his complaint was ridiculous. Her thoughts were completely overtaken by the words "He agreed to go to the flower and bird market with her." Like a ghost, she floated upstairs, her feet seemingly stepping on clouds—
The kind of clouds that might descend from the heavens to welcome some legendary Champion into her life.
...
Upstairs, shower, shampoo, moisturizer, blow-dry, body lotion, makeup.Tong Yao opened her wardrobe and glanced inside, only to shut it in despair at the sight of oversized T-shirts and shorts everywhere—a few seconds later, she realized that was indeed all she had. Silently, she reopened the wardrobe and began sifting through her clothes, searching for anything that met the criteria: "not black or white," "no weird slogans on the chest," "no hideous cartoon characters," "not team uniforms," and "doesn’t look like it’s meant for men." In the end, she was left staring at a pile of shirts on her bed that even high schoolers would find dull, lost in thought.
Clothes are never enough when you need them.
And skirts make you regret past choices.
Kicking the pile of clothes off the bed, Tong Yao bounced onto the mattress, rolled around, then grabbed her phone and frantically texted Jin Yang: "Am I even a woman?" But just as she was about to hit send, she suddenly froze—
Her eyes lit up like never before.
She sprang up from the bed like a carp leaping out of water, rummaged through her luggage, and pulled out a blue-and-white pinstriped dress shirt and a dark pleated skirt from the very bottom—a birthday gift from Jin Yang last year. The shirt and skirt were a set, each adorned with a small cartoon bear head: Jin Yang’s so-called "last line of defense" against her "fake elementary school student" aesthetic.
Tong Yao quickly slipped into the shirt and skirt, rushed to the mirror to tuck in the shirt, smoothed it out, and spun around. Her slender waist, straight legs, and flat stomach (thanks to skipping breakfast)—
After admiring herself for a while, she checked the time and hurriedly grabbed her rarely used black chain bag, ready to head out. But just as her hand touched the doorknob, she suddenly retreated.
Back at the mirror, she confirmed her eyelashes weren’t clumpy, her blush was just the right shade, and her lipstick wasn’t too heavy or too light. She snatched the hair oil from the vanity and ran it through her frizzy ends—
The faint fragrance of the oil filled her nose.
Bag in hand, she dragged out a brand-new yellow shoebox from under the bed—inside were a pair of black platform sandals with square toes, ruffled edges (backed with rose-red fabric), and a black strap at the heel that perfectly hugged the curve of her foot.
They were a replacement Jin Yang had given her after her camellia sandals broke, unable to stand her whining about being too stingy to buy new ones.
Tong Yao hastily slipped them on, glanced down, and was pleased. Her legs seemed to gain an invisible five centimeters, and the thick soles made walking easy—perfect for someone who couldn’t handle heels. Satisfied, she took them off, carried them in her hand, opened the door, and slithered out like an eel, tiptoeing downstairs…
Her heart raced.
Anticipating how she’d look standing in front of that person—
By now, a few people were already awake on the first floor of the team headquarters.
Xiao Rui, spotting Tong Yao coming down, quickly stuffed Da Bing—who was halfway hanging off the cage—back inside and hid the can of food behind his back. He was about to say something when his eyes landed on the fluttering skirt and snow-white, straight legs of the girl bouncing down the stairs.
Xiao Rui: "??? What the??? Since when did we have a girl in our team headquarters???"Tong Yao didn’t have time to answer, merely raising her hand in a motion as if to throw her shoe. In that dazed moment, Xiao Rui caught sight of the brand logo on it—
Just then, the door on Lu Sicheng’s side opened as well.
The man wore a black T-shirt and dark jeans, his broad shoulders and narrow waist unmistakably accentuated. The excellent tailoring of the jeans showcased his long legs to their fullest advantage—his hair was still slightly damp, clearly fresh from a shower, and the stubble that had been growing for days was now completely gone. Leaning against the railing, he looked down at Tong Yao standing below: "Been waiting long?"
Tong Yao: "Just got here."
She set her shoe down and bent to put it on.
Lu Sicheng descended the stairs, glanced at the shoes in Tong Yao’s hand, then turned and—instead of picking sneakers or slippers—dug out a pair of black casual shoes with yellow triangular monster eyes painted on them from the shoe cabinet. He slipped them on without a word.
Xiao Rui: "？？？？？？"
……Excuse me?
What kind of nonsense is this, choosing shoes from the same brand?
The team manager’s face remained frozen in utter confusion.
By the time the two had finished putting on their shoes and walked side by side out of the team headquarters’ gate—
Xiao Rui was still standing in place, stiff as a board, utterly bewildered: "What’s going on here?"
Behind him, the Ultraman butt that had been wriggling around in search of food behind the fridge door paused mid-motion. Little Fatty looked up: "What’s what going on?"
Xiao Rui: "What are our Double Carry duo up to?"
Little Fatty: "Said they’re going to the flower and bird market to buy fish."
Xiao Rui: "Huh?"
Little Fatty: "Said they’re going to the flower and bird market to buy fish."
Xiao Rui: "The flower and bird market next to the civil affairs bureau, or the civil affairs bureau next to the flower and bird market?"
Little Fatty: "..."
Xiao Rui: "Summer’s here, the season when little critters start getting restless…………………… It’s a date, you idiot, a date! Ugh, these two, so blatant—though the club never actually said it’s not allowed… but… damn it, why does this make me so mad? Nowadays even idiots and elementary school students can pair up and go on dates, while someone as normal as me is still single!!!"
OpenNovel