“What,” Lu Sicheng propped his chin on one hand with a faint smirk, “are you nervous about watching a movie with me?”
Extremely nervous.
A guy and a girl, purely teammates, what’s with watching a movie together? It’s way too suggestive.
“What if someone sees us—”
“You’ve already played one-third of the regular league matches. Haven’t you gotten used to being a public figure who must frequently Expose yourself to the public eye?” Lu Sicheng said calmly. “The first time, I let you hide behind me because you’d just joined the team. But there won’t be such a good deal the second time…”
“Why not?”
“You need to learn to adapt to this. It’s the most basic thing—first adapt to being a public figure, then learn not to be swayed by others’ opinions—”
“Isn’t your educational philosophy ‘cause less trouble, behave properly’?” Tong Yao raised her fork. “That’s how you lectured me before.”
“But even if you do that, they’ll still talk about you,” Lu Sicheng glanced at Tong Yao and pressed down her fork. “Like how everyone in the stream is discussing how you’ve gained weight again.”
Tong Yao abruptly covered her face, horrified: “Really?”
“See, this is being swayed by public opinion. Don’t you know whether it’s true or not by stepping on a scale? When you can confidently say, ‘I didn’t gain weight, you’re blind,’ then you’ll have graduated.”
“…Oh, but what does all that have to do with us watching a movie?”
“Training you, free of charge.” Lu Sicheng said seriously. “Are you done eating? I bought tickets for the soonest showing—don’t want to miss the opening.”
Tong Yao thought to herself that between practicing last-hitting, laning, Scrims, and developing new Champion strategies for the patch, she was already exhausted enough. Now, on her rare day out, she had to undergo some psychological training—and the most ridiculous part was getting her salary docked at the drop of a hat—why was being a pro gamer so tiring?
“Being a pro is exhausting.”
“Heavy is the head that wears the crown.”
“Don’t lower your head or the crown will fall, don’t cry or the villains will laugh?”
“What nonsense is that?”
“……Just a random response.”
“Stop reading those meaningless motivational quotes. Spend more time watching classic matches—in which game of which team during this year’s Spring Split did I pull off a Penta Kill and Reverse sweep at what minute and second?”
“……CK!”
“It was the ‘Great Qing Dynasty Fell 500 Years Ago’ team.”
“……”
“Just keep guessing blindly. You dare not even properly review the Spring Split VODs of the team we’re facing this week? You’re getting too full of yourself.”
“……”
Tong Yao got lectured the entire way.
After leaving the noodle shop and taking the escalator to the cinema, Lu Sicheng went to collect the tickets. Tong Yao checked the time and glanced at the sparse crowd in the lobby waiting for the same movie. Still feeling uneasy, she made an excuse to go to the bathroom and slipped away, planning to enter only when most people had already gone in after the movie started…
But at the bathroom entrance, she unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.
Xu Tailun and his female companion of unclear relationship were standing in the rest area outside the bathroom, chatting and laughing softly. Xu Tailun held movie tickets—probably for the same showing as Tong Yao and the others.
Talk about bad luck running into enemies.Tong Yao raised an eyebrow, recalling Lu Sicheng's earlier speculation about the girl's identity, then frowned and slowed her steps. She hadn't decided yet whether to greet Xu Tailun—after all, their first group match this week was against the "Great Qing Forgot Five Hundred Years" team. Pretending not to know him now would be awkward.
Just as she hesitated, Xu Tailun happened to look up and spot her. The man had already removed his mask and called out to Tong Yao. When she turned back, she saw the girl hurriedly lowering her head to put her mask back on...
She was holding a canvas bag that hadn't been there before, with something moving inside.
Tong Yao changed direction to approach Xu Tailun, planning to exchange a polite greeting before leaving. But before she could speak, the girl standing beside him suddenly said, "Mimi, stop moving."
Then came the soft mewl of a kitten.
Tong Yao immediately turned to look at her in surprise. "You brought a cat in here?"
"Ah, um," the girl glanced nervously at Tong Yao, then at Xu Tailun. Seeing he wasn't speaking, she whispered, "As long as it doesn't make noise, no one will notice."
"It's early summer, but the air conditioning here is so strong—a kitten can't handle that, can it?" Tong Yao said, then paused, realizing she might be overstepping since it wasn't her cat. Her voice softened as she added, "Be careful it doesn't catch a cold. Taking care of a sick kitten is really troublesome."
The masked girl nodded.
Xu Tailun stood nearby, watching Tong Yao with a meaningful smile but saying nothing. Tong Yao didn't feel like engaging further either. After a brief farewell, she turned and headed to the restroom. When the movie was about to start, she hurried out and returned to Lu Sicheng with a dark expression. At the time, he was standing by a movie poster, surrounded by fans—both male and female...
Tong Yao: "……………………"
The dreaded scenario had come to pass.
Just then, Lu Sicheng noticed Tong Yao approaching from a distance, spotting him, then stopping and backing away. His hand, signing autographs, paused. He quickly signed the next fan's notebook but declined their photo request.
"My companion is here," he said in a patient tone. "Maybe next time, okay?"
Hearing this, the crowd turned—
And their eyes widened as if they'd discovered some incredible new world: the person hesitating in the distance, looking around as if searching for cover, was none other than China Telecom Team's new Mid Laner, Smiling!!!
"Ahhh! Cheng Ge, are you on a date with Smiling?"
"Why is she here too? Is the whole team here?"
"Why is she hiding? Is she shy?"
"Oh my god, are you two really dating? I didn't believe the rumors online at first..."
The fans around Lu Sicheng chattered excitedly. Tong Yao swore she'd seen this scene before—the day she joined the team and bought slippers. But this time, she couldn't brush it off with "I'm just staff." Steeling herself, she stepped forward: "…………Hello everyone, I'm China Telecom Team's Mid Laner, Smiling."
The same formal introduction she used during MVP interviews.The surrounding fans burst into laughter, making Tong Yao's ears turn slightly red. She glanced at Lu Sicheng, who then faintly smiled and said, "Stop laughing, guys. She's shy. It took a lot of effort to convince her to watch a movie with me."
A male fan clearly didn’t believe it and asked, "Just the two of you?"
Lu Sicheng nodded. "Yeah, just us."
A female fan hesitated before asking, "So... are you two really together? I’ve seen people discussing you on the Forum and Weibo..."
Lu Sicheng began, "We—"
"We’re just harmonious teammates! It’s pure coincidence that we ended up watching a movie together!"
Tong Yao cut in, clearly noticing the female fan sigh in relief. She also silently sighed in her heart—then glanced at Lu Sicheng, who had shut his mouth. No matter how much she signaled with her eyes for him to continue, he stubbornly refused to speak.
How baffling.
Just then, the final announcement for the movie screening played, saving them both. They bid farewell to the fans and turned to enter the theater one after the other.
After settling into their seats, the movie had already started when Xu Tailun and his female companion slipped in under the dim lighting. Tong Yao tugged at the sleeve of the person beside her. "Look at those two walking down there."
Lu Sicheng: "Who?"
Tong Yao: "The jungler who’s into screwing fans."
Lu Sicheng: "..."
The man patted her head. "Mind your own business."
...
That night, back at the team headquarters, Tong Yao collapsed onto the sofa, completely unable to move. She stared at the man pouring goldfish into the aquarium nearby while he chatted idly with Little Fatty.
"Where’d you guys go?"
"Buying fish."
"Buying fish took all day?"
"Yeah."
"You think I’m stupid?"
"Well, we also watched Independence Day 2 . Want me to spoil it for you?"
"..."
Little Fatty immediately covered his ears in horror. Lu Sicheng tugged at his hand, expressionless. "Come on."
Little Fatty: "No, no! Go away!"
Lu Sicheng let go, clapped his hands, and tossed out a smug "Try me" before strutting off with his chin raised, looking inexplicably proud... Tong Yao watched him head upstairs, then rolled her eyes and turned over on the sofa to play with her phone. Since the "God" wasn’t streaming today, she browsed around aimlessly until she unexpectedly stumbled upon Xu Tailun’s live broadcast on a certain platform. Judging by the time, it had just started.
Tong Yao clicked in.
Immediately, she saw the little kitten that had been taken from her that morning wandering in front of the camera.
["Yeah, a cat."] The jungler in the stream smiled amiably as he answered the live comments from fans. ["A fan gave it to me. It’s adorable. Thanks, I’ll take good care of it."]
Tong Yao turned up the volume.
Little Fatty: "You watching Long-ge’s stream?"
Tong Yao: "Yeah. We’re playing against them this week, so I’m studying his jungling style."
Little Fatty gave an "Oh" and didn’t question further, burying himself in his own game. Tong Yao continued watching the stream, listening to the blatant lies—["This afternoon? Watching a movie in the afternoon? I didn't go, you must have mistaken me for someone else. I just brought Mao back to the team headquarters—there's no way I'd take a cat to the cinema. You definitely got the wrong person," Xu Tailun said. "After returning to the headquarters this afternoon, I was playing ranked matches on my smurf account. If you don't believe me, you can ask my teammates... A woman? I have a girlfriend—why would I go watch a movie with another woman?"
As he spoke, he turned the camera toward one of his domestic teammates, who paused before smiling and saying, "Yeah, he was playing on his smurf this afternoon."
Tong Yao rolled her eyes again.
Watching the little kitten wobble unsteadily in front of the camera, the live comments were filled with praise like "So cute!" and similar remarks. Then, the kitten suddenly sneezed—"Achoo!"—before shaking its head.
The live chat exploded with comments like "Adorable!" "It sneezed, it sneezed!" "I want a cat too!"—
Only a few comments stood out: "Could it be sick?" "Catching a cold in this weather? Is the headquarters' AC too strong?"
Tong Yao frowned, unable to watch any longer, and closed the stream. Just then, Lu Sicheng came downstairs again. Glancing at his Mid Laner, who was sitting cross-legged on the sofa hugging a pillow with a deeply troubled expression—lost in thought—he walked over and flicked her forehead. "What's wrong?"
"That Xu Tailun is seriously the worst. He's not a good person," Tong Yao said. "I hate him."
"Oh."
"Male pro gamers are all terrible. Not a single decent one," Tong Yao continued. "I really hate them."
"...Are you stupid? What does that have to do with me?"
Tong Yao stood up on the sofa, and Lu Sicheng instinctively took a small step back. She shoved the pillow into his arms with a "Pfft," then jumped off the sofa with a frown and stomped upstairs... Lu Sicheng watched as she slammed her door shut, tossed the pillow back onto the sofa, and asked without turning around, "What's her problem?"
Little Fatty: "No idea."
Lu Sicheng: "She was fine just now."
Little Fatty: "She's your responsibility—go ask her yourself."
Lu Sicheng pulled his gaze away from a certain door on the second floor, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "Fine, fine," he muttered. "Can't even take my eyes off her for a second."]
OpenNovel