Qiao Jingjing quietly retracted her testing claws and obediently played Ranked Matches with Yu Tu for two days.
Before they knew it, it was the day of the KPL finals.
The finals were scheduled to start at 3 PM. By 2:30 PM, Qiao Jingjing was already waiting in the media room. She first opened the live streaming platform, then pulled Yu Tu along to discuss which team to bet their prediction coins on.
The two teams in the finals were Luo Shen and Tian Gong. And Tian Gong happened to be the team of Xia Xue, the professional player Qiao Jingjing admired.
So emotionally, it seemed she should bet on Tian Gong.
But she had a whole 100,000 prediction coins! These were painstakingly accumulated through daily Ranked Matches and casual games. With such a huge amount, how could she let emotions dictate her decision? For this reason, she carefully read a bunch of pre-match reports and gossip, and even peeked at Teacher Yu next to her.
She happened to see Teacher Yu bet all his prediction coins on Luo Shen.
"You bet everything on Luo Shen?"
"Their form is better. Luo Shen won the Spring championship and has more experience."
Qiao Jingjing said discontentedly, "Xia Xue's form is really good too."
So she felt a bit displeased. Yu Tu said, "If you want to win, bet on Luo Shen - the probability is higher. If you want to support your idol, bet on Tian Gong."
"That won't do." Qiao Jingjing said seriously, "I'm someone who rationally supports celebrities."
Should she trust her idol or the genius student?
"Forget it, I'll still bet on Tian Gong. Otherwise, it would be boring if we both bet on Luo Shen." After placing her bet, an idea popped into Qiao Jingjing's head, and she excitedly proposed, "How about we make a bet too? Whoever's chosen team loses has to agree to one request from the other? To make it more interesting."
Yu Tu had long become accustomed to her endless stream of new ideas. "Fine."
He gestured toward the big screen, "It's starting."
At exactly 3 PM, the match officially began.
The finals were truly the finals - the gameplay was dazzling and exceptionally intense. Qiao Jingjing initially sat properly on the sofa with Yu Tu, but as she watched, she gradually slid down to sit on the carpet, hugging her knees and watching with rapt attention.
The first three games ended with Luo Shen and Tian Gong at 2:1. Qiao Jingjing grew a bit nervous. The finals used a best-of-seven format, and if Tian Gong lost one more game, it would be very difficult to turn the situation around.
Fortunately, Tian Gong had a smooth start in the fourth game, gaining advantages in two consecutive team fights. During the second team fight, Xia Xue even scored a Triple Kill, making Qiao Jingjing's fan heart practically burst with excitement.
"Xia Xue is so amazing! If it were me, I would have died a hundred times already."
However, Luo Shen was after all the Spring champion. Facing disadvantage, they remained calm and quickly executed a beautiful ambush in the next team fight, immediately followed by taking the Lord, instantly equalizing the economy.
The situation immediately became uncertain again.
Qiao Jingjing's heart was hanging in suspense once more. She turned her head to ask Yu Tu, "Luo Shen is really steady, do you think..."
Her voice suddenly stopped.
On the sofa behind her, Yu Tu was leaning back, and at some point had actually closed his eyes.
Was he... asleep?
Qiao Jingjing picked up the remote to mute the sound, then quietly climbed from the carpet back onto the sofa, sitting cross-legged to one side as she seriously studied him.
His eyelashes were very long and thick, which always made his eyes appear deep and profound. Qiao Jingjing felt a little jealous - her eyelashes were long too, but not particularly thick, requiring careful application of mascara every time. What did a man need such beautiful eyelashes for? It would be better if he gave them to her.His eyebrows were long and sharply defined, always giving him a dashing appearance. But at this moment, they were slightly furrowed, as if troubled by some worry, not even relaxing in his sleep.
Qiao Jingjing frowned. Had he been very tired lately? How could he fall asleep watching such an intense match?
But what had he been busy with?
Ever since returning from his business trip, he had left every day a little after six in the morning. Qiao Jingjing had actually considered asking him—was he still busy with matters at the aerospace institute? Why was he still working so hard after deciding to resign? But remembering the reason for their last unpleasant disagreement, she ultimately didn’t bring it up.
Qiao Jingjing silently watched him for a long while.
Forget it, whatever he was busy with. It didn’t matter what it was—when you’re young, being busy and tired is normal. Everyone has to push themselves. When she was busy, she often only slept three or four hours a day for several days in a row.
But the faint dark circles under his eyes were really somewhat bothersome.
After a moment’s thought, she took out her phone and snapped a picture of him. Then, opening a photo-editing app, she skillfully smoothed out the furrow between his brows and edited away the dark circles.
But no matter how she looked at it, something felt off. Why did it look worse than before she edited it?
She compared the photo to the real person, then undid the edits and started over. This time, she was more meticulous, applying the photo-editing expertise of a top-tier celebrity. Yet the result was still unsatisfactory.
Hmm, maybe the angle of the original photo wasn’t right—it wasn’t frontal enough.
Better take another one.
She knelt up and leaned forward to take a picture of Yu Tu’s face straight on. However, she had underestimated the softness and bounce of the sofa. As she kept adjusting her angle, she lost her balance and ended up crashing right on top of Yu Tu.
She froze, stiffening on top of him for several seconds.
The body beneath her was warm and firm, exuding a distinctly masculine strength. Her heart pounded nervously several times before she finally calmed down a little.
Yu Tu didn’t seem to stir.
Wishful thinking crossed her mind—had she not woken him up with her fall?
She shifted, intending to get up, but the next moment, a warm, strong hand gripped her wrist.
She immediately froze, but the hand holding her wrist didn’t move either—it just held on tightly.
After a while, the hand gently but firmly lifted her off him.
Qiao Jingjing used the momentum to sit back on the sofa.
Her face felt flushed, and she had no desire to look at Yu Tu. Even tripping on a red carpet wouldn’t feel as awkward as this.
How was she supposed to explain…
“Um… I…”
Yu Tu cut her off, his voice somewhat low. “Were you trying to get something?”
Qiao Jingjing was taken aback.
Yu Tu’s gaze shifted to the coffee table beside him. “The teacup?”
She finally caught on. “…Yeah.”
Yu Tu handed her the teacup.
Qiao Jingjing held the teacup, sitting upright and avoiding looking anywhere else. She breathed a sigh of relief inwardly—was that the end of it? It must be, since he had even taken the initiative to give her an excuse.
But why did she feel a little stifled inside?
Yu Tu sat on the sofa, his head slightly bowed, a few strands of hair falling messily across his forehead. His gaze remained fixed on his own hands for a moment before he calmly looked up at the large screen. “Who won?”
Only then did Qiao Jingjing remember there was a match. She glanced up and saw that the screen was already replaying the highlights.
…Had the match ended already?
But how would she know who won? “…You guess.”
Yu Tu picked up his phone and checked the prediction results. “I’m guessing you lost.”
So Team Celestial Palace had lost."Oh, then I lost. You can make your request now."
Her voice sounded listless, as if her spirits were low. Yu Tu's eyes lowered slightly, his thoughts in disarray once more. In the end, he couldn't restrain himself.
He heard himself asking her, "Your birthday is at the end of the month. What gift would you like?"
Qiao Jingjing blinked. "I was asking what request you want to make."
Yu Tu paused for a moment before saying, "My request is for you to tell me what gift you want."
Qiao Jingjing looked at him, her eyes gradually brightening. The frustration from earlier completely vanished, replaced by soaring spirits. "Then I won't hold back."
"Of course."
Qiao Jingjing thought seriously for a while but couldn't come up with anything. "It's too sudden. Let me think about it and tell you later."
Ah, Teacher Yu is such a typical straight guy. Who asks someone what gift they want? Shouldn't a surprise be something presented unexpectedly?
"Okay." Yu Tu nodded, picking up the remote to turn on the sound system that had been forgotten all this time.
"The finals are over. The award ceremony is in a few days. Have you decided which professional players you want as teammates?"
Why was he suddenly talking about serious matters? She was still thinking about gifts.
But seeing how serious Yu Tu looked, Qiao Jingjing switched gears too. "Do you have any suggestions?"
"The first choice should be Celestial Palace's Zhou Yin." Yu Tu found the replay of the first match from the finals. "Although Celestial Palace lost to Luo Shen in the finals, as team captain, Zhou Yin's individual skills are undeniable. He's one of the few all-around players in the KPL with a deep hero pool who can play any position, making it easier for you to adjust tactics."
"I thought you'd suggest choosing someone from Luo Shen."
"Luo Shen's strength is undeniable, but their greatest advantage lies in team coordination. Since two of your teammates will be randomly selected, it's best to choose players with outstanding individual skills."
Qiao Jingjing nodded. "Alright, I quite like Zhou Yin too."
"Mm, Zhou Yin is also quite good-looking."
"...He's only nineteen!"
You even know his age. Yu Tu smiled and reminded her to look at the big screen: "Pay attention to Zhou Yin's playstyle."
So Qiao Jingjing watched.
"See it now?"
"What?" Qiao Jingjing looked confused.
"During our Ranked Matches these past few days, I've been imitating Zhou Yin."
Qiao Jingjing was startled.
"His commonly used heroes, habitual playstyle, behavior patterns - this way, when you're on the competition stage, you'll be more familiar with him and can coordinate more easily."
"...These past few days you've been imitating him to help me get familiar with his playstyle and practice coordinating with him?"
"Right. I also imitated Xia Xue. Didn't you notice?"
Not at all. She had only felt that his recent playstyle was somewhat different from before, but it turned out he had been imitating others just to help her familiarize herself with those players' styles...
How much time and effort must it have taken to study all this? Was this why he had been so tired lately?
Qiao Jingjing's heart was suddenly filled with indescribable emotions. All she knew was that she no longer wanted to test anything anymore.
It wasn't necessary.
"I've thought of my birthday gift," she said.
Yu Tu looked at her.
"Give me a five consecutive legendary." Qiao Jingjing smiled. "I've never gotten one before. But it has to be you giving it to me, not them, so stop imitating them."
"I prefer coordinating with you."
Yu Tu's gaze remained fixed on her face for a long moment before he lowered his head with what seemed like a helpless smile."Why are you laughing?" Qiao Jingjing was somewhat annoyed. It was clearly quite romantic, wasn't it?
"Nothing... just feels like it would be quite physically demanding."
...
Don't think she couldn't tell he was mocking her. She just had bad luck, that's why she hadn't achieved five consecutive legendary even after playing for so long!
"Let's start now." Yu Tu picked up her phone from the sofa and handed it to her. "You should first lose thirty stars in solo queue."
"What?" Qiao Jingjing thought she must be hearing things.
"Your current rank is too high—King 50 stars for five consecutive legendary." Yu Tu sighed. "I can't afford to gift you that."
Qiao Jingjing glared at him but couldn't help laughing too, saying proudly, "Well, I don't care about that."
"Oh, right." She suddenly remembered something, ran to the living room to search around, and came back with two tickets.
"Tickets for the awards ceremony. You and Hao Huang should come watch! Before you come, please make sure to rest well. If you're busy, don't come so early in the morning. Just don't fall asleep halfway through again."
Yu Tu took the tickets. "Bring Hao Huang?"
"Yeah, come together. When the time comes, you can tell him—the most powerful one on stage... oh no, the most beautiful one, is Can Pick Cotton!"
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