“No need to be distressed^[1]兔死狐悲: to have sympathy with a like-minded person in distress.” As if he knew what his team was thinking, Captain Lu said, “We’re not the same as them.”

Da Qing and Da Ming exchanged a look and asked, “What’s the difference?”

Listen closely! Captain Lu was about to start praising people!

This was rarer than the sun rising from the west!

However, it was impossible for Captain Lu to give praise. Lu Qi lifted his eyelids and freezing words came out of his mouth like a breeze, “If you guys had a face like PS, you can go make TV dramas and not play competitively. But, do you guys have that?”

The captain’s statement opened the door to a new world for the team. Without thinking, Ling Chen retorted, “We don’t have it but our captain has it! If we had lost, we’ll just collectively send you out to debut and make money to save the team!”

Lu Qi: “……”

“But I also admire the boss of PS. How did he find so many good-looking boys to play for PS?” Qing Guang said softly. “It’s a pity though. Their skills are generic and not that good, only their top laner Shepherd is somewhat decent, the rest are just slacking. How can one person carry the whole team?”

“As professional players, what’s the use of having good looks if you can’t play well?” ARE’s marksman agreed.

Da Qing let out a hush, “Don’t badmouth people behind their backs, they’re right next door, what if they hear us?”

This was not a private room, but a small space casually separated by a screen and the soundproofing was extremely poor. It was impossible for the people next door to not hear anything if they spoke too loudly.

Anyway, badmouthing others behind their backs made people feel guilty. JK and ARE unanimously shut their mouths and then they heard the conversation ongoing next door:

“I really don’t understand, what’s so good about instant changing items? Which pro player can’t do that?”

“She’s a female player, the expectations of the netizens for her are naturally lower. It’s different when a girl does it, it’s amazing. What else can you say?”

Following this, there was a burst of laughter.

Yu Yue held her breath.

It was obvious that the topic of discussion between PS and LZ was her. PS was now facing disbandment and could not be laughing, hence the one ridiculing her could only be LZ.

LZ was an established team, their competitive history was even longer than ARE’s. Yu Yue had always regarded them as respected seniors. When she saw them in the corridors, she would greet them respectfully.

Now it seemed that they were not worth that greeting at all.

“They’re getting complacent. Isn’t it just a female pro player? With these mechanics and she dares to compare with our He Jian, she doesn’t know much much she weighs^[2]也不知道自己几斤几两: To estimate one’s ability too highly! We played more matches than she had played in her ranked games! If she knows what’s good for her, she’ll come out and admit that she’s not as good as her predecessors!”

LZ’s support, He Jian, also said some unpleasant things, belittling Yu Yue’s value in the relegation match.

“……” Yu Yue unconsciously bit her lower lip.

The atmosphere was too awkward, Qing Guang quickly came out to ease the situation, “Let’s eat, the dishes are going to get cold.”

Da Qing also patted Yu Yue’s shoulder, “It’s normal, don’t take it to heart. It’s normal to support one’s own support. It’s Tieba’s fault for comparing the supports.”

“Stinky idiots!” Da Ming suddenly stood up and cursed loudly.

The people next door quietened down.

ARE’s members also looked at Da Ming in silence.

In this awkward silence, Da Ming sat down and picked up his chopsticks, “I scolded them back. Do you feel much better?”

Lu Qi: “……”

Are you an idiot?

“Thank you all for your concern, I–”

Before Yu Yue could finish speaking, a bowl full of meat appeared in front of her, followed by Captain Lu’s cold voice, “No one cares about you, eat!”

“Oh.”

Yu Yue obediently lowered her head.

Qing Guang watched the bowl of meat fly away and said with a bokeh heart, “Lu Qi, you’re heartless! I invited you to dinner and you didn’t even serve me a bowl of meat!”

Ten people and a pot of meat, naturally they would be snatching.

Lu Qi let out a cold sneer, “I need to coax the young lady, are you one?”

Qing Guang shut his mouth.

Young lady.

Yu Yue tried to raise her head, but Lu Qi smacked her head back down, “Eat finish before you talk.”

It was as if this person had eyes behind his head.

“It’s too spicy,” Yu Yue said with tears in her eyes. “Qi Ge, I want a cold drink.”

Qing Guang sucked in a breath of cold air. There was a person in this world that could command Lu Qi?

Who knew that Lu Qi, who was sitting, would actually get up, “Do you want coke or sprite?”

“Can’t I have orange juice?”

Qing Guang: !!!

She could also bargain!

In the end, Lu Qi brought back a cup of cold milk, even patting Yu Yue’s head, “Be careful of not growing taller if you drink too much beverages.”

Qing Guang: !!!!

Which eyes of yours saw that she was a child?!

Qing Guang whispered to the two brothers, Da Qing and Da Ming, “You guys… Do you have one more team bias?”

Da Qing laughed, “Get used to it. The captain treats her like she’s his own daughter. I also don’t know what she did to please the captain so much.”

“Not just a daughter, but a treasure,” Da Ming said. “He just took her to climb the ranks.”

“He even subbed for her!” Ling Chen added. “Top tiered mid laner, subbing online! Isn’t he doting?”

“Enough chit chat,” Lu Qi ended the discussion with a cold face. “If you have so much energy, you might as well use it to improve yourself.” 

Talking about this, Qing Guang remembered something, “Yes, yes. You guys really need to improve yourself this season. The netizens are not wrong in crticizing you. Don’t even know what you guys are playing. This time you just happened to meet PS, so you all passed. But opponents as PS’s level won’t be in the playoffs. You guys can’t slack off.”

Da Qing waved his hands, indicating that he should not say any more.

Lian did not want to win, and although Yu Yue wanted to win, she was still a fledgling bird with little experience and relied heavily on her instincts. Who knew haw far this team could go in the playoffs, but at least they had secured a spot in the KPL.

“Let’s eat,” said Da Ming.

Qing Guang: “Our coach wants to arrange a training match.”

The two team were separated by a street and have both made it to the playoffs, so it was normal for them to arrange a training match.

Qing Guang continued, “The regular season is based on accumulating points but the playoffs is not. If you lose in the playoffs, you’ll be eliminated. JK succeeded in avoiding demotion, but you are still in the loser’s bracket. Before encountering the regular group and the winner’s groups, the loser’s groups will have a internal fight first.”

There’s are five teams in the loser’s group: CHERRY, LZ, LM, QL and JK.

Four teams would compete against each other through drawing lots and the remaining team will advance automatically.

“CHERRY is a rookie team with a very distinct playstyle. You guys had already experienced it when you played against them in the elimination match. They orbit around around their jungler, Lian Yan, who is their core,” Qing Guang analyzed. “Though the jungler core is not commonly seen now, but they played it well. Except for QAQ, the other teams in the league are basically evenly matched.”

QAQ was a legend. This big boss could not be easily taken down by other teams.

“LZ, our neighbor next door,” As Qing Guang continued speaking, he stood up and glanced at the neighboring table, confirming that the people there had left before lowering his voice, “They are an established team. They may be older in age, but they have much more experience than you guys.”

ARE and LZ were both experienced teams that were theoretically evenly matched, but ARE’s situation was not much better than JK’s — they were both looked down upon by LZ.

“Well, they’re our seniors, it’s normal for them to be more prideful,” Ling Chen smile. “We just have to defeat them on the competitive stage.”

“These two are tough opponents who cannot be underestimated,” Qing Guang said seriously. “If your coach agrees, we can have a open and aboveboard training match. If your coach disagrees, we’ll practice on our own. But, are you still planning to use Lian for the playoffs?”

Lian was not present.

Lu Qi also did not plan on hiding anything, “The coach wants to continue using Lian, but the assistant coach, data analyst and manager all believe that Yu Yue’s current state is better and plan to substitute her in the second half. It all depends on their performance.”

Yu Yue: “!”

They were actually so many people willing to support her to play!

She felt herself getting happy again.

Over the next few days, the coach did not agree to a training match with ARE, so Lu Qi and Qing Guang could only organize the two teams to practive in private.

For Yu Yue personally, the process of training wth ARE was very difficult.

JK was an aggressive team. From Da Qing to Da Ming to Yu Yue, who was slowly getting used to JK’s playing style, they were all players who fought without fear, often performing some dangerous actions.

But ARE was the complete opposite.

Under Qing Guang’s command, they were like the water tide, always have their own pace, never getting caught off guard by JK’s aggression.

When JK invaded, they gave up on the jungle and moved to push the turrent or counter-invade JK’s jungle.

When JK stole the tyrant, they moved quickly, either retreating swiftly or sending their jungler to steal the tyrant.

When JK stole turrets, they would push all three lanes of minions to the nexus, forcing JK to give up.

When the enemy advance, we retreat; when the enemy retreat, we harass.

ARE was like a soft cotton, making it impossible for JK, who was good at aggression, to find a breakthrough.

After finishing a game, from Da Qing to Yu Yue, all felt a deep sense of exhaustion.

A kind of exhaustion of having their pace firmly controlled by others emerged from the bottom of their hearts.

“It’s like stepping into a swamp,” Ling Chen said, face full of despair. “I don’t want to play with these disgusting people anymore.”

Lu Qi opened the game’s statistics panel and said lightly, “ARE’s new tactics can somewhat restrain us. If it was QAQ, it may not feel as disgusting.”

“You also know it’s QAQ,” Da Ming gave the mid laner a tired look. “Those guys are immortals who have won so many championships. Who can fight against them, except maybe for BG, the overseas team?”

Da Qing pulled out his gaming chair and looked at Yu Yue, “Missy, you have played so many games, do you have any insights?”

With just one look, Da Qing was horrified to find out that Yu Yue was already reviewing the game footage by herself.

……

Females were really a bunch of serious and diligent creatures.