Yi Yi: [I heard from Roy that you have Yu Ge’s WeChat?]  

…  

…  

The cold rain drenched the city under the cover of night.  

The duplex apartment was surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows, and mist spread through the dark night.

Xu Yitong, fresh out of the shower, curled up barefoot on the black leather sofa and saw the WeChat message from Yi Yi.  

It had been sent an hour ago, back when she was still out partying at the club.  

The alcohol in her system was still fermenting, making it easy to lose focus. 

Only the name “Yu Ge” could snap Xu Yitong’s attention back.  

Yu Ge…?  

Sigh.  

What a cold name.  

Xu Yitong haphazardly grabbed a nearby blanket to cover herself and held her phone close to her lips, trying to make her hoarse voice sound a bit clearer: “Yeah, I have his WeChat.”  

Almost simultaneously, Yi Yi sent another message: [So you actually have connections with Fish? You never mentioned it before.]  

Xu Yitong forced herself to perk up. 

“It’s not really a connection. I just know his younger sister and added him when I went over for a meal.”  

Yi Yi: [Haha, I see.]  

Yi Yi: [Well, good luck!]  

Her head still spinning, Xu Yitong sat up, exited the chat, and scrolled through her contacts with practiced ease. 

Her WeChat list had nearly a thousand people, and it took her a while to finally find the contact labeled “Little Fish” in the X section at the very bottom.  

She wanted to check his Moments for any recent updates, but it was still the same blank slate as always. 

Reluctantly, she gave up.  

“So annoying.”  

Xu Yitong tossed her phone aside and hugged her knees in frustration.  

So annoying.  

How could there be someone in the world who ignored her so thoroughly?  

So annoying.  

Ignoring her was one thing, but why did he have to be so good-looking?  

Being so good-looking was one thing, but why did he have to ignore her?!  

She was so unlucky, so unlucky, so unlucky!  

Xu Yitong grabbed a nearby teddy bear and punched it twice to vent her frustration.  

Just then, her phone buzzed with a notification from Douyin. Xu Yitong snatched it up angrily.  

CC had forwarded a video in their Douyin group chat: [Tsk, I actually stumbled upon Xu Yitong’s husband.]  

Xu Yitong paused, then clicked on it—  

The video’s caption read: “Who’s lucky enough to see OG? Oh, it’s me!”  

Her earlier irritation instantly vanished.  

Xu Yitong held her phone, rewinding and replaying the video several times.  

In the shaky, casually shot footage, the dusk was heavy, and the window of a mid-sized van was half-rolled down. 

Roy leaned out, smiling and waving at the camera. 

At the videographer’s prompting, he obligingly leaned back, revealing the man sitting further inside.  

He was dressed in an oversized black tracksuit, one arm resting on the window ledge, his head propped up lazily as if he were half-asleep.  

She instinctively hit pause.  

It was strange. 

Jasmine often shared thirst traps in the group, but Xu Yitong usually felt indifferent.  

She was starting to think she might be doomed.  

Why was it that even this blurry, barely visible silhouette—just the sight of his clean white sneakers, or the way his long legs stretched out, his feet propped up slightly on the car seat—made her heart race uncontrollably?  

Xu Yitong flopped backward, covering her chest with one hand, trying to suppress her suddenly pounding heartbeat.  

Memories of Yu Ge flooded her mind—she tried to recall what he’d looked like the last time they met.  

Hmm… 

That day, she’d gone to Yu Nuo’s place for a meal, and he’d been washing dishes at the sink, head bowed.  

She’d hurt her foot, and he’d taken her to the clinic.  

She’d finally gotten his WeChat.  

On that sunny afternoon, the sky had been a clear blue, and Yu Ge had worn a white T-shirt.

Xu Yitong had wanted to treat him to ice cream, but he’d refused.  

*  

It wasn’t until two days later that Yi Yi found out Chen Yuzheng was actually Xu Yitong’s cousin.  

This came up on their way to the LPL Summer Split draw ceremony.  

Yi Yi was surprised: “So you met Fish through Conquer?”  

Xu Yitong wanted to distance herself from that narrative: “What does me knowing Yu Ge have to do with him?”  

In the short time they’d known each other, Yi Yi had only hung out with Xu Yitong three times. 

The first time, she’d received a coveted bag; the second time, a new bracelet. 

Their friendship had warmed rapidly as a result. 

Yi Yi chose her words carefully: “Well… their fans haven’t always gotten along. Did you not know?”  

She quickly added, “But there doesn’t seem to be any real conflict between them offline. It’s mostly just the fans arguing.”  

“Haven’t always gotten along” was putting it mildly. 

The feud between OG and TG fans had raged from the start of the year all the way through the recent Mid-Season Invitational. 

The root of the conflict was Chen Yuzheng’s provocative behavior on stage, which had angered Yu Ge’s fanbase and dragged TG’s entire team into the crossfire.  

Jasmine suddenly remembered and sat up straight. 

“Oh, so the big star Conquer offended a while back was Yu Ge!”  

“I remember Conquer got absolutely flamed back then—it even made it to the hot searches,” Jasmine said with a smirk. 

“Xu Yitong, you’re shameless. How can you like your cousin’s enemy? What’s the difference between that and betraying your family? You’ve betrayed Conquer!”  

Xu Yitong, who’d initially felt a little guilty, couldn’t help but defend herself: “Come on, when I first went to Yu Nuo’s place to eat, I didn’t even know who her brother was. It’s not like it’s some deep-seated grudge anyway. Chen Yuzheng has thick skin—getting flamed a little won’t kill him.”  

Yi Yi immediately grew curious: “So how did you meet Fish’s sister?”  

In Yi Yi’s mind, Yu Nuo was a quiet, introverted, and somewhat naive kid who rarely spoke much. 

It was surprising she’d managed to befriend someone like Xu Yitong, a wealthy socialite.  

Xu Yitong fell silent.  

She didn’t dare tell the truth.  

After all, it had been a dark and stormy night when Chen Yuzheng brought a drunken girl to her place…  

Yi Yi: “It’s kind of funny—Conquer’s sister liking Fish. That’s quite the headline.”  

Xu Yitong thought to herself:  

If that’s headline-worthy, just wait until Yi Yi finds out Chen Yuzheng is chasing Yu Nuo.  

Xu Yitong turned her face away and took a sip of water, feeling a mix of amusement and dread.  

Their siblings really were each absurd in their own ways.  

……  

……  

For the LPL Summer Split regular season, the sixteen teams were divided into eastern and western divisions. 

The draw was based on the final rankings from the Spring Split, with TG and OG leading their respective divisions. 

The remaining teams’ groupings would be determined by representatives drawing lots.  

When the car pulled up at the venue entrance, Jasmine gasped softly at the sea of fan support outside.  

Xu Yitong, who’d attended a match once before, wasn’t as surprised.  

But amid the ocean of Fish banners, she spotted a small cluster of “Conquer” signs too.  

Xu Yitong snapped a few photos of the scene and sent them to the family group chat, happily captioning them: “Chen Yuzheng’s finally made it—he’s got fans now.”  

“He’s pretty popular these days. TG’s the dark horse of the season—it’s rare for a new team to make it to the finals, so they’ve gained a lot of fans,” 

Yi Yi explained as she led the way. 

“Besides, Conquer’s just as good-looking as Fish. Everyone’s a sucker for pretty faces.”  

Today’s draw ceremony brought together almost all the LPL teams. 

As Yi Yi guided them inside, they ran into plenty of people greeting her along the way. 

CC had once mocked Xu Yitong for trying to break into the “esports WAGs” circle, and today, she ended up meeting quite a few of them.  

When someone heard Yi Yi introduce Xu Yitong as Conquer’s family member, they immediately pulled out their phone to add her on WeChat.  

Once seated, Yi Yi nudged Xu Yitong with her elbow. 

“Yitong, see that girl with the long black hair?”  

Xu Yitong followed her gaze to a stunning beauty sitting diagonally in front of them.  

While everyone else was chatting noisily, she sat quietly, exuding an air of cool elegance.  

Xu Yitong admired her for a moment before turning back.

“What about her?”  

Yi Yi smirked meaningfully.  

Xu Yitong instantly understood and leaned in, whispering: “Did she also have a thing for Yu Ge?”  

Yi Yi nodded.

“Yeah, but she didn’t succeed.”  

Xu Yitong shrugged.

“Then she probably didn’t like him that much.”  

This wasn’t the response Yi Yi had expected. 

“I thought you’d say Fish has high standards.”  

Xu Yitong blinked, utterly confident. 

“I don’t think there’s any man who can’t be won over. If there is, it’s either because I didn’t like him enough or I didn’t try hard enough.”  

Yi Yi: “That confident?”  

Jasmine chimed in drily: “You haven’t tried hard enough? CC said she saw you buying a book called “The Diary of a Simp” online. You’ve been putting in the work—no need to reflect any further.”  

“Shut up,” Xu Yitong snapped, embarrassed.  

“Haha.” Yi Yi burst out laughing. “I don’t know what Fish’s type is, but someone like you might actually be his type.”  

The words struck a chord in Xu Yitong’s heart, leaving her giddy for the rest of the day.  

*  

The draw ceremony only took half an hour.

With daylight still left, OG’s head and assistant coaches held a pep talk in the backstage lounge. 

The main message was that this year was OG’s best shot at making Worlds. 

The head coach passionately outlined goals on a whiteboard, only to turn around and find the team sprawled out or goofing off.  

The team leader started kicking them one by one.  

Amid the chaos, Will grinned and dodged. 

“Coach Hui, the Summer Split hasn’t even started yet. Isn’t it a bit early to prepare for Worlds?”  

The team leader glared at him.  

When he reached Yu Ge, the kicking stopped. 

The team leader hesitated before asking, “By the way, how’s your hand injured lately?”  

Yu Ge: “Fine.”  

The team leader wavered, wanting to say more but holding back. 

After a moment, 

He sighed. 

“Alright. Let me know if anything feels off.”  

“Honestly, Fish should just move less—that’d solve everything. ADCs love kiting so much, even last-hitting requires constant movement. No wonder their hands get tired,” 

Roy quipped, legs crossed smugly—only to get smacked on the head.  

“Ow! That hurt!”  

The team leader roared: “You’re doing two extra hours of practice tonight!”  

Little C chimed in, staunchly defending the bot lane duo: “If Fish doesn’t kite, are we supposed to rely on you to carry?”  

Roy hissed and started wrestling with him.  

……  

……  

The team’s rowdiness didn’t let up until after the meeting. 

By the time they reached the restaurant, Little C and Roy were still bickering. 

The two walked ahead, and when Little C pushed open the door to their reserved private room, he froze in his tracks.  

A woman sitting by the window, who’d been hunched over her phone, looked up at the noise.  

…She was a very pretty older sister.  

Unfazed by the strangers, she waved cheerfully. “Hi!”  

Little C’s face turned bright red. 

After an awkward pause, he managed a weak “Hi” in return.  

Roy, annoyed at Little C blocking the doorway, shoved him. 

“Move. What are you standing around for?”  

So Xu Yitong enthusiastically waved at the people behind him too. 

“Hi, everyone! Long time no see.”  

The noisy group fell silent for a few seconds at the sight of the unfamiliar, glamorous woman with wavy hair.  

Yi Yi introduced her: “This is my friend. We ran into her, so we’re having dinner together. Hope that’s okay.”  

Xu Yitong quickly stood up. 

“Oh, I won’t intrude. Next time! My friends are waiting for me—I just came to drop something off.”  

Awen looked her over, unsurprised. 

“It’s you again, beauty. Good to see you.”  

At the post-MSI dinner, Yu Nuo had brought Xu Yitong to their table. 

She’d chatted with him for a good ten minutes before they exchanged WeChat info.  

“Hello, hello.”  

Xu Yitong craned her neck to look past them, hesitating. “Um…”  

“Looking for Fish, right?” Roy said knowingly. 

“He’s outside on a call. Go ahead.”  

“Thanks~”  

Xu Yitong slung her bag over her shoulder, then bent down, gritting her teeth as she slowly, laboriously hauled a massive object off the floor.  

“……”  

The thing left the room in stunned silence for a solid ten seconds.  

Will was speechless. 

Roy’s jaw dropped.  

What fresh madness was this?  

Little C moved aside, pulling out a chair to clear a path for Xu Yitong. 

Seeing her struggle, he asked, “Do you… need help?”  

She stubbornly refused. “No, thank you. I’ve got this.”  

Awen suddenly found the scene eerily familiar and stifled a laugh. 

“Last time, it was roses from the Gobi Desert. Where’d these flowers come from?”  

Xu Yitong beamed. “These are custom-made.”  

“Wow.” Awen couldn’t help but sound impressed. “Be careful—that looks heavy.”  

“Don’t worry.”  

Xu Yitong was the quintessential “only child of Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai”—she’d never done a day of hard labor in her life. 

Yet holding this enormous object, she didn’t feel the weight at all. 

Her heart was too full of excitement at the thought of seeing Yu Ge, and she felt like she had boundless energy.  

After a quick goodbye, Xu Yitong left under everyone’s gaze, her determined but strained figure disappearing down the hall.  

Once she was gone, the room stayed quiet for a moment before someone groaned: “How does Fish get all the luck…”  

“Life’s unfair. He gets all the good stuff.”  

……  

……  

The enormous bouquet was indeed Xu Yitong’s brainchild, custom-made.  

On the surface, it looked like roses, but hidden inside was a surprise.  

After learning about Yu Ge’s preferences, Xu Yitong had combed through Xiaohongshu, handpicking sixteen highly recommended types of cookies. 

Some were so hard to find she’d had friends abroad ship them over.  

What could she do? 

She’d fallen for someone impossible to please.  

If Yu Ge had turned his nose up at the roses, how could he resist homemade cookies?  

Xu Yitong thought joyfully.  

*  

At the roadside, the traffic light turned from green to yellow. 

Cars rushed past, horns blaring. 

The street was lined with hotpot and barbecue joints, the air thick with their aromas.  

Amid the overwhelming noise, a cheerful voice suddenly rang out.  

“Hey, handsome!”  

Yu Ge turned toward the sound.  

A giant bouquet half his height, tied with an enormous bow, wobbled into view.  

Instinctively, Yu Ge reached out to steady it.  

Before he could process the situation, a head peeked out from behind the flowers, a fair face glistening with sweat, looking utterly exhausted.  

She grinned. “Thank you!”  

Faced with those bright, earnest eyes, he fell silent.  

The person on the phone asked, “What, another fan?”  

“No.”  

Yu Ge let go and took two steps back, shaking his head impassively at Xu Yitong.  

Xu Yitong thought he was asking her to wait until he finished his call and nodded sweetly.  

She carefully set the bouquet down, her arms aching. 

Wiping her brow, she barely had time to catch her breath when she noticed Yu Ge turning away and walking off.  

Xu Yitong stood frozen, barely catching his faint words on the wind—  

“Think it’s just a flower seller.”