Chapter 153

Running back, taking a shower, and having a late-night snack, Auntie prepared buckwheat cold noodles. Mo Yin and Ding Wenquan each had a bowl, eating face to face.

As they were finishing up, Ding Wenquan said, “Tang Qi mentioned someone was looking for you today.”

Mo Yin looked up, his expression neutral. “Hmm, I met them.”

Ding Wenquan just responded with an “oh,” and didn’t say anything else.

Mo Yin went back to continue live streaming games.

Ding Wenquan wandered back to his spot, staring at Tang Qi’s screen.

Tang Qi noticed Ding Wenquan’s gaze, and turned his head, looking puzzled.

Ding Wenquan smiled mysteriously.

Tang Qi: “…”

What’s going on? Why such a strange smile?

Tang Qi couldn’t hold it in. “What’s so funny?”

Ding Wenquan leaned closer, lowering his voice. “I know who came to see MY today.”

Tang Qi: “!”

His eyes widened, also lowering his voice, like a clandestine meeting, urgently asking, “How do you know?!”

“Just had late-night snacks with MY,” Ding Wenquan handled it smoothly, “he told me.”

“He told you… told you…”

Tang Qi was stuttering so much, he almost had a meltdown, eyes nearly bulging out, unable to believe Mo Yin and Ding Wenquan were actually so close.

“Yeah, he said he met them,” Ding Wenquan said calmly.

Tang Qi shot up from his chair, “MY really met Crazy Brother?!”

The chair’s wheels flew out from Tang Qi’s momentum, crashing into a trash can with a loud “bang.”

Several pairs of eyes in the training room turned to look at Tang Qi, all filled with shock—including Ding Wenquan.

Tang Qi realized he’d been duped by Ding Wenquan, froze on the spot, sweating profusely as he looked towards Mo Yin in the corner, who was still gaming, seemingly oblivious to Tang Qi’s earth-shattering outburst.

After a team fight, Mo Yin recalled to base, briefly lifting his headphones and turning his chin towards the ground, “Trash.”

Tang Qi snapped out of it as if from a dream, quickly going to clean up the overturned trash can.

Putting his headphones back on, Mo Yin returned to the game, continuing without a bad mood. Ye Chi’s impression of him was subtle, although his appearance, voice, and even personality were different from previous protagonists, some fundamental aspects were similar, such as: look, he may not even be aware of what his eyes look like.

In the suburbs, the villa is different, the garden is dark, the mosquitoes are welcoming, Ye Chi’s hands are in the sweatshirt pocket, and the shoulders are pushed open, and the head is not lifted, just surrounded by a few people.

“Crazy brother, you are really crazy.”

“Quick, honestly, what did you say to Mai Bao when you met? What mean means did you use to get Mai Bao to agree to meet with you?”

“You go to Big Fool Base, you don’t call me, right, what about the agreed signed photo exchange, don’t think we really forgot!”

“Let me smell if you have the taste of McBaby on you!”

“…”

Ye Chi was surrounded by several people, each speaking rapidly and in whispers. He raised his arm to push them away, frowning as he glanced at his chaotic teammates. “How did you all know I went to DSG Base?”

In the video, the AD who went to the bot lane to farm minions was being praised in the barrage for perfect CSing, not missing a single minion. The background music only had the sounds of skill activations, faintly accompanied by even breathing.

Amidst this calm, a sudden thunderclap on level ground.

—”MY really met Madman?!”

Everyone turned their eyes sharply to Ye Chi, their gazes accusatory, expressions full of condemnation.

Ye Chi looked at the barrage exploding on the computer screen, his lips twitching slightly.

The last incident with the SB marketing account had been sliced and spread; Ye Chi didn’t bother to look.

Chen Dong’s incessant nagging in his ear was already enough for him to endure; there was no need to deliberately seek more torment.

He really hadn’t expected this to blow up online.

Looking at the screen full of question marks and blood-spitting emojis, Ye Chi felt helpless; it seemed like things were getting out of hand again.

“I’m telling you, this was purely accidental. Do you believe me?” Ye Chi raised his head, facing the accusing looks of his teammates.

Zhang Hanyu: “You’re not going to say you were going to ADT to find Dong Jianguo and got lost, right?”

Ye Chi: “…”

Zhang Hanyu placed a hand on his shoulder, solemnly saying, “This story tells us that next time you ask for help, find someone who can keep their mouth shut.”

Chen Dong restrainedly grabbed Ye Chi’s other shoulder. “Captain, do you know what your behavior is called in our fan circle?”

Chen Dong squeezed his palm forcefully, ominously saying, “Stalkers might end up in hot water.”

“Get him, bring out the punishment—”

Several people dragged Ye Chi’s chair in front of the computer screen. Ye Chi saw the low-health ADC on the screen counter-killing the enemy jungler and pointed ahead, saying, “He’s pretty good with ADC.”

Everyone: “…”

They couldn’t take it anymore. Was their captain missing a screw?

As soon as the marketing account uploaded the live broadcast clip, Tang Qi knew he was in trouble. After a long period of psychological preparation, he hurried to catch up with Mo Yin when he shut down the broadcast.

“I’m sorry.”

Mo Yin held a cup of water in his hand, looking at Tang Qi who was bowing his head.

“Sorry for what?” Mo Yin asked.

Tang Qi lowered his head even more. “During your livestream, I didn’t control myself.”

“I’m the one livestreaming, not you. You don’t need to control yourself.”

Mo Yin’s tone was as calm as water. Tang Qi didn’t know if there was more to his words, gathered his courage to look up at Mo Yin, who asked, “Are you afraid of me?”

Tang Qi: “…”

His legs were practically shaking.

Mo Yin took a sip of water, seeming to ask Tang Qi, yet also murmuring to himself, “Why isn’t he afraid of me?” He looked at Tang Qi again and asked, “Anything else?”

Tang Qi mechanically shook his head.

Mo Yin left.

Leaving Tang Qi’s brain’s CPU overheating.

The previous car accident incident had caused quite a stir in the circle. During that time, Ye Chi was directly called “Internet Celebrity” by friends in the circle.

This time, the livestream leaked his private meeting with Mo Yin, and it exploded across the entire circle that evening.

Dong Jianguo was one of the parties involved. When Ye Chi called him, he began to complain to his teammates, “When this guy goes crazy, there really are no limits. I thought he was joking with me, but he really came to our area.”

“Why did he come to our area? Why didn’t you answer his call? Uh, did he get lost and run to Zone C? There’s no sign there.”

Dong Jianguo revealed his communication with Ye Chi the previous night.

“Why did he go to DSG Base?”

Teammates were all interested, asking one after another.

Dong Jianguo shrugged. “Who knows, maybe he went to find MY.”

It could only be said that there was a reason why some people were nicknamed “Crazy Brother.”

What’s even more exaggerated is that he actually saw him.

Another party involved, Tang Qi, was unprecedentedly harassed by current teammates, former teammates, and friends within the circle.

His WeChat was jammed.

He was helpless, saying he just happened to bump into Ye Chi at the entrance of the park, and he was completely confused at the time, not understanding the situation at all. Ye Chi was quite direct, saying he came to find MY.

That’s all he knew.

He and Ding Wenquan determined the time. It was speculated that Mo Yin met Ye Chi when he went out for a run.

So, did the two of them arrange to meet secretly?

…

Such a terrifying speculation.

Tang Qi trembled all over, vigorously rubbing the goosebumps on his arms.

Ye Chi was surrounded and interrogated, but there wasn’t much to confess.

“There was a bit of unpleasantness in the previous ranked match. I wanted to explain.”

“The park is too big. I got lost and happened to run into him. We just chatted for a few minutes.”

That’s it? Just that?

Teammates expressed disbelief, insisting that Ye Chi reveal more details, asking what they really talked about.

“I’ll confess whatever I need to confess,” Ye Chi stood up from his chair, pushing everyone away, “Go wash up and sleep. We have a match tomorrow.”

“What did you talk about?”

Ye Chi lay on his bed, thinking back and feeling a bit absurd.

For some reason, he couldn’t think straight when he made eye contact with Mo Yin. It was like his brain had automatically dumbed down, nervously unable to speak more than two words without his throat drying up and sweating on his back.

“Captain…”

Chen Dong softly called out from the next bed.

Ye Chi turned his head, facing away from him.

“I beg you, please tell me. I can’t sleep tonight if I don’t know what my idol said to you.”

Idol…

Hachi: “If I gave you a chance to talk to MY, what would you say?”

Chen Dong’s resentment was dispelled by Ye Chi’s sudden hypothetical question. He thought for a moment and said, “I might be too nervous to say anything.”

Ye Chi: “Oh, seems like it’s human nature.”

Chen Dong fantasized for a while but still couldn’t imagine what it would be like for Mo Yin to have a friendly conversation with him, continuing to interrogate Ye Chi, “So what did you say to Mai Bao? Did you explain to him that day wasn’t intentional? But I think Mai Bao probably doesn’t remember that incident.”

Ye Chi remained silent.

Mo Yin said he wouldn’t be friends with an amateur.

Not “I won’t be friends with you.”

There’s a difference between these two sentences.

At that moment, Ye Chi didn’t know what to say. After Mo Yin ran off, he could only go back first. His mood wasn’t particularly bad along the way, but he did feel somewhat down.

Now thinking back, perhaps Mo Yin’s words could be understood as — “Wait until you become stronger, maybe then I’ll be willing to be friends with you?”

Chen Dong kept murmuring incessantly. Ye Chi interrupted him, saying, “Let’s make it to the finals.”

Chen Dong exclaimed, “Huh?”

“To the finals,” Ye Chi looked at the starry sky outside the window, “To the finals. I’ll tell you what I talked about with your idol.”

*

The Spring Split ended, and the standings of major teams were released.

The first place was the undefeated DSG, with an incredibly terrifying record, so terrifying that it seemed almost inevitable.

In second place was the long-standing powerhouse KU, followed by this season’s strongest dark horse, REAL, and fourth was another powerhouse team, ADT.

The top four teams were hailed by fans as “superior and numerous.”

Except for DSG’s undefeated record, which seemed in a league of its own compared to the other teams, the points between second, third, and fourth place were very close, with each team having victories and defeats against one another.

REAL defeated KU in the regular season, while ADT defeated REAL, and KU in turn defeated ADT, forming a perfect cycle of competition.

This year’s playoffs followed a double-elimination format, divided into upper and lower brackets.

Teams with lower rankings began challenging those with higher rankings, with the lower-ranked teams attacking and the higher-ranked teams defending.

After advancing to the semifinals, teams had a chance to revive. The defeated teams dropped into the loser’s bracket, where they could continue to challenge after securing victories.

DSG and KU, ranked first and second respectively, automatically entered the semifinals and had natural revivals, waiting for challengers to arrive.

For viewers, the intensity of matches with lower-ranked teams was insufficient until the quarterfinals, when the hype gradually built up.

Particularly, REAL, a team that entered the playoffs with a third-place finish in their first year in the league, garnered immense attention.

It’s often said that playoffs and regular seasons are two different games, requiring different levels of tactical reserves, hero pools, adjustment abilities, stamina, and focus between best-of-five (bo5) and best-of-three (bo3) matches.

Audiences love underdogs, whether it’s watching them charge forward or unexpectedly stumble, both providing thrilling experiences.

“Third in the regular season, just a step away,” the coach surveyed the team, “We don’t have a revival chance. Do you know what that means?”

“It means we can’t afford to lose.”

“As long as we can surpass PHQ, we’ll have a revival chance. We can then challenge KU. Whether we succeed or fail against KU, we still have a chance to challenge DSG and ADT. All the top teams in the league are waiting for us to challenge them, and we won’t let these opportunities slip away, right?!”

The coach was passionate, and the players were excited and nervous, their faces full of anticipation.

“Let’s go, let’s go—”

The members of the REAL team boarded the bus.

Ye Chi put on his headphones, his arm against the bus window. He looked outside at the lush greenery—it was truly spring.

Upon arrival at the venue, the REAL team was no longer as lacking in fans as they were at the beginning. As soon as the bus stopped, fans and photographers swarmed up, handing over flowers and gifts.

“Quit, go for it!”

“Win today for sure!”

“Supercool, go for it! Solo kill on the top lane today!”

“Dong Dong, go for it—”

The players’ hands were full of gifts as they entered the locker room, with too many to carry. Coaches and staff helped.

The corner of the locker room was full of gifts.

Ye Chi held a bouquet of flowers, taking out a card from it.

“What are you looking at?”

Chen Dong leaned over.

Ye Chi handed the card to Chen Dong. “What does ‘lasting for ages through grinding teeth’ mean?”

Chen Dong: “…”

“Nothing, probably a mistake in writing.”

Chen Dong picked up the flowers from Ye Chi’s hand, wanting to throw them away, but since they were gifts from fans, he couldn’t. In the end, he placed the bouquet in the furthest corner of the gift pile.

Ye Chi sat down to rest. He thought for a moment and then searched for something on his phone.

Molars.

— A harmful non-physiological tooth contact

— Mainly affecting adolescents

Ye Chi searched again.

Grinding teeth, enduring.

Nothing found.

Forget it, the competition is more important.

Didn’t sleep well last night, feeling nervous, Ye Chi put down his phone, took a deep breath.

This is his first playoffs, also his… first step forward.

Time’s up.

On stage.

Music soaring, drums intense, host passionately shouting.

“Let’s welcome REAL’s mid laner — Q-u-i-t —”

A buzzing in the ears, a flash of white light in the mind, blinding lights ahead, Ye Chi stepped forward slowly, stood in the center of the stage, thunderous cheers from the audience, Ye Chi raised his hand and waved, fans cheered even louder, Ye Chi put down his hand and walked towards the chair for the match.

Team members all seated.

“Nervous?”

“Of course, aren’t you nervous?”

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Go.”

“Ahhhh—”

“Stop barking.”

“Captain, say something, Captain.”

“What do you want me to say?” Ye Chi took a sip of water, “Want me to sing you a lullaby?”

“I can, I really can, come on, one, two, three, start singing…”

The lights dimmed below, signaling the start of the match.

Chen Dong held a hand warmer in his hand, shaking it, “Hey, it looks like ADT’s people are here.”

“Where?”

“Up there.”

ADT had defeated BSG yesterday to enter the top four, holding a resurrection card. Players from REAL who usually got along well with ADT’s players had notified REAL’s players to come and support them in person last night via WeChat.

“They’re here, I feel even more nervous now,” Zhang Hanyu said.

“It’s okay, don’t be afraid, the captain will sing us a lullaby.”

Ye Chi smiled, exhaled onto the mic, triggering protests again, “Don’t breathe on the mic.”

“I’m warming up my voice.”

Just as everyone was chatting and relaxing, Chen Dong suddenly said, “It seems like more than just ADT’s people are here…”

Everyone looked towards the audience seats.

ADT’s five players had already taken the reserved high position in the league, just beside the upper aisle, but people were still coming up the aisle.

In black tactical vests, and baseball caps, slightly lowering their heads, their tall and outstanding figures remained eye-catching even in the dim lights.

Chen Dong was stunned, subconsciously looking towards Ye Chi beside him.

Like Chen Dong, Ye Chi was also staring fixedly at the stage.

The person sat in the front row, knees almost touching the protected railing, with the lower half of the face hidden inside the collar of the tactical vest, above the straight nose, a pair of eyes cold yet calm, arms crossed looking down at the people on stage.