CHAPTER 113

[Third post: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?]

[Fourth post: Original poster, I warn you to watch yourself. You can say my wifey Yao Mei[1] is falling in love with her teammate and I would have no objections. But you said that Cheng Ge likes a human being and I'm not convinced-- --If he likes anyone, it has to be Yu Jinle (*Little Fatty's name). He's been Cheng Ge's support for so many years and is still alive despite having sold out Cheng Ge many times. There's only one explanation: "Love".]

[Fifth post: 666, I have to hand it to all of you fangirls. The angle by which you follow a player is always so surprising-- -- "I've been watching Chessman compete for three and a half years, from the Korean region to the Chinese region. I may not understand the game too well, but I'm confident that I know this man better than anyone else." 6666666666, you've created a different perspective for the esports circle.]

[Sixth post: Is there something wrong with you, fifth post? You guys don't have any problems when you stare at female hosts' chests and thighs and comment about it? Have fangirls provoked you? The original poster didn't really say anything offending did she? Or is it in your view that even if a player has carried every game, he still doesn't have the right to fall in love?]

[Seventh post: ............…..I checked all the pictures posted, then took a look at the pictures I've taken with my boyfriend. The look in his eyes, the look in Cheng Ge's eyes, indeed…...they're exactly the same.]

[Eighth post: Kick the above PDA away.]

[Ninth post: It's better not to talk nonsense at a time like this.]

[Tenth post: I'll be here waiting to see the original poster eating shit. I've marked it and made a screen shot. Please don't disavow it.]

...

Tong Yao: "..."

Half an hour later, Tong Yao checked again and there were already over two hundred posts with over four hundred replies-- --At this rate, this post could become just like the posts from the "Xu Tailun incident" in no time.

Tong Yao anxiously finished dinner and was hoping that the post would quiet down shortly after or that her teammates didn't see it-- --

It was simply Tong Yao's wishful thinking.

The reality was that everyone in the ZGDX teams, except Lu Sicheng who didn't check Tieba unless there was something going on, all liked to check Tieba on a regular basis to read gossip, including the team manager Xiao Rui-- --Males like to gossip as well. Many of the Tieba posts were sparked by these people using alternate ids.

After everyone was full and got back to the bus, Xiao Rui was the first one to log on Tieba, soon followed by everyone else. They immediately found this post and started a heated discussion about its contents-- --

Xiao Rui: "Shit! 'Are the two Cs of ZGDX together?'-- --? ! As the team manager, I have to say no one has informed me about this!"

Old Cat: "Hahahahahahahahahahaha, the look in his eyes is mellow, it really is if you look at the picture..."

Lu Yue also checked the Tieba posts and immediately saved the pictures and logged on to WeChat: "The look in his eyes must be photoshopped, I'm disgusted. I'll send them to my mom and let her view them with the captions: Summer is here and it's that time once every year for your oldest son to be in heat. In the past, he hid it well but this year, he probably hasn't been able to keep it in."

Old K giggly asked: "Has Cheng Ge ever looked at Little Fatty this way?"

Little Fatty replied with a stone face: "Never."

The kids in the B team didn't dare say anything for fear of Lu Sicheng's usual overbearing attitude. But they all leaned against the back of their seats and looked at the last row of the bus-- --The captain of ZGDX A team who was sitting in the last row finally opened his eyes and stretched his long legs to sit up straighter: "What's going on?"

[1]: (mei) meaning little sister when used after a person's name.(mei mei) is the actual word for little sister. This is in the same type of word as ge and jie.

Tong Yao shook the cell phone in her hand: "Someone said on Tieba that you have a crush on me."

Lu Sicheng gave her a glance, then took out his phone to check the Tieba. He then corrected her: "Actually it said that we're together."

Tong Yao: "No it didn't. The original poster said she could tell from the look in your eyes that you have a crush on me. I was watching the game. What were you peeping at me for-- --Today you even made the excuse to come to my room to take a shower and show off your ab muscles. You do have a crush on me."

Lu Sicheng laughed and put down his cell phone: "It was Little Fatty who drove me to your room because he wanted to take a shower too…...Hum, alright, I have a crush on you. Are you going to grant my wish?"

Amidst the burst of uproarious laughter and whistling, Tong Yao also put her cell phone down and pretended to earnestly think it over: "Let me think about it. I'm such a young, lovely girl. Loved by everyone and I can carry a game on my own as well. What's the advantage being with you? Will you give me the red buff?"

Lu Sicheng said with all seriousness: "I won't let you have it even if you're pregnant with a kid with the last name Lu."

Tong Yao: "..."

Everyone was amused by their bickering and started to joke around among themselves. Some teased Little Fatty saying that he got a green hat just like that. In the end no one noticed one fact-- --That Lu Sicheng didn't deny anything that had been said in the Tieba posts...

Neither did Tong Yao.

...

Next day, the A team accompanied the B team to the competition arena. Today's opponent was the team CK. Before they went out the door of the hotel, Tong Yao grabbed the B team players-- --especially their jungler-- --and admonished them: winning is the only option, you can't lose; even if you lose, it can't be in the jungle.

CK was one of the top teams in the major league. The B team players all indicated that what Tong Yao had asked was too tough to accomplish and they refused to comply. The only thing they could strive for was to not lose too badly...

When they got off the bus, they found many esports media waiting in the parking lot-- --Xiao Rui was the first one to get off and, slow to react, was dumbfounded by what he saw. The next second he found out that the A team, which was here for vacation and as bystanders, had become the focus of the Demacia Cup.

Media A: "Please Cheng Ge, Cheng Ge look over here, please tell us are you and Smiling really like what they said out there?"

Media B: "Please, Smiling, what do you think about the whole thing?"

Tong Yao: "I have no thoughts."

Media C: "If you two aren't together, then why would you put on his jacket? !"

Tong Yao: "I've been having stomach aches because of my period. The captain was afraid that their mid would die from the pain and then the team won't have a mid !"

Media D: "Do your teammates know about this?"

Little Fatty: "We don't know, don't know! Move away, move away, move away-- --"

At the end, the teams had to rely on Little Fatty and security to push open a path in the parking lot to escort them into the arena. They left the noisy reporters behind. Xiao Rui breathed out a long sigh of relief: "Damn, is this the entertainment circle or the esports circle? I, a team manager, have turned into a celebrity agent who has to block the paparazzi for you..."

After they went into the arena, they found out that the whole incident hadn't ended yet. As they were entering the arena, the entire audience, already seated, turned their heads to look at them-- --

The boisterous arena suddenly became unexpectedly quiet. Even the commentators, who were just talking passionately as they analyzed the lineups of both teams, also stopped talking. The atmosphere inside the arena became quite eerie.

Commentator A: [Uh…...hahahahahahahaha, the audience suddenly quieting down is the scariest thing.]

Commentator B: [I forgot what I was saying. You guys are really troublemakers-- --]

Commentator A: [I can sense a little bit of uneasiness.]

Commentator B: [Didn't you say that you don't usually go on Tieba?]

Commentator A: [I most certainly don't check the day I finish commentating a match. The same reason players will uninstall Tieba the day they lose a game-- --But, to be honest, I would still go on if there's some big gossip. As a commentator, I can't be behind on current news...]

Commentator B: [Hahahahahahahahahahaha!]

The audience also burst into laughter.

The atmosphere inside the arena became more relaxed.

Amid the teasing commentators, the ZGDX A team players, bearing with the attention from the entire audience, sat down at the same seats as yesterday. Many people in the audience still kept looking at them. Tong Yao twitched the corner of her lips: "I feel like a superstar."

"Bear with it." Lu Sicheng said in a relaxed manner: "No one will watch you after the game starts."

Tong Yao: "..."

Lu Sicheng was right; after not noticing any suspicious interactions between the two, many people stopped looking at them. They had turned their attention to the players on the stage. Both commentators were also back to discussing the lineups of both teams of today's matches-- --

At the same time, the cameraman started to pan over the audience at random to show them on the big screen. First were the CK fangirls who were sitting in the front rows. Then it was the ZGDX fangirls on the other side of the aisle-- --The front rows of the ZGDX side were basically occupied by Lu Yue's fans. They seemed to have sprung up overnight and had brought with them quite an elaborate set of LCD light boards and banners.

There were also fans of the partners at bot lane, Dubhe and Alkaid.

Tong Yao looked up at the big screen with a smile, enjoying her status as a spectator until she saw her own big face show up on the big screen-- --

This scene was deja vu for her.

During the Spring competition this year, her face had been shown on the screen just like this. At that time, Jian Yang was so shocked that he spilled water over the table, which was a rather funny scene…...Thinking back on the moment, Tong Yao's smile on her face widened and just like last time, she happily waved at the camera while thinking: Luckily, I was smart enough to put on some makeup.

The camera moved from her to the expressionless Lu Sicheng next to her.

Lu Sicheng was looking down on a little notebook in his hand. Then as if he had sensed something, he looked up.

The shot once again stirred up a commotion among the audience.

Commentator A: [Looks like today's cameraman intends on stirring the pot!]

Commentator B: [Mr. Cameraman, so you also go on Tieba?]

Commentator A: [Alright, according to our usual protocol, whenever the camera catches a couple on the big screen, the couple has to show us a hot kiss, hahahahahahaha!]

The camera shook a bit as if agreeing with the suggestion. The audience burst out laughing, some even started screaming.

Commentator B: [But to be more reasonable, if they aren't a couple that would be too embarrassing. I personally appeal to the cameraman to leave our esports national daughter and national god off-- --]

Before he could finish his sentence and before the audience had recovered from their jeering and teasing, they only heard a loud noise as they saw the captain of Team CK, Jian Yang, jump up from his seat. On the big screen, they saw the captain of ZGDX grab his team's mid, who was still innocently waving her hand, and bent over to kiss her.

Inside the arena, it was dead quiet for three seconds.

At the fourth second, the sound of screaming, clapping, and cheerings were as loud as thunder. It felt like the roar could almost lift the roof off the arena.