Chapter 19
Xiao Yao ignored Liang Qi’s teasing, lifted his leg, and kicked the person sitting beside him, muttering, “Stop yapping. Don’t you still want to surpass Wind God on the Chinese server?”
Liang Qi straightened his chair, which had been knocked askew by Xiao Yao’s kick, and grinned mischievously. “Right now, I’d rather watch you livestream a one-handed handstand plus three Thomas flares.”
“Not in your dreams!”
“So you’d rather livestream yourself eating shit? That’s a bit hardcore, but I wouldn’t mind.”
Xiao Yao’s mouth twitched as he spat out two words flatly: “Get lost!”
Rubbing his chin with an enigmatic expression, Liang Qi mused, “Seems like that ‘get lost’ was heartfelt.”
Suddenly, Nuo Mi, the starting support sitting behind Liang Qi and Xiao Yao, shouted, “Holy crap! Qi Shen, Xiao Yao, what are you two whispering about back there? My chat is spamming nonstop asking what’s up with Xiao Yao’s stream!”
Xiao Yao: “…”
Liang Qi turned his head and said, “Nothing much. Yao Fei just planted a flag earlier, saying if SNM’s new support turned out to be a girl, he’d livestream mmph—”
Before Liang Qi could finish, Xiao Yao clamped a hand over his mouth, suffocating him.
Xiao Yao hurriedly babbled nonsense, “Livestream a one-handed handstand plus three Thomas flares!”
Nuo Mi shot him a disdainful look. “…You really have too much free time.”
…
Meanwhile, in-game, minions had already spawned.
Their mid-laner instantly recognized the enemy jungler’s ID and typed in team chat: [MengCatTV_WenTian: Daddy Jungler, please come mid! The enemy is CNZ’s Qi Shen!]
Their own jungler immediately understood and replied with an ‘OK.’ After all… everyone in the entire League of Legends esports scene knew the open secret that Qi Shen loved targeting mid lane!
Standing in the brush near her team’s Blue Buff, Su Yi helped her jungler clear the camp before trailing lazily behind Han Lingfeng’s ADC toward lane. Optimistically, she thought the enemy jungler probably wouldn’t bother invading their bot lane…
Unfortunately, she was wrong—the moment they arrived in lane, when she was still two minions away from level two, Evelynn (passive stealth) suddenly popped up at her feet. The enemy bot lane and jungler immediately unleashed a full combo right in her face.
Terrified, she burned both summoner spells, and even Han Lingfeng used his Heal just to keep her alive.
*Holy crap?! Bro, weren’t we supposed to camp mid… Bot lane scenery isn’t even that nice!*
After being harassed by Qi Shen, Han Lingfeng had to play safely under the turret. Fortunately, his last-hitting mechanics under tower were impeccable; he barely missed any CS, stabilizing the situation despite their early disadvantage.
Around the eight-minute mark, both bot laners reached level six (unlocking ultimates). Their own jungler was also pathing toward bot lane, seemingly planning a counter-gank. Top lane had Teleport ready as well—it looked like this fight would go smoothly for them.
But moments later, Evelynn sneaked into bot lane again. A 3v3 skirmish erupted, with summoner spells and ultimates flying everywhere, yet miraculously, no one died. Seeing the bot lane brawl, both top laners teleported down simultaneously. Seconds later, both teams disengaged. Since both top laners were tanks with no intention of fighting further, they essentially took a scenic tour of bot lane before recalling to base.
Truly a case of ‘how many glances in past lives did it take to earn this fleeting brush of shoulders in this one.’
Back at the fountain to replenish items, Su Yi gritted her teeth on the way back to lane and asked Han Lingfeng, “Didn’t everyone say Virgo’s Qi Shen loves camping mid? Our Fizz looks awfully relaxed over there.”
Han Lingfeng was equally puzzled. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “Maybe today’s bot lane scenery is particularly appealing.”
“…………”
“It’s fine. When your passive shield is down, stand a bit further behind me,” Han Lingfeng reassured her. After all, he was playing Sivir, who possessed an active spell shield.
Su Yi suddenly felt her ADC was exceptionally cool today! But considering the bigger picture, she shook her head. “No can do. Mid is even, and top doesn’t have much advantage either. Wind God, you’re our only hope! I’d die before letting you die!”
With that declaration, she detoured through the triangular brush behind their bot turret toward the river, intending to place vision near the dragon pit—only to run smack into Qi Shen’s jungler.
“…”
At that moment, someone’s inner world crumbled.
What was it like for an ultimate-less, summoner-spell-less Malzahar to be chased by a fed Evelynn?
“Wah! Help! There’s a creep after me!” Su Yi yelled as she turned tail and fled.
Han Lingfeng immediately rotated to assist. By the time he arrived, his support was already dead on the ground, but Su Yi’s Malzahar had whittled Evelynn down to half health. Han Lingfeng chased her down, unleashing a barrage of attacks and securing the kill.
Overall, not too bad of a trade.
Rubbing her throbbing temples, Su Yi wondered if she and Qi Shen were cosmically incompatible. Why did this guy insist on camping her every single time they matched together?!
*Ugh, so frustrating! But gotta keep smiling.* She refused to let this game ruin her mood for hitting Challenger, especially with only a few hours left until the season reset.
Respawning and returning to lane, both bot lanes resumed their standoff. Admittedly, CNZ’s ADC Xiao Yao played exceptionally well. However, bot lane wasn’t a solo carry role; poor synergy between support and ADC could severely hinder performance.
The enemy support clearly wasn’t a main support player, resulting in frequent miscommunications and coordination errors with Xiao Yao. These mistakes gifted Su Yi and Han Lingfeng several free kills. Yet every time they secured a kill, Evelynn inevitably appeared bot lane shortly after, trading Su Yi’s life in return.
Then Han Lingfeng would avenge her by taking down the enemy jungler.
By the twenty-eight-minute mark, Su Yi’s team planned a grouped push mid. Surprisingly, Evelynn didn’t target their AD or mid-laner first—she went straight for her…
Su Yi: “…………”
If possible, she wanted to crawl through the internet cables and beat up this person named Qi Shen.
This ranked game was an arduous victory for Su Yi’s team. Aside from their top laner, who clearly wasn’t comfortable in the role, their mid and jungle performed steadily. However… her personal stats were painfully ugly: 0/10/15.
Zero kills and ten deaths were bad enough, but only fifteen assists? Their team had thirty total kills, meaning her participation rate was merely fifty percent.
The reason, naturally… was that she died first in every single team fight. Xiao Yao, playing ADC, would Flash recklessly just to ensure she was eliminated.
So the motto was: Team fights can be lost, but she must die?
Oh, fathers of Virgo, your OCD is truly real!
After the game ended, Su Yi gained twenty LP as expected. Two more wins and she’d blissfully hit Challenger—the thought alone brought joy.
However, all-chat was buzzing lively—
[WhiteSharkTV15921 XiaoYu: Qi Shen’s vibe is off today. Why is he permanently residing in our bot lane?]
[Hulala: Probably because Xiao Yao is playing ADC.]
[Old Dreams of Her City: Is it just me, or does it feel like Qi Shen is specifically targeting our Brother Email?]
[ChiYan: Still calling them ‘brother’?! Didn’t we establish she’s a girl? Holy crap, if girls can go pro, then I’m basically ascending to heaven!]
[MengCatTV_StrawberryMarshmallow: Looking down on girls? I’m a girl too, and I think it’s awesome! Ever heard of ‘women holding up half the sky’? Playing support bot and getting abused like dogs, yet you still complain? Shut up!]
[MengCatTV_WenTian: Qi Shen gives major FFF Brigade vibes this game—determined to tear apart the bot lane duo even in death. For sheer dedication to targeting, I bow only to Qi Shen.]
[E-MAIL: …]
Just as Su Yi typed those ellipses, she spotted a party invite from Han Lingfeng in the bottom-right corner. Silently leaving the lobby, she prayed fervently that the next queue wouldn’t match her against those two Virgo fathers again—they were simply untouchable.
“What are you thinking about?” Noticing her troubled expression, Han Lingfeng gently removed her headset and whispered near her ear.
Su Yi turned her head to look at him. “Thinking about how utterly atrocious my gameplay was that entire match.”
“…”
“Played like a dog chewed my keyboard!”
“…………”
“Wind God,” she gazed at him with utter sincerity, “am I really that bad? Do I tilt that easily…”
Han Lingfeng stared at her face for two seconds, then abruptly released her headset. It snapped back against Su Yi’s ear, startling her. She muttered, “Wind God, what was that for?”
“Idiot.”
“Huh?”
“You’re not weak,” Han Lingfeng said leisurely. “You just need someone to push you forward.”
“…………”
“And that someone is me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, both their screens entered the matchmaking queue accompanied by a resounding *DONG—*. Su Yi froze, thinking she’d misheard. Pulling off her headset, she tugged at his sleeve. “Wind God, Wind God, what did you just say?”
Han Lingfeng pursed his lips, about to respond, when his eyes caught a notification in their party chat.
[Melody Under Prayer has joined the lobby.]
[CNZ_YaoYaoYao has joined the lobby.]
Seeing Han Lingfeng remain silent for ages, Su Yi sulkily turned back to her own screen. In the bottom-left corner, her teammates were typing—
[Melody Under Prayer: …Well, well. What a coincidence.]
[CNZ_YaoYaoYao: ……………………]
[WhiteSharkTV_DaDi: ………….. Um, may I timidly ask if I’ve just been matched with a bunch of terrifying teammates?]