For a long time, netizens saw Su Heng still live-streaming and training normally every day, but she never responded to any comments, and gradually, the matter faded into the background. However, whenever Sleeping was mentioned, her extremely rare condition would become a topic of discussion. Su Heng didn’t care about it. These comments didn’t really affect her; time and facts would provide answers. Shen Jianian and Zhou Lingxing also didn’t express any opinions on this, appearing indifferent. This was because the two had already devised a countermeasure.
After the platform invitation competition ended, GI entered a vacation state, gradually fading out of the public eye. With the start of the S tournament shifting the focus, Su Heng’s Weibo comments finally returned to a peaceful state of “Sister, I love you.” People online are like this; given enough time, they can forget anything. But if you make even a minor mistake again, these trivial matters will be brought up repeatedly.
During this time, Su Yuanjun seemed to have heard something and called Su Heng to inquire about the follow-up developments of the matter. Su Heng merely said it was fine and told him not to worry, not wanting to say much more. Yet, deep down, she felt a hint of unease. Even someone like Su Yuanjun, who doesn’t go online, knew about this matter; it was only a matter of time before Sun Ling found out too. Thinking about the troubles that might follow, Su Heng felt a bit flustered.
In fact, Sun Ling managed to keep this secret due to Su Mang’s deliberate concealment. This year’s S tournament, despite the Chinese division having three slots, ended up being quite disastrous. After the group stages, only FHL’s flag remained standing for China. The audience rallied hard to cheer for FHL, placing all their hopes on this only team that made it to the elimination rounds. However, no one expected that FHL, which usually at least reached the quarterfinals, would find themselves struggling this time, stopping at the round of 16. The BO3 match even ended with a 2-0 score.
Looking at the series of comments on FHL’s official Weibo, stating “After all, 2-0, I could do it too,” Xiao Ban was furious. “These keyboard warriors are really infuriating! Go try playing and see if you can even survive a group stage!” Sun He probably knew something about Du Ruo and Su Mang, and he patted the head of the boy sitting on the sofa scrolling through Weibo. “You’re standing up for others? Have you even looked at the horrible comments under our official Weibo?”
Xiao Ban jumped up with a cry, flamboyantly ruffling his hair. “Don’t hit my head! The head can be broken, but the hairstyle must not be messed up, you know!” What surprised Sun He was that Su Heng also started defending FHL. “It’s normal to have wins and losses in a competition. It’s not like we don’t have Olympic athletes who didn’t win any awards getting criticized on Weibo. It’s just looking down on us gamers!”
Xiao Ban agreed, “Yeah! You don’t see them bickering under the Weibo of Olympic athletes who didn’t win awards. They just look down on us gamers!” Su Heng nodded. Although she could ignore those personal attacks, she could not ignore the comments attacking FHL. If the lips are gone, the teeth are cold; this isn’t just about one team, but the prejudice against the entire e-sports industry. Seeing the serious expression on the girl’s face, Zhou Lingxing couldn’t help but smile slightly. Even if she knew that Du Ruo was partly involved in the previous matter, she might say something like that too. It was almost endearingly straightforward.
For Chinese viewers, the S tournament ended rather abruptly.
From then on, the foreign team’s matches no longer held any allure for her, and she lost the desire to watch them on time.
However, for professional players, every match in the S tournament was not to be missed.
During this period, Su Heng’s biological clock became somewhat disrupted, and the frequency of her episodes started to show signs of increasing.
By the time the S tournament ended, Su Heng had lost a significant amount of weight, which made Zhou Lingxing feel quite distressed.
He decided to take Su Heng home for a nice meal to help her recover.
At first, Su Heng refused. When she met Zhou Boxiu, she was still in the role of a patient, and in just a few months, her status had changed to that of a girlfriend.
It felt a bit embarrassing.
But she couldn’t resist Zhou Lingxing’s constant insistence on his mother’s cooking, and after just two days, she reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Before going to Zhou Lingxing’s home, Su Heng rarely showed any signs of nervousness.
She cautiously asked, “Is it just your parents at home?”
Zhou Lingxing, holding the steering wheel, lazily nodded, “At this hour, it’s probably just them. My sister should still be working overtime.”
“Your sister? What does she do?” Su Heng blinked.
Although it was a common question, Zhou Lingxing took a moment to glance at the girl before chuckling and answering.
“A half-baked psychologist.”
Su Heng was taken aback and absentmindedly bit her lip, “Why ‘half-baked’?”
His smile widened a bit, but he just shook his head.
Because Zhou Linghui couldn’t answer his emotional problems in time.
After thinking for a moment, the girl asked, “What about your mom?”
“She’s a retired psychologist.” As they hit a traffic light, Zhou Lingxing pressed the brake.
Another psychologist??
The whole family are psychologists???
Su Heng pouted, “Then why didn’t you become a psychologist?”
Zhou Lingxing’s long fingers gently tapped the steering wheel, and the smile near his lips faded slightly.
“I’m not cut out for it; that old man in the family has brought this up a lot.”
Before Su Heng could voice another question, the traffic light changed to green, and Zhou Lingxing accelerated, the car slowly moving again.
“And,” his voice became a bit more serious, “if I had become a psychologist, how would I have met you?”
Su Heng paused for a second before bursting into laughter.
This person is becoming more and more cheesy.
But she liked it very much.
*
As soon as they entered the house, a slightly sharp female voice came from inside.
“Is that A-Ling back? Quickly let him come help in the kitchen!”
Zhou Lingxing, unfazed, changed his shoes and handed a pair of new slippers to the girl beside him. He seated her comfortably in the living room before slowly walking into the kitchen.
However, as soon as he entered the kitchen, Lin Renzhen rushed over with a knife, winking at him, “So, you brought your girlfriend back? I heard your dad has quite a high opinion of her, but she has an illness that’s hard to treat, right?”
Zhou Lingxing barely dodged the kitchen knife aimed at him and sighed helplessly, “Mom, how many times have I told you not to talk to me while holding a knife?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Did you bring her back or not?” Lin Renzhen’s eyes sparkled with anticipation, as if she wanted to throw off her apron and rush out to see the ‘girlfriend’ for herself.
Zhou Lingxing quickly stopped her, “I brought her back; she’s sitting in the living room. You can focus on your cooking.” He paused and asked, “By the way, did you make the soup I mentioned before?”
“Yes, yes. Your dad is upstairs in the study; go call him down quickly. It’s not polite to let a girl sit alone in our house for the first time.” Lin Renzhen received the answer she wanted and waved her hand at Zhou Lingxing, clearly meaning for him to leave.
Zhou Lingxing couldn’t help but laugh and followed her instructions to call Zhou Boxiu downstairs.
When the two came down, Su Heng was busy battling a snake game on her phone, and she didn’t have time to look up when she heard the commotion.
When Zhou Boxiu got closer and saw the snake on the girl’s phone screen, which had already wrapped around several times, he reached out and patted Su Heng’s head.
“I told you to avoid wasting your energy on these things; you never listen, do you?” His tone was full of dissatisfaction, but one could faintly hear the concern in his words.
Su Heng shrank her head a little, and the game crashed due to her momentary distraction.
Only then did she put away her phone and raise her head, “I’ll pay attention next time.”
She looked very serious.
Zhou Lingxing was somewhat surprised; during a previous check-up when he wasn’t there, had these two already become this casual with each other?
“He…” Her thoughts seemed to drift back to that cool, breezy night. Su Heng chuckled softly, “I got lost in Korea, and he—”
A sudden cough interrupted them from behind, causing both women washing dishes to turn their heads.
There stood Zhou Lingxing, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, wearing a smug “caught-in-the-act” expression. If you looked closely, you could see a faint blush on his face.
“How much longer? The coach just called, said there’s a meeting, and told us to hurry back.”
Tsk, what a poor excuse for a lie.
Su Heng thought.
But she didn’t expose him. After rinsing the bowl in her hand, she shook off the water and nodded at Lin Renju, who looked quite unhappy. “Auntie, we’ll head back now. We’ll visit again soon.”
Lin Renju gave her son a sideways glare, reluctantly nodding. Then, after a moment’s thought, she smiled warmly at Su Heng. “Alright, come visit often.”
Oh well, once her son brings home a wife, she’ll have plenty of opportunities to find out everything.
The thought of hearing her son’s love story made her feel a bit excited.
Su Heng had underestimated Zhou Lingxing.
This time, he wasn’t lying—there really was some business with the team. Though it wasn’t quite important enough to warrant a formal meeting, it was still a regular pre-season motivational session.
The S Championship had concluded for the year, with CQW clinching the title once again, and CQB taking the runner-up spot.
GI had scrimmaged against both teams several times during their training camp in Korea, making them one of the domestic teams most familiar with these powerhouses.
After all, watching match replays is one thing; hands-on experience is entirely different.
For most domestic teams, strategies against CQW remained theoretical.
Wave was full of confidence: “If we face them, our chance of winning is at least 80%.”
Shen Jianian scoffed. “Keep dreaming.”
Wave clammed up—there was no point arguing with the coach. If someone else had said that, he would’ve fought back.
Then Sun He asked, “Did we beat them in Korea?”
Silence. Wave didn’t dare challenge the captain either.
Zhou Lingxing gave him a sideways glance. “Wake up.”
Great, can’t mess with the team tyrant either. Wave slumped in defeat.
Shen Jianian scanned the room and noticed the small, subtle gestures between Zhou Lingxing and Su Heng under the table. His eyelids twitched involuntarily.
“The Spring Split isn’t far off, and the online drama seems to be cooling down—thanks to FHL stirring things up for us.”
He glanced at the substitute player, Xiaoban, who was still engrossed in his mobile game. “Su Heng will still start for the regular season, but Xiaoban, don’t slack off in practice. Be ready for any unexpected situations.”
Hearing his name, Xiaoban froze for a moment, then hastily turned off the game, pretending to be calm.
Shen Jianian nodded in satisfaction. “This year, I hope we at least make it to the S Championship. And, of course, it’d be great if we could bring home the trophy.”
Su Heng straightened her posture, discreetly prying Zhou Lingxing’s hand from hers.
Zhou Lingxing regretfully savored the lingering warmth in his palm as he scrolled through Weibo.
These pre-season meetings were the same every year—repeating old lessons with nothing new to say.
But he didn’t miss the flicker of determination in everyone’s eyes today.
Well, it made sense—this year’s GI was different.
As he thought about it, his gaze drifted toward his girl.
A smile tugged at his lips.
The team now had a secret weapon.
—
A month before the regular season kicked off, GI received the match schedule.
Everyone quickly found GI’s matches. The first game?
GI vs. AIM.
AIM had earned its first S Championship berth last year, though they had been eliminated during the group stage. Even so, they were not to be underestimated.
Facing a strong opponent right off the bat, Lao Yu’s face fell.
Maybe it was the thrill of crushing weaker teams for so long that the thought of a tough match now made his scalp tingle.
He scanned further down the schedule: their second match was against SLZ. The third? Another strong opponent, NB, last year’s LPL runner-up.
Lao Yu looked utterly defeated. “This is a damn *group of death*!”
Su Heng glanced at him and nodded slowly. “Hmm… seems like it.”
Everyone stared at her in surprise. Since when did Su Heng talk like that?
Only Zhou Lingxing seemed to understand, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.
She was probably about to say something cheeky again.
Sure enough, Su Heng spoke calmly, “Facing us in the group stage? They’re the unlucky ones.”
Everyone froze.
So, what she meant was… it was a group of death because of *them*?
A few days later, GI’s official account posted promotional photos from a previous shoot.
**GI Official Weibo:**
*”After nearly nine months of trials and growth, GI embarks on its journey again. Our starting lineup for this Spring Split is: Top – Sun He, Mid – LING, Jungle – Sleeping (Substitute – Xiaoban), ADC – Wave, and Support – Lao Yu. The day the broken sword is reforged, the knight shall return.”* (Accompanied by pictures)
The six promotional photos, each with a distinct style, immediately caught attention. Their varied color schemes reflected the personalities of the players.
Sun He was surrounded by red flames, Zhou Lingxing was enveloped in cold blue light, and Wave and Lao Yu stood bathed in golden sunlight.
If the four main photos felt like a serious production, Xiaoban’s shot was pure comedy. The backdrop was an unedited green screen, paired with a silly-smiling blond boy, looking utterly ridiculous—almost as if the photographer had given up halfway through.
Su Heng’s individual photo featured a black background, with only a hazy profile of her face visible. Strands of black hair draped down, concealing most of her features, leaving only her sharp, black-and-white eyes faintly visible. The dark background complemented her look, giving off an inexplicable sense of coolness.
In the group photo, the team stood in a row, with Su Heng, the shortest, placed right in the middle—though she still only showed her back.
Thanks to their platform victory, GI’s fanbase had grown significantly since last year. Many new fans, unfamiliar with the team members, were in awe after seeing the photos.
**“Not exaggerating, LING is drop-dead gorgeous. I could love him forever just for his looks.”**
**“OMG, LING is so handsome!!! Someone save me!”**
**“Haha, isn’t Xiaoban’s photo hilarious? I can’t stop laughing.”**
**“Same here. Did Xiaoban offend the photographer and editor? 233333.”**
**“Am I the only one who thinks Sleeping is a girl?”**
**“Why is Sleeping still hiding her face? I’m so tired of the mask thing.”**
**“Let’s not even talk about Sleeping. How does she still have the nerve to stay on the team?”**
The sarcastic comments about Su Heng quickly got buried by Zhou Lingxing’s dedicated fans. Zhou was quite pleased—who knew his face could be this useful?
Most fans, now impressed with the team’s talent and appearance, were eagerly anticipating their matches.
**“I won’t miss a single GI game this season!”**
**“With this lineup, GI is definitely going to make it to Worlds this year.”**
**“I just hope GI doesn’t choke again at the crucial moment. Last year’s match against FHL made my brain explode!”**
After confirming their schedule, the team threw themselves back into grueling practice sessions, with no time even to check Weibo. Their training sessions were intense, with Wave, Lao Yu, and Xiaoban often caught in heated arguments.
“Where the hell are you looking? I was right behind you, and you ran off ahead?”
“Fight, fight, fight! We can fight!”
“Focus the backline! Kill their ADC!”
“Throw me the lantern! Damn it, why are you taking the lantern with full health?”
“How did you miss that ult? Are you trolling?”
“I swear I didn’t miss it! I’d bet my life on it!”
“Stop arguing! Let’s review the replay later.”
In the midst of this fiery atmosphere, January arrived, bringing with it the highly anticipated LPL Spring Split.
The night before the match, the season’s first snowfall arrived quietly—much earlier than usual. By the time the team woke up, the world outside was already blanketed in white.
As they got into the car, Su Heng let out a sigh.
“Even the heavens are crying for today’s opponent.”
Sun He chuckled. She really had changed a lot since joining the team.
But as they approached the venue, Xiaoban’s posture grew increasingly stiff. Lao Yu, already nervous about their opponent, became even more anxious at the sight.
Unable to hold back, Lao Yu shouted at Xiaoban, “What’s wrong with you? You’re not even playing—why are *you* so nervous? Have you considered how I feel?!”