The doctor came to the base. After the check-up, he said that Lu Boyuan was recovering quite well, and that he could resume training tomorrow. The finals match in a few days wouldnât be a problem either, with the precondition being that he had to pay attention to how much he practiced.
Lu Boyuan switched out his bandages for new ones. When he entered the practice room, Xiao Bai was in the middle of gaming and interrogating Jian Rong at the same timeâ
âHow do you know that my geâs partner has a bad temper?
âDo you know who his partner is?
âYouâre going a little too far, you know. Even if my sister-in-lawâs temper really isnât good, you canât just say it out loud in the stream. Iâm betting when the time comes you wonât be able to drink our new sister-in-lawâs love soup.â
The practice room door was left wide open, so nobody realized that Lu Boyuan had entered.
Jian Rong looked at the âhahahasâ and various questions being sent in the barrage. Through gritted teeth, he said, âThere is no love soup.â
âBut what if?â
âThere are no what ifs, laozi⊠that person doesnât know how.â
âNo way, you really do know her?â Xiao Bai paused. âItâs fine if she doesnât know how, Youyou-jie didnât know how to make it either before she got together with Qian-ge. In the end, didnât she still end up learning how to cook out of love.â
Jian Rong rolled his eyes and ignored him.
Yuan Qian interjected, âBut Captainâs hand has been injured for so long, how come his partner hasnât come to the base to check in on him.â
Xiao Bai wanted to loudly shout âsister-in-law is neglecting her duties,â but taking into consideration the fact that Jian Rong was streaming, he coughed and said, âThatâs actuallyâŠâ
However, even though he didnât finish the sentence, it was enough to anger Lu Boyuanâs fansâ
[âŠitâs over. From the sound of that, it looks like Road really is dating.]
[Not being the least bit concerned about your boyfriendâs injury, and also being solidly labeled as having a bad temper by a teammate, is Road dating a buddha?]
[Is it Tang Qin? But she seems to be fairly good-tempered, isnât she?]
[Just checked his match history⊠Road hasnât been playing these past few days, and before that, if he wasnât solo Qâing, then he was playing with his teammates. Donât tell me that his partner isnât someone in the circle?]
[I hope that pro players can concentrate on their jobs and not be affected by other people or things. Lastly, I donât acknowledge this sister-in-law.]
Who gives a damn if you acknowledge it or not, itâs not like youâre the one dating him.
Just as that thought crossed Jian Rongâs mind, he heard the sound of chair wheels rolling across the floor. He turned his head and saw Lu Boyuan drag his chair over with one hand before he sat down a bit behind him.
Jian Rong was momentarily startled. He thought that Lu Boyuan was just joking last night when he said he was going to sit next to him and watch him playâŠ
Lu Boyuan said considerately, âPractice what you need to practice, donât mind me.â
Upon hearing Lu Boyuanâs voice, the viewers immediately started spamming the barrage, telling Jian Rong to turn on his camera.
Jian Rong hadnât planned to turn it on in the first place. Now that Lu Boyuan was here, he definitely wasnât going to do so, in case these people started to make up rumors again when they saw the bandages wrapped around Lu Boyuanâs hand.
Normally, Jian Rong sat in an atypical manner, as his chair was always further away from his computer than other peopleâs were. He scooted his chair forward a little. ââŠcan you see? Sit a bit closer.â
The barrage was spamming question marks againâactually, nobody could see anything, and at first listen, there was nothing wrong with that sentence either.
But the water friendsâ intuition was sharp, and they kept feeling like something was fishy.
Lu Boyuan laughed and moved to sit slightly closer.
He looked at the barrage and asked, âWhat did you say to them earlier?â
âI made it known,â Jian Rong entered solo queue, ââŠthat you have a partner.â
Lu Boyuan lifted an eyebrow. âWasnât I the one who made it known first?â
This could be considered a direct admission. The streamâs barrage instantly explodedâthere were those who couldnât accept it and those who said that Lu Boyuan wasnât dedicating himself to his career, as well as a small handful of people giving him their blessings.
Jian Rong felt annoyed reading a few of the comments, but those people all claimed to be Lu Boyuanâs fans, so it wasnât his place to scold them. He decided to just shift his mouse with the intention of closing the barrage entirely.
Lu Boyuanâs elbow was propped up on the armrest of Jian Rongâs chair. Noticing his small movements, Lu Boyuan raised a hand and briefly kneaded the back of Jian Rongâs neck, as if he were petting a cat. âNo need to close it, let me chat with them for a while.â
While Jian Rong was hesitating, he finally matched into a game.
Lu Boyuan checked his wait time. âThe queue was that long? What rank are you now.â
â43.â In the end, Jian Rong didnât close the barrage. He recalled something and said woodenly, âI was 42 yesterday, but I was surpassed after the match.â
Countless incongruous comments saying âbadassâ and â666â slid across the barrage, which was still vehemently discussing the fact that Lu Boyuan had a partner.
Jian Rong was undoubtedly the fastest climbing pro player that they had ever seen. He was even faster than Master, who had made his way up to rank one some time ago.
Lu Boyuan let out an âenâ and praised naturally, âVery impressive.â
[?]
[This coaxing a child tone of voice? My misperception?]
[Are you really dating are you really dating are you really dating??]
Lu Boyuan said, âI am dating.â
Jian Rongâs hand shook, and he accidentally clicked on Teemoâs picture. He received a bemused â?â in return from Doufu, who had matched into the same game as him.
Jian Rong calmly changed his preselected champion to LeBlanc. Internally, he thought, My rank is so high, why do I still keep crashing cars with this dumbass.
Seeing Lu Boyuan acknowledge his relationship casually and easily, the fans stopped for a moment and ended up calming down instead.
Jian Rong was only wearing his headphones over one ear, and he silently listened to Lu Boyuan chat with the water friends.
âWe havenât been dating for long.
âWho is it⊠Iâm not going to say anything for the time being, I donât want them1 to be affected.
âWho did the chasing⊠of course it was me.
âAre they good-looking? Yes.â
When Lu Boyuan said that last part, Jian Rong sensed him glance in his direction, and he swiftly licked his lips.
A very lengthy comment rapidly slid across the barrageâ[You genuinely like her? To the point that youâre willing to waste practice time to date her? Canât you just date in a few years after you retire???]
Upon seeing the word âretire,â Jian Rong couldnât help but say, âDumbass, if you donât know how to speak, then shut upâŠâ
Lu Boyuan said, âI cannot.â
As the fans and Jian Rong were stunned, he continued, âDating wonât affect my practice time or my competitive performance. Currently, it doesnât seem like itâs affected the other personâs⊠work either. With a circumstance like this, why should I wait?
âA pro player canât date? They have to be single until they retire? The LPL has no such rule.â
He said lazily, âAlso, the other person might not necessarily be willing to wait until I retire. After all, there are so many people who like themâŠâ
Jian Rong was in the middle of ganking the bot lane when Lu Boyuan said that. Because of the last part, Jian Rong was a bit belated in using his skill, and Doufu ended up getting the kill.
Doufu was shockedâSoft actually let him have the kill!!!
Elation aside, he put on a reserved and aloof air as he typed in the chat: [Thx.]
Except Jian Rong didnât pay any attention to him whatsoever. He immediately hit B and recalled to base.
[Damn? Why do I feel like God Lu is showing off?!!!]
[I also feel that!! A womanâs keen sixth sense is telling me that his partner is definitely in the stream right now!!! Whatâre you all spacing out for, go find her, my bros!!]
[If she really is here, then isnât that way too sweet T-T I donât care Iâm just gonna pretend that Iâm that mysterious partner.]
[On the bright side⊠at least Road does indeed like the bad-tempered type. More or less, that means he likes people similar to my sonâŠ]
[So does that person really actually have a bad temper? Bad to the point that even your teammates know about it?!]
God Jianâs minion clearing slowed ever so slightly.
âTheir temperâŠâ Lu Boyuan held back a smile. âItâs fine as long as I like it.â
[I feel like I just lost my love and was fed fluff at the same time. Why am I so conflicted?]
[Iâm not listening, Iâm not listening! Iâm going to act as if I didnât come to the dumbassâ stream today! I donât care Road and Soft are locked in together forever!! No woman can squeeze her way in between them!!!]
[Since you made this choice, then you can bear the consequences yourself when youâre flamed for being trash in future matches.]
[At the above ârational fan,â thank you for your concern, but God Lu has indeed been playing better and better in the recent matches. Thereâs no need for you to worry.]
Softâs dad fans observed the show from the sidelines, but they didnât think anything much of Lu Boyuan using Jian Rongâs stream as a press conferenceâhe was obviously here to increase the stream traffic. Xiao Bai, who was sitting nearby, could only dream about carrying Road over to his own stream.
Some dad fans even started breezily sending sarcastic commentsâ
[So what if her temper is bad? You young folk donât understand, itâs more interesting to be with someone whoâs ill-tempered.]
[I also really want to give my son a scolding because of this type of thing. Unfortunately, this dumbass has no affinity with women. Every so often, a young women will add him as a friend, and heâll just ask them âwhyâd you add me, wanna soloâ]
[Didnât he say that he had someone he liked last time? But since there still hasnât been any updates on that in so long, he was probably rejected, right:)]
[In my opinion, all the Road fans should accept the situation and move on. No matter how bad your sister-in-lawâs temper is, can it be as bad as my sonâs???]
Jian Rong: ââŠâ
Lu Boyuanâs rapid fire Q&A lasted for less than half an hour before it was cut short by Ding-ge, who caught wind of the news and came armed for battle.
Ding-ge finally realized somethingâalthough Lu Boyuan said on the surface that he wasnât going to make their relationship public, from that point on, he had started to continuously lay down the foundation.
First, he announced that he was dating. Then, he emphasized that he was the one doing the chasing and that neither of their careers had been affectedâŠ
Ding-ge called him out into the hallway and condensed all his various thoughts into one sentence. âYoung master, whenever you plan on coming out of the closet, can you please let me know in advance? At least give me a chance to inform public relations about their impending struggle at deathâs doorâŠâ
âThereâs no need for that.â Lu Boyuan played on his phone. âWhat time does the match start this afternoon?â
The other semifinals match was being held today. PUD was facing off against this seasonâs âlittle dark horse,â KUG.
The winning team would become TTCâs opponent and would stand together with them on the stage for the spring season finals.
At 6:30 in the evening, TTCâs living room coffee table was covered with dishes. The entire team, including the two substitutes, sat in front of the TV, waiting to watch this pivotal match.
Yuan Qian stuffed some food into his mouth. âWho do you guys think will win?â
âPUD.â Xiao Bai responded instantaneously. âIn any case, when I was playing against KUG, I didnât think it was all that hard.â
As a new team that had just joined the LPL two years prior, it was indeed impressive that KUG could advance to the semifinals.
But part of that was still due to luck. After narrowly beating MFG, they got placed into good brackets, and nearly all the strong teams were on the other side.
Xiao Bai looked back and asked, âGe, what are your thoughts?â
Lu Boyuan was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at the caller ID, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes. He tossed behind an âanswering this callâ before he got up and walked towards the balcony.
The living room chatted away noisily for a while longer. The broadcast finally started, and the familiar faces of the commentators appeared on the screen.
The moment Jian Rong lifted his head, he saw Commentator A listen attentively to something being said in his headset as he went entirely still for about three seconds.
âAh⊠er, thereâs some news that I have to share with everyone.â Commentator A licked his lips. âI just received notice that due to a relapse of XIUâs injury, PUD will be sending out their substitute jungler for tonightâs matchâŠâ
Yuan Qian froze mid-chew. âOh shit.â
âOh man.â Hezi, who was on his phone the entire time, abruptly looked up. âI came across this Weibo that says⊠thereâs an ambulance parked at the back door of the stadium.â
âAn ambulance?â Xiao Bai was astonished. âDoesnât XIU have a hand injury? It â it canât be that bad, rightâŠâ
âItâs far worse than just a hand injury.â Ding-ge sighed. âAs far as I know, XIU has the most serious injuries out of all the older pro players. He has problems all over his body⊠where are you going?â
Jian Rong didnât bother turning his head. âIâm full, Iâm going to get some air.â
Before Jian Rong even reached the balcony, he caught the scent of cigarette smoke.
Lu Boyuan leaned against the railing, a cigarette hanging from his mouth. His head was lowered as he looked at a certain group chat in WeChat.
His eyelids were lowered, and there was an impassive look in his eyes. Though a chunk of white ash had already been burnt out at the end of his cigarette, he hadnât taken the time to shake it off.
Hearing noise, Lu Boyuan glanced behind him before he removed the cigarette from his mouth and started to say something.
But then Jian Rong shifted closer to him and brushed their lips together. Immediately after, he choked a bit on the taste of smoke.
Jian Rong couldnât really pinpoint why he wanted to kiss him at that moment.
It was probably because his heart was aching for Lu Boyuanâs sake, and he wanted to comfort him, but at the same time, he couldnât come up with a better method.
After the very brief kiss ended, Jian Rong asked quietly, âWhatâs wrong?â
Lu Boyuan says âhimâ here but since pronouns in Chinese sound the same out loud, the fans donât know that, so I switched it to âthemâ ^