Jian Rongâs original intention was to go back to sleep.
But after being blown by the wind for a bit in the entryway, he felt as energetic as an ox by the time he got back to his room. He couldnât muster up any sleepiness after lying in vain on his bed for a few minutes. He wasnât in the habit of gaming at eight in the morning, so he decided to simply prop himself up and play on his phone.
Then he saw that his main account on Weibo had received over a thousand private messages.
A portion of the messages were from Squidâs fans; they couldnât out-flame those water friends, so they came to flame him. A miniscule portion were from his streamâs normal water friends, and they asked him how to do combos on Zed or what items to buy for LeBlanc when she was at an advantage or disadvantage.
Just from a glance, the remaining majority either consisted of âDad misses youâ or âIâve been wanting to insult you, dumbass.â Jian Rong was too lazy to open them.
With one leg propped high over the other, Jian Rong looked through his messages for a long time before he posted that Weibo.
The day before Lunar New Year, most people were on break and at home, but there werenât that many people surfing Weibo at eight a.m., so he was still able to somewhat read the comments. Jian Rong scrolled down the screen and replied randomly.
[Youâve retrieved your conscience from the trash can?]
[TTC àŒ Soft: No, Iâm about to resume streaming. Iâm afraid that nobody will watch that day, so Iâve emerged to satisfy you all.]
[Are you even speaking a human language???]
[Dumbass, you should probably log out of Weibo, I bet that the LPLâs investigator employees have a special follow on your account. How unlucky would it be to get fined on Lunar New Year, donât spread your bad luck to your dad.]
[Should be fine, didnât he not get fined even with the way he shaded Squid before? A lot of pro players say âdumbassâ âyour momâ âIâm your dadâ in streams without getting penalized for it. The reason he got fined last time was because he insulted that dumbass too fiercely.]
[Speaking of Squid, I kept refreshing Weibo throughout this dumbassâ entire debut night because I wanted to see if there would be news about TTC and Squid getting in a fight backstage. Later, I fell asleep full of disappointment.]
[Itâs whatever if they fight, but with his physique, just who can he beat up? Dumbass darling, have you received the heightening insoles that Daddy shipped over yet? Theyâre not obvious if you wear them, I donât even take it this seriously when Iâm picking out underwear for my girlfriend.]
Jian Rong took a deep breath before he pulled up his bank account to check its balance. In his mind, he continuously told himself that he had to endure it no matter what.
One sentence was ten thousand yuan; insulting them equalled suffering a loss, insulting them equalled being fooled.
[TTC àŒ Soft: Thank you. Send me your address, Iâll drop by to wish you a happy new year.]
[Dumbass, Dad went to the stadium for your debut and held up a banner, are you touched?]
[TTC àŒ Soft: Let me transfer you some money to celebrate the new year, donât come to future competitions anymore.]
[When the coach sees your Weibo post, heâll probably be so mad that heâll have a stroke.]
[TTC àŒ Soft: Already asked, heâs sleeping in the car. Iâll delete these after weâre done chatting, he wonât see it.]
When Ding-ge got to that comment, he really did feel like he was about to have a stroke.
He said furiously, âWho told Jian Rong that I was sleeping in the car!!!â
Everyone else was startled, and Lu Boyuan, who was sleeping next to him, lazily opened his eyes.
ââŠI did.â Xiao Bai looked stupefied. âHe said that he sent you a message but you didnât answer, so he asked me what you were doing⊠am â am I not allowed to say that?â
Damn, this little troll was quite the schemer. Just when did he receive a message from him?!
Seeing Ding-ge wildly tousle his hair in anger, Lu Boyuan slanted a look over. âWhatâs wrong.â
âWhat else could be going wrongâŠâ Ding-ge laughed out of fury. âHere I am, worrying about him like Iâm his actual dad, while heâs at the base causing trouble for me and also acting like his dadâs gone out on a faraway trip. Just a few minutes after we departed, he instantly posted on Weibo provoking those water friends from his livestream room⊠this wonât do, I have to contact someone and tell them to change his Weibo password first.â
Lu Boyuan wasnât all that surprised. He only asked, âDid he insult someone?â
Ding-ge paused briefly. âWell, no, his replies just have a really ambiguous energy. But when the comments stack up later, a few trolls will inevitably show up. Iâm afraid heâll have a hard time tolerating them with his temper.â
Lu Boyuanâs voice was slightly raspy. âYou want to change his password when he hasnât even insulted anyone, what kind of reasoning is that?â
Ding-ge was stumped. âYouâre saying thatâŠ. I should just let him do whatever?â
Lu Boyuan didnât answer. Instead, he asked in reply, âIn a few days, when he starts streaming, are you going to sit right next to him during every game and monitor him? Or are you going to give him a manual that clearly states what he can and canât say?â
Ding-ge was dumbfounded. To tell the truth, the idea of finding someone to keep an eye on Jian Rongâs stream really did cross his mind at one point.
âIt wonât be interesting anymore if everything he says and does is according to the rules.â Lu Boyuan swept a glance over him and reminded mildly, âHeâs a professional player. Heâs not here to be packaged up and debuted.â
Ding-ge opened and closed his mouth. After being rendered speechless for quite a while, he finally said, ââŠarenât I just being concerned that heâll be fined again?â
âI donât think itâs a big deal.â Yuan Qian straightened up. âI read over Xiao Rongâs replies, theyâre all okay, itâs not at the point where heâll be penalized for them. He himself definitely doesnât want to be fined either, so he should be thinking before answering.â
Ding-ge was silent for a few seconds, and he was somewhat persuaded.
ââŠthen Iâll keep observing, and Iâll act if there are any signs that theyâre going to start fighting.â A long moment later, Ding-ge muttered in bewilderment, âYou know, instead of going back to sleep this early in the morning, why does he insist on seeking out unhappiness with those dumbass water friends?â
Lu Boyuan didnât say anything else. He took out his phone while maintaining his resting posture.
Jian Rong was still answering the water friendsâ comments, one reply after another. The total number of comments had already reached two thousand.
Neither side was speaking in a friendly manner, but when they were put together, there was a sort of inexplicable harmony.
[Last Lunar New Yearâs Eve, the little dumbass also posted a chatting Weibo. So is this going to become tradition?]
When Jian Rong came across this comment, he had one hand braced behind his head, and he was slightly startled.
Only when he went back and searched through his posts did he realize that he had indeed posted a chatting Weibo last Lunar New Yearâs Eve.
[Next time, canât you pick a different time to post a chat building? Bright and early on Lunar New Yearâs Eve, I was forced into helping out. Right now Iâm holding a couplet in one hand and using my phone with the other.]
[Me too, Iâm about to go wrap dumplings, Iâll post a photo of the filling later for everyone to see. The club is on break now, right? Little dumbass, if youâre slacking off and not helping out at home, are you not afraid of being beaten up by your parents?]
[Thatâs not right, before he said that heâs alone at the base ah. Is TTC still not on break yet for Lunar New Yearâs Eve?]
[They should be on break⊠an hour ago Xiao Bai just posted a picture of his suitcases, he said heâs going home to celebrate the new year.]
[So you mean that I can also camp out for the little dumbass on next yearâs Lunar New Yearâs Eve? Dumbass son, take a look at the room that Mommy just finished cleaning. [photo]]
All the pictures that the fans posted more or less contained some festive ambiance. When Jian Rong saw them, he stared at the photographs blankly for a few minutes before finally typing an answer.
[TTC àŒ Soft: There is no next year, donât wait.]
Jian Rong got up and poured himself a cup of water before he refreshed the comments again. The newest commentâs style was somewhat different from the othersâ
[Beauty Kitty: I heard that youâre gay?? Dumbass homo, can you quickly leave TTC? What in the world is wrong with TTCâs coaches, bringing a homo into the base to live with Road? If he harasses my husband, are you guys going to take responsibility for it?]
Jian Rong just knew that he wouldnât be able to escape from what happened that day. There were quite a few inquiries earlier too, but he had ignored them all because he hadnât figured out how to explain this kind of thing yet. He had also deleted all the ones that had randomly tagged Lu Boyuan.
A message preview popped up at the top of his phone screen. [Ding-ge: Replying is allowed, but moderately.]
Jian Rong raised his eyes and deleted âdid homos dig up your ancestral tomb has modern science become too developed how come even a dumbass like you who discriminates against other peopleâs sexual orientations knows how to use Weibo?â, before he typed out a new commentâ
[TTC àŒ Soft: Other peopleâs sexual orientations are none of your business, I didnât try to get with your dad.]
In the short interval of time before his response, many comments had already appeared below.
[Brainless trash start dreaming before itâs even nighttime. Go ahead and call Road husband, see if he takes a single look your way?]
[Everyone step aside, step aside, as a Chengdu fierce top, let me flame first]
[If you want to chase my son out so badly, why donât you buy out TTC? Also, upstairs is a liar, there are no tops in Chengdu.]
[Above, reported for suspected regional discrimination.]
As the conversation progressed, Beauty Kitty had already been forgotten. A few minutes later, they couldnât help but materialize again.
[Beauty Kitty: Hehe, you dare to say that you donât like Road? Before joining the team, you wore a hat with Roadâs name on it, and you also stalked Roadâs streams. Now neither the master nor the fans are admitting it?]
Everyoneâs attention finally shifted back once more.
Beauty Kitty had long since heard that Softâs fans had mouths that were each dirtier than the last, and they had already prepared themselves to have a duel of words whenâ
[What are you talking about? We do admit it, my son joined precisely because he was aiming for Road.]
[@Beauty Kitty you missed some things. He also sent Road gifts worth 100k, the first person he followed on Weibo was @TTC àŒ Road, his Weibo likes are also all of @TTC àŒ Road.]
[He also pretended to be drunk and stuck to @TTC àŒ Road, refusing to let go, hanging onto his neck like an apeman hanging onto a tree.]
[Apparently the two of them also came out together from the bathroom. If the little dumbass really was drunk back then, then itâs likely that Road also helped hold my sonâs bird.]
[If that isnât gay, then it would be really hard to accept.]
HelpedâŠâŠâŠ holdâŠâŠâŠ birdâŠâŠâŠ
When he saw those three words, Jian Rong felt thunderstruck, and the image of Lu Boyuanâs hand reaching over to the front of his pants flashed across his mind.
Half a minute later, the style of Jian Rongâs comment section below suddenly changedâ
[Shit bros run for it! This dumbass is starting to delete his replies and blacklist people!!!]
[No way? Jian Rong youâre not blacklisting that damn Kitty, but youâre blacklisting your dad??]
[There goes another one of laoziâs side accounts, this unfilial sonâŠ]
These peopleâs side accounts were neverending, and there was no way Jian Rong could delete them all. As things dragged on, he decided to just turn off commenting completely; what the eye didnât see, the heart didnât grieve over. After dealing with all of that, it was already almost noon.
Jian Rong shut his eyes and thought, Iâm a dumbass for wasting three hours on WeiboâŠ
After getting out of bed and washing up, Jian Rong made a casual bowl of noodles for himself and paired it with a rare poached egg. Once he was done eating, he beelined towards the second floor to practice.
He played all the way until two in the afternoon. When Jian Rong exited a game, he saw a friend appear online in the âTTCâ game group.
When he saw who the online friend was, he paused before instantly sending a message over.
[Just Watch My Gameplay: Are you at home?]
[TTC àŒ Road: Just arrived.]
[Just Watch My Gameplay: Then want to play?]
A few seconds later, Lu Boyuan invited him into the party.
Lu Boyuan was fixing the keybindings for his computer at home. âI can only play one game, weâre going to be eating soon.â
âOkay.â Jian Rong said, âIâll pick an early game champion then.â
âNo need.â Lu Boyuan glanced at his little teacup pig, which kept rubbing against his feet. âPick whatever you want to play.â
After entering the game, Jian Rong lifted his head to check his role. He hadnât managed to snatch mid laner and had ended up being slotted into top laner.
Without a second thought, he started typing.
[Just Watch My Gameplay: #4 mid laner can we swap roles? Jungler and I are duo Qâing, Iâll carry.]
[Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carry: Not swapping~]
[Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carry: Didnât you say you didnât have time to play!]
[Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carry: Is the little piggy doing well?]
At first, Jian Rong thought that she was talking to someone else.
[Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carry: Take a picture of it so I can see~]
[TTC àŒ Road: No time right now.]
[Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carry: Alrighty. In a bit, come gank mid a lot for me pls, Iâm afraid I wonât be able to beat the other side.]
[TTC àŒ Road: Depending on the situation]
[Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carry: ok~]
When they entered the loading screen and Jian Rong saw that Xiao Tang Also Wants To Carryâs Twisted Fate and Lu Boyuanâs Evelynn were part of a couple skin, he couldnât help but ask, âDo you two know each other?â
âMn, you do as well.â Lu Boyuan shifted his mouse and walked out of the base. âSheâs Tang Qin.â
Yan: In case itâs not clear, LBY didnât change his skin to the couple skin â itâs a little confusing, but as far as I can tell only Tang Qin changes her skin. Their champions just happen to have a couple skin available. LBY doesnât seem like the type to change his skin for her anyway, considering how hard hard heâs cold shouldering her lolol