The next day, pulling her luggage after her, Xiao Yun arrives at PGâs clubhouse early in the morning.
Perhaps itâs because they knew sheâs coming. PGâs members all woke up early. As a matter of fact, even Qin Fei got up and is currently on the sofaâŚâŚ sleeping.
Xiao Yun stares at the man sprawled on the sofa without the slightest presentable image. The edges of her lips tighten tersely. She turns a blind eye to him, asking Jing Yu, whoâs by his side: âWhereâs the Coach?â
âI donât know. He still hasnât arrived.â Jing Yu answers in a small voice, sipping on a bowl of bean curd cradled in his hands.
Todayâs breakfast was bought by Ye Hong. Ever since Jing Yu arrived, PGâs original style of each individual heading out to settle their own breakfasts has undergone a massive change. These days, everyone takes turns to buy breakfast. Today just so happens to be Ye Hongâs turn.
âXiao Jie, have you eaten?â Ye Hong, who is sitting opposite Qin Fei and Jing Yu, asks Xiao Yun smilingly.
Without waiting for Xiao Yun to reply, Han Leng abruptly raises his voice: âIf you still havenât eaten, then letâs eat together ah! We bought too much today anyways!â
Luo Yiming, upon hearing this line from the side, canât help but roll his eyes. He whispers softly: âSaid it as if youâre the one who bought it.â
Meanwhile, Xiao Yun answers indifferently: âIâve eaten. You guys eat ba. Iâll go put my luggage first.â
Saying this, she pulls her luggage towards her room â Hers is the same as Fang Luofanâs, on the first floor.
Nobody notices that while she is leaving, she glances thoughtfully at Jing Yu, her eyes full of probing inquiries.
When Fang Luofan arrives, Qin Fei is still sleeping⌠This causes Fang Luofan to agonize over it: âThe matchâs going to begin and heâs still sleeping? Whoâs going to wake him?â
Luo Yiming eyes Han Leng. Han Leng eyes Ye Hong. Ye Hong eyes Jing Yu⌠then withdraws his gaze and eyes Han Leng.
Fang Luofan: ââŚCan you guys be a bit more spontaneous?â
Ye Hong: âCoach, youâre up! We believe you can do it!â
Fang Luofan: âNo. Iâm terrified.â
Being a person who was once punched by Qin Fei, these three words of his are completely justified.
Ye Hong holds back his smile to the point where it hurts. Heâs just about to say something when all of a sudden, he hears a cautious voice: âWhy donât I try?â
In a split second, everyoneâs gazes are collected upon Jing Yu who has just spoken. Those eyes look as though they have seen a warrior.
Luo Yiming: âGoldfish! You must think carefully!â
Ye Hong: âThatâs right, Goldfish. Donât blame your GÄge for not reminding you. The danger level of this task is at least five stars!â
Han Leng: âGoldfish, donât be rash! The match hasnât even begun! PG canât do without you!â
This is all just too⌠Jing Yu is caught between crying and laughing: âOkay, thatâs enough from you guys.â
Saying this, he reaches out a hand to gently shake Qin Feiâs shoulder.
Almost at the same time when he makes contact, PGâs members collectively back away from the sofa. In one breath, theyâve backed up over several metres.
Jing Yu: ââŚâŚâ Is that really necessary?
He ignores them. Seeing as if he still hasnât woken Qin Fei up, he can only rise from the sofa, walk over to Qin Feiâs front, grab both his shoulders with both hands and violently shake: âFei Ge! The matchâs about to begin! Wake up now!â
No sooner had the words fallen, Qin Fei scrunches his brows with a grown and a palm swings down in Jing Yuâs direction.
Qin Fei hadnât been sleeping very deeply on the couch right from the start. His consciousness returns right as Jing Yu calls out to him repeatedly. Yet, he purposely keeps his eyes shut, raising another arm to hook around Jing Yuâs waist.
The strength he uses is fairly large. The totally unprepared Jing Yu is pulled to the extent where he staggers forward. His knees instantly come between Qin Feiâs legs.
After a short pause, Jing Yuâs face reddens. He coughs lightly and pulls away from Qin Fei, but he still allows his own waist to be held: âFei Ge, the matchâs about to start. Wake up quickly.â
Qin Fei canât feign ignorance anymore. As he puts down that arm, he calmly blinks open both eyes.
Unexpectedly, right at this moment, the distance between him and Jing Yu is a lot closer than heâd imagined. Theyâre close enough for him to clearly count Jing Yuâs eyelashes.
Qin Fei pauses, then canât help but quirk his lips, smiling: âUntil when do you plan to hold me?â
âAhâŚâ Jing Yu only realizes heâs still holding Qin Feiâs hand then. Hastily backing up a few steps, he rubs his nose a bit meekly, âThat⌠Itâs Coach who called me to wake you. It has nothing to do with me.â
Fang Luofan: â?-?-?â
Qin Fei snickers: âI know.â
Saying this, he rubs his still somewhat drowsy eyes. He sits up on the sofa, making a yawn.
Jing Yu internally sighs in relief â So long as he explains clearly and heâs not hated by Qin Fei, thatâs enough for him.
He spins around towards the others, planning to ask what time the match begins. Unexpectedly, three pairs of shooketh eyes meet his.
Luo Yiming: âGoldfish, youâreâŚâ
Ye Hong: âReally such aâŚâ
Han Leng: âWarrior ah!â
Jing Yu: ââŚâŚâ
Even Fang Luofanâs eyes flash with some astonishment. However, more of it is directed towards Qin Fei rather than Jing Yu â Whatâs happening today? Itâs enough for Qin Fei to not lash out, but heâs not even going to rage? Moreover, heâs not even going to raise his voice?
He quickly remembers his own dignity as the Coach and lightly coughs once, bringing them back to the original topic: âQin Fei, since youâre awake, let me brief you about todayâs competitionâŚâ
The Preliminaries begin at 10 in the morning, all the way till 10 at night.
Unlike the Invitational Playoffs, it wonât be livestreamed continuously. Afterall, there are far too many teams signing up for PGL. At any one time, there will be many pairs of teams crossing swords, battling to win a match.
Instead, during these Preliminaries, the game officials will give the priority of livestreaming to teams that are likely to enter the ranks of the Top 8. If at any point of time there is no team with such potential, then the livestreamed teams will be selected randomly.
As for whether there is live commentary, it all depends on the live commentators themselves.
The Preliminary matches are all Bo1. In other words, every team will only have one chance in every match. Victory is decided within one round. The winner advances, the loser is eliminated.
Even if itâs a team from the Top 8, they also wouldnât dare to guarantee that they wonât mess up in this string of matches. Hence, this is equally as much of a trial to a Top 8 team. As a matter of fact, the pressure which a Top 8 team faces can even exceed that of a newbie team.
âIn any case, you canât keep holding on to the fact that you were once a Top 8 and let your guard down. Afterall, no one can guarantee there wouldnât be a black horse in this tournament.â Fang Luofan sternly reminds, âRemember this. No matter who your opponent is, always give it your all!â
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Pausing here, he goes on to speak, his tone slightly more relaxed: âOn separate note, for this PGL, the game officials have invited me to live commentate as before, so I wonât be able to stick with you guys throughout. Thankfully, the manager will be around. If thereâre any problems, you guys can relay them to her. I will keep in contact with her at all times.â
The members of PG naturally donât have any objections. Especially Han Leng. He wants nothing more than to see Xiao Yun every day.
The Preliminaries will also take place over a week. In total, there are four live commentators. Fang Luofan is in charge of the second, fourth, and sixth dayâs commentary.
Today is Monday, so Fang Luofan stays in PGâs clubhouse without heading anywhere. However, he also doesnât stay in the training room to offer the five players any guidance. Instead, he flips open the laptop in the Conference Room, looking at the livestream on the day itself.
Originally, he still intended to see if thereâs any black horses in this season. Yet, unexpectedly, the very first match chosen to be livestreamed is precisely the one PG is in!
ăGood morning, everyone. I am Halfling, your commentator for the day.ăSeated on the left side is a youth still retaining some baby fat.
ăI am Candy.ăOn the right is a lively and cute girl with straight bangs.
Halfling: ăWe are now looking at the first match of the Preliminaries. That is, PG and Blinkâs match. PG is a team which I believe everyone has heard of. Although this team is newly established, they fought their way into the Top 8 in the 3rd PGL. This is a team not to be underestimated.ă
Candy: ăCertainly. Because of that, Iâm quite looking forward to PGâs performance this season.ă
Halfling: ăAbout half a month back, PG switched to a new jungler. The original jungler, Qin Fei, that is Sleep, is now the solo-laner. With regards to this matter, Candy, do you have any thoughts on it?ă
Candy: ăI think ah⌠Fei Geâs abilities are something which everyone has witnessed before. His personal style is highly pronounced. Indeed, heâs very suited for playing solo-laner ne.ă
Halfling: ăOh? And what kind of style is that?ă
Candy: ăKill all who stand against him luo**!ă
(**luo ĺ° : like, âWhat else butââ ; a sound inserted at the end to indicate this is extremely obvious to the speaker)
Halfling: ăHaha, youâre not wrong about him. Actually, I quite admire such an assertive player myself.ă
Candy: ăAlright, letâs take a look now at the other team, Blink. Does this mean âto sparkle as bright as lightsâ? This is a new team ne. Letâs wish theyâll be like their name, shining brightly in this season!ă
Halfling: ăAt the moment we can clearly see, both sides have entered the Ban stage. PG gets the first-mover advantage. They ban Camael. I reckon this OP marksman probably will not be let out this season.ă
Candy: ăThatâs right, I agree. Woah! Blink swiftly bans Satan. This should be considered a nod of acknowledgement to Qin Feiâs abilities.ă
Halfling: ăOn PGâs side, theyâre also not hesitating. This time, they ban Black Serpent. Is it because they donât know Blink too well, thatâs why they can only ban an OP demon? Nonetheless, PG has the first-mover advantage. Personally, Iâm of the mind itâll be better to leave the OP demons for the Pick session.ă
Candy: ăI think PG should be intending to aim for the solo-laner. Thatâs why they can only give up on OP mid-laners. This time, Blink hesitates for a long time⌠Iâve only just said that, but okay, theyâve banned Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. Looks like Blink has quite the understanding of PG. They sure know who to target.ă
Halfling: ăPG bans Dark Cupid⌠Huan? I remember PGâs marksman, ONEâs best demon is Dark Cupid ah. How could they ban it? Do they have some kind of strategy?ă
â Not at all.
Luo Yiming didnât wait for Jing Yuâs directions and personally banned his own lifeline, Dark Cupid. Even thereafter, he still coolly added the line: âI know you will ban this one next. I will help you. You donât need to thank me too much.â
Ye Hong wants to cry and laugh, feeling as if Luo Yiming has really transcended heavenly desires and reached Enlightenment.
However, itâs precisely this unexpected move which causes Blink to lull, incapable of deciding their last ban late into the game.
Seconds and minutes tick by. Just as the timer is ready to finish, Blink finally forks out their last ban position â Scarlet Fury!
All ease on Ye Hongâs face instantly vanishes without a trace, replaced by a face full of black lines: âLuo Yiming, Iâm gonna kill you!â
Jing Yu who is by their side only turns his gaze heavenward â His teammates are fooling around on a daily basis, he already canât be bothered to scold themâŚ
******
Mara: Maralynx here! Iâm the new proofie and editor. I probs suck but ok, I havenât said anything until now because I didnât know what. I know now. Iâm to blame for the usage of the âshooketh eyesâ
Tamago: Eyy~~! But I just loved âshookethâ!
******
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