Chapter 8 – Big Brother Misses You Very Much
Although they had learned their lesson from the previous match, this round Ghost was playing jungle, and Wang Xiang had picked Farbauti, a hero that could directly counter Odin, so everyone felt far less nervous.
After all, Ghost’s main role was mage.
Even if he could jungle decently, there was no way he could compare to the results Wang Xiang had built through three months of training at Faith Youth Training Team.
As Wang Xiang controlled Farbauti toward the red jungle, he kept turning something over in his mind.
Ghost had clearly been targeting him last game.
But the two of them had no grudge against each other.
The only possible explanation…
was what he had said earlier in the restroom.
But wasn’t Ghost supposed to be Devil’s anti-fan?
Lost in thought, Wang Xiang watched the Red Buff’s health drop to its final sliver and prepared to use Smite—
Suddenly—the sharp sound of lightning cutting through the air rang out.
“?”
Wang Xiang watched helplessly as the Red Buff Mermaid was suddenly dragged backward into the brush behind him.
“Holy shi—”
He was instantly dumbfounded.
The culprit, Odin, casually strolled out of the brush, completely unhurried, and calmly flashed an emote at him.
Wang Xiang had never imagined Ghost would invade his jungle.
…
Wink, sitting to Wang Xiang’s left, heard the curse and glanced at the minimap toward the Red Buff area.
The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.
Before level six, Odin had no ultimate skill. His jungle clearing speed was significantly weaker than Farbauti’s. And before buying boots, his movement speed was also relatively slow.
So seeing Odin invade Farbauti’s jungle—
whether in professional matches or ranked games—
was practically unheard of.
Wink was still wondering how Ghost had managed to position himself so quickly inside Wang Xiang’s jungle when the support beside him suddenly shouted:
“No way… H-He actually brought Sprint?!”
Wink froze for a second.
In ACR, every class could equip two battle skills.
But jungle heroes like Odin usually carried Stun, which helped guarantee the accuracy of Odin’s chain skill.
Sprint, on the other hand, was usually something mages or roamers brought instead.
But…
if you really had to think of someone who played Sprint Odin—
there actually was one person.
…
“My god, why’d he bring Sprint? This kind of Sprint Odin build isn’t that—”
Jiang Jiang stared in shock.
Bang cut in.
“Wasn’t that the build your captain made famous when he won the global championship two seasons ago?”
Pei Ming said nothing.
Jiang Jiang clicked his tongue dramatically.
“Tsk, tsk… Back then, when our captain pulled out that unbelievable Odin pick—running Sprint + Smite—and secured MVP in the final match of Worlds…”
“That was seriously insanely cool. He was literally the center of the world’s attention, okay?”
“Yeah, it was cool.”
Bang nodded in agreement.
“But I do have one question…”
“Huh? What question?”
Jiang Jiang looked confused.
Bang narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
“After that trend died down, you barely saw Sprint Odin in ranked anymore… unless it was some hardcore fan paying tribute.”
Then he turned toward Pei Ming.
“But thinking about it…”
“Isn’t Ghost supposed to be your anti-fan?”
Pei Ming continued staring at the screen.
“He isn’t.”
“What?”
“Why are you so sure about that?”
“Yeah, seriously, brother—how can you be so sure?”
Bang and Jiang Jiang asked almost in unison.
Pei Ming glanced at the two of them indifferently.
“There’s no particular reason.”
He paused for a moment, then added after some thought,
“Maybe… it’s because of the Sprint he brought.”
Jiang Jiang: “???”
Bang: “…Damn.”
…
“Once I respawn, all of you come with me into their jungle. We have to take it back.”
Wang Xiang’s expression darkened.
Odin had a slow jungle clear in the early game. After stealing the Red Buff Mermaid and returning to clear his own jungle, before he could even finish the nearest half of the jungle, Farbauti would already respawn.
So invading the enemy blue side jungle together was still possible.
The members of Faith Youth Training Team nodded.
Meanwhile, over in the gold lane, both sides were keeping things even.
Aside from trading some damage at the start, both teams were simply focusing on farming their own minions.
And this round, Wink had picked a hero with lane priority.
If Qi Qiao hadn’t killed Farbauti at the very beginning, they could have easily been the ones invading Monster’s jungle instead.
…
The randomly selected map this match was Lost Atlantis.
At the three-minute mark, the first Sea Tornado would spawn at a random location.
Anyone caught by it would be instantly teleported back to base.
However, Sea Tornadoes had a much higher chance of spawning in one of the three lanes.
The probability of one appearing in the jungle was fairly low, since junglers needed space to farm.
After clearing the wave, Wink headed toward the red side jungle together with the support.
By now, the three-minute mark was approaching, and the Sea Tornado warning had already appeared.
At a time like this, passing through their own jungle was the safest route.
Up ahead—after crossing the brush, they would reach the river boundary.
The support activated a movement speed boost, and the two of them passed through the same brush where Farbauti had been ambushed earlier.
As he moved through the brush, the corner of Wink’s eye caught sight of a ward planted nearby.
Strange… Could that have been placed by Qi Qiao earlier?
Thinking that, he walked over to clear it.
The moment Wink destroyed the ward—he suddenly felt that something was wrong.
Based on what he knew about Qi Qiao…
he would never do something meaningless.
So—A bad premonition surged in his chest.
Wink’s mind jolted, and almost instinctively, he flashed backward.
But at the exact moment he blinked away—a blue-violet chain shot out of the brush ahead like a bolt of lightning—accurately locking onto his waist.
Odin’s E skill activated for an instant teleport. Q skill connected perfectly afterward. Plasma stacks triggered a passive explosion— before Faith’s support even had time to cast Heal— Wink’s HP bar had already vanished.
“?!”
Jiang Jiang stared wide-eyed in complete disbelief.
“Holy shit—That flick shot just now… anyone who didn’t know better would think he was a pro Counter-Strike player!”
Even Bang’s face was filled with shock.
The members of Faith Youth Training Team couldn’t see what had happened clearly—but over in the referee area, everything was visible down to the finest detail.
Odin’s Chain was a fixed-cast ability that normally fired straight ahead.
Just now, when Wink reacted and flashed backward, Qi Qiao had already predicted the move in advance.
With a sharp, sweeping motion of the mouse in his hand, he forcefully flicked the aim—and the chain abruptly twisted ninety degrees mid-cast.
Dead center.
A perfect hit.
And that wasn’t all.
The timing on his E-skill teleport had been equally flawless.
The invincibility frame activated at the exact moment, directly negating Wink’s damage.
Judging by his HP bar, he had probably only lost around a hundred health.
Even among professional junglers—that kind of mechanical execution was exceptionally rare.
“Not bad.”
Pei Ming nodded slightly.
Jiang Jiang had originally been about to complain again about Pei Ming “taking the other side,” but seeing him stare quietly at the screen, his expression suddenly calm, Jiang Jiang grew curious and looked up as well.
[All Chat] Wink: Come on, Ghost little brother , why’re you treating me like this?
[All Chat] Ghost: ?
“Hahahahaha! Wink’s actually calling that little green-haired brat little brother? If I had a younger brother like that, I’d rather die on the spot!”
Jiang Jiang burst out laughing.
Bang bared his teeth and shook his head.
“Tsk, tsk… Ghost has a bad temper. Your ADC’s done for.”
…
The other four members of Faith Youth Training Team rushed over.
But by then, Qi Qiao had already reached level six.
Together with his mid laner, who had just rotated up for support, he directly wiped out Faith in a small team fight.
[All Chat] Ghost: I’m in a good mood today, so I’m giving you a complimentary ultra-feeding experience card.
Wink had just respawned.
The moment he thought about Wang Xiang’s miserable situation from the previous match, a chill ran down his spine.
[All Chat] Wink: I’ve learned my lesson. Please spare me, pretty please QAQ.
This match had barely started, yet all five members of Faith Youth Training Team had already fallen behind.
The gold difference immediately widened into a devastating disadvantage.
Qi Qiao’s jungle tempo was impeccable. He never gave the enemy even the slightest opening.
The support had completely abandoned his own ADC and started roaming with him instead.
The two of them practically moved into Farbauti’s jungle and camped there permanently.
And Wink noticed something else—Qi Qiao seemed to have a particular obsession with Farbauti.
Several times, he and the support had opportunities to steal two jungle camps.
But the moment they ran into Farbauti without a second of hesitation he dove straight under tower for a forced kill.
…
Since this was only an academy scrim, neither side had agreed to surrender once the outcome was obvious.
So the match continued until Faith’s central World Tree was destroyed, officially ending the game.
The match lasted thirteen minutes.
Aside from Wink, who had barely managed to secure five kills and maintain a positive KDA— every other member of Faith Youth Training Team ended with a negative score.
Especially Wang Xiang.
As the jungler, his gold income was practically at the bottom of the scoreboard.
Staring at the match result on-screen—
Monster 2 : 0 Faith
—Wang Xiang finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
His face darkened with fury as he slammed his headset onto the desk and roared:
“What the fuck is wrong with you?! You targeted me both matches! What, did I dig up your ancestors’ graves or something?!”
Since Wang Xiang was seated directly across from Qi Qiao, his emotions were running so high that even through the glass partition, the curses faintly reached Qi Qiao’s ears.
Qi Qiao said nothing.
Instead, the corner of his lips curled upward slightly.
Then he mouthed two silent words.
“Check WeChat.”
Wang Xiang gritted his teeth and pulled out his phone from his pocket.
At the very top of WeChat, Ghost had sent him an image—
0 – 12 – 4
The humiliating match record stabbed at his nerves again and again.
Wink had just stood up, ready to comfort Wang Xiang, but when he turned his head, he accidentally caught sight of the message on the screen.
[Ghost] : At this skill level…
[Ghost] : You think you’re qualified to compare yourself to Devil?
After sending the message, Qi Qiao turned around cleanly and decisively under Wink’s stunned gaze, pushed open the door, and walked straight out of the simulation arena.
Before leaving, he stole one quick glance at Pei Ming.
Separated by a single pane of glass, he could clearly see every subtle expression on Pei Ming’s face.
Pei Ming’s long lashes were lowered slightly. He seemed lost in thought about something. He wasn’t looking at him.
Qi Qiao pressed his lips tightly together and, after closing the door behind him, headed straight toward the restroom.
Maybe the way he had coolly walked out just now looked impressive—but only Qi Qiao knew how much effort it had taken to stop his body from trembling.
The moment he stepped into a bathroom stall and locked himself inside—the tension he had been holding onto instantly collapsed.
Why didn’t he look at me just now?
Did I go too far this match?
Will he think I deliberately bullied the jungler from his youth training team?
Qi Qiao slowly opened his hand.
A thin layer of sweat had already formed across his palm.
…
Simulation Arena — Referee Room
“Damn… that little green-haired guy is seriously insane.”
Jiang Jiang stood there with his arms crossed, face full of disbelief.
“If I didn’t know those two had never met before, I’d honestly think they had some blood feud or something… like revenge for killing his father or stealing his wife…”
Bang nodded beside him in agreement.
Pei Ming kept staring at Wang Xiang, his expression unreadable.
“Later, ask him what happened.”
After saying that, Pei Ming stood up and headed toward the door.
“I’m going to the restroom.”
…
Qi Qiao pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the time on the screen.
Ten minutes had already passed…
He let out a breath and irritably ran a hand through his hair.
Countless thoughts were still colliding in his mind one after another—but at least his hands were no longer trembling like before.
That should be enough.
Bang will probably interrogate me later anyway.
Qi Qiao pressed his lips together, took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and reached out to unlock the stall door.
Click.
The lock turned open.
Qi Qiao pushed the door outward—but froze in place the very next second.
The restroom lighting was dim.
A warm yellow glow, almost candle-like, reflected against the Baroque-style tiled walls, casting an intimate haze across the room.
A tall, slender figure was leaning casually against the sink.
Pei Ming stood there with one hand braced against the counter.
Between his sharply defined fingers rested a cigarette.
He hadn’t noticed Qi Qiao.
As he exhaled a ring of smoke, his long narrow eyes lowered slightly—carrying a strangely weary kind of beauty.
Fuck.
Marlboro.
A scent far too familiar.
It was unclear whether he had accidentally choked on the smoke, but Pei Ming suddenly coughed twice.
Pneumonia—
Qi Qiao felt his blood rush to his head.
Those two coughs finally snapped the taut string that had been stretched tight in his mind, and before he could stop himself, he strode toward him.
Pei Ming held the cigarette between his fingers and had just lifted it to his lips, preparing to take another drag—when suddenly, someone grabbed his wrist hard.
He raised an eyebrow and looked up.
Smack—
Pei Ming’s hand was slapped aside.
The half-smoked Marlboro Black Ice slipped through his fingers.
The sound of the cigarette butt hitting the floor rang out clearly.
Qi Qiao’s eyes were red as he glared up at him through clenched teeth.
“Didn’t you say you quit?”
Pei Ming’s gaze paused slightly as he lowered his eyes toward the person standing in front of him.
The boy was visibly emotional. Not only were his eyes rimmed red, but even his pale neck—so fair it almost looked translucent—had flushed with color. There even seemed to be faint burn marks reddening the trembling pads of his fingers. Like a young wolf cub cornered too far.
Pei Ming silently watched him.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
“It’s been a year.”
Qi Qiao’s nose stung.
At last, the tears he had been suppressing overflowed from his reddened eyes.
Pei Ming let out an almost inaudible breath.
Then he lifted a hand and slowly brushed against Qi Qiao’s neck.
Qi Qiao trembled as if electrocuted and instinctively stepped backward—but Pei Ming caught hold of his shoulder, locking him in place.
The next second that familiar presence, carrying the cool mint scent of tobacco, moved closer.
Pei Ming leaned down, pressing him back into the corner.
Warm breath spilled against the edge of his ear.
Qi Qiao’s spine stiffened instantly.
Pei Ming lowered his head, his voice falling clearly into Qi Qiao’s ears.
“Big Brother misses you very much.”
Author’s Note:
I swear, even when I wrote that last line, I felt like the damage was way too powerful… (covers face).