Chapter 60 – Hit Back

The HT team’s official hasn’t started dealing with the online war sparked by the Weibo post yet, but DCT took action first.

Liang Feng defended his cub and couldn’t bear to see his own child being bullied.

[DCT Esports Club]:

HT team’s Qiu Mo, bgrc. [Grinning]

[Repost: Handshake video after the regular season match between DCT and HT]

After posting, feeling refreshed, Liang Feng turned his head and saw Lin Xingling. He greeted him with a guilty conscience, “Hello?”

“Little brat, not angry? Yet you’re stepping into muddy waters.”

Lin Xingling took his phone and looked at it, sighing helplessly. “He actually used the official team account to respond. The rhythm has already been set.”

This matter is far from over.

Liang Feng clicked his tongue and took back his phone. “You really don’t understand. Even if Cheng Che isn’t really angry… he doesn’t want us to ignore this matter.”

Seeing Lin Xingling’s confused expression, Liang Feng explained, “Which child doesn’t like being favored, being protected?”

Should he still let him be ignored like when he was in the TG team?

“But still…”

“Why not?” Liang Feng patted his shoulder and said, “Qiu Mo is clearly targeting Xiao Che… If we don’t retaliate, it makes our team’s cub an easy target, you know?”

Lin Xingling chuckled in exasperation. “I’m just saying, don’t respond using the official account… it’s not necessary.”

“Why not? I’m happy to stand up for my team members,” Liang Feng said. “Besides, everyone knows I’m in charge of the official account. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like it’s capital, no need for indirect methods.”

“Remember, DCT is not just a team, it’s also our family…”

And everyone inside is your younger brother, you know?

“Tsk…”

Lin Xingling muttered with suspicion.

“We only have one person researching BP strategies and five people competing, no PR or management. Don’t worry so much.”

…

This way of handling PR crises is very clear. The comment section of the official account was filled with applauding messages.

There were also some unique comments:

[Clear, give Weibo back to Teacher Feng. [Laughing and crying emoji]]

[Che Che, you dialed the wrong number]

[I’ll directly screenshot it and give it to Coach Sharp as evidence, 500 bucks, case closed. [Jester emoji]]

At this time, Clear was still eating noodles, completely unaware of everything happening online.

Until Lin Xingling approached, he was still eating.

Sleepy and hungry, he took a bite and squinted his eyes.

“Little brat?”

Being called by him, he took another bite of noodles, looking as if it was difficult to eat.

Lin Xingling sat down and reached for his chopsticks, picking up some noodles to feed him.

“Open your mouth.”

“Ah…” Cheng Che opened his mouth with narrowed eyes, revealing two blunt little tiger teeth.

For some reason, Lin Xingling really wanted to touch those teeth, even though they didn’t look sharp, but he didn’t know if they were… If they were, he should buy him some teething biscuits.

…Let it be, let Cheng Che remain ignorant for now.

Cheng Che didn’t know, Cheng Che only knew that someone feeding him meant he could save his own hands.

Lin Xingling used a spoon to feed him soup, some of which spilled out from the corner of his mouth. He wiped it with a tissue.

“Is your stomach feeling better now?”

“Mhm… mhm…” Cheng Che nodded vaguely. After eating, he persistently asked Lin Xingling to carry him.

Carrying him back to the room, putting him on the bed, and still wanting to eat candy.

His stomach was uncomfortable, and the noodles didn’t taste good. There was a slight bitter taste in his mouth… He didn’t feel well, feeling sick.

“Eat some osmanthus candy?” Lin Xingling took out two white candies wrapped in paper from his pocket.

Cheng Che shook his head and said he wanted to eat different candies.

“Alright, alright, let me find… Liu Ying has milk candy, but you don’t like milk. Xiao Pei has peppermint candy, but you probably don’t like that either… I’ll go find Xiao You, he has plenty of lollipop.”

While Lin Xingling went to find candy, Cheng Che, with a gloomy expression, picked up his phone from the table and opened Weibo.

He had a premonition that something would happen.

Sure enough, although his sarcastic Weibo post about Qiu Mo didn’t trend, it had a considerable amount of attention.

The rhythm of the fan circle was evenly divided between Lian Rong and Clear… That statement is an eternal truth.

He knew all of this, but what surprised him was that Brother Feng actually used the official account to clap back for him.

Cheng Che’s mood: Happiness came too suddenly.

That child who always takes on difficulties on his own gradually broke free from being looked down upon and ignored, becoming someone who is now being taken seriously by everyone and becoming a happy child.

But as the league’s number one trash-talker… Clear couldn’t stay silent.

Tang Li can’t represent Qiu Mo, and no matter how good Tang Li’s attitude is, it doesn’t matter… Cheng Che won’t argue with Qiu Mo, but he won’t forgive him either.

There was a repost in the comments section of DCT’s official Weibo account.

[DCT-Clear (repost with comment): Shouldn’t have done this]

Bgrc, it shouldn’t have been like this.

…The benefit of saying this is that it satisfies the desire of their own team to stand up for themselves and sarcastically mocks the opposing Qiu Mo.

—You say I’m just like this, and I say you shouldn’t have done this.

I should have grace, but I should also express my anger.

Regarding Cheng Che’s actions, the Moon Sisters, who were worried that Clear would start a fight with the opposing team, breathed a sigh of relief:

Well done, Cub!

Lin Xingling, who came back with candy, said, “Cub, have some candy.”

Cheng Che handed him the phone and said, “Look, the issue is resolved.”

“Shouldn’t have done this… That’s a great statement!” Lin Xingling expressed pride in their well-behaved kid.

Clear’s fans settled down, and HT didn’t provide any explanation. Qiu Mo’s farce was mysteriously resolved in the end.

There were no matches scheduled from Monday to Wednesday.

At 6 p.m. on the 15th, Cheng Che started his livestream as usual, playing peak games, eating, and continuing to play peak games.

Clear got a triple kill as jungle Yao, and his teammate Zhang Liang played a game to mess around, saying “bgrc.”

The barrage was filled with laughter.

After this game, Cheng Che opened Zhang Liang’s profile… Oh, goodness, it was the cold river that was being spammed in the barrage.

Cheng Che opened the chat interface with him and sent a period.

FG-Han Chuan: …

Suddenly, someone in the livestream sent the highest-quality gift.

Cheng Che didn’t pay any attention to him and read out the sender’s ID, “Thanks to ID ‘Che Che, hurry up and roll in bed with Star Daddy’… Huh? What the hell is this?”

[“This thing expresses my thoughts”]

[“F*ck, he’s just a kid”]

[“You should listen to his advice, he’s doing it for your own good [jester emoji]”]

The sender of the gift: [“Hehehe”]

They immediately changed their ID to “this thing.”

Cheng Che frowned, annoyed, and explained to them once again, “Me and, and the captain are just… just ordinary… good teammates, please stop…”

The golden barrage from the top three big shots caught his attention:

[“What if Stars doesn’t feel that way?”]

Stars wouldn’t, he likes well-behaved ones, even if it’s him, Stars wouldn’t like me… Thinking like this, Cheng Che felt a bit insecure.

The golden-powdered barrage from Rank 2: [“Exactly”]

“You all… keep saying that Stars doesn’t…” Cheng Che gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything more.

They’re all big spenders, spending so much money…

One of the top listers came out and caused a commotion among several top listers.

Rank 4: [“Stars doesn’t like you?”]

Rank 5: [“I think so too, this annoying little brother is too cocky, Stars probably can’t handle him~ [jester emoji]”]

Rank 6: [“Why are you always livestreaming in the training room? Don’t you have equipment in your room? [questioning emoji]”]

Cheng Che selectively answered the questions.

“Room… I’m with the captain, can’t…”

Rank 6: [“Why?]

“Because… I don’t want to disturb his rest. (Clear)”

Rank 6: [“You care so much about him, does he care about you?]

Rank 5: [“Does Stars know that you care about him so much?]

Rank 4: [“Simping, just like Wu You”]

…

Several top listers immediately started teasing the streamer, diverting the topic. Regular viewers in the livestream followed suit and watched the commotion.

Cheng Che was left speechless by their questions, so he decided not to continue the game. “What should I do… to prove that Stars… to prove that he cares about me? Tell me!!!”

Lin Xingling definitely cares about him…

Rank 3: [“How about this? I see that you have an intimate relationship with Xiao Ying. Why don’t you also establish one with Stars?]

“I’ll do it! (Clear)”

Rank 2: [“Wait!”]

Rank 2: [“Best friends can bind up to five tags, but if you have the guts, bind the couple tag. It’ll be unique.”]

Rank 4: [“Yeah, being unique is what it means to care.]

Cheng Che found it unreliable. “The couple tag… isn’t it only… only for couples to use?”

In fact, it can also be used between good friends, but Cheng Che was afraid that Stars wouldn’t think that way. If he got rejected… to be honest, Cheng Che wasn’t very confident.

Rank 5: [“No, look at Han Chuan. He bound the couple tag with his coach Ice. Can you say they’re a couple?”]

Rank 5: [“They’re just good friends [thumbs up emoji]”]

After reading the barrage, Cheng Che clicked on Han Chuan’s profile and opened the intimate relationship page. As Fifth place said, Han Chuan had bound the couple tag with Coach Ice.

“Well, then… I’ll go ask the captain…”

Rank 6: [“Wait, you still have vacant spots in your other intimate relationships. What if Stars asks you to bind another relationship?”]

Cheng Che, with a slightly foolish expression, asked, “What should I do?”

Rank 2: [“Just bind the other relationship tags~”]

Rank 5: [“Little brother, bind the best friend tag with me!”]

Rank 5 brothers threatened to send gifts worth tens of thousands of yuan.

Cheng Che: “I… I can’t do that. Binding with you is enough.”

He had bound one with his best friend Liu Ying, leaving four spots. He hadn’t bound the “brother for life” or “best friend” tags, leaving ten spots.

Finding fourteen people…

Apart from teammates, the first person Cheng Che thought of was Hanchuan, who was currently not in a game.

[DCT-Clear has requested to be your best friend]

Han Chuan was showing off his cup noodles when he was startled by the message projected on the computer screen from his phone.

Han Chuan: Meow meow meow?

“The sun really came out from underground.” Han Chuan clicked “Agree” and sent a message to Cheng Che in the game: Did your account get stolen?

[“While his account is stolen, bind the best friend tag with him [winking emoji]”]

[“Clear: He says no, but his body is honest as hell”]

[“Chuan Er, hahaha”]

The other person replied: Your dad is doing well.

FG-Han Chuan: ???

After a few minutes, the other person replied: My account was just stolen, but I recovered it.

[“《Account Theft》”]

[“This is hilarious, you two love and kill each other”]

[“The coldness goes right to the bone!!! (Of course, I’m snacking on Xingchenchengche)”]

[FG-Han Chuan: Do you think I’m stupid?]

[DCT-Clear: [Dumbfounded]]

…

The atmosphere in both livestreams suddenly became lively due to Clear’s playful actions.

With fifteen spots, Liu Ying, best friend Rank 5, and best friend Han Chuan… Cheng Che counted and said, “We still need… twelve more people. I’ll go find… find Wu You.”

[“Mission Impossible”]

[“Cheng Cheng, go for it!!!”]

[“We’ll just sit back and watch how the little brother finds people”]

Author’s note:

Will Cheng Che be able to bind the couple tag with Stars in the next chapter?

---

Chapter 59 – Evil

Dreaming back to midnight, Lin Xingling felt his body being pushed and shaken for a while, accompanied by indistinct murmurs… He ignored them and just kept sleeping.

After a few quiet minutes, the unsuccessful attempt to open the door resulted in creaking and banging sounds as the thing came back with dejected footsteps.

Pacing, hesitating, it sounded like he was uncertain.

After a long time, the room was left in silent stillness.

“Hmm?”

With a feeling of weight pressing against his body, the blanket was pulled back, and in the midst of the cold breeze, it seemed like something had crawled in.

It felt smooth and tender.

Reaching inside, it felt like fabric.

“Huh?”

Cheng Che didn’t have time to cover the blanket that was blown by the wind from both sides. Lin Xingling grabbed his waist, fearing that struggling would wake him up, so he could only let him hold on… tighter and tighter.

Damn it! This is so frustrating!

Originally, in the middle of the night, Cheng Che wanted to come and apologize, but unexpectedly, Lin Xingling was sleeping like a pig, and he couldn’t wake him up no matter how much he called.

He wanted to go back, but the door wouldn’t open. Standing on the floor, he felt cold and tired.

Adhering to the principle of “never being poor in education and never suffering oneself,” Cheng Che decided to squeeze into the same bed with his dear and soft team captain.

Stars wouldn’t mind.

“Captain, I, I’m coming in.”

…Then, Cheng Che was embraced by Lin Xingling’s arms.

The posture in the bed was extremely awkward.

Although Lin Xingling didn’t know what was in his arms in his dream, he exerted all his strength to tighten his arms, not letting this thing escape.

Until a fluffy mass touched his chest, like a little kitten, bringing a familiar warmth.

Opening his eyes, nodding with a lowered brow, he saw the person he had in mind… Lin Xingling asked in a hoarse voice, “Am I dreaming?”

“It’s a d-dream.” After freezing outside for a long time, Cheng Che’s voice sounded nasal, and he stayed still in his embrace.

“Lift your head up, let me see.”

It was an unquestionable command.

“Um…” Cheng Che raised his head and looked at him.

Because of drowsiness, his eyes were misty, appearing half-opened.

With just one glance, Lin Xingling felt his entire body heat up.

Cheng Che had his legs curled up, and his knees were in an awkward position… The current situation was awkward, neither moving nor staying still.

“Captain…”

Lin Xingling reached out and grabbed his leg, extending it, “Why did you come so late?”

“I’m sorry, Captain. Sprite is not as important as you… You’re the most important.” In order to secure a future for Sprite, Cheng Che could only endure and obediently apologize to him.

After all, Lin Xingling was easily swayed by this approach.

Sure enough, Lin Xingling, who liked well-behaved children, instantly calmed down:

“Good boy, not angry anymore.”

Cheng Che: Mission accomplished—

The next day, Cheng Che successfully reclaimed his half-bottle of Sprite, and he held the bottle happily, looking unlike himself.

Coach Liang Feng took advantage of the situation and made him sign an unequal agreement:

From now on, for every glass of Sprite he drinks, he must also drink half a glass of milk.

Cheng Che was happy and signed it.

Liu Ying looked at the agreement with a box of pure milk and shook his head, “I don’t understand. Milk is delicious…”

“I don’t understand either. Brother Cheng, just drink it. It won’t kill you.” Wu You took the box of pure milk from Liu Ying’s hand. “Xiao Ying, go get another one. I’ll drink this.”

“Oh.”

“I… I’ll, I’ll drink some in the future…”

Cheng Che looked at Lin Xingling while holding his Sprite, and Lin Xingling just smiled.

…

Cheng Che did as he promised, and from then on, he consistently drank a glass of pure milk twice a day.

Until the day of the 14th, the match day—

DCT took the lead and won the first two games, securing two match points. Backstage in the resting room, Cheng Che took a sip of the pure milk given by Lin Xingling… and spat it out.

He vomited intensely, and when he raised his head, his face was pale, shocking everyone.

The official called in an on-site doctor to give him a brief diagnosis, stating that it was just nausea due to psychological effects and there was nothing serious.

He went back on stage to continue the match:

Whether it was due to Clear’s poor condition or the opponent’s sudden burst of skill, DCT was chased by HT in two consecutive games, tying the match points.

In the fifth game, both sides fought back and forth, with both high ground towers destroyed in twenty-four minutes.

The five members of DCT clashed with the enemy team’s five members in front of the high ground tower on the middle road. In the end, they won the team fight with a 4-for-5 exchange.

The remaining Liu Ying had not had time to push the enemy’s crystal, but their own crystal was smashed by the enemy’s super minions with three punches.

“Defeat!“

Members of the HT team came over to shake hands, their marksman Qiu Mo was very arrogant, and he didn’t even extend his hand to Cheng Che.

Cheng Che didn’t bother to shake hands with him either, only because the milk backstage had made him feel nauseous until now, and his complexion didn’t look good.

He went home and went straight to sleep without checking Weibo.

[HT-Qiu Mo]:

DCT team’s Clear, bgrcThe term “bgrc” is an internet slang acronym that stands for “不惹怪兽” (bù rě guài shòu) in Chinese. In English, it can be translated as “Don’t provoke the monster” or “Don’t mess with the monster.” It is often used humorously or playfully to warn someone not to provoke or annoy someone who is known for their fierce or unpredictable behavior.. [Smile]

Qiu Mo is a player who came out of the SYG team’s training camp, and his strength is very strong. After being bought by the B group team HT in the previous season, he entered the S group with HT in the last place this season.

… A full two-tier improvement.

He has the ability, but the only shortcoming is that he is arrogant and conceited, and has some flaws in his character.

This sarcastic Weibo post by Qiu Mo about Clear was immediately flooded by the Moon Sisters who were resting on Sunday night, showing no mercy at all.

Lin Xingling wanted to intervene but felt it wasn’t appropriate, so he went to call Chen Enci, [“DCT-Stars: Enci, can you help me deal with the matter regarding Qiu Mo’s Weibo post?”]

[“SYG-Charity: Now you think of letting me out of the block? [Crack open]”]

Chen Enci didn’t know how to respond, so he just posted a soybean with wide-open eyes in the comments and watched the situation.

Clear’s fans were indeed formidable. They were afraid of attracting negativity towards Clear, so they didn’t use any foul language. They only used quotes to show that Qiu Mo disrespected his opponents, and even brought up the live broadcast replay where he didn’t shake hands with Clear.

Qiu Mo didn’t respond to any of it.

It’s not that he didn’t want to respond, but his phone was confiscated so he couldn’t. Because of that, he even had a quarrel with mid laner Tang Li, who went to complain to the coach… and he ended up cursing Tang Li on his own.

Tang Li, who had an innocent baby face, had red eyes from being cursed at but remained silent and didn’t cry.

The team members were already accustomed to the weak appearance of their captain, and their relationship with Qiu Mo was still decent, so they treated their quarrel as a dispute between friends and didn’t want to get involved.

Afterward, the team owner said he would take them out for a round of fun, but Tang Li made an excuse of not feeling well and didn’t go. The coach didn’t force him, assuming he wasn’t feeling well, and Qiu Mo didn’t care either.

The cowardly young captain stayed in the team and thought for a long time before finally asking Charity for Stars’ contact information.

…

Lin Xingling already knew about Tang Li wanting to call himself from Chen Enci.

Knowing it in advance, he had to remain calm.

The phone rang, Lin Xingling cleared his throat and clicked to answer.

On the other end was a crisp young voice.

Tang Li was apologizing to Clear for his own marksman’s disrespectful Weibo post and asked him to help convey the apology.

It’s not that he didn’t want to apologize to Clear, but… there were rumors that Clear had a venomous tongue and could make nine people cry with his words alone.

For timid Tang Li, this was like facing the King of Hell.

“Okay, I understand. I will help convey your message,” Lin Xingling said with a smile. “Clear is actually a very nice person, he’s not angry.”

Certainly, he came back and went straight to sleep like a piglet, so he didn’t see anything and naturally didn’t have time to get angry.

“But the Moon Sisters are angry…” Tang Li sighed. “Now there’s all sorts of chaos in the comments under Qiu Mo’s Weibo, and we don’t know what to do.”

Actually, the team’s public relations were already working on resolving the online conflicts, but Tang Li felt that solving the problem at its root—making Clear not angry with Qiu Mo—was the best solution.

He was very clever and understood the essence of the matter.

… It was an offline conflict, or rather, a one-sided minor friction.

Not all genius teenagers are mutually supportive.

“Can you… let Clear…”

Having Clear resolve the conflict would be the best solution.

“Well, let me think about it.” Whether the kid wanted to help or not was another matter… Lin Xingling stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, feeling a sudden chill behind him.

He turned his head and saw Cheng Che, who looked weak, staring at him with his beautiful blue eyes.

Lin Xingling’s forehead broke out in a cold sweat. “Are you awake?”

Cheng Che looked at him with a bitter face, his expression clearly saying, “You called someone else while I was sleeping??”

“Hold on, Tang Li, I’ll solve an important matter first and get back to you later.” (Xing).

“Okay, see you later, senior Stars!” (Li).

After hanging up the phone and putting it down, Lin Xingling timidly asked, “Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you a bowl of Yang Chun noodles?… Well, you can’t drink Sprite now because of your upset stomach, right?”

“… ” Cheng Che didn’t say a word, just looked at him.

“Judge my actions by my expression.”

“… Listen to my explanation.”

Lin Xingling raised his hands in surrender and explained everything that had happened to him.

After listening, Cheng Che: (￢_￢)

“It’s not… not my business.”

“We can’t have conflicts with people, and besides… although Qiu Mo’s attitude is bad, Tang Li didn’t do anything wrong, right? Let’s help resolve it…”

Cheng Che clenched his lips and glared at him fiercely. Lin Xingling’s words were cut off automatically, and he didn’t dare to make a sound.

After a while, he weakly asked, “Are you upset, little guy?”

“It’s Qiu Mo who caused trouble. Tang Li is dealing with his business… and you, you’re also meddling.” Cheng Che looked at him seriously, his face showing a hint of anger.

You like obedient Tang Li! You’re nothing!

Lin Xingling was full of question marks. “What do you mean?”

There’s nothing to explain. Tang Li is dealing with Qiu Mo’s business because they are teammates. But you, why are you meddling… and not even siding with me? Just because Tang Li fits your type of obedient child?

Xingling? Lin Xingling? Am I the one being scolded? Am I being treated like this?

Cheng Che felt suffocated in his heart and didn’t want to talk to him.

“Be good…” Lin Xingling leaned over and hugged him.

Seeing that Cheng Che didn’t resist, he immediately explained what he was thinking in his heart. “I’m not concerned about Tang Li, I’m concerned about you.”

“He said something about you, and you didn’t mind. It’s best to resolve conflicts, but even if you can’t, you should be magnanimous… understand?”

Another lecture, Cheng Che reluctantly nodded.

“Okay, if you don’t want to deal with this matter, then don’t. Come, let me make something for you to eat.”

…

Tang Li was waiting not for a call back from Lin Xingling, but for a message from Clear. The general meaning was: Don’t be angry, it’s hard for you to apologize for him, I’ll handle the rest.

Clear isn’t as frightening as the rumors say

---

Chapter 58 – R-rated pictures

Commentary on A Hua and the CP (Couple Pairing) fans gave Charity a powerful demonstration of what it means: “Every snowflake is surfing during an avalanche.”

A Hua replied to Chen Enci’s comment under Lin Xingling’s Weibo post: [Brother, I took a bite, it’s really sweet!]

The leading sister of Duo Tang came to show her support: [So sweet!]

CEO of DW’s King of Glory division: [Sweet! ❤]

KPL commentator Jiang Li joined in the excitement: [During an avalanche, every snowflake is bravely exploring the unknown]

It made Lin Xingling’s head spin.

[DCT-Clear]: Are your blood types exploring the unknown?

This trending topic won’t go away anytime soon, even if it sinks… the CP fans have gotten into it as well.

Lin Xingling decided to let it be and no longer pay attention.

He had dinner with Cheng Che and the others, then followed the coach’s arrangement and went directly back to the base.

Team celebrations usually involved a banquet, but going to KTV or anything like that was never considered—everyone was still just kids, and no one liked to make a fuss.

When they returned to the base, Cheng Che charged his phone and checked Weibo again, feeling like he had a 2G network.

“Can this even happen?”

After seeing it, Cheng Che was shocked.

“Don’t worry,” Lin Xingling reassured him, saying, “It’s nothing, just fans making a fuss. It will pass in a few days.”

…

Instead of getting better in a few days, it escalated even more.

The enthusiasm of the CP fans reached the point of topping the trending list and creating their own vlogs, and then checking the livestream room after posting the vlog.

Cheng Che had become numb to it.

When it first appeared on the trending list, Cheng Ming specifically invited him to the company and had a talk, giving him a long lecture on how to avoid the restlessness of adolescence, that he was still young, and so on.

In summary, his father’s words were: The family’s businesses are waiting for you to take over, and then I will find a suitable daughter from a good family for you.

No matter what he said, Cheng Che only responded with a simple “I know.”

In the end, a rare conversation between father and son was interrupted by a message.

The message was from that woman, and he didn’t know the content.

Cheng Che felt that he should also be concerned about his wife and daughter at home, so he excused himself.

Before leaving, his father stopped him, and Cheng Ming smiled and said, “Your sister looks a lot like you. Do you want to see her?”

Sister, looks like me… I should see your mother…

Cheng Che left without turning his head, using his actions to show his father that he didn’t want to see.

He wanted to be a strong child.

The strong child who had finally broken down cried to his captain, who was like his father, when he got home that night.

Lin Xingling said, “Your strength makes me want to turn ‘strong’ upside down, kid.”

After learning about the messy things happening in Cheng Che’s family, Lin Xingling had only one thought: “Don’t cry, from now on, the captain will be your family.”

Cheng Che wiped away his tears and pragmatically said, “I want… I want to drink Sprite.”

I’m already crying, hurry up and let me drink.

Lin Xingling said, “Wait for me, I haven’t finished being sentimental… Ahem, I may not be able to change your past, but I can be part of your future, witnessing your glory together.”

After he finished speaking, Cheng Che took more than ten seconds to respond, “Captain, I want… I want to drink… Coca-Cola.”

Lin Xingling was puzzled, “Didn’t you want to drink Sprite?”

Cheng Che said, “Then… then I’ll drink Sprite.”

Lin Xingling said, “You can’t drink it.”

Cheng Che:…

Then why did you tell me?

He didn’t get to drink Sprite until the next day, after they won against the second opponent in the regular season and went to celebrate as a team.

Cheng Che even made a diary entry on his phone’s notepad.

[10.11, Thursday, Sunny Today, Coach Sharp generously gave me a whole bottle of Sprite, telling me not to drink it all at once, so I can take it back to the team and still enjoy it. I’m very happy!]

The next day–

[10.12, Friday, Cloudy Lin Xingling hid my Sprite…]

Lin Xingling stood behind him and asked, “Are you very angry?”

Cheng Che, sitting on the sofa, looked up and saw his chin, immediately breaking out in a cold sweat.

“N-No, I’m just writing randomly…”

“I don’t want you to drink Coke because I care about you. Drinking too much of that stuff is bad for your health. You should drink more water.” Lin Xingling handed him a thermos.

Cheng Che said, “That’s… Sprite…”

Wu You watched from the side and waited for Lin Xingling to leave before approaching Cheng Che, “Brother Che, you’re in a tough spot.”

“You can’t drink it either.” Cheng Che pouted, “Don’t… don’t act like you’re a hundred steps ahead of me.”

“I can’t drink it, but I have a room. In my room, I have a lot~” (You).

“…” (Che).

“Why do you have that expression, Brother Che? What mischievous ideas are you thinking about?” (You).

“Let’s make a deal. Otherwise, I’ll expose you.” (Che).

Liu Yang approached with a smile, saying, “I have it too.”

…After hearing their words, Cheng Che instantly felt that he should move out.

As long as there’s a separate room, he can hide snacks~

At night, Cheng Che applied to his dear roommate to separate their rooms… and was mercilessly rejected.

Lin Xingling asked a fatal question.

“Just because of half a bottle of cola, you don’t want me anymore?”

Cheng Che couldn’t bear it and said, “That was… Sprite.”

Sprite and cola are different. Sprite is a bit sweeter and tastes better, blah blah blah…

“Mm…”

Lin Xingling glanced at him, sighed, and went out with the blanket, leaving him with these words, “Then I’ll leave.”

In the heart of a child, even Sprite holds a higher position. He truly lived in failure.

In the middle of the night, Cheng Che remained sitting by the bed, feeling desolate.

He opened his phone and saw that the reply to the question from the anonymous account had increased by one: [Just be yourself, you’re the most obedient cub].

Cheng Che replied to the anonymous account: [But I’m really angry. I just got so angry that I went to sleep hugging my blanket].

“Tsk…” Lin Xingling saw the reply to the anonymous question and couldn’t help but feel a headache.

Why is this mischievous child just like the one at home?

He lay on the bed in the guest room and typed his reply: [Apologize the way you got angry, and you’ll still be a good kid].

The other person sent: [Okay, thank you].

Two minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

Lin Xingling: ?

“Who is it?”

The person outside answered, “It’s me.”

…It was Liang Feng.

Liang Feng came and asked a bunch of questions, asking if he had a fight with the child, and he sighed in relief after getting a negative answer.

Then Lin Xingling said, “He made me angry unilaterally.”

After hearing the whole story, Liang Feng rolled his eyes at him and said, “He’s just a child. You’re really childish, getting angry with a child.”

Lin Xingling smiled.

Liang Feng: …

“You, something’s not right… I warn you, Cheng Che is the seeded player we bought for five million. Don’t have any weird thoughts.”

“Well, that’s my dowry too, two million plus two million…” Counting on his fingers, Lin Xingling asked, “If I earn another million for the team, does that mean he’s equivalent to what I bought?”

[Clear: Sharp bought a child bride for Stars]

In an instant, Liang Feng’s mind was filled with this barrage.

“Get lost! Buying and selling children is illegal, I won’t do it.”

…

After the coach left, the room quieted down again, and Lin Xingling idly scrolled through Weibo.

The hype around the La Lang“La Lang” is a Chinese term that originated from the online gaming community and is often used in the context of shipping or pairing fictional characters together. CP of ClearStars had mostly subsided. Although there were still some CP fans indulging in their fantasies and writing fanfictions and fan art, it didn’t cause a big storm anymore.

Xingchen Chengche’s super topic had over two million fans, and ClearStars’ super topic had over one million.

It seems more people prefer age gap relationships.

Lin Xingling shook his head, reminding himself to keep his mind clean, not to think like that.

Cheng Che is still so young and innocent, he shouldn’t…

He opened a messaging app to find someone to chat with and distract himself, and coincidentally, Chen Enci sent him 39 messages.

He clicked on them and saw… explicit drawings of anime characters.

The blue-eyed boy with star-shaped hair clip was Cheng Che, and the other one with slightly parted bangs and an earring… was clearly himself.

Spot on.

The drawings were spot on.

This pose was spot on.

The adorable expression on the cute cub’s face was spot on…

Kisses and hugs, ha ha ha, 36 pictures in a set.

The top three were the messages sent by Chen Enxi.

[SYG-Charity: Little Jelly Bean, look at this!]

[SYG-Charity: A friend of mine who is an artist drew this. She said she really hopes you can see it. [Giggles] ]

[SYG-Charity: She also said practice makes perfect~]

Lin Xingling: Purify the soul, purify… bullshit.

[DCT-Stars: …]

Save all 36 pictures without missing a single one, then block Chen Enci and reject all messages.

[SYG-Charity: Brother, I’m showing you some R-18 pictures. Clear won’t beat me up for it, right? He’s so fierce, unlike me. I only know how to dote on my brother~ [silly face]] [!]

Chen Enci, who was far away in Chengdu, looked at the exclamation mark in front of the message he had sent and fell into contemplation:

Will Stars get angry? I shouldn’t be in any life-threatening danger, right? He wouldn’t actually buy a train ticket to come beat me up, right?! Help…

That evening, the door to SYG’s second team’s assistant’s room was knocked open.

Xiao Nuo: ?

Chen Enci: Let me hide here with you for the night, bro.

…

After reading it several more times, his expression went from embarrassment to a blushing smile to a gentle and kind expression.

The sound of rushing water came from the bathroom.

Feeling much more comfortable after taking a shower, Lin Xingling wrapped himself tightly in the blanket and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

Cheng Che’s eyes were truly beautiful, especially when he cried. Mist filled his azure irises, condensing into clear teardrops, sparkling like crystals.

…I really want to see him crying and calling my name, stuttering and being soft and obedient.

Thinking this, Lin Xingling reached out and pinched his own face hard: Lin Xingling! Stop your perverted thoughts!

…Cheng Che is a child to be cherished.

But the child prefers Sprite over me… No, the child doesn’t like me at all…

Lin Xingling secretly made up his mind to deal with his love rival tomorrow—whether by drinking it or pouring it out, he just wouldn’t give it to Cheng Che.

Cheng Che: Thank you.

Sprite: Are you sure this isn’t personal revenge?!!

Just thinking this way makes me feel better… Lin Xingling rolled over to sleep, but then sat up again, habitually wanting to turn on the night light for Cheng Che.

“…”

Forgot that we’re not together now…

Lin Xingling took a deep breath, puffing out both of his cheeks.

“Hoo—”

Exhale, inhale, exhale, calm down.

But in the end, he couldn’t resist sending a message to his little brat:

[DCT-Stars: Sleep early, sweet dreams.]

Author’s note:

Join me tomorrow night to watch Clear hiding under the covers (* `ˋ*)

---

Chapter 57 – CP Feeling

The Great Sage Taiyi and Sun Shangxiang both have Flash, just like how Stars and Clear have each other in their hearts.

Understanding is always the most important between marksmen and supports.

Lin Xingling used Taiyi’s operation to the fullest in the game, making Cheng Che’s Sun Shangxiang very strong.

“Mister is here, everyone step aside.”

Sun Shangxiang critically hit and took down the remaining HP of enemy Xiahou Dun.

Lin Xingling: “This critical hit…”

“Are you also a fan of mine?”

Sun Shangxiang used her second skill to pierce armor and followed it with an empowered basic attack, instantly killing the full HP enemy Guan Yu.

Lin Xingling: “You…”

Cheng Che: “Not bad.”

[“Mister, this critical hit is unbelievable. We can’t afford to play games with our lives!”]

[“The opposite of Clear is Heaven Abandoned, no doubt about it.]

[“Heaven Abandoned sheds tears of envy when seeing this.”]

[“Let me mention @DW-Heaven Abandoned to come and witness the lucky draw.”]

DW marksman Heaven Abandoned, formerly known as Tian Zuo, had a period of time when his critical strike probability was so low that it was frightening during regular ranked matches and even in competitive matches. He later changed his name to Heaven Abandoned out of frustration.

[“DW-Heaven Abandoned: I secretly consumed two Infinity Edges before the game.”]

[“DW-Heavenly Reason: I’ll lend you five Infinity Edges on credit. Let me see that critical strike in action. [Dog face emoji]”]

[“SYG-Charity: Watching the internal conflict in DW. [Dog face emoji]”]

[“TG-Lianrong: Watching Charity lose her head. [Resting chin on hand emoji]”]

[“ANT-Erhei: Praise God Lian, praise God Lian!!!]

…Because of Cheng Che and Sun Shangxiang’s critical strikes, a group of professional players who were watching the live stream of the match were shocked.

They snowballed to victory with a significant economic advantage in this match, and Sun Shangxiang got a triple kill.

When the word “Victory” appeared on the screen, Cheng Che’s mood was good, and he sarcastically quoted Sun Shangxiang: “Apart from bullets, this mister has nothing else to communicate with you.”

Wu You: ?

“Mr. Che?”

Lin Xingling smiled and said, “He’s Young Master Che.”

“Cough~”

Cheng Che was pleased to be called Young Master.

…

In the second game, Lin Xingling used the newly introduced KPL hero, Luban the Master Craftsman.

He can be considered a top-tier support.

I heard that both versions of Jing Lan, which are strong jungle heroes in the future, have already been tested internally and will subsequently be introduced as new heroes in the official server… It’s a pity that it’s no longer relevant to oneself.

Focusing on supporting the marksman in front of them is the most important thing at the moment.

Cheng Che used Luban No.7, a short-legged hero who kills with glee.

“Chains, chains!”

Lin Xingling used his second skill to chain him, watching him step and position himself to push the tower, feeling emotional.

From ancient times, heroes emerge from the young. This kid is only seventeen years old, and his positioning and awareness can already rival those veteran players who have been competing for years.

In the previous life, Clear debuted at the age of nineteen. I remember he had an amazing performance at that time, but compared to this life, it was a bit lacking.

Credit should also be given to Coach Sharp’s guidance and one’s own teaching.

Luban the Master Craftsman critically hit and swept away the low-HP squishy targets on the opposing team.

Cheng Che: “This critical hit…”

Luban’s ultimate skill perfectly initiated a team fight and controlled the enemy team of five.

Lin Xingling: “This ultimate skill…”

[“Tiger support with no dog-like offspring.”]

[“These two are more connected than the characters in Huluo’s animated series. [Dog face emoji]”]

[“I love watching Star Daddy protect his little calf.”]

After a wave of team fights, both sides lost their supports and mid-lane mage, and our team’s jungler’s screen went black.

Cheng Che quickly went to take the buff.

Wu You, who had been closely watching his movements, asked, “Brother Che, why did you take my red buff?”

Cheng Che: “Nake, you’re already dead.”

Wu You: “Can you just take things from a dead person?”

Cheng Che: …

“You will always live in my heart.”

Nakeruru: Ten thousand laughter flew through her mind.

Lin Xingling quickly defused the situation, “He’s just an ADC, what’s wrong with him farming?”

Unlucky Liu Ying remained silent and became the scapegoat. The minion wave in the mid-lane was completely cleared by Cheng Che and Lin Xingling.

Zhang Liang looked at the empty mid lane and fell into contemplation.

[“If you’re broke, come to the mid lane”]

[“Middle lane for the poor”]

[“Mid lane is great, mid lane is wonderful, but can’t get a single health pack”]

[“Leash the jungle, leech the support, leech the support and then leech the top lane, leech the top lane and then get caught by the enemy, leaving me alone to defend the mid lane tower”]

Liu Ying softly said, “I’ll go gank the top lane.”

Cheng Che sighed.

Lu Ban Master cooperated with Lu Ban No. 7 to kill the enemy jungle, Yun Zhongjun.

[DCT-Clear: Come take the enemy blue buff]

[DCT-Stars: Mage come take blue buff]

To pamper a mid laner, all you need is a blue buff.

Liu Ying happily treated the farming route as his home, always going to help with the flash and keeping people safe whenever he had free time.

In this match, Little Lu Ban was like the team’s darling: protected by a support father, protected by a top lane father K’ai, and protected by Zhang Liang as a dad, plus a birdman giving the red buff.

Lu Ban No. 7 walked through the canyon.

[“This is the power of economic suppression”]

[“Can’t I walk through the canyon without having that much economy? [Emote: Amused]”]

[“You can, but you’ll look like a crab”]

Then in the second game, they almost failed.

Because Lu Ban No. 7 made a mistake in the team fight and didn’t switch to the resurrection armor with the famous knife. If it weren’t for the last-minute play by Nakeruru stealing the enemy’s base…

“Victory!“

Along with the sound of the enemy’s crystal shattering, Wu You’s words resounded clearly, “When in dire straits, you have to rely on me to backdoor the tower.”

Back in the resting room, Lin Xingling discussed something with Liang Feng, and in the third game, DCT’s support picked Yao.

In the decisive match, Yao stuck with Luna the whole time, not even looking at Sun Shangxiang.

It was the coach’s strategy: early game tower steals, jungle invades, stealing minions, and catching solo players.

Three minutes into the game, the team captain hadn’t come to the farming route yet… Cheng Che asked somewhat irritably, “Yao, can you stay with me?”

Lin Xingling lightly coughed, and Wu You responded, “This game, the strategy is for the support to stick with me. Thanks, Brother Che.”

As the game progressed to the eighth minute, the Abyssal Dragon respawned.

“Just stick with me,” Cheng Che said.

Wu You and Lin Xingling pushed down the second tower on the opposition’s lane.

At ten minutes, the Dark Slayer descended into darkness.

Cheng Che stood by the Dragon pit, quietly watching the jungle and support take the red buff.

Lin Xingling didn’t help him secure the buff; it belonged to Luna, and the support Yao Yao also belonged to Luna.

Luna led Yao Yao to steal the enemy’s high ground on the opposing lane. Wu You smiled and said, “If it weren’t for Xing-dad, the voice prompt for solo tower steals would have triggered.”

Lin Xingling chuckled, “Should I go?”

Before Cheng Che could say, “Come to me,” Wu You stopped him and kept Lin Xingling by his side. “Where else could he go? I can’t steal towers without you. Come on, come up here.”

Cheng Che:…

The strategy was correct, but it felt suffocating to play.

When they were pushing the high ground, Clear, who had been silently upset throughout the match, finally voiced his grievances, “Captain, can you come with me for a moment?”

“Mhmm.”

This time, Lin Xingling didn’t refuse; he used his ultimate on Cheng Che.

Wu You laughed, “Brother Che, you’ve suffered.”

Phantom: “Push the tower, it’s a wrap.”

“Brother Che, you really suffered…” Liu Ying asked, “It’s strange, why would playing a game be distressing?”

Wu You hit the nail on the head, “Because the support didn’t stick with him.”

“I’m a marksman, not getting any kills, not losing any farm, I just wanted the support to stick with me. What’s wrong with that?” Cheng Che said, then clenched his lips, refusing to speak to him anymore.

Lin Xingling smiled awkwardly, “Alright~”

…

Zero deaths, they stood up, shook hands with their opponents, and went backstage.

The final highlight of the exciting match’s voice replay was the segment they said when pushing the towers, causing a wave of commotion.

[“What’s with the sweetness?”]

[“The tragic marksman and his runaway support”]

[“Support daddy × Marksman little pitiful, their CP vibe is emerging, let me take a bite in celebration”]

[“I strongly opposed it when Professor Hua retired from the literary world back then”]

[“Back then, you laughed the loudest, and you even brought a bottle of Maotai, shouting that you wanted to eat a feast [Emote: Amused]”]

[“Clear! Stars! They are truly! A perfect match!”]

[“My mom asked me how I became a fan by just watching a match”]

In the post-match interview, the coach and Liu Ying were interviewed because they both performed remarkably well during the drafting phase and the match, especially Liu Ying, who salvaged the team’s momentum in critical situations.

In the backstage resting room, bored while waiting for teammates, Wu You took a selfie with a selfie stick and posted it on Weibo.

[DCT-uu]:

Xiao Pei, I’ll steal towers to support you [Rose]

[Selfie·JPG]

The photo inadvertently captured Clear sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed and arms crossed, while Stars stood obediently next to him, presenting a stark contrast.

At the beginning, fans reacted:

[Piu~Piu~Piu~]

[The divine Pei and Xiao You are so cute [Heart]]

[Oh my, this CP is so sweet~]

[In three seconds, the divine Pei will arrive on the battlefield and protect our adorable You]

After noticing the duo of the support and marksman in the lower right corner, a wave of Moon Sister and Star Daddy fans joined in:

[Feeling like Star Daddy is under strict control]

[Help, I really want to ship this couple]

[So Star Daddy’s prevention of early relationships means cultivating them first before eating [Amused]]

With the motivation of broadcasting voice chat and backstage photos, more and more fans discovered the sweetness in historical matches, Weibo interactions, and team vlogs. This CP ship became more genuine as they indulged in it.

When the interview ended and the DCT members reposted the team’s celebratory Weibo post, they realized that Stars once again made it to the hot search rankings.

Real-time hot search ranking: 9th place

[ClearStars’ CP vibes]

In response, Lin Xingling expressed, “What the hell…”

As if rising from a dying state, Sima Zhao turned out to be me.

Originally, I just wanted to take good care of Cheng Che because he’s young, but I didn’t expect the vast imagination of netizens: they even came up with the idea that Cheng Che is a child bride bought by Feng as a foster daughter.

Luckily, Cheng Che’s phone was dead, so he didn’t see it. Otherwise, he might have come up with some witty remark.

“Let’s celebrate at the hotel tonight,” Liang Feng waved his phone at him, “Let’s go, we’ve booked a banquet, there’s a car to pick us up, and we can even bring the electric scooter along.”

Lin Xingling responded with a sound and took a bottle of AD calcium from Cheng Che’s little backpack to drink.

Cheng Che stared at him with lingering anger.

“Be good,” the handsome guy patted his head.

Reluctantly, Cheng Che got up and followed him, grumbling, “Compensate me… compensate, compensate with a box, no, two boxes!”

“Alright, I’ll compensate with two boxes,” Lin Xingling smiled and led him to go with Liang Feng, getting into the car.

…

The big V account you follow, @DCT-Stars, posted a Weibo.

[DCT-Stars]:

Clear and I have a pure teammate relationship. Please don’t believe or spread rumors. [Heart]

[Starlight is sweet! [Kowtow]]

[Foolish Grandpa’s entire family can’t move you two, the two mountains in the world of CP. Even if Nüwa’s stones are used up, they can’t patch up that broken cupboard of yours~ [Amused]

[No, no, Star Daddy, we’re just enjoying the sweetness]

Curiosity sparked as SYG-Charity emerged to watch the excitement.

[SYG-Charity: When the avalanche comes, every snowflake has a responsibility. The internet is not a lawless place. I hope everyone chooses their words carefully and acts cautiously.]

---

Chapter 56 – Pretending to be nice

When Wu You and Phantom returned, Liang Feng took them to take the bus, while Lin Xingling rode an electric scooter with Cheng Che. Different paths converged at the destination, which was the suburban team base.

Cheng Che unloaded his skateboard from the car, but the electric scooter was not unlocked. It suddenly started beeping when someone touched it.

“I, I…”

“Yeah.”

Perhaps due to spending a lot of time together or due to their synergy in games, Lin Xingling understood his thoughts very well. Calmly, he said, “I’ll ride a bit slower and use a rope to pull you.”

Before Cheng Che could feel happy about it, he already fastened a helmet on the child’s head. “You must wear a helmet. Safety first.”

Cheng Che: “Okay!”

On the way south, Lin Xingling occasionally stopped to check on Cheng Che’s condition. After doing it several times, Cheng Che became annoyed. “I’ll let you know if there’s anything. Just keep going if everything is fine.”

“Alright.”

Cheng Che, holding onto the rope while riding the skateboard, was like a kite being pulled along. Lin Xingling worried that he might not be able to react to danger in time if it occurred on his side. So he continued to ride for a while and then stop.

“Maybe you should sit on the back seat. It’s too dangerous like this.”

After stopping three more times, Lin Xingling finally couldn’t resist speaking up.

This way was not only slow but also time-consuming. If they continued like this, they might not get home until midnight.

Cheng Che lowered his gaze and replied, “Okay.”

By the time they returned to the team base, it was already past ten in the evening. The coach and other teammates had been waiting for them for half an hour but eventually decided not to go out and ordered takeout to celebrate.

While waiting for the delivery, Cheng Che had some free time and glanced at Weibo.

The top trending topic was [Stars’ Quadra Kill.]

There was no other reason, simply because of the Quadra Kill.

The trending Weibo originated from the latest update by the KPLKing’s Pro League, which included a screenshot of Lin Xingling achieving a Quadra Kill as the jungler.

The caption was quite emotional:

[Though old, can Liang Po still eat?]

[Though Stars is sick, their heat remains.]

The comments below were mostly filled with emotions and tears.

You see, the reason Lin Xingling was transferred to the K League A was due to a compound fracture of his left wrist and index finger, which had almost healed after three to four months. But for some reason, the injury worsened again…

Lin Xingling knew very well that it was because three years later, when Cheng Che fell down the stairs, he grabbed his collar with his right hand. Unexpectedly, Lin Xingling couldn’t maintain his balance and fell together with him. In the critical moment, he used his left hand to support the back of Cheng Che’s head…

“Bang—“

He only remembered the intense pain and the feeling of breaking the old injury in his fingers.

He thought that he would face the end of his six-year professional career due to the injury, but he never expected to be reborn directly.

Reborn at the age of seventeen, supporting the one he loves as a support player.

It was quite a romantic thing to do.

In the previous life, he had countless honors and achievements, but in this life, he could release boundless love… That was already enough.

While Lin Xingling was lost in his thoughts, Cheng Che’s words, “Just kidding? Hehe,” brought him back to reality.

“It’s not appropriate to joke like that. Your mom got offended.”

Cheng Che indignantly replied to a comment under the trending Weibo post: [DCT-Clear: Are you selling pipes? Why are you so nosy?]

The content of that comment was: [I was just joking. Stars has a hand injury. Wouldn’t that be inconvenient?]

There were a few more replies below:

[This isn’t something someone like you, who has no reputation, should pay attention to. [Praying hands]]

[Help, colors suddenly appeared in my mind.]

[By the way, Star Dad’s hand is really beautiful, thin and long. Suitable for…playing the piano. [Dog head emoji]]

When Cheng Che replied to that comment, his response gained more attention:

[How disgusting. Can you please stop insulting my Star Dad!]

[Translation of Clear’s reply: Get scolded.]

[Is it a blessing in disguise or a curse?]

[A hand injury is a sensitive topic. Can we not make jokes like this? [Praying hands]]

Unaware of the situation, Lin Xingling curiously approached and sat beside Cheng Che. “What’s wrong?”

“Just some trash making a fuss,” Cheng Che took out a tissue from his pocket and lightly wiped his face.

“Do I have dirt on my face?” Lin Xingling asked.

Cheng Che shook his head. “Just now… I saw someone commenting about you… it was so… dirty, so I wiped it away.”

Lin Xingling took his phone. “Let me see.”

…

After understanding the whole story, Lin Xingling chuckled. “It’s not worth getting angry over people like that.”

Cheng Che said, “I don’t get angry when others do, but I’m happy when they get sick because of their anger.”

“You little troublemaker.”

DCT-Clear continues to engage with idiots.

The other person replied slowly: [Let me tell you something, do you let your team captain touch you?]

[DCT-Clear]: Are you looking at medical records when you’re doing the birthday ritual?

Fans and comments below:

[What the hell are you talking about?]

[What the f*** are you talking about?]

[You, donkey, kicking. Understand?]

Everyone brushed up on Clear’s famous quote in an organized manner: “What the f*** are you talking about, you donkey-kicking?”

[Clear: Do you think if I don’t curse at you, no one will care about you?]

…

Within an hour, this incident became a separate trending topic, and the KPL official account urgently deleted the comments and suppressed the heat to resolve it.

Cheng Che posted a Weibo with only four words: [If you dare, come.]

That person didn’t show up. They were just a small account that hadn’t even posted a single Weibo, probably just trying to stir up trouble and then abandoned it.

There are so many people trying to make their presence felt on the internet.

“Alright, come and eat. Good boy, don’t be disobedient.”

Lin Xingling called him several times without getting a response, so he logged onto Weibo and commented: [DCT-Stars]: If you dare, come and eat. [Hug emoji]

[The new way of calling children to eat.]

[Aren’t you in the same team? Isn’t it more convenient to talk directly?]

[Team Base: Quiet. Team Group Chat: 99+]

Cheng Che closed his phone and went to eat. He ordered his favorite deep-fried small fish. Lin Xingling had been waiting and didn’t let Wu You and the others start eating, waiting for him to join.

The coach, as always, nagged: “Liu Ying, eat more meat. Look how skinny you are… Xiao You, eat your vegetables. You’re taking three chicken pieces by yourself. Xiao Pei, stop playing with your phone and eat quickly.”

When it came to Cheng Che, he said, “Good boy, let’s have a glass of milk every night from now on to grow taller.”

Cheng Che replied, “No.”

“Good boy?” Lin Xingling chuckled, “You’re only a good boy when you don’t open your mouth.”

Once you open your mouth, you become a little troublemaker.

Cheng Che: …

Indeed, Stars never thought I was a good boy.

Before going to sleep, Cheng Che asked Lin Xingling seriously, “Does that mean I’m only a good boy if I don’t, don’t curse?”

“It’s about your words and actions.” Lin Xingling reached out and touched his soft hair, looking into his eyes with a smile.

Among so many good boys in the world, I still like you… the future KPL Emperor Cheng, the first troublemaker who leads the competitive scene amidst countless rumors and controversies.

Cheng Che nodded thoughtfully and got into bed, covering himself with the blanket to sleep.

In the middle of the night, he logged into a small account and anonymously posted a question:

[Does anyone know how to appear obedient in front of others?]

Within three minutes, there were over twenty replies.

[Mumu: Just tell him, “I’m obedient,” right? [Dog head emoji]]

[Mo Shang Qing Si: Well, this reaches the limit of my knowledge.]

[6:30 in the morning: Fight him, win the fight, and make him admit that you’re obedient. [Clown emoji]]

Over twenty replies, but not a single one was useful.

Cheng Che sighed, put down his phone, and tried to sleep.

…Can’t sleep. He raised his eyes and saw the small night light still emitting its usual blue-purple dim light. He got up and looked out the window. The crescent moon outside was shining brightly.

What exactly does it take to be considered obedient and make him feel that way?

Why?

Cheng Che questioned himself, asking why he had these thoughts.

The answer was simple: Lin Xingling likes obedient people.

As for what kind of psychology it is to want to be liked by Lin Xingling, Cheng Che himself was not clear.

In the first round of the regular season, DCT played five matches, winning four and losing one, ranking second in total points. This data is already good for a team that has just advanced from the K League.

In the second round of the regular season, their first opponent was KV team from Group A. Although the team has already been included in Group S, Liang Feng didn’t dare to take it lightly. He spent two nights studying the replays of KV’s previous matches and finally had a plan in his mind.

After communicating and discussing the draft and strategies with the team members, they took the stage.

During the preparation phase, Liu Ying hummed the lyrics of a popular song these days, saying, “I will always remember the summer breeze~”

Cheng Che, who didn’t catch on, asked, “Remember…remember what?”

Liu Ying continued singing, “Clearly say that you love me~”

Cheng Che replied, “I…I never said that, you…you must be mistaken, right?”

“Both of you are amazing. Even with the wrong frequency, you can still chat.” Liang Feng stood behind Cheng Che and smiled.

Lin Xingling touched Cheng Che’s arm and explained, “Liu Ying has headphones on for sound testing, so she can’t hear you.”

“Oh.”

“Who doesn’t know a few lines~”

Wu You sang, “How did I fall in love with him and decide to go home with him, giving up everything I had, I don’t care anymore~ Xiao Pei!”

Phantom gave face and followed up, “Short paper, long love, the story is endless when we were young…”

With a deep and hoarse tone, it was a bit flirtatious.

Wu You sang seriously, “My story is still about you~”

“Nice, nice.”

Lin Xingling applauded and then asked Cheng Che, “Will you sing a few lines too?”

Help…the only words in Cheng Che’s mind were “help me.”

It’s not about how well he can sing, but he doesn’t remember what popular songs there were in 2018. What if he sings one that hasn’t been released yet, and they ask him about it…

If he says he made it up and it will be released in a few years…awkward.

He could only think of an old song, “Unity is strength, unity is strength, this strength is iron, this strength is steel, harder than iron, stronger than steel…”

Lin Xingling: ???

Everyone: ???

Cheng Che to himself: “…”

Fortunately, the first game’s draft started soon, and he escaped the awkward situation.

Liang Feng’s strategic layout was impressive:

“KV is used to hard-supporting the side lane, so let’s ban Shanshan first.”

“OK, great. In this game, let’s go with the real fragrant combo. Sun Shangxiang with Purify, for more room for error.”

Cheng Che said, “I want to take Flash, it’s useful for engaging and disengaging.”

Liang Feng thought for a moment and replied, “Hmm, that works too.”

Lin Xingling said, “Engaging and disengaging, there’s one more thing, same as me.”

Flash with the same fragrant combo, a perfect fit.

…

Author’s note:

[Mini theater] – Electric Scooter

Catcat Cheche: bumps into an electric scooter

Electric Scooter: Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-vroom↓screech↑vroom↓screech↑vroom↓screech↑vroom↓screech↑beep-beep-beep-beep-be

ep-beep-beep-beep-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-drop-drop-drop-drop-drop-drop-drop

Catcat Cheche: clenches fist

Hamster Xingling: Alright, alright…

Catcat Cheche: Don’t stop me, I’m going to smash this scooter!!!

Hamster: This is my only scooter qwq

Catcat: Tomorrow, I’ll take you to get a Maserati.

Hamster: Okay, I’ll help you smash it together!

---

Chapter 55 – Behind The Ears 

Game 2, Stars returned to support, and all members of DCT took their positions, morale was high, and they played DW effortlessly.

Phantom, stubborn and high damage on the side; uu, as long as he can’t kill, he will keep trying.

These two have a definite advantage in the lane.

“The enemy jungler is staying in the top lane?”

…After being caught three times in a row, DW’s ADC, Tianqi, stood under the defense tower and self-deprecatingly muttered, “I truly live up to my name as the abandoned son of heaven.”

In the fourth wave, Liu Ying showed him with his strength that it’s not only the jungler who resides in the top lane but also the mid laner.

“Xiao Pei, I’ll go for a gank.”

Liu Ying clashed with Tianli, the opponent’s mid laner, in the middle lane, and if things didn’t go well, he would go for a gank in the top lane.

Tianli: Then I’ll join as well.

DW’s ADC and support were having a hard time, and the situation for DCT’s ADC and support was equally unfavorable.

Cheng Che said, “Their jungler and mage are so diligent, it’s as if they’re the father of the top laner.”

Cheng Che exclaimed, “Ah, I give up!”

Not only could they not get any crabs, but sometimes they would even miss a minion… This was a huge blow to the ADC.

The ADC, DCT-Clear, requested to go and fight someone.

[DCT-Stars: Play it safe and farm.]

They pressured the enemy ADC, forcing him to retreat and heal, while Wu You cooperated with Phantom and Liu Ying to take the dragon.

The situation was the same in the bottom lane, but the roles were reversed: DW’s top and jungle laners went for the dragon, while DCT’s ADC and support were left dumbfounded.

Cheng Che not only widened his eyes but also opened his mouth, “Shall we check the dragon’s health?”

Lin Xingling helped him with the Rift Herald, sighed, and said, “Even if we check, can I steal the dragon by flashing over?”

“Why don’t you give it a try?”

Cheng Che’s Sun Shangxiang rolled her eyes and said, “It still has five thousand health. Go quickly and detonate it with my enhanced basic attack. Maybe we can steal it.”

“It’s not worth it… forget it, consider me sold. If we can’t steal the dragon and I die, you can blame yourself for being sneaky.” Lin Xingling activated his first skill to speed up and waited for the right moment to flash in.

“Charge!”

Following Cheng Che’s command, Taiyi Zhenren flashed and used his second skill to stun the enemy jungler, Zhao Yun, and then dealt damage.

Sun Shangxiang followed up with damage from behind and successfully secured the Rift Herald.

Looking at the three big guys in front of him, Lin Xingling felt that he was definitely going to die.

“Captain, I’m here, Brother Che, counterattack quickly!!!”

It was Liu Ying. His Hua Mulan had just used her second skill to deal damage to the Tyrant’s pit and then rushed over “rolling and crawling”.

Lin Xingling was a bit stunned, “You came back so quickly…”

All three of his skills could be used for mobility, and even his passive was a movement ability. The unruly Monkey King was not to be trifled with.

Hua Mulan kicked two enemies in the mid and jungle, controlled them with her ultimate, and Sun Shangxiang continuously jumped around dealing damage… The opponents counterattacked, and Taiyi Zhenren used his revival skill…

Clear’s Sun Shangxiang took down three kills in one go, and Liu Ying’s Monkey King… Hua Mulan tearfully gained three assists.

The only one injured was Star’s Father, and even with reinforcements, he couldn’t change the fate of being killed.

Fortunately, they traded three for one and also secured the dragon, so it wasn’t a loss.

…

With the small advantages established by everyone, the snowball of advantage kept rolling and growing bigger, and DCT took the second game as well.

In the third game, Gongsun Li and Marco polo clashed head-on in a mirror match (one side unchanged, while the other side switched the ADC to the top lane). The focus of everyone, including the commentators, was on the ADC and support of both teams, and then…

uu silently farmed in the jungle, first stealing two side lane turrets, then the bot lane tier two turret, and finally, taking advantage of both teams’ players fighting in the left side of the mid lane, they stole DW’s bot lane inhibitor turret.

[“Xiao You: I only see turrets in my eyes.”]

[“uu finally appeared, and this game is finally peaceful [funny face].”]

[“They stole the turret, my fists are clenched.”]

It was originally a game in which they had a huge advantage, but at the twelve-minute mark in the mid-late game, DCT lost a 4v1 team fight, the enemy team secured the Baron, and they also destroyed the mid lane inhibitor.

Their vision control of the river was also lost.

…

“Clear has no skills! Gongsun Li doesn’t have any skills, intercept him in the bot lane!” The jungler, Tianqi, used his full combo to force Gongsun Li to use all his skills and escape, but he couldn’t catch up with him, so he called his teammates for help.

Tianqi’s Marco Polo used his skills to heavily damage Gongsun Li, but fortunately, Gongsun Li’s first skill had cooled down, and she used it to enter the bush beside her red buff.

Marco Polo used his second skill to follow up with auto-attacks.

…Then he was stunned and controlled by the bouncing ball that came out of the bush, and Gongsun Li sent him back to the fountain.

“He went from low health to half health… He really brought a Cai Wenji in his pocket.” Tianqi gritted his teeth, “It’s mine, it’s mine, I got tilted.”

In a 4v3 team fight, DCT exchanged one for two… Tianqi smiled, “It’s fine, they lost their jungler, we can regroup and take the dragon.”

At that moment, DCT only had the ADC and top laner remaining. The top laner, Lian Po, had used his Flash and had no ability to steal the dragon… DW could make a move here.

Clear believed that he could make a move as well.

Phantom surveyed the area and realized that the enemy learned from their previous mistakes. Even if he could control them, he pulled the tyrant towards the outer edge.

“I’ll use my first skill followed by the second skill to see if it works…” Cheng Che’s words were interrupted by the enemy mage Zhou Yu rushing in, clearly aiming to chase them away.

Inner thoughts of Tianli: If you don’t leave now, I’ll really start attacking you.

Lin Xingling used his first skill to heal Cheng Che.

“Let’s retreat for now and clear the mid lane minions.”

“I have sustained damage.” Cheng Che controlled Gongsun Li to clear the minions and said to Lin Xingling, “Endless Battle and Vampiric runes can sustain you. Save your first skill.”

Lin Xingling smiled, “Not healing would make me seem useless.”

He didn’t mean anything else, but Cheng Che felt that he wanted to play a damage-dealing hero… He felt uncomfortable for a moment.

“I’m not lying! You’re useful, very useful… In the game, not healing is also my… beside, beside me… it’s healing…”

His voice grew smaller and he started stuttering.

“The tyrant has been defeated.“

Lin Xingling was about to say something, but his thoughts were interrupted by the announcement of DW taking down the tyrant… Everyone refocused their attention on the intense match, and the topic was concluded.

The mage jungle revived, and the enemy ADC and support revived. The next step would be a long process of both sides searching for an opportunity to engage.

“…”

“Your team has destroyed the turret.“

Wu You doesn’t join the team fights, Wu You only takes down turrets.

Even without minions, they must forcefully dismantle the turrets.

With the announcement of “stealing turrets through split pushing,” both sides of DW officially completed the task.

Then Phantom initiated a team fight, and both sides engaged in a chaotic battle in DCT’s blue area.

Three trades for three, until Wu You arrived at half health and killed Zhou Yu from Tianli and Marco Polo from Tianqi, but he was also killed.

Only one person remained on the battlefield.

—DCT-Stars

[Cai Wenji · Singing No Stars · Street Lurker Yes]

[Dad Star: I survived in Shuiliya Canyon]

[Cai Wenji: Really, I wish I could put my revival armor on Gongsun Li [funny face]]

Commentator Jiang Li laughed, “Now there’s only one Cai Wenji left on the battlefield, hmm? Did Stars sell the revival armor and War Wolf Insignia to buy a Lightning Dagger?”

The other commentator said, “It’s time for a final push.”

Cai Wenji followed the top lane, clearing minions along the way and pushing towards the crystal.

Commentator Jiang Li said, “Divine Punishment is about to revive, can Stars destroy the crystal? Yes, he destroyed it! He bought Berserker’s Greaves!!!”

[“Buy Berserker’s Greaves, thank you”]

[“Stars: This damage… When did I suffer like this when jungling [tears flowing] “]

[“Miraculous Star’s Father, not afraid of difficulties”]

“Victory!!!“

The crystal exploded as Cai Wenji attacked with her basic attacks. DCT successfully won the third game, shutting out DW.

Cheng Che glanced at Lin Xingling and raised an eyebrow, “I’m the sixth.”

Understanding his meaning, Lin Xingling made a hand gesture of the number six, “Clear’s Gongsun Li, six six six, let’s go.”

As usual, the winners stood up to shake hands with their opponents. Liu Ying met the mage Tianli from the opposing team and they seemed to get along well, even hugging each other.

Tianli said, “460, well played, we have great understanding.”

Liu Yang smiled sheepishly, “Yeah.”

Cheng Che received compliments from the opposing jungle, Tianfu, “You were already excellent, and now you’re even stronger.”

Cheng Che nodded and said, “You too.”

Learn from the lesson and don’t come alone to let me steal both buffs.

On Lin Xingling’s side, because DW’s support was a newcomer and his fan, the two of them shook hands for a long time.

Support: “Star’s Father, can I add you?”

Lin Xingling smiled, “Sure, let Tianli give me your contact information, I’ll add you.”

…

This time, Wu You and Phantom were interviewed after the match, while Cheng Che and the others waited backstage.

Cheng Che took out a bottle of AD milk from his small backpack and offered it to Liu Ying, “Want some?”

Liu Ying, who was reporting good news to God Lian, shook his head.

“For Brother Feng.”

“I’m not thirsty, you drink it,” Liang Feng refused, then turned to Lin Xingling and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear, “When kids are growing up, you have to give them milk, you know?”

Lin Xingling: ?

“He doesn’t drink milk, giving him a sip is like poisoning him. How am I supposed to make him drink it?”

Liang Feng: …

Can you speak a little louder?

Cheng Che heard but pretended not to and opened the film on the bottle cap with a straw, enjoying his AD milk.

Being taken care of like a child really felt comfortable.

Really, it felt so comfortable.

Liang Feng didn’t want to give up, “Does he drink yogurt?”

Lin Xingling shrugged, “He drinks Sprite.”

Liang Feng: “He deserves a scolding.”

Drinking too many carbonated drinks is not good, it’s bad for teeth, stomach, and bone growth… Generally, the team doesn’t allow them to drink too much cola, Sprite, or Fanta.

Except during team celebrations.

… After briefly chatting with Coach Liang Feng, Lin Xingling passed by Liu Ying, who was still chatting with someone on his phone, and went over to find Cheng Che.

Seeing his bag, Lin Xingling said, “You didn’t eat the small bread I brought for you.”

Cheng Che threw the empty AD milk bottle into the trash can, “I forgot.”

He took out the Pan Pan small bread, and Lin Xingling was a bit puzzled, “Why is it so flat?”

Other things like instant noodles and oranges are still in good shape…

“Got squished,” Cheng Che replied.

Lin Xingling: …

“Why are you using foul language?”

Cheng Che: “Huh? I fucking meant to… um…”

I’d rather jump into the Yellow River, I fucking prefer to jump into a fire pit.

“You can’t use foul language, be a civilized youth.”

Liang Feng chimed in, “Poor thing, at such a young age, he’s already hard of hearing.”

Lin Xingling: ?

“He clearly said ‘squished,’ you’re the one who, without my age, has worse hearing than me.”

Liang Feng turned off his phone and put it in his pocket, spreading his hands.

“…”

---

Chapter 54 – Jungle

Regular season, third week, Thursday, the 8:00 PM time slot featured the DCT team’s fourth match in the mid-season tournament.

They were up against the DW team.

The opponents were known for their focus on developing the ADC and support roles, and DW’s ADC and support were particularly dominant. The state of Phantom, who was about to face them, was like being injected with chicken blood.

Cheng Che’s suggestion to switch lanes and play the mirror matchup in the first game was mercilessly rejected.

Phantom: “I’ll give it a try in the first game.”

“And I’m here too, Brother Che, don’t worry,” Wu You made a scissors gesture and smiled, saying, “Xiao Pei and I can handle them without any problems!”

“Well, just be… careful.”

Helplessly glancing at his steadfast duo, Cheng Che turned around and fist-bumped Lin Xingling, saying, “Captain, the two of us… we’ll crush them!”

Lin Xingling moved his wrist slightly and nodded.

In the first game, both teams had stubborn lineups.

DW: Top lane – Old Master[mfn][/mfn], Mid lane – Yuan Ge[mfn][/mfn], Jungle – Luna[mfn][/mfn], Bot lane – Yu Ji[mfn][/mfn], Support – Da Qiao[mfn][/mfn].

DCT: Top lane – Hua Mulan[mfn][/mfn], Jungle – Yao[mfn][/mfn], Mid lane – Bai Li Shou Yue[mfn][/mfn], Bot lane – Di Ren Jie[mfn][/mfn], Support – Gui Gu Zi[mfn][/mfn].

Commentator Jiang Li: “Hmm… DW picked Yuan Ge for the mid lane, a surprise! There are no mage heroes on the field this game, both coaches are going with an aggressive approach.”

[“Reward: Yinger’s Bai Li Shou Yue”]

[“Doesn’t feel like it, why does it seem like it’s for Clear?]

[“Then what about 460?”]

“Oh my, Yao, the Child of Stars, I have a bold idea,” commented another commentator while covering his face.

After the players swapped heroes’ positions and equipped appropriate summoner spells, DCT’s strategic layout suddenly became clear.

Phantom – Hua Mulan (Flash remains the same)

uu – Di Ren Jie (Flash remains the same)

460 – Gui Gu Zi (Flash remains the same)

Clear – Bai Li Shou Yue (Flash remains the same)

Stars – Yao (Flash changed to Smite)

The other commentator marveled, “Yao also took Flash, ah, the Jungle role wasn’t switched for uu. What can we say about DCT’s side?”

Finally, Lin Xingling decisively changed Yao’s summoner spell to Smite. Otherwise, Jiang Li would have probably pounded the table:

“The marksman goes to the mid lane, the jungler goes to the bot lane, and the mage plays support… Yao took Smite! Stars is going to the jungle! The return of the strongest Jungle Dad!!!”

There was an instant uproar in the audience.

Stars’ glory as the strongest Jungle Dad was there: single-handedly turning the tide in a game with an almost 10,000 gold deficit, Li Bai’s pentakill from the flank, Sun Shangxiang soloing the dragon…

Countless amazing plays created the era of KPL junglers in the hearts of the audience.

Unfortunately, just when he was in the spotlight, he had to leave KPL and enter K League due to an irreversible hand injury… Although he later returned and led the team again, he changed his position from jungle to support.

This is forever a pain in the hearts of many fans.

“Captain, let’s coordinate between mid and jungle.”

Cheng Che’s mouth involuntarily curled up. For some reason, he initially thought it was great to have Stars support him, but now he felt that…

fighting side by side and dealing damage together with Stars was also good.

As long as he had Lin Xingling by his side, it was fine.

Lin Xingling adjusted his slightly nerdy, square-framed glasses and replied, “Wu You, focus on farming steadily, and I’ll pay more attention to the opponent’s ADC and support in the early game.”

Paying attention to the opponent’s ADC and support… In his past life, he should have given his teammates similar instructions.

Cheng Che felt a strange unease after hearing that.

After all, Stars had killed him countless times in his past life.

“Clear, stay focused.”

After giving instructions, Lin Xingling entered the game and started red buff.

Liu Ying first helped Cheng Che secure the first wave of minions in the mid lane, then took a look at the blue buff area, and finally headed to the bot lane to help relieve pressure for Phantom.

Since the enemy Gui Gu Zi had no vision in the jungle and their own jungler happened to be at the blue buff area, Old Master became a bit reckless.

Thinking of baiting Di Ren Jie.

Little did he know that Di Ren Jie had the same idea.

“Dad Star, level two gank, the enemy Old Master is easy to catch.”

Wu You cleared the minions and was on guard, ready to fend off Old Master’s attempted steal.

“No, you back off. The enemy jungler is also watching you. If I go, it won’t be an effective gank, just a waste of time.” Lin Xingling finished the three wolves and headed to the blue buff area.

Earlier, Cheng Che had helped scout Luna’s vision while she was taking the blue buff… Luna would normally start red buff, reach level four after taking blue buff, and maximize the effectiveness of the blue buff.

However, Luna with Divine Punishment started with blue buff, making her intentions clear—she might bypass the river and gank Di Ren Jie.

He had a clear understanding of all jungle playstyles.

After Wu You obediently retreated, just as Lin Xingling said, Luna from the opposing team came to gank as soon as he stepped back within the range of the defensive tower.

Ganking, Luna didn’t even catch a glimpse of Di Ren Jie.

Divine Punishment wasted a few seconds, and she left disgruntled.

“Dad Star is amazing.” Wu You continued to lane against the enemy Old Master.

“It’s thanks to Yinger’s vision.”

Lin Xingling, with the demeanor of a show-off, praised Cheng Che, “Yinger triggers ‘No Misses’ as soon as she lands the third shot, keep it up.”

Wu You exclaimed, “Awesome!”

Cheng Che: …

I want to ask Stars how many eyes he has. He’s watching the enemy jungler, our bot lane, and even paying attention to whether I hit my shots or not. Amazing.

After successfully clearing the first jungle wave, Lin Xingling calculated in his mind how long it would take for Luna to finish her red buff and estimated the approximate respawn time of the enemy red buff.

He pursed his lips and called Cheng Che, “Let’s go, it’s time for us to make a move in the jungle.”

Cheng Che took a few steps forward and asked, “Gank the bot lane?”

Lin Xingling replied, “No, let’s go for the top lane.”

Cheng Che: ???

Confused, he asked, “Do you mean the bottom lane or the top lane?”

Wu You, with the Red Falcon active, answered on behalf of Lin Xingling, “The top lane, Old Master.”

Lin Xingling said, “Xiao You is misleading.”

With a display of jungle temper, it was clear… Cheng Che knew that.

In the voice recordings of the SYG team from his previous life, Stars called himself a trash talker.

Now, mentioning Old Master in the same way as he did with Wu You, it was normal.

It didn’t bother him much usually, but it would provoke him during the game.

“Pressure the mid lane and push forward, I’ll go gank the trash talker.”

…

He unintentionally created a false vision by going to the top lane, and Cheng Che couldn’t help but smirk. He didn’t say anything and used the vision from the bush behind the river wall, sneaking down stealthily.

Yao joined him after crossing his own jungle.

Old Master cleared a wave and successfully leveled up his ultimate at level 4. It was his power spike moment. Utilizing the four-stack passive from the ranged minions, he flashed and bound Di Ren Jie.

Before he could even make a move on Di Ren Jie, he was suddenly hit by a shot… it was Bai Li Shou Yue.

At that moment, Old Master didn’t sense the seriousness of the situation. He still thought he could solo kill Di Ren Jie with half health before Bai Li Shou Yue arrived.

He held the idea of at worst a one-for-one trade and had no intention of backing off.

Then, out of the bush, Yao emerged: surprise!

The first blood was secured by Stars, and uu and Clear received assists.

Phantom and Liu Ying in the bot lane were caught by Luna’s gank. Liu Ying used his second skill to hold Luna and saved Hua Mulan, but he was focused and killed by the enemy mid and jungle.

Liu Ying sighed in relief, “Xiao Pei, be careful. When I respawn, I’ll go find the ADC.”

DW’s bot lane was cautious. They couldn’t find an opportunity to engage with Gui Gu Zi and Hua Mulan and

were instead countered by the enemy jungle and mid… this indicated that the bot lane was not the breakthrough point.

Phantom said, “Okay.”

The two who helped establish an advantage in the bot lane also agreed to have Liu Ying return to the farming lane to help Wu You apply pressure.

Wu You: That’s what I want!

…

Yao took the dragon, and Bai Li Shou Yue returned to the mid lane to clear the wave.

Suddenly, Cheng Che said, “I’m only two shots away from ‘No Misses’.”

Lin Xingling smiled lightly and asked, “Are you still daring to fight?”

“To be honest, not really, but…”

Cheng Che couldn’t finish his sentence before Lin Xingling interrupted, saying, “Now, take a shot at the enemy’s tower with one shot left.”

Without asking why, Cheng Che followed his instructions.

Clear trusted Stars’ prediction… and it worked.

“Alright, go all out now.” Lin Xingling said casually.

If you have fear in your heart, you won’t dare to make a move.

So that’s what it meant.

Cheng Che murmured in agreement and landed two consecutive shots, directly taking down half of Yuan Ge’s health.

“Nice.”

…

Commentator Jiang Li explained the current situation to the audience: “Currently, DCT has a lead of 5,000 in economy and can try to make a strong push since the mid-game is the power spike for the Vegetable Knife Team.”

[“DCT, charge!”]

[“We’re all Vegetable Knives, let’s see who’s more stubborn.”]

[“Definitely the six iron walnuts of my DCT [emoticon].”]

Everyone on the DCT team thought the same.

After Stars activated his Domination skill—

Bai Li Shou Yue cleared the wave and applied pressure to the enemy’s health bar. Yao used his ultimate under the tower, and Di Ren Jie passively targeted the tower, holding Gui Gu Zi, who was ready to use Wind Spirit Rune to engage.

DW helplessly watched their mid lane high ground being destroyed and was forced to engage in a team fight in front of their crystal.

Due to the economic disadvantage, they lost helplessly.

In the end, Bai Li Shou Yue was one shot away from triggering the “No Misses” voice prompt, but unfortunately, Yao wiped out the entire enemy team.

“Quadra Kill!“

Excited, commentator Jiang Li announced, “Quadra Kill! Stars got a quadra kill! Can he get a penta kill?!”

Another commentator said, “He’s so excited he forgot that Clear got the first kill in the team fight with a blind shot.”

[“Rounding up, Clear stole Stars’ penta kill.”]

[“Getting revenge for the stolen kill [emoticon].”]

[“I’ll always remember Lu Ban flashing to kill someone, only to be killed by Gui Gu Zi’s basic attack.”]

[” Dad Star: My shooter has grown up so much.”]

“Victory!“

The match ended, and the players from both teams went back to their respective backstage resting rooms.

On the way, Cheng Che asked Lin Xingling about the shot he was asked to take at the first tower in the enemy mid lane. Lin Xingling just smiled.

“It’s something to be understood, not to be explained.”

That was the answer Cheng Che deserved, and he nodded.

Author’s note:

【Mini Theater】

Hamster Lin Xingling (cute and adorable, clasping hands):…

What else can I say? Should I say that I predicted that the enemy Yuan Ge would take the health pack to restore his health, but it didn’t hit?

Cat Cheng Che:…

I’m going to smack you with a hammer!

---

Chapter 53 – Clue

Lin Xingling and Cheng Che, the first group, found the clues and left the secret room. Then Lian Rong and his girlfriend, the second group, came out.

Finally seeing their former teammate, Lian Rong breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Da Ling, the ghost we encountered in the checkpoint was the one in the basement, an old acquaintance… er, an old ghost. It was quite easy to pass.”

His girlfriend nodded in agreement.

Lin Xingling, the master of perfunctory learning, raised his thumb and praised, “Well done, Xiao Rong, you’re amazing.”

“Brother, don’t talk like that, it’s weird…” Lian Rong waved his hand at him and looked at Cheng Che, saying, “The ghost asked about you and Liu Ying, saying he was somewhat disappointed not to meet the two of you.”

(The ghost’s original words: “I was a bit disappointed not to see the crybaby, [grinding teeth] even more disappointed not to see the Smurfs.”)

Cheng Che: “Hmm…”

If I see her again, I’ll give her a fireman’s carry.

Wu You: “Xiao Pei, come on! Come on, come on, come on~”

Phantom: “……”

Expressionless, they found all the clues and used a wire to pick the lock on the door, taking the annoying spirit with them as they left.

This was the third group.

The fourth group—

“Eh?! I haven’t gotten out yet!”

While finding the clues, they also unlocked the door’s code. Ke Le, being a gentleman, let Liu Ying go out first, but he didn’t expect to be left behind.

He pounded on the door, but it wouldn’t open. Even when he tried entering the code again, there was no response.

Liu Ying, anxious, asked the NPC next to him, “What’s going on?”

The actress playing the disguised basement ghost replied, “This is another task. The room door is ‘malfunctioning,’ and you need to open it from the outside.”

I, the crybaby little brother, am here~

Liu Ying pondered for a while and asked a silly question, “Can I kick the door open?”

Inside, Ke Ke heard it and sighed helplessly, touching his forehead. “he truly deserves to be DCT’s little brother; him thoughts are so naive.”

“You can~”

The password-protected door could be kicked open with force, but… with the crybaby’s petite figure, it was truly beyond him capabilities.

“Alright, Ke Ke, step back.”

After confirming that Ke Ke had moved to a safe position, Liu Ying took a few steps back, counted silently in his mind—three, two, one—ran and kicked the door open with a sidekick.

The family of martial artists, no need to boast.

Ke Ke:…

The last group seemed to be playing around. They didn’t really focus on finding clues and instead found a chair to sit down and chat.

Liang Feng asked about Gu Xincha’s recent situation and worried about his health. Gu Xincha didn’t have much to say, just answering questions.

The host’s ghost came in several times and was ignored.

The backstage staff cut off the power in the room, intending to create a sense of crisis for them. However, it conveniently helped the rogue—Liang Feng took the opportunity to stand up and kissed Gu Xincha.

“Mmm… Liang Feng, what are you doing!”

Host: That’s impolite.

Backstage staff: Ghost, come back! Don’t let them show PDA again!

Unable to do anything, the butler personally came and handed them the clues,

saying they only needed to crack the door code.

“The door code…” Liang Feng rubbed his chin, with an air of ‘senility.’

As the ancients said, beauty can make a country fall, and he had only been with Gu Xincha for half an hour, but his mind was already dull.

Gu Xincha asked the butler, “Can you give us another hint? We… um, haven’t played many decryption games.”

The first level relied on luck and hints, the second level was just enjoying the scenery and playing the piano, and the third level involved chatting with friends… truly something.

The butler suppressed the desire to knock his beautiful head and elegantly handed them a hint card.

The card read: “The host likes polite people.”

“I see…”

After Liang Feng finished reading, he calmly and gracefully walked to the door and bowed three times.

Gu Xincha: Stunned—

Butler:…

“Forget it, I’ll just inform the backstage to open the door for you.”

Regardless of how they cleared the level, all ten people obtained the clues and gathered together to solve the case of the entire family’s death in the villa.

Everyone received achievement badges and exquisite little gifts.

The actress who played the basement ghost even came over and gave Liu Ying a big red hairband.

Kindness is hard to refuse. Liu Ying tied the hairband in front of him and made a butterfly-shaped bow at the ends.

“It’s like Snow White,” Lian Rong’s girlfriend clapped her hands. “So cute!”

Lian Rong smiled gently. “Yes, very cute.”

Cheng Che: So feminine…

Wu You: And a bit stylish, what’s happening?

…

Then they followed the procedures and took a big group photo with the ghosts before happily leaving the haunted house.

After that, they were supposed to split up, but because Liang Feng wanted to tell everyone in the DCT team about their next opponent, the DW team, all ten of them stayed together.

They ran into Charity on the way.

When they saw Lin Xingling and the others, Chen Enchi came running from afar, waving his hands. “Little~ Sugar~ Bean~! Little~ Sweet~ Cake~! Coach~ Ge~!”

Lin Xingling & Liang Feng & Lian Rong:…

Help, can we pretend we don’t know this person?

Even the kids couldn’t tell who Charity was calling, so they relied on Gu Xincha to educate them: “Little Sugar Bean is Stars, Little Sweet Cake is Lian Rong, and the last one, there you go.”

The three of them felt embarrassed by these nicknames.

When Chen Enchi arrived, Liang Feng asked him, “Are you playing here alone?”

Chen Enchi shook his head. “No, I’m with my cousin. I just sent him away to buy ice cream, but then I realized my phone was with him… and then I saw you guys.”

Lin Xingling suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Chen Enchi said, “Little Sugar Bean, aren’t we the best in the world?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll go buy it for you.”

He bought two as requested, and when Lin Xingling handed the ice cream to him, Chen Enchi handed one to Lian Rong. “Here, for you. You’re my best friend.”

Lian Rong: “But you just said…”

Chen Enchi interrupted him, “I was lying to him!”

And right next to them, Lin Xingling:…

Cheng Che: Trying not to laugh and getting internal injuries.

Wu You: Plus one.

Only then did Lian Rong accept the ice cream. But just as he received it, his cousin, Xiao Nuomi, who had rushed over, grabbed him.

“Little Sweet Cake! The best in the world! The very best!!!”

After shouting, he even extended his thumb: We’re awesome!

“Cough…” Cheng Che held back his laughter, his face hurting, and had to grab Lin Xingling’s arm to shift his attention and lighten the mood.

“Haven’t I told you that he’s mentally ill?” Lin Xingling touched his hair, annoyed. “…He’ll drive me crazy sooner or later.”

Wu You teased, “Don’t, if he drives you crazy, there’ll be no one left for Brother Che to get angry at.”

Lin Xingling smiled, “Xiao You is saying nonsense. Brother Che is the most obedient.”

Obedient… obedient? Obedient!!!

Upon hearing this, Cheng Che’s mood instantly brightened.

I’m obedient, Stars likes obedient people, so the captain will like me too… right?

He looked at Lin Xingling again, his confidence suddenly soaring. Cheng Che tiptoed and whispered in his ear, “We are… the very, very, very best. Buy me ice cream later.”

“Okay, okay, okay.”

…

While Chen Enchi was still far away, Lian Rong gave the ice cream to Liu Ying. “This is for Liu Ying as a reward. Next time in the competition, you need to carry stably.”

It was from an old teammate, not suitable for his girlfriend, and the coach couldn’t eat cold things, so he gave it to Liu Ying, who was also a mid-laner.

Liu Ying took it and shook the big red bow, resembling rabbit ears. “Ah… Thank you, God Lian!”

“Well, you’re welcome…” Lian Rong shifted his gaze from him and gave a meaningful look to Lin Xingling.

Afterward, he bid farewell to the friends from the DCT team.

Lin Xingling watched him leave.

…Clearly, what Lian Rong just talked about was a summary of the experiences Coach Gu had gathered about playing against the DW team.

In the end, he still cared about Liang Feng.

Even if it’s destined to be a different path, I will do my best to help him.

Liang Feng… He is accurate when it comes to others’ matters, but narrow-minded when it comes to his own.

He doesn’t understand what Gu Xincha meant by saying he will have prospects.

Lin Xingling sighed in his heart as he looked at Cheng Che beside him.

Well, having a little aspiration is also good.

Liu Ying handed the ice cream he was holding to Cheng Che, claiming that it was given by someone she likes, so it should be shared with her best friend.

Spreading joy.

Wu You: “Hilarious! It’s because God Lian has a girlfriend now, so they don’t really want the ice cream he gave. Right, Ying?”

Phantom: “Say a few less words, no one will die.”

“You’re… you’re just jealous… jealous that Liu Ying and I are the best,” Cheng Che joked while rolling his eyes and holding the ice cream.

Wu You: “Who’s jealous!”

Liu Ying shook him head, “If I had known that God Lian had a girlfriend, I wouldn’t have been unhappy.”

You’re not happy…

Being a god, killing Yang Yuhuan, getting a Penta Kill… The memories were vivid and always worth mentioning.

The kids bickered for a while, and Cheng Che gave the ice cream to Lin Xingling again, by which time the ice cream had almost melted.

“…Well, I’ll take this ice cream. I’ll buy you new ones later.”

Lin Xingling took a photo of herself holding the ice cream and sent it to Chen Enchi, receiving a string of question marks from him, as expected.

[DCT-Stars: It’s still with me after going around in circles.]

[SYG-Charity: You really are… [go beg].]

…

After buying ice cream and playing other activities, they wandered around the amusement park, playing until late before taking the bus back.

Cheng Che, who was prone to motion sickness, sat with Lin Xingling. His body swayed, and eventually, he leaned on his lap.

Lin Xingling stroked his hair and sighed, “Being prone to motion sickness is not a solution. What if the schedule is in another city in the future, where there’s no electric scooter to ride…”

Cheng Che made a helpless humming sound.

“Dizziness medicine, blindfold, plastic bag. There’s always one that suits you, Brother Che,” Wu You snapped his fingers. “Or just blindfold yourself, that’s how donkeys work.”

“You’re the… you’re the donkey, idiot.”

Cheng Che muttered back without enthusiasm.

Lin Xingling:…

Actually, I think what Xiao You said is not bad.

“For the Eastern teams, it’s fine since most of the venues are in Shanghai… but when facing Western teams, it’s highly likely to be in another city, especially against SYG, it’s mostly in Chengdu.”

Liang Feng suddenly interjected with these words.

“That’s good. Our next opponent is DW…”

…

The Three Aristocrats, unbeatable. SYG ranks first, TG has the highest popularity, and DW is a rising star, with skilled players and a strong fan base.

Author’s note:

Everyday life, collection.

Starting from tomorrow, we’ll be competing, and it’s safe to say that competitions are exciting.

---

Chapter 52 – Idol

Phantom said, “Coach T?”

The kids in the team are not Lin Xingling, they don’t know about themselves and Gu Xincha…

Liang Feng turned around the moment he realized that Pei was not joking with the “Coach T” remark.

The other person responded, “Oh, it’s Pei.”

Liang Feng walked into the children’s room, and Gu Xincha stood up from the piano.

He was wearing a light gray shirt today, embroidered with bamboo and narrow leaf patterns, black cropped pants, and white shoes… plus a little sprout-shaped hairpin on his bangs, he looked youthful, not like someone in their late twenties or early thirties, but more like a young person.

“What a coincidence.”

“Really coincidental…”

Apart from that, the two looked at each other in silence.

Ke Ke, who followed the coach and the mid-lane god to play, timidly greeted them.

Wu You, who has socializing issues, said, “Hello, Ke Ke. Hey, this gaze… why do I feel like you and my brother Che… tsk, your single eyelid does resemble his…”

That pitiful gaze also resembled it…

Wu You said as he touched his chin, then carefully observed the child and asked, “Is your surname Cheng?”

Ke Ke shook his head.

Phantom helplessly patted Wu You’s shoulder.

“Cough…”

Suddenly, the hanging toy on the child’s bed fell…

Wu You accompanied him to pick up the fancy beads and pendants, looked at nothing special, and hung them back.

“Who did you come with?”

After a long silence, Liang Feng finally spoke.

Gu Xincha meekly responded, “With Ke Ke and the mid-laner and his girlfriend from the team… we came together.”

Liang Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu You turned his head and asked, “Are you also splitting up?”

“Yeah, God Lian and the others went to the basement.” Ke Ke nodded.

Lian Rong… the basement over there… suddenly a smile appeared on Wu You’s face, puzzling everyone.

Brother Ying was able to meet God Lian, whom he liked… and God Lian’s girlfriend, damn it? Will he cry? Help–

Then everyone watched him perform Sichuan opera: changing his expression in a second.

Wu You said with some concern, “Did we find any clues? Should we hurry up and meet with Brother Che and the others? Are you also with the Coach T?”

“Yeah, sure.”

…

The group of six led by Cheng Che had just come out of the basement and walked into the lobby when they heard hurried footsteps coming from the adjacent staircase.

Wu You was the first to appear in everyone’s sight, rushing straight towards Liu Ying, “Brother Ying?!”

Cheng Che: ???

Lin Xingling, who shielded Cheng Che in his arms the first time, said, “You scared me… I thought you were going to fight with your Brother Che again.”

“Do I look like that kind of person…” Wu You argued back, carefully looking at Liu Ying… his eyes were red, but she still seemed fine overall, so there shouldn’t be any major issues.

“No.” Cheng Che silently flipped him off.

…Lin Xingling reached out and pressed his hand back down.

“Xiao You,” Liu Ying felt uneasy under his gaze, “Is there something on my face?”

Wu You shook his head and asked, “Did you cry?”

“Yeah…”

While waiting for Phantom and Liang Feng to arrive, Lin Xingling briefly explained the sequence of events: how they encountered the female ghost, how Liu Ying was scared and cried, and how they encountered Lian Rong…

“In short, this is the clue we obtained.”

Cheng Che summarized and handed the obtained clue to their coach.

“A true man must be courageous.”

…Knowing that Liu Ying didn’t lose control because of Lian Rong’s girlfriend, Wu You finally felt relieved.

Phantom silently watched Xiao Bian behind him.

Watching Xiao Bian’s ponytail bobbing up and down as he spoke, like a chirping flower magpie.

“Will the third level… still be scary?”

Cheng Che looked at Lin Xingling and asked, “Is Liu Ying scared… Can we stop playing?”

It’s you who’s scared… Lin Xingling saw through but didn’t expose him, just shook his head, “Let’s continue playing, take this opportunity to let him build up his courage, boys should be brave.”

When Liang Feng, the IQ guy, and Lian Rong’s girlfriend solved the clues and opened the third level, which was also the final level, the NPC butler came and presented them with ten identical cards.

There were five pairs of the same patterns, and those who drew the same cards formed a group.

Cheng Che and Lin Xingling both drew the pattern of a cat and a mouse, automatically forming a group.

…Wu You and Phantom had SpongeBob SquarePants and Squidward, Liang Feng and Gu Xincha had Calabash Brothers and Little Butterfly, Liu Ying and Lian Rong had Rabbit Baoge and Fox, Ke Ke and Lian Rong’s girlfriend had Black Cat Police Officer and White Cat Squad Leader.

The last two groups were somewhat awkward, so Liu Ying volunteered to exchange cards with Lian Rong’s girlfriend and teamed up with Ke Ke.

From then on, Lian Rong’s impression of him grew: sensible.

After dividing into groups, they went in five different directions, following the guidance of the maid to five different passages.

They walked through a dark corridor, and Cheng Che and Lin Xingling groped their way to the mission point, opened the door, and found a room with red candles lit, with a large bed adorned with a wedding canopy in the middle.

“What… what’s wrong…”

Cheng Che scratched the back of his head and looked a bit embarrassed as he glanced at the large circular bed covered with a red sheet and scattered with red rose petals.

Those who knew understood that this was the haunted house mission point, but those who didn’t know would think it was some kind of hotel…

Lin Xingling, on the other hand, was diligently searching for clues, searching for props, and deciphering various puzzles.

On every wall of the large room, there was a door, all identical, except for the one they entered through, which led to a corridor, and they had no idea what was behind the other doors.

After searching for a while, Lin Xingling became a bit tired and sat on the bed, lifting the red curtain.

“I’ll rest for a while. I can’t reach that cabinet.”

While waiting to reap the benefits of his labor, Cheng Che suddenly asked with a soulful question, “Captain, do you remember which door we came through?”

Lin Xingling: Oh no!

“I think I forgot, but we should be able to open it, right?”

The two quickly tried one door after another, but the result confirmed that none of the doors could be opened.

Cheng Che sighed in frustration, “We’re done for…”

At this rate, they would probably have to wait for the butler to come and rescue them.

“No way, it’s just being trapped here, it can’t be worse than this…”

“Hiss—crackle—”

…Before Lin Xingling could finish his sentence, the lights in the room short-circuited, and in an instant, the two were enveloped in darkness.

“Nothing could be worse than being trapped together.”

Lin Xingling: “No, I think…”

Cheng Che used the candlelight to see his face clearly, and he waved his hand to cover his mouth, “Captain, shh… say less.”

“Um…”

In the awkward silence, neither of them spoke or moved, just standing by the bed.

Dim and ambiguous rooms always make people have improper thoughts…

“…”

Cheng Che lowered his head, and when Lin Xingling wasn’t paying attention, he hugged his waist again.

Hug~

For some reason… even Cheng Che himself didn’t know why, in his previous life, he despised any kind of intimate relationship with anyone, but in this life, he inexplicably enjoyed hugging.

…But with the premise of it being Lin Xingling.

The initial idol filter he had for him gradually faded away, covered by the mundane aspects of life and the bickering and laughter, turning Lin Xingling from an unattainable idol into a reachable… friend? Family? Captain? Or something else?

Cheng Che didn’t know what kind of feelings he had towards Lin Xingling, he just knew that he seemed to really like him.

That layer of ambiguous relationship couldn’t reveal its true origin.

Since being reborn three years ago, Cheng Che could say that his consciousness and skills in playing KPL had improved significantly compared to his seventeen or eighteen-year-old self. But in terms of mentality… it was basically the same.

He knows it. Both in their twenties, Lin Xingling lives like a mature and stable adult, while he can only act like a willful child.

However, being doted on and treated like a child isn’t bad either.

Cheng Che acts spoiled because he senses the possibility of being favored.

Lin Xingling doesn’t disappoint him.

“Good baby, come here for a hug, Captain give a good hug…”

The fuzzy head of the child rests on his shoulder, and Lin Xingling feels warm inside. There is a hint of laughter in his tone.

Cheng Che is just holding him and feeling happy.

Personnel on the surveillance side:…

What are they showing off? Ghosty 10086, get moving!

So, the two hugging each other only hear the sound of the door opening. When they look, a bulky middle-aged female ghost appears in the room.

According to the previous plot summary and the solutions to the previous two levels, they are detectives investigating the case of the entire family’s tragic death… The basement ghost is the mistress, and the one in the room should be the nanny.

“Ah-woo… Ah-woo-woo-woo!”

The nanny’s ghost seems quite displeased with them.

Cheng Che:…

If that basement ghost is scared because of Liu Ying’s terrifying performance, and now there is no Liu Ying, what do you have to scare me with?

“Um… let’s talk nicely and communicate, okay?” Lin Xingling tries to speak ghost language. “We will find out the cause of death for you, can you give us some clues?”

The other party remains silent, just silently staring at the two of them.

Quite into the role, should consider becoming an actor.

Cheng Che tugs at his sleeve, and Lin Xingling cooperatively raises his arm, allowing the child to hug his waist again.

Nanny ghost:…

“I really can’t blame Xiao You for saying you have short legs when you hug.” Lin Xingling laughs.

Cheng Che says, “Well, it’s because you said it first…”

“Because it’s cute, and it sounds obedient.” Lin Xingling ruffles his hair and says, “Hmm, actually there’s another one… called Shorty.”

“Because the first time I saw you, you were crouching on the ground like a bun.”

“I’m… I’m inseparable from being short, right?” (Che)

“Where did you get…” (Xing)

Nanny ghost: “Ahem…”

Be a bit more discreet in public, Ghosty is still here!!!

The two automatically ignore Ghosty—

Lin Xingling (affectionately): “You’re still young, you can still grow taller, don’t worry.”

Cheng Che: “…Hmm.”

Ghosty mutters and turns around, pushing the door open and leaving.

The two: Plan successful!

“It’s… this door, wait, let me make a mark!”

Cheng Che takes the red candle handed by Lin Xingling and places it by the door. “The password, I just watched her movements, should be… zero two nine nine. Let’s find the clues on this side and go out.”

Lin Xingling gives him a thumbs-up gesture.

…When Cheng Che asked him to lift his hand and hug himself earlier, he whispered a rough plan in his ear. It sounded far-fetched, but it turned out to be so smooth when executed.

Compared to the other teams, their task was reduced by half.

Afterwards, finding props and deciphering clues became quite simple. Lin Xingling completed everything and led Cheng Che to enter the password and exit through the exit. To their surprise, there

was a gloomy-faced Ghosty standing at the door.

Lin Xingling (sweating): “Hello?”

Cheng Che: “Um…”

Ghosty:…

Used and manipulated, damn it hurts…

Author’s note:

Ghosty: Team Ghosty is having a tough time.

---

Chapter 51 – Haunted House

I went to the haunted house for real, and it’s true that I lost face.

First, Cheng Che completed the solo mission and obtained the clues. But when he tried to leave, he found that the door wouldn’t open. He pushed the door and shouted for two to three minutes, “Butler (NPC)! Why is this door locked?” “Help!” “Captain, come and save me!”

Until Lin Xingling came over and knocked on the door:

“Don’t push, the door opens inward. Just pull it.”

Cheng Che: … It makes me look stupid.

But he couldn’t think much about it, so he pulled the door open and finally saw Lin Xingling again after more than half an hour. Cheng Che almost cried at that moment.

“What happened?”

A child rushed out and immediately hugged himself. Lin Xingling thought he was scared and hugged him tightly, saying, “Don’t be afraid, Captain is here.”

Wu You came out from another room: …

“Oh, isn’t this the short-legged hug monster? Haven’t seen you for a few minutes, and you’re so clingy?”

Cheng Che let go of Lin Xingling and glared at him.

Wu You: “Why are you squinting at me with your monolid?”

Cheng Che: “You…”

Wu You: “Don’t snarl at me. Your snarl doesn’t even look like a cat anymore. It’s more like a dog.”

Cheng Che: “…”

A fierce battle was about to break out. Lin Xingling wanted to intervene but couldn’t stop them. His own two team members instantly started fighting, throwing punches and kicks with great enthusiasm.

Coincidentally, Liang Feng and Phantom also came out and enjoyed a free “martial arts performance” in the haunted house corridor.

The three of them tacitly refrained from intervening to stop the fight. Liang Feng even held back Lin Xingling, who wanted to go up and intervene, and advised him, “Fighting is a sign of intimacy.”

Lin Xingling smiled bitterly, “You two, please stop.”

Cheng Che pinched Wu You’s neck and said fiercely, “No, it’s impossible!”

Not angry, so he didn’t use much force.

Wu You easily broke free from his grip and pressed him against the wall. “That’s right, we’re going to fight to the death.”

Calm as Liu Ying, he took out his phone and recorded this scene, saying that he would send it to Phantom as a behind-the-scenes vlog.

Liang Feng raised his thumb, “You’re really smart.”

“…”

Even the NPC butler couldn’t stand it anymore. He came over and pulled them apart, and with a reproachful tone, he told Lin Xingling to control his “Blue Elf.”

The Blue Elf refers to Cheng Che, the young boy with a blue T-shirt and blue eyes.

This nickname is quite cute…

Wu You: “Blue~ Elf~”

“Do you believe that I’ll… I’ll kill you!” Cheng Che flipped him off.

“Tsk, stop quarreling.” Lin Xingling immediately hugged Cheng Che, like a mother hen protecting her chicks, and said, “The two of you combined are smaller than my shoe size. What are you arguing about?”

Now it was Liu Ying and the others who laughed, while Cheng Che and Wu You were just unwilling to admit defeat.

Liang Feng suggested, “You two should draw lots. The one who loses apologizes first, and the winner apologizes last. Can we turn the page after that?”

“Rock, paper, scissors, rock, paper, scissors…”

“They both chose rock again.”

They drew lots three times and got the same result each time. Liu Ying sighed, “They are really in sync.”

Cheng Che & Wu You: “Heh.”

They were ready for the fourth round.

Cheng Che: “Rock, paper, scissors…”

Wu You extended his fist and quickly punched him before he could react, laughing and saying, “Rock!… Alright, I admit defeat. Sorry, Brother Che!”

Cheng Che, who got punched out of nowhere, showed a helpless expression of an honest person.

Everyone laughed, except for Lin Xingling who looked at him helplessly, “Well, it’s time to apologize to Xiao You.”

Apologize, huh?

The honest person grabbed Wu You and started hitting him with punches, saying sorry with each hit, repeatedly saying sorry… until Wu You was rolling on the ground, he finally stopped.

After finishing, he ran to Lin Xingling and hugged him. Lin Xingling protected him, and Wu You, taking into account that the captain was “old, weak, sick, and disabled,” didn’t fight back.

After resolving the issues of the two unfortunate individuals, the six of them split into two groups. Xiao You, Xiao Pei, and Brother Feng went upstairs to investigate the children’s room, while the remaining three went to the basement to prepare to collaborate and solve the next puzzle.

The NPC butler mentioned that four detectives had already entered the villa for investigation before them, so there was a high chance of encountering the other team, and they should try to get along peacefully.

Therefore, when Lin Xingling walked with the two children into the pitch-black basement and bumped into a disheveled woman ghost in a fluorescent white dress, he thought it was the other team and showed no signs of panic.

He even greeted, “Hello?”

Cheng Che held onto Lin Xingling’s arm tightly.

With his nearsightedness and slight night blindness, Lin Xingling asked, “Are we also… players? Are you alone?”

“Captain…” Cheng Che tiptoed and whispered in his ear, “Th-that’s a ghost, right?”

Lin Xingling was confident, “How could it be? The butler said we would encounter the other team. Don’t worry, don’t be afraid.”

Cheng Che: …I’m not afraid of ghosts, I’m afraid of being dumbed down by you.

Damn it! Which player would glow like that? He must be sick, afraid that you wouldn’t be able to see him, right?!

But in the pitch-black basement, it seemed like there were indeed other people present, making occasional rustling sounds in the darkness.

Following the development of a horror story, the people hiding in the darkness were scarier than the visible ghosts.

But it’s just a game…

The woman ghost in white raised her head, revealing a pale face devoid of blood and stuck out a long tongue.

“Ah!!!”

Liu Ying screamed in fear, let go of Cheng Che, and ran back. With a loud bang, he bumped into the wall, and it sounded genuinely painful.

From a distance, a familiar voice was heard, “Who is it? Are you alright?… Holy shit, it’s a ghost!!!”

Lin Xingling & Cheng Che: Stunned—

The woman ghost opened her big mouth, “Woo wow wow!!!”

“Damn damn damn damn!” Cheng Che was scared out of his wits.

Without thinking much, he grabbed Lin Xingling and ran, also grabbing Liu Ying who was hiding nearby. The three of them ran back to the first floor as if their lives depended on it…

“Damn, that’s really… really fucking scary…”

Cheng Che let go of Liu Ying and patted his chest, his heart seemed like it was about to jump out.

“Ha… Ha, don’t curse… cough…” Lin Xingling, out of breath, criticized and educated him while trying to catch his breath.

Liu Ying: …

The unfamiliar girl who was pulled up by Cheng Che, thinking she was Liu Ying: “Um… Did you mistake me for someone else? Your friend should still be downstairs, right?”

The two, hearing the girl’s voice, looked puzzled and turned their heads, “Ah…”

Mistaken identity? Wrong person? Where is the person?!

The two of them were bewildered, and the girl was even more lost… She had heard from the NPC butler that her boyfriend should have gone to the basement to find her, so she thought of going down to the basement to search.

As a result, as soon as she went downstairs, she encountered a terrifying woman ghost in the pitch-black darkness. Then she was dragged back up by two unknown boys who didn’t recognize her boyfriend.

The three of them looked at each other.

“Well… shall we go down to help you find your boyfriend? And bring Liu Ying up as well?” Lin Xingling said after hearing the girl’s words.

It could already be anticipated that Liu Ying would definitely cry a lot… Cheng Che nodded, “Sh-should we go?”

They said it and walked. The two of them, along with the girl, went downstairs again. When they reached the basement door, they found it locked.

From inside, they could hear the maniacal laughter of the woman ghost and Liu Ying’s heart-wrenching cries, as well as… the voice of the girl’s boyfriend, saying who knows what.

“Damn it…” Cheng Che cursed, knocking on the door and shouting, “If it’s one against two, what kind of skill is that… if you have the guts, open the door. We… we’ll make it fair, five against one!”

Lin Xingling chuckled and began searching for any clues around.

As luck would have it, with his and the girl’s careful search, they found the power switch and installed it. Pressing the button, the entire hallway and basement lit up.

The door also opened.

Cheng Che, who was pounding on the door: ?!

Cheng Che’s hand was about to hit the door, but Cheng Che himself rushed forward, tripped, and made the woman ghost laugh…

The woman ghost covered her face and ran away, hiding behind several rows of bookshelves.

Hamster Ball: What the hell?!

“Are you okay? Does it hurt? Let me rub it for you. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt, it flew away.”

Helping Cheng Che up and patting the nonexistent dust off him, Lin Xingling massaged his hand and rubbed his face, as if afraid that the obedient little one would get hurt.

The girl on the side was left dumbfounded.

Cheng Che glanced at her helplessly, his gaze seemed to say:

This is my idol. A few days ago, he got kicked by a donkey while saving me and got seriously ill. I have no choice. I have to bring him everywhere I go.

“Wu wu… um… cough cough cough…”

“Stop crying. I’m not afraid of the female ghost. I’m afraid of being scared by your crying,” said the boyfriend as he protected Liu Ying, who was curled up in the corner.

He noticed the light turning on and looked up, saying, “Look, we’re saved.”

Lin Xingling: “Xiao Rong?”

It’s a small world indeed. Shanghai is still too small.

“Ah Rong!” the girl waved her hand and looked at the two people next to her, saying, “You guys know each other!… Hey! Clear! Stars!”

Just now, I only found them familiar, but now I remember everything.

“Um…” Cheng Che broke free from Lin Xingling’s embrace, his face looking a little displeased, and he pulled Liu Ying up, saying, “I pulled the wrong person just now, I came back… I came back to pick you up.”

Liu Ying: QwQ

“It’s you guys.” Lian Rong breathed a sigh of relief.

…Almost got scared to death by this child, Liu Ying.

…

Meeting acquaintances naturally brings more joy. After stabilizing Liu Ying’s emotions, Cheng Che led the four of them with laughter and joy to find the female ghost and communicate through gestures.

Female Ghost: Danger!!!

The female ghost deeply felt that the little blue elf child was not to be messed with, so she directly hid.

Cheng Che searched for her for a while but couldn’t find her.

“I… I’ll wait here.”

“Alright, stop acting childish. Let’s go and join Brother Feng and the others with the clues,” Lin Xingling pulled the person and walked away.

Liu Ying followed in fear.

Lian Rong and his girlfriend brought up the rear.

The female ghost, who watched them leave, whispered, “Whew…”

As soon as Cheng Che finished catching his breath, he suddenly appeared again, saying, “Caught you…”

Female Ghost: “Aaahhh!!!”

Damn it, scared the ghost.

Cheng Che: …

After Lin Xingling apologized to the staff, they dragged the little troublemaker away again.

At the same time, Liang Feng, Wu You, and the others had already found all the necessary clues from the voodoo dolls and the haunted piano in the children’s room.

They had just finished searching the balcony and were about to go downstairs when they were suddenly attracted by the melodious piano music coming from the nursery.

“I remember… We stopped the piano in the children’s room, right?” Liang Feng clenched his fist.

From the first stage downstairs, each team member was responsible for a different location: the parents’ room, the nanny’s room, the study, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room… Each room was assigned to one person.

In the second stage, they worked in teams of three, and they heard that they might encounter another team… but they hadn’t encountered anyone until now.

Phantom said, “Maybe it’s the other team?”

“Who the hell has nothing better to do than play their grandmother’s piano!” Wu You slapped his forehead and couldn’t bear to hear the familiar tune of “Für Elise” anymore.

“What is this playing now?” Liang Feng asked Phantom.

After carefully listening for five seconds, Phantom replied, “Nocturne, the fifth movement.”

“But please tell me tonight will be forever, forever love me and never leave me…”

“Don’t leave me, I won’t waste any more time in this world.”

As the music ended, applause could even be heard in the room.

“I have a bold guess. If the person inside is not the other team mentioned by the butler… then it should be an ‘Easter egg,’ right?”

Liang Feng speculated.

Wu You tugged on Phantom’s clothes and asked, “Shall we open the door and take a look?”

Liang Feng said, “Let’s go downstairs.”

Wu You patted his shoulder to boost his courage and said, “What are you afraid of, Head Instructor? Don’t be afraid of guilty conscience. We’re just playing a game. Don’t be scared, let’s go and have a look.”

…

After countless attempts to motivate Brother Feng with no results, Phantom pushed open the door of the nursery.

“Who is it?” Wu You asked from behind him.

At that moment, Liang Feng had already reached the staircase. Upon hearing Phantom’s answer, he turned around and hurriedly walked back.

Author’s note:

【Mini Theater】 – The Arrival of the Female Ghost

Female Ghost: You two play rock-paper-scissors, and I’ll eat the loser~

Cat Che: How about you eat Liu Ying?

Hamster Xingling (at the same time): Whimper whimper, eat me, spare my little ones!

(Liu Ying: Thank you!)

Female Ghost: Liu Ying is not on my menu.

Cat Che: Your mom is.

Hamster Xingling: Don’t insult people.

Cat Che: She’s not a person.

Another round of laughter

Female Ghost: ????

Cat Che: Let’s make it fair and play rock-paper-scissors.

Hamster Xingling: I’ll choose rock, and you choose paper, okay?

Cat Che: I’ll fucking choose a fist!

(Beat up the female ghost)

Female Ghost: Swearing and complaining

Female Ghost: (Profanity)

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