The MSI tournament is about to start, and all the participating teams are intensively training. However, the SVP team has reduced the number of practice matches with other teams.
Because they have a best training partner in their team now.
Jiang Mo has never taken on an apprentice before. When Xia Zeyu requested to be his disciple, he initially refused. Unable to withstand Xia Zeyu’s pleading, he hesitated and eventually agreed. However, he didn’t know how to teach Xia Zeyu.
Despite the harsh criticisms from online friends, they find it hard to deny one thing—
Xia Zeyu’s skill level is among the professional players. He has the ability; otherwise, he wouldn’t have maintained a starting position for a year. It’s just that Xia Zeyu has a poor mentality and tends to crumble in major competitions.
Xie Ning gave Jiang Mo an idea. In the final match of the spring season, the words he said before going on stage actually motivated Xia Zeyu. Could they continue to do this?
Xia Zeyu is timid but needs tough love. He doesn’t need gentle comfort from teammates and coaches. The only way to lift his spirits is through the kind of pain that pushes him.
So, the atmosphere in the team’s training room changed—
“Such a simple routine, and you still can’t handle it? Did you even train properly?”
Xia Zeyu: “…”
“That last wave, were you panicking? Your E skill was misplaced. If you hit me, I would have been stunned for two seconds. Do you know how much benefit those two seconds could bring to the team? You shouldn’t need me to tell you, right?”
Xia Zeyu: “I-I know…”
“You’re not incapable of beating me. In those two instances, you made mistakes. Why did you waste your skills on the support who had low damage in the frontline? What’s the use in cutting through a meaty tank with little output? If you had killed the mid laner or AD carry early, that would have been your victory in that team fight. Our mid laner and AD carry are fragile. In terms of mechanics, you can 1v2 them. Are you going to shake in fear even on the competitive stage?”
Xia Zeyu: “I’m sorry, I was too nervous. I got anxious when I saw you coming out…”
Second team members: “…” Sorry, we’re bad. We’re so sorry. But aren’t you training Xia Zeyu? Why are we getting scolded too? Don’t harm the innocent!
“Nervous? Why are you nervous? Why are you afraid of me? Am I that scary-looking?” Jiang Mo lifted his head, his face filled with confusion. No one had ever said such a thing to him before. Usually, others were scared of him. When did it become his turn to scare others?
Xia Zeyu: “…” Don’t you realize you look scary when you’re scolding someone with a stern face?
Jiang Mo eats a lot but doesn’t gain weight. If he doesn’t meet the required meal portions, his weight drops.
These days, while accompanying the team for training, Jiang Mo hasn’t had proper meals. He only takes a few bites and considers himself full.
When he first joined the team, he had visible baby fat on his face. Now, a lot of the baby fat has diminished, his jawline becoming more defined. When he smiles, it’s still cute, but when he has a serious face, the youthfulness that was usually hidden by his adorable appearance suddenly emerges. Handsome people look good even when they’re stern, and with his deep features, he looks even more intimidating. The strong sense of pressure is palpable.
Xia Zeyu dreaded seeing Jiang Mo furrow his brows and gaze at him like that.
So fierce! Jiang Mo didn’t look in the mirror, how could he possibly feel it? He probably still thought he was that adorable little cutie.
“Alright, take a break, Xiaoyu. After eating, review the recent match carefully. Correct the problems pointed out by Jiang Mo one by one,” Coach A’kang expressed satisfaction with the training results of the past few days. He interrupted the tense atmosphere in the rest room and patted the players on their backs, signaling them to go downstairs to eat.
“Whew,” the second-team players breathed a sigh of relief. They didn’t want to stay here for even a second longer. As soon as the coach spoke, they rushed downstairs like mad. If someone didn’t know better, they’d think they hadn’t eaten for three days, rushing to get food.
The coach told Jiang Mo to train Xia Zeyu, not them!
Jiang Mo said to train Xia Zeyu, so why did they get included too? Sob, sob, sob, they were just accompanying Xia Zeyu in training!
Jiang Mo was so cute. As soon as the match started, he seemed like a different person, scarier than Coach A’kang. When will the days of this training end? They didn’t want to be assistants anymore.
Xia Zeyu had a worried look on his face. Xie Ning watched from the side, feeling quite happy. He had endured such hardships before, and compared to Xia Zeyu, Jiang Mo was being gentle. At least, Jiang Mo only called him “bad” and didn’t point out so many issues.
Haha, he won.
“Xiao Yu, s-sorry,” after finishing the game, Jiang Mo rubbed his face. Finally feeling less tense, he smiled apologetically at Xia Zeyu, “Was I too harsh just now? I… I wasn’t scolding you, I was just telling the truth.”
Xia Zeyu: “…” It’s the truth that stings the most, you know?
Jiang Mo bit his lip, his dimples deep on his cheeks, “I hope you won’t underestimate the problems I pointed out. Try to correct them before the next match.”
The oppressive feeling brought by Jiang Mo finally disappeared. Xia Zeyu let out a sigh of relief. Seeing Jiang Mo’s smile, he had a moment of confusion. After this hellish training session, he was likely to develop schizophrenia. He could hardly tell which version of Jiang Mo was the real one.
How can someone have an angelic side and a demonic side at the same time?
Chi Yu was busy filming, and during the day, Jiang Mo wouldn’t contact Chi Yu, afraid it would distract him.
At six o’clock, at this time, Chi Yu would usually be resting. He left the training room and went to a quiet corner, making a call to Chi Yu.
The ringtone didn’t last two seconds before the other person answered. The familiar deep voice, perhaps due to fatigue or the phone line, carried a hint of hoarseness, “Mo Mo.”
“Have you finished filming?” Jiang Mo’s lips couldn’t help but curve into a smile.
Not being together for long and being in a long-distance relationship with Chi Yu wasn’t something Jiang Mo found difficult to adapt to. He missed Chi Yu at times, but they kept in touch every day. Chi Yu would talk to him every night before sleeping, continuing the conversation until Jiang Mo fell asleep. This long-distance relationship wasn’t too hard to endure.
Chi Yu: “Mm, you have perfect timing. I just started resting. Have you eaten?”
Jiang Mo: “Just… preparing to eat.”
Chi Yu: “Alright, hurry up. I have to go too.”
“Um,” Jiang Mo stopped Chi Yu, “I transferred some money to your account. Remember to check.”
Chi Yu was stunned, “What money?”
How did Jiang Mo know his bank account? Jiang Mo had never asked him for it. Was it from the last time at the hotel, when he saw it in his wallet?
Jiang Mo: “You mentioned to me during the show that you wanted me to collaborate with you for publicity. I knew you didn’t really need to collaborate with anyone. At that time, you said that for my sake, right?”
Jiang Mo wasn’t foolish. Since Chi Yu left the dating variety show with him, he gradually understood. Chi Yu had actually liked him for a long time.
In the small supermarket on a rainy day, Chi Yu told him—
“The person I want to collaborate with is you.”
“I don’t like Lu Xuan.”
Due to the rules of the program, Chi Yu didn’t say the second part of the sentence.
What Chi Yu truly wanted to say was—
“I like you.”
So, Chi Yu used this clumsy excuse to help him. Back then, Jiang Mo had actually believed it.
Chi Yu: “…” The little fool is quite clever.
Chi Yu paid off the penalty in advance for him to the company. Later, when Lu Xuan threatened him with another penalty, Jiang Mo didn’t give a single cent. After peacefully terminating the contract with the company, Jiang Mo regretted a bit. If he had been more firm earlier, he wouldn’t have lost so much money in vain. Maybe the company wouldn’t have demanded any of the five million earlier? He made Chi Yu do such a big favor for him.
But luckily, he earned it back.
Jiang Mo squatted down, fiddling with the leaves of an unknown plant in a flowerpot, and said slowly, “You helped me pay off the five million penalty to the company. I can’t take your money for nothing. I can earn money on my own now, and I’ll earn even more in the future. So, let’s clear our accounts.”
Chi Yu covered his mouth, trying not to let out any laughter. He was afraid Jiang Mo would get embarrassed if he heard it.
While Jiang Mo was talking, he glanced at his unread messages and saw several bank transfer notifications. Jiang Mo had indeed transferred five million to him.
Jiang Mo had actually remembered this matter all along and returned all the money to him as soon as he had any.
If he guessed correctly, this money Jiang Mo gave him should be Jiang Mo’s signing fee. The price was set by A’Kang and Da Tian. Chi Yu hadn’t expected that the money Jiang Mo gave him would eventually come back to his hands.
Was he catching this little lamb, Jiang Mo, and reaping benefits continuously?
I wonder if the money enthusiast will turn red with anger once she finds out the truth.
Chi Yu didn’t transfer the money back to Jiang Mo. Jiang Mo wasn’t a hypocritical person. Since Jiang Mo had made this decision, he must have thought it through. Chi Yu wouldn’t interfere or obstruct it any further.
This account was settled before the two started dating. Jiang Mo mentioned clearing the balance, as long as Jiang Mo didn’t feel pressured or burdened, Chi Yu was willing to listen to Jiang Mo. However, in the future, if Jiang Mo started calculating so clearly with him again, he would intervene….
Under Jiang Mo’s grueling training, Xia Zeyu lost a full four kilograms in just one week.
Xia Zeyu couldn’t wait to get on a plane to the competition venue, not showing any weakness when facing players from foreign teams.
At least during the competition, both sides wore headsets, and he couldn’t hear the opponents’ exchanges. But staying at the base, focusing on the game while also hearing the devilish mockery from the opponents, was something he really couldn’t bear. These days, his eyes were swollen from crying, but fortunately, the grueling training was effective, and Xia Zeyu clearly felt that he was different now.
A team’s overseas travel was limited to 12 slots. Manager Da Tian had urgent matters at home this time and couldn’t accompany the team. Besides the five main players, they also brought two substitutes, along with Coach A’kang, a few for filming, and assistants, making a total of 12 people.
This time, MSI was held in Germany. The team set off in the morning and arrived in Germany in the evening.
Suddenly, everyone left, and Jiang Mo was alone in the empty training room, playing solo. He suddenly felt a bit lonely.
He used to be accustomed to loneliness when he was alone. Suddenly having so many friends around him, he once again experienced the discomfort of being alone.
“Senior Jiang Mo.” Suddenly, a head popped up at the door of the training room. Xiao Xi was the youngest kid in the second team, in the middle lane. Although he was domineering in front of his teammates, he was still a bit timid in front of Jiang Mo.
Jiang Mo was startled by the sudden sound. He shivered and looked up, locking eyes with the kid at the door.
Xiao Xi: “Senior Xie Ning said, when he’s not around, we should keep you company when we have free time, so… so you won’t be lonely.”
His voice became softer and almost inaudible.
When Jiang Mo first arrived, these people looked at him with a hint of skepticism and resistance. In just a little over a week, whenever these people saw him, they acted like lambs meeting a tiger. Jiang Mo didn’t understand – what did he do to scare them?
“Sure.” With someone to accompany him, Jiang Mo naturally felt happy. “I just finished a game. If you’re free, play a couple of rounds with me.”
Xiao Xi: “…”
Darn, could he refuse to play? Isn’t this like a sheep walking into a tiger’s den?
Senior Xie Ning clearly said that he just needed to keep Jiang Mo company, not that he had to play with him! He was deceived!
Playing duo with Jiang Mo, whether it’s against him or being on the same team with him, was pure suffering.
Being Jiang Mo’s enemy, you have to accept a 0-8 record, and then endure Jiang Mo criticizing you, step by step reviewing your mistakes.
Being Jiang Mo’s teammate, if you make a mistake, even if Jiang Mo stumbles over his words, he will spell out your fault letter by letter for you to hear. It’s so damn painful.
“Senior, it’s too boring with just the two of us. Wait for me, I’ll go call Qingfeng and the others to come over. Since Senior Xiao Yu isn’t here, it’s a good opportunity to teach him.” Xiao Xi said and rushed downstairs to fetch his teammates.
Being in pain alone is worse than being in pain together. If he’s going to suffer, he’ll drag his teammates into it too.
With Xiao Xi’s company, Jiang Mo still had a good time while Xie Ning and the others were away.
In these few days, he had new thoughts about his future. After retiring from professional gaming, he could become a coach. Teaching these younger teammates how to play games seemed interesting. He found that he had the potential to be a coach. In just a few days, the skill level of several seniors in the second team had improved significantly, although the process was a bit arduous.
Jiang Mo felt that the one suffering the most was his mouth. He had never spoken so much before. These guys made too many mistakes.
Jiang Mo’s seniors: “…”
MSI tournament is globally broadcasted, and Jiang Mo has been following SVP team’s matches every day. It seems the training has been effective, and SVP’s expedition this time is exceptionally smooth.
They achieved a good winning streak in the group stage and the elimination matches, successfully entering the semifinals.
In the semifinals, there are a total of four teams, all of whom advanced from the elimination matches. The four teams are paired up for the BO5 matches, and the losing team is directly eliminated. The two winning teams advance to the finals.
After the elimination matches, they received some unfavorable news. The semifinal matchups were announced, and SVP’s opponent is the South Korean team EK. After reaching the semifinals, the first team they face is the formidable EK team, stirring negative discussions in domestic forums.
Last year, SVP team was defeated by the EK team, missing out on the championship trophy.
After more than half a year, SVP team once again encounters their strong rival.
Upon learning this news, Coach A’kang doesn’t seem as worried as the online community. Knowing that the EK team is this year’s top team in the South Korean league and is also participating in MSI, he was prepared to face the EK team sooner or later; it was just a matter of time.
He believes his players won’t be timid. However, except for Xia Zeyu, whose state is too unstable—fluctuating between good and bad—
Coach A’kang’s worries have not diminished.
Today is the semifinal match, and the players entered early, preparing in the resting room.
Facing the wall in contemplation has always been AD Little Cherry’s habit. Before the semifinals, Xia Zeyu’s state remained excellent, even performing exceptionally, creating two memorable scenes. Coach A’kang was very pleased; all of this was thanks to Jiang Mo’s training. Indeed, what Xia Zeyu needed the most was pressure from competitors.
In domestic matches, keyboard warriors could hurl all sorts of insults, but during the phase where SVP team represents the country in foreign expeditions, even the online flamers stopped the abuses out of respect. Many people, who had long stopped praising Xia Zeyu, started praising him again. This touched Xia Zeyu deeply, but he knew it wasn’t permanent. Once he returned to the country, those who had praised him would turn to criticize him for his future mistakes.
“Phew.” Xia Zeyu kept inhaling and exhaling against the wall. To say he wasn’t nervous would be fake; he was so nervous that the palms of his hands were sweating. He hadn’t experienced this during the previous group stage and elimination matches.
…
This time, the opponent was different—it was Park Eun-kyung.
In last year’s S tournament, Xia Zeyu played five matches against Park Eun-kyung. Their team won against the EK team twice, but he lost to Park Eun-kyung five times.
This meant that SVP team lost the jungle advantage right from the start.
Coach A’kang, unlike Manager Da Tian, didn’t offer any comforting words and wasn’t sure how to break the news to Xia Zeyu. He patted Xie Ning and signaled for Xie Ning, who was closest to Xia Zeyu, to “console” him.
Putting down the half-eaten burger in his hand, Xie Ning didn’t say anything harsh. He just calmly said, “Losing isn’t shameful.”
Xia Zeyu: “…”
“I don’t want to lose.” Xia Zeyu raised his head, his eyes slightly red. On careful observation, tears were welling up in his eyes.
Seeing Xia Zeyu like this, Xie Ning could understand. After all, facing an opponent he had never defeated before, being afraid was normal.
If he had known that Xia Zeyu would be in this state, Xia Zeyu probably wouldn’t have passed the team’s psychological assessment.
Xie Ning: “These words are from your master, through me.”
Xia Zeyu: “Master Mo?”
“Yep.” Xie Ning smiled. “He asked me to tell you, losing isn’t shameful.”
If you’re always afraid of losing, you’ll continue to be timid, just like before, lacking the courage to face defeat. Then, what right do you have to talk about winning?
Xia Zeyu took a deep breath. “I understand.”
…
The players went on stage, and after a short distance, the five members of SVP clashed with the five members of EK team on the aisle. Park Eun-kyung, the leader, was dressed in the EK team’s blue-green jersey. He had the trendy, now overused, three-seven-parted bangs. He was not bad-looking, considered quite handsome among the Korean tournament players, with single eyelids and a small face. He could smile normally, but he chose to raise the left corner of his mouth, full of provocation, making people uncomfortable.
“Good luck…” The lighting in the aisle was dim, making it impossible to determine what the opponent said by their lip movements, especially in a language other than their own. The SVP team could only make out a few understandable words poorly pronounced in Chinese by Park Eun-kyung. He also said something in English, but his voice was too low for them to hear clearly.
However, Park Eun-kyung’s teammates understood. He had said—”Five little pigs.”
As the players went on stage and adjusted their equipment, there was no time left for hesitation. The ban-pick phase began quickly.
SVP had the first pick. Coach A’kang immediately banned Park Eun-kyung’s Lee Sin
and Nocturne
. The first pick went to Xie Ning, who picked Gnar
for the top lane.
Park Eun-kyung had many signature jungle champions, and the two banned were his best ones. When it was EK team’s turn to pick, they didn’t pick a jungler and instead locked in a mid laner and a support.
Among the five positions banned by the EK team, not a single one was a jungler. Despite Xia Zeyu’s good performance this time and Foyego’s
excellent play, they didn’t seem to care, openly displaying their jungle champion pool and letting Xia Zeyu pick whatever he wanted.
When your signature champions get banned, it means the opponent respects you. Conversely, if your champions are left unbanned, it means they don’t see you as a threat.
Xia Zeyu stared at the screen and locked in Foyego, who was made available. The opponent took a long time to choose a jungler. Only at the very last pick did Park Eun-kyung decide on Monkey
as the jungler.
At the start of the game, both sides played it safe. Park Eun-kyung’s style was different from that of Jiang Mo. Jiang Mo would gradually invade the enemy jungle, drive you out of both jungles, and plunder the jungle resources, leaving them dry. On the other hand, Park Eun-kyung preferred a stable approach in the early game, focusing on jungle farming. However, he always appeared at the right time, and the success rate of his ganks was very high.
Three minutes and forty-two seconds into the game, first blood was spilled in the top lane. Xie Ning played more aggressively, and the opposing top laner, Gangplank
, made a mistake, which allowed Monkey to hide in the top lane bush at an unknown time. Xie Ning used his dash skill and was caught by Monkey’s EQ combo, resulting in first blood.
Seeing his teammate’s death, Xia Zeyu became nervous again, and the criticisms from others echoed in his mind.
— The enemy jungler is ganking your teammate, what are you doing?
— Why are you so useless?
— Useless, I really don’t know what the management is thinking, why hasn’t this useless jungler been replaced yet? Substitute him early, and the championship would have been SVP’s
.— Xie Ning, Little Cherry, and Li Yuan are having a hard time, 3v2, can’t handle it.
Seven minutes into the game, the first team fight erupted in the bot lane for the dragon. Xia Zeyu’s Foyego rushed quickly. Foyego, this champion, would dive into the enemy crowd. If he didn’t kill the opponent, he could easily die. The enemy AD was low on health, Foyego used his dash and big jump, but was knocked up by the enemy support, Lulu
, halfway through. Lulu used her ultimate, restricting Foyego for a second. In this brief second, he, who was at full health, was killed by the enemy mid and jungle.
Xia Zeyu’s screen turned black, but his teammates were still dealing damage. In a 4v5 situation, they killed three of the enemies. Park Eun-kyung’s Monkey secured a triple kill. SVP was wiped out, and EK team only had Monkey in the jungle and Lulu, the support, left. The two of them took down the dragon together.
A ward was placed in the river, allowing them to see the enemy’s movements. After Monkey killed the dragon, he only had one-third of his health left. Although he earned a lot of money from the previous team fight, it was time to recall. However, he didn’t recall in place but took a few steps and then initiated the recall.
Xia Zeyu in front of the screen clearly saw that Park Eun-kyung was recalling on Xie Ning’s dead body.
If he hadn’t respawned, Park Eun-kyung would probably be standing on his dead body.
During the match, all in-game communications were recorded. They had to be careful with their words and actions, focusing only on the game without discussing anything else.
Tears welled up in Xia Zeyu’s eyes as he recalled last year’s World Championship. In those five matches, Park Eun-kyung did the same thing. Instead of recalling on the spot, he would take a few steps, step on your corpse, and then recall, a blatant mockery.In the face of the netizens’ criticisms, Park Eun-kyung dismissed them nonchalantly, “Are you overthinking? Why are you speculating about me like this? I just wanted to clear the minions, but after a few steps, I changed my mind. Our AD didn’t want me to take his minions, so I had to recall. Standing there was purely coincidental.”
[“Damn, he must’ve done it intentionally. It can be a coincidence once or twice, but doing it like this every time, how can it not be intentional?”]
[“Disgusting, yet there are still people praising Park God. They really make a fool of themselves.”]
[“Why does Xia Zeyu always make mistakes at critical moments? He died without doing anything? I’m really laughing.”]
[“There’s nothing he can do about it. It’s Foyego’s style. If he’s restrained by Lulu and can’t dive in, he can’t do anything, even if he doesn’t die. Can’t be saved even by a god.”]
[“I dare not watch the rest of the matches. I beg you, Xia Zeyu, can you bring back the you from the first two days! Your performance was good before, wasn’t it? QAQ”]
[“Xiao Yu, keep it up.”]
In the first game, EK team won, and they followed up by winning the second game.
…
In the lounge, the atmosphere was tense.
“It’s my fault,” Xia Zeyu said to the wall, the camera turned off, and the tears that had been held back for a long time finally fell uncontrollably.
“What mistake did you make?” A familiar voice sounded in his ears, but this voice shouldn’t have come at this moment.
“Master Mo Mo,” Xia Zeyu, with tears in his eyes, heard Jiang Mo’s voice and instinctively swallowed back the tears.
Jiang Mo: “I’ve been watching the match.”
Xia Zeyu: “I’ve dragged everyone down…”
Jiang Mo interrupted Xia Zeyu’s nonsense: “What I taught you, have you forgotten it all?”
Xia Zeyu: “I haven’t forgotten.”
Jiang Mo scrolled the mouse wheel, enlarging the screenshot of the previous match on the computer screen, the image of Park Eun-kyung’s Monkey stepping on Xie Ning’s Gwen’s
corpse. Sitting beside him, Xiao Xi, who was watching the game with him, shrank his neck.
Why is there this sudden low pressure? Is Senior Jiang Mo angry?
Jiang Mo: “Losing isn’t embarrassing; being too scared to play is embarrassing.”
Xia Zeyu was stunned, and the tears that had accumulated in his eye sockets rolled down.
Jiang Mo: “If you can’t even win a single game, come back and wait for me to give you extra training.”
Xia Zeyu: “……”
Author’s Note:
Xia Zeyu: Why does this person speak so terrifyingly?
Jiang Mo: Ah, do I? O_O
To be honest, momo looked a bit like me, I looked like someone who wasn’t easy to talk to, but after speaking they were surprised at my other side, I liked to tell him about my hobbies haha.
Thank you for translation, Love.
Sorry for my bad eng