Chapter 28 – The Disguise Is Off
Shi Cha had no idea that others had misunderstood the situation, nor did he realize why everyone was reacting so dramatically. He thought about it and figured it must be because the camera had focused on Lin Ran-ge, which was why everyone got so excited.
Meanwhile, the host on stage, as well as Bieber, were both thrown off by the unexpected turn of events.
With a cue from the director, the host finally remembered the question he’d meant to ask earlier, and so he asked Lin Ran again whether he would accept Bieber’s 1v1 challenge.
Perhaps it’s a trait of male creatures to want to show off in front of someone they like—Lin Ran stood up, gave a slight nod, and accepted the challenge.
Seeing Lin Ran getting ready to go on stage, Shi Cha clenched his fist and gave him a cheering gesture.
Lin Ran, noticing it, turned slightly and ruffled Shi Cha’s hair with a smile. “I won’t let you down,” he said.
Although the audience couldn’t hear what Lin Ran said, watching the interaction between the two only solidified their belief that these two were definitely a couple—
A couple who openly showed affection without any hesitation!
Lin Ran didn’t exchange many words with Shi Cha after that and quickly returned to the competition stage.
From the moment the big screen showed footage of Lin Ran and Shi Cha, a girl sitting beside Shi Cha had been staring at him. Even after Lin Ran left, she still hadn’t taken her eyes off him.
Shi Cha, feeling overwhelmed by her intense gaze, finally turned to her and politely asked, “Excuse me, is there something I can help you with?”
The girl’s eyes lit up with excitement the moment Shi Cha addressed her.
“I didn’t expect you to look even better in person than on camera! With your looks, not joining the entertainment industry is honestly such a waste.”
Shi Cha felt a little embarrassed by her praise. Maintaining his usual sense of detachment, he thanked her politely. Not good at these kinds of interactions, he planned to turn back around and continue watching the match.
The first round of the 1v1 had already begun. Although it wasn’t a contestant Shi Cha was particularly interested in, watching the game alone was still better than having a socially awkward conversation with a stranger.
However, the girl had no intention of letting him off the hook. While rummaging through her bag, she said, “Shi Cha, can you give me an autograph?”
Before Shi Cha could refuse, she had already handed him an open notebook and pen.
Shi Cha: “……”
“I… I’m not a celebrity or a contestant. Isn’t this a bit much?”
But the girl stubbornly held the notebook and pen out to him. “But I like you.”
Caught off guard by this sudden fan confession, Shi Cha’s face turned redder by the second.
The girl’s gaze was intense as she muttered softly, “So cute. No wonder God Ran likes him.”
She didn’t care whether Shi Cha had heard her or not and continued, “I’m a fan of God Ran. This already has his signature. Could I trouble you to sign next to his name?”
Only then did Shi Cha notice that the notebook was a piece of fan merchandise from Team LL, given out during a past event. On the first page was a photo of Lin Ran sitting behind a computer, looking up at the camera.
Shi Cha actually had the same piece of merchandise himself.
Back when the first batch of fans received this merch, they had the chance to get autographs from the team members. At the time, Shi Cha had also secretly gone to the event and collected quite a bit of merchandise—but he hadn’t dared to ask Lin Ran for a signature.
As a result, all of the rare LL team merchandise in Shi Cha’s possession had no signatures from any of the team members.
Looking at the bold, sweeping “Lin Ran” written under the photo, Shi Cha felt a wave of emotion he couldn’t quite describe. Why hadn’t he been braver back then?
“Shi Cha? Is that okay?”
The girl asked again, pulling him back to the present.
Shi Cha came to his senses. His fair, slender fingers reached out and took the notebook and pen from her hand.
He was just about to sign his name far away from Lin Ran’s when the girl suddenly stopped him.
With a mischievous grin, she pointed to the spot right next to Lin Ran’s name. “Sign here.”
Shi Cha didn’t understand her intention, but the idea of signing next to Lin Ran still made him feel secretly happy.
His handwriting was completely different from Lin Ran’s, but just as bold and confident. The two characters for “Shi Cha” landed on the page.
The girl’s eyes crinkled with delight. Then she pointed beneath both their names. “Write this sentence: ‘A match made in heaven, no doubts between them.’”
Shi Cha stared at her, wide-eyed: “???”
Seeing how shocked he was, the girl quickly explained, “It’s a blessing—for me! You don’t need to write ‘To [someone],’ just write ‘A match made in heaven, no doubts between them’ and that’s enough!”
Shi Cha had never followed celebrities, nor had he ever been on the receiving end of a fan’s enthusiasm. Her explanation made him think he’d misunderstood, so he did as she asked and wrote the five characters: “A match made in heaven, no doubts between them.”
“Thank you, Shi Cha!”
The girl happily took the signed notebook, then—right in front of Shi Cha—drew a small red heart between the two names.
Shi Cha: “???”
Why did he suddenly feel like he’d been tricked?
The girl even took out her phone and snapped a picture of the two signatures side by side. Then she edited it and posted it in a trending topic thread.
Shi Cha watched her actions unfold in stunned silence. Only then did he slowly realize—she was a CP fan of him and Lin Ran!
“???”
How was her setup so elaborate?
Since the 1v1 match format is relatively simple—just a single lane—the rules are straightforward: the first to kill the opponent, destroy their turret, or reach 100 minion kills wins.
Because of this, matches are usually short. If one side makes a mistake, the game can be over in just two or three minutes.
Soon, it was time for the match between Lin Ran and Bieber.
Lin Ran was a legendary player at his peak. Even though he had retired, many current players still saw him as someone to look up to. But Bieber was the only one bold enough to challenge him directly.
Before the match began, each player had the chance to ban three of the opponent’s heroes.
Right away, Bieber didn’t hesitate to ban Lin Ran’s three most-used mid-lane heroes.
Surprisingly, Lin Ran didn’t ban any of Bieber’s signature jungle heroes—or even strong solo picks for this mode. Instead, he also banned three mid-lane heroes.
This essentially meant that Lin Ran banned three of his own playable heroes.
The move left the audience completely puzzled. Even the commentators were at a loss for how to explain Lin Ran’s decision.
Once the bans were locked in, the players moved on to selecting their heroes. Unlike in team matches, where players pick alternately, solo matches use a blind pick system—neither side knows what the other has chosen until the match begins.
Although the players couldn’t see each other’s selections, the audience could see them on the big screen.
When Lin Ran locked in his champion, the entire arena erupted. The noise was even louder than the earlier uproar when Lin Ran kissed someone in public.
The roar from the crowd was so loud it penetrated Bieber’s noise-canceling headphones and reached his ears. It made him second-guess himself—had Lin Ran pulled off another shocking move even after six of his mid-lane heroes were banned?
Bieber mentally reviewed all the possibilities and reassured himself that no matter what Lin Ran picked, he still had at least a 50% chance of winning.
However, when the map loaded and Bieber saw Lin Ran’s chosen hero, he had to admit—he’d underestimated him.
Lin Ran hadn’t chosen a mid-laner at all. Instead, he picked the same jungle hero as Bieber.
The hero Lin Ran selected was called Beast Spirit Caller—an incredibly niche pick, so rare it was almost never seen in major tournaments. Most pro players didn’t even bother training with it.
But in solo matches, this hero had a significant advantage.
Of course, the most important detail was that this was the jungle hero Shi Cha and Lin Ran had used the very first time they played as teammates.
If the earlier excitement was a celebration for the LinShi CP (Lin Ran × Chi Sha), then now the LinYao CP (Lin Ran × streamer Cun Yao) fans had emerged, crying tears of joy while “shipping” again.
To them, Lin Ran choosing the same hero that streamer Cun Yao had once used during their first match together marked it as their “fated game”—a moment of special significance.
However, because the LinYao CP had now resurfaced, fans of the LinShi CP (Lin Ran × Shi Cha) naturally wouldn’t accept it quietly.
After all, LinYao CP was something the fans had pieced together themselves. Lin Ran and Cun Yao may have had a friendly relationship, but there was never any solid evidence that they were a couple. In contrast, Lin Ran and Shi Cha’s interaction just now had been public, undeniable, and witnessed by everyone.
Who was real and who was imagined—it was plain as day.
While Shi Cha remained unaware, fans on both sides began digging for clues, analyzing details, and hunting for any evidence to support their ship. LinYao fans, in particular, were determined to prove that their ship wasn’t just built on fantasy.
The match on stage ended in under five minutes.
Naturally, Bieber lost. But he didn’t seem too disappointed—he sincerely praised Lin Ran’s skills, saying he was just as strong as in his prime.
Although Lin Ran had won, he chose not to continue in the tournament. After all, he hadn’t officially registered for the 1v1 bracket, and stepping in at the last minute would be unfair to the other contestants.
The organizers had already gotten the publicity they wanted. And since this was the All-Star event—meant to be more about entertainment than competition—they accepted Lin Ran’s withdrawal without issue.
All in all, it was a win for everyone… except Bieber, who had effectively eliminated himself.
Still, Bieber wasn’t too concerned about winning the solo championship. He’d only entered because his coach had forced him to sign up. To him, being able to play a one-on-one match against the retired Lin Ran was more valuable than any title.
Over the following days, regardless of whether Lin Ran had matches or not, Shi Cha stayed by his side. If Lin Ran was competing, Shi Cha watched from the audience.
When there were no matches, the two of them explored Hai City together. Lin Ran even arranged some meals with fellow pro players from clubs based in Hai City.
By this point, everyone had caught on. The “sister-in-law” Chen Lu had been gossiping about in the group chat earlier—was clearly Shi Cha, the one Lin Ran had been keeping close all this time.
Everyone tacitly accepted it, treating Shi Cha as their sister-in-law—though they still respectfully called him “Brother Shi” out loud.
Three days later, the All-Star tournament came to an end.
As Lin Ran and Shi Cha parted ways—one heading home, the other to Kyoto for work—an unassuming data post began circulating online.
#Both LinShi CP and LinYao CP fans, please pause: I irresponsibly suspect that Shi Cha is streamer Cun Yao#
Author’s note:
This is a short story and will be wrapping up soon!