******
Tamago: A huge thank you to Loni for their donations! Today, there will be three chapters instead of one! Hope you enjoy~
******
Jing Yu has never fallen in love before. But whilst he doesn’t understand the complex emotions between a man and a woman, he is not stupid. He quickly gets Qin Fei’s point: “The Coach likes the Manager?”
Qin Fei holds back his laughter: “You’re the one who said it. I didn’t say a thing.”
Jing Yu: “?-?-?”
Fang Luofan likes Xiao Yun – Qin Fei has already detected this early on. Presumably, Ye Hong is also aware of it. Now, there are only Luo Yiming and Han Leng, these two numbskulls, who still haven’t thought of it in that direction.
Especially Han Leng. He’s still dreaming of wooing Xiao Yun even now ne, totally unafraid of being rolled into a ball by Fang Luofan and lurched out through the window.
Nevertheless, whether Fang Luofan has successfully wooed Xiao Yun still remains a mystery to all.
After PG works as one to clean up the place, at last, the clubhouse is restored to its original shape.
Just as they finish cleaning and got ready to practice, Fang Luofan and Xiao Yun arrive.
Today’s Fang Luofan is dressed extra formal. His snow-white collared shirt makes him look hardly different from a refined scholar.
What about Xiao Yun? Dressed head to toe in a professional outfit, feet adorning black stilettos, her cold, but beautiful face seems to spell three bold words: “Unapproachable to Strangers”.
A lofty, ice-cold beauty giving off a feeling of déjà vu – This is Jing Yu’s first impression of their family’s Manager.
Yet, in the same moment where she struts into the Training Room, this ice-cold beauty flits her chilly line of sight around in search of Jing Yu and it lands on his face.
Noticing that gaze, Jing Yu jolts in surprise. He wordlessly turns his head to look at his screen, feigning the look of a guy who’s just about to get into the zone.
Unexpectedly, he hears the click-clacking of high heels coming towards him at a steady pace. Nearly at the same time, a soft female voice asks: “You must be Jing Yu ba?”
Jing Yu turns his head instinctively and meets Xiao Yun’s gaze. Unexpectedly, she adorns a gentle slant of a smile. The coldness on her face disappears without leaving behind a trace, replaced by a kind smile that is capable of melting all ice.
A blade within a smile? A needle in the sheets?** — Jing Yu’s impression of Xiao Yun is utterly shaken.
(** ‘Is she hiding something?’)
Nevertheless, his face does not betray him. Turning with his gaming chair, he replies in an obedient manner: “That’s right. Good afternoon.”
“En, good afternoon. I am PG’s manager. The name’s Xiao. You can just call me Xiao Jie**.” Xiao Yun maintains her smile as she introduces.
(**Jie = Sis, like Ge = Bro)
“Sure thing, Xiao Jie.” Jing Yu returns her a tiny smile. “I’m going to play now.”
“Go ahead.” Xiao Yun answers. Just as Jing Yu turns back to his PC with his gaming chair, she is dumbstruck.
That’s odd. Just now, in that flash of a second… When this person smiled, he actually looked quite familiar?
Have they ran into each other previously?
Xiao Yun watches Jing Yu click into Ranking. Despite hesitating, she is still unable to refrain from asking: “Are you local-born?”
“En.”
“You don’t live too far away from here ba?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s strange. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
“Er….” Jing Yu wavers but doesn’t respond in the end.
Although his place is indeed not too far away, as an Otaku who won’t leave the house until it’s a last resort… He shouldn’t have made any impression on Xiao Yun on their first meeting.
At the very least, he is certain. This is his first time meeting Xiao Yun.
Besides that, he also thinks he can put his thumb on why he looks familiar to Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun doesn’t notice his hesitation. With those departing words, she leaves the Training Room to tend to her business, discussing some matters with Fang Luofan.
No sooner had they left, Han Leng, who is closest to the door, lets out an uncontrollable sigh of envy: “How nice. I also want to chat with Xiao Jie.”
Ye Hong: “Raise your volume if you’ve got the guts. Let Xiao Jie hear it.”
Han Leng: “I’ve got none.”
Some people can only be observed from afar but can’t be disturbed up close. In Han Leng’s eyes, Xiao Yun is precisely this kind of person.
When she’s not smiling, she is as cold as an iceberg. Yet when she smiles, she gives people a sort of indifferent and impersonal sort of feeling. One totally can’t read the meaning behind her smiles.
If you ask Qin Fei, this is purely because Xiao Yun doesn’t want to interact with them in the slightest. She likes nothing more than to not see them for 365 days out of the year. However, to Han Leng, this is merely because Xiao Yun is a celestial goddess who has descended from the heavens. Her permeating aura is a mere result of that.
After training solo, the five people carry on to the team practice.
A week of training passes. By the end of it, the five people’s play has grown even more in-sync, in particular Jing Yu’s. He gets a feel for every member of PG’s style and game play. When he co-ops with different people, he utilizes all sorts of different methods.
Fang Luofan peers over their shoulders wordlessly and he observes a few matches. He doesn’t point out any flaws, yet he says this: “In this pro-league, many teams will start to use solo-laning demons to support. The error-tolerance will be significantly higher*. Maybe we should also test it out.”
(*error-tolerance: how much mistakes is allowed. May refer to demons’ settings too)
“Indeed. Han Leng’s playing is quite suitable for it.” Qin Fei is the first to speak up, “However, I don’t think the other teams will give us this kind of opportunity.” Pausing here, “Because in this tournament, you’ve got me.”
This is an incredibly presumptuous remark. Yet, it is an honest truth – Because PG has Qin Fei, the other side won’t leave too many solo-laners for them.
Nevertheless, Fang Luofan has also considered this point: “It’s no matter. In this PGL, we have Frozen Heart.”
As the words suggest: If the opponents give a ban spot to Frozen Heart, they’re bound to set free a solo-laner.
“Moreover, you will use Burial Sword.”
As the words suggest: If you use Burial Sword, Han Leng will have even more options of solo-laning demons to pick from.
Qin Fei carries a face full of black lines: “No matter what, you just want us to try it bei?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want.” Fang Luofan uses an irrefutable tone, his gaze flickering to the others, “What do you guys think?”
Luo Yiming: “What does it matter.”
Ye Hong: “It doesn’t hurt to learn?”
Han Leng: “If I use a solo-laner to support, can I also get the chance to pentakill?”
Fang Luofan ignores him in favour of focusing on Jing Yu: “Jing Yu, what about you? How do you see it?”
Jing Yu considers it diligently: “Pure support-type demons play a huge role in the performance of the team, but our team’s cohesion is not strong to begin with. Oftentimes, we open team battles before everyone even gathers. Thus, this battle style really suits us.”
“However, if we do this, our strategies will also have to be adjusted. One week of time might not be enough. Besides that, what Fei Ge said is also right. Even if we truly grasp it, if it’s not used in an actual match, it’ll all go down the drain.”
Fang Luofan’s gaze carries some appreciation. Qin Fei also glances at him, intrigued.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Fang Luofan intentionally throws this problem at him.
Jing Yu doesn’t mind at all. Only after a period of deliberation does he diligently reply: “Let’s try it. Though we might not use it after we enter the Top 8, it’ll definitely come to use in the Preliminaries. In fact, we can even practice while competing.”
“Alright. We’ll do just that.” Fang Luofan makes his decision instantaneously, “We’ll do as Jing Yu says.”
Qin Fei: “No objections.”
Ye Hong: “None here either.”
Luo Yiming: “Okay! Let’s listen to Goldfish!”
Han Leng: “Will I finally get a chance to pentakill?”
Jing Yu is dumbstruck, obviously not having expected Fang Luofan to make this decision so readily. He wants to say something but holds back. He wants to ask though, is this really okay?
Before he gets the chance to speak up, Qin Fei instructs: “Enter Multiplayer mode ba. Old Han takes Mad Bones, I’ll go with Burial Sword. We’ll give it a go!”
Jing Yu doesn’t get the chance to react and is already hauled into the team by Qin Fei.
Qin Fei: “Jing Yu, you’re still going with Frozen Heart. In this PGL, your Frozen Heart will be the main character. When it’s time, make sure not to drop the ball.”
Jing Yu freezes again. Yet this time, he quickly comes back to himself, smiling slightly: “En, en!”
One week of Invitational Playoffs passes by in a flash. Within this week, PG’s members would spend a couple of hours every night listening to Fang Luofan’s explanation of the matches from that day.
Fang Luofan certainly is a person who once did live commentary. His explanations consider every aspect, never overlooking a single factor. If anything, it is only a few touches less passionate than that of a live commentator. From start to end, his tone is like that of tranquil waters undisturbed by light breezes; as if reciting from a script.
Thanks to him, PG clearly witnesses the changes in the other teams with their own eyes: Amongst the 8 teams, there were actually 6 that used solo-laner demons for support in a formal match. Moreover, the results are quite good.
Unsurprisingly, ANE and SOS were totally crushed in the Invitational Playoffs. ANE thankfully still bagged a few points, but SOS was grinded down to the ground by the other 7 teams in turns. They lost 14 games one after another in the 7 days, beautifully inheriting the tragic score which PG got in the last PGL: -14.
This matter quickly set off thousands of ripples on Weibo:
【Looks like SOS didn’t lose to PG for no reason in that last PGL.】
【This can’t be ah. SOS entered Snowcat Cup last month and were the runner-up. What happened these past few days?】
【SOS certainly can’t compare to the other 7 teams, but they can’t be weak to the extent of not getting a single point ba?】
【I heard SOS has been feeling under the weather lately. Maybe something happened in their team.】
Jing Yu occasionally gets on his Weibo. Upon seeing these contents, he helplessly shrugs – SOS couldn’t have lost all morale due to being crushed by them, and still haven’t recovered from it ba?
In any case, just like that, ANE and SOS, this equally tragic pair of teams, are eliminated and set to enter the Qualifiers.
In contrast, the team that clinches the first place in the playoffs, naturally is the champion from the last PGL: KID.
“Fuck!” Luo Yiming nearly smashes the glass in his hand to smithereens.
Fang Luofan is deadly silent.
Jing Yu looks in uncertainty from one to another, totally lost.
Then Qin Fei leans over from beside him, explaining into his ear: “They’ve got bad blood with that team.”
“Oh~” Jing Yu understands.
It’s then that he sees Fang Luofan glaring at Qin Fei.
Fang Luofan: “The Preliminaries will start tomorrow. Get your spirits up! Jing Yu’s live streaming will stop for a period. All of you, turn in early tonight. Starting tomorrow, no matter which team you’re fighting, make sure to give it your all!”
“Understood!”
The day before the start of the Preliminaries, Xiao Yun packs up her luggage.
In the coming days, she will soon become very busy. No matter how reluctant she is, she must still move over to live under the same roof with the members of PG.
Naturally, she will have her own room, and that will be PG clubhouse’s only room with a lock.
Having prepared her things and being somewhat free, she turns on her laptop to watch a video.
Clicking into a certain video-watching site’s home page, she is just about to search for her favourite clip and has only just keyed in a few characters, when she notices the home page’s cover image.
It’s just a certain web drama with a name that’s unheard of. It’s been on the home page for a few weeks already. There’s nothing special about it. And yet…
Xiao Yun stares for half a day at a certain female actor who is smiling faintly in that picture. Hesitantly clicking in, she copies the title of the drama whose video pops up. Then, she pastes it into web search.
Soon enough, the search is done. Xiao Yun clicks into this drama’s wiki page, directly scrolling down to its list of actors.
In the column of the female lead is written the name: Jiao Xi
Who is this?
Why… does she look so similar to Jing Yu?
******
******
If you like what I do, please kindly donate to WHO COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund!
Every penny counts and will go towards fighting the current pandemic. Let’s show that we care even when we are far apart and quarantined.
For every USD$6 worth of donations accrued, I will add 1 chapter to the Cour, and release the extra chapter on the day itself (with a cap of +5 chapters).
You may also choose a charity org (local or not) of your liking that is currently helping out with the corona pandemic.
Please don’t forget to forward any confirmation email / screenshot of the confirmation page to [email protected], and drop a comment to let me know you donated!
Current Donations: $5/6 (+2)
******
Tamago: A huge thank you to Loni for their donations! Today, there will be three chapters instead of one! Hope you enjoy~
******
Jing Yu has never fallen in love before. But whilst he doesn’t understand the complex emotions between a man and a woman, he is not stupid. He quickly gets Qin Fei’s point: “The Coach likes the Manager?”
Qin Fei holds back his laughter: “You’re the one who said it. I didn’t say a thing.”
Jing Yu: “?-?-?”
Fang Luofan likes Xiao Yun – Qin Fei has already detected this early on. Presumably, Ye Hong is also aware of it. Now, there are only Luo Yiming and Han Leng, these two numbskulls, who still haven’t thought of it in that direction.
Especially Han Leng. He’s still dreaming of wooing Xiao Yun even now ne, totally unafraid of being rolled into a ball by Fang Luofan and lurched out through the window.
Nevertheless, whether Fang Luofan has successfully wooed Xiao Yun still remains a mystery to all.
After PG works as one to clean up the place, at last, the clubhouse is restored to its original shape.
Just as they finish cleaning and got ready to practice, Fang Luofan and Xiao Yun arrive.
Today’s Fang Luofan is dressed extra formal. His snow-white collared shirt makes him look hardly different from a refined scholar.
What about Xiao Yun? Dressed head to toe in a professional outfit, feet adorning black stilettos, her cold, but beautiful face seems to spell three bold words: “Unapproachable to Strangers”.
A lofty, ice-cold beauty giving off a feeling of déjà vu – This is Jing Yu’s first impression of their family’s Manager.
Yet, in the same moment where she struts into the Training Room, this ice-cold beauty flits her chilly line of sight around in search of Jing Yu and it lands on his face.
Noticing that gaze, Jing Yu jolts in surprise. He wordlessly turns his head to look at his screen, feigning the look of a guy who’s just about to get into the zone.
Unexpectedly, he hears the click-clacking of high heels coming towards him at a steady pace. Nearly at the same time, a soft female voice asks: “You must be Jing Yu ba?”
Jing Yu turns his head instinctively and meets Xiao Yun’s gaze. Unexpectedly, she adorns a gentle slant of a smile. The coldness on her face disappears without leaving behind a trace, replaced by a kind smile that is capable of melting all ice.
A blade within a smile? A needle in the sheets?** — Jing Yu’s impression of Xiao Yun is utterly shaken.
(** ‘Is she hiding something?’)
Nevertheless, his face does not betray him. Turning with his gaming chair, he replies in an obedient manner: “That’s right. Good afternoon.”
“En, good afternoon. I am PG’s manager. The name’s Xiao. You can just call me Xiao Jie**.” Xiao Yun maintains her smile as she introduces.
(**Jie = Sis, like Ge = Bro)
“Sure thing, Xiao Jie.” Jing Yu returns her a tiny smile. “I’m going to play now.”
“Go ahead.” Xiao Yun answers. Just as Jing Yu turns back to his PC with his gaming chair, she is dumbstruck.
That’s odd. Just now, in that flash of a second… When this person smiled, he actually looked quite familiar?
Have they ran into each other previously?
Xiao Yun watches Jing Yu click into Ranking. Despite hesitating, she is still unable to refrain from asking: “Are you local-born?”
“En.”
“You don’t live too far away from here ba?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s strange. I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”
“Er….” Jing Yu wavers but doesn’t respond in the end.
Although his place is indeed not too far away, as an Otaku who won’t leave the house until it’s a last resort… He shouldn’t have made any impression on Xiao Yun on their first meeting.
At the very least, he is certain. This is his first time meeting Xiao Yun.
Besides that, he also thinks he can put his thumb on why he looks familiar to Xiao Yun.
Xiao Yun doesn’t notice his hesitation. With those departing words, she leaves the Training Room to tend to her business, discussing some matters with Fang Luofan.
No sooner had they left, Han Leng, who is closest to the door, lets out an uncontrollable sigh of envy: “How nice. I also want to chat with Xiao Jie.”
Ye Hong: “Raise your volume if you’ve got the guts. Let Xiao Jie hear it.”
Han Leng: “I’ve got none.”
Some people can only be observed from afar but can’t be disturbed up close. In Han Leng’s eyes, Xiao Yun is precisely this kind of person.
When she’s not smiling, she is as cold as an iceberg. Yet when she smiles, she gives people a sort of indifferent and impersonal sort of feeling. One totally can’t read the meaning behind her smiles.
If you ask Qin Fei, this is purely because Xiao Yun doesn’t want to interact with them in the slightest. She likes nothing more than to not see them for 365 days out of the year. However, to Han Leng, this is merely because Xiao Yun is a celestial goddess who has descended from the heavens. Her permeating aura is a mere result of that.
After training solo, the five people carry on to the team practice.
A week of training passes. By the end of it, the five people’s play has grown even more in-sync, in particular Jing Yu’s. He gets a feel for every member of PG’s style and game play. When he co-ops with different people, he utilizes all sorts of different methods.
Fang Luofan peers over their shoulders wordlessly and he observes a few matches. He doesn’t point out any flaws, yet he says this: “In this pro-league, many teams will start to use solo-laning demons to support. The error-tolerance will be significantly higher*. Maybe we should also test it out.”
(*error-tolerance: how much mistakes is allowed. May refer to demons’ settings too)
“Indeed. Han Leng’s playing is quite suitable for it.” Qin Fei is the first to speak up, “However, I don’t think the other teams will give us this kind of opportunity.” Pausing here, “Because in this tournament, you’ve got me.”
This is an incredibly presumptuous remark. Yet, it is an honest truth – Because PG has Qin Fei, the other side won’t leave too many solo-laners for them.
Nevertheless, Fang Luofan has also considered this point: “It’s no matter. In this PGL, we have Frozen Heart.”
As the words suggest: If the opponents give a ban spot to Frozen Heart, they’re bound to set free a solo-laner.
“Moreover, you will use Burial Sword.”
As the words suggest: If you use Burial Sword, Han Leng will have even more options of solo-laning demons to pick from.
Qin Fei carries a face full of black lines: “No matter what, you just want us to try it bei?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want.” Fang Luofan uses an irrefutable tone, his gaze flickering to the others, “What do you guys think?”
Luo Yiming: “What does it matter.”
Ye Hong: “It doesn’t hurt to learn?”
Han Leng: “If I use a solo-laner to support, can I also get the chance to pentakill?”
Fang Luofan ignores him in favour of focusing on Jing Yu: “Jing Yu, what about you? How do you see it?”
Jing Yu considers it diligently: “Pure support-type demons play a huge role in the performance of the team, but our team’s cohesion is not strong to begin with. Oftentimes, we open team battles before everyone even gathers. Thus, this battle style really suits us.”
“However, if we do this, our strategies will also have to be adjusted. One week of time might not be enough. Besides that, what Fei Ge said is also right. Even if we truly grasp it, if it’s not used in an actual match, it’ll all go down the drain.”
Fang Luofan’s gaze carries some appreciation. Qin Fei also glances at him, intrigued.
“So, what do you think we should do?” Fang Luofan intentionally throws this problem at him.
Jing Yu doesn’t mind at all. Only after a period of deliberation does he diligently reply: “Let’s try it. Though we might not use it after we enter the Top 8, it’ll definitely come to use in the Preliminaries. In fact, we can even practice while competing.”
“Alright. We’ll do just that.” Fang Luofan makes his decision instantaneously, “We’ll do as Jing Yu says.”
Qin Fei: “No objections.”
Ye Hong: “None here either.”
Luo Yiming: “Okay! Let’s listen to Goldfish!”
Han Leng: “Will I finally get a chance to pentakill?”
Jing Yu is dumbstruck, obviously not having expected Fang Luofan to make this decision so readily. He wants to say something but holds back. He wants to ask though, is this really okay?
Before he gets the chance to speak up, Qin Fei instructs: “Enter Multiplayer mode ba. Old Han takes Mad Bones, I’ll go with Burial Sword. We’ll give it a go!”
Jing Yu doesn’t get the chance to react and is already hauled into the team by Qin Fei.
Qin Fei: “Jing Yu, you’re still going with Frozen Heart. In this PGL, your Frozen Heart will be the main character. When it’s time, make sure not to drop the ball.”
Jing Yu freezes again. Yet this time, he quickly comes back to himself, smiling slightly: “En, en!”
One week of Invitational Playoffs passes by in a flash. Within this week, PG’s members would spend a couple of hours every night listening to Fang Luofan’s explanation of the matches from that day.
Fang Luofan certainly is a person who once did live commentary. His explanations consider every aspect, never overlooking a single factor. If anything, it is only a few touches less passionate than that of a live commentator. From start to end, his tone is like that of tranquil waters undisturbed by light breezes; as if reciting from a script.
Thanks to him, PG clearly witnesses the changes in the other teams with their own eyes: Amongst the 8 teams, there were actually 6 that used solo-laner demons for support in a formal match. Moreover, the results are quite good.
Unsurprisingly, ANE and SOS were totally crushed in the Invitational Playoffs. ANE thankfully still bagged a few points, but SOS was grinded down to the ground by the other 7 teams in turns. They lost 14 games one after another in the 7 days, beautifully inheriting the tragic score which PG got in the last PGL: -14.
This matter quickly set off thousands of ripples on Weibo:
【Looks like SOS didn’t lose to PG for no reason in that last PGL.】
【This can’t be ah. SOS entered Snowcat Cup last month and were the runner-up. What happened these past few days?】
【SOS certainly can’t compare to the other 7 teams, but they can’t be weak to the extent of not getting a single point ba?】
【I heard SOS has been feeling under the weather lately. Maybe something happened in their team.】
Jing Yu occasionally gets on his Weibo. Upon seeing these contents, he helplessly shrugs – SOS couldn’t have lost all morale due to being crushed by them, and still haven’t recovered from it ba?
In any case, just like that, ANE and SOS, this equally tragic pair of teams, are eliminated and set to enter the Qualifiers.
In contrast, the team that clinches the first place in the playoffs, naturally is the champion from the last PGL: KID.
“Fuck!” Luo Yiming nearly smashes the glass in his hand to smithereens.
Fang Luofan is deadly silent.
Jing Yu looks in uncertainty from one to another, totally lost.
Then Qin Fei leans over from beside him, explaining into his ear: “They’ve got bad blood with that team.”
“Oh~” Jing Yu understands.
It’s then that he sees Fang Luofan glaring at Qin Fei.
Fang Luofan: “The Preliminaries will start tomorrow. Get your spirits up! Jing Yu’s live streaming will stop for a period. All of you, turn in early tonight. Starting tomorrow, no matter which team you’re fighting, make sure to give it your all!”
“Understood!”
The day before the start of the Preliminaries, Xiao Yun packs up her luggage.
In the coming days, she will soon become very busy. No matter how reluctant she is, she must still move over to live under the same roof with the members of PG.
Naturally, she will have her own room, and that will be PG clubhouse’s only room with a lock.
Having prepared her things and being somewhat free, she turns on her laptop to watch a video.
Clicking into a certain video-watching site’s home page, she is just about to search for her favourite clip and has only just keyed in a few characters, when she notices the home page’s cover image.
It’s just a certain web drama with a name that’s unheard of. It’s been on the home page for a few weeks already. There’s nothing special about it. And yet…
Xiao Yun stares for half a day at a certain female actor who is smiling faintly in that picture. Hesitantly clicking in, she copies the title of the drama whose video pops up. Then, she pastes it into web search.
Soon enough, the search is done. Xiao Yun clicks into this drama’s wiki page, directly scrolling down to its list of actors.
In the column of the female lead is written the name: Jiao Xi
Who is this?
Why… does she look so similar to Jing Yu?
******
******
If you like what I do, please kindly donate to WHO COVID-19 Solidary Response Fund!
Every penny counts and will go towards fighting the current pandemic. Let’s show that we care even when we are far apart and quarantined.
For every USD$6 worth of donations accrued, I will add 1 chapter to the Cour, and release the extra chapter on the day itself (with a cap of +5 chapters).
You may also choose a charity org (local or not) of your liking that is currently helping out with the corona pandemic.
Please don’t forget to forward any confirmation email / screenshot of the confirmation page to [email protected], and drop a comment to let me know you donated!
Current Donations: $5/6 (+2)
