The first minion wave clashed in the bottom lane. Tang Bingyao activated Draven’s Spinning Axes. One axe started spinning, winding up for a powerful attack. Then Draven hurled it at a minion. The axe cleaved through the minion’s health bar before ricocheting backwards. Tang Bingyao had her Draven catch the axe. It was spinning again, winding up for another powerful hit. This time her target wasn’t a minion, but rather Red Team’s Support. The axe arced through the air before cutting into Leona. Then it bounced back and Tang Bingyao’s Draven caught it again. The axe spun in his hand, winding up.

Heartless was a decent enough player. He kept his Lucian out of reach from the Draven, afraid of the damage from the Spinning Axes. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t get any poke damage in. Lucian had a longer range and skills that reached even further. The main skill was Piercing Light! He aimed both his guns at a minion which stood exactly in line with Su Xue’s Nami, and then pulled the trigger. A bolt made of pure light shot forward at the speed of light, killing the minion and shaving away at Nami’s health!

The early exchanges in this matchup kept the lane even, though logic dictated differently. Lucian and Leona were a very strong early game combination. This was because Leona had the crowd control to lock Draven down and give her Lucian all the time he needed to get his damage in. But this Draven wasn’t just any Draven. This was Tang Bingyao’s Draven! She knew this Champion like no one else did. And she played this matchup perfectly, dodging Leona’s attempts to engage while constantly poking away at her health.

Unfortunately for Su Xue, her Nami was far squishier than Red Team’s Leona. Just a few Piercing Lights saw her health drop to below half and she was really feeling the pressure. It also wasn’t helping that Lin Feng was breathing down her neck, watching her and making comments about every little misplay she made.

After another Piercing Light caught Su Xue’s Nami, Lin Feng grinned. He leaned over Su Xue’s shoulder and said, “Xue Xue, you really need to practice on dodging Lucian Qs! We can work on that in our next training session! I’m really good at hitting you with Lucian Qs too!”

“Shut up!” Su Xue yelled through gritted teeth. I’m not a Support! I only practice playing Ad-carry! And I’m not even Diamond yet! This ad-carry is Diamond 4! What did you expect? Of course I’m going to have a difficult time! But I’m trying here! Can’t you see that I’m trying?

Blue letters popped up above all four Champions in the bottom lane. Level up! All four Botlaners received a second skill, opening up a whole new combination of possible engages. Red Team’s Leona was the first to make use of this. She projected an image of her sword at Su Xue’s Nami and pierced her–Zenith Blade! As the image faded, she dashed at the Nami!

Heartless winked at his camera, smiling sinisterly, and said, “Told you they suck! She’s dead! Watch this!” He theatrically lifted his finger high above his keyboard and then pressed down on the E key, activating Relentless Pursuit! His Lucian dashed forward and raised both guns at Nami for a double-shot!

Tang Bingyao was an expert Draven. Few in the world could match her. And in her countless games, she’d faced more than her fair share of Leona’s. This Level 2 engage was a staple Leona move. It was the famous Zenith Blade into Shield of Daybreak combo. Tang Bingyao wasn’t going to be fooled by it. She mumbled quietly, “Stand aside.” Her Draven raised his two axes above his shoulder and then threw them forward at an angle. They slashed through Leona, knocking her out of her dash!

“Nice! Thanks!” Su Xue exclaimed.

Tang Bingyao pinged on Lucian and said, “CC him!”

Su Xue nodded. Focus, focus, Su Xue! She had her Nami throw an Aqua Prison at Lucian. Her target was stuck in the animation of his doubleshot. He couldn’t move as the bubble of water arced through the air before wrapping around him and lifting him off the ground. The Lucian was immobilized!

Tang Bingyao pressed on her Q key for a second time. One axe had been spinning in Draven’s hand since the start of the game. The other axe now also started spinning. They went ‘round and ‘round, winding up for critical damage! Tang Bingyao’s Draven charged at the Lucian with the speed boost from Blood Rush and then hurled an axe at him! She followed right up with the second axe! Both cleaved into Lucian, shaving away at his health, before bouncing back.

Su Xue’s Nami used her Summoner Spell Exhaust on Lucian. A debilitating red aura fell over him. His damage became pitifully low as did his movement speed! He was caught out between two enemy champions and his Leona was too far away to help him. Heartless’ eyes went wide in shock. ShitShitShit! I needa run!

Tang Bingyao chased after the Lucian, easily keeping up. She cast Blood Rush to increase her movement speed every time she caught a Spinning Axe. And when he tried to escape with Flash, she smiled. Everything came together perfectly. Lucian flashed towards Leona and Leona flashed towards Lucian. All Tang Bingyao did was follow the Lucian with a flash of her own. She then threw one final Spinning Axe that cleaved away the last of Lucian’s health.

《First Blood!》

Heartless fell back in his gaming chair, watching his screen lose all its vibrant colours. It became a dull grey. The game announcer’s voice thundered in his head, reminding him of what had just happened. He’d given away first blood to the Draven. I just said I was going to kill the Nami… ThenI ended up getting killed! He gritted his teeth, furious! This can’t be real! THIS CAN’T BE! “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!” This was one of the worst things that could happen to him. He felt humiliated. He gritted his teeth and glanced at the stream. Those fucking trolls that came from the thot’s stream are making fun of me! Of fucking course! Stupid simps! FuckFuckFUCK!

Heartless suddenly turned to look straight into the camera. There was such hatred and venom in his gaze that it sent cold shivers down the spines of his viewers. He glared like this for a couple of seconds before saying, “That doesn’t count! My Leona trolled there! I’ll get back those kills! Watch me!!”

✹

Draven was a Champion that benefited more from early kills than almost any other champion. This was because of his passive skill that granted him bonus gold every time he got a kill. An early first blood was basically a death sentence for the opposing team. In this case, the Red Team. Heartless’ team. And they were quickly notified of this death sentence. It was only two minutes later that Tang Bingyao caught Lucian slightly out of position and punished him for it with an easy solo kill.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Heartless shouted, slamming his flat hand on his keyboard. “This stupid Jungler can’t even come to gank! Fucking useless trash!” He shot forward in his chair, moved his mouse over the Jarvan IV, and started spam pinging him. “YES YOU! YOU WASTE OF LIFE! GO DIE OR SOMETHING!”

Red Team’s Jarvan IV cleared several more Jungle camps before indeed going down towards the bot lane. Heartless’ Lucian and the Leona didn’t even need to prepare for the gank because of how far forward Nami and Draven were playing. It looked like the perfect opportunity.

Jarvan IV appeared from the river entrance and engaged Tang Bingyao’s Draven right away. He threw down his standard behind her and struck it with his lance for a flag toss combo! But Tang Bingyao knocked him out of the dash with Stand Aside! More specifically, she hit him at just the right angle to push him into Nami’s Aqua Prison.

Lucian and his Leona Support wanted to come and help the Jarvan IV. But in front of them was a small army of Blue minions. They weren’t sure what to do, hesitating for a brief moment. That was all the time Tang Bingyao needed to hack away at Jarvan IV’s health until there was nothing left.

《You have slain an enemy!》

Lucian finally joined the fight. But lacking both levels and items, he was freely offering Tang Bingyao a double kill. Draven’s Spinning Axes cleaved away nearly a quarter of his health with each hit. His Flash was still on cooldown. I’m not dying to this again! I WON’T NO! NO! Good.

Red Team’s Leona hit Tang Bingyao’s Draven with Zenith Blade. She dashed at the Draven and then slammed her Shield of Daybreak against him. The stun that followed gave Heartless all the time he needed to get away from the fight and retreat back to his outer tower.

Tang Bingyao narrowed her eyes, forced to watch Lucian escape. But Leona was still right on top of her. I’ll get you instead. Mhm! The stun broke. Her Draven moved, empowered by Blood Rush. Spinning Axes slashed into Leona before ricocheting back into the air. Tang Bingyao’s Draven caught them and then hurled them straight back at the Leona. Her health disintegrated.

《Double kill!》

Tang Bingyao clenched her fist and smiled. “Mhm! Nice!”

“Great kills!” Su Xue replied, laughing.

「TANG TANG 6666666666!」
「GOD DRAVEN!」
「what a stomp!」
「TANG TANG, CARRY US!」

✹

The game in bot lane was over. Tang Bingyao’s Draven was fed. There was no amount of ganks that could turn this back around. But Tang Bingyao and Su Xue weren’t ready to take down Red Team’s outer tower yet. They both wanted to show off their skills by killing their lane opponents a few more times. So they continued farming minions, waiting for Red Team’s Botlaners to return to lane.

Su Xue glanced at her minimap, confused. She mumbled, “What is their Leona doing in top lane? And where is their Lucian?”

Tang Bingyao was completely focused on last hitting minions and catched Draven’s Spinning Axes. She asked, “Mhm?”

“Their Lucian,” Su Xue repeated. “I haven’t seen him since we killed him. It’s been over a minute! Where is he…?”

Lin Feng grinned and said, “Maybe he ragequit!”

Su Xue giggled and replied, “You might be right! Tang Tang is really not going easy on him!”

「lololololol, noob streamer rq」
「They should ban him if he actually did rage quit….」
「These kinda of people shouldnt be allowed to play League.」
「RIPPERINO IN PEPPERONI! EZZZZZZZGGGGG」

The people watching the stream continued to joke about how Heartless had rage quit. Su Xue and Lin Feng joked and laughed with them about it. But it was all just jokes. No one actually believed that Heartless had gotten so tilted that he quit playing. Until Tang Bingyao suddenly interrupted them by saying, “Mhm… I think he really did…” She pointed at the all chat on her monitor. 

[All] Jarvan IV:「gg, 4v5, open mid」
[All] Leona:「plz report Lucian, he rq」
[All] Darius:「fuuuuuuuuck, im in my diamond promos too! why does this always happen!?」
[All] Ahri:「rip, someone report his stream too pls thx x9」

Su Xue’s mouth fell open. She just stared at her screen for a couple of seconds before she muttered, “What? He actually ragequit?”

「Hahahaha! Tang Tang is a god!」
「she actually made the madlad ragequit! Looool」
「666666666666」
「Its not nice of you to make people rq, tangtang! …」

Tang Bingyao quietly watched Su Xue joking around with her viewers on stream. She spectated as Lin Feng complained about how life was unfair and that he should be the one practicing together with her, only to be shut down by Su Xue. They’re always like this. It’s just like… it’s just like on stream. This is always what they do when I watch them. And now I’m a part of it! She smiled and made a fist. I’m going to show Su Xue how good I am! Mhm! I’m going to play my best game! Maybe she’ll invite me again then!

And the viewers… Tang Bingyao glanced at the camera, briefly. Short enough that no one really noticed it. Then she quickly looked down at her hands again. She wasn’t feeling comfortable in front of the camera. There was something invasive about it that sent a creeping feeling up her spine. Thousands of people were watching her. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to look up. I can do this! I’m going to carry! Mm-hm! I won’t embarrass myself! I’ma win!

Lin Feng was just told off by Su Xue again, when he noticed Tang Bingyao hadn’t said anything in a bit. He looked at her, noticed the difficult expression on her face, and grinned. He moved over to her and said, “Hey, Tang Tang! Having a bit of a headache from last night? I totally understand! No worries, you can go nap a bit more in my bed! I’ll play a few games in your stead!”

Tang Bingyao didn’t get the chance to respond. Su Xue smacked Lin Feng on the top of his head and shouted, “Enough! I’m playing with Tang Tang! Go and get me some water! And add some lemon to it!”

“Mhm! I have no headache! I’m fine!” Tang Bingyao said, nodding. She then turned to look at Su Xue and continued, “Let’s play!”

Su Xue smiled victoriously and said, “That’s what I wanted to hear!” She clicked on the play button and the two girls went into the duo ranked queue.

It didn’t take long for the queue to pop. Su Xue and Tang Bingyao moved into Champion Select, where they called their roles and then locked in their Champions. As agreed upon before, Su Xue was playing Support. She wasn’t great at the role yet, though she’d dabbled a bit with it lately, but was confident that her Nami could impress Tang Bingyao. Another reason for her choice of Support was because Nami had great synergy with Draven, which was the Champion Tang Bingyao was playing, due to her strong crowd control and healing skills.

Lin Feng was forced to watch Su Xue and Tang Bingyao lock in their Champions. Why does Tang Tang look so serious…? And she’s playing Draven! That’s her best Champion by far… He scratched the back of his head and said, “Your opponents are going to be in for a rough time. Tang Tang’s Draven is really good! I almost feel bad for them!”

Su Xue glanced at Lin Feng and replied, “You don’t feel bad for them. That’d require you to have some level of EQ.” Then she turned back to look at her monitor which was showing League of Legends’ loading screen. “Let’s see, who are we up against… That looks like a Lucian ad-carry. Huh?” She moved her mouse over Lucian’s summoner name. “Douyu TV Heartless? That sounds like a streamer name. Anyone know them? Is it a streamer?”

「Wowaaa! I just looked him up! He is a streamer!」
「lawl, he looks like a nerd…. A dman ugly one! Hahahhahaha」
「CRUSH HIM XUE XUE! SHOW HIM WHO DA BEST STREAMER IS!!!!!!!」
「rough him up, hehe. This gunnnaa be fuuun!!!」

✹

Online streaming services had grown exponentially in the previous several years. New companies popped up every day, looking to grab a piece of the pie. Huya TV, the platform on which Su Xue streamed, was one of the more popular ones. Then there were a large number of smaller streaming services. Douyu TV was one of those. It only had a fraction of the viewers that Huya TV pulled in every day and only the top few streamers on these smaller platforms made any kind of revenue.

There were three tested methods to wade through the swamps of grassroots streamers and make it to prominence. The first of the three methods was through pure skill. It didn’t particularly matter which game the streamer excelled at, just that they were among the very best. This was far from easy. For a game like League of Legends, it meant that the streamer had to be at least at the Master rank, preferably even higher.

Another method was to be an entertainer. The streamer didn’t need to worry about their gameplay, because it wouldn’t carry them to more viewers anyway. They were looking for the people out there who wanted to have a laugh, joke around, and be entertained. It was an incredibly difficult feat to be entertaining and it required no small amount of talent and hard work. In this sense, the first and second option were similar.

There was a third option, though there were many people who looked down on this method. They would claim it wasn’t really “streaming”. Not for the websites these “streamers” were on, anyway. The streamers who made it big through this option did so purely based on their looks. They smudged their faces with half a dozen layers of makeup and flexed their muscles or showed off their impressive cleavages.

And Heartless hated everyone who used any of these options to get a following! He believed he was the most talented League of Legends player and that the jokes he made were absolutely hilarious! And that as such he was the best of the first and the second option! Yet the people weren’t coming to his stream to watch his gameplay or his entertainment. Horny idiots! He browsed through Douyu TV, which was the platform he streamed on. All the top streams are these stupid thots! With their makeup on and their fake ass boobs!

Heartless was a grassroots streamer. He’d been playing League of Legends for quite a while and reached Diamond 4, something he took great pride in. After doing some research, he decided to stream. And Douyu TV was the right platform for him. But it didn’t go quite as he expected. People didn’t flood his stream. He rarely ever had more than 30 viewers, with his record sitting at a measly 89. Horny kids watching thots because they can’t get a girl themselves!

It surprised absolutely no one that Heartless found it impossible to gain any kind of traction on Douyu TV, though he was blind to it himself. His skills at League of Legends were second rate, his entertainment value was sub zero, and he looked like a homeless person. The sole reason people stuck around in his stream was to make fun of him. They told him that he cut his hair himself with a mirror and scissors and that he could maybe get some more viewers if he hid himself behind three layers of filters. And his reaction to those messages was absolutely hilarious to the viewers. He’d blow his top, screaming at his viewers and banning them.

Heartless sat in his dorm room, hunched forward behind his computer. There was a camera pointed at his face at just the wrong angle, showing off every ugly feature of his already not very pleasing face. But he liked this angle of his face. He glanced at his second screen where he had the Douyu TV page open and grinned. Looking sharp again today! I’m feeling lucky! Today I’m going to hit 100 viewers! He suddenly frowned, annoyed. Fucking trash stealing all my viewers! If I had boobs, I didn’t need to work this hard! Douyu would put me on their frontpage in a heartbeat! They’d probably pay me for it too! It’s so unfair! But… He glanced at himself in the camera feed again. Looking sharp today!

Alright! Time to hype the viewers up a bit! Heartless smiled, showing off his crooked teeth, and announced, “This is it, guys! Today’s the day! I’m going to hit Diamond 3 and get 100 viewers!”

「Ha. Dream on..」
「kek」

Heartless frowned and complained, “You guys should really be a little more optimistic! I swear, if I was one of those ugly thots, you’d all be falling over me! All I’m asking for is some activity! Is that so much to ask?” It was his go-to move. Complain. Whine. Bitch. And it was also the reason why he lost the few viewers he gained every stream. After this latest outburst, just one of many, there were another five people who left his stream for good. That was nearly half of the people watching him.

“Really? Leaving because I say the truth? Go watch their fucking shit streams! Good riddance!” Heartless yelled, frustrated. They know I’m telling the truth! It just hurts their fragile egos! Fucking simps! He’d never stopped to think that maybe the problem wasn’t something or someone else. That maybe he was the problem. But he lacked the common sense to consider that.

Heartless was a coward at his core. He had no problem badmouthing absolutely everything and everyone on his stream. His favourite victims were popular streamers, especially those he considered thots or e-girls, and the Douyu TV administrators. None of these people would ever tune in on his stream anyway. But the moment he got the opportunity to talk with an admin, he fell at their feet and kissed their toes. It was even more ridiculous the few times he showed his face in a QQ group chat from one of the famous streamers. He was without a doubt the biggest asskisser out there. But I only do that to steal their viewers! And if I get an admin to like me, I might get a slot on the frontpage! That’d really see my stream get big. But those fucking thots just keep hogging up all the top spots!

Two months of hard work. Heartless tried everything he could think of. But when he looked at the number of viewers, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He wasn’t anywhere near as popular as he felt he should be. I swear! All I need is a feature on the frontpage and I’ll take off! My stream is really good. I just need people to see it— Huh? He looked at his streamchat. There were more people there than before. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever having seen his chat move so quickly! What’s going on?

「GONNA GET REKT< MAAAATE」
「goodluck bud, ya gonna need it!!!」
「streamer vs. streamer!!!! SO EXCITIINGGGG!!!!! <333333」
「you get to play against a famous streamer!!!! this is your chance to make it bigg!!!! PLS DONT BE YOURSELF!!!!!!」

Heartless looked at his main monitor. He was on the loading screen for a game of League of Legends. EveningSnowfall? That sounds like a girl’s name… Am I playing against one of those stupid thots? He opened a new tab on his browser and searched for EveningSnowfall. There, Huya TV. He clicked on the link and opened the stream. A wheel spun on his screen, loading, loading, and then he saw it. Two pretty girls. He glowered and said, “Fucking thots! Oh my god! Look at that! See? SEE? What do I keep telling you guys? 6,000 viewers! I’m telling you, they’re all there jerking off to those tiddies! FUCK ME! Those thots probably don’t even know how to cast a skill! This is so unfair!”

「y u mad bro??? gonna get ur ass kicked by some girls!!」
「HAHAHHAHAHA look at him getting mad XDDDDDD lil kid」
「he always so mad??? Dafuq is wrong with him?」
「Dude…. Those two aint “thots”… They’re great players…」
「wow… what a delusional toad」
「Lawl. Idiots gonna be idiots.」

Heartless read his streamchat and snorted. “What am I so upset about? Let me tell you what I’m so upset about!” He jabbed at his screen and continued, “You see those two girls there? Those thots? That’s what I’m upset about! They’ve got zero skill! They’re trashy female streamers relying on their fucking looks to get viewers! I bet you guys they bought their accounts and are like Bronze or something!” He shook his head in frustration and eventually added, “Wouldn’t surprise me if they’re sleeping with Huya admins for some extra views…”

The streamchat lit up. There were almost a hundred viewers and all of them had come from Su Xue’s stream. None of them were willing to let this small-time streamer talk about their Su Xue like this. Some started flaming Heartless and were quickly banned from the channel. Others just left out of disgust. But Heartless didn’t care about these viewers. Stupid white knights! I don’t want any of you guys anyway! This is a stream for good viewers! Go asskiss for your fucking thots! Then he turned his attention back towards the loading screen. He narrowed his eyes, focusing on the Draven and Nami, and mumbled, “Blame your bad luck for getting matched up against me. I’ll reveal to the world exactly how you two get your viewers!”

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

Tang Bingyao was a bit nervous, while also fighting off the throbbing in her head. Breakfast had taken care of most of her hangover headache, but she still felt more than a little uncomfortable. Su Xue sat next to her, cheering her on. Su Xue is really nice and so cheerful. She smiled, glancing over at the stream chat. They’re really nice too. Mhm!

「GO TANG TANG!」
「Rek that other streamer!」
「lil bro says your draven is amazing… i really wanna seeee!!!!」
「draven is my favorite champion, but i can’t play him :(((((( pls teach me sometime」
「maybe you can help the maid finally win a few games… would be nice for a change!」
「Our xuexue isn’t the brightest bulb of the bunch. You might needa carry her… Well, not might. Definitely gonna have to if you wanna win this one…. Hehheeheh <333」

Su Xue’s viewers were excited to see Tang Bingyao play. But that didn’t mean they’d go easy on Su Xue. They always grabbed every opportunity they got with both hands to make a joke about Su Xue. And she glared back at them, unamused as always, and complained, “Oi! What’s this all about! I don’t need carrying! I’m really good! You guys should be grateful for once and cheer me on!”

「AS IF! AHHAHAHAHHA pls dont feed xuexue」
「dont be a deadweight maid xue」
「MASS UNFOLLOW IF SHE FEEDS!!!!!!」

“YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARDS!” Su Xue yelled. She took a short, frustrated breath, then continued, “I’ll show you all how good I am! I’m going to support Tang Tang so well that she carries even harder than she already would!” She then turned to Tang Bingyao and winked at her. “Right?”

Tang Bingyao nodded and said, “Mhm!”

Tang Bingyao woke up early the next morning. A ray of sun was shining in her face, something was smelling delicious, and she had a throbbing headache. “Uch…” she groaned as she pulled the blanket over her head. “Stupid sun. Too bright.” She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the sledgehammer that was slamming against her head. The soft, warm bed almost made that happen. “Mm-hmm…” But then her stomach responded to the food she could smell. She opened her eyes and complained, “Too early…”

“Eh?” Tang Bingyao yelped. Her eyes snapped open completely and she pushed the blanket away. “Where am I?” She looked around the room, panicking. This isn’t my bed. Uhmm… Where am I? Where, where… “Ughh.” She rubbed her head painfully. Why does my head hurt so much? What happened? Did someone hit me? Did I get kidnapped!? “Ugh. It hurts so much.” She closed her eyes again and rested her head back on the pillow. “Ahh, so nice and soft.”

Tang Bingyao pulled on the blanket and curled up underneath. What happened last night? It was… Friday? Her eyes shot open again. It was my birthday! Birthday party. We went to the restaurant… Food… It was a blur in her mind. There wasn’t a cohesive story, only random tidbits of information. And every time that she tried to tie them all together, her headache got worse. She groaned and mumbled, “Never drinking again. Mhm.”

We had a few drinks after dinner. I think… Did the guys play a game? I sat… somewhere? Tang Bingyao was trying very hard to remember the events leading up to her waking up in a strange room. They all went home, I remember that. Except for… Her eyes suddenly went wide. Something very specific came back to her. I went home with him. He brought me home. And then I stopped him and I… I… She was breathing quickly, worried, nearly hyperventilating. I told him that I lo… lov…

It was that exact thought that jogged the last bit of Tang Bingyao’s memory. A realization that gave her a fresh wave of relaxation. I never said the full sentence. I passed out. I didn’t say it! I didn’t say it! She took the first deep, long breath of the morning. The headache suddenly didn’t feel all that bad anymore and she even managed a small smile. It’d have been way too embarrassing if I did tell him… But I held myself back. BunBun is the right one for him, and not me. My body shut itself down before I could do something stupid. Mhm, good.

Tang Bingyao needed a couple more minutes to convince herself that she really hadn’t said the words and that that was for the best. But the more she thought about it, the more she remembered about that particular part of the night. I passed out. And then I remember being in an apartment… A girl… Su Xue? Am I at his place? Is this… She pushed the covers off and looked around the room again. I’ve seen this room before. This is Su Xue’s room! I’ve seen it on the stream before! She smiled in relief. I wasn’t kidnapped.

The strong smell of food reached Tang Bingyao’s nose again, now grabbing her full attention. She glanced at the door and then down at her clothes. W-what am I wearing!? These aren’t mine! She pulled at the pink pyjamas she was wearing. They were exactly the type of pyjamas she never bought. It was pink with a large drawing on it. She twisted her head to get a better look at it. Jinx? Is this a Jinx pyjamas? She chewed on the inside of her cheek, looking around the room. I can’t go out looking like this. What if Lin Feng sees me in this? Uh-uh. Where are my clothes?

Tang Bingyao got up and searched around the room, but the only clothes she found were those in Su Xue’s closet. Can’t put those on without asking. That’d be rude. Hmm… She grimaced, considered, then slipped into a pair of slippers and carefully opened the door, peeking around the corner. No one here. What is smelling so good anyway? She sniffed and searched around the hallway. Is someone making breakfast? Does Lin Feng cook? 

Uch, my head. Tang Bingyao painfully rubbed her head, groans coming from both her mouth and stomach. She looked back into the room and then out into the hallway again. Do I…? Hmm… Maybe there’s an aspirin for my head. Mhm. I’ll go and see. She pushed the door open and walked down the hallway, following the smell of scrambled egg and bacon. It led her to the kitchen, where she found Su Xue toasting some bread.

Su Xue looked up when she heard a sound and noticed Tang Bingyao poking her head into the kitchen. “Oh, Tang Tang! You’re awake! Perfect timing!”

“Please, not so loud,” Tang Bingyao whispered. She briefly paused to rub her head and then added, “Morning.”

Su Xue grinned and pestered, “Drank a little much, eh? How are you feeling? Your head spinning right ‘round?”

“Just a little,” Tang Bingyao whispered, embarrassed. She meekly continued, “Sorry for the trouble.”

Su Xue shook her head, smiling brightly, and said, “It’s nothing. Happens to everyone at one point. But maybe don’t drink so much in the future. I’m not going to be around every time to help you puke in a bucket and make you some honey lemon tea…”

Tang Bingyao froze up. “P-puke?” she muttered. Her face flushed red. She chewed on her lips and stared at the floor. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to. It just kind of… I won’t do it again. I’ll never drink again… Sorry for everything. I can help clean up…”

“It’s fine! Relax a little!” Su Xue said, giggling. She then pointed at the pyjamas Tang Bingyao was wearing and continued, “Those PJs fit you really well by the way. You look super cute!”

Cute? Tang Bingyao looked down at the pyjamas she felt so uncomfortable in. Does it really look cute? She chewed on the inside of her cheek and shook her head. Will Lin Feng also think it looks cute? Her face heated up again. She looked down at her feet, trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Oh, right!” Su Xue suddenly exclaimed. “Before I forget, your grandma called! She’d gotten the number from Ren Rou? Anyway, I told her you were sleeping here and that everything was good. But I think it’s better if you go and give her a call. She sounded really worried.”

Tang Bingyao’s eyes went wide and her stomach dropped. Nana! I completely forgot… She nodded at Su Xue and said, “Thanks. I’ll call her and let her know I’m ok.”

“Do that. You should also go and wash up. The bathroom is right next to my bedroom. I already put a clean towel and new toothbrush for you there,” Su Xue responded. Then she lifted up her finger and added, “Oh, and your clothes are still hanging out to dry. That’ll be another few hours or so. Just wear my PJs for now. There’s no puke on them, right? Oh, oh, also go and wake up Lin Feng when you’re done with all of that. Breakfast should be ready by then and if you don’t wake him up, he’ll sleep till dinner.”

Tang Bingyao froze, her body trembling and shaking uncontrollably. She gritted her teeth and rubbed her head. I fell asleep! He doesn’t know what I wanted to say! Mhm! And these pyjamas look cute. Xue Xue said so. She tried to convince herself, though her stomach strongly disagreed. It felt like the inside of a washing machine, going ‘round and ‘round. Please be a blockhead. Please!

Su Xue raised her eyebrow and asked, “Worried you can’t wake him up? I know.” She shook her head before continuing, “He sleeps like a log. But there’s a few ways to get him out of bed. One of them, hold on…” She searched around the counter for a bit before picking up a large cleaver. “Just smack him with the dull side of this. Don’t know what it is about this thing, but it has him wide awake in seconds. It’s my go-to weapon these days.”

Tang Bingyao’s worries disintegrated and were replaced by shock and pure horror. She stared at Su Xue, speechless. That smile looks so much like An Xin’s when she gets mad at Lin Feng! I don’t… She shook her head and said, “No, no, it’s okay. I’ll wake him up without that, that thing.”

✹

Tang Bingyao spent far more time in the bathroom than she usually would. Not because it was difficult to work the shower or because anything else took longer than normal, but because she was trying to find the courage to go to Lin Feng’s bedroom. Su Xue had told her which door it was and she was now standing in front of it, her hand raised, ready to knock. She chewed on her lips. This is his bedroom. What if he figured it out? No, I would’ve woken up in his… No! Mh-mm! She shook her mind clear of that thought and knocked on the door. “Lin Feng?” she quietly asked.

There came no response from the other side of the door. Tang Bingyao knocked again, hoping that Lin Feng would wake up from this. But it looked like Su Xue was right. He slept like a log. After a third knock and still no response, she pushed the door open and poked her head inside. “Hey, Lin Feng,” she said. “It’s morning. Su Xue wants you to wake up.”

Lin Feng was fast asleep, dreaming about something that had him smiling. Tang Bingyao stepped into the room and called out to Lin Feng. He still won’t wake up? She took another step and called out again. There was still no response. She repeated this process all the way until she found herself standing next to his bed. What do I do now…? She chewed on her lips, considering her options. She finally started poking him, jabbing her finger in his face, and said, “Lin Feng. Lin Feng. Lin Feng. Wake up.”

There was finally a response from Lin Feng. But not the one Tang Bingyao was expecting. Lin Feng slapped Tang Bingyao’s hand away, as though she were a mosquito, and grumbled, “Go away, Su Xue. I wanna sleep. I’m really good at sleeping too.”

“Uh, it’s me,” Tang Bingyao said slowly.

Lin Feng opened his drowsy eyes and turned to look at who was calling out to him. Then his eyes shot open. Tang Bingyao was standing next to his bed, her face hovering only a little above his. “Tang Tang!” he yelped. “Yeesh! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He took a few exaggerated breaths, then looked at her and asked, “Did you sleep well?”

Tang Bingyao nodded and replied, “Morning. Uh, mhm, yeah. Su Xue told me to wake you up, so I came…”

Lin Feng rubbed his eyes and pushed his blanket down. “Oh, okay. Yeah. I’ll get up.” He stretched out long and yawned. “Man, I drank way too much last night. Really shouldn’t hav—”

Tang Bingyao didn’t hear a word Lin Feng said anymore. Her eyes were about to pop out of her sockets. Of all the things she worried about happening, this hadn’t been one of them. Now it was. She always liked to wear pyjamas. Top and bottom. They were comfortable. She never even considered that not everyone wore pyjamas. But Lin Feng clearly wasn’t. He… He… THOSE ARE HIS BOXERS! “IIIIIIIIIIII!” She reached out and grabbed the closest thing she could find, an Oxford dictionary, and threw it at Lin Feng. “IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII! YOU’RE NAKED!”

Time slowed down for Lin Feng. He saw the book flying his way. NOOOOOO! He tried to move his body, but it felt sluggish. And in the next moment, the dictionary fell on his balls. “GAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!”

✹

Su Xue was sitting at the breakfast table reading a magazine, when Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao walked in. She asked without looking up, “What was that scream all about, Tang Tang?” She looked up, her eyes widening in surprise. Lin Feng too? She continued, “Lin Feng? You’re up early. Haha! I guess Tang Tang should come over more often! You’ll never sleep in till dinner again!”

Tang Bingyao felt her face heat up again. She looked down at her feet and mumbled, “Uh-hmm…” She quietly sat down at the table and looked away from both Lin Feng and Su Xue.

Lin Feng had a completely opposite reaction. He was screaming bloody murder and shouted, “SHE THREW A BOOK AT ME! SHE THREW A BOOK!”

Su Xue burst out laughing. She looked at Tang Bingyao and said, “Good job! I hadn’t thought about that yet! Which book did you use?”

“THE DICTIONARY! SHE THREW A DICTIONARY AT ME!” Lin Feng yelled.

Su Xue frowned and asked, “A dictionary. Is that all? What are you screaming so loudly for then?” She then winked at Tang Bingyao.

Lin Feng rubbed his groin and complained, “It was a hardcover! SHE THREW IT AT MY BALLS!”

Su Xue started laughing again, unable to contain herself. Tears crept from her eyes and she couldn’t stop herself from saying, “So you do have something down there!”

Tang Bingyao glanced at Lin Feng and then quickly turned away again. She feebly asked, “Are you alright? Does it really hurt?”

“Does it really hurt? Yes it hurts!” Lin Feng shouted, massaging his balls. “I’m really good at feeling pain too!”

Tang Bingyao’s lips were trembling and she was forcing back tears. “I’m sorry. I… I didn’t mean to.”

Lin Feng sat down next to Tang Bingyao at the table and looked at her. A painful smile appeared on his face. “It’s fine. I’ll be ok, I think. But really, Tang Tang, please don’t throw books at my private parts again. It really hurts.”

Su Xue winked at Tang Bingyao and interjected, “It’s karma. He deserved it. Don’t feel bad about it. He totally had that one coming.”

Lin Feng wanted to retort, Tang Bingyao wanted to apologize, and Su Xue really wanted to bask in Lin Feng’s misery, but they were interrupted when Lin Feng’s phone started ringing. He grabbed it from his pocket and accepted the call. “Hello? Chu Fang?”

“Hey Lin Feng,” Chu Fang said. “Morning. Do you have some time today? Together with the rest of the team. I want to watch you guys play a bit and I’ve got some news I need to tell you guys about.”

Lin Feng nodded and replied, “Oh, sure, of course! I think we’re practicing anyway this afternoon. Is that good for you?”

“Yeah, that should be fine,” Chu Fang said. “Just send me the time and location and I’ll be there.”

Lin Feng rubbed his stomach, the smell of food distracting him from the call. “Ok, ok. I’ll let the others know. I’ll also send you the info. Uhm, anything else?”

Chu Fang laughed and said, “You’re busy?”

“Well, breakfast…” Lin Feng started to explain. But Chu Fang cut him off. “No worries! I’ve got plenty to do here anyway. Just remember to send me the time and place. I’ll see you there!”

“Ok, see you there!” Lin Feng replied before hanging up. He then grinned and said to Tang Bingyao, “You heard that, right Tang Tang? Guess he wants to see us practice! And something about some news…”

Su Xue had been listening in, but only heard half of what Chu Fang said. She looked at Lin Feng and asked, “Who was that? Something about the Collegiate Cup? When is that starting anyway?”

“In a few days,” Tang Bingyao said, which was quickly followed by Lin Feng adding, “December 8th. So on Tuesday, I think?”

Su Xue rubbed her chin and said, “Practice this afternoon, huh? Tang Tang’s clothes should be dry by then, so that won’t be an issue. But it’s still a couple of hours before lunch.” Her eyes suddenly lit up and she suggested, “Hey, I know! Tang Tang and I can play some duo queue on stream today! I’m sure the viewers will love to see a… continuation of last night. I kind of had to stop that rather abruptly. And you need all the practice you can get before the tournament anyway! This is perfect!”

“I’m also playing in the tournament! I should play too!” Lin Feng quickly mentioned. But Su Xue just laughed at him. She said, “I thought you were really good at League too? You don’t need any practice. But if you want to become really good at being a maid too, you should get some practice in for that.” She giggled before continuing, “It all adds up! Tang Tang gets some practice in with me and you get to practice your maid skills! This’ll be great!”

✹

Su Xue turned on her stream and informed her most loyal viewers on her QQ group chat about it. The turnup was massive. Everyone and their mothers tuned in to watch this episode in the life of Su Xue. It was a direct result from the night before, when Su Xue went offline after placing the ‘body’ down on her bed. All her viewers were now letting Su Xue know how they felt about that. If she was committing a crime, they wanted in on it!

「How could you leave us hanging like that! My feelings are hurt! HURT!」
「you think you can just close the stream whenever you want!? ANSWER MEE!!!!」
「How dare you let all your viewers down like that! You’re not worth our support! UNFOLLOWW」
「mass reports for false advertising, lezzz gooooooooo X9999999999999 (so many viewers.l….)」

The camera was still off. Su Xue played around with the stream settings, until she got it right. The camera turned on and showed Su Xue and Tang Bingyao sitting behind the computer. Everyone recognized the ‘body’ that had come back to life. She was a beautiful girl wearing cute pink Jinx pyjamas. Their inner simps awoke and they flooded the chat with messages aimed at Tang Bingyao.

「hey hey! Nice to meet you! I’m Water Wraith!」
「SUP SEXY! You one of xuexue’s friends? BFFs?」
「you play lol too? add me pls! we can duo queueue!!!!」
「I luuuvvvvvvv your ponytail! your pjs pretty sexy too!!」
「whats your name? I NEEDA KNOW FOR RESEARCH!!!!!」　
「can i tell my friends about you??? pretty preasseeeeee」

Su Xue coughed and said, “How about we stop this?” She then pointed at Tang Bingyao and continued, “This here is Tang Bingyao. She’s Lin Feng’s classmate. She’s still in high school. Now stop being creeps!”

「again!??!?!?!? How many classmates does he have? WTFFFFFF」
「NUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!! tangtang!!!!!! add me on league plsssssss」
「I didn’t realise. She looks very beautiful. Nice to make your acquaintance, m’lady! *tips fedora*」

Su Xue deleted the last message with a trained flick of her mouse and temporarily muted the user who sent it. Then she smiled at Tang Bingyao and said, “You should say hi to them. Just look in the camera up there.”

Tang Bingyao nodded, speechless. Not because of the chat messages, but because of the sheer number of viewers. She stared at that number going up and up. From hundreds to thousands of viewers! She finally said, “Hi, hi. Uhmm, I’m Tang Tang.”

Lin Feng butted into the frame and shouted, “Tang Tang is an amazing Ad-carry!”

Su Xue rolled her eyes and said, “No one asked you anything! Hurry up and go pour us some water!” She then looked back at the camera and continued, “You might remember Tang Tang from the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. She was the Ad-carry on Lin Feng’s team! She was so good! Oh, I know! How about she plays ad-carry for a couple of games and I support her?”

「WOOOOOO YEAHHHHHHHH TANG TANG GOOOOOO」
「66666666666666」
「pls teach xue xue how to play, tangtang!!!!!!」
「legendary incoming in 3, 2, 1…. NOOOWWWWWWW!!!!」
「dont carry xue xue too hard, or shes gonna lose a bunch of games again tonight…….」
「screw that! I’ll just not watch tonight! CARRY HARD TANG TANG!!!!!!」

Su Xue glared as she read through a few of the messages, but overall she was pretty happy. She winked at Tang Bingyao and said, “See? They’re all excited to watch you play. Let’s get into the queue. You Ad-carry and I Support. Sounds good, yeah?”

Tang Bingyao sat up straight in her chair. They’re all watching me. I can’t let Su Xue down! Mhm! She was going to play on stream for the first time. She’d never before played with so many people watching her. That made this moment so much more scary. She couldn’t let these viewers down. She had to show them something special! A truly good game! She grabbed her mouse and placed her fingers on the keyboard. Then she stared intently at her screen and said, “Mhm! I’ll do my best!”

Lin Feng looked into Tang Bingyao’s eyes, her face right in front of his. He felt a shiver run down his body, but blamed it on the cold weather. “But, but I’m not talking,” he argued, confused. What’s going on? Why is she right in my face? Do I have something on my face? Is there some food there…? He tried to move his hand, but Tang Bingyao pushed it back down, staring at him. “Tang Tang…”

“You’re still talking! I told you to shut up!” Tang Bingyao pouted, stamping her foot on the ground.

Lin Feng shook his head. What is this? She’s lost it! She’s completely lost it! The alcohol has made her go crazy! He hesitated to consider if he should just stop talking. But then his mouth got the better of him. He muttered in a barely discernible voice, “You really can’t hold your booze at all. I ain’t drinking with you again…”

Tang Bingyao lightly pinched Lin Feng’s cheeks and glared at him. “Did… did you say something? I told you to stop talking and listen to me!”

Lin Feng slowly nodded, his eyes wide in horror. What does she want? Why is she doing this? I didn’t do anything! I’m really good at running home too! Let me go, please!

“Mhm! That’s a good boy,” Tang Bingyao said, nodding in satisfaction. “Ok, ok. Listen. I need to tell you something. Ok?”

Lin Feng kept nodding, pursing his lips together. Just tell me already… I don’t like this! I’m really good at feeling uncomfortable too! And… You’re drunk!

Tang Bingyao chewed on her lips, looking at Lin Feng’s mouth. I can say it… I can! Mhm! Say it! She felt butterflies lifting her stomach up and her cheeks flaring scarlet. She said, “I…”

Lin Feng was still nodding. Yes, yes. You! You something! Move it along, please! It’s cold! I want to go home and curl up under my blanket! Did I mention that I’m really good at curling up under my blanket too?

“I… I-I…” Tang Bingyao muttered. Her entire body began trembling and shaking. “I… I-I…” A dizzy spell assaulted her, making her vision spin and her eyes suddenly felt incredibly heavy. “L-Ling Feng, I… I… I lov…” She trailed off before she could finish her sentence, her eyes closing and her face falling on Lin Feng’s shoulder.

Lin Feng moved his head a bit to the side to try and get a look at what Tang Bingyao was doing, keeping his lips tightly sealed the whole way through. But after a good several seconds of nothing happening, except for soft snoring sounds, his impatience got the better of him. He lightly pushed her away and asked, “What did you want to say? You lov what? What’s that even mea— Hey! Tang Tang! Wake up!” He shook her. At first gently, but then with a bit more force. “Wake up, Tang Tang! Wake up!” But Tang Bingyao was already fast asleep.

Lin Feng looked around at his surroundings. They were on their usual route. It was a little further until the intersection where they usually went their separate ways. “Tang Tang! Come on! Don’t do this to me! I don’t know where you live! Please! Wake up! Wake up!”

Tang Bingyao wrapped her arms around Lin Feng and buried her face into his neck, leaning on him with her full weight. She was smiling and mumbling incoherently. 

“Aaaah! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!” Lin Feng shouted. But there was no response. Tang Bingyao was fast asleep. He grimaced and shook his head, mumbling quietly, “I’m never drinking with you again!” What do I do with her now? I don’t even know where she lives! Maybe I can call Ren Rou? But what if she’s in bed already? I don’t want to wake her up… Is there a home phone number I should know? No… Dammit. He glanced at Tang Bingyao again. I can’t leave her here either… Can I? There’s a bench over there… He shook his head in frustration and mumbled, “I can’t do that.”

Lin Feng chewed on his lips, considering his option. He was desperately wrecking his brains on finding a solution, but nothing was coming to mind. He finally sighed. Fine, I’ll take you to my place. You can sleep it off… He put his arm behind her knees and the other around her shoulders, and then lifted her up. “I’m never drinking with you again,” he grumbled as he started walking home.

✹

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK! KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK!

“STOP KNOCKING! I’M COMING!” Su Xue shouted. “Seriously! How many times are you going to forget your keys!? Your memory is the worst! Bring your damn keys with you! I’m going to sew them into your arms! You’ll never forget them again!” She stopped in front of the door and pulled it open with all her might before continuing, “Why can’t you just remember to bring your damned ke—”

Su Xue stopped talking. Her mouth fell open. She stared at Tang Bingyao leaning on Lin Feng’s shoulder, barely conscious. “W-what the… Are you… Did you… Is she…” Did he bring her over for sex? Why did he forget his keys? I don’t wanna know this… OR SEE IT! She abruptly turned around and stomped away, only to stop herself halfway back to her room. She looked back over her shoulder and scrunched her eyebrows. “Uh, Lin Feng?” She briefly waited to get his attention and then asked, “Isn’t it her birthday? How did she… How did the two of you end up like this? What happened?”

Lin Feng struggled to carry Tang Bingyao inside and had her sit down on a stool. He then turned to look at Su Xue and explained, “Yeah, it’s her birthday. We were celebrating with a few drinks, but she can’t handle her alcohol at all! And she didn’t warn us or anything! Well, then I had to walk her back home. But guess what? She passed out on me! Right there on the street! And she wouldn’t wake up either! I don’t even know where she lives and the others are probably in bed already!” He scratched the back of his head and continued, “And, uhh, well, now we’re here…”

Su Xue’s eyes went wide. She rushed to the kitchen and came back seconds later with a bucket. “IN HERE!” she shouted at Tang Bingyao, whose eyes were opening, as she shoved the bucket into Tang Bingyao’s arms.

Tang Bingyao looked down at the bucket in her hands and then up to see where it came from. “Oh, it’s Su Xue!” she exclaimed. “Hiiiiii!” And then the bile and vomit came up from her stomach. She retched and puked into the bucket. The sour, rotten egg, disgusting smell of alcohol quickly filled the apartment. Then, seconds after puking everything out, Tang Bingyao fell peacefully back asleep.

Su Xue shook her head and said, “She’s really drunk. Too drunk. Here, help me bring her to my room. She can sleep it off on my bed.” She stepped forward and hoisted Tang Bingyao up together with Lin Feng. They then brought the lightweight to Su Xue’s bedroom and put her down on the bed. All the while, Su Xue’s stream was running in the background.

「where’d xue xue disappear off to? Did she go out to buy milk?」
「we’ve been abandoned! FEELSBADMAN」
「BABEH COME BECK!!!! YOU CAN BLAME IT ALL ON MMEEEEEHHHHHHHH!!!!!」
「did she go to get the door? did lil bro come back or sumthing?」　
「I bet that’s what happened. Lil Bro always forgets his keys when he leaves the house. Like seriously, remember to bring your keys with you, Lil Bro!」

The confusion, dismay, and all other negative messages disappeared suddenly when Su Xue entered the room. The chat shortly flooded with welcome back messages, until they spotted Lin Feng and a girl they’d never seen before. The new girl seemed non responsive, with Lin Feng and Su Xue putting the lifeless body down on the bed.

「am i seeing things!? Is that another person!?!?!?!?!?」
「uhhhhhhhhh……. She ok?」
「Looks passed out to me? ……」　
「what’s going? why would lilbro and xue xue bring body to the stream?????? this some sick cosplay???」
「SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE!!! WE”VE GOT OURSELVES A BODY!!!」
「oh shit, I’ve seen this kind of intro before! LEMME WHIP OUT MY MASSIVE ……」
「intro my fat shiny ass! THIS A MURDER SCENE! THEY HIDIN THE BODY!!!!!」

Su Xue helped Lin Feng put Tang Bingyao on her bed, until she saw her computer in the mirror. “Crap! I forgot to turn off the stream! Put her on the bed!” She let go of Tang Bingyao and rushed to the computer, where she clicked on a button to kill the stream. She then glanced at the chat, browsing through the earlier messages and complaints. Fucking idiots! It’s not a body! She shook her head and slammed down on the enter key

EveningSnowfall:「It’s not a body, idiots! She’s a friend who had too much to drink. We’re just letting her sleep it off! DON’T CALL THE POLICE!」

“There, done,” Lin Feng said, exhausted. He let himself fall down on the extra chair Su Xue had in her room and stared at Tang Bingyao for a minute. Then he got back up and said to Su Xue, “I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m heading off to bed too! I’m exhausted.”

“Hey! HEY! STAY HERE! GET YOUR ASS BACK IN HERE!” Su Xue yelled after Lin Feng as he left the room. But he wasn’t listening. She grumbled a few more complaints before turning around to look at Tang Bingyao. At least she’s sleeping… And it’s probably for the best that I take care of her. She’s far too drunk for anything with him… She scrunched her eyebrows and chuckled. He’s probably too stupid to even think about that. I’m guessing he’s annoyed that he had to carry her here more than anything. But yeesh. Why do I always have to be the adult? I want to be a child for once!

Su Xue helped Tang Bingyao take off her freezing cold clothes and change into something warmer and more comfortable. Then she put a thick blanket over Tang Bingyao and walked to the kitchen. Hmm… I’ll clean the puke up first, because there’s no way the little shit has done that. And then I need to get Tang Tang a new bucket, just in case. And I should also put a warm cloth on her forehead, that always did wonders for me. Maybe I can make her some honey lemon tea as well. She’ll like that if she wakes up during the night… 

It took Su Xue only a couple of minutes to cross everything off her to-do list. She then sat down on the edge of her bed, staring at Tang Bingyao. These kids are lucky to have me. I’m way too nice to them. But look at her. She’s so cute. I wonder what she’s dreaming about…

Tang Bingyao had rolled on her side and grabbed a pillow, which she was now tightly hugging. Every now and then, she’d mumble a few words. But they were mostly intelligible, with the exception of ‘Lin’ and ‘Feng’. But judging by the smile on Tang Bingyao’s face, Su Xue guessed it was a pretty good dream. She chuckled and shook her head. “How does that stupid kid keep bringing girls home for a sleepover…? First BunBun and now Tang Tang! Does he like both of them? Maybe neither?” She suddenly started giggling. “Maybe he’ll bring home a third girl! What was that other girl from his team called again? Rou Rou? Yeah, I think it was Rou Rou. I guess that’d be kind of funny…”

An Xin and Ren Rou walked out with Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao and watched them leave. Tang Bingyao was leaning on Lin Feng and stumbling every couple of steps. Until they disappeared into the night. Now the two girls were the last ones at the restaurant. An Xin turned away, almost rushed. She pulled her phone out and stared at the screen. The cab that would take her home was still a few minutes away. A faint drizzle fell from the sky. Cars sped by. And An Xin stood there in complete silence, waiting, even forgetting that Ren Rou was standing next to her.

Ren Rou glanced at An Xin from the corner of her eyes. At the new girl in class. The girl with the perfect figure, which was only further enhanced by the current setting. The soft, orange glow of the street lights fell on An Xin’s cheeks, highlighting her small chin and large eyes. A cool wind breezed through her hair, flowing. She’s so beautiful. It’s no wonder that every boy at school is trying to get her attention. Even a few of the girls too! Stupid boys… She shook her head, and the memory of a conversation with Tang Bingyao played in her mind. It was at the NetCow Cafe, a couple of weeks ago. Tang Bingyao had told her that An Xin was better for Lin Feng. I can see why Tang Tang would think that. BunBun is really, really pretty. And she has a great personality. The more I think about it, the more I think she’s perfect… But you’re perfect too Tang Tang! She looked down at her feet and sighed. But I can also understand why you think she’s perfect for Lin Feng…

Ren Rou pulled herself back to the present. She thought about how the night had gone and suddenly realised that she was giggling. I guess the alcohol did help to loosen Tang Tang up a bit. Maybe it even gave her some courage. She glanced at An Xin again. Why did you insist on letting Lin Feng bring her home? Don’t you mind them together? You do like Lin Feng, right? Do you? Ren Rou took a second look at An Xin. She looks happy, just a bit quiet, I think…? The questions mounted in Ren Rou’s mind, until she couldn’t keep them to herself any longer. She said, “BunBun?”

An Xin turned her head to look at Ren Rou and asked, “Yeah?”

Ren Rou chewed on her lips, considering how to best pose the question. But the words just weren’t coming to her. So she eventually went with the simplest version. “Do… Do you like Lin Feng?”

There was a brief moment, almost imperceptible, that An Xin’s expression faltered. But she quickly recovered. She forced a smile on her face and replied, “Rou Rou, I thought you weren’t going to get drunk! Did you lie to me? Did you have a few shots when I wasn’t looking?”

“Drunk?” Ren Rou muttered, caught off guard. She shook her head. “No. No. I’m not drunk.” She looked at An Xin, too surprised by the random question to notice how An Xin was trying to change the subject. It also didn’t help that this particular question had been floating through her mind for quite some time now. You two are childhood friends, sure. But there’s something more going on, right? The way you treat him… That’s more than just friends.

An Xin could physically feel Ren Rou’s stare. She shivered and asked, “What?”

“Oh.” Ren Rou shook her head lightly and looked back out at the street. “No. I’m serious. Do you like him?” She briefly waited for an answer, but somehow knew nothing was coming. So she turned to An Xin and said, “Please tell me the truth. Are the two of you really just childhood friends? You feel nothing for him? It’s… the way you are around him…”

An Xin’s smile broke. Her entire complexion fell apart. Just for a brief moment. An instant in time and space where everything ground to a halt. Then she forced that smile back onto her face. She shook her head and asked, “Did you also ask Tang Tang this?”

The question sounded so natural. Ren Rou was completely caught off guard by it, once more failing to recognize how An Xin was shifting the topic away from herself. Ren Rou stammered, “T-this… Uh… Well, you see…” She was trying to link the words together, but they were failing her.

An Xin didn’t pay attention to Ren Rou’s reaction. She turned her head to look out at the empty street. “I already know,” she said. She chuckled and shook her head. “I’ve known since the first day at school, when she glanced over her shoulder at me in the classroom. That look of confusion and worry in her eyes when I greeted Lin Feng. I knew it right then.” She briefly paused before adding in a soft, warm voice, “I know Tang Tang likes Lin Feng.”

Ren Rou stared at An Xin, dazed. She knew? This whole time, she knew? But then… what about her? Is she okay with it? She opened her mouth a couple of times, wanting to say several different things. But she kept closing her mouth right before the words came out. Then, just as it started to look like she wasn’t going to say anything at all, she asked, “Then what about you?”

An Xin didn’t reply immediately. She watched a car that was driving past them. Lin Feng and me, huh? I guess… She looked down at the ground and slowly shook her head. “Me?” She paused, hesitating, then continued, “It’s no big deal, I guess. There is nothing going on between him and me.” She tried very hard to sound nonchalant. To not give anything away. But she knew Ren Rou was looking at her. And she knew that the smile on her lips wasn’t a happy one. It was bitter, maybe even longing. She sighed. Crap.

✹

The cold breeze did Tang Bingyao a lot of good. She was still finding it hard to keep her balance, but that was more so because she was also playing her normal game of jumping over the cracks in the pavement. It all felt right to her. Everything about her birthday was right. Perfect, even. Mhm! This is the best night of my life!

“Careful! You’ll trip!” Lin Feng cautioned, watching Tang Bingyao almost crashing to the ground with every hop.

“I won’t!” Tang Bingyao shouted. Then after another hop, she looked over her shoulder at Lin Feng and pumped her fist in the air. “I’m invinciiii—” The sudden turn was too much for her. A dark swirl appeared before her eyes and she momentarily lost her balance. Her knees wobbled and in the next moment she found herself sitting on the pavement.

Lin Feng laughed at the comical sight, the alcohol flowing through his blood taking away all worry about Tang Bingyao having hurt herself. “See! You’re not invincible! I told you so!” He walked up to her, waiting for a reply from Tang Bingyao that didn’t come. He scrunched his eyebrows. Something felt off. “Hey,” he said to her. “You alright? You should be more careful!”

Tang Bingyao looked up at Lin Feng, rubbing her head painfully, and asked, “Did you grow taller? Why are you so tall?”

“You fell. You’re sitting on the ground,” Lin Feng replied, starting to realise something might be wrong. He went through his knees and reached out to her. “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“I fell?” Tang Bingyao asked. Her eyes suddenly went wide. She searched around and grabbed onto her bag. Then she dove in and took out the Jinx figurine. She looked at it, carefully inspecting every small detail. And only after confirming that it was still in mint condition did she breathe out in relief. “This is your gift! I love it! It’s the best!” she shouted, her drunken joy quickly returning to her. 

“Yeah! I’m really good at finding gifts too! Right?” Lin Feng said, laughing. He then reached out his hand and helped Tang Bingyao get back up.

Tang Bingyao smiled and let herself fall against Lin Feng, tightly holding the Jinx figurine. “I really love it. Thanks.”

Lin Feng grinned and was about to say something when he noticed the scratch on Tang Bingyao pants. He looked at her and said, “You should be more careful! I can buy you a new figurine! I can’t buy you a new ass!”

Tang Bingyao looked down at the Jinx figurine in her hand, then she vigorously shook her head. “No! It’s a gift… from you! I need to take care of it! Mhm!” She placed it to her chest and hugged it, swaying from side to side. “Oof, my butt hurts,” she suddenly mumbled, looking up at Lin Feng. “Why does my butt hu— Hey! Why are there two of you?”

“Because I’m double awesome, didn’t you know?” Lin Feng responded, laughing loudly. Then he held up three fingers and asked, “Here, how many fingers am I holding up?”

“ONE! TWO!” Tang Bingyao narrowed her eyes and reached out to Lin Feng’s hand, feeling, counting, and then shouting, “THREE! THREE FINGERS!”

“Yes! Maybe you’re not as drunk as I thought!” Lin Feng exclaimed, surprised.

Tang Bingyao pushed Lin Feng’s hand aside and stared at him. “I… can’t see you. Need to be a bit closer.” She leaned forward, closer. Closer. She took another step and moved her head until she was only inches away from his. “Mhm! I can see you!”

Lin Feng reeled his head back and shouted, “Hey! Tang Tang! What are you doing! Gah! You reek of alcohol!”

“Stay still!” Tang Bingyao pouted. She put her hand around Lin Feng’s neck and moved his head closer to hers. “Closer, just a little closer,” she mumbled to herself. When their noses almost touched, she added, “Mhm! Perfect!”

“H-hey! Tang Tang! Your hands are freezing! What are you doing!” Lin Feng said, lightly struggling.

“Shh!” Tang Bingyao pouted. She glared at him and added, “Don’t talk… don’t!”

“Ok, ok!” Lin Feng said. “Jeesh. If I’d known you were so bad with alcohol, I would’ve never let you drink so much. You’re way too drunk!”

Tang Bingyao ignored Lin Feng’s struggles, nor did she listen to a word he said. She just stared at him, smiling. Her touch on his neck became gentle as she said, “I… I have something to tell you!”

“H—”

“Shush!” Tang Bingyao interrupted Lin Feng. “I told you to shut up! Listen to me!”

There was a quote that Zeng Rui placed great stock in. It was a mantra, one that underlined his entire philosophy and thought process. “Know yourself, know your enemy. A hundred battles, a hundred victories.” These words from Sun Tzu created the foundation for all of Zeng Rui’s decision-making. He was the main shotcaller for the team, and he believed that there was no substitute for solid preparation. He watched every second of gameplay he could find on their potential opponents. He analyzed their habits, their quirks, and their instincts. He memorized every mistake that they made over and over again.

Zeng Rui learned what champions they’d pick if they were planning a lane swap at the start of the game. His approach was very different from what An Xin was doing. He wasn’t making the strategies and plays for Team Shanghai. That was An Xin’s job. His job was to learn everything about their opponents strategies, and be ready to face everything they could throw at Team Shanghai in the game. 

Knowing your enemy is important. But knowing yourself is just as important, Zeng Rui thought to himself. From all the work that he’d put it, he had a good measure on the skill of their opponent. And his understanding of them grew with every passing day. The real problem is that I don’t know Team Shanghai well enough. Can’t make the right call if I don’t know what the team can pull off. I need to know everything about everyone! That’s the only way I can do what I need to do so we win regionals! I need to understand the team, my time, as well as I can. That’s the only way we’re getting through to the main tournament and beyond that! 

There were so many questions swimming around in Zeng Rui’s mind. Questions that he kept asking himself. Questions that he could not answer.

Should we do a lane swap if the opponent does?
Do we play offensively or defensively in this potential situation?
If one lane is at a disadvantage, can that laner make it on their own? Or do they need help?
Which lanes should the Jungler focus on the most?

Zeng Rui looked away from An Xin and towards Zhang Hao, saying, “I’ve played with Zhang Hao for years. I know exactly how good he is and what to expect from him.” He nodded at Tang Bingyao before continuing, “And I’m getting a pretty good idea of just how good she is, and can become. By the time the Collegiate Cup starts, I’ll have a firm grasp on her skill level.” He took a deep breath and turned to look back at An Xin. “You’re really good too. Your map awareness and gank timings are especially impressive. The only limiting factor for you would be your mechanics. But that doesn’t change that you’re a great Jungler. And that I understand you and how you play.” He finally shook his head as he glanced at Lin Feng from the corners of his eyes. “But him…”

The thundering dumbass. The idiot with the big mouth who looked like he was just messing around. He was playing in random lanes and doing nothing particularly impressive. Zeng Rui grimaced. His initial observation on Lin Feng had clouded his judgement. He was finding it incredibly difficult to look past the thundering dumbass part. But despite his goofing around, he kept winning. He always won. Even in the games his team lost, he won. He even beat my Midlaner and became the most valuable player of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. Zeng Rui scratched the back of his head. The more I watch him play, the less sense it all makes.

For the first time since Zeng Rui started playing League of Legends, he had to admit that he didn’t understand a player. Whether it be Lin Feng’s mechanical skills or his vast champion pool, whether it be his awareness or positioning, whether it be his… There wasn’t a single aspect of Lin Feng’s game that Zeng Rui truly understood. I’ve now been playing with him on the same team, and even that hasn’t helped! I can’t even tell how he’s improving. If he is! It just feels like he’s getting better. But I don’t understand how. What is it about him…

Zeng Rui needed an explanation. He’d tried talking with Lin Feng earlier in the night, but that hadn’t gotten him the answers he was looking for. I hope BunBun can help me. I need this information to prepare for the tournament! The mid lane is maybe the most important position on the field. It’s at the center of the map. And just look at the rankings. Rake, Phoenix, Moon, even Hermes! They’re some of the best players in the world and they’re all Midlaners. A good Midlaner is the heart of the team, and it would be stupid if I gloss past that. He gritted his teeth, frustrated. All my work so far will have been for nothing if I can’t understand how he works. I need to know how good he is, so that I can prepare for that!

“Zeng Rui?” An Xin asked, interrupting Zeng Rui’s line of thought. “What do you want to ask?”

Zeng Rui looked back at An Xin. He took a deep, long breath. I don’t want to admit it. The thundering dumbass. He closed his eyes briefly. Pull yourself over this, Zeng Rui! You misjudged him and it’s blinding you. Ask for help. Just ask her. He exhaled all the air from his lungs as his eyes shot open, determined. “BunBun,” he said. “I need to know. How good is Lin Feng?”

An Xin chuckled and looked past Zeng Rui at Lin Feng, who was laughing about something with Ouyang. So he finally admits that he can’t figure Lin Feng out. That was about time. She turned back to look at Zeng Rui and said, “It’s hard to say. I can’t give you a definitive answer. But I can tell you this. No one at the Collegiate Cup is his match.”

“No one?” Zeng Rui muttered, his mouth falling open in shock.

An Xin shrugged and explained, “He’ll win every match up in the mid lane.”

Zeng Rui just kind of stared at An Xin, his mind in a complete mess. No one is his match? He’ll win every match up? She’s telling me that there’s no one in the entire Collegiate Cup who can beat him in the mid lane? That… She must be joking. Is she drunk…? He glanced at An Xin, searching for a smile or anything else that might give away that she was joking. But he couldn’t find anything to support that thought. It can’t be… There are players from the LSPL who help their university teams! Those guys are actual professional players! How can she say that Lin Feng will beat them? Is she saying that he’s a professional player? But I looked his name up! Maple! I searched online, but there was no professional player by that name in the previous two seasons!

An Xin watched Zeng Rui struggling. It’s a lot. He’ll need some time. But he’ll see that I’m right. She smiled warmly and reassured, “Don’t worry too much about it. Everything you expect from him, he’ll do. You’ll see.”

Zeng Rui leaned back in his chair. He grabbed his glass of beer from the table, which was inexplicably full again, and took a large swig. He then shook his head and started laughing. It sounded so ridiculous to him that he couldn’t keep a straight face any longer. If the thundering dumbass is actually that good. Ha! Winning the regionals is going to be easy! We might win the whole damn thing! I’ll just be along for the ride! He shook his head and said, “Alright. I hope you’re right.”

✹

The festivities for Tang Bingyao’s birthday party were quickly deteriorating. Everyone was too drunk for their own good, with shouting contests in one corner and coin tossing competitions in the other. An Xin and Ren Rou were the only two who were still mostly sober. They looked at each other around 11 P.M. and nodded knowingly. It was time to put an end to this party. An Xin left to clear the tab while Ren Rou announced to everyone it was time to go home. This, of course, was met with heavy resistance.

“N-nu NO! I WANNA DRINK MORE! BEER! BEER! BEER!”
“Yeah! Yeah! I wanna drink more! MORE SHOTS FOR EVERYONE! ANOTHER ROUND!”
“I can go all night! PARTY TILL THE SUN RISES!”
“AFTER PARTY! AFTER PARTY! WHERE WE HAVING THE AFTER PARTY!?”
“DRINKS AT MY PLACE! WOOOOOOO!”

An Xin returned to the private room and was assaulted by the shouting contest. She wasn’t having any of it. A smile that everyone there knew far too well spread on her face. Her lips curved upwards, but they read murder. She glanced at the guys, meeting their eyes, and said, “It’s getting late. Go home.” She briefly paused for dramatic effect and then concluded, “Unless someone wants to argue with me.”

It was like a cold gust of wind blew through the private room, sobering everyone right up. Be it Ouyang or the guys from Shanghai High School, no one dared to argue with An Xin. They obediently nodded, putting down their drinks, terrified to take even one more sip. The cold shivers that ran up and down their bodies kept them sober enough to find their coats and make their way to the exit of the private room, not forgetting to thank Tang Bingyao for a great party.

Zeng Rui was the first at the door of the private room, ready to go home. He glanced at An Xin. How can she get so scary? He shook his head and turned to look at his friends. “Hurry up. We’re leaving.” Then he turned to Tang Bingyao, who was sitting at the table wobbling back and forth. She drank way too much… He shook his head and smiled at her. “Thanks for this party, Tang Tang. It was great. We all really enjoyed it. Goodnight and see you tomorrow at practice!”

The other four from Shanghai High School followed Zeng Rui’s example, thanking Tang Bingyao for her birthday party. Then they said their goodbyes to everyone else before leaving the restaurant and going home. Ouyang, Yang Fan, Wei Dong, Liu Yue, and Chen Ze followed their example. They also said their thanks and goodbyes before leaving.

Ren Rou looked at the four people still there, stopping at Tang Bingyao. What is she trying to do? Is she putting her coat on upside down…? “Tang Tang?” she asked. “Are you alright? Can you get home? Maybe we should call you a cab…”

“I-I’M GOOD! VERY GOOD! MHM!” Tang Bingyao replied cheerfully while waving her hands around and dropping her coat to the floor. Then she leaned forward to pick her coat up and stumbled to her knees. “Woo! I fly so high like a G6! I’m very good!”

Ren Rou sighed and shook her head. “The more you say and do, the more convinced I am that we can’t possibly let you go home by yourself. Someone has to bring you home. Or call you a cab. One of the two.”

An Xin giggled and said, “Well, at least she had fun, right Tang Tang?” She waited briefly for a response, but all Tang Bingyao gave were a few unintelligible shouts and yelps. Then she continued, “She’s just as out of it as the guys. But she’s a girl. And even the guys went home together. We can’t let her go by herself… Oh! I know. Lin Feng can bring her home! They live close together anyway. That shouldn’t be a problem, right Lin Feng?”

Lin Feng patted his chest and proclaimed, “Sure! I’m really good at bringing Tang Tang home too!”

Tang Bingyao threw her coat on the ground again. Then she threw her fist in the air in an imitation of Lin Feng’s trademark victory pose and screamed, “YEAH! LIN FENG TAKE ME HOME! TAKE ME! MHM!”

Tang Bingyao was drunk and Lin Feng was perhaps the single biggest blockhead in the entirety of existence. It was hard, damn near impossible, to be as idiotic as he was most of the time. But it was times like these, where everyone knew what was going on except him, that his idiocy really shined. He believed that Tang Bingyao was just happy that he was bringing her home. There was a thought in his mind arguing against it. He was actually convinced that Tang Bingyao was confident in his ability to bring her home. But Ren Rou and An Xin weren’t as naive. They both froze when they heard Tang Bingyao’s scream. They hesitated, glanced at each other. And then An Xin smiled. She winked at Ren Rou and said, “Lin Feng is a blockhead. He’s literally too dense to figure out that there might be something more here. Or what Tang Tang just accidentally implied. Don’t worry, he’ll be a perfect gentleman. More than a perfect gentleman, honestly. Sometimes I think he was dropped on his head multiple times as a child. Don’t worry though. She’ll be fine, they’ll be fine.”

A group of barely legal teenagers had far more alcohol in front of them than they should drink. So like the responsible adults they were, they started drinking. One shot was enough for Tang Bingyao to start feeling a little woozy. The other girls quickly moved around her, while the guys were too busy bragging to each other about just how much beer they could drink before getting drunk. And this was quickly put to the test. But not before Ouyang made a fool out of himself. He’d convinced himself that this was the perfect time to go and flirt with Ren Rou. Everyone watched him fail miserably. Ren Rou just laughed at him and then turned back to Tang Bingyao, leaving Ouyang to walk back to his friends with his head hanging low.

“RIP!” Liu Yue shouted in laughter. And the others joined in, showing their support for Ouyang with some well placed jokes and a few pats on his shoulder.

Ouyang glared at them, slightly annoyed. I need to drink these assholes under the table! That’ll teach them! He glanced at his bag in the corner of the restaurant’s private room. I brought plastic cups with me… He started emptying the table and took out a bunch of red plastic cups from his backpack. Then he placed them on the table and shouted, “Gottem to play some beer pong with my bros!”

One of the players from Shanghai High School took a coin from his wallet and stood behind nine cups placed together. Then he threw the coin at the other nine cups on the other side of the large, round table. It fell in the plastic cup that was filled with beer. “Drink it!” the Shanghai High School players told Ouyang.

Ouyang’s jaw dropped. He stared at the guy across the table and wanted to say something, but stopped himself as a second coin arced through the air and fell in a second cup. That same voice boomed in Ouyang’s ears again. “Drink it!” Ouyang’s eyes went wide and he quickly moved his hands in front of him. “We didn’t start playing yet! We didn’t start playing yet! I was going to suggest we make it a team game! My best bros against you and your bros! Should be fair, right!?”

Yang Fan shook his head and said, “Who told you to pick a fight…? And now you’re asking us to go down with you? You know I’ve never played that game…” He mumbled a few more complaints, but Wei Dong and Chen Ze had already joined Ouyang at the table. I can’t let them do this by themselves. Our odds are practically zero with me, but it’s better than sitting out. I’ll just play one game. He joined the others at the table and said, “But we’re friends, so I have to help you.”

✹

Lin Feng didn’t feel like playing beer pong. Instead, he walked over to Zeng Rui and sat down next to his new Support, brightly grinning. “Hey, ZengZeng! Let’s have a drink together! Just you and me! We can get to know each other better! That’ll be great for our team!”

Zeng Rui looked at Lin Feng and raised an eyebrow. Then he shrugged and said, “No thanks. I’d rather think of a strategy for the…” He cut himself off before saying the words. But he knew he’d said too much, he could see it in Lin Feng’s eyes. Crap. He’s going to make me drink.

Lin Feng’s eyes started shining with an evil light. A look that said, “We both know what has to come next. And I’ll be the only one enjoying it!” He winked at Zeng Rui and said, “You talked about it that shall not be named! Drink! You know the rules! You have to take a shot!”

Zeng Rui glanced at the small glass with the clear liquid inside. He then turned back to Lin Feng and said, “The rules say that I cannot say the word. I don’t remember it saying anything about hinting towards it.”

Lin Feng grinned and replied, “That’s all the same! It that shall not be named was mentioned by you! Down the drink! Down the drink!”

Zeng Rui shook his head but still reached for the glass. Then he threw the liquid down his throat, its burning sensation making him retch again. Shit, this stuff is disgusting! That was the last one. I won’t have another one.

“That was awesome!” Lin Feng shouted, laughing. Then he grabbed his glass of beer and raised it to Zeng Rui. “Hey! Let’s have another toast! Come! Another toast!”

Zeng Rui raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are we toasting to this time?”

“Uhh? Duh! To Tang Tang’s birthday of course!” Lin Feng exclaimed.

Tang Bingyao had been barely capable of sitting on her chair, falling over every few seconds only to be pushed back up by her friends. She’d laugh and giggle and maybe even slur some words before falling over again. But that changed when she heard Lin Feng call out her name. It sobered her straight up. She looked at him and shouted, “Yes! To my birthday of course!”

Zeng Rui turned his head to look at Tang Bingyao, and the two girls standing next to her. She probably shouldn’t have another drink… She’s completely out of it. How much did she have? Only that shot and a beer, right? Did she not have enough food to eat or something…? He was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts by Lin Feng clinking a glass against his glass. Then he heard the thundering dumbass’ voice, “We clinked so now you have to drink!” He shook his head but raised the glass to Tang Bingyao and said, “Cheers!” Then he chugged the beer down before turning back to Lin Feng and asking, “Happy?”

“YEAH! DRINKING BUDDIES FOREVER!” Lin Feng shouted, showing his own empty glass. “I’m pretty good at keeping my alcohol too!”

✹

High School 13’s guys were playing a third game of beer pong against Shanghai High School. Both sides were getting progressively drunk, and there were coins flying all around the room. Most didn’t even get close to the plastic cups anymore. To the side, Zeng Rui and Lin Feng were watching the beer pong while also chatting. They were talking like friends about League of Legends and alcohol. Tang Bingyao watched this all happen, not taking a single sip of alcohol as the next hour flew by. Slowly, the initial burst of drunkness started to settle and she could think straight again. They’re all here for me! And they’re having fun! I want to have fun with them! Mhm! She looked at Lin Feng and Zeng Rui and smiled. My Support and Lin Feng! Let’s go to them first.

Tang Bingyao got up from her seat and grabbed two full glasses of beer. Carefully balancing them, she made her way over to the two guys. But it was difficult to walk right now, she nearly fell over and was about to drop the beer when Zeng Rui arrived at her side. He took the beers from her and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Mm-mhm!” Tang Bingyao said, nodding. She grabbed one glass of beer from Zeng Rui and shouted, “Toast with me! Toast! My best Support!”

W-what? Another one? I… Can I… Zeng Rui stared at the beer in his hands. He heard Lin Feng arrive next to him, make a joke. It didn’t really register. I wasn’t going to have another drink. I don’t like drinking too much. It just doesn’t feel good… But… He looked at Tang Bingyao. She looks so happy. I can’t say no, can I? He took a deep breath and asked, “Do I really have to?”

Lin Feng laughed and said, “Of course you do! The birthday girl is asking you! That’s why you have to! Even I know that!”

An Xin caught up to Tang Bingyao and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Hey, Tang Tang,” she said warmly. “Don’t drink too much. Just take a sip. Please.”

Lin Feng turned to look at An Xin. He pointed at Zeng Rui and said, “ZengZeng here is a Challenger drinker! He can drink a full glass and then also finish Tang Tang’s!”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head, looking from An Xin to Lin Feng, and then nodded. “Mhm! Okay! ZengZeng finishes my beer!” She then clinked her glass against Zeng Rui’s and said, “Toast!” before taking a small sip.

Zeng Rui grimaced. How am I getting in these situations? What is this? Did I do something wrong? Am I being punished for something? He took a deep, long breath, then smiled at Tang Bingyao and raised his glass. “Happy birthday, Tang Tang.” But rather than drinking it all in one go, he took a large swig and accepted Tang Bingyao’s glass. I’ll just finish them later…

Lin Feng looked at An Xin and said, “Hey, stay here with us! We were just chatting about that thing that shall not be named! ZengZeng here has some really cool ideas! Did you know…”

Tang Bingyao heard a lot of words, but they weren’t making sense. She didn’t even notice An Xin joining Lin Feng and Zeng Rui at the table. Her eyes were already on the other side of the room, where Ren Rou had just joined Ouyang to help him win a game of beer pong. I can’t just toast Zeng Rui and Lin Feng. Everyone is here for me. I have to thank them all! Mhm! She grabbed another beer from the table and walked over to the game of beer pong.

“HEEEEY TANG TANG! HOW YOU!”
“DRINK! I WIN! DRINK!”
“HAHAHAHA! YOU LOSE!”
“BRO! BRO! BRO! I TOTALLY WON! BRO! COME ON!”
“NOOOOO WAY! TANG TANG, I WON, RIGHT?”

Tang Bingyao smiled and nodded at the guys who even she could tell were all far too drunk. She raised her glass to Zhang Hao, who was the first to walk up to her, and they toasted and had a drink. Zhang Hao emptied his glass and Tang Bingyao didn’t want to be left behind, so she took a larger chug than she had with Zeng Rui. The others from Shanghai High School came up to her and they all toasted with her, each sharing a drink with her. Her glass of beer was empty within a minute.

Ouyang approached Tang Bingyao with a new drink and said, laughing, “I thought you were a lightweight drinking after earlier!”

Yang Fan walked up next to Ouyang and chimed in, “Clearly not! Look how she’s drinking!” He then clinked his glass against Tang Bingyao’s and added, “Happy birthday, birthday girl!”

An Xin was chatting with Lin Feng and Zeng Rui, while Ren Rou was completely focused on winning the game of beer pong. Tang Bingyao was left to her own devices with a group of guys who were far too drunk for their own good. She kept clinking glasses with them and drinking it empty. Her face was red and she couldn’t stand up by herself anymore, leaning against whoever she was drinking with.

Ouyang suddenly felt a chill. There was a brief moment of sobriety that hit him. He saw how much Tang Bingyao was drinking, and how she couldn’t stand up straight anymore. The hell is this? Shit. Something’s wrong. This feels all wrong. Did Draven come from the Rift and claim her body or something? Since when can a girl drink like this? No! Shit! She can’t! This is going wrong! He grabbed the beer from Tang Bingyao’s hands under loud protest of everyone else and said, “Bro, bro, I think you’ve had enough. Just for now! Skip this one! Yes! Skip this one!”

✹

Zeng Rui leaned back in his chair and fought off the nausea and the darkness swirling in front of his eyes. But with Tang Bingyao having her focus on the others, he finally had some time to stop drinking. He called over a waiter and ordered some more food to fill his stomach back up.

An Xin looked at Zeng Rui and smiled. “I feel like I have to thank you. You’re really putting a lot of work into this tournament.”

Zeng Rui worked away some Chinese cabbage that was still on the table. I have, but that’s what I always do. I like to do it like that. It’s just how it works for me. He sighed and said, “No need to thank me. I’m only doing what’s to be expected. If we want to win this tournament, we have to put in the time and effort. And more…”

An Xin nodded and agreed, “Yeah. It’s going to be very hard to win the Collegiate Cup. Very, very hard.”

“Practically impossible,” Zeng Rui corrected. “I’ve done my research. Looked into all the teams that made it to the Round of 16 last year. We’re not at their level yet. We’ve got a long way to go.”

“But it’s not impossible, right?” An Xin said knowingly.

Zeng Rui frowned. He turned to the table and grabbed a new glass of beer that had inexplicably appeared in front of him. He took a swig and looked at the white foam covering the deep yellow liquid. It should be impossible. But you’re a far better player and coach than I expected. And then there’s Lin Feng… “Yeah,” he finally said. We do have some hope. Tang Tang needs to keep improving like she is. We need something special to happen with Zhang Hao in the top lane. But with Lin Feng in the mid lane… He shook his head. How can someone be that good? He downed his beer, forgetting his earlier promise to himself to stop drinking. Then he turned to An Xin and looked deep into her eyes. He watched for every minute change in her expression, searched for something, though he didn’t know what that something was. “BunBun?” he finally said. “There’s something I need to ask.”

A dozen eyes turned to Tang Bingyao, a stunned silence falling over the private room in the hotpot restaurant. Everyone knew how much Tang Bingyao loved money. She wasn’t cheap by any stretch of the word, but she did enjoy making money and didn’t seem to particularly like spending it. Yet right now, in a situation where Lin Feng, Ren Rou, and Ouyang were going to foot the bill, she offered to pay for everything. No one knew what to say or do, Liu Yue’s mouth even falling open.

It was eventually Ouyang who broke the uncomfortable silence. He rose to his feet with a drink in his hand, which he raised up into the air while shouting, “Come on, bros! We’re celebrating Tang Tang’s birthday! Let’s sing for her! HAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TANG TANG! HAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TANG TANG!”

Liu Yue was the first to follow Ouyang’s example. He jumped to his feet and started singing just as terribly as Ouyang. Lin Feng followed next, belting “…DEAR TANG TANG! HAAAAAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOOOOO YOOUUUUUUUUUUU!”

Tang Bingyao felt her face heat up as 14 of her friends had gathered together on her birthday, thrown her a party, and were now singing their lungs out for her! She smiled brighter than she ever had and raised her glass when the song finally ended. “Mhm! Happy birthday to me!!”

The door to the private room opened and several waiters pushed in carts of food. There was a wide variety of food, from the beefiest meat to the greenest vegetables. Everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks in anticipation, urging the waiters to hurry up without actually saying the words. The delicious smells coming from the platters made their stomachs growl. They wanted to eat!

Ouyang was the first and loudest to dig in. He grabbed meat and ate it. Then he grabbed some more meat and ate that too. All the while, he was dry heaving when a single speck of green made it into his mouth. “Bros, bros, listen! Meat is the food of kings! Real Junglers eat meat! Only meat! Think Rengar, Kha’Zix, Nidalee! They hunt and then they feast on their prey! As for this green shit? You see this?” He wagged around a piece of cabbage. “I feel sick just seeing it! Only lame ass champions like Rammus eat this crap!”

Ren Rou raised her eyebrows and said, “You? A predator? Hah! More like the prey.” She turned to the others and continued, “He promised that he’d carry me in ranked last night, so we played a few games. Guess who fed the enemy Jungler…”

“H-hey! Rou Rou!” Ouyang blurted out, his excitement collapsing. He fell back into his chair and complained, “Don’t just throw me under the bus like that!” He glanced around him. Looks like they’re all too busy with their own food. That saved me!

Yang Fan and Chen Ze took an entirely different tactic from Ouyang. Picking out the meat from between the vegetables was too much work for them. Besides, there were plenty of vegetables that, when prepared correctly, were absolutely delicious. So they simply located everything that looked delicious and attacked. There was no hesitation. They ate everything. For if they weren’t fast enough, someone else might beat them to the punch and get the best piece of food!

There was one other person who stood out. Lin Feng. Everyone had heard about his eating habits at one point or another. Some of them had even witnessed it first hand. But it was still a sight whenever they got to see him again. He went completely quiet. Not a word slipped from his mouth. He barely breathed! His entire focus was on the food. And he wolfed it down! Every single piece of food that was within his reach ended up in his stomach. There seemed to be no limit to his hunger! Even a fully stacked Cho’Gath, one of the biggest and fattest Champions on Summoner’s Rift, would lose to him in a food eating contest!

An Xin, the guys from Shanghai High School, and Liu Yue all stopped eating, their chopsticks halted in midair. They were staring at Lin Feng’s eating frenzy, shocked. There were some horrified mumbles and whispers. None of them understood how he could eat like that. Their voices grew louder as they watched Lin Feng eat faster, until the entire room could hear them.

“Oh, snap! Lin Feng! Are you being starved at home?”
“How are you eating so fast! This is insane!”
“I-is he ok…?”

Tang Bingyao sat to Lin Feng’s right. She stared at him stuffing himself, feeling a deafening pang in her side. It was where she kept her wallet. I-I… D-do I have to pay for all this? How is he eating this much? He is eating more than I eat in a week! Where is it all going? Uhmm—”

“Idiot!” An Xin yelled at Lin Feng. She sat to his left and was glaring at him, reaching out with her chopsticks and dropping a few pieces of Chinese cabbage in Lin Feng’s bowl. “Stop eating meat like a neanderthal! You also need some veggies!”

Lin Feng wasn’t the slightest bit fazed. He picked up Chinese cabbage and said, “Sure, BunBun! I’ll eat the cabb— Oh, look at that lamb! That lamb looks really good too! I’ll just have that first!” He dropped the Chinese cabbage back, saliva drooling from his lips as he watched a waitress bring in a platter of lamb meat.

The waitress was still putting the plate with lamb meat down on the table, when Lin Feng reached for it. He leaned over Tang Bingyao, trying to get to it. But it was just out of reach. He looked at Tang Bingyao and said, “Uh, eh, hehe, Tang Tang?” His eyes shifted between Tang Bingyao and the lamb meat.

Tang Bingyao picked up two pieces of lamb meat and dropped them in the hotpot for Lin Feng. Then she turned to him and said, “Hmm, for you.”

“Thanks, Tang Tang! You’re the best!” Lin Feng said cheerfully. He briefly hesitated before adding, “You should take the lamb meat out as soon as it’s cooked! Not a second longer! Or the others might snatch it away!”

Everyone automatically recoiled back. They’d seen and heard Lin Feng say stupid things often enough to know what was to come next. They all turned to look at An Xin, who was already glaring at Lin Feng. The terrifying murder-smile appeared on her face. She then said, “HMM? What did you say? Did you just tell the birthday girl that she has to cook for you? I dare you to say that again!”

✹

When everyone was more or less done with eating, Ren Rou tapped her nail on her glass and said, “Since we’re all done eating, let’s give Tang Tang her presents!” She grabbed a beautifully wrapped present with a large ribbon on the top from her handbag and gave it to Tang Bingyao. “This is from me, Tang Tang. Happy birthday!”

“Thank you!” Tang Bingyao replied. She accepted the gift and started unwrapping it, careful not to damage the ribbon. I wonder what it is. It’s not super big, so maybe some make up? Hmm… She placed the wrapping paper to the side and held a small box in her hands, which she promptly opened. Inside lay a beautiful crystal bracelet.

“Ohhh! That really suits Tang Tang!” Ouyang commented. He turned to Ren Rou and added, “As expected from my Rou Rou! She has a real eye for presents!”

Ren Rou completely ignored Ouyang. She waited until Tang Bingyao put the bracelet on. Then she started smiling and nodding in satisfaction. “It does fit you perfectly! Great!”

The others all gave their presents to Tang Bingyao one after the other. Ouyang got her a small pendant, Yang Fang a scarf, and the three guys from Shanghai High School had pooled their money together to buy Tang Bingyao a Mickey Mouse watch. Tang Bingyao accepted all of them, the smile on her face growing wider and wider until it looked like she couldn’t be any happier. And then Zeng Rui handed her his gift! She unwrapped it to find a high-end gaming mouse.

Zeng Rui rubbed his nose awkwardly and uncomfortably. He coughed and said, “I, uh, figured you’d play better with a better mouse. That’s all.”

Lin Feng saw the mouse that would’ve fit perfectly together with the keyboard he thought of buying. I really want that keyboard! And that mouse! I’d be really good with those two too! “Hey! ZengZeng! That’s an awesome gift! I wanted to get her something like that too! Hey, how about you get me that mouse on my birth—” He stopped himself when he caught the glare from An Xin. Oh, right, Tang Tang! This is Tang Tang’s birthday! We had to get her something meaningful!

An Xin pushed Lin Feng aside and gave Tang Bingyao her gift. “This is just a little something. I hope you’ll like it!”

Tang Bingyao nodded and said, “Thank you.” Then she unwrapped the gift and found the Teemo shirt. Her eyes lit up. He looks so cute! Mhm! His tiny red goggles on his head! And that smile! It’s perfect! She looked at her own shirt and then at the people in the room. She briefly hesitated before putting the Teemo shirt on over her normal clothes. “It looks great! I love it!” she said. “Thanks, BunBun!”

“Don’t forget about me! Don’t forget about me! There’s still my gift! Last for best! Last for best!” Lin Feng butted in. “My present is the best! Here, I got two of them!”

Tang Bingyao accepted the two gifts that were shoved into her arms. She looked at them, one big and one small. I wonder what he got me. Her hands trembled as she took the larger of the two gifts and started unwrapping it. Please let it be something nice! She took the gift out of the wrapping and found that it was an 18 centimeter tall Jinx figurine!

Ouyang started laughing. First quietly but very quickly very loudly. “Lin Feng! Bro! Bro! Haha! You got Tang Tang a Jinx, haha! A Jinx figurine! Bro! That’s so brilliant! They’re both flat-ch— OUCH!”

Ren Rou smacked Ouyang in the head. She turned to look at Tang Bingyao and smiled. “It’s a really cute gift. I can tell that Lin Feng put a lot of thought into it.”

Lin Feng excitedly said, “Of course I did! It’s for Tang Tang!” Then he turned back to Tang Bingyao and added, “Tang Tang! Tang Tang! Open the next one now!”

Tang Bingyao opened the second present at Lin Feng’s urging. She fumbled with the wrapping, trying to preserve as much of it as she could. There was a keychain inside. She took it and held it up to get a closer look. That’s Draven! My main champion! He got me a Draven keychain! It looks so nice! Mm-hm, it’s perfect!

The others also saw the present Lin Feng had brought for Tang Bingyao. It wasn’t just Ouyang anymore, all of them burst out laughing. They pointed at the keychain and started teasing Lin Feng.

“A Draven keychain is the cutest gift ever! Haha!”
“Of course Lin Feng gets her the Draven keychain! No one else would’ve thought of that!”
“He got Tang Tang her main champion! So smart! Hahaha!”
“Hehe! It looks so rough and manly, what a present for Tang Tang!!”

Tang Bingyao didn’t listen to what anyone else had to say about Lin Feng’s gifts. Her eyes were locked on the Draven, sparkling. She grabbed her backpack and carefully attached the Draven keychain to it. Then she turned to Lin Feng, her cheeks flushed scarlet red, and said, “Thank you! I-I really love your gifts. They’re perfect, mhm!”

There was a rare moment of shared understanding in the room. Everyone was in on it except for Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao. Their thoughts all merged into one. She doesn’t care about the gifts, she cares that you gave her those gifts! 

Lin Feng grinned, happy. His eyes were beaming and he nodded fervently. “Yes! Yes! Of course you like them! You know, I’m really good at picking out gifts too!”

✹

Tang Bingyao was officially 18 now, so it was only to be expected that they had to celebrate it with some alcohol. The original plan sounded smart. Nothing would go wrong. But it always went wrong when alcohol was involved. It all started going wrong when Zeng Rui started talking about the Winter Collegiate Cup. The list of teams in the East China Region was online and he’d read through it multiple times already. Now he felt the need to complain about it and explain to everyone just how difficult it was for them to make it through the regionals, not to mention what’d come after.

Lin Feng wouldn’t hear anything about it. He ordered a round of shots and placed them in the middle of the table, except for one. That shot he placed in front of Zeng Rui. He explained, “We’re here tonight to celebrate Tang Tang’s birthday, and not to talk about the tournament! We can do that tomorrow! So whoever starts talking about the tournament has to take a shot! It’s a fun drinking game!” He laughed and pointed at Zeng Rui. “You talked about the tournament, now drink!”

Ouyang and Liu Yue cheered Zeng Rui on, tempting him to play along. And he did. After some complaints, Zeng Rui grabbed the small glass and swallowed the clear liquid within. He retched but kept the alcohol in. “This is disgusting! What is in it?” he complained.

“Who cares?” Ouyang asked, roaring in laughter. Then he called over a waiter and ordered a round of beers for everyone. It took only a few minutes before everyone had a pint in front of them. There were a few frowns and worried expressions. They were only 18. Most of them hadn’t had more than a sip of beer and weren’t sure whether they liked the bitter taste of it. But that thought was quickly forgotten. This was Tang Bingyao’s birthday party! They were here to celebrate! They raised their glasses and shouted, “CHEERS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANG TANG!”

Tang Bingyao cheered with the others and then took a small sip from the beer. Her eyes went wide and she wanted to spit it back out. This is really bitter! She was struggling to keep a straight face. Then she looked at the small glasses with the clear liquid. Hmm… “Collegiate Cup.” She smiled and grabbed one of the small glasses and downed it in one swift movement.

The others stared at Tang Bingyao in shock. That only lasted for a moment, when they burst out laughing and cheering.

“Tang Tang is amazing!”
“Nice! Shot, shot, shot!”
“She downed it! She downed it!”
“Another one! Another one!”
“I want one too! COLLEGIATE CUP!”

Tang Bingyao didn’t hear the sounds around her anymore. There was far more alcohol in that clear liquid than she expected. It burned on her lips and set fire to her lungs, until it twisted and twirled warmly in her stomach. The world in front of her started spinning and she heard herself giggling, though she wasn’t quite sure why. W-what’s happening? Is… Is this drunk?’

Winter was coming! The first day of December. The trees had shed their leaves weeks ago. Now, frost clung to the naked branches. The chill seeped into the buildings through the open windows at night, when the heating was turned down. Then, when morning came around, the high school students from Shanghai struggled to get out of their snug and warm beds and brace the cold. And even for those who did get up, going outside was a hard no.

The weekend was the timei to hang out with friends and play video games at an internet cafe. But that all came to a grinding halt. Some internet cafes even closed their doors due to a lack of traffic. The cold weather was to blame for all of this. It kept the fingers stiff, which made playing games at the highest level near impossible. And every gamer considered themselves at that highest level! They weren’t about to let something like the weather ruin their rank! So they stayed at home, cuddling their Ahri body pillows, and played mobile games, watched popular streamers, or browsed online forums for the latest gossip.

There was one topic that was especially popular when it came to rumours and gossip. That was the Winter Collegiate Cup. New information was posted online every couple of hours, though none of it came from official sources. These were messages from people who claimed they were close friends with someone of the organizers or the teams they were gossiping about.

[+189,482] I’ve heard from reliable sources that a historically dominant team has picked up an amazing new talent! I can’t tell you guys which team it is, or who the player is, but trust me! This is going to be something really special!
[+131,652] There’s a quarterfinalist team from last year who supposedly said in an interview that they weren’t impressed with the recent improvements of some of their competition. They’re convinced that they can clinch the title this year! Find out which team made this bold claim in the next issue of What Gamers Say!
[+96,889] Shanghai University of Finance supposedly played a scrim against a high school team! The reason? That high school team is going to compete at the Winter Collegiate Cup! You heard that right! A HIGH SCHOOL team is playing at the COLLEGIATE CUP! You heard it here first from Leaping Asia!

Each of these posts gained a lot of traction, but it was the last one that saw the most heated discussions. There were a lot of people calling Leaping Asia out for spreading such an outrageous rumour. Comments argued that the Collegiate Cup was for university teams only, as the name of the tournament implied. And that only really dumb people would believe something as ridiculous as high schoolers playing at the university level. But there were also people in the comment section who enjoyed the thought of a group of high schoolers beating university teams. It just had a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to it. The overall consensus, though, was that no matter how enjoyable the idea of it might be, it just was too ridiculous of a rumour. No one really believed that the Chinese Esports Association would really invite high school teams to the Collegiate Cup. So it was brushed aside.

That completely changed on December 4th. There were only four more days until the start of the Winter Collegiate Cup. The Chinese Esports Association posted the participating teams from all seven regions on their official website. It included three high school teams. One representing the Beijing Esports Association, one representing the Guangzhou Esports Association, and the last one representing the Shanghai Esports Association.

Leaping Asia became an overnight celebrity for his early rumour. Everyone badgered him with questions asking him if he had any more juice tidbits of information. They wanted to know how the Shanghai University of Finance had fared against the high school team. But Leaping Asia kept his lips tightly sealed. He refused to reveal who won, but did say that an educated guess could go a long way. Everyone took this as the university team having won. None of them believed for a second that a high school team was good enough to compete at the university level. There was just a level of experience that the high school teams were missing, as well as the hardware and training to get the most out of their talent.

After the initial explosion of messages died down and the people started to accept the fact that three high school teams were going to participate in the Winter Collegiate Cup, everyone started discussing this change to the format. Two groups of people quickly appeared. One camp believed that this move by the Chinese Esports Association was utter nonsense. They claimed that the officials were clearly trying to make a publicity move and that it was this kind of money-thinking that would see the quality of the tournament sharply decline.

The second group didn’t take such a hard stance. More than anything, they argued that there might be a very good reason for the Chinese Esports Association to make this move. Perhaps, they commented, there were several especially talented players in the pool of high schoolers and the Chinese Esports Association wanted to give these players a chance to get experience at the university level.

「I think it’s kind of cool. You know?」
「We get to see how good these high school teams are. Maybe they’ll surprise us.」
「piss off noob. theyre high shcoolers! itz a waste of my time to watch em play!!!!!!」　
「YUUPPPPP those kids gonna be in for a rough pounding」
「but they’re representing the three big esports associations! They must have some skill, right?」
「Yeah! Maybe they’re just really really really good! Who knows! I’m excited to see this new format!」　
「some people, like those two ^^^ should be sent to an institute for the mentally unstable!!!」
「idk man… maybe they really are somewhat decent. Who knows? few more days and well see」
「I’m just really disappointed by this move. The Collegiate Cup is always such a good tournament, because the quality is so high. I just fear that these high school teams are going to drag that quality down. I’ll watch them and really hope I’m wrong, but I think we all know the chances that I’m right are nearly 100%.」　
「y so negative? GO GO HIGH SCHOOLERS! win this tiny tourney!!!!!」

The fans of the different university teams competing at the Winter Collegiate Cup all had their opinions and were eager to share those opinions with anyone who would listen to them. But the teams themselves stayed out of these discussions. There were some rumours from the weaker teams, ranging from curious to furious, but the stronger teams were radio silent. None of them said anything, even to their closest friends. This was because their focus was on preparing for the tournament. They simply didn’t have the time to decide how they felt about having to play against high schoolers. Winning the tournament was all that mattered.

✹

The 4th of December! It was Tang Bingyao’s birthday! She was turning 18 years old! Her friends had arranged a party at a hotpot restaurant Lin Feng had scoped out. He claimed it had some of the best food in all of Shanghai, which he’d determined after visiting far more restaurants than he should’ve. And they’d also invited all of Tang Bingyao’s friends! There were the people from Senior Class 7, like Ren Rou, Ouyang, Yang Fan, and An Xin. Then there were her friends from the esports club, like Chen Ze, Liu Ye, and Wei Dong. And even the esports members from Shanghai High School’s old team were invited!

This was originally not the plan, but a small incident a couple of days ago saw them suddenly invited. It was at the cybercafe, where Team Shanghai was practicing. Zeng Rui’s old teammates had come to watch the games and were distracting enough that Lin Feng’s mind wandered. He’d suddenly gotten up from his seat and approached Zeng Rui. “Hey! ZengZeng! We’re throwing Tang Tang a birthday party on Friday! You guys should also come! We’re all friends now, and the more the merrier, right!”

Zeng Rui had wanted to refuse. He was getting friendlier with Tang Bingyao, but that was only in the setting of Team Shanghai. They didn’t have any contact outside of it, which meant they weren’t exactly friends yet in his book. But An Xin butted in before he could turn the invitation down. “Yeah! You should come! We’re on the same team and need to get more comfortable with each other! This’ll be a good way for all of us to bond more!”

“What BunBun says!” Lin Feng exclaimed. Then he added, “Though I’m already very comfortable with you! We’re best buds!”

Zeng Rui shook his hands in front of him. This doesn’t feel right. We’re not real friends yet. I only know her from playing video games with her. I don’t even know what her favourite colour is! We’re not friends, just colleagues basically. I can’t make it to interrupt her birthday party. That’d be rude. He wanted to say as much, but Lin Feng had already turned to his teammates and invited them too.

Zeng Rui massaged his temples. His teammates were looking at him, waiting for his answer. An Xin was smiling at him. She knows I have to say yes… And… He looked at Lin Feng. I hate that grin on his face so much! Damnit! He finally relaxed his tense muscles and said, “Fine. Fine. Let’s all go together.”

“PARTEEEEEEEH!”
“Awesome! I’m looking forward to it! We’re going to have to look for a gift soon though!”
“I love parties. Love. Them!”
“Tang Tang will like this. You made the right choice, cap.”

✹

Everyone who was invited to Tang Bingyao’s birthday party had gathered in a hotpot restaurant in downtown Shanghai. They sat with more than a dozen people around a large, round table, chatting happily. And Tang Bingyao stood at the center of this. She nodded at everyone as they all talked to her. And smiled. They’re all here for me. They’re really all here to celebrate my birthday!

Tang Bingyao was a quiet girl with not a lot of friends. This led to her never really celebrating her birthday with friends. She usually chose to treat herself to a small, simple cake and enjoy that by herself. Or she’d eat breakfast with her grandmother and celebrate it over a poached egg. But that was it. Until now, anyway. She looked at the people who’d all gathered here to celebrate her birthday and her smile grew wider. I have so many friends! Real friends! They’re here because they like me. They want to be here to celebrate my birthday!

A warm feeling filled Tang Bingyao’s chest. It was a strange sensation, something she hadn’t really experienced before in her life. But she instinctively knew what it meant. I’m happy. I want to be here, with all of them. Mhm! I’m really happy that they’re all here for me! She felt an emotional tear creeping into her eye and quickly wiped it away. I… I need to thank them! Mhm! But how… She looked around the table at everyone having a good time. And then she looked at her wallet. I did make a lot of money from the Shanghai 16 School Tournament… It felt strange in her stomach. She actually wanted to spend money on her friends. But she shook that thought away and got up from her seat. She then took her wallet out of her jacket and waved it around to get everyone’s attention. She announced  “U-uh. Today is my treat. Mhm!”

Lin Feng ran to Su Xue’s room and poked his head inside. “Xue Xue! I’m going out! Meeting up with BunBun! See you later!” He didn’t wait for a reply as he charged to the front door. He quickly put on his shoes and grabbed his coat before slamming the apartment door shut behind him. Then he ran down the stairs and through the streets, all the way to the subway station in downtown Shanghai where he’d agreed to meet up with An Xin.

Lin Feng looked around. Where is she? Why isn’t she here yet? We agreed to meet up here right away! What’s taking her so long! He tapped on his watch, double checking the time, then took out his phone and looked if there were any messages. There was no word from An Xin. It felt like she’d disappeared from the face of the Earth. The minutes ticked by, each next one slower than the last. He impatiently walked back and forth, searching the crowd for a sign of An Xin. Come on! Where are you? Hurry up already!

It was almost 30 minutes later when Lin Feng finally spotted An Xin. He waved at her and shouted, “BunBun! What took you so long? You’re never this slow! I’ve been waiting for 30 minutes! It’s already six!”

An Xin waved back at Lin Feng and walked up to him. “Hey. Sorry. I couldn’t decide what to wear and lost track of time.”

“What to wear?” Lin Feng asked, confused. He looked An Xin up and down. Is that jacket new or something? It looks fancy, but didn’t she wear that to school the other day too? And I can’t really see what she’s wearing underneath… Looks like a blouse and vest? What’s so special about that? She always likes to wear a blouse and vest combo… He kept searching for an answer to his question, his eyes following down the curves of her body to her long, slender legs. That skirt is short, but it isn’t all that different from the school uniform. Maybe it’s her leggings? Did she worry that it’s too cold for them? It is kind of chilly… He scratched the back of his head and sheepishly asked, “Uh, is it because you didn’t know if it was warm enough for leggings? It’s kind of cold, you know…”

An Xin glared at Lin Feng. She’d known something was up when he looked confused. And she definitely knew something stupid was coming when he was inspecting her clothes. But he still managed to catch her off guard. She yelped, “The leggings are warm!” She puffed in annoyance and continued, “I won’t argue with a blockhead like you! Come, we’re going to find a birthday present for Tang Tang!”

✹

An Xin walked Lin Feng to the shopping district. She glanced at him and noticed that he was looking at the shops they walked by in amazement. Go figure. He hasn’t been here since moving to Shanghai. How typical. She nodded at him and asked, “So have you thought about what you want to get Tang Tang? Is there anything specific you’re thinking about?”

“Oh, me? Uhh…” Lin Feng scratched the back of his head. What should I get her? What do people get for their friends’ birthdays…? He suddenly stopped and said, “Oh! Right! What about that mall in Pudong? You know, the one we went to for the tournament? They should have something! Let’s go and see what they have!”

An Xin chuckled and asked, “You do realize that’s an electronics mall, right? They sell computers, mice, keyboards and all of that stuff. Is your big plan to buy Tang Tang a new computer?”

“Uh, hehe…” Lin Feng chewed on his lips, nervous. “I guess a computer is too expensive… But! But what about a keyboard or mouse? Those don’t cost too much! Oh! Oh! I saw a really cool keyboard when we were there for the Finals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament! Right before the games! It had all different coloured lights on it! I really wanted to get it!”

An Xin placed her palm on her forehead and took a deep breath. Then she said, “We’re here to buy a gift for Tang Tang, and not for you. Do you think she would like that keyboard?”

Lin Feng was taken aback by this question. He looked at An Xin but didn’t say anything. Would Tang Tang like the keyboard? I don’t know… What does she like? Hmm…

An Xin shook her head, smiling. He is so obvious. I should help him a little, or he’ll never get there. She said, “Hey, Lin Feng. Try this. Think about the kind of things Tang Tang likes. Maybe it’s something she talks a lot about, or something you’ve seen her look at in a store window. Just something that she’s passionate about.”

Lin Feng scrunched his eyes and stared with great difficulty into the distance. “Hmmm… What does Tang Tang like? What does Tang Tang like…?” He suddenly snapped his fingers and shouted, “Oh! I know! She likes money! Does that count? Can I just give her some money?”

An Xin moved her head forward as her mouth fell open. It took her a good few seconds to recover from her shock. Then she exclaimed, “Of course not! Money isn’t a birthday present! That’s something lazy people give to people they don’t really care about!”

Lin Feng ruffled his hair and said, “Ah, guess I can’t give her money. It’d be pretty convenient though… Oh, I know!” He turned to An Xin and said excitedly, “Tang Tang really likes League of Legends! And, and her favourite champion is Draven! I know just the gift for her! It’s perfect! She’ll love it!”

“If you’re going to say that you want to give her a Draven skin I’m going to smack you,” An Xin interrupted.

Lin Feng’s shoulders drooped down in defeat and the smile fell from his face. He asked, “U-uh… But I thought that was a pretty fun gift? It’s something she’s really passionate about!”

An Xin closed her eyes and took a long, annoyed breath. Then she rubbed the back of her head, which had started to throb. He’s going to give me a headache if I let this go on any longer. “Enough. Expecting anything out of you was clearly a mistake! I’ll think of something for you.”

The defeated look disappeared from Lin Feng’s face. He smiled brightly and said, “I told you I wasn’t good at picking out gifts! That’s why I called you! You’re going to help me, right? Right!”

“Don’t be proud of that,” An Xin cut Lin Feng down. She looked into the distance for a brief moment and then added, “You better treat me to an amazing dinner later.”

Lin Feng laughed and said, “No worries! I know the best restaurants in Shanghai! I’ll take you to one that’s really, really good! You’ll love it! Their food is the best! I wanted to go and eat there again anyway, so this is perfect!”

✹

“Wow! This is so cool!” Lin Feng exclaimed, his eyes beaming. He was in a small League of Legends themed shop, browsing through a display of figurines. “BunBun! BunBun! Here! Look at the Sona! She’s so big! And the Garen! He’s also really big! Oh! Oh! Ezreal! They have Ezreal! And Jinx! There’s a Jinx here! Look!”

An Xin stood a few steps behind Lin Feng, letting him browse the different items. She smiled as he grabbed one figurine after the other, checking them out and shoving them in her face. She nodded and said, “They’re really big, yeah. Cool, right?”

“Yes!” Lin Feng said. Then he looked at An Xin and said, “BunBun, you’re the best! How did you find this place?”

An Xin’s smile grew wider and she replied, “Of course I’m the best! What did you think?”

Lin Feng had stopped listening again. His full focus was back on the figurines. He excitedly said, “They’re all so cool! Hey, there’s Graves over there! Ohhh! I really want that Pulsefire Ezreal! It’s the coolest one! Oh, and this one too! This one too! Also that one!” He bit on his tongue and paused for a brief moment. Then he asked over his shoulder, “Should I just buy a whole bunch of them?”

An Xin raised her eyebrow and asked, “Are you buying them for yourself or as a gift for Tang Tang?”

Lin Feng picked up a Jinx figurine and held it up to An Xin. “I feel like Tang Tang will love—”

An Xin smacked Lin Feng across his face, a clear slapping sound ringing out in the otherwise quiet shop. “Stop fooling around! This isn’t for you! It’s for Tang Tang! Think, Lin Feng. Think! Would Tang Tang like this?”

Lin Feng rubbed his face in pain but didn’t argue any further. He turned back to the display and started earnestly searching for a gift. What would Tang Tang like? What would she like? This Darius… No. I don’t think so… Maybe that Ahri body pillow? Eh… Ooooh! He ran to another corner of the shop, which had bobbleheads of famous League of Legends players. “That’s Fatty! BunBun! Fatty! Fatty! BunBun!”

An Xin’s eyes went wide. Everyone in the store had stopped with what they were doing and were now looking at Lin Feng. And from him they looked at her. She felt her face burn up, slightly embarrassed to be linked to Lin Feng right now. She tried to signal him to quiet it down a bit, but he just took it as an invitation to be even louder. He ran at her with a bobblehead in his hand and shouted, “BunBun! BunBun! Look at this! It’s Fatty! This is so cool!”

An Xin tried her best to ignore the stares. But it felt like they were burning into her. She grimaced for a brief moment, then turned to Lin Feng and forced a smile onto her face. “It’s very cute, yes. But you don’t need to show me everything. I’ll look around a bit for myself. You go and search for a gift for Tang Tang. A bobblehead of Fatty is not a fun gift, by the way. Just saying.” She watched him run off again, this time going straight for another corner of the store. That warm smile returned to her face. I should’ve known this would happen. He’s just like a kid in the ballpark. It’s kind of cute…

✹

Lin Feng eventually settled on two items. The first was the 18 centimeter Jinx figurine he’d found at the very beginning. He was convinced that was the right gift for Tang Tang and An Xin didn’t really fight him on that, though that had more to do with his other gift than anything else. He’d found a Draven keychain that he fell in love with at first sight! Even as the girl behind the counter was wrapping it up, he was telling everyone who’d listen that Tang Bingyao would absolutely love it and that it was the perfect gift.

An Xin just shook her head. He put his mind to it and tried to think what she’d like. They’re meaningful gifts… from a brainless idiot. But they’re meaningful. Tang Tang will like them. She looked at the gift she’d picked out herself for Tang Bingyao. It was a t-shirt with a teemo print on the front of it. I hope she’ll like this… The size should be right at least.

Lin Feng suddenly grabbed the t-shirt from An Xin’s hands and held it up. Then he exclaimed, “That’s really cool too!” His eyes started beaming again before he continued, “BunBun! Buy me a t-shirt too! I saw a Blitzcrank shirt in the back over there! Come, I’ll show you! It’s really cool too!”

An Xin didn’t let Lin Feng drag her along. She stared at him and said, “This is a birthday present for Tang Tang. Last time I checked, it’s not your birthday yet.”

The excitement vanished from Lin Feng’s face. He prowled his lip and said, “Oh, okay… I understand. But!” His normal grin began to surface again. “When it’s my birthday, can you get me the Blitzcrank shirt? Come, I’ll show you!”

An Xin ignored Lin Feng and gave the t-shirt to the girl behind the counter. Then she said to Lin Feng, “We’ll see about that when it’s your birthday.”

Lin Feng grinned and replied, “Good! It’s settled then! And I’ll also get you something for your birthday! I won’t forget about it!”

My birthday, huh…? An Xin paused, staring off into the distance for a while. It wasn’t until Lin Feng tapped her on her shoulder that she remembered where she was. She smiled faintly and said, “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

✹

Lin Feng took An Xin to a restaurant after they bought their gifts. Lin Feng’s sense of direction was suddenly superb. He knew exactly which restaurant to go to for the most delicious food. Time flew by. And before they knew it, it was already 9 P.M. in Shanghai. The street lamps were on and bright lights shone from the large office buildings and shops all around them. Downtown Shanghai looked even more alive now than it did during the day.

Lin Feng grabbed An Xin’s hand and said, “Thanks for today! You really saved me!”

An Xin pursed her lips and complained, “I’ve saved you so often now, and all I ever get in return is a thanks…”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head and said, “I also treated you to dinner tonight!”

“Because I told you that you had to take me to dinner,” An Xin countered, frowning.

Lin Feng looked confused and asked, “What else do you want me to do?”

An Xin tilted her head and thought about it for a moment. Then she shook her head and said, smiling, “Forget it. Just remember, you owe me for tonight.”

“Okay!” Lin Feng said, excited again. “Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it!” He then looked up at the signs above the subway station. An Xin had to turn right to catch her way home, and he could run like he had on the way downtown or take the subway in the other direction back home. He looked at her and said, “Really, thanks.”

“I know,” An Xin replied with a smile. Then she winked and added, “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow,” Lin Feng repeated.

✹

An Xin took the subway home and walked the last bit. She turned her key in the lock and opened the front door. The moment she stepped inside, her mother poked her head into the hallway and said, “An Xin! You’re finally home!”

Her father’s voice followed soon after from the living room, “It’s almost 10! Where were you so late?”

An Xin took off her shoes and lightly shook her head. Stupid dizziness. She then forced a smile and said, “Nothing. I was just helping Lin Feng pick out a birthday present for a classmate. He couldn’t even do that by himself. He’s really stupid.”

An Xin’s father, An Aang, appeared next to An Lin and replied, “So it was Lin Feng… I see… No wonder you’re home a little later than usual! How is he these days?”

But before An Xin could reply, her mother butted in, “Speaking of Lin Feng, it’s been a while since he visited us. BunBun, tell him to come over for lunch or dinner! I’ll make all of his favorite things to eat.”

An Aang laughed and added, “That’s a great idea! We all know how much he loves your mother’s sweet and sour salmon!” He shook his head before continuing, “I’ve never seen someone eat with such devotion. Your mother is right, tell him to come over for dinner next time!”

An Xin nodded and replied, “Alright, I’ll invite him and tell him you miss him.” She then stretched her back and yawned. “Mom, dad, I’m tired. I did a lot of walking with Lin Feng earlier, so I’m going to lay down on my bed for a bit.”

An Aang looked at his daughter, worry quickly replacing his smile, and said, “Take a bath first. The hot water will help you. Your body has alwa—”

“Okay, okay! I get it! Just let me lie down on bed a bit first. I’ll take a bath later,” An Xin replied. Then she brushed past her parents and walked to her bedroom.

An Lin turned to her husband and whispered to him, “Can you go see if she really is…?”

“Don’t worry so much about her. I’m sure she’ll be fine,” An Aang said. “She went out for a walk. That counts as exercise. That’s a good thing.”

“But you know that she…” Mother An pursed her lips and turned to look at An Xin walking to her room. She took a long, deep breath and said, “I’m just worri— AN XIN!”

An Xin was walking down the hallway when she felt her knees go soft. The dizziness flared, dark swirls blocking most of her vision. She heard someone shouting loudly behind her, but it could just as well have been a church bell ringing. It was loud. And then it wasn’t there anymore. She collapsed to the ground and was gone.

An Lin ran down the hallway screaming, “AN XIN! AN XIN!” She threw herself at An Xin, grabbing her daughter with both arms and lifting her up. “AN XIN! AN XIN! CAN YOU HEAR ME?” She felt for a pulse and pushed her daughter’s eyelid open. “AN XIN! WAKE UP! AN XIN!”

Indistinct shouts started registering in An Xin’s mind. She focused on them, clutching at them, slowly opening her eyes. I was out with Lin Feng… And then… Did I…? She moved around, her mother’s shouts finally starting to make sense to her. I got home… I’m home. She looked up at her mother and then smiled and nodded. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m okay.”

“Are you sure? Can you stand again?” An Lin asked. “Do you want me to help? Can I do something?”

An Xin reached past her mother at the wall and slowly pushed herself up to her feet. “Thanks, but I’m good. I just need to lay down for a bit.” She pulled herself free from her mother and then leaned against the wall again. She closed her eyes and tried to dispel the last bit of dizziness. Seems like I pushed myself too much… I need to get some rest.