“The game is looking pretty dead even,” Silent Reed said. She turned to Westwind, who sat next to her on the caster desk, and asked, “What do you think?”

Westwind nodded and said, “Can’t believe it, but yeah, you might be right. Three to three in kills and there’s no real difference in gold. But. And this is a big but. There is so much more to a League game than statistics…” He paused for dramatic effect, making the crowd really want to hear what he had to say next. Then he continued, “Like map pressure, plays, power spikes. Look at top lane. The Fiora is destroying the Malphite. I don’t see High School 13 stopping her.”

“True, true. You know, I spoke with Shanghai International’s Midlaner backstage earlier,” Silent Reed said. “He was pretty convinced that they were going to win this series. He was already talking about the Finals. But it looks like he’s struggling in mid…”

“Of course he’s struggling. He’s playing a Twisted Fate into an Annie!” Westwind laughed. “The game would be over already if he wasn’t struggling! But he isn’t losing. He got the return kill and he’s only going to get stronger now. The Annie needs to do something really special here if she wants to stay relevant.”

“Hmm, don’t you think the Annie already is doing that?” Silent Reed asked. “She’s barely back in lane and already pushing the Twisted Fate back to his tower. That is pretty special.”

“No doubt it’s special. But…” Westwind paused, smiling. “There is a big difference between special and really special. The Annie is great, but she can’t stop the Twisted Fate from ulting away after he reaches Level 6… Actually, you know what? Let’s ask the audience!” He clutched the microphone and pushed it close to his mouth, then asked, “What do you guys think? Let yourself be heard if you think Annie will do something really special!”

There was a lull in the game. The crowd started buzzing. Then the students from High School 13 jumped up and started cheering, “LIN FENG! LIN FENG! LIN FENG!” He was their hero! It didn’t matter in which lane he played, he always pulled off a phenomenal performance. There were even students from Tonji Affiliated High and Shanghai High School cheering.

“See?” Silent Reed chuckled. “The crowd agrees with me. The Annie… Lin Feng is doing something special!”

“Hold on, hold on,” Westwind said. He clutched the microphone a little harder and shouted, “Shout as loudly as you can if you think Yan Liang will carry this game with his TWISTED FATE!”

“YAN LIANG! TF! TF! TF!”
“We’ll win. EASY!”
“EASY WIN FOR TF!”
“YAN LIANG IS THE BEST!”
“SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FOR THE WIN!”
“HAHAHAHA! What is this question. High School 13 SUCKS!”
“EASIEST WIN OF OUR LIVES!”

Westwind winked at Silent Reed, grinning. A little hyping up of the crowd was enough to make them lean one way or another. He decided who won the vote just by the way he asked the question. “But,” he said, again pausing for a brief moment. “Twisted Fate is in a weird position. If he roams, it has to be successful, because the Annie will just take his tower. It’s really a question of how well he’s going to use his ultimate.”

Silent Reed giggled and said, “This game can go either way! You heard it here first!”

Zeng Rui sat in the seating area for Shanghai High School, shaking his head. The casters had successfully hyped up the crowd, which was their job. But their analysis was off. The few precious seconds Twisted Fate had bought himself by killing the Annie were hardly enough to get the lane pressure he needed to catch back up. He was a long ways away from salvaging his lane. “I don’t see Yan Liang getting back into this,” Zeng Rui mumbled. He turned to look at Lin Feng. The thundering dumbass. He can’t have thought of this… Is he just following her instructions? He glanced down the row of chairs to where four players from High School 13 sat. Amongst them was a new face. Did she come up with this? The plan is great. Shut the Twisted Fate down early and then transition into a very powerful mid game. In theory, that is. I doubt they have the skill to pull it off in practice.

✹

At 10 minutes, the game was still fairly even. There was nothing exciting happening. The crowd was watching, listening to Westwind and Silent Reed attempting to entertain. The initial surprise of seeing High School 13 going toe-to-toe with Shanghai International had worn off. They were getting bored. Their attention wavered  as they looked away from the large screen and started looking at the stage and the 10 players seated behind their computers. There were nine guys and one girl.

“My god. I can’t believe how hot she is…”
“I know right? She’s a 10 outa 10!”
“Even behind the computer and with that big headset on, you can still tell… She hawt!”
“I’d kill for a night with her…”
“So pretty and good at League… She’s every man’s dream!”
“I just wanna, you know… Bang bang!”

It felt like everyone shut up for a brief moment, emphasizing the less than pure thoughts some students voiced. Their words traveled from the three different sections of the crowd towards where the students from High School 13 were sitting. There were some raised eyebrows, while others started arguing.

“Tang Bingyao is off limits! Watch the game.”
“Why do there always have to be those damn perverts?”
“There always have to be these stupid perverts…”
“They should ban these pervs from the event!”
“Fucking leave her alone! She’s just here to play the damn game!”
“Horny asshats!”

It was to be expected. The crowd at the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was predominantly male. Amongst them, there were bound to be a couple of perverts who couldn’t keep their thoughts to themselves. Tang Bingyao was beautiful. There were plenty of guys interested in her, some of whom still remembered their painful loss during the 1vs1 Love Confessions. But that didn’t mean they were professing her love to her while she was participating in the Semifinals of a tournament. And they especially knew not to shout out those feelings, whether in the privacy of a classroom or in a public venue. But not everyone felt that way.

“Horny asshats? LOOK AT HER! With those clothes, she’s practically begging us to hit on her!”
“YEAH! She’s leading us on! If you dress a whore, you are a whore!”
“I was just saying that I thought she looks cute… What the fuck you guys piling on me for?”
“Whatever. All hot girls are just attention whores. That’s just how it is. It’s not my fault that she looks like that…”
“Can’t I even say that she’s the perfect girl? I’m just giving her a compliment!”
“All I hear are JEALOUS SIMPS! We all think it… BANG BANG BANG!”

There were more people in the crowd who turned to look at the group of perverts spread out throughout the venue, shouting and screaming their desires for a night with Tang Bingyao. They looked confused, appalled, and stunned. They couldn’t believe what they were hearing. Then they shook themselves out of their daze and started arguing again.

“What is wrong with you people? Act normal. Please!”
“How oblivious are you guys? Stop objectifying the poor girl! She’s playing a goddamn game! Let her!”
“Those clothes? She’s wearing a sweater and jeans, for fucks sake. Those are NORMAL CLOTHES!”
“Can you leave her alone? We’re here to watch the game! Take your disgusting shit elsewhere!”
“LEAVE. HER. THE. FUCK! ALONE!”
“You guys aren’t funny, you know, right? This is sexual harassment. There’s cameras everywhere. I hope you all get what you deserve.”

The two sides couldn’t see eye-to-eye. Both were convinced of their righteousness and wouldn’t let anyone convince them otherwise. This was only further emphasized in a conversation between two students sitting next to each other.

“Do you get these idiots? How is it my fault that she looks like that? She’s the one dressing up like that, doing her make-up and all that, you know? And now I can’t let my eyes feast on that? That’s just stupid!”
“Dude. Stop being a creep. You’re here to watch a game. This isn’t porn…”

“What? Even you? How is this my fault? She’s asking for it! I’m only entertaining her!”

“You aren’t entertaining anyone. You’re being a creep. We’re here to watch the game. Stop objectifying the girl. Watch her gameplay and judge her on that. You know how you’re bitching on the guys for sucking at the game? Do the same for her!”

“She’s a GIRL! Girls can’t play games. They only make it onto a team for their looks. That’s all her teammates care about.”

“Have you been watching this game? She’s going toe-to-toe with Liu Zhengjie! How can you possibly think…”

“Right. Because she’s getting all the help in the world. I’m telling you, she’s just there because of how she looks. That’s the truth and you know it.”

“She’s a damn good ad-carry, that’s why she’s on the team! And you’d known that if you’d looked away from her chest and up at the large fucking screen above the stage. I’m done. Shut up.”

The two sides disagreed with each other from start to finish. Everyone thought they were in the right and there was no argument that could convince them of anything else. This ended the discussion prematurely. The students felt there were more interesting things to do, like watching the game they came to see. They craned their necks to look at the large screen above the stage, which was currently giving a bird’s eye view of mid lane.

✹

At 11 minutes, Yan Liang found the first opportunity to use the ultimate skill of his Twisted Fate–Destiny! The fog of war was blown. He had full vision of the map and five large eyes appeared above the Champions from High School 13. They couldn’t hide from him, even if they hunkered down in a brush or went back to the fountain. Yan Liang had his Twisted Fate walk up the river toward top lane, then pressed the R key again–Gate! This was the secondary effect of his ultimate skill. It allowed him to teleport anywhere within a large area around him.

The Twisted Fate appeared in top lane, right in front of the Malphite. He used Pick a Card and selected the golden card, which granted him a single target stun. The Malphite was already running low on health after being whittled down by the Fiora. He tried to run away to safety, but didn’t get far. The golden card struck him and stunned him. A volley of Wild Cards hit him, followed by the Fiora lunging at him with her rapier. They dealt too much damage and he didn’t have enough health.

《An ally has been slain!》

Lin Feng heard the kill announcement, but he didn’t stop smiling. He didn’t care that Chen Ze had died again. His Malphite was not worth that much anymore after dying several times earlier. He had his Annie attack the outer tower in mid lane. She took it down together with the minions before the Twisted Fate could return to lane. “Perfect! Just like planned!” Lin Feng laughed.

Westwind ignored the cheering crowd. He said into the microphone, “Just like I said. Twisted Fate lost his tower roaming top. The gank did get them a kill, but that can hardly be considered a success. The Malphite wasn’t worth anything. The Fiora was already dominating him. Yan Liang should’ve made a play in bot lane. That’s where he could make the difference.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Silent Reed said, smiling. “They could’ve taken Dragon after killing the Botlaners. This felt like a desperate play more than anything.”

Westwind nodded and said, “It really was desperate from Shanghai International. But did you notice? The Malphite just let it happen. He still has Flash and his ultimate! He probably could’ve gotten away, only he didn’t! I wonder why he did that.”

✹

“Yeah, I still got Flash and Teleport,” Chen Ze said over High School 13’s voice chat.

Wei Dong grinned and said, “Nice! I was worried you used them to try and escape in that last fight. Remember, we only care about the teamfights!”

“Woot!” Liu Yue shouted, laughing. “That’s our Chen Ze! The dude has got enough patience to watch paint dry!”

Chen Ze coughed, embarrassed. “Eh, thanks guys. Don’t worry, I’m not tilted. BunBun was pretty clear…” That if I used my Flash for anything but an important teamfight, she’d kick me off the team. That girl can be really scary… He shook his head and smiled. “I’m good, really. I’m ready whenever. Teleport is off cooldown.”

“Guys! Guys!” Lin Feng suddenly shouted. “A chance! Let’s teamfight!” He’d just seen the Twisted Fate running into his own Jungle towards the Blue Buff Camp. The Lee Sin was already there, fighting the large golem that granted the Blue Buff to whoever killed it.

Earlier in the week, An Xin had admonished the team, and Wei Dong specifically, about their poor ward placements. Wei Dong had worked hard on improving that over the last couple of days. So when he spotted the Lee Sin on the top side of the map, he grabbed the chance to show off the results of his training. He had his Braum run into Shanghai International’s Jungle and placed a deep ward in the brush next to the Blue Buff Camp. That ward now revealed everything the Twisted Fate and Lee Sin were doing, while also giving Chen Ze’s Malphite a target to teleport to.

“Chen Ze, TELEPORT!” Lin Feng shouted, excited.

“WHAT!” Yan Liang blurted out. His Twisted Fate was stunned by Tibbers, Annie’s teddy bear. The monster fueled by flames swiped down at the Twisted Fate with its massive claws, tearing away at his health. A mana infused fireball slammed into him. He had a sliver of health left. SHIT! NO! Not like this! Yan Liang clicked towards his own tower, but his Twisted Fate wouldn’t move. The stun hadn’t broken yet. Fortunately, the Annie had cast all her spells. She hit him with an auto attack and then another. But that wasn’t enough to kill him before the stun broke.

Yan Liang slammed down on his W key–Pick a Card! Yellow! Yellow! Come on! A blue card appeared above his Twisted Fate, followed by a red card. COME ON! Then the golden card came. Yan Liang hammered down on his W key, selecting the golden card, then clicked on the Annie. STUN! The golden card whizzed through the air and struck the Annie, stunning her, while the Twisted Fate ran back towards his tower. But the Annie wasn’t the main threat. She’d used all her skills and could now only throw little embers at him. It was the massive teddy bear of her that was dealing all the damage! Tibbers chased him down and swiped down again with its massive claws, killing him before he could even get close to his outer tower.

《You have been slain!》

Yan Liang stared at the grey screen in front of him. No. No. This stupid little girl! …I just made a small mistake, I can still change this. We’ll win. He was trying his best to calm himself down. But over the edge of his screen, he could see the crowd in the venue jumping up from their seats and cheering. They should be cheering for me. The Annie just got lucky in Champion Select— He was interrupted by a cheerful voice that traveled all the way to him from the other side of the stage. “Wow! Who would’ve guessed? I’m really good at Annie too!” I’m going to… kill that fucker! I’ll fucking show you, you little piece of, of, arggh!

The crowd erupted! This was a solo kill! The two Midlaners had faced off and the Annie had won in impressive fashion! This time, it wasn’t only the students from High School 13 who jumped up from their seats, shouting and screaming. But they were the loudest.

“WOOO! Maul his ass! Maul his ass!”
“Fucking yes! That was… AWESOME!”
“How’s that feel? Getting killed by a little girl! HAHA!”
“HEEYYAAAHH! Little girl beats up old man!”
“That play was crazy!”
“HOLY DAMN! That dude is good…”

“I gotta say,” Westwind said, his voice booming through the speakers in the venue. He waited for the crowd to quiet down, then continued, “That play was probably the single most impressive play I’ve seen all tournament! The Annie knew exactly when she was hitting Level 6. Impressive. Just, impressive.”

Silent Reed looked over the venue from her vantage point at the caster desk and waited for the crowd’s roar of approval to die down. She nodded at Westwind sitting next to her and said, smiling, “You’re right. That was very impressive. Yan Liang didn’t know what hit him. He had no time to react! The Annie hit Level 6 mid-fight. She planned and executed it perfectly!”

Everyone in the venue agreed with this sentiment, even Zeng Rui. He watched the replay on the large screen and raised an eyebrow, surprised and even a little impressed with the Annie’s performance. Huh… That was… good? So the thundering dumbass also knows how to play mid… Weird. But that was a good bait. Yan Liang fell for it hard. He paused. Analyzing games was second nature to him. He noticed when something looked wrong before he even understood why. He sat up straight and looked, really looked, at the players from High School 13. Don’t tell me, hmm… If it goes on like this, High School 13 is actually going to win. This was an outcome he hadn’t even considered before. But now he had to accept the possibility that the Finals would see them facing High School 13, and not Shanghai International. That would be unexpected.

✹

Draven was a Champion that became stronger the more he fought. When he got one kill, it was the same as getting two or even three kills for other Champions, depending on how many Adoration stacks he had. This was the power of his passive. Tang Bingyao made perfect use of this. She’d accepted that Liu Zhengjie would push into her in the early game. She let it happen, patiently farming Adoration stacks by catching Spinning Axes and last hitting minions, until the opportunity for a kill presented itself. She went in on the Leona and got first blood, turning her Adoration stacks into gold. She used her sudden large reserve of gold to buy an expensive item with a lot of attack damage. This gave her an edge over the Sivir and allowed her to play the style she enjoyed the most. Hyper aggressive! She flung Spinning Axes, last hitting minions and pressuring Liu Zhengjie’s Sivir.

Leona was a precarious Champion. Her kit allowed her to jump into a fight and stun Champions with a single target stun and an area of effect stun. This made her invaluable in every scenario. But, there was one condition. She needed to live long enough to get into the middle of the enemy team, which she could only do if she had enough defensive items. The flip side of her usage was that she was useless without those items. After giving away first blood, that was the direction Shanghai International’s Support saw the game going. His Leona was falling behind. He needed to do something to turn this around. He had to force a play! So he pushed past the minions and searched for an opening. If I can just get Draven to use Stand Aside—

“Back. Back BACK!” Liu Zhengjie shouted at his Support. “The hell are you doing! Are you stupid? Help me freeze the fucking lane! We can’t let the minions push further out or we’re going to get fucking ganked again! And stop taking so much free damage. God fucking dammit!” Why do I always get the braindead retards! He continued grumbling, frustrated. He’d carefully built up an advantage from the first exchange in the game. It all went great. They were winning the lane. They were winning the game! And then, then the Annie teleported to bot lane. She’d ruined everything! His Support died and his hard work went up in smoke. The Draven used the gold from that kill to buy his first big attack damage item, while he was forced to buy a weaker item to try and keep up. 

Draven is too strong… Fuck! Liu Zhengjie gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to scream. The more he thought about the situation, the more pissed off he became. He had his Sivir attack the Draven by hurling her crossblade like a boomerang, but the damage looked lackluster. It wasn’t nearly as destructive as it’d been a minute ago. The damage of the skill hadn’t changed much, but the amount of damage the Draven dealt had. That single item made such a big difference this early in the game. It was almost impossible for Liu Zhengjie to do anything. If he took one step too far forward, the Draven could simply run up to him and kill him. So he did the only thing he could do. He farmed minions from as far away as possible and kept his mouse ready to retreat at the slightest hint of trouble. All the while he grumbled under his breath, “Fucking fuck fuck! This fucking Draven girl! Go play Support like all the other girls! Dammit! This stupid shit game!”

✹

High School 13’s bot lane was winning. Lin Feng watched them play with a wide grin on his face that seemed to say, “I’m really good at ganking too!” He turned his attention back to mid lane. The Twisted Fate was hiding behind the Red team’s outer tower, allowing Lin Feng to farm the minions without a worry in the world. So he turned to look around the map again, a little too relaxed. The Twisted Fate wasn’t putting any pressure on him. He could just push and push and push. The monotony of it was distracting. He let his mind wander.

At 8:50 minutes, Shanghai International’s Lee Sin came mid for a gank. He walked down into mid lane from the brush in the river. The Annie didn’t retreat. She threw a small ember of fire at a minion and then a mana infused fireball at the Twisted Fate. She was clueless of the danger behind her. The Lee Sin didn’t need to think twice. He placed a ward behind the Annie and Safeguarded towards it. Dragon’s Rage! He hit the Annie with a roundhouse kick, sending her flying backwards.

There was a golden card above the Twisted Fate’s head. The Annie flew past him and landed underneath the Red team’s outer tower. He threw the golden card at her and stunned her. There were no Blue minions, so the tower targeted her and started firing off increasingly powerful energy shots. The Lee Sin hit the Annie with a Sonic Wave and then dashed towards her with Resonating Strike. All the while, the Twisted Fate kept throwing his playing cards, a next one always appearing from his sleeve.

Ah, I’m dead. Lin Feng was busy watching the other lanes. He’d noticed the Lee Sin far too late. He pressed down on the R key the moment the stun on his Annie wore off–Summon: Tibbers! His Annie willed her teddy bear to life. The small doll transformed into a frightening monster! But it was too little too late. She forced the Twisted Fate to Flash away. Then she died.

《You have been slain!》

“Ahhh… Almost. Oh well,” Lin Feng mumbled. He looked at his grey screen, at the Twisted Fate walking around with almost no health left. I probably could’ve… He shook his head. He’d given away a kill. It was a bad play. There was no excuse. He grumbled, “I got your Flash, that’s enough. I’ll get you next time.”

✹

Chen Ze was struggling in the top lane. He’d improved a lot as a player over the last two months, but Shanghai International’s Toplaner was simply better. On top of that, he played Fiora who was dubbed the Queen of Dueling. Chen Ze lost all control of his lane after giving away that first kill. The Fiora wouldn’t even let his Malphite walk out from under his outer tower. She last hit minions in lane and built up a large wave. Then she pushed them into the Blue team’s outer tower. The tower would kill a good number of them, further hampering the Malphite, and she could use the opportunity to dish out some damage.

Minions were dying and Chen Ze wasn’t killing them. The outer tower was. Its energy shots ripped them apart, while they were trying to destroy the large structure. All the while, the Fiora jumped in to deal some quick damage and then back out. Chen Ze gritted his teeth. He knew this lane was going to be difficult, but he never planned on losing it. His goal was to contain the Fiora. To make sure she never really got rolling. But he failed miserably. At 9 minutes in, he gave away a second kill. His health had fallen too low and the Fiora had killed him underneath his own tower.

《You have been slain!》

“I should’ve recalled faster,” Chen Ze mumbled, barely audible. He shook his head and sighed. No. That wouldn’t have helped either… He watched the Fiora eat another energy shot from the outer tower. It wasn’t nearly enough to kill her. Uh? His eyes widened. He hadn’t noticed Liu Yue running up the river until now. The Jarvan IV flag-tossed towards the Fiora, knocking her Airborne. He followed up with a couple of auto attacks and killed her. “Nice work, Liu Yue!” Chen Ze said over the team’s voice chat.

Shanghai International held the advantage in the top lane. The Fiora was quickly becoming very strong. Shanghai International also came back in mid lane. The kill on Lin Feng was enough to give the Twisted Fate some breathing room. High School 13 only held a clear advantage in bot lane. Even though both teams had 3 kills and roughly the same amount of gold, Shanghai International’s most recent victories in top and mid tipped the balance in their favour.

“That idiot…” An Xin muttered, putting her palm over her face. “How many times do I have to remind him to ward? How can he make such a stupid mistake…” She looked up at Lin Feng and shouted, “It’s not that hard to ward, idiot!”

Shanghai International’s Leona was slowed! She was right at the edge of High School 13’s outer tower in bot lane, running away. Tang Bingyao narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, then pressed the W key–Blood Haste! Draven’s hands lit up with a red light, increasing his attack speed. A whirlwind erupted underneath his feet, increasing his movement speed. He bolted forwards, chasing down the Leona and throwing an axe at her. It ricocheted off her, and he caught it. The second axe was already spinning through the air, striking her again. That dealt the third stack of Concussive Blows. One more to stun her. Mhm.

“Shit! I can’t escape! I’m going in!” Shanghai International’s Support shouted into his microphone. He couldn’t get stunned right now. It’d be the death of him! The Draven would keep throwing his Spinning Axes and kill his Leona before the stun broke. So he did the only thing he could do. He hovered his mouse over the Draven and pressed down on the E key–Zenith Blade! His Leona projected a solar image of her sword that pierced the Draven. Then she dashed towards him!

Westwind was casting the game. His eyes were locked on the fight in bot lane. He clutched the microphone and brought it closer to his mouth, shouting, “A TURNAROUND! Tha—” His voice was caught at the back of his throat, while he finished the sentence in his head, t’s Shanghai International for you! They never back out of a fight! And they always win! But those words seemed silly now.

Silent Reed stared at the large screen above the stage, stunned into silence. It felt like the entire venue had gone quiet for a moment. Silent Reed pinched her hand, just to make sure she was awake. The pain confirmed that. Then she shook her head and said, “Wow. That Draven… He actually knocked the Leona aside mid-dash! That’s one way to use Stand Aside! He canceled her only gap closer! She’s done for!”

The crowd snapped out of their daze. Tang Bingyao had stopped the Leona from jumping on her Draven and stunning him! Her Draven was still only at half health, but this fight suddenly didn’t seem all that lost anymore. So the students from High School 13 in the crowd started screaming their lungs out in joy and marvel.

“Tang Tang! We love you!”
“Heck yeah! Did you guys see that? Oh. My. God! She’s amazing!”
“That’s our Tang Tang! She’s the best!”
“She beat me in the 1vs1 Love Confessions!”
“Tang Tang is the best Draven in China!”

Tang Bingyao clicked to the side, repositioning her Draven away from the Sivir. Then he threw the third axe at the Leona. It connected, applying the fourth stack of Concussive Blows. The Leona was stunned for 1.25s. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t use her skills. She couldn’t do anything but let the Draven attack her. And the Draven did just that, unimpeded. Not even the Sivir could stop him. The Braum had leaped to the Draven’s side and raised an impenetrable shield in front of him, protecting Draven from any and all damage.

“Don’t panic!” Liu Zhengjie shouted into his microphone, glaring at the man sitting to his left. “Exhaust the Draven. Then Flash and stun him!” He looked back at his screen, at the Draven hiding behind the Braum. You think you can beat me? Don’t kid yourself. You’re trash! His health bar was full and the Leona had more than enough health to survive through the stun and then some. On the other side, both the Draven and Braum were running low on health before the fight even started. If he played this right and his Support didn’t screw up, then they could still get a double kill without losing anything! With the bonus damage from Leona’s passive, all I need is one good Q and a few auto’s to kill that Draven…

The Leona broke free from her stun with still a fair bit of health left. She directly targeted the Draven with Exhaust. A debilitating energy wrapped around him and sapped away at his strength. This was it! Shanghai International was going to win this fight after all! Liu Zhengjie started grinning, picturing the ugly expression on the girl’s face when he killed her!

“Retreat! Go back! Back! Behind us!” a voice shouted into his ears. Liu Zhengjie sighed, annoyed. What now? Flash in already! He glanced down at his minimap in frustration and then paused. A brilliant blue light had descended on a ward in the bush behind them! NO! Why now?

Westwind’s voice boomed through the speakers in the venue, hyping up the crowd, “TELEPORT! The Annie is teleporting behind the Sivir and Leona! High School 13 is sandwiching Shanghai International’s Botlaners! Are they going to get the double kill? I THINK THEY ARE!”

Lin Feng was pushing mid lane when the fight in bot lane started. The Twisted Fate’s Summoner Spells were on cooldown, while his weren’t. He knew he had to make use of this advantage. So he’d panned his camera across the map, searching for an opportunity while also keeping pressure on the Twisted Fate. The fight in bot lane quickly presented itself to him. It was exactly what he was looking for. Wei Dong had even placed a ward in a brush along the bottom side of the lane for him to Teleport to. Lin Feng had his Annie teleport to the ward, then shouted over the team’s voice chat, excited, “COMING IN HOT! Lock ‘em down!”

The Annie appeared in bot lane to find the Sivir and Leona simultaneously flashing away, trying to escape. She ignored the Sivir that had cast her Spell Shield and immediately attacked the Leona. Disintegrate! She hurled a mana infused fireball at the Leona. A smouldering swirl appeared around her as she did that. It was her passive skill, Pyromania! After casting four spells, her next offensive spell would stun a target. Incinerate! She set the air in front of her ablaze, burning minions and the Leona alike. They were all stunned.

The Draven chased after the now immobile Leona and quickly caught up to her. He threw a Spinning Axe and caught it again after it ricocheted off the Leona. He followed up with another Spinning Axe, while the Annie started throwing fire. The Leona’s health disappeared. She broke free from the stun, but that was it. Before she could take more than a couple of steps towards her own outer tower, a final Spinning Axe struck her in the back, killing her.

《First Blood!》

“Nice!” Ren Rou cried out from below the stage. “Keep it going, Tang Tang!”

“Serves that fucker right! HA! Show ‘em who’s boss, Tang Tang!” Ouyang laughed, reveling in the look on Liu Zhengjie’s face. “Look at him! This feels so good!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses, smiling, and said, “Yeah, it does.” Then he looked behind him at the crowd that had exploded! People were jumping up and down and screaming Tang Bingyao’s name! He recognized a few faces in the crowd. They were classmates. Then he turned back towards the stage and cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting as loudly as he could, “Good job, Tang Tang! You played that perfectly!”

Liu Zhengjie looked over his screen at the crowd. Pathetic. Cheering for that? Losers haven’t seen anything! He bit down on his tongue and turned his attention back to his screen, pressing down on the TAB key. It showed the Champions on both teams and their stats and items. He looked at the Draven. I worked so hard on keeping him down… It took more than starving a Draven of minions to shut him down. This was because of his passive, League of Draven. Every time he caught a Spinning Axe or killed a minion, monster, or tower, he gained Adoration stacks. When he killed a Champion, those stacks turned into gold. That kill on the Leona was worth so much more than just the 400 gold for First Blood. All of Liu Zhengjie’s hard work was gone. The Draven was back in the game.

✹

While High School 13 made a play in bot and picked up First Blood, Shanghai International made a play in top lane. It was a Malphite versus Fiora lane. Fiora was a strong dueler, while Malphite was a walking rock. He had a lot of health, but little in terms of damage. So it wasn’t very difficult for the Fiora to get the upper hand. She zoned the Malphite away from the minions, lunging at him with her rapier whenever he did try to walk in to last hit a minion. It was similar to the mid lane fight between Annie and Twisted Fate. Both lanes had one Champion harassing the other with a large minion wave building up. The only difference was the team applying the pressure and the colour of the minion wave.

The Lee Sin had walked through High School 13’s top side jungle and hid in the brush below the outer tower. The Malphite was stuck underneath his tower, trying desperately to get last hits on the minions before the energy shots from his tower killed them. All the while, he also had to worry about the Fiora attacking him. The only thing he forgot to do was ward. He was oblivious to the Lee Sin behind him until it was too late. The Lee Sin’s attack appeared out of nowhere and the Fiora took this opportunity to lunge forward herself, both dealing lethal blows to the Malphtie. His health disappeared, and both players from Shanghai International were out of tower range before the energy shots could kill them. It was a clean towerdive.

《You have slain an enemy!》

The Fiora picked up the kill. The Toplaner from Shanghai International grinned, enjoying the crowd cheering for him, and said into his microphone, “Nice gank, mate!”

Shanghai International’s Jungler laughed, “Too easy. Fumbling noobs.”

✹

An Xin smiled, unconcerned. Ouyang was shifting around in his seat next to her. Ren Rou was shouting words of encouragement to the team. They can’t tell. The game looked even. In fact, it looked bad for High School 13 to the untrained eye. Liu Zhengjie was a really good ad-carry and wouldn’t give Tang Bingyao any breathing room, while Chen Ze was a worse player than his opponent in top lane and was now also a kill behind.  This could quickly spin in Shanghai International’s favour. But we’re not losing bot. We’re winning. And we’re also winning in mid. There were no kills in mid, but Lin Feng was dominating the lane. That was easy to forget when looking at the scoreboard. On top of that, it didn’t matter if Chen Ze fell behind. His Malphite wasn’t meant to carry the team. He was there to soak up damage and land a good ultimate skill, which was a powerful area of effect knock up. He didn’t need a lot of gold to do that.

It doesn’t really matter if the Fiora gets fed either. An Xin grinned. A fed Fiora was generally a big problem for any team. But it wasn’t for the team An Xin had drafted. They had Malphite and Braum who both had an area of effect knock up. Then they had a Jarvan IV who could imprison any Champion with his ultimate. Finally, there was also Annie, who could land an area of effect stun. Not to mention Draven’s Stand Aside. There was so much crowd control on the team, and only one of all these skills had to hit the Fiora to lock her down. Lin Feng and Tang Tang have enough damage between them to take care of the rest! So simple. This plan is foolproof. She looked back up at the large screen above the stage.

The game clock read 6 minutes when Lin Feng returned back to mid lane. He continued where he’d left off before his trip down to bot lane. He started pressuring the Twisted Fate out of lane, while last hitting every Red minion. He was really good at this spiel. The Twisted Fate was forced to hide next to his outer tower.

Yan Liang wanted to scream, It shouldn’t be like this! He was frustrated and angry. The Annie didn’t have Ignite! She’d gone with Teleport! She shouldn’t be able to apply this much pressure on him! But she was. She confined him far behind his own outer tower and there was nothing he could do about it. Dammit! I can’t even get any CS! He looked down at his experience bar. He was Level 5 and still a bit away from Level 6. He had to wait a little longer until he could start roaming around the map with his ultimate skill. Just a little longer and then I’ll get back into this game! He looked over at the Annie. She should also be hitting Level 6 soon… I need to be careful. His Flash was on cooldown, hers wasn’t. He had to respect that. Let’s back after this wave. She shouldn’t hit 6 until the next one—

“The Annie flashed! A Level 5 engage! WHAT IS THIS!” Westwind cried out into his microphone, the speakers carrying his voice across the venue. The Annie was only Level 5. She still needed a bit more experience before hitting Level 6. Without her ultimate skill, she didn’t have the damage to kill the Twisted Fate!

Lin Feng hadn’t made a mistake. A moment earlier, he’d calculated how many more minions he needed to hit Level 6. The answer was two caster minions. There were two caster minions right next to the Twisted Fate. Then he’d looked at Annie’s passive skill–Pyromania! After casting four spells, her next offensive spell would stun the target. She was at three stacks right now. Perfect. So he pressed down on the D and then the W key. His Annie flashed forward and Incinerated the two caster minions in front of her. She leveled up to 6 and learned her ultimate skill. A smouldering swirl wrapped around her body. The little girl giggled as she tossed up her teddy bear into the air. “Have you met my bear Tibbers?” she asked, innocently. Then an enormous flaming bear appeared above the Twisted Fate and fell down on him, stunning him.

It was Lin Feng on Annie versus Yan Liang on Twisted Fate in the mid lane! Both Midlaners bought their starting items from the fountain shop and then started making their way into lane. Twisted Fate was on the Red Team. He was a Champion that wasn’t very strong in lane, especially not in the early game. His main objective was to farm and reach Level 6 as quickly as possible. Then his Twisted Fate’s ultimate skill would unlock—Destiny! A unique ultimate that blew the fog of war away and gave him complete vision on the map, while also allowing him to teleport instantly to any point within a large radius. He was essentially a card-flipping ninja assassin who exerted constant pressure on every lane and every enemy Champion. Because when Twisted Fate had a winning hand, he’d come in out of nowhere to throw it out for the kill. This sleight-of-hand made him the ace in his team’s sleeve. Annie, on the other hand, was a blunt hammer compared to Twisted Fate’s finesse. She had some of the highest burst damage in the game, which made her very strong in the early laning phase. “Push. Pressure. Kill.” That was her mantra.

Yan Liang knew this. He was aware of how screwed he was if this Annie was any good. But, he was a Master on the Ionia server. He was one of the best solo queue Midlaners in all of China. And Twisted Fate was one of his favourite Champions. So he didn’t see a need to worry. He figured that with his skill, holding lane and not giving too much away would be easy. He’d do this until he hit Level 6. That’s when playtime would end. Or start. Depending on how you looked at it. I’ll show you… the power of a true Super Saiyajin!

Unfortunately for poor Yan Liang, this game was going in a way that made him Hercule instead of the Prince of All Saiyajins. What the hell… His opponent knew how to play Annie. Fuck! The Annie skipped right over the pushing part and started straight pressuring his Twisted Fate. Fuck! She abused her long range to alternate between last hitting minions every Red minion and getting in some damage on him. Fuck! Then, whenever Disintegrate came off cooldown, she hurled a mana infused fireball at him. Dammit! He bit down hard on his lips, trying to get some last hits of his own. But she kept attacking him. Nearly half of his health was gone already. Shit! She’s so damn aggro!

Lin Feng was playing very aggressively. That was how he would win this lane. He would never let Yan Liang find any room to maneuver around, or give him any opportunity to just farm minions for a couple of minutes. This was because the further behind Twisted Fate fell before he reached Level 6, the lower his impact would be when he could use his ultimate skill. So Lin Feng clicked on the Twisted Fate, having his Annie fire off an auto attack. Then he pressed on his Q key–Disintegrate! His Annie fired off another mana infused fireball, while the minions were slowly pushing towards Red Team’s outer tower. He was only last hitting the minions, but that was enough to build up a bigger wave that started pushing.

Yan Liang used a health potion, but it only kept his Twisted Fate at around half health. He could see the minion wave. There was so much gold and experience in it… Dammit! I can’t lose this wave to the tower! Should I just recall now? Or stay… He wasn’t sure. The first option forced him to use his Teleport, while the second could see him killed. He inched forward, indecisive, and last hit a minion. That was definitely the wrong choice. The Jarvan IV from High School 13 came running out of the brush above mid lane and dashed towards him with a flag-toss combo.

FUCK! Yan Liang cursed as he slammed down on his F key–Flash! His Twisted Fate disappeared with a mottled flash of light, dodging the knock up from Jarvan IV and escaping certain death. The minions were marching towards his tower. The Annie was with them. She hurled another mana infused fireball at him–Disintegrate! His health was sliding down to critical levels. He had no more health potions. There was a massive wave of minions on his doorsteps. Yan Liang gritted his teeth. He knew what he had to do. And he hated it. He hated what it represented. The Midlaner from High School 13 had forced him, a Master on the Ionia server, out of lane. He walked behind his outer tower, out of range from the Annie, and recalled back to base.

Yan Liang looked up from his screen and across the stage at the players from High School 13. There, right in the middle, sat Lin Feng. “You son of a bitch,” Yan Liang cursed. That stupid idiot with that stupid grin on his face and that stupid, stupid stupid… I’m a Master! He pressed down on the D key–Teleport! A radiance lit up around the outer tower in mid lane and his Twisted Fate arrived back in lane a moment later. The minion wave was still there. Only a couple had died to his outer tower so far. But this early in the game, a couple of minions was worth a lot. And being forced to blow both Summoner Spells and recall back to base were basically adding insult to injury.

Mid lane was lost. Yan Liang knew it, though admitting it was still difficult. But his Flash was on cooldown. He had to play carefully, or he’d be giving away kills. And that was never good. Whatever. We still got Liu Zhengjie. He glanced over at his ad-carry. Liu Zhengjie was the best player on their team. He was the real carry. He can do it. I’ll just focus on keeping this Annie in lane. His plan had changed. There was no longer the goal of roaming around the map, picking up kills and pushing for a quick win. His Twisted Fate had fallen behind. The Annie wouldn’t let him roam around the map. But what he could do was keep the Annie occupied. Like this, Liu Zhengjie would have the time he needed to get strong enough to slaughter this Annie! He’s just playing against a girl anyway. Girls are terrible players. And Draven? Hah. Who does she think she is? This’ll be easy.

✹

It was a completely different game in bot lane than it was in mid lane. Liu Zhengjie showed everyone why he was the star player of the team. Why he was being scouted by professional teams. Without the help of his Support Leona, he was pushing the lane towards High School 13’s outer tower. Tang Bingyao played Draven. He was an extremely powerful Champion, especially when dueling. She also had the support of Braum, who had strong crowd control and high health. Yet the both of them couldn’t land the skills or get the position to pressure Liu Zhengjie’s Sivir. In fact, it was quite the opposite. When Tang Bingyao tried to last hit a minion, Liu Zhengjie pressed down on his Q key, smiling. His Sivir hurled her crossblade like a boomerang. It cut through the Draven on the way forward, and then again on the way back. Liu Zhengjie grinned. Yeah, take that! Bitch! Fucking idiots replacing their ad-carry with a girl! Heh. It’s like they want to lose! Let me help them with that, heheh!

Wei Dong pushed forward. Sivir had just hurled her crossblade. She couldn’t move for a short moment. But he was already too late. Still, he pressed the Q key–Winter’s Bite! His Braum propelled freezing ice from his shield in a straight line. The Sivir dodged it. It was as if she knew it was coming. Then she turned her attention to Wei Dong. He’d ran forward, past his minions, to get the angle for this skillshot. If the skill had hit, there was nothing to worry about. But now he was caught out of position, and this Sivir knew how to punish him for it. She hit him with her auto attacks, again and again until he’d finally retreated back under his own outer tower. It was fortunate that he was playing a defensive Champion with a lot of health, or this single exchange would’ve seen his health go down to critical levels, assuming he wouldn’t be forced to Flash away.

Mhm. He’s really good. Tang Bingyao focused on her screen. She needed to catch the axes. But Liu Zhengjie could also see where the axes would land. He knew where to put pressure, and when. And he was doing just that. This was something she hadn’t experienced since Lin Feng started teaching her. But Liu Zhengjie was a genuine Master of the game. She couldn’t remember the last time she played against someone this good. Maybe that time when Lin Feng and I just started playing together… But this slight setback didn’t demotivate her. If anything, it only made her want to try harder! I have to win! I promised Lin Feng that I’d take care of bot… Mhm. Can’t let him down.

Liu Zhengjie pushed the minion waves under High School 13’s outer tower. This was perfect for a Sivir. There was less room for Tang Bingyao and Wei Dong to maneuver, which meant it was easier to hit her skillshots. On top of that, Boomerang Blade had a relatively long range. And if it hit a Champion twice, it dealt serious damage. So Liu Zengjie could have his Sivir stand out of range from the tower, while still dealing damage to the Draven. That meant that Tang Bingyao had to choose between taking damage and being forced back to base early, or missing last hits. Both scenarios saw her losing gold. There was no winning here. She was already missing last hits and her health was dipping below half.

Silent Reed and Westwind were invited once again to cast the games. They sat at their desk to the side in the venue, talking with each other while watching the game. Silent Reed listened to Westwind talking about the last few moments of the Sivir, then sighed. This was painful to watch. “That Sivir is playing so good…”

Westwind nodded and said, “Yeah, Liu Zhengjie is a really good ad-carry. No wonder he’s being scouted. His Sivir is insane! How is he even doing this… 1vs2… The Draven and Braum can barely farm under their own tower.” He shook his head in disbelief, then added, “I’m starting to feel a little bad for them.”

The Leona hovered around bot lane. She was there, always putting that pressure without actually using any of her skills. Wei Dong watched her, apprehensive. Their health was dropping too low, while she was still at full health. He turned to Tang Bingyao and said, “Tang Tang, let’s recall back to base. Our health is too low. That Sivir can just kill us like this, if the Leona doesn’t dive us first. We’re dead. We need to back now!”

Tang Bingyao bit on her lips. I won’t lose. She glanced at her minimap. Liu Yue was in their top side jungle. Too far away. She looked up at top lane. Chen Ze was being pushed back towards his outer tower by the Fiora, which meant that he couldn’t use his Teleport to come and help them. He’d lose too much in top lane if he did that just to give bot lane some breathing room. No. I have to do this myself. I said I’d take care of bot.

Tang Bingyao tried to get in some last hits on the minions, dodging the Sivir’s attacks and trying to figure out what to do. Wei Dong talked to her. Urged her back. He always preferred the safer approach. That was just how he was. But that wasn’t her playstyle. She liked to play aggressively. She wanted to fight and win. Wei Dong said something again, slightly distracting her. She shook her head and said, “Uh-uhm.” No. We can’t leave lane. That will give them too much of an advantage. We have to stay. It’s dangerous. But we have to stay in lane and fight. If we go back, it’s over. They’ll hit Level 6 and…

“Now!” Tang Bingyao suddenly said. The opening was there. It presented itself to them and she pounced on it, clicking on the Leona.

Wei Dong was a step ahead of her. The Leona had walked forward, in front of her minions and in range of the tower. He pressed down on his Q key–Winter’s Bite! His Braum propelled freezing ice from his shield. It connected with the Leona, slowing her and more importantly applying a stack of Concussive Blows. They needed four stacks to stun her. But after the first, every next auto attack that hit her would add a stack. Three more attacks. That was all they needed!

The host of the Semifinals announced the individual players of High School 13 and Shanghai International as they made their way up the stage. Lin Feng basked in the cheers from the crowd, waving to them and laughing as he walked up. The rest of his team was a little bit more nervous, focused on their rivals on the other side of the stage. Those rivals, the players from Shanghai International, weren’t smiling or laughing. They were calm, aloof. High School 13 wasn’t their opponent. There was no reason to get excited for this series. They would blitzkrieg their way to the Finals.

High School 13 was a fairly average school. Their clubs never made it far in the big tournaments, regardless of the sport. The recent achievements by the esports club were an exception. That made it so much more remarkable. The students had been talking about it all week, and a large number of them had come to cheer their team on. They wanted to be that 6th member of the team and give their club that extra boost of motivation by cheering as loudly as they could.

“High School 13! High School 13! It’s all skill! No luck! Skill!”
“We’re going to the Finals! We’re going to the Finals!”
“I love you, Lin Feng!”
“Tang Bingyao is the best ad-carry! Liu Zhengjie is a noob!”
“We’re the best! Rock on, Ouyang!”
“Show those guys from Shanghai International who’s Boss!”

The students from High School 13 kept cheering at the top of their lungs, uncaring of the looks and glances from the people in the crowd. They didn’t care what others thought about them. They were here to support their team, and supporting them was exactly what they would do! In stark contrast, the students from Shanghai International were much more reserved. They believed that their team was far superior to High School 13. There was no need to cheer, or show their support. Their team would win. They were just here to watch it happen. And in that frame of mind, the cheers from High School 13’s students were more than a little annoying.

“What is wrong with those idiots? Can’t they shut up?”
“I don’t know, man. Fucking country bumpkins.”
“So excited over making it to the Semifinals. I’d almost feel bad for them…”
“Haha. Can you imagine? Losing to them? What a joke!”
“Right? You know, if they win, I’ll eat my shoe!”
“Haha! How did these idiots even make it to the Semifinals? Did they get an easy draw or something?”
“It’s all luck. They’ve got the easy opponent in every round. I’m thinking it might be rigged.”
“None of that matters. Now we have an easy way to the Finals.”

✹

The players from Shanghai High School found their seats in the special viewing area right below the stage. They sat down and watched High School 13 and Shanghai International get ready for the match. The ad-carry turned to his teammates sitting next to him and said, “Shanghai International is winning this one, right?”

“Probably, yeah…” the Jungler said. Then he thought of something and added, “So that’s another repeat of last year. It’s gonna be us versus them in the Finals again… Kinda  boring to be honest.” He relaxed back in his chair, putting his feet up on the railing in front of him.

“Does it really matter?” the Toplaner asked. He shook his head and grinned, apathetic about the outcome. “We’re going to win regardless of who we play against. Neither team has anything on us.”

Zeng Rui listened to his teammates talk, but didn’t join in. It was a pointless discussion, in his opinion. He’d watched both teams play and analyzed them. Shanghai International was the better team. They would make it to the Finals and High School 13 would lose. He looked up at the stage and the players on both teams. Shanghai International has the same team as always. As expected. High School 13 has… He blinked his eyes and took a second look. Who is she? He hadn’t even seen who the players were before his eyes were drawn to the girl pacing back and forth behind the team. Did they get a coach?

✹

“On the Blue Team, we have High School 13! And on the Red Team, we have Shanghai International!”

The host riled up the crowd one more time as the two teams entered Champion Select. It was the start of the game! First was the banning phase. Both teams could ban three Champions. There were no big surprises here. They banned six Champions who were very strong in the current meta, like Darius and Hecarim. Then High School 13 was the first to lock in a Champion. They chose Jarvan IV. He was a strong Jungler and a relatively safe choice. There were no Champions who could completely shut him down purely based on their kits. It would come down to skill.

Shanghai International picked the next two Champions. They went with the same tactic as High School 13 by picking two safe choices. Their Champions were Lee Sin, a great Jungler, and Leona who was a strong Support.

The next two Champions would be selected by High School 13. There was a brief discussion going on, leaving the crowd waiting. Then, they locked in Annie and Draven. This pick provoked gasps from the crowd. Draven was an aggressive Champion. He was very strong once he got going, but until then, Shanghai International had every chance to shut him down, especially when he got picked so early in Champion Select. But that wasn’t how the lively crowd from High School 13 saw it. They knew about Tang Bingyao’s Draven. The video of her match against Senior Class 8 had been passed around the school all week. Her Draven was phenomenal! She was going to carry the team to a win!

Yan Liang was Shanghai International’s Midlaner and team captain. He’d done his research and wasn’t the least bit surprised when he saw the Draven pick. But there was still a frown on his face. “Annie?” he muttered. That pick had caught him off guard. He’d done his research. He knew which player favoured which Champions. But Annie wasn’t on that list. Where is she going? Annie could be played almost everywhere. But in the current meta, she was mostly played in Support and sometimes in the top lane. That didn’t change the fact she was a mage who could go into mid lane or even jungle.

“It’s going to be Support Annie for sure,” Liu Zhengjie said, distracting Yan Liang from his thoughts. He sneered, condescendingly, and said, “Annie and Draven, huh? That’s some big damage early game. I can see what they’re trying to go for. But it won’t work. Not against me.” He grinned, confident. It doesn’t matter what they try. I’m half a pro. They can’t beat me.

Yan Liang glanced over at Liu Zhengjie and nodded. “You’re right. That should be it. Sivir has a spellshield, pick her. Let’s make that Annie useless.”

Shanghai International locked in Sivir and Twisted Fate. Sivir was an ad-carry with a Spell Shield. This was a barrier that blocked damage, but also crowd control. Annie was a Champion with powerful crowd control, so Sivir was the obvious pick. As for Twisted Fate. He was a mage with a lot of map pressure. That could only work in Shanghai International’s favour. His map-wide teleports could change the dynamic of any teamfight! Yan Liang had thought of all of this and then some more. If I team up with Lee, we can get a few early ganks in bot and make the Annie and Draven useless, hehe.

However, all the plans that Shanghai International had made in the last couple of seconds were thrown right out the window again. It turned out that the Annie wasn’t a Support, not in this game at least. High School 13 locked in their fourth and fifth Champion. Braum and Malphite. Braum was a Support and Malphite was a Toplaner. That could only mean that Annie was going in the mid lane.

Right below the stage, Shanghai High School was watching the Champion Select. Including Zeng Rui. The initial disinterest from his face disappeared without a trace, replaced by a hint of surprise. He looked at the girl who was still pacing back and forth behind High School 13’s team. Did she plan this? He tried to read the expression on her face. But she wasn’t looking in his direction, so he couldn’t tell. “That was clever,” he mumbled.

“Shit,” Yan Liang cursed. They were wrong. Their whole plan had collapsed. And worst of all, Annie was really strong against Twisted Fate. Shit! How did we not see this coming? He grinded his teeth, looking at the Champion icon of his Twisted Fate. No one plays her in mid anymore. Why… It made no sense to him. Annie was a powerful Support and she paired well together with Draven. She was supposed to go Support! “Shit!”

In stark contrast to the frustrated Yan Liang, Lin Feng had that familiar wide grin on his face. It was a combination of confidence and joy. This was the outcome he’d been hoping for. It felt so good when Yan Liang locked in that Twisted Fate. It secured his win. He looked over his shoulder at An Xin and said, “This is fun!”

An Xin smiled and replied, “Yep. They fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker.” The strategy she’d come up with was a simple and straightforward one. She played Shanghai International a fool in the Champion Select, forcing a favourable match-up for the Annie. Lin Feng would play her in mid. He was good, and a fed Annie was really strong. Together with Tang Bingyao’s Draven, they’d be a menace in the early game, while the other three Champions would shine in the mid game. This was because of the intense crowd control that came from their ultimates. That would give Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao enough time to ace Shanghai International. As for the late game, well, as An Xin had put it, “We don’t need to worry about that.”

Shanghai International hesitated with their fifth pick. Their whole team composition didn’t make sense anymore, and they were trying to come up with an alternative method. But they had already committed. It was too late to make any substantial changes. So they ended up going with Fiora, a strong top lane Champion.

An Xin was happy. Her plan had worked. Now it was up to the team to win. She walked towards the steps leading down the stage, then paused. She turned around and looked at her team. “You can do it, guys. Crush them!” she said.

“Yeah! No worries! We’ll win this, easy!” Lin Feng laughed, confident.

Tang Bingyao nodded, smiling, and said, “Mhm, leave bot to us.”

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

Lin Feng took a deep, long breath. The grin disappeared from his face. It was replaced by an expression that looked calm, yet determined. He placed his right hand on the mouse and his left on the keyboard. His eighth grader syndrome flared. He mumbled in a voice only audible to him, “You wanna play too? It’ll be fun!” There was no more rut. No more frustrations at his own inabilities. No more struggling. An Xin had taken care of all of that with her arrival. He was free. Right now, there was only him and Annie. Everything else around him disappeared. The venue. The crowd and the noise they made. The teammates sitting next to him. He smiled and made his best Annie imitation, saying, “Play time!”

“For our first match in the Semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, we have Tonji Affiliated High versus Shanghai High School!”

The first Shanghai 16 School Tournament Semifinal was about to begin. Both teams stepped up onto stage, while the host announced the individual players. Shouts and cheers came from a quarter of the crowd, while the rest were booing. It was a fun contest to see which school had brought with them the biggest crowd. The players from both teams sat down behind their computers, waving at the crowd and preparing for the upcoming best of five series. They were only three games from making it to the Finals!

The esports team from High School 13 was backstage, looking out onto the crowd. Ren Rou scanned over the students from High School 13 who’d come to watch and smiled. “That’s a nice crowd,” she said. “I recognize some people from our school. I think more will come after this first series is finished. There should be more room then.”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and said, “Tonji and Shanghai High School are both really strong teams. They should both be able to take this series. I’m thinking this will be a very close match-up. I wonder who’ll win it.”

“Probably Shanghai High School,” Ouyang answered, almost bored. “They won last year and their individual members are just better. Watch them destroy Tonji.”

Wei Dong nodded and added, “Yeah. Shanghai High School has Zeng Rui. A top 10 Challenger who specializes in strategies and shotcalling. It’s almost unfair that he’s allowed to participate. I wish I could be anywhere near as good…” He’d been there last year, watching the Finals between Shanghai High School and Shanghai International. More specifically, he watched the two Supports. As a Support himself, he hoped to learn a thing or two from them and improve his own game. But he wasn’t prepared for what came to pass. Zeng Rui carried his team with perfect strategies and even better shotcalling. Every ward placed by him proved useful. Every play initiated by him ended in a win. Everything he did helped his team get closer to victory, until they won.

Lin Feng waved his hand dismissively and said, “Oh, that’s fine. BunBun is a way better strategist than that Zeng Rui! And she’s also a better shotcaller! BunBun is better in every way!”

Perhaps for the first time, An Xin didn’t glare at Lin Feng. She didn’t hit him on the head with a book or pulled him by the ear. She smiled, kindly, and brushed her hair behind her ear. “Yup! I’m better than whoever that guy is. Our strategy will be a lot better. You guys don’t have to worry about that. Just play your best!”

✹

It all happened so fast. The crowd was stunned speechless, as were the organizers. Tonji Affiliated High versus Shanghai High School was supposed to be a thriller of a series. Both teams were highly regarded and strong rivals. But the games weren’t all that fun to watch for the neutral fan. Shanghai High School won easily. They showed everyone just how much better they were than their direct competition. It was a clean sweep. 3 – 0. The longest game lasted for 28 minutes, while the shortest only took 21 minutes. There was no flair to it, no amazing or beautiful skills. It was the raw skill of a master strategist. Zeng Rui had completely outplayed Tonji Affiliated High before the games even started.

The players from Tonji Affiliated High sat in their chairs, staring at the post game lobby. Three losses. They hadn’t stood a chance. The players from Shanghai High School walked up to them for the customary shaking of hands at the end of a game. The crowd started cheering in the background, a painful reminder of all the students from their school who’d watched them play just now. They felt numb. This wasn’t how they pictured this night would go. They could hear the players from Shanghai High School laughing and joking. Those guys were happy…

Shanghai High School’s team gathered at the center of the stage. The crowd was clapping and cheering for them. They recognized classmates and friends and waved in their direction. They started clapping themselves and then made a bow towards the audience, thanking them for their support. Then they walked down the stage, laughing and congratulating each other on a game well played. Except for Zeng Rui. He didn’t join in with the rest of this team. Rather, he trailed behind them, calm as ever. Tonji Affiliated High was never their opponent. He knew that. This win meant nothing to him.

Chu Fang welcomed both teams backstage and congratulated Shanghai High School on their stellar performance. He said some pleasantries to them and didn’t  forget to add that he felt they were even better than last year. This last part was especially true. The Shanghai High School of this year looked almost unbeatable. Zeng Rui had taken that next step since last year, and was looking more and more like a real professional player. He was exactly the kind of talent that the LPL desperately needed. If this was last week, I would’ve said you guys would win… Chu Fang looked at High School 13’s team that sat below the stage some distance away. But with those two here… He smiled and mumbled under his breath, “With those two here, I’m not so sure anymore.”

✹

The mood in High School 13’s team had dampened some. An Xin’s arrival had given them the confidence that they could take on Shanghai International. This was an opponent who went toe-to-toe with Shanghai High School last year. But that was then and this was now. They’d just watched Shanghai High School. That team was good. It was far better than they’d ever expected. That pressure that they’d escaped from came back, weighing down on them. Their confidence took a nosedive.

Chen Ze muttered, dazed, “So that’s Shanghai High School… Damn.”

Tang Bingyao nodded and said, “Mhm. Their bot lane is really good. I don’t think we’re strong enough to take them on.” She wasn’t talking down on herself, or lacking confidence. She knew how good she was, and she’d just seen how good Zeng Rui and his ad-carry were. They were better. It was that simple. She became better every day, both individually and in her synergy with Wei Dong, but it was far from enough to beat Shanghai High School. Zeng Rui was really good.

An Xin looked in the direction of the backstage area, where Shanghai High School had just disappeared to, thinking. Then she looked at the others and said, “Yup. They’re better than I expected. I’ll have to go over my strategy for the Finals again and make some changes.”

Lin Feng laughed, unconcerned, and said, “It’s fine! We’ll win anyway! It doesn’t matter how good their Support guy is, you’re better at strategizing! We’re going to win!”

An Xin glared at Lin Feng, her lips curving up into that terrifying smile. “You idiot,” she said, raising her arm, scaring Lin Feng. “It’s not that simple!” Then she rubbed her chin, thinking. But a few moments later she shook her head. “That’s for later. Our game is starting soon. Let’s get ready for that.”

“For our second match in the Semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, we have High School 13 versus Shanghai International!”

As if on cue, the host announced the second match. The players from High School 13 stood up from their seats and were about to walk towards the stage, when they noticed something from the corners of their eyes. Further down the row, the players from Shanghai International also got up from their seats. They looked at Ouyang and Ren Rou, recalling what happened a week ago. They’d exchanged some banter, until Chu Fang came running over. Against all their expectations, Chu Fang didn’t come for them.

Liu Zhengjie glared at the kid behind Ouyang. He couldn’t even remember the name. But he did remember how Chu Fang greeted that kid. How Chu Fang pushed him aside to get to that kid. How Chu Fang had dared to ignore him! That god fucking shithead! I’ll fucking strangle him! He felt the anger coming right back to him. I’ll show you how shit they are! They’re trash! I’ll kick them down! He sneered at the players from High School 13, then put his finger on his neck and drew a sharp line, mouthing, “You’re dead.”

Ren Rou put her arm around Ouyang, holding him back before he could try anything. Which he did. He raised his fists and shouted, “Let me go, Rou Rou! That fucker! We need to teach him a lesson! Last week clearly wasn’t enough for him! He wants some more! Just let me punch that stupid grin off his face!”

“Calm down, Ouyang. It’s not worth it. Let’s beat him in the game,” Ren Rou said, trying desperately to calm him down, but to little success.

“They do seem a bit full of themselves,” An Xin mumbled. “Well, since that’s the case…” She turned to the team with that same smile on her face that she had when Lin Feng said something stupid again. That smile that looked like anything but a smile. That smile that sent a shiver running up and down the spine. She said, “I expect a clean sweep. Kick them down! And then kick some more! Don’t let them get back up.”

“Yeah! Let’s win this game! It’s going to be super easy!” Lin Feng cheered, striking his victory pose.

The day of redemption had arrived. It was Friday. Tonight, High School 13 would face off against Shanghai International for the first time since the incident. Ouyang still had flashbacks of what happened last year, as did Yang Fan and the others involved. But this year was different. They’d upgraded several key positions, most notably mid and ad-carry. On top of that, they now had a real coach. They were nothing like the team that participated in the tournament last year, and they were eager to show how far they’d come. Tonight would be the night of Shanghai International’s demise!

The Semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament on Friday were only the start of a weekend packed with action. As early as the next day were the Finals. The trophy that Ouyang wanted so badly was up for grabs. They just had to get there and take it. And then, later on that very same day, were the Grand Finals for the League of Legends World Championships! They would get to watch the best teams in the world, featuring the best players in the world, face off against each other in an epic best of 5 series! It promised to be an exciting weekend full of League of Legends and fans everywhere were counting down the hours and minutes until the action would start.

News of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament buzzed through the hallways of High School 13.  Their school had made it to the Semifinals and it looked like they could go the distance! Everyone was suddenly a League of Legends fan and expert. And they were all looking forward to supporting their team! It was just unfortunate that the governing body of the school didn’t share in this enthusiasm. Ren Rou had asked for their help in advertising for the event. The principal had responded through Mr. Zhou. He was impressed with the team’s performance, he said. He also claimed that he wanted to help the team. But, only if they made it to the Finals. There was just one small problem with that. The Finals were on Saturday, a day after the Semifinals. There was no school on Saturday. So the esports team wasn’t going to get any help. Fortunately, word of mouth was a powerful tool and the news eventually made its way around the whole school.

The classroom that was most excited about the tournament was Senior Class 7. This was because most of the team members were in this class. Six to be exact, including Ren Rou. They were currently enjoying their break together in the back of the classroom, chatting about the upcoming series against Shanghai International.

“Just this morning there were like at least 10 people who came to ask me about the tournament!” Ouyang said, just about jumping from his chair in excitement. “Can you guys imagine it already? There’s going to be hundreds of people from our school coming to cheer us on tonight! It’s going to be epic!”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and said, “Everybody’s looking really excited about our Semifinals match. Then again, we’ve never gotten this far before. That really helps build up the hype. I also think there’ll be a lot of people coming to cheer us on tonight.”

“They’ll come to watch us win! And then tomorrow we’re getting the trophy!” Lin Feng shouted, grinning. Then a thick, heavy book landed on his head. “OW! What the…” He painfully rubbed his head, glaring at An Xin.

An Xin put the book back down on her desk, ignoring Lin Feng’s pitiful glare as though he didn’t exist. She then turned to the others and smiled, sweet and innocent. “Of course we’re going to win. But it won’t be easy. We have to really go for it. We need that want-to-win mentality. Shanghai International is a strong team. Don’t relax. Don’t get sloppy. Stick to the plan and win.”

✹

The morning turned into afternoon. There was only an hour until the dismissal bell, but the students of High School 13 had long since clocked out. They were thinking about the weekend and all the things they wanted to do over the next two days. Excited conversations spilled out of every classroom and the teachers had a hard time getting any information across. There was one subject that kept coming back up, the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. It wasn’t every day that a school club made it to the Semifinals of a big tournament. Everyone was excited to see if the esports team could also make it to the Finals. There were even students who decided to make it a fun night out. They’d first cheer on their school, and then go out with their friends for a drink and some food.

DING DONG DING DONG!

It was the weekend! The students jumped up from their seats, most already having packed their bags, and raced out of the classrooms and down the hallways. Every second counted! They had two whole days without any obligations! Among them were many who’d decided to watch the esports team take on Shanghai International. They ran for the bus to make it to Pudong in time. There were only 800 seats in the venue and there was nothing worse than standing in the back too far away from the large screen to tell what was going on.

The esports team also rushed out of their classrooms and gathered near the exit of the school. They weren’t in as much a hurry as the other students. Their seats at the tournament were reserved. It didn’t matter if they were 10 minutes earlier or later. They only had to make sure that they were in the optimal condition to play, both physically and mentally.

An Xin looked over the seven members of the team, with Ren Rou standing next to her. She smiled and said, “The game is in a few hours. Put all your other worries aside. Right now, all we care about is the game. If there’s anything, tell me. Besides that, let’s win!”

“WOOT WOOT! We’re going to send those losers packin’!” 

“It’s going to be so satisfying to watch them cry! Hahah!” 

“Watch me kick their asses! I’m going to show them just how shit they really are!” 

“Mhm! Let’s win!” 

“Don’t worry, guys. It’s easy. I got this.”

✹

It took longer than expected to arrive at the tournament venue in Pudong. The High School 13 esports team even had to hurry the last bit. They only had 10 minutes to spare when they finally arrived in the large hall at 6:20 PM. Here, they were briefly dazed by the turn-out.  It was crowded. Packed with students, many of whom they recognized.

Ren Rou led the esports team into the backstage area to sign in. There they met with a familiar figure. Chu Fang was personally welcoming the teams. Well, that was the excuse that he gave. In reality, he was here just to see Lin Feng again. Lin Feng was the most talented player he’d ever met and he wanted to grab every opportunity to build up his relationship with Lin Feng. “Hey! Lin F—” Chu Fang fell silent. He stared at the girl standing next to Lin Feng. She had grown up and her hair was different, but he recognized her instantly. His mouth fell open, then he mumbled, “BunBun?”

An Xin gave a small bow and said, smiling, “Hey, Chu Fang. It’s nice to see you again.”

Chu Fang remembered An Xin as the short girl with the pigtails and glasses. She didn’t look anything like that anymore. But she unmistakingly looked like BunBun. He smiled and asked, “It’s good to see you too. How are you? Last I heard you were going to school in Hangzhou. When did you come to Shanghai?”

“I moved here with my parents last week,” An Xin explained.

“I see… I guess that makes sense. And you transferred to High School 13?” Chu Fang said, grinning. Then he looked over at Lin Feng and shook his head. “You two really are inseparable.”

“What do you mean?” Lin Feng asked. “She only came earlier this week. I hadn’t seen her in months!”

An Xin did understand what Chu Fang meant. Her face flushed red and she fired back, “Haha. Very funny!” She paused, looked at him, and then said, “Don’t joke around like that or I’ll tell Jingyi.”

Chu Fang stopped laughing at the mention of that name. He stepped back, almost looking afraid. Then he put his hands up and said, “Sorry, sorry! I won’t joke around like that again, haha. It was in poor taste. I’m sorry. Please don’t tell Jingyi.”

“That’s what I thought,” An Xin said.

Chu Fang looked at her again and at the people around her, then asked, “You also joined High School 13’s team?”

An Xin nodded and said, “Yep! I’m their coach!”

“Hah.” Chu Fang shook his head, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Lin Feng and BunBun are on the same team again… She was the coach back then too. And he was Maple. It’s been a few years, but if she’s half as good as she was back then, then she’s basically just as good as a coach on any professional team. Between the two of them, I doubt Shanghai International stands a chance… He sighed and said, “In that case, it seems like you guys have a pretty good shot at making the Finals.”

Lin Feng grinned. This was his cue. He stepped forward and patted his chest. “Hell yeah! We’re winning tonight, and then we’re winning tomorrow, and then that trophy is ours! Just you watch!”

The rest of the esports team took a step back. An Xin took a step towards Lin Feng. She then grabbed him by his ear and yanked him backwards, “You big idiot! We haven’t even played yet. You can dream all about the trophy after we win it. Until then, you focus.”

“OW! But we’ll win! I know it! Watch— Owow! Bunbun! Why do you have to— Ow!” Lin Feng cried out as he followed after An Xin while trying to pull free from her iron grasp.

The clock struck 6:30 PM. An Xin let go of Lin Feng. They had to focus. The other members of the esports team looked into the venue. The stands were packed. There were more people than there were seats, so many of them had to stand in the isles or at the far back, too far away to get a good look at the large screen above the stage. People were talking excitedly about the games, while some would occasionally shout their team’s name through the venue. This was quickly drowned out by the rival school chanting their own name. The venue came to life. The Semifinals of the Shanghai 16 School Tournament was officially beginning!

“Ah!” Tang Bingyao cried out. Her eyes were round and wide and her face red as she looked over at Ouyang and the other guys. They weren’t paying attention to her. She turned back towards Ren Rou and shook her head, hushed-shouting, “N-no! No! Me liking him? No way! Don’t joke around like that! I’d never like someone like him!”

Ren Rou observed Tang Bingyao. The red tint painting her face. The fidgeting with her fingers. The constant glances towards Lin Feng. The signs were everywhere. It was so obvious that Tang Bingyao was crushing hard on Lin Feng. Ren Rou could see it from a mile away. But despite it being so obvious, Tang Bingyao was clueless. She really didn’t know what it was that she felt for Lin Feng. They were feelings unlike any she’d ever had before. She bit on her lips, looking down at her shoes, then said, “R-really… I’m telling you the truth. I don’t like him. I think…” She glanced over at Lin Feng, who was still arguing with An Xin, and whispered. “I… I don’t know…” 

She likes him. Ren Rou sighed and looked at her friend, worried. Aww, Tang Tang. She knew how much Tang Bingyao and Lin Feng hung out together. The whole esports team knew, and they’d all supported the two. The two seemed like they’d make a great couple. But that was then and this was now. She looked over at An Xin, who was raging at Lin Feng, only short of getting ready to beat him to a pulp. Those two… Why did it have to turn out like this? There was a chemistry between Lin Feng and An Xin that wasn’t there between Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao. They could all see it, even Tang Bingyao. Ren Rou turned back to Tang Bingyao and asked, whispering, “Did you tell him? Does he know that you like him?”

Tang Bingyao glanced over at Lin Feng again. He was still talking with An Xin. I didn’t tell him. I wanted to tell him… She looked back down at her shoes and shook her head. “I don’t know…”

Ren Rou nodded. Tang Bingyao is quiet and Lin Feng is oblivious. Go figure. She would have to somehow get herself to spell the words out for him, or he won’t get it. He won’t get it, will he… She looked at Tang Bingyao. She looks so nervous. Ren Rou smiled and put her hand on Tang Bingyao’s shoulder. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know,” Tang Bingyao said. “She’s just… better.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. Bunbun is prettier, a better coach, has more of a personality… She has everything I don’t have. How can Lin Feng ever like me when she’s around? She’s so much better than me… The last few words came out of nowhere. She hadn’t thought of them before, not that bluntly anyways. But now she had. And it tore her heart apart. They hurt so much that she felt like crying, only she didn’t. She bit down hard on her lips and then said, again, “I don’t know.”

Ren Rou didn’t say anything. She didn’t know what to say. So she hugged her friend. She took Tang Bingyao in her embrace and pulled her as close as she could. There was nothing else she could think of to comfort Tang Bingyao. They’d been good friends for the last two years. She knew Tang Bingyao better than most. She knew how simple and pure Tang Bingyao was, and how she’d never shown more than a moment of interest in a guy. Until Lin Feng. She was different around him. A little more alive. Her first real crush. It’s going to break her… Ren Rou pulled Tang Bingyao even closer, a deep frown on her face as she glanced over at Lin Feng. Does he feel the same for her? It doesn’t look like it…

✹

Ren Rou had been worried for Tang Bingyao, but it seemed there was nothing to worry about. Tang Bingyao wasn’t suffering from a broken heart. At least, it didn’t look like that. She came to school the same as always, and she trained with the esports team, again, the same as always. In fact, she was playing with more focus than before and it was showing. She was making large strides forward and becoming a better player every session. So much so, that An Xin lacked the superlatives for her.

“Tang Tang is damn good! She’s improving the fastest out of all of you!”
“Look how hard Tang Tang is working! You guys need to be more like her!”
“Great job, Tang Tang! I’m damn impressed!”

The guys were tired of hearing this from An Xin. She sounded like a broken record, though she was completely right. Tang Bingyao was doing better than them, much better. They weren’t blind. They saw it too! But that just made it that much worse. They shook their heads and half-heartedly answered back, “Yeah, yeah. We get it…”

That, of course, was the wrong answer. An Xin smiled that smile of hers. Her lips curved up and almost seemed to reach her ears. Yet her eyes weren’t joyful. There was pleasure in them, but then there was also something else. It wasn’t anger. She wasn’t angry, she was strict. And she didn’t allow any laziness. “Hmm? Did I mishear? You guys didn’t sound like you took my words seriously jutt now.”

Be it Yang Fan or Ouyang, all the boys on the team straightened their backs and nodded, hastily. “Yes, you’re right. We were wrong. It won’t happen again. Sorry, BunBun.” They were scared of her. Genuinely scared. So they did as she asked. They watched Tang Bingyao practice and tried their best to imitate her.

An Xin smiled, satisfied, and said, “That’s what I like to hear.”

✹

It wasn’t only High School 13 that was quickly improving. Su Xue was seeing similar successes, though hers were in the direction of recording gameplay. Lin Feng had been busy with the Semifinals match coming up, so he hadn’t had as much free time to spare for her. So, she ended up playing some games by herself on the Korean server. It was a huge success. She played ad-carry, like she always did. One game in particular stood out. She played Jinx and got two triple kills and even scored a quadra kill! Her score was just short of Legendary! This was more than enough for a good video.

“This is it!” Su Xue cried out, slapping down on her desk in excitement. It was only a game in Gold. There were many commentary videos featuring Gold games. It only had one quadra kill. There were many commentary videos featuring quadra kills and even pentakills. But this was her work. She’d given it her all and created something that she could be proud of! Besides, the gameplay was only one aspect of a commentary video. Perhaps the more important aspect was the commentary itself. That was where she could really set herself apart from the rest.

Su Xue had made several videos by now and tried to make a good and enjoyable commentary for them. But she always felt that something wasn’t quite right. Something felt wrong, or missing. She didn’t know what it was, until this video. This was her own gameplay. She knew exactly what she intended to do in every play, and she was excited to share that with everyone who wanted to listen to it. That was that missing factor. The excitement in her voice as she gave the commentary. It brought her videos alive and to that next level. Lin Feng agreed with her as did the few viewers she showed an early cut of her video to. Now, it was all up to Zuo You to work her magic and make this video really good.

✹

Early on Thursday, during one of the breaks, Ren Rou got called to Mr. Zhou’s office. He was in charge of the school’s clubs. Ren Rou had gone to him before to talk about the Shanghai 16 School Tournament and if they could get the school’s help to invite students to come and cheer them on. Back then, he promised to discuss it with the principal. Now he had good news to share with her. The principal was very impressed with the recent achievements and promised that if the esports club made it to the Finals, he would make a school-wide announcement encouraging students to go and cheer the team on.

“An esports tournament is still a tournament. We don’t care that it starts with an ‘e’,”
“You’re representing our school, and we’re proud of how far you’ve come already.”
“Do your best and I hope to see you guys make it to the Finals.”
“Let’s get that trophy!”

The school officials could help get more students to go and watch the games, but that didn’t mean no one knew about it. In fact, there was a constant buzz in the hallways of High School 13. Everyone was talking about the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. They were one of the top four esports schools in all of Shanghai! This was a massive achievement, something they never knew they cared so much about until now. But they did! The team members became overnight celebrities. Students pointed them out and some even approached them, congratulating them and wishing them all the luck in their next game.

“Aren’t you Ouyang? You’re on the esports team, right? Good luck man! We’re rooting for you!”
“Hey! Liu Yue! I heard about the esports tournament! Good job man! You’re playing Friday, right?”
“Look, look! That’s Tang Bingyao. She’s on the esports team! Good luck, Tang Bingyao! Do your best!”
“Wow! That’s Chen Ze! He’s the Toplaner! You can win this, Chen Ze! We’re cheering for you!”

It was a little strange and difficult to get used to this new fame for the members of the esports team. But beyond the cringe and added pressure, they felt happy and proud. They’d done something great and were getting the recognition for it! Their peers were looking up to them! This was an incredible feeling. It ignited their already strong desire to make it to the Finals as every minute of their day became occupied with League of Legends. They trained and practiced and theorized and did everything they possibly could to prepare for the match, right up until the last moment.

The team trained until later than normal on Thursday. This was their last chance to get some practice in before the game. But they also needed to sleep, or they wouldn’t be in the optimal mental state for the series against Shanghai International. So they eventually ended practice and went home to get a good night’s rest.

Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao walked home together, as they always did. They walked in silence, listening to the sounds of the cars and the passersby. Then Lin Feng looked up at the starry sky. He smiled. He laughed. And then he screamed out, “WE’LL WIN FOR SUUUUUUURREEEEE!”

Tang Bingyao recoiled, caught off guard by the sudden scream. Then she smiled and balled her fist. She pumped the air, imitating Lin Feng’s victory pose, and said, “Yeah! We’ll win!”

✹

An Xin walked out onto the balcony of her apartment in Pudong. She put her arms on the railing and rested her head on them. The sounds of cars and the buzz of people sounded out in the background, with the occasional police siren. She looked up at the sky, though the lights around her made it hard to make out the stars. Her hair fluttered in the wind as a cold wind blew past. This fall was cold. Hmm…

An Xin stood up straight and hugged her jacket tightly, looking over in a particular direction. She smiled a happy smile. It almost looked wrong on her. Hmm. She thought of thoughts that were her thoughts, and hers alone. They would never leave her mind. But these thoughts made her happy. Content. Excited for what was to come.

Lin Feng sat behind his desk in his bedroom. There was a big, thick studybook in front of him, and he was scribbling in a notebook to the side. He was writing down the most important bits of each page and disregarded the rest, not even checking what it was he wrote. That was a worry for when the next test was announced. This was his patented study method; Fast and Furious. Chinese literature, done. Mathematics, done. English, done. In only a short few hours, he finished his homework. He then let go of his pen and leaned back in his chair. “Phew! Done!”

It was only 9 PM, still too early to go to bed. So Lin Feng, almost out of habit, opened the League of Legends client and logged into his Korean account. I’ll just play a couple of games before bed, he thought while queuing up for a game. They were his practiced motions, as was the message he flung into the Champion Select team chat. “Mid plz.” Because that was the role he wanted to play tonight. Slowly, Lin Feng got into the zone.

Game 1: Lin Feng picked Fizz in the mid lane. He bullied his lane opponent and got an early kill at Level 3. From there on out, it was an easy game for him. He brute-forced his way to a 20-minute win.

Game 2: Lin Feng picked Syndra in the mid lane. He bullied his lane opponent and forced them to recall back to base after the first minion wave. The advantage he built up from that was large enough for the opponent to never get back into the game. He carried his team to a 26-minute win.

Game 3: Lin Feng picked Yasuo in the mid lane. He crushed his lane opponent into submission at Level 1. His opponent’s teammates came to help, but he killed them all. That happened only 12 minutes into the game. They gave up and didn’t leave the fountain again. So Lin Feng and his team destroyed the towers in mid lane, then the inhibitor, and finally the nexus. It took them all of 16 minutes.

That’s enough for tonight. Lin Feng looked at his screen, waiting, hesitating. Then he opened his browser and clicked on Favourites. At the top was a link to the Semifinals match between KG and SSK. He opened it and watched it. More specifically, he watched the mid lane, and how Rake and KG’s Midlaner were playing. He watched every small move and studied its effects on the game.

I’ve seen this. I know it. Lin Feng shook his head. The results were no different from last time. Rake gameplay was, as always, perfect. Even KG’s Midlaner was better than he was right now. But it didn’t hit him as hard as it had over the last week. Something had changed. He managed to take that step back and look at the big picture. It painted a different perspective. Sure, he wasn’t anywhere near good enough to step onto the world stage right now. But he shouldn’t want to either. This process he had set into motion took time. It couldn’t be rushed. He had to take on the challenges in front of him, of which there were plenty, and focus only on them. Lin Feng smiled, balling his hand into a fist. Watch me come back to the top, Rake. I’ll get back up there. We’ll have our rematch. And I’ll beat you. This time, I will win! “YES!”

✹

Something had changed in the training sessions of the High School 13 esports team. They still went to the NetCow Cafe everyday and from an outside perspective everything looked the same, but something intrinsic had changed. It was the addition of a real coach. Lin Feng was a phenomenally talented player and far better than the rest of the esports team combined. But at the end of it all, he was a player and not a coach. An Xin was different. She was more of a coach than a player.

Lin Feng didn’t like to overcomplicate things. When it came to playing the game, his first strategy was to bruteforce his way to victory. Only if that really didn’t work, after repeated attempts, would he pivot to something different. That held true for his coaching as well. He tried to bruteforce information into the minds of his trainees. When they made a mistake, he badgered them with it. He told them when they screwed up. How they screwed up. And what they had to change. But a vital point was missing here. He didn’t help them understand how to not repeat the same mistakes. He could point them out, but he had trouble thinking on their level and explaining solutions in a way that they could understand.

An Xin had a different training method. She didn’t walk behind the team like a drill sergeant, barking at them. Instead, she sat behind her own computer, spectating and recording the game. She didn’t say a word while the team was playing. They had free reign to play in whatever way they felt was best. But every mistake they made, no matter how small or big, was written down by her. Then after the game finished, she had everyone gather around her computer. She opened the replay and grabbed her notebook. Next up, she started going over the game, pointing out everything that required attention; from laning phase to teamfighting and from broader map-wide plays to individual details, nothing was left untouched.

“Tang Tang and Wei Dong, I really liked what I saw there. You two were really playing the game together. It’s just that you two seem to only have one mode. Attack. Attack. Attack. It’s okay to play a bit more defensively. Vayne is a late game Champion. Play to her strength..”

“Liu Yue, I love the prediction game. Where is the other Jungler? How should I path through the Jungle? When can I gank? But when you play like that, it has to be perfect. Because if you fail, you fall behind. You need to know what to look for and what to do and you need the right Champion. You played Sejuani. She doesn’t get strong until Level 6. Don’t try and gank with her until then.”

“Alright, the mid lane. Yang Fan, your laning was good. Props for that. But you need to do so much more as a Midlaner. Help your team. Play together with your Jungle to make ganks. Roam. Do anything but sit in mid and farm minions. Because more often than not, that’s not going to help the team.”

“Chen Ze, solid work on your island in the top lane. Just that you brought a teleport so you could get off of your island. You really need to learn how to use it. Your first goal will be to get better at using your teleport. That first teleport, you want to use it for the first teamfight. One good play there can win you the game. Use that knowledge.”

“I’m really happy with what I saw. There are just a couple more things I want you all to pay attention to. Most importantly right now, that is vision. Just placing wards for placing wards isn’t good enough. There needs to be a reason why you’re placing that ward. A ward is an investment. Use it wisely… Like here, look at the video. Let me pause it… Here. See where the opponents are? They’re all in their lanes and the Jungler is near the top lane. That means you have an opening at bot lane to go into their Jungle and place a ward as close to their Jungle entrances as possible… So here, here, here… Those wards will give you the intel you need to make more aggressive plays. Those are the wards that really matter.”

Beyond the more general information that could be of value for the entire team, An Xin also took the time to talk with each team member individually. She’d prepared a video clip of their plays, so she could point out their shortcomings and give them tips on how to improve on them. This especially won everyone over. They nodded and listened and sometimes asked questions for clarification. They believed in what she said and applied the knowledge she shared with them in their games. It almost directly started showing results. The reason for this was simple. They understood what An Xin explained to them. And with that, they had something concrete they could apply to their games beyond Lin Feng’s usual, “You suck. Get good.”

There was, however, one team member who wasn’t improving as quickly as the others were. That was Lin Feng. An Xin tried to coach him the same as she did with the others. But it didn’t matter how she tried to explain the most simple concepts to him, nothing seemed to get through his thick skull. All she could do was stare at him, exasperated. He was sitting across from her right now. She shook her head. One more time. Then she let out a long sigh and repeated herself again, “Lin Feng, you have to stop being so wasteful. Stop wasting your Flash!”

“Huh? What do you mean? I never…” Lin Feng replied, confused.

“What do you mean you never?” An Xin countered. “Last game at 13 minutes. You didn’t need to blow your Flash. You forced the Orianna to use her Summoner Spells already. There was nothing more to be gained there. But you still wasted your Flash. Then the teamfight began and your Flash was on cooldown. That was terrible. You could’ve dove into their backline so much easier with Flash. If you still had it.”

Lin Feng wouldn’t hear it, though. He argued, “But I got their ad-carry in that teamfight, so what does it matter? It doesn’t! I killed their carry!”

“You killed their ad-carry because he mispositioned. He made a mistake that made up for your mistake. If he didn’t screw up, you wouldn’t have killed him,” An Xin stated, coldly.

“You’re wrong!” Lin Feng laughed, patting his chest. “I would’ve gotten the kill anyway!”

“How?” An Xin asked. “Explain to me! How would you have gotten the kill?”

Lin Feng paused for a moment. He didn’t expect to get called out like this. But then he grinned and said, “It doesn’t matter how! I know I would’ve gotten the kill! I’m just really good at Fizz!”

An Xin rubbed her temples, annoyed and frustrated. “Forget it. Just remember from now on that if you know that a teamfight is coming up, you shouldn’t blow your Flash. Keep it! Alright?”

Lin Feng shook his head and said, “I mean, I guess. It’s just… I don’t see what the point is. It won’t make a difference anyway!”

An Xin finally had had enough. That smile that looked anything but a smile crept on her face and she said, “Hmm? What did you say? I thought I heard you disagree. But I’m not sure. Say it again. Say it.”

Standing a few steps away, pretending to mind their own business, the other members of the esports team were listening to everything Lin Feng and An Xin were saying. They cringed when Lin Feng disregarded An Xin’s advice. They wanted to walk out of the internet cafe when they saw the expression on An Xin’s face. And then, when Lin Feng had really gone and done it, they stood nailed to the ground.

Ouyang shook his head and said, “Man. That Lin Feng. What in the world? Is this his kink or something? Does he get off on making BunBun upset? Oh boy. Maybe that’s the way to her heart? I could also…”

Yang Fan adjusted his glasses and smiled. “I don’t know. I think Lin Feng has always been like this. It’s just that no one has called him out on it before. It’s kind of nice to see BunBun do that.”

The other guys nodded. They agreed wholeheartedly with Yang Fan, but felt it was better to keep their mouths shut. The further away they stayed from Lin Feng and An Xin, the safer they would be. That was how they saw it, anyways.

As for the girls, Ren Rou was talking to Tang Bingyao. Well, it was more accurate to call it gossiping. “Did you hear about those two from Senior Class 8? They’re saying that they came out of the toilet together. Those stalls are so small! What do you think they were doing there? If you ask me…” She went on and on, stringing one tidbit of gossip to the next. “Oh, oh! And did you hear what happened on the toilet on the second floor? This girl started attacking her friend with a curling iron! She was mad that her friend wouldn’t break up with her boyfriend. It was crazy! I think someone even taped it. Let me see if I can find it for you…”

Tang Bingyao wasn’t really listening to Ren Rou. She was looking at Lin Feng and An Xin. Watching the easy rapport between the two as they talked. It was effortless, like they belong together. She just stared at it, thinking… Long enough for Ren Rou to notice. Which she obviously did, and gently patted Tang Bingyao on the shoulder before asking, “Hey, girl? You okay? You look really distracted and distant right now. Something on your mind? Something bothering you? Or… someone…?”

Tang Bingyao snapped out of her daze, blinking her eyes and turning her head to look at Ren Rou. The words Ren Rou had said registered in her mind half a second later and she replied, “H-huh? Am I? Really?”

Ren Rou didn’t respond at first. She looked over towards Ouyang and the other guys, just to make sure they weren’t trying to listen in on them. Only when she was sure that no one was trying to eavesdrop on them, did she whisper, “Hey, can I ask you something? Do you like Lin Feng?”

“Whuh?” Lin Feng blurted out. He blinked, keeping his eyes closed for a second longer than he normally would. Then he looked at Tang Bingyao. He looked at her defensive posture as she scrunched back, trying to hide the red tint on her face. “You want to treat me? To milk tea? You?” He looked at her, incredulous. “Are you feeling ok?” She never spends any money. She likes making money and she likes having money. Why would she… He reached out towards her, wanting to feel her temperature. Maybe she is sick… But she recoiled, moving far away from him and shaking her arms in front of her. “Uhh?”

“No! Don’t! If you don’t want to, just say it. That’s fine. I understand. Let’s just go home, ok?” Tang Bingyao said, hurried. Then she turned around and started walking and then running away towards the intersection where they always split up.

“Wait! Waitwait!” Lin Feng called out after the now running Tang Bingyao. She paused, turned around. He smiled at her and said, “I would love some milk tea! This is great! This is the best day ever! I can’t wait to tell Ouyang about this tomorrow! He’ll be crazy jealous!”

“N-no. No! Don’t tell him,” Tang Bingyao said, lowering her head.

“Uh… Why not?” Lin Feng asked. Then his eyes widened. It was the exact moment where you could almost see the lightbulb light up. “OH! I know! Ouyang will come begging you for some milk tea too!” Lin Feng stood up tall and smiled. He patted his own shoulder, complimenting himself for his quick thinking, and winked at Tang Bingyao. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell them. Your wallet is safe with me.”

Tang Bingyao started at Lin Feng, dazed. Of everything he could’ve said, this wasn’t something she’d ever considered. Why don’t you get that I want to buy you a milk tea, not Ouyang or anyone else? But I guess he said yes… We’re going to have a drink together. Just the two of us. She smiled at him and nodded. “Mhm. Don’t tell him or our other classmates.” Then she waited, until he nodded, before walking back towards him and going into the fast food place together.

Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao walked up to the register together and ordered two milk teas and a chicken cutlet. The employee gave the price. She took the money that she was already firmly holding out from her jacket pocket and handed it to the employee. It felt strange, especially with those large eyes from Lin Feng looking over her shoulder. She could feel him staring at her. Then she turned around and nodded at him and he smiled right back at her. It was that same smile he always had, bright and innocent.

Tang Bingyao nodded at Lin Feng and tried talking with him. “It was a good practice earlier…” She trailed off. Lin Feng wasn’t looking at her anymore. He mumbled a reply as he stared at something behind her. She followed his gaze beyond the registry, where their order was being prepared. The chicken was being fried. She turned back to him and tried again, “You did really well on…” She could see that he was more focused on the food than on her. She started fidgeting with her fingers. What do I say? What do people say? What… She wanted to talk, but the otherwise so natural conversations with Lin Feng suddenly took a lot more effort. I have to say something. She looked up at Lin Feng and tugged at his arm. “Uhm, that… Your friend, BunBun, she’s really an amazing Jungler.”

Lin Feng finally looked at Tang Bingyao. He laughed and said, “Yeah! She’s good! But she isn’t as good as I am! I’m way better!”

Tang Bingyao nodded and asked, “Did she follow you around when you were playing as a pro back in Season 1?” She thought for a moment, barely a second, and added, “Like, to the tournaments?”

“Yeah! She always came with us,” Lin Feng replied. “You know what she did today? She also did that for my team in Season 1. She always came up with our gameplans and strategies.” He paused for a moment, taking his time to ball his fist and throw it up into the air, then said, “That’s why beating Shanghai International is going to be easy now! With her on our team, we’re unstoppable!”

“Oh. I see…” Tang Bingyao nodded, her gaze falling down to her shoes. She sounds really good. She’s probably better than I am. And she’s also really pretty…

“Thanks for waiting! Here’s your order,” the shop employee said, tearing Tang Bingyao away from her thoughts. The shop employee handed the two cups of milk tea and the chicken cutlet Tang Bingyao had specially ordered for Lin Feng. “Enjoy!”

“Yeeeeeeesss! Chicken cutlet! You’re the best, Tang Tang!” Lin Feng cheered. He hurried towards the counter and grabbed the chicken cutlet, treasuring it in his embrace, then also picked up his milk tea. His hands were full, so he used his teeth to get a taste. “Ahh!” came his scream as he dropped the chicken back in the bucket. “HotHotHot! Ahh, so hot!” he wailed, hurrying towards an empty table and sitting down, so that he could cool his tongue down.

“A-are you ok?” Tang Bingyao asked as she hurried after Lin Feng. “Isn’t that really hot? Did you burn yourself?”

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m really good at eating hot food too!” Lin Feng brushed her worries off. He grabbed the piece of chicken he’d just dropped and took another bite. He was a little more careful this time, making sure only his teeth touched the meat. Then he took slow bites, letting the heat escape his mouth every few seconds. He swallowed the first bite and exclaimed, “Ahhh, delicious! Hot food is so good! Tang Tang, you’re the best!”

Lin Feng blew on his chicken cutlet and took another bite. Then he stopped. He didn’t chew the meat but instead turned towards Tang Bingyao. “Hrey…” He placed his hand before his mouth and quickly swallowed the chicken down. “Uch, uch. Tang Tang, do you want to try? It tastes better when you eat together!” He offered his half-eaten chicken cutlet to Tang Bingyao and said, “Here, try it! Take a bit. It’s really good. I’m the expert here! I eat this every night. Su Xue orders it for me!”

Tang Bingyao looked at the chicken cutlet, at the bites Lin Feng had taken from it. Uhh, do I… She didn’t know what to do. This whole situation was different from what she knew and expected. Finally, she shook her head and pushed it away. “No, it’s fine. You eat it. I know how much you like it.”

“More for me it is!” Lin Feng laughed, taking another big bite of the chicken cutlet.

Tang Bingyao leaned on the table, watching Lin Feng eat. He looks happy. Maybe I should tell him now… N-no. I should let him eat first. He looks so happy. She smiled and asked, “Do you like it?”

“Like it? I love it!” Lin Feng replied.

“Mhm. Good,” Tang Bingyao said, a hint of red returning to her face. She took a sip from her milk tea and continued watching him. Maybe I should say it now. If I keep pushing it back… She took a deep breath and forced a brighter smile on her face. “U-umm… Lin Feng? Well, I can keep tr—”

RING! RING! RING!

Lin Feng looked down at his phone to see who was calling and his eyes widened. He dropped the chicken cutlet in his hand and picked up. “Hey! Sorry I’m late!” He then listened to someone talk on the other end before replying, “Okay, got it! I’ll come home right away. See you in a few!” He hung up and turned to Tang Bingyao. “Hey, sorry. That was Su Xue. She’s calling me home for dinner. I have to go right now. But you live right around the corner from this place, right? So that’s fine. I have to go.” He jumped up from his seat and was already on his way towards the exit. Then he stopped, thought, and turned around. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Tang Tang! Thanks again for buying me the milk tea and chicken cutlet! Bye!”

Tang Bingyao watched Lin Feng bolt out of the door, dazed. She had finally mustered up the courage to tell him something she’d been wanting to tell him. She was already halfway through saying it. And then, then his phone went and he left. She had no chance to get in between! Well, that’s what she told herself. She looked at the empty plate on which the chicken cutlet was served. Lin Feng had taken the food with him. I’m such a coward… I couldn’t even tell him. She shook her head, frustrated. She’d never felt like this before for anyone. It was all new to her. Should I text him? She quickly shook her head. That didn’t feel right either. Maybe I can call him? She shook her head again. This was something she wanted to say in person. That was the only way that felt right. It was just… How do I tell him?

✹

Lin Feng pushed the front door open and shouted, “I’m home!”

“Why are you home so late?” Su Xue asked from the kitchen. Then she poked her head around the corner and looked at Lin Feng, and at the milk tea and chicken cutlet in his hands. She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed, and said, “I cook dinner for you every day at the same time! Why would you go and buy food?”

“I didn’t! Tang Tang treated me!” Lin Feng explained, excited as always.

“She did?” Su Xue asked in surprise. Didn’t he say how she liked her money? Su Xue looked at Lin Feng, looking for something but not finding it, and then said, “Sounds like you two have made some real progress in your relationship, huh?”

Lin Feng scratched his hair and asked, “What do you mean?”

Su Xue sighed and shook her head. “Nevermind. Go wash your hands. Dinner is almost ready.”

“Okay!” Lin Feng replied, after which he pushed past Su Xue into the kitchen. The food was still on the fire, its strong aroma causing his stomach to rumble. He washed his hands, while watching Su Xue bring the food to the dining table. A few moments later, barely long enough to get his hands clean, he ran after her and sat down at the dining table. He was hungry.

Su Xue sat down across Lin Feng, who was already gobbling up the food he put in his bowl. She stared at him, shocked, and said, “Eat a little slower, please. The food isn’t going to grow legs and run away… How are you still so hungry anyway? Didn’t you just have chicken cutlet? And milk tea is also kind of filling. Do you ever get full?”

“Only when the food is bad!” Lin Feng replied in a brief moment between bites. Then he chewed away another mouthful and said, “Your food is really good!”

Su Xue smiled as she put her elbows on the table and supported her head with her hands. “Oh? Is that so? Hmm… You didn’t look this happy in the morning. Did something happen?”

“Yrep!” Lin Feng said with a full mouth, nodding.”

“What happened? Did you ace a test?” Su Xue continued her interrogation.

Lin Feng waved his chopsticks in the air, swallowing down a too big bite, then said, “No. It isn’t that. You know the Semifinals for the 16 School Tournament? Well, we’re going to win it! We’re going to crush them!”

Su Xue looked at Lin Feng, surprised, and asked, “Really now? Where’s all that confidence coming from so suddenly?”

Lin Feng chuckled and looked at Su Xue, attempting to look as mysterious as he could. The exhaustion and stress were gone from his face. He was full of confidence for his game against Shanghai International. For the first time in a week, everything was looking up. And that was all thanks to An Xin. With her coaching the team, he didn’t need to worry anymore. BunBun, it’s good to have you back. He was still looking at Su Xue and spotted the slight annoyance in her expression. Then he laughed and said, “You’ll know when the time comes!”