The scrimmage against Team Shanghai was going anything but great for Shanghai University of Finance. They found out that this group of high schoolers did have what it took to compete at the university level! But Luo Yu and his team weren’t going to give up just because the game was a bit difficult to win. They gritted their teeth and gave it everything they had, slowly closing the gap that had been built up over 12 minutes by Team Shanghai. And by the 17th minute, Shanghai University of Finance’s team was back in it. The gold gap was reduced to only 3,000 gold, and one good teamfight could complete the turn around!

This teamfight had to happen around the Botlaners. The current landscape of the game didn’t really allow for another option. There was nothing really happening in the top lane. Zhang Hao’s Rumble played as defensively as he possibly could, and Team Shanghai didn’t seem especially interested in helping him. His only goal was to build his core items, which he’d finished a minute before, and keep the Fiora from snowballing any harder. So there was no way to force a teamfight here for Shanghai University of Finance’s team.

The mid lane was the polar opposite of the top lane. Luo Yu’s Twisted Fate had fallen far behind Yasuo in both kills and minions. And he kept getting pressured harder and harder. The worst part was that Yasuo had destroyed his outer tower a few minutes earlier. So now he couldn’t even stay in lane, except for when Yasuo went back to buy items. But those few seconds weren’t going to help Luo Yu get back into the game. He needed to find ways to initiate a teamfight and pick up multiple kills just to become relevant again.

Luo Yu stared at his monitor and frowned. His Twisted Fate huddled next to the mid inner tower, the only place where he felt somewhat safe. Who is this Yasuo? I don’t remember seeing his name on the Challenger leaderboards. Maple… Maybe he’s new? He is only a high schooler, so I suppose that could be it. I need to look this up. He shook his head. How is knowing who he is going to help? I’ll just know that it’s not some random player but a Challenger who kicked my ass. No, his rank doesn’t matter. Right now, all I need is to find a way to beat him. We can’t lose this game! We’re still the university’s main team! It’d be way too embarrassing if we lost to a high school team.

Luo Yu wasn’t the only one starting to worry. No one on Shanghai University of Finance’s team wanted to lose this particular game. This was for their pride! They didn’t see themselves ever leaving this booth if they lost, because then they’d have to endure the contempt and mockery from their fellow students. Nor would they look at their phones, for the internet was far more cruel than their peers could ever be in person. It was with that knowledge that their faces burned red as they pushed every last bit of their focus towards the game. If they wanted to walk out of this game with their heads held high, they had to not just beat these high schoolers, they had to stomp them!

“We’re going to become a joke if we lose this,” Qiu Le mumbled over the team’s voice chat. He hit the TAB key and looked at the score. His Tristana was down on kills and almost 40 CS behind the Kalista. He slammed his fist down on his desk. “FUCK!” He gritted his teeth and said, “I want that Kalista dead! I’m not going to lose to some high school girl!”

“Yes. She needs to die,” Huang Yang nodded slowly, furious. His last death was still fresh on his mind. Kalista had baited him, and then killed him. I got careless because she was a girl! He smacked his cheeks and focused on the game again. The Seju too, She messed with my Jungle pathing, and counter jungled the crap out of me.! He looked over the edge of his screen through the window of the soundproof booth. There are so many people watching. I won’t let those two beat me in front of so many people! He looked at Qiu Le and said over the team’s voice chat, “We’re going to kill her. Just keep vision on her. She’ll make a mistake. We just have to be ready for it! I want to see her dead!”

✹

Tang Bingyao cleared the minion wave in the bot lane and then glanced at the minimap. The Red Buff was up. The first two were usually for the Jungler, but after that the ad-carry started taking them. So when the game clock said 17:45 minutes, she tracked into the Blue team’s bottom side Jungle and started attacking the Red Brambleback.

Huang Yang had learned from watching professional teams that keeping tabs on when the various important monsters respawned could give the team a big advantage. Following this logic, he’d paid close attention to the Blue and Red buff respawn times for the Blue team. He panned his camera towards Team Shanghai’s Red Buff Camp and had his Jarvan IV run towards it. That should be up right about now. Let’s hope Kalista is being greedy and taking it by herself.

Huang Yang placed a ward in the brush right next to the Red Buff Camp, giving him vision of the monster. And of Tang Bingyao’s Kalista attacking it by herself. The Red Buff was at half health. Huang Yang smiled. He pinged on the ward and said over the team’s voice chat, “Tp, Fiora!” Then he dashed at Kalista with his flag-toss combo!

Tang Bingyao was fighting the Red Brambleback, but never lost focus. She scanned the map and noticed the Botlaners moving up into the river. Something’s wrong. She focused her camera on Kalista and then glanced at the minimap, searching for a sign of Jarvan IV. Then she saw him, jumping at her from the brush next to the Red Buff Camp. She flashed away, dodging the knock up.

“FUCK!” Huang Yang cried out as he slammed on his R key! Cataclysm! His Jarvan IV leaped up into the sky, right above Tang Bingyao’s Kalista, and then slammed down to the ground! He struck the ground with such force that it terraformed into a massive arena, locking the two Champions within!

Luo Yu said over the team’s voice chat, “I’m coming!” Then he activated Destiny, Twisted Fate’s ultimate. The fog of war evaporated. Shanghai University of Finance’s team knew exactly where everyone on Team Shanghai was. There was no hiding from Twisted Fate’s all-seeing eyes. He followed up with the second part of his ultimate, Gate! Playing cards spread out in a circle around him, opening up a portal.

The crowd watching the game in the clubroom, including the university’s second team, erupted in cheers again! Their team had fallen behind early, but that made the game only that more interesting to watch! Especially since their team was making the comeback happen!

“NICE! GET THAT KILL!”
“WOOOOOOOO! We’re winning again!”
“KILL THAT BITCH!”
“SWEETNESS! YEAH!”
“DAYUM! The timing on that TF and Fiora! Crazy perfect!”
“Don’t forget Huang Yang! He created that opportunity!”

Shanghai University of Finance’s team had planned the gank perfectly. Not just because they found Tang Bingyao’s Kalista alone and out of position, but also because they could have their Fiora Teleport in, while the opposing Rumble was stuck in the top lane. Rumble had used his Teleport earlier to get back to lane. This fight was the opportunity for Shanghai University of Finance’s team to close the gold gap completely!

Fiora finished channeling her Teleport. She Lunged forward, closing the distance towards Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. Jarvan IV cancelled his Cataclysm to allow Fiora in. There was no escaping for Kalista, even without four walls locking her in. Fiora targeted Kalista with her ultimate skill—Grand Challenge. All four vitals points on Kalista’s body were revealed to Fiora. She thrust her rapier at Kalista’s heart, piercing the first Vital.

Tang Bingyao’s Kalista was quickly losing her health. The Jarvan IV was hurting and now the Fiora, who packed quite some damage, was also slashing away at her. But she didn’t panic, or lose focus. She stared at her screen, refusing to blink, afraid to miss even the most minute detail. When her health dropped down to half, she used the Summoner Spell Heal. Her health was right back up. I’m still alive. I won’t let him kill me. Mhm! This isn’t over.

Luo Yu’s Twisted Fate stepped through the portal and arrived right next to Kalista, a Gold Card already hovering over his hand. He targeted Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and—

An Xin had arrived at the fight. She charged forward, straight through a jungle wall, and slammed into Twisted Fate–Arctic Assault! Twisted Fate was flung up into the air, cancelling his attack. An Xin then activated Sejuani’s ultimate, Glacial Prison! Sejuani threw her bola at Twisted Fate and froze him solid! An ice storm erupted around the Twisted Fate, slowing and damaging all nearby enemy champions!

An Xin had thrown caution to the wind in a desperate attempt to save Tang Bingyao. And she’d succeeded in the initial charge. But the last two members from Shanghai University of Finance’s team had arrived. Morgana cast a Dark Binding, rooting An Xin’s Sejuani, and Tristana Rocket Jumped into the fight and then activated Rapid Fire. Her cannon’s muzzle ignited, flames blazing along its body. She fired cannonballs at Team Shanghai at a frightening speed!

Tang Bingyao bit her lips. She was caught in a 2vs5. And the only reason it was a 2vs5 and not a 1vs5 was because An Xin charged in at the risk of her life. I can’t let her down. And I won’t let him kill me! Mm-hm! Her mouse clicks went faster and faster, each next one more accurate than the last. She glanced at her minimap. Come on. We need help. Please don’t let them kill us like this! Her health was dropping fast. The Fiora was on her and one attack away from striking the fourth Vital on Kalista. If she succeeded in doing that, a large healing field would appear on the Rift. Team Shanghai would lose if that happened.

Right then, Zeng Rui arrived. He flashed towards Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and then Headbutted the Fiora away before she could slash at Kalista’s fourth Vital. And then a familiar voice sounded out over the team’s voice chat. It was Lin Feng’s. “Tang Tang! Let’s kill them all!”

“Mhm!” Tang Bingyao activated her ultimate skill, Fate’s Call! Kalista reached out towards Alistar, pulling out his spirit from his physical body and storing it in her own body.

Zeng Rui waited a brief moment. Then his eyes flickered. Three Champions from Shanghai University of Finance’s team were standing too closely together. He barreled towards them, his Alistar regaining physical form after erupting from Kalista’s body. He slammed into Twisted Fate, Fiora and Jarvan IV! Then he balled his massive fists and slammed down with every last ounce of power in his body. PULVERISE! The earth cracked beneath his fists and the three enemy champions around him were tossed up into the air again!

Tang Bingyao smiled. This wasn’t a game in the solo queue, she was playing together with a team! Four other players she trusted with her life! And they trusted her. They came to save her. They’re all here! We’re winning this! She glanced at her minimap. There was only one more person she was waiting for. He was almost there. Luo Yu also saw this. His pupils shrunk. Fuck.

“Nice job, ZengZeng!” Lin Feng shouted. “Now it’s my turn!” The Twisted Fate, Fiora and Jarvan IV were still in midair. He targeted them with Yasuo’s ultimate skill. Last Breath! Yasuo blinked towards the three enemy Champions and suspended them in midair. He followed up by slashing at them with his katana. And again. And again! Then he raised his weapon high above his head and with all the power he could muster, he hacked down on the three champions from the university team. The immense force slammed them into the ground!

Zeng Rui had spotted the Jarvan IV walking down the river towards bot lane. He also noticed Tristana and Morgana attempting to freeze their minion wave ever so slightly. They’re setting up for a gank. I wouldn’t have noticed it, if it wasn’t for Jarvan walking by that ward. He looked over at Tang Bingyao and wanted to tell her that they should retreat. There’s no point in taking this fight. We’ve got the lead, let’s steadily build on that. There’s no need to risk it all on a random fight. But… I know how she likes to play. She’s good at these kinds of fights. He asked, “Your call, Tang Tang. Fight or retreat?”

“Fight,” Tang Bingyao said over the team’s voice chat without turning her head. She stared at the fog of war, around the area where Jarvan IV was. I can beat him. And I’ll show that asshole that girls are just as good at League of Legends as guys! I’m a good player! Mhm!

Zeng Rui hesitated for a brief moment but then nodded. “Alright.” We’re a team now. I can’t force her to play my style. We need to find a middle ground on which we both excel. That means me trying her way, just like she’ll try mine. He looked over at her. She looks focused and ready. Time to win this fight together, as a team, with skill.

✹

Xie Qing was playing Morgana, a strong Support mage with skills to lock opponents down and to protect allies. But since the start of this game, she’d been utterly useless. And this was mainly his own fault. He’d learned Dark Binding at Level 1. It was an aggressive choice that he believed would pay off. Their opponents were only high schoolers, after all. But these high schoolers were far better than he’d ever expected. I should’ve learned Black Shield at Level 1. Then I could’ve made this damned Headbutt tactic from the Alistar useless! But by the time he learned Black Shield, the damage was already done.

Xie Qing smiled, wickedly. He’d been searching for an opening or mistake from Alistar or Kalista, but had come up empty. But now he finally found the opportunity he’d been looking for. They’ve kept us down long enough! It’s about time we show them what we’re all about! Huang Yang is coming and when that minion in front of the Alistar dies, I’ll get him! This is finally going to be our show!

Kalista was the only Level 6 champion in the bot lane, and as such the only one with her ultimate skill unlocked. The rest of the champions were all Level 5. But Xie Qing wasn’t worried about this. Kalista’s ultimate provided utility, not damage. It was incredibly powerful in a teamfight, but not so much in this specific scenario. Of course, that was on the condition that Shanghai University of Finance’s team played it right. Plus… Xie Qing glanced at his minimap. Seju just walked towards the top side of the map and the Rumble is being locked down by Fiora. There won’t be any follow up from those high schoolers. This is going to be a 3vs2 for us.

Xie Qing kept careful track of the minion manipulation Qiu Le was exerting. Then, right as another minion was about to die, Xie Qing said over the team’s voice chat, “I’m rooting the Alistar. We’re going in!”

Qiu Le fired at the minion standing right in front of the Alistar. Before the cannonball killed the minion, Xie Qing cast Dark Binding. The dark magic flew over the grass, straight at the same minion. There was almost no gap between the cannonball draining the last of the minion’s health and the Dark Binding flying past it and rooting the Alistar behind it.

“Nice one!” Qiu Le exclaimed, while activating Rocket Jump. His Tristana aimed her cannon at the ground and fired. The recoil launched her into the air and she arced towards the Alistar, landing right within attack range. Then she activated Rapid Fire. Flames erupted from the muzzle of her cannon and blazed over its body, greatly increasing Tristana’s attack speed. She placed an Explosive Charge on Alistar and charged its damage up by firing cannonballs at it. The bomb’s pale yellow colour grew more and more intense, until it exploded after the fourth shot, dealing a frightening amount of damage!

Kalista’s passive skill was called Martial Poise. Whenever she auto attacked or used Pierce, she would lunge a short distance. Tang Bingyao used this method on minions to close the distance to Qiu Le’s Tristana. And then she started auto attacking him, her spirit spears remaining lodged inside Tristana’s body.

“Haha, she fell for it! She fell for it!” Qiu Le exclaimed over the team’s voice chat. Then he added, “Huang Yang, knock her up!”

“On it,” Huang Yang replied. His Jarvan IV came running from the river entrance into the bot lane. Team Shanghai’s Botlaners were near the edge of their outer tower’s range. So he had to get the knock up right. He threw down his standard behind Kalista and then waited for half a second. When Kalista was lunging, she briefly had no control over the direction in which she went. That was his cue. He struck out with his lance, hitting the standard, and then dashed towards it!

The students watching the game in Shanghai University of Finance’s club room erupted into cheers! Their team had been on the backfoot all game. But now for the first time it finally looked like things were about to change!

“Haha! They fell for it!”
“I knew that Kalista was being too aggressive! Good on Qiu Le and Xie Qing for noticing it!”
“A 3vs2! We’re going to get the double kill and then WIIIIIIIIN!”
“That Alistar was so dumb. How could he get caught by that Dark Binding? What a noob!”
“Right? Even I could’ve dodged that! And I’m only Plat! Hahaha!”
“I wonder if they saw the J-Four on the minimap. It looked like they might’ve… But then why engage?”
“Because they’re cocky high schoolers! That’s why! Haha! We’re going to win this! Serves those arrogant kids right!”

✹

Tang Bingyao’s Kalista had used her black spear on Zeng Rui’s Alistar at the start of the game. This created a bond between them at the spirit level. One that Kalista could activate with her ultimate skill. When Tang Bingyao saw Jarvan IV appearing from the Jungle, she quickly hopped back toward her tower. Good. The bait worked. Then she activated her ultimate, pulling Zeng Rui’s Alistar to her side and allowing his spirit to rest inside her body.

Jarvan IV’s Demacian Standard stuck in the ground between Kalista and the outer tower, and Jarvan IV was already flying towards his standard. But Tang Bingyao didn’t worry; she smiled and pressed down on the D key. Kalista disappeared with a mottled flash of light right as the Jarvan IV completed his flag-toss combo. Then she reappeared under her outer tower. She’d dodged the knock up! And the Jarvan IV now stood at the edge of the outer tower’s range!

It was time for Zeng Rui to make his play. He was still inside of Kalista’s body in spirit form. The second part of Fate’s Call, Kalista’s ultimate, was all on him. He aimed at the Jarvan IV and barreled towards him! As he left Kalista’s body, his Alistar regained its physical form. And then he slammed into Jarvan IV, knocking him up! He followed up with Pulverize! Alistar balled his fists and slammed them into the ground with every ounce of strength in his body. It carried such an immense force that Jarvan IV was hurled back up into the air before he even landed. Alistar then ran past Jarvan IV before turning back around and Headbutting Jarvan IV towards the blue outer tower!

The outer tower targeted Jarvan IV and started firing energy shots at him, each consecutive one dealing more damage. Tang Bingyao hurled a fast moving spirit spear at Jarvan IV–Pierce! And then followed up with auto attacks. Jarvan IV tried to run away, but his flag-toss combo was still on cooldown. And to make matters worse, Zeng Rui’s Alistar cast Exhaust on him. A debilitating aura fell over him, decreasing all his stats including his movement speed! More and more spirit spears pierced his body and remained lodged there, until his health fell to 10%. Tang Bingyao activated Rend. Kalista ripped the spears out of Jarvan IV’s body with a flick of her wrist, shearing away the last of his health!

《You have been slain!》

The game announcer’s voice rang in Huang Yang’s head as he stared at his grey screen, dazed. The gank had looked foolproof. A surekill. An easy way to get back into the game! He only had to land his flag-toss combo and his Botlaners would do the rest! She was running away! Why… He didn’t know what to say or think. There was only a jumbled mess in his mind.

The players from the university’s second team fell silent. They stared at the large LCD screen above the soundproof booths, absolutely speechless. Just a moment ago, they were picturing the glorious scene of their team picking up two kills and then maybe a tower or the Dragon. They’d already been saying as much to their friends around them. And now, the university’s main team lost the 3vs2. Jarvan IV died and it remained to be seen if Xie Qing’s Morgana and Qiu Le’s Tristana could save their own skins.

Zeng Rui glanced at Tang Bingyao and smiled. He said over the team’s voice chat, “Good job.”

Tang Bingyao nodded at him. Then she looked back at her screen, at Jarvan IV lying dead on the ground, and smiled. “Mhm!”

Zeng Rui also looked back at his screen and added, “Let’s focus.”

Tang Bingyao and Zeng Rui shifted their sights on Morgana and Tristana. They chased them down the lane, until the two players from the Shanghai University of Finance team reached underneath their outer tower. All the while, Lin Feng’s Yasuo and An Xin’s Sejuani had run down the river and into Red Team’s Jungle. They’d arrived behind the bot lane’s outer tower. Together with Tang Bingyao and Zeng Rui, they towerdove Qiu Le’s Tristana and Xie Qing’s Morgana.

An Xin’s Sejuani was already strong enough to take a couple of energy shots from the tower and survive. And with the four of them together, they were more than strong enough to burst both Champions from the Shanghai University of Finance down. But Tristana still had her Flash and Rocket Jump up. She jumped over the Sejuani and then Flashed away, reaching all the way back to the inner tower in a matter of seconds. Team Shanghai didn’t give chase. They killed Morgana and then shifted their focus to the Dragon, which they killed uncontested.

The spectators in the university’s clubroom couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Their team, one of the best university teams in all of China, was getting their asses handed to them by a high school team! More embarrassingly, the high school team had two girls on its roster! And both girls were playing better than their counterparts on the university’s team! This went against everything the audience knew about the game!

“Those girls… They’re great!”
“Shit man… Is this really happening?”
“Oh my god…”
“I can’t believe my eyes…”
“They’re actually good!”
“Keep it up, girls!”

✹

Shanghai University of Finance’s esports team was one of the best in all of China. But they’d gone into this game vastly underestimating their opponents. This mindset was easy to fall into, and incredibly difficult to get back out of. But they were really good players and they formed a very strong team together. They talked through the problems over the team’s voice chat and recognized that they had to take this game seriously. This game was going to be a lot more difficult now than it should’ve been, seeing that they were already at a large deficit. But the game had still only just begun. There was plenty of time to make up for their mistakes. And they were fully convinced that they had the skill to make up for those mistakes!

Over the next several minutes, Shanghai University of Finance’s esports team finally showed up. It started in the top lane, where Fiora picked up a solo kill on Zhang Hao’s Rumble by beautifully outplaying him. This was followed up by Luo Yu showing to the world why teams from the LPL were scouting him. He found an opening to activate his ultimate skill, Destiny! The fog of war dispersed from the map. He could see everything and Teleport anywhere within a large circle around him. He chose the bot lane.

Playing cards spread out in a circle on the ground, opening a gate. Luo Yu’s Twisted Fate stepped through it and appeared right next to Tang Bingyao’s Kalista, a Gold Card already hovering over his head. He threw it at her and stunned her, then killed her with the help of Liu Ye’s Tristana and Xie Qing’s Morgana.

Luo Yu’s timing was perfectly in-sync with the respawn timer of Dragon. Huang Yang was already waiting there for them. The four players from the Shanghai University of Finance took the second Dragon of the game. The advantage that Team Shanghai had built up was quickly disappearing.

Luo Yu stared at his screen, focused. He’d made mistakes early on in the game because he didn’t expect Yasuo to be all that good. Now he was trying his hardest to make up for those mistakes. And it was working. But there was still a way to go before they could  think about winning this game. He said over the team’s voice chat, “We have to bring that Kalista down a bit more. Look for a chance to kill her again.”

Huang Yang glared at his screen. At the Kalista. He said, venom thick in his voice, “Leave that to me. I’ll get her!”

Much of Summoner’s Rift was covered in a thick, dark fog. Team Shanghai only had vision around their own structures, minions, wards, and champions. But none of them were inside Shanghai University of Finance’s Jungle. They had no clue where Huang Yang’s Jarvan IV was going to appear next. But similarly, Shanghai University of Finance’s team had no vision on An Xin’s Sejuani either. Both teams were in the dark. Both Junglers were setting up the same gank. And the only ones who knew were the people in the university’s clubroom watching the game on the large LCD screen.

The students at the Shanghai University of Finance started to worry. Their team was facing a high school team, which should’ve been an easy win. But the start of the game was anything but easy. Team Shanghai was pulling ahead, especially in the mid lane. And now Luo Yu was looking to do something about that. But little did he know that he was walking right into a trap!

“Back! BACK! RETREAT! GO BACK! DON’T GO IN, LUO YU!”
“Luo Yu knows something is up, right? Tell me, he knows, right?”
“Are we really going to give away first blood? Please tell me they’re baiting the high schoolers!”
“ShitShitShit! This is bad! Seju and Yasuo are way stronger right now! SHIT!”
“LUO YU! WATCH OUT! WATCH OUT! BE CAREFUL!”

✹

Lin Feng had carefully kept the minion wave frozen on his half of the mid lane. His eyes drifted to the minimap every few seconds, scanning for signs of Jarvan IV and to see what was happening in the other lanes. That was also how he noticed that An Xin was pathing towards the mid lane. His eyes narrowed. Let’s set up a gank opportunity for her. He had his Yasuo stab out with his katana, piercing through two low health minions and killing them! A storm started brewing around Yasuo’s katana. If he hit enemies twice in a row with Steel Tempest, a storm would gather around his katana, allowing him to unleash a tornado onto the Rift.

Luo Yu grinned. Good. Killing two minions with your Steel Tempest. You finally made a mistake. About time. He glanced at his minimap and saw that Huang Yang’s Jarvan IV was coming to the mid lane for a gank. Huang Yang always knows just when to gank. This is good! I’ll go up a bit and pretend to last hit that caster minion in the back. That should be believable enough, yeah? He clicked on the caster minion and his Twisted Fate walked forward.

Huang Yang’s Jarvan IV arrived in the brush right above the mid lane. He moved to the edge of the brush closest to Team Shanghai’s side of the map, and then he waited for the Yasuo to move a little more forward. Come on. Go for that minion. Be an idiot. He said over the team’s voice chat, “Typical high schoolers. Don’t even know how to ward. Let’s punish him for that.” He laughed, still waiting. A little more… Just a bit… He slammed down on his E key and then his Q. Jarvan IV threw his standard down on top of Lin Feng’s Yasuo, then dashed towards it with Dragon Strike!

Lin Feng didn’t panic when the flag came down on him. He didn’t think. He moved. Sweeping Blade! His Yasuo dashed through a nearby minion, avoiding the knock up from Jarvan IV, and then he dashed again toward Twisted Fate! There he stepped to the side, dodging Twisted Fate’s Wild Cards before they were even thrown, and stabbed out with Steel Tempest! The katana piercedTwisted Fate as a storm gathered around the blade.

Huang Yang cursed over the team’s voice chat as he chased after Yasuo. But with his gap closer on cooldown, he needed a few seconds to catch up. Luo Yu, on the other hand, wanted to open a gap with Yasuo. But he couldn’t. Twisted Fate didn’t have any mobility skills, except for Flash which he wanted to save for later. So he threw an auto attack at Yasuo as he kited back towards his outer tower.

Lin Feng shouted over Team Shanghai’s voice chat, “BunBun! TF! TF!”

“I know!” An Xin replied. She charged up the river into the mid lane. Twisted Fate was still a good distance away from her. And he was about to step inside the range of his outer tower. So she activated Arctic Assault! Sejuani charged forward, then disappeared with a mottled flash of light. She carried her momentum with her as she reappeared right on top of  Twisted Fate, knocking him up into the air!

“Oh shit! What the—”
“Woooooo—”
“Dang! Ho—”
“Bloody sweet bej—”

Lin Feng landed an auto attack on Twisted Fate, the storm still brewing around his katana. Then he cast Ignite. An unquenchable flame burned on Twisted Fate’s body, damaging him over time and more importantly reducing the effects of heals!

Luo Yu had brought the Summoner Spells Heal and Flash to the game. He had cast Heal the moment he got Ignited, greatly reducing its effect. Shit! Should’ve used it earlier! It felt like an eternity had passed before his Twisted Fate finally landed back on solid ground. FLASH! Twisted Fate blinked towards his outer tower, arriving almost underneath it, and activated Pick a Card. Three cards appeared above his head. From left to right they were blue, red and gold. The blue lit up shortly before going dull. Then the red card lit up.

Lin Feng’s finger was already hovering over his D key. He’d been in similar situations often enough to know how to play this. He flashed after the Twisted Fate and then activated Steel Tempest. Yasuo swept his blade out, unleashing the storm it contained. A tornado blew through the Rift, slamming into Twisted Fate and knocking him up into the air!

The red card dimmed above Twisted Fate’s head and the gold card lit up. Luo Yu slammed down on his W key, his Twisted Fate still Airborne, and selected the Gold Card! Throw the card! Stun him! Twisted Fate landed back on the ground. And with a flick of the wrist, he threw the Gold Card at Yasuo.

Lin Feng’s Yasuo wielded the air itself. He slashed out with his blade, conjuring up a wall of wind that blocked every projectile! Twisted Fate’s Gold Card smashed into it and disintegrated! Yasuo then struck out with Steel Tempest and an auto attack.

《First Blood!》

“Oh my god… What…”
“Did he just? Huh…”
“Damn that was good! These high schoolers, dude! Fucking crazy!”
“DAYUM! Sick play!”
“Wut? What just happened? How did he get the kill?”

Luo Yu stared at his grey screen, speechless. The Yasuo was still at full health when he dove the tower, so the energy shots had no chance of killing him. He walked away at half health. Then Luo Yu noticed Huang Yang was still chasing Yasuo. His eyes went wide and he shouted over the team’s voice chat, “Back off, Huang Yang! The Sejuani is still there! They’ll kill you!”

Huang Yang gnashed his teeth and said, “I know.” He still chased after Yasuo for a few more steps, but then stopped himself. He wasn’t suicidal, or a bad player. He was just very upset. He cursed over the team’s voice chat, “Shit! How did they get so lucky ?We can’t let them get away with this!”

Luo Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly. Should’ve seen that coming. He played so well and then suddenly hit two minions with Steel Tempest. It was such a small ‘mistake’. He took a deep breath. That wasn’t luck, Huang Yang. He knew what he was doing. And exhaled. They planned it and executed it perfectly. I gave away first blood because I didn’t think he was baiting me. I underestimated him. But I won’t make that mistake twice! He focused back on his monitor as vibrant colours filled his screen once more. I have to win this.

✹

First blood happened in just under four minutes. The game quickly broke open. Shanghai University of Finance’s team was desperate to get a kill back. Huang Yang scanned across the map. Bot lane is pushing too far and the Alistar can just Headbutt me away. That’s a waste of time. He looked at the top lane. Rumble and Fiora were fighting each other in the middle of the lane. I just have to knock that stupid kid up. He probably doesn’t know how to ward either. He ran up the river and found that Team Shanghai’s Rumble had indeed not warded the river entrance to the top lane. He flag-tossed onto the Rumble and knocked him up. Then he helped the Fiora pick up the kill. “That’s it!” he shouted over the team’s voice chat. “Show those little snots what we’re all abou—”

《An ally has been slain!》

An Xin’s Sejuani had gone down to the bot lane after helping Lin Feng pick up the kill on Twisted Fate. There she helped Tang Bingyao’s Kalista kill the opposing Morgana, while also forcing Tristana to Heal, Flash and Rocket Jump away.

 “Did you guys not ward? How’d you die from that gank? You knew Sejuani was just mid!! Now they’re one kill ahead again!?” Huang Yang said in frustration.

Xie Qing pursed his lips and shook his head. He took a deep breath and said, “They’re not playing like high schoolers.” He stared at his monitor and waited for colour to return to the screen. They’re outplaying us. That girl, the Kalista, she’s more than 10 minions ahead of Qiu Le. And we can’t touch her. That Alistar is always there protecting her. What are we supposed to do when I can’t even hit a Dark Binding on her? 

“They. Are. Little. KIDS!” Huang Yang shouted into his microphone. “We can’t lose to them! We just can’t!”

Qiu Le stared at his screen in shock, not even registering what Huang Yang was saying. He was just staring at Tang Bingyao’s Kalista. The way she was moving around, constantly repositioning herself. The way she was always just in range to last hit a minion, while also staying out of range for him to land poke damage. The way she knew exactly how much damage she could do without taking a risk, and then backing away. Shit. ShitShitShit! I shouldn’t have been so cocky. It doesn’t matter whether she’s a guy or girl! She’s a really good ad-carry. And she’s outplaying me! I’m getting outplayed. I’m getting fucking outplayed by a girl! She’s fucking good! Damnit!

✹

Luo Yu’s Twisted Fate hit Level 6 seven minutes into the game. He unlocked his ultimate, and grimaced. I need to have space to use my ultimate. It’s useless to activate it when I’m being pushed into my tower. And I can’t walk forward or th—

An Xin’s Sejuani suddenly appeared next to Twisted Fate. She’d flashed over the Jungle wall right underneath Shanghai University of Finance’s outer tower. Then she charged into the Twisted Fate with Arctic Assault, knocking him Airborne.

Lin Feng had watched An Xin approach the mid lane through the Red Team’s Jungle. His mouse was already hovering over Twisted Fate and he was just waiting to activate his ultimate skill. LAAAAST BREATH! Yasuo dashed to Twisted Fate and suspended him in midair, unleashing a series of strikes. Then he hacked down on Twisted Fate, slamming him back to the ground. He followed up by Igniting Twisted Fate, and throwing out a Wind Wall. The wall of air appeared just in time to block an oncoming Gold Card. It came, just as he’d expected. He smiled and had his Yasuo land one more Steel Tempest and auto attack before leaving the outer tower’s attack range.  That should be eno—

《You have slain an enemy!》

Luo Yu stared at his grey screen, stunned. A-again? He blocked my Gold Card twice now! How are his reflexes that fast? Did he know I was going to do it? But even if he did, he shouldn’t have been able to react. There wasn’t enough time! Unless he knew it was coming before the fight even started! Before I even knew where the Sejuani even was… He stared at Yasuo who was back to farming minions in the mid lane. Did I really just underestimate him again after telling myself not to…?

✹

Shanghai University of Finance had completely lost the mid lane. Luo Yu recognized it and told Huang Yang to focus on the other two lanes. There was no point in ganking the Rumble, since Fiora was beating him already. So Huang Yang turned his attention to the bot lane. He did his best to evade the wards as he made his way down through the river.

Zeng Rui was a really skilled and talented Support. His friends sometimes compared him to Autumn from the North American team Season, and he agreed with their reasoning. Just like Autumn, he approached the game from a methodical point of view. There was nothing he liked more than to see a carefully planned plan being perfectly executed. Part of this was placing his wards in the right spots at the right times. His careful attention to detail paid off right now as he spotted Huang Yang’s Jarvan IV passing by the outer edge of a ward he’d placed high up in the bottom side river. He nodded to Tang Bingyao and said over the team’s voice chat, “Careful, J4 is coming.”

“Mhm, I see,” Tang Bingyao replied. But she didn’t back away. She stared at her minimap, at the place where they’d just caught vision of Jarvan IV. He’s that annoying jerk from before! The one who made fun of us for being girls and high schoolers. She narrowed her eyes and licked her lips. We’re ahead right now. Let’s teach him a lesson. Mhm!

The esports clubroom at the Shanghai University of Finance was jam-packed with students. News about the main roster scrimming against another team competing at the Winter Collegiate Cup had circulated around campus, drawing a lot of attention. But it was the argument between Luo Yu and Zeng Rui that created the bigger influx of students. Most didn’t really know what happened, they only arrived when the sparks were already flying. But the university’s second roster quickly filled in those blanks. They stood at the front of the clubroom and were loudly talking with each other.

“These kids really don’t know what’s good for them! Hahaha!”
“Did you hear that one guy talk to Luo Yu? Like they’re equals! How did a high schooler get so cocky?”
“Lol. I heard they won some small high school tournament. That’s probably why!”
“Hahaha! I remember when I was in high school. Our esports team sucked back then!”
“I don’t get what the Collegiate Cup organizers were thinking when they invited high schoolers… It’s a waste of everyone’s time. They’re just going to get knocked out in the first round of the qualifiers…”
“Eh, who cares? It’s a nice warm-up match for whoever gets to play against them.”
“Real talk, though. Those two girls are hot as hell! Should I ask the one with the long black hair out?”
“Dude… They’re high schoolers. Don’t be a perv. And who cares what they look like? League isn’t a beauty contest. It’s a game of skill and teamwork!”
“Tsk. Such a shame we didn’t get to play them.”
“How long do you reckon we’d need to beat them? Five minutes? 10?”
“Five. Tops.”

Han Ying sat in the back of the room. She glanced in the direction of the second team and briefly listened to what they had to say. Guys bragging. What’s new? She turned to look back at her friends sitting around her. She’d called them over after finding out that Team Shanghai had two girls on its roster. They were busy gossiping.

“Are those on the right really high schoolers?”
“That’s what the guys from the second roster are saying. Didn’t you just hear them?”
“Hehe! Can’t you tell? They even look like little kids! But those girls are kinda pretty.”
“For high schoolers. I’m surprised they’re actually playing though.”
“Me too! I wonder if they’re any good.”
“Check the guy in the middle out, the one with the messy hair. He’s hot! What do you girls think?”
“That you like them young, haha!”
“I always knew you were a bit of a cougar! But that’s why I love you so much. You like who you like!”
“You should go and get his number after the game. You’re sexy. He’ll fall for you in an instant!”

Han Ying shook her head and giggled. Then she looked up at the large LCD screen that was affixed to the wall above the two rows of soundproof booths. Those two girls should be good, right? The esports association wouldn’t choose them if they suck, I think? I hope they’re going to do well. The screen showed the final champions being locked in, after which the game went into the loading screen. The lineup looks promising at least. Come on, girls! Win this one! It’s about time a few girls entered the competitive scene!

Team Shanghai (Blue) versus Shanghai University of Finance (Red)

Top lane: Rumble versus Fiora
Jungle: Sejuani versus Jarvan IV
Mid lane: Yasuo versus Twisted Fate
AD-carry: Kalista versus Tristana
Support: Alistar versus Morgana

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

The start of the game was rather uneventful. Zhang Hao’s Rumble went to the top lane where he met Red Team’s Fiora. They kept a distance from each other and waited for the first minion wave to arrive. It was a similar situation in the mid lane, while both bot lanes were empty; they were helping their Junglers clear the first camps of the game.

An Xin played Sejuani who was a brutal, unforgiving iceborn warmother. She rode across the Rift on her drüvask boar Bristle and wielded her True Ice flail. But she wasn’t an offensive-minded Champion. Sejuani was a tank, someone with a lot of health and defense and very little in terms of damage. So An Xin didn’t follow her usual tactic of invading at Level 2. She instead focused on clearing her own Jungle.

The crowd watching the game grew confused. They understood that Team Shanghai wasn’t playing overly aggressive in the early stages of the game. But they couldn’t comprehend why their own team wasn’t being more aggressive. And that confusion turned into dismay as they watched the game develop over the next few minutes. It wasn’t anything like the one-sided stomp that they were expecting.

Shanghai University of Finance’s team wasn’t pulling ahead in the top lane. Their Fiora was staying even with Zhang Hao’s Rumble. They weren’t even really trying to damage each other, instead opting for farming minions. And this was already a far better result compared to what was happening in the mid lane. Luo Yu couldn’t seem to find any opening to attack Lin Feng’s Yasuo and was even forced to stand back. But most worrying was the bot lane. Qiu Le and Xie Qing were getting straight up bullied by Tang Bingyao’s Kalista and Zeng Rui’s Alistar.

Qiu Le’s Tristana kept losing the trades against Tang Bingyao’s Kalista, and his health bar was showing it. He grunted and complained, “Shit! Why is that ad-carry so aggressive? I can’t do anything! And she’s a girl! A GIRL! What the…”

Xie Qing had his Morgana walk back and forth, searching for an opening to cast Dark Binding. But he couldn’t find one. Tang Bingyao’s Kalista always hid behind a minion. I’m basically useless here. All I can do is throw a few auto attacks that do virtually no damage. But that Alistar is doing a ton of work. He lets Kalista deal some damage and then Headbutts Qiu Le’s Tristana away. Fuck, this is frustrating! It’s like a 1vs2 for Qiu Le and there’s nothing I can do about it. I could just as well not be here. Damnit! How is that Kalista so aggressive without making a mistake? It’s so controlled…

Qiu Le’s Tristana took another chunk of damage. Xie Qing glared at his teammate and said over the team’s voice chat, “Stop trying to trade! You’re going to give them a kill!” He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and then continued, “Can’t you see? They’re toying with you. And I can’t help you. We need levels. Just focus on farming minions and try to take as little damage as possible. I’ll keep looking to hit a Dark Binding, and I’ll tell you when to engage again!”

✹

Lin Feng was having a good time in the mid lane. He was actually really happy with how Team Shanghai had come together. An Xin and Zeng Rui were very serious about tactics, strategy, and shotcalling, which gave him the opportunity to wholeheartedly focus on improving himself in the mid lane. This is great! Finally an opponent who’s actually good! I can see why an LPL team is interested in him. He really is quite good. But I’m really good too! He grinned as he had his Yasuo dash through a minion to dodge a volley of wild cards from the Twisted Fate. There was a strong sensation flowing through his veins. A kind of tension that was exhilarating. This is how it’s supposed to feel! This is great! I’m finally starting to get there again!

Lin Feng took a deep, long breath in. He let the air fill his lungs as he looked at his monitor with a wide grin on his face. Then he slowly breathed out, the grin disappearing. He flexed his mouse hand and carefully placed his other hand over his keyboard. His eyes locked onto Luo Yu’s Twisted Fate. One step at a time. Beat the opponent in front of you. No distractions. Just you and me. I’m going to kill you.

Several months ago, Lin Feng started to get back into League of Legends. It was the first time in four years that he took the game seriously. But he was far from being a top player when he returned. And it didn’t help that his initial games were against players so far under his basic skill level that he really wasn’t learning anything from them. He was just having fun playing with friends or on stream. But little by little, he started challenging himself. He climbed up the ranked ladder and he joined High School 13’s club team. Still, he rarely ever played against truly good opponents.

Luo Yu was a truly strong player. Lin Feng was forced to focus on just the mid lane, and for the first time in a long time that came easy to him. Because he trusted his teammates. They were capable of winning their own lanes, and they could take the tasks upon them that he wasn’t all that good at. And he trusted them to do that. I’ve only got the obstacle in front of me. Something that was gone for four years suddenly returned to him. He didn’t even realize it himself. It was the most miniscule aspect of his game, yet also one of the most important. It was the pressure that only the real Maple could put on his opponents.

✹

Luo Yu tightly gripped his mouse, sweat popping up on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and controlled his Twisted Fate, searching for an opening. Many players believed that Twisted Fate was at a disadvantage in lane versus Yasuo. But this was only true at the lower ranks. Luo Yu knew very well that a skilled Twisted Fate had every opportunity to outplay a Yasuo. But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t find that opportunity. Lin Feng’s Yasuo didn’t make a single mistake. Every trade he engaged was perfect, and his positioning was flawless. Luo Yu bit on his lips. Zeng Rui said he was good. But what is this? How is this possible? I can’t do anything! Everything misses! I’m not even getting through his shield! This is insane! He has to make a mistake. I just have to find it. But he hasn’t made one yet! How is he doing this?

Luo Yu knew early on in Champion Select that he had to play against Yasuo. And he’d prepared for just that. The plan was simple. Yasuo was a melee-ranged champion, while Twisted Fate had ranged auto attacks. So all he had to do was let the Yasuo push the first wave and then freeze it right outside his own outer tower. That would force Yasuo to stay back and miss out on last hitting minions, which in turn would see him getting ahead. From there it was going to be an easy game.

But Lin Feng’s Yasuo didn’t push the minion wave. He did something far more impressive. Before the first minion wave arrived in the mid lane, he blocked his minions’ path ever so slightly. This resulted in them arriving in lane a second later. The wave was pushing towards Blue Team’s outer tower because of this. And from there Lin Feng perfectly controlled the wave to never pass the halfway line of the lane.

If Luo Yu wanted to last hit minions, he had to move forward. He had to be the aggressive one. He had to leave himself open to potential ganks. All the while, Lin Feng’s Yasuo could farm minions and engage only when he chose to.

Luo Yu stared at his screen, focused. I need to know where the Sejuani is. If she ganks, I’m dead. And I need to somehow break this freeze. I can’t keep pushing like this. I’m playing right into his game. How is he even doing this? It doesn’t make any sense! He should be the one pushing. He’s playing a Yasuo! Yasuo’s always push and go for their 0/10 power spike! Why is this one playing so defensively! And why… He took a deep breath. Why is his defensive play putting more pressure on me than any aggressive style I’ve ever played against?

“Alright, we’ll have our second team play them,” Luo Yu said to his teammates. They were sitting in the room next to the university’s esports clubroom, discussing what to do about the scrim against Team Shanghai. Qiu Li, Xie Qing and Huang Yang were already feeling apprehensive about playing against a high school team. But after learning that the team had two girls on its roster, they outright refused to play them.

Huang Yang said, “Fine.” Then he looked at his watch and snorted. “We’ve made them wait half an hour. If we’re lucky, they’ve already left. Haha! Oh, I’ll send the guys from the second team a text.”

Luo Yu stood up and walked past his teammates out into the hallway. “Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for them to follow as he strode to the next door over and placed his hand on the door handle. Only then did he glance over his shoulder to make sure his teammates were there. They were. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. And as he did his entire demeanor changed. He straightened his back, becoming the tallest person in the room, and an air of confidence appeared around him. This was his arena. This was where he belonged.

Just as fast as the confidence appeared on Luo Yu, it lapsed. Han Ying had told them that there were two girls on Team Shanghai’s roster, but it was only now that he really believed her. He had to take a second take and then searched for Han Ying to get confirmation. She nodded at his questioning gaze. So she was right. They do have two girls on their team. And, they’re pretty! He felt his heart skip a beat. They’re high schoolers. Control yourself! He scrunched his eyes and forced his surprise down. Then he scrutinized the two girls. Why do they have two girls on the team? Isn’t this supposed to be the team representing the Shanghai Esports Association? Was this really the best roster they could form? It’s good we’re having the second roster play them. He forced himself to stop this line of thought. Don’t think like this. Just because they’re girls, doesn’t mean they’re bad. Maybe they’re really good. It’s just… You rarely ever see a high elo female player. Let alone two of them. And they’re both high schoolers! It just… It doesn’t make any sense. They can’t be that good. Can they?

Luo Yu shook his head ever so lightly and straightened his back again. This is my place. He nodded at Zeng Rui with an apologetic smile and extended his hand. “We’re a little late. My apologies. Something came up at the last minute that kept us busy.”

Zeng Rui accepted Luo Yu’s handshake and calmly replied, “It’s fine. But next time, give us a head’s up. Messages on Wechat are free. I don’t like wasting my time.”

Luo Yu nodded, smiling wryly. I know. I should’ve sent you a message. But I didn’t expect that discussion to take so long… He’d played with Zeng Rui on the Rift before and they’d met in person on occasion too. They were acquainted at the least, maybe even friends, and he was being anything but a friend. He wanted to say something about it, but his teammates beat him to the punch.

Qiu Le narrowed his eyes. He looked over at Huang Yang and said loudly enough so that everyone could hear him, “Can you believe these high schoolers, Huang Yang? I swear. Luo Yu told them we were busy. He even apologized! What more do they want? We should just tell them to piss off!”

Huang Yang nodded at Qiu Le. Then he turned to look at Zeng Rui and said, “If you don’t like waiting, you can walk right outta here. We’re not forcing you to stay. And also quit the tournament while you’re at it. I can’t believe the esports association invited high school teams…”

Luo Yu coughed and glanced over his shoulder, signalling his teammates to tone it down. Then he looked back at Zeng Rui and said, “It was just an unfortunate combination of events. We screwed up, okay? And for that, I do apologize. Please don’t take it personally.”

Zeng Rui nodded and said, “Ok. It happens.” He wasn’t happy about it, but he also understood that there was nothing he’d gain from pushing this matter any further. So he changed the conversation to the main topic. “Since we’re both here, let’s scrim.”

“About that,” Luo Yu said. He hesitated briefly, glancing past Zeng Rui at the two girls. “Well, there is a slight change of plans. We were talking about the scrim and felt it might be better if you guys play against our second roster first.” He hesitated for a brief moment, then added, “We… Since you guys only just formed your team, it seemed unfair to pit you against us right away. Our second roster is pretty good too and probably more at your level.”

Zeng Rui puffed out his chest and stared at Luo Yu. He’d had enough of the way they were being treated. He said, “That’s not what we agreed to. I very specifically asked to play against your main roster. And you agreed to that.”

Luo Yu smiled wryly and explained, “Er… I know. I agreed to that. But the guys and I talked about it and we realized you guys were a new team. You don’t have much experience playing with each other yet. We think you’ll learn more from playing a game against our second roster. I think it’s unfair to make you play u—”

Qiu Le interrupted Luo Yu with a loud snort. He glared at Zeng Rui and said, “What? Got a problem with it? Don’t get ahead of yourselves because you won some silly high school tournament. Oh, wait, you didn’t. You lost. Ha! Show some respect. Just be happy we’re even here. Now stop wasting our time and play against our second team.

Zhang Hao had been holding himself back for more than 30 minutes now. But now he’d finally had enough. He shouted, “Don’t screw with us!” He then took a short breath before continuing, “We don’t want your faked pity. We came here to play your main team and you agreed! Stop making these weak excuses! This is all bullshit and you know it! If you don’t want to play against us, just say so! We don’t have to waste our time here!”

Huang Yang shrugged and said, “So what if it’s bullshit? What are you going to do about it?” He paused and nodded at An Xin and Tang Bingyao standing behind Zeng Rui. “We initially planned to play against you ourselves, since Luo Yu had already agreed to. But then we heard you guys don’t even have a serious team. I’m not going to waste my time on playing around with a bunch of kids.” He snorted and added, “You know you guys are crap. Just look at your lineup. Our second team will kick your ass, and you might learn something from that. So are you going to play, or what?”

It was clear to everyone that Huang Yang wasn’t impressed with Team Shanghai having two girls on their roster. The way he looked at them and then snorted in derision was telling enough. This was a common theme in League of Legends. There were many girls who played the game, but very few of them reached a competitive level. The LPL didn’t have a single team with a female player on it. And it hadn’t been any different in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, with the exception of High School 13. It was with this knowledge that it became very hard for Huang Yang to even consider the possibility of a woman being good at League of Legends. I won’t entertain some fucking high school kids. We should be practicing against a good team and get ready for the Collegiate Cup!

Tang Bingyao pursed her lips and frowned. This is just like the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. They always talk and make fun about me being on the team, just because I’m a girl. It’s always, “Oh, she’s a girl. She can’t be good. This will be easy.” She glared at Huang Yang. They just called him Huang Yang. Asshole. All people like him are assholes. Mhm! I’m going to show him just how wrong he is!

An Xin took a completely different approach from Tang Bingyao. She smiled, warm and friendly, and pretended as if it didn’t bother her. But her hands tensed up and she grit her teeth. Every single time. “Oh, she’s a girl! They must only have her around because she’s a pretty face!” I’m tired of it. Why can’t a girl be good at League? It’s this stupid mentality that makes girls not want to play. Or when they do play, pretend they’re a guy. We always get singled out. It’s never, “Oh that dude looks like a buffoon, he must be bad at the game.” I’ll make this stupid buffoon eat his words!

“Thanks for your ‘consideration’,” Zeng Rui said. He looked at Huang Yang and Qiu Le before turning back to Luo Yu. “But we didn’t ask for your ‘consideration’. We came to scrim against your main team. And that’s the only team we’ll be playing against.”

Luo Yu was about to look over his shoulders at his teammates, but stopped himself at the last second. I’ve been a terrible friend and host for long enough. It’s time to start fixing that. He took a long, calming breath and said, “You’re right, Zeng Rui. You asked for a scrimmage against our main team and I agreed. So that’s what we’ll be doing. We’ve wasted enough time talking. Let’s play a best of three.”

✹

To recreate the environment in which the Winter Collegiate Cup was being held, Luo Yu decided to use the soundproof booths for the scrim against Team Shanghai. He showed Zeng Rui and his teammates to their booth and explained how it worked before joining his teammates in their booth. They all turned to him and he could see in their eyes that they were about to complain. He sighed and said, “Come on, guys. It’s just a best of three. And after we stomp them in the first game, we’ll tell them to play against the second roster in the second game.”

Qiu Le glanced over at Team Shanghai and chuckled. “I can’t believe how rude high schoolers are these days. I wouldn’t have dared to talk like that. They really deserve a good beating.”

Huang Yang laughed and added, “This is going to be so easy. They’ve got girls on their team! But whatever, we gave them a way out, they should’ve taken it. Now I’m itching to see their faces after the game.”

Luo Yu sat down behind the middle computer, shaking his head. Zeng Rui should’ve told me there are two girls on his team. I know he’s good. We’ve played together plenty of times. But there just aren’t many strong female players. He can’t have found two of them. It just doesn’t make sense. And the other two didn’t look all that impressive either, though I suppose looks say nothing about skill. Just look at God Roundy… Right, I need to focus. It’d be really embarrassing if we lost here because we got careless. He looked at his teammates who were still making fun of Team Shanghai’s line up. We have to focus, if only to keep Zeng Rui down. “Guys, focus up. We’re going to play against them like we would in a normal scrim.”

Huang Yang snorted a laugh and said, “You must be joking. They’ve got two girls on their team! If we need to play seriously to beat them, we might as well drop out of the Collegiate Cup…”

Xie Qing grinned and asked, “Zeng Rui is the Support, right? So what are the girls going to be? Ad-carry and mid? That’d be hilarious! Imagine, two girls being the carries!”

✹

There was no laughter or joking around going on in Team Shanghai’s soundproof booth. Zhang Hao and Tang Bingyao were both glaring through the glass windows at Shanghai University of Finance’s team, while Zeng Rui and An Xin frowned, staring at their monitors.

“Assholes,” Zhang Hao said. He looked at his teammates and continued, “Talking shit like we weren’t even there. Who do they think they are?”

Tang Bingyao nodded and said, “Mhm. I don’t like them.”

Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, confused. He said, “I don’t get what the problem is. We could’ve played against their second team too.” He shrugged and continued, “We would’ve beaten them and then the main team too. Same result but double the games!”

Zeng Rui turned to look at Lin Feng, stunned. Did he just say something sensible? He shook his head. No, that can’t be. But it does make sense. He opened his mouth to say something. The words came slowly and were incredibly hard for him to say. But he did. “You’re not wrong, Lin Feng.” He felt a cold shiver rush up his spine. What did I just say!? He shook his head and continued, “Let’s crush them and see if they want us to play their second roster next.”

An Xin smiled warmly at Lin Feng for perhaps the first time. Then she looked at the rest of the team and said, “So we all agree, let’s play our absolute best.” She then turned to Tang Bingyao and added, “And you and I are going to make them pay for looking down on us. Screw them and every other guy who thinks girls can’t play video games!”

“Oh, right, guys, before you go home,” Luo Yu said to his teammates from the Shanghai University of Finance’s esports team. They were leaving the esports clubroom after a few hours of practice. He waited for them to turn back to him and then continued, “We’re scrimming on Saturday against Team Shanghai. They’re the high school team from the Shanghai Esports Association that’s playing in the Winter Collegiate Cup.”

“Sorry, what?” Xie Qing, the team’s Support, blurted out.

Qiu Le, who was the ad-carry of the team, looked at Luo Yu in confusion and said, “Yeah, what the hell, man? Since when are high schoolers playing in the Collegiate Cup?”

“It’s a new format,” Luo Yu explained. “The three big esports associations are each drafting a team of high schoolers for the Collegiate Cup.”

“High schoolers?” Huang Yang, the team’s Jungler, blurted out. “Wait, hold on, stop, wait, what?” He looked at Luo Yu and said, “You’re joking with us, right? Joking. You have to be! Tell me if you’re not, so that I can go call an ambulance because you’re clearly sick in the head!” He waited to see if Luo Yu was going to laugh, but his friend didn’t laugh. What the fuck is going on? Why in the world would they invite high school teams? Why would Luo Yu accept scrimming against them? What the… He took a deep breath and said, “You’re serious? Is the Esports Association actually making high school teams join the Collegiate Cup? WELP, there goes the prestige of the tournament. They’re letting a bunch of kids play in it…”

Xie Qing finally came to his senses after the initial shock. He nodded at Huang Yang and said, “Do those high schoolers have relatives in the esports association, or something? Maybe they’ve got an uncle with a lot of money, or something? That’s why this is the new format, right? Some cocky kids are using their money and connections to force themselves into the Collegiate Cup. I can’t believe this. What a fucking joke!”

Qiu Le looked from Luo Yu to Huang Yang and then back to Luo Yu. He finally said, “I think Huang Yang here is right. Do we need to call you an ambulance? What is wrong with you? Why would you accept scrimming against a high school team. Fuck me! What a waste of time!”

“Guys, please, let me explain,” Luo Yu said. He waited for his teammates to stop talking and then said, “First off, I didn’t ask to scrim them. They came looking for us. And yes, I agreed to—”

“I knew it. I’m calling the ambulance,” Huang Yang said as he grabbed his phone.

“Wait, wait, please. Let me explain,” Luo Yu shouted. “I’m not sick! Give me a damn minute to explain!”

Huang Yang kept his phone in his hand and the touchscreen was alive. But he didn’t press the buttons. He looked up at Luo Yu and said, “Well, talk!”

Luo Yu shook his head and smiled. “The one who contacted me was Zeng Rui. He’s the team captain of Shanghai High School, and he’ll be playing on Team Shanghai in the Collegiate Cup. He’s a really good player. I’ve played a bunch with him in high Challenger. He is a good Support, guys. He was even a top 10 Challenger in the Ionia server at one point! So if he believes his team can play against us, then I have to believe that he actually has a strong team.”

Xie Qing frowned and stared very intently up at the ceiling, mumbling, “Shanghai High School… Shanghai High School…” Then he suddenly looked back at his friends and said, “That’s where I remember them from! They’re supposed to be a pretty strong team! I remember because some of my friends said that the Support on their team was scouted by an LSPL team! So… that Support is Zeng Rui then?”

Qiu Le raised an eyebrow and said, “So what if he got scouted by an LSPL team? Luo Yu here has received an offer from an LPL team!”

Luo Yu quickly added, “As a substitute. But these guys aren’t bad, guys. I’ve looked into them. Zeng Rui and their Toplaner are from Shanghai High School. They’re the guys from that team Xie Qing mentioned. And then they’ve got three players from High School 13. It’s some random high school but they apparently have some pretty talented players. I heard that they defeated Shanghai High School in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament this  year.” He paused for a breath and then continued, “Guys, we can’t underestimate them just because they’re high schoolers. These are five good players. That’s why I agreed to scrim against them.”

Qiu Le and Xie Qing shrugged their shoulders in perfect sync, like a Support and his ad-carry were supposed to be. Then Qiu Le said, “Whatever, man. Since you already agreed, let’s humour them with a game or two.”

Huang Yang snorted and said, “Great! We’re going to play against a bunch of brats. I’m betting you they’re really proud of themselves for winning that high school tournament. So let’s kick them down and show them how big the difference is between a real university team and their shitty ass team.”

✹

It was Saturday afternoon. Team Shanghai had met up at the train station near the Shanghai University of Finance and were now walking the last bit to the campus. Zeng Rui took this opportunity to introduce their opponents. “This is a really strong team. They came in 6th last year. Their starplayer is Luo Yu, their Midlaner. He’s a top Challenger. When I looked last night, he sat at a little over 600 points! From what I heard, an LPL team approached him about a position as substitute. But he turned them down. That should give you guys an idea of just how good he is.”

Zhang Hao’s eyes went wide and he mumbled, “Invited to play in the LPL? That’s so cool!”

Tang Bingyao’s eyes also went wide, wide with dollar signs. She was well aware of just how big the professional contracts were these days. Even substitutes made far more than she made elo boosting accounts. She nodded and said, “Mhm. We have to beat them.”

“Wow!” Lin Feng exclaimed. “It’s so beautiful! I already love it here!” He hadn’t been listening to Zeng Rui, since his full attention was on the large buildings in front of him. They were the large square buildings from the Shanghai University of Finance. More impressively, there were beautiful beds of flowers all around them. There were trees shading paths lined with benches. And all of this came together at the large fountain, comprising several blocks of cement, that stood in the very center of the grounds.

Team Shanghai stopped in front of the large fountain. There were university students everywhere. Some were sitting on the benches, others were passing by, and a couple of pretty girls were standing next to the fountain. They were talking, giggling, and pointing at people walking by. And Lin Feng was staring at them. An Xin noticed it and raised her eyebrow. “Are you talking about the school, or those girls over there? I can go up to them and get their numbers for you, if you want. You just have to say the word. I’ll go right now. What do you think? Shall I go and ask them?” She took one dramatic step forward.

“Uh…” Lin Feng scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, then said, “No, no need! I’m… I’m not interested in older women!”

Zeng Rui ignored the exchange between Lin Feng and An Xin. He’d quickly learned to stay as far away from them as possible whenever they got into another argument. So he took a few steps away from them and took out his phone. Then he looked up and searched around the square with his eyes. “Guys, someone from the esports club is coming to pick us up. She says she should be here in a minute. So let’s wait for her here.”

They didn’t have to wait long. A female student walked up to them seconds later and said, “Hi, you must be Team Shanghai, right? I’m Han Ying. Let’s, uh…” She looked at the five members from Team Shanghai and then looked at Zeng Rui. “I thought you said the team was here? Where are your other members?”

“Ye… Eh… Uhhh…” Zhang Hao mumbled in response. He couldn’t take his eyes away from Han Ying. She’s so pretty! Those black leather boots are so hot! When she’d walked up to them, it was like everything else in the world disappeared. There was only Han Ying. Her legs… Her eyes! He smiled like a fool and nodded at her. Please talk again. Say something! Please! He glanced at her eyes every few seconds, but was afraid she’d look back at him. So he examined the rest of her face. That shawl hides most of her hair. But it looks so pretty on her. And I’m sure her hair is just as pretty. Long and black—

“What other members?” Lin Feng asked, confused, interrupting Zhang Hao’s thoughts.

Zeng Rui followed Han Ying’s gaze to Tang Bingyao and An Xin and realized the misunderstanding. He quickly explained, “This is our team. The two girls here are members of the team.”

“Oh, ok,” Han Ying said with a smile. She looked at Tang Bingyao and An Xin again. Don’t see that everyday. And they’re supposed to be some good team? Didn’t think they’d have girls. Oh well, not my business. She shrugged and then pointed over her shoulder. “Let’s go. The club is over there.”

✹

Han Ying led Team Shanghai into Shanghai University of Finance’s esports clubroom. And when Lin Feng followed her in, his mouth fell open, speechless. This looked like a proper gaming room, completely different from the computer science lab they had to use at High School 13. “Wow!” Lin Feng exclaimed. “They have a stage! And soundproof booths! And look at that LCD screen up there! This is so cool!”

“Mhm.” Tang Bingyao nodded. “I wonder how much this all cost.”

Hang Ying smiled and said, “Right? It’s beautiful here! We’re really lucky to have such good facilities. I don’t know how much it costs. But quite a lot I think. Well worth the money though, if you ask me. Anyway, I’ll go let the guys know that you’re here. Just wait and I’ll be right back.” Then she winked at Zhang Hao before leaving the room.

Four of the five players from Team Shanghai waited exactly where they stood. They barely breathed. Lin Feng was the only exception. He ran around the room, looking at everything and touching it too. Then he walked into the soundproof booth and shouted something, before coming back out and asking, “Did you guys hear me? What did I say?”

“An Xin glared at Lin Feng and said, “Just sit down and wait.” Then she turned to the others and said, “This is taking them long. What’s it been? Five minutes?”

Zeng Rui looked at his watch and nodded. “Five minutes, yeah.”

Five minutes turned to 15 and the players from Team Shanghai got increasingly frustrated. Everyone complained and had something to say. Even Lin Feng. He looked at his phone and said, “It’s been 30 minutes! We could’ve played our first game by now! What are we doing waiting here? Let’s just play a game!”

Zeng Rui looked at Lin Feng and then back at his phone. He complained, “We agreed to a time and place. Their clubroom. At their university. We had to travel all the way here. And they’re not here. This is rude. Just plain rude.”

Brand new professional teams needed months and months of practice before they could compete at the highest level. This was because the players needed to get acclimated to each other. It wasn’t any different for Team Shanghai, except that they only had one month for this process. An Xin and Zeng Rui understood the time crunch. So after the first practice, they’d talked with each other and came up with a training schedule that would get the team to a level where they could compete for the Winter Collegiate Cup.

On the second day of practice, An Xin and Zeng Rui presented their training plan. It was simple and straightforward. Play a lot of League of Legends. Because more than anything, the team needed to play as many games together as they could to get attuned to each other. But they also had to learn from the mistakes they made. So An Xin would record the games and review them with the rest of the team, pointing out the mistakes and how they could’ve been avoided. And finally at the end of practice, An Xin and Zeng Rui would sit down together to talk tactics and strategy.

All five members from Team Shanghai liked this training plan. They got behind their computers and started practicing, quickly winning one game after the other. This was an unfortunate side effect of being a new team. They had to start fresh on the ranked ladder. From the initial placement matches to Platinum and beyond.

It took Team Shanghai two more days of winning every single game to find some serious opponents. But this was far longer than Lin Feng could stay focused. He’d enjoyed the first couple of games, but smashing Midlaners game after game became pretty stale. And in the last game of that day, he was completely lost in boredom. I should tell Fatty that Chu Fang invited me to play at the Winter Collegiate Cup! He’d love to watch me play! Maybe I can call him on the way home and tell him! Hmm, but what do I call our team? He needs to know which team to follow. He looked at the other, completely forgetting they were in the middle of a game, and said, “Hey! We haven’t named our team yet! What should we call it? Shanghai Masters? Or Challengers! Shanghai Challengers! Or, or, The High Schoolers!”

“We’re in a game,” Zeng Rui said. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed, then added, “Besides, Chu Fang registered us as Team Shanghai. That’s our team name. Now will you please focus on the game?” Thundering dumbass.

An Xin chimed in, “Just focus on the training. Leave the rest to people with a brain!”

✹

At the end of the first week of practice, Team Shanghai had made remarkable progress. Their teamwork improved rapidly, which helped them further improve almost every other aspect of their game as well. But the biggest changes were happening in the bot lane. More specifically, Tang Bingyao was progressively getting better at the game. There was still so much potential within her that she had yet to tap into.

Tang Bingyao had discovered early on that she was quite talented at League of Legends. But she never saw herself becoming a professional player. Then one day, while she was just playing games in solo queue, she was contacted by a representative from an elo boosting website, asking her if she wanted to work for them. They offered her quite a significant sum of money and she jumped on it. From then, she’d boosted more accounts than she could count, most of them from Silver to Platinum. She became really good at beating low elo players. But she rarely ever played against high elo players, which stagnated her progress.

Everything changed for Tang Bingyao when she met Lin Feng. He was really good at the game. Far better than any other player she’d ever met. So good that she couldn’t even tell exactly how good. And he wanted to teach her. The first thought she had was about money. Lots and lots of money, which she would make from boosting higher elo accounts. And then he taught her that there was more to League of Legends than completing orders and making a little money. He dragged her along, and she let him. Little by little, she found herself wanting to follow him. She joined the High School 13 esports team because he wanted her to play at the tournament. That was when everything started to change for her. She started playing the game far more seriously, and started improving because she wanted to be better for Lin Feng. She started improving her skills as an ad-carry. Then she started wanting to be better for herself. 

During the Shanghai 16 School Tournament, Wei Dong was Tang Bingyao’s Support. He was a good player, but he wasn’t great. She learned a lot from playing with him, yet also saw the limitations. These limitations disappeared when she started playing together with Zeng Rui. He was exactly the type of player Tang Bingyao needed to bring her game to a higher level. She was improving with every game that they played together. It was to such an extent that Zeng Rui was actively complimenting her just about every game.

There was only one aspect of Tang Bingyao’s game that Zeng Rui wasn’t too happy about. It was something that stuck around from her elo boosting days, when she had to carry a game if she wanted to complete the order faster. And that was her choice of Champions. She preferred to play the most aggressive ones, like Draven and Graves. And while she was good at them, it greatly limited the team’s options in terms of strategy and team compositions. So after one game where she played in a particularly aggressive style, he turned to her and asked, “Why do you always play these hyper aggressive champions? Don’t you like to play something like Twitch? Kog’Maw? Or other different types of ad-carries?”

Tang Bingyao tilted her head and looked at him. “Hmm…” She thought about it a moment and then explained, “It’s easier to go in and kill them. I don’t like having to run around and hide.”

Zeng Rui rested his head on his hand and stared in the distance. He finally shook his head and said, “That really limits our range of team compositions though. And it’d be good for you too to get comfortable with other champions too. You’ll have an easier time playing against them in lane. I think we should try having you play Twitch, or maybe even Kog’Maw.”

Tang Bingyao curled her under lip and shook her head. “I don’t like playing them. They’re ugly.”

Zeng Rui stared blankly at Tang Bingyao. Ugly? He took a deep breath and started massaging his temples. I expected this from the thundering dumbass, but not from you… But fine, whatever. If you don’t feel like playing them, then don’t. Let’s put your preferences first and the team results second. He blew all the air out of his lungs, then pursed his lips and asked, “But if we need you to play them, you will?”

Tang Bingayo nodded hesitantly and said, “Mm, if I really have to.”

Zeng Rui nodded. That’s good enough for now. I’ll have you enjoy playing them if we need to. You’re far more talented than I expected. It shouldn’t be too difficult for you. Then he turned to look at the other members of the team. Zhang Hao is just a good Toplaner. I knew that. It’s good to have him here. I can always rely on him. And An Xin is just a really good coach. And her Jungling is far better than I expected. I only saw her play one game at the tournament, but that wasn’t even her best game! I don’t know how she does it. She finds ganks everywhere! It’s really impressive.

There were five members on the team. Zeng Rui finally looked at Lin Feng. I don’t want to say it. I don’t want to say it. But… He sighed. But it doesn’t matter what I think about him. He is the best player on the team. By far. His mechanics and awareness are something I’ve only ever seen in professional players. But his name… Maple… I’ve looked up every professional player in the last two years, and I couldn’t find his name. Still, when I watch him play, there’s something different compared to the others. The way he approaches the laning phase, the teamfights, everything he does is just that little bit different. I don’t know how to explain it. But it’s really good. I wish I had it.

Zeng Rui nodded at Lin Feng and said, “Where did you learn those skills? Like, really? You’re playing far better than any other non-professional player I’ve played against.”

Lin Feng looked over at Zeng Rui and grinned. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m really good at mid too!”

Zeng Rui massaged his temples again and finally shook his head. There’s no way a professional team would ever accept someone like him. He’s far too annoying.

✹

The second week of practice for Team Shanghai saw their teamwork rise several more levels. But they couldn’t just practice. Rest days were just as important as training. An Xin and Zeng Rui had decided to take Wednesday afternoon off. Not by skipping the training, but by inviting their old teams from High School 13 and Shanghai High School to practice with them. Team Shanghai 1 played against the brand new Team Shanghai 2. And then games with random lineups followed. It was a great few hours to unwind from a week and a half of serious practice.

But the relaxation couldn’t last forever. After their friends went home, Team Shanghai got back to work. An Xin and Zeng Rui reviewed their strategies and more importantly their progress. It was impressive what the team had achieved in so little time. But there was one big problem. An Xin and Zeng Rui both saw it.

Zeng Rui looked at everyone and sighed. “We’re still not good enough.”

Tang Bingyao looked at An Xin and asked, “Hmm?”

Lin Feng quickly added, “Yeah! What do you mean, not good enough? We’re doing great!”

Zeng Rui shook his head and explained, “We have to play in the regionals first. Our region is East China, which coincidentally is the strongest region. Half of the quarter finalists from last year came from East China.” He had a grim expression as he named them, “Fudan University came in third, Zhejiang University fourth, Shanghai University of Finance sixth and East China University eighth. And there were two more teams that made it to the round of 16.”

Lin Feng exclaimed, “Wow! We’ve got a strong region, huh!”

East China was composed of Shanghai, Fikoam and Zhejiang. All three of them were big esports cities. But Shanghai was the esports capital of the world. They had the most professional players and some of the biggest talents all gathered together. It wasn’t at all strange that the Winter Collegiate Cup preliminaries for East China were a lot more difficult than for the other regions. The high school teams from Beijing and Guangzhou had a comparatively much easier road to the main tournament.

Zeng Rui looked gravely at Lin Feng and then Tang Bingyao as he said, “If we’re not prepared, we might get knocked out in the regionals. I’m playing to win, and not to get knocked out in what is essentially a qualifier.”

Tang Bingyao considered the new information and then asked, “But if we make it through regionals, the rest should be easier, right?”

An Xin smiled and said, “The other regions also have strong teams. They just won’t have had as much practice against really strong teams. So, yes, we’ll have a small advantage. The main event should be a bit easier because of this, especially in the earlier rounds.”

“In the early rounds, yes,” Zeng Rui agreed. “And then it’ll be a lot more difficult. Don’t get sloppy or think that we’re there after the regionals. That’s just the start.”

Lin Feng had been listening to the conversation, incredulous. Why are they talking about which matches will be easier? Who cares about that! He finally couldn’t hold himself back anymore and said, “We’re going to win the trophy anyway! Who cares who our opponents are? We’ll just have to beat them all! That’ll be fun too!”

Zeng Rui turned to Lin Feng and nodded. “We want to win. And to do that, we have to be ready to beat everyone. We just aren’t at that point yet. But I’ve thought about something for that.” He paused for a moment and then continued, “I reached out to the esports club from the Shanghai University of Finance and asked them if they’d be interested in a couple of practice matches. They agreed to play us on the weekend.”

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. He just about shouted, “We’re going to be scrimming against a university team? That’s awesome! When are we playing? Saturday or Sunday? Tell me! I want to know!”

The five fresh new members from Team Shanghai sat down behind their computers. They were nervous, excited, and more than anything worried. There was only a month left until the start of the Winter Collegiate Cup and there was still so much left to do. They had to learn how to play with each other and form team and player synergies. Then they had to come up with strategies and practice those strategies. And they also still had a lot of room left to improve on an individual level. But all of this could only be trained in a game. So they entered the queue.

Zeng Rui looked over at the other four players and suggested, “Let’s pick strong early game Champions. I’m thinking something like Leona and Caitlyn in the bot lane.”

Tang Bingyao nodded and said, “Mhm, ok.”

Zhang Hao browsed through his list of Champions and asked, “Is it ok if I go with Rumble then?”

“Sure!” An Xin said, smiling. “I’ll play Jarvan IV so that we have something beefy to support you guys. And Lin Feng, what about you go—”

“Fizz!” Lin Feng exclaimed. He grinned and continued, “I’m really good at Fizz too! I’ll carry this game!”

Team Shanghai queued up for a team ranked game and soon found themselves in Champion Select, where they banned three champions. The other team fortunately didn’t ban away any of the champions they wanted to play. So they locked in the Rumble, Jarvan IV, Fizz, Caitlyn and Leona. After which the game went into the loading screen.

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》

At 2 minutes: An Xin’s Jarvan IV made an early gank in the mid lane, helping Lin Feng’s Fizz pick up first blood on the Red Team’s Yasuo.

At 4 minutes: Tang Bingyao and Zeng Rui pressured Red Team’s Botlaners away from the minions. Then they waited for their opponents to get greedy for a minion or some poke damage. It was Red Team’s Nami who made that mistake first. She walked a little too far forward, straight into Leona’s Zenith Blade. Zeng Rui’s Leona dashed to Nami as the solar projection of her sword disappeared. Then she slammed her Shield of Daybreak into the Nami and Ignited her! Nami was stunned as an unquenchable fire burned away at her health bar!

Tang Bingyao’s Caitlyn flashed forward to catch up to Zeng Rui’s Leona. Then she aimed her gun at Nami and fired a piercing shot. Piltover Peacemaker! She  followed up with a barrage of auto attacks, each one whittling away at the Nami’s health until it bottomed out.

《You have slain an enemy!》

At 6 minutes: Red Team’s Evelynn walked up the river to the top lane. But she hadn’t seen the vision ward in the brush near mid lane that gave her position away. Lin Feng’s Fizz and An Xin’s Jarvan IV reacted immediately, charging up after her towards the top lane.

Zhang Hao’s Rumble was battling Red Team’s Irelia. An Xin had warned him that Evelynn was coming and Lin Feng was pinging him to be careful. But he didn’t retreat to the safety of his tower. He fought the Irelia and pretended he didn’t see the Evelynn coming. Then, when she ran into lane, he flashed away towards his outer tower. By waiting so long, he’d given Lin Feng and An Xin all the time they needed to reach the top lane and kill Irelia and Evelynn.

《You have slain an enemy!》

《Double kill!》

Team Shanghai won all three lanes and pushed that advantage. Tang Bingyao and Zeng Rui picked up several more kills in the bot lane before they destroyed the tower. Then they walked up to mid lane, where Lin Feng’s Fizz was killing Red Team’s Yasuo every time he returned to lane. An Xin’s Jarvan IV also arrived in the mid lane, as did Zhang Hao’s Rumble. It was the start of the mid game. And also the end of a serious game. Team Shanghai’s advantage was so large that they didn’t have to focus to win anymore. They started running around the map, sometimes as a team and sometimes not, constantly searching for more kills rather than pushing for objectives. Because of this, it took them 25 minutes to close the game out.

Lin Feng was grinning when the large victory crest appeared on his scream. He turned to look at the others and shouted, “That was great! I carried that game! But you guys all played really well too!”

Zeng Rui ignored Lin Feng and turned straight to An Xin. “What do you think?” he asked her.

An Xin considered it for a brief moment and then replied, “You share your thoughts first.”

Zeng Rui gave his analysis. “Our opponents were very weak, most likely not much higher than Platinum. We should’ve won this game within 15 minutes. And we were on track to do that in the laning phase. That part of the game went decently enough for our first game as a team. But we fell apart in the mid game. Our team fights were a chaotic mess. Everyone was just off doing their own thing, instead of pushing for objectives like we should’ve.”

“Eh?” Lin Feng blurted, surprised. “Was it really that bad? I thought our teamfights went pretty good! We won all of them!”

An Xin glared at Lin Feng and admonished him, “Of course you thought it went great! You were off having fun by yourself! But this isn’t the Lin Feng game! It’s a team game and you barely ever fought with the team!” She then turned to look at Zeng Rui and said, “I agree. We need to improve our teamwork. When it comes to timing our engagement, follow-up, and actual teamfighting, I see a lot of issues.”

Zhang Hao looked from Zeng Rui to An Xin and back at Zeng Rui. Then he asked, “Uh, can you maybe show us what you mean?”

An Xin smiled, as if she were waiting for this question. “Of course! That’s why I recorded  the game!” She opened the recording and scrolled through the game until she found an example of a bad teamfight. Then she pointed at her monitor and said, “Take a look at this teamfight here. We’re in the mid lane on our side of the map. Their outer tower is down and they’re being defensive near their inner tower, waiting for us to push.” She turned to Lin Feng and said, “And somehow, you found it necessary to trek through their Jungle and appear from behind their inner tower to towerdive the Ezreal.”

Lin Feng patted his chest and said, “Yeah! Look at that beautiful dive! Boom, kill! I thought I played that really well! And you guys were good too with the follow up!”

An Xin shook her head, briefly stunned by Lin Feng’s response. Then she glared at Lin Feng and shouted, “No! You rushed into that fight before any of us were ready! We were so far away that we couldn’t even see you! The only reason you didn’t die is because Zeng Rui flashed forward to throw down his Leona ultimate!”

Lin Feng laughed it off and said, “Don’t worry about that! I knew my good buddy Zeng Rui was in range for a flash-ultie, and I had full faith that he would! And look, he did!”

Your good buddy? Zeng Rui’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He ground his teeth, trying to keep himself from shouting. Don’t yell. It’s not going to do anything. Just focus on the play. What went wrong. Why was it a bad play? He took a deep breath and then turned to look at Lin Feng. He said, “You do realize that my Flash came up two seconds before you engaged that Ezreal, right?”

“Woah, really?” Lin Feng asked. “Perfect timing by me then!”

Zeng Rui stared at Lin Feng and said slowly, “That was luck. And there is nothing I hate more than winning because of luck. All we had to do was wait for Zhang Hao to group up with us. We would’ve won that teamfight easily. As a team.”

“Huh?” Lin Feng blurted out. “Hao Bro wasn’t with us?”

Zhang Hao shook his head and said, “No. I was trying to clear a wave in the top lane when you engaged. So I ran mid to help. But by the time I got there, you guys had already won.”

“Ooooh! Woah, that’s my bad then! I just saw the opening and went for it. I didn’t think you were so far away. Woops!” Lin Feng apologized. Then he grinned and added, “But we won, so it’s all good. Right?”

Zhang Hao frowned. What is wrong with him? We’re trying to do something serious here and he’s just making a joke out of it. He turned to look at Zeng Rui, who was just short from spewing fire, and his eyes went wide. Shit. He looks mad. Weren’t they friends? How does that work? It doesn’t make sense… He looked back at Lin Feng. How are we supposed to practice when he refuses to take this seriously? Is he always like this? How did we lose against him? He is so annoying!

✹

An Xin and Zeng Rui watched through the rest of the recording together, while occasionally pointing things out to the rest of the team. The more they watched, the more apparent it became just how much went wrong in that one game and how much work they had to do in the next month.

Zeng Rui was massaging his temples, fighting off a headache. There is so much we need to improve on. This was such a bad first game. And then the thundering dumbass just goes and makes jokes about it. I have to somehow get him to focus. We just have to tell him when to engage and when to back off. Maybe I can keep him in check like this. “We need a proper shot caller,” he suddenly blurted out. “Someone who makes the ingame decisions and tells everyone what to do.” He then turned to look at An Xin and said, “I know you’re really good at coming up with strategies and tactics before a match, and I think we should work on that together. But during the game, I think it’s important that we have one main shotcaller. I’d like that to be me. You can be the secondary shotcaller. Is that ok with you?”

An Xin nodded and agreed, “Sure!” It was a lot easier for a team to follow the instructions from one player, rather than trying to do what three different teammates were yelling over the team’s voice chat. And the Support was generally a great choice for shotcaller due to the nature of their champions. They had to land crowd control skills, which often started a teamfight. After which they protected their AD-carry at the cost of their life if they had to. And even after dying, they could keep shouting orders over the team’s voice chat. It just made the most sense that Zeng Rui became the team’s main shotcaller.

Lin Feng watched An Xin and Zeng Rui discussing how the team was going to play. Why aren’t they asking me for my input? I’m the best player on the team! I’ve played at Worlds! When Zeng Rui named himself the shotcaller and An Xin agreed, he couldn’t keep himself back anymore. He pushed in between them and asked, “Then what about me?”

Zeng Rui turned to look at Lin Feng and coldly said, “You focus on mid. Just sit in your lane and wait for me to make the calls.” Which was more of a response than An Xin gave Lin Feng. She simply clapped her hands and said to the team, “Now that we’ve got that figured out, let’s try it out in the next game!”

✹

《Welcome to Summoner’s Rift!》
《First Blood!》
《Double kill!》
《You have slain an enemy!》
《Triple kill!》
《An ally has been slain!》
《Double kill!》
《Triple kill!》
《Aced!》

VICTORY!

The changes brought about by Zeng Rui and An Xin had a direct impact on the team’s synergy. They won their lanes again, just more convincingly than in the previous game. More importantly, they crushed the teamfights. Their opponents couldn’t get anything done, and by the end of the game they had only picked up a single kill.

Lin Feng pumped his fist in the air and shouted, “This practice is going great! We’re going to win the trophy! What’s going to be our next tournament after?”

Tang Bingyao looked over at Lin Feng and nodded. “Mhm, that was a good game.”

Zhang Hao also found himself looking at Lin Feng. Or rather, staring. How can he be this stupidt, and then play this well? If he had half a brain, it might actually be really fun playing together with him. Just two games and I feel like I’ve learned so much! The fights he picks that I’d never take. And he wins them! He always wins them! Even when I don’t see any way to win a fight, he wins it. He finds the opening and makes use of it. It’s so impressive. He turned his attention towards An Xin and mumbled under his breath, “And she’s pretty great too.” He finally looked at Tang Bingyao. And she meshes so well with Zeng Rui. We’re looking really strong. He finally grinned and said, “Yes! Maybe we can really win this!”

An Xin shook her head, and Zeng Rui snorted. 

Zeng Rui looked at Tang Bingyao, Zhang Hao and Lin Feng in turn, then said, “Win the trophy? We’re not even close. If we play like this, we’ll get knocked out in the first round. Look.” 

He opened up a webpage and waited for the others to gather around him. “We’re not just playing against players from Shanghai. This is a national tournament. There are seven regions: East China, Central China, South China, Southwest China, North China, Northwest China, and Northeast China. Each of those regions is further divided into at least six different competitive leagues. And dozens of universities and colleges participate in every league.” He paused to let the new information settle in. Then he dealt the killing blow. “We’re not playing against a bunch of high schoolers like in the Shanghai 16 School Tournament. We’re playing against the best players in all of China. We’re going to be playing against Challenger teams! If we want to win this…” He turned to look at Lin Feng before continuing, “We have to take this seriously, or we’re just going to end up embarrassing ourselves.”

It was late at night. Zeng Rui lay on his bed, massaging his temples. The last couple of hours he’d found any excuse he could not to call Lin Feng. He’d done his homework, mopped the floor in his bedroom, and even cleaned out his closet. I’m going to have to accept this. I don’t have to be his friend, just his teammate. We’re on the same team now. He’s a good player and I’m a good player. Whoever we are outside of the game is irrelevant. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Even if he is the thundering dumbass. He took a long, deep breath, held it in for a few seconds, and then let it all out. Ok, enough self pity. He grabbed his phone and punched in the number Chu Fang had given him.

RING RING RING! RING RING R—

The call connected and Lin Feng’s voice rang out, “Hello? Who’s this?”

Zeng Rui gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Why am I making this so difficult for myself? I’m better than this. He opened his eyes and replied, “Zeng Rui.”

“Zeng Rui?” Lin Feng mumbled. Then he exclaimed, “Oooh! Zeng Rui! Hey! How’d you get my number? And why did you call? Do you want some League tips? I can give you some tips! When you play Support, you want to buy support items! That way, you can help your ad-carry carry! Hahaha! Uh, oh. Oh! Chu Fang must’ve given you my number!”

Zeng Rui’s eyebrow twitched, but he pushed himself through the strong annoyance he felt and asked, “The vice president of the Shanghai Esports Association has informed you about the team, correct?”

“For the Winter Collegiate Cup?” Lin Feng asked. Then without waiting for an answer he continued, “Yeah! He did! We’re going to be teammates! Awesome, right? And you don’t have to worry, I’ll carry you too!”

Zeng Rui closed his eyes, trying to ignore his eyebrow that was twitching uncontrollably. Don’t let him get to you. You’re better than this. Say what you have to say and hang up. He took another deep breath and on the exhalation said, “The tournament is next month and I don’t want to get knocked out early because you dragged me down. So let’s schedule a day and time to get together and get a headstart on our preparations for the tournament.”

Lin Feng laughed and replied, “Don’t worry so much! I’m really good at the game too! We’ll win the whole tournament! Trust me! I got this!”

“Wha?” Zeng Rui mumbled, dumbstruck. Win? Where the hell does this dumbass get all his confidence from? No. Don’t ask him that. Don’t give him the chance to say something stupid. Just stick to the script. Day, time and hang up. He said, “It’s great that you’re confident, but we still have to practice. Let’s meet after school tomorrow. We can go to a cybercafe downtown and get a first training session in.”

“Sure, sounds good!” Lin Feng replied. “Tomorrow after school! It’s a date!”

Zeng Rui shouted through gritted teeth, “With the team! We’re going to practice with the team! Ok, that’s all. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up. See you guys tomorrow.”

Lin Feng said, “Huh? Hey! I know you meant the team! That’s what I meant too! And why the rush to hang up? Let’s get to know each other a bit better! Have you done your homew—”

Zeng Rui ended the call and then turned his phone off. He slowly shook his head as he stared up at the ceiling. “How in the world am I supposed to make this work? That guy is helpless. What’s wrong with him? Why do I have to play with such a thundering dumbass?”

✹

Lin Feng stared at his phone, speechless. He even forgot to take a bite from the chicken cutlet that lay on the desk in front of him. Then he turned to look at Su Xue, who sat next to him, and said, “Why did he hang up so quickly? I just wanted to talk to him a little more!”

Su Xue rolled her eyes and replied, “Probably because the two of you barely know each other. Didn’t you only meet him last week at the Finals? This phone call was probably the longest conversation you’ve had with him…”

Lin Feng shook his head, grabbing a piece of chicken cutlet and nibbling on it. Then he looked up at the computer on the desk, and the webcam fixed atop the monitor. “Can you guys believe it?” he said to the camera. “He just hung up on me! I didn’t even get to ask him if he’d finished his homework! It’s just so…” He shook his head again.

「soooooooooo crueeel! YOU! Not that whoever the fk that dude was」
「RIGHT! This is viewer abuse! Viewer abuse I tell you!」
「serves you right!!!!! eatin all that delicious food without offering us some!!!!」
「dont blame lil bro… the maid didnt offer us any! MAID! MAKE US SOME FOODDDDD!!!」
「yo, lil bro, maybe if you got him some food he mightve stuck around……」
「why do you two keep tormenting me with all that delicious food?」
「IM TRYNA LOSE SOME WEIGHT OVER HERE」
「BUT NOW IM ORDERIN CHICKEN CUTLET AGAIN!」
「FOR THE THIRD TIME TONIGHT!!!!!」

Su Xue smiled as she read through the messages. Maybe we can have a little get-together sometime and I can cook a big feast. That might be a fun thing to do. Maybe we can even do it in a restaurant! I could work in a real kitchen! Then she noticed Lin Feng absentmindedly chewing on a small piece of chicken cutlet. What’s got him down? She hesitated for a brief moment and then asked, “What did that guy call you about anyway? Your tournament is over, right? You won!”

Lin Feng swallowed the piece of chicken cutlet and looked up at Su Xue. “Oh, that’s because we’re teammates now! We’re going to play in the Winter Collegiate Cup next month, and he just called to plan our first training session. But he’s so serious about it. I don’t know why. I told him that too! I’ll carry them to the title! I’m really good at winning tournaments too!”

“Oh I s— Wait, what?” The Collegiate Cup?” Su Xue asked, surprised.

「 you mean the national uni tournament!?」
「No way! Has lil bro become big bro?」
「I feel like momma bear here, watching her little ones grow up.」
「This, I’m CRYIN CRYIN I TELL YOU! 」
「Please be our lil bro a lil longer!」
「uhhh… I thought you were still in high school. How can you participate?」

Lin Feng took another bite from his chicken cutlet before explaining, “Yes, yes! That one! They made some changes, so now I can also play in it! They probably did it just so they could have me in it! I’m really good at carrying my team to the title too!”

Su Xue narrowed her eyes and said, “And you didn’t think to tell me that? That’s amazing news! This is such a great opportunity for you! Did you call your mother already? You should tell her! I bet she’d love to hear about it!”

「i knew you were the best!!!!」
「Damn, the Collegiate Cup! That’s way more high level than a high school tournament!」
「I think my university’s team is also playing in it!」
「I’ve heard there are a ton of really strong teams playing in the tournament.」
「Most of the top teams are all full of super high elo players!」
「Don’t underestimate them!」
「NO ONE CAN BEAT OUR LIL BRO! SECOND TROPHY INCOMING IN 3… 2… 1! WOOOOOOOO」
「hahaha! Can you imagine how crazy it’d be if a high school team won the Collegiate Cup!!??!?! AMAZING!」

Lin Feng ignored Su Xue and read the chat instead, grinning brighter and brighter. He finally struck his trademark victory pose and proclaimed, “I’ll bring that trophy home! We’ll beat all the university teams! And those two other high school teams! I’m really good at winning too, you know!”

✹

The next day after school, the five members of the new Shanghai high school team met up at a cybercafe. Zeng Rui and Zhang Hao stood together on one side of a private room and Lin Feng, Tang Bingyao, and An Xin stood together on the other side. No one really knew what to do, what to say, or how to get started. They were strangers but also teammates. And not by their own choice. But the Winter Collegiate Cup was starting in a month and they had to come together as a team before then.

Lin Feng was the one to finally break the awkward silence. He waved his arms around and said, “Why are you all so quiet? We’re teammates! And we’re also going to be best friends! Right, right, introductions.” He pointed at himself with his thumbs and said, “I’m Lin Feng! My friends call me Lin Feng! And I’m the best League of Legends player in the world!” He then pointed at Tang Bingyao and continued, “This is the ad-carry of my new superteam! You can call her Tang Tang!” He finally turned to An Xin and finished, “This here is my oldest friend! She used to be round like a bun, so you can call her BunBun!”

An Xin glared at Lin Feng before turning to look at Zeng Rui and Zhang Hao. She smiled and said, “He’s right about one thing. We’re going to be teammates. For the next couple of months, anyway. Let’s all get along as friends. You can call me BunBun.”

Zhang Hao glanced at Zeng Rui and then said, “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I’m Zhang Hao, but my friends all call me Hao Bro. I’ve been playing League for a while now and I’ve been on Shanghai High School’s team for two years, I think? Or was it three? I don’t remember…”

“That’s the spirit! Nice to meet you, Hao Bro!” Lin Feng said, excited. Then he turned to look at Zeng Rui and grinned. “You don’t have to introduce yourself! We’re already really good friends anyway!”

Zeng Rui felt his eyebrow twitching again, just like it had the night before. Friends? Us? He took a deep breath. Don’t argue. That’s not going to get us anywhere. Just let him be. He nodded and said, “Sure.”

Zhang Hao looked over at Zeng Rui and asked, “You two are really good friends? Since when? Is that why you kept calling him a thundering dumbass? Because you were already friends?”

Zeng Rui shook his head and said, “Drop it.” Then he turned to look at everyone and continued, “All right, let’s focus on preparing for the Winter Collegiate Cup. I would like to start by playing a couple of games to see where we’re at.”

An Xin smiled and agreed, “I was also thinking that’d be a good first step. It’ll give us a chance to see how everyone mashes together.”

Lin Feng jumped at the nearest computer and sat down. He shouted, “Yeah, let’s play! Enough chit-chat!” Then he opened up his League of Legends client and clicked on the play button. “Oh!” He looked over his shoulder and added, “Who wants to play with me first? Get behind a computer already! I’ll show you all how good my mid lane is!”

“Play first?” Zhang Hao asked, confused.

Zeng Rui glared at Lin Feng and wanted to say something. But An Xin was a step ahead of him. She smacked Lin Feng in the back of the head and said, “You idiot! We’re playing a team game! Five versus five! We’re not going to watch you duo queue!”

Tang Bingyao nodded and added, “Mhm, dummy.”

Lin Feng had taken the train to the Shanghai Esports Association’s headquarters. Once inside, he went up the elevator and then walked down the wide hallways until he stopped in front of a large wooden door. A plaque on it told him it was Fang Hao’s office. He raised his fist to knock, but left it hanging in the air. He felt a knot in his stomach, and he eventually let his arm drop back down. Why wouldn’t BunBun come with me? And why did she laugh at me when I asked her to come with me! “It’s your mess, you clean it up.” He chewed on his lips and looked at the plaque on the door again. Below Fang Hao’s name it read ‘President’. He was the vice president four years ago. Back when he helped me, even when it could cost his career. And then I walked away. He did all of that for me and I never did anything for him…

It’s Chu Fang’s fault! He should’ve never told Fang Hao that I was back. He promised me he wouldn’t! But he did. It only took him a week to tell his boss about me! Lin Feng shook his head. He wasn’t mad at Chu Fang. He understood very well that there was nothing Chu Fang could’ve done about it. And that it was only a matter of time until Fang Hao would find out. I’m just… I don’t want to talk with Fang Hao yet. I’m not ready. I should’ve been further. I want to show him that I’m back, and that he wasn’t wrong to trust me. But I’m not that far yet. I just won a high school tournament and he wants someone who can fight against Rake. I’m nowhere near that level yet!

Lin Feng clenched his fist and raised it again. Knock. Knock. He gritted his teeth and pulled his hand back again, loathing himself. He did so much for me. I would’ve never played at Worlds if it wasn’t for him. And now I can’t even face him. I’m a coward! A spineless coward! Stop! I can’t keep doing this. It’s only going to be harder to meet him. He took a deep, long breath in an attempt to calm himself down. I made a mistake. I should’ve never walked away like I did. I let him down, just like I let my teammates down. But that was four years ago. I’m four years older. He raised his fist up again. I can do this. Apologize to him and hope that he can forgive me for walking away. He pursed his lips and closed his eyes, then let his fist fall against the hardwood door.

There was a brief moment where Lin Feng thought he hadn’t knocked loudly enough, but then Fang Hao’s voice sounded from the other side of the door. “Come in.”

Lin Feng hadn’t heard Fang Hao’s voice in four years, but he couldn’t be any more familiar with it. His knees went weak and he caught himself looking over his shoulder. The elevator is right there. I can still… He grabbed his head and shook it. No! I won’t run away again! I’ll face the consequences. It’s my mess. I have to clean it up. He grabbed the handle and then pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Fang Hao’s office was by far the biggest Lin Feng had ever seen. His mouth fell slightly open as he took it all in. This view… Wow. He walked to the giant glass windows giving a breathtaking view of downtown Shanghai. The sun stood between two other high buildings, casting a golden glow into the office. Wow… He stood there for a minute, completely forgetting about why he was even here. Then he turned to look at the desk behind which Fang Hao sat. The knot was back in his stomach, his knees felt weak again, and he had to fight back the urge to run while he still could.

Fang Hao didn’t seem to notice Lin Feng. He was intently staring at a document on his desk. He traced his fingers over the information it contained. Then he reached for a pen and made a few scribbles on the edge of the document.

Lin Feng looked down at the ground, his fingers interlocked in front of him, and glanced up at Fang Hao every now and then. I won’t run! But then what am I supposed to do? Do I say hi? Is he busy? Maybe I should come back some other time when he isn’t so busy. Yeah, that’s probably the polite thing to do. I’ll come back later when he isn’t so bus—

Fang Hao placed the document in a folder and then pushed it to the side. He held the pen in his hand and inspected it with great attention before finally saying, “So, you’re back?”

Lin Feng froze. Am I back? I’ve never been here before. What does he mean? I’m here, like he asked. Am I back? Back. Something connected in his mind. Wires uncrossed and connected, giving him a rare moment of clairvoyance. He wants to know if I’m back to complete my dream. He bit his lips, hesitating only briefly, and then firmly nodded and said, “Yes. I’m back.”

Fang Hao raised his head and for the first time in four years looked at Lin Feng. He smiled and nodded. We can both still make our dreams happen. Then he grinned and said, “It’s good to have you back. And you’ve grown taller, I see.” He pointed at the chair on the other side of his desk and added, “Come, sit down. It’s been too long. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Tell me, how’ve you been?”

✹

Lin Feng and Fang Hao chatted about everything that had happened over the last four years. And as the sun disappeared behind Shanghai’s skyline, the tense and nervous atmosphere in the room became warm and relaxed. The two talked about their day to day lives and everything unrelated to League of Legends. But that was also the only subject both of them were really interested in. It was finally Fang Hao who made the first move with a simple question. “Did you watch the World Finals?”

Lin Feng nodded and replied, “Yeah, I did.”

Fang Hao shook his head and sighed. “SSK is so strong. Han Seho, or Rake, is just getting better and better. And just when you think he can’t possibly get any better, he does it again. Lee Dojae’s antics aside, SSK deserved that world title. And it really hurts having to admit that.”

“I’ll catch up to him,” Lin Feng replied, determined. He looked Fang Hao in the eyes and continued, “And then I’ll surpass him.” He didn’t leave any room for discussion. This wasn’t a joke, nor light-hearted banter between friends. This was his conviction. Both his hands were clenched into fists. I’m going to catch up to you, Rake. Just wait. I’m coming for you and then I’ll get my redemption!

Fang Hao would’ve laughed if anyone else had said these words. But he knew Lin Feng. He knew the monstrous talent this young man possessed. So he just smiled and nodded. “That’s what I wanted to hear. I believe in you.” I’ve never met anyone as talented or as driven as you. The way you played and trained in Season 1. The manner in which you could lift your entire team up a level, that was something special. We’ve searched for someone like you ever since you left. We found some with a lot of talent, and others who were incredibly driven. But they never have it all. Not like you. 

But talent alone isn’t going to win Worlds. You’ve been away for four years. That’s four years of catching up you have to do. Fang Hao shook his head and said, “But I think it’s a little early to talk about beating Rake. Let’s focus on the Winter Collegiate Cup first.” He paused for a brief moment before continuing, “Chu Fang should’ve called you about that and given you the details, right? And he also should’ve told you that your opponents aren’t just the university teams but also the two high school teams from Beijing and Guangzhou, right? Let me give you a bit of extra information. Beijing insisted on this change. I can only see them do this if they have a very strong and talented team ready. You shouldn’t underestimate them. Or Guangzhou for that matter. All teams competing are going to be very strong.”

Fang Hao didn’t hold any information back that might help Lin Feng, because this was going to turn into a battle for power between the three great esports cities of Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. A fight for power. But let them come. I’ll fight back. And our high school team is going to give them a nice surprise. We’ve got the biggest talent League of Legends has ever seen. This little tournament is going to be an easy win for us! All their stupid tricks aren’t enough to beat the absolute talent of Lin Feng! Ha! He grinned at himself before looking at Lin Feng again. He smiled and said, “I’ll have Chu Fang send you all the information we have on the two teams from Beijing and Guangzhou. You should also get in touch with the rest of your team. You guys are going to need all the practice you can get. But that shouldn’t be too much of a problem, right? I heard from Chu Fang that you all know each other and are getting along great. So that’s good.”

Lin Feng grinned and replied, “Yeah! We’re all good friends! Chu Fang drafted a great team! It’s going to be a lot of fun to play together with Zeng Rui!”

✹

In an apartment building in Shanghai, Zeng Rui sat at the dinner table with his parents. He had his chopsticks in one hand and a bowl in the other. Then both fell to the table. A cold shiver ran up and down his spine, again and again. Drips of sweat appeared on his forehead. Something feels wrong. Very, very wrong. What just happened? He looked around him, searching for the source of his discomfort. But he couldn’t find anything.

“Are you okay?” his mother asked.

Zeng Rui nodded, though he couldn’t shake that uncomfortable feeling off. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” Then he gritted his teeth as another cold shiver ran up and down his spine. This is the same feeling I got when the Midlaner from High School 13 said something really cringe. Don’t tell me I can now feel it when he… No, that’s stupid. That can’t be. Don’t let this get to your head, Zeng Rui. He clicked his tongue as he grabbed his chopsticks back up. I still have to call him. I actually have to play on the same team as him. This must be some cruel joke.