Chapter 16
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader:
“W-What do you mean, flirting?” Pei Lu’s heart skips a beat, “I’ve only played a few games with her.”
Lil Meat Bun refuses to listen to his excuse, “You’ve always declined whenever I invited you to duo with me, saying that you want to play on the Korean server! And now that you’re finally playing on the local server, you’ve already played so many rounds with Wanwan, say, aren’t you forgetting your bros because of hoes?!”
“It was Brother Yang who asked me to come back to play on the local server.”
Lil Meat Bun finally lowers his voice, “Oh, right. I’ve forgotten to ask, why did Brother Yang ask you to come back so suddenly? Doesn’t he usually let you decide where you want to play?”
Chen He happens to come downstairs. Pei Lu pulls at the corner of his lips slightly, “Nothing much, he merely mentioned it and it just happens that I want to come back to play too, so Brother Yang gave me an account.”
“C’mon, Xiao-Lu,” Chen He says, “Let’s duo. We can practice our coordination.”
Lil Meat Bun interjects, “Xiao-Lu is queuing with me.”
“You? Please, don’t make Xiao-Lu kneel in defeat the moment he returns to the local server,” Chen He sits on his gaming chair and turns on the LoL game client. He changes his mind the moment he sees the notification window, “Xiao-Lu, let’s play together next time, MeowMeow asked me to play with her for a couple of games.”
Pei Lu has no intention of queueing with Chen He in the first place. He merely answers with a plain “hm” as he continues to control his champion, Nautilus.
Naturally, they lost this game.
When a big, red “defeat” appears on the monitor, Chen He glances over and laughs, “See? I told you, you’ll drop in rank if you play with Meat Bun.”
Pei Lu replies, “It’s my fault.”
Indeed, he did not play at his full potential.
He saw a few of the comments just now. Those anti-fans are too crafty in the way they scold others. He can not imagine how badly Mu Wanwan will be scolded if she lost the game.
But even if he did play at his full strength, they would not have had many chances of winning either - other than Lil Meat Bun’s middle lane, the other two lanes were at a complete disadvantage. Their top lane was already two levels behind the opponent before they even reached middle game; even their jungle was under the complete control of the opponent’s jungler.
If he tried anything funny at his bottom lane, he would definitely be ganked by the enemy’s jungler without fail.
After he leaves the data screen, a chat window pops up on his screen.
【DepressedPrince: Are you the person himself?】
Pei Lu pauses.
Did he overdo it? Was he so noob that it didn’t seem like him anymore?
【TS.Luu: Yeah.】
Amongst the many comments, Mu Wanwan looks through them one by one and sees that most of them are trying to guess what is the relationship between Pei Lu and her.
“Stop guessing, God Lu and I are only friends in the game.” Strictly speaking, they are not even friends.
[I don’t believe that. Lu asks you to duo with him the moment you are live on stream, and those interactions at the river just now…]
[Why is your God Lu so noob? He couldn’t even land his Q accurately on Wanan even once throughout the whole game, why is he still playing this game? Just go home and work hard in his studies instead!]
[Why didn’t you talk about how God Lu’s support carried the game during the official matches? You’re gonna be a troll just because he didn’t perform that well in a ranked game?]
Almost all of the comments are about Pei Lu.
Mu Wanwan accepts Lil Meat Bun’s friend request in-game, glances at the comments and finds it annoying. She decides to stop streaming, says goodbye to Pei Lu and gets off the game.
“You’re getting off after only one game?” Lin Jiu is watching Korean dramas on her bed. She moves to the side and gives her some space when she sees her, “Aren’t you being a bit stingy with your ‘extra stream time’?”
“Those people are flaming Pei Lu so I don’t wanna stream anymore.”
Lin Jiu finds it unfathomable, “But they’re flaming Pei Lu, not you.”
“Have you already forgotten? I’m his fan,” Mu Wanwan replies half-jokingly, “I can’t bear to see others saying bad things about him. This is a normal fan’s psychology, you won’t understand.”
“Just nice then, come over here.” Lin Jiu picks up Mu Wanwan’s iPad and unlocks the screen to open up BattleCatTV’s app. She then taps on the stream titled “National’s No.1 Support”, “You’ve not seen MeowMeowPunch before, have you? Here, have a look.”
Mu Wanwan is reluctant, “What’s there to see?”
That is what she said, but the moment she hears an overly coy voice calling for “Brother He”, she can not help but glance over.
MeowMeowPunch has long and straight black hair, the contouring on her nose is extremely intense, causing her nose to look extremely strange. It seems like she has also applied at least a few layers on her lower eyelids to make them look plump, causing the overall makeup to look dirty.
But none of that is the main point.
Mu Wanwan moves towards the monitor, her eyes are unable to move away.
“Those of hers… are bigger than both of ours combined.”
MeowMeowPunch’s chest is astonishing.
She is only wearing a tight-fitting cropped top. Since it is too tight, the designs on the bra can be seen very clearly.
Perhaps they are too heavy, she places those melons on the table, that impressive view faintly discernible.
Lin Jiu states, “Don’t praise others by putting yourself down.”
“Okay,” Looking at how experienced MeowMeowPunch is at acting coquettish and giving out flying kisses here and there, Mu Wanwan can not help but feel rueful, “I’m sincerely impressed by you for being able to keep your number one rank in the entertainment category despite having such opponents.”
Although MeowMeowPunch is streaming LoL right now, she is categorised under the entertainment section.
“I’m relying on my own strength, alright?”
Just as Mu Wanwan is about to say something, she can hear a voice from her tablet.
“Xiao-Lu, are you going to leave those few subjects and take the makeup exam instead?”
“Yeah,” Pei Lu’s gentle voice can be heard, “That’s the only way.”
They are chatting nonchalantly, seemingly unaware that their conversation has already been picked up by Chen He’s mic and can now be heard in the stream.
As if worried that her viewers can not recognise that voice, MeowMeowPunch even covers her mouth and exclaims,” Ah~~ That’s God Lu’s voice~”
Acting cold, Chen He sneers in response, “What are you getting so excited for?”
“I’m just excited,” MeowMeowPunch places her palms on her cheeks, “Don’t be jealous.”
There seems to have both good and bad responses from her viewers, the effects on the stream are good.
Mu Wanwan suddenly recalls something, “Didn’t you say she seduced your boyfriend? Why is she with Chen He now?”
It is hilarious now that she thinks about it. The total time Lin Jiu had been together with her ex-boyfriend does not even add up to one week.
“Him? He was ditched by MeowMeow a long time ago, it seems like she might even have been together with another one before Chen He… I’m not sure, the only thing I know is that it is extremely messy.”
Indeed, it is pretty messy.
Mu Wanwan does not have any interest initially but since hearing Pei Lu’s voice, she has stopped fiddling with the phone in her hands.
Their voices can still be heard from Chen He’s mic, “Does the teacher still remember you?”
Pei Lu laughs lightly, “Yes, she just gave me a call yesterday.”
“Hey.” Mu Wanwan supports her head with her hand as she opens her mouth unhurriedly.
Lin Jiu stands up to comb her hair as she prepares to go back, “Hm?”
“Don’t you think Pei Lu’s voice sounds really nice?”
Lin Jiu’s pauses and glances at her. She finds it hard to explain what she is thinking, “Mu Wanwan.”
“Hm?”
“It no longer feels like you’re chasing an idol.”
Mu Wanwan does not think much of it, Pei Lu being her idol is an excuse she came up with in the first place, “What does it feel like, then?”
“As if you have a crush on him.”
“Oh.”
“Hm???”
Mu Wanwan lifts her head in shock, “...Are you feeling a bit dizzy from streaming too much?”
Lin Jiu does not agree nor disagree and chooses not to discuss this topic any further.
She picks up her backpack and says, “I’m going.”
Mu Wanwan returns to her room after sending Lin Jiu off, only to realise that MeowMeowPunch has already gone off stream.
She clearly remembers that they have only just started their game. According to the game’s rules, a game can not end if it is not at least 15 minutes.
Perplexed, she glances at the comments and realises that there is more to it than she had initially thought.
[Was that the banging of a door that I heard just now?]
[Isn’t that knocking? It’s probably just someone using too much strength or something. I even heard someone shouting Chen He’s name, that didn’t sound friendly at all…]
[Yeah. Besides, Chen He disconnected straight away, didn’t he? The streamer seems to have gone offline immediately as well?]
Mu Wanwan hesitates for a second and can not stop herself from running back to her computer and logs in again.
As expected, Lil Meat Bun and Pei Lu have already gone offline.
**
Pei Lu never thought he would face such a situation.
“Tsss—“ Chen He sucks in a breath with clenched teeth when the alcohol touches the injury on his cheek. “Doc, can’t you be a bit more gentle?”
Brother Yang’s expression is dark as he stands on the side with a young man beside him.
The young man is a bit plump, his expression does not seem good either. The young man is currently glaring at Chen He furiously, he is Team HSS’s jungler, Fu Zhou.
HSS’s manager rushes to the venue not long after. The moment he steps into the room, he asks Fu Zhou, “What is going on?”
Fu Zhou bites his lips and does not say a single word.
Instead, the coach following behind HSS’s manager speaks first, “What else is there? Isn’t it about that female streamer called MeowMeow?”
Hearing his girlfriend’s name being mentioned, Fu Zhou’s face flushed with anger, wanting to charge at Chen He again but is instead stopped by the people around him.
Chen He lets out a cold laugh, “Just you wait. I’ll sue you for beating up a member of another team. Just stay at home and wait for your notice of suspension from the tournament.”
“Sure,” Fu Zhou’s voice is slightly coarse and heavy, “I’ll expose how you fuck around with fans too. Let’s see who gets the last laugh.”
“Enough!!”
At Brother Yang’s furious shout, both sides finally quiet down, only Fu Zhou’s breathing can be heard.
“Tell us, how do you want to solve this?” Brother Yang’s brows are tightly knitted. He looks at HSS’s manager, his words concise and his intentions are clear, “I’m thinking of sorting this out privately. What are your thoughts?”
Chen He is unwilling, “Look at what he has done to my face. Why do you want to settle it privately…?”
“Stop talking.” Brother Yang interrupts him.
Fu Zhou was the one who threw the first punch so no matter the reason, they are the ones at disadvantage so naturally, there is no reason for HSS’s manager to disagree.
After the group of people leaves, Brother Yang turns around to walk upstairs, “Chen He, you come with me upstairs.”
Looking at those two retreating backs, Brother Hu still can not catch the situation, “Why did Fu Zhou beat Chen He up? Why do I not understand?”
“You idiot,” Lil Meat Bun clicks his tongue, “Chen He stole someone else’s girlfriend*.”
(T/N*: The term used here is 戴绿帽, which is directly translated to “wear a green hat”. It is a very commonly used term to describe someone being cheated on.)
Brother Hu remains silent for a short while, only opening his mouth after a few moments, “… That’s indecent.”
“I wouldn’t be able to bear it either if it was me. I’ve said it before, that he’ll get himself in trouble eventually for going around screwing around with so many different girls.” Lil Meat Bun then turns towards Pei Lu and sees him fiddling with his phone, “Xiao-Lu, don’t you think so?”
Pei Lu does not even turn his head as he answers with a “yeah”, his mind clearly somewhere else.
“What are you looking at? Aiyo, what the fuck?!”
As if he has seen something he shouldn’t have, Lil Meat Bun jumps away from him immediately, his eyes wide open, “Xiao-Lu, y-y-you, what are you searching for right now?!”
Pei Lu is on a search page right now.
And on the search bar, “LoL female pro player”.
Pei Lu keeps his phone and smiles, “Nothing much, just looking around.”
Nearly half an hour later, Chen He stomps down from upstairs furiously.
None of the four people downstairs spares him a glance as they continue to do their own things, the heavy air permeating the whole room.
The next day, at the venue of the spring season tournament.
TS has a match today.
The atmosphere is heavy in the break room — HSS’s break room is right beside theirs.
It is pretty awkward, especially after the incident yesterday. Fortunately, HSS will be playing during the first match while TS plays the second, so they do not really need to face off each other directly.
Pei Lu does not pay any extra mind as he holds his phone, watching a certain someone’s stream as he leans on the wall of the corridor.
HSS lost their first game not long later. Fu Zhou played exceptionally badly, kicking the enemy’s Singed straight into their own AD’s face, a major mistake that cost them the game.
However, HSS’s team does not seem to have been affected by their loss. They even try to comfort Fu Zhou on the way back to their break room.
Pei Lu lifts his eyes. Just as he is about to greet Team HSS’s leader, he sees Chen He walking out of the break room.
Pei Lu knows, from the bottom of his heart, that shit is about to hit the fan.
“Yo, the server’s number one Lee Sin, why do you look so down?” The corner of Chen He’s lips lift as words of provocation comes straight out of his mouth.
**
Mu Wanwan is not streaming today.
She is hugging her bolster as she lies on her bed, her iPad on the small table right in front of her as she watches LPL Spring Season Tournament live on stream.
When the first game finishes, Mu Wanwan browses through her Weibo.
As expected, HSS’s official account was drowned by malicious comments ridiculing Fu Zhou.
It is a game, after all. There will definitely be wins and losses, as there will always be times when a player does really well and when they make mistakes.
No one was praising Fu Zhou when he controlled the pace in one of the games during a tournament last year with his perfect control of Sejuani. He merely made a mistake today in a single game in a BO3 regular seasonal tournament – It is not like everything is lost, especially when there are two more games afterwards and yet, he is ridiculed so much by the public.
It really isn’t easy being a professional player.
She waits for a full 20 minutes but the next game still has not begun.
Under normal circumstances, it would not take more than ten minutes to start the next round. If not, the rest of the game schedule on that day will never be finished due to time constraints.
Just as she is puzzling over it, the two commentators on the monitor glance at each other.
“Erm… We just got a notice that there is an accident backstage. Please wait patiently, the match will resume soon.”
It is then followed by another long wait.
Finally, HSS gets on stage but the usual jungler, Fu Zhou, is no longer there. He is replaced by a substitute player.
The team, HSS, itself is not that strong. Without their regular player, the pace of the game is controlled by the opposing team one-sidedly. Not long later, HSS officially loses the match.
Ten minutes later, the second match of the day begins. When TS gets on the stage, everyone is surprised once again.
TS’s ADC, Chen He, is not there either. In his place, is a substitute AD player who has never played an official match before.
And TS’s pillar, Lu, has a rarely seen cold expression on his face.
After three games, TS lost the match with a score of 1-2.
Pei Lu did not show a single smile throughout the game. The other members of Team TS have a solemn expression on their faces as well.
The dimples are gone and so are those eye teeth.
Mu Wanwan clicks her tongue in her heart.
Just who made our Support Daddy* angry?
(T/N*: Unlike the term “daddy” in English, 爸爸 i.e. dad, daddy, father, does not have any lewd/sexual connotation to it in this context. Rather, being the “father” is kind of similar to being the “boss”, or like “I am your father so you better respect me” kind of thing.)
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Translator's note:
The chapters are just getting longer and longer... (this chapter is almost 3000 words sobs)
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