The location for this MSI tournament was in Europe, with a total of six teams consisting of champion teams from various regions. The schedule would span about half a month.
Following that was the Rift Rivals, another international tournament officially organized by Riot. The Asian Rift Rivals had three regions: Korea’s LCK, China’s LPL, and Taiwan/Hong Kong/Macau’s LMS. The LPL was sending four teams that made it to the Spring Split semifinals: OG, TG, WR, and YLD.
After OG finished their MSI matches, they would need to prepare for Rift Rivals. With only about half a month in between, it was a tight schedule, and the other three teams had already started training.
Yu Nuo had reviewed everyone’s medical reports from TG several times. She wrote down meal plans for each person and sent them to Xiao Ying, asking him to print them out and give them to the base’s cook.
Ultraman was anemic, and Chen Yuzheng had low blood sugar. Yu Nuo specifically sent them separate notes about precautions on WeChat.
Ultraman: “Thanks~”
Yu Nuo replied with a cat emoji rubbing its face.
After a long while, Chen Yuzheng replied: “1”
Yu Nuo specifically searched online, “What does replying ‘1’ mean?”
Baidu answer: The Chinese pinyin for 1 is ‘yi’, which is also the first letter of the English word ‘yes’, indicating affirmation, agreement, understanding, or okay.
She fell silent.
He was quite aloof.
—
Recently, photos from an anime convention were released, and Yu Nuo organized them and posted them on her neglected Weibo account.
She usually didn’t post much, and the cosplay characters she chose were from obscure anime series. Her style was rather conservative, so she didn’t get many comments or likes.
About half an hour after posting, someone commented:
TG.Killer: @TG.Conquer
Yu Nuo felt embarrassed, as if her alternate identity had been exposed. Why did he tag Chen Yuzheng….
She quickly scrolled through her nine-grid photos to check if there was anything inappropriate.
Weibo notified her that Killer had just followed her. Yu Nuo followed back, and immediately received a WeChat message from Killer.
Killer: “Sister Nuo, when are you coming to cook at our base again?”
Was calling girls ‘sister’ trending recently?
Yu Nuo couldn’t help but laugh as she replied: “Just call me by my name. How did you find my Weibo?”
Killer: “Aren’t you the ‘Fish Lover’? When you transferred money to Conquer, our whole base knew about it.”
Yu Nuo: “I see……. (covering face)”
Killer: “Can I ask you something?”
Yu Nuo: “What is it?”
Killer clicked his tongue and called out to Chen Yuzheng: “Want me to ask for you?”
“What?”
“Didn’t you want to know what’s going on between Will and Yu Nuo?”
Chen Yuzheng didn’t even lift his eyelids, clicking his mouse rapidly, “When did I say that?”
Killer saw right through his act: “You don’t want to know?”
Chen Yuzheng was getting annoyed by him and turned up the game volume, “Shut up, don’t bother me.”
Killer hummed twice, rubbed his nose, and replied to Yu Nuo: “Nothing”
—
After a game ended, Chen Yuzheng took off his headphones. Killer was already preparing for ranked games.
Chen Yuzheng got up to get a glass of water, and as he passed by Killer, he asked: “What did she say?”
“What do you mean what did she say?”
Chen Yuzheng: “You know what I mean.”
Killer caught on and replied innocently: “Weren’t you not interested in knowing?”
Chen Yuzheng: “……”
Killer spat twice in frustration, “Too late.”
“What do you mean?”
Killer started making things up, “I asked her what her relationship with Will was. The young lady was so shy, she didn’t say anything, just sent an emoji with pink hearts. There must be something going on.”
“What emoji? Let me see.”
“You wish.”
Chen Yuzheng put his water glass on the table and picked up Killer’s phone, “Password.”
Killer jumped up trying to grab it.
Chen Yuzheng’s patience ran out, and he moved slightly: “Hurry up.”
Van watched them arguing while eating sunflower seeds, asking confused: “What’s going on? Why so lively?”
Killer, being held by the throat by Chen Yuzheng, struggled: “Chen Yuzheng is embarrassed and wants to silence me, save me, someone save me!”
Ultraman was playing solo queue and couldn’t concentrate because of the noise, shouting: “Killer’s phone password is just 123456.”
Killer collapsed back into his chair, muttering reluctantly: “Damn, this is violating citizen privacy rights! If you have the guts, don’t be a coward, ask her yourself!”
Chen Yuzheng glanced at him, suppressing his anger.
He opened WeChat, found Yu Nuo, and scrolled through their previous chat history.
After scrolling up and down several times, he realized he’d been tricked.
Killer burst out laughing: “Hahahahaha, serves you right, that’s what you get for acting cool, keep acting!”
—
Fu Yidong returned from a business trip and took Yu Nuo out for a meal.
She had recently broken up with her ex-boyfriend and started dating someone new, constantly being lovey-dovey even during meals.
Yu Nuo focused on eating across from her.
After Fu Yidong finished chatting with her boyfriend, she turned off her phone and looked at Yu Nuo for a while, “Nuo Nuo?”
Yu Nuo: “Hmm?”
“How old are you?”
“22.”
Fu Yidong slapped the table: “You’re 22 and still don’t have a boyfriend, how can that be?”
Yu Nuo helplessly replied: “That’s still quite young…”
“Have you liked anyone recently?”
Yu Nuo thought carefully and shook her head.
Fu Yidong saw through her hesitation, “Is there someone you like?”
Yu Nuo: “Really, there isn’t.”
“Alright…” Fu Yidong sighed, “I’ll send you some contact cards on WeChat later. With your reserved personality, you won’t find anyone even after ten more years of being single.”
Yu Nuo paused, remembering that someone else had also said she was reserved… She put an egg in her mouth, “Why are you suddenly concerned about my love life?”
“Well, has any guy been flirting with you?”
Yu Nuo: “What counts as flirting?”
“You know, frequently sending you messages first, asking you out for meals, giving you small gifts, inviting you to do things…”
“Ah…?”
Fu Yidong looked at her expectantly: “Well, think about it, has anyone?”
“……”
No one had treated her that way, but she herself… Yu Nuo’s heart suddenly jumped.
These days, she kept sending messages to Chen Yuzheng, always initiating contact, asking him out for meals… giving him candy.
It seemed like everything Fu Yidong mentioned matched up.
Yu Nuo had trouble swallowing and took a sip of juice.
Was she… flirting with Chen Yuzheng?
Yu Nuo hesitated, biting the straw: “But if sending messages, giving gifts, or asking someone out all have reasons behind them, does that still count?”
“Why wouldn’t it count?” Fu Yidong said.
As they continued eating, Fu Yidong suddenly asked: “By the way, don’t you get to see Conquer every day now? I’ve been too busy to watch their matches lately, but I caught up on some previous videos, he’s so handsome. When can you take me to visit the TG base?”
Yu Nuo was already feeling guilty, and when she suddenly heard his name, she choked. She grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth, “Well, I’ll have to ask if it’s convenient.”
“Besides Van, do any of the others have girlfriends?”
Yu Nuo shook her head: “I’m not sure, but they’re professional players and so busy with training and streaming, they probably don’t have time for dating.”
Fu Yidong thought of something and rested her chin on her hand: “They’re all like that before they get famous. Sigh, I’m already worried. In our fan club group, girls are always posting selfies, and each one is prettier than the last. Do you think once Conquer becomes famous, he’ll start dating fans?”
Yu Nuo: “…He’s only 19.”
“What does age have to do with it? Didn’t you see his post-match interview? He just exchanged a few words with the female host and looked at her a few times, and her face turned red. You know, Conquer is the type who’s arrogant, a bit of a bad boy, and somewhat cold. That kind of charm really attracts women.”
Fu Yidong rolled her eyes, “Forget it, you wouldn’t understand these things anyway.”
—
On Thursday evening, TG had a team building event. Qi Ya’nan sent the address in the group chat – it was at Zhengjia Plaza. Yu Nuo had a last-minute meeting and arrived a bit late.
She pushed open the private room door, and everyone was already seated.
Chen Yuzheng spotted her immediately.
The temperature in Shanghai had suddenly risen that day. Yu Nuo’s long hair fell down her back, and she wore a black and white high-waisted top with an A-line beige short skirt that had a large bow at the back.
When she entered, several people fell silent.
Yu Nuo stood at the door, smiling apologetically, “Sorry I’m late, something came up.”
Qi Ya’nan waved her over: “It’s fine, find a place to sit.”
Ultraman and Killer both stood up at the same time: “Come here!”
Chen Yuzheng, who was sitting between them: “……”
Van and Thomas both started laughing knowingly.
Qi Ya’nan glared at them, warning: “That’s enough, stop teasing the young lady.”
Yu Nuo sat down next to Ying Jiajia. Someone passed her some cutlery, and she said thanks. While unwrapping it, she looked up and saw the person sitting directly across from her.
Remembering Fu Yidong’s words from a few days ago, Yu Nuo couldn’t help but observe him more closely.
Amidst the lively chatter, Chen Yuzheng tilted his head casually, one hand on the table playing with his water glass. He was listening half-heartedly to whatever Killer was saying, with a hint of a smile lingering at the corners of his mouth, appearing quite relaxed.
Perhaps because she had been staring too long, sensing her gaze, Chen Yuzheng’s smile faded and he glanced over.
Their eyes met unexpectedly.
Yu Nuo felt flustered and quickly looked away, continuing to unwrap her cutlery. She silently thought to herself that Fu Yidong was right, he really was quite charming…
—
During the meal, Qi Ya’nan had a drink with everyone.
Yu Nuo actually couldn’t handle alcohol well, but not wanting to spoil the mood, she had several beers.
By the time they were about to leave, Yu Nuo’s head was starting to spin. She went to the bathroom to wash her face and received a phone call from Jiang Li.
Her throat caught, and she still couldn’t call out the word “Mom.”
As soon as the call connected, Jiang Li was crying on the other end. She wouldn’t say what was wrong no matter how many times Yu Nuo asked, just kept crying.
Yu Nuo went into a stall, closed the door, and asked again: “What’s wrong?”
“Xiao Xiang… he went to the hospital today…”
Yu Nuo sat on the toilet lid, her heart sinking, “Don’t cry, tell me slowly.”
Jiang Li sobbed: “He went to the hospital today and was suddenly diagnosed with a chronic illness. Nuo Nuo, I didn’t want to ask you both for help, but I really have no choice. Recently… he went gambling again, and we don’t have any money for treatment… Xiao Xiang is still lying in the hospital, and he needs surgery tomorrow afternoon…”
Jiang Li: “Nuo Nuo, can you ask your brother if he can lend us some money? I’ll definitely pay it back, this is really the last time…”
She stopped there.
Yu Nuo remained silent.
“If there really was no other way, I wouldn’t come to you both. I know you and your brother resent me, but back then if it wasn’t for your father and that whore…”
Yu Nuo calmly interrupted her, “…Send me your card number, I have a few tens of thousands that you can use for now. That’s all I can give.”
“What about your brother?”
“Don’t look for my brother.” Yu Nuo steadied her voice and repeated, “Don’t look for him anymore.”
—
She didn’t notice the tears falling on the back of her hand until they were there. Yu Nuo wiped them away, realizing she was crying.
Maybe because she had drunk too much, she felt very vulnerable and suddenly remembered many things from her childhood.
She didn’t want to cry, but the tears wouldn’t stop falling, though her heart was quite calm.
Ying Jiajia came in looking for her, calling out a couple times, “Nuo Nuo, are you still in the bathroom? Are you okay?”
Yu Nuo curled up hugging her knees, lifted her head, and was about to speak when she realized her voice was hoarse.
She didn’t know if it was from drinking too much, but she felt unwell. Too lazy to compose herself, not wanting to move or see anyone, she replied to Ying Jiajia, “I’m fine, I’m not drunk.”
Ying Jiajia worried, knocked on the door: “You’ve been in the bathroom for a long time, are you sure you’re okay?”
“Really, I’m fine, I’m…” Yu Nuo pressed her lips together, swallowing the sound of crying in her throat, “I’m on the phone with a friend.”
Ying Jiajia: “Should I wait for you outside?”
Yu Nuo: “You all go ahead, I still have something to do. I’ll transfer my share of today’s meal cost to the group chat later.”
After Ying Jiajia left, a while later, her phone rang, but Yu Nuo didn’t move.
The phone kept ringing.
In her daze, she picked up the phone beside her.
It was Chen Yuzheng.
Yu Nuo pressed the answer button and gave a soft “hello.”
Chen Yuzheng: “Are you still in the bathroom?”
“Mm.”
“Drunk?”
“No.”
Chen Yuzheng: “They’ve left, you still have some things here.”
“Can you help me…” noticing her own distress, Yu Nuo choked up again before continuing her broken sentence: “Leave them at the front desk, I’ll get them later.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you.”
Yu Nuo put down her phone and buried her head in her knees. About half an hour later, when her tears finally dried up, her legs had gone numb from crouching.
Yu Nuo slowly stood up holding the door, and her phone fell to the ground. She picked it up and found the call was still connected.
Yu Nuo had completely lost her ability to think and tentatively said hello.
After a second or two, Chen Yuzheng made a sound of acknowledgment, “Feeling better?”
Yu Nuo’s emotions surged, she opened her mouth, her voice a bit nasal: “You didn’t hang up?”
“No.”
She stayed silent.
His voice was very calm, lower than usual, but showing no emotion: “Come out when you’re done crying, I’m waiting outside.”
—
Yu Nuo’s eyes were swollen and red, with tear stains not yet dry on her face, and her nose was also red.
She kept her head down, not daring to look at Chen Yuzheng.
He was wearing a baseball cap, leaning against the hallway wall, still holding her bag.
Yu Nuo’s mind was still a bit confused, and she smiled bitterly, “Sorry… for troubling you.”
Chen Yuzheng glanced at her face.
Seeing his expression, Yu Nuo suddenly realized that in her mental confusion, she had even forgotten to wash her face.
—
The two of them left the restaurant. After walking just a few steps, they were suddenly surrounded by a group of fans.
Yu Nuo stepped back half a step, keeping her head down.
Chen Yuzheng frowned slightly and pulled her back behind him.
The fans had recognized it was truly Chen Yuzheng and began asking for autographs and photos.
Being surrounded by so many people while in such a vulnerable state made Yu Nuo feel like every second was an eternity. His hand was still gripping her wrist, not letting go, so Yu Nuo couldn’t leave even if she wanted to. She felt nervous and lowered her head, letting her hair cover her face.
At the same time, the fans also noticed Yu Nuo beside Chen Yuzheng. One girl stared at her intently and blurted out: “Who is she?”
Chen Yuzheng was signing autographs with one hand, and replied coolly: “My friend.”
The girls exchanged glances, their expressions becoming somewhat peculiar.
Chen Yuzheng unhurriedly took off his own cap and put it on Yu Nuo’s head, telling the female fan holding up her phone: “Don’t take pictures of her.”
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