Chapter 12

“Xiaoyi, are you listening?”

Zhou Zhu had said a lot without hearing Zhai Yi’s response, thinking the call had dropped.

Zhai Yi lowered her gaze and turned to look at the distant Drum Mountain, where lush green trees shaded the area, rustling in the gentle breeze, making the summer night feel much cooler.

“I’m listening.”

Zhou Zhu said, “I’ve sent all the materials to your email. You’re planning to confront Zou Kai in the next couple of days, right?”

Zhai Yi nodded: “Yeah, he no longer qualifies as the ING Team’s coach, neither in ability nor character—virtue doesn’t match the position.”

Zhou Zhu nodded: “Right, if it weren’t for him, Xiaoyi wouldn’t have been cursed out like that.”

Zhai Yi said: “It’s fine. We’ll settle this account with him bit by bit.”

“By the way, have you found Lin Ranjiao?”

Zhou Zhu said: “I tracked her down. She’s still in Jining City. After retiring due to her hand injury, she returned to her hometown and took over an internet cafe as the boss.”

“Which internet cafe?”

“Feichi Internet Cafe, at 112 Textile Avenue in Jin’an District.”

Zhai Yi’s eyes flickered as she smiled faintly: “Go find her and give her a copy of the materials you sent me. Then tell her we want her to be the ING Team’s head coach, with a salary definitely higher than Zou Kai’s.”

Zhou Zhu didn’t ask why Zhai Yi wanted this; he unconditionally agreed to any of her requests.

“Okay.”

“Alright then, that’s it. Thanks, Zhou Zhu.”

“You’re too polite, Xiaoyi.”

Zhou Zhu hung up, and Zhai Yi opened WeChat to look at the files he’d sent—the contents were enough to put Zou Kai behind bars for several years.

Zhai Yi put away her phone and turned back into the room, seeing that Yu Lanting’s expression had softened considerably, the flush on her face faded.

“It’s almost 11 o’clock.” She glanced at the clock on the wall, her words loaded with implication.

Yu Lanting quickly stood up: “It’s so late already. Then I’ll head back first and not disturb your rest.”

Zhai Yi nodded: “Okay.”

She opened the door to see her out. “Good night.”

Yu Lanting waved: “Good night to you too.”

“Wait… wait a second.” She suddenly grabbed the door that was about to close.

Zhai Yi furrowed her brows slightly: “Don’t want your hand anymore?”

Yu Lanting pulled her hand back: “Sorry.”

“What is it?”

“Um…” Yu Lanting hesitated, as if mustering her courage, then took out her phone. “Can I add you on WeChat?”

Zhai Yi’s gaze tightened slightly.

Seeing no reaction from Zhai Yi, Yu Lanting wondered if she’d been too impulsive.

Maybe the other person didn’t want to add her, and asking so abruptly for Zhai Yi’s WeChat might make her uncomfortable?

“If it’s inconvenient, forget it. I was just joking, don’t—”

“Joking?” Zhai Yi made a move to put her phone away. “Then no need to add.”

“No,” Yu Lanting quickly grabbed Zhai Yi’s hand as she tried to withdraw it. “Add, add, add. Let’s add.”

Zhai Yi glanced at Yu Lanting’s hand. She moved her hand away and pulled up her QR code: “Scan it.”

“Okay.”

Beep—

Yu Lanting looked at Zhai Yi’s profile picture—simple, white background with black text saying “Yi”.

Yu Lanting’s profile was a scenic photo of a shimmering sea.

Zhai Yi clicked through: “Added.”

“Thanks,” Yu Lanting smiled. “Then rest early. Good night.”

“Mm, good night.”

Zhai Yi closed the door, tossed her phone on the bed, and went into the bathroom to shower.

Tuantuan suddenly said: [First Sister, were you just trying to get the Female Lead to leave earlier?]

Zhai Yi undressed: “That obvious?”

Tuantuan: [Female Lead didn’t notice, but I could tell.]

Tuantuan puzzled: [Did the Female Lead upset you?]

Zhai Yi shook her head: “No, just want to avoid some unnecessary trouble.”

Tuantuan confused: [What trouble?]

Zhai Yi stood under the showerhead, warm water cascading over her body. She sighed softly: “I hope I’m overthinking it.”

The next day, Luo Xi announced the first eliminated guest: Le Yang.

After brief well-wishes, they saw Le Yang off.

Director Luo looked at everyone: “After a week’s observation and selection, guests, please officially confirm your lanes now. No changes after that.”

“Next, everyone start choosing your coaches.”

Zeng Ranran stuck with her original choice: Mu Li.

Bian Tang chose Ning Yao, planning to return to his old lane. He’d tried jungling out of interest at first, but after experiencing how hard it was, he decided to give it up.

Jiang Qingyan chose Weixing Yan, his former main lane.

Li Zhi still chose Luo Weizhi, no plan to switch lanes.

Qi Yaoyao also chose Weixing Yan.

The remaining two, Fu Liang and Yu Lanting, both stood squarely in front of Zhai Yi.

Mu Li looked at Yu Lanting, his expression somber.

Weixing Yan said heartbrokenly: “Lan Ting apprentice, are you abandoning me? Wasn’t Mid Lane fun?”

Yu Lanting smiled: “I feel like Mid Lane doesn’t suit me. I want to try Marksman.”

Mu Li exhaled but said nothing.

Weixing Yan turned to Fu Liang: “Aren’t you a jungler? Why not go to Mu Li?”

Fu Liang stood firmly beside Zhai Yi, the ultimate bootlicker: “I’m sticking with my godfather.”

Director Luo saw the selections complete: “Everyone has confirmed the lanes you want to play. No changes after this.”

Fu Liang raised his hand: “If a lane’s guest gets eliminated, what happens to the empty spot?”

Weixing Yan and Zhai Yi both had two guests, but Luo Weizhi, Mu Li, and Ning Yao each had one. If those guests got eliminated, wouldn’t the lanes be short?

Director Luo looked at Weixing Yan and Zhai Yi: “If that happens, Zhai Yi and Weixing Yan will each pick one guest to fill the lane.”

“As for who fills it, it’ll be decided by guest PK. The loser switches lanes.”

Bian Tang worried: “Then the one filling in has to relearn the lane?”

Director Luo: “Yes, otherwise in the later stages, you won’t be able to compete against the SV Team-trained guest team with incomplete lanes—that counts as an automatic forfeit.”

Everyone’s expressions varied, but no one said more.

: Director Luo’s variety show twists are truly unpredictable.

: No wonder they say his shows have no script. Who’d write a script like this? Too controversial.

: Director Luo always does shows on a whim, purely based on personal preference.

: Why did Yu Lanting switch to Marksman? Wasn’t she doing well in Mid Lane?

：Weixing Yan is already full, can’t select him.

：Fu Liang initially wanted to choose Mu Li, but now Mu Li only has one person, why not go select him instead of following Zhai Yi? His marksman is better than Zhai Yi’s; he wouldn’t want Zhai Yi to teach him support, right?

：Impossible. This brainless guy Fu Liang probably just recognizes a godfather and follows him, wanting to build a good relationship with Zhai Yi to play games together later.

：What the upstairs said makes sense.

：Zeng Ranran is ridiculous too; her jungling is a total mess. I watched her stream a few days ago, and there were a few operations that made Mu Li’s face turn black with anger. If they weren’t filming, Mu Li would have cursed her out, yet she still wants to choose the jungle lane.

：Was she choosing a lane? She was choosing a person. She’s probably got a crush on Mu Li.

：The most handsome jungler in the pro league isn’t for nothing—stay away!

：If someone here has to be our sister-in-law, I recommend Yu Lanting.

：Actually, Zhai Yi is pretty good-looking too.

：No way. If Mu Li knew you guys were pairing him with Zhai Yi, he’d kill Zhai Yi.

：Yu Lanting is great—beautiful, gentle and kind personality, good acting skills, good temper, no drama. She’s a perfect sister-in-law candidate.

：I think so too; Yu Lanting and Mu Li match well.

：Gentle sweet girl paired with aloof cool guy—perfect CP. Is anyone writing fanfic? I want to read some.

：No, Yu Lanting and Deng Xun are a pair.

：Deng Xun doesn’t deserve her; Yu Lanting should be with brother Wang Hanning.

：Everyone, this is about choosing lanes, not picking a sister-in-law.

….

After the lane selections were confirmed, the formal teaching began.

Zhai Yi glanced at Mu Li, remembering that she had promised to help Mu Li have a good chat with Yu Lanting, so she privately messaged Mu Li on WeChat, telling him to go to the safety door by the storage room, where she would have Yu Lanting go to the storage room to get some fruit.

Yu Lanting listened to Zhai Yi and went to the storage room to get fruit.

Fu Liang volunteered: “I’ll go with you.”

“You stay; I need to talk strategy with you. Your strength is different from Yu Lanting’s, so what I teach you is different from what I teach her.”

Yu Lanting understood that students have different abilities, so teaching methods need to adapt.

“Then you guys chat well; I’ll go get the fruit.”

Fu Liang said: “Okay, come back soon.”

Yu Lanting left the room, and Zhai Yi sent a WeChat message to Mu Li.

After sending it, Zhai Yi let out a light sigh.

Fu Liang heard the sigh and asked: “What’s wrong, Godfather?”

Zhai Yi put her phone aside: “You often play jungle, and you’re good at marksman too. You came to me so I can support you when we play games together later, right?”

Fu Liang wasn’t embarrassed at being seen through; he grinned: “Godfather sees clearly.”

Zhai Yi said: “If you want me to support you in games later, that’s fine—no need to deliberately join my team. If you want to go to Mu Li’s side, I can help you.”

Fu Liang paused slightly: “Help me?”

Zhai Yi took out the Wish Card: “You’d be more suitable with Mu Li.”

Fu Liang hadn’t expected Zhai Yi to care about him this much. He had many reasons for joining this variety show: first, it was about gaming, and he loved playing games, so he could play and earn money at the same time; second, it was produced by Luo Xi, which would greatly boost his fame and exposure; finally, the compensation from the program group was very generous. Fu Liang had no reason to refuse, and with his gaming skills, he ranked high even among entertainers, so he felt he could shine in this show.

But right now, Fu Liang hadn’t expected anyone to treat him with such “sincerity.”

He had followed Zhai Yi with some ulterior motives—Zhai Yi’s support play was too fun, and he wanted to build a good relationship to play games together later. But Zhai Yi was genuinely looking out for him, willing to use the Wish Card to let him learn jungle from Mu Li instead. This was something Fu Liang had never anticipated.

Fu Liang was a bit touched: “Godfather, you’re too good to me.”

Zhai Yi smiled: “You’ve called me Godfather; how could I not be good to you?”

Fu Liang knew his “Godfather” was a joke, a way to add some variety show humor for better promotion, and Zhai Yi was willing to play along with the meme. Fu Liang suddenly felt warmth in his heart.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter where I go. Later on, if someone gets eliminated, I can fill in.”

Seeing Fu Liang insist, Zhai Yi said: “Alright then.”

“Since you’re here with me, I’ll teach you properly.”

：Not to mention Zhai Yi’s gaming level, she’s a good person.

：I support anyone who’s good to my brother Fu Liang.

：Zhai Yi seems decent character-wise; it’s just her gaming skills are really poor.

：She’s good at support; she could switch lanes for matches.

：You say switch and they switch? Do you think pro matches are that casual?

：Ning Yao’s marksman is decent too; actually, trying a lane switch could work.

：By the way, when is ING Team streaming? Aren’t they making up stream time?

：I want to watch too; where are they streaming?

：Green River.

…

Although Fu Liang knew about the recent events with ING Team, based on Zhai Yi’s support techniques and awareness, he felt her marksman couldn’t be as bad as the internet said.

He nodded: “Okay.”

Zhai Yi opened the game; she was using a new alt account created during filming and created a room: “I’ll first check your real strength. Since you want to learn marksman, pick marksman and 1v1 me—use your main hero.”

Fu Liang smiled: “Then I won’t hold back.”

The two selected heroes.

Zhai Yi – Diao Chan; Fu Liang – Marco Polo.

：Fu Liang’s Marco Polo has been top in the national server.

：I saw Fu Liang play Marco Polo before, I think with UVN Team’s pro player Ye Zi; he went super god in that game.

：Fu Liang’s Marco Polo trended on hot search, right? I remember last year’s Honor of Kings celebrity tournament; he got MVP with Marco Polo.

：Yes, yes, that hot search—his plays were pro-level.

：Tsk tsk tsk, Zhai Yi’s in trouble; Marco Polo will crush her.

：Diao Chan is one of the top 1v1 heroes, but I’ve never seen Zhai Yi play mid. I don’t know her mage skills, but against Fu Liang’s Marco Polo, I can only pity her.

The live stream’s bullet comments were still filled with pity and sighs for Zhai Yi when an announcement suddenly popped up on the game interface.

Diao Chan defeated Marco Polo.

:What does this mean? My eyesight must be failing me—what just happened?

:Marco Polo died.

:Diao Chan killed him. Three minutes into the game, after some back-and-forth, Marco Polo fell to Diao Chan.

:Didn’t you see Diao Chan’s positioning and skills earlier? Marco Polo barely landed a few hits on her, but every one of Diao Chan’s attacks connected.

:Why does Fu Liang’s Marco Polo only have half health left?

:It’s over—Marco’s done for!

No sooner had this message appeared than the game announcement updated again.

Diao Chan defeated Marco Polo.

:Folks, I suddenly feel like I’ve stumbled into a massive conspiracy!

:Don’t even say it—I think there’s a conspiracy too!

:Has to be one. My sixth sense never fails—every time I catch my hubby cheating, bam, nailed it!

:Huh? Spill the details.

:Want to hear it +1

:Want to hear it +1

….