Chapter 24

Now the Youth Training Class players are in position. Even if the guests have endless complaints, Luo Xi’s sly maneuvers leave them with nowhere to vent, forcing them to accept their fate.

The guests can only pin their hopes on the draw box, praying they won’t be picked to go on stage and get beaten.

Luo Xi continued: “To uphold principles of openness and fairness, Coach Lin will handle the draw this time.”

Jiang Qingyan tentatively asked: “How’s Coach Lin’s luck?”

Lin Ranjiao smiled faintly: “Not bad.”

Jiang Qingyan was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Lin Ranjiao’s next words.

“In the past, during matches, I’d always draw the strongest opponents when picking by lot.”

Jiang Qingyan: “…”

Everyone: “….”

Can we get someone else to draw?

: This is spot on. Every time Lin Ranjiao draws, whether it’s the venue, date, or opponent, it’s always the worst for the ING Team.

: Lin Ranjiao’s luck is so bad, even cockroaches would turn back around.

: Look, as soon as Lin Ranjiao arrives in Changning District, the heavy rain hits right on schedule.

: What if Lin Ranjiao draws all guest players at once?

: Shut up, you downstairs!

: Damn, speaking the good stuff doesn’t happen, but the bad stuff does.

: No no no, I can’t take it—the Youth Training Class can crush every single guest team member.

: Especially Little One and Little Six from the Youth Training Class—one’s a jungling expert, the other’s an assassin mage master.

: I’m terrified for my brother.

…

Lin Ranjiao confidently stepped up to draw. As the five balls revealed names one by one, every guest’s face turned ghastly pale.

Fu Liang clutched his hair, wailing in despair: “Why? Why didn’t we draw a single ING Team member?!”

The ones Lin Ranjiao drew were: Fu Liang, Yu Lanting, Qi Yaoyao, Bian Tang, and Jiang Qingyan.

Not a single ING Team member.

Lin Ranjiao smiled lightly: “Sorry about that.”

Everyone: “…”

Can you do fewer things you’re sorry about?

Luo Xi said calmly: “Alright, everyone, let’s start our first match.”

Bian Tang panicked: “What do we do? We’re short players!”

Fu Liang raised his hand: “I can jungle. Lan Ting as marksman. For mid lane, Jiang-sensei and Yaoyao, one of you?”

Jiang Qingyan glanced at Qi Yaoyao: “Ladies take mid. I’ll go top, and Bian Tang can support.”

Fu Liang sighed: “Guess that’s our only option.”

He turned to Zhai Yi. “Yi Fu, save us—help with BP. You know the Youth Training Class’s strong heroes; ban them all.”

The Youth Training Class also drew by lot, handled by Lin Ranjiao.

Zhai Yi looked at the selected players and patted Fu Liang’s shoulder, her tone heavy as she suggested: “This round, aim to…”

Fu Liang thought she had a strategy and leaned in eagerly. The others curiously eavesdropped too.

“Aim to… give up fewer kills.”

Fu Liang: “….”

Everyone: “….”

Please give fewer suggestions next time, thanks.

Weixing Yan agreed: “If you survive past 6 minutes, you’ll be heroes.”

Everyone: “….”

Is it because surrender can only be called after six minutes?

Ning Yao waved it off: “Not as bad as they say. 6 minutes is easy to hold—just turtle at base.”

Everyone: “…”

You’ve got it all planned out?

Luo Weizhi said quietly: “Actually, it’s not that hard.”

Everyone turned expectant eyes to Luo Weizhi, hopes high.

“Mages rush Moonchaser and Revival Armor first. Everyone else gets Revival Armor, then defend towers and play safe—but only if they don’t dive.”

Everyone: “…”

Easy my ass!

Seeing the five players’ grim faces, Mu Li encouraged them: “Don’t lose heart. Even if you lose, you’re already impressive.”

Everyone thought: Finally, something human.

“You know your opponents are from Glory Club’s Youth Training Class. With their skill and rank, you wouldn’t even match them in normal games. This is a golden chance to train—seize it!”

Everyone: “….”

Fuck!

Everyone from the ING Team is insane.

Luo Xi stifled a laugh: “Alright, stop looking like you’re heading to the execution ground. Be happy—it’s a game. Stay relaxed. Effort makes even defeat honorable.”

“Come on, let’s enter the game and start BP.”

Mu Li helped them select four bans first: two junglers and two mages.

Fu Liang asked Mu Li: “Mu Li-sensei, what should I play? I’m nervous.”

Mu Li glanced at the enemy side: “Play what you’re good at.”

Fu Liang thought: “Lanling King okay?”

“Sure, jungle core.”

Fu Liang had the highest skill among the five.

Bian Tang asked: “Then… what about me?”

Mu Li pondered: “You know Lu Ban Master, right?”

“Yeah.” Bian Tang selected it. “I’ll go with that.”

“Good.” Mu Li turned to the other three. “Qi Yaoyao on Bomb Cat, Jiang Qingyan on Xiahou Dun, Lan Ting as Yu Ji.”

Yu Lanting glanced at Zhai Yi, saw no objection, and nodded: “Okay.”

BP ended, and the game officially began.

The guest team was blue side, Youth Training Class red side.

Fu Liang was appointed commander to lead.

From the start, the support stuck with the jungler to farm economy, while the other laners huddled under their towers, afraid to step out.

: Yu Lanting’s Yu Ji is solid—well played, and her Q skill lands accurately.

: Zhai Yi didn’t teach her Yu Ji; must be Mu Li.

: Childhood friends playing games together is normal.

: Lately she’s been on Angela—her fireballs are on point, ults land well; great aim.

: Yeah, had to dive the tower for the kill. Good thing Yu Ji’s second skill refreshed, or it’d be over.

: Brief skirmish, no casualties.

Fu Liang spotted the bot lane clash and quickly said: “Yu Ji, back home and reset. Don’t fight them.”

Yu Lanting clicked to recall, but at that moment, the enemy’s jungler Lan snuck over.

Yu Lanting immediately flashed to dodge, but was flanked by Lan and the marksman, dying under the bot lane tower.

“Sorry,” Yu Lanting said apologetically.

Fu Liang shook his head. “It’s fine. It was a three-man gank, and you were already low on health—normal to not escape.”

Fu Liang rotated to top lane and bushed with Xiahou Dun against the enemy’s Lü Bu, trading 1-for-1. Both Xiahou Dun and Lü Bu died, and Lanling King snagged a kill.

Meanwhile, mid laner Qi Yaoyao got ganked, with Lan securing the kill.

Time ticked by. The Youth Training Class took all three outer towers, while Lan’s position flickered in and out of vision—they couldn’t pin him down.

But Lan already had five kills and the highest economy in the game. Kill score: Blue side 2, Red side 7.

With outer towers down and jungle vision lost, Red took the dragon, grouped mid for a fight, and smoothly pushed the mid T2 tower.

Qi Yaoyao and Jiang Qingyan fell one after another.

Fu Liang, Bian Tang, and Yu Lanting were trapped defending the high ground.

Time reached 6 minutes.

Fu Liang let out a light sigh. “Comrades, we’ve held for 6 minutes. Let’s keep pushing—just one more minute.”

The other four: “Got it.”

Red came on strong, shoving the mid lane with a minion wave. Through the five’s desperate efforts, the high ground tower clung to a sliver of health, barely blocking Red’s fierce assault.

Time reached 7 minutes.

The five all breathed a sigh of relief and kept holding off Red’s attacks. But then, Qi Yaoyao mispositioned and was instantly caught and burst by the enemy Lan.

Red surged forward like tigers into a flock of sheep. They activated interference, demolished the high ground tower, and charged the nexus with the wave.

The enemy mage Yi Xing trapped everyone in his frame, Guiguzi landed a massive ult pull, and Lu Ban unleashed furious damage for a quadruple kill.

Game over at 7:45. Red side victorious.

Fu Liang removed his headset and exhaled deeply, completely dazed.

“We can’t beat them. Their game sense, mechanics, and coordination are unreal.”

Qi Yaoyao said, aggrieved, “Sorry. If I hadn’t gotten caught by Lan, we could’ve held longer.”

Bian Tang shook his head. “The loss was inevitable. It wasn’t your mistake.”

Jiang Qingyan smiled. “Not bad, at least. We snagged 4 kills. Our marksman and jungler were awesome.”

Luo Xi clapped. “An honorable defeat. An honorable defeat.”

Ning Yao said, “You guys played really well. Everyone was great.”

Li Zhi praised, “Seriously impressive. Teacher Jiang, you played great.”

Lin Ranjiao nodded. “The marksman was top-notch, great awareness.”

“The jungler was awesome too—strong early rhythm.”

The five trudged offstage, utterly drained.

Luo Xi turned to Lin Ranjiao. “Coach Lin, shall we continue with the draws?”

Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.

Fu Liang pleaded, “Director Luo, can we switch someone?”

Another game, and he’d truly break.

Luo Xi shrugged. “They’re guests. We have to show some host hospitality.”

Fu Liang: “…”

You’re using us for hospitality? Don’t our lives matter?

Zhai Yi suddenly spoke up. “I’m planning to use my Wish Card.”

Everyone turned to look, suddenly remembering Zhai Yi had a Wish Card to use.

Luo Xi said meaningfully, “Zhai Yi, you want to use it now?”

Zhai Yi nodded. “Yeah.”

“What wish do you want?”

Zhai Yi handed the Wish Card to the staff. “The next two draws will be done by Guest Team members.”

Luo Xi nodded. “Alright.”

The crowd cheered.

Fu Liang was overcome with gratitude, tears in his eyes. “Godfather! My good godfather, my righteous and wise godfather!”

The guests settled on Mu Li and Yu Lanting to draw—they both had good luck.

Yu Lanting drew first, pulling four ING Team players in a row. Everyone went wild with joy, hoping the last ball was Zhai Yi—then the second game would be a sure win.

But the last ball was Fu Liang.

Fu Liang brimmed with confidence. “No worries. With 4 pros, as long as I don’t drag them down, we’ll win easy.”

The second game went just as Fu Liang hoped. From the start, the Guest Team crushed the Youth Training Class. All lanes collapsed. Mu Li on Mirror was ganking nonstop, top laner Luo Weizhi pinned the enemy top under tower with no escape, and mid laner Weixing Yan solo-pushed all the way to the enemy high ground.

Fu Liang played steadily—fed two early kills but made up for it late game. Solid performance.

It ended at 6:35. Guest Team victorious.

For the final draw, Mu Li pulled three ING Team players, plus Li Zhi and Zeng Ranran.

At this point, among the onstage guests, only Zhai Yi hadn’t played.

: What a shame—no Zhai Yi marksman today.

: Waiting for Zhai Yi’s stream tonight.

: Same, waiting for Zhai Yi’s stream.

: Third game looks dicey. Li Zhi on top, Zeng Ranran marksman. Mid, jungle, and support are pros, but this feels just like SV vs. ING in the last game of this spring split. Mu Li babysat bot the whole time but couldn’t match the marksman’s farm—couldn’t hold, total collapse.

: Coordination way worse than Youth Training Class. They deliberately ganked top and bot, avoiding direct fights with Mu Li and Weixing Yan.

: Too rough. Mu Li’s jungler running ragged.

: Done for. Top and bot collapsed. This one’s a loss.

…

The third game was the longest, deadlocked for over 20 minutes before the Youth Training Class smashed the nexus for the win.

Luo Xi clapped. “Come on, let’s celebrate the Youth Training Class’s victory.”

Applause filled the venue, though the Guest Team looked ashen-faced.

Luo Xi announced the second eliminated player: Qi Yaoyao.

She had the lowest score and seemed to know it was coming—she wasn’t too upset. She cheerfully said goodbye to everyone and left the villa.

Luo Xi kept the Youth Training Class for dinner. The head chef fired up a BBQ, and everyone stuffed themselves silly—tomorrow it’d be box meals, no more feasts.

After dinner, the variety show stream ended.

Zhai Yi was about to head back to her room to stream and make up airtime when Lin Ranjiao grabbed her.

“Can you help me get a signed photo from Yu Lanting?”

Zhai Yi raised an eyebrow. “You like her?”

Lin Ranjiao’s eyes sparkled. “Yeah, her acting is amazing. Her Lethal Winter premieres tomorrow. You should watch it then to boost Lan Ting’s viewership.”

Zhai Yi said, “Why ask me for a signed photo? Mu Li knows her well.”

Lin Ranjiao naturally knew about Mu Li and Yu Lanting’s relationship. After all, it was all over the internet.

“It’s different. At first, I thought Mu Li was close to her, but after seeing you two today, I feel like Yu Lanting is closer to you.”

A flicker of surprise flashed in Zhai Yi’s eyes. “What makes you say that?”

Lin Ranjiao said, “During filming earlier, Yu Lanting kept sneaking glances at you.”

Zhai Yi’s gaze flickered. “Did she? I didn’t notice. Maybe she was nervous from the competition.”

Lin Ranjiao pointed at her own eyes. “Do you know what these are?”

“Eyes.”

“No.” Lin Ranjiao smirked confidently. “A pair of girl-crush discerning eyes.”

“You like girls?” Zhai Yi asked in surprise.

In the original plot, wasn’t Lin Ranjiao supposed to like Mu Li?

Lin Ranjiao shook her head. “No, but I’m surrounded by tons of GL fans. See enough of it, and you get good at spotting it.”

Zhai Yi narrowed her eyes. “So are you an anti-fan of Yu Lanting?”

“Sexuality isn’t anything shameful. Whether Yu Lanting likes guys or girls, even if she likes a dog, I’ll support her forever.”

Zhai Yi said, “It’s her good fortune to have a fan like you.”

Lin Ranjiao lifted her chin proudly. “So you’ll help me get that signed photo. You can definitely get it.”

“I’m not going.”

“Why not?”

“Too awkward.”

“Please?” Lin Ranjiao grabbed Zhai Yi’s arm and shook it back and forth, acting shameless. “Help me get a signed photo. A TO sign. Just have her write ‘Love you’ as the message.”

Zhai Yi broke into a sweat. “You even have specific requests? No way. Go ask her yourself.”

Lin Ranjiao clung tightly to Zhai Yi’s arm. “You go get it for me.”

“No.”

“Pretty please.”

“No. Let go.”

“Not letting go. Pretty please.”

…

“What are these two doing?” Fu Liang wondered. “Are coaches and team members usually this close?”

Yu Lanting stared at their hands, bit her lip, and her gaze dimmed. “I’m tired. I’m heading back to my room.”

Fu Liang waved. “Alright, good night.”

Zhai Yi finally yanked her hand free. “Live stream duration shortened by 60 hours.”

“Ten hours max.”

Zhai Yi was shocked. “You’re agreeing to shorten the stream for Yu Lanting’s signed photo? Then 50 hours.”

“Twelve hours.” Lin Ranjiao huffed. “Do you know how hard it is to snag one of Yu Lanting’s TO signs?”

“Forty hours. You’re not being sincere here.”

“Twenty hours max. If you don’t want to cut the time, fine. I’ll just go beg Mu Li instead.” Lin Ranjiao pouted.

Zhai Yi nodded. “Deal.”

Cutting 20 hours of streaming wasn’t bad.

Lin Ranjiao pulled out the photo she’d carefully prepared and grinned. “Thanks!”

Zhai Yi took the photo and looked at Yu Lanting’s radiant smile on it—like a blazing sun hanging in the sky, dazzling and bright.

“Looks good, right? I picked it carefully.” Lin Ranjiao said smugly. “Just have her sign the back.”

“Got it.”

Lin Ranjiao said, “I’ll be staying here tonight. Our team’s having a meeting tomorrow, then I’ll head out. Have it signed by then, okay?”

“Got it.”

Zhai Yi returned to her room and started her stream to make up time.

Seeing a familiar ID enter the room, Zhai Yi’s gaze fell on the photo on her desk.

“Hang on, guys. I need to step out for a bit. Be right back.”

Zhai Yi took the photo up to the third floor and knocked on Yu Lanting’s door.

“Who is it?” Yu Lanting called from inside.

Since there were men staying in the villa, female celebrities had to be a bit more careful about personal safety and image.

Zhai Yi replied, “It’s me, Zhai Yi.”

The door swung open with a whoosh.

Yu Lanting looked flustered. “Why are you here? Is something up?”

Zhai Yi glanced at the phone she was hiding behind her back and held out Lin Ranjiao’s photo. “Got a sec? Lin Ranjiao asked me to get a TO sign from you for her. And could you add ‘Love you’ too?”

Yu Lanting: “….”