IRAJAS Chapter 113

After finishing the live stream, Lin Lan gained a deeper understanding of Gragas. As the stream was ending, he enthusiastically grabbed Xiao Shengjing and said, “I think I have quite a talent for playing jungler.”

Xiao Shengjing lied through his teeth, “Hmm, not bad.”

Lin Lan: “Then I want to play it again next time.”

Xiao Shengjing: “Sure, I’ll play with you.”

After that, the two happily ended the stream, leaving their fans bewildered and a screen full of question marks.

Are they truly in love, and are the fans just incidental?

The next day, the match between ENG and YTF was about to start.

Lin Lan and the others didn’t go to the venue; they finished their training early and sat in the conference room to watch the match together.

YTF’s strength wasn’t weak; on the contrary, they had made great progress in the summer season.

But even with such significant progress, they were still very passive in front of ENG. Except for barely making a comeback in the third game, they lost all the other matches.

Qi Mo was even more decisive than he had been during the spring season. He seemed to have learned a lot from Lin Lan, with his playstyle even faintly exuding that oppressive aura characteristic of Lin Lan.

What was even more terrifying was that Qi Mo still maintained his strong support capabilities, which happened to be the very thing Lin Lan lacked.

When ENG secured a 3-1 victory over YTF, everyone instinctively looked at Lin Lan. He had always been competitive, so how did he feel seeing Qi Mo perform like this?

After watching the match, Lin Lan’s expression clearly changed, but he quickly relaxed and said, “ENG’s jungler, Zhang Chao, is obviously not as good as our captain. The synergy between our mid and jungle is definitely better. Besides, my support isn’t bad now, right? I felt that I supported quite well in the match against KIG, and I wasn’t slower than Qi Mo…”

After he finished speaking, he noticed the strange looks everyone was giving him.

Lin Lan: “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Jiang Jin looked a bit surprised, “Lin Lan, you seem to have changed a lot.”

Lin Lan: “How have I changed?”

“You used to always go solo, and when you encountered a strong opponent, you would insist on facing them head-on. But now, you think about teamwork first, and you do support more than before.”

“Yeah, yeah, that time you came to the top lane, I didn’t expect it at all.”

“And that game where you flanked with Ahri, do you remember? You completely confused the enemy team.”

“Really?” Lin Lan hadn’t realized it himself.

Thinking back, ever since Coach Shi forced him to play supportive mid-laners, his understanding of the game had indeed changed.

Especially after yesterday’s match where he executed that perfect Gragas barrel, he felt a very subtle emotion toward this extreme synergy. That feeling was no less intense than when he went solo against a strong opponent.

Perhaps this was what Coach Shi meant by the higher realm he could pursue…?

Coach Shi Quan, overhearing their conversation, saw Lin Lan’s thoughtful expression among the group and chuckled to himself.

The long season of training seemed to finally be paying off for Lin Lan.

ENG’s victory over YTF meant that the championship would be decided between DT and ENG.

Discussions about this flooded the internet:

[ENG is really fierce this year.]

[DT isn’t bad either, right?]

[I heard their scrimmages are evenly matched.]

[Wow. So no one knows who will win?]

[So exciting. This final is going to be great!]

During the seven days of preparation, both teams trained diligently. They also had two scrimmages during this period, each team winning once, with the gap between them being very narrow.

This result made Lin Lan a bit nervous. He wanted that championship so much that sometimes he couldn’t sleep at night and would get up in the middle of the night to stand on the balcony, lost in thought.

Xiao Shengjing noticed his unusual behavior, got up, and came to his side, patting his head. “What’s wrong? Feeling a lot of pressure?”

Lin Lan turned to look at him, feeling slightly more relaxed. “Yeah, it feels like ENG has grown so fast. I’m suddenly a bit scared.”

Xiao Shengjing: “The ENG players have always been strong. Plus, with DT practicing against them, their experience has also increased. This year is their peak period, so it’s inevitable that they’re stronger.”

This was exactly what Lin Lan was worried about. This year was ENG’s peak period. When he led IB, they never managed to defeat them, losing repeatedly and missing out on all the championships that year. This had become a mental block for him. The closer they got to the final moment, the more his anxiety grew. “Jiang Xu is young; he can’t compare to Wulen. Xu Shengwei still needs at least two more years of training to reach his peak. Jiang Jin… Jiang Jin hasn’t fully emerged from Xu Shengwei’s shadow yet. He hasn’t shown his full potential.”

“But,” Xiao Shengjing patted his head again, a rare smile in his usually stern eyes, “you’re different. Your hands aren’t injured. Qi Mo is definitely not your match. And if worst comes to worst, there’s still me. Didn’t you say I’m better than Zhang Chao? So, do you have confidence that the two of us can lead the other three to win?”

Lin Lan had thought about relying on individual skills to carry the team. But this is a team game, so it was just a passing thought.

Now, hearing Xiao Shengjing say they would do it together, something inside him seemed to loosen a bit. “Do you think our teamwork will be better than theirs?”

“Yeah,” Xiao Shengjing never doubted this point. He leaned against the balcony next to Lin Lan. “Haven’t you noticed? It’s like we have a telepathic connection. One of us raises a hand, and the other instantly knows what they want to do and naturally follows through…”

Lin Lan had never thought about this before. But now that he recalled, it seemed true. They rarely needed to communicate about details; it was as if they naturally thought the same way.

As he tilted his head, still pondering, Xiao Shengjing cupped his head and kissed him on the lips, his breath hot. “They won’t have better synergy than us. I can initiate boldly because I know you’ll follow. You can fight boldly because I’ll always have your back…”

In the cool night air, something indeed seemed to flow between them. Xiao Shengjing lowered his head and kissed him again, warmth rising in his chest. Lin Lan tried to respond.

The kiss grew intense. When they finally pulled apart, both were a bit embarrassed to look at each other, as if they had crossed a line they hadn’t before.

Staring into the thin night air, Xiao Shengjing suddenly asked, “Why do you want this championship so much? In your previous world, you won so many — MSI, Worlds — this championship shouldn’t mean much to you, right?”

Indeed, it shouldn’t. A summer split championship was nothing compared to the countless titles he had won.

But Lin Lan was obsessed with winning it, as if only by doing so could the deepest wound in his life finally heal.

Lin Lan: “Ah Jing, do you know what an obsession is? Perhaps for me, the lowest point of my life has become my obsession. Even though I’ve changed worlds, that obsession hasn’t faded. I still remember the feeling of constantly losing to ENG that year. The fall was so hard that even though I got back up, the wound still aches.”

Lin Lan lowered his eyes. This was the first time he revealed his vulnerability in front of Xiao Shengjing. “This time, I don’t want to fall again.”

Xiao Shengjing finally understood Lin Lan’s mental block. Despite his usual indifferent facade, he truly cared about everything he had experienced in that other world.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have abandoned all his fame in that world and stayed in this one without hesitation.

Xiao Shengjing leaned down and kissed his forehead, a touch of tenderness in his voice. “This time, I’ll hold you up.”

His gentleness moved Lin Lan. But within three seconds, he reverted to his usual tough demeanor. “So, since I’m not in the best mood, can we play a few more games today?”

Xiao Shengjing’s voice instantly darkened. “Lin Lan, you just said you wanted to win the championship, and now you want to slack off?”

Lin Lan insisted, “This isn’t slacking off, it’s relaxing. I… hey?”

Xiao Shengjing scooped Lin Lan up and tossed him onto the bed, forcefully tucking him under the covers.

“Xiao Shengjing!” Lin Lan angrily tried to get up but was pushed back down.

With his 6’3 frame, Xiao Shengjing had no trouble subduing him. He pressed Lin Lan back into the covers and coldly warned, “If you dare get up in the middle of the night to play games, do you believe I’ll punish you?”

Lin Lan: “You wouldn’t dare!”

Xiao Shengjing: “Try me.”

Lin Lan: “Hahaha… stop tickling! Stop tickling! Help!!”

…

The day before the finals, the team was still intensely practicing. The team created the best training environment for them, almost completely isolating them.

But even in this isolation, Lu Shi brought shocking news: “Oh my god, Feifei cleared things up online.”

“Hmm? Where?”

“On VB. He directly confronted Chen Heng and exposed all his dirty deeds—manipulation, cheating, tricking him into joining the team, and posting on VB under his name… That scumbag is finally being exposed.”

Lin Lan took Lu Shi’s phone and saw Feifei’s post.

Feifei came forward to clarify the situation, publicly apologized to Lin Lan, and revealed the entire story of his involvement with Chen Heng.

His words conveyed his complete disappointment in the scumbag, and his emotions seemed very unstable. At the end of his long post, he mentioned that Chen Heng had violent tendencies and had cheated on him multiple times while manipulating him. He felt utterly devastated but finally came to his senses and exposed the truth.

This news was explosive in the esports community.

Although his apology was mainly directed at Lin Lan, in reality, Lin Lan had already weathered the public opinion crisis with the protection of his team and teammates. Therefore, all the attention was focused on the scumbag, Chen Heng.

Whether it was manipulation, infidelity, domestic violence, or framing Lin Lan, each accusation was an unforgivable crime.

Chen Heng initially tried to sway public opinion back in his favor, engaging in several rounds of online arguments with Feifei. However, he soon realized that no one was on his side and quietly retreated from the internet.

Subsequently, ACG dismissed Chen Heng for his misconduct. Feifei, though, also faced consequences; he was fined by the team and likely wouldn’t have the opportunity to play again.

Seeing the outcome, the five members of DT felt a mix of emotions. Lu Shi took the initiative to call Feifei and asked, “Feifei, are you okay?”

Feifei’s voice on the other end was low and weary as if he had finally woken up after the upheaval. “Lu Shi, you were right. I should have listened to you back then.”

But now, it was too late to change anything. Feifei couldn’t come back, and DT had already found his replacement.

Feifei: “Can you help me tell Lin Lan that I’m sorry?”

Lu Shi looked over at Lin Lan. The rest of the teammates also glanced at him, curious about his reaction.

Lin Lan had thought he would mind, but in reality, hearing Feifei’s voice, he found he didn’t care as much anymore. He casually replied, “It’s okay. I don’t mind anymore.”

Feifei laughed through tears on the other end of the line. “Thank you.”

After hanging up, Lu Shi immediately put his arm around Lin Lan’s shoulder. “You’re really not mad at Feifei?”

“I’m a grown man, why would I be so petty? But it’s impossible to go back to how things were before…” Lin Lan replied, remembering that his game was still running, and quickly went to check if he had respawned. “Damn, almost went AFK.”

He wasn’t worried about winning or losing the game; he was worried about the 200 yuan fine he would have to pay if he went AFK.

Seeing him really moving on, Lu Shi breathed a sigh of relief.

Oh Feifei, Feifei, I hope you learn from this in your next life. Don’t lose a group of good friends over a scumbag.

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