Thank you to Hide for the ko-fi~
He didn’t know why when Xiao Shengjing said that, Lin Lan seemed a little lost when he1XS used his hand.
In the steam-filled bathroom, Lin Lan looked at himself in the mirror. His face was flushed, his eyes misty, and even his toes clenched with embarrassment.
Though his soul was 24 years old, he actually had no experience in this aspect. Faced with Xiao Shengjing’s unfamiliar touch, he couldn’t relax his body, which was as tense as a stretched bow.
Countless kisses landed behind Lin Lan’s ears. In fact, Xiao Shengjing was also somewhat losing control, but he restrained himself, not allowing his inner desires to take over.
After a while, Lin Lan couldn’t help but let out a cry as the tension on the top of his feet became unbearable.
A completely different sensation rushed to his head. He couldn’t help but lower his head to kiss Xiao Shengjing, who was half kneeling in front of him. His desires became particularly clear at this moment, and he knew what he wanted.
He inserted his fingers into the other’s hair, imitating his actions to kiss and caress his earlobe.
Xiao Shengjing’s breathing became noticeably rapid, and he impatiently grabbed Lin Lan’s hand downward, burying his head in his neck and gasping heavily.
In the misty bathroom, they actually couldn’t see each other’s bodies clearly, relying solely on feeling to guide them.
Perhaps desire in this aspect is instinctual.
How to make oneself happy and how to make the other happy are completely intuitive.
Lin Lan turned away, his face still flushed. He was too afraid to look in the mirror. He allowed the other to hold his hand.
The panting by his ear became more and more urgent, yet he still couldn’t quite grasp the essence of it.
Suddenly, Lin Lan lowered his head and kissed Xiao Shengjing’s Adam’s apple, then kissed his chin. The person kneeling in front of him suddenly trembled, pulling him tightly into his embrace, breathing heavily.
“Lan Lan, Lan Lan,” Xiao Shengjing kissed him while calling his name, all the tension built up over these days was released at this moment, “Don’t leave me. Never leave me.”
Lin Lan was kissed breathlessly, looking at the man kneeling in front of him. His clothes were already wet from the shower, and he suddenly wanted to hug him.
Thinking so, he did just that.
He bent down and hugged him2XS tightly, his3LL legs wrapping around him4XS like a koala clinging to its tree, feeling safe.
The shower above instantly drenched them both. But their hearts became heated to different degrees.
When they hugged tightly together, Lin Lan actually recalled everything that had happened between them over the past year.
If he had to use one word to describe it, he would call it soulmates.
Since that day, Lin Lan no longer felt awkward. Even in the team, he didn’t hide his affection for Xiao Shengjing, and Xiao Shengjing continued to favor him as always.
Lu Shi was the first to notice something was different. During a relaxed gathering, he quietly asked Lin Lan, “Are you and the captain together?”
Lin Lan glanced at Xiao Shengjing and smiled, “Guess.”
“I guess you two must be together. I’ll go and test the captain’s reaction.” Lu Shi stood up with a bottle of wine, sat next to Xiao Shengjing, and whispered something to him. Xiao Shengjing’s gaze instantly fell on Lin Lan, looking a bit incredulous, and then he seemed to ask, “Did he say that?”
Lu Shi nodded vigorously.
Then Xiao Shengjing smiled, brighter than the blooming peach blossoms in March. He even took the initiative to have a drink with Lu Shi.
Lin Lan felt his face heating up again. With Lu Shi’s big mouth, the whole team would probably know by tonight.
However, it was strange; suddenly, he didn’t seem to care whether they knew or not.
After recovering from his injury, Lin Lan threw himself into active training, preparing earnestly for the upcoming matches. He paid no attention to outside distractions, focusing solely on his training matches.
He never responded to the rumors from the outside world, declined invitations from other teams, and when faced with constant harassment from Xie Zilu, Lin Lan simply replied with “Do not disturb” and blocked him directly.
Xie Zilu was not deterred; he changed numbers and continued to message: “Is there no time for rest during training? Can you at least reply to me three times a day? I don’t send much, it will only take you three minutes to read.”
Lin Lan blocked him again. But he changed numbers and sent another message: “Okay, okay, I won’t bother you. Can you just reply to me once a day to let me know you’re still alive?”
Lin Lan blocked him once more, finally bringing some peace to his world.
However, occasionally when they went out to eat, Lin Lan could see Xie Zilu lurking downstairs of their team building wearing large sunglasses, acting suspiciously. But he didn’t know what he was up to.
At moments like these, Xiao Shengjing would secretly pull Lin Lan aside and say, “The weather isn’t great today, shall we just order takeout?”
Lin Lan felt like Xiao Shengjing might be the reincarnation of a vinegar jar.
He was unwilling even to glance at others.
As time passed, the Tai brothers case finally came to a close. The two brothers were transferred to the Supreme Court for sentencing.
But Lin Lan no longer had time to focus on this case. The journey to the World Championship was drawing closer, and they were about to go to South Korea to participate in the tournament.
Because DT secured the first seed, they didn’t need to participate in the qualifiers. They just needed to go with ENG to compete in the group stage.
YTF maintained their points in the Play-In stage, securing the third seed and joining DT and ENG in the World Championship.
Meanwhile, IB, who had a clean sweep in the Play-In stage, was mocked to death by everyone. Moreover, people noticed that IB’s popularity seemed to be on the decline for real.
The three teams from the LPL region didn’t need to participate in the qualifiers either, directly advancing to the group stage, so they didn’t need to arrive at the event venue early.
Lin Lan even watched several qualifying matches domestically. Comparatively, the teams in the qualifiers were relatively weaker, with low intensity, and not very exciting to watch. But the diverse tactics were still interesting.
As the Play-In stage was coming to an end, Lin Lan and his team packed up and flew to South Korea with the rest of the group.
The event organizers provided rooms for each team. Lin Lan and Xiao Shengjing were assigned to a double room, fully equipped with computers, so they could move in right away.
Their neighbors were ENG and YTF, as well as the European and American teams. They would occasionally chat when they bumped into each other.
Eating was also very convenient as there was a restaurant downstairs.
However, it seemed like the beef noodles in Korea were poisonous. Half of DT had stomachaches after eating them, and then ENG’s jungler, unaware of this, also had diarrhea the next day after eating them. Following suit, YTF’s jungler, in an attempt to verify this, went to eat and was also knocked down. But the European and American brothers were fine after eating. So this incident became quite mysterious.
When Lu Shi mentioned this incident during his livestream at night, it didn’t take long for all the netizens in China to know about it.
They joked: [How about bringing two bottles of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce5LGM crispy chili oil, or Lao Gan Ma chili sauce, is filled to the brim with dried chili and crispy fried onion in a richly flavored oil. LGM or Lao Gan Ma is the most famous brand of chilli oil used throughout China. next time we go to compete?]
[Damn, the beef noodles incident is actually true?]
Lin Lan remained focused on preparing for the matches, paying no attention to what was happening outside. The end of the Play-In stage meant that the draw ceremony for the group stage was about to begin.
The draw for the World Championship is crucial, directly determining which group one is placed in and what kind of opponents they will face before the finals.
If luck is slightly off and one gets placed in the “death group”, it’s highly likely they won’t even make it out of the group stage.
According to the draw rules, the first seeds from the four major regions need to be drawn first, each placed in one of the four groups.
The groups are divided into ABCD, with AB being the upper half and CD being the lower half. Teams in the same half will meet before the semifinals.
Taking the stage for the draw was Shi Quan, with Coach Zhang and the team nervously waiting below, praying silently, “Please don’t let us be in the same half as YK…”
YK is the first seed from Korea and the team where the star mid-laner, Kuien, plays. It’s said that they have been unbeatable in Korea this year, winning two domestic championships in a row. Their dominance cannot be underestimated.
Fortunately, YK was drawn into Group A, DT in Group C, and the European and American brothers too in the lower half with them.
Coach Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, and it seemed like the coach of YK on stage also relaxed a bit. It was clear that they also didn’t want to be in the same half as DT.
The entire draw ceremony was broadcast live, and you could see the thoughts running through the minds of coaches from various regions. While DT and YK breathed sighs of relief, the European and North American coaches were grimacing with bitter smiles.
Everyone can feel it, both Korea and the LPL are strong this year.
After the first pool was drawn, it’s now time for the second pool.
In the second pool, there are a total of eight teams. Based on the principle of teams from the same region being placed in different groups, ENG was placed in Group B and YTF in Group D. Korea’s second seed was placed in Group C and the third seed in Group D.
It’s worth mentioning that the Southeast Asian region was also placed in Group C.
This means that Lin Lan’s team not only has Korea’s second seed in their group but also the first seed from the Southeast Asian region.
After the group stage, they will also face the first seed from Europe and North America, the third seed from Korea, and YTF…
This lineup looks like the standard for a death group and a death half of the bracket no matter how you look at it.
Coach Zhang couldn’t help but stop smiling. Apart from not drawing YK, DT has to face all the other strong teams.
This draw made the barrage commenters’ hearts ache. Not to mention the unpredictable plays from Vietnam’s jungler in the Southeast Asian team, DT might really struggle.
Just having Korea’s second seed in their group is enough trouble for DT.
If DT makes a mistake and fails to appear as the first in the group stage, they will also face the risk of being heavily defeated by the first in Group D…
[Damn, this is the death half of the bracket.]
[DT and YTF are really unlucky.]
[What’s going on in the lower half? Are the strong teams having a meeting?]
[I used to think ENG was unlucky. But they only have to face one strong team, while the lower half has to face them all.]
[Oh my god, DT is okay, I’m not too worried. But what about YTF!]
[I’m already starting to feel sorry for YTF.]
YTF is not a weak team themselves; they’ve made it to the World Championship almost every year.
This year, they were unlucky to encounter the emergence of DT. After struggling through the Play-In stage to make it to the World Championship, they unexpectedly got placed in such a deathly group.
Even before the games begin, just the announcement of their group has some netizens offering prayers for YTF in advance.
Because there’s a high chance they won’t even make it out of the group stage.