Jiang Jin is a very indecisive person.
He can be indecisive about every little thing. As long as there’s a slightly illogical bug in the game, he immediately drags Lin Lan into in-depth research, then meticulously writes a lengthy research conclusion and improvement suggestions to send to the official. And he insists on waiting for a reply. If he doesn’t get one, he keeps pestering Lin Lan with complaints like, “My data can’t be wrong…”
Thanks to him, Lin Lan now gets dizzy at the sight of data and gets a headache when he sees bugs. He can’t understand how a game that seems so simple to him becomes so complicated in Jiang Jin’s eyes.
Jiang Jin even once wrote three densely packed pages, summarizing numerous data comparisons and analyses, encompassing all current bot lane combinations, and even predicting the direction of version changes for the next two years. All of this was to prove that he would be the best support choice for Lin Lan.
Jiang Jin: “You should play professionally with me; we’ll definitely achieve great results.”
Jiang Jin: “I am the best support for you; the data doesn’t lie.”
Jiang Jin: “Are you really not considering it?”
On the day of the celebration banquet, Lin Lan had a bit too much to drink. Whenever he saw messages from Jiang Jin, his head would ache. So, he sent him a voice message directly, “I don’t need a support. I play mid-lane. I only need a jungler. Can you do that?”
He sent some more messages afterward, but Lin Lan doesn’t remember. All he knows is that the next day, Jiang Jin sent him four words: “Are you Lin Lan?”
Just these simple four words carried a lot of shock and confusion. Lin Lan dropped himself off a horse just like that, but he couldn’t understand why a couple of voice messages would make him fall off the horse.
Afterward, Jiang Jin disappeared for a long time. Suddenly one day, he reappeared, saying, “I can’t play jungle. Can I join your team as a support?”
Lin Lan had almost forgotten about this person, but he was surprised when he saw him again. He went to check Jiang Jin’s match records, and it turned out he really tried playing jungle, even inventing innovative strategies like jungle Morgana, which were adopted by different teams shortly.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t suited for the jungle himself. He didn’t have the talent for it, so he thought about joining Lin Lan’s team as a support. He mustered the courage to send him this message.
Lin Lan’s team already had a stable support, and even if he wanted to switch, the team owners wouldn’t agree. Lin Lan could only politely decline.
But Jiang Jin was straightforward; he didn’t understand beating around the bush. He thought Lin Lan was testing him and giving him an opportunity. So, he persisted relentlessly, even escalating the matter to the internet, causing a big fuss. As a result, a large number of fans joined in the uproar.
When things got out of hand, Lin Lan had to be interviewed by the big bosses for an entire afternoon, telling him not to affect the internal harmony of the team.
Frustrated, Lin Lan had to find Jiang Jin again, “Let’s play a solo game. If you win, I’ll let you be my teammate.”
Lin Lan had consecutively won three All-Star Solo Championships, hailed as the number one in League of Legends. How could Jiang Jin possibly be his opponent?
This was undoubtedly a losing game.
However, he still went to the meeting alone, as agreed.
That day, Lin Lan didn’t hold back. He ruthlessly brutalized Jiang Jin using his proficient hero.
Jiang Jin stood up again and again, restarting each time. He was a very persistent person, but in this world, persistence was futile. Even if he was filled with passion, it wouldn’t change anything.
In the end, Lin Lan couldn’t bear watching anymore and directly exposed the truth: “I play mid-lane, and I don’t need a support. If you ask me to tell the boss that I want to switch to support, what do you think he’ll think? Besides, we’re not on the same path. Even if we cooperate, it would only be in the jungle. Can you coordinate with me if you join my team? Don’t daydream.”
It seemed like Jiang Jin was completely awakened. He silently archived his smurf account, turned around, and joined Lin Lan’s opposing team, signing a three-year contract.
Initially, Lin Lan thought he had come to his senses. However, during matches, he was tormented by Jiang Jin’s various tactics, making him suffer. Lin Lan realized Jiang Jin hadn’t come to terms with it at all. He just chose a different way to prove, to prove that what Lin Lan said initially was wrong.
Later, his advanced tactics were imitated by numerous support players in different regions. From then on, Lin Lan’s mid lane was no longer an individual’s mid lane but a mid lane shared by many.
Every time Lin Lan recalled this, he wanted to give his past self a big slap. Why couldn’t he control his mouth?
As the game ended, Lin Lan didn’t rush to exit. He waited for Jiang Jin to add him, and indeed, the other person came. The first thing he said was, “How long have you been playing this game?”
Lin Lan chuckled. It was indeed this question. He replied, “Not long, just a little over a month. I’m still in school.”
The other person disappeared for a while, evidently checking his game records. After a moment, he sneakily came back, “Why do you play every position?”
Lin Lan didn’t hold back and jabbed at him, “Definitely choose a fill role. Just playing support is too dull.”
The other person fell silent again, obviously hurt by the sharp comment.
He was the type of player who only played support and would reveal his true colors when playing other roles, making him quite uninteresting. He dreamed of experiencing the feeling of dealing damage, but his stats would appear lackluster when he touched positions that required a lot of skill.
Jiang Jin consoled himself, believing that everyone had their fixed roles determined by talent. He considered himself a talented player, barely reaching the industry’s peak. However, meeting a random player who was an all-around expert, reaching his level in just two months, made him doubt himself.
Jiang Jin stayed silent for a long time, weakly asking him, “Can I add you as a friend? Can we duo queue in the future?”
After saying that, he sent a team invitation to Lin Lan.
Lin Lan knew Jiang Jin would invite him to duo queue. This person was extremely competitive in all aspects. When he encountered someone stronger, he would thoroughly study them to feel at ease.
In the original world, he stuck to Lin Lan just to study him. However, Lin Lan was a person he couldn’t completely fathom, so he had to keep on studying, becoming a bit obsessed by the end.
Lin Lan always felt that Jiang Jin was a person who would go crazy to survive. No matter in which industry he immersed himself, he always attempted to change the industry landscape with his limited power. In this regard, Lin Lan admired him.
So, Lin Lan accepted the team invitation.
He knew Jiang Jin wanted to study him, but he wasn’t afraid. What Jiang Jin could see through at a glance was like a small ditch, while Lin Lan aimed to be the vast sea.
In the second game, Lin Lan chose Draven, an AD carry with a difficulty level comparable to Vayne’s. Draven’s unique mechanics and AD positioning contradicted each other, causing headaches for many AD players.
Lin Lan loved playing heroes of this type. High risk also meant high rewards, making the game more interesting. As for other heroes, they were automatically classified as “mediocre heroes” in his eyes.
Jiang Jin was visibly surprised when he saw Lin Lan pick Draven. Vayne was still considered a traditional AD carry, while Draven’s special positioning wasn’t something everyone could master; it required extensive control practice.
He asked Lin Lan, “Can you play Draven?”
Lin Lan replied, “It’s okay.”
Jiang Jin’s support suddenly stood still, obviously checking Lin Lan’s game records. After a while, he came back online, but his playstyle became less aggressive.
Lin Lan, playing various roles on this account, had only played Draven once or twice, and the poor synergy with the support resulted in less impressive stats. Therefore, Jiang Jin thought Lin Lan couldn’t play Draven and adjusted his playstyle to be more conservative.
Thinking about this, Lin Lan wanted to tease him again. He typed to Jiang Jin, “This hero is so difficult to play, can’t even catch the axes.”
Jiang Jin comforted him, “It’s okay, just follow my lead.”
Before he could finish speaking, Lin Lan aggressively secured level three and initiated a combo. The axes were caught smoothly, and in no time, he took down the enemy AD carry.
Forced to follow Lin Lan’s rhythm, Jiang Jin seemed a bit confused. After returning to base, he hesitated and asked, “Do you really know how to play Draven?”
Lin Lan replied, “It’s okay, played a couple of times.”
As he said that, he executed another combo, nearly killing the enemy AD carry. This scared the enemy jungler, who had just shown up and made him retreat without attempting a gank.
Can someone play this well after just a couple of games?
Jiang Jin fell into a deep silence again.
This had exceeded his realm of understanding. As a result, his playstyle became more hesitant and stuck between the thoughts of “he can play” and “he can’t play,” making him doubt even his ability to play the game.
Even through the screen, one could imagine the opponent’s frustrated and questioning expression. The more Lin Lan thought about it, the funnier it seemed. “Too amusing…”
After this game, Lin Lan killed 12 people, a complete slaughter, while Jiang Jin became mute, not daring to say a word. Only after the game did he weakly ask, “You’re not lying to me, right? You really just started?”
Lin Lan didn’t directly answer the question and pretended to be in a hurry. “My mom came back from buying groceries; you play by yourself.”
He immediately went offline, leaving Jiang Jin with a head full of questions and nowhere to ask. He probably wouldn’t sleep well tonight, but he deserved it. Who asked him to constantly want to annoy the mid-lane for no reason?
Lin Lan switched to another account, feeling in a good mood. Beside him, Ayu also felt something was off. “Lin Lan, who are you duo queuing with? You’ve been smiling all afternoon.”
“Met someone very interesting.”
Lin Lan switched to his main account for ranked games. This account had reached Grandmaster, so the queue times were longer. Taking advantage of the idle time, he looked at his phone and suddenly received a notification of a deposit of over five thousand yuan. His first reaction was, “Who transferred the wrong amount? Why did someone send me over five thousand?”
Ayu leaned over. “Let me see.”
After checking, he laughed. “It’s your salary. Lin Lan, are you silly? Don’t you recognize the company account?”
Lin Lan indeed didn’t recognize it, but something wasn’t right. “Wasn’t my salary three thousand?”
“That was the basic salary for trainees. Now that you’re officially playing in matches, the base salary is six thousand, the same for a few of us. You took so many days off this month; I guess Brother Mu deducted a bit. If you think there’s a problem, you can ask him for a salary slip.”
Lin Lan then realized that as a player participating in matches, a slightly higher salary was normal, right? Damn, he must have fallen for Lu Shi’s PUA, thinking three thousand was the normal salary.
Author’s note:
Thanks to the little angel who launched the rocket: Additional leak 1;
Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: Additional leak 1;
Thanks to the little angel who threw the landmine: Moonset 1;
