T/L: New novel! This time, I’m picking an esport, especially this one bc it’s not based on real game (I refuse to edit any LOL sorry not sorry). I really liked the MC in this one, he’s my (bratty) baby lol
If you don’t know anything about MOBA, fear not! I’m linking MOBA terms reference [here] I don’t play MOBA too (I only watch gameplays now thanks to reading danmei) bc I know my skill issue will just lead me to get flamed by my teammates…
I’ll also create a general MOBA term if you don’t want to get in-depth! Be careful though, I’m not sure it’s 100% accurate since I’m a noob myself.
!!!This is MTL. I can’t guarantee it will be accurate, so if I make mistakes, do let me know. I will do my best to make it fun to read and localize the terms to western gaming terms (so HP rather than blood, MP rather than mana, etc etc). I also do not allow retranslation from my tl/MTL edit, because of that. Please translate from the og source. Thank you.
Edit: The game featured in this story is just… thinly-disguised LOL 💀 💀 Turns out, I’m the clown…
November, drizzly and overcast.
Inside a shopping mall in A City, two young men walked towards the [God Making] merchandise store, one following the other.
The person in front was dressed casually, wearing a white hoodie with a matching scarf and a baseball cap, showing only a small, pretty part of their face. At first glance, he looked very well-behaved.
“Jiang Shi, there definitely won’t be many people buying merchandise today,” said the short, chubby figure behind, lingering by a milk tea shop, “Walk slower, will you?”
[God Making] is currently the most popular MOBA game. The global finals just ended yesterday afternoon, with the Chinese team TLG losing to the Korean team YB 1:3, narrowly missing the championship.
Many Chinese esports fans angrily criticized the domestic esports players, causing the usually highly sought-after merchandise of the related heroes to be neglected, leaving the store empty.
Both of them were gaming livestreamers, meeting up for a meal and to browse the merchandise store.
Jiang Shi turned back upon hearing this, flashing a “friendly” smile, “If you dawdle any longer, I don’t mind carrying you over.”
After saying this, he even made a show of rolling up his sleeves.
This action instantly dispelled the well-behaved facade of Jiang Shi. Bamboo1Yes, his name is literally Bamboo (Zhu Zi) aka “竹子”. It’s probably his username. was so scared that he straightened up and quickened his pace, “Would you look at that, I suddenly feel energized.”
Jiang Shi may look slim, but he had astonishing strength and wouldn’t hesitate to carry him and embarrass him in public.
When they entered the store, Jiang Shi quickly selected his target—
A white snowman doll wrapped in bandages, waving.
This was Snowman, a support hero from [God Making], known for its agile movement and high skill ceiling.
Bamboo looked at the doll in his hands and asked, “You’re an ADC, why do you like this hero so much?”
He never understood Jiang Shi’s love for Snowman. After all, in the game, Jiang Shi didn’t like anyone using Snowman to support him. It was a hero rarely played well in public matches, often seen as a burden.
But whenever there was new Snowman merchandise, regardless of how beautiful or ugly it is, Jiang Shi would buy it.
After a 360-degree inspection to ensure the Snowman doll was flawless, Jiang Shi finally answered Bamboo’s question, “Don’t you think it’s cute?”
“Just because it’s cute?” Bamboo teased, seeing how precious he considered it, “Or are you still hung up on your previous online boyfriend?”
Jiang Shi once started an online relationship over a close-up hand photo. The other person also played support, and during one of their three-person queue, he showcased an impressive Snowman performance that Jiang Shi never forgot.
“Of course, today is the 301st day since we separated.” Jiang Shi sighed, patting the doll’s head with a melancholic expression.
However, this sorrow lasted less than three seconds before Jiang Shi nonchalantly added, “But I like Snowman because of another man.”
Bamboo: “…”
He was almost touched by his act.
The two of them then bought some blind boxes they liked and went to the cashier together.
There was a long queue at the cashier, noisy with several people returning items.
“I bought a bunch of merchandise yesterday to support TLG. It’s unopened, and I have the receipt. Why can’t I return it?”
“Yeah, that trash team isn’t worth my money!”
The disastrous defeat in yesterday’s finals caused many fans to quit their support, resulting in a wave of returns for TLG merchandise.
Among them was a short-haired girl holding several dolls, hesitantly standing at the end of the line.
When Jiang Shi saw the mini white doll in her arms, his eyes lit up, “Are you returning this?”
“Yeah.” The girl looked down at the merchandise in her arms with slight sadness, “I used to really like TLG, especially the bot lane duo, but…”
Yesterday, the ADC was completely off their game, frequently getting picked off, which left her disheartened.
She noticed the Snowman doll in Jiang Shi’s hands and asked, “Are you a TLG fan too?”
TLG’s support, Xie Xu, was known for his signature hero, the Snowman.
Jiang Shi initially wanted to deny it, but then he changed his mind, “Yes.”
“Although they didn’t perform well in the match, I still believe in them,” Jiang Shi softened his voice. “If you want to return it, I can buy that crown-wearing Snowman from you. I’ll cherish it.”
This crown-wearing Snowman was a limited edition merch, and he hadn’t managed to get it!
After saying this, Jiang Shi slightly lifted his face, ensuring that the girl didn’t think he was insincere by hiding under his hat.
The girl, upon seeing his face clearly, was visibly stunned.
She didn’t expect Jiang Shi to be so good-looking.
His skin was very fair, with a few strands of hair escaping the brim of his hat, their light gray color accentuating his clean, delicate face. His long, beautiful fox-like eyes looked at her earnestly, the hidden hope in his eyes making her heart melt.
The two quickly made the exchange, and the other people requesting returns were told they couldn’t return items without quality issues. The girl then left with the remaining merchandise.
Bamboo, who had been watching the whole time, was dumbfounded, “No, wait, since when are you a TLG fan? Just a few days ago, they contacted me, asking if you wanted to join their team, and you refused without hesitation!”
He had been excited at the time since transitioning from a game livestreamer to a professional player was a significant qualitative leap.
But Jiang Shi had only responded—
“Playing professionally? Working myself to death? Not even a dog would do that.”
Jiang Shi, satisfied, placed the crown-wearing Snowman into his pocket, “Of course I’m not their fan.”
He had no interest in this kind of celebrity team and still couldn’t distinguish the five members of this team.
Bamboo choked, “I shouldn’t have asked.”
He knew it wasn’t the first day he realized how good Jiang Shi was at coaxing people.
He stopped talking and quietly waited in line, checking his shopping basket to make sure he hadn’t missed any blind boxes. Suddenly, he heard Jiang Shi ask from ahead, “Was this guy in front of us before?”
Bamboo looked up at Jiang Shi’s words and saw a burly middle-aged man standing in front of him.
“No,” Bamboo said firmly, “The person standing in front of you earlier was a male college student wearing glasses.”
College students were easy to recognize, and he couldn’t have mistaken it.
But now there was a person standing between the college student and Jiang Shi.
It seemed the man had cut in line during the confusion of the returns.
Noticing their scrutiny, the middle-aged man grumbled impatiently, “What are you looking at?”
He said it confidently, his eyes disdainfully scanning them up and down.
Jiang Shi was slender, and though Bamboo had some weight, he wasn’t tall, making them appear non-threatening.
Bamboo sensed trouble and was about to speak when Jiang Shi suddenly clicked his tongue.
Then, he watched in astonishment as Jiang Shi grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar and unceremoniously pushed him out of the line, “Get lost.”
With a simple word, not only was Bamboo stunned, but the middle-aged man was also bewildered.
The nearly 200-jin2think of it like the Chinese pound. It’s about 100 kg man stood dumbfounded beside the line. When he finally recovered, his face turned red with anger, “What do you mean by that?”
Jiang Shi casually stuck one hand in his pocket, tilted his head, and said indifferently, “Wanna fight?”
With people like this, there was no point in reasoning.
The middle-aged man was about to retort when he met Jiang Shi’s gaze.
Jiang Shi’s dark eyes were calm but carried a hint of coldness, as if he wouldn’t mind having a “good talk” with him.
Even his previously innocent-looking light gray hair now seemed arrogant and wild, like a wolf cub.
Bamboo couldn’t help but grab Jiang Shi’s sleeve, ready to intervene at any moment.
While he was on edge, the middle-aged man backed down, muttering, “Where did this little punk come from…”
Then he walked to the end of the line.
Jiang Shi brushed off Bamboo’s hand, “With me here, what are you afraid of?”
Bamboo let go, still shaken, “I’m worried you’ll beat him to a pulp, and I’ll have to go to the police station and bail you out!”
Jiang Shi wasn’t the type to avoid trouble. Early in his streaming career, his striking looks attracted all kinds of unsavory characters who kept saying dirty words and even asked Jiang Shi to meet offline.
While Bamboo was still thinking about hiring more moderators to ban the troublemakers, Jiang Shi went to meet one of them the next day. Word was, the lecherous middle-aged man was beaten so badly until his parents wouldn’t recognize him3until he was unrecognizable (from his injuries).
“Can’t you be less impulsive? Doesn’t anyone keep you in check?”
Jiang Shi ignored Bamboo’s nagging. He noticed the pale-faced cashier and her hand hidden under the counter. After a pause, he handed over his Snowman doll, his face devoid of its earlier coldness, and smiled reassuringly, “Don’t worry, even if we do fight, it won’t be in the store.”
He’d drag that idiot into an alley if it came to that.
When Jiang Shi smiled, a small dimple appeared on his right cheek, and his clean, warm voice was irresistibly sweet.
There was no trace of the earlier aggressive and domineering demeanor.
Faced with such a smile, the cashier couldn’t help but relax. She retracted her hand, which had been poised to press the alarm button.
After ringing up his purchase, she kindly reminded him, “We recently stocked plushies of the Snowman’s MVP championship skin. They’re on the west side, facing the main entrance. You might be interested.”
Noticing that Jiang Shi had bought the Snowman doll from someone else, she guessed he was a fan of the character.
Sure enough, Jiang Shi’s eyes lit up at her words, and after thanking her, he hurried towards the main entrance.
He had heard the Snowman’s FMVP skin plushies were about to be released, and it seemed he had arrived just in time.
As he approached the entrance, four masked individuals walked in. Focused on finding the shelf, he didn’t pay much attention to them.
A few minutes later, he finally found the spot the cashier had mentioned. Most of the other merchandise was sold out, but luckily, one Snowman plush remained.
Just as Jiang Shi was about to grab it, a hand from behind reached out and took the plushie first.
Jiang Shi froze, not because the plushie was taken, but because of the hand—
Long fingers, distinct joints, with visible veins on the back of the hand. As it held the plushie, the fingers sank into the furry fabric, creating a hidden, restrained beauty.
Jiang Shi’s heart skipped a beat.
This hand reminded him of a photo from his memory.
Though the picture was blurry, Jiang Shi always remembered the bony beauty of those hands, which felt exactly the same as this one.
As a dedicated hand-con, Jiang Shi couldn’t take his eyes off it for a long time.
Suddenly, the hand moved, and the snowman plush was held out to him, “If you want it, it’s yours.”
The gap between the shelves was somewhat tight. The person stood slightly behind him, and as he spoke, a warm breath lightly brushed Jiang Shi’s ear, making it impossible to ignore in the chilly autumn weather.
Jiang Shi couldn’t help but rub his ear, feeling a bit numb.
Xie Xu paused as he watched Jiang Shi’s ears turn red, then he put the plushie back on the shelf and took a step back.
By the time Jiang Shi turned around, the person was already gone, leaving only a tall, sturdy back in sight.
Unbeknownst to him, a round face peeked out from the side of the shelf, gazing eagerly, “I didn’t expect to see a fan still supporting us at this time.”
The speaker was TLG’s mid-laner Jiang Lele4Jiang Shi and Jiang Lele have different surnames. Jiang Shi is 江时 while Jiang Lele is 姜乐乐, with the top-laner and jungler standing behind him, all looking at Jiang Shi heading to the cashier.
Due to their defeat in the finals last night, TLG had been flamed all day. The team manager had sent them out to take a break.
Each wore a hat and mask, thoroughly disguised, avoiding recognition.
Watching Jiang Shi treasure the snowman plush, Jiang Lele felt a pang of regret, “If I knew he was a fan, I’d have definitely gone up to him!”
When they entered, they had witnessed the conflict between Jiang Shi and the queue-jumping man, but before they could step in, Jiang Shi had resolved it himself.
Jiang Lele’s first impression was that Jiang Shi was not to be messed with. Even with a hat on, his gray hair made him look quite rebellious, prompting Jiang Lele to instinctively hide behind his teammates.
However, when he saw Jiang Shi pick up TLG’s linked snowman plush, his impression improved instantly.
The Snowman wore Xie Xu’s exclusive FMVP skin, which was expensive and surely only bought by true fans.
Especially during such a trying time.
Jiang Lele, disheartened by the online backlash, found great comfort in this fan’s actions.
“Captain, he must be a die-hard fan of yours, maybe even the whole TLG.”
As they said – love the house, love the dog5爱屋及乌. Idiom. Love for one extends to everything related to them.
Xie Xu watched Jiang Shi finish his purchase from across the shelf.
He didn’t deny Jiang Lele’s words.
Jiang Lele felt reassured, his lips curving into a smile after a day of tension, only to hear Jiang Shi’s conversation with the cashier not far away.
“Excuse me, does cutting off TLG’s tag affect the doll?”
With keen hearing, Jiang Lele detected a tone of disdain in Jiang Shi’s voice.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
Throughout his transaction, Jiang Shi felt eyes on him. But whenever he turned around, he only saw a few people leaving, with the smallest one stumbling over an advertising sign at the door.
He barely glanced at them before minding his own business. The cashier answered his earlier question, “Removing the tag won’t damage the doll but might affect its overall aesthetic.”
In other words, it’s ugly with the tag, uglier without.
Jiang Shi had no choice but to abandon this idea.
When Jiang Shi finished paying, Bamboo teased, “Aren’t you afraid there are TLG fans in the store who will assassinate you after hearing what you said?”
“Oh.” Jiang Shi gathered his plushies. “Let them come.”
Not a trace of fear in his tone.
Bamboo didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. “You’re something else…”
Jiang Shi’s character was like that – he was carefree and unrestrained about things and people he didn’t care about. Even if the TLG owner was here, he’d still say the same.
It was fortunate that Jiang Shi had turned down TLG’s olive branch, ensuring no interaction with them.
After their purchase, the two exited through the main entrance, looking for a place to eat.
As they reached the door, Jiang Shi paused.
Bamboo turned back and saw Jiang Shi staring at the promotional photo by the entrance, explaining, “Look, those are TLG’s five starters.”
Jiang Shi pointed to the person in the middle, “Who’s that handsome guy?”
“TLG’s ace player, his ID is Xu.”
Bamboo asked, “Why do you ask?”
He noticed Jiang Shi’s unblinking stare belatedly, exclaiming in shock, “You can’t be serious?”
First off, he admitted Xu was indeed handsome. The photographer knew Xu’s status and made sure to highlight Xu’s features, with his well-defined facial features and tall, lean figure, standing out even among the celebrity faces on the big advertisement screen.
And Jiang Shi wasn’t just a hand-con; he was also an extreme face-con.
The 30% serious and 70% admiring look on Jiang Shi’s face was one he had only seen when Jiang Shi looked at that less-than-10KB close-up photo of a hand…
Sure enough, the next moment, Jiang Shi tilted his head, speaking seriously, “He’s my type.”
The mole beneath his eye seemed to have struck a chord with Jiang Shi’s heart.
Bamboo: “…”
If Jiang Shi could fall in love with someone over a hand photo, falling for someone over a picture seemed plausible—
Bullshit!
Just minutes ago, this guy was reminiscing about a boyfriend he broke up with 301 days ago and another man who made him fall in love with a Snowman plushie! And now he’s completely smitten for another man?
Moreover, Jiang Shi had just made him turn down TLG’s offer a few days ago!
Jiang Shi seemed to remember this as well, uncertainly asking, “You mentioned TLG approached me?”
“Regret it now?” Bamboo understood immediately, gritting his teeth, “Who said ‘only a dog would play professionally’?”
Jiang Shi blinked. “Woof woof?”
