“If I finish sooner, I can play with you.”
This was Jiang Shi’s truest thought, especially after seeing pairs of ‘canyon couples’ everywhere. Even Jiang Lele and Yu Hui were all lovey-dovey together, leaving him to feel like a single dog beaten alone.
At that moment, he especially wanted to play with Xie Xu.
Jiang Shi’s voice was very soft, but the microphone still captured it clearly, and the trace of forgotten sadness reached Xie Xu’s ears.
“I haven’t played with you much recently.” Xie Xu lifted his hand and ruffled Jiang Shi’s hair. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”
The implication was that he’d play with Jiang Shi all night.
[Ahhhhh! They’re real!!!!]
[Damn! Who said TLG’s bottom lane duo was done for? Show yourself!]
[Who claimed they had a falling out? Come out and speak up!]
[T Bao, stop grinning like that. You’re really spineless.]
Jiang Shi covered his mouth to stifle a smile. “Captain, no matter which hero you want to choose, you can. Bamboo can go play mage-assassin or support mid-laner.”
Xie Xu handed him his thermos from the table, saying, “I’ll match you.”
Jiang Shi’s suppressed smile returned as he naturally picked up Xie Xu’s thermos and took a sip.
Since their thermos cups looked identical and were placed together, he’d often mix them up without meaning to.
Besides, he wasn’t much of a water drinker, so once the excitement of having matching thermoses wore off, he didn’t bother bringing his own. Xie Xu then started bringing his thermos for Jiang Shi, always filled with honey water.
Even during the last tournament, Jiang Shi was already used to it.
But while he’d grown accustomed, fans clearly hadn’t.
[Isn’t that Xie Xu’s thermos cup? During one of Lele’s livestreams, Xu showed up and was using this same cup.]
[This little idiot just took a direct sip without hesitation!]
[Ooooooh~~ (whistles)]
[Spill me the details, how far have you two reached?]
Jiang Shi glanced at the chat and turned off his teammate’s mic, muttering under his breath, “Can you all be quiet?”
He paused, then added, “We haven’t kissed, and we haven’t held hands. Satisfied?”
Nothing’s even started yet!
Right after he finished, Bamboo spoke up. “Time, looks like we have collided with someone.”
Jiang Shi glanced at the opponent’s ID and didn’t see any pro accounts.
Xie Xu explained, “That ‘Sunny and Cheerful Boy’ is Sun.”
Jiang Shi: “…”
Still as distinctive as ever.
Sun had clearly noticed them already and started the game by sneaking a red buff from their jungle.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: Tsk tsk, didn’t recognize me? Not even guarding your own jungle?
After a while, still no one responded.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: Anyone there? Xu, say something! At the very least, let your little AD come talk to me.
[All] TLG-Xu: You’re very noisy.
Jiang Shi cooperated with Xie Xu to get first blood on the enemy AD. Jiang Shi then recalled to base, his fingers quickly typing on the keyboard.
[All] TLG-Time: Didn’t recognize me? Not even guarding your own bottom lane?
Seeing this, Sun clicked his tongue.
Still the same familiar vibe.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: You are really crazy. You know, your captain and I are from the same generation. That makes me your senior, got it?
[All] TLG-Time: The last person who called themselves my senior was An.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: .
Everyone knew what happened to An. Jiang Shi had chased him all over the canyon and beat him down during a regular season match.
Sun soon realized he couldn’t out-talk Jiang Shi, so he switched to bugging Xie Xu on WeChat.
[Sun: Hey, why is your little AD so fierce? I didn’t even provoke him?]
Xie Xu glanced at Jiang Shi out of the corner of his eye. Since realizing Sun was in the match, Jiang Shi had been looking displeased, furiously clicking his keyboard.
Earlier, when he and Sun crossed paths in the river, there was no intention to fight. Just as they were about to part peacefully, Jiang Shi suddenly appeared out of nowhere, unleashing a full combo on Sun and leaving him dazed.
Xie Xu could sense Jiang Shi’s hostility toward Sun.
[Sun: He doesn’t still hold a grudge about that time I took you out for drinks, does he?]
Only later did Sun find out that Xie Xu had actually left him behind that time to go buy noodles for his hungry little AD.
Xie Xu looked at Sun’s message and then at Jiang Shi, who was clearing minions silently.
[Xu: It’s not that serious.]
[Sun: Or is it because I called you “Xu-gege: on our Juzi’s account? No way, right? Is your little AD seriously still jealous? Don’t you keep him in check?]
[Xu: . ]
Sun, still chatting away, went to clear his jungle only to find his wolf camp empty, only catching the opponent’s AD Flash-ed away.
If he saw it correctly, he also sent him a [Thank you kindly].
Classic Time-style taunting.
Sun was amused.
[Sun: I have to say, this AD is really good. I didn’t even notice when he started tracking my jungle timers and stealing camps at every opportunity.]
Although chatting with Xie Xu just now slowed down his pace, he had to admit that Time’s invading ability was impressive.
After facing him in recent scrims, he’d felt firsthand just how terrifyingly fast Time was improving.
Sun narrowed his eyes.
[Sun: I heard TLG only signed him for a season. That contract must be ending soon, right?]
[Xu: Don’t get any ideas.]
[Sun: Why are you so anxious? I’m just asking casually.]
[Sun: But, can you help me ask if he’s interested in coming to Lion? We’re offering double the price. If you can’t part with him, you two can come together as a bottom lane duo. I wouldn’t mind.]
Sun added a cheeky smiley face at the end.
[Xu: I’ve just screenshotted this conversation to Qianxiao and Liuguang.]
Qianxiao and Liuguang were Lion’s starting bottom lane duo.
[Sun: …you win.]
Jiang Shi cleared his lane while switching screens to see Xie Xu, who was ambushing in the bushes next to him.
It’s clear that Xie Xu’s attention was not entirely on the game. He occasionally glanced at his phone, fingers swiping on his screen, typing casually.
Jiang Shi endured it for a while, but couldn’t hold it in any longer. He ased, “Captain, who are you chatting with? Sun?”
Sun was a chatterbox, but he’d gone quiet in all chat for a few minutes now.
[T Bao, your jealousy’s too obvious.]
[Tsk, you’re actually policing who your captain talks to? Wouldn’t that mean you actually soaked in vinegar every day and got marinated in it.]
[Then again, Sun from Lion’s team is known to pester Xu all the time with flirty lines. No wonder the little white haired boy is worried.]
[But who can flirt better than T Bao?]
[T Bao is still pretending to be a good boy in front of Xu! He can’t be flirty in public, so he can only satisfy his desire in private.]
Seeing these comments, Jiang Shi pursed his lips, feeling uncomfortable. “Bamboo, let’s go take blue.”
Just as Sun was halfway through his blue buff, the two of them used their skills randomly, and Bamboo managed to steal it.
When Xie Xu arrived, he noticed Bamboo had a blue buff.
Jiang Shi, seeing that Xie Xu finally put down his phone, ran over to him, happily twirling around in front of him and even sent Xie Xu a little pink heart.
[?Am I blind? Time actually spent his precious 6 yuan to buy that heart emote?]
[He didn’t even have it before, but right before queuing with Xu, he quickly bought it. I barely even caught it.]
[Tsk, he didn’t even hesitate when buying it.]
[I remember that similar hugs and kisses emote were released before, and the canyon was full of couples spamming it instead of focusing on the game. It made Time very angry.]
[That’s right, he’d scold people every time he saw it, calling anyone who bought it an idiot.]
[Now, this little idiot is using it very happily 🙂 ]
They hadn’t even left Sun’s blue jungle area, so it was as if they’d stolen his blue and started showing affection under his nose.
Sun was so annoyed that he called his support over, and went to settle the score with him.
Of course, he failed. Xie Xu protected Jiang Shi well, and with a Flash, Jiang Shi retreated safely to the tower.
Without his Flash, Jiang Shi was much more obedient. He quietly developed under the tower for a bit, then suddenly asked, “Were you chatting with Sun earlier?”
Xie Xu hummed.
Jiang Shi followed up, “What were you chatting about?”
[I’m too embarrassed to watch…]
[Eating jealousy over nothing. But seeing this little white hair pout and sulk, somehow, it feels justified.]
[T Bao, can you be more motivated? Xu didn’t attack you now. If he really did, wouldn’t you be eaten to death?]
[Honestly, I’d love to see Xie Xu eating T Bao bit by bit.]
[I think it’s almost time. The atmosphere between these two feels off.]
The comments were raining down, but Jiang Shi didn’t care to read them. He only waited for Xie Xu’s answer.
In the middle of the conversation, he thought of something and raised his voice. “He didn’t say anything bad about me, did he?”
Xie Xu was momentarily speechless. To some extent, Jiang Shi wasn’t completely wrong.
At that moment, Sun, who had been quiet for a bit, stirred up trouble again.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: Xu-gege, did you pass my message along to Little Time?
Xie Xu had messed with him earlier, so Sun used this method to disgust him back.
Sure enough, Jiang Shi immediately turned his head to look at Xu, so focused he didn’t even care about missing some minions. “What message?”
Even Bamboo, their teammate, perked up his ears.
“He said–” Xie Xu paused, “that he’s looking forward to officially facing you on the battlefield next time.”
Bamboo: “Oh wow~”
Sun, who was lurking in Time’s livestream on a secondary account to gauge Jiang Shi’s feelings: “?”
Xu, this bastard.
If Sun had made this comment before Jiang Shi invaded his jungle, it might’ve sounded like normal friendly banter. But now, with Jiang Shi leading his team to invade Sun’s blue buff area and barely escaping with his Flash, this comment had a distinctly confrontational edge.
Sun, squatting in his blue jungle waiting for his buff to respawn, started typing to complain about Xie Xu. But before he could send his message, three players from the opposing team—mid, bot, and support—came charging into his jungle.
Jiang Shi boldly cast a blind skill into Sun’s hiding bush, catching him out and reducing his health to half. Then, Xu CC’d him down with a skill, and their mid-laner added extra damage. Sun instantly found himself staring at a black screen.
Standing over his body, Jiang Shi asked, “Captain, when’s our match against them?”
Xie Xu, seeing his feisty expression, resisted the urge to smile. “It’s the first match after the New Year.”
Jiang Shi noted the date and muttered, “Then I hope they enjoy their New Year break.”
After saying that, he turned to Xie Xu and added, “Captain, could you pass that along for me too?”
Xie Xu chuckled. “Sure.”
Sun, still lurking in the livestream: “…”
[I just joined this livestream channel. Is the streamer always this crazy?]
[Isn’t the enemy jungler from Lion? I thought TLG and Lion’s win rate was about fifty-fifty?]
[Didn’t TLG win against Lion back when An was here? Time is clearly stronger than An.]
[An had three years of synergy with TLG. Even if he wasn’t great, he still had experience. Just how long has this ADC been here? You don’t actually think one player alone can carry a match, do you?]
[Where did these haters come from? If you think Time lacks synergy with his teammates, try watching TLG’s Spring Split BO3 match against Hurricane.]
[Need me to send you the MVP screen from that match where Time carried?]
Jiang Shi didn’t have time to read the comments because Sun’s blue buff was about to respawn.
This time, though, Sun didn’t show up to defend it.
Xie Xu threw some skills to scout the nearby bushes but found no one.
Bamboo sounded puzzled. “Did he give up on his blue?”
Jiang Shi: “Seems like it.”
Xie Xu moved his cursor back, saying, “He wouldn’t give up his jungle that easily. You two take care of the smaller camps, I’ll scout ahead.”
Meanwhile, Sun was crouched in a prime ambush position, gathering his teammates for a sneak attack. When everyone was gathered, he would kill those three!
Watching Xie Xu wander over slowly, casting abilities into bushes.
Sun reassured himself that Xie Xu would never check this particular bush.
At that moment, Xie Xu’s jungler appeared, waiting in the middle bush to clear the lane.
Suddenly, Xie Xu casually threw an ability into the bush where Sun’s jungler was hiding, startling him into jumping out, thinking it was an enemy.
Before Sun could fully process the situation, Xu tossed a ward into Sun’s bush, revealing him.
Sun: “?”
Without hesitation, Xie Xu CC’d him with a skill, allowing Jiang Shi and Bamboo, who had arrived by then, to finish him off.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: Do you just throw skills around like they’re free?
[All] TLG-Xu: Prejudgement.
Sun laughed angrily.
[All] Sunny and Cheerful Boy: Xu-gege is really smart~
The viewers watching the playful exchange between them couldn’t stop laughing.
[Who started the rumor that these two have CP chemistry? They’re clearly just rivals.]
[When Xu actually scouted out Sun, I was so startled!]
[That position was flawless. If Time’s team had focused on stealing the blue, they could’ve been ambushed and turned the game around.]
[With Sun’s tone, I bet he’s so mad he’s grinding his teeth.]
[He kept calling Xu with “gege”. I laughed to death.]
[But Little White Hair didn’t look too happy seeing this “gege” thing. He even stomped on Sun’s corpse a few times before leaving.]
[What’s wrong? Jealous because someone else is calling him “gege”? If you have the guts, why don’t you call him “gege” too?]
[Didn’t you call him “gege” very shamelessly during previous streams before?]
[Why don’t you call him “gege” now?]
The barrage of comments flooded the screen, making it impossible for Jiang Shi to ignore them.
Noticing Jiang Shi’s odd expression, Xie Xu tilted his head and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Shi controlled his mouse, moving toward the enemy jungle. “Nothing, just fans talking nonsense.”
Xie Xu responded with a simple hum and continued tossing skills into nearby bushes to scout. “You didn’t need to waste so many abilities on Sun earlier. The damage was overflowing.”
Jiang Shi mumbled an “Oh” in a muffled voice.
The fans in the stream picked up on his sulky tone and interpreted it in their own way.
[What, seeing me hitting Sun, Gege is unhappy?]
[So who’s more important, me or him? Gege, say something!]
[Gege, Gege, Gege!]
When Jiang Shi had first appeared in streams under a pseudonym, he’d called Xu “Gege” with reckless abandon. Now, the fans were bringing it back in full force.
With the screen filling with [Gege] comments, Jiang Shi’s cheeks turned a bit pink. He muttered a low warning. “That’s enough.”
He tried to refocus on the game. “Bamboo, you take blue. Both Captain and I have slow MP regen, so—”
Before he finished, he noticed the support player stepping in front of him. Then he saw Xu’s MP bar was almost empty.
Xie Xu, seeming unaware, nodded in agreement with Jiang Shi’s suggestion, but he glanced at Jiang Shi’s screen and remarked, “Your viewers are asking why you don’t call me Gege.”
Jiang Shi froze, stealing a quick glance at Xu.
He saw no trace of discomfort or irritation on Xu’s face.
[Stop looking, stop looking! Your captain is waiting for you to call him that!]
[Just now he beat up Sun and threatened him to have a good New Year. Where’s that fierce energy?]
{T Bao is only soft to Xu. Sob sob, this is too cute, Auntie wants to pinch his cheeks~]
[Don’t be afraid, Baby, you will definitely be treated better than Sun.]
[Come on, sweeten it up a bit~]
Jiang Shi’s fingers twitched as he muted the commenters calling him “T Bao” and “baby.” He explained to Xu, “It’s not that I don’t want to call you that. Just… haven’t had a chance.”
Moreover, he thought Xu didn’t like it.
By now, they had reached the enemy’s blue buff area.
Jiang Shi glanced at Xu’s nearly empty MP bar and said over the mic to Bamboo, “Xu’s low on MP, give him this blue buff first?”
Bamboo readily agreed and, being very understanding, wandered off, saying he’d go clear the wave.
Now only Jiang Shi and Xu were left in the bush, their avatars overlapping.
Standing beside Jiang Shi, Xu watched him as he whittled down the blue buff for him, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. “So when will there be a chance?”
Jiang Shi stayed silent, concentrating as he brought the blue buff to a sliver of health. He then paused, rubbing the tips of his ears and muttering softly,
“Gege—”
“Take the blue.”
