Chapter 37 Part 2

【Wase[Red Ghost]: Held my tongue long enough. Big bro’s coming for ya!】

Yun Qi stood his ground, waiting. It was like they’d agreed to it—as if on cue, the two dove into a 1v1 on top lane.

But then their mid laner showed up for backup, turning it into a skirmish before the duel wrapped. Red Ghost’s player had an intimate grasp of the champ, chaining abilities with silky smoothness. Yun Qi kited, bound, and traded blows. In this 2v2, neither side had the edge. Meila’s player was a girl—a rarity in the esports scene, which fueled the stereotype that all top-tier players were guys. But matching into this elo meant everyone was sharp, and her reactions on Meila were lightning-quick. They went blow for blow until more heroes piled in.

“Double kill!”

“Big bro, run!! They’re coming!” Meila screamed into voice chat.

The enemy icons vanished from the map. Yun Qi snagged Water Moon Princess and Red Ghost; Meila sacrificed herself. Top lane was hanging by a thread now. He looped around, shaking off pursuers in a heart-pounding chase, until he slipped behind friendly lines.

“Big bro’s a beast!” Meila cheered. “Once we respawn, we push high ground!”

Pan Feng added: “Nice one. Thought for sure you’d trade 2-for-2 with their mid.”

“Luck,” Yun Qi said.

In the top-lane teamfight, Pan Feng cleaned up their jungler and said: “No point dragging this out. Let’s take high ground.”

“You go ahead. Be right there.” Wind Hidden’s speed plus mobility got him to high ground in no time.

【Wase[Red Ghost]: Bro, gimme a chance】

【Wase[Red Ghost]: Don’t push!】

【Wase[Red Ghost]: Pro bro I know I messed up, mercy in promos plz】

Yun Qi couldn’t. Team game and all—his call didn’t override the squad’s. They smashed high ground and beelined for nexus. Meila was hollering in voice: “Poke the tower! Poke it! Everyone poke the damn tower for me!”

Amid her fired-up yells, the ranked match wrapped up smoothly.

Pan Feng grabbed his water cup and stood, grinning at Yun Qi. “That mid laner cracked me up.”

Yun Qi pulled off his headset and eyed the results screen. “Was pretty fun.”

As Pan Feng leaned down to mouse over an invite, he said: “Hey, invite her to group up. She’s got energy—I like it.”

Back in his room, while Pan Feng was sending invites, Yun Qi got one too. He checked recent games and saw it was from the previous match’s Red Ghost.

Yun Qi looked up and asked, “Can Red Ghost join us?”

Pan Feng nodded. “Sure, it’s pretty boring otherwise. Those two seem fun, and a full five-stack makes communication easier.”

Yun Qi sent Red Ghost an invite. The guy joined the lobby instantly and cranked up his mic, blasting away. Yun Qi wasn’t wearing headphones, so he couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Pan Feng brought the girl into the lobby too. “Still need one more.”

They could’ve started with four, but five players streamlined things. Yun Qi glanced around the room. He wasn’t tight with everyone yet, so he left filling the last spot to Pan Feng. Pan Feng spotted Rong Rong at the door and waved him over. “Rong Rong, hop in for a five-stack.”

Rong Rong walked in with damp hands, wiping them on a towel. “Who’s all in?”

Pan Feng replied, “Me, Yun Qi, two randos, and you.”

“Why five-stack with randos?”

“Nothing else going on. These two are entertaining. One game, come on.”

“Fine.” Rong Rong agreed.

Yun Qi had exchanged a few words with Rong Rong before—just basic greetings. He still remembered Rong Rong praising his support play during the Grand Finals. But ever since joining the new team, Rong Rong hadn’t been as friendly.

Yun Qi wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he sensed that Rong Rong didn’t like him much. Rong Rong hadn’t done anything overt, though, so Yun Qi didn’t dare bring it up.

During matchmaking, Yun Qi glanced toward Yu Jin. He seemed busy, propping his forehead with one hand as he stared at his screen. The ring on his finger caught the light, glaring. Those hands were so sensual; the mere sight made Yun Qi flash back to being teased by those fingertips. His ears grew warm beneath his headset. He tore his gaze away and focused on the incoming match.

Red Ghost, still riding high from the last game, piped up in hero select. “Second Floor bro mains Top Laner, right? You’re cracked. I’ll fill.”

Meila blurted out, “Oh my god, Rong Rong!”

The Red Ghost player with the ID Wase seemed to just realize it too and gasped. “Brother Rongrong!”

Rong Rong fiddled with his headset. “So damn noisy.”

As the saying went, support and ADC duos always sparked some chemistry. Rong Rong and Chang Shu had teamed up plenty, duo-queuing together off-stream more often than not. Now that they’d spotted Rong Rong, the two randos chimed in almost simultaneously. “Chang Shu too?”

“Bro didn’t invite Chang Shu?”

“Brother Rongrong, I’m a huge Chang Shu fan—diehard, head of your duo fan club.”

Rong Rong shot back, “What the hell’s Third Floor on about?”

Pan Feng chuckled. “You two, pipe down. Rong Rong’s sensitive to noise.”

Wase said, “To not get kicked next game, I’m muting myself.”

The Meila player locked in Meila anyway. “Brother Rongrong, drop your win rate. Gotta get a pic with you.”

As an official KRO member, Rong Rong’s popularity was expected. The randos were hyped, but he didn’t bite. Instead, he snatched Top Laner Death Angel. Death Angel paired perfectly with Death Lord Suoqi—both sidelaners—but everyone knew Rong Rong was the team’s star support. His support games were scalp-tinglingly flashy. No one saw a Death Angel pick coming.

Meila: “Brother Rongrong…”

Wase: “Brother Rongrong, what’s this mean?”

Yun Qi flicked his camera toward Rong Rong nearby. The guy was slouched back in his chair, utterly relaxed as he waited.

Yun Qi unmuted and spoke up. “Wase, you pick first. I’ll fill.”

Pros didn’t stick to one role. With no explanation, Rong Rong grabbing top raised zero eyebrows. Pros had deep hero pools and flexed everywhere—no one batted an eye at a pro picking anything.

Wase thought for a second. “Nah, you’re way better than me. I’ll fill.”

He locked Support Set and helped snag early picks.

Yun Qi got bumped to fourth floor. Pan Feng asked, “You good to jungle? My Fanny’s short on MMR.”

“Yeah, you take Shooter.” Yun Qi sifted through junglers and settled on Xiumu to fit the comp.

The match kicked off. Rong Rong farmed his Top Lane wave diligently. Yun Qi cleared his Blue Buff. He hadn’t jungled in ages and wasn’t aiming to pop off—just play clean, no big mistakes. Not with eyes on him, waiting for a slip-up.

“Xiumu bro, rotating top to help. Stay safe,” Meila said as she headed up lane, considerate as ever.

Yun Qi replied, “Got it. Careful yourself.”

Meila arrived top and traded hard with the enemy, but no kill.

Rong Rong finished his wave and rotated to small camps for more farm.

Yun Qi wrapped up his jungle clears and scanned the map. Bot Lane was too cagey for a gank. Everyone played it safe. He poked around the enemy Jungle before eyeing the bushes near Second Tower.

“Push the tower and force them back,” Yun Qi said to Pan Feng. Pan Feng glanced at his position and immediately understood the plan. The two moved in perfect sync, one advancing from the front and the other closing in from behind, sandwiching the enemy shooter under the tower. The opponent was surely calling for backup by now, but before any help could arrive, Yun Qi secured the kill and swiftly pulled back from under the tower, slipping into their own jungle.

“Brother, your jungling is awesome too.” Meila was the ultimate emotional support player for climbing ranks—always apologizing after feeding a kill and showering teammates with praise after grabbing one. Gaming with someone like that cut down on all the usual salt, making the whole match feel pretty comfortable.

At the ten-minute mark, Yun Qi said to Rong Rong, “I’ll head up for a gank.”

Rong Rong shot back right away: “No need. I’ve got him pinned.”

By the time Yun Qi arrived, Rong Rong had already shredded the enemy warrior with three brutal slashes.

Death Angel and Lord of Death were worlds apart this season. Suoqi had been gutted by nerfs, instantly putting anyone who picked it at a disadvantage. Teammates freaked out, opponents freaked out—in a meta dominated by raw stats, pulling Suoqi out meant you were either a thrower or a one-trick pony, a pick that left nine people sweating. But Death Angel, his counterpart, was a whole different beast. Cloaked in enormous wings, with an angelic face and the damage output of a demon, she one-shot squishies and carved through even the beefiest tanks in three swings.

Rong Rong wielded his oppressive hero with an equally oppressive style, owning top lane without Yun Qi needing to babysit. That freed Yun Qi up to roam elsewhere, insta-gibbing the enemy mage and shooter whenever they peeked. A few kills in, and the mage started flashing away at the mere sight of him.

Pub queues were straightforward like that, and before long, the second game wrapped up.

The enemy team griped about their rotten luck—finally landing a promo queue, only to run into pros. Eight lifetimes’ worth of bad karma.

[Milk Cap? KRO’s new jungler?]

[Where’s Liu Ying?]

[Is the enemy Xiumu Liu Ying?]

Yun Qi ignored their prodding. Two of the randoms jumped in to boast.

[Guess higher up.]

And just like that, Yu Jin got name-dropped.

Yun Qi let them ramble without chiming in. He stayed locked on top lane instead. With his lead secured, Rong Rong pushed forward even after their high ground fell, joining the teamfight. The two converged in mid—one laser-focused on the core carry, the other tunneling on top—objectives clear, no overlap, just racking up enemy kills.

The victory announcement blared. The randoms whooped with joy, Pan Feng grinned ear to ear, but Yun Qi and Rong Rong stayed dead silent.

A few more games later, dinnertime rolled around, and dusk had settled in. Pan Feng stretched lazily. “Win streak. Feels good.”

Everyone else drifted over to the windows to rest their eyes and breathe some fresh air.

Yun Qi glanced aside. Rong Rong had stood up and left the training room with Ziwu.

Yu Jin was nowhere in sight either.

Yun Qi turned back to his screen, idly toying with his mouse, lost in thought.

That evening at dinner, Yun Qi still didn’t spot Yu Jin. Not wanting to come off as overly interested, he bit his tongue instead of asking. Some players hadn’t hit their daily hours yet and kept grinding in the training room. Yun Qi had filled his quota but stuck around anyway. Pan Feng noticed. “Don’t camp out here forever. You’re new—go explore the place, get the lay of the land.”

Yun Qi gave a small smile. “It’s fine. I can handle sitting.”

“That’s not the point,” Pan Feng said. “Staring at screens too long wrecks your eyes. Step out, relax a bit. Captain Yu catches you and he’ll give you an earful.”

Yun Qi frowned. “About what?”

“Your eyes,” Pan Feng replied. “Sitting that long’s rough on the body too. Work-life balance, you know? You’re the newbie, so Captain Yu’s probably keeping a closer eye on you.”

He had rules like that?

It was a fresh take—surprisingly humanizing.

Yun Qi powered down his PC and stepped out for a stroll.

He didn’t venture far, wary of stumbling into off-limits spots. Instead, he hung out on the second floor balcony, playing with the cat. Scooping it up, he gazed off into the distance. Moments later, his phone buzzed.

It was a video call from Xue Yan. Yun Qi answered without a second thought.

“Brother Yan.” He flashed a smile at the camera, cradling his phone. On the screen, Xue Yan lounged in his room.

“What’re you doing?” Xue Yan asked. Fresh from a shower, he wore cozy pajamas, his hair still damp from blow-drying as he stowed the hairdryer.

“Just wrapped up training,” Yun Qi said. He hoisted the cat into view. “Hanging with the cat. Check it out.”

“They’ve got cats at the KRO Base?” Xue Yan said. “Zoom in, lemme see.”

Yun Qi tilted the phone toward the cat in his arms. “Tata, look at the camera. Say hi to Brother Yan.”

Xue Yan didn’t hold back the compliments. “Man, that cat’s gorgeous. Fur’s so glossy and clean—total badass vibe.”

“Like a mini lion.”

“Whose is it?”

Yun Qi’s voice softened. “Eidis’s.”

Xue Yan’s gaze immediately brimmed with gossip. “Met your idol, huh? Happy now?”

“Mm.” Yun Qi didn’t hide his mood in the slightest. “Happy.”

Xue Yan nodded. “Good. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you this cheerful. Looks like heading to KRO was the right move.”