【41】 Professional Stage Debut; A Drunken Ran Ran Initiates a Kiss
Jiang Yan felt aggrieved—very aggrieved—and confused.
He thought that once they confirmed their relationship, they would enter a sweet stage of constant chatting. Although he had his own things to do and wouldn’t disturb Wen Ran too much, who wouldn’t want to chat a bit with their partner in the gaps of their busy schedule? But now, Wen Ran wasn’t just ignoring him; he was straight-up cursing him!
Jiang Yan couldn’t figure it out. He cautiously sent a question mark.
Wen Ran: [If you have so many questions, why don’t you go buy a copy of 100,000 Whys?]
Jiang Yan wasn’t angry at all. He coaxed Wen Ran patiently: [Who made our Ran Ran angry? Tell me.]
Wen Ran really wanted to, but then he remembered Jiang Yan had previously said men under 175cm are “disabled,” so he bit his tongue.
If that brat Huang Hanyu dared to announce it to the world just because he was 2.5cm taller, wouldn’t Jiang Yan—who was 12.5cm taller—practically set off firecrackers?
Wen Ran could only pivot to the matter of the voice message from last time:
[No one. Don’t take the initiative to message me in the future, especially voice messages!] [Otherwise, if I’m overheard, my teammates will misunderstand.]
Wen Ran’s intention was simply to avoid embarrassment, but after ten seconds of silence, Jiang Yan dialed him.
Wen Ran cursed “idiot” in his heart, grabbed his phone, and ducked into a stall in the restroom.
Once connected, Jiang Yan’s deep, sexy voice came through:
“Explain. What do you mean by that?”
“What is there to explain?” Wen Ran said. “Do you know how embarrassed I was last time because you sent that kind of voice message?”
“My teammates, the manager, and the coaching staff were all there!”
“Aren’t you an adult?” Jiang Yan asked. “What, is your club afraid of puppy love?”
“Is this a question of being an adult?”
“Then what is it? Oh, I see. You don’t want others to know about our relationship, right?”
Before Wen Ran could explain, Jiang Yan raised his voice a bit: “You little bastard, you’re actually making me your secret lover!”
Then he said pitifully: “I’ve never dated in all my years. Wen Ran, you’re my first love. You can’t hurt the fragile heart of a pure young man like this!”
Wen Ran: “…” Wen Ran: “I don’t want to see you all week!”
Four-Leaf Clover happened to be in another stall. He’d heard almost everything Wen Ran said, but he only caught fragments of the man on the phone—words like “bastard,” “secret lover,” and “first love.”
Could it be… Wen Ran was a scumbag? He was in a relationship but was unwilling to go public?!
Four-Leaf Clover already hallucinated a poor man experiencing love for the first time, an older guy shamelessly acting spoiled, only to be told not to come for a whole week!
Was he already playing it this wild?
Four-Leaf Clover also knew they were divided into “top” and “bottom.” When the two of them came out of the stalls to wash their hands, he secretly glanced below Wen Ran’s waist. Hiss… doesn’t look that big. How can he be called a ‘bastard’?
Could he be using toys?
Four-Leaf Clover was so shocked by his own thoughts that he covered his mouth. Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover!
Wen Ran only felt that the way Four-Leaf Clover looked at him was weird. But since he wasn’t as close to him as he was to Ai Fan—and since Four-Leaf Clover usually liked watching strange anime—he didn’t pay it much mind.
Xiao Huang’s friend request read: [I am HG.Everlast QAQ]
Huang Hanyu (ID: HG.Everlast) had debuted with a halo. His results in the youth camp were the best. The youth camp coaches were famously fierce and impartial, yet they doted on Xiao Huang. Even star players like Twilight had helped him with his summer homework.
Because his talent was simply too high and there was a shortage of S-Group ADCs, Everlast was signed by HG as a “homegrown” player. He proved to be a true ace; his coordination with Twilight was seamless, sweeping the S-Group and repeatedly winning “Best Bottom Lane Duo.”
Once Wen Ran accepted, the first message arrived immediately.
Brat: [Um, Dawn, I didn’t mean it.]
Little Flamer: [You didn’t mean to insult me, or you didn’t mean to post to the wrong Weibo?]
Brat: [Uh… let me tell you a story!] Brat: [Once there was a group of ducks in a line. There was a little duck at the back who wanted to align with the ducks in front, but it couldn’t no matter what. So the little duck muttered: ‘Can’t a-line! Can’t a-line! (T/N: A pun on ‘Sorry’ in Chinese.)’]
Little Flamer: [Do you think that’s funny?]
Xiao Huang almost wanted to smash his phone. Why is this petty guy so hard to coax!
You’re clearly shorter than me, why can’t I tell the truth?
But thinking of his Captain’s orders, Xiao Huang suppressed his anger and continued:
Brat: [Are you allergic to cuteness?] Brat: [I’ll give you one of my favorite figures. Stop being mad at me.]
Then, enduring the pain, he took a photo of the figures in his cabinet and sent it to Wen Ran.
Brat: [Pick one yourself!]
Ten seconds later, Wen Ran circled a figure: [This one then!]
Brat: [??? No way, you really want it?!]
Little Flamer: [Well, what else?]
Brat: [I’m younger than you! Can’t you yield to me a bit?]
Little Flamer: [Sure. Call me ‘Father’ first.]
Xiao Huang: “…”
Don’t let me meet you on the stage next time! If I don’t blast you into dust, my last name isn’t Huang!
DS’s first match was a home game against Team JYJ.
Team JYJ had also dropped from Group A last season. Their strength in Group B wasn’t low, and they had already won one match, putting them in high spirits.
Most people online were optimistic about JYJ, especially since they had reinforced their team with the SDL (Secondary League) champion Mid Laner, Yang.
The voting polls were also one-sided.
[Fam, tonight is a guaranteed win. An SDL champion versus a toxic tumor signed from who-knows-where. Anyone with a brain knows who to pick.]
[Honestly, if Ye Xin were there, this match would be worth watching. Forget about this Dawn guy; I don’t believe in him.]
[I’ll say it first: I’m just here to see this flamer become a joke. Isn’t he very arrogant? Now we see his true colors on the pro stage.]
[Yang, fighting! Crush him! I hate posers the most. I’ve already ordered fried chicken to go with the show.]
The director cut the camera to Wen Ran. He had no expression, a black headset over his ears, and was stretching his wrists.
[…On a side note, is Dawn actually this good-looking?]
[Help, his face is so small and his hands are so beautiful!]
[I’ve never seen anyone pull off this hair color. Camera-man, take more shots! I don’t have many hobbies, I just like beauty!]
[Wow, new hubby!]
[What’s the point of being good-looking? Can you eat it? Better to watch how he gets hung up and beaten in a bit.]
[Fox spirit, I’m here to see you again! If you perform well, I’ll donate in your stream so you can buy a shirt with a smaller collar!]
[Holy sh*t, he’s a pro player? I thought I entered the wrong stream and was looking at a celebrity!]
[Both Mid Laners are playing in the SPL for the first time. This is going to be good!]
[Dawn, fighting!]
At first, things seemed normal, but as the match progressed, the audience felt something was wrong. JYJ was supposed to be strong, so why were they retreating step by step? Before team fights, they were always missing a carry. Without damage output, they were forced into fights by DS. Let alone on the pro stage, even in a regular game, the outcome of a single team fight could create a massive gold lead. Team JYJ was beaten so badly they had almost no power to fight back. For three consecutive games, they were steamrolled in under twenty minutes.
No one expected the JYJ they favored to be shut out 3-0 by DS!
And the MVP of all three games was Dawn.
Naturally, Wen Ran was sent to the interview area.
The host, Youzi, held a microphone to interview Wen Ran: “Joining us in the interview area is DS.Dawn. Say hello to everyone!”
Wen Ran raised his hand mechanically: “Hello everyone, I am DS.Dawn.”
Youzi: “DS won the match today. As fresh blood brought into the team, this was your stage debut. Do you have any thoughts on achieving such great results the first time?”
Wen Ran thought for a bit: “Um… no.”
Youzi was speechless. Then what were you thinking about just now?
But she was the host after all. She said with a fake smile: “Ah… I can see Dawn is very shy. It’s okay. Second question: in the deciding game, we saw your playstyle was very fierce, constantly looking for openings to engage. The judges said you are a player skilled at finding opportunities. What do you think?”
Wen Ran’s beautiful fingers gripped the mic: “The opponents gave too many opportunities.”
“This…” Youzi suppressed her urge to roll her eyes. “Final question: today we saw you use the hero Tao Yao. Tao Yao was only picked three times in the SPL last season, with a zero percent win rate. She isn’t a strong pick, yet you picked her despite the pressure. Were you eager to prove yourself to the audience? Or were you trying to put pressure on your senior, Ye Xin? Can you share your understanding of this hero?”
Actually, these questions weren’t in the original script. Because Youzi was a fan of Ye Xin, she took it upon herself to add them to make things difficult for Wen Ran.
But to her surprise, Wen Ran didn’t follow the script at all. He blinked at her: “I don’t want to tell you.”
Youzi: “?”
Wen Ran: “I’ll understand her however I want to understand her.”
Youzi: “…”
Trying to dig a pit for me? Do you think I’m an idiot?
After coming down, Zhang Xu patted his shoulder. “Pretty good.”
DS’s performance last season had basically been a “XP pack,” losing all the way to give points to others. The later it got, the more demoralized they became. This opening victory deeply encouraged everyone. Zhang Xu immediately decided to take them to a celebratory dinner.
“Can you drink?” Zhang Xu seemed to still have lingering fears from the last trending topic. “Dawn, do you want me to order you a glass of hot milk?”
Wen Ran: “…” “No need,” he said expressionlessly. “I’m an adult.” “Alright then.”
At first, everyone was a bit reserved, but after three rounds of drinks, they started letting loose. Everyone was stumbling around, and Wen Ran sat at the table with hazy eyes.
As the manager, Zhang Xu still had to take care of them.
When it was Wen Ran’s turn, he saw the today’s MVP had his phone open to the contact list.
“Dawn, should I call a car to take you back to the base?”
Wen Ran shook his head, then pointed to the phone and said slowly: “Want… Jiang…”
Jiang?
Zhang Xu managed to dial that “Jiang.”
“We’re at… at Radiant Wine and Heavens,” Zhang Xu said slurredly. “Dawn just said to call Jiang… something. Is that you?”
“If it is, come pick him up!”
Jiang Yan: “It’s me. I’ll be there in a bit.”
This little bastard, drinking again.
But he won the match, so indulging once is fine.
By the time Jiang Yan rushed over, a large group was already passed out at the table. Only Wen Ran sat there obediently.
“Ran Ran, I’m here.” Jiang Yan went over to take his hand. “So obediently waiting for me? Come on, let’s go home.”
But when they reached the door, Wen Ran stopped.
Jiang Yan: “What’s wrong, Ran Ran?”
Wen Ran spoke: “I’m a pudding. You’re going to eat me.”
Jiang Yan chuckled: “Then what flavor of pudding are you?”
“Mm…” Wen Ran seemed to be thinking. A moment later, he slowly raised his head, pressed his warm, moist lips against Jiang Yan’s, and gave him a kiss.
“Did you taste it?”
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