Chapter 3 ◎ Almost Started a Fight ◎
Lin Sumo chose to play esports for three reasons.
The first was simply because he liked it.
Lin Sumo had started playing games in junior high, and because of this, he was often scolded by his parents for not doing honest work.
Now that he had turned his hobby into a career, his parents naturally had nothing to say.
The second… was because his grades were truly terrible.
Unlike Pei Yun, who was always at the top of the class, Lin Sumo always hovered around the passing line in every exam.
Fortunately, both he and his family were open-minded. If studying wasn’t working, just switch paths. Switching paths would solve it.
It was just settling for the next best thing.
As for the third reason…
It was that he didn’t want to see Pei Yun.
At first, Lin Sumo really thought that guy’s brain was full of nothing but studying, and that nothing else could affect him. If he did the opposite of Pei Yun, wouldn’t they have zero interaction no matter what?
Moreover, because of his poor grades, both sets of parents often made Pei Yun come to his house on weekends to tutor him.
Between his innate dislike for the guy and the questions he couldn’t understand at all, Lin Sumo was driven crazy.
With the first two reasons as a bonus, coming to play esports seemed absolutely perfect.
Only now…
Lin Sumo clicked his mouse to select Twisted Fate in the hero interface, looking at Pei Yun sitting opposite him, feeling completely numb.
Why didn’t this guy play by the rules?
This afternoon, Trust had a practice match scheduled with another team, GHZ. They were to play a total of six games.
Preparing to enter the game, Lin Sumo stopped getting distracted and scanned his team’s lineup.
Pei Yun was going bottom lane and picked Xayah. Jiang He took Riven, and there was also a support Morgana and jungler Fiddlesticks.
Lin Sumo rested his chin on his hand, tapping the mouse with his index finger, analyzing the lineup of both sides.
Yu Pei turned on his mic. “The opponents are generally squishy, but they have high burst damage. Be careful in the late game.”
“GHZ’s usual style is fast-paced aggression,” Pei Yun said. “Try not to let them farm up.”
Lin Sumo listened to their analysis without chiming in. After the game started, he headed to the middle lane.
Lin Sumo unconsciously held his breath.
This was his first time coordinating with the other Trust teammates, so he was naturally a bit nervous and unfamiliar with their rhythm.
He wore large noise-canceling headphones, yet he seemed to hear his own heartbeat.
Rapid drumbeats signaled that a calm puddle had begun to fluctuate. Ripples spread out, circle by circle, reaching the edge of the water.
Thump. Thump.
He sighed imperceptibly. Just try to keep up with everyone else’s rhythm.
The practice match lasted until 5:00 PM. Trust had three wins and three losses.
“Since it’s your first time working together, this is already quite good.” In the review room, Coach Shen Chen projected the match replay. “Solve, you made a mistake here. In this situation, you can’t just rush forward; it’s no different from feeding the enemy kills. Next time, stand in the back row. We’ll focus on positioning training later.”
“By the way, after dinner, duo queue with Print to practice coordination. During the practice match just now, if friendly fire wasn’t disabled, you two would have started fighting. Honestly, I’ve never seen such hostility between new teammates right upon joining.” Shen Chen looked up and saw Lin Sumo and Pei Yun sitting diagonally across from each other. “Why are you two… sitting so far apart?”
Lin Sumo gave a dry laugh and agreed, pretending not to hear the last part of Shen Chen’s sentence.
Pei Yun looked as usual, giving a faint “Mn.”
Shen Chen reviewed the six practice matches one by one. By the time it ended, it was almost 7:00 PM.
Shen Chen turned off the projector. “That’s it for the review today. I’ll send each of you your individual issues later. Pay attention to them.”
“Shen Chen, now that you’re done, let me say a few words.” Song Hong, who had been sitting in on the review for two hours, stood up with a tired face. “Your streaming contracts for this season have arrived. You can start streaming after dinner. Don’t let the hours pile up at the end of the month.”
Jiang He raised his hand. “Manager Song, how many hours did we sign for again?”
Song Hong rolled his eyes. “40 hours! Are you a pig?”
Before his voice faded, wails filled the room.
Hearing their groans, Song Hong clicked his tongue. “…What is there to scream about? Other teams sign for fifty or sixty hours.”
Jiang He slumped on the table. “Wasn’t it 30 hours before?!”
Song Hong ignored him and turned to look at Lin Sumo, who hadn’t spoken. “Solve, why don’t you stream today? It’s a good chance to meet the team fans.”
He smiled. “Fans have been curious about you ever since we announced you joined the team.”
“Huh?” Suddenly named, Lin Sumo was a bit confused. “Didn’t you say… I need to duo with Pei Yun to practice coordination?”
Shen Chen interjected, “Hey, you can stream while duo queuing. Duo streams get even more heat.”
Lin Sumo finally agreed.
“Alright, alright,” Song Hong shooed them out. “Auntie has made dinner. Go eat!”
The group responded with scattered affirmations, hooking arms and patting backs as they left the review room.
Lin Sumo walked at the very back.
He glanced at Pei Yun, lowered his eyes slightly, and followed the other teammates out the door.
“Hey, Xiao Mo-mo.”
Lin Sumo looked up. The teammates who were walking ahead suddenly turned back, crowding around him until he was in the center.
“We’re teammates from now on,” Yu Pei looked at him with a smile, the joy in his tone impossible to hide, extending a hand toward him. “Treat us like family.”
Jiang He chimed in, naturally draping his arm over Lin Sumo’s shoulder. “Since we’re family, let’s go eat together.”
Lin Sumo smiled.
His cautious heart was replaced by warmth and kindness. Everyone soothed him gently through every detail, making him feel a strong, undeniable emotion.
It was a sense of security.
Or perhaps a sense of belonging.
None of that mattered anymore.
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