Tong Yao put down her cell phone, cleared her throat, and mustered enough courage to make the following statement.
"Everything I just said was just a joke. I'm going to stand in the corner and reflect on all my misdeeds. Next Monday, at the Club's regular meeting, I'll present my ten thousand words of self-criticism......En, I'm going to write it now. Getting off-stream now, bye."
Then she watched the bullet comments turn into-- --
[Cheng Ge's here again?]
[Alright, we know now. Tell us, where's Cheng Ge?]
[Wait a minute, five minutes ago I saw someone called "superchessman" enter the stream. Could it be......]
[Five minutes ago? Hhhhhhhh, then host, it's too late.]
[Best wishes on your road to hell.]
Tong Yao: "......"
Freaking out inside, Tong Yao turned off her stream. She looked up at the closed door upstairs with a blank face...... A few seconds later, as if she had finally made a decision, she puffed up her cheeks, pushed her keyboard away, put her cell phone in her pocket, and ran upstairs in one breath. She stopped in front of the door, lifted her hand up to knock but stopped right before her knuckle touched the door.
She could hear her own heartbeat.
She paused for a second-- --
The courage she had finally mustered suddenly evaporated.
Tong Yao retracted her hand and stood in front of the door like a statue for about 5 minutes until she heard the faint sound of footsteps and running water-- --Lu Sicheng was probably taking a shower and getting ready to go to sleep......The feeling of emptiness she had earlier returned. Her head drooped down like a defeated rooster. She turned around and despondently staggered back downstairs......
When she passed her own seat, she saw the take-out box still sitting on her desk. Tong Yao stopped, rubbing her empty stomach. She had been hungry for a while now. Refusing to go with Little Fatty for midnight meal wasn't something she had planned; she couldn't even understand what was wrong with herself-- --
When she saw Lu Yue help the team win the training match in her place, she found that she didn't know what to say to Lu Sicheng.
Tong Yao: "......"
[ZGDX, smiling: You're right, I'm annoyed that Lu Yue won.]
[ZGDX, smiling: Will I be replaced by Lu Yue because of that and become a substitute for the rest of my life? Then I'll become a transparent member of the team. My teammates will remember me when they want to order take out: Ah, she's not busy, she can order take out for us.]
[Ah Mao's mom: ? ? ? Your teammates are all so chatty that they would even talk to the air. They wouldn't ignore a substitute.]
[ZGDX, smiling: Hey.]
[Ah Mao's mom: I figure you're just hungry. Didn't your captain bring some food for you? Go eat, then go sleep. The suspension is only for one match, it'll be over soon. Your position is still yours and your captain won't stop talking to you for the rest of your life.]
[ZGDX, smiling: Really?]
[Ah Mao's mom: ? ? ? Hasn't your club issued a notice saying you're suspended only for tomorrow's match? How can it be false.]
[ZGDX, smiling: ......I'm not asking about that.]
[Ah Mao's mom: ..................................... Oh.]
[Ah Mao's mom: It's true, really.]
[Ah Mao's mom: Tsk, tsk, if he decided to give you the silent treatment for the rest of your life, why would he bring back porridge for you worrying you might be hungry. He probably only wants to stuff your head into the toilet.]
[Ah Mao's mom: All you care about is the fact that your captain isn't talking to you. Why do you have to drag the whole team into it, really......Does every girl in love so jumpy and anxious like you?]
Tong Yao: "......"
Tong Yao turned off her phone screen, held it against her chest, and fell into silence. She looked up again at the closed door on the second floor, lifted up her heels, and silently mouthed "to hell with that tsundere" at the door then pouted.
She felt that she had been on edge all night.
She sat back at her desk and touched the almost forgotten takeout box on her desk-- --
Forty minutes later, when the rest of the team returned to base, they saw their mid sitting cross-legged on her chair, quietly eating porridge. At this point, only a quarter of the porridge was left.
Little Fatty: "Tsk, that's enough for three people. Didn't you say you weren't hungry? !"
"......I became hungry later." Tong Yao raised her eyes from the bowl to glance at everyone. "Where did you all go after eating? Coming back at such a late hour."
"We didn't go anywhere. We headed right back after we finished eating."
"......" Tong Yao stopped eating and pointed her spoon upstairs: "Then why did Cheng Ge-- --"
"He came back right after the takeout porridge was ready. He said the fish smell would get too strong once the porridge turned cold." Little Fatty looked at the trash can that was now full of crab, shrimp, and clamshells right next to Tong Yao. "Now it looks like he's probably also afraid that you would die from hunger?"
Tong Yao, with a spoon still held in the air, blinked, completely baffled: "What did you say? Say that again."
Little Fatty: "You aren't talking to each other yet?"
Tong Yao: "No."
Little Fatty: "Oh. One is too proud, the other is too tsundere. You two should just stay this way for the rest of your lives. I have faith in you two."
Tong Yao: "......"
......
The next day was the game against Red Arrow.
Tong Yao idly got up and packed her equipment bag, then listlessly waited till the last minute to get on the bus. Before she could climb onto the bus, someone pulled the strap of her backpack back. Tong Yao turned with eyebrows raised. Lu Yue returned with a bright smile: "Are you going to watch me play?"
"I'm going in case something unexpected happens to you and you can't play." Tong Yao expressionlessly tried to pull the strap out of his hand. "I'm being optimistic. What if your hand suddenly breaks?"
"Even if it has to break, it will break after I finish playing the match." Lu Yue increased the strength in his hand. "Even if half of my foot is in the coffin, I'll make sure you stay put in the substitute seat before I close my eyes."
Tong Yao bit her lower lip: "You're dreaming."
Lu Yue's smile became even brighter until a cold, low male voice came from behind the bickering two: "Have you two said enough?"
The facial expression on the bickering two was all frozen. Lu Yue grabbed Tong Yao's backpack and walked onto the bus......Tong Yao mumbled at him to return her bag and followed him on. After they sat down, they behaved like obedient grade-schoolers. Tong Yao shrunk in the corner of the seat until the bus arrived at the arena. When she sat down in the makeup room, she suddenly felt that something seemed to be missing. She turned to check and found her backpack was still in Lu Yue's hand.
Lu Yue walked in and threw the bag at her, then sat down before the mirror waiting for the makeup artist.
It didn't take long for the team to get their makeup done. They then went into the rest area waiting for today's match to begin. Before long, the large screen in the room started to show the audience in the arena. The two commentators also started to talk-- --Tong Yao thought they probably would discuss her suspension today, yet all they mentioned was: "Today, ZGDX's Lu will be playing. This player......"
Tong Yao thought about it then figured that the club must've negotiated with the two commentators beforehand not to elaborate on the issue.
YOU ARE READING
You're Beautiful When You Smile
Romantikk[Yao Yao, if it's you, how would you go about dating a professional gamer?] Tong Yao thought for a moment, before earnestly responding - - If it was me, I wouldn't date a professional gamer. If I had that kind of patience, then I might as well use...
