New Beginning and Future

Chapter 43: Part One: ADC vs ADC

Summary: Smiling and Chessman collide as ADC in a challenge never seen before by the ZGDX team and everyone was watching with fear and anticipation.

Overprotective: ZGDX
Overprotective/Possessive/territorial: Chessman
Chessman is literally his own warning when it concerns his girl

Notes:

Author's Note: Muse declared this has to be a two parted! They won't stop cackling!

Chapter Forty-One

Just as Yao and Sicheng were about to head to their stations, a sharp clap echoed through the room.

Ming.

The coach had officially reached his limit.

"Hold it." His voice carried the unmistakable weight of authority, stopping everyone dead in their tracks. Even Sicheng, who rarely took orders from anyone, flicked his gaze over in mild irritation, but he stayed put. Yao, arms folded, arched an eyebrow.

Ming exhaled through his nose, already so done with this situation. "You two can kill each other in-game all you want," he said, looking between the married couple, "but this is not a live challenge. No streams. No clips. No posts. Nothing."

Yao blinked once. "Why not?"

"Because," Ming continued, voice clipped, "we are not broadcasting to YQCB that you're stepping in as ADC until the match itself. We don't need them adjusting their strategy last minute because they found out ahead of time."

Silence.

Then, almost as if he had forgotten about that minor detail, Sicheng's eyes narrowed slightly, his mind clearly recalculating the impact. It was no secret that Ai Jia and the rest of YQCB had been keeping a close eye on ZGDX, especially given how the season had been unfolding.

Ming, sensing that neither of them were outright objecting, pushed further. "The only people who know about this are the ones in this room. No leaks. No slip-ups. If anyone so much as mentions this challenge in a group chat, I will personally fine your ass, and then I'll tell Madam Lu." He shifted his gaze, first to Rui, their manager, and then to Wei, Yao's legal representative and proxy. "That goes for everyone."

"Oh, don't look at me. I was only planning on enjoying the chaos, not announcing it to the world." Wei smirked, holding up her hands.

"Fine, fine, I'll make sure the social media team doesn't pick up anything either." Rui groaned, already pulling out his phone.

Pang, who had definitely been considering taking a sneaky clip for future blackmail purposes, casually put his phone back in his pocket.

"Probably for the best. Otherwise, YQCB would counter-strategize like crazy." Lao Mao sighed, nudging Lao K.

Yue, still sipping his drink from the fridge, muttered, "Like hell am I giving Ai Jia more time to prepare. I want to watch him panic when he sees it live."

Yao, finally seeming to accept the restriction, exhaled and nodded. "Alright, I can agree to that."

Sicheng, though clearly not thrilled that his ego-fueled challenge was now a top-secret operation, rolled his shoulders and gave a sharp nod. "Fine."

Ming didn't relax yet. He waited a full five seconds, making sure neither of them was about to push back. When both remained silent, he finally let out a breath. "Good. Now get to your stations."