It was just a casual joke, but when asked by Pander, it suddenly felt awkward.
"Go your own way!" Yumo gritted his teeth and stepped forward, controlling Pander's neck and pushing the chatty little fatty off the stage.
The break between the second and third rounds was longer this time. Everyone returned to the lounge as usual, self-reflecting, but the last round was really not bad, and they couldn't find any fault, so this part was passed over very perfunctorily.
As the one who made the first kill, Pander was excited, "Our little sister's support is really amazing! That guy, he's not even in the same league as my level 16 nurse! I can completely, completely trust her with my back!"
Alu jumped onto the back of the sofa and swayed on his two legs, saying, "When you charged out with that little bit of blood, you really did it without any hesitation."
"That's necessary. I know Lemeng will definitely give me the love treatment!" Pandada shook his head.
Ling Meng pulled up a chair and sat down, tilting her head, "I'm a little curious why you suddenly gave me such heavy trust."
"Yeah," Laomai said, "Calling her 'cute sister' all the time, you really know how to please, Pandada."
"Hey!" Pandada said, "Online fate brings us together, cherish this fate! I've been watching Lemeng's livestream for a long time, so we're practically acquainted!"
"Live stream?"
"Yes!" Pandada slapped his thick thigh. "She's the disabled pro player, LEMON! The one I've been watching, her skills are amazing!"
"?!" Alu and Laomai turned their heads to look at Ling Meng.
Ling Meng, suddenly confronted, sat somewhat petrified on the stool. "…I didn't think I was that obvious, right?"
Shaking their heads, they both denied it.
Ling Meng sighed, "Okay, I'm caught."
"See, see!" Pandada expressed himself in a manner of a devoted follower. "I told you! How could I possibly mistake the pro I follow!"
"How did you recognize her?" Alu asked. "Your thoughts are so delicate, it's unlike you, little fatty."
"Her skills are amazing!" Pandada said. "And Lemeng really likes to use the Y key; when she used to play DPS, she'd place her hooks on the Y key, the hook's cooldown is so short! I don't know how she does it; I barely even reach it, she can press the Y key like the space bar."
"That's not such a big deal," Ling Meng, not used to being buttered up like this, blushed a little, turning her face, "Isn't your team leader also capable of it?"
"Hmm?" Yumo was suddenly cued, and he paused for a moment, "Yes, he is."
"..." Pandada rolled his eyes, "Fine, I shouldn't have brought this up in front of the chief."
At that moment, the door to the lounge was knocked on, and a calm voice was heard from outside, "Volunteers, may I come in?"
Yumo turned his head, and Alu had already jumped off the back of the sofa to open the door, "Please come in."
The door opens, and Xu walks in with a square tray holding five cups of lemon-infused water, each with a fresh lemon slice wedged into the glass rim.
"Dang-ge asked me to bring this to you," Xu said, holding the tray high with cheer.
"Thank you." Alu took the tray from her and set it on the table.
"Alu, you did a great job!" Xu cheered, clenching her fist. "Keep it up!"
Alu's back stiffened slightly, shaking his head, "No, today, my performance was just average."
"In my heart, you're the best!" Xu said.
Alu grinned, "You didn't get entangled by the wires later on, did you?"
"No, not at all," Xu shook her head.
Yumo leaned on the sofa arm, arms crossed, looking at the two of them with a half-smile.
"So, there was a reason why Alu's performance was off today," Yumo said.
"What?" Ling Meng glanced sideways.
"Nothing," Yumo said.
Ling Meng didn't pay much attention and reached for a cup of water. Xu coaxed her, "You should try the lemon water!"
None of them took a sip, and Xu, feeling confused, saw another group walking in from outside the door.
"Sorry about that," Zhong Rong said, "We brought our own water from logistics, no need to bother with yours." With that, a logistics member from Team E brought in an unopened case of mineral water. Zhong Rong opened it in front of everyone and handed each of them a bottle.
This was a high-end mineral water sponsored by the company, with a price per bottle in the double digits. Xu sighed lightly, looking a bit disappointed.
Ling Meng was the only one who would give Xu credit. She wasn't too fond of lemon water, so she took just a symbolic sip to moisten her throat. She held the lemon water straw in her mouth and glanced around, at which point Guo Bo called her.
Yumo noticed that Ling Meng didn't seem to like the lemon water, so he withdrew a bottle of mineral water from the sponsor's case and was about to hand it to her, but she suddenly got up.
"I'll take a call." Ling Meng pointed to her phone and avoided Yumo's gesture, walking out of the room.
Yumo's motion of handing her the mineral water stopped, and he watched her leave, then stared at the partially closed door for a moment.
It seemed like she had something more important to do.
Ling Meng went to a quiet place, raised her phone, and heard Guo Bo's excited voice, "Hi! Total Lemeng! I watched your match! You were absolutely amazing!"
"You called me just for that?" Ling Meng chuckled.
"I can't congratulate you?" Guo Bo laughed, "It's really unfortunate I couldn't come to the venue, you don't know how tough my day with my dad's nagging!"
"Lil' Guo, stop being such a suck-up." Ling Meng said.
"I have good news for you," Guo Bo said, "The event is being well managed today, and it's generating a lot of traffic. My dad just signed an investment contract with an overseas club, from now on, our Guo family is a legitimate big industry!"
Guo Bo's Hengbo Internet Cafe started out as a small internet cafe, and it was no easy task to build it up to this level, so Ling Meng was happy for him.
"Really?" She smiled, "Congratulations, Lil' Guo."
"I still have to thank Total Lemeng for the strong support!" Guo Bo said. "Don't worry, when I make it big, I'll start my own club and sign you to play! I know you actually really want to play professionally! It's so frustrating to just be a stand-in."
Although she knew that these were all still very elusive things, Guo Bo's vision and plans made Ling Meng feel quite happy.
"Thank the boss Guo in advance," she said, "I'm hanging up."
Hanging up the phone, Lin Meng let out a long sigh, and looked up to see Xiao Xingheng standing in a corner of the corridor.
"Xing Shen?"
"How did you feel about the match just now?" Xiao Xingheng's lips carried a hint of a smile. "Tell me about it."
Yu Mo walked out of the rest area, only to see Lin Meng and Xiao Xingheng standing side by side in the corridor, chatting and laughing.
He paused, as if he had realized something, and silently retreated back into the rest area.
In the room, Pan Da had his fill of water and looked around. "Huh? Where's Meng Meier? I still want to discuss strategies with her; how to dominate Saint Laurent in the next round!"
"Maybe she's gone to get Xing Shen's autograph!" Xu Dan glanced around and said, "Look, Xing Shen is also not here."
"Get Xing Shen's autograph?" Pan Da asked in surprise. "Don't tell me she's a fan of Xing Shen?"
"She is a fan of Xing Shen!" Xu Dan said without doubt. "She told me this morning! She was sad for a long time when Xing Shen retired!"
"Oh?" He turned his head and looked at Yu Mo, and laughed carelessly, "Hey! I always thought she was the captain's fan, haha!"
Yu Mo: "......"
He was a bit dazed for a moment.
"Admit it, I went to Kars for you back then."
"So now, it's not necessary anymore."
Not necessary.
Is that what it means?
It felt like crushing an unripe green orange in his heart, making him frown with bitterness and astringency.
If that's the case—
Isn't it just him being delusional all along?！
Damn!
While he was lost in thought, Lin Meng had already come back, followed by Xiao Xingheng. Both of them looked in good spirits, with smiles on their faces.
This seems to further confirm Xu Dan's words.
Yu Mo raised his hand to his forehead.
Oh no......
That's Xiao Xingheng......
The third round of the match lasted for seven minutes and forty seconds.
It seemed like Yu Mo had been holding his breath and, saying "Move aside" at the start, he dashed straight out. The opponents' attack formation was all in front, and Yu Mo's sudden dive scared the whole team.
Lin Meng just managed to cast a shield on Yu Mo, but it was instantly shattered. With her outstanding awareness, she preemptively cast a big healing spell, only to see Yu Mo's health drop to the bottom again, causing her to break out in a cold sweat. At the same time, the screen showed a kill.
Yu Mo actually took down the opponent's C position player, TIMI, single-handedly! It was only two minutes into the game!
This opening can be considered ferocious!
Returning to his own support in the nick of time, Yu Mo said in a low voice, "Heal me."
Lin Meng naturally didn't need him to remind her and quickly restored his status. Yu Mo said, "Eight-minute round."
"Do you want me to carry you to victory?" Lin Meng was shocked. "Eight minutes, you look down on the opponents too much!"
Yu Mo did what he said. In seven minutes, he pushed to the opponent's base, took down one enemy after another, and wiped out the enemy team while detonating the hydrogen bomb.
Seven minutes and forty seconds, it was over.
Not only the opponents, even the E team themselves didn't react.
The fans in the audience were ecstatic, shouting "Mo Shen is unstoppable," but the members of the E team in front of their computers shivered.
Even Lin Meng felt Yu Mo's low pressure.
"Captain, what's wrong with you?" When the game ended, Lin Meng turned her head in confusion. "If it weren't for me as the healer, you'd be six feet under by now!"
Yu Mo pushed aside the keyboard and stood up, "Didn't I charge because I saw the healer was you?"
Lin Meng's heart warmed, and she followed him off the stage with small steps, "Are you in a bad mood?"
"No," Yu Mo said, "Winning the match, I'm in a particularly good mood."
"Really?" Lin Meng said, "But I still feel like you're not in a good mood."
Yu Mo suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned to look at Lin Meng.
His eyebrows frowned lightly, showing a hint of untold sorrow.
"Silence!"
The bell rang from the other side of the safe passage, and in a hurry, someone hurriedly rushed over, exclaiming, "Oh my, why are you standing here blankly! I've been looking for you for so long!"
Yumo's words were suddenly interrupted, and he looked bewildered, saying, "What?"
"What do you mean 'what'? The program hasn't finished recording yet, and the host is waiting to interview you! Hurry up, hurry up!" Zhongxiang grabbed his arm and urgently said, "We can talk about other things later!"
Yumo was dragged away by Zhongxiang and had to run. He turned back hastily and called out to Linmeng, "Wait for me in the lounge!"
"Okay," Linmeng blinked and watched the man disappear at the end of the corridor.
She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling relaxed and relieved as she turned to walk towards the lounge.
At the entrance of the lounge, she bumped into someone wearing volunteer clothing.
"The drinks sponsored by Yunneng are under the table," the person said, pointing inside the door, "If you're going to take them for photos, don't forget, so you won't be looking for them later."
Yunneng is an energy drink brand that has sponsored a significant amount of funding this time, requiring the brand and the players to appear together. Linmeng nodded and said, "I see." Then she walked into the room.
At this point, all the members of Team E went to the interview, so there was no one in the lounge. Linmeng strolled around, feeling idle. She bent down and looked inside the table, and indeed found a box of sports drinks.
She picked up a bottle and saw that the new packaging actually had Pan Da's photo on it.
A perfectly good portrait printed on the bottle, somehow seemed a bit funny, even the heavily photoshopped Pan Da didn't look quite like himself. Linmeng couldn't help but want to laugh. She rummaged through the box, hoping to find packaging with Yumo's portrait, only to find that the whole box was of Pan Da.
"Boring," she said lacklusterly, standing up straight with the bottle in her hand, shaking it back and forth.
Just then, the door opened and Yumo walked in, saying, "What's boring?"
"Have the interviews ended so quickly?" Linmeng asked, puzzled.
"I fought a speedy battle," Yumo said. "I hurried to find you."
Linmeng looked puzzled, "Find me?"
The two stood face to face, in silence. Yumo lowered his head, his deep and gentle eyes casting a faint shadow, and he said, "I'm sorry."
"..." Linmeng didn't know what to say.
"I still want to say sorry to your face," Yumo said. "For the things I said about signing a contract but couldn't follow through..."
"You don't need to apologize to me," Linmeng interrupted him, suddenly smiled, "I'm not angry anymore."
"Not angry?"
"Yeah," Linmeng turned around, smiling, "I just chatted with Xingshen, I found what he said was quite right. I shouldn't be so stubborn."
"For example?" Yumo asked.
"For example, there's not only one Team E in the world," Linmeng said, "Players don't have to die in penance for losing a game."
Yumo blinked.
"Through today's game, I found that I actually like playing with others," Linmeng smiled, "Captain, help me choose a new team? Maybe we'll have a chance to meet on the field again."
The girl's eyes sparkled like a fresh spring.
Yumo was stunned, somewhat happy but also puzzled and inexplicably lost.
"Did Xingshen say all that?" He teased, "I didn't realize he's quite suitable for psychological counseling."
Linmeng didn't catch his implication, shaking her head, "I don't know, but I think it makes sense.”
Yumo tightened his lips.
Uncontrollable unease began to grow in his heart.
But he knew clearly that Linmeng had missed opportunities time and time again. Even the most determined person couldn't withstand repeated setbacks. He couldn't let his selfishness hinder Linmeng's development.
"Alright," he said seriously, "I'll help you look for a good team soon."
"Thank you in advance, Captain," Linmeng smiled, "I had a really good time playing today."
Yumo looked at the bottle she held, shaking as if it were a display, and at her slightly cracked lips, and frowned, "Don't you drink water at all?"
"I don't like to drink soda, it's too sweet," Linmeng looked disdainfully at the bottle in her hand, "And lemon water is too sour."
"Drink milk then," Yumo got up helplessly, went to the couch and unzipped his bag, taking out a bottle of pure milk from inside, "Picky eater."
He actually carried milk with him. Linmeng felt a bit embarrassed and handed over the bottle in her hand, "Then you drink this, I haven't touched it yet."
"Alright," Yumo smiled.
They opened the bottles at the same time, and as they drank, suddenly, Yumo's body stiffened, and he bent over and started coughing violently.
Yumo: When I found out that my wife likes my best friend...
Xingshen: The professional scapegoat will go wherever he's needed.
Mom is about to make a move on her son [rubbing hands].
——