Xie Linchuan logged off in frustration.
Lan Lengyu also had something to attend to and left first.
Chu Xubai asked in the voice channel, "Liuyue, do you still want to play?"
Qiao Liuyue: "Let's keep playing."
Chu Xubai chuckled and said, "Alright, I'll invite you."
Ruying: [What about me?]
Qiao Liuyue: "I'll bring you along too."
Ruying: [Okay.]
They joined a room for another three-player queue, needing to select roles on their avatars first.
Chu Xubai asked, "Are you still mainly jungling, and secondary marksman?"
Qiao Liuyue: "I'm fine with anything actually. I want to expand my hero pool—mid, support, or even top lane works too."
Chu Xubai smiled and said, "I was actually thinking the same—wanting to expand my hero pool. If you play marksman, I can play support."
Qiao Liuyue didn't think much of it: "Sure."
Ruying quietly typed: [I actually main support too.]
When Chu Xubai saw this line, the smile on his face froze.
Ruying was his online friend. They'd known each other for a while, and Ruying was also one of the bosses funding this gaming studio.
They were all partners.
Chu Xubai didn't want to expose him.
Ruying was a jungler main too.
And in that last match, Sang Qi had gone AFK just at the perfect moment, all to let Xie Linchuan die a few more times.
Something was off—when did they ever have a grudge?!
As Chu Xubai was pondering this,
Ruying quietly typed again: [You can play jungler or marksman, I can support either one. My Sang Qi king is amazing.]
With such a sales pitch,
Qiao Liuyue didn't feel like arguing. She just asked, "Either of you can support—want to discuss it?"
Chu Xubai, always smooth and tactful, would usually yield in this situation.
But now, he stayed silent.
Ruying: [Big Hammer seems to have gone AFK.]
Ruying: [How about we duo queue instead?]
Chu Xubai: "…!! I'm not AFK."
Ruying: [Then why aren't you talking? Are you in a bad mood?]
Chu Xubai: "I'm fine."
Ruying: [Since you're fine, let me play support then. I'm in a bad mood. That 'Thanks, Goodbye' marksman played so awfully—I got no sense of achievement as a support.]
Ruying: [I want to queue with a strong marksman lady—like someone named 'Little Qiao Loves Jungle' this.]
Chu Xubai: "…!!!" That's enough!
Xie Linchuan actually didn't play that badly. If Ruying hadn't deliberately thrown in the early game by sneaking last hits on minions and stealing gold, Xie Linchuan wouldn't have ended up like that.
Chu Xubai didn't feel like mentioning it.
He'd actually noticed early on that Ruying had bought boots first.
Only later did he secretly switch to a support item.
Normally, a support's first item should be a support item, so they don't steal farm from teammates.
Qiao Liuyue watched as one spoke and the other typed, genuinely amused.
"Monitor, you take top lane instead. You're more reliable as a stable pick."
As for Ruying, that unpredictable element—let him play support.
Chu Xubai: "Fine."
A new match began. This time, it went smoothly—no streamer players, no weird teammates.
Qiao Liuyue picked the marksman Sun Quan, Ruying picked the support Duoliya, and Chu Xubai took Kui in the top lane.
The two random teammates were Da Siming in the jungle and Shen Mengxi in mid.
Duoliya obediently followed Sun Quan the whole time. Qiao Liuyue had built lifesteal gear, so she could heal by hitting minions.
But Duoliya still went out of her way to follow and cast abilities.
Ruying (Duoliya): [Walk in the circle to heal.]
Waiting for a Miracle (Da Siming): [Duoduo, come with me.]
Ruying (Duoliya): [No way, we're not close.]
Ruying (Duoliya): [I'm sticking with my Brother Sun Quan.]
Big Hammer Crushes You (Kui ): […]
Don't Hit This Support (Shen Mengxi): [Is Duoduo a sweet girl? Call me brother too.]
Ruying (Duoliya): [Pleasant Goat, that's enough!]
Little Qiao Loves Jungle (Sun Quan): [Pleasant Goat, that's enough!]
Waiting for a Miracle (Da Siming): [Pleasant Goat, that's enough!]
Big Hammer Crushes You (Kui ): [Pleasant Goat, that's enough!]
Don't Hit This Support (Shen Mengxi): […]
And so it was—humans were just copycat machines.
This game pushed easily to destroy the enemy crystal, ending in ten minutes.
Don't Hit This Support (Shen Mengxi): [Everyone played great—want to add as friends? Duoduo little sis.]
Ruying (Duoliya): [I'm a guy!]
Don't Hit This Support (Shen Mengxi): [Then why'd you call him Brother Sun Quan?]
Ruying (Duoliya): [I felt like it. I'll call him that. Brother Sun Quan, he's bullying Duoduo.]
Chu Xubai was the first to lose it.
Big Hammer Crushes You (Kui ): [Duoliya, that's enough!]
Laughing and joking, they ended up adding each other as in-game friends anyway.
Chu Xubai spoke over voice: "We're a gaming studio. Feel free to place an order if you're interested, bosses."
Don't Hit This Support: "Alright, alright! I want to order Duoduo!"
Waiting for a Miracle: "Pleasant Goat, you've lost it! This Duoduo is a guy—you've got weird taste."
Don't Hit This Support: "I'll make her play Sun Quan, and I'll play Duoliya, then call him Brother Sun Quan to annoy him."
Ruying typed: [Bro, I'm sorry, give me a break.]
Don't Hit This Support laughed smugly: "Hehehe…"
The real Brother Sun Quan himself—Qiao Liuyue: "One word—epic!"
They played two more five-player ranked matches together.
The dorm was about to have lights out, so Qiao Liuyue said her goodbyes and logged off.
Stretching her fingers, she got up to wash up and noticed her two roommates had already returned, but Dong Jiaoyan hadn't.
How strange—no matter what, she'd always come back before.
Just as she was thinking this, her phone suddenly rang. It was Dong Jiaoyan's number.
Qiao Liuyue hesitated for a second, then answered.
On the other end came a drunken slur: "Hey, Liuyue, come get me…"
Qiao Liuyue was baffled.
"…?? Dong Jiaoyan, weren't we in a fight? Didn't you say not to consider me a friend? Are you getting amnesia?"
Dong Jiaoyan: "Huh? Did that happen? No way—we're besties. And I've had a bit too much to drink—come pick me up! …"
Amid the chaotic background noise, she could faintly hear metallic music.
Qiao Liuyue: "Are you at a bar?"
Dong Jiaoyan: "…Seems like it."
Qiao Liuyue thought for a moment, took a deep breath, and said, "Call your boyfriend, then take a taxi ASAP and get back to school. Don't stay there alone—got it? I'm hanging up!"
After ending the call,
Qiao Liuyue's finger paused over her contacts list momentarily, hesitant.
In the end, she opened Xie Linchuan's chat box.
Little Qiao Loves Jungle: [Dong Jiaoyan is drunk at a bar. Hurry up and make her take a taxi back.]
Xie Linchuan replied half a minute later.
Thanks, Goodbye: [What? Jiaojiao is at a bar—alone? Why aren't you with her? She's drunk…]
