Jian Rong snapped out of it only when Lu Boyuan had already walked down the steps that led up to their seats and turned to look back at him questioningly.

He saw that Lu Boyuan was almost imperceptibly opening and closing his right hand. Jian Rong also liked to do that when his own hands felt tired.

Jian Rong set his headphones down on the table before he stood up and followed Lu Boyuan to go shake hands.

The handshake was a very short segment of the competition. The winners used it to show off, while the losing team wasnt in the mood to talk at all.

Fighting Tigers players were evidently different from normal people.

The first few members werent too bad; at the most, they just said God Lu is awesome. But once they reached Fighting Tigers Da Niu

Ah-Niu smiled. Your Ignite Graves is awesome.

Lu Boyuan said, Its alright.

Our coach finally managed to get our jungler to drop his bad habit of picking Graves. After this match, hell probably pick it back up again. Ah-Niu sighed. Next time we meet, well definitely crush you in the early game.

Lu Boyuans tone was mostly emotionless. You wont be able to.

Ah-Niu laughed heartily and was about to say something else when he suddenly sensed a somewhat unfriendly gaze come from behind Lu Boyuan.

The other three TTC members were all ahead of Lu Boyuan, so there was only one person trailing after him.

Jian Rong glared at the hands that the two people in front of him had been shaking for quite a while. The more he looked, the deeper his eyebrows furrowed, and he urged coldly, Can you hurry it up?

Ah-Niu:

Once the handshakes concluded, the players tidied up their equipment and went offstage.

Xiao Bai dismantled his keyboard. It felt so great being carried in that last game. How about we have a one-shot Graves in every game from now on?

Pine said, You were being carried, but I wasnt. My score was 3/0/3.

Captain, youre okay, right? Yuan Qian tilted his head and asked, You played very urgently in that final round, is it because

Yuan Qians words reminded the other two people. Xiao Bai and Pine simultaneously stopped moving to look at Lu Boyuan.

Mn. Lu Boyuan unplugged the keyboard from the USB port. Feeling sleepy, wanted to finish faster so I can go back and rest.

Xiao Bai wanted to ask something else, but then Jian Rong, who was silently packing up his own equipment the entire time, stood and picked up the keyboard from Lu Boyuans table. He then carefully coiled the keyboards cable.

Jian Rong said, Ill help bring it down for you.

Lu Boyuan glanced at him. Okay.

The other three people looked at their teams mid laner and jungler in confusion.

The commentators and spectators were also baffled.

[Its settled: Soft is being bullied in the team.]

[Isnt Soft being way too eager? Doesnt he know that other people arent allowed to touch a pro gamers keyboard??]

[Above, whered you get brainwashed like that? The auntie at TTCs base occasionally helps them clean their keyboards, I saw it in Xiao Bais stream.]

[Is Soft trying to curry favor with Road? This kind of thing happens even within professional teams?? Ai, as expected, pro players who originated from livestreaming are quite self-centered.]

[Even for competitive gaming, youre judging a players origin? In that case, I have no choice but to debate properly with you. Before my dumb oldest son joined the team, he was at minimum a millionaire, and he reached Challenger rank four in the Korean server before his streaming took off. If he wasnt in the top ten on StarTVs LoL streamer ranking, then he was at least in the top twenty. Out of the entire pro league, how many players can you find who have a better background than he does??]

[Argument aside, theres something I have to clarify. What my son is doing isnt called currying favor, its called expressing love.]

When the comment about expressing love swept by, the competition camera just happened to focus on Jian Rongs figure from behind.

He held both pieces of equipment in his arms and went offstage without bothering to look back.

You guys worked hard and played pretty well. Ding-ge was waiting for them at the backstage entrance. After he finished praising the top and bot laners, Ding-ge tugged aside Lu Boyuan.

He lowered his voice. Did your hand start hurting again?!

Ever since Lu Boyuan requested Graves, Ding-ge felt like something wasnt right, but he was worried that voicing his concern would affect the other members conditions, so he held back on stage and hadnt asked anything.

While the game was loading, the camera had given Lu Boyuan a solo shot. When Ding-ge saw Lu Boyuan slightly twitch his fingers, his worries were confirmed almost instantaneously.

Lu Boyuan knew that there was no point in hiding it from Ding-ge, which would only make him overthink it more and more. As a result, Lu Boyuan replied quietly, A bit. I slept on my hand last night, it was already numb when I woke up.

Ding-ge pulled out his phone and said, Ill tell the acupuncturist to come to the base. Let me go talk to the competition officials, someone else from the team can go do the post-match interview.

Lu Boyuan asked, Am I not the MVP?

Ding-ge didnt even think about it. Of course you are.

Behind them, Jian Rong came offstage, carrying the keyboards. Lu Boyuan spotted him from the corner of his eye, and his voice lowered a little more. He said quickly, Then Ill go. Its only a few minutes, it wont interfere with anything.

On stage, the two commentators had just started the analyzing this matchs MVP process.

Commentator A: There shouldnt be any need to guess who it is, right?

Indeed. After responding, Commentator B also chuckled. If this match consisted only of the first two rounds, perhaps we would still need to guess. After all, in the second game, Pines solo lane was very stable, and he didnt fall behind in terms of CS at all; Xiao Bai placed his wards very precisely when he was roaming with the jungler, and his awareness was also quite good; in the late game, Qian-ge engaged the team fights extremely beautifully. But in the third game it was entirely God Lus individual showcase ah. Aside from the instant Soft stole Baron, I was watching God Lu the entire time.

Right as he said that, the MVP was swiftly displayed on the big screen. Lu Boyuans headshot emerged on the right side of the screen, and he appeared cool and indifferent in the photo. Next to him was Graves astonishing score of 8/0/6.

Just as Jian Rong finished putting Lu Boyuans keyboard back into the equipment bag, the post-match interview began.

Xiao Bai sniffled as he looked at the TV. Ive never seen my ge in such poor health before.

He just hasnt been sick in a really long time. Ding-ge sighed. I shouldve told him to put on some lipstick before going up.

The one in charge of todays interview was a male host. He was a familiar face and was very fond of asking questions unrelated to the match at the end of the interview. Since the audience responded positively to it, the LPL didnt stop him from doing so.

At first, the host asked the same old conventional questions, which Lu Boyuan also answered very standardly.

A few questions later, the host couldnt help but ask, God Lu, what happened to your voice? Are you feeling unwell?

Lu Boyuan: Ive caught a little cold.

Outside of practice, you still have to pay attention to your health ah, the host advised briefly out of concern before he continued. Actually, the first two rounds of todays match were extremely deadlocked, as it seems the newcomer still isnt very used to slower-paced games. Fortunately, you stepped forward in the third round, catching Fighting Tiger off guard with your fast-paced Graves, and the audience must have also felt very excited when watching. I want to ask the moment you chose Graves, were you already prepared to carry the entire team?

Lu Boyuan: Before going on stage, every player must be prepared to carry the team.

The person who normally never said much during interviews was currently looking into the camera, and he said slowly, But every team works differently. No player in the pro league would dare say that they can carry every single match, so they have to try and rely on their teammates during such a time. Today, I was the one who stepped forward, but tomorrow it might be Soft, Pine, Qian, or Xiao Bai.

Jian Rong jolted slightly, and his fists, which he had clenched tightly after hearing the newcomer isnt used to it, loosened a bit.

Correct, God Lu is right. The male host, who spent his time wildly surfing the internet, smiled and nodded. Then, before this interview ends, I still have one personal question. Your teams new mid laners recent crossdressing stream God Lu, what are your thoughts on it?

Jian Rongs fists clenched again.

Lu Boyuan was quiet for two seconds. Better than other peoples streams.

After the interview concluded, everyone in TTC got in the bus to go back to the base.

Jian Rong realized only after getting in the bus that the female streamer who the camera had focused on earlier, Youyou, was also in the car with them.

I just want to give Yuan Qian a few things, Ill be at your base for ten minutes and then Ill go. Youyou blinked in their direction. If you guys have an issue with it, I dont have to enter the base either.

She said you guys, but she was looking at Jian Rong. Youyou had come over to the base several times before and hadnt affected their training, so obviously the others had no objections.

Jian Rong shrugged, indicating his indifference.

This female streamer was just holding up a support banner for him a moment ago, and Jian Rong didnt know how to interact appropriately with her. As a result, he avoided her eyes the entire time he made his way over to his seat.

Youyou noticed that, and she couldnt help but start a conversation with him. Soft, dont feel uncomfortable, you can just treat me like your average dad average water friend.

Yuan Qian burst out laughing. Why are you teasing him Xiao Rong, ignore her, she always has too much to say.

Seeing Lu Boyuan and Ding-ge get on the bus together, Jian Rong didnt even look back at Yuan Qian and Youyou; he hummed ambiguously in response and that was that.

Lu Boyuan passed by the front few rows and casually replied to a few of Ding-ges comments before he sat down very naturally next to Jian Rong.

Lu Boyuans eyelids felt extremely heavy, so he closed his eyes and rested the whole drive back to the base. Only when the bus came to a solid stop in front of the base entrance did he suddenly remember something, and he opened his eyes and turned his head to ask, What about the medicine?

Jian Rong: Ding-ge said not to take it for now, hell give it to you after the doctor comes to the base and finishes your checkup.

Lu Boyuan nodded and didnt say anything else.

The doctor was already waiting in the living room. Right after they walked into the base, Lu Boyuan went into an unused meeting room with the doctor.

After eating dinner and showering, it was already eleven PM at night. Jian Rong stood on the second floor staircase and glanced at the tightly closed door of the meeting room before he swiftly slipped into the practice room.

Todays match was too exhausting, so the others went to rest after playing a few ranked games. Only Jian Rong continued on by himself.

His phone suddenly chimed right as he finished some ranked games. It was a text from his bank; his income from the day he resumed streaming had entered his account.

Jian Rong stared at the specific sum for a while before he unhesitatingly opened the streaming platform.

[One AM? What kind of otherworldly streaming time is this??]

[Daring to stream right after finishing a match, are you looking to be insulted?]

[Awake now? I just watched you sleepwalk your way through a game with Fizz.]

[Im here, let me get a number for my place in line while I think about what I should flame you for today.]

Why stream? in any case, Ill be playing ranked, so I might as well stream to pass the time and see if I can trick out some gift money from you all. Jian Rong entered the solo queue and took the time to check the barrage. Daring to stream after playing so terribly in the competition I didnt play well today, thats true, Ill work harder next time. Since I played terribly, Ill allow you all to insult me a bit, I wont block anyone. Cherish this opportunity, after all, who knows if itll ever happen again.

The main thing is that I didnt give any notice before I started streaming, so the room mods were arranged at the last minute. Its already this late, I wont trouble them and make them work. Flame away.

Jian Rong was the only person from TTC streaming tonight, so some other fans also ended up coming to his livestream room.

[Ahhh, please tell me, how is Road doing??]

[His face was quite pale today in the interview, is he feeling sick?]

[Begging Soft to give us some reassurance TAT]

Jian Rong took a glance at the barrage helper. Low fever.

[Then how is he now? Did he take medicine and go to sleep? If its serious, he should still go to the hospital!!]

Jian Rong didnt answer.

Because he himself didnt know either.

The doctor only left half an hour ago. Lu Boyuan had gone upstairs back to his room, and his footsteps were no different from how they usually sounded.

At the time, Jian Rong was in a team fight. Once he was finished with the team fight, he wanted to send a message and ask, but he was also afraid that Lu Boyuan had already gone to sleep.

This practice session of Jian Rongs lasted all the way until four in the morning.

A new game began, and Jian Rong filled in as jungler. Without hesitation, he locked in Lee Sin.

Jian Rong: Do I know how to play Lee Sin? there are no champions I dont know how to play.

He merely wasnt as skilled at some of them.

Actually, there were other jungler champions that he was better at, but the reason why he picked Lee Sin was because he wanted to use Lu Boyuans championship skin.

The year that Lu Boyuan won the World Championship, the champion that he requested a skin for was Lee Sin.

After selecting his champion, the first thing Jian Rong went to do was change the skin, only to discover that Lu Boyuans championship skin was locked

[No way no way, theres still someone who doesnt have God Lus championship skin??]

[On behalf of God Lu fans, I revoke this dumbass fan membership.]

Without the championship skin, Jian Rong didnt even feel like choosing another option. I created this account late, so I wasnt able to buy it.

[But dont you frequently play on this account nowadays?]

[If you werent able to buy it, then go pull it!!]

Pull? Jian Rong paused. Is there a lottery event going on right now?

[Yes, theres a link to the event on the home page.]

Jian Rong instantly quit the match.

Upon seeing the question marks on the screen, Jian Rong explained, No skin, dont want to play.

[as if you have a lot of skins in the first place.]

Indeed, Jian Rong didnt have many skins. He didnt really care about all that; usually when playing, he would use a skin if he had it, but if he didnt have it he would just use the original model.

But Lee Sin was different.

He opened the event on the home page and glanced over the rules. Then he deposited 100 yuan1 into his account.

[????]

[100 yuan, arent you being way too freaking luxurious??]

[I just watched Kongkong finish pulling the Lee Sin skin on his side account tonight, he deposited 2,000 yuan2 at a time.]

If you deposit that much, what if you get it on the first try? Jian Rong scanned his QR code and paid. Tencent, dont even think about earning a single extra yuan off of me.

He didnt get it on the first try.

Or the second try.

Or the third try.

By the time Jian Rong was scanning his QR code for the 55th time, the barrage was already covered with hahahaha.

[Never mind the Lee Sin skin, 5,500 yuan only got you a few of the trashiest Snowdown and Lunar Revel skins, you should just quit the game.]

[Will watching his stream cause his bad luck to spread? If so Ill be leaving first.]

With the next ten pulls, Jian Rong got eight skin shards3.

Jian Rong was invigorated by his anger. Its probably because my pulling posture is wrong, wait a moment, let me play a song.

The song started. Jian Rong deposited more money before he stood up. Forget it, Im going to wash my face again and wash my hands too. Hold on.

Throat so dry that it was burning, Lu Boyuan opened his eyes in the darkness and subconsciously glanced at the time.

He swallowed a few times, but his throat still felt uncomfortable. He randomly draped a jacket over his shoulders and got up to go downstairs and get some water.

When Lu Boyuan passed by the second floor and saw that light was coming from the practice room, he stopped in the middle of going down the stairs.

Only one computer was lit up in the practice room. It was streaming, and the barrage on the screen rolled by at light speed.

[Dammit dumbass, you didnt turn off this song before you left????]

[Shit, its four in the morning, this dumbass forcibly woke me right up with the noise.]

[My speakers were on when I entered the stream, now my neighbors are knocking on my door and asking me when Im going to die.]

The moment half of Lu Boyuans body entered the camera, the barrage froze for half a second.

He opened Jian Rongs match history and looked over it: starting from eleven at night, all the way to four in the morning, the entire page was green.

Amidst countless ?, Lu Boyuan picked up Jian Rongs headphones and slowly brought them up to his ear.

The jubilant, passionate chorus of a song radiated outwards

Good luck is here4~ good luck to you~ good luck brings joy and love~ good luck, our good luck is here~ welcoming good luck, may it flourish across the world~

Lu Boyuan:

About $15 ^About $300 ^Skin shards unlock skins but you have to purchase them to use them (using the skin shard only allows you to rent the skin for seven days) ^This song. Its like one of the iconic Chinese New Year songs. Hahaha JR is honestly such an icon, tbh I feel like this song would lowkey slap at four AM ^

Yan: JR pulling for LBYs skin was literally me pulling for Zhongli in Genshin Impact lmaooo I feel your pain my son

Also, as of today the raws for ICDI are officially complete, at 134 chapters! Im assuming there will be some extras, though I dont know how many yet. This means we are almost halfway done with the translation~

If anyone would like to leave the author a supportive comment, you can find the novel here. You do need an account to comment, and if anyone would like a more in-depth explanation on how to comment/navigate JJWXC, lmk lol I can pull something together. Jiang Zi Bei has really gone through it with this novel, especially near the end. For some reason people kept getting super pressed over the author not updating daily so Im sure any support would be much appreciated!

EDIT: an example of a comment could be , which means scattering flowers for finishing! A quick and easy congratulatory phrase