Although they were promoting couple keyboards, they didnt actually have to be all that intimate in the photos.

After all, one was a female celebrity, while the other was a little rookie male god from the esports circle. No matter what, they couldnt make the photos seem too ambiguous.

The theme of the photoshoot centered around the two of them gaming together. The closest they got to each other was when they were sitting shoulder to shoulder in front of the computers, and they put their hands in the same bag of chips.

Jian Rong sat in the gaming chair that the staff had prepared for him. Not too far away, Lu Boyuan was surrounded by a few staff members, both guys and girls, who were done setting up and wanted autographs from him. Lu Boyuans head was lowered as he talked to them, and the brim of his hat covered up his face so that his expression couldnt be seen clearly.

Qiuqiu returned from touching up her makeup. She turned her head and asked, Do you not have any matches today?

Jian Rong said indifferently, No.

The photoshoot hadnt started yet. The photographer was still instructing a few stagehands to move around props.

I started watching your streams a very long time ago. Qiuqiu said, Its probably been about two years now? Back when I was filming Songless.

Jian Rong was still spacing out. He replied, quite half-heartedly, Thanks.

Qiuqiu looked at him before chuckling. Did you know who I was before this?

Jian Rong said, I didnt.

The staff member who was arranging Qiuqius hair paused for a moment and shot Jian Rong a look of astonishment.

Even though Qiuqius filmography wasnt very extensive, her only movie had won her the biggest domestic best actress award, so her popularity was extremely high.

The staff: Last year, Qiuqiu went to your teams match and played a game there.

I only joined the LPL this year. Jian Rong contemplated briefly before adding, I dont really watch dramas either.

The staff:

Even if you hadnt joined the LPL yet, you shouldve still watched the matchs live broadcast, right?

Even if you dont really watch dramas, you shouldve still seen the Weibo hot search, right?

Are you a game otaku or a caveman living at the top of a mountain?

Qiuqiu didnt act awkward about it at all. On the contrary, her smile deepened. I see how come you keep looking at Road? Do you need to tell him something?

Jian Rong rapidly averted his gaze. He lowered his eyes and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard in front of him. Because he was caught in the act, his tone of voice grew rigid. No.

After Lu Boyuan finished signing autographs for the staff members, he just happened to spot Jian Rong chatting with that female celebrity upon lifting his head.

Jian Rongs eyelids drooped as he talked, and he didnt seem to be very energetic. As they chatted, he reached up and pinched his ear.

A girl passed by in front of him. She had her hand cupped around her phone, and she was whispering to someone on a call. Her eyes were fixed on the photoshoot area. Soft is taking pictures in the studio next to me! I snuck my way in! Hows my side doing? Theyre already almost done with the shoot Im just a makeup assistant, it doesnt matter if Im there or not, in any case its not like Ill be the one doing their makeup. Savior? Hes pretty cute.

Hey, Softs partner is actually Qiuqiu.

Really, its Qiuqiu what do you mean, tarnishing your goddess? Soft is also very handsome, okay? Havent heard of him before he just joined the LPL, youve been too busy chasing stars these days, of course you havent heard of him before. Tsk, if you dont believe me, Ill turn on the video and show you.

The girl turned on WeChat video. Look for yourself, you dont believe me even though I already told you, he really is handsome. Speaking of which, Soft and Qiuqiu actually look quite good together. Theyre also around the same age, do you think theyll

Halfway through her sentence, someone patted her shoulder.

The girl looked back, puzzled, and made eye contact with the person who was on her computer wallpaper.

The girl was stunned, and she gripped her phone and stopped talking, despite her friend calling hello hello hello on the other end of the call.

Lu Boyuan was standing next to the door. He lifted his hand and pointed at the sign next to his head[Authorized personnel only! No photography allowed!].

The girls heart thumped wildly, and it took her quite some time to put down her phone. my apologies!!

She was quickly discovered by a staff member and was then asked to leave.

As the photoshoot was wrapping up, Ding-ge sent a text over asking when they would be heading back. He said that he had scheduled a last-minute practice match for that night.

Lu Boyuan lowered his head and replied. A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

A familiar voice sounded. Wasnt Soft the one taking pictures? How come youre also here?

Lu Boyuan didnt even look up; he just pointed at that sign again.

The newcomer said, Hey, I already greeted the staff. We were just taking pictures in the studio next door.

Lu Boyuan only raised his head once he was done replying to Ding-ges text. He glanced at XIU, whose hair was coated with gel, and he furrowed his brows in disdain. Was the hair gel in your studio free?

XIU hadnt removed his makeup either, as he felt like he looked more handsome this way. Savior was also standing next to him. Savior had round cheeks, but his body wasnt fat. He was currently wearing a pair of black-framed glasses; he looked more like a top student roaming the streets right after school was dismissed, rather than a professional gamer.

I look too handsome, so I decided to only wash it off after I go back. XIU looked at Jian Rong, who wasnt too far away. No way, you have to go with him even when hes just filming an ?

Lu Boyuan didnt feel like bothering with him. Not going back after your shoot, why are you still hanging around here?

We were originally planning to go eat dinner, but Savior wanted to come take a look after he heard Jian Rong was here. XIU shook his head and clicked his tongue. You know, Jian Rong really does have the energy of a little esports male god, no wonder you

Remembering that there was still someone else next to him, XIU coughed and amended, No wonder he has a lot of female fans.

Lu Boyuan swept a glance at PUDs new mid laner before he looked at XIU. His livestream room is full of male fans.

BS. XIU said, You think that just because they call themselves Dad, theyre male? Have you ever seen the water friends profiles? Those female fans of his also call themselves Dad.

Lu Boyuan shifted his gaze away. He had no interest in checking the water friends profiles.

On the other side. The photographer lifted his camera. Smile for me, thats right Qiuqiu, excellent! Soft, you smile too

Jian Rong saw the crowd of people in the back of the studio. Lu Boyuan was standing next to PUDs members, and XIU had his arm hooked around Lu Boyuans shoulders in an intimate pose.

Actually, it was just the very commonly seen arms-around-shoulder pose between normal bros.

Smile for me, Soft. The photographer lowered his camera. Soft?

Jian Rong snapped out of it and lifted the corners of his mouth.

The photographer: smile a bit more sincerely.

The corners of Jian Rongs mouth hiked up some more.

The photographer: Eh your smile is a little fierce, you can decrease the intensity.

With one photoshoot, Jian Rongs mouth felt stiff from smiling so much.

By the time it ended, XIU and the rest were still there, but he didnt have his arm hooked around Lu Boyuans shoulder anymore.

Done shooting? Youve worked hard, youve worked hard. XIU beamed as he said that, before he saw Jian Rongs expression. What? Youre not happy, even though you filmed an ad with a female celebrity?

There was one part of XIU that was extremely similar to Yuan Qian: they always acted very familiarly.

Jian Rong: Mn.

It wasnt clear whether he was happy or unhappy.

Youre done? Lu Boyuan straightened up. Tired?

Jian Rong licked his lips. Tired of smiling.

Lets go back then. Lu Boyuan called over the makeup artist and said evenly, Hello, if its not too much trouble, could you help remove his makeup.

The makeup artist came to a halt. Ah, well, I can, but do you want to take it off? Youre so handsome, why dont you just wear it back? I didnt make it too heavy either, you can definitely go out wearing it.

Take it off. Jian Rong didnt even think twice. Take it off right now.

Jian Rong went with the makeup artist. XIU took a sip of his bottled water. Stop looking, he already went into the room.

Lu Boyuan retracted his gaze. How come youre still here? No practice?

We came out after our practice match. Tonight is a free period, so theres no rush. XIU said, Wanna eat dinner together?

Not today. Lu Boyuan declined. We have a practice match tonight.

Nice. There goes your WeChat again, XIU said to his teams mid laner, only to realize upon turning his head that the person in question was gone. whered he go??

In the makeup room. Jian Rong closed his eyes, allowing the makeup artist to mess around with his face.

The sound of footsteps came from behind him. Before Jian Rong could open his eyes and see who it was, he heard the person ask, Why yuh dun play on Koo-rean suh-vuh?

Jian Rong furrowed his brows. It took him quite a while before he understood what was being said.

Jian Rong didnt bother opening his eyes. Why do I have to play on the Korean server?

In the higher tiers of the Korean server, it was easy for professional players to crash cars.

But Jian Rong kept playing on the domestic server, so Savior couldnt encounter Jian Rong in the game.

They awl play on Koo-rean suh-vuh. Savior said, Domestic suh-vuh, no good, many trolls.

Jian Rong gave a lazy en in reply. He mimicked his accent: Aye am one of them.

Savior:

Savior said something in Korean, but then he remembered that he didnt have an interpreter with him, so he had no choice but to express what he wanted to say with difficulty. Aye want to hit1 yuh.

The makeup artist:

When Jian Rong opened his eyes, Lu Boyuan and XIU just happened to walk into the makeup room.

Jian Rong looked at XIU. Do you know Korean? I was talking to him for so long, but he couldnt understand a damn thing.

Savior also looked at XIU while frowning and wearing a bemused expression.

XIU said, I dont. But you can just tell me directly whatever you want to say to him, Ill get the interpreter to relay it to him after we go back.

Two years ago didnt I only solo kill you two times and take 48 points from you do you really have to remember it so deeply? Recently Ive been too busy cleaning up the domestic servers atmosphere, I dont have time to go to your Korean server to bully noobs. Theres no rush either if you really want to get beaten up, next Saturday even if you want to run away you wont be able to. Long live the China-Korea friendship. After Jian Rong said all that, he double-checked, Our match against your team is next Saturday, right? Okay, Im done, remember to translate it. Translate the first half as accurately as you can, the second part doesnt really matter.

XIU:

XIU wanted to say, Why dont you just ask your teams captain to help you translate something like this? Your captain is pretty fluent in Korean.

But Lu Boyuan clearly didnt intend to help translate.

Nobody else came with TTCs mid laner and jungler on this trip over. Jian Rong picked up his bag, and Lu Boyuan tossed out an indifferent leaving now, see you on Saturday, before the two of them left the photography studio without looking back.

On the car ride back, Jian Rong braced his elbow against the window and watched the dimming sky outside. He was still thinking about what happened before the photoshoot, to the point that his head was nearly in the clouds.

What was the meaning of Lu Boyuan asking him whether he liked Qiuqiu or not

And he had asked Jian Rong if he thought Qiuqiu was pretty.

Jian Rong remembered that those water friends once said that Qiuqiu was a gaming goddess. A lot of professional players all liked her.

Qiuqiu was indeed pretty. She had a nice voice, and she was accomplished in her field; she was young, and she also seemed to have a good personality.

If Lu Boyuan liked her as well, that was very normal.

Lu Boyuan was twenty-three. Wanting to date at this age also seemed to be very normal.

Jian Rongs eyelids drooped, and he crushed through the hard candy that the makeup artist had given him earlier, creating crunching noises as he chewed.

Right as they returned to the base, they ran into Xiao Bai walking out of the break room.

Youre back! How come neither of you replied to my WeChat messages ah? Did you help me get Qiuqius WeChat? When Xiao Bai saw the expression on Jian Rongs face, he stopped on the spot.

Forgot. Jian Rong took off his jacket. What time is the practice match?

Xiao Bai: theres still half an hour.

Jian Rong walked upstairs without giving him a second look. Then Im going to take a shower.

Holding his coffee, Xiao Bai waited until Jian Rong was gone before he couldnt help but ask Lu Boyuan, Ge, whats up with him?

Lu Boyuan: ?

Didnt he go take marketing photos with the esport circles number one beauty? Xiao Bai questioned. His expression makes him look like he got in a fight with someone outside, and on top of that, he lost.

We ran into PUD. Lu Boyuan spoke concisely and headed into the break room.

After he finished making himself a cup of coffee, he tilted his head. Something else on your mind?

Xiao Bai wrapped both hands around his mug. He glanced back and confirmed that Jian Rong wasnt back yet before he whispered, Ge, I discovered someone.

Lu Boyuan quietly waited for him to continue.

A streamer, also on StarTV. Xiao Bai said, That streamer keeps copying Jian Rong. He even started fighting with Jian Rongs water friends this afternoon. I dont dare to tell Jian Rong about this

Jian Rong dunked his head under the water for quite a while, but for some reason, he still felt irritated.

Jian Rong wasnt in the habit of blow-drying his hair. After exiting the bathroom, he casually rubbed his hair a few times with a towel and considered it dry enough.

Even as he finished putting on his clothes and left his room, he kept thinking in his head

Its very normal to date, Qian-ge is also dating, and it doesnt affect practice at all. That female streamer is pretty good too, shes always sending us midnight snacks to eat.

Besides, Lu Boyuan wasnt going to retire for the time being even if he started dating. They could still keep competing together.

They would still be teammates.

And if one day Lu Boyuan did retire, they could still occasionally duo queue together too.

Since he was thirteen, he had been dreaming of sitting on stage and playing competitively with Lu Boyuan.

Now, not only had he joined the team, he was also the one that Lu Boyuan thought highly of, the one who Lu Boyuan had personally vouched for to get him signed onto the team.

Lu Boyuan even watched his streams. Did Xiao Bai receive this kind of treatment? Did Qian-ge and Pine receive this kind of treatment?

No! Only he did!

Jian Rongs thoughts veered wildly, and he didnt notice at all that the part he was conflicted over had truly deviated somewhat.

After he was mostly done explaining things to himself, Jian Rong pushed open the practice room door and instantly spotted Lu Boyuans lit-up monitor. Lu Boyuan wasnt there, but there was a stream playing on the screen.

Although Jian Rong sat in front of a computer all year round, his vision was still extremely good.

On the stream that Lu Boyuan was playing, he saw an unfamiliar male streamer with dyed blue hair, wearing a sailor outfit, playing LoL.

At that moment, Jian Rong was this close to smashing his phone onto the ground.

He means he wants to play against Jian Rong in the game, but the way he uses it here is incorrect, and so it sounds like hes saying he wants to hit Jian Rong ^

Yan: Thank you for everyones kind comments on the last chapter ;-; will do my best at work!! Hehe happy new year to everyone~

Wei: Happy New Year everyone!! Hopefully 2021 goes better than 2020 T^T

Heres some more ICDI fanart from Weibo as a new years gift! (LBYxJR, JR ft. lollipop, bunny!JRxLBY, TTC)