The next day, as soon as Lu Sheng entered the training room, he felt that Fang Zhixu was being a bit too enthusiastic.
He crouched beside Bai Yu’s desk, clearly hiding an old fox inside, but with eyes still as clear as a college student’s. His voice was inexplicably a little sharp, “Captain captain, when we play WG next match, should I focus more on your bot lane? Tang Su’s been pretty strong this season, even made something new out of Kai’Sa, feels like we should target him a bit…”
Bai Yu was watching Tang Su’s match video. He held his chin in thought and nodded in agreement, “His Kai’Sa is indeed a bit flashy this year.”
Fang Zhixu scooted even closer, staring at Bai Yu’s screen like a house cat, just missing a wagging tail, “Should we care about Chen Yanxing in mid? Feels like he’ll still roam bot… bot lane will definitely be fighting constantly. Captain, do you think an early-game comp or a late-game comp is better?”
Bai Yu thought aloud, “Each has its benefits. Early-game champs can suppress Kai’Sa’s scaling, late-game champs can provide security for the team. Qi Yi, what do you think?”
Qi Yi, sitting on the other side, was also staring at Bai Yu’s screen. But unlike Fang Zhixu, he didn’t seem scheming at all, so he didn’t make people feel annoyed. “I haven’t used early-game champs before… I’m a little worried I won’t play them well…”
Bai Yu asked him, “That I’m not worried about. Your mechanics are solid. Just play a bit more aggressively, like Xu Bo.”
Xu Bo, standing behind them with arms crossed, clearly looked proud but still flicked his hair disdainfully, “Wants to be like me, he’s still got a lot to learn.”
It was a perfectly normal and harmonious scene, but the more Lu Sheng looked, the more annoyed he got. Especially that Fang Zhixu. Was he a dog? Why was he crouching beside the desk?
Lu Sheng put down his backpack and looked at him coldly.
Sensing the gaze behind him, Fang Zhixu turned around and glanced at him, but didn’t show any intention of backing off. On the contrary, there was a hint of provocation in his eyes. Then he pretended to be very obedient again, leaned forward to look at Bai Yu’s screen, “Captain, I feel like it’s a bit messy here. Is it really okay for the jungle to handle it like this?”
His voice successfully caught Bai Yu’s attention. Bai Yu might’ve thought this part was constructive, so he called Qi Yi and the others over too, “Right, WG’s jungler has a bad habit. Their support has really good vision control, so he relies heavily on that. Once the opposing team has stronger vision scores, it’s easy for him to get overconfident. Like here, he’s clearly walking into an ambush, but subconsciously overlooks it…”
Fang Zhixu clearly understood already, but still pretended to have a sudden realization, playing the good student.
The more Lu Sheng watched, the angrier he got, “Fake.”
Chen Shi’an grinned beside him, “Can’t help it, he’s the jungler. Having ideas is normal. Bai Yu’s happy to talk with him too. Why don’t you pretend not to know something and let Bai Yu teach you?”
Lu Sheng gave him a cold glance. What a lousy suggestion.
Even if he really had a problem, he’d rather smash his head on the wall than admit he didn’t know in front of Bai Yu.
He opened his computer and put on his headphones.
Fang Zhixu still hadn’t gone back. He kept squeezing into that spot, “Not logging in yet?”
Fang Zhixu sat between Chen Shi’an and Lu Sheng. By crouching beside Bai Yu, he had pushed Lu Sheng further away. He turned and glanced at Lu Sheng, his eyes darting slyly.
Lu Sheng thought he was about to pull something shady, so he was on guard… but unexpectedly, he didn’t say anything and just obediently went back, “Coming.”
This guy… whether obedient or not, was infuriating either way.
After Lu Sheng entered the game, he played especially aggressively, pushing lane hard. Normally in these situations, Fang Zhixu would disapprove and wouldn’t help him. He’d deliberately let Lu Sheng suffer, then bring it up as a “lesson,” acting all superior.
But Lu Sheng wouldn’t back down. He had to flex his mechanics, show this useless idiot how he could still 1v2 while pushing lane…
But today was weird. He actually helped counter-gank properly, and played the whole match with Lu Sheng’s needs in mind.
…What the hell.
They had to turn in match footage to Bai Yu every day. As expected, Bai Yu praised Fang Zhixu but didn’t praise him.
In the afternoon team match, Fang Zhixu was uncharacteristically proactive, going top then bot, bot then mid, mid then enemy jungle, making plays nonstop.
After the match, the enemy jungler was dumbfounded and typed in chat: What’s up with Xiao Fang today? Did he take stimulants? Treating me like a fool.
Fang Zhixu: I’m just in a good mood today ^_^~
Even Qi Yi noticed something was off and secretly asked Xu Bo, “Did Bai Yu give him some private reward?”
Xu Bo didn’t know. All he knew was that he was also getting real annoyed.
What was Fang Zhixu doing, acting like he was the only mature one in the whole team.
After the team match, Bai Yu singled out Fang Zhixu for praise again. From then on, no matter who got praised next, it always felt off. Everyone would glance at Fang Zhixu.
After the meeting, Bai Yu was discussing the lineup for tomorrow with Song Bo, and Fang Zhixu stuck to him again. Bai Yu even happily invited him to join the discussion.
Later that night, after training ended, everyone else went back to rest. Fang Zhixu didn’t. He sat beside Bai Yu watching match footage, looking all serious and eager to learn.
Lu Sheng stood at the door, arms crossed, coldly watching them.
At first Bai Yu hadn’t noticed, but after a moment he felt a chill on his back, turned around, and locked eyes with Lu Sheng’s emotionless gaze.
Bai Yu shivered for no reason and told Fang Zhixu, “Go sleep first, or you won’t have energy for tomorrow’s match.”
Fang Zhixu obediently got up. When he reached the door, he didn’t step aside at all, and even stared directly at him, “God Lu, you should rest early too. Don’t be low energy tomorrow.”
Lu Sheng replied coldly, “Worry about yourself.”
His tone was extremely unfriendly. And right after, Bai Yu scolded him, “Lu Sheng, be polite to your teammates.”
He hadn’t even attacked Fang Zhixu, yet the guy still pretended to be hurt, acting strong, “It’s okay, Captain. I’m used to it.”
Lu Sheng: "……"
Even eight hundred years from now, he’d still hate Fang Zhixu the same.
After Fang Zhixu left, Bai Yu was still organizing his notes. Lu Sheng saw he’d been tired all day, so his tone softened a bit, “Want me to help?”
Bai Yu hummed and handed him the notes, “Help me re-sort these.”
Lu Sheng walked over, deliberately swapped out the chair Fang Zhixu had sat in, sat down and took the notes, then couldn’t help saying, “Fang Zhixu was pretending just now.”
Bai Yu didn’t even look up, “I know.”
Lu Sheng looked at him, “You know and still indulge him?”
Bai Yu sighed, “It’s not easy for a kid to grow up. Just let him be.”
That made it sound like he was being petty.
Lu Sheng picked up the pen, lowered his head to help him write, his voice a little annoyed, “I just can’t stand him being so close to you.”
Bai Yu was looking at the computer, his mind clearly not on the conversation. "We’re all teammates. What’s wrong with getting a little close."
Lu Sheng suddenly put down the pen in his hand, staring at him coldly. He sneered, "Yeah, all teammates... but I’m the only one who has to keep a distance from you."
Bai Yu sensed something was off and immediately looked up. "You’re not like them."
"How am I different?"
"You know it yourself."
Lu Sheng stared at him hard. The glow from the screen reflected on Bai Yu’s face, bright and unusually clear.
Back then he’d been too eager for Bai Yu to understand his feelings, so he’d told him directly but in the end, it became a reason for Bai Yu to use against him.
Lu Sheng’s expression turned unpleasant. He had never regretted something this much. "If I’d known, I wouldn’t have told you."
He’d never taken such a hard loss in his life.
Bai Yu couldn’t help but laugh a little, his eyes curving. It was a pleasing sight. "So sometimes you have to hold back. You’re just too aggressive on the field. You don’t know how to disguise, and you’re too proud to deceive opponents. Lucky for you your mechanics are strong enough, otherwise you’d have a hard time getting kills. You should learn from Chen Shi’an more, that guy’s a master at holding it all in."
Lu Sheng wanted to say Chen Shi’an? It’s Fang Zhixu who’s the schemer.
That brat always has some nasty move ready.
He went back to copying, very seriously, already using his best handwriting. But compared to Bai Yu’s, it still wasn’t as good. Bai Yu’s notes were written in such a stream-of-consciousness style that even after playing for so many years, Lu Sheng didn’t understand them right away. It was only while transcribing that he gradually figured out what Bai Yu meant.
Suddenly, he understood why Chen Shi’an said he wasn’t on the same level as Bai Yu and the others. even in mindset, they weren’t in the same league.
Lu Sheng couldn’t help calling him, "Bai Yu."
Bai Yu looked up. "Hm?"
Lu Sheng didn’t want him to hear any emotion in his voice, so he said flatly, "I want you to be my trainer."
Bai Yu looked at him with some emotion. He really felt Lu Sheng had changed a lot since coming back to China. at least, he was more humble. "Why do you want me as your trainer?"
Lu Sheng paused slightly, then continued, "They said you used to be Lin Kun’s trainer. If you didn’t pick me, it’s because you don’t think I’m good enough."
Bai Yu’s pupils slightly widened. "That’s not it."
He stopped what he was doing and looked at him seriously, softly explaining, "You and his teams both have strengths and weaknesses. Your trajectory is rising, his is falling. Compared to Lin Kun, I prefer training newcomers like you, there’s more potential. It’s just that..."
He opened his mouth, realizing he owed Lu Sheng an apology. "Sorry."
Lu Sheng’s eyes had originally carried a sharpness, but at Bai Yu’s words, they gradually softened. "I never blamed you."
Bai Yu knew, if Lu Sheng had really blamed him, he wouldn’t have joined the team. He would’ve just watched his downfall from afar and then gone back to North America to enjoy his good life. He wouldn’t have stayed behind to walk this path with him.
So Bai Yu added, "And thank you."
But that sentence immediately touched Lu Sheng’s reverse scale. He glared coldly at him. "Do you say thank you to Fang Zhixu and the others? Bai Yu, you never really saw me as one of your own."
When it came to Lu Sheng, Bai Yu truly did become more cautious. He hurriedly explained, "No, no, it’s just... I felt you sacrificed more."
"Then how come you’re still not nicer to me?"
"I’m not nice enough to you already?"
"You always say you treat me the same as everyone else, but you still treat me differently."
"How am I treating you differently? I just want to be polite with you."
"Why be polite to me? Are you polite to Zhou Xunwen and Xu Bo?"
Lu Sheng was pressing hard. Bai Yu explained patiently, but realized it was useless, so he just gave up. "Fine, then I won’t thank you. You joined voluntarily anyway. If you regret it later, that’s your own damn fault."
He had already planned his escape route before saying this. The moment he said it, he got up and ran.
But Lu Sheng was too fast. He sprung up almost instantly. One big step and he caught up, grabbed him around the waist and yanked him back. "Real slick of you, Bai Yu."
His voice was full of gritted teeth. He reached around from behind and pinched Bai Yu’s neck. he didn’t use force, but it was too ticklish, instantly taking all the strength out of Bai Yu. "Stop stop stop."
Bai Yu almost fell over. The person behind him caught him with a hand. The voice above his head was deep, but Bai Yu could tell Lu Sheng was actually in a good mood. "So it’s my own fault, huh? Fine, then it’s my fault..."
The hand at his neck slid slightly upward, the palm just cupping his chin.
Bai Yu noticed his hand was really big, his fingers long, joints strong. no wonder he could pull off such high-frequency operations...
He didn’t know why, but at a time like this, his mind started drifting to such nonsense. Everything felt chaotic. Until the other person’s hand touched his lips... and even started to feel his teeth.
Bai Yu froze. The other person also froze.
The breathing behind him got heavier, but Lu Sheng held it down. He lowered his head and leaned in, seemingly brushing his lips against Bai Yu’s hair. His voice was deep. "Bai Yu, I don’t think you hate me... so how about we give it a try? If it works out, we go public. If it doesn’t, we just pretend nothing happened. You know I don’t talk. You don’t have to worry about me leaking anything..."
Bai Yu’s face flushed red instantly. His heart pounded wildly. "I’m going to bed!"
Lu Sheng hadn’t been holding him that tightly, so he broke free easily.
After getting free, Bai Yu walked away quickly. The person behind followed, footsteps always right behind him no matter how fast he walked. it really felt like being chased by a ghost in the middle of the night.
His heart was about to leap out of his chest. He rushed to the door, only for the voice-activated light to go out at just that moment, and he couldn’t get the key to line up.
Lu Sheng stopped behind him, finally unable to watch anymore. "Why are you running? I’m not going to eat you."
His breath brushed past from behind, and the way he reached around felt like he was hugging him. There was a strong sense of pressure, yet in that moment, Bai Yu unexpectedly felt a long-lost sense of safety. But it was so faint... it was quickly blown away by the cold night air.
Bai Yu froze slightly and softly said, "Thanks."
Then remembered how sensitive Lu Sheng was about that word and quickly added, "I didn’t mean anything by it. I just think... you’re a good person."
That sentence visibly changed Lu Sheng’s expression. He looked at the back of Bai Yu’s head, rare to see him so flustered. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Got it."
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