The first time Lin Anke met Duan Chi was at the youth training base.
But the first time Duan Chi came to know of Lin Anke was much, much earlier.
DG had originally been set up by Duan Chi’s older brother, Duan Zhuo, simply because he wanted to have some fun. Every teenager who was hopelessly obsessed with games and going through their overly dramatic, rebellious phase dreamed of starting an esports team and Duan Zhuo was no exception. Unfortunately, he did not have the talent to become a professional player himself, so with one grand wave of his hand, he simply went ahead and established a club.
At that time, Duan Chi was still studying abroad. His mother had exiled him all the way to Germany, where he spent every day worrying about earning enough credits for his major courses.
The first time he watched an SEL match was because Duan Zhuo had pestered him until he had no choice. It was nothing more than a small regular season match yet his brother insisted that he go into the live comment section and act as a paid supporter, spamming comments about how awesome DG was.
Duan Chi was still underage at the time. He played Starfall Echoes as well but he was only allowed to play for three hours each week. No matter how good his own skills were, he would inevitably run into a few terrible teammates and his rank points could never seem to climb.
That regular season match was between DG and TIG. It went three to two, dragging on for all five games before DG finally won.
Yet Duan Chi’s gaze could not help but fall on the tiny figure in the lower right corner of the screen, Lin Anke, who was currently adjusting and organizing his headset.
The final game had been such a difficult uphill battle yet the support player named Encore had continued looking for opportunities to initiate team fights. He had saved the marksman at the very last possible moment several times. Otherwise, DG would have won even faster.
Over the course of the entire game, DG had taken eleven kills and enjoyed a massive advantage yet TIG’s marksman had not died even once.
Duan Chi thought to himself that if he had a support player like this, then even if he could only play for two hours a day, he would probably be able to reach the national server’s highest ranks.
Then Duan Zhuo lied to him, telling him that every support player in professional teams was like this and that he could play with whichever support he wanted.
Duan Chi was successfully convinced. The moment he came of age, he went straight to the youth training camp his brother had newly established to begin his training.
re.
Duan Chi played several matches with a few of the support players among the youth trainees. He also played with the support players from DG’s first and second teams at the time but he still kept thinking about Lin Anke and wanted Enco
After thinking it over, Duan Zhuo sent invitations to all the top tier professional teams, asking each team to send one of their current starting players to the youth training base to serve as a temporary coach for one week.
He communicated with the other teams in advance and confirmed their chosen representatives beforehand. The only exception was TIG. He deliberately did not tell them ahead of time, intending to wait until TIG had finalized their candidate before informing them that the youth training camp was still missing a support coach.
Unexpectedly, TIG simply sent Lin Anke over.
For Lin Anke, it was nothing more than a temporary activity arranged by his team.
None of the other TIG members wanted to waste their precious rest time going to the youth training camp to work. Xu Sheng was put in a difficult position. As the team captain, he could not leave himself but he also could not force someone else to go in his place.
In the end, the matter fell onto Lin Anke.
Lin Anke had originally been worried that, because he played the support position, none of the trainees would be willing to team up with him after he went to the youth training camp.
After all, according to the youth training camp’s arrangements, each coach had to take four students and form a temporary team. After training together for one week, the temporary team would compete in a single round robin tournament against the other three youth training teams.
The rankings from those matches would affect the trainees’ final individual evaluations.
Unexpectedly, the youth trainee with the best individual performance among all the ADC trainees at the time took the initiative to choose Lin Anke. That, in turn, attracted several other trainees who wanted to follow a strong player and ride along to earn some easy points. Just like that, they managed to piece together a temporary team.
That ADC was Safer, the eighteen year old Duan Chi, who had only just turned eighteen.
On the very first day of coaching the youth trainees, Lin Anke discovered that this young ADC named Safer seemed to be accustomed to fighting entirely on his own.
His mechanics and positioning were both outstanding but he always went off to clear the minion wave by himself. It seemed as though he did not particularly care whether he had a support or any teammates backing him up.
It took Lin Anke only a single day to correct Duan Chi’s lone wolf tendencies.
He said, “When two people from the opposing team are attacking you together, don’t you think that’s unfair? Next time, if your support hasn’t arrived yet, you can farm the small jungle monsters near the edge of the jungle first. Wait until your support gets there before going back to contest the lane. Don’t let yourself be left alone in the enemy’s vision. The bottom lane is supposed to be two versus two. Otherwise, why would it be called the ADC support duo?”
When Duan Chi had first entered the youth training camp, his playstyle still carried some of the habits he had developed from playing solo queue. Every time the opposing team grouped up to gank the bottom lane, he would charge straight into the fight with the mindset that trading one kill was never a loss, while killing two enemies would be a huge profit. He never seemed to have any intention of turning around and preserving his own life.
That kind of playstyle might allow him to show off and dominate in a smurfing game in solo queue but on the professional stage, it was practically the same as handing the opposing team free momentum.
Duan Chi did not seem to think there was anything wrong with going in to trade kills. “There’s no way I can escape anyway. I might as well trade for one.”
Lin Anke asked, “How do you know you can’t escape?”
“How am I supposed to escape when they’re diving the tower?”
“You still have your support.”
Duan Chi asked, “What if all four of them come to dive the tower? Will you still protect me?”
“Otherwise? I’m your support.”
Lin Anke had said it casually, without thinking much of it but Duan Chi froze for a long time.
At the end of that youth training match, the team led by Lin Anke won the championship, while Duan Chi’s individual rating ranked first. Many clubs sent him emails afterward, wanting to sign him as a starting player.
Duan Chi had originally thought that the transfer window was about to open. He could ask Lin Anke whether he was willing to come to DG with him.
After all, his brother had money. They could afford the transfer fee.
On the evening the training activity ended, Duan Chi logged off and immediately hurried toward the entrance to look for Lin Anke.
That was when he happened to see Xu Sheng coming to pick him up.
“Sorry, Anke. I’ve been too busy lately. Have things been all right for you here? Has anyone been giving you a hard time?”
“No. Everyone’s been pretty nice.”
“That’s good. Have you eaten dinner yet? Are you hungry? I booked that garden restaurant at Huasheng. How about giving your boyfriend the honor of joining me for dinner?”
“I’m hungry. Let’s go.”
Xu Sheng took Lin Anke’s hand and led him away.
Duan Chi stood at the entrance of the youth training base, watching them from a distance.
For some reason, his heart suddenly felt strangely empty.
The moonlight was cold.
That night, Duan Chi had only just become an adult and had not yet realized what it meant to fall in love yet he experienced what it meant to have his heart broken first.
“You saw it?”
Lin Anke did not have a particularly strong impression of that night. He could not remember exactly what he had said to Xu Sheng but he could more or less guess what Duan Chi had seen.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Did you come out looking for me?”
Duan Chi hummed in acknowledgment and smiled. “I originally wanted to ask you which team you thought would be better for me to join. I just happened to run into you saying that you were hungry and wanted to go eat, so I didn’t disturb you.”
Lin Anke did not suspect anything. “DG is pretty good. It suits you very well.”
Duan Chi turned his head slightly, his gaze landing gently on Lin Anke. “It suits you very well too.”
Lin Anke could not help smiling.
One of them was a rookie AD, while the other was a support player who had just transferred teams. If they were to praise and dote on their new team like this in front of each other, the moment the trolls found out, they would undoubtedly be mocked mercilessly all over again.
After dropping Lin Anke off, Duan Chi did not stay any longer. He exchanged a brief goodbye with him before driving away.
Although he really wanted to go upstairs and take a look at where Lin Anke lived, it was not the right time yet.
The team contract had already been signed. There was no need to rush anything. They still had plenty of time ahead of them.
This time, he would not let someone else take Lin Anke away from him again.
“Your noodles are here.”
The server placed the tray in front of Lin Anke. “The noodle broth is over there. You can serve yourself.”
“Thank you.”
Lin Anke poured himself a cup of tea and lowered his head to look at his phone.
After transferring money to his adoptive father last time, he had less than a thousand yuan left to his name. He still had rent to pay next month.
The signing fee from DG would probably not arrive until next month either. Lin Anke roughly calculated the amount he would need for rent, water and electricity in his head.
It seemed that he would have to livestream tonight.
If he completed all his required livestream hours this month, he should be able to receive his full salary for the final pay period at the end of the month.
Lin Anke sped up his eating. After paying for his meal, he returned home and began adjusting his livestreaming equipment.
He had rented this apartment when he had first joined TIG. It was a small one bedroom apartment with a living room, located in an older residential community. Most of the people living around him were elderly, which was actually convenient because no one knew who he was.
Xu Sheng’s parents had never liked Lin Anke. Although they were neighbors, the reputation of Lin Anke’s family was not particularly good.
His adoptive father had been a laid off worker who developed a gambling addiction in middle age and spent his days wandering around outside with nothing to do.
Lin Anke’s adoptive mother was physically weak and unable to have children. Feeling that things could not continue like that, she had used her connections to find someone who was willing to give away a baby from another family who already had more children than they could afford to raise.
That baby was Lin Anke.
His adoptive mother was a good person, soft hearted by nature. She had never hidden the truth about his origins from Lin Anke and had always treated him just like her own biological son, raising him and teaching him as if he truly were her own.
But with a man like Lin Anke’s adoptive father living in the household, doing nothing all day except wasting his time and gambling, it did not take many years before his adoptive mother’s health finally collapsed from overwork and she passed away.
Lin Anke was only ten years old at the time. Somehow, Lin Anke’s adoptive father became convinced that Lin Anke had the savings his adoptive mother had left behind. He came home every day, making a scene and demanding money. Several times, he even hit Lin Anke, until the neighbors had to rush over and pull him away by sheer force of numbers.
But it would not be long before he caused another scene.
Xu Sheng and Lin Anke were close, so Xu Sheng took the initiative to let Lin Anke hide at his house. Who could have known that Lin Anke’s adoptive father would have a face thicker than a city wall? He actually ran to the entrance of the Xu family’s home and loudly cursed them for stealing someone else’s son.
It became such a nuisance for the Xu family that they eventually had enough and directly told Xu Sheng to hurry up and send Lin Anke away.
Later, Lin Anke’s adoptive father brought trouble upon himself. Blinded by greed and stupidity, he went with several useless friends to set up an illegal gambling den. They had barely gotten it running when they were caught red handed and he ended up serving several years in prison.
That, at least, allowed Lin Anke to live through a period of peace and grow up safely and steadily.
But because of the existence of Lin Anke’s adoptive father, the Xu family still did not want Xu Sheng to have anything to do with him.
Lin Anke did not want to make things difficult for Xu Sheng, so he had always kept their relationship hidden. Whenever the team was on break and Xu Sheng went home, Lin Anke would come here instead.
The computer in the rented apartment was already quite old. Running the livestreaming software and the game at the same time would make it lag a little.
Lin Anke logged into the game first, adjusted the graphics quality and frame rate to suitable settings, then opened the training mode to test how smoothly everything was running. After confirming that there were no problems, he was just about to open the livestreaming platform when he received a team invitation.
【TIG XuSheng has sent you a team invitation】
Lin Anke clicked reject.
“Sheng ge, duo queue?” Xingxing asked cautiously.
Xu Sheng’s expression did not look very good. He was livestreaming at the time and had happened to see Lin Anke come online. He had not expected Lin Anke to directly reject his invitation.
With so many fans watching the livestream, Xu Sheng could not help feeling somewhat annoyed.
He had never taken Duan Chi’s earlier provocations to heart. Based on his understanding of Anke, he did not believe Anke would actually go to DG.
Most likely, Anke had simply been discouraged by the result of the finals and wanted to go back to school.
Besides, losing the finals that day could not all be blamed on Anke. Xu Sheng himself bore some responsibility as well. He only hoped that Anke would be able to figure things out soon.
Xingxing asked, “Sheng ge?”
Xu Sheng came back to his senses. When he saw Lin Anke’s ID in his friends list go dark, he let out a faint sigh in his heart.
The barrage was scrolling rapidly across the screen:
【Is something wrong with Encore? He hasn’t livestreamed at all since the finals.】
【Even if something happened, couldn’t he have said something? Rejecting someone outright like that is so rude.】
【He’s the number one support player in the country, so I guess he’s allowed to be a little arrogant.】
【Wuuu, my Sheng-An CP didn’t even get a scene together again. The sky is falling!】
【Can the CP fans please leave? Can you not act up right in front of the actual people involved? What if you scare Brother Sheng?】
Xu Sheng pulled Xingxing into the team lobby and said to the livestream, “It’s fine. We just lost the match, and Anke hasn’t been in the best mood lately. I’ll duo with Xingxing for now. Which hero do you guys want to watch?”
……
On the other side, Lin Anke glanced at his blurry camera and wiped the lens with the pad of his finger, but it still wasn’t clear.
“The camera’s getting a little old. Can you guys see clearly?”
【Ke-ke actually went live! The late-night birds really do get the worms.】
【Good evening, Ke-ke!】
Lin An Ke nodded toward the camera in greeting. “Good evening. I’m going to practice Shixu for a while tonight.”
【It’s actually Shixu! Ke-ke hasn’t played Shixu in so long. I thought you’d stopped playing it.】
【How could that be? Ke-ke’s very first national-server hero was Shixu! It’s your signature hero!】
【Number-one support in the country! Number-one support! Number-one support! Number-one support!】
【Getting completely shut out in the grand finals and you still have the nerve to stream for money? Go train properly and keep your head down! Bah!】
These people came to Lin Anke’s livestream to spam comments like this all the time, and he had already grown used to it. He casually banned several of the viewers who were cursing the most viciously, and just then, the game queued up.
Once the IDs of the teammates and opponents appeared, the viewers in the livestream instantly lost their composure.
Opponent, fourth slot: TIG-XuSheng
Opponent, fifth slot: TIG-Xing
【Holy crap, Ke-ke got matched into a game with Captain Xu!】
【Wait a second, look at the name of the fifth-slot teammate…】
The fifth slot had preselected ADC as their position. Lin Anke glanced sideways at the player’s ID.
Fifth slot: Number-One Support Under Heaven, Anke
【Oh no, he matched with a hater.】
【Ke-ke looks like he got set up! Having Captain Xu and Xingxing on the opposing team is one thing, but why is his own ADC still a hater too?!】
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Fleurveil
[Translator]
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← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · He was substituted off the fieldChapter 2 · I’ll avenge youChapter 3 · Leaving TIGChapter 4 · Point and shootChapter 5 · Join DGChapter 6 · Live stream collisionChapter 7 · MysteriousChapter 8 · Transfer NoticeChapter 9 · Want the championshipChapter 10 · Galaxy BattleshipChapter 11 · Be my DogChapter 12 · Post match ConflictChapter 13 · ReportedChapter 14 · Weibo CodeChapter 15 · Live Streaming to attract FansChapter 16 · Duan Chi’s horse was exposedChapter 17 · Emotional articlesChapter 18 · Match voice recording