Chapter 13

With the tryout against CNZ scheduled for three in the afternoon, the handsome young men on SNM’s second floor began waking up one by one around noon.

Xu Ruiqi was the first to come downstairs. He usually woke up earlier than the others, and Su Yi’s sudden arrival had left him somewhat unsettled these past two days. Passing by her room, he discovered she was already awake and duo queueing with the team’s visual centerpiece in the first-floor living room.

Xu Ruiqi: “…”

His first thought was that he might have a fake cousin.

Who had dragged her into the League of Legends pit? Him! Who taught her how to last-hit minions and jungle? Still him… So why was his cousin now sitting at a computer with a man she’d known for less than forty-eight hours, happily discussing how to destroy the enemy bot lane?

“Their ADC has no Flash and no Heal. There’s a control ward in the river; I’ll clear it.”

“Next time you have ult, lock down their ADC and we go in. Top has Teleport—it’s a guaranteed kill.”

Xu Ruiqi sneakily circled behind Su Yi and Han Lingfeng to spectate in silence. Back when Xiao C was still on the roster, their bot lane communication sounded something like this:

—AD, AD, AD (ADC)!!! AP (Mid)!!! TOP!!!

—AD No zhiliao (Heal), NO shanxian (Flash)!!!

—TOP Have Tp (Teleport)! Go go go!!!

Now that the communication style had suddenly become normal, he actually found it a bit jarring.

As the final team fight ended in victory, Su Yi removed her headphones, intending to head to the kitchen for food. She spun around abruptly and found Xu Ruiqi standing silently behind her, startling her badly.

Clutching her chest, Su Yi looked at her cousin in confusion. “Bro… what are you doing?”

Xu Ruiqi’s gaze darted back and forth between Han Lingfeng and Su Yi for ages. Just then, Coffee and Lightning came downstairs too. Finally, he explained stiffly, “Calling you guys to the cafeteria for lunch.” With that, he grabbed Coffee and Lightning and marched toward the door.

“………… Oh.” Su Yi stood there bewildered, then turned to Han Lingfeng. “Wind God, there’s a cafeteria in the base?”

Han Lingfeng also took off his headphones, hanging them over his monitor. “Mm. It’s in Building Eight, shared with the academy team.”

“Really? Do they have meat? Potato slices?!” Su Yi immediately cupped her face in excitement.

She had assumed she’d have to fend for herself again today. The mere thought made her feel sorry for herself.

Whether it was Han Lingfeng’s imagination or not, Su Yi currently resembled a greedy little puppy wagging its tail. At this mental image, he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

Su Yi: “?”

Han Lingfeng quickly composed his expression. “Mm, probably.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s eat!” She dashed back to her room, threw on a jacket, and followed Han Lingfeng out the door toward the neighboring cafeteria.

The entire lunch experience could hardly be called pleasant. The academy team players were generally younger—the youngest being fifteen, the oldest perhaps Su Yi’s age.

Being watched by a group of boys as she dined with SNM’s starting lineup, the most common gossip she overheard was:

—Whose girlfriend is that? Bringing her to the base for lunch… I haven’t heard of anyone having a girlfriend.

—Pretty face, nice legs, but her chest is…

—Dude, your straight-man voice is way too loud! Riki’s looking over here!

—Serves you right for not having a girlfriend! Hurry up and eat so we can queue!

Su Yi: “…”

Since Su Yi’s tryout hadn’t started yet and hadn’t been announced internally, the academy kids had no idea that SNM’s manager had signed a female trainee who might very well replace former support Xiao C as the starter.

And so, under the curious gazes of bystanders treating her like some exotic zoo animal, Su Yi speed-ran through lunch.

Back at the base, Coffee collapsed onto the sofa laughing hysterically, giving Su Yi a thumbs-up. “Eating calmly amid all that chatter—Yi Mei, I salute you as a true bro.”

Xu Ruiqi sighed, grabbing a magazine from the nearby bookshelf and tossing it at Coffee’s face. “What bro? She’s an adorable girl. Stop using weird words.”

Coffee nodded repeatedly—”Right, right, right”—then glanced at the wall clock. It was already two in the afternoon.

Right on cue, Manager Tai Yi, Analyst He, and Coach Yan opened the door and walked in, finding everyone gathered around the living room sofas.

Tai Yi changed his shoes and strode over. “You boys are punctual today. Normally you’re never this enthusiastic about scrims. Why so motivated for a tryout?”

Lightning, scrolling through Tieba on his phone, turned the screen toward Tai Yi. “Because Wind God duo queued with Yi Mei yesterday and reclaimed Chinese server number one. Almost every esports forum and Tieba thread is speculating that ‘Brother Email,’ who duo queued with Wind God, is our new support. So naturally, we wanted to witness ‘Brother Email’s’ skills firsthand.”

Su Yi had been unresponsive until she heard “Brother Email.” Her entire being recoiled.

Su Yi: “What the hell is ‘Brother Email’?”

Lightning looked at her. “Didn’t you name yourself that? E-MAIL or whatever… Everyone online calls you that.”

Su Yi: “………… It’s a homophone, thank you very much.”

Lightning: “………… In esports, there are no homophones.”

Su Yi: “…………”

Well, she chose that ID herself. She’d have to live with it on her knees.

Approaching three o’clock, everyone returned to their stations and logged into the tournament server.

CNZ had already created a custom lobby. After receiving the password from Tai Yi, Su Yi was the first to enter.

Her ID read: SNM_EMAIL.

Seeing this ID, Liang Qi, spectating behind CNZ’s players, raised an eyebrow.

His ADC, Xiao Yao, pointed excitedly at the screen like he’d won the lottery. “See?! I told you that Email guy was their newly recruited support!”

Top laner Da Hei rested his chin on his hand, clicking his tongue. “Managing to coordinate with Wind God and trample our Qi Shen underfoot—this kid’s interesting.”

Liang Qi covered his face, looking ready to cry. “Da Hei, I know your name means ‘Big Black,’ but don’t drag me down with you. Who got trampled by Wind God? The season isn’t over yet! Before it ends, I will reach Chinese server number one.”

Da Hei: “…”

Mid-laner A Ye wore an expression of absolute disbelief. “Then you lack someone to synergize with you mid-jungle. Unfortunately, that person isn’t me.”

Liang Qi: “…………”

…

Once inside the lobby, Su Yi saw the opposing five players already poised and ready. From floors one to five: Top, Jungle, Mid, ADC, and Support.

Although CNZ was a well-known top-tier team, Su Yi wasn’t familiar with their roster. The only player she recognized was Qi Shen.

His ID should have been CNZ_Qi, but the player on floor two didn’t match. Looks like he was also a trainee, just like her.

The support player on floor five also had an unfamiliar ID, likely another rookie. Realizing this, Su Yi breathed a sigh of relief—she felt slightly less nervous now.

Indeed, CNZ had recruited a new jungler and support for the upcoming season.

As CNZ’s starting jungler and captain, Liang Qi’s position was rock-solid; they wouldn’t replace him easily. Rather, CNZ’s manager believed that for a tryout, there was no need to reveal their ace so early.

SNM’s members all entered the lobby. After adjusting floor positions, they entered the Ban/Pick phase.

CNZ banned two meta-dominant champions first, then used their final ban on Han Lingfeng’s signature champion—Jinx.

SNM’s bans were equally standard, nothing unusual.

On floor one, Coffee was first to pick. After thinking for a few seconds, he asked, “Should we grab Kha’Zix for Riki first?”

Coach Yan, seated behind them, considered briefly. “No. Grab Zyra for Su Yi.”

Coffee: “What?”

Su Yi: “…………”

Xu Ruiqi: “Coach, are you sure? Picking Zyra first?”

Coach Yan nodded. “Yes.”

Coffee was baffled. Though he didn’t understand the coach’s reasoning, he locked in Zyra with lightning-fast reflexes.

After all champions were selected and swapped, during the loading screen, Xu Ruiqi turned back and asked, “Zyra is definitely a strong support this patch, but picking her first seems unnecessary. We ended up giving them Kha’Zix.”

Coach Yan frowned slightly. “I watched all of Su Yi and Wind God’s Zyra games from yesterday’s bot lane duo queue.”

Xu Ruiqi: “And?”

“And? Focus your ganks on mid and top. Don’t worry about bot lane,” Coach Yan told Xu Ruiqi. “Bot lane will stomp.”

Xu Ruiqi: “…………”

Hearing the coach’s words, Su Yi was completely stunned. While she appreciated praise, receiving such high-level endorsement from the coach made her inexplicably anxious. More than anything, she worried that the coach was digging a massive pit for her to fall into. If bot lane collapsed because of her, would she be kicked out immediately…?

Burdened by these worries, Su Yi began her first tryout match.

For the first eight minutes, all lanes were stable. SNM’s mid lane was ganked once; both sides burned summoner spells, but no kills occurred.

CNZ’s bot lane consisted of Lucian and Nami, while SNM fielded Caitlyn alongside Zyra, whom Coffee had prioritized for Su Yi.

Admittedly, Zyra was an incredibly annoying champion with potent poke potential. Had CNZ not picked Nami—a support with solid disengage and healing—bot lane would likely have seen First Blood much earlier.

Around the ten-minute mark, the enemy Nami mispositioned and was caught by Su Yi’s Zyra. Without hesitation, Su Yi Flashed in, applying Ignite and unleashing her ultimate, coordinating with Han Lingfeng to secure First Blood.

The enemy Lucian then dove forward, trading kills with the low-health Zyra, while Han Lingfeng’s Caitlyn claimed Lucian’s head.

Bot lane ended up winning a one-for-two trade, with both kills going to Han Lingfeng.

“Wow! Sis, you’re amazing!”

“NICE! That Flash-ult combo from Yi Mei was so decisive!”

“Wind God is filthy rich now, and the wave’s shoved under their tower. Yao Fei must be crying.”

Su Yi’s screen was still black-and-white (death timer), but this play clearly erased her earlier anxiety.

It’s just a tryout! Bring it on—this baby fears nothing now!