Su Heng slowly opened the plastic bag Zhou Lingxing had stuffed into her hands.

Inside was a pack of granulated medicine and a box of capsule-shaped hangover pills.

The girl raised an eyebrow, her lips curling slightly.
This guy… seems more thoughtful than she had imagined.

After a moment of thought, Su Heng took out her phone, opened WeChat, and tapped on Zhou Lingxing’s profile.

[Thank you.]

Almost immediately, the words “The other party is typing…” appeared under his name.

Su Heng lay back on her bed, quietly staring at her phone screen, waiting for a reply.

But soon, the typing notification vanished, replaced by his name as usual.

Five minutes passed, and no response came.

Su Heng grew irritated, ruffled her hair in frustration, and tossed the phone aside, burying her head into the pillow.

Being elated by someone’s gestures, yet anxious over their unpredictable behavior—she knew it wasn’t healthy, but she couldn’t help herself.

In the room next door.

Zhou Lingxing held his phone, his gaze drifting uncertainly.

If Zhou Linghui were here, she’d probably tell him that what he was experiencing was *anxiety*.

And indeed, he was nervous.

Staring at the simple message—just a “thank you”—he wondered whether his subtle attempt at seduction had worked.

“Tsk.”

Who knew it would be this difficult?

On the neighboring bed, Sun He stirred from the noise and squinted at Zhou. “Up so early? Got something going on?”

Zhou Lingxing stood up, brushing away dust from his pants, not knowing when it had settled there. “No, I haven’t even slept yet.”

Still half-asleep, Sun He waved a hand lazily. “What, did you sneak out in the middle of the night like a thief?”

Zhou Lingxing didn’t respond and lay back down, hoping to catch some sleep.

Well, he thought to himself, I wonder if being a thief of hearts counts.

After dinner, Shen Jianian announced a team meeting in the group chat.

The six of them finished eating and made their way to the meeting room.

Once everyone was seated, Shen Jianian adjusted his glasses and began.

“This season, our points won’t be enough to make the playoffs. That means you’ll have a long break without any official matches.”

Old Fish’s face lit up. “Does that mean we can take a vacation?”

But a sharp look from Shen Jianian quickly shut him up.

Shen continued, “I’ve contacted a few teams in Korea. I’ve arranged a one-month boot camp for you.”

“From now, you have a week to sort out your personal affairs in China. We leave next Monday.”

The mention of Korea made Wave tense up. He was the first to speak.

“We don’t have to go all the way to Korea just to play practice matches, right? Can’t we train from home?”

Zhou Lingxing scoffed. “What, afraid it’ll be awkward if you run into old teammates?”

Wave retorted stubbornly, “Why would I be embarrassed? I’ve beaten most of their ADCs!”

Sun He grinned and teased, “Oh? Even Zhao Xianxing?”

“That’s different! Zhao wasn’t even around when I left Korea!” Wave protested.

Su Heng turned to Wave, curious. “You were on a Korean team?”

Wave puffed up proudly. “Yeah, I was the starting ADC for CQW.”

The girl blinked in confusion. “CQW?”

Xiaoban exaggeratedly widened his eyes. “You don’t know CQW? They’re the reigning champions of Korea’s LCK league! Though CQB has overshadowed them a bit these past two years, CQW is still a world-class team.”

At the mention of CQB, Wave’s expression soured.

Zhao Xianxing, CQB’s ADC, was just like Wave—a prodigy who rose to fame at a young age. But in Korea, Zhao was known as “Little Wave” because he entered the scene later and had an even younger-looking face.

Seeing the conversation getting off track, Shen Jianian cleared his throat. “If you have any questions, ask them now. If not, you can leave. The vacation starts tomorrow—those who need to go home, go. Those who need to report to their families, do so.”

The room fell silent. Satisfied, Shen Jianian nodded and was the first to leave the meeting room.

After he left, Su Heng turned to Zhou Lingxing. “So, CQW and CQB are the two strongest teams in Korea?”

Zhou nodded. “You could say that.”

“What’s the connection between them? Their names are so similar.”

Zhou responded patiently, “Both teams are funded by the CQ Group. To tell them apart, we jokingly call them the ‘Hula Dancers’ and the ‘Demolition Squad.’”

Xiaoban looked at Zhou in disbelief. Normally, this man would struggle to say more than ten words in front of them, yet now he was speaking so gently and at length. It made Xiaoban feel sick to his stomach.

Seriously, is nothing going on between these two?

Su Heng nodded thoughtfully and, still curious, turned back to Wave. “You were the starting ADC on a top-tier Korean team. So why did you join GI?”

Wave seemed ready to explain but ended up mumbling, “I go where I want—why do you care?”

Sun He shook his head helplessly on the side.

After some thought, he said to Su Heng, “Don’t listen to his nonsense. He’s wanted to join a domestic team for a long time, but he was stuck in a dead contract with the Hula Team. GI was the only team that promised to wait a year and a half for him, so that’s how he ended up here.”

“Don’t let his current attitude fool you. Back when he was with Hula, he never played in matches against Chinese teams. I still remember what he said during an interview with a Korean media outlet—‘Even though I grew up in Korea, I am Chinese. I won’t compete for a Korean team to defeat a team from my own country,’” Lao Yu interjected.

Lao Yu thought he would never forget that moment—when the young Wave declared those words with unwavering conviction in front of Korea’s most prominent esports magazine. Every word was firm and resounding.

That was also why Wave switched from being a top laner to a support. One day, he hoped to be the support for someone he admired. To fight alongside that person and lead a Chinese team to victory over foreign teams.

Wave’s face flushed visibly, and he hurriedly fled the conference room.

Su Heng watched his retreating figure and chuckled quietly.

This boy was adorably bad at being honest with himself.

One by one, the group left the conference room.

Zhou Lingxing walked up to Su Heng’s side and said calmly, “Can you get up by ten tomorrow morning?”

Su Heng glanced at the time and nodded lightly. “I think so. I’ll go to bed early tonight.”

After a brief pause, she asked, “Will you come with me?”

Zhou Lingxing noticed the hint of hesitation on her face and quickly averted his gaze, teasing, “Do you *want* me to come?”

Su Heng nodded, stopping in her tracks to meet his eyes directly.

Zhou Lingxing gave up his playful banter and said, “Do you think I’d let you go alone? Don’t worry, I’ll be there.”

Reassured, the girl resumed her light steps.

Before heading off, she turned back with a smile, “I’ll go up and sleep now. See you tomorrow.”

The man’s expression softened, and he replied gently, “Go on. Good night.”

At some point, he had become a kind-hearted person.

From a life full of rough edges, he had wrung out every bit of tenderness and offered it all to her—and still, it felt like it wasn’t enough.

—

The next morning, Su Heng got up even earlier than Zhou Lingxing. When she woke, Sun He and the others had already packed their bags and were ready to head home for a break.

Knowing that Zhou Lingxing would be groggy when he woke, she decided to wake him an hour early. After saying goodbye to the others, she hurried upstairs.

The man was sound asleep, and no matter how many times Su Heng patted him, he didn’t stir.

After several more failed attempts, she gave up and sat down on the floor by his bed, pulling out her phone to post on Weibo.

**GISleeping**: *Does anyone know a good way to wake someone up? It’s urgent. Online and waiting for answers.*

Replies flooded in almost immediately.

**[Who are you trying to wake up, sis??]**
**[Is this a relationship reveal? Betting your boyfriend will be on the battlefield in ten seconds.]**
**[Aren’t esports players nocturnal? Why are you awake so early? And why do you need to wake someone up?]**

The comments were varied and numerous, but few offered any practical suggestions.

Scrolling down, one particular reply caught Su Heng’s attention.

**SLZ Xiaoxin**: *If it’s someone you like: kiss them awake (but if it’s not your crush, don’t try this). If it’s someone you dislike: bang pots, scream, throw cake, or splash water.*

Su Heng couldn’t help but laugh, instantly concluding that this person was the type to torment teammates.

*Kiss them awake if it’s someone you like…*

Would that be okay?

The girl licked her lips, feeling a little tempted.

She scrolled down to see more suggestions, but most were just prank ideas.

Su Heng gave up, quietly put down her phone, and turned to look at the man lying comfortably on the bed.

“Tch, how annoying,” she thought for no reason.

The next second, the girl stomped down the stairs.

She grabbed two iron pots from the kitchen and stomped back up to Zhou Lingxing’s room.

As she slowly approached the man, he was still sound asleep, lying on his side with only half of his face visible.

Holding a pot in each hand, Su Heng raised them and began banging them together.

The loud clash of metal echoed, even making Su Heng’s own eardrums buzz.

Zhou Lingxing jolted upright from the bed, his brows furrowed as he quickly opened his eyes.

He looked around in confusion and spotted the girl standing right next to him.

With a sleepy grin, he muttered to himself, “How come I see this woman even in my dreams? She must be cursed.”

With that thought, he flopped back onto the bed.

Seeing him sit up had made Su Heng secretly happy—looks like the pot-banging tactic worked.

But to her dismay, he lay back down in less than two seconds.

Unwilling to give up, Su Heng grabbed the two pots again and this time, without holding back, she banged them right next to Zhou Lingxing’s ear.

With a casual swipe, Zhou Lingxing knocked the pots out of her hands, sending them clattering to the floor with a dull thud.

Before she knew it, she felt her wrist captured by the man. With a sharp tug, he pulled her down.

Caught off balance, Su Heng fell onto the bed.

Zhou Lingxing pulled her close, naturally wrapping her in his arms and gently smoothing down her hair.

He mumbled soothingly, “Be good, little one, don’t make a fuss.”

Su Heng’s heart raced uncontrollably, and she lay stiffly in his arms, not daring to move an inch.

Little one?? Who is that supposed to be??

Sensing the tension in her body, Zhou Lingxing’s large hand moved from her hair to her back, rhythmically patting her as if to comfort her.

“Don’t worry, little one, I’ll take you out for a walk later. Just let me sleep a bit more.”

Wait… take her for a walk?

So… the “little one” is a dog?

Did he just mistake her for a dog???