Rise

At the end of the day, Lin Feng had still won the game, so Tang Bingyao didn’t pursue the topic any further. Plus, one thing was clear. If she had continued playing, even with the enemy mid-laner disconnecting, she still wouldn’t have necessarily won the game. The enemy ad-carry was so good that she would’ve most likely been crushed before the game even reached the 20-minute mark. And yet, somehow Lin Feng had gone toe-to-toe with that Vayne. She couldn’t help but look at him differently.

Lin Feng noticed Tang Bingyao’s gaze and chuckled. “So? What do you think? Didn’t I tell you I was really good!?”

Tang Bingyao nodded.

Lin Feng mysteriously smiled. “Want to become just as good as me?”

Tang Bingyao’s eyes lit up. She vigorously nodded. If she could become better, she could make even more money elo boosting! Suddenly, her gaze turned wary. This all seemed a little too easy. Perhaps this new transfer student was plotting something!

“Don’t worry. I won't ask for money.” Lin Feng shook his head. After which he quickly added, “As long as you join my team! If we’re teammates, I’ll always have time for you!”

“You have a team?” Tang Bingyao asked incredulously.

“Oh, uh… I technically don’t right now…” Lin Feng scratched his head. Then, he pounded his chest and said with a confident smile, “But I will! So, wanna join?”

Tang Bingyao directly shook her head. “No thanks.”

“W-what, why?” Lin Feng asked in surprise.

“Not interested.”

“Hmm… pro players make a lot of money. Winning the LPL nets you half a million, and winning Worlds gets you one million.” Lin Feng rubbed his chin as he tried a different approach. “That’s in United States Dollars, of course.”

$1,000,000!

Tang Bingyao’s heart shook. But she still shook her head. “I’m not good enough to be a pro.” She was well aware of her skill. A Draven one-trick pony. It was already hard enough for her to climb to Diamond 2. The gap between her and actual professionals was too large. Sure, money made her move. But that didn’t mean she would chase after some impossible dream.

Lin Feng pounded his chest. “No worries. I can make you a pro! You’re really talented. Your reflexes and reaction speed are already close to a pro’s! I don’t even think most Masters and Challengers can compare to you!”

Though she enjoyed the praise, Tang Bingyao still shook her head.

Lin Feng bitterly smiled. “Still no? You don’t think I can turn you into a pro?”

Tang Bingyao nodded. “Correct, I don’t.”

“Tell me. How good do you think I am? That Vayne last game was probably a pro! But I went even with her!” Lin Feng persuaded.

“You just told me you couldn’t beat them,” Tang Bingyao reminded. 

Lin Feng scratched his head with a wry smile. “You’re right, but that’s because I’m rusty. Plus, I’m not even an ad-carry main!” 

However, despite Lin Feng’s attempts to persuade her, Tang Bingyao was still steadfast in her refusal. Lin Feng could only give up. He rubbed his chin. “Right! Do you usually come here to do your elo boosting?”

“Yeah.” Tang Bingyao nodded, though she wasn’t sure why Lin Feng was asking.

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. “You know that’s not very efficient, right? You know, playing by yourself. How about I tag along and duo-queue with you? Free of charge of course.” His plan was very simple. As long as he could play the game with her, he could work on persuading her. The future was long. With enough perseverance, you could break down the sturdiest of walls.

“So you can slowly convince me to join your team?” Tang Bingyao asked.

“Drats! Am I that obvious?” Lin Feng suddenly smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “You’re right! That’s exactly the plan.”

“You can try, but you won’t convince me.” Tang Bingyao shook her head.

“Don’t worry. I won’t give up so easily!” Lin Feng replied.

✹

Su Xue opened the door for a somewhat downcast Lin Feng. She soon learned why, a burst of laughter escaping her lips. “You really thought you could convince your classmate to form a professional team with you? Hahaha! You have to be out of your mind to think she’d agree! That’s so funny! Hahaha!”

“What do you mean?” Lin Feng asked as he took off his shoes.

“Please, let’s not even get into whether or not she believes you. This is only your first day at your new school. She barely even knows you! How do you expect her to agree?”

“That’s why I said the future is long! I’ll try my best to convince her!” Lin Feng clenched his fist.

Su Xue cast Lin Feng the side-eye. “Are you listening to yourself? Just you and a girl from your class, and you want to make a professional League team? If it were that easy, China would be full of League pros.”

Lin Feng scratched his head. “It’s not that hard to become a pro. I used to play professionally.”

Su Xue snorted. “First a Challenger. Now an ex-pro? How old are you, 18? So, you were a pro in middle school? How come I’ve never heard of you before? And if you really were a pro, why would you still be wasting your time with high school? Not even a three-year-old would believe your nonsense.”

Reminiscing about the past, Lin Feng closed his mouth. It wasn’t worth arguing about. Suddenly, he thought of something else and asked, “Hey, why did you take so long to open the door?” 

Su Xue rolled her eyes. “I was in the middle of streaming. I backed to base as soon as I heard the doorbell ring. Anyway, whose fault is it for forgetting their keys in the first place?”

“Ah, yeah. My bad. I’ll remember next time.” Lin Feng nodded. “Since you’re still in a game, shouldn’t you be getting back to it?”

Su Xue’s eyes jolted wide open. “Shit! I’m screwed! I’m screwed! I wasted too much time listening to your nonsense! Who knows how much CS I lost? Arrghh, those stupid viewers are going to flame the crap out of me!” She bolted back to her room.

✹

After putting his things away, Lin Feng walked into Su Xue’s bedroom which had long since transformed into a streaming studio. As soon as he stepped through the door, he heard Su Xue apologizing to her viewers. “My bad, my bad guys. I had to open the door for the landlady’s nephew and lost track of time…”

The barrage of complaints came to an abrupt halt. The viewers stopped flaming as Su Xue had successfully shifted their attention to another topic.

「Eh? lil bro is back?」

「where where where?」

「we demand lil bro! show yourselve lil brooO!!」

Lin Feng happened to appear in the corner of the facecam at this moment and waved at the viewers. “Oh, hi guys.”

The viewers boiled over in excitement.

「oh shit! lil bro is back!」

「you're finally back! Tell the maid to move aside! We've had to watch her terrible plays all evening!」

「shes sooo bad………. if i wasn't stickin here for you, i wouldve jumped out the window」

「oh oh oh! I can finally see the light! You’re a glimmer of hope in this terrible night!」

The viewers acted as if they were seeing a long lost relative again, lamenting his absence the whole time. Then, they begged him to play.

「Get on get on! We wanna see you play!」

「have the washboard maid step aside already!」

“Hey, hey, hey! I was playing just fine a moment ago! Why are you shooing me away as soon as this kid shows up?”

「Shush! The maid doesn’t get a say in this!」

Su Xue sat in her chair, speechless.

Lin Feng scratched his head, then cautiously looked at Su Xue. “Uhhh… So, what do I do?”

Su Xue threw her hands up in the air in defeat. “Fine! Get on!” Then, she got up while grumbling, “Stupid flaky viewers, just who’s supposed to be the streamer here.”