The three individuals entered unobtrusively. After taking their seats, they remained silent, either engrossed in watching the stage or scrolling on their phones. Their presence did not draw much attention from the surrounding crowd.
The semi-finals were not as grand as the finals, lacking the elaborate pre-game festivities. After the three commentators took their positions, they introduced themselves before launching into an overview of the season's performance for the GDT and JZ teams.
The commentators maintained a fair approach, highlighting the strengths of both teams while also pointing out their vulnerabilities.
"In conclusion, both the GDT and JZ teams are formidable opponents, and we can expect a thrilling match today..."
Following the team summaries, the players began to enter the arena. The commentators then proceeded to introduce each player to the audience.
Speaking of the players, one commentator recalled recent whispers and rumors: "There's a rumor that GDT will be fielding a veteran player today. Although referred to as a veteran, this player is actually quite young..."
Before the commentator could finish, a roar of cheers erupted from the audience, with fans chanting "Miracle" so loudly it seemed to shake the entire venue.
Commentator A: "However, for GDT's first match, they are sticking with their regular starting lineup, without our Kuang Shen."
Commentator B: "Perhaps GDT has developed a new strategy, and we might see him in later matches."
Commentator A: "It's been a while since we've seen Kuang Shen play. I'm really looking forward to it."
Commentator C: "Alright, all players are in position. The coaches have shaken hands, and we can now begin the first match..."
It wasn't until the two teams began their hero selection phase that the shouts for "Miracle" gradually subsided.
Seeing that the venue had finally quieted down a bit, Chen Jing lowered his hand from his ears and leaned towards Sheng Kuang, whispering, "Kuang Zai, did you see those pictures?"
Sheng Kuang, without looking up from his game, continued to play until the opponent's crystal exploded. Only then did he remove his headphones. "What pictures?"
Chen Jing: "The ones I sent you."
Sheng Kuang remained silent. He tapped on WeChat and saw over a dozen red notifications on Chen Jing's avatar.
Opening the chat, Sheng Kuang randomly selected an image and zoomed in. He took one glance and, losing interest, switched back to the game.
Chen Jing: "How is it? Isn't it exciting?"
Sheng Kuang replied perfunctorily, "Mm, exciting."
Chen Jing: "Right? I thought so too. Especially you, every drawing of you is so captivating."
Sheng Kuang dismissively cursed, "Get lost. Don't drag me into this."
Chen Jing: "What do you mean, 'drag you into this'? Those pictures are all of you."
Sheng Kuang's finger, poised to click "start game," paused. After a couple of seconds, he turned to look at Chen Jing.
Chen Jing: "Don't tell me you didn't know. Those pictures are huge online. A rather famous blogger drew them. She's been working on them for almost two years, with nearly a hundred in total, and you're in every single one..."
Sheng Kuang recalled the picture he had briefly glanced at earlier. He stared expressionlessly at Chen Jing for two seconds before looking down and tapping on WeChat again.
The dozen or so images depicted rather explicit scenes. Besides him being a constant figure, the other person in each drawing changed, but there was one common characteristic: he was always the one on the bottom.
Chen Jing: "This blogger has gained over a million followers just by drawing you. I did some digging, and she started drawing you around the time you said, 'Coincidentally, I'm also 0,' two years ago..."
Lan Bowen, sitting beside them and focused intently on the game without listening to Chen Jing and Sheng Kuang, suddenly swore, "Damn it, GDT's mid-laner just got solo-killed by JZ's mid-laner."
Chen Jing glanced at the screen. The director was replaying the moment GDT's mid-laner was solo-killed by JZ's mid-laner. Without reservation, he cursed, "What a noob mid-laner," and then returned his full attention to the match.
Sheng Kuang looked down at the pictures Chen Jing had sent, paused for a moment, then turned off his screen and began watching the game.
GDT and JZ were evenly matched. Both teams were in good form that day, and the score remained tightly contested. Before they knew it, it was the seventh game, the decider.
Even in the seventh game, GDT showed no intention of substituting players, leading to growing dissatisfaction among the fans who had come to see Miracle.
"Didn't they say Miracle was going to play? It's the final game, why hasn't he come on yet?"
"I came specifically for my Kuang Kuang, and this is what I get to see?"
"..."
Lin Jing listened to the conversation between the two girls behind her and pursed her lips.
The seventh game began. GDT maintained its current lineup. In the final moments, JZ's jungler made a mistake, causing them to fall behind early. The game ended in less than twenty minutes.
The two girls behind Lin Jing had barely watched the final game, spending the entire time complaining about Miracle not playing.
Their complaints eventually drew a reaction from a fan of Yang Sinian, GDT's current jungler: "The coach has his reasons for not letting Sheng Kuang play. Besides, GDT won, didn't they?"
"We're complaining about our own business, what's it to you?"
"It's my business, so what?"
The match was over, and people began to file out.
The two teams' fans started arguing, blocking Lin Jing's path as she tried to leave.
Lin Jing said "Excuse me" twice. Seeing that Yang Sinian's fan was solely focused on arguing with Sheng Kuang's two fans and completely ignoring her, she simply sat back down in her chair.
The argument escalated. By the end, Sheng Kuang's two fans had already left, but Yang Sinian's fan was still angrily shouting, "Where did those two lunatics come from? They're clearly out of their minds. Always demanding your guy plays, why should he? Who knows, maybe he'll lose consecutively like two years ago."
"Wake up, everyone. GDT belongs to Yang Sinian now, not Sheng Kuang. You're probably still living in the last century. Sheng Kuang is long past his prime."
Lin Jing, who had remained on the sidelines, raised her eyelids and looked at the fan of Yang Sinian who was spewing insults.
Perhaps it was because she had encountered several people mentioning Sheng Kuang's decline in recent days, or perhaps it was because she had eagerly come to watch the match only to not see the person she wanted to see play, or perhaps Sheng Kuang's fans had left, and this person was still relentlessly ranting. Lin Jing felt the frustration boiling inside her suddenly explode. Without a second thought, she raised the bottle of mineral water in her hand and slammed it forcefully onto the seat in front of her.
Yang Sinian's fan fell silent and looked down.
Lin Jing tilted her head up and asked, "What skincare products do you use?"
Yang Sinian's fan blinked in surprise. "What?"
Every word Lin Jing spoke dripped with annoyance and impatience. "I asked, what skincare products do you use to get such thick skin?"
The fan recovered and retorted, "What the hell, a few idiots left, and another one shows up. I'm just wondering, is Sheng Kuang your husband, or your boyfriend, that you're protecting him like this?"
Lin Jing was momentarily stunned by the words "husband" and "boyfriend." Of course, she couldn't just stop arguing mid-sentence. Thinking only of a comeback, Lin Jing reflexively blurted out without thinking, "He's my son."
"Pfft—" A light chuckle came from the adjacent walkway.
Lin Jing looked up, her expression showing the displeasure of arguing with Yang Sinian's fan.
Three people were walking along the side path towards the exit. As if unaffected by the summer heat, they wore hats. The tallest and thinnest young man in the middle wore long sleeves, with the zipper pulled all the way up, covering half his face.
Due to the pandemic, everyone was wearing masks.
Although the face of the young man in the long sleeves was not clearly visible, Lin Jing recognized him as her son... no, she recognized Sheng Kuang.
-
Signatures have been signed. This chapter was written late and is quite long~