"Congratulations to the LPL All-Star Team!"
The English commentator's voice was loud and clear, echoing heavily in the enclosed studio. "They defeated LCK 3: 1 and won the 2017 All-Star Division Championship!"
Lin Ran took off his earphones, and the deafening cheers were no longer obstructed. They traveled through the air and entered his ears.
He sighed dully and looked at Xiao Yu beside him. In addition to the brief excitement and joy in their eyes, all that was left was exhaustion.
The last official competition of 2017 had finally come to an end. Lin Yan, who had played all year, just wanted to go home and eat noodles with scallion oil.
"Ahhhhh!"
Uzi was extremely excited and let out a groundhog cry. He first hugged Shi Senming and then rushed towards Lin Ran.
Lin Yan glanced at Ouze's belly. No matter how he looked at it, it looked like a Wine Barrel. He subconsciously took half a step to the side.
Then Phyllostachys Pubescens suffered.
"F * ck you …" Xiao Tian felt like he was going to suffocate. Ouze was slightly taller than him, but he was twice as heavy as him. He grabbed onto the tortoise's waist and shook it left and right.
Then Ouze suddenly stopped. The corners of his mouth turned down and his smile disappeared.
"What's wrong?" Phyllostachys Pubescens took advantage of the chaos to break free.
Wootz wanted to say something but hesitated. "I swallowed the gum … It should be fine, right?"
Shi Senming laughed on the side.
On the other side, 957 still had a gentle smile on his face. He reached out his right hand and shook Lin Yan's.
"Thank you." He was sincere.
Lin Yan smiled. "You should thank yourself the most."
The 24-year-old 957 was the same age as Old Ancestor Savin. He was definitely a veteran on the field. After personally witnessing the Factory Director fall from the top, he felt a strong sense of crisis in his heart.
He didn't know how long he had left as a professional. He had worked so hard in the LPL for so long, but the number of times he had won the championship was few and far between. 957 cherished this All-Star Competition.
From the hero he chose for this competition, it could be seen that 957, like Jin Gong, only wanted to win. He wanted to add bricks and tiles to his Wall of Honor at the peak of his career.
After shaking hands with their opponents, the five LPL players came to the center of the stage. The head coach, White Crescent, also ran over from backstage. Everyone formed a circle and picked up the All-Star Game trophy!
The flashes from the cameras of the audience connected together, forming a beautiful picture with the cheers and screams and the golden rain.
Ouze was still shouting excitedly. This was the second time in his career that he had won the championship after the 2017 Intercontinental Championship.
"Isn't this worth more than the Intercontinental Tournament?" Ouze was still chatting with his teammates.
"Unfortunately, this trophy is too light." Xiao Tian looked at the toy-like Champions League trophy in his hand and was slightly dissatisfied. "It's a far cry from the Intercontinental Tournament. Aiya …"
Once Xiao Tian became familiar with others, he would start acting weird and disgusting. The two players on the field who didn't win the Intercontinental Tournament — Ouze and 957 — were used to it and continued to smile at the camera.
The tall blonde female host, Sjokz, quickly walked onto the stage.
After the usual congratulations, Sjokz continued.
"Next, I will announce the MVP of this year's All-Star Competition …" She glanced at the card in her hand and smiled. "Uzi, congratulations!"
Ouze was beaming with joy. He had won the Solo Tournament, the Intercontinental Tournament, and the MVP of the Intercontinental Tournament. He had never felt so blessed before.
"Thank you, my teammates …" Ouze then suddenly turned his gaze to Lin Yan behind him. "I especially want to thank Brother Ran. You have sacrificed a lot for me and the team in this All-Star Competition."
Ouze was the good Ouze when he didn't play games. His EQ instantly took the high ground.
He felt that this year's All-Star Lin Yan had taken good care of him. The team chose to keep the bottom lane in all four rounds to give him the most space to perform.
In reality, keeping the mid lane was fine. After all, it was YM's traditional playstyle. Moreover, Lin Yan's performance was more stable. The team had a supporting jungler and coach to help. If he said that he wanted to play around himself, no one in the team would object.
Perhaps it would be difficult to open up the situation against Li Xianghe, but it was guaranteed that they would win the match. The MVP of this strategy would definitely be Lin Yan.
From Ouze's point of view, Lin Yan had undoubtedly made a sacrifice. He had chosen to give up this personal honor.
Ouze was moved. Where could he find such a strong and ungreedy teammate?
What he didn't know was that the reason Lin Yan didn't choose him as the core in the finals was because … he was lazy.
After being busy for an entire year, it was reasonable for him to slack off in the All-Star Competition, right?
Lin Yan yawned. After the post-match interview, he ran back to the hotel to pack his luggage. Tomorrow, he planned to collect all the books on Su Cheng's book list. If he had free time, he could also meet with the designer to discuss the problem of the yellow duck.
On December 14th, the LPL All-Star team took a flight back to Shanghai.
However, there was one more person with them.
Casa, it's him again!
Under the reluctant gazes of his LMS teammates, the Lightning Wolf King resolutely embarked on the road to another division. It was like Columbus bidding farewell to his hometown to open up the golden road.
Along the way, Casa, who had a high concentration of two-dimensional thoughts, imagined himself as a great pioneer in the age of navigation. He had found another way for the other brothers in his division to continue their careers!
During this time, he had a good chat with YM's manager, Guo Hao, but there were always two questions in front of them.
Xiao Tian's current condition was not bad. Was it necessary for Casa to rotate him?
If he wanted to join YM, how should he rotate?
He had to solve the first problem first before he could think about the second.
Guo Hao couldn't think of an answer to the question, but that didn't stop him from chatting with Casa. The two of them were well aware of each other's feelings.
Casa still had the guaranteed RNG in his hands. He wasn't afraid of delaying himself. Not to mention, it wasn't a waste of time to communicate with the Double Champion club about joining.
Lin Yan didn't have time to worry about others. Ouze, who was sitting next to him on the plane, extended an olive branch.
"Brother, you really don't want to consider a transfer?"
Lin Yan looked around with a serious expression. "I still have a contract. It's against the rules for you to talk about a transfer in private."
Ouze didn't care whether it was against the rules or not at this time. He was anxious to death.
Playing a complete superstar, Ouze deeply realized that the mid lane was the father.
Usually, when given resources, it was a steady carry. When not given resources, it was also a good support for the bottom lane.
It could help formulate tactics, stabilize the team's morale in the lounge, and even act as a commander on the field …
Where could he find such a mid laner?
The bottom laner couldn't win even with a dog tied to him … Thinking of this, Ouze's thoughts diverged. Only then did he realize that he and YM's ADC were indeed dogs.
He shook his head to clear his messy thoughts and continued his lobbying.
Ouze originally wanted to talk to Lin Yan yesterday, but this b * stard ran to the bookstore to buy books.
The situation was urgent, so they could only chat quietly on the plane.
"Don't talk about it." Lin Yan shook his head. "I'll never go to RNG in my life."
"Then what if I go to YM?" Ouze continued.
"Can you leave RNG?" Lin Yan glanced at him.
Ouze froze.
He didn't seem to be able to answer this question. He knew that his contract was completely stuck on RNG.
Lin Yan flipped through the magazine on the plane and ignored Ouze.
In reality, even if Ouze could go from RNG to YM, Lin Yan wouldn't want to be teammates with him.
The scene of Ouze dying twice in the bottom lane of the third round of All Stars was still vivid in his mind. After these days of training, Lin Yan had more or less figured out Ouze's temperament.
If Ouze could shut himself up in a small competition like All Stars, who could guarantee that he wouldn't repeat the same mistake on a bigger stage?
Lin Yan couldn't bear this risk. The World Championship was a year of hard work for the entire team. He didn't want to delay his and the team's results because of some off-field factors.
Ouze was indeed very strong. Lin Yan could completely feel it.
Based on the current strength of the competition, he was stronger than Shiba Inu.
But the competition wasn't just about the strength of the players and the team.
Was Ouze's lack of championship really because he was unlucky?
Maybe it had something to do with it — including being the scapegoat for QG Nakano.
But most of the time, his teammates were normal. They were even stronger than the other teams.
Why did they always lose?
Hero pool, mentality … Every factor that led to a loss seemed accidental, but in reality, it was inevitable.
It couldn't be helped. His personality was like that.
Lin Yan would rather be teammates with Shiba Inu. Even if he died on the Q sometimes, at least he didn't shut himself up in the competition.
After a day of flying, Lin Yan landed in Shanghai. It was already evening. The lights were just starting to turn on, and the winter wind blew in Shanghai. He quickly put on a down jacket as soon as he got off the plane.
It was a bit late. Royal, YM, and WE all sent cars to pick up their players.
Casa wanted to sneak away alone, but Lin Yan dragged him into the car.
The SUV was very spacious. Guo Hao sat in the front passenger seat, and the three players sat in the back.
Guo Hao first congratulated Nakano Sect for obtaining the honor. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he turned his head around.
"Casa, are you living in our base or …"
"The hotel is fine. I have already booked it." Casa turned on his phone and showed the driver the GPS.
"Okay."
Guo Hao didn't insist on living in his base. After all, they hadn't reached an agreement yet. It was beneficial for both sides to keep a certain distance.
During this time, Guo Hao was using his phone to confirm the schedule of the investor's visit with the base staff.
"BMW hasn't arrived yet?" Lin Yan asked.
Guo Hao sighed, "Not yet. I heard that they had a senior vice president who wanted to come and see, so they pushed back the schedule."
This was understandable. BMW had only invested in YM in League of Legends. They had just won the world championship, and the commercial value alone was worth the tens of millions they invested in a year.
After all, the tens of millions couldn't be used to advertise at CCTV. The Bird's Nest had won the championship, and BMW's marketing department in China had been laughing for a long time.
Such a successful business investment would naturally be valued.
"When the time comes, you guys will have to show up too. Pay attention to your image …" Guo Hao glanced at the backseat through the rearview mirror. "Xiao Tian, you need to cut your hair. It's too messy."
"Are you wearing a helmet here?"
This sentence made Xiao Tian laugh. He smoothed his hair and promised to go find Tony tomorrow.
Guo Hao was still frowning. It was obvious that he was under a lot of pressure. After all, the senior vice president position wasn't a joke.
Lin Yan wasn't interested in the senior vice president position, as long as the marketing director didn't come.
Casa was still looking at the interior of the BMW. Before he got in the car, he saw the black and red paint with the YM team logo. He was already envious enough. Looking at the interior of the car, he was even more determined to come to the mainland.
Cry Yao was so rich!
The LMS market was too small, and there was no way it could accommodate these giant brands.
At this time, Mongoose looked at Casa's outstretched arm and saw a very expensive watch.
"You like to play with watches?" Phyllostachys Pubescens asked.
"Yeah." Casa touched his watch. "It's a personal hobby, just like how Ning likes to buy shoes."
"Oh …" Mongoose dragged his words and continued, "You're also a cousin."
Casa was confused, but he was too embarrassed to ask directly for fear of exposing his ignorance.
The car sped away, and the trees on both sides of the road quickly receded. Shanghai's bustling night scene unfolded before Casa's eyes.
After an hour's drive, Lin Yan finally saw the familiar Tongji Beiyuan Court.
"Brother Ran, go back and say hi to Chengzi," Guo Hao said as he sent him off. "She'll be on leave in about two weeks to prepare for the Deutschland Cup. I'll let you know then."
Lin Yan nodded and got out of the car to take out his trunk.
The car door was not closed yet, so Lin Yan could still hear the conversation in the car.
"He lives with his girlfriend?" Casa's accent was out of place.
"Yeah, so what?" Xiao Tian was still imitating his accent. "People like us who don't have a girlfriend should be together."
"Hey … I have a wife." Casa was disgusted.
"Huh?"
Phyllostachys Pubescens didn't expect to hear such a tidbit. His eyes lit up and he immediately started gossiping. "Who is it? Who is it?"
"Yuri." Casa was serious.
…
The elevator stopped, and Lin Yan dragged his suitcase to the door of the rented apartment. His girlfriend had changed into a light gray floor mat. He rubbed it twice and opened the door with the key.
The thick smell of smoke and the warm and soft light came together. Lin Yan saw Su Cheng in her home clothes working in the kitchen through the screen. She was singing "Little Sloppy."
"Little Sloppy, so sloppy. He's the Sloppy King …"
It was so warm.
But wasn't the smell of smoke too strong?
"Su Cheng!" He shouted. "Turn on the range hood!"
"Oh, oh, oh!" The girl's clear voice came. "I was wondering why the smoke was so thick this time. So that's why …"
"What are you doing?" Lin Yan changed into slippers. He didn't even bother to change his clothes and hurried to the kitchen.
"Sweet and sour … pork ribs." Su Cheng held the spatula and looked at the food in the pot. She hesitated for a moment before answering.
Lin Yan glanced at it.
She probably made it according to the recipe. There weren't any big problems with the first steps, but there was a big problem with the heat. Fortunately, he arrived in time and the ribs weren't burnt.
"I'll do it." He turned to look at Su Cheng. "Chengzi, in the future … don't go into the kitchen."
"I'm afraid that it might catch fire one day," Lin Yan added.
This undoubtedly hurt Su Cheng's fragile self-esteem.
"It was an accident, an accident!"
She emphasized. She didn't know if it was because of the heat or because of Lin Yan's words, but her white neck that was exposed outside of her home clothes was dyed pink.
"Yes, you learned how to cut cucumbers in three days, right?" Lin Yan turned on the heat to reduce the sauce and glanced at her.
Su Cheng didn't say anything.
After the last call with Lin Yan, she specifically asked her mother about learning how to cut cucumbers.
When her mother heard that Su Cheng actually learned how to cut cucumbers in three days, she proudly told her eavesdropping father that she was indeed her daughter. She was exactly the same as her mother when she was young.
Su Cheng was so angry that she hung up the phone.
"Go and clean up the table. The bowls, chopsticks, and rice," Lin Yan ordered. These small tasks could be handled by someone, so Su Cheng could handle it.
Su Cheng had just taken out the cutlery from the cupboard when she saw that Lin Yan was still wearing the All-Star uniform.
"You haven't changed your clothes yet …"
But Lin Yan was still worried after witnessing how Su Cheng worked in the kitchen. He raised the corner of his mouth. "How about you help me change?"
His girlfriend's cheeks became redder, but she had just been insulted by Lin Yan, so she stubbornly tried to salvage the situation. "… If you're willing, it's not impossible."
"Forget it. I'll wash the dishes after I'm done." Lin Yan took out two eggs and a tomato from the fridge behind him.
Then he stared at the cucumber on the side and planned to slap it to make a cold dish.
Fortunately, these dishes were relatively simple, so Lin Yan easily finished them. He took a change of clothes and ran to the bathroom.
His hair was short, so he washed it quickly. Lin Yan rushed out of the bathroom in fifteen minutes. When he returned to the table, the dishes were still hot.
Su Cheng opened a large bottle of orange juice and poured it into Lin Yan's glass. "Congratulations on winning another championship."
The two gently clinked glasses. The crisp sound of glass against glass echoed in the room, intertwining with the voice of the news announcer in the living room.
"How many is this?" Lin Ran felt that he had won too many championships. He couldn't keep count anymore.
"Let me count … three LPL, two S-League, one mid-season, and one Demacia Cup." Su Cheng counted with her fingers. "If you include the LSPL and All-Stars, that's a total of nine championships."
"If that's the case, it'll be a bit difficult to catch up to Faker's number of championships." Lin Yan frowned. "He's too good."
He picked up a piece of rib. The sweet and sour sauce mixed with the unique aroma of the rib whetted his appetite.
"But he played professionally for three more years than you." Su Cheng smiled. "If you had the same achievements as this year in S8, then you would have won more championships than him."
"Let's not talk about that." Lin Yan had been busy for a year and finally had a break. He didn't want to set any more goals for himself. It was too stressful. "When is your final exam?"
"It starts next week. It'll probably end the week after New Year's Day." Su Cheng wasn't too worried. Her grades had always been good.
The two of them chatted about everything from their studies to the current news amidst the aroma of the food.
After Su Cheng stuffed the last piece of rib into her stomach, the three small dishes on the table were all cleaned up.
At Su Cheng's insistence, she took on the responsibility of cleaning up after the meal. Lin Yan was sent to the living room to watch TV.
The news had already ended. He glanced at the female presenter who had been at the weather forecast post for twenty years. Her face hadn't aged at all. He changed the channel without hesitation.
By the time Su Cheng came back from the kitchen, he still hadn't found a suitable TV show.
"Why don't we use the computer to watch TV?" Su Cheng suggested.
Lin Yan was too lazy to play LOL and didn't want to do live broadcasts. However, he suddenly realized that he didn't have any other way to pass the time.
When he realized this, he felt that his life was extremely boring. Even Li Xianghe, who was also a superstar in the Alliance, was addicted to building bridges.
Other than League of Legends, he seemed to have nothing.
In a daze, Su Cheng pulled him into the room. She brought her laptop over from her rented apartment. The two of them sat cross-legged on the bed and snuggled up to each other to watch TV.
"White Deer Plain" was extremely popular this year. At the beginning of the year, Secretary Dakang and Half Son Qi Tongwei successfully took over.
It was considered a good TV show. However, Su Cheng didn't broadcast the right number of episodes.
Not long after, Tian Xiaoe and Dark Child put on a show in bed. Lin Yan looked at everything that happened on the computer screen and suddenly froze.
Su Cheng, who had been lying lazily in his arms, also sat up straight. Her scattered black hair faintly revealed the tips of her ears.
It was awkward.
It was like watching a kissing scene in a TV show with an adult when he was in his adolescence. He was drowned in water and didn't know what to do.
The two of them fell into silence. They were in a deadlock for a minute. Seeing that this scene wasn't over yet, Lin Yan coughed and moved his body forward. He wanted to move the cursor and drag this scene to the end.
His chest was close to Su Cheng's back. She moved forward reflexively.
Her two feet moved restlessly. Her knee accidentally hit the laptop and moved the "Tian Xiaoe and Dark Child's bed scene" a little further away.
Lin Yan wasn't Zach. He couldn't extend his arm and was forced to move his body forward.
"What are you doing?"
Su Cheng, who hadn't turned her head, only felt that Lin Yan was pushing against her. She was a little annoyed. She leaned back and pushed back hard.
Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Ran accidentally caught sight of her breathtaking white skin peeking out from the collar of her loose home clothes. Her hair was tied up in a bun, and his heart was filled with longing. This time, he did not hesitate and went straight for her.
On the computer screen, Tian Xiaoe and Dark Child were still entangled. Suppressed and brief gasps sounded from the computer and the bed at the same time. They intertwined and blended with each other.
…
Su Cheng was lying flat on the bed. Her eyes were blank and her mind was in a mess.
"Are you okay?" Lin Yan's voice was slightly worried.
"I'm fine …" Su Cheng wanted to raise her arm, but she found that her body was too weak. "I want to be alone."
The passionate scene on the laptop had already finished playing. Lin Yan closed it with a snap.
"Do you want me to carry you back?" Lin Yan looked at his girlfriend who was lying on the bed with her clothes disheveled.
Su Cheng shuddered. She had to go through the elevator to get back to her rented apartment. It was the evening rush hour, and she didn't want to be seen as a joke.
She flipped over and got up. Her clothes fell from her shoulders, revealing her snow-white collarbone.
She quickly pulled her clothes back to normal and snatched the laptop from Lin Ran's hand.
"See you tomorrow!" Su Cheng said in a low, muffled voice.
Lin Yan sent his girlfriend to the door before returning to his rented apartment.
His phone kept ringing.
When he opened it, he saw that it was all big news.
After nearly two years, Europe's League of Legends G2 had officially announced their lineup for the new season.
Zven had successfully fooled Ah P into thinking that he had gone to study. Unexpectedly, he had secretly brought along his support, Mithy, to North America's TSM.
The top laner and jungler had also left the team.
Unknowingly, Ah P had accomplished the feat of Korea's Factory Director — 1v4.
However, his boss, Ocelote, who had a good relationship with him, was determined to restore the glory of the European division. They had brought in new strong teammates for Ah P.
The Polish jungler, Jankos, who had partnered with Yue Lun in H2K, and the top laner, Wunder, who had performed well in Europe's SPY, had joined the team.
The bottom laner duo consisted of ROC's Hjarnan and the Korean support Wadid. It was worth mentioning that the Korean support's name was similar to VN's. It seemed like he had a lot of affinity with League of Legends.
Together with Europe's top laner, Ah P, G2's lineup in S8 was not weak on paper.
Meanwhile, another Galactica had appeared in Europe.
This was the true glory of Europe — FNC.
Even though they were only the champions of S1 Internet Cafe Tournament, they still had skin. The rich and imposing FNC supplemented their original lineup of Caps, Europe's top laner, Rekkles, and jungler, Broxah.
They brought in support Hylissang from the Unicorn of Love, and brought in top laners Bwipo and Soaz from nDG.
Europe had evolved into a professional team in S8. North America, on the other hand, was much more relaxed. They did not compete for anything and lived in peace, obediently being their retirement home.
On the LCK side, the veteran dynasty SKT seemed to have used up their last breath. The key mid-laner and jungler was still there, but they still could not find a suitable top laner and jungler.
They could not bring U Emperor to play S8, could they?
On the other hand, KT was conserving their strength. They maintained their original starting lineup of five players, but they also brought in the young mid laner Ucal, and Fat General, who had not recovered from his waist injury and was suffering from OCD.
It was obvious that they were trying to make it to the international scene again.
SSG's coach, Edgar, had managed to get Crown to transfer to North America in the middle of the transfer period.
He had also discovered another new mid laner from the side rankings — Showmaker, Reanimator.
As for LPL …
LPL was still holding their breath!
In reality, the team members and the management of the major clubs had their own information channels. They could basically get a good grasp of the information during the transfer period.
At the beginning of the transfer period, YM had released the news that Crisp's contract had expired and he was now a free agent. At one point, there had been speculation about where Liu Qingsong had gone on all the major esports forums.
However, other than people like Xi Ye who did not surf at all, most of the players knew that Liu Qingsong had already renewed his contract with YM.
Guo Hao had long wanted to make an official announcement to calm the fans down, but his application had been stuck with LPL and had not been approved.
Without approval, they could not make an official announcement, so YM could only hold it in.
Lin Yan heated up a glass of milk for himself and started surfing on the bed. The bedsheets and covers had been changed by the housekeeper today. There was still the smell of the sun on them, and the blanket was mixed with the fragrance of the shower gel that Su Cheng had used to lie on it.
YM's training department was very lively. Lin Yan took a closer look and saw that it was a newcomer.
Guo Hao finally could not wait any longer. He first pulled Red Rice, the big fish he had caught during the transfer period, into the group.
You didn't approve the official announcement, but it's not against the rules for me to pull someone in first, right?
The new coach greeted the group of players in simple English. Lin Weixiang began to show off his poor English.
[I am LWX, VN new skin isme] (I am LWX, the owner of VN's new skin)
Red Rice was probably shocked. After thinking for a long time, she replied with a question mark.
Lin Yan was drinking milk. He could not help but laugh out loud, almost spitting out the white liquid in his mouth.