"Who's on the list?" Even though Lin Yan was certain that he would be the starting mid laner, he was still curious about the list.
Su Cheng's expression became unnatural when she heard this.
The other YM members also gathered around.
The list had been leaked from the LPL club managers' internal group chat.
Abu, who had been appointed as the head coach in advance, had participated in the selection process. After seeing that YM had won the mid-season championship, he had sent the list to the group chat in advance so that the club managers could prepare for the competition in advance.
Guo Hao hadn't had time to look at the document when he received it, so he couldn't help but feel nervous.
His fingers trembled as he opened the document. He took a deep breath and continued reading.
2018 Jakarta – Jigang Asian Games Performance Event China League of Legends Team Provisional Roster:
Head Coach: Ji Xing – EDG Aron
Top Laner: Yan Junze – RMG Letme
Jungler: Gao Tianliang – YMTian
Mid Laner: Lin Yan – YMRan
Bottom Laner: Yu Wenbo – YMJackeyLove; Jane Proud – RMG Uzi
Support: Liu Qingsong – YMCrisp
Assistant Coaches: Wang Hanyu – RWHanYi; Luo Sheng – WECrescent
Analysts: WEDoom, RMG Ch, Orange
"F * ck …" Jack's heart was beating wildly. He couldn't believe it when he saw the list. "We're going to the Asian Games too?"
"All of them, all of them!" Guo Hao was ecstatic.
Out of the five starting players, all of them had been selected for the Jakarta Asian Games. This was undoubtedly a joyous occasion for YM!
"Chengzi sis is on the list." Mongoose saw a familiar ID appear in the analyst column.
The main reason was that there was no club prefix, so it was easy to recognize.
"It really is!" Jack was also surprised.
Lin Yan had noticed this long ago. He looked at his girlfriend on his phone.
"This is the surprise you were talking about?"
Su Cheng didn't expect Abul to release the list so quickly. She could only laugh dryly and explain, "Abul only came to find me tonight. I don't know why … I haven't done it for half a year, but he insisted on pulling me in."
Lin Yan pondered for two seconds. "But that's fine too. Just treat it as a free trip to Jakarta. You'll still be on summer vacation when the training and competition take place."
He could probably figure out why Abul insisted on dragging Su Cheng to the Asian Games.
There was a shortage of people.
Although the LPL had relied on YM to gain unparalleled glory in the past two years, new blood continued to emerge in the entire division. Young geniuses such as Knight gradually gained a foothold in the Alliance.
However, in terms of local coaches, LPL was definitely ranked at the bottom of the five divisions.
Putting aside Abramovich's character, he was indeed a pretty good coach. However, ever since S6, he had distanced himself from the frontlines of the competition and gradually transitioned into management. Due to the results of the 2015 team that won the MSI and his many years of coaching experience, the higher-ups had arranged for him to be the head coach this time around.
It had been a long time since Abul had participated in PVP work. Naturally, he had to recruit a few helpers.
He also knew the importance of a coaching team. He had specifically asked for instructions from the higher-ups regarding this matter. The general answer he received was that they would try their best to select from local employees.
As soon as this sentence came out, Abul immediately gave up on the idea of using Koreans and Chinese to form a coaching team.
The higher-ups said to try their best, but he did not dare to follow this train of thought.
The group of people who were all LPL players.
However, other than him, the top domestic coaches were Hanyi and White Crescent. These two had once won the global championship with YM. However, after leaving the team, their development had been mediocre. It felt like they were swimming naked after the tide receded.
What about after that?
There was no one.
There was a complete gap in the strength of domestic coaches.
Although LPL placed more and more emphasis on the development of coaching teams, they were still struggling. Not to mention Europe, America, and Korea, even the Chinese were better than the Chinese in this aspect.
Steaks, warhorses, barbecued pork, firefox … These people were all at the top of the LPL division.
While YM was fighting in Europe for the mid-season competition, Abul was extremely busy in China with the list of names.
How to select a coaching team with decent ability that would not drag them down was more troublesome than selecting players.
After thinking about it, he still transferred Hanyi and White Crescent over to assist in coaching.
The analyst team was even more stretched. Now, the only analysts in LPL that could be brought out were Chinese and Koreans.
Previously, S6 had followed YM's champion, Soak Goji Analyst, for a year at Snakes before going home to get married. Abul, who was short on manpower, decided to set his sights on Su Cheng.
After all, Su Cheng was the best analyst in 2017. Even though she had not worked in a professional team for half a year, Abul still chose to believe in her ability.
There was no other way. There was really no one else. Sister Li would help.
Earlier today, he had sent an invitation to Su Cheng and received an ambiguous response. She did not say that she would come, nor did she say that she would not come.
Abul was anxious. If Su Cheng did not come, more than half of his analyst team would be rotten fish. He could not use the gold analyst from IG who had just gotten rid of cancer, could he?
He was very good at playing the emotional card. This might have something to do with his experience in the early stages of his career.
Abul started with the emotional aspect. After all, Lin Yan had to go to training and the Asian Games, so he would have to leave Shanghai for almost a month. If Su Cheng did not go with him, they would probably be separated in two places for a month. Then, he started with the country and the division's honor. Using emotional reasoning, he successfully pulled Su Cheng into his team.
Su Cheng told him all of Abul's tricks. "In the end, he said something like 'LPL needs you'. My d * mn duck, he made me dizzy."
"Hahaha, there's such a thing?"
Lin Yan recalled the rumor that the fat general had saved his master when he was in danger. Then, he thought about Abul's strange voice and suddenly froze.
Guo Hao was still asking the Xiba players, "Jin Gong, what about you?"
Jimmu Gong appeared from the shadows and said in a muffled voice, "LCK invited me."
Jin Gong, who had won the championship for two consecutive years and did not play in the Korean domestic league, had also received the attention of the Korean eSports Association, KeSpa.
Originally, they wanted to see the matchup between Jin Gong and Khan in the MSI finals and choose a stronger top laner.
The moment YM won the championship, KeSpa made up his mind to pull JeMokun into the Korean team.
They knew that the Asian Games was ultimately a battle between LCK, LPL, and LMS. Among them, LPL, which had more than half of YM's Centaur, was their biggest competitor.
If they pulled Jin Gong into their team, they could obtain some information about YM, which would be very beneficial for their next tactical preparation.
"Not bad, Brother Jin Gong, you've made a name for yourself!" Lin Yan hugged Jin Gong's shoulder.
Jimmu Gong chuckled.
In the three years that he worked for YM, he went from being a lonely director to a top-notch team puzzle. He played the blue-collar role to the extreme and gained a lot of glory at the same time.
The most fortunate thing for him was that he received PDD's trial training notice and decided to try his hand at YM. After all, no matter what, he would not be doing worse than he was back then — at most, he would just change places and continue to be a director.
Jin Gong recalled that the trial training notice directly changed his career.
"Will you be exempted from military service if you win this time?" Liu Qingsong was still concerned about this. "I heard that the Asian Games champion can …"
Jin Gong returned to his senses and shook his head. "No, the exhibition match doesn't count. Even someone like Faker can't be exempted from military service, so I can't even think about it."
"What a pity." Lin Weixiang came over as well, but he almost laughed out loud. There was no sympathy on his face at all. Instead, he was gloating. "But you can't win anyway, you're just a piece of cake."
"Simba Lin Weixiang!"
Jin Gong pretended to be angry. He grabbed Big Eyebrows' neck and shook him hard. At the same time, he was relentless with his words as he attacked him both physically and mentally. "The whole team can go to the Asian Games, but you can't go alone, bok bok bok bok …"
When Jin Gong received the notice from KesPa, he also knew that Korea's head coach for the Asian Games was Kkoma, while the other two coaches were Edgar and Red Rice.
As for the remaining Gou Ba, he would be joining the Taiwanese team as well.
Lin Weixiang was the only one in the Training Department who was abandoned.
He was stabbed in the heart by Jin Gong.
It was heart-wrenching.
Big Eyebrows' face turned red. "I just don't want to go. Do you know what it means to hide in the city?"
"It's okay." Lin Yan was good at comforting people. Everyone in the team could go to the Asian Games. Regardless of the result, at least it would be a new experience. Lin Weixiang was so stubborn that he must be very unhappy. It was necessary to comfort him appropriately. "When the Asian Games starts, I'll ask Jack to use your skin to play a game of Vayne. It'll be equivalent to you being there."
"Then Jack has to write an application for me," Lin Weixiang said to Shiba Inu seriously. "Otherwise, I can't use Vayne."
"Did I give you face?" Jack was so angry that he laughed. He almost couldn't control himself and slapped Zhang Zian.
Mongoose began to be sarcastic again. "All of you are so rebellious. Don't you know who you have to write the application for?"
Hearing this, the room was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere. Red Rice didn't know what was going on, but when he saw everyone laughing, he also laughed out loud.
Lin Yan went back to his hotel and had a good night's sleep, making up for all the sleep he had lost in the preparation for the final game.
He didn't wake up until noon the next day. After he washed up, he was ready to go downstairs for lunch.
Guo Hao was so excited that he didn't sleep the whole night. There were dark circles under his eyes. "This afternoon, we'll go to the Seine River. There's a one-star Michelin restaurant nearby …"
"One-star Michelin restaurant?"
Jack, who was still reading the news on his phone, immediately pricked up his ears. "That won't do. How can a one-star restaurant match Brother Ran's net worth?"
He had to rip Lin Yan off.
"The two-star and three-star restaurants are booked too long in advance. We can't make it." Guo Hao also wanted to take advantage of Zhang Zian, but there was no other way. They had to stay in Paris for two days.
YM worked together for the whole afternoon. Lin Yan walked along the Seine River, taking pictures with his phone non-stop. He wanted to take in all the scenery of Paris.
The tour guide for the Paris international students was a little girl who looked a little cute. She had a sweet voice and a fair and delicate appearance. She was thin and small, and even the garlic turtle had a big advantage in size in front of her.
"Seine River, left bank …"
"Coffee?" Jack interrupted.
The girl was obviously very experienced. This was not the first time she had received a customer who knew how to pick up a joke. She said calmly, "That's right. There are many theaters, bookstores, and art galleries on the left bank. The cultural atmosphere is relatively strong. The cafes along the bank also have a long history. It has something to do with Louis XIV's migration to the Palace of Versailles in the 17th century …"
She spoke frankly and clearly described the general situation on both banks of the river with a gentle smile on her face. She was brainless and unhappy, so the questions she asked were very tricky, including but not limited to the location of Sephora's store and the locations of recommended Fujian restaurants.
The tour guide could be said to be a professional. She answered all the questions fluently. "Other than Fujian cuisine, the Chinese food in the third zone, the Marais, is also good. There are more people from Wenzhou there."
When she heard that the group of customers wanted to go to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre tomorrow, she kindly reminded them, "There are often young people who come to these two attractions with forms for you to sign …"
"There's such a good thing?" Lin Weixiang was amused. "I want people to come to me every day for my whole life."
The tour guide was stunned for a moment. She did not understand Lin Weixiang's brain circuit. After thinking for a moment, she replied, "These people are scamming money in the name of charity. Some will even directly steal it."
At this moment, Liu Qingsong's expression suddenly became fierce, showing an aura like that of a fierce tiger!
The cute girl was frightened by Liu Qingsong's reaction and quickly took a small step to the side.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Weixiang was not surprised. His tone was calm. "It's nothing. Every time someone wants to take money from him, he's like this."
Jin Gong let out a hearty laugh, which amused Jiang Chenglu.
The afternoon was very fulfilling. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and could basically answer all the questions. Guo Hao could only say that his money was not in vain.
This is called professionalism!
"Brother Ran, can we take a picture together?" When they were about to leave, the tour guide suddenly took out her phone.
Jiang Chenglu, who was about to ask for her WeChat, stopped in his tracks.
"You know me?" Lin Yan was quite surprised. He saw that the tour guide did not have any special reaction to him this afternoon.
"Being a tour guide is a part-time job. Alliance is my life. I have to distinguish them." The girl turned on her camera and moved closer to Lin Yan.
"Can you help me sign another name?" She took out a notebook. "Can I sign for you?"
Lin Yan agreed to her request. He took the pen and spun it in his hand. "What do you want to write?"
"Just wish me and my boyfriend a happy 521." She said her name and her boyfriend's name.
While Lin Yan was writing the blessing, Jiang Chenglu sighed and put away his phone. He gave up on the idea of asking for her WeChat.
…
Lin Yan dragged his suitcase out of the elevator and took out his keys to open the door.
The lights in the room were bright, the TV was on, and international news was playing. The kitchen was filled with the tempting aroma of food.
He gently sniffed the smell and then nodded with satisfaction.
Very good, the kitchen did not explode this time.
"I'm back!" Lin Yan shouted, wanting to attract his girlfriend's attention.
"Go change your clothes and take a shower. Then come out to eat. I'm done!" Su Cheng's voice came from the kitchen.
Lin Yan obeyed. He took off his shoes and went to the bathroom to wash his hands. He took out a change of clothes and a towel and ran in.
It was fifteen minutes later when he came out again.
After washing up, Lin Yan changed into a white T-shirt and ran to the kitchen in slippers.
"Not bad, Cheng Zi. I've only been gone for half a month, and you've already learned how to cook …"
Before he could finish his sentence, he saw the dishes on the table.
Boiled shredded cheese, stewed tofu with crab powder, meatballs, fried shrimp, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Both of their glasses were filled with cola.
"Wow." Lin Yan looked at the delicious dishes. "Which restaurant made this?"
"… The Yellow Crane Tower on the Bund." Su Cheng sighed.
When she bought these dishes, she knew that Lin Yan would definitely find out.
The style was too exquisite, and the heat, seasoning, and color were all excellent. Obviously, they were not made at home.
Su Cheng saw the teasing in Lin Yan's eyes. She was a little annoyed. A touch of pink rose from her white neck to her cheeks. "I worked very hard. I made these dishes myself before I bought them."
"They really don't taste good. I had no choice but to buy them outside." She lowered her voice. "The dishes here are so expensive."
"I know, I know …" Lin Yan comforted her. "It's not something to be ashamed of not knowing how to cook."
"Then why did you look at me like that?" Su Cheng remembered Lin Yan's gaze and suddenly felt a little dissatisfied.
Lin Yan was speechless for a moment.
"I looked at you like that because …" He paused again. "Don't pour the dishes you bought from outside on our plate. It'll increase the burden of washing the dishes."
Lin Yan was also puzzled. This kind of restaurant didn't put plastic bags on the outside like some mobile stalls. The take-out packaging was also very beautiful.
Why did they have to pour it on their plate?
His girlfriend and father were all like this, which made Lin Yan very confused.
Su Cheng finally understood Lin Yan's thoughts. When she heard Lin Yan say "our house," her face became redder. "I think that if relatives or lovers use the original packaging from the restaurant to welcome them, it will give them a very distant feeling. If you use the tableware at home, it will look, how do I put it …"
"Humane?"
She didn't know if her words were correct, so she added, "Of course, this is my personal opinion. If you think it's troublesome, I won't do it in the future."
"… It's okay. It's good to pour it on a plate." Lin Yan changed his mind.
His mind was now full of memories of every time Lin Mingdong came home from a business trip, he would pour all the dishes brought back from the restaurant on a plate.
Did Lin Mingdong have the same thoughts as Su Cheng at that time?
Lin Yan shook off the chaotic thoughts in his mind and used his chopsticks to pick up some scrambled eggs with tomato.
It was sweet and sour. Other than the slightly overcooked scrambled eggs, there wasn't anything else.
"You made a good dish." Lin Yan wasn't stingy with his praise. "It's much better than before. The sweet and sour taste is just right."
He could tell at a glance that this dish was made by Su Cheng herself. The level of delicacy of the homemade stir-fry was incomparable to that of a restaurant's chef.
"Right?" Su Cheng was quite proud of her boyfriend's praise. "It's ketchup. I added ketchup!"
She raised her glass filled with cola and smiled happily. "Congratulations, you're the second MSI champion!"
"My trophy is in my suitcase. I'll let you touch it after dinner." Lin Yan clinked glasses with her, and the crisp and pleasant sound echoed in the room.
The quality of the dishes tonight was pretty good. Suzhou cuisine suited the two of them very well.
"Next time we can go to the restaurant to eat." Su Cheng stuffed her chopsticks with shredded boiled cheese. "They have a balcony on the third floor. It's right next to the Huangpu River. Lujiazui is just across the street. The scenery is very good."
Lin Yan agreed. "What about you? How's your homework?"
"I'll be entering my third year soon. There'll be a specialization." Su Cheng peeled off the shrimp shell with her slender fingers. "I should be entering mathematics and applied mathematics. Seventy to eighty percent of the students are majoring in this field … Functional analysis will be more difficult."
Lin Yan didn't quite understand, but that didn't stop him from nodding like a chick pecking at rice.
"Next year will be really difficult. I have to take the TOEFL test and prepare a recommendation letter …" Su Cheng sighed.
Her boyfriend's career had already reached its peak, but she had just started.
If she wanted to make a name for herself, she would need at least seven years.
The two of them filled their stomachs. There were some leftovers from the other dishes. Only the tomato scrambled eggs was cleaned up by Lin Yan.
The corners of Su Cheng's mouth curled into a smile.
"Go watch TV. I'll take care of this."
Lin Yan drove his girlfriend out of the kitchen. Because there were a lot of leftovers, there weren't many bowls and chopsticks to wash. He quickly cleaned up the dining table and kitchen stove.
Then he took out the FMVP trophy and gold medal from his suitcase.
"Do you need my help?" Su Cheng poked her head out of the living room.
"Help me put these two jackets in the closet." Lin Yan handed over two thin jackets. "Put the rest in the suitcase. It'll be useful for the summer race."
Su Cheng took the jackets, stacked the trophy and medal on top of them, and walked back to the bedroom.
By the time everything was done, it was already eight o 'clock in the evening. The interview with CCTV had just ended. Su Cheng was bored out of her mind. She pressed the remote control and skipped the idol drama on the TV.
"It's time. I'm going to take a shower."
Su Cheng glanced around. She didn't find anything interesting on TV, so she ran to the bathroom to take a shower.
Lin Yan leaned on the sofa and scrolled through his phone.
The entire YM team had just returned to Shanghai from Paris. The competition department's group chat was still very lively. Liu Qingsong and Lin Weixiang were having a childish debate about who was the biggest scammer back in the day.
Coca-Cola, salty and spicy tofu pudding, sweet dumplings and sweet mooncakes: [Are you guys home yet?]
Lin Yan had just finished typing when Jack's reply came.
Yuki Judai: [I'm still on the train. I'll be back at Huanggang at ten o 'clock.]
- | -: [Are Jin Gong and Red Rice still sleeping on the plane?]
Mongoose's WeChat nickname was quite interesting. The three symbols were similar to the shape of his face — long and narrow eyes and a high nose bridge.
After Phyllostachys Pubescens typed this sentence, he specially Xiba.
When he didn't get a reply, he immediately began to make sarcastic remarks.
- | -: [Let's discuss how to arrange Jin Gong for the Asian Games. Won't he turn into a super ghost?
Let him enjoy Ma Runge's treatment.]
Lin Yan typed furiously: [I think it's a good idea. YM's old teammate's care is meticulous.]
Lin Weixiang Is My Big Son: [I screenshotted it. Say whatever you want.]
- | -: [?
Why is there a dog barking here?]
This time, it was Xiao Tian and Liu Qingsong's turn to argue. Lin Weixiang was on the side, intentionally or unintentionally tearing at each other's wounds.
Lin Yan glanced at them. He really couldn't keep up with the speed of their replies. He switched to WeChat and went to the esports forums to surf.
The forums were filled with a peaceful atmosphere.
After winning MSI, the netizens were enjoying the experience points during the entire off-season.
Lin Yan ignored a few posts and saw a discussion about the lineup for the Asian Games. There was basically no suspense in the mid laner. Would the bottom laner be Dog Shi or Jack + Tear?
Even though the tentative list had been released, Abu still had to submit the list and wait for a signed reply before it could be officially announced.
All the spectators were still in the dark. Because of this, the discussion about the lineup for the Asian Games was still very popular.
[The latter. After all, YM is the original product. They have good teamwork.]
[What's wrong? Was Xiao Ming kicked out of the YM team?
This is the real LPL champion's support.]
[What's the use of bringing Ouze along?
Let Brother Ran level two go to the bottom lane to help, right?]
[To be honest, Jack's weakness is that his playstyle is too unrestrained. If he really stabilizes, it's disgusting.]
Lin Yan scrolled through two pages of replies and then exited to read other posts.
One of the posts caught his attention. [How long until Ran reaches the peak of his career?]
[Even if Brother Ran retires on the spot, he's still from World First High School. 2S + 2MSI. He's better than Faker in terms of both glory and results.]
[Be conservative. Two years.]
[Two years?
As long as League of Legends is still around, YM will be the number one team in the world.]
[This dominance is really ridiculous. The players who were born in the same era as Brother Ran are really unlucky.]
[Here's a mention for Khan and Little Peanut. They lose to YM every time. I don't know if we'll see them in the World Championship this year.]
When Su Cheng changed into her nightgown and came out, she saw Lin Yan lying on the sofa, looking at his phone and laughing.
"What are you looking at?" she asked curiously.
Lin Yan handed the phone to her. "Elbow, come in with me."
"Huh?" Su Cheng was stunned.
"Let me help you blow dry your hair." Lin Yan's fingers played with his girlfriend's slightly damp hair.
"Okay." Su Cheng couldn't wait to enjoy it. She followed Lin Yan into the bedroom.
The noise from the hairdryer filled the entire room. Lin Yan's left hand gently grasped her soft black hair, letting it dry slowly in his palm.
Su Cheng pulled Lin Yan's phone to look at the private messages on Weibo.
She was relaxed and comfortable. Her two slender legs, exposed outside of her nightgown, swayed in the air. They were so fair that Lin Yan saw them.
He coughed twice and suppressed the little flame in his heart. His condescending gaze followed the slightly loose neckline of Su Cheng's nightgown.
His left hand couldn't help but tremble.
"Ouch … Can you be gentler?" Su Cheng's hair was pulled. She turned around and complained in a low voice.
"Cheng Zi …" Lin Yan said earnestly, like a big bad wolf trying to lure Little Red Riding Hood. "Didn't you say you were going to give me a surprise?"
"Yeah." Su Cheng didn't notice. "But you already know."
"That doesn't count." Lin Yan helped her dry the rest of her hair. "You said you would give me a surprise when I came back to China."
"… Then what do you want to do?" Su Cheng was now on guard and glared at him.
"Did you sign for the package two days ago?" Lin Yan turned off the hairdryer and put it away.
"Yeah …" Su Cheng's face was burning red. "What kind of weird things do you buy?"
Lin Ran moved closer to her and whispered a few words into her ear.
"No." Su Cheng refused without hesitation. Her hands tightened around the neckline of her nightgown. "Don't even think about it."
…
Half an hour later.
Su Cheng returned to the bedroom from the changing room. Lin Yan had turned off the lights.
"Is this how I wear it?" She looked down at herself. Her voice was still a little uneasy.
Lin Yan looked at her and couldn't help but hug Su Cheng. He lowered his head and sniffed her exposed delicate collarbone.
"Mmm …" Su Cheng felt weak and collapsed in her boyfriend's arms.
There was a tearing sound in the dim bedroom.
"Why are you tearing it?" The girl was confused.
"… This thing is for tearing." Lin Yan said seriously.
"Really?" Su Cheng snorted when she said that. "A disposable item?"
"Yes."
"… Then don't use it in the future." Su Cheng's voice softened. "It's a waste of money."
Lin Yan chuckled when he heard that.
"Be serious. Don't laugh." Su Cheng pushed him with a red face.