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SMS CHAPTER 19

Duo Queue

For a moment, time seemed to almost stand still. After a brief pause, Yan Chengfeng heard Zhen Ning say, “I’m not considering that at the moment.”

Yan Chengfeng’s mind went blank.

He didn’t know what else Zhen Ning and Dr. Zheng said after that. It wasn’t until he saw their figures disappear at the end of the hallway that he managed to regain his composure.

It had taken Yan Chengfeng a lot of effort to realize and accept that Zhen Ning was an omega, and he had already come to terms with it.

But whenever he thought about the future, about how Zhen Ning would one day be marked by an alpha and become that alpha’s partner, his mood turned strange and uncomfortable. His subconscious always made him avoid thinking about it.

Why are you so concerned about him?

Yan Chengfeng couldn’t help but dwell on the thought, but at the same time, he scolded himself: This is his own problem. Why are you worrying about it more than he is?

His mind was a mess as he walked into the training room. When he saw that Zhen Ning was already seated next to him, Yan Chengfeng felt his breath falter for a moment.

At the sound of movement, Zhen Ning turned his head.

Their eyes met in the air. Yan Chengfeng panicked inside and quickly turned his face away.

Zhen Ning found Yan Chengfeng’s flustered reaction a bit puzzling. Seeing that he didn’t speak, Zhen Ning took the initiative and asked, “Want to play?”

Yan Chengfeng pretended to be calm as he sat down in the seat next to him. “Let’s play.”

He told himself that the most important thing right now was training—not thinking about anything else. Composing himself, he added, “I haven’t streamed in a while. I’m planning to make up for the time I’ve missed this month. Let’s duo queue and stream together.”

Zhen Ning was clearly taken aback. “Okay.”

The “jacket incident” had been trending on the forum and Weibo for the past few days. Logically speaking, Yan Chengfeng should have been keeping his distance from Zhen Ning in public.

But Yan Chengfeng’s brain didn’t work that way. What he cared about most was the fact that Zhen Ning had chosen Tao Luo over duo queuing with him that day.

The pride and competitiveness of young alphas were truly terrifying.

Yan Chengfeng wanted Zhen Ning to realize that in the three years he had been absent, he had become the core of the esports scene’s popularity. Whether it was his streaming skills or the popularity of his streams, he far outshined Tao Luo and the other active players in China.

Without hesitation, Yan Chengfeng started the stream.

He hadn’t streamed in a while. The last time was the day Zhen Ning returned to KYM, and after the Spring Split began, fans assumed he wouldn’t stream for months. So when they received the notification, they excitedly flooded into his stream.

Yan Chengfeng casually said, “Today, I’ll duo queue with my teammate.”

[Wuwuwuwu, Head Chef!!! You’re finally back! I haven’t been scolded by you in so long, it feels like ants are crawling on me…]

[Um, I can’t help but ask… was that really you the other day with the jacket?]

[Are you with Tao Luo?! My favorite jungle-support duo is finally playing together again! But I remember Tao Luo saying yesterday that she had to go out this morning?]

Yan Chengfeng had already anticipated these types of comments.

There was a brief silence. He glanced at Zhen Ning beside him and cleared his throat. “Say something.”

Zhen Ning hadn’t expected Yan Chengfeng to bring him up so directly.

He froze for a moment, hesitated, then softly said, “Hello everyone, I’m Neither, and today I’m doing ranked with Chef.”

The chat instantly exploded—

[Holy crap????? When you said you were duoing with your teammate, I thought it’d be Carrot as jungle-support, but turns out it’s the new AD? I never thought I’d live to see the day Chef duo queues with someone in the bot lane!]

[Upload the replay already!! Hurry!!]

[The jacket incident two days ago, and now you’re duoing with him live today—Yan Chengfeng, you really make Mom feel like you’ve changed.]

Yan Chengfeng didn’t pay much attention to the comments. His mind was on other things.

“You’re a newbie, so you might not know.” Yan Chengfeng cleared his throat, purposely emphasizing the word “newbie.”

“When you’re not on the battlefield, you generally don’t need to say your ID. Just use your name. Otherwise, it might feel distant from the audience, and you won’t be able to connect with the fans. This is one of the key points of streaming… I guess Tao Luo didn’t tell you this, huh?”

Zhen Ning: “…”

“I’m Zhen Ning.” Zhen Ning sighed and repeated emphatically, “Today, I’m doing ranked with my teammate, Yan Chengfeng.”

“That’s more like it.”

Yan Chengfeng nodded in satisfaction. “But actually, when you’re streaming, there’s no need to be so formal. You don’t have to introduce everything to the audience either. Just naturally show yourself—that’s the best way to stream. I’m guessing Tao Luo didn’t tell you that—”

Zhen Ning: “Are we queuing or not?”

Yan Chengfeng cleared his throat. “…We are. You make the room and invite me.”

[Connect with the fans? Streaming tips? Yan Chengfeng, what kind of crap are you talking about? Have you ever once thought about getting closer to us during any of your streams over the years?]

[These two have only been streaming for five minutes, and they’re already about to argue 🙏🙏]

[But still, he did cover him with a jacket, didn’t he? Doesn’t this arguing feel like there’s a hint of sweet, flirtatious banter?]

[Speechless, absolutely speechless. He’s just a substitute who played one match, that’s all. Yan Chengfeng really can’t shake off this omega teammate, can he? Their popularity levels aren’t even in the same league. Can the CP shippers please leave the stream already?]

[LMAO, Yan Chengfeng’s omega fans need to wake up. When did esports only care about popularity? Go watch the matches before you talk. Don’t you see how well the omega performed in the final BO3 match that day? Why else do you think Head Chef is now streaming and duoing with him?]

Yan Chengfeng usually wasn’t fond of reading the comments.

But deep down, for a long time, he had been curious about how the outside world would discuss him and Zhen Ning when they played together.

Though it wasn’t the first time, seeing words like “flirtatious banter” and “sweet” still left Yan Chengfeng in disbelief. A strange feeling welled up inside him, and he knew discussions like this would only increase in the future.

CP, which means… a couple.

He and Zhen Ning?

A couple?

It sounded absurd and completely unfounded, yet because it involved Zhen Ning, Yan Chengfeng’s first instinct wasn’t annoyance or anything like that, but a subtle, inexplicable sense of confusion. Or perhaps… a feeling of being at a loss.

Out of nowhere, he recalled what Dr. Zheng had asked Zhen Ning earlier in the lobby: “Have you considered finding an alpha partner?”

Why am I suddenly thinking about this?

Yan Chengfeng’s pupils contracted sharply. His heart rate spiked instantly. He couldn’t believe the ridiculous thoughts that had just crossed his mind.

The next second, he heard Zhen Ning’s soft reminder, “It started.”

Yan Chengfeng took a deep, flustered breath, trying to calm himself, and forced his focus back onto the game, eyes glued to the screen.

The game began.

Yan Chengfeng forced himself to clear his mind and focus on the screen for a while. After a moment, he murmured, “I want to pick Mianli.”

Zhen Ning replied calmly, “They’re first-picking the Purple Snake support. It would be safer for us to take a healer. Mianli would be at a disadvantage.”

The game had always been their special connection. While absorbed in the match, it felt as though all the reservations and barriers between them simply vanished.

Yan Chengfeng thought for a moment, clicked his tongue, and said, “I guess… then I’ll pick Dryad. That should be fine, right? It’s tanky and has a bit of healing.”

Zhen Ning responded, “Dryad’s healing is negligible and can be easily countered. They haven’t locked in their jungler yet, so—”

“First of all, I’ve been playing competitive matches for years. Do you think I don’t know these things?”

Yan Chengfeng said impatiently, “Secondly, this is just ranked, not a professional match, so there’s no point in taking BP so seriously. Let’s just relax and find some rhythm in the first game. I’ll pick whatever I want.”

Zhen Ning didn’t respond for a long time.

“Okay.”

After a while, he finally said, “I thought we were simulating a real match. Since you want to find your rhythm first, I’ll just play a relaxed game too.”

Yan Chengfeng: “…?”

Then, he watched in disbelief as Zhen Ning locked in Noble Frog.

Noble Frog—a cute little green frog with a coin on its head. Its basic attack involved using its tongue to happily lick people. The design was extremely detailed—so much so that even the saliva splattering as it licked was visible.

Its ultimate ability increased attack speed and jump height, allowing it to “jump and lick” at the same time while making “ribbit ribbit” sounds.

Because this hero moved around so much it gave people headaches, it was extremely difficult to cast buff skills on them, making it every support player’s nightmare.

Yan Chengfeng could no longer hold it in.

“Now hold on a second!”

With a pained expression, he quickly locked in a hero. “Fine, fine, I’ll take Vine Witch, is that good? It’s tanky and can heal you a lot. Are you happy now? Hurry up and pick something that isn’t so ridiculous. Just looking at this slobber is giving me a headache…”

Zhen Ning let out an “Ah.”

“But I’ve already locked it in.”

Yan Chengfeng felt dizzy.

The Vine Witch Yan Chengfeng had chosen wasn’t a hero he was comfortable with.

Yan Chengfeng was known for his aggressive, forward playstyle, but he wasn’t simply reckless. His boldness was complemented by refined mechanics and sharp game sense. That was one of the reasons why, despite being a support player, he had such a large following. Heroes like Mianli, with lots of crowd control and high mobility, suited his style perfectly.

He had brought his own style to the support role—young, daring, and an alpha who never took a step back, playing with unwavering determination.

Simply put, viewers preferred high-energy, action-packed games over slow, overly cautious matches with no kills or team fights, even though the latter was more common in competitive play.

The Vine Witch was a forest-dwelling plant fairy who wielded a vine. She healed with every swing, but her healing output was limited, requiring her to stick closely behind the AD. She was usually paired with marksmen who had slow movement and limited mobility.

In other words, this hero didn’t align with Yan Chengfeng’s playstyle at all.

He had thought that if Zhen Ning picked a more suitable AD, it wouldn’t matter much if he had to play a healer. But Zhen Ning had picked Noble Frog—a hero that, once it ulted, just flailed its tongue around and hopped uncontrollably across the screen.

This meant Yan Chengfeng would have to keep chasing after it and healing non-stop. In this match, he was destined to heal Zhen Ning until his hands were sore and his vision blurred.

The two heroes they had chosen had almost no synergy as a bottom lane duo—except for one thing: they were both green.

The chat was already laughing so hard they were about to pass out.

[Slobber paired with Little Whip. The BP phase is already this chaotic 🙏🙏 Our future bot lane duo of Grilled Corn really seems like it’s going to have major problems.]

[After so many years, thanks to Neither, I finally get to see Chef pick a healer. Wuwuwu, it’s really been so long since I’ve seen him play something like this.]

[Am I imagining things, or is this omega’s level ridiculously high? With just a few words, he completely subdued someone who’s usually sharp-tongued and full of comebacks…]

[Do you believe me? If this were Lei Tao, Head Chef would’ve already started ranting by now.]

In fact, Yan Chengfeng had already started ranting—

“You tricked me, didn’t you?”

Yan Chengfeng gritted his teeth. “I listened to you and picked a healer, and then you picked something like this. Tell me, how are we supposed to survive the laning phase? How am I supposed to keep up and heal you in team fights? Just a few days ago, you told me we should play well in duo queue. I actually believed your nonsense—”

Zhen Ning said, “We can win.”

Yan Chengfeng’s expression shifted slightly. He stared at Zhen Ning’s side profile for a moment, fell silent, then turned his face away.

If it had been anyone else picking this hero and making those comments, Yan Chengfeng wouldn’t have thought twice before ripping them to shreds.

But this person was Zhen Ning.

Back when they trained together three years ago, whenever they encountered seemingly unwinnable matches, Zhen Ning would often say, “We can win.”

It wasn’t blind confidence. Because whenever he said those words, even in situations that seemed hopeless, they somehow ended up winning with a surprisingly high success rate.

Although this game looked doomed no matter how Yan Chengfeng viewed it, he took a deep breath and, his voice slightly hoarse, said, “…Alright then.”

The chat was clearly surprised by Yan Chengfeng’s “refined and agreeable” attitude today.

[Alright?? That’s it? No roasting? You’re done?? Yan Chengfeng, you’re usually way better at trash-talking your teammates than this!]

[Hurry up and upload tonight’s replay. A King-ranked match with Little Frog + healer? It’s a mess—I laughed so hard I got dizzy.]

[Even though it’s super entertaining, this combo is basically impossible to pull off. TT Even as a lowly Silver rank, I can tell this hero pick is just for laughs. All I can say is—don’t expect too much. The players are just relaxing in their free time. If they lose, don’t rant. Just treat it as a casual match!!]

In fact, the chat wasn’t wrong in their prediction. On the opposing side, the bottom lane was Star Lion paired with Sunflower—a combination that would completely crush them in the laning phase.

When the game officially began, seeing the little frog next to him on screen sticking out its tongue and clearing minion waves, Yan Chengfeng felt like his head was about to split open. Still, he could only accept his fate and heal Zhen Ning.

To ensure they matched into higher-level games, they weren’t using side accounts but their main ones, meaning they were playing in King-ranked matches. The random teammates in these games were solid players, and with the poor synergy between their heroes, it didn’t take long for Yan Chengfeng and Zhen Ning to fall into a disadvantage.

The opposing Star Lion took full advantage of their lead and played aggressively. Their support also landed their hooks perfectly, nearly catching Zhen Ning while he was clearing minions.

Fortunately, Yan Chengfeng reacted quickly with healing, and Zhen Ning’s fast reflexes allowed him to use Cleanse[mfn]Cleanse is a special ability that removes effects that stop or slow a character, letting them move freely again.[/mfn] just in time and activate his ultimate to dash under the tower, barely surviving with a shred of HP.

This match was definitely going to be one where they were pressured the entire time.

Yan Chengfeng exhaled and took the initiative to speak. “It’s fine. Just focus on farming for now. In the late game, I’ll roam more and place wards. Honestly, if we play for the late game, we still have a good chance of winning.”

Zhen Ning responded, “Okay.”

In any game, there was no such thing as a guaranteed win, and since this was just a regular ranked match, both of them remained calm.

However, the next second, a series of public messages suddenly appeared in the in-game chat.

They were from the opposing bottom lane—Star Lion.

[I won’t change my username unless ZC wins the championship in America this year]: “Is this KYM’s new bot lane duo? This is it?”

[I won’t change my username unless ZC wins the championship in America this year]: “They’ve been hyped up so much online, but they’re so pathetic it makes me want to laugh. As expected, an omega playing AD is a joke. He’s so cowardly and afraid of dying~”

[I won’t change my username unless ZC wins the championship in America this year]: “Oh my, why isn’t our Head Chef-gege saying anything? It’s such a simple healer—how is it that after three years, you still don’t know how to play it? Are you planning to get outplayed by the American support at Worlds again this year?”

The air went still for a moment—

[I won’t change my username unless ZC wins the championship in America this year]: “No matter how many ADs you change, you’re still garbage. Grilled Corn, maybe try winning a championship in your next life. Hehe.”


Author’s note:
I’m sure you can already guess some of the upcoming events, like a temporary mark, why Xiao Ning left back then, the internal struggles of Straight Alpha Kitchen, and so on…

Once again, thank you to everyone who has supported this story so far! Bows

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