In an instant, Yan Chengfeng felt a sense of puzzlement.
When Xiong Hao was the manager at KYM, he had regarded Zhen Ning and Yan Chengfeng as his most promising talents.
However, after Zhen Ning went to the United States and Xiong Hao was soon poached by ZC, their paths diverged, despite having once shared considerable interaction.
Meeting again now, it seemed reasonable for Xiong Hao to greet Zhen Ning.
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Zhen Ning remained silent, and Yan Chengfeng noticed the way he was looking at Xiong Hao… unusually cold.
A ZC staff member emerged from the lounge and waved to Xiong Hao. He acknowledged it and shifted his gaze away from Zhen Ning’s face.
He glanced at Yan Chengfeng, a subtle smile playing on his lips, and said, “We’ll talk later.”
Yan Chengfeng sensed something odd about the atmosphere. After a brief pause, he nodded slightly.
When he turned back, he saw Zhen Ning still standing motionless, staring after Xiong Hao’s retreating figure as if in a daze. Zhen Ning leaned one hand against the wall, his complexion noticeably paler.
Yan Chengfeng was stunned, sensing that something was off with Zhen Ning.
After a brief moment, Zhen Ning’s chest rose and fell subtly. Realizing Yan Chengfeng was watching him, he stiffened. The hand supporting him against the wall quickly dropped.
Standing upright, Zhen Ning met Yan Chengfeng’s gaze with a composed expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Caught spying, Yan Chengfeng froze. He cleared his throat. “…Nothing.”
From behind, Tao Luo urged, “Hurry up, hurry up, we’re going to be late.”
Yan Chengfeng saw Zhen Ning look away before turning around and slowly heading toward the lounge.
Suppressing the strange feeling in his chest, Yan Chengfeng followed after a brief pause.
The match was about to begin, and this encounter was merely a fleeting interlude. Everyone took their positions at the center of the arena, adjusting their equipment and focusing on the upcoming game.
“Welcome to the Spring Split of the Forest of the Full Moon. Today, we have a high-stakes match between KYM and ZC.”
The commentator announced cheerfully, “ZC’s jungle-centered strategy led by Dosage is formidable, and KYM’s starting player Neither delivered an outstanding performance in the previous match. It’s a clash of titans tonight—let’s see which side will come out on top.”
This match was one of the most anticipated of the Spring Split, as both teams were fan favorites.
Every time KYM faced ZC, whether it was in BP or strategy, Yan Chengfeng’s first impression was “cunning,” and his second was “this damn team is unbelievably tenacious.”
ZC often liked to pick lineups that could drag the game into the late stages, and even someone as energetic and spirited as Tao Luo would sometimes get frustrated by the endless grind by the end of the match.
Having faced ZC numerous times, Yan Chengfeng knew they were in for a tough battle.
As expected, ZC’s coach threw everyone for a loop during the BP phase with a jaw-dropping choice.
“ZC actually… banned three AD heroes in one go?”
The commentator was momentarily stunned. “The banned heroes are Mooncard, Star Lion, and Swift Hawk. Eh, this basically bans all the slightly stronger ADs in the current meta.”
Even Joe, who had seen his fair share of big games, was speechless.
Usually, when multiple heroes from the same role are banned, it means the players in that role have posed a significant threat. In a sense, it could be seen as recognition of Zhen Ning’s skills.
The coach of ZC must have watched the previous match between KYM and DXG and noticed Zhen Ning’s presence. However, in reality, ZC wasn’t just worried about Zhen Ning.
Zhen Ning had indeed performed well, but what they feared more was the undiscovered synergy between Zhen Ning and Yan Chengfeng. ZC’s coach and manager, Xiong Tao, had previously worked at KYM and knew exactly how capable these two were.
This ban seemed to focus solely on the AD role, but it also indirectly affected Yan Chengfeng.
After all, the support role should ideally align with the AD picks, so with Zhen Ning being restricted, Yan Chengfeng’s options also became more limited.
“I feel sick. In some ways, our top, mid, and jungler are going to have it easy this game. We can pick whatever we want,” Tao Luo said in shock. “But you two are in big trouble. Almost none of the lineups we’ve been practicing in training matches over the past couple of days can actually be used now…”
“Mianli was let through by them,” Joe said seriously. “You could consider picking her, but most of the synergies she works with have already been banned. You two—”
Zhen Ning said, “I don’t need Mianli to pair with me.”
Joe froze. “What?”
Zhen Ning didn’t reply. He simply raised his gaze and locked eyes with Yan Chengfeng. Yan Chengfeng’s breath caught.
“There are only five bans, but there are countless potential synergies.” A moment later, Yan Chengfeng suppressed his excitement and took a deep breath. “There will always be one… that they won’t see coming.”
“…It’s pretty clear that KYM is having a hard time with their BP,” the commentator said with a smile. “I heard Neither and Chef have been trying out some new compositions in ranked games recently, but they’re still not quite ready for competitive play. After all, they’re up against ZC, who’s done their homework when it comes to BP.”
The camera cut to Yan Chengfeng’s face, and in the next second, KYM locked in Mianli.
“First pick support?” Another commentator couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s actually quite rare in recent games.”
“But it’s one of Chef’s signature heroes. After ZC banned the ADs, they wouldn’t have expected Mianli to slip through. She finally gets to see the light of day, but now KYM has to figure out what to pair with her.”
“They’ll likely pick a hero that is stronger early on and can control the lane better—”
The voices of both commentators suddenly stopped.
They both stared at the image on the screen, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them. After a moment, one of the commentators couldn’t help but ask, “Is this… is this Velvet Willow?”
The other commentator hesitated a bit. “It should just be a bluff, right? They wouldn’t really pick it, would they?”
However, before the words even left his mouth, KYM immediately locked in Velvet Willow.
The crowd erupted in astonishment.
Even KYM’s fans in the livestream seemed to be on the verge of fainting.
[Have you lost your mind, Grilled Corn? We know Mianli is Yan Chengfeng’s signature pick, but could you really be so bold as to pick such a ridiculous lineup?]
[It looks like they’ve completely given up. Fried Skewers’ BP strategy is still ruthless, but if Grilled Corn’s new player hasn’t had enough practice, they really shouldn’t throw him in like this…]
[Gross. Do they really have to ruin things like this on Yan Chengfeng’s birthday? I don’t care what absurd things they pick in duo queue, but can they stop torturing the audience in actual matches?]
Although picking Mianli as the first pick was a bit strange, it was still Yan Chengfeng’s signature hero.
But now, Zhen Ning choosing Velvet Willow was just purely comedic.
Velvet Willow was a complete outcast in the current meta, and more importantly, he was a poke-type mage, yet Zhen Ning was using him in the AD position.
Mianli and Velvet Willow were both small squirrels of the same species in the game’s lore. One shyly carried a fruit basket, while the other clumsily tossed leaves. Both were equally cute and, of course, equally weak.
Just like how the siblings Sunflower and Mooncard had small easter eggs in their abilities, the designers had also added some special bonds between this pair of squirrel heroes.
When these two heroes were picked together, a willow branch would connect them within a certain range, and as their levels increased, they would gain a bonus to their movement speed.
However, for this furry duo, even with faster movement speed, it didn’t really help since their damage was so low. As netizens put it, they would go from “barely doing damage” to “barely doing damage, but faster.”
KYM’s decision could be seen as a “unique tactical strategy” if you want to be generous, but to be frank, it feels more like they’ve completely lost their minds.
The commentators clearly couldn’t keep their composure anymore. One of them cleared his throat to cover his shock. “Official statistics show that this is the first time in 785 days that Velvet Willow has made an appearance in the Forest of the Full Moon competition.”
The other commentator shook his head with a smile. “KYM… seems like they’re conducting an experiment. But judging by their expressions, they seem pretty calm. Maybe they have some rationale behind this pick.”
Yan Chengfeng stared at the screen. His face remained unchanged, but his heart was pounding in his chest.
…They really picked it.
Everyone assumed they were just experimenting, thinking KYM had been pushed into this crazy draft pick by ZC’s pressure. But Yan Chengfeng knew that this was the lineup he and Zhen Ning had once been most skilled at.
It had been three years.
Mianli and Velvet Willow had been the most synchronized combo they’d ever had, and this was a strategy Yan Chengfeng himself had developed—one that perfectly suited Mianli’s support role.
Unlike the traditional idea that “the support must protect the AD until death,” the design of Mianli and Velvet Willow was more about “mutual accomplishment.”
Mianli herself was fragile and highly dependent on the precision of her abilities. However, once she was paired with Velvet Willow, the increased movement speed effectively boosted her mobility, allowing her to deliver high-frequency crowd control and fully unleash her potential.
This unconventional combination rarely appeared on the competitive stage because the bond between these two heroes meant they had to play together in the bottom lane.
No one would ever pick Velvet Willow for the AD role in a professional match.
Back in their training days, one of the things Yan Chengfeng did most often was try every possible method to convince Zhen Ning to play Velvet Willow with him in the bottom lane during ranked games.
He would say things like, “My dear Zhen Ning,” or “I’ll treat you to tofu rice this weekend, okay?”—all kinds of cringe-worthy lines.
Zhen Ning was rational and calm in his youth.
Sometimes, when the enemy’s composition clearly wasn’t suitable for these two heroes, Zhen Ning would coldly and decisively refuse, “I’m not playing Velvet Willow again.”
However, Yan Chengfeng was shameless in his youth.
He would grab Zhen Ning’s arm and refuse to let go. “Hey, just trust me one more time. Let’s play one last match with Velvet Willow together, okay? We’re sure to win this one. If we lose points, I’ll help you climb back up, bit by bit. Please, Zhen Ning… By the way, do you want to watch a movie this weekend? Or is there a restaurant you’ve been wanting to go to?”
Zhen Ning stayed silent.
“How about this—I’ll do whatever you want this weekend, I’ll treat you to anything. Just play one more game with me.” Yan Chengfeng leaned in close to his ear and pleaded, “Just one game, please?”
Zhen Ning was someone who couldn’t be easily swayed, and Yan Chengfeng had long understood how difficult it was to change his mind.
At that moment, Yan Chengfeng was just rambling. He didn’t believe Zhen Ning was the type to enjoy movies or leisure activities. He didn’t have particularly high hopes.
But for some reason, after saying all that, Zhen Ning fell silent for a long time. In the final second before the countdown ended, he locked in Velvet Willow.
Yan Chengfeng had no idea which of his words had worked, but he later thought the most likely reason was that Zhen Ning was simply too annoyed by him to endure any longer.
But as long as Zhen Ning was willing to play Velvet Willow, his goal had already been achieved.
At that time, Yan Chengfeng was overjoyed. Of course, in return, he also dragged Zhen Ning to watch the latest movie that weekend.
Right now, Yan Chengfeng was staring at the middle of the screen, feeling an itch in his hands and throat, and an even stronger itch in his heart.
With all the heroes locked in and the game about to start, Tao Luo began telling Xu Minghe some lame jokes to lighten the mood.
As the match was about to begin, Yan Chengfeng tried to suppress his trembling breath but couldn’t help himself from asking, “…Halloween?”
It wasn’t even a complete question.
And it was already February or March, completely unrelated to Halloween, but Yan Chengfeng knew that Zhen Ning would understand exactly what he meant.
“Halloween” referred to the Halloween-themed couple skins for Mianli and Velvet Willow, part of the “Pumpkin Wonderful Night” series.
Back then, they had tried all the skins for these two heroes and ultimately found that only this moderately priced, festival-limited skin offered the best combination of skill effects and impact feel.
A moment later, he heard Zhen Ning beside him softly say, “Okay.”
Yan Chengfeng’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.
The game loading screen finished, and Yan Chengfeng remained motionless, staring at the screen. He saw two cute little squirrels with bright yellow pumpkin heads appear in the center of the screen.
The IDs above their heads were “KYM-Chef” and “KYM-Neither.”
On the real competitive stage, he and Zhen Ning were using the strategy they had once been most familiar with.
Yan Chengfeng told himself not to get too excited, but he still couldn’t suppress the intense pulse of excitement in his chest and took a deep breath.
However, in that brief moment, Yan Chengfeng’s nose caught a faint scent—
It was subtle, with a hint of sourness and an almost undetectable trace of sweetness. He paused, momentarily stunned.
He instinctively turned his head to look at the person next to him.
Zhen Ning’s face was still a bit pale, but his side profile remained calm. He was currently focused on the screen, with no sign of emotion on his face.
…Was it just an illusion? Yan Chengfeng hesitated.
The next second, the game officially began.
Yan Chengfeng furrowed his brow and sniffed again.
This time, he couldn’t detect any unusual scent in the air. It seemed like the smell he had noticed earlier was just a figment of his imagination.
After a moment’s hesitation, Yan Chengfeng finally turned back, focusing on the game again.
It must have been an illusion, he thought.
Author’s note:
Hehehehe
