TCWSITD – Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Late-Night Skewers

Lin Jiang pulled up the replay, hit pause, and showed him his own screen. “See here? Look—right here. Notice your Flash pattern?”

Song Zhixu almost always Flashed upward instinctively. Because of his height, his natural viewing angle leaned slightly upward—his brain simply assumed that direction was safer.

“You’re not controlling your instinctive reactions—or, to put it bluntly, you lack self-discipline. Your playstyle is way too predictable. I can read you at a glance.”

“Honestly, you’re still not even passing in my eyes.”

From Lin Jiang’s perspective, every move followed a pattern.

Song Zhixu’s deaths were anything but undeserved.

“Laning is a psychological game. You know what cards he holds, and he knows what cards you hold. The real battle? Guessing how the other plans to play their hand.”

Lin Jiang spun Song Zhixu’s chair to face his desk, so he could clearly see the mental strategy behind every move he made.

Prediction. Calculation. Setup. Precise execution.

Each step tightly woven, slowly closing in like a hunter stalking its prey.

“Guess right, you win. Guess wrong, he wins.”

“Sure, you can treat your jungler as your hidden ace—but remember, your opponent has one too. And their hand might just be better than yours.”

“Besides, you know it yourself—A’Deng’s not exactly a strong ace. Which means the only person you can count on… is you.”

Lin Jiang turned Song Zhixu’s chair to face him directly and said, “Top lane is a solo lane. Your first job is to win your lane. Only then do you earn the right to care about the rest of the map.”

These words struck Song Zhixu like a tidal wave. All this time, what he’d been taught was: “Watch out for teammates, help when you can, save your Teleport to support the team.”

Even when they lost games, the coach would comfort him by saying, “It’s alright. You may have lost lane, but your map support was better. It’s not on you.”

As if just barely holding lane and showing up to team fights on time, was already the best he could do.

But Lin Jiang told him—that’s not enough.

Your first job is to win your lane. Only then do you earn the right to care about the rest of the map.

Song Zhixu’s pupils trembled. Before he could fully process these words, Lin Jiang had already queued up another match. “Again.”

That day, Song Zhixu played 12 games of Renekton, and 3 of Ornn, while Lin Jiang countered him with nearly ten different top-lane champions.

Over and over, he fell.

Over and over, he got back up.

Each match was a mental game, a battle of predictions—trying to anticipate every move.

And somewhere in that repetition, he finally understood what he wanted.

He didn’t just want to survive.

He wanted to dominate his lane, and let his strength ripple outward—

Just like Lin Jiang always did.

By the end, Song Zhixu had spiraled into a self-proving frenzy until Lin Jiang finally called a halt. “Alright, that’s enough for today. If you push too hard, it’ll dull your instincts.”

His mind, finally allowed to relax, felt an unprecedented relief. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was already 1 AM.

A sudden realization hit him. “Captain, you’ve only eaten one cup of instant noodles today. Are you hungry? Let me treat you to some late-night snacks.”

Lin Jiang readily agreed. “Okay.”

Song Zhixu hurriedly got up to shut down the computer and pack up his things.

As they headed downstairs, they bumped into Zhou Wen, who was out running errands. Lin Jiang warmly invited him along for some late-night snacks, and Zhou Wen gladly accepted.

Song Zhixu secretly checked his account balance. Thankfully, he could still afford a round of barbecue.

The three settled in, ordering a modest amount of meat skewers to share.

As they were chatting, A’Deng came downstairs to buy something. Spotting them enjoying their late-night feast, he hurried over. “What tasty stuff are you guys having? Why didn’t you call me?”

Lin Jiang chuckled, “Song Zhixu’s treating us tonight.”

“Perfect, I’m starving! Since I ran into you, I won’t be polite!”

With his youthful appetite, A’Deng ordered a huge pile of food and even opened a few bottles of alcohol.

Song Zhixu silently calculated the price. Thankfully, the captain had just transferred him a 200-yuan red envelope earlier that day.

Midway through the meal, Zhou Wen suddenly piped up, “Hey, what about Shen Ju? Are we not inviting him for a late-night snack?”

Lin Jiang pulled out his phone. “I’ll shoot him a message now.”

Song Zhixu wanted to say that he didn’t have enough money, but he couldn’t bear the embarrassment. Instead, he tried to reassure himself, “It’s so late, he probably won’t come down.”

But less than ten minutes later, Shen Ju showed up in his white T-shirt and slippers, hair still dripping wet, looking half asleep as his footsteps softly echoed on the floor.

Song Zhixu glared at him. “Didn’t you just shower? Why come down again for late-night snacks?”

Shen Ju rolled his eyes at him. “Can’t I just go back and shower again later?”

He then sat beside Lin Jiang, eating the skewers Lin Jiang handed him and drinking the little alcohol Lin Jiang gave him, which made Song Zhixu so mad he puffed out his cheeks and glared.

The skewers at this shop were not cheap, especially the alcohol.

Song Zhixu quietly went to the front desk to calculate the price and found his balance was a bit dangerous, so he hurriedly messaged his friend.

[Song Zhixu: Bro, lend me 500-yuan, just for emergencies!]

[Friend: ?]

[Friend: Are you kidding me?]

[Friend: An LPL starting top laner can’t scrape together 500-yuan?]

[Song Zhixu: I’m broke till the end of the month. Desperate times call for desperate measures! I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my paycheck!]

Then his phone chimed. The friend had sent over 500-yuan.

Just as Song Zhixu finished thanking him, another message popped up.

[Friend: When your paycheck comes in, make sure to keep some for yourself. Your family can’t keep draining you dry.]

[Friend: Besides, you’re already 20[mfn]In raw, it says 22. I’m not sure if author forgot SZX age but at the beginning of the story, it was stated he was only 20 years old so I changed it[/mfn]. You should save some money to take care of yourself. Otherwise, how are you ever going to get a wife…]

Song Zhixu hadn’t thought about these things before, but his friend’s words stung a little.

He looked back at Lin Jiang, sitting firmly at the center of the group, and clearly realized they weren’t even in the same social class.

[Song Zhixu: Don’t worry about it. I know my place.]

He put away his phone and returned to the table with his signature smile. “What’s so funny? You guys seem to be having a great time.”

Zhou Wen roughly summed it up: “We were just talking about A’Deng’s Lee Sin. He was playing like he was literally blind. The captain had already rushed to the bot lane, and A’Deng was still wandering around the jungle like he was sightseeing.”

A’Deng was almost in tears from the teasing. He clung to Zhou Wen’s arm. “Wen-ge, Wen-ge, please! I’m begging you. Save me some face in front of the captain…”

Song Zhixu couldn’t help bursting into laughter.

Lin Jiang casually picked up two skewers and placed them on his plate without looking at him directly, his arm propped on the table, smiling faintly as he listened to the chaos.

“Good thing the captain showed up quickly, otherwise the bottom lane would’ve been totally wrecked.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

Lin Jiang chuckled lightly. “We’re playing against ZOG tomorrow. Don’t let your guard down. They’re not your average bottom-tier team. If you lose, I’ll have to punish you.”

Everyone looked up, startled. “Huh?”

A’Deng cautiously asked, “Punish with a fine?”

Song Zhixu reflexively clutched his pocket.

But Lin Jiang only grinned. “Nope. No fines. You’ll just have to wash the entire team’s socks.”

“Wow, Captain, that’s evil!”

“No way, no way—just the thought of it makes me want to puke. Ugh—”

“Damn it, no one better steal tomorrow’s MVP from me!”

After eating and drinking their fill, Song Zhixu went to settle the bill. The owner checked the order and told him, “It’s already been paid.”

“By who?”

The owner grinned and pointed at Lin Jiang’s retreating figure. “That one in the white shirt in the middle. Your captain, right? So handsome…”

Song Zhixu almost said, Of course our captain’s handsome, but something struck him mid-thought. He stared at the bill in his hand, frozen in place.

He looked up at Lin Jiang’s back, his footsteps suddenly heavy, as if weighed down by lead.

Lin Jiang, who was walking in front, turned his head. The wind tousled his hair slightly, and his cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. When he smiled, he looked more dazzling than the peach blossoms in March. “Song Zhixu, why are you dragging your feet?”

“Coming.”

Song Zhixu hurried to catch up.

But why—

This road wasn’t long. He’d walked it countless times.

Yet tonight, every step made him feel closer to tears.

Back in his room, Song Zhixu lay down but couldn’t fall asleep no matter what.

He pulled out his phone, opened Lin Jiang’s WeChat, and typed out a long message of thanks before hitting send.

Then he placed the phone on his chest, heart uneasy, and waited anxiously for a reply.

Then—ding! His phone lit up. Song Zhixu snatched it up in a flash.

[Lin Jiang: This meal’s on me. I’ve been your captain for so long and haven’t treated you all yet. You treat me next time.]

There’d be a next time?

[Song Zhixu: Yes, yes! Captain, once I get my paycheck, I’ll treat you to dinner.]

[Lin Jiang: Sure.]

[Lin Jiang: Get some sleep now.]

Too excited to sleep, Song Zhixu tossed and turned in bed. He pulled out his Weibo and posted.

[OT_metoo: 70.]

Lin Jiang had played 70 solo matches with him. Starting today, he’d record every single one as part of his future training log!

Comments flooded in—

[70kg? How’d you get so fat?]

[You only have 70-yuan left this month? My son, how are you this broke?]

[This idiot’s losing sleep and posting nonsense.]

[??? Song Zhixu, do you even realize what you’re doing? Other players post highlights, and you’re here posting nonsense?]

[Wait, this is a Song Zhixu post? Ah, makes sense now.]

Song Zhixu couldn’t be bothered with them. Lying back with his head on his arm, he grew happier the more he thought about it. “Shen Ju, why do you think the captain paid for me? Why’s he always so good to me?”

No one replied for a long while. He stuck his head out and looked around.

“Huh? Where did Shen Ju go?”

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