The Spring Split arrived as scheduled. Back, as TLG’s starting jungler, secured the MVP title in the first match and even had the opportunity for a post-game interview.
For a newcomer, this was an incredibly high level of exposure.
Jiang Lele was worried that Yu Hui wouldn’t know where the interview room was, so he led him there.
Before Yu Hui entered, Jiang Lele clenched his fist and made a cheering gesture. “Back, don’t be nervous! I’ll be waiting for you outside!”
Ever since the last time he cried, the two had been practically inseparable—
They duo-queued together, sat next to each other at meals, and even shared food. If Yu Hui hadn’t refused, Jiang Lele would’ve followed him to the restroom too. Their closeness was undeniable.
Jiang Lele’s influence was evident—Yu Hui was no longer as withdrawn as before. Not only did he start talking to Xie Xu, but he could even chat a bit with Zhao Jiu.
However, his attitude toward their team’s marksman, An, remained indifferent.
Jiang Lele didn’t care. He didn’t like An either.
Before Yu Hui entered the interview room, he caught a glimpse of Jiang Lele standing right outside. Seeing him look over, Jiang Lele beamed and waved enthusiastically, so much so that he almost bumped into a nearby staff member, quickly apologizing several times in embarrassment.
Yu Hui glanced at him a few times, then withdrew his gaze and walked into the interview room.
The interviewer’s last name was Fang. After a few dull questions, the interviewer suddenly smiled and asked, “Which teammate are you most grateful for?”
Yu Hui, already a bit impatient, glanced at the transparent glass wall of the interview room and then gave a name: “Jiang Lele.”
After the interview, the TLG team returned to their base and gathered in the meeting room, waiting for Yuan Yang to review today’s match with them.
But when Yuan Yang entered, he gestured for Yu Hui to step outside. “Back, come with me for a second.”
Yu Hui followed him out. Seeing Yuan Yang’s furrowed brows, his heart sank slightly.
Earlier, after the match and on the way back to the base, Yuan Yang had seemed in a good mood. But now, his expression was completely different — filled with worry.
“I didn’t expect such a strong reaction online to one of your interview answers,” Yuan Yang sighed, turning his tablet screen toward Yu Hui. “Take a look for yourself.”
[Is this new TLG jungler brain-dead? Who pulled him out of obscurity? And yet the teammate he’s most grateful for is that utterly unremarkable mid-laner?]
[Even if he’d said the coach, I wouldn’t be this annoyed.]
[Word is, if Xu hadn’t personally stepped in and negotiated with Back’s former team, who knows how long he would’ve been stuck suffering there!]
[TLG’s management originally planned to spend big on a new jungler. Since both the mid-laner and AD were underperforming, Xu was the one who insisted Back was good enough and pushed for him to be the starter.]
[Yeah, I heard that too. And this ungrateful brat says he’s most thankful for Lele?]
[The moment he achieves something, he gets cocky. Disgusting!]
After reading the comments, Yu Hui remained silent.
He hadn’t given the question that much thought when he answered it.
Yuan Yang had expected Yu Hui to defend himself or at least show some loyalty. But instead, he just stood there, silent, his head slightly lowered but his back straight, not looking guilty at all.
He looked stubborn.
Seeing this, Yuan Yang turned off the tablet and, unable to hold back a chuckle, said, “Why are you so tense? Your answer wasn’t wrong. It’s just that too many people have their eyes on TLG right now. Some will always seize any small detail to twist and attack.”
Yuan Yang knew what kind of person Back was. He wasn’t talkative, but he was a sincere kid. Not someone who understood the nuances of media interviews.
“That interviewer was problematic too. Before asking that question, he guided you into talking about Lele for a long time, it was intentional.” Yuan Yang’s expression turned serious. “I’m not scolding you. I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Ignore this kind of thing. It’ll blow over in a few days. Just focus on preparing for your next match.”
Yu Hui’s tense posture gradually relaxed. He hummed in acknowledgment.
The match review ended late, and Yuan Yang waved everyone off, telling them to get some rest.
The day had been exhausting. Traveling, competing, and everything in between.
Xie Xu grabbed his jacket off the chair and headed for the training room.
Yuan Yang couldn’t help but call out, “Are you overworking yourself? Don’t hurt your hands.”
Xie Xu put on his jacket. “It’s fine. Just playing a few games for fun. I’m using a simple support.”
With that, he left.
He had an appointment.
Yuan Yang watched him go and muttered, “If you have time for fun, why don’t you help me with some team psychological coaching?”
Jiang Lele had a carefree attitude but wasn’t mentally strong. He was easily affected by outside noise. And Back was just a quiet introvert. Only Jiang Lele could reach him.
As their coach, Yuan Yang genuinely wasn’t sure how to handle it.
But no matter how many times he called out, the only response he got was the sound of the training room door closing.
Left frustrated, he could only glare at the door before heading downstairs.
Jiang Lele assumed Yu Hui would head to the training room like usual, but instead, Yu Hui took one look at the closed training room door and turned to go upstairs.
Without hesitation, Jiang Lele followed, whispering, “Back, I have to tell you: our captain’s been acting weird lately. I think he’s secretly duo-queuing with someone every night, and he’s using The Cat!”
His tone was full of conspiracy. “Could he be scouting a new player for the team?”
“Damn, what if it’s a mid-laner? I performed pretty well today too!”
Yu Hui wasn’t in the mood to banter. When he reached his room, he simply said, “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”
Jiang Lele wanted to say more, but the door had already shut.
He stood there for a moment, then pursed his lips and went back to his own room.
Yu Hui wasn’t actually tired. After showering, he turned off the lights and lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
He had searched online earlier. Besides what Yuan Yang showed him, people were also speculating about his close relationship with Jiang Lele—
Some were saying they were trying to imitate TLG’s former star duo.
Others went further, questioning if they were secretly dating and calling it “disgusting.”
Disgusting?
Lately, Jiang Lele had indeed been clingier. He called him “Back baby” and claimed Back was his “personal jungler.” He was always affectionate, even during livestreams — linking arms, acting coy, completely unfiltered.
As Yu Hui was lost in thought, he suddenly heard soft scratching at his door, like a cat pawing at it.
He hesitated, saying nothing.
Then came more scratching, followed by Jiang Lele’s exaggerated whisper, “Back, are you asleep?”
“Back Back Back~~”
Judging by the low position of the voice, Jiang Lele was probably crouching outside.
Yu Hui could picture him in his pajamas, curled up at the door, sneaky and cautious.
Jiang Lele called out several times. When no one responded, he peered through the door crack, trying to see inside.
Then— “click”.
The door opened.
Jiang Lele almost tumbled in.
Yu Hui had opened the door but didn’t turn on the lights. He simply went back to his bed and lay down.
Like the dead.
Jiang Lele saw a shadow on the bed in his peripheral vision, so he climbed onto the bed too.
Sitting beside Yu Hui, he nudged his shoulder. “Are you upset?”
Yu Hui looked up at him in the darkness. “Why would I be?”
“Because of those comments online!” Jiang Lele bit his lip. “Don’t be sad, Back. If you want to cry, my shoulder is here.”
Yu Hui: “…”
He turned away.
Jiang Lele, misinterpreting the silence, patted his back. “It’s okay, Back. Crying isn’t shameful. I get flamed all the time, and I’m still fine.”
“Besides, it was totally that dumbass host’s fault. He guided you into talking about me for so long, then followed it up with that question. Of course you instinctively answered with my name. He totally set you up! And it was a livestream, too— you couldn’t even take it back.”
“I looked into it—turns out that host has beef with TLG. He—”
Before he could finish, Yu Hui cut him off, “I didn’t plan to take it back. And I wasn’t wrong.”
His voice carried that typical teenage stubbornness, and also sincerity.
He owed Xie Xu for giving him a chance, and he was determined to play well and win, to prove Xie Xu’s judgment was right.
But Jiang Lele was different.
No one else talked to him so persistently. No one else worried he might go hungry and secretly saved buns for him. No one else cried so hard after he snapped at them, yet forgave him so easily. No one else noticed when he was upset and tried to comfort him afterward.
Jiang Lele was the most special of all.
After Yu Hui said that, the person behind him went quiet for a while, and his own breathing unconsciously slowed.
The next second, he felt the bed behind him suddenly bounce.
Jiang Lele sprang up and sat upright on the bed, visibly excited. He slapped Yu Hui’s arm and grinned, “Back! Your daddy didn’t dote on you for nothing!”
Yu Hui: “…”
“Get lost.”
But Jiang Lele was too happy to care about Yu Hui’s “unfilial” words. He patted Yu Hui’s head and said, “Now that you’ve said all that, of course I can’t just sit by and do nothing.”
Yu Hui swatted his hand away. “What are you gonna do? Flame them online for me?”
It wasn’t like he didn’t know Jiang Lele was timid and terrible at arguing.
“Who are you underestimating?! I’ve been following this streamer lately and learned a bunch of trash-talking skills.” Jiang Lele grabbed his phone. “I’m going straight to that interview video right now and flaming them all one by one. Justice will be served!”
He said it with such conviction, like he really had become an expert in online warfare.
Yu Hui heard that and sat up from the bed, leaning casually against the headboard, watching with a “let’s see this” expression.
Jiang Lele wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He pulled out his phone, logged into a burner Weibo account, and muttered righteously, “Anyone who dares bully my Back is gonna cry today!”
Yu Hui’s eyes flickered when he naturally said “my Back.”
The room lights were off, the only glow coming from Jiang Lele’s phone screen. It lit up his side profile — round cheeks, soft edges. When he pouted or got whiny, his cheeks would puff up a little.
And right now, while he was rambling on, fighting for Yu Hui’s honor, they puffed up just the same.
Yu Hui reached out and poked his cheek.
Just as soft as he imagined.
Jiang Lele didn’t react, only said, “Quit messing around, you’re ruining my momentum!”
There were a lot of comments under the video, and Jiang Lele was scrolling nonstop, obviously looking for targets.
Yu Hui had been quietly watching when something suddenly hit him.
There’d been a comment before, saying the two of them were acting weird, like they were dating.
At that moment, Jiang Lele’s scrolling stopped. His mouth, which had been muttering curses, shut. His eyes went wide in shock.
Yu Hui’s heart suddenly dropped a little.
But at the same time… a tiny spark of hope.
Then, Jiang Lele turned the phone screen toward him.
“They can insult you all they want, but why are they dragging me into it too?! Saying I suck and can’t even get an MVP!”
His voice was full of grief and rage. “That’s just plain bullying!”
Yu Hui: “…”
Lele is a crybaby!!