Around seven minutes into the match, Xiao Yingyue finally glanced at her KDA , more out of habit than concern.
Her fingers paused.
2 / 0 / 10.
She blinked once. Then twice.
"…Huh."
She hadn't even noticed when she'd stacked that many assists.
The game had flowed smoothly, almost suspiciously so. No frantic pings, no teammates running around like headless chickens, no desperate cries of "help mid" followed by immediate deaths.
Instinctively, her eyes drifted to Shiranui's stats.
Mildly Competent: 1 / 0 / 11.
Her jaw nearly dropped.
"…That's illegal."
She stared at the numbers like they might rearrange themselves if she waited long enough. Like it might correct themselves into something more believable, like 1 /6/3.
That would've made sense. That would've aligned with her expectations.
This was not the same Mildly Competent who had fed like it was a charitable act last game.
This Shiranui hadn't died once. Not only that, eleven assists. Clean rotations. Proper positioning.
Has someone else taken over the account?
She straightened in her chair. "Okay. Interesting."
She lingered near the mid lane bush, Tamamonomae idling with deceptive calm.
Xiao Yingyue didn't push the wave. She didn't show herself.
Shiranui came to clear the wave, she'd welcome her personally.
Ten seconds passed.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Just as she was about to assume Shiranui had smelled the trap, the familiar silhouette glided into lane, fans spinning gracefully, steps light and confident as she approached the minion wave.
Shiranui glided into lane, fans spinning gracefully as she approached the minions.
Xiao Yingyue's eyes sharpened.
Most players would panic here. They'd slam Tamamonomae's ultimate immediately, big damage, big warning sign, huge glowing circle screaming run now. Sloppy. Predictable. The moment that targeting indicator appeared, Shiranui would retreat, dash, or flash away.
Xiao Yingyue was better than that.
Her fingers moved with quiet precision.
Second skill.
A narrow line of energy snapped forward.q
Shiranui froze mid-step.
"Got you."
There was no hesitation.
Xiao Yingyue dropped Tamamonomae's ultimate, not directly on Shiranui, but slightly ahead of her, right along the instinctive escape route.
Because everyone ran toward the tower.
Everyone.
And just as predicted, the moment the stun wore off, Shiranui stepped forward, straight into the glowing sigil.
Boom.
The explosion landed cleanly.
The explosion landed perfectly, HP chunking away in one brutal flash.
Ultimate reset. Tamamonomae's ultimate reset every time it hits an enemy.
Before Shiranui could even react, a second sigil bloomed beneath her feet.
[You have slain an enemy]
Carry, if fate allows: [Shiranui, please always check the bushes.]
Mildly Competent: [???]
Youku: [Are you two perhaps a couple who's in a lover's quarrel?]
Kaguya: [I played with them in the last match. All they did was quarrel.
Xiao Yingyue snorted softly. "As if."
By twelve minutes, the enemy team was hanging on by sheer stubbornness.
Each lane was reduced to a single turret, their jungle swallowed by darkness, vision completely suffocated. Every objective belonged to Xiao Yingyue's team. Every fight started and ended on their terms.
She rotated lazily now, confidence settling into her bones. Victory was inevitable. She was already mentally reviewing the MVP screen.
It would be impossible if she won't get MVP with her 9/0/17 KDA.
That was when it happened.
A fan sliced through the air.
Her screen slowed, violently.
"What—"
Shiranui emerged from the bush like a ghost, her first skill landing cleanly, a crushing forty percent slow locking Xiao Yingyue in place.
Before she could reposition, Shiranui teleported to the fan's location, her second skill chaining immediately.
"Wait, wait—"
Too late.
Butterflies burst onto the screen. Shiranui's ultimate triggered, chaining her mobility flawlessly.
Xiao Yingyue watched helplessly as Tamamonomae's HP evaporated.
[You have been slain]
The screen faded to gray.
Xiao Yingyue stared at it in stunned silence.
Then the chat popped up.
Mildly Competent: [Tamamonomae, please check the bush next time]
Her eyes twitched.
Somewhere in her imagination, the last frayed strand of her patience snapped clean in half.
Carry, if fate allows: [You better watch every bush you see.]
Before she could even respawn, the victory banner flashed across the screen.
Her teammates had already demolished the enemy base without her.
She leaned back in her chair and sighed.
"…What a waste."
She was the MVP again, but this time, it's not a losing MVP.
She hovered over Mildly Competent's profile for a moment, thumb hesitating. Then, almost against her better judgment, she sent a friend request.
[We are friends now! You can add a remark to my name to contact me more easily.]
"…Whatever," she muttered, pretending it meant nothing.
By the time she logged off, it was already 10 p.m.
It was already 10 pm when she finished playing.
Her phone buzzed violently.
Once. Twice. Then nonstop.
Two hundred messages.
All from the WeChat group: "Gathering of Bigshots."
She scrolled.
On a light rainy day: [Where is Yueliang? I haven't heard from her yesterday and today.]
Distant Snow: [She's done with your bullshit.]
On a light rainy day: [Yaoyao, I miss you. I haven't heard from you for a week.][uglysobbing.gif]
Distant Snow: [I don't.]
Fang: [xswl]
Distant Snow: [@The Moon beibei, are you free? Want to play?]
The Moon: [Okay, let me just open my computer again.]
Distant Snow: [Isn't it easier to play on your phone?]
The Moon: [Deleted it.]
Distant Snow: [What happened?]
The Moon: [Unlucky. I lost 4 games in a row, then I won, then lost another 4 games.]
Distant Snow: [. . .] [baffled]