Han Fengyan said, pulling a photograph from his pocket and handing it to Sheng Kuang.
Sheng Kuang paused for two seconds, tilting his head slightly. As soon as his gaze fell upon the photo, his face turned deathly pale.
Han Fengyan seemed quite pleased with Sheng Kuang's reaction, smiling as he tucked the photo into the pocket of his team uniform. "It's yours now. Anyway, I can print another one of these anytime—"
From the restroom, the voices of Chen Jing and Lan Bowen could be heard. The group had finished their business and were heading out.
Han Fengyan looked up and glanced inside. "I have something else to do, so I'll be going. Oh, and don't thank me for the photo."
As if terrified of running into Chen Jing and the others, Han Fengyan quickly patted Sheng Kuang's shoulder and hurried away.
The restroom door was pulled open, and Chen Jing, seeing Sheng Kuang standing at the entrance, yelped in surprise. "Holy crap, what are you doing?"
Sheng Kuang remained silent.
Lan Bowen noticed Sheng Kuang's unusual expression. "What's wrong?"
Sheng Kuang snapped back to attention, glanced at the group he was blocking from leaving the restroom, and released the door handle. "Nothing, just feeling a bit sleepy and wanted to wash my face."
Chen Jing shuffled aside, making way for Sheng Kuang.
Sheng Kuang sidestepped the group and headed straight for the sink.
Jiang Zui, the last one to exit, said to Sheng Kuang before closing the door, "Captain, we'll wait for you outside."
Sheng Kuang didn't respond, quietly scooping up a handful of cold water and splashing it on his face.
He was alone in the restroom. He washed his face several times, then braced himself on the sink, head bowed, letting the water drip into the basin.
After a long moment, he looked up at the mirror. His reflection was initially clear but gradually became blurry. He squeezed his eyes shut, waited a while, and then opened them again. The reflection in the mirror slowly returned to sharp focus.
Sheng Kuang took an unusually long time to come out. Lan Bowen couldn't help but push open the restroom door. "Sheng Kuang?"
Hearing the voice, Sheng Kuang splashed more water on his face.
Lan Bowen said, "Are you done? The match is about to start."
Sheng Kuang mumbled an inarticulate "Mm," grabbed two tissues, dried his face and hands, and stood up straight. "Let's go."
As they neared the competition stage, Sheng Kuang suddenly stopped.
Chen Jing, walking behind him, asked curiously, "What's up?"
Sheng Kuang stared straight ahead with a blank expression. After about ten seconds, he shook his head at Chen Jing. "Nothing."
Introduced by the commentators, Sheng Kuang walked onto the stage and sat in his designated seat.
Once both teams were assembled, the match began shortly after. This was the final match of this stage; the winning team would advance to the winners' bracket, while the losing team would be relegated to the losers' bracket. Any misstep in the losers' bracket would mean complete elimination from the finals.
Staying in the winners' bracket meant an extra chance to compete. Whether they were fans of yLs or gdt, everyone hoped their team would win. During the hero selection phase, the roar of the crowd threatened to bring down the roof, and the live stream's comments section was a relentless, endless barrage.
Amidst the fiercely competitive cheers from both sides' fans, the fifth game commenced.
...
Less than half an hour after the match concluded, "#yLsLost#" surged to the top of the trending hot search list.