Lin Jing wasn't sure if she'd read too many novels and imagined a cheesy plot.
The male lead hadn't immediately understood what the female lead meant by a pet boarding service. After she explained, he realized she wanted to pick up their dog. So, he stayed up late and deliberately woke up early, only to find he was still a step behind the female lead. Not wanting her to know he'd tried to beat her to it, and aiming to save her a trip, he'd casually fabricated an excuse about getting breakfast.
Lin Jing got quite invested in her imagined scenario, but as she thought it through, something felt off.
It wasn't until she finished her sandwich that she belatedly realized her imagined plot had a generational mismatch.
A while later, she also considered that even if she weren't a "mom fan," if they were in a novel and he was the male protagonist, she could at most be his best friend.
Thinking about the two girls who had been staring at Sheng Kuang through the glass when she bought breakfast, Lin Jing couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for them.
Finally, she'd run into a handsome guy on the street, only for him to not be interested in her gender at all.
Lin Jing shook her head and let out a slow "tsk," tossing the sandwich bag into the trash. As she turned to go upstairs, the doorbell rang.
Assuming it was a delivery, she didn't check the monitor and went to open the door.
No one was there. She looked up and froze.
Four men stood before her. Three of them looked about her age, or perhaps a year or two older, and their faces seemed vaguely familiar, like she'd seen them somewhere before.
The four men, too, probably hadn't expected a young girl to open the door, and they stared at her, unmoving.
Seeing that no one spoke, Lin Jing cleared her throat. "Um, are you guys…?"
One of the guys was the first to snap back to reality. "Damn, did we come to the wrong place?"
"No, the house number matches."
"Then what's going on? Is there another identical house number in this neighborhood?"
"I'll make a call."
The other guys started speaking one after another, but none of their words were directed at her.
The one who said he'd make a call looked to be in his mid-twenties at least. After speaking, he indeed made a call. "Hello, Brother Lan? We're here, but it seems we've come to the wrong place... Huh? You can hear me? I didn't come to the wrong place, so why is a young lady opening the door?"
The elevator door behind them opened, and Lan Bowen walked out. He took his phone away from his ear, pressed the hang-up button, and said, "Come in."
Lin Jing knew Lan Bowen lived at Sheng Kuang's place. Lan Bowen had learned from Chen Jing the previous night that a young woman lived on the third floor, and they just hadn't had a chance to meet yet.
Hearing him say that, Lin Jing stepped aside from the doorway.
The guys entered the villa one after another and, hosted by Lan Bowen, sat in a circle around the sofa.
The dog, listlessly confined in Sheng Kuang's cage, perked up at the sudden influx of people and started pacing around the cage.
Seeing that they seemed to have something to discuss, Lin Jing discreetly planned to go upstairs. She'd only taken a few steps when she heard someone whisper, "Brother Lan, are you guys allowed to have girlfriends stay over?"
"..."
Girlfriend? Were they referring to her?
Lin Jing glanced back.
She didn't know who asked the question, but it was certainly a gossipy one. The entire group turned to look at her because of it.
Their gazes met, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
After about ten seconds of silence, Lan Bowen greeted Lin Jing. "Hello, I'm Lan Bowen."
The other four, seeing Lan Bowen introduce himself, followed suit.
The one who looked to be in his mid-twenties spoke first. "Hello, I'm Jiang Xin."
"Hello, I'm Li Xiaozhou."
"Hello, I'm He Wang."
"Hello, I'm Qin Yu."
Lin Jing looked at the four men introducing themselves after Lan Bowen with a complex expression. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "Lin Jing."
Seeing them still staring at her, she thought she hadn't greeted them properly and added, "Hello."
She paused, then added, "And I'm single, not anyone's girlfriend."
The men who had been about to speak suddenly fell silent.
In the quiet, Lin Jing suddenly realized she seemed to have seen these people somewhere before, and she thought she'd heard their names before too. She blinked and suddenly remembered, "I know."
Everyone simultaneously wondered what she knew.
Before anyone could speak,
Lin Jing addressed them one by one, from Li Xiaozhou to He Wang, then Qin Yu: "A Sagittarius with a 0-11-7 score? A jungler who always gifts the enemy Red Buff? And a mid-laner nicknamed the 'ATM of the mid lane' by netizens?"
The men, who had been about to speak again, retracted their words and grew even more silent.
In the ensuing silence, Lin Jing couldn't help but blurt out, "So, you guys are the yLs team that barely made it into the KPL from the qualifiers last year, then lost thirteen games in a row in the spring season and got knocked back into the qualifiers?"