The fourth game of yLs was a super easy win. In less than ten minutes, the opponents' outer turrets were all destroyed, their jungle was completely controlled by Sheng Kuang, and the economic gap widened rapidly.
At the fifteenth minute, both the top and bottom lanes of the opponents' high ground turrets fell, and super minions appeared.
At the eighteenth minute, Sheng Kuang took two dragons and initiated a powerful assault on the middle lane high ground turret. The enemy team was wiped out, and only Chen Jing from yLs died.
At this point, super minions were pushing on both top and bottom lanes, and the game's outcome was sealed.
"Oh oh oh, off work."
Before his teammates could destroy the enemy nexus, Chen Jing took off his headset and threw it on the table.
Less than a second later, he grabbed the headset and fumbled to put it back on: "Damn, Sheng Kuang, your fans are going crazy, my ears hurt."
Sheng Kuang ignored Chen Jing and landed the final blow on the crystal.
The entire venue erupted in cheers, and even through the headphones, he could faintly hear many people shouting.
Amidst the passionate commentary of the two casters, Chen Jing, Jiang Zui, Qin Yu, He Wang, and the others took off their headsets and began to pack their belongings.
Only Sheng Kuang remained seated in the central esports chair, his eyes downcast, staring motionlessly at the gaming rig.
Chen Jing finished packing and glanced at Sheng Kuang, who still had his headset on. He reached out and tapped Sheng Kuang's desk: "Let's go."
Sheng Kuang flicked his eyelids, said nothing, slowly took off his headset, meticulously coiled the wires, and then stuffed it and his phone into his bag before finally standing up.
Before leaving with Chen Jing, he glanced down at the audience.
There were many of his fans, and their light sticks had changed from "gdt·miracle" to "yLs·miracle," and the cheering slogans had shifted from "gdt go, miracle go" to "yLs go, miracle go."
Chen Jing saw Sheng Kuang hesitate and asked, "What's wrong now?"
Sheng Kuang retracted his gaze and walked towards the backstage with an extremely natural expression.
Four years. For four years, his ID had been gdt·miracle.
This name had brought him immense glory for two years and also brought him intense controversy for two years.
Regardless of what happened, it was all in the past. The kPL would never have an ID named gdt·miracle again.
Gdt·miracle, who once stood on the kPL's most glorious stage to accept awards, gdt·miracle, who fell from grace and became a substitute, missing kPL matches for two years – from this moment on, he had embarked on a completely new journey.
He would earn back the glory that belonged to him, point by point, with his strength. The thorns imposed on him by the outside world would be crushed under his feet, paved into a smooth road.
One day, he would make the entire world remember yLs·miracle.
The third match had nothing to do with yLs. The group returned backstage, packed their respective belongings, and headed home.
Lin Jing had come to watch the match solely for Sheng Kuang. After their game, she had no interest in the remaining two teams she knew little about and left early.
Upon arriving home, as Lin Jing went upstairs to change, Sheng Kuang and the others returned.
On the way home, Lan Bowen had ordered dinner, calculating the timing perfectly so it arrived with them.
Today's match had been smooth and the win had been easy, but a post-match review was still necessary. Winning the qualifiers was nothing; the upcoming kPL Autumn Split was their main focus.
After dinner, Lan Bowen gave them no time to slack off. He collected everyone's phones and dragged them to the training room on the lower ground floor for the review.
Lin Jing took Xiao Kugua out for a walk and to aid her digestion. When she returned, she saw it was still early and spent some time painting. Her hand and inspiration weren't great today, and after less than an hour, she stopped.
There weren't many good TV dramas to watch lately, so she browsed through various apps, eventually returning to WeChat to chat with her dorm friends. Lin Jing then opened her Moments feed.
Five minutes ago, Jiang Wan had shared some photos from an academic symposium to her Moments: "Benefited greatly."
Neither the content nor the photos in Jiang Wan's Moments captured her attention.
What truly caught her eye was the blue text indicating the location at the very bottom of the Moments post.
Beijing.
Jiang Wan had come to Beijing but hadn't told her.
Lin Jing fiddled with her phone, thought for a moment, and gave Jiang Wan's post a "like."
After liking it, she couldn't help but smile a little.
She felt her action was childish, like a child who wanted candy but refused to ask directly, instead beating around the bush by asking if the candy was sweet.
Jiang Wan hadn't contacted her, and perhaps she hadn't even seen her Moments.
Lin Jing had a jumble of thoughts. Perhaps because she really wanted that piece of candy, she finally couldn't resist and clicked into Jiang Wan's WeChat.
Xiao Jing醬: Mom, you're in Beijing?
Xiao Jing醬: I saw your location in Moments is Beijing.
Xiao Jing醬: When will you be done with your work?
There was no response from Jiang Wan.
Lin Jing called her, but no one answered.
Lin Jing held her phone and stared blankly for a while before going to take a shower.
She wasn't usually so slow in the shower, but today she took a long time. When she came out, she checked her phone and still had no missed calls or replies.
She had checked the weather forecast when she left in the morning.
Beijing was in its rainy season, with a thunderstorm expected every night.
Lin Jing thought for a moment and then opened WeChat again.
Xiao Jing醬: Mom, it rains often at night in Beijing lately. Remember to bring an umbrella if you go out.
Lin Jing suddenly woke up from her sleep.
She thought she had slept for a long time, but when she picked up her phone and checked the time, it was just past eleven.
Her chat history with Jiang Wan was still stuck on the message she had sent at 8:36 PM.
She had only slept for less than an hour. She put down her phone, intending to go back to sleep, but her eyes became more alert the longer she lay there. She got out of bed, went downstairs, poured a glass of water in the dining room, and drank it down, feeling a little better in her chest.
She didn't go back upstairs. She went to the backyard.
The yard was sunken, with many flowers and plants, and a wooden pavilion.
While she was asleep, it had indeed rained, not heavily, but the ground was a little damp.
The air was cool, and the occasional chirping of insects she couldn't name came from the grass.
Lin Jing found a spot to sit in the small pavilion, gazing at the blooming roses in the corner, wondering if Jiang Wan was asleep yet.
Suddenly, her phone on the table vibrated.
The screen lit up, casting a small bright light in the pavilion.
Lin Jing quickly grabbed her phone.
It wasn't Jiang Wan, it was an advertisement.
Lin Jing, looking disappointed, was about to put her phone down when Sheng Kuang's avatar suddenly jumped to the top of her WeChat.
miracle: Thanks.