Jian Rong rarely played support for other people.
One reason was because he felt like it was too oppressive playing support, and he couldn't get any kills. The second reason was that he didn't have good luck, and most of the ADCs he encountered in solo queue could infuriate him to the point that he had to pace ten circles around the room while throwing punches at the air.
The last time he had played support, it had been for that weirdo couple, and the ADC hadn't received a single heal from him starting mid game.
The time before that, Jian Rong had played a damage dealer support, and the ADC hadn't gotten a single kill.
The time before that…
In summary, his livestream's water friends weren't wrong. The people who were his ADCs never ended up well.
With a "spectator.jpg" attitude, the water friends posted in "SoftBar": [What is the little dumbass thinking, it's not like this is our territory. If he screws over Road, Dad can't out-flame those fans.]
Then, with their very own eyes, they saw Jian Rong take out Lulu, a short, adorable little sorceress sister.
Of this champion's four skills, three were used to protect teammates, and the last one was also a slow. All her dialogue consisted of lines like "trans~mog~ulate," "delightify~," and "zippy."
They had watched Jian Rong play the game for two years, but they had never once seen him use this thing before.
Lu Boyuan was playing Kalista, a champion who was always on the move.
The fans watched him skillfully move about, throwing spears and getting kills, and they filled the barrage with all sorts of glowing praises.
"My ADC is so-so." Lu Boyuan said indifferently, "This is a relatively low division, so it's passable."
[Passable? Husband, aren't you on a massacre right now?]
[God Lu is still low-key. If this was that Lulu next to him, he would already be asking "who can stop your dad" by now]
[So God Lu, are you retiring or not ah, can you give a clear answer… I've been worrying about it for so many days now, I'm really super sad QAQ]
[Dumbass bluenette buying support items that shield allies… end of Grandpa's youth.]
[Injured his brain drinking, suggest seeing a doctor promptly, hope everything is fine.]
Lu Boyuan glanced at the barrage and answered the fans directly for the first time, "I won't be retiring this year."
The barrage instantly exploded; the comments were packed densely together, and it was hard to clearly make out a single one.
That Peach Jam was playing the Lady of Luminosity, Lux.
She hadn't really quieted down after entering the game and continued to constantly spam the chat. Ever since she found out that she had matched into a game with Road, she acted as if she were playing on social media rather than playing a game.
Jian Rong watched her send out message after message. At the beginning, she was still using "God Lu," but now it had become "Lu."
He exhaled and pressed his lips together tightly as he purchased items.
The seventh time Peach Jam came to the bot lane, Lu Boyuan finally responded to her once.
[TTC ་ Road: No need to come to bot.]
[Love To Eat Peach Jam: Oh T.T]
After they cleared the bot lane, they went to the mid lane together to team fight.
[Love To Eat Peach Jam: Lu~ you can have the blue buff, I don't need it~]
[TTC ་ Road: Thanks]
Jian Rong expressionlessly turned around and started running towards the bottom jungle, intending to place a ward to provide vision.
"Lulu." Lu Boyuan suddenly called out to him. "Come here."
Jian Rong froze, swiveled around, and caught up with him.
Lu Boyuan attacked the blue buff down to low health before he said, "Take it."
Jian Rong's hands worked faster than his brain, and he took the blue buff with one hit.
Peach Jam cautiously typed out a "?" in the chat.
The barrage was also full of "?".
[Why give support Lulu the blue buff?]
[God Lu, you've got it all wrong. Peach Jam is the girl, this Lulu is that dumbass son of mine.]
[I've seen a pair of sweethearts use this maneuver before. And then I was so disgusted by them in that game that I ended up AFKing.]
Lu Boyuan said, "Let's go to the top lane and get kills."
Jian Rong collected his thoughts and obediently followed after him, Lulu's little sorceress character bobbing up and down as she walked. Jian Rong kept feeling as if this champion was much nicer to look at now than before.
They won that game without much difficulty. Lu Boyuan left the postgame lobby and was about to start a new match when a few messages from an in-game friend suddenly popped up.
[PUD, XIU: That very well-behaved kid you were talking about, I know who it is now. Is it that one who just came of age not long ago?]
[PUD, XIU: Has the kid already moved in with you? How are you all getting along?]
There wasn't anything particularly wrong with those statements from an insider's point of view.
But to the crowd of observers, each and every word equalled a bone to pick—
[What's going on? Husband, you're dating?!]
[Oh damn, just came of age? Worse than a beast!]
[Above, are you crazy, Road's only 23 this year, is there something wrong with dating an 18 year old?]
[Who the hell is this lucky to be able to sleep with Lu Boyuan right after coming of age???]
[So it turns out you like the obedient ones TAT]
[No, forget the rest, it's normal for professional players to date. But… can girlfriends move into the base? Will this not fucking affect practice? Not affect the other members? Oh, I forgot that your God Lu is #1 in the LPL, the other players probably wouldn't dare to say anything even if they got mad.]
[Anti, is something the matter? TTC's base is so huge, how will one extra person living there affect anyone?]
[Even though I also think it isn't right to let a girlfriend move into the base, you're right about one thing. Right now Road is indeed #1 in the LPL.]
Jian Rong was also stunned.
Road had a girlfriend?
And she was going to move into the base? Then… wouldn't she be living in the room opposite his own?
And also, didn't they say that outsiders weren't allowed to stay overnight at the base?
Jian Rong's mood became inexplicably irritated. He raked a hand through his hair, thinking that it definitely must be because that Peach Jam was too noisy just then.
"Not dating." That line suddenly came through his headphones.
Lu Boyuan suspected that XIU knew he was streaming and was purposefully stirring things up. He closed the chat and dragged the game interface to the side to read the barrage.
Then the barrage scrolled by even faster.
Lu Boyuan lowered his gaze. "Spam a little slower, I can't read them clearly.
"I'm not #1, there is no #1 in the competitive arena.
"Outsiders aren't allowed to stay overnight at the base.
"Will I retire next year… I'll talk about next year's matters next year."
Jian Rong propped up his elbow, blocking the space between him and Xiao Bai.
After that, he lowered his head and very carefully pressed the "+1" after a "who's the very well-behaved kid who's the very well-behaved kid!!" comment.
"Who's the very well-behaved kid…" Lu Boyuan answered very naturally, "Our team's new mid laner."
The audience: "?"
The other three people in the practice room: "?"
Jian Rong: "?"
The barrage erupted once again, and Jian Rong felt like it was extremely laggy even on his phone.
Everyone knew that TTC was going to switch mid laners for sure this season, but there hadn't been any news about it up until now.
Even though Lu Boyuan hadn't revealed any information from what he said, it was still enough to stir up the fans.
Someone tapped his shoulder, and Jian Rong subconsciously covered his phone screen with his hand before turning his head, calming his heartbeat.
Xiao Bai lowered his voice and questioned, bewildered, "I wasn't listening closely just now. The well-behaved kid or whatever that my ge was talking about… is that you?"
Jian Rong was silent for a few seconds before he asked, "Has the team recruited any other new mid laners? My substitute or something?"
Xiao Bai: "No."
Jian Rong let out an "oh" and nodded assuredly. "Then it's me."
Xiao Bai: "…"
—
That night, Ding-ge knocked on Jian Rong's door and let him know that TTC's Weibo would be issuing the official announcement tomorrow.
"Originally we wanted to announce it a few days from now," Ding-ge said. "Unexpectedly, Road mentioned it today in the livestream, and it went straight onto the hot search. It'll be wasted if we don't use it, so we might as well strike while the iron is hot."
Jian Rong gave an "en" and asked, "Do I need to do anything?"
"No, when the time comes just repost the club's Weibo and that'll be good. I've already let them know, and the Weibo verification will show up on your account tomorrow. You'll have to change your Weibo username too… those are all trivial matters." Ding-ge paused. "But there is one thing I have to emphasize to you again… from now on, you'll officially be a professional player, and you have to keep that in mind before saying or doing anything. Do your best not to make any mistakes in a public space or on social media. This is for your sake too."
Jian Rong pressed his lips together and nodded. "I know, I'm aware of the consequences."
Seeing his earnest, meek appearance, Ding-ge was very satisfied, and he patted his shoulder with the air of an elder. "Don't be nervous, I believe you."
Jian Rong wasn't nervous.
He was able to calmly play games and chat in front of several hundred thousand people, so what was there to be nervous about when posting a statement about joining a team.
The only thing was, now that Ding-ge mentioned it, it actually reminded him of his main account that he had long forgotten about.
Knowing that there would be staff members accessing his Weibo from now on, Jian Rong logged into his abandoned main account and swiftly canceled his special follow for Lu Boyuan. He then went to read the innumerable comments and reposts.
While moving around, he accidentally glimpsed the number one topic on the hot search—#TTC's Well-Behaved Kid Mid Laner#
"…"
Jian Rong looked away, ears red, and felt a little guilty for some reason.
It had been too long since he last logged into Weibo, and the comments underneath his post about stopping streaming already numbered over ten thousand.
Among the newest comments, there were some saying that they missed him, and there were also some who found their way over from Kan's matchfixing announcement to curse him out. Both sides had begun fighting once more, and they had energetically built up a three hundred story tower.
He finally knew where all those comments came from.
The top comment was still from that crappy fanclub.
[Soft's Only Fanclub 2: Dumb son, Dad misses you]
Jian Rong started typing.
[Soft: Not close, don't miss me]
Only a few seconds after he responded, a dozen or so new replies instantly jumped out—
[You still have the fucking nerve to show up? After being forced to stop streaming, you don't even know to come on here and chat with your dad. What's this unfilial son up to every day? Starved to death yet?]
[Soft: Getting by better than you]
[If you don't have any money, you should find a second job and go be an accompanying player. Dad will buy a thousand hours from you, want you to play support for me]
[Soft: If you swear a blood oath that you won't leave any bad reviews, sure]
[Little dumbass, can your brain be a little more clever? If you're forced to stop streaming, just go freeload off of someone else's livestream ah.]
[Soft: Are you telling me how to do my job?]
Jian Rong was answering casually, but when he lowered his eyes and saw the next comment, his smile immediately froze.
The comment was replying to someone from the argument tower. It wasn't clear what the person that it was answering had said, but this commenter opened up right away with a mini essay:
[Tongtong1234: Got it, your son's a Road fan. It's not strange, the fans reflect the person, after all. The only thing Road knows how to do is act pretentious anyway. On the surface, he doesn't fight over anything, but in private, he directs his crowd of moronic fans to implicate other players and also attack other teams. I bet that TTC not only matchfixes, but also buys their way into the top 4, or else how can they place in the top 4 year after year? All I'm saying is that even though Road's already this garbage, he can still enter the semifinals… just how long is he going to keep clinging on before he's finally willing to retire and give the esports circle some peace and quiet?]
Jian Rong sneered coldly.
[Soft: From what I can see, you're even stranger. In private, you're a dumbass, and on the surface, you're even more of a dumbass. Just how long will it take before a dumbass like you is finally willing to be banned and give the internet some peace and quiet? If you're a pathological liar, then hurry up and go get treatment, don't come under my Weibo and have an episode.]
[Tongtong1234: You fucker]
[Soft: How come you're still not getting lost? Do I have to go get my stick? Did you not see the sign hanging on my Weibo: Tongtong1234 and dogs are not allowed to enter?]
…
The next day, at two in the afternoon. Due to an extreme boredom from the lack of competitions, a portion of esports fans were getting ready to surf Weibo in search of a brawl when they unexpectedly refreshed and found two new Weibo posts—
[TTC Esports Club: Welcome new member @TTC ་ Soft to TTC's LoL division.
Soft is a strong and powerful new pro player with unlimited potential. He will be challenging next year's spring season with us as the team's starting mid laner.
We trust that Soft's addition to the team will bring even more energy and probability. Everyone, please look forward to it! [cute]]
[League of Legends Esports: [Article: The penalty announcement concerning the inappropriate statements made by TTC's Jian Rong (ID: TTC ་ Soft) on Weibo]]