GTRSH Chapter 71

He Ci had one leg already in the bathroom when he stepped back out, looking at Yu Xinche with slight confusion as if he had heard something completely new and unheard of: “What did you call me?”

“…” Yu Xinche knew he did it on purpose, not wanting to let He Ci have his way. “Never mind if you didn’t hear it.”

Seeing his expression, He Ci smiled faintly and didn’t dwell on the matter. He said earnestly, “No need to thank me. He wasn’t a good person to begin with.”

“Mm.” Yu Xinche stood still, and after He Ci went in, he turned on the front camera of his phone and looked at his face from different angles.

Fortunately, his face wasn’t very red.

Actually, a long time ago, when they weren’t very familiar with each other, he had called He Ci “brother.”

Back then, it was just a way to get closer to him, and he blurted it out without much thought. But now…

It seemed like they’re trying to get closer to me now, but it’s much harder But it was much harder to say than before.

Yu Xinche was the youngest on the team. He’d called everyone “ge,” even Xiao Ou who wasn’t much older.

Only with He Ci had he stuck to calling him by name. Even nicknames like “Crown Prince” or “Young Master He” were rare, let alone “ge.”

It’s easy for Yu Xinche to act well-behaved in front of others, but for some reason, the more familiar he becomes with He Ci, the less he could bring himself to use those intimate terms of address between them.

He nestled on the small sofa and thought for a long time, coming to a conclusion that he wasn’t sure was right.

Perhaps it’s because no matter whether he’s being sarcastic or pretending to be innocent in front of He Ci, He Ci could always see through him, and often would even tease him in return.

After a while, Yu Xinche didn’t want to talk to him in that way anymore, because it made him feel awkward.

The week passed quickly with a packed schedule of training and ranking matches.

On Saturday, the loser’s bracket match between VI and YC was held.

Yu Xinche and the others were busy preparing for their match and didn’t watch it, only knowing that VI won.

The next day, it was the winners’ bracket turn, and TZ faced off against Wing team again.

Throughout the regular season, the match against Wing was the most troublesome for Yu Xinche.

Before that, he’d always felt at ease on stage. Afterwards, even when facing difficult games, he at least had experience playing from lagging behind and didn’t feel overwhelmed mentally.

He felt he was well-prepared for this rematch against Wing. But when he actually got to the venue, he couldn’t help feeling a little nervous.

After setting up the equipment, there was still some time before the game started, so Yu Xinche didn’t leave immediately. He briefly played a custom game in his seat.

This was not unusual in the arena, and it was allowed by the authorities, but none of the TZ members have this habit, and this was the first time for Yu Xinche.

He Ci waited for him for a while, and seeing that he didn’t seem to be finishing anytime soon, he left on his own.

When Yu Xinche returned to the lounge, they were soon called to prepare for game.

There’s a long, sleek corridor leading to the stage, decorated in a cool, modern style, with mirrors and lights on both sides. Photographers also waited along this corridor to capture shots of the players entering.

A few years ago, some players were photographed laughing and joking around, and later after losing the competition, netizens used this as an excuse to ridicule them.

As a result, most players put on calm, serious expressions when walking through.

The same goes for TZ. Yu Xinche and He Ci walked forward at a distance that was neither too close nor too far apart. After walking a short distance, He Ci suddenly slowed down to wait for him.

Yu Xinche paused for a moment, sensing something was amiss, but still quickly took two steps to his side.

“I just remembered something,” He Ci said.

“Yeah?”

“Remember when we rated other teams?”

Yu Xinche: “Mhm.”

He Ci had previously said that he thought Ah Jiu would get 85 points. However, Yu Xinche personally felt that Ah Jiu should get at least 90 points, and He Ci deliberately lowered the score to make him feel more relaxed.

“Aren’t you curious what score you’d get?”

Yu Xinche smiled and said, “I was curious at first. But now that you’ve asked, I’m not curious anymore.”

He Ci smiled as well.

“The match is about to start, so even if I don’t get 100, I’ll at least get 95, right?” Yu Xinche continued, “Any lower won’t be good for my performance in this match.”

He Ci laughed again: “You know a lot.”

“Tell me after this match.” The players had already gone backstage, gathering together to wait for the host to open.

Yu Xinche whispered to He Ci, “Give me your honest feedback then.”

He Ci was silent for a moment, then swallowed the words he had prepared: “Okay.”

Both teams were on edge today, and in the first game they both chose to charge in, aiming for a fight.

While waiting for the game to load, Xiao Ou communicated with them: “How about we gank him later? You guys exchange blows, I’ll gank him right after I’m done – a hard gank.”

“Okay.” The two bot laners said in unison.

The other side obviously thought about the same strategy. Ah Jiu carefully placed defensive wards in the river, so that Xiao Ou would be spotted as soon as he arrived.

However, Yu Xinche’s repeated viewing of those Wing matches wasn’t for nothing; he also gained some understanding of where Ah jiu liked to place wards.

After making a show of surveying the area, he returned to his “safe position” and prepared to head back to the city.

He Ci was a little distance away from him, still with the minion troops.

“Hey, this support is recalling in my vision.” The opposing AD player, Snow, was young and impetuous. Seeing Yu Xinche recalling, he went over and wanted to use a skill to interrupt his recall.

“Be careful.” Ah jiu didn’t stop him. The marksman’s attack range was farther than the support’s, so it wouldn’t be a big deal for him to cover him. Even if TZ wanted to fight back, he would still have time to run away.

Snow waited a second before taking action and walking to Yu Xinche.

There was a brief period of stun when a character uses a skill. The moment Snow raised his hand, the person recalling to town in the bush suddenly moved!

Yu Xinche’s attack range was indeed insufficient, so he didn’t hesitate to teleport directly to Snow’s face and unleash a control skill.

At the same moment, Xiao Ou’s jungler flashed over from a distance and unleashed a combo on him. He Ci stopped pretending and quickly followed up with damage.

Snow was unable to move, and Ah jiu’s healing was in vain. In the end, He Ci took the kill.

First Blood!

【They tricked Snow into revealing his underwear】

【Hilarious! This is truly amazing from God’s perspective!】

This first blood was won entirely through strategy, which the commentators found quite amusing.

“From our omniscient perspective, we can see that BREEZE marked that ward a long time ago, so he must have known there was a ward. He and FIX were deliberately acting, pretending to return to town to lure the enemy into a trap.”

“Xiao Ou’s play was also excellent; he gave up a camp of jungle monsters to come here. The opposing team probably thought that Xiao Ou was still farming the jungle and no one would come to gank him, so they dared to be so cheeky.”

“I was thinking about the last time TZ played against Wing, BREEZE placed a ward and got counter-ganked. We all said privately that this was a necessary step for newbies to build vision, but I didn’t expect him to turn the tables on Ah jiu so quickly.”

“Yes, that’s right. BREEZE definietely thought: I know you like to look around here at this time, and I also know you definitely didn’t expect me to discover your habit so quickly, so I might as well play along and put on a show for you.”

【Nice!】

【What goes around comes around.】

【BREEZE learns so fast!】

【This is what top students look like: head held high and chest out.】

The timing of this kill was perfect. Taking advantage of the enemy’s bottom lane being breached, Xiao Ou led the bottom lane to aggressively invade the enemy jungle, only returning after having a full meal.

With the advantage snowballing, TZ also got off to a good start and won the game.

Wing then fought back and won the second game. After four games, the score was tied at 2-2.

【Battle time】

【I got a little carried away in that last game, I felt like I was having a blast.】

【Every match is a life-or-death situation; if you back down, you’re likely to suffer a slow death. Only by fighting hard can you possibly find a way out.】

【Thats so real】

Today’s matches were all very entertaining. These two teams were the first and second place teams in the regular season.

The players had won all the way with a confident arrogance and fighting spirit.

When playing, they subconsciously wanted to show off to their opponents, so it was reasonable for them to play aggressively.

In the fifth game, the coach still chose a team fight composition. He encouraged everyone, “To be honest, we have a resurrection opportunity. Even if we lose this game, we still have a chance.”

“Tsk, what are you saying?”

“Pui, pui, pui.” [footnote]spitting sounds like to touch wood, don’t jinx [/footnote]

Coach: “What I mean is, don’t be too nervous. Our lineup and strength are fine. Just play normally and don’t mess up your plays, and we’ll definitely win.”

“If Little Che isn’t nervous, then I’m not nervous either,” Xiao Ou said.

“Huh?” Yu Xinche wasn’t really listening to them. The lineups for both sides were now clear, and he was thinking about his best strategy.

“Are you nervous?” CONTROL asked him. “Is this Little Yu’s first time playing the fifth game?”

“I’m fine.”

He Ci had already asked him this question during the break, and Yu Xinche had said something like “a little”.

Upon hearing this, He Ci indeed turned to look at him and said, “Very brave.”

Yu Xinche no longer cared what Xiao Ou and BURN said.

“I’m fine” and “I’m a little nervous” were both true.

When he was offstage, he couldn’t help but imagine what he would do if he lost the fifth game, but now that he was actually sitting here in this environment, he calmed down.

The chaotic noises disappeared, and he felt even calmer than in the first game. His mind was clear, and his thoughts were flowing smoothly and actively.

In addition to being calm, he also had a faint feeling of excitement, not strong, but it simmered through the entire game, which dulled the fatigue caused by sitting for a long time.

In the fifth game, both sides had their strengths and weaknesses.

TZ’s bot lane duo performed better, gaining an advantage in dragon resources. Wing, on the other hand, had a slight advantage in the mid and top lanes, securing the Elemental Spirit, which was beneficial for pushing towers, and thus destroyed TZ’s three outer towers.

As time went on, the scales of victory were subtly tipping in Wing’s favor.

Seeing the enemy team gathering to take down Baron, TZ’s two surviving top and mid laners communicated briefly, recalled to base, spent all their gold, bought new equipment, and then resolutely teleported to the Baron pit.

“Let’s give it a try,” CONTROL said.

“Let’s go in together, I’ll go all out.”

“OK”.

CONTROL, playing as Dust, flashed into the dragon pit almost simultaneously with BURN.

BURN used his skill to knock up the jungler and three other enemies, while Dust activated his ultimate to avoid being crowd-controlled, throwing out his Gu worms—

“We got it!” the commentator exclaimed excitedly. “That damage control was absolutely precise. With just these three Gu worms, CONTROL practically snatched the dragon at the last second!!”

【??????????】

【Awesome】

【It’s overturned!】

【Is it even possible to steal one???】

“BURN’s control is also very important. His ultimate is very tricky. He knocks up the jungler first, and only when the jungler can’t use Smite does it give him the opportunity to control them.”

【Handsome!!!】

【So exciting!】

【I was so nervous watching it!】

【Me too】

After that, both sides were back on equal footing.

After two team fights, Yu Xinche and Xiao Ou’s excellent teamwork secured another dragon.
 

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