Did the Champion ADC Recognize Me Today?

Upcoming: I Really Wasn't Crushing on the Guy Next Door (blurb at the end)

[Talkative, sharp-tongued, gorgeous college streamer × aloof, taciturn champion ADC]

[Older woman-younger man romance | Online friends meet in person | Both identities exposed | Esports | Campus]

Wen Mi had an online friend she'd known for over six months.

He barely talked, had a sharp tongue, and was great at games. He also kept claiming he was a professional player.

To prove he wasn't lying, he even sent her a photo of "the real Veyn."

After Wen Mi saw it, she thought: He's pretty good at stealing photos.

·

They agreed to meet in person.

Wen Mi arrived at the coffee shop early and recognized the person sitting at their agreed-upon table at a glance.

Veyn, TG's starting AD, who had just won the summer split championship three days ago.

On the table were his iced Americano, a grape iced tea with light ice and 30% sugar, and a slice of sea-salt cake she'd casually mentioned once, half a month earlier.

Wen Mi stood outside the door in silence for a long time.

So he really was a pro player, the photo was real, and the tournament was real, too.

What was more awkward was

She steeled herself and walked up to He Jinyue.

He Jinyue looked at her for two seconds, then politely asked,

"Can I help you?"

Wen Mi: "..."

Their first in-person meeting ended with Wen Mi making a last-minute escape.

·

The second time they met, Wen Mi dutifully changed her makeup, put on a short-haired wig and black-rimmed glasses, then pulled on the inconspicuous gray hoodie from the photo.

He Jinyue looked at her for a while.

"You look better in person than in the photo."

Wen Mi: "..."

But it wasn't until much later that he learned

The long-haired woman at the coffee shop the first time had been her, and the person who kept showing up in front of him at campus events afterward had been her, too.

One day, Wen Mi even casually told him online:

[I ran into a pretty handsome guy today.]

The other end went quiet for a while.

[Handsome as me?]

Wen Mi stared at the message and laughed for ages without saying a word.

After all, that "pretty handsome guy"

was none other than him.

·

Veyn was famous for being taciturn, cool, and sharp-tongued.

Wen Mi had thought that after knowing each other for over six months, chatting every day and regularly duo-queueing, she would at least get some special treatment.

The night of their first serious attempt to meet in person.

Wen Mi logged onto an alternate account He Jinyue didn't know about to practice AD, only to get matched with Veyn. He Jinyue had no idea the person on the other side was her.

Twenty-eight minutes.

Wen Mi died eight times, seven of them to him.

After ending her stream, she went straight to confront her anonymous duo partner.

[You killed me seven times just now.]

The chat stayed quiet for a long time.

[Which one were you?]

Wen Mi sent him her alternate account's ID.

Half a minute later, the other side finally sent a string of dots she'd never seen from him before.

[...]

Wen Mi immediately felt better.

[Why so quiet?]

[The champion?]

[Enjoyed killing me?]

After a while, He Jinyue finally replied:

[No wonder.]

[I thought the enemy AD looked familiar.]

Wen Mi was just about to let it go.

Then the next message popped up right after.

[And familiar in how bad they were, too.]

Wen Mi: "..."

·

It was only after they actually started dating that Wen Mi realized the person who'd acted like saying something sweet would kill him before they got together was nothing like that once they were a couple.

After they kissed one time, Wen Mi had just unfastened her seat belt when the person beside her suddenly called out,

"Sis."

Wen Mi paused. "What?"

He'd already been warned many times today not to call her that, yet he was doing it again.

He Jinyue looked at her, seemingly still thinking about what had just happened. His voice was lower than usual, with a lingering rasp from their kiss.

"You're so soft."

Wen Mi froze all over.

Then he went even further.

"I like it so much."

Her face instantly burned.

"He Jinyue!"

She tossed the seat belt aside, opened the door, and got out in one fluid motion.

I Really Wasn't Crushing on the Guy Next Door

Blurb

"How long have you had a crush on me?"

Ruan Jinxian stood at the entrance to the empty classroom, unable to say a word for ages.

Yu Shu held the few pages she'd just written. His name was at the top, along with a line she'd crossed out and rewritten:

[Yu Shu × Me]

The boy had only just transferred here. He was the famous top science student in the senior class next door, gentle and good-natured. Seeing her so embarrassed that the tips of her ears had turned red, he still waited patiently. "Hard to answer?"

Ruan Jinxian finally managed to say, "I don't have a crush on you."

Yu Shu smiled.

He clearly didn't believe her.

She had even less idea how to tell him that she'd written those few pages in her first year of high school, back when they didn't even know each other.

And the strangest part was

The "Yu Shu" she'd casually written down back then was remarkably like the person standing in front of her.

The same name, the same good temper, the same dislike of overly sweet things. Even the way he still smiled when he was genuinely upset was exactly the same.

Sometimes Ruan Jinxian even wondered if the person she'd written about on paper in her first year of high school had come to life.

Yu Shu, meanwhile, just thought this younger student was stubbornly denying the obvious.

So the more she denied it, the more he liked teasing her.

"You really don't have a crush on me?"

"I don't."

"Then why are you hiding from me?"

Yu Shu had backed her into a corner with nowhere to go, so she could only steel herself and repeat, "I really don't."

Yu Shu kept smiling gently. "All right, I believe you."

He obviously didn't believe her.

It was only later that Ruan Jinxian realized the Yu Shu in real life wasn't the person she'd written about at all.

The Yu Shu she'd written was gentle and patient, and would never deliberately pick on anyone.

The real Yu Shu, though, knew she was flustered and still pressed her for answers, taking his time. He could speak with such consideration and tact, yet quietly back her into a corner with no way out.

At last, she stopped secretly comparing him to the person she'd written about back then.

Strangely, from that point on, she found herself falling for this "not-quite-right Yu Shu" more and more easily.

Yu Shu also gradually realized things weren't quite the way he'd first thought.

He started instinctively looking for her first in a crowd.

He started caring about why she'd suddenly stopped looking at him.

When other people asked about Ruan Jinxian, he even felt a vague irritation for the first time.

But he remained certain that at least one thing couldn't be wrong

Ruan Jinxian liked him.

Until one day, he got those few pages back and noticed the inconspicuous date at the bottom.

First semester of their first year of high school.

Yu Shu stared at it for a long time.

That year, he hadn't transferred schools yet. They hadn't even met.

So the dazed look on Ruan Jinxian's face when she first saw him hadn't been love at first sight.

And all that uncannily accurate knowledge of him wasn't because she'd secretly liked him for ages.

That line she'd repeated again and again

"I really don't have a crush on you."

Had actually been true.

And of all times, now it was his turn to like her.

Yu Shu stopped her in the hallway after school. His expression was as gentle as ever, but for some reason, Ruan Jinxian felt that he wouldn't be so easy to fob off this time.

"You didn't have a crush on me before."

"Mm."

"What about now?"

Ruan Jinxian lowered her head and wouldn't look at him.

Yu Shu's gaze rested on the top of her head. He simply stood in front of her, waiting for her answer.

As though this time, no matter what, he was determined to get one.

[Quiet, reserved top science student × seemingly gentle but actually relentless top humanities student]

Theme: Study hard