Do You Really Get Couples on the Opposing Team?

(An old esports novel I was planning to write. I came up with a blurb.)

Zhu Jinxu, captain of ATG, is a three-time champion who has led his team to the finals seven times. His KDA in the solo lane has topped the rankings for years. In a competitive scene where players can be gods one moment and trolls the next, putting together one explosive season before switching regions at lightning speed, seeing his ID on the screen puts everyone at ease.

After taking second place again in the spring split, ATG's jungler retired. While all the fans wondered who the team would sign during the transfer window and worried about how a new teammate would mesh with the team, Zhu Jinxu went alone to a small city in the south.

April was rainy. Wearing a white trench coat, Zhu Jinxu stopped in front of a guy in a black tank top, built like a bear, squatting by the doorway and looking at his phone.

"Hey, what can I get you..."

The guy in the black tank top looked up, and his cigarette fell out of his mouth.

Zhu Jinxu: "Want to try out for ATG?"

"You want me to sit around watching the water cooler? What a waste of talent! I'm telling you, a scholar would rather die than be humiliated..."

"If you pass the tryout, you'll be a starter."

"Have you finally decided to retire?"

"Not for now."

"Did you pick Dare in Truth or Dare?"

"...Idiot."

A gaming gossip account reports that Yunxiao is trying out for ATG and that captain Shuoyue may move into a behind-the-scenes role. Fans protest.

"Signing a solo laner from Group B to take the captain's spot. ATG, you're amazing."

"ATG's diving into Group B next season."

"Guess why that Group B solo laner is out of a job. Either he feeds or goes invisible. If ATG doesn't want a championship, just say so."

"His plays are awful. Does his family sell breakfast or something?"

The next second, the club announces its roster for the summer split. Zhu Jinxu is the first to repost it, tagging Fu Liangqian: "Looking forward to our top-jungle synergy."

Yunxiao: Manly finger hearts

Fans and onlookers: Why do I feel like I just got a mouthful of dog food? And... wait, where's the jungler?

When Liang Qian was a teenager, driven half by defiance and half by admiration, he plunged into the solo lane. He got his wish and faced off against his idol and imagined rival, but lost every time they played.

After joining ATG, Liang Qian realizes that being teammates is even more fun than being rivals.

"Ahem, didn't the coach tell us to work on our teamwork?"

Zhu Jinxu: "Heh, we ended up working on it in my bed. What did you use to work on it?"

P.S.

The bottom laner switches to jungle. The top laner isn't actually bad; his teammates are the problem. Solo laners get left out to dry easily (smile).

Their relationship won't affect their matches. The love-struck top laner won't have relationship problems.

Theme: Ten years of drinking ice water cannot extinguish a heart burning with passion