Chapter 5

Xiao Yin’s kiss carried an intense, aggressive aura, like the scent of a cold mountain spring. Rong Yi’s eyes fluttered slightly, catching the deep, cold light in Xiao Yin’s eyes, mixed with shades of dark ink.

Rong Yi’s reaction was slow. Before he could resist, Xiao Yin had already pulled back. He then leaned down slightly, reached out, and held Rong Yi’s hand.

Fingertips touched fingertips, entwined with gentle tenderness.

Xiao Yin’s voice still carried that peculiar steadiness, with a husky tone, but spoken very lightly: “Just like before.”

It was like a whispered sigh, low and subdued.

“You tremble after a kiss.”

Rong Yi then realized his fingertips were shaking. He stepped back and took a deep breath.

Seeing Rong Yi’s expression, Xiao Yin said softly, “…Sorry. Saying it so suddenly, you might not be prepared. But I’m serious.”

“Let me think about it,” Rong Yi said.

Xiao Yin gazed at him, his eyes slightly moving, still cold and calm. Rong Yi knew he was asking with his eyes, “What is there to think about?”

Xiao Yin’s personality was like this, a natural rationalist focused on results. This deal seemed beneficial for both sides, with no reason to refuse.

Rong Yi had always thought that in real life, someone like Xiao Yin was the type who would marry for advantage.

But now, the standard for marriage had shifted to prioritizing the team’s interests, and the marriage partner had become “a suitable mid laner.”

Rong Yi sighed softly, “You’re still the same, willing to give up anything for your goal, never stopping until you achieve it.”

“You’ve changed a bit,” Xiao Yin said, staring at him intently, his tone calm, “You’ve become much gentler.”

Rong Yi smiled, “At this age, you naturally learn to adapt.”

He picked up his milk, took a big gulp, licked the milk off his lips, and then stood up, “Thanks for the hospitality. I’ll think about it. Besides, don’t you need to interview and assess me?”

“I trust my judgment,” Xiao Yin said calmly. “A few days ago in the morning, I intentionally matched into a game with you. I knew you were streaming. The coordination was pretty good.”

Rong Yi: “…”

Xiao Yin’s openness left him with nothing to say.

Rong Yi waved his hand. “Alright, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back and think about it.”

“Let’s exchange contact information,” Xiao Yin said, handing over his phone. “If you have any questions, you can reach out to me anytime.”

Rong Yi hadn’t actually deleted Xiao Yin’s contact info.

It was Xiao Yin who had deleted him back then.

Since then, anything Rong Yi sent showed a red exclamation mark.

Xiao Yin had spent a lot of time abroad and rarely used domestic social media. Rong Yi hadn’t checked his contact info for a long time.

Rong Yi scanned the code and added Xiao Yin, noting “EASY” in the verification message. Then, out of habit, he set it to “Chat only” and put his phone back in his pocket.

“I’ll drive you back,” Xiao Yin offered.

“No need,” Rong Yi thought for a moment. He still couldn’t quite process everything that had happened today, and with Xiao Yin around, he felt a bit pressured. “Just have your driver take me back. I have some personal matters to attend to.”

Xiao Yin nodded. “Alright.”

He saw Rong Yi off downstairs, watched him get into the car, and then headed back to the Club. Hydralisk and Grey Cat eagerly surrounded him.

“Yin-Ge! Did he agree?” Hydralisk asked, holding his phone. “Are you online? There’s been a lot of news about E-God lately. If he agrees, we need to start PR preparations now.”

“I really didn’t expect him to be Yi-God. I thought Easy must look pretty rough since he never shows his face, but he’s actually quite good-looking.”

“He’s still thinking about it,” Xiao Yin replied, his expression unchanged. He walked straight into the lounge and closed the door.

He sat in the same spot where Rong Yi had just been, leaning back slightly. The warm, subtle fragrance still lingered, enveloping him.

The milk cup by his hand was still half full. It had been warm when poured, but now it had cooled.

Xiao Yin picked up the milk cup, his fingers gently turning it.

The sweet scent of the milk hadn’t faded.

He brought it to his lips, sipping the remaining milk slowly from the spot where Rong Yi’s lips had touched.

When Rong Yi got home, Li Meng was still there. Two workers had been hired to fix the freezer’s cooling system, and the clanging noise could be heard from afar.

Li Meng looked up at him, curious. “What’s up with you? Your face is so red. It’s raining outside, it’s not that hot, is it?”

Rong Yi touched his lips and replied perfunctorily, “Walking back made me hot.”

“Alright, I’ll be done soon. I won’t disturb you,” Li Meng said.

Li Meng and crew finished up quickly, and Rong Yi lay back on the sofa, mindlessly scrolling through his phone.

The hottest news in the Pro Scene recently was, of course, Xiao Yin’s return and the formation of the Violet Team, but to the outside world, the entire lineup of VIT was still a mystery.

Netizen 1: [Violet Team? Sounds pretty GAY.]

Rong Yi silently gave that comment a thumbs-up in his heart.

Actually, rather than thinking he had turned Xiao Yin gay, Rong Yi suspected that Xiao Yin’s sexual orientation was innate. Xiao Yin’s habits and preferences in bed were indeed quite surprising, but this was something not suitable for public discussion. In that circle, he was like a top-tier dominator.

However, Rong Yi lacked evidence. Back then, it was indeed he who was infatuated and took the initiative, turning himself first, and then making a desperate confession.

Netizen 2: [Can’t dig up any info on the team members. Seems like they’re not planning to use the existing league system but are going for a more personalized approach.]

Netizen 3: [That’s Yin’s style. He’s always played with a fixed team composition. I suspect he brought this team over from the NA Region as-is. Remember last year’s Intercontinental Tournament dark horse? That was under Yin-Ge’s command.]

[Ah! Are there any upcoming tournaments? I really want to hear Yin-God talk about it. He hasn’t streamed recently.]

[But it seems like he’s been playing for world ranking. Some people have encountered him.]

An old fan thread had been revived, already with over a thousand pages.

[Face Appreciation | YIN | What accompanies you? Mountains, silver springs, and lava.]

The thread title was one of Xiao Yin’s voice lines. This thread only allowed posting pictures of Xiao Yin, and there were many high-definition close-ups posted by fans.

Rong Yi was a veteran in this thread. He clicked into the latest page and saw that the thread starter had updated with a few pictures.

He didn’t know where they were taken, but in the photos, Xiao Yin was lowering his head to open a car door. His suit was as dark as water, and with his eyes cast down, his dense and beautiful eyelashes were captivating.

[Fresh candid shots! Taken when he was leaving the league building. So cool and dashing, a stunningly handsome face!]

Rong Yi silently long-pressed to save the pictures, then smiled, exited the page, and turned on his computer to log into his account. He also started his stream.

The homepage of the stream featured a replay of the Spring Split championship.

His fans quickly noticed he was live and flocked to his stream: “Good evening! Are you continuing with ranked matches tonight?”

Rong Yi pondered for a moment, logged into his account, and after glancing at the interface for a bit, he suddenly logged out and switched to a smurf account.

Like most pro players, he had one or several smurf accounts.

His smurf account wasn’t ranked low either; it was originally a backup for scrims, and he had already climbed to S+ rank on it. However, his champion pool on this account was quite different.

Rong Yi took a sip of water and said, “Today, I’ll switch accounts. I’m tired of playing support.”

The fans cheered: “Great! We also think playing support is too frustrating. It’s too dependent on teammates. Better to carry on your own.”

Most of his followers were technical fans, but there were some new fans who were particularly curious: “Does Easy ever play anything besides support?”

“Yes, yes. He only played support and shotcaller in RS because RS didn’t lack carry positions.”

Rong Yi started a match, quickly assessed the lineup, and then picked Li.

Li, a typical carry mage, could be played in mid lane or as an assassin, and was a popular pick among pro players.

After locking in his pick, he got up to pour some water. When he returned, he saw that the enemy ADC had sent a full-screen taunt: “Isn’t this lineup just giving away the game? I’m going for an achievement, getting 10 kills this game. Don’t surrender, okay?”

Arrogant.

On the other side of the city, at the Violet Esports Club.

A group of people crowded around Hydralisk’s computer, watching intently.

Grey Cat asked, “Is Xiao Yin asleep? If he finds out we’re giving our new team member a hard time, will he get mad?”

Top laner Wu Daogu said, “We need to test his skills somehow. The captain might be acting on impulse, but we’re aiming for the championship.”

Hydralisk nodded solemnly, “That’s exactly what I mean. Easy is too good-looking. We can’t let Captain Xiao act on a whim. He only interviewed one person this time, which I think is somewhat biased.”

The game began, and Rong Yi’s jungle was invaded, leading to a disastrous start. The opposing team was clearly more organized, moving in sync.

Their lineup was indeed at a disadvantage this match, and within the first five minutes, they had already given up five kills. Rong Yi remained unfazed and, after swapping jungles, began aggressively farming resources.

His teammates were quite capable, all seasoned veterans, and well-versed in base defense strategies.

The mid laner, with a gruff voice, typed, “Jungler?”

Rong Yi also turned on his mic and replied in a calm and gentle voice, “No rush, give me two more minutes.”

The mid laner didn’t say anything further.

Two minutes later, a crucial resource spawned, and Rong Yi, taking a calculated risk, entered the enemy jungle to secure it, successfully acquiring a core piece of equipment. He then swiftly moved into the river.

At the same time, their mid laner was taken down by a hard crowd control, and four enemies charged in aggressively. As the mid laner’s hands left the keyboard, Rong Yi, despite having no vision, forcefully entered the fray, landed a control ability, then retreated with low health, managing to block four auto-attacks and successfully counter-kill the enemy ADC.

This maneuver broke the enemy’s momentum and saved their mid laner’s life.

Mid laner: “???”

Death Hydralisk: “???”

With a sliver of health left, Rong Yi left the battle, issuing commands over the mic, “Don’t just stand there, go farm. Avoid the enemy ADC.”

He seemed to have identified a weakness in the opposing lineup.

In a disadvantaged situation, to turn things around, they needed to constantly seek opportunities. His team focused on farming, while the enemy tried to deny all opportunities. Rong Yi pinpointed the weakest link: Hydralisk.

Hydralisk was the strongest burst damage dealer and the key barrier to their victory.

Fifteen minutes into the game, Rong Yi’s team had gradually closed the gap, and Hydralisk had already been solo killed by Rong Yi five times. Every attack from the enemy was disrupted by Rong Yi’s timely interventions.

Their mid laner had been saved countless times and was overwhelmed with gratitude: “Jungler, do you have a partner?”

Rong Yi replied coldly, sparing his words: “No.”

The rough-voiced mid laner persisted in his declaration of love: “Will you try being with me, Jungler? Let’s be together! This is the first time I’ve seen such a handsome Li!”

Rong Yi’s voice grew even colder: “Not into men.”

He continued wave clearing, but moments later, he suddenly heard the mid laner’s voice change to a female tone: “Jungler, Jungler, want to date?”

Rong Yi: “…”

Impressive, truly impressive.

No wonder they were in the S+ rank; pulling out a voice changer on the fly was exactly the kind of trick a rank slave would use.

Rong Yi ignored it, finished wave clearing, and then gave his teammates some resources before starting his hunt for the enemy ADC. Whenever he saw them, he killed them; if he couldn’t kill them, he ran. He demonstrated Li’s high mobility to perfection, and his fans in the live stream were screaming and recording clips.

In the end, they successfully staged a comeback.

Hydralisk lifted his hands off the keyboard, trembling all over.

“That was terrifying.”

Support Grey Cat leaned over: “Was it that bad? You only died eight times.”

“It was terrifying.” Hydralisk’s mouth was dry, “He canceled my auto-attacks four times! Four times! That Li is terrifying. Why did RS let him go?”