22. Bite his finger

Shenju couldn't sleep.

Every time I close my eyes, I think of Lin Jiang, whom I saw at the stairwell that day.

The bone structure hidden beneath the team uniform was exquisitely beautiful. The drooping fingertips held a cigarette butt, and the smoke condensed into a painting. Even the shadow cast on the wall seemed to blur into the wings of a butterfly.

Shen Ju had never been so close to the other person before, so close that he could see the color of the other person's lips clearly.

In the darkness, the desires in people's hearts are magnified infinitely.

My throat bobbed involuntarily.

Shen Ju wanted to taste the other person's lips, so he mustered up his courage and took the cigarette from the other person's fingertips.

Surprisingly—

It's sweet.

Thinking of this, Shen Ju's ears started to burn again.

He got dressed and went downstairs to get some fresh air. Passing by a 24-hour supermarket, he went in and specifically chose the same brand of cigarettes that Lin Jiang smoked.

It's mint flavored, no wonder it tastes sweet.

He lit a cigarette for himself, just like Lin Jiang did, but he didn't know how to smoke, and his technique was rather clumsy.

The cool night breeze slightly relieved the heat, and Shen Ju finally calmed down. When he turned the corner and saw Lin Jiang, the suppressed heat instantly overwhelmed him.

Lin Jiangxu leaned against the railing, a cigarette between his fingers, and his gaze inadvertently fell on Shen Ju.

He looked her up and down, "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Like a student caught red-handed, Shen Ju immediately took the cigarette out of his mouth, but then, remembering Lin Jiang's comment that he was a child, he wanted to put it back.

Their eyes met, and the night was exceptionally quiet.

Lin Jiang put his phone back in his pocket, then walked over to Chen Ju and casually took the cigarette from his hand. "Smoking is not a good habit."

Shen Ju looked at him. "And what about you?"

Lin Jiang smiled and said, "I'm different from you. I can't quit. To be honest, if you're under a lot of pressure, you can try other ways to relieve it. Smoking is addictive."

Shen Ju wasn't under any pressure; he simply wanted to understand Lin Jiang's state of mind when he smoked.

The cigarette pack in his pocket was so hot from being rubbed that Chen Ju couldn't help but ask, "Captain, is the pressure because of overtime?"

Lin Jiang took a drag of his cigarette. "No, OT makes me feel relaxed. I smoke because of something that happened in the past, it has nothing to do with you guys."

"Then—" Shenju looked at him, "will you leave OT and go back to KUG?"

Lin Jiang was stunned. "Why do you ask that?"

"It's said online that the manager at KUG who signed the contract with you has been fired, and they are trying to reconcile with you."

Lin Jiang put down his cigarette, as if he had heard a joke, "You're overthinking it. They won't beg for peace with me. KUG is just as arrogant as its boss. They'll never learn to bow their heads."

After he finished speaking, he leaned against the pillar, looking at him with a smile, his eyes as beautiful as fireworks in the night. "Besides, I never thought about going back."

There was a loud "bang" behind me, and fireworks really did explode.

Lin Jiang looked up in the firelight. His profile was breathtakingly beautiful in the darkness. His lips moved slightly, as if he were saying something, but Chen Ju couldn't hear him clearly.

He only heard two words—

like.

My emotions were like fireworks, bursting forth endlessly and uncontrollably.

Lin Jiang turned around amidst the fireworks, smiling at him: "Why do you look so bitter and resentful? Smile more."

He reached out and poked Shen Ju's lip, revealing his sharp canine teeth.

"Bang, bang—"

My heart was pounding.

Shenju really wanted to bite him.

I had barely thought about it when he did it.

He bit Lin Jiang's finger with his sharp canine teeth, gently rubbing the tips together.

"Bang—" Fireworks burst forth behind us.

Lin Jiang was stunned for a moment, then broke into an even brighter smile.

He pinched Shen Ju's cheek, his eyes brimming with laughter, "Little Shen, you really do bite?"

Shen Ju's face flushed red again, much to his dismay.

He turned his face away, refusing to admit it: "I'm not a puppy."

A gentle hand landed on his head, carrying Lin Jiang's smile, "Alright, alright, you're not."

Back in his room, Chen Ju couldn't sleep at all.

He felt as if he had fallen into a beautiful dream, at the end of which lay earthly fantasies he dared not even imagine.

He can touch it.

Bite him lightly—

It's even about incorporating him into your body.

The next day, both Shen Ju and Song Zhixu were late.

Duren slammed his fist on the table, looking at the two who were both late and sporting dark circles under their eyes: "It's already the Summer Split, and you two are still so lazy! And you, Song Zhixu, you were just fined by Lin Jiang a couple of days ago for playing terribly, how come you don't learn your lesson at all? You even went out for barbecue in the middle of the night, what kind of people are you..."

Song Zhixu, used to being a coward, immediately slid down to his knees and apologized: "I'm sorry, I won't do it again next time!"

Shen Ju was lost in thought, keeping his head down and not refuting anything. Seeing this, A Deng couldn't help but ask Zhou Wen, "Don't you think Shen Ju has been acting strangely lately?"

Zhou Wen nodded seriously; he had thought so for a long time.

Shenju used to be a rebellious wolf, but now he's as obedient as a dog.

The entire club was watching the commotion, but Lin Jiang stepped in to smooth things over: "Manager Du, this isn't their fault. I didn't have dinner yesterday, so I asked Song Zhixu to take me out for a late-night snack, which is why I came back a little late."

Upon hearing that Lin Jiang wanted to have a late-night snack, Du Lun immediately changed his attitude 180 degrees, "Hey Lin Jiang, look at you, how can you be so busy that you don't even eat? Food is essential for life, no matter how busy you are, you must remember to eat."

Song Zhixu thought everything was over, but Du Lun suddenly called out to him, "And you, Song Zhixu, why didn't you invite me to dinner? You're such a tightwad, you never spend a penny, but when you finally treat me to a meal, I have to drive over and mooch a few bites..."

"Hey, hey." Song Zhixu quickly pulled him back. "Old Du, stop talking. Give me some face."

His teammates laughed mercilessly.

After a short break, let's get down to business for today.

Afternoon, 5 pm.

OT vs. ZOG.

"Why are we competing on the same day as KUG again? The organizers must be doing this on purpose."

The biggest topic of this summer tournament is the ambiguous relationship between Lin Jiang and KUG, which has been characterized by constant bickering and reconciliation, generating a lot of buzz.

The organizers aren't stupid; they certainly know how to maximize traffic.

Lin Jiang knew the tricks of the trade: "Schedule OT and KUG on the same day. No matter who wins or loses, the buzz will explode. If no one wants to become a stepping stone for KUG, then they should play well."

His provocation actually worked. Song Zhixu, who was usually the laziest, immediately got up to check his equipment. When Du Lun tried to talk to him, he pushed him away, saying, "Don't play somewhere else, don't bother me."

The bus took them to the stadium two hours early, just in time to see TG win 2-0 in the 3 pm game.

"Have you noticed how strong TG is this year? I haven't seen a single one of them make a mistake in the competition. Overall, they seem even stronger than KUG."

Lin Jiang thought to himself, "Of course it's better than KUG. This year, not only TG is better than KUG, but also YIT and SNG."

Alike only cares about showing off on the field and doesn't care about his teammates' lives. In the regular season, it was okay because it was only a best-of-three series, but in the playoffs, the best-of-five series exposed his weaknesses. Being reverse-swept after being down 2-3 and being overturned after leading by 10,000 gold became the norm.

They had earned second place in the Spring Split themselves, and were almost forced to play in the gauntlet, taking the "fan abuse" tactic to the extreme.

Lin Jiang remained silent, waiting for KUG to bring about its own downfall.

He carefully tied the bandage on his hand, but it wasn't tight enough, so he asked Song Zhixu to help him tie it.

Most athletes wear wristbands, and bandages like this are only worn when the hand injury is more serious. Song Zhixu belatedly asked, "Captain, does your hand hurt a lot?"

Lin Jiang rubbed his wrist. "It's alright."

After playing professionally for four years, it's normal to have some hand problems.

Lin Jiang also gave his teammates a heads-up: "You guys need to take better care of your wrists, especially Chen Ju, since you play AD carry, your hands bear the most strain."

Shen Ju nodded, then stared at Lin Jiang's hand, seemingly lost in thought.

When no one was looking, he suddenly got up, called Durren outside, said a few words, and Durren nodded before taking out his phone to make a call.

The competition is about to begin, and the contestants are ready to take the stage.

After leaving the lounge, you walk through a corridor, and OT happens to run into the entire KUG team who have arrived at the scene.

Alike, carrying a black backpack and wearing black sneakers, stood at the end of the long corridor, looking at Lin Jiang.

"Thump—thump—"

Every step I take is on a path completely different from my previous life.

Of course, a completely different result is required.

Lin Jiang withdrew his cold gaze, brushed past Alike, and led his team onto the field.

The atmosphere remained intense. The host introduced the contestants, both sides took their seats, and the equipment was connected.

Before the match, Lin Jiang led the analysis of ZOG. They seemed to be the bottom team, but they were actually very resilient and could even take a bite out of strong teams. Not to mention that OT is now at most a mid-level team.

The two sides entered the game. ZOG picked their most familiar teamfight composition, while Lin Jiang led his team to take a late-game focused composition.

Mid lane - Azir, top lane - Renekton, AD - Kai'Sa, and jungle - Sejuani, who is more focused on the mid-game.

Before the launch, Lin Jiang kept reminding them: "Try to gain an advantage online."

In the late game, do we need to gain an advantage in order to defeat ZOG?

At first, Song Zhixu thought Lin Jiang was being too cautious.

He dominated the opponent with Renekton when he went online. His solo training over the past few days had been very helpful, giving him a CS advantage as soon as he went online.

Lin Jiang forced the enemy mid laner back to base at level 3, and by level 6, he was so dominant that the enemy dared not farm the lane.

The bottom lane also secured a kill at level 6.

Even with everything going smoothly, as the game progressed into the middle, Song Zhixu gradually began to feel the strain.

"Why is Xiaolong on the other side again?"

Ah Deng was a little embarrassed.

He was the one who took the dragon, but the enemy jungler spotted him and couldn't win the fight with Smite.

He instinctively apologized, "I'm sorry, it's my fault, I pressed the punishment button too early!"

Ah Deng is a notoriously unlucky jungler in the league. He has never won a dragon steal and all he does is apologize. He is jokingly referred to by netizens as the "apology-type jungler".

Lin Jiang's gaze darkened slightly, a bad feeling creeping over him.

VT and FOU were targeting Lin Jiang relentlessly, but ZOG did not; all their attention was focused on OT's weakest point.

That is, A-Deng.

The hidden shortcomings of OT (Over-the-Counter).

Lin Jiang's worst fears came true.

...

This is the KUG lounge.

As the match broadcast reached this point, Alike disdainfully got up and left.

He was initially wary of Lin Jiang, but seeing how well his teammates were doing, that wariness suddenly vanished.

Lin Jiang, you don't really think you can carry four people on your own, do you?