Unlike Lin Meng's slightly damp palms, the man's were dry and warm. There were some rough calluses left from long training, rubbing against his earlobes, which tingled.

Lin Meng didn't really care what others said. She'd already faced plenty of criticism since entering the esports industry, especially two years ago when Kars replaced Yu Mo in the Asian Invitational Tournament and lost. The skepticism and insults at that time were fiercest and most inhumane. Countless accusations were hurled at her, and she was forced to shoulder the brunt of the blame.

She had long been immune to these bad things. After all, if she wasn't immune, she would have probably committed suicide out of depression.

Just as she said to Xiao Xingheng before the game, she knew what kind of person she was, so she didn't need to listen to other people's opinions.

Although Yu Mo's action was not necessary, it still touched the softest part of her heart.

All along, it seemed that only Yu Mo wanted to protect her and love her wholeheartedly, fearing that she would suffer even the slightest harm.

Although he was often a little clumsy and didn't get the point right, his determination was as firm as iron and never wavered.

Lin Meng exhaled lightly, her lips trembling uncontrollably. She bit them hard and raised her hand to hold Yu Mo's wrist.

"It's okay." She whispered, "Put it down, you'll be photographed soon."

Yu Mo was stunned.

The girl's fingertips were slightly cool, and touching his wrist felt like a tiny electric current. A slight tingling sensation flowed through the old scars into his bones and blood. He hesitated for a moment, but did not insist. He let go and patted Lin Meng on the head instead: "Let's go."

The two walked out of the soundproof room.

In an instant, voices came like a tide, covering the sky and the earth, noisy and chaotic.

The audience seats were some distance away from the stage, but Lin Meng had excellent hearing and she still heard some unbearable content.

"What the hell did you do? Fuck!"

"That quartermaster is like a fucking idiot, rushing to die."

"It's time to go see Cheng Shang. The stupid quartermaster Cheng Shang is definitely the first one to be injured."

"There's no positioning at all. Women are just noobs."

"Please, you female fans, stop ruining the PC game. Female fans are so beautiful. Why not go play Miracle Nikki instead?"

"Don't blame it all on the women, though. Four champions can't even carry a random guy. How did they win the championship? Haha."

"Where's your mother? This woman is such a jerk! She's trying to shift the blame onto Team E."

"That's right, aren't fans randomly drawn? Do you expect them to play at a professional level? Aren't you the gods from Team E the ones who said you were going to lead the team?"

"So you guys, Team E, are terrible and you're not going to tell me? You're so cocky after winning a championship, but you took a week off and even lost a friendly match. What were you doing this whole week? I think you should just rest until the Fall Split and not go."

"Is this guy a gangster? How did he get in?"

"Management! Management, there's a black fan here!"

"I'm not going to watch this match anymore. It's just boring."

"If you're leaving, take me with you. Just treat the ticket money as dog food. At this level, we're probably going to be beaten into the ground in the fall season."

…

Lin Meng followed the logistics staff across the stage and into the lounge with an expressionless face.

Once the door was locked, only a few contestants were left in the lounge, and even the bells were locked out.

Yu Mo folded his arms, leaning his back against the door. He bent one knee slightly and glanced over the heads of the group of people. He seemed to be light-hearted and calm, but in fact, he was full of pressure. As he looked at them one by one, Panda immediately couldn't bear it anymore and was the first to speak: "Mine."

Four pairs of eyes fell on his face.

Panda scratched his head apologetically: "My shots are not accurate enough, and I always miss opportunities."

"Me too." Ah Lu then said, "I have a problem with my positioning today."

The two admitted their mistakes one by one and looked at Yu Mo's face pitifully.

Yu Mo lowered his head and brushed off the corner of his clothes: "No."

Panda and A Lu both looked puzzled.

"That's not the crux of the matter." Yu Mo looked at them calmly. "What I want to ask you is, why don't you trust the assistant?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Panda and A Lu both changed their expressions.

Lin Meng raised her head, and she and Yu Mo looked at the bear and deer duo together, without much surprise in their eyes.

Panda stammered, trying to deny: "We didn't—"

"The first time your support came looking for you during your free period, she could have filled your single-target potion with you if you had stayed put. Why did you run behind cover and waste your group healing items?" Yu Mo asked. "And I won't talk about you, A-Lu. Your play style is like we're a team of no-killers, going all out and never coming back. What's going on? If you don't trust your support, don't play team games!"

Yu Mo's words couldn't be more blunt. Xiong and Lu both lowered their heads guiltily. Panda whispered, "Sorry, little sister..."

Yu Mo stopped criticizing and glanced at Lin Meng.

Lin Meng let out a breath softly. She glanced at the frightened bear and deer duo and actually felt that they were quite pitiful and could no longer get angry at them.

"Forget it, I've already lost." She shrugged and said, "Let's not dwell on the past. I hope everyone will trust me enough in the next two games and use their energy to deal with the opponent instead of dealing with me."

Panda and A Lu nodded, but their eyes were vague and it was obvious that they were not thinking what they said.

Lin Meng knew that she couldn't blame them for this. After all, it was their first meeting and no one knew each other. It would be difficult for her to completely trust a stranger with her back.

She didn't want to dwell on this issue any further, lest it make everyone nervous and counterproductive. Suddenly, Yu Mo said, "A-Lu, let me see your hand."

Everyone was stunned and looked at A Lu in unison.

Ah Lu's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously put his left hand behind his back: "No, I'm fine..."

Yu Mo frowned, walked over quickly and grabbed his arm from behind.

As soon as Ah Lu came out, he changed into a long-sleeved jacket. Yu Mo rolled up his sleeves to his upper arms. When they touched his elbows, Ah Lu gasped uncontrollably, and a large bruise appeared on his elbow.

"No wonder your positioning is so bad." Yu Mo said, "How did you get it? It wasn't there when I got here."

"That's when I helped someone—" Ah Lu said, then changed his words mid-sentence, hesitating a bit: "No... I bumped into him accidentally."

"Does it hurt?" Yu Mo said, "Put on a plaster. I brought it with me."

"It's okay, no need to stick it on." Ah Lu whispered, "I can fight with a little restraint, it's not a big problem."

Yu Mo did not force it. He looked at the time and saw that the halftime break was almost over. The few of them gathered their thoughts and headed for the door.

When the door opened, a man with brown hair and blue eyes was leaning outside the door. He was not tall, half a head shorter than Yu Mo. His deep eye sockets and hooked nose made him look a little wild and romantic.

It turned out to be TIMI, the center of the Saint Laurent team.

Just now, when preparing for the battle, Yu Mo took Lin Meng to secretly stroll around the door of the Yves Saint Laurent lounge. Now that TIMI came back, it was considered a draw. Yu Mo did not argue with him too much, but just smiled very businesslike.

TIMI responded with a string of bird calls with his tongue rolled up, then turned his head to face Lin Meng.

He shook his legs loosely, raised his eyebrows impishly, and looked provocative.

"Hi." He greeted her awkwardly.

Lin Meng followed closely behind Yu Mo at the beginning, keeping her head down to think about the game strategy. She was startled by TIMI's sudden voice. She raised her hand and grabbed the clothes on Yu Mo's back, pulling them into a wrinkled ball. She stared at the French man with wide eyes, her expression full of vigilance.

Not only her, Panda, A Lu and Lao Mai also showed some hostility. Panda even squeezed his fat body forward and leaned over to separate TIMI.

TIMI didn't take it seriously, and mumbled something in bird language. Then, like a magic trick, he produced a rose from his pocket, pinched it in his palm, and handed it to Lin Meng.

Lin Meng slowly asked a question above his head: "......?"

Panda: “…”

A Lu: “…”

aged:"……"

What the hell is this operation?

Obviously, none of the three had ever encountered the bizarre scene of enemy teammates coming to the backstage to present flowers in their careers. They all looked at Yu Mo in confusion.

Yu Mo felt that the clothes on his back were being pulled tighter and tighter by Lin Xiaomeng.

TIMI waved the rose in front of Lin Meng's eyes and smiled even more.

Lin Meng couldn't understand the French bird language. She lowered her eyes to look at the rose. The flower was indeed a gorgeous flower, its petals as soft as silk, and dotted with dew. What was this, she thought? A friendly meeting?

Although this match was full of undercurrents, it was still a friendly match, so shouldn't she make the most of the spectacle? After all, she was still temporarily representing Team E.

Lin Meng thought it over again and again, then raised her hand to take the flower.

Just when her hand was about to touch the friendship flower from the Saint Laurent team, a beautiful hand suddenly reached out. Yu Mo pinched the middle of the rose's stem with two fingers and snatched the flower away with an expressionless face.

TIMI's smile froze on his face.

Yu Mo gave him a perfect professional fake smile, then put the flower into the chest pocket of his team jersey.

The little French man looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

"Thank you." Yu Mo nonchalantly exchanged pleasantries with TIMI in French, then waved his hand and led Team E towards the stage without looking back.

Lin Meng followed Yu Mo in a daze, feeling strange no matter how she thought about it. She couldn't help but say, "Hey, Captain, that rose is for me, it's mine, why don't you put it on your chest?"

"You want everything I give you, and you're even holding onto a hot potato?" Yu Mo said angrily, "You didn't win the game, yet you still dare to wear flowers? Pride comes before a fall, you know!"

The issue inexplicably escalated to a moral level, and even the arrogant Lin Meng was even more bewildered: "I didn't ask him for the flower, he gave it to me, okay? Besides, you contributed to the loss, so why are you still wearing it?"

"Because I'm the captain." Yu Mo said.

"Is the captain a privileged class?"

"For the captain, this is the flower of friendship!" Yu Mo said word by word. At this time, they had walked to the front desk, and the lights and cameras were focused. Everyone also noticed the rose on Yu Mo's chest.

"Friendship first, competition second." Yu Mo gestured towards the camera, with a forced smile: "Thank you, Yves Saint Laurent."

Panda subconsciously shrank his neck: "Why do I feel like the captain is saying something harsh..."

A Lu and Lao Mai: "...emmm."

After they sat down, Lin Meng was still a little unhappy and swung the mouse cable. Before putting on the headset, she heard Yu Mo mumbling to himself in a low voice. The bright and handsome border instructor actually had times when he whispered to himself, and there was a hint of resentment in his words.

"Team Yogurt, Team POP, and now even Team Yves Saint Laurent are not spared. Are you just checking in and collecting stamps?"

Lin Meng: “???”

Someone, I'm afraid you missed a team :)

Who is jealous?

Thank you to the little angels who cast their votes or irrigated me with nutrient solution~

Thanks to the little angel who threw the [grenade]: I urge you to give up the dark and throw me one;

Thanks to the little angel who cast [mines]: Xiaoyan is Mumu, light-colored Sunny 1;

Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the [nutrient solution]:

TRUE 30 bottles; Passerby A, B, C, D 14 bottles; Xiaoyan is Mumu 6 bottles; Unbearable 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!