"!!!"
At this very moment!
Inside the snake club, snake's manager was lying on a yoga mat, taking a break. Her name was Wu Qian, a twenty-eight-year-old single woman nearing thirty.
She had very high expectations for her life.
Especially after returning home from a hard day's work.
Yoga, bubble baths, face masks, cucumbers, an exquisite lifestyle—she couldn't go without any of them. She had just finished her yoga session, and her whole body was slick with fragrant sweat.
She had been planning to wait for the sweat to cool, then enjoy a nice bath.
She happened to have some time!
She decided to sort through her friend requests. In the past, she might not have accepted them, but she was in a good mood today. During the annual review, her bonus had been increased by ten percent.
Naturally, that put her in a good mood.
Working for the boss was hard. Heartless capitalists never treated their employees like human beings.
But when she got paid—and even received a raise—
Manager Wu had only one thought: Boss, please keep up this attitude. As long as there's enough money, I don't mind not being treated like a human. Thus, she chose to work overtime of her own accord.
At first, Wu Qian hadn't thought much of it. Flexible managers like her usually introduced a few minor players and then conducted various screenings. The cost wasn't particularly high.
What harm was there in having a chat?
But after learning that they were two players—and a bot lane duo at that—she immediately became interested. She instantly understood that this person had hit the nail on the head.
snake happened to be short of a bot lane right now.
There was no helping it!
Compared with other positions, bot lane was the hardest to fill.
Other teams wouldn't let go of good carries.
And good supports were even harder to find. On top of that, there was another awkward problem: what if the new support and the new ADC didn't mesh?
What then?
They would have to start looking again.
That was why their progress had been so slow.
snake had also prepared for the worst-case scenario: bringing up two players from the youth training team. But they had tested them before, and their performance could only be described as average. They would have to be prepared to spend a year warming the bench.
They still had to consider other possibilities. And now, hadn't one just appeared?
[Manager Wu: What ranks? How old are they?]
[Chen Yi: They're both eighteen!]
[Manager Wu: Their ranks?]
[Chen Yi: One is in the top thirty of Challenger, and the other is in the top one hundred, just short of the top fifty.]
At first, Wu Qian was full of anticipation.
She had even lit up when she heard their ages. Eighteen was just right. Not only did it avoid the hassle of dealing with underage contracts—
Their bodies were also still at their peak.
Perfect!
But when she heard their ranks, she was slightly disappointed. After thinking it over, however, she decided to give them a chance and planned to contact them the next day.
But just as Manager Wu was about to send that reply—
A video arrived.
It was a highlight reel from a game. She had seen it before, and the impressive plays were decent, with some reference value—but they were only useful as a reference.
A Public Match wasn't a professional match. The difference was huge.
"A Challenger-game massacre. This is pretty good..."
In the end, she decided to leave the decision to her superior. After forwarding the video, Wu Qian happily went to take a bath, thinking they wouldn't reply until the next day.
But then...
Just as she had settled into the bathtub and was preparing to watch a show in comfort—
Her phone rang.
The moment she answered, the head coach, JUN, spoke urgently. "Where are they? Are those people from earlier still available? Find them immediately. I'll contact them about a trial right now."
"????"
What the hell?!
JUN was supposed to be the laid-back type. At work, he liked to chant sutras and brainwash the players; after work, he strictly followed the teachings.
Because of that, he often didn't even come online.
Yet now, he was acting completely out of character.
"Coach, don't get so worked up. I watched it too. Their ranks aren't that high. Can't we deal with it tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow? What do you mean, tomorrow? Wei Shen once said... 'What's the use of a high rank? As long as they're strong, that's enough.' Do you know who that ADC being crushed was? It was UZI!"
"!!!!"
With that one sentence—
Manager Wu could no longer remain calm.
Since it was a highlight video, she had only paid attention to the plays. Who would notice the IDs? But after hearing this, the significance was completely different. An ADC capable of crushing UZI—
Forget a Public Match. There were only a handful of them in the entire world.
But even so, that shouldn't have been enough to get JUN so excited in the middle of the night, right?
JUN continued, "Do you know what the hardest thing about a bot lane is?"
"Teamwork?"
"Exactly! A good bot lane needs a long time to build synergy. It might take a month, or it might take two. But this bot lane doesn't need any time to mesh, because they're already a duo."
Wu Qian really hadn't noticed that much. She opened the search page.
The moment she saw the two players' game records—
Manager Wu completely lost her composure. She even felt her breathing quicken. Wasn't this exactly what they had been looking for?
JUN: "Contact them immediately. I'll arrange everything right away."
"Okay! I'll go now..."
Take a bath?
Forget it!
Work came first.
As for Chen Yi, he had already finished dinner. After confirming that there had been no reply, he was somewhat disappointed. He would contact them again tomorrow. If that didn't work, he would use the backup plan.
Simple!
At the same time, he glanced at Su Nuan, who was busy in the kitchen, and a satisfied smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
Chen Yi had originally planned to clean up himself, but she had directly warned him.
She would do it herself.
She said it was repayment for him hosting her these past few days. If he still refused under those circumstances, it would mean he didn't know how to appreciate kindness. Especially with someone like Su Nuan, refusing would only backfire.
So he could only agree.
Watching all this, the atmosphere immediately improved.
It had been the same in his previous life!
The only difference was that the kitchen was a little bigger now. Wearing a half-length apron, she wiped every bottle, jar, and surface inside and out. According to Su Nuan—
Wiping them down regularly could extend their service life.
She didn't even spare the nooks and crannies.
For example, the inside of the lower cabinet. To clean it, Su Nuan had to bend down and reach inside. Chen Yi naturally saw this scene, but he only glanced at it.
Then he turned his head away.
Don't ask! Looking too long could be fatal.
When God closed one door for you, He opened a window. That was the case here too. Su Nuan was indeed rather flat—around an A+, barely reaching a B.
But her legs were long!
And because she often sat, she had more flesh on her lower body, which was also quite pert. Especially when she bent over, combined with the lifting effect of her jeans—
All he could say was... the impact was astonishing.
Ahem, ahem, ahem!
"What are you coughing for?"
"This..."
Chen Yi couldn't exactly say he had been peeking. He immediately cleared his throat and said, "Why don't you take a bath after you finish cleaning? You've worked up quite a sweat, so..."
"No way! Absolutely not!"
"!!!"
Chen Yi smacked his lips. Her reaction was unusually strong. Looking at her slightly flushed cheeks, he couldn't tell whether she was embarrassed or merely tired.
He could only nod and say, "Yes, yes, I understand."
"Good that you understand!"
After Su Nuan finished cleaning, she put everything back where it belonged. The place felt much cleaner than before, and even had more of a homey atmosphere.
After returning to the sofa, she opened another bottle of AD Calcium Milk for herself.
She took a sip.
Pure satisfaction!
"Is it good?"
"Mm!"
Su Nuan nodded. It was her favorite.
She also glanced at Chen Yi. Perhaps the distance between them had narrowed considerably, but she still couldn't bring herself to bathe in an unfamiliar man's home.
Chen Yi naturally understood that, so he didn't force her.
Besides, Su Nuan was a clean freak.
She wouldn't go today, but she would eventually.
There was no need to rush.
For now—
He would start by adjusting their schedules. Chen Yi yawned and said, "It's getting late. Let's go to bed early. I've already contacted the team. We might have an answer tomorrow!"
"Really? I didn't study much, so don't lie to me."
"If you don't believe me, look..."
With that!
Chen Yi took out the chat history.
At that moment, Su Nuan felt that the man before her seemed even more impressive than she had imagined. But just as she was about to praise Chen Yi a little—
A message arrived!
[Manager Wu: Hello?]
[Manager Wu: Are you still there? If so, I can arrange a trial right now.]
Before you continue