Little Fish and Mint - Chapter 24
His tone was cold, his expression intimidating, his aloof gaze unwavering. Everything about him screamed “unapproachable,” typical Yu Ge—
Except for his hasty exit from the custom game lobby.
Awen, observing him, chuckled. “Scared now?” he teased.
Yu Ge ignored him.
“You said ‘whatever.’ Now I set the terms, and you’re backing out.”
Still no response.
“Fine, I understand. You can’t bear to delete her” Awen said, his tone playful.
Yu Ge turned, giving him a look that clearly said, Are you stupid?
Little C jumped to his defense. “Why do you always bet on deleting people’s WeChat? It’s rude! Our Fish isn’t like that! He’s the best!”
Awen looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. “That’s why I deleted your WeChat before, remember?”
“I know you lost that solo queue bet!” Little C said, still hurt by the betrayal. “What kind of friend are you? You’re a monster!”
“And who do you think the other monster was?” Awen pressed.
Little C opened his mouth to speak, but Yu Ge interrupted, his voice sharp. “Enough.”
Little C froze.
“Could it be…?” he mumbled, turning to look at Yu Ge, his voice trembling.
Awen mimicked Little C’s earlier declaration, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “Protecting the best Xi-ge in the world~”
Under Little C’s disbelieving stare, Yu Ge finally reacted. A flicker of discomfort crossed his usually impassive face. Avoiding eye contact, he mumbled, “He suggested it first.”
“…” Little C collapsed in his chair, defeated.
Awen nodded knowingly. “I see. You can delete your bro’s WeChat, but not Xu Yitong’s. Untouchable.”
Yu Ge’s patience wore thin. “Are you insane? I’ve barely met her.”
“Then let’s solo,” Awen challenged, making a move to create a custom game.
Yu Ge, speechless, reached for his headset, clearly done with the conversation.
Roy, who’d been listening from afar, raised an eyebrow. “Did you hear that? ‘Barely met her.’ He’s whipped already.”
Will shrugged, unconcerned. “Don’t be ridiculous. Fish isn’t like you. Awen’s just joking.”
Roy, his gossip senses tingling, whispered, “How is it ridiculous? He brought back that bag of cookies! When has Fish ever accepted a gift from anyone?”
“Maybe she’s a friend of his sister?” Will guessed.
“I don’t think so” Roy said confidently. “If he didn’t have other intentions, I’ll eat my hat.”
“Stop being so nosy,” Will said, exasperated. He thought Yu Ge had only accepted the cookies out of consideration for Yu Nuo.
Besides, Yu Ge was so aloof, no one would be surprised if he stayed single forever. Fish having a crush…? The thought was preposterous. Will shuddered.
“You and Little C are two peas in a pod. Both clueless” Roy said, shaking his head.
Little C, alone in his misery, said through gritted teeth, “He won’t delete someone he’s ‘barely met,’ but he’ll delete me, his loyal support? After all the skillshots I’ve blocked, the team fights I’ve initiated, the minions I’ve last-hit for him, the countless hours we’ve spent together in the Rift… What was it all for?”
He looked at Yu Ge, seeking comfort, but Yu Ge, wearing his noise-canceling headphones, was staring at his computer screen, oblivious.
Awen, taking pity on him, said, “Consider it a testament to your good memory.”
Little C: “…”
✧✧✧
10:10 PM.
No reply.
10:15 PM.
Still no reply.
Xu Yitong tossed and turned, staring at her phone. Twenty minutes.
Still nothing.
Fine.
Great.
Ignoring her again.
So much for being friends.
Her attempts at flirting had failed. He was a wall of ice. She was genuinely hurt.
She sent one last message:
-Zhenzhen: [Fine! I’m angry now!]
She immediately muted his notifications, unpinned his chat, and hid it from her message list, then closed WeChat completely, even swiping it away from her recent apps.
Finally feeling a sense of control, she leaned against her headboard and scrolled through Xiaohongshu.
Thirty minutes later, she opened WeChat again.
Just one peek…
Squinting, her thumb hovering over the bottom of the screen to block any potential new messages, she cautiously opened his chat, like someone scratching a lottery ticket, afraid to see the results.
Seeing her angry message was no longer at the bottom, she quickly removed her thumb, relieved—
Little Fish: [In training.]
He’s unbelievable… she thought, shaking her head.
…
After the scrim, Hui-ge and the coaches discussed the game and planned their draft strategy for the finals.
Yu Ge listened with half an ear.
“Conquer’s been practicing Vayne on the Korean server. Should we ban it?”
“Vayne isn’t a priority ban this patch.”
“TG’s strongest point is their bot lane. Conquer’s mechanics are decent, but his champion pool is shallow. Banning a few of his ADCs will cripple them,” the head coach mused.
“Our bot lane is strong, too. Fish has no problem against him. It’s a waste of a ban. We should ban Killer’s Hecarim,” the assistant coach countered.
Unsure, he turned to Yu Ge. “Fish, what do you think?”
“What?”
“Should we target Conquer in the draft?”
“Whatever,” his voice was cold, his expression saying, As if he’s even a threat.
“Why so hostile?” Hui-ge asked, noticing his tone. “Did he offend you?”
Yu Ge looked away.
Awen glanced at him knowingly. He understood Yu Ge’s displeasure. That overprotective brother…
Seeing Yu Ge reach for his phone, Little C asked, “Who are you replying to now?”
Yu Ge ignored him.
“He reads other people’s messages but ignores us…”
Awen, adding fuel to the fire, said, “Can’t bet on deleting someone else’s WeChat, but you can bet on deleting your bro’s.”
Yu Ge stood up.
“Where are you going?” Little C asked.
“Getting water,” he said, and left.
✧✧✧
In the lounge, Yu Ge opened the fridge, grabbing a water bottle. He glanced at his phone.
-Xu Yitong: [Three whole words today! [surprised]]
He leaned against the wall, considering his reply. He wouldn’t usually bother.
But he wasn’t ready to face Awen and Little C’s incessant teasing just yet.
…
Xu Yitong was watching a drama when her phone buzzed with a message: [1].
Annoyed by the interruption, she swiped it away.
Then she realized it was from Yu Ge.
She thought for a moment.
-Zhenzhen: [What?]
-Zhenzhen: [Done with practice?]
-Little Fish: [Mm.]
-Zhenzhen: [It’s late.] She didn’t realize how casually she was talking to him now.
-Little Fish: [Match next week.]
-Zhenzhen: [I’ll be there!]
His reply came faster than expected.
Three minutes.
-Little Fish: [Okay.]
✧✧✧
On September 7th, the LPL Summer Finals were held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
Even before the match began, viewership across various streaming platforms had exceeded ten million.
After the scalper incident, Chen Yuzheng had secured them VIP tickets. Moli was visiting family in Beijing, so Xu Yitong went with CC and Cai Yishi.
The stadium roared with excitement.
Stuck in traffic, they arrived late, just as the opening ceremony ended and the pre-game “trash talk” segment began.
Yu Ge was the first to be interviewed.
“Look! My idol!” Xu Yitong squealed, grabbing CC’s hand.
“Ow!” CC winced.
“Is this necessary…?” Cai Yishi mumbled, covering her ears against the deafening screams.
The interviewer asked, “OG and TG meet again in the finals. Everyone’s anticipating the Fish vs. Conquer bot lane matchup. How would you describe your long-time rival, Conquer, in a few words?”
Yu Ge, his face impassive, said, “Bad player, talks too much.”
The audience chuckled.
The scene changed. Two days prior, during the filming of a promotional video, Chen Yuzheng, lounging on the edge of the stage, had been asked the same question.
He’d thought for a moment. “Fish… I can’t really comment. Next question.”
The interviewer chuckled. “This is the trash talk segment. Don’t you want to say something provocative?”
“I offended him before, so I’ll refrain from trash talk. I actually want to be friends with him” he’d said.
…
GodV, a legendary LPL player, had been invited to film a promotional video for the upcoming World Championship.
After filming, he was escorted to the audience seats, as instructed by the organizers.
With numerous sponsors this year, they were pulling out all the stops to boost viewership.
Someone sat down to Xu Yitong’s right just before the match began.
The unassuming man in a baseball cap didn’t catch her attention.
Then, the camera panned to the audience.
When the man beside her appeared on the big screen for the first time, Xu Yitong thought it was a coincidence.
The second time, she assumed it was because he was handsome.
“The guy next to you is hot” CC typed on her phone, showing it to Xu Yitong over the noise of the crowd.
Xu Yitong glanced at him. “He’s okay. But he has tattoos. Probably a gangster” she typed back.
CC nudged her, gesturing for his WeChat contact.
Reluctantly, Xu Yitong tapped the man on the shoulder.
He turned to look at her.
She showed him CC’s phone, mouthing, “WeChat?”
Suddenly, the crowd roared, people standing up, screaming. Xu Yitong, confused, turned to see what was happening.
She and the man beside her were on the big screen.
And she was still frozen in the “asking for WeChat” pose.
She was mortified.
That damn cameraman…
The camera quickly cut away, focusing on the two teams on stage.
Something seemed to be happening on the OG side. The players’ faces were contorted in a mix of shock and amusement. Awen sprayed water all over his keyboard.
The audience was confused, everyone turning to look at Yu Ge.
Why are they all staring at Fish…?
Author’s Note:
Are we witnessing Fish’s composure finally breaking? (.)