Sister, Choose Me, I'm Super Sweet [Esports] - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Sister, I’ll Buy You a Drink

The internet cafe was extremely noisy. Tong Yi sat in a corner booth, expressionlessly staring at the game screen while smoking. She was wearing a gray hoodie with the hood pulled over her head, obscuring half of her face. Her slightly wavy, black hair fell casually over her shoulders.

Several cigarette butts already lay in the ashtray next to her.

The “Game Over” message once again popped up on the computer screen.

The game she was playing was called Formation Breaker, a 5v5 MOBA-style competitive game with a Chinese-style theme. The game was very popular, and its professional league was followed by many. Tong Yi had been in a professional esports team for five years and had played as a starting player for four.

She didn’t start another match. Instead, she put down the mouse, switched the cigarette to her right hand, and leaned back in her chair. She slowly took a puff, her dark eyes watching the computer screen through a hazy cloud of smoke.

She had already lost two games in a row due to her distraction, but it didn’t matter. She was using a lesser-known alternate account.

She had just finished the last match of the Spring Regular Season today, and it was a very ugly defeat.

She hadn’t gone online to read any of the comments, but she knew without a doubt that they would be full of insults, probably telling her to retire.

Tong Yi extinguished the half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray, grabbed her phone and jacket, and prepared to leave.

Just then, two strangers sitting next to her started arguing.

Tong Yi’s movements paused slightly.

“What were you doing all game? You can’t even play a support role properly?” Stranger A angrily yelled at Stranger B.

Stranger B was clearly not taking it. “You blame the support when you lose. I’m never playing with you again!”

“I didn’t want to play with you in the first place. Weren’t you the one who insisted we team up?”

“You act like you’d win if you didn’t play with me. Your skills are so bad, I don’t even want to talk about it. That last wave in the dragon pit…”

The two of them got more and more heated. After only a few lines of shouting, they both stood up, grabbing each other’s clothes as if they were about to fight.

Tong Yi watched them with a look of hesitation, opening her mouth but not knowing what to say.

They were blocking the aisle, and she couldn’t get through. If she spoke up rashly, she was afraid she’d get caught in the crossfire.

The game they were playing was also Formation Breaker. They had been arguing throughout the entire match. Now that they finally lost, they completely lost their tempers.

Just then, a student with a backpack walked over with a determined stride.

“Alright, stop arguing. I watched you both play the whole game. You’re both equally bad. No one can talk smack about anyone else,” Song Jin Yuan said to the two.

Tong Yi was stunned. She looked up at the girl who had appeared out of nowhere.

The girl looked very young, probably a high school student. She was wearing a school uniform, but it wasn’t the typical blue-and-white tracksuit that Tong Yi often saw. It was a Western-style blazer and a gray pleated skirt, like something out of a TV show. It was a beautiful outfit that made her look full of youth and energy.

What caught the eye most was the girl’s hair—it was pink and tied in a high ponytail at the back of her head. Her skin was very pale and flawless, and the pink hair made it look even whiter.

Tong Yi couldn’t help but wonder if high schools were this lenient now, allowing students to dye their hair.

But looking at the girl’s uniform, she guessed it was a very expensive school where the rules were probably different, which made sense.

“It’s fine if you call him bad, but why are you calling me bad?” Stranger A looked at Song Jin Yuan, unconvinced. “He’s a support. He just wandered around in front of the enemy and got killed alone. He even tried to scout the bushes up close.”

“He wasn’t wandering; he just didn’t have vision,” Song Jin Yuan said.

Stranger B finally had someone speak up for him and immediately said, “See? I told you, there was nothing wrong with my play!”

“What do you mean nothing was wrong? You had a lot of problems,” Song Jin Yuan retorted bluntly. “Look, at your team’s lineup, this jungler hero is very reliant on the blue buff, and his attack power is low in the early game. The opponent will definitely try to steal the blue buff. You didn’t help the jungler defend the jungle and went straight to the bottom lane. Did you even know that the jungler died along with the blue buff right from the start?”

“Uh… I didn’t,” Stranger B said, a little awkwardly.

Stranger A next to him snorted. “You said there was nothing wrong with you? Look at that…”

“You’re no different. The enemy mid-laner cleared their lane and went to help in the jungle. Why were you just standing around under your turret?” Song Jin Yuan started scolding Stranger A.

Stranger A was stunned for a moment and quickly tried to defend himself. “No, I thought they could handle it themselves.”

Song Jin Yuan: “…”

“And when you saw the enemy jungler walk past you to gank the bottom lane, why didn’t you ping a signal?” Song Jin Yuan asked again.

Stranger A: “I…”

“Exactly, why didn’t you signal?” Stranger B pressed on. “You got me and the marksman killed!”

Song Jin Yuan shot him a glance. “If you had been in the bush giving vision, you and the marksman wouldn’t have died. What were you, a tank, doing hiding behind the marksman the whole game?”

Stranger B: “…”

Tong Yi stood by, watching Song Jin Yuan act as a judge for the two strangers, and couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.

The two strangers looked like they had just started playing the game, and they were in a low-level rank. But this student seemed interesting. She knew a lot, and everything she said made perfect sense. And did she really watch them play the entire game?

Soon, Song Jin Yuan finished her judgment. Her final conclusion was that both of them were bad, and neither should be criticizing the other.

“Also, if you’re going to argue, why are you blocking the aisle? How are other people supposed to get through?” Song Jin Yuan added.

“Oh, oh, oh, sorry, sorry…”

The two of them finally realized they were blocking Tong Yi’s way and quickly went back to their seats.

Then, Stranger A looked at Tong Yi and said in a surprised voice, “You look familiar. Are you… are you a professional player from some team? I think I’ve seen you before.”

Tong Yi’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly reached into her pocket to find a mask. “No, you must be mistaken.”

Seeing Tong Yi deny it, they assumed they were wrong and didn’t ask any more questions, starting their next match.

Tong Yi couldn’t find her mask, so she decided to just leave quickly. But then she realized she hadn’t logged out of her computer yet, so she sat back down, picked up the mouse, and prepared to log out.

“Jiejie, are you leaving now?” Song Jin Yuan walked over to Tong Yi and started talking to her.

Tong Yi couldn’t tell if she was imagining it, but she felt that the girl’s tone was softer when she spoke to her, with a hint of what felt like a whine.

“Jiejie?” Tong Yi was slightly taken aback.

Was she this friendly with strangers?

“You’re probably older than me, so calling you jiejie is normal, right?” Song Jin Yuan said.

Tong Yi turned to look at her. Seeing the innocent and simple look in the other person’s eyes, she figured the girl didn’t recognize her. After all, how would a high school student have time to watch matches?

“I was about to leave,” Tong Yi said.

“How about you play a duo match with me, jiejie? I play this game too,” Song Jin Yuan said with a smile.

Tong Yi was slightly stunned. “…What?”

“I saw that you’re really good at the game. Can you carry me?”

Song Jin Yuan leaned on the back of the chair, bending down to whisper to Tong Yi in a soft, sweet voice.

This time, Tong Yi was sure she was whining.

And this pink-haired girl had a faint, pleasant scent that was very comforting.

“Are you serious? I’ve been losing a lot,” Tong Yi couldn’t help but ask.

Song Jin Yuan still had a relaxed smile on her face. “That’s because your teammates were bad. How could it be your fault, jiejie? Don’t worry, I’m not bad. We’ll definitely win if we play together.”

Seeing the other person so insistent on playing with her, Tong Yi couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious.

She actually thought this young girl was quite likable. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be a big deal to play a couple of games with her. But…

“You’re not an adult yet, are you?” Tong Yi suddenly asked.

Hearing this, Song Jin Yuan’s expression changed slightly, and her smile wasn’t as bright.

“What? Why are you suddenly asking me something like that? Of course, I’m an adult. Otherwise, how would I have logged in?” Song Jin Yuan said without changing her expression, a smile still on her lips.

However, Tong Yi had already seen right through her.

“Net cafe manager!” Tong Yi shouted loudly, trying to get the manager’s attention.

Song Jin Yuan quickly stopped her. “Ahhh, don’t call the manager! I admit it, I admit it! I’m not an adult yet. I had my friend who is an adult log me in.”

“Minors aren’t allowed in internet cafes,” Tong Yi said calmly. “You should leave quickly.”

She had guessed that this was the case. Although internet cafes now require real-name registration, this was a small, chaotic one. It was very common for minors to get an adult to log them in and then play themselves. The managers usually just looked the other way unless someone said something.

After saying that, Tong Yi clicked the log-out button on the computer in front of her and got up to leave.

Song Jin Yuan’s eyes followed her. She muttered softly, “So stingy, hmph. If you don’t want to play with me, then don’t… anyway, there will be plenty of other chances.”

“What did you say?” Tong Yi wondered if she was hearing things.

“Nothing.” Song Jin Yuan put on her sweet smile again. “Bye-bye, jiejie.”

Tong Yi frowned, staring at Song Jin Yuan for a while with hesitation before finally turning and leaving.

Song Jin Yuan’s sweet smile remained on her face the whole time.

After walking out of the internet cafe, Tong Yi stood by the side of the road and used her phone to book a ride, then waited for the car to arrive.

A few minutes later, Tong Yi suddenly heard footsteps behind her. She turned her head and saw Song Jin Yuan walking over with a bottle of soda.

“Jiejie, I’ll buy you a drink,” Song Jin Yuan said, holding the soda out to Tong Yi.

Tong Yi was stunned for a moment, looking at the bottle of white peach soda in her hand. It was her favorite flavor.

This person was inexplicably offering to buy her a drink, and she happened to choose her favorite flavor. Was this a coincidence?

“Thank you, but no need,” Tong Yi said, refusing without hesitation.

A very good-looking girl suddenly came up to her, wanting to play a game with her and offering to buy her a drink. It was all too strange.

Could this be a new tactic for human traffickers?

Tong Yi’s gaze toward Song Jin Yuan became increasingly suspicious.

Song Jin Yuan clearly realized she was being mistaken for a bad person. She froze for a moment, her expression a little flustered, and her usual sweet smile disappeared.

“I’m not a bad person!” Song Jin Yuan quickly explained, “You’re not thinking I’ve poisoned the drink, are you? I really haven’t. I just bought it in the internet cafe. Look, the packaging is completely intact.”