"Let's dive into the second round! DG suffered a defeat in the first round. Will we see them make some adjustments to their team comp for the next game? We can see that the two sides are now… mm, mhm, looks like they're going with just about the same bans as last time—"
"DG's bans are pretty good, they're targeted at sealing off BLX's bottom lane options. At the same time, BLX is once more blocking Wolf Cub from his favored champion Renekton. We can see from the previous round that BLX is treating Wolf Cub as the weakest link. In this upcoming round, BLX probably won't back down from the chance to target him again. We'll have to see how DG responds."
The commentators' voices rang out through the stadium, and the stands filled up with wave after wave of ear-splitting cheers for Team DG.
Although they were the underdogs at the moment, their fans were still filled to the brim with faith. Team DG had experienced the intense pressure of the world championships, after all. DG's players were all strong, mentally and emotionally, and being at a disadvantage would only cause them to fight more fiercely. They would never cower and stall in place.
"DG! Go for it! DG! You got this!"
The fervent cheers traveled to every corner of the stadium, but each competitor who sat at their station on stage was exceptionally relaxed. The cameras swept over their faces, capturing calm expressions that showed almost no trace of solemnity.
A few minutes earlier—
Old Wo was caressing his precious thermos, as per usual. Qian Bao complained that the air conditioning wasn't working hard enough on their side of the stadium. After just one round, she was already drenched in sweat. She grabbed some tissues and wiped her neck, urging the others to hurry up and finish their next games fast so that she could head back to HQ and take a shower.
Shen Qiao and Lu Zhe, sitting on one side of their formation, were both relaxing in their chairs. The smile at the corners of Lu Zhe's lips was stronger than it had been a while ago, as though he was in a pretty good mood.
He followed up on his earlier question and asked, "Have you decided where you'd like to eat later?"
Shen Qiao lazily leaned back in his chair. His posture was extremely relaxed, but his gaze was fixed on the screen. Once the picks and bans phase began, he slowly answered, "We'll talk about it once we win. If we lose, we'll only be fit to eat cafeteria food at the HQ—you wanna choose your champion first?"
Lu Zhe's smile reached his eyes now. He didn't press Shen Qiao for an answer.
Behind them, Coach Fang put on his headset and flipped through the notebook in his hands. Once he heard their conversation taper off, he chimed in, "Lu Zhe, you take the first pick. Gragas, Lee Sin, or someone else?"
It was only then that Lu Zhe said, "Lee Sin."
Where he fell short was where he would pick himself back up again.
He felt he simply hadn't played well enough in their last match. It wasn't a problem with their team composition.
Practically as soon as Lu Zhe spoke, Shen Qiao found his chosen champion on the selection screen and locked it in, without waiting to hear a word of approval from their coach.
BLX watched them make that choice, then instantly locked in the duo of Xayah and Rakan for themselves.
The commentator narrated these actions as soon as they happened. "Alright, Xayah and Rakan are in play. For their bottom lane, DG will take… they've taken Kai'Sa! Kai'Sa makes a pretty good pair with Thresh, as well as various other supports. BLX may need to consider using their next ban to limit DG's support choices."
"Oh? DG hasn't rushed to choose their support… they picked up Qiyana instead! Aha, Qian Bao clearly wasn't very satisfied with her own performance in the previous round. Is she trying to say LeBlanc isn't strong enough, hm? Qian Bao? Hm… this is indeed one of Qian Bao's strongest champions. Let's all look forward to seeing some brilliant displays."
"On BLX's side—LeBlanc! This choice is a bit predictable. We can see they're playing it by the book."
……
While the commentators rattled off their analyses, DG and BLX took turns banning two more champions. BLX locked in their jungler, and DG's Er-Hua chose a hook support for himself.
On both sides, there was still one position left undecided.
"Qiaoqiao?" Lu Zhe called out through the voice channel, prompting Shen Qiao to choose his champion.
Coach Fang had advised Shen Qiao on his choice in the previous round. As a result, Shen Qiao had chosen Aatrox and fallen prey to the enemy's choice of Jayce. In this round, Coach Fang could tell just by looking at their opponents' team composition—
Regardless of which champion Shen Qiao chose, Xu Xiao would certainly choose a champion to counter him.
And so, Coach Fang decided to tell Shen Qiao to make his own choice based on their current team comp. Shen Qiao would surely choose his strongest hero.
In matches between professional teams, where all players exhibited approximately the same skill level, choosing the right champion was critical. Depending on the version of the game, one champion could easily counter another—like Jayce against Aatrox in the previous round.
But there were exceptions to that rule.
Some players, when operating their best champion, could play extraordinarily well even in versions of the game where their champion wasn't optimal, even against champions that could theoretically counter their choice.
Hearing Coach Fang's words, Shen Qiao thought for a while, then said, "Is Vladimir okay?"
Coach Fang froze for a moment. It was the first time he'd seen Shen Qiao request a hero like this, one that was basically garbage before Level 6. But it was common enough to see Vladimir as a top lane champion; Coach Fang's immense surprise was unwarranted.
It was just that BLX was clearly targeting DG's top laner today. If Vladimir was crushed early in the game, team fights would be nearly impossible to win later on.
But there was one good thing about Vladimir.
As long as he got kills and experience, he could truly take flight.
Coach Fang quickly decided to respect Shen Qiao's choice. "Sure. Take Vladimir."
……
As soon as DG locked in their final champion, BLX made their final pick as well—Mordekaiser.
"Mordekaiser versus Vladimir, hm… that choice certainly falls within what one would expect. This way, Mordekaiser can withstand Vladimir's blood drain—he's tanky, after all. And he'll be able to corner anyone who tries to run. When fights break out, he can drag the most formidable enemy into his Death Realm. He's really got too many convenient abilities… it looks like BLX will still be targeting Wolf Cub in the top lane this time—"
The commentator's tone was filled with a bit of pessimism. Anyone with eyes could see that Shen Qiao hadn't been a match for Xu Xiao in the earlier round, and no one thought Shen Qiao's fragile Vladimir could do anything impressive this time around. The commentators just weren't bold enough to say anything too definitive at that juncture.
"The thing is…" The other commentator's tone was even more skeptical. "We haven't seen Wolf Cub play this champion in official matches before. And just think about it. Today, BLX definitely won't go easy on the top lane. If Wolf Cub had picked a tankier hero, rather than Vladimir, maybe he would have been able to make more of an impact on this round? He wouldn't die off so easily in the early stages, giving him a chance to develop and contribute more in team fights later on."
The two commentators exchanged a look. Their words were filling up all the spectators' heads with a fog of doubt. In the livestream room, irate fans were sending string after string of question marks into the bullet comments. The more volatile fans were about to start leading a brigade against these commentators.
But if DG lost this round, their defeat would undoubtedly be blamed on Shen Qiao and the coach.
The live commentators quieted down for a few seconds before one of them voiced a very typical, compromising evaluation:
"But seeing as DG is bold enough to play Vladimir here, we can take it as evidence that Wolf Cub has a good handle on this champion. Plus, their team comp as a whole is pretty good. Both sides have chosen mid laners, junglers, and supports with immense potential. We'll be looking forward to a strong showing from both sides in this upcoming match!"
……
Very quickly, the match started to play out on the big screens in the stadium—
"Careful, their jungler is coming." Lu Zhe, as always, was the first to speak in DG's voice channel.
As he finished scouting, he saw that BLX's jungler, Gragas, was indeed moving into the underbrush with their mid laner and two bottom laners.
This Gragas was equipped with a Sweeping Lens; as he neared the jungle with his teammates, he spotted DG's wards and knew right away that his own movements had been detected by the enemy. This invasion was a failure. Gragas quickly led his teammates back to the other side of the river.
At that time, Shen Qiao got in his lane. The opposing Xu Xiao had already gotten up to Level 2 by farming minions. Xu Xiao charged up and launched an attack right away, clearly determined to get a solo kill on Shen Qiao—
Shen Qiao flashed and retreated, but Mordekaiser still managed to shave off forty percent of his HP. Shen Qiao instantly used a potion to heal up as he dragged the fight back to his own team's tower.
Even if Xu Xiao was in a frenzied state, he couldn't possibly pursue Shen Qiao to the enemy tower when he was only Level 2. For the time being, he could only set aside his thirst for blood and retreat to continue farming minions.
Shen Qiao didn't waste any time either. Once he'd healed up, he slipped away from his own tower to start farming.
In the stadium—
The commentators focused their discussion on what was playing on the big screens, dissecting the action in the top lane.
"We just saw BLX's Gragas attempt a repeat of their dive from the first round. They were on their way up to the top lane to ambush Wolf Cub, but… it's too bad Lu Zhe was nearby, battling for the blue buff. Plus, Wolf Cub's health is in great shape, and he hasn't pushed too far. BLX won't be able to take advantage of this opportunity."
"Gragas has gone to the middle lane! Qian Bao is moving very well, she avoided Gragas's attack, and she managed to fight back and get LeBlanc down to half health! Too bad for Gragas, Qian Bao won't be an easy target.
"So he's cutting through the jungle again, heading to the river in the lower jungle… he's getting into it with the Rift Scuttler now. Let's see if Old Wo and Er-Hua will take this chance to—wait!"
One of the commentators was suddenly stunned by something. He stammered, "The camera only cut away for a few seconds, but Xu Xiao… who can tell me how Xu Xiao's creep score has fallen behind?! This shouldn't have happened, right?"
The whole crowd's attention zeroed in on the stats that were currently displayed on the big screens. The charts showed each player's condition and equipment, as well as their number of creeps killed.
The situation in the top lane was obvious at a glance.
Shen Qiao's creep score was 28, while Xu Xiao's… was only 23.
These stats were extremely unreasonable.
The second commentator hastily added, "Is this because Mordekaiser focused too much on trying to hack away at his enemy? Vladimir managed to dodge most of his attacks, then used his Q to heal up. So Vladimir is still in good health, while Mordekaiser saw some pressure under their tower… and fell just slightly behind in creeps killed."
Upon seeing all this unfold, the DG fans in the audience felt a new hope emerge in their hearts.
Wolf Cub's Vladimir… really had some tricks up his sleeve?
……
"First blood!"
The declaration of first blood took over the big monitors in the stadium. Swiftly, the focus shifted onto the middle lane, where Qian Bao was in the process of returning to DG's base. The footage of the game started to play out, allowing the commentators to see a spectacular solo kill in the mid lane!
Qian Bao had claimed a kill. She happily returned to their base to change her equipment, while chirping in the voice chat, "Need any help in the top lane?"
Before Shen Qiao could answer, Lu Zhe—who was participating in a fight in the bottom lane—answered on his behalf: "Yes."
Qian Bao gamely announced that she was on her way. She headed straight into their side's jungle after leaving the base, making her way towards the top lane. Her Qiyana arrived just in time to see Mordekaiser pushing towards Shen Qiao near their tower—
As soon as Xu Xiao saw Qian Bao's Qiyana, he flung one last attack at Shen Qiao before retreating. However, Shen Qiao instantly charged forward and gave chase, slowing the enemy… and following up with an ult!
The slowed Mordekaiser's health plummeted. Xu Xiao had no choice but to use a potion!
But Qian Bao had already arrived. She flashed in and used her own ult. Mordekaiser turned and, with perfect timing, trapped her in his Death Realm!
Qian Bao nearly lost her life in there. Fortunately, upon her release, Shen Qiao was waiting. Vladimir's ult had already hit Mordekaiser. Qian Bao retreated to the underbrush, where she continued to fling out attacks. She managed to predict exactly where Mordekaiser would flee to, and with great difficulty—they took his head!
"We're five minutes in now, and DG has two kills to BLX's zero. DG's mid laner is developing fantastically! BLX's jungler in this round, Gragas, hasn't been performing as well as what we saw in the first round, and their champion in the top lane hasn't managed to counter the enemy at all.
"BLX is eight hundred gold behind right now. Will they still be able to establish their dominance in the early stages of the game?"
The commentators avidly watched the screen as they spoke.
Could BLX establish their dominance?
DG answered that question through their actions:
No.
Because Qian Bao had developed early in this round, she was able to start wandering about. She regularly visited the other two lanes to support her teammates, and Lu Zhe also took every opportunity to assist Shen Qiao up in the top lane.
As a result, BLX's jungler couldn't possibly assist Xu Xiao in his attempts to slay Shen Qiao's Vladimir. Especially since Shen Qiao's own counter gank instincts were on point that day.
Ten minutes into the match—
Gragas slowly let go of their plans to target that slippery Vladimir. When Mo Mo and Lele gave the signal from the bottom lane, he slipped down behind DG's two bottom laners and—together, the three of them managed to take down Er-Hua.
Mo Mo and Lele pushed onwards to DG's bottom lane outer turret, but Qian Bao had already come down from the middle lane by then. Lu Zhe also approached from nearby.
Qian Bao lurked in the underbrush. As soon as Gragas finished assisting in the attack against Er-Hua, Qian Bao trapped him in place with her ult! Lu Zhe swiftly joined in on her attack, and before long—
The commentators' voices rang out through the stadium: "DG takes another kill!"
As DG's fans savored Qian Bao's expert moves, Lu Zhe glanced at the map and unhesitatingly headed up to the top lane—because Shen Qiao had already pressured Mordekaiser back to the red side's tower. It was obvious Mordekaiser wanted to take the opportunity to battle it out under his own team's turret, while waiting for his teammates to come assist him. His ult was already ready to go; he just hadn't unleashed it yet.
Although Shen Qiao's creep score was now twenty-something better than Xu Xiao's, it was still nearly impossible for him to land a solo kill on Xu Xiao. Lu Zhe decided he would lend Shen Qiao a hand.
Upon noticing Lu Zhe's approach, Xu Xiao practically plastered himself against his team's tower in an attempt to hide. Unfortunately, Shen Qiao was dead set on ending his life. He instantly slowed Xu Xiao!
Right afterwards, Lu Zhe arrived and unleashed his own ult. Xu Xiao had no choice but to use his ult as well, sealing Lu Zhe away in his Death Realm. Lu Zhe was helpless against the attacks he was dealt while trapped, dying nearly instantly.
But Shen Qiao had already pushed forward. As soon as Mordekaiser's ult ended, he charged forward to deal the decisive blow!
His revenge was a success!
From beginning to end, Shen Qiao and Lu Zhe didn't exchange a single word in the voice channel. They worked together in perfect tandem to claim Mordekaiser's life, but this one-for-one exchange of lives… in truth, since DG already had an advantage, it wasn't the greatest deal.
In that second match, BLX became like the DG of the first match. They failed to set the pace in the early stages of the game. Although they kept themselves together through the middle stages, they wouldn't have an easy time as the game progressed.
……
Twelve minutes into the match, BLX and DG traded a kill for a kill once more. Although BLX managed to take down Qian Bao's Qiyana, it came at the cost of their support Lele—so it couldn't be considered a total victory for them.
Fifteen minutes into the match, Shen Qiao demolished BLX's top lane outer turret. Lu Zhe made a tacit exchange with the enemy. He let them take an ocean dragon while he claimed the Rift Herald.
But by that point, Xayah and Rakan were ready to show off their full potential. They fiercely taught DG a lesson by the dragon pit, trading away two lives to claim three of DG's players. In that battle, DG was nearly wiped out.
However, soon after that, DG learned to conceal their own strengths until the time was right. Shen Qiao's Vladimir farmed like crazy, swiftly becoming one of the most powerful champions as he reached Level 12. He led his teammates into a team fight in the middle lane. By the time they destroyed the enemy's outer turret there, they'd claimed two more kills!
When DG took down BLX's mid lane inner turret too, Colonel KI announced DG's chances of winning that round—sixty percent!
DG's players were turning things around.
Shen Qiao rushed in again, leading the charge. He sank into a pool of blood, and after 2.5 seconds… all the spectators in the audience could see that three of BLX's champions had lost half their health!
When Shen Qiao emerged from that pool of blood, BLX's players threw all their remaining abilities at him. But they could only watch as he calmly flashed away, hiding behind his teammates while he still had a sliver of health left.
"Ahhhhhh, Wolf Cub is too strong!" the live audience roared.
The bullet comments in the livestream—
[!!!!!!]
[??? I get the feeling… this Vladimir isn't the same as when I play him???]
[It seems… it seems pretty damn strong???]
[Wolfy-ge, ge, I was wrong, I shouldn't have said you were lame. I'm so sorry. You're our Daddy Vladimir.]
[You're really on fire?]
[There's only one way to describe the way Wolf Cub plays Vladimir: Outrageous!]
[Truth be told, I could see Vladimir as a carry, but I never imagined he could carry this hard.]
……
Right up until BLX's base exploded—
Everyone in the stands was glowing with excitement over Shen Qiao's masterful play with Vladimir.
"Congratulations to DG for taking the second round! Qian Bao showed her stuff right from the start in this match, Lu Zhe provided timely support in all three lanes throughout the entire game, and Wolf Cub's Vladimir showed his supremacy towards the end of the round! This DG is still the DG we know and love! Their top laner, mid laner, and jungler dominated the match!"
As soon as he took off his headset, Xu Xiao heard the commentators blowing rainbow farts about DG.
The color in his face changed. It was only after Mo Mo and their coach gave him a look that he remembered he needed to head into the rest area with them.
Because they would have to play one more round.
When he thought of all the times Shen Qiao's Vladimir pressured him into a retreat, Xu Xiao couldn't help but glance at their own jungler. With his eyes downcast, and his tone somewhat unpleasant, he asked, "Didn't we agree to target the top lane first? When you had a capable champion like Gragas, why didn't you help me dive Shen Qiao?"
BLX's mid laner was a beta with a delicate appearance, and he was also pretty good at playing jungler. As soon as he heard that voice from behind him, he stopped and patiently answered, "Because Vladimir has the ability to heal himself. When he's in good health and in a safe territory, I don't feel it's wise to target him.
"Besides, Lu Zhe was prepared to assist at every turn. He let us take the first cloud dragon and ocean dragon, only focusing on the Rift Herald. That was all because he spent most of his time in the jungle near the top lane."
Even though Xu Xiao could understand that logic, he still couldn't swallow the bitter pill of being suppressed by Shen Qiao's Vladimir. He persisted, "Lu Zhe came to assist in the first round too. He was dead set on hanging around the top lane, wasn't he? If you'd just come up to the top lane once in this match, I wouldn't have lost every time. You should reflect on your plays."
Lele and Mo Mo were at the head of the pack, chatting about what drinks they wanted to have during their break. When they heard the commotion from behind them, they turned back and saw that Xu Xiao looked about ready to start a fight right there in the hallway. Right away, they could tell that something wasn't right.
The coach gave those two a warning glare. Xu Xiao finally came back to his senses and continued on towards the rest area. But as soon as he arrived, he heard their mid laner quietly mutter, "Before I reflect on anything, some people should reflect on why their Mordekaiser couldn't keep up with Vladimir's creep score, don't you think?"
Xu Xiao tensed.
He glared at their mid laner. Those unreasonable words were nearly enough to make him laugh in anger. He couldn't help but counter, "Why did I fall behind? Wasn't it all because I had to help you guys establish our team's superiority first, by taking care of Shen Qiao early on in the match? Do you have any sense of teamwork at all?"
The mid laner looked at him and expressionlessly answered, "Whether you're acting in the name of teamwork, or solely for your desire to win, is something only you know."
Lele politely cleared his throat from next to them. He gave Xu Xiao a warning look, then pulled their mid laner away. "Ai, ge, the instant coffee here is actually pretty good. Want a cup?"
Their coach irritably issued a warning as well: "Reviewing our games is something to be done once we finish playing. Assigning blame is something that's best left to our fans. Do you really need me to tell you the fundamentals of professional esports?
"You wanna fight with each other? Sure, go on and fight. Keep this up and we may as well hand DG the third round on a platter. And once you do that, you may as well retire on the spot."
The mid laner said nothing else, quietly slinking off with Lele to have a coffee.
Mo Mo and their jungler both glanced at Xu Xiao, subtly furrowing their brows.
……
After the break—
The third round began. Shen Qiao's Vladmir and Lu Zhe's Elise, along with Qian Bao's Qiyana, were banned right away.
Shen Qiao finally chose Renketon.
Lu Zhe took Lee Sin again, while their mid laner Qian Bao returned to LeBlanc. Old Wo and Er-Hua picked up the combo of Kai'Sa and Nautilus.
BLX played this round by the book, returning to their old tactics of focusing on supporting Mo Mo. With Mo Mo's Ezrael, they planned on using numbers to their advantage to gain superiority and snowball their way towards a victory against DG.
Unfortunately…
DG's tactics were specially tooled to deal with BLX's plans. They wildly disrupted BLX's tempo and strategies and got BLX embroiled in a team fight around Baron Nashor at the thirty-five-minute mark.
Er-Hua struck first in that team fight, perfectly utilizing Lu Zhe's ult and Renekton's abilities to allow Kai'Sa to deal damage from behind—
BLX lost four of their champions in that fight.
DG took down Baron Nashor and pushed onwards to BLX's base. They battled an Elder Dragon as well to earn the Aspect of the Dragon buff; while that buff was active, they engaged BLX in one more battle and crushed the enemy's inhibitor!
……
"Congratulations to Team DG for taking a 2-1 victory! Their winning streak continues!"
The instant the commentator's voice rang out through the stadium, Shen Qiao took off his headset and leaned back in his hair, slowly letting out a breath.
Next to him, Lu Zhe turned and gazed steadily at him. He didn't even think to take off his own headset. His eyes were filled with nothing but warmth and affection.
A camera happened to catch that exact moment—
Amidst the cheers from the crowd, someone let out a shrill shriek of elation.
However, neither Shen Qiao nor Lu Zhe noticed. Coach Fang and the event organizers started ushering them off the stage. The players packed up their own keyboards and other peripherals while Qian Bao urged, "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! I'm seriously melting in this heat. I need to go back and take a shower! Don't even think about making me do the post-game interview!"
Lu Zhe helped Shen Qiao pack up his things. He didn't pay much attention to Qian Bao's impatient demands, instead focusing his full attention on Shen Qiao.
Qian Bao wasn't the only one who was feeling hot.
Lu Zhe was only noticing just then that the back of Shen Qiao's short-sleeved shirt was completely drenched in sweat.
It was hard to say what power had enabled Shen Qiao to sit there without even moving, concentrating through all those games, in such a state.
Lu Zhe reached for some tissues and immediately started helping Shen Qiao wipe the sweat from his brow.
Shen Qiao subconsciously glanced at the cameras surrounding them. He lifted a hand to the tissues, indicating that he could do it himself.
Lu Zhe stood behind his chair and eyed Shen Qiao's uniform, which was practically transparent with sweat. The lines of Shen Qiao's spine were visible through the fabric, which also clung to his lithe and powerful waist.
Lu Zhe's eyes darkened.
Immediately afterwards—
When Shen Qiao rose from unplugging his equipment, he found himself wrapped up in a cedarwood-scented jacket.
He instantly lifted a hand and ripped off the coat, furrowing his brows slightly with a look of impatience. To Lu Zhe, he said, "I'm about to overheat here, and you're making me put on a coat?"
Lu Zhe pointed to the rest area. "The air conditioning is strong over there. You're sweating a ton right now. You'll catch a cold if you don't cover up, so put it on."
As he spoke, his voice became noticeably softer.
Shen Qiao held the jacket without moving to put it on, using a silent look to argue with Lu Zhe.
Lu Zhe smiled with his eyes, but didn't back down.
Coach Fang was in the middle of talking to Old Wo about the contents of their upcoming post-game interview. When he looked over and found Lu Zhe and Shen Qiao locked in a staring match, he couldn't help but shoot them an inquisitive glance.
Shen Qiao looked away first. He threw Lu Zhe's jacket back at him and carried his own bag of equipment off to the rest area. But as soon as he reached the stairs leading down, he felt a cold breeze wash over him. His skin tingled, and the hair on his sweaty arms stood up on end.
A chill spread over his whole back.
At just that moment, Lu Zhe approached from behind and draped his jacket over Shen Qiao's shoulders again. He gave Shen Qiao's shoulders a push and sighed.
"Why is it so hard to get you to behave?"
Shen Qiao didn't make a sound. But this time, he didn't throw off the jacket.
Lu Zhe saw that change in him, and he suddenly changed his own tune as well. "Ah, I got it—you want to catch a cold on purpose, so that I'll take care of you. Sure, that's fine. I'll grant your wish."
He moved as though to pull his own coat away again, but it didn't budge.
Shen Qiao was already looking down and starting to zip up the jacket. The tips of his ears were turning red, and he ground out through his teeth, "Cut the crap."
This tiny little exchange was caught by the sharp-eyed fans in the audience, and someone had even used a cell phone to capture the moment. After uploading it, she started gushing to her sisters—
[Ahhhhhhh, AA is too sweet! WolfDog is real! Wahhhhh, they're married, they're married, they're super married! These are their wedding photos! Everyone look!]
In the photos this fan uploaded, Shen Qiao was wearing a jacket and looking down with a serious look on his face, focused completely on pulling up the zipper. On the silver-gray jacket in that photo, a single word, a name, was emblazoned in the center of Team DG's logo—
ZHE.
"Let's dive into the second round! DG suffered a defeat in the first round. Will we see them make some adjustments to their team comp for the next game? We can see that the two sides are now… mm, mhm, looks like they're going with just about the same bans as last time—"
"DG's bans are pretty good, they're targeted at sealing off BLX's bottom lane options. At the same time, BLX is once more blocking Wolf Cub from his favored champion Renekton. We can see from the previous round that BLX is treating Wolf Cub as the weakest link. In this upcoming round, BLX probably won't back down from the chance to target him again. We'll have to see how DG responds."
The commentators' voices rang out through the stadium, and the stands filled up with wave after wave of ear-splitting cheers for Team DG.
Although they were the underdogs at the moment, their fans were still filled to the brim with faith. Team DG had experienced the intense pressure of the world championships, after all. DG's players were all strong, mentally and emotionally, and being at a disadvantage would only cause them to fight more fiercely. They would never cower and stall in place.
"DG! Go for it! DG! You got this!"
The fervent cheers traveled to every corner of the stadium, but each competitor who sat at their station on stage was exceptionally relaxed. The cameras swept over their faces, capturing calm expressions that showed almost no trace of solemnity.
A few minutes earlier—
Old Wo was caressing his precious thermos, as per usual. Qian Bao complained that the air conditioning wasn't working hard enough on their side of the stadium. After just one round, she was already drenched in sweat. She grabbed some tissues and wiped her neck, urging the others to hurry up and finish their next games fast so that she could head back to HQ and take a shower.
Shen Qiao and Lu Zhe, sitting on one side of their formation, were both relaxing in their chairs. The smile at the corners of Lu Zhe's lips was stronger than it had been a while ago, as though he was in a pretty good mood.
He followed up on his earlier question and asked, "Have you decided where you'd like to eat later?"
Shen Qiao lazily leaned back in his chair. His posture was extremely relaxed, but his gaze was fixed on the screen. Once the picks and bans phase began, he slowly answered, "We'll talk about it once we win. If we lose, we'll only be fit to eat cafeteria food at the HQ—you wanna choose your champion first?"
Lu Zhe's smile reached his eyes now. He didn't press Shen Qiao for an answer.
Behind them, Coach Fang put on his headset and flipped through the notebook in his hands. Once he heard their conversation taper off, he chimed in, "Lu Zhe, you take the first pick. Gragas, Lee Sin, or someone else?"
It was only then that Lu Zhe said, "Lee Sin."
Where he fell short was where he would pick himself back up again.
He felt he simply hadn't played well enough in their last match. It wasn't a problem with their team composition.
Practically as soon as Lu Zhe spoke, Shen Qiao found his chosen champion on the selection screen and locked it in, without waiting to hear a word of approval from their coach.
BLX watched them make that choice, then instantly locked in the duo of Xayah and Rakan for themselves.
The commentator narrated these actions as soon as they happened. "Alright, Xayah and Rakan are in play. For their bottom lane, DG will take… they've taken Kai'Sa! Kai'Sa makes a pretty good pair with Thresh, as well as various other supports. BLX may need to consider using their next ban to limit DG's support choices."
"Oh? DG hasn't rushed to choose their support… they picked up Qiyana instead! Aha, Qian Bao clearly wasn't very satisfied with her own performance in the previous round. Is she trying to say LeBlanc isn't strong enough, hm? Qian Bao? Hm… this is indeed one of Qian Bao's strongest champions. Let's all look forward to seeing some brilliant displays."
"On BLX's side—LeBlanc! This choice is a bit predictable. We can see they're playing it by the book."
……
While the commentators rattled off their analyses, DG and BLX took turns banning two more champions. BLX locked in their jungler, and DG's Er-Hua chose a hook support for himself.
On both sides, there was still one position left undecided.
"Qiaoqiao?" Lu Zhe called out through the voice channel, prompting Shen Qiao to choose his champion.
Coach Fang had advised Shen Qiao on his choice in the previous round. As a result, Shen Qiao had chosen Aatrox and fallen prey to the enemy's choice of Jayce. In this round, Coach Fang could tell just by looking at their opponents' team composition—
Regardless of which champion Shen Qiao chose, Xu Xiao would certainly choose a champion to counter him.
And so, Coach Fang decided to tell Shen Qiao to make his own choice based on their current team comp. Shen Qiao would surely choose his strongest hero.
In matches between professional teams, where all players exhibited approximately the same skill level, choosing the right champion was critical. Depending on the version of the game, one champion could easily counter another—like Jayce against Aatrox in the previous round.
But there were exceptions to that rule.
Some players, when operating their best champion, could play extraordinarily well even in versions of the game where their champion wasn't optimal, even against champions that could theoretically counter their choice.
Hearing Coach Fang's words, Shen Qiao thought for a while, then said, "Is Vladimir okay?"
Coach Fang froze for a moment. It was the first time he'd seen Shen Qiao request a hero like this, one that was basically garbage before Level 6. But it was common enough to see Vladimir as a top lane champion; Coach Fang's immense surprise was unwarranted.
It was just that BLX was clearly targeting DG's top laner today. If Vladimir was crushed early in the game, team fights would be nearly impossible to win later on.
But there was one good thing about Vladimir.
As long as he got kills and experience, he could truly take flight.
Coach Fang quickly decided to respect Shen Qiao's choice. "Sure. Take Vladimir."
……
As soon as DG locked in their final champion, BLX made their final pick as well—Mordekaiser.
"Mordekaiser versus Vladimir, hm… that choice certainly falls within what one would expect. This way, Mordekaiser can withstand Vladimir's blood drain—he's tanky, after all. And he'll be able to corner anyone who tries to run. When fights break out, he can drag the most formidable enemy into his Death Realm. He's really got too many convenient abilities… it looks like BLX will still be targeting Wolf Cub in the top lane this time—"
The commentator's tone was filled with a bit of pessimism. Anyone with eyes could see that Shen Qiao hadn't been a match for Xu Xiao in the earlier round, and no one thought Shen Qiao's fragile Vladimir could do anything impressive this time around. The commentators just weren't bold enough to say anything too definitive at that juncture.
"The thing is…" The other commentator's tone was even more skeptical. "We haven't seen Wolf Cub play this champion in official matches before. And just think about it. Today, BLX definitely won't go easy on the top lane. If Wolf Cub had picked a tankier hero, rather than Vladimir, maybe he would have been able to make more of an impact on this round? He wouldn't die off so easily in the early stages, giving him a chance to develop and contribute more in team fights later on."
The two commentators exchanged a look. Their words were filling up all the spectators' heads with a fog of doubt. In the livestream room, irate fans were sending string after string of question marks into the bullet comments. The more volatile fans were about to start leading a brigade against these commentators.
But if DG lost this round, their defeat would undoubtedly be blamed on Shen Qiao and the coach.
The live commentators quieted down for a few seconds before one of them voiced a very typical, compromising evaluation:
"But seeing as DG is bold enough to play Vladimir here, we can take it as evidence that Wolf Cub has a good handle on this champion. Plus, their team comp as a whole is pretty good. Both sides have chosen mid laners, junglers, and supports with immense potential. We'll be looking forward to a strong showing from both sides in this upcoming match!"
……
Very quickly, the match started to play out on the big screens in the stadium—
"Careful, their jungler is coming." Lu Zhe, as always, was the first to speak in DG's voice channel.
As he finished scouting, he saw that BLX's jungler, Gragas, was indeed moving into the underbrush with their mid laner and two bottom laners.
This Gragas was equipped with a Sweeping Lens; as he neared the jungle with his teammates, he spotted DG's wards and knew right away that his own movements had been detected by the enemy. This invasion was a failure. Gragas quickly led his teammates back to the other side of the river.
At that time, Shen Qiao got in his lane. The opposing Xu Xiao had already gotten up to Level 2 by farming minions. Xu Xiao charged up and launched an attack right away, clearly determined to get a solo kill on Shen Qiao—
Shen Qiao flashed and retreated, but Mordekaiser still managed to shave off forty percent of his HP. Shen Qiao instantly used a potion to heal up as he dragged the fight back to his own team's tower.
Even if Xu Xiao was in a frenzied state, he couldn't possibly pursue Shen Qiao to the enemy tower when he was only Level 2. For the time being, he could only set aside his thirst for blood and retreat to continue farming minions.
Shen Qiao didn't waste any time either. Once he'd healed up, he slipped away from his own tower to start farming.
In the stadium—
The commentators focused their discussion on what was playing on the big screens, dissecting the action in the top lane.
"We just saw BLX's Gragas attempt a repeat of their dive from the first round. They were on their way up to the top lane to ambush Wolf Cub, but… it's too bad Lu Zhe was nearby, battling for the blue buff. Plus, Wolf Cub's health is in great shape, and he hasn't pushed too far. BLX won't be able to take advantage of this opportunity."
"Gragas has gone to the middle lane! Qian Bao is moving very well, she avoided Gragas's attack, and she managed to fight back and get LeBlanc down to half health! Too bad for Gragas, Qian Bao won't be an easy target.
"So he's cutting through the jungle again, heading to the river in the lower jungle… he's getting into it with the Rift Scuttler now. Let's see if Old Wo and Er-Hua will take this chance to—wait!"
One of the commentators was suddenly stunned by something. He stammered, "The camera only cut away for a few seconds, but Xu Xiao… who can tell me how Xu Xiao's creep score has fallen behind?! This shouldn't have happened, right?"
The whole crowd's attention zeroed in on the stats that were currently displayed on the big screens. The charts showed each player's condition and equipment, as well as their number of creeps killed.
The situation in the top lane was obvious at a glance.
Shen Qiao's creep score was 28, while Xu Xiao's… was only 23.
These stats were extremely unreasonable.
The second commentator hastily added, "Is this because Mordekaiser focused too much on trying to hack away at his enemy? Vladimir managed to dodge most of his attacks, then used his Q to heal up. So Vladimir is still in good health, while Mordekaiser saw some pressure under their tower… and fell just slightly behind in creeps killed."
Upon seeing all this unfold, the DG fans in the audience felt a new hope emerge in their hearts.
Wolf Cub's Vladimir… really had some tricks up his sleeve?
……
"First blood!"
The declaration of first blood took over the big monitors in the stadium. Swiftly, the focus shifted onto the middle lane, where Qian Bao was in the process of returning to DG's base. The footage of the game started to play out, allowing the commentators to see a spectacular solo kill in the mid lane!
Qian Bao had claimed a kill. She happily returned to their base to change her equipment, while chirping in the voice chat, "Need any help in the top lane?"
Before Shen Qiao could answer, Lu Zhe—who was participating in a fight in the bottom lane—answered on his behalf: "Yes."
Qian Bao gamely announced that she was on her way. She headed straight into their side's jungle after leaving the base, making her way towards the top lane. Her Qiyana arrived just in time to see Mordekaiser pushing towards Shen Qiao near their tower—
As soon as Xu Xiao saw Qian Bao's Qiyana, he flung one last attack at Shen Qiao before retreating. However, Shen Qiao instantly charged forward and gave chase, slowing the enemy… and following up with an ult!
The slowed Mordekaiser's health plummeted. Xu Xiao had no choice but to use a potion!
But Qian Bao had already arrived. She flashed in and used her own ult. Mordekaiser turned and, with perfect timing, trapped her in his Death Realm!
Qian Bao nearly lost her life in there. Fortunately, upon her release, Shen Qiao was waiting. Vladimir's ult had already hit Mordekaiser. Qian Bao retreated to the underbrush, where she continued to fling out attacks. She managed to predict exactly where Mordekaiser would flee to, and with great difficulty—they took his head!
"We're five minutes in now, and DG has two kills to BLX's zero. DG's mid laner is developing fantastically! BLX's jungler in this round, Gragas, hasn't been performing as well as what we saw in the first round, and their champion in the top lane hasn't managed to counter the enemy at all.
"BLX is eight hundred gold behind right now. Will they still be able to establish their dominance in the early stages of the game?"
The commentators avidly watched the screen as they spoke.
Could BLX establish their dominance?
DG answered that question through their actions:
No.
Because Qian Bao had developed early in this round, she was able to start wandering about. She regularly visited the other two lanes to support her teammates, and Lu Zhe also took every opportunity to assist Shen Qiao up in the top lane.
As a result, BLX's jungler couldn't possibly assist Xu Xiao in his attempts to slay Shen Qiao's Vladimir. Especially since Shen Qiao's own counter gank instincts were on point that day.
Ten minutes into the match—
Gragas slowly let go of their plans to target that slippery Vladimir. When Mo Mo and Lele gave the signal from the bottom lane, he slipped down behind DG's two bottom laners and—together, the three of them managed to take down Er-Hua.
Mo Mo and Lele pushed onwards to DG's bottom lane outer turret, but Qian Bao had already come down from the middle lane by then. Lu Zhe also approached from nearby.
Qian Bao lurked in the underbrush. As soon as Gragas finished assisting in the attack against Er-Hua, Qian Bao trapped him in place with her ult! Lu Zhe swiftly joined in on her attack, and before long—
The commentators' voices rang out through the stadium: "DG takes another kill!"
As DG's fans savored Qian Bao's expert moves, Lu Zhe glanced at the map and unhesitatingly headed up to the top lane—because Shen Qiao had already pressured Mordekaiser back to the red side's tower. It was obvious Mordekaiser wanted to take the opportunity to battle it out under his own team's turret, while waiting for his teammates to come assist him. His ult was already ready to go; he just hadn't unleashed it yet.
Although Shen Qiao's creep score was now twenty-something better than Xu Xiao's, it was still nearly impossible for him to land a solo kill on Xu Xiao. Lu Zhe decided he would lend Shen Qiao a hand.
Upon noticing Lu Zhe's approach, Xu Xiao practically plastered himself against his team's tower in an attempt to hide. Unfortunately, Shen Qiao was dead set on ending his life. He instantly slowed Xu Xiao!
Right afterwards, Lu Zhe arrived and unleashed his own ult. Xu Xiao had no choice but to use his ult as well, sealing Lu Zhe away in his Death Realm. Lu Zhe was helpless against the attacks he was dealt while trapped, dying nearly instantly.
But Shen Qiao had already pushed forward. As soon as Mordekaiser's ult ended, he charged forward to deal the decisive blow!
His revenge was a success!
From beginning to end, Shen Qiao and Lu Zhe didn't exchange a single word in the voice channel. They worked together in perfect tandem to claim Mordekaiser's life, but this one-for-one exchange of lives… in truth, since DG already had an advantage, it wasn't the greatest deal.
In that second match, BLX became like the DG of the first match. They failed to set the pace in the early stages of the game. Although they kept themselves together through the middle stages, they wouldn't have an easy time as the game progressed.
……
Twelve minutes into the match, BLX and DG traded a kill for a kill once more. Although BLX managed to take down Qian Bao's Qiyana, it came at the cost of their support Lele—so it couldn't be considered a total victory for them.
Fifteen minutes into the match, Shen Qiao demolished BLX's top lane outer turret. Lu Zhe made a tacit exchange with the enemy. He let them take an ocean dragon while he claimed the Rift Herald.
But by that point, Xayah and Rakan were ready to show off their full potential. They fiercely taught DG a lesson by the dragon pit, trading away two lives to claim three of DG's players. In that battle, DG was nearly wiped out.
However, soon after that, DG learned to conceal their own strengths until the time was right. Shen Qiao's Vladimir farmed like crazy, swiftly becoming one of the most powerful champions as he reached Level 12. He led his teammates into a team fight in the middle lane. By the time they destroyed the enemy's outer turret there, they'd claimed two more kills!
When DG took down BLX's mid lane inner turret too, Colonel KI announced DG's chances of winning that round—sixty percent!
DG's players were turning things around.
Shen Qiao rushed in again, leading the charge. He sank into a pool of blood, and after 2.5 seconds… all the spectators in the audience could see that three of BLX's champions had lost half their health!
When Shen Qiao emerged from that pool of blood, BLX's players threw all their remaining abilities at him. But they could only watch as he calmly flashed away, hiding behind his teammates while he still had a sliver of health left.
"Ahhhhhh, Wolf Cub is too strong!" the live audience roared.
The bullet comments in the livestream—
[!!!!!!]
[??? I get the feeling… this Vladimir isn't the same as when I play him???]
[It seems… it seems pretty damn strong???]
[Wolfy-ge, ge, I was wrong, I shouldn't have said you were lame. I'm so sorry. You're our Daddy Vladimir.]
[You're really on fire?]
[There's only one way to describe the way Wolf Cub plays Vladimir: Outrageous!]
[Truth be told, I could see Vladimir as a carry, but I never imagined he could carry this hard.]
……
Right up until BLX's base exploded—
Everyone in the stands was glowing with excitement over Shen Qiao's masterful play with Vladimir.
"Congratulations to DG for taking the second round! Qian Bao showed her stuff right from the start in this match, Lu Zhe provided timely support in all three lanes throughout the entire game, and Wolf Cub's Vladimir showed his supremacy towards the end of the round! This DG is still the DG we know and love! Their top laner, mid laner, and jungler dominated the match!"
As soon as he took off his headset, Xu Xiao heard the commentators blowing rainbow farts about DG.
The color in his face changed. It was only after Mo Mo and their coach gave him a look that he remembered he needed to head into the rest area with them.
Because they would have to play one more round.
When he thought of all the times Shen Qiao's Vladimir pressured him into a retreat, Xu Xiao couldn't help but glance at their own jungler. With his eyes downcast, and his tone somewhat unpleasant, he asked, "Didn't we agree to target the top lane first? When you had a capable champion like Gragas, why didn't you help me dive Shen Qiao?"
BLX's mid laner was a beta with a delicate appearance, and he was also pretty good at playing jungler. As soon as he heard that voice from behind him, he stopped and patiently answered, "Because Vladimir has the ability to heal himself. When he's in good health and in a safe territory, I don't feel it's wise to target him.
"Besides, Lu Zhe was prepared to assist at every turn. He let us take the first cloud dragon and ocean dragon, only focusing on the Rift Herald. That was all because he spent most of his time in the jungle near the top lane."
Even though Xu Xiao could understand that logic, he still couldn't swallow the bitter pill of being suppressed by Shen Qiao's Vladimir. He persisted, "Lu Zhe came to assist in the first round too. He was dead set on hanging around the top lane, wasn't he? If you'd just come up to the top lane once in this match, I wouldn't have lost every time. You should reflect on your plays."
Lele and Mo Mo were at the head of the pack, chatting about what drinks they wanted to have during their break. When they heard the commotion from behind them, they turned back and saw that Xu Xiao looked about ready to start a fight right there in the hallway. Right away, they could tell that something wasn't right.
The coach gave those two a warning glare. Xu Xiao finally came back to his senses and continued on towards the rest area. But as soon as he arrived, he heard their mid laner quietly mutter, "Before I reflect on anything, some people should reflect on why their Mordekaiser couldn't keep up with Vladimir's creep score, don't you think?"
Xu Xiao tensed.
He glared at their mid laner. Those unreasonable words were nearly enough to make him laugh in anger. He couldn't help but counter, "Why did I fall behind? Wasn't it all because I had to help you guys establish our team's superiority first, by taking care of Shen Qiao early on in the match? Do you have any sense of teamwork at all?"
The mid laner looked at him and expressionlessly answered, "Whether you're acting in the name of teamwork, or solely for your desire to win, is something only you know."
Lele politely cleared his throat from next to them. He gave Xu Xiao a warning look, then pulled their mid laner away. "Ai, ge, the instant coffee here is actually pretty good. Want a cup?"
Their coach irritably issued a warning as well: "Reviewing our games is something to be done once we finish playing. Assigning blame is something that's best left to our fans. Do you really need me to tell you the fundamentals of professional esports?
"You wanna fight with each other? Sure, go on and fight. Keep this up and we may as well hand DG the third round on a platter. And once you do that, you may as well retire on the spot."
The mid laner said nothing else, quietly slinking off with Lele to have a coffee.
Mo Mo and their jungler both glanced at Xu Xiao, subtly furrowing their brows.
……
After the break—
The third round began. Shen Qiao's Vladmir and Lu Zhe's Elise, along with Qian Bao's Qiyana, were banned right away.
Shen Qiao finally chose Renketon.
Lu Zhe took Lee Sin again, while their mid laner Qian Bao returned to LeBlanc. Old Wo and Er-Hua picked up the combo of Kai'Sa and Nautilus.
BLX played this round by the book, returning to their old tactics of focusing on supporting Mo Mo. With Mo Mo's Ezrael, they planned on using numbers to their advantage to gain superiority and snowball their way towards a victory against DG.
Unfortunately…
DG's tactics were specially tooled to deal with BLX's plans. They wildly disrupted BLX's tempo and strategies and got BLX embroiled in a team fight around Baron Nashor at the thirty-five-minute mark.
Er-Hua struck first in that team fight, perfectly utilizing Lu Zhe's ult and Renekton's abilities to allow Kai'Sa to deal damage from behind—
BLX lost four of their champions in that fight.
DG took down Baron Nashor and pushed onwards to BLX's base. They battled an Elder Dragon as well to earn the Aspect of the Dragon buff; while that buff was active, they engaged BLX in one more battle and crushed the enemy's inhibitor!
……
"Congratulations to Team DG for taking a 2-1 victory! Their winning streak continues!"
The instant the commentator's voice rang out through the stadium, Shen Qiao took off his headset and leaned back in his hair, slowly letting out a breath.
Next to him, Lu Zhe turned and gazed steadily at him. He didn't even think to take off his own headset. His eyes were filled with nothing but warmth and affection.
A camera happened to catch that exact moment—
Amidst the cheers from the crowd, someone let out a shrill shriek of elation.
However, neither Shen Qiao nor Lu Zhe noticed. Coach Fang and the event organizers started ushering them off the stage. The players packed up their own keyboards and other peripherals while Qian Bao urged, "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! I'm seriously melting in this heat. I need to go back and take a shower! Don't even think about making me do the post-game interview!"
Lu Zhe helped Shen Qiao pack up his things. He didn't pay much attention to Qian Bao's impatient demands, instead focusing his full attention on Shen Qiao.
Qian Bao wasn't the only one who was feeling hot.
Lu Zhe was only noticing just then that the back of Shen Qiao's short-sleeved shirt was completely drenched in sweat.
It was hard to say what power had enabled Shen Qiao to sit there without even moving, concentrating through all those games, in such a state.
Lu Zhe reached for some tissues and immediately started helping Shen Qiao wipe the sweat from his brow.
Shen Qiao subconsciously glanced at the cameras surrounding them. He lifted a hand to the tissues, indicating that he could do it himself.
Lu Zhe stood behind his chair and eyed Shen Qiao's uniform, which was practically transparent with sweat. The lines of Shen Qiao's spine were visible through the fabric, which also clung to his lithe and powerful waist.
Lu Zhe's eyes darkened.
Immediately afterwards—
When Shen Qiao rose from unplugging his equipment, he found himself wrapped up in a cedarwood-scented jacket.
He instantly lifted a hand and ripped off the coat, furrowing his brows slightly with a look of impatience. To Lu Zhe, he said, "I'm about to overheat here, and you're making me put on a coat?"
Lu Zhe pointed to the rest area. "The air conditioning is strong over there. You're sweating a ton right now. You'll catch a cold if you don't cover up, so put it on."
As he spoke, his voice became noticeably softer.
Shen Qiao held the jacket without moving to put it on, using a silent look to argue with Lu Zhe.
Lu Zhe smiled with his eyes, but didn't back down.
Coach Fang was in the middle of talking to Old Wo about the contents of their upcoming post-game interview. When he looked over and found Lu Zhe and Shen Qiao locked in a staring match, he couldn't help but shoot them an inquisitive glance.
Shen Qiao looked away first. He threw Lu Zhe's jacket back at him and carried his own bag of equipment off to the rest area. But as soon as he reached the stairs leading down, he felt a cold breeze wash over him. His skin tingled, and the hair on his sweaty arms stood up on end.
A chill spread over his whole back.
At just that moment, Lu Zhe approached from behind and draped his jacket over Shen Qiao's shoulders again. He gave Shen Qiao's shoulders a push and sighed.
"Why is it so hard to get you to behave?"
Shen Qiao didn't make a sound. But this time, he didn't throw off the jacket.
Lu Zhe saw that change in him, and he suddenly changed his own tune as well. "Ah, I got it—you want to catch a cold on purpose, so that I'll take care of you. Sure, that's fine. I'll grant your wish."
He moved as though to pull his own coat away again, but it didn't budge.
Shen Qiao was already looking down and starting to zip up the jacket. The tips of his ears were turning red, and he ground out through his teeth, "Cut the crap."
This tiny little exchange was caught by the sharp-eyed fans in the audience, and someone had even used a cell phone to capture the moment. After uploading it, she started gushing to her sisters—
[Ahhhhhhh, AA is too sweet! WolfDog is real! Wahhhhh, they're married, they're married, they're super married! These are their wedding photos! Everyone look!]
In the photos this fan uploaded, Shen Qiao was wearing a jacket and looking down with a serious look on his face, focused completely on pulling up the zipper. On the silver-gray jacket in that photo, a single word, a name, was emblazoned in the center of Team DG's logo—
ZHE.
