The Moon: [Okay, let me just open my computer again.]
Distant Snow: [Isn't it easier to play on your phone?]
The Moon: [Deleted it.]
Distant Snow: [What happened?]
The Moon: [Unlucky. I lost 4 games in a row, then I won, then lost another 4 games.]
Distant Snow: [. . .] [baffled]
She could practically hear the silence through the screen.
Distant Snow: [Then, let's play and lose together.] [shy]
The Moon: [Okay.]
The Moon: [But I don't want to play Roam.]
The Moon: [I want to play mid.]
The Moon: [For some reason.]
Distant Snow: [@Mac, carry us.]
The Moon: [@Mac, carry us.]
The Moon: [Why won't you play with me? @Mac]
The Moon: [My good brother, carry me @Mac]
Mac: [bet bro]
On a light rainy day: [Why are you inviting him and not me?]
Distant Snow: [You're too noisy. Who would want to play with you.]
On a little rainy day: [sobbing.gif]
Mac: [Send me a room number. @The Moon]
The Moon: [noted.]
The Moon: [0934]
Mac: [ok][uglylaugh.gif]
The moment the three of them entered the lobby, Xiao Yingyue didn't hesitate. She hit Start Game immediately, as if giving herself even a second longer would make her overthink it.
Distant Snow: [Open Mic]
Mac: [Ok]
She hesitated for half a second, then turned hers on too.
She usually avoided open mic. Not because she was shy, but because she had a bad habit of muttering to herself mid-game… and occasionally screaming when things went wrong.
The system voice chimed:
[You're in the Mid Lane]
"You're jungling?" Xiao Yingyue asked casually.
"Ah yes, is there a problem?" He asked with mild curiosity, his voice steady and soft in her headphones, brushing her ears so lightly it made her fingers pause on the keys.
"No," she said quickly. "Just… curious. You usually play mid."
Her voice came out softer than she intended.
"Didn't you say you wanted mid?" he said, amusement curling gently around the words.
Right.
She had said that.
It wasn't teasing. It wasn't mocking. Just a simple reminder, like he'd found something mildly funny and decided to share it.
"Okay, okay," she muttered. "Stop laughing at me."
It came out like she was tired of his nonsense, but not really angry. More like… used to him.
"Ah?" Mac gasped dramatically. "Aren't you being too much? I even gave you mid lane."
She rolled her eyes, lips tugging upward despite herself. Before she knew it, it was already her turn to pick.
Distant Snow locked in Arli for marksman, high mobility, aggressive playstyle.
The enemy mage picked Shi.
She then picked Yixing. He's a good counter for low mobility heroes and can trap multiple enemies.
"Yue, why did you disappear yesterday and today."
Zhang Fei: [I can't understand what the Jungle and Mage are saying…]
Zhang Fei: [Is it okay if you speak in English hehe]
Arli: [They're flirting]
Zhang Fei: [Ah?]
The Moon never sleeps: [??]
MaKing: [HAHAHA]
Xiao Yingyue froze.
"…What?" she muttered under her breath.
Xiao Yingyue then saw that Mac was using Jing. A jungle hero with high mobility and one of the most difficult heroes.
She can summon a mirror clone and can teleport to that place.
"You're using Jing? And you even have a Silver badge for her." Xiao Yingyue said, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.
The badge on the top of the hero symbolizes Hero Power. The lowest being a small green badge, small blue badge. And the bronze badge symbolizes you being in the top 20% in Asia, Silver badge top 10% in Asia, Gold badge Top 5% in Asia. The Two highest Badge you can get Big Diamond Badge symbolizing Battle Sector rank, meaning you are in Top 100 rank in your Country, and the Highest Badge you can get is the Big Orange Badge called Battle Sector Strongest, meaning your ranked in the Top 100 in your Continent/ Region you are playing, like Asia, North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, South America, or Middle East.
"HAHA—what? Is it that shocking for me to play her?" he laughed, the sound light and easy through the mic.
"I mean…" Xiao Yingyue hesitated. "…not really."
She paused, then added honestly, "You've always liked complicated heroes. Or the ones with really high mobility."
"…Ah?" He sounded genuinely surprised. "You noticed that?"
A soft chuckle followed. "Even Fang thinks I just play every hero randomly."
Xiao Yingyue didn't answer.
Xiao Yingyue didn't say anything.
It wasn't because she had nothing to say, if anything, she was caught off guard by her own words.
They had slipped out so naturally that even she hadn't realized she'd been thinking about them for so long.
So it was true after all.
What people said about liking someone.
When you liked someone, your world quietly adjusted itself around them. You noticed things you would've brushed off before, the rhythm of the way they spoke, how their tone lifted when they were amused and softened when they weren't. Even the smallest pauses, the barely there hesitations, became impossible to ignore.
Things that should've been unimportant suddenly mattered.
She caught herself remembering how he dragged out certain words when he was relaxed, how his voice dipped just a fraction when he was focused. None of it meant anything. And yet, it meant everything.
She hadn't meant to notice.
She hadn't meant to care.
But somewhere along the way, without her realizing it, he had become someone she paid attention to.