League of Legends: League of Unknowns

By late afternoon, the rain relented in its predations over Lecheng.

It was the height of summer in June, and a shower of rain was in truth a blessing—especially during a Maths test, when the cool breeze that followed a rain was like a Red Buff on all the exam candidates.

To be honest, Yu Luocheng was experiencing some difficulty with the Mathematics test. Here and there he’d come across a question which stumped him, so that he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

Some questions were so mind-bogglingly convoluted that he didn’t even have a clue where to begin. It felt like seeing that your opponent already had a full six items, while you yourself had barely just gotten the Boots of Speed.

Across the examination hall, his own consternation was shared by the other candidates, all with scrunched brows and grim expressions.

Against a foe like this, not even the combined powers of the Red Buff, Blue Buff, and Baron Buff would be enough to even the playing field. The only fate that lay ahead of you was utter devastation.

When a test was hard, time hurtled by.

When the invigilator announced that there were only a last few minutes remaining, a general panic arose in the hall, as though an enemy Master Yi was running amok inside their base.

***

Time’s up! The test had ended!

Typically, both the candidates and the invigilators were expected to type out a friendly ‘GG’ (short for ‘Good Game’).

Instead, two words were emblazoned in the mind of every student present: ‘Game Over!’

… with particular emphasis on the ‘Over!’

That hadn’t gone well. It hadn’t gone well at all.

If it had only been a little tough, the students would be cursing and swearing on their way out the hall; but these questions had been so traumatizingly dreadful that the students only staggered out in silence, dazed and weary.

“No one had it easy. Sigh.” Surveying the prevailing mood, Yu Luocheng deduced that he wasn’t the only one who’d done miserably at Maths.

Shaking his head in despair, Yu Luocheng followed the corridor to the end.

Rounding the corner, he found that most of the students on this side had already left. There was only Yang Qianqian, pouting at the top of the staircase, clearly displeased.

“Waiting for me?” Yu Luocheng flashed her his pearly whites.

“Dream on. I was sending a message to my mom, letting her know that Maths was a bust.”

“Yeah, I didn’t have a great time with it, either. It was nothing like the usual model papers.” Yu Luocheng fell into step beside her, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Goddamned Maths. What if I don’t make it into Zhejiang University?” Yang Qianqian sniffed, her eyes beginning to moisten.

“It’ll be alright: I also left some questions unanswered. I figured you’d screw up on your end, so I sabotaged myself. This way we’ll stay evenly matched.”

Just as she was descending into forlorn melancholy, this bit of nonsense from Yu Luocheng caused Yang Qianqian to shift gears.

She harrumphed disapprovingly. He normally wasn’t her equal in test grades to begin with. Who the hell asked him to go easy on her? What was wrong with this guy?

Hold on…

A thought suddenly occurred to her: Had they ever talked about going to the same university together?

Only high school couples talked about attending the same university together—and then they usually wouldn’t both make it, instead separating to the opposite ends of the earth.

As she thought about this, her misery was replaced by mischief.

She turned and whispered to him, “Yu Luocheng, if I end up getting horrible results, so bad that I can’t even get into any of the good schools, and meanwhile you passed with flying colors… would you go to an average university with me?”

Having delivered this vile attack, she sneered inwardly. He was always picking on her so mercilessly—this time it was his turn on the fire!

Yu Luocheng looked at Yang Qianqian, and his heart softened at the sight of her, shoulders weighed down with defeat and worry. With all earnestness, he replied, “Of course not. This is my future we’re talking about.”

“To hell with you!” In that moment, Yang Qianqian wished she had Annie’s powers, so that she could drop a colossal bear bottom atop this fool beside her.

***

Yang Qianqian was sputtering with rage. After hearing Yu Luocheng’s response, she’d lost all interest in speaking to him.

Yu Luocheng knew he’d committed a terrible foul, so he took the initiative to offer her a milk tea as his treat, to make it up to her.

By the time the last drop of that milk tea had been finished, Yang Qianqian was all smiles again, all wrongdoings completely forgotten.

Both the travails of the Maths test as well as his own indiscretions wiped clean from her mind, she chattered happily about LoL. It re-affirmed Yu Luocheng’s assessment that Yang Qianqian wasn’t the sort to hold a grudge, and was easily coaxed into a good mood.

If he could really make this girl his own, Yu Luocheng felt like it would be the perfect dream come true.

Though the test had ended, neither of their parents had come to pick them up. Sipping ice-cold milk teas, they made their way back together.

Along the way, something caught Yang Qianqian’s eye, and suddenly she’d wandered off the route to begin a little shopping spree. Since it was still early in the day, Yu Luocheng had no objection to keeping her company.

Doing badly on the Maths test could go on to affect their performance in further papers. A bit of a stroll and a chat, to regain their morale, would do them much good.

***

“How does this look?” Yang Qianqian turned, holding the tiny silver chain up to her ear.

She had an exquisitely fair face, a portrait of innocence and purity, with the occasional display of feminine verve and appeal.

As she tilted her head and looked up at Yu Luocheng, her overwhelming charisma struck him full-force. It was as though a profound chord had been struck in his heart, which now thrummed through his entire being. It left him with an indescribable sensation towards the girl, and he couldn’t bring himself to look away from her.

“Hey, did you hear me? How does this look on me?” Yang Qianqian repeated.

“Looks great!” Yu Luocheng nodded with absolute sincerity.

A smile bloomed across her face. “Really? Should I buy it, then?”

“I was talking about you.” Yu Luocheng slipped this in as an addendum.

Yang Qianqian was dumbstruck.

Then she realized what he’d just said, and a hint of pretty pink spread across her cheeks, like a freshly ripening peach.

“How… how much for this?” Flustered, Yang Qianqian pretended not to have heard, and hurried off to speak with the shop owner.

“Five bucks,” came the reply.

The shop owner was a young man too. As he answered her, he also surreptitiously gave a thumbs-up to Yu Luocheng.

“Sweetheart, you haven’t taken your change!”

“Oh… right…” Yang Qianqian whipped around and bustled back again, taking the money and stuffing it into her tiny little schoolbag.

***

Even as a man delivers flattery that he means with all his heart, the lady is likely to have her reservations.

In the time that she’d spent with him, Yang Qianqian had discovered that although Yu Luocheng was very serious when it came to playing games, he was otherwise callous, ambivalent, and lackadaisical about everything else.

And yet, when he said that just now, she’d heard that same kind of seriousness in his tone, without any trace of the usual playfulness or ridicule.