I Heard  that You are Dissatisfied (e-Sport)

Chapter 13 - Little Hedgehog

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The next day, Lin Ao unusually woke up early.

Last night, he couldn't find the remote control for the air conditioner in his room, so he simply slept in the training room.

Today, when he woke up, he ordered takeout first and was about to go upstairs to wash his face.

At this moment, Lu Lian arrived again.

Hearing movement outside the door, even though he hadn't seen who it was, Lin Ao instinctively felt that it was Lu Lian. So without a second thought, he canceled the just-placed takeout order.

As if subconsciously, he thought Lu Lian might bring breakfast, but when he canceled the order, he looked up and saw Lu Lian standing in front of him, empty-handed.

Lin Ao stared at Lu Lian's hand.

"What's wrong?" Lu Lian raised an eyebrow curiously, looking down at his own hand.

Lin Ao's nose slightly twitched, and he sat back on the sofa awkwardly, crossing his legs and reordering, "Nothing."

"Going out to eat," Lu Lian said as he saw Lin Ao opening the Meituan app and patted him on the shoulder.

Lin Ao, engrossed in ordering takeout, asked absentmindedly, "What are we having?"

"Going out to eat breakfast," Lu Lian repeated, wondering why Lin Ao was ordering takeout.

Lin Ao: "..." Why isn't he following the usual routine?

Although he thought that way, Lin Ao casually put on a coat and followed Lu Lian out.

Lin Ao walked so fast that Lu Lian didn't even have a chance to remind him—it was very cold outside.

As soon as Lin Ao opened the door, the cold air taught him a lesson, and he sneezed loudly.

Lu Lian couldn't help but cry and laugh, "Are you so hungry that you can't wait?"

Lin Ao: "..."

"Outside is cold," Lu Lian said, knowing that Lin Ao probably hadn't brought any other clothes, "shall I bring the car here first, and we can go to your place to get some clothes?"

"Okay... Ah-choo!" Lin Ao sneezed several more times, and his eyes were getting red.

As Lin Ao had fair skin, when the corners of his eyes turned red, it gave off an innocent and pitiful feeling, making people want to pity him.

Lu Lian gazed at him for a while before shifting his eyes away, looking out at the withering branches beyond the window, and said, "Wait here for me."

After Lu Lian left, Lin Ao received a message from Glasses.

Glasses: "How's the new team? Are you getting used to it?"

Lin Ao: "It's alright."

Glasses: "I actually received a reply from you in the morning. Looks like a change of environment has changed you."

Originally, Lin Ao wanted to type "Impostor" but midway, he felt it wasn't quite right and deleted it, reluctantly calling Lu Lian the "boss."

Lin Ao: "I'm just waiting for the boss to pick me up for breakfast and to get some clothes on the way."

Glasses: "??? I've lived for more than twenty years, and it's the first time I've known that you are such a little princess."

Lin Ao: "!!!"

Who's the little princess here?

At this moment, Lu Lian's car arrived outside.

Lin Ao looked at Lu Lian's car through the window.

Thinking about how Lu Lian had been picking him up and dropping him off these past few days, he suddenly felt like he was being treated like a little princess.

No, that's not right.

Why did he get swayed by Glasses' words!

The more Lin Ao thought about it, the more flustered he became, and his actions became even more chaotic. Once he got in the car, he tried his best to exude a don't-come-near-me vibe.

Lu Lian didn't know what happened to him, but Lu Lian himself wasn't much of a talker, so he didn't say anything either.

Since neither of them felt awkward, they arrived at Lin Ao's house quietly.

Lin Ao was a person who had quick mood changes, and his emotions could come and go quickly.

Even if Lu Lian ignored him, by the time they reached home, he had mostly recovered.

Lin Ao said, "I don't have much luggage, just bring some clothes and I'll be quick."

Lu Lian politely asked, "Do you want me to help you?"

The treatment of a princess suddenly arrived.

Lin Ao immediately became nervous, "No need!"

Then, like a cat whose tail has been stepped on, he opened the car door and rushed out.

Lu Lian was puzzled, not understanding what was wrong with this kid.

After about ten minutes, Lin Ao came out. He held a travel bag in his right hand and a keyboard in his left hand.

As he had said, his luggage was really light.

As Lin Ao was about to leave the apartment building, he was blocked by someone.

"Hey, Lin Jia's kid, where are you going?" The person had a greasy expression, and his tone was even greasier.

He was Lin Ao's neighbor, over ten years older than him.

Lin Ao disliked associating with this person.

When he was little, this person liked to touch his face while offering him candy. At first, Lin Ao was still naive and obedient, saying "thank you" politely. But for some reason, every time he saw this person's eyes, he felt as if his skin was crawling as though he was touched by a snake, causing an inexplicable disgust, so he started avoiding him.

As Lin Ao grew older and became more aggressive, this person dared not bully him anymore.

"What's it to you? Get lost," Lin Ao replied unkindly, glaring at the man.

"Hey, I just wanted to greet you, why are you so fierce?" The man blocked Lin Ao and then glanced at the luggage Lin Ao carried, smirking maliciously. "Oh? Moving out finally? Like your pretty mother who ran away with a man?"

As soon as he heard this, Lin Ao's blood boiled, and his mind buzzed. He threw down his luggage and was about to punch the man.

But someone was faster than him.

A foot kicked the greasy neighbor's butt, with such force that the man fell to the ground like a dog eating shit.

"Motherf***er! Who did that?" The man covered his nose, cursing as he turned around.

Only a tall figure stood against the backlight, his face cold, exuding a chill even colder than the winter in Longcheng.

"May I ask what business you have with him?" Lu Lian looked down at the man from a higher position, but his attitude remained polite, as if the kick was not made by him.

The man lying on the ground saw that Lin Ao had assistance, and it was clear that these helpers were not to be trifled with. Knowing he couldn't afford to offend them, he got up, patted the dust off his pants, gave Lin Ao a spiteful glare, and left.

Lin Ao was still standing there dazed when Lu Lian picked up his luggage and reminded him, "Let's go."

Lin Ao snapped back to reality and saw Lu Lian already walking ahead with his luggage.

"Uh... I... my home..." Lin Ao hesitated, not knowing how to bring up the topic.

"Your private matters are your own. If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to. Just don't resort to violence in the future," Lu Lian replied calmly.

This time, Lin Ao readily acknowledged his mistake and said, "I understand."

Seeing Lin Ao looking dejected, Lu Lian continued, "Harming someone is not a big issue, but I'm worried you might hurt your hand. Your hands are essential as a professional player. Next time, you can try using your feet. At least if your feet get hurt, you can still compete in a wheelchair."

Lin Ao: "..."

Lu Lian's serious tone made Lin Ao uncertain whether he was joking or being serious.

So he asked in a low voice, "Are you kidding?"

Lu Lian replied sincerely, "Of course, I'm just joking. Isn't it funny?"

Lin Ao: "..."

He didn't know how to respond to Lu Lian's soul-stirring question.

Recognizing that he lacked a talent for telling jokes, Lu Lian remained composed and redirected the conversation to the main topic. "According to the league regulations, professional players should avoid physical altercations. If such incidents become public, it could lead to a suspension."

Lin Ao touched his nose and said, "I'll be careful."

"If you encounter this kind of thing again in the future, you can tell me and I will help you deal with it."

Lin Ao's figure suddenly paused, he raised his eyes, and stared deeply at Lu Lian with his dark eyes.

"Believe me."

Lu Lian's tone was firm and steady, which made people feel a sense of trust unconsciously.

Lin Ao blinked, and stammered back, "Okay, okay."

Afterward, the two of them sat in the car, and the silence persisted, but this time, Lin Ao felt uneasy, as if there were pins on the car seat, making it uncomfortable to sit still.

Thinking about it, Lin Ao felt he should show his gratitude to Lu Lian. He decided to suggest, "There's a nearby dumpling restaurant that's really good. The dumplings are big, with thin skin and plenty of filling. Let me treat you there."

Lu Lian's lips curled up slightly, "Sure."

Feeling like he had repaid Lu Lian in a small way, Lin Ao leaned back comfortably in his seat.

But after a moment, he suddenly realized his mistake.

Wait, they just had breakfast an hour ago. Why suggest dumplings now?

Luckily, Lu Lian didn't seem to mind and accompanied Lin Ao to eat a bowl of dumplings. He even packed two kilograms of frozen dumplings to show that they were indeed delicious.

By the time they returned to the team's base, Bai Changshan and Lu Yu had also arrived.

Compared to Lin Ao's meager luggage, the two of them seemed to be moving an entire house, especially Bai Changshan, who even brought his own pillow.

Although Lin Ao complained about the inconvenience, he still fulfilled his duty as the team captain, assigning them new rooms and giving them a tour, all while helping them carry their belongings.

Dragging a sack that felt incredibly heavy, Lin Ao couldn't help but exclaim to Bai Changshan, "Are you carrying a corpse inside this bag? It's so heavy!"

Bai Changshan laughed cheerfully and quickly took over the sack, saying, "Middle Lane Big Brother, let me handle this. You carry the lighter stuff."

Despite being older than Lin Ao, Bai Changshan still called him "Middle Lane Big Brother."

Lin Ao stubbornly replied, "Go away, I can handle it!"

In situations like this, someone had an inexplicable desire for victory or defeat.

Bai Changshan didn't challenge Lin Ao's pride and encouraged him instead, "Middle Lane Big Brother, you can do it!"

He said that and turned to see Lu Yu casually moving his precious action figures. Bai Changshan quickly reminded him, "Lu Yu! Be careful! These are my precious collectibles."

Lu Yu replied, "I'm helping you, why are you so naggy?"

The three young men bantered back and forth, making the atmosphere in the villa cheerful and light-hearted.

Lu Lian observed Lin Ao's busy interactions with the new teammates and noticed that while Lin Ao seemed strong-willed on the surface, he was actually soft-hearted on the inside.

Lu Lian remembered seeing an early live-stream video of Lin Ao, where he was still new to live-streaming and not good at interacting with his audience. His speech was even a bit naive and immature, and he received a lot of affectionate comments from fans, treating him as their little brother.

Lin Ao couldn't quite grasp why he felt such discomfort whenever fans treated him affectionately, like a little brother. It was almost as if he had a prickly wall guarding his emotions, stemming from his lack of a safe haven in his family. He grew up wild and aggressive, using spikes as a fortress to protect himself.

Lu Lian realized why Lin Ao was often perceived as fierce and stubborn in his interactions. He understood that a handsome guy like Lin Ao encountered both well-intentioned people and those with ulterior motives.

Lu Lian thought back to the time when he was going through Lin Ao's profile and saw an early live-stream video of him. Back then, Lin Ao was still finding his footing as a streamer, not very good at interacting with fans, and his speech was tinged with innocence and awkwardness. The fans treated him like their little brother and enjoyed their time with him.

          [Little brother, you look so pure. I like it. Give me a smile, and I'll gift you a deep-sea fish-thunder!]

At first, Lin Ao seemed not to realize the implications and intended to thank the viewer, but soon he sensed something amiss. The way the person was looking at him made him feel like he was being touched by a snake, evoking an inexplicable disgust. He reacted angrily, retorting, "Smile my a**! Keep that deep-sea fish·thunder for your own funeral!"

After his retort, the barrage was filled with praise for the streamer.

          [Streamer 666!]

          [Streamer's comeback was awesome!]

Though he wasn't entirely sure about Lin Ao's family situation, Lu Lian understood why Lin Ao built such a strong facade. As a handsome young man, Lin Ao encountered both well-intentioned and malicious individuals, so he relied on spikes to guard his emotions and built a fortress around himself.

As soon as Lu Lian returned to reality from the memory, he saw Lin Ao looking at him with his head tilted, his black eyes were like stars in the sky, clear and pure.

Lu Lian coughed lightly and said, "What's wrong?"

"We're done moving." After Lin Ao finished speaking, he continued to stand where he was, looking at Lu Lian awkwardly.

"?" Lu Lian waited for a while, but did not see the next sentence, and Lin Ao still did not speak, and seemed to have no intention of leaving.

The two just stared at each other for a while.

Lu Lian suddenly understood that Lin Ao was probably, maybe, maybe reporting to him?

Lu Lian said, "Okay, we're all done, and we're going to resume the meeting."

After all, Bai Changshan and Lu Yu came from the youth training team, and they have long been used to replays, so when Lu Lian mentioned replays, they both came over.

Compared to their positive attitude, Lin Ao's attitude was colder: "Is it necessary?"

Lu Lian glanced over the three of them, and finally landed on Lin Ao, saying, "Of course it is necessary, especially you."

"..." Lin Ao, who felt that he was strong, felt offended.

The layout of the meeting room is very simple, several chairs are neatly arranged in front of the TV, and on the wall next to the TV, hangs a super-sized game map, this map is very detailed, it can be seen that it has cost a lot of money.

Lu Lian pressed the play button, and the video of their match yesterday was played on the TV.

"Our replay is just for review, not to blame anyone. I hope you understand." Lu Lian's tone was calm, and it was indeed not an attitude of settling accounts and asking for trouble.

Both Bai Changshan and Lu Yu nodded.

Lu Lian's eyes fell on Lin Ao again.

"..." Lin Ao thought to himself, why do you keep staring at me? Then he nodded reluctantly.

Lu Lian continued: "This game is just an ordinary game, and the meaning of replaying the game is actually not great, but we can find out your basic mistakes from it."

When the video played to the first minute and seven seconds, Lu Lian pressed pause and marked the upper side of the enemy's center tower on the map.

Seeing this, Lin Ao knew that Lu Lian was going to point him, so he couldn't help but pursed his lips.

Lu Lian said: "At this stage, if you put the enemy's mid laner under the tower, you have an obvious advantage in the lane. You should actually take this opportunity to go up and take a look."

As Lu Lian said, he replaced Lin Ao with a small magnetic cartoon character, and then walked out a route on the game map.

Lin Ao didn't understand: "Why do I go there as a mid laner? Go to the canyon and see the scenery?"

"Look at the opponent's jungler." Lu Lian didn't care about Lin Ao's bickering with him, and continued, "You can guess the opponent's jungler's route by taking a look here."

On the game map, Lu Lian marked the enemy's wild area with numbers, which are six dots: "If there is no one in the place you look at, it means that the enemy's jungle route starts from the lower half of the wild area. Hit 1, 2 and 3 wild monsters, after clearing these three wild monsters, he may go to the bottom lane, or he may go to the upper half wild area.

"So you look at it, it's very important to let our jungler and bottom lane know.

"If our jungler is weak in the early stage, then after determining the enemy's wilderness route, he can arrange his own route to avoid encountering the enemy in the early stage; if our jungler is strong in the early stage, then he can you can take the opportunity to invade the opponent's wild area."

Lin Ao: "..."

He has been playing games for so long, and he knows the heroes he is playing;

The only thing is that he won't plan so carefully like Lu Lian.

That's why he is called a reckless play by fans, a top-notch, and he just does it when he goes up.

"Especially a very aggressive mid laner like you. In the arena, you are not only a knife, a sword, a weapon to deter the enemy, but also an eye that can illuminate the vision of your teammates."

"This is the cooperation between the mid laner and the jungler, and it is also the cooperation between teammates."

Lin Ao was dumbfounded, his eyelashes twitched a few times, and then his eyes fell on the little cartoon man that Lu Lian placed in the upper half of the field. After a long time, he said sullenly: "I see."

Lu Lian watched Lin Ao's head droop slightly, exposing the furry top of his head, and he suddenly had the urge to rub it a few times.

He knew Lin Ao had taken his advice to heart; otherwise, he wouldn't have lowered his head like that.

Lu Lian continued, "If the opponent's mid lane has an advantage, and you can't handle it, you can leave the vision control in the jungle to the top laner."

Lin Ao snorted, "Impossible. I have the advantage in every match. You can go on."

Lu Lian couldn't help but smile at Lin Ao's response.

"Thirty minutes and fifteen seconds, Lin Ao, you..."

Lin Ao's eyes widened, and he said unwillingly, "Why is it me again?"

Lu Lian calmly replied, "Yes, think about it, why is it you again?"

Lin Ao: "..."

Bai Changshan on the side comforted: "It's okay, big brother mid laner, although you have a lot of details, but the operation is full! You are great!"

Lin Ao: "..."