Honestly, Shu Yuewu was very disappointed with Han Fei. She'd heard people hype him up, but he didn't feel anything special. From start to finish, Xia Xin had him pinned under the tower. Xia Xin just stood there, letting him attack, and he didn't even dare to fight.
It was so boring. This match wasn't as exciting as she'd imagined. It was almost one-sided. If Xia Xin hadn't wanted to win, Han Fei would have died under the tower a hundred or eighty times.
Is the high school league so weak now?
How could such an AD carry win the championship?
She'd expected a back-and-forth battle between the two, with all those extreme escapes and peak performances—that would have been exciting.
In reality, strength and weakness are relative. From the moment Han Fei, known for his aggressive laning, was forced into the tower by Xia Xin, the outcome was practically sealed.
It wasn't that Han Fei was too weak, but that Xia Xin's suppression was too strong.
She lay on her bed, biting an apple, and opened her laptop.
She searched online for Han Fei. Wow, there's quite a bit of news about him.
There were actually various play highlights. Shu Yuewu opened them and found them quite impressive. She felt like this guy was really good. Why couldn't he show off today? It was like a father scolding his son. He was beaten and cowered under the tower, wasting his energy. His only real counter-showdown combo at the end was noteworthy. But, Xia Xin could do that too, and even faster.
Zhu Xiaoxuan sent a QQ message, "How's it going? Are you done?"
Shu Yuewu said angrily, "You idiot! I just got home and you didn't even let me rest. Send me the video and watch it yourself. Don't bother me."
"Who won?"
"Han Fei."
"Sure enough, he won. And he's right. My brother said he's a great laner. Not many can stand up to him. It's normal for him to lose."
"That's all just hype..."
The two girls started chatting about girlish things.
Zhu Xiaosong, on the other hand, began watching the video intently. He thought Xia Xin had potential and wanted to recruit him to Jiangnan University.
His face, square and upright, grew increasingly serious the more he looked at them, finally revealing a look of surprise.
While others couldn't see it, he knew the details of the two's encounter. Vayne's momentum had been unleashed at level 2, and then the positioning between them shifted from Lucian forcing Vayne to Vayne forcing Lucian.
Vayne's positioning was incredibly oppressive, her body eagerly thrust forward, pressuring Lucian's last-hitting efforts.
It was quite ferocious, incredibly ferocious, terrifyingly so.
Vayne's actions were telling Lucian, "I'm ready to come at you anytime."
In reality, the fight felt about even, but Lucian was clearly intimidated by the opponent's momentum.
This kind of oppression was almost incomprehensible to those who weren't there. He could even imagine Han Fei's miserable state, suffocated by Vayne's overwhelming aura.
After level 6, Vayne was even more ferocious. She'd immediately charge in with her ultimate, even charging into the tower. Despite having an item advantage, this was incredibly arrogant, and naturally, it left Lucian feeling utterly defeated.
It can only be said that this player's play was too aggressive and overpowered, intimidating Lucian, leading to a steadily increasing number of last-hitting attempts and securing victory.
However, there were two points that he wasn't optimistic about. He felt Xia Xin's awareness wasn't up to par.
First, he ran away when he could have killed her, demonstrating a lack of awareness. And then there was the final reckless death, a reckless move that didn't even use the Ruined King. Such recklessness could have led to the team's annihilation.
Hmm, he has great potential. If he were to take her on, he could focus on developing her.
Zhu Xiaosong silently categorized Xia Xin's skill level as A-minus, while Han Fei was at A-level. Han Fei's ability to withstand pressure and engage in teamfights was quite good, but he couldn't simply compare Xia Xin to Han Fei based on just one game.
But with proper training, Xia Xin should be able to reach Han Fei's level.
Xia Xin, still preparing dinner at home, received an inexplicable phone call.
"Hello, I'm the older brother of Shu Yuewu's friend, and also the president of the Jiangnan University League of Legends Club. She recommended you, saying you're a good League of Legends player. These days, major universities are heavily supporting the esports industry, and I have two special admission spots. Are you interested in attending Jiangnan University?"
"Jiangnan University?"
"Yes, I'm one of the semifinalists in the last National League of Legends University League. If you're interested, give me a call. Of course, there's a small assessment, but if you pass it, I'll accept you as a special admission."
"Can... let me think about it?"
"Sure, call me when you're done."
Xia Xin hadn't really given it much thought. His approach was simple: whatever makes money.
First, practice your account, then play solo...
The next day, back in the classroom, Xia Xin was treated like never before. He was surrounded by a group of boys, who asked him what he thought of playing solo with Han Fei.
Everyone was so excited, asking all sorts of questions, I almost thought Xia Xin had won.
They all now thought Xia Xin was at least Diamond level, clamoring to play duo with him. It was impossible to be low-key.
Luckily, everyone had recently faced the pressure of the college entrance exam, and they had all calmed down a lot.
The only two who weren't anxious were Xia Xin and Shu Yuewu. Xia Xin was desperate, so there was no point in being anxious. Shu Yuewu's grades were excellent, she was guaranteed a place in a top-tier university, and she was said to have won numerous provincial and municipal awards in dance, art, and other fields, which would add a lot of points. Just a few tests would be enough.
This woman was so versatile that one could only admire her.
This also meant that Xia Xin had to help Shu Yuewu rank up for hours every night.
Xia Xin's personal abilities were exceptional. In Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers, he preferred to play jungle or mid, usually killing the opponent in 10-15 minutes. Playing AD would take too long to develop, so he preferred to rank up efficiently.
This also ensured that the two of them climbed the ranks very quickly. No matter how Shu Yuewu played, as long as she didn't give up, it was difficult for her to lose.
Then Shu Yuewu's difficulty became apparent.
"You're not allowed to play any other positions. You must play bot lane. I'll let you play AD, and I'll support you. Of course, it's fun to play bot lane with the two of us."
Xia Xin thought, let's play, after all, I'm being paid.
Although playing AD takes longer, the win rate is higher. After 30 minutes, AD can take over the game, and their value is fully demonstrated.
As the rank gets higher, the following situation occurs.
Shu Yuewu's Janna, wearing Spellthief's Blade, is happily attacking enemy heroes from behind the minions, stealing their own money. Each attack earns her 5 yuan. The fortune depends on her. Suddenly, she turns around and sees, "Hey, Tristana, why are you at the second tower?"
What are you doing back in town?
The minions are about to enter the tower. Why aren't you farm? Where are the second wave of minions?
The minions did enter the tower, and at the same time, two burly men swooped in from the brush behind the triangle. The opposing midlaner, jungler, AD carry, and support, all in the bottom lane, were suddenly playing mahjong.
The Wind Girl helplessly transformed into the incarnation of wind. Under the merciless assault of four humans and beasts, she transformed into a gust of wind and vanished beneath the tower.
Shu Yuewu was immediately displeased and furious.
This kind of thing happened more than once. For example, when she and Xia Xin left home together, entered the lane, and casually launched a basic attack, before she could even hit the minions, three muscular men jumped out of the brush nearby and pinned her to the ground...
When she turned around, Xia Xin was standing still beneath the tower, watching her leave.
It seemed like she knew someone was here.
She admitted that Xia Xin had strong awareness, excellent gank prevention, and exceptional personal abilities, but, if you'd warned him, he'd have died.
Shu Yuewu angrily typed on the screen, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's too late."
"You're just going to watch me die?"
"I'm powerless... Wait until I'm equipped and I'll avenge you."
Xia Xin paused, then added, "Or, you could build a wardstone and place more wards."
"I don't want to, I prefer to build equipment."
With more interaction, the two of them understood each other's habits.
Xia Xin rarely spoke during games. He didn't care what others said about him, and he never criticized others' performance. He didn't care if the support built a wardstone or if you made the wrong equipment. The few times he spoke were during team fights that determined the outcome of the game.
Usually, even if he knew the opponent would die if he approached, he would just watch.
Because if he talked too much, others rarely listened. Over time, he developed a habit of ignoring it, focusing on his own performance and carrying the team. This also shaped his superb skills and awareness.
I don't know whether to call this a good or bad thing.
Shu Yuewu also has a very obvious bad habit in low-ranking games: she doesn't like to build wards, preferring to build items. At most, she'll give you a trinket ward, and she'll consider it a good thing.
An eyestone? 800 yuan? Are you kidding? With 800 yuan, I can add 40 spell power.
A 75 yuan eyestone, used once and then gone? That's a waste of money.
So, the bottom lane is always dark. In reality, if other AD carries had given up hope long ago, only Xia Xin would have turned a blind eye.
Shu Yuewu was furious. Not only did this guy not come to the rescue, he actually watched her die. "Xia Xin, let's make a new rule. From now on, whenever I die, you must also die."
"That'll make it even harder to win."
"More money."
"Deal."
The two quickly reached a consensus and added two thousand, bringing the boosting fee to ten thousand.
Shu Yuewu paid for happiness. You want me to die? Fine, I'll let you die with me. I'm happy, so what?
Xia Xin exchanged pain for money. Seeing Shu Yuewu dying, he had no choice but to fight. If he could save someone, he'd save them. If not, he'd just give her another kill.
It was incredible that he'd helped Shu Yuewu, a Silver support, all the way to Diamond.
Seeing him die made Shu Yuewu happier than if she'd killed someone herself. Xia Xin was incredibly difficult to kill, but if he died, she'd have to die too, giving her a small sense of accomplishment.
I thought, you keep hiding, you keep hiding, you keep standing under the tower and watching me get ravaged. Now you know how to protect me, right? You know how to be a hero and save the damsel in distress.
Then a strange phenomenon occurred in Diamond's bot lane.
To reduce Shu Yuewu's deaths, and to prevent teammates from scolding her for not building a sightstone, which would lead to Shu Yuewu retaliating and eventually leading to a chain reaction of idle and fountain-based insults, Xia Xin built a sightstone.
That's right, as an AD carry, he gathered 800 gold and went home to buy a sightstone. This was actually quite cost-effective, because if Shu Yuewu gave away a kill, he also lost his life. With two kills and an assist, the opponent actually gained around 1,000 gold. It was better for him to spend 800 gold on a sightstone.
Strange things happen every year, but this year was especially frequent: supports built caps, and AD carries built sightstones.
After much deliberation, Xia Xin decided there was a support that would be particularly suitable for Shu Yuewu. "Well, Shu Yuewu, if you're happy, how about choosing Star Mother more often? They're known as the esports "poison nurse," the "mother of despair." You just stand back and heal me, and I'll carry the load, I'll fight. If anything goes wrong, I'll take the fight, and you run away first. What do you think?"
"Not really, that depends on my mood. If I'm in a good mood, I'll choose it."
"Then when will you be in a good mood?"
"Hehe, that depends on how you cheer me up. I'm already in a bad mood."
"..."
This isn't a coach, this is a servant for a young lady.
Xia Xin thought aggrievedly. He was just a coach. Did a coach have to keep a young lady happy?
Being a coach is hard these days, and being a coach for a young lady is even harder!