LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

Su Mo put down the speaker, walked over and sat on the small round stool opposite hope Ran, and said in a serious tone, "This won't do. As a good friend, and a great beauty in our LPL, I can't just watch you stay single forever."

He stroked his chin, adopting a matchmaker's stance: "How about this, I'll introduce you to a boyfriend? There are quite a few excellent single young men in our circle. Look, whether they're retired or active, as long as you ask, I'll definitely help you choose. What kind do you like? Steady? Humorous? Or good at competitions? Or handsome?"

Upon hearing Su Mo's kind suggestion, Yu Shuang, Rita, Xiao Yu, and Luo Xin, who were chatting, paused almost imperceptibly, their ears perking up instantly. Although they were still doing their own thing on the surface, their attention was all focused on this side.

Clearly, everyone is quite interested in this topic.

Looking at Su Mo's serious expression, hope Ran, emboldened by the alcohol, suddenly felt a strange impulse surge within her. She blinked her watery, peach-blossom eyes, a playful smile curving her lips, and said, half-jokingly, half-seriously:

“Alright, since Brother Mo is going to act as matchmaker himself, I’ll definitely give him face.”

She leaned forward slightly, staring into Su Mo's eyes, and said:

"The requirements aren't low either... They have to be about as good as you."

The moment the words were spoken, the air on the deck seemed to freeze for a second.

The sound of waves crashing against the ship seemed exceptionally clear.

Four pairs of eyes, like sharp swords, shot towards us from different directions in an instant.

Rita narrowed her eyes, swirling her wine glass with a half-smile.

Yu Shuang stopped peeling grapes, her eyes filled with amusement; Xiao Yu and Luo Xin exchanged a glance, revealing expressions of "I knew it."

This isn't how you find a boyfriend! This is clearly looking for someone like Su Mo!

Looking at the entire esports scene, and even globally, can you find another man who can win the S-series championship, FMVP, has good looks, high EQ, and still be a star during the off-season?
This is not a "standard" at all; it's a blatant implication!

The moment hope Ran uttered those words, seeing Su Mo's stunned expression and feeling the murderous gazes around her, she instantly sobered up by half.

"oops……"

hope Ran's face flushed instantly, all the way to her ears. She waved her hands hastily, trying to cover it up: "I... I mean, like you, good at games, or... or like you, good-natured... Ugh, it's just a metaphor! A metaphor!"

The more she explained, the more confused she became. In the end, she could only lower her head in frustration, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into under the deck.

Why did I act so impulsively and blurt out my true feelings as a joke?

Su Mo looked at hope Ran's embarrassed yet adorable appearance, and then glanced at the several jealous men around him, his lips twitching slightly.

If the situation isn't handled properly, the yacht might capsize.

"Ahem." Su Mo cleared his throat and took over the conversation very naturally, with a "I'm very troubled" expression on his face. "Xi Ran, to be honest, your requirements are a bit high."

He sighed and spread his hands: "Someone as handsome as me is one in a hundred years, one in heaven and one in earth. If you set this standard, I'm afraid you'll never get married in your life."

This extremely narcissistic and shameless remark instantly broke the somewhat awkward atmosphere.

"puff!"

Luo Xin couldn't help but burst out laughing, grabbing a cushion and throwing it at him: "Brother Mozi, have you no shame?! I've never seen such a shameless person!"

“Exactly! Give him a little credit and he’ll take it all!” Rita rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide the smile on her lips. “Xiran, don’t listen to him. He’s just a narcissist.”

Yu Shuang smiled and shook her head, her previously sharp gaze softening. Looking at hope Ran, whose face was flushed, she gently smoothed things over, saying, "But speaking of which, our Brother Mozi is truly one of a kind. Xi Ran has such a sharp eye; she spotted the ceiling right away. How will she find someone like that in the future?"

hope Ran glanced gratefully at Su Mo and Yu Shuang, knowing they were giving her a way out. She took a deep breath, adjusted her mindset, and decided to go all out, saying:

"So what if I can't find them! Anyway, I have so many good girlfriends now, and a loyal friend like Brother Mozi. At worst, I'll just mooch off you guys from now on!"

"That's great!" Xiaoyu immediately chimed in. "Let's form an 'LPL Retirement Group' and specialize in taking advantage of the big spenders! Mozi will be in charge of making money, and we'll be in charge of being beautiful!"

"Hey, hey, did I agree to this?" Su Mo protested. "So I'm just a long-term meal ticket?"

"You have a problem with that?" the four beauties glared at them in unison.

"...No objection, it would be an honor." Su Mo immediately raised his hands in surrender, his survival instinct kicking in.

The women burst into laughter.

After this incident, hope Ran was able to integrate into this "small group" in a simple way. The original slight barrier also disappeared without a trace in this half-joking remark.

“Since we’ve come this far,” Rita suddenly sat up straight, her eyes sparkling with excitement, “Just chatting is so boring, let’s do something exciting!”

"What?" Everyone looked at her.

Rita took an unopened bottle of champagne from the ice bucket next to her, placed it in the middle of the table, and spun it around: "Truth or Dare! Whoever the bottle lands on has to choose! No cheating, cheaters have to drink... um, drink a toast together!"

"Wow! Rita, you're trying to take advantage of me!" Luo Xin exclaimed.

"Stop talking nonsense, are you in or not?"

"Play!"

Looking at the group of enthusiastic women, Su Mo felt a chill run down his spine. His intuition told him that tonight's game was definitely a trap set for him.

“First round…” Rita flicked her wrist, and the bottle spun rapidly on the table.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the mouth of the bottle.

Finally, the bottle neck gradually slowed down and came to a stop.

Directly opposite—Xiran.

"Huh? Me?" hope Ran pointed at herself, looking completely bewildered.

"Hehehe, what a great start!" Rita grinned mischievously. "Xiran, truth or dare?"

hope Ran glanced at the group of people who clearly had ill intentions, swallowed hard, and cautiously said, "Truly...the truth."

“Okay!” Rita snapped her fingers, leaned forward, and asked the question that everyone wanted to know but had been too embarrassed to ask directly.

"You just said you wanted to find someone as outstanding as Brother Mozi... So, in your subconscious, if, I mean if..."

Rita glanced at Su Mo, then looked at hope Ran, and slowed her speech:
"If Brother Mozi confessed his feelings to you right now, would you say yes? You have to tell the truth, because we are all micro-expression experts here!"

The question brought silence back down on deck.

Su Mo's hand holding the cup trembled slightly, and he looked at Rita helplessly: You're causing trouble!

hope Ran's face flushed instantly, even redder than before. She bit her lip, her eyes darting nervously between Su Mo and Rita.

To say you can't? That's lying, and it sounds pretentious.

Say you'll do it? That would be in front of everyone...

She took a deep breath, and with the lingering effects of the alcohol, a hint of courage flashed in her eyes.

She didn't answer directly, but instead picked up the wine glass on the table, turned to look at Su Mo, her eyes seemingly filled with starlight and the sea.

"If only there were a way..."

hope Ran's voice was soft, but it was just enough to be carried to everyone's ears by the sea breeze.

"...I think no girl could resist someone so outstanding. But I wouldn't compete with my girlfriends for him, so...I don't know." With that, she tilted her head back and downed the drink in one gulp, her movements both graceful and slightly shy.

"oh!!!!!"

The other four women immediately started to cheer, their screams echoing through the night sky.

"So skilled! So skilled!"

"That answer gets full marks!"

"Brother Mozi, did you hear that?! They've already said it all!"

Su Mo smiled but didn't say anything.

"Next round! Next round!" Xiaoyu quickly changed the subject.

The bottle spun again.

This time, the bottle wobbled and finally stopped in front of Su Mo, who was watching the show with amusement.

"Great! I finally caught you!" Xiaoyu excitedly slammed her hand on the table. "Brother Mozi, what do you choose?!"

Su Mo looked at the five pairs of eyes glowing green, sighed, and steeled his resolve:
"A great adventure! Real men are never afraid!"

“A real man is never afraid?” Rita repeated the sentence, her smile growing wider. She turned to her sisters and said, “Did you hear that? Brother Mozi has spoken.”

"We heard that!" Luo Xin and Xiao Yu, always eager for a good show, replied in unison.

Rita magically pulled a waterproof eyeliner from her purse, twirled it deftly on her slender fingertips, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Since Xiran just said you're outstanding, let's see just how thick-skinned this outstanding 'excellence' really is. The content of the dare is simple—as the only male on our yacht, you have to accept the 'love makeup' from the four of us."

"Each person must have a pen. No dodging or erasing is allowed. You must keep it until you disembark!"

Su Mo stared at the jet-black eyeliner, her eyes twitching wildly: "Hey, hey, hey, this is too much! I make a living with my face, okay? If someone takes a picture of me and it goes viral tomorrow, what will become of me?"

"Enough talk! A bet's a bet!" Luo Xin was the first to jump up, grabbing Su Mo's shoulder. "Sisters, go! Hold him down!"

"Help me—" Su Mo let out a completely insincere scream, but his body remained slumped in the chair, looking like he was at the mercy of others.

The women surrounded her, laughing and joking.

Luo Xin took the lead, using an eyeliner to draw three thick cat whiskers on Su Mo's left cheek. After finishing, she clapped her hands and laughed, "Oh my, how cute is Mo Miaomiao!"

Su Mo wailed, "Wasn't it supposed to be one pen per person?!"

But no one paid any attention to him.

Xiaoyu followed closely behind, grinning mischievously as she drew a large "王" (king) character on Su Mo's forehead: "Since he's the ace of the LPL, he has to have some prestige, like a tiger!"

Rita was the worst. She pinched Su Mo's chin and put a mole on the corner of his mouth. She even wanted to draw him bright red lipstick, but Su Mo resisted fiercely and she gave up. In the end, she only drew a seductive eyeliner on the corner of his eye.

In the blink of an eye, the once handsome Su Mo has now transformed into a tiger-cat demon with a mole on his face.

The comical sight caused a burst of laughter to erupt on the deck. Yu Shuang laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight, and even Rita clutched her stomach, crying out in pain.

“And then there’s Xiran!” Rita wiped away her tears of laughter and handed the pen to Xiran, who had been standing on the outer edge with a somewhat reserved smile. “Xiran, it’s your turn! Don’t hold back, give him the final ‘fatal blow’!”

The lively atmosphere quieted down a bit.

hope Ran held the eyeliner pencil, still warm from Rita's hand, and looked at Su Mo's face, which was now a mess. The blush on her face hadn't completely faded. At this moment, being asked to touch Su Mo's face at this distance, she felt somewhat at a loss.

She pursed her lips and cautiously moved closer.

The sea breeze ruffled her long hair, and a few strands gently brushed against Su Mo's neck.

Su Mo was looking up at her, his face covered in graffiti, but his clear eyes were still smiling as he looked at her.

He seemed to sense Xi Ran's hesitation and shyness. Instead of yelling at her like he did with Rita and the others, he very gentlemanly turned his face slightly to reveal the only relatively clean patch of skin on his right cheek.

"Come on, beautiful lady." Su Mo's voice softened, carrying a reassuring smile. "I'm just missing your 'finishing touch.' Whether my looks can be saved depends entirely on you."

He didn't deliberately tease her about the previous topic, nor did he make any overly intimate gestures. Instead, he used a tone like that of an old friend to cleverly defuse Xiran's awkward situation while also giving her a strong sense of participation.

Looking at Su Mo's encouraging eyes, hope Ran's nervousness instantly dissipated.

"Then...then I'll draw it."

She spoke softly, leaning slightly forward. To maintain her balance, she lightly held onto the back of the chair with one hand, trying to avoid directly touching Su Mo's body, while her other hand, holding a pen, gently touched Su Mo's right cheek.

At a distance where you can hear each other's breath.

hope Ran could clearly see Su Mo's long eyelashes and the corners of his mouth trembling slightly as he suppressed a laugh.

Instead of playing pranks like the others, she focused intently on drawing a small, delicate heart on his cheek and a miniature trophy symbol next to it.

"Alright." hope Ran withdrew her hand, as if she had accomplished something important, and quickly took a step back, her heart pounding.

"Oh my~" Rita and Xiaoyu started teasing again, "What does this mean? A heart-shaped trophy?"

hope Ran blushed and explained, "I wish... I wish Brother Mozi will win more championships in the future!"

Su Mo picked up her phone and looked at the screen.

Cat whiskers, a "王" (king) character, a mole, alluring eyeliner... and a small heart and trophy on the right cheek that look particularly fresh and refined.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Su Mo stroked his chin, stood up and deliberately struck a cool pose, winking at hope Ran: "Thanks, not bad drawing skills."

"Alright, alright, this handsome guy's look is done, let's continue!" Su Mo shouted with boundless pride, "If I don't beat you all down tonight, I'm not Su!"

"Oh ho! Pretty cocky, huh! Bring it on!" Rita rolled up her sleeves. "Sisters, focus fire on him! We can't let him get cocky!"

"Go, go, go!"

A gentle sea breeze caressed the yacht as it swayed gently with the waves in the night.

Laughter and the clinking of glasses mingled together.

Su Mo navigated the women with ease, sometimes rendered speechless by Luo Xin's sharp retorts, and sometimes clinking glasses with Yu Shuang. But he always maintained a clear head, and whenever his gaze swept over the slightly tipsy Xi Ran, he would subtly shield her from some overly harsh jokes or hand her a glass of warm water.

That perfectly measured gentleness is like the moonlight on the sea—bright but not dazzling, making one feel incredibly comfortable.

hope Ran held her water glass, looking at the man in the center of the crowd whose face was covered in flowers but who was still dazzling. Her smile became even gentler.

Perhaps that's why everyone likes him.

"Brother Mozi! Don't run! It's your turn! It's your turn!"

"Holy crap, it's me again? Is there a magnet in this bottle?"

"Enough talk! Truth or dare this time?"

"...Truth! Truth, okay?! I'm scared of you all!"

Laughter erupted again, carried away by the waves to a far, far away place. (End of Chapter)