LOL: What does it mean to torture players?

After breakfast, Su Mo went to the poolside.

Sunlight refracts through the clear water, creating ripples.

Su Mo took a deep breath and dived into the water like a fish.

A minute later, he surfaced, clutching a sparkling diamond earring in his hand, and shook his wet hair.

"found it!"

As soon as he looked up, he saw Rita leaning on the railing of the second-floor balcony, wearing a loose silk robe with the collar slightly open, holding an iced Americano in her hand, and looking at him lazily.

"Brother Mozi, you're in great shape." Rita chewed on her straw, her eyes lingering on Su Mo's muscular upper body. "Those abs, tsk tsk, no wonder you're the top lane demon king."

Su Mo tossed the earring up: "Stop talking nonsense, catch it. Next time you leave things lying around, I'll throw you down to find them."

Rita caught the earring steadily and blew Su Mo a kiss: "Thanks~ To repay you, I'll give you a massage tonight?"

"No thanks, I want to live two more years."

……

In the afternoon, the sun was no longer so harsh.

Everyone finally regained their energy and decided to have a beach volleyball match on the villa's private beach.

This is a contest about the "right to wash the dishes for dinner".

The grouping is as follows:

Team A: Su Mo, hope Ran (sports novice), Luo Xin (good at nothing but running fast).

Team B: Yu Shuang (fitness enthusiast), Rita (highly competitive), Xiao Yu (good flexibility).

"This isn't fair!" Luo Xin protested, looking at the opposing team's lineup. "They have three full-health heroes, while we have two burdens on our side!"

"Who's the burden?" hope Ran puffed out her chest defiantly. "I took volleyball as an elective in college, okay!"

Su Mo twirled the volleyball in his hand and smiled confidently: "What's there to be afraid of? With me here, even with two... cough cough, we can win no matter who we bring."

"Su Mo, you're finished! You're definitely washing the dishes tonight!" Luo Xin was so angry she jumped up and down.

Game start.

Su Mo quickly demonstrated what "dimensional reduction attack" meant. Although he was accompanied by two "rookies," his abnormal reaction speed and explosive power covered two-thirds of the entire field.

"Watch the ball!" Rita served fiercely, aiming directly at Xiran, who looked the weakest.

hope Ran frantically tried to nudge the ball, but it flew out of bounds.

"Save the ball!"

Su Mo sprinted forward and scooped up the ball with one hand just before it hit the ground, then rolled onto the beach.

"Good shot!" Luo Xin took the opportunity to pass the ball over the net.

Xiaoyu on the other side tried to block, but because her legs were too short (actually, she didn't jump high enough), the ball grazed her fingertips and landed in the sand.

1: 0!

"So cool, Brother Mo!" hope Ran excitedly ran over to give him a high five, but then she saw that Su Mo was covered in sand and felt a little embarrassed.

Su Mo stood up with a smile, brushing the sand off his clothes: "Basic procedure. Continue!"

The game was extremely close (mainly because Su Mo was controlling the score).

Ultimately, with Su Mo holding back, the two sides ended in a draw.

"A draw! A draw would be best!" Exhausted, Luo Xin plopped down on the beach. "Let's use the dishwasher to wash the dishes, I'm so tired."

As the sun sets, six people sit side by side on the beach, watching the waves gradually swallow their footprints.

Su Mo sat in the middle, with Yu Shuang and hope Ran on his left, and Rita, Xiao Yu, and Luo Xin on his right.

"It's so nice." hope Ran hugged her knees, looking at the sunset in the distance. "I wish it could always be this easy."

"Dream on." Su Mo handed her a bottle of water. "Going back will be hell mode again. The Spring Split version has been drastically changed. I'll be practicing new heroes, and you guys will have to memorize new information."

"Oh, don't talk about such a downer." Rita leaned on Su Mo's shoulder. "By the way, about that skin, have you decided yet? I saw the online poll, Riven and Jax are neck and neck."

When this was mentioned, Su Mo's expression became slightly more serious.

He took out his phone and glanced at the latest voting data.

"That's right, let me go take a look." Su Mo swiped his phone screen and entered the voting pages of Hupu and Weibo.

A long string of numbers came into view.

"Wow, it seems the brothers have pretty much the same taste." Su Mo raised an eyebrow and turned his phone screen towards everyone. "Currently, Jayce is far ahead with a 48% vote share. Riven is in second place with 30%. As for Jax... although he's fun to play, he only has a little over 20% vote share."

"Jayce is first?" Rita's eyes lit up, clearly very satisfied with the result. "Great! Jayce is so handsome, a classic tall, rich, and handsome guy, much better than that purple eggplant holding a street lamp!"

“Indeed.” Su Mo nodded thoughtfully, not surprised. “Actually, it’s understandable when you think about it. Jax already has the SKT championship skin, and the feel and sound effects of that one are truly classic and hard to surpass. As for Riven, although she’s full of nostalgia, she has too many excellent skins, with Dawnbringer being deeply ingrained in people’s minds.”

At this point, Su Mo tapped his fingers lightly on the table: "On the contrary, Jayce, as a perennial top laner, although he has quite a few skins, seems to really lack an S-series championship skin that truly carries the labels of 'dominance' and 'god of war'."

"Jayce is really good!" hope Ran added excitedly from the side, "Especially your Jayce, that sense of oppression is so strong! If it were the EDG-colored Jayce, with the black and gold armor, that futuristic feel would be absolutely awesome!"

“I think so too.” Although Luo Xin was imitating Jax before, she quickly switched sides. “Think about it, when Jayce recalls, if he first throws his cannon form on the ground, then switches to hammer form and smashes it down, directly slamming the EDG logo into the ground, wouldn’t that have a ‘one-hit wonder’ feel to it?”

"Sister Hunchback, you've got the imagery right away?" Su Mo smiled approvingly. "Alright, since the public's demand is so high, then it's Jess. 'Future Guardian' becoming 'Champion Guardian', that's a good idea too."

Su Mo watched the sunset gradually sink into the sea in the distance, a hint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

"Although you can't hit people with streetlights anymore, the violent aesthetics of blasting half of the other side's health bar in one shot are indeed more in line with a man's romance."

He put away his phone, in a great mood: "I'll post a Weibo to hype it up later, and while I'm at it, ask Riot Games if they can make my Jayce recall animation a bit more flashy. Like, maybe have him play Mercury's Hammer like a guitar at the last moment? Or conjure up a pair of sunglasses and put them on?"

"Wow, you're so narcissistic!" the women exclaimed in unison, their laughter echoing across the beach.

……

Happy times always fly by, and these few days in Sanya felt like a beautiful dream, an escape from reality. But as the holiday drew to a close, a touch of sadness about parting began to surface. On their last night, instead of going out to bars or having a big meal, they quietly settled into the villa's living room.

Su Mo was looking at the version changes for the Spring Split on her tablet, while a few girls huddled together applying face masks, editing photos, and discussing their work arrangements after returning home.

"There are so many photos these past few days, how long will it take to edit them when I get back?" Rita complained while honestly posting the photos in the group chat. "This one of Mozi looks so silly, delete it, delete it."

"Hey! Those are my professional photos!" Su Mo protested. "They were candid shots! Don't you know what natural beauty is?"

"Come on, look at your eyes, like you haven't woken up yet," Xiaoyu added mercilessly.

While everyone was laughing and joking, Xiran, who had been sitting in the corner, seemed rather silent. She held her phone, the screen showing the ticketing app, her finger hovering in mid-air, not falling.

Although she had a lot of fun with everyone these past few days and had integrated into the group, the feeling of being an "outsider" started to resurface as it was time to leave.

Su Mo and the others either chartered a plane or had their company book business class tickets; they were a "family group" going back together. Although he had been accepted, he wasn't part of EDG's organization, so he felt embarrassed to ask for a free ticket.

"Um..." hope Ran hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "What time is your flight tomorrow? I checked, and I should buy my ticket too, otherwise I'll miss the rehearsal for the day after tomorrow."

The air in the living room was quiet for a moment.

Su Mo looked up from the tablet and at hope Ran. Actually, he had noticed hope Ran's unusual behavior tonight. This girl was thoughtful and a bit too proud; she was probably afraid of troubling everyone.

Before Su Mo could even speak, Yu Shuang, the "head housekeeper," keenly sensed hope Ran's little scheme.

Yu Shuang put down the serum in her hand, walked over to hope Ran's side very naturally, took her phone, glanced at the economy class interface on the screen, and turned off the screen.

"Why buy tickets?" Yu Shuang gave her a reproachful look. "We came together, so of course we should leave together. I arranged it yesterday. Tomorrow, all of us, including you, will be on the same flight. I even reserved seats for you."

"Huh?" hope Ran was stunned, and waved her hands in a flustered manner. "This...this is not appropriate, is it? I...I can buy it myself, it's really convenient."

"What's inappropriate?" Rita leaned in and put her arm around Xiran's shoulder. "We've already slept in the same bed. Are you being distant with us now? Don't you consider us sisters anymore?"

"No, no..." hope Ran's face turned red with anxiety, "I was afraid of causing trouble for Brother Mozi and the team, after all, I'm an official commentator, this..."

"What's wrong with the official commentators? They're our friends too."

Su Mo stood up and walked up to hope Ran. "If you weren't coming with us, I was hoping you'd tell me some gossip."

Looking into Su Mo's smiling eyes, and then at her sisters around her who all looked like they were ready to "tickle you if you dare to refuse," Xi Ran's worries vanished instantly.

A warm feeling welled up in my heart.

"Then... I'll leave it to you." hope Ran stopped hesitating. "Thank you."

"That's right!" Luo Xin cheered. "Then we can continue playing cards on the plane tomorrow! I'm going to win back the two hundred yuan I lost to Brother Mozi!"

"With your card skills?" Su Mo scoffed. "Maybe in your next life."

……

The following day at noon, the group packed their bags and bid farewell to the seaside villa filled with sunshine and memories.

The atmosphere in the car remained lively on the way to the airport.

Everyone was discussing what hot pot they would eat when they got back and what kind of sleep they would need.

Upon arriving at the airport, although everyone was wearing masks and hats, their unique aura still attracted a lot of attention. However, this time they were more experienced, and Su Mo took the lead, clearing the way for the girls, who quickly passed through security.

Once inside first class, Su Mo comfortably lay down on the spacious seat, ready to catch up on some sleep.

To Su Mo's surprise, hope Ran happened to be sitting right next to him.

He strongly suspected that this was deliberately arranged by Yu Shuang, since she was in charge of things like plane tickets and check-in.

However, this didn't have much of an impact. Su Mo didn't think much of it, greeted everyone, and then went straight to sleep.

The plane took off, passed through the clouds, and flew smoothly towards Shanghai.

About an hour later, Su Mo woke up groggily, feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders.

He turned his head and found that Xiran had fallen asleep, her head resting squarely on his shoulder as the plane rocked.

She was fast asleep, her long eyelashes fluttering slightly, her hand still tightly clutching a notebook of Korean translations.

Su Mo looked at her peaceful sleeping face without moving, but gently adjusted her position to make her more comfortable.

Yu Shuang, who was in the front row, turned around and saw this scene.

She raised an eyebrow at Su Mo, her eyes filled with ambiguity.

Su Mo rolled her eyes helplessly.

Outside the window, the sea of ​​clouds churned, and the golden sunlight shone on the wings of the plane.

The holiday may be over, but a new journey has just begun.

And this time, it seems there's another warm bond by his side.

"Attention passengers, we are about to land..."

As the broadcast began, Su Mo looked out the window at the increasingly clear outline of Shanghai, a confident smile playing on his lips.

The plane landed smoothly, and the tires made a soft "sizzling" sound as they rubbed against the runway.

Su Mo felt a lightness on his shoulder. Xi Ran, who had been sleeping soundly on his shoulder, stirred groggily, as if startled awake by the vibration. She rubbed her sleepy eyes, still somewhat dazed, and stared at the running track lights flashing past the window. It took her a while to realize what she had been using as a pillow.

"Awake?" Su Mo moved his slightly sore left shoulder and teased, "You're drooling all over my clothes."

"Huh?!" hope Ran was startled and quickly touched the corner of her mouth. She then looked at Su Mo's shoulder in a panic. After finding no water stains, she realized that she had been tricked. She blushed and glared at Su Mo, her voice soft and hoarse from just waking up: "You... why do you start bullying people as soon as you get off the plane?"

"This is called a wake-up service." Su Mo unbuckled his seatbelt. "Let's go, we've arrived in Shanghai."

The group pushed their luggage out of the arrival gate. Compared to the heatwave in Sanya, the damp and chilly air in Shanghai instantly made them feel much more refreshed.

When it was time to part, hope Ran was a little reluctant, but she knew she couldn't stay with Su Mo and his group forever, so she had to say goodbye first.

She tightened her coat around her neck and looked at Su Mo: "Brother Mo, Sister Ta, Sister Shuang... everyone, thank you for taking care of me along the way. I'll head back now, and I'll treat you to dinner another day... another day."

"Okay, I've got this meal in mind." Su Mo nodded with a smile. "Be careful on the road, and let me know when you arrive safely." (End of Chapter)