I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

As soon as Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei got out of the car at the hotel entrance, they saw Zhong Yu waving his arms wildly, as if afraid they wouldn't see him. Next to Zhong Yu stood a girl with her hair in a bun and wearing a hoodie, holding two cups of warm milk tea. She was tugging at Zhong Yu's clothes with amusement, signaling him not to shout like a train station announcer.

Chen Junqian had, of course, seen photos of his friend's girlfriend whom he had been dating online for many years, so he recognized her immediately. They had been playing games together for several years, so although it was their first time meeting in person, they quickly became familiar with each other.

The four of them took the elevator upstairs. The corridor was covered with thick carpets, which shut out the noise from outside. They went into their respective rooms and agreed to meet in the lobby half an hour later.

Chen Junqian swiped the door to the room he shared with Xu Youwei, inserted the room card, and the warm yellow lights turned on one by one. The room was very spacious, with a huge floor-to-ceiling window. Looking out, one could see the vast urban skyline of Wuhan in early autumn, and a corner of the Yangtze River shimmering in the sunlight in the distance.

Xu Youwei placed her small handbag on the coffee table, let out a soft sigh, and sank into the soft sofa. It had been over four years since she last stayed in a hotel with Chen Junqian, but back then she had flown to Beijing alone. Now, however, she was with Chen Junqian, so her mindset was completely different, even her tone had softened.

"We've finally arrived."

Chen Junqian placed their suitcases against the wall, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and handed it to her:

"Are you tired, Yoyo? If you are, we can leave a little earlier this afternoon if it's too noisy at the venue."

Xu Youwei took the water, drank a small sip, looked up at him, and her eyes sparkled with tiny glimmers of light:

"I'm not tired, after all, I'm with Qinqin."

As she spoke, she grabbed Chen Junqian's wrist again and gently shook it:

"This is my first time watching a match, but I feel like even professional players aren't necessarily as good as Qinqin?"

"My wife is beautiful to me..."

"My wife? Then remember to call me that in front of them later too."

"Okay, honey."

The address instantly transported Xu Youwei back to the time when they first established their relationship a few years ago. Her heart raced a little. Meeting the other person's half-smiling eyes, she gave him a playful glare, completely forgetting that she was the one who first took the initiative to call him that.

After resting at the hotel for a while and putting away their luggage, the group set off for the competition venue. Thanks to Zhong Yu's strong financial resources, they were able to buy tickets without any problems. As soon as they stepped out of the subway station, a wave of young faces overwhelmed them. The wide square was packed with people, and young people dressed in the uniforms of various teams could be seen everywhere. Some had fluorescent stickers with team logos on their faces, while others held up homemade support light boards. Cosplayers dressed in various hero skins moved through the crowd, eliciting bursts of camera shutters and cheers.

A line hundreds of meters long formed in front of the official support distribution point.

"My God... there are so many people!"

Zhong Yu stood on the steps of the square and couldn't help but gasp, but he couldn't suppress the excitement in his voice as he stood there looking around.

"There are even cosplayers here!"

Having been to a comic convention before, and with the explanations in Zhu Wenyun's new book, Xu Youwei understood the purpose of these people dressed as game characters. They lined up with the crowd to receive inflatable support sticks and glowing bracelets. Xu Youwei carefully picked out two red stickers with the WE team logo, peeled them off, and stuck them on her and Chen Junqian's cheeks. Then she pointed to her right cheek:

Is it pretty?

The girl's profile was as white as jade, with a dark red team logo on it, which made her eyebrows and eyes appear even more lively and charming.

"It's really beautiful."

Chen Junqian said sincerely, and casually tucked a stray strand of hair that had been blown out of shape by the wind behind her ear.

"Hey, this is a public place, you two should be a little more discreet."

Zhong Yu leaned over to tease her, then immediately thrust his face in front of his girlfriend:

"Xuexue, quick, stick one on me too, on my forehead, so I'll look more intimidating."

"Putting it on your forehead is called sealing; only zombies put it on their foreheads."

The girl, whose full name was Chang Xue, smiled and patted him, but still obediently stuck a sticker on his face.

The ticket check-in passage felt like a time tunnel leading to another world. Passing through the heavy soundproof curtains, the view suddenly opened up, revealing a huge circular stadium packed to capacity.

The four enormous LED screens hanging on all sides were playing the promotional video for this year's World Championship on a loop. The deep, powerful bass of the speakers made the entire venue floor tremble slightly. Red and blue dry ice smoke rose from both sides of the main stage, and dazzling laser spotlights wove a blinding net of light on the dome. The sound pressure and sense of space that could never be felt through a screen instantly struck everyone who stepped into the venue.

The four of them were seated in the front row of the inner field, with an excellent view. As soon as they sat down, the lights above their heads suddenly dimmed, leaving only the light sticks waved by tens of thousands of audience members, which gathered into a vast and surging sea of ​​fluorescent stars.

"Welcome to the 2017 League of Legends World Championship, Wuhan!"

The host's voice boomed through the venue's top-of-the-line sound system, instantly igniting long-suppressed emotions.

"boom!"

The entire stadium was like a powder keg that had been lit, erupting with a deafening roar of screams and shouts. The surrounding air seemed to be sucked out in an instant, only to be filled again by an extremely frenzied wave of sound.

"LPL! Go! WE! Go!"

The unified shouts echoed like rolling thunder under the dome of the hall. Zhong Yu could no longer sit still. He stood up and frantically banged the inflatable stick in his hand, shouting wildly along with the whole audience, his veins bulging on his neck.

Chen Junqian sat next to Xu Youwei, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He turned to look at Xu Youwei and saw that she was also slightly open-mouthed, looking up at the lights and bustling crowd, her eyes reflecting the dazzling sea of ​​stars.

Seemingly sensing his gaze, Xu Youwei turned her head again and reached out to tightly grasp Chen Junqian's hand.

"Qinqin!"

Amidst the deafening cheers, Xu Youwei had to lean close to his ear and shout:

"The atmosphere here is definitely different."

Chen Junqian tightened his grip on her soft fingers, the warmth from his palm burning and real. He smiled at Xu Youwei and shouted back loudly:

This is the scene!

On the big screen, the competition officially began.

Every hero selection during the draft phase is met with thunderous applause and analytical discussions. When the home team picks their signature hero, the roar from the crowd almost lifts the roof off.

Upon entering the game screen, Summoner's Rift is displayed in exquisite detail on four giant screens.

As WE easily swept their opponents in the qualifying rounds, golden ribbons and sequins rained down from the stadium dome, the lights blazed on, the music of victory resounded, and applause, cheers, and shouts intertwined into a magnificent wave that defied description.

Thousands of people left at the same time, and with others outside the venue who hadn't bought tickets and were simply sitting there, the streets were packed. But no one looked tired; everyone was excitedly discussing the details of the team fight and the players' plays. The cool autumn night wind blew against their faces, and Zhong Yu's voice was completely hoarse, his words raspy and breathy, yet he still gestured animatedly.

"It was totally worth it... Holy crap, it was so worth it! Did you guys see that? The guy in front of us was so excited that he spilled all his Coke all over himself, and he kept yelling 'Awesome!' while wiping himself off!"

Chang Xue handed him an open bottle of mineral water, rolled her eyes at him, but her tone was full of laughter:

"Alright, stop talking. Your voice is hoarse. But... it's really amazing. I never knew watching someone play games could get so exciting. I couldn't help but shout along during that last moment."

"That's the charm of esports!"

Zhong Yu took a big gulp of water and proudly raised his chin.

The four of them found a still-open specialty beef offal restaurant near the stadium. A pot of piping hot, rich red broth beef offal was bubbling in the middle of the table. They ate it with bowls of steaming hot dry noodles and iced soda. The four of them ate until they were sweating profusely, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

After finishing our late-night snack and returning to the hotel, it was already past 11 p.m.

With a soft click as the door lock closed, all the noise and commotion in the corridor was instantly shut out, and the room returned to tranquility. Xu Youwei kicked off her flat shoes, stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet, and, as if all her strength had been drained, collapsed softly onto the large bed, letting out a comfortable sigh.

"So tired... but so happy."

The girl buried her face in the soft pillow, her voice muffled.

Chen Junqian walked over, straightened her shoes by the bed, and tidied up the bag she had brought back, which contained a lot of merchandise and support signs she had received that day.

"Go take a hot shower first. You've been shouting in the stadium all day and then caught a chill in the night air. Don't catch a cold."

After doing all this, Chen Junqian walked to the bedside and ruffled her hair.

Xu Youwei simply turned over, wrapped her arms around Chen Junqian's neck, and pulled him down unreasonably. Chen Junqian obediently leaned down and braced himself on his hands beside her.

Their eyes met, and the only sound in the room was the faint hum of the air conditioner. Xu Youwei still had the WE team sticker on her face. After an afternoon of fiddling with it, the edges were slightly worn. Chen Junqian simply reached out and gently peeled the sticker off for her, his fingertips brushing against her delicate and soft skin.

Why are you looking at me like that?

"Hmm, because you can't get enough of looking at them?"

"I'll let you watch all night. Go get a change of clothes. I'm going to take a shower first, then you can take yours."

Hearing Chen Junqian say that, Xu Youwei finally let go of his hand, sat up from the bed, patted her burning cheeks, rummaged through her suitcase for her pajamas, and went into the bathroom.

A moment later, the sound of water dripping could be heard from behind the frosted glass door.

Half an hour later, the bathroom door opened, and a misty white steam carrying the fresh scent of shower gel wafted out.

Yoyo, who had changed into a light pink cotton long-sleeved pajama, had rosy cheeks from the hot water, like ripe water, and her hair was covered by a hair cap.

"The water temperature is just right, you can go now."

She said this while drying her hair.

"it is good."

When Chen Junqian came out after taking a shower, the girl was sitting on a single sofa chair by the window, holding a glass of warm water in her hand, quietly looking at the night view of Wuhan outside the window. She had dried her hair, and the fluffy hair fell softly over her shoulders, giving her a quiet and gentle temperament.

Chen Junqian dried his hair and walked over, pulling up another chair to sit down next to her.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the nearby streetlights form a winding ribbon of light, while the distant Yangtze River Bridge resembles a golden dragon spanning the natural barrier in the night. The lights of the cruise ships move slowly across the dark river surface.

"What are you thinking about?"

Xu Youwei turned to look at him, took the dry towel from his hand, and then naturally stood up and walked behind Chen Junqian. While gently wiping his wet short hair, she answered cheerfully:

"It's nothing, it's just that time flies by so fast. It feels like we're about to become adults all of a sudden. It feels like just yesterday we were two little kids running around on the dirt roads in the village."

2017 is almost over. In fact, by this time next year, she will be an adult and a college student. Thinking about this, Xu Youwei always feels a little dazed and unreal. When she was still a primary school student, she always looked forward to growing up as soon as possible.

"Does Yoyo think it was better when she was a child, or is it better now?"

"As long as Qinqin is with me, that's the best thing."

After all, if you're with someone, even the end of the world won't seem so scary.

Before she knew it, the days her mother had been away from her had exceeded the days she had spent with her.

But even if we meet again in a dream, there will definitely be things we can say to each other.

I remember telling my mother the last time:

"Mom, I have someone I like—"

Now, we can update the progress again:

We're already together.

【Mother】

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Chapter 53: We Can Definitely Change the World

In late October, the air in Shanghai was already carrying the chill of late autumn. From the group stage in Wuhan to the quarterfinals in Guangzhou, Chen Junqian and his team traveled all the way and finally arrived at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, the venue for the semifinals, on the last weekend of October.

On this day, the venue also attracted the attention of esports enthusiasts from all over the country and even the world. After all, today's showdown is definitely one of the most legendary and exciting fateful battles in the entire history of League of Legends esports.

RNG will face off against SKT, the three-time world champions who have dominated League of Legends for years. The winner will directly secure a ticket to the World Championship finals at the Bird's Nest in Beijing.

Outside the venue, tens of thousands of fans dressed in black and gold team uniforms had already filled the vast square. The flags printed with Royal Never Give Up fluttered in the autumn wind, and countless people held up banners supporting their teams. Every face was filled with almost fanatical anticipation.