Chapter 700
Interlude
Su Mo sighed helplessly, still holding the thermos cup he never parted with: "Just wear anything, it's just a formality. It's over 20 degrees Celsius in Sanya, wearing a suit will be too hot."
“That won’t do.” hope Ran came out of the bedroom, holding a dark gray silk tie, and replied with a smile, “You are this year’s FMVP, and you will most likely be the best top laner and the most popular player of the year as well. If you go up to accept the award in shorts and slippers, the league leaders will probably be furious.”
Xiaoyu and Luoxin were sitting on the carpet building Lego when they heard this. Luoxin looked up and teased, "If Brother Mo really goes up in slippers, tomorrow's number one trending topic will definitely be 'Seven-time champion accepts award casually, LPL's number one relaxed attitude'."
The room was filled with relaxed and pleasant laughter. In this private space, they didn't need to put on airs as official hosts, and Su Mo didn't have to deal with outside scrutiny.
Just then, the screen of the phone on the coffee table lit up.
Su Mo picked up her phone; it was a WeChat message.
Lin Xuan: [Su Shen, sorry to bother you. Tomorrow is All-Star Weekend, and the organizers have invited me as a special guest to participate in a celebrity exhibition match. I've only played a few ARAM games before, and I'm a little nervous. Do you have any hero recommendations suitable for beginners?]
Upon seeing the message, Su Mo raised an eyebrow slightly. He opened the keyboard and quickly replied with one hand.
Su Mo: [This is an exhibition match, mainly for fun, so don't feel pressured. Pick a Malphite, and during team fights, press R in a group of enemies, then you can release the mouse to drink water.]
About half a minute later, the other side replied with a "shocked cat" emoji.
Lin Xuan: [Is it really that simple?]
Su Mo: [It's that simple. If you're afraid of getting attacked, you can choose Yuumi, attach yourself to the jungler, and you don't even need to press the directional keys.]
Lin Xuan: [...Okay, I understand. Thank you, Teacher Su. See you in Sanya tomorrow.]
Su Mo locked the screen and put the phone back on the desktop.
"Whose news is this? Why are you smiling so mysteriously?" Yu Shuang keenly noticed the faint smile on Su Mo's lips and asked softly.
"Lin Xuan." Su Mo's tone was frank and without any concealment, "She's playing an exhibition match tomorrow and came to ask if there are any heroes that are easy to pick up."
Upon hearing the name, the girls exchanged glances. They all worked in the entertainment industry and naturally knew Lin Xuan, a renowned actress. However, since Su Mo was so open about it, they tacitly refrained from asking further questions and simply continued helping him pack. They knew Su Mo's personality well; if there was anything going on, he would never hide it.
The following day, the sea breeze in Sanya, carrying the unique humidity and warmth of the tropics, swept across the red carpet of the All-Star Weekend.
The open-air plaza at Haitang Bay was dazzling with stars. Fans on both sides held up various support signs, and screams rose and fell.
LPL professional players shed their usual loose team uniforms and donned various suits, looking incredibly smart. Star players like TheShy, Rookie, and JackeyLove drew cheers as they walked the red carpet.
When the director's camera cut to the end of the red carpet, the roar of the crowd instantly reached its peak.
"Next up on the red carpet is EDG.Mo, the S13 World Championship winner and FMVP!"
Red carpet host Rita wore a burgundy off-the-shoulder evening gown, holding a microphone, her eyes filled with undisguised pride and a smile as she watched the man slowly walk towards her.
Su Mo was wearing the dark black suit that Yu had chosen for him the night before, with a pure white shirt underneath. He wasn't wearing a tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt were slightly undone, exuding a carefree and unrestrained air. What was most striking was that he was still steadily holding the black thermos in his left hand, as if he weren't on a glittering red carpet, but in the neighborhood park where he usually took walks.
He didn't strike any deliberate poses for the camera. He simply walked steadily to the autograph board, signed his name in a flourish, then turned around and waved casually to the fans.
Upon reaching the interview area, Rita handed over the microphone and asked according to the official script: "Welcome, Mozi. You look very handsome today, but isn't that thermos cup in your hand a bit too eye-catching? What's in it today?"
Su Mo picked up the thermos and looked at it, her tone calm: "It's too hot in Sanya today. I didn't make goji berry tea, but I made some chrysanthemum tea to clear heat and detoxify. When you're out working, your health is the most important thing."
As soon as these words were spoken, the live stream chat was instantly flooded with "hahahahaha".
Drinking chrysanthemum tea on the red carpet, you truly are a health-conscious genius!
[This suit looks really good on Mozi, but the thermos cup just looks out of place.]
[Who cares what he wears? Even if he's wearing a burlap sack, he'll still be the coolest guy in the LPL!]
The annual awards ceremony that evening unsurprisingly became a personal recognition event for Su Mo.
He won all three major awards: Best Top Laner of the Year, Most Popular Player of the Year, and MVP of the Year.
When he stepped onto the podium for the third time and received the weighty annual MVP trophy from the head of Tencent Sports, all the professional players, coaches, and management in the audience spontaneously stood up and gave him a full minute of applause.
Su Mo stood in front of the microphone, looking at the familiar faces below the stage, his expression still calm.
"Thank you to the league, and thank you to every teammate and staff member at EDG." His acceptance speech was brief and without flowery language. "Esports is a team game, and I just did my job. Next year, I will continue to clock in on time. Thank you everyone."
After speaking, he bowed slightly, took the trophy, and calmly walked off the stage. No grand pronouncements, no tears shed—this was Su Mo, unassuming to the point of being somewhat uninteresting, yet powerful enough to inspire awe.
The afternoon following the awards ceremony was the highlight of All-Star Weekend – the entertainment show.
This competition featured teams composed of professional players and celebrities from various fields. Su Mo was assigned to the "Legendary Team," whose teammates included retired legendary ADC Uzi, jungler Mlxg, as well as special guests Lin Xuan and well-known singer Zhang Yuan.
In the backstage dressing room, Lin Xuan wore a custom-made, loose-fitting LPL red and blue support outfit, her long hair tied into a neat high ponytail. She wore no makeup, yet her cool and aloof气质 (qi zhi - inherent quality/temperament) was still undeniable.
Seeing Su Mo walk in, Lin Xuan stood up and handed him an unopened bottle of mineral water with a smile: "Good afternoon, Su Shen."
Su Mo took the bottled water and casually placed his peripheral bag on the table: "Good afternoon. What position are you playing later?"
Lin Xuan pursed her lips a little shyly: "The production team assigned me to play ADC, but I only know how to play Ashe. Uzi said he would play mid lane and asked me to go bot lane. I'm afraid I'll let everyone down later."
"It's okay, it's just a friendly match." Su Mo turned on his computer, adjusted the mouse's DPI, turned to look at her, and said gently, "You go play Ashe in the bottom lane, I'll support you."
"You're going to play support for me?" Lin Xuan was taken aback. Although she didn't play much, she knew that Su Mo was the world's recognized best top laner. "Yeah." Su Mo nodded, picked up his thermos and took a sip of tea. "Playing and fighting in the top lane is too tiring. It's the weekend, so I want to AFK in the bottom lane for a break."
Upon hearing this, Uzi couldn't help but laugh and scold, "You old rascal, you just want to slack off! Fine, you go to the bottom lane, Teacher Baolin, and I and Xiangguo will carry the mid and top lanes!"
The match started quickly.
The draft phase was full of fun. The opposing team picked heroes like Yasuo and Lee Sin, which are known for their flashy plays.
When it was Su Mo's turn to choose, he unhesitatingly locked onto the River King—Tahm.
Miller, watching from the commentary booth, burst out laughing: "Mozi's Tahm Kench pick was brilliant! He's determined to be Lin Xuan's personal bodyguard. Everyone else is here to play an exhibition game, but Mozi is here to be her security guard."
Enter the game.
Lin Xuan's Ashe seemed a bit rusty in last-hitting minions in the bottom lane, and her positioning was also quite stiff. The opposing support was a professional player who excelled at offense, and he picked Thresh, frequently trying to hook and create opportunities.
But under Tahm Kench's protection, Ice seemed to be in an absolutely safe zone.
"clang!"
Thresh's cunning hook pierced through the gaps between the minions, heading straight for Ashe. Lin Xuan was so startled that her fingers froze, and she even forgot to press Flash.
Just as the hook was about to hit her, a huge green figure stepped in front of her with a sturdy gait.
Su Mo's Tahm Kench used precise positioning to block the hook for her. Then, he calmly used his Q skill [Tongue Lash] to slow Thresh, covering Ashe's retreat.
"Don't worry, he can't hook you. Just focus on repairing your siege engine." Su Mo's voice came through the earpiece, steady and reassuring.
Fifteen minutes into the game, a team fight broke out around the dragon.
The opposing mid-lane assassin Akali flanked in the jungle, activating her ultimate and charging straight at Lin Xuan's Ashe. In a panic, Lin Xuan used her ultimate, but it missed, and Akali's dagger was already at her face.
At this critical moment!
"Gurgle!"
Su Mo's Tame swallowed the ice in one gulp!
Akali's abilities all missed. Instead of retreating, Su Mo, carrying Lin Xuan in his belly, activated his E skill's shield, withstood the opponent's damage, and slowly walked to an extremely safe position before spitting out the fully healed Ashe.
“Stand here and auto-attack.” Su Mo marked a patch of grass.
Lin Xuan paused for a second, then immediately pressed her W skill and basic attack. Since the enemy's core skills had already been used on Tahm Kench, Uzi's Yasuo and Mlxg's Lee Sin seized the opportunity to enter the fray, instantly melting the enemy's formation.
After a team fight, Lin Xuan's Ice not only emerged unscathed, but also managed to rack up three assists.
Throughout the exhibition match, Su Mo's Tahm Kench was like an omnipresent guardian. When Lin Xuan was caught, he devoured her; when Lin Xuan made a positioning mistake, he devoured her; when Lin Xuan was low on health, he devoured her and then immediately flashed over the wall to help her escape.
This extremely "nanny-level" approach not only made the audience burst into laughter, but also gave Lin Xuan an unprecedented sense of security during the tense game.
The match ended in victory for Su Mo's team.
Taking off her headphones, Lin Xuan let out a long sigh of relief and turned to look at Su Mo sitting next to her, her eyes full of smiles: "Thank you, Su Mo. If it weren't for you protecting me, I probably would have gotten a negative score in this game."
"You played really well, your ultimate was spot on when scouting vision." Su Mo said casually as she unplugged the mouse cable. This wasn't flattery; as a newbie, it was already quite good that she didn't feed kills.
The two walked off the stage side by side and headed backstage to the dressing room.
The corridor was dimly lit. Lin Xuan walked beside Su Mo, watching his relaxed demeanor as he carried his peripheral bag and held a thermos in his other hand, and said softly, "When we get back to Shanghai, if you have time, I'll treat you to tea. I really want to thank you this time."
Su Mo stopped and turned to look at her. The actress's face, usually so aloof and elegant on screen, now held a hint of sincerity and expectation.
He didn't refuse, but simply nodded calmly: "Okay. But I might be a bit busy during this period, as the alliance has some charity events to participate in at the end of the year."
"It's okay, just contact me when you're free." Lin Xuan smiled slightly, put on her mask, and went to meet her assistant.
Watching her departing figure, Su Mo turned around and continued walking towards EDG's rest room.
After turning a corner, Yu Shuang and hope Ran were waiting for him at the end of the corridor. Yu Shuang was holding a thin black jacket, while hope Ran was holding two cups of hot coconut milk that she had just bought.
"Hey, our Great Protector Tam is off work?" hope Ran handed over the hot coconut milk, her tone carrying a hint of coquettishness and teasing. "You worked so hard protecting people on stage just now, you must be exhausted."
Su Mo took the coconut milk, casually draped her coat over her shoulders, and smiled faintly, savoring the familiar scent lingering on her clothes.
"It's just a fun match, nothing tiring." He glanced at the two of them and said gently, "Let's go. I won't go to the official banquet tonight. I'll take you to eat at a seafood stall in Sanya. I heard there's a really authentic one in Yazhou."
"Yay!" Upon hearing that there was food, hope Ran's eyes lit up instantly, and the slight jealousy she had felt earlier vanished without a trace.
Yu Shuang smiled gently and walked beside Su Mo, saying softly, "Manager Abu just sent a message saying that the LPL is having a charity event this weekend, planning to donate an e-sports computer lab to a primary school in a remote area. The official team specifically requested that you attend as a player representative."
Su Mo nodded and took a sip of hot coconut milk: "Okay, this kind of event is much more meaningful than those commercial red carpets. Please reply to the official account for me, I will attend on time."
On a weekend morning, a few wisps of clouds drifted across the Shanghai sky.
The LPL official charity team gathered on time at Hongqiao Airport. Their destination was a remote Hope Primary School in Qiandongnan Prefecture, Guizhou Province. To expand the impact of their charity efforts, the team specially invited two representative players: seven-time world champion Su Mo and veteran Xiaohu Li Yuanhao, who recently transferred to WBG. The accompanying hosts were Yu Shuang and hope Ran. (End of Chapter)