Chapter 707
New Year
“That’s different.” Yu Shuang leaned against him, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, as if all the noise in the world had been shut out. She didn’t ask what Lin Xuan had said to Su Mo in the car; a smart and mature woman always understands the importance of leaving room for interpretation and trust.
"Go take a hot shower and get some rest. Tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and your phone will probably be bombarded with New Year's greetings," Yu Shuang urged softly.
"Okay." Su Mo patted her shoulder, got up and walked towards the bathroom.
……
On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, sunlight broke through the clouds and shone on the Huangpu River, making it sparkle.
At 7:30 a.m. sharp, Su Mo opened his eyes. His established biological clock meant he rarely lingered in bed, even if he had gone to bed late the night before.
After washing up, he changed into a loose gray loungewear set and went into the kitchen. There was still some leftover chicken soup in the refrigerator from last night, so he quickly kneaded some dough and prepared to make everyone a bowl of chicken soup noodles.
Just after eight o'clock, the phone on the island counter started vibrating wildly.
Su Mo gently stirred the noodles in the pot with a soup spoon in her left hand, and glanced at her phone with her right hand.
A video call request from Ah Chen popped up on the screen.
As soon as the call connected, a deafening sound of firecrackers and a cacophony of Sichuan dialect filled the screen.
"Brother Mo! Happy New Year!! Wishing you prosperity!!!" Ah Chen's big face was right in front of the camera, smiling like a 200-pound child. In the background was a farmhouse courtyard with red lanterns hanging, where several tables of relatives were playing mahjong enthusiastically.
"Happy New Year." Su Mo leaned her phone against the spice jar, adding vegetables to the pot as she casually remarked, "Judging from your complexion, you must have stayed up quite late last night, right?"
"Hehe, I only come back once a year, and I had a couple of drinks with my dad." Ah Chen turned the camera to the yard full of cured meat and sausages hanging there. "Brother Mo, look! My mom smoked these pork legs herself. I'll bring you two back to Shanghai when I return to the team on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year! You don't know, this time when I came home, all my relatives for miles around knew I won the world championship. Even the county magistrate came to my house to congratulate me. My dad is walking with his head held high now!"
Seeing Ah Chen's smug look as if he were returning home in glory, Su Mo's eyes revealed a genuine smile: "That's good. Please give my regards to your uncle and aunt. You can bring the cured meat, but you need to control your weight. If Coach Mingkai makes you step on the scale on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year and you exceed the limit, I won't plead for you if your bonus is deducted."
"Oh my god! I almost forgot about that!" Ah Chen exclaimed, quickly touching his now rounder chin. "Alright, alright, I'm starting to eat vegetarian food for lunch today! Brother Mo, you're busy, I'm going to wish my second uncle a Happy New Year!"
After hanging up Ah Chen's call, JackeyLove's voice call came in immediately.
However, unlike the loud commotion on Ah Chen's side, Jack's voice was extremely low, even with a noticeable echo.
"Hey? Brother Mo? Happy New Year..."
"Where are you? Are you stealing?" Su Mo raised an eyebrow upon hearing the commotion, and casually picked up a noodle to taste its texture.
"Don't even mention it, bro! I'm hiding in the bathroom right now!" JackeyLove complained, on the verge of tears. "My mom insists that it's my year of birth and I should find a partner, so she arranged two blind dates for me first thing this morning on the first day of the Lunar New Year! Right now, all my aunts and uncles are sitting in the living room, pointing and commenting on my World Championship poster. I'm so stressed out!"
Upon hearing this, Su Mo's lips curled up slightly. She picked up a strainer, scooped out the noodles, and divided them into six blue-and-white porcelain bowls: "It's normal for your aunt to be anxious given your current status and fame. If all else fails, we can just meet, even if it's just a formality."
"What's the point of seeing him?! My mind is only on Summoner's Rift and all those championships I haven't won yet!" Jack sighed. "Never mind, my mom's knocking on the door. Happy New Year, Mo Ge, see you at the base on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year! I can't wait to go back to Shanghai to work!"
Subsequently, teammates such as Xiaoyue and Meiko, as well as management personnel such as Mingkai and Abu, also sent New Year's greetings via WeChat or made phone calls.
While skillfully pouring golden chicken broth over six bowls of noodles and sprinkling a handful of bright green scallions, Su Mo replied to each bowl with concise and personalized phrases.
Just then, the sound of slippers slid down the kitchen doorway.
"It smells so good..."
Wearing fluffy pajamas and rubbing her messy hair, Luo Xin followed the smell into the kitchen. Soon after, Xi Ran, Rita, Xiao Yu, and Yu Shuang also emerged, yawning.
Seeing the steaming chicken noodle soup on the island counter, and the tall, upright man standing in the morning light wearing an apron, the five girls' eyes instantly softened.
"For the first meal of the new year, let's have something light and warm to comfort us. Go wash up and get ready for dinner." Su Mo turned off the range hood, turned to look at them, and his deep eyes were filled with the gentle warmth of the morning.
"Happy New Year, Brother Mo!" Several girls swarmed around the dining table, chattering excitedly.
Rita didn't shy away from hugging Su Mo's waist from behind, rubbing her cheek against his back, and said in a coquettish voice, "I woke up to eat noodles made by the world's number one top laner. If word got out, all the female fans in the LPL would probably be insanely jealous."
"Alright, stop joking around, the noodles are going to get soggy." Su Mo gently patted her hands that were wrapped around his waist, his tone full of indulgence.
……
The joyful and leisurely Spring Festival holiday always seems to fly by.
On the evening of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, EDG's head coach Mingkai issued the final call to action in the team's internal WeChat group.
Mingkai Clearlove: [@All members, brothers, the New Year celebrations are almost over, it's time to get back to work. Tomorrow is the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, 2 PM sharp in the base conference room for roll call! Regular training matches will resume at 4 PM!]
Manager Abu: [Seconded! Also, here's the schedule for the second stage of the LPL Spring Split regular season. Our first match is on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, against WE. Everyone needs to get back into form, and we must maintain our winning streak!]
When Su Mo received the message, he was sitting on the sofa in his apartment, watching hope Ran fold the red cashmere scarf for him and put it into his peripheral bag.
He picked up his phone, glanced at the messages in the group chat, tapped the keyboard, and replied with two words: 【Received.】
Then, he turned to look at the girls beside him.
These past few days, they accompanied him as he wandered the streets and alleys of Shanghai, visited the City God Temple to see the lantern festival, and enjoyed the evening breeze on the Bund. So many warm and joyful moments were left in this temporarily rented apartment.
But now, the holiday for working people is over.
"You're going back to the base tomorrow, right?" Yu Shuang walked over with a cup of hot milk and placed it in front of Su Mo. Her eyes showed a hint of reluctance, but more than that, understanding. "We also have to go back to the station tomorrow. The Spring Tournament is about to resume, and the schedules for all the hosts and commentators have already been finalized."
"Mmm." Su Mo picked up the milk and took a sip. "Thank you all for taking good care of me these past few days. Don't overwork yourself when you get back to work, and eat on time."
"Who's taking care of whom? You're the one cooking for us." Xiaoyu leaned against the back of the sofa, looking at him with some reluctance. "Brother Mo, when the competition starts, if we're commentating on your matches live, you have to go top lane and get a few more kills so I can have more lines to say." "I'll do my best." Su Mo smiled faintly and ruffled Xiaoyu's hair.
……
It was 1:30 PM on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year.
A black SUV smoothly drove into the underground parking garage of the EDG base.
Su Mo, carrying a peripheral bag on his back and holding his signature black thermos in his left hand, pushed open the door to the training room.
"Brother Mo!!"
Ah Chen and Xiao Yue, who were adjusting the equipment in front of the computer, immediately stood up when they saw Su Mo walk in.
In just a few days, Ah Chen's face had indeed gotten a little rounder; it seemed he had eaten quite a bit of cured meat back home. JackeyLove and Meiko had also arrived and were exchanging their "tearful tales of blind dates" during the Spring Festival.
"Everyone's here? Pretty punctual." Su Mo walked to his station, put down his backpack, pulled out his gaming chair and sat down. His gaze swept over his young teammates, a reassuring smile playing on his lips.
At exactly 2:00, Mingkai and Abu pushed open the door and entered.
"Looks like everyone's back on time, great." Mingkai clapped his hands and posted a thick schedule on the tactics board. "Enough chit-chat, let's get straight to work."
Mingkai's expression turned serious: "We played perfectly in the first phase, but the real tough battles are after the New Year."
He drew several heavy circles on the schedule.
"We're playing WE on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year. This is our first match of the year, and we have to win to get off to a good start."
“But look here—” Mingkai’s finger moved to a date in mid-March, “Week 5, Super Weekend. We will face BLG, who are currently undefeated! This is the highlight of the year! Bin not only did not rest during the off-season, but his Korean server ranking is the highest in the entire league. Their all-Chinese team is currently incredibly well-coordinated. Then in Week 6, we will play TES; in Week 7, we will play JDG’s new lineup.”
Abu adjusted his glasses and added, "Everyone's watching us right now. Everyone says we're the defending champions, but many also say our schedule before the new year was too easy, and we didn't face any truly strong teams. This month will determine our final ranking in the Spring Split regular season!"
The atmosphere in the meeting room instantly became tense. Ah Chen and Xiao Yue involuntarily straightened their backs.
"Not only that, Riot Games also released a minor update during the Spring Festival, which adjusted the items for top lane fighters and changed the items for bot lane supports." Mingkai looked at Su Mo and the bot lane duo. "This means that the tactical focus may shift."
All eyes were once again drawn to the man sitting in the corner, slowly unscrewing his thermos and drinking water.
Su Mo put down the cup, her eyes calm and undisturbed.
Faced with a grueling schedule, formidable top teams, and version updates, his face showed neither fear nor excitement.
He glanced at the tactics board briefly, then turned to his computer screen and pressed the power button.
"Who cares if they have an all-Chinese squad or a super team?"
Su Mo's voice rang out in the quiet training room, deep and calm, yet carrying an absolute confidence that could suppress everything.
"When it's my turn to go, you have to follow my rules."
He opened the League of Legends client, skillfully entered his account and password, and gently placed his left hand on the keyboard.
"Turn on your computer, get to work."
"Da da da……"
In the training room at EDG's base, the clicking of mechanical keyboards and mice was as dense as a storm.
From the sixth to the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, in order to regain his competitive form, Mingkai arranged high-intensity training matches for the team, and the opponents he challenged almost covered the top teams in LCK and LPL.
"Chen, the vision in the upper half of the river has been cleared. Don't try to contest the Broodmother. Go to the bottom lane to control the dragon. I can push the top lane." Su Mo stared at the screen, his left hand rapidly typing on the keyboard, his tone still reassuringly calm.
"Got it, Mo! I'm going straight to the bottom lane to take the dragon. The enemy jungler is in the top lane, Jack, you guys push the lane a bit!" Ah Chen's Lee Sin decisively turned around.
Five minutes later, Su Mo's Fiora skillfully created an opening under the tower, and with her W [Laurent's Eye], she precisely blocked the enemy jungler Vi's Q skill, completing a smooth tower counter-kill and ending the suspense of this training match.
"GG." Mingkai looked at Su Mo's far ahead economic advantage on the data panel and nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, that's all for this afternoon's scrims. Everyone's recovered well. Get some rest early tonight. Tomorrow is the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, and we'll face WE. Let's get off to a good start."
The team members took off their headphones and breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the training room.
Wearing a beige ankle-length coat, Yu Shuang walked in with a smile, carrying several large insulated food containers. She wasn't on duty today, and her hair was casually tied back, exuding a gentle, domestic charm.
"The widow is here!" Ah Chen and Xiao Yue's eyes lit up, and they immediately rushed over like huskies smelling meat.
"I just made some pork rib and lotus root soup, and there are also some handmade spring rolls that my aunt sent from her hometown. I know you've been training hard these past few days, so I specially brought these over to give you a little treat." As she spoke, Yu Shuang skillfully placed the food box on the coffee table in the rest area and opened it, and the rich aroma instantly filled the entire training room.
"My widowed sister really cares about us! I'm so tired of the food in the base's canteen!" JackeyLove mumbled indiscriminately as he picked up a spring roll and stuffed it into his mouth.
Yu Shuang smiled gently, turned around and took out a small insulated container from her bag, and walked straight to Su Mo, who was sitting in the corner still reviewing the data.
"Stop looking at it for now, take a break and have some soup." Yu Shuang placed the thermos on Su Mo's table, her voice unconsciously softening, her eyes full of undisguised tenderness. "I made you some cordyceps and black chicken soup separately to replenish your qi and blood."
Su Mo took off his blue light blocking glasses, rubbed his temples, and turned to look at Yu Shuang: "It's still raining outside, why aren't you resting at home? Why did you come all the way to the base to bring soup?"
“I was bored at home alone anyway, so I just stopped by.” Yu Shuang reached out and tidied Su Mo’s hair, which was a little messy from wearing headphones. “Tomorrow is the first battle of the year, so you need to take good care of your stomach.” (End of Chapter)