You're Beautiful When You Smile - Chapter 123 Part 5

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.

You’re Beautiful When You Smile

Chapter 123 Part 5

-- --We lost the match like a bunch of clowns.

Once that thought entered Tong Yao’s brain, a feeling of suffocation overwhelmed her. It was a feeling of inexplicable panic…...Tong Yao used her numb fingers to pull off her earphones. Suddenly she felt the stage lights and the cheers of the audience were very far from her. She staggered, then a big hand grabbed her arm.

Lu Sicheng didn’t say anything, but almost had to support her to go back to the break room-- --Tong Yao probably wasn’t the only one who felt that this defeat was different from the ones before. The whole break room was quiet……

The air conditioner in the break room seemed a bit too cold.

Tong Yao didn’t speak after sitting down. Unusually, Lu Sicheng didn’t use his tenacious memory during the short break to review each mistake at what minute and what second in the match they just finished. He just pulled his jacket over him, then used a cold stare to glance over the whole room. Everyone was either silent or quietly chatting.

Old Cat and Old K sat next to each other again. They looked quite calm, but carried a normal conversation which was a first in the past two days-- --

“Why did you come up with the idea to go trade turrets in the first wave?”

“I thought the enemy's top didn’t see me.”

“So I went to help you and that caused us two lives.”

“Ahh, yeah, this one was on me.” Old Cat casted his eyes down with the corners of his eyes softened and an apologetic smile on his lips. He didn’t question why Old K had to wait till he took down the monster before coming to help.

Old K seemed surprised. He looked up at Old Cat but didn’t say anything. He wasn’t upset or annoyed in any way but simply reached over to pat Old Cat’s shoulder-- --The gesture probably had some important meaning between the two.

The break room became extremely quiet again. They could hear the staff walking by in the hallway outside and the exchanges among them, mixing with the commentators’ discussion of the just finished match……

“I know no matter what I’ve said before, you guys don't really care about it. Now what?” The chilling voice of Lu Sicheng could be heard in the room: “After you all tested and verified with your own hands, don’t you all feel like you've been playing like a pile of shit?”

His voice was peaceful.

His tone didn’t carry an ounce of contempt. He simply raised a question and gave a metaphor he felt appropriate.

“Inflated.” Lu Sicheng flatly gave his conclusion. After a short pause, he said it lightly: “If we go to the world competition in this kind of condition, we might as well abstain from going like last year. The result will be the same anyway.”

Little Fatty lifted his hand to scratch his head, rather irritatedly.

Old K and Old Cat exchanged a look and read at the same time from the other’s eyes: “I’m wrong.”

Tong Yao looked downwards and twiddled her fingers-- --She seemed to have returned to the day about a month ago when she was banned from playing and Lu Sicheng had kept her in the little dark room to give her a character building lecture.  

“That’s enough. Don’t be too mean.” Lu Yue stood up and patted Tong Yao’s shoulder: “Haven’t you seen that your mid’s shivering like she has Parkinson’s?”

When Lu Sicheng looked over at Tong Yao, who was looking up blankly at Lu Yue. The next second, she felt a jacket, still warm, landed on her. Tong Yao looked back then saw the tall figure who was standing in front of her squat down-- --She looked up and met a pair of brown pupils looking back at her.

Lu Sicheng grabbed Tong Yao’s hands, the fingertips were icy cold but the palms were sweaty. He forced open her stiff fingers and pinched them: “Do you want to have Lu Yue go on for you?”

The looks in his eyes were calm from beginning to end.

Tong Yao paused, then slowly shook her head under Lu Sicheng’s gaze…..

She saw the look in his eyes finally become softer. He raised his hand to pet her head, seemingly to express a simple message: He had gotten the answer he’s looking for.

……

Tong Yao understood the message.

She was panicking because there was a moment just now when she didn’t know how to win the match against YQCB-- --Though she still didn’t know now, she seemed to realize that escaping wouldn’t solve the problem.

Either she would go fight it out herself and win it back, or if she was defeated, she would start over anew.

She always said before that escaping is shameful but useful. But now she suddenly discovered that that usefulness was actually only temporary-- --

She had to face it in the end.

Translated by Team DHH at http://dhh-workshop.blogspot.com.