Chapter 106: Dinner

The match between Jingzhe and Yaoguang was fiercely contested.
Although Yaoguang’s marksman was a rookie, the other four members were veterans from the previous season. Yaoguang had secured fourth place last season, and their overall skill level remained high this season.

However, once Jingzhe’s “Double Carry” system of Fang Zhengqing and Xie Yuan had time to scale into the late game, their team fight damage was explosive and impossible to deal with. Yaoguang struggled to kill Fang Zhengqing, and killing Xie Yuan was even harder. The result was that after dragging the game past 20 minutes, Yaoguang couldn’t win any team fights.

With a single move, “Kraken Devour,” Fang Zhengqing instantly killed Yaoguang’s marksman from a massive distance.

Ye Shaoyang couldn’t help but applaud. “Beautiful! That prediction was spot on!”

The [Kraken of the North Sea] was a mid-lane mage Ye Shaoyang had specifically practiced a while back. It could summon a giant monster from a long distance to open its bloody maw and devour surrounding enemies.
If the skill landed, it could chomp a squishy hero to death in one bite; if it missed, it just ate air.

In the team fight just now, Yaoguang’s marksman was moving quickly, but Fang Zhengqing predicted his next position and placed the Kraken there in advance. So, from a god’s-eye view…
It looked exactly like Yaoguang’s marksman had voluntarily walked right into the Kraken’s mouth.

Cheng Xing couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Haha, that Yu’mao walked right into the Kraken’s mouth and got bitten to death!” But then he thought, if he faced Jingzhe in the future, would he be the one walking into the Kraken’s mouth?
Cheng Xing suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore and hung his head sheepishly.

Coach Lin sighed with emotion. “Fang Zhengqing is a mid-laner very good at seizing opportunities, and Xie Yuan’s marksman play is world-class. Jingzhe’s Double Carry system is truly formidable; with two scaling threats, neither is easy to deal with.”

This game indeed showcased the strength of Jingzhe’s Double Carry.

The “Fang-Yuan” combination had extremely high survivability and could maximize their damage output in team fights. Fang Zhengqing would use his ultimate on key enemy targets to tear open a hole in their defense. Xie Yuan was responsible for the follow-up cleanup; his positioning was incredibly slippery (“wretched”), and once he scaled up in the late game, his poison arrows flew one after another, melting even the frontline tanks.

The first game ended with a triple kill by Xie Yuan in a team fight.
In the second game, Fang Zhengqing picked the classic artillery mage [World-Ending Mage], quickly farming economy. Once he had built enough ability power items, he began to roam rapidly, joining forces with Xie Yuan to completely blow up Yaoguang’s bot lane.

Watching his spectacular mechanics, Ye Shaoyang couldn’t help but wonder: in the future, when laning against this world-class mid-laner, would he be able to gain an advantage?
The prerequisite for Mid-Jungle synergy was that he had to clear his wave first to roam with Chi Shuo and establish dominance. If he was suppressed during the laning phase, he wouldn’t be able to leave his lane at all. Therefore, he had to withstand the enemy’s firepower in the 1v1 mid lane.

What hero would be good against Fang Zhengqing?

Seeing Ye Shaoyang deep in thought with his head down, Chi Shuo asked in a low voice, “What are you thinking about?”

Ye Shaoyang snapped out of it and said, “I’m thinking about what hero I can pick to lane against Fang Zhengqing without being at a disadvantage.”

Chi Shuo said, “It’s still early before we play Jingzhe. We can research it slowly.”

Hearing their conversation, Coach Lin couldn’t help but say, “Jingzhe’s performance in Group S is very stable, and you two are already researching Group S opponents! It seems you’re very confident about advancing from Group A?”

Ye Shaoyang replied, “Does Coach not have confidence in us?”

Lin Feng paused for a moment, then laughed. “What a question. Of course, I’m extremely confident too!”

Forget Group S—after watching Chi Shuo’s interview today, Lin Feng felt a long-lost passion boiling in his blood. Their team, Tianhuan, had won the championship three times in history. This year, the S10 championship must be brought back!
Not just the domestic championship; they could even dream of the World Championship.

After all, they had unearthed the treasure that was Ye Shaoyang, and Chi Shuo’s “Jungle Carry” style had been completely unleashed. Tianhuan’s tactical mindset could be much richer now; strategies they hadn’t dared to try before could now be tested.

The more Coach Lin thought about it, the more excited he became. He looked at everyone and said mysteriously, “I’ll arrange a scrimmage for you guys later. Playing domestically all the time limits our thinking. Many regions have different playstyles from ours. Contacting some foreign teams will be very helpful for improving everyone’s game sense.”

Chi Shuo suggested, “Can we book a Korean team? Their macro management style is very strong; we can learn from them through scrimmages.”

Coach Lin nodded decisively. “I’ll go try to book them right now. For the next three weeks, our opponents won’t be nearly as strong as Yueying, so the pressure shouldn’t be too high. It’s a perfect opportunity to practice against strong foreign teams.” He looked at Cheng Xing. “At that time, Xiao Xing can also learn how marksmen in the Korean region manage their ‘wretched’ farming.”

Marksmen had poor equipment in the early game; hitting people was like scratching an itch through a boot. But once they farmed up for the late game, a marksman who could “output continuous damage” in team fights could deal tons of damage.
Ye Shaoyang always told Cheng Xing: Find a way to survive. Playing marksman was all about heart-pounding thrills; the enemy top laner, jungler, and assassin mage would all try to dive and insta-kill you. Surviving was incredibly difficult. But only by surviving could you deal damage.

Because the Korean region favored an economy-focused macro style, their marksmen were all players with extremely robust survival skills. Cheng Xing really should learn from them how to farm safely and sneakily.

Jingzhe defeated Yaoguang 2:0.
Fang Zhengqing led his team over to shake hands, his face expressionless. Xie Yuan, on the other hand, smiled politely at everyone, looking kind and amiable.

Coach Lin stood up. “Let’s go. Match is over; time to head back.”

As the group walked out, they ran right into Xu Zhuo coming out of the neighboring lounge. He paused when he saw Chi Shuo, then walked over to greet them. “You guys haven’t gone back to the hotel either? It’s already 11 PM.”

Chi Shuo said, “Mn. We waited to finish watching this match.”

Xie Weiyu was following behind his team. He looked up at Ye Shaoyang. Meeting his gaze, Ye Shaoyang smiled amicably, walked over on his own initiative, and said softly, “Sorry about today. We specifically targeted you in the match. Your [Wind Spirit] is very strong; if we didn’t insta-kill you, we would have lost.”

If someone else had said this, it might have sounded like post-match mockery.
However, Ye Shaoyang’s gaze was very frank, without a hint of sarcasm. Xie Weiyu smiled and said, “It’s okay. Being killed a few times in a match is normal.”

Ye Shaoyang lowered his voice. “Don’t take those paid trolls on Weibo to heart. I think you’re an excellent player. Yueying will definitely make it back to Group S.”

Xie Weiyu was somewhat surprised to hear this. He had been getting scolded constantly lately. Aside from his Yueying teammates, none of his four former teammates had shown any concern for his situation, let alone comforted him. Xie Weiyu was actually quite sad about it; people were cold once the tea cooled. He had been diligent and responsible during his time at Yaoguang, but after leaving, he became a “discarded pawn.”

He was introverted and not very articulate, so he didn’t have many friends in the league. He was quite surprised that Ye Shaoyang had come over to talk to him. This soft comfort, audible only to the two of them, brought a trace of warmth to his heart.
It seemed there was still someone in the league who could understand him.

Xie Weiyu whispered, “Thank you. I don’t mind how they scold me.”

Ye Shaoyang said, “Because you died quite a few times in today’s match, there will definitely be haters blackening you online again. Don’t look at Weibo when you go back. You guys will definitely win the next match beautifully.”

Xie Weiyu nodded and smiled. “Mn. You played really well today. Even right before you died, you flashed to crowd-control me—taking me down with you?”

Ye Shaoyang said, “I had no choice. If I didn’t CC you, you were too mobile. Chi Shuo might not have been able to burst you down instantly, and then our team fight would have collapsed.”

Chi Shuo noticed Ye Shaoyang wasn’t by his side. Turning around, he saw Ye Shaoyang and Xie Weiyu with their heads together chatting. Xie Weiyu, who usually spoke very little, was actually chatting away with Ye Shaoyang, and there was even a smile on his face.
When did those two get so close?

Chi Shuo frowned, walked to Ye Shaoyang’s side, and asked, “What are you talking about?”

Ye Shaoyang laughed. “Xiao Yu is roasting me for flashing to CC him right before I died.”

Hearing this, Xu Zhuo couldn’t help but turn back. “Don’t get smug! Next time we meet in a match, no matter what hero you pick, I’ll be the first to cut you down!”

Ye Shaoyang beamed. “I’m so scared. Then I’ll pick a tank for mid lane next time.”

Xu Zhuo: “…”

Chi Shuo changed the subject. “Are you guys going back to the hotel?”

Xu Zhuo said, “We’re going for a late-night snack. We ate dinner at 5 PM, and it’s 11 now. Starving to death.”

Chi Shuo looked at Ye Shaoyang and asked in a low voice, “Are you hungry?”

Ye Shaoyang was indeed a bit hungry. Matches consumed a lot of mental and physical energy. Moreover, Tianhuan played 3 games against Yueying, requiring over 2 hours of intense concentration. Whatever he had eaten for dinner was long gone.
Anyway, their flight back to the capital was tomorrow afternoon, so they could sleep in.

Ye Shaoyang said, “Why don’t we go eat something too?”

Chi Shuo: “Okay, let’s go get a late-night snack.”

Fang Zhengqing, who had just returned backstage after his match, happened to hear this sentence. He immediately said, “Is Chi Shuo treating for late-night snacks? Then we’ll come along to mooch a meal too. We’re hungry anyway.”

Chi Shuo: “…?”
When did I say I was treating? Here comes your ‘reverse synergy’ again?

Xie Yuan laughed from the side. “Since Captain Chi says he’s treating, we won’t be polite.”

Xu Zhuo added, “Captain Chi’s Jungle Carry is back, and he even got MVP. He’s happy today, so he’s treating everyone to dinner.”

A group of people around them cheered, “Thank you, Captain Chi!”

Chi Shuo: “…”
You guys are real pieces of work.

Ye Shaoyang held back his laughter. “Looks like you can’t escape today.”

Chi Shuo resigned himself. “Fine, late-night snacks. Anyone who wants to go, come along. My treat.”

A mighty group left the esports center and arrived at a nearby restaurant.

Because there were too many people, Chi Shuo simply spoke to the owner and booked the whole place.

Late-night snacks didn’t cost that much money.

Chi Shuo was indeed in a good mood today and was happy to foot the bill.

No matter how fiercely they killed each other in the arena, after the match, he and people like Xu Zhuo and Fang Zhengqing were still very good friends. The meal was lively and bustling. Xie Weiyu also ate a lot of skewers; with good food in his stomach, the depression of losing the match was swept away. He even privately exchanged WeChat contacts with Ye Shaoyang, agreeing to play ranked together when they had time.

On the way back after eating, since the hotel was very close, everyone decided to walk.
Chi Shuo and Ye Shaoyang walked side-by-side along the tree-lined path next to the hotel to digest their food.

The night breeze blew against their faces. The temperature in the north in April was pleasant. Ye Shaoyang took a breath of fresh air and said, “Actually, Captain Fang and the others are also very happy for you, right?”

Chi Shuo was stunned for a moment. He turned to look at Ye Shaoyang and met his clear, smiling eyes.

Ye Shaoyang continued, “Because you are friends, they want to see that sharp, fierce world-class jungler on the stage even more—not the Chi Shuo who constantly sacrifices himself and acts as a tool for the team. Isn’t that right?”

Chi Shuo’s heart moved slightly.
He hadn’t expected Ye Shaoyang to see through Fang Zhengqing and Xu Zhuo’s motive for making him buy dinner so easily.

Some things were hard to say openly; after all, they were on different teams and had teammates and coaches around. But some feelings wouldn’t disappear just because they were on different teams.

—I’d rather you become strong so we can fight head-on, winning or losing based on skill.
Not watch you fall into the abyss and be criticized by others.

That was what friends were.
Even if they fought until their heads broke on the stage, they still hoped the other could display their true strength.

Shaoyang not only understood the pressure he had been under all these years but also understood his bond with these friends. A warm current gradually rose in Chi Shuo’s chest, like a patch of sunlight suddenly spilling into a heart that had been cold and silent for a long time.

Shaoyang was his light.
He was the one who finally let him retrieve the confident Chi Shuo from Season 6.

Chi Shuo didn’t know how to describe this feeling. He had met a mid-laner who could keep up with his rhythm at any time, trusted him, understood him, and supported him unconditionally.
How lucky was he to have met such a wonderful Shaoyang?

Previously, he had always thought his strange thoughts about Ye Shaoyang were due to the accidental temporary marking—physiological reasons, pheromones.
But now it seemed his appreciation and liking for Ye Shaoyang truly came from the heart.

The marking had been over two months ago, and the scent of pheromones had long vanished. But now, looking at the smiling person in front of him, his heart still raced uncontrollably, and he still felt a strong possessiveness.

Chi Shuo finally understood. He was moved by Shaoyang not because Shaoyang was an Omega, and it had nothing to do with the marking. It was because Shaoyang was the person who understood him best in the whole world, a unique existence…
He was the soulmate he had been dreaming of.

---

Author’s Note:
Captain Chi’s Self-Conquest Progress: 100%
Ye Shaoyang: 0%

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Explanation of Double Carry (双C) System

Based on the context of Chapter 106 and general MOBA terminology, the “Double Carry” (双C – Shuāng C) system refers to a team composition strategy in games like League of Legends where the team relies on two main damage dealers (carries) to win the game.

The Two Carries: Typically, these are the Mid Laner (Mage/Assassin) and the Marksman/ADC (Attack Damage Carry) in the bottom lane.
In the chapter, Jingzhe’s Double Carry consists of Fang Zhengqing (Mid) and Xie Yuan (Marksman).

Core Strategy:
Resource Funneling: The team prioritizes protecting these two players and funneling gold/experience to them so they can buy powerful items.
Late Game Power: This strategy often aims for the mid-to-late game. Once both carries have their core items (“scaled up”), their combined damage output in team fights is massive and hard to counter.
Difficulty to Counter: The enemy team faces a dilemma. If they focus all their efforts on killing one carry (e.g., the Marksman), the other carry (Mid Laner) is left free to deal catastrophic damage, and vice versa.
Jingzhe’s strategy is described as extremely hard to deal with because if the game drags past 20 minutes, Fang Zhengqing (Mid) and Xie Yuan (Marksman) become unstoppable. Fang opens up opportunities with burst damage/CC, and Xie cleans up with sustained damage.