Chapter Fifty-Nine: Another Collision

“Don’t say I’m being wise after the fact—just scroll back on the timeline and see for yourself. I mentioned this before the big flash play, though I didn’t have time to elaborate.”

...

Xinran watched Haoran speak eloquently in his stream, while her own viewers were growing restless.

“What’s Xinran doing?”

“She’s not watching replays, right? I think I vaguely heard Haoran’s voice.”

“Careful with that comment!”

“I heard it too, but it’s Haoran’s stream.”

“Well, well, Xinran’s sneaking a peek at Haoran’s stream!”

Xinran listened to Haoran’s analysis; the intricacies of game awareness he discussed seemed to unlock her mind as if guided by a master.

“If I want to catch him, starting from that mid lane wave, I can’t clear it. I mustn’t show myself on the map.”

“Since Xi Shi doesn’t rely much on gold, I should let my teammate take that wave, then circle around for vision and ambush the Old Master.”

“If I manage to catch Haoran once, the top lane gets a breather, we push the wave, set up vision, and the balance of the game could shift.”

“To be honest, Haoran truly is impressive.”

Xinran nodded in sincere admiration.

“Still, while he plays well, why do I feel as if he’s targeting me the whole game?”

“Plus, he keeps pressing unrelated things in my vision—recall, quick messages—he’s making a show out of it.”

“Is he just here to mess with my mindset?”

Just as Haoran finished explaining that critical team fight, Xinran closed his stream and resumed her own broadcast.

“The streamer’s back.” Xinran glanced at the barrage of comments; her audience had realized she was watching Haoran and were teasing her.

Xinran neither denied nor explained—after all, they weren’t on the same platform, and saying too much wouldn’t be wise.

She simply started the next ranked match.

...

Meanwhile, Lin Hao had also finished reviewing his game.

“Convinced now?” Lin Hao said. “Sometimes, when you suspect someone’s using a map hack, it’s really just your own awareness lagging behind.”

“Impressive indeed—your game sense is admirable!”

“Streamer, I apologize!”

“Could you talk more about game sense during matches? That’s where I’m lacking.”

Lin Hao nodded: “I’ll share what I can, but the game moves fast and I might not always get to everything. Ultimately, it depends on your own understanding. The key is to think more while playing; the more you consider, the better your awareness.”

...

In truth, Lin Hao didn’t have much spare time to teach during matches.

He was busy figuring out how to provoke his opponents.

The next game started quickly, though it wasn’t a top-tier match.

The average rank seemed lower.

In this game, Lin Hao was in the third pick slot. After banning Taiyi Sage, he glanced at the comments and noticed everyone was spamming “matched again.”

Matched with whom?

Amid the rapid scroll, Lin Hao caught the name Xinran.

“Xinran again?”

He raised an eyebrow, about to ask the system, when a female voice came through the team chat.

“Is Haoran the third pick?”

Oh?

There weren’t many women who could reach this rank in the top ladder.

Lin Hao realized—it must be Xinran.

So, fans were saying they’d matched again: Xinran had ended up on Lin Hao’s team!

But Lin Hao was puzzled. After his last match, he spent a few more minutes reviewing—mostly to prevent trolls from accusing him of using map hacks.

How did he end up matched again with Xinran, his previous opponent?

As luck would have it, Xinran had watched Lin Hao’s stream after her game ended, and when she left his stream to return to the ladder, it coincided with Lin Hao finishing his review and queuing up.

They’d matched by sheer chance.

“System, can I still collect Xinran’s anger points?”

“Anger generated by teammates because of the host isn’t counted by this system. Friendly reminder: provoking teammates may result in a decrease in your credibility points.”

Lin Hao nodded in disappointment.

What a pity.

“Hallo, fancy meeting you again.”

Since the other side had already greeted him, Lin Hao couldn’t pretend to be aloof; he turned on his mic.

“Hey, your awareness is amazing. Last game, I tried to ambush you, and you saw right through it,” Xinran said with a plaintive tone. “Luckily, we’re on the same side this time. Haoran, carry me, will you?”

Lin Hao waved a hand, “Not at all, you played well too. That play had an element of risk.”

“Heh, I just watched your stream review—you analyzed it perfectly. You had complete confidence.”

...

Xinran mercilessly exposed him.

Lin Hao: “…”

“By the way, your taunting skills are top-notch. A lot of us were so frustrated by you that our play fell apart.”

“Haha, for the show, for the show.”

Lin Hao felt awkward now—especially since the streamer whose mindset he’d messed with last game was now on his team. This was a first; he wasn’t sure how to handle it.

From the system’s backend data, Xinran must have been thoroughly aggravated, but she was keeping remarkably calm—a testament to her mental fortitude.

The other three teammates were randoms, and they were bewildered.

How did these two start chatting so easily?

And what was a girl doing in such a high-level ranked match?

During the ban/pick phase, since she knew Haoran was her teammate, Xinran immediately picked Xi Shi, clearly determined to reclaim the points she’d lost last game.

The enemy’s second pick was Yuange, obviously chosen to counter Xi Shi.

“Let’s just pick Ma Chao this game. To be honest, Old Master struggles against Yuange,” Lin Hao mused for a moment, locking in Ma Chao as third pick.

He’d just earned the national skill points for Ma Chao yesterday and was eager to play.

Both sides finished picking their heroes.

Lin Hao’s team: Xi Shi, Ma Chao, Nakoruru, Liu Chan, Meng Ya.

The enemy: Zhuang Zhou, Yuange, Shiranui Mai, Yagyu Jubei, Marco Polo.

The game began.

“Host, please note: the enemy Yuange player is Shang Jie, a streamer from Chopstick Live. Collecting his anger points will yield double rewards!”

The system suddenly notified him.

“Oh? Shang Jie?”

Lin Hao had heard of him—one of the top Yuange players—but didn’t know much.

First wave: Lin Hao waited in the bush, charging one shot, then fired two into the backline.

Yuange threw four darts from the bush, then stepped out, keeping distance, auto-attacking Lin Hao’s Ma Chao.

At the same time, Yuange sent a quick message: “Sorry.”