Chapter 164: Supplication to a Forgotten God
I don’t have time for you. Every word in that sentence stabbed into Liu Zhengjie’s ego, deflating it with yet another cut. His shoulder slumped and he let his head droop backwards and forward a little. He’d just experienced literal verbal whiplash. He didn’t come here to see me? The gears in his mind rumbled and stuttered to life. He started running through everything that just happened, trying to understand the reality of the situation. Chu Fang had shown up, and then had run towards the group. That much was clear to Liu Zhengjie. He saw Chu Fang running towards the group he was standing with. He had turned towards Chu Fang and started talking. That’s where everything broke down for Liu Zhengjie. Chu Fang had brushed him off without a glance. Chu Fang didn’t run over to talk to me, so… CHU FANG MUST BE HERE TO TALK TO SOMEONE ELSE! Liu Zhengjie’s struggling brain had finally caught up to the moment. Who… Who is he here to see if not for me? That’s when he realized that Chu Fang wasn’t in front of him at all. He looked around, trying to catch up to what had happened while he was lost in his thoughts. Chu Fang was now sitting on a chair, staring in the direction of High School 13’s team while looking mindblown. But they looked just as confused as he was. Except... Him?
“He’s not me! Completely different Lin Feng! It's a common name! Not me!” Lin Feng cried out, frantic. He grabbed Tang Bingyao by her waist and moved her a little, just enough to turn her into a human shield and kill any vision Chu Fang had on him. If he couldn’t see Chu Fang, then Chu Fang couldn’t see him! Right? Lin Feng shook his head, fervently, and shouted, “You’ve got the wrong person! It’s definitely not me!”
The players from Shanghai International stared at Lin Feng. They couldn’t comprehend what was going on. The group from High School 13 was much the same. Everyone turned to look at Lin Feng, speechless. They knew him as the odd goofball he liked to be. But this was a new low even for him. This was by far his worst attempt at hiding from a situation!
“IT IS YOU!” Chu Fang yelled, excited. Up until now, the signs were there. Everything pointed towards this being Lin Feng. Maple. Lin 'Maple’ Feng! The prodigy from back in Season 1! The Wunderkin who all of China’s hopes rested on back then! But he’d also argued all of these signs away in his mind, he didn’t want to get his hopes up. When Lin Feng disappeared… it was hard on all of them. So Chu Fang convinced himself that there were other explanations and reasons that could, potentially, make sense. But after he heard Lin Feng speak, there was no doubt anymore. There was no way he could pretend he didn’t see what his heart already knew! He’d know that voice anywhere and anytime. It was a little bit deeper than he remembered. More mature, tinged with that jaded melancholy that comes from knowing tragedy. But it was still Lin Feng’s voice! He shook his head, smiling, and said, “Stop hiding! I can see you. I know it’s you!”
Under the confused gazes of the people around him, Lin Feng stepped out from behind Tang Bingyao. He walked forward two steps, then looked up at Chu Fang. He looked right into Chu Fang’s eyes while ruffling his hair and laughing awkwardly. “Uhm-uh… Hi! Hey… Long time no see.”
In that awkward, miraculous, and truly confusing moment, there was no Shanghai International or High School 13. Everyone was united in their shock and confusion. All of them stared at this exchange between Lin Feng and Chu Fang, trying to figure out how this was even possible. Trying to figure out what was even happening! Lin Feng’s friends knew that he was really good at League, and they knew that he’d been playing the game since Season 1. They remembered how he kept telling them how he was “a challenger on the Ionia server”. That was a lot more than what Shanghai International’s team knew about Lin Feng. But even with this extra information, they still couldn’t wrap their heads around the fact that the Vice President of the Shanghai Esports Association had come running just to talk to Lin Feng! Chu Fang wasn’t even passing by on his way to do something more important! He had specifically run towards them for Lin Feng! No, not even that. Chu Fang had chased after them and arrived completely out of breath. He’d ignored someone as talented as Liu Zhengjie, and then collapsed into a chair while staring at Lin Feng. Then the only person he wanted to talk to was Lin Feng. Ren Rou, Yan Liang, everyone stared at the two, speechless.
However, even when combining the shock of everyone else together here, it still wasn’t anywhere near the amount of shock Chu Fang felt. It battered at his heart. It tried to knock him off his socks. He smiled, that dim-witted smile of ecstasy, and forgot where he was. The people around him disappeared for a moment, all he could see was Lin Feng. The supreme League of Legends talent. Then he blinked. More specifically, he forced his eyes shut and told himself, Keep it together. Keep it together. He opened his eyes a moment later and smiled, kindly. That’s when he noticed everyone else was still around, too many of them. He nodded at Lin Feng and said, “Come, let’s find somewhere private to talk.”
The players from Shanghai International watched Lin Feng nod in agreement to THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE SHANGHAI ESPORTS ASSOCIATION. Then they watched Lin Feng and Chu Fang walk away, neither paying any attention to them. Chu Fang didn’t even say anything to Liu Zhengjie! Their biggest talent. The guy on their team who was good enough to go professional. Their teammate who they’d been bragging about, telling everyone how the Shanghai Esports Association was showing great interest in his development. But that reflected spotlight they’d been basking in? It sputtered out and died. Chu Fang had ignored them, hadn’t even spared them a glance. His eyes were locked on Lin Feng from start to finish. They felt their faces turn red, Liu Zhengjie more than the others.
“Awkward! Awkward, Awkward, Awkward.” Ouyang laughed. He looked over towards Liu Zhengjie, whose red hot face of embarrassment was quickly warping to anger, and continued, “Oh well. Karma’s a bitch. Gnarly, radical, on the block I'm magical. See me at your college campus—”