Chapter 10: The Unconventional Co-Op

The atmosphere within the esports arena starkly contrasted with Kazami Jin’s current mood.

A colossal circular screen hung centrally, displaying a fierce team battle in ‘Starfield Frenzy.’

The stands were packed to capacity, with young spectators waving glow sticks and cheering signs, their collective roar threatening to lift the roof.

The air was thick with excitement, anxiety, and the sweet scent of popcorn.

Meanwhile, Jin sat utterly devoid of life in the front row’s ‘friends and family’ section, a blindingly bright LED sign proclaiming ‘Lin Wan is the Universe’s Number One!’ hung forcibly around her neck.

Lin Wan had dragged her from her weekend lie-in under the pretext of ‘needing a lucky charm’s blessing,’ stuffing her into this raucous place that made her head throb.

On the screen, the health bar of Lin Wan’s game character, ‘NightOwl,’ flickered precariously.

Her team had secured a slight early-game advantage, but a critical mid-game team fight turned disastrous when Lin Wan’s overly aggressive positioning error allowed the opponents to seize the opportunity for a counterattack, instantly squandering their good start.

A collective sigh of regret rose from the crowd, interspersed with cheers from the opposing team’s fans.

‘Tsk.’

Jin heard Lin Wan’s faint click of the tongue beside her.

She stole a glance, observing Lin Wan, whose petite frame was almost swallowed by the gaming chair, a massive esports headset covering her ears.

Yet, her eyes, fixed intently on the screen, glowed with astonishing brightness, her fingers a blur of motion over the keyboard and mouse, only her tightly pursed lips betraying a hint of agitation.

Over the next few minutes, the situation deteriorated rapidly.

Lin Wan’s team suffered successive defeats, and her gameplay seemed to lose its initial seamless fluidity, with several crucial skill activations half a beat too slow or marred by misjudgments.

The commentator’s voice also carried a note of regret: “NightOwl’s performance seems a bit inconsistent today; these recent mistakes are quite uncharacteristic…”

The cheers from the opposing fans grew louder, while Lin Wan’s fan section fell into a noticeable silence.

Though utterly clueless about esports, Jin could still comprehend health bars and win-loss conditions.

Watching Lin Wan’s character fall repeatedly on the screen, seeing Lin Wan’s taut profile and increasingly furrowed brow, her own heart inexplicably tightened.

‘This girl, usually so boisterous and carefree, can she actually be this nervous and… unwilling to concede?’ she mused.

Another team fight ended in defeat, Lin Wan’s team was wiped out, and the economic gap widened to an almost insurmountable degree.

The atmosphere in the venue practically solidified.

The halftime break alert sounded.

Lin Wan abruptly leaned back into her chair, removed her headset, exhaled a long breath, and vigorously rubbed her temples.

Under the lights, her face appeared somewhat pale.

Jin hesitated for a moment, then leaned closer, asking softly, “Hey… are you alright?”

Lin Wan turned her head, looking at Jin, her usually vibrant eyes now filled with palpable annoyance and a hint of… an inexplicable excitement?

“I’m fine!” she declared, but her words were contradicted by the frightening strength with which she grabbed Jin’s wrist.

“But this won’t do! Our usual tactics won’t defeat that sneaky old fox! We’ll have to resort to some unconventional methods!”

“Un-unconventional methods?”

Jin felt a premonition of ill fortune.

“Exactly!”

Lin Wan’s eyes shone with astounding brilliance, as if she had discovered a new continent.

“One person’s control has its limits! But if there are two people, with a shared understanding, it’s possible to create a chemical reaction where 1+1 > 2!”

“1+1>2?”

Jin looked bewildered.

“What do you mean? You’re going to find a substitute?”

“Where would I find a substitute in time!”

Lin Wan grinned, revealing two sharp little canine teeth, her smile holding a desperate madness and cunning.

“Isn’t there a ready-made ‘cheat’ right here?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than, before Jin could even react, Lin Wan suddenly exerted force, directly lifting Jin from her chair next to her!

“W-wait! Lin Wan, what are you doing?!”

Jin cried out in a panicked whisper.

Every spectator in the arena, including the commentators and opponents, stared dumbfounded at the sudden scene.

The petite Lin Wan, with a strength incongruous with her size, half-hugged and half-dragged the struggling Jin towards her gaming chair.

Then—she sat down, wrapped her arms around Jin, and pressed her onto her lap!

“!!!”

Kazami Jin’s brain completely froze.

She, she, she, she… she was sitting on Lin Wan’s lap?! In the middle of a fiercely watched competition, before thousands of people?!

The spotlight seemed to instantly converge on them, and she could feel countless astonished, curious, and mocking gazes piercing her back like needles.

Her cheeks flushed furiously, and all the blood in her body seemed to rush backward.

“Lin Wan, you’re insane! Let me go now!”

She hissed, humiliated and frantic, trying to break free with all her limbs.

“Don’t move!”

Lin Wan’s voice, however, carried an undeniable resolve.

Her arms, like iron bands, encircled Jin’s slender waist, holding her firmly in her embrace, her chin even resting lightly on Jin’s stiff shoulder.

“Trust me, Jin! Give me your hands!”

The sharp alert for the start of the second half of the match rang out.

Jin was still struggling in vain, but Lin Wan had already, without a word, seized both her wrists, guiding her hands to specific keys on the keyboard and the mouse, respectively!

“Listen, Jin! You don’t need to understand!”

Lin Wan’s hot, hurried breath fanned Jin’s earlobe, her voice possessing a strange, hypnotic power.

“Just follow my instincts! Whatever I say to press, you press! Lend me your strength!”

‘Madness! The whole world has gone mad!’ Jin thought despairingly.

She, a witch who couldn’t even recognize all the game skills, was now sitting on a magical girl’s lap, operating a crucial esports match?!

Yet, the moment her hands were guided by Lin Wan to cover the mouse and keyboard, an indescribably subtle sensation arose.

Lin Wan’s fingers rested on the back of her hands, warm and calloused, yet exceptionally steady.

Her commands, clear and swift, rang in Jin’s ear: “W! Left click! Dodge! Right click! Q! Beautiful!”

Jin had no time to think, relying only on instinct and Lin Wan’s undeniable guidance, her fingers stiffly pressing one key after another.

Strangely, even though she didn’t understand, every one of Lin Wan’s commands seemed to connect directly to her nerves, and her fingers actually managed to keep up with the astonishingly fast rhythm!

On the screen, the ‘NightOwl’ character, whose operations had seemed somewhat sluggish, was instantly reborn!

Her positioning became ghost-like, precisely dodging one deadly crowd-control skill after another.

The timing of her skill releases was cunning and ruthless, like precognition, always delivering explosive damage the moment opponents’ old strength waned and new strength had yet to emerge.

The previously one-sided battle was miraculously turned around by this bizarre ‘two-person operation’!

“My goodness! What just happened?! NightOwl… she… she and her friend… what kind of coordination is this?!”

The commentator’s voice rose in shock, even becoming somewhat incoherent.

“Unbelievable! This positioning! This reaction! It’s simply art! Are they two minds, one body?!”

The entire audience was stunned.

After a brief silence, a more fervent wave of cheers and discussions erupted!

“Holy crap! You can play like that?!”

“Playing games on someone’s lap? What kind of new tactic is this?”

“The key is the gameplay, though! Look at that reaction speed! They must be cheating!”

“Who’s that girl? NightOwl’s girlfriend? Their coordination is too perfect!”

Jin could no longer hear the external clamor.

She was in a daze, a mixture of extreme shame and intense tension.

She could distinctly feel the warmth and elasticity from Lin Wan’s thighs, smell Lin Wan’s scent—a blend of faint sweat and sweet citrus—and hear Lin Wan’s hurried, excited breaths and commands in her ear…

Her cheeks were hot enough to fry an egg, her mind a blank, only able to move her hands like a marionette, controlled by Lin Wan, dancing wildly across the keyboard and mouse.

“Last hit! E then Flash! Right click! Perfect!”

Accompanied by Lin Wan’s triumphant shout, the opponent’s core crystal exploded on the screen!

“Victory!”

The colossal victory emblem appeared in the center of the screen.

The match was won.

The arena was instantly engulfed by thunderous cheers and applause.

Lin Wan abruptly released the mouse and keyboard, wrapping her arms tightly around Jin in her embrace, burying her flushed face in Jin’s nape, and shouting excitedly, “We won! Jin! We won! You were amazing!”

Jin remained stiff, still reeling from the mix of shame and exhilaration.

However, an even greater ‘surprise’ awaited her.

That evening, Jin, dragging her seemingly drained body back home, opened her phone only to find social media platforms and gaming forums flooded with the same topic:

#NightOwl’s Mysterious Girlfriend Assists On-Site, God-Tier Play Ignites the Crowd#

#Most Audacious Play in Esports History: Winning a Championship While Sitting on a Lap#

#The Importance of Having a God-Tier Reaction Girlfriend#

The accompanying image was a close-up of her, pressed onto Lin Wan’s lap, her hands being controlled to play the game, wearing a bewildered expression, vacant eyes, flushed cheeks, and a look that screamed ‘Who am I, where am I?’

The photo was incredibly clear, even capturing her slightly parted lips from tension!

The news articles, moreover, spared no effort in sensationalizing the event, praising Lin Wan’s ‘divine stroke of genius’ and their ‘seamless’ coordination to the heavens, while making various conjectures about her identity as the ‘mysterious support.’

Kazami Jin stared at her utterly idiotic appearance on her phone screen, then at the comments below—”Hahaha,” “So cute,” “I’m shipping them,” “Where can I get a girlfriend like that?”—and her vision swam, almost causing her to faint on the spot.

What utter disgrace! This was absolutely a monumental humiliation, far worse than being mistaken for a middle schooler, or being forced to bathe together!

Her innocence… her image… all ruined!

And the culprit, Lin Wan, was still relentlessly spamming her WeChat with ‘Jin, we’re the best partners!’ and ‘I’ll find you for the next match!’ emojis.

Kazami Jin slammed her phone onto the soft bed, buried her burning face in a pillow, and let out a long, desperate wail.