Rise (Web Novel CN)

The exams had arrived!

A cloud of gloom appeared to hang over the entire school, bearing on the students so hard that it was difficult to breathe.

Exam proctors walked into the examination rooms carrying huge, massive stacks of papers in their hands and expressionless looks on their faces.

A moment later, the bell signalling the start of the exam rang, which was quickly followed by the sound of students scribbling down on their papers with their pens.

After morning exams were over, there was a brief intermission before the students walked back into the examination rooms for their afternoon exams.

This pattern repeated itself the next day.

The tension that filled the examination rooms was more intense than a crucial Baron at 50 minutes into a game of League of Legends.

Even during the rest period between exams, all the students had tense expressions on their faces. They were in no mood to chat with their friends, except to double and triple check whether their answers to particularly difficult questions were correct. And then their worry focused on the next exam.

This intense examination period continued on until late in the evening on the second day.

The two days of exams were finally over.

The sun was already setting over the horizon when the students from High School 13 left school grounds. All of them breathed a shared sigh of relief as smiles started surfacing on their faces.

“Finally, it’s over!”

“Holy crap, that was hell! I never want to do that again!”

“Hahaha! Freedom! FREEDOM!”

“Now we can sit back and relax!”

“It’s winter vacation! Winter vacation is here!”

The sound of cheering students gradually filled the school grounds.

After walking out of the exam room, Lin Feng happened to see An Xin and Tang Bingyao walking out. He waved and smiled at them and said, “BunBun, Tang Tang! Let’s head to the internet cafe and play some games of League!”

✹

Tonight, all the internet cafes near High School 13 were destined to be packed with all the students that just finished their exams.

Ouyang had already gone out of his way to book a 12-person room at the NetCow Cafe in advance. All of Team Shanghai’s friends and former teammates, which included members from High School 13’s team and Shanghai High School’s, gathered together for a large meet-up.

Ouyang struck a pose and shouted in the middle of the private room and declared, “No one talks about exams tonight! We’re gonna play till we pass out! Sleeping is for losers!”

In the next second, Ouyang was smacked in the back of the head by Ren Rou. She said, “Get your foot off the seat! People have to sit there! Why aren’t you cleaning it up!?”

Ren Rou then turned to everyone else and said with a bright smile, “But shitty Ouyang is right for once. Let’s all enjoy ourselves tonight!”

She was immediately met by cheers of approval from the dozen-plus people in the room.

The 12-person room had 12 computers in total. Lin Feng still found the gathering to be too small for his tastes, but people could take turns ranking together. Besides, chatting and spectating from the sidelines was also pretty entertaining.

After all, it was winter vacation!

With exams no longer looming over them, anything and everything was acceptable!

Liu Yue inched over to Lin Feng’s side and asked with a face brimming with excitement, “Hey, is it really true that you got two pentakills against Team Guangzhou!? Isn’t Goalie supposed to be some kind of pro level Midlaner? But you stomped him? Like he was some kind of noob!?”

After hearing about Lin Feng’s exploits during the Collegiate Cup Round of 16, Liu Yue’s worship of Lin Feng grew even deeper. The only reason it didn’t reach levels of fanaticism was that he was a Jungle main. All evening, he kept asking Lin Feng for advice about how to play Graves in the Jungle.

Chen Ze and Wei Dong were also there. After chatting for a while, Wei Dong asked Lin Feng, “Hey, when’s your next match happening? It’s probably soon, right?”

“Yup! We’ll be flying to Beijing on the 28th. They’ll be doing the draws on that day, then the quarterfinals officially start the next day,” Lin Feng replied with a smile.

Chen Ze couldn’t help but look at Lin Feng enviously. He said, “I still can’t believe you’re in the quarterfinals now. It’s a shame it’s in Beijing, or we would’ve definitely come to cheer for you guys.”

Ouyang inched over to Lin Feng’s side and exclaimed, “Chen Ze is right!” He briefly paused before nudging Lin Feng and asking, “Hey, the Shanghai Esports Association is paying for everything, right? Do you think you could help us get some plane tickets to Beijing too?”

Lin Feng scratched his head and replied, “Oh, sure… I’ll ask!”

Not far away, An Xin rolled her eyes. She turned to Tang Bingyao and Ren Rou and said, “Tang Tang, Rou Rou, let’s ditch these idiots and play a match together!”

Lin Feng’s ears perked up and he immediately shouted. “Hey! I want to join too! Wait for me!”

“Join my ass! Focus on winning the current game we’re playing right now!” Zeng Rui shouted.

Zhang Hao had an anxious expression on his face. “Dude, you just spent a whole teamfight sitting in the fountain. Without your mid lane, we almost ended up losing the fight.”

Lin Feng snapped back to his senses. “Oh right! Hahaha! I almost forgot I was in a game because I was so busy chatting! Don’t worry! I’m coming to carry you guys!”

✹

After playing League till 2 AM in the morning, everyone finally called it a night and left for home.

As usual, Lin Feng and Tang Bingyao walked home together.

The warm glow of the street lamps scattered over the sidewalk. It was also fairly chilly tonight. However, Tang Bingyao was skipping happily along the pavement as she chatted with Lin Feng about the latest changes that came with the arrival of Season 6.

“I think you can still keep playing Graves ad-carry!”

“Eh? No way. He’s definitely gonna be played in the Jungle from now on!”

“Mhm. But what I’m saying is that he can still be played in bot!”

“Sure he can, but it’s too much of a waste. If you don’t believe me, let’s make a bet. Once Season 6 officially starts, Graves is definitely going to be played in the Jungle!”

“Mhm! Okay, it’s a bet! But what are we betting?”

“Ten chicken cutlets!”

“Ten?” Tang Bingyao’s expression instantly froze, as she unconsciously reached out to protect her purse. After hesitating for a moment, she stuck out three fingers and said, “Ten is too much. How about three chicken cutlets?”

Lin Feng rubbed his chin. “Three, huh? Let’s go in the middle and say five!”

Tang Bingyao thought for a moment, then firmly nodded her head and said, “Alright, five!”

Lin Feng’s expression immediately brightened after his successful negotiations. He smiled and replied, “You’re going to lose for sure!”

Tang Bingyao looked up at the Shanghai nightscape and cheerfully smiled. She said, “We don’t know that for sure!” The bet itself didn’t actually matter. She was just happy that she would get to share a meal together with the person she liked. In her mind, she’d already won.