Chapter 19 — Middle Road Rules

In the late afternoon, Hoàng Diệu school's rooftop was dyed a brilliant red orange color. The wind blew briskly, carrying the noisy sounds of students leaving school echoing from the school yard.

Hải Đăng sat on the tile floor, leaning his back against the old pilot wall. Bảo Châu sat next to him, holding a cup of warm milk tea with both hands. The four "defenders" were sent home by Châu to rest and recover for tomorrow's Semi-final match. Only the two of them were left here, enjoying a rare bit of peace after a stormy day.

"How's your hand?" Châu broke the silence, glancing at the medical bandage on Đăng's wrist.

"The doctor said it's lucky the ligament didn't break," Đăng shrugged, taking a sip of mineral water. "But the use of high APM maneuvers is strictly prohibited for at least three weeks. Tomorrow's Semifinals, I will be the Coach. You will have to play the role of 'puppet' again."

"Don't worry. Now I know how to run backwards faster than Hùng 'Gaur'," Châu chuckled. She was silent for a moment, then asked softly. "Post this... After all, six months ago, what happened to you in VG? They said you..."

"Sold out?" Đăng completed Châu's unfinished sentence. There was no evasion in his vocal range. He raised his eyes and looked towards the last rays of sunlight setting behind the tall buildings.

"I have never received any dirty money, Châu," Đăng began, his voice low, as if he were removing a rock that had been weighing heavy on his heart for the past half a year.

"In the final that year, we encountered the strongest team in the region. Lê Hoàng was the Deputy Coach at that time. He and my Captain - who held the position of Jungle - secretly bet a huge amount of money on VG losing 0-3. They deliberately did not communicate, dropped the target, and continuously provided me with false information (Fake calls)."

Châu frowned, annoyed. "But you're a prodigy? Don't you realize?"

"E-sports is a sport of five people. A Mid laner depends a lot on the vision and tempo of the Jungle," Đăng smiled bitterly. "When I discovered that Rung intentionally did not fight (toss the game), I got mad and rushed to open a fight myself to try to turn the odds. But because my teammates didn't follow, I kept dying alone. They used those 'virtual deaths' of mine as evidence and posted them online, slandering me that I had bet and stabbed myself to death to throw the game."

Châu clutched her milk tea cup so tightly that the shell was dented. The cruelty of profiteers killed a boy's dream. "Why didn't you explain? Didn't you call the police?"

"Explain to whom? Lê Hoàng and Team Captain faked text messages, faked bank transactions transferred to an account in my name. They also threatened to sue me for defamation if I dared to say anything. My parents already hated my playing games. When the scandal broke out, they immediately grounded me and forced me to change schools. As for the fans... they just needed a scapegoat to vent their anger for the team's failure."

Đăng turned his face away, hiding his red eyes. "I thought I would forever hate this game. I hated the so-called 'teammates'. Until..."

He turned around and looked straight into Bảo Châu's eyes.

"...Until a clueless manager dared to solicit a solo 1vs1 bet with me using the 999 ping wifi network, and a bunch of crazy kids dared to tear up my leave application in front of the Supervisor."

Bảo Châu felt her cheeks burning. The sunset reflected a gentleness in Hải Đăng's eyes that she had never seen before.

She put down the cup of milk tea, reached out, and gently held Đăng's uninjured left hand.

"Hải Đăng," Châu called his name, her voice serious and determined. "We may not have top skills. We may still bicker from time to time. But we will never betray you."

Châu squeezed her fingers a little tighter. "Tomorrow, even though you're behind the coaching bench, use your brains to control us. We'll win the Semifinals. Then we'll take the Championship. I'll force Lê Hoàng and his trash team to stand under the podium and watch you lift the trophy. Let the whole world know, Shadow is never a sellout."

Hải Đăng looked at the small hand holding his hand tightly, then looked at Bảo Châu's face burning with determination. So much darkness, so much resentment that had been suppressed for the past six months suddenly disappeared, giving way to a new fire of enthusiasm, stronger than ever.

He smiled. A real smile, radiant and completely unhidden by any mask.

"Okay. Contract signed, Manager Châu. Tomorrow, I'll show them the true rules of Mid Lane."

Dusk gradually falls, covering the silhouettes of the two students on the rooftop. A promise was made. And the biggest battle of youth was waiting for them tomorrow.

Châu spread out the match schedule on the terrace, using a water bottle to block the four corners of the paper. She pointed out the two empty days between rounds, saying the team must study normally, get enough sleep and not make the match a reason to skip everything else. Đăng asked what if they lost. Châu said they still had tests, tutoring sessions and the computer room to clean.

Đăng looked down at the schoolyard, where a few students were playing shuttlecock. He said that in the past, he used to think that everything was only valuable when there was an audience. Châu said the audience could change, but the way you treat the people around you will stay. Đăng laughed and asked if she intended to turn every conversation into a lecture. Châu replied only when she got away.

Before they got off, they agreed on a separate signal: if one person saw that the other was pushing too hard, just lightly touch the wrist. Didn't argue in front of the whole team, didn't see it as weakness. Đăng put his hand forward. Châu touched, then they both went back down the stairs.

On the third floor stairs, Châu stopped because she heard arguing in the yard. A group of students was fighting over who got to use the soccer field first. She was about to go down and intervene, but Đăng asked if they really needed her to be the referee. The two of them stood and watched until one of them suggested splitting the time. Châu laughed and said that any team could learn to solve the problem on their own if the adults would wait a little longer. Đăng remembered the times before, his old manager often shouted before he could speak. He did not want to become another version of that person. Regarding the computer room, Đăng suggested changing the scrim schedule to make room for the robot group. Hùng objected because they had booked in advance, then looked at the board again and realized the robot group had a competition tomorrow. In the end, the team practiced more than an hour late, but no one was upset. The mid lane rule didn't just apply on the map; it was a space for others to pass through.

The late practice session that day went more smoothly than usual. No one pushed anyone, there was no familiar shouting from Đăng. The whole team just reviewed a few basic combinations, interspersed with innocuous jokes.

"Mr. Đăng," Kiên suddenly spoke up during a break, "after winning the championship, do you plan to return to professional competition?"

The question made the entire computer room suddenly quiet. Hùng, Tuấn and Nam all stopped, waiting for an answer with unconcealed tension.

Đăng paused for a moment, looking down at his wrist, still wrapped in bandages. "I haven't thought about that yet. Maybe because for the first time in a long time, I feel like I don't need to think about that far away thing yet."

"What do you mean?" Tuấn asked curiously.

"I mean, right now, I just want to focus on the Semifinals tomorrow, with the four defenders sitting in front of me," Đăng replied, his voice serious but containing a rare warmth. "Future matters, let's figure it out later."

Hùng breathed a sigh of relief and lightly punched Kiên's shoulder. "There, asking does nothing to make the atmosphere tense." The whole room burst into laughter, the laughter spread throughout the old computer room, dispelling some of the worries about the important match waiting for them tomorrow.

Before leaving, Bảo Châu stood at the door, watching all four boys take turned carrying their backpacks and leaving the room, laughing and nudging each other's shoulders. Đăng was the last person to leave the computer, turn off the screen, and tidy up the pile of tactical papers spread across the table.

"Do you think we win tomorrow?" Châu asked as the two of them locked the engine room door.

"I don't know," Đăng replied honestly, something he rarely admits before a match. "But I know no matter the outcome, this team has come further than anyone ever thought possible, including myself."

Châu nodded, smiling in the dark hallway. "That's enough, right?"

"Not enough," Đăng shook his head, his eyes determined. "But it's a good start to reclaim the missing piece."

The two of them walked out of the old factory area side by side, under the night sky sparkling with a few rare stars amidst the city lights, carrying in their hearts a preparation that was both mature enough and hopeful enough for tomorrow.