Chapter 066: Why did you bring me to the bank?

Lu Ziyang began to run around the backstage area, but after searching a full circle, he failed to catch sight of that familiar figure.

A faint sense of tension arose in his chest, and he muttered, "Jelly, where on earth are you?"

"Lu... Ziyang...!!"

"Why... on earth... did you... run... so fast..."

Just at that moment, a sweet and melodious voice came from behind him.

Lu Ziyang turned around immediately. Entering his line of sight was a tall girl standing near a corner in the distance.

She was pressing a hand against her chest, completely out of breath.

"Why were you behind me..." Lu Ziyang reached up to rub the back of his neck, feeling a slight touch of awkwardness.

"I saw you the moment you came down from the stage."

"I was just about to call out to you when you suddenly sped up and ran off in the other direction... Why do you run so fast anyway?"

"I almost couldn't keep up with you." Jelly spoke with the same chattiness as she did during their online chats. In her pretty eyes, there was a trace of gentle grievance mixed with undisguised joy.

"My bad."

Lu Ziyang had already walked over to Bai Chuxia, his tone softening by three degrees without him even realizing it. "Are you alright?"

Jelly shook her head, a smile in her voice: "I'm fine! Even though you run fast, I actually won first place in the women's track and field event at our school sports meeting!"

"Good thing I wore flats today, or I really might not have been able to catch you."

Jelly was still wearing the same black Akali face mask. She patted her chest and said, "Your performance tonight was simply amazing!"

Although Lu Ziyang was a quintessential dense and straight-laced guy, he knew that since a girl had gone this far, if he didn't take the initiative now, it would be terribly insensitive.

"Would you like to go for a walk outside?" Lu Ziyang asked naturally.

"Mmm-hmm."

Bai Chuxia nodded earnestly.

Through countless instances of coordination in Summoner's Rift, countless team fights, and numerous ganks, Lu Ziyang had always stood in front of her, and he was always the one to fall first if anyone did.

As far as Bai Chuxia was concerned, she had never once put up emotional defenses against the young man before her, and likewise, she knew his character inside out.

Perhaps one's performance in a video game didn't necessarily reflect how they behaved in real life.

Yet, the spirit displayed by a top-tier gaming genius in the virtual world could still offer a glimpse into his true quality.

Lu Ziyang was not only formidable, steady, and reliable, but most importantly, he had never broken a single promise in-game. Such a solid sense of security made him exceptionally dependable.

This kind of trust took a long time to build. Lu Ziyang didn't know how Jelly viewed him, but his inner self was remarkably at peace at the moment.

The feeling Jelly gave him was not that of a stranger from the internet, but rather someone with a deeply familiar presence.

Because she was his most trustworthy comrade in Summoner's Rift—someone worth guarding his back and entirely worthy of absolute trust.

"We can't stay out too late, though. I have to go to sleep before 10:30, and I need to wake up around 4:00 in the morning for training," Lu Ziyang added.

"Yeah, me too. There are only a few months left until the college entrance examination, so I have to head back to school later," Jelly nodded obediently.

In the EDG player lounge, Clearlove received a text message sent by Lu Ziyang. The content was concise: "Coach Clearlove, I have some personal business to attend to. I'll return to the team by 10 o'clock."

Clearlove instantly wore the smile of an indulgent father and directly replied with an "OK."

Then, he turned to the others and said, "Let's go. We aren't waiting for Ziyang; we're heading back to the base first."

"Where did he go?" Meiko asked, unable to hide his curiosity.

"If you ask me, who am I supposed to ask?" Clearlove looked completely baffled. "I didn't install a security camera on Ziyang."

"Coach! I also want to leave the team to take care of some personal matters," 369 suddenly chimed in.

"Elaborate. What business do you need to take care of?" Clearlove frowned, eyeing 369.

"Reporting to Coach Clearlove, I want to leave the team to go eat Haidilao. I promise I'll return to the team the moment I finish eating!" 369 declared with utmost conviction.

After spending this period together, Clearlove had long since figured out the personalities of these brats.

He immediately and decisively rejected the request: "369, are you really going out to eat Haidilao?"

"If I approve you to go eat Haidilao, won't you plan to return to the team tomorrow night and tell me you waited in line the whole night?"

"Coach Clearlove, you're being biased and pampering Lu Ziyang alone! Why is it that he can do it, but I can't? I just want to eat some Haidilao and then have a cup of Shanghai Aunt... that's all."

369 felt somewhat aggrieved. "Besides, I promise I'll return by tomorrow night at the latest."

"I think your rebellious phase has finally kicked in, hasn't it, 369?"

"What kind of person Ziyang is, the whole EDG organization knows. When he handles things, I'm at ease, and everyone is at ease. If a kid like you isn't kept on a tight leash, you'd probably fly up to the sky and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun. Have you no self-awareness at all?"

"What do you want to eat? I'll order takeout for you. Stop bickering with me. If you bicker anymore, I'll have your mother come over tomorrow to educate you."

Hearing Clearlove put it this way, 369 instantly deflated and could only answer with bitter reluctance: "Fine, I get it, Coach Clearlove. I'm on a diet; I won't order takeout."

Meanwhile, Lu Ziyang and Jelly had already arrived outside the Super Brand Mall.

With the conclusion of tonight's opening match, the spectators who had come to watch the games were also leaving in succession.

"Are you hungry?" Lu Ziyang asked.

Jelly shook her head, bowed slightly, and looked down at the tips of her shoes, lost in thought.

Judging from her eyes, however, her mood at the moment was quite pleasant.

"What about you? Do you need to eat something? Your physical energy must have been heavily depleted after just finishing a match," Jelly suddenly looked up and said.

Her voice was exceptionally lovely. Lu Ziyang had never heard such a pleasant voice in his entire life.

Whether it was the timbre or the vocal range, even down to the pronunciation of every single word and the rhythm of her speech, it all felt extraordinarily comfortable, carrying a unique and captivating quality that naturally drew people in.

If he had to use one sentence to describe it, it would be that a voice like this showcased nothing less than the Creator's blatant favoritism.

As Lu Ziyang walked with Jelly, he occasionally checked his phone's navigation map, as if they already had a destination in mind. It wasn't just a random, aimless stroll.

It wasn't until Jelly saw a massive, luxurious building appear before her eyes that, despite wearing her mask, one could easily tell her pretty mouth must have been slightly agape in utter astonishment.

"Why are we coming to a bank?"

Jelly felt completely bewildered, though a premonition had already formed in her heart. Surely he wasn't going to...

"I am a VIP platinum member of this bank, and large-scale transfers can still be processed at this hour. Jelly, please give me your bank account number."

Lu Ziyang looked at the girl before him with an unquestionable tone, his eyes full of firmness.

"Ah?"

"Are you going to transfer money to me... Why would you do that?"

"You know why."

At that exact moment, Lu Ziyang instinctively reached out to take Jelly's hand, leading her straight into the bank just like that.

Jelly's lovely face instantly flushed crimson: "Don't do this, there are so many people here, everyone is looking at us..."