Chapter 78: Winning Her Back

"Nice! Nice!" Even as he fell in battle, Fan Mingxuan erupted with excitement through the headset.

Jiang Jing'an spoke urgently, "Quick, go mid, clear the lane, push the tower!"

"We can finish this in one wave!" "Initiate attack!" "Attack the enemy tower!"

Lin Xi heard her teammates' calls, her palms slick with nervous sweat. Eyes wide, she quickly led the minions down the middle lane.

"Your team has destroyed the turret."

She controlled Xiao Qiao, whose health was barely hanging on, marching forward with the minions, pushing toward the enemy's base.

The minions moved slower than she did, so she took the lead to clear the wave. But she underestimated the damage from the late-game super minions.

"Careful!" Dali and Bai Er shouted in her headset.

In the next instant, her low-health Xiao Qiao was struck down by a super minion.

A sharp intake of breath swept through the audience.

Lin Xi was stunned for a moment—she had died to a minion? But immediately, Xiao Qiao rose again.

"Lin Xi bought a resurrection armor! She’s back on her feet!" Yang Xier's commentary was ablaze with excitement.

"Whoo—" Relief swept the crowd, everyone exhaling together for Lin Xi—she really kept them on their toes.

Right, she’d just had enough gold to buy resurrection armor; Lin Xi herself had forgotten, and the moment she fell, her heart nearly stopped.

"Push the crystal! Push the crystal!" Fan Mingxuan's eyes bore into Lin Xi's phone screen, as if he wished he could take over and play for her.

Lin Xi and the last surviving minion pushed hard against the crystal.

Finally, with a triumphant "Victory!" their team took the win.

"Beautifully done!" "We won!" Cheers erupted from her teammates through the headset.

"Congratulations to our Red Team for winning this KPL All-Star Match! Congratulations!" Yang Xier announced loudly, mic held high.

"Whistle, whistle, whistle~" The audience below celebrated with cheers and whistles.

Listening to her teammates' jubilant voices, Lin Xi couldn't stop smiling. She had actually won, she had done it again.

She took off her headset, set down her phone, rubbed her hands, and let out a long breath, feeling utterly refreshed. She’d never played such a smooth game of Honor of Kings—it was exhilarating.

Lin Xi's performance tonight took everyone by surprise; the legendary "game black hole" had actually led the team to a successful tower push.

She herself never expected to perform so well—truly, luck was on her side.

"Everyone please move to the center of the stage." Jiang Jing'an switched instantly back to his host persona, rising to lead the group forward.

Lu Yuxiu and Lin Xi, amid the deliberate urging from both teams, were placed in the center position, standing side by side, satisfying the eager hopes of the audience and netizens.

Lin Xi, breaking free from the emotions of victory, now found herself beset by fans’ jubilant cheers, repeatedly ducking behind Lu Yuxiu.

The crowd on and off the stage, seeing Lin Xi’s shy retreat, only shouted louder.

Lu Yuxiu, seldom so openly joyful in public, knew Lin Xi was easily embarrassed. He stood in front of her, shielding her, and reached behind to take her hand.

Jiang Jing'an, grinning, saw the perfect atmosphere and wouldn’t let Lin Xi off easily: "Our goddess from Ke Liang is announcing her relationship! Little Xi and God Xiu, could you share a bit with us? Any sweet details?"

The five from LDF wore expressions of gleeful mischief, nudging Ke Liang, whose boyish heart seemed shattered.

Lin Xi’s face was so red she could hardly face anyone; she still hid behind Lu Yuxiu, tugging at his sleeve for help.

Fortunately, she had discussed this with Sister Zhou beforehand, so going public now wouldn’t have much impact—but still, a little mental preparation would have been nice. It was all so sudden, so unexpected.

Yang Xier stepped in to rescue Lin Xi, understanding her fellow woman: "Alright, alright, Jiang. We should let the young couple have their own space—fans, please be considerate of your idols. Now, let’s get back on track. The KPL All-Star Match concludes here! Thanks to both teams for their wonderful performance!"

"Indeed, our new All-Star showcase comes to a close," Jiang Jing'an smoothly followed, bowing slightly to the audience. "Thanks for your support, everyone! See you next year!"

On stage, the LDF members and Lin Xi’s group waved goodbye.

The Honor of Kings All-Star Match live stream officially ended.

But the buzz on Weibo didn’t fade with the end of the broadcast; instead, it soared higher.

Ke Liang, viewed as Lin Xi’s number one fan, saw his idol announce her relationship—and his world collapsed...

A phrase circulated online: "Legendary quote—God Xiu and Xi Xi announce their romance, and out of the whole internet, only Ke Liang’s world falls apart!"

The spectators couldn’t help but chuckle while feeling sorry: "You’ve stripped the mountain of all its bamboo shoots."

After the event, the LDF boys were led away by their manager.

Before leaving, He Jing brought Ke Liang to find Lin Xi, earnestly requesting a few autographed photos, promising to always support her. Lin Xi was touched, writing a short note of encouragement. Ke Liang was deeply moved, later sharing it on his own Weibo. But that’s another story.

-------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the KPL event staff were busy setting up equipment—the "Polaris" crew was about to start filming live on site. This collaboration saved the production a huge budget, a win-win for both the event organizers and the film studio.

Lu Yuxiu and his three teammates hurried back to the makeup room after the broadcast, preparing lines and changing costumes.

Lin Xi sat before the makeup mirror, face upturned as Xiao Ke applied makeup. The events of earlier still sent waves of excitement through her heart.

On stage, their relationship was revealed so unexpectedly—it was as if she’d announced to the entire world that this outstanding man was her boyfriend. Their bond was now openly intimate and different in the public eye.

"Wow!" Mya, sitting nearby and scrolling through her phone, suddenly exclaimed.

"What happened?" Xiao Ke paused to ask Mya, "Is there some earth-shattering news?"

"Absolutely! Big news!" Mya nodded dramatically, showing her phone. "God Xiu has declared his love again—he’s topping the trending charts! The internet is exploding, Weibo’s backend is down!"

"Huh?" Lin Xi was momentarily dazed—hearing words like "public," "declare love," "trending" made her anxious.

"Quick, quick! Check Weibo!" Mya handed Lin Xi her own phone.

Lin Xi opened Weibo with trembling hands, refreshing several times before the trending topics finally appeared.

Number one, in bold red: "God Xiu—She’s mine."

Number two, bold red with the rising trending arrow: "God Xiu and Lin Xi All-Star Match romance announcement—congrats, congrats!"

Number three, bold red: "God Xiu calls Xi Xi 'little friend.'"

The rest of the trending list was filled with similar topics about their relationship: "Lin Xi and God Xiu couples’ icon," "Sweet moments of God Xiu and Xi Xi," "God Xiu finally wins his pursuit—congrats," "Xi Xi, the treasure girl," "God Xiu never plays against Xi Xi."

Titles abounded—the top ten were dominated by the pair. It was a scene rarely seen in the entertainment world in the past decade!

Lin Xi was both amused and exasperated. She clicked Lu Yuxiu’s Weibo, where his pinned post was a response about their relationship. He had even reposted the original announcement of his pursuit.

Lu Yuxiu V: She’s mine! May you be the heroine who braves thorns, and also the little one cherished by others. @Lin Xi // Braving thorns right now...

He had included photos—selecting a few daily life shots of them taken by paparazzi, personally attaching them to announce their romance to the world.

"Wow, wow, Xi Jie, this is just too sweet—God Xiu really knows how to do it!" Mya couldn’t stop grinning, casting a teasing glance at Lin Xi.

Just looking at the Weibo post made Lin Xi blush, her heart pounding. Hearing Mya’s teasing, she raised her hand in embarrassment to cover her face.

"Hehe! Little Xi, hands off!" The moment her hand touched her cheek, Xiao Ke gently slapped it away. "I’m not done with your makeup! Mya, stop it, we’ve got work to do. Look, your teasing has made Xi Xi’s blush totally unnecessary!"

Mya made a zipped-lip gesture, smiling.

After all the playful fuss, makeup was finally done, and the group headed to the event site, now packed with filming equipment and boom mics. Director Yan Mei was nowhere to be seen, communicating with the actors via walkie-talkie—very convenient.

During rehearsal, Lin Xi clung to Jiang Jing'an, peppering him with questions. Hearing that commentary was needed for filming, he generously stayed to help Lin Xi prepare. She didn’t hold back, asking him for reference material to make her commentary livelier and richer with professional terms.

She still felt immense pressure; during filming, she had to follow the real-time game progress, match it to her prepared lines, determine which moments to commentate, and keep her commentary agile and adaptable, adding or adjusting as needed. Jiang Jing'an shared his own experience with her.

"Alright, we're ready on set!" Yan Mei’s voice came through the walkie-talkie to everyone on set.

Lu Yuxiu and Fan Mingxuan were already in battle mode on stage, with extras in both teams’ uniforms filling the gaps beside them.

Lin Xi sat at the commentary desk, nervously rubbing her hands.

This scene depicted Qin Zexing’s T&K team defeating YQS domestically to win the national championship, with Mu Beibei as commentator. Their CP fans eagerly anticipated sweet interactions between them.

In the story, this was the peak of their romance.

This shoot was different from usual; Yan Mei had spared no expense, renting an ALEXA IMAX camera from abroad for filming—a single shot, no cuts.

This camera required considerable production scale and technical expertise. The full-frame footage would be shown on IMAX screens, offering a vast perspective and delivering a more immersive, breathtaking visual experience—perfectly suited to esports.

Everyone on set was eager to see the results.