After Lin Fan and Zhan Ying finished their interactive stream, the internet gained a huge pile of new jokes—yet somehow, a big crowd also started shipping them as a couple.
A lot of people didn't even understand how that happened, but still got dragged in with everyone else.
Honestly, thinking about it… it was kind of funny.
As more and more people joined the discussion, the heat kept rising.
"Brother Infinite Borders × Zhan Ying. Enemies-to-lovers. Absurd CP."
"Genius player and fringe pro. Pride and Prejudice. Insane CP vibes."
"LMAO, why are you all forcing random ships? So speechless. Brother Infinite Borders and Zhan Ying have only interacted twice. I suggest you let Brother Infinite Borders stay gorgeous alone—women only slow down his keyboard speed."
"But honestly the absurdity is through the roof. One goofier than the next. I hereby name Brother Infinite Borders a top-tier troll."
"Esports circle plus Go circle? What kind of absurd picture is this? Two worlds that don't touch at all, yet somehow paired—no wonder everyone calls it the Absurd CP."
"It's actually not bad. Brother Infinite Borders is lonely anyway. He even cried recently about not having a girlfriend. Isn't this just a free wife being delivered? I think we should push it!"
Post after post popped up in endless waves.
Of course, plenty of meme-lords jumped in just to stoke the fire. And honestly, it wasn't clear whether "capital" had entered the chat—because it made no sense that one simple interaction could suddenly become a CP.
At 2 a.m., JackeyLove was still awake. He saw the Weibo discussions and wore an auntie grin.
"Hahahaha… did Fan-ge fall over after this? Whoever started this topic is actually pretty good."
Then he started furiously typing on his phone:
"Didn't Brother Infinite Borders hint at this idea earlier? That's why he exposed that he can play Go—so the viewers could build a bridge and matchmake for him, to set up a Go match.
"Didn't expect these careful netizens to find it out. Since it's all out in the open now, I suggest Brother Infinite Borders take action quickly. If she runs, he'll regret it for the rest of his life."
JackeyLove read it over again and felt satisfied—then posted it.
"Hahahahaha…"
He laughed a few more times, then suddenly realized something was wrong.
Damn it!
He didn't switch to a burner—he posted from his main account!
Even in the middle of the night, it had only been five or six seconds, and there were already seven or eight comments underneath.
"It's doomed!"
Even if he deleted it immediately, he knew there was no saving it.
"It's over. Really over. What do I do when Fan-ge wakes up tomorrow? Should I go kneel at his door right now? Carry thorns to apologize, sincerity maxed out?"
The more he thought, the more nervous he got, so he sent a WeChat message:
"Fan-ge, are you asleep? If you're not, I have something I need to tell you."
…
JackeyLove deleted the post quickly, but it still got screenshotted and reposted.
"Holy crap, is it real? I didn't watch that stream."
"Seems real. Brother Infinite Borders did say he wanted everyone to help set up a match with Zhan Ying."
"Now that JackeyLove leaked it… I feel like credibility went up ten points."
"Yep yep, that's exactly what happened."
"Just check Brother Infinite Borders' stream tomorrow morning, then we'll know."
A lot of people knew the full context, but nobody bothered to clarify—Brother Infinite Borders didn't care anyway.
When Lin Fan woke up early the next morning, he checked the system as usual, then glanced at his phone.
"Why did JackeyLove send me so many messages last night?"
After reading them, his mouth twitched.
No wonder he eats Qs all day—his reaction really is half a beat slower than normal.
He posted from his main account and only realized afterward?
He'd better treat at least eight or ten hotpot meals for this.
But for today, one thing was certain—there would be a lot of viewers.
Sure enough, after breakfast he started the stream. Before long, viewers poured in and chat spam exploded.
"What's this Absurd CP situation?"
"Yesterday JackeyLove said you planned this a long time ago—is it true?"
"What's going on? I was too busy with work yesterday and didn't watch. Missing one day and so much news happens—massive loss!"
Lin Fan responded immediately.
"It's nothing. My stream always has VODs—watch them and you'll know what happened. JackeyLove was just trolling, except he used his main account."
"After he realized it, he hurried and apologized to me."
"And also—Zhan Ying, to me, is just a Go player, you know? Just a Go player."
"Getting shipped like this, I don't even understand. But I don't think it's good. If it spreads, it won't sound nice."
"Right now, I really don't have that idea. Pro competition comes first. I'll win a championship first, then consider my single life problems."
The moment he said that, chat went wild.
"If pro competition comes first, then what are you playing right now? OP!"
"I still remember you saying you'd train properly. These two days your teammates really trained—while you caused all these side-news headlines!"
"You guys don't understand what Brother Infinite Borders meant. He meant he'll marry Zhan Ying after winning Worlds."
"Holy crap? Another Ning guy? Wins Worlds, then flips and runs? Now can't even play matches."
"Brother Infinite Borders, don't become a heartless man. If you win the title, then marry for real!"
"Alright, pass it on: if Brother Infinite Borders wins Worlds, he's getting married!"
"Win it, then marry!"
"Win it, then marry!"
…
"Better be real. Otherwise even if you're Worlds champion, we're still rushing you. Heartless men deserve death!"
Lin Fan was used to it.
Anything he said would get clipped out of context anyway.
He explained; that was enough. Some editor would make a clip later, and people would understand.
Then he casually opened the LoL patch notes.
Patch 12.12: Zeri got buffed again.
Early transitions would be easier. Late-game W damage wasn't as explosive, but overall she became simpler to use.
At the same time, Yuumi—her best partner—got stronger shields.
In that case, Zeri + Yuumi pick rate would rise sharply—especially with Lucian getting nerfed.
Honestly, everyone expected it.
Since MSI, the Lucian–Nami duo had been terrifyingly strong.
Lucian was basically perma-ban, perma-pick.
Getting hit was only normal.
A change that would affect pro teams a lot: Fiora's passive AD scaling got buffed again.
Ever since MSI ended, patch after patch like this was clearly setting up for Worlds.
You could see it—this meta would likely be like Season 5 again, focusing on top + jungle.
But it wasn't completely insane. Overall, teams with strong top laners would have a big edge, and Rift Herald would accelerate tempo quickly.
There was also the key point: mid lane.
Whether it's top meta or bot meta, mid is the connector. In short: strong mid can break!
Lin Fan wasn't too worried about these patch changes.
Instead, his eyes went to the very bottom:
Annie—Dark Child—Q AP ratio increased, and her ultimate summon got buffed too.
But overall, she was still "a pile of shit."
Annie couldn't appear as a core mid in the current state.
At best, she could be a surprise pick in a specific tactic, catching opponents off-guard.
Even if Lin Fan had max proficiency, he still had to consider lane matchups.
Still, Annie might have some chance to appear… but it'd need another round of buffs.
Because Annie's flaws were obvious.
Her waveclear was far worse than current meta mids. Getting shoved under tower was normal.
No lane priority meant the enemy mid would brainlessly shove, then coordinate with jungle to pressure both side lanes.
In that situation, mid Annie would torture her teammates.
Because even after hitting level six, without items, she wasn't like old Annie—Flash still meant damage.
Back then, one ult plus Ignite could straight up one-shot.
Lin Fan still remembered being stuck in Silver V—he climbed purely off invincible Annie, streaking through Silver with no equal.
Because once he hit six, Flash-ult meant a kill.
In teamfights, just aim the enemy ADC and you'd win.
So Lin Fan had a special fondness for Annie.
"Patch 12.12 changes are pretty big. Every team will need a lot of time to adapt—especially since Korean server still isn't accessible. Feels like one step slow, every step slow."
"A lot of pro teams have already gone to NA server to adapt early. But NA's training intensity isn't high. The level is low."
"What do you mean, like I've played NA server?"
"I'm a pro player, you know! But yeah, I actually haven't played NA server…"
Thinking about it, Doublelift came back and could still dominate the league—NA's level really was frighteningly low. No wonder they get eliminated in groups every year.
But LCK pros were suffering too.
So many Korean server accounts were banned domestically. At high elo, you couldn't even find a game without waiting twenty to thirty minutes. The higher your rank, the longer you waited.
Many LCK pros' form was affected.
With the Asian Games approaching, if this continued, it might impact the Asian Games.
Korean LoL operations were basically waiting for an out.
The moment someone in China spoke up, they'd unban immediately—but it had been over twenty days and no one had gone to negotiate…
It was like a one-man show. Nobody responded. They'd lost face hard.
They thought LPL would do what it always did—ban and then immediately come negotiate.
But this time… nobody came.
Only then did they realize: the era of "account bans to hold people hostage" was long gone.
But unbanning in embarrassment would turn into a joke.
Then again, they'd done plenty of joke things. One more or two didn't matter.
So after the Korean server patch update, they released an announcement saying the "inspection period" was over.
IPs from other countries could log into Korean server accounts again, and everyone was welcome to spar…
In any case, Korean high elo was still intense, so many pro teams rushed back right away.
But for Lin Fan, none of that mattered much. Training was training anywhere…
Teamfight Tactics, Naraka, or—most fitting—Honor of Kings.
If he pulled out Ahri there, everyone would know he was practicing Ahri. It wouldn't look so surreal.
So… should he play a couple Angela games later?
His Angela was unquestionably national #1.
"Alright. Since you guys say I never train, and I just read the patch notes—Angela will get buffed next season. I'll practice early and test her strength, okay?"
"In this version Angela is kinda trash, but next patch her Skill 1 damage gets increased. Might be worth trying."
…
"Angela? Holy crap, farmer!"
"Still not used to it? Angela is just Annie, right?"
"Even if Annie gets buffed, I don't think it'll matter much. Her waveclear is too slow, and after level six she can't one-shot. I think support Annie has a future, mid doesn't."
"Yeah, same. Mid can't be the tempo point. People say her ultimate's sustained damage is high, but after the initial slam there's basically no damage. She's just too slow."
"So training mid is pointless, isn't it?"
"But this is good news—Brother Infinite Borders is finally training properly. If he's training properly, then marriage doesn't have to be urgent."
"Agreed!"
Chat spammed nonstop—then suddenly, the screen cut.
"Timi~"
With the flashy entry animation, everyone's brains stalled.
Wait—this is your idea of 'training'?
You were talking about Annie patch changes in League—why did you open Honor of Kings?!
Honor of Kings training, huh?!
Chat filled with question marks.
"I didn't say anything wrong. I said Angela," Lin Fan smiled at the camera, tapped his finger, and locked in Angela.
"Knowledge is power!"
"You heard that. Even Angela says knowledge is power. I suggest everyone watch less stream and read more books—enrich yourself, improve yourself."
"Honestly I don't play Angela much. I need to practice more."
…
Meanwhile, other teams' coaches who monitored Lin Fan's stream every day frowned hard at the sight.
Did Brother Infinite Borders practice Angela, or not?
Pfft—Angela is Annie!
Was this a smokescreen?
TL: If you want to read ahead by at least ten chapters, patreon.com/EdibleMapleSyrup