Lam Tuc turned around to invite Minh Triet to lunch, but saw him looking at his phone, so he decided to let him finish. In the meantime, he looked around to see what everyone else was doing. Everyone had gathered into small groups and begun introducing themselves. Lam Tuc knew that college wasn't just about attending classes—it was also about building social connections. Especially at Astral, where the students were all the children of the elite, that was particularly important. But it wasn't something he cared about. He knew that, aside from a few special exceptions like Minh Triet, nobody would want to befriend someone like him. Suddenly, Lam Tuc felt like something was missing.
"Hey, Minh Triet, I feel like I just forgot something."
"Were you going to ask about electing the class officers? The school just sent a notice to our phones."
"Sorry, I didn't look closely."
This was the first time Lam Tuc had ever used something called a smartphone. He was the kind of person who always kept his phone on Do Not Disturb because he thought those notifications were annoying. If something was really important, people could call him or talk to him in person instead of sending a text. After fumbling around for a while, he finally managed to open the notification. What caught his eye was a long string of text, longer than all those high-school model essays, and the font was tiny too. Basically, the school would be choosing the class officers instead of letting the class vote: D class—Information Technology: class president—Tieu Pham, vice president—Tu Dao, secretary—Nhu Tuyet. Lam Tuc was a little relieved. Being a class officer in college came with plenty of benefits, such as extra conduct points, priority consideration for scholarships, and opportunities to work with department heads... But to him, becoming a class officer would be no different from becoming everyone's errand boy. Just then, Minh Triet turned to him and asked:
"Hey, Bro Tuc, do you know how to play games?"
"Well... I only know how to play League."
"That's surprising. I thought all you knew how to do was study and work part-time."
"What kind of life do you think I live? I need to have fun too."
"All right. I saw an internet café in the alley near our school. Want to check it out? My treat. It's a little early for lunch, and we have the afternoon off anyway."
"Deal. Let's go now."
The two stood up, grabbed their backpacks, and headed straight for the school gate, leaving the other class members behind as they split into small groups, chatted, and began forming cliques.
"Boss, make two accounts for us—Lam Tuc and Minh Triet—and load two hours onto each one."
"I never would've guessed a young rich heir like you knew how to go to an internet café."
"That's because my parents keep a really tight leash on me, and they've never let me play with them before. Bro Tuc is the first person who's ever done it."
Lam Tuc smiled faintly. Although he often silently judged other people in his head, he wasn't the type to judge someone based solely on their hobbies. He turned on the computer and logged into League of Legends.
"Bro Tuc, want to duo? I'm Gold I, one game from Platinum."
"Sorry, I'm still in Bronze. How about we play Flex instead?"
"Sure. I'm only Bronze in Flex too."
Lam Tuc created a lobby. While they waited for a match, Minh Triet suddenly asked:
"Bro Tuc, do you like playing support? Support is so boring. When you win, nobody remembers what you did, but when you lose, everyone blames you because your KDA looks bad. If you like helping your teammates, you could play mid or jungle instead. You can still roam to help the team, and you'll have plenty of room to show off your individual skills. Or if you want to show off a little, you could play top like me. I'll teach you."
"Support has its own appeal."
Lam Tuc answered casually. He wasn't sure himself why he liked playing support. Just as Minh Triet had said, if he liked helping his teammates, he could easily play mid or jungle instead; he didn't have to play support. Maybe it was because he enjoyed being a supporting character. He wasn't sure either. Lam Tuc stared at the screen for a moment, then clicked Ready.
"Minh Triet, remember to carry me."
"You can count on me, Bro Tuc."
Half an hour later, Lam Tuc sat staring at the screen with a calm, relaxed expression. Minh Triet, on the other hand, was completely stunned. He couldn't believe what had just happened right in front of him.
"Hey, Bro Tuc... you're pretty bad at this."
The word "Defeat" glowed red in the middle of the screen before them. Minh Triet didn't know what to say. He had truly done everything he could. His 17/3 Aatrox couldn't carry Lam Tuc's 3/11 Lux, who had over a hundred CS. As for Lam Tuc, he was sitting there reading the "loving" messages the ADC had sent to his family.
"How about we play one last ARAM, then go get lunch?"
"Sure."
After today, Minh Triet swore he would never let Lam Tuc touch Lux again.