Thinking of him brings a faint smile to my lips. He doesn’t talk much, but he’s incredibly skilled—solid in his gameplay and always looking out for his teammates.

"As you can see, I have a new teammate now," I said. "Let’s go our separate ways."

Gian scoffed, his face full of disbelief. "Katty, have you lost your mind? I'm the number one fielding player in all of New York. Who could you possibly find to replace me?"

Gian's expression turned cold. "From now on, Winda will take your place and you’ll be the substitute. When you realize your mistake, come back and apologize."

Mr. Joffin was delighted when Gian suddenly insisted on bringing Winda into the lineup. With a newcomer taking my place, Mr. Joffin no longer paid much attention to my withdrawal from the team. However, since the tournament was approaching, he still arranged for me to stay on as a substitute, allowing me to remain close to the team and giving Gian and Winda a transition period.

As I settled into the gaming chair, a teammate muttered, "Katty, I heard you quit the team on your own. Are you crazy? Gian is the number one player in New York."

I merely adjusted my headset. "Let’s start."

This practice match was being live-streamed to hype up the audience before the official tournament.

The moment the stream opened, the chat exploded with comments.

[Gian No. 1!]

[Who’s the new support, Winda?]

[Isn’t Winda Gian’s girlfriend? I saw them together in the grove last time. They were… well, you know.]

Scanning the chat, I realized that many people already knew about them. My misplaced trust had become a weapon used against me.

Winda, clearly overjoyed, still feigned unease. "Katty, this position was originally yours. If you want to come back, I can step aside. I don’t want to make things difficult for you and Gian."

Gian scoffed. "Winda, don’t worry about her. She left on her own. Now, you are my teammate."

The last part was said in a soft, affectionate tone, directed only at Winda.

She blushed and responded sweetly, "Gian, I’ll follow your lead."

Halfway through the match, I found myself low on health, surrounded by two enemies. Winda hesitated. "Gian, should I go help Katty? But I don’t want to leave you…"

Gian shot me a glance and ordered, "Ignore her. Let her die. The rest of you, just focus on farming."

The chat caught on quickly.

[Shouldn’t Gian be helping Katty right now?]

[I heard Katty was a desperate third wheel, clinging to Gian. Even after everything, he still treats her like trash.]

[Look at how much Gian is protecting Winda.]

Winda turned to me with a sly smile. "Kat, you’re not playing well today. How about you let us take your resources? You don’t mind, right?"

The live camera was still on. I kept my expression composed. "I don’t mind."

Just then, Winda let out a dramatic gasp. Her screen turned gray—she had been killed.

"I was trying to help you! Why did you betray me?" she whimpered, her eyes welling with fake tears.

In the game, I had barely escaped with a sliver of health, while Winda had died. I could have easily gotten out on my own, but Winda insisted on coming over—only to walk straight into the enemy’s attack and get herself killed.

Gian’s voice turned ice-cold with fury. "Katty, are you done messing around? First, you refuse to cooperate and now you let Winda die? Get lost. I don’t want to see you before the tournament."

Winda sniffled, barely holding back her tears. "Gian, don’t be mad. It’s my fault… I shouldn’t have insisted on playing despite my lack of skill… it’s all my fault."

Clearly, I was the one being framed, yet Winda was the one crying louder than me.

Gian stopped playing, his face dark with anger as he stood up. "Katty, apologize to her."

"I didn't do anything wrong. What should I apologize for?" I replied.

If we're talking about apologies, they should be the ones saying sorry. They had ganged up to kill me fourteen times in the game, wasn't that far worse?

Winda quickly stepped between us. "It's all my fault, don't fight. The stream is still live."

A sharp pain suddenly shot through my arm—Winda had taken advantage of the commotion to twist it hard. Instinctively, I pushed her away, but she exaggerated her reaction, stumbling backward and collapsing onto the keyboard. She clutched her forehead and looked at me with wide, teary eyes. "Katty, if you're mad at me, you don't have to be so rough… and not in front of the live broadcast."

Smack. A crisp slap landed across my face. The force behind it was immense, filled with rage. My mouth stung and I could taste blood.

Gian immediately rushed to Winda, cradling her face with concern. "Are you okay? Did she hurt you?"

Then he turned on me with a venomous glare. "If anything happens to Winda, you should just go die."

The chat exploded in chaos.

[So Katty is really a homewrecker? What a joke.]

[She deserved that slap. Get lost, little snake.]

[Hope she vanishes from the scene for good.]

Gian ended the broadcast abruptly and whisked Winda away to the hospital.

I remained where I was, my cheek throbbing, my arm aching. I rummaged through my bag for a bottle of iodine and treated my bruises alone, feeling numb as I counted down the minutes until I could finally walk away from this mess.

Later, Mr. Joffin informed me that the transfer paperwork for the team roster had been finalized. I was officially out of Gian’s battle team. I packed my belongings and headed back to the dormitory. On my way, I heard whispers from passing students.

"Isn't that Katty? She used to be so cool in matches. I even thought she was pretty… But it turns out she's just a manipulative snake. Did you see her get slapped on the live stream?"

As I entered my dorm, I found Gian carrying Winda in his arms, her face flushed as if she'd just emerged from a blissful dream.

The moment Gian saw me packing, his expression changed. He set Winda down and stormed into my room. "The competition is in two days. Why are you packing?"

Clearly, Mr. Joffin hadn’t told him yet. And I had no intention of explaining it to him.

"What does it matter to you?" I said flatly.

"How is it not related?" His face darkened. "You're my substitute. If you leave now, what if I need you on game day?"

I almost laughed. Did he actually think I would still show up for him?

"You and Winda are doing just fine. Whether I’m here or not makes no difference."

Gian frowned, studying me with a conflicted expression. Winda stood behind him, her gaze filled with barely concealed resentment, yet she didn’t dare to speak up.

"Katty," Gian finally said, "don't be childish. Just apologize to Winda and I'll let you compete."

Compete? So I could work my ass off, score points and then have all the credit handed to Winda?

"Let's talk tomorrow." I aaid firmly

Tomorrow was the entertainment match—where all teams would make an appearance in a live-streamed event.

"Fine." Gian considered it. "Then tomorrow, during the live stream, you’ll apologize to Winda in front of everyone and I’ll let you back on the team."

I forced a smile. Tomorrow, they wouldn’t be able to find me. That night, I cleared out my dorm, removed every trace of myself and officially withdrew from the team.

To focus entirely on my new battle team—especially Andrew, our captain—I even set my phone to Do Not Disturb mode, cutting myself off from any distractions.