ric felt like his mind had been through a blender. All those secret strategies, they were Lemira''s brainchild.


    ric hadn''t taken them seriously before, but with the finals looming and no suitable gunner in sight, he''d decided to give Lemira''s suggestions a shot to avoid making any unexpected mistakes. Staring at theputer screen in disbelief, he couldn''t believe that SweetLemon was Lemira. His character bolted from the room, "Who are you, really?"


    He''d been in denial all along. But now, he had to face the truth!


    Why had Lemira hidden her identity, yed him for a fool, and refused to rejoin his team?


    Lemira dodged ric''s confrontational stance, "Better save those moves, they won''t work on me!"


    "Lemira, is that you? Answer me!"


    Her response was cool, "I told you before, your moves are full of defects, and it seems nothing''s changed."


    With that, Lemira''s character jumped in the air,unching into a counterattack, leaving ric unable to fend off and copsing on the ground.


    Lemira had won, advancing to the top 90! The chat exploded with excitement.


    [Wow, Ms. Lemon, you just took down a pro!]


    [Sure, the captain of Skyze might be a bit of a jerk, but he''s got skills in gaming. Can''t believe you beat him, goddess!]


    The footage of their match spread like wildfire across gaming forums.


    Evelina, who''d been ying the sympathy card and bad-mouthing SweetLemon during her stream to gain followers, was shocked to see the news of ric''s defeat. Impossible! How could ric lose?


    Evelina ended her stream and set out to find ric, "Where''s ric?"


    "Right after the match, he just wandered off, didn''t talk to anyone."


    Evelina stomped her foot in frustration. How could he lose? Such embarrassment!


    After the match, Lemira went through her usual routine of breaking down the gamey; as it came to the battle between ric and her, she pinpointed thetter''s weaknesses and strategic ws due to his personality, something she had always pointed out to him before.


    ric, however, had never listened.


    Lemira signed off after her analysis. Checking her phone, she found a message from Lucian. [SweetLemon, that''s you, isn''t it?]Exclusive ? content by N(?)ve/l/Drama.Org.


    She pondered for a moment before replying. [Does it matter if it''s me?]


    Lucian let out a weary smile,.[It''s not what you think. Streaming isn''t easy, it''s a mixed bag. It''s tough out there for a young woman.]


    [I know.]


    [If you insist on streaming, I''d rmend signing with ric''spany. If you''re seen as family, he''ll look out for you.]


    Lemira found the idea amusing. ric, looking out for her?


    She had finally escaped the Langston family''s clutches; why would she put herself under anyone''s thumb again?


    She ignored the message. Soon, another message from Lucian arrived.


    [Lemmy, you can join any group. But I ask only one thing, stay away from the Reapers.]


    Lemira''s eyes dripped with scoff. [Which team I join is my choice.]


    [I know, but anywhere but the Reapers. Otherwise, ric wouldn''t handle it.]


    Lemira was aware of the feud. The Reapers captain Matthew was ric''s nemesis. But her choices of joining any team were none of the Langstons'' business.


    Lemira left the message unanswered.


    Meanwhile, Evelina''s stream had twisted the narrative, using Lemira of being unfaithful for switching to PixelStage, sparking debates online by some anti-fans.


    en


    Lemira didn''t pay it much mind. Then, the head of PixelStage called, "Ms. Lemon, have you made up your mind? We can negotiate any terms."


    "I''ll have to start school in two months and can''tmit to a fixed daily streaming schedule."


    "That''s easy, we can adjust your contract to weekends only, no requests for working days. How does that sound?"


    Lemira was surprised at the flexibility, replying, "I''ll think it over."