No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Lucas' mind was in chaos. Those secret skills? Noelle suggested them.

He hadn't thought much of them before. However, with the finals approaching and no suitable gunner found, he decided to rely on her suggestions to secure victory. Lucas stared at the gunner on the screen in shock. Was SweetNelly really Noelle? His character rushed forward from the building. "Who are you, really?" Lucas had resisted acknowledging the possibility, but now it was undeniable.

Why had Noelle hidden her identity? Why had she played him like that? And why wouldn't she rejoin the Liddell family's team?

Noelle dodged another of Lucas' attacks. "You should probably stop using those moves. They don't work on me." "Noelle, is it really you? Answer me!"

Her tone remained calm. "I told you before. Your strategies have too many flaws. It looks like nothing's changed."

With a swift airborne maneuver, Noelle counterattacked. Lucas stood no chance, and he fell before her.

Noelle won. She successfully advanced to the 90th rank. The live stream chat erupted.

"Holy crap! Ms. Nelly just defeated a professional player!"

"Sure, the captain of Team Luminark has questionable morals, but he's skilled. And SweetNelly beat him!"

The video of their match quickly spread across gaming groups.

Xenia, who was still streaming, had been feigning sympathy and trying to smear SweetNelly to gain more followers. When news of Lucas' defeat reached her, she couldn't believe it.

She immediately shut down her stream and stormed off to find him. "Where's Lucas?"

"After the match, Mr. Liddell left with a glum look. He hasn't spoken to anyone."

Xenia stomped her foot in frustration. She couldn't believe that Lucas could have lost. She felt humiliated.

...

After the Player Kill match, Noelle returned to her usual routine of analyzing the gameplay.

When it came to her match with Lucas, she accurately pointed out his tactical flaws and how his personality affected his playstyle. Those were the same issues she had mentioned before, but Lucas had never listened. After she was done explaining, she logged off.

She then took out her phone. She received a text from her second brother, Frank.

Frank: "You're SweetNelly, aren't you?"

Noelle: "Does it matter if it's me or not?"

Frank smiled bitterly.

Frank: "That's not what I meant. Streaming isn't as simple as it seems. The field's messy. You're bound to face challenges, especially being a young woman."

Noelle: "I know."

Frank: "If you insist on streaming, I suggest signing with Lucas' platform. You're family, so he'll protect you."

Noelle found the idea of Lucas protecting her funny. She had worked hard to break free from the Liddell family. There was no way she was going to be controlled by them again. Thus, she didn't respond. Soon, another text from Frank arrived.

Frank: "Noelle, you can go to any platform you want. But I have one small request. Don't join Team Celestial."

Noelle: "I have the freedom to join any team I want to."

Frank: "I know, but as long as it's not Team Celestial. If you join them, Lucas won't handle it well."

Noelle knew why. It was because the captain of Team Celestial, Magnus Greene, was Lucas' biggest rival. The two had a long-standing feud and couldn't stand each other.

But which team she joined had nothing to do with the Liddell family. She left his text unanswered.

Xenia's stream that accused Noelle of breaking her word and switching to Firestorm's platform sparked heated discussions, with Xenia's haters fueling the narrative.

But Noelle didn't really care about the matter.

She received a call from Firestorm's representative. "Ms. Nelly, have you made a decision yet? If you have any conditions, we're happy to discuss them."