The entire venue was silent, as quiet as the 2021 college entrance examination site.
Everyone was stunned by his answer.
After exchanging glances, the interviewer asked with difficulty: “Is this… appropriate to broadcast?”
Chen Yuzheng put the microphone back on the table: “Whatever you want.”
Qi Ya’nan, sitting on the side, glared at him, then stood up and smiled at the media: “This is our player’s personal privacy, please treat it as a joke. If possible, please don’t release content unrelated to the competition, thank you everyone.”
…
…
Gu Yi had also come to the venue today, and was sitting on the sofa in TG’s break room with Fu Yidong and Yu Nuo, chatting. The door to the break room was pushed open.
Killer and Thomas walked in, laughing and talking.
Gu Yi called out: “Fan Qi!”
Van was a bit surprised, “Honey, why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
Gu Yi ran up, stood on tiptoes, and regardless of being in public, planted a quick kiss on his cheek, “I missed you.”
Their public display of affection caused the other TG members to click their tongues.
After teasing them a bit, the others noticed Yu Nuo sitting on the sofa. Their expressions instantly became strange and knowing. Killer and Ultraman exchanged glances before going over to greet her.
Yu Nuo looked behind them, searching, but didn’t see Chen Yuzheng.
Ultraman seemed to know what she was thinking and casually said: “Conquer was pulled aside by Manager Nan for a private talk, he’ll probably be here later.”
Yu Nuo was surprised: “A talk? Did something happen?”
Killer bent down, putting his keyboard and peripherals into his bag, “During his interview just now, he did something…” he paused, looked up, thought about his words, then continued: “earth-shattering.”
Hearing this, Fu Yidong was also curious: “What earth-shattering thing?”
Thomas remembered that scene and still got goosebumps, his expression somewhat complicated: “Yu Nuo, so that tattoo on Conquer’s arm was your words? This is…”
Yu Nuo: “……..”
Thomas: “Actually quite romantic.”
Ultraman could hardly imagine or accept that his roommate, who he lived with day and night, who usually had a cold face and whose most common words to others were “get lost”, “don’t bother me”, and “nmsl”1, could show such a different side when in love. Someone who appeared so tough on the surface actually had such a tender side with his girlfriend.
Ultraman sat down next to Yu Nuo and vividly described to her and Fu Yidong how Chen Yuzheng had flamboyantly demanded all cameras focus on him, and how he had casually picked up the microphone to announce that he had a girlfriend.
Fu Yidong was stunned listening to this, and after processing it for two minutes, covered her face and screamed, “Oh my god! Is he filming a drama?! He’s too good at this!!!!”
…
…
Qi Ya’nan and Chen Yuzheng pushed open the door, both looking normal. Chen Yuzheng immediately spotted Yu Nuo sitting on the sofa.
He walked over while Yu Nuo was talking with Fu Yidong. Her gaze unconsciously shifted to him, and her words gradually stopped.
The switch on her headband’s light-up sign wasn’t turned off, and a few English letters were still flashing. Chen Yuzheng saw what was on it and his lips curled up as he reached out to touch it, “What’s this thing?”
Yu Nuo took a moment to react, looking guilty as she said softly, “Your fan merchandise…”
Fu Yidong whirled around.
Chen Yuzheng raised an eyebrow and asked: “Is this your friend?”
Fu Yidong’s eyes lit up as she stood, excitedly introducing herself: “Yes, yes! I’m Yu Nuo’s best friend, and I’m your fan too. I even played games with you at an internet cafe before, remember?”
Chen Yuzheng: “……”
Seeing his obviously confused expression, the light in Fu Yidong’s eyes dimmed and she pouted, “Oh well, guess you don’t remember…”
Chen Yuzheng: “Sorry, I’m a bit face-blind.”
During their conversation, Yu Nuo quietly took off the headband with “Conquer” written on it.
Chen Yuzheng casually picked up a pen from the nearby table, “You’re my fan?”
“More than just a fan, I’m a long-time fan.” Fu Yidong was very outgoing, winking as she secretly took credit, “You should thank me, if I hadn’t brainwashed Yu Nuo, she wouldn’t have figured things out by now.”
Chen Yuzheng deliberately looked at Yu Nuo, who was lowering her head and secretly putting the headband in her bag. He smiled, “Mm, thank you then.”
“No need for thanks.” Fu Yidong suddenly remembered the fan club members’ requests and picked up several customized team uniforms from the sofa, “Just wondering if you could sign a few things?”
“Sure.”
Chen Yuzheng was unusually patient this time, holding the pen and quickly signing his name on all the dolls and clothes Fu Yidong handed over.
After finishing, Chen Yuzheng turned to ask Yu Nuo: “What about you?”
Yu Nuo: “What about me?”
Chen Yuzheng held the pen between his fingers, waving it slightly, “Want my autograph too?”
She made a confused sound, “Why would I want your autograph?”
There were many people around, including Fu Yidong watching, so Chen Yuzheng stopped teasing her. He put the pen cap back on, “I’ll tell you later.”
…
…
After the TG members had packed up their things, Van discussed with Thomas: “Since my girlfriend is here today, and Yu Nuo brought her best friend, why don’t we all go get dinner?”
“Sounds good.”
The team leader frowned and called out a reminder: “You all have matches next week, no one is allowed to drink alcohol at dinner.”
Everyone walked out of the break room, with Yu Nuo and Chen Yuzheng falling behind. TG’s team bus hadn’t started yet, and Killer and Ultraman were leaning against a stone pillar smoking and chatting. Chen Yuzheng looked at her for a moment and asked: “Where’s your headband?”
Yu Nuo played dumb: “What?”
“The one with my name on it, why aren’t you wearing it anymore?”
Yu Nuo: “I took it off…”
Chen Yuzheng said flatly: “You fake fan, first you made that heartfelt confession on stage, then turned around and didn’t even recognize me.”
“Even asked me to sign your clothes.”
“Put on my fan headband then took it off, showing no sincerity at all.”
He listed her past offenses one by one.
Yu Nuo couldn’t handle it and tried to defend herself: “Later I…”
“Later what?” Chen Yuzheng brazenly said, “Later you were also captivated by me, turned from a fake fan into a real fan?”
Yu Nuo didn’t understand why he was so fixated on whether she was his fan or not, sighed, and went along with it, “Yes, I’m your fan.”
Chen Yuzheng said with a patronizing attitude: “Alright, I’ll give you special treatment sometime, give you a private autograph.”
She suddenly remembered something and asked him: “By the way, Ultraman said you were called away for a talk earlier?”
Chen Yuzheng made a sound of agreement.
Yu Nuo’s expression was troubled as she thought for a moment, then carefully asked: “Was it because of me?”
Chen Yuzheng put his hand on her shoulder and half-jokingly leaned close to her ear, “She said unless I win the championship, I’m not allowed to tell others I’m dating you.”
Yu Nuo advised him: “Then you should focus on your matches first, I really don’t mind about all this.”
“But I do mind.”
Yu Nuo: “…..”
Chen Yuzheng hooked his finger, absently playing with her earlobe, “After I win the championship, will you give me an official status?”
She felt ticklish and pulled his hand away.
Chen Yuzheng persistently pursued: “Will you or won’t you?”
Yu Nuo’s face was red as she was cornered and had to compromise: “I will.”
—
The LPL Summer Split was the same as usual, with regular season and playoffs. This time it was divided into East and West divisions, with eight teams in each division, double round-robin within divisions and single round-robin between divisions. The regular season would last about two months, with each team playing 23 matches. After the regular season, the top four teams from each division would advance to playoffs.
Because LCK won last year, LPL only had three spots for the World Championship this year, making the competition more intense.
After the interview room incident, Qi Ya’nan had a private talk with Chen Yuzheng, telling him not to speak carelessly in public. But Chen Yuzheng was someone who didn’t care about anything and was used to doing things his own way. Qi Ya’nan was still worried, so she took a day to call Yu Nuo to the base.
“Conquer is nineteen now, in the golden age of his professional career. This time is both brief and precious. Your brother is also a pro player, so you should understand how important this period is for him.”
In the meeting room with just the two of them, Yu Nuo was a bit confused by this setup. She hesitated, unsure of Qi Ya’nan’s meaning, and chose her words carefully: “I know, I won’t interfere with his training.”
Qi Ya’nan waved her hand: “Don’t be nervous, that’s not what I meant, and I’m not asking you to break up with him. However, a pro player dating someone from the same team’s staff doesn’t look good if it gets out. Plus, Chen Yuzheng is now one of TG’s more famous players, with many people watching him. He has as many anti-fans as fans.”
Yu Nuo: “I understand.”
Qi Ya’nan made a sound of agreement, “The team can’t control players’ private lives and usually won’t interfere. But lately their performance hasn’t been good, fans are dissatisfied, and your relationship being too high-profile isn’t good for you either. I’ve seen this kind of thing many times, so before achieving results, try to avoid any outside gossip that might affect him. Just be careful about this.”
After saying this, Qi Ya’nan pushed a contract towards her, “I called you today for another matter too. You’ve been very careful with your work these past few months, and we’re all quite satisfied with your abilities. The salary and contract length are all in here, take a look, and if you don’t have any issues, shall we renew?”
Yu Nuo flipped through a few pages of the contract and looked up, “Can I think about it for a few days?”
Qi Ya’nan: “Sure, no problem.”
Yu Nuo put the contract in her bag and came out of the meeting room, running into Ultraman on the way.
After chatting with him for a bit, she noticed he didn’t look well and asked: “What’s wrong? You look so tired.”
Ultraman sighed, rubbed his neck, and said casually: “Ah, it’s nothing, just that we’ve been losing matches lately, so we’ve been staying up late practicing these past few days. We’ve almost drunk all the Red Bull in the base.”
After complaining, Ultraman asked: “Are you leaving now?”
Yu Nuo nodded.
“Why don’t you go say a few words to Chen Yuzheng before you leave? He’s probably still solo ranking in the training room.” Ultraman hesitated before continuing, “He’s under a lot of pressure lately. You should comfort him – it would be weird for a guy like me to have a heart-to-heart with him.”
…
…
Due to the LPL’s format reform this time, each team had to play 7 more matches, making the schedule very tight.
By late August, the regular season was entering its final stages. Since the opening match, TG had been unstable, with fluctuating performance. After losing several matches, their ranking had dropped to the middle-upper position.
Competition at this position was usually the most intense. Besides the first and second place teams in the East and West divisions being mostly secure, and the teams that were already out of playoff contention, the remaining middle-ranked teams all started fighting for points.
Even a single game point could be decisive.
After yesterday’s loss, TG’s playoff situation suddenly became dire. The fourth-place team had overtaken them in wins, and fifth place also had a chance.
Fifth-place PRT still had two matches left. TG only had one match remaining, which happened to be against PRT. If TG lost again and PRT won both their matches, based on game differential, TG might not even make playoffs.
Recently, Chen Yuzheng and Yu Nuo had been messaging at six or seven in the morning. Yu Nuo only learned from Ultraman just now that besides training, he had been staying up all night playing ranked games.
Chen Yuzheng and Yu Ge were very similar people, both highly competitive. Once the team had problems, they would definitely be twice as hard on themselves.
Yu Nuo went to the second floor, where the training room was empty except for one person sitting in the back.
Chen Yuzheng wore headphones, with the computer screen’s light casting onto his face.
Yu Nuo didn’t want to disturb him now, so she stood at the doorway for a while. She leaned against the wall, took out her phone, and searched for recent match results on Weibo.
After TG’s loss yesterday, the official account posted an apology, and the comments below were all criticism:
[This is the number one team in the East division? What a joke.]
[After all this time, can you just win a championship for once?]
[Question: are your players awake? Have you been playing with your eyes closed lately? Just retire already, you’re disgustingly bad]
[Well well well well well]
[You’re just trying to anger your fans, that’s it, that’s it, that’s it!]
[Don’t know what’s wrong lately, throwing big advantages and unable to come back from deficits. After the regional competition I thought you’d rise up, who knew getting into playoffs would be so difficult now. Really disappointed.]
[This is what happens when you get cocky. If you want to win championships, don’t talk big too early or think things will be too easy]
The long comment section was full of criticism when scrolled down.
Even as an observer, Yu Nuo found these words as painful as thorns in her eyes. The TG members who saw this would probably feel even worse.
She quietly closed her phone, and when she looked back into the training room, the game had ended.
Chen Yuzheng was waiting for queue, lying in his gaming chair with his arms crossed, lost in thought. He didn’t react when he heard movement at the door as someone came in.
Yu Nuo walked behind him and gently touched his shoulder, “Chen Yuzheng?”
Hearing her voice, his eyelashes finally moved as he came back to himself, sitting up to ask, “Why are you here?”
Yu Nuo put her bag on the table, pulled over a nearby chair, sat down and said, “I came to see you.”
She put both hands on her knees and carefully looked him over.
Chen Yuzheng was pale, with dark circles under his eyes and colorless lips. He looked very tired, clearly not having slept well for many days.
The computer made a sound as the game showed a successful queue. Chen Yuzheng picked up the mouse and closed the interface.
Yu Nuo went to get him some warm water from the dispenser nearby and handed it to him.
Chen Yuzheng didn’t take it, so Yu Nuo extended her hand further: “Drink some water.”
Chen Yuzheng said lazily, his voice hoarse: “My arms are too sore, can’t hold the cup.”
Yu Nuo: “…..”
She found it a bit funny but patiently brought the cup to his lips, watching him take a few sips.
Noticing Chen Yuzheng’s low mood and remembering Ultraman’s request, Yu Nuo put the cup aside and patiently comforted him: “Have you been very tense lately? I don’t understand much about the game, so I can’t give you much advice. But matches have wins and losses, you don’t need to put so much pressure on yourself. Don’t mind what others say about you either – once you win matches, these voices will disappear. But… even if you lose matches, there will be opportunities in the future. There are many championships, no need to rush this one time.”
Chen Yuzheng’s expression remained lazy as he stared at her.
Yu Nuo’s small face was serious as she wracked her brain to say this long speech until her mouth was dry, “Besides, you look too tired now. Ultraman said you haven’t been sleeping much these past few days. Why don’t you go get some sleep first, then wake up and train with a fresh mind. Don’t wear yourself out, otherwise–“
Without warning, Chen Yuzheng spoke: “Sister, you look so beautiful today.”
Yu Nuo’s words got stuck in her throat.
Chen Yuzheng raised his hand that had been hanging at his side, his fingers brushing across her lips with a hint of tenderness, slowly moving across before suddenly applying a bit of pressure.
His voice was even hoarser than before, “Want to kiss you.”
- NMSL stands for “????” (n? m?m? s?le), a troll phrase which translates roughly to “your mother is dead”, lol. ↩︎
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