Chapter 18: CH 18

Rong Yi no longer cares about these comments.

The drive and passion of many young people have not disappeared, but he has learned to conceal them, to be calm, low-key, and mild-tempered, all of which have been slowly cultivated.

What e-sports player doesn’t want to stand on the pinnacle of the awards podium, holding a trophy, walking through a starry sky, and seeing their audience feel truly proud of them?

The only thing he insists on is that he doesn’t want the kind of pride that RS has.

His glory must be achieved by his own hands, not by the largesse of the majority. He wants to prove something that only the arena can judge.

As he scrolled through his phone, the appetizer arrived. Xiao Yin, the waiter, took the plate closer to him and pushed it in front of him.

Seeing Xiao Yin’s gaze fall on him, Rong Yi withdrew from the comment page, calm and collected.

It’s not that he’s avoiding Xiao Yin, it’s just that he doesn’t want others to worry about him.

At VIT, he hardly mentioned his past experiences, and the VIT kids were quite sensible, never asking him questions.

After Xiao Yin placed his knife and fork, he glanced at Capacitor and asked, “The People’s Star Contest?”

Rong Yi murmured his thanks and nodded.

He looked up and saw that everyone at the table was looking at them – Xiao Yin didn’t seem to think it was strange to be so intimate in placing his cutlery and appetizers, he just looked up and confirmed with Wu Dao Gu, “It sounds familiar, did the operation mention this before?”

Wu Dao Gu thought for a while, “It seems…there was such a thing.”

Hui Mao also remembered, “Wasn’t the result not discussed that day? The operation girl was almost angry with you guys.”

Wu Dao Gu looked innocent, “It’s no use for her to be angry. Look at the four of us, which one looks like they can participate in this kind of event?”

These VIT kids are actually all handsome and good-looking, but none of them want to show their faces.

Ci She looks like a little prick who hasn’t gotten over his chuunibyou phase, Hui Mao is shy, and Wu Dao Gu doesn’t mind, but he’s not very talkative.

There’s no one who can be taken out to see.

Ci She is burying his head and eating salmon rolls, and he mumbles, “Let Brother Yin go, he has a lot of fans.”

Xiao Yin said, “I don’t have fans in China.”

Ci She: “? What are you talking about? You don’t have fans? Can you give me a share of the hundreds of millions of fans in your live stream room?”

Xiao Yin said again, “My image isn’t very good.”

Now even Rong Yi raised his head and slowly gave Xiao Yin a questioning look.

Xiao Yin’s looks are among the best in the world of e-sports players. When he appears in commercial activities, many celebrities feel intimidated. If his image is not good, then there won’t be any good-looking people in the world.

Wu Dao Gu agreed, “Yes, if Brother Yin wins first place, the game interface in China will have an icy face for a quarter, and the effect is indeed terrible.”

Ci She praised wildly, “Well said!”

Hui Mao objectively evaluated, “Yes, he is handsome, but he might scare away the audience.”

Xiao Yin agreed, “That’s right.”

The remaining four people suddenly looked at Rong Yi.

Rong Yi: “?”

At this time, an outsider had to chime in. Lu Feng was very good at reading people’s expressions and quickly helped, “I think Captain Rong is quite suitable.”

Hui Mao said, “Yes, the captain is good-looking and strong, kind and approachable. I think he’s the most suitable.”

Ci She also expressed his support, “The strongest should stand in that position! Wait, when I go back, I’ll campaign for you in the live broadcast room.”

Wu Dao Gu also said, “There is only one storefront in the team, and I think it’s most appropriate for the storefront to participate.”

Xiao Yin even approached Rong Yi and asked, “Can we register you with your ID?”

Rong Yi knew the process and didn’t need any other formalities for registration. The club just needed to submit the registration. They didn’t even need a photo.

Three pairs of shining eyes and Xiao Yin’s calm gaze stared at him. He raised his hand in surrender, “Okay, register me. But let’s focus on training, okay?”

“Definitely okay,” Ci She patted his chest. “After all, we don’t have many fans in VIT, and Brother Yin isn’t good at promoting.”

Rong Yi turned to Xiao Yin again, tilting his head slightly as he looked at him. He had wanted to say something, but in the end, he felt that Xiao Yin probably wouldn’t care about this matter, so there was no need to remind him.

Xiao Yin quickly messaged the operations team to register Rong Yi.

There were probably twelve top teams participating in the league registration, but most teams knew that they would be running alongside RS and didn’t take it too seriously.

VIT’s registration was even less serious. Easy’s profile picture was still black, a pitch-black figure.

The meal ended quickly.

Lu Feng got along well with the VIT members, and Rong Yi felt familiar with him too.

After the meal, Lu Feng took the initiative to find Rong Yi, “Captain Rong, do you want to be friends? When you guys make it to Group A, we can continue to play training matches.”

“Okay.”

Rong Yi quickly scanned Lu Feng’s contact information and added him to his phone.

“I haven’t added your personal contact yet.” Lu Feng clicked on his profile picture and looked through his moments, sighing, “We’ve actually crossed paths before, but at that time, it was all with the RS operations team.”

Rong Yi was polite and nodded slightly, “I picked the training team myself, so I guess we’re actually old opponents.”

“I dare not say that. There are still many things that our team needs guidance from Captain Rong,” Lu Feng said seriously.

“No problem,” Rong Yi replied.

After finishing the last bowl of lobster cream corn soup, Rong Yi and the others stood up together.

As they were leaving, they ran into the other team just finishing their meal. The two sides didn’t show any intention of greeting each other and stood apart, with the rain still falling outside and everyone waiting for their cars.

Rong Yi put on his mask and hat and stood with Xiao Yin and Hui Mao. Suddenly, he heard a voice with a smile next to him, “Hey, isn’t this Captain Rong? Why don’t you even say hello?”

Rong Yi looked up and saw the manager of RS, Qi Su, smiling at him.

In RS, Rong Yi was known for his gentle and steady temperament, but if there was one person in the world who made him want to take up arms and resolve things, it would definitely be Qi Su.

As the team captain, he had the most conflicts with Qi Su, who was a manager brought in by the capital. Qi Su always had a condescending and commanding attitude towards him, and no matter what Rong Yi suggested, Qi Su would always insist on the opposite.

As for what triggered the bottom line of Rong Yi, there was a period of time when he suffered from severe camera phobia and was unable to film endorsements.

Qi Sù used some means to force him to suspend, publicly announcing that RS team captain EASY had health problems and poor condition, so a new support was used to experiment with a new system, and Rong Yi was “resting in the team”.

The fans demanded that Rong Yi retire, and that’s when it all began.

For a professional player, there is nothing more outrageous than a suspension as an unconventional means.

How many veterans have struggled to stay on the court, preferring to play support, and nothing is more important than a gamer’s playing time. For him, the game is everything.

Rong Yi smiled: “Do I need to say hello to you?”

Qi Su choked for a moment, somewhat unbelievable.

The contrast was too great, and he was unprepared.

Rong Yi actually didn’t give him face in front of everyone!

“It seems that Captain Rong doesn’t have much affection for our old team, is everything going well with the new team?” Qi Su laughed, wanting to get back at him, “Starting from Group B, you probably haven’t played against us, Captain Rong? I wish Captain Rong all the best.”

Everyone could hear the sarcasm in his words. The RS players behind Qi Su were all silent, staring at him intently.

None of the old players spoke up for him.

“I’ll say it.”

Suddenly, Ci She spoke up loudly, and Rong Yi turned his head.

These VIT players are usually quiet, but they step up when it counts. When Ci She suddenly speaks up, it surprises everyone.

“Captain, which team are these guys from?” Xiao Yin pulls Captain Rong Yi over to his side and asks casually.

“RS, the team that Captain Rong couldn’t lead before,” Hui Mao chimes in. “The team that got shut out in the Asian qualifiers,” he adds.

“I see,” Wu Dao Gu nods impartially. “Yes, that’s the team.”

“I see,” Ci She responds loudly. “Thanks for your blessings! We’ll listen to the captain’s orders and make it all the way from Group B to the World Championship! And as for you…”

“Unfortunately, you got shut out in the World Group Stage!” Ci She says. “After all, you’ve never played in the World Championship before, so it must be very uncomfortable!”

Hui Mao also sympathizes and chimes in, “Yes, it must be very uncomfortable!”

Although these three foreign players are all Chinese, their upbringing and background are significantly different from the domestic players.

When they speak Chinese, their voices have a naturally cheerful and lively tone, which is both strange and endearing.

RS’s Lang Bai had a violent temperament, and he was a bit unable to hold back, with a tendency to charge forward. Wu Dao Gu followed suit, rolling up his sleeves to reveal the well-toned muscles he had developed from two hours of weightlifting every day.

The faces of the RS group turned pale, and their solemn expressions became very ugly. Although RS had intended to argue a few words, when they saw Xiao Yin, they shut their mouths.

He could bully Rong Yi, but he couldn’t afford to provoke Xiao Yin no matter what.

Yin’s achievements and stature were something that the entire RS team dared not even imagine. No one could touch him on the field, and according to what RS knew, Xiao Yin’s family background was a mystery, but definitely not simple, because he was the person that the league officials wanted to curry favor with.

Qi Su gritted his teeth and watched as the VIT people left with the driver’s assistance.

On the car, Rong Yi could finally laugh out loud without holding back, “You guys should quit playing professionally and do stand-up comedy instead. You guys have such great comedic timing.”

Outside, the rain poured down, hitting the car windows and creating white water droplets, making the car especially quiet.

The air conditioning was set to a slight warmth, and the five people were crowded together, feeling cozy.

Xiao Yin held onto his wrist and didn’t let go after getting on the car. For the first time, Rong Yi could clearly hear the faintly restrained tenderness in his cold voice, “You know, our VIT team has always had great coordination.”

Hui Mao turned around from the front seat and gave a thumbs up, “The support initiation is top-notch!”

Ci She leaned over to high-five Rong Yi, “The mid and bot lane’s coordination is also really good!”

Wu Dao Gu said, “Just leave the pressure-resistance to me.”

Rong Yi laughed and high-fived Ci She, then turned his head to look out the window.

In that moment, his eyes grew slightly warm.