Desire to Lure [Esports] - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Yu Wenzhi weighed his words carefully and, following the requirements of the management, posted a reflective Weibo on behalf of the entire team.

@TEA Yu Wenzhi: “Still some regrets, hope to see you in the Summer.”

He always held certain unshakable principles in his heart; the direction the management wanted him to reflect on was not the same as what he wanted to reflect on himself, so he simply didn’t mention details in the Weibo at all.

He guessed that the higher-ups wouldn’t be bored enough to nitpick the wording on his Weibo.

After posting, he tossed his phone aside. The MSI Grand Finals were approaching in a few days, and the officials wanted him to participate in pre-match activities by recording a blessing video for Team QZ.

It was an invitation hard to refuse; primarily because the influence of MSI had been waning in recent years, and the officials needed him to help generate hype after all, his old teammate Cui Jingsheng was in Team QZ.

The legend of Team TEA’s bot-lane “Twin Stars” had circulated in the LPL for a long time, and even two years after Cui Jingsheng returned to Korea, the story remained vibrant.

No matter how tactful Yu Wenzhi was, there were always invitations he couldn’t push away, so he went to record it.

Before leaving, he didn’t forget to visit Zou Kai to explain the situation in its entirety without adding fuel to the fire, yet without showing favoritism.

Zou Kai’s reaction was exactly as expected.

The big guy scratched his messy hair, taking a sharp breath to dispel the awkwardness. Then he turned his head away, intentionally avoiding Yu Wenzhi’s gaze, his voice carrying a forced sense of calm.

“Why are you telling me this? I’m just a coach; do I really need to know what kind of hardships he has?”

Yu Wenzhi smiled brightly: “What are you thinking? I’m just telling you casually.”

Having said that, he didn’t wait for Zou Kai to drop another couple of stiff sentences and quickly took his leave.

He knew Zou Kai was cold on the outside but soft on the inside; once he realized Sheng Xu’s streaming was justifiable, he would definitely feel guilty.

But Coach Zou’s guilt didn’t manifest in words; a rough man like him would only use actions to make amends.

However, actions were enough. Yu Wenzhi only needed him to pay attention to Sheng Xu through his actions.

Bidding farewell to Zou Kai, he planned to grab a parasol from the lobby guard, but he ran into Zechuan as he headed out.

Zechuan was wearing the TEA team uniform, his pant legs creased. After hesitating repeatedly, he spoke up: “Captain, let me go with you. I’ll say a few words of blessing too.”

Holding the umbrella, Yu Wenzhi froze for a second before giving an understanding smile: “Then let’s go.”

It seemed there were very few people who could be as rational and cold-blooded as he was. Zou Kai blamed him for not being affectionate enough toward Ever, and Zechuan felt he wasn’t affectionate enough toward Cui Jingsheng.

In truth, he had really intended to handle the blessing with just a few brief words.

Zechuan wouldn’t go on a long-winded rant, would he? When would they be able to finish work?

In the corridor outside the training room, Sheng Xu swung his dormitory key with one hand. After some thought, he sent a message to the real estate agent before blocking them.

“What! Not selling anymore?” Within ten seconds, the agent’s call came through frantically, their voice so loud it sounded as if Sheng Xu was throwing away a pie from the sky. “Mr. Sheng, think about it. Your house isn’t in a school district; once it’s sold, it’s second-hand. In a few years, it will only depreciate more and more. This year is your best chance to sell. How about this, let’s not do 500,000—drop it by 300,000 and I’ll work hard to push it for you.”

Sheng Xu’s brow furrowed, his eyes full of impatience.

“Not dropping it. I’ll live there myself.”

“But didn’t you need money urgently? It’s several million.”

“Not urgent anymore. Someone lent it to me.”

“Haha, where is there a fool willing to lend someone several million? Mr. Sheng, stop joking. Did a competitor contact you? I guarantee you, our firm’s pricing is the most fair…”

Before the agent could finish the sentence, Sheng Xu had already coldly and ruthlessly hung up the phone and blocked the number.

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and was about to walk back when he paused. He took the phone out again and said coldly to the black screen: “You’re the fool.”

After cursing, he felt like he was being a bit of an idiot too.

Returning to the training room, Sheng Xu began to study a promissory note.

He could guarantee that even when he was younger and forced by the old man at home to write self-reflections, he had never been this serious.

Sheng Xu frowned, sketching and crossing things out. He wasted several sheets of paper and changed pen colors a few times before finally finishing it and signing his grand name.

Then he tossed the scrap papers into the shredder to destroy the evidence.

In fact, if one looked closely, they would notice that although he used a gel pen and wrote in simplified characters, the writing had a bold, flowing style—a skill he had been forced to practice since childhood.

Looking at the promissory note written in one smooth go, with perfect control, Sheng Xu felt reconciled with the suffering of his childhood for the first time.

Taking this to Yu Wenzhi shouldn’t be embarrassing.

Yu Wenzhi didn’t return until evening. The pre-match activity venue was a bit far, and since he had to eat on time, Xu Rui treated him and Zechuan to a meal of steamed seafood.

During the meal, taking advantage of the lack of outsiders, Xu Rui spent a long time reminiscing about the past, using up a whole pack of Zechuan’s tissues before drying his tears.

Yu Wenzhi took the opportunity to eat four more slices of surf clam, three oysters, and two giant river prawns.

Xu Rui pointed a trembling finger, his chopsticks poking the prawn shells in front of Yu Wenzhi: “No wonder Zhang Wuji’s mother said beautiful men are the most heartless. Do you still remember that grand winter in Paris?”

Yu Wenzhi rolled his eyes at him, too lazy to care that he was misquoting the lines.

Zechuan: “I remember. We won the championship and went for a big French meal. They were competing to see who could swallow raw seafood faster, and the Captain, a guy from the coast, actually lost.”

Xu Rui: “Right. He ate very little that day and got drunk fast. He’s totally useless.”

Yu Wenzhi discarded the prawn head, braced his hands against the table to straighten up, and let out a long, satisfied sigh: “I’m full. Rui-ge pays, Zechuan let’s go.”

Seeing that Yu Wenzhi was completely unmoved and that he couldn’t get a rise out of him, Xu Rui cursed under his breath as he went to swipe his card.

As soon as the three of them entered the club’s main gate, a giant Alaskan Malamute rushed down the stairs, lunging straight toward Yu Wenzhi.

Yu Wenzhi narrowed his eyes and said “Stop” just as it was about to collide with him.

The dog, nearly as tall as a person, braked obediently and stood before him, pacing anxiously on the spot.

Only then did Yu Wenzhi reach out satisfyingly and rub its fluffy, soft fur. The big dog let out a comfortable purr.

This dog was kept by the club’s psychologist, Hao Pingping; it was grandly called a “therapy dog,” meant for players to soothe their moods when pre-match pressure was high. The formula came from foreign universities, claiming it could effectively prevent extreme behavior by students before exams but its effectiveness was Schrodinger’s, and its appetite was immeasurable.

Before Yu Wenzhi could straighten up, a manager hurried to Xu Rui’s side to report today’s emergency.

“Manager, someone posted a distorted version of what happened in the semifinal preparation room on the forums. Now they’re fighting over the reason for the loss. Didn’t Captain Yu post a Weibo this morning? They…” The manager stole a glance at Yu Wenzhi. “They’re saying Captain Yu is taking the fall for Sheng Xu. Some extreme fans have gone to raid Sheng Xu’s stream.”

There are no secrets in this world, let alone something that happened inside a tournament venue.

Xu Rui pinched the bridge of his nose and pulled, leaving two red finger marks.

“There’s surveillance inside the venue; many people in the backstage could see it. There’s no point in tracing who posted it, but the rumors must be contained!”

“Is Sheng Xu streaming?” Yu Wenzhi asked.

“Ah, aren’t we on break today? No one is training. Ware and the others went out shopping.”

It was Zechuan who took the initiative to help explain, worried that the label of “poor attitude” would be pinned on Sheng Xu again.

“Mhm.” Yu Wenzhi hummed in response, pulled out his phone, found the streaming app, and said unhurriedly, “Let’s take a look first.”

Sheng Xu’s stream was unprecedentedly popular, with the viewer count soaring to the top of its time slot.

Sheng Xu wore headphones, his chin slightly raised, his gaze focused intently on the game interface. His Diamond 1 smurf account was galloping across the Rift; a single combo took down the enemy Lucian.

Interestingly, he was playing Draven the champion Ever couldn’t bring himself to pick in the semifinals.

The buffs were fully stacked.

The streamer’s subtext is something else. Is he implying the loss was entirely Ever’s fault?

My Lord Sheng didn’t play a single game, yet you want him to take the fall? Kid, you’ve stepped into big trouble.

You lost control of your emotions in the preparation room and slammed the door. Can you explain? Internal team discord? Or were you venting because you didn’t get to play?

Lol, why should he explain to you? B-king never says a word.

I see Captain Yu’s Weibo is very cryptic, probably hard to talk about. Before the streamer came to TEA, Captain Yu never posted that kind of Weibo.

So annoying, so that’s how they lost. I feel for Captain Yu; no one can stand such a hot-tempered rookie, right?

I still support the original TEA five. They have a good relationship and synergy. The streamer sticking his nose in is really awkward.

Captain Yu is a nice person, but he has limits. The streamer should have some self-awareness; don’t really think of yourself as a young master.

Sheng Xu finished a game and saw those comments.

He pressed his middle finger down, producing a muffled crack from the knuckle. The crease on his eyelids was deep, and his eyes looked like frozen ink.

He was very agitated and angry; he felt that arguing with anti-fans was beneath him, but kicking people out felt like he couldn’t handle the heat.

As soon as Yu Wenzhi entered the stream, he saw Sheng Xu’s dark face.

Captain Yu is here!

Yu Wenzhi entered this powder keg’s stream!

Captain Yu never goes to other people’s streams. He’s here to educate Sheng Xu.

Oh ho, watch the show!

Official alerts appear when a pro player’s main account enters, so the moment Yu Wenzhi came in, everyone noticed.

Sheng Xu’s expression shifted slightly. He instinctively glanced toward the training room door, but seeing no one, he knit his brows.

Did Yu Wenzhi come because he heard about the fight in his stream?

Yu Wenzhi already didn’t like him streaming too much; now that it had sparked a dispute, would he be even more displeased?

“Educate?” Yu Wenzhi pondered the word, curled his lips, and tapped his fingers on his profile interface.

Xu Rui also pulled out his own phone and logged into Sheng Xu’s stream, sighing as he scrolled through the bullet chat: “These people just want to watch the world burn.”

“Mhm.” The typing motion stopped.

Xu Rui: “It’s hard to clarify, too. If we say there’s no discord, they definitely won’t believe it.”

“Mhm.” The recharge was complete.

Xu Rui: “Tell Sheng Xu to add another moderator…”

Before he could finish, brilliant fireworks suddenly blossomed on the phone screen. The sound of celebratory salutes echoed through the club lobby via the speakers.

Your Support gifted Streamer Sheng Xu x10 ‘Floral Splendor’! Congratulations!

Xu Rui: “…”

???

Damn damn damn, Yu Wenzhi you!

Your Support’? Holy crap, Yu Wenzhi changed his ID!

A 100,000 yuan gift. Is this Captain Yu’s ‘education’? I’m shocked.

Who else said Captain Yu can’t stand the hot-tempered rookie? This counts as a remote confession, doesn’t it?

Your Support’ is a bit too ambiguous, I say.

With a clatter, Sheng Xu knocked his water cup to the floor. Realizing his own excitement, he wiped his face in sheepish annoyance, bent down to pick up the cup, and vanished from the camera view in a flash.

Sharp-eyed fans wept with joy.

Look, the Young Master finally smiled in the stream!!!

Yu Wenzhi couldn’t help himself and soon burst into a pleasant laugh.

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