Desire to Lure [Esports] - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

There were only two days left until the MSI (Mid-Season Invitational), which was also the final deadline for player registration. Xu Rui, Coach Zou Kai, and Yu Wenzhi sat in the General Manager’s office.

Xu Rui’s gaze traveled between the two faces as his finger rhythmically traced circles on his left mouse button. The office was uncharacteristically quiet.

After a moment, Xu Rui finally couldn’t help but ask, “Say something. Are we registering him or not?”

Zou Kai spoke up, his expression exceptionally grave. “No.”

Yu Wenzhi didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Haven’t you always wanted him to play?”

Xu Rui sighed. “Of course I want him to play, but after all this drama, he hasn’t even had time to practice with the team.”

Xu Rui felt frustrated too. The timing of signing Sheng Xu had been perfect; if Sheng Xu had joined training smoothly, they could have fielded the whole team now to test the waters. But because Ever had stirred up trouble, the original plan was derailed. Now, Sheng Xu lacked sufficient chemistry with the first-team members.

“Don’t lose the big picture for a small gain. MSI is important. This isn’t the time to ‘train’ new soldiers. If we register Sheng Xu and mess up Ever’s mental state, the loss will outweigh the gain.”

Zou Kai was a veteran coach at TEA, having been there since the days of Choi Kyung-sung. Even Yu Wenzhi treated him with a high degree of respect. Zou Kai was a serious man who didn’t joke around; his coaching style was defined by seeking stability. His opposition to Sheng Xu playing was expected.

Xu Rui sighed again.

“Actually, even if we register Sheng Xu, Ever would definitely remain the primary starter at this stage.” Xu Rui firmly added a prerequisite. “I’m just thinking… what if?”

Zou Kai’s brow furrowed deeply. “Could Ever not play back when we didn’t have Sheng Xu?”

In truth, he had been against signing Sheng Xu from the start. In his eyes, Sheng Xu’s personal style was too strong; he didn’t fit in at DTG, so naturally, he wouldn’t fit in at TEA. The esports world is a small circle, and everyone hears things. The feedback from DTG was that once Sheng Xu’s emotions flared up, he wouldn’t even listen to the coach he was a total loose cannon who played however he wanted.

It seemed there wasn’t a single person in this world he feared or respected.

Zou Kai’s stern refusal made Xu Rui waver a bit. “Then… then…”

“Register him.” Yu Wenzhi finally spoke after listening for a long while. He seemed to have considered it deeply; his tone was light yet certain.

This was the first time he had openly disagreed with Zou Kai.

The two men turned to look at him.

Yu Wenzhi continued, “There are twelve teams at MSI. The only ones we truly need to be wary of are V6 from the European region and QZ from the Korean region. There are more than ten days from the group stages to the semifinals. During this time, we can schedule more scrims. If Sheng Xu is in good form, he can play.”

Zou Kai countered, “Scrims are limited. If Sheng Xu plays, Ever won’t get practice. The other players also have to adapt to two completely different styles.”

Though he didn’t explicitly disrespect Yu Wenzhi, listing the pros and cons was still a form of opposition.

“At least we’ll have a comparison. The current situation is that by blindly seeking stability, our chances of beating QZ aren’t high. The bot lane duo of Choi Kyung-sung and Lika is becoming more perfect by the day,” Yu Wenzhi stated the facts.

Zou Kai asked, “But isn’t it too reckless to pin our hopes on an uncontrollable time bomb, Captain Yu?”

Yu Wenzhi smiled. “He’s not that uncontrollable.”

He looks fierce, but his heart is actually quite simple.

Zou Kai persisted. “The conflict between Ever and Sheng Xu is still there. That surveillance footage… if Sheng Xu can’t step up when the time comes and Ever’s mental state is unstable, who will take responsibility for the consequences?”

After the physical altercation, management had planned to punish Sheng Xu severely because the facts were clear: Ever was injured. Only Yu Wenzhi had insisted on reviewing the surveillance footage. After watching it, everyone fell silent. It was obvious that Ever had deliberately provoked Sheng Xu into losing control; initially, Sheng Xu hadn’t intended to pay him any mind.

One person committed the assault, but the other was calculating.

Management, including Yu Wenzhi, decided to suppress the footage. If it leaked, Ever would be exposed as a petty person who bullied newcomers. But the problem remained: with the footage hidden, the other first-team members saw Sheng Xu as a “mad dog” who started fights over nothing. He was impossible to get along with.

That was why Yu Wenzhi had come up with that “decisive” match. Later, in the small room, when he told Sheng Xu “You’ve been wronged,” it was because he had weighed the interests of the team and decided the footage could not be made public.

Mentioning the surveillance made Xu Rui lose his nerve. “What you say is…”

“I will take responsibility.”

Zou Kai looked at Yu Wenzhi in shock. “Captain Yu?”

Yu Wenzhi’s lips curled into a gentle smile, his gaze warm. “I will handle the conflict between Sheng Xu and Ever. If the match results are affected because of this, I will apologize to the management and the fans.”

Xu Rui stood up, trying to stop him. “Why go that far?”

Xu Rui was part of management, but he started as a player. He viewed Yu Wenzhi and the others as friends. However, not everyone in management loved esports; results and profits were what most of them valued. By taking this responsibility, if something went wrong, even a cornerstone of the team like Yu Wenzhi would face punishment.

Yu Wenzhi’s expression didn’t change. He said calmly, “It’s fine. Register him.”

He simply felt that Sheng Xu probably really wanted to participate.

Xu Rui finally hit the confirm button. The registration was successful, and Sheng Xu’s name appeared in the TEA roster.

Xu Rui said meaningfully, “Wenzhi, you seem very invested in Sheng Xu.”

Yu Wenzhi tilted his head slightly, an innocent smile playing on his face. “Am I?”

Xu Rui nodded vigorously, pulling a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and cracking one open.

On the other side, upon learning that Sheng Xu was on the MSI roster, Ever smashed his dormitory’s thermos.

Porcelain shards scattered across the floor, and debris bounced onto the carpet. Ware stood on his tiptoes, carefully avoiding the shards, and tried to persuade him gently. “Brother, don’t be like this.”

Ever snapped his head up, the muscles in his face twitching uncontrollably. “Don’t be like what? What the hell did I do? Am I just supposed to sit here quietly while they kick me out to make room for Sheng Xu?”

Ware, not being good with words, scratched his head. “No, isn’t Sheng Xu just registered as a sub?”

Ever’s expression twisted, his words becoming sharp and sarcastic. “A sub? Does it look like Yu Wenzhi is treating him like a sub? One-on-one match reviews—which of us has ever had that honor? I think he really sees Sheng Xu as a substitute for Choi Kyung-sung. He just can’t bear to be away from his ‘ex-husband’…”

“Zhang You!” Ware’s face darkened instantly, dropping the respectful “Brother.”

Everyone in TEA respected Yu Wenzhi immensely, and Ware was no exception. He had come to TEA specifically because of Yu Wenzhi. While fans loved to jokingly call Choi Kyung-sung “Yu Wenzhi’s ex-husband” because their legendary bot lane synergy was unprecedented, Ever’s use of the term was clearly a mockery.

Ever gave two cold laughs, his tone dripping with vitriol. “Oh, he’s a god now? Mere mortals aren’t even allowed to mention him? Since when did a powerhouse team become one man’s dictatorship?”

Ware suppressed his temper, turned to the door, and left behind one sentence: “I’m not talking to you anymore. Calm yourself down.”

Ever kicked a shard of porcelain across the floor. “Calm down my ass!”

However, once he reached the Manager’s office, Ever put on a different face.

He shuffled in, scratching his head with a dull, awkward expression. “Brother Rui, I wanted to ask about something.”

Xu Rui had known he would come. He swept the melon seed shells from his desk into the trash. “Go ahead.”

Ever swallowed hard. “Doesn’t Sheng Xu’s contract start from the Summer Split? Why is his name on the MSI list?”

Xu Rui paused, then smiled. “Ah, that. The sub slot was empty anyway, so we just threw his name on there. You’re still the starter, don’t overthink it.”

Ever was silent for a moment, then gave a simple, honest-looking smile. He said casually, “True. Since we signed him anyway, might as well use him, haha. He’s been duo-queuing quite well with the Captain these past two days.”

Xu Rui gave him a meaningful look. “I filled that in myself. I didn’t even discuss it with your Captain. I figured Wenzhi is tired enough every day; he’s always trying his best to protect all of you.”

Ever’s hands were behind his back, his fists clenched so hard they were shaking, but his face remained sincere. “The Captain has it hard.”

As he walked out of Xu Rui’s office, Ever’s gaze instantly turned predatory. He looked out the hallway window at the sky; it was already 11:00 PM.

On the small third-floor terrace, Sheng Xu lightly flicked his cigarette ash and checked his phone.

Two messages.

The first was from the DTG Club Finance Department:

Sheng Xu, hello. Your total transfer penalty is 30 million. 4 million is still outstanding. Please settle this as soon as possible, otherwise, the company will initiate legal proceedings.

The other was from a real estate agent:

Mr. Sheng, can we drop the price by another 500,000? It’s really hard to sell quickly if you’re in such a rush to offload it.

Sheng Xu pocketed his phone, crushed his cigarette, and turned back to the practice room.

With MSI approaching, the practice room was brightly lit. The sound of keyboards clacking was incessant as everyone fought their way through Challenger-rank games.

Sheng Xu put on his headset. He was about to open the training software to practice skill dodging when his mouse paused. Those two text messages flashed through his mind.

He closed his eyes, moved his mouse, and opened the livestreaming software.

“I’ll stream for two hours.”

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