Chapter 7

Su Yi’s parents had met SNM’s manager, Tai Yi, before. Two years ago, when Xu Ruiqi decided to go pro, the esports industry was still struggling. Professional players back then had it incredibly tough, and salaries were nowhere near as outrageous as they were now.

When he was scouted by SNM, the entire family thought it sounded unreliable. So when Xu Ruiqi signed his contract, the whole family showed up in force, the atmosphere resembling a full-scale tribunal.

Tai Yi still remembered that scene clearly. Thinking back on it now was painfully, inexplicably awkward.

With that precedent in mind, Su Yi’s contract signing went remarkably smoothly. However, she first had to pass SNM’s tryout. Only after passing could she potentially become a starter, especially since the academy team’s substitute support was still in the picture.

That same evening after signing the contract, Tai Yi planned to rush back to Shanghai to process Xiao C’s departure paperwork.

Arriving and leaving the same day—being a manager was truly exhausting.

Su Yi’s family lived on the thirty-second floor. While waiting for the elevator, Tai Yi turned to her. “Su Yi, when you initially said you wanted to wait until after finals to consider this, Coach Yan and I were quite anxious.”

“Anxious?” She blinked, confused.

“You know how it was. At S6, our team got demolished by LXH in the semifinals. The entire esports community was flooded with mockery. Riki, as captain, was under enormous pressure.”

As the team’s captain, aside from managing his teammates’ day-to-day affairs, he also had to face public scrutiny and pointed questions.

Xu Ruiqi and Han Lingfeng had both joined SNM during Season 4. Since Xu Ruiqi was older, he was appointed team captain. As esports had exploded in popularity over the past two years, public attention on the competitive scene had intensified dramatically. The slightest breeze became a storm in the media.

Public opinion, scandals, criticism… it was treated like the entertainment industry.

Tai Yi continued, “After Xiao C leaves, we’ll only have Xi Gua from the academy team as support. But the biggest headache is that Xi Gua and Wind God’s playstyles are completely incompatible. They simply cannot coordinate.”

Su Yi: “………… Manager, saying all this is making me inexplicably nervous.”

By then, the elevator arrived, and Su Yi followed Tai Yi inside.

“If we can’t find the right person before the Spring Split, our S7 season will probably be a disaster.”

Pressing the button for the first floor, Tai Yi looked at her. “You’ve been playing League of Legends long enough to know that bot lane is the only duo lane in the game—unique and complicated. The synergy between a good ADC and a good support is absolutely critical.”

“Mm-hmm, I understand.”

“So for your tryout, you won’t need to practice with the academy team’s ADC. You’ll be paired directly with Wind God.”

“Mm-hmm, got it.”

Two seconds later—

“Wait??? I’m pairing directly with Wind God for the tryout?” Su Yi’s voice echoed throughout the entire elevator.

Tai Yi stared at her blankly, then nodded after a moment. “Of course. Wind God is the starter, after all.”

“…………”

“And whether you pass the tryout is largely up to him.”

“…………”

“Do you have any concerns?”

“No no no, none at all.” Su Yi waved her hands awkwardly.

Tai Yi smiled. “I heard you attended the first group stage match at S6 in person?”

Su Yi initially wanted to ask how he knew, but then remembered she’d posted photos on Weibo and had a voice call with Xu Ruiqi. She pieced the connection together in her head. “Yeah, just wanted to experience the excitement of live esports.”

“What did you think of Wind God?”

“If I say he’s really handsome, will you hit me?”

“…………..”

Just then, the elevator reached the first floor. Tai Yi stepped out and turned back to look at Su Yi. “This is far enough. Go back and pack your things. Try to come over this weekend if possible.”

Standing at the elevator doorway, still wearing that dazed expression, Su Yi nodded slowly. “Oh.”

“By the way,” Tai Yi suddenly stopped in his tracks. “You never answered me—why did you suddenly agree to go pro?”

“Hm?” Su Yi thought for a moment, then rubbed her chin and said quite earnestly, “Probably because… I genuinely love this game.”

…

After wrapping up her art courses for the first half of freshman year, without waiting for finals, Su Yi went home to start packing. Xia Qiqi tagged along. As for requesting a leave of absence from the university, that was left to her mother to handle.

Xia Qiqi lay sprawled on the bed, watching Su Yi pack her toiletries into the suitcase, and let out a melancholy sigh. She hadn’t imagined for a second that their late-night conversation would actually come true. “You’re really going to Shanghai to go pro?”

“What, did you think I was kidding?”

“Starter?”

“It’s not that easy. I still have to pass a tryout.” Just thinking about it made Su Yi feel drained.

Xia Qiqi rolled around on the bed twice, then looked up at her with an excited tone. “Hey? So if you don’t pass the tryout, you’ll still have a chance to come back and hang out with me?”

“?” Su Yi paused mid-motion, turning to look at her grinning best friend. “From your tone, it sounds like you don’t want me staying in Shanghai.”

“No way.” Xia Qiqi coughed dryly, looking a bit sheepish, then rolled over and tugged at the hem of Su Yi’s shirt. “I just don’t want you to leave, that’s all.”

Su Yi put on an expression of profound mystery. “So do you actually want me to go pro or not?”

“Being honest,” Xia Qiqi pursed her lips, “it’s fifty-fifty. Going to Shanghai is your personal desire; keeping you in Wuhan is mine. But regardless, after knowing you for so many years, I lean more toward the former.”

Su Yi beamed. “So you support me chasing my dream?”

“No, I want you to get me Wind God’s autograph.”

“…”

“After all, the relationship between an ADC and a support is impossibly entangled. I believe in you.”

“…”

“If you can’t pull it off with charm, just use your looks. Go get ’em, internet addict!” She shot Su Yi a thumbs-up.

Su Yi’s mouth twitched. Finally, she tossed the clothes in her hands onto Xia Qiqi’s head. “Friendship over!”

…

The “friendship over” thing obviously wasn’t serious. When Xia Qiqi saw Su Yi off at the airport, she cried dramatically the entire time, shouting for Su Yi to work hard. If she really became a starter, Xia Qiqi absolutely had to attend the 2017 Spring Split in person! Even if it meant failing her exams.

Su Yi was genuinely touched. Sitting in the airport’s waiting lounge, her heart was a mess of nerves—Xu Ruiqi still didn’t know she was going pro, right? How would she surprise him? Were the guys on the team easy to get along with? Most importantly, could she actually pass the tryout? She was so nervous.

But agonizing over all this now was completely pointless.

Because three hours later, she was still stuck in Wuhan.

Su Yi was busy playing mobile games to kill time when Xia Qiqi sent her a WeChat message: [Principal Qi: So? Are you in Shanghai yet?]

[SUEE: Don’t even mention it. I’m still in Wuhan! The flight’s delayed.]

The other girl replied without a shred of sympathy: [Principal Qi: HAHAHAHA, even the heavens want you to stay in Wuhan with me.]

Su Yi: “…”

The flight from Wuhan to Shanghai took about two hours. Due to the delay, Su Yi didn’t arrive in Shanghai until the early hours of the morning. The reception lady from SNM, worried she’d be hungry, took her out for a late-night snack. By the time they returned to the team base, it was already past two in the morning.

When Tai Yi took over from the reception lady, Su Yi noticed that only the entryway lights were on in the entire first-floor villa. Everything was silent. The only signs of life were the several computers in the living area and the SNM team logo on the wall, confirming that this was indeed SNM’s base.

Sensing her unspoken question, Tai Yi explained, “They’re all asleep. I only told them the new support would be arriving these past few days. Didn’t mention it’s a girl.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll carry your luggage up to the second floor.”

Su Yi nodded. “Thank you, Manager.”

“Right, there’s something I forgot to tell you.” Tai Yi stopped walking. “Xiao C has already left for Korea. We’re planning to put you in his room. All the toiletries, bed sheets, and covers have been purchased, but I’ve been busy with other things these past few days and haven’t had a chance to set it up.”

Su Yi waved her hand. “It’s fine, I’ll handle it myself…”

“Are you sure? His room is really messy.”

“Really, I’ll do it myself.”

“You’re certain?”

“I’m certain.”

It wasn’t until Su Yi followed Tai Yi up to the second floor that she realized the so-called “mess”… was truly beyond words. Had World War III happened in here? Was this really how internet-addicted boys lived day to day…?

“You really want to handle this yourself?”

“Can I take that back…”

Tai Yi gave her an apologetic look and turned on the lights in the adjacent room. “Why don’t you just rest next door tonight?”

“Next door?” Su Yi stepped out and peeked into the neighboring room.

It was immaculate. Everything was neatly arranged, books stacked precisely on the desk—you’d never guess this was a gamer’s room.

Whose room was this?

“This is Wind God’s room.”

“…………” *Holy crap?*

“He went back to his hometown for his sister’s wedding. He won’t be back until tomorrow afternoon. Why not sleep in his bed for tonight?”

“………… Do I have any other options?”

“Yes. You sleep in my room, and I’ll take the sofa.” He pointed toward the long couch downstairs.

As a complete esports newbie, making the manager sleep on the sofa felt terribly inconsiderate!

However,

Su Yi asked Tai Yi carefully, “Then why can’t I sleep in your room and you sleep in Wind God’s room?”

“Is that any different from option one?”

“…………” It really wasn’t different at all. “Then you sleep in your own room and I’ll take the sofa?”

Tai Yi visibly shuddered at her suggestion. “Setting aside the fact that you’re a girl sleeping on a sofa—if I actually did that, those guys would cremate me alive the next morning.”

“Sorry.”

Tai Yi yawned, clearly exhausted, completely oblivious to the awkwardness on Su Yi’s face. “Get some rest early. Deal with your luggage tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

After Tai Yi retreated to his room, Su Yi stood in Han Lingfeng’s room, utterly flustered.

So, before she’d even met Han Lingfeng face to face, she was already climbing into his bed?

The moment that thought crossed her mind, her face turned scarlet. No no no—considering this bed counted as Han Lingfeng’s personal, intimate item, commandeering it like this felt wrong. So she stripped off all of Han Lingfeng’s bedding and stuffed it into the closet. Then she hauled over the sheets and covers Tai Yi had prepared for her, fiddling around for quite a while before finally finishing.

The moment her head hit the pillow, Su Yi fell into a deep sleep. As for not having showered yet… she’d deal with that in the morning.