Chapter 63: The offline stage of the challenge has a packed schedule...

The offline stage of the challenge was packed with matches, with multiple games taking place on the same day. Zhao Zhinian's hosting duties were not complicated: she would give a brief introduction at the beginning, and after all the matches of the day were over, she would conduct an MVP interview with the player selected by the competition organizers as having the "best data".

As soon as the "Daily MVP Selection Rules" were announced, proud and arrogant Excellent Era fans flooded the official Weibo account with comments: "As long as Excellent Era has a match, we'll take over this interview."

Soon, some haters who disliked Excellent Era came out to mock them: "May Excellent Era play Challenger League for the rest of their lives and be able to do interviews every day."

What started as a verbal sparring match between fans escalated unexpectedly when Sun Xiang, known for his straightforward and fiery temper, personally joined in, retweeting the event's Weibo post and tagging Zhao Zhinian, saying, "@Zhao Zhinian, wait for my interview tomorrow."

The atmosphere instantly became tense, with anti-fans launching a coordinated attack, while Excellent Era fans naturally stepped in to protect their idol.

This was the first time Zhao Zhinian had met such a "straightforward" contestant. Looking at that glaring @ tag, she didn't know whether to reply or not.

As expected, Team Excellent Era easily won the first day's competition with a score of 10-0, and the MVP was awarded to Sun Xiang without any suspense.

Upon receiving the post-match interview notification, Sun Xiang didn't hesitate and casually posted a Weibo message: "@Zhao Zhinian, come interview me early tomorrow, so we don't have to wait for them since we played so fast."

His arrogance almost overflowed the screen.

Besides marveling at Sun Xiang's flamboyance, netizens who watched the whole thing felt sorry for the host, saying that this job must be really tough.

After all, Sun Xiang pioneered a "new style" in the interviewing world: he talks a lot, but he never puts his heart into it, often saying whatever comes to mind, mentioning whatever comes to mind, and even suddenly throwing questions back at Zhao Zhinian: "Which team do you think is stronger, Excellent Era or Happy?"

After Zhao Zhinian responded with a smile and impeccable manner, he actually exposed her on the spot: "Stop pretending. I know you secretly support Happy. I've seen you hanging out with them in private."

Zhao Zhinian maintained a professional smile, but inwardly she was clenching her teeth.

If it weren't for the professional ethics required for this job, she would have shouted at the top of her lungs: "Yes! I support Happy! I'd love for Happy to win! I'd prefer Excellent Era to lose tomorrow! That way I won't have to interview you anymore!"

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Excellent Era swept through the Challenger Series, achieving almost complete 10-0 victories against their opponents. Sun Xiang's stats were dazzling, bordering on arrogant, as he practically swept the MVP award on every single match day.

His interviews became increasingly unrestrained. Even though Team Excellent Era arranged for Xiao Shiqin to accompany him personally and prepare appropriate answers for him in advance, fearing he might make arrogant remarks, they still couldn't shut him up.

The organizers of the challenge event were happy to see it happen.

They set up this MVP interview segment with the intention of riding on the coattails of Excellent Era's popularity. The more arrogant and outrageous Sun Xiang is, the higher the buzz will be. For the Challenger Series, this is practically free publicity, something they couldn't be happier with.

As for Sun Xiang being criticized for this? Apart from the fact that the boss and manager of Excellent Era were extremely worried and the host Zhao Zhinian was suffering, Sun Xiang himself didn't care at all, and the audience was quite happy to watch it.

Until one day, the MVP of the day finally fell to Su Mucheng.

Watching Su Mucheng cooperate so well in front of the camera, answering politely, with a gentle smile in her eyes, she is simply a perfect woman who combines beauty and politeness!

Zhao Zhinian felt that even breathing became easier: compared to the events of the previous two days, this was not an interview, but clearly seeing an angel!

Besides her main job as an event host, Zhao Zhinian wasn't idle in her spare time. She secretly contacted Chen Guo and Ye Xiu, hoping to get an opportunity to invite Ye Xiu to her vlog program.

After all, they just went through the name change controversy from "Ye Qiu" to "Ye Xiu," and Team Happy is on a roll in the Challenger League. Ye Xiu, the legendary player, doesn't usually give interviews, so if they could invite him to a TV interview now, it would definitely generate a lot of buzz.

Unexpectedly, Ye Xiu just chuckled and replied, "Little Zhao, no need to rush. Wouldn't it be more interesting and generate more buzz if we, Happy, won't we win the championship first?"

Although Zhao Zhinian never doubted the skill of the master, Yao was never a game for one person.

Emotionally, she naturally hoped that Happy would win, but with Excellent Era standing in her way, she couldn't help but mutter to herself: Could it be that the master didn't want to do an interview and just made me a pie in the sky...? Can this empty promise really be fulfilled?

Fortunately, Chen Guo smoothed things over in time. While criticizing Ye Xiu for being "unreliable" and "boring," she took the initiative to suggest that after the group stage ended, there would be a break period, and Zhao Zhinian could interview the other players on the team first.

Zhao Zhinian immediately decided on Tang Rou, whom she was relatively familiar with and had a good relationship with. After all, such a beautiful contestant with both strength and looks would generate a lot of buzz.

Moreover, Tang Rou has recently attracted a lot of attention, and there are already rumors circulating in the industry that many teams believe that Happy is unlikely to get past Excellent Era and are already secretly preparing to compete for Tang Rou, this "good seed".

With the group stage over, a ten-day break has begun. Team Happy and Team Excellent Era both advanced to the next round without any surprises, and Zhao Zhinian finally got to interview Tang Rou.

The interview was arranged in Tang Rou's hotel room. In addition to Tang Rou herself, Xingxin's boss Chen Guo was also present, and Zhao Zhinian naturally welcomed them.

Zhao Zhinian brought several kinds of drinks and fruits with her. While mixing different flavored fruit drinks, she naturally started chatting with her friends: they talked about their interests, the past, the opportunity that led Tang Rou to enter Glory, the interesting things that happened in the tenth server, and how the Happy team was gradually built up...

After the video clip was released, the comment section quickly became lively.

Some people remarked that "three beauties in one frame is a feast for the eyes," while some veteran players from the tenth server recalled the days when they were dominated by "Lord Grim," and some fans of Happy were moved by the hardships Happy had gone through.

Amidst the harmony, Sun Xiang's comment suddenly popped up again: "@Zhao Zhinian, you've interviewed me so many times, we must be closer, right? Why don't you invite me to your show? I thought our relationship had improved!"

Before Zhao Zhinian could figure out how to reply, an unexpected account suddenly appeared below Sun Xiang's comment.

Zhou Zekai: "?"

Having been frequently "tortured" by Sun Xiang's interviews lately, Zhao Zhinian was already somewhat annoyed. Upon seeing this simple "?", the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.

She decided to bypass Sun Xiang and reply directly to Zhou Zekai: "Congratulations on winning the competition~" Then she naturally switched to private chat and called Zhou Zekai.

Both have been busy lately; she's been busy with the Challenger Tournament schedule, while Zhou Zekai is fully preparing for the upcoming playoffs. Samsara is currently second in the standings, while Tyranny is gaining momentum, and both teams are increasing their training intensity in pursuit of the championship.

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Zekai's voice came through, carrying a familiar quietness and gentleness, which gradually relaxed her tense nerves.

In the comments section, Sun Xiang clearly didn't understand. He assumed Zhao Zhinian's congratulations were directed at him and replied nonchalantly, "I was talking about appearing on the show. Do I need your congratulations for a competition of this caliber?"

Netizens finally couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't help but remind him: "Brother Xiang, he replied to Captain Zhou, he didn't even acknowledge you... What are you jumping around for?"

One sentence reignited the flames of war, and Sun Xiang immediately engaged in a heated online debate with netizens.

By the time Zhao Zhinian returned after making the call, the comments section was already buzzing with activity. Sun Xiang, like a child, tagged her several times, insisting on a reply.

She sighed softly. She and Sun Xiang... weren't exactly close, were they? Perhaps he was just a bit of a "brat" at heart, always wanting a clear answer and never accepting being at a disadvantage.

Out of professional courtesy, she politely replied, "I will definitely invite you when I have the chance."

The use of the character "您" (you) in this context, combined with Sun Xiang's unruly and arrogant demeanor, makes the whole situation seem particularly comical and sarcastic.

The break period passed quickly, and the challenge resumed.

In the quarterfinals, both Happy and Excellent Era advanced; in the subsequent semifinals, Excellent Era once again crushed their opponents with overwhelming force, while on the other side, the match between Happy and Jade Dynasty remained close.

Except for Su Mucheng, the entire Excellent Era team exuded an almost arrogant composure, as if to say: It doesn't matter who wins, the final victory has already been decided.

Sun Xiang once again accomplished the feat of taking on five opponents at once. The match had just ended, and the interview session was not yet ready, but he had already taken the initiative to stand on the interview platform, giving Zhao Zhinian a rather smug look, the meaning of which was crystal clear: "Who else could be the MVP but me? Hurry up and interview me."

During this period, Sun Xiang not only engaged in heated online arguments with his less-than-sophisticated trash talk on Weibo, but also frequently tagged Zhao Zhinian, insisting that she, as a "third-party eyewitness at the scene," prove how strong Excellent Era, especially Excellent Era itself, was.

After a while, he noticed that people were always tagging Zhou Zekai in the comments section. Later, after Xiao Shiqin's "initially subtle, but later outright" guidance, he finally realized the relationship between the two.

So when Zhao Zhinian asked, as per procedure, "Is there anything you want to say to your fans?" Sun Xiang took the microphone and thought for a moment: "I have nothing to say to my fans. We're sure to win this kind of competition." He paused, stared directly at Zhao Zhinian, and posed the question that stunned everyone present: "But I have something to ask you: Who do you think is better, me or Zhou Zekai?"

In that instant, Zhao Zhinian clearly realized that she was not there for an interview.

They've come to undergo tribulation!

She controlled her expression and skillfully delivered a flawless speech. As soon as the interview ended, Zhao Zhinian couldn't help but complain to Sun Xiang in a low voice, "Brother, could you please not ask questions unrelated to the competition during future interviews?"

Sun Xiang's ability to grasp the key points is still impressive: "Huh? Am I older than you? Then you can call me Brother Xiang."

Zhao Zhinian really wanted to roll her eyes on the spot, but she lowered her voice and retorted, "No, I'm older than you."

"Oh, then I'll call you Sister Nian." Sun Xiang had a "what's the big deal?" expression. Zhao Zhinian suddenly really wanted to perform breaking a boulder on her chest right there on the spot.

Although she politely offered water on stage, seeing Sun Xiang's arrogant and troublesome demeanor from below the stage stirred up Zhao Zhinian's childish pride. She paused, then suddenly turned and tossed out, "Zhou Zekai is much more capable than you!"

Of course, that's exactly what she thought. She even felt that, in terms of the cooperation of the interviewees, Zhou Zekai, even if he didn't say much, was a hundred times better than this babbling idiot.

Sun Xiang, as expected, immediately glared at him angrily: "You wait! Once we win the Challenger Series, Excellent Era will definitely beat Samsara next season, and I will definitely beat Zhou Zekai! Then we'll show you who's stronger!"

This temper of hers shows she still has the mind of a child.

"Oh, good luck, kid." Zhao Zhinian was too lazy to argue and turned to walk backstage.

Sun Xiang persisted, asking, "By the way! When are you going to let me on your show?"

As Zhao Zhinian walked briskly forward, she explained, "I have booked an interview with Ye Xiu, the captain of Happy, for the next episode. He said that if Happy wins the Challenger League, he will accept my invitation."

"Then forget about him! Happy can't beat us! Captain Excellent Era is the better choice!" Sun Xiang immediately chimed in, his tone resolute: "You wait to interview me. I also want to drink that fruit tea you made!"

Zhao Zhinian silently replied to herself, "Who cares about you?" and quickened her pace.

This kid really thinks the whole world revolves around him; he's so silly.

Someone is so incredibly foolish... it's almost enviable.

On the day of the challenge finals, the atmosphere was electric. Zhao Zhinian, dressed in a little black dress, stood at the front of the stage and, with the help of a dazzling holographic projection, introduced the contestants and their characters one by one.

When it was Sun Xiang's turn, he once again made a bold statement, declaring that he would "take five kills." Zhao Zhinian maintained a professional smile on her face, but inwardly she couldn't help but feel ashamed. She had glanced at the starting lineups submitted by both teams for the arena match earlier, and Sun Xiang wasn't the first one. Where was she going to get five kills?

This guy... has he also learned to use strategies to disrupt his opponents?

Rather than that possibility, Zhao Zhinian prefers to believe that the manager of Excellent Era simply didn't tell him the final arrangements.

I wonder if he'll feel awkward knowing what's going on. Given his personality, probably not.

Meanwhile, three Tiny Herb players quietly sat in the audience: Xu Bin, Liu Xiaobie, and Gao Yingjie. Before the match, Gao Yingjie had even sent a message, softly saying, "Zhinian-jie, we've come to watch the match! We wish you a successful hosting experience!"

Polite and thoughtful.

Looking at her phone, Zhao Zhinian couldn't help but sigh for the umpteenth time: They're both younger brothers, but Yingjie is still quite a bit younger. How come one looks like a spirit pearl and the other like a demon pill? Yingjie is simply a little angel, while Sun Xiang... well, he's probably more like a reckless husky.

Although the entire Yi Zhan team was unable to attend due to their crucial relegation battle, they had already sent their blessings and support to Happy through Zhao Zhinian. Upon learning this, Ye Xiu jokingly teased his slightly nervous teammates, "Even the host is one of our own, how can Happy possibly lose?" It was a joke, but also a subtle reassurance.

Zhao Zhinian looked towards Xingxin's preparation area, the lights outlining the young yet determined silhouettes of the players. She took a soft breath and gripped the microphone tightly.

The final match has officially begun.

"Yes... Glory is not a game for one person..." Sun Xiang left these words and then quit the battle.

Happy won.

This result left Zhao Zhinian stunned for a long time. Although she had always emotionally supported Happy, rationally everyone knew that Excellent Era was stronger on paper. However, a miracle happened tonight.

What will become of Excellent Era? No one knows.

But Zhao Zhinian had a nagging feeling that this defeat might not be such a bad thing for Sun Xiang. He had the right to be arrogant, exceptional talent, and had emerged from a weak team to easily defeat the account of the legendary player, One Autumn Leaf. As captain of the once-powerful Team Excellent Era, even though Excellent Era had fallen out of the Challenger League, their roster still made people feel that the future was promising... All of this made people forget that failure is the main theme of professional leagues.

Before the post-match interviews began, Zhao Zhinian quietly approached Ye Xiu and whispered, "Do you need me to guide the conversation during the interviews and clarify the mudslinging that Excellent Era has been throwing around lately?"

Ye Xiu simply smiled, his expression calm and unreadable: "No need. You're the host, just ask the questions in the way that will attract the most attention. Traffic and buzz are more important than clarifying things for the interviewees. Xiao Zhao, don't let your emotions get the better of you." He paused, a hint of teasing creeping into his tone: "When you interviewed Samsara, were you also thinking this much about Xiao Zhou?"

Sun Zheping, who was standing to the side, was taken aback: "Reincarnation? Little Zhou?" He obviously didn't understand how the topic had turned to this.

Ye Xiu patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Old Sun, you should pay a little attention to the younger generation's love lives. You're almost out of touch with us. Even if you don't care about the younger generation, Xiao Zhao is still your colleague from Yi Zhan. You should at least know a little about him."

Sun Zheping looked bewildered, but Wei Chen eventually came over and explained the "cause and effect" to him in a few words.

Distracted by this, Zhao Zhinian finally understood Ye Xiu's meaning: he didn't care about Excellent Era's underhanded actions at all. Winning this match was the most powerful response in itself. And deep down, he probably harbored a sense of melancholy about Excellent Era's current situation, a melancholy that was hard for others to perceive.

She gripped the microphone tightly and turned to walk towards the brightly lit interview area.

The story tonight is not over yet, but the focus of public opinion has quietly shifted, and Happy has written a new chapter in history.

After successfully securing their place in the league, Yi Zhan held a celebration party to both congratulate themselves on staying in the league and to congratulate Happy on winning the Challenger Series championship.

Before the celebration began, Zhao Zhinian found Ye Xiu in the rest area and conducted a brief interview.

Knowing that this celebrity rarely gave serious interviews and often spoke with a sarcastic tone, she simply focused on the "retrospective": she didn't ask about his future, since the future is written by the person involved, and as an observer, she only talked about the past.

She prepared for this for a long time: she learned a lot about the early events and records from Chen Guo and Tang Rou; she reconstructed the years when Lord Grim emerged by borrowing the "blood and tears" of Lone Drinker in the Tenth District; and she pieced together the trajectory of Happy's establishment and growth by using the memories of the Righteous Warriors in the God's Domain. Combined with the fragmented discussions and screenshots on the Internet, she actually managed to sort out about 70-80% of the road from the Internet cafe team to the championship.

This retrospective video, after being repeatedly edited and polished by her and her team, was first sent to Chen Guo. Chen Guo was very moved after watching it and readily agreed that once Zhao Zhinian's program "Nian Nian You Ci" was released, Xingxin's official Weibo account would repost it immediately and release the video at the same time.

At the start of the interview, Zhao Zhinian only asked a few simple questions before turning the tablet towards Ye Xiu: "Master, shall we take a look at this together?"

During the video playback, Ye Xiu mostly just smiled and nodded, occasionally adding a detail or two from the time. Only when the video came on, with the leaders of various guilds taking turns accusing him, did he blink and say sincerely, "Am I that awful? I really don't remember these things very clearly."

Zhao Zhinian couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Great God, I don't believe your memory is that bad."

Ye Xiu raised the corners of his mouth, not denying it, but instead changing the subject slightly: "Yes, my memory is excellent. I still remember the first time I saw you in the God's Domain. I thought Samsara had secretly hidden a master, but it turned out someone was fighting for you..."

"Stop!" Zhao Zhinian interrupted quickly, her ears burning slightly.

Ye Xiu clicked his tongue: "You didn't name anyone, so why can't you mention it now?" He leaned back, relaxing his posture: "Fine, I won't mention it then. Anyway, this video is going to be edited. If you're not satisfied, cut it out and I'll record a new version for you."

Zhao Zhinian nodded, then put on a serious face and said, "This is working time, and I'm the one interviewing you. I thought only Comrade Sun Xiang would do something like this, turning the tables and asking questions about things unrelated to his personal life."

Zhao Zhinian naturally wouldn't leave a single word of the clips in the video that might involve Zhou Zekai.

The Glory regular season has just ended, and the playoffs are just around the corner. Zhou Zekai has been replying to messages very briefly lately; she knows he's fully focused on preparing for the season, and there's really not much she can do at this point.

She couldn't be of much help.

So at the very least, I must not become a burden to him.

So these past few days, she has deliberately curbed all public interactions. She doesn't comment, doesn't mention topics, and even when she occasionally sees posts related to him, she just scrolls past them quietly.

Those unspoken concerns and protections quietly melted into this conscious silence. She was unwilling, and absolutely could not, allow herself to become a potential weapon of public opinion that could pierce him, allowing people to use her as a raft to question his efforts.

As the playoffs began, although Yizhan had already gone on vacation and the team disbanded on the spot, Tiny Herb still stood on the battlefield of the playoffs, ranking fourth and fifth with their old rival Blue Rain respectively. It can be said that they were old enemies who met on a narrow road.

With the coordination of Tiny Herb's manager and the league, Zhao Zhinian will serve as the on-site host whenever Tiny Herb plays. Unlike the regular season, the playoffs only include fan interaction sessions in key matches that determine advancement or elimination; otherwise, her task mainly focuses on brief post-match interviews.

Perhaps out of a bit of personal motive, despite the requirement for her to remain neutral as a host, Zhao Zhinian still subtly hinted at her choice of attire. She prepared several different styles of green dresses, wearing them in rotation. The color wasn't eye-catching, but it subtly conveyed her stance; after all, she was Tiny Herb's resident host, and she only had this opportunity because of Tiny Herb.

Sure enough, some sharp-eyed fans noticed the pattern and joked in the comments section: "When Sister hosts Yi Zhan, she wears a suit, but when she hosts Tiny Herb, she wears a green dress. What will you wear when Tiny Herb plays against Yi Zhan next season?"

Zhao Zhinian replied: "Green suit."

As for the comments urging her to "host the revolving game in a wedding dress," she pretended not to see them. The playoffs are a crucial time, and she must carefully avoid any actions that might trigger such associations.

When Tiny Herb played Blue Rain away, Zhao Zhinian flew to Guangzhou with the team to serve as the host.

During the pre-match waiting period, the two captains met and the familiar trash-talking session automatically began. After a few rounds of back-and-forth, the battle somehow spilled over to the host.

Yuan Baiqing was the first to defend his own, his tone tinged with a hint of smugness: "Of course, the host is from Tiny Herb, and Chinen is wearing green today! You Blue Rain and Chinen are naturally not on the same side!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Wenzhou turned his gentle gaze to Zhao Zhinian. Seeing that she had been standing in high heels for a long time, he said considerately, "Miss Zhao, you must be tired from traveling with the team. Lan Yu will try its best to win the competition so that you can get some rest sooner."

Zhao Zhinian was taken aback, and subconsciously explained weakly, "Um...actually, I still want to continue working...Good luck to both teams! Don't worry about me!"

Yu Wenzhou smiled, his words laced with a hint of teasing: "I thought Miss Zhao would be more eager to finish her work here so she could have a chance to watch Samsara's matches."

Wang Jiexi calmly chimed in, "Captain Yu, you're overthinking it. Tiny Herb will make it to the finals, and we hope the other half of the bracket goes smoothly so Chinen won't have to worry about it. Captain Yu is so considerate, he'll definitely grant Chinen's wish, right?"

Zhao Zhinian could only maintain a smile. You experts are trash-talking each other, can you please not drag me, an innocent working person, into this?

Tiny Herb and Blue Rain fought three fierce battles, with Tiny Herb ultimately emerging victorious in a thrilling victory.

With this, the four teams that will advance to the playoffs have been determined: Tyranny, Samsara, Howling, and Tiny Herb.

In the first round of the semifinals, Tiny Herb played against Tyranny at home and won a hard-fought victory.

On the other side, Samsara swept Hurricane away from home.

Although the final teams are not yet fully determined, Zhao Zhinian has a faint sense of anticipation: perhaps she really will have the opportunity to stand on the final stage with Zhou Zekai.

My phone vibrated. Zhou Zekai's message was brief and as usual: "See you in the finals."

Zhao Zhinian is confident in Samsara, but Tyranny is really strong this season. Tiny Herb, which is in the same half of the bracket as Tyranny, still has a difficult road ahead.

She thought for a moment and replied frankly, "I would love to see them in the finals, but I can't make that decision myself; it depends on Tiny Herb."

She hosted this time at the invitation of Tiny Herb, not as an official league appointee; her role is tied to Tiny Herb. She definitely needs to work hard next season to earn the qualification to be an official league host.

Zhou Zekai quickly grasped the key point: "If Tiny Herb loses, you won't watch the final?"

“Of course I’ll watch,” Zhao Zhinian replied.

See you in the finals.

“Okay. If Tiny Herb wins, we’ll see each other on the court. If Tiny Herb loses…” Thinking about the difficulty of getting tickets for the finals, she paused and typed, “You have to remember to save me a ticket.”

“Okay.” Zhou Zekai replied quickly: “I’ll buy you a plane ticket.”

At this point in the conversation, the two tacitly avoided mentioning the other possibility, as if the victory of reincarnation was never a suspenseful question that needed to be discussed.

Ultimately, Tiny Herb was unable to overcome Tyranny's challenge.

The finals of this season will be between Samsara and Tyranny.

Many fans of the couple sighed in the super topic, complaining that Tiny Herb was "disappointing." According to the previous arrangement, if Tiny Herb had advanced, Zhao Zhinian, as the team's host, would have had a good chance to stand on the final stage. Now that Tiny Herb has stopped, she has also gone on vacation early and quietly returned to Shanghai, sitting in Samsara's home stadium as an ordinary audience member.

Judging from the current public opinion, most people are inclined to believe that Tyranny will win the championship. The story of the four veterans' final struggle is too exciting and moving to shake the hearts of countless neutral viewers. But Zhao Zhinian's stance has never wavered. She sat in the area where the Samsara Guild staff were located, with Gu Yin standing beside her, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

In the first match of the finals, Samsara suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the team competition. The atmosphere was slightly somber. Gu Yin hesitated, wanting to offer a few words of comfort, but Zhao Zhinian smiled first and said, "It's okay, I believe in them."

After all, there was nothing else she could do. All she could do was stay here, quietly waiting and believing.

After losing the first game at home, public opinion shifted dramatically, with most media outlets favoring Tyranny to win the championship, while criticizing the defeated Samsara.

Despite Zhao Zhinian's cautious and low-key approach throughout the playoffs, she inevitably became a target of attack after the loss. Many haters disregarded the content of the game and the players' performance, directly pointing the finger at Zhou Zekai for "being only concerned with his love life," and even dragging in the married Fang Minghua, mocking Samsara for "getting cocky and deserving to lose." Although some fans tried their best to refute her, all explanations seemed weak in the face of defeat.

Zhao Zhinian simply shut down her Weibo account, preferring to stay out of sight and avoid further distress.

Fortunately, the second game was played at Tyranny's home court, where Samsara withstood the pressure and won, dragging the finals into the final showdown.

Three days later, as the Samsara team raised the trophy high, everything finally settled, and the answer was revealed: Samsara achieved a consecutive championship, retaining their title as the overall champion.

Although the atmosphere at Tyranny's home stadium was as subdued as that of an away game, the Samsara fan area where Zhao Zhinian was located was already buzzing with excitement.

After the awards ceremony, she walked backstage under the guidance of the staff. From afar, she saw Zhou Zekai standing alone at the entrance of the lounge, drinking water with his head tilted back.

She thanked the staff member softly, then quietly approached him, and while he was putting down his water bottle, she reached out and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

Congratulations on winning the championship!

Zhou Zekai froze, instantly realizing who was behind him. He gently took her hand, pulled her in front of him, his ears slightly red, and whispered, "...You're sweating." The entire final was a period of intense focus, the stage lights were scorching, and the temperature inside the venue was set very high. By the end of the match, their team uniforms were already soaked with sweat.

Zhao Zhinian blinked and teased him deliberately, "Do you think... I'd dislike you?"

Zhou Zekai knew she was doing it on purpose. Verbal exchanges were never his forte, so he lowered his eyes, silently opened his arms, and uttered only one word: "Hug."

He had an attitude of "do whatever you want".

"Ahem." A deliberately light cough came from the corner.

Du Ming, who was sitting to the side, finally couldn't help but try to make himself noticed. He was now extremely regretful.

After the previous interviews, the following ones were all one-on-one interviews. The media knew that the captain was a man of few words, and the manager told them not to call him captain anymore. He was too tired today, so he also slacked off and hid in the lounge. Vice Captain Jiang Botao asked him twice to go with him for the interview, but he declined both times, citing that he was too tired, and secretly rejoiced that he had escaped a disaster.

Only after being bombarded with "dog food" (a Chinese slang term for public displays of affection) did he finally understand the meaningful look in the vice-captain's eyes as he left.

The two sides exchanged polite but slightly awkward greetings. Immediately afterward, Du Ming saw his team captain deftly grab his team jacket, take his girlfriend's hand, and turn to leave.

The door to the lounge closed gently.

He was left all alone, sitting there forlornly, watching the two walk away hand in hand.

...It seems even more pitiful than before.

Soon, Honor fans in Qingdao posted pictures, saying they ran into Zhou Zekai and Zhao Zhinian at the beach.

Following this, audience members in the front row of the finals confirmed that Zhao Zhinian did indeed sit in the Samsara fan area during the finals, and they had taken photos of her.

The next day, when the Samsara team returned to Shanghai, some fans on the same flight noticed that Zhou Zekai was not in the team.

Netizens immediately understood: after winning the championship, the entire Samsara team disbanded on the spot and went straight into vacation. Zhou Zekai and Zhao Zhinian, on the other hand, stayed in Qingdao and began a trip for the two of them.

Over the next two days, reports of "chance encounters" with Honor fans emerged from various scenic spots and streets in Qingdao, including Zhanqiao Pier, churches, and Badaguan Scenic Area. The photos mostly showed the two people wearing hats and masks, walking side-by-side in the sunlight, or stopping in front of a small stall, their postures relaxed and natural.

They didn't deliberately avoid the camera, but they also didn't actively announce anything. They seemed to be saying, "Take pictures all you want, but we have our own rhythm."

No official announcement, no denial, just walking side by side.

Of course, some people are puzzled: at this point, why not make an official announcement?

But someone immediately countered: "They were already criticized so much before it was officially announced. If it's really made public, who knows how much more trouble it will cause? Haters can criticize even more with a clear conscience."

Public opinion is always closely linked to the outcome of a match. Just a few days ago, some people were seriously criticizing Zhou Zekai for "affecting his performance due to his relationship"; now that he has won the championship, all the doubts have quietly dissipated.

We won, and the world became more tolerant.

Even the banter among fans of the "Reincarnation" fandom in the supertopic exudes a sense of "victorious" ease: "You've won the competition, Captain, you can just enjoy your happiness in Qingdao. Don't be too high-profile in front of Tyranny's home, or you might get 'bumped' too many times by local fans. If one of them has a bad temper, we won't be able to help you." The tone is clearly smiling, hiding a small sense of pride and boasting that only their own fans would understand.

Li Xuan from the Void team was quick to share the Weibo link in the professional players' group chat, adding a sarcastic comment: "It's so nice that some people are successful in both the competition and their love life."

In the quarterfinals, Void was defeated by Samsara, and this sentiment carries a mixed feeling of "losing the game but still having to watch others show off their love."

Fang Rui immediately followed up, directly tagging Fang Minghua: "Isn't your wife coming to watch your game?" Hu Xiao was also eliminated by Samsara in this year's playoffs, so this tag carried a hint of "shared misfortune" with Xu Kong.

Fang Minghua replied slowly and deliberately, but his words revealed the composure of a "veteran": "My wife is waiting for me at home. People like us who have been married for many years have a different pace than young couples."

Before anyone could react, he slowly added, "It's normal that you single people don't understand."

One sentence instantly aroused public outrage throughout the group.

With the season now over, the transfer window has quietly opened. Zhao Zhinian and Zhou Zekai spent a few days relaxing in Qingdao before having to prepare to return home. She still had a lot of live streaming time left this month, having been busy with the Challenger Tournament. After Yizhan's break, the company was also planning to give her some local Shanghai events. Meanwhile, Zhou Zekai's schedule was equally packed with commercial contracts and brand shoots for Samsara.

But what really made Zhao Zhinian determined to "escape quickly" was someone's "taking an inch and wanting a mile".

During the finals, hotels around the venue were in high demand, and her room was a double room that the Samsara manager had booked in advance. Knowing that all Samsara team members were in double rooms, ostensibly to foster camaraderie and mutual support, she was touched by the Samsara manager's thoughtfulness in arranging a double room just for her.

But then I remembered that when Zhou Zekai came to Beijing for a competition before, he always stayed in a single room, so I casually asked him about it.

Zhou Zekai replied naturally, "The manager said he was worried it would be inconvenient for you to come looking for me."

Zhao Zhinian's ears immediately burned, and he buried his head in his food, saying no more.

She was about to ask: Why didn't you order a room for him this time?

The answer was revealed on the day the entire Reincarnation team returned to Shanghai.

Zhou Zekai knocked on her door with a backpack on his back, his expression sincere but with a hint of guilt: "The manager has cancelled all the rooms." He paused: "I... have nowhere to stay."

Looking into his eyes, which were trying so hard to appear innocent, Zhao Zhinian suddenly understood everything.

So that's what they were waiting for me.

Willpower is often utterly vulnerable in the face of Zhou Zekai. Especially when he lowered his eyes slightly and asked in a low voice, "We're a couple... can't we live together?"

...It's not her fault.

Beauty can be deceiving; this is nothing short of a "handsome man trap."

In the end, she nodded, but imposed three rules: "Living together is fine, but you're not allowed to do anything inappropriate."

Zhou Zekai blinked and tentatively asked, "Then... a kiss and a hug?"

Zhao Zhinian glared at him.

Zhou Zekai immediately understood; not denying it meant tacitly agreeing.

Soon, Zhao Zhinian regretted it.

She realized that Zhou Zekai was probably a bit "skin-starved" because they spent so little time together, and that he was too good at using his innocent face to "take advantage" of her. In addition, there was an objective difference in physical strength between men and women. Over the past few days, she felt like a tyrannical ruler who was "blinded by lust" and had no power to resist his "handsome man tactics".

For example, right now.

She slept in until she naturally woke up in the morning. After breakfast, she felt too hot outside to move, so the two of them leaned against the bed and played on their phones. They didn't know who came across what video first, but they chatted casually for a few minutes, and the topic gradually went astray... By the time Zhao Zhinian realized what was happening, Zhou Zekai had already turned over and gently pressed her into the mattress, lowering his head to kiss her.

Her breath was gently blocked, and she instinctively tried to push him away, but he easily grabbed her hands, his ten fingers slowly and firmly weaving into hers, clasping her tightly. Now, she had lost even the last bit of support she had left.

Zhou Zekai slightly raised his head, nuzzled her cheek, his warm breath brushing against her ear before returning to her lips. This time, the kiss was deeper and slower, with an unyielding patience, slowly eroding her remaining consciousness. Zhao Zhinian felt her body go weak; the reason she had resisted earlier melted away silently like snow under the sun.

Finally, she struggled to move her body, her breathing unsteady, and managed to say with difficulty, "No! We...we have to go out now!"

The two dawdled as they left the house; it was nearly noon.

Zhao Zhinian casually scrolled through her phone when a news item related to Honor suddenly caught her eye: "Sun Xiang, along with the Battle God One Autumn Leaf, is about to transfer to Samsara."

She was taken aback, and subconsciously handed the phone to Zhou Zekai: "Really?"

Zhou Zekai glanced at it and nodded. The manager had informed him about the transfer beforehand, and he hadn't hidden anything from him.

Zhao Zhinian's expression became complicated. She looked up at him and said with a hint of sympathy, "Sun Xiang... you'll have to work hard from now on."

After a pause, Zhao Zhinian corrected herself: "No, it's Vice Captain Jiang who will have to work hard from now on."

After the official announcement, public opinion was in an uproar. Some fans quickly dug up old grievances, and the video of Sun Xiang arrogantly asking "Who is more powerful, me or Zhou Zekai?" in front of Zhao Zhinian in an interview once again became a trending topic.

Now, the two have become teammates; the wonder of life is truly remarkable.

After their Qingdao holiday, the two returned to Shanghai. The new house that Zhou Zekai had secretly prepared was still under renovation. He stayed at home for a few days, and once he finished several business activities, he arranged for a top-of-the-line computer and gaming desk and chair to be delivered to Zhao Zhinian's home.

The reason is readily available: "It's convenient to snatch the BOSS."

Although Zhao Zhinian felt something was off, seeing that he had even brought out the communication records with the Samsara Manager, she thought that the team's affairs were indeed important, and she also needed to stream, so she really needed two computers. It wouldn't be convenient to go out, so she nodded in agreement.

Because of the off-season, Zhao Zhinian turned down most of her events in Beijing, only accepting online live streams and offline hosting gigs in Shanghai. Zhou Zekai even tried to become her assistant, claiming that "he bought a new car and can pick her up and drop her off."

Zhao Zhinian immediately refused, her attitude firm: "Stay home and play your games. The BOSS was stolen by Ye Shen again, how dare you go out! Be good, I'll bring you something delicious when I get back."

Zhou Zekai has always been good at timing and discretion.

For the first few days, he would go home on his own initiative no matter how late it was, until one night when he was fighting for the BOSS and Zhao Zhinian saw him rubbing his eyes frantically, yawning and looking exhausted. She softened and said, "It's too late, sleep in the guest room."

Since then, he has never mentioned leaving again.

However, what reassured Zhao Zhinian somewhat was that Zhou Zekai remained obediently sleeping in the guest room.

They play games together, and when they have something to do, they go out to work separately, but they always remember to bring each other food when they come home. When they are too lazy to go out, they order takeout. When they feel like it, they go to the supermarket to buy groceries together. When they come back, one of them cooks and the other washes the dishes. When they are not competing for the BOSS, they snuggle together to watch TV.

In the words of her best friend Lin An'an, "You two have practically started living like married couples during this off-season."

After Lin An'an started her vacation, the two invited her to their home for dinner. After dinner, Zhao Zhinian cleared the table, and Zhou Zekai silently tied on an apron and stood in front of the sink, the sound of flowing water softly filling the air.

Lin An'an, biting into her apple, commented quietly, "You two have such a strong old married couple vibe... I think I should be more sensible, finish my apple, and leave quickly."

Aside from working outside the game, live streaming occupied most of Zhao Zhinian's off-season time. Fortunately, this summer was exceptionally lively, with a large number of professional players flocking to online games to compete for wild map bosses for their respective teams.

After communicating with the alliance and the live streaming platform, Zhao Zhinian simply became a "war correspondent," broadcasting the live battle for the BOSS. Compared to going to the scene in person, Zhao Zhinian's live stream included commentary. Because it was a live stream, it lacked the rigor of official commentary, but it had her own unique humorous explanations, which attracted quite a few viewers.

Thanks to her relationships with teams like Samsara, Yi Zhan, Happy, and Tiny Herb, she had informed all parties beforehand that she was "completely neutral." Therefore, she was rarely targeted, and even when she was occasionally hit by stray bullets, she would just laugh it off. Although she couldn't win, she was at least fast.

But longtime viewers of the live stream soon noticed a change: the account that used to appear on time before Zhao Zhinian's live stream ended, quietly "showing its face," had not appeared for several days.

Instead, in the background noise of the live stream, one could faintly hear the rapid typing on a keyboard and the crisp rhythm of a mouse clicking on another computer.

Immediately, speculation arose.

Until the StarCraft Conquest off-season event went live, the official team, in conjunction with a live streaming platform, organized a singing competition for professional players. The organizers heard that Zhao Zhinian sang well, so they specially invited her to participate.

Thus, the scene became one where, among a group of esports "soul singers," only the host and commentators held up the show, and only a few of them were readable. After Zhao Zhinian finished singing his chosen song, he switched back to his role as the host, responsible for connecting the segments and listening to the players "sing."

Not only were they off-key, but their song choices were also unusually quirky, featuring songs that were neither catchy nor reliable, making Zhao Zhinian cover her face and suppress her laughter repeatedly.

Zhou Zekai has not explained the various speculations circulating online in the past few days, but he wants to take action, since a formal title is something that one must fight for.

Zhou Zekai, sitting off-camera, secretly reached out and grabbed Zhao Zhinian's other wrist. Afraid of being seen by the audience, Zhao Zhinian quickly slapped it away and pulled it back.

Just as Zhao Zhinian was laughing so hard she was doubled over and completely oblivious to what was happening around her, Zhou Zekai suddenly stood up, walked past her with a nonchalant expression, took a glass of water, gently placed it on her table, and then even calmly glanced at her camera before leisurely sitting back down.

The live stream chat exploded instantly.

The StarCraft players in the live stream also cheered: "Was that... Captain Zhou?", "Was it real? Right, right?"

Zhao Zhinian then belatedly realized what he had done.

She acted faster than she thought, and with a "snap," she raised her hand to cover the camera.

She turned to glare at Zhou Zekai, but he looked at the screen calmly, as if he had just casually poured a glass of water.

She let go of his hand, and several boys were still laughing and asking questions through the earpiece. Zhao Zhinian cleared her throat, trying to sound serious: "Sorry, there seemed to be some strange visuals just now... My account might have been hacked. It must have been an AI-generated image projected by a hacker. Let's forget about it and listen to the next contestant's singing..."

However, the barrage of comments quickly changed from a uniform series of question marks to a completely different style.

"I understand, there are a lot of account hackers these days!"

"I understand. When our Captain Zhou confessed his feelings in high school, he was also mistaken for a hacker!"

"I understand. When we were confessed to at Chinen High School, we also mistook the other person for a hacker!"

"I understand. I didn't recognize the face in those few seconds of footage at all. It must have been AI-generated!"

"It must be a hacker who displayed these weird images. How awful!"

"No wonder that account hasn't been checking in lately, it turns out it's been 'invaded'... oh wait, it's been hacked!"

The viewers in the live stream collectively contributed their "superb" acting skills, tacitly accompanying her through this "account theft" drama.

However, the trending search terms were quite honest: #ZhaoZhinianHacksZhouZekai'sAccount#

Clicking in reveals nothing but clips from the live stream, and the comments section is filled with laughter: "What? You two are really hung up on this 'account hacking' thing?"

"From high school until now, what exactly is your obsession with 'account theft'?"

"I strongly recommend that the alliance appoint these two as anti-account theft ambassadors next time."

-The End-

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Author's note: It's finally finished! I've been a bit busy these past few days, but I decided to finish writing it all in one go!

Thank you all for your continued support!

There should be some extra chapters coming up later. You can also check out my other new full-time novel, "The Answer is No Money," which will be updated soon. Thank you all again for your support! This is my first novel, thank you so much for liking it! A huge thank you! [Rabbit head with upright ears]