Chapter 55 The FMVP Ring
The Contenders Cup is organized by the Alliance, which is much better than the amateurish Gathering Star Cup, and the venue is also much more professional.
All four members of the Angels team received new team uniforms. Among them, Xiaoyu seemed to have ordered a size too big for her short-sleeved team uniform, with the hem of the shirt dragging down to the middle of her thighs.
The photographer looked left and right, and finally sighed: "It'll have to do, anyway, I'm not shooting the lower body."
After Xiaoyu finished shooting, it was Song Meng's turn. The photographer was quite satisfied with his appearance and quickly completed the shoot by coming up with a few poses.
Next up was You Xin. As soon as he stood in front of the camera, the photographer visibly became more enthusiastic: "Hey, right, just like that, yes, a little bit over here..."
There was a pose where the photographer asked You Xin to spread her fingers and cross her hands in front of her, leaving only her eyes unobstructed.
Nan Zhiyi stood to the side watching and noticed that the photographer was focusing on a close-up of the two rings on his exposed hand, worn on his middle and ring fingers respectively. One ring was blue and the other white, and their craftsmanship looked exquisite.
You Xin usually loves to wear these flashy accessories, which are very similar to the "trendy men" that Nan Zhiyi sometimes sees on social media. However, he has little knowledge in this area and can't distinguish the style and brand of the accessories at all.
After You Xin finished shooting, it was Nan Zhiyi's turn last. He stood over and posed a few times as instructed by his assistant. However, after taking about two or three photos, the photographer suddenly stopped the shoot and beckoned Nan Zhiyi over.
"You seem a little bare-chested; you'd look better with something on." He pointed to his neck, then to his wrist. "Are you wearing any accessories or anything like that?"
Nan Zhiyi shook her head subconsciously, at which point You Xin spoke up: "I have it."
He walked to a seat on the side, rummaged through his backpack for a while, and soon found the umpteenth necklace that Nan Zhiyi had seen with him.
However, when You Xin returned, Nan Zhiyi suddenly recognized the pendant in his hand: it was round and had some relief-style patterns on it.
He recognized it because You Xin was wearing the same necklace in his first appearance on roeCN, and he was also wearing the same necklace when he "bumped into" him on the streets of M City recently. He probably has a special fondness for this necklace.
"Let me see? Oh, this one's good." The photographer leaned over for a look and nodded in approval. "The Chrome Hearts Angel card would definitely look good on him."
Nan Zhiyi was taken aback: "Angel brand? Is that a name?"
"Yes, it's one of the brand's classic designs."
"…………"
That indescribable feeling resurfaced in Nan Zhiyi's heart, as if someone was tapping his heart with a small hammer.
He couldn't help but glance at You Xin. You Xin didn't continue the topic, but simply unfastened the necklace clasp and then raised his hand.
"Don't move yet," You Xin whispered. The slender necklace wrapped around Nan Zhiyi's neck, and the two inevitably drew closer.
Nan Zhiyi obediently lowered his head. At one moment, he suddenly became very nervous, to the point that he felt dizzy.
With a soft "click," You Xin released his grip. But he didn't immediately back away. His fingertips lightly brushed against the pendant, then he picked it up with two fingers, as if examining it.
Nan Zhiyi's tension reached its peak at this moment. He began to feel like he couldn't breathe.
finally.
You Xin released the pendant, and the metal round plaque fell back onto Nan Zhiyi's chest.
He took a step back and smiled at Nan Zhiyi: "It suits you very well."
“…Thank you.” Nan Zhiyi took a deep breath without making a sound. He didn’t notice the photographer next to him giving them a strange look.
You Xin's gaze fell on his wrist again.
He thought for a moment, then took out one of the two rings he had just been wearing from his pocket, the white one, and handed it to Nan Zhiyi: "You can wear this one."
Nan Zhiyi took it and realized that the pattern on it wasn't random, but rather a cursive "yux". It seemed to be some kind of custom-made item.
"This ring is quite nice," he complimented sincerely.
You Xin: "I'll give it to you if you like it."
Upon hearing this, even if Nan Zhiyi wasn't paying special attention, she noticed that everyone around them was staring at the two of them with strange looks.
"Uh...?" Nan Zhiyi was a little confused. Could this be another expensive brand, a six- or even seven-figure item? It seems he really needs to study these things carefully when he gets back.
He quickly refused, "No need, I'll just borrow it for a bit, I'll return it to you later."
You Xin frowned slightly.
"..." Nan Zhiyi observed his expression for a moment, then quickly changed her tune, "Alright then. Thank you."
His brow relaxed.
"It's nothing," You Xin said to him cheerfully.
-
The filming was successfully completed in the morning. In the afternoon, since no one had any plans, everyone went to the training room to sit for a while. In the evening, they watched the semi-final match between HYG and WD.
The pre-match support was a paltry 73 to 23. However, after a hard-fought five rounds, WD defied all expectations and won a narrow victory. The MVP of the fifth round was awarded to Pigeon.
In the following days, the Spring Split playoffs surprised everyone: first, CG and HYG, former champions of their respective regions, met again in the loser's bracket, and after four games, CG was eliminated with a score of 1:3; then WD defeated the rookie team NJ in the winner's bracket; finally, the rookie team NJ defeated HYG in the loser's bracket final to advance to the final.
No one expected that these two teams would meet in the Spring Split Finals. Either of them winning the championship would be considered this year's dark horse team.
Ultimately, the honor went to Team WD. At the moment of victory, everyone saw Song Baiyu shouting and gesticulating wildly, perhaps trying to imitate the Barbarian's dance again, but he ended up slapping their manager across the face, which became a trending topic and was widely ridiculed. Song Meng later gave him a large red envelope as a token of appreciation.
The Spring Split ended in a way that no one expected, leaving some happy and others sad.
The most worried are the fans of the region: it's good to have new forces, but both teams have their own weaknesses. They are far from being as good as last year's champion team OTG, and they can't even compare to YT, who stopped in the semifinals. They have no championship potential at all. If this continues, what will the region use to fight against the strong European and American teams this year?
This was followed by calls for Yux to return to the league as soon as possible in the summer season to save it.
Shortly after the Spring Split ended, the teams announced their rosters for the Contenders Cup.
In previous years, the top-ranked teams were almost always promoted from their second teams for training, since everyone was exhausted by the end of the spring season, and the cup championship was not considered very prestigious.
This year, WD followed this principle and promoted three new players to the C and Tank positions. Poor Pigeon had just won his first league championship and hadn't had time to celebrate for long before tragically becoming the leader of this youth storm.
The AQ team, which ranked fifth in the Spring Split, opted for a lineup of two veterans and two rookies.
NJ opted to use a substitute player for the secondary center position;
Surprisingly, both HYG and CG, two veteran teams, opted to field their entire roster as a single team.
As for whether they were determined to improve in the cup competition because of their poor performance in the spring season, or whether they had planned to target the popular Angels team, only their manager and coach probably know the answer.
After a few days of rest, Nam Ji-yi and her teammates resumed their training program.
The team's strategy is different now. Firstly, the version has changed slightly, and secondly, AngelYi and yux have returned to their original positions.
The responsibility of arranging practice matches fell to yux and meng, especially Song Meng—he is considered a veteran player in the region, and some of his former teammates are now members of the training staff of their current teams, making it easy to arrange practice matches.
On May 2nd, the day before the official start of the competition, Angels and HYG arranged a practice match.
For the past two weeks, the team had primarily trained against lower-ranked teams. This was their first time scrimming against a former champion team, with their entire roster on the field. Xiaoyu was nervous from the night before, and entered the scrim the next day with dark circles under his eyes. Even Song Meng drank three bottles of water before the match. You Xin, on the other hand, remained calm throughout, as he always seemed the same, even during regular season matches and the World Championship finals.
Nan Zhiyi didn't have high hopes for this training match, and as expected, they lost. Better than he expected, the score was 4-1, avoiding a shutout. Yux dominated the final game, carrying the entire team and forcing the opposing secondary carry, Soso, to quit the server before the game ended. This boosted the team's confidence for tomorrow's match.
He spent another hour reviewing the training content with his teammates, his throat parched from talking. While everyone rested, he got up to get some water.
The little fish hadn't performed well and was now sitting dejectedly in its seat, fiddling with its fingers.
Seeing this, Nan Zhi stopped. He grabbed the back of Xiao Yu's chair, turned him around so he was facing him.
Xiaoyu was startled and looked up to meet Nan Zhiyi's smiling face: "What are you thinking about?"
"I..." Xiaoyu opened her mouth, her voice barely audible, "Brother Yi, I feel like I'm holding the team back a bit..."
“This is your first time playing in the league, and you’ve already done a great job,” Nan Zhiyi said. “Do you know that we used to play scrims with CG’s first team? I remember we played about ten games back then, and we didn’t win a single one.”
Little Fish's expression softened a bit, but she still looked worried: "But..."
"Alright, stop. There's no 'but' about it." Nan Zhiyi stopped his continued anxiety. He looked around and found that You Xin was not there, probably because he had gone out. So he leaned down and whispered, "Don't worry, I invited you to join the team. No matter how we lose, you won't be the one to take the blame. Besides, there's someone else on our team who can take the blame even more. If we really lose, Yux will be the first to be blamed, not you."
The little fish bit its lip after hearing this.
"I understand, Yi-ge." His eyes hardened slightly. "...I'll try my best not to hold the team back tomorrow."
Having finally calmed her teammates down, Nan Zhiyi patted Xiaoyu on the shoulder, stood up, and noticed Song Meng looking over. They exchanged a glance. Song Meng shrugged and mouthed, "I'm fine."
Nan Zhiyi thought that should be true. He had endured far more in the league back then than he is now. Choosing to climb back up from the bottom after retirement, his mentality shouldn't be broken by a training match.
After leaving the training room and reaching the self-service bar, Nan Zhiyi discovered that You Xin was also there.
He stood in front of the coffee machine, holding a small paper cup, seemingly lost in thought.
Nan Zhiyi walked past him from behind, making a little noise.
You Xin turned around: "What would you like to drink?"
“Well,” Nan Zhiyi paused for a moment, “plain water, please.”
You Xin got him a paper cup and filled it with water from the water dispenser. Nan Zhiyi's gaze fell on his hands. The nervousness that had arisen in his heart earlier when You Xin put the necklace on him inexplicably returned, and he had no idea where it came from.
His hand trembled slightly as he took the cup, which You Xin noticed keenly: "Are you nervous?"
"Hmm...it's alright."
It was impossible not to be nervous. He was the one who initially formed this team, and he was the one who said they would enter the League Cup and beat CG to a pulp. Nan Zhiyi even suspected that he was actually more nervous than Xiaoyu. But right now, he was the one in the team who should least show any fear.
You Xin looked at him and asked half-jokingly, "Do you need me to hug you too?"
"Uh, what..."
The rest of his words were drowned out by the gesture of leaning forward.
You Xin gave him a rather subtle hug, not even fully closing her arms behind his back, but simply lowering her head to press her face against his shoulder.
When he looked up again, he took a small half-step back.
"Leave it to me tomorrow, okay?" You Xin looked into his eyes. "Trust me."
Nan Zhiyi held the paper cup, his eyes widening slightly. After a moment, he looked away and whispered, "I've always believed in you."
You Xin picked up his paper cup again. After finishing the water, he spoke again: "I've almost made up my mind recently."
Nan Zhiyi instinctively asked, "What?"
"I'm planning to go to HYG for the Summer Split." You Xin's gaze fell on the cup. "What do you think?"
Nan Zhiyi was taken aback by the question. After a long pause, he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you asking me this...?"
"If you don't like it, I won't go."
Nan Zhiyi saw that he didn't seem to be joking: "You're definitely going to the team you think is the best and most want to join, and I... I can't control your decision."
You Xin: "Really? Then we can go back to CG?"
Nan Zhiyi's expression immediately changed: "This won't do."
You Xin looked at him, and after a while, she burst out laughing: "That's why I asked you how you are."
Nan Zhiyi felt inexplicably embarrassed. He gently scratched his nose: "But none of the players in HYG have expired contracts, right? What position will you play after you join? Can you guarantee a starting position?"
"Old Xu said he wasn't sure about the team's performance, but he could guarantee me two things: the main carry position and a starting role," You Xin said. "He's a man of his word. And all of that will be added to the contract terms."
"As for how they will resolve the position issue internally, I'm not sure at the moment. The team should have its own considerations."
Starting position and main carry. This is a sure thing that will pull Milk out of HYG's main carry position.
Nan Zhiyi couldn't imagine how explosive the public opinion would be. But no matter what, this was the best option for now.
In this way, Yu Xin's life as "yux" seems to have returned to normal.
Just as he, or they, had originally envisioned.
Nan Zhiyi felt an impulse. He suddenly wanted to say something like, "When you move back to the base, I can help you pack your things," but the words just wouldn't come out.
His selfishness finally surfaced at this moment, silently overwhelming all reason.
If these past few months were just a dream, Nan Zhiyi thought. Then let me catch its tail.
"Congratulations!" he said with a smile at the end.
-
The group stage of the Contenders Cup officially began on Saturday, May 3.
Similar to the Juxing Cup, the Zhengfengzhe Cup also divides the eight teams into two groups, A and B. Nan Zhiyi's team was placed in Group B, along with WD, NJ, and AQ. Meanwhile, the popular teams HYG and CG were placed in Group A, meaning that if they were to face either of them, they would have to advance to the knockout stage.
The team's first opponent is AQ. Although they are not a high-profile team, they are a strong playoff team with two main players and two substitutes.
At 3 PM, as usual, the official website released promotional photos of all the teams competing tonight. Since the group stage is BO1, all eight teams will appear in turn tonight. The eight team promotional photos, along with the tournament logo, form a nine-square grid.
The promotional photo of the Angels team was given the official abbreviation "ANY" and the group photo was placed in the lower left corner of the event icon, a rather inconspicuous position.
In the first few minutes after the Weibo post was published, the comment section was peaceful, with fans praising their respective team's players.
However, not long after, someone started it—
[The ring on Angel's hand looks familiar, what style is it?]
Soon, fans noticed this key point.
He doesn't usually wear rings, so I'm guessing it was someone in the team who likes to wear rings who put it on him.
Uh, this ring... it feels like...
I also feel like... something's not quite right...
[Isn't this familiar? This is Yux's 2024 Summer Split Finals MVP ring [image]]
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【ah? ? ? ? ? 】
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