Chapter 31 The Peacock Spreads Its Tail
You Xin's voice was very soft, as if everything before him was just a dream, and if he raised it even a fraction higher, everything would perish.
The air conditioning was on in the car, but the side of Nan Zhiyi's face that had been pressed against the window felt a little numb.
He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his face, feeling something cold. He suddenly remembered the winter they parted ways—early February, when this southern city experienced a rare snowfall.
The CG base is 5.6 kilometers away from his school. Nan Zhiyi walked back to his dormitory in the snow, which took him two whole hours, until his hands and feet were numb.
As he neared the school, he received a phone call. Old Xu's anxious voice came through the phone: "Hey? Xiao Yi, do you know what's wrong with Xiao You? I'm outside right now, and someone told me he's standing at the base gate and won't go in, refusing to move no matter what. I wonder if he had a fight with his family. It's freezing cold... Why don't you go and try to persuade him? He's so stubborn, none of them can calm him down..."
Is everything they said today true?
After a long silence, Nan Zhiyi finally spoke inside the car.
"Which ones?" You Xin asked.
"They ganged up on you within the team."
You Xin thought for a moment and said, "I guess so."
Nan Zhiyi: "..."
Just because of one person, who isn't so sociable?
You Xin is very stubborn. Others may only know him from his sharp remarks in those documentaries, but Nan Zhiyi knows very well that this person's stubbornness has reached an almost pathological level.
If others dislike him, even if he is ostracized by everyone, even if he ends up being the only one left battered and bruised, he will never make any changes and will simply stubbornly continue down his path.
But right now, the person in front of me no longer seems to be the same person who was waiting in the snow, refusing to turn around no matter what.
A sliver of light from a distant streetlamp fell into You Xin's eyes. His tone sounded more like a plea than a question.
Nan Zhiyi looked at him, and suddenly it seemed that she couldn't say no.
"Um... okay, alright," he finally said, "but I have one request."
"What?" You Xin said quickly, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of joy, which he then suppressed as if forcibly controlled, restoring his usual calm.
"This time, we're going to make it to the finals of the Star Cup. Then we'll go to the Contenders Cup and play against CG." Nan Zhiyi lowered his eyes and said softly, "I'm going to go in and beat them up."
-
It sounds like a pipe dream that a hastily assembled team of streamers could defeat the current league leaderboard in a competition full of professional teams.
Rather than beating them up on the field, Nan Zhiyi felt that beating them up offline in the backstage dressing room might be more realistic.
But there's no reason to take back a harsh word once it's been spoken. In the following days, he felt he was working even harder. First, he contacted his friend, Yue Liang, a streamer who was also participating in the competition, and arranged five training matches with Yue Liang's team on Tuesday. Then, on the last day of February, he and You Xin went into Xiao Yu's live stream room.
The three of them entered the voice chat room. Apart from the last time when she used Siri to summon You Xin, this was only the second time in her life that Xiao Yu had been so close to her idol. She was so nervous that she stammered, "Welcome... welcome Yux to the live stream room."
“…” Nan Zhiyi gently reminded him, “It’s okay, don’t be so nervous. We’re just having fun together today.”
Little Fish: "I understand."
However, after a while, perhaps after seeing some comments, he began to explain to the other party in a serious and earnest manner: "It can only be used for VIPs? That's correct."
“Yux is indeed a VIP.”
"How could he not? He is the only player in the league to win two FMVP awards in one year and the best main DPS. Last year, he was the only player in all leagues to break 850 DPM. Not to mention in China, you can't find anyone better than him in the whole world."
A moment later, Nan Zhiyi received a private message from You Xin.
[yux: Can we not do it this way?]
Following this is an emoji of a penguin sitting on the ground, trembling.
Nan Zhiyi: "…………"
How come he never noticed before that Xiaoyu's speech sounded so much like a purebred mixed breed?
Ultimately, thanks to the tireless efforts of Nan Zhiyi and You Xin, Xiaoyu's follower count also quickly reached the target number within just one and a half hours, meeting the registration requirements for the Juxing Cup.
The team barely made it to the deadline and passed the organizer's review at the last minute.
The following day, the organizers posted the list of participants on their official Weibo account.
In previous years, the Juxing Cup, as a streamer's cup, received only about one-tenth of the attention that the roeCN League received among all the competitions throughout the year.
However, on March 1st, the official Weibo account of the Juxing Cup, which had only 1,000 comments on its previous dozens of posts, suddenly exploded.
【Holy crap, are you crazy? You're really going to compete in the streamer cup?!】
[...I'm starting to wonder if there's someone in the world with the same name and game ID, yux.]
[Little God of Travel has completely lost his motivation. What's the point of playing professionally if you can't make money as fast as streaming? [Laughing][Laughing]]
[We're playing a streamer tournament, and our team has one former professional and one current player? How are the others supposed to compete against Yux??]
[Don't be too hostile. People are jumping in and stirring up trouble without even looking at the roster. Anyone who's looked at the roster knows that Yux registered for the support role, while Angel is the main carry.]
Are the toxic fans still fighting? If they keep fighting, your idols might have another big live stream tomorrow to sell out.
You insult me, I insult you; hey, our brothers sleep together.
Is the world on fast-forward? Why does it feel like we've been on a rollercoaster since the All-Star game... Weren't we all asking to get to know each other and meet up just a few months ago?
[Yux, you'd better have a reason for not being gay to participate in this competition.]
[No need to think about it, isn't this just a way to divert public attention? Let's look at #yux breached his contract, left the team, and hasn't returned or trained for three months#]
[Playing in a streamer's cup? This is a competition with prize money; doesn't that violate a professional contract? How did the organizers approve it? Does being a professional player mean they can break their contract at will??]
[@CG Esports Club @YangLeiStone, come and defend your rights. Some people no longer treat you like human beings.]
That afternoon, as if in response to this comment, the official Eternal Rebirth tournament account, which had been silent for a long time, suddenly posted a long Weibo post.
[@EternalRebirth Esports: Announcement Regarding the Punishment of Player Yux for Inappropriate Remarks]
[In response to the recent inappropriate remarks made by player Yux (whose club is CG Esports Club) on Weibo, the Eternal Rebirth esports event discipline management team has launched an investigation.]
It has been verified that on February 26, 2025, player Yux posted offensive remarks on his personal Weibo account targeting other players and some esports professionals, which seriously violated the code of conduct for professional players and caused extremely negative impacts.
According to Article 7.1.11.2 of the "Eternal Rebirth Esports Professional League Competition Rules", and after comprehensive evaluation by the disciplinary management team, the following penalties are imposed on player Yux and his club:
1. Yux is suspended for two months.
(That is, from February 26, 2025 to April 26, 2025, player yux is not allowed to appear in any of the first or second tier matches of the roeCN League.)
2. Yux will be fined RMB 10,000.
3. CG Esports Club bears responsibility for mismanagement and is fined RMB 40,000.
The above penalties are effective from the date of this announcement.
【？？？？？】
[What the hell? A fine of 10,000 is normal, but a two-month suspension? What the hell? I've never seen such a severe punishment.]
[Did Yux break some cardinal rule or commit murder? You suspended him for two months?? I wouldn't even get this harsh a punishment if I beat up ROE's owner!]
Ten minutes later, before the discussion in the comments section had fully taken off, yux himself belatedly logged into his Weibo account and reposted the penalty announcement.
[@CG.Yux: I accept the punishment and have paid the fine. Also, @CG Esports Club @YangLeiStone, according to Article 7.1.1 of the player contract, a suspension of two months or more has triggered the automatic termination clause, and the contract is now void. I will pay the penalty for breach of contract. Please stop holding me back from my contract, okay?]
-
The first match of the Stars Cup will officially kick off on March 19th, with a total of ten teams participating, six of which are from Stars and the other four from other platforms.
The ten teams are divided into two groups, A and B, and will first play a single round-robin tournament within each group (Bo3). The top three teams from each group will then advance to the playoffs. The single round-robin tournament will be streamed online, while the playoffs will be played in person at a physical venue.
In the playoffs, the top-ranked teams from Groups A and B will compete in the winners' bracket final. The second-ranked teams will play against the third-ranked teams from the other group. The loser will be eliminated, while the winner will play against the winner of the other group in a best-of-five (BO5) series. The winner of that series will then play against the loser from the top-ranked group in the losers' bracket final.
The competition will last for 25 days, with the final two winners facing off on Saturday, April 12.
From the perspective of the tournament schedule, the group stage standings are crucial, as they determine whether a team can be directly promoted to the winners' bracket or must win three consecutive best-of-five series to barely secure a spot in the finals.
Therefore, the group assignments for Groups A and B became the most pressing concern for all participants.
After announcing the list of participants, the organizers quickly added the 40 participating streamers from the 10 teams to a WeChat group chat.
Many people in the group chat know each other, and they exchange hundreds of messages every day.
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: The group assignments are out? Was it a draw or arranged by the organizers?]
[Team 1, Cookie Crisps: They said it was a lottery]
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: Brothers, it's time to test our luck!]
[Team 3 Tao Xing: You're in B, I'm in A]
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: Where is the angel's intention?]
[Tao Xing from Team 3: He's in A [facepalm]]
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: Hahahahahaha!!! You're finished, Xing Jie!]
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: @Team 7 Angel Yi, goodbye bro, see you at the offline tournament hahaha!!!]
[Team 4 Moon: ...Dude, why am I in Team A too? ??? [Question] Who assigned this team? Come out and fight!]
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: Brother, please accept my condolences. [Handshake][Handshake]]
[Team 1 Shuo Shuo: Goodbye, cage! Hahahaha!!]
Nan Zhiyi: "…………"
It's clear that everyone is happy to be in a different group than their team.
To be fair, you're just a team of streamers, but the two players on your opposing team have the IDs Meng and Yux—who wouldn't be scared?
Even though one of them plays the support role and the other hasn't touched the game in almost two years.
Most people have followed CG competitions to some extent, and last year's finals made everyone hold their breath for CG in the competition.
Although the final outcome wasn't good, the contestants' true abilities, and those who weren't lying through their teeth, were all evident to everyone.
"Actually...aren't they overestimating our true strength?"
On Tuesday, the South Korean team played a five-game practice match, from 3 PM to 7 PM. South Korea won three of the five games and lost the other two. After the match, he reviewed the game with the three players until 8 PM. By the end of the practice match, everyone was starving.
So Nan Zhiyi changed her mind and decided to treat her teammates to a meal, so that everyone could get together and get to know each other better—mainly Xiaoyu and the CG duo.
Since it was on the way, You Xin gave Nan Zhiyi a ride.
On the way, Nan Zhiyi was gazing absently at the street scene outside the window when she suddenly said this.
"We won more than we lost today. Besides, you can't really tell anything from scrims." You Xin gripped the steering wheel intently. "Last year during the World Championship group stage, there was a team with a scrim win rate of over 70%."
"who?"
“WD”.
Nan Zhiyi couldn't help but laugh: "How come the training match champion was eliminated in the round of 16?"
"So you can't really tell anything from practice matches."
Nan Zhiyi leaned back in her chair and stretched gently: "But we're a streamer team, which is a bit different from a professional team... I think we're all pretty good right now, especially you. Meng Ge seems a little rusty, and I sometimes have sudden bursts of energy. In short, we still lack some teamwork."
"This is just the beginning, don't be impatient," You Xin said.
-
Nan Zhiyi booked a Chinese restaurant, which looked quite formal. When the waiter asked what drinks he wanted, he declined and instead ordered a bottle of yogurt for everyone at the table.
Song Meng was the third to arrive. He had returned to China some time ago and was currently staying in Song Baiyu's vacant house.
Upon entering the private room, his first words to You Xin were: "Congratulations."
You Xin: "?"
"How did you even come up with that idea? Using a bug to terminate the contract." Song Meng patted him on the shoulder and sat down in a seat next to him. "You really are a genius. Now CG not only has to terminate your contract, but also has to pay the alliance 40,000 yuan for you."
You Xin: "This wasn't my idea; it was Xiao Yi's."
Nan Zhiyi, who was drinking yogurt, almost choked when he heard this. Song Meng indeed looked at him, a strange light flashing in his eyes: "'Xiao Yi'?"
“Yes. He gave me the inspiration,” You Xin said. “I never thought it could be used to hack accounts.”
It was obvious that this wasn't what Song Meng really wanted to ask.
His gaze met Nan Zhiyi's, his eyes silently asking: When did you two become so close?
Nan Zhiyi touched her nose, pretending not to hear or understand, and then poured herself another cup of yogurt.
"Then you'll have to pay them the penalty for breach of contract," Song Meng continued, "and three times that amount?"
"Three times that of a year."
Song Meng clicked his tongue: "More than four million. That's equivalent to working for them for free for two years, and then losing more than a million in return."
He paused, then whispered, "Disgusting."
"We can just make them spit it out later," You Xin said nonchalantly.
"Now everyone knows they're a terrible team that hoards other players' contracts," Nan Zhiyi mumbled. "They'd rather bring in a rookie who hasn't even played a single league game than take the contract of their star player."
"It's a good thing you didn't sign a live streaming agency agreement with them before, otherwise it would have been much more troublesome. That would have been a problem that couldn't be solved with just over four million."
As Song Meng spoke, he asked with a hint of curiosity, "But how did you manage to get the league to suspend you for two months? If it's swearing, usually a one-game suspension and a fine are enough, right?"
“The league has its own considerations,” You Xin said. “The contract is a matter between me and CG, and it’s difficult for them to interfere. Although blocking the contract is disgusting, it doesn’t violate the league’s rules. Anyway, there’s no precedent for insulting people on Weibo, so whether it’s a one-match sentence or two months is up to them.”
Nan Zhiyi: "…………" Apart from him, it seems that no one else dares to attack their current teammates, coaches, and management on Weibo like this.
"It seems the league still hopes you can return to the competition. This can be considered their warning to CG," Song Meng sighed, taking a sip of tea. "At least Yang Lei's plan to prevent you from joining another team hasn't fallen through—are any teams contacting you now? You should be going back to play in the Summer Split, right?"
“Yes,” You Xin said, “but we haven’t talked about it in depth.”
He glanced at Nan Zhiyi almost imperceptibly: "I told them to wait until after my match."
"Let's talk about it sooner rather than later, so we don't miss out. When everyone's undecided, they're always looking for backup options," Song Meng advised, speaking from experience. "Pick a decent team, and you should have no problem making it to the World Championship this year."
"Well, I plan to sign a six-month contract first. The offer will still be half of the old contract with CG this year."
“That’s too little. If you quoted ten times that amount, someone might want you,” Song Meng said. “You really treat money like dirt.”
"As long as they can play, that's fine. After all, we still need to choose a team."
"If there are a lot of teams vying for you at this price, then there's no need to rush."
Just as Song Meng finished speaking, the door to the private room was carefully pushed open a crack. He immediately fell silent, and then a waiter's voice came from outside the door: "Sir, this is the place."
The door was then fully pushed open.
Little Fish stood at the door, wearing a slightly faded coat and carrying a schoolbag, peering nervously inside.
Nan Zhiyi waved to him: "Over here, over here."
When Xiaoyu saw him, she thought of him as a parent waiting at the school gate to pick up their child after school on the weekend, and immediately ran to the seat next to him and sat down.
He had barely sat down for a second when, as if his bottom had been burned, he quickly stood up again.
Xiaoyu bowed deeply to Song Meng and You Xin across the table, giving each of them a perfect 90-degree bow: "Meng! Yux! Hello!!"
Startled, Song Meng stood up abruptly from her seat: "No, no, no... sit down, sit down quickly."
You Xin: "…………"
The last time this kid saw him, he seemed to have bowed to him. At that time, he was busy dragging the drunk Nan Zhiyi away from the barbecue stall and forgot to tell him not to do that next time.
The little fish stood there, stammering as it tried to introduce itself: "I...I am..."
“He’s Xiaoyu, Zhang Yusheng.” Nan Zhiyi also stood up, affectionately pressing his shoulder and pulling him back down. “He might be a little nervous seeing you all…”
"You gave me quite a fright." Song Meng sat back down, patted his chest, and laughed, "Who am I talking about, giving such a grand greeting as soon as they come in?"
To avoid making Xiaoyu nervous, he said, "You don't need to call me by my ID, just call me by my name... You seem quite young. How old are you this year?"
Little Fish: "It's... sixteen, Mengge."
"You dropped out of school and are now a streamer?" Song Meng asked thoughtfully. "You're pretty good at playing tanks. Have you considered going pro?"
“Some youth training programs have approached me, but I… I haven’t decided yet…” Xiaoyu stammered.
"You can give it a try later, you have a lot of potential." Song Meng also showed a friendly smile.
Xiaoyu nodded vigorously: "I... really hope to become a professional player. In my heart, you guys are... are like gods."
Song Meng's smile froze, and he couldn't help but shiver.
Nan Zhiyi was trying so hard to suppress her laughter that her head was throbbing. Who taught this kid to talk like that...?
"..." You Xin probably couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up, "Actually, professional gamers are just ordinary people. It's just a job, they're all just working, there's no need to idolize them."
Little Fish: "No, Brother You, it's because I really like you guys... I watch every single CG match."
He paused, then said, "I'm not watching now. I won't watch anymore after you leave."
You Xin's gaze shifted: "You said you used to be a CG fan? You watched every match?"
The little fish nodded vigorously.
"Do you know about Song Meng wetting his pants before the competition?"
The little fish was stunned.
Nan Zhiyi: "?"
Song Meng: "?"
Isn't this topic shift a bit too abrupt...?
You Xin continued: "Two years ago, during the Spring Split, when we were playing against HYG, people everywhere were saying that Meng was afraid of playing against Milk, so he was so nervous that he wet his pants."
Back then, HYG was the undisputed king of the CN league, and milk was the backbone of the team, a force to be reckoned with in the region.
In addition, the two also have a relationship as "former teammates" and "former partners".
Nan Zhiyi suddenly realized: "I think I heard Bai Yu mention this before!"
The little fish asked timidly, "So is this true?"
"Hey, hey, hey." You Xin was about to continue, but Song Meng raised a hand, signaling him to stop. "Could you let me, the person involved, personally refute this rumor?"
He sighed helplessly: "A day or two before playing HYG, I had a day off one afternoon and a dinner party in the evening. So I went back to my room upstairs to rest, ordered a milk tea, and lay on the bed drinking it while looking at my phone."
"I stayed up too late the night before, and I fell asleep while lying down. The milk tea... spilled, and it all spilled on my pants."
"Then they had Mengmeng go upstairs to call you for dinner," You Xin reminded him.
“Yes, he was one of our substitutes back then, still playing for the second team. Mengmeng.” Song Meng made a face as if she had a toothache. “When he came up, the milk tea cup had rolled under the bed. He didn’t see it, he only saw that my pants and that spot on the sheet were wet…”
Nan Zhiyi understood and laughed so hard she was shaking. You Xin silently covered half of her face with her yogurt cup.
"...He just assumed I, um, wet the bed." Song Meng sighed, "And to avoid embarrassing me, he didn't wake me up. But later, I guess he couldn't hold it in anymore, so he probably told one of his friends. And then..."
"Then the next day, everyone was saying that Meng was so nervous the day before the HYG match that he wet his pants," You Xin added after finishing his yogurt.
Song Meng's face fell: "Later, I slept until the next day. When I woke up, I was starving. When I opened WeChat, I found everyone asking me if I had wet my pants last night. Can you imagine how I felt?"
At the time, Song Meng was still in the latter half of his peak, and he had an excellent reputation among the viewers of the ROE league, usually portraying himself as a gentle older brother. Therefore, this rumor, though truly bizarre, was still widely circulated.
Xiaoyu, standing nearby, gaped in surprise: "So... Mengmeng, is he a spy for the team?"
Song Meng: "..."
He chuckled: "No, he didn't do it on purpose. It probably got distorted as it was passed around. The main thing is... Xiaoyou just wanted to tell you that professional players are just ordinary people, and they might do anything outrageous."
Little Fish nodded, seemingly understanding, "Then, Meng Ge, why didn't you clarify this matter back then?"
"We lost to HYG that day, 1-2, and I didn't play well. Everyone was hoping we could win," Song Meng chuckled. "Back then, I said no one would believe something this absurd, so I'd mention it in the post-match interview when we win against HYG, just to clarify things. But..."
He suddenly paused in his speech.
As a result, that game became the biggest turning point in his career.
Many CG fans, especially Wind fans, made a huge fuss on the official Weibo account, demanding a change in the starting secondary carry. Under pressure, CG replaced the starting secondary carry with a substitute player in the next match.
CG.Meng never returned to the starting lineup after that.
Later, he retired hastily before he could even play against HYG or clarify that ridiculous rumor.
Behind the comedy lies a tragic undertone. Song Meng seemed to realize that he had made the atmosphere a bit heavy. He thought for a moment and changed the subject: "No, it's only fair to return the favor. I also want to tell you something about Yux—you all know that he always dresses up very carefully before going on stage, right? Sometimes when he goes out to eat and is photographed, he is dressed very appropriately."
Nan Zhiyi hadn't paid much attention to this, but occasionally she would see some people who disliked Yux saying things like, "If she spent the time she spent dressing up on training, she would have won the championship long ago": "What's wrong with that?"
"Hmm... well," Song Meng winked mysteriously, "I once asked him why he went to so much trouble to dress himself up. Guess what he said?"
"What?"
He said…
"Wait a minute," You Xin suddenly said. His expression darkened slightly, and he brought his hand, which had been hanging by his side, to the table.
"What?" Song Meng laughed. "You're allowed to expose my secrets, but I'm not allowed to expose yours?"
Ignoring You Xin's strong warning look, he continued, "He said it was because there was someone he cared about who would often watch CG competitions, so he wanted to dress well to get her attention."
"At that moment, four words popped into my head: peacock spreading its tail feathers..."
"..."
Nan Zhiyi's eyes widened slightly.
Xiao Yu, who was clearly still confused, chimed in, "Really? Then, is that person Brother You's girlfriend?"
"That's possible," Song Meng added without holding back.
Little Fish immediately exclaimed, "Wow, how romantic!"
You Xin: "………………"
Song Meng won the game and laughed so hard he pounded his legs. Nan Zhiyi subconsciously looked across at the other side and found that You Xin had turned his face away and hidden his head behind the triangle formed by his crossed arms, with only a little bit of his red ear tip showing.
-----------------------
Author's note: The announcement is for reference only; the clauses and penalties mentioned are just my conjecture and certainly do not reflect reality.
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