Chapter 85 is because I like...
For a fleeting moment, it was as if the crowd celebrating on the field had been put on pause.
Old Xu, with a lemon in his left hand and a milk in his right, was hugging his beloved teammates with tears streaming down his face when he suddenly felt someone poke his waist. He turned around and saw that Rock had stopped his celebration and was staring dumbfounded at something behind him.
He turned around and saw that Rock's expression was copied onto his face.
There was a moment of silence in the audience, followed by deafening cheers.
A sharp whistle rang out, followed by a cacophony of clapping, stomping, and laughter, rising in waves that nearly lifted the roof off.
OTG fans, who had just been heartbroken over their team's loss, were stunned. They stood up, exchanged shocked glances, and then immediately threw away their support signs and joined the cheering frenzy.
Even the OTG players sitting opposite them, who had just lost the game and were slumped in their seats, sat up straight. Hust looked deeply shocked. He looked at his teammates, then at the coach behind him, and gestured as if to say something, clearly forgetting that he had just been dejected after losing the championship 1-3.
Meanwhile, the main live stream room and the chat rooms of the various secondary streamers were flooded with 【??????】 messages. Among them, Song Baiyu slammed his fist on the table amidst a sea of 【Wishing them a long and happy marriage!】 messages, angrily accusing, “These two people were dating behind my back and didn’t tell me!!”
"They didn't tell me!! Neither of them!!! They're treating me like a dog!!!"
"You're still laughing? Still laughing!! Do you know how long I've been a third wheel? Is this really that funny?! Still laughing? What are you laughing at?!"
"Fine... Very well. I've seen through you all today." Song Baiyu said slowly, each word deliberate and forceful, as if he were about to engage in a battle with the live chat. "None of you care about me! None of you!!!"
Nan Zhiyi actually regretted it the moment she kissed him.
When their lips touched, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, instantly snapping him out of his euphoric, uncontrollable state.
He stared in disbelief, wondering, "What am I doing?"
Especially when he opened his eyes and met a dark camera lens and the gaze of the photographer behind him who was relentlessly taking close-up shots of the two of them, he was so frightened that his heart almost sank to the ground.
Nan Zhiyi hurriedly took a step back, so the kiss was almost instantaneous.
But You Xin, unusually, made no further move. He remained in the same position as when the other person leaned in to kiss him, his expression somewhat...dazed.
Their teammates beside them had clearly stopped celebrating.
"Wow." Rock craned his neck and leaned closer discreetly. "Is Yi-ge so...open-minded?"
milk: "Why isn't Yux moving? Is he scared out of his wits or excited to the point of paralysis?"
Lemon chimed in quietly, "They should be happy."
Rock: "Actually, I have another question. If I call you both 'brother,' then which one of you should I call 'sister-in-law'?"
"…………"
You Xin finally moved after the team members had finished their discussion.
He blinked, a hint of doubt in his expression, mixed with a barely suppressed smile that still escaped from the corners of his eyes and brows, and said, "I'm thinking."
Nan Zhiyi asked instinctively, "What are you thinking about?"
“My family… should all be watching the live stream right now,” You Xin said after thinking for a moment. “They should all have seen it by now.”
She added, "I saw you kiss me."
He paused, then added, "In front of, probably, several million people?"
"…………"
Nan Zhiyi's face turned completely red before she even realized it.
Fortunately, this little incident did not affect the celebratory atmosphere of the final victory.
Staff members other than team members cannot stay on stage for too long; the team members will then have a handshake and interview session.
With her ears flushed red, Nan Zhiyi joined everyone in raising the trophy, then slipped backstage amidst the chaos of another round of fireworks.
The HYG team members stayed on stage to give interviews.
Milk spoke first, summarizing his two championship runs, expressing his gratitude to his teammates, and sharing his thoughts on temporarily changing positions during the season.
Although he's usually extremely irreverent, at this crucial moment, as the captain of HYG, he can still manage to say a few respectable things.
Next up was Lemon. Lemon's eyes were red. In fact, he had already started crying when Yux began chasing Hust. He was halfway through his tears when he witnessed his teammate and coach kissing, which shocked him so much that he forced back his tears. Now his eyes and nose were completely red.
He was usually quiet and reserved, and he couldn't say anything nice at the moment. He just thanked a bunch of people and then handed the microphone to Rock.
At this moment, everyone realized the crux of the problem—Yux was once again standing at the very back of everyone.
The last time he did this, he publicly fulfilled his promise to win the championship, saying he would show everyone a photo of his girlfriend, but in the end he pulled out a photoshopped picture of Angel's long hair and fooled everyone.
Rock's statement was even simpler: Thank you, main carry daddy; thank you, off-carry daddy; thank you, strategist daddy; thank you, coach daddy. You are all my daddies. Thank you all for carrying me to another championship. Winning a second championship feels so good!
When the microphone was handed to You Xin, everyone present instinctively held their breath.
He said, "Thank you to my teammates, all the staff on our team, and the fans for their support. This year has been very special for me. After going through so much to get to where I am today, this championship is the best response to everything this year has been about."
The victory speech was very formulaic. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but a hint of disappointment lingered in their hearts.
But then, You Xin paused, a slight smile playing on his lips, and spoke again in a completely different tone than before: "Besides that, there is someone else I want to thank today."
"This year marks the fifth year that my boyfriend Zhiyi and I have been together. I am very grateful to him; he is the most important person in my life. Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today."
As if in slow motion, the male host on stage and HYG's other three teammates all slowly and simultaneously turned their heads toward him, their mouths agape.
You Xin remained calm, handing the microphone back to the host after speaking, nodding to the screaming audience, and ending his world championship journey with a simple wave.
-
In early December, You Xin received two things: his initial draft of the champion skin design, and an official replica of the World Championship trophy customized for each player.
His choice for the championship skin was virtually uncontroversial. The designers created a unique look for the witch's potion bottle, along with several specific animations for casting abilities.
The color scheme of the medicine bottle is basically the same as Yux's game character. In addition, there is his signature on the bottle.
However, this signature... looks unusually long, clearly not the length that the three letters "YUX" should be.
If players download the skin and zoom in to view the visual effects after its release, they will discover that the actual content of this signature is:
Yux
& AngelYi
“This is your own skin. The designer said you can only sign your own name on it,” Old Xu explained to You Xin for the millionth time, in anguish.
Yu Hsin: "This is my signature. It's just a fancy font."
"...I think anyone with eyes can see that this isn't it."
“That’s it.” You Xin insisted on his point of view. “Tell him that this is a design from my signature.”
Old Xu: "…………"
The championship trophy is an official replica, given to the participating players as a souvenir, while the original is kept in the club's history museum.
The delivery address You Xin filled in was another villa community near the base. He's been busy moving lately: the prize money from the World Invitational Tournament was very generous, just enough for a down payment on a house. As for the rest, he can worry about it next year; if all else fails, his older brother will cover for him.
“I don’t like the old house.” He stood at the door and solemnly said to Nan Zhiyi, who was unpacking the trophy package.
Nan Zhiyi's attention was focused on the trophy, and she asked absentmindedly, "Why?"
"Because our rooms aren't together," You Xin said. At that moment, Nan Zhiyi shoved the trophy into his hand and took out her phone to take a picture of him.
“I’m going to do a summary of the World Championship,” Nam Ji-yi explained. “I’ve already selected eight photos for this.”
The implication is that they just need this one more card to complete the nine-square grid.
You Xin obediently cooperated and took a photo with the trophy. While Nan Zhiyi was happily editing her WeChat Moments post, adding a lethal amount of emoticons to the caption, he quietly watched from the side.
After posting that message on WeChat Moments, he spoke again: "Actually, I sometimes thought about it before."
"Hmm?" Nan Zhiyi turned to look at him with a smile. "What are you thinking about?"
“I think,” You Xin paused for a moment, “is your liking for me real love, or… something like idol worship?”
"For a long time, I didn't understand."
"But then I figured it out."
"No matter what, as long as I can stand at the highest point, that will be fine," You Xin said. "As long as I stay at the top, perhaps you can keep watching me."
"Like right now."
As he spoke, his gaze fell on the trophy: "Receiving a trophy like this makes me feel... even more worthy of you."
Nan Zhiyi stared at him blankly for a few seconds, and then suddenly burst out laughing.
You Xin blinked, wanting to ask him if it was funny, but then he felt a weight on his shoulder—Nan Zhiyi leaned in, unusually pressing herself against him.
"You think I'll become a better person because of you," he heard Nan Zhiyi say, "and like you even more?"
"Is it because I always like to say things like... I hope you can win the championship?"
The person leaning on his shoulder shifted. Nan Zhiyi looked up, smiled, and said to him, "Are you an idiot?"
“I don’t like you because you’re sparkly,” Nan Zhiyi said, looking into his eyes. “It’s because I like you that I want you to shine.”
You Xin felt something gently break apart in his chest—not shatter, but with a subtle sound like ice melting. Something that had been frozen deep within him for years had just lightly melted away, vanishing without a trace.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
It turns out that all these years, what I've been clinging to has been such an absurd illusion, making me seem so naive and ridiculous in comparison to the other person's honest and straightforward love.
He actually thought that gaining someone's love required a bargaining chip.
The winter sun was shining brightly, and Nan Zhiyi was in an exceptionally good mood.
He straightened up, took the replica of the trophy again, and held it in his hands with great delight, examining it from all angles, as if he couldn't get enough of looking at it.
After a long pause, Nan Zhiyi's gaze fell on the base of the trophy. His hand gently brushed over it; several lines of text were engraved there:
2025
Milk Rock Lemon
Yux AngelYi Mike
After many twists and turns, and years of time, their names were finally engraved together on the trophy.
His regret wasn't about not making it into the league, but about not being able to stand with the person he loved in the end.
But this time it's for real, forever and ever, there will be no more regrets.
(End of text)
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Author's Note: This concludes the main text.
Then there are more side stories, quite a few, including all sorts of random sequels, everyone's reactions, and forum-style content—all packaged together in the side stories. There's also a side story I want to write about a massive outburst of Fu Rui fandom... *cough*
I'll wait a few days before updating the extra chapters; I've been so tired these past two days that my migraine flared up [crying emoji]. I'll also fix some typos and such in the previous chapters, but overall there won't be any major changes.
This is a comeback piece; I hadn't written anything for two whole years before this, and many of the writing processes were incredibly difficult. But with everyone's encouragement and support, I persevered! Thank you all so much for your continued support! Love you all!!!
I'll try to start updating the extra chapters within a week.
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