Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
With the start of the new season, everyone on the team, from players and coaches to data analysts, has visibly become busier. Every time Xu Ziyan clicks on Xie Wei's Weibo, there's a bunch of fans clamoring for more, lamenting that Xie Wei hasn't streamed in so long.
Xie Wei didn't intentionally stop live streaming; he genuinely couldn't find the time. Whenever Xu Ziyan saw Xie Wei at the base, he always seemed to be in a hurry.
However, Xu Ziyan soon lost interest in worrying about others, as the second-tier league was about to start its new season, and the second team was also getting busy.
After the official announcement that day, Xu Ziyan's Weibo followers increased by more than 100,000, most of which were due to the popularity he gained from the Rookie Cup.
Lu Donglou gave him a live streaming account and told him to stream for a few hours whenever he had free time. Xu Ziyan had never used these things before, and he fiddled with the streaming software for a long time before Bai Ke came to help him.
"This is window capture, with a game-specific mode. Once set up, others won't be able to see your other interfaces. Here you can choose the division and change the title. Teams usually provide templates for this part; if you don't know how to write it, just choose one and copy it. Also..."
Bai taught Xu Ziyan how to add subtitles and set up live stream covers, just like teaching a child. She took care of every little detail.
Yuan Shaofeng, who had been sitting nearby, joined the class. When he finished, he looked at Bai Ke with a shocked expression: "KK, what's wrong with you? Why were you so patient? Are you sick?"
Bai Ke rolled her eyes: "I've always been very patient, just not with you."
Yuan Shaofeng wasn't angry at being teased. He chuckled and said to Xu Ziyan, "Ice, are you going to stream later? Want to duo queue? I'll help you boost your viewership."
Assault and medic are a fairly typical setup in duo queue, and these two classes cooperate quite well. Xu Ziyan knew that Yuan Shaofeng was trying to boost his popularity, so he smiled gratefully and didn't refuse, instead accepting the offer: "Okay."
Fifteen minutes later, Xu Ziyan finished setting everything up, added the live stream title and cover image that Lu Donglou had given him, and clicked "Start Live Stream".
He thought that as a new streamer, he wouldn't have much popularity on his first broadcast. But as soon as he teamed up with Yuan Shaofeng, he casually glanced at the number of viewers and found that it had already reached more than 500 and was still rising rapidly. The chat room became lively, with some people asking him if he was really the champion of the newcomer cup, and others asking him for advice on how to beat the assault team in medical mode.
Xu Ziyan found it quite novel and answered a few questions with a smile.
Matchmaking complete, enter the game. The random map is Teshir Ancient City. The number of buildings is average, and there are quite a few hiding places. Overall, it is a well-balanced map in all aspects.
The game mode was still capture the point, and Xu Ziyan, as usual, chose the pistol and the stun gun. Seeing this, Yuan Shaofeng half-jokingly said, "Ice, take it easy. Don't let your damage output be higher than mine later, or I'll lose face."
Xu Ziyan said, "How could that be? You need to have confidence."
The two had been teammates for several months, their teamwork was excellent, and their support for each other was always timely, making the game very comfortable. With their teammates performing well, Xu Ziyan's team won almost a crushing victory.
After the game ended, the number of viewers in the live stream had reached over four thousand, and people had already started sending gifts. Xu Ziyan then retrieved the records from the backend and read out each ID to express his gratitude.
After playing for two hours, it was time for the training match. Xu Ziyan logged out of the game, said a few more words of farewell and thanks, and then turned off the live stream.
Yuan Shaofeng gave him a thumbs up: "When I did my first live stream, I was so nervous that I couldn't even speak properly, let alone interact with the chat and read the gifts. Ice, you're amazing."
Xu Ziyan was too embarrassed to say that she had picked up the habit from watching Xie Wei's live streams for years, so she just smiled.
After the training match ended, everyone was hungry. Xu Ziyan was about to order takeout for dinner when Yuan Shaofeng put his arm around his shoulder from behind: "Ice, do you have plans for tonight? I'll treat you to dinner. There's a new restaurant that just opened near the subway station, it's amazing."
Although such things happened often, Xu Ziyan guessed that Yuan Shaofeng probably had something he wanted to tell her, so he agreed.
The shop Yuan Shaofeng mentioned was a ramen restaurant that also sold other snacks. It was just lunchtime, and the shop was already packed with people, noisy and bustling.
After finding a seat and ordering, Yuan Shaofeng closed the menu and smiled at Xu Ziyan.
Xu Ziyan knew the main topic was coming, so he sat up straighter.
Yuan Shaofeng scratched his face, a look of embarrassment creeping onto his lips: "Ice, you've been getting really close to KK lately, uh, well..."
Have you heard him talk about anything related to dating?
His wording was very tactful, but Xu Ziyan immediately understood what he meant.
Yuan Shaofeng was asking him if Bai Ke had someone she liked.
Oh my god.
Yuan Shaofeng actually liked Bai Ke?
Xu Ziyan felt like he'd stumbled upon a huge piece of gossip. He thought for a moment and said very sincerely, "He didn't say that. He probably doesn't have anyone he likes right now."
Yuan Shaofeng breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Xu Ziyan's intense gaze, he smiled helplessly: "To be honest, a few days ago, I overheard him talking to his family on the phone. He said he would be getting married soon and told his family not to worry."
Xu Ziyan was stunned for a moment, then his mind raced. Considering Bai Ke's quick-witted personality, he figured that this was probably just a lie to appease his family.
But why do that?
Soon, Yuan Shaofeng answered his question: "KK's family thinks that a Beta won't amount to much, so it's better for him to give up early, go home, take the civil service exam, get married sooner, and live a stable life. Besides, isn't Chen Shen in the team too? Chen Shen is an Alpha and a team member, so he's much more famous than KK..."
Xu Ziyan understood; Bai Ke's family was a family that valued A more than B.
No wonder Yuan Shaofeng changed the subject when Bai Chen was mentioned before. He thought it was because they didn't get along. Turns out there was such a thing.
Xu Ziyan said, "KK is really strong."
Yuan Shaofeng said, "Yes, he's very good. It's a pity that he'll probably never make it into the first team in TWG."
Xu Ziyan remained silent.
Yuan Shaofeng is right. Bai Ke is indeed an excellent sniper, but unfortunately, TWG's sniper is Xie Wei. Unless Xie Wei has a major problem, Bai Ke can only be a substitute at best.
Yuan Shaofeng realized he had made the atmosphere a bit awkward, and remembering that Xu Ziyan was a big fan of Xie Wei, he quickly tried to salvage the situation by saying, "Speaking of which, Ice, do your family members support you playing e-sports?"
Xu Ziyan smiled and said, "I don't think they would agree."
Yuan Shaofeng said, "Should I?"
Xu Ziyan said, "They divorced when I was six years old, but they didn't officially separate until I came of age. Now they both have their own families and children."
Therefore, even if it is not supported, it will not be opposed, because no one has any extra attention to pay to Xu Ziyan.
Yuan Shaofeng never expected to make a series of mistakes, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Xu Ziyan chuckled and changed the subject, saying, "I never expected you to like KK. Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone?"
Yuan Shaofeng said, "You are not that kind of person."
Xu Ziyan asked gossipily, "When did you start liking KK?"
Yuan Shaofeng said, "Well... when we first joined the team, we were in the same batch of youth training."
The food arrived just then, and the two ate and chatted, talking about many things.
Back at the base, the two stood downstairs, and Yuan Shaofeng suddenly said, "Ice, you're going to be famous."
Xu Ziyan paused for a moment, then chuckled, "Thank you for your blessing?"
"I'm serious."
Yuan Shaofeng patted him on the shoulder and went upstairs first.
A week later, the new season officially began, and the date for TWG's first team draw ceremony was also set.
During the official live stream, Xie Wei, wearing a team uniform, pulled a golden ball out of a box.
The host opened the golden ball and announced that TWG would be facing their first opponent at tomorrow's opening ceremony: KW, another veteran powerhouse team.
“Oh,” Bai Ke raised an eyebrow, “this is going to be a tough battle. I hope Goddess Qingyue can hold on.”
He wasn't referring to Yin Yang Qu Qingyue, but rather to the characteristics of the KW team—they like to target healers.
At this moment, Lu Donglou walked in and clapped his hands: "Don't worry about others. The second team's draw is in a week. Hurry up and intensify your training."
Bai Ke stuck out her tongue and obediently returned to her seat.
Xu Ziyan wanted to send a message to Xie Wei, but when she picked up her phone, she didn't know what to say. Looking at the blank chat box, she put her phone down again.
I'll send Xie Wei a message tomorrow after his match, under the guise of congratulating him.
Xu Ziyan's thinking was quite reasonable. After all, TWG was simply invincible last season, winning almost every match, big or small. Logically speaking, KW would indeed give TWG a hard time, but TWG would definitely be the one to take the final victory.
However, to everyone's surprise, KW's new counter-strategy completely overwhelmed Qu Qingyue. In the BO3 that day, KW defeated TWG 2-1, securing their first win of the new season.
TWG lost.
The result caused an uproar online, with trolls and haters who had been waiting in the wings all coming out and making TWG the top trending topic.
Xie Wei is right. In the end, the e-sports industry is all about merit. As long as you have the skill, the person who cursed your ancestors yesterday can praise you to the skies today. But if you make a mistake, the person who said they would support you for life yesterday will turn around and attack and insult you with the most vicious language.
This wasn't the first time Xu Ziyan had seen such a scene, but it was the first time he had experienced it so closely and personally.
night.
Xie Wei finally finished the post-match review meeting and offered Qu Qingyue a few words of comfort. Her performance today was indeed subpar, but everyone has off days, and this was only a preseason game. He couldn't bring himself to criticize her, and like the coach, he simply told her to work harder.
After doing all that, he went into the coaching room to discuss the upcoming schedule.
With great power comes great responsibility; those who stand tall always bear more. Stepping out of the coaching room, Xie Wei turned her head to look at the night sky outside the corridor window and sighed softly.
It was late, and he was feeling a bit tired. Just as he was about to return to the training room, he heard someone calling him from behind.
"team leader."
It was a familiar sound that I hadn't heard in a long time.
Xie Wei was startled, turned around, and sure enough, saw Xu Ziyan. The young man was standing at the entrance of the emergency exit, smiling at him.
Xie Wei's heart skipped a beat, and she strode over.
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