He Youjin swallowed hard and wavered.
Although today's society is developing rapidly, the stereotype of the second gender still exists. People still think that Alpha is capable, Omega is suitable for returning to the family, and Beta exists to fill the vacancies of AO positions.
He Youjin is a typical Virgo, competitive and striving for perfection. He possesses a brilliant mind, but because he's a Beta, he's often sidelined by Alphas at work. Lin Mingfei, while a straight A, doesn't have the "straight A" syndrome. Although she wasn't studious as a child, she possesses strong abilities across various fields. Now unemployed and destitute, meeting an old acquaintance like Lin Mingfei, who knows her well and is willing to offer her a job, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Alright," he said with a straight face. "I'll be clear in advance that I'm a hard-nosed person and difficult to get along with. If you want me to be your manager, you'll have to listen to me."
"As a manager, you have to be meticulous in order to make money," said Lin Mingfei.
"That Omega in your base is quite good-looking." He Youjin pinched his chin and said, "Is he a relative of one of you?"
"Not really." Lin Mingfei coughed and said perfunctorily.
"Then...hiss——" He Youjin gasped and fell back in fear: "Could it be...that he is a toy for you sinful Alphas to satisfy your lust in your spare time!"
"......" Lin Mingfei's forehead was covered with a huge cross, and she couldn't stand it any longer and said, "Stop watching those 8 o'clock movies!"
He Youjin: "."
The SUV cruised smoothly down the highway. He Youjin, with a pillow behind his neck, was absorbed in scrolling through his phone. He had already spent the shortest possible time familiarizing himself with the relevant matters, his brows gradually furrowing.
"What's with all this negative information about you? You wouldn't go out and mess with your fans, would you?" He said solemnly, "Zero, since we're going to be partners, you'd better not hide these things from me."
Lin Mingfei's face was as gloomy as water, and she stared straight ahead.
"That was a kid from my friend's family. He was in high school at the time and was in his rebellious phase. He ran away from home to watch Wang Ling's league game." He said lightly.
"Then why did he look for you? Is he your fan?"
"Um."
"That's okay, just clarify it! There's nothing you can't say!" He Youjin said.
Lin Mingfei pursed her lips for a moment, and they turned slightly pale.
"That kid... had some mental illness. He left a suicide note for his family saying he wanted to go watch my game. It scared everyone in the family, so his grandfather had to ask me to go find him."
"You went?" He Youjin was slightly surprised: "Then your competition--
”
"I missed the group stage and played as a substitute," Lin Mingfei said. "Because our previous points were high enough, even if the substitutes didn't perform well that day, it didn't affect the subsequent schedule."
"But your fans definitely won't be happy about that," He Youjin said. "That's going to be a huge fight."
Lin Mingfei remained silent.
He Youjin pinched his chin and muttered to himself, "The internet is flooded with information these days. If we really make a statement like this, there's bound to be people digging deep to find out what happened to this kid. We're bound to get cyberbullied... But you can't just keep silent!"
Lin Mingfei sighed softly and said, "Actually, something else happened later."
"What?"
"I promised him that if he went home and studied hard, I would take him to watch Wang Ling's national finals."
"Didn't you make it to the finals?"
"Not really. With the strength of our team, there is no doubt that we will enter the finals. But they adjusted the way of selling tickets that time, and I didn't get a ticket." Lin Mingfei said: "And I was busy with training at that time, so I told the kid that there would be a next time, and I will definitely take him to the scene next time." Lin Mingfei paused, slammed on the brakes, and the SUV stopped unexpectedly on the side of the road.
“But the kid bought a standing ticket from some scalper, and the ticket was outside the legal viewing area. Later…” Lin Mingfei leaned over and slowly rested her forehead on the steering wheel. The dense and noisy sounds in her memory surged over like a tide.
......
"The folding frame collapsed--!!"
"How can people stand in a place like that?! Are they crazy about money?!"
"Oh my Chaochao!! Chaochao, what will mom do if you leave?!"
"Ming Fei, he got into trouble because he was watching you play! He got into trouble because he admired you—"
"Why did you agree to take him to that damn game? Why?"
......
The group of people were crying their hearts out, and he stood there at a loss, his mind blank.
A black and white photo of the young man was placed on the mourning hall, and gradually double images appeared on it, skewed and twisted like ghosts. He raised his hand to rub his eyes, but it was useless. He rubbed them again and again until his eyeballs were swollen and painful, but the double images could not disappear.
There was a moment when he felt like he had stepped into the abyss and it was over.
"Zero, Zero, are you okay?" He Youjin shouted worriedly and anxiously, holding his arm: "Don't scare me!"
Lin Mingfei exhaled softly and long, he opened his eyes, and the scene before him was clear and intact, reminding him that everything was over.
"I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to be like this." He Youjin said awkwardly, "So you took a two-year break because of this?"
"Not entirely." Lin Mingfei said: "This incident had a huge impact on me. It triggered my occupational disease in advance. At that time, I had double vision and it became difficult for me to live a normal life, not to mention aiming in games. Speaking of which, I even thought it was a psychological problem at that time..."
"Psychological problem?!" He Youjin's expression changed slightly.
"You were shocked too, weren't you?" Lin Mingfei laughed. "If it's a psychological problem, there's actually no cure. It's very likely to develop into a chronic disease with easy recurrences, which would end my career." He patted the steering wheel and said calmly, "Fortunately, it's not. I can still perform the surgery."
"Were you alone for those two years? And didn't you tell anyone?" He Youjin asked in a deep voice, feeling suffocated.
Lin Mingfei remained silent.
He Youjin felt nauseous again. "You're awesome, such a big-hearted athlete! If it were me, I'd have had depression long ago. Alas, what's this? It's just an unprovoked disaster! Actually, if you ask me, the child's situation has nothing to do with you. You've done your best." His heart was heavy, not knowing how else to comment. He could only shake his head and say, "What a sin... The dead are greater, the dead are greater. I won't say anymore."
"In reality, even if things like this are clarified in detail, those who are willing to believe it will still believe it, while those who hate it will not." Lin Mingfei said frankly: "In esports, winning or losing is the only thing that matters."
"You players don't have to care, but I have to take action," He Youjin said. "You don't have to explain, but you have to deny it clearly. And then... if some other major event can overshadow this topic, that would be even better."
"Other major events--" Lin Mingfei pondered and stepped on the accelerator suddenly.
"Hey, where are you going?" He Youjin was pinned to the back of the car by inertia and said in fear: "Let's forget about such a big event as a car accident!"
"What are you thinking! Let's go back and stir up trouble." Lin Mingfei snorted and laughed: "Our P team is best at stirring up trouble."
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