"I've been meeting with the club's top management. Their idea is to intentionally or unintentionally release clues about you through live streams and the official Weibo account before the official announcement. For example, they might accidentally capture an item you often use, arrange a face-to-face duo match, and so on, to build momentum for the final announcement."
"This way, their first impression will be that I'm a man... If I officially announce that I'm a woman, will netizens feel that their IQ has been insulted and criticize me even more? I don't care. I can just ignore the criticism and it won't hurt me. I'm just afraid that it will affect the team..." Qiao Ran said truthfully.
After doing live broadcasts for some time, Qiao Ran has gained a certain understanding of the nature of these netizens.
If things really went as Jiang Wenzhou said, she could already foresee what would happen next.
"They're not worried about the arrangements, so why should you be worried?" Jiang Wenzhou thought the club's top management's arrangements were a bit strange, but he still smiled and comforted Qiao Ran. "In this age of traffic, being black and red is still red. They're so aggressive in smearing you and the team now. When we make a comeback later, they'll be so embarrassed."
Jiang Wenzhou stood up and patted Qiao Ran on the shoulder. "Relax, don't overthink it. Even if the sky falls, I, Coach Zhang, and Pei Yan will hold it up. All you have to do is cooperate with the work, train with peace of mind, and focus on the competition."
"I know that the manager, the coach, and the captain have all been under a lot of pressure to agree to my joining the team. I will not let you down."
"Alright, don't swear any more promises in front of me. It's your first day on the team, and it's been tough enough. Hurry down and have something good to eat with them. You should have training tonight."
——
Everyone gathered at the dining table.
Zhang Qian and Jiang Wenzhou were also there.
Zhang Qian raised the cup of fat otaku's happy water and stood up. "Come on, let's have tea instead of wine. Welcome Qiao Ran to officially join our NSD!"
Ye Xiaofan was the first to applaud, and others followed suit and started joking.
"Welcome, welcome! But coach, this isn't tea!"
"Same, almost the same, as long as you know what I mean."
"Now that Qiao Ran is here, Xiao Fan will have to give up his position as the group's favorite~"
"I'm fine, it's my pleasure!"
There was laughter at the table, and the topic finally fell on Pei Yan.
"Captain, can you please smile now? Stop looking so stern and act like someone owes you millions."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
When Qiao Ran heard the word "owe money", he was obviously stunned for a moment, and the meat he had just put into his mouth instantly lost its taste.
"I'm not trying to make you smile, and I really can't smile at that face of yours." Pei Yan habitually confronted Zhao Jie, and at the same time noticed the change on Qiao Ran's face.
Qiao Ran, who was clearly smiling just now, now had a smile on his face, but the smile was obviously frozen.
"Captain, you're attacking me personally again! Coach, look at him!" Zhao Jie was used to playing tricks, so he deliberately pinched his throat and pulled Zhang Qian's arm.
Zhang Qian avoided him with disgust, causing others to laugh.
"Brother Zhao, please be kind. I'm not full yet." Ye Xiaofan couldn't help it.
"Tsk! Xiaofan, you've also learned bad things from them."
......
Qiao Ran blocked out the noise and was uncontrollably lost in her own emotions.
"Are you feeling unwell, or is the food not to your liking?" Pei Yan was sitting next to Qiao Ran, so he asked in a low voice to avoid disturbing others.
Qiao Ran suddenly came to his senses and didn't know how to explain for a moment.
I could only use the excuse that I drank too much yesterday and the adverse reactions hadn't worn off yet: "But...it might be the hangover aftereffects. My stomach is a little uncomfortable."
Pei Yan didn't believe this. Everyone has a hangover, and it's intermittent. Qiao Ran was obviously fine during the afternoon training.
Qiao Ran obviously didn't want to talk about it, and Pei Yan didn't want to ask him any more.
This can be said: "Since you feel uncomfortable, why don't you go back to your room and rest first."
Qiao Ran turned around and looked at the people who were still talking and laughing: "Is it not good for me to leave alone like this?"
Pei Yan tilted his head and looked at Qiao Ran: "Do you think it would be better if they came back and saw you like this and worried about you together?"
“…”Qiao Ran was speechless.
"Alright, go ahead. I'll tell them that you shouldn't participate in the evening training for now. Get yourself in shape first. Training like this is a waste of time."
As he spoke, Pei Yan stood up and picked up Qiao Ran.
Qiao Ran's height is 167 cm, which is not considered short among girls, but she is still a bit shorter than Pei Yan.
"Qiao Ran is not feeling well. I'll take her back to her room to rest first." Pei Yan didn't explain anything and dragged Qiao Ran upstairs.
Leaving behind a few people who were unable to react and looked at each other in confusion.
Finally, Zhang Qian coughed lightly, breaking the silence: "What... is going on?"
A big question mark appeared on Zhao Jie's head as he asked the others, "Is this the captain I know?"
Sun Kai shook his head and sighed: "The world is changing~"
…
Upstairs, Pei Yan sent Qiao Ran to the room and stood outside the door.
"I'll give you one night to adjust your emotions. Don't bring personal matters into daily training. If you don't perform well, it won't just affect you."
Qiao Ran sniffed lightly: "Sorry..."
"Don't apologize to me. Just think about why you joined the team and how you can prove your worth."
Pei Yan's tone was not as harsh as during training. Instead, it sounded a little gentle, more like patient guidance.
"Um."
"Okay, I won't disturb you anymore. You didn't eat anything just now, I'll bring you something later." After saying that, Pei Yan closed the door for Qiao Ran.
Qiao Ran turned around, leaned against the door, rested for a while, and regained his composure.
Then, she remembered what Pei Yan had just said and slapped her face.
What did Pei Yan say before?
Want to send her food?
Exempt her from training tonight and send her food?
Is Pei Yan still the legendary devil?
——
Seeing Pei Yan coming downstairs, the gossip flames in the eyes of the people sitting at the dining table burned even more vigorously.
"Pei Yan, tell me the truth. Why did you suddenly change your personality? Is it because you think the girl is pretty and you're ready to give up?" Jiang Wenzhou rarely saw a different side of Pei Yan and couldn't help but tease him.
"By the way, Xiaofan said Qiao Ran is your fan~" Zhao Jie raised his eyebrows a few times, twisting his body into a maggot. "Are you planning to develop a world-shattering, soul-stirring, you-chasing-her-once-once-once-once love story?"
Pei Yan didn't hesitate and threw his empty bottle of mineral water at Zhao Jie. "You're such a good storyteller. Why don't you stop playing games and go to Green Jinjiang to write a novel instead?"
Sun Kai also interrupted: "Tell me your pen name. As brothers, I'll go and smash the bomb for you!"
Zhang Qian didn't joke with them, but looked at Pei Yan, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Just say what you want to say."
"Qiao Ran is a girl..."
Pei Yan chuckled: "It's obvious. I'm not blind."
"If she joins the team and the official announcement is made, it will definitely attract a lot of criticism..."
"Haven't we already discussed this? Didn't the higher-ups agree to help with the PR?"
Zhang Qian didn't know whether Pei Yan really didn't understand or was pretending to be confused.
"Do you know how many fans you have, and how many of them are girlfriend fans or wife fans?" Zhang Qian lowered his voice. "You may not have any special feelings for Qiao Ran, but just because she's a girl, you lend a hand and take a little extra care of her, but do your fans think the same way?"
"As the captain, should I deliberately distance myself from the new players for this reason? Let the new players feel that the captain is leading the way in ostracizing them? Would this be more beneficial to the game?"
Pei Yan's rebuttal left Zhang Qian speechless.
"I'm just reminding you to be careful about this. I'm not telling you not to say a word to her..."
"They are fans, but they are just fans. I am a contestant who wins competitions based on my strength, not an idol who relies on my looks. If I lose the competition, they can criticize me all they want... As for the rest..." Pei Yan snorted, "Don't say that there is nothing between me and the little girl. Even if there is, it is my private matter. It is not their place to comment."
At the beginning, Pei Yan ignored the smooth entertainment path paved by his parents and insisted on playing e-sports. In addition to his love for games, he also hated those self-righteous fans who liked to hijack the lives of artists.
Unexpectedly, with the booming development of the e-sports industry, these fan circle habits have also spread to the e-sports circle.
——
Before the evening training began, Pei Yan asked Ye Xiaofan to deliver the meal to Qiao Ran's room.
When Qiao Ran opened the door and saw Ye Xiaofan standing outside, a trace of disappointment flashed across his eyes, which he himself was not aware of.
"Thank you." Qiao Ran thanked him politely.
Ye Xiaofan blushed and scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed: "Female...ah no, Sister Qiao Qiao, eat slowly, I have to go to training."
After saying that, he gave the food to Qiao Ran and ran away.
In this short while, Qiao Ran had completely calmed down.
She joined the team to realize her dream. Some people are no longer with her and will no longer affect her...
Qiao Ran hurriedly finished his meal, took his notebook and tablet, and went to the meeting room alone.
Pei Yan gave her a vacation and took care of her, but that didn't mean she could allow herself to relax.
The others are still training, so she can't sit idle either.
Pei Yan said before that she didn’t understand other people’s styles and ideas well enough, and that’s true.
Although she seemed to know some of it, in fact, it was just something she learned incidentally when she was studying Pei Yan's videos before, and she had not delved into their fighting styles and habits.
At this moment, Qiao Ran found all the videos he had saved before, put on headphones, and started watching them again.
This time, she not only looked at Pei Yan, but also focused her attention on other people, analyzing their skills and ideas.
This lasted for several hours. Qiao Ran was so busy recording that he didn't even drink a sip of water.
The lights in the conference room were still on until they finished training.
——
"It's so late, and the manager and coach are still in a meeting?" Ye Xiaofan came back to the training room after going to the toilet.
The training has ended, Zhao Jie and Sun Kai plan to start a live broadcast and play duo row for a while.
"No, the coach has been feeling unwell these past two days, and the captain asked him to rest early. Lao Jiang went out after we finished eating, so he is not in the base." Sun Kai replied casually.
"That's strange. Who is in the conference room? The lights are still on."
"Damn it, it's late at night, don't scare me, I'm timid." Zhao Jie said this, but there was no fear on his face.
Pei Yan, who was leaning on the side, put down his phone and looked at Ye Xiaofan: "Are you sure there is someone inside? Did someone forget to turn off the lights?"
"After the review, weren't you the last one to leave? No one else has gone in since."
The lights were off at that time, Pei Yan remembered it very clearly.
"I'll go take a look." There were only a few people in the base, and Pei Yan had probably guessed who it was.
The author has something to say:
It will probably take a long time to wait for the official announcement of Goose Paper and Goose Girl. Goose Girl’s joining the team has not been officially announced yet. She has to build her career first, otherwise she will be scolded!
PS. At noon, I played 5v5 with my colleagues. The loser bought Snow King. The scumbag author lost, so he bought Snow King. But those colleagues who cheated the scumbag author will soon appear in the article as cannon fodder NPCs →_→. Unfortunately, they will never know~
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