E-Sports Boss Wants To Post Messages With New Players Every Day Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The awards ceremony followed the interview. Bathed in applause and cheers, Xu Ziyan floated off the stage, clutching his trophy.

Walking back to the lounge, he was both surprised and delighted to find that the members of the A-Team had also come.

Shen Xiao already had a good impression of this Omega newcomer and greeted him with a smile: “Congratulations on first place. Wow, the younger generation is truly formidable. It’s been years since a Medic won the Rookie Cup.”

Xu Ziyan smiled and said, “Thank you.”

Shen Xiao winked: “Add me on Line? Maybe we can Duo Queue sometime.”

Qu Qingyue chuckled, mercilessly exposing him: “Ice, don’t let this guy fool you. He’s just a scoundrel who likes to trick kids.”

Shen Xiao immediately put on a hurt expression: “Ququ, saying that really hurts my feelings.”

The “kid,” Xu Ziyan, just smiled without speaking.

Qu Qingyue observed his reaction, and a thought struck her. She suddenly asked, “By the way, I heard your interview just now. You said you were the Captain’s little fanboy. Is that true?”

Xu Ziyan’s heart skipped a beat. He couldn’t gauge her intention for asking, but he remembered his agreement with Xie Wei. He curved his lips into a smile, his attitude completely frank: “Yes, I joined TWG because I admire the Captain.”

Seeing him act so normally, Qu Qingyue’s suspicion immediately dissipated by more than half. She smiled down, thinking she had been overly worried, then turned back and laughed: “Captain, did you hear that? Our Rookie Cup champion is your fanboy. Shouldn’t you offer some fan service?”

Behind her, Xie Wei was discussing team matters with Lu Donglou. Hearing the comment, he turned his head to look.

In the crowd, the Omega, dressed in the team uniform and holding the trophy, happened to look over as well. Under the hallway lights, the young man’s black hair was soft and fine, his eyes bright, and his skin very fair—he looked well-behaved and handsome.

And this handsome Omega still bore his mark on the back of his neck.

Xie Wei smiled: “I saw your gameplay. It was impressive. Keep up the good work.”

Xu Ziyan nervously tightened his grip on the trophy, trying hard to maintain the polite demeanor he had shown when they first met: “Thank you, Captain! I will definitely keep working hard.”

Xie Wei raised an eyebrow.

Although this distant attitude was what he had requested, seeing Xu Ziyan act so aloof at this moment inexplicably sparked a feeling of displeasure in his heart.

After realizing his reaction, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

Just then, other media outlets wanted to come over for an interview. Xu Ziyan briefly said goodbye to the A-Team members and hurried away.

Shen Xiao nudged Qu Qingyue and joked, “They say the waves behind push the waves ahead, and it’s true. Not only is he handsome, but his skills are also sharp. What’s your assessment, as the ‘wave ahead’?”

Qu Qingyue’s smile froze, then quickly returned to normal: “What assessment could there be? You, on the other hand, don’t you feel any sense of crisis seeing so many new Assault Players in the competition?”

Shen Xiao didn’t take the matter seriously. After a couple of sentences, he steered the conversation elsewhere.

However, Bai Chen, who had been silent the whole time, noticed the subtle change in Qu Qingyue’s expression. He pursed his lips but said nothing.

—

Finally finished with the interviews, Xu Ziyan took his peripherals back to the team van. Lu Donglou helped him put the trophy away and asked, “Ice, do you want to set up a Weibo account? It will be easier for team promotion and building popularity later on.”

Then, remembering the reason Xu Ziyan didn’t have a Weibo account, which he had overheard during a previous conversation, he quickly added, “Of course, insulting people, flaming, and engaging in online arguments are strictly prohibited.”

Xu Ziyan chuckled: “I definitely know that. I’ll register a new one when I get back tonight.”

“Mhm.” Lu Donglou paused, a hint of hesitation in his expression, as if struggling with something. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, “Ice, I need to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth.”

Xu Ziyan looked at him.

Lu Donglou lowered his voice: “You mentioned having an Alpha partner before. Is that person Xie Wei?”

Xu Ziyan was completely unprepared for that question. His mind stalled for a moment, and he opened his mouth: “No…”

“Alright,” Lu Donglou actually had a good idea of the situation, “I just want to say, if you two don’t plan on going public with this, then keep it well hidden. Everyone on our team is clear about your skill, but there are many people with ulterior motives. If this gets exposed, who knows what kind of story they’ll twist it into.”

Xu Ziyan gave a somewhat helpless smile. He wasn’t lying; he and Xie Wei really weren’t lovers. But explaining this would require a lengthy explanation of the entire situation, which was too much trouble. He simply nodded and agreed to the arrangement.

Seeing him so agreeable, Lu Donglou felt much relieved. Having coached for so many years, he had seen many rebellious youths. This age group was prone to so-called “love sickness,” believing the person in front of them was their forever, insisting on going public, and desperately clinging to love.

A player as smart, willing to listen, and skillful as Xu Ziyan was rare. Such people usually go further.

Lu Donglou smiled and patted his shoulder: “Go back and get some good rest. You have tomorrow off. You’ve worked hard these past few days.”

Xu Ziyan said, “Thank you, Coach.”

Back in the dorm, he closed the door, collapsed onto the soft bed, and let out a heavy sigh, feeling that the burden that had been weighing on his heart for days had significantly lightened.

Looking back, the past few days had been truly incredible.

But no matter how incredible, it was ultimately coming to an end.

He touched the bite mark on the back of his neck and found that the trace was almost imperceptible. By tomorrow, the Temporary Marking would completely disappear.

His relationship with Xie Wei would completely return to square one.

…He felt so reluctant.

Xu Ziyan patted his forehead, deciding to finally relax tomorrow, sleep in, and watch a movie in the dorm. Just as he was about to get up and wash up, there was a knock on the door.

Who would be visiting at this hour?

A name lit up in his mind, and Xu Ziyan practically leaped off the bed and rushed to the door, opening it.

Xie Wei, standing outside, still had his hand raised in mid-knock. Seeing Xu Ziyan, he smiled: “You were too fast.”

Xu Ziyan realized how eager he had appeared and smiled awkwardly: “Captain, is something the matter?”

Xie Wei noticed his embarrassment and suddenly felt like teasing him. He deliberately said, “Can’t I come over if nothing is wrong? Do you not welcome me?”

“No, no!” Xu Ziyan quickly shook his head. “Of course, you’re welcome. Uh, please come in.”

“Alright, I was just teasing you,” Xie Wei laughed. “I won’t come in. I just came to give you something. Here.”

He pulled a small white box from his pocket and placed it in Xu Ziyan’s hand. Xu Ziyan looked closely and saw it was a limited-edition collaboration Bluetooth headset from a certain brand.

He had wanted this headset for a long time. Xu Ziyan had casually mentioned it during a late-night training chat with Xie Wei. He hadn’t expected Xie Wei to remember and buy it for him.

He quickly said, “This is too expensive. I can’t accept it.”

Xie Wei said, “There’s no ‘can’t accept’ about it. I bought it as a gift for you. Didn’t you say you liked it before? Don’t you like it now?”

Since he put it that way, Xu Ziyan stopped refusing and happily accepted it: “I like it, I do. Thank you, Captain.”

Xie Wei said, “Stop thanking me. You thank me every day; it sounds like you’re giving me a ‘nice guy’ card.” He checked the time on his wrist. “Alright, you should rest early. My scrim is about to start.”

The A-Team’s new season was starting earlier than the B-Team’s, so the A-Team members were already deep into preparations for the new season.

Xu Ziyan nodded: “Okay, goodbye.”

Xie Wei smiled: “Goodbye.”

Closing the door again, Xu Ziyan walked dizzily into the bathroom to wash up. Lying in bed, he looked at the headset box in his hand, feeling like he was flying, even more elated than when he won the trophy.

Xie Wei never concealed his Pheromone around him, and the scent of lemon and mint still lingered nearby. Xu Ziyan rolled around on the bed, savoring it, and covered his face.

What should he do? He felt like he was falling for Xie Wei more and more.

There was no helping it. Xie Wei’s attitude toward him was too gentle and too special: his companionship during the Pheromone influence, his guidance during training, and the thoughtfulness of remembering a casual remark. All of this gave Xu Ziyan the illusion that their feelings were mutual.

If only that were true.

Carefully placing the headset on the bedside table, Xu Ziyan picked up his phone and saw that the B-Team members had all sent messages congratulating him on the championship. He replied to them one by one, then opened Weibo and registered a new account.

[TWG-Ice: Hi everyone, I’m Ice.]

Xu Ziyan sent his new ID to Lu Donglou. When he switched back, he found he already had a new follower. He didn’t pay much attention, assuming it was a bot, and casually glanced at the list.

In the list of newest followers, the ID TWG-Shining was clearly displayed, and the status had changed from “Followed” to “Following Each Other.”

Xu Ziyan’s heart immediately set off little fireworks.

But then, when he refreshed again, he saw that the official TWG Weibo, as well as the A-Team and B-Team members, had all appeared in his follower list, with timestamps close to Xie Wei’s follow time.

Xu Ziyan immediately realized that this follow wasn’t because Xie Wei cared about him, but because the team was about to officially announce him, so the other team members were following him to build momentum.

Sure enough, shortly after, the official TWG Esports Club Weibo posted a welcome message for the Rookie Cup champion, Ice, officially joining the TWG B-Team as Medic.

Xu Ziyan couldn’t help but laugh at his earlier self-deception. He lightly tapped his finger and reposted the Weibo.