Chapter 1 A Day Off

Friday was a beautiful day. Excellent Era gave the players a day off to rest. This had been a habit since the professional league. Usually, the day after a match day was a rest day. However, now that they were participating in the Challenger League, the originally familiar Friday match day had become a rest day, which made the professional players, who were accustomed to the professional league, feel somewhat unaccustomed.

Not to mention the players, even Excellent Era's manager, Cui Li, was a little lost when he woke up in the morning and found that there was no match to prepare for.

Feeling somewhat panicked by the idleness, Cui Li finally decided to go out for a stroll.

Cui Li could be considered a person who devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work. He was not yet married, so he often lived in the club. As soon as he stepped out of the club gate in the morning, the first thing that caught his eye was Happy Internet Cafe diagonally opposite. Immediately, his already poor mood worsened.

This season is not going well! Cui Li couldn't help but sigh. For a behemoth like Excellent Era, this season was actually about playing in the Challenger League. Even if they won the final victory, it wouldn't be something worth celebrating. Wasn't that all just a matter of course?

It could be seen from this that this entire season would not bring any triumphant moments for Excellent Era.

Standing outside the club gate, Cui Li stretched lazily and was thinking about where to go for a walk when suddenly an electric bicycle swerved past him, barely managing to stop. The person on the bike scratched his head somewhat awkwardly before greeting Cui Li, "Manager Cui, good morning!"

Cui Li took a look. The young man looked a little familiar, but he was more familiar with the electric bicycle. Cui Li recognized it as the vehicle of Esports Home's H City interview station. He immediately realized who this familiar young man was. He was the new intern at the interview station who had followed Cao Guangcheng to Excellent Era a few times. Now that a year had passed, the young man should have been officially hired long ago, but his electric bicycle riding skills were still not very commendable! Cui Li secretly rejoiced that he hadn't started crossing the road yet, otherwise, it wasn't impossible for him to be run over by this kid.

"Hehe, it's Xiao Chang!" Cui Li was in a good mood and even remembered the other person's surname. He teased him with a smile, "Your driving skills really need to be improved compared to your writing!"

Chang Xian scratched his head and continued to smile embarrassedly.

"Where are you going so early in the morning?" Cui Li asked.

"Going to do an interview," Chang Xian answered honestly.

Cui Li's mood immediately improved a bit upon hearing this. As the club's manager, he had to consider more than just the club team's wins and losses during matches. He had to consider the entire club's operation. Excellent Era had been relegated, and the attention they received this year would inevitably decrease a lot. The sponsorships or endorsements they received this season couldn't be described as just being few. They were basically at a standstill. Merchants wouldn't care about how glorious your past was. Since there wasn't the exposure that there should be this season, the investment in you would have to be carefully considered. Excellent Era's situation was still not bad. After all, the future was still promising, so some sponsors hadn't immediately turned their backs and had talked to Excellent Era about an intention. The specific implementation would have to wait until Excellent Era returned to the professional league.

At this time, the fact that Excellent Era could still receive media attention and more exposure was something that Cui Li, the manager who considered things from a business perspective, was happy about. More of this kind of attention could also make sponsors more confident in Excellent Era!

The smile on Cui Li's face didn't change. He was just about to greet Chang Xian properly when Chang Xian had already straightened his bicycle and waved to Cui Li, "Manager Cui, you're busy, I'll go first!"

The smile on Cui Li's face instantly froze. The words that were already on the tip of his tongue were quickly swallowed back. At this moment, his face was a little flushed with shame.

This stinky kid, he wasn't going to interview their Excellent Era? It was a good thing he didn't open his mouth presumptuously, otherwise, it would have been a little embarrassing.

Cui Li certainly knew that e-sports was most popular with Glory, but there were still many other games in existence. Esports Home was a comprehensive e-sports media outlet that also reported on these other game projects. However, because the reports focused on Glory, the interview station in H City was conveniently located near Excellent Era, the closest club to H City's only professional team.

Was Chang Xian going to interview other game teams? Cui Li thought this way, but when he saw Chang Xian's electric bicycle starting to wobble, he suddenly had a very unpleasant premonition. There weren't any other professional game teams nearby, and electric bicycles didn't seem suitable for traveling long distances, right? Then Chang Xian's interview subject wasn't Excellent Era, could it be...

Just as he was thinking this, he saw Chang Xian's electric bicycle wobbling as it finally got on the road, turning directly and rushing towards the Happy Internet Cafe across the street.

He was going to interview Happy.

At this moment, Cui Li's heart was filled with mixed feelings. He had all sorts of indescribable moods. He stood by the side of the road in a daze.

Chang Xian rode his electric bicycle, wobbling straight across the road, then rode onto the sidewalk, and then tried to stop at the entrance of the internet cafe, but this guy's driving skills were truly terrible to the point of being outrageous. He couldn't even manage such a simple operation. When the electric bicycle stopped, half of the bike and the person had already stopped inside...

Cui Li seemed to hear some screams coming from the opposite internet cafe. The sudden appearance of an electric bicycle crashing into the building might have startled the witnesses.

Then he saw Chang Xian quickly jump off the bike, scratching his head in embarrassment. He quickly pushed the bike back out and parked it properly, then turned around and rushed into Happy Internet Cafe.

Happy...

Although Cui Li was unhappy, he had to admit that Happy, which had defeated Wuji Esports the night before, could indeed arouse the curiosity of some viewers and was indeed worth interviewing slightly. However, now that he was watching the interview station staff, who were largely there because of them, eagerly going to interview this object of their dislike, Cui Li's heart was filled with unspeakable resentment.

Out of sight, out of mind!

Cui Li thought angrily and strode off in the opposite direction. Now he couldn't see it, but his thoughts couldn't help but drift back to that side. What kind of report would Happy get?

Happy Internet Cafe.

Chang Xian rode his bike straight in, almost scaring people into calling the police. After finally explaining the situation, he explained his purpose. When the front desk of the internet cafe heard this, they knew that this matter had to be reported to the boss first, so they quickly made a phone call.

Chen Guo now often lived in the rented apartment in the residential area. Last night, Happy had a great victory, especially against a difficult opponent like Wuji Esports. After the match, everyone celebrated and made a ruckus. Early this morning, Chen Guo received a call from the internet cafe, thinking that something had happened. When she heard that a reporter from Esports Home, an extremely authoritative print media outlet, wanted to interview them, Chen Guo was also a little dumbfounded.

"Wait a moment," Chen Guo said to the other side before turning to Ye Xiu.

"Esports Home wants to interview? That's good. It's a good opportunity to increase our visibility." Ye Xiu nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

"So, we should accept?" Chen Guo said.

"There's no reason not to accept!" Ye Xiu said.

"Then... what about you?" Chen Guo naturally knew that Ye Xiu had always refused interviews and never attended the pre-match and post-match press conferences that the league required players to attend. Not enforcing this rule would not lead to penalties such as suspensions from the league, but basically just fines. As a result, Ye Xiu never paid attention. He paid the fines and still didn't go to any press conferences. In the end, the two sides reached a tacit understanding. Ye Xiu remembered the league's fine payment account better than his own account, making regular payments every month. The league was also laughing and crying. Such a guy who repeatedly refused to change was really annoying. In the end, the league became a little soft-hearted, but there was no way. The rules were set. If they made an exception, how would they explain it to those players who followed the rules? So, from the beginning of the controversy, to the end, both sides defaulted to this matter. One side paid the fine, and the other side wouldn't use the issue of someone repeatedly refusing to change and having serious circumstances to say anything.

"Me? The person who comes won't know who I am, right?" Ye Xiu said.

"You'll just say you're Ye Xiu?" Chen Guo asked doubtfully.

"Yeah!" Ye Xiu nodded.

"Then in that case, aren't you still accepting the interview?" Chen Guo asked.

"It doesn't matter," Ye Xiu smiled. "Anyway, there won't be too many."

"Why won't there be too many?" Chen Guo asked, puzzled.

"Because I don't have much time left!" Ye Xiu said.

"..." Chen Guo didn't expect this guy to be talking about this, and for a moment didn't know how to respond. Ye Xiu initially avoided the media and refused exposure because he was afraid that his family would find him and take him back. Later, when he was older, although he didn't have to run away from home anymore, this habit was still continued. Ye Xiu originally thought that he would use this identity certified with his brother's ID card until the end of his career, but he didn't expect such a thing to happen at the end of his career.

He used the identity of Ye Xiu again, and when he made his comeback, he didn't plan to continue the name of Ye Qiu. After experiencing too many things once, he was too lazy to dwell on them.

Chen Guo respected Ye Xiu's wishes and didn't say much, then picked up her phone and asked the internet cafe to tell the Esports Home reporter to come over here.

"Uh, shouldn't you also ask what the others think? Maybe there are some who don't want to be interviewed?" Ye Xiu said.

"Oh... you're right!" Chen Guo immediately realized this reminder, and when she met Ye Xiu's eyes, she knew that they were thinking the same thing.

Tang Rou had been living in Happy Internet Cafe for so long, but Chen Guo had not inquired about her background. However, anyone could be sure that she was definitely not someone who needed to make a living as a little sister in an internet cafe. Just her appearance and temperament were enough to exchange a few photos for manuscript fees.