Chapter 64 Jia Shi's Grand Welcome

Jia Shi Club had rallied fans and media, providing special cars for transportation. How could they let Xiao Shiqin simply get out of the car and walk into the Jia Shi Club's main entrance?

Inside the main gate, a stage had already been set up, ready for an outdoor press conference to announce Xiao Shiqin's joining Jia Shi. Liu Hao and He Ming were barred from passing through here, which wasn't entirely targeted at them. The arranged venue simply didn't allow any irrelevant personnel to move around freely. Of course, the two club's pro players were also regarded as irrelevant personnel, which was a bit of deliberate sabotage.

Along the route secured by security personnel, Xiao Shiqin greeted the cheering fans on both sides while calmly heading towards Jia Shi's main entrance. Although he came from a small team, he was, after all, an all-star level player, and Xiao Shiqin could handle such a scene.

The main gate was right in front of him.

Xiao Shiqin suddenly stopped and looked at the Jia Shi team emblem on top of the main gate. The weather was excellent today; the 10 o'clock sun was already bright, and the emblem shone brilliantly in the sunlight.

From the moment he stepped through this gate, his professional career could be considered to have embarked on a new path. Xiao Shiqin had never doubted his feelings for Thunderclap, but like every professional player, he had higher aspirations. Thunderclap couldn't give him that much; both sides understood each other, and they ultimately parted harmoniously and happily.

New team, new path, Xiao Shiqin vowed to succeed, feeling that only then would he not betray his abandonment of Thunderclap.

Amid the cheers and screams of the fans, Xiao Shiqin finally stepped through the gates of Jia Shi Club. The cheers reached their peak again, and even the electronic alarms of the cars seemed insignificant at this moment. On the second floor of Happy Internet Cafe diagonally across the road, Chen Guo and Wei Chen both wore very displeased expressions.

"So noisy," Chen Guo complained. In fact, she had now gone from fan to hater. If it weren't for this, she would definitely have been a leading figure among these cheering crowds. Boss Chen was quite well-known among Jia Shi fans in this area, especially among the Jia Shi players who frequented Happy Internet Cafe, where she was addressed as Sister Chen and was a leading figure, a representative of the fans.

"Still feeling good!" Wei Chen's spearhead was mainly directed at Xiao Shiqin, as he still felt resentful about his "unwise" decision. "See if you can still smile next season!" As he said this, Wei Chen was also a little fierce on the outside but weak on the inside. Indeed, the current Jia Shi team was too powerful, and it would be blindly arrogant to think that they could win 100% of the time. Even if the newly crowned champion Samsara team were brought in, they wouldn't dare to be so sure.

After welcoming Xiao Shiqin through the main gate, Jia Shi didn't stop the fans from pouring in. This press conference was intended to be completely open to the public.

The interviewing media were already prepared. On the press platform, the boss of Jia Shi led the team in person, accompanied by Jia Shi's manager, Cui Li. Behind them were all the players of the Jia Shi team.

Sun Xiang, Su Mucheng, Guo Yang, Shen Jian, Zhang Jiaxing, Wang Ze, Fang Fengran, and two young players who had just been promoted from the training camp: Zeng Shenghe and Meng Yongming.

Behind the professional players, in a less noticeable corner, were the head of the development department, Qin Yu, the head of the public relations department, Wang Sheng, and the president of the online game studio, Chen Yehui, and others.

To welcome the arrival of Xiao Shiqin, Jia Shi had mobilized all its forces. On the one hand, it was to show importance, and on the other hand, it was also a good opportunity to show the media and many fans Jia Shi's new season lineup and new atmosphere.

The professional players naturally drew cheers from the fans again. They began to shout not only Xiao Shiqin's name but also the names of their favorite players. But soon the fans realized that Jia Shi's professional players did not include the vice-captain Liu Hao, nor was the chief sixth man He Ming among them.

Everyone was present at such a scene, but these two were missing, which made the media and fans aware of something.

On the stage, Jia Shi's boss, Tao Xuan, personally represented the Jia Shi team in welcoming Xiao Shiqin's joining and delivering a speech. Then, at the moment when the two shook hands, the fans didn't withhold their cheers because of the doubts in their hearts, and the cheers reached another climax.

After that, it was Xiao Shiqin's speech. Knowing that there would be a similar scene, Xiao Shiqin certainly wouldn't be completely unprepared.

"Leaving Thunderclap, I feel very regretful..." Xiao Shiqin opened like this, but he didn't talk too much about his feelings for Thunderclap. After all, this was Jia Shi's home ground, and there were Jia Shi people in front of him, behind him, and to his left and right. Talking too much about his feelings for Thunderclap would be out of place. Xiao Shiqin skipped over Thunderclap in a few words and didn't compare it to the current Jia Shi at all. He focused on Jia Shi's prospects, which was exactly the voice that Jia Shi's senior management wanted to hear most. Inviting Xiao Shiqin to join was to prove this to the fans, and Xiao Shiqin's speech was also to explain this to the fans. This hands-on effect made Jia Shi extremely satisfied with Xiao Shiqin.

"I look forward to working with my teammates and the support of everyone to lead Jia Shi out of the trough and continue the glory of three consecutive championships!"

Amid thunderous applause, Xiao Shiqin finished his joining speech. As someone who had been a captain for many years, Xiao Shiqin's words and deeds were naturally very appropriate.

Almost every team captain in the league possessed this quality, but Tao Xuan was a little excited, as if he had never seen it before. Because there were always exceptions, and there were, after all, captains in the league who weren't like this, but the most extreme ones were only two. One was Zhou Zekai, who only used his performance on the field to represent himself and basically didn't say anything off the field. The other one was the one Tao Xuan had caught up with, that was Jia Shi's original captain, Ye Qiu. Moreover, Ye Qiu was even more excessive than Zhou Zekai. This guy simply didn't attend press conferences or similar occasions. At first, it didn't seem like much, but as the league prospered day by day, this captain's actions became a little uncomfortable. For this reason, Jia Shi didn't know how much effort it took to finally get the media and fans to accept such a privileged person.

Now Ye Qiu was finally gone. First came Sun Xiang, and now came Xiao Shiqin. How much of the void in Tao Xuan's heart had been filled all at once? At this moment, he was so excited that he was almost crying...

After various speeches, Jia Shi also completely announced the details of Xiao Shiqin's transfer, which was the exchange of Liu Hao and He Ming plus their characters to finally complete the transaction.

If you really wanted to count it, Liu Hao, He Ming, plus their characters, exchanging for Xiao Shiqin alone and an all-star character, Life Extinguisher, was a bit of a loss. However, there were other meanings in this transaction, which were not convenient to announce. At least seeing the positive and vibrant energy that Xiao Shiqin's arrival brought to Jia Shi in the trough, this transaction should not be converted only with the strength of these personnel and characters on paper.

However, there were still many tricky questions to ask about such a transaction. For example, was using personnel exchange instead of acquisition and transfer because they were worried about the players' resistance? Were they somewhat worried about this season's Challenger League, so they were unwilling to spend money? But for today's event, Jia Shi had already worked hard to take care of the media. The reporters who were invited to the subsequent press conference were very restrained. Everyone knew what should be asked and what shouldn't be asked. In the end, there were no embarrassing moments for Jia Shi. Everything went smoothly, and Jia Shi only said some painless and irrelevant platitudes about the transfer, such as "respecting the players' choices" and "hoping they achieve good results in Thunderclap."

This morning, Jia Shi was completely immersed in joy, and under their deliberate operation, there were no unexpected disturbances. But while people were happy, there would always be people who were sad. Apart from Liu Hao and He Ming, who were entangled in leaving, at this time, someone in the Tiny Herb Club was also packing things up, preparing to leave.

In Qiao Yifan's room, Gao Yingjie silently watched him pack his things. Perhaps he should go up and help, but he didn't want to go up and help. If he packed slower, Qiao Yifan could at least delay for a while longer, couldn't he?

Gao Yingjie really didn't want his friend to leave, but everything had become a foregone conclusion.

The contracts of the league's professional players usually run from July 1st of a certain year to June 30th of a certain year. So, every year on June 30th, some players' contracts expire. The players that the club wants to retain will basically complete the renewal before the contract expires. This year on June 30th, Qiao Yifan was one of the players whose contracts were expiring, but unfortunately, before the last day of June 30th, the club had already informed him that he was not in Tiny Herb's future plans and could seek other paths after his contract automatically terminated.

Seek other paths?

Qiao Yifan smiled bitterly. This season, he hadn't appeared in a single second of official matches. Players like him were usually called "the closest member to the water dispenser." Yes, his value in the team might just be to pour tea and water for other players.

He was not in Tiny Herb's future plans, but which team would include a player who was close to the water dispenser in their future plans?

The future of the championship team?

What a joke, Gao Yingjie's existence, this halo had completely enveloped this genius. Now that Qiao Yifan's contract had expired and hadn't been renewed, it had already proven that he was not the future of the championship team at all. He might have been favored in the past, but now he had quickly disappeared. Such a player, unless a team was really short of manpower, probably wouldn't pay attention to him. At least by June 30th, on the last day, Qiao Yifan hadn't received any invitations from any teams.

At his level, he wasn't enough to have an agent to take care of him. He could either recommend himself, or wait foolishly, or leave this circle from now on. Were there any other options?

"What... are you planning to do?" Gao Yingjie was worried about Qiao Yifan's choice for the future. He knew his friend's current situation. And with his current status in Tiny Herb, if he was stronger, he might be able to rudely demand that Qiao Yifan be left behind, but Gao Yingjie was not someone who would do such a thing after all. He could only respect the club's decision, while at the same time feeling worried about his friend's future. Other than that, he felt that he couldn't do anything.

"Me?" Qiao Yifan smiled, looking like he wasn't anxious at all.

"Let's find an internet cafe to take a look," Qiao Yifan said.