Chapter 1514 After the Match

The reception was silent, even quieter than Happy's preparation room. Although they had seen Lin Jingyan announce his retirement on the live broadcast, the helplessness and pain of retirement didn't resonate much with the newcomers who had just entered the alliance. Besides, they were still immersed in the ecstasy of reaching the finals. Lin Jingyan's retirement didn't seem to change the atmosphere in Happy's preparation room.

The young people were still laughing, but a sense of melancholy spread through Happy's preparation room in that instant.

Ye Xiu and Lin Jingyan were old acquaintances. They had been playing against each other since the second season and weren't strangers. He had been fighting since the first season, and in the process, he had experienced the departure of familiar faces time and time again. Some were teammates, some were opponents, but in the moment of departure, everyone would forget these identities and only feel the departure of a comrade.

This time was the same. Familiar faces were gradually fading into bubbles.

Ye Xiu was silent.

Fang Rui was also silent. He hadn't known Lin Jingyan as long as Ye Xiu, but he had debuted in the fifth season and come to Lin Jingyan's side when he was still a rookie. Lin Jingyan had watched him grow, and then they had become a famous pair of partners, before going their separate ways after the eighth and ninth seasons.

Lin Jingyan was like a teacher and a friend to him. If Fang Rui had to choose the player he respected most in the alliance, he would unhesitatingly vote for Lin Jingyan, even though Lin Jingyan wasn't the most outstanding in this circle.

And now, he had left.

Fang Rui, who had many years of professional experience, had never been unaware of this day, but he had never imagined that he would witness Lin Jingyan's departure in this way.

He had thought that the two of them would fight side by side until one day Lin Jingyan suddenly smiled and said that he couldn't play anymore, and then, amid his taunts, he would still not change his mind and just say goodbye with a smile.

And so today, he saw it.

Lin Jingyan was smiling. He was saying goodbye to everyone, but it was after being defeated by a team represented by Fang Rui...

How many people could feel the hidden sadness beneath the smile?

Fang Rui knew that Lin Jingyan still really wanted to win a championship, especially, especially wanted to.

But in the end, it was himself and Happy who had buried his hopes.

He would never have another chance.

Because he had already chosen to leave.

Good luck to you all.

He left his blessings to everyone, which of course included Fang Rui.

But would such blessings make people feel healed? At least not Fang Rui. He couldn't watch any longer. At that moment, he found an excuse to leave Happy's preparation room. After him, Wei Chen, the old guy who had retired early and then made a comeback after many years, lit a cigarette and smoked it fiercely, ignoring the rule that smoking was prohibited in the preparation room. And the boss, Chen Guo, unexpectedly didn't criticize him. As a Glory fan, Chen Guo hadn't experienced such departures, but she had seen them many times in this way. And now, she had integrated into this circle. She empathized, and she realized that such departures would gradually happen around her too. Wei Chen, Ye Xiu, and even Su Mucheng and Fang Rui in the future...

Chen Guo felt scared, really scared.

She watched Fang Rui say something and leave the preparation room. No one stopped him. Even the newcomers who were still happy realized that the atmosphere in the preparation room wasn't all like this at this time. They also quieted down, watching Fang Rui leave the preparation room, and then, they saw Lin Jingyan say goodbye and hug his three Tyranny teammates at the press conference before bowing out.

Uh...

Some of the quicker-witted ones had already realized a problem.

Fang Rui had gone out from the preparation room, and Lin Jingyan had stepped down from the press conference. Then weren't these two about to meet in the tunnel?

The preparation room instantly fell silent. Even the TV was muted by someone, as if it would disturb the exchange between these two in the tunnel. No one moved, no one spoke, until the door of the preparation room was pushed open again.

"It's our turn." Fang Rui stood at the door, calmly beckoning.

So Ye Xiu and Luo Ji, the two who Happy had arranged to attend the press conference, walked out of the preparation room. In the tunnel, they saw Lin Jingyan, who smiled at them, and then patted Fang Rui. He didn't return to Tyranny's preparation room. He just walked down this tunnel that would eventually lead out of the stadium.

"Let's go." Ye Xiu didn't watch any longer. He just called out, and the three of Happy walked out of the tunnel and headed for the press conference.

"Excuse me, are you aware that Lin Jingyan just announced his retirement?"

The reporters had already thrown out their first question.

"We know." Ye Xiu nodded.

"Could each of you talk about it?" The reporter emphasized "each," clearly not interested in Ye Xiu answering this question. They wanted to hear Fang Rui's feelings.

Fang Rui didn't avoid it and took the microphone. So Ye Xiu didn't snatch the microphone, and as the reporter wished, waited for Fang Rui to talk about his feelings.

"Good luck to him." Fang Rui held the microphone and said four words.

Everyone was quiet, waiting for more. But there was nothing more. Fang Rui only said these four words about Lin Jingyan, his partner for many years, a mentor and friend, but whom he had personally buried his lifelong expectations. He had only said these four words.

"Nothing else?" The reporters weren't giving up. They wanted to hear more touching feelings.

"Nothing else." But Fang Rui shook his head, smiling like Lin Jingyan. What he wanted to say, he had already said when he met Lin Jingyan in the tunnel. For Fang Rui, that was enough, and there was no need to relay it to these reporters.

Then, it was just wishing him good luck. Wishing him, only him, good luck.

But the reporters still weren't willing to give up easily. Even if Lin Jingyan hadn't retired today, the encounter between a former partner on the field was still a big topic.

"Uh, excuse me for being blunt," one reporter said, "Your performance in today's match didn't seem to be up to par. Was it because you were facing your former partner that you couldn't bring yourself to do it?"

"My performance today was indeed not good. Fortunately, the team ultimately won the match. I will continue to go all out in the next match," Fang Rui said.

It seemed like an ordinary answer, but at this time, it was extremely cunning. He completely avoided any mention of "former partner," and then acknowledged the poor performance, analyzed the results, and stated his future intentions.

What else could the reporters ask? What else could they ask?

They had no way to continue entangling themselves with Lin Jingyan, so they had to seriously target Happy's performance in this match. And Zhang Xinjie's analysis at the press conference suddenly became important information that everyone could use to question Happy.

"Excuse me, was Happy's suicidal attack on Zhang Xinjie's Immovable Rock in today's team competition a meticulous tactic that was practiced before the match?" a reporter asked.

"Hahaha." Ye Xiu laughed, "Don't use Zhang Xinjie's analysis to ask me. I just watched TV. His analysis is all wrong."

The reporters immediately had black lines all over their faces. Everyone knew that Ye Xiu was talking nonsense. But he dared to disrespect Zhang Xinjie's analysis so rudely. What could the reporters do?

Ye Xiu had never attended such occasions before. Press conferences. In fact, Ye Xiu was a newcomer like Luo Ji. But this newcomer was terribly difficult to deal with. Compared to those slippery guys who answered questions, Ye Xiu treated them with complete indifference. He could make up nonsense as he pleased. When you asked him about it later, he could forget what he had said. The most hateful thing was that he never avoided this point, and would only ask you very sincerely, "Really? Did I say that?"

So what if he said it? So what if he didn't say it?

Could the reporters report these obviously fabricated things? Of course not. Wouldn't reporting it make them feel like they had a low IQ? Believing even such nonsense.

Seeing Ye Xiu enter this state again, the reporters were going crazy inside, but on the surface, they had to maintain a calm appearance.

"Then, may I ask, is there any special significance to sending Luo Ji to play in this match?" someone asked.

"Training newcomers, training newcomers in big scenes. Just like Tyranny sent out Song Qiying, and we sent out Luo Ji," Ye Xiu said seriously.

Damn it!

The reporters were cursing in their hearts again.

This time, the answer was ambiguous. If you didn't believe it, the explanation was logical; if you believed it, you always felt that something was wrong, and it always felt like you were being teased.

"And we have more courage than Tyranny. In this crucial battle, we sent out as many as three newcomers," Ye Xiu continued.

The reporters were about to cry.

Why don't you not send them! Besides you, Fang Rui, and Su Mucheng, plus Wei Chen, who on your Happy team isn't a newcomer?

"Perhaps in the finals, we will try to let them accept the most difficult test in a completely new lineup," Ye Xiu said.

Who believes it?

Who would believe it?

Using a completely new lineup to train in the finals? There should be a limit to jokes!

The reporters were all frowning. What should they write about today? Some had already wandered off, and this press conference didn't seem to be able to provide them with any material.

"Well, that's all for today, then?" When Happy's press conference ended hastily, the reporters didn't resist much, not even in the mood to take a few more photos. Back then, being able to take a photo of Ye Xiu was such a glorious achievement, but now, seeing this guy appear in the lens, everyone just felt dry-mouthed. They didn't know what to ask, and they didn't know what to listen to.

The press conference ended.

The wind and rain of this round of matches had come to a complete end.

The defeated and the victorious would go their separate ways.

But no matter what kind of path they took, the direction they were rushing towards was the same. What they were each walking on was always the champion's path in pursuit of victory.