Did The Captain Catch Up With The Coach Today [Esports] Chapter 46
byChapter 46
The day before the Spring Split playoffs began, Wei Xiao’s package arrived.
He glanced at the sender, confirmed the contents of the box, and handed it directly to Wen Shi Yu: “Brother Wen, your package.”
Wen Shi Yu was about to say that he hadn’t bought anything online, but when he took it, the recipient showed “Wei Xiao.”
He understood. He said “Oh,” and tossed it onto his desk.
Then, that night before going to sleep, he recorded a complete unboxing video for Wei Xiao, accompanied by a complaint.
Wen Shi Yu: Who sends a gift and makes the recipient unbox it themselves?
Wei Xiao: For this type of gift, the unboxing process is part of the gift. Just tell me, were you happy unboxing it?
Wen Shi Yu didn’t reply. He took a selfie holding the chibi plush toy of Phantom Assassin and sent it to Wei Xiao.
When Wei Xiao received the photo, the first thing he did was download the original file, the second was save it locally, and the third was open it in his album, zoom in, and zoom in again, afraid of missing any detail.
Wen Shi Yu in the photo was smiling, looking very satisfied.
His flawless, god-like face always gave off an air of aloofness when he wasn’t smiling, keeping people at a distance.
But once he smiled, it was like the morning Sun, warm but not scorching, making people wish they could drown in his tenderness.
Wei Xiao’s lips curved up with his, and his chest fluttered.
He didn’t try to regulate his heartbeat. Instead, he cradled his phone with both hands and leaned back onto the bed, letting his heart rate shake his body, and subsequently the bed, along with it.
Wen Shi Yu: Go to sleep early. We have a match tomorrow.
Wei Xiao: Mm, you too.
Wei Xiao: Should we have breakfast together tomorrow morning too?
Wen Shi Yu: Sure.
Wei Xiao: Good night.
Wen Shi Yu: Good night.
They said breakfast, but it was already past 10 AM when the two of them left the house.
They ate a bowl of noodles nearby.
During the meal, Wen Shi Yu asked Wei Xiao: “Among the top eight teams, besides us, which team do you like the most?”
“Like… setting aside skill, purely based on impression, it has to be MID,” Wei Xiao replied. “Because all of them are fans of God Yu!”
Wen Shi Yu held back a smile, his lips half-curved, and directly ignored the last sentence: “You really prefer the more boisterous teams?”
“No, I really like KCD too. I’ll give second place to KCD,” Wei Xiao said.
MID was the team Phoenix belonged to, and KCD was the team whose captain was a bit like a bot, and everyone, including the coach, was very humble.
Wen Shi Yu nodded: “I see. The ones who are nice to us.”
“That’s normal. Between people, and between teams, it’s all about reciprocity. You treat me well, I treat you well.”
“Then who’s third?”
“Third…” Wei Xiao thought for a long time, and finally chose, “KPI, I guess. I haven’t interacted much with the other teams, so I don’t know them well. Although KPI is a bit arrogant, they actually show up when we ask for scrims.”
KPI was last year’s runner-up, centered around Fei Yu, who was known as the Hero League’s number one Jungler. They had the capital to be arrogant, but unlike WI, who never took FHM seriously from start to finish, KPI would create a room for scrims whenever FHM dared to ask, almost always available on call.
A glance at FHM’s scrim records showed that KPI was the team they played against the most.
“What about you?” Wei Xiao asked Wen Shi Yu after answering.
Wen Shi Yu lazily said, “About the same as you.”
Then Wen Shi Yu asked again: “Which team do you hate the most? Besides EN.”
Wei Xiao: “Of course we have to exclude EN. They aren’t in the top eight anymore.”
Wei Xiao originally wanted to add that this was the first time EN had stopped at the top sixteen since the team was founded—a historical event—but remembering that this was the team Wen Shi Yu had created, he forcibly held back.
But besides EN, he really didn’t have any team he hated.
“Actually, I don’t hate anyone. If I had to choose, it would be WI, but while WI verbally looks down on us, they don’t necessarily mean it deep down. And I actually don’t dislike teams that are very outspoken. They’re just… very bold.”
WI had openly stated in a group chat containing all the teams that FHM was not their opponent, which was quite arrogant.
But at the same time, WI also mocked EN for not making it into the top eight.
They were just very outspoken, perhaps due to the confidence given by their three consecutive championships, or perhaps it was their nature.
Wei Xiao didn’t dislike this kind of personality in a person.
Those who challenge you face-to-face are always better than those who stab you in the back.
“Speaking of which, why did you suddenly think of asking me this?” Wei Xiao only asked for the reason after answering everything.
Wen Shi Yu casually said, “Just asking.”
Wei Xiao: “Now it’s my turn to ask.”
Wen Shi Yu: “Ask away.”
Wei Xiao: “Which E-sports Player do you like the most?”
Wen Shi Yu: “You.”
There wasn’t a hint of hesitation.
Wei Xiao was stunned, then annoyed: “Damn it, I forgot to add a condition! I should have asked you, besides FHM’s Starters, which E-sports Player do you like the most, and then you could answer anyone, and I would say I like you the most, because you aren’t an FHM Starter, but FHM’s coach!”
Wen Shi Yu laughed: “Childish.”
After a while, he added a complaint: “Answer anyone, huh? Go ahead and answer anyone, let me see.”
“And I wasn’t asking about skill, but impression,” Wei Xiao probed step by step. “Setting aside skill, purely based on impression…”
“You.” Wen Shi Yu answered before he could finish, then explained, “In the eyes of FHM’s coach, FHM’s carry is the best. There is no second option.”
“Wow…” Wei Xiao was a little embarrassed by the praise. He managed to keep his facial expression relatively straight, but his ears were so red they looked like they were about to bleed.
Wen Shi Yu looked at him amusedly: “Why are you shy? I’m not confessing.”
“Who’s shy… Anyway, I’ll play well, okay? I definitely won’t disappoint you!”
…
In the afternoon, the entire FHM team arrived at the venue for the Spring Split playoffs. Accompanied by passionate, stirring background music, the playoffs opening ceremony began!
Two hosts stepped onto the stage, and with alternating lines, they whipped the atmosphere into a frenzy.
“The flames of war reignite, and heroes contend for supremacy!”
“Eight teams, eight overlords, who will ascend to the peak?”
“Under the anticipation of millions, the Hero League Spring Split playoffs are finally about to begin!”
“Let us welcome our eight protagonists to the stage with warm applause!”
Brilliant lights illuminated the entire stage, eight battle flags rose, revealing eight unique logos.
Eight E-sports Players wearing different team uniforms lined up and stepped onto the stage, standing beneath their corresponding battle flags.
The venue erupted in warm applause, with people excitedly shouting the names of the teams and players.
The one representing FHM on stage this time was still Wei Xiao. He was much calmer than last time and didn’t wave or anything.
However, he smiled throughout, making the two tense-faced players beside him look like they had already lost the match.
“A series of spectacular matches is about to begin. Is everyone ready?”
“I announce that the Hero League Spring Split playoffs are now starting!”
With these two sentences from the hosts, the opening ceremony concluded, immediately followed by the match between FHM and DIE.
Yes, FHM was the first match, playing on the day of the opening ceremony.
But they weren’t nervous at all.
After all, their opponents were much more nervous than they were.
For the pre-match trash talk, the host first handed the microphone to FHM. Wei Xiao, taking the initiative for once, went all out with his sass: “I heard you guys scored -14 points in the Invitational? Everyone questioned you, but we understand you. We know—you chose the strategy that generates the most comments! Please stick to this tactic to the end! Massive traffic is beckoning to you!”
“Hahahaha!” The venue erupted in laughter, and even the hosts struggled to keep a straight face.
Wen Shi Yu raised a hand to his forehead, laughing helplessly.
After being subjected to Wei Xiao’s barrage, the DIE player who took the microphone even forgot what he wanted to say. He stammered “Uh” twice before regaining his composure and responding: “Actually, we plan to score -10 points this time. Do you know where those 2 winning points will come from? We’ll win them from you!”
Although the response wasn’t strong enough, the dramatic effect was maximized. Applause and screams were constant in the venue, and the live stream was flooded with comments.
[DIE chose the response that generates the most comments!]
[Hahaha, both sides are great at stirring things up!]
[Snacks are ready! Let the match start quickly!]
[FHM, charge!]