Did The Captain Catch Up With The Coach Today [Esports] Chapter 9
byChapter 9
Wen Shi Yu stepped aside, and Zhou Miao Miao reopened the door.
Everyone in the room instinctively turned their gaze toward the doorway, curiously examining the person outside and guessing his identity.
The coach seems to know him. Is he the coach’s friend? An old classmate?
Someone this handsome couldn’t possibly be the coach’s former teammate.
Wei Xiao noticed their stares and happily lifted the corners of his mouth, raising a hand to greet them: “Hi, sorry to interrupt.”
Then, without introducing himself, his gaze urgently swept around the room, locking onto Wen Shi Yu. Immediately after, he entered the room, closed the door, and approached Wen Shi Yu. Changing his casual and enthusiastic demeanor from outside, he rubbed his hands together nervously, becoming somewhat constrained.
“Hello, Brother Wen. Guess what I’m here for?”
His nervousness didn’t stop him from throwing out that flirtatious line.
Wen Shi Yu glanced at him, then quickly lowered his eyes, pretending not to know his identity, and responded calmly: “I don’t have time to sign autographs for you right now.”
“No rush, no rush. We’ll have plenty of time later. Um… I’m here for an interview!”
Wei Xiao had rushed over in a fit of excitement and hadn’t thought about what to say when he saw Wen Shi Yu again. Would it be too direct to just say he was “to be continued”?
He wanted to give Wen Shi Yu a pleasant surprise, not a shock, so perhaps it was better to lay the groundwork first?
Tang Li raised a hand to stroke his chin, feeling that the person’s voice sounded familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it.
In-game voice chat is processed by the machine and sounds slightly different from real life. Furthermore, Wei Xiao had greatly restrained the confidence and arrogance in his tone when facing Wen Shi Yu.
In short, he was holding back.
Therefore, the four people in the room besides Wen Shi Yu, despite having all heard Wei Xiao’s voice, failed to recognize him at this moment.
Wen Shi Yu knew Wei Xiao was his fan; this counted as a mutual pursuit.
The cooked duck couldn’t fly away, so he wasn’t in a hurry to expose Wei Xiao’s identity. Instead, he played along, asking with interest: “Is that so? How do you want to interview?”
“A 1v1 with the Jungler…” Wei Xiao started to say a 1v1 with FHM’s Jungler, but suddenly remembered FHM didn’t have a Jungler. He couldn’t very well 1v1 Wen Shi Yu.
Wen Shi Yu let out an “Hmm?”
He didn’t mind a 1v1 with Wei Xiao. Although he was playing casually now, occasionally logging in for a few matches while spending the rest of the time watching FHM’s members play, his awareness and mechanics weren’t that easy to lose.
If he won, he would temper Wei Xiao’s sharp edge. If he lost, it didn’t matter, as he wasn’t playing in matches anyway.
However, Wei Xiao changed his mind: “Why don’t you ask me a few questions?”
“What? Are you afraid to 1v1 me?” Wen Shi Yu raised an eyebrow.
“No, I’d be nervous 1v1-ing you. I might not win.”
The way Wei Xiao said this sounded incredibly arrogant to others—he believed he had a chance of winning a 1v1 against Wen Shi Yu, who was the World Server Rank 1 Jungler just half a year ago.
However, Wen Shi Yu was the only person he would say this to.
When he went to WI, he said, “The era of Xing Guang is over.” When he went to KPI, he said, “Fei Yu is no match for me.”
Wei Xiao had always been this confident, bordering on narcissistic. In his eyes, even the most skilled Junglers were either his past victims or future victims.
Only when facing Wen Shi Yu would he say—I might not win.
Wen Shi Yu smiled, not at his overconfidence, but at his youthful arrogance.
Playing E-sports required this kind of spirit. When he played E-sports, he was just as arrogant deep down, but he feared provoking flame wars, so he spoke as little as possible, maintaining a cold expression to avoid showing contempt.
“Alright, then I’ll ask you: Do you have the ability to lead FHM to victory?”
“Yes.” Wei Xiao’s answer was firm, and the FHM members looked astonished.
Wen Shi Yu ignored the reactions of the others and continued to ask Wei Xiao: “Are you willing to serve as FHM’s Captain and Commander, taking responsibility for the outcome of every match?”
“I am willing!” Wei Xiao replied without hesitation, and the expressions on the FHM members’ faces grew even stranger.
“What if you lose?” Wen Shi Yu asked.
“We won’t lose, because we have me, and we have you.” Wei Xiao smiled, saying softly, “I believe in you.”
Wen Shi Yu was momentarily stunned, then lowered his head and coughed. He was a little uncomfortable with this sudden flirtation.
That’s strange. The FHM members had said similar things, saying they would definitely win because they believed in him, and he had accepted it fine then. Why did he feel so uneasy when Wei Xiao said the same thing?
Was it the tone?
To cover up his discomfort, he said coldly: “If we lose, I won’t let you off.”
Wei Xiao smiled: “I’ll be at your mercy.”
“Take this and sign it.” Wen Shi Yu pulled a contract from the materials beside him and tossed it to Wei Xiao.
Wei Xiao was completely bewildered as he caught it: “Huh? That’s it… Aren’t you going to ask about my rank, my main heroes, or my Professional ID?”
Wen Shi Yu smiled: “No need. I spoil my fans.”
“Ah… but, but…” Wei Xiao felt that Wen Shi Yu would be completely scammed by interviewing like this. What if the interviewee was lying? But the interviewee was himself… Was there any need for him to increase the difficulty of his own interview?
Tang Li held back for a long time, but finally couldn’t help but ask: “What position is he?”
“Jungler.” Wen Shi Yu answered him.
“But the Jungler position is… then what about that guy?”
Tang Li was the one who gave the address to “to be continued,” so he was the most anxious now.
The others weren’t exactly calm, but they hadn’t fully processed the situation yet.
Zhou Miao Miao looked confusedly at Lu Qing Yang beside him, meeting an equally confused pair of eyes.
Qin Jin Yao found Wei Xiao a little familiar. After thinking for a long time, he remembered seeing him when he went downstairs. At the time, he just thought the person was handsome and dressed very fashionably. He never imagined they would become teammates… So what about “to be continued”?
“Is he a Starter or a Substitute?” Qin Jin Yao asked.
“A Starter, of course,” Wen Shi Yu replied, his tone slightly casual, though a subtle hint of schadenfreude could be detected if one listened closely. “He only wanted the Starter position, and I couldn’t help it.”
As he spoke, Wei Xiao carefully read the contract in his hands.
This was indeed a contract for FHM’s Jungler Starter position. The term was reasonable, the salary was reasonable, and it wasn’t a tyrannical contract at all. There was nothing that needed modification.
Wen Shi Yu teased him: “I thought you would sign your name without even looking, just because you trust me.”
Wei Xiao smiled and replied: “A contract made by you? Of course, I have to read every single word carefully, or wouldn’t I be wasting your effort?”
“Smooth talker.” Wen Shi Yu scoffed internally.
“Pen.” Wei Xiao held out a hand to Wen Shi Yu.
Wen Shi Yu picked up the pen beside him and handed it over.
When Wei Xiao took the pen, his hand accidentally brushed Wen Shi Yu’s. He maintained a calm facade, but his heart was screaming as if it had been electrocuted.
Ah ah ah ah ah!
This hand, this hand can’t be washed!
He signed his full name on the contract.
Wen Shi Yu took it and saw that Wei Xiao’s signature, like the man himself, was unrestrained and flowing, like a dragon dancing and a Phoenix flying. If space hadn’t been limited, he might have signed it into outer space, yet the bottom edge obediently stayed close to the line.
The corner of Wen Shi Yu’s mouth lifted slightly, but he said nothing. He signed his own name stroke by stroke on the other line, then added the official seal.
Two copies were made. After signing, he handed one to Wei Xiao.
“Here, my autograph,” Wen Shi Yu said. “I shouldn’t need to give you a separate personalized autograph, should I?”
Wei Xiao looked at Wen Shi Yu’s signature. Every stroke was clearly visible, round and cute, except for the hook in the character “Yu,” which was drawn out and then back, supporting the entire name.
He restrained the urge to hug the contract and inhale deeply, and cheekily said: “I still need one. I can frame a personalized autograph for decoration. This one can’t be used for that.”
“Taking an inch and asking for a mile.” Wen Shi Yu rummaged through the documents beside him and pulled out an official Hero League original artwork compilation. On the flyleaf, he wrote—
[Fear no challenge, dread no future. TO: Wei Xiao]
[BY: Wen Shi Yu]
He closed the cover and handed it to Wei Xiao.
After opening it and taking a look, Wei Xiao could no longer restrain his excitement and hugged the art collection tightly.
“Thank you, I will do my best!”
“Have you decided what Professional ID you’ll use for E-sports?” Wen Shi Yu asked. “Don’t tell me you’re using your old one; it’s too long.”
“Of course not. I plan to use… Ah, you already know?” Wei Xiao suddenly realized he no longer had a mask in front of Wen Shi Yu. He wondered when Wen Shi Yu had figured it out.
Was it when they exchanged chat accounts?
His chat account nickname was “to be continued,” and his game ID was based on that nickname.
He didn’t dwell on it. Without waiting for Wen Shi Yu’s response, he stated his Professional ID: “Just call me xiao, x-i-a-o. All your IDs are taken this way, so I’ll follow local customs.”
“Alright. Will you use your original account? Or should I give you a new one?”
“Can you give me a new one?”
“If you want one.”
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Wei Xiao accepted anything Wen Shi Yu offered.
Wen Shi Yu nodded. While flipping through documents to find an account and password, he said: “Pack up your things and move here for training. As for the dorms, at least half the rooms on the third floor are empty. Pick any room you want.”
“Is anyone across from you?”
Wen Shi Yu really wanted to say “yes,” but ultimately chose to tell the truth: “No.”
“What about next to you?”
“My sister.”
“Oh, then I want to live across from you!”
“Suit yourself.”
Wei Xiao happily went downstairs to pack his things.
Wen Shi Yu calmly drank his coffee, and the FHM members gradually came to their senses.
“He’s ‘to be continued’?” Tang Li asked uncertainly. “He’s like a wolf in the game, but in real life, he’s like a…”
He couldn’t very well say “dog,” as the guy wasn’t exactly licking Wen Shi Yu; he was just normally idolizing him. When they first met Wen Shi Yu, they had acted much more like lickers than he did.
But the contrast was truly immense.
“A Husky, he’s a Husky,” Wen Shi Yu personally certified.
Don’t underestimate the Husky; it genuinely has wolf blood.
“Huh? He’s really ‘to be continued’? Did he teleport here?” Zhou Miao Miao was still confused.
Lu Qing Yang was also confused: “Yeah, he just showed up. How did he get here?”
“That’s right, it was teleportation. He used Instant Shift,” Wen Shi Yu said, talking nonsense with a straight face.
Qin Jin Yao saw the look on Zhou Miao Miao and Lu Qing Yang’s faces, who seemed to believe it, and his lips twitched. He couldn’t help but reveal the truth: “He was at the internet cafe where we played those two matches. He knew we were on the third floor and came looking for us. It was probably a coincidence, right?”
Wen Shi Yu gave a slight “Hmm.” Since someone was speaking seriously, he also spoke seriously: “I ran into him downstairs. He said he went to KPI to interview for the Starter position and was kicked out. He probably couldn’t find a place to stay and wanted to make do at the internet cafe for the night.”
“I see.” Zhou Miao Miao nodded, then realized after a moment, “Ah, Brother Wen, you knew he was ‘to be continued’ then? And you still made us play five-man queue! We matched against KPI, and it scared the soul out of me!”
“Didn’t we win?” Wen Shi Yu said lightly.
“What if we had lost?” Lu Qing Yang asked. “At the start of the match, I really thought we would lose.”
“We wouldn’t have,” Wen Shi Yu said calmly. “Didn’t we have him? And me.”
On this side, FHM successfully lured the World Server Rank 1 Jungler into their team, and Wei Xiao happily joined the team newly established by his idol.
On the other side, discussions on the Hero League official forum about the match between FHM and KPI were like a stormy sea, with waves surging higher and higher.
[A loss is a loss. To play like that against a team you can’t even look up means you can’t explain it away as just going easy.]
[Exactly. This wasn’t a narrow defeat; they were completely crushed! The Spring Split is about to start. Is KPI still asleep?]
[Why does everyone think KPI got weaker? Can’t it be that FHM is stronger? That was the great ‘to be continued’!]
[What’s the background of FHM’s Jungler?]
[A high-level player who burst onto the scene the season before last, mainly playing Jungler and TOP. He reached the Overlord rank in his first season. This season just started, and he’s already Overlord Rank 1, with more than double the points of the second-place player.]
The ranks in Hero League, from highest to lowest, are: Overlord, Elder, Master, Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Black Iron.
The Overlord rank has no sub-tiers, only points and rankings based on those points.
The higher the win rate, the higher the points, and the higher the ranking.
The fact that “to be continued” had such ridiculously high points suggests how high his win rate must be.
[So ‘to be continued’ joined FHM? Why didn’t he go to a top-eight team?]
[Probably wanted a Starter position.]
[With his skill, he could be a Starter at KPI, right?]
[What are you saying?]
[The person above, Fei Yu’s fans are going to tear you apart. Respect.]
The coach of KPI looked at the discussion in the thread, his mood complicated.
He had been focused on how to defeat WI, but after stepping away for just a moment, an FHM team appeared out of nowhere and beat KPI black and blue.
The KPI Starter members definitely needed training, but before that, he wanted to know—
KPI: What’s FHM’s background?
WI: Don’t know.
CHIP: Never heard of them.
In the E-sports Alliance Hero League Professional League Division discussion group, all teams that have qualified for the league matches are members.
The KPI coach confirmed that FHM was not in this group, but he wasn’t sure if this team would appear in the Spring Split.
KPI: @E-sports Alliance Staff, has FHM registered?
E-sports Alliance Staff: We haven’t received information about the team registering for the competition yet, but there is indeed an FHM E-sports Club, affiliated with Fool Happy More Network Technology Co., Ltd.
KPI: Let us know in the group if they register.
E-sports Alliance Staff: Yes, I will @all members to welcome FHM once they join the group.
DIE: You lost once and you’re this nervous? Looks like you really didn’t go easy.
KPI: You do better.
DIE: We’ll schedule a training match with FHM right now! We’ll win and show you in minutes!
KPI: Remember to post the Create Room number in the group.
WI: Support!
CHIP: Whoever doesn’t post it is a dog!
DIE: …
DIE: I’ll post it! A newly emerging thorn should be pulled out early!