The Esports Big Shot Wants to Cuddle His New Teammate Every Day chapter 23

Chapter 23

With the start of the new season, the First String—from players to coaches to data analysts—became visibly busy. Every time Xu Ziyan checked Xie Wei’s Weibo, underneath was a pile of fans wailing for food, crying that Xie Wei hadn’t streamed in too long.

Xie Wei certainly wasn’t deliberately not streaming; he truly couldn’t spare the time. On the rare occasions Xu Ziyan saw Xie Wei at the base, he always looked like he was in a rush.

But soon, Xu Ziyan didn’t have the mind to worry about others, because the secondary league was also about to start its new season, and the Second String was getting busy too.

Since the official announcement that day, Xu Ziyan’s Weibo followers had rapidly increased by over a hundred thousand, more than half gained from the popularity of the Newcomer Cup.

Lu Donglou gave him a streaming account and told him to stream for a few hours daily when he had time. Xu Ziyan had never done these things before. He fumbled with the streaming software for a long time, and in the end, it was Bai Ke who came over to help him.

“This is window capture. There is a game-specific mode. Once set, others won’t see your other interfaces. Here you can choose the category and modify the title. Usually, the team will give you a template for this part. If you don’t know what to write, just copy one. And…”

Bai Ke taught Xu Ziyan like teaching a child, showing him how to hang subtitles, set the stream cover, basically everything in detail.

Yuan Shaofeng, who was eavesdropping on the side, came over after they were done and looked at Bai Ke with shock on his face. “KK, what’s wrong with you? Why are you so patient? You aren’t sick, are you?”

Bai Ke rolled a massive eye. “I’ve always been patient, just not with you.”

Yuan Shaofeng didn’t get angry at the rebuke. He grinned “Hehe” and said to Xu Ziyan, “Ice, you’re streaming later? Want to duo? I’ll boost your popularity.”

Assaulter and Medic were a fairly typical configuration in duo queues, and these two classes were relatively easy to coordinate with each other. Xu Ziyan knew Yuan Shaofeng was helping him gain popularity. Grateful, he smiled and didn’t refuse, accepting the kindness. “Okay.”

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Ziyan set everything up, put up the stream title and cover Lu Donglou gave him, and clicked start streaming.

He originally thought that as a new streamer streaming for the first time, he wouldn’t have much popularity. Unexpectedly, just as he formed the team with Yuan Shaofeng, he casually glanced at the viewer count and saw it had already reached over five hundred and was rising rapidly. The chat was also lively; some asked if he was really the Newcomer Cup champion, and others asked him for advice on how a Medic could beat up Assaulters.

Xu Ziyan found it quite novel, picking a few questions to answer with a smile.

Matchmaking complete, entering game. The random map was Texier Ancient City. The number of buildings was average, and there were plenty of hiding spots. Overall, it was a very balanced map.

The game mode this time was still Capture Point. Xu Ziyan habitually chose the pistol and taser gun. Seeing this, Yuan Shaofeng half-jokingly said, “Ice, take it easy. Don’t let your damage output be higher than mine later, or I’ll really have no face left.”

Xu Ziyan said, “How could that be? Have some confidence.”

The two were teammates who had coordinated for months. Their tacit understanding was extremely high, and their support for each other was timely, making the gameplay very comfortable. Plus, with capable teammates, Xu Ziyan’s side won in an almost crushing manner.

After a game ended, the number of people in the stream had reached over four thousand, and people had started sending gifts. Xu Ziyan found the backend records and read out the IDs one by one to thank them.

After playing like this for two hours, the time for the training match was approaching. Xu Ziyan exited the game, said a few words of farewell and thanks, and closed the stream.

Yuan Shaofeng gave him a thumbs up. “When I first streamed, I was so nervous I couldn’t even speak properly, let alone interact with the chat and read gifts. Amazing, Ice.”

Naturally, Xu Ziyan was too embarrassed to say he had learned it from constantly watching Xie Wei’s streams, influenced by what he saw and heard. He just smiled.

After the training match ended, everyone was hungry. Xu Ziyan was preparing to order takeout for dinner when Yuan Shaofeng put his arm around his shoulder from behind. “Ice, any plans tonight? I’ll treat you to eat out? A new shop opened near the subway station recently, it’s super delicious.”

Although such things had happened before, today Xu Ziyan estimated that Yuan Shaofeng probably had something to say to him, so he agreed.

The shop Yuan Shaofeng mentioned was a ramen shop that also sold other snacks. It was just dinner time, so the shop was packed with people, noisy and very lively.

Finding a seat and ordering food, Yuan Shaofeng closed the menu and smiled at Xu Ziyan.

Xu Ziyan knew the main topic was coming and sat up straighter.

Yuan Shaofeng scratched his face, actually revealing an embarrassed expression. “Ice, you’ve been close to KK recently, uh, well…”

“Have you heard him mention anything about romance?”

His wording was very tactful, but Xu Ziyan immediately understood his meaning.

Yuan Shaofeng was asking him if Bai Ke had someone he liked.

Heavens.

Yuan Shaofeng actually likes Bai Ke??

Xu Ziyan felt like he was eating a huge melon. He recalled for a moment and said very sincerely, “He hasn’t mentioned it. He shouldn’t have anyone he likes right now.”

Yuan Shaofeng instantly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Xu Ziyan’s burning gaze, he smiled helplessly. “To tell you the truth, a few days ago, I heard him calling his family. He said he would get married soon and told his family not to worry.”

Xu Ziyan paused. Thinking quickly and combining it with Bai Ke’s habit of speaking nonsense, he estimated that this statement was nine out of ten just blather to put off his family.

But why do that?

Soon, Yuan Shaofeng answered his doubts. “KK’s family thinks that a Beta can’t make a name for themselves. It’s better to give up early, go home to take the civil service exam, get married early, and live a stable life honestly. Plus, isn’t God Chen also on the team? God Chen is an Alpha and a First String member; his fame is much higher than KK’s…”

Xu Ziyan understood. Bai Ke’s family was one that valued Alphas over Betas.

No wonder Yuan Shaofeng changed the subject whenever Bai Chen was mentioned before. He had thought it was because their relationship wasn’t good, but it turned out there was this issue.

Xu Ziyan said, “KK is really strong.”

Yuan Shaofeng said, “Yeah, he’s very amazing. Unfortunately, in TWG, he probably can never enter the First String.”

Xu Ziyan didn’t speak.

What Yuan Shaofeng said was a fact. Bai Ke played Sniper excellently, unfortunately, TWG’s First String Sniper was Xie Wei. Unless something major happened to Xie Wei, Bai Ke could at most only be a substitute.

Yuan Shaofeng also realized he had made the atmosphere a bit stiff. Remembering Xu Ziyan was Xie Wei’s fanboy, he hurriedly tried to salvage it. “Speaking of which, Ice, does your family support you playing esports?”

Xu Ziyan smiled. “They probably don’t approve.”

Yuan Shaofeng said, “Probably?”

Xu Ziyan said, “They divorced when I was six, but they only formally separated after I became an adult. Now both of them have their own families and children.”

Therefore, even if not supported, it wouldn’t be opposed, because no one had extra mind space to place on Xu Ziyan anymore.

Yuan Shaofeng never expected to step on landmines one after another. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

Instead, Xu Ziyan burst out laughing and changed the subject himself. “I really didn’t expect you to like KK. Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell?”

Yuan Shaofeng said, “You’re not that kind of person.”

Xu Ziyan gossiped, “When did you start liking KK?”

Yuan Shaofeng said, “Hmm… probably when we just joined the team. We were in the same batch of trainees.”

The food happened to arrive just then. The two chatted while eating, talking about many things.

Back at the base, standing downstairs, Yuan Shaofeng suddenly said, “Ice, you will definitely become famous.”

Xu Ziyan paused and laughed. “Thank you for your blessing?”

“I said it seriously.”

Yuan Shaofeng patted his shoulder and went upstairs first.

A week later, the new season officially began, and the date for TWG First String’s draw ceremony was set.

In the official livestream, Xie Wei, wearing his team uniform, pulled a golden ball from the box.

The host opened the golden ball and announced the first team TWG would face in tomorrow’s opening ceremony: the fellow veteran powerhouse, Team KW.

“Ooh,” Bai Ke raised an eyebrow. “This is going to be a tough battle. Hope Goddess Qingyue can withstand it.”

He wasn’t mocking Qu Qingyue, but because of KW’s team characteristic—they liked to target Medics.

Just then, Lu Donglou walked in and clapped his hands. “Stop worrying about others. The Second String’s draw is in a week. Hurry up and intensify training.”

Bai Ke stuck out his tongue and obediently went back to his seat.

Xu Ziyan wanted to send a message to Xie Wei a little bit. He picked up his phone but didn’t know what to say. Looking at the blank chat box, he put the phone back down.

Wait until Xie Wei finishes the match tomorrow, then I’ll use congratulating him as an excuse to message him.

Xu Ziyan thought it was only natural. After all, TWG in the last season was simply too invincible, winning almost every match big or small. Logically speaking, KW would indeed give TWG some trouble, but the one to take the final victory would definitely be TWG.

However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, the new targeting strategy KW brought out directly broke Qu Qingyue. In the BO3 that day, KW defeated TWG 2-1, taking the first victory of the new season.

TWG lost.

Once the result came out, the internet instantly exploded like a frying pan. Trolls and haters who had been biding their time mobilized en masse, directly spraying TWG onto the trending search topics.

Xie Wei was right; the esports industry was essentially about worshipping strength. As long as you had strength, people who cursed your eighteen generations of ancestors yesterday could praise you to the heavens today. As long as you made a mistake, people who said they would support you forever yesterday would turn around and attack you with the most vicious language.

Xu Ziyan wasn’t seeing this kind of battle for the first time, but it was the first time experiencing it so closely and personally.

Nighttime.

Xie Wei finally finished the replay review meeting and comforted Qu Qingyue with a few words. Her performance today was indeed lacking, but everyone had bad days. Moreover, this was still the preseason. He couldn’t say any words of blame, only telling her to work harder alongside the coach.

After doing all this, he went into the coach’s office again to discuss the upcoming schedule.

With great power comes great responsibility; those standing high always have to bear more. Walking out of the coach’s office, Xie Wei turned his head to look at the night sky outside the corridor window and sighed lightly.

It was late, and he felt somewhat exhausted. Just as he wanted to return to the training room, he heard someone calling him from behind.

“Captain.”

It was a very familiar voice he hadn’t heard for a long time.

Xie Wei started. He turned around and sure enough, saw Xu Ziyan. The youth stood at the door of the emergency exit, smiling at him.

Xie Wei’s heart moved, and he strode over.