Chapter 15: Thank You, Coach. Thanking Me?
Zuo Chi was awakened in the early hours by the ringing of the phone by his bed.
Having only been asleep for two hours, he opened his bleary eyes. When he saw the lit screen, he felt for a moment like he was about to meet his ancestors.
The screen showed a call from “Manager Li.”
He glanced at Ning Luzhao, who was sleeping with his back to him on the adjacent bed. He lowered the volume first and then tiptoed out of the dorm.
A draft whistled through the corridor. Wearing only plush pajamas, he felt a bit of a chill.
“Manager Li?”
“Coach, calling you this late must have disturbed your sleep. It’s like this… I just got back from the meeting, and, uh, I forgot my keycard for the base’s main gate…”
“It’s fine. I’ll come down and open the door.”
Zuo Chi squinted at the time—it was past 2:00 AM. His eyes couldn’t adapt to the bright light of the electronic screen, and a bit of moisture welled up in the corners of his gentle eyes.
He hurried downstairs and let in Manager Li, who was stomping his feet in the cold wind to keep warm.
Manager Li’s expression was quite grim. He looked as if he was about to cry. “Thanks, Coach… There’s something I thought I should tell you…”
Zuo Chi pointed to the stairs. “Let’s go up first.”
The two walked up the stairs one after another.
“Coach, what I’m about to say might be hard to accept. You…”
“ZAP isn’t selling Wall and Beyond anymore?”
“Ah? No, that can’t happen; the contracts are already signed.”
“Fugui’s family went bankrupt?”
“What?? No, not that either…”
“Land doesn’t want to stay in VEX?”
“Huh???? Land never said he was leaving?”
Zuo Chi: “Then there’s nothing that’s hard to accept, right, Manager Li?”
After he said that, some color finally returned to Manager Li’s face. “I guess… What I wanted to say is, I went to the club headquarters for a meeting today. The boss and the board discussed…”
“VEX is being sold after the Spring Split.” Seeing Manager Li’s stunned gaze, Zuo Chi added calmly, “I was booking a scrim with ASH’s coach today, and he mentioned it while we were chatting… Don’t be sad. We’re not the last to know. Look, Land and the others are still sleeping.”
Manager Li: “…”
“Coach, you… aren’t you worried about this?”
“I am a bit worried. Mainly, which boss is so desperate that they want to take over VEX, this money-losing asset?”
Manager Li: “…”
“It’s an entertainment company, Shengxing Media. They’re quite famous in the entertainment industry! Arena has been hot these past few years, so the company wants to enter the esports field. As for why they chose VEX, it’s because no other team has any intention of selling…”
“So, the new boss is richer than the current one?”
“Definitely much richer.”
Zuo Chi flashed a very sincere smile. “Then I have nothing to worry about now.”
“But what about us and the players…”
Shengxing Media wasn’t a “fool with money.” If they spent big to buy the team and get a professional league spot, they would definitely want to build a “Galacticos” roster to push for the championship, increase team traffic, cultivate star players, and take endorsements to make money.
When the time came, the old guard of VEX would likely have to pack their bags and get lost.
For them, it was fine; they could always find another job. But for esports players, it was entirely a career for the young. Generally, they could play for three or four years; more than six was rare.
If no team wanted them, they would have to retire immediately. Most esports players weren’t highly educated and knew nothing but gaming; their future wouldn’t be easy. Even if they made money streaming, they would need popularity before retiring.
“Isn’t there still the Spring Split? If our results are good, the new boss won’t just keep us; they’ll give us tons of money.”
Manager Li stuttered, “Uh…”
To have a newly formed team transform from a “runt” into a “phoenix” in their first season… saying that out loud would make people think someone had escaped from a psychiatric hospital and was talking nonsense.
Having stood in the corridor for so long, the warmth Zuo Chi brought from his covers had vanished. He tucked his hands into his sleeves. “It’s a done deal. Don’t think too much, just do it… I have quite a bit of faith in our new starters. Look at Land—he plays well and is handsome. Isn’t he the perfect candidate for the next globally famous star player?”
Manager Li: “…”
He hadn’t noticed before that the new coach, who looked refined and quiet, was actually quite silver-tongued. After a few words, his anxiety for the entire day actually seemed to have dissipated a lot.
“So, should we tell the players about this tomorrow?”
“Tell them. Even ASH knows. Something this big will spread sooner or later; we can’t hide it. It’s a good way to test the players’ mindsets.”
Manager Li nodded. “Alright. Coach, get some rest. Sorry for the trouble today.”
Zuo Chi waved his hand and immediately slipped back into the dorm.
It was much warmer in the dorm!
He quickly dove under the covers, warming his cold limbs. After lying there for nearly five minutes, his hands and feet were still ice-cold.
He sighed, thinking about getting up again to fill a hot water bottle.
While he was debating whether to get up or not, he suddenly saw a dark shadow by his bed.
He was startled and let out a small gasp.
Looking closer, it was Ning Luzhao. He didn’t know when the other had woken up. Strangely, he was standing by the bed like a motionless statue.
“Land, do you have sleepwalking issues?”
Ning Luzhao’s voice was low and carried a hint of fatigue in the night. “No. I just came from the bathroom.”
“Oh.”
“I saw the coach go out without a jacket just now… It’s cold outside. This hot water bottle was just filled.”
Zuo Chi thanked him and reached out from under the covers to take the warm bottle. The heat immediately permeated through his palms. He tucked the bottle to his chest and gave a mental thumbs-up to the thoughtful Little Jungler-god. “Then you heard what Manager Li and I were talking about?”
“Mm.”
“Don’t just stand there stupidly. Get back under your covers.”
Ning Luzhao was wearing even less than him—just a set of thin T-shirt pajamas.
Ning Luzhao obediently pulled back his covers and lay down. They rarely pulled the curtain between their beds, so they could easily talk across the gap of over a meter.
Zuo Chi: “Then tomorrow, you’ll be responsible for telling the other players. No problem, right?”
“No problem.”
He gave a yawn. “Fugui is quite big-hearted, and Wall has experience falling from the starting roster to the second team, so his mental resilience should be good. It’s just Wu Yang and Beyond—they’re young, so look after them.”
“Aren’t you worried about me, Coach?”
Zuo Chi thought for a moment, sounding a bit unsure. “I’ve always been quite at ease about you, but if you feel a bit down, then…”
That would be normal. Ning Luzhao wasn’t as lively as Fugui and the others, but he was only nineteen. If he hadn’t come to play esports, he would still be a “pure and silly” college student.
Ning Luzhao remained silent for a long time.
Zuo Chi waited for him to speak. His thoughts drifted from “Land must be reluctant to see the team he’s been with for a year be sold” to “Am I being too harsh on Land?” and even “The Little Jungler-god isn’t hiding under his covers crying, is he? I need to think of a way to console him.” Then, he heard the other’s answer.
“Thank you, Coach.”
He was stunned for a moment. “Thanking me?”
He looked toward Ning Luzhao. The boy’s eyes were deep in the darkness, and with large shadows on his face, his expression was even harder to read. But judging by his voice, the Little Jungler-god hadn’t lost control of his emotions.
“I don’t know how you found Wu Yang and the others.”
Playing with these teammates—even in just a normal ranked queue—he could feel it.
Even those powerhouse teams with professional recruiting staff probably couldn’t have found these players in such a short time.
Zuo Chi smiled. “That question is just like how I don’t know how you guys can play so well.” Actually, it was because of the system, but he couldn’t say that.
Land, this kind of esports talent freak, was truly enviable.
(Jealous-to-the-point-of-disfigurement.jpg)
“Next summer, the people in the VEX base won’t change.”
Zuo Chi nodded. “Mm. The new boss is loaded. If we don’t get a good result in the Spring Split to make our sugar daddy willing to spend money on us, it would be a huge loss. How about this—before the Spring Split starts, we’ll increase training time by one hour each day. What do you think?”
Translator’s Note: Welcome to the team, everyone! VEX is finally complete.
A few notes on the recent chapters:
- “Jealous-to-the-point-of-disfigurement” (嫉妒得面目全非): A popular internet slang in China. It’s used humorously to say you’re extremely jealous.
- “Sugar Daddy” (金主爸爸): In Chinese business/internet slang, this refers to a wealthy backer or investor. Zuo Chi is already planning how to spend the new boss’s money!
- “Meeting your ancestors/Great-grandmother” (見太奶): A humorous way of saying you’re so tired or shocked that you feel like you’re about to die.
Recommended Reads
![Accidentally Turned a Tragic Romance Plotline into a Sweet and Pampering One [Transmigration]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/ACCIDENTALLY.png)
