Edited by: Mel
Saturday, the day of finals.
The twelve participating teams were screened in the promotional competition and then ranked according to the number of kills and average damage dealt on the field. In the end, only four teams successfully won a ticket to the finals, namely SVG, MW, OPW, and AC Loft.
Even without talking about the veteran professional players in these four teams, they had no shortage of popular rising stars rookies that were hotly debated. As a result, the tickets to the finals were so high that, aside from the gathering of fans, there were many scalpers outside the stadium. It was comparable to the concerts of popular traffic stars.
SVG’s MPV came to a stop. Everyone changed into their team uniforms. Li Zhongchen was the first person to pull open the door to leave. In the dim parking lot, it did not take long for his silhouette to vanish.
The low pressure of the atmosphere from earlier made the rookies feel oppressed. Only when they saw him take his leave first did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
However, Zheng Xiaokui continued to sulk, dejected and quiet. It was a stark contrast to her usual lively self.
Yao Tong hurriedly caught up with Li Zhongchen, ignoring the aura of ‘the living beware of approaching’ that the other exuded. “Zheng Xiaokui is normally well-behaved, and we can also see the progress she has made in the last few days. Maybe what Sugi said was too hurtful. Otherwise, the little lady would not be so stubborn. Why do you have to be so particular about it?”
Li Zhongchen glanced sideways. “So it makes sense to bite others? Can the hands of a professional gamer be allowed to be bitten by others casually?”
“…Oh,” Yao Tong sighed deeply. “Isn’t it all because your little disciple did not know that he was also a professional player?”
Speaking of that, Yao Tong, who had been eating supper that day, received a phone call from Li Zhongchen. In that moment, he knew that it was impossible to swathe the fire with paper.
That night, the three of them had a meeting late into the night. Li Zhongchen was so angry that his liver hurt.
The time had to be retraced to the day when the rookie team went for their photoshoot.
The photography studio was located in Minhang District. It was a six-story duplex studio near the subway entrance of Qixin Road Station, and was a fifteen minute drive from their base. Transportation was convenient, and the photography team was also experienced and reliable. They were usually SVG’s first choice for collaboration whenever there were any photography needs.
It was also common for other clubs to choose this studio.
Only, they did not expect MW’s photoshoot reservation to be immediately after theirs, or else this situation could have been avoided.
The workload of the photography team was too heavy that day. SVG’s rookie team, who was supposed to have finished their shoot at noon, ended up being delayed until two in the afternoon. Only then was Yao Tong able to take everyone to lunch.
“Captain, I won’t go. I’m not hungry anyway, and I just ordered milk tea.” Zheng Xiaokui, on the other hand, was very interested in what was going on in the studio. “I want to stroll around here. It’s my first time coming to such a huge photography studio. I’ll meet up with you all after you’re finished eating?”
“…I really can’t understand the thought processes of you young ladies.” Yao Tong looked at her worriedly. “Will you be fine staying here alone?”
Zheng Xiaokui grinned. “It’ll be fine. I’ll just look around the third floor shooting locations of those celebrity sisters that are popular on the internet these days. I won’t run around.”
Since she had said so, Yao Tong thought that it was not as if he was bringing his daughter out for a trip. They were finished with official business, so it was not like he needed to tie the person to his belt.
Moreover, the studio was not some questionable place. After warning Zheng Xiaokui repeatedly, the rest of them left to tend to their needs.
Later.
Zheng Xiaokui did watch the internet celebrity filming for a while, but it did not take long for her to get bored. She went to the lounge area to fiddle with her phone. She sat down and held her milk tea in her hands and began to ponder. “Why did Master think that my dressing this morning did not suit me? I studied makeup on B-site for a long time. Even with my makeup from earlier, it should have similar results to the photos of these pretty sisters. Honestly, old people like Master.”
As she thought of that, her gaze lifted and she caught sight of a youth with delicate features seated two tables away from her.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The youth seemed to be around her age. He wore a white polo shirt that looked similar to the uniform of the studio’s staffing team. Zheng Xiaokui, who was face blind and short-sighted mistook him for an assistant of the studio at that moment.
She had always been an enthusiastic and initiative person that enjoyed making friends. They were the only people in the lounge area, hence she took the initiative to change seats and struck up a conversation with him. “Xiao Gege, aren’t you going for lunch? Did you just finish work and finally get a chance to take a break? It’s been hard on you all.”
“…” Ve Eeldl gjlrfv tlr ujhf eqbc tfjglcu tfg kbgvr. “Jjc P tfiq sbe?”
Itfcu Wljbxel vlv cba tfjg atf rfcrf bo jilfcjalbc lc atf batfg’r abcf. “Rba wemt, mjc P jrx sbe j defralbc?”
Ve Eeldl: “…Qtja?”
Kb yf tbcfra, Ve Eeldl kjr j ilaaif mbcoerfv ys atf kjs atf jrrjeiafg bo VNX’r gbbxlf afjw tjv jqqgbjmtfv tlw.
The time for the shoot was unfortunately delayed once more. His teammates had just gone ahead and ate. Since he had just eaten with Qiao Yi before setting out, he was not hungry, and thought to wait in this area for the others to return. Even before he took a seat, he had long noticed Zheng Xiaokui, who was not far away from him.
After all, he had seen the opponent play a match with his own eyes. She was also the disciple of his idol, Echo. It was inevitable that he would have a deep impression of her to the point of being a little sour about it.
“Xiao Gege, what do you think of the makeup on my face?” Saying that, she handed the phone to Su Ruiqi. “Compared to this, do you think I should go for light makeup or heavy makeup? Actually, it seems that heavy makeup shows up better on camera. I’m not too sure, so I wanted to ask for advice from the staff here.”
Su Ruiqi turned blue in the face. “……”
Is she deliberately insulting me?
She actually said I was a staff member here?
Seeing that he did not answer, Zheng Xiaokui was not discouraged. “Ah, I should probably ask a young lady. Maybe you men don’t pay much attention to things like these. Oh, right. How old are you, already working at this age.”
Su Ruiqi replied in a dull voice. “Seventeen.”
He thought to himself, if you want to play pretend, I’ll play with you to the end.
“What a coincidence! But since you’re still a minor, would the others let you work?” Zheng Xiaokui responded. “I’m going to turn seventeen soon myself. Speaking of which, I won’t be able to spend my birthday with my family and friends, it’s a little sad…”
“Why?”
“Because I want to become an invincible esports player one day, so I’ll be spending my birthday with the youth training team. I won’t be able to go home.”
“You are from SVG, right?”
Surprised, Zheng Xiaokui stared at him and asked. “Do you also follow our team?”
Su Ruiqi thought, can I not pay attention?
The valuable game replays of your team have been studied countless times by me, and God Zhong was the turning point of when I chose to walk this path. He is my ultimate goal.
“En, I like God Zhong. His title as the top assault player in the national server is not a boast. I have watched every match that he played. It’s very exciting.”
“Yeah! Master is super awesome!”
“Oh?” Su Ruiqi deliberately responded. “Are you Zheng Xiaokui, God Zhong’s disciple?”
Zheng Xiaokui was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. “You, you actually know me!”
“I know.”
“Were you also at the rookie match last week?”
Su Ruiqi was speechless, wondering how SVG ended up recruiting such a silly sweetheart? Forget about her not playing well, she was also the disciple of his own idol. It was difficult for him to comprehend.
“I was indeed there.” He felt upset on the inside. “You play assault, right?”
“En, en, I played Bangalore that day.”
Su Ruiqi responded unceremoniously. “You played pretty badly.”
“…” The smile on Zheng Xiaokui’s face froze and she stuttered. “You, what did you say?”
“You only had a damage output of 2300 during the entire match. Aside from sniping a few people, what else did you contribute to the team?” Su Ruiqi was ruthless. “You get nervous easily, right? During the final ring, when you were all executing the team counterattack, you actually forgot to use your ultimate. You could have obviously sealed off your enemy’s position, but you made your teammates fight openly with you?”
Zheng Xiaokui’s face immediately reddened and tried to explain. “I was a little nervous because it was my first match after all. But my cooperation with Player 1…”
“You cooperated well, right? But wasn’t it more like Player 1 was dragging you along like towing a plane?” Su Ruiqi continued. “There was obviously a better tactic, but there were issues with your mentality and play style. Are you sure you can win when you meet a stronger team?”
Perhaps it was the work of envy in his heart, but Su Ruiqi did not think too much. He was a person who spoke in a straightforward manner, and he even thought that he was analyzing the other’s mistake.
As a result, when he said the last sentence of “God Zhong should change a disciple”, it completely angered Zheng Xiaokui. The other party’s sense of rationality was thrown out the window, which led to the crazy action that came after.
— The two began to argue fiercely. In the end, Zheng Xiaokui could not outargue Su Ruiqi and bit his hand in a moment of anger.
.
Not to mention Li Zhongchen, even Yao Tong was speechless and felt a headache come on when he recalled that incident. But he still chose to speak up for one of his own. “Isn’t it because Xiaokui is face blind and she could not recognize it was Sugi? And besides, that kid was pretty overboard with what he said. And to think I really thought he was a polite youth of the new generation. He even cussed out at our cute little sister Xiaokui.”
They exited the elevator. Under the guidance of the staff, the group of people walked down the corridor and headed towards SVG’s waiting room.
The new waiting room arranged for them was the one closest to MW’s room—
Li Zhongchen was internally conflicted. He glanced back at Zheng Xiaokui and saw that the other was lagging at the end of the group, her head still lowered. “……”
He told everyone to head on into the waiting room first with captain Yao.
Then he stopped Zheng Xiaokui and brought her to the side like an eagle carrying a chick.
Zheng Xiaokui followed him. Her footsteps stopped, and she continued to stare at her dirty white shoes.
Li Zhongchen spoke. “Zheng Xiaokui, you have been like this for two consecutive days already. The match with AC Loft does not require a double assault gameplay. Let’s say if you have to participate in the finals in the afternoon, are you going to play in the match with an attitude like that?”
“…” Zheng Xiaokui’s tears fell. “Master, I know I was wrong.”
The little girl cried, but Li Zhongchen’s principle remained the same. “Wipe your tears first. Sugi was bitten by you. If it affects his game performance, he might even want to cry more than you.”
“En.” Zheng Xiaokui listened to him, wiped away the tears with the bend of her elbow then looked up at him, the redness in her eyes prominent.
“You were angry because he said you didn’t perform well? Why didn’t you consider that it was because you mistook him for a handyman? Would the other person not be angry?” Li Zhongchen lowered his head and looked at her, and his attitude softened. “It’s all thanks to your idol God Qiao dealing with the consequences that things didn’t get out of hand. Both of you were actually in the wrong, do you understand?”
“I understand……”
“As long as you understand. Adjust your mentality.”
But Zheng Xiaokui’s eyes flashed with tears, and she shook her head vigorously. “But he said I was not worthy of being Master’s disciple. I know that in esports, being weak is an original sin. In the beginning, I thought to myself that I shouldn’t be as bad as he made me out to be, but after thinking it over, I was afraid that what he said was right…”
“It was my luck to be able to become your disciple. I have also learned a lot. As compared to others, I’m considered to have taken a shortcut. But I’m afraid that even Master you would think that I’m not worthy, that you would think that I suck and had no improvement. The rest doesn’t matter, this is the only thing I’m afraid of.”
Zheng Xiaokui’s words nailed his heart. Li Zhongchen had not expected it.
He had thought that this young lady’s pride was wounded. But she was only a young child around sixteen to seventeen years old. She had only left school and entered society. It was inevitable that her mentality would be affected. Be it acting out of spite or being pessimistic, he could understand all of it.
But Li Zhongchen did not expect that the little girl lost her confidence and courage because of him.
“Zheng Xiaokui, how are you not worthy of being my disciple?” Li Zhongchen flashed one of his rare smiles towards her. “You can’t even handle it from a couple of things others said and doubted your own abilities. Is this even the same person I know?”
Zheng Xiaokui blinked her eyes that shone like crystals and listened to Li Zhongchen. “Believing in yourself is important. The you that was confidently analyzing that video back then, and the you that was filled with fighting spirit whenever you talked about your God Qiao. Isn’t that person currently working hard? Attitude and confidence were the main reasons why I chose you. Other than me, no one else has the right to say that you are not worthy of being my disciple.
“Do you understand?”
Because of his words, Zheng Xiaokui’s heart was swept away, and she immediately smiled. “Really, Master?!”
“Yeah.”
Li Zhongchen looked at her with relief.
“Master, I’m so touched. You are just like my older brother. I really want to hug you, but I dare not do it wu wu wu.”
Li Zhongchen smiled helplessly. “Alright, you can hug me. There is no one here at the moment anyway.”
Saying that, master and disciple shared an encouraging hug. From Li Zhongchen’s perspective, as long as the young lady was not influenced by others’ remarks and treated the upcoming matches like regular training, then his goal was accomplished.
Except coincidentally, the elevator doors opened. Qiao Yi and Su Ruiqi, who had just arrived at the venue, were both stunned by the scene before them—
But from Qiao Yi’s perspective, it was a scene that looked exactly like romance between an older brother figure and a young lady in those idol dramas.
His brain suddenly went blank and he didn’t know how to react.
Noa’s Notes:
Ah yes, look at QY and LZC’s children disciples go at it. *insert auntie smile*
Ah ah ah dive into the ocean of misunderstandings~~
QIAO YI PLS JUST ASK HIM!!! WHATS GOING ON
Li Zhongchenq, just admit your love for Qiao Yi!!!!
thanks for the chapter <3
His little disciple is so cute lol
oof, even tho this will definetly cause a misunderstanding, I can’t help thinking that lzc and zxk’s relationship is adorable 🥺 (I’m not shipping them, ofcourse)
and lmao not her biting his hand hahahahha
Ohh!! The misunderstanding… Thanks for the chapter ❤️❤️