translator: Oyen editor: Ciel
At 6:00am the next morning, Xiao Han and Qin Mo set off for the airport, and had a simple breakfast in the waiting hall. By the time they returned to the club in Changsha, it was already 11.30am. After unpacking their luggage, they went to the training room. Qin Mo was also quite gratified to find that Qingyue and Liu Hong took the newcomers to complete the day’s training seriously.
Seeing their return, Shen He immediately called out to them. “Master, have you both received the prizes? What kind of action figure did you get, quickly let us see!”
Qin Mo showed the action figure to everyone. “This action figure is very beautifully made,” Zhu Qingyue praised. “It looks very similar to the character design in the game. I wonder if the officials will sell these to the public in the future?”
“It’s possible!” Shen He said excitedly. “The design may be a little different, but similar products will definitely be made available.”
“Captain Qin, did you meet Nie Yuzhu and Chen Jiang at the official headquarters this time?” Liu Hong asked.
“En,” Qin Mo nodded. “Your speculations were not wrong. Deep In The Bamboo Grove is Nie Yuzhu, and Three Thousand Miles of River is Chen Jiang. They all attended the meeting at headquarters, and everyone admitted their identity.”
Liu Hong sighed. “I didn’t expect that there would be so many great players in Peerless Jianghu!”
Shen He was not worried. “Our Mojue gathered experts from two major alliances, haha, netizens will drop their jaws!”
It had just reached lunchtime. As such, Qin Mo instructed, “Let’s have a meal first and train in the afternoon.”
Qin Mo took the initiative to walk up to Zhu Qingyue, whispering, “Qingyue, on my visit to the official headquarters with Xiao Han, I met your master Chu Yan.”
“…” The usually gentle and calm man’s fingers trembled slightly, causing the beef to almost fall back onto the plate. Although the trembling of his fingers was not obvious, it could not escape Qin Mo’s sharp eyes. Zhu Qingyue took a deep breath and stabilized his mood, before replying, “My senior brother mentioned before that master was indeed in Beijing. I didn’t expect you to see him.”
“En, his electronic technology company is working with officials to develop a new product.” Qin Mo explained. “It is a special third-perspective VR glasses that can be used to watch the game. According to the officials, the audience will be able to rent these third-perspective glasses to watch the game in person in the future, just like watching a 3D movie in the cinema.”
Zhu Qingyue hummed. “That’s a good idea.”
Qin Mo asked doubtfully, “Have the both of you completely lost contact?”
Zhu Qingyue lowered his head. “Yes. After he retired, he was busy with his new job, and even changed his mobile phone number.”
Qin Mo did not want to pry into other people’s private affairs, yet it seemed that there was some trouble between Zhu Qingyue and Chu Yan. If that was indeed the case, it would be very troublesome to encounter the Whisper team in the future. After thinking it over, Qin Mo said politely, “Actually, I haven’t been in touch with my master for three years. To tell you the truth… I’m a little afraid of him.”
Zhu Qingyue looked up at Qin Mo in surprise. Unexpectedly, the calm and indifferent captain Qin was actually afraid of his master. Perhaps, no matter how powerful they were, they still had respect and awe for their seniors. For Qin Mo, Ling Xuefeng was simply an incomparable existence; he was the mentor who raised Qin Mo to enter this path and cultivated him to become a first-class player in his own right.
Qin Mo paused for a few moments, before adding, “But avoiding him all the time isn’t a solution. I have heard that my master will be back during the Spring Festival. So… I will go to see him, to explain matters clearly, and introduce him to Shen He, this little apprentice… I think, master will probably not blame me.”
Zhu Qingyue smiled. “Rest assured, although Senior Ling Xuefeng has a tough personality, he is a reasonable person and he will understand you.”
Qin Mo once again brought up their original topic. “Then, what about Chu Yan? Can’t he understand you?”
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.
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Zhu Qingyue smiled helplessly. “I hope so.”
***
Next, everyone began to train according to Qin Mo’s plan.
From this point onwards, Qin Mo wouldn’t only train the players’ consciousness, but also consider tactical cooperation issues when leading the team to qualifying matches—— for example, he and Xiao Han could bring Shen He, Li Muran, and Qingyue to form an offensive and defensive lineup with the back row as the main players and the front row for breakout. If Qingyue was replaced by Liu Hong, the attack power of the front row would be stronger, while Pei Yu could be sent to use the penetration wave attacks on obstacle maps. The defensive team configuration would be the ultimate blood cow formation of He Beiguang, Li Muran, and Zhu Qingyue—— Mojue’s eight players could combine to form multiple lineups. If they did not have enough practice, their opponents might discover their weak points due to the lack of tacit cooperation in the arena.
With only three months left before next year’s professional league, they had to quickly familiarise themselves with the line-up.
December arrived in the twinkling of an eye, and the weather gradually became cold. Although the streets of Changsha were still covered with trees and flowers in winter, due to the humid climate, once it rained, the bone-chilling winds were still unbearable. Fortunately, the training room and the room of the Dragon Song Club were equipped with heaters. As long as everyone stayed in the club, they wouldn’t be frozen. Therefore, everyone in the Mojue tacitly agreed to stay in the base and try not to go out unless necessary.
When Xiao Han was training in the morning, Liu Chuan suddenly called. Xiao Han picked up his mobile phone immediately, and walked into the corridor. “What’s the matter, boss?”
“Are you and Qin Mo idle now?” Liu Chuan asked. “Come to my office. I have something important to discuss with you.”
Xiao Han returned to the training room and called Qin Mo, before reporting to the boss’ office together. Liu Chuan was already at the table, looking through some data. “Take a seat,” he offered, smiling. “I asked for you both as there is a very good cooperation project available, and I want to hear your opinions.”
For the club’s other teams, Liu Chuan could make the decision himself. However, the situation of the Mojue team was somewhat special, and it was not good for him to interfere too much in the team’s internal affairs, which was why he wanted to discuss it with the both of them.
Liu Chuan handed a copy of the information to Xiao Han and Qin Mo, and explained. “It’s like this; our club has always had fixed cooperation with investors, but Peerless Jianghu is a brand-new game. The devices for many traditional online games are not applicable here, so it is better for the Mojue team to find new partners. There is a strong local company in Changsha called Qingyang Electronic Technology, I think the both of you should have heard of it?”
Xiao Han and Qin Mo looked at each other—— Wasn’t that the company where Chu Yan worked?
Sure enough, Liu Chuan added, “The boss of this company is Zhu Ran, Zhu Qingyue’s uncle. At present, the executive director of the technology development team is Chu Yan, Zhu Qingyue’s master. As Chu Yan used to be an esports player, he is also responsible for contacts with the major clubs.”
Qin Mo remembered his trip to Wuhan to find Zhu Qingyue. Qingyue had mentioned that his uncle opened a company in Changsha. After he retired, he had planned to go to his uncle’s company to help, but they intercepted him halfway and invited him to Mojue team. In this manner, Chu Yan and Zhu Qingyue’s uncle should also know each other.
“Since you mentioned this company,” Xiao Han ventured, “did they ask for Mojue to cooperate with them?”
“Yes,” Liu Chuan nodded. “Chu Yan contacted our Dragon Song club earlier in March. He wanted the team from Miracle to represent a high-end DIY game computer they launched. As their company and our club are in the same city, it’s more convenient to cooperate, and both sides have this intention. This, Xiao Han should already be aware of, right?”
Xiao Han dipped his head in acknowledgement. “En, I met Chu Yan the last time, and heard you talk about this cooperation.”
Liu Chuan continued: “Chu Yan sent me another email two days ago, wanting to cooperate with the Mojue team on a new project—— the brand new VR glasses jointly developed by their company and Peerless Jianghu, as well as a complete set of home projection equipment, which is currently the most high-end product in China. And, as far as I know, Peerless Jianghu officials will use the new live broadcast mode during next year’s league. This project has a bright future, and promises astonishing profits. Mojue team has just started; with such a large project, its future development will benefit greatly.”
What Liu Chuan said was really reasonable. The high-end products from Chu Yan’s company were developed with the input of Peerless Jianghu’s officials, which meant that there was a guarantee in terms of sales. The team that won the endorsement would definitely be able to lie down and just count money. Although Qin Mo and Xiao Han didn’t lack money, there was no reason to refuse such a good thing. After looking at each other, they immediately agreed.
“I also think we can cooperate,” Qin Mo agreed. “This company has strength and the quality of its products is guaranteed. If Mojue endorses its products, not only does our popularity increase, but the products will also become famous. This is a win-win situation for both sides.” Here, he paused for a few moments, before asking Liu Chuan: “In terms of endorsement, do they have any requirements?”
Liu Chuan replied simply, “They want Twin Stars to shoot the advertisement together.”
This was also within Qin Mo’s expectations. Chu Yan’s quick selection of the Mojue team simply used ‘in the same city’ as an excuse. In fact, the real reason was the presence of Twin Stars. Some time ago, Chu Yan had met them in Beijing. Based on his relationship with the officials, he would have discovered that Xiao Han and Qin Mo had jointly established the Mojue team. That was the real reason why he wanted to cooperate with Mojue on this new project.
The name of ‘Twin Stars’ would definitely attract countless fans, be they Xiao Han’s loyal fans or Qin Mo’s black fans. Furthermore, they were good-looking people. With the mixed-race Xiao Han acting as spokesperson, the presence of Twin Stars would certainly improve the product’s influence quickly.
Looking at Xiao Han, Qin Mo asked, “What do you think?”
“No problem!” Xiao Han replied straightforwardly.
“Then it’s settled,” Qin Mo told Liu Chuan. “When will the contract be signed?”
“Chu Yan will come today,” Liu Chuan smiled. “I will inform you when he’s here. We’ll sign the agreement in the office.”
***
At 12:30pm in the afternoon, Chu Yan drove to the Dragon Song club.
He had visited Dragon Song several times, and even dined with Liu Chuan in a nearby restaurant on his last visit. As such, he was very familiar with the surrounding environment. Chu Yan was about to turn the corner when he saw a young man quickly crossing the road, a plastic bag clutched in his hands. It was raining outside, and the man’s sweater was wet to the point where he looked like a drowned rat.
Chu Yan slammed the horn, but the man didn’t seem to hear it, continuing to run forward with his head down. Seeing that the distance between the car and the man was getting too close, Chu Yan frowned and decisively stepped on the brakes. Perhaps because the sound of the brakes was too harsh, the young man was startled, realising that he had run a red light, and looked up at the car behind him in a panic——
At that moment, Chu Yan saw a very familiar face.
That face had beautiful, soft features. Under the rain, the wet hair clung to his ears, and his black eyes were filled with a trace of panic, giving rise to a particularly pitiful appearance.
All of a sudden, countless memories flooded into his mind. Chu Yan choked, almost suspecting that it was a hallucination.
—— Zhu Qingyue.
—— What was he doing here?!
Chu Yan immediately unfastened his seat belt, opening the door to get out of the car. He opened up a large umbrella, frowning. “Are you all right?”
Zhu Qingyue: “………”
This familiar voice was … Master?!
Zhu Qingyue could hardly believe it. This tall, handsome man wearing a frown…
He had actually gone out to buy shower gel. Recently, the temperature in Changsha had dropped, so Zhu Qingyue stayed in the club for half a month, refusing to go out. He only found out that the shower gel was used up when he took a shower last night. In the end, he simply washed his hair quickly with hot water and went to sleep, thinking that he would go out to buy more at lunchtime today.
It was cloudy when he was going out, but the supermarket was close to the club, so he didn’t bother bringing an umbrella. Unexpectedly, it began to rain after a little bit. Seeing that the rain would likely not stop for a while, and that it was not raining heavily, Zhu Qingyue simply trotted all the way back, only to almost hit a car while crossing the road, and the owner was unexpectedly …. Chu Yan?
Thinking that he had undoubtedly made a mistake, Zhu Qingyue rubbed his eyes hard, before once again looking up at the man in front of him.
Chu Yan’s gaze was inscrutable as he whispered, “Stop rubbing. I’m indeed your master.”
Zhu Qingyue: “………”
This drowned rat in front of him still had a disbelieving face, staring at him stupidly.
Chu Yan was puzzled. “Why are you in Changsha?”
Zhu Qingyue looked like a student who made a mistake, lowering his head and frantically explaining, “I’m here to buy something…”
Glancing at the plastic bag at his hand, Chu Yan saw the shower gel inside. “You went from Wuhan to Changsha just to buy a bottle of shower gel?”
Zhu Qingyue blushed, feeling that he had made a terrible excuse.
Chu Yan raised an eyebrow. “The Dragon Song club is just across this street. Did you sign with them?”
Zhu Qingyue kept silent. He didn’t know how to explain it.
Chu Yan knew he was right the moment he saw this. After a moment of silence, he added, “Get in the car first. I’ll take you back.”
“No need,” Zhu Qingyue quickly declined, “I’ll walk back…”
“Get in the car.” Chu Yan stated firmly, leaving Zhu Qingyue no room for any further argument.
Seeing that he seemed to be angry, Zhu Qingyue could only obey, awkwardly sitting in the back of the car. In fact, he was still very confused, and had not recovered from the shock of ‘master suddenly appeared’.
Chu Yan drove to Dragon Song club, parked the car in the garage, before going to find the elevator.
Neither of them spoke, causing a strange silence to fill the elevator.
With a ‘ding’, the elevator stopped on the second floor, where Chu Yan took a step forward. Zhu Qingyue didn’t move; he would only be getting off at the third floor, where the players’ dormitories were located.
Chu Yan glanced at his apprentice, before leaving. The moment he walked out of the elevator, however, he left behind a sentence spoken in a low tone. “Go back and take a hot bath, then change your clothes. Don’t catch a cold.”
Stunned, Zhu Qingyue raised his head, only to see the other person’s tall back as the elevator doors shut, separating them both.
Poor baby 😭😭😭 Zhu Qingyue needs a good hug from his master.
Thanks for the chapter!!
He needs his master explanation, poor Qingyue 😭
You’re welcome!
Do i see a new cp? 0_0
😉
You get it right, it’s a new CP 💕
Right, I thought am weird for shipping them.
Definitely a misunderstanding somewhere in there…
Thank you for the chapter!
Really, a big misunderstanding..
You’re welcome!
my Master/Disciple senses are tingling, side ship! side ship! side ship!
It’s definitely side CP 😍
Oh, I smell something here. Chu Yun always take care of our cry baby zhu back then in miracle days, right? And I think he still care. What happened 0_0
Aaaaaah banyak plot darah anjing mulai beterbangan di otak wuwuwuwu T^T
Nggak tahu mau ketawa apa nangis waktu liat loyal fans ama black fans dijadiin satu. MoMo terlalu banyak penggemar hitam, udah nggak sabar liat reaksi para netizen OvO
Oke, 100 buat Anda 🙈 mantap tebakannya, kita simak crita Qingyue di beberapa chapter ini~
Iya Qin Mo terkenal karena banyak fans hitamnya, dibanding Xiao Han yang emg populer =w=
Www, g nyangka tebakan saya bener. But, setelah dikonfirmasi plot drama darah anjing makin bertambah dalam otak, sampai-sampai nyentuh banyak BE buat CP ini QAQ
Saya juga penasaran, reaksi penggemar hitam MoMo pasti kenceng, terus gimana sikap HanHan keluarga kami ambil kesempatan dalam kesempitan buat makan tahu/ngerebus MoMo muehehe =w=
Tenang aja, semua CP pasti HE 😆. Silakan nangis untuk beberapa chapter 🙈
HanHan makan tahu dengan lancar~~
I hope the Twin Stars put paper under their figurines to they can lean forward and kiss
Also lol yay sponsorship!!!!!
And Zhu Qingyue must think he’s dreaming, randomly running into master like that. LOL at the drowned rat, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Nooo, I want the real one who kissss 😣
It’s awkward for Qingyue, to run into his master on raining day and almost got hit by his car 😂
Qin Mo’s so shy, I think just letting their game characters kiss would be too much for him 🤭
I hope it doesn’t affect him too deeply..
Qin Mo is shy, but Xiao Han is straightforward. Go Xiao Han, kiss your family Xiao Mo 😆
That Qingyue haven’t know why his master avoids him =w=
I wonder what happened to them. As far as i remember Chu Yan was gentle and doting to Zhu Qingyue during their Miracle days.
Thanks for the chapter
Yes, it will be revealed why he becomes like that to Qingyue in the next chapter~
You’re welcome! 💕
Thank you for the chapter! ^^
Omgggg I totally wanna know what happenedddd with these two!!! Don’t cryyyy Qingyue!
*zhu qingyue: i’m here to buy something
chu yan: you went from wuhan to changsha just to buy a bottle of shower gel?*
i know this is not the right time but this had me laughing so hard. on the other hand, their situation really made me wonder what really happened
Our poor baby! T□T I won’t forgive Chu Yan unless his reasons are completely valid.
he was born in a wet cardboard box all alone