Chapter 27

Outside the arena, Xiao Yun’s popularity skyrocketed, almost overnight.

All marketing accounts, major streamers, and tournament-related platforms under RS’s affiliated entertainment company pushed Xiao Yun’s highlight plays. The keywords were “God-tier Support in Group A,” with the title “New Generation Super Support.”

These aren’t new terms; the esports scene is already quite familiar with such titles.

Within a day, everyone from streamers to commentators was talking about Xiao Yun, the support player, with articles everywhere proclaiming that RS’s second-generation support was a true genius.

Naturally, the votes for the Popular Star increased significantly. Various companies were also eyeing potential endorsements.

Rong Yi initially thought this had nothing to do with him. But even as he continued his extra training at the club, he still received inquiries from various parties.

This time, the inquiries were peculiar; most of them were asking about Xiao Yin through him.

Even some unfamiliar brand partners reached out. Rong Yi opened a message from a well-known esports keyboard collaborator, S-HTP.

He had a good feeling about this collaborator. The business contract was solely directed at him, even though he couldn’t help much with promotions on camera.

The owner was a fan of his, watching his streams every day. Rong Yi even played a couple of friendly matches live with him.

The owner asked politely, “Captain Rong, are you available? We have a small matter to discuss, if it’s convenient for you.”

Rong Yi replied, “Go ahead.”

Then he would decide based on the situation.

The owner typed for a while and finally asked, “We just want to know if VIT has any special business moves recently? We’re really sorry, but we didn’t want to ask them directly. Could you perhaps find out for us, Captain Rong?”

Rong Yi was taken aback, “Special business moves…?”

He wasn’t very familiar with VIT’s business operations and hadn’t heard of any particularly special moves.

The owner noticed Rong Yi’s confusion and, after hinting for a while, finally came out with it: “We actually want to know if VIT has any taboos when it comes to business collaborations. For example, do they avoid working with brands that have certain people as endorsers or collaborators?”

Rong Yi took a moment to process this.

“So, you mean you want to collaborate with someone, but you’re worried it might conflict with VIT’s business interests? Is that right?”

The owner replied with a nodding emoji.

Seeing the emoji, Rong Yi fell into deep thought.

He wasn’t in charge of VIT’s business operations, but he found it hard to believe this matter was so crucial to these brands.

The idea that collaborating with someone else could jeopardize future business with VIT seemed a bit convoluted.

Rong Yi asked, “I don’t quite understand. What’s the issue here?”

“Captain Rong, you don’t know?” A voice message came through, which Rong Yi quickly converted to text and read before it was deleted.

“Yin-Ge has previously rejected collaborations with several commentators, certain teams, and manager-connected brands in the league. He made it clear that as long as there are people he dislikes working with those brands, VIT won’t consider collaborating with them.”

“We just wanted to check Yin-Ge’s blacklist with you, to avoid any missteps. Could you tell us who Yin-Ge dislikes in the league?”

Rong Yi was speechless.

After a long pause, he finally typed back, “I don’t know. I… can ask?”

The extent of Xiao Yin’s influence seemed beyond his imagination.

The owner seemed both amused and exasperated, repeatedly thanking him while also reminding him, “If it’s inconvenient to ask, it’s okay. We’re just a bit concerned.”

Rong Yi picked up his phone and glanced upstairs.

Today was a rest day. The three younger players were sleeping in, and Xiao Yin was in his room, having only come down for breakfast. He was probably busy with work.

As his boyfriend, could it really be that inconvenient to ask?

Rong Yi sat cross-legged on his gaming chair, which swiveled slowly, facing the lake and garden outside the glass room.

He lowered his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then, in a more composed tone, poked Xiao Yin.

[Easy]: “A business partner wants to know if VIT has any taboos or if there are any collaborators you don’t like.”

After sending the message, he waited for a reply.

When there was no response after two seconds, he set his phone aside, then reconsidered and picked it up again.

“If it’s inconvenient to say, that’s fine too.”

As the captain, he usually didn’t interfere much with other departments. After all, VIT’s owner was Xiao Yin.

Soon, his phone buzzed.

Rong Yi glanced at it; Xiao Yin had replied.

A concise and sharp three-word response.

“Come upstairs.”

Rong Yi thought about his relationship with the keyboard vendor—ten thousand endorsement fees and a couple of friendly matches—and decided to take a risk for the sake of friendship.

On the restful morning, the villa was quiet.

Rong Yi went upstairs, stopped in front of Xiao Yin’s door, and knocked lightly twice.

“Ah Yi, come in,” Xiao Yin’s voice came through.

Xiao Yin’s room was the same as before, with the curtains half-drawn, creating a semi-lit ambiance. He was leaning back in his office chair, dressed in all-black casual wear, his expression indifferent and cold.

Rong Yi, as usual, found a spot in front of him to sit, feeling somewhat like a student being called in for a talk by a teacher.

He decided to take the initiative: “About what I asked… is it inconvenient to say? If so, I’ll just tell them I don’t know.”

“Which company is it?” Xiao Yin asked.

Rong Yi checked and reported the name: “A keyboard vendor I’ve worked with before, the brand name is ATP.”

Xiao Yin tapped his fingers lightly on the office chair, seemingly in thought. Then he said, “Got it. Tell them there’s no issue.”

Rong Yi tilted his head slightly, his almond-shaped eyes raising a bit: “No issue? Does that mean there are issues with others?”

This small gesture was completely unconscious. Xiao Yin’s gaze paused for a moment before he said, “No.”

Xiao Yin leaned back slightly, his long fingers interlaced, his voice as indifferent as ever: “Our business collaborations are always rigorously vetted for quality and past endorsement styles. We have slightly more resources to offer compared to other clubs, so the industry often seeks our opinion.”

“The esports industry is a small world, and partners tend to be cautious about these things,” Xiao Yin explained straightforwardly, as if he knew what Rong Yi was thinking.

Rong Yi nodded and picked up his phone: “I’ll relay that message.”

“As for who I dislike…”

Before he could finish typing, he heard Xiao Yin speak again. He looked up, meeting Xiao Yin’s calm and deep gaze. “I just returned to the country and am not familiar with people in the league. But I trust your judgment.”

“If you have any aversions to certain individuals, let me know.”

“The team is newly established and just starting its operations. I don’t want to make too many missteps,” Xiao Yin’s voice remained steady. “VIT will also refuse collaborations based on your advice. I need your input on this.”

Rong Yi thought for a moment: “That wouldn’t be a problem…”

After all, he had been in the circle for a long time and, as a captain, had interacted with countless business partners.

Esports is a burgeoning industry, with many new investments entering the field domestically, bringing a variety of people. New teams indeed need to be cautious about these aspects.

“There are quite a few. I’ll go down and get a list from the business department and send it to you,” Rong Yi said earnestly, treating it as official business. “These are just some personal insights; I hope they’ll be useful.”

Xiao Yin’s fingers relaxed, his gaze fixed on Rong Yi. His lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he only nodded: “Okay.”

Rong Yi sent a message back to the keyboard vendor, and then went downstairs to get a cooperation list from the business department. He wrote a brief introduction on his computer and sent it to Xiao Yin.

Xiao Yin received it and replied ten minutes later: “I’ve read through it. I’ll take it seriously.”

Upstairs.

The business department messaged Xiao Yin: “Should we really follow Yi-God’s recommendations for our negotiations? Some of the partners on the list might violate your preferences.”

“Like who?” Xiao Yin typed back.

“Like that XX Yogurt brand—they have a good relationship with RS, and they explicitly said they wanted to renew this quarter. The support position would go to Xiao Yun.”

“But this is a brand you clearly stated not to collaborate with… They’ve been trying to negotiate with us for the past few days, and we’ve turned them down every time.”

Xiao Yin looked at the business department’s reply, chuckled, and sent a voice message back: “Yes, I don’t like them. If they want to collaborate with me, they need to get rid of the people I dislike first.”

“There are many people in this circle I don’t like.”

Xiao Yin glanced down at Rong Yi’s detailed and objective report. “Easy doesn’t hold grudges; he separates personal feelings from business. I want to respect that. So, we can refuse the collaboration, but there’s no need for additional pressure from other aspects.”

“How the brand decides is their own business.”

The business department noted this seriously: “Understood.”

RS Esports Club.

The director of the advertising department, after reading a message, hurriedly walked into the meeting room, interrupting a small meeting that was presenting the quarterly report.

Manager Qi Su had to pause his review of the quarterly revenue report and looked up to ask, “What’s going on?”

“Three partners suddenly said they wouldn’t renew for the new season and that they want to wait and see!”

The director asked incredulously, “Who did you upset? XX Dairy and OO Manufacturing both pulled out, specifically saying they want to reassess before continuing?”

Qi Su frowned: “All of them suddenly withdrew? What’s going on? Did anyone find out what happened?”

In the meeting room, others also paused their work, looking over in shock.

RS had a very strong presence this season, and from the data feedback in the past few days, Xiao Yun’s star-making efforts had been quite successful. There was no logical reason for partners to terminate their agreements.

“We did get some industry news.”

The director raised his phone, his voice trembling as he said, “Did any of you offend Xiao Yin?”