Chapter 12

Because of Xiao Yin’s retweet, the League and its fans were buzzing all day. The next day, when they opened their feeds, they were flooded with news about VIT’s new mid laner.

It was clear that Xiao Yin had given Easy a particularly special status and recognition.

What Rong Yi didn’t realize was that, despite RS’s team fans going crazy with their antics, it was all in vain.

Negative discussions and false rumors about him, which he previously couldn’t control or complain about, were now buried deep.

Previously, searching for “ESAY” would bring up RS’s press releases and keyword associations aimed at driving him out, linking him to terms like “disconnect,” “declining performance,” “team discord,” and “limiting member development.”

But now, his keywords were associated with “VIT,” “new mid laner,” and his rightful title of “five-time consecutive top shotcaller.”

And they were also associated with “YIN.”

“RS’s former captain! His support play is rock solid, a global T0 level support, no way he’ll be bad at mid. When has Yin ever been wrong about someone?”

“Easy is still the only active member from the domestic championship team! He was playing mid when they won the championship!”

Many long-time viewers, upon reflecting, realized that Easy, who they had always been familiar with, had such a brilliant track record and had maintained it all along.

And some members who were already following RS turned their attention to Rong Yi because of the VIT news: “Oh my God! Captain Rong’s resume is that impressive? He’s been playing support all this time and hasn’t been in the spotlight, we hardly noticed him.”

Scrims outside of the regular season usually don’t attract much attention, but this match between VIT and CH generated a huge amount of buzz. By the early hours, tens of thousands of people were already waiting in the live stream chat.

– “VIT’s first domestic match! It should count as their debut, right? I really want to see Yin-Ge’s team! Especially with Easy.”

Xiao Yin’s reputation in the global league is exceptionally good. His status as the TOP1 jungler solidified his unshakable position. With more fans, there were naturally more haters, but most people dismissed the criticism as nonsense.

The next day, Rong Yi woke up without setting an alarm. Following his recent routine, VIT Club had an internal schedule notification system, and Xiao Yin would politely knock on his door every morning on his way past. So Rong Yi didn’t bother setting an alarm.

Early in the morning, instead of hearing a knock, he was woken up by the faint sound of voices outside.

He was on the second floor. Peeking through a corner of the curtain, he saw many people crowded in the villa courtyard, with lighting equipment set up in the distance.

The sky was overcast, and there was a light rain. Xiao Yin and a few other VIT staff seemed to be filming something. Rong Yi recognized the camera van—it had the League Organizer’s logo on it.

The league had many weekend variety shows, and RS had filmed quite a few in the past. These shows were usually live-streamed and then edited for a replay broadcast.

Rong Yi put down the curtain, went back to his bed, and turned on his phone. He saw an announcement from operations sent at 6 AM: “At 9 AM, the League Organizer will come to film VIT Club facilities. Yin-Ge and Grey Cat will be on camera. Free time until noon. In the afternoon, the team will take a bus to the league center for scrims.”

Looking at the time, it was almost noon. He wondered when the filming would wrap up.

As he finished getting dressed, he heard Hydralisk calling from downstairs, “Captain Rong! Captain Rong, are you up? We’re getting ready to leave!”

The filming crew had moved to the other side to check out the gym facilities. The main villa was quiet. Rong Yi responded, finished washing up, and headed downstairs. He paused at the door, looking for the camera van’s location.

On the other side.

“Time to eat! Let’s go, Yin-Ge, bring your team members over here. Today’s meal is on us.”

Grey Cat and Wu Daogu had already obediently gotten into the van. They found everything about the domestic league very novel and were even greeting viewers in the live stream chat.

“Ahhh, Grey Cat is so young and cute!”

“Yin-Ge is so handsome. When he adjusted the camera just now, I almost had a heart attack. He’s so good-looking I felt my heart stop.”

“He’s really handsome in person! So stylish. The whole VIT team has such a unique vibe! As expected of Yin’s team!”

……

“Captain Rong is awake; he said he’ll be down soon,” Hydralisk reported quietly, almost like he was sneaking around.

“Got it.”

Everyone knew that the only person missing was VIT’s mid laner, Easy. Even the photographers were eagerly waiting for his appearance.

The curiosity of the netizens following the live stream reached its peak at this moment.

A few informed netizens said, “He probably won’t appear. Easy never shows up on camera.”

-“Yes, I used to be an RS team fan. Captain Rong usually doesn’t travel in the same car. Let’s disperse; we probably won’t see him today.”

On camera, Xiao Yin gestured for the photographers to wait, his palm slightly curling, and then he turned towards the villa entrance.

Rong Yi had changed into a hoodie and was rummaging through the entryway looking for something to cover his face.

When he saw Xiao Yin approaching, he felt a bit awkward: “You guys… why don’t you go ahead? I’ll catch up by taxi?”

He quickly added, “In RS, I often traveled in a separate car. I didn’t think of this in advance. Sorry about that.”

He had found a pale yellow hoodie, which made his skin look soft and youthful, like a young college student. His sharp, beautiful eyes showed a hint of forced calmness.

Xiao Yin didn’t say anything. He crouched down to be level with the squatting Rong Yi.

Rong Yi: “?”

Their eyes met, and Rong Yi looked up to see Xiao Yin’s handsome, cool brow.

Xiao Yin reached out—past Rong Yi—to open a storage cabinet behind him, from which he took out a mask and a sports cap.

He gently placed the cap on Rong Yi’s head, then pulled him up, tearing the sterile packaging off the mask with one hand and fitting it over Rong Yi’s face.

His fingertips brushed against Rong Yi’s soft, fair earlobes, feeling surprisingly tender.

“Let’s go.”

Xiao Yin placed a hand on Rong Yi’s shoulder, using his body to shield him from the camera’s view, signaling the photographer to move the lens away.

The photographer dared not disobey and moved the camera.

Everyone in the live stream only managed to catch a glimpse of Xiao Yin pulling a delicate figure close, fully shielding him with his body, embracing and protecting him in front of everyone.