Chapter 17

When Rong Yi stepped out from the floor, he saw Xiao Yin waiting by the elevator. Xiao Yin’s slightly furrowed brows relaxed as soon as he saw Rong Yi.

Rong Yi raised an eyebrow, “What’s up?”

“Thought you got lost, so I came up to wait for you.”

Xiao Yin casually took out a black mask, lifted his hand, and clipped it on for him with one hand. “There are many teams here today to handle paperwork, and some media are following. It’s better if we stick together.”

Rong Yi nodded.

In the world of esports players, Xiao Yin was among the top tier in terms of popularity. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he had fans worldwide.

With five years of T0 level jungler dominance, including three years as world champion FMVP, almost any moderate player had heard of the name Yin.

Because of his personality, he rarely appeared on camera or gave interviews. Now that he’s back in the country and starting a new team, the media are constantly chasing him.

They indeed had to be more cautious when appearing in public.

Rong Yi followed Xiao Yin into the elevator and descended to the first floor, where they met Lu Feng and his group and exchanged greetings.

The rain outside was still falling, and it seemed to be getting heavier. It was the weekend, and the busiest area was predictably starting to see traffic jams. Many cars were gradually getting stuck outside the building.

There were indeed media personnel outside with cameras and equipment, setting up aggressively. They might have gotten wind of the news and come specifically today.

Quite a few fans were also around. The League Building had always been a regular spot for tournament fans to check out, and it’s common for them to post about running into players here.

Some were live streaming in front of the camera: “Today is the last day of the Regular Season kickoff. Most teams are preparing for a new round. VIT Team and members from well-known teams like RS and CH are here today. Let’s see if we can interview any of them.”

Xiao Yin glanced back at Rong Yi.

Rong Yi stared at the long-focus lenses in the hands of a few reporters outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, his face a bit pale.

He said, “I—I’ll take the fire escape.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Xiao Yin grabbed Rong Yi’s wrist, lowered his head, and casually pulled the hat off Hydralisk’s head, placing it on Rong Yi’s instead.

The two split up from the others. Xiao Yin led Rong Yi by the hand, quickly heading towards the back door.

Due to the rain and traffic, the first-floor lobby was packed with people. They didn’t stand out much, but Hydralisk shouted, “Quick! Catch them! They’re trying to ditch us again!”

Wu Daogu and Grey Cat immediately gave chase. As Grey Cat ran, he discussed with Wu Daogu, “Right? There’s something off about those two. We need to keep an eye on them.”

“Another scandal would be big news. Our little team can’t handle more of that,” Hydralisk said, fanning the flames as he caught up.

Wu Daogu was more straightforward: “I didn’t think that far. I just want to see some gossip about Yin. I’ve never seen him act so out of character.”

With the whole team chasing, only Lu Feng’s team remained, running straight into the first wave of reporters.

Lu Feng could only smile wryly and accept the interview.

Commercial activities are an unavoidable part of an esports club.

Completely avoiding commercialization, focusing solely on matches and isolating from fans is an unrealistic fantasy. The league’s survival depends on the audience base. With an audience, the path to professionalism becomes more structured, attracting investors and enabling more pro players to thrive.

Once anyone steps into the professional league, they represent not just themselves but also their team and the hopes and enthusiasm of their region’s audience.

However, where to draw the line between commercialization and catering to the audience is a mystery.

Easy from RS never accepts interviews, which is a league anomaly. Generally, professional teams need to engage in commercial activities, and managers are usually happy to do so.

Speaking of which, RS is the most commercially savvy in the league.

Each player earns millions just from endorsements, making the 80 million prize pool for the world championship seem less significant in comparison.

Meanwhile, holding Rong Yi’s wrist, Xiao Yin managed to escape and met up with the driver on the other side, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

They had fled so quickly that they didn’t wait for Grey Cat and the others. With a bang, they shut the car door.

Rong Yi wanted to wait for the others and was about to look out the window when Xiao Yin pulled him back by the waist, holding him gently in his arms.

Like holding a cat.

Xiao Yin was significantly taller than Rong Yi. When Rong Yi looked up, he almost bumped into Xiao Yin’s chin. Xiao Yin blocked it and then gently ran his fingers through Rong Yi’s soft black hair.

“Don’t worry about them,” Xiao Yin said casually.

Rong Yi was puzzled, “?”

The driver in the front seat was very professional, not even glancing in the rearview mirror.

Rong Yi looked back, “What about them?”

“Let them figure it out themselves,” Xiao Yin said, still holding him. His thick, dark eyelashes lowered gently, giving him a calm and reassuring demeanor. “Let’s go first. I’m worried the media might chase us.”

What media would chase esports players?

However, sasaeng fans1 certainly would. Rong Yi was briefly reminded of his time at RS, where several popular players had many sasaeng fans, leading to internal conflicts and mutual accusations. It escalated to offline car chases and post-match harassment…

The club’s management and operations team had told him that this was just the current trend in publicity and that he shouldn’t interfere too much.

Now that they had just won the domestic tournament, their popularity was at an all-time high, making it difficult to argue against.

Grey Cat, Wu Daogu, and Hydralisk were left standing alone on the rainy street, but they remained remarkably calm.

Hydralisk said, “Isn’t anyone worried? Without E-God and Xiao Yin, we don’t know our way around here at all.”

Grey Cat was serene, “They’ll come back to get us.”

Wu Daogu added, “If you can’t keep calm, you can’t play as a top laner professionally.”

Hydralisk was baffled, “??? Fine, I’ll call for help.”

He started making a call for assistance, only to be told by the driver that the road was jammed and it would take at least forty minutes for a car to reach them.

In the end, it was Lu Feng who answered Xiao Yin’s call. After finishing his interview, he picked up the three abandoned members of VIT.

They were headed to a place frequented by local league players, a private restaurant owned by Lin Yi and a few other team owners. It was a popular spot for team players in A City, making it a common choice for them.

When they arrived, Rong Yi and Xiao Yin were already seated in a semi-private booth on the second floor, with half of the dishes already ordered.

As Hydralisk went upstairs, he noticed another large group arriving at the entrance: “Whoa, isn’t that the team we saw giving an interview at the entrance? It’s quite lively today. Should we go over and say hello?”

Wu Daogu looked for a while, “Which team is that?”

Lu Feng hesitated before speaking, “That’s RS, Captain Rong’s former team. Let’s head up first.”

“Oh… Are they on bad terms?” Hydralisk nodded thoughtfully. “Makes sense. Any team that doesn’t want Easy probably isn’t that great. No need to say hello.”

The three youngsters from VIT were unusually well-behaved at this moment.

Lu Feng walked up and glanced at his phone.

RS was streaming a team event, and the atmosphere was lively and festive, like a boiling pot.

Clearly, the public relations team had successfully moved past their World Championship loss鈥”after all, they were the only team from the country to qualify for the tournament. Expectations couldn’t be too high, right?

In comparison, last season’s comprehensive victory was worth reminiscing about.

“It’s a bit noisy downstairs.”

Rong Yi flipped through the menu and glanced outside. He had chosen this place, wanting to host them at his favorite restaurant.

Before anyone could stop him, Rong Yi took a quick look and then thoughtfully retracted his gaze, “Ah, so it’s them.”

“RS is hosting an event today, competing for the recent player rankings. The top spot gets a sponsor fund.”

Lu Feng nervously explained to Rong Yi as he scrolled through his phone.

Even though they had scrimmaged before, he was only familiar with Xiao Yin. This was his first time seeing Rong Yi up close without a mask.

Despite being a seasoned team member, he felt a bit nervous.

Ninety percent of this was because Easy was an aspirational figure for many players in the domestic league. The remaining ten percent was because Rong Yi, as Silver Wing had said, was indeed very handsome.

With delicate and defined features, snow-white skin, and a refined demeanor, he exuded an aura of elegance that commanded respect.

“I know about this. It happens every year.”

Rong Yi showed no special reaction and simply took out his phone, scrolling through it.

The League is bustling with various activities nowadays.

The title of “League Popular Star” usually requires millions of votes from fans, with strict IP and identity restrictions. The player who secures the top spot not only receives a crystal trophy from the League but also lands an endorsement deal and a full season of in-game splash screen exposure.

To be honest, veteran team players don’t lack material rewards. However, this title represents the player’s popularity and commercial value in the League, symbolizing the player that fans hold in the highest regard.

This award typically goes to RS players. RS has a massive and intimidating fan base that rotates its players each season, pushing them to the top one by one. In RS, the mid laner Neng Li, jungler Lang Bai, AD carry Yao Cao, and top laner ALEX have all received this award.

Sometimes, things just happen by coincidence. This season, the fans were planning to push a support player to the top, just as Rong Yi ended his contract.

However, Rong Yi doubted that even if he were still in RS, the hardcore RS team fans would willingly vote for him.

His conflicts with the entire team had been deep-seated, spanning more than just the recent seasons.

While waiting for the dishes to arrive, Rong Yi continued scrolling through the comments.

RS’s new support was Xiao Yun, who had been promoted from the substitute bench.

Xiao Yun was a substitute that Rong Yi personally trained. When the others were reluctant to take on a substitute, Rong Yi negotiated with the club to bring one in. He imparted all his shotcalling experience to Xiao Yun.

At that time, Rong Yi had no ulterior motives. He knew that at 22, his golden years in esports were limited. He didn’t know when his form might decline, so he wanted to create a capable successor for the team before stepping down.

Fans were discussing when to vote and strategizing to make a final push before the deadline.

“Xiao Yun for the win! Let’s send our RS players to the Grand Slam! They deserve it!”

“Easy left. This spot could have been his. What do you think he’s after? We’re RS fans; we can put anyone we want at the top!”

“Easy might regret it now. This is what fate is.”

“Our Xiao Yun will be number one. Easy moved to another team, whether he’s happy or not doesn’t matter. This spot belongs to our RS.”

Footnote:

1. Sasaeng Fans(私生粉): In South Korean culture, the term “sasaeng fans” (사생팬) refers to overly obsessive fans who invade the privacy of celebrities, particularly K-pop idols. The word “sasaeng” comes from the Korean words for “private” (사, sa) and “life” (생, saeng), highlighting the intrusive nature of their behavior. These fans are known for taking extreme measures such as stalking, harassing, or even breaking into the personal spaces of celebrities to gain attention or personal information.