Chapter 43

Rong Yi held the card, unsure whether to throw it away or keep it.

He sat in front of his computer, reviewing the recorded events from the day before.

Neither of them had stripped much, nor had they fully engaged in any intimate conversation. Yet, even with just their hands, the tension was palpable. That day, one wore black and the other white, pinned against the desk, creating a stark contrast in both color and physique, making for an intensely stimulating visual experience.

Rong Yi watched the footage twice, then deleted the local recording and placed the storage card in his miscellaneous box.

As Captain, he had led a life of discipline and restraint for the past few years. He barely had time to watch any videos, let alone something this provocative.

Just as he finished tidying up, Xiao Yin sent him a message.

He forwarded an advertisement from H-ATP.

Rong Yi clicked on it.

Following ATP’s promotional strategy, they wouldn’t release all three series at once. Today, they only teased a few images to pique interest. The images, processed into long strips, included product introductions and basic ad copy.

Rong Yi’s hands were the highlight of the images.

With a dark red and gold tie, and his fair, slightly tense fingers, the visual contrast created an extraordinary chemical reaction, stirring emotions in the viewers.

As expected, the Official Blog was flooded with screams.

“Is this Easy’s hand? If anyone dares to say Easy is afraid to show his face because he’s ugly, I’ll fight them! If his hands are this beautiful, imagine how good-looking he must be!”

“This is Easy??? Hands down the highest quality ad endorsement by an esports player ever! I’m buying it! This looks amazing!”

The comments section on the Official Blog was filled with people calling him their wife.

This was a relatively new experience for him.

Rong Yi took a look.

He had quite a few fans, mostly casual players or tech enthusiasts in the past. While there were people who called him their husband, this was the first time he was being called a wife.

Regardless, his endorsement was a huge success, now trending hotly. The esports audience went wild, sparking another wave of fervent discussions about Easy.

The operations team’s Xiao Jiejie had already sent Rong Yi congratulations from the entire group, vowing to secure more high-paying endorsements.

Rong Yi finished reading and returned to the chat window, sending a message to Xiao Yin.

“Thank you, it’s your skill that made it work.”

After sending it, Rong Yi looked at the message again, worried that Xiao Yin might misunderstand and think he was talking about his bedroom skills.

So he added, “Your photography skills, I mean.”

After sending that, Rong Yi felt he was beyond saving—trying to clarify only made it worse.

Xiao Yin’s status showed he was typing, indicating he was reading the message now. It was too late for Rong Yi to retract it.

Fortunately, Xiao Yin seemed not to catch the potentially misleading comment. Xiao Yin said, “Did you see the sample photos?”

When he asked that, Rong Yi remembered. He said, “I saw them, but it looks like a few weren’t used? Weren’t they approved?”

“It’s these few,” Xiao Yin said. “I thought the selected ones were enough, so I kept some back.”

He sent over a file package.

Rong Yi opened it and saw the additional photos, which were more explicit and close-up.

Rong Yi said, “Got it.”

Xiao Yin said, “I’ll keep these photos for myself, if that’s okay with you? They won’t be shared.”

Rong Yi took a deep breath.

Xiao Yin definitely hadn’t copied the video; he had given it to him with the master tape.

Xiao Yin, apart from his skills, was someone whose character was most trustworthy. He would selflessly eliminate all potential risks and concerns for him.

Naturally, he would also be this straightforward.

Rong Yi decided not to ask what Xiao Yin planned to do with the photos, simply saying, “Alright, that’s fine.”

Xiao Yin’s status showed “typing” again, indicating he had more to say, but Rong Yi waited for a long time without seeing another message.

Eventually, the “typing” status disappeared, and Rong Yi finally turned off his phone and went to bed.

Their relationship seemed to have taken a step closer, or maybe it had always been this way.

Rong Yi couldn’t figure it out himself; if he had stayed with Xiao Yin back then, what would their relationship be like now, especially after Xiao Yin became a starter?

Probably about the same as it is now.

They were both workaholics. Spending time on romance seemed like a waste; spending it in bed was just right.

The points for the second round of the Regular Season hadn’t been finalized yet. After facing RS once, they still had to compete against other teams in Group A.

Currently, VIT had dropped from first to third place due to fewer matches played, but it wasn’t a major issue as they still maintained an unbeaten record.

This week, they were set to compete against the League team RVG.

This team had undergone several restructurings. Initially, the club Manager approached Rong Yi, wanting to build a team centered around him, but Rong Yi had declined.

After that, Rong Yi hadn’t paid much attention to them, but this year, their performance had been decent. It seemed the club had found new players and a new coach.

While studying the news within the circle, Rong Yi came across an update about RS strengthening their Competition Training Team.

They had recruited a coach from an Intercontinental Tournament Champion team abroad and expanded their second team directly from the Youth Training Camp.

This was unusual. RS was currently ranked in the top three, and generally, teams wouldn’t replace core Coach team members mid-season. The new season’s plans and tactics were still maturing, and making changes now could disrupt their progress.

It was unclear what had caused RS to feel threatened.

Rong Yi skimmed over the news and then discussed with the others about their upcoming matches.

The data report for RVG’s new season indicated a high likelihood of them targeting the Mid Lane.

VIT’s mid-core strategy had been gradually emerging this quarter. RVG’s favored tactics involved disrupting formations and then seeking opportunities to drag out the game.

VIT’s weakness was well-known—they lacked synergy.

Their cooperative tactics and high-risk high-reward play style became more vulnerable as the game progressed, making them more susceptible to counterattacks in the late game.

In Rong Yi’s previous team, the club would have had everyone practice late-game operations systems.

But Xiao Yin’s approach was both simple and direct.

Xiao Yin said, “No need. Practicing another system just because the late game is risky doesn’t guarantee a win. But if we improve our synergy and finish each game quickly, all problems will be solved.”

That was Xiao Yin’s mindset—straightforward high-risk high-reward.

The more afraid you are of not winning, the more distracted you’ll become, making it harder to win.

They had seen such situations many times over their years in the League.

On the day of the match, VIT was at their home venue. As usual, they entered the League Building to prepare.

Rong Yi followed his routine, arriving first and heading upstairs to wait while reviewing the roster.

The RVG lineup had changed quite a bit, but he recognized their Jungler.

RVG.green.

After a few seconds, Rong Yi found the name familiar and recalled an awkward memory.

Green had shared a few meals with him a long time ago and even pursued him. However, back then, Rong Yi wasn’t interested in men and, with a youthful straightforwardness, rejected him by stating he didn’t like guys.

Then he met Xiao Yin and got completely turned around.

Explaining this would be quite awkward. However, the circle was big, and he and Green had only crossed paths in matches, with no further offline interactions. Eventually, Rong Yi had forgotten about the incident.

He thought Green must have forgotten it too.

While going through the records, Rong Yi stumbled upon an interesting tidbit.

RVG.GREEN had been a Youth Player at RO for two seasons.

When he calculated the timeline, he realized it coincided with Xiao Yin’s tenure, making Green one of the few active starters Xiao Yin knew from back then.

Downstairs, the familiar scenes of fans entering and media taking photos played out. The VIT members were well-practiced in handling it.

Before the match, Xiao Yin was accompanied by his Assistant, who quietly provided him with relevant information and updates.

“The RVG Manager previously approached Captain Rong. It seems there are quite a few of Captain Rong’s fans in their team, and there hasn’t been much conflict.”

“Green, the tactical Jungler. Yes, that’s him.”

Xiao Yin paused.

Across from them, Green was smiling and looking over, and his voice carried across the space.

“Easy still doesn’t show up, huh? Such a good-looking guy.”

In that moment, similar gazes met in the air. Xiao Yin’s eyes darkened, and Green was momentarily stunned.

The tension was palpable.

After a brief pause, Green quickly introduced himself, “Hi, I’m Green.”

Xiao Yin didn’t move his hand.

Green didn’t seem embarrassed by the lack of a handshake. He tilted his head slightly and asked, “Yin-Ge, you remember me, right? We talked a few years ago, didn’t we?”

“Who would have thought, Yin is so devoted. After hearing those words, you came back to find him after five years?”

Xiao Yin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and for a split second, his sharp, phoenix-like eyes became particularly intimidating.

But it was just a moment.

Xiao Yin quickly returned to his usual demeanor, smiling indifferently with an air of superiority.

“You know my lover?”