Chapter 53

The fact that Rong Yi and Xiao Yin were together was neither a small deal nor a big one.

It was just enough to make it to the top trending search terms both domestically and internationally.

Following the threads on that esports forum had become part of Rong Yi’s daily routine. He would check them out whenever he had some free time.

Thread Starter: [Good news! I wasn’t fired! The boss is still following the updates! Looks like I can keep updating the thread!]

Thread Starter: [Since I’m already socially dead, I might as well see it through to the end. Let’s continue to enjoy the sugar.]

User 1: [Damn, there hasn’t been any new sugar lately.]

User 2: [By the way, let me advertise a bit. Our team is recruiting! We need senior algorithm and AI data engineers! Base salary starts at XX, money is not an issue. Preference for those with high skills and work experience!]

Someone asked, “Why is there no new sugar? We’ve been waiting forever.”

“Oh my god! Thread Starter, don’t stop updating! Who cares about recruiting! Write more about the couple’s daily life, we love reading it!!”

Thread Starter replied: “Who wants to see it more than I do!! But these two are so career-focused that we can only get sugar in the cracks! The team is preparing for the playoffs soon, and both of them are so busy that it’s hard to catch a glimpse of them. I don’t dare say anything else.”

“Playoffs! We got it, team fans are satisfied. They sound so dedicated!”

“But since it’s public now, can we talk about Easy’s gossip? Easy used to have a terrible reputation, but it seems completely different in VIT.”

“Yes, yes, there are still a lot of black fans1 outside, and it seems like he has a very bad relationship with RS.”

“To be fair, esports is all about skill. What was Easy criticized for before? Suppressing teammates, tactical mistakes, both as a shotcaller. The difference between his time in RS and VIT is clear, no?”

“Got it! Family, we all have eyes! And in esports, skill speaks for itself!”

…

Recently, Rong Yi was indeed busy. With the playoffs approaching, there were more things to focus on. Everyone in the team had started intensive training, and all business activities for the next three weeks had been postponed.

The playoffs are when the real effort of a team begins, especially for the top four teams.

“In the first two rounds, we ranked first,” Xiao Yin said as he flipped through the competition announcement panel. “The last three teams are RS, CH, and RVG.”

“We’ve played against them all; they seem manageable.”

Rong Yi looked down, his fingers gliding over the list of names. “If the playoff allocation rules are the same as previous years, we’ll be going up against RS in the first round.”

“Their Competition Training Team has been strengthened. I noticed they’ve been posting fewer club activities recently,” Hydralisk chimed in, and everyone nodded in agreement.

They were all keeping an eye on the performance of other teams and would definitely study any new developments from their opponents.

After RS underwent an urgent round of reinforcements, even their promotional activities became more low-key. Their performance in the final matches of the regular season was impressive.

“The likelihood of targeting the mid lane is still high. I think we need more targeted practice, with the pressure mainly on the captain,” Wu Daogu observed. “It’s pretty evident online now.”

Indeed, the analysis in the esports technical forums had already surfaced.

After RVG’s attempt to target the mid lane, some patterns had begun to emerge.

“When playing against VIT, the main strategy is to target the mid lane. Once Easy collapses and the mid lane is cut off, their support across all three lanes will crumble. This is because Easy is fundamentally VIT’s core carry.”

“Hydralisk is the regular carry, but that’s actually a facade. His role is more like a firepower position. VIT’s tactics are quite transparent; when broken down, their roles are clear.”

“It’s essentially about distributing key resources: offense, defense, and vision. They’ve planned it meticulously—high offense leads to lower defense, and focusing on vision components weakens their pulling abilities. How they play the overall game, where each person goes, can be adjusted at any time, but the mid lane position is unique.”

“The mid laner is the bridge that connects everything. The person in this position needs to withstand all risks and impacts because VIT’s flexible playstyle requires a core that communicates everything.”

This thread was gaining a lot of traction.

VIT’s highly unique team style had always attracted research. Everyone wanted to know how they managed to stay at the top.

Or, what kind of scenario would lead to their downfall.

The playoff match against RS was scheduled for Tuesday.

With the start of the playoffs, the number of viewers watching the team’s tournaments had significantly increased, reaching the highest point on the quarterly curve.

This was entirely normal. Besides the die-hard fans who loved watching the regular season, many viewers generally weren’t very interested in it. However, the playoffs signaled the beginning of the domestic winter championship trophy contest.

No one wanted to miss out on who would become the champion.

On Tuesday, the entire VIT team headed to the League Building.

Today was different from previous days. To avoid being swarmed by media and fans at the entrance like before, the entire VIT team arrived early, planning to save all interactions for after the match.

The staff led them behind the scenes.

Rong Yi glanced at the broadcast team’s location and noticed the media staff list hanging at the door.

His gaze lingered for a moment.

The staff noticed but didn’t think much of it. They casually introduced the place to a few newer VIT members: “This is where our on-camera crew works.”

“Is Lion the main commentator today?” Xiao Yin suddenly asked.

The staff checked again and scratched his head, confirming, “Ah, yes.”

He thought for a while but couldn’t figure out why Xiao Yin asked. Rong Yi nodded from the other side without saying anything: “Let’s go.”

The staff member then seemed to remember something: “Oh, right, the main commentator for this match was supposed to be Lin Yi, but Lin Yi was borrowed by XX channel for an exclusive interview, so Lion is filling in.”

“Got it.”

Xiao Yin responded casually.

Ahead was the players’ area, where outsiders were not allowed. Assistant Little Tang glanced up and exchanged a look with Xiao Zhou on the other side.

Xiao Yin made a gesture, and the two nodded in silent understanding before leaving.

Lion as a commentator had previously been explicitly requested by Xiao Yin to be excluded from VIT’s matches.

The league organizers had always remembered this rule. Bringing him in as a substitute today might indeed have been because they had no one else available.

The league didn’t have the guts to go against this rule. Judging by the previous commentator pairings, the overall lineup had been satisfactory.

Lion had an exceptionally good relationship with RS and was once a Youth Player for RS. His bias was extremely evident, and he was one of the commentators who had previously sparked hot topics about Rong Yi on social media.

Moreover, Lion had a fiery, aggressive, and boastful personality. He once publicly declared that Easy should retire within three years to have a decent ending.

This remark caused quite a stir.

Having been with Xiao Yin for a long time, Little Tang and Xiao Zhou gradually understood both Xiao Yin and Rong Yi’s personalities.

They didn’t take such provocations seriously.

In fact, no one had taken any specific revenge on those who had provoked Rong Yi in the past. Rong Yi was the type to focus on issues rather than people, and he didn’t appreciate underhanded tactics.

Rong Yi returned to the match room, undistracted by the matter.

The team discussed their BP strategy.

Rong Yi spoke while Xiao Yin stood beside him, occasionally offering suggestions.

The two stood close, discussing in low voices.

Outside, the commentator booth was ready, and the audience was gradually filling the seats, creating a lively atmosphere.

Lion was going over his notes as the camera moved in, signaling the start of the usual pre-match banter segment.

Lion had a decent appearance and was quite popular among the commentators.

However, his recent days hadn’t been easy.

No one was suppressing him, but he was no longer as prominent as before.

VIT protected Rong Yi, while industry partners were wary of Xiao Yin’s preferences and didn’t want to collaborate with Lion, leading to a significant drop in his income and on-air appearances.

RS was busy with its own struggles and had no time to support him as a commentator.

Accepting his fate wasn’t an option for Lion; his grudge against VIT was deep-set.

During the pre-match prediction segment, his co-host Xiao Jiejie smiled warmly and followed the script, “Today’s match prediction, Lion, do you have any thoughts?”

“It’s hard to say right now; it all depends on the performance on the field.”

Lion appeared calm, “I’ve seen a lot of predictions, like VIT:RS, 3:0 and such, but I think that’s unlikely. After all, it’s the Playoffs.”

“Although VIT has maintained an unbeaten record, they haven’t won every single game in each match. Everyone is paying close attention to VIT’s playstyle.”

Lion paused deliberately, “But actually, it’s not as special as everyone thinks. To beat VIT, just target the Mid Lane.”

Footnote:

1. Black Fans(黑粉): In Chinese, ‘黑粉’ (hēi fěn) literally translates to ‘black fans,’ but it refers to people who pretend to be fans but actually criticize, insult, or attack the person they claim to support. They are more like anti-fans who actively seek to bring the person down.