ATIBTF Chapter 86

However, Jiang Min didn’t find the right opportunity to speak up.

The WOC professional league’s global qualifier in Country R had a longer schedule, and JW barely had time to return home before heading to Country F for the second phase in City P.

After winning the WPL Spring Championship and the regional tournament in Country R, JW was full of confidence. However, things didn’t go well in City P—they only reached the semifinals and failed to make it to the finals.

They also lost the third-place match to the European team OM, finishing in fourth place.

Although fourth place still earned them some points, JW had already secured a spot in the World Championship, so they weren’t too concerned about the points.

Their main goal in City P was to gain experience.

After all, JW is still a relatively young team, with most of its players lacking experience against top European teams. This tournament clearly exposed the gap between them and the top competitors.

While there was some frustration, the team was more determined than ever to improve.

After returning to the country, Coach Yan Junying introduced an even stricter training regimen, and the players threw themselves into training with full dedication.

With less than two months left before the World Championship, JW chose not to participate in the final phase of the global qualifier, even though it was being held in their home city, S City. Instead, they remained focused on training at their base.

If nothing else, the team’s dedication was evident from their grinding in ranked matches. Their names began climbing to the top of the national server leaderboards, which the public could see.

In these circumstances, the role of captain Yu Hao became even more critical.

He not only had to keep the players mentally stable but also coordinate with the coaching staff to develop strategies tailored to JW. Jiang Min occasionally lent a hand, but most of the burden rested on Yu Hao’s shoulders.

Jiang Min decided to keep his thoughts to himself for the time being, not wanting to disrupt Yu Hao, who was fully immersed in his work.

Meanwhile, JW ignored the noise online, as the entire WOC division went into seclusion.

On Weibo, however, negative comments about the team began to spread.

【“Is JW just a domestic powerhouse? They went to Europe and got beaten so badly their own mothers wouldn’t recognize them!”】
【“Domestic powerhouse, my foot! Wasn’t their win in the Country R qualifier legit?”】
【“The level of competition in Country R doesn’t compare to City P. Only PH was barely passable, and even they choked at a critical moment.”】
【“If PH hadn’t messed up, JW might not have even won that championship.”】
【“European teams are still the best. No hope for WPL this year—it’s over.”】
【“Fourth place isn’t terrible, though. With so many strong European teams, it’s not bad at all.”】
【“I just want to see a WPL team win the championship! It’s been seven years—when will we finally have a homegrown champion?”】

Indeed, this is the seventh year of the WOC professional league, and no WPL team has ever won the World Championship, leaving the home fans increasingly anxious.

**“Forget winning! This year, making the top four would already be a victory. Besides the European giants, those teams from Country M aren’t pushovers either.”**

For every critic, there were also JW supporters fighting back online.

While fans argued fiercely, JW’s official Weibo account stayed silent.

Ah Xin felt frustrated because every day, she received a flood of unpleasant messages in the account’s private inbox. She could only swallow her grievances in silence.

The team manager Shen Qi and the rest of the organization had decided to remain low-profile and let the situation blow over.

Their strategy was simple: let the results speak at the World Championship, and the critics would shut up on their own.

But Ah Xin still felt stifled.

The account’s latest post was from when the Fortune division won the Asia-Europe League, celebrating that victory. For now, she obediently followed the directive to “play dead” on social media.

Speaking of the Fortune division, Ah Xin suddenly realized something.

Since the Fortune team returned home after their championship win, Boss Ji and Captain Lu seemed almost inseparable.

Whenever Lu wasn’t in training, he would spend most of his time in Ji’s office. No one knew exactly what they were doing, but when did their relationship become so close?

Curious, Ah Xin couldn’t resist asking the manager, Shen Qi.

“Brother Qi, what’s going on with Captain Lu and Boss Ji lately? They look like a lovey-dovey couple who can’t stand being apart,” Ah Xin joked inappropriately.

“You’re not wrong,” Shen Qi blurted out without thinking.

As Ji Xiuyan’s confidant, Shen Qi had heard Ji personally confirm his relationship with Lu Huai.

At first, Shen Qi was utterly shocked, but he eventually got used to it.

The two constantly flaunted their affection in front of him, and on top of that, he had to keep their relationship a secret for the good of the team—an exhausting task.

Initially, Shen Qi worried that their relationship might negatively affect the team’s performance. But seeing how Fortune remained unbeatable in scrims and domestic competitions after returning home, he finally relaxed.

Still, the idea of the team captain dating the team owner was pretty unsettling.

So, Shen Qi decided it was best to keep everything under wraps.

“Uh… cough, cough!” Shen Qi quickly backtracked. “I mean, yeah, it *does* seem like that, haha!”

Ah Xin raised an eyebrow, noticing how awkward his response was.

“Brother Qi, do you know something?”

Shen Qi stared straight ahead. “Of course not. As employees, it’s none of our business to speculate about the boss’s private life. That would be asking for trouble!”

Ah Xin kept her eyebrow raised, still watching him intently, making Shen Qi nervous.

“Ah Xin, are you that free? Always prying into gossip! Have you finished your reports? If not, you can do Ah Yu’s too!”

Ah Xin instantly gave in. “No need for that! I’m on it right now, bye!”

With that, she dashed off.

Shen Qi let out a long sigh of relief.

Managing the team’s daily operations was already draining enough, and now he had to cover for the boss’s secret relationship—it was too much.

He decided he needed to find a chance to ask Ji Xiuyan for a raise.

—

The S City qualifier went ahead as scheduled.

In addition to the WPL regional teams, teams from Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Country E also participated.

Known for its vibrant esports scene, S City was swept up in a festive atmosphere.

For the audience, the joy of watching the games was the most important part—though a good performance from the WPL teams would be the cherry on top.

In the end, AFK took first place, followed by the wild bulls of LQ from Country E in second, OVO in third, and GEM in fourth. Each team earned some points.

Even amid this nationwide esports celebration, JW remained focused.

The league sent them complimentary tickets as a perk for the WPL teams, inviting them to watch the games in person.

However, only Ah Xin and a few staff members took advantage of the offer. The players and coaching staff stayed behind, grinding away in the training room.

The public was unaware of all this.

JW had gone into near-total seclusion, and even the other WPL teams had little idea of what they were up to.

Rumors circulated online that JW had gone on vacation after the City P tournament.

In truth, the team had initially planned to take a break.

But the setback in City P made everyone acutely aware of the gap between them and the top teams, sparking a sense of urgency.

So, the players themselves volunteered to cancel their vacation.

Their performance this season had been decent, and while there was a gap between them and the European powerhouses, it wasn’t insurmountable. With enough effort, they believed they had a real chance to close that gap.

So, everyone stayed at the base to train.

With the conclusion of the S City qualifier, the global points stage officially came to an end.

In less than twenty days, the biggest event of the year—the WOC World Championship—would take place.

This year’s championship will be held on the west coast of Country M, in Los City, at a popular downtown indoor arena, promising to attract a large crowd.

Once the points stage wrapped up, the WPL region’s lineup for the World Championship was confirmed.

Since WPL teams had been wiped out in the previous year’s championship, they were only granted two slots this time.

These two spots, based on the points ranking, went to JW and AFK.

OVO, the team ranked third in the region, had its star player, Yu Shen, break down in tears during a live stream. He expressed deep regret and sincerely wished the two qualifying teams success, hoping they could secure good results so that WPL would get more slots next year.

Time flew by, and the departure date drew closer.

WPL officials reached out to the two teams and various streaming platforms, announcing that they would hold a small send-off event at the airport to cheer on the teams heading to the championship. They even prepared small gifts, though they didn’t reveal many details about them.

The players, however, weren’t too interested in the send-off event or gifts. Their focus was solely on the upcoming World Championship.

For professional players, a career is built around the pursuit of that ultimate trophy.

Every World Championship is the closest they’ll ever get to realizing that dream.

As for Jiang Min’s former team, CC, they finished in the middle-to-lower tier of the regional rankings, failing to qualify for the championship.

This marked the second consecutive year that CC, once a dominant force, missed the World Championship, signaling their apparent decline.

But Jiang Min didn’t care much about his old team’s fate. What weighed on his mind was when to open up to Yu Hao.

With the World Championship approaching, its long schedule and tense atmosphere would keep Yu Hao running at full capacity.

Would Yu Hao even have the time or mindset to listen to what Jiang Min had to say?

What’s more, the official WPL hosts would definitely travel with them for the World Championship. Wouldn’t that just create more opportunities for Yu Hao and Yun Ning? Although they didn’t seem to have much interaction after returning from Country R, who could guarantee that things wouldn’t naturally develop and end up with an official announcement?

Jiang Min agonized over it for a few days before finally making up his mind one week before their departure.

That night, after practice ended.

“Xiao Yu, come take a drive with me,” Jiang Min said, pulling out his car keys, which he hadn’t used in a long time, and looking at Yu Hao, who was stretching nearby.

“Hm?” Yu Hao found it odd since Jiang Min rarely invited him to do anything.

But Jiang Min knew Yu Hao would never say no to him.

Sure enough, Yu Hao agreed without hesitation.

Jiang Min drove towards the riverside in S City.

There was a beautiful riverside park with few visitors at night—perfect for having a private conversation. The base was always crowded, and if someone overheard them, it could blow things out of proportion.

He parked the car on a small side road near the park and rolled down the windows.

It was early autumn, and a cool breeze blew into the car, bringing a slight chill.

“Sugar, you have something you want to say to me, don’t you?” Yu Hao asked. Seeing the situation, he could tell that Jiang Min wanted to share something private, though he had no clue what it might be.

“Yeah.” Jiang Min’s heart pounded, more intensely than when he played in tournaments.

No turning back now. He had to go for it.

“I… I think I like you,” he said.

¹ Wait…. did he just confessed???

You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad

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  Wait…. did he just confessed???
  
  You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you and Enjoy reading! ❤️ -TL: Ysiad