The bottom lane already had a good early game advantage, and the other two lanes also held their own. By the thirty-minute mark, their team naturally nabbed the victory, almost crushing the enemy team.
Taking his headphones off, Zuo Tao instinctively pinched his flushed earlobe. Just as he was about to ask whether Song Shihan was playing another game or not, he realized that there were now more people in the training room behind him.
Zuo Tao: …?
What are you all looking at?
“Well done!” Jiang Ming complimented, face shining with a smile that seemed to say ‘look at this treasure I found’. “Did your aunt teach you how to play?”
Zuo Tao was someone who wanted to play, and it would be useless even if someone wanted to teach him to play. He couldn’t say that, of course, so he simply shook his head and answered: “No, we rarely play together.”
Zuo Tao was telling the truth. Su Yueyao wasn’t willing to pull him into professional gaming, instead wanting him to study hard and stay in school. This time, because the college entrance examinations were over and he’d worked hard for the past few months, she agreed to let him come to the Wildfire base. Otherwise, there would be no chance that he could sit next to Song Shihan and play his support.
His mind went back to the moment Song Shihan used his flash to save him in the game. It was unexpected, but it was a pleasant surprise that made him feel warm and comfortable. Zuo Tao released a sigh of relief, thinking, since he’d even used flash to save him, Song Shihan shouldn’t suspect him to be the pink tyrant anymore, right?
That would make Zuo Tao’s life so much easier.
This simply proved that pretending to be a good boy was very useful.
Wang Qiu clicked his tongue. “So talent for esports runs in the family,” he said as they stared at the flashing “VICTORY” on the screen. Still, he couldn’t help his curiosity: “But how were you able to calculate your damage so accurately?”
Although Wang Qiu had been playing professionally for a few years, he could admit that his calculation ability wasn’t as precise as Zuo Tao’s.
It was truly a rare skill. Looking through the entire pro league, among those Wang Qiu knew, aside from his own captain, there wasn’t anyone who was as good. These two truly were demons. Watching their match, his scalp was tingling for STAR.
It was their first time playing together, and though their tacit understanding left much to be desired, the precise calculation made up for the lack of teamwork. If they developed their cooperation, then won’t things turn out different in the future?
“It’s not that accurate.” Zuo Tao smiled sheepishly. “I’m on the science track, and since the college entrance exams just finished, I’m just more sensitive to numbers.” Even so, he still felt proud of himself. He knew that it wasn’t something that others could do easily, so he couldn’t help raising his head while saying humbly, “anyone who’s just finished the entrance exams should be able to do it.”
Song Shihan, who was busy adjusting his settings, heard this and glanced at Zuo Tao, something playful in his eyes.
Wang Qiu, on the other hand, believed Zuo Tao’s nonsense. “Don’t say that. I played with my younger brother when he finished his entrance exams. He was so bad, I wanted to cry.”
“Yeah, xiao Zuo,” Si Zheng interjected, “you’re too modest.”
CAT, who was usually quiet, also took this moment to say: “Let’s find some time to play later.”
“Let’s play 5-man!” Wang Qiu said.
They were a group who loved esports, and their thoughts were quite simple. Whether you got into the industry through nepotism or not, just be strong enough and you will be welcomed with open arms.
Jiang Ming was initially worried that the team might need some more time to reconcile themselves with Zuo Tao’s entry into the team, but now the concern was proven unnecessary. He left his seat and said, “Let’s hold the 5-man for a while. Our team manager just sent a message. We need to go to the conference room for a meeting.”
He looked at Zuo Tao. “Zuo Tao is also joining us.”
Zuo Tao was a bit surprised. “Oh, okay.”
The manager for Team Wildfire is Shi Ling. Zuo Tao knew her, of course; she was one of Su Yueyao’s friends, another capable working woman. Shi Ling had been the one who helped him enter Wildfire smoothly, something Zuo Tao hadn’t found a chance to thank her for yet.
Getting up from his chair, Zuo Tao followed the group as they left the training room. Just as he stepped out of the door, his stomach let out a growl. He wasn’t sure if anyone else had heard, but he knew that Song Shihan, who was right in front of him, must have.
Song Shihan’s steps paused unexpectedly, causing Zuo Tao to almost hit his back.
“You didn’t eat this morning?” Song Shihan asked, tilting his head down to meet his gaze.
Song Shihan was much taller than Zuo Tao, and when he was standing so closely that he almost covered Zuo Tao’s entire body, it was slightly intimidating. Zuo Tao took a subconscious step back, pressing his back against the glass door that had closed behind him.
“No,” Zuo Tao answered with a shake of his head, rubbing his disappointment of a stomach. “I didn’t have time to go out to get food this morning.”
When he woke up this morning, he only had time to pack up and head towards the base. He couldn’t find anywhere to stop by to pick up food either, so he planned to endure until lunchtime. Unexpectedly, he was exposed by his stomach first.
Jiang Ming overheard their conversation and looked over. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? We could have gotten breakfast with everyone else earlier.” He glanced at his watch and said: “Why don’t you go downstairs for a bite first?”
Being stared at by everyone like this embarrassed Zuo Tao to no end. He cleared his throat and moved to the side, saying, “It’s fine, I’ll eat after the meeting is over.”
The appointed conference room was close to the training room. Shi Ling entered just as they arrived. She was wearing a luxurious, beige work dress with a pair of black heels. Her eyebrows were done up delicately, and her lips were covered with matte-finish red lipstick. She was high-spirited and it was impossible to surmise that she was already in a position to manage four players just by looking at her.
She didn’t greet Zuo Tao verbally, instead giving him a look before turning to everyone else to say: “I have something else, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
Shi Ling clapped her hands and said, “The preliminaries for the summer split start next week. According to league rules, teams with insufficient points or teams that are newly established must go through the preliminary rounds to qualify for the summer split. Since we’re new, I’ll sign us up this afternoon. You should focus on training for the next few days.”
Wang Qiu smiled and assured: “Don’t worry, manager, we will definitely come back with the qualification.”
“What, do any of you dare to fail?” Shi Ling glanced at him. “You have no choice but to qualify. Our goal is the championships. This is Wildfire’s debut, and we must win beautifully.”
Zuo Tao listened on, feeling that winning the championships wasn’t a problem. The difficulty of getting through preliminaries wasn’t that high either, and it was mostly for entertainment. Most high-caliber teams had already gotten enough points to earn their spot in the top ten, so there wouldn’t be any of them participating in these matches.
Not to be an unhinged fanboy, but he thought that even if Song Shihan played on his own, he could still make it through the preliminaries.
Shi Ling continued: “Another thing.” She took out sheets of paper, distributing them among the players. “This is the final contract with Little Bear TV. For the compensation, I’ve tried my best to negotiate the highest possible pay. Just like other professional players, you need to put in at least 30 streaming hours per month… well, except for Zuo Tao. There’s no contract for you.”
Zuo Tao’s curiosity had already been piqued, and he was already leaning forward to take one. Hearing the last part of Shi Ling’s statement, he withdrew his hand. His stomach growled again.
Zuo Tao: …
The contract was personalized. Although the contents were generally similar, the compensation to Party A varied depending on the commercial value of each player. Song Shihan, for example, could bring his own traffic. Even if he changed teams and had to start over, his views would surely still be in the upper limit.
Song Shihan watched the pink head moving away from him with curiosity plain on his face. He simply glanced at the contract and put it on the table to give Zuo Tao a full view. He leaned against the backrest of the seat, slipping his hands into his pockets. His expression didn’t change at all as he found what he was looking for, tossing it casually to Zuo Tao.
The strawberry-filled marshmallow, wrapped in a clear candy bag, shone faintly pink under the warm lighting of the conference room.
Zuo Tao hesitated for a moment, looking at Song Shihan, before he realized that the candy was for him to eat.
“Thank you,” Zuo Tao whispered. He took the candy from the table, still slightly warm.
Noticing the movements between the two of them, Shi Ling raised her eyebrows. She was still talking: “The last thing. As you know, this kid is joining Wildfire as our substitute support.” She looked at Zuo Tao. “Introduce yourself, xiao Zuo Tao.”
Still lost in the surprise of receiving candy from Song Shihan, Zuo Tao instinctively stood up when he heard his name called.
The entire team looked at him.
Including Song Shihan.
Zuo Tao, who had never before known what it meant to be nervous, was suddenly feeling very nervous. He was still holding the candy in his hand, and he could only blankly utter ‘uh’ when he opened his mouth.
Fortunately, it didn’t take him too long to gather himself, remembering the script he’d prepared in advance: “Hello everyone, I am Zuo Tao. I’m turning eighteen this year, and I just finished taking the college entrance examination. I am best at playing support.
“I enjoy reading books, listening to music, and watching movies. I’m rather quiet.”
Shi Ling: …?
The more she listened, the more she felt that something was wrong. She even had the urge to laugh. If it wasn’t for the fact that she knew this little demon well in private, she’d also be fooled by his act.
Just what was he up to, pretending to be someone quiet?
“I’m pretty good at the game, but I’m definitely not as good as my older brothers and sister. In the future, I will need everyone’s guidance.”
Zuo Tao’s gaze met Song Shihan’s as he was speaking, and for a moment he forgot his script as he stared at those smiling eyes. Soon, the words tumbled out of his mouth: “Yes, I’m well-behaved, even-tempered, and speak very little.”
He spoke the words so seriously, it sounded like a vow.
Zuo Tao watched as the smile on Song Shihan’s face grew. He said: “Little friend, you don’t have to be so specific when you introduce yourself.”
Zuo Tao: …
What the heck am I doing?!!!
Shi Ling finally couldn’t hold it any longer, bursting out laughing, but she didn’t expose Zuo Tao either. She rubbed her temple with her fingers and said, “Alright, you can sit down now.”
He had stood up instinctively, and now he sat down in a daze. His ears, which had cooled significantly, began to flush red once more.
Shi Ling gave several more reminders about things that the team needed to pay attention to during livestreams and finally asked everyone but Song Shihan to leave.
“We’ve gotten in contact with the South Korean league,” Shi Ling said, straightforward as ever. “There are rumors that VVG’s support’s contract is expiring. A lot of clubs in the country are reaching out to negotiate, and so are we.”
Song Shihan frowned imperceptibly, repeating, “VVG?”
“En,” Shi Ling answered. “But the contract will end after the summer split. If we can, management is inclined to signing him.
“Of course, we also have other options. I’ll send you their information later, so take a look. The main thing is that we’re pressed for time. We probably won’t be able to sign anyone before the summer split. I’m telling you this because good supports are difficult to find, after all. We need to be careful.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Song Shihan said. “Let’s get past the summer split first.”
“By the way, Jiang Ming said you were playing ranked? What do you think of him?”
Song Shihan knew who she was referring to immediately. He answered: “Not bad.”
“Xiao Zuo Tao’s skills are pretty good. At least, he’s incomparable to the youth camp trainees right now. Take the time to practice your coordination the next few days, and we won’t have a problem for the next few months.” Shi Ling pulled a chair out and sat down, taking two cigarettes out of its box and handing one to Song Shihan. “I guess I can say that I watched that kid grow up. Except for his temper being too… soft, there aren’t any major problems.”
“En.”
Song Shihan nodded, curling his lips around the cigarette. “He looks quite well-behaved.”
