IRAJAS Chapter 95

The live stream hadn’t even ended yet, and the related topics were already trending.

“The DT Jungle-Mid Duo” combined with “Embarrassing a Diamond One Streamer” instantly exploded in popularity. After everyone thoroughly enjoyed the face-slapping session, they didn’t forget to stir up trouble on various Livestream platforms, threatening that if anyone signed Lin Lan’s livestream contract, they would immediately purchase a three-year premium membership.

Major Livestream platforms eagerly responded, all extending olive branches to Lin Lan. However, Lin Lan never responded to the matter, leaving fans disappointed.

On the livestream platform where Xiao Shengjing streamed, Cool Cat Live, they remained calm and collected: “It’s okay, Captain Xiao will take action.”

Fans followed suit with their antics:

[It’s okay. Cool Cat will take action.]

[Are you really not considering giving Captain Xiao double pay?]

[Hahaha, this is hilarious. Cool Cat has become the biggest winner.]

[Cool Cat Live inexplicably became popular.]

[It’s all thanks to our ancestors’ legacy (dog head emoji).]

Cool Cat itself wasn’t very well-known, and it wasn’t even among the top three livestream platforms. The reason they managed to sign Xiao Shengjing back then was because their former CEO had a good relationship with him privately. Xiao Shengjing continued to renew his contract with them because the management always treated him well. They never expected Xiao Shengjing to become a champion jungler overnight, bringing them massive traffic along with Lin Lan’s audience.

Because of this, the management at Cool Cat even reached out to Xiao Shengjing specifically to ask if Lin Lan truly didn’t want to sign with them. After receiving a confirmation, they didn’t pursue the matter further.

Lin Lan’s refusal was also justified. While he sipped his cola in Xiao Shengjing’s room, he reminisced about his previous world: “Back then, the three major livestream giants were in fierce competition, resorting to any means to poach streamers, even resorting to spreading rumors. Professional players were hit the hardest. Almost every time I switched platforms, it stirred up a storm, resulting in a slew of lawsuits. Contracts got more and more absurd; the bigger the name, the tighter the grip. I was so scared of getting manipulated that I just wanted to switch to a normal livestream platform. Turns out, breaking the contract would cost me 70 million…”

“And that’s not even the craziest part,” he remembered the most outrageous demand: “There was a platform that required my livestream viewership to stay above 1 million. Anything less than that wouldn’t count as stream duration.”

Maintaining a viewership of 1 million shouldn’t have been difficult for Lin Lan, but the audacity of the other party’s demands was truly infuriating as if they were constantly worried Lin Lan would become a washed-up player.

Xiao Shengjing also found it somewhat insane, “What’s wrong with these livestream platforms?”

Lin Lan hit the nail on the head: “The traffic is just too overwhelming.” He casually took a sip of cola and continued, “In another two years, we’ll see the heyday of the LPL. The immense traffic will impact the entire esports scene. There will be more investments, more fickleness in people’s hearts, and capital will dominate esports. Everything will be dictated by traffic, and those truly dedicated to esports will become scarce.”

His expression showed a hint of disappointment as he got up to toss the empty can into the trash. Suddenly, he turned back to look at Xiao Shengjing. “So, Captain, cherish these two years.”

Xiao Shengjing looked up at him. Through Lin Lan’s eyes, he seemed to truly glimpse the esports scene four years later, a doomsday belonging to true esports enthusiasts.

Was that why Lin Lan was so desperate to escape from there?

Xiao Shengjing looked at the cola can beside him, his grip tightening slightly. Suddenly, he looked up and extended an invitation to Lin Lan, “Would you like to join me at Cool Cat Live?”

Lin Lan didn’t react immediately. “Huh?”

Xiao Shengjing stood up, looking at him solemnly. “I know the management at Cool Cat. They are sincerely building a platform, curating content, and steadily developing. It’s a very traditional livestream platform. If you’re willing to join me at Cool Cat, perhaps we can change the future trend of esports where traffic reigns supreme…”

Lin Lan was stunned.

He looked at Xiao Shengjing and suddenly realized that he was far more powerful than he had imagined.

When he felt powerless to change the situation and could only think of escaping, Xiao Shengjing would take practical action.

No matter how small his strength was, he would still do something.

That’s what a truly strong person is like on the inside.

“Do you want me to go to Cool Cat Live with you?” Lin Lan took the cola from his hand, his mind racing a bit. “Wait, Captain, give me a moment to think.”

Xiao Shengjing: “Sure.”

Xiao Shengjing accompanied him in his thoughts. Regardless of the outcome, regardless of his choice, he would stand by him.

During the two days when Xiao Shengjing wasn’t livestreaming, the platform was filled with comments: [Captain Xiao, are you still not coming back? We miss Lin Lan so much.]

[Captain Xiao, are you busy these days? Why not give the account to Lin Lan QAQ…]

[Captain Xiao hasn’t live-streamed for three days. I miss Lin Lan.]

[Please, does anyone know when Xiao Shengjing will start streaming…]

Just as they were clamoring, Xiao Shengjing’s livestream room name suddenly changed to “Live at 7 PM,” and countless people sat waiting in Xiao Shengjing’s livestream room with their bowls of food.

When the time arrived, the livestream room refreshed, revealing Xiao Shengjing’s profile. He was adjusting the camera. After adjusting it, he seemed to be talking to someone through his headset.

The fans could only hear his voice and not the other person’s, so they speculated wildly that it was Lin Lan on the other end.

Excitedly, they waited for Xiao Shengjing to duo queue with Lin Lan. However, when Xiao Shengjing went live, he didn’t get down to business. Instead, he opened the livestream website, searched for a room number, clicked on it, and without further ado, followed the room. Then, calmly, he entered the number of gifts and sent 20 airplanes, watching as they flew across the screen. The fans were shocked and bewildered by this unexpected action.

It was obvious that this livestream room belonged to a new streamer. It only had 2 followers: one was the default Cool Cat account, and the other one was Xiao Shengjing.

The room name was the default system name: “A Cool Cat Meow.” The signature, profile, and avatar were all default, with only the live stream category tagged as “League of Legends”.

[Ah! Captain Xiao, what are you doing!]

[Who are you sending gifts to?!]

[Where’s my Lin Lan?!]

[Did you two have a fight?]

[Xiao Shengjing, dare you say who you’re voice chatting with!]

[No, don’t tell me, my XiaoLan CP is broken?]

[Ouch, that hurts. I’ve been stabbed.]

After Xiao Shengjing generously sent 20 airplanes to the other party, they also came to his livestream room and sent 2 airplanes.

The fans in the livestream room were instantly stunned.

Isn’t this a stingy Wildflower?

When Xiao Shengjing returned to the livestream room and saw the gifts sent by the other party, he unexpectedly smiled indulgently, with a faint glint in his eyes.

Seeing this, the fans couldn’t hold back anymore. Was their Captain Xiao being enchanted?!

They flooded the barrage with pleas, hoping to steer him back on track. However, Xiao Shengjing not only disregarded their concerns but also warmly invited the other party: “Want to duo queue?”

It was obvious the other party agreed. Xiao Shengjing immediately logged in, using the exclusive account for duo queuing with Lin Lan, delighting the fans.

[MMP¹“MMP” is an abbreviation often used in informal online communication. It stands for “Ma Ma Pi,” which is a Chinese slang term that roughly translates to “horse mother’s buttocks” in English. It’s a playful and humorous expression used to convey frustration, annoyance, or disbelief.. I have a guess. I don’t know whether to say or not.]

[Ah! I want to jump through the screen and smack Captain Xiao with a hammer.]

[Captain Xiao, open your eyes wide! How can wildflowers compare to the fragrance of Lin Lan?]

[Wuwu, not duo queuing for two days, they must be fighting.]

[I don’t accept this ‘BE’!!]

Just as the bullet comments were filled with wails, Xiao Shengjing finished setting up the room and with a “plop,” pulled Lin Lan’s alternate account in.

The room’s voice chat would reveal the other party’s voice. On the other end, someone cleared their throat and asked in a unique youthful tone, “Captain, can you hear me?”

As soon as this sentence was uttered, Xiao Shengjing’s reputation was instantly restored.

Everyone recognized it was Lin Lan’s voice. So, it turned out that the streamer Captain Xiao had been gifting was Lin Lan???

The bullet comments instantly erupted with excitement:

[Ahhh, is Lan actually streaming?]

[I thought Lin Lan would never stream!]

[Crying, so it was all just a misunderstanding.]

[I’ve always wanted to say, Captain Xiao is never this gentle with anyone other than Lin Lan…]

[Scared me to death. I almost thought it was going to end badly.]

[Captain Xiao gifted Lin Lan 20 planes, and Lin Lan returned just 2, and he still smiled. Just kill me already.]

[Sorry, I have to fangirl first!]

Fans swarmed into Lin Lan’s live stream, and in no time, the number of viewers hit tens of thousands. Since Lin Lan wasn’t signed with a platform and couldn’t receive gifts, only super accounts like Xiao Shengjing’s could send him anything. As a result, the fans could only watch without being able to gift, which made them anxious. They filled the bullet comments densely.

They camped out in the livestream room, and although they couldn’t see Lin Lan’s face, they could watch his gameplay from a first-person perspective, which made them overwhelmingly happy.

In the past, when they watched matches, they knew Lin Lan was very skilled but didn’t understand why. After watching the live stream, they finally understood.

He never engaged in a team fight without being prepared. With just one glance, he could analyze the situation clearly. If he could win, he would go in; if not, he would rather take down another tower than join the fray.

Moreover, Lin Lan’s personality was completely different from what they had imagined. They had thought Lin Lan was aloof, with a bit of a reclusive personality, and possibly even somewhat arrogant.

But in reality, Lin Lan was very easygoing and loved to joke around. He even responded to some of the strange questions in the bullet comments.

For example: [Lanbao, what color is your hair?]

He answered, “When I got it permed, it was ash-gray-blue. Now that it’s faded, it should be considered ash-gray-yellow? Anyway, everything ends up yellow eventually.”

The bullet comments erupted in laughter, making it hard for people to catch their breath. Help! Why does he have to be so real? This makes them feel like they’re just like Lin Lan!

They seized the pauses in Lin Lan’s gameplay to liven up the bullet comments:

[Lin Lan, is it normal for someone my age to love watching livestreams this much?]

Lin Lan replied, “It’s normal. Back when my eyesight was still good, I loved watching them too.”

The comments roared with laughter, then asked:

[Lanbao, how do you always manage to crush the opponent? What’s your secret?]

He replied, “As long as you have hands.”

The comments laughed even harder and continued:

[Lin Lan, Lin Lan. They say mid-lane Yuumi is really strong. Can you try it out?]

Lin Lan calmly answered, “No, it costs extra.”

This really made the fans die of laughter. In Lin Lan’s view, playing Yuumi in the mid-lane isn’t impossible, but it costs extra!

The further they read, the more excited the bullet comments became:

[Lanbao, what if we want to send you gifts?]

He answered, “I’m not signed, so you can’t. If you really want to send something, go to my captain’s livestream and have him transfer it to me after.”

The bullet comments went wild with laughter, and they actually went to Xiao Shengjing’s livestream to send gifts. Seeing the flood of comments saying, “Remember to transfer this to Lanbao,” Xiao Shengjing helplessly said, “I can only transfer it after tax; I can’t afford to transfer it before tax.”

The fans were insistent, saying he had to transfer the full amount to Lin Lan for it to truly show their love.

Xiao Shengjing could only reluctantly agree.

According to incomplete statistics, Xiao Shengjing lost about ten thousand in taxes that day alone.

But the fans were genuinely happy that day, as happy as if they had won the lottery.

The livestream continued until 10 PM, and the fans were still just as excited. There were even comments asking:

[What do I do? I’m so excited. Is it normal to be this excited?]

Everyone in the comments was lively:

[Normal. Me, too.]

[Normal. I was this excited on my wedding day too.]

[Normal. My cat is like this in the spring.]

Before entering Lin Lan’s live stream, they had no idea it would be so funny. After joining, they all bid farewell to Xiao Shengjing, never wanting to return.

After all, in Xiao Shengjing’s livestream, they could only learn techniques. But in Lin Lan’s livestream, they could also learn linguistic tricks.

Even Xiao Shengjing himself said, “I suspect that my viewers aren’t truly loyal fans; they’re lurking in my stream just to watch Lin Lan.”

The bullet comments burst into laughter. It seemed that anyone close to Lin Lan would become skilled at banter!

Lin Lan’s livestream fans surged to 300,000 in one night. Even after he went offline, some latecomer fans still rushed to follow him. Watching the replay, they laughed like fools, then felt a pang of regret in their hearts, thinking how they missed such an amazing interaction, sobbing…

Even more oblivious was the Cool Cat Livestream platform.

Long after Lin Lan went offline, and the trending topic had died down, Cool Cat Livestream finally realized that Lin Lan had been streaming on their platform.

They hastily posted on their official Weibo: “Accidentally missed the arrival of a god~”

Fans promptly mocked them in the comments:

[You just realized now?]

[This is hilarious. The official account must be on 2G internet.]

[Don’t the staff go online? Hahaha…]

Knowing they were in the wrong, the official account cautiously replied to every top comment. In response to the “2G internet” comment, they replied: “It’s 4G (crying).”

To the “don’t go online” comment, they responded: “Can’t use phones at work (feeling aggrieved).”

Cool Cat exuded a down-to-earth, “honest person” vibe, entirely different from the other major livestream platforms. This genuine and relatable response unexpectedly won them a wave of fans, causing a surge in new users without any marketing effort. This phenomenal rise in popularity left other platforms green with envy.

In the comments section, fans continued to encourage Cool Cat:

[Sign Lin Lan and I’ll buy a yearly membership.]

Cool Cat also stated: We asked, and Lanbao said he wasn’t willing. Meow feels that we should still respect his wishes~

With this statement, they won over even more fans.

Fans finally understood why Lin Lan chose to livestream on Cool Cat.

Judging by the nature of other platforms, they would likely harass Lin Lan to death, but Cool Cat could provide him with the most peaceful environment.

[Cool Cat is indeed quite clean, without all the mess.]

[And their content is very wholesome; you hardly see anything vulgar.]

[For some foul-mouthed users, Cool Cat even proactively bans their accounts.]

[I think their most outstanding feature is not allowing gifts without a contract, which prevents some money-grabbing streamers and selects for high-quality content.]

Most importantly, Lin Lan is live-streaming here!

There’s no need for any other reasons!

The next day when Lin Lan logged in, he found that his fans had already increased to 400,000. Lu Shi also registered on Cool Cat following Lin Lan. But it took him two days to gain just 200 new followers, leaving him feeling overwhelmed.

“Are Cool Cat’s follower numbers that genuine? Can’t they arrange some bots or something to boost my numbers?”

Lin Lan calmly instructed him, “Log in.”

Then Lu Shi was pulled into the room by Lin Lan. Together with Xiao Shengjing, they played a friendly match. Lu Shi’s fans quickly soared to over ten thousand.

Jiang Jin and Xu Shengwei beside them felt envious and frustrated. They also wanted to join the Cool Cat platform with the majority, but they were still tied up with livestream contracts on other platforms. Even if they wanted cross-platform cooperation, it wasn’t allowed because their current platform believed that their collaboration with Lin Lan would divert traffic to Cool Cat, which was absolutely prohibited.

Jiang Jin sighed, “When will my livestream contract end…”

Xu Shengwei was in a better position; he wasn’t very famous, and his contract was on a seasonal basis. He would terminate the contract with his current platform this month, and next month, he could roll over to Cool Cat to play.

Jiang Jin sighed again, “I’ll just stick with Feifei.”

“Feifei went home.”

“He took a personal leave and left early.”

“Now that Feifei’s gone, when do you think we can leave?”

“I don’t know, let’s wait for the notice.”

All they could do was wait for the notice. Lin Lan had been eagerly anticipating Xiao Shengjing’s full set of VR equipment at home, asking during duo matches, “When can I come over to your place and play?”

Xiao Shengjing coughed twice, reminding him, “I’m live streaming.”

Lin Lan quickly corrected himself, “No, I meant playing VR at your place, just literally playing, nothing else.”

The bullet comments were completely losing it, but who cared what they were playing? As long as Lin Lan went to his place, it was all good!

Just as the fans were going crazy, Xiao Shengjing received a phone call. His expression changed instantly to seriousness, and he hastily ended the stream he was in the middle of.

The fans wanted to say that it was okay if Captain Xiao left as long as Lin Lan stayed, but then Lin Lan also ended the stream.

Everyone was itching with curiosity. Where did they go…?!

Xiao Shengjing and Lin Lan were both called downstairs for an impromptu meeting. Lin Lan glanced at the time; it was almost eleven o’clock. Coach Zhang hadn’t called Jiang Jin and the others, indicating that it was a confidential internal matter.

Lin Lan: “What’s going on?”

Xiao Shengjing had some idea, he patted Lin Lan’s head and reassured him, “It’s nothing.”

The meeting was rushed, with attendees hastily gathered, and some were even missing. Coach Zhang hurried into the meeting room and immediately delivered some unfortunate news, “Everyone, Feifei doesn’t plan to renew his contract. I can’t reach him on the phone. I suspect he had blocked me.”

This news was like a bombshell dropped into everyone’s hearts. Lin Lan and Feifei’s switching strategy could outplay any lineup. Just as Feifei was making significant progress and about to become a cornerstone, no one expected him to quit DT at this time…

Moreover, the new coach they had painstakingly recruited was also attracted by Lin Lan and Feifei’s rotational system. If Feifei doesn’t renew his contract, DT simply can’t afford the loss.

Brother Mu is sentimental. Feifei has been with him for three years, and he still hopes that Xiao Shengjing can persuade Feifei to come back and maintain the original lineup.

But Xiao Shengjing made three calls, all of which Feifei dismissed and hung up on. Feifei seemed to realize that Xiao Shengjing was trying to persuade him, so he didn’t answer any more calls.

Coach Zhang was anxious and couldn’t understand, “How did Feifei become like this? When I approved his leave, I clearly told him that he could take a break and come back to renew his contract afterward. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have let him go so easily. I regret it so much now…”

Xiao Shengjing felt, “Feifei is easily swayed and trusts others too easily. He’s probably been influenced by someone now. Let’s try to bring him back first.”

But how to bring him back? Feifei doesn’t answer their calls at all.

Lin Lan volunteered, “Let me try.”

Feifei answered Lin Lan’s call and cautiously asked, “Is it just you?”

Glancing at the internal members in the meeting room, Lin Lan calmly replied, “Yeah. I heard from the captain that you’re not renewing your contract. I just wanted to call and ask if you’re facing any difficulties.”

Feifei breathed a sigh of relief, feeling very comfortable opening up to Lin Lan, “I’m not facing any difficulties. I just met my online dating partner. He’s the manager of an ACG team, and their team has been in trouble recently. The mid-laner’s contract ended and he demanded a raise. But there haven’t been any mid-laners available in the transfer market, so he’s in control. My boyfriend is getting impatient, so I thought I’d help him out a bit and not renew my contract with DT…”

As soon as this reason came out, the entire meeting room exploded.

Brother Mu was almost killed on the spot by anger. Three years of relationship couldn’t compare to an online dating partner?!

Lin Lan signaled for them not to make a sound and continued to probe, “ACG’s performance in the spring season is so poor, and your own development hasn’t been great in the past. Have you really thought this through?”

Feifei: “Yeah, I’ve thought about it. Without my boyfriend, no matter how many achievements I have, I won’t be happy.”

Lin Lan was speechless. He dropped another bombshell, “What if their mid-laner doesn’t leave? If you stay, you’ll only be a substitute.”

Feifei: “It’s okay to be a substitute. I’ll work hard to get back to the starting lineup, and my boyfriend will help me. As long as he’s there, it’s all good.”

Lin Lan didn’t know what to do. He felt Feifei’s love-stricken mind was really serious. He looked helplessly at Xiao Shengjing, who reminded him: “Just get him back first.”

Lin Lan: “Feifei, um, actually, you don’t need to rush like this. The transfer window hasn’t started yet. How about you come back first and discuss it?”

“No, no. I’ve already promised him. I can’t go back on my word. And their mid-laner has been threatening them for a high price. I can’t just stand by and watch.” Feifei suddenly realized something and became cautious, “Lin Lan, are you also here to persuade me? Please don’t persuade me anymore. I’m an adult. I know what I’m doing. This is what I want. Please stop talking about it…”

Lin Lan hadn’t even had a chance to speak before the call was hung up.

Brother Mu was so angry his chest hurt. “Can’t we call the police? How is this any different from human trafficking?!”

Coach Zhang quickly explained, “Feifei is twenty years old. Even his own mother can’t control his love life.”

Was he supposed to watch the cabbage he had nurtured for three years be taken away by a pig?

Brother Mu couldn’t bear to think about it. The mere thought made his chest ache. “Forget it, forget it. You guys handle it. I’ll go back and take some antacid.”

Coach Zhang and the manager came up with several contingency plans, aiming to compete for any potential mid-laners available on the market. The worst-case scenario would be promoting someone from the youth training camp.

The meeting ultimately ended in chaos. As Lin Lan walked back, he suddenly asked Xiao Shengjing, “DT hasn’t been able to acquire any mid-laners during this transfer window. What will we do if we can’t buy one?”

Xiao Shengjing reassured him, “It’s okay. We can promote from the youth training camp if necessary, or train someone from scratch.”

But could the level of the youth training camp really adapt to the LPL?

And with DT’s strong performance in the spring season, it would be a pity if they didn’t accumulate enough points to qualify for the World Championship in the summer season.

After a brief moment of thought, Lin Lan turned and said, “Actually…”

“Beep beep”

Lin Lan’s phone suddenly rang. It was Xie Zilu calling. Lin Lan immediately ended the previous conversation, “Captain, let me take this call.”

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  “MMP” is an abbreviation often used in informal online communication. It stands for “Ma Ma Pi,” which is a Chinese slang term that roughly translates to “horse mother’s buttocks” in English. It’s a playful and humorous expression used to convey frustration, annoyance, or disbelief.