According to the rules, the winner of the match must take the initiative to shake hands. After signing the confirmation form, Li Cangyu took the players to the soundproof room of the Wind Colour team.
Li Cangyu walked towards Ling Xuefeng and smiled. “I didn’t expect to win this time.”
Ling Xuefeng stood up and gently pulled Li Cangyu into his arms, whispering, “Congratulations.”
The Wind Colour fans were gobsmacked.
Captain Ling really wasn’t right today!
The Miracle Professional League had been running for seven seasons and for the past seven years, the Wind Colour team had faced many opponents. They won and lost but when had Ling Xuefeng ever hugged his opponent after the game?
The always serious and cold Captain Ling would usually shake hands with the opposing team’s captain. If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes then no one would believe that he could actually hug someone!
[Cat God, let go of our Captain Ling!] [Captain Ling’s first hug is actually given to Old Cat. This world isn’t real!] The Wind Colour fans who saw this image on the live broadcast couldn’t remain still.
Li Cangyu was very calm when he was hugged and just hugged Ling Xuefeng back. Then the two of them separated.
This might seem like a simple hug to express friendliness after a game but Ling Xuefeng had never held anyone, only Li Cangyu. This was enough for the reporters to gossip about for a while.
The players following behind Li Cangyu shook hands with the members of Wind Colour in turn. Xiao Han shook hands with people but once he reached Qin Mo, he extended his arms and hugged Qin Mo.
Qin Mo, “…”
The little prince made a dull expression and the Wind Colour fans turned it into an emoji pack.
After a moment, Qin Mo’s spirit returned and he smiled. “Why are you holding onto me?”
Xiao Han earnestly replied, “I learnt it from master. This expresses that you are a very special and very good friend in my heart.”
Qin Mo felt like laughing when he heard the strange description. However, he felt the warm and soft body of the mixed-race youth and Qin Mo’s heart inexplicably softened.He gently touched Xiao Han’s blond hair and said, “Ah, then you can get rid of good friend. Use very special or very good, one is enough. Don’t use both.”
Xiao Han let him go and nodded. “Yes.”
Qin Mo was just going back to clean up his keyboard and mouse when Xiao Han whispered in his ear, “What does abstinent mean?”
Qin Mo, “…”
Xiao Han asked with a serious expression, “They all describe Captain Ling as an abstinent male god. What does this mean? What is the difference with other male gods?”
Qin Mo also choked. He coughed twice and touched his nose with embarrassment. “Cough…it means… uh… it means to be relatively cold.”
Xiao Han wondered, “Is that right?”
Qin Mo nodded. “Yes.”
Xiao Han thought about it and said, “I understand.”
Then he turned away with a thoughtful expression.
Qin Mo watched his back and felt like crying. This guy didn’t understand the meaning of many words and it was really unknown what jokes he would make in the future. Xiao Han, don’t talk nonsense in front of the reporters!
***
In the commentators’ room, Kou Hongyi saw the players of both sides packing up their things and smiled. “Audience members, this match has ended and the final score is 2:1 with Canglan as the winner. The first round of the regular season is completely over. Let’s take a look at the current rankings.”
The screen pulled up the league’s official website leaderboard. Kou Hongyi briefly explained, “At present, Wind Colour is still in first place. The loss in this match doesn’t have much impact on their rankings. Of course, their gap with the second ranked Flying Feathers had shrunk.”
“The third is Ghost Spirits, fourth is Time, fifth is Red Fox and sixth is Canglan.” Kou Hongyi paused before saying, “You should remember that Canglan was ranked seventh last week. This 2:1 win against Wind Colour allowed the Canglan team’s ranking to rise to sixth place. Pure Cleansing is seventh and the Cheetah team is still at the bottom.”
Yu Bing said, “The second round of the regular season will exchange the home and away games. Only the top four can enter the playoffs and the competition is still fierce. With the exception of Wind Colour, who are expected to steadily make it into the playoffs, the second to sixth place results are sure to change.”
Kou Hongyi nodded. “Next, the league will give all teams a seven days holiday as a mid-season adjustment period.The good news is that the Chinese Miracle Carnival will be held during this week. In previous years, it was held before the start of the playoffs. However, in order to give sufficient preparation time for the World Competition, the schedule has been adjusted this year.”
Yu Bing had the camera director show the official website’s page on the big screen and explained, “This year’s Chinese Carnival still uses the form of voting to decide. There are a total of 12 places and each place is very precious. Members registered on the official MIracle forum can log into the account and will automatically get three Carnival votes. You can vote for your favourite players.”
Kou Hongyi added, “The deadline for the voting is next Tuesday. The Carnival will begin at 2:30 p.m. next Saturday. I hope you don’t miss out on this opportunity to vote for the players you like!”
The two people cooperated to explain the league’s official announcement.
The Miracle Chinese Carnival usually occurred a week after the regular season was over. This year, due to the World Competition in October, the league’s top executives decided to finish the seventh season in September and select the national team before training them. Thus, the Carnival had been adjusted to the small vacation period after the first round of the regular season, which would save a week on the schedule.
The 12 Carnival players would be divided into two teams to play against each other. Winning or losing was irrelevant. This was actually an entertainment project for the gods and fans so the participants were decided by voting.
The fans were instantly excited by the news. Once the voting channel was open, the popular trio Ling Xuefeng, Tan Shitian and Su Guangmo immediately reached more than 5,000 votes. The fans of other players weren’t far behind. The competition over the rankings was particularly fierce…
At this time, Ling Xuefeng was preparing to participate in the post-match interview.
This time he took only Qin Mo with him. A bold reporter politely asked, “Captain Ling, today Canglan beat Wind Colour with a score of 2:1. Many people said that you threw the game. Do you have an explanation for this?”
Ling Xuefeng glanced at her and replied lightly, “There is nothing to explain.”
The reporter, “…”
The temperature of the on-site air conditioner seemed to be lower. Many reporters felt that their backs were cold. Captain Ling was always concise when answering questions but… there really was nothing for him to explain! It was impossible for him to threw the game. Today he sent the newcomers to practice. It was normal for a captain to make such a decision when they were in the lead by many points.
After a few minutes of the cold field, another reporter stood up and asked, “I want to ask Captain Ling a question. How do you evaluate Old Cat? It is said that you have known each other for many years. You are opponents so your relationship must not be very good? However, it seems to be a good relationship based on your hug after the match today.”
Ling Xuefeng thought, ‘Isn’t the personal relationship between us more than good? It is so good that we have become a couple.’
In the face of the reporter’s doubts, he calmly replied, “In my opinion, Li Cangyu is an excellent player. His level is very high and the even rarer thing is that he has never given up despite all the setbacks he suffered in the past few years. His character is very determined and hardships only make him stronger. This is where I admire him the most.”
The reporters were stunned. It was really hard to hear Ling Xuefeng praise a player like this…
Still, his words were right. Li Cangyu had experienced many things over the years and never gave up. From the disbandment of the FTD team to the disbandment of the team in Wulin, he had no gains for six years. An ordinary person would’ve long given up but Li Cangyu never forgot his heart and dared to return to Miracle.
This man had a perseverance that wasn’t afraid of death or losing. He just bravely kept going forward. As Ling Xuefeng said, setbacks and hardships only made him stronger.
Ling Xuefeng saw the reporters listening carefully and continued, “Li Cangyu isn’t just an opponent but also my friend. We have known each other for many years. Since he is also a summoner, we often exchanged ideas. He is like a mirror that lights up my weaknesses and inspires me to progress. I’m very lucky to have such a well-matched opponent. I’m happy that he has returned to Miracle.”
Ling Xuefeng’s expression expression was still serious and cold but his eyes had obviously softened.
Many reporters were moved by their friendship and couldn’t help clapping.
A reporter suddenly stood up. “Captain Ling, there will be the World Competition after the end of the seventh season. Have you thought about one day fighting alongside the strongest opponent, Cat God?”
This was also a concern for many reporters and they couldn’t help pricking their ears.
Ling Xuefeng’s lips slightly curved as he firmly replied, “Of course, this is my biggest expectation.”
The applause of the reporters was even more enthusiastic!
Through today’s competition, everyone could see how excellent Li Cangyu’s level was. There weren’t many gods in the Miracle League who could almost tie with Ling Xuefeng. What’s more, Li Cangyu had the same explosive hand speed as Ling Xuefeng and this was comparable to internationally renowned players!
The image would definitely be gorgeous if one day they could fight side by side!
Many reporters started to look forward to it. Li Cangyu saw the interview backstage and couldn’t help smiling. Ling Xuefeng’s compliments made him feel really good. His wife worked hard to boast about him in front of reporters! How should Li Cangyu reward him later? Was a kiss enough?
A reporter aimed a question at Qin Mo. “Today you won the confrontation against the mixed-race Xiao Han. Then he said that he will one day surpass you. What is your opinion on this public challenge?”
Qin Mo picked up the microphone and replied earnestly, “Xiao Han is still young but he is very talented. I believe that he will soon grow into an outstanding professional player. As for being better than me…” Qin Mo smiled slightly, his young face full of confidence. “That depends on me. While he is making progress, I am also improving!”
The reporters immediately clapped. Xiao Han stared at the screen and declared seriously, “I will progress faster than you so won’t I surpass you?”
Li Cangyu rubbed his apprentice’s head with satisfaction. “You have ambition!”
***
It was unknown if this was done intentionally or not but in the Canglan interview, Li Cangyu also brought his apprentice Xiao Han.
The reporters saw the pair of mentor and apprentice and felt speechless. Had they discussed this?
A reporter immediately stood up and asked, “Cat God, did you hear Captain Ling’s evaluation of you just now? How are you feeling?”
Li Cangyu smiled. “Of course I am very happy. Ling Xuefeng rarely gives compliments. The lines used to praise me today are probably the longest sentences in his interview, right?”
The reporters, “…”
What was with his smug expression? Did he have to look so smug after being praised by Ling Xuefeng?
A reporter wondered, “Cat God, do you also want to praise Captain Ling?”
Li Cangyu paused before stating seriously, “Ling Xuefeng is so good that poor words can’t be used to describe him.”
The reporters, “…”
This level of exaggeration was worth more than a thousand words!
A reporter asked Xiao Han, “Xiao Han, how do you think you did today?”
Xiao Han replied, “Very bad.”
He didn’t say that he was very, very bad. The reporter was pleased with his progress in Chinese and asked again, “What are you plans for next time?”
“Go back and practice well. Next time I will perform better.”
The reporters, “…”
This little guy, he was really straightforward when answering questions. So cute!