Chapter 191 – Carnival 2

The Carnival voting officially closed at 24 o’clock on Tuesday. Many people were surprised that Li Cangyu’s votes actually reversed at the last minute, breaking through the 20,000 mark and directly reaching the top four. He closely followed the three giants of the Miracle League, Ling, Su and Tan. This momentum almost seemed enough to overtake the three of them!

Bai Xuan’s number of votes also leapt forward. The moment when the voting channel closed, it jumped to 8th place and was comparable to Vice-Captain Cheng Wei!

The fighting power of the Canglan fans was so amazing that even the official reporters of the league were alarmed. There were soon reporters who discovered the support club and tried to contact Shasha.

The reporter asked, “I heard that many people in the group have supported Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan since the first season. At that time, the team’s results were poor and there were many excellent players in the Miracle League. Why did you like them?”

Shasha replied simply, “There is no reason to like a player. We just like them.”

“…” The blocked reporter had to change his words, “What made you stick with liking Cat God and Vice-Captain Bai for so many years?”

Shasha replied, “I probably didn’t forget my initial heart. I always believed that the person who could compete with Ling Xuefeng for the position of strongest summoner won’t remain silent. Old Cat is just late. He’s worth waiting for.”

This interview was published by the reporter on an e-sports website and became the hot news of the day. The title ‘Don’t Forget My Initial Heart’ touched many fans who once supported unknown players.

The number of forwards for this report increased and many fans who left Miracle for a long time returned.

Not forgetting the initial heart was the rarest thing.

The support for a player wouldn’t be weakened because of his poor performance. They liked him and firmly believed that one day he could fly to a higher sky, proving his strength to everyone!

***

On Wednesday morning, the Miracle officials announced the participants for the domestic Carnival project.

They were Wind Colour’s Ling Xuefeng and Yan Ruiwen, Flying Feathers’ Su Guangmo and Yu Pingsheng, Time’s Tan Shitian and Cheng Wei, Canglan’s Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan, Ghost Spirits’ Lou Wushuang and Zhang Shaohui, Red Fox’s Liu Xiang and Pure Cleansing’s Chu Yan.

They were the super popular gods in China. Their foundation was relatively stable and the loyalty of their fans was high.

Young players like Qin Mo, Xiao Han and Chen Anran had fans but there was still a gap compared with the older gods. They naturally had no chance to be selected.

The 12 people selected received a notice from the league so that everyone could gather at the designated hotel in Shanghai at noon on Saturday.

Cheng Wei saw this announcement and immediately called Li Cangyu. “Cat God, you have also been selected for the Carnival. This is truly great! When are you going to Shanghai?”

Li Cangyu thought, ‘I am in Shanghai with Ling Xuefeng and I’m lying in Ling Xuefeng’s bedroom!’

Cheng Wei would surely drop his phone in shock if he knew this. Li Cangyu yawned and replied while lying in bed, “I am going there Saturday morning. What are you doing during this holiday?”

Ling Xuefeng stretched out an arm and hugged him, clearly hearing the contents of his chat with Cheng Wei.

Cheng Wei told him, “I went to Sanya with Captain Tan. It is really hot and I feel like I am being burnt to charcoal! I’ll send you a photo later. I have two colours all over my body right now!”

Moments later, Li Cangyu’s WeChat received a photo. In front of the blue sea, Cheng Wei was wearing a white cap and short-sleeved t-shirt and smiling at the camera. His face wasn’t tanned because of the hat but his exposed neck, arms and calves were tanned.

Li Cangyu looked at the sharp contrast between his fair face and dark neck and couldn’t help laughing. “The black and white is clear!”

Cheng Wei wondered in a depressed manner, “How can I participate in the Carnival when I have this ghost-like look?”

Li Cangyu advised him, “Wear a long-sleeved shirt.”

Tan Shitian just finished his shower and saw Cheng Wei sitting on the hotel bed while chatting happily with someone. There was no doubt that it was Cat God.

Tan Shitian sat next to him and saw some of the chat contents. He couldn’t help smiling, “I am also turned into charcoal from the sun.”

Cheng Wei looked over at him curiously. “Are you tanned as well? Let me see it!”

Tan Shitian lifted the hem of his bathrobe and revealed a portion of his sturdy calves. “Look.”

Cheng Wei smiled. “You are black and white like me. We match!”

Then he froze as he saw Tan Shitian gazing at him with a deep look. Cheng Wei immediately realized he made a mistake. His cheeks turned red as he hurriedly explained, “Cough cough, I mean, this is just right… oh, it’s just tanned.”

Tan Shitian smiled and didn’t pester him with this slip. He reached out and squeezed Cheng Wei’s white face before pinching his tanned arm. “Yes, your face is so white and your arms are so dark. It is obviously suntanned with one glance.”

Cheng Wei’s hackles rose. “Don’t pinch me!”

Tan Shitian stretched out his other hand and pinched his right cheek. “It is now symmetrical.”

Cheng Wei angrily stood up to hit a person. Tan Shitian immediately turned and fled. The two people chased each other in the hotel room for a while before Tan Shitian suddenly turned and stopped. Cheng Wei didn’t have time to brake and slammed in Tan Shitian’s arms.

Tan Shitian smiled and hugged Cheng Wei. “Ah, you are so sentimental. I’m embarrassed!”

Cheng Wei was so angry he was going to blow up. His face was extremely red as he exclaimed, “Tan Shitian, how is your face so thick? I won’t go anywhere with you in the future. Don’t you know that your smile is particularly annoying?”

This person spoke extremely fast with flushed cheeks. Tan Shitian thought he looked exceptionally cute.

Tan Shitian sometimes felt that he was stupid. He always wanted to bully Cheng Wei and provoke Cheng Wei’s anger because this way Cheng Wei would place all his attention on Tan Shitian.

Tan Shitian sighed gently in his heart and let go of Cheng Wei. “Okay, don’t be noisy. I have booked a ticket. We will play for another day before flying directly to Shanghai on Friday.”

Cheng Wei was startled. “You’ve bought the plane tickets already? Why didn’t you ask me for my ID number…”

Tan Shitian smiled, “I have already memorized your ID number.”

Cheng Wei was still angry at Tan Shitian for teasing him but he felt touched. This person was able to recite Cheng Wei’s ID number, showing that Tan Shitian actually cared about him. Cheng Wei suddenly felt very happy.

“It is almost the same!” Cheng Wei instantly smiled. “Did you expect both of us to enter the Carnival?”

“Of course, who else would enter? Do you doubt our popularity?”

“…” Cheng Wei almost choked on his saliva. “Hey, did you learn to boast from the Canglan team? This will give Time a bad reputation!”

***

On the Saturday that the Carnival opened, the 12 selected players gathered at the designated hotel. Everyone was surprised that the captain Ling Xuefeng and vice-captain Yan Ruiwen didn’t arrive at the same time. The captain Li Cangyu and vice-captain Bai Xuan also acted separately. However, Ling Xuefeng was the one who drove Li Cangyu to report to the hotel.

The person in charge of the front desk stared at them with confusion. The two people remained calm and didn’t explain too much. Once the formalities were completed, they grabbed their room cards and headed to their respective rooms to rest.

Bai Xuan soon arrived. He saw Li Cangyu drinking tea on the sofa and wondered, “Where have you been these days? Why didn’t you go back to the club?”

Li Cangyu replied, “I was casually strolling around.”

Bai Xuan smiled. “Strolling around with Ling Xuefeng?”

Li Cangyu looked up doubtfully. “How did you guess?”

“I took a taxi and happened to see the two of you arrive at the hotel together.”

“Yes, I stayed in Shanghai for two days and strolled around with him.” Li Cangyu replied honestly.

Bai Xuan stared at him carefully and found that there was nothing wrong with his expression. Thus, Bai Xuan didn’t ask anymore.

At 2 in the afternoon, the league sent a car to bring the 12 Carnival players to the venue.

The venue had long been full of fans. Many people held fluorescent signs to cheer for their favourite player. Li Cangyu unexpected found a place holding the Canglan logo. The white and blue uniform of the Canglan team was particularly conspicuous.

Li Cangyu smiled and waved in that direction. The fans excitedly raised the team logo higher!

Bai Xuan had some doubts. “Are there so many Canglan fans in Shanghai?”

Li Cangyu explained, “A group of veterans who liked us for many years built a support group. Do you remember the girl called Shasha? The people who arrived here should be organized by her.”

Bai Xuan said, “I remember her. That year she gave me a homemade pillow that I really liked.”

Bai Xuan felt emotional as he thought of losing that match and then receiving a gift from the fans.

Li Cangyu smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “It will be better.”

***

This year’s Carnival was very different from previous years. In order to save time, entertainment projects like the racing and tree-climbing were greatly reduced, leaving only fun competitive games where two teams faced each other.

“For this fun competition, we will be divided into the Frost Team and Fire Team. Each contestant will first draw a lot to decide their team!” The host read the rules and brought the lottery box to everyone.

Ling Xuefeng grabbed something and it was the snowflake badge of the Frost team. He consciously stood on the ice blue side of the big stage.

Next was Su Guangmo who got the fire badge and went to the right side that contained a fire sign.

When it was Li Cangyu’s turn, he put his hand in the box and drew a snowflake bad. The Frost Team!

Li Cangyu walked to Ling Xuefeng’s side and Ling Xuefeng stared at him. The two people smiled at each other.

This scene made people feel a bit dazed. Weren’t they the strongest opponents? What did they mean by smiling at each other? Were they that happy to be in the same team?

Li Cangyu was naturally very happy. He had never been eligible to participate in the Miracle Carnival project before. This was the first time he was participating and he was assigned to a team with Ling Xuefeng. Wasn’t this fate?