CH 5

“Brother Xiang, what’s going on?”

Jiang Min’s voice clearly revealed his restrained anger.

In his daily life, Jiang Min usually didn’t show many facial expressions. He had a reserved personality and appeared cold and distant, but it didn’t mean he had no temper.

Anyone would be angry in such a situation.

Xiang Mian fully understood Jiang Min’s feelings at this moment.

Xiang Mian sighed, looked around to confirm that no one was nearby, then opened the office door and let Jiang Min in.

Both of them sat on the sofa in the manager’s office. Jiang Min still had his hands crossed in front of his chest, staring at Xiang Mian, waiting for an explanation.

He had just directly gone to find the boss, but the boss acted like he was dead and completely ignored him.

Jiang Min knew that causing a scene and tearing his face apart in front of the club’s members would be unwise, so he didn’t linger there any longer.

Instead, he came to the manager’s office and waited for Xiang Mian.

As the team manager, Xiang Mian should have some insider information.

The club had to give him an explanation regarding the matter of him being “transferred” to the second team.

One of the key elements for a professional player to maintain their form was high-intensity matches.

Thanks to the practice in the top league, he could maintain a stable state for an extended period.

Once transferred to the second team and playing in the lower league with those young kids, setting aside other issues, he might end up adapting to that level, maybe even getting eliminated.

As a professional player in WOC, he was not considered old, and he still had a long time in his prime.

At this critical moment, the team suddenly transferred him to the second team, how could he accept it?

“Well, Ah Min, let me explain.” Xiang Mian felt the pressure from Jiang Min’s questioning gaze and became a bit nervous.

“Go on, speak.” Jiang Min maintained a cold expression.

“The team transferred you to the second team for tactical considerations…” Xiang Mian came up with a reason.

He couldn’t let Jiang Min know the real reason the boss transferred him to the second team; otherwise, CC Team would be close to chaos.

Xiang Mian was well aware that this was unfair to Jiang Min, but he was the team manager and had to consider the entire team.

Jiang Min was a star player in the league with numerous fans.

Once he revealed the truth and spoke out, CC Team would become the target of public criticism.

Xiang Mian didn’t want to see the team he had worked hard to build deteriorate like that, so he could only bear the temporary grievances for Jiang Min. After all… Jiang Min wouldn’t stay in CC Team for much longer.

“Tactical considerations?” Jiang Min raised an eyebrow, “Why didn’t the coach discuss it with me? Also, why didn’t I know anything beforehand? Doesn’t this violate the procedure?”

Xiang Mian could only try to appease him, “Well, this… I can only say that you shouldn’t delve too deep into the reasons for this.”

Jiang Min laughed, feeling exasperated, “Brother Xiang, being inexplicably transferred from the first team to the second team, shouldn’t I know the reason?”

Xiang Mian patted Jiang Min’s shoulder and said, “Ah Min, listen to me. CC Team… is no longer the CC Team you used to know.”

After changing ownership, Xiang Mian had to work even harder than before.

The previous owner was at least an esports enthusiast and cared deeply about the club. Xiang Mian’s job was mainly to cooperate with the owner.

But now, the new owner was just playing around, leaving Xiang Mian to handle almost all aspects of running the team.

The new owner kept making a series of questionable moves, putting a lot of pressure on Xiang Mian.

This time, he even targeted Jiang Min. As a mere employee, Xiang Mian had no choice but to obey the boss’s orders.

But Jiang Min was also a player he really liked. All he could do was try his best to protect Jiang Min’s interests.

“Our new owner… I won’t say much, but you understand.” Xiang Mian spoke honestly to Jiang Min.

“Just remember my words.” Xiang Mian said seriously, “You still have half a year left in your contract with the team. Just stay in the second team for these six months, and during the transfer window, I will do my best to find you a good new team.”

Jiang Min was stunned for a moment before he spoke, “Brother Xiang , are you… suggesting that I leave CC?”

Xiang Mian sighed and said, “I know you don’t want to leave CC, and I feel the same way about you… but the circumstances force us.”

“Even if you want to stay in CC, the boss… wouldn’t agree. Putting you up for transfer during the window is almost a done deal.” Xiang Mian looked distressed. “Listen to me, be a good player in the second team for half a year, and I’ll do my best to find you a good team during the transfer period. I promise to get you back to the top league.”

He pleaded earnestly.

With his connections and Jiang Min’s skills and fame, finding a good new team shouldn’t be difficult.

“…”

Jiang Min fell silent.

Xiang Mian had always refused to reveal the real reason behind the transfer, indicating that it involved the higher-ups of the team.

He was just a professional player without much background, so all he could do was follow the arrangement.

Of course, he could choose to contact other teams to see if any were willing to pay a high transfer fee to buy him out.

But that wasn’t his style, and contacting other teams during the protected period would be against the rules. If he really had to leave CC, he hoped to part on good terms. Jiang Min didn’t say anything more and quietly left the manager’s office.

After Jiang Min left, Xiang Mian looked up at a photo on the display shelf in the office, feeling a mix of emotions.

In the photo were the CC Team members celebrating their championship victory in the regional competition two years ago.

Five young people wearing CC Team jerseys held up the silver trophy with golden ribbons raining down in the background and cheering spectators.

At that time, everyone’s smiles were so radiant.

Unfortunately, it was already a thing of the past.

————

A few days later.

After returning from the World Championship group stage, JW Team returned to its base in S City.

As soon as Yu Hao put down his luggage, he headed straight to the boss’s office.

JW Team’s boss, Ji Xiu Yan, had a handsome appearance and permed curly hair. He was playing games on his computer with his legs crossed.

Yu Hao’s sudden entrance startled him.

“Damn it! Can’t you knock on the door when you come in? I’m your boss, you know!” Ji Xiu Yan jumped up from his chair, excitedly shouting.

Yu Hao’s expression was serious. “I have something to tell you.”

Ji Xiu Yan looked at him with confusion. What could have upset this kid so much, even after they didn’t make it past the group stage at the World Championship?

“Well, even if we didn’t make it out of the group stage at the World Championship, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future for our WOC division,” Ji Xiu Yan tried to comfort him. “I’m already satisfied with this season’s performance. It’s beyond my expectations that our JW Team’s WOC division made it to the World Championship.”

“I’m not talking about that.” Yu Hao walked up to him.

“Huh? Then what’s the matter?” Ji Xiu Yan couldn’t figure out what else could be bothering Yu Hao.

Yu Hao got straight to the point, “Did you see CC’s announcement?”

Ji Xiu Yan nodded. “Yeah, about Sugar God’s transfer. It’s been making a lot of noise online. I really don’t know what CC is thinking. With a god-tier player like Sugar God on our team, we’d be unbeatable… Regardless of his skill, just his commercial value is through the roof~”

“I want to buy Sugar God,” Yu Hao said straightforwardly.

Ji Xiu Yan hadn’t caught on yet and continued, “Well, this version doesn’t really suit Sugar God’s aggressive playstyle in mid-lane, but I think he’s performed quite well this season… Huh?”

Ji Xiu Yan froze. It seemed like he just heard something incredible from Yu Hao.

“What!? Buy Sugar God!?” Ji Xiu Yan was taken aback.

“Yeah.”

“Are you kidding me? Do you know how much money it would take to buy a player of Sugar God’s caliber? Not to mention his transfer fee, he’s still under contract, so we’d have to pay a hefty buyout fee. Are you trying to bankrupt us!?”

“I know.” Yu Hao remained calm.

“You know, and you’re still saying such nonsense? Our JW Team may be wealthy compared to other teams, but we’re not that rich!” Ji Xiu Yan was getting agitated.

“Anything is possible with money,” Yu Hao replied.

Ji Xiu Yan was speechless.

“If you don’t agree, I’ll tell Auntie that you bought JW Team just to…”

Ji Xiu Yan rushed forward and covered Yu Hao’s mouth.

“Okay, okay, I give up! I’ll send someone to negotiate with CC right away, is that fine?” Ji Xiu Yan felt like the most undignified boss ever.

Yu Hao got the answer he wanted and left contentedly.

Leaving Ji Xiu Yan alone in the office, sighing and lamenting. Ji Xiu Yan was Yu Hao’s cousin, and the “Auntie” Yu Hao mentioned was Ji Xiu Yan’s mother.

More than a year ago, Ji Xiu Yan returned from studying abroad and bought JW Team.

He and Yu Hao had always had a very close relationship since childhood.

Because of Yu Hao’s professional career in WOC, Ji Xiu Yan established the WOC division for JW Team, which didn’t exist before, and allowed his cousin to pick his own teammates.

At first, Yu Hao felt embarrassed to make his cousin spend more money, so he only chose a few relatively inexpensive rookies and one veteran as his teammates.

Unexpectedly, this combination turned out to be quite good, at least putting JW Team among the top teams in WPL this season.

Who would have thought that today, Yu Hao would open his mouth and ask to buy Sugar God.

Could Sugar God be bought for a small amount of money?

Ji Xiu Yan felt his heart ache just thinking about it.

He hadn’t even had time to fully enjoy the money he earned from his other businesses, and now he had to hand it over.

It’s so miserable!

However, if he let his mother, who was against him buying the team, know the real purpose behind his purchase of JW Team, he would be in big trouble.

Sigh, why did he end up with such a troublesome cousin like Yu Hao!

Mr. Ji, the wealthy boss of JW, covered his face in deep thought in his office.

———-

Jiang Min walked from the second team’s training room to the balcony of the base and lit a cigarette.

He rarely smoked, only occasionally when he was in a really bad mood.

The nicotine stimulated his nerves, making him see the current situation even more clearly.

Today’s training had ended, and the group of guys from the second team couldn’t keep up with his pace, making it quite challenging to coordinate with them.

If he wanted to achieve cohesion, he would have to slow down his pace.

But if he did that, he couldn’t guarantee that he would still be in top form when he returned to the top league in the future.

Jiang Min intended to listen to Xiang Mian’s words and endure for half a year. After all, they had been together for four years, and Xiang Mian shouldn’t harm him.

But the days ahead were likely to be difficult.

Jiang Min exhaled a puff of smoke and gazed into the distance.

At this moment, his phone started vibrating like crazy.

One message after another.

Jiang Min frowned, annoyed at who was bothering him while he was feeling sentimental.

He took out his phone and opened WeChat.

Who the hell was bugging him when he was feeling down?

The first message was from Little Fish.

【Are you okay, Sugar?!】

The first message was sent when he suddenly ended the live stream the other day.

But at that time, Jiang Min was too preoccupied to reply, and over time, he forgot to respond.

【Sugar, it’s been several days! Why aren’t you replying to my WeChat???】

【Sugar, say something, I’m really worried about you!】

【Sugar, don’t ignore me!】

….

Little Fish had been a loyal online friend who had accompanied him for many days and nights. Jiang Min finally focused his mind and patiently replied.

【I’m fine.】

Little Fish replied almost instantly: 【That’s good! You scared me. I thought you were too devastated!】

【Devastated… well, maybe a little.】

Little Fish fell silent for a while, seemingly considering his words for a long time before finally sending a message:【Sugar, if you’re not happy, do you want to come out for a late-night snack and talk?】

Jiang Min was taken aback.

What did he mean? Was Little Fish planning to ambush him in real life?

1TL: YSIAD “You can support me if you like my translations by leaving a comment below, or by sending me a Ko-fi. Thank you ”