CH 16

Ji Xiu Yan was so startled in his office that he almost sat down on the floor.

He knew that his cousin often had a wild side, but it couldn’t have gone so far as to make a move on the new teammate on his very first day, right?

【”What the hell, don’t mess around! I just bought the mid-laner, and if you mess things up before he even plays a single game, how am I going to make up for the losses? I’ll be in big trouble!”】

Although acquiring Jiang Min was strongly demanded by Yu Hao, and to a great extent, Ji Xiuyan had spent a fortune on the new mid-laner to fulfill his cousin’s wishes, as the owner of the team, he still hoped that JW would achieve good results. Otherwise, he would have lost a huge amount of money!

【”Where’s your mind wandering? What do you mean by ‘messing things up’?”】

【”Do you dare to say you didn’t have that in mind???”】 Ji Xiu Yan knew his cousin’s sneaky intentions very well.

【”I might have thought about it, but the time hasn’t come yet. Am I the kind of person to rush things?”】

【”… Kind of.”】

【”Shut up. My interaction with my Sugar is truly just lying in bed together.”】

Perhaps Ji Xiu Yan was the only team owner in the entire league who was berated by his own player in such a fierce manner.

Ji Xiu Yan felt extremely wronged.

He wondered which other team owner was suffering like him, being bossed around by their players.

【”If you have something to discuss, let’s talk about it in the afternoon. For now, I’ll rest with my Sugar.”】

Yu Hao sent this message and then ignored Ji Xiuyan.

Ji Xiu Yan felt like howling to the sky: Who’s the actual owner of JW here? Is there no sense of authority left?

——

Jiang Min woke up in a daze, reaching around on the bed for a moment before finding his phone. Checking the time, he saw that it was still before 12 o’clock.

He had only slept for a short while, but it felt like much longer.

After taking some medicine and resting, he was feeling a bit better.

Staring at the phone screen for a moment, Jiang Min then realized there was someone else lying on his bed.

“Sugar, are you awake?” Yu Hao and Jiang Min were sharing a bed for the first time, and Yu Hao was excited. Naturally, he hadn’t been able to fall asleep.

He propped up his head with his arm, lying on his side as he looked at Jiang Min. “Feeling better?”

Jiang Min’s mind was still a bit foggy, and he nodded blankly.

This was his first time sharing a bed with someone else, and for a moment, he didn’t react.

Although it had been his idea in the first place.

Yu Hao casually touched Jiang Min’s forehead with his hand. “The fever’s gone, it seems.”

“Yeah, the fever’s gone,” Jiang Min replied, finally feeling some relief.

“It’s almost time for lunch. Do you want to go to the cafeteria or should I bring the food up for you?” Yu Hao sat up, enjoying Jiang Min’s presence, but he quickly composed himself. It was still early, no need to rush.

“Let’s go to the cafeteria,” Jiang Min also sat up, brushing aside the strands of hair that covered his forehead.

These casual movements left Yu Hao stunned.

He had always thought Jiang Min was good-looking, but seeing him up close was even more captivating.

Especially when he had just woken up – it was truly irresistible!

Yu Hao was really tempted to “indulge in sugar.”

“Cough, cough.” Yu Hao cleared his throat a few times. “Shall I accompany you down?”

He quickly got out of bed, concerned that staying too close to Jiang Min might elicit some kind of reaction.

“Sure,” Jiang Min was completely oblivious to the situation.

He grabbed a random piece of clothing and followed Yu Hao out of the room.

As they stepped out, they bumped into the silver-haired twin brothers who were about to knock on Jiang Min’s door.

Wei Yafeng and Wei Yabo had different shades of hair this season – one had dyed it silver and the other had gone for a golden hue. Coupled with their fair skin, fans affectionately dubbed them the “Golden and Silver Bun” duo.

Right now, the “Golden and Silver Bun” duo was struck dumb when they saw Yu Hao and Jiang Min emerging from their room.

“Why are you two standing here?” Yu Hao surveyed the twins who were blocking the doorway.

“We’re here to invite Sugar to have lunch with us at the cafeteria!” Wei Yafeng, the “Golden Bun,” jumped out, loudly stating their purpose. “But Captain, why were you alone in Sugar’s room?”

Wei Yafeng and Wei Yabo were the same age as Jiang Min but a bit older than Yu Hao.

However, because Yu Hao was the captain, out of respect, they referred to him as Captain.

If it wasn’t for Yu Hao’s invitation, they wouldn’t have embarked on the path of professional gaming.

The “Golden and Silver Bun” duo was discovered by Yu Hao in high-level matches, taking a completely different route from the traditional path of young players training through youth systems and joining professional leagues.

Hence, their debut was relatively later compared to those players who had undergone systematic training and received formal education.

Yet, with exceptional talent and coordination, they were not at a disadvantage even when facing opponents who had much more training experience.

Wei Yabo sent a signal to his younger brother, Wei Yafeng. Sharp as he was, he seemed to sense something unusual.

There was definitely something between Captain and Sugar!

However, Wei Yafeng seemed oblivious to his elder brother’s intentions and continued merrily, “Ah, Captain, you’re so mean. How could you be alone with Sugar in his room? I also want to get closer to Sugar!”

With that, he hooked his arm around Jiang Min’s neck. “Let’s go, Sugar. I’ll take you to our cafeteria. The food cooked by our cafeteria aunt is so delicious!”

He didn’t notice the dark aura radiating from Yu Hao beside them.

Wei Yabo observed his silly younger brother, then looked at the brooding captain. In an instant, he understood what was going on.

To save his foolish younger brother’s life, he better step in quickly.

Although their captain appeared quite easygoing, when he lost his temper, he was truly terrifying.

“Ah feng, let’s go and secure a spot. If we’re late, others from different departments will occupy the cafeteria.” Wei Yabo came up with a rather lame excuse.

JW was well-off, and their cafeteria was unnecessarily spacious and extravagant. The entire club had only a few dozen members in total, and they could lie down and eat in the cafeteria without any issue.

“Huh?” Wei Yafeng, whose elder brother grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him away from Jiang Min, looked bewildered. He was dragged off with a puzzled expression.

The chilly atmosphere surrounding Yu Hao finally dissipated.

Jiang Min tilted his head.

Was the JW cafeteria very crowded? He’d have to make sure to go on time from now on, or he might not get any food.

Thanks to Wei Yabo’s misinformation, Jiang Min had formed an incorrect first impression of the JW cafeteria.

———-

Jiang Min held his chopsticks, gazing at the unusually abundant food on his plate and the extravagant and spacious JW cafeteria. He was a bit dazed.

Why did an esports club have such a spacious cafeteria? Also, did they really need to secure a spot?

Jiang Min looked around. People were scattered sparsely throughout the cafeteria, and there seemed to be no worry about a lack of seating.

Seated next to him was Yu Hao, and across from him were the “Golden and Silver Bun” brothers.

The JW WOC branch was only missing their 3rd position player, Hao Qianyi.

“By the way, where’s Haozi?” As the captain, Yu Hao naturally showed concern for his teammates.

“He’s in the training room.” Wei Yafeng shoved a large piece of meat into his mouth, speaking unclearly. “He said it’s a life-or-death match and not to disturb him.”

“He treats every game as a life-or-death match,” Wei Yabo retorted.

“However immersed you are in training, you still need to eat. Next mealtime, just unplug his computer,” Yu Hao said.

“Captain, is that a good idea? It’s not good for the computer to do that,” Wei Yabo lamented for the high-end computer at the base.

“It’s fine. JW has plenty of money. If it breaks, we’ll just get a new one,” Yu Hao replied.

Alright, the club is well-off, and extravagance and waste are our traditional virtues!

The “Golden and Silver Bun” duo nodded in agreement.

“Oh, by the way, Sugar, we haven’t formally welcomed you yet.” Wei Yabo raised his drink. “Let’s toast to your arrival! Welcome Sugar to our team!”

This time, Wei Yafeng didn’t argue with his brother and lifted his glass in coordination. “Welcome, Sugar.”

Yu Hao raised his glass without saying a word.

“Thank you,” Jiang Min calmly clinked his glass with theirs.

After the retirement of the previous 2nd position player, Xiao Nan, Jiang Min joined the newly formed JW team. No one could guarantee what kind of results they would achieve in the future.

But everyone at JW hoped that they would become the best lineup.

———-

Since Jiang Min joined JW, three days had passed.

As it was approaching the holidays, some clubs had already taken a break, so they couldn’t arrange practice matches these days.

Jiang Min was taking turns duo-queuing with his teammates to get familiar with each other’s rhythm.

Of course, among them, the person Jiang Min duo-queued with the longest was Yu Hao.

From now on, Yu Hao didn’t need to use the identity of “Little Fish” to approach Jiang Min. He was Sugar’s legitimate teammate and could openly duo-queue with him.

As for Jiang Min, he used a different account for ranked games, an account he didn’t want to be recognized with. This account had a similar ranking to the one he used for streaming and training in CC, placing him in the top 100 in the arena.

However, no one knew that this account was his alias, and he never added anyone using this account.

Jiang Min was inherently someone who enjoyed solitude. When the night was quiet, he liked playing ranked games alone.

The 2nd position mid-laner was a crucial role in the team, testing individual mechanical skill and experience.

Even though the current version’s mid-lane wasn’t as prominent, Jiang Min firmly believed in his role.

A team’s mid-laner determined the lower limit of the team’s performance, while the 3rd, 4th, and 5th positions determined the upper limit.

To avoid becoming the team’s weakest link, he often honed his skills when the other teammates were resting.

How to fulfill the responsibilities of a mid-laner without heavily relying on team resources was something he could only refine during solo-queue matches.

He was undoubtedly a talented player, but exceptional plays on the competitive stage were not purely due to talent. They were the result of relentless practice that treated one day as two.

Genius combined with effort, only then would it be worthy of the highest glory.

This was Jiang Min’s creed and his lifelong goal.

At first, Yu Hao was surprised to find out that Jiang Min had another account he didn’t know about.

After all, he had added both Jiang Min’s main and alt accounts.

He never expected the other party to have such a high-scoring alt account.

He initially wanted to investigate whether Jiang Min used this account secretly for duo-queuing with others. However, when he saw the empty friend list, except for a few JW members, he sighed in relief.

Thank goodness it wasn’t a smurf account for building fish ponds.

Yu Hao and Jiang Min began their next game in duo-queue.

As they entered the champion selection phase, Yu Hao instantly recognized the IDs of the enemy’s 1st position and 4th position.

It was Ice, the 1st position player from the OVO team, and Jade God, the 4th position player.

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 ”