CH 21

Ji Xiu Yan felt muddled and absentminded, with the taste of the food in his mouth resembling wax.

His mind was full of thoughts about the person sitting beside him, Lu Huai.

Lu Huai, a famous legend in the Fortune gaming community, had led JW’s Fortune division to victory in numerous championships. He was a top-tier professional player in terms of popularity and skill. Moreover, he was quite handsome.

Among the members of JW, everyone had their unique characteristics, and because of this, JW was the club that attracted the most female fans in the entire Z-country esports league. There were even rumors that JW was a club that valued appearance when recruiting members.

Mr. Ji remained silent, and since he wasn’t very familiar with Lu Huai, he engaged in conversations with the other players about their training.

Yu Hao, of course, wanted to join in. “Lu Team, it’s the off-season. When can we play games together?” Yu Hao asked.

During the off-season, as long as they completed their daily training tasks, they were free to do whatever they wanted in their spare time, as long as it wasn’t illegal.

Therefore, many professional players chose to relax by playing other games during this time, as it was also a fan reward when they streamed. Normally, players would only stream the games they played for their respective teams, so fans could get tired of watching the same game.

Playing various single-player games and having inter-club gaming sessions were the most popular activities during the break. The fun part was that someone who excelled in first-person shooter games might perform terribly in MOBA games, and vice versa. This made for great entertainment.

JW’s WOC division had often played other games with members from other divisions during the off-season.

“Sure,” Lu Huai agreed readily.

Yu Hao continued, “I heard our brother Yan also plays ‘Fortune,’ right?”

Suddenly, Ji Xiuyan, who was caught off guard, trembled slightly and awkwardly chuckled, “Uh, yes, but I’m not very good at it…”

He was being modest. After all, he had been a high-ranked player back in the day, and although he played less now, he still had the skills.

“Oh? Really? I’ve never heard Mr. Ji mention it before,” Lu Huai, who was a bit older than Ji Xiuyan and often referred to him as “Mr. Ji,” said.

“Well, I don’t play much these days, so…” Ji Xiuyan spoke nervously in front of Lu Huai.

“It’s okay; it’s only right to play with the boss! Let’s plan a game together one day, the few of us,” Yu Hao interjected to ease Ji Xiuyan’s discomfort.

“Sure, no problem,” Lu Huai agreed.

Ji Xiuyan’s mind buzzed. In order to avoid recalling painful memories, he was using a different in-game ID in Fortune now, not the one he used to duo with Lu Huai. If they played together, would Lu Huai remember?

After dinner, Ji Xiuyan left the club to go home and rest, while the other team members who lived in the JW base returned to their training rooms.

———-

During the off-season, as long as they completed their daily training tasks, they had free time to do as they pleased.

For the JW WOC division players, the time after dinner was their free time.

The gaming enthusiasts instinctively returned to their computers in the training rooms.

Apart from playing games and watching streams, they couldn’t think of any other forms of entertainment. They also owed the platform quite a bit of streaming time, so they took advantage of the evening to go live and make up for it.

Among them, Yu Hao was the most carefree. He went live whenever he felt like it, and with the privileges Ji Xiuyan provided, he didn’t need to worry about completing his streaming hours.

Since the team had an overall streaming contract with the platform, the specific streaming hours weren’t allocated to each individual.

Because of this, the other three “commoners” of JW had to help Yu Hao cover the extra streaming hours.

The other three JW members, who felt exploited but didn’t dare to speak out, couldn’t do much because Yu Hao was the team captain and a powerful figure. They couldn’t resist his decisions.

Hao Qianyi stretched his neck left and right, then activated his camera and started streaming.

【”Oooh~ Little mouse, mommy’s here~~”】

【”Today’s mouse is so cute!”】

【”Come here, let mommy pat your head~”】

Each JW member had their own unique style of streaming.

“Golden and Silver Steamed Buns,” the brother duo who often sat together and had various petty squabbles, displayed their interactions in both of their streams, and their viewers often called them the “Two Stations.” Their fans enjoyed teasing them for their childish bickering.

Hao Qianyi, despite his cute appearance, had a hot-tempered personality, and his stream was full of “mommy” figures who complimented his cuteness and soothed his emotions. Whether there were more female or male “mommy” figures was a separate matter.

As for Yu Hao, he maintained a serious image as the team captain in public, and he was one of the most attractive players in the league, both in terms of looks and skills. His streams always attracted intense attention.

At this moment, when Hao Qianyi went live, his stream quickly filled with “mommy” fans.

【”It’s the off-season~ What game will the mouse play today?”】

“I don’t know, what do you want to see? I don’t have any ideas,” Hao Qianyi replied, scrolling through the streaming platform in boredom.

JW’s streaming contract was with JJ Live, which had several popular female streamers and many top-tier gamers who followed a humorous and entertaining style of content.

Jiang Min had previously signed a streaming contract with another platform during his time at CC, but now that he had left the team, he didn’t have to worry about that contract anymore.

Anyway, the contract is with the team, not with individuals.

However, the platform might not be too pleased about it, especially since Jiang Min is quite popular and can attract a lot of viewers. But even if they are unhappy, they can’t breach the contract with CC’s team. They can always choose not to renew the contract after it ends.

After Jiang Min joined JW, Manager Shen Qi had asked him to keep his transfer confidential, so he wouldn’t be streaming for the time being. Jiang Min didn’t mind the break and spent his time in the training room with headphones, watching movies and such.

“Sweetie, here,” Yu Hao’s seat was right next to Jiang Min’s, and he handed Jiang Min a lollipop.

“Huh?” Jiang Min was puzzled at first, but then his eyes lit up, and he said weakly, “I don’t really like sweets…”

Despite saying that, his hand reached out honestly.

“It’s a dessert after a meal,” Yu Hao said. “You should consider quitting smoking gradually. It’s not good for your health. When you feel like smoking, you can have a lollipop to help curb the craving.”

Jiang Min stared at the various flavors of lollipops.

Yu Hao continued, “I read online that this might work. Why don’t you give it a try?”

Jiang Min placed the lollipop on the table and nodded, “Hmm…”

Indeed, smoking wasn’t a healthy habit, and he agreed with Yu Hao’s advice. He would try to quit gradually.

Wait a minute, how did Yu Hao know that he smoked? He hadn’t smoked since joining JW, so why did Yu Hao mention it?

Jiang Min was baffled.

On the other side, Hao Qianyi was nervously clicking on the recently installed game icon on his screen.

Due to strong requests from his viewers, tonight’s live stream project was a recently popular horror game called “Ghost Slayer.” It had received high ratings on various websites due to its excellent atmosphere, jump scares, and intricate storyline.

Although Hao Qianyi often portrayed himself as the “Little Devil King” and acted as if he wasn’t afraid of anything, he was actually quite timid, especially when it came to ghosts and spirits.

But he didn’t want his viewers to see his fear; his image was important.

So, he mustered the courage to purchase this single-player game and installed it on his computer.

“Um, cough! Well, let’s get started then!” Hao Qianyi coughed a few times to boost his confidence, then clicked the “Start” option on the eerie game’s main menu.

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 ”