CH 26

“…Huh?” JW’s team members turned around, wearing puzzled expressions.

Jiang Min was also very perplexed.

What’s this about dropping the horse? They hadn’t done anything, right?

It was only now that Jiang Min remembered the message he had sent to Shu Lou.

But Shu Lou wasn’t someone who usually blurted things out, right?

It wasn’t until Ah Xin, the official Weibo admin, tearfully narrated the accidental leak of information by the AFK team in JW’s WeChat group that the team members collectively made expressions of “so that’s what happened,” without any concern.

They hadn’t cared about the “Holding Back Competition” from the beginning, and now that it was out in the open, it was even better. They didn’t need to hide anymore.

In the future, whether in duo queue or during live broadcasts, they wouldn’t need to be on edge, tiptoeing around, fearing leaks.

Jiang Min felt somewhat guilty. “Hmm… if I had known, I wouldn’t have told Brother Lou.”

When Shu Lou received the message, all of JW’s team members were present, and he had only given an affirmative response to the situation because no one else minded.

“It’s okay, Sugar Sugar! You don’t need to worry about Brother Qi’s strange hobbies. It’s really nothing!” Yu Hao immediately draped his arm around Jiang Min’s shoulder.

“Is that so…” After all, Shen Qi was the club manager, and Jiang Min indirectly caused the “Holding Back Competition” club to become a laughingstock due to his actions, so he still felt guilty.

“That’s right, it’s better that it’s out. I’ve been holding it in these past few days!” Hao Qianyi chimed in from the side. “My batchmates have been asking about our new mid laner, the ‘aloof weirdo,’ and I couldn’t say anything. It’s been frustrating!”

Hao Qianyi came from the AFK team’s youth training squad and was recruited to JW by Yu Hao. Several of his fellow youth squad members were making a name for themselves in the WPL league and signing with top-tier league teams.

This showed that AFK, as a traditional powerhouse, was doing quite well in terms of talent development. However, they constantly lost their talents as they were poached by other teams.

Although AFK had made a lot of money through player trades, they still wanted to retain some fresh blood for themselves.

Regarding this, AFK’s club owner didn’t want to comment. He just wanted to light a cigarette and relax.

“Calling him an ‘aloof weirdo’…” Jiang Min felt awkward; the nickname sounded quite uncomfortable.

But Yu Hao firmly believed, “I think ‘aloof weirdo’ is a good nickname. Sugar Sugar, if you continue to maintain your aloof style, that’s how you’ll uphold your image!”

Inside, Jiang Min was going crazy: Wait a minute, how did ‘aloof weirdo’ become my image?

Outwardly, Jiang Min remained calm and nonchalant. “I just think it sounds a bit strange…”

Yu Hao’s plan was already in full swing, aiming to ensure that Jiang Min didn’t behave like he did during his online broadcasts, where he let loose. Instead, he wanted him to maintain a “keep your distance from strangers” demeanor both offline and online. That way, no new fish would enter his “pond.”

As for the fish currently in the pond, they had to be discouraged from staying.

Yu Hao had long since started planning the “Fish Annihilation Plan” with a smile on his face but a sinister scheme in his heart.

In Jiang Min’s fishpond, having him as one fish was more than enough.

—–

The winners’ reward for JJ Live’s special friendship match was a traffic support plan for each person.

For streamers, this was a significant boon, but for professional players like Jiang Min, it was of no use. Their primary job was to compete in professional matches, and streaming was just a side gig.

To a large extent, they were forced to do streaming by the club. After a day of training, who wouldn’t want to lie in bed, play with their phones, or relax by playing other games?

Many players felt that doing live broadcasts had too many restrictions and required them to consider the audience’s feelings, which was really troublesome.

Wan Guo, on the other hand, was quite satisfied with such rewards. Even though he was already a top platform streamer, more traffic was always welcome.

“Thanks, Sugar God! It’s all thanks to your outstanding performance today!” Since his identity as JW’s mid-laner had already been exposed, Wan Guo didn’t hold back.

Jiang Min replied with a period.

“Sugar God, since our identities are out in the open, there’s no need to hide anymore. Why not join the voice chat and celebrate the victory with everyone?” In fact, Wan Guo had received instructions from JJ, encouraging Jiang Min to speak up.

After the news of Jiang Min’s participation in JW was leaked during the live stream from AFK’s mid-laner Flow’s channel, fans who knew that Jiang Min was playing for Wan Guo’s team in tonight’s JJ live event started flooding in.

Platform traffic reached a new high, and the JJ operations team was ecstatic.

Now was the time to capitalize on this momentum, with Sugar God and his temporary event teammates engaging in interactions, talking more, and satisfying the fans who had been waiting endlessly for messages. This would undoubtedly lead to a new wave of traffic explosion, making tonight’s event a complete success.

A substantial profit indeed!

Other participants in the event also realized that JW.L was Jiang Min, and they all sent “kowtow” expressions in the room’s public chat.

Especially Flow, who not only used WOC’s “kowtow” expression but also added a message: “Sugar God, you’re making me feel so good!”

Sugar God was known for rarely showing up and hardly ever interacting with people outside of his fishpond. He seldom spoke.

Today was a rare opportunity to approach Sugar God!

Everyone was waiting for Jiang Min to join the voice chat and have a friendly conversation with them, hoping to become friends.

Wan Guo even fantasized that once he became friends with Sugar God, he would surely dominate in ranked games, and his chat wouldn’t mock him for being bad anymore.

However, Jiang Min had no intention of joining the voice chat.

Originally, the manager had said that it was okay not to talk, so Jiang Min politely typed a farewell message to everyone.

The system sound “Dong—” played.

After typing the message, Jiang Min went offline directly.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

The JJ operations team was also dumbfounded.

Wait, after winning the match, weren’t they supposed to chat and have some fun?

Why did Sugar God break the pattern?

But after some thought, everyone realized that Sugar God’s sudden exit was probably because JW.L’s identity had been exposed before an official announcement. The club was most likely in chaos, so it was understandable that Sugar God went offline.

In the world of esports, skill spoke volumes. As a top mid-laner in the WPL, Jiang Min’s fan base was exceptionally loyal.

However, what no one expected was that Jiang Min went offline not because JW’s club was in turmoil, but because AFK was in trouble.

AFK’s fifth player, Ring, who had become Jiang Min’s WeChat friend through Shu Lou, had pitifully informed him that their team had been mourning in a corner for a long time, feeling guilty about what happened to Jiang Min.

No matter how they tried to cheer up their captain, they couldn’t lift his spirits. AFK’s players were at a loss, so they turned to Shu Lou, who cared about Jiang Min, for help.

So, Jiang Min had no choice but to exit the game and call Shu Lou to comfort him.

He went to the balcony to make the call, right under Yu Hao’s watchful gaze, who didn’t say anything but made a mental note.

Today’s lesson from Little Fish: Acting a bit pitiful in front of Sugar Sugar can earn you his comfort. Note: Shu Lou’s threat level has increased; be cautious.

—–

The next day.

JW’s “Holding Back Competition” plan had fallen through, so they had to announce the team’s roster at the beginning of the transfer period.

Now, Jiang Min’s transfer to JW was officially announced.

The Weibo platform was buzzing with activity.

There were fans who were late to the news, those who criticized JW for deliberately hiding the information, and those who congratulated Jiang Min, among various other reactions.

WPL clubs were also stirred up by this high-profile transfer news.

It was rumored that OVO’s King God found out about the news, chased after their manager from the top floor to the bottom of the base, and even ran around the base three times.

The transfer period had just begun, and various clubs were actively reshuffling their team rosters.

In fact, many clubs had been eyeing Jiang Min for a while, waiting for his contract with CC to expire in the next transfer period before making their move.

But they never expected that JW, with deep pockets, would directly buy him out, including paying the contract termination fee.

The clubs were lamenting, “JW, just because you have money doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want! You took away the golden goose we’ve been eyeing for a long time!”

JW’s club owner, Boss Ji, sat in his luxurious office, legs crossed, and said, “I’m sorry, but having money does allow you to do as you please.”

As for the “Holding Back Competition,” Shen Qi had been feeling down for several days after the loss, even more so than when they were eliminated in the group stage of the World Championship.

Jiang Min felt a bit awkward and wanted to apologize to Shen Qi.

However, when he arrived at the manager’s office, Shen Qi was so excited that he was jumping around like a child, which startled Jiang Min.

“Sugar God! We just renewed our contract with JJ Live!” Shen Qi was full of excitement. “Because of your addition, when we renewed with JJ, they voluntarily increased the offer!”

Shen Qi was practically bouncing up and down, saying, “You know, JJ Live is usually really stingy and never offers a cent more, but this time, they voluntarily increased the contract! It’s unbelievable! Thanks to you, Sugar God, the team has another substantial source of income. Boss Ji will definitely praise me!”

“Um, congratulations…” Jiang Min didn’t know what to say.

It seemed like Shen Qi had completely forgotten about the “Holding Back Competition.”

“However, Sugar God, I have a small request for you~” Shen Qi clasped his hands together and blinked his eyes, trying to widen his narrow eyes as much as possible.

Jiang Min shivered. Was Manager Shen trying to act cute in front of him?

“Please, go ahead.”

“It’s just… um… JJ Live hopes that you can do more live broadcasts. So, could you please do more live streams while ensuring your training schedule?” Shen Qi continued to blink his eyes.

Jiang Min’s mouth twitched slightly. “Manager, if you keep blinking like that, your eyelids are going to get damaged…”

“Alright…”

And just like that, the “holding one’s breath competition” matter was considered closed.

—

Before the holiday break, JW had an important business task to complete, as per the boss’s instructions: team-building.

According to the boss’s requirements, not only the members of various gaming divisions but also JW staff, including the boss himself, were supposed to participate.

With dozens of people in total, the operations department was scratching their heads to plan this team-building event. Even the cleaning lady who cleaned the floor of the operations department remarked that she had been finding more and more hair on the floor recently.

The result of the “bald” plan by the operations staff was that everyone would go on a vacation to an island!

Going to a warm beach during the winter was just perfect! They could also celebrate Christmas while they were at it!

The operations department staff were adamant that they weren’t trying to get a free trip. They eloquently stated in their proposal that going to the island would offer various exciting activities to explore different aspects of the players, gather plenty of material for creating videos, and enhance team bonding through various planned games in different locations.

When Boss Ji saw this proposal, he imagined scenes of himself and his “white cabbage” playing together.

He slammed his hand on the table and decided, “That’s it!”

Author’s Note: Tomorrow, there will be a bonus chapter~

Today’s update will be a bit earlier, and tomorrow’s update will be a bit later~ If possible, there will be a double update tomorrow evening~

Once again, thank you all for your support! Bowing~

Umm… I’m not feeling great today, and there’s no special performance I can put on for you all, so I’ll just pretend that the “Luo God” possessed me and drew circles in the corner…

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 ”