CH 61

Jiang Min received a call from Xiang Mian after returning to the base.

Several months ago, Xiang Mian had resigned from CC and taken a position at another club, HSJ, within the league.

The news of CC’s involvement in match-fixing allegations had been widely circulated on the internet.

This call was just to inquire if Jiang Min had been affected by it.

“Ah Min, when you were there, there was definitely no match-fixing. I was at the club at that time too, and I absolutely wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen,” Xiang Mian said over the phone. “So, if there’s really any match-fixing or other violations, it must have occurred after we left CC. If the league sends someone to investigate, we’ll just cooperate. If we haven’t done anything wrong, there’s no need to worry about trouble.”

Jiang Min: “Hmm…”

Xiang Mian sighed on the other end of the phone. “What a mess this is. It was such a good club. Sigh! …Anyway, Ah Min, both of us have already left, so let’s not think too much about it. You focus on playing. This season is still long.”

After chatting with Xiang Mian for a few more moments, Jiang Min hung up the phone.

After all, it was the club that had guided him into his professional career and where he had spent four years. Jiang Min still couldn’t rest assured about it.

Especially with Jian Ran, who had grown up alongside him, occupying the fifth position.

Jiang Min decided to find out more from Jian Ran.

He dialed Jian Ran’s phone number. After ringing for a while, someone answered the call. It was Jian Ran’s familiar youthful voice, albeit slightly weary.

“Hello? Sugar God?” Jian Ran was pleasantly surprised to receive Jiang Min’s call.

You see, since leaving CC, Jiang Min had never initiated a call to him.

“Um… are you… doing okay?” Jiang Min didn’t explicitly mention what he was referring to because Jian Ran would surely know.

“… ” There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Jiang Min remained calm, waiting for the other person to speak.

After a while, Jian Ran finally said, “Sugar God… can I talk to you? I… I’m feeling a bit lost.”

Jiang Min: “Sure, let’s meet somewhere. I’ll go report to the club.”

Jian Ran: “CC is in chaos right now, so it’s convenient for me to come out. How about I come to your club to find you?”

Jiang Min: “… Okay.”

———-

JW Club, WOC Branch training room.

While others were playing ranked games and streaming to accumulate watch time, Jiang Min sat at his position waiting for Jian Ran’s message.

As for Yu Hao, after coming back from outside and finishing the analysis, he was called to the office by Boss Ji, who surprisingly hadn’t left the base yet.

Hao Qianyi, as usual, was raging while playing ranked games, his voice filling the entire training room.

“Ah! I’m so pissed off! Is this 1st position stupid?”

In the last game, he was happily chatting with his teammates after winning ranked, but in this game, faced with a significant disadvantage, he didn’t hold back.

This fully demonstrated the concept of “winning makes us good friends, losing makes us cursing each other.”

The twin brothers, with their headphones on, ignored the “noise” from Hao Qianyi as they listened to music and streamed games.

The coaching staff and analysts, after finishing the analysis with the players, were still summarizing and analyzing the afternoon match against CC.

In fact, during the season, every ordinary yet extraordinary day for each league team was basically like this.

Play games, analyze, summarize, train.

It’s a cycle.

Being a professional player is not just about playing games, but it’s about the relentless repetition day after day, year after year, even if it gets tedious.

And the goal that everyone strives for with such effort is the highest trophy.

Every professional player enters the circle with the dream of lifting the trophy, but due to personal reasons and environmental trends and corruption, some people inevitably take the wrong path.

Match-fixing is the most scorned behavior among them.

Although not knowing the truth of the matter, Jiang Min selfishly hoped that his former teammates hadn’t gotten involved in dark dealings.

After waiting for a while, Jian Ran sent a message.

【I’m here.】

Jiang Min stood up. “I’m going down to meet a friend, right at the base entrance.”

Fan Da Di, playing games, made an “OK” gesture.

In the days since Jiang Min joined JW, he had observed that this was a well-behaved and rule-abiding good kid, so he felt reassured.

Jiang Min arrived downstairs at JW and saw Jian Ran waiting outside the main entrance.

He was wearing dark clothes, a duckbill hat, and a mask.

There were always many fans lurking outside JW’s entrance, and Jian Ran didn’t want to be harassed.

Jiang Min had already noticed a few fans peering from not far outside the main gate.

He immediately walked over, spoke to the security guard at the entrance, and let Jian Ran in.

“Sugar God… I…” Jian Ran was a bit nervous, visiting the JW base for the first time.

“Come on, let’s go to the lounge and talk.”

There were several comfortable and cozy lounges inside the JW base, used for chatting among players and for discussions with visitors.

Jiang Min led Jian Ran to one of the lounges on the ground floor, closed the door, and poured a glass of water for Jian Ran. Jian Ran sat somewhat awkwardly on the small sofa, not even daring to look directly into Jiang Min’s eyes.

“…” Jiang Min sat across from Jian Ran.

His demeanor was obviously unusual.

Jian Ran was used to seeing him in a lively state, but today, with his absent-minded gaze, he didn’t seem like himself.

“Aran, what do you want to talk to me about?” Jiang Min got straight to the point.

He always spoke straightforwardly when talking to familiar people.

“…” Jian Ran seemed hesitant, as if there was something difficult to say.

He held the water glass in both hands, staring down at the water in the cup.

“Aran?” Jiang Min called out to him.

Jian Ran pursed his lips but still didn’t speak.

“Aran, you came to me to solve a problem. If you don’t speak up, how can I help you find a solution?” Jiang Min said.

Jian Ran lifted his head, meeting Jiang Min’s clear eyes.

This was the “god” he deeply admired, the goal he had been following all along.

He had been holding onto this matter in his heart for a long time. He couldn’t find anyone else to confide in, so he thought of coming to Jiang Min.

So, if he were to confess to the “god,” would he feel a bit better…?

As if making up his mind, Jian Ran straightened up and said, “Sugar God, I want to talk to you about the CC match-fixing.”

Jiang Min listened attentively.

———-

Fourth floor of the JW Club, in the boss’s office.

Ji Xiuyan paced back and forth in the office, making several rounds, causing Yu Hao’s head to spin.

“Alright, Old Ji, if you keep pacing like this, you’ll fall over,” Yu Hao said as he sat on the sofa, crossing his legs and watching his cousin.

Ji Xiuyan, unhappy, retorted, “How many times do I have to say this? At least I’m your cousin, I’m older than you! Stop calling me ‘Old Ji’ all the time, call me ‘Brother’!”

Yu Hao seemed indifferent, saying, “Well, I don’t really give you face in front of others at the club, I call you ‘Brother Yan.’ What I call you in private doesn’t matter.”

Ji Xiuyan, annoyed, said, “You… Forget it, I don’t want to argue with you about this. Quick, help me think of a solution, what should I do now?”

Yu Hao took a sip of water and replied, “What should you do? Just go with the flow.”

Ji Xiuyan, anxious, said, “What do you mean ‘go with the flow’? Just look, Lu Huai keeps coming to my office for no reason, saying he’s interested in me, but he just sits there doing nothing! If I say he’s not interested in me, why does he waste his leisure time coming to my office every day?”

These days, Lu Huai often came to Ji Xiuyan’s office whenever he had free time.

Ji Xiuyan pretended to be busy every time to avoid awkwardness.

So, Lu Huai would sit there reading magazines or playing with his phone while Ji Xiuyan appeared busy with work.

Although Lu Huai was usually busy with training, for some reason, he would sacrifice his precious leisure time to come to Ji Xiuyan’s office and do nothing but sit there.

Ji Xiuyan was going crazy.

He wanted to directly ask Lu Huai what his intentions were, but he was worried that if Lu Huai didn’t have that kind of intention, it would be embarrassing to meet him frequently at the club.

Ji Xiuyan didn’t have an experienced adviser by his side, and the only one who seemed reliable, “Old Fox” in appearance but “paper tiger” in reality, was Yu Hao, the “theoretical master.”

“I wouldn’t know…” Yu Hao shrugged, “I’m not a member of your ‘bottoms’ group, so I don’t really understand your way of thinking. Honestly, if it were me, I would have just talked to Lu Dui directly. Why bother with all this hesitation?”

Ji Xiuyan, unsettled by his words, retorted, “What do you mean ‘bottoms’ group? Do I look like a bottom to you!?”

Yu Hao nodded earnestly, “Yeah, don’t you?”

Ji Xiuyan exploded, “Damn it! I’m tall, handsome, rich, and muscular! How do I look like a bottom!?”

Yu Hao replied casually, “You and Lu Dui look good together.”

Ji Xiuyan couldn’t help but recall Lu Huai’s height, broader shoulders, and that part that seemed bigger even through his pants…

Damn it, he couldn’t think about it anymore!

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable Yu Hao’s words seemed!

Ji Xiuyan countered, “Then how do you know you’re the one ‘on top’ with Sugar God?”

Yu Hao was extremely confident, “Of course I know, my Sugar Sugar…”

Before Yu Hao could finish his sentence, Shen Qi knocked on the door and entered.

“Ah, Captain Yu is here too,” Shen Qi said as he held a report in his hand and smiled, “This is the report for this quarter, General Ji, please take a look.”

Ji Xiuyan immediately resumed his serious expression: “Hmm, just put it on the table. Working overtime until this late, thank you for your hard work.”

Shen Qi waved his hand, “No trouble at all, it’s for the sake of the club. The operational performance this quarter is good. If the youth training gets on track this year, both in terms of talent reserves and player transactions, we should benefit.”

“Hmm,” Ji Xiuyan nodded.

“Oh, by the way, Captain Yu, I just saw Sugar God and CC’s Jian Ran at the entrance. If you see him when you return to the training room, remind him that he should start his livestream. JJ Livestream is urging me about it,” Shen Qi said.

Yu Hao, who was leaning lazily on the sofa, immediately sat up straight when he heard Shen Qi’s words: “What!? CC’s Jian Ran?”

Shen Qi nodded, “Yes, I saw Sugar God seeing him off. Oh, they hugged at the door before parting.”

Yu Hao exploded, “Hugged!? How did they hug!?”

Shen Qi was puzzled, not understanding why Yu Hao reacted so strongly. He gestured casually, “Just… a normal hug.”

Yu Hao stood up, “No, no, you have to demonstrate it again, I need to see how they hugged!”

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Qi, seeing that General Ji didn’t object, boldly pretended the air in front of him was a person and mimicked the hug he saw at the door between the two.

It was just a normal hug between brothers, with a pat on the back.

“There, that’s it,” Shen Qi said as he put his hand down, still confused about the situation.

As Yu Hao thought about it, although the action seemed fine, the fact that Jian Ran came to see Sugar Sugar late at night was abnormal.

No, he had to go check on Sugar Sugar’s situation.

So, General Manager Ji and Manager Shen watched as Captain Yu left the office.

Shen Qi looked at Yu Hao’s departing figure and muttered, “Captain Yu is so impulsive, I hope I didn’t inadvertently say anything wrong, stirring up internal conflicts between Captain Yu and Sugar God? Then I’ll be in big trouble!”

Ji Xiuyan didn’t know what to say.

———-

Jiang Min returned to the training room and as soon as he sat down, Yu Hao walked in briskly.

“Sugar, come out with me for a moment, I need to talk to you,” he said, standing in front of Jiang Min.

Jiang Min was puzzled.

What day is it today? Why does everyone seem to have something to talk to him about?

But if Yu Hao was looking for him, it should be something important, otherwise, he would have just said it in the training room.

So, Jiang Min obediently followed Yu Hao out.

The two arrived at the rooftop of the JW base.

The top floor of JW was a small garden, with a nice environment. The lawn was neatly trimmed, various trees and flowers were shaped, and there was even a small fountain.

However, in the late night, under the dim streetlights, it was difficult to see clearly.

In the rooftop garden, there were several benches for people to rest.

Jiang Min and Yu Hao sat on one of the benches.

It was already March, and it wasn’t too cold outside, so there was no need to worry about catching a cold.

Jiang Min, feeling a bit frustrated after his conversation with Jian Ran, subconsciously reached for his pocket to smoke a cigarette, but then remembered that ever since Yu Hao had given him a lot of lollipops, he hadn’t been carrying cigarettes with him.

He used to always carry them in the training room, but now with plenty of lollipops in stock, Yu Hao would always bring a few during matches and hand them to him during breaks.

Unconsciously, he had gotten used to not having cigarettes in his pocket.

Yu Hao, who had just learned that Jiang Min had met Jian Ran and even hugged him, was initially a bit unhappy, even angry, but seeing Jiang Min pat his pocket with a puzzled look, he sighed.

He took out a lollipop from his own pocket and handed it to Jiang Min. “Sugar, here you go.”

Jiang Min was taken aback.

Yu Hao was always like this, seemingly understanding his needs at any time.

“Thank you,” Jiang Min said as he took the lollipop, tore open the wrapper, and put it in his mouth.

The sweet taste filled his mouth, making his mood a little less heavy.

“Feeling like smoking?” Yu Hao asked.

“Yeah, there are some things bothering me, couldn’t help but want to smoke,” Jiang Min said as he looked ahead at the neon lights not far away.

“Can you tell me about it?” As soon as Yu Hao heard that Jiang Min was troubled, he immediately put aside the matter of Jian Ran and the hug.

“Sigh…” Jiang Min turned to look at Yu Hao and found him staring at him with concern.

Actually, it was something irrelevant to him, and it would be exposed sooner or later. It just affected his mood a lot.

And it wasn’t appropriate to hide it from Yu Hao since he had been so good to him.

So, Jiang Min told Yu Hao everything about his conversation with Jian Ran.

It turned out that the match-fixing scandal involving CC was true.

Moreover, all five members of CC were involved.

The source of this originated from the boss, Lin Hong.

In the past, when he directed players to throw matches, he would usually approach players from the second-tier league because the attention on the second-tier league was not as high, and match-fixing wouldn’t be easily detected as long as the acting wasn’t too obvious.

However, recently, for some unknown reason, Lin Hong seemed to be in need of money.

In the end, he decided to take a risk and extended his reach to the first-tier league.

Lin Hong privately gathered the members of CC’s team and promised to share the profits from match-fixing among them.

Some players were tempted by the money, while others felt pressured by the boss and had to comply with Lin Hong’s match-fixing arrangements.

Their contracts were held by CC, and if the club’s boss wanted to trap them, there were a hundred ways to do so.

If they didn’t want to fix matches, the only way to break free from the control of CC’s boss was to retire.

But unless they were so bad that they couldn’t stand themselves, who would be willing to retire?

Lin Hong assured them, “If you act convincingly, as long as we don’t expose ourselves, we definitely won’t be caught!”

Under pressure from the boss, Jian Ran was also forced to participate in fixing matches.

It was during this season that CC lost to JW, the only loss they suffered.

They were upset by a team that finished second to last in the previous season.

They thought that some time had passed and the matter had been put to rest.

However, suddenly someone leaked the information.

Jian Ran didn’t know who the whistleblower was, but it was said that there were many dissatisfied people within CC towards Lin Hong. Perhaps someone couldn’t stand it anymore, accidentally found out about the match-fixing, and decided to expose it.

Although doing so not only trapped Lin Hong but also harmed the players, match-fixing itself was against professional ethics. Since the players made such choices, they had to take responsibility for their actions.

This time, Jian Ran came to find Jiang Min while the league’s investigation hadn’t delved deep yet, to confess and discuss with him.

After listening, Yu Hao remained silent for a while before saying, “Even though they were forced, match-fixing is match-fixing. Whether it’s Jian Ran or anyone else, they can’t whitewash their actions or escape punishment.”

Jiang Min nodded slightly, “I understand. So my advice to Jian Ran is if he can voluntarily report to the league, maybe the league will give him a lighter punishment.”

Yu Hao patted Jiang Min’s shoulder, “Well, this is what you can do for now, Sugar. Don’t think too much about it. It’s their own choices.”

Jiang Min sighed, “I know, I know it’s not related to me. I’ve already left CC… but I spent four years at CC, watching the club turn into this… sigh…”

Yu Hao leaned against Jiang Min and put his arm around him, “Think positively, Sugar. Maybe this is a good turning point. With Lin Hong causing this incident, other shareholders of CC won’t let him continue as the boss. With a change in leadership, the club should develop better in the future.”

Jiang Min twirled the stick of his lollipop in his mouth, “Hmm… you’re right.”

Yu Hao’s hand wrapped around Jiang Min’s arm as he rubbed it up and down, “Alright, stop feeling down, Sugar. Let’s go back to the training room. I’ll accompany you in ranked games. I heard Xiao Suo wants to climb to the top of the national server with a shortcut lately. We have to stop him!”

Jiang Min couldn’t help but smile when he heard this, “So why is everyone so devoted to sniping Lock? He’s quite pitiful…”

Yu Hao replied, “It’s fun, come on.”

Jiang Min stood up with Yu Hao.

Indeed, the matter with CC had nothing to do with him. He couldn’t control it, nor did he have the ability to control it. Ultimately, it was someone else’s choices that led to today’s consequences, and it was up to them to take responsibility.

Feeling melancholic about it wouldn’t help. He might as well spend that time playing more ranked games to practice.

The season was still long, and they still had a long way to go to the championship.

———-

In the remaining six matches, JW won 4 more consecutive matches. Now, with 11 regular-season matches completed, only matches against AFK and OVO, the last season’s domestic champions and runners-up, were left.

Both of these teams were tough nuts to crack. AFK leaned towards strategy, while OVO leaned towards brawling. With different styles, JW needed to formulate different strategies to deal with them.

Regardless of the results of the last two regular-season matches in the spring season, JW had achieved a nine-game winning streak, marking the best performance of the team in the spring season.

During the active preparations, the league’s investigation into CC’s affairs concluded.

The league confirmed the existence of match-fixing in CC and imposed penalties.

In addition to fines, four players, excluding Jian Ran, were given lifetime bans.

Due to his whistleblowing, as predicted by Jiang Min, Jian Ran received a reduced punishment from the league.

A two-year ban.

Although a two-year ban was not much different from a lifetime ban, players involved in match-fixing would find it hard to be accepted by clubs even if they were to return, unless they were exceptionally talented.

But at least it gave Jian Ran a glimmer of hope.

Hope to return to the field at some point in the future.

Jian Ran was still young, and his future path would depend on him alone.

After the league’s announcement of the penalties, the internet exploded with discussions.

【Lifetime ban? Damn! That’s heavy!】

【Does the person above not know how serious match-fixing is? In my opinion, they should be banned for life! Players like this don’t deserve to play professionally!】

【Did no one notice that only Jian Ran got a two-year ban, while the rest got a lifetime ban? Is there any special reason for this?】

【Who cares, from today onwards, I’m a hater of CC! Death to match-fixing!】

【No, why only punish the players? Just fining the club is enough? I don’t believe the club management wasn’t involved.】

【Young! Naive! You know nothing about the power of capital. Punishing the management, what good would that do? Rich people will still thrive.】

【If CC is in trouble, I suggest investigating past matches. Not to be a troublemaker, but is Sugar God exempt from suspicion?】

When the old home is on fire, Jiang Min seems unable to escape being implicated.

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 ️”