“Don’t think you’ve grown wings just because you went to The X! What kind of place is The X? A long established powerhouse, a world champion team! Even if their results haven’t been great these past two years, they still have all that foundation behind them. You really think a team like that would take a liking to you?
“Your contract isn’t even over yet you’re already in such a hurry to find yourself another home! Do you have any idea that this is a violation of your contract? If I wanted to sue you, all it would take is the movement of a finger and I could ruin your reputation completely! You’ll never be able to pay off the penalty for breach of contract in your entire lifetime!
“Get out!” “You still want to play professionally? Keep dreaming! Believe it or not, I can make sure you never set foot on a competitive stage again! You can spend the rest of your life sitting backstage, staring at your water dispenser!
So this was what finally broke him?
………
Let them curse you, humiliate you mercilessly………………
But Sun Sheng’s distorted features were simply too ugly to look at and Yi Xingran had never been the type to endure that sort of thing. Coach Fan, who had heard the commotion, strode over and quickly separated the two. Frowning, he sternly reprimanded him, “Xingran! Don’t act out of spite!
“There’s a reason we replaced you in the starting lineup! If you keep making a scene like this, it won’t do you or the team any good!”
With someone backing him up, Sun Sheng immediately flipped up his collar with a sharp swish. Wang Tianhao, the team’s AD, also eagerly came over to join in the fun.
He had disliked that pink haired brat for a long time and whenever he got the chance, he wanted to teach him a lesson.
“I’ve seen people poach players from other teams but this is the first time I’ve seen someone rush over to another team begging them to buy him! Where do you get that kind of nerve?”
Yi Xingran bit down on the cigarette between his lips. Blue violet smoke shrouded the features between his provocatively raised brows, leaving his face hazy and dreamlike. “You’re this jealous because you’re dying to go there yourself, aren’t you? Too bad no one would want you even if you went crawling over there?”
“Fuck! You think you could get signed if you went? The only thing worth anything on your entire body is that face of yours! Are you planning to use that to negotiate?”
Wang Tianhao had always been arrogant, relying on his high market value to throw his weight around on the team. At those words, he pointed at Yi Xingran with an air of superiority, even showing signs that he was about to get physical.
Coach Fan stepped between them and blocked him. “Watch your mouth and say a little less!”
Wang Tianhao, however, had absolutely no filter. “When Captain Sheng was here, he went out of his way to take care of you! And now that you’ve gone to TheX, do you really expect that supposedly upright and righteous Captain Sheng to pull strings for you again just because of that face of yours?”
He even walked right up to Yi Xingran and laughed mockingly in his face. “So tell me, is it pulling strings through the back door, or are you going to use your- ouch!”
What a free gift.
Yi Xingran hated it most when people brought up his face. In one swift motion, he grabbed Wang Tianhao by the arm and threw him straight over his shoulder. The cigarette clenched between his teeth never even fell. He dropped one knee onto Wang Tianhao’s chest yet still had enough composure to free one hand and tap the ash from his cigarette.
“Look at you, practically dying of anxiety just because I went to TheX. All that screaming, screaming, screaming. Did your parents forget to burn paper offerings for you when they went to sweep your grave during the Qingming Festival a few days ago?”
“Xingran!”
Yi Xingran casually took the cigarette between his fingers and ran a hand through his hair, then looked down at Wang Tianhao with a sidelong glance. “You can’t curse properly, you can’t fight properly and you can’t even win your matches. If I were you, I’d find a crack in the ground and crawl into it right now. At least then you wouldn’t have to keep making a fool of yourself every single day!”
Wang Tianhao’s features twisted grotesquely. “You motherf-”
Sun Sheng was furious. He pointed at Yi Xingran, his voice trembling with rage. “You assaulted a teammate, insulted the manager and now you’re provoking the coach……. Yi Xingran! Are you trying to turn the whole world upside down!”
Wang Tianhao struggled to pry away the wrist that Yi Xingran had clamped onto his collar, while Coach Fan also reached out, trying to pull the two apart. Sun Sheng stood off to the side, pointing fingers and shouting while waving the contract around.
The scene instantly descended into complete chaos. Hu Yu, who had only just arrived, didn’t even dare show his face. He hid trembling in a corner, thinking to himself, What happened, Brother Xingran? With a scene this huge, are you planning to die tomorrow or something?
“Dock his pay! Ban him from competing! How can a newcomer be this utterly lawless? I refuse to believe I can’t deal with you!”
“Manager Sun!”
Just as Sun Sheng’s shrill whistle pierced through the corridor, a loud, commanding male voice rang out immediately afterward, accompanied by the chaotic sound of numerous footsteps coming to an abrupt stop.
Several people turned around in astonishment, only to discover that, at some point, a crowd had already gathered behind them. They were now standing there in silence, watching the entire farce unfold.
A group of people stood on the left, all dressed in suits and formal attire, while those on the right were wearing neat, official police uniforms.
A man carrying a briefcase squeezed his way out from behind the crowd. He pulled out a brand new letter of authorization and briefly held it up for everyone to see before speaking first. “You’ve all seen it yourselves. LCK is bullying people through its position of power, using violence and threats against my client and even making verbal threats while employing improper means to force him into signing an unequal contract. This constitutes fraud!
“Please have the League arbitration body intervene and make a ruling! I formally request the immediate termination of the labor relationship between both parties and the restoration of my client’s status as a free agent! If LCK Esports Club refuses to cooperate and consequently prevents my client from successfully joining another team before the transfer window closes, the losses incurred will be immeasurable. We will pursue accountability to the very end and will not back down!”
The more the man spoke, the more fired up he became. Standing proudly before the crowd with his head held high, he even remembered to throw Yi Xingran a meaningful look after finishing his speech, his fingers hanging at his side making a small, emphatic waving motion.
Yi Xingran understood immediately.
This man was trained under Qian Deshuai.
He slid down from Wang Tianhao’s chest and sat directly on the floor. At the same time, he casually slipped the cigarette between his fingers into his palm, crushing the glowing red tip against his flesh until it was extinguished. After holding it in for quite a while, he finally stammered out, “Ah, o.. okay……”
“Okay my ass, it’s fucking cold.”
Tsk.
Yi Xingran frowned. This was truly too embarrassing to say out loud.
The “bullied” boy sat helplessly on the floor, a faint flush spreading from his snow white neck all the way to the tips of his ears. Beneath his tousled hair, his thin lips were pressed tightly together and even his moist eyes seemed to glisten with a trace of tears.
Judging from his appearance, he looked no more than seventeen or eighteen. The people in police uniforms were the first to lose their tempers.
“How dare you gather here and cause a disturbance in broad daylight? Do you people have any regard for the law at all? Every one of you is coming back to the station with us for investigation!”
The people from the League arbitration body also nodded cooperatively toward the police. “The surveillance footage and witness statements will both serve as the basis for our arbitration. Once the investigation results are available, we will also issue our ruling in accordance with the law. The League will safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of every player and any violations will be dealt with severely. We will show absolutely no leniency!”
Sun Sheng still hadn’t managed to process what was happening. He had no idea why representatives from the League arbitration body and the police had suddenly appeared at the club together. Before he could even react, he was already being “invited” out of the base and into a police car.
Behind him, the pitiful seventeen or eighteen year old boy slowly got to his feet, as though justice had finally been served.
Because the police had become involved, the League’s arbitration department was able to obtain a great deal of evidence without any difficulty.
By the time LCK’s management learned what had happened, it was already far too late. They could only watch helplessly as every single objection they raised was rejected, one after another.
Dual contracts, an astronomical breach of contract penalty, an excessively long contract term and a salary far below the market rate…….
The League had always maintained strict supervision over dual contracts. After all, some clubs, in order to offer players compensation packages exceeding the “salary cap”, a financial regulatory system that officially set an upper limit on player salary expenditures, would privately sign an additional contract or agreement with the player to avoid paying the so called “luxury tax.”
They had seen clubs secretly paying players more than permitted before but they had never seen one use such contracts to exploit a player this ruthlessly.
Even the staff members from the League’s arbitration department couldn’t help sighing over the situation. In private, they cursed LCK for deliberately taking advantage of someone who didn’t understand the law. The kid had only just reached adulthood yet they had already deceived him into signing what was practically a contract selling himself into bondage.
If they hadn’t received the report and witnessed the situation with their own eyes and if the police hadn’t intervened and secured such conclusive evidence, trying to terminate a contract with a club like this could easily have turned into an exhausting and drawn out legal tug of war.
Going through formal legal proceedings would take at least half a year and even two years wouldn’t be considered particularly long. A player whose professional career was only just beginning simply couldn’t afford to waste that much time.
By the time the lawsuit finally ended and everything was settled, a player who had been benched and prevented from competing for such a long period might regain his status as a free agent but his professional career would essentially already be over.
“They’re seriously fucking ruthless!” a staff member from the League’s arbitration department cursed.
The privately signed agreement that had never been submitted for League supervision was declared void. The astronomical breach of contract penalty was likewise deemed invalid, while the transfer fee was required to be paid at a reasonable amount in accordance with the current regulations.
The League imposed a fine on the club and publicly announced the punishment as a warning to others. Yi Xingran successfully terminated his contract before the transfer window closed. Even if LCK still wanted to continue causing trouble over disputes involving his commercial contracts, it could no longer interfere with the fundamental matter of his transfer.
Just as he had wished, Yi Xingran finally signed his name on the new contract, stroke by painstaking stroke…… and his handwriting still looked like a dog had crawled across the paper.
He himself, however, seemed perfectly satisfied with it. After admiring his own decidedly untidy handwriting, he couldn’t resist glancing at Pei Du, who was standing beside him.
The man possessed a cool, aloof temperament and an effortlessly refined bearing. Even the simple movement of collecting the contract looked as though it had been deliberately rehearsed beforehand and his voice was equally deep and low.
Pei Du’s expression remained indifferent. “Everything else will be handled entirely by the legal department. You don’t need to concern yourself with it.”
Yi Xingran unconsciously pinched his earlobe, thinking that television dramas were still far too conservative. They should have sent Pei Du to act instead. Having a line like that spoken right beside your ear in that voice was practically the pinnacle of showing off. Just listening to it made Yi Xingran’s scalp tingle.
Forget it. He was in a good mood today, so he wouldn’t bother arguing with this king of pretentiousness.
Yi Xingran pulled out a tissue and casually wiped at the red ink staining his fingertips. “So there’s nothing else I need to do now, right? Perfect. I’ll head back to LCK and get my luggage out.”
Pei Du’s gaze followed the movement of his hands.
For a long moment, he didn’t look away.
Yi Xingran crumpled the tissue into a small ball, tossed it into the trash can with the motion of shooting a basketball, then dusted off his hands and prepared to leave but just as he lifted his foot to step forward, he found his path blocked by Pei Du, who stood there without moving an inch.
Yi Xingran swayed left, then right, trying to get around him. “Dude, could you move out of the…………….”
“Can’t you wipe your hands properly?”
“?”
Yi Xingran looked puzzled as he raised both hands in front of himself, spreading them out flat for inspection.
Pei Du lifted his eyes, his brows drawing together slightly.
There was a small amount of red ink smeared across the tips of his fingers. The soft flesh beneath the bases of his fingers was faintly pink, while a round mark remained on his pale palm. Its color was slightly darker, resembling a blister caused by a burn, only for someone to have already pierced it and pressed it flat.
Yi Xingran was confused. “How exactly did I not wipe this clean?”
Was he seriously just looking for something to pick on?
Pei Du lowered his gaze and examined it for another couple of seconds, the crease between his brows unconsciously deepening. “Tomorrow, once the holiday is over, the team will resume training.”
“Oh. Then I’ll go in the afternoon.”
Yi Xingran withdrew his hands and shoved them into his pockets, preparing to leave. He had barely tucked one hand away when a large hand suddenly closed around his right wrist.
A cold, damp tissue covered his index finger, wiping away the last traces of the red ink that remained there.
Yi Xingran blurted out, “What the hell is wrong with you-”
“Did you put any medicine on it?”
Yi Xingran was momentarily speechless. “What medicine does a tiny blister need? It’ll be fine in two days.”
“Burns can become infected easily if you don’t treat them.”
“Why are you making such a big deal out of it? Isn’t that more trouble than it’s worth?”
Yi Xingran wore an utterly unconcerned expression, clearly not taking the matter seriously in the slightest.
Pei Du remained expressionless. He held the damp tissue he had just used to wipe Yi Xingran’s hand, pausing for a moment before saying nothing more. He simply stepped to the side and let him pass.
As Yi Xingran sauntered out, he couldn’t help glancing back. He saw the tall, long legged man walking all the way over to the trash can before throwing something away, even disposing of a piece of trash in such a neat and proper manner.
What a weirdo. Could he have some kind of obsessive compulsive disorder?
Yi Xingran stretched out his hand and looked at it for another couple of seconds before slipping it back into his pocket, thinking to himself that he had obviously wiped his hands perfectly clean.
….
At the same time, at the LCK team base.
Sun Sheng stood there nervously, not even daring to raise his head. The man standing before him had the overhead light directly behind him, casting his facial features into shadow.
His expression was dark and gloomy, his eyes deep and unfathomable. When he finally spoke, the question sounded as though each word had been forced out from between his clenched teeth.
“Who the hell gave you the nerve to let him go so easily before I even came back?”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
This translator has been caught working for free again. Scandalous.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Fire the hole!Chapter 2 · Dude, I’m here to save youChapter 3 · Plaster HeadChapter 4 · I’m well behaved, I don’t talk muchChapter 5 · It’s what Cross needsChapter 6 · What are you barking like a dog?Chapter 7 · “Ah! It’s so… so damn cold~”Chapter 8 · What are you looking at, you pervert!Chapter 9 · The cat I bought for free got dirty.Chapter 10 · Oh no! I forgot to switch to a smaller account!Chapter 11 · It’s my turn to performChapter 12 · Insults? That’s slander! This is slander!Chapter 13 · He’s a very nice personChapter 14 · Hunting TimeChapter 15 · A straight man sells himselfChapter 16 · The number one person who doesn’t eat stressChapter 17 · He is so vividChapter 18 · War! War! War! Kill! Kill!Chapter 19 Part 1 · What’s wrong with guys rubbing against each other?Chapter 19 Part 2 · What’s wrong with guys rubbing against each other?