🦤 Day 3 Anniversary Celebration 🦤
Park Seokho was furious.
He had heard of Yi Xingran before, the breakout rookie jungler who had become the most talked about newcomer in that youth training variety show. With nothing more than a handsome face, he had quickly shot to fame.
Just when everyone assumed he was nothing more than a pretty idol who intended to use the variety show as a stepping stone, make a name for himself and then debut in the entertainment industry, he had gone on to establish his position among the trainees with three solo kills.
After the show ended, the entertainment industry lost an idol who could make a living off his looks, while the esports scene gained a traffic heavy player who dominated the hot searches from the moment he entered the field.
The day LCK officially announced Yi Xingran, the entire online community was flooded with the name Fire. Countless esports fans mocked LCK’s management, saying they had completely lost their minds and were deliberately trying to stir up controversy and attract attention. They couldn’t believe the team would sign such a flashy newcomer and immediately put him into the starting lineup. Had they simply decided that results no longer mattered?
The moment a few voices of support appeared, they were drowned out by an overwhelming wave of ridicule. Neither side was willing to back down and in the end, Yi Xingran was torn apart by the criticism from every direction.
Heh. Park Seokho ground his teeth silently.
Over the past year or two, TheX had undergone constant changes within the roster. Other than the top laner, all of the veteran players had either left or retired, while the bottom lane duo consisted of rookies who had only recently been promoted. The team was precisely at that awkward stage where the old guard was fading while the new generation had yet to fully establish itself.
Therefore, when TheX had approached him, Park Seokho had considered himself someone who had been entrusted with the team in its time of crisis. He had secured a starting position at a salary that was practically at the top of the market and after nearly an entire season of working together and adapting, they had finally managed to stabilize their playstyle and overall approach, at least barely.
Looking at the current roster, TheX was not lacking substitutes at all. If they really wanted to sign someone, they should have been looking at the top or bottom lane. The top laner was a veteran whose age was catching up with him and whose form was gradually showing signs of decline.
The bottom lane, meanwhile, was too young and mentally unstable, unable to hold up under the pressure of major tournaments. Other than that, there was him in the jungle, while the mid lane was anchored by Pei Du, a former World Champion.
So why would they suddenly sign someone like Yi Xingran?
With MSI about to begin and the Summer Split coming immediately afterward, TheX needed him more than ever. At a time like this, bringing in a flashy player who knew nothing but how to attract attention and create hype, were they planning to use him to put pressure on Park Seokho?
All looks, no idea how much skill he actually had.
Park Seokho certainly didn’t believe that some flashy pretty boy who had been making a spectacle of himself everywhere could possibly shake his position!
Come on. Did they really think having a handsome face was enough to earn a starting spot? This was esports!
The corner of Park Seokho’s mouth curled upward, exposing his gums as he sneered with undisguised contempt. He looked so disdainful that he practically wanted to look down at everyone through his nostrils, his eyes nearly growing out of the top of his head.
“Qie, sseu re gi!” (切, 垃圾!)
I’ll teach you a lesson sooner or later!
“?”
Yi Xingran looked up blankly and stared at Pei Du with his eyes wide open. “What did he say?”
Pei Du’s brows drew together slightly. He gave a meaningful glance at Park Seokho’s retreating back before finally lowering his arm and standing up. “Nothing, let’s go. I’ll introduce you to everyone first.”
Tsk. This was the troublesome part about not speaking the same language. Yi Xingran was practically starting to suspect that whenever they communicated through their team voice chat, everyone was speaking complete gibberish to one another.
Fortunately, aside from Park Seokho, everyone else on the team could communicate with him without any difficulty. Following Pei Du, Yi Xingran walked into the training room and greeted the old rivals who had been his opponents for the past three years.
It felt strangely surreal. Not long ago, these people had still been sitting across from him on the stage. After their dreams had been crushed when they were eliminated from the World Championship, they had stared at him with furious, reddened eyes, looking as though they wanted nothing more than to tear him apart and swallow him whole.
Especially that little support, Su Letong. Time and time again, he had been completely outplayed, only to watch the ADC he was supposed to protect get slaughtered right before his eyes. Then Yi Xingran would simply walk away, brushing off his sleeves without leaving so much as a trace of his accomplishment, leaving the poor, helpless Su Letong behind to rage impotently on the spot.
Since that was the case, Yi Xingran would occasionally have a rare burst of kindness and, with a casual move of his hand, fulfill their wishes by sending the bottom lane duo to the grave together.
Su Letong logged into the game while unable to stop himself from sneaking glances over his shoulder.
After hearing that fresh blood had been injected into the team, Su Letong had gotten up early that morning, full of anticipation because he wanted to see this esports pink haired sensation, this traffic generating star player, up close.
Tsk. The rumors claimed that this person had a terrible temper and a short fuse and that smoking, drinking, cursing and fighting were all part of his repertoire. At LCK, he supposedly bullied an entire team single handedly, to the point that nobody dared to provoke him.
Yet after actually seeing him, he seemed somewhat different from the person described in those rumors.
Other than that head of pink hair, which did make him look somewhat like a delinquent, his skin was surprisingly fair and clean, while his slender figure was almost completely swallowed by the loose, milky white hoodie hanging casually from his body.
His narrow waist swayed beneath the oversized clothes and even the silver chain sitting against his trousers somehow looked less flamboyant, almost as if it were simply part of a fashionable outfit.
Before the Spring Split had even begun, Su Letong had come across some trending searches. At the time, all sorts of scandals and negative stories about Yi Xingran had been flooding the internet. There had been countless clips cut from the variety show but somehow…
He could be arrogant, he could be reckless, he could act outrageously but he had never once looked ugly.
Even the reaction images of him arguing and trading insults with people were so good looking that they were practically at the level where you wanted to lick the screen.
Because of that, later on, when the esports fans on the forums had been mocking and cursing him en masse, Su Letong couldn’t help feeling that some of their accusations were a little too unfair.
【Ladies, stop making a fuss. Who watches esports for your looks? Once you’re on the stage, everyone is treated equally. What, just because he looks good, he gets to act cute and beg the opposing big brother not to kill him during the finals?】
【Here we go again, here we go again. Even the entertainment fandom isn’t as obsessed with chasing idols as you guys are. Can you stop bringing that idol chasing nonsense into the esports scene? If you’re trash, then you deserve to get flamed. Why are you defending him?】
【No skill and no results yet he became famous solely because of his face. His female fans are seriously making a huge fuss over nothing. Just wait until he’s killed into a 0–7 scoreline. Let’s see if your precious idol can keep from crying!】
Although, having said that…
Su Letong couldn’t help thinking that perhaps good looks and actual ability weren’t necessarily mutually exclusive?
Even their pretend cool team captain had once praised him, saying that he had simply been lucky, although perhaps that was just something their pretend cool captain always said out of modesty anyway, but looking across the entire LCK, what other jungler could force their captain into a situation where, right before death, he had to use every trick in his arsenal just to trade one for one?
At the time, the Spring Split had only just begun and LCK had already been mocked into the ground. Countless people were waiting to see this become the beginning of LCK’s decline. Nobody had expected that Yi Xingran would actually make several dazzling plays that pulled the team back from the brink of collapse and carry them all the way into the finals.
So when the Spring Finals ended and LCK happily took home the runner up title, the entire online community descended into chaos. Yi Xingran’s fans were practically being chased down and beaten over the head, turning the whole thing into what could only be described as a carnival of people venting their malice.
There were simply far too many people who hated him and they mocked him with a three question attack delivered right to his face:
【What championship do you have? What championship do you have?? What championship do you have???】
But only Su Letong, who had actually stepped onto the stage and faced him in a real match, knew…
Just how terrifying that assassin type jungler was, the one who appeared and disappeared without a trace, who could suddenly descend from the heavens without warning and who could casually take his team’s ADC’s head from thousands of miles away.
He was practically a killer lurking in the darkness!
Yi Xingran had nearly killed him into developing a psychological shadow. Even in his dreams, he would frantically cast protective shields on his team’s ADC, only to watch helplessly as the ADC died right there in front of him while he could do nothing but cry over the corpse!
Wuwuwu, at least when a champion died in the game, they could revive at the fountain.
But if he really became teammates with him, would Yi Xingran secretly assassinate him in the middle of the night?
QAQ!
Su Letong was lost in his own thoughts, thinking himself into a trembling, terrified mess, when a large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. Startled so badly that he lost control for a moment, he shot up from his chair and let out a piercing scream, “Ah! Don’t……”
The commotion was far too loud. For a moment, everyone in the training room turned their heads, looking over at Su Letong with strange, puzzled expressions.
Only after his initial shock did Su Letong realize that the person standing behind him was Chen Yi, his good AD. Then he noticed that quite a few people were staring at him, and his face immediately flushed red. He hurriedly sat back down and muttered in a small voice, “What are you doing? You scared me to death! I thought……”
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. “You’re that easily scared? What did you think?”
He had thought that the elusive jungler was coming over to slit his throat!
Su Letong said nothing. He lowered his head and secretly glanced behind him again, only for his gaze to meet Yi Xingran’s cold stare at exactly the wrong moment.
Su Letong: “!”
Would he even survive the night?!
Su Letong tugged at Chen Yi’s sleeve, but then he remembered that when faced with Yi Xingran’s scythe, Chen Yi had been completely powerless to fight back and had barely even been able to protect himself. His despair deepened even further. “Suan Niao…… you’re no good.”
Chen Yi narrowed his eyes and draped one hand over the back of Su Letong’s neck. “Who are you saying is no good?”
Su Letong was still completely immersed in his fantasy that he had already made it onto Yi Xingran’s assassination list. Almost unconsciously, he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through the rumors about Yi Xingran during his time with the LCK team. The more he read, the colder his back felt.
No way…… He wouldn’t bully me, would he?
I’m so dead! Ahhhhh! TAT
On the forum:
【Ah!】 【A mediocre player takes second place and still celebrates? What a joke. Did all the young ladies cry? With all that free time, go comfort your precious idol before he starts shedding little pearls of tears.
【The contrast is brutal! Just look at TheX’s jungler. 14–5 is that supposed to be a joke? Daily question: How come little Xingran never manages to get any kills? Does he not kill living things?】
【Wuwuwu, our idol has already had it hard enough. Congratulations to LJG on winning the runner-up title! Yi Xingran has a bright future ahead of him. Taking him away, no interactions, okay~】 【Yes, yes~ Supporting the comment above!】
【Damn, hahaha! OP, did you get your joke? There are actually people taking this seriously! I’m going to laugh until I throw up. Who exactly likes someone who looks neither male nor female and has dyed his hair pink? I could knock him down with one punch and make him kneel there calling me Dad!】
【This trashy little thing is disgusting just to look at! He ignores orders and bullies his teammates. When everyone else is fighting, he wanders around like he’s sleepwalking; when everyone else is retreating, he charges forward. They lost the match, and he still had the nerve to post a sarcastic jab on Weibo afterward. Have you noticed that no one on LCK even bothers with him?】
【What a miserable piece of garbage, a complete clown. LCK, if you don’t replace him soon, your punishment is still waiting for you! Let’s wish LCK an early and permanent farewell to the World Championship!】
【Breaking news! Breaking news! Word has it that LCK has changed its starting lineup! That trashy pink-haired idiot has already been kicked out of the starting position and sent to sit on the bench and watch the water cooler!】
【Is that for real? LCK did a great job! Did the management finally wake up?】
【I heard it’s not just the starting position that’s being changed. Apparently, that pink haired guy has transferred too! Has anyone seen the announcement that he’s been put up for transfer?】
【What?! Seriously? That’s hilarious. Which dumbass team would even want him?】
【I’ll just sit back and wait for the transfer window to close and the teams to make their official announcements! I really want to see where he can possibly end up. A piece of trash like him can probably only get signed by some second rate garbage team that can’t even make it to the big stage, right? Brothers! I’m ready! When the time comes, let’s storm their official Weibo comment section!】
【Support!】
【Support +1!】
【Support +10086!】
The more Su Letong read, the colder his heart became.
Stop cursing him, stop cursing him already. If they kept tearing him apart like this, would TheX even have any peaceful days ahead? They were making such an obvious spectacle of comparing the two teams and deliberately using the two junglers against each other. If the two junglers ended up on bad terms, what was a little support like him supposed to do…?
He was in the middle of refreshing the page when a post suddenly floated to the top of the topic feed, displaying a verified account name, [LCK Fire Yi Xingran], along with the fact that the account had liked the post.
Immediately afterward, more and more comments from [LCK Fire Yi Xingran] began appearing. One after another, they were pushed to the very top of the discussion.
@LCK Fire Yi Xingran V: Stop making a joke of yourselves. Do you really think anyone at LCK gives a damn about you?
@LCK Fire Yi Xingran V: “The comparison is brutal”? Going 14–5 and dealing only 6,800 damage, how come you couldn’t deal more? Was it because you didn’t want to?
@LCK Fire Yi Xingran V: Oh my, I’m so scared. Your fists are so strong. Two liang of baijiu can apparently beat Wu Song after half a jin and you can even take on a brown bear single handedly, right?
@LCK Fire Yi Xingran V: You little brothers have such filthy mouths. How much does one negative comment pay?
@LCK Fire Yi Xingran V: If there’s money to be made, take me along too~ I’m much better at cursing than you are. Guaranteed to satisfy you ^^
Su Letong rubbed his eyes, then looked again carefully.
For a moment, his pupils practically shook with shock.
He couldn’t help secretly turning his head around…
Yi Xingran had one foot propped against the edge of his chair, curled up comfortably in his gaming chair. His head was lowered and no one knew what exactly he was fiddling with.
Yi Xingran was busy liking all those posts that had said, 【Let’s wish LCK a happy farewell from the World Championship.】
In his previous life, he had heard insults far more vicious than these. Attacks of this level barely even counted as anything.
Compared with outright abuse, a sincere and beautiful “blessing” was much more practical.
He intended to do his part to make sure that this particular blessing would come true as soon as possible.
Yi Xingran was busily tapping away on his phone when Manager Qian suddenly let out a scream and rushed into the training room.
“Baby! Was your account hacked?”
“?”
Yi Xingran’s fingers stopped mid motion. He lifted his head with a bewildered expression, his eyes looking almost pitifully innocent.
What account?
Oh my God!
Manager Qian’s brain began racing at full speed as he desperately tried to analyze whether this was some kind of scheme cooked up by LCK!
Yi Xingran took a moment to glance down at his phone. His fingertips swiped back to the homepage and there, displayed prominently at the top of the screen, was his Weibo account, the one with the yellow verification badge.
His full name and ID were neatly displayed in a single row.
There was even the name of his former team attached before his username.
Yi Xingran quietly widened his eyes.
Oh no.
He hadn’t switched to his alternate account!
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
Every small bit of support means something to the person behind the translation.
☕ 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?