On February 14th, at 2 p.m., You Xin arrived at the All-Star venue right on time.
The parking lot was already full of team-branded vans. Wearing a mask, he got out of a private car and was naturally stopped by security at the entrance. “Sir, hello, this way please…”
You Xin took off his mask. “I’m here to attend the event.”
Only then did the security staff recognize this famous player. “Oh, it’s yux! Please come in… And these two behind you are?”
He glanced at the two people following behind You Xin. Both wore suits. One looked like his muscles were about to burst through his jacket, the other wore gold-rimmed glasses and carried an inexplicable scholarly air.
They clearly didn’t look like people from the esports scene.
“They’re my staff.” You Xin said.
“Please, go in, go in,” the guard hurriedly answered.
You Xin walked inside and glanced at his wristwatch. He wore a tailored suit, the cut clearly carefully designed, fitting him perfectly and emphasizing his broad shoulders and long legs.
So much so that when he entered the backstage lounge, everyone turned toward the door in unison.
The once-noisy lounge suddenly went quiet. Several people even froze mid-motion, phones in hand. Many wore expressions of undisguised surprise.
CG’s three members were naturally among them. None of the three, however, showed any intention of stepping forward to greet him.
After a moment, someone broke the awkward silence.
“Xiao You’s here?” milk, sitting on the sofa, waved at him with a smile.
You Xin nodded. “Brother Pei.”
After greeting him, milk went back to talking with his teammates. By now the others also seemed to feel that staring like this was a bit rude, and gradually resumed conversations with those beside them, though the topics had subtly shifted from before.
You Xin lowered his gaze slightly.
At that moment, the door behind them was pushed open again.
The newcomer appeared, blurted out “holy shit,” then very casually stepped forward and clapped You Xin on the shoulder. “Bro, you actually came? I thought you weren’t going to.”
You Xin turned around. It was Guard, a tank player from NJ, one of the four teams that reached Worlds this year, who’d once played alongside You Xin on CG’s second team.
“Why wouldn’t I come?” You Xin said.
Guard shrugged. “Weren’t you a no-show at the team dinner?”
“What’s so interesting about a team dinner.”
“Then what’s so interesting about All-Stars? Only the fans care about it, right? They vote me in every year anyway, it’s boring. I’d rather have a couple extra days off.”
“If nobody voted for you, you’d be unhappy too,” You Xin said. He paused slightly. “I came because there’s someone I want to see today.”
“Someone you want to see? Who?” Guard didn’t pay it much mind, then suddenly seemed to remember something. “Oh right, I heard your team’s manager—”
Before he could finish, the lounge door was pushed open a third time.
The force was so strong the door slammed into the wall with a loud “bang,” making everyone in the room look over again.
CG’s manager, Yang Lei, stood in the doorway looking furious.
He immediately spotted You Xin not far from the entrance and sneered, “So the big star’s here? What, you’ve got time for All-Stars but no time to come back and train with the team?”
Yang Lei’s voice was loud enough for everyone in the lounge to hear clearly.
The players at All-Stars were all the league’s top pros. Guard couldn’t help muttering, “Hey, why’s he airing your team’s dirty laundry here…”
You Xin glanced at Yang Lei and said flatly, “No idea. Maybe he’s just got no manners.”
“You—” Yang Lei’s face instantly went red.
He strode forward, about to confront You Xin, but at that moment a figure suddenly stepped out from the side and planted itself between the two.
Yang Lei looked up at the man in front of him, tall, broad-shouldered, extremely muscular.
He blurted out, “Who are you?”
The man pushed up his sunglasses and said coldly, “Please keep your distance from Mr. You Xin.”
Yang Lei caught on, and put on a “you’ve got to be kidding” expression. “Seriously? You Xin? You even brought a bodyguard to All-Stars? Scared there’s someone here who could beat you up?”
The others in the lounge, hearing this, all wore varied and expressive reactions.
Yang Lei kept talking. “I think you know full well that skipping team training is in the wrong. Frankly, what you’re doing now is in violation of our contract. If you keep ignoring advice, refusing the toast only to be made to down the forfeit [1] spurning the easy way only to be forced the hard way jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2670396_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2670396_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, then next month, we’ll see you in court—”
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
Because a second man appeared from somewhere and once again planted himself between Yang Lei and You Xin.
“Hello, Mr. Yang.” The man smiled at him, pulling a business card from his inner pocket and sliding it in front of him. “I’m Mr. You Xin’s retained lawyer. Since my client isn’t very willing to speak with you at present, you can direct any questions to me, including any future legal proceedings and so on. This is my card.”
Yang Lei’s expression seemed to twitch.
After a long pause, he finally found his voice again. He glanced at the card, not seeing any familiar law-firm logo on it. “Lawyer? Which firm are you with? I’ve never heard of you.”
“I currently work in the legal department of Fuguang Group, specializing in contract law,” the man said politely, keeping the card extended. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Yang.”
Even Guard, standing nearby, was stunned.
Even a homebody like him who rarely went out had heard of the reputation of Fuguang Group’s legal department, said to be an unbeatable force in the industry, on par with the legendary “Nanshan undefeated lawyers” [2] a real-life meme about a corporate legal team so dominant in court they essentially never lose jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2670396_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2670396_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
Yang Lei had clearly heard of it too. He hesitantly took the card and looked at it. It clearly read: 【Fuguang Group, Chief Legal Officer, Leng Ping】.
Yang Lei: “……”
He couldn’t help but raise his head.
You Xin stood there looking down at him, saying nothing. The two faced each other, but You Xin was almost a full head taller. Hands in his pockets, gaze cold, not in his usual team jersey, at that moment he looked no different from a celebrity on a screen.
As for Yang Lei, also in a suit, thanks to his short, stocky build, he looked like a kid who’d stolen his father’s clothes to wear.
Yang Lei instantly felt his aura completely crushed by the other side.
Not to mention that the other side had brought two people along.
“Fine.” After a long while, he forced a few words out through gritted teeth. “Fine, very fine. You just wait… we’ll see about this.”
The lounge door slammed shut again with a “bang.”
The pro players who’d been chatting in small clusters were all frozen in place, staring over here with dazed expressions.
In the corner, an official cameraman with a camera was now absently and slowly scratching his head, clearly not sure whether he should keep filming.
Guard opened and closed his mouth.
After a long pause, he suddenly burst into loud, unrestrained laughter. After quite a while, he finally caught his breath, clutching the wall and his stomach. “Bro, what the hell… how did you even think of bringing a lawyer? Where’d you even find a Fuguang lawyer? Did you see Stone’s face? You’re seriously going to piss him to death hahaha…”
You Xin: “Because I don’t even want to say a single word to him.”
He leaned against the wall, looking a little listless. At that moment, the lounge door was pushed open once more.
A tall, slender figure stood in the doorway against the light. A well-tailored white suit outlined his frame, as if all the light in the corridor had gathered onto him.
The newcomer had short cream-gray hair that shimmered softly under the light. He tilted his head slightly, revealing a face so striking that anyone who saw it would find it unforgettable.
Nan Zhiyi held the door handle, looked inside, and asked carefully, “Excuse me, is this…?”
You Xin’s whole face suddenly lit up.
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