Nan Zhiyi stood somewhat reservedly at the entrance.
This was his first time backstage at the main venue. The room labeled “lounge” was packed with people, yet completely silent inside, making him briefly wonder if he’d come to the wrong place.
His manager, Zhang Li, stood beside him, with two other streamers also here for the event behind her.
Zhang Li had sharp eyes and immediately noticed You Xin in the doorway.
Her mind instantly started calculating: this seemed like a perfect chance to clear up the “misunderstanding.” Should she take Xiao Yi over to talk to him now…
Then she saw You Xin’s gaze sweep past her without stopping, landing directly on… the person beside her.
And then he waved.
The person beside her, Nan Zhiyi, looked like he’d finally relaxed, and walked over happily. “So you are here! I thought I’d come to the wrong place!”
Zhang Li: “?”
The lounge had the AC on. As Nan Zhiyi walked in, he took off the scarf that didn’t quite match his suit.
Turning his head, he spotted the man standing next to You Xin, tall and muscular as a mountain. “Xiao Zhang? Why are you here too?”
The bodyguard nodded at him. “Hello.”
“I brought him along,” You Xin said. He thought for a moment and decided to skip the unpleasant topic of Yang Lei.
Fortunately, Nan Zhiyi didn’t seem inclined to ask further either. “I see.”
It was cold outside. Now that he’d stepped into the warm room, he couldn’t help rubbing his hands together.
You Xin’s gaze, however, landed on the side of his face.
It seemed Nan Zhiyi hadn’t planned to use the public makeup room and had already styled himself before coming. But when he removed his scarf just now, he’d accidentally flipped his head and mussed a carefully-fixed strand of hair.
So You Xin naturally reached out and smoothed the hair near his ear for him.
Nan Zhiyi was startled by the sudden motion, his heart nearly skipping a beat. “W-what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” You Xin said flatly, withdrawing his hand. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. “You left this at my place.”
Nan Zhiyi looked closely. It was a USB drive.
“Ah!” he said happily, taking it. “No wonder I couldn’t find it anywhere. I thought I’d dropped it on the way…”
Zhang Li, who’d just finished instructing the other two streamers and turned around, catching this scene and their conversation, was completely stunned.
“…????”
Your place?
Whose place?
Nan Zhiyi left something at… You Xin’s home??
Wasn’t she told the video was filmed in a studio?? Since when did he end up at someone’s house???
Zhang Li had been managing Nan Zhiyi for at least nearly three years. She knew his personality and background very well.
But today, for the first time, she felt a flicker of suspicion about him.
Nan Zhiyi only managed a couple of sentences with You Xin before the latter was called away by a photographer who’d come looking for him, saying he needed solo shots for the official blog. That left just him and Guard standing together.
Guard, who hadn’t managed to get into the conversation earlier, now looked at Nan Zhiyi thoughtfully.
He suddenly spoke. “Hey bro, I feel like I’ve seen you before. Aren’t you… AngelYi?”
“Yes, that’s me,” Nan Zhiyi nodded. “Hello.”
He’d assumed Guard had seen him in some video or on Weibo. To his surprise, Guard said, “I didn’t recognize you from photos online. But seeing you in person today, it suddenly came back to me, didn’t you used to come watch CG.Y matches a lot? I feel like I’ve seen you plenty of times.”
Nan Zhiyi froze for a moment.
“Wow,” he laughed. “Your memory’s really good. That was a long time ago.”
Praised, Guard became inexplicably proud.
“I’ve been great at recognizing people since I was a kid, you had black hair back then, right? Not many people watched the secondary league, but you liked sitting in the front row holding a CG.Y cheer sign. I even thought at the time, wow, our crappy second team actually has a hardcore fan.”
Then he abruptly changed topic. “But after I went to NJ, I never saw you again. You’re probably a CG fan, right?”
Nan Zhiyi suddenly felt guilty. “After that I started making content, and once I had more fans… I didn’t really go to live matches anymore.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” Guard looked very understanding, and patted Nan Zhiyi on the shoulder. “You and yux are pretty close too, right? I can tell your relationship’s good, those people online are just bored out of their minds, they see a bit of movement and start drama.”
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he pulled out his phone. “Oh right bro, can we take a photo? Seeing you in person, you look even more insane than in pictures. I’ll post it on Weibo later and flex a bit.”
Nan Zhiyi held back a laugh. “Sure, no problem.”
For some reason, it was like Guard had flipped some mysterious switch. After he took his photo, the players around them gradually started coming over, one after another, to ask Nan Zhiyi for pictures.
Some were people he knew well, some he’d met once or twice, and a few were people he’d only ever seen play and never even spoken to, yet they kept coming, on and on, endlessly.
Finally, just as Nan Zhiyi’s smile was about to freeze in place, Song Baiyu descended from the heavens and rescued him.
“Holy crap! I just went to the bathroom!” Song Baiyu cried dramatically. “I come out and hear Stone came to pick a fight with yux, and yux even brought a bodyguard AND a lawyer just to argue with him and pissed him off so bad he nearly passed out, how did I miss this once-in-a-century drama?!”
Nan Zhiyi: “…I only just got here too. You’re saying Stone came to cause trouble? And what’s this about a lawyer?”
Song Baiyu clearly hadn’t heard a single word. Face full of regret, he grabbed Nan Zhiyi’s shoulders and shook him wildly. “Hey, do you think if I tell security I lost something in the lounge, they’ll show me the earlier footage??”
Nan Zhiyi: “?”
The All-Star opening ceremony officially began at 4 p.m.
This year’s main stream was livelier than ever.
roeCN’s viewers usually focused on watching matches and weren’t interested in fan-oriented events like All-Star.
This year, though, the stream chat was scrolling extremely fast, anti-fans, fans, and troll accounts all gathered together. The hype was close to a high-stakes playoff match.
【Why is the host going on and on, hurry up】
【Stop rambling and just start】
【I heard yux is back? Will CG still start him in upcoming matches??】
【yux fans, give it up, your “little brother” has already decided to go the “fanservice” route】
【Isn’t xww playing pretty well? He hasn’t lost matches, why bench him as a starter】
【Is the exhibition match today? yux is going to play 2v2v2 with AngelYi?】
The host finally wrapped up a 15-minute opening speech.
The first segment was the classic All-Star program, walking the red carpet.
For this, the players all took off their team jerseys and changed into suits. Because most were still quite young, and the clubs didn’t really care about styling, many of the red-carpet shots came out wildly awkward, some suits too big, some too small, some buttoned wrong, some pairing sneakers with suit pants. One player, Pigeon, seemed to have trouble with his trousers, on camera he kept hiking up his waistband as he walked, face full of embarrassment. It was basically a parade of chaos.
【…I’m going back to watch matches, I don’t want to ruin my eyes on ugly guys anymore】
【When’s CG coming out? I can’t wait any longer】
【Soon, soon, they’re next】
Finally, under the gaze of countless viewers online and off, the most anticipated group of the entire All-Star appeared.
For some reason, whether the production team arranged it or not, the four CG players, along with their coach and manager, all came out together as a group of six.
Among them, yux walked alone at the very front. He picked up a pen and signed his name on the backdrop very casually and confidently: the three letters “yux.” Behind him, beer kept a distance of about two body-lengths the entire time. The camera crew signaled for him to come closer, and only then did beer reluctantly inch forward.
【Does yux have an invisible wall between him and the others?】
【Oh my god, this is way too obvious. First time seeing palace intrigue this blatant, no one even bothering to pretend anymore】
【Not sure about an “invisible wall,” but there’s definitely a looks-tier wall】
【beer’s facial “communal real estate” looks suspiciously oversized】
【Did someone owe Stone 8 million? Why does he look so unhappy even on the red carpet】
【Pfft, feels like wind’s fans always hype his “world-class looks,” but standing next to yux he looks pretty average…】
【Little yux is so handsome, even as a guy I think he’s handsome】
【What’s the point of being handsome if he’s not even playing matches】
【You don’t get it, no matches is temporary, but handsome lasts a lifetime】
After the photos, the entire CG team quickly left the red carpet, as if they didn’t want to spend even one more second there.
Right after them came the event’s three most popular streamers.
Nan Zhiyi was already used to being followed by cameras everywhere. In a white suit, he looked like he was glowing under the lights.
After signing his name, he naturally smiled at the cameras and struck a few poses Sister Li had arranged in advance.
【One dazzling glance after another, who is this handsome guy】
【Oh, this is AngelYi, the streamer who’s been feuding with yux fans and even made it onto the trending list】
【Damn, I only watched matches before and never paid attention to streamers, but I suddenly get why so many people ship this random CP】
【Fun fact: AngelYi apologized on Weibo last month for insulting yux】
【Didn’t AngelYi say he’s a CG fan? Isn’t it normal he dislikes yux when yux isn’t even coming back to training?】
【? Didn’t watch AngelYi’s new video? Your info’s outdated, keep insulting him and yux’ll be the first to get mad】
【Fast-forward to “Little yux, we were wrong”】
【Fans and antis, don’t rush, these two are going to be on the same team later with interviews anyway, just wait and watch】