Xu Qing chuckled: “I never realized our Little Pei Team Leader understood me so well.”
Pei Shiyu tugged at the corner of his mouth, his eyes fixed intently on Xu Qing.
Xu Qing knew Pei Shiyu was not as easily fooled as the others, so he had to say: “There have indeed been some discussions online regarding your past.”
Pei Shiyu lowered his eyelids slightly. A mocking, chilly smile appeared on his usually indifferent face: “I see.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Xu Qing was stunned, having braced himself for Pei Shiyu to dig for details.
Pei Shiyu stopped, casually grabbed a can of cola, and said offhandedly: “Didn’t our supervisor just say that using phones during the match is not allowed? It easily affects performance.”
Xu Qing paused for a moment, feeling as though his own words had been thrown back at him.
However, seeing the group head into the venue for the second half, Xu Qing finally let out a breath of relief. He trusted that with the capabilities of Pei Shiyu and his team, securing this victory would be no problem.
Xu Qing sat back on the sofa in the lounge, pulled out his phone, and darkened as he read the news on the forums.
It was no surprise that information about Pei Shiyu, the number-one ranked player on the Tianjie list, and White Crow would surface once they entered an official tournament. They had prepared for this before the match. Since neither was an unknown, what Xu Qing did not want them to find out during the game was the accompanying scandal surrounding Pei Shiyu.
Less than two hours into the tournament, someone had leaked Pei Shiyu’s information: he had been a substitute jungler for the Thunder Mist team three years ago.
Thunder Mist was arguably the most established veteran team in the KOL league. The forum claimed that Pei Shiyu had intentionally injured the hand of the official jungler, Jiang Mian, just to take his spot. The leaker was thorough, even posting the penalty notice from that time: a three-year ban.
Once the leak was out, the curiosity about the top-ranked Tianjie player turned into vitriol. One reason was the severity of the act; another was that the announcement stated the victim, Jiang Mian, was still an active, popular player on the Thunder Mist team.
Jiang Mian’s fans were furious, spreading the news aggressively, hurling abuse at Pei Shiyu, and even demanding the KOL tournament committee keep him banned forever.
Reading through the flood of information, Xu Qing frowned. Pei Shiyu was nineteen this year, meaning he was only sixteen three years ago, back when the KOL scene still allowed minors to compete. This meant Pei Shiyu had decided to pursue professional gaming at sixteen or earlier, only to be banned for three years.
Xu Qing, of course, did not believe someone with Pei Shiyu’s character would intentionally injure someone else just to play. Based on what he knew of him, Pei Shiyu cherished his teammates more than anyone.
He recalled the mocking smile Pei Shiyu gave after their conversation; he had likely guessed that his past had been dug up.
Xu Qing looked at Pei Shiyu sitting calmly on the stage, focused on his game, and fell into deep thought. Could it be that Pei Shiyu had anticipated this outcome, where he would be reviled by the entire internet?
If it were not for his desire to compete, Pei Shiyu could have remained the number-one Tianjie player, admired and praised by all. Instead, he chose a path diametrically opposed to that, one destined for condemnation.
The Dawn team won the city tournament without a hitch and successfully advanced to the provincial tournament. Next, they only needed to place in the top two of the provincial stage to represent the province in the national championships.
It should have been a joyous celebration, but due to the overwhelming abuse online, everyone in the Dawn team was at a loss. Even their private messages were being harassed because of their association with Pei Shiyu.
The atmosphere at the celebration banquet was stiflingly heavy. Even the oldest member, Lu Xinyu, opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say.
In contrast, the usually taciturn Pei Shiyu spoke first: “As the founder and captain of the Dawn team, I have not addressed this until now. I am sorry for the negative impact this competition has brought on all of you.”
Because of Pei Shiyu’s apology, the group felt even more unsettled.
Wan Li: “This is not your fault, Captain.”
Lu Xinyu: “It has been so long. It does not matter.”
Wan Yi and Wan Li had been with Pei Shiyu even before the Dawn team existed. Their Tianjie rankings had always been low, the type of players who would wait in line for a chance to just hold water bottles for big teams. Back then, Pei Shiyu had brought them offline, led them, and even paid them according to youth training fees. Both of them had nearly been forced to work in factories.
White Crow shrugged dismissively: “This bit of internet saliva is just a light drizzle to me. When I was at the peak of my streaming career, I survived thunderstorms much worse than this.”
When the internet wants to smear a girl, it stops at nothing.
They did not care much about Pei Shiyu’s past; they wanted to know the future.
“For our newly started team, will we continue to play?”
Even though it was only a small city-level championship, they had already experienced the thrill and joy of competing.
Pei Shiyu looked at his teammates, who were watching him with sparkling eyes. His throat felt tight, but he said firmly: “As long as you do not leave the team, the Dawn team will always exist. We can keep playing.”
His desire to reach the competitive stage had never changed.
The sudden incident did not cause the Dawn team to fall apart; on the contrary, it made them closer.
After the banquet, Pei Shiyu pulled Xu Qing aside. Xu Qing stayed out of curiosity, unsure why Pei Shiyu wanted to speak to him alone.
They sat by the small lake in a park in Boteng City. It was 3:00 AM after the banquet. In a northern city where nightlife ended before midnight, even in summer, the lakeside at this hour was silent, with only faint lights reflected in the water.
Previously, because they were preparing for the city finals, Xu Qing had served as a friend and foreign aid, helping out with chores as a random sixth man.
Pei Shiyu turned his head to look at Xu Qing: “I want to formally invite you to join the Dawn team.”
Although Xu Qing had never mentioned his Eternal account, Pei Shiyu had observed his awareness during practice matches. Even if Xu Qing had not played Eternal before, he clearly had experience with 5v5 competitive games; he was certainly no beginner.
Furthermore, during the city finals, Xu Qing had kept his phone rather than handing it to the team. Even though Pei Shiyu knew his team’s strength was superior, a competition is a competition precisely because it tests a player’s nerves and adaptability. If this news had broken mid-match, Pei Shiyu could not guarantee they would have maintained their composure and won.
Seeing Xu Qing did not reply, Pei Shiyu reached out his hand and reiterated: “Xu Qing, may I invite you to join?”
Xu Qing tilted his head slightly, looking at Pei Shiyu’s outstretched hand.
The lake surface was mirror-still, and the night breeze brushed by, shattering the lights into fine gold dust on the water. Pei Shiyu was silhouetted against the lake light; the night softened his features, yet he still carried a sharp, cold air. The dim light fell on his profile, outlining his high nose bridge and tightly pressed lips. It seemed like a coldness that should have been clean and distant, yet at this moment, it inexplicably allowed Xu Qing to glimpse the passionate heart hidden beneath the glacier.
At this moment, Xu Qing felt a sudden urge to move closer, if only to hear the sound of his breathing and see if those eyes would soften under the moonlight.
So, Xu Qing moved. He raised his hand and grasped Pei Shiyu’s.
It was dry and warm.
Xu Qing heard himself say with a smile: “Alright.”
It had nothing to do with anything else; it was born of a curiosity and a desire to probe, to know more about Pei Shiyu.
Unlike the peace of the Dawn team, the abuse online seemed guided, continuously fermenting with malice.
At this moment, a message popped up on a major social media platform from Thunder Mist’s Jiang Mian.
The post read: “Everyone, let the past be the past. We must look forward.” The image attached was of Jiang Mian’s warm, harmless smile, like a little sun, making a heart shape at the camera.
Below the post were various tearful comments from Jiang Mian’s fan moms, praising him for being such a little angel, a kind little sun, and an endless stream of praise.
At this point, a sharp-eyed fan noticed the background of Jiang Mian’s photo was the Thunder Mist medical clinic. They recalled that Jiang Mian had suffered from hand injuries for years, and they were reminded of the exposure today: how three years ago, Pei Shiyu, as a substitute, had intentionally injured Jiang Mian’s hand.
A fan commented: “So, that is when Xiao Mian’s injury started?”
“Even now, with his hand injury recurring, Xiao Mian does not forget to comfort us.”
It was clearly a kind-hearted persuasion for his fans, yet it backfired, driving Jiang Mian’s fans to cyberbully Pei Shiyu even more crazily. Many fans even went to the official KOL account to comment, demanding a permanent ban on Pei Shiyu’s eligibility to compete.
In the Thunder Mist team manager’s office, Jiang Mian changed from the gentle, harmless smile in the photo to a gloomy, chilly expression: “Has the official side responded?”
The Thunder Mist manager shook his head: “No. After all, the announcement regarding Pei Shiyu’s disciplinary action was already issued three years ago.”
The same event naturally could not warrant two official disciplinary notices.
Jiang Mian’s expression turned even darker, and he could not help but clench his fist: “Pei Shiyu. Pei Shiyu. I will absolutely never let you return to the KOL competitive stage.”