Chapter 8

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[Does your God Sen have any sense as a captain? Titans didn’t raise him to wear things from other teams…]

[It’s been 9102 years. Is there a rule dictating that members in one team can’t buy another team’s merch?]

[But he’s their captain, this is different]

[Who says Titans raised my Sen? It’s my Sen who raised the Titans into what they are today]

[Us Titans group fans will come forward and slap you in the face first]

[And once again the Sen solo fans are hyping him up like this. Without Titans, how would you even have your Sen???]

[Spray me if you want to, but to tell you the truth, Sen solo fans are simply the cancer of the Asia esports circle]

[Idon’t know why everyone’s so torn about this, although Sen ge is the captain, can’t he admire other e-sports teams? What’s wrong with buying a specific team’s merch? Sen ge also wore long sleeves to the meet and greet and didn’t specially show it to anyone. Who’s so bored that they’re even using this to start a fight]

[Agreed, Sen ge is free to buy whatever team’s merch he likes. And to be honest, other teams buy Titans and Sen ge’s individual merch too, and they all say that it’s Sen ge’s charm. Sen ge buying another team’s merch doesn’t mean that he’s not respecting his identity as Titans’s captain. Can you not slander our Sen ge like this?]

[This is just the esports circle. Why is it getting all torn up like the entertainment circle ?]

@Titans_Sen: This wristband was given to me by @NA_Left. I didn’t take it off because I was wearing it all afternoon. Furthermore, Titans raised me. I will forever be a member of Titans. I hope everyone doesn’t let such a trivial matter hurt your feelings, or else I’ll have insomnia again.

[Sen ge is mighty!!!]

[Hahahahahahahaha i just know those people freaked out as soon as Sen ge spoke]

[AAAAAAAA my darling Sen, why do you have insomnia again? Mom is so distressed. Go to bed early, will you? Mom will sing you a lullaby]

[Sen ge is so handsome. Directly ambushing me]

[Turns out it’s a gift from Xiao Zuo!!!!]

[Does God Sen and Shao ge know each other in private?]

[The Titans+Noah fans are suddenly blessed???]

[I smell a new CP [doge]]

[AAAAA it’s God Sen and my Shao!!!! I can’t believe my two Carries would be in the same frame one day!!!!]

[I can’t believe weibo can be this happy at only the mention of their names together. this level of sugar isn’t even worth mentioning in SenXi’s super topic]

[Did our SenYue die off??]

[Is anyone shipping SenZhe]

[Nope, next]

[Sen-All[1] understands]

@NA_Left: Captain Yao Sen’s wristband is from me. During group training, Captain Yao Sen helped Noah out a lot. He also gave me a Titans mug, so this can be considered as a return gift. Please don’t misunderstand Captain Yao Sen, everyone.

[My Shao is truly an angel wuwuwuwuwuwuwuwuwu]

[It’s okay Shaoshao. this has nothing to do with you]

[Wow, mutual gift giving]

[My Shao is free to give gifts to whoever he wants, but isn’t it wrong for Yao Sen to wear it at a meet and greet?]

[Shao ge just said not to attack Titans’s captain. Can’t some people read?]

[Xiao Zuo is so warm!!!!]

[What is such a warm man waiting for if he doesn’t take a wife home [doge]?]

When Yao Sen saw Shao Han’s weibo post clarifying the issue on his behalf, he couldn’t help taking a picture and bookmarking the post. He put down his phone and no longer bothered with the matter. When you’re popular, it’s inevitable that people will pick at everything you do.

Once the domestic competition ends, the participating teams will all have to go back to their respective bases one after another. Noah’s Ark’s base was in D City. Apart from when they’re competing, it’ll probably be very difficult for Yao Sen and Shao Han to see each other again.

Yao Sen originally wanted to say goodbye to Shao Han in person the next day, yet he didn’t expect that Shao Han would go out with his teammates all day long. With no better option, Yao Sen could only send him a message to thank him for his weibo post yesterday.

Titans’s main team arrived in S City by plane that afternoon. After they got off the plane, there were many fans who went to greet them at the airport. Wang Yuxi was almost moved to tears when he heard someone in the crowd shout his name, “It turns out that my fans’ voices can even rise above Yao Sen’s wives group. I’m truly very touched.”

Titans Club was located in Yiyou Building, a nationally renowned professional esports training center in S City. This esports training building has stood in the e-sports industry for almost a decade and consists of two 20-storey buildings, buildings A and B. It was one of S City’s landmarks, where the e-sports industry was well developed.

Including Titans, Yiyou Building housed a total of nine professional e-sports clubs altogether, half of which were among the top 10 most famous teams in China.

Titans Club was located on the 10th to 16th floors of building A. The instant the elevator doors opened, all the members felt extremely at home at the sight of the huge Titans logo outside the door.

The members of the main team stayed in a two-person dorm room that was equipped with specialised esports equipment. After a month, when Yao Sen pushed open the door of their living quarters, the first thing he was met with was not the sight of bright and clean room, but rather the smell of rotten food.

Looking around, he discovered that Wang Yuxi had left a banana on the coffee table a month ago. It was now completely blackened and covered with buzzing fruit flies.

Yao Sen, who was somewhat glad that he didn’t have breakfast this morning and was a mild germaphobe to boot, shot Wang Yuxi with a cold glare that said “either this banana dies or you die”. Wang Yuxi had to clean up the whole dorm in order to make amends.

While Wang Yuxi was cleaning up, Yao Sen had nothing else to do, so he prepared to drop by Building B to find some friends from another team. The fifth to tenth floors of Building B housed a team that has been stationed in Yiyou for three years, Aegis[2]. They were a team with an unimpressive competition record, and their performance in recent years was barely even considered to be satisfactory.

When Yao Sen got there, he happened to see the Aegis’s team members packing up their things, and the other party’s manager was also busy talking over a few matters with Yiyou Building’s staff.

At Yao Sen’s arrival, his friend and the vice captain of the team, Qian Hao, greeted him. Yao Sen asked, “Are you guys leaving for group training?”

Qian Hao shook his head with a wry smile, “It’s not training. Our club’s contract with Yiyou has expired. We haven’t done well these last two years. There aren’t many sponsors either, and the club’s side doesn’t want to renew the contract with Yiyou, so they’ve found a cheaper place.”

It was indeed a challenge for smaller clubs to renew their contracts with Yiyou Building. The entry threshold of Yiyou Building was high, and the signing rent was also very expensive. Yao Sen felt some regret, but this was a real problem that many clubs with declining popularities faced, and there was nothing that Yao Sen could do about it either.

Qian Hao was busy packing his things. Yao Sen didn’t want to bother him for too long, so he said goodbye after a casual chat.

When the domestic e-sports industry was just emerging, e-sports sponsors still acted with their feelings. After the industry matured and became hotter and hotter, they also started relying on a team’s achievements. Without achievements, there would be no sponsors nor any contracts, and many things couldn’t be settled by simply relying on feelings.

Two years ago, Titans wasn’t as famous as it is now, and they basically had to rely on the revenue from sponsorships and online platform contracts signed by the main team members to maintain their contract renewals.

In those days, Yao Sen had not yet signed with Titans, and the club had a truly hard time. They remained suspended in the same place with neither ups nor downs. At that time, Song Mingzhe was the team’s lone veteran player.

After Yao Sen became captain, apart from Song Mingzhe, all three members of the main team had secret intentions of transferring. The captain of the main team was not only the team’s spokesperson but also the core of the entire team, yet such an important role had to be shouldered by a young player like Yao Sen, who had skipped the secondary team and was promoted straight to the main team. Except Song Mingzhe, who sincerely admired and believed in Yao Sen’s abilities, nobody else was optimistic.

Yao Sen didn’t have much of an opinion on the transfer of those veteran players, nor did he have the right to dictate whether others stayed or left. After the remaining three players either left or retired, Yao Sen and Coach Gou promoted Bai Yue, who was in the secondary team at the time, and poached Wang Yuxi from another club that was lesser known than Titans.

The four of them didn’t get along particularly well at first. Song Mingzhe refused to initiate conversations. Bai Yue’s ability was somewhat lacking. Many things were only learnt after joining the main team. The Wang Yuxi at that time was also a loner who disobeyed commands and liked doing things on his own accord.

Things took a turn for the better when Yao Sen and Wang Yuxi made a bet that if Wang Yuxi managed to beat out Yao Sen in at least one game out of ten solo games, Yao Sen would step down from his captaincy and give the position to him.

Wang Yuxi had gone into the training room with his head held high and came out with his head hung down. After a complete and utter loss, he was finally willing to listen and slowly got to know his teammates, developing an iron-laced, ride-or-die friendship with Yao Sen in the end.

It was this brand-new team that, under Yao Sen’s leadership, took Asia’s esports circle by storm and became the most unexpected dark horse to sit on the championship throne, ushering in a whole new era of Sen-style giants.

Yao Sen returned to the Titans base in Building A and saw his manager who was currently on the phone. Manager Guo had a serious look on his face, probably discussing a partnership with a live streaming platform or sponsor.

After a while, Manager Guo hung up the phone, sighed, and complained, “Nowadays, slightly more popular live streaming platforms are shameless. How can they give a Titans player such a low signing fee? Even the secondary team can’t be wronged like this.”

When Manager Guo looked up and saw Yao Sen, he said, “If it were you, these platforms would have to cry and kneel first for a signature.”

Yao Sen: “Manager, don’t stoop to their level.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to consider signing on for a live broadcast?” Manager Guo asked. “Although our team isn’t short of funds right now, you can earn some pocket money too? It’s not like the club gets a high cut.”

“No time, not interested,” Yao Sen replied. “I’ll just stick to watching other people.”

“The person in charge of White Shark Live has talked to me several times, and the offer is really good. If you change your mind one day, remember to let me know.”

Yao Sen casually nodded and said, “Aegis aren’t renewing their contract with Yiyou?”

“Yes, not long ago, their manager asked me if I had any affordable e-sports bases to recommend. He even managed to get me a list of intended sponsors, but I estimate that their sponsorship funds is a bit behind.”

“So the fifth to tenth floors in Building B are vacant?”

“How can that be? Yiyou’s space is highly sought-after. If a club moves out, there’ll definitely be another club moving in. Noah’s Ark will move in next month.”

Yao Sen was struck dumb, “Which team did you say it was?”

“Noah’s Ark.”

As Manager Guo answered, he saw the jewel of the club suddenly break out into a smile for no apparent reason, smiling so big that he almost thought Yao Sen’s insomnia had gotten to him and there was something wrong with his head.

Manager Guo was stupefied and said, “What are you smiling at?”

Yao Sen restrained the corners of his mouth that were helplessly raised, then nodded in an aloof manner, “Noah’s Ark is good. Very good. I like them.”

Manager Guo: “…No, what are you liking others for?”

☆ ☆ ☆

t/n –

[1] 森all aka Sen-All… Yao Sen x everyone cp lol

[2] lit. was Zeus’s Shield but for cool namings sake i’ll just go with Aegis, the name of said shield

thank you to anon for the kofi! i don’t know which novel you’re reading but i hope you see this ❤

⟵ Chapter 7 | TOC | Chapter 9 ⟶

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