Chapter 18

Yu Qinghuan started to count with his fingers, recalling every bit of the other’s strong attachment in getting him back in competitive esports. “I found it strange before. Although I lost first place due to the organizer’s oversight, this matter should have nothing to do with you, do you not agree? In fact, it actually can damage your glorious image of winning first place in the recruitment competition. Even if you feel guilty, it would not be to the point of getting me to come back to TKOW, yet you even went out of your way to track my NA account…”

“I not only went out of my way to find your NA account, but I have also been looking for you for three years.” Ren Jian rested his hand against his forehead, smiling as he interrupted Yu Qinghuan, not showing the slightest concern on concealing the truth. “To be honest, I never expected you to give up playing professionally after the recruitment tournament. I thought you had gone to another team, so I kept honing my skills, thinking that I will be able to match against you once I joined TKOW. However, after I joined TKOW’s first team, I never could find out which team you were on. One year later, it finally dawned on me that it was not that you joined another team, you gave up esports all together.”

“Why?” Yu Qinghuan was confused, “Do I owe you money?”

Ren Jian uttered, “…No.”

“Then why?”

Ren Jian took a deep breath and as he was about to open his mouth to explain, Yu Qinghuan suddenly cut in, “You did not finish your noodles. They will clump together once they get cold. Why don’t you finish eating first?”

Ren Jian: “…”

Yu Qinghuan added sincerely, “Very expensive noodles. It will be a shame if you do not eat it while it is hot.”

Ren Jian: “…”

Yes, yes, very expensive. In fact, so expensive that I will buy ten bowls for you to eat your fill tomorrow, okay?

He grumbled internally but showed nothing on his face, continuing to immerse himself in cleaning his bowl.

Yu Qinghuan took this time for Ren Jian to finish eating, to rack his brain. Seeing that Ren Jian had finished, he started first, “I thought it over carefully just now, I doubt I would let any borrowed debt go unpaid.”

Ren Jian: “…”

“I never get violence on campus, or get involved with any MLM. I never sold counterfeit goods, let alone cheating money. I have been honest and trustworthy, eager to help others, and dedicated to building a harmonious socialism and a community of shared future for mankind.” Yu Qinghuan went on and on, talking nineteen to the dozen, “I really do not know why I left such a deep impression on you for so long.”

Ren Jian uttered, “…Are you done?”

“Sorry.” Yu Qinghuan yielded instantly, “Yes I am done.”

“Then it is my turn.” Ren Jian clapped his hands together before interlocking his fingers. He looked Yu Qinghuan in the face. “Actually, I knew that you would ask this, but I did not expect for you to ask so soon. I thought it would take at least you joining TKOW before you come to ask me why I persisted in looking for you these past three years once the other teammates told you. But asking me right now is fine too, since I do want to tell you in the grand scheme of things.

“The sole reason why I participated in TKOW’s recruitment competition is to be on the same team as you, as well as get to know you.”

“Yu Qinghuan.” Ren Jian’s hands trembled slightly from the strength of his grip. “I walked the path of a professional esports player because of you.”

“What?” Yu Qinghuan slapped his hands against the table and got out of his chair, showing a stunned expression.

TKOW relied on its unquestioning strength and had topped the peak of every gamers’ dreams in domestic competition for three consecutive years. Yet, the ace of TKOW said to him, I walked the path of a professional esports player because of you.

He couldn’t be fucking dreaming, right?

Ren Jian smiled, hesitated, and lifted up his right sleeves for Yu Qinghuan to see.

Yu Qinghuan lowered his head to look, and was shocked in place.

There were a few pale scars on the inner side of Ren Jian’s right forearm.

“I made this with a knife in my last year of senior high school.” Ren Jian talked, as if he was lightly touched upon a past of his, “Now I thought about it, my younger self was really a dumbass. But at that time, it is not like I have the thought to commit suicide or intentionally caused self harm. I just thought that life was meaningless, and I wanted to try everything, including pain. I had a hard time in my second and third years of senior high school. Later, I took a stroll in B University and saw you. To be precise, I saw your match. At that time, you wore a mask, so I did not know what you looked like.”

“Ah…B University…” Yu Qinghuan remembered now.

B University was where he won his first competition.

It was also where Ren Jian first met Yu Qinghuan.

Ren Jian stood under the stage, amidst the crowd. He gazed up and saw the brilliant gameplays on the large LED screen.

Suddenly, the crowd burst into thunderous cheers.

During his moment of confusion, he saw five people on the right side of the stage jumped up, cheered joyfully, and shouted, “We won!”

Then the host handed the microphone to the boy wearing the mask. “QH, as the MVP in this competition, do you have anything you would like to say?”

The boy’s eyes lit up as he exclaimed, “We are the best, we made a bloody comeback and won the competition, that is how amazing we are! We are the champions!!!”

Ren Jian watched him.

Saw the passion and energy that life should have.

That dazzling scene, and that excitement, with exuberant pride and transparent joy.

It hit the deepest part of his heart.

After spectating that game and watching the interview with QH, Ren Jian started to slowly get into gaming and unexpectedly, found himself to be very talented.

The original melancholy seemed to be less annoying now that he had something to rely on and to kill time with.

“Later, I heard that you took part in the TKOW’s recruiting competition, so I also signed up. I remembered that on the day of the competition, you hid among a group of excited players, but I recognized you right away because you were still wearing a mask, which is the appearance that I am familiar with. I wanted to tell you these things after I joined TKOW with you. Instead, you disappeared after the competition ended.”

“Uh…” After listening to Ren Jian’s words, Yu Qinghuan was in a long daze. He never thought that he would have such a deep impact on a person.

This kind of feeling was too bizarre. In the vast sea of people, where one might never meet the people they brushed shoulders with ever again. They were nothing but unrelated parties that one should not waste effort and thoughts on, but to think he actually changed the trajectory of a person’s life.

“At that time…I wore a mask because I was afraid that my class advisor would recognize me. At that time, the esports competitions were always held in the university, and my advisor did not understand my passion for competitive esports, so I had always been careful in hiding my identity, for fear that he would catch me and talk my ears off. Pfff—” At the mention of this, Yu Qinghuan chuckled softly, “During my first and second years in uni, I was beyond saving in other professors’ eyes. Only my class advisor tried to get through me. Later when I decided to focus on my study, he nearly cried in front of me.”

Ren Jian quietly listened.

Yu Qinghuan raised his head and said each word solemnly, “Ren Jian, thank you.”

Ren Jian was startled from being thanked suddenly, “What?”

Yu Qinghuan had always felt like a remnant of ashes, exhausted all of his heat, and burned all of his light, curling up in a corner nobody knew, and waiting to be ruthlessly scattered by a gust of wind. It was the unyielding perseverance, only a small smoldering on the ashes, no light and no flame.

Later, amidst the untold numbers of doubts about how he was going to move forward, Yu Qinghuan heard someone say to him, You fully deserve the first place in this match. I walked the path of a professional esports player because of you.

Now, all the distractions, frustrations, weaknesses and uncertainties were swallowed up by the raging flames.

Under the blue dome of heaven, a spark started a wildfire.

Yu Qinghuan said the next sentence with a smile.

“I want to show everyone what it means to fully deserve the first place.”

The translator has something add:

Teo: I been seeing comments on how boring/ creepy Ren Jian was being. Please give this character a chance. He does have a past and this story does focus on him getting through that.

You apply for a vague job listing for ‘sales’ on craigslist. Or maybe an old friend from high school adds you on Facebook and says they have an amazing business opportunity for you. Or maybe the well dressed guy who’s always interviewing people in the Starbucks that you work at asks if you really want to be slinging coffee the rest of your life.

The scam: MLMs are little more than pyramid schemes. They involve buying some sort of product (usually snake oil health products like body wraps or supplements) and shilling them to your friends and family. They claim that the really money is recruiting people underneath you who give you a slice of whatever they sell. And if those people underneath you recruit more people, you get a piece of their sales. Ideally if you have a big enough pyramid underneath you the money will roll in without any work on your part. Failure to see any profit will be your fault for not “wanting it enough.” The companies will claim that you need to buy their extra training modules or webinars to really start selling. But in reality, the vast majority of people who buy into a MLM won’t see a cent. At the end of the day all you’ll be doing is annoying your friends and family with your constant recruitment efforts. What to look out for: Recruiters love to be vague. They won’t tell you the name of the company or what exactly the job will entail. They’ll pump you up with promises of “self-generating income”, “being your own boss”, and “owning your own company.” They might ask you to read books about success and entrepreneurs. They’re hoping you buy into the dream first.

If you get approached via social media, check their timelines. MLMs will often instruct their victims to pretend that they’ve already made it. They’ll constantly post about how they’re hustling and making the big bucks and linking to youtube videos about success. Again, all very vague about what their job actually entails. If you think you’re being recruited: Ask them what exactly the job is. If they can’t answer it’s probably a MLM. Just walk away.