Rebirth is fine, but I get eight hundred dollars right from the start?

Just as Huya and Douyu, two future live streaming giants, were racking their brains over how to secure Emperor's signing rights.

On the day the All-Star Game ended, Lin Shu took the entire LPL team and a few members of the coaching staff to a relatively quiet restaurant and ordered a table full of dishes, as a way of marking the end of the tough battles of the past few days.

As the show ended.

Lin Shu let Zhang Hai go home with his parents for a couple of days to rest. After all, during the All-Star period, Li Nan and the others were on a semi-vacation, while Xiao Hai was buried in training and playing games with him.

As for Lin Shu himself, he did not return to Taicang.

He stayed an extra day in Shanghai, taking a walk along the Bund during the day while wearing a mask, and spending the evening alone in his hotel room. He reviewed his schedule for the next few days, squeezed in some time between invitations from Huya and Douyu, and slept soundly, giving himself a little break.

However, although it's called a holiday, it's actually less than a day long.

Just three days after the All-Star Game ended, Song Xiaohang, who had previously been discussing the esports collaboration with Leading Esports over the phone, took the initiative to come to his door.

Having witnessed the madness of the All-Star Game, Boss Song is eager for his own glamorous transformation.

"Come on, Brother Lin, let me raise a glass to you! Congratulations on winning the title of the best player on the server and the All-Star championship! Double happiness, double happiness!"

At the dinner table, knowing that Lin Shu, as an e-sports player, did not drink alcohol, Song Xiaohang offered his congratulations in the form of tea instead of wine.

Lin Shu also picked up his teacup, and gently touched the rim of the other person's cup, producing a soft ceramic sound.

"Brother Song, you're too kind—"

He took a sip of tea and said, "I wouldn't be where I am today without your strong support back then."

"Hey, what can I do to support you? Your skills are outstanding, and those rich tycoons are willing to hire you. That's your ability, it has nothing to do with me."

"Talented horses are common, but discerning judges are rare. Besides, how can your negligible commission not be considered a form of support?"

This wasn't just him saying something politely.

In the period immediately after my rebirth, I had nothing but an account and an advanced understanding of the game.

Without funds, channels, or a team, even buying a decent keyboard and mouse requires careful budgeting.

If he hadn't gotten on board with Song Xiaohang's studio, he wouldn't have been able to accumulate his first pot of gold so quickly through power leveling.

That tens of thousands of yuan isn't much today, but in the context of several months' worth of live streaming revenue, it's just the amount of tips received during a single live stream.

But at the time, that money was the first domino to set off the entire chain for him.

Without those tens of thousands of yuan, he might have had to spend several more weeks accumulating the funds from scratch, and might even have missed the deadline for forming a team to participate in the LPL professional league registration.

People should know how to be grateful and repay kindness.

Anyone can add flowers to brocade, but the true skill lies in providing charcoal in the snow.

Regardless of whether Song Xiaohang partnered with him because of his operational skills or something else, and regardless of whether their initial relationship was essentially that of an employer and employee—the fact is that when he needed help the most, the other party lent a helping hand.

Moreover, during that period, Song Xiaohang never pressured him to lower prices or block orders. He always paid him the full amount due and often proactively added fees for him when there were many orders late at night.

He remembers all of these things clearly.

"Brother, I've thought about the collaboration you mentioned before for a long time, and there's no reason for me to refuse."

Song Xiaohang put down his cup and said sincerely, "If you can remember to help your brother after you succeed, then I won't bother with all that empty talk."

"I also had a detailed discussion with Assistant Gu during the All-Star game these past few days."

As Song Xiaohang spoke, he unsealed the kraft paper document bag, pulled out a few pages of paper, and placed them on the table. "I have no objections to the specific details of the cooperation model, equity distribution, and operational division of labor. The conditions you proposed are all within a reasonable range, and I don't have anything to add—we'll proceed with your proposal."

He glanced at Lin Shu, a knowing smile playing on his lips: "I heard that Huya is eager to sign you, is that right?"

Lin Shu did not deny it and nodded.

"That's right." Song Xiaohang gently pushed the file bag an inch toward Lin Shu. "If Leading Esports can be launched in the next few days—not even fully operational, just the framework set up, all the necessary signatures signed, and the announcement that 'Emperor has joined forces with Xiaohang Studio to establish an official youth training and esports service brand'—I think that will be a lot of leverage when you negotiate with Huya."

Lin Shu's smile grew even wider.

Old Song is such a kind and honest man!

The reason I rushed to finalize the "Leading Esports" project before negotiating with Huya was precisely because of this consideration.

He's not just negotiating a streamer contract with Huya, but the entire esports ecosystem.

The emergence of Leading Esports proves that Lin Shu is not working alone – he has a complete youth training system, a formal operations team, and sustainable offline business support.

Such a partner exudes a level of confidence at the negotiating table that is completely different from a streamer who "only makes a living from live streaming".

Song Xiaohang's willingness to push this matter forward clearly shows that he doesn't care whether he can wait a couple more days or negotiate the conditions again. He genuinely wants to hand this card to Lin Shu as soon as possible so that Lin Shu can knock on Huya's door more loudly when he does.

"Everything is just waiting for your approval," Song Xiaohang said directly. "If you say 'okay,' we'll sign the contract immediately, and the project will start as soon as it's signed."

Lin Shu picked up his teacup and raised it again.

This time there were no polite words, no small talk. A thousand words lingered in my throat for a moment, then were swallowed down with the sip of tea, turning into just two words.

"grateful."

……

After confirming the intention to cooperate, Lin Shu took Song Xiaohang on a bus back to Taicang that afternoon.

The journey from Shanghai to Taicang wasn't far. It took about an hour on the highway. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from dense suburban factories to sparse greenery and low-rise residential buildings. Finally, we turned into that familiar street and could see the small white-walled building of the HWG base standing quietly in the afternoon sunlight.

The car was parked in the yard, and as soon as the two people entered the gate, a series of footsteps could be heard from the entrance.

Gu Xinyue was wearing a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She was holding a tablet computer with its screen lit up, covered with tables and documents.

She seemed to have been waiting in the living room for a while; three cups of tea were already brewed on the coffee table in front of her.