Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

The man slowed his pace, keeping a small distance between them, and followed closely behind Jiang Zhiyu.

He kept his eyes fixed on the figure ahead, silently memorizing the route. As he realized he was almost at his destination, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he instinctively wanted to quicken his pace to shorten the distance.

But he had only taken half a step forward, and before he could get any closer, a tall figure suddenly cut in from the side, blocking his path perfectly.

The newcomer was tall and indifferent, with a calm and collected aura. He stood quietly in place, his gaze fixed on him, carrying an invisible sense of pressure.

The man suddenly stopped in his tracks, frozen in place. His heart skipped a beat, and he instantly sensed something was wrong. He subconsciously looked around and found that people were closing in from all sides, forming a pincer movement.

He stood frozen for two seconds, glaring fiercely at Jiang Zhiyu's retreating figure, only to find that the other had disappeared around the corner at some point.

He no longer had time to wonder why he was being targeted; only one thought remained in his mind—run!

The man gritted his teeth and twisted his body sharply, trying to escape through the gap between the group. However, he did not expect that his reckless charge was nothing to the man in front of him. In the next second after turning around, he was easily pinned to the ground by the man in front of him.

The moment his left cheek hit the ground, the only thought that flashed through his mind was: Now that bastard Chen Yue is probably going to be so smug.

Jiang Zhiyu, who was ahead, maintained a steady pace from beginning to end, as if he had never noticed anyone following him, and his steps never faltered.

He walked straight into the building, took the elevator, and returned home safely.

Jiang Zhiyu returned home, took the water out of the supermarket shopping bag, and put it in the refrigerator.

He casually placed the shopping bag he was carrying on the entryway counter, took out a few bottles of ice water and drinks, bent down and sorted them into the refrigerator's crisper drawer, then gently pushed the refrigerator door with his fingertips and closed it with a click.

Just as I straightened up, my phone, which was in my pocket, suddenly vibrated twice.

Jiang Zhiyu lowered his eyes, slowly took out his phone and turned on the screen, where a short message popped up.

[Gao: We're taking the person with us.]

Jiang Zhiyu's fingertip hovered over the screen, and he replied with only one word:

[Rr: Hmm.]

Jiang Zhiyu ultimately did not attend RXG's match.

Whether it was because he was worried about being recognized, or for some other reason, Jiang Zhiyu himself couldn't say for sure.

But he sent Vax a long-awaited message before the match.

[Rr: Good luck in the match.]

At that time, Vax had already put on his headphones and was on stage in the backstage equipment area adjusting parameters. His phone was on silent and placed in the rest area, so he didn't see the message in time.

It wasn't until the end of the match, when he dragged himself off the field exhausted and frustrated, that he finally found a string of unread messages piling up on his phone.

The screen was filled with his persistent, obsessive questions.

[Vax: Jiang, I will never forgive you, never.]

[Vax: Why aren't you replying to my messages?]

Vax: (Missed call)

Vax: (Missed call)

Vax: ...

[Vax: Why can't I reach you? What are you doing?]

[Vax: I'm sorry... Did you come to watch my match? But I didn't play well, I played terribly.]

[Vax: Are you still angry with me?]

[Rr: Good luck in the match.]

At the very bottom of a pile of messages filled with grievances, stubbornness, and guilt, lay that belated message of encouragement.

Those four simple words instantly shattered Vax's tense emotions after the entire match loss.

RXG ultimately lost this match.

In fact, the RXG team's overall performance has been steadily improving, and the team's chemistry is gradually returning. Unfortunately, the biggest problem has never been the main players, but rather the inexperienced rookies who come off the bench.

After the Soul incident, the hastily appointed newcomers lacked experience in major competitions. Under the pressure of the competition, their mentality was unstable, their teamwork was severely lacking, and they couldn't execute many tactics, which dragged down the game's pace and prevented them from achieving their first victory this season.

This is also why fans have been so angry lately, so the "Shining Project" program team, which is a very useful punching bag, has become a target for fans to kick along the way.

Coincidentally, the fans noticed that Jiang Zhiyu had never mentioned River on camera, so they couldn't find any reason to involve Jiang Zhiyu in the battle. After all, it would seem petty to start a fight just because of someone who looks like him and a provocative comment from a streamer.

But even when their own contestants are taking a low-key rest, they are still being compared to others every day. It would be a lie to say that they can truly let go of it. Most people have secretly turned their attention to the "Shining Project" program, waiting for the right moment to strike at Jiang Zhiyu.

The online flame war raged for seven days until the RXG champion gun skin and tournament stickers officially went on sale, diverting fans' attention to tournament merchandise and causing the public outcry to gradually subside.

After the argument subsided, Lu Shanshan hesitantly sent Tan Yi a message: "Yi Yi, are you angry with me?"

Tan Yi was completely confused by her message: 【Why would I be angry with you?】

Lu Shanshan gritted her teeth and pressed send: [About that argument you guys had with the show a few days ago, a lot of irrational people online were blindly attacking Jiang Jiang. I couldn't hold back and directly lashed out at them. I was afraid you'd be angry with me.]

[Tan Yi: Why would I be angry? Some irrational people speak without thinking, and it's only right for you, as a fan, to defend him. You were criticizing those random bystanders who were talking nonsense, not River. If I were in their shoes, I would have argued back too.]

[Lu Shanshan: QAQ That's great... This battle is finally over. I've been on tenterhooks these past few days, worried that Jiang Jiang would get scolded, and also worried that you'd be angry with me.]

[Tan Yi: We're friends, why would you get angry over something like this? But it's a good thing your Jiang Jiang hasn't mentioned River, otherwise even more people would be targeting him.]

[Lu Shanshan: Hehe, thank goodness! Maybe it's because Jiang Jiang hasn't been paying much attention to ZPL? I haven't seen him mention it much.]

After this "meal replacement" incident, Lu Shanshan dared not pester Tan Yi to get into the fandom and follow Jiang Zhiyu with her anymore. She could only silently open her photo album to relieve her longing for Jiang Zhiyu, which was lacking in content due to the recent holiday.

As she flipped through the pages, she came across their first meeting on the night of their debut performance, inside and outside the fence of the recording studio.

Even now, the boy in the photo is still stunning. She couldn't help but smile, flipping through the photos repeatedly to admire them.