Chapter 9

9

The moment he got home, clicking the light on, Yan Xiu rushed to his computer and pressed the power button.

While it booted, he took his peripherals from his bag and plugged them all in.

After logging into the KOOK voice channel, Yan Xiu: “Sorry for being late, Boss Ling.”

In the “Laifu Esports – Boss Ling Exclusive” channel, besides Yan Xiu, another companion was already waiting. They’d been chatting before Yan Xiu arrived. A young male voice said: “No worries. Chen Zai and I just went for some zero-to-hero runs. So, how late are we playing tonight? I’ve got no class tomorrow morning, can play till 2 AM.”

Boss Ling was a UK international student with over a hundred ping, who stubbornly insisted on playing the Chinese server.

Yan Xiu silently calculated in his head. The UK time difference should be eight hours, so that’d be 10 AM over there.

Chen Zai: “Did God Show just get back from going out? Should we turn in early, or what’s the plan?”

“It’s fine. Let’s play. If my performance drops too much later, I’ll find someone to replace me. Is that okay, Boss Ling?”

“No problem.” Boss Ling fired up with full motivation: “Let’s GO, GO, GO! Full Aggression!!!”

They played until past 5 AM. Yan Xiu was seriously dizzy. During a sniper hold at the CEO Office tower on Bakesh, he missed his timing and let the enemy push close. Although he recovered in time and got a 1v2, leaving only a single Uluru alive on the enemy side, he’d also been downed. Boss Ling had already hit the ground alongside Yan Xiu. It was only thanks to Chen Zai’s solo 1v1 kill against the Uluru that they were both revived.

Yan Xiu: “Sorry, my performance is slipping, Boss Ling. Should I call someone else for you?”

“Nah. Let’s keep playing. It’s fun.”

Yan Xiu thought for a moment: “Then I’ll play a while longer.”

By the time they played past 7 AM, Yan Xiu truly couldn’t hold on any longer, and only then did he help Boss Ling call in someone else.

After shutting down his computer, Yan Xiu collapsed completely into his gaming chair. He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, then opened the settlement group.

【Onlyshow: 10:23 PM to 7:15 AM, nine hours, nine orders, Boss Ling.】

After settling the order, he found Pineapple in his WeChat friends list: 【What time did Sister Qiqi schedule today again?】

Pineapple: 【Holy crap, bro, did you just wake up, or have you not slept?!】

【Haven’t slept.】

【Sister Qiqi told me 1 PM. Then go sleep, quick!!!】

Inside the cramped, dim little rental apartment, the old AC unit creaked and groaned, its fan blades swinging as if about to split apart at any moment.

Yan Xiu couldn’t fall asleep.

He opened Alipay, stared at his Yu’ebao balance for a few long seconds, then went to Laifu Esports’ order settlement group, found his financial Excel sheet, and opened it.

Laifu Esports settled companion orders on a weekly basis, paying out every Monday. Today was Sunday, so tomorrow he’d get another batch of order money. Sister Qiqi was also going to play for a long time today, likely adding at least another ten hours of session time to tomorrow’s payout.

He opened his phone calculator and started calculating.

Yu’ebao: 1,113,134 CNY.

Adding the 30,000+ that would come in this week.

And if OLG’s offer was, say, 400,000, that’d be about 1.6 million total.

Only 400,000 left to go.

OLG still had to negotiate his contract with BOX. Jack had said they should get back to him around next Wednesday. So there were still four or five days…

The light in the young man’s eyes flickered, dimming then brightening. The old AC wheezed and sputtered into silence, then a few seconds later, roared back to life.

~

On Wednesday afternoon, a WeChat message from Huarong arrived.

【Flower: Your contract is finalized. Just got it back from BOX. Can you come to the club the day after tomorrow, Show?】

【Flower: I’ll send it over for you to review first.】

Yan Xiu happened to just finish an order and was eating takeout. Chomping on a burger, he saw the WeChat file Sister Hua sent and immediately tapped to receive it.

This time, he meticulously read through every single clause of the contract details OLG sent over.

A year ago, when he’d just turned 18, he hadn’t carefully read BOX’s contract before signing his name. Now, this two-year transfer contract OLG offered had terms far better than BOX’s original one, even specifying detailed requirements for potential future re-transfer fees.

The contract was very template-based, but objectively fair.

OLG couldn’t possibly give him the high-salary, high-benefit contract like Danger’s. But the monthly Base Salary was 12,000, and the bonus splits weren’t low.

【Flower: Pay attention to page 13.】

【Onlyshow: Okay.】

Flipping to page 13, Yan Xiu was initially a bit confused. Then, as he read further and saw the clauses for “Bonus Split Percentage” and “Salary Tier Progression,” his entire being seemed to hit the pause button. He stared for a long time before Yan Xiu understood the significance of these two terms.

【Sister Hua, what’s this?】

【Not every newbie gets this. CatClaw only gives it to rookies he sees potential in and values. At OLG, besides you, only Carrier Pigeon in the Second Team has it. This needs to stay confidential. There’s a non-disclosure agreement at the end you have to sign too.】

– During time on the team, for every Starting championship won, bonus split percentage increases by 5%, up to a maximum increase of 20%.

– If Starting and reaching the Top Four, base salary increases by 50%; reaching Semifinals, increase by 70%…

【What time can you reach the base the day after tomorrow? CatClaw is available from 2-5 PM.】

【I can arrive by 2.】

【Then I’ll have someone drive to the train station to pick you up. Do you have a lot of luggage?】

The rental was small, but still felt a bit empty. The tenant didn’t have much stuff.

【Not a lot.】

【Good, then see you the day after tomorrow at 2 PM. [Mai Xiaoshu Sticker]】

【Thank you, Sister Hua. [Cute Cat Tilting Head]】

After confirming the time with Sister Hua, Yan Xiu let out a heavy sigh of relief.

He lay back in his gaming chair, feeling the room spin around him—surreal, yet all too real.

He was going to OLG, just like that?

…To play pro for OLG?

Yan Xiu straightened up, pulled one knee onto the chair, and hugged his leg with his arm. He opened OLG’s official TikTok account.

The latest post was the transfer announcement for substitute Little Gun. Little Gun hadn’t seen playtime at OLG and didn’t have many fans. Yet, riding solely on OLG’s massive popularity in the league, this TikTok still garnered 50,000 likes. The comments were all well-wishes for his future success and hopes he’d perform brilliantly at his new team.

The next post down was OLG’s Saudi EWC vlog.

Yan Xiu tapped on it.

The opening minute was footage of each member packing their luggage. Rose brought a lumbar support pillow; he used a pillow every day to ease his aching back muscles. Qingbao brought some spicy sticks and sausages. After Sister Hua pointed out these were all strictly forbidden to bring abroad, Fatty disappointedly covered his face and pounded the floor.

Bai Wei’s belongings were simple. His suitcase was generously wide open on the floor. Aside from two sets of OLG team uniforms and a few personal clothing items, all that remained were some daily necessities.

From off-camera, Huarong asked: “You’re just bringing this? There’s still so much empty space.”

Bai Wei snapped his suitcase shut and stood up. The camera angle tilted up to follow him.

“The rest of the space… is for the trophy.”

OLG-Danger’s voice was light and husky, grinning provocatively at the camera.

~

Before going to OLG for his tryout, Yan Xiu had already contacted his landlord to discuss ending the lease early.

The next day, he began clearing out his things.

His belongings were very few. The pots, pans, and utensils belonged to the landlord. The only large items he needed to deal with were a height-adjustable desk and a gaming chair.

Last night, he listed the desk on Xianyu for a low price for local pickup. In the afternoon, two students-looking guys called a Huolala truck and came to haul the desk away. The gaming chair, he directly gifted to Pineapple.

Pineapple: 【…Just ship it to this address. Are you really going pro?】

Yan Xiu typed: 【Yeah, heading to the team house tomorrow.】

【Which team?】

【Not convenient to say yet. Gotta wait for the official announcement.】

【Okay got it. From now on, I’ll just go watch your matches live. God Show, you’re my one and only connection in the DFL. All my hopes of ever getting a God D autograph rest entirely on your shoulders!】

Seeing Bai Wei’s name, Yan Xiu didn’t reply for a moment.

Pineapple: 【You won’t be able to take orders at Laifu Esports anymore, right?】

【No, I won’t.】

All DFL-signed professional players are prohibited from doing companion gaming. If discovered, the league issues a public penalty. Last year, a pro from the ROC Second Team was anonymously reported for using an alias to take orders at some companion gaming shop. In the end, that pro was fined 30,000 yuan and suspended for a month.

Qingbao carrying the boss was a bit of a gray area; Qingbao hadn’t taken a single cent from Brother Shan. The league couldn’t ban players from playing games with friends. As long as it was kept low-key, generally no one asked questions.

Pineapple: 【I’ll miss you, God Show. Next time I’ll come watch your matches!】

【I’ll get you tickets.】

【[Ratty Cheers!]】

With his luggage packed and his train ticket bought, Yan Xiu held his phone, staring at the WeChat page for a long time without moving.

He didn’t have a procrastination problem… but some words were truly hard to say out loud.

However, his phone suddenly rang.

【Ushering Wealth: I heard from Ningning that you told her you won’t be taking orders for now?】

Slender fingers hung over the screen for a few seconds before he started typing: 【Brother Cai, I was just about to tell you…】

【Going pro?】

Everyone had guessed it.

【Yeah.】

【Which team?】

【Haven’t officially announced yet.】

【Alright, bright future ahead, Little Xiu. If you need anything, just tell your Brother Cai. I’ve got a bit of pull in the DFL too.】

Last year’s DFL Autumn Split Grand Finals, Ushering Wealth had been invited as a special guest to cast live on-site.

Yan Xiu’s fingers gripping the phone started to sweat. He clutched the edge of his phone, pressing so hard his fingertips turned white. The screen auto-locked into black; he tapped it on again. Locked black again; tapped again.

After far too long.

【Brother Cai, can I borrow some money? I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.】

The next second, Ushering Wealth’s phone call came through.

“Is your family really in trouble?”

“No… sort of, yeah.”

“It’s fine. Just confirming it’s really you. Send me your Alipay account.”

After hanging up, Yan Xiu felt all the tension leave his body. He sent his Alipay account to Brother Cai.

【Fu transferred 200,000.00 CNY to you.】

Ushering Wealth: 【Anything comes up, just tell your bro.】

Yan Xiu stared at WeChat, his dry lips pressed together for ages before he could type out a single line: 【Thank you, Brother Cai.】

…

OLG’s final offer was 450,000. Adding what Yan Xiu had saved over this past year plus, plus the 200,000 he just borrowed from Brother Cai, there was still a gap of 150,000 or so for BOX’s transfer fee.

Yan Xiu simply couldn’t bring himself to ask Brother Cai again. He scrolled through his WeChat friends list. Mostly clients and companions.

He wouldn’t be able to take orders anymore; borrowing from clients wasn’t realistic, and they weren’t that close anyway. As for companions, most companions came from poor backgrounds, just eating a youthful meal. Money came fast but went fast too; very few saved. He didn’t know any companion friends who could lend that much.

Up and down the WeChat list, he scrolled back and forth over twenty times.

Yan Xiu’s gaze stopped on a single name.

…

His hovering gaze silently froze on that name. For a long time, he tapped on their WeChat.

【Dad… can I borrow some money?】