# Chapter 126
After Zhou Huo finished delivering his manager's reflections, he said to the accompanying camera operator, "Come here, film my phone."
The camera operator was completely confused but moved closer as instructed.
Zhou Huo casually opened Twitter, letting the camera zoom in for a close-up, then refreshed the page. He asked the cameraman, "Did you get the time on my Twitter app?"
The cameraman was completely lost, honestly replying, "Got it."
"The timestamp on social media can't be faked." Zhou Huo showed none of the dazed expression he'd had while discussing the format with Yu Sui earlier. He tossed his phone onto the desk, speaking with clarity and logical precision. "It's been less than two hours since our quarterfinal draw, right?"
The cameraman nodded again.
Zhou Huo continued, "Give me a close-up of everyone in this room. Each person."
The cameraman was completely bewildered now, quietly reminding him, "Zhou-ge, the players haven't put on makeup, and some haven't even washed their hair..."
Zhou Huo had always been particular about his players' public image. Normally at the base, he never allowed any staff to film the players when they looked disheveled. But this time, Zhou Huo took the initiative. "Film them."
The cameraman adjusted the lens, capturing Yu Sui, Shi Luo, Chen Huo, Puppy, Lao Qiao in turn... then the camera turned back to Zhou Huo.
"With time and location as evidence, this is the state of our club immediately after the draw." Zhou Huo said coolly, "I don't know when you'll be seeing this footage, or whether we'll have won or lost by then, whether we can get past the quarterfinals. But I just want to leave a record, leave evidence, so everyone knows: before the quarterfinals, no one on our team was afraid to fight."
"As for our quarterfinal opponents, we were indeed caught off guard. But our team wasn't scared, wasn't worried, wasn't in a state of狼狈. Several players were even excited—the draw result satisfied them."
"If we win the quarterfinals, then our players were brilliant."
"If we lose... please let certain teams know that your pre-match fancy tricks didn't intimidate us. This match was something we were happy to accept. Please let certain haters know that all our players never chickened out from start to finish. Faced with certain teams' malicious bracket manipulation, our team maintained grace, preserved our region's dignity abroad, and our players gave their all."
"Cut." Zhou Huo signaled the cameraman that he could stop. "Keep this footage safe, make a backup. I'll need it for PR after the match."
The cameraman turned off the camera. Only then did Zhou Huo take a deep breath, wiping the barely visible beads of sweat from his forehead.
Lao Qiao watched Zhou Huo's fluid, professional performance—comforting the players while simultaneously gathering PR material—and was utterly stunned. He couldn't help but turn to Yu Sui. "So much money spent hiring Zhou Huo as manager, and it really was worth every cent... He's paved the road ahead and behind for you guys."
"Really, it's not just for PR." Zhou Huo wiped his sweat and shook his head with a rueful smile. "Don't laugh when I say this, but being around you people has made me regress mentally about ten years. No, even when I was ten years younger, I wasn't this cringey. You've all made me so un-businesslike... Alright, my work is done. The real battle still depends on all of you."
The so-called "real battle" was nothing but training, training, and more training without stopping.
Both Free and NSN had made it to the quarterfinals. Saint's single team wasn't enough to serve as practice partners anymore, and practicing with other regions risked leaking strategies. Lao Qiao managed to contact people back home on short notice, piecing together two practice teams from scratch—all top active players, all willing to adjust for the time difference to spar with both teams, and all refusing to accept any payment for their services.
"All these years, I've never been able to reconcile with that guy... Every time we run into each other at domestic tournaments, we inevitably get on each other's nerves. When we bump into each other in solo queue, he doesn't listen to my calls, and I refuse to take his heals—we both think the other doesn't deserve to climb with us..."
The day before a practice match, Shi Luo stared at the healer ID on the opposing practice team, muttering to himself. "Three years ago, neither of us were adults yet. We were both newly registered league players. We ran into each other in the bathroom of someone's hot pot restaurant. He splashed water on me, so I peed in his face... We had an epic fight. At the time, I thought I could never reconcile with this grandson, and I'm sure he felt the same. But now..."
Before the practice match even started, the iron-willed, unbending God Shi, after staring at the IDs of the opposing practice team for a long while, pulled over his keyboard and老老实实地typed in the all-chat room before the match started—exactly as he always did.
Except this time he typed much slower.
【Free-Evil】: [Thanks, brothers. Hard work.]
【Unruly BOok】: [...]
【Free-Evil】: [...Thanks.]
【Unruly BOok】: [We... you don't have to be polite.]
【Free-Evil】: [Not being polite. You really went out of your way for us... Thanks.]
【Unruly BOok】: [...[heart]]
Shi Luo closed his eyes, struggled for a long moment, then sent an emoji as well.
【Free-Evil】: [[a little flower]]
Chen Huo had joined the custom room, and seeing Shi Luo's global chat, burst out laughing. "Living to see this day—is God Shi thanking his sworn enemy? And you sent a little rose, hahaha, this is killing me... You've grown up, kid."
Shi Luo's face reddened. "What else was I supposed to do?! They came all this way to help us practice, so I can't even thank them?"
"Of course you can." Puppy said with a smile. "This is the good thing about Shi Zi—you know when to be grateful. Really, Lao Qiao told me yesterday that the healer for the practice team was 暴躁书, and I was worried you'd blow up and refuse to practice."
Shi Luo frowned. "I'm not stupid."
Lao Qiao was very satisfied. "See? I told you it would be fine. For three years, I've heard that many people tried to mediate between you two, but neither budged. Now, tsk tsk... it's resolved."
Yu Sui watched the chat log, smiling faintly. "...What so many people couldn't accomplish, Holy Sword did effortlessly."
Zhou Huo: "Pfft!"
Under Holy Sword's various provocations, the Chinese region achieved unprecedented unity and goodwill. During international competition, everyone focused outward together. No matter what inner-region battles might resume when the new season started, at least for now, everyone just wanted to crush Holy Sword.
A domestic team even proactively contacted Zhou Huo, asking if they needed help assembling another practice team. Now that NSN also needed practice to work on different strategies, three practice teams were barely sufficient. Free, as the first team in the left bracket, was the opening match for the quarterfinals. With only six days until the match, and needing to record trash talk, cooperate with official interviews, and rehearse the day before the match...
There wasn't much time left.
Zhou Huo thanked the brother teams for their kindness and assembled a fourth practice team. Starting from the night of the draw, the Free players had almost no time to rest except for sleeping and eating. Zhou Huo's management team was extremely reliable, arranging all activities meticulously without causing the players any trouble. When something came up, he always waited until after everyone's review sessions, when spirits had lifted slightly.
Like the afternoon the day after the draw.
"Got a question."
Everyone was eating lunch. Zhou Huo waited until they were mostly finished before asking, "The organizers contacted me. As usual, they need each of you to fill out forms for applications. Knowing you don't have time for this, let me show you what they need. Anyone who needs it, just tell me and I'll handle the paperwork. You won't have to worry about a thing."
Zhou Huo passed the forms to the four players.
Shi Luo set down his chopsticks and took the form—
**《Player Family Companion Application Form》**
"The organizers are offering free travel expenses for all advancing players' family members starting from the quarterfinals," Zhou Huo explained, having already reviewed the details carefully. "You don't actually have to decide this early. Some teams have their parents come for the semifinals or finals. Some invite girlfriends... The NSN manager next door told me they were worried they might not make it past the quarterfinals, so they wouldn't get to enjoy this benefit. That's why they're pushing me to get your forms filled out too. So..."
Zhou Huo only knew that Shi Luo's relationship with his family wasn't good; he wasn't entirely familiar with the others' situations either. He hadn't wanted to bring this up, but it was official tournament procedure, so it had to be mentioned. Zhou Huo smiled. "So... anyone need this?"
"I don't." Shi Luo crumpled the form and threw it into his disposable takeout container. "No one's coming."
Zhou Huo forced a laugh. "I mean... not every NSN player has family coming either."
"My parents definitely won't come either." Chen Huo tossed the form aside, unbothered. "They only started accepting my career in the past year or two, and we've just started getting along better. Asking them to come support me? No way. Don't want to cause trouble."
Puppy drawled, "My parents don't骂me. They think I'm pretty impressive, making so much money. But the two of them don't even watch the matches and wouldn't understand the game. Dragging them here would just be going through the motions for some官方sappy video. Not worth it."
Zhou Huo forced another smile, turning to Yu Sui. "How about you..."
"Can't come." Yu Sui didn't even look at the form, eating as he spoke. "They need to apply to go abroad,层层审批. By the time approval came through, if it even did, it'd be a month later. Forget about them being uninterested—even if they really wanted to come, they'd miss the finals."
Zhou Huo swallowed hard.
He had just been on the phone with the NSN manager. Over there, nearly every player had family coming. 信然 was even bringing his girlfriend's parents to watch NSN's quarterfinal match.
And looking at his own team...
Not a single player's parents were coming.
Puppy was right—the organizers would definitely arrange the process, filming pre-match blessing videos with players' parents, and arranging the best seating areas for family on match day.
Compared to other teams... his players were a bit like children nobody loved.
They were all guys in their early twenties. For such a huge match, wouldn't it be nice to have a parent around?
Zhou Huo's heart ached a little. He felt sympathetic and sorry. "It's fine if they don't come. I... I shouldn't have brought this up."
The four players in the room stared at Zhou Huo with puzzled looks.
"Is he..." Chen Huo turned to Puppy, curious. "Feeling sorry for us?"
Puppy watched Zhou Huo with interest, nodding. "Seems like it. His eyes went red for a moment."
Shi Luo frowned at Zhou Huo. "Why are you crying?"
Yu Sui also looked at Zhou Huo, bewildered.
Zhou Huo: "..."
Zhou Huo had no choice but to admit, "Fine, yes. I felt bad for you guys for a second."
"What's there to be婆婆妈妈的 about?" Chen Huo said, baffled. "So our families aren't coming. What if I screw up and my dad's down there yelling 'you idiot'? None of us have had family come watch a match since we entered the pro scene, and nobody's ever been sad about it. So what?"
Puppy nodded. "Never once. Honestly, I wouldn't even want them here. What's the difference between that and having your parents hovering over you during gaokao?"
Zhou Huo: "..."
Lao Qiao watched the drama unfold from the side, unhurried. "You think you know why everyone's got that 'bad boy' reputation? Don't be sentimental... they really don't care."
"What's the big deal that my parents aren't super supportive and don't like watching matches?" Chen Huo smiled. "Doesn't stop them from still considering me their son. I still consider them my parents."
Puppy added, "And it hasn't stopped us from winning championships."
Zhou Huo was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say.
After a long pause, Zhou Huo ventured carefully, "You guys... really aren't sad?"
"Ge." Chen Huo said sincerely, "We really aren't as delicate and sensitive as you think. We chose this profession ourselves. Our parents can now calmly accept it, and when we go home for holidays, they feed us well and take care of us. That's pretty good already. We're happy too."
Zhou Huo could only say flatly, "Okay, as long as you're all fine with it."
Thinking about how other teams all had family pre-match blessing videos, all the buzz and excitement, while his team had none, Zhou Huo still felt a pang of心疼. He hesitated. "The video..."
Yu Sui, seeing that Zhou Huo was genuinely trying to do right by everyone, kindly offered a suggestion. "If you really want our team to have this moving moment too, I don't mind being the stand-in dad. We could help each other record some lines..."
Shi Luo responded without thinking, "Chen Huo can't be my dad. Anyone else is fine."
Chen Huo shot Shi Luo a glare.
Zhou Huo was completely defeated. He nodded. "Fine, you win... Keep training. I'll go turn them down."
The 中二 yet sensitive Manager Zhou gathered the forms and left the training room. The several bad boys in the room couldn't help but burst out laughing.
There were still a dozen minutes before the next practice match. Everyone was slouched in their gaming chairs, resting. Chen Huo and Puppy were telling each other little stories about how their relationships with their families had improved over the past two years. Shi Luo pulled his keyboard over and started setting up the custom room for the upcoming session.
Nearby, Yu Sui watched Shi Luo.
Those three really didn't care. Over the years, their relationships with their families had gotten better and better, and they genuinely didn't sweat the small stuff.
But Shi Luo was different.
It wasn't that he didn't care—he genuinely had no parental support.
Just moments ago, he'd laughed at Zhou Huo for being sentimental. But watching Shi Luo now, Yu Sui felt a pang in his heart.
His little boyfriend was in the quarterfinals of Worlds for the first time this year. It was his first time learning that this kind of process even existed.
Yu Sui nudged his chair and rolled it over next to Shi Luo.
Yu Sui appeared to be watching Shi Luo set up the room. Shi Luo didn't mind.
Yu Sui stared at Shi Luo's computer screen and said softly, "...Want your boyfriend to record a video for you?"
Shi Luo's mouth curved slightly. He didn't say anything.
"The trash talk pre-match routine, it'll be shown on the big screen before the game. Want one?" Yu Sui said quietly. "Global livestream, publicly broadcasted. What do you say?"
"No." Shi Luo countered seriously. "It's just quarterfinals. What's there to make public? Holy Sword doesn't deserve that."
Yu Sui smiled. "Quarterfinals not good enough? Then when? God Shi... when will you officially announce me and give me a proper title?"
Shi Luo couldn't help but smile from Yu Sui's flirting. He still didn't answer.
With Yu Sui having lightened the mood, the little frustration Shi Luo had felt earlier completely dissipated. Sitting close together, Shi Luo set up the room while curiously asking, "You said your parents need official approval to travel abroad... What does that mean?"
Yu Sui never liked to show off about his family situation. He thought for a moment and kept it simple. "People at their academic level can't leave the country freely. If they want to go abroad, they need to apply first, explain what they're going for and when they'll return... Very complicated."
Shi Luo was surprised. "They're... that high-level? Doing academia that high up—do they already belong to the state? This strict?"
"Yeah, extremely strict." Yu Sui nodded, glancing at Shi Luo sideways, teasing him. "God Shi, you're dating me. If it ever came out, you'd have to go through a background check."
Shi Luo: "..."
Shi Luo struggled for a while before murmuring, "I have ear piercings, and I smoke... Would I pass?"
Yu Sui barely contained his laughter. "Not sure."
"Tricking me is fun, huh?" Shi Luo bit his lip, but still picked up the cigarette he'd been holding and put it on the desk. He rubbed his ear, which had reddened from Yu Sui's flirting, and urged, "Training's starting!"