Chapter 23

When Ying Nian had serendipitously clicked on Yu Linran’s interview video, she never imagined it would lead to this.

For most fans, getting close enough to the stage to catch a glimpse of their idol would already be a big deal. But for her, not only had she seen him in person, visited the training base, dined at the same table with him, and been to the backstage lounge, but she also had his contact information.

Even though watching esports competitions doesn’t quite count as typical star-chasing, it wasn’t far off.

While looking in the mirror, Ying Nian couldn’t help but think that she was truly living the dream.

However, every situation has its pros and cons.

Having Yu Linran’s WeChat was certainly thrilling, but at the same time, Ying Nian no longer dared to casually reach out to him. In the past, if she encountered difficulties in a game or wanted to inquire about something, she could always bother “Y Shen.” Now that his “teammate” had turned out to be Yu Linran himself, Ying Nian found herself much more restrained, feeling genuinely stifled.

Even posting on her Moments had to be done with utmost caution. Every post required careful wording and multiple revisions before she dared to hit send, all to avoid embarrassing herself further in front of Yu Linran—or more accurately, to avoid deepening her already embarrassing situation.

If you asked Ying Nian what she feared most now, she would definitely answer: she feared Yu Linran asking her to solo.

The night she discovered the WeChat account belonged to Yu Linran, she soloed with him once, and the scene was unbearably tragic. She even suspected that Yu Linran used her as a way to kill time and amuse himself when he had nothing better to do before bed.

After returning home, she was pulled into another match by him, and it was almost the same script as last time, with the game unfolding in nearly identical ways. This relentless soloing left Ying Nian feeling quite frustrated.

However, Yu Linran wasn’t free every day. The team’s training schedule was tight, so apart from those two times, he didn’t have the opportunity to find her again. SF had matches every now and then, and Ying Nian followed their schedule closely. Almost every time they played a match, she would watch it, loyal to the core.

Each time she attended a live event, Ying Nian would post on Weibo as a memento. Gradually, she noticed that her follower count started to rise, and before she knew it, it had surpassed a thousand.

Puzzled, Ying Nian chatted with Xiao Xiao, asking, [Who are the people following me? Why are they interested in me?]

Xiaoxiao teased her, [Isn’t that simple? Just click on a few profiles, look at their names or their pages, and you’ll figure it out!]

Ying Nian, catching on a bit late, said, [Oh, is that so? I’ll check next time.]

Xiaoxiao replied, [No need to check; they’re all SF fans.]

This left Ying Nian a bit baffled.

[SF fans?]

[Yeah.]

[Why would they follow me instead of the team or the players?]

[Just look at your Weibo; it’s all about SF. Except for when you were in school, you’ve basically attended every match during the holidays, right? I’ve gone to fewer matches than you, and I bet no one else has attended more than you have.]

[So they just follow me because of that?]

[Exactly. How do they put it in the fan community? It’s like being a fan leader.]

Ying Nian was curious, [So what should I do then?]

Xiaoxiao told her, [Mainly, you just need to get everyone excited and involved.]

Ying Nian thought seriously for five seconds and concluded, [So, basically, I need to get them all to like Yu Linran as much as I do?]

[…]

Xiaoxiao was at a loss for words and teased her, [Can you think of something unrelated to Yu Linran for once? Your head’s full of the Captain every single day!]

Ying Nian admitted openly, [Of course! I’m not in school, so all I think about is him.]

She even added a grinning emoji at the end.

Xiaoxiao replied helplessly, [Alright, as long as you’re happy.]

The two didn’t chat for long. After their conversation ended, Ying Nian logged into Weibo, thought for a moment, and decided to start managing her account properly.

Thus, her first official post was freshly baked—

【@YuLinranMarryMe:

Please receive the divine strike from the Dragon King!】

Below the text were nine photos, all featuring Yu Linran.

The pictures were taken by Ying Nian during her last visit to watch the match, capturing a beauty that even the live broadcast cameras couldn’t quite grasp. When she showed the photos to Xiaoxiao, Xiaoxiao commented, [Of course, photos taken with emotion are different from those without! Yours are full of emotion, so much that it’s overflowing!]

It was a roundabout compliment on her photography skills and the quality of the photos she took.

All of Ying Nian’s photos were taken by herself, making them one of a kind. Her aesthetic sense was spot on, and she personally handled all the post-editing tasks like color correction. For anything she wasn’t skilled at, she would specifically look up guides to learn.

Indeed, if it weren’t for her deep affection, she wouldn’t have put in so much effort.

Among the nine photos, the one at the center was a snapshot Ying Nian had taken of the SF members on stage, almost missing the perfect moment. In that instant, the beam of light from the stage’s top shone down on Yu Linran, his gaze slightly lowered as he looked at his feet. He appeared to be enveloped in a holy light, exuding a cool and untouchable beauty, aloof and untainted.

This photo wasn’t just visually stunning but also deeply evocative; it was Ying Nian’s personal favorite. Posting it on Weibo felt like sharing a treasured possession.

As soon as the post went live, it took less than five minutes for the comments to start rolling in, growing from zero and steadily increasing.

[Whoa! Captain Yu looks absolutely killer!]

[The Captain is so handsome!]

[Yu Yu is just perfect!]

[…]

A bunch of people, strangers who had never met each other and whose genders and appearances were unknown, expressed the same admiration under her Weibo post from behind their screens.

Someone even asked, [OP, what’s the Dragon King?]

Ying Nian replied, [That’s the Captain!]

More people then asked, [Why do you call the Captain Dragon King?]

Ying Nian answered, [Because he’s born in the Year of the Dragon.]

After replying, Ying Nian switched back to her phone’s main screen. In the evening, Xiaoxiao suddenly messaged her, urging her to check Weibo.

[What happened?]

[Just go look! You’ll see!!]

She logged into Weibo, and to her surprise, the post had been shared nearly five thousand times.

What was going on??

Scrolling through the repost list, she finally found the source. Somehow, her Weibo post had been seen by a popular verified account, who was impressed by the visuals in her photos and decided to share her post.

The buzz had started to build late, but now it was truly taking off. Ying Nian watched in disbelief as the repost count skyrocketed, increasing by several dozen every minute, then by hundreds at a time, leaving her completely stunned.

Along with the rising repost count, her follower count was also climbing.

After reading through the various creative compliments from netizens, Ying Nian couldn’t help but marvel silently, wow! They’re praising him even more enthusiastically than she does—looks like she needs to learn from them!

As she was browsing through the diverse “rainbow farts” in the reposts, another message from Xiaoxiao popped up.

[Niannian! The official account liked your post again!!]

Yes, again.

The last time the official account liked one of her posts was quite some time ago. SF’s fanbase had been steadily growing with each match, already doubling compared to before.

She never expected that there would be another day when she’d get a like from the official account!

Ying Nian clicked on the notification, and sure enough, there was the SF official account.

From the perspective of SF’s staff, as a team that was just starting to make a name for itself, they still lacked widespread recognition. Although professional players don’t rely on their looks, and Yu Linran certainly doesn’t, this Weibo post was like a small spark. Giving it a like wouldn’t hurt anything.

The only impact was on Ying Nian—

Ten minutes later, Yu Linran reached out to her.

Ying Nian cautiously opened the WeChat message, and Yu Linran had sent three words:

[You’re very free?]

She pouted, feeling wronged as she defended herself, [Just doing normal fan activities!]

Although she tried to sound firm, she was actually worried that Yu Linran might be displeased, so Ying Nian quickly changed the subject, [Captain, aren’t you in training? How do you have time to message me?]

Yu Linran replied, [Break.]

The next sentence circled back to the previous topic: [During our break, Yi Shen saw the official account’s like and showed it to us on his phone.]

Oh great, it was Yi Shen again! Ying Nian silently complained to herself. Yi Shen, oh Yi Shen! Can’t you do something beneficial for the fans’ well-being?!

If Yu Linran were in front of her, Ying Nian would probably shrink back and speak timidly, [Hehehe, my photography skills are decent, right? But my tools aren’t professional enough and these were taken with my phone, so the resolution isn’t great. I’ll try to use a professional camera next time…]

After a moment, he replied with just one line: [Log on, solo.]

Ying Nian: …

Here we go again.

Resigned to her fate, Ying Nian turned on her computer and logged into the game. As soon as the game finished loading, she received a match invitation from Yu Linran’s alternate account.

For most fans, playing a game with their favorite player would be a dream come true. Unfortunately, she felt none of that happiness.

Yu Linran didn’t go easy on her. Not one bit!

Once they entered the match, it seemed like Yu Linran had no intention of teaching her anything today. He simply wanted to solo her. After she finished using her skills, he swiftly moved and maneuvered, executing two combos that drained her health bar completely.

The chat at the bottom left started up.

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: …

[OKMIJN]: ?

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: Captain, what are you doing?

[OKMIJN]: Crushing noobs.

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: ???

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: Isn’t it a bit too blunt to say that…

[OKMIJN]: Again.

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: Wait a sec!

[OKMIJN]: ?

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: I can’t beat you, and you’re not going easy on me. How am I supposed to play like this?!

[OKMIJN]: There’s no going easy in esports.

[OKMIJN]: Besides, the main point is for you to see something.

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: …See what?

[OKMIJN]: Do you know what that move I just used is called?

[Yu Linran Marry Me]: What’s it called?

[OKMIJN]: Dragon King’s Tail Swipe.

“…” Ying Nian wanted to dive through the screen and hit him.

A fan goes through all the trouble of taking photos, editing them, and posting on Weibo, and what does he do? Not only does he not compliment her, but he also turns around and thrashes her in the game. Is there any justice left?!

Ying Nian’s temper flared, and she typed a line: [If you don’t like it, I won’t take photos anymore.]

She didn’t even bother to call him Captain.

About half a minute later, Yu Linran replied, but it had nothing to do with her statement: [Why call me Dragon King?]

He was asking about the title she used for him in her post.

Ying Nian asked back, [You didn’t see? I replied in the Weibo comments.]

He said, [Didn’t see.]

Holding in her frustration, she answered, [Because you were born in the Year of the Dragon.]

He replied, [Oh.]

Then added two more words: [I see.]

Ying Nian didn’t respond, and the conversation stalled there.

The screen remained still for a brief moment. Suddenly, a new message popped up in the chat at the bottom left.

Yu Linran suddenly said:

[The fifth photo was pretty good.]

Ying Nian was stunned, as she stared at that line of text. Slowly, the awkward smile on her lips straightened, and then gradually, it curved upwards.

She stepped on the edge of the stool with her bare feet and covered her face with her hands, trying to contain her uncontrollable expression.

“Ahhh…!”

Damn it.

It felt like she could solo with him for a hundred more years!