Some of the influencers were already trembling uncontrollably. Shortly after, the police who had responded to a citizen’s report arrived, and all the troublemakers were escorted to the station. Mu Yun Group’s legal team followed them closely.

Mu Wan wouldn’t need to deal with these people again, but she made sure they would pay dearly for today’s despicable behavior.

Once the troublemakers were gone, peace returned to the hospital. However, many patients and nurses couldn’t help but cast curious glances at Mu Wan.

“Jiejie is so cool.”

Kuang Ye suddenly leaned close to Mu Wan’s ear and whispered teasingly, his tone filled with laughter.

Mu Wan’s face turned red. She gave him a sideways glare and snapped, “Are you making fun of me?”

Kuang Ye quietly held her hand, interlacing their fingers. “Not at all. I’m serious. You’ve always been like this—so kind-hearted.”

After all, she had saved him twice—once physically and once emotionally.

Just then, the light above the operating room went out, and the doctor walked out. O Lan rushed over immediately.

“Doctor, is my sister okay?”

The doctor removed his mask. “She made it, but her condition can’t be delayed any longer. She needs surgery as soon as possible, or her illness might worsen further.”

The hope that had just lit up in O Lan’s eyes was extinguished again. “But… I still don’t have enough money for the surgery…”

Mu Wan was about to speak, but Kuang Ye stepped forward and stopped her. He walked up to O Lan.

“Are you interested in joining ST’s youth training program? The minimum annual salary for the second team is 100,000 yuan, and for the first team, it’s at least 1 million yuan.”

Surgery wasn’t cheap. Kuang Ye didn’t want to think poorly of others, but he had grown up in a chaotic environment where he’d seen gratitude turn into resentment over small favors. He didn’t want Mu Wan to get caught up in anything like that.

O Lan hesitated for a moment and replied honestly, “But doesn’t the youth training program pay very little at first?”

His skills weren’t bad, and he’d received offers from several teams before. However, all required a one-month training period in the youth program. From a team’s perspective, it was reasonable to evaluate a player’s consistency. But for O Lan, whose sister’s illness drained money daily, he couldn’t afford to lose even a month.

Kuang Ye responded, “I can lend you the surgery money. You’ll write me an IOU^[1]I owe youAn IOU, a phonetic acronym of the words “I owe you,” is a document that acknowledges the existence of a debt. An IOU is often viewed as an informal written agreement rather than … Continue reading. If you fail the youth training in a month, you can return to being a streamer. If you pass, you’ll join ST. Deal?”

Hearing this, Zhang Qinan, who was standing nearby, raised an eyebrow at the mention of a 1 million yuan salary for the first team. The first team’s salary was indeed high, but currently, ST had no plans to replace anyone—especially in MOBA games, where team synergy was critical.

Unless…

He rubbed his temples, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes. That rascal never let anyone have peace. He had already consulted a German doctor about the hand injury. It wasn’t necessarily untreatable.

——

In the end, O Lan agreed to Kuang Ye’s proposal. For gamers, who didn’t dream of going pro? O Lan wanted to see if he had what it took.

About three hours later, O Ruo opened her eyes in the hospital bed.

The first thing she did was search for O Lan, worried that something had happened to her brother after she collapsed.

O Lan quickly grabbed her hand and explained everything that had happened, assuring her that she didn’t need to worry anymore.

O Ruo looked at Mu Wan in surprise. “You’re the Wan-jie my brother mentioned, who’s helped him a lot before?”

Mu Wan nodded. “I recognized him that day in the hospital room, but I didn’t want to reveal my identity. I prefer to keep my online and offline lives separate.”

She thought she could handle the situation without revealing herself, but things had escalated beyond her expectations.

O Ruo nodded, understanding. Some people did prefer to keep their online and offline personas distinct. She looked gratefully at Mu Wan and Kuang Ye.

“Thank you both so much for everything.”

“We’ll repay the money for the surgery and the lawyers as soon as possible.”

Mu Wan shook her head, indicating it wasn’t necessary, but O Ruo insisted. Remembering that O Ruo had won the Paganini championship and likely wouldn’t struggle to repay the money in the future, Mu Wan didn’t argue further.

O Ruo sighed in frustration. “This whole situation is infuriating. It wasn’t even my brother who did it. Why would that woman on Weibo pin it on him?”

She had interrogated her brother as soon as the incident happened, and O Lan swore he hadn’t done anything wrong.

Recalling the investigation results she’d received last night from X, Mu Wan asked, “Do you know a streamer named Lan Tiange?”

O Lan nodded. “Yes, he’s considered the top streamer in the Starry HW gaming category. Handsome and entertaining, with several big-name donors. Why?”

Realization dawned on him, and he asked in disbelief, “Are you saying the male streamer mentioned on Weibo is him?”

Mu Wan gave a slight nod. “The Weibo post’s timeline was deliberately vague. The accusations about a wealthy woman supporting him were likely from before he became famous.”

O Ruo frowned. “Then why would she blame my brother?”

Zhang Qinan, who seemed well-acquainted with the dynamics, chimed in.

“Why else? They probably negotiated a deal with Lan Tiange.”

“Most likely, Lan Tiange panicked when the situation blew up, fearing it would ruin his career. So, he struck a deal with the Weibo user to settle privately.”

“As for why they dragged O Lan into it…”

He looked at O Lan and said, “Earlier, I had some free time, so I went through your previous recorded streams. There was a period when you kept encountering griefers and your stream chat was being manipulated, right?”

O Lan hadn’t expected Zhang Qinan to take him so seriously. It was just a youth training contract, yet Zhang had even watched his old streams. Feeling a bit nervous, he nodded.

“That explains it. You’re on the ‘skilled and handsome’ path, and so is he. Both of you are in the HW category. Of course, he’d want to crush you.”

O Lan was incredulous. “Just because of that?”

Zhang Qinan replied, “That’s how conflicts of interest work. As your stats improve, you’ll eventually threaten him. He figured it was better to eliminate you early on.”

Kuang Ye glanced at him. “You’re still here?”

Zhang Qinan snapped, “Ancestor, you have a match this afternoon. If you don’t leave, how could I dare to? Are you done messing around yet? Can we go back now?”

Kuang Ye reluctantly looked at Mu Wan, unwilling to leave.

Zhang Qinan followed his gaze, also turning to look at Mu Wan.