I Just Want Duan Heng to Win

Nan Pei dropped Lu Bairan off at his apartment. As Lu Bairan got out of the car, Nan Pei rolled down the window and asked, with a hint of extravagance, “This apartment seems a bit old. Want to stay at my place?”

“No,” Lu Bairan politely but distantly refused, frowning slightly. “I’m used to it.”

Of course, he didn’t want to live with Nan Pei. He knew exactly what Nan Pei was thinking.

“Alright then,” Nan Pei said, a bit disappointed. “How about I buy you a house…”

“I said no need,” Lu Bairan replied impatiently. “I can earn money myself.”

Nan Pei had no choice but to say, “Xiao Ran, you’ll definitely succeed in the future.”

After saying that, he reluctantly watched Lu Bairan enter the apartment building before driving away.

“Even though I’m just maintaining my persona,” Nan Pei said to the system, “Lu Bairan is indeed a person with principles. Most people would have given up living like this.”

“Host, you did well today,” the system praised. “You maintained your extravagant persona and successfully helped Lu Bairan get the male lead role in ‘Love Meteor Shower.'”

Nan Pei couldn’t help but ask, “How’s the task progress now?”

The system reported, “Your persona maintenance score in the entertainment industry novel is 95 points, and the career progress of the male lead, Lu Bairan, has advanced by 8.7%…”

An idol drama audition significantly boosted the progress, showing the importance of this audition.

“Song Jingchen’s career progress has also reached 8.5%,” the system continued. “Now only Duan Heng’s career progress is lagging behind at just 4%.”

Last time, Nan Pei left the TKT club early to discuss film resources for Lu Bairan, which directly caused Duan Heng’s career line to fall behind.

In the e-sports novel, Nan Pei’s investment in the TKT club was just the beginning; the real challenges lay ahead.

For example, how to improve the TKT team’s strength, how to qualify for the playoffs, and how to face strong opponents in the league…

Right now, the TKT team was a mess, with no combat power at all.

Adjusting personnel was a crucial step for the TKT team and one that Nan Pei had to complete personally.

Coincidentally, the e-sports novel task’s exclamation mark lit up at night.

Nan Pei opened his computer and began preparing the materials needed for the next day’s task.

The next morning, Nan Pei donned a high-end, understated suit and gold-rimmed glasses, heading to the east where the e-sports novel was set to complete the unfinished task.

At 8 a.m., the TKT club was still very quiet, with most members still in bed. E-sports players usually kept late hours.

When Nan Pei arrived at the club, only Manager Ruan came out to greet him.

“President Pei! You’re here so early today!” Manager Ruan hurried over, his tone very flattering. “Last time you left in a hurry, and I couldn’t reach you by phone. I thought you had something urgent.”

His tone was filled with the joy of regaining something lost.

“I did have something urgent,” Nan Pei said calmly. “I want to call a meeting. Where’s Xiao Duan?”

Manager Ruan, relieved that Nan Pei didn’t bring up the last incident, quickly said, “Xiao Duan is still sleeping. Should I wake him up?”

“I’ll go,” Nan Pei said with a polite smile.

Manager Ruan knew Nan Pei wanted to take this opportunity to get closer to Duan Heng and smiled knowingly. “Alright, it’s more appropriate for you to do it.”

Manager Ruan opened Duan Heng’s room door for Nan Pei, and the room was very quiet.

“You wake him up, and I’ll get the others,” Manager Ruan whispered in Nan Pei’s ear.

Nan Pei nodded, then entered the room, gently closing the door behind him.

The wake-up scene was part of the plot, highlighting Nan Pei’s disregard for Duan Heng’s feelings due to his selfish desires, contrasting sharply with Duan Heng’s later acceptance of the protagonist’s wake-up call.

The room was a bit messy, with a few bags of chips on the table and clothes strewn about, typical of a nineteen-year-old boy’s room.

Nan Pei frowned slightly, looking at the person on the bed.

When Duan Heng slept, his expression wasn’t as cold as usual. He liked to sleep on his side, hugging a corner of the quilt, like a child lacking a sense of security.

Perhaps sensing someone entering, Duan Heng frowned slightly but didn’t wake up.

Nan Pei crouched by the bed, looking at Duan Heng’s sleeping face, feeling an inexplicable sense of guilt.

“Xiao Duan?” Nan Pei asked as gently as possible. “Xiao Duan, it’s time to wake up…”

Hearing the voice, Duan Heng rubbed his cheek against the pillow, frowning but not waking up.

Nan Pei had no choice but to pinch his nose.

Duan Heng woke up immediately.

Nan Pei quickly let go, but Duan Heng grabbed his wrist.

Seeing who it was, Duan Heng frowned and hoarsely questioned, “Why are you in my room?!”

After speaking, he shook off Nan Pei’s hand and moved aside, looking at Nan Pei warily.

“I came to wake you up,” Nan Pei looked at Duan Heng, a bit hurt, unconsciously tightening his fingers. “There’s an important meeting soon.”

Duan Heng took a deep breath, a bit grumpy from waking up, and said impatiently, “Got it.”

Nan Pei looked at him, “Then hurry up and get up.”

Duan Heng looked at him like he was an idiot, “How am I supposed to get up and change with you standing there?”

Nan Pei was stunned, his scholarly face under the gold-rimmed glasses showing a bit of embarrassment.

Duan Heng looked at him, pulling the quilt up to cover his chest, warily saying, “…Or is that your purpose?”

“I, I didn’t,” Nan Pei feigned calmness, but his flickering gaze betrayed him. “I’ll wait outside.”

After leaving the room, Nan Pei thought to himself: If it weren’t for the plot, I’d just slap you awake. Why would I watch you change? You’re just a kid, nothing to see…

In the room, Duan Heng sat on the bed, recalling the scene of Nan Pei by the bed, his brow furrowing slightly.

Although he was a bit annoyed when he woke up, seeing Nan Pei’s mischievous smile…

He didn’t seem as angry as he thought?

“…I must have trained too late last night,” Duan Heng muttered softly, getting out of bed to change.

Nan Pei waited outside for a while. When Duan Heng came out, he was already dressed in TKT’s white and purple uniform, looking spirited and dashing.

Nan Pei looked at Duan Heng with eyes full of admiration and respect.

Duan Heng looked down at Nan Pei, and after a moment, he took something out of his pocket and handed it to Nan Pei.

Nan Pei was a bit surprised, “What’s this?”

Duan Heng pursed his lips, “It’s yours.”

“Is it a gift from you?” Nan Pei asked, a bit flattered.

Duan Heng frowned, impatiently saying, “Your watch.”

Only then did Nan Pei realize—he had indeed left a watch at the club last time.

Nan Pei quickly took the watch from Duan Heng’s hand, and during the exchange, their fingertips accidentally touched.

Duan Heng’s arm stiffened slightly.

“Thank you, Xiao Duan,” Nan Pei said gratefully. “I didn’t expect you to keep it for me.”

The place where Duan Heng’s finger was touched felt a bit hot.

After a moment, he withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, and said nonchalantly, “Found it on the sofa. I didn’t have time to keep it for you.”

Nan Pei continued, “Ah, then why did you keep it in your pocket…”

“I’m going to wash up,” Duan Heng interrupted Nan Pei’s words with a not-so-friendly tone, turning back to his room and closing the door with a “bang.”

Nan Pei pouted, thinking, why is this kid so temperamental?

Half an hour later.

The main players of the TKT team gathered in the meeting room, along with the coaching staff and Manager Ruan.

Nan Pei thoughtfully prepared breakfast for everyone.

Among them, Duan Heng’s breakfast was the most lavish, with not only eggs and milk but also some expensive-looking fruits, drawing envious glances from others.

People whispered:

“Duan Heng is so lucky, I want to eat those fruits too.”

“Being pampered by the boss feels amazing, right?”

“I’m tearing up, when can I enjoy such treatment?”

These envious glances and voices made Duan Heng uncomfortable. He ate a few bites and looked at Nan Pei, “What do you want to say in the meeting?”

Nan Pei was taken aback, “Why don’t you finish breakfast first? Not eating is bad for your stomach…”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first,” Duan Heng said coldly. “I don’t have the habit of eating breakfast.”

Manager Ruan gave Duan Heng a look: Can you behave?

Only then did Duan Heng control his urge to leave.

“You should eat more,” Nan Pei looked at Duan Heng seriously, his eyes full of concern, so gentle they could drip water.

Being looked at like this by Nan Pei, Duan Heng, who was originally a bit unhappy, inexplicably reached out and took another piece of fruit.

After eating it, someone next to him asked, “Is it good?”

Duan Heng disdainfully replied, “It’s just okay.”

Seeing that everyone had almost finished breakfast, Nan Pei didn’t beat around the bush, turned on the projector, and presented the materials he had prepared last night.

Nan Pei said to everyone, “The purpose of my visit to the TKT club today is to implement the personnel adjustment.”

For the TKT club, only by adjusting the team members could they be reborn.

For Nan Pei, only by doing so could Duan Heng’s career line progress.

However, it was clear that everyone was surprised by the sudden news, and they all said:

“So sudden?”

“Have you decided to change?”

“Isn’t it too fast…”

“Our TKT team performed poorly in previous matches, so we must participate in the qualifiers to compete for the remaining league spots,” Nan Pei said earnestly. “Now there’s only half a month left until the qualifiers, and we must hurry.”

“You said it yourself, only half a month left. How can we adjust personnel in time?” someone asked.

Everyone questioned Nan Pei’s decision.

Duan Heng frowned even more, his expression very poor.

Everyone’s reaction was within Nan Pei’s expectations.

Nan Pei knew that after adjusting the members, TKT would shine in the qualifiers and become a dark horse in this year’s league, making TKT one of the hottest teams in “Crown of Thorns.”

Finally, TKT narrowly lost to the number one seed in the finals, only winning second place, but their popularity and commercial value skyrocketed, attracting the protagonist to join the team and start a new era with Duan Heng.

In other words, this personnel adjustment not only determined Duan Heng’s career line but also directly affected his emotional line.

But now, people couldn’t understand Nan Pei’s decision; they only thought he was destroying the TKT team.

“If we change players now…” Manager Ruan hesitated