The manager immediately stood up politely and introduced himself, “Hello, I’m Zhang Qinan, ST’s manager.”
The coach also got up and said, “Hello, I’m Yang An, ST’s coach.”

Mu Wan nodded graciously at them and said naturally, “Thank you both for taking care of Ah Ye.”

The two quickly waved off her thanks, humbly saying, “Not at all, not at all.”
Then, they warmly invited her to take a seat.

Shen Lele, being the youngest and as a natural Ice breaker ^[1]someone who makes it easier for people to talk to each other, especially when they are new to each other., quickly found a topic to chat about. “Wan wan-jie, the bracelet you helped me pick last time—my mom loved it. She specifically asked me to thank you.”

Mu Wan smiled. “As long as Auntie likes it. I watched your match this morning; there were several times when you held off three opponents on your own. Really impressive.”

Shen Lele immediately puffed up with pride. “Of course! I’m HW’s Wild God’s Right Hand! In the LPL^[2]League of Legends Pro League The League of Legends Pro League (LPL) is the top-level professional league for League of Legends in China. The first season of the LPL was the 2013 Spring season., I’m unrivaled in handsomeness.”

Kuang Ye smacked him on the head. “That last round you played recklessly, diving under their tower to force a kill, only to trade your life for theirs. How are you still bragging? Don’t you know how high tower damage is in the early game?”

The tank, Jiang Yu, admitted, “That’s on me. I should’ve tanked the tower for him.”
ADC Jiang Shixi added, “It’s my fault too. I wasn’t paying attention to the situation. I was in the bot lane firing off a long-range ult; I could’ve secured that kill instead.”

The coach chimed in sternly, “No, it’s on the mid-laner for being overly aggressive, the bot lane for not watching the map, and on Captain Kuang Ye too. You didn’t even remind the support to heal in time, and the support missed a ward in the jungle…”

Support player Xu Yijin said earnestly, “It’s my fault. I got overconfident after winning several matches in a row.”

As the conversation spiraled into what sounded like a post-match review, threatening to derail the dinner, the manager stepped in to smooth things over. “Save the critique for when you’re back at the base! This dinner is to celebrate Mu Wan. Stop ruining the mood.”

Only then did everyone come back to their senses. Shen Lele quickly apologized to Mu Wan, who shook her head with a genuine smile. “It’s fine. I actually find it interesting.”

She hadn’t realized that professional gamers reviewed their matches even after the games.

Soon, the dishes were served, and the group ate while chatting. Mu Wan even added the coach and manager on WeChat during the meal.

The manager offered, “You play HW too, right? If you ever want to watch Kuang Ye’s matches, just let me know. I have insider tickets—front row, and free.”

Mu Wan nodded in agreement.

Not long after, the manager glanced at Kuang Ye, who was joking around with Shen Lele and the others, and quietly pulled a red envelope out of his bag to hand to Mu Wan.

Mu Wan: “??”

The manager looked slightly embarrassed but explained, “I don’t know much about Kuang Ye’s family situation, but when we discovered and signed him, he was working as a net café attendant at a shady internet café. He didn’t even have a bed—he used an old yoga mat someone had thrown away and slept under the cash register.”

“Old Yang and I watched him climb his way up step by step. In a way, we’re like half-elders to him. Consider this a small meeting gift from us ‘seniors.’ It’s just a token of appreciation…”

Mu Wan froze for a moment, holding the red envelope in her hand. Suddenly, she understood why Kuang Ye, despite all the hardships he had endured, remained so defiant and spirited.

It was because of these friends, who were like both mentors and companions.

The Kuang family thought gaming was disgraceful and didn’t support him, but in the ST team, he was an indispensable pillar of strength. Perhaps this was why Kuang Ye was willing to let his relationship with his family remain strained rather than give up ST.

She didn’t refuse Zhang Qinan’s gesture of goodwill, instead smiling as she repeated her earlier words with deeper meaning. “Thank you for taking care of Ah Ye.”

This time, the weight behind her words was evident.

Zhang Qinan sighed in relief. Truthfully, given his and Yang An’s positions, doing something like this was a little awkward, but fortunately, Mu Wan didn’t mind.

After the meal, Shen Lele, still full of energy, clamored to go sing karaoke. The coach and Zhang Qinan, being older, didn’t like such loud places, but they warned the group, “Singing is fine, but no drinking. There’s a match tomorrow. If you show up hungover, see if I don’t knock you all out!”

Shen Lele cheered, “Oh yeah!” and the younger group headed off to the karaoke lounge.

Apart from Shen Lele and Jiang Yu, both Xu Yijin and Jiang Shixi had girlfriends. With everyone’s approval, they invited their girlfriends to join, and since everyone was friendly, the group quickly hit it off without any awkwardness.

By the time they finished singing, the afternoon had already passed. Stepping out of the private room, Shen Lele’s voice was hoarse.

“Damn it, I need to drink some herbal tea when I get back. Otherwise, I won’t even be able to speak on team comms tomorrow.”

Jiang Yu rolled his eyes. “You belted out The Dangerous Love of a Queen so loudly the entire karaoke lounge could hear you. If your voice didn’t give out, whose would?”

Shen Lele was about to retort, “I enjoyed it, so what?” when suddenly, a woman’s voice rang out, cutting him off in shock and disbelief.

“Mu Wan?!”