Chapter 7

Professional players have fixed holidays each year. Apart from these breaks, they spend most of their time training at the base, especially during the competition season when management is stricter.

The day after the first match of the quarterfinals, the entire SF team returned to the base to continue training and prepare for the next match.

The SF team’s official Weibo is managed by dedicated staff. Although the players follow the official account and vice versa, during training periods, they rarely check Weibo.

Moreover, everyone has different habits. For example, the top and mid-lane players don’t care much about fans and focus solely on the game. They are busy with training matches every day and only check Weibo superficially.

Then there’s the AD player, Bo Can, who has strong self-discipline and allocates a fixed time each week to review Weibo messages.

As for Yu Linran, Weibo has no presence in his life. Unless the staff notify him, requiring players to repost something from the official account or mandate them to post updates, he wouldn’t even bother to log in.

So far, his Weibo homepage had only a few posts, none of which related to his personal life. Posting on Weibo was just another work task for him, and every post had an official tone.

Among the entire team, only Yi Shen enjoyed checking Weibo. As the youngest member of the team, he was talkative and playful in private, with a lively and easy-going personality, making him the most popular among his teammates, a stark contrast to his fierce demeanor in matches.

However, players were not allowed to use their accounts casually, so Yi Shen had specially registered a secondary account to use during his leisure time.

Yi Shen’s secondary account followed a wide variety of content, from various categories of bloggers, and of course, included his team’s official account.

After their flight landed in the morning, the five players returned to the base and immediately started practicing. Lunch was delayed until after 2 PM. After finally sitting down for a meal, Yi Shen played on his phone while eating. The homepage was rich in content, and by the time he came across the official account’s post, it had been many hours since it was posted at around ten.

Compared to the rest of the team, Yi Shen was getting this news relatively fresh. He was drinking water when he glanced at his screen and exclaimed loudly, setting down his cup in haste.

“…Bro!”

He had just called out to Yu Linran when he accidentally choked and started coughing urgently.

“Idiot, playing on your phone while eating, serves you right if you choke,” Lin Shan, who played the mid-lane position, scolded disapprovingly at his clumsiness.

Lin Shanque was around the same age as Yu Linran, and in terms of exact months and days, he was slightly older. Cheng Run, who played the top-lane position, was two months younger than Yu Linran. The three of them, all nineteen, were the older ones in the group.

Yi Shen and Bo Can were younger, but they usually called Yu Linran “bro.” When addressing the other two, they called them “Shan bro” and “Run bro.” Over time, they got used to it and rarely made mistakes in addressing each other.

Cheng Run chimed in, “Yi Shen, how old are you? You’re always clinging to Yu Linran, even talking about him during meals. Your brother’s head must be ready to explode from all your chatter.” He gently nudged the ever-calm Yu Linran with his elbow. “Yu, if it gets too bad, maybe just tape his mouth shut!”

Lin Shan and Cheng Run both laughed at Yi Shen’s disgruntled look. Bo Can quietly ate his meal, behaving politely and not saying a word.

Yu Linran’s expression remained unchanged. He gave the joking group a brief glance and succinctly said, “Eat.”

Yi Shen wiped his mouth and finished what he was about to say, “Did you guys see the official Weibo?”

Lin Shan asked, “What about it?”

“The official Weibo of our team!” Yi Shen turned his phone around to show them. “Look, this.”

Lin Shan and Cheng Run leaned in to take a look. Yi Shen continued, “Those light boards at yesterday’s match…”

“The light boards, what about them?”

“They were all done by this girl alone!”

“Really? That’s impressive… but why are you so excited about it?”

Yi Shen knew they weren’t getting the main point. He shoved his phone in front of Yu Linran, “Bro, look!”

Lin Shan chimed in with a sly smile, “Is it about the name?” He winked at Yi Shen with his right eye, “It’s just a fan of Yu. Why the fuss?”

As he mentioned “fan,” Yu Linran looked up and glanced at the phone screen.

“The light board on the head in the ninth photo, bro! Last night, while watching the match replay at the hotel, the director’s camera showed that girl’s head with this exact same light board, right?” Yi Shen, with his excellent memory, worried that Yu Linran might have forgotten, continued, “The girl who gave us the one-yuan coin is the same one who was caught on camera and is the one in this Weibo post!”

This simple logical deduction had Yi Shen excited beyond measure. “Her Weibo name is this…” he said, glancing at the screen again. “She’s your fan, right bro? She has to be!”

She wore Yu Linran’s light-up headband, and her Weibo ID was “Yu Linran Marry Me.” It was clear she was extremely fond of Yu Linran!

Bo Can, who had been quietly eating, glanced over but still didn’t join the conversation.

Yu Linran’s gaze lingered on Yi Shen’s phone screen for a few seconds, scanning the words “Yu Linran Marry Me” and the images in the original Weibo post. Slowly, he shifted his gaze to Yi Shen’s face. “We still have training this afternoon. If you’re done eating, you can start practicing now.”

“…” Yi Shen was momentarily silent. “Bro, don’t you think…”

“Think what?”

Yu Linran’s questions stumped him, leaving Yi Shen at a loss for words. “Don’t you think it’s interesting?”

“What’s interesting about that?” Yu Linran asked calmly.

“Uh…” Yi Shen scratched his neck, sounding unsure himself. “She, she asked you… to marry her?”

“Not interested in fans like that,” Yu Linran said, and picked up some food without even looking up.

Indeed, in the league, some professional players couldn’t resist the allure of pretty female fans and ended up getting involved in various scandals. Some even specifically sought out attractive fans for hookups.

But those cases were rare.

Most players focused on the game and were more cautious about such matters.

Yi Shen found the conversation going nowhere. Yu Linran’s indifferent attitude made him feel like he was overreacting.

Indeed, it was just a fan they happened to meet at the hotpot restaurant who had come to cheer them on at the match and exchanged a few words. What was the big deal?

“…Alright then.”

Yi Shen quietly picked up his bowl and continued eating.

Lin Shan chuckled, “Only Yu can put you in your place. You always have too much free time!”

Yi Shen pouted, swallowed a mouthful of rice, and muttered, “Tch! That girl was pretty, can’t I look at her a few more times?!”