Chapter 44

“Why do people these days like to spread rumors so much!!”

Yi Shen was furious, his face turning red with anger. “They take a few photos and start talking nonsense. What is this ‘sleeping with fan’ nonsense! Is the captain that kind of person? It’s absolutely impossible! This is just outright defamation!!!”

Cheng Run remained silent, taking the phone and scrolling down to read more.

Besides the photos of Yu Linran and Ying Nian walking together in an “intimate manner,” the post also showed them entering a high-end residential area together.

They happened to meet near that residential area. The passerby who took the photos wanted to continue following them, but due to the strict security of the area, outsiders couldn’t enter casually, so they had to give up.

“What is this residential area?” Lin Shan asked, puzzled.

“No idea.” Since he didn’t know, Cheng Run knew even less. “Has anyone here ever gone with Yu to that place?”

The four pairs of eyes met, and they all shook their heads in unison.

“Why make it so complicated? I’ll just ask Ying Nian and find out!”

Yi Shen was an impatient person. With Yu Linran not around, he couldn’t wait any longer. He snatched back his phone and sent Ying Nian a WeChat message: [Did you see the online post about the captain?]

Ying Nian replied quickly: [What post?]

It seemed like she was still unaware of the situation, so Yi Shen explained: [Someone took photos of you and the captain walking together and posted online, claiming that the captain has an inappropriate relationship with a fan.]

[I’ve never posted a selfie, so how do they know I’m a fan…] Ying Nian was initially surprised. Before Yi Shen could say anything, she solved the puzzle herself. [Ah—now I remember! I once liked my friend’s Weibo post, which had my photo. They might have compared it and figured it out.]

Her reasoning was correct. She had liked a Weibo post from an account with very few followers. The post contained two different photos of girls under pink light signs, and one of the photos had Yu Linran’s promotional ad in the background.

Netizens came to this conclusion: regardless of who the girl in the candid photo was, if the post mentioned “Yu Linran marry me,” there was no need for further explanation—this was a well-known hardcore fan of Yu Linran. If not, she was still someone whose picture appeared in a post liked by the “Yu Linran marry me” account, with an ad of Yu Linran in the background. With these factors combined, she was considered at least half a fan!

[What about that residential area?] Yi Shen continued to ask.

Ying Nian replied, [That’s where I live. The captain was just giving me a ride home.]

Upon hearing this, Yi Shen almost jumped up with excitement. He immediately told his teammates, “See! I told you—”

Skipping the typing, he sent Ying Nian a voice message to comfort her: “Don’t worry, these fabricated rumors won’t become reality. We’ll talk to the captain and the coach later to figure out how to clarify things. You don’t need to worry. We know the captain wouldn’t do such a thing. He has personally said he would never sleep with fans—he’s just not that kind of person!”

“Hold on a second… Don’t you think the captain and Ying Nian are getting a little too close?” Cheng Run suddenly asked. “Giving her a ride home?”

“So what? A guy giving a girl a ride home isn’t unusual at all!” Yi Shen defended his beloved captain with strong reasoning.

Cheng Run shook his head and gave him a sidelong glance. “Let me ask you this—how many times has Yu ever gone out to eat alone with you?”

“That—that’s just because we don’t like eating out…!”

“Last time during the break, you invited him to your house to hang out. Did he go?”

“He doesn’t like going to other people’s homes…”

“And when you asked him to go shopping with you, did he agree?”

“I…”

The more questions Cheng Run asked, the more uncomfortable Yi Shen’s expression became.

In the middle of their conversation, the person in question arrived. Yu Linran returned after his meeting with the coaching staff, noticing the group huddled together. He frowned and asked, “Why aren’t you training?”

“Bro!” Yi Shen immediately pushed past the others and rushed up to him. “Someone posted online, spreading rumors! They’re saying you…”

Cheng Run and the others gathered around as well. Yu Linran’s phone seemed to vibrate in his pocket. While listening to Yi Shen, he pulled it out. A new WeChat message appeared on the screen. His finger pressed the unlock button with a soft click, and he entered the main screen.

Yu Linran hadn’t heard the rest of what Yi Shen said and, while opening WeChat, casually lifted his eyes and asked, “Saying what about me?”

However, Yi Shen stood there, lips slightly parted, frozen on the spot.

Just a moment ago, before Yu Linran opened WeChat, the phone’s home screen background clearly showed… a picture of Ying Nian?!

He was actually using a photo of Ying Nian as his wallpaper!

This little “surprise” left the group momentarily speechless. No one said a word, and the training room, which was rarely this quiet, suddenly felt eerily still. The atmosphere grew strangely tense.

The message Yu Linran received was from Ying Nian, and it read: [Did Yi Shen tell you? It seems like something happened. He should be looking for you… Anyway, you guys talk first, we can discuss later.]

After reading the message, Yu Linran looked back at Yi Shen.

Yi Shen swallowed nervously and stammered, “Bro, you… you and… and Ying Nian?”

“Yeah,” Yu Linran responded calmly.

Yu Linran calmly responded, “She’s my girlfriend.”

His tone was so natural, as if everything had always been that way.

…

The “Yu Linran incident” began to spread from forums and was eventually picked up on Weibo. While it didn’t gain massive attention, it quickly became a hot topic within the esports community.

The identity of the girl in the photos, who was seen being close with him and even entering a high-end residential area together, became the focal point of public discussion.

After much analysis, the majority of the public opinion leaned toward the belief that the girl was none other than Yu Linran’s biggest fan, the infamous “Yu Linran marry me” from the esports fan community.

This stirred up quite the buzz. A rumored ambiguous relationship between a professional player and a fan, especially when the player in question was someone as composed and calm as the popular Yu Linran, had everyone talking. To top it off, “Yu Linran marry me” had recently been at the center of a controversy and her fierce clapbacks were still fresh in people’s minds.

With the scandal involving these two, the public’s curiosity and gossiping energy soared like a rocket.

Ying Nian and SF’s management had already been made aware of the situation. The SF team needed to hold a meeting first, and only after that would they decide how to handle the matter.

Without saying much, before the meeting, Yu Linran simply told her two words: [Don’t worry.]

The impromptu meeting didn’t last long. After it ended, Ying Nian received a call from Yu Linran, asking her to come to the base. This wasn’t just his issue; she was involved as well, and the coach and others wanted to hear her thoughts in person before making any decisions together.

“Shall I come pick you up?” Yu Linran asked.

“No!” Ying Nian quickly refused. “If you show up at the entrance to the residential area and get spotted by some fan who watched the match, won’t that just add fuel to the fire? I’ll come over myself, wait for me!”

True to her word, Ying Nian quickly got herself ready, put on a light coat, and headed out confidently.

When she arrived at the SF base once again, it felt completely different from before. Seeing these familiar faces, she couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. Perhaps the change in her status had also altered her perspective.

Yi Shen and the others, upon seeing her, also felt an inexplicable awkwardness.

Amid the sticky tension, only Bo Can, like a beckoning cat, raised his hand and greeted her with a serious expression, “Hello, sister-in-law.”

Ying Nian’s face turned bright red in an instant. She raised her hand to greet him but, feeling awkward, lowered it halfway.

Bo Can’s sudden shift in how he addressed her, without any prior notice, surprisingly didn’t earn a reprimand from Yu Linran. In fact, Yu Linran’s expression seemed rather positive.

The other team members were sent back to the training room to continue their practice, while Yu Linran and Ying Nian were called aside for a talk.

When it came to their relationship, the coach and others only touched on it briefly, asking when they got together and mentioning Yu Linran’s temper, advising Ying Nian to be more understanding of him.

Ying Nian suddenly felt as if she were meeting her partner’s parents. The usual relaxed smile she had when speaking to the coach now appeared much stiffer.

Without unnecessary small talk, the coach got straight to the point: “Right now, this issue online is causing quite a stir. If we ignore it, it might escalate and become even more severe, leaving a permanent stain on Linran’s career. But it’s also not guaranteed that by going public with your relationship, the criticism will stop. After all, you two initially met as a fan and a player. Even though you’ve spent a long time getting to know each other and growing closer, those with ill intentions won’t care about that. They’ll just continue attacking without restraint.”

Ying Nian listened attentively, her expression uncharacteristically serious.

“After weighing the options, we believe the best approach is to go public. No matter what, being seen with a girlfriend is far better than being suspected of having an unclear relationship with a fan. It’s a matter of principle. Ying Nian, do you have any objections?”

“I don’t,” Ying Nian replied without hesitation.

“Once it’s public, you might face some backlash…”

“It’s okay,” she said, “I don’t care about that. These things won’t affect me.”

The coach, seeing her agree, let out a sigh of relief. Although he was almost certain she wouldn’t refuse, he was still worried there might be a twist.

“Alright then, this is the draft our staff prepared. You can take a look. Of course, you don’t have to post exactly what’s written, but remember, the less you say, the fewer mistakes you’ll make. The more you say, the more likely something will go wrong!”

He placed the paper on the coffee table and then left, allowing the two of them to talk privately. The others followed suit, leaving the room.

Now, the only ones left in the lounge were the two of them.

Ying Nian let out a soft breath and suddenly looked at Yu Linran, “I’m sorry.”

Yu Linran frowned slightly, “What are you apologizing for?”

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have been dragged into this…”

“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be caught up in this either,” Yu Linran interrupted her.

Ying Nian fell silent for a moment. Yu Linran looked at her and said, “Things have developed to this point, and maybe this is the best arrangement.”

As long as they were a player and a fan, as long as they cared for each other, situations like this were unavoidable. Even if it wasn’t happening now, it would have come sooner or later.

What was meant to happen would happen, and they would face it calmly when it did.

“Before we post on Weibo, there are a few things I want to say to you,” Yu Linran said seriously.

Ying Nian, noticing his unusually solemn expression, looked at him with slight surprise. “What do you want to say?”

Yu Linran pressed his lips together before speaking. “I didn’t agree to the coach’s decision just to get rid of a black mark. For me, playing is both my passion and my profession. In this circle, gaming skills determine everything. Popularity and fans were never what I was after from the beginning. I’m here for championships and victories—that’s the meaning of competition to me. So losing fans or gaining black marks doesn’t matter to me at all.”

“I want you to know—” he said, “the reason I agreed to go public is because I want you to be able to appear openly in my world, and nothing else matters.”

She wasn’t just a fan, she was his lover, the one he cherished. He didn’t want Ying Nian to continue being criticized just because he casually liked a post, and he didn’t want her to be hounded for interacting with him online and being accused of seeking attention.

He wanted everyone to know that, for him, Ying Nian was different.

Whether as the player 103 or as Yu Linran, all of his special treatment was reserved solely for Ying Nian.

It was the first time Ying Nian had heard him say such things, and she was momentarily stunned, unable to find the words. After a long pause, she suppressed the bittersweet emotions swelling in her heart and threw herself into his arms.

…

Yu Linran and Ying Nian took a photo together on the sofa in the training room, with Cheng Run—self-proclaimed as having the best photography skills—behind the camera. The two sat side by side, and from the way their shoulders and legs touched, their close relationship was evident.

Just before Cheng Run pressed the shutter, Yu Linran suddenly leaned his head toward Ying Nian, resting it on her shoulder. Ying Nian instinctively tilted her head to look at him, and the moment was captured in that instant.

This was the photo they chose.

The calm, gentle, yet slightly aloof professional player 103 was well-known in the esports community. His exceptional gaming skills, steady personal demeanor, handsome looks, and impressive height had earned him countless female fans.

He was famously not the type to frequently post on Weibo, but on this night, amidst swirling rumors, he made a rare update.

The accompanying picture was of two people, a man and a woman, sitting side by side on a sofa. The man tilted his head, resting it on the woman’s shoulder, while the woman glanced down at him with a soft gaze. Their strikingly attractive faces made the scene especially pleasing to the eye.

For the first time, everyone realized that even 103 had a playful side—

【@YuLinran: When you came up with the slogan ‘Go forward bravely,’ did you ever think you’d one day find out how heavy my head is? I’m asking you, girlfriend. @YuLinranMarryMe [heart]】

Before Ying Nian had a chance to repost it, the remaining four SF team members were already online. Yi Shen reposted Yu Linran’s Weibo and tagged Ying Nian, and whether or not he was copying Bo Can, he immediately greeted her with: [Hello, sister-in-law!]

Bo Can followed right after Yi Shen, with the exact same message.

However, Cheng Run and Lin Shan, both playing the “seniority” card, added their own spin: after smiling emojis, they greeted her with, [Hello, little sister-in-law!]

All five of them were active on Weibo, and with such a grand display, paired with this major announcement, SF’s fans were completely blown away.

And it wasn’t just them—the entire esports community was buzzing!