Translated by Team DHH at Fish Trapped in Secret Room

Book 3: Glory on the Other Side

Chapter 22

Because she had cried for a long time facing the sea breeze last night,
she found a pair of flat gla.s.ses to cover her eyes at the online exhibition
match the next morning.

Xiaomi had already left.  He took the earliest flight, without looking back.

Ai Qing crossed her arms waiting for the match to begin.  But whenever
she thought about the fact that Xiaomi left without saying goodbye to her,
she felt a lump form into her throat.  Slide sat down on the empty seat at her
left side.  “Buff doesn’t have it easy.”

“What happened?”

“The posts on the internet aren’t very nice to them.”  Slide had been in and
out of the esports circle several times as well and understood the sentiment.  
“They said that it’s meaningless even if they win the championship since they
don’t have any value for investment.  They would only last for one tournament
and that will only be their last glory.”

Ai Qing glanced at Slide.

Slide noticed and laughed,  “Why are you looking at me like that?  I’m even
younger than you, so I’m not a relic just yet.”

She laughed too and turned to look at Buff’s teammates who were measuring
the screen size with rulers rather seriously.

The award prize of this compet.i.tion was only for the teams which won national
t.i.tles, yet the amount was quite meagre.  The largest pool of prize money could
only be found at world tournaments.  Buff’s team didn’t have commercial sponsors,
they were purely supporting themselves.  Players at the age of thirty or over had to
constantly play so many matches, they probably had to resign their regular jobs?
They had to give up their regular income…...The sacrifice was huge when she
thought about it.

This old opponent of hers really didn’t have it easy.

K&K hadn’t come in the arena yet.

They arrived very late, only about ten minutes before the live broadcast was
about to start.

Ai Qing was shocked the moment she looked over at them.

“Ah?  Why is that guy wearing a hat again?”  All sat down on another empty
seat beside her.  “But he looks better this way. He’s just a man, not a celebrity star.”

K&K’s uniform was black.  He had returned to wearing his black hat again which
completely covered the details of his facial figures and his eyes were hidden
underneath the brim.  This was his usual image but it was still very attractive……

Why did she feel like laughing so much……

She held it for sometime, but in the end, she still couldn’t help herself.

Both All and Slide glanced at her, baffled.  Why was she laughing?

Ai Qing felt a little uneasy, took off the gla.s.ses and rubbed her eyes to avoid
their eyes.  Before she could put it back on, All already patted the back of her head.  
“Why are your eyes so red?  What’s there to cry about?”

Ai Qing rubbed her head.  “You’re a crazy violent man.  n.o.body’s so heartless like you.”

All gave a hearty laugh and patted his own chest.  “The heart is inside here
as long as we always remember him.  Let’s win the championship for him!”

Slide laughed, “Stop trying to explain.  You’ll never understand women and they’ll
never understand us either.”

“Come on, you sound like you’re the only one who understands women.  You are
just like me, a single man.”  All was chewing gum and glanced at his captain,  
“But I feel a little bit sorry when we talk about it.  Can we still find a wife to marry
when we retire?  We will be old men and all we’ve ever done is play video games
all our life……”

“Therefore,”  Slide continued to look at the apparently sharper and younger
players of K&K, “We must win the championship, otherwise we are worthless.”

“Right.  Otherwise, our lives are a waste.”  All’s voice lowered,  “Xiaomi’s retirement
would be waste, too.”

The world championship was everybody’s dream.

Of course…...it was Xiaomi’s too.

There were more than ten teams here and they were all professional players.  
But there were many, many other players or amateurs on the internet trying to
compete outside this compet.i.tion arena…...There were so many players striving
together and they all aimed for one championship.

The Chinese Regional champion, the Asian Tournament champion…...and at last,
the World Tournament.

……

“Go for it.  You two.”  Ai Qing said in a low voice,  “Win the Chinese Region
championship first.”

For everybody.

Translated by Team DHH at