Chapter 488: Welcome to Nanjing

The spring finals are being held in Nanjing.

Everyone's luggage had been packed the night before, and after breakfast today they set off.

From Shanghai to Nanjing, whether considering timeliness, comfort, or convenience, taking the high-speed rail is the optimal solution, which is beyond doubt. The organizers had bought second-class tickets, but Boss Lu paid out of pocket to upgrade everyone to business class.

It was practically buying out the entire business-class car.

Whoosh, it was fast—just a few minutes past nine, and the VG party arrived in Nanjing.

Everyone pulled their suitcases out of Nanjing high-speed rail station.

They weren't wearing team jerseys, but more than half of this group are quite popular among young people nowadays, and wherever they go they are easily recognized.

Just after passing the gate, Duan Degliang saw a banner being held up ahead:

【Warmly welcome VG to Nanjing, good luck in the finals!】

Under the banner gathered a group of young men and women; at a glance there were about thirty or forty people.

This was an airport‑pickup event organized by some hardcore fans from the VG fanbase; most of them were Nanjing locals or college students studying in Nanjing.

Duan Degliang looked excited, turned to his teammates and said:

"I said someone would come pick us up, and you didn't believe me!"

The fans picking us up also saw the group exiting the gate; someone shouted "Here they come!" and the crowd surged forward like a swarm of F2A insects.

Wang Liangyi, a qualified team leader, immediately stepped forward and shouted:

"Come on over! Over here! Over here!"

"Thank you all for your support and love for VG, but this is the high‑speed rail station; we're over here, please don't block the normal flow of traffic—okay, okay, thanks for cooperating!"

He shouted while guiding the fans to one side, clearing the exit.

Passersby glanced over, some giving approving looks, thinking that if all celebrities had this quality, kids chasing stars probably wouldn't be scolded by so many people.

The fans surrounded a few players in the middle, chattering noisily.

"Jiao Shen! Jiao Shen, sign an autograph!"

"Jiao Shen, can we take a photo together?"

"Line up! Please line up, okay? We're not in a hurry—we have plenty of time—let's go one by one!"

"Sheng Qiang Ge, I love you!"

"Brother, is this right?"

"Sheng Qiang Ge belongs to Shuijing Ge; no one can take him away!"

"No! Luxuanjun and Jiao Shen are the real couple!"

"Hahaha……"

"Don't push! Don't push, sisters—I've had my breast pads squeezed off!"

The beasts all turned their heads.

The tall girl who had been shouting turned out to be a spirited young lady with a neat short haircut; she lifted her chin and stared them down one by one, showing no embarrassment or fear.

The girls all looked up admiringly, for a moment regarding her as an idol—sister, you're so cool!

The beasts pretended to look around at the scenery, averting their gazes. Yet someone lowered their head to scan the ground, wanting to see what that legendary thing actually looks like.

A spontaneously organized fan meet‑up, lively and bustling, went on for over half an hour; the fans finally let the VG members leave, reluctant yet satisfied.

After boarding the bus the organizers had sent to pick them up at the parking lot, Liang Yan quickly grabbed a window seat, then Fu Lan Duo plopped down beside him and asked:

"How many did you sign?"

"Maybe a few dozen…"

Liang Yan waved his hand, answered offhandedly, and turned his head to look at the scenery outside.

Fu Lan Duo then laughed and said:

"I signed a few dozen too. So, did I wear you out like this?"

Liang Yan glanced at him and snorted disdainfully.

The "few dozen" he referred to were a few dozen people.

Some female fans apparently came with a mission, each carrying a dozen or so items—notebooks, posters, clothes, phone‑back stickers, mouse pads, and so on; the most extreme even produced hundreds of little cards, which almost scared Liang Yan silly, but fortunately the fan wasn't completely unreasonable and in the end he signed only part of them.

In short, if we count how many autographs he gave, Liang Yan roughly estimates that in those few dozen minutes he must have signed several hundred times… and he also took several dozen group photos.

Although Liang Yan is used to such scenes, it's still quite tiring.

Fortunately this time nothing overly extreme happened, which is a relief. Last year when Liang Yan was in Europe, he sometimes ran into fans who were incredibly hard to deal with.

Take autographs, for example: domestic fans usually just have a few items, the most special being having him sign a graduation certificate; but in Europe it's another story—Liang Yan has encountered fans who pulled down their collars and asked him to sign on their chests, and when he asked why there, they replied: "So I can turn it into a tattoo later."

Besides that, Liang Yan has also met fans who asked him to sign on the waistband of their pants or on their backs…

And aside from autographs, Liang Yan has also encountered fans who, while taking a photo, sneak a kiss on his cheek when he's not looking—even male fans.

However, over there they don't do the meet‑and‑greet at arrivals or departures; contact with players is made only through official event channels.

In short, European fans are genuinely overly enthusiastic and open, whereas domestic fans still retain some reserve and behave much more normally.

As for slipping little notes during autograph sessions, that happens everywhere; the only difference is that here they write a WeChat ID, while elsewhere it might be a phone number or various harmonized overseas social‑media account.

Leaving the high‑speed rail station, the bus brought the group to the hotel; handling check‑in and room assignments was routine for Liang Yan, with no hassle.

After that, Liang Yan had already experienced all sorts of things before, so he naturally had no extra thoughts; but for the other teammates who were playing in their first LPL final, this was novel and everything felt fresh to them.

Of course, even their curiosity wouldn't be over the top.

As for Easyhoon, needless to say—someone who's won an S‑series championship (even if some say he just rode the coattails)—has certainly seen the world.

And Fu Lan Duo and Gangzi, after all, have also been abroad.

Sima Laozei consistently maintains a cold‑noodles‑killer style; even if he has something on his mind, he won't show it.

After all the miscellaneous matters were settled, the clock hand had already pointed to twelve; after waiting a bit, Gao Jun came over to call everyone to eat, and Liang Yan joined the group as they went downstairs together.

The meal was buffet‑style, and the selection was fairly abundant.

The meal cost has already been included in the room fee, to be borne by the event organizer.

After finishing the meal and taking a short break, the filming crew of Vision Fist also arrived, and everyone began the outdoor shooting task.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the EDG group that arrived even earlier than VG had already been basking in the big sun for over an hour…