Chapter 537: Champion Is Not Just You

The comment Liang Yan left on some platform also stirred up a new wave of craze.

The answerer never expected that a casual reply would earn over ten thousand likes, and even receive affirmation from the person themselves! Overjoyed, they immediately replied to Liang Yan:

【Jiao Shen! I'm your fan!】

After returning to the hotel, Liang Yan saw this reply from the answerer.

But he didn't want to speak.

Hearing that said during the international competition is certainly not a good omen.

……

Tomorrow there's a match between VG and G2; originally Liang Yan and Tang Anna weren't supposed to meet, Tang Anna thought the same, so she didn't go look for Liang Yan.

However, what surprised Tang Anna was that Liang Yan actually took the initiative to invite her on WeChat:

【Want to go out for a walk?】

Tang Anna hesitated for a long time, repeatedly telling herself in her heart that meeting now was very inappropriate; if word got out, there might be some unpleasant rumors—she herself didn't mind, but compared to the players, public opinion toward coaches is supposed to be more lenient; the problem was Liang Yan, as a superstar player, people practically put his every move under a microscope, and any slight disturbance, once it got out, would become a huge uproar.

So Tang Anna truly felt that the two of them shouldn't meet now.

But she eventually replied with:

【Okay.】

……

When Tang Anna saw Liang Yan in the downstairs courtyard, she was even more surprised.

Liang Yan just sat on the bench beside the path, without any disguise, appearing open and aboveboard, as if he wasn't worried at all about being recognized.

In contrast, Tang Anna had her hat pulled low, mask covering half her face, a pair of black-framed glasses perched on her nose, and her hair completely tucked into the hat, making her look like a spy; compared to Liang Yan sitting openly on the bench, she seemed a bit comical.

Liang Yan lifted his head to size up Tang Anna's outfit, the corner of his mouth twitching up:

"No need for this, you're not out to steal someone."

Normally, Tang Anna would definitely blush, but now she wasn't in the mood; instead, she gave Liang Yan a sideways glance and said angrily:

"When the time comes and you lose everything, you'll know you were wrong!"

Liang Yan spread his hands:

"So what? At worst I'll retire."

"..."

That remark was of course a joke, but the atmosphere eased a little; Tang Anna walked up to Liang Yan, hesitated for two seconds, and still sat down beside him.

Just as she sat down, Liang Yan casually took off her hat.

Then both of them were a bit caught off guard.

Tang Anna's hair wasn't tied tightly to begin with; she had simply twisted it into a loose bun tucked inside her hat. When Liang Yan lifted her hat, the opening at the back pulled the bun, and a cascade of golden waves poured down like a waterfall, gently swaying in the soft night breeze. Tang Anna instinctively turned her head to look at Liang Yan; a few strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, her sunglasses rested on her nose, her mask was still on, but just the sight of her loose golden hair was enough to be moving.

Liang Yan also froze for a moment.

"What the hell!"

Tang Anna also froze for a moment; after reacting, she lowered her voice and shouted, angrily lunging forward like a little wildcat, baring her teeth and claws, trying to snatch her hat back.

But Liang Yan, tall with long arms, extended the hat's handle backward; Tang Anna almost flung herself onto him, yet even with her arm outstretched she still couldn't reach it.

Tang Anna was both anxious and angry; finally unable to contain her anger, she suddenly bit down on Liang Yan's arm, then twisted her body to sit beside him, turned her head away, and ignored him.

The weather wasn't cold; Liang Yan had been wearing a short-sleeve shirt when he came out, and now, looking down at the tooth marks on his arm, he couldn't help but chuckle.

He placed the hat on one end of the bench, didn't give it back to Tang Anna, sat quietly, occasionally glancing at her expression, feeling that the girl's anger had mostly subsided, and then he spoke:

"Doing it this way actually draws more attention."

Saying that, he suddenly reached out and also took off Tang Anna's mask.

Tang Anna turned and glared at him.

Without the mask's cover, her face was finally fully exposed to the air.

But she didn't speak; after glaring at Liang Yan once, she turned her head away again.

The two just sat side by side. Outside the hotel, the street occasionally carried the whoosh of cars speeding by, and the palm trees in the courtyard rustled in the wind.

After a while, Liang Yan spoke, his voice a bit softer than before:

"Tomorrow, facing us, do you have confidence?"

Upon hearing that, Tang Anna's heart tightened; she also stopped arguing with him, turned her head to look at him warily, feeling a bit suspicious.

——This guy invited me out; could it be to gather intelligence?

Tang Anna still trusted Liang Yan's character, so she bluntly countered:

"You invited me out just to ask this?"

Liang Yan also spoke openly:

"I'm not asking you to reveal tactics; just chatting casually."

Tang Anna thought for a moment:

"We'll see tomorrow on the battlefield; then you'll know the answer."

"Feel like we can win?"

"..."

Tang Anna didn't answer right away, earnestly gazing at Liang Yan; after a few seconds, she slowly nodded:

"We will definitely win."

"You taught us how to become champions, but being champion isn't just you alone……"

Tang Anna slightly lifted her chin, her eyes showing undisguised pride,

"Now you're just one person, but we have four champions."

……

The following topic had nothing to do with the match.

The two sat together for a few minutes, then each went upstairs.

Tang Anna returned to her room, feeling that something was missing, and only after she had finished her shower, lain on the bed preparing to sleep, did she remember; she instantly felt a little annoyed again, reached under her pillow for her phone, and sent Liang Yan a WeChat message:

【Keep the hat; if I win tomorrow, just consider it a gift for you; if I lose, you return it to me.】

【Okay.】

……

Local time, 3 p. m. on the 11th.

Rio Olympic Stadium.

Fifteen thousand seats were filled with an equal number of buttocks; looking down from the highest tier, heads filled every gap, and anyone with trypophobia would feel ill at a glance.

The first two matches had ended, and the residual heat of the last match still lingered in the air.

KT had just won a crushing victory over TSM, announcing two consecutive wins, bringing their group record to 2-1; this finally gave the LCK commentators a bit of pride, and the danmaku in the official Korean-language stream changed from 'Sibax Roma' to 'This is what KT should be like.'

At this moment, the third match was about to begin.

G2 with two consecutive wins, VG with two consecutive wins.

Two teams tied for first place in the group were about to face off.

Backstage at the exit, the two teams lined up on either side of the passageway.

G2 on the left, VG on the right.

Liang Yan stood in the middle of the VG lineup, holding a paper cup full of water, idly watching the scene outside the passageway; Jankos was about half a meter away from Liang Yan, occasionally glancing over.

Perkz suddenly turned back and gave Liang Yan a grin.