Chapter 823: New Benchmark of Contemporary Chinese Esports Youth

The purpose of inviting Jay Chou to write a song for Season 7 was to bring more popularity to Season 7, but I didn't expect Jay Chou to freely improvise, also bringing Fire into the mix. To Riot Games, this was simply a huge unexpected joy; as for whether "Comeback" would overshadow "LegendsNeverDie", Riot Games didn't care at all!

Just like Eason's later song "The Loneliest Brave", which is actually the theme song of the League of Legends animation, but many passersby mistakenly think it was the theme song of that year's League of Legends World Championship, Riot Games never explains.

Because it doesn't matter which song is the theme song; the key is popularity!

Tencent senior leadership are more scheming; seeing Liang Yan gain explosive popularity from writing the lyrics for "Comeback", they wanted to add fuel to the fire, seizing the opportunity to further hype up S7—which was already hot to the point of smoking—by adding another fire. Thus, the senior leadership personally stepped in, inviting a CCTV team to the S7 training hotel to conduct an interview with Liang Yan.

The title of the interview program is: "From Esports World Champion to Cross‑Over Music Creation, a Discussion on the New Benchmark of Chinese Esports Youth".

The interview was scheduled for 2 p. m., and the organizing committee specially rented a small meeting room on the hotel's second floor for the CCTV team to use as the interview venue.

Liang Yan had just finished a practice match and exited the training room together with Gao Jun.

At that moment he was wearing a plain VG jersey, no jacket, his hair a bit messy; he casually ran his fingers through it twice, preparing to go to the interview just like that.

Gao Jun originally wanted to offer a couple of suggestions, saying, "Brother, shouldn't we tidy up our appearance a bit? It wouldn't do to be too casual..." But seeing Liang Yan's indifferent expression, he didn't dare to speak up.

As a result, just after turning the corner of the hallway, he saw Tang Anna standing by the elevator.

"Oh dear, I suddenly need to pee—I'll go back to the restroom!"

Gao Jun swiftly turned and left.

Liang Yan walked over to Tang Anna, surprised, and asked, "How come you're here?"

The floor where G2 is staying is completely different from VG's floor; obviously Tang Anna is standing here especially to wait for him.

Tang Anna glanced at his messy hair, wore the expression "I knew you'd lose, just as I expected," handed him the jacket draped over her forearm, then stood on tiptoe and used her fingers to comb his hair, muttering, "At least show some respect for CCTV—you always look so sloppy on camera, and CCTV uses that ugly color filter; people who don't know might think you actually look like that."

Liang Yan obediently stood still, letting Tang Anna's fingers ruffle his hair, lowered his head to look at his girlfriend's face, and smiled, "Have you watched my previous interviews?"

Tang Anna gave him an annoyed glance, her face expressionless as she said, "I've watched every one of your interviews," then, while checking her own handiwork, she was barely satisfied before pulling her hand back.

She casually pressed the elevator button, lifted her chin to signal Liang Yan to put on his jacket: "Hurry up, don't keep them waiting too long."

Liang Yan couldn't resist, he pressed his hand to the back of Tang Anna's head and gave her a quick kiss, then, while slipping on his jacket, hurried into the elevator.

He slipped away, slipped away!

Tang Anna covered her mouth, staring wide‑eyed as the elevator doors closed, blocking Liang Yan's smiling face.

Just three seconds earlier, Gao Jun, who had just come out from the rear corner, saw that scene and instantly became so excited he wanted to drag everyone from VG except Liang Yan into a group chat to spill the beans.

Holy shit!

The small meeting room on the second floor.

Liang Yan sat in front of the camera, while the makeup artist from the other team pressed on and touched up his makeup.

Then the recording started, and the female host, dressed in a muted‑white formal suit, sat opposite Liang Yan, her makeup flawless, she looked at him and broke into a perfect smile.

After some small talk, the host launched into praise, saying things like "you became famous young" and "your talent is outstanding"; Liang Yan nodded and smiled throughout, remaining polite.

After chatting for a minute or two about pleasantries, the host finally got to the real topic.

"... We all know that the esports theme song you recently co-created with Jay Chou can be said to have gone viral all over the internet." The host adjusted her sitting posture, her tone warm yet appropriate, "Many people online are discussing how the song's lyrics are especially moving; I'd like to ask Liang Yan, what was the occasion for this collaboration with Jay Chou?"

Liang Yan responded naturally, off the cuff: "Actually, when Jay Chou first approached me, I was also surprised, because nothing like this had ever happened before. Well, he said the music was already written, but he couldn't find a suitable person to write the lyrics; a few lyricists he'd worked with didn't understand esports, so he thought of me and wanted me to give it a try. I found the idea interesting—it would give me a new experience. Besides, I had worked with Jay Chou on the League of Legends sixth-anniversary celebration event, so we could consider ourselves friends."

"Then, how did you conceive the lyrics for this song?"

"Um, I didn't really think about it either." Liang Yan answered honestly: "Back then I agreed to give it a try just to see; Jay Chou sent over the song's demo, I listened and went, 'Wow, the arrangement is killer!'—inspiration hit me instantly, and I started writing right away."

"Ah, getting inspiration just from hearing the arrangement shows your lyric-writing talent must be extremely high as well. Moreover, it seems you didn't spend much time on it—from when you started creating to when you finished the work, how many days did it take in total?"

"Erm, less than a day?"

"... Ah?"

"It was probably just over an hour; I wasn't really watching the clock, because I really felt that burst of inspiration and finished it in one go."

"... Oh my goodness!"

The host covered her mouth, her eyes widened slightly, and she genuinely showed a shocked expression.

Later, when the conversation turned to S7, the atmosphere grew more serious.

"As everyone knows, this year's World Championship is being held in our China, so for the teams of our LPL region it carries an even more extraordinary significance. So, as someone who... uh, can be said to be the leading figure of the LPL region, as the person carrying so many expectations, do you feel any great pressure?"

Liang Yan said it was fine, just that he's been a bit busy.

"Saying there's no pressure is definitely a lie. This year's S tournament is being held in China—such an opportunity might come only once in a lifetime. So rather than pressure, I'm more afraid of leaving regrets..."

The host's eyes lit up.

Liang Yan paused, then continued: "As for your calling me a leading figure, I don't dare accept that. However, VG is indeed the strongest team in the LPL this year, and carrying greater expectations is only natural; since we've taken on this responsibility, to reforge the LPL's glory is something we of our generation cannot shirk."

Later that day, when the program aired on CCTV, netizens voiced all kinds of opinions:

【Look, what's called vision? I give this interview a perfect score!】

【Saying 'leading figure' is too modest—among domestic LPL players, you're the only one who's won an S tournament championship!】

【Reforge the LPL's glory—we of our generation cannot shirk it!】

【What glory does the LPL even have?】

【There is, bro, there is—WE won a world championship back in the ancient era.】