Chapter 1: The

"What about the guy named Su Xing?"

At the Huya Live headquarters, the person in charge of the League of Legends division was checking the list of participants for the Legend Cup when they realized someone was missing.

Su Xing, a former LPL professional player.

"I asked around; he just got off the plane."

The assistant next to them glanced at a message on their phone and replied, "It'll take about an hour and a half for him to get here."

"What is that supposed to mean? You want us to make twenty or thirty people wait for him?"

The person in charge was visibly displeased and snapped, "I've never even heard of this player. Tell him not to bother coming!"

"But..."

The assistant hesitated, then explained, "He's a former pro player specifically hand-picked by General Manager Gao to participate in the Legend Cup. We should probably wait."

"Hand-picked by General Manager Gao herself?"

The person in charge's expression shifted subtly, and their tone softened significantly as they asked, "How come I've never heard of such a pro player in the LPL? What's his relationship with General Manager Gao?"

"He debuted in the LPL in 2020 and was the Best Rookie that year. Later, when the Mythic Equipment System launched, he went on Weibo and blasted Riot, saying the changes would kill the game early. It caused a massive public outcry at the time."

The assistant paused for a moment before adding, "After that, for some unknown reason, he announced he was taking a break and vanished. No one has known where he went or what he's been doing for the past few years. I heard it took a lot of effort for General Manager Gao to find him and convince him to join this Legend Cup."

"I heard—and this is just a rumor—that back then... he called General Manager Gao 'sister.' Rumor has it they were very close. I don't know anything else."

"I remember now. Earlier this year, when the designers announced the removal of Mythic items, the name 【Su Xing】 suddenly trended at number one. Is that him?"

The person in charge had a sudden realization; they finally remembered.

"Yes, that's him."

"So, if he's coming, what's his skill level?"

The person in charge frowned and asked, "Has he played any games in the last few years?"

"I don't know."

The assistant looked down at their phone and added, "General Manager Gao said he used to play mid, but he hasn't touched League of Legends in years. She told us to arrange things as we see fit."

"..."

After a brief silence, the person in charge said, "Don't wait for him. List him as a 'One-cost Card' in the card pool for the captains to pick. We'll see how it goes and slot him into Uzi's team later."

"Will that work?"

The assistant looked hesitant. The whole point of Huya hosting the Legend Cup was to use retired players to drive traffic. Their expectation was that Uzi and Theshy would inevitably be the ones in the finals.

Putting someone who hadn't played in over three years onto Uzi's team at a time like this would likely cause a massive public backlash.

"It's fine. Just arrange it that way."

Meanwhile, at Hai Cheng Airport, a young man, looking travel-worn, slowly dragged his suitcase out of the terminal.

"A primitive man returns to modern society..."

Su Xing looked down at his nearly faded jeans and slightly yellowed white T-shirt, then at the glamorous travelers around him, unable to shake the feeling that he was completely out of place in this world.

He had set out on a whim to travel, and ended up walking for nearly four years.

"Long time no see."

Just then, a clear, melodic voice came from behind him. Su Xing turned around, and his thoughts grew hazy as he saw the face of the person standing there.

Gao Wen. In 2019, when he was still in the secondary league, they had their first encounter on stage. Both were attracted to each other's strengths and quickly became confidants who could talk about anything.

In 2020, he made his debut in the LPL and became the Rookie of the Year, but she gave up the opportunity to be an LPL host and chose to study abroad instead.

In the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

"Long time no see, Sister Wen."

Su Xing collected himself and smiled candidly. "I'm just a nobody. Surely a Huya executive doesn't need to pick me up personally?"

"I almost didn't recognize you in the crowd. You've gotten so tanned..."

Gao Wen ignored his teasing, looked him up and down, and said slowly, "Would anyone even believe you're the same high-spirited LPL Rookie of the Year from four years ago?"

"Maybe it was the beauty filter on the phone during our video calls."

Su Xing laughed and asked, "Especially the Douyin camera. Sometimes I don't even recognize myself."

"Speaking of which, I have that Douyin video to thank, otherwise I never would have found you."

Gao Wen shook her head. "Who would have thought a star player with such high expectations would run off to some remote mountain area to be an uncertified volunteer teacher for three years?"

"Hey, that's all in the past. Besides, staying with the kids in the mountains was pretty good. Even though I didn't finish high school, I can still teach addition and subtraction, alright?"

Su Xing waved his hand and smiled. "Besides, what Rookie of the Year, what star player—it's all just fleeting clouds. If you hadn't found me and offered a condition I couldn't refuse, I wouldn't have come back to this circle."

"Is there no other reason?"

Gao Wen stared into Su Xing's eyes, as if unwilling to miss any subtle change in his expression.

"No."

Su Xing met Gao Wen's gaze and smiled. "Huya is putting up ten million to establish an esports charity fund to help the children in the mountains, and they're giving me a million in compensation. I'm just giving them two months of my time. For me, it's a very cost-effective deal."

If it weren't for the condition Huya offered, he would never have appeared in this circle again.

Gao Wen:... After a brief silence, Gao Wen said, "Let's go. I've already arranged where you're staying."

"Oh, aren't we going to Huya?"

Su Xing saw Gao Wen reaching for his suitcase and instinctively waved his hand to signal it wasn't necessary.

"The program there has already started. There's not much point in rushing over now."

Gao Wen took out a tablet and handed it to Su Xing. "You can watch the live stream for the specifics, and if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask me."

"Alright."

And so, the two arrived at the parking lot one after the other. However, to Su Xing's surprise, in the Legend Cup selection program Huya was currently hosting, he had actually been labeled a "One-cost Card"! Most of the people in this program were old faces, but he noticed that out of dozens of people, he was the only one defined as a "One-cost Card."

"What does 'One-cost Card' mean?"

Su Xing was slightly stunned and asked, "I remember this Snake Brother guy was the one who cheated on stream playing PUBG, right? How is he allowed to participate in the League of Legends Legend Cup?"

"He still owes Huya contract damages. He has to do whatever Huya tells him to do. And if I remember correctly, he also has a history as a former League of Legends player."

Gao Wen, sitting in the driver's seat, said softly, "As for your 'One-cost Card' label, they probably made a mistake. I'll have them change it later."

"That doesn't really matter..."

Su Xing shook his head and said, "Huya is playing quite a game, aren't they? Aren't Weixiao and Doinb from Douyu? How come they're here too?"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 2 =====