Chapter 2: Wu Bo Cheng is Retiring?!

Zhao Yingyue rested her head against the window of the car. She was officially exhausted. Today, Gu Yan made her vlog her entire day from beginning to end. This consisted of three separate photo shoots that were all in different parts of the city, making an appearance at some event for some cause that she couldn't remember, going shopping for clothes she didn't need, and an interview for some fashion column.

She was just ready to go home and get on her game. She was done with the day and the sun had already set.

"What's left on the schedule for the day?"

Gu Yan sifted through a few of the bags from their shopping. While most were in the trunk, she'd intentionally left a few up with her and Zhao Yingyue.

Zhao Yingyue had initially paid no mind to that but now she was curious. Typically, if they kept a bag with them, it was because something either fragile or extremely valuable were in them.

Today, she actually sort of paid attention to the shopping they did and couldn't remember anything that fit either of those criteria.

Something was definitely going on.

"Gu Yan?"

Gu Yan continued shuffling until she pulled out a dress from the bag.

It was a black dress that she tried on earlier. It flowed down just a couple inches past her knees. While the top was solid, the bottom of the garment had a unique abstract design that looked woven in by blue lines.

Gu Yan laid the dress out on the seat in between the two of them before diving back into the bag once again.

Zhao Yingyue, at this point, realized that she could either watch as Gu Yan prepared an outfit change for her for the next activity or do her own thing. It was obvious to her that Gu Yan was way too distracted to give her an answer at that moment.

She dug into her bag and pulled out her phone and opened her Tantan app. This was the app she frequently used to keep up with the latest on her favorite e-sports team.

Lately, there had been a lot of commotion as rumors started to spread about one of the members of the most popular groups, Q5. Apparently, one of their members who had gotten engaged in the middle of last season, might end up leaving this year.

Rumor had it that Q5 was actively looking for a replacement, but not a single person in the company has stepped out to clarify any of the rumors yet.

Just as Zhao Yingyue was about to close her phone, upset with the lack of an update, her feed refreshed and a video was at the top of the page.

Seeing that it was posted by a verified member of the Q5 group, she let her curiosity guide her into tapping the video.

Her screen now was covered by none other than Liu Haoyu—the captain of Q5. A smile adorned her face as he was her idol. As she was, he also was born into high society. The only difference is that he was able to break free and pursue his true dream.

He inspired her.

"Hello to all of our fans and supporters. It's recently come to my attention that there are some rumors floating around and I know that you all are dying to hear what we have to say. So finally, we'll give you the short answer."

He shifted a few steps over so that he was no longer just in the middle of the screen, allowing space for another person to walk in.

Their current sharpshooter, Wu Bo Cheng walked into view. All the rumors in the community were surrounding him.

Zhao Yingyue was impressed that he would actually come out himself to clarify the rumors being spread about him—even at the risk of the anger of his fans if the rumors turned out to be true.

Wu Bo Cheng calmly said, "The rumors that you all have encountered are true. I intend to pass my mantle on to the next person rather soon so that our team may have time to adapt before this upcoming season."

"As you all know, I am the oldest member of this team. I'll be hitting 26 this upcoming year. While we all wish it could happen, I won't stay young forever. Maybe meeting the woman of my dreams was what it took to realize this truth."

"Thank you for supporting me all these years but please accept my decision with open hearts. You fans have truly made these last five years worth it, but now I must move on. Thank you!"

Wu Bo Cheng took a deep bow that lasted a few seconds before getting up and looking in the camera again.

This time, Liu Haoyu spoke again, "We had been waiting until we had a bit more to tell you guys than just this so bear with us as we drop a small teaser for you."

"We have been looking deeply into other potential sharpshooters together over the last few weeks and have finally decided on one. We are now focusing our efforts on recruiting this person in the next few weeks. After we have filled the gap in our team, we won't forget about you all and will have a press conference then."

"Thank you again for your time and constant support throughout the year. We at Q5 will make sure to reach out again soon."

The two men on the screen then did a deep bow before the video cut off.

Zhao Yingyue then started scrolling through the quickly accumulating comments.

'I will always be your fan Wu Bo Cheng!'

'We will support your next step in life!'

'No! You can't be leaving us so soon! I refuse to accept this!'

'Above commenter, we must respect our idol's wishes. If we can't remain his fans through everything, was it ever real?'

'I'll miss Wu Bo Cheng but I'm really curious as to who they'll find to take on his legacy.'

Soon, the comments took another turn as netizens started to take guesses at who the next generation sharpshooter would be.

They started to dissect rookies in the minor league along with streamers online. The list of possibilities were endless but in their eyes, none of the names on that list was even close to matching their precious Wu Bo Cheng.

She kept scrolling until one thread of comments caught her eye.

'What if it's the anonymous streamer known as Luna?'

'But no one knows who they are. I've heard rumors that countless teams have tried getting in touch to no avail.'

'I guess you're right. But who else would be able to take our Lord's place?'

Zhao Yingyue couldn't help but laugh at some of the comments. She knew that 'Luna' would never be able to join the team. She knew that better than anyone.

Though sometimes, she could sit and dream about it.

As if she could read her mind and wanted to knock her out of her fantasy, Gu Yan placed a separate bag that had previously been empty into Zhao Yingyue's lap.

"Soon, we'll be approaching one of your family's hotels. We'll be rushing to a room prepared for you and you'll be changing into this outfit that I have selected for you. Today, your blind date is with someone extremely special so you can't mess it up."

"Your parents informed me that this person reached out to you first which makes this an even more important opportunity. Don't mess this up or we'll both be in trouble."

Zhao Yingyue sighed. She hated that she had no semblance of control in her life and would be dragged to yet another blind date. Every time she went, she personally sabotaged them in discreet ways and would get scolded when she got home.

She could play those off as simple accidents and disconnects as it wasn't such an obvious sabotage, but she doubted that could last forever.

Zhao Yingyue hated these blind dates. She knew that once her parents managed to marry her off, her life was just going to be controlled by another. Sometimes, though, she thought that might be the better option than the constant exhaustion that was her everyday life.

When the car pulled up to the hotel, Yang Zimo let the two women out of the car.

Zhao Yingyue followed closely behind Gu Yan as they entered the hotel and made their way toward the elevator.

Hating being left in the dark, Zhao Yingyue asked, "Who is the suitor this time? It's never been treated like this big of a deal before."

"I don't know. However, you still must act accordingly. What I do know is that he's a bigshot—even bigger than you."

Zhao Yingyue pondered on that for a minute. If that was the case, then he had to be from one of the four families in the country that were richer than her own.

That meant that she'd have to be even more careful in her methods this time. These were people that she knew she couldn't afford to offend.

Whoever this person was would sure be a pain.

As soon as they shuffled into her room, Gu Yan rushed Zhao Yingyue to change into the outfit she had prepared for her. It was the same dress from earlier with some stunning blue pumps and a silver crescent moon necklace and earrings set.

Her family always played off her name which meant the 'reflection of the moon'. She, of course, never had any choice but to go along with it.

Gu Yan then had her reapply her makeup and change her hairstyle to match. When she finally looked what Gu Yan considered to be her best, only then did they leave the room and head back downstairs where the hotel's five star restaurant was.

Under her breath, Zhao Yingyue muttered, "Here we go again."