Ye Qiu's Difficulties

"You don't need to be angry at Liu Hao," Su Mucheng quickly caught up with Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu chuckled, "I'm not angry."

"You are definitely angry, don't deny it," Su Mucheng said.

"Okay, I'm a little annoyed," Ye Qiu sighed, "But I'm not angry at Liu Hao, I'm just a bit frustrated because of helplessness."

"Huh?" Su Mucheng didn't quite understand.

"What Liu Hao said makes sense. The current Glory Alliance is a commercial alliance, and commercial alliances cannot accommodate purity. Even Han Wenqing couldn't resist the overall trend and had to undergo commercialization transformation out of necessity," Ye Qiu sighed, "Liu Hao is right, maybe my purity is already outdated."

Su Mucheng remained silent. As the cash cow of Excellent Era and the most profitable commercial professional player in the alliance after Zhou Zekai, she was well aware of the current esports landscape, unable to refute Ye Qiu.

In the eyes of the public, Ye Qiu's persistence was considered wrong, but in the path of esports, Ye Qiu had made no mistakes, just not understood and accepted by others.

Like cosplay in the world of anime, most young people loved beautiful Cosers, attending comic conventions, taking photos, and collecting memorabilia. But to the older generation, this was seen as eccentric.

Ye Qiu was like a conservative person; he could accept cosplay but couldn't actively participate. Liu Hao, on the other hand, was like someone with a severe case of chuunibyou, desperately wanting to be the most dazzling figure in the cosplay circle.

"Do you know why Liu Hao doesn't want to follow my commands?" Ye Qiu suddenly asked.

"Because he likes cosplay... No, no, because his desire for performance is too strong, unwilling to be just your foil?" Su Mucheng answered.

"Half right," Ye Qiu said, "In Excellent Era, the glory of being a three-time champion overshadows everything. This results in the audience always focusing on Ye Qiu, while other players in Excellent Era are seen as insignificant."

"It's an unavoidable situation..." Su Mucheng wanted to comfort Ye Qiu but didn't know where to start.

"In the eyes of the audience, Excellent Era's success is attributed to me as the captain. But if Excellent Era performs poorly, then it's because Liu Hao and the others have dragged me down. It's always like this..." Ye Qiu said calmly, "In Excellent Era, it's very difficult for other players to step into the spotlight. They are like grass under towering trees, only able to absorb the sunlight that filters through the branches and leaves of the big tree."

"So Liu Hao wants to break away from the big tree and stand in the sunlight himself?" Su Mucheng suddenly realized, "You're quite good at analogies..."

"Hehe, learned it from Liu Hao," Ye Qiu smiled, "Liu Hao chose to seek a different path, uniting with other players to isolate us and form their own faction. Only this way can they attract the audience's attention on the battlefield and showcase their brilliant performances."

Su Mucheng widened her eyes. After Ye Qiu's explanation, she understood why other players would choose to listen to Liu Hao. It wasn't just because Liu Hao often flattered them and took care of them, but also because Liu Hao's approach truly helped them.

"In the eyes of Wang Ze and the others, we are the villains, and Liu Hao is their redemption, right?" Su Mucheng couldn't believe it. "But that doesn't mean Liu Hao's actions are correct. He's a professional player, and professional players should prioritize winning matches!"

Ye Qiu nodded, "You're right. Liu Hao was indeed wrong before, but now he might not necessarily be wrong."

"What do you mean?" Su Mucheng couldn't understand.

"Liu Hao wants to achieve his goals. First and foremost, he needs outstanding skills. Just like what Liu Hao said, esports speaks for itself through skills. Before, Liu Hao lacked skills, so I suppressed him. But now, Liu Hao has demonstrated the ability to kill Desert Dust, so I have no reason to continue suppressing him..."

"But... Liu Hao doesn't listen to your commands, doesn't cooperate with you..." 

"It's okay. If Liu Hao doesn't cooperate with me, I can cooperate with him!" Ye Qiu smiled, "Before, Liu Hao lacked skills but wanted to be the core. Of course, I wouldn't agree. But now, Liu Hao has shown his ability. Since he doesn't want to be my foil, then I can cooperate with him."

"You really... make it hard for people to understand," Su Mucheng sighed, feeling perplexed. "The Supreme Fighting God actually yielded to Liu Hao? Then why didn't you just tell Liu Hao earlier?"

"Liu Hao is still too inexperienced. If I yield to him now, how will he react?"

"He'll probably become even more conceited?" Su Mucheng chuckled.

"Exactly. Liu Hao is too proud, much more than before. I don't know why he has changed so much," Ye Qiu said.

"Maybe he had an enlightenment after a good sleep. According to martial arts novels, he must have opened up his Ren and Du channels, suddenly becoming a master in the martial world, so he dared to challenge you head-on," Su Mucheng joked. "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Go find the boss, suppress Liu Hao's arrogance a bit. We can't let him become too proud; pride will ruin him completely," Ye Qiu smiled.

...

Excellent Era Club, Tao Xuan's Office

"Player Sun Xiang, I hope you can consider it carefully. Excellent Era is willing to offer you a contract with an annual salary of 7 million, and we will cover your transfer fee..." Tao Xuan sat on the boss's chair, with a smile on his face as he hung up the phone.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Tao Xuan frowned slightly and called out, "Come in."

The wooden door was pushed open, and the person who entered nearly made Tao Xuan's heart stop.

"Ye Qiu, Mucheng, what brings you here?" Tao Xuan tried to maintain a calm demeanor as he looked at the two people in front of him, but the cold sweat on his forehead undoubtedly betrayed his nervousness.

Su Mucheng stared with wide eyes, full of confusion. How could someone sweat in such a cool air-conditioned room? Could it be that Tao-ge had just engaged in strenuous exercise? But he didn't seem like it at all?

Ye Qiu's eyes held a deep meaning. He saw through Tao Xuan's nervousness, as if he had done something wrong. However, he still pretended to have not noticed anything and was about to explain their purpose. But unexpectedly, Tao Xuan interrupted, "Ye Qiu, you came just in time. I happen to have something to discuss with you."

Ye Qiu was taken aback and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Excellent Era's performance in the league has been getting worse. We've had two consecutive first-round exits in the fifth and sixth seasons of the playoffs, and this year, we didn't even make it to the playoffs. As the captain of Excellent Era, don't you have anything

 to say?" 

Ye Qiu was about to speak, but Su Mucheng preempted, "The poor performance of Excellent Era can't be blamed on Ye Qiu."

"I know, I know. Ye Qiu has been working hard, and I'm not blaming him. I just want to know the reason," Tao Xuan said.

"The poor performance of Excellent Era is my main responsibility. It's because of my poor command that I failed to lead the team to victory," Ye Qiu said.

(End of this chapter)