Being Disliked by a Beautiful Woman Hurts Self-Esteem

September 2nd, at dusk

The first round of the regular season in the eighth season of the Glory Professional League officially began. According to the schedule, Team Excellent Era's first opponent was Team Tyranny.

Liu Hao was curious if it was a coincidence or if the Glory officials intentionally arranged it to hype things up. Still, Excellent Era and Tyranny, two old rivals, were set to face each other in the first round of the regular season.

The deep-seated rivalry between Tyranny and Excellent Era didn't need much explanation. Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing were eternal opponents, the God of Battle and the Emperor of all Classes, destined to clash. Yet, pre-game discussions about Liu Hao surprisingly surpassed the anticipation for the duel between the two legends.

Initially, someone like Liu Hao wouldn't even be involved in such high-level battles. But two months ago, at a press conference, Liu Hao publicly shared a solo video of himself against Han Wenqing, stirring up a storm. Liu Hao defeated Han Wenqing, resulting in an outcry from Tyranny fans, forcing him into discussions alongside Han Wenqing.

Tyranny fans claimed his victory was unfair, saying he only won because he had a health advantage. They argued that if both players were in total health, he wouldn't have stood a chance against Han Wenqing.

Some Tyranny fans even suggested that Han Wenqing was going easy on him, asserting that Liu Hao couldn't have won otherwise.

There were even accusations of Liu Hao being despicable and shameless, claiming he maliciously edited the video and refused to acknowledge his victory.

As the situation escalated, Team Tyranny couldn't sit idly by. Han Wenqing, as the captain, was forced to record a video. In the video, he candidly admitted the video's authenticity and stated that he didn't go easy. However, he didn't concede that Liu Hao could beat him. Instead, he promised to prove his strength with a perfect victory in the upcoming season.

Thus, Liu Hao found himself squeezed between Han Wenqing and Ye Qiu, like a piece of meat in a sandwich.

Tyranny fans were furious. They were looking forward to the battle between Han Wenqing and Ye Qiu, only to find Liu Hao thrown into the mix. It was like biting into a big chunk of ginger in a beef stew, only for the chef to say, "Sorry, I accidentally threw the ginger in, thinking it was a potato."

Damn it! How could you put ginger in beef stew? It ruins the flavour!

To properly enjoy the beef stew, they had to pick out the ginger first! Everyone anticipated the confrontation between Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing, but before that, Han Wenqing had to deal with Liu Hao!

…

The members of Excellent Era arrived at the stadium by bus, with fans crowding both sides of the player entrance. Most were Excellent Era fans, with a few Tyranny fans dressed in red and black support gear.

Cui Li, acting as the team leader, got off the bus first, drawing everyone's attention. Next, they expected Ye Qiu to follow.

Security personnel were on high alert, fearing that excited fans might rush to hug Ye Qiu. But to their disappointment, the second person off the bus was Su Mucheng, who smiled and waved at the fans.

"Mucheng! Mucheng, where's Ye God?" a fan shouted.

"Ye Qiu? He sneaked in quietly. You know him, always low-key," Su Mucheng replied with a grin.

"Damn, he got away again!"

"Mucheng, next time, bring Ye Qiu out with you, even if he's wearing a mask. At least let us see his back."

"Okay, I'll try to persuade him, but I can't promise he'll listen!" Su Mucheng bantered with the fans.

…

All the Excellent Era members got off the bus. Cui Li led the way, with Su Mucheng bouncing ahead. Shen Jian, He Ming, and Wang Ze surrounded Liu Hao, chatting and laughing. Guo Yang and Zhang Jiaxing walked together, while Qiu Fei trailed alone, newly promoted from the youth training camp and relatively unknown.

Once inside the venue, Tyranny's bus arrived. Han Wenqing glanced at his fans without a smile and marched straight into the venue, followed by his teammates, who moved with military precision, unlike the relaxed Excellent Era members.

The players walked through a narrow passage to the arena. Before the match, both teams would familiarise themselves with their equipment.

The eSports stadium buzzed with excitement. The crowd roared as the professional players appeared.

Liu Hao entered the soundproof room, where Ye Qiu was already seated at the far end. Each computer had a camera pointed at the player's face, with no beauty filters.

Ye Qiu's camera was off, and the signal light was inactive. He wore a black baseball cap pulled low and a black mask, and his eyes focused on the screen like they were gazing at a peerless beauty.

Su Mucheng sat beside Ye Qiu, familiarising herself with the equipment.

"Hao-ge, where do you want to sit?" He Ming asked.

The soundproof room had six computers, and partners usually sat together.

Liu Hao wanted the seat farthest from Ye Qiu. In a team match, he might not follow Ye Qiu's commands, and sitting far away would avoid Ye Qiu's strange looks. Another reason was to show Tao Xuan their strained relationship; they hadn't talked much in the past two months, and he wanted to make it seem like there was discord.

Ye Qiu sat at the first computer, so Liu Hao headed for the sixth.

Just then, Cui Li hurriedly grabbed Liu Hao's arm and pointed to the third computer, "Liu Hao, the boss wants you to sit next to Su Mucheng."

Liu Hao was puzzled, "Why?"

"I don't know the boss's exact reasoning, but he doesn't want outsiders to see any discord within the team. You know, there are always rumours about internal conflicts in the Excellent Era. Though unproven, we know the discord is real. The boss doesn't want the audience to notice your tension with Ye Qiu," Cui Li whispered.

"But sitting together won't prove anything."

It may help. Adding water to lemon juice reduces the sourness."

"But adding a few drops of water to fresh lemon juice doesn't make much difference." Liu Hao glanced at Su Mucheng, always smiling during matches with Ye Qiu. "But the problem is, Su Mucheng hates me. Sitting next to a beautiful woman who dislikes you is a blow to self-esteem."

"It's the boss's order!" Cui Li said sternly.

"Alright, alright." Liu Hao conceded.

(End of Chapter)

P.S. Chapters 62-66 are up on my Patreon. Do support me there. winks

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