YPHC Chapter 42

The incident with the deranged sasaeng was finally resolved. Zhang Qiguo was taken away by the police and got what he deserved. The “Burning Eternity” production team spent two days reinforcing the entire compound’s fencing and upgraded security, and the new head of security swore not even a stray mouse would get in, determined to protect the artists’ privacy and safety.

 

The impact of the incident was so bad that the production team spent a lot of money to suppress the news, so there was no discussion online for now. Even if there were leaks, the posts didn’t last long and only circulated as rumors in small circles before quickly disappearing.

 

Qi Hong was still upset about it and wanted to show her displeasure to these useless people, but since Jiang Nan’an himself wanted to finish the competition, she couldn’t make a scene. Plus, the organizers offered them a compensation package too good to refuse, so she swallowed her anger and let it go.

 

But Jiang Nan’an knew nothing about these follow-ups.

 

After that day, he stopped paying attention to the incident. With the elimination matches starting in a week, he spent most of his time and energy in the training room and didn’t have the time or desire to care about anything else.

 

The elimination matches were held on Sunday afternoon in the largest studio in the compound, Studio 9. The contestants finished hair and makeup early and waited backstage for the matches to start.

 

There were four matches today, all BO3: Yan Jie’s Makeshift Troupe vs. Fangfei’s Very Nice, Cai Zheng’s Step Up vs. VS’s Five Kill Squad, then two rounds of losers’ matches, and finally the third losers’ match against the bye team, Orange Cat’s Meow Meow Agents.

 

The Makeshift Troupe’s match was scheduled first, and before it began, the contestants were called backstage to wait for their entrance.

 

The previous regular season was just a warm-up, more like a “pop quiz” than a real contest, but the second stage elimination matches were modeled after professional tournaments, meaning there would be a live audience-just like the global finals they watched a week ago.

 

While waiting backstage, Jiang Nan’an could hear the audience’s screams. Later, when the host called both teams to the stage, he followed Yan Jie onto the stage and finally saw the source of those enthusiastic cheers.

 

-The stage was the center of the studio’s lights, but in the darkness, clusters of light shone together in the audience, like brilliant stars in a clear night sky. Those lights-glow sticks, phones, light boards-all spoke of the support and love for the contestants.

 

Jiang Nan’an had seen scenes like this before. Though he rarely appeared outside of film crews, in his seven years since debuting he’d attended movie roadshows, walked red carpets, and occasionally appeared at galas.

 

There were always lots of people in the audience, shouting his name and screaming for him.

 

These situations should have felt the same, but for some reason, looking back now, Jiang Nan’an felt this time was different-there was a subtle, new feeling taking root in his heart.

 

But that feeling was too subtle and fleeting; he couldn’t grasp it, let alone analyze it in detail.

 

After the players officially entered the stage, the cheers from below doubled in volume. There were shouts for every contestant, all mixed together until it was hard to distinguish individual voices.

 

“Wow, our live audience is very enthusiastic,” the female host said with a smile, looking at the teams on either side of her as she began her prepared opening remarks.

 

Next came the self-introduction segment, starting with the blue team’s captain Fangfei. After all five members had introduced themselves, it was the red team Makeshift Troupe’s turn.

 

“Next up is the red team captain. This player should be familiar to all Blazing Holy Grail players, as Spring is a legendary figure in the Blazing Holy Grail esports world.”

 

“Oh please, any more praise and I’ll get a big head,” Yan Jie smiled, composing himself slightly. “Hello everyone, I’m Spring, captain of the Makeshift Troupe, playing the jungle position.”

 

The female host immediately followed up: “So does Spring have any trash talk for your opponents before the match?”

 

“Trash talk? That doesn’t seem right since we’re all friends… Fangfei, don’t cry when you’re eliminated in the first round. Go reflect for a few years, work hard, grow for a few hundred more years, and maybe someday you’ll be able to jump high enough to reach your big brother Spring’s knees!”

 

This interaction was actually borrowed from the traditional trash-talking segment of esports competitions-throwing out harsh words and putting each other down before the match to create friendly interaction and liven up the atmosphere.

 

This was Yan Jie’s comfort zone. After he finished, both the stage and audience laughed. Having accomplished his mission, the microphone was passed to the next person.

 

Today’s audience was particularly enthusiastic, especially when it came to Jiang Nan’an. When the microphone reached his hand, before he could speak, the audience erupted in cheers a hundred times more passionate than before. One female voice was particularly loud, overpowering everyone else to shout, “Baby Xiao Shan, Mommy loves you!”

 

This caused Jiang Nan’an to hesitate momentarily. He first said “Thank you,” then continued:

 

“Hello everyone, I’m the mid laner for Makeshift Troupe, Jiang Nan’an.”

 

Today Jiang Nan’an was wearing the silver-white-pink uniform of the Makeshift Troupe. Probably to complement this outfit, the styling team had added a few strands of pink hair extensions, mixing them with his real hair and braiding half of it back. The innovative hairstyle combined with his excessively refined features made him comparable to a character from a game poster, and the close-up from the director was a devastating beauty attack.

 

The fans below frantically waved their support signs-“Strongest Mid Laner Jiang Nan’an,” “Skills Conquer the Canyon, Beauty Conquers the Earth,” “High-Ridge Man-Eating Flower, You Deserve to Have It”… there were all kinds of messages. Jiang Nan’an’s gaze lingered on those support phrases for a moment before looking away.

 

The female host continued: “If I’m not mistaken, ‘Burning Eternity’ is Teacher Jiang’s variety show debut. We can see that many of Teacher Jiang’s fans have come today. It’s clear everyone is looking forward to Teacher Jiang’s brilliant performance tonight. Does Teacher Jiang have anything to say to the fans who have come from afar to support you?”

 

“?” Jiang Nan’an raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise.

 

During the pre-show briefing, the PD had only mentioned self-introductions and pre-match trash talk; no one had told him there would be this kind of question during the official opening.

 

This interview-like segment was usually handled by “Gu Qingze.” Jiang Nan’an instinctively felt his jacket pocket-empty.

 

He hesitated for a bit too long, long enough for the air to grow awkwardly quiet, before finally opening his mouth:

 

“Thank you very much for your support… I’m very happy.”

 

This dry, stiff, and official response drew chuckles from the audience. The female host quickly continued:

 

“Very Nice’s mid laner Qi Zai just said he would send Teacher Jiang’s Siren back to the sea to roam freely. Does Teacher Jiang have anything to say to him?”

 

“No.”

 

The female host probably didn’t expect Jiang Nan’an to give such an awkward, deflating answer in front of so many people. She was stunned for a moment, her brain racing to figure out how to save the situation, when Jiang Nan’an sighed slightly and continued with a cool expression:

 

“I don’t speak ATM language, but I wanted to ask if the promotion of getting a blue buff when withdrawing 400 yuan is still available?”

 

Low damage, but extremely insulting.

 

Combined with his serious tone and expressionless face, at this moment, the value of that “High-Ridge Man-Eating Flower” light board was still rising.

 

The pre-match introductions quickly ended, and both teams walked to their battle stations.

 

“Fangfei’s team’s protect-the-one strategy is too mature. We can’t let their formation take shape. Try to crush them in the early game. Spring and Xiao Shan, if your heroes are strong, play aggressively. North Star in the top lane, just one word: survive. Don’t leave the tower if you can’t support. The bottom lane duo, just play normally. Shanshan, follow Blue’s commands. Fangfei’s pick is a mid-to-late game hero, you can’t compete with them in the early game. Good luck.”

 

After completing the Ban & Pick phase and arranging tactics, Chenghua shook hands with the opposing coach and left the stage. On the screen, ten heroes entered the match, and the competition officially began.

 

The Makeshift Troupe suffered from their team composition-three strong players carrying two weak ones-making the in-game direction quite extreme. For instance, if they gained an advantage in the early game, they could win easily, but once pressured, it would be hard to turn the tide.

 

So Chenghua ordered them to play aggressively in the early game. Since the lineup was already gambling, the tactics might as well be gambling too. As for late-game operations? Not even a consideration.

 

“We can see that after the opening, the Makeshift Troupe is playing very proactively. Jiang Nan’an almost got a solo kill in lane, Spring is in the enemy jungle like it’s his own home, and inBlue’s development in the bottom lane is also comfortable. Only the relatively weak top laner is a bit stifled, constantly farming under the tower,” Commentator A adjusted his microphone, explaining the situation to the audience.

 

Commentator B also helped analyze: “Yes, the Makeshift Troupe seems to be aiming for a quick victory, but Very Nice obviously wants to drag it out until their formation takes shape. Now we’ll see whose pace the match will follow.”

 

As they were speaking, Jiang Nan’an finished farming in mid lane and circled around the river to the bottom lane.

 

“Alright, it’s almost six minutes in, and the neutral resource point has the Eight-Legged Bug spawning. Makeshift Troupe’s mid laner and jungler are both moving toward the bug hole.”

 

The director, hearing this, focused the camera on Jiang Nan’an. From his perspective, the path ahead seemed clear, but from the god’s-eye view, viewers could see that in the grassy area ahead, Very Nice’s mid laner and jungler were eyeing him hungrily as he drew closer.

 

Commentator A: “Very Nice’s mid and jungle positioning is both bold and clever. We can see they seem very familiar with Jiang Nan’an’s support patterns and know exactly where to ambush him. Meanwhile, Jiang Nan’an continues moving forward, apparently unaware of the danger ahead.”

 

Commentator B: “Very Nice’s jungler picked Black Widow clearly to counter Jiang Nan’an’s Fire Sprite. After all, while Fire Sprite deals high damage, it lacks mobility. Once caught in Black Widow’s spider web, the only options are to counter-kill or die. Now Fire Sprite has walked into Black Widow’s attack range, Black Widow casts Q to shoot a spider web… Wait? What?!”

 

Before Commentator B could finish, the situation on the field changed dramatically-Black Widow’s Q skill was already halfway out when it was forcibly interrupted, and the skill’s owner was none other than Spring, who had somehow sneaked nearby!

 

“We were only focusing on Jiang Nan’an and didn’t notice when Spring arrived! A blind W skill into the bush, precisely hitting Black Widow, directly canceling Black Widow’s Q skill! At the same time, Fire Sprite, now with vision, immediately repositions to follow up with control and damage. Black Widow’s first web didn’t hit anyone, greatly reducing subsequent damage, and quickly falls. Qi Zai still wants to struggle, but Spring has already reached level six after taking Black Widow’s head. How can he fight one against two?! Good, Qi Zai is down, congratulations to Spring for securing the double kill!”

 

Commentator A closely followed the situation on the field, only able to share his amazement with Commentator B after the small team fight ended:

 

“That was incredible! How did Spring know someone was in that bush? He couldn’t possibly have had vision! This makes me wonder if Jiang Nan’an deliberately approaching that area was part of their act? Blind-casting a skill, with such perfect timing-one second earlier and he wouldn’t have canceled the ability, one second later and Fire Sprite would have been controlled, with the best outcome probably being a one-for-two trade… Is this the awareness of a top-tier jungler? Indeed, after all these years, Spring is still Spring!”

 

The situation happened so suddenly that no one saw clearly what had occurred, so Commentator A continued his amazement while waiting for the director to cut to the replay.

 

But in the next second, looking at the screen, he let out a surprised “Huh?”

 

After the small team fight in the canyon, Spring didn’t immediately go to attack the respawned Eight-Legged Bug. Instead, he stood by Very Nice’s mid and jungle corpses and performed a brief dance for them.

 

Those familiar with Spring know this is just his flamboyant nature-whether in official competitions years ago or later in public matches during streams, he always liked to interact with opponents or teammates this way. The commentator wasn’t too surprised and just wanted to laugh it off.

 

But what surprised him was that Fire Sprite, who had initially brushed past Spring on the way to the bug hole, suddenly paused after seeing his jungler dance. He turned back, holding his flame skirt, and stood beside Spring, silently watching his dance.

 

“Hahaha, the exasperation seems to be spilling out from the screen. Let me voice over for Teacher Jiang-‘What a boring jungler, why dance here instead of attacking the bug? Can I kill teammates in this game…'”

 

Commentator B hadn’t even finished the last syllable when he watched in astonishment as Fire Sprite stood beside Spring and began dancing in perfect sync.

 

Who was this dancing Fire Sprite again?

 

A thousand people may see a thousand Hamlets, but at this moment, everyone in the venue shared the same question.

 

Especially when this comical scene was paired with Jiang Nan’an’s cool, indifferent handsome face.

 

“Whew… Well, after all these years, Spring is still Spring. Has this dancing become contagious? Even Teacher Jiang Nan’an couldn’t escape after spending time with him?” Commentator A circled back, teasing:

 

“Hey, is that fan who shouted ‘Mommy loves you’ listening? Bad news, your baby has been corrupted!”

 

“And the good news?” Commentator B played along perfectly.

 

“The good news,” Commentator A tried to hold back laughter, reading in a monotone:

 

“So sweet, we’re shipping something real now-”

 

Point-blank ultimate.

 

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(advanced chapters available on kofi)