As Liu Hao pushed open the door to the training room, he was greeted by complete darkness. The lights were off, and only one person sat at a computer, their fingers dancing across the keyboard, playing Glory.
"Ye Qiu," Liu Hao called softly.
Su Mucheng stood behind Liu Hao, her expression complicated and silent.
"You've arrived?" Ye Qiu seemed to have anticipated what was about to happen. He chuckled softly, defeated his opponent, declined a rematch, and then removed his account card. Standing up, he casually picked up the black coat hanging on the rack.
The coat was old, seemingly worn for many years, but it was warm enough. Ye Qiu liked it because it kept him warm in the cold December weather.
"Tao Xuan has agreed to let me play," Liu Hao suddenly said. This meant that Sun Xiang had arrived, and Excellent Era no longer needed to hide anything.
Ye Qiu fully understood Liu Hao's implication. Tao Xuan forced Liu Hao to take a break not only as punishment for his defiance but also to prepare for Sun Xiang's arrival.
As expected, Tao Xuan's move was masterful. After suspending Liu Hao, Excellent Era's performance fell apart, resulting in seven consecutive losses. The players' morale fluctuated wildly, fans cursed them, and the team's sponsorships were severely affected.
Everyone was clamouring for Liu Hao to return. After nearly two months of rest, his hand injury should have healed by now, right?
...
The night was deep, and the streets were brightly lit.
Liu Hao and Su Mucheng accompanied Ye Qiu as they walked into the tactical meeting room. The moment they entered, they saw the electronic reports compiled by Cui Li on the large screen. The seven consecutive losses of the Excellent Era were glaringly obvious.
Excellent Era's record could have been better. The four consecutive wins at the beginning of the season seemed to herald the rise of the triple crown champion, Excellent Era, but the seven straight losses that followed shattered that hope.
Excellent Era's ranking plummeted from first place to fourteenth.
The room had an eerie atmosphere. Sun Xiang sat at the far end, legs crossed. Cui Li stood beside him, adjusting his glasses, his gaze fixed on Ye Qiu as he entered.
Shen Jian, He Ming, Wang Ze, Guo Yang, and Zhang Jiaxing saw Liu Hao and immediately walked over, quietly calling out, "Brother Hao, Captain Ye..."
"I know," Liu Hao interrupted, raising his hand.
The will of the world is hard to change. Ye Qiu was destined to leave; the only question was whether he could go with dignity.
Sun Xiang saw that the Excellent Era players were all gathering around Liu Hao. His face turned sour, and his gaze toward Liu Hao was filled with hostility.
Cui Li cleared his throat and said, "Ye Qiu, the club has decided that Sun Xiang, who has recently transferred, will take over your position as captain, and He will also control one Autumn Leaf from now on."
Although there was no prior written notice, Ye Qiu had long anticipated this. Liu Hao had informed him before the start of the eighth season that if he did not demonstrate his commercial value, Excellent Era would kick him out and replace him with Sun Xiang.
Ye Qiu felt helpless about this. How could he demonstrate commercial value? Appear in public? He wanted to, but his identity was fake. If someone found out and reported him, he would face punishment from the Glory Alliance. Faking one's identity was a severe crime that could lead to at least a one-year suspension, and he might even lose his championship titles.
Su Mucheng wanted to speak, but Ye Qiu gently held her back. Smiling and shaking his head, he signalled that he didn't mind and couldn't stop what was happening. Like Liu Hao, he had signed a contract with Excellent Era and had to comply with all the club's arrangements.
Liu Hao couldn't stand Ye Qiu's submissive demeanour and slapped his hand away. "Ye Qiu, at least curse or something. Are you just going to accept this? The dignity of the Battle God has been trampled underfoot!"
Ye Xiu smiled, turning to Liu Hao with a teasing tone, "Curse for what? I'm leaving soon. There's no need to get so angry."
"Dignity of the Battle God?" Sun Xiang suddenly burst into laughter. "If the Battle God had any dignity, Excellent Era wouldn't have suffered seven consecutive losses!"
"Oh, little brat? Who gave you the right to speak here?" Liu Hao coldly glanced at Sun Xiang.
Sun Xiang was intimidated by Liu Hao's overwhelming presence, feeling as if a lion was staring him down. He instinctively swallowed.
At that moment, all the Excellent Era players stood behind Liu Hao, while only Cui Li stood by Sun Xiang's side.
Cui Li gently patted Sun Xiang's shoulder, indicating that he shouldn't be afraid. He stepped forward with a smile, "Liu Hao, you shouldn't hold such hostility toward Sun Xiang. You're teammates now. You need to work together and maintain a friendly relationship."
Liu Hao crossed his arms, grinning, "Teammates? Need to work together? Friendly relationship? Then why are we standing while he's sitting and even crossing his legs?"
Cui Li was momentarily stunned. He turned to look at the arrogant Sun Xiang beside him and sighed helplessly. Sun Xiang had just joined and hadn't yet figured out who the real bosses were.
Sun Xiang probably thought that Ye Qiu was the decision-maker of the Excellent Era. Since he had ousted Ye Qiu, he assumed that he had naturally become the decision-maker. He believed all the players would grovel at his feet. But in reality, the actual decision-maker of the Excellent Era was Liu Hao, the big devil. Even the boss had to accommodate Liu Hao because he needed his help to win the championship.
"I have to stand because..." Sun Xiang began to retort but was cut off by Cui Li.
Sun Xiang looked at Cui Li in confusion.
Cui Li shook his head, smiling, "Sun Xiang, just stand up for now."
"I..."
"Stand up!" Liu Hao shouted.
Sun Xiang was startled and quickly stood up from his seat. He noticed Liu Hao's mocking expression and his face flushed red with embarrassment. He had just joined the Excellent Era and was already being overshadowed by Liu Hao.
Liu Hao lightly patted Ye Qiu's shoulder, saying, "After all these years as my captain, I've regained your dignity for you."
Ye Qiu brushed Liu Hao's hand away. Although he had a good relationship with Liu Hao, despite his help, he still didn't agree with his professional philosophy.
"Ye Qiu, hand over your account card to Sun Xiang," Cui Li said. He just wanted to get rid of Ye Qiu quickly.
"Alright," Ye Qiu agreed calmly, but his trembling hands betrayed his nervousness.
Ye Qiu handed over the One Autumn Leaf account card. Sun Xiang eagerly stepped forward to take it, but Liu Hao shot him a fierce glare, "Sit back down!"
Sun Xiang was so frightened that his legs wobbled, nearly causing him to fall.
Cui Li sighed and walked over, taking the account card from Ye Qiu's hand and handing it to Sun Xiang.
Staring at the card in his hand, Sun Xiang's eyes gleamed with excitement and greed. Why had he joined Excellent Era? First, because of their overall strength and deep foundation, which gave them a chance to win the championship. Second, because of this god-level account card.
Back in the seventh season, he had lost to Ye Qiu. After reviewing the match, he believed that his defeat was due to the disparity in equipment attributes. He fantasised that if he had One Autumn Leaf, he would be unbeatable on the Glory stage!
"Thanks, Ye Qiu. One Autumn Leaf will once again display the power of the Battle God in my hands. Your era is over; it's time for you to retire!"
Perhaps because One Autumn Leaf gave him confidence, Sun Xiang dared to challenge Ye Qiu openly.
Ye Qiu's expression remained unchanged. He did not react to the phrase "your era is over" and merely stared into Sun Xiang's eyes, calmly asking, "Do you love this game?"
Here it comes, Ye Qiu's classic line... Liu Hao's face lit up with amusement.
"What?" Sun Xiang was puzzled, not understanding Ye Qiu's question.
"If you love it, treat it as Glory, not a display of vanity."
"Damn it! What are you talking about? What does this have to do with you?" Sun Xiang suddenly lost his composure. Ye Qiu was supposed to leave in disgrace, but after saying this, he suddenly seemed superior.
Sun Xiang felt incredibly frustrated. Wasn't he the saviour that Excellent Era had specially invited? Why was he being overshadowed by Liu Hao and now even by Ye Qiu?
Liu Hao burst out laughing. Sun Xiang's expression was too amusing, but before he could laugh enough, Ye Qiu suddenly turned to look at him with hopeful eyes, "Liu Hao, I'll leave Excellent Era in your hands."
"Hey, hey, hey, what's with that tone? Are you entrusting me with your legacy like in White Emperor City? Do you think you're Liu Bei?" Liu Hao mocked.
Sun Xiang knew a bit of history and understood the story of Liu Bei entrusting his son to Zhuge Liang in White Emperor City. If Ye Qiu was, Liu Bei and Liu Hao were Zhuge Liang, then….
---
Cui Li was similarly surprised. He initially thought that Ye Qiu would refuse to retire and seek a transfer, but he didn't expect him to agree so decisively. However, Ye Qiu's agreement was also good news for Cui Li; he had completed the task assigned by his boss.
Cui Li took out the prepared contract termination documents, and Ye Qiu quickly signed his name on them before turning them in and leaving.
Su Mucheng followed Ye Qiu, and Liu Hao followed them as well.
---
At the entrance of the Excellent Era Club, snow suddenly began to fall from the night sky, landing on Ye Qiu's head.
"It's scarce. It's only December, and H City is already starting to snow?" Liu Hao remarked.
Su Mucheng ignored Liu Hao, her eyes red, and said, "Ye Qiu, maybe I should leave Jia Shi too? After four years of professional play, I can still afford the breach of contract penalty."
"Don't be capricious!" Ye Qiu said sternly. He looked at Liu Hao and said, "I haven't asked you for anything, but now I need you to do me a favour."
"What's the favour? Is it to take good care of Su Mucheng?" Liu Hao guessed.
Su Mucheng, upon hearing this, stamped on Liu Hao's foot with great force. "I don't need you to take care of me!"
"Kid, if you want me to take care of you, I'd rather not!" Liu Hao grimaced in pain.
Ye Qiu found it amusing and laughed, "Actually, I hope you can bring Qiu Fei back. I trained Qiu Fei. He has the ability to start and shouldn't waste time in the youth training camp. The competition field suits him better."
Since Liu Hao was banned, Qiu Fei was sent down to the youth training camp by Tao Xuan and has not been recalled. After all, Qiu Fei was part of Ye Qiu's team. Ye Qiu felt guilty towards Qiu Fei because, because of him, Qiu Fei was targeted by Liu Hao and the boss and was relegated to the youth training camp, wasting his talent. He had intended to train Qiu Fei as the successor to One Autumn Leaf, but now One Autumn Leaf had become Sun Xiang's account card.
Liu Hao nodded, "I understand."
"Thank you."
"Hey, don't thank me just yet. I might not be able to make it happen. After all, Qiu Fei now uses the same profession as Sun Xiang, and Qiu Fei is aware of insider information. Whether he's willing to stay with Jia Shi is another matter!" Liu Hao interrupted.
"Well, thank you anyway." Ye Qiu smiled and then turned and left.
Watching Ye Qiu's lonely back, Su Mucheng was already in tears. The person closest to her had now left Excellent Era as well.
"Stop crying. Your tears are making your face look ugly," Liu Hao said.
"You're the ugly one!" Su Mucheng retorted without hesitation.
Liu Hao was unbothered and said, "Ye Qiu won't be content. He'll come back."
"I know that very well!"
"Then why are you crying?"
"What? Can't I cry now that I'm sad?"
"Of course, cry as much as you want."
"Hey? Wait, what are you doing?! Don't take photos! Delete them!"
"Hehe, I won't delete them. Photos of Chief Su crying are very valuable. I wonder how much your fans would be willing to pay for them?"
"Liu Hao! You bad person, delete them now!"
"Still calling me bad? Then I won't delete them! I'll even send one to Chu Yunxiu!"
"You're daring!"
"Guess if I am or not?"
"Liu Hao! Stop! Delete them now!"
---
(End of this chapter)
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