Chapter 68 – This Has Nothing to Do With You.
Yin Sijue was the first to notice something strange about the people around him.
Ji Wei, who had been enjoying his meal, froze when he glanced up at the TV. Following his gaze, Yin Sijue saw that the person featured in the news report had the surname Ji.
The photo appeared to be from a meeting. The man sat at the center of the table, a microphone before him, clearly holding a high position.
Yin Sijue instantly realized who it was and turned to tell Ji Wei to look away—but he was too late. The conversation between the passersby behind them had already pierced the boy’s ears like a sharp sword.
He pulled Ji Wei into his arms, sighed in heartache, and gently squeezed the boy’s slightly trembling hand.
Da Shu noticed something was wrong and set down his bowl and chopsticks.
“What’s wrong with Unique?”
Everyone at the table looked at Ji Wei in confusion, concern clouding their faces.
Finally, Ji Wei composed himself, rose from Yin Sijue’s embrace, exhaled slowly, and looked at the others.
“Sorry, I…”
He choked on his words. They stuck in his throat, leaving him painfully suffocated.
What? That my dad was probably going to jail, and that all my food, clothes, and expenses might have come from unknown sources?
What would my teammates think of me?
“Let’s go back after we finish eating,” Yin Sijue interrupted softly, glancing at Xu Shaoqiu.
“Okay, okay…” Xu Shaoqiu nodded, glanced at Ji Wei—whose face was pale and uneasy—and said to everyone, “Let’s head back first.”
The car was completely silent on the way back to the base. The air seemed drained from the cabin, a sharp contrast to the lively atmosphere of the restaurant just moments ago.
Ji Wei sat anxiously in the back seat, unease and guilt crawling over him like a swarm of ants.
He knew his teammates were worried about him. What was supposed to be a pleasant dinner had ended in awkward silence.
Yin Sijue patted his back gently, the way one would soothe a baby, and whispered near his ear, “It’s okay. If you don’t want to talk, then don’t. Brother Qiu and the others won’t ask any more questions.”
“I’ll stay with you.”
Ji Wei leaned his head against Yin Sijue’s shoulder and closed his eyes. The touch on his back was soothing, and his heartbeat gradually steadied.
Yes—this wasn’t three years ago. He was no longer isolated and helpless.
Half an hour later, the group arrived back at the base and pushed open the door.
From the living room, Ji Wei called out to his coach and teammates.
“Brother Qiu, can everyone wait until after training?”
“I have something to tell you.”
…
Opening that old wound was difficult for Ji Wei, but fortunately, Yin Sijue was by his side this time.
When Ji Wei grew anxious and struggled to organize his thoughts, Yin Sijue helped him, relaying his words bit by bit—just as he had done three years ago, when Ji Wei, unable to use the microphone, relied on him to communicate with his teammates.
Ji Wei spent ten minutes briefly recounting the past fifteen years of his life and his parents’ current situation.
“It’s already made the news, so it must have caused a huge stir. I didn’t dare check the details, but my brother told me my mom was taken away for investigation.”
Ji Wei’s eyes dimmed. He avoided their gazes, lowering his head. “That’s basically what happened.”
Silence filled the air. A car passed outside, and the sound of its tires rolling over fine sand was amplified in the quiet living room.
Xu Shaoqiu opened his mouth, but only a faint sound came out. Although he had already guessed the general situation, he hadn’t expected the truth to be so much more complicated than he imagined.
Several team members remained silent. The family conflicts they’d experienced growing up were trivial by comparison. Although their parents had once disapproved of gaming, none of their families had ever objected since they’d become professional players.
The silence dragged on until the air felt heavy. Ji Wei closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembling violently.
“If you all mind this, I—”
“What do you mean, mind?” Da Shu asked reflexively, still trying to process what he’d just heard.
Ji Wei lowered his head even further. “They mind me… because my parents are that kind of people.”
Da Shu sat up straight in shock. “How could that be? Why would you think that?”
Mi Li struggled to digest his words, the shock in his eyes fading into surprise and then softening. “None of this has anything to do with you.”
Das Shu said, “We just… didn’t realize you’d been through this before. I originally thought you were just going to school when you didn’t show up for the tryout.”
“Excuse me…” Xu Shaoqiu—besides Yin Sijue, the person who knew the most about Ji Wei’s past—truly couldn’t understand Ji Wei’s worries.
“Are you planning to apply for a civil service position after you retire?”
“Huh?” Ji Wei’s swirling thoughts were interrupted, and he stared blankly. “No.”
Xu Shaoqiu waved his hand dismissively. “Then that’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Whatever your parents did has nothing to do with you.”
The hand hanging at Ji Wei’s side was suddenly grasped. He turned to Yin Sijue, who gave him a knowing look. “You’ll see.”
Ji Wei exhaled slowly and squeezed his hand back, feeling the heavy weight in his chest finally settle.
He rested his head on Yin Sijue’s shoulder, swallowing the bitterness in his throat, realizing at last that there was no one behind him anymore.
Trying to lighten the mood, Da Shu blurted out, “When you looked like that halfway through dinner, I thought my brother was cheating on me. Hahaha—ha, ha…”
Before he could finish, Yin Sijue’s cold gaze shot over, startling him into silence. Da Shu immediately made a zipper gesture and shut his mouth.
“You did the right thing telling us about this,” Xu Shaoqiu said, looking at Ji Wei. “If others found out about the connection, it could stir up public opinion and hurt you.”
“I can make a statement on behalf of the club right now—AVG will protect its players no matter what. You don’t have to worry.”
Ji Wei shook his head. “I’m not worried about what others think.”
The living room fell silent again. Everyone understood what he meant.
From the beginning, this boy had only cared about the opinions of the AVG members he considered family and friends—because his closest relatives were long gone.
“Oh no,” Da Shu muttered, his usual optimism fading into a choked laugh. “Why worry so much? I’m heading to Korea soon. I should be thinking about winning the championship.”
“Brother Qiu, don’t overthink it. Who’d ever link that kind of news to esports players anyway? There’s no way there’ll be any backlash.”
Da Shu didn’t even realize that his careless remark had just set a huge precedent.
The next day, the AVG team boarded the plane to Korea.
Before takeoff, Ji Wei’s phone unexpectedly lit up with several messages—from his former boss, whose contact had been buried in his list for years.
Maoyu TV CEO Zhou: [Unique, are you there?]
Maoyu TV CEO Zhou: [[/link] How come the person in this news report looks like the same name you used when you joined us?]
Maoyu TV CEO Zhou: [[Seduction][Seduction] Please get back to me. You don’t want this to go viral, do you?]
Before Ji Wei could reply, the flight attendant came by, reminding passengers to put away their phones and switch to airplane mode.
Ji Wei stared at the messages for two seconds, a flicker of confusion in his eyes.
He exchanged a glance with Yin Sijue beside him. Once the plane had stabilized, he handed the phone across the aisle to Xu Shaoqiu.
If it’s not something I can handle myself, then I should ask an adult for help.
Xu Shaoqiu, sitting next to me, had originally planned to sleep through the entire flight to Korea. Half asleep, he saw a phone being handed to him. After a brief moment of focus, he immediately jolted awake and sat up in anger.
“Holy crap, is this guy an idiot?”
The first-class cabin was filled with AVG team members and accompanying staff. They all turned to look at him, heads poking out over their seats.
Da Shu asked, “What’s wrong, Brother Qiu?”
Yin Sijue, seated beside Ji Wei, had already seen the messages. His expression turned cold. “What’s he trying to do, contacting you at a time like this?”
Ji Wei glanced at his teammates anxiously. “Actually… last week, someone from their team reached out to ask if I was willing to terminate my contract with Aurora and return to Maoyu Live. They said they’d help pay the penalty and even offer some concessions when I signed the new contract.”
“There’s no way I’d go, so I didn’t reply. Later, other people from Maoyu contacted me too, but I turned them all down.”
Da Shu furrowed his brow and pinched the bridge of his nose furiously. “No way, aren’t they too shameless? If they can’t have it, they’ll just destroy it?”
Mi Li wrinkled her nose. “Don’t use disgusting metaphors. I’m going to puke.”
Xu Shaoqiu closed his eyes, rubbing his forehead. “I said this before—Aurora TV wants to acquire them, but Maoyu’s management is unanimously opposed. Their stock price has been plummeting recently, so they’re probably trying to sign Unique back to stabilize their team morale.”
Da Shu clicked his tongue. “How pathetic. There’s more than one top streamer on Aurora who used to work for Maoyu. Why target you?”
Xu Shaoqiu looked at Ji Wei. “You wrote your parents’ names when you signed the contract with Maoyu TV, didn’t you?”
“Mm…” Ji Wei murmured like a child caught doing something wrong. “They said if you’re underage, you won’t get approved otherwise.”
“So they’re just speculating now, right?” Mi Li said from the back row. “They only saw that the names are the same, but there’s no concrete evidence proving a father-son relationship.”
“Yeah, but it still feels like a ticking time bomb.” Xu Shaoqiu massaged his temple. “The World Championship is about to start, and these people aren’t even afraid of karma—using this to mess with a player’s head.”
“We need to resolve this quickly…”
…
As soon as the plane landed, Ji Wei immediately switched off airplane mode and checked his messages.
As expected, Mr. Zhou was using this as a threat to force Ji Wei to terminate his contract with Aurora. The difference this time was that he didn’t even intend to pay the penalty himself—he brazenly demanded that Ji Wei pay out of pocket and sign a five-year contract with Maoyu.
Xu Shaoqiu was truly speechless. “Does he really think he can pull something like this just because of a name? It’s illegal for a company to disclose an employee’s personal information.”
Lao Ma unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up, and began helping everyone unload their bags. Hearing this, he said, “Even if this became a civil case, the result would just be a few monetary penalties. They probably think they can earn more by signing Unique back.”
“He’s a real top star,” Da Shu said cheerfully. “He’s only streamed on Jiguang a few times, and he’s already ranked among the top for receiving the most gifts. All from wealthy women, too.”
“No matter how high he climbs, he’s still mine. I barely make anything, and yet I’m the one being used as someone else’s cash cow?” Xu Shaoqiu snorted coldly and snatched Ji Wei’s phone away. “Don’t look at your phone today. I’ll deal with this idiot. You and Solve are sharing one.”
Yin Sijue, who was helping Ji Wei unbuckle his seatbelt, raised an eyebrow and said, “Is that so? Then there’s no need to open his room—he can just sleep here.”
“No… no!” Ji Wei, still somewhat rational, refused firmly.
Yin Sijue said with a teasing smile, “It’s not safe to sleep alone without your phone, baby.”
Ji Wei: “…”
“What the hell are you thinking?” Xu Shaoqiu shoved Ji Wei’s phone into his pocket and pointed at Yin Sijue. “I’m just keeping it for a day. I’ll return it when this is over! Don’t try to take advantage of me.”
“Oh, so that means he can sleep in my room tonight,” Yin Sijue replied knowingly.
“…I’ll check on him at midnight,” Xu Shaoqiu muttered, clearly conflicted.
“Whatever. If you’ve got the nerve to knock on the door, go ahead.”
Ji Wei stared blankly at the two of them bickering, then suddenly burst out laughing.
“Let’s go. Stop fooling around.” He blushed as he took Yin Sijue’s hand. Knowing the man was trying to cheer him up, his earlier uneasiness slowly faded away.
Suppressing his shyness, he added to Xu Shaoqiu,
“It really is inconvenient without a phone… so, I’ll sleep with Solve tonight.”