<Genesis> has been rich in content with its New Year events every year since its launch.
This year was no exception.
Originally, Jiang Shi had prepared to completely abstain from online activities upon returning to his hometown. However, unexpectedly, Han Yuze easily whisked him away from under his parents’ noses. After logging into the game and completing some event tasks, Jiang Shi’s mood turned notably better.
Unfortunately, time was limited because they had to rush back for dinner. They could only prioritize completing a portion of the activities and log off at a specific time.
However, it turned out that if one could sneak out once, there would definitely be a second time.
Over the next few days, it was entirely a time of going around with the Jiang family to visit relatives. Jiang Shi, conscientiously appointed as Han Yuze’s “guide,” did not join in for the sake of the gathering. This led to an increase in the duration of the two’s meetings at the internet café.
Thus, the lively and bustling Spring Festival passed in an atmosphere of open construction and covert concealment.
When Han Yiyuan bid farewell to his future in-laws and was seen off by the entire Jiang family, Jiang Shi, amidst the crowd, exchanged a glance with Han Yuze. Initially, he had intended to quietly remain in the background. However, his mother suddenly pushed him forward, “Dr. Han is leaving, why aren’t you saying anything?”
Jiang Shi found it somewhat baffling, “What should I say?”
“What should you say? You’re asking me?” Jiang Shi didn’t think much and waved towards Han Yuze, “Goodbye, take care.”
Han Yuze smiled, “Yeah, goodbye.”
Watching Han Yiyuan and Han Yuze board the car, after the vehicle went a distance, Jiang Shi turned around, ready to return. Unexpectedly, he encountered his mother’s meaningful gaze.
Pausing for a moment, he asked, “What’s wrong?”
Jiang’s mother blinked slowly, and the faint curve at the corner of her mouth made her smile somewhat cryptic, “This little Han, he’s your boyfriend, isn’t he?”
Jiang Shi: “…”
Amidst a brief internal struggle of whether to resist, after considering for a few seconds, Jiang Shi ultimately chose to lie down on the spot, “How did you guess?”
Jiang’s mother revealed an as expected expression, then mysteriously smiled, “What’s so hard about that? A mother knows her child. Come, now is it time to tell Mom how you two met?”
Jiang Shi: “…As for how we met, it should be at Dr. Han’s birthday banquet.”
The subsequent conversation mostly became question and answer sessions with such a wise mother.
Jiang Shi, of course, couldn’t possibly mention what happened in the game back then. Otherwise, if the elders found out that he was in the hospital for three days and three nights, regardless of direct involvement, he reckoned he’d never be welcomed into their home again.
Finally, Jiang’s mother completely satisfied her curiosity and threw out one last question, “So, what stage are you two at now? Little Han came all the way here with Yiyuan, showing he cares about you. Are you satisfied on your side?”
After some thought, Jiang Shi smiled and replied, “I suppose I am satisfied.”
Jiang Shi never thought that even after the Spring Festival had passed, he would have to experience the “ordeal” that Jiang Yan had gone through.
Finally finding time in his own room, the first thing he did was take out his phone and send a message: [My mom knows about our relationship.]
The response came almost instantly: [?]
[Jiang Shi: I don’t know how she found out, but our cover is blown.]
[Jiang Shi: [Contact Card]]
[Jiang Shi: My mother’s number, add it. It’ll be convenient to contact her in the future.]
[Han Yuze: .]
A few seconds later.
[Han Yuze: …Added.]
Jiang Shi was satisfied: [Keep it up.]
The remaining “ordeal” indeed needed someone else to endure it—
Jiang Shi only found out later that Han Yuze was, unexpectedly, quite adept at handling the matter of his mother’s friendship. When he casually passed his mother’s number, he didn’t think much of it. However, shortly after returning from the New Year, he found out through a casual call home that Han Yuze had already thoroughly charmed his entire family.
This, Jiang Shi truly couldn’t help but admire: “Impressive, the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law is quite harmonious.”
Han Yuze chuckled, “Of course, your mom is my mom.”
Jiang Shi felt that aside from sometimes being too straightforward, Han Yuze really didn’t have any other faults.
But no matter what, having no family conflicts was always a good thing. This allowed them to have ample energy to actively face the main issues.
Time always passes quickly.
Unknowingly, more than a month had passed since the New Year. The Century Cup, which was clearly visible after the recent Nianhua Cup, was beckoning to them from a distance.
This morning, the official website of <Genesis> officially announced the official list of participants for the new Era Cup. In no particular order, the guilds were the Rattlesnakes, Blood Roses, Firebrands, Black Tower, Crusaders, Temple of the Underworld, Lost Sea, Demon Banquet, Love and Peace, Steelheart Flow, Silver Hand, and the seven newly qualified guilds that obtained Silver Coin qualifications through Nianhua Cup.
A total of twelve guild teams, significantly fewer than the number of registrations for Nianhua Cup, but just looking at the list of participating guilds indicated that it was destined to be a fierce battle from the first round.
Even though they had celebrated together after Nianhua Cup, seeing their guild’s name among the top elite guilds, Jiang Shi still felt like he was dreaming. He quietly pinched himself, “I never expected that we would actually participate in the Century Cup?!”
Han Yuze lightly chuckled, “Why not?”
Gentleman Fan shook his fan expectantly, “It should be more fun than Nianhua Cup, right?”
[Deep Well Ice Player: Heh, how could it not be fun? Others might be underestimating us.]
Gentleman Fan: “Will there be headcount restrictions this time?”
Jiang Shi: “It’s hard to say.”
“Everyone, make sure to do your best.” Island Forest, as always, cheerfully encouraged everyone.
“I will try to collect more information about the participants from various guilds during this time,” Serious Young Man with a notebook in hand was eager to gather information. “There won’t be any groupings in the Century Cup, which will save the step of sorting through intelligence.”
Although the participating teams totaled only twelve, the rules of the Century Cup, although divided into three rounds like Nianhua Cup, naturally had significant differences.
The first round belonged to the regular score-grabbing breakthrough match.
All 12 teams would compete in the same arena, totaling four matches. The final rankings based on the points earned in these four matches would eliminate the four weakest guilds, determining the top eight to proceed to the next stage.
In the second round, there would be the pressure-resisting match, a reserved event.
Unlike the usual weekly matches, on the day of the second stage, two matches, upper and lower brackets, would directly test the players’ endurance and tactical allocation. It would directly determine the top four finalists to enter the final round.
Finally, the third round was the highly anticipated day of the championship.
As the earnest youth said, there would be no groupings in the first stage, naturally reducing many uncertainties related to luck. What made Jiang Shi most satisfied was not the convenience in gathering information but the fact that it was destined for them to be arranged with the team he hoped to encounter.
“There’s nothing more to say, just one small goal.” Jiang Shi smiled and pointed to a certain guild on the list, “In the first stage, let’s eliminate them.”
His slender fingertip lightly swept across the named guild’s name, which fell into everyone’s view.
It was the guild, Crusaders, who had cooperated extensively with their Silver Coins guild to build the guild. All the grudges and grievances of this guild undoubtedly began with a certain man, which made everyone’s gaze instantly focus on him.
Han Yuze cleared his throat and delivered an acceptance speech, “Thanks to my boyfriend for supporting me.”
That night, netizens found that the participants of the Silver Coins guild had all posted on StarBlog with a nearly identical message: [#Newcomer, please take care of me~ #Bowing]
The only difference was Yu Weize’s: [#I’m back, please take care of me~ #Bowing]
Just four adjusted words, but they carried significant meaning.
Most importantly, at the end of this StarBlog, they had tagged the official account of the Crusaders guild.
Netizens: Wow, something’s going on here~ #Bowing