Chapter 24
Translator: Aafkee
Proofreader: ChaiTea
She didn't receive a reply for a long time.
Mu Wanwan isn't in the mood to start a new game, so she uses the excuse of eating and watches the live stream of the tournament.
TS had three tough games today, each over 45 minutes long. They narrowly won with a 2-1.
When it's time for TS to leave the stage, Mu Wanwan sees Pei Lu rubbing his brows tiredly.
That isn't surprising. It would be weirder if they weren't tired after winning two losing games.
There is another match in ten minutes, and the arena isn't in City S. The camera cuts to another venue as the two commentators continue the conversation skillfully.
"Congratulations to team TS! Even though TS won, your conditions seem pretty bad recently?"
"Yeah, we can't even see God Lu's dimples anymore. Hahahaha."
"After all, it's not just the pressure from the tournament, but there are also conflicts within the team... Anyway, we hope TS can recover from this situation soon!"
Everyone who has been paying attention to professional LoL knows about the internal conflict within Team TS.
First, Chen He, who is banned from the tournament, has changed his Weibo ID and removed the TS tag before sending a post which seems to be throwing shade at TS's management for unfair treatment.
In response, TS quickly posts an announcement to inform Team TS's fans of the ending of Chen He's contract.
Not only does that mean that TS must complete the Spring Tournament with a substitute player, but it also means that they will welcome a new team member very soon. TS's fans have guessed every ADC from the trainees and those at Challenger rank - except for【DepressedPrince】.
The two commentators are still talking about this and that, trying to fill in the downtime when Mu Wanwan finally got a game. She closes the browser with the LoL TV stream and focuses on her game.
40 minutes later, the red word "Defeated" appears on her monitor.
I lost again, Mu Wanwan thinks as she covers her face with both hands and rubs her cheeks twice harshly.
[Wanan seems to be in a bad condition today. What's wrong?]
[I suspect it might be... you know, that time of the month...]
[Pfft, I guess that's understandable. You should rest if you're tired. It's way over your usual stream time anyway.]
She wants to go off as well, but if she does, there will be nothing to distract her, and she might just die from nervousness.
She flips over her phone, but there are no notifications. Mama Mu has yet to reply.
Suddenly, a chat window pops up on her LoL game client.
【TS.Luu: Does the coffee taste good?】
The chat, which was once lifeless, finally comes to life.
[Ahhhhhhhh! I can finally see God Lu after lurking during Wanan's stream!!]
[Wake up! Do you count that as "see"?? Also, didn't God Lu just return to their base from the tournament? Is he already playing games?]
[Oh damn, coffee?? What?? I have reasons to believe God Lu and Wanan met irl!]
[Pfft, and you guys were mocking MeowMeow for being the social butterfly. Now you know who's the real egirl. Look, she has already been expanding her network.]
There are more and more trolls in her chat. Mu Wanwan replies quickly.
【DepressedPrince: Yeah. I'm streaming now. I have a cup beside me.】
Pei Lu stops replying.
Two minutes later, Mu Wanwan's phone lights up.
Pei Lu: "Sorry, I thought you were already off. Did I affect your stream?"
Wan: "It's fine. They'll get over it in five minutes."
Pei Lu: "Okay... Have you considered the contract? Do you have any questions? Anything you want to ask me?"
Wan: "Yeah."
Pei Lu's reply is instant: "Yeah?"
Wan: "What's your annual salary?"
She was only half-joking when she sent that message.
Pei Lu: "......"
Pei Lu: "500,000*. It was the contract over a year ago."
(T/N*: About 70k USD?)
He's extremely honest and told her everything.
Mu Wanwan is surprised. She wasn't expecting him to be so honest. 500,000... is considered quite a lot for over a year ago.
Wan: "How long is your contract?"
Pei Lu: "Two years."
Wan: "It'll increase this year. They will at least add a '2' at the front."
Pei Lu: "......"
Is she scolding me?*
(T/N*: Long story short, the pronunciation of 250 in this context sounds like a slang to call someone stupid.)
Mu Wanwan only realises belatedly that the number 250 is a bit awkward. Just as she is about to say something, she receives a phone call.
Mu Wanwan nearly jumps out of her seat out of surprise when she realises the caller is Mama Mu. She mumbles, "I'm going off," and turns off her stream as quickly as she can.
She holds up the phone and answers, "Mum."
"Yeah. Sorry, I had to work overtime today, so I've just seen your message," Mama Mu sounds pretty neutral, "What kind of tournaments were you talking about? Are they the same as those... tournaments organised by the internet cafes?"
League of Legends was extremely popular all of a sudden when Mu Wanwan was still in high school. Naturally, the game became a trend in her school as well.
She had played the game with a 5-men team before with her classmates. Since then, the title "Jin Zhong* Number 1 ADC" has belonged to her since. And when a nearby internet cafe organised a LoL tournament, the boys from her class looked for her to form a team.
The prize money was about 800, and her classmates promised her half if they won. That was a considerable amount for her at that time. It was equivalent to 2 weeks' worth of living expenses.
In the end, Mama Mu caught wind of it, and Mu Wanwan was grounded for a month.
Not hearing a reply, Mama Mu continues, "It's not that I don't allow you to go in the past. Think about it: you were already in year three then and had to prioritise your studies, so where could you even find the time to play games? And it was only for that few hundred dollars... it wasn't as if I couldn't feed you."
"No, Mum," Mu Wanwan bites her lips and prepares herself mentally before she speaks, "I'm referring to national tournaments."
It turns silent for a while.
"What do you mean by national tournaments? Does that mean you need to travel? Will it take a long time?"
Mu Wanwan then explains the concept of being a professional eSports player in detail.
"...So I'll need to live in the base, train every day, two major tournaments a year, and some small ones in between."
This time, the silence goes on for a little longer.
Mu Wanwan is not confident and calls out softly, "Mum..."
"Wanwan, you're still in university."
"......"
"Have you thought about what if you can't get good results or earn much even after putting in your best efforts? What are you going to do in the future?"
"Mum, it's a proper profession. There's basic wage and insurance."
Mama Mu's knowledge of such eSports tournaments is still limited to that 800RMB three years ago, "Xiao-Wan, it's not like I don't support you, but what can you even do with that little money in this time and age?"
"Mum, the annual salary is 700,000*," Mu Wanwan begins reading off her contract, "insurance and pension, food and accommodation provided. Future endorsements and sponsorships will be calculated separately. Prize money from tournaments and year-end bonuses are also calculated separately."
(T/N*: About 98k USD.)
"......"
"Even the facilities and equipment are provided by the sponsors."
After recovering from the shock, Mama Mu asks, "The same game you liked to play back then...?"
"Yeah."
"Have you thought through it? What about university?"
"Most professional players decide to drop out..."
Mama Mu gasps.
Mu Wanwan quickly continues, "But there're also some who don't. It'll be harder, though."
"700,000? Are you sure it's not a fraud? Did they ask you to pay for membership or something?" Although Mama Mu trusts her daughter's intelligence, she can't help but ask when she thinks about that amount of money.
Mu Wanwan briefly tells her about the contract.
Mu Wanwan is pleasantly surprised by her mum's reaction. The memory of her getting hit on her palm as punishment a few years back is still fresh in her mind.
After another long pause, Mama Mu finally asks, "What's the company name? I need to do some research."
Her mum quickly ends the call after receiving the company's name, seemingly in a rush.
Mu Wanwan is confused and unsure about the outcome of their conversation.
She receives a call from Mama Mu again just as she finishes removing her makeup.
"That's indeed a big company. Do you want to go?"
"Yes!" Mu Wanwan can feel the excitement and happiness from the bottom of her heart, but she doesn't dare to be happy too early, "Mum, does that mean I can go?"
Mama Mu lets out a light sigh, "It's not like I'm an unreasonable person. It's not easy to find a job with a salary of 700,000 and with so many other bonuses on top of that. Besides, you're an adult now. You have to choose your own path, so you can't blame me if it didn't turn out the way you thought it would in the future, okay?"
The surprise comes rushing to her so suddenly that Mu Wanwan doesn't know how to react.
"What? Are you regretting it now? You don't want to go anymore?"
"Of course not!" Mu Wanwan's eyes are almost shining. Her voice is a bit shaky, but she doesn't forget to flatter her mum, "Mum, you are the best mum in the world!"
Mama Mu is used to her antics, "But you must promise me not to neglect your studies. You need to have a plan B."
"Okay..."
"You must tell me if you are bullied or if you need help with anything. You can't hide everything from me, like that time. You're only asking me when the contract is already in your hands. Is that taking me seriously?"
Mu Wanwan accepts the reprimands.
All she feels at the moment is how her heart seems to feel like a fountain, unable to contain her emotions--
Her palms are hot, and even her fingers are shaking.
Mama Mu is still talking on the phone, "Have you decided when to travel for your holiday? When are you coming home?"
"I'll go home tomorrow."
Now Mama Mu is confused, "You're not travelling anymore?"
"I'm not travelling anymore, "Mu Wanwan frees one of her hands and rubs her cheek, attempting to rub off heat, "I must go back and spend time with you."
"Don't. You'll only give me more trouble if you come back so early. I haven't even done spring cleaning yet."
"I'll help out."
Although Mama Mu is complaining verbally, Mu Wanwan can almost hear the smile from her words, "Fine, go book the tickets. I'll pick you up."
Mu Wanwan changes into her sports attire the moment she puts down her phone. She's so excited that she needs to go down for two laps.
It's already 11 at night. There's barely anyone outside, and it's cold. There aren't many runners at this time, which made Mu Wanwan's bright-coloured sports attire even more obvious on the road.
She finally stops running after about half an hour. She takes in a couple of deep breaths, suddenly recalling something. She takes out her phone and opens her WeChat.
Wan: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!"
The other person replies almost immediately.
Pei Lu: "Ahhhhhhhhhh."
Pei Lu: "What's wrong?"
Wan: "Why did you shout blindly with me if you don't know what's wrong?"
Wan: "My mum agreed to let me play professionally."
On the other side, Pei Lu practically jumps up from his seat.
He blinks as his finger continues to tap on his phone.
Pei Lu: "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.................."
You would think it's a conversation between two idiots just by looking at their conversation.
Five minutes later, a confused Lil Meatbun, eating the midnight takeaway he ordered secretly, looks at Pei Lu, who's getting ready to go out.
"Xiao-Lu, it's already late. Are you getting coffee again?"
"No," Pei Lu puts on his trainers quickly, the smile on his face growing by the second, "I'm going to run two laps."
"???" Lil Meatbun loses all his appetite in that instant, "You're already in such good shape. Why are you still training so hard? Can you please stop and let a fatty like me have a chance in life?"
"I can't," Pei Lu replies, "I'm too excited."
"Excited about what???"
Just then, Brother Yang is walking down the stairs, his footsteps clearly in a rush.
"Good news, Wanan has agreed to join TS! She's expected to join the team after the year ends!!"
Lil Meatbun is speechless, "....What the fuck?"
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