Chapter 128: Esports Players of 2001 [Twentieth Installment]

"What’s wrong? Is someone bullying you?" Seeing his sister-in-law in tears, Huang He immediately flared up, glaring fiercely at the contestants.

"No, no, that's not it at all, Mr. Huang. You’ve misunderstood! Zhiruo is only crying because our teammates lost," Pei Le quickly clarified.

As it turned out, several Chinese players had been eliminated in the early rounds, which was too much for Leng Zhimeng to bear, leading to her tears.

Huang He and Leng Zhimeng had arrived late, and after spending over an hour gaming with Alan Adham and chatting for another two, the first day of the tournament had already concluded by the time they emerged.

In the end, half of the sixteen Chinese contestants were knocked out in the qualifiers. Only those competing in Age of Empires II, StarCraft, and FIFA remained in the tournament.

The eyes of the remaining players drifted toward Leng Zhimeng, clearly not having forgotten her promise: whoever won the championship would become her boyfriend.

Alas, esports players in this era were not like those a decade later, who would be as plump as pigs and have social media influencer girlfriends. These professional players were truly living a hard life; apart from their computers, nobody loved them.

Not to mention that Leng Zhimeng was so beautiful and adorable, and she had even shed tears for them—she was truly a girl who loved esports. In just one afternoon, they had fallen deeply for this lovely girl.

Sure enough, these guys had made up their minds. One of them spoke up, "Mr. Huang, Miss Leng, it’s not easy for us all to be in a foreign land. Why don't we find a place to have dinner together? I heard Korean food is quite unique, and it looks delicious in the dramas! It's our treat!"

"Brother-in-law?" Leng Zhimeng looked toward Huang He. Huang He smiled slightly and said, "It would be rude to refuse. Then, Zhimeng and I shall impose upon you all!"

"Yay!" the group cheered. They gathered together, a large, bustling crowd leaving the venue to walk to the restaurant.

"Have you already booked a place?" Leng Zhimeng asked curiously.

"No, it's a restaurant near where we’re staying," Deep explained. "It's close to our place, so we can go straight back to sleep after eating, and it’s quite authentic, too!"

"How far is it from here?" Leng Zhimeng asked again.

"I’m not sure about that!" Deep scratched his head. "We don't really know the distance, but it took us about an hour to walk here when we came for the competition this morning!"

"An hour of walking!" Leng Zhimeng was stunned. She was 'President Meng' now, after all; she was used to being picked up and dropped off by private cars. Even in Korea, she traveled by taxi. Now, being asked to walk for an hour was something she was absolutely unwilling to do.

"Brother-in-law, we should..." Leng Zhimeng was about to suggest they take a taxi, but Huang He pressed down firmly on her head and smiled. "That's great. It's a good way to exercise; we haven't moved our bodies in a long time!"

Then, Huang He whispered in her ear, "Since you’ve joined them, don't act differently. Otherwise, what is the point of being with them?"

Hearing this, Leng Zhimeng had no choice but to give up the idea of a taxi and join the group on foot. Halfway there, Huang He asked curiously, "Why did the organizing committee arrange such a distant hotel for you? Shouldn't it be closer?"

"The place we’re staying wasn't arranged by the organizing committee," MTY replied from the side, shaking his head. "We found it ourselves. The committee doesn't provide accommodation. Our expenses are covered by the folks back home, and the budget is tight. We couldn't afford rooms near the venue, so we had to find somewhere further away."

"Exactly. And it's not even a hotel, just a temporary rental," Deep added with a laugh. "We rented it for a week, and it cost twenty times less than a hotel. It’s very cheap, all thanks to the local international students who helped us find such a good spot!"

"Sixteen of you... living in one room?" Leng Zhimeng was shocked.

"Nineteen, to be precise. There's a team leader, a translator, and Pei Le, who came along at his own expense to join us," Deep said cheerfully. "Although it's just one rental unit, the place is huge, and the living room is empty. We let the two women, the leader and the translator, take the only bedroom, while us dozen or so grown men sleep on mats in the living room. It's actually quite fun, chatting and sleeping together!"

"Seventeen men sleeping in a living room..." Leng Zhimeng, who had originally planned to visit their accommodation, immediately lost all desire and impulse to take a look.

Deep, MTY, and the others seemed to sense the change in Leng Zhimeng, and their attitudes inevitably became a bit dejected. Thinking of their current dire conditions, they felt they had no qualifications to date a beautiful girl like her.

"It's alright. Once we win the championship and get the prize money, we'll be able to afford a hotel!" Deep laughed.

"That, however, is a matter for the few," Boss Huang smiled. "But you don't need to worry. Every profession is difficult when it first begins. Once you pioneers carve out a new world, the environment for the entire profession will improve! In the future, esports players will receive the same treatment as professional athletes."

"Exactly!" The group echoed his sentiments, fantasizing about a wonderful future where esports players were treated like athletes. They didn't know that, just like those who clear the path are often the ones who make the sacrifices, they—the ones rushing to the front—would quietly disappear after paving the way, while the ones who came later, walking the path already cleared, would enjoy the glory of esports.

After a solid hour of walking, the group finally reached the dining spot—a place similar to a domestic street food stall. They sat around in the open air. The food was nothing more than traditional Korean rice cakes, army stew, and kimchi. Leng Zhimeng took a few bites and found it particularly unpalatable. At Huang He's suggestion, she ordered a bowl of stir-fried instant noodles, which she declared delicious and satisfying.

Hearing this, the others followed suit, ordering instant noodles and praising them as the best food in Korea.

"Mr. Huang, we don't seem to know your name yet!" Halfway through the meal, the group realized they didn't even know who he was.

"I am Huang He, the chairman of the Jiangnan Group back home," Huang He said, not bothering to play the humble card and introducing himself quite directly.

"Chairman..." Hearing such a high-ranking title, they felt Leng Zhimeng drifting further and further away from them.

"So, Mr. Huang, are you also a huge fan of esports? Is that why you came here to watch?" MTY asked. As soon as he said it, he felt it was a stupid question; clearly, he was here for the competition, but surely not for the sake of mere gamers like them?

"No, I came here for you," Huang He said with a bright smile. "Actually, I have a proposal I've been wanting to discuss with you. Since you brought it up, I'll be direct. Xiao Xu, bring over the custom-made clothes."

The translator, Xiao Xu, reached into her bag and pulled out a jersey. On the front was the large logo of Jiangnan Blind Box, on the back was the advertisement logo for OO Communication—"Starting from the Heart"—with large Chinese national flags on both sleeves and the word "China" across the chest.

"I’ve designed a set of Chinese team uniforms for you. I wonder if you’d be interested in wearing them?"