It was already the afternoon of May 27th in China when they landed in Shanghai.
Other than fans, there were also staff from Fist China and Tengjing Sports welcoming Lin Yan.
Tengjing's CEO, Bobby, smiled brightly.
"Well played, Brother Ran." He went up to shake Lin Yan's hand and patted his shoulder with his left hand. "That pentakill was really cool!"
He was happy for a reason.
YM's two championships in last year's global finals and this year's mid-season competition had caused the government to discover a new treasure.
Just as Winston had said before MSI, Tengjing's application for the S7 global finals venue was much easier due to the guaranteed results from this championship.
Moreover, Shang Hai had already been promoting the eSports competition a few days ago. The news of YM winning the mid-season competition in Brazil had successfully appeared on the Eastern News at 6 pm. It was a full three minutes long, giving them enough face.
With the help of the official media and the green light from the government, the preparation for this year's global finals would definitely reach the highest level in history.
Bobby's work was going smoothly. He had successfully reached the KPI assessment this year, and his year-end bonus was probably dozens of months' salary.
YM's players took photos with the people who came to pick them up outside the airport.
Guo Hao's brows were tightly furrowed, and he looked like he had a lot on his mind.
He had this expression when he left Brazil.
Lin Yan knew what he was worried about.
The mid-season competition was over, and Guo Hao's biggest task had been completed.
However, this did not mean that he could relax without any worries.
Because YMA had successfully advanced to LPL, according to the rules, the same club could not have two top league teams at the same time.
This meant that Guo Hao had to sell YMA's top league spot.
Here was the problem.
Who should he sell it to?
How much should he sell it for?
Guo Hao was very troubled.
There were two buyers in front of him now.
The first was the runner-up of the LSPL spring competition, Suning, who had unfortunately lost because they had met LGD in the promotion competition.
Suning's desire to enter the eSports scene was very urgent. This was a rare advertising opportunity for them.
The other buyer was YM's previous investor, Belle International.
They were also a little envious when they saw YM's explosive traffic after winning consecutive championships.
Belle International now regretted not investing more in YM after S6 ended. It was too late to spend money now.
BMW China took advantage of the situation and held a large amount of shares, and at present, BMW could not transfer these shares.
Belle International had nothing to gain from staying in YM.
They wanted to resell their YM shares to buy YMA. That way, they could run their own club. It would be much easier to change their name and advertise.
Guo Hao personally preferred to sell to Belle International.
This was because YM still owed Belle International a favor.
In the summer of 2016, YM, which had just entered the top league, couldn't find any investors. They almost couldn't even pay their employees. Fortunately, Belle stepped in and solved their emergency.
Therefore, Guo Hao did not mind selling the team to them at a slightly lower price.
However, Suning's price was getting higher and higher. Every time it raised the price, it was seven digits. Suning's attitude was like that of a rich man.
But here came the problem. Suning's bid was getting higher and higher. The value of Belle International's shares in YM was not enough to buy YMA.
You want to buy it?
You have to pay more.
While Belle International was approving the funds, they were also actively trying to get in touch with Guo Hao.
Guo Hao was loyal and wanted to return the favor, but he wasn't stupid. He couldn't sell the team to Belle International at a price that was too much lower than Suning's.
Thus, the three parties began a tug of war.
Suning had the spirit of 'I'll follow whatever price you bid'. Belle International still wanted to try to lower the price and buy YMA at a relatively affordable price. Guo Hao was stuck in the middle and was in a dilemma.
In reality, the other newly promoted team, DAN, also wanted to sell their spot for a quick buck. However, Belle International and Suning were not interested and offered much lower prices.
It wasn't that these two teams liked to play with double standards.
It was that although DAN and YMA both had LPL spots, the overall situation of their teams was much worse.
In terms of results, DAN was the third place of this year's Spring Season. In the relegation round, they played against a team like VG. If they had met the complete LGD team, they would probably have been swept, just like Suning.
YMA, on the other hand, had swept the second place team, SNG, with a score of 3: 0 in the finals of the Spring Season. They were directly promoted to LPL without the relegation round. Their strength was evident.
A team's results were inseparable from the strength of the players. DAN's best team was the duo in the bottom lane.
ADCqiuqiu and support Cat were nicknamed the Catball Duo in the Spring Season. At first glance, they sounded similar to SKT's Wolf Stick Duo, but their strength was far inferior. Prophet had been able to crush Cat in the LSPL.
As for YMA?
The famous Golden Left Hand.
He was the fifth player to become famous in the Spring Season after Saint Spear Bro, Doinb, Lin Yan, and Jack.
Countless people were optimistic about his future. Some even thought that he would become the next Lin Yan and take over the YM mid laner's banner.
Golden Left Hand's contract with YMA still had one and a half years left.
Who wouldn't want such a strong player and a talented monster?
Belle International and Suning's bidding war for YMA was, in fact, a fight for the rights to Golden Left Hand.
These two days were a crucial period in the negotiations between the three parties. Guo Hao was so busy that his mouth was blistering.
However, this had nothing to do with Lin Yan.
The team members' vacation had just begun.
The Summer Season would begin on the 8th of June. The team members only needed to rush back to the base before the 4th of June.
After a 35-hour flight, Lin Ran was so jet-lagged that he fell asleep the moment he touched his pillow after taking a shower at the base.
When he woke up again, it was already the morning of the 28th of May.
Little Tian was in her room, quietly packing her luggage for going home.
"You're leaving already?" Lin Yan stretched on his bed and asked.
"I saw that everyone had left. There aren't many people left in the base," Xiao Tian replied as he zipped up his luggage.
The team members had all left, but Jack could only stay in the base to look after the house.
His parents were the same as Lin Mingdong. They were on a business trip.
With no one at home, he might as well stay in the base.
"Poor Jack. Is no one staying to accompany him?"
Before leaving, Xiao Tian heaved a long sigh with his luggage, as if he was defending his Shiba Inu. "I feel sorry for him. What about you?"
Lin Yan walked out of the room with a towel around his neck. He glanced at Phyllostachys Pubescens and asked, "Then why are you carrying your luggage? Are you staying to accompany him?"
Xiao Tian pretended to shake his head. "I have no choice. Mom and Dad need me more …"
"Ah, get out of here!" Jack was angry when he saw Xiao Tian carrying his luggage in front of him.
"It's okay, Jack. I'm here," Lin Yan said. "I can't go back home either. We can keep each other company."
Jack patted Lin Yan's shoulder excitedly. "That's a good brother who goes through thick and thin together!
Let's have braised pork for lunch! "
"It's my treat tonight. Order whatever you want!"
"Order whatever you want?" Lin Yan's eyes lit up.
After staying in Brazil for two weeks, he missed the taste of his hometown very much.
Lin Yan was thinking about whether to have Turquoise Shrimp or Squirrel Mandarin Fish for dinner when his phone suddenly rang.
It was Su Cheng.
"Why didn't you reply to the message I sent you yesterday?"
Lin Yan subconsciously glanced at the unread message. Su Cheng asked him out for a date yesterday evening.
Lin Yan was sleeping so soundly that he didn't hear it at all.
"It's Sunday today. How about having a meal and watching a movie?"
Su Cheng's voice was lively and full of vitality. "You just came back from Brazil. You must want to eat your hometown food, right?
I found a Subang restaurant. The Squirrel Mandarin Fish is very delicious. We can have a meal there. "
"As for the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean just came out five days ago. I read the reviews online."
"Ah, well …" Lin Yan looked at Jack, slightly embarrassed.
Shiba Inu was still unaware. He was holding a takeout steamed dumpling box and watching Da Sima's video. He was laughing foolishly at the meat egg and onion chicken.
"Don't tell me you have an appointment with someone?"
Su Cheng heard the hesitation in Lin Yan's voice and was inevitably a little disappointed. "I have to go to class tomorrow …"
Lin Yan hesitated for a moment.
He had just promised his good friend Jack to accompany him, but he couldn't not accompany his girlfriend …
Lin Yan thought of a way to get the best of both worlds in the shortest time possible.
He wanted all of them!
An hour later, Su Cheng sat in the dining room and looked at Jack, who was eating the braised pork in brown sauce across from her, still in a daze.
The initiator, Lin Yan, who was sitting next to her, looked down and stared at the food on the table without saying a word.
The atmosphere at the table was a little awkward for a moment.
"Sister Su, aren't you going to eat the braised pork?" Jack looked up and asked.
Su Cheng smiled kindly. "Go ahead, eat more."
Jack didn't stand on ceremony and continued to eat the braised pork soup with his head down.
Su Cheng stretched out her fingers and pinched Lin Yan's waist under the cover of the table.
"Ouch …"
Lin Yan hurriedly turned on his phone and sent a message.
[It's my fault.]
Su Cheng's phone vibrated twice.
She picked it up and looked at it, then typed.
[What's wrong?]
Su Cheng finished typing but didn't send it out.
She read her reply silently. She felt that her tone was a little aggressive, so she deleted it and changed it again.
[You're not wrong. It's my fault.]
Su Cheng frowned and read it again silently. She felt that her tone was still not right. It sounded like an ambiguous person.
She was not Xiao Tian. How could she speak in such a tone?
She changed it again.
Before he could finish typing the message, Lin Ran sent another one.
[I shouldn't have brought Shiba Inu. It's my fault … it's my fault …]
It was followed by a repeater. Su Cheng looked at it and felt that she almost couldn't recognize the words "it's my fault."
Su Cheng couldn't understand Lin Yan's brain circuit.
[Why did you think of bringing Jack to eat with us?
Is he your son?]
It was true.
However, Lin Yan naturally wouldn't say that.
[I just took a 35-hour flight back home. I'm still jet-lagged and dizzy.]
[Jack was alone in the base with no one to accompany him. I couldn't bear to bring him along.]
Lin Yan first stated the objective facts and then immediately proposed compensation measures.
[During this holiday, I'll be at your beck and call. Shopping, eating, watching movies … I can accompany you even during self-study.]
Su Cheng was a little helpless.
She knew that both of them were usually busy.
One was training and competing in the base almost every day, while the other was wandering between the classroom and the library. They mostly met as analysts and team members.
However, both of them knew that young people had to work harder. Frequent dates weren't necessarily a good thing.
Now that they had been dating for more than half a year, the number of times they went out alone could be counted with one hand.
Therefore, Su Cheng was fully prepared for this date in advance.
She specifically asked her father to find a reputable Subang restaurant. Then, she went to try the dishes herself. After making sure that there were no major problems, she put the restaurant on her schedule.
The movie was also specially selected.
Su Cheng remembered that Lin Yan often talked about the plot of Pirates of the Caribbean with his classmates in high school. This time, the movie was finally released.
Last night, she read the comments on the Internet and confirmed that the movie wasn't too bad. The two of them could watch it together.
After lunch, they watched the 129-minute movie from two o 'clock in the afternoon until it ended in the evening. The two of them could have dinner together. When Lin Yan returned to the base, she could go back to the rental house and review the content for tomorrow's class.
Who would have thought that Lin Ran would mess up his perfect itinerary?
Thinking of this, Su Cheng was angry.
[Then you have to eat with me every night.] She typed on the phone's keyboard.
Jack looked up when he heard the noise. Only then did he realize that the atmosphere between Lin Yan and Su Cheng wasn't right.
He frowned.
"You two …"
Su Cheng and Lin Yan had a tacit understanding. They quickly muted their phones.
"Why aren't you eating?"
Lin Yan facepalmed and was speechless.
He thought that Jack had noticed something, but he didn't expect the Shiba Inu to say such a thing.
Jack's eyes were shining. His expression was exactly the same as an ADC's when he saw a kill. "Hey, the squirrel mandarin fish in this restaurant is really good!"
"What are we going to do after lunch?" Jack didn't wait for Lin Yan and Su Cheng to say anything. "Let's watch a movie!"
"How about Pirates of the Caribbean?" Jack asked for their opinions.
"Okay, okay, okay …" Lin Yan didn't have any opinions. He lowered his head and continued to type.
[I promise you. Let's eat first.]
Su Cheng's anger had mostly dissipated.
She was originally angry because she didn't have much time alone with Lin Yan, and because there was a third wheel causing trouble.
Now that Lin Yan had promised to make time to accompany her, Su Cheng felt uneasy.
[Won't that take up too much time?]
Su Cheng's Fudan Handan campus was very far from the YM base. The taxi fare was in the triple digits.
Coupled with the daily traffic jam in Shanghai, it would be good if he could make a round trip in two hours.
In other words, to accompany Su Cheng for dinner, Lin Yan would have to spend the whole night.
[There's a way that can save me time without affecting my daily training.]
Lin Yan thought for a long time before he typed a reply.
【？】
Su Cheng replied with a question mark.
[I'll move my computer over and stay in your rented apartment for a week.]
【？？？】
Su Cheng replied with three question marks. [What are you thinking?]
[Your rented apartment is so big. It's not good for you to live alone.]
Lin Yan was serious.
Su Cheng didn't reply again. She buried her head in the bowl like an ostrich.
The three of them finished eating and ran to the cinema in the nearby business district.
The flow of people on the weekend was quite large. The business district was crowded with young people. Lin Yan looked very conspicuous walking inside.
Most people who played LOL could recognize him at a glance — even those who didn't pay attention to the game. As long as they opened the game client, they could see Lin Yan's photo.
It wasn't that Jack, who was also a champion, was inconspicuous.
It was mainly because he was too short.
He wasn't even as tall as Su Cheng, who was wearing flats. Jack couldn't be seen at all in the crowd.
When collecting tickets in the cinema, Lin Yan also took photos with a few fans as a souvenir.
While waiting for the tickets to be checked in, Lin Yan saw photos of himself, Jack, and Su Cheng in the same group.
In just a few minutes, there were already a lot of comments below.
[Isn't Ran too handsome in real life?
His height and body shape are perfect!]
[Am I the only one who cares about Jack's head?
Without editing, his head is ridiculously big!]
[Is that woman the analyst who was dug out before?]
[Yes, that's right. It's said that her professional level is quite reliable.]
[What the hell is with these three people walking together like a family of three?]
[Like a family of three?
Why do I feel like they're third wheels?]
The last comment hit the nail on the head.