N-A-A Chapter 3 I Have a Story, You Have Wine
Chapter 3 I Have a Story, You Have Wine
Looking further ahead, starting from the fourth season, the awards on display became less impressive, and the names of Wu Xuefeng, Qin Tianran, and others were no longer seen. Su Mucheng's name appeared on the display case; from the fourth to the seventh season, Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng won the Best Partner Award for four consecutive years.
"Mu Cheng, you've become a professional player too?" Su Muqiu looked at his sister, somewhat surprised.
"Yeah, brother, I'm pretty good. I'm the number one gunner in the league now," Su Mucheng boasted to her brother.
"Gunner, is it Mu Yu Cheng Feng?" Su Muqiu asked.
"Brother, you're amazing! You guessed it right away."
Su Muqiu smiled and looked at the display case behind him. Since the eighth season, Team Excellent Era had not won any awards, and the display case was clean and spotless.
"This family has fallen on hard times; it's so clean now," Su Muqiu teased with a smile.
Tao Xuan looked bewildered; he didn't know how to explain what happened next.
What could he possibly say?
Does he claim that he condoned Liu Hao's formation of a clique and sidelined Ye Xiu?
He claims he poached Sun Xiang and forcibly snatched One Autumn Leaf away? You should know that the Evil-Repelling Sword in One Autumn Leaf's possession was crafted by Su Muqiu.
He claimed he was bewitched and dumped Ye Xiu, leaving him with nothing.
He's saying he messed things up and got Excellent Era relegated?
Is it true that Ye Xiu rebuilt Team Happy and defeated Team Excellent Era in the Challenger League to enter the professional league?
He said he wanted to sell Team Excellent Era and leave the team.
In fact, if Su Muqiu hadn't appeared, the contract to sell Excellent Era would probably have been signed by now.
Tao Xuan dared not say anything.
Over the years, Tao Xuan has thought of Su Muqiu more than once.
He thought that if Su Muqiu were still alive, he would definitely not refuse commercial activities, because Su Muqiu needed money to improve his life.
He thought that if Su Muqiu were still alive, with Su Muqiu mediating between them, he and Ye Xiu might not have fallen out.
He thought that if Su Muqiu were still alive, Team Excellent Era would definitely not have been relegated, and might even have won the championship from the first season to the ninth season.
Tao Xuan thought about it a lot.
However, when Su Muqiu actually stood in front of him, Tao Xuan couldn't utter a single word.
He felt guilty.
Just then, a rumbling sound came from a stomach.
Tao Xuan checked the time; it was almost noon.
"Muqiu, it's lunchtime. Let's go eat first. I'll go get two bottles of Maozi, and we'll have a good drink. Tell us, where have you been for the past nine years, and how did you get back?" Tao Xuan said.
"Alright, let's eat first. I'd like to have the pleasure of trying the taste of Maozi."
The four strolled to the cafeteria of the Excellent Era Club.
It's lunchtime now, and the cafeteria, which used to be bustling with people, is now completely empty.
Excellent Era Club is about to change hands. The new owner, Xia Zhongtian, is only moderately wealthy and unable to take over the huge empire. He can only preserve the basic foundation of the Excellent Era team.
Therefore, most of the original employees of Excellent Era Club have been laid off.
In the past, the Excellent Dynasty Guild, which was under the club's jurisdiction, alone had hundreds of full-time players stationed in the Excellent Era Building, and hundreds more semi-professional players serving the Excellent Dynasty Guild.
Time has passed, and most of the professional gamers who used to be based at the Excellent Era building have terminated their contracts and gone their separate ways. Only a handful have switched to working from home, barely maintaining the framework of the Excellent Era guild, waiting for the call of a new boss.
The team's players have all gone their separate ways.
Sun Xiang took One Autumn Leaf to Team Samsara, Xiao Shiqin and his Spirit Extinction returned to Team Thunder, and Zhang Jiaxing followed in Xiao Shiqin's footsteps to Team Thunder. Su Mucheng went to Team Happy with Ye Xiu.
Liu Hao and Guo Yang joined the Howling Team, while He Ming, Shen Jian, and Wang Ze miraculously reunited in the new team. Even Fang Fengran, Zeng Shenghe, and Meng Yongming, the three perennial benchwarmers, finally found their places.
Technical Department, Training Camp, Publicity Department, Human Resources Department, Finance Department, Logistics and Security...
All departments ceased operations and laid off most of their staff, with only a few people remaining in the human resources and finance departments to complete the final cleanup work.
Looking around, the large canteen, which can accommodate two hundred people at the same time, only had one head chef working.
Looking at the empty cafeteria, Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng were also somewhat saddened by the scene.
Tao Xuan had already gone to the kitchen of the canteen and asked the head chef to prepare a few side dishes and a few bottles of Maotai.
Ye Xiu looked around and noticed someone sitting in the corner. Upon closer inspection, Ye Xiu was actually quite excited: "Xiao Qiu, come here."
Qiu Fei looked up and saw Ye Xiu. He was stunned for a long time, clearly not expecting to see Ye Xiu in Excellent Era's cafeteria.
"Senior, it's been a long time."
The words "long time no see" brought a touch of melancholy to Ye Xiu's lips. He smiled awkwardly, pointed at Qiu Fei, and said to Su Muqiu, "Muqiu, this is my apprentice, my own flesh and blood. 'Senior' means a professional player who debuted relatively early."
Then, pointing to Su Muqiu, he said to Qiu Fei, "Little Qiu, this is Su Muqiu, my good brother."
Qiu Fei glanced at Su Muqiu and was immediately shocked.
Qiu Fei is only seventeen years old this year, still growing, and hasn't yet developed the "hikikomori" syndrome common among professional gamers. He also works out regularly and has quite a bit of muscle.
(Midway through the ninth season, Qiu Fei punched Chen Yehui so hard his lips turned into sausage lips, demonstrating his formidable strength. Fellow readers, you can try it yourselves and see how much force it takes to turn someone's lips into sausage lips. I won't compensate you for any broken teeth!)
However, in front of Su Muqiu, Qiu Fei's muscles seemed insignificant.
After nine years of fierce fighting in another world, Su Muqiu developed a muscular physique. His towering, 1.85-meter frame blocked out most of the light, and his thick muscles almost burst through his clothes.
Qiu Fei was still young and did not understand the omnipresent pressure around Su Muqiu; he only felt that this senior must be very powerful.
"Hello, senior, I am Qiu Fei."
Su Muqiu patted Qiu Fei on the shoulder: "Hello young man, I'm not a professional player, you don't need to call me senior."
Qiu Fei was taken aback. Ye Xiu thought for a moment and said, "Little Qiu, you can just call him Brother Qiu."
Qiu Fei pouted, somewhat indignantly: "I'll still call you 'senior.' Three years ago, when I first met you, you told me to call you 'Brother Qiu.' I've been doing that for a year and a half, and now you've become Ye Xiu. I dare not call you 'Brother Qiu' anymore."
Ye Xiu awkwardly picked at his toes, wishing he could dig a three-bedroom apartment out of the concrete floor. Qiu Fei was still young and couldn't understand the immense pressure behind the Ye family, so it was difficult to explain the intricacies of the situation to him.
Fortunately, Su Mucheng rescued him: "Xiao Qiu, this is my older brother, you can call him Brother Muqiu."
Qiu Fei immediately changed his address: "Yes, Sister Mu Cheng. Hello, Brother Mu Qiu."
"Hahaha..." Su Muqiu let out a hearty laugh, which was highly infectious.
Qiu Fei was stunned. He had already become a fan of Su Muqiu after only a short time of meeting her.
Soon, the cafeteria chef brought out four cold dishes.
Tao Xuan walked over carrying four bottles of Maotai. When he saw Qiu Fei, he was clearly taken aback for a moment, but he didn't say anything. He poured wine for himself and Su Muqiu.
As for Ye Xiu, Su Mucheng, and Qiu Fei, they all abstain from alcohol and can only drink orange juice. Drinking alcohol can cause hand tremors, which is a major taboo for professional players.
Tao Xuan raised his glass: "Come on, cheers, to celebrate Mu Qiu's return."