Letme deleted that Weibo post quickly enough, but one minute was already enough for countless Royal Hooligans still awake to see it and let their imaginations run wild.
A paid official announcement?
His true identity was some rich young master?
Was that real?
The Royal Hooligans who had lurked cowardly all day, not daring to show their faces or say a word for fear Xu Junyan would call them out and strip them of their RNG fan status, took less than a second to think it over.
Without the slightest doubt or further thought, they were swept away by excitement!
"No wonder, no wonder! I was wondering why the LCK would suddenly bring in an import when they already had more than enough players of their own."
"The LCK bringing in imports is complete nonsense!"
"Exactly. Those Koreans win championships every year. There's no reason for them to look for Chinese imports from our LPL, especially an LPL castoff like him! /sweatdrop"
"Even if the LCK wanted Chinese imports, they'd definitely go for the absolute best, like Uzi or Xiaohu. What does Silence have going for him?"
"So it was bought with money. Must've cost a fortune, huh, rich bro? You really know how to play. Send me 50 and show us what you've got? /side-eye grin"
"Hahaha! The biggest joke in history. Paying SKT to make an official announcement just to show off, but not actually being able to play? I'm dying!"
"Wait, is SKT really that strapped for cash now? They'll even take this kind of dirty money? Pah! Disgusting!"
"..."
A group of people who had only become firm Xu Junyan fans today, and had consequently been cursed as Yan fans by the Royal Hooligans, had been about to go to sleep because there was nothing interesting on Weibo.
Then they suddenly saw this scene...
The Royal Hooligans had suddenly become cocky all over again!
The way they barked on Weibo was truly something. Every last one of them was smug beyond belief, wildly mocking Xu Junyan for buying an official announcement.
After a moment of confusion, Xu Junyan's fans were hit by another wave of utter speechlessness. They had completely sobered up by now, so when they saw the Royal Hooligans spouting such ridiculous nonsense again, they were left momentarily without words.
Paying for an official announcement, and an SKT official announcement at that? Were they out of their minds? Could they use their brains and think for once? What normal person would believe that?
No matter how poorly SKT might be doing, they were still a three-time champion dynasty, unmatched in League of Legends history. Their investors included South Korea's second-largest telecommunications operator and an American internet giant.
Could an organization with that kind of backing really be bought off just to make an announcement?
Besides, even if that were somehow possible, how much would it cost? It would probably take at least several million, and even then it might not work, since a fake official announcement would definitely damage the club's reputation.
And then there was Faker! Faker himself had personally left a welcome message. How the hell could that be fake?
"Are these Royal Hooligans actually sick? Do they really go through every day without thinking about a single normal thing?"
"I'm dumbfounded. I almost became an RNG fan before. This is insane, completely insane! Just thinking that I nearly became this insane makes me want to lose it! I'm so ashamed I want to crawl into a crack in the ground! /frenzied"
"Silence spent millions just to slap the Royal Hooligans in the face? What kind of narcissists are these people? Who do they think they are?"
"Reality keeps proving Silence's innocence. The Royal Hooligans are way too pure—aren't they just a pack of complete idiots?"
The Royal Hooligans, who had been celebrating and once again holding their heads high, saw that Xu Junyan's fans actually dared to show themselves and immediately swarmed in like a plague of locusts to argue.
"So these are the Yan fanboys? This is hilarious!"
"How about this? Let's make a bet. SKT has a match this afternoon, right? If your Yan Dad actually plays, I'll livestream myself kowtowing! /sweatdrop"
"Wake up, Yan fans. Even if you lick that rich bro all you want, he still won't send you 50. Hahaha! I'm dying. Paying for an official announcement!"
"Mark my words: if he can play, I'll eat! Point at whatever you want me to eat, and I won't leave a single bite!"
"..."
The Royal Hooligans flooded in with terrifying numbers. Of course, the Yan fans had fought with them yesterday and weren't intimidated. They just felt these Royal Hooligans were becoming more and more unhinged.
Especially those few claiming they would eat something—hadn't they said the exact same thing yesterday? And now they had the nerve to come back and say it again!
"Idiots!"
The Yan fans unanimously piled on with those same two words, then could not be bothered to deal with the Royal Hooligans as they raged and jumped around.
It was already the middle of the night. Who had the time to keep trading insults with a pack of flies? Once Xu Junyan appeared in the match that afternoon, they would turn into clowns all by themselves.
Arguing with them too much would lower one's IQ.
And so, the Yan fans on Weibo withdrew from the fight. The Royal Hooligans took that as a victory, becoming even more smug and arrogant, convinced they were unbelievably awesome.
They barked exaggeratedly on Weibo through the entire early morning and well into the afternoon, until the eighth day of the LCK Spring Split, when the matches were about to begin.
At five in the afternoon Seoul time, four in the afternoon Beijing time, the first match was SKT versus KSV!
The Royal Hooligans, who had treated Letme's instantly deleted Weibo post as holy scripture and strutted around Weibo all day, were positively glowing with pride.
"If he really gets to play, I'll really eat! /side-eye grin"
"The rich bro is taking the stage~"
"The biggest joke of the century: an LPL castoff becoming the first Chinese import for SKT, the LCK's three-time champion dynasty! /toothy grin"
"If Letme hadn't revealed the truth, I'd probably still be getting fooled by this ungrateful bastard. Letme is awesome!"
"Brothers, pay attention, especially you Yan fans. I've already started my stream. I'm watching the match live, and if Silence so much as shows his face onstage, I'll kowtow and admit my guilt! /sweatdrop"
"Why are the Yan fans so quiet? Keep barking! Weren't you barking pretty happily before?"
The cocky Royal Hooligans shifted the battlefield from Weibo to Tiger Platform's official LCK broadcast room, still wearing those smug expressions.
As four o'clock arrived, host Kim Min-ah smiled and called out from the LCK stage, "Now, let's welcome today's competing teams... KSV!!!"
CuVee, Ambition, Crown, Ruler, and CoreJJ—the S7 championship roster—slowly made their entrance.
SKT was up next.
At that moment, not a single Royal Hooligan was nervous. Instead, their grins nearly reached their ears, and they were looking forward to it more than ever.
After all, their Dad Letme had already revealed the truth. They believed him! They really believed him!
An official announcement?
It had just been bought.
"Please welcome... SKT!!!"
Kim Min-ah's clear voice rang out across the stage once more.
Wolf came out first, followed closely by Bang.
Then came that man—mid laner Faker, jungler Blank, and the top laner...
A figure every Royal Hooligan dreaded seeing, one who was clearly unfamiliar yet incomparably familiar, slowly walked out behind Blank.
Xu! Junyan!!
The smugness and arrogance on the Royal Hooligans' faces abruptly froze. Their expressions changed wildly, beyond description.
An immense sense of dazed absurdity filled their hearts again. Their faces first turned pale, then suddenly heated up and flushed bright red.
Wait! Hadn't their Letme posted on Weibo and revealed that all of this was fake, that it was all scripted, that it was just the rich bro's game?
Then why was he really playing?
The Royal Hooligans suddenly felt numb all over, their faces numb too, their thoughts hazy and muddled.
In just a few days, who knew how many times they had been slapped in the face in succession?
At that moment, on the LCK commentary stream, Roaring Emperor introduced him humorously, "As we can see, SKT's top laner today is their newly activated player, the LCK's first-ever Chinese import, Silence Xu Junyan. Oh~! What an incredibly handsome young man. The moment I saw him, I was already captivated by his looks. Hahaha!"
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