A Little Yan Boy Slowly Cracked Apart

Li Yang rubbed his nose helplessly and pleaded, "Young Master, don't tease me."

"If you compare me to Captain Yan, there aren't many people in the entire esports scene who can beat him."

As though he hadn't heard the envy in Li Yang's tone, Yan Xianjue nodded in wholehearted agreement.

Seeing that he still looked dejected, Yan Xianjue comforted him. "It's all right. Becoming a professional player is already incredible."

Li Yang's eyes brightened slightly.

He knew it. For a young master like this, showing weakness was the most effective tactic.

Li Yang had never believed anyone was truly immune to both soft and hard approaches.

If they were, it only meant your attitude wasn't soft enough.

Just as he was about to humbly say a few more words, Yan Xianjue continued:

"After all, not everyone is an esports genius like Yan Ci."

Li Yang: "..."

If the person in front of him weren't the patron he wanted to latch onto, he really would have liked to punch that innocent-looking face.

That praise for Yan Ci was practically tap-dancing on Li Yang's landmines.

He admitted that he had agreed to do things for his stepbrother because of money.

When he learned that Yan Ci's eldest brother wasn't biologically related to him and had inherited the family business—

Li Yang had felt a flash of delight and schadenfreude.

They were both esports players, so why had Yan Ci been showered with praise from the moment he debuted?

Why had he been designated as the team's core?

Why did everyone have to revolve around him? Just because he came from a wealthy family?

While Li Yang could only start as an unknown, slowly building a fanbase with his good looks.

Gradually increasing his importance within the team.

Li Yang had desperately wanted to see Yan Ci fall from his pedestal.

He tried hard to suppress that momentary frenzy.

The team's management was too strict.

Afraid of being discovered, he had gone more than half a month without getting his fix.

Now that his emotions had been stirred up, he found it a little hard to suppress his drug cravings.

For one brief moment, he felt as though his entire face had twisted into something grotesque and vicious.

Yan Xianjue screamed wildly in his heart:

[Gasp! So scary! Li Yang looked like he twitched just now!]

Mother Yan, who had been holding Yan Xianjue's arm, unconsciously tightened her grip slightly.

She tugged Yan Xianjue farther away from Li Yang.

She had seen it too. She gave Father Yan a look, suspecting that he was having a drug craving.

Father Yan nodded with mixed feelings.

He subtly changed the direction in which the group was walking.

At the same time, he heartily agreed with Yan Xianjue's description.

The child wasn't very good at physics, but his Chinese expression skills were quite decent.

Li Yang quickly and skillfully composed his expression.

At the same time, he carefully observed whether Yan Xianjue had noticed his earlier lapse.

The good news was that Yan Xianjue hadn't noticed.

The bad news was that Yan Xianjue didn't seem to have been paying attention to him at all.

In a tone at least a hundred times more dejected than before, he said, "Captain Yan has an entire coaching staff dedicated to developing strategies around him."

"I'm only a rotating substitute. My playstyle might not suit their tactical system very well."

Mother Yan understood. Father Yan understood too.

This Li Yang was hinting at something to Yan Xianjue.

He was saying Yan Ci was only so impressive because he had a coaching staff protecting him.

Even if Yan Ci made mistakes, his teammates would take the blame for him. Li Yang could do just as well if he were put in Yan Ci's place.

He also wanted Yan Xianjue to use his status as an investor to raise his standing within the team.

But based on what they knew about their child, could Yan Xianjue really understand such a hint?

Did Yan Xianjue understand?

If he were the version of himself without awakened memories, he might not have understood such a hint.

But now, he had evolved. He had the life experience of two lifetimes.

A child raised in an orphanage learned to read people and their expressions from an early age.

Of course he could understand a hint that was practically spelled out.

But he had no intention of following Li Yang's lead.

His brows drew together slightly as he said unhappily, "Why did he buy you if you weren't a good fit?"

Li Yang: "..."

This kid really wouldn't budge an inch.

He hadn't expected such an innocent-looking young master to be so difficult to deal with.

What he didn't know was that Yan Xianjue was complaining internally at the same time:

[We've barely even exchanged a few words, and he already wants to scam me out of my money!]

How could an investor raise someone's status on a team?

Just like in the entertainment industry—invest in them, throw money at them! Throw money at them! Throw money at them!

[There's no way I'll let anyone scam me out of my money!]

[I'm not putting my five million into esports. It doesn't even make money.]

Yan Xianjue huffed angrily to himself.

Yan Ci's eyes widened as he silently asked Yan Yi'an: Where had he gotten five million?

Although the Yan Household was rich, the children's allowance was capped before they came of age.

It was to prevent them from using money to do things they shouldn't.

The Yan family had a rough idea of how much money Yan Xianjue could have.

He didn't spend extravagantly and knew how to save, so having one or two million on hand was barely plausible.

But five million was absolutely impossible.

A bad feeling rose in Yan Ci's heart.

Sure enough, Yan Yi'an said, "I gave it to him."

Right in front of the coach, who had yet to react, Yan Yi'an—

Reached out and patted Yan Ci on the shoulder. "It came out of your allowance. Your parents and I all think Xianjue was right."

"You have far too little concept of money."

Yan Ci: "..."

How could your thirty-six-degree lips say something so cold?

He struggled. "But there was no need to give him that much, right?"

"He's only eighteen!"

Yan Yi'an looked at him in surprise and pointed at the ground beneath their feet.

He didn't say a word, but Yan Ci understood.

When he had been eighteen, the Yan Household had spent heavily to buy this training base for him.

It had counted as his fixed asset.

Compared to that, what was five million in allowance for Yan Xianjue?

[At this moment, a little Yan boy slowly cracked apart!]

Yan Xianjue's dramatic voice drifted over.

Yan Ci turned back irritably.

The person who had suddenly appeared behind him startled him so badly that he jolted.

He staggered two steps backward, nearly crashing into Yan Yi'an outside the training area.

Yan Ci patted his chest, where his heart was still pounding, and snapped, "Why don't you make any noise when you walk? You scared me to death."

Yan Xianjue grinned. "You were busy talking to Big Brother yourself, so you didn't hear me."

Seeing that his second brother was about to lose his temper again—

Yan Xianjue hurriedly took two steps back, revealing the person behind him.

He tugged Li Yang over. "Yan Ci, Li Yang said his playstyle doesn't suit your team's tactics. Why did you still buy him?"

Yan Ci looked at Li Yang in surprise.

Li Yang stood there awkwardly, unable to come up with an excuse for a moment.

He didn't know how things had turned out like this. Everything had clearly been going smoothly before.

Yan Ci asked, "Why didn't you say that before transferring to the team if you weren't a good fit?"

He looked at the coach. The corners of Yan Ci's mouth were downturned, making his displeasure obvious to anyone.

The coach had recommended Li Yang and had been the one to negotiate with him at the time.

Other than his annual salary being higher than that of an ordinary second-team member—

Yan Ci had brought him in as a reserve for the first team, so he had been able to accept it.

And now Li Yang was saying their styles didn't match?

Yan Ci said sternly to the coach, "You must give me an explanation for this."

Yan Ci looked angry, but inwardly, he was blooming with joy.

He had been thinking that replacing the coach so casually in the middle of the season might provoke dissatisfaction among the fans.

And then Yan Xianjue had handed him such a perfect reason.

What if the coach had made a major error in judgment?

A decision that had already caused losses to both the club and the team.

Then temporarily suspending a coach from his duties for an internal investigation would be perfectly reasonable.

Yan Xianjue was just as happy:

[As long as I give Second Brother something to do, he'll forget about the five million, right?]

[I'm so clever.]

A world where only the coach got hurt had been achieved.

How could the coach have expected that after he had just vouched for Li Yang in front of President Yan—

Li Yang would immediately turn around and land him in such a mess.

Under the intense stares of both President Yan and Yan Ci—

Bitterness spread across the coach's tongue.