On the same day Cheng Che reached the Wimbledon final, Porsche and Apple made official announcements.
Porsche's official Weibo account posted the first picture, which was a side view of Cheng Che sitting in the driver's seat of a 911. The window was half open, one hand was on the steering wheel, and he was looking at the camera with a calm expression, but the feeling of "this car suits me well" was overflowing from the picture.
The accompanying text consisted of only one sentence. "Precision is an instinct. Welcome Cheng Che as Porsche Greater China Brand Ambassador."
Apple followed closely behind with a simple white background photo of Cheng Che holding an iPhone, swiping his finger across the screen, his gaze fixed on the phone, and a faint smile on his lips.
The accompanying text was even shorter. "Genius has more than one side. Welcome Cheng Che as Apple's Brand Ambassador for Greater China."
The two companies' advertising videos were released on the same day.
The Porsche scene shows Cheng Che from city streets to the coastal highway. The scenery outside the car window changes from high-rise buildings to the coastline. The engine sounds deep and resonant. He occasionally glances at the rearview mirror and occasionally steps on the gas. The entire film has no dialogue; it relies entirely on visuals and sound.
Apple's method was even simpler: Cheng Che sat in front of a white table, took a picture with his iPhone, smiled at the camera, and said, "Not bad."
The comment section exploded.
Porsche and Apple made their official announcements on the same day?! That's impressive!!!
Cheng Che's current endorsement portfolio includes: LV, Nike, Rolex, Gucci, Porsche, and Apple. This is a unique combination of six top luxury brands and tech giants, making him the only celebrity in Xia Country to hold this title.
[That Porsche ad was filmed like a movie; I watched Cheng Che's profile while driving ten times.]
[ The Apple one was even more amazing; the moment he smiled at the camera, I immediately ordered one.]
[My Che Baby is now a true international superstar!]
[Those CP fans were arguing all the time, but now it's all settled. The celebrities themselves are letting the endorsement speak for itself, so who cares about the bracelet anymore?]
[The bracelet incident is over; today we're just celebrating Cheng Che getting the Porsche and the Apple.]
[Now when I go out, the subway is full of his ads— Porsche, Apple, LV—I see them everywhere I go.]
[I counted, at the China World Trade Center subway station in Capital City, Cheng Che's advertisements are displayed on seventeen screens from the entrance to the platform.]
[It's the same Magic City Nanjing Road; the Porsche ad is playing on a loop on that giant screen, and people are taking pictures.]
Offline, the reach was even more extensive, with Cheng Che on various large advertising screens.
Apple's store windows are now adorned with his posters, and his images are everywhere: in subway station light boxes, bus stop billboards, and office building elevator screens.
According to statistics, on the day of the official announcement alone, Cheng Che's advertisements appeared in more than two thousand locations in the core business districts of first- and second-tier cities across the country.
Fans celebrated and took photos, and the super topic was full of posts saying, "I saw Cheng Che when I passed by a certain shopping mall today."
Seeing this surge in popularity, Tengjing couldn't sit still any longer.
The official Weibo account for the League of Legends 13th Anniversary Celebration posted. "Welcome Mr. Cheng Che to the League of Legends 13th Anniversary Celebration. See Magic City at the end of August."
The accompanying image is a profile picture of Cheng Che, with the caption. "Summoner, welcome to the Rift."
The reactions in the esports world and the entertainment industry are completely different.
[Wait a minute, inviting celebrities to the celebration? Tengjing, are you out of your mind?]
[With this money, could you optimize the client first? Ranked matches are laggy every day.]
Who is Cheng Che? What's a tennis player doing at the League of Legends celebration?
[Just another pretty boy trying to ride the wave of popularity. He'll play a couple of exhibition matches and that's it.]
I think the celebration is for the players, not a fan meeting for celebrities.
[ Tengjing, get this straight, we're watching the game, not looking at faces]
But soon someone stood up and spoke up.
[Don't rush to criticize. Cheng Che is from Peking University, a top Zhuangyuan in the college entrance examination, and an author of a top mathematics journal. People like him are intelligent and learn everything quickly.]
[Furthermore, I've seen videos of him playing with Zhao Yiming and Li Siyuan before, and he wasn't bad at it.]
What's his rank? I hope he doesn't get crushed by bots when he plays.
[I don't know, it hasn't been officially announced.]
Then Tengjing posted another update.
"Regarding Mr. Cheng Che Che's rank: League Master, current season win rate 90%."
The comment section fell silent for a moment.
[ Master??? 90% win rate???]
[Holy crap, I've been playing for five years and I still haven't reached Master ]
[ Master with a 90% win rate, this isn't just a pretty boy, this is a top player!]
[ Tengjing, you should have said so earlier! Master- level player playing an exhibition match would definitely be interesting to watch]
Wait, he can play tennis, publish math papers, film movies, and still reach Master all at the same time? Does this person even have 48 hours in a day?
[I take back what I just said. If Cheng Che is Master- level player, I'll definitely watch the celebration.]
[Let's see what he's Magic City Shanghai this August. We'll know then how he performs.]
The doubts have largely subsided.
Those who remained defiant were silenced by the statistic of " Master's 90% win rate".
After all, the esports world values skill; ranks are there for all to see, there's no room for arguing.
This excitement wasn't dissipated; it was all channeled into the Wimbledon final.
The day before the final, Cheng Che sat in his hotel room, his phone screen displaying official posters of himself, Porsche, Apple, as well as Tengjing's " League Master " announcement.
He placed his phone on the bedside table and glanced at the system panel.
[ Stamina Trial - Stage 2: Crowned with All Grand Slam Titles. Current Progress: 2/4.]
Wimbledon US Open are still to be played.
Tomorrow, we'll start with Wimbledon.
He turned off the control panel, lay down, and closed his eyes.
The next day.
Wimbledon Final Day, Centre Court, All England Lawn Tennis Club.
Lin Yan sat in the broadcast booth, his voice half an octave higher than usual.
"Ladies and gentlemen, in the Wimbledon men's singles final, Cheng Che will face Alcaraz. This is Cheng Che's first time reaching the Wimbledon final in his career. If he wins today, he will achieve the feat of winning the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon all in one year. The last person to do this was Nadal in 2010."
Zhou Zhou chimed in, "And he's only nineteen this year. Winning three Grand Slam titles at nineteen—in the entire history of tennis, only Becker and Borg have achieved that at that age."
A barrage of comments appeared.
[No milk, no milk, no milk]
Please, please stop talking, I'm scared.
I panic every time you guys heal me.
[ Lin Yan, can you please shut up a bit? Wait until you win before you brag.]
Lin Yan glanced at the comments and smiled:
"I know what you're worried about, but to be honest, Cheng Che has a very good chance of winning today's match. Alcaraz is a great grass-court player, but his form this year has been average; he barely managed to win the semifinals after playing five sets. Cheng Che, on the other hand, swept through the semifinals in three sets; their physical reserves are on a completely different level."
Zhou Zhou nodded. "Moreover, Cheng Che's serve is too advantageous on grass. Grass bounces less and the ball speed is faster, making his first serve harder to return on grass than on clay."
The viewers in the live chat were still uneasy.
I understand the logic, but this is the Wimbledon final!
[ Alcaraz is also a Wimbledon winner, don't underestimate him.]
What if I'm having a bad day?
Stop jinxing it, just watch the game.
In the players' tunnel, Cheng Che stood at the very front.
He wore a white tennis outfit today; Wimbledon rules require all players to wear white, and even the soles of their shoes cannot be any other color.
He glanced down at his sneakers; the uppers were pure white, the laces were white, and only a small Nike logo on the side was silver-gray.
He looked up and took a deep breath.
The on-site announcement system came on.
"The first to enter is Carlos Alcaraz from Spain— "
A round of applause erupted from the stands.
Alcaraz emerged from the passageway with a somber expression.
He walked to his seat, put down his golf bag, and began to organize his equipment.
Then the loudspeaker came on.
"Next to enter is Cheng Che from Xia Country— "
Cheers erupted from all sides of the stands.
As Cheng Che walked out of the passage, sunlight streamed down from the gaps in the ceiling, illuminating him.
His white jersey gleamed brightly in the sunlight, and he raised his hand and waved towards the stands.
After choosing a coin toss, Cheng Che won and opted to serve first.
He walked behind the service line, dribbled the ball twice, looked up, and glanced at Alcaraz on the other side.
Then [ Total Concentration ] is activated.
First point.
Cheng Che tossed the ball and swung his racket.
The ball speed display showed a number: 231 kilometers per hour.
Alcaraz had barely moved a step when the ball hit the service area, bounced out, and crashed into the advertising boards at the back of the court.
The billboard swayed, and a shallow dent appeared on the sign.
The stands fell silent for a moment.
Then it exploded.
" Cheng Che!!!"
"Aaaaaaahh...
From the commentary booth, Lin Yan's voice rose a notch:
"231 kilometers! Cheng Che's first serve in the Wimbledon final dented an advertising board! Alcaraz had absolutely no chance to react!"
Zhou Zhou swallowed hard.
"That ball speed is terrifying on grass. Grass is already fast, and with the bounce of the grass, the receiver simply doesn't have time to react."
The barrage of comments made it impossible to see the screen clearly.
Holy crap, the billboard got dented???
[Is this even a human being capable of hitting a ball?]
[ Alcaraz's expression... he didn't even move.]
[Two hundred and thirty-one kilometers, I don't even drive that fast]
Cheng Che was in top form today; I noticed something was off about the look in his eyes when he was warming up.
Alcaraz stood in the hair extension area, glanced down at the dent on the billboard, then turned back to look at Cheng Che, a look of despair on his face.
He sighed inwardly.
I'm not going to give this person any chance today.