After leaving the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Cheng Che got into the van and let out a long sigh of relief.
Zhao Gang started the car and drove towards the hotel.
Qin Lie sat in the passenger seat, looking down at his phone, muttering about the rest of the itinerary:
"The character poster shoot for ' The Realm and Old Friends ' is the morning after tomorrow, the release date announcement press conference is in the afternoon, and there's a dinner party for the main cast in the evening. I can go back to Capital City the day after that. There are still two weeks until the US Open, and Qin Lie has already discussed the training plan with the coaching team in London."
Cheng Che hummed in agreement and closed his eyes.
Then he opened the system panel.
[ Tolerance Makes Greatness (Passive): Current Malice Count: 900,000+. Current Popularity Bonus: 90%]
Cheng Che's spirits lifted, and he sat up straight.
He acquired this talent during his senior year of high school, when malicious counting was rare and almost negligible.
As he gradually came into the public eye, his number of haters slowly increased, and that's when the number started to rise.
But the growth was very slow before. He felt it was a lot when it was only a few hundred thousand, after all, he was just a tennis player and only a limited number of people knew him.
But this year, especially after winning the French Open and Wimbledon, the situation is completely different.
Some of those who criticize him are unhappy with his huge online following, some wonder why a tennis player like him should be on variety shows and acting, some are simply jealous, and some are just following the crowd in the comments section.
All these factors combined mean that the malicious count of over 900,000 is not a small number for any public figure.
But for Cheng Che, this is a good thing.
Which celebrity doesn't have haters?
The problem is that when most celebrities are criticized, their public image drops.
He is known for his Tolerance Makes Greatness; for every 10,000 people who harbor ill will towards him, his overall public image improves by one percentage point.
The more people criticize him, the more people like him.
Cheng Che glanced at the 90% public favorability bonus and thought to himself that he was only 10% away from reaching the maximum.
However, 90% is already sufficient. In addition, the cross-circle dissemination effect of [ Barrier Breaker ] has greatly helped the Charisma Trial: Second Stage task of "over 500 million views on major global platforms and positive feedback ≥30% in non-Chinese language".
He turned off the control panel, leaned back in his chair, and took out his phone to browse Weibo.
Tonight's exhibition match has become a trending topic.
He clicked in, and the comments section was full of all sorts of people.
[I watched Cheng Che's Ezreal play three times. He almost never missed a Q skill, and he dodged five hooks from Nautilus with his positioning. This isn't luck; it's basic skill.]
[As a Platinum AD carry, after watching Cheng Che's Ezreal, I feel like I need to go back and relearn the fundamentals.]
[His maneuvering in that dragon fight, turning around and using his Q on Jinx at the last second—I feel that judgment is related to mathematics. Think about it, when he plays tennis, he predicts the landing point; when he plays video games, he predicts movement. Essentially, it's all about calculating space and time.]
[You're right, mathematicians do have a natural advantage in AD (Analog and Digital Writing)].
[I originally went to see the Clearlove, but I ended up becoming a fan of Cheng Che. I'm sorry, Clearlove.]
[ Tengjing really made the right choice in hiring him; this has resulted in a win-win situation for both traffic and reputation]
[ Cheng Che is undoubtedly the male lead in e-sports dramas]
The comments from female fans were completely different.
[I took thirty screenshots of his profile while he was playing games and wearing headphones.]
[My husband looks so handsome when he plays games, that focused look in his eyes, I'm smitten!]
[If anyone ever says Cheng Che is just handsome again, I'll throw this entire exhibition match in their face. There are plenty of handsome people, but how many handsome people can actually reach the Challenger?]
[This is the real e-sports male lead! From today onwards, the male leads in the e-sports novels I'm following actually have faces!]
[When will my husband start livestreaming his gaming? I'm willing to subscribe for a year.]
I want to be his support, even though I'm only Bronze, I can stand behind him and cheer him on.
Meanwhile, in her dormitory at Beijing Normal University, Su Qingyue sat in front of her computer, where a newly created level-one account was displayed on the screen.
She stared at the tutorial for a while, then moved her mouse over the "Start Game" button.
To her right was a sticky note covered with beginner's guides copied from the internet.
At Peking University, Su Miaoyin lay on her bed, her phone propped up in front of her, watching a video titled " League of Legends Beginner's Guide for Beginners".
As she watched, she muttered, "What does this button do?" and "Why did I die?", then dragged the video back to watch it again.
In her studio in Capital City, Yan Ruanning had just finished recording for the day and was sitting on the sofa with her laptop on her lap.
She registered an account, then searched for "how to play EZ" and clicked on the first tutorial video.
After watching for a while, she took out her phone and sent Cheng Che a message: "Teach me how to use your EZ later."
Meanwhile, in Seoul, South Korea, Pei Jingshu sat in her room, holding her phone up to watch a recording of the League of Legends celebration.
She laughed as she watched, and when she saw Cheng Che's Ezreal kiting around in a team fight, she sat up in bed and patted the blanket.
"I know how to do that!" she shouted at the screen. "I've played Ezreal! I can duo queue with him!"
She took out her phone, opened her chat with Cheng Che, and typed. "You play Ezreal really well! I've played it before, let's play together next time!"
After posting that, she added another message: "I'm pretty good at support too, even though I play Sona."
Cheng Che replied with an "okay." Pei Jingshu stared at that word for two seconds, then pressed her phone against her chest, smiling smugly.
Two days later.
The dressing room at Tengda Video's Magic City branch was bustling with activity.
The press conference for the release of " The Realm and Old Friends " was scheduled for the afternoon, and the main creative team arrived at the venue several hours in advance.
The makeup artists, each with a brush, were busy working on the actors' faces.
The stylist was running around the hallway carrying clothes. The assistant director was going in and out of each dressing room with a schedule in hand, repeatedly going over the script.
When Cheng Che pushed open the door, Ning Qing was sitting in front of the mirror.
She wore a light apricot-colored suit dress today; the cut was very neat, and the waistline was cinched cleanly.
Her hair was half-up, with two wisps framing her face beside her ears.
The makeup artist was applying eyeshadow to her, lightly brushing the brush across her eyelids. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes half-open and half-closed.
The system panel popped up the moment Cheng Che stepped inside.
[Boundable target detected: Ning Qing. Appearance: 91. Intimacy: 82. Bound?]