Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

The two assisted each other in training for more than an hour. Chen Li adjusted the angle of Lin Gengxin's bench press, and Lin Gengxin also demonstrated a few core activation exercises that he had learned from the national team's physical trainer.

Both of them were sweating profusely from training, with towels draped around their necks, and they sat on a bench in the rest area drinking water.

"Brother, your physical fitness foundation is indeed solid."

Lin Gengxin wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, tossed the mineral water bottle into the trash can, and suddenly lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of mysterious excitement.

"I'm going to play League of Legends when I get back later, do you want to play together?"

Chen Li put down the water bottle, turned to look at him, and said, "Great, perfect timing, no night shooting tonight."

"That's great!" Lin Gengxin's eyes lit up, and he leaned closer, lowering his voice even further.

"But I have to tell you in advance—we'll have a mystery guest joining us for a game later. You definitely know this person, but I guarantee you'll never guess who it is."

Chen Li pursed her lips, already pretty much certain of what was going on.

Among Lin Gengxin's gaming partners in this circle, who else could be referred to as a "mystery guest" besides Wang Sicong, the founder of IG e-sports club, director of Wanda Group, and a frequent topic on Weibo's trending searches?

The relationship between Wang Sicong and Lin Gengxin is well-known in the entertainment industry.

Just two days ago, Lin Gengxin celebrated his 27th birthday, and Wang Sicong posted on Weibo:

"Happy birthday! I've already shipped that inflatable doll you asked me to bring back from Japan to Hengdian. Let it keep you company for Valentine's Day tomorrow."

It also included a censored image of a male inflatable doll.

Early 2015 was the period when the two interacted most frequently. They would banter and tease each other on Weibo as a daily routine, and playing games offline was even more common. They would meet up to play ranked matches every few days.

But he didn't expose it; he simply draped the towel over his shoulder, stood up, and said:

"Let's go then, don't keep the mystery guest waiting too long."

The internet cafe that Lin Gengxin took him to was hidden in an inconspicuous alley in Hengdian. The storefront was small, but the room was full of private rooms, which offered excellent privacy.

The owner was clearly used to seeing celebrities wearing masks and hats playing games, so he skipped the front desk registration and led them directly to the innermost double room.

As soon as the two sat down, Lin Gengxin logged into the voice messaging app, and a familiar, nonchalant voice immediately came through his earphones.

"Why are you so late? I've been waiting for you two for ages—oh, you've brought in a newbie?" The voice carried a relaxed air of not giving in to anyone; it was Wang Sicong.

In August 2011, he acquired the nearly disbanded CCM team and formed the IG e-sports club. At the end of 2014, he invested tens of millions of yuan in Wangyu Internet Cafe. This was a crucial period for him to fully expand his territory in the e-sports circle. His League of Legends ranking was even higher than that of many professional players.

"Principal, this is my brother, the super popular one right now—Chen Li." Lin Gengxin pulled up a chair, put on his headphones, and introduced him while adjusting the game settings.

Have you watched "So Cute Us"? Have you heard "The Wind Rises"? He wrote those songs.

"The Wind Rises?" There was a half-second silence on Wang Sicong's end, followed by a drawn-out "Oh—".

"That song! It's so good, I've been listening to it on repeat in my car for days. Every time I hear it, I think of my wonderful teenage years."

He paused, then added,

"But Xiao Chen, your singing is too pure. It's a good thing it was Zhou Shen who sang it. If it were me, it probably wouldn't be a gust of wind, it would be a tornado."

Lin Gengxin retorted without holding back: "Come on, whatever song you sing is like a tornado—the kind that destroys crops. Last time at karaoke, when you sang 'I'll Love You Till I Die,' the people in the next booth thought they were slaughtering a pig."

"Bullshit! That's because you drank too much and got a perforated eardrum. Chen Li, you be the judge, his voice is so bad that he could sing 'My Deskmate' so badly it would make your deskmate disappear."

Chen Li smiled, and while selecting people, he leisurely added another blow:

"Principal, I've heard Brother Gengxin talk about your singing achievements—he said your only strength in singing is your confidence."

There was a moment of silence in the voice channel, then Wang Sicong's voice exploded:

"Lin Gengxin, you just wait! After this game, I'm posting on Weibo the picture of you drunkenly hugging a telephone pole and calling it 'Daddy'!"

Lin Gengxin's face turned green: "That was me talking to a telephone pole when I was drunk, not calling it 'Dad'! You dare post that and see what happens!"

The three of them started a ranked game while bickering with each other.

Chen Li played Lee Sin in the jungle with a steady and solid performance, and his last-hitting, counter-ganking, and support were all in sync, with almost no mistakes throughout the game.

Wang Sicong was fed three kills by his precise roaming, and his online performance soared. He was in such a good mood that he didn't even bother to mock Lin Gengxin's mistakes. Instead, he asked Lin Gengxin curiously:

"Hey Lin, what does this guy do? His jungling strategy is even more solid than those kids in our club's youth academy. Interested in coming to IG as a substitute jungler?"

"Didn't I just tell you? An actor, a singer, a screenwriter, a director—an all-rounder." Lin Gengxin rolled his eyes while controlling his hero and taking advantage of the moment he was recalling to base.

"You think everyone's just like you, only good at playing games? They can even manage things."

"An all-rounder?" Wang Sicong was silent for another second, then his voice suddenly changed from joking to half-serious.

"Oh, perfect timing. Xiao Chen—you can not only sing, but you can also write songs, right?"

He paused, as if recalling something.

"Speaking of which, IG is currently preparing for a new project, and I'm having trouble finding a reliable musician to write a song for us. If you're interested, this job is yours—I'll have someone send you the details of the project later, but it's definitely IG's main focus this year."

Chen Li nodded in agreement almost without hesitation:

"Okay, Principal, please send me the style and usage requirements later, and I'll release the demo as soon as possible."

He said it casually, but his mind was racing:

Collaborating with Wang Sicong, even if it's just on a single song, is an excellent strategic springboard.

Backed by Wanda Group's resources and holding sway over two booming sectors—e-sports and live streaming—in 2015, no young person understood the spending power of young people better than him.

For him, creating an e-sports theme song is just a matter of a few days, but in return, it could bring him full exposure in the e-sports circle, the live streaming circle, and even Wanda Group's resources.

Wang Sicong was clearly satisfied with his straightforwardness, as a crisp "Okay" came through the voice chat before he quickly switched back to battle mode.

"Alright, enough of this nonsense—Old Lin, you fucking missed your ultimate again! Are you trying to drag me down from Diamond to Gold?!"

"That's because the other team is too weak! I wouldn't bother playing against them!"

"Every time you die, you say it's because the other team is too bad. Did you eat all the bad food by yourself?"

Chen Li leaned back in his chair, watching the special effects of the team battle exploding on the screen and Lin Gengxin's red-faced and furious explanations, while listening to Wang Sicong's merciless and sarcastic comments through his earphones. The three of them were arguing so loudly across the internet that the whole private room was buzzing.

The three of them joked and played around, and quickly became acquainted...