Esports world champion, debuted as the center of a talent show

The sofa was long, with Jiang Zhiyu and Wang Yan sitting at opposite ends, separated by a distance that resembled an invisible boundary.

The staff left, and the interview room was quiet, with only the faint sound of the air conditioner blowing. Wang Yan ran his fingertips along the fabric of the sofa, his eyes lowered, his emotions unreadable.

Jiang Zhiyu leaned back lazily on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed.

The silence lasted for a full half minute before Wang Yan broke the stillness.

"You know, don't you?" he said, as if he had finally prepared himself mentally, and spoke with a "what's the use" attitude, "about Mi Lan and me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiyu sighed inwardly. He opened his eyes, looked at the ceiling above him, and remained silent.

"I don't know exactly what he told you about me, but yes, he's right."

Wang Yan shrugged, sighed, and slumped back weakly.

"He has never told me anything about you, not before, and not in the future." Jiang Zhiyu turned to look at Wang Yan, looking directly into his slightly surprised eyes.

He stood there stunned, but quickly gave a self-deprecating laugh and didn't say anything more.

The two fell silent again, not awkwardly, but with a tacit understanding and peace, until the staff returned and reminded them that the final interview was about to begin.

A camera was set up in front of them, and staff members stood on the other side with scripts. After the equipment was set up, the interview officially began.

"First question for both of you: what was your first impression of each other?" the staff member's voice came through clearly.

The camera focused on the two of them. Wang Yan was asked first. He lowered his eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and then looked up at the camera. His tone was sincere: "My first impression of Zhiyu was that his A rating on the initial stage was well-deserved. He is very talented and good-looking. After getting to know him, I found that he is also a very nice person and takes good care of the people around him."

When it was Jiang Zhiyu's turn, he looked calmly at the camera and said in a steady and confident tone: "Wang Yan has strong personal abilities, especially his stage presence, which is outstanding among his peers."

He paused, then slowly added, "At that time, I felt that he was very pure, very excellent, and very different when he was immersed in his performance on stage."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yan stiffened slightly, turned her head to look at Jiang Zhiyu, and a barely perceptible emotion flashed in her eyes.

The second question immediately followed: "So, what do you two think you have in common?"

Jiang Zhiyu spoke first without hesitation: "We are all very clear about our goals, we know what we want, and we are willing to do our best and give everything to achieve them. We will not give up easily."

After these words, Wang Yan fell into a long silence.

He lowered his head, his fingers gripping the hem of his clothes tightly, his mind churning with countless thoughts.

Jiang Zhiyu is dazzling, insightful, and determined, like a beam of light, while I am sensitive, struggling, and full of concerns, forever living in a state of weighing options and falsehood. No matter how you look at it, we are not on the same wavelength.

Time ticked by, and the silence grew longer and longer until the staff on site started to feel uneasy. One of them couldn't help but whisper, "Wang Yan, you can tell us your thoughts now."

Interrupted from his thoughts, Wang Yan slowly raised his eyes, his voice hoarse and low, "No." He paused, his gaze somewhat dim, "I think Zhiyu and I are two sides of the same coin, whether it's our personalities, ways of doing things, or anything else. He's too outstanding; I'm far inferior to him."

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Zhiyu immediately interrupted him, his tone serious and unquestionable: "It's not that we can't compare."

He looked at Wang Yan with gentle yet firm eyes: "We just made different choices and took different paths, but no matter which path we take, we all have room to turn back and the opportunity to choose again. There is no superior or inferior one."

Wang Yan stared at him blankly, opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't utter another word.

From then on, he remained silent, responding with brief words no matter what the staff asked, his eyes always vacant, and he never returned to his previous state until the end of the interview.

The door to the interview room opened, and Jiang Zhiyu stood up, nodded to the staff, turned and left without lingering.

He followed the staff to the location for the commercial shoot. Along the way, the staff briefly explained the shooting process and precautions to him.

Jiang Zhiyu listened attentively. Although this type of commercial photography was relatively unfamiliar to him and he didn't have much experience, he has always been very adaptable.

Upon arriving at the filming location, the first person he worked with was Ahn Joon-young, and the two cooperated very well.

Jiang Zhiyu quickly found his footing in front of the camera, mastering the rhythm of his expressions and movements. What would normally require some getting used to was accomplished in just a few minutes. He was calm and composed, easily controlling the shooting rhythm and successfully completing the first set of shots.

Before leaving, An Junying winked at Jiang Zhiyu, very pleased that she could get some rest early: "Jiang, I'm going home now. Good luck! See you tonight!"

Watching the person in front of him smugly scratch the back of their head and leave, Jiang Zhiyu turned around and looked at Wei Shuang, who was waiting to be filmed. Wei Shuang avoided his gaze and turned her head away as if nothing had happened.

The subsequent filming with Kui Shuang was somewhat complicated.

Kui Shuang was extremely stiff in front of the camera, unable to relax her body and her expression was awkward. She failed to achieve the desired shooting effect several times in a row, and the atmosphere on set became somewhat tense.

The scene being filmed was the sponsor's voiceover, and Jiang Zhiyu noticed that Wei Shuang's stiffness stemmed from her lack of confidence in performing the script.

He leaned close to Wei Shuang's ear, and Wei Shuang's body stiffened even more: "Don't be nervous, just think of it as reciting lyrics in the training room."

I don't know if it was Jiang Zhiyu's reminder that had an effect, or some other factor.

Kui Shuang eventually found her footing, and the photoshoot was successfully completed.

The subsequent individual shoots proceeded without any obstacles. Jiang Zhiyu was in top form, completing each shot cleanly and efficiently.

After all the commercial shoots were finished, it was already getting dark. Without any delay, he rushed back to his dormitory.

Pushing open the door to room 310, one finds it already bustling with activity.

Staff members came and went, carrying equipment and scripts, their steps hurried. The live broadcast camera had been set up in the center of the room, the lights were adjusted, and even the angle was fixed.

Lin Sen and Mi Lan were standing to the side, listening to the staff explain the live broadcast arrangements. When they saw Jiang Zhiyu push the door open and come in, the staff immediately waved to him: "Zhiyu is back. Come over here and let's talk about the precautions for tonight's live broadcast."

Jiang Zhiyu walked over and stood beside the two, listening attentively to the staff's instructions.

"During the live stream, don't answer sensitive questions from fans; just ignore them and pretend you didn't see them. Also, don't respond to any negative comments; just focus on interacting with your supportive fans. Avoid discussing program rules or other contestants' privacy issues as well..."

The staff explained everything in great detail, afraid of any oversight. Jiang Zhiyu and the other two silently kept it in mind, nodding occasionally to acknowledge it.

With all preparations complete, the live stream started precisely on time.