---------------------------------------------------------------
In the post-match interview, only Captain Park Joonseo and Vice-Captain Kim Yoonhee appeared for the South Korean team. Park Joonseo has always been a good person and was polite when answering the reportersâ questions. However, there was a clear look of regret on his face after the South Korean team failed to reach the finals. âThe result of this match was beyond my expectations. I can only say that our preparations before the match wasnât enough. After returning home, we will carefully summarize the lessons learnt. The players of our country will strive to win the World Competition next year!â
A reporter asked, âCaptain Park, what do you think about the strength of the Chinese teamâs captain, LI Cangyu?â
Park Joonseo thought about it before replying, âLi Cangyu is a very admirable player. Iâve heard his story and it isnât easy to persist for so many years. His personal level and commanding ability are first-class.â
Backstage, the brainless fan Cheng Wei watched the interview and immediately nodded in agreement. âPark Joonseo has a bit of vision. He knows how amazing our Cat God is?â
Ling Xuefeng gently wrapped an arm around Li Cangyuâs shoulder. âIt is difficult to gain the recognition of an opponent.â
Li Cangyu smiled at him. âYes.â
In fact, he didnât care about other peopleâs evaluations. He had received all types of criticisms when he first left Miracle and then when he returned. He wouldnât be able to persist if he cared too much about other peopleâs opinions.
However, Park Joonseo was one of the worldâs top three summoners. Li Cangyuâs mood was clear after being acknowledged by such a strong opponent. It was as clear as the sun being revealed after a storm.
On the other hand, Park Joonseo could barely maintain the smile on his face.
Many reporters from South Korea asked sharp questions in a rude and harsh tone.
After all, South Korean often won against China in other e-sports competitions. They couldnât accept that in the first Miracle World Competition, South Korea actually lost to China.
The reportersâ questions smashed the captain and vice-captain one after another. Vice-Captain Kim Yoonhee was a female player but her character was very straightforward. She was impatient with the reporters and her expression quickly sank. Park Joonseo still maintained his smile. He was obviously used to putting on a disguise in front of the reporters.
Li Cangyu suddenly felt sympathy for the two people.
If the Chinese team had lost, perhaps he and Ling Xuefeng would be the ones facing the reportersâ bombardment?
He looked over at Ling Xuefeng and met his eyes. Ling Xuefeng seemed to have guessed Li Cangyuâs thoughts and his hand on Li Cangyuâs shoulder tightened slightly like silent support.
***
The Chinese team brought more people to the interview. In addition to Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng, there were several other gods who played an important role in todayâs competition, Tan Shitian, Su Guangmo, Lou Wushuang and Jiang Xu.
Li Cangyu brought all these people in order to give the reporters a chance for a comprehensive interview before the finals.
The domestic reporters were so excited that they immediately rushed to ask questions.
âCaptain Tan, were you under a lot of pressure when you lost todayâs first game?â
âTo tell you the truth?â Tan Shitian smiled and glanced at Li Cangyu. âCat God had me open the match but I didnât feel too much psychological pressure. It is because I knew there were many great gods behind me and had confidence in them.â
âWe saw you comforting Vice-Captain Cheng after the first game. How is he feeling now?â
âCheng Wei is a single-celled animal. His emotions come and go quickly.â Tan Shitianâs smile became gentler as he talked about Cheng Wei. âOnce the first game was lost, his face fell like the sky. The moment the second game was won, he immediately came alive again. He had completely forgotten about the first game by the time the fourth game arrived.â
Everyone, ââ¦â
Then Cheng Weiâs memory was less than 10 minutes?
Cheng Wei was watching the live broadcast and was unconvinced. âCan Tan Shitian stop blackening me in every interview?â
The Time teamâs Lu Xiao whispered, âIs he blackening you? He keeps spoiling you.â
Cheng Wei looked at him with confusion. âLu Xiao, what are you whispering about?â
Lu Xiao immediately waved his hand. âNothing! Hahaha, I am reviewing this game!â
Cheng Wei ignored him and continued to watch the screen.
In todayâs 3:1 match, the lost game was directed by Tan Shitian but he didnât seem to mind at all. In the interview, he was outspoken about the losing game and very graceful. His face was handsome, especially the enlarged version on the big screen. He was handsome and had an affable smile.
Cheng Wei didnât realize that his gaze had been on someoneâs face for more than 10 seconds without moving away.
âLosing one or two games doesnât really matter. We can learn from the lost games and find out what weâre missing. In fact, I lost the game I commanded today but I gained a lot from it. I believe that Cat God used this system to show you the strength of the new generation in the Chinese Miracle League.â Tan Shitian answered with a smile. âXiao Han, Zhuo Hang and Qin Mo are the future of our Miracle League.â
These words were endorsed by Li Cangyu. âCaptain Tan is excellent. The lineup of the first game was based on temptation. My style is different from Captain Park and is more suitable for a steady play. Thus, I didnât send the strongest lineup in the first game. Captain Tan took some newcomers and got a score of 9:10. This is already great. If this lineup appears next year, I believe there will be a different ending!â
These words received warm applause from the reporters.
It could be seen that Li Cangyuâs eyes werenât only on the World Competition but on the future of the Miracle League.
Xiao Han, Qin Mo and Zhuo Hang were players less than 18 years old. One day, they would become the pillars of the Miracle League and the national team would depend on them. Thus, it was a reasonable choice to give them more opportunities in the First World Competition.
After interviewing Tan Shitian, a reporter asked Su Guangmo a question. âCaptain Su didnât personally direct any of todayâs games but participated in a team battle as Cat Godâs teammate. Do you want to be a commander in the finals?â
âIt depends on the captainâs arrangement.â Su Guangmo readily smiled. âThe goal of all our national teamâs players is the same. The commander doesnât matter as long as we can win!â
âCaptain Lou played beautifully in todayâs underwater assassination and your cooperation with Vice-Captain Zhang has become more tacit. Many foreign reporters have given you the nickname of âCold Killerâ. What do you think about this nickname?â The reporter shifted the question to Lou Wushuang.
âWell, itâs good.â Lou Wushuang replied while pushing up his glasses.
ââ¦â Interviewing the cold king was a very difficult matter. The reporter was choked up for a while before asking, âWhat does Captain Lou want to say to the domestic audience?â
âSee you in the finals.â Lou Wushuang replied in a calm tone that didnât fluctuate.
ââ¦â The reporters decided to give up on interviewing him and turned to Jiang Xu. âCaptain Jiang and Zhuo Hang are partners from different teams. Based on todayâs semi-finals, your cooperation is excellent. Was it hard during the training to form a partnership with a newcomer?â
âFortunately, Zhuo Hang and I spent a lot of time in the arena on our side accounts. I donât feel that it is tiring and it is instead very interesting. The two of us might come from different teams but there is no sense of estrangement. This is because Zhuo Hangâs level is very high and he immediately understands anything I say.â Jiang Xuâs tone was full of admiration for Zhuo Hang.
Backstage, Zhuo Hang immediately took out his phone and sent a message. [Senior praised me.]
Li Xiaojiang quickly replied: [Iâm watching the live broadcast.]
Zhuo Hang: [You must come watch the finals, you hear me?]
[Yes, Iâll come and cheer for you!]
Zhuo Hang put away his phone with a hint of a smile on his face. He didnât know if he would have a chance to play in the finals but Li Xiaojiang was his fixed partner. They should be in the same arena to witness it.
***
The reporters took turns interviewing and Ling Xuefeng received many questions, which was enough to show the popularity of Captain Ling.
He replied in a very serious tone. The questions he didnât like then he would directly skip. The reporters were used to this manâs tough style and naturally didnât dare keep asking.
A reporter suddenly asked boldly, âCaptain Ling, there is something I have always been curious about. In the World Competition so far, the commander is often changed depending on the lineup of the group battle. However, we have never seen you appear with Cat God in the same team battle. If you one day appear in the same battle as Cat God, who will be the commander?â
The question stunned many journalists and viewers.
Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng were the captain and vice-captain of the national team. As long as one of them played, the hearts of the audience members were particularly solid. Thus, almost everyone ignored this question. What if both of them played at the same time? What type of image would appear?
The reporterâs question ignited the curiosity of the crowd.
Another reporter stood up and asked, âWhy donât we have Cat God answer this question?â
Li Cangyu and Ling Xuefeng glanced at each other before replying simultaneously, âHe will command.â
Everyone, ââ¦â
Then who the hell would command?
They didnât expect the connection to be to this degree. Ling Xuefeng gave a rare smile to the camera and said, âWe usually discuss tactical issues and will negotiate to resolve any disagreements.â
Li Cangyu nodded and continued, âHowever, a game is different. The situation on the field changes rapidly and the opponent wonât give us the opportunity to discuss it slowly. If there is one day where both of us appears in the group battle, one person must be the commander and the other person must absolutely obey orders.â
Ling Xuefeng spoke decisively, âIf there are differences on the field, I will listen to him because I believe in him.â
Li Cangyu, ââ¦â
This simple sentence moved Li Cangyuâs heart. To have a person who knew him, trusted him, supported him and was willing to join hands with him was Godâs greatest gift to him.
The reporter asked excitedly, âThen the last commander will be Cat God?â
Li Cangyu was no longer polite and smiled. âWe donât have to worry too much about this matter. IN fact, if Xuefeng and I play the game, there is no need to give commands. With the tacit understanding between us, eye contact is enough. Of course, I will be in charge when necessary. Since Xuefeng said he would listen to me, shouldnât I give him some face?â
Ling Xuefeng nodded. âYes.â
Everyone, ââ¦â
Cat God said this but Captain Ling was still so cooperative. This scene was really rare!
Li Cangyu joked before saying, âMany people are concerned about who can win the championship. I want to see, the Chinese team will win!â
The captainâs declaration caused the reporters to clap loudly.
From the beginning, everyone had been aiming for the championship. They swept through the group stage with a victory record and they shockingly took down the South Korean rival team 3:1 in the semi-finals. Now that they had reached the finals and the championship trophy was right in front of them, everyone would definitely try their best to win the highest honour.
***
The interview ended and they returned backstage. The players watching the live broadcast were thrilled by Li Cangyuâs last sentence. Everyone put their hands together and shouted, âRefuel!â They excitedly rode back to the Miracle Village.
After returning to their room that evening, Li Cangyu sat on the sofa and closed his eyes tiredly.
His expression was calm in front of the reporters and he pretended to be relaxed in front of the players. Now he no longer needed to disguise himself. He didnât know how many brain cells he lost in the match today. He was actually very tired and didnât want to open his eyes.
Ling Xuefeng looked at his âcollapsed on the sofaâ posture and suppressed his smile. He sat next to Li Cangyu and helped massage his shoulder. His shoulder muscles were stiff from sitting in front of a computer for several hours. He felt very comfortable as they were massaged and pointed to his right shoulder. âThis side as well.â
He wasnât polite at all. LIng Xuefeng pressed on the left and right shoulder, his voice low and gentle, âHave a good rest tonight. The tactics for the finals can be discussed another day. No matter the outcome of the finals, I will face it with you.â
Li Cangyu heard this and suddenly opened his eyes.
He was lying on the sofa and his angle of looking up was just right. The light was behind Ling Xuefeng and his face wasnât very clear, but his eyes were particularly deep and bright.
Li Cangyuâs heart jerked and he took the initiative to extend his arms and hug the other personâs neck, pulling this person towards himself. Ling Xuefeng followed and planted a gentle kiss on Li Cangyuâs lips.
âNo matter the result, you are with me.â
This sentence was the most long-lasting confession of life between them.