Sorry, Stuck Again [Esports] Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The points round-robin has ended, but the heat of the Sacred Domain Clash is only rising. The main reason is that Sorry, the pillar of Miaotu TV and now a professional player known as Nova, is going to stream. Miaotu had already announced it on Weibo, teasing the audience and building anticipation.

— Keep Sorry on Miaotu, and you'll have the money.

— Miaotu has such a great vision, haha, praying for the boss's success.

— Finally, we can watch this guy stream. We agreed to be workhorses together, and he just went pro.

— I said before, why was he talking about Nova's comeback during his streams? Turns out it was him all along.

— Who said we Sorry fans were brain-dead? Come out and apologize!

— Not to brag, but I saw it coming.

— Is this a try-not-to-laugh challenge? You win.

— Hahaha, this comment section is wild, even dogs would laugh.

The overwhelming discussion online was building momentum for Sorry's stream, all waiting to watch in the evening, unaware that Miaotu had announced it without Bian Yan's knowledge.

At this moment, the platform's representative was trying to smooth things over with Bian Yan.

"Mr. Bian, the announcement this afternoon was made by a new intern in our operations department. Look, the announcement was so rough, it didn't meet our usual standards!" The representative, with a voice like a duck, started to bluff, "But we've been working together for so long, as long as you say the word, Mr. Bian, we'll re-announce it immediately. You can choose the screen and position!"

Bian Yan stood by the window with one hand in his pocket, growing more impatient as he listened. The internet was already in an uproar, and now they were blaming an intern? Who would believe that? It was clear Miaotu was afraid Bian Yan would terminate the contract and wanted to act first.

Sure enough, the duck voice started boasting about the "generous" conditions the platform was offering.

"Mr. Bian, working with Miaotu for so many years has been mutually beneficial. We provide the platform, and you create the buzz. We didn't expect you to still be the legendary N God. Our platform is truly honored."

"So?"

"So!"

The duck voice got smug, "We've decided that as long as you stream for at least eighty hours a month outside of competition periods, we'll increase your annual signing fee to fifteen million, with a three-year contract. Mr. Bian, this is the most favorable contract Miaotu has ever offered a professional player. The platform values you greatly."

Bian Yan sneered. Before the announcement, his annual signing fee was already ten million. Now, with such high popularity, Miaotu only added five million. They were banking on the fact that he had six months left on his contract and wouldn't easily switch platforms, trying to achieve big results with little cost.

Moreover, as he knew, the star players of the currently popular teams, including Wang Ge and Pei Yun Chang, were on another platform—Longyue TV. Miaotu had only signed VVB Team and Assault Team players. Miaotu wanted to use his popularity to attract more star players to their platform, a win-win situation.

Not to mention whether Bian Yan would want to stay with Miaotu with Pei Yun Chang on Longyue, just the fact that Miaotu maliciously exposed his recordings and got him scolded meant he wouldn't let Miaotu off easily.

The duck voice, thinking highly of himself, assumed Bian Yan wouldn't give up such a lucrative commission and switch platforms while paying half a year's penalty. He kept rambling about his achievements.

Bian Yan interrupted him in a calm voice, with a clear hint of sarcasm.

"When is my scheduled stream?"

The duck voice awkwardly chuckled twice, "Ahem… 8 PM tonight, Mr. Bian. You don't have to stream for too long, just start with three hours!"

Bian Yan couldn't help but hold his phone away. He felt like he would become stupid if he listened to this idiot any longer. How did Miaotu find someone with such low emotional intelligence to be in charge?

Duck voice: "Mr. Bian, what do you think?"

Bian Yan replied in a playful tone, "Why ask me? Haven't you already arranged everything?"

"Hahaha, that's great!"

The duck voice was delighted, ready to report back, "Looking forward to seeing you stream on time."

"Of course."

A sly smile appeared on Bian Yan's lips.

During the off-season, as long as the necessary training volume was ensured, they could take a break. Bai Yao Xing and Pan Shi were also preparing to stream for a while, making the base lively, except for Pei Yun Chang, who wasn't there.

Moreover, Bian Yan had been hungover and slept until 3 PM yesterday. When he woke up, he found Pei Yun Chang was gone and hadn't returned since.

Bian Yan pursed his lips and sent a message.

[Y: When are you coming back?]

[Pei Ge: Within half an hour]

[Pei Ge: Do you want anything to eat? I'll bring it back for you.]

[Y: No, thanks.]

Bian Yan typed a refusal, his fingers hovering over the screen for a long time, unable to resist asking directly, "Did you know I'm supposed to stream on Miaotu tonight?"

Pei Yun Chang replied quickly—

Yeah, but you won't stream.

Bian Yan couldn't help but smile.

Although they hadn't discussed Miaotu leaking the recordings, it was clear Pei Yun Chang already knew. Unlike Bai Yao Xing, who had asked when he would stream so he could send a couple of rockets.

Even though he understood, Bian Yan couldn't help but tease Pei Yun Chang.

He lay back in his chair, typing with a great mood—

You guessed wrong, Pei Teacher, I'm about to stream.

Bian Yan glanced at the clock.

[Y: And if you don't hurry, you won't see me before I go live~]

Pei Yun Chang sent an emoji—

[Pei Ge: [Full Speed Ahead.jpg]]

[Pei Ge: Aren't you going to ask what I did tonight?]

Bian Yan pursed his lips. He had wanted to ask for a long time but was afraid Pei Yun Chang would think he was being nosy, so he held back and didn't ask.

[Y: What did you do?]

[Pei Ge: Had dinner with someone.]

Dinner?

Who was worth Pei Yun Chang having dinner with on the first day of the off-season?

Bian Yan rolled his eyes.

Half-talking, might as well not tell him.

Sure enough, the other side didn't continue explaining but brought the topic back to earlier.

[Pei Ge: So are you really going to stream?]

Bian Yan angrily tapped the screen.

[Y: Of course!!!]

[Pei Ge: Do me a favor, baby, don't stream.]

[Pei Ge: Otherwise, all my efforts tonight will be in vain.]

Pei Yun Chang's typing speed was fast, sending two messages back-to-back. But Bian Yan couldn't even think about what "all my efforts tonight" meant, as his attention was caught by certain words.

He looked around, secretly took a screenshot, and forgot to reply for a moment.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yun Chang sent another message—

I'm back, look up.

Bian Yan looked up and saw Pei Yun Chang standing at the entrance of the hall, wearing a black wool coat, looking travel-worn, holding two large boxes of steaming crayfish.

It wasn't "within half an hour" at all; he must have already bought the crayfish when he sent the message.

Bai Yao Xing, who was just about to start streaming, jumped up at the smell.

"Wow, Pei Ge, this smells amazing! Thanks for the late-night snack!"

Everyone gathered around, including Bian Yan, who looked a bit embarrassed.

Pei Yun Chang placed one box for everyone and then, in front of everyone, blatantly handed the other box to Bian Yan.

Pan Shi, with oil still on his mouth, started to complain, "Pei Ge, you're so biased!"

Pei Yun Chang, not even taking off his coat, squatted down to peel the crayfish, unfazed by the complaints, and casually said three words.

"I bought it."

Pan Shi was speechless, giving him a thumbs-up with oily hands.

Bian Yan also put on gloves to peel, pretending to ask casually, "Who did you have dinner with tonight?"

Pan Shi's radar immediately went off, exchanging a glance with Lao Miao, eavesdropping.

Bian Yan felt embarrassed as soon as he asked, making Pei Yun Chang laugh non-stop.

Bian Yan decided to go all out and continued to ask, "And what did you mean by 'all my efforts tonight will be in vain'?"

Pei Yun Chang took off his gloves, pulled out a stack of documents from his briefcase, and handed them to Bian Yan.

Bian Yan wiped his hands and took them.

It was a contract with Huyue TV.

Huyue offered a signing fee of 25 million a year, with only 60 hours of streaming required per month outside of competition periods. Most importantly, the contract clearly stated that Huyue would cover all costs of Bian Yan's platform switch, including breach of contract and promotional fees.

This contract not only surpassed all the terms Miaotu offered but also solved all his current problems, requiring only Bian Yan's signature.

Pei Yun Chang's voice came at the right time, "I've reviewed all the terms, no issues. The price they offered is the highest among active professional players. If you're signing with a platform, Huyue is the best choice."

"And Huyue agreed to help you find a lawyer to sue Miaotu for maliciously infringing on your image rights and not protecting their streamer." Pei Yun Chang said while peeling, "But the lawyer they find might not be as good as the one I found, so I refused. They transferred 500,000 over, and I'll transfer it to your account later."

Bai Yao Xing's fluffy head also came over, almost choking on his crayfish when he saw the numbers on the contract, his voice full of lament.

"No way? 25 million! When I signed, it was just a fraction of that."

Pan Shi quietly added, "You were a rookie when you signed two years ago, 5 million was already pretty good, okay? But back then, I had been playing for over a year, considered a minor celebrity, but my signing fee was only 7 million. Did anyone speak up for me?"

Lao Miao swallowed his crayfish, rolling his eyes, "What are you guys complaining about? When Yun Chang turned pro with such high popularity, he only got 20 million."

Bian Yan held the contract, his peripheral vision catching Pei Yun Chang's dark circles, a warm feeling rising in his heart.

After all these years, he always paved the way for him, unwilling to let him suffer any grievances.

Pei Yun Chang didn't join in the discussion about signing fees. Seeing Bian Yan silent, his tone was a bit off.

"If you don't want to sign, that's fine. Without a signature, the contract isn't valid. I was going to call you this afternoon, but seeing you sleep so soundly, I couldn't bear to wake you, so I made the decision to meet with Huyue's representative." A hint of nervousness flashed across Pei Yun Chang's face, "Are you mad?"

"No."

Bian Yan answered quickly, feeling a sourness in his heart, not knowing how to express it, just saying, "Thank you."

"I thought you were mad."

Pei Yun Chang sighed in relief, placing the peeled shrimp into Bian Yan's bowl.

The two seemed to have a natural barrier, isolating them from others, bubbling with ambiguity.

Bai Yao Xing watched, dumbfounded, muttering, "So Pei Ge had already planned which platform Yan Ge would go to. I was going to remind Pei Ge to sign him to Huyue after Yan Ge's stream today…"

Juan Juan tossed a few shrimp into Bai Yao Xing's bowl, saying lightly, "Eat your own, they don't need you to worry."

Pan Shi, eating and laughing, couldn't wait to share the gossip with Lu Chang Kong.

Pei Yun Chang glanced at the time, "Why don't you post on Weibo? The lawyer's prepared statement is on your phone, you can start streaming on Huyue tomorrow."

Bian Yan smiled slyly.

"No rush, wait until 8."

Pei Yun Chang had done so much, he couldn't lag behind. This time, he had to make Miaotu regret it deeply.

Everyone was lively, eating crayfish, while Bian Yan's phone started ringing from 7:50, with WeChat messages popping up non-stop.

From the beginning—

[Mr. Bian, didn't we agree on the stream?]

[Mr. Bian, can you answer the phone?]

To—

[Ancestor, please reply, everyone's waiting, the platform's customer service is overwhelmed.]

[Bian Yan, are you not planning to stream? The platform can hold you accountable.]

Bai Yao Xing, having heard from Pei Yun Chang about the platform's malicious leak, was indignant, reading the comments to everyone.

"It's been fifteen minutes, and Miaotu's official Weibo is almost blown up by Yan Ge's fans, and they can't provide any explanation, hahaha—"

Meanwhile, Qin Yu Xuan's phone rang, with someone from Miaotu trying to get Wing Coach's number.

"This is Nova's personal account before joining the team, not managed by our club. Next time, don't call directly, it's quite rude."

Qin Yu Xuan retorted in a few words.

Bai Yao Xing: "Hahaha, so cool, Qin Ge! Let these old guys mess around again!"

Pan Shi: "Serves them right, they deserve it!"

Bian Yan felt extremely satisfied.

If it weren't for Miaotu's malicious actions, he had planned to stay and finish the last six months before figuring out how to sign with Pei Yun Chang. Now, they brought it upon themselves.

Pei Yun Chang listened quietly, carefully handling all the crayfish for Bian Yan, smiling as he reminded, "Post on Weibo, be careful they don't turn the tables."

Bian Yan nodded, posting the prepared phone recording and lawyer-checked statement.

Nova was already in a period of public goodwill, and Miaotu's actions only fueled the fans' anger.

They hadn't protected Nova back then, but now they could easily flood Miaotu's comment section, with trending topics shifting from "Praying for Miaotu's Boss's Success" to "Miaotu TV Industry Parasite" and "Miaotu Malicious Competition."

With such public opinion, it would be easy for Bian Yan to win a lawsuit and painlessly switch platforms. Huyue's official account also took advantage of the chaos to post a subtle tweet, building momentum for Bian Yan.

As long as Bian Yan signed the contract and sent it over tomorrow, he could immediately start streaming on Huyue, leaving Miaotu with nothing.

The internet was in chaos, and Pei Yun Chang decided to stir it up further, opening a stream on Huyue.

— Fresh husband! I kiss kiss kiss kiss!!!

— Did hubby go out today? Why the styling, so handsome, I lick lick lick!

— Pei Da is streaming, can Nova make an appearance?

— Don't mess around at a critical moment, be careful Miaotu makes a fuss.

— I've been waiting since the points round-robin! Can we see Arnova duo stream in our lifetime?

— Add one, no face, no voice is fine! Four-year-old fan is going to cry.

— Please, Pei Da.

— Please, Pei Da.

The barrage was fast, with great fan feedback.

Bian Yan also sat at his station, quietly watching the stream, feeling a bit touched.

From afar, Pei Yun Chang suddenly spoke—

"Want to duo queue?"