“Um… I don’t think so. How could this possibly be linked to corporate influence? I think BZ actually played really well; they’re a solid team. Besides, if it really were corporate manipulation, why not just go ahead and win the championship? People are going to call it corporate influence either way.”
“Huh? Are you being serious or just playing dumb? Is finishing second the same as winning the championship? Winning the championship is a done deal, but if they finish second, people can claim it’s all down to skill. Do you really think there’s no difference?”
“There’s no proof it’s definitely capital manipulation, right? Honestly, I think calling it outright ‘capital manipulation’ is an exaggeration. Since when has the esports scene been ripe for capital manipulation? It’s not like it’s a sector where they can make a quick buck—what would the capitalists stand to gain?”
“Who knows? Maybe it’s actually a capital game, and the team is just a small part of that strategy? How else do you explain that while both established teams, the Oriental Group went under in less than a year, while the Yin Group is still going strong?”
“That’s a bit of a stretch, isn’t it? Doesn’t everyone know how the Oriental Group went under? It was just their own internal screw-ups that brought them down. The Yin family isn’t like them—why can’t they just stay afloat?”
Yuan Miaomiao watched as the thread gradually took a bizarre turn, leaving her completely dumbfounded.
What… what is going on here?
Seeing that things were taking a wrong turn, she didn’t even care that it was the middle of the night and immediately called Yin Chen.
She couldn’t handle this situation on her own!
“Hello?”
The phone was picked up, and the voice on the other end was low and hoarse—clearly, he’d been woken from a sound sleep.
Yuan Miaomiao didn’t have time to think about that; she was completely dumbfounded!
Wait, why isn’t it Mr. Yin answering the phone?
C-could this be Mr. Yin’s boyfriend?
Damn it!
Last time she mistook Mr. Yin’s boyfriend for a bodyguard, and now she’s calling Mr. Yin in the middle of the night again?
She’s asking for trouble!
“Hello?”
Why isn’t anyone speaking?
Zong Cheng glanced at the phone and froze.
This isn’t his phone.
Then why does the ringtone sound just like his…
His gaze suddenly fell on the face of Yin Chen, who was fast asleep beside him.
Yin Chen must have been really exhausted tonight.
His neck rose and fell with each breath, marked with mottled bruises.
Zong Cheng felt a tightness in his lower abdomen and quickly looked away.
If he kept looking, he wouldn’t be able to face the world.
He calmly got out of bed and walked out of the room. In the moonlight, the scattered scratch marks on his broad, muscular back were faintly visible.
Zong Cheng glanced at his phone. “You’re Yuan Miaomiao, right?”
A soft whimper.
This is even worse—did President Yin actually save her number? QUQ
Yuan Miaomiao felt like crying but had no tears left; she could only manage a faint reply.
“Y-yes, it’s me.”
Zong Cheng glanced at the moon outside the window. Was it a full moon tonight?
“What’s the matter? You might as well tell me. Or rather, since you’re calling this late, you must have something really important…”
He lowered his voice slightly, and Yuan Miaomiao hurried to clear her name.
“Yes, yes! It’s very important! It concerns Mr. Yin!”
“Hmm?”
About Yin Chen?
Zong Cheng’s gaze instantly turned sharp.
“It’s like this.”
Yuan Miaomiao quickly recounted the situation.
After finishing, she spoke cautiously, “About this situation, I just feel like something’s off. So I wanted to call Mr. Yin to ask if we should do something about it.”
“What exactly feels off?”
Zong Cheng walked into his study, turned on his computer, and quickly searched for the post Yuan Miaomiao had mentioned.
Found it.
He clicked on the forum and saw that the thread already had over a thousand replies.
What’s going on?
It’s so late—don’t these people ever sleep?
Zong Cheng frowned in confusion.
“How should I put this? Neither you nor Mr. Yin are active on forums, right? On forums, people usually stick to discussing topics within their own circles. This matter originally had absolutely nothing to do with Mr. Yin, but I noticed that the user who started it has been using certain tactics to steer everyone toward the word ‘capital.’ I can’t say for sure, but it just feels… too calculated.”
Yuan Miaomiao glanced at the thread and her eyes widened.
Damn!
Are these people animals?
In just a few minutes, there are already over a thousand replies?
“I understand. I’ll have someone handle this immediately.”
Zong Cheng quickly skimmed through the thread, his brow furrowing even deeper.
Someone has indeed been setting the tone all along.
They’ve consistently avoided discussing BZ’s true capabilities, instead repeatedly emphasizing that the person behind BZ’s establishment is Yin Chen, and that Yin Chen controls the Yin family.
Even those who originally trusted BZ’s capabilities would inevitably have a seed of doubt planted in their minds after the Yin family was brought up so many times.
Not to mention that the posts repeatedly compared the Dongfang Group to the Yin family.
It seemed to imply that if anything went wrong with the Dongfang Group, it was the Yin family’s doing.
But who would do such a thing?
Such a thankless task…
“Have you been secretly training again lately?”
A sudden warmth touched his back as a smooth chest pressed against him.
Zong Cheng instinctively turned his head.
Yin Chen happened to be there, leaning down to kiss him squarely on the lips.
Is this guy up in the middle of the night again?
Has he been working out in secret again?
He knocked him out today—wasn’t that enough to burn off his energy?
Yin Chen began to wonder what species his boyfriend actually belonged to.
By the way, maybe he should consider working out with his boyfriend?
Otherwise, he had a feeling that sooner or later, he’d end up dying in his boyfriend’s bed.
Why did Yin Chen wake up?
Zong Cheng paused for a moment, then leaned in to deepen the kiss.
When the kiss ended, Yin Chen shivered.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Zong Cheng instinctively reached out and pulled him into his arms.
Yin Chen wasn’t shy either; he wrapped his arms around Zong Cheng’s neck, drawing warmth from his embrace.
“In the middle of the night? Is there an emergency at your company?”
Why else would Zong Cheng be turning on his computer at this hour?
But…
Yin Chen instinctively glanced at the screen and froze.
This doesn’t look like a work document?
It’s some kind of forum post?
Zong Cheng stayed up late just to read this?
Yin Chen was slightly surprised.
“I have something to do, but it’s not work-related.”
Zongcheng had originally planned to handle it himself, but since Yinchen was awake, he didn’t feel the need to hide it from him.
But the study was too cold; they might as well go back to bed to talk.
Picking up the laptop, Zongcheng carried Yinchen in his arms back to the bedroom.
The two of them crawled under the covers to warm up, and only then did Zong Cheng briefly explain the situation to Yin Chen.
Someone was targeting him?
Just as Yin Chen tried to sit up, Zong Cheng pressed his lips together and pushed him back under the covers.
He looked completely serious.
“It’s cold.”
Although winter had passed, the tail end of spring still carried a hint of chill.
“Alright.”
Yin Chen curled up under the covers, leaving only his head exposed.
He directed Zong Cheng to scroll through the post.
After reading for a while, he caught on to something.
“Why do I get the feeling that the person behind this is smearing me while simultaneously whitewashing the Oriental Group?”
“You feel that too?”
Zong Cheng’s gaze turned dangerous.
He’d already sensed something off while reading the post.
“Is there anyone left at the Oriental Group who can still make a splash?”
Yin Chen was slightly surprised.
But after giving it some thought, he smiled faintly.
“However, they’re clearly underestimating the 20 million yuan in annual fees I pay Attorney Gao.”
If Attorney Gao couldn’t handle something this trivial, he wouldn’t be worth those 20 million.
Thinking this, Yin Chen yawned listlessly.
He reached out and poked Zong Cheng’s firm abs, gazing at him with teary eyes full of affection.
“It’s so late. Why don’t we just go to sleep?”
I already have a boyfriend!
Work stuff can wait until tomorrow!
If I don’t sleep with my boyfriend, that would really be a disservice to the eight-pack abs and broad pecs he works so hard to maintain every day.
Zong Cheng felt his face flush under Yin Chen’s intense gaze.
He couldn’t help but glance at Yin Chen’s waist a couple of times, his voice hoarse.
“You fainted earlier, and now you’re still…?”
Yin Chen slowly raised an eyebrow in question.
“Is something wrong with you?”
He gave him a half-smile, teasingly.
“I mean, just a simple, ordinary night’s sleep.”
He didn’t say anything!
Zong Cheng’s ears immediately turned bright red.
He exchanged a glance with Yin Chen, then silently turned his head away.
“Then let’s sleep. Good night.”
He wasn’t thinking about that at all!
Yin Chen chuckled to himself.
Such a wimp.
Reaching out to grab Zong Cheng’s hand and place it on his waist, Yin Chen felt the warmth and soon fell asleep.
As for the online backlash?
Naturally, Attorney Gao would handle it.
Early the next morning.
Yin Chen had just woken up when he received a call from Attorney Gao.
“Hmm?”
Yin Chen tilted his head back with half-closed eyes, letting Zongcheng wipe his face.
The ruthless capitalist had just woken up, while the poor worker hadn’t even gone to sleep yet.
Lawyer Gao sighed inwardly as he quickly delivered his report.
“Here’s the situation, Mr. Yin. Last night, someone attempted to attack your reputation through the esports community. I handled the matter overnight and identified the person behind it. Would you like to know the details?”
Truly a man who spends twenty million a year.
Yin Chen seemed satisfied.
He nodded. “Go ahead.”
He casually set his phone aside and turned on speakerphone.
Yin Chen and Zong Cheng exchanged a kiss scented with aftershave.
Attorney Gao adopted a serious expression.
“Here’s the situation: we’ve discovered that behind this post, there were three waves of paid trolls.”
Three groups?
Yin Chen was slightly surprised.
“Which three?”
As if reading his mind, Attorney Gao immediately continued.
“The first group was orchestrated by Dongfang Lie’s people; it seems he still has some connections out there. “The second wave was traced back to Dongfang Wan’s parents. It seems they, too, harbor a grudge against you, Mr. Yin.”
“And what about the third wave?”
“Could it be Dongfang Feng from the Dongfang family?”
“Did they all band together?”
Yin Chen raised an eyebrow.
“It can’t be that bad, can it?”
“The third wave…”
Lawyer Gao’s voice paused slightly before he continued.
“It’s some of ZWG’s fans.”
“ZWG’s fans?”
Yin Chen froze.
On second thought, he found it hard to believe.
“Do they really think ZWG is a casualty of the power struggle between me and the Dongfang Group?”
Attorney Gao sighed inwardly.
“Yes. And we looked into it—most of them are underage fans.”
Because they’re so young, they’re easily manipulated and used as pawns.
Yin Chen fell silent.
If they were all from the Dongfang family, he wouldn’t have minded.
But if there were underage fans among them?
He felt a sense of melancholy he couldn’t quite put into words.
“It’s not your fault.”
Two strong arms reached out and gently embraced Yin Chen.
Zong Cheng kissed his cheek.
He thought for a moment, then said earnestly,
“Starting BZ was a good thing. With you there, the fans who follow BZ won’t be let down.”
He paused, looked into Yin Chen’s eyes, and added,
“You’re wonderful.”
“That’s why I like you so much, and love you.”
Yin Chen looked into his eyes and slowly curved the corners of his mouth.
Though he was too shy to say it out loud, his heart had received the message.
Attorney Gao: “……”
I should be under the car 🙂