Accompany You Ch 1.1

Chapter 1: The Vase Streamer (Part 1)

Seattle, America.

“USA! USA! USA!”

Passionate shouts rose and fell in a steady rhythm, reverberating within the key arena of 20,000 people. The lights flashed and above the center stage was projected the dynamic map of the game. From time to time, bursting sparks were accompanied by the sounds of explosions. A rapid, flowing, river divided the stage in half, with two soundproof glass rooms on each side.

Qiu Ying sat at the front row of the auditorium, where she could see what was going on inside the glass rooms: players wearing uniforms and headsets, solemnly hitting their keyboards.

Above her was a ring of four huge screens that clearly displayed the game battle.

For Conquer, the 5v5 real-time multiplayer fighting game developed by the American D Corp., the annual Global Finals hosted in Seattle was a heavyweight championship much like the World Cup of esports.

The best professional players gathered here to compete for the honor of being able to stand at the highest level of the competition.

Now she was witnessing this historic scene live and in person: the finals, China’s top team Legend versus America’s black horse Titan!

The deafening system prompt sounded again: Triple kill!

The two armies confronted each other. Legend’s three main forces died under the sword of a single enemy.

The cheers of the American spectators were earthshaking.

While Qui Ying was a gaming idiot, it was still obvious to her that the Chinese team, Legend’s, current situation was extremely bad. To be specific, the other team was massacring them. Titan thunderously rushed to Legend’s position all at once. The American player leading the charge wielded a large sword, blocking and killing them with such fierceness even God wouldn’t be able to stop them.¹

Qiu Ying held her breath, tense, as she watched him cut down half of the others’ HP with one sword, two swords — struck and killed!

The sound of the system sounded: Megakill!

“Stop him! Stop him!” A hoarse roar erupted from behind Qiu Ying. All around her was gathered a large number of Chinese fans; many had travelled thousands of miles from China just to cheer for glory with their hearts on the road.

“Go, Legend! Don’t lose!” one girl shouted, crying. The sound spread throughout the vast audience, passing from mouth to mouth.

“Go! Go! Go!”

“USA! USA! USA!” The American fans were not to be outdone; stars and stripes floated throughout most of the venue.

“Go! Go! Go!”

“USA! USA! USA!”

The sound of cheering was incessant.

Even louder was the passionate commentary— 

“Legend is in a desperate battle! In the end, only Captain Cris has escaped with remaining HP, but Titan isn’t giving him any chance of survival! He has nowhere left to go!”

“Rampage!”

Legend was completely wiped out!

On the big screen, under the siege of five players, the brilliant crystal hub exploded and the sounds of explosions eventually gave way to a pile of ruin.

“Congratulations to the US team, Titan, for becoming the champion of this year’s Global Finals!”

**

A grand awards ceremony was held on the main stage. The thunderous applause and gorgeous lights rendered the area near the Chinese players especially desolate. The professional commentators were silent with red eyes; the fans were downcast and some even had trembling shoulders, choked up and unable to say anything.

Perhaps she was influenced by the current atmosphere near her. Unconsciously, two lines of tears fell from Qiu Ying’s eyes. It was only when she came back to her senses that she realized that just now she had forgotten to flip her phone camera’s view and it was still facing herself. The bullet comments in the livestream were already exploding.

“I wanna see the awards ceremony! Who wants to see your fake crying face!”

“The green tea b*tch is starting her acting again, isn’t pretending to cry disgusting?”

“Forget your usual tricks! The Chinese team’s lost the competition and you’re still dropping tears and gimmicks, have some dignity!”

Qiu Ying wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and shut off the camera, snorting softly.

Didn’t Qiao Xin want to play some new tricks on her? Qiu Ying was able to recite all of the usernames of the water navy Qiao Xin hired to blacken her.

**

In recent years, the spread of esports all across the country was accompanied by the rise of livestream gaming platforms. Anyone could stream their liveplays and daily lives, earning revenue through fan gifts.

Qiu Ying was one of the beautiful female entertainers² on the well-known platform Youxing. The other top streamers on the platform were all signed under management agencies, but Qiu Ying, who was all by herself, was an outsider. She was often crowded out and her viewers were decreasing by the day. This time, she had won the opportunity to come to Seattle to watch Conquer’s Global Finals from Youxing’s lucky draw. The past few days she had arrived early to the arena, before they even opened their doors, to pick out excellent seats to livestream the competition from, so her popularity boosted slightly. Now that the competition was over, her next goal was to intercept the professional players, get their autographs, and see if she could get the opportunity to interview them.

She didn’t know when it had happened, but the aisle next to Qiu Ying was already filled with people. She listened and watched a bit; as it turned out, the just-defeated second place team had not yet left and was lined up not far away.

The former ten-time champion, Legend.

Qiu Ying had heard one of the fans currently on site with her say that Conquer was the pride of Chinese esports.

Esports, competitive sports played with videogames, was the 78th official competitive sport listed by the National Sports General Administration.

For a long time, esports was difficult to find within China. The public impression remained as “playing games,” “smoky Internet cafes,” “unscrupulous bastards,” with a poor environment and small income. Three years ago, the first Chinese team won the Conquer Global Finals in Seattle. The US $1 million grand prize by far exceeded that of other competitions, shocking general media and the General Administration of Sports. The three giants Legend, Dragon, and VPG all swept the major leagues, dominating foreign teams.

However, an American dark horse entered the field this year, causing the Chinese teams to lose. Legend was the last remaining hope, but it was still unable to turn the tides.

It was worth noting that although Legend had a brilliant record, it was never able to win the Global Finals, which marked the highest honor. This year was their fourth time as a runner-up, and it was also the year that their captain, the top player in Chinese Conquer, would fight his final battle before retirement.

But no one thought that the battle would result in this kind of unceremonious defeat.

On the center stage, the champion team lifted their trophy among fireworks and applause.

Qiu Ying pointed her phone camera at Legend near the bottom of the stage. The person on the very left covered his entire face with his hands, tears slowly slipping out from between his fingertips. Based on his age, he was the captain, Cris.

As she swept her camera to his side, she was momentarily stunned. The person next to him was very tall with an unforgettable face, like a star, and a straight nose. His hands were casually stuck in his pockets, and his gaze at the stage was indifferent. There was no unwillingness, no remorse, no anger; as if the loss they had just suffered was simply a practice match.

He abruptly turned his head in the direction of Qiu Ying, making her quickly lower her phone in shock.

She remembered seeing him outside the arena before. He was tall and slim, carrying a backpack on one shoulder and headphones around his neck. The red carpet in front of the player entrance was surrounded by female fans; there were too many people, so Qiu Ying was unable to get near him and could only steal a few glances by tiptoeing. She could only see that he always had a smile on his face. He let the girls closely hold his arms when they took photos and even let them put their faces close to his.

There was a female fan who didn’t know what to say, so he raised his eyebrows, then casually lifted her long hair to one side and used a marker to sign his name on her bare back, causing the people around them to scream.

At the time, Qiu Ying was stunned. He should be quite close to being “close to the masses” like this…

On the main stage, the host began to interview the champion team. This game’s MVP was the young 16-year-old Chinese genius Jeffery Cheng, ID: Disaster, a top student in MIT’s math department.

Qiu Ying couldn’t help but feel that the fierce man that had charged forward like a god of war in the game turned out to be so delicate and beautiful in reality.

“You’re an idol for many teens.” The host pointed the microphone toward him. “Do you want to say anything to those who want to be like you?”

Jeffery Chen snapped the chewing gum inside his mouth, smiled, and said, “It’s really hard to be like me.”

Then the host asked, “How does it feel to win the championship?”

“Winning was too easy.”

“In the finals you were able to play on the same stage as Legend’s legendary captain, Cris. What did you think about that?”

Jeffery Chen shrugged. “I thought… there wasn’t anything special. His previous awesome achievements were probably because I hadn’t started yet.”

The host’s smile froze on his face when given this arrogant reply.

Even more shockingly, he raised his chin at Cris who was at the bottom of the stage. “Yo, legendary captain, remember this — you were killed by Titan’s Disaster.”

It was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline to the American fans’ wild cheers for the first-time champions of the Global Finals to say this. Their whistles, applause, and screams, instantaneously intertwined with each other and pushed the atmosphere to a climax.

By this time, the Chinese audience around Qiu Ying was raging and railing at the stage; it took a long time for the host to calm them down. Soon after, the stadium lights dimmed, a melodious flute sounded in the darkness, and a symphony orchestra began playing Conquer’s background theme.

Her phone vibrated with a WeChat message from her cousin, Gu Jiayi.

“Ying jie, a lot of posts blackening you are appearing on the forums recently and most of them are Qiao Xin’s hired ghosts. She’s such a freaking bully!”

Qiu Ying sighed a little. Last week, Youxing gave her a final notice: if her livestream ratings continued to be subpar, they would terminate her contract at the end of the month. Given the arrival of an opportunity to remove her, a stumbling block, it was no wonder that Qiao Xin and her agency were so active lately.

Qiu Ying and Youxing had signed a one-year contract. If the contract was terminated early, she could only take 30% of her revenue. If she could hold out until the deadline, she would be able to make a full down payment and buy the small 50 m² apartment that she had always wanted. She could settle down in Shanghai and leave that house completely, living by herself.

Her future ideal was a lofty mansion; her current reality was a low brick house. If you wanted to spread your wings and soar, first you had to plump your wings and go forward, step by step.

Qiu Ying shook her numb legs and stretched her neck out to look forward. The third floor was a lounge set aside for the players; even though the entrance to the hall was surrounded by cords for security, enthusiastic fans still crowded the place in the hopes of someone coming out.

“They’re not here! I just saw a lot of teams heading toward the second floor!”

A perceptive fan dug out some firsthand information and the large forces quickly swarmed away in the direction of the pointing finger. Qiu Ying followed with her 8-cm high heels, still constantly worrying about whether her miniskirt was too short, so her mobility naturally wasn’t as good as regular people. After a few turns, she lost her way and wished in annoyance that she could just go home. Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from the corridor.

“Apologize!”

“What did you say on the stage? You’re too much, mocking others!”

There was the sound of many people; some of it in Chinese, some in English. Qiu Ying followed the sounds and arrived at the end of the corridor, discovering that there was a small entertainment hall for the players there. After the competition ended, most of the things inside were moved out and there weren’t any employees present, either. A group of people with admission cards hanging around their necks surrounded a teenager in the corner.

Qiu Ying blinked. Wasn’t that the young genius of the American team?

It seemed like the fans and the professional players were clashing with each other. Even from her distance, she could feel the tense atmosphere.

Qiu Ying quickly aimed her phone camera at them.

“You’re so arrogant after winning once. You think you’re such hot stuff!”

“When C god was at his peak, you Americans couldn’t even lift your heads!”

“He’s the youth of our generation, our faith!”

Jeffery Chen chomped on his gum and raised his chin. “But Cris is already old now. What’s the value of a professional player who can’t play? He used to be a legend before, but now he’s just a burden.”

“What did you say?!”

“Also, there doesn’t seem to be any Chinese player who’s able to succeed him.”

Jeffery Chen stuck out his thumb and turned it down 180 degrees. “The era when China dominated Conquer is over.”

“You–!”

The fire was getting hotter and stronger. Someone behind her touched Qiu Ying’s back in a signal for her to move aside. Qiu Ying looked up and saw someone’s beautiful jawline. He went to the center of the group and separated the excited fans and Jeffery Chen from each other.

This… wasn’t this the person on stage before…?

He was tall and straight, dressed in a green and white uniform, and his legs were long and slender. On the jacket breast was the team emblem of Legend and on his back was stitched his name: Ji Xiangkong.

“In sports competitions, if your skill isn’t as good as other people, you concede defeat. Don’t make people think that we’re sore losers, or else we won’t even have pride in the end.”

He turned to face Jeffery Cheng and spoke in fluent English. “Conquer is an American-developed game and the Seattle Global Finals have been held in America for so many years. Finally you have a domestic champion, it hasn’t been easy, congratulations.”

When he said “so many years” and “finally,” he raised his eyebrows and purposefully emphasized the words.

Jeffery Chen glanced at him and sneered, “Loser.”

Ji Xiangkong smiled without any anger. “If losing one competition can make us a loser, you have already been one for many years.”

Jeffery Chen’s mouth twitched and he snapped, “We’ll still be the champions next year!”

In the face of this striking and powerful declaration of victory, Ji Xiangkong simply shrugged indifferently. “You can try it.”

After he finished talking, he turned sideways to let Jeffery Chen leave. The young genius glared at him and deliberately bumped into him as he went past. Ji Xiangkong didn’t move at all, but Jeffery Chen was forced to take a step back from the rebound. The people around them laughed, Jeffery Chen’s face was ashen, and he strode away quickly.

There was still an indignant person behind him. Ji Xiangkong reached his hand out and grasped his shoulder, bringing them together. Qiu Ying couldn’t hear clearly what they were saying but could only see him smile and nod. “You’re right. We didn’t play the competition well, it’s our fault, our fault.”

After a little bit, he knocked his left fist into his right hand. “Oh, I just remembered that C god and everyone else from Legend are at Chinatown’s Boiling Point Hot Pot. If you want to get their autographs, you should hurry.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I left my things behind, let’s not talk about it. You guys go first, don’t mention that you saw me.”

As he watched the group of people hurriedly run away, satisfied, Ji Xiangkong finally smiled toward Qiu Ying, who was still in the hallway. “Did you take a picture of my heroism just now?”

Qiu Ying didn’t expect him to suddenly talk to her. Her mind quickly sparked.

Heaven was looking upon her! A member of the runners-up must be a great god, and this person also didn’t seem to refuse women that approached him!

First, successfully establish diplomatic relations, and later maybe there would be the opportunity to livestream and game with him. Qiu Ying organized her thoughts but after walking a few steps suddenly trembled. All the men she had encountered before were on [Easy] mode and with one sweet smile she was able to captivate them. How was she supposed to hook this great god?

She closed her eyes and fleetingly thought of the plots of various dog-blood idol dramas.

By the time she walked in front of Ji Xiangkong, she was already immersed in her charming performance mode.

“Hi, I’m Youxing’s game broadcaster, Qiu Ying, and I’ve always hoped that I could get an opportunity to interview Legend.”

“For this, you’d need to find our captain.”

Qiu Ying whispered, “Not a formal one, a private kind.”

Ji Xiangkong nodded. “Like I said, they’re all at Boiling Point.”

“My English isn’t too good. I don’t have a car, and I’m not too familiar with the roads.” Qiu Ying imitated the magical fox fairy of Liao Zhai,³ lowered her eyes and raised them again. Her eyes were covered in a layer of mist and appeared pitiful. “Can you take me there?”

Ji Xiangkong crossed his arms arm and looked at her with interest. “Maybe, but what would I gain from doing so?”

Qiu Ying finally felt relieved when she saw that she had hooked him. She kept on grinning at him and dragged her words to say, “If you want… later… I’ll treat you to a drink?”

She had two beautiful apricot eyes that fluttered, and when she whispered it would inadvertently cause male otakus to blush.

Instead of turning red, Ji Xiangkong only looked at her directly. In his eyes she could see her delicate reflection.

Qiu Ying was dazed as he stared at her and was mulling over whether she’d gone too far with her acting, so it took her a while before she heard him say, “Deal.”

She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but she thought she could see an unidentifiable smile flicker across his face.

**

“Ji Xiangkong, a famous professional esports player. Game: Conquer, ID: Void. Currently playing for China’s top team Legend as a solo offlaner, BP position, team commander. Because his equipment choices often defy common sense and he often plays in a weird style, is called a battlefield fraudster.”

BP Position & Team Commander

Since I was also confused about it before, I didn’t quite understand it either, but after translating later chapters they explain it. BP stands for Ban and Pick, which refers to the beginning of the game where teams ban certain heroes that the other team can use and pick their own heroes. Team commander just means that he’s in charge of the tactics, which is different from being the captain.

Qiu Ying used the time she was in the bathroom to look up Ji Xiangkong’s Baidu Encyclopedia page and hastily scanned his long list of achievements until she reached the very end of the page.

“China’s most remarkable newcomers are always surrounding him. In 2014, he entered Newland’s second team and led rookies Lin Yixuan (xuan) and Tao Yu (ty) to stand out in the China Qualifiers of the Seattle Global Finals, reaching the final eight. In 2015 he was recognized as a national idol of Conquer, and was invited to join Legend by China’s top Conquer player Cris.”

Sure enough, he was a great god.

As she had been there for a long time, Qiu Ying quickly put away her phone. After freshening up her makeup, she returned to the restaurant table.

Due to their defeat and their four-year “Runner-Up Halo,” the Legend members were all dispirited. Their captain, Cris, would retire soon after they returned to China and was completely silent as they ate. There were also professional commentators from major gaming TV stations; as Qiu Ying sat next to Ji Kiangkong and listened to their conversation, it was like listening to gibberish. She hated herself for not doing a little more research.

When she had followed Ji Xiangkong into the restaurant, all of the people around the table couldn’t help but marvel in exclamation, but after seeing her face and realizing that the girl was Youxing’s female streamer, Qiu Ying, they one after another revealed a look of sudden enlightenment. They looked at Ji Xiangkong with nine-tenths schadenfreude and one-tenths… sympathy.

Ji Xiangkong didn’t take it seriously and leaned casually in his chair. When he spoke, he had a habit of tilting his head and raising one side of his mouth in a teasing smile. His words caused his teammates, who were completely silent, to laugh out loud.

Qiu Ying bit on her chopsticks, pondering how to establish diplomatic relations with the “thigh.”

“Right, do you have WeChat?” Taking advantage of the fact that Ji Xiangkong had bent his head to eat, Qiu Ying leaned over and whispered in his ear.

contents page | next chapter

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Footnotes:

^{1 人挡杀人，佛挡杀佛 is a saying that pretty much means “If a person gets in my way, I’ll kill them; if Buddha gets in my way, I’ll kill Buddha.” It originated from some ancient monk and in modern Chinese is used to say that no one can stop you.
2 花旦 is a character archetype in Chinese operas describing a vivacious young lady
3 聊斋, or “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio,” is a collection of several hundred stories about supernatural creatures. The magical foxes are one of the most famous, who transform into beautiful women to seduce people.}

***

tl note:

the game IDs and the system prompts of Conquer are originally in English, but not the positions… I had to throw together some quick google-fu