By Zephyria 
Jing Mian adjusted his backpack as his luggage was loaded onto the bus.
During the headcount, among the long line of team members, only Sheep stood wrapped tightly in a hat and scarf.
Xuan Rui didn’t dare distribute the IDs and passports to everyone until they were seated on the bus, fearing any mishaps might occur before reaching the airport.
The exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed youngster, the moment the warm breeze from the bus’s air conditioning brushed against his face, felt his eyelids grow heavy. His lashes fluttered shut as drowsiness overtook him.
Then, he leaned against the window and fell asleep.
The senior players in front quietly turned around to glance at the sleeping boy, their expressions full of fondness.
“Mr. Ren announced his relationship!”
“Last night.”
“You didn’t know?”
“The whole world knows by now.”
Chen Xi gazed out at the streets, her expression somber, carrying a melancholy the others couldn’t understand: “Before, I was the only one in the world who knew about this CP. Now, the whole world knows.”
The urgency she once felt, wanting the whole world to know about the ship she adored—had now completely reversed.
Before boarding the plane,
Jing Mian stared at the Weibo post Mr. Ren had made for a long time.
Heat rose to his cheeks, slowly spreading to his fingertips.
The young man lowered his head and, before the flight attendant reminded everyone to switch to airplane mode, quietly posted a Weibo update—
@ME.sheep: 「My Husband.」
After midnight last night, Weibo had already crashed.
And Sheep’s post undoubtedly pushed the trending topic to an even greater climax.
It was as if he were declaring that this secret, arranged marriage wasn’t a one-sided confession, but a grand, mutual commitment.
Most of the top comments were from long-time fans:
【Wuwu my baby!!】
【They went public!!】
【Those who’ve followed MianMian for a while know—the kid’s always been quietly training. This is the first time he’s ever posted about his husband!! Because his partner took the first step, our baby finally found the courage too.】
【AHHHHH I’M EXPLODING INTO FIREWORKS OMG IT’S REALLY MR. REN】
【Ahem, has anyone ever told you two how intense your chemistry is?】
【A perfect match, okay?! They shine so brightly in their respective fields.】
After landing, the weather in the foreign country was noticeably milder.
The young man no longer needed to bundle up in heavy layers. Before their ride arrived, he took off his down jacket and switched to a lighter coat, removing his scarf as well.
The pre-booked hotel had prepared dinner, allowing the team to rest for a while.
Later, they would need to follow the competition’s schedule. The moment ME.’s player introduction videos were displayed, even those who hadn’t witnessed the livestream incident finally got to see Sheep’s real face.
The netizens who had previously snickered about Sheep being “ugly offline,” waiting for him to be exposed, now fell completely silent, even those who had missed the livestream incident days prior.
The players participated in pre-match interviews.
When the young player removed his mask and declared his goal was to win the championship, even the reporters couldn’t help but chuckle. After all, this year’s competition was fierce. With AUB’s match about to begin, the current situation was far from favorable, they might very well face elimination and an early trip home.
The blonde reporter faced the camera, delivering an official encouragement in English: “These players seem very courageous. We look forward to their outstanding performance in the matches.”
Jing Mian returned to follow the team’s training. Just after finishing one round, he heard Hong Bao shout, “AUB’s match is starting!!”
Everyone quickly set down what they were doing and gathered in the pre-match training room, watching the upcoming match on the screen with tense anticipation.
This time, AUB was facing Dre, the champions of the previous global tournament.
Four years had passed in the blink of an eye. Dre’s members had aged, and the new blood joining them lacked the stamina to keep up. The once-legendary team was gradually declining, but their raw skill remained, enough to give the Chinese players a serious headache.
The match progressed point by point.
Shock raised his gun, the air bursting with a bang as the system swiftly displayed the prompt, precise and ruthless. Though the man fought against time, pushing every angle to its limit, he couldn’t stop his teammates from falling one by one, leaving only the captain to fight alone.
The entire ME team held their breath.
Even though the commentators weren’t speaking Chinese, their fervent and impassioned tones were palpable, tightening the atmosphere as the match unfolded.
“Dre is sticking too close.”
“They’re not giving any chance to heal, and their playstyle is rock-solid, grenades coordinating with gunfire to box them in.”
“How the hell do you fight this?”
“Shock’s kill count is up to twelve now. Too bad he can’t carry.”
Finally, a newer team member sighed, “…Is this the same AUB that gave us such a hard time in the finals?”
The remark hit too close to home, plunging the entire team into boundless gloom and silence.
They might not have been rooting for AUB to win, but they certainly hadn’t wanted to witness such a desperate and grueling match, especially since Shock had once been seen as a formidable opponent.
ME’s unease stemmed more from the fear of shared fate.
In the end, AUB lost.
—The moment the score appeared on the big screen, it also meant AUB was bowing out of the global tournament.
The domestic scene was filled with sighs.
Though defeat had been expected, no one had anticipated it would be so brutal. Players couldn’t help but lament.
As for the remaining team, ME, they were like a tiny sailboat in a raging storm. It seemed people had already foreseen their fate the moment they were cast into the sea.
Time drew ever closer.
The night before the match, Jing Mian called his husband as usual.
The next day, ME’s match officially began.
Their first opponent was POV.
A classic, well-established team with a steady playstyle. Though they had never placed in the top three, their consistent scores had always qualified them for global tournaments.
Jing Mian sat at the competition desk. Despite the distance and the sea of nearly 100,000 spectators below, the young man’s gaze instantly found the familiar figure in the audience.
His heart skipped a beat.
Mr. Ren wore a hat, but the brim wasn’t pulled low. His light-colored pupils gleamed under the stadium lights as he sat in the front row of the audience.
Though dressed in dark, understated attire, it didn’t take long for someone to recognize him.
The global broadcast feed lingered at just the right moment, giving the player’s family member a near-perfect close-up.
Domestic live-streaming channels and forum discussions were abuzz, exploding with activity. The real-time discussions on Weibo were endless, almost impossible to scroll through:
【Is Teacher Ren there too?!!】
【Not dressed up, keeping it low-key】
【Sniffles, this subtle sweetness】
【True couples are just so easy to ship. Teacher Ren is clearly here to accompany his kid to the competition.】
【Watching his wife? × Staring at his wife? √】
【Now that you mention it, there were rumors before that Ren Congmian attended the national championships as a spectator and was even said to be Sheep’s guardian. Could it all be true?!】
【Just saw a gossip account digging up details like crazy, they noticed their rings are the same style, but no one thought much of it back then. So even when attending events, Teacher Ren has always been wearing their wedding bands.】
【OH MY GODDDDD】
【Sniffles, my ship is real】
【Last year, a YouTuber edited a niche video, the couple placed third in that major tournament!! Does anyone else remember this?!】
【Upstairs, I remember too】
【What?】
【Check out Site X, search “Top Entertainment Tycoon x Beautiful Gaming Streamer.” It’s only three and a half minutes long.】
【Back. Watched it. Officially shipping them like crazy.】
The camera cut to the countdown, and domestic channels began playing the waiting screen.
During the pre-match break, Glory players eagerly engaged in predictions and discussions. This was ME’s first global tournament, and many were worried whether this rookie Team would suffer the same crushing debut defeat as AUB.
Soon, the first half began.
The randomly selected map was a classic design, Transport Ship.
Sheep and Mole spawned relatively close to each other. As the core of the Team, they were almost always the first pair to regroup in every match.
The moment Mole sniped down an enemy, Sheep broke through the encirclement, tossed a smoke grenade to block the line of sight, lowered his muzzle, and took out an enemy who failed to retreat from the smoke.
Soon, the opposing side launched a counterattack.
Jing Mian missed the chance to finish off another target and had to retreat. Still, the Team had already dealt a heavy blow to their opponents early on, casting an undeniable sense of urgency over the entire match.
Though Glory leaned toward a massively multiplayer online (MMO) style of immersive competition, whenever a standout player emerged, the matches became thrilling spectacles.
Gradually, even the casual viewers who had come just to ship the couple found themselves drawn in, their eyes involuntarily fixed on the unfamiliar young player.
They watched him through their phones and tablets.
They saw his cool, pale complexion, his almond-shaped eyes glinting with focus, his fluid movements, his precise recoil control, and his decisive, lethal strikes, each one executed with unwavering resolve.
Every move was all-out.
The charm of esports made him shine.
Four minutes later, the second POV player was eliminated.
Without a doubt, ME. had secured a significant lead by the first half.
During the mid-match break before the second half, the players took a short rest.
Typically, this intermission wasn’t just for players to recover stamina, it also gave Team coaches the chance to make substitutions.
Unlike other competitive games where players had to stay for the entire match, Glory’s two halves were structured so differently that every captain and coach had to carefully consider their lineup and strategy.
According to the progression of the match and the individual performance of the players, adjustments to the lineup are sometimes made as needed.
Of course, a well-crafted battle plan can achieve twice the result with half the effort.
On domestic live streams, most comments were reminiscing about the first half of the match, while others were predicting which side would win this round. Naturally, some, upon delving deeper into the Team, noticed a few intriguing details.
【I checked the registration company… Ren Congmian is the founder of ME.】
【What?!!】
【Starting a club and forming a Team for his wife?!】
【Does anyone get it? This is peak pampering!!!】
【This match is so thrilling】
【They came out swinging hard, probably did their homework before the match】
【Sheep is this steady even in international matches?】
【Even a casual viewer who doesn’t understand the game is getting hyped】
【With this terrifying rate of improvement, it’s hard not to suspect he’ll be an irreplaceable rising star in Glory’s future.】
Sheep silently took a sip of water.
When he glanced toward the audience, their gazes inadvertently met.
Jing Mian’s heart pounded wildly.
He thought, perhaps starting from the national tournament, family members should be allowed to accompany and watch the matches.
The tension gradually faded, replaced by an unending surge of warmth. Watching him wasn’t just Mr. Ren—it was also Ash.
That was the undying faith that set his blood ablaze.
He had always believed his Husband was omnipotent.
But now, he felt,
with his Husband by his side, he was the one who could do anything.
The second half began.
This round featured a wilderness chase map. While fleeing from the Boss, players not only had to protect themselves but also collect keys to unlock a safe at the end of the map, which contained a high-damage shotgun.
Of course, this gun would be used to fight the final Boss. Essentially, whichever team secured it first would lay the foundation for victory.
During the match, players had to make tough choices. For instance, if the remaining survivors and their health were insufficient to take on the Boss, they might steal the opponent’s key and toss it into a poison-laden ruin, ensuring mutual destruction.
POV made such a choice in this round.
With his health critically low, he circumvented the map to seize the last key, watching helplessly as the Boss cornered Sheep. The scattered hay filled the air, and the massive damage caused Sheep’s health bar to plummet.
Just before the fatal strike landed, Sheep sidestepped and slid away, dragging his bloodied body toward the ruins.
The moment he crashed into the poison zone, his health dropped even faster, rivaling the Boss’s damage output.
So Sheep had to race against time.
When the perspective shifted again, the Boss was already closing in.
The audience’s hearts nearly stopped.
In those silent final seconds,
Sheep, hidden beneath the ruins, raised his gun, aimed for the head,
and pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The next second, Jing Mian’s screen turned gray, signaling the player’s death.
No one knew whether Sheep or the Boss had died first.
…
But then,
a few seconds later, the system announced:
[Me.WIN!]
The commentators’ booth and the audience erupted in deafening cheers.
The entire venue was in an uproar!!