chapter 2 (part 1)

At Jiang Xun’s interview, most of the questions were about the recent world championship he’d played in. He had led his team to victory, crushing their opponents and bringing home the title of grand champions.

Since returning, the team had been bombarded with interview requests nonstop.

The magazine interviewing him today had been trying for ages to get an exclusive. They’d pulled every string and called in every favor just to get him there.

"God Xun, now that the big tournament’s over, what’s next for you?" the reporter asked.

"The team’s taking a week-long vacation in a small town in northern Europe," Jiang Xun replied. "Just relaxing. After that, we’ll start training for the next tournament."

He glanced at his watch—the interview was almost over.

"Only a week? Don’t you want a longer break?"

"No," Jiang Xun said with a polite smile. "Esports looks flashy and simple from the outside. Fans remember the few seconds of an amazing play, but they don’t see the months of training behind it."

As they were wrapping up, the reporter hesitated. "Could I ask you a more personal question?" She had just gotten a message from her editor, giving her a new assignment.

"Go ahead," Jiang Xun said.

"We heard a rumor that… your family—"

"It’s true," Jiang Xun cut in without hesitation. "It’s no secret. That kid outside doing a photoshoot for your magazine—the one with the bad attitude—is my little brother, Jiang Ying. That’s what you wanted to know, right?"

The reporter’s eyes lit up. "These little Easter eggs will be perfect for the interview!"

"Sure," Jiang Xun said with a smile.

Her cheeks went pink. Even though looks weren’t everything in esports, Jiang Xun had them all—tall at 1.87 meters, broad-shouldered, handsome. His family’s genes were strong; there was no way he wouldn’t be attractive.

And his background only added to the legend: son of renowned actor Jiang Zheng and famous screenwriter Song Jingxi. With his family connections, he could’ve easily gone into the entertainment industry, but instead, he had taken a tougher road—leading a pro esports team to glory.

"Thanks for your time," the reporter said, still flushed.

"You’re welcome." Then Jiang Xun asked, "Why two cover shoots today? Are you doing a double cover?"

"No," said a set supervisor who overheard. "Jiang Ying will be on the cover of the issue with your interview. Gu Wei’s shoot is for the issue after that."

By the time Jiang Xun finished, Gu Wei was gone. Only Jiang Ying’s shoot was still happening, so Jiang Xun waved goodbye and left.

---

Back at his dorm, Gu Wei got a call from his manager.

"Zhao-jie, what’s up?"

"We just paid to have your trending tag removed," she said briskly. "Don’t be late to the airport tomorrow. Wandering With You is starting its fifth season, and the filming location just changed—to a small town in northern Europe. Be on your best behavior, understood? You don’t have to be charming, but you can’t keep attracting bad press."

"I understand. I won’t mess up."

"I’m serious. If you trend for bad behavior again, the company won’t help you clean it up. You’ll deal with it yourself."

"I get it, Zhao-jie. I promise—no trouble. No trending anytime soon."

After she hung up, Gu Wei still felt uneasy about the morning’s drama. He opened Weibo. Just like Zhao-jie said, the trending tag was gone, and the negative posts had been buried.

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