The delicate cannon fodder is stunning, saving the male supporting role but getting teased instead

Qin Xiao's eyes darkened. "Later, we did achieve some success. We were runner-up in the Spring Split, champions in the Summer Split, and qualified directly for the World Championship." He paused. "That's when the problems arose."

Wenrou noticed that his fingers tightened unconsciously.

"Lan's talent is indeed great, but his playing style is too individualistic." Qin Xiao's voice became calm. "The coaching staff decided to adjust the tactics based on my command, which made him very dissatisfied."

“So he just…”

"At first, it was just a minor friction during training." Qin Xiao smiled bitterly. "Then it evolved into deliberate non-cooperation on the court. The most serious incident was during the World Championship qualifiers. In order to win the MVP award, he arbitrarily changed the tactical deployment, which almost caused us to lose the game."

Wenrou gasped. As a veteran player, she knew only too well the seriousness of such behavior in the professional arena.

"I talked to him after the game, but he thought I was suppressing him." Qin Xiao shook his head. "Then one day, he suddenly posted a few screenshots of chat records on Weibo, saying that I was slandering my teammates behind their backs and was planning to transfer."

Wenrou's heart sank suddenly: "Those chat records..."

"It's all fake." Qin Xiao's voice was eerily calm. "But public opinion had already exploded. The club was forced to suspend my eligibility to compete."

His eyes fell on his right hand, and Wenrou noticed that there was a faint scar on his index finger.

"During the investigation, I received thousands of abusive private messages every day." Qin Xiao's tone was understated, but it made Wenrou feel so distressed that her eyes were hot.

Wenrou hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but reach out and gently cover the back of Qin Xiao's hand. She could feel his hand tremble slightly.

“The truth came out later?”

"I asked the technicians at my family's company for help, and they found traces of photoshopped images." Qin Xiao took her hand in his, his thumb unconsciously rubbing her knuckles. "But at that time, the team was about to participate in a very important competition. If we had a falling out, all our efforts would have been wasted, and my condition was also..." He paused. "It just so happened that my family had always wanted me to return and take over the company, so I retired."

Wenrou suddenly thought of something, her eyes widening: "So the recent news reports that the company wants to acquire the e-sports club, are they thinking..."

A sharp glint flashed in Qin Xiao's eyes. "I want to prove that the true spirit of esports will never be defeated by these dirty tricks." He looked at Wenrou, his eyes softening again. "Besides, I do owe my fans an explanation."

-------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------

Wenrou's heartbeat quickened as she suddenly understood why Qin Xiao remained so calm about all the negative news online. He was no longer the rookie player who could only passively endure it. Now, he had the ability and confidence to face everything.

"Master..." she called softly, her voice filled with unprecedented determination, "This time, I will definitely stand by your side."

Qin Xiao was stunned for a moment, then he smiled sincerely. He reached out and rubbed her soft hair, just like he often did in the game: "I know."

These three words weighed heavily on her, and Wenrou felt her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Blushing, she lowered her head, only to hear Qin Xiao continue:

"So, now can you tell me who your friend who 'cares a lot about what others think' is?"

Wenrou suddenly raised her head and met Qin Xiao's mischievous eyes. She felt ashamed and said, "Master, you already knew this and yet..."

Qin Xiao chuckled softly, and that laughter was particularly warm in the quiet box: "I just want to hear you say it yourself."

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Qin Xiao's story made Wenrou feel distressed. Thinking of what Lan had done a few days ago, Wenrou's eyes reddened slightly: "So... he's deliberately blackening you because he's afraid you'll return to the professional circle?"

Qin Xiao looked at her red eyes, and his expression softened a little: "Yeah."

"That's too much!" Wenrou clenched her fists in anger. "Master, we can't let him bully us like this!"

Qin Xiao looked at her indignant expression and suddenly chuckled: "How do you want to fight back?"

Wenrou was stunned for a moment, then began to think seriously: "We can collect evidence to prove that the negative information is false! Or... or find my teammates from back then to testify!"

Qin Xiao looked at her serious expression, and the smile in his eyes deepened: "No need to go through so much trouble."

"Ah?" Wenrou looked at him doubtfully.

Qin Xiao picked up his phone, opened Weibo, and handed it to her: "Look."

Qin Xiao took out his phone and opened an encrypted folder: "Look at this."

The screen displayed several recordings and chat screenshots. Wenrou took a closer look and found that they were all conversation records between Lan and several marketing accounts, and the content was surprisingly a detailed plan for how to plan this black material incident.

"This, this is..." Wenrou opened her eyes wide in shock.

"I had the company's cybersecurity team track it down." Qin Xiao's voice was a bit cold. "Actually, I was hesitant before. I wanted to wait until my club was established and convince my friends from the Q team to switch over before taking action, but..." He looked at Wen Rou, his eyes softening again. "Seeing how worried you are, I think it's a good idea to take action in advance."

Wenrou's heartbeat suddenly accelerated. She suddenly realized that Qin Xiao had been secretly protecting her, even going so far as to change his original plan. This realization made her heart warm.

"Master..." Her voice was choked with sobs. "Thank you."

Qin Xiao shook his head gently. "I should be the one to say thank you." His eyes were focused and gentle. "Thank you for trusting me so much and caring about me so much."

He spoke the last three words softly, but they instantly made her face flush to her ears. She lowered her head in panic, her fingers twisting the napkin unconsciously. "Then, what should we do now?"