“Lily sis, stop hesitating. I know that pro players need to train every day to keep their touch, and it’s understandable that Brian the Great is out of form after not playing for seven years. It’s fine, our production team has always been very understanding of the players’ feelings, we won’t hold it against him because of that…” William Harris spoke very nicely, but in reality, he couldn’t wait for Brian the Great to be out of shape. If he could make a fool of himself on the show, even better—letting the audience see the once-supreme Brian the Great embarrass himself would definitely give the ratings a huge boost.

“Shut up! Who said he’s lost his touch, who said he’s out of form, who the hell did you hear that from?” Lily couldn’t care less about being ladylike anymore—not that she ever was. She started cursing furiously into the phone, finally throwing down a harsh line: “William Harris, you remember this—there’s a kind of man in this world who only needs one dazzling comeback to make all you idiots shut your damn mouths!”

……

A messy room, empty bottles rolling on the floor, cigarette butts scattered everywhere—it looked like the lair of a down-and-out youth.

In reality, this was Lily’s boudoir.

One look at the room and it was obvious she’d been in a bad mood lately.

Half an hour ago, Lily had thrown down some harsh words to William Harris. Half an hour later, she had to face reality: the waves of the Yangtze push forward, the old waves die on the shore… Now, Brian the Great was more washed up than ever.

There was an even harsher reality: both she and Brian the Great were out of money. If things kept going like this, they’d be living off instant noodles soon enough.

Five days ago, Brian the Great got out of prison. Lily gave him a bank card with a hundred thousand yuan on it, told him to go out and relax, not to worry about the future. Ten years ago, on the first day Lily became Brian the Great’s manager, she made a promise: “From now on, you just focus on gaming and chasing girls, I’ll handle everything else.”

Ten years later, Lily was still keeping that promise.

Lily never told him that the hundred thousand was her last bit of savings.

Back when Brian the Great was famous, he made a lot of money. As his manager, Lily got a ten percent cut, so she made a lot too. But both of them were big spenders. For example, Brian the Great would drop huge sums to impress girls—he’d even given away cars and houses. Lily wasn’t much better, which is probably why she and Brian the Great got along so well.

Just think: two people who kept eighteen beautiful maids in their villa—how extravagant must their spending have been?

So, neither of them had much in savings.

Back in the day, as long as Brian the Great won the Asian Championship, according to a verbal agreement with the club, they’d sign a new contract making him the highest-paid pro player in the country. At the same time, several world-class sports brands were in talks with Lily; if Brian the Great became the Asian champion, they’d sign endorsement deals with him.

At that time, Lily was riding high—if she could land those big contracts, she’d never have to worry for the rest of her life.

But what happened next was beyond anyone’s expectations. Those so-called big contracts turned out to be nothing but illusions.

When Brian the Great got into trouble, all he had left was a villa and two sports cars. Lily sold everything to pull strings everywhere; otherwise, his sentence would have been more than seven years—at least ten.

……

“According to the spokesperson for the International Gaming Federation, the new online game ‘Wuxia World,’ independently developed by Huaxia Gaming Group and set for open beta on May 15, 2128, is expected to become the next official competitive game of the International Gaming Federation. In other words, all future e-sports events will be held in this epic martial arts action game. Dragonheart sir, what are your thoughts on this new game, Wuxia World?” The TV was tuned to the gaming channel, where the host was interviewing a special guest.

“I’m really looking forward to it.” A handsome, suave man smiled.

“Look forward to your ass!” Lily, who was already frustrated, suddenly lost it, cursed, grabbed a bottle, and hurled it at the TV. After a burst of crashing sounds, the room fell silent. Lily calmed down, glared at the smashed TV, and said coldly, “You won’t be jumping around for much longer.”

Lily had no grudge against the TV—her grudge was with the man on the screen.

To be precise, that man had always been at odds with Brian the Great.

Dragonheart, real name unknown, rose to fame ten and a half years ago. At just fourteen, Dragonheart attracted attention from all sides and joined the U17 national team. The kid had everything needed for success: a high-ranking official for a father, a wealthy businesswoman for a mother, and from a young age, he’d joined the youth academy of the country’s top club, Mingzhu. Mingzhu’s youth academy was known as the La Masia of the gaming world.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would have become the new leader of the domestic gaming scene.

But half a year later, something unexpected did happen.

That unexpected thing was called Brian the Great.

Ever since Brian the Great debuted, the once-touted number one rising star Dragonheart faded into obscurity at a jaw-dropping speed—almost no media reported on him anymore. Eventually, people remembered him, but only as a foil. Back then, the media loved to use lines like, “I thought Dragonheart was a rare genius, but after seeing Brian the Great, I realized I was wrong”…

And so, Dragonheart spent three years as the supporting role, basically a negative example.