His words came a bit abruptly, and Lin Jing was momentarily stunned. "Huh?"
Sheng Kuang waited for a few seconds, seeing her still looking bewildered. "Didn't we say, don't listen to them, just listen to me?"
Reminded, Lin Jing's mind cleared. "Ah, right."
Afraid he might think her reaction was too casual, she paused, then added, "I believe you."
Sheng Kuang: "Mm?"
"I believe you." After two seconds, Lin Jing emphasized again, "I only believe what you say."
Sheng Kuang didn't speak. The room fell silent again. He looked out at the floor-to-ceiling window, as if recalling something. After a while, he tilted his head and glanced at her. "Do you want to hear it?"
Lin Jing had always been curious about what Sheng Kuang had gone through two years ago, but she had never found a suitable opportunity to ask.
She didn't know if hearing those events recounted by him would make him uncomfortable, but she really didn't want to miss this chance.
Lin Jing hesitated for a few seconds and asked, "Can I hear it?"
"If you want to, then yes," Sheng Kuang said.
"Then I definitely want to," Lin Jing replied almost without hesitation. After speaking, she suddenly became unsure, "But, it's up to you. If you don't want to say, it's okay too..."
"No," Sheng Kuang interjected before she could finish, "I don't not want to say. I really want to tell you."
Lin Jing opened her mouth, was silent for a few seconds, and then let out a soft "Mm."
Sheng Kuang also hummed in acknowledgment.
He seemed unsure where to begin. After a long silence, he spoke again. "Before the last match today, I ran into Han Fengyan at the restroom outside the backstage area."
Lin Jing froze for a moment, recalling the day the first regular season ended. Sheng Kuang and the others had specifically gone to eat supper near her school and called her out. That night after supper, they had encountered Han Fengyan by the roadside.
At that time, not only Sheng Kuang, but also Lan Bowen and Chen Jing had reacted strongly.
Back then, she had vaguely guessed that the events of two years ago were definitely related to Han Fengyan.
Han Fengyan had long since retired. His presence backstage was clearly a move by GDT, intended to agitate Sheng Kuang and disrupt his performance.
Lin Jing was quite sharp and quickly understood the situation. "He affected you."
"Something like that," Sheng Kuang wasn't sure if his answer was the standard one, but it didn't matter. "Han Fengyan and Wenzi were GDT's first batch of players. Yang Yu initially played with them. Later, Yang Yu declined significantly and became a coach. That's when Chen Jing and I joined."
"In the beginning, everyone was good. They all had dreams, wanted to win championships, and were united. They trained and bonded day and night. It was exhausting, but they were happy."
"The esports industry wasn't as popular as it is now. In the beginning, there wasn't much money. But in those two years, the industry suddenly boomed. Large amounts of capital poured in, and everyone's value soared. Money became like a number. More and more players began chasing luxury cars, mansions, and high-end goods. In this situation, many people lost their way and forgot their original dreams."
"At first, I didn't notice anything wrong. When I was eighteen, after winning the World Championship, during the spring season of 2019, Yang Yu, drunk, jokingly posed a hypothetical question to everyone: 'If someone offered you two million, would you throw a match?'"
"I, Wenzi, and Chen Jing thought Yang Yu was just making small talk. Wenzi said, 'Do I look like someone who's short of two million?' Chen Jing said, 'Stop insulting me!' I just smiled and said 'Get lost.' Only Han Fengyan said, 'Two million is too little. It should be at least five million.' No one really believed Han Fengyan was joking, and no one took it to heart. Even when we lost the championship in the 2019 spring season, we didn't think anything was wrong."
"However, two weeks after the season ended, Chen Jing became increasingly erratic. You know, Chen Jing is usually carefree. He wasn't too upset even when they lost matches. Two weeks later, during a training session, he was out of sorts, either spacing out in a daze or inexplicably losing his temper."
"Chen Jing couldn't keep things to himself. After losing several games in the autumn season and facing increasing online criticism, during a review session, Yang Yu pointed out his problems. Han Fengyan chimed in with agreement. Suddenly, Chen Jing kicked his chair and walked out."
"Chen Jing was inevitably caught by Yang Yu and lectured in the conference room. Although Chen Jing appears boisterous, he's actually quite disciplined. But that time, he got into a heated argument with Yang Yu. That day, after having some drinks, he let something slip to me and Lan Bowen. Wenzi and I only found out then that two months prior, he had casually gone downstairs for water and, too lazy to wait for the elevator, had taken the stairs. He overheard Han Fengyan and Yang Yu talking, learning that they had been selling their training tactics. But he was groggy from sleep at the time and didn't have any evidence, only catching a snippet. He wasn't entirely sure."
"At that time, there were five main players on the team: the four of us, and Shi Yue. Shi Yue, who was already quiet, became even more so under the pressure of losing. Everyone was anxious, and no one had the time to look out for others. Wenzi and I believed Chen Jing, but we had no evidence. A one-sided account is useless. We had known each other for so long, and we hoped things could be resolved openly. But the result of trying to resolve it openly was that while they spoke nicely on the surface, we were being suppressed behind the scenes."
"Do you really think our performance declined back then?" Sheng Kuang sneered. "Not at all. They forced you to practice heroes that didn't suit you and insisted on making Han Fengyan the core."
"Our results got worse and worse, and the criticism intensified. Han Fengyan's stats looked good, so of course, he wasn't blamed. The online narrative spun wildly, successfully causing investors to question everyone's abilities. After that, Chen Jing was sold off, and at a low price."
"None of us are fools. When Yang Yu made that decision, it was clearly a declaration of war... Then there was an argument, and then a fight... I was the one who threw the punch. The chair didn't hit Yang Yu, because Wenzi blocked it."
"That day was a complete mess. You thought that was the worst of it? No, it wasn't. When you thought it was at its worst, Shi Yue jumped off the building and committed suicide."