I Really Didn’t Mean to Make Money

Hearing Yao Beiguo’s words, Li Chang and Lin Guangqing exchanged a glance, each catching the flicker of emotion in the other’s eyes. But neither of them nodded right away.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Li Chang looked up at Yao Beiguo and spoke slowly.

“General Manager Yao, you know our situation. It’s true that we once led our team to a championship, but there’s no denying the fact that our current competitive level just doesn’t match up to the new generation of professional players.”

“If we join the club, the chances of us winning a championship in the pro scene are very slim.”

After Li Chang finished, Lin Guangqing nodded in agreement.

They had both been professional players.

They retired.

Not by choice, but because their skills had declined and for various other reasons, they were forced to step away.

If they could’ve kept playing professionally, who would ever choose to retire?

There’s a popular saying going around lately, and it couldn’t be more accurate:

In esports, existence itself is a sin.

No matter how much you want to keep playing, to stay on the stage, if your skills can’t keep up and you become a burden to the team…

Whether it’s the club, the fans, or even yourself—everyone starts to doubt.

And if the problem can’t be solved, the moment a replacement appears, that’s your cue to exit.

That’s exactly what they were worried about with Yao Beiguo’s invitation to join the gaming club. In the short term, things might go smoothly, but once they actually entered competitions and their performance didn’t hold up, problems would start to surface.

That was their biggest concern.

“I understand all of that. Let’s talk in the office.”

Yao Beiguo smiled slightly. He and Tao Ze had already considered this issue thoroughly and prepared several countermeasures.

So at this moment, he wasn’t particularly worried.

“Alright.”

Li Chang and Lin Guangqing both nodded. If there was a real chance to return to a club, of course they were willing.

They took the elevator straight to the top floor.

“The top floor is where company leadership, coaches for each game, and management staff work and rest. But since we haven’t hired any coaches or managers yet, all the offices up here are still empty,” Yao Beiguo explained casually as he led them toward the innermost offices.

At the far end, there were two offices.

One was the General Manager’s Office, the other the Deputy Manager’s Office.

Just as they reached the door to the General Manager’s Office, the door to the Deputy Manager’s Office across the hall opened. Tao Ze stepped out, accompanied by a young man.

Seeing them, Yao Beiguo nodded to Tao Ze and smiled.

“This is the club’s other manager, Tao Ze—Manager Tao.”

Upon hearing the introduction, Li Chang and Lin Guangqing quickly greeted him.

At the same time, Tao Ze introduced the young man beside him.

“Let’s go in.”

After exchanging greetings, Yao Beiguo led Li Chang and Lin Guangqing into the office.

To speed up recruitment, he and Tao Ze had divided the work, each taking charge of a few games.

“Sit wherever you like.”

Once inside, Yao Beiguo poured them each a glass of water, then sat down across from them and looked them in the eye.

“We understand your situation. Due to your age, your competitive edge has declined. We get that.”

“To be blunt, with your current form, it’ll be very difficult to achieve any significant results in the professional scene.”

“We’re not expecting you to.”

“Then why invite us to join the gaming club at all, General Manager Yao?”

Lin Guangqing looked at him, puzzled. If they already knew the two of them couldn’t deliver results on the pro stage, why bring them into the club?

Li Chang was just as confused.

“There are several reasons. Let me explain.”

Yao Beiguo took a sip of water.

“First, the club is newly established and needs some name recognition.”

“As former professional players who once led a team to a championship, even though you’ve been retired for two years, you still carry a certain level of popularity.”

“If we package your comeback and return to the competitive scene properly, then spread the news…”

“That would generate a huge wave of attention. With that kind of buzz, our BL Gaming Club would instantly enter the public eye.”

Yao Beiguo laid out the first key reason.

It was actually Tao Ze’s original idea.

Normally, for a new club to gain public attention, the most traditional route is to win a championship.

That’s the most effective—but also the hardest—way.

Another method is to spend big money to bring in a current star player.

Both options are either extremely difficult or extremely expensive.

But Tao Ze’s proposal was both simple and cost-effective.

A retired professional player doesn’t cost much to bring in.

But they, on the other hand, could use this to spark a massive controversy—a team made up entirely of retired professional esports players.

Returning to the competitive scene, what kind of results could they possibly achieve?

With the right packaging and promotion, this news was guaranteed to generate enormous buzz.

Of course,

During the promotional campaign, the name of their club, BL Gaming, had to be mentioned frequently and prominently.

As Yao Beiguo laid out his plan, Lin Guangqing and Li Chang frowned slightly, a trace of discomfort flickering in their hearts.

They could accept the idea that, with age, their competitive edge had dulled and that they could no longer match the performance of the rising new generation of professional players. That was simply the truth.

Their skills had indeed declined.

But what Yao Beiguo had just said made it painfully clear that he was simply using them as tools to promote his gaming club.

That kind of approach didn’t sit well with them.

And there was another key issue: what would happen to them after the promotion was over?

Would they continue competing for the club?

That seemed unlikely. Once their job of drawing attention was done, it was doubtful they could bring any real success to the team through competition alone.

At that point,

The club would probably initiate a conversation, gently nudging them toward retirement.

“General Manager Yao, if that’s the case, I’m afraid we won’t be joining your gaming club,”

Li Chang and Lin Guangqing exchanged a glance, then spoke in unison.

Yao Beiguo wasn’t surprised at all by their response. After all, his earlier words had been a bit too calculating. It was only natural that they’d feel dissatisfied.

So,

He simply smiled and waved his hand.

“Don’t be so quick to turn me down. I haven’t finished yet. Hear me out first, then decide.”

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