[FLOTG] Chapter 34: Tactics

Everyone else from Maple Moon waited anxiously outside the dressing room. The manager felt like he had waited long enough for a baby to be born by the time the door slowly swung open.

The director came out first, pulling Shen Huai along behind her. "How does it look? Good?"

The manager's eyes widened, turning as round as the shocked gape of his mouth.

How does it look?

It was beyond good... It was stunning!

Shen Huai's looks were already outstanding to begin with. Any single one of his facial features on the average person's face would be enough to make one stand out from the crowd. As such, even his plain unadorned face was fully capable of wiping out an entire host of male idols, what more now after it had been so meticulously touched up. All of his good points were magnified infinitely... the mere sight of his face left one incapable of seeing anything else.

A strange hush fell over the corridor for a full minute. Shen Huai uncharacteristically felt a little embarrassed. Halfway through being made up, he had noticed how much effort the makeup artist had been putting into his makeup, as if she were pouring her life's work into it. It felt like she wished she could repaint every eyelash twice... the level of detail given to his makeup was on par with back when he had to film movies.

Despite several reminders to the makeup artist that he just wanted light makeup, in the end, he found he did not have the heart to resist. The makeup artist's attitude was just too solemn, as if she were betting her entire career on this. But now, seeing how different his final look was compared to the others' makeup, he truly regretted giving in to his momentary soft-heartedness.

Shen Huai cast a pleading glance at Song Xue-Yang, but Song Xue-Yang merely grinned and said, "Looks good."

Shen Huai: "..." I need you to come up with a plan to get me out of this situation, not express your opinion!

Song Xue-Yang came over to help him fix his hair. "You look so good. What if another team steals you away? I'll be so sad."

Hai Xing scoffed internally. You think other teams will try to steal someone just for their looks like our team?

But Shen Huai seemed startled. An image surfaced in his mind... In it, he was holding onto Song Xue-Yang's hand and saying something to him while lying in his arms, and then Song Xue-Yang leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead.

This strange image was so realistic, as if it had really happened sometime, somewhere... Shen Huai subconsciously reached up to touch his forehead.

Song Xue-Yang squeezed his hand. "You won't say yes to them, will you?"

Shen Huai had no clue what he was talking about, but he said obediently, "I won't."

"Move it!" The manager pushed his way to stand in front of Shen Huai and looked him over. "The price of this year's team uniform must be doubled! This is a matching set with a superstar!"

Only then did the group realise that Shen Huai was actually wearing the team uniform.

As a pro team of idols, Maple Moon put in a lot of thought into the design of their team uniform every year. This year, the team uniform was white and accented with the orange-red of maple leaves, very flattering on the fair skin of the members. The smart tailoring of the uniforms also made the members' legs seem at least a centimeter longer. When the members stood together, they were like a dazzling sea of red, and when they stood apart from each other, they looked classy and composed, like wandering immortals under a canopy of red maple leaves.

However, at a certain point, good looks could make others blind to whatever a person was wearing, completely mesmerised by the person's face alone. If the manager hadn't pointed it out, they would have naturally assumed that Shen Huai was dressed in the height of fashion, as if such good looks should rightfully be dressed in the best and brightest.

The makeup director was extremely proud of her work. "Shall I follow you around for touch-ups?"

Shen Huai quickly stepped away to distance himself from her. "No need. We're just taking some quick photos."

But the manager considered the offer seriously. "Since we're shooting anyway, we might as well take an extra shot or two today. Let's also feature Shen Huai in the background banner for our online store next month."

Shen Huai stared with wide eyes. It was a complete surprise to him that he would be contributing to the endorsements of the team even before he actually got to play in an official match.

Song Xue-Yang caught the flash of panic in Shen Huai's eyes, and finally said something reasonable for once. "Kun, it would be better to wait until after the pro league games to discuss this."

The manager instantly regained his senses. Oh, that's true, no matter how good-looking Shen Huai was, he hadn't played in a single game yet.

As soon as the promotional posters were released, who knows how great a storm would be stirred up on the internet. Using Shen Huai's photo as the shop banner at this time may just end up attracting many anti-fans for the team instead.

"No thanks for now. We're in a hurry today. We'll be in touch when we need makeup next time."

Shen Huai hurriedly got into the car under the regretful gaze of the makeup artist. As he got in, he caught sight of his exquisitely made-up face in the reflection of the car window, and he quickly turned his head away as if he had seen a monster.

Just as he turned his head, he heard a sudden 'click'. Song Xue-Yang looked up from his handphone and said once more with emphasis, 

"It looks good."

What kind of team had he signed up with?!

Mad, Shen Huai ignored Song Xue-Yang for the entire journey.

The photographer had been waiting for them for a long time at the site of the shoot. From a distance, he did not see Shen Huai, only noticing a little girl in a skirt.

"Not bad. You got some new members this year? Seeing the same old faces every year is not exciting at..." His words trailed off as Shen Huai came into sight, and he slapped his thigh, exclaiming, "Too exciting!"

The manager was on good terms with the photographer and couldn't help laughing at his reaction. "When the makeup director saw our Shen Huai earlier, she said her career was now complete. Is there anything you would like to say to that?"

The photographer lifted his work ID and kissed it. "I feel like my career is finally about to kick off!"

Fan Jing-Ming pulled a long face. "You've changed. You used to say that I was your guiding light on your path of photography."

The photographer patted him on the shoulder. "Your batteries seem to be running low. Let me switch over to Shen Huai for a recharge."

Shen Huai: "......"

Why is everyone he met today like this?!

The photographer was buzzing with energy as he took off his coat and cast it aside. "Time's a wastin'. Let's start shooting!"

Unlike film stills in the entertainment industry which pursue meaningful artistry, the only requirement for the promotional posters for the team was to capture the energetic faces of the members.

The photographer started by taking a group photo. The seven of them stood in the arrangement of a V-shape with Song Xue-Yang right in the centre. To his left were the old members of Maple Moon, while the new members stood to his right, so Shen Huai was standing right by him.

After the group shot were the individual photos, and Fan Jing-Ming was the first to take the stage. As a part-time model, he had impressive charisma right from the start. Any pose he struck was camera-perfect, his legs stretched out to the horizon, his eyes as seductive as if he were being photographed on a beach.

Song Xue-Yang rapped on a desk. "Restrain yourself."

"Okay."

Fan Jing-Ming straightened his arms.

Hoping for a swift death rather than a drawn out ordeal, Hai Xing trudged onto the stage next. Though he was incredibly fierce inside the game, he was as stiff as a wooden puppet under the camera lens. Even his poses had to be taught by the photographer.

One by one, they had their shots taken, all of them clearly used to this sort of thing. The last one to take the stage was Shen Huai. The photographer was rubbing his palms in anticipation, chomping at the bit to get started.

Shen Huai planted himself in front of the backdrop, with one hand casually tucked into a pocket. He tilted his head slightly and looked up, his sparkling eyes locked firmly on the camera lens. His gaze carried such presence that anyone caught in it was left blushing, their hearts racing as if they were about to fall into the depths of those cool and indifferent eyes.

The crowd was stunned. Even the staff members all stopped to stare, as if they had forgotten what they were supposed to be doing.

At this moment, Shen Huai was like a cheetah with his sight set on his prey, or like a mighty lion, indolent and at ease. His face was expressionless, but it was precisely that impassive manner which stirred up the dark urge within others to ruin it.

Shen Huai looked at the crowd staring at him blankly, and without changing his posture, he asked, "Aren't we shooting?"

"Yes, yes!" The photographer quickly leaned down and focused. When his gaze met Shen Huai's through the camera lens, his heart just couldn't stop trembling.

He had photographed many editorial models but never a celebrity before this. He had always thought that there wouldn't be much difference between the two, but after seeing Shen Huai today, he realised that there was actually a great amount of difference.

Shen Huai's bearing carried an innate air of nobility. The aloof and ethereal grace that accompanied his every movement, his cool and detached personality... all of that was expressed so vividly in every pose and every look. Shen Huai's excellent camera sense left the photographer yearning desperately for a 360 camera to better capture him from all angles.

The photographer snapped a dozen photos in a row and loved every single shot. The more he looked at the photos, the more he felt that it was such a shame. How could such a beautiful person be an empty flower vase? With such a lovely outer skin, any bit of skill at all would certainly set off a global wave of frenzy among fans.

Song Xue-Yang's gaze had darkened as soon as Shen Huai had stepped onto the stage, and all that remained in his intent eyes was Shen Huai's image.

He watched as Shen Huai stunned everyone, saw how dazzling he was under the spotlights. The surroundings suddenly morphed into the podium of the world finals... Shen Huai lifted the trophy which marked the champion amidst the cheers of the fans from all over the world, peerless in that glorious instant.

Song Xue-Yang's smile grew just a little wider, but the slight uptick was hidden under his usual smile.

"Help me take a photo of the both of us." He walked up the stage and slung his arm over Shen Huai's shoulders. Their similar heights left their hearts aligned at the same level.

Shen Huai had no reservations, leaning easily against Song Xue-Yang's shoulder in return. The absolute trust between the two of them was clear to see from just this pose alone.

After the shoot, the team was driven back to the club. Now that formal team training was finally about to start, the members were brimming with enthusiasm, pestering Song Xue-Yang to ask what his strategy was. After all, their line-up this year was rather unorthodox and could even be called the only one of its kind in the whole world.

Song Xue-Yang kept skirting the topic with a few vague words, saying that he would tell them at training that night. Shen Huai was very curious too, and leaned closer to ask softly, "How do you plan to play?"

Everyone in the car silently perked up their ears. Song Xue-Yang grinned cheerily and replied, "Try and guess."

Though everyone else tsked in disappointment, Shen Huai picked up on the semi-serious tone in Song Xue-Yang's words and began to consider the issue carefully.

After dinner, the group turned up unusually early in the training room to wait for Song Xue-Yang to unveil the mystery. They were burning with curiosity to find out what team play-style they could use without a proper tank in the team.

Song Xue-Yang did not keep them in suspense. He simply pulled up a whiteboard, but before he started, he asked Shen Huai, "Did you manage to guess?"

Shen Huai had been thinking about it ever since he got onto the car, barely even noticing what he was eating at dinner. He finally came to a realisation when he recalled something Song Xue-Yang had said at the dinner table the night before, and could only marvel even more at Song Xue-Yang's bold tactical style.

His gaze was filled with admiration as he looked towards Song Xue-Yang. "The strategy for the team battle is to not fight."

"Not fight?"

The group was dumbfounded. Did Song Xue-Yang really plan to rely on the arena battles alone to decide the outcome of the match?

The three modes in "City of Despair" — 1v1, 2v2, and 6v6 — were also the three events in official matches. In the regular BO3{'BO' stands for 'Best of'. So in this case, BO3 is referring to a best of three battle.} games, all three modes would appear in random order, while in the BO5 games, the additional two rounds would still be an arena battle and a team battle. It was indeed true that as long as they made sure not to lose in any 1v1s or 2v2s, they would be able to cinch the final victory regardless of whether the final score was a 2-out-of-3 or a 3-out-of-5.

However, there were many other pro teams who were strong in the arena battles as well. Trying to win via sweeping the two arena modes was like shooting for the moon...it was an extremely risky strategy.

Shen Huai could sense their skepticism. "The captain is not giving up on 6v6s completely, but the core of our team battle strategy is to not fight as a group."

Grinning, Song Xue-Yang picked up a whiteboard marker. "There is a total of three modes in 6v6 battles, MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), Hostage Rescue, and Protect the King. Looking at our team line-up, our strength lies in Hostage Rescue. MOBA and Protect the King relies heavily on team fights to win, especially Protect the King, which is the greatest shortcoming of our line-up. And so..."

He turned around and started drawing a map on the whiteboard, carefully explaining his tactical ideas and the key points of their team's play-style. He even defined the responsibilities of every member of the team in clear detail.

Everyone went from being serious to being flabbergasted, and then they were overcome by amazement and admiration. By the time Song Xue-Yang finally put down his marker, the same thought was running through everyone's minds...

It's so wonderful that Song Xue-Yang is their captain and not their enemy!

Even Hai Xing was deeply fascinated by this play-style. "If we play like this, those teams won't even know how they lost!"

Zhou Jing did not grumble about him as usual, focused on remembering her responsibilities through repetition. Meanwhile, Shi Yi was in awe at Song Xue-Yang's tactical command, finally understanding why this man could lead a team like Maple Moon to occupy a spot among the expert-laden top eight teams.

Everyone was excitedly discussing the new tactics and play-style, filled with praise for Song Xue-Yang's foresight in arranging the team line-up.

Only Zhou Ning and Shen Huai knew that Song Xue-Yang hadn't chosen his teammates for the sake of this strategy. Rather, he had had to come up with this strategy to suit his current teammates.

It was just as he had said to a reporter before, "Even if I lose, I will not abandon my team."

He gave everyone a chance to prove themselves, and he would accept them as long as they had the skills.

It was never just the team's glory upon his shoulders, but also the futures of every team member.

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Next: Chapter 35: Friendly Match

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