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[Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] Gank Your Heart 陪你到世界之巅
By lynne22, June 25, 2019 in Mainland China
themarchioness 13,903
Fan Level: Fanatic
6 hours ago, lynne22 said:
@themarchioness One more episode to recap.. sobs... T_T
Yup... and here it is... I promised the other day to finish it this weekend and I finally did late last night, right before I went to bed. This last one took me a while to recap. Part of it was all the gaming stuff. Part of it was... I'm not ready to let go. I post this last recap with a lot of mixed feelings. On the one hand, I can't lie, I'm glad to be done. It's a lot of work when Mandarin is not your first language and you're not as fluent as you'd like to be, but try. Heh. When I began this recapping journey back in June, I never imagined it would take me an entire summer and more. (Seriously, remind me of this @lynne22 if I ever say I'm going to recap a drama again! ) But on the other hand, now that I'm done, it feels like the drama really is over and I'm still not ready for that.
Overall, recapping has been a good learning experience and I've definitely had a lot of fun along the way. It was great rewatching, being able to share thoughts, and have conversations with you all here so I don't regret the decision to start or to keep going once the drama became subbed. Speaking of which, I disagreed with some of the subs in Episode 35, but I made sure to explain why so you would all understand why I chose a different translation. Enjoy!
[Last episode . . . *weeps*]
It's the final day of the 2019 iConquer World Championships. YY arrives to the arena and looks around with her mouth agape as she takes a seat. Her boss video chats her and she answers the call by telling him that she's already arrived to the venue. He urges her to hurry up and turn her phone camera around so he can also have a peek at her surroundings, and YY tells swings her phone around while telling her boss to take a look at all the people present. He marvels over the size of the crowd and then warns YY that she'd better do a good job at getting interviews and not just focus on cheering on her boyfriend. YY laughs and tells her boss not to worry by promising that the best news report will come from their news magazine.
On stage, Alan runs out from backstage to greet the audience and at the same time, we see Miya taking her seat in an upper balcony with the help of Tony and her assistant (since she has to pretend to be blind). Alan welcomes the audience to the final match of the iConquer championships, and then the camera cuts to the living room of Qiu Ying's parents' house where her father tells his wife to hurry up because it's already begun. She responds that she's coming and as we hear Alan continue his greeting to the audience through their television screen, Xia Ling's mother soon joins her husband in the living room with two plates in her hand. Alan announces that he has a friend from China he'd like to invite onto the stage and as he asks the audience to give her a hand, the camera cuts back to the arena where calls out to Cherry (QY's English name and game ID). QY comes out waving and her stepmother tells her father that for this match, QY is both the commentator and the host. They watch QY greet the audience as their host and then her stepmother continues that QY is the first female commentator to host an iConquer world championship match. Her father asks, "Is that so?" [I love how the tides have turned and now it's Mom who's all in the know regarding this esport.]
The Phenix team waits quietly in their waiting room with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Eventually Shu Wen stands asking if they're ready and everyone responds that they are and that it's time for them to go.
The camera pans back to the stage where it shows us the trophy that everyone is vying for and then Alan calls out Team Tatan onto the stage. As they enter, QY narrates that they're the champions from last year's competition and describes them as an invincible team who sends all their enemies fleeing and a team who triumphs in every battle and wins every fight. [The subtitles then have her saying that the Tatan team has won numerous championships, but what she really says is. . .] She then finishes up her introduction of the Tatan team by noting how they have once again begun their charge (attack) towards the championship title.
After QY finishes welcoming Team Tatan onto the stage, she announces to the audience that the next team who's going to join them on stage is from China and that's Team Phenix. Jeffrey rolls his eyes [and I swear, the drama did such a great job casting that character. The actor plays him perfectly]. As they enter, QY describes them as a new team who's had to overcome doubt and ridicule and one who's bravely broken through the pack to stand on the stage of the final match. [Notice how XK glances over briefly at QY while everyone faces the audience!]
The teams' welcoming completed, Alan turns to Team Tatan to ask how they're feeling in this moment. Jeffrey being Jeffrey turns to the Team Phenix and says, "Hey Losers [literally: one's defeated opponent]! You're going to lose even more miserably this time" [as compared to the prior year]. QY then walks over to Team Phenix and asks their captain, JXK, if he has anything he'd like to say. XK answers that he doesn't really have anything to say because this year's trophy belongs to China's team, and then adds, "China #1!" The crowd responds with the team's chant and in the audience, we see YY also chanting, "Yu Huo Bu Mie, Nie Pan Chong Sheng!" Jeffrey rolls his eyes and QY thanks XK [wah, so impersonal!] before rejoining Alan in the center of the stage where she comments that the cruel reality of the sport is that there can only be one champion. Alan agrees and then announces that it's time for the final match to begin, while QY repeats the same in Chinese.
After the teams take their seat, QY and Luo Tian also take their seats behind the Chinese commenator's stage. Luo Tian asks QY if she's ready and she nods. From his spot behind the glass window, XK looks over at QY who happens to look at him at the same time. It's awkward for her so she turns to stare straight ahead instead while XK turns back to his computer. As QY takes a deep breath, Luo Tian gets things started next to her by introducing himself to the audience as their old friend, Luo Tian, the 2019 iConquer championship's Chinese commentator. QY does the same but of course refers to herself as the audience's new friend [and I wonder if they'll still be doing this new/old friend thing next year. At some point, QY's no longer 'new,' right? Haha.] Luo Tian then announces that today they have a special guest, and that would be the former team captain for Team Legends and ace, Gu Fang. After Gu Fang greets the audience, QY asks if he feels different about anything having returned to a stage he's so familiar with. Gu Fang answers that this is his first time attending as a commentator and he can feel everyone's passion better from his current seat compared to when he sat behind the glass windows. He then adds that this year's Phenix team is a continuation of his dream and he hopes that they'll be able to win the championship and bring glory to China while spreading the charms of esports to even more people.
Behind the glass walls, YX asks XK which players they should select. XK answers by telling them to pick first and he'll go last to give them a surprise. Summer sits next to Shu Wen in the audience and asks if the strategy they've selected to play is too ordinary for a world championship game. Shu Wen, however, explains that it's because it's ordinary that the other team won't be able to predict the team's true intentions. When the teams finish making their selections, everyone (on Team Phenix's side, at least) is both surprised and pleased to see the Holy Spirit Princess. Luo Tian asks Gu Fang if this wasn't the character he was known for playing, and we see Gu Fang looking over to XK as he knows this was selecte purposefully with him in mind. QY says it looks like the Phenix team is trying to pay their respects to their former team captain, and YX says thathe guesses Gu Fang should be moved to tears by now. Gu Fang says the Holy Spirit Princess was a character that brought a lot of honor to him, and he hopes that she'll bring even more good fortune to the Phenix team. XK confirms he wanted to bring the Holy Spirit Princess back to this stage and YX gives him the thumbs up. PX guesses Jeffrey will be confused by this selection and indeed, over on the other side, Jeffrey is wondering why JXK who is a solo top player would be using a mid solo character. His teammate asks if this line up means they're going to be using the shadow tactics, but Jeffrey can't guess what they're thinking. His teammate asks what they should do and Jeffrey says they can still use their secret weapon to beat them, but he wants to see what XK does first.
Over on the other side, the Phenix team calls out, "Let's go!" and "Jia you!" as they psych themselves up for the first match. And then the game begins. [Per usual, I'm not going to translate their individual calls and game moves.] QY narrates that it looks like XK and PX are wanting to capture the solo player, and Gu Fang says this is actually an effective move for the early part of the game. Luo Tian says, "Capture the solo support? The more I watch, the more I can't figure out the Phenix team's strategy." QY, however, says that the Phenix team looks very stable and not the least bit nervous. After narrating what XK and PX are up to, she comments that it looks like Team Tatan hasn't ben able to figure out what the other team's strategy is. Luo Tian narrates that it looks like two of the other team's playrs have joined forces against XK, but Gu Fang says this isn't a big problem as they shouldn't forget that Sun Ze Yi is nearby. As soon as Gu Fang finishes, QY picks up that Sun Ze Yi has arrived in time to protect XK and everyone, including the crowd at Dream Journey, marvels at Sun Ze Yi's quick reaction time. Behind the glass windows, Sun Ge also tells XK that he should give him some praise, so XK responds, "Bao Dao Wei Lao" (idiom: a treasured knife doesn't age). The game continues and the Phenix team is performing well. Everyone cheers, including Summer and Shu Wen, but Jeffrey isn't looking so happy on the other side. Things only get worse for Jeffrey when he tries to intercept XK's attack on their tower but ends up getting killed instead, and QY comments with a smile that that's the price one must pay for their actions. Gu Fang observes that Jeffrey has no idea what strategy the Phenix team is playing right now, but they're actually playing the most ordinary of strategies. Luo Tian says this is what they mean by the specators seeing the game better than the players. Jeffrey tells his teammates that he doesn't think they'll be able to win this one and so he comes up with the strategy to pretend like they lost to the Phenix team. [I have to give credit to Jeffrey with that idea. If they can't beat them in the game, they'll beat them mentally. It's kind of brilliant, actually.] The game continues and XK continues to goad Jeffrey over to their side. QY wonders if Jeffrey will fall for what is an obvious trap, but Jeffrey does and instead of going for an attack, XK avoids him. Qi Yue watches the game with Shen Yue and Qiao Xin and wonders what XK is doing, saying that if it were him, he would've ended things a long time ago. Qiao Xin says good-naturedly that he's just being sharp tongued [which she says because she knows he doesn't really mean what he's saying, and I suppose it's nice to see that they've finally calmed down and are being supporters rather than detractors]. Back at the arena, XK has taken control of all five members of the opposing team and now his teammates have come out from nowhere to assist in the attack. Jeffrey's killed and since he was the last remaining member of the Tatan team, it's a straight victory for the Phenix team as they take the crystal tower down in no time. Everyone cheers and over on the Tatan side, Jeffrey reminds his teammates to pretend. As soon as they stand with smiles on their faces, his strategy works as the Phenix team starts to wonder why they're reacting as they are. Sun Ge points out that no matter what their intention is, they won the first game and that's a good thing for them. He adds that they'll talk more once they're back inside and over on the Tatan side, Jeffrey praises his teammates for doing their job well. In the audience, Summer also asks Shu Wen what's going on when he sees how the Tatan team is behaving.
At the Legends training base, they are also watching the finals. CEO Jin comments on how the Phenix team has become a really formidable team now, and Coach asks him what's wrong. What's wrong is CEO Jin is filled with regrets and self-disgust. [Not gonna lie, felt a lot of satisfaction when I watched this scene for the first time! It' slike, "Take that, CEO Jin! That's what you get for not trusting XK and going along with Zhao Yang instead."] He describes himself) as having turned into one of those businessmen who puts profit before everything else and says that if XK hadn't left, it would be their Legends team sitting on that stage. The coach comforts CEO Jin by saying it's okay, as they'll be sure to play well in the next season.
Shu Wen and Summer join the Phenix team in the waiting room. Shu Wen asks them what's wrong and asks why they look so down when they won the first match. She tells them to take a seat, but XK remains standing as he says that even though they won the first round, the Tatan team was using strategies he's never seen before. Therefore, even though they won, there was a little bit of luck involved in that. [Gah, don't get psyched out! Believe in yourselves and your amazing teamwork! That's not luck. That's the Phenix team just being your amazing selves!] YX asks if they should use the shadow tacticts for the next game and Summer agrees that they have always been successful using that strategy so far, so they'll definitely win if they use it now. Shu Wen cautions them to not let their guards down during this crucial time and reminds them that what they're facing is last year's champion. She tells them that they have to guard against any mistakes. PX tells her to believe in them as they won't make any mistakes, and YX agrees they should all relax a little. He says that in any event, he's there to avenge the Legends team.
The two teams walk out at the same time to return to the stage for the second match. Jeffrey is still playing his psychological warfare game as he tells XK that he guesses all they have left is the shadow tactic. His comment hits a mark, particularly as Jeffrey laughs and says they're looking forward to it, and after the Tatan team walks on ahead of them, PX steps out to ask what Jeffrey means with that attitude. Xia Ling wonders if they've managed to crack the shadow tactic and YX asks how the shadow tactic could be that easily cracked. He then tries to lift everybody's spirtis by reminding them they only have this match left and says, "Everyone, jia you!" The team responds in kind but maybe a little less enthusiastically than before their frist match.
Luo Tian welcomes the audience back for the second match. As the crowd cheers, Gu Fang narrates that the Phenix team was able to beat the Tatan team using the Global Stream tactic [subs say "Storm," but I'm not sure why as "liu" means stream, flow, etc., and not storm, but having said that, these are clearly all made up names anyway since this isn't a real game so I'll refrain from nitpicking] to win the fist match and be in the lead. QY says that judging from the line up, it looks like the Phenix team is going to use the shadow tactic and over on the other side, Jeffrey immediately calls out that they're losers because he knew they would be playing the shadow tactic because they don't have anything else. He then tells his teammates to stick to their original plan because it's bulletproof. Over on the Phenix side, YX stares at their lineup in confusion because it's the same one they just used in the prior match. Xia Ling suggests that it's either because they're scared or because they're too lazy to make any changes, but YX doesn't think that could be it. XK says he also doesn't know what they mean by this and suggests that his teammates be careful and to focus on building their economy and building their characters rather than attacking early in the game.
Gu Fang also comments on the Tatan team choosing the same lineup as before and Luo Tian wonders why they would do that when they weren't exactly successful with that lineup the first time around. He then wonders if this is them refusing to bow to their loss because they really believe in this lineup. Gu Fang says he thinks Tatan will adjust their strategy and notes that this is a strong line up for building their economy and controlling the shadow tactic.
The second match begins and things aren't going well. QY observes that every time the Phenix team tries to attack, the Tatan team is able to avoid them, and Luo Tian agrees that the Tatan's defense is very tight. XK warns his teammates to be careful because they other team is changing their positions very easily and YX complains that because they changing their positions he keeps missing. Sun Ge remarks that it's crazy how four of them seem to have changed their positions while Gu Fang also wonders when the Tatan team switched their positions and notes that they seem to have cracked the shadow tactic. QY observes, however, that the Tatan team isn't using the shadow tactic because if they were to be accurate about it, they're using a duo-shadow tactic with four of them changing their positions. In the audience, Summer also complains that the Phenix team is being too controlled by the other team such that they can't build themselves up and Shu Wen responds that she never imagined they would have four of their players switching positions like this to control their shadow tactic.
XK tells his teammates that the other side has dispatched three of their players against him and he can't escape, while on the other side, Jeffrey and his teammates move on to their next target. He says it won't be easy, but they quickly get a second kill followed by a third. In the audience, YY hangs her head and Miya takes off her sunglasses to better watch the game. The Tatan team manages to kill all five members of the Phenix team and in his box, Jeffrey taunts XK by boasting that they cracked their shadow tactic a long time ago. At the commentator's table, Gu Fang also observes that it doesn't look like Phenix will be able to use their shadow tactic anymore. Jeffrey continues by saying they lost the last round on purpose and YX asks XK what they should do now. XK orders them to go after some dragon instead and just as Gu Fang is narrating that Phenix would be looking for a way to break through right now, he observes with excitement that the Phenix team is heading towards the dragon. Unfortunately, QY tells us that Tatan had alredy predicted that and she tells the Phenix team that they must be careful. The computer system tells us that the Tatan team has knocked over another one of Phenix's towers, but XK tells his teammates to just leave it be for now. XK calls out more commands for Sun Ge and PX, and YX tries to divert the attention of the Tatan team while allowing his remaining teammates focus on battling the dragon. Unfortunately for Phenix, the Tatan members managed to avoid YX and XK again tells his teammates to not worry about them but just focus on the dragon. Xia Ling falls into the other team's trap, though, and says he can fight the Tatan team members. Although XK yells at him to ask what he's doing and order him to return to fighting the dragon, Xia Ling insists he can handle it. Meanwhile, even QY is freaking out at her brother. Now XK is yelling at YX to return since the dragon is almost defeated, but YX says he can't get to the dragon. That's followed by XK telling his teammates to retreat while the Tatan team advances, and next thing we know, XK is killed followed by Xia Ling. XK rips off his headphone and turns to Xia Ling to ask angrily why he wouldn't listen to his commands. Xia Ling looks contrite and YX looks defeated. Jeffrey is excited and that's because in the next moment, the Tatan team wins. QY's dad slaps his hand, as if to say, "What a shame!" and in the audience, Summer hangs his head. Back on stage, Luo Tian congratulates the Tatan team for winning this round and notes that the current score is 1 to 1. [I love how QY can only look at XK, as she must know how he is feeling right now.] He tells the audience that they'll return in 10 minutes for the final round. XK walks out of the box first, followed by Sun Ge who pats YX on the shoulder. He also walks over to give Xia Ling a hug, and this is why I love the Phenix team. In the audience, Summer holds Shu Wen back and tells her she shouldn't go [to the Phenix waiting room] and suggests she instead give them time to calm down. Tony tries to comfort Miya by reminding her that they still have a chance, and Miya responds that she wants to go find XK.
The Phenix members sit in silence in their waiting room, each lost in their own thoughts. PX asks eventually what strategy they're going to use for the next match, and XK responds that from the other team's current methods of pla, he can tell that they have studied each one of them thoroughly. He then adds that if they were able to crack the shadow tactic, then they'll be able to crack all the strategies that they're good at. YX asks what they should do if that's the case, and XK apologizes and admits that he doesn't know either. Xia Ling starts to ask a question (probably also wondering what they should do), but Sun Ge holds him back. Sun Ge then tells XK not to give himself so much pressure. XK takes a deep breath and says he's going to step outside for a breath of fresh air. As he leaves, YX turns to Sun Ge and starts to say that he also… (he's probably is about so say that he wants to follow XK) but Sun Ge shakes his head advising him to let things be.
XK hangs out out in the hallway by himself and at that moment, Miya arrives assisted by Tony and her assistant since she's supposed to be blind. She calls out to him and when he turns to see her in the distance, he greets her with surprise evident in his voice. They walk towards each other and when they meet in the middle, he asks why she's there. Miya answers that she came to see him. [Side note: the English subtitles have her saying that she came to watch his game and that's a bit of editorializing that I don't agree with. Because all she says, literally, is that she came to see him – sentence ends there. I don't don't think he's asking why she's at the competition site nor do I think she's answering that she came to see him play in the game – because he should already know that she is at the finals given that he was the one who'd promised to help arrange for her attend if he made it to the finals. Rather, I think they're both referring to the fact that she's backstage, and so her answer is: she came to see him.] XK doesn't have a response for that [and isn't tha telling?]. Miya continues, "While I was sitting in the audience, watching the competition and listening to QY's commentating, I realized then. She knows you better than me. Understands you better than me. As for us, we've really missed out on too much. Also, my eyes . . . you already knew about them, didn't you?" XK answers sincerely that the fact that her eyes were able to recover was the best news to him.
Back on stage, Luo Tian comments to QY that even though both teams are currently at a 1:1 draw, it's probably having a big effect on Phenix's morale. He also worries that if they take their burdened psychological state into the next game with them, it will be disadvantageous for JXK and the others. QY nods her agreement and Luo Tian then suggests maybe if there was "someone" who could go and given them a reminder/warning, that would help make things better. QY asks if he's referring to her, and Luo Tian nods his head. QY starts to say that with Shu Wen and the others around, it should probably be . . . but Luo Tian cuts her off and says it's not just JXK and the others who need to adjust [their state of emotions], she does too. He then checks his watch and sends her off, telling her that she has a 10 minute break and that she should hurry back before the next match begins. Since she doesn't have a choice, QY stands and thanks her Teacher Luo before heading backstage. [It's sweet how he helps her/them, despite his own feelings.]
Backstage, Miya apologizes to XK and says she was too selfish. In order to keep him by her side, she took advantage of his sense of responsibility and promise, and hurt QY too. She asks him to apologize to her (QY) on her behalf and says she hopes that it won't be too late. XK responds that he has never given up on QY [which, as I'm translating this line now, it occurs to me that's a very interesting way of phrasing things on his part. As we all know, back in the day, XK broke up with Miya for the sake of her career and because he knew she would never be able to do it. We also know that from that day, he considered the two of them as belonging to two different worlds. But now, with this comment regarding QY, I think we can also consider it as: he gave up on Miya. He wasn't just breaking up with her; he was letting her go and giving up on their relationship. But he never once considered doing that with QY. I can't put into words why that difference matters, but it does. Don't you think?]. He then adds that when the competition is over, he'll explain things properly to her. After a moment of silence, Miya tells him, "Then I sincerely wish you both the best." She walks up to him to give him a hug and of course that would be the moment that QY enters the backstage. She looks like a deer caught in headlights and all I want to shout to her is: TAKE NOTE OF HIS HANDS!!!!! Notice how one is still hanging down by his side and how HE'S NOT REALLY HUGGING HER BACK!!!! DON'T RUN AWAY SCARED!!!! Miya backs away with a farewell smile on her face and XK turns around just in time to see QY in the distance. She flounders and then runs away, and XK immediately starts calling her name and running after her. His teammates exit their waiting room just in time to intercept XK and YX pulls him back. Sun Ge also helps to grab a hold of XK and advises him to wait until the end of the competition to sort things out, as it's already time for them to return to the stage. Even Xia Ling reaches out to pat him on the shoulder as Sun Ge turns XK around and starts to lead him back to the stage. As they start heading back to the stage, Sun Ge asks XK if he's ready and XK apologizes and says that he thinks they're going to have to play a game without any strategies. Everyone trades looks and Sun Ge steps up to remind that today's match doesn't just concern them; it concerns all the esport players in China. He says they have to carry everyone's dreams towards the top of the world and then, taking out a bunch of patches from his pocket, says, "Here." After he passes them out, YX holds up the Legends team's patch and PX holds up VNG's. Xia Ling stares at the one in his hand and Sun Ge says, "My brothers, it's time for us to perform!" After giving one last comforting pat to XK, he turns to enter the stage and is immediately followed by YX.
Back on stage, we hear Luo Tian welcoming the audience back to the final match and asking them to asking them to use their most enthusiastic sounds to welcome the Phenix team back on stage. We then see Sun Ge give out a shout, as if to psyche himself up before stepping out, and then in a voiceover with corresponding flashbacks, we hear him comment on the fact that he's 30 years old and long past his prime as an esports player. He says he thought he'd never have the opportunity to do such a crazy thing anymore, but being able to return to the stage that he has long yearned for and prove that he's not a failure, he's already satisfied. YX enters next and says that he's said before that the biggest dream in his life is to be able to compete in the competition with "you" (aka XK), "I've already fulfilled my dream." Xia Ling enters and, addressing XK in his voiceover, says that he's only entered the professional world of esports for half a year, but is already able to participate in the world championships and even compete alongside his idol. He then asks what he has to feel regretful about. PX enters and says that his biggest dream was to have a group of teammates with whom he could fight side by side. He says that dream has already been fulfilled today and suggests they just enjoy what comes next. XK enters last and comments on how he was previously doubted by others with his qualifications for being a professional player being called into question. He says thankfully, he had them for always believing in him. He recalls how they lost the world championship the year before and how their captain had to regretfully retire, and says they never left him when he was at his lowest points. He observes how their opponent this time is incomparably strong and how at this moment, there are a countless number of people watching them attentively on this highest stage with yearning in their eyes. He doesn't want things to end right at this moment, and says, "Our dream of winning the championship, let's carry it on our shoulders together." [Side note: Some people may find this part cheesy, but I love the whole entrance with all the flashbacks that document each individual's journey to this highest stage. It's inspiring and I love how XK's teammates all speak in terms of having already fulfilled their personal goals! What defines success is truly an individual determination.]
As the team finishes their entrance into the arena, Luo Tian observes how the Phenix members have remained on the stage. Jeffrey makes the same observation, but asks why they're still there [and not taking their seats like he and his teammates have] and then mocks the Phenix team by calling out "Woohoo!" to them. That's when we see the members taking out the badges from the other Chinese teams from their pockets. Behind them, Luo Tian tells the others to wait up and asks what they're doing. Jeffrey also asks the same question behind his glass cage. And that's when we see the members one by one placing the badges from the VNG, Legends, and Pioneer teams on their jacket. Luo Tian also notes how they're supporting the other teams by placing their badges on their jackets, and the we Gu Fang stand up in surprise while the audience, which includes Summer and Shu Wen, go wild with emotion. At the Legends training base, their former teammates also watch in surprise with unshed tears in their eyes, and then we see Li Gan watching the competition [ALONE], followed by Lu Sheng and Tong Wu, and Qi Yue, Shen Yue, and Qiao Xin. As the scenes move from one group to the next, we hear Luo Tian back at the competition site saying how he thinks . . . the subtitles translate the next part as Luo Tian saying that "they're not competing just for themselves," but the more correct translation is: he thinks that on today's stage they're not just a team of five who's competing. Gu Fang chimes in to say that actually, the Phenix team is a combination of the three teams, VNG, Legends, and Pioneer, and they carry on their back the dreams of two generations of esportsmen. He adds that this will be an ever lasting memory for China's iConquer history. Even Jeffrey acknowledges the significance of this moment and tells his teammates that they should stand up. But as they do, and the crowd claps and the Phenix team finishes their group cheer, Jeffrey tells his teammates that no matter that, they still have to defeat them.
The two teams take their seats behind the glass enclosures and when they begin the ban and pick phase, XK tells his teammates that for this round, everyone should pick the character they're most experienced playing. Jeffrey also psychs his team up, and the crowd calls out their support for Phenix. Luo Tian observes how they can see the audience cheering on Phenix's lineup (the characters/heroes they picked to play) and notes how according to the statistics, these are the heroes that they had the highest rate of winning with. [I don't know why the subs say "the heros Tatan won the most battles with," because Luo Tian is clearly talking about Phenix right now, not the other team.] As he talks, QY looks over and XK catches her eye. When he turns back to his computer though, she looks down. Gu Fang picks up where Luo Tian leaves off and says but the heroes Phenix chose are comparatively not as rigorous, and that if the Tatan team plays as they did in the second round – maintaining their momentum of great teamwork in how they work to react – it'll still be a difficult battle for Phenix. QY is still lost in her thoughts and thus misses the beat to pick up where Gu Fang leaves off. When Luo Tian looks over at her, she quickly jumps in and says she trusts the two teams will give them an exciting third round.
The third round begins and XK calls out instructions to YX, telling him to be their spy. Sun Ge also calls out what he's going to do next and then we hear Luo Tian narrate how the situation doesn't seem very good for Phenix, and notes how the Tatan team has already circled around behind them. We see Jeffrey looking very happy on his side of the stage and then Luo Tian talks about how the Phenix team has managed to take control of Jeffrey and if they can get rid of him, it'll make things easier for them, but oh no! Jeffrey and his teammate attacked and Luo Tian sighs with regret over how all the Phenix members took a hit. YX asks XK if they should retreat and when XK just stares in front of him in response, Sun Ge quickly jumps in to say that he'll lead them now (by calling out the commands). He calls out instructions, and XK says "okay" in response, and then he tells the others what he's going to do while calling out instrucions for PX and Xia Ling as well. QY expresses concern that since Phenix can't see what the Tatan team is up to, something bad might happen. Luo Tian agrees that given their current situation, Phenix can only defend and says that if they can't find a way to break out and attack, things will be very dangerous for Phenix. QY notes that there's a difference of 5,000 points in the two team's economy and that in terms of headcount, it's already turned into… Gu Fang says it's already turned into 5 against 1. One of Phenix's outer tower has already been knocked down and if this keeps going on, Tatan's economy will only get stronger.
Back on the Phenix side, YX complains to XK that Tatan has once forced a group [probably for a fight] so there's no way for him to battle against them for the dragon]. [The subs have it written out that YX is telling XK to go attack the dragon, and while that's not necessarily an incorrect translation, it's dependent on how you want to read the phrases. Chinese can be tricky sometimes with its lack of punctuations to help guide. I think mine is the correct understanding of what YX is trying to convey in this moment. Since things are so poorly for Phenix right now, they had probably wanted to jump the wall to attack the dragon that resides on the other side to build their economy and gain other benefits that would be dropped once that boss was defeated.] Luo Tian narrates that the Tatan team has opted to go attack the dragon and says that if they are able to defeat him, there's a high probability that they're going to really increase their dominance with this. But for Phenix, this is like one disaster after another and things are really dangerous for Phenix right now. Gu Fang asks why Phenix isn't taking any action and wonders if they still haven't thought of any tactics to use. We see Xia Ling, PX, and XK react in helplessness and disappointment, and then Luo Tian tells us that all three of their heroes were killed. Gu Fang diagnoses they're reacting too rashly and Luo Tian continues to narrate how the Tatan members have joined up to form a team of five while the Phenix team has fallen behind in their equipments [since there was such a disparity in the two teams' economy, Tatan has probably been able to purchase equipment that Phenix hasn't been able to purchase. Additionally, they haven't talked about what levels each member is at in the game but I wouldn't be surprised if the Tatan members have been able to level up more quickly than the Phenix members based on what's been narrated so far]. Luo Tian suggests that their best action is to retreat and not fight, otherwise it'll be too dangerous. [I love how QY keeps looking over to the Phenix team in concern.] Gu Fang watches his screen and says that it looks like there's something wrong with Phenix's condition. He then looks over at the team while wondering if they've run into a problem or something. The problem is XK is slumped over his keyboard trying desperately to think of what to do next. PX yells for him to not give up and asks if he can face the people who've placed their trust in him [basically reminding him that if he does give up, he won't be able to face those who've followed him all this way]. YX begs XK by asking if he can't thnk of a solution, and bangs the table while saying he wants to win and doesn't want to lose. XK tells his teammates to be quiet/calm down for a moment so he can think. Gu Fang asks whether Phenix has given up and Luo Tian again reminds that if the Tatan team is able to take down the dragon, that will pretty much mean that Phenix will lose. As soon as he finishes saying that, the computer system (and Luo Tian) announces that the Tatans have slayed the dragon. Xia Ling nervously asks Sun Ge what they should do now and Sun Ge tells the two of them (Xia Ling and…. I'm guessing PX) to go back and guard their base and give up on trying to take down the other team's outer tower. Gu Fang narrates that Phenix's third lane has been infiltrated [the subs have him saying that Phenix's tower has been demolished, but that's incorrect because 1) he never says the word "tower," and 2) the tower was already demolished a few minutes earlier] and that they've gone back [to their base] to heal themselves as it looks like they're planning on starting their last charge towards becoming the world champions. The Tatan team celebrates with high fives, probably figuring that they've already got things in the bag, and XK is still slumped over lost in his thoughts. Jeffrey gloats by saying he wants to see their faces.
QY finally speaks. She says Phenix is not a team that gives up easily and that she has faith that JXK will think of a way to respond [to these attacks]. She says, "JXK, jia you! Phenix team, jia you!" and then Luo Tian and Gu Fang join in her encouragements to the team. XK looks over at QY at that moment and that's when he flashes back to that one evening when they'd been at the training base and she'd been playing the game. He'd asked her why she was using a particularly weapon, and she'd responded, "It's a dynamite stick. Look how pretty it is." We hear the explanation he'd given her back then of how it's not an effective weapon unless certain conditions in the game are met, and then the flashback scene transitions to when they'd watched fireworks at Disney Shanghai. QY had yelled out, "JXK, you will definitely become the world champion!"
Finally, XK lifts his head and tells his teammates that he has a way. He tells Xia Ling and PX to sell all their equipment and use the dynamite stick. YX turns to XK with unshed tears and disbelief in his eyes. He asks what good using that [the dynamite stick] will do as they'll just lose everything if they die. Xia Ling and PX also sit there in confusion not sure what to do. Xia Ling checks with Sun Ge to see whether they really should use the dynamite stick, and Sun Ge tells them that they have to trust in XK and notes how the dynamite stick has multiple layers of damaging effects and that they don't have any other options anyway. PX tells Xia Ling to go ahead [and do what the others have instructed] and in the audience, we hear Shu Wen tell Summer that "these guys" are not the type to give up easily so they should have a way to deal with the second half of the match. Summer agrees that they have to trust in them, and then Luo Tian says, "Wait a minute," and asks in confusion what's going on, noting how PX has sold all of his equipment. He notices that Xia Ling is doing the same thing and again asks what's going on that they're selling all their equipment and asks whether this means they're getting ready to give up. Gu Fang notices then, "Dynamite stick?" and observes how both PX and Xia Ling have selected this weapon at the same time. QY lifts her head and looks in the direction of XK when she hears Gu Fang talk about the dynamite stick, and Gu Fang in turn continues to narrate by noting how using the dynamite stick is the lowest cost performance (as in quality-price ratio) weapon in the game. QY also flashes back to that same night when XK had asked her if she liked fireworks, and she had responded by asking what girl didn't like fireworks. As they'd played around with sparklers, she'd told him that whenever she watches fireworks she gets this feeling like the entire world is being lit up for her. The flashback then transitions to that night at Disney Shanghai where XK had vowed to win the world championships. Back at the competition site, QY watches the Phenix team with full emotions on her face. [Awww.]
[For this next part, I'm not going to translate line by line as the action is very fast paced, but I'll do my best to at least give a good idea of what's taking place in the game.] PX tells his teammates that he's ready and XK starts to call out the next instructions. Luo Tian also tells us that Tatan has also reached a crisis point [Luo Tian uses the idiom, "bing lin cheng xia," which has the literal meaning of the soldiers being at the city gates]. He notes how Sun Ge has hidden himself while Jeffrey is standing under a higher level land and the Phenix team is waiting for a chance. Then he announces excitedly that Sun Ge has managed to capture Jeffrey to bring him up to the higher level land, and we see the Phenix team react with renewed energy as they tell each other to attack and praise Sun Ge for his beautiful move. Xia Ling notes how the other members of the opposing team have all followed and XK tells them to wait for him and hold off on attacking. YX asks what he should do next as the other team is coming on strong, and XK tells him to retreat a little. PX, however, yells that he's at the summit point and then he lets lose with his dynamite stick. It's basically a kamikaze type move; in letting loose with the dynamite stick he does damage to himself and those around him, which in this instance includes Jeffrey. QY narrates how PX jumped in front of Sun Ge to block an attack and used his dynamite stick which lowered his own level of health points. She describes it as "1 protecting 4" and notes how for the sake of the Phenix team, PX sacrificed himself to buy time for his team. [I especially like how QY phrased his actions because in the beginning of the drama, PX was known for playing the one strategy, "4 protect 1," where his teammates would only serve to protect him while he did all the damage in the game. This move demonstrates how far he's come since joining the Phenix team in that he's now the one sacrificing himself to protect the others.] The other commentators praise PX for his actions as Jeffrey reacts with surprise once he sees how badly his hero was hit, and then the rest of Jeffrey's teammates step forward to provide assistance. The commentators wonder if they're going to seek revenge, but QY notes how Xia Ling and YX have also come together at the front of the battle line. That's when XK orders Xia Ling to follow with the second dynamite stick and he immediately responds that he's going. Across the stage Jeffrey curses and points to his screen wondering what just happened. QY answers that question by narrating for us how Xia Ling used the second dynamite stick to bring down Jeffrey. Luo Tian then tells us how a Tatan team member was going after XK until Sun Ge stepped in to take control of that other member, but then he reacts in surprise when he sees how XK is now also selling his equipment in order to purchase a dynamite stick. We then return to the Phenix side where we see YX urging XK to hurry because he can't hold out anymore, and that's when we see XK say, "Now's the time. Attack!" On screen, we see his hero jump forward and the commentators narrate for us how XK has let loose with the third dynamite stick. There's a large explosion on screen and Gu Fang tells us it was undoubtely a deadly attack, as there's no way anyone would be able to withstand such an attack. XK's teammates, starting from Sun Ge, call out their praise for his attack and note how he managed a 3-kill (since Jeffrey's already dead and XK just managed to wipe out three more members, that means there's only one left on the Tatan side). QY also narrates for us that XK managed to kill three Tatans in one attack, but before the other team's support died, he was able to eliminate XK. She continues her narration by telling us how YX is killed next, but notes that Phenix still has one remaining player and then quickly turns to the Phenix side and tells them to hurry up and smash the final water crystal. Luo Tian and Gu Fang continue with the narration by telling us how the Phenix team's army doesn't look very good right now, but Sun Ge decided to go after the other team's army too. The Tatan team can't afford to purchase anymore weapons, so Gu Fang also urges Sun Ge to go for the water crystal. Luo Tian reacts by describing Phenix as a "formidable" team and says that if they didn't have such great teamwork, they would't be able to accomplish what they're doing right now. QY narrates that Sun Ge is getting close to the other team's water crystal, but the Tatan team's army has also started their attack on the Phenix team's water crystal too. She again urges the Phenix team to hurry up. The Phenix team also tells Sun Ge to push at the water crystal and he responds that he is. Summer calls out his support for Sun Ge and Shu Wen watches with tears in her eyes. Jeffrey doesn't like what he's seeing on his computer screen, but the Phenix members are going crazy as they watch Sun Ge push at the other team's water crystal. One by one they yank off their headphones and jump up to crowd around Sun Ge. Gu Fang (or maybe it's Luo Tian's voice, not sure) wonders aloud who will be faster, Sun Ge or the Tatan team's army, and notes that the Tatan team's water crystal still has 75 points while QY tells us the Phenix team's only has 35. Everyone watches nervously and just as QY calls out to Phenix to tell them to "jia you," we see Sun Ge release one final move. In one shot, he takes down the other team's water crystal and his teammates raise their fists in glory and success. QY starts clapping enthusiastically and Jeffrey sits back from his computer screen in shock and horror. The audience goes wild while waving China's flag and QY and Xia Ling's parents also celebrate. Jeffrey is in disbelief and Miya hugs her hands together in happiness. The Phenix team continues to celebrate behind their glass booth and Luo Tian turns away from the audience to dance a jig of excitement [I have always found that bit surpremely adorable]. We see the Phenix team again celebrating while QY claps and watches them with tears in her eyes. Luo Tian returns to his table to collect himself and put his headphones back on while in the audience, Summer screams in elation and Shu Wen breaks down into tears. [Aww!] Jeffrey stands and looks across the stage in anger [haha!] and the celebration continues. We even see Shen Yue cheering alongside happy looking Qi Yue and Qiao Xin, while Tong Wu and Lu Sheng celebrate in controlled excitement. The Legends team also cries and hugs in happiness, and our friends at Dream Journey are also going wild with excitement. YY's coworkers celebrate by tossing paper like confetti at the office and QY and Xia Ling's continue to celebrate by calling out, "Champions!"
The two teams finally exit their glass cages to shake hands and when Jeffrey and XK come face to face, they hug and Jeffrey then says, "I'll see you next year." Happy music starts and then we see Shu Wen and Summer looking incredibly pleased in the audience while YY holds up her camera to capture the moment. The Phenix team remains on center stage to stand proudly before their home crowd, and as they call out their team's motto, the audience responds in kind.
Alan runs out from back stage, calling out, "Victory! Victory!" He compliments the Phenix team for being such an amazing group of guys and introduces the Phenix team to the audience as their 2019 champions. [Shu Wen and Summer are so adorable in the audience.] QY pipes up that she's accompanied the Phenix team and watched them grow, and only they know how hard a time they've had it from being a bunch of unknowns, having to withstand criticisms from others, and falling to their lowest points before standing up again. [She's in tears thinking about all that her friends have had to endure, and it's sweet how we can see Luo Tian's arm reaching out to provide comfort.] XK kisses the ring that Gu Fang hung around his neck all the way at the beginning of his journey, and then they begin their walk towars that long coveted trophy. Behind them Gu Fang describes Phenix as the perfect team and says they used an unparalleled performance to prove themselves and bring glory to their country. Luo Tian adds that they are their pride, they are also the world's pride, they are iConquer's pride, and they are China's pride.
The Phenix team lifts the world championship trophy to the sounds of the audience chanting their team's motto [and if I'm reading QY's lips correctly, I think she calls out XK's name]. After posing with the trophy and passing it around, the Phenix team returns to center stage with their trophy in hand. Alan congratulates them once more and asks Void [XK's game ID] if there's anything he would like to say as the leader of the Phenix team. XK says that what he wants to say is that this trophy doesn't belong to just the five of them. At the same time, he wants to thank those who helped and supported them throughout their journey because without them, they wouldn't be who they are today. [Just saying, mine's a more accurate translation of what XK's saying right now compared to the subtitles, although the subtitles certainly get the point across in a similar fashion – just in a little bit more editorialized fashion.] He notes that those people are present in the arena today and asks them to join them on the stage to receive the trophy with them, and then announces that they're the Pioneer team. [Soooo sweet!] Shu Wen and Summer climb the steps from the audience and Luo Tian and Gu Fang run to the front of the stage from their commentator's table. As everyone passes around hugs, Alan offers his congratulations once more and allows them to enjoy the moment. XK then tells the crowd that there's still one more person he'd like to thank. The camera pans to Miya, but XK looks behind him on stage and says that if there hadn't been her, there wouldn't be the current him. [My translation is also more accurate compared to the subtitles, which has XK saying he wouldn't have made it there without her.] He then says that he once promised her, he would take her with him to the top of the world. I love how he looks to his teammates as he finishes speaking, and they all gesture for him to go towards QY. With the both of them walking towards each other, QY and XK meet in the middle of the stage and then he opens his arms wide for a giant hug. [I'll allow the lack of a kiss given all the eyes watching them right now, but what's that I see? A hand on her head? I'm counting that as HEAD PAT.] QY and Xia Ling's parents watch their television in tears (happy ones, of course) and Miya… well, she watches from the audience and hangs her head before smiling in acceptance. YY smiles her approval from the audience [and I wonder if this means she'll finally stop giving XK such a hard time all the time], and all their friends from the Phenix and Pioneer teams whoop and holler their approval… except for Luo Tian who looks a little disappointed but similar to Miya, also smiles in acceptance. [They should hang out.] Alan cries out, "OMG! What a moment! Void and Cherry [QY's game ID name] gatherered together on the stage here. What a special, special moment. What a way to end this day!"
As XK and QY walk arm in arm back to the front of the stage, Sun Ge passes over the trophy which QY and XK then lift together. YY then steps onto the edge of the stage, much to YX's surprise, and then he runs over to lift her for a hug and swings her around. [Too cute! I especially love how XK reaches out to pat YX when he rejoins them in the line up with YY now by his side.] With our entire cast of good people finally on stage, the camera follows them for one final shot of their celebratory moment and then…
We transition to Gu Fang and XK walking around the living room of Phenix's empty training base. XK comments that he's not used to everyone being on leave, and Gu Fang agrees that it feels almost like a dream. He says he remembers the day he passed the keys to him (XK), and that it feels like it was just yesterday. XK responds, "Captain, thank you." He then returns the necklace with the ring on it to Gu Fang, and when Gu Fang accepts it, he pulls out a second necklace with a ring on it and says, "This is to thank you for the support you've given Phenix." He then tells Gu Fang that he'd once promised he would win back the second world championship ring, and he finally did it. Gu Fang accepts the second necklace as well and pats XK on the shoulder, and says, "Actually, the person you should be thanking isn't me, but your past self. Be thankful for the you who never gave up." He then walks over to the championship trophy that's sitting atop the kitchen counter [I hope they find a better place for it] and says, "Actually these two rings don't belong to either you or me. They're the witness to [the future of] China's iConquer. This isn't the end, but a nodal point. We should hang them here so future generations will continue advancing forward." XK nods his head in agreement and so Gu Fang links the neckaces together to hang the rings on the trophy. [Side Note: Okay, I'm not going to lie. I know the drama was cheesy at times but I'm a big fan of cheese so that was okay and I lapped it all up. But having said that, this scene with Gu Fang? It was a little too cheesy even for me!]
XK leads QY up the stairs to the rooftop of some tall building. He tells her to be careful and when they arrive at their destination, QY gasps over how high up they are. He leads her to the center of the rooftop and after looking around she asks if this was the place he'd wanted to bring her to. [Side Note: I love that she's now wearing a matching leather jacket.] He nods and makes a noise of assent, but she doesn't understand why and asks if there's anything different about this place other than the fact that it's a really tall/high up place. He tells her that once she closes her eyes, she'll know. QY asks why, and and he tsks and says, "If I want you to close your eyes, you should just close them." She smiles and does as he bids, and he in turn throws his ARMS AROUND HER SHOULDER as he leans in to countdown, "3, 2, 1!" The sparklers go off and he tells her to open her eyes. QY gasps in surprise and then tucks her head on XK's shoulder where he then… HEAD PATS.
And.... the final count...
Head Pat Count (episode): 2
Head Pat Count (total): 13
Fist Bump Count (episode): 0
Fist Bump Count (total): 7
Arm around Shoulder Count: 8
lynne22 19,048
~Team Subtract~
Location~Sea of Stars~
@themarchioness I'm not gonna read it until tomorrow...
I'm gonna miss them.
8 hours ago, owlstar said:
I vaguely remember a scene where she was playing with a stuffed animal in bed and talking to herself, and she said something like "I think he likes me." I remember thinking at the time that it was pretty unusual in a C-drama for a female lead to be so aware/confident of the ML's feelings in the flirting phase, and it was kind of refreshing. And lol @ Pei Xi... so true though.
The scene you're thinking about takes place after QY learns that Shu Wen is SG's ex-girlfriend. From Episode 17 recaps:
After she also wishes [XK] a good night, she picks up her stuffed bunny and say, "Little bunny, do you know? JXK doesn't have a girlfriend. Shu Wen and he do not have a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship." The little bunny responds by telling her to have some restraint and asks her if she knows what that means. QY says she doesn't know what that means and the bunny says, "Even if Shu Wen's not his girlfriend, that doesn't necessarily means he likes you either." But QY disagrees. She says, "I think he does like me or else why would he explain things to me? If that wasn't because he likes me, then what was it?"
The flirting phase of this drama was definitely one of the best and I agree with everyone that it was nice having a FL who for once wasn't just saccharine and clueless. I think it was Summer who summed QY up the best when he said she could clearly rely on her face; yet, she wanted to rely on her hard work and merits instead. No wonder she won him over so quickly, and everyone else too.
Just watched the full MV and it's so cheesy but such a catchy, happy song.
LOL, ngl, the eyeshadow action gets me every time. But I do love the song - all the songs on the soundtrack, in fact. Speaking of music, this is kind of random but amuses me so I have to share. I was watching an old episode of "Day Day Up" when this musical duo was introduced as one of the guests and guess what the group's name was! Phoenix Legend (Feng Huang Chuan Qi)! I love it when anything reminds me of GYH, haha.
Btw are you on Archive of Our Own?
No, but you'll find me on Asianfanfics.
Here's my fav gif from previous episodes... lols...... I wish they gave us the closeup on the cheek kiss...
Ahhhhh, Lynne! You're back with some gifs. I have missed them so. I like that cheek kiss scene a lot too. XK was so cute the way he teased the others with his and QY's PDA. As for the other gif you shared of QY/XK moments . . . . . . I'm going to miss them too.
12 hours ago, angelangie said:
@themarchioness tried the hot pot.....dont recommend u guys to go for it all the times...the chemical they use to have the water heated is not very healthy....
Thanks for completing the mission and reporting back, @angelangie! I can't say I ever expected the instant hotpot to be healthy, LOL, I mean, most instant things aren't? But in terms of the chemical used to heat the water, I thought the heat pack was kept outside of the bowl that contains the food. In other words, I didn't think that would ever touch the food. A little concerning if it does . . . Anyway, I think I'd still try it given an opportunity for the novelty factor. But beyond that, um, it's nice to know it exists out there I suppose. Heh.
angelangie 142,082
PhoenixAngel
8 hours ago, themarchioness said:
well it wasnt suppose to....however the hot water will have stim that indirectly will create water so it will still kinda mix a lil with the food.....
well me and mom is always the experimenting one hahaha....we like to try something new and if we dont like or not comfortable with it....that will be the only times we tried it....
once in a while im sure it is fine.....though i dont recommend u guy to do it all the times.....
raziela 5,317
18 hours ago, lynne22 said:
Thank you so much for all the recaps..... and the fanfic ...
Anyway.. love all of your chat guys.. ٩(๑> ₃ <)۶♥
BTS Picture:
Thanks for the pics and gifs. I wondered why they zoomed out and didn't show the kiss? It would have been nice to get SOME sort of kissing now they are finally a couple. I still can't believe we didn't get anything once they started dating. I thought maybe there might be a no kissing clause in their contracts like some idol actors have but we got one kiss scene before so that can't be it.
13 hours ago, themarchioness said:
Thank you soooooo much for your hard work these past SIX months!!!! You should be proud. You have done such an incredible job and I appreciate all the work, thought and effort that has gone into your recaps and engagement on this thread.
[Side note: Some people may find this part cheesy, but I love the whole entrance with all the flashbacks that document each individual's journey to this highest stage. It's inspiring and I love how XK's teammates all speak in terms of having already fulfilled their personal goals! What defines success is truly an individual determination.]
I totally agree! I loved this scene. It was so inspiring and showed the journey of everybody in the team. This drama did such an amazing job of making us care for all these characters
[Side Note: Okay, I'm not going to lie. I know the drama was cheesy at times but I'm a big fan of cheese so that was okay and I lapped it all up. But having said that, this scene with Gu Fang? It was a little too cheesy even for me!]
Totally agree with you again. This scene was just too cringey for me
Thanks so much for all the adorable gifs!
2 hours ago, angelangie said:
Thanks for your review. Yuck! Sorry but absolutely everything about this product sounds so unappealing to me.
owlstar 291
Fan Level: Hooked
Overall, recapping has been a good learning experience and I've definitely had a lot of fun along the way. It was great rewatching, being able to share thoughts, and have conversations with you all here so I don't regret the decision to start or to keep going once the drama became subbed.
Thank you for all your hard work doing those recaps! It sounds like a labor of love (but still a lot of labor!), and I truly enjoyed reading them. They're so incredibly detailed that you could totally publish them as a novel translation of the drama. The last episode was so exciting! I felt kinda annoyed at Miya for going to find JXK after he just lost a match and literally right before he's about to go into the most important game of his life. Seriously, couldn't she wait until after? He could probably use that time to think about... I dunno... strategy? I get that she actually meant well this time and wanted to let him go, but maybe a text would've sufficed?
Yes, that's the one! I really liked how JXK very clearly and definitively resolved that misunderstanding. Overall their relationship was handled in a very mature way (well, after the initial misunderstandings), and I liked that. I don't see it often in C-dramas.
LOL, ngl, the eyeshadow action gets me every time.
YIbo's stylist/MUA sure does love eyeshadow. Tbh it was kinda disconcerting at first to see how much makeup he wears sometimes but I grew used to it. Hard to make him look bad haha.
I was watching an old episode of "Day Day Up" when this musical duo was introduced as one of the guests and guess what the group's name was! Phoenix Legend (Feng Huang Chuan Qi)!
How funny! Wouldn't it have been fitting if the Phoenix Legend group contributed to the soundtrack?
I browsed Asianfanfics briefly, and it seems like they have mostly Korean content? Kind of hard to find stuff, but maybe I'm just not used to it. I barely figured out AO3, but I have to say once I realized how the tagging system works, it's super easy to find stuff to read and there's a huge amount of really good fics.
10 hours ago, raziela said:
Thanks for the pics and gifs. I wondered why they zoomed out and didn't show the kiss?
Love @lynne22's gifs, as always. Is it just me or does that look like an air kiss?! I'm not sure she even made cheek contact.
On 10/14/2019 at 12:56 AM, lynne22 said:
@owlstar Gahhhhh Yibooooo is so adorbs.. haha...
Yes... yes he is...
@raziela I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found that scene with Gu Fang cringey and overly cheesy. I mean, I know why they had such a scene. It mirrored the one at the beginning and served as a segue for the future generations of the sport, but the overall effect of that scene... ick. Maybe if the script had given Gu Fang better lines. It was just so... grandiose. I don't know, hard to describe and put into words. I'd have preferred they just swapped rings and then looked at the trophy to talk about the future. Somehow it was the whole draping of the rings that was especially too much for me.
And thank you for that gif; it totally made me LOL. Haha!
10 hours ago, owlstar said:
Thank you for all your hard work doing those recaps! It sounds like a labor of love (but still a lot of labor!), and I truly enjoyed reading them.
It was, but there were a few things I picked up while recapping that I would've missed otherwise (and I don't just mean the random stuff in the background that I would sometimes notice ) so I definitely gained from the process as well. I'm glad you all enjoyed reading them!
As for Miya going to find XK in the middle of the competition, it's interesting because I can't say I had that thought while I was watching the drama for the first time. But definitely by the time I was recapping that scene, I also wondered, "Why is she choosing now of all times to hash out their relationship?!" I think she meant well as well, and maybe that's not what she originally intended when she went back stage. Perhaps she really meant to just check in on him and then decided he needed to hear something else once she saw the way he was standing there looking lost in the hallway. Or maybe she felt the wedge between him and QY, which existed because of her, was serving as a distraction and so she wanted to ease at least one part of that mess. (Although, if that really is what she was thinking, I would say that was a needless concern. I mean it's clear he does have QY on his mind (and vice versa) what with the way the two of them kept exchanging looks throughout, but on the other hand, XK was always a consummate professional that I think once the game started he was able to compartmentalize his thoughts and focus on the task at hand.) In any event, whatever her intent, I also agree that the timing could've been better!
I browsed Asianfanfics briefly, and it seems like they have mostly Korean content?
Mostly Kpop content, I would say, with a smattering of drama-related stuff. The first Asian drama fanfics I ever wrote were for "Descendants of the Sun," so that's how I ended up at AFF. I am also by no means a prolific writer - it takes the rare drama for my creative juices to get going - so I've never delved too hard into the fanfic website options.
You are right. It doesn't even look real. Disappointing.
raziela I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found that scene with Gu Fang cringey and overly cheesy. I mean, I know why they had such a scene. It mirrored the one at the beginning and served as a segue for the future generations of the sport, but the overall effect of that scene... ick. Maybe if the script had given Gu Fang better lines. It was just so... grandiose. I don't know, hard to describe and put into words. I'd have preferred they just swapped rings and then looked at the trophy to about the future. Somehow it was the whole draping of the rings was especially too much for me.
Whenever I rewatch that episode I skip over that part. It's just completely cringeworthy.
The recaps may be done, but the fics are still going . . . this one's kind of random, but it's inspired by some of the esports-themed web novels that I've been reading recently. (Which, btw, really wish I'd read them before I started recapping. I now understand the gaming terminology so much better. Oh well.) In one of those books, the players had to attend an anime convention as part of their sponsorship promo deal and the way the convention was described, it made me think about what that experience would be like for the Phoenix team if they had participated, and how QY and YY would react. I also used this set-up as a vehicle to outline my vision for the future of the Phoenix team.
Hope you all enjoy it and find it amusing, at the least!
Story #5
After the 2019 iConquer world championships came to a close, it was time to start planning for the next year. As this year's winner, the Phoenix team would have an automatic entrance into the next year's world championships, but that didn't mean they could rest on their laurels and not worry about the next year. There were plenty of teams eager to replace them at the top, and that included teams within China as well.
Every shift between the competitive seasons always brought changes and now that everyone was looking ahead to the fall season, there were already major transitions happening within the Chinese league.
The team having to undergo the greatest transformation was perhaps the VNG team. Not only had they lost their longtime coach, Shu Wen, but one of their top players had been suspended for an entire year. Add to that, they'd already lost Pei Xi the prior year, followed by Ji Xiang Kong, and with only a skeletal crew remaining, both Lu Sheng and Tong Wu had opted to not renew their contracts with VNG and had instead combined forces with the remaining members of the Legends team.
CEO Jin, it was said, was determined to return the Legends team to its former glory and the infusion of new blood into the team was his first step in that journey.
Li Gan, on the other hand, was scrambling to put a new string of players together to avoid having VNG downgraded to the relegation league. It was going to be an uphill battle for him with only Shen Yue as his seasoned player, especially when Shen Yue had always been more of a follower than a leader. There were times when Summer would sigh and ssay he pitied Li Gan and his current situation, but Shu Wen would always shake her head and say this was a product of his own making. It wasn't that Shu Wen was unsympathetic. She hated seeing a team she'd worked so hard for years to help build floundering as it was, but she wasn't one to dwell on things beyond her control either.
Instead, she now poured her energies into the Phoenix team having decided to join officially by becoming its coach. She wasn't the team's only new member. Gu Fang had also decided that he'd had enough time off and returned to the esports world by signing on as the team's business manager.
Ever since the conclusion of the world championships a lot of attention, focus, and interest had turned in the direction of the Phoenix team and Xiang Kong knew it was beyond his abilities to continue wearing the multiple hats that had been required of him when he'd first founded the team. If he wanted to continue competing as a player, which he did, and if he wanted to see the team continue to grow, which he also did, then he knew, he needed help from others. That was why he turned to the people who'd been by his side from the beginning, and the people he'd long admired and trusted.
The good thing about working with people who knew him as well as Gu Fang and Shu Wen did, was that their visions and motivations were perfectly aligned. In fact, one of the things reporters would always comment on whenever they wrote news articles about the Phoenix team was how it wasn't only the players themselves who worked cooperatively when playing in a competition, but it was also the team members and their management who had a harmonious working relationship. Truly, everyone's ability to get along like family and friends was the Phoenix team's greatest asset and strength.
The bad thing about working with people who knew him as well as Gu Fang and Shu Wen did, was that they could anticipate his every reaction from a mile away. Which was how it came to be one afternoon that Xiang Kong was sitting in front of his computer screen, tapping his fingers aimlessly against the keyboard, while Gu Fang and Shu Wen stood over him with determined expressions on their faces. Shu Wen even had her arms crossed, which Xiang Kong knew was the key point of her "I'm not budging" look.
"I know," Gu Fang repeated for the millionth time, "You don't like participating in these kinds of events."
"But it's just one afternoon at an anime convention," Shu Wen pointed out.
Xiang Kong couldn't hold back the eye roll, but he did manage to at least wait until dinner that night to vent his annoyance.
"It's not like we're a string of puppets," he complained. "I really don't understand these sponsors who insist on making us attend these types of events. What's the point?"
Across from him, Qiu Ying tucked in her chin and swallowed a smile. It had been like this ever since Phoenix had signed their first sponsorship contract.
Since everyone liked a winner, it hadn't taken long after the world championships before various companies were lined up outside their door hoping to form a strategic alliance. That was one of the reasons why Xiang Kong had turned to Gu Fang for help, and Qiu Ying actually thought Gu Fang had done an admirable job of sorting through their options to pick only those that were the most advantageous and relevant to form sponsorship relationships with.
"At least the anime convention is scheduled for when you guys are on a break anyway," Qiu Ying tried to placate. "It won't affect the team's training."
"I think it'll be fun," Lin Yi Xuan piped up. "I'm looking forward to it."
Xiang Kong shot his friend a dark look. "You would."
"What? Why shouldn't I feel that way? At least it'll be better than those other types of events that we sometimes have to attend, where all we do is eat, drink, stand around, and make small talk with random strangers."
"So instead you'd rather stand on a stage and play stupid games while random strangers watch?"
"I'm sure Manager Gu will arrange with the organizers of the anime convention to make sure the team doesn't have to do anything unreasonable," Qiu Ying cut in.
"And it's not like you haven't participated in these kinds of events previously. Didn't you once go on a television program and play stupid games? You even made Qiu Ying fall into a pit of balls; as I recall, it wasn't just once but multiple times!"
It was Qiu Ying's turn to shoot her friend, Lu Yi Yi, a dark look. "Don't get involved," she whispered to her on the side.
"What?" Yi Yi said, echoing her own boyfriend. "I'm only speaking the truth."
Feeling like the only adult at the restaurant table, Qiu Ying turned to Xiang Kong and tried to gently turn him around to reality. "You know Manager Gu and Shu Wen Jie would never ask the team to participate in anything that was harmful to the team. Just trust in them. Be good. Listen to them."
Xiang Kong sighed. Deep down he knew what Qiu Ying was saying was true, just as he knew Gu Fang and Shu Wen were only doing what needed to be done. Forming partnerships with corporate sponsors was a necessary part of the esports business; it was just something he really loathed.
"When is the anime convention?" Qiu Ying asked. "Yi Yi and I will make sure to be there to support you all. It'll be fine, you'll see."
=//=
By the time the anime convention rolled around, Qiu Ying was singing a different tune. Standing with the audience under center stage, her hands were on her hips and her eyes were shooting flames. "What nonsense is this?" she asked Yi Yi.
"That's what I want to know," her friend responded.
Both of them watched with restrained fury as their boyfriends stood on stage playing games with the pretty and scantily clad showgirls who had been hired by the anime convention organizers.
"Don't you think they look like they're enjoying this a little too much?"
"I swear, if Yi Xuan's hand drops any lower, he's not going to have a hand to play his computer game with anymore." Yi Yi was already rolling up her sleeves in preparation of making good on her threat.
"And Xia Ling! How am I going to explain this to his mother?"
"You're not. You can't."
Qiu Ying looked at the people laughing and clapping around them, and couldn't believe there were actually people enjoying this. What was so fun about watching a bunch of esport players bridal carrying a bunch of showgirls just to see who would win in a race?
When that game finally finished, the host introduced a new one. This time the players formed a team against the showgirls for a game of charades. "At least there won't be any physical contact this time," Qiu Ying muttered darkly.
"But if they shimmy any harder their tops may fall off," Yi Yi grumbled, watching one of the showgirls try and act out the word she'd been given.
An hour and several more games later, the Phoenix team was finally released for a break until their fan signing event in half an hour. While the other members left to wander around the convention hall and take in the sights, Xiang Kong and Yi Xuan wasted no time in hunting down their girlfriends. They didn't have to travel far. Qiu Ying and Yi Yi waited for them with arms crossed near the stage's exit.
"What's wrong?" Yi Xuan asked innocently.
"What's wrong? What's wrong? You actually dare to ask what's wrong?"
Xiang Kong turned to Qiu Ying. "What's the matter with her?"
Since Qiu Ying didn't want to start a disagreement in public, she merely turned and started to walk away. Xiang Kong was left to catch up to her, leaving Yi Xuan alone to deal with his own girlfriend.
Racing up from behind, Xiang Kong swung an arm around Qiu Ying's shoulder and asked in his best behaved drawl, "What's the matter?"
"I'm not going to discuss it with you right now."
"Why? What's going on?" For the life of him he couldn't figure it out. Everything had been fine just that morning before the team had left to go backstage to prepare for their first event. Since they hadn't seen each other since, how could he have made her upset?
Thinking over that question a thought suddenly occurred to him. "No way, that can't be it, can it?" Qiu Ying turned and looked at him curiously. "Are you, perhaps, jealous?"
She spluttered in response and pushed him away. "What crazy talk are you spouting? I'm not jealous. How could I be jealous? What would I be jealous about? All those indecent games you were playing just now?"
"Indecent?"
"Is there any other way to describe them? You all had your hands all over those showgirls' bodies!" As she spoke, Qiu Ying gesticulated with her hands to illustrate.
Xiang Kong scratched his head. That wasn't how he remembered it. "When?"
He rolled his eyes. "I only remember the one game where we had to bridal carry the girls. You can't possibly be referring to that?"
"Wait a minute, you really were referring to that? We were made to do that. You don't think we actually enjoyed that, do you? None of us wanted to do it, but the organizers requested it and we could hardly say no."
"It sure looked like you were enjoying yourself," Qiu Ying sniffed.
"Weren't you the one who said I should just go along with things and cooperate? I was only following the event organizer's instructions and doing what the audience wanted," he promised. "Trust me," he added in a whisper and kissed her on the forehead. "The only person I want to be bridal carrying is you."
Qiu Ying's face promptly burst into a pink blush, which she tried to hide behind her hands. Her reaction made Xiang Kong laugh and he grabbed at her hands to reveal her face. Keeping one of her hands tucked in his own, he then led her around to check out the various booths.
When it was time for the Phoenix team's fan signing event, Qiu Ying and Xiang Kong parted ways again reluctantly. Left with nothing else to do, Qiu Ying tracked down Yi Yi who was still grousing about the earlier event.
"It's not any big deal," Qiu Ying told her. "You shouldn't be so upset."
Yi Yi looked at her like she'd grown two horns on her head. "Weren't you also really upset not that long ago?" she reminded.
Qiu Ying shrugged. She'd thought it over and realized Xiang Kong was right. Sponsorship events like these were often made up of the silly and nonsensical; it was why he hated attending them in the first place. Since she knew that, the only explanation for her visceral reaction was jealousy and in hindsight, Qiu Ying didn't know what she was so jealous about. It wasn't as if she had anything to feel insecure about regarding how Xiang Kong felt about her.
"Let's not embarrass ourselves," she finally advised.
Qiu Ying then led the way in taking another circuit around the convention hall. As she and Yi Yi checked out one of the other events taking place on the opposite side of the convention hall, a young boy about Xia Ling's age nervously approached with paper and pen in hand and asked, "Excuse me, but would you happen to be Qiu Ying, the esports commentator from GDV?"
Qiu Ying turned in surprise. "That's right, that's me."
"Oh my gosh!" he cried. "I just knew it had to be you! I recognized you instantly. I'm your biggest fan! May I have your autograph?" Before she could even answer, he turned around and waved to a group of boys standing off to the side. "I was right!" he called out to his friends. "It is her!" He then turned back and explained, "We're all big fans of you."
Qiu Ying laughed delighted by their earnest interest and feeling not a little bit flattered; she offered to take a picture with him and his friends in addition to giving them her autograph. The boys couldn't believe their good fortune and immediately scrambled over to form a selfie huddle. Their actions attracted the attention of others who stopped in their tracks to see what was going on. Since there were a lot of iConquer fans in attendance it didn't take long for word to travel that one of the Chinese commentators was also present at the convention. Soon Qiu Ying was having her own impromptu fan signing event. She felt overwhelmed as this was the first time something like this had ever happened to her, but happily gave away autographs and hugs to her fans.
An hour later the Phoenix team was finally done with all of their obligations and ready to leave. Xiang Kong, however, couldn't find Qiu Ying. He tried calling her phone, but she didn't answer. His text message went similarly unanswered. "Call Lu Yi Yi," he suggested to Yi Xuan.
Yi Xuan did as instructed and learned that they were together on the other side of the convention hall. The two of them promptly headed over in that direction. When they arrived, they found Yi Yi easily as she was standing next to a pillar off to the side but Qiu Ying was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Qiu Ying?" Xiang Kong asked.
Yi Yi nodded her chin in a direction. "Over there."
He turned in the direction she'd indicated but all he saw was a crowd of men. "Where?"
"Over there," she repeated, and then clarified, "She's in the middle of that group. They're all asking for her autograph and taking pictures."
"I think some of them are even asking for hugs," she added slyly.
Suddenly understanding how Qiu Ying must have felt earlier, Xiang Kong strode over to the crowd and forcefully cut a path though. When he reached the middle, he surprised Qiu Ying and her fans by grabbing her by the wrist and saying, "Come with me."
C-drama kiss scenes are just so bad in general. I kinda stopped expecting much. Even some full-on making out I'm pretty sure is just all angles and air (case in point).
Yay for the Phoenix dream team (and management!), and also yay for Li Gan reaping what he sowed. I can totally see Yi Xuan getting beat up by Yi Yi over the games haha... and I really wanted to see more of jealous JXK! I guess I enjoy a little angst... as long as it comes with a happy ending. Thanks for sharing!
1 hour ago, owlstar said:
Even some full-on making out I'm pretty sure is just all angles and air (case in point).
OMG. LOL, that is quite the example! Hahaha.
and I really wanted to see more of jealous JXK! I guess I enjoy a little angst... as long as it comes with a happy ending.
Don't we all??? Hahaha . Complain as we may, the angst keeps things interesting.
On 10/15/2019 at 11:33 PM, themarchioness said:
Excellent work! I'm so glad you are still keeping the fics coming! I really loved the detailed background here about what happened to all the teams we saw featured in the drama (plays world's smallest violin for Li Gan and the now decimated VNG ). You created a perfect scenario with Shu Wen and Gu Fang joining Phoenix in their new roles and i love that they are so aligned with XK compared to his experience at his previous teams.
The whole scenario at the convention was hilarious. Well done XK for reassuring your girl. Yi Xuan is a careless boyfriend and didn't go and speak to Yi Yi especially knowing her less than stellar opinion of males. God help him when YY gets a hold of him!
I agree with @owlstar always good to see more jealous XK, He will have to deal with more of that as QY becomes more and more famous as a pretty commentator in a male-dominated industry. Muah ha ha ha!
LMAO!! I'm a big fan of the Legend of Yun Xi but the kiss scenes were crap. They should have just left them out instead of the obviously fake pretend kissing. I think as an actor I would feel more embarrassed having to do these weird fake angle and air kisses like some kid at a school play instead of just doing my damn job and kissing.
I have seen some good kissing scenes in C-dramas but they are definitely lacking compared to the Taiwanese and even Korean dramas now. I feel like you don't really see so many of the fakeass statue kisses in K-dramas now but they are still all over C-dramas. T-dramas rule all when it comes to kissing though! They are as hot as any kisses you see in the West.
Well-written angst is my crack. But I can't take sad endings. Hurt me all you want along the way but misunderstandings need to be resolved and the OTP needs to end up together!
hey should have just left them out instead of the obviously fake pretend kissing. I think as an actor I would feel more embarrassed having to do these weird fake angle and air kisses like some kid at a school play instead of just doing my damn job and kissing.
I agree! I'd rather just have a nice hug (or in the case of GYH, head pat/fist bump/arm around shoulder? ) versus having to watch cringey awkward fake kisses.
I haven't seen a T-drama in ages! They used to make such good cracky ones but I don't know what happened. Maybe I need a refresher to *ahem* confirm that what you say is true.
Excellent work! I'm so glad you are still keeping the fics coming! I really loved the detailed background here about what happened to all the teams we saw featured in the drama (plays world's smallest violin for Li Gan and the now decimated VNG ).
I have another one in the works. And LOL at the world's smallest violin for Li Gan. i don't know why I have been thinking about him so much lately but I just get really angry when I think about how he let Qi Yue abuse Tong Wu as he did. Kind of goes along with my head scratching wonderment over the drama's last minute attempt to rehabilitate Qi Yue. Like, okay, so he really only pushed to be the captain because he wanted to be worthy of his girlfriend. But... abusing Tong Wu was part of that effort? I don't know, sounds like some major whitewashing to me. And I think we did already talk about it and so I'm rehashing old matters, but like I said, it was something that popped into my head lately. Don't know why...
Yi Xuan is a careless boyfriend and didn't go and speak to Yi Yi especially knowing her less than stellar opinion of males. God help him when YY gets a hold of him!
Oh, he did! He just didn't get very far in his conversation with her. I apologize if it wasn't clear, but the line, ""What's wrong? What's wrong? You actually dare to ask what's wrong?" belongs to Yi Yi (after Yi Xuan asks, "What's wrong?").
He will have to deal with more of that as QY becomes more and more famous as a pretty commentator in a male-dominated industry. Muah ha ha ha!
LOL. That is a fun thought to think about!
100% agree with this and it's why I'm okay with angst (even if I do moan and groan about it along the way) so long as it ends with a happiness!
I'd rather just have a nice hug (or in the case of GYH, head pat/fist bump/arm around shoulder? ) versus having to watch cringey awkward fake kisses.
Also agree with this!
Saw this cute BTS clip of WYB and WZX. They look pretty comfortable with each other.
I guess WYB has a habit of play hitting co-stars that he likes?
@themarchioness I thought of you when I first saw this tweet.
But then I read on and I was like...
Somehow I don't think you'll be writing JXK and Gu Fang fanfic any time soon.
Haha, yeah, I think Yibo does have a reputation for being a playful hitter on set. It came up in several interviews with his Untamed cast mates.
Ohhhh my, LOL. Yeah, definitely won't be writing that one. I'm not good at writing any sort of steamy scene, frankly, but my ideas also just run in the opposite direction. I mean, next story involves a baby! I also just started putting up my GYH fics on Asianfanfics so that they can be easily found in one place.
Everyone likes a baby, right? This story jumps ahead a few years into the future... Enjoy!
Story #6 – Baby's Training Day
"We have a problem," Qiu Ying announced over dinner one night.
"What's the matter?" her husband, Ji Xiang Kong, asked.
She pointed to their child, sitting in his high chair at the end of the table, and said, "Xiao Feng's daycare is closed tomorrow."
Qiu Ying shrugged her shoulders and reached for some vegetables which she placed in front of their son. "It's a last minute thing apparently. The electric company needs to turn off their electricity for several hours tomorrow in order to make some fixes to a nearby electrical unit, so the daycare has decided to close their doors for the entire day. I just got notice of it on my way home tonight. What are we going to do? I have an important meeting in the morning that I can't miss, my parents are still out of town, and it's too late to find a babysitter for an entire day."
"What else can we do?" Xiang Kong put down his bowl of rice and sighed. "I'll have to take him to the training base with me tomorrow."
The next morning, Xiang Kong arrived to work carrying a lot more than he normally did. In addition to Xiao Feng who was strapped across his chest in a baby carrier, in each of his hands he carried giant bags filled with blankets, stuffed animals, toys, diapers, extra clothes, bottles, and baby formula. Qiu Ying might as well have packed the baby's entire nursery, Xiang Kong muttered to himself, as he struggled to open the training base's heavy metal doors.
The yanking motion caused him to jostle the baby and Xiao Feng let out a whimper in his sleep. Xiang Kong looked down and immediately started to apologize in a whisper, "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" and then he prayed the baby wouldn't wake up and erupt into a massive cry. It could sometimes take forever to get him to stop once he got going. "Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry!"
Behind him, Shu Wen also arrived to work at the same time, and peered over his shoulder to see what was going on. "Why, what do we have here? Isn't this Xiao Feng? So cute. He looks like he's really grown since the last time I saw him, and I think he's looking more and more like his mother, but why did you bring him here today?"
"Can you help me open the door?" Xiang Kong wheezed out.
"Oh, sure."
Once Shu Wen opened the doors and Xiang Kong followed her inside he explained about the daycare situation. He then laid out blankets on the floor for the baby to crawl around while Shu Wen went to wake up the players.
After Xiang Kong retired from competing, he and Qiu Ying moved from the second floor of the training base, which they had turned into their apartment after their wedding, and into their own apartment nearby. By then Qiu Ying was pregnant with Xiao Feng so it had only made sense for them to finally have a place to call their own.
As the founder of Phoenix and its largest shareholder, of course Xiang Kong stayed on with the team even after retiring. Gu Fang had offered to step aside, but business management wasn't Xiang Kong's forte and Gu Fang did it so well. With a clap to his old friend's shoulder, Xiang Kong had told him to not even think about going anywhere else. Instead, he now helped Shu Wen by serving as the team's data analyst and continued to formulate new strategies to fight against their opponents.
In a surprise turn of events, Xiang Kong also became a college professor. The university that had created a major just for Xia Ling decided to expand their esports program even after his graduation, and now Xiang Kong taught a class there two days a week. Fortunately, today wasn't one of Xiang Kong's teaching days so he could bring Xiao Feng with him to the training base.
When the players stumbled out of their bedrooms, they were surprised to find a baby in their midst.
Xia Ling stepped forward to wave at his nephew who'd woken up by now and asked, "Why is Xiao Feng here today?
"Daycare's closed and there was nobody else to watch him. You're all just going to have to put up with him for today."
"That's okay," Pei Xi piped up from the kitchen where he'd gone to brew his first cup of coffee of the day. "We don't mind, do we guys?"
The other players quickly agreed. Indeed, with the Xiao Feng sitting quietly amidst his toys and blinking innocently back at them, it didn't seem like it would be such a big deal having to spend the day with a baby.
Several hours later, everyone was singing a different tune.
Not only did Xiao Feng demand a lot of attention, he needed to be watched constantly. At first, he'd started out in the arms of Xiang Kong, but he was then passed to his uncle, Xia Ling, when one of the younger players needed Xiang Kong's assistance with something. Xia Ling had then needed to use the bathroom, so he'd passed the baby to Yi Xuan. Yi Xuan then received an invitation to play a ranked match, so he'd set Xiao Feng down on the table in front of him and told him not to move. But Xiao Feng didn't need to crawl anywhere to reach next to him and pull on the cable that was so fascinating to him. Across from Yi Xuan, on the other side of the monitors, both Xiang Kong and the player he was helping cried out in surprise when their screen went black.
"What just happened?" Xiang Kong stood up and asked.
"Where's Xiao Feng?" Shu Wen asked.
"Right next to me," Yi Xuan answered, his eyes never straying from the computer game in front of him.
Xiang Kong peered over the computer monitors and found his son on the other side sitting up proudly while cheerfully gumming on one of the cables.
"Yah!" Rushing around to the other side, he quickly snatched up the baby and yanked the cable from his mouth. "Do you know how dangerous that is?"
Yi Xuan finished his ranked match and looked up. "What? Wasn't he just sitting quietly next to me?"
Shu Wen shook her head while Xiang Kong huffed exasperatedly and carried the baby out to the living room. After that, Xiao Feng was banned from the training room but he didn't like that. He wanted to be around the excitement.
To ensure that he stayed distracted, one by one, from Xiang Kong to the youngest of the players, they all took turns trying to keep Xiao Feng entertained. Through nap time, lunch time, and play time, they were now exhausted. The players still had one more training session to complete and Xiao Feng was supposed to go down for another nap, but he was fighting it like one would fight a computer game boss.
Everyone gathered around helplessly as Xiang Kong paced around in a large circle trying to quiet down the inconsolable Xiao Feng. The baby's face was almost purple he was so upset and Xiang Kong was worried if he kept crying like this, he'd make himself sick. Xiang Kong couldn't figure out what was wrong. He'd tried giving him a bottle followed by a pacifier, he'd checked his diaper, and he'd even tried calming him down with his favorite stuffed toy, but that had been promptly thrown back in his face. Even Shu Wen who was a mother herself hadn't succeeded in getting the baby to stop crying.
"Maybe we should call my sister," Xia Ling suggested and pulled his phone out of his back pocket.
"No!" Xiang Kong held out a hand and quickly stopped him. "Don't interrupt her. She and Luo Tian are offsite at a meeting with an important client this today. I don't want her to worry."
"Then what should we do?"
"I don't know," Xiang Kong admitted and rocked the baby in his arms some more.
Pei Xi could see his arms were starting to tire. "Here, let me," he offered.
"Are you sure?" Xiang Kong asked, but Pei Xi was already lifting Xiao Feng out of his arms.
And then the miraculous happened. The minute Xiao Feng was settled in Pei Xi's arms he popped his thumb in his mouth and stopped crying.
Everyone looked at each other in surprise, with no one looking more shocked than Xiang Kong, and then they watched in fascination as Xiao Feng blinked a few times, let out a large sigh before he yawned broadly, and closed his eyes to sleep.
Yi Xuan responded immediately by giving Pei Xi a thumbs up and Xia Ling patted his idol on the back, clearly impressed. As for Xiang Kong, he also gave Pei Xi a pat on the back and then left him behind in the living room while motioning with his head for everyone else to rejoin him in the training room.
Around that same time, Qiu Ying and Luo Tian walked out of a restaurant across town where they'd just finished their business lunch. The clients they had been meeting with left first and now they were waiting for Luo Tian's car to be brought around. Since it was still early in the afternoon and there was nothing pressing waiting for them back at the office, Luo Tian suggested to Qiu Ying that she take the rest of the day off having heard about the situation with Xiao Feng earlier.
"Are you sure that would be alright?" Qiu Ying asked.
"It'll be okay," Luo Tian reassured. "I'll drop you off at the training base on my way back to GDV."
When they arrived to the Phoenix training base, Qiu Ying asked if Luo Tian wanted to stop in and say hello. Since it'd been a while since he'd seen his friends, he readily agreed.
As they pulled open the doors to the training base, Qiu Ying expected to find chaos and mayhem. With five boys living there and an assortment of other people, such as Xiang Kong and Shu Wen, always passing through, the place was normally a beehive of activity. If they weren't playing their game and calling out instructions, praises, and complaints to one another, they were running around the living room and kitchen area messing around with each other.
This afternoon, however, the training base was eerily quiet.
That shouldn't have been the case with a baby in their company no less.
"Why is it so quiet today?" Luo Tian asked next to her.
"I don't know," Qiu Ying responded. "You don't think anything happened do you?" Already her mother's instincts were fearing the worst and a thousand images passed through her head in the blink of an eye. Most of them revolved around everyone inside the training base rushing to the hospital with Xiao Feng in their arms.
Luo Tian touched her arm comfortingly and knowing what she must be thinking said, "Don't let your thoughts run wild. I'm sure Xiang Kong would've called you if that had been the case. Let's go in and see."
As they walked farther in to the training base, they started to hear the gentle clicks and clacks from the computer keyboards but no other accompanying sounds. Qiu Ying and Luo Tian looked confusedly at each other, and he tipped his head towards the training room in the back. Qiu Ying followed and when they arrived to the open doorway of the training area, they were surprised to find the entire team there with Shu Wen and Xiang Kong standing over them with their arms crossed as they watched. Everyone was playing the iConquer game, but no one was speaking a word. Instead, they gestured with exaggerated facial expressions and head motions when anything needed to be said.
Qiu Ying almost laughed aloud as she started to ask what in the world was going on, but Xiang Kong noticed her at that moment and quickly held up both his hands while shaking his head and motioned for her to stay quiet. He then walked over and pulled her towards the living room.
"Don't make any noises," he told her in a whisper. "Xiao Feng just fell asleep not too long ago and we don't want to wake him up."
"Where is he?" she whispered back. She looked around the living room but all she saw were the traces of damage left behind by their son. Baby accoutrements scattered around, toys thrown in every direction, and blankets and the extra clothes she'd packed in case piled near the coffee table.
Xiang Kong led her over to the room that had once been hers when the team was just getting off the ground, and opened its door. When she peered inside, she found PX lying propped up against the headboard of his bed asleep with Xiao Feng snuggled on top of his chest.
Qiu Ying giggled and turned back to ask, "What happened here?"
"A miracle."
Haha um... lots of steamy stuff on AO3, but everything is very well tagged (and there's always a warning you have to click through for more explicit content), so you only ever see it if you want to. There's even Yibo (and XZ) fanfics (don't ask me how I know ).
I swear, halfway through the story, I just KNEW Pei Xi was going to be the one that connects with the baby! Love that it's a team effort, but omg babies around electrical cables almost gave me a secondhand heart attack.
On 10/17/2019 at 2:09 PM, owlstar said:
i totally agree. Better some cute affectionate moment than a cringeworthy uncomfortable kiss.
100% agree. Li Gan turned a blind eye to his protege abusing a vulnerable young man and I can't forgive Li Gan for that. The whitewashing of Qi Yue's numerous malicious actions was insulting but as you said in your recap I just did not want to see him or his girlfriend on my screen anymore.
Thanks for the clip. Cute To see them having fun together!
Thank you for the very entertaining story. Loved seeing Pei Xing and his mysterious ability to unexpectedly connect with others. The last line was adorable and I noticed you snuck in that Shu Wen was a Mum too! Really happy Qiu Ying is still in the commentator industry and I love the idea of XK as young, hot professor dad.
Yi Xuan then received an invitation to play a ranked match, so he'd set Xiao Feng down on the table in front of him and told him not to move.
Why am I not surprised this is YX's idea of taking care of a baby?
1 hour ago, raziela said:
Li Gan turned a blind eye to his protege abusing a vulnerable young man and I can't forgive Li Gan for that.
He was/is such a petty jerk! I rewatched a few episodes along with a friend this past weekend and one thing that really stood out to me in that scene where PX was cutting cake before leaving VNG was how, in addition to Qi Yue gave him a hard time about that decision, Li Gan did too. I get that his departure put the team in a bind, but all's fair in love and war. And it's not like he did not anything untoward or broke a contract in order to leave. He waited for it to end and took another opportunity that came along. Sure there's the loyalty factor and whatnot, but PX knew that wasn't going to get him far and honestly, I actually give him a lot of props for realizing his limitations - not just at VNG, but personally as well, and knowing that he needed someone like XK on his side to win the world championships. That's why Shu Wen was so much the better person when she just walked up to him, stuck out her hand for shake, and wished him well. You just can't take these things personally, which is something Li Gan never learned.
As an aside, another moment that stood out to me during this past weekend's rewatch was during Gu Fang's retirement ceremony when Shu Wen asked the other Pioneer members what they thought a combination of PX and XK being on the same team would look like. Such significance! ...That kind of blew past me all the other times that I watched that scene other than to note that she said it.
Loved seeing Pei Xing and his mysterious ability to unexpectedly connect with others.
Haha, when I shared that moment with @phikyl she said it was only natural that PX would turn out to be an effective pacifier given his method of using doggy lollipops to shut others up. LOL.
I noticed you snuck in that Shu Wen was a Mum too!
Hee hee. I gotta work in the details where I can.
and I love the idea of XK as young, hot professor dad
Ohhhhh the mental images. @lynne22 what do you think about that?! I bet his class is popular with the girls... sudden influx of women playing iConquer competitively!
One wonders what Yi Yi would have to say if she knew about that.
ETA: I'm out of story ideas for now. Maybe something will occur to me when I marathon the drama with another friend this coming weekend, but otherwise I'm open to suggestions! I just make no promises as my muse has to be able to feel it.
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