Ten days ago, the official KPL Weibo had already announced the format of the exhibition match at the awards ceremony.
KPL Honor of Kings Professional League V:
"Five lucky players will be selected in just three days! Next week, they will join our spokesperson @Qiao Jingjing in an exhibition match. Where will the other four teammates come from? (doge face) Ding ding ding! Our editor excitedly reveals that these six players will randomly select their own teammates from the audience. So who's in the audience??? (doge face)"
Below the post was a group photo of all twelve professional teams.
The comments section had exploded.
Snowflakes Drifting: "So they can pick two players from each team?"
Diaochan Little Sister: "This sounds interesting! I'm going to sign up on the official website too."
You had to admit the official account knew how to build suspense—saving their ultimate skill for the very end, instantly generating massive buzz. Ling Jie had been watching from the sidelines and couldn't help but admire the strategy.
Lately, she'd been quite anxious, frequently grabbing someone from the studio to vent and relieve stress. It made sense—as an artist manager, who'd have thought she'd one day be worrying like a coach?
On the day of the match, she grew even more restless, rushing to Qiao Jingjing's home early in the morning to offer advice.
Though her focus was somewhat misplaced.
"Wear a looser sweater... This one's too long, put it away."
"No high heels, white sneakers... Actually, wear heels—they make your legs look longer. In case some audience members can't take good photos."
"Tie your hair up, make it youthful and lively. Don't slick your forehead back so neatly, leave some soft baby hairs!"
"Change out of those pants into shorts—you must show your legs!"
Qiao Jingjing didn't follow all her suggestions. She ended up wearing a large white sweater loosely tucked into a short skirt, paired with high heels. Aside from a pair of diamond-encrusted rabbit earrings, she wore no other jewelry, appearing both youthful and vibrant. Ling Jie examined her from all angles and finally breathed a sigh of relief. "This is perfect! We can lose the match, but we can't lose in leg game or face game."
Qiao Jingjing shot her a glare through the mirror. "Can't you say something more auspicious?"
"Win win win! I'm just trying to help you relax," Ling Jie declared firmly, though she still felt somewhat nervous inside.
"By the way, weren't you at King 50 stars before? Why did I see you dropped quite a bit this morning? Is your form not great?"
...Don't even mention it.
The topic made her gloomy... Because Teacher Yu had truly stopped duo-queuing with her. He just watched helplessly as she fell back to King 15 stars in solo queue, then became unusually enthusiastic about playing matching games with her.
This kind of targeted matching was exhausting! Eventually, she wanted to tug on Teacher Yu's cold pant leg and ask if he could just forget about the gift.
She really didn't understand why he was in such a hurry—her birthday wasn't until the end of the month.
And she still hadn't managed to achieve five consecutive legendary...
She couldn't be bothered to explain it all to Ling Jie, so she simply said, "Fifteen stars is my actual skill level. Those fifty stars before were all thanks to Teacher Yu carrying me."
"Oh oh, fifteen stars is still amazing." Ling Jie felt relieved and tried to reassure her further. "Just play freely, don't be nervous. I've already coordinated with several familiar marketing accounts and media outlets. Even if you lose, they'll make it sound glorious."
"..."Qiao Jingjing felt utterly exhausted, having never encountered a manager so pessimistic yet brimming with confidence. She reminded her, "In competitions, wins and losses are unpredictable. Don't overpraise if we win, and don't overcompensate if we lose—going too far is just as bad as not enough."
Ling Jie sobered up immediately and called the publicity team to emphasize this point. After hanging up, she was about to praise Qiao Jingjing for her tact when she saw her happily admiring her earrings in the mirror again. Ling Jie swallowed her words of praise in exasperation.
The awards ceremony was set to begin at 7 p.m. At 5 p.m. sharp, the team arrived backstage at the KPL venue.
KPL had prepared a private dressing room for her, but Ling Jie pragmatically declined. "Let's go build some goodwill with the players. It might come in handy."
Qiao Jingjing's appearance in the large dressing room caused quite a stir. Many staff members, including some of the more outgoing professional players, came to ask for photos and autographs.
Qiao Jingjing naturally complied with every request. When signing for the players, she personalized each one directly. Everyone was surprised to see her glance at someone and accurately write "To [username]" without hesitation.
A player named A Ming asked shyly, "How do you know my ID?"
Qiao Jingjing smiled. "I'm the spokesperson."
After giving that official response, she added with a laugh, "I've watched many of your matches, and your live streams too."
"You watch live streams?" he exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course," Qiao Jingjing said seriously. "I'll be playing with you all soon, so I need to know your styles. Know yourself and know your enemy, right?"
A Ming thought for a moment before whispering, "If the other team picks me, I'll go easy on you once."
Qiao Jingjing: "..."
...Was this how esports nerds showed kindness?
After signing for a while longer, staff hurriedly called the players to enter the venue.
Qiao Jingjing stood to see them off. As the players reached the door, one young man suddenly shouted, "Goddess, pick me later! I'm Zhou Yin from Team Celestial Palace!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
When it was Qiao Jingjing's turn to take the stage, the five lucky players selected via lottery were already standing there—two women and three men, ranging in age from teenagers to fortysomethings. If not for the public and verified lottery process, one might suspect Honor of Kings was deliberately flaunting its broad audience.
Her entrance BGM was hilariously unexpected—it was "Chaos Superstar." Qiao Jingjing, feeling relaxed, nearly laughed aloud upon hearing it. As the music ended, the host announced loudly, "Welcome our Honor of Kings spokesperson, Qiao Jingjing!"
Qiao Jingjing greeted everyone: "Hello, I'm Qiao Jingjing."
Her dedicated fan club was present, and they erupted in screams.
"Teacher Jingjing, this is your first time at our live event, and you'll be competing with everyone. Are you nervous?"
"I'm generally not nervous."
The host cleverly picked up the cue: "Oh?"
"It's my teammates who get nervous."
The audience immediately laughed, and live stream comments on video sites flooded with "Hahaha."
"What do I do? I actually find her kind of cute."
"'Teammates nervous' is killing me."
The host followed up: "Then do you know which two among the people beside you are your teammates?"
Qiao Jingjing tilted her head, surveyed them, and said, "The two who look most nervous?"
The audience laughed again.The host wiped his sweat. "I think they're all quite nervous. Actually, it's still uncertain who your teammates will be. Later, we'll decide through a draw. Now, let's have our five lucky players introduce themselves. Who would like to go first?"
The lucky players glanced at each other, and the short-haired girl on the far left took the microphone. "Hello everyone, my game ID is Nine Tomatoes. I'm a student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and my rank is Platinum."
The bespectacled young man said, "I'm Fighting Bear, a real estate agent, Diamond rank. If anyone needs to buy a house, feel free to contact me."
The middle-aged man introduced himself, "My name is One Look at the Sea, I'm a programmer, and my rank is Supreme Grandmaster."
The office lady said, "I'm Tongtong is Smart, my profession is lawyer, and my rank is Gold."
When the young man on the far right took the microphone, there was a slight commotion in the audience. He smiled and waved toward the crowd.
"Hello everyone, I'm A Pot of Wine Among Flowers, Conqueror 21 stars. My profession is an Honor of Kings Anchor, and my livestream room number is xxxxx. I just want to say I really didn't rig this—I was genuinely selected."
The host chuckled and added, "I can guarantee there was no rigging."
After saying this, he looked toward Qiao Jingjing.
Qiao Jingjing: "Ah, do I need to introduce myself too?"
Qiao Jingjing quickly said, "My game ID is... I have several, do I need to list them all? I haven't had time to turn off friend requests yet..."
After another round of laughter, Qiao Jingjing continued, "My profession is actress, and today my role is the Honor of Kings spokesperson. My rank is Conqueror 15 stars."
When the anchor earlier announced his 21 stars, not many were surprised, but now the audience erupted with a collective "Wow!" as fans wildly waved their props.
Qiao Jingjing stood with a confident smile.
Host: "Alright, everyone has introduced themselves. Now, let me explain how the teams will be assigned. Goddess Jingjing and our anchor are both Conqueror rank, so they definitely can't be on the same team. The other four lucky players will be fairly grouped by rank through a draw."
After two rounds of drawing, the bespectacled young man and the short-haired girl ended up beside Qiao Jingjing. The young girl's eyes sparkled as she immediately hugged Qiao Jingjing.
"Jingjing, I'm your fan! I signed up because of you."
"Then don't let her down," the host joked before continuing, "Now, come up with a name for your team."
The anchor took the microphone and said, "I suggest our team be called Team Star Takers—we're here to win."
The host praised, "Team Star Takers! That's ambitious! Wanting to win is exactly what competition is about!" Then he looked at Qiao Jingjing.
After discussing with her teammates, Qiao Jingjing said, "We've talked it over and think that besides skill, winning a match also requires luck. So, we want to be called Team Good Luck."
Host: "...Acceptable."
The live stream chat was once again flooded with "hahaha."
"Good luck, good luck—I can't help but sing along."
"This team name is so down-to-earth, hahaha"
"Qiao Jingjing actually has some potential as a comedian."
Next, under the host's guidance, Qiao Jingjing and the anchor drew for red and blue sides. Team Good Luck immediately had good fortune, drawing the blue side for first pick. Not only would they get to ban and pick first, but they could also choose their first teammate.
"Now we've reached the most anticipated moment the teammate selection round. Both teams can freely choose two audience members from below as teammates. Let's take a look at who's in the audience."The large screen immediately displayed the professional players seated in the first three rows.
The host exclaimed, "Oh my, these audience members look quite familiar."
The audience burst into laughter.
"According to the rules, Team Blue Good Luck will select one person first, then Team Red Star Chasers will choose two, and finally Team Blue will pick one more. You have three minutes to discuss your selection strategy."
Qiao Jingjing turned to discuss candidates with her teammates. The young girl, likely her true fan, appeared flustered and nervous, which made Jingjing tense as well.
"Please don’t be so nervous; I’m not that unreliable."
The short-haired girl nodded. "I’ll play well."
The bespectacled young man remained calm. "Let’s list our most proficient heroes. I’m not good at Marksman or Mid-laner, but I can play Top-laner or Support. I prefer melee types, and I can handle Tanks too."
The short-haired girl said, "I’m only Platinum rank and have limited hero proficiency. I usually play Cai Wenji and Bian Que the most. I can also use other Supports like Zhang Fei, but I’m just average with them."
Qiao Jingjing thought for a moment. "So, two out of the three of us will have to play Support? I’m not skilled as a Jungler, but I can handle other roles. Have you considered which two professional players to pick?"
The short-haired girl stammered, "Me? I’m fine with anything. You choose."
The bespectacled young man said, "You decide. I think you’re different from what’s said online—you probably know how to play."
Qiao Jingjing replied, "I think it’s best if we pick players from the same team. This game heavily emphasizes teamwork. If they’re teammates, their coordination will be better."
The young man nodded sincerely this time. "Right, I hadn’t considered that."
Hmm, Yu Tu hadn’t mentioned this point either—it was her own idea. Qiao Jingjing felt a bit pleased.
After the three agreed on their picks, the host announced the end of the discussion time and asked Team Blue for their first selection. Qiao Jingjing took the microphone.
"Our first pick is Zhou Yin from Team Celestial Palace."
"Oh Celestial Palace, Zhou Yin!" The host drew out his words, and Zhou Yin’s profile and image immediately appeared on the screen.
Zhou Yin was a star player in the KPL with striking looks. His fans cheered enthusiastically from the audience, creating an atmosphere rivaling that of celebrity events.
The host joked, "Teacher Jingjing, be honest—did you pick Zhou Yin because of his looks?"
"Of course not." Qiao Jingjing grinned slyly. "I chose him because, backstage earlier, Zhou Yin loudly begged me to pick him."
"Really?" The host turned to the audience. "I ask the other players, weren’t any of you shameless enough to shout like that? Do you regret it now?"
The camera panned over several star players, all of whom wore amused expressions.
Zhou Yin had already stepped onto the stage. The host put an arm around his shoulder and sighed, "My Zhou, the social butterfly of the KPL—your reputation is well-deserved."
Qiao Jingjing laughed. "Actually, I was joking. I chose Teacher Zhou Yin because he’s incredibly versatile. He can play any role and has an extensive hero pool. I thought picking him first was a no-brainer."
The host looked surprised. "Goddess, you’re quite professional—you know the players’ roles and hero pools inside out."
"Of course. Before coming, I prepared a list of three candidates for each role."
"Can you share it with us?"
"No." Qiao Jingjing refused bluntly. "I’m not doing something that would offend people.""Alright, alright." The host conceded helplessly, "Then it's time for the red team to select two professional players."
After some discussion, the red team players chose the most famous Mid-laner Magic God from CS Team - Riding Pig, and He Liu from Luo Shen Team who holds the title of the strongest national server Marksman.
The host then turned to the blue team, "Well, the red team's selections are confirmed - undoubtedly very wise choices. So blue team, who will be your second pick?"
Qiao Jingjing said, "We still choose from Celestial Palace Team - Xia Xue."
The host asked, "Both your picks are from Celestial Palace Team. Goddess, are you a fan of Celestial Palace?"
Qiao Jingjing replied, "Of course I'm a fan, but this is also part of our strategy."
"Oh I'd like to hear the details."
"Honor of Kings is a team game where coordination between teammates is crucial. That's why we specifically chose two players from the same team - I believe their coordination will create a synergistic effect where one plus one is greater than two."
The live chat immediately filled with comments like "Makes sense" and "Smart move."
The Anchor from Star Plucking Team showed a hint of frustration on his face.
Sitting in the audience, Yu Tu's lips curved into a slight smile.
Clever.
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