18 Fixtures Ceremony Pt. 2

Slowly, the bus carrying the Chinese National Team eased through the throng of fans and pulled up to the entrance of the Switzerland Pro Alliance Headquarters building. Su Mucheng stared out her window and felt apprehensive.

Fans pushed against the security and photographers jumped up and down trying to get pictures of the teams as they arrived. The scene outside was reminiscent of the airport where she had been injured by an overeager fan.

"There's security present." Ye Xiu said. He understood and shared her concern. "And the distance to the building is not long."

Su Mucheng nodded, a bit reassured. But another issue crossed her mind. Last time, when she was attacked, she had been wearing casual clothes and shoes. That's why the injury had been limited to the area where she was grabbed. Now….

Su Mucheng looked down on the glittering gown and heeled shoes she had on. If she was attacked in such a state, there was a possibility that the outcome would be worse than before.

"It'll be fine." Ye Xiu repeated, tugging on his bow tie.

She looked at his attire and smiled. He was dressed in a white and black tuxedo with black dressing shoes. He looked uncomfortable but so did the rest of the team. Apart from Zhang Xinjie that consistently dressed formally, the rest of the players usually dressed very casually.

For people who played games for a living, they weren't used to this style of dressing. And while they looked dashing in their outfits, they also looked antsy.

Currently, the Netherlands National team bus was parked in front of them and the players were alighting. Once the Japanese had exited their bus, the bus pulled away from the entrance and the Chinese team bus pulled in.

The time had come for them to exit the bus and make their way into the building. The doors opened and the pros stepped out.

They were shocked to realize how noisy it was. The bus had prevented a lot of the noise from getting to them. But now they were outside, they could hear all the shouts and screams of the multitude of fans.

A second shock came when looked carefully at the fans. Many of them carried plaques and posters with words of support and encouragement for the Chinese National Team. And they screamed louder when the players alighted from the bus.

"People came from home?" Wang Jiexi turned to Zhang Xinjie, shocked.

Zhang Xinjie tilted his head to the side and pondered the question. "I always assumed some people will show up. It is a large event, after all. I, however, never assumed they would be present for days before the first match. It is a thrilling experience."

It really was. The players were overcome with gratitude at the fans who had travelled across the world to cheer for them. They made mental notes to post their thanks on social media. For now, they waved and greeted the crowd, making sure not to get to close to prevent any issues.

Subsequently, they entered the building and found ushers waiting to guide them. One of the ushers seemed to have been struck by Su Mucheng's beauty and stood stock still, mouth open. He was saved by his fellow usher whose elbow found its mark in his stomach.

He coughed, trying to cover his embarrassment and turned sharply. The usher led the pros down the hallway towards the hall. The only sounds that could be heard was the scuff of dressing shoes and heels and the pros trying to stifle their laughter.

They arrived at the hall and the usher opened the door to allow the players enter. For the second time in a minute, he was again transfixed by the beautiful Chinese woman. This time, somehow, she looked even more dazzling.

Maybe it was the light of the chandelier reflecting off her silvery gown or it was the fact that he could see her features more closely as she passed by. He didn't know. But he stood staring at the player.

A light cough drew him from his reverie. He looked around to see that all the players had entered the room and were waiting for him while he stood stupidly at the door, holding it open for no one. He felt his face heat up for the second time that night.

What is wrong with him? He kept asking himself, as he guided the team to their designated seating area. The players began to settle into their seats, he kept his eyes fixed to the back of the hall to prevent them from seeking out the beautiful woman.

He gave a short bow and walked away quickly. The fact that laughter erupted on his departure did nothing to reduce the mortification he felt.

"Wow, that was something." Xiao Shiqin shook his head. As Su Mucheng's ex-teammate, he thought he had gotten used to the attention she always received. He never imagined that thousands of kilometres away from their country, she would still be garnering interest.

It seemed she was beautiful to anyone.

"It really was." Fang Rui added. He understood what Xiao Shiqin was thinking.

"Worldwide beauty, Mucheng." Chu Yunxiu poked fun at her friend. Then she turned to Ye Xiu, punching his shoulder. "Be careful. Someone may steal her away."

Once Chu Yunxiu made this statement, the ears of the pros twitched with curiosity. They were witnesses to their relationship on-stage but their relationship off-stage? They had no idea. Was this the day they would find out?

"Cough, cough. The hall is filling up." Ye Xiu said. The rest of the team scoffed at him. Is that the issue at hand? So shameless.

"Cough. Yes, it's really filling up." Su Mucheng replied. The pros just shook their heads. Wow, Su Mucheng, you're equally shameless.

The hall, however, was really filling up. All the teams left the hotel at the same time and so arrived at the venue same time. The honoured guests and the reporters had also begun arriving. If things went according to schedule, the ceremony would begin in twenty minutes.

"The ushers should have programs for the event." Yu Wenzhou said.

"I'll go ask." Sun Xiang was seated at the end of the row. It was only sensible that he should be the one to search out the ushers. He stood up and headed to the back of the hall, where most of the ushers and the officials were.

Immediately he was out of earshot, Huang Shaotian started whispering loudly.

"Is it just me or is Sun Xiang getting more reasonable? I think he is. I really think so. What do you guys think? Have you noticed his behaviour? Did you notice that time when…" Shaotian went on and on. No one disagreed with him. They also noticed the difference in Sun Xiang. He was becoming more reserved and shockingly, more respectful.

Su Mucheng was not surprised. Being defeated at the Challengers League final and spending a year at Club Samsara beside the extremely talented Zhou Zekai was enough to humble anyone. Add that to the painful defeat at the Championship final, it was no surprise that Sun Xiang's arrogance had mellowed.

She and the team just hoped that the attitude change did not affect his playing. The subject of their thoughts returned with the programs for the team. They thanked him and began to flip through the leaflet.

The first part was a talk from the Chairman of the Glory game company. After that was another talk from the Chairman of the International Esports Association. Then the Chairman of the Switzerland Pro Alliance would reveal the seeding and the fixtures.

There would be some interviews, of course, to ask the players how they felt about their placing and their first-round opponents. And the evening would end.

The program stated that the entire ceremony would take less than two hours. They should be done before night truly fell. Everyone was satisfied with the program. It was previously explained that all the proceedings would be translated simultaneously to all the attendees in their native language.

With over 500 people present in the hall, it was really a tall order. The Chinese National team was discussing the cost and effort implications when they noticed Francis Lu walking towards them.

"Is that…Francis Lu?" Zhang Jiale was the first one to sight the French Captain walking towards them.

They all turned towards Zhang Jiale and followed his line of sight. And indeed, Francis Lu was heading towards their seating area.

"What do you think he wants?" Fang Rui said.

"Probably to intimidate us." Zhang Jiale offered an answer. Everyone rolled their eyes at the explanation. Of course, he didn't want to intimidate them but they still didn't know his intentions.

"He probably wants to greet us. We met him once and he seemed pretty nice." Su Mucheng said.

"Really?" Chu Yunxiu was surprised. "How was his Chinese?"

"Fine. He almost here, so reduce your voice." Su Mucheng scolded her noisy friend. She was right. Francis had arrived at the row of seats directly in front of theirs. The conversation had died down. They really wanted to know what he had to say.

Who knew that once he arrived, he simply extended a hand out to shake each of the players and introduce himself personally.

When he arrived to Su Mucheng, it took all his years of training as a professional player not to stare mouth open at her. Her hair, her gown, her eyes, her posture. Everything screamed royalty to him. It was like he was in the presence of a queen.

Sweat beaded on top of his lip as he tried to make light conversation. Su Mucheng didn't seem to notice that as she asked about the health of his teammate. "I hope he is better now."

"Yes, he is. He was treated well at the clinic. I will bring him over the next time." Francis took a deep breath. "Allow me to say how beautiful you look tonight. You are very radiant."

Against her will, the compliment sent a blush to her cheeks, painting them light pink. Maybe it was because it of the intensity with which he made the comment but Su Mucheng was flustered.

"Th…Thank you very much."

Hearing her stammer made him even more nervous than he already was. And he knew if he delayed anymore, he would start saying things no one wanted to hear. He quickly greeted Ye Xiu and the rest of the team and left for his seat.

The pros noticed the awkward interaction between the French Captain and Su Mucheng but could not make any jibe. The lights dimmed and the host walked unto the stage.

The ceremony had started.