——  They returned home that night and Ling Xuefeng opened the computer in the study room, logging into the official Miracle League website to check the results of the Carnival vote. Li Cangyu pulled a chair over and sat next to him.

  “It is no problem for you to be selected for the Carnival.” Li Cangyu declared with great confidence as he put an arm around Ling Xuefeng’s shoulder. “Your popularity is so high. If I’m not mistaken, you will be in first place in the voting.”

  The voting interface opened in front of them and Wind Colour’s captain, Ling Xuefeng was currently in first place.

  Ling Xuefeng looked back at the other person and found that Li Cangyu was happier than him. Li Cangyu touched his chin and said, “I guessed correct. The eyes of the audience are high and they know your strength.”

  Ling Xuefeng smiled slightly as he held Li Cangyu’s hand that was on his shoulder. “Your strength isn’t weak. This time you should be able to enter.”

  “Me?” Li Cangyu asked with some doubt and shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ve been away from the league for three years and I’m not more popular than the players who have been fighting in the league. This Carnival has only 12 places and I shouldn’t make it.”

  “Not necessarily. Take a look first.” Ling Xuefeng scrolled down to see the rankings of the other votes.

  The voting time for the Chinese Carnival was until 24 o’clock on Tuesday. For the current voting poll, the top three were occupied by the three highly popular players of Ling, Su and Tan. The fourth was Lou Wushuang of Ghost Spirits. This was because the team performed well recently and the captain himself had high popularity. He gained new fans who voted for him.

  In addition, Red Fox’s Liu Xiang was a regular visitor on the popular list. Pure Cleansing’s captain Chu Yan was the best auxiliary psychic in China and his votes didn’t fall. Then there was Wind Colour’s vice-captain Yan Ruiwen, Flying Feathers’ vice-captain Yu Pingsheng, Time’s vice-captain Cheng Wei, Ghost Spirits’ vice-captain Zhang Shaohui…

  Then Ling Xuefeng saw the name Li Cangyu followed by Bai Xuan.

  He carefully counted it from the beginning and said with certainty, “You are currently ranked 11th and Bai Xuan is 12th. There are still a few hours left in the voting. It is better to make a Weibo post so you aren’t overtaken by the people behind you.”

  Behind him was Pure Cleansing’s crybaby Zhu Qingyue and Red Fox’s vice-captain Yang Muzi as well as Cheetah’s captain Jiang Xu. Their votes were close and the possibility of some senior fans deliberately holding back tickets to vote at the last minute couldn’t be eliminated.

  Li Cangyu felt surprised. “Bai Xuan and I could actually make it into the top 12? Canglan has that many fans?”

  Ling Xuefeng explained, “Canglan has done well in recent matches and you publicly said that you want to enter the world summoner’s list. Many people yelled at you for bragging but there are also many people who like you and paid attention to you.”

  Li Cangyu touched his nose. “It turned out to be like this.”

  \r \r \r

  He didn’t care too much about popularity or being selected for the Carnival. The Carnival was originally an entertainment project and it didn’t matter if some of the most popular gods were chosen to play together for two days.

  However, Li Cangyu was quite happy about the affirmation of his fans. He logged into Weibo and sent a message: [I am very surprised that my votes can exceed 10,000. Thank you for voting. I don’t mind if I participate in the Carnival or not. It is the next match that matters and I’m not going to let the people who support me down.]

  He had always been blunt when speaking and didn’t sell his popularity on a public platform like some players. Still, his honest and refreshing words made the fans who liked him more determined.

  Li Cangyu’s Weibo soon got thousands of replies. [Cat God is really domineering. I will give you a bunch of dried fish as a reward!] [Cat God, I really want to be your shovel!] [Cat God, my ticket has been cast!] [On behalf of the Canglan Support group, many people just registered on the forum and aren’t eligible to vote. Everyone is trying their best and next time it will be higher!]

  Li Cangyu became more surprised the more he looked, especially by the comment of the ‘Canglan Support group.’ He couldn’t help replying curiously: [What group is the Canglan Support group? Did you build it yourself?]

  The fan who got the response was so excited that she wanted to go downstairs and run two laps. She took a deep breath to calm down before replying: [Captain! Your loyal fans privately built the group. The owner is @Sister Shasha who has liked you since she was in school. Everyone is really happy that you returned to Miracle!]

  Some people came forward to say: [Cat God, I have been paying attention to you since the second season and really like the elf summoner. I haven’t played since you left Miracle. I heard you are back and built a side account in the new district. I can’t play like you but watching you play is very cool!]

  [I didn’t know about Cat God until you moved to Wulin. It is because of you that I found out about Miracle! I really like your decisiveness and you look very handsome. This is the important point. I am a face devotee!]

  [It isn’t easy for Old Cat to persist for so many years. I have pulled all my friends and relatives to vote for you. I’m not asking for anything else. I just want to let everyone know that you are qualified to stand on the Carnival stage!]

  ……

  Li Cangyu was a big man but his eyes became hot when he saw these comments.

  He remembered the person called Shasha seven years ago. He also remember that the Miracle League of that time wasn’t as prosperous as it was now. The number of fans for every team wasn’t as high. In particular, the FTD team did badly and barely had support thanks to Li Cangyu and Bai Xuan. However, there were always a few people who cheered for the FTD team whenever they played.

  Later, Li Cangyu met with them and the leader of the group had an ID called Shasha. She was a university student. Her nature was very hearty and she liked tying her hair in a handsome ponytail. When she first met Li Cangyu, she gave him a model of a big cat and smiled. “Captain, cheer up. Even if your performance now isn’t good, we believe that one day you will stand on the highest podium in Miracle!”

  This simple sentence was undoubtedly the biggest inspiration for the young Li Cangyu.

  A few years had passed. Li Cangyu didn’t think she would come back and re-establish the support group.

  There were also many fans who knew him from Wulin and merged with the Miracle fans. There were the old players who liked elf summoners and returned because of his return…

  Everything was shocking and made him feel moved.

  Li Cangyu didn’t think he would have so many loyal fans.

  Today, in order to vote, the old Cat God loyal fans that were hidden for many years all came out. In particularly, the appearance of old friends who he met in the first season made Li Cangyu feel particularly pleased.

  He found Shasha on Weibo and sent her a private chat. [Shasha? Did you build the Canglan Support group?]

  The other person quickly replied: [Captain is well! I can’t say it is new. This group has always been there! Most of the administrators are veterans who have watched you play since the first season. Everyone is very happy that you came back. Recently, many new fans have been added and the current group is full and very lively. I’m planning to open a sub-group.]

  Li Cangyu wrote emotionally: [I haven’t seen you for a few years. I thought you left Miracle a long time ago!]

  Shasha replied: [There are some friends who have left but there are also many who stayed. Like Lei Shao, Xiao Yang and Bubu, they are a few you saw in the past. We are usually low-key and afraid to cause you trouble. Now we don’t need to hide because the contestant we like will stand on the world podium! Isn’t that right?]

  Li Cangyu was even more moved when he saw this. [Thank you.]

  He was really grateful to those who silently supported him for a long time.

  In the past, he hadn’t been able to get good results but this group didn’t give up on him. It was the so called ‘true sentiments are seen in hard times’. These fans were very pure and sincere toward him. Their encouragement and support was his greatest motivation.

  Shasha was the leader of the FTD Support group. The Lei Shao, Xiao Yang and Bubu she mentioned were veteran players of Miracle. They were dead loyal fans of the elf summoner and Bai Xuan who played a healer. During FTD’s most difficult period, they personally went to the matches to cheer for Li Cangyu. He didn’t expect them to still be here after so many years!

  As Shasha said: [The contestant will like will one day stand on the world podium!]

  Yes, Old Cat would one day make them proud of liking him!

  [Our fan club was privately built for Cat God but you can rest assured that we will take care. We won’t smear other players or cause you trouble.]

  Li Cangyu was naturally 100% reassured at his fan club being managed by this group of elders. He immediately replied: [Okay, work hard. Give everyone my thanks and I won’t let you down!]

  Shasha took a screenshot of Cat God’s words and sent them to people in the group. The fans immediately cheered. The feeling of being recognized by their idol was really great and everyone became more motivated to vote!

  ***

  The conversation between Li Cangyu and his fans was seen by Ling Xuefeng.

  He also had an impression of this person called Shasha. Many years ago, she came with several fans to encourage Li Cangyu when FTD was defeated. She sent a plush cat model to Li Cangyu and gave a present to Bai Xuan. Li Cangyu must be very happy about these old fans still being here.

  Li Cangyu rarely cared about his popularity and he attracted a lot of controversy by switching games but no player could completely ignore outside evaluations. The fans who liked him and supported him would be the greatest encouragement and comfort.

  Ling Xuefeng saw Li Cangyu’s touched appearance and gently reached out to hug him. Ling Xuefeng’s fingers slowly stroked his back. “They are still… I’m still here.”

  Li Cangyu smiled and hugged Ling Xuefeng. This really was his home and it was good that he could come back!