Chapter 749 - 745: Welcome, Holly

"There’s another girl? Is she from our school too?"

Holly’s curiosity was piqued, and she couldn’t help but ask.

"Of course. All the members of the university team have to be from Lorcain U."

Holly went quiet again. It wasn’t that she was giving him the silent treatment; she was just reconsidering what Ethan Sterling had told her.

She could feel Ethan’s sincerity, and she really did need to earn some money for herself. But she also had a genuine, unshakable fear of competing.

After an internal tug-of-war between two conflicting emotions, Holly finally looked Ethan straight in the eye. "I can give it a try, but..."

"Money isn’t an issue. Everyone gets the same salary and subsidies, and it’s more than what other teams offer, not less."

"I’m not talking about money," Holly said quickly. "What I meant was, even though joining the team means signing a contract, you can replace me at any time if I don’t do well."

Ethan looked at her, sensing the pessimism in her personality. Some people were just like that, always preparing for the worst before doing anything.

This kind of personality had its pros and cons.

Lowering your expectations makes failure easier to accept, but it also erodes your confidence and passion.

"I’ll take you somewhere," Ethan said suddenly.

"Now?" Holly glanced out the window at the pitch-black sky. Even though it was only six o’clock, the winter days in Lorcain were short and the nights were long.

Ethan nodded. "It’s nearby. I specifically chose this meeting spot so I could show it to you."

He was getting excited. The base was so perfectly decorated, and he was dying to show it to his team members. ’Anyone who loves gaming would find an esports base like this impossible to refuse.’

Still in a daze, Holly was led by Ethan to the Esports Base in Solara Tower.

After he unlocked the door with facial recognition and switched on the lights, the full view of the base was instantly revealed to Holly. Her eyes widened.

"Wh-what is this place?" Holly asked, her face a picture of astonishment.

"Follow me!"

Ethan said, walking straight toward a room in the back. Holly hurried to follow. The moment she saw the gaming desks, chairs, and other furnishings in the esports room, she understood—even though the computers hadn’t been installed yet.

"This is the team’s training base?"

Ethan was very satisfied with the expression on Holly’s face. "So? What do you think? Not bad, right?" he said, his tone triumphant. "Once you join our team, you can game here."

"This is way too luxurious!"

"Can’t be helped. Our sponsor is loaded," Ethan said. He then looked at Holly again, his expression serious. "Stop thinking about it. Just join us!"

Holly stared at everything before her, truly shaken. She was genuinely tempted.

"Okay, I’m in!"

Holly nodded firmly, as if she had just made a momentous decision.

Ethan was overjoyed to hear this, grinning from ear to ear. "Then it’s settled! Welcome, Holly!"

Holly smiled too. Though she was a naturally pessimistic person on the inside, the man in front of her was a constant source of positive energy, and she was starting to be affected by it.

You never know if you’ll succeed or fail until you take that first step.

Just like Ethan said, you can’t give up the chance to win just because you’re afraid of losing!

After giving Holly a proper tour of the base, the two of them took the elevator downstairs. Unexpectedly, they ran right into Owen Griffin at the elevator entrance on the first floor.

With Owen was Seraphina.

Their eyes met—two of them inside the elevator, two outside. It seemed as though, just a second before, they had all been in the middle of happy conversations, so for a brief moment, all four of them were still smiling.

But the instant Ethan and Owen saw each other, their smiles vanished in perfect, unspoken unison.

"Ethan!"

Seraphina spoke up first when she saw Ethan. "What a coincidence, running into you here."

Ethan’s expression softened a little as he looked at Seraphina. "I’m putting together a university team. Our base is here."

"Really?" Seraphina looked surprised and instinctively glanced at Owen. "This is my boyfriend, Owen Griffin. He’s also putting together a university team, and his base is here too. What a coincidence."

Owen stared at Ethan. With Seraphina by his side, his eyes held an unconcealed look of provocation and triumph.

Ethan couldn’t be bothered with him. He just looked at Seraphina and said, "You two go on up. We’re leaving."

"Okay, bye."

Ethan said no more and left with Holly.

Owen watched his retreating back, a smirk playing on his lips.

"You know Ethan Sterling, right? He’s pretty famous in the Esports Club," Seraphina said, suddenly turning to Owen with the question.

Owen raised an eyebrow and nodded lightly. "Of course I do."

"Have you met before?"

"No." Owen’s denial was curt as he took Seraphina’s hand and led her into the elevator.

The elevator doors closed. Seraphina lowered her gaze slightly, the expression on her face instantly becoming more distant.

Because Owen had lied.

’She knew Owen and Ethan must have known each other before.’

Back when she had chosen to be with Owen, Ethan had met with her privately. He had mentioned his past conflict with Owen and even warned her that Owen might not be sincere.

She knew Ethan was a good person, but at the time, she had chosen to believe Owen.

But this time, Owen had flat-out denied knowing Ethan.

’He was obviously doing it to hide something...’

"Ethan, do you know that guy from just now?"

Holly asked cautiously once they were out of the building.

Ethan was a little surprised. "You could tell?"

"Yeah," Holly nodded lightly. "The way he looked at you wasn’t very friendly. It was hostile."

Ethan was surprised by Holly’s sensitivity and sharp perception. "You’re right, it’s not a friendly relationship," he admitted. "He joined the Esports Club and put together a university team out of nowhere. He’s probably targeting me."

"He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed, and his personality is... If you run into him in the future, try to avoid getting involved with him."

Holly didn’t press for details. She just said, "Okay, I understand."

*

The next day, the family was up early and seated at the breakfast table.

Seeing that her son and daughter were in good moods, Jasmine Sterling had prepared a lavish breakfast. "There are only a few days of vacation left. Why aren’t you two sleeping in?"

Cecilia Sterling was eating small wontons. "I was hungry before bed last night but went to sleep without eating because I was afraid of gaining weight. I woke up this morning starving."

As she spoke, she looked at her younger brother. Not only was he up early, but he had also washed up and changed into a fresh set of clothes.

"What’s with you?"

"I’m heading out after breakfast. I’m going to the electronics market to buy equipment today," Ethan said, unable to contain his excitement. His voice was practically buzzing.

Jasmine ladled a bowl of wontons for herself and sat down at the table. "I’m in a good mood from waking up early. Cecilia, Mom has to head to the company in a bit. If you’re free, take Yoda for a walk."

"Sure."

Just then, Jasmine’s phone rang. She glanced at it and sighed instinctively, then held a finger to her lips in a "shush" gesture at her two children. "Not a sound. It’s your grandmother."