Chapter 1238: TURNING THE TIDES
Chapter 1238: TURNING THE TIDES
AFTER dealing with the reporters, they were now heading to the restaurant Luo Wei Tian had booked for their victory celebration. During the ride, Luo Yan pulled out his phone to check online reactions. Normally, he wouldn't care—they'd just won the Arcadia Cup, and he'd rather enjoy that than worry about internet chatter. But now that people knew what they looked like in real life, there might be actual safety concerns to consider.
He scrolled through Weibo, and just as expected, countless posts about the Arcadia Cup finals flooded his feed. His eyes landed on one with an especially attention-grabbing headline.
[Did Team Yunyue really earn their victory—or did Moonlight Media's CEO hand them the championship on a silver platter?]
Luo Yan raised an eyebrow at the headline. Without hesitation, he tapped on it and scrolled through the entire post, then kept going to read every reply and comment underneath.
[The shocking revelation after today's finals has left the Arcadia community divided. Team Yunyue's captain, Shen Ji Yun, is confirmed to be the nephew of Moonlight Media's CEO—the very company that developed and operates Arcadia. While their skill is undeniable, questions arise: Did the new champions have access to privileged information? Were tournament mechanics tweaked in their favor?
Insiders claim the game's algorithms are 'impartial,' but how can we trust that when the winning team shares blood with the man at the top? This isn't just about skill—it's about competitive integrity. If Moonlight Media wants to restore faith in their tournaments, they'll need to address these concerns transparently. #ArcadiaCup #NepotismInGaming]
- Wow. Is this true?
└ Yeah. It's confirmed that YUN is the nephew of Shen Yi Mu.
└└ That's crazy. Doesn't this practically confirmed that they cheated?
└└└ What's crazy is you immediately assuming that.
- I don't want to jump to conclusions but Moonlight Media seriously has to clear this up or it would affect their integrity.
└ How can we trust the results when the winning team is literally family with the game's CEO?
└└ Exactly!
└ They should release the match logs if they have nothing to hide.
└ This is why the Arcadia Cup will never be taken seriously as a real competition, no matter how much their fans love to glaze the game.
- Let's be real—Team Celestials got ROBBED. No way they should've lost to a team whose captain's uncle OWNS THE GAME. 'Fair play' my ass. #RiggedCup
└ Facts. Celestials dominated this season just to lose to nepotism? SUS.
└└ Stay mad. Yunyue's skills don't lie—they outplayed Celestials fair and square.
└└└ Yunyue's 'skills' = CEO connections. Pathetic.
└└└ LMAO imagine defending a team that's basically the CEO's pet project.
Most of the comments under the post were negative, just as Luo Yan expected. What surprised him was the decent number of people actually defending team Yunyue. Sure, some were just Celestials haters using the situation to trash-talk the other team. But many others argued with clear, logical points that actually made sense.
He kept scrolling until he spotted a post related to their post-win interview. It was newly uploaded but already gaining serious traction.
[Did you see the post-win interview? Those reporters went in hard! Watch it here if you missed the drama!]
The post included the full interview video below the caption. Luo Yan skipped watching it and went straight to scanning the comments section instead.
- Although I'm still on the fence about someone related to the CEO of Moonlight Media winning the Arcadia Cup, YUN makes valid points.
└ Agreed. The family connection is questionable, but that team's skills are legit.
└└ Then why hide the relationship? Feels shady.
└└└ Good thing nobody cares what you think.
└ Rewatch the finals. Team Yunyue earned it. Like YUN said, the game logs prove they played clean.
└└ Exactly. Celestials lost because Yunyue was better, period. To support our work, please read on M|V|LE_MPYR.
- Have you seen Noctis' reaction? He looked so hurt, I thought he was going to cry.
└ Right? It almost made me want to beat up those reporters.
└└ They went way too far. There's zero proof Yunyue cheated, yet those reporters acted like it was fact.
└ I don't mean to be weird, but damn, why is he so pretty?
└└ Exactly! Even upset, he looks unfairly good. It's hypnotizing.
└ Funny how you all changed your tune over a pretty face. And it's a guy!
└└ Since when can't men be pretty?
└└ Jealous you'll never look that good?
└└ It's not 'changing tunes' to notice someone's looks. Since when is that a crime?
└ I saw Noctis bolt from the stadium after the finals. He was full-on crying. *attached photos of Noctis in tears*
└└ Those reporters really upset him.
└└ Now I'm pissed. How dare they make him cry?
└└ This is unethical. We should report their outlets.
└└└ +1
└└└ +2
.
.
└└└ +54
└└ LOL he's totally faking it, and you're all falling for it. Pathetic simps.
- Noctis is actually my real-life classmate. He and young master Jin are brothers. When Noctis was 10, he got into an accident and only woke up from a coma after seven years. He's genuinely kind, innocent, and sweet. There's no way he could fake anything like that. Their family is well-known in S City, so anyone can easily verify this information if they don't believe me.
That last comment blew up even bigger than the original post. Combined with the photos of Luo Yan in tears, the effect was immediate. The shift in public opinion was like watching a car skid toward a crash, only to stop just inches from impact.
Of course, some people still doubted the tragic backstory. But most believed it. And let's be honest, Luo Yan's face played no small part in that. Slowly but surely, the tide began turning in team Yunyue's favor.
That's really all that mattered. So, he didn't mind that one of his classmates just revealed that particular information. It's not like it's a big secret, anyway. In fact, he should probably thank this classmate, whoever they were. Because they seriously helped the narrative Luo Yan was trying to push to the public.
As he saw all the comments, a slow smiled spread Luo Yan's lips. Mission accomplished. Maybe he should ask Shen Ji Yun for some reward for his Oscar worthy acting.