20 Future (1/2)

Li Ming placed 2 cups of tea on the table in front of his bed. His apartment complex was quite small. It was comprised of a small bathroom, a small kitchen, and a bedroom that was combined with a living room.

Despite being so small, it was quite up to date. All the appliances were electronic, and it was quite luxurious despite being so small. Compared to a normal student apartment, this one was very nice.

Counselor Watanabe was sitting on a cushion near the table as Li Ming served the tea. She had been quite upset today for some reason, but she refused to say anything about it until they got settled down.

As Li Ming took a seat next to her, she cleared her throat.

”So, what have you been up to this past week?” she asked as Li Ming began to drink his tea, ”I came by here on the second day of Golden Week to check up on you, but your landlady said she hadn't seen you for a while.”

”Well...” Li Ming hesitated. He knew that she was slightly agitated right now.

”Well what?” she anxiously followed up.

”Well, I won a ticket to see my favorite team compete on the world stage, so I flew over to see them since I had the tickets anyways...” Li Ming explained?

”Compete? You mean that game that you normally play?”

”Yeah, it's called Legends Rise. The tournament was held at the St*ples C*nter in Los Angeles, California.”

”Oh is that so. How did it go?”

”I had a lot of fun. My favorite team lost though.”

”That's quite unfortunate then.” She concluded the topic with a look of warmness on her. She looked like a mother that was relieved that her child hadn't been getting himself into trouble while she wasn't looking.

”You know,” she said with a calm demeanor, ”I got in touch with a friend of mine who works at Tokyo University. She said that if you can pass their easiest entrance exam, they wouldn't mind taking you in as a freshman starting next year.”

”...” Li Ming was speechless. He knew that she had pulled some strings behind her back to get this deal to go through. He understood that she had tried her best to get him into a good school so that his future would be secure.

Unfortunately, he was now placed in quite a difficult position. He was recently invited to a professional team. On this team, he would be a starting player, meaning that he would be required to attend their daily practice sessions, which would last about 12-14 hours a day. This included their actual time playing the game, as well as watching replays to find areas to improve in.

This left no time to start his college career. It would just be impossible to balance both lifestyles together. Of course, he hadn't signed the contract to the team yet. It was very much possible for him to choose not to sign with the team.

However, that would mean turning his back on a potential career that very few people had been capable of even reaching.

”I'd like some time to think about this...” Li Ming said, ”It's honestly a bit sudden, you see...”

”Its okay~!” the counselor smiled, ”Take your time! Here, take this business card of hers. When you decide to take the test, just call her and tell her your name. She'll set it up for you.”

With that concluding statement from her, she quickly got up and left. Of course, she didn't forget to place her empty tea cup into the sink on the way out.

Locking the door behind her, Li Ming collapsed onto the floor at the doorway; his mind lost in thought. What was the better option here? To go to college? Or to go join the Osaka Phoenixes? He couldn't make up his mind.

He understood that going to Tokyo University was a big deal. Such a big opportunity surely wouldn't come to him again. However, the same was true for joining a professional eSports team. By the time he finished college, he would definitely not be as good as players who had been playing the whole time.

Li Ming decided that the first thing that he needed to do was to take a nap. He would decide on what to do after he got dinner later. Climbing into his bed, he fell asleep quite quickly. There was no one else to disturb him, after all.

***

Li Ming groggily opened his eyes. Although he certainly felt well rested mentally, his body was quite exhausted still. Li Ming reached for his phone to check for the time, only to find that his phone wasn't on the table nearby.