Chapter 11 — Guess, MVP Heiress Has Returned

The first important match of the official group stage of the VCC tournament took place on a weekend evening, when Thien Truong gymnasium was filled with spectators. This opponent is one of the strongest teams in the group, having won the tournament three times in the last four seasons, with an experienced squad and extremely solid map control play.

Before the match, Yen Chi sat in the waiting room, clutching the familiar mouse, both nervous and determined. She knew this would be the first real test of what she had built over the past weeks — not just professionally, but also her psychological fortitude under pressure from all sides.

Bach Khang walked in, sat down next to her, and gave her a piece of paper summarizing the final tactical adjustments. "Today's opponents tend to play solid defense in the early stages of the game, waiting until the middle to unleash their team's strength. We need to be patient and not rush into early fights when we don't have a clear advantage."

"I understand," Yen Chi replied, her eyes scanning the paper one last time before folding it and setting it aside.

"Are you okay?" Bach Khang asked, his eyes observing her carefully. "I know the pressure from public opinion and the things we're investigating can distract you."

"I'm fine," Yen Chi affirmed, her voice firm. "When I go into a match, I only focus on one thing: the map in front of me. Everything else, I'll deal with later."

Bach Khang nodded, seemingly reassured by that answer. "Well then, good luck. I believe in you."

The match began amid resounding cheers from the audience. As expected, the opponent played very cautiously in the early stages, minimizing unnecessary fights. Yen Chi patiently develops, accumulates resources, does not risk any odd moves that could be detrimental to the team.

By the twenty-fifth minute, when both teams had accumulated enough strength for the mid-game, heated fights began to break out continuously. This is when the true bravery and skills of each player are most clearly revealed. Yen Chi plays with incredible alertness, always keeping a safe position but ready to launch high-damage skill combos at the right moment, continuously taking down valuable enemy targets without letting himself fall into dangerous situations.

There was a particularly tense moment in the thirty-eighth minute, when the opponent organized a general attack aimed directly at Yen Chi, trying to remove her from the fight to break the team's position. But thanks to her quick reflexes and excellent ability to read the situation, she promptly used movement skills to escape the encirclement and at the same time defeated the jungler pursuing her, completely turning the tide of the battle.

The stands seemed to explode after that tackle. The commentator on the live broadcast did not hesitate to praise: "This is a world-class execution! Luc Yen Chi just showed us why she deserves to be an official player of Bach Ung Gaming!"

The match ended after forty-seven minutes with victory belonging to Bach Ung Gaming, a not easy but extremely convincing victory against a strong opponent. Yen Chi was honored as the best player in the match, her contribution index was superior to every other player on the field.

After the short post-match press conference, when Yen Chi walked out of the interview area, she saw a crowd of fans waiting, chanting her name with a fervor unprecedented since the season began. Faces that were once skeptical and believed in malicious rumors, now cannot deny the strength she has just demonstrated.

In that crowd, Yen Chi caught a glimpse of the familiar figures of her parents standing in a corner of the stands, their eyes following her with indescribable complexity - both proud and a little confused by what they had just witnessed.

Returning to the locker room, Yen Chi received countless congratulations from his teammates. Trinh Gia Linh hugged her, his voice full of excitement. "You see, I told you, no one can deny your strength anymore!"

Dinh Quoc Bao also patted her shoulder and nodded in approval. "The execution in the thirty-eighth minute was truly unbelievable. I'm sorry for having wavered in the past due to baseless rumors."

"It's okay," Yen Chi replied, smiling sincerely. "The important thing is that now everyone sees the truth clearly."

Bach Khang stood at the door of the dressing room, waiting until everyone gradually dispersed before approaching her, his eyes filled with undisguised pride. "You have done what very few players can do — turn pressure into motivation, turn doubt into proof. I really admire your bravery."

"Thank you for always trusting me," Yen Chi replied, her voice sincere. "If it weren't for you standing by my side, I probably wouldn't have been so strong under all the pressure."

That night, when she returned to her room, Yen Chi opened her phone and saw a series of congratulatory messages from many people, including a short but emotional message from her mother: "I'm proud of you." She read and re-read that line many times, feeling a warmth mixed with indescribable sadness — because she knew, even though today's victory could move her parents' hearts, it was still not enough to completely resolve the conflict that was smoldering in her younger sister's heart.

She put down the phone, looked out the window, the sparkling city lights reflected in her eyes like thousands of small stars. Today's victory is an important milestone, but she knows clearly that the road ahead is still very long, and the truly harshest challenges are still waiting ahead.

Meanwhile, in another corner of the stands, far away from where Yen Chi was enjoying the joy of victory, Luc Y Nhi sat quietly in the area for reserve players, her hands clasped tightly around the hem of her shirt, her eyes glued to the big screen that was replaying her sister's excellent performance for the fifth time in a row on highlight channels. Every time the audience cheered the name "Luc Yen Chi", she felt like someone was pricking her heart with a needle.

She took out her phone and quickly typed a message to Lam Dac Uy: "Have you seen the match? This situation is getting worse and worse. If she keeps winning like this, the coaching staff will never let me join the official squad again."

A few minutes later, her phone vibrated with a response message: "Calm down. I talked to Long, there are a few plans being prepared. Just focus on maintaining a positive image on social networks, leave the rest to me."

Y Nhi read the message, a cold light flashed in her eyes. She put her phone in her pocket, stood up and left the stands before the match officially ended, not wanting to see more of the crowd surrounding her sister to congratulate her.

On the way home, she passed by the press area, where several reporters were gathering to discuss Yen Chi's impressive performance. One of them, upon recognizing her, immediately approached and asked her with undisguised curiosity. "Y Nhi, what do you think about your sister's performance today? Is there any pressure when competing for a position with such an excellent player?"

Y Nhi forced a forced smile, her eyes flashed with carefully calculated hurt. "I'm very proud of my sister," she said, her voice gentle but with a slight tremor on purpose, "it's just that sometimes I feel a little... pressured, knowing I'll probably never get there, no matter how hard I try."

That answer, although brief, was enough to become an excerpt that was widely spread on entertainment news sites that night, continuing to nurture the image of the "disadvantaged younger sister" that Y Nhi had been diligently building for many weeks. Behind that resigned appearance, no one saw her cold, calculating eyes as she walked out of the press area and headed straight towards the parking lot, where a luxury car from the Anh Kim Group was waiting to take her to another secret meeting.

The car rolled into the night of the city, leaving behind the bright lights of Thien Truong gymnasium and the applause that still echoed for a name that was not hers. Y Nhi leaned her head against the glass window, her empty eyes looked out at the traffic, in her heart anger and bitterness were silently crystallizing into a new determination, colder and more dangerous than anything she had ever thought of before.