Ye Xiu is definitely an interesting character and protagonist. However, compared to most protagonists I found him the hardest to read, and at times I am unsure of his characterization, especially when I write him in my stories. One of the most notable trait he has is that he smokes, a lot. Even if the character design changes (which you cannot believe how often it happens, TKA has the most variety, and not limited to one media too, i kid you not). This is one trait that makes him easily recognizable, packed together with his sleazy look and side-parted bangs (im laughing as i write this down). Since smoking is part of his personality, it can be used a way to understand him better. Here's what I found after going through all the mentions of smoke and cigarette in the webnovel (please note that i might miss or not include some).
Ye Xiu cannot smoke on less cigarette, otherwise his head will hurt (Ch9)
Ye Xiu smokes when he wants to maintain his focus, particularly when pulling an all-nighter or using multiple accounts (Ch10, Ch55, Ch87, Ch290, Ch431, Ch530)
Ye Xiu always smokes right after he wakes up (Ch22, Ch30)
Ye Xiu smokes when he's thinking (Ch34, Ch71) or working (Ch55) or relaxing/calming down (Ch57, Ch529, Ch637), or winding down after winning the championship (Ch1726)
Ye Xiu prioritises smoking over eating (only two meals a day), saving money for cigarettes (Ch47)
Ye Xiu's smoke addiction is quite heavy that it's instinctive for him to reach for cigarettes in any kind of situation (Ch55, Ch57, Ch94)
Ye Xiu was also struggling in the crowd. With great effort, he was able to free one hand. And inside his hand was shockingly a cigarette!!!
“You’re going to smoke at this time!!!” Chen Guo saw Ye Xiu deliver the cigarette into his mouth and turned furious! What was this guy. -Ch94
Ye Xiu's smoke addiction is still better/less worse than Wei Chen (Ch617). He can consciously kills the urge if it's not allowed (Ch101, Ch1084)
Their seats were already fixed. Ye Xiu and Wei Chen were placed right underneath the strong ventilation fan. Chen Guo already regarded them as smoke machines. -Ch618
Ye Xiu can blow smoke rings (Ch179)
Ye Xiu smokes in front of Su Mucheng (Ch331), besides fellow smokers: Wei Chen and Chu Yunxiu
Ye Xiu and Wei Chen give each other cigarettes when one thinks the other needs it (Ch640, Ch693, Ch769, Ch967) He does the same with Chu Yunxiu (Ch1347)
Ye Xiu smokes so often that it's become part of his image even for common people (Ch1011)
The mysterious God Ye Qiu, who never appeared in public, wasn't as arrogant as most people thought he was. Everyday, with a cigarette in his mouth and smoke circling around him, he chatted with everyone at Club Excellent Era. -Ch1011
Ye Xiu smokes when he doesn't know what else to do in social settings, either to break the ice (Ch926) or to keep people away (Ch933)
He wasn’t shy with strangers at all. It even seemed like he was the host: "Have a seat, everyone. Why are you all standing!"
Everyone sat down. Ye Xiu impatiently fished out a cigarette. He didn’t forget to ask if anyone else wanted one, but the five Heavenly Swords people waved their hands and refused. Ye Xiu didn’t ask if they didn’t want to smoke or if they didn’t know how. In any case, he grabbed a cigarette and tossed the cigarette pack onto the table: "If you guys want one, feel free to take one!" Then, he quickly started lighting up his cigarette. -Ch926
As for Ye Xiu and Tang Rou, the two stayed curled in a corner. Tang Rou had casually taken a glass of wine to sip at while Ye Xiu held a very deep ashtray, going through cigarette after cigarette and filling the air around them with smoke. Tang Rou was a radiant-looking lady, yet no one had come up to talk to her, all thanks to Ye Xiu. -Ch933
Ye Xiu smokes when he wants to suppress/hide his emotions (Ch23, Ch91, Ch96, Ch1361), particularly when he feels sad and/or helpless (Ch500, Ch620)
His back against the wall, he fished out a cigarette and lit it.
“What are you doing? Are you going to cry too? Do you need some paper?” Behind him, Chen Guo seemed to sense it.
“How could it be? How could I cry?” Ye Xiu turned his body and conveniently puffed out a mouthful of smoke towards Chen Guo’s face -Ch23
In the third round of the individual competition, Team Excellent Era lost again. The spectators in the Internet Cafe began to look sinister. Everyone felt extremely terrible in their hearts. Some cursed at 301, some sighed in disappointment at Team Excellent Era.
Chen Guo wasn’t feeling good either. She didn’t know when, but looking to the side she saw that Ye Xiu had already left her side and stood outside the door to smoke. The cigarette butt glowed brightly in the dusky night, but the person’s expression was indistinct. -Ch91
Liu Hao was about to argue when Ye Xiu dully said: “Don’t be so noisy. You guys are also public figures. If you keep on being noisy, then you guys won’t look good.”
After saying this, Ye Xiu quietly took out a cigarette from his pocked, lit it, and put it in his mouth. -Ch96
You….” Chen Guo noticed that Ye Xiu’s expression was odd even after achieving victory. Happiness? None at all. He even seemed a little sad…..
Sad? Chen Guo shook her head. She must be seeing things, how could he be sad? As she was about to say something, Ye Xiu stood up abruptly, “I’m going out for a smoke.” -Ch500
"Excellent Era getting relegated is my fault.” Ye Xiu expressed with sorrow. He didn’t wait for Chen Guo to refute and immediately continued: “But how would I have known that wiping them out in game would turn out like this? No one would have imagined that such actions would have so severe a consequence? But you can’t deny their current record either. They’re still young. They still have chances. They shouldn’t give up so easily. I don’t know what they plan on doing in the future. Too much has been happening recently. I want to be by myself for a bit. If you don’t need me for anything, I’ll be leaving.”
Ye Xiu took out a cigarette after speaking. -Ch620
“Who cares about that,” Chen Guo huffed. “I’m asking you about your feelings on Excellent Era’s return.”
Ye Xiu felt out a cigarette, lit it, took a deep breath and nodded. “Pretty good.” -Ch1361
Also, for those with sharp eyes will notice that there's a significant decrease in the mention of smoking after chapter 1000+, matching the start of Professional League/GPA. This rather supports how serious (i remember using the word uncompromising, unyielding) Ye Xiu is when it comes to aiming for the championship (victory in general). Ye Xiu maintains his condition meticulously, going so far as reducing his cigarette intake, when he's a heavy smoker.
However, the most interesting discovery is that smoking is more than a habit for Ye Xiu, in some ways, it's a tool or a method(?) for him to keep him unreadable, to deal with his emotions, to hide his weakness. It's oft mentioned throughout the webnovel how difficult is to read Ye Xiu's expression, he rarely shows strong emotion. I don't think it's his natural disposition, but an ingrained habit either from his family upbringing or him raising himself and the Su siblings together while also leading a team. And when he goes out to smoke to deal with his feelings (as per the examples above), he tends to smoke alone. There's no mention of him having company when he does so. It leads me to conclude that for whatever reasons Ye Xiu believes emotions are not to be shown openly and to be dealt with alone.
This explains a lot really, why such conflict arises in Excellent Era. Ye Xiu remains unchanged throughout the years in his pursuit of victory and love and passion for Glory. However, people around him change, either they leave or their values differ. Ye Xiu with his skills and achievements, combined with his uncompromising attitude and unreadable expression, he becomes a distant, incomprehensible figure. It becomes easy to project their own feelings to him.
This is particularly highlighted when Excellent Era has an emergency meeting due to Ye Xiu for coming forward/no longer shying away from media attention. They all are afraid of what Ye Xiu will do, because they're putting themselves in Ye Xiu's shoes, and knowing what they've done, he has no reason to be kind. When in reality, Ye Xiu doesn't really care. He accepts the failure on his part. In the end, he treats his former club just like any other opponent, by letting action speak for itself. And they completely fail to understand this, their own God, their own captain for many years, which makes it so sad and tragic, because they never sees him as the person that he is.
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