【Whoa, this guy is so slick. Why do all you female fans say Bro Chu is a straight man? He was almost dead himself, but he specifically hopped the wall to come get our little baby. If that’s not true love, I don’t know what is.】
Lin Linya was still sulking, but seeing Chu Fengyi come to fetch him, he felt too embarrassed to complain. In fact, he even felt a bit of a blush creeping up, questioning if he had been too harsh.
As the little Spirit Cat healed in the Fountain, it wouldn’t stay still, spinning like crazy in circles and swishing its fluffy tail, as if that would make it heal faster.
Chu Fengyi’s eye twitched. “What are you doing?”
Lin Linya didn’t want to answer, but the urge was too strong. “Don’t you know? It makes you heal way faster.”
“Oh, really?” Chu Fengyi’s tone was flat. “I’ve been playing Glory for eight years. How did I not know that?”
Lin Linya hadn’t realized anything was wrong yet. Every time he went back to the Fountain, he spun. He genuinely believed it healed him faster. “Uh-huh. I bought a tutorial package a while ago. It said so in there.”
Normally, Chu Fengyi wouldn’t laugh at things, no matter how absurd. But this was too much. Especially hearing that Lin Linya had paid for a tutorial package.
“Is your retirement fund going to be this easy to scam when you get old? Do you just believe everything you hear?”
【My husband’s laugh is so dreamy. Why am I detecting just a hint of doting towards the little streamer beneath that sarcasm? Is it okay for me to ship this?】
【He’s dog-like, sure, but that shell is decent. After all, he was once the face of D.K.】
Chu Fengyi waited patiently just outside the Fountain for Lin Linya to heal up, expecting him to hitch a ride. But as soon as he was full, Lin Linya scrambled out without even a glance. Chu Fengyi was left speechless: “…”
“Where are you going? The Farm Lane’s Defense Turret is gone. You planning to just stand guard there? Is it your shift or something?”
Lin Linya’s little face flushed red with anger. “…”
He should never have gotten his hopes up!
Silently, he came back and hopped onto the Jungler. Just as Chu Fengyi expected another round of sulking, a small voice suddenly piped up. “If you want me to follow you, can’t you just say something nice to win me over? Do you really have to be sarcastic?”
【Exactly! It’s like he doesn’t know how to speak properly. Why the passive-aggressive digs?】
【There are plenty of great Bros out there who can carry. Yaya, just switch. There are loads of skilled game streamers. You don’t have to play with Bro Chu.】
【??? Are you guys serious? Bro Chu is being nice and carrying your little streamer, and you’re getting emotional? With that Bronze-level skill, could he even reach this rank tier without being carried?】
【Laughable. Some little streamer’s fans are acting all crazy, like the whole world owes him.】
【Alright, ladies, stop with the ‘little streamer’ this and that. Bro Chu invited Yaya himself. But what was the point of calling him bad right off the bat? If you don’t want to play, don’t invite. Bullying our Yaya Baby like he’s got no family to back him up.】
Lin Linya glanced at the danmaku, sensing a flame war about to erupt. He hurriedly said, “Everyone, don’t fight! If you haven’t followed, brothers and sisters, hit that follow so you don’t get lost. You can also send free little hearts to boost the room’s popularity.”
Seeing so many unfamiliar IDs in his room, he paused for a few seconds. “Have none of you followed? Could you please follow me? I’m just a little bit away from getting on the recommended list.”
The battle-hardened female fans, who had been rolling up their sleeves to storm the ungrateful little streamer’s room, were completely stunned by his ‘Older Sister’.
The pretty, delicate little face of the streamer on camera peered back at them, smiling sweetly when the viewer count rose.
By the time they snapped out of it, they’d somehow already clicked follow and sent a wave of free gifts.
The female fans: “…”
What a cunning little streamer. We’ve been had again.
【Before clicking: Today, I’m going to fight this little streamer’s fanbase to the death. No one stop me. After clicking: Hehe, he called me Older Sister. So, it’s okay if I just watch over my kid, right?】
【Then it’s okay if I send a few little hearts, right? They’re free, after all.】
【Before clicking: Who’s this? Bad at the game but full of opinions. After clicking: With skills this bad, how dare you play with Bro Chu? Tell you what, add me as a friend. I’ll come pick you up from the Fountain, I’ll Give Blue Buff, and I won’t yell at you. I’ll carry you.】
【Person above me, I can hear your scheming from my house. Your abacus beads are flying right into my face.】
Even Lin Linya’s own fans were a bit dazed. Someone timidly asked, “So… are we still fighting?”
Immediately, someone else jumped in. “Fight about what? He’s just a small streamer who even needs other people’s fans to help him get on the recommendation list. If we say another word, he’ll say it’s fine on the surface, but he’ll probably go offline and cry in secret.”
Targeting a kid like this made them look petty. Besides, after they’d all clicked follow and gotten his fan badge, trashing him seemed kind of inappropriate.
Chu Fengyi, who’d been focused on the game, frowned when he heard this. Opening his own stream, the danmaku was all about him, saying the little streamer on the other side was about to be bullied to tears.
Bullied to tears…? Chu Fengyi froze.
He was used to trash-talking with his brothers in games, so he hadn’t held back. He’d been too busy ambushing from the brush and starting the Team Fight to pay attention. Replaying it in his mind, Lin Linya’s tone really did sound unhappy.
He’d forgotten that Lin Linya was new to esports. He probably hadn’t been scolded like this in real life and must be feeling incredibly wronged right now.
His tone softened considerably. “I’ll stop. Don’t be mad.”
His mic flashed, but Lin Linya was still silent. Chu Fengyi’s voice turned gentle. “Just follow me. The enemy Jungler wants to mess with me. He’s coming to Invade my Jungle. I can’t beat him alone, okay?”
Lin Linya turned his mic on. “Why didn’t you just say so earlier?”
His voice wasn’t just free of grievance; it had a hint of smugness, as if saying, See? Easy win.
Chu Fengyi instantly knew he’d been played. He felt a wave of amused exasperation and could only play along. “Yeah, I was wrong. Be the bigger person and don’t hold it against me.”
【’I was wrong’】
【’Be the bigger person’】
【’Don’t hold it against me’】
【I never thought I’d live to see Fanta apologize. This is the guy who wouldn’t even apologize to his own Coach. Tonight is special.】
The Warp Drifter carried the little cat back to the Jungle for a buff. As expected, the enemy Jungler was lying in wait in the brush. Seeing the two of them coming, he tried to retreat. The Spirit Cat landed a crowd-control skill, and the Warp Drifter quickly followed up with damage.
When the enemy Jungler was on a sliver of health, the Warp Drifter stopped attacking, letting the Spirit Cat’s Passive Skill finish him off. Lin Linya got the kill.
Chu Fengyi had fully wised up now. He praised without hesitation: “Nice! If it weren’t for you, the enemy Jungler would’ve escaped.”
Lin Linya: “…”
He actually felt a bit embarrassed, his cheeks flushing slightly. All he’d done was click a skill. It wasn’t as impressive as Chu Fengyi made it sound.
【Hello, Bro Chu? Your fans call you a ‘dog Jungler’ because your selfish playing—abandoning teammates and leeching gold—is a dog act. It doesn’t mean we want you to literally be a dog for your little Support.】
【I’m literally dying of laughter here. Happy now, Yaya? You just like being praised.】
Chu Fengyi carried Lin Linya through Ranked Mode. Afterward, they switched to Casual Mode, which was much more relaxed. He told Lin Linya to equip the Spirit Cat with the Beheading spell, allowing him to clean up kills on low-health enemy Heroes.
In one Casual Mode match, Lin Linya scored over twenty kills and even got MVP at the end. Usually, his KDA was mostly assists, so he rarely got MVP.
Chu Fengyi generally didn’t like Casual Mode. In Glory, players could set relationship statuses, and Casual Mode was mostly filled with Couples. Solo Queue players usually had a terrible experience.
But playing a few rounds with Lin Linya tonight wasn’t so bad. He exited the post-game screen and went back to the team lobby, noticing Lin Linya still hadn’t left the results screen. He raised an eyebrow. “Whatcha doing?”
Lin Linya was busy taking screenshots. He even had a dedicated album for them. “I’m capturing the moment. This is my sixth MVP.”
Someone who got MVP all the time couldn’t quite relate. Chu Fengyi responded dryly, “Oh. Are you gonna print it out and tape it to your headboard? Waking up from dreams laughing, huh?”
Lin Linya was happily watching his screenshot album grow. He didn’t get mad. “You don’t get it. This proves I’m getting better and better.”
Chu Fengyi just hummed dismissively.
【My wife is such a little dummy. I’m dying of laughter. Why is he so cute?】
【Alright, our Yaya Baby has worked hard enough. So talented and so hardworking. Gotta give other players a chance, you know?】
【Just spoil him, then.】
Chu Fengyi usually logged off his stream earlier than Lin Linya. But after signing off, he didn’t immediately leave. He logged into a Smurf Account and hung out in Lin Linya’s livestream room, replying to messages while watching.
People he didn’t know or wasn’t close to? Ignored. People he didn’t want to reply to? Ignored. People he had to reply to? Perfunctory responses. He was working through hundreds of messages this way when his finger suddenly stopped on a chat window.
【Sprite: Bro!!! Call me back when you see this. Urgent business.】
His gaze darkened as he stared silently for a long moment. Expressionless, he chose to play dead. But it was as if Sprite had installed surveillance on him. Before he could even close the chat, another message arrived.
【Sprite: Bro, I saw you ended your stream. Don’t pretend you didn’t see this. Get back to me ASAP. It’s really urgent. It’s about you returning to the Team!】
Return to the Team? What Team? He let out a cold laugh. From the moment he’d left D.K., he’d never planned on going back.
Irritated, he turned off his phone. His gaze returned to the computer screen: Lin Linya’s livestream. The well-behaved, pretty boy was chatting with his fans. Maybe still not used to face-camming, his eyes kept darting to the camera lens.
It was as if he was looking right through the screen, making eye contact. A smile, part joy and part shyness, flickered in his eyes. Incredibly vivid.
He began to understand why Lin Linya’s fans were so loyal despite him not being very popular. Truly good-looking. No beauty filter, no smoothing, just real and pretty. The kind that could compete even in Wolf Fang Live Platform’s Beauty Section.
Click. A lighter flickered, igniting a cigarette. He held it between his lips, the smoke blurring his sharp features, his eyes dark and heavy.
His black-screened phone vibrated incessantly on the desk. With an impatient click of his tongue, he picked it up, ready to curse the sender. Then he saw Sprite’s latest message. The tone was sneaky.
【Sprite: Bro, I know. You’re watching Yaya’s stream, aren’t you?】
Chu Fengyi’s heart jumped. He felt spied on.
The next message followed immediately. 【Sprite: The Manager said you’ve been ignoring messages lately because you’re busy dating. I didn’t believe him, but that little streamer really is good-looking, huh? We were all watching together during our break. Hehe.】
Chu Fengyi: “…”
A vein throbbed on his forehead. What absolute rubbish! They’re spreading rumors about him just because he’s not around?!
