Chu Fengyi was utterly fed up with these rumor-mongering idiots. He typed expressionlessly, pressing so hard it looked like he wanted to stab through his phone screen. “Say one more word and I’ll assassinate you in the next second.”
The young man messaging him had just been shooting his mouth off, joking around. He hadn’t expected such an intense reaction and quickly begged for mercy.
【Sprite: My bad, my bad, Bro Chu. I won’t talk about you anymore. But can you just come back? The manager nags me every day about it. He says you blocked him. I’m the only one on the whole team who can still reach you.】
This was all thanks to the fact that back when Sprite ran away from home to play games, Chu Fengyi had lent him two hundred bucks for internet cafe fees.
Sprite was so tired of his rotten temper. Chu Fengyi had run away from home for years to play esports because of a fight with his family, and now he was quitting the team without a word because of a spat with the club? He was practically an ancestor they had to coax back with kid gloves.
The fans calling him “Daddy” really wasn’t a misnomer at all.
【Aren’t you annoyed by that Young Master who parachuted into the team? Actually, he’s pretty decent at the game now. And he’s really reined it in lately. Every day, it’s either training or holing up in his room. No idea what he’s tinkering with.】
Chu Fengyi was so angry he was grinding his teeth. What, did they think he was some petty, intolerant jerk?
Sprite was pulling out all the stops, appealing to both emotion and reason. 【Just come back, Bro Chu. The manager, the coach, everyone wants to see you. Little Flower won’t even look at anyone else now. Anyone else tries to pet him, he just scratches them. You can’t punish everyone because of one person’s mistake.】
That was Sprite’s last message. After that, the usually long-winded young man stopped bothering him, leaving him some time to think.
Chu Fengyi’s face was cold. His gaze lingered on the last sentence for a long time before he finally replied. 【I’ll come back for a bit.】
The reply came instantly, 【Yes! It’s a deal. Whoever bails is a dog!】
In the dimly lit room, Chu Fengyi sprawled lazily in his gaming chair, one hand draped over his forehead. He stared at the computer screen, his mind wandering.
It was almost time for Lin Linya to end his stream. He was chatting with his fans, who were still grilling him on whether that person in the video was really him.
Any other streamer might have just ignored it, using the ambiguous, non-committal attitude to milk the hype. But not Lin Linya. His little mouth rattled off a firm denial.
“That definitely wasn’t me. I started working right after middle school. Only started streaming when I couldn’t make ends meet.”
Why was Lin Linya so adamantly denying he was from S University?
Please, just look at what the danmaku was saying.
【Brothers, I’m a Sea City local. My place is only a few hundred meters from S University. Anyone wanna sponsor me for an offline assassination? Can’t let this little streamer get too cocky.】
【Yaya, what’s your major? I’ll bring you snacks. Big bro’s got milk and sausages for you.】
【Isn’t S University that infamous Gay University? I heard in the guys’ dorms, the only thing straight is the bed frame. Our Baby going to a school like that is so dangerous. Mom’s worried tears are dripping from the corner of my mouth.】
【No wonder he moved off campus. Probably scared his roommates would mess with him. Remember when he first started streaming and still lived in the dorms? His roommate never showed his face, but once walked past the camera shirtless after a shower. Those eight-pack abs, hehe.】
【Whoa, Sister, you’re an OG fan! You remember stuff that ancient.】
Lin Linya’s little face flushed bright red. He stubbornly insisted, “I’m not from S University! Don’t come looking for me.”
Unfortunately, his explanation was so weak, it basically had “I’m lying” written all over his face. Not only did no one believe him, they just got even more rowdy.
Lin Linya was beyond annoyed with them. He didn’t care if they believed him or not, repeated once more that he wasn’t from S University, and ended the stream immediately.
Chu Fengyi stared at the black screen, the display showing the streamer was offline. He suddenly thought that if he went back to D.K., he might not be able to stream for a while.
They hadn’t formally agreed on it, but playing ranked together had become a default routine for both of them. Lin Linya would even wait for him if he was late to start his stream. So… maybe he should tell him?
He picked up his phone, his brow furrowed as he stared at the little grass-avatar WeChat ID.
【Got something going on in a couple of days, won’t be able to… with you…】
He typed up to here, clicked his tongue, and sensed something was off.
Whether he streamed or not had no real impact on Lin Linya. Specifically telling him about it might just come off as weird and presumptuous.
Just as he was agonizing over how to phrase it, a WeChat message suddenly popped up from the other side. 【Bro, why are you stuck on ‘typing…’ for so long?】
Startled, Chu Fengyi’s hand jerked, accidentally initiating a video call.
His face darkened, about to hang up, but the other side picked up quickly. The two of them stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Having recovered from his initial shock, Chu Fengyi cleared his throat lightly and asked casually, “About to head to bed?”
Only after saying it did he notice Lin Linya seemed to have just showered. His hair was still damp, a towel draped over his shoulders. His fair cheeks, steamed pink by the hot water, were a faint, shallow blush.
His downturned eyes looked as obedient as a little puppy’s, long eyelashes resting against his cheeks. His loose pajamas revealed a slender neck, and further down, a flat chest.
He was leaning against his bed, holding his phone with a bewildered expression.
Gulp.
That was the sound of Chu Fengyi’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.
Luckily, the video call’s audio wasn’t high-quality enough for Lin Linya to hear that.
Lin Linya had just showered and was about to send Chu Fengyi a message thanking him for carrying him up the ranks when he saw the “typing…” indicator. He’d just asked out of curiosity.
Chu Fengyi suddenly video calling him was a huge shock. His social anxiety kicked in, too nervous to meet Chu Fengyi’s deep, dark eyes. When he spoke, his voice was soft and small.
“Bro Chu, did you need something?”
“Mhm…” Chu Fengyi fixed his gaze firmly on Lin Linya’s eyes. Only after the other shyly looked away did he slowly say, “I might not be able to play for a few days. Got some stuff in real life.”
As he spoke, he carefully observed Lin Linya’s reaction.
“Ah?” Lin Linya responded blankly. “Is it important?”
Seeing the flicker of disappointment, Chu Fengyi tried hard to hide his satisfaction. He gave an “Mhm.” “Pretty important. Concerns your bro’s future.”
For some reason, every time he saw that dumbfounded expression on Lin Linya’s face, he couldn’t help but want to tease him.
Hearing how serious it was, Lin Linya immediately became very understanding. “That important? Then go ahead. I can play by myself. I can play casual matches and arcade mode.”
A hint of a smile appeared on Chu Fengyi’s face. “I’ll pull you into the Wolf Fang game streamer group chat later. You can find people to play with there. They’re more experienced than you, they can help you out.”
Lin Linya, just starting out in “Glory,” had no idea there was even an internal group chat for streamers. He pursed his lips, a little embarrassed. “I’m not really familiar with them… I’ll just practice some heroes on my own these next few days. I’ll wait for you.”
When he said “I’ll wait for you,” Lin Linya’s eyes were sparkling.
Chu Fengyi’s heart instantly softened. If it weren’t for the screen between them, he would have really wanted to pat his head.
His voice was a little hoarse. “Okay. It won’t take long. Very soon.”
“It’s late. Go to sleep.”
When he wasn’t being a smartass, Chu Fengyi’s voice was magnetic and pleasant, like the voice acting for some 2D anime character.
Lin Linya rubbed his ticklish ear and nodded obediently. “Mhm. You get some rest too. Good night, Bro Chu.”
After saying good night, following international custom, he did not go to sleep. He was going to surf the web a bit more.
He expertly opened Weibo. The top trending topic was some male celebrity cheating on his girlfriend and getting exposed. The plaza was a bloody mess of fans and passersby tearing each other apart.
He was curled up in his blanket, happily munching on this drama, when his phone suddenly vibrated twice. It showed Chu Fengyi inviting him to a group chat named 【Late Night Macho Spicy Video Chat】.
Lin Linya, “Ummm…”
At this hour, most normal people were preparing for bed, but for esports players and streamers, the nightlife was just beginning.
The group was incredibly lively, messages flashing so fast Lin Linya couldn’t keep up.
Only the group bot @’d him to welcome him. He sent a cute cat meme, but no one paid him any attention.
The most active members were people Lin Linya didn’t recognize, probably other game streamers. Their discussion topics were all about “Glory,” but it was a bit confusing to Lin Linya. He didn’t really understand.
They were debating the attributes and logic of new heroes, permaban status, nerfs to old heroes, skill adjustments, and a few were passionately cursing out the devs. The intensity of their language actually scared this little newbie.
【Fing brain-dead devs keep nerfing Mid Lane. What the hell am I supposed to play? Every mage is your daddy, making your daddies play Utility Player, huh?】
【With this kind of nerf bat, the devs better sleep with one eye open tonight. Don’t sleep too soundly.】
They all seemed to have pretty bad tempers.
Lin Linya was even more scared to speak. After changing his alias to his Wolf Fang ID, he put the group on Do Not Disturb.
He casually searched the ID of the person who sent the most messages—the one telling the devs to sleep with one eye open—and was instantly shocked. He actually had hundreds of thousands of fans.
In comparison, Lin Linya was a total nobody.
Lin Linya: Insecure. Emo. Opens NetDepress Cloud, plays Mercury Records.
Because he went to sleep at midnight, Lin Linya missed a very important message.
It wasn’t until he woke up the next morning that he saw it: a stranger’s friend request.
After he accepted it, it was like the other person had been lying in wait. A message came immediately. 【Hello, are you Lin Linya from the New Media major at S University?】
【We’re the university’s self-media operations team, mainly in charge of the official SoundWave account. The school cheering support videos on SoundWave are really popular right now. We wanted to ask if you might have time to film a video for us.】
【After all, Yaya is so cute, everyone would definitely love to watch, right? w.】
The beginning was somewhat official and standard, but the last sentence was where the real intention showed, clearly carrying a personal touch.
Lin Linya, who just last night was still being a stubborn goose, insisting he wasn’t from S University. “…”
Was there any face-slapping more epic than a male star issuing a denial one day and being officially confirmed the next?
