Chapter 28

The pinched soft flesh quickly flushed red. Tears welled up in Lin Linya’s eyes as he mumbled, “You’re the worst vicious dog. Don’t bite me, sob. Let go, let go, it hurts so much!”

Chen Chun knew he was faking it—he hadn’t used any real strength at all. Yet seeing that pitiful look, he couldn’t help but release his grip and gently rub the spot for him.

Lin Linya seized the chance to rest his chin in Chen Chun’s palm, blinking at him innocently.

“What are you going to do tonight? Sleep here? I don’t have anywhere else for you to sleep.”

Chen Chun took the opportunity to rub his little face, stealing a bit of tofu, and flopped carelessly onto the sofa. He patted it. “I’ll just crash here tonight. Throw me a blanket.”

Chen Chun was too tall and broad. Lin Linya’s single sofa was no better than an undersized dog bed for him. Lin Linya could easily imagine him scrunched up with his legs bent, taking up the whole thing, only to roll off in the middle of the night in a tragic heap.

Hugging a cushion, Lin Linya sat cross-legged. “How about I sleep on the sofa and you take my bed?”

Chen Chun gave a short laugh. “How could I bear to let you sleep on the sofa, little princess? Go to bed, it’s so late. If you’re not careful, you’ll wake up with dark circles dragging on the floor and a sallow little face.”

The moment Lin Linya heard that, he was so frightened he immediately ran off to sleep. He scrambled off the sofa into his room, grabbed a blanket, and tossed it to him. Before heading back to his room, he didn’t forget to remind him, “Don’t forget to shower.”

Chen Chun kept his eyes closed, slowly sobering up, and didn’t turn his head.

He just waved a hand lazily. “I know, I know.”

Lin Linya returned to his room and lay down in bed. Only then did he remember he had messages he hadn’t replied to. He quickly responded to Sound Slowly’s message and burrowed under the covers to sleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. Lin Linya was already deep asleep when the door was suddenly pushed open.

Chen Chun, shirtless with a towel draped over his shoulders, sucked in a sharp breath at the morgue-like temperature in the room. On the bed, the youth was wrapped in a thick blanket like a silkworm cocoon.

“Turned the AC down so low again. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

He sighed, turned the AC up to 26 degrees, then with some effort fished Lin Linya’s face out of the cocoon of the duvet. Only then did he gently close the door and leave.

When Lin Linya got up in the morning, the scent of breakfast already filled the air. After washing up, he slipped into the kitchen and let out a shout, covering his eyes. “Why aren’t you wearing clothes? I’m going to get a sty!”

Chen Chun, bare-chested and muscular, was speechless. “Do I have any clothes to wear at your place?”

He really couldn’t stand his top reeking of alcohol and had washed it. It was still hanging outside, not yet dry.

Lin Linya dashed forward and latched onto his back, peeking curiously over his shoulder. “So the gas stove actually works. I thought it was broken.”

Chen Chun didn’t budge an inch at the sudden pounce. His hands remained steady as he carefully lifted the freshly fried egg into a bowl.

With a loud slap, he tossed the chopsticks into the pan, his resentment thicker than a ghost’s. “And you still have the nerve to say that? Such a big kitchen, and not a single spatula. Do you know how much trouble it is to flip an egg with chopsticks?”

Lin Linya had already scurried back to the living room. He opened the styrofoam box, and the aroma of soup dumplings rushed straight into his nostrils. He snatched one up with his chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, hissing from the heat. “Hoo… hoo…”

Chen Chun had just set the fried eggs on the table. His heart leaped into his throat. Frantically, he tilted up Lin Linya’s chin to look inside his mouth. “Burned yourself?”

Lin Linya finally managed to swallow. He stuck out his tongue pitifully to let it cool. “No, just scalded it a bit red.”

Chen Chun was nearly livid. “Got a ghost competing with you for food? You stuffed it into your mouth right when you opened it, before the steam even dissipated. If you get a mouth ulcer, forget about eating properly for a whole week.”

Lin Linya simply closed his ears and became a little rice bucket that ignored everything and just ate.

By the time he finished the last soup dumpling, he finally put down his chopsticks, sat up straight, crossed his hands on the table, and sat upright as if he were about to start the evening news. “I have an important announcement to make.”

Chen Chun didn’t even look up. “Speak.”

Lin Linya slapped the table. “Next weekend, I’m going to meet an online friend I’ve known for a long time! And I’m also going to the Wolf Fang seventh-anniversary offline fan meeting!”

Chen Chun laughed. “A little noob like you can go to an offline fan meeting? Are your invitation letters mass-produced?”

Lin Linya didn’t get angry. He said seriously, “I’m pretty popular now. I’ve got way more fans than before.”

Chen Chun was a real-life enjoyer who didn’t really watch streams, so he had no idea if it was true or not. Still, he figured staying at home all day wasn’t as good as going out and having fun, so he nodded. “Just be careful about your safety.”

A long moment later, it suddenly occurred to him. “Wait, is that online friend a guy or a girl?”

With an air of great honor, Lin Linya declared, “A guy! He’s even the boss of a big company!”

Chen Chun couldn’t help laughing again. Lin Linya asked him what was so funny.

Slowly and deliberately, he put an egg into his mouth and said with heavy sarcasm, “You’re really something. Husbands from all over the place, huh? You could almost collect stamps.”

In the past, being teased like this would have made Lin Linya angry and shy. But unfortunately, he played games every day now, and his skin had grown thicker than a city wall.

Calmly, he said, “What are you jealous about? Don’t be mad. I hereby appoint you as the main ship.”

Chen Chun cursed, laughing. “Get lost, get lost. Don’t come here trying to gross me out.”

After clearing the plates, he pulled on his half-dried t-shirt, grabbed his keys from the table, and raised his voice. “I’m going grocery shopping. What do you want to eat? Right, I gotta buy a spatula, too.”

Lin Linya was about to go into his room to change clothes. Hearing this, he poked half his head out, revealing his sly eyes. He put on a sugary sweet voice and said, “Sweet and sour pork, and some seasonal veggies. Thanks for your hard work, husband.”

…

“Good evening, everyone. Tonight, Glory ranked mode, let’s keep it going.”

With Chen Chun cooking for him, Lin Linya finally didn’t have to order takeout. After opening his stream and greeting everyone, he launched the game and saw that it was another promotion match.

“Why do I have to face my tribulation again? Cue the war song.” He opened NetEase Cloud and played “Good Luck Comes” as his BGM.

[It’s a promotion match and you’re not looking for a good big bro to carry you?]

[Gotta @Little Yu and Little Yang here. They usually start fighting the second they see each other. How come they’re not around at a critical moment?]

[Little Yang is out attending a wedding banquet and took time off. Next door, Little Yu is doing rap PK battles. I’m dying of laughter.]

Lin Linya saw the danmaku and recalled an inspirational internet catchphrase. “Rely on men, and you can only be a princess. Rely on yourself, and you can be a queen. Applause if you understand.”

As soon as he said that, with outward reluctance but inward honesty, he opened his in-game friend list to see who was online and randomly pick a poor soul to help him with his promotion match.

“Ugh, who is this guy? I keep declining and he keeps inviting me. So annoying. Can’t he see I don’t want to play with him?”

Ever since Lin Linya logged on, some guy he didn’t know kept inviting him. He’d declined several times, but the guy was completely unable to read the mood and kept dragging him into team rooms.

“He looks like an elementary schooler,” Lin Linya muttered. “Let me see what this clown is about.”

He clicked on this black-and-white male avatar’s profile card and was instantly mesmerized, unable to look away. “Ranked win rate 70%, score 85. Peak rank highest 2200, win rate 66%, score 83. Provincial Kiki, Top 10 National Translocator. So cool!”

A moment ago, he’d been calling him an elementary schooler; now he was hesitating. “Looks decent, but a bit fierce. If I play badly, he won’t curse me out, right?”

[Hahaha, Ya couldn’t even recognize him. It’s Brother Picky.]

[Bro really loves changing his ID and avatar. High school boys are like this.]

[He used to have a clean, cold-and-aloof style. Lately, his IDs have been so lovesick and emo.]

After reading the danmaku, Lin Linya was stunned. “Huh?”

When the next team invite popped up, Lin Linya hurriedly clicked accept.

After entering the room, no one spoke for a long time. Finally, Picky couldn’t hold it in and spoke first, asking, “Why didn’t you join when I kept inviting you?”

[Because he was holding auditions. Congrats, out of all those utility players, you got picked.]

[After seeing your profile, he’s quite taken with you. He’s giving you a chance to duo queue with him right now.]

Lin Linya blinked his eyes and said in a coquettish voice, “No, I didn’t recognize you because you changed your ID and avatar. I don’t want to play with guys I don’t know. The danmaku said it was you, so I agreed.”

The implication was as if he was saying he only wanted to play with him.

Sure enough, although Picky’s words were still short, curt, and very cold, his tone was noticeably gentler. “I kept matching with inters in peak rank before and lost a few games, so I changed my name to get rid of the bad luck. Starting now.”

He’d just clicked to start the game when Lin Linya swiftly canceled the match.

Thinking Lin Linya had suddenly changed his mind, Picky frowned. “What’s wrong?”

This was Lin Linya’s promotion match. He was afraid this kid would get a spur-of-the-moment idea to practice a hero, play badly, and lose. He deliberately put on a troubled act. “This is my promotion match… Maybe we shouldn’t. I’ll just solo queue. I’m afraid it’ll be tough and cost you stars.”

When he spoke, he heavily emphasized the words “promotion match,” and the whole thing reeked of pure green tea.

Picky, “…”

He couldn’t see through any of Lin Linya’s roundabout insinuations at all. In his eyes, Lin Linya was simply a thoughtful and kindhearted good big bro.

His tone was firm and brooked no argument. “What solo queue? You’ll have even less chance of winning if you match with some demon-and-devil teammates. Follow me, I won’t let you lose.”

Only then did Lin Linya “reluctantly” agree. “Fine, you can start.”

[Evil woman! Evil woman! Brother Picky has fallen for every trick in the book!]

[Picky: What fault does he have? He’s in his promotion match, not only not asking me to carry him to rank up, but also specially considering whether I’d lose points.]