Lin Linya could tolerate it once, but it happened several times. He couldn’t get any of his own minion wave gold, and he was too embarrassed to take anyone else’s.
After a long while, he realized this mindset was completely unnecessary.
He simply snapped. He devoured every resource he could get his hands on, not even sparing the Three Little Pigs. If a teammate died, he would inherit their minion wave. Five minutes later, he finally managed to claw his way back to a decent amount of gold.
Qiao Yu was playing Master Roshi this game, incredibly tanky, and coordinating well with the Marksman. They quickly broke through the Bottom Lane.
After the Farm Lane Tier 1 Turret fell, Block’s Wanxiang treated the enemy jungle as his own backyard. He was incredibly bold, pinging a signal to his teammates before going to steal the Blue Buff.
Lin Linya was so scared he hurried over to provide backup.
He watched Wanxiang move as if entering a land without people, not only securing the buff with one Smite, but also using his Ultimate followed by a Skill 2 Swap to dodge every skill. Returning to his original position, he killed the enemy Jungler and made a stylish exit.
This sequence of mechanics left Lin Linya dumbstruck. “Don’t tell me you’re actually 10K-Power Wanxiang?”
Block curled his lip, “Why would I lie to you? Besides, that move was incredibly simple. You can pull it off as long as you have hands. What’s so hard about it? You play Glory; don’t tell me you can’t even do this?”
As someone who couldn’t play Jungler to save his life, Lin Linya was speechless.
He blinked. Adaptable as ever, he spoke in a slow, honeyed tone, “Then I’ll be counting on you this game, Little Brother.”
Lin Linya was used to playing Support. Playing Mage for one game nearly killed him from exhaustion. His game sense was learned from Qiao Yu, but he wasn’t nearly as proficient.
It was enough to get by here, however, and they smoothly won the afternoon’s entertainment match.
In the evening, the Wolf Fang Platform organized a dinner. Lin Linya didn’t know many people, so after eating, he went back to the hotel to rest. After showering and changing into his pajamas, he sprawled on the bed to play on his phone.
Not long after, Qiao Yu also returned.
Lin Linya found it strange. “Why are you back so early too?”
“There’s nothing fun to do out there. I’d rather come back and chat with you.”
As soon as Qiao Yu entered the room, he saw two long, pale legs, one draped over the other. The skin was so fine it looked like melted cream, and his shorts were so short they were about to reveal his upper thighs.
He quickly fanned himself. “What temperature did you set the AC to? It’s a bit hot.”
Lin Linya was right in the middle of having fun surfing the internet and too lazy to get up. He just turned over, lying on his stomach. “Check it yourself. Lower it if it’s too high. I feel fine.”
Qiao Yu turned the AC down two degrees. Turning back, his eyes landed on Lin Linya’s soft, pale calves and the slight, graspable dip of his lower back. He instantly felt the two degrees had been for nothing.
He hastily averted his gaze, rummaging through his suitcase for his own pajamas. “I’m going to take a shower first.”
By the time he finished his shower and came out, Lin Linya was already so cold he had burrowed under the covers, completely hidden from view. Qiao Yu really wanted to slap his own hand and ask why he had to be so stupid.
Lin Linya casually glanced at him. “You have a pretty good physique. Do you work out every day?”
“Occasionally. Sometimes I’m lazy,” Qiao Yu put on a T-shirt and dried his hair.
He checked the time and clicked his tongue. “Why is it only 9 PM? Let’s find something to do.”
This time of night was still a bit too early for them to sleep. Normally, they’d be livestreaming until past eleven, and many streamed until the early morning hours.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. Qiao Yu went to open it. Little Yang and Ji Wensheng stood at the doorway, both also in their pajamas. Little Yang held a deck of cards. “Wanna play? Old Maid.”
Qiao Yu laughed. “We were just saying how bored we were, and here you guys are. What’s the fun in just playing cards? Let’s start a livestream. Losers get a penalty.”
Neither of the other two objected. Lin Linya lazily snuggled in his blanket. “I’m fine with that too.”
Qiao Yu smacked his fist into his palm. “Then let’s use Baby Ya’s livestream room. I have a streaming stand here. We’ll all post on Weibo. There should be a lot of people online tonight, perfect timing to help redirect some traffic your way.”
[Wolf Fang Little Yaya V: Bros Pajama Party, Old Maid with Penalties, come to the livestream room quickly. [Link] @An Ordinary Handsome Guy @Wolf Fang Little Sheep @Wolf Fang Sound Slowly]
As soon as Lin Linya opened the livestream room, viewers numbering in the five-digit range flooded in. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, he was genuinely startled and obediently greeted them. “Hello, Big Bros and Sisters, good evening. Did everyone watch today’s offline fan meeting livestream?”
[Saw it saw it! Baby’s performance today was really brilliant, won both entertainment matches!]
[I clicked in the moment I saw Baby start streaming.]
[Yaya looked so good in today’s outfit, absolutely stunning. I command you to wear formal attire for all future streams, just weld it onto your body, okay?]
[When I encounter this kind of great beauty on the street, I usually pretend to glance casually, then drool on the ground and turn back to watch her leave for 800 meters.] (T/N: Slang for staring at someone until they’re far away.)
Seeing the danmaku were all praising him, Lin Linya felt a bit smug. “It wasn’t that impressive, really. Let me introduce the three male guests appearing on stream tonight.”
He introduced the other three one by one, and they cooperatively greeted the livestream viewers.
[Holy crap, I didn’t know Brother Slow and Little Yang were this handsome. I always thought guys with nice voices who don’t show their faces wouldn’t look good. Why does Brother Slow look exactly like the mental image I had of him?]
[Baby, you really know how to pick men. It feels like your own kid brought classmates home to play, and the living room is full of handsome guys.]
[Is it just me or do the four guys in this room all look… not very straight?]
[Hahaha, I’m already analyzing the pajamas to identify who’s a 1 and who’s a 0. The other three are all in dark-colored pajamas, and only our Baby wears a white one with prints. Can he handle this room full of Alphas?] (T/N: Internet slang from danmei/omegaverse genres.)
Qiao Yu sat behind Lin Linya, placing his hands on his shoulders and leaning his head forward. “Tonight is a bros’ party, livestreaming Old Maid. The loser has to do a penalty.”
Lin Linya turned his head back in confusion and asked, “What penalty? Did you already think of one?”
The two looked at each other, then turned together to look at Little Yang. Little Yang just shrugged at them, indicating he had no ideas either. Finally, Ji Wensheng couldn’t take it anymore. “How about we put up a vote in the livestream room?”
[Two clueless ones and one grumpy one… Sure enough, Bro Sheng is the most reliable.]
[Crossdressing and dancing! Naked apron! Boyfriend shoulder carry! I’m not joking!]
[Turn up the heat, turn up the heat! It’s the midnight show now; I can’t keep watching if things don’t get steamy.]
Qiao Yu found their suggestions amusing. “Crossdressing is out. Where would we four grown men get women’s clothing? Dancing is fine. Let’s do that ‘Hip Twist Shoulder Touch Dance’ that’s been trending on SoundWave recently. After we’re done, record it and post it on Weibo.”
He pulled up a video. The four of them gathered around, watched it, and deemed it an acceptable level of scale/risk. “Alright then, let’s begin.”
Lin Linya was not a first-time Old Maid player. The rules were simple: each player is dealt a random hand of cards. First, discard all pairs in your hand. Then, each person takes turns drawing one card from the player on their left or right. Combine the drawn card with your hand. Formed pairs are discarded. Whoever is left holding the un-pairable Old Maid card at the end loses.
The final process of drawing cards was relatively agonizing because others would observe your expression and speech patterns to judge which card in your hand was the Old Maid.
The four sat in a circle. The livestream room’s camera angle was behind Qiao Yu, allowing viewers to see the cards in his hand.
After they all discarded their pairs, Qiao Yu suddenly spoke up, “I bet the Old Maid is in Yaya’s hand.”
Lin Linya didn’t speak, only giving him a meaningful glance.
The fans with God’s POV were dying of laughter, because they could all see the Old Maid in Qiao Yu’s hand. [These four people together have at least 800 schemes. The other three have 801, and Baby Ya has negative one.]
[So bad, Little Yu, trying to bluff our Baby right from the start.]
[Baby probably feels smug right now, thinking Little Yu suspects the Old Maid is with him.]
Ji Wensheng said, “Let’s draw clockwise according to our current seating. I’ll draw from Yaya, Yaya draws from Little Yu, Little Yu draws from Little Yang, Little Yang draws from my hand.”
The first round passed without incident. They each discarded a pair. Lin Linya still had six cards in his hand. When he reached to draw a card from Little Yu, Little Yu held his hand down. “Don’t draw this one. This one’s the Old Maid.”
His eyes were full of sincerity, but unfortunately, the corners of his mouth were turned up.
Lin Linya didn’t believe his nonsense for a second. Just moments into the game, he was certain the Old Maid definitely wasn’t in Qiao Yu’s hand—otherwise, why would he have asked him that way? He insisted on pulling out the card he had chosen.
When he saw the Joker printed on the face of the card, the corner of his mouth nearly broke down mentally, twitching violently. It took great effort to control it. He put on a pensive expression. “I have nothing to discard. Next.”
Qiao Yu laughed so hard he collapsed onto the bed, pounding the mattress.
Lin Linya snapped irritably, “Laugh, laugh, laugh. I don’t even know what you’re laughing about.”
Now all three knew the Old Maid was in Lin Linya’s hand. After another round ended, it was Ji Wensheng’s turn to draw. Seeing Lin Linya’s downcast face, he observed his expression while lightly brushing his cool fingertips across the card tops one by one.
He suddenly paused at one card, promptly drawing it away. Flipping it over, as expected, it was the Old Maid.
Lin Linya, who had been frowning anxiously at the stubborn Old Maid stuck in his own hand, had gotten nervous the moment Ji Wensheng touched a card. Seeing him draw the Old Maid, he couldn’t help but let out a relieved sigh, his brow finally relaxing.
[Hahaha, I’m dying of laughter. This game really isn’t suited for the little streamer; his face is way too expressive.]
[Who could resist playing Old Maid with a friend whose feelings are written all over his face?]
[Brother Slow, you really can’t be any more obvious. You deliberately drew the Old Maid just to cheer up our Baby, didn’t you?]
Ji Wensheng re-shuffled the cards in his hand for Little Yang to draw. His glasses caught the light slightly, making it hard for Little Yang to read any Emotion on his face. After casually drawing a card, Little Yang swept a light glance over him.
The two locked eyes, as if engaged in a silent clash in the air.
Only Lin Linya didn’t notice any of this at all; he was still basking in the joy of getting rid of that unsold Old Maid.
Next, Little Yang offered his hand for Qiao Yu to draw. He didn’t even change the position of the cards. Qiao Yu, without any hesitation, took the exact card Little Yang had drawn from Ji Wensheng.
[Analyzing micro-expressions with a magnifying glass, I declare this round was truly brilliant.]
[With this IQ, Yaya is going to be bullied to death by those three.]
[Upstairs, how would they bully him? Elaborate. I just topped up my phone plan this month, tons of data.]
After another round, the cards in their hands were few and few. When it was Lin Linya’s turn to draw from Qiao Yu, Qiao Yu only had two cards left.
Just as he was about to draw, Qiao Yu pulled his hand back and reminded him with a smile, “Wait, are you sure you don’t want to be a bit more careful? The Old Maid is in my hand right now, you know.”
Lin Linya’s outstretched hand suddenly froze. His expression froze too, his face a mask of the pain of “Why are you telling me directly?!”
Qiao Yu held the two cards neatly before Lin Linya, then tapped the card on the left with his finger, lazily resting his chin on his other hand as he watched him.
His slightly narrowed eyes lost some of their playfulness, replaced by a roguish smirk. “This one is the Old Maid.”
