Chapter 8

Lin Linya watched the danmaku spiral further and further out of control. In a panic, he downloaded the SoundWave app on his phone and found the video they were talking about. That’s when he understood.

The author had tagged the school’s location when filming. At first, it only attracted some alumni, but as its popularity soared, the messy comments started pouring in.

【First off, I’m not gay. I definitely don’t have any fantasies about him, because I’m not gay. But you gotta admit, he’s really good-looking. I’m not into guys, I swear. Because he really is quite beautiful, so I’m definitely not gay. But what can I say, I can’t help but keep staring. Still, I’m not gay.】

【I need all the info on this beautiful youth in three minutes, or I’m seriously gonna lose it.】

【Gonna whisper this quietly… but doesn’t this guy look like our little streamer…? If I’m wrong, pretend I didn’t say anything, sisters.】

【Babe, I don’t think you’re wrong. It’s totally Yaya. The pose while playing the guitar is the same, and his voice is similar too. It’s just that Yaya has never sung South of South Mountain in the livestream room. Bad baby, holding out on a secret performance.】

【Argh, begging for info, it’s killing me. How have I never seen such a pretty little streamer before?】

【Probably because he isn’t that popular. Only one or two thousand followers. Usually around a few thousand watching live, but the vibe in his room is nice. The streamer won’t get mad no matter what you say. He used to play minigames, but recently he’s been playing Glory.】

【He’ll do whatever you tell him, super obedient. But his gameplay is pretty mediocre, gets yelled at by his male fans a lot.】

【He normally doesn’t do borderline NSFW stuff, but he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed—believes everything you say. Here’s the link, Wolf Fang ID: Yaya Can’t Win. If you’re interested, go follow him on Wolf Fang.】

Following the portal, many found Lin Linya’s livestream room. Since it wasn’t his streaming time, the room was dark, leaving everyone trying to follow completely baffled.

Lin Linya’s stream cover was a blue-sky-and-white-clouds picture downloaded from who-knew-where, looking exactly like a Windows system wallpaper. A row of vibrant green grass. Even his profile picture was grass. They thought they were following their middle-aged aunt’s livestream room.

Thankfully, they were patient. They followed and waited, and when Lin Linya finally came online, the moment the camera turned on, they recognized him instantly as the guy playing guitar on SoundWave.

That pretty little face appeared in the frame, smiling as he greeted them. Then, realizing how many new people there were, he just stared blankly, unblinking.

【So cute, so pretty, I love him! The moment I saw Yaya, I knew he was my destined wife.】

【So submissive and coy. Falling for a 0 is a sister’s fate, I get it. I’ll love you when the conditions are right in the next life, my baby.】

【Want to hear the streamer call me ‘Older Sister.’ I’ll send a Carnival if he does.】

Unlike professional streamers who broadcast over ten hours a day, Lin Linya only streamed for a few hours at night. He had no idea his follower count had suddenly exploded.

Now, with so many new people flooding the chat, he couldn’t keep up. “Welcome, welcome, new sisters. Tonight, we continue playing games.”

He clicked the Glory icon on his desktop. The game loaded up. With some idle time as he logged in, he got up to grab a glass of water from the living room.

When he came back, several team invitations had popped up. The latest one arrived just as he’d left. Hurriedly, he clicked accept.

He didn’t speak after entering the room. It was as if the person on the other side had only just noticed, pausing for a beat before the mic icon flickered, followed by a familiar, chuckling male voice: “What a big shot. Do you need a personal invitation?”

Lin Linya giggled. “Good evening, Bro! I didn’t ignore you; I just went to get water. Are we climbing ranks tonight?”

Chu Fengyi had just started his own stream. As soon as he turned it on, a swarm of waiting fans were already online. But he wasn’t in a rush to start a match; instead, he lingered on the lobby screen, making idle conversation with the danmaku. His long fingers tapped the desktop restlessly, betraying his distraction. Fans began speculating.

【First, we can rule out Bro Chu suddenly wanting to bond with his fans. So, he’s waiting for someone, right?】

【I checked. All the streamers who used to duo queue with Bro Chu are online. Only Yaya, the one playing Fight the Landlord for passive gold, hasn’t started yet. So, who’s he waiting for? I won’t say.】

【We can rule out our silly little streamer first, obviously.】

Chu Fengyi didn’t care about the chatter. The moment the grass avatar lit up on his friends list, the corner of his mouth lifted. He sent the invite directly.

If a team invite wasn’t answered within a minute, it expired. When the invite was ignored, his brow furrowed. He sent two more. Just as he was getting annoyed and about to open Lin Linya’s stream to see what he was doing, the room reached two players.

Hearing Lin Linya ask if they were climbing ranks, Chu Fengyi responded with a perfectly straight face. The fans went wild.

【Climbing ranks? You mean the kind where you wear Little Kitten like a charm and treat your teammates like dogs?】

【Bro, just say you’re giving him special training, adding a little more difficulty to your boring games. Say it, please.】

【Just lying flat. I’m used to the little streamer’s daily routine of putting a hex on Bro Chu.】

Once in the game, Lin Linya asked, “Bro, the fans say my stream cover and profile picture are super lame. What kind should I change it to?”

Chu Fengyi was busy studying a new item build for a hero. Hearing this, he casually glanced at Lin Linya’s profile picture and drawled lazily, “It’s fine. Has character. Just not exactly fitting for a gamer.”

“Huh?” Lin Linya’s mouth hung open. He’d never heard that one before. Humbly, he asked for advice. “Why not?”

Chu Fengyi laughed. “It screams old timer with slow APM and a slow brain. Easy pickings. Who wouldn’t target you specifically?”

Lin Linya huffed, too annoyed to pay him any more attention.

Chu Fengyi locked in as the Jungler. Lin Linya picked his Spirit Cat. After pounding on the buff for a while, Chu Fengyi didn’t see the little kitty bounce after him. Panning his view, he saw the cat had followed the Marksman to the Farm Lane. He couldn’t help but smirk.

He deliberately teased, “Why the big temper?”

“I don’t have one. Protecting the Marksman is literally our job as Supports,” Lin Linya snapped back.

【Bro Chu, do you just not know how to say anything nice?】

【An orphan Jungler like Bro Chu never deserved a personal Support anyway. Our Yaya is right to stick with the Marksman.】

Lin Linya, still smarting from being called an old-timer, was in a foul mood. Luckily, his Marksman was proving competent, solo-killing the enemy ADC at level one. So, he stuck laning with him on the Farm Lane.

The Warp Drifter, having cleared half his Jungle, waited for the enemy Marksman to respawn. He crouched in the brush as the enemy, still oblivious, walked straight under the tower without their Support checking the brush.

Their Marksman instantly caught on, pretending to be a low-health target to bait the enemy under the tower. The assassin in the black trench coat burst from the brush, forming a pincer.

Lin Linya’s Spirit Cat scrambled to keep up, mashing his Ultimate to shield his teammate. But he accidentally cast it on the Warp Drifter instead, transforming the Spirit Cat into an aura of light hovering over his head.

The enemy Support ran fast, so Chu Fengyi only secured the kill on the enemy Marksman. As he turned to leisurely head back into his Jungle for more resources, he saw the little cat immediately hop off him without a shred of hesitation.

As if it couldn’t bear to stay a second longer.

The Warp Drifter froze. He stood in the middle of the lane, staring silently at the Marksman with the little cat now perched on him.

Lin Linya demanded angrily, “What are you looking at?!”

Chu Fengyi raised an eyebrow. A Scuttle Crab dragging a Gold Pouch spawned in the River. He even helped the Marksman secure it for the extra gold. “Nothing. I wish you two a lifetime of happiness. This Scuttle Crab is my wedding gift to you.”

After saying this, he mockingly pinged Lin Linya’s in-game avatar.

【What a straight man… I hate how you can’t sweet-talk anyone.】

【Stop teasing him, stop teasing him. Yaya Baby’s face is all red. That soft, white little face is too adorable, like a strawberry mochi. I just want to bite it. Ugh.】

【His mouth is all puffed up. He’s not about to cry, is he?】

By the time the Warp Drifter came to leech the Marksman’s fourth Minion Wave, the poor Marksman, his Gold split in half, typed out a tearful message: 【Can you two lovebirds keep your squabble away from my minion wave? Stop eating it. Just take the Support with you.】

Lin Linya hadn’t really understood what leeching minions meant until the Marksman pitifully pinged his Gold count. Opening the scoreboard, Lin Linya finally muttered a curse under his breath, “Bandit.”

Chu Fengyi wasn’t really trying to leech on purpose. It was just him grabbing some Experience while ganking. But he heard that quiet little curse in his headset.

Calmly, he replied, “If you’d stuck with me from the start, you’d be living the high life right now. But no, you had to follow this broke loser.”

Lin Linya grumbled something under his breath. Chu Fengyi didn’t quite catch it. Frowning, he adjusted his headset. “What’d you just say?”

Lin Linya, flustered, raised his voice. “I said, if you marry a chicken, you follow the chicken; if you marry a dog, you follow the dog! I’m happy to follow him!”

The moment the words left his mouth, Lin Linya regretted it. Why had he played right into Chu Fengyi’s narrative? It made him look so stupid.

Sure enough, before he even finished, Chu Fengyi’s mocking laughter rang out. Lin Linya clamped his mouth shut and focused on the game in silence.

The enemy Support was a Mecha that could stun towers, constantly roaming and stealing them. Their team hadn’t managed the Minion Wave well, and the enemy had taken down several Defense Turrets.

Chu Fengyi faked a path towards his Jungle for resources, making it look like he was leaving. But he was actually using the vision blind spot to slip back into the brush near the tower.

The enemy took the bait, swaggering up to demolish the tower, thinking no one was defending it. Instead, they were ambushed, leading to a full 5v5 Team Fight under the tower.

The enemy team raged in all chat: 【Grass! The Jungler’s a damn rat! I can’t even.】

The Spirit Cat was scrambling through the chaos. He’d just been knocked off the Marksman’s head when the Marksman got focused and deleted by the enemy team. He had no choice but to run.

Lin Linya’s heart stopped for a beat. The enemy was about to catch him when he saw the Warp Drifter leap over the wall. Desperately, he attached himself to the Jungler.

The Warp Drifter instantly cleaned up the enemy Marksman-Support duo who had over-chased.

The black-trenchcoated assassin carried the little cat back to the Fountain at a leisurely pace to heal. Before Lin Linya could jump off, Chu Fengyi’s teasing voice came through. “Why’d you jump on my head, Little Kitten? Remarrying at lightspeed right in front of your Husband?”