Xu Yitong was furious. Gritting her teeth, she replied to Chen Yuzheng:
“Fine, remember this.”
After cooling down, Xu Yitong pushed open the door and went in. The food was already served. Neither of them had touched their chopsticks, waiting for her.
Xu Yitong sat down and smiled, “Sorry, I just took a phone call.”
Yu Nuo helped her with her chopsticks and utensils, “No worries.”
Throughout the meal, Yu Ge barely spoke. It was mostly Yu Nuo chatting with Xu Yitong.
Xu Yitong rested her chin on her hand and tried to engage Yu Ge who sat opposite her: “Is being a professional player very tiring?”
Yu Ge: “It’s okay.”
Xu Yitong asked curiously: “What do you do for fun?”
“Not much entertainment.”
“……”
The awkward silence continued.
Yu Nuo also sensed the awkwardness in the air and tried to smooth things over: “My brother doesn’t talk much, don’t mind him.”
Xu Yitong let out a small huff and pouted: “Is he this quiet with everyone?”
Yu Nuo thought for a moment, “Yes.”
“Your brother is quite aloof then.” Xu Yitong sneaked another glance at Yu Ge and muttered: “Though it’s good for men to talk less.”
After dinner, seeing it was still early, Xu Yitong suggested going to watch a movie nearby.
After paying the bill, Yu Ge said to Yu Nuo: “You go ahead, I’m heading back to the base.”
Xu Yitong immediately offered enthusiastically, “Where’s your base? I can take you!”
Yu Ge responded coldly, rejecting her: “No need, I drove.”
Standing by the roadside, Xu Yitong tilted her head: “Then why don’t you give us a ride? The movie I want to see isn’t showing at any theaters nearby.”
Yu Ge suppressed his temper, “Didn’t you say you drove?”
Xu Yitong: “Ah, no I didn’t.”
“Then how were you going to take me?”
Xu Yitong casually pointed and said very familiarly: “I was planning to scan a free bike and cycle you back, get some exercise while we’re at it.”
Yu Ge: “……”
Yu Nuo silently watched the drama unfold from the side.
This kind of scene was quite familiar to her. From elementary school through high school, whenever Yu Ge picked her up, female classmates would try to talk to him. Eventually, it developed to the point where girls from other classes would ask her to deliver love letters to Yu Ge.
But without exception, they all got rejected.
Apart from herself and the cook at the OG base, Yu Nuo had never seen Yu Ge get close to any female in all her years growing up.
He was like someone naturally frigid, automatically isolating himself from all members of the opposite sex.
—
Before the movie started, Yu Nuo went to get the tickets while Xu Yitong ran to the concession stand to buy two sodas and a bucket of popcorn.
When Yu Nuo reached out to take them, Xu Yitong noticed the bracelet on her left wrist and made a sound of surprise, then asked with a knowing smile: “Hey, Chen Yuzheng gave you this, right?”
“Hm? Yes…”
Xu Yitong had a mysterious look: “So, what’s going on between you two?”
“What do you mean what’s going on?”
“Hey, he won’t tell me the truth, and now you’re playing dumb with me too?” “I’m not playing dumb.” Yu Nuo said, sounding a bit unsure, “…We’re…we’re just friends now.”
“Now?” Xu Yitong immediately caught the key word, “What about later?”
Yu Nuo’s face turned red, “Well, I…”
“If he pursues you, you absolutely cannot accept, okay?” Xu Yitong said with a pained expression, “Really, you don’t know how much of a player he is. I can’t just keep quiet about it just because he’s my brother.”
“Ah?”
Xu Yitong felt great satisfaction in getting revenge on Chen Yuzheng, “Chen Yuzheng started dating in high school, no, actually middle school. And not just dating – because he’s good-looking, he would lead on several girls at once. I’ve seen girls crying while confronting him multiple times, and it was never the same girl. What kind of person does that make him?”
Yu Nuo was shocked, “Is that really true?”
“Why would I lie about this? What would I gain from lying?” Xu Yitong said seriously, putting an arm around her shoulders, “If you want to hear more, I can tell you in detail about all the terrible things he’s done growing up.”
As Xu Yitong rattled on, speaking badly about Chen Yuzheng for over ten minutes, Yu Nuo recalled something Fu Yidong had whispered to her during a meal once.
“Conquer and Fish give off different kinds of handsome vibes. Fish is so reserved, you can tell he stays away from women. But Chen Yuzheng is different. Based on my years of experience in accurately reading men, he has that careless bad boy vibe, commonly known as player qualities, you know what I mean?”
“Like that delinquent campus heartthrob that many high school girls secretly fantasize about, always skipping class to play games, changing girlfriends frequently. Usually doesn’t take anything seriously, but when he’s in the mood he’ll lazily flirt with you, make your heart flutter, then walk away without a care. And even though you know he doesn’t take you seriously, you still can’t help but fall for him.”
“Damn, you can’t get involved with guys like that, one touch and your life is ruined.”
—
The movie was a Turkish remake of “Miracle in Cell No. 7”. Yu Nuo had a low threshold for tears and cried several times during the film.
After it ended, Yu Nuo was still immersed in the movie, searching for recent reviews on Douban.
Xu Yitong also didn’t feel like moving and sat for a while. She turned her head and secretly took a photo of Yu Nuo to send to Chen Yuzheng:
“Here, Zheng, look at this sweet girl”
In the dim theater light, Yu Nuo was holding a bucket of popcorn on her knees, using tissue to wipe her tears.
A minute or two later.
Conquer: “Why is she with you?”
Xu Yitong: “Why do you care? You never focus on important things, always worrying about unnecessary stuff.”
Conquer: “?”
Xu Yitong: “Here, let me show you more pretty pictures.”
She picked several selfies she had just taken with Yu Nuo from her album, added some flower stickers in a photo editing app specifically covering Yu Nuo’s face, and sent them.
Conquer: “Are you bored?”
Xu Yitong: “Didn’t you want me to get treatment?”
Her eyes lit up as she typed rapidly: “Oh right, Chen Yuzheng, let me tell you something – you’d better not mess with me. Hurry up and compile Yu Ge’s information into a Word document and send it to my email, otherwise I’ll definitely tell little Nuo some things, and introduce some age-appropriate handsome guys to her. You’ll never be able to pursue her in your lifetime.”
After teasing Chen Yuzheng, she expertly blocked him. Xu Yitong imagined how furious he must be on the other end and felt very satisfied as she put away her phone.
—
Leaving the mall, Xu Yitong saw Yu Nuo still eating the popcorn and found it amusing: “Didn’t you eat enough at dinner?”
“Hm?” Yu Nuo was slightly shy, “There’s just a little left, I’ll finish it so it doesn’t go to waste.”
Xu Yitong: “……”
Xu Yitong had studied abroad since she was young, and after graduating university she came back to coast along at her family’s company. She was surrounded by wealthy young ladies just like herself who were wasteful and extravagant, mostly discussing which brands had released new bags and shoes.
She rarely met innocent, simple girls like Yu Nuo.
After silently sighing to herself for a moment, she deeply felt that she had done the right thing in speaking badly about Chen Yuzheng earlier.
— He doesn’t deserve her.
Yu Nuo didn’t want to trouble Xu Yitong to send her back and was standing by the road preparing to get a taxi back to school when her WeChat buzzed with a message from Chen Yuzheng:
“What did Xu Yitong say to you?”
Yu Nuo first glanced at the person making a phone call beside her, then replied: “Nothing much…”
Conquer: “Don’t hang out with her too much, she’s got problems in her head.”
Xu Yitong remembered something and turned to ask: “Nuo Nuo, does your brother have a girlfriend?”
Yu Nuo quickly put away her phone and answered: “No, he’s quite busy usually.”
Xu Yitong blinked her big eyes and asked hopefully: “Then can you give me his WeChat?”
Yu Nuo agreed: “Okay.”
—
Back home, Xu Yitong announced in her girlfriend group chat: “Sisters, I have shocking good news to announce – I, Xu Yitong, am about to snag an absolutely gorgeous guy.”
The group chat erupted in congratulatory messages and flower emojis.
Xu Yitong took a shower, applied body lotion, and confidently went to add Yu Ge on WeChat: “Hi little brother, I’m the one who had dinner with you today, can we get to know each other?”
Several minutes passed with no response.
Xu Yitong wasn’t discouraged at all and sent a bunch of cute emoji stickers to the friend verification chat.
Worried he might not see it, she tried adding him several more times.
Half an hour later, her friend requests still sank like stones into the sea with no response.
Xu Yitong tossed her phone aside and lay on the bed like a dead fish, staring at the ceiling.
It really was just like that Zhang Zhenyu song.
Hot summer weather, heart like a cold winter night.
Xu Yitong was devastated and dejectedly opened the group chat again:
Xu Yitong: “Sisters, I, Xu Yitong, have had my heart broken.”
A: “Congratulations”
B: “Less than an hour and you’re heartbroken again?”
C: “Which blind dog of a man dares to give our beautiful Xu the cold shoulder? Got photos? Show us!”
Xu Yitong: “Yes, my heart is broken, but I have my pride.”
A: “When one handsome guy falls, countless more are waiting for you. Tong, we can’t hang ourselves on just one tree.”
Xu Yitong went to Baidu Encyclopedia and found a photo of Yu Ge to send to the group.
After the photo was sent, the group chat was quiet for a few minutes.
First A sent a question mark, then B: “Xu Yitong, since he’s already your ex-boyfriend, why don’t you give me his contact info, let me try?”
Xu Yitong: “Dream on.”
C: “Oh? This person, he seems familiar. Isn’t he that really famous LOL player? My boyfriend talks about him all the time…”
A: “Tong, why don’t you keep trying? I think this guy is worth pursuing.”
Xu Yitong looked at the messy messages in the group chat, wallowed in self-pity for a while, then sent two more friend verification requests to Yu Ge.
— The Xu family never gives up.
—
To pursue a man, you need to understand everything about him. For future conversation topics, Xu Yitong stayed up all night downloading League of Legends.
The next afternoon, Xu Yitong sat cross-legged in front of her computer.
Logging into the freshly downloaded League of Legends, the homepage displayed congratulatory news about OG’s championship win.
In a group photo of the whole team, Yu Ge stood in the center position with his hands in his pockets.
Xu Yitong stared at his expressionless face and let out a cold snort.
Playing alone was too boring, so Xu Yitong called Yu Nuo and they started a voice chat.
Yu Nuo didn’t play much, having just finished the tutorial, she said: “I only know how to play Ashe.”
Xu Yitong: “Then I’ll play support, we can go bottom lane together.”
So the two stumblingly started their first matchmaking game. Not surprisingly, they got badly beaten in the low ranks.
After the game ended, both Xu Yitong and Yu Nuo were cursed out viciously by their teammates.
She got fired up – she had never lost an argument since she was young. She spent over ten minutes arguing with the random players in the room.
After finishing the argument, she decisively left the team.
The two started another game, with the exact same story of getting demolished.
After losing several games in a row, Xu Yitong felt discouraged, “Why is this stupid game so hard?”
Yu Nuo comforted her: “Why don’t we play against bots? The opponents might not be new players, there could be boosters, or people playing with friends on alternate accounts, it’s normal that we can’t beat them.”
“What? Isn’t that cheating?” Xu Yitong had never suffered such frustration before and got more annoyed thinking about it, “Then I’ll call people too.”
She sent a WeChat to Chen Yuzheng: “Quick, call two people to play LOL with me”
He didn’t respond.
Since being blocked last time, he hadn’t replied to a single message from her.
Xu Yitong screenshot the queue room and sent it to Chen Yuzheng: “Are you ignoring me? Do you know who Fish is? Do you know who I’m playing with? Are you coming or not?”
Yu Nuo waited a while, seeing Xu Yitong hadn’t started the game, asked: “Are we still playing?”
“Yes.” Xu Yitong responded, “Wait for me to call some people.”
After bombarding Chen Yuzheng again, he sent her a room number:
“Come over”
—
Near the end of the month, everyone was trying to fulfill their streaming hours1. Killer, Ultraman and Chen Yuzheng were playing as a trio when suddenly two people entered their small YY room.
Xu Yitong called out a “hello~” in greeting.
Killer was surprised: “Hm? Who invited the girl? Is she a paid companion?”
Ultraman: “Wasn’t me.”
Xu Yitong introduced herself: “Chen Yuzheng invited me.”
Killer: “He’s got quite the taste. What about the other person, why aren’t they talking?”
Yu Nuo turned on her microphone, “I’m here.”
Ultraman recognized her voice, “Yu Nuo? What are you doing here.”
Killer let out a long “oh”, “Alright, I get it now. Come on, log in, we’ll carry you guys.”
The two girls didn’t have accounts in the first server, so they all made new accounts on server five.
Comments: [Three pro players carrying two girls to crush newbies??]
During champion select, Ultraman asked: “What do you want to play?”
Having just been crushed, Xu Yitong immediately said: “I don’t want to play support anymore, I want to play something that can kill people.”
Ultraman: “Sure, go jungle then. What about Yu Nuo?”
Yu Nuo said shyly: “I, I haven’t practiced support… I only know how to play Ashe.”
Ultraman: “You want to go bottom lane, right?”
With thirty seconds left, Yu Nuo scrolled through the champion list: “I’m fine with anything.”
Knowing Chen Yuzheng’s extremely high standards for supports, and remembering how last time in a fan match he would rather jungle than bot lane with a female streamer, Ultraman volunteered: “Then you can pick any support, I’ll play AD and we’ll dominate bottom lane.”
Yu Nuo agreed: “Okay, what support should I play?”
Chen Yuzheng, who had been quiet until now, spoke up: “Pick what you know.”
Yu Nuo hesitated: “I only know Ashe…”
Chen Yuzheng: “Pick her.”
Yu Nuo locked in Ashe.
Ultraman was still looking for an AD champion when he saw Chen Yuzheng select Alistar. He was stunned for a moment, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, “Wait, Chen Yuzheng, you’re playing support??”
They were all streaming, and when the question came out, all three of their stream chats were filled with question marks:
[In my lifetime, I can actually see Conquer playing support for someone else…]
[The genius AD carry of the LPL isn’t going pro to make a name for himself, but instead is being a simp for a girl in this trash iron rank? #ChenYuzheng, what are you doing#]
- Pro gamers and streamers are often required to complete a certain number of streaming hours per month as part of their contracts or sponsorship deals. ↩︎
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