《Honey Stewed Squid》


 CH 1

    Chapter 1


    Want to know what love at first sight is?


    Precisely this second.


    It was at this very moment that she fell for the guy right across from her, separated only by the sales counter.


    Tong Nian looked down, (Her) fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard, she was just trying to make a new password. But in her head she was trying to recall what had happened just a second ago. When he said ¡°night pass¡±, did she smile or not? Maybe the corners of her lips tilted up? Or did she freeze?


    With great difficulty she finished the new password setup. When she finished, she picked up a slip of paper and wrote down the username and password.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡­Night pass starts at eleven and ends at six. Here we usually close at seven, so seven also works.¡± She set the slip on the counter, and used what she thought was her cutest voice to act gentle and considerate. She even looked at him with a cute expression and said, ¡°Ah, here.¡± She pointed to the cabinet behind her, ¡°There is also ramen and beverages. If you are hungry, you can ask me anytime and I can boil water for your ramen.¡±


    The guy she had just sent sparks to appeared not to be paying any attention. He just nodded casually, took the slip of paper and left.


    He did not look at the unfamiliar girl any more than necessary¡­..


    Definitely a good guy!


    Originally coerced by her best friend (of the opposite gender, potentially gay best friend) and confidante, to help him look after a small net caf¨¦, she did not expect to get herself caught in a love web. By the time the man walked into the room and chose a window seat, she had already made a decision. Tonight she will make up a white lie and not go home. She would stay and volunteer to help her friend watch the caf¨¦ all night.


    So when her best friend brought back two boxes of Japanese Oden, he noticed Tong Niang hiding behind the counter opening up a bowl of ramen and deftly taking a few packages of spicy chicken feet. It shocked him that her expression was one of someone who has recently fallen deeply in love.


    ¡°Hey, what are you up to?¡± Her best friend thought that she was going to wait till he was done eating and write him on the bill. From behind, he extended his hand and tapped her shoulder, ¡°If you secretly eat the food, at least get something of better quality. The cupboard contains Ferrero Rocher.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tong Niang was slightly flustered as she put these on the newly cleaned platter. Without raising her head, she ordered her friend, ¡°Quickly, hand it over.¡±


    (The) best friend was at a loss for words..


    He obediently handed over his secret stash that he had planned to eat later on that night, thinking that Tong Nian would save some for him. However, he did not expect his bestie to empty the whole entire package directly onto the platter.


    Then she carried the sumptuous late-night snack ¡°meal option¡±, and walked towards the corner of the net caf¨¦.


    Nervous.


    So nervous.


    Despite wearing flats, she still felt that she could slip and fall at any moment. The further she walked, the more worried she got about spilling the ramen broth, and the more unsteady she became. If only she had known earlier, she would have made fried instant noodles for him¡­¡­


    Just as the instant noodle soup spilled for the second time, she finally stopped behind him. In a slight daze, she looked around the room before calming down with great difficulty: ¡°Uh¡­¡­Hi.¡±


    God, how was her voice so astringent.


    What a joke, and with a female singer¡¯s beautiful voice too¡­¡­


    The man did not respond.


    The headset remained in its original position, he used his own headphones from home. This scene, a man who was good looking must wear headphones to look good¡ªthis was definitely what she had found particularly pleasing ever since she was young. This man, from the moment he came into the net caf¨¦, his each and every movement (and action) hit a bulls-eye.


    The computer screen had a maximized game window, so he be should currently playing a game. But he obviously wasn¡¯t using the keyboard. Tong Nian reached out her index finger and lightly poked his shoulder.


    The person in front of her sensed something and finally turned around.


    She set the plate in front of him: ¡°This¡­¡­is the caf¨¦¡¯s late night meal set.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± He first expressed surprise, and then quickly determined the situation, ¡°How much?¡± So she was actually marketing food options.


    Was it popular nowadays to market things at a net caf¨¦? Though, ten dollars for a night pass was indeed earning very little.


    Thinking this, he somewhat lazily took out some money from the jacket that hung on the chair.


    ¡°Ah? Don¡¯t worry about ¡­.¡±


    ¡°Thirty,¡± Suddenly her bestie came behind and put a hand on her shoulder. Smiling happily, he said, ¡°Individually it is forty but the meal combo is thirty.¡±


    Tong Nian¡¯s cheeks turned red, and she repeatedly signaled her friend with her eyes.


    Her friend pretended not to see.


    The two exchanged multiple glances. To the guy it looked like a ¡°little sweethearts dispute over pricing¡±. He once again said ¡°Oh?¡± and put fifty on the table, ¡°Then can I trouble you to please go bring a can of Sprite as well, thanks.¡±


    Thus their conversation ended like this.


    Everything she had rehearsed ended before anything even started¡­¡­


    Comments


    Tong Nian may not be the strongest female lead, at least she is one of the cutest! Now I want ramen¡­


    I really hope someone translates this. Right now I am focused on Forensic Doctor that¡¯s a huge commitment (at least for me) as I plan on translating over 200 chapters. Please go tell a friend about this if they may be interested in translating :D

 CH 2

    Chapter 2


    Tong Nian returns behind the front desk, gnashing her teeth, and burying herself within her work at the same time. She registers the food she just brought over a moment ago, and then begins to subtract and reduce the bill. She will absolutely not let her best friend earn even a penny.


    Best friend, Dou Nai extends his hand toward her swaying the fifty dollar bill. He gives her an intimidating glance, and then retracts his hand: ¡°I was afraid you were going to be swindled by one of those men that are in very bad and serious circumstances. My family operates an internet caf¨¦. I understand these types of men, who comes for a night pass to play games very well. The overwhelming majority of their lives are unhappy. At most, that man¡¯s wallet is good.¡± he said still looking at a distant a quick glimpse of that person¡¯s back. Still somewhat going against his character and said, ¡°Only a little bit good I guess¡­¡±


    Tong Nian continues to calculate the bill.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me, Superior squid? Giant squid? Great chamber? Big fish? Small cuttlefish? Small squid?¡± Her best friend said every 2D way of addressing her, but cannot exchange for her to take a glance at him. Finally at her mercy, ¡°I¡¯ll help you, help yourself.¡± (1)


    ¡°Really?¡± Tong Nian immediately looked up. Even both her eyebrows are smiling.


    ¡°Give him a whole week of night pass? Let¡¯s say he won the lottery? Ah, a night pass won¡¯t do, how about a one week pass, then he can come anytime he wants,¡± Dou Nai says while cupping his bleeding heart. (2)


    Suddenly Tong Nian brightens up: ¡°Good idea!¡± Then, she secretly winks at that place, ¡°Go.¡±


    ¡°Why is it me again?¡± Best friend is flabbergasted.


    ¡°Also¡­¡± Tong Nian thinks, lowers her voice, and tells him, ¡°You need to persuade him to draw the lottery on the spot. So long as you use the internet caf¨¦¡¯s Wei Xin and sweep the QR code, then he can draw a prize. Bring out your brainwashing skill from the time you were in the multilevel marketing organization for two months as a multilevel marketing member. (3)


    ¡°¡­Our internet caf¨¦ does not have a public Wei Xin.¡±


    Tong Nian looks at her own cellphone, and after struggling for 2.5 seconds, she heartlessly changes her Weixin¡¯s name. She hands over her cell phone: ¡°Use my Weixin.¡± On the cell phone, her Weixin name was changed: Tonight there is fate.


    This is the Internet caf¨¦¡¯s shop sign that is hanging outside¡ª¡°Tonight There is Fate Internet Caf¨¦¡±


    Dou Nai knows intuitively (idiom). Restlessly, he holds the cellphone and goes to deceive him.


    ¡­¡­


    In the end ¡­ later that night, on her Weixin, two major events happen. First, she added a man called ¡°GN¡±. Second, her Weixin¡¯s fans were completely enraged. Her fans do not believe their own high, cold, proud and lovable ¡°fish playing behind closed doors¡± had surprisingly suddenly been changed to ¡°Tonight there is fate¡±¡­ Superior must have definitely been hacked! (4)


    ¡­¡­


    Her heart is silently dripping blood. She might as well have thought of it as she was hacked, and not reply to any messages. Just staring at the username she had just added, she foolishly laughs.


    To get it so easily, it seemed too good to be true¡­


    She looked at the dark indistinct profile picture, not knowing what it is for half a minute. Then very carefully she opened his page.


    Huh?


    Other than the recent gaming news, there is nothing else? She is someone who only plays picture matching games, and suffers in defeat every time. As a Japanese dub singer, this is practically heaven¡¯s edict. (5)


    Even more depressed¡­ ¡°Dou Nai, you are a game loser right?¡±


    ¡°Yea!¡± Dou Nai happily smiles, not even showing any sign of feeling ashamed, ¡°very bad, very bad, number one loser in history!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Forget it, tomorrow I¡¯ll find some else who knows the ropes¡­ T_T


    At 2 am in the morning, Dou Nai sleepily dozes off.


    Inside the Internet cafe, everyone is wearing headphones. It is so awfully quiet, only a middle-aged uncle is in an open video chat, cyber dating happily laughing out loud¡­ And she, also supporting her chin was getting sleepy. She absentmindedly draws on the paper with the pencil in her hands. As a singer, her drawing skills is shallow. Still, she cannot draw the view of that handsome back.


    If there is an opportunity, I need to practice.


    She silently thinks to herself.


    Suddenly, a man stands up.


    She immediately straightens her back, and stealthily hides the paper under her arm.


    The man picks up his jacket, and comes over. Her heart starts to jump rapidly. She can only look down, and see his casual khaki pants and a pair of black shoes. One step, two steps, three steps, toward her¡­


    No, no, quick, breathe. Tong Nian, you need to be strong! You must have a normal expression, and your eyes can¡¯t tremble!


    Huh? How come he is leaving?


    ¡°You¡­you¡­didn¡¯t you buy a night pass?¡± She sees him walking toward the door, urgently opening her mouth, ¡°It just barely pass 2 am.¡± She hastily looks at the clock. That¡¯s right, 2 am. What is he doing leaving this early¡­


    Gun stopped his footsteps, and turns around.


    The hair on his forehead is somewhat in disorder. He must have been sleepy a moment ago. Randomly moving his hand to and fro to look sober; so much that he is the type to have the power to penetrate the will of the people. At this moment, I don¡¯t know if he was tired, or if he was too lazy to deal with it, but his facial expression is somewhat indifferent, making it hard for people to see his mood.


    ¡°2 am?¡± As if he suddenly happens to notice the time. He raised his eyebrows. Talking to himself: ¡°2 am is not that late?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s still okay.¡± Huh? What am I saying¡­. At once she retrieve her awareness, and said the countless rehearsed words out, ¡°I was about to find you to give you back your change. Congratulations, you won a prize. Welcome, please come again next time.¡±


    Twelve dollars fifty cents was placed in front of him, once again giving him a discount.


    ¡°Next time? Will you be here every night?¡±


    Ah?


    He is¡­


    Tong Nian¡¯s heart ignited a small flame of hope, stirring, stirring, immediately making her blush. Glancing at the pitch dark corner, he sees the girl¡¯s boyfriend.


    His eyes fell on the girl¡¯s expression. He has no choice, but to self-examine himself whether or not he is causing trouble for others.


    His next sentence was originally, ¡°Miss, looking after the internet cafe at night is unsafe,¡± but looking at the girl¡¯s expression now, he ought to be the one regard as an¡°unsafe¡± person.


    Therefore, Gun clears his throat, trying to make himself appear genuinely very harmless: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I am only casually asking.¡±


    Finish speaking, not taking the money, he pushes open the door to go.


    Wait¡­ wait¡­


    I¡­. don¡¯t mind¡­ you asking¡­


    She looks at the door that is still swaying, the door that is still not firmly shut tight as her entire person was submerged by a depressing tide.


    ****************


    Early morning, outside of Gun¡¯s door was some noisy chatter. Awoken up by footsteps, he sat up from the sofa.


    It seems like ¡­ this morning there is some kind of rock climbing activity? From his fuzzy consciousness he came to realization, and then still somewhat with a fuzzy awareness he stood up. He felt the door handle, press down, open the door and walked out.


    At the same time, from his pants pocket he took out a piece of candy. He peels open the wrapper, bites down, slowly walking, slowly eating.


    At present, is a teenage boy running around, wearing a club¡¯s outdoor sportswear, red and white style. To be honest, it is somewhat ugly. But, there is nothing that can be done; it is the color the sponsor assigned.


    He is still somewhat half asleep. Quite awfully written on his radiant beautiful face: Idler do not disturb. (6)


    Unfortunately, there is still someone who is not tactful.


    ¡°Hey? Boss? Where did you go last night?


    ¡°Is something the matter?¡± His eyes were barely open, sweeping a glance at where the voice came from.


    Notes:


    1. Dou Nai is calling Tong Nian in her 2D nicknames (online nicknames/screen names)


    2. One week pass ¨C usually consist of day and night pass for one week


    3. Wei Xin or WeChat, is a mobile text and voice messaging service developed by Tencent


    4. ¡®fish playing behind closed doors¡¯ is her screen name


    5. Tong Nian doesn¡¯t understand what she is reading.  She doesn¡¯t understand the gaming news.


    6. In case, you¡¯re confused¡­ he had on an expression that says do not disturb. Unfortunately, someone doesn¡¯t understand and still talks to him.

 CH 3

    Chapter 3


    A whole week later, Tong Nian¡¯s mood has already sunken into the deep, deep sea.


    Her Weixin is empty. Regardless of how many greetings, weather forecasts, promotional messages, or even winning another lottery message she send out, the other party did not respond.


    Certainly, she must have been blacklisted¡­..


    She lies on her bed, numb to the verge of submitting herself to participate in the ¡®Animation Festival¡¯ and ¡®Winter Comic convention/Anime Expo¡¯, ¡®Winter game exhibition meeting¡¯ advertisements. She keeps scrolling down on her Weibo. All her fans are excitedly leaving comments. As a person who¡¯s heart is made of glass, her mood is extremely easily influenced by online remarks. She is quite afraid of interacting with netizens. Therefore, she uses Weibo to basically forward activities, send songs, and commercial collaboration.


    It wasn¡¯t until Dou Nai called her for the 7th time, she listlessly picks up: ¡°Hello?¡±


    ¡°Small cuttlefish,¡± The voice on the other line was low. Deliberately pretending to be mysterious, ¡°I have a way to find that person.¡±


    Really?!


    She immediately sits up, nearly kicking her laptop off the bed.


    ¡°Really, I found an expert to help me from the main engine, to investigate his screen ¡°shot¡± from that day. Right now, my brother will identify him under the latest group battling game.¡± (1)


    ¡°Chamber Storm.¡± (2)


    ¡°I know¡­¡± She is disappointed, ¡°That day I already saw, I have also specially found a person to ask.¡±


    ¡°You, a game idiot, asking in such a shallow way, how can you possibly have good source?¡± Dou Nai laugh happily, voice push down even lower. ¡°I can even tell you what server he is in, and his id.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡±


    ¡°Absolutely, not a fake source! I will also help you borrow a high ranking ID. This way you will have the ability to be in the same ranking tournament to run into him.¡±


    ¡°¡­what competition?¡±


    ¡°Ranking!¡± In fact Dou Nai also just understood it. But, in front of her, he puts on an air of superiority, ¡°I¡¯m not going to talk with you rookie about this anymore. Wait for me to resolve everything for you, and then I¡¯ll come and teach you.¡±


    Therefore, that evening, Dou Nai personally went to her home, and greeted her parents. He went to the kitchen on the ground floor and freeloaded off several mouthfuls of mapo tofu. (1) Then he went to her bedroom on the second floor. The two grew up together since childhood. Even their parents don¡¯t think that have anything (gf/bf relationship). So much so that they wish, this ¡°aunty¡±(4) is blurted out to call. Actually, there really isn¡¯t any blood relationship. Can¡¯t say for sure, even if they are a real complete couple, there is also nothing to worry¡­.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Inside the room, Tong Nian impatiently look at the downloading strip, it will be done soon enough, ¡°So, this game is, five people in one group, and two groups spar?¡±


    ¡°Pretty close, have you heard of LOL and DOTA? (5)


    ¡°What, ¡®lu ah lu¡¯ (6),¡± She heard of it before, just that LOL this nickname is really indecent, but towards her temporary teacher, she honestly answer nodding her head: ¡°The period when I participated in the comic convention, they also have a booth nearby. DOTA¡­ seems like a few years ago they became popular, when I was in high school. The male students in my class frequently go to play. Nowadays, there are still people playing?¡±


    So outdated?


    ¡°DOTA came out with season 2. At the moment, it is the most popular online battling game, award money is the highest.¡±


    ¡°Online battling?¡±0.0


    ¡°Electronic skills, this is¡­ on the computer playing a game competition¡­.¡± Dou Nai explains in the most plain and simple way to her.


    ¡°Online? Three swords? Fantasy Journey to the West?¡± 0.0


    ¡°No¡­Online gaming just like spending time to practice your level, every time you go up in level and to accumulate a long term game¡­ Competition, competition¡­¡±


    ¡°Okay, explain to me again later~¡±


    The computer has already finished downloading ¡®Chamber Storm¡¯ and she is completely not interesting in listening anymore.


    It doesn¡¯t matter, later when I¡¯m more familiar with that man, I¡¯ll have him explain to me more¡­.Why is my heart tingling¡­.


    Unable to bear it she bows her head, buried her head inside her arm, ferociously rubbing, only to regard herself a bit normal again.


    At this time, treating the matter very seriously, Dou Nai took out a piece of paper from his pocket. An ID (username) and password was copied on top. Tong Nian receives it, carefully putting it on the top of her desk. She inputs in each and every letter of the username and password, and logs in.


    She hears the sound of a double edged sword unsheathing.


    Log in successful.


    Confused about 20 something server names to choose from in the frame¡­.


    ¡°Ugh¡­next, is the server, select a server,¡± Dou Nai once again takes out from his pocket another piece of paper. On top on the paper is that man¡¯s video server name and id: Guevara Legend, Grunt that he left behind.


    ¡°Grunt?¡± She mutters, ¡°It has a nice ring to it!¡±


    No wonder his Weixin is ¡®GN¡¯.


    Yes, that is absolutely him!


    ¡°¡­ How come I do not think so? Reading the word closely ¡®go away¡¯ isn¡¯t the same. Doesn¡¯t it feel like I am swearing at someone?¡± (7)


    Yeah right, she blankly glimpse at Dou Nai.


    Then, Dou Nai opens an ¡®embroidered pouch¡¯. Inside was a detailed written explanation from the other person in the afternoon, of how to participate in the ranking competition. How to receive an assigned ID invitation and how to enter the game room. How to choose your own game character, and how¡­two people think their brain is boundless, although seriously reading over it, but still puzzled.


    ¡°Forget it, first invite right¡­¡±


    Doing it twice will be possible, practice makes perfect¡­.


    Thus, according to the system search, very quickly, they find names starting with G. The look down each row¡­.Suddenly, they both took a deep breath, Grunt is online!


    Her heart kept thumping. What is the matter¡­.


    Her fingers are trembling. What is the matter¡­


    She is trembling, right click, let go¡­ invite.


    She waits.


    She waits for a long time.


    Suddenly, a dialog box jumped up.


    Her heart jumped thump, thump twice, opens:


    ¡°System message: The other party is in the middle of a competition, please wait patiently.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°That scared me¡­¡± She exhales a breath, stroke and consoles her stomach, ¡°And I thought he wanted to talk to me¡­¡±


    Dou Nai had on an expression that said you thought too much, but he did not have the nerve to attack her.


    In the end, they waited for at least 30 minutes. At last the system messaged ¡®The other party has finished the competition, please wait patiently for the other party to reply¡¯. As if she is confronted with this so called ¡®other party¡¯, she does not dare to breath, until, the system really messaged her: ¡®Grunt has accepted her invitation, please wait patiently for the system to randomly select 8 people.¡±


    ¡°He accepted! Accepted it!¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­Uh¡­don¡¯t be nervous, in a moment we will go in, you need to calmly greet them okay?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­Uh¡­¡± She also did not care for Dou Nai¡¯s cheeky tone.


    In the end she does not know what kind of character she has selected. She just watches the computer screen with fixed eyes.


    A very beautiful game screen.


    It just so happens today is Christmas Eve, therefore there was a specially snow falling scene.


    Tong Nian is unable to appreciate the exquisite 3D scene. She joins the game, at once and she begins to look on the screen for his name everywhere. Ah? How come it isn¡¯t there? There were definitely 10 people who joined the game, how come there are only 5 characters on the screen?


    Including herself there are¡­ five people.


    ¡°Oh no, he choose the opposing team,¡± Dou Nai is depressed, ¡°You can¡¯t see him, unless you are in the public viewing side. Unless you run into him in game, then you will be able to see him.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tong Nian is baffled, ¡°Why do I have to wait until I run into him, I cannot go find him?¡±


    ¡°¡­that is also okay? Even though he is the enemy, you can also greet him. Friendship comes first, competition comes second.¡±


    So¡­ a few seconds later¡­


    The remaining nine people immediately look at the game screen, one ID who did not buy any equipment, so completely crazy and ridiculous, step by step ran out of the base. Eyes follow along the displayed map¡­bouncing toward the enemy¡¯s base and ran past inside¡­.


    It would appear¡­ that person is still very lively?


    **********************************


    Grunt¡¯s eyebrow kept twitching; ruthlessly he kills the opponent in front of him in two cuts¡­the person who kept saying ¡®Hello¡¯.


    Still expressing themselves? Does this person have a mental disorder?


    ¡°This man¡­¡± 97 stared at his own computer screen, ¡°He¡¯s been hacked right?¡±


    ¡°I suppose he is,¡± Another person also does not dare to believe to watch Grunt kill this opponent with no defense. He got the first kill, ¡°ranking competition indeed have real points, and the people in his group must be depressed. If this competition keeps going on, we will surely get a lot of points.


    ¡°¡­ this much hatred, to specially hack, and to specially invite Grunt to kill himself?¡±


    And the murderer Grunt, doesn¡¯t feel quite feel happy. He used his index finger to push his eye glasses up. Naughty laugh but not to laugh to provoke a brother: ¡°Come, you let me beat you for one match.¡± He can¡¯t expect to waste his time with a character that has been hacked.


    He finishes speaking, and gets up from the computer. He stretches himself: ¡°Where is boss?¡±


    ¡°Taking a nap. He just came back from watching the Chicago match. Still jetlagged.¡±


    97 smiles ambiguously, then says: ¡°Oh right, that day I heard him say on Weixin. I thought he doesn¡¯t use Weixin to chat? Is he in love?¡±


    ¡°No, an internet caf¨¦ added him. They kept sending him advertisement, so I told him I¡¯ll help him black list them. He felt that doing this will be a big blow to their marketing enthusiasm, so he doesn¡¯t blacklist. He just let me set it on mute. In any case even if they do send, he isn¡¯t looking at the advertisement.¡±


    On the contrary Grunt unexpectedly: ¡°Boss since when are you so kind?¡±


    ¡°I suddenly discovered my conscience, I guess.¡± 97 casually say.


    Everybody felt embarrassed.


    Gun this big demon have this thing called ¡®conscience¡¯?Grunt (GN) sounds like go away in Chinese


    Notes:


    1. Apparently, that day GN took a screenshot that was left behind on the computer¡­.


    2. I tried looking up this game, but couldn¡¯t find any clues


    3. Mapo Tofu: A Chinese dish from Sichuan province. A spicy tofu dish in bean based sauce.


    4. According to Chinese customs, we would always address a friend¡¯s parents as aunty and uncle.


    5. LOL aka League of Legends, a free to play multiplayer online battle arena game by Riot Games


    DOTA aka Defense of the Ancients, a multiplayer online battle arena mod for Warcraft III


    6. Lu ah Lu. In Chinese, this sounds like the word for masturbating


    7. Grunt (GN) sounds like go away in Chinese

 CH 4

    Chapter 4


    Throughout the night, she was entirely immersed in a state of depression. The mood within the room was dreadful. The most frightening thing is, she invited him again, but he didn¡¯t accept it ¡­.. He didn¡¯t accept her invitation ¡­. He will not accept her invitation¡­.


    So, she tosses and turns in bed until 3 am in the morning, until she could not bear it anymore. She suddenly sits up in the dark.


    Certainly, the character I selected is the problem.


    That character is too ugly!


    Yes, it must be.


    Hence, she quietly opened her computer. In order to prevent her mom and dad to see the light coming from her room, she took the blanket from her bed. Using her computer monitor, she puts up a small tent, and went inside. She rapidly boots up her computer, and opens the desktop shortcut, and enters the game .¡­ eh? Account password? She once again fumbles on her desk for a long time until finally she finds it under the keyboard. She cautiously and solemnly keys in the password.


    A few hours ago, she was diligent and not slacking at all, she sent seven to eight invitations ¡­ but they were still all rejected.


    Although her heart is still lacking in confidence, letter by letter she types in his name.


    And then, enter.


    Online?!


    He¡¯s not going to sleep? Like this at what cost?


    No wonder Dou Nai said, he is a master on the server¡­his account is in the top ranks eh, what is top rank ¡­ forgot to ask. (1)


    In short, when you hear ¡®master¡¯, right away you think of a greatly respected generation master, very eye catching indeed.


    Poor her, facing this kind of game but still not knowing the concept. She doesn¡¯t have any concept about what this game is doing, but has already learned how to skillfully invite people to battle T_T.


    Eh?


    He did not reject immediately?


    Suddenly, a message box popped out: ¡°He has accepted the invitation, please wait patiently for the system to randomly select people.¡±


    He accepted!


    Wait a minute! She immediately sent out a private message: Can I be on the same team as you? We can not be enemies, okay?


    There is no reply.


    ¡­¡­


    The game system begins to load, and they begin to select characters. This time, she does not dare to pick randomly again from more than 100 hundred characters. She carefully and cautiously rummages through the characters to see if there are any cute and adorable characters. One where you would take one look and wouldn¡¯t be able to bear kill? Very quickly, she found a Lolita like character, even more she is riding¡­a big cat?


    So adorable, and cute. I¡¯ll pick you.


    Following the sound of a swift lightning, the game turned full screen. She rapidly swept a quick glimpse of everything in front of her! Last night, his character was different. His character selection this time¡­ah, is a demon kind, even more handsome.


    She quietly, moved over two steps towards his side. Seeing that he has no reaction, she took another two steps.


    Finally, and simply daringly, she moved to his side.


    Eh? He did not avoid? Then that means he does not dislike it? Tong Nian is dazed within her blanket. With one hand she rubs the screen of her monitor because a fog of mist begins to cover her screen, as she foolishly laughs.


    Happy for not even a few seconds, everyone has already purchase equipment. One after another they departed the base. In total, there are three roads. Appearing to not have any hesitation at all, following the middle road, he went all the way down.


    Tong Nian on her animal immediately ran after him.


    Middle road people, isn¡¯t this¡­acknowledged common sense¡­


    On the public screen, a teammate is faint:


    ¡°The dude riding the big cat, are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°Fuck, this week to run into two hackers, probably there will not come another one right?¡±


    ¡°In the middle of the night at 3 AM, hacker thief do you not sleep??!! Laozi (2) ranking spot, Laozi accumulated points ah!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian is confused. Riding the big cat, standing behind, not knowing what she did wrong.


    Didn¡¯t we spawn from one place? Aren¡¯t we teammates? Why can¡¯t we follow our teammates? Can¡¯t we mutually assist each other?


    ¡°You and I are in the same team right? Why can¡¯t I follow you?¡± She finally¡­ had courage to inquire the person in front of her.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He replied to me!! He really replied to me!


    Tong Nian momentarily forgot her suspicions. Happily riding the big cat, she ran in circles around him: ¡°Hello, hello, I am little squid. This is my first time playing this game. Really! Really! So excited, covering my face, not sure what to say. I will strive to learn! By all means please do not ignore me!


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    She completely forgot, she is using the group master¡¯s account of this server¡­


    And on China¡¯s Stairway to Heaven (3) ranking number ninety-seven¡­


    And so in such a way, she uses the character which is ranking ninety seven in China¡¯s entire twenty-four servers, with more than three million players, she asks: I use Q, W, E, R and A, S, D, F to attack right? I read the directions on the official website, and also practiced on the computer several times ~¡±


    Hence, three second later, on the public group chat appears a line of words.


    He isn¡¯t hacked, but stolen by a child. Everybody, look out for yourselves.


    Everyone is speechless.


    In this case, this means, they not only lose their team¡¯s fighting strength, but they also have to protect this child, to prevent her from being killed by the enemy. To be killed one time, means giving the enemy one hundred gold coins ah¡­we¡¯re finished. We can only pretend to be Buddha now.


    Fortunately, this team still has another stable top ten professional from the Stairway to Heaven ranking.


    ¡°Do you see the bush on the left side?¡± He suddenly asks.


    ¡°Yes! I see it very clearly! My monitor is especially good. I guarantee no lag!¡±


    Silence.


    After three seconds: ¡°Go into it, until the game ends.¡±


    **********************************


    **the ¡®boss¡¯ (main character) is speaking**


    Yawning, he rolls over on the couch, exhausted. He took a quick glance and sees the closed computer: ¡°Boss, can you register a new account to play? Why do you always use mine to satisfy your craving?¡±


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Both eyes too lazy to open, ¡°If I do not help you win a few times, very soon, you will fall out of the top ten ranking on the Stairway to Heaven.¡±


    This is clearly questioning my capability.


    ¡°Really? You do not want to register to play?¡± Premature undisciplined habits will poison you, Boss. He exercised his whole body automatically to filter out his taunt skills. (4)


    ¡°What? You really want me to register?¡± He conveniently pushed the keyboard into the computer desk, and stands up.


    ¡°I want. I still haven¡¯t fought with you on a ranking match. Not very willing to ah?¡± In a dead earnest desire, he puts on his frameless eyeglasses. He stretches his muscles and bones. Just when he barely got up from the couch, a very large and heavy file went flying towards his face.


    ¡°I want to register. It¡¯s none of your business anymore. Go, make them fill those out.  Give it to the leader, to get the Visa.¡±


    Notes:


    1. Referring to rankings within a game


    2. Laozi ¨C I, your father. A way of referring to yourself as a superior out of anger.


    3. Ranking title


    4. He meant he is used to his mean way of talking

 CH 5

    Chapter 5


    In that whole situation.


    Tong Nian and the monitor was both inside the blanket together. She obediently gazes at the screen, did not dare to move the mouse¡­¡­


    Six o¡¯ clock in the morning, Dou Nai is awakened by her phone call. He listens to her excited tone as if she was proposed to¡­


    ¡°¡­¡­So, you really played games with him?¡± Dou Nai yawned¡­


    ¡°Mm!¡± Tong Nian¡¯s young heart is already overflowing limitlessly. Holding the phone, she recalls it back. Even now, she still finds it embarrassing. ¡°He also especially protected me¡­¡­did not let me go out from the bushes¡­¡­ tell me, how can there be such a good person, who has such a great chivalry mind¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Unexpectedly Dou Nai have no words in reply.


    Although, he is also bad in gaming, but nevertheless he still has this basic concept. This game relies precisely on incessant murders and incessant moneymaking. You need to have the ability to buy equipment, and the ability to win.


    Thus, clearly he is ignoring your bad gaming skills, my big ** ¡­¡­.


    ¡°And he kept protecting me. This isn¡¯t good right?¡± Tong Nian consciously and instinctively self-criticize herself all of a sudden, ¡°I still have to learn some skills. Help him, and let him think that I am not a burden!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­Mm, yes¡­¡­Mm¡­¡­It is said that this game has a support position.¡±


    ¡°Support position?¡±


    ¡°It is¡­¡­It is to help people out.¡± Dou Nai also do not know if it is correct or not, blurting out without thinking..


    ¡°Really? Add HP? Add MP? ¡°Tong Nian only listened to her other good friends that plays online games occasionally bring it up¡­


    ¡°More or less-ba,¡± Dou Nai made en sound, ¡°Probably more or less.  Go look at the strategy guide.¡±


    ¡°Good!¡±


    So she hangs up the ¡®pink bubbly feeling¡¯ phone call. (1)


    She starts preparing right away for today¡¯s game playing schedule.


    In the afternoon, not here?


    Okay, I¡¯ll wait for the evening¡­¡­he is still not here?


    Ah, okay, I¡¯ll wait for midnight¡­¡­


    She takes advantage of this opportunity, and she goes online to research her own big cat that she rides. Unexpectedly, there is more than eight attacks. Furthermore, there are various kinds of supporting skills-ah ¡­¡­ She takes a notebook, records down every function seriously, as well as various people¡¯s suggestion on the forum.  A little bit of everything, she copies several pages.


    She instantly puts down her pen. Kind of having a courageous bold frame of mood.


    So hardworking, not even one week, she can absolutely become top ranking!


    ¡­¡­


    3 am at night, the alarm clock next to her pillow suddenly rings telling her to wake up.


    She suddenly sits up, and in a furry, she turns off the alarm clock.  Holding on to her blanket, she crawls to her computer. Skillfully, she covers herself and everything else altogether. She turns on the computer, logs into the game, and start searching ¡­¡­ he is there!


    Furthermore, her invitation was accepted unexpectedly without a hitch.


    Like a routine, she easily enters into the character selection screen.  She finds her saddled big cat character.  Somewhat nervous and excited, she waits for the remaining nine people to select their characters. Suddenly, the system prompts: ¡°A well-known player quits, please wait for a new player to join.¡±


    Eh? What happened?


    A new player fills up the slot.


    The game screen turns on.


    Tong Nian impatiently looks around, finds out he is right next to her. Suddenly, under thousands of staring eyes, his whole body was surrounded by a red ring of light, and disappears in a second.


    ¡­¡­


    Numerous teammates started to laugh on their sides.


    What happened, the system? The game still hasn¡¯t begun and already healing??


    Not right, not right¡­¡­This is not a RPG online game ah, this is a Ni Ma (2) skill competition game ah. Why do we need to add HP¡­¡­At this early stage, people bring their healing potion ah. Later stages in the game, who cares if they don¡¯t have enough HP or not, everybody just kill kill kill ah!


    Tong Nian is content. Once her skill is done cooling down, she throws another healing skill on him..


    ¡­¡­


    The most miserable thing is ¡­¡­


    ¡°Handsome? Handsome? Offline?¡±


    ¡°Fuck (3), I waited with great difficulty for him to get online¡­¡­¡±


    ************************************


    In the darkness, he picks up a towel and walks over. The tips of his hair still dripping with water, falls on his shoulders, and then conveniently flows down. Because he had just finished bathing, and randomly put on a pair of jeans, he still hasn¡¯t fastened his buttons properly.


    Furthermore, he still hasn¡¯t worn any clothes on his upper body.


    ¡°What the heck?¡± He finds his character being added HP.  He looks up and glances at the screen..


    Isn¡¯t this the child from yesterday? How come she still came? I barely even noticed..


    Should I quit? But, the accumulated points will drop too much.


    Maybe not quit?


    Yesterday, because everyone knew there was a child who didn¡¯t know how to play the game, they nearly lost the match. Actually he alone, can be considered equivalent to two top players. But, ¡°resistance to pressure¡± this kind of thing is very difficult to possess. Knowing perfectly well there is a lack of one fighting strength, or opposing expert, it is hard to avoid the possibility of having a psychological burden.


    So troublesome¡­¡­


    He casually brushes his hair.  That short black hair being wiped is still dripping wet, and messily hanging down in front of his forehead. It seems, the pitch black pupil suddenly has a beam of light. Suddenly becoming more¡­¡­interesting¡­


    He unconsciously licks his lower lip with the tip of his tongue.


    Not bad to have a trouble maker, four against five is very exciting, isn¡¯t it?


    ************************************


    Thus, in the game, everyone just looks on as he goes in the same direction toward the middle road. And that one saddled big cat riding at once cheerfully and lightheartedly followed closely behind him.  Every five seconds, toward the full HP character she throws a healing spell¡­¡­


    Meanwhile, in the teammate channel:


    ¡°My family¡¯s child, I will bear the responsibility. Everyone take care of yourself¡­¡±


    !!!!


    Tong Nian could not bear, two paws both cupped her face.


    Noiselessly ah ah ah ah for almost three seconds.


    Until it disappears from the top of the screen. Only thing left is her heart that is thumping and leaping. She hurriedly rides the big cat to catch up rapidly..


    He said ¡°my family¡¯s child¡±! My family ¡­¡­My family


    I am his family¡¯s¡­¡­


    Ying-ying-ying-ying


    I will most certainly and properly add HP for you¡­


    In the channel, the teammates feels at ease.


    As it turns out, he is taking along his own people to play? Then it doesn¡¯t matter. He is someone¡¯s guarantor, then they certainly will not lose..


    YaMeiDie: Haha, that¡¯s ok, handsome. It is your people then I understand¡­ (5)


    C: Please accept this lowly person¡¯s bow! Joining K & K is my lifetime¡¯s dream!


    YiKaTong: Boss, 3 am at night not going to sleep, playing game and bearing another character. Are you playing with a girl? Hahaha.


    This¡­¡­


    Tong Nian¡¯s face is flushed. Being mocked by them, she feels embarrassed.


    Since everyone is all talking, I ought to also say a few words right?


    Hence, a few seconds later, they see on the public screen ¡°My family¡¯s child¡± says:


    ShuaiDeYiB: (>^¦Ø^<) Meow, I am Small Cuttlefish, please take care of me¡­


    YaMeiDie: ¡­¡­


    C£º¡­¡­


    Yikatong : ¡­¡­Hehehehe, hello ¨C ah¡­¡­


    Tong Nian at a loss. To say hi like this was it not right?


    She rides a big cat, closely following: ¡°Is it because my name is not cute? They don¡¯t seem too enthusiastic?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±¡£


    ¡°¡­¡­Then, should I once again reregister a cuter username? Can you wait for me? Just ten minutes!¡±


    Silence.


    ¡°That¡­¡­¡±


    He interrupted her: ¡°Add HP. Do not stop.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Oh, Yes, Yes! Guaranteed mission accomplish! ¡±


    She immediately rigorously waits.  Her eyes unblinkingly staring at the screen. As long as the healing spell cools down, she immediately throws it onto him. Consequently¡­¡­the whole duration, the nine people continuously watch the body filled with blood, ceaselessly, ceaselessly a brave action of a spiral red light¡­¡­


    Everyone¡­¡­Hahahahaha¡­¡­


    Handsome¡­¡­he has a good interest¡­¡­


    Notes:


    (1) Pink bubbly feeling: just think of it like an anime.  She was talking to Dou Nai in a dreamlike state because she is very happy.  Thus the pink bubble background that usually appears in the background of an anime.


    (2) Ni Ma: homophonic characters which means ¡®your mother¡¯.  But it really means: Come on! God! Jesus! Really?


    (3) ÂéÁ˸ö¼¦, MaLeGeJi: is another curse word.  I¡¯ve tried to search for what it means directly¡­ but I couldn¡¯t find anything.  Please me know what it truly means¡­ Thanks!


    (4) ying-ying: crying sound of joy


    (5) YaMeiDie, C, Yikatong, ShuaiDeYiB: all usernames within the game¡­

 CH 6

    Chapter 6


    Continuously staying up late for several days is simply exhausting.


    At four o¡¯clock she finishes the game.  Finally, able to summon her courage, she ventured to ask the question. Next time, when will you be online? His reply: Uncertain. Very quickly, he logged off the game.


    ¡­¡­She didn¡¯t even have time to request a leave of absence.  She would not be able to go online for two days¡­


    At four o¡¯clock in the morning, surrounded by the silence, her mom and dad are still sleeping downstairs¡­


    But, she needs to begin to prepare her luggage to go on a flight at seven to go overseas to participate in the winter festival. The organizers offered a place for her to live for one night. It was just right for her and her local friends to get together. On one hand she made herself a hot cup of honey, while her other hand holds some promotional materials that she is carefully looking over. Soon, attracting her attention, in her line of sight was ¡®Chamber Storm¡¯.


    Eh? Eh?


    Her eyes lit up.


    ¡­¡­


    The whole way she stares at ¡®Chamber Storm¡¯s¡¯ introduction. She is contemplating to request those staff members that she is familiar with to help her with an introduction.  She must definitely be introduced to the person that is in charge of the game company, to see if she can guest perform a few of the game characters¡¯ cosplay¡­


    He is so fond of this game¡­¡­maybe if one day he sees the game¡¯s homepage and suddenly sees her cosplay photo¡­


    She is done for. Her hands are starting to feel numb¡­¡­


    She blushes. Fiercely rubbing the palms of her hands together, she continues to cram into the pile of Chinese tourists, waiting for her flight¡¯s baggage to be transported out.


    CA ah, this isn¡¯t my flight¡­¡­


    She looks at her cellphone, the time is still early.  She is just afraid that it will be too late and she¡¯ll have to rush over.  Afraid that there¡¯s not enough time for her vocal exercise and will be losing her face (1) ¡­¡­


    When she puts the phone back down in her jacket pocket, she suddenly saw from across that there are a few tall men all dressed in red and white jackets.  Just like an athletes¡¯ unified sports clothing.


    Basketball meetup? Soccer team? She guessed, and very curiously, she looks twice more¡­


    These people are carrying away the suitcases one by one. Unaware of who it is, someone said ¡°Leader, we¡¯re ready now¡± ¡­


    ¡°Oh.¡± All along, behind everyone, sitting on top of the luggage cart playing with a cell phone, a man stands up.  He did not bother to raise his head, but continues playing on his cellphone, while turning towards the exit to leave.


    ! ! ! !


    Hallucination?!


    She was dumbfounded. She was just about to move a step, when the conveyer belt suddenly starts to move ¡­


    Each and every luggage was coming out. ¡°Clang dong¡± ¡°Clang dong¡± as they fell on to the conveyor belt¡­¡­Tong Nian was really heartbroken as she anxiously awaits her luggage. She looks on as each and every one of those people walk out, going further away, until their backs disappeared.


    He is an athlete?


    Tong Nian randomly guessed, as a silver suitcase passed by her front. Awakened, she hurriedly picks up the suitcase. Going in the same direction and she hurriedly goes out, wanting to catch up with them, or at the very least to see what kind of symbol is on uniforms ah¡­¡­


    She didn¡¯t expect, that the airport is already empty outside.


    In the end, precisely because of this chance encounter, all her activities went by all muddle-headed. Except for when she is doing an opening on stage. She went back to her natural state, and started her song <Emptiness>.  When she went off the stage, her fans ran over slipping her a pile of small gifts. Somewhat halfhearted and sluggish, from beginning to end she did not act like herself.


    ¡°Your highness, cuttlefish,¡± Lan Mei, her close friend in charge of all the activities softly tease her, ¡°Cold elegance and into a new realm ah.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tong Nian confusedly looked at her.


    Lan Mei pfft a laugh: ¡°Not teasing you anymore. Look at you, last time because of an IELTS (2) word, you forgot me and forgot to thank your fans, being criticized about, forgot it?¡±


    ¡­¡­How can I forget? I secretly cried at home for two days¡­¡­


    ¡°Do you know, if recently there has been any sporting competition here? Basketball game? Soccer game? Or something else¡­¡­Maybe professional athletes in training?¡± Lan Mei was asked until she was stupefied. She touched her forehead: ¡°You¡¯re not dimensionally confused, are you? How come a singer is concerned about a basketball game?¡±


    Tong Nian heave a sigh. Somewhat depressed, she blows her bangs, also having no clue¡­


    ¡°Oh that¡¯s right, just now you asked me about <Chamber Storm>.  That game has also recently hosted a professional league game.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tong Nian once again with perplexed eyes.


    ¡°It is just professional gamers playing a game to start this year¡¯s new round of matches. My husband is an eSports (3) fan, who especially came with me, just to watch the game. Should be¡­¡­three o¡¯ clock?¡± Lan Mei lifts her wrist, and looks, ¡°It has already begun.¡±


    ¡°Professional gamers¡­¡­¡± Tong Nian continues to digest this new term, suddenly has an epiphany, ¡°Similar to athletes, wearing the same uniforms?¡±


    ¡°Of course they will ah, it¡¯s particularly according to standards. Furthermore, a genuine high professional gamer plays to earn a lot. It is said that today there is a team, and this half year each person gets a bonus of¡­¡­$800,000?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Probably¡­¡­they are not¡­¡­ so incredible, right?


    She seems to have found hope. She wags her tail at Lan Mei asking her to call her husband, to check if there is really a team with red and white jersey. She didn¡¯t expect in return, that really is indeed one! ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Tong Nian immediately stood up, wanting to watch the game¡­


    ¡°I cannot go-ah, ¡°Lan Mei with the index finger poked her forehead: ¡°Your Squid Highness, I have to wait until the end of the whole exhibition, to do a ending show!  How about this, let me call my husband, and have him give you the address. You go by yourself.¡±


    ¡°Mm, Mm.¡±


    Thus, she the opening guest performer just like this disappeared from the exhibition, dragging her luggage. Even staying at a hotel she doesn¡¯t have enough time to go.  Just on the basis of that strange address, she finds a small stadium.  She wandered outside the door for a long time, only then to find a scalper to buy an admission ticket. Once inside, she sits down gasping for her breath. She watches the fierce competition on the big screen, just feeling as if she truly finally found the right place.


    But glancing around, there isn¡¯t any red and white uniforms¡­¡­


    Where did they go¡­¡­


    ¡°There is nobody here?¡± Suddenly a voice from behind her asks, ¡°There is nobody here, then I¡¯ll sit.¡±


    Tong Nian momentary shocked, turned around, dumbstruck she stares at him taking off his coat.  From behind her, the man wearing a black short sleeve shirt manages to step across row of seats, to seize the opportunity to sit beside her.


    That extremely dark and bright pair of eyes sweep towards her, he smirks: ¡°Where is your boyfriend? Not coming?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Specifically came here to watch the game?¡± He glances at the luggage by her feet¡­


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Forgot me already?¡± Still thinking that he had frightened the little girl, he tentatively asks the sentence¡­


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.  I¡¯m just purely saying a greeting.¡± How come I feel that every time I meet this little girl, I am able to frighten her so? He reviewed himself and decisively got up, ¡°Take your time, I??¡±


    Suddenly, he stopped.


    A small hand is pulling on the hem of his clothes¡­¡­


    Notes:

 CH 7

    Chapter 7


    In a distance about 10 meters away, next to the Chairperson¡¯s room is the VIP room. Everyone in the K&K Club are picking up their luggage, preparing to retreat.  It was in such a way that through the side door, you can see behind several rows of miscellaneous spectators seated above, that their leader (LaoDa) was pulled by the hem of his clothes by a Moe girl wearing a bow shirt.


    Except for the one wearing a baseball cap, the tallest boy was still walking forward directly.  The rest of the people stopped at their pace for a piece of gossip.


    He recognized this girl?


    Could it be¡­¡­


    The club leader (LaoDa) is famous for severing relationships with single women. He doesn¡¯t recruit women into their team. Even if they are rarely hiring, the females are usually married. He is absolutely eccentric within the industry. Therefore, the club long ago have a secret legend: that, the leader (LaoDa) must have a very extremely jealous loving elder sister in law.


    ¡°Therefore,¡± they reasonably assume, ¡°don¡¯t tell me this is leader¡¯s (LaoDa¡¯s) woman?¡±


    Eh? How come she let go so quickly?


    What are you saying? Look at elder sister-in-law¡¯s face that is frightened until its white¡­¡­


    On the stands.


    ¡°¡­¡­I remember you. Last week in the Internet caf¨¦, you won a prize.¡± Tong Nian calmly replied to smooth things over.


    After she has finished speaking, she just wished to be run over and forget about it. Why am I talking about the Internet cafe, Tong Nian you are so lame.


    ¡°Oh, right. Won a prize.¡± Obviously he does not remember.


    Suddenly, the surroundings gets dark.


    On the podium, the host turns on the microphone to warm up the stage, with a series of thanks to a variety of sponsors¡­¡­in the dark, he saw outside the contestant resting area, is someone who is very anxiously beckoning him, appearing to still look anxious..


    ¡°Take your time.¡± He hastily leaves with this sentence, and crossed a few empty seats forward, directly from the most outer stairs and went out.


    Tong Nian watched his disappearing figure. Somewhat in despair, she kicks her suitcase..


    What should I do next?


    She looked and looked all around.  Since she entered the venue¡¯s competition midway, she had no choice but to sit within the last two rows. Furthermore, there is nobody by her side, and the closest audience members are two rows in front of her. She readily thought, and very quickly she crossed over a row of chairs. She patted the shoulder of a boy. Somewhat annoyed that person turns around, but seeing that she is a moe girl, he immediately shows warmth in his eyes.


    ¡°Sorry, I want to ask, what team is wearing the red and white uniforms?¡±


    The boy is somewhat puzzled. She is watching the game and actually didn¡¯t know what team. But, considering that the girl is very moe, he patiently replied: ¡°K&K, one of China¡¯s top two clubs.¡±


    ¡­¡­This awesome?


    ¡°That¡­¡­Are they very powerful?¡±


    ¡°? !¡±


    Three boys simultaneously turned around, looking at her.


    Starcraft¡¯s professional high player, average annual income of $800,000. At present K & K is even more well-known on the list of Chamber Storm¡¯s battle team, super idol contestant, this name is simply inlaid with a gold ledge alright?


    ¡°Shuai super powerful right! Absolutely trump card players! My lifetime goal ah,¡± Amongst them, one of the boy is exactly like a super fan, ¡°I precisely came because of him to watch the game. I came especially from Su Zhou!¡±


    ¡­¡­This awesome?!


    Her face does not dare to believe.


    Then a few people started to balabala (cheering) allowing her widen her universal knowledge, Making Tong Nian listen until she was stupefied. Unfortunately, K&K barely won the double elimination tournament, and has already withdrawn.


    Withdraw?


    She was even unhappy.


    Now that his team has left, it does not make any sense to stay there anymore. She pulled her luggage, and exits from the audience feeling depressed. When she passes through the ticket entrance, the two entrance guards glanced at her. The two guards does not understand, this little girl had obviously pulled her luggage and ran inside ten minutes ago. Now, she is pulling her luggage coming out with her head bowed down and ¡­¡­exactly for what¡­¡­


    She did not consider other people¡¯s gazes. Going against the howling north wind, she went towards the stairway¡­


    ¡°I heard his stomach¡¯s internal bleeding, actually supported the entire stage, and also won the game¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Being a professional player is not that easy ah, this is simply defying death.¡±


    ! ! ! !


    She suddenly stops.


    Around her, two staff members are quickly enter inside.


    Her mind immediately blanks. Pulling her luggage and chasing, she ran back to the entrance wanting to re-enter, but was blocked by two guards: ¡°Exiting once makes your ticket void. You can¡¯t go in again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really anxious to go, I just came out for one minute ah¡­¡­¡± Tong Nian bowed in salute, ¡°Let me go in please. Really in a hurry!¡±


    The two guards persisted, completely not giving in.


    Tong Nian continues to bow in salute: ¡°Really, really, I swear, I just want to go in just for a few minutes. I¡¯ll give you my luggage!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay, ¡°Suddenly, a hand appeared and pats her on the shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll take you in.¡±


    Tong Nian turns her head, stunned. Who is this? I don¡¯t recognize him.


    Laughing at her, ¡°I have a worker¡¯s permit, so I can let you go in.¡±


    Not a bad person right? She hesitated: ¡°How could I have the nerve to¡­¡­¡±


    Continuing to laugh at her: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am one of the K&K¡¯s people.¡±


    Mm? How did he know she wanted to go see?


    ¡°I just saw you from the side door. You and the Leader (LaoDa) were together.¡± Explaining patiently, while smiling obscurely, ¡°Even though you guys were sitting slanted¡­¡­I still saw it.¡±


    Mm? Leader (LaoDa)?


    Oh, right, at the airport, they just call him the leader (Laoda).


    She nodded: ¡°Well, thank you.¡±


    Flashing the worker¡¯s card, he led Tong Nian into the stadium. All along the way he walked, and sighs. You¡¯re smart, this really is the hidden elder sister-in-law. I didn¡¯t think it would be such¡­¡­a moe sister? How did Leader (Laoda) obtain her hand? ¡°How come Leader (LaoDa) didn¡¯t give you a work permit card?¡±


    Mm?


    ¡°I¡­¡­don¡¯t have the nerve to. Just now, I didn¡¯t have enough time but to say a few words, and he just left,¡± She thinks, while saying, ¡°I also didn¡¯t know you needed the worker¡¯s card to go in. I bought a ticket, and bought it from a scalper at the door.¡±


    Moreover, he and I are not that familiar ah¡­¡­


    How could I have the nerve to demand¡­¡­


    ¡°Leader (LaoDa) is just like that la, ¡°Smiling to comfort her, ¡°Once there is a game, he¡¯s like that. But, this is too much, to even let you personally buy a ticket?¡±


    ¡°It should be like this, should be like this, ¡°She busily shook her head, ¡°I want to support you guys.¡±


    Looking at his wife, how considerate! Silently making a point to praise elder sister-in-law¡­


    After arriving at the employee lounge, looking around finding not one shadow, he pulled a man and asked: ¡°Where is Leader (LaoDa)? I brought elder sister-in-law here.¡±


    Elder Sister-in-law?!


    What elder sister-in-law?  Saying that to me? I¡¯m not hearing his voice correctly, right?


    ¡°The doctor just arrived. They are in the small conference room.¡± That man is very excited to see Tong Nian..


    ¡°Doctor just arrived?¡± Winking meaningfully: Don¡¯t get out of hand. Be careful not to let leader (LaoDa) beat you up¡­


    ¡°Stomach internal bleeding.¡± This person also winked meaningfully: elder sister-in-law is beautiful ah¡­


    ¡°No way?¡± He was startled, without enough time to hint with his eyes, ¡°Just now he was okay.¡±


    ¡°We just discovered that.¡±


    Oh he sounded, asked Tong Nian: ¡°The conference room, let¡¯s go?¡±


    Tong Nian not thinking too much into who this elder sister-in-law is, and busily nodded her head.


    Thus, he considerately leaves her suitcase in the K&K lounge area, and took her to through a corridor.  He pushed open the door into the conference room. In the room, a physician and two nurses gives a person a checkup. A man was lying on three chairs staging as a ¡°simple bed¡±, making her unable to see the face. Tong Nian paused her footsteps, thinking that she and he had just met each other, so abruptly in the past, but¡­¡­heard his stomach was internally bleeding, so to see him for a bit, should be no problem right?


    She thought so, and walking by.


    Standing beside the doctor, carefully said: ¡°I was originally going out, but I just happen to hear the staff say you have internal stomach bleeding¡­¡­So, your teammates brought me in to see you¡­¡­¡± The doctor smiled and made space for Tong Nian to approach the patient¡­


    Lying down on the chair revealing a face, hands gripping the eyeglasses partly blocks the face, in severe pain, a somewhat agitated man looks bewilderingly at this strange girl.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Eh? Who is this?


    Tong Nian was dumbfounded.


    ¡°Leader (LaoDa), salutes.  I just saw elder sister-in-law, and brought her in to help you. She must have thought we had all left. She waited for you outside, and couldn¡¯t wait anymore. She didn¡¯t have a worker¡¯s card, and was stopped by the security guards.¡± happily grinning behind her, he says¡­


    Tong Nian slowly turned around.


    Seated about ten paces away from her, sitting by the window, wearing a black short sleeved shirt, draped with an outer jacket is a man on the phone¡­¡­


    Isn¡¯t that¡­¡­ him?


    In the end¡­¡­just who has an internal stomach bleeding T.T¡­¡­

 CH 8

    Chapter 8


    On one end, he was wearing his headphones still listening on the phone, and his beautiful eyes nevertheless gives off some effort and sweeps over Tong Nian¡¯s body, and then turn around to see: ¡°You called her what?


    ¡°Elder, elder sister-in-law¡­¡­¡± A little petrified. (Literally says: weak in the legs)


    The dark eyes swept back to her: ¡°Why did he call you elder sister-in-law?¡±


    Tong Nian almost cried: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡­¡±


    The devil know why this person must call me elder sister-in-law¡­¡­


    *Note: By saying devil know why, it¡¯s like saying who in the world would know why. I mean no offense, but another way of thinking about it is: ¡°Gods knows why¡­¡±


    He looked at him: ¡°You know her?¡±


    He closed his eyes, shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He doubted.


    ¡°Really ¡­¡­Leader (LaoDa) just forget about it and give me a knife.¡±*


    *Note: By using this phrase of giving a knife he is trying to say that he¡¯s really telling the truth.


    His eyes narrowed again to Tong Nian: ¡°Do you know him?¡± His chin pointed towards her¡­


    The devil knows who he is¡­¡­


    He was silent for a few seconds, and then used English to tell the person in charge of the European team, ¡°Continue talking, don¡¯t stop.¡± Then, he standing up from the sofa by the window, he waves to Tong Nian. He motioned for her to follow him to a small office. Tong Nian is embarrassed and does not dare lift her head. Yet also, not paying attention to those admiring eyes that seem to say ¡°Leader (LaoDa) is managing his wife greatly¡±. With her head down, she obediently follows him into the small office.


    He gave a beautiful gesture: close the door.


    Tong Nian easily and quickly closes the door.


    He walks behind door, turns on the air conditioner switch, and adjusts the temperature. He throws the outer black jacket off onto the empty sofa, and pointed to the chair beside her: sit.


    Tong Nian quickly sits down.


    The wheels slipped, and she almost didn¡¯t sit stably¡­¡­


    Immediately correcting her posture, and then discovered, it isn¡¯t because she didn¡¯t sit stably, but because the wheels are broken¡­¡­


    (TN: Wow¡­that happened to me when my wheel came off on my chair. How is she still sitting right? -_-¡®)


    But, she felt the atmosphere here was too weird, and did not dare to move. She can only be embarrassed as she sat on the chair with the broken wheel.  Finally, he got off the phone, and sat down across from her.


    ¡°The chair is broken?¡± He quickly glanced at the chair under her.


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tong Nian immediately shook her head, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it doesn¡¯t matter. I can still sit.¡±


    He looks down at the small wheels on the chair unconvinced. Without much concern, he conveniently opens the Texas Hold¡¯em Poker game on his phone, and starts a round: ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, this is our second time meeting?¡±


    She replied: ¡°Mm¡­¡­¡±


    He asked: ¡°The first time was the Internet caf¨¦ night bundle, the second time was just now?¡±


    She answered: ¡°Mm¡­¡­¡±


    She looked down toward her legs. Stirring her hands together, and melancholy cries*.¡±


    Just a moment ago that case of unexpected mistake circled around in her head, and she roughly became aware of her what kind of mistake she had made. All because of Dou Nai, that guy is not reliable. He actually mistakenly gave me the wrong name.


    Obviously the one he called is the sissy wearing the glasses¡­¡­


    That simply isn¡¯t him¡­¡­


    The cards is still pretty good? He placed a bet, continued to ask: ¡°Then do you know anyone else in K&K? Besides me?¡±


    ¡°There isn¡¯t¡­¡­¡±


    He reaffirmed: ¡°So, at this stadium, you only know me?¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°So, you came to find me?¡±


    ¡°Ah? ¡° She startled looked up, and blurts out to deny, ¡°No, that¡¯s not it, I didn¡¯t come to find you.¡±


    Don¡¯t tell me that I should have said it was love at first sight when she saw him several days ago. Or that in the morning, she saw him at the airport, and immediately she excitedly trys to find his news from over the world, and then from the anime expo to chased him finally to the stadium¡­¡­


    Of course I can¡¯t!


    He arched his eyebrow, he throws in all his stake on his phone into the bet, successfully scaring off all the opponents, wins a round, and collects the countless casino tokens into his bag: ¡°Then that¡¯s weird, you only know me, but didn¡¯t come to find me¡­¡­why did specifically come to the K&K lounge area?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡­¡± She stuttered, ¡°I was just passing by, felt it was interesting, and saw it was bustling with excitement here.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Came to see the exciting bustling environment?¡± He bent the corners of his mouth, his cheeks reveal a dimple, ¡°You took an airplane and rushed here from far away, pass by this stadium, and felt it was interesting so you specially bought a ticket to watch the bustling scene. And then, you suddenly hear someone saying ¡®there¡¯s a player with stomach bleeding¡¯. Thinking this person is pitiful, so¡­¡­you enter the K&K lounge area to see this unlucky ghost?¡±


    He concluded, and conveniently also emphasizing this sentence: ¡°Oh, right, forgot to say, this unlucky ghost you also don¡¯t know.¡±


    She almost cried: ¡°I really do not know him, really¡­¡­¡±


    Although it sounds like quibbling¡­¡­


    Combining these answers, after drawing an almost reasonable conclusion, he stopped the inquiry.


    Just looking at the girl¡¯s expression as she just spoke and the content of her speech, when she says she didn¡¯t know. It is very unlikely, but two people with the same voice insisting they don¡¯t know each other, estimated¡­¡­is it a love debt situation? This little girl came from thousands of miles away but was rejected. And in return to protect him, she does not want to speak the truth?


    But for what reason must it be said that she is my wife?


    To make the boss the scapegoat?


    He frowned. Suddenly he felt that not many of his key team members let him be worry-free. How come they are all love problems?


    How come he isn¡¯t asking anymore?


    Tong Nian secretly raises her head again, took a quick glimpse at him. Unexpectedly, once again she was caught red-handed¡­


    Turning off the game, in a teasing tone: ¡°What? You have a questions you want to ask?


    Mm? Really¡­¡­it¡¯s okay to ask?


    Tong Nian hesitates for half a second, musters up the courage: ¡°Are you also a professional player?


    ¡°Me?¡± He pondered for a moment, ¡°Don¡¯t count as one.¡±


    ¡°Then why do they call you Leader (Laoda)?¡±


    This question?


    He truly haven¡¯t answer this toward outsiders before, but can only ambiguously say: ¡°They play in competitions, and I take care of their housing, food and clothing.¡±


    Oh¡­¡­so it¡¯s just like exhibition planning. To be responsible for organizing all of the guests to come. Arranging room and board, and arranging the entire process¡­¡­that kind of work must certainly be very laborious. Ai*, these professional players, take so many awards. Such a sight to behold. Who would think about the hard work of the people behind the scenes?


    *Note: Ai sounds like aye or as in when you say ¡°Aiya!¡±


    Tong Nian quietly, embarrassed for a moment: If he later see her many fans, would he be scared off? Would he be pressured? Do men not like women who have more fans compared to him?


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.


    ¡°That¡­¡­Leader, you and¡­¡­¡± Coughing twice, ¡°Are you guys finished talking?¡± Asking with a quivering voice, evidently forced to get in the line of fire.


    He slowly putting away the phone, not too patient: ¡°You have something to say?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­No, just that¡­¡­hungry¡­¡­¡±


    Subtext: Don¡¯t know what you and sister-in-law are doing enclosed in the room, but letting the bunch of us from the morning until now who still haven¡¯t eaten a thing. Pitiful single players, how can this be endured, ah how can this be endured!


    ¡°Let everyone board the bus first,¡± He looked down, glancing at his watch, also feeling the time was too late.


    Regarding this little girl¡­¡­


    First, he let himself take on the blame, when night comes, he¡¯ll take care of her matters..


    He stood up, and picked up his coat from the sofa. Once again, he glances at her sitting position: ¡°Are you sure that chair isn¡¯t broken?


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡± Tong Nian stands up in a whiz.


    With the sound of a bang, the chair crashed down.


    (TN: Lol¡­omg¡­let me stop laughing for a bit before I continue translating)


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    He looks at chair that has fallen to the ground, arches his eyebrow, doesn¡¯t say anything, and directly goes out¡­


    Tong Nian stands there alone.  Kind of wanting to cry for miles, and with urgency to run directly back home¡­


    She vowed, the most embarrassing thing in her life, was all done in these past few days..


    The conference room was completely empty already. Whether it was the sick sissy, or the doctors and the nurses seeing the patient, all of them have been dismissed. Surrounded by silence, she blamed herself for three minutes, and finally dejectedly pushed the door, and walks out. .


    In the work area, the tournaments today still have not ended yet, thus naturally, there were many staff members that was still there.


    Everyone saw Tong Nian come out from the K&K¡¯s special conference room.  Immediately glancing once more, guessing, and speculating. In the end, this weak little Moe girl compared to today¡¯s people is of what origin?


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian quietly took a few steps, just somewhat sober.


    Not right, her luggage.


    Luggage is still in the hands of the boy who brought her in.


    She pulled herself together, and looked around in all directions wanting to find which room she had put her luggage in. At this moment, a positively smiling boy pulling a silver luggage came over.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Tong Nian put out a hand awkwardly, wanting to take her own luggage


    ¡°Sister-in-law what is this politeness for, ¡°Grinningly, basically without giving any indication to give her back the luggage, ¡°Quickly get in the bus. I¡¯ll help you hold the luggage.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Go where?


    ¡°Leader is still discussing things with the hosts. Let me take you in the bus first. Victory celebration, to eat dinner.¡±


    ¡°Ah? Victory celebration?


    ¡°We must meet sooner or later,¡± Lowering his voice, softly comforting, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid ah, sister-in-law, don¡¯t be afraid of us.¡±

 CH 9

    Chapter 9


    Tong Nian was arranged to sit in the first row of bus. Still ignorant and slow, she did not know why she must go to the victory celebration.


    Sitting in the car was the captain, and other gaming teams or possibly two teams, and reserve players. While waiting for the bus to start, the main and bench members of Chamber Storm, one after another got on. Several people carrying backpacks, because their builds are too tall, they all lowered their heads, evading the surprise bus door¡¯s attack. Then one by one, they passed by her side.


    ¡°Hello sister-in-law.¡±


    ¡°Hello sister-in-law.¡±


    ¡°Hello sister-in-law.¡±


    ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s my first time meeting you, please take care of me ha.¡±


    Tong Nian awkwardly smiles yet not really, and not smiling yet not really. The curvature of her mouth throughout remained in a strange arc. Finally, only one guy wearing a baseball cap did not speak. He passed by, and his footsteps pause for a moment. Silently he nods his head toward her in greeting. Then, the boy sits behind Tong Nian.


    The driver asked him: ¡°What time will your Leader get on the bus?¡±


    The boy was silent for a few seconds: ¡°Wait for a bit more.¡±


    Thus, everyone from all angles of the bus peeps at this Moe sister-in-law who fell down from the sky.


    *Note: Fell down from the sky ¨C This phrase is an idiom meaning that Tong Nian came out of nowhere. This could also mean she¡¯s drop-dead gorgeous because in Chinese folklores goddesses who come from the heavens (the sky) are often described as outrageously beautiful.


    Tong Nian has never been so nervous.  Even performing on the stage for first time, she was not this nervous. She sat up straight, not daring to make any sudden movements, lest give the club¡¯s people a bad impression.


    She clearly hears from behind, the one who helped her get her luggage in a low voice asks: ¡°Eh? D, when did your brother find a girlfriend? Doesn¡¯t he stay at the club for 24 hours?


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± D clearly not interested in pondering.


    ¡°Secretly crossing the Wei River? Leader (Laoda) still trying to play this case? He is scared that we will all follow him and date, and interfere with the competition?¡±


    *refers to a strategy used by Liu Bang. To feign one thing while doing another.


    After a brief silence, D answers: ¡°The leader is not small* anymore, isn¡¯t falling in love a normal necessity?¡±


    *Note: In Chinese, it sounds much more fluid in meaning that he is already an adult now so it makes more sense for him to have a relationship. This is not supposed to give the meaning that he is too old. I just realized after reading a bit more it could be a euphemism (substitution for offensive expression) for saying a certain private part needs certain sexual needs (just stating it mildly already).


    These words¡­¡­are very easy to misunderstand. The many layers of meaning ah¡­¡­behind him, each of the big handsome brothers took the hint, secretly with ulterior motive, they laughed.


    Once she heard these word through her ears, she was furious at once.


    Where is Leader not small¡­¡­


    Obviously he is super handsome. Compared to these feathered headed boys, he¡¯s manlier¡­¡­


    As a result in the end, the team leader simply informs the driver, that he himself may return late to the hotel. Thus he let the other team leader lead the people to go back first. Tong Nian seeing her in a graceful stature, even wearing sportswear has a kind of unique quality of female leader. She listens to her transferring people to follow all the time arrangements methodically, and suddenly felt, herself and her in comparison is simply¡­¡­


    She lowered her head, looking at her short skirt and white-eared stockings¡­¡­Just look like a kid¡­


    The bus with everyone on it, drove out from the stadium. From the window, she saw the number of boys and girls who were very excited to see this bus. There are some people pointing and calling the people inside the bus.  Such a scene, on the contrary actually looks very much like some of their famous internet singers, C and writers the same, always admired by the fans.


    Playing games can also be played so realistically in life so eye catching, why did I not pay attention to it previously?


    Tong Nian silently regretted the next moment.  She started to perk up her ears to listen to the people chattering within the bus. Wanting to understand more about the circle in his life, but¡­¡­ why do I not completely understand ah T.T¡­¡­


    So in this way with all kinds of activity in the brain, she felt a bit disturbed. Under his personal care from the bus up to the hotel, and lastly her luggage was also placed in his room by these people¡­¡­empty-handed, holding a cell phone, sitting in the hotel¡¯s restaurant, she still hasn¡¯t seen his shadow.


    ¡°Everybody, Leader made a call, to let us eat first.  He salutes everybody with wine first, this past month playing four exhibition games, was very hard.


    The team leader finished speaking, came over, stooped down to the waist to whisper in Tong Nian¡¯s ear saying: ¡°Come, I¡¯ll take you to a place.¡±


    Tong Nian who was distracted, very quickly flushed hotly, and nods.  She picks up her pace setting out to keep up.


    All the men behind her had a ¡°Leader lost his mind because of sexual passion, to abandon his colleagues¡± bitter expression. They were immersed in the terrible gossip, and had completely forgetting that today, there was a fellow teammate who had stomach internal bleeding, the proper matter that needed everybody to show loving care for.


    The female team leader brought Tong Nian to the 12 floor executive suite door.


    How come¡­¡­we arrived at the hotel room? Tong Nian quietly looked all around.


    The team leader knocked on the door.


    Footstep sounds, from far to near.


    With a flipping sound, opened the door, one hand holding the door frame, looked at the female team leader, and also lowered his head to look at only to his chest height Tong Nian: ¡°Come in.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    All around is quiet.


    Tong Nian¡¯s eyes aimed looking at the female team leader, also aimed looking at his chin¡­¡­


    Really¡­¡­do I have to enter the room¡­¡­


    ¡°Some matters can¡¯t¡­¡­at, the restaurant say¡­¡­¡± She felt a bit wrong.


    Eyes flashing impatience: ¡°Private matter, you want to talk in public?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± Of course not!


    The female leader could not help laughing, made a coughing sound: ¡°I¡¯m leaving, you guys talk slowly, mm, talk slowly.¡± Finished speaking, really turned around, with light footsteps, you can even say she was cheerfully dismissed.


    Hence, it¡¯s only her and him remaining in a standoff by the door.


    Thinking this little girl tangled like this for a very long time, he simply opened the door, turning back.


    Enter, enter in?


    Tong Nian continued to look down, continued to struggle for more than ten seconds. Finally step by step she moved to go inside. Bypassing the porch, her sight suddenly becomes clear. Mm? The stomach hemorrhaging sissy?


    She was stunned.


    Lying on one of the large beds, because he was not wearing glasses, he could only squint his eyes.  He sees her walked into the room, and also have on a much unexpected look. Sitting behind a desk on a sofa, holding a silver fruit knife, quickly in his hands peeling around the rings: ¡°The two of you, can say the truth now?


    Ah? Tong Nian was at a loss to see him.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t know her¡­¡­¡± Feeling it was better off to really be stomach bleeding, than to be mistakenly examined in the future, could only rest in the hotel, but was suddenly forced to wake up and to be lectured as well.


    Slight puckering between the eyebrows.


    He closed the knife, just cut a good bite out of the apple, while eating, while walking past, with the handle raised his chin: ¡°Hurry up.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    One glance you hack me to death or let it be expression.


    His eyes drooped, stared for a few second. Finally, he sees Tong Nian whose head is in the fog: ¡°You also do not intend to tell the truth?


    ¡°Ah?¡± Tong Nian continues confusedly.


    ¡°Still insisting on not recognizing him?¡±


    ¡°Really do not know ah¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you know he has a girlfriend?¡± Raises eyebrow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Now you know, have any ideas now? Mm?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Why should I have any ideas¡­¡­


    Suddenly he jumps out of the bed, and puts on his eyeglasses fiercely. He barefooted walks quickly, and with two hands he held on to Tong Nian¡¯s shoulder. Endures his pain, he spits out every word by word: ¡°Little girl¡­¡­I beg of you, I have a girlfriend, I don¡¯t know who you are, okay? Ah? You give the truth, okay?!¡±


    Ah?


    For a while¡­¡­


    They¡­¡­they would not have thought that I followed this sissy right?!


    She opens her eyes wide, watching in disbelief, opened her mouth, and stunned shock not saying a word. Then she flustered looks to him who continuing to eat the apple¡­¡­looking back, back and forth several times, finally restoring her language capabilities: ¡°I am not¡­¡­I don¡¯t know this sissy¡­¡­this, really! Really, I don¡¯t know him, you don¡¯t misunderstand me, and we really don¡¯t have any relationship¡­¡­¡±


    Looking back at him, a pair of ¡°Leader, you see, this girl has nothing to do with me¡± indignant facial expressions.


    He shrugged, flings a ¡°like I trust you crafty brat¡± eyes..


    Want to cry, but have no tears, finally he gives up : ¡°Little sister, you say, in the end why did you find me¡­¡­let us today make our words count clearly .¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Signatures can do, pictures can also do, whatever conditions you mention, as long as you tell the truth. Say I really have nothing to do with you! Really, I swear, you mention any requirement, as long as it isn¡¯t to be my girlfriend, I will satisfy you.¡±


    Her head keeps shaking, depressed really want to cry out.


    How could it be to find you, and what relationship is there with you ah¡­¡­


    ¡°Who wants to be your girlfriend,¡± she tearfully throws out a hand, ¡°I don¡¯t like you¡­¡­¡± Finished speaking, she looked very much suffering from injustice to the one eating the apple watching the fun show, eyes turning red, really immediately about to cry.


    This look¡­¡­


    Speechless, from his plentiful love experiences, immediately understand this look¡¯s meaning¡­¡­


    This is¡­¡­


    He also looked back, daring not to believe, fiercely despising.


    This is obviously your love trouble, swindler!

 CH 10

    July 17, 2016 by hoju Leave a comment


    LOL. An awkward interruption. What would fans think if they knew where Her Highness was taking the call?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Even the most dim-witted person would be able to hear that, despite the fact that his tone was maintaining a sense of politeness, he was obviously not very pleased. He must very much dislike people sneaking looks at his identity card and dislike it when a girl pursues him all the way to where he is, especially¡­ all the way into his hotel.


    The person whom, over these last few days, she had fallen so hard for it was as if she was bewitched was now standing before her, personally and impatiently questioning her over ¡°What is there about me to like?¡± The subtext of that question was obviously ¡°Don¡¯t like me. I¡¯m not interested in you,¡± right?


    She bit down on her lip and after a while, finally spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡­ I didn¡¯t intentionally follow you. It¡¯s just, when I saw you at the airport, you and these people were all wearing track jackets. It was such an especially nice surprise¡­ I asked my friend, and she said there was an eSports tournament going on here, so I ran over just to see whether you really were competing here¡­¡±


    I¡­ just wanted to know your age, occupation, lifestyle, and what you like to do.


    I wanted to let you, in the most casual of circumstances, meet me, know about me, and remember me¡­


    I wanted you to see the best side of me, to like me and fall for me¡­


    And not¡­


    ¡­ the way things are now.


    ¡°Your name was in the net caf¨¦¡¯s records¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have purposely peeked at it. And as for that stomach-bleeding incident, I suddenly heard some staff members talking about it. I thought grunt was you and I was especially worried, so I just wanted to have one look¡­ just one look to see if something really was the matter with you. I never intended to bother you.¡±


    But later, she was bafflingly brought by that boy into the conference room.


    And then later¡­


    With bowed head, she silently told herself with all her might, ¡°Tong Nian, absolutely do not embarrass yourself anymore.


    ¡°Finish saying what you¡¯re going to say and then leave.


    ¡°Do not waver at all¡­¡±


    Gun could hear that there was something not quite right with the little girl¡¯s mood. Dropping his eyes, he looked down at her.


    Had he been too direct? It seemed he had scared the little girl again?


    The ringing of a mobile phone shattered the quiet of this moment.


    And then, it continued to ring. No one moved.


    She was still caught up in her feelings of dejection, and with her mind rather dazed, she raised her head and prompted him, ¡°Your phone¡­¡±


    Gun¡¯s eyes flicked to the side, motioning in the direction of her backpack. It was her mobile phone.


    0.0? What was going on?


    Wait. Something wasn¡¯t right¡­


    Oh no, the interview¡­


    Tong Nian suddenly started back to reality. In panic, she looked at him, then in panic some more, she looked at the surroundings.


    Do it here? Or out in the hallway?


    Here¡­ would be really awkward.


    But the hallway¡­ would that be even more awkward?


    In the end, she could only put on a brave face and ask in a small voice, ¡°May I use your bathroom? It¡¯s a very urgent call.¡±


    Gun did not really care and pointed at a spot. ¡°Over there.¡±


    The layout of this executive suite was rather strange. The location of the bathroom door was beside the queen-size bed and was very hidden.


    Tong Nian breathed out in relief. Following the direction his finger was pointing, she ran several steps until she was inside, closed the door behind her, and cleared her throat. Then, fishing her mobile phone out from her backpack, she brought it up to her ear.


    A very clear, very enthusiastic voice immediately rang into her ear. ¡°Hi? Hello? Is this Her Royal Squidie Highness?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm, it¡¯s me.¡± She tried as best as she could to make her voice regain its steadiness.


    ¡°Yay! This is awesome! Your Squidie Highness! I¡¯m your diehard fan, aaaah. Hohohoho. Oh, covering my face. Please allow me, the host here, to first be smitten for a little bit. Your Highness, when I was in my senior year of high school, I relied on the songs that you covered to keep my HP up [revitalize and energize me], and that¡¯s how I managed to crush all those exam papers!¡±


    ¡°Uh, oh really?¡± The instant she encountered a zealous fan, she would not know what to say.


    And so¡­ over time, this had created the mistaken rumour of her cold aloofness¡­


    ¡°Ahem, ahem. Alright, as the host for today¡¯s program, I must resume my role. Hello to all the listeners and friends. Tonight, our animes and mangas channel has called a certain someone who is extremely popular online, has more than one hundred thousand followers on Weibo, and on Bilibili[1], is a singer of anime songs whose page views exceeds one million¨CFish Playing in Sealed Chambers. Of course, we fans like to address her as ¡®Her Royal Highness.¡¯ Please give a shout-out to everyone, Your Squidie Highness.¡±


    ¡°Hi everyone, this is Little Squidie Fish, please be kind to me tonight. And please don¡¯t call me ¡®Your Highness.¡¯ Just Little Squidie will be good.¡±


    ¡°Oh, our Royal Highness is laying on the cuteness. Your Highness, our netizen friends who are currently online are professing their love and asking if you can do a cute little something.¡±


    Do a cute something?? ¡­


    Her back was against the door, and her eyes were looking toward the shower stall in front of her. There distinctly was still condensation in it. It was apparent it had just been used for a shower.


    Behind her, separated by only the door, was him.


    How¡­ how was she supposed to act cute in this circumstance? ¡­


    The host did not hear any sound and immediately understood. ¡°Ha ha ha ha, Your Highness is still just as cold and aloof as ever. Well, then, we will start today¡¯s interview.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    This twenty-minute interview was something that had been pre-arranged a week ago. She had just never thought that¡­


    ¡­ it would be in such an awkward place.


    Worried the person on the outside of the door might hear too many of what would seem like weird, absurd-sounding things, she tried as much as possible to shorten the number of words in each answer. The most common answers she used were, ¡°Ah, yes,¡± ¡°Oh, not bad,¡± and ¡°Really?¡± ¡­


    By the time she hung up the call, her entire body had already broken out in a sweat.


    Putting her phone in her coat, she touched her own face. Still burning hot. She had been too anxious.


    Behind her was the door.


    Beside the door was a ten-metre long marble counter, and on the countertop were an already-used bath towel and wash towel¡­


    And separated from her by only a single door was him.


    As she recalled the situation from earlier on, she somewhat did not have the courage to step back out, and she stood like this inside the bathroom, struggling with herself and not knowing what she should do. Forget it, just keep your head down, open the door, and walk straight out. The worst case would just be¡­ saying goodbye¡­


    Resolving herself firmly to this, she put her hand on the doorknob. But rght as she was about to open the door, she heard a knock.


    Instinctively, she retracted her hand.


    ¡°Done?¡± his voice asked.


    ¡°Done¡­¡± she answered.


    ¡°If you¡¯re done, then open the door.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She stretched out her hand again and slowly opened the door.


    Continuing to keep her head down, she stared at that black pair of skate shoes in front of her¡­


    ¡°Hungry?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Dazed, she lifted her head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go eat.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± She looked at him.


    Gun very simply and clearly explained, ¡°After eight o¡¯clock, it is the team¡¯s time for training. There¡¯s still another twenty minutes, and then there will be no food to eat.¡±


    Since this mix-up did have something to do with him and it could be said that he had managed to accidentally bring the little girl here to a strange, unfamiliar hotel, he should take some responsibility for it. ¡°The deal may be off but goodwill and uprightness should still remain.[2]¡± He should, nevertheless, ensure that the kid was fed and then have a driver take her back.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She picked up her backpack. Then, half a beat slow, she thought to herself, ¡°He¡¯s not¡­ telling me to go away?¡±


    Gun put on his jacket and slipped his mobile phone and room key card into his pocket. Opening the door, he motioned to Tong Nian to step out first. As Tong Nian passed by his side, she, seeming out of sorts, came to a stop.


    Wait, something was wrong. Why were they having dinner together?


    ¡°Actually¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Gun thought this little girl just naturally walked slowly. Gently, he nudged her backpack and stepped out after her, reaching behind to close the door.


    ¡°Tong Nian¡­¡±


    He nodded, the meaning being, ¡°Got it.¡±


    He walked in front, going into the elevator first. Very shortly, he pulled out a fruit-flavoured candy from his pocket and unwrapped it, planning on tossing it into his mouth. Suddenly, his hand paused, and he glanced over at Tong Nian, who was following him closely into the elevator. ¡°Want to have one?¡±


    Ah? 0.0

 CH 11

    He¡­ was a fruit-flavoured candy lover, too?


    ¡°You don¡¯t like this flavour?¡± Gun tried as best as he could to maintain his patience. From his pocket, he pulled out several more candies. Red, green yellow, orange ¡ª they all lay there in his palm.


    And so, the young, sixteen-year old team member, demo, who was taking advantage of dinnertime to purposely return to his room to get some thicker clothing and was planning on going back to the restaurant to have a slice of cake, just happened to¡­ be right on time to make it into this elevator. There, he witnessed the great demon overlord, his head lowered and with five or six different colours of fruit candies in his palm, gazing at that little Sister-In-Law in front of him with an expression in his eyes similar to one used when coaxing a little child¡­


    Little Sister-In-Law had a serious look on her face as she¡­ chose a flavour?!


    ¡°This one.¡± Tong Nian picked a green one, then bowed her head, her face flushed with a tinge of red.


    Oh sh*t¡­ Am I going to be killed to silence me? ¡­


    The young team member¡¯s legs grew somewhat limp. ¡°L-Leader.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Gun answered flatly. ¡°You want one, too?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± The young team member, in his heart, raised both his arms in surrender.


    When Leader ate candy, it signified that he was ¡°super annoyed, super troubled by something on his mind.¡± This was accepted, general knowledge in their club. Are you kidding? Who¡¯d dare eat it?


    Oh, wait, no. Sister-In-Law dares to eat it¡­


    When they arrived at the restaurant, the result was that that entire group that had already begun packing up and getting ready to leave saw the late-arriving Gun and Tong Nian. Immediately, as if they could read one another¡¯s mind, they all¡­ sat down again. A once-in-a-thousand-years type of moment. The demon overlord was actually, for the first time, walking side-by-side with a woman? And on top of that, he was going to eat at the same table with her?


    Even though, uh, she was Sister-In-Law already, they still felt that this image was simply too exhilarating.


    With a tray in hand, Tong Nian stood in front of the line-up of pan after pan of hot foods. Spicy crab. Ugh, you look so unsightly when you eat that. Whole prawns. Ugh, also unsightly, and you also need to spit out the shell¡­ In the end, she had no choice but to starve her belly, reluctantly taking only a slice of mango cake and a cup of coffee¡­ She didn¡¯t even dare get any chocolate cake, for fear that she would get chocolate sauce on her mouth T.T¡­


    Left: ÏãÀ±Ð· Spicy crab, or more literally, fragrant spicy crab, is a Sichuanese dish in which crab is saut¨¦ed in a spicy, chilli sauce (image credit). Right: »ùΧϺ A type of prawn. The cooking method was not specified. This particular photo is one where the prawn was boiled, which is a common method of preparing it, and when it is served, the shell is still on. (image credit).


    She docilely walked back, wordlessly sat down, and quietly set her tray onto the table.


    Gun took a glance at the dinner she had selected and did not say anything. Raisng his head to address the table that 97 was sitting at, he ordered, ¡°Two of you come over here.¡±


    Everyone¡­


    What was this about now? ¡­


    ¡°Hurry up.¡± Gun was not happy.


    Not daring to delay, 97 speedily grabbed a cup of cola and stood. He tugged on the arm of his team captain, Dt, who was beside him, but was unable to budge him¡­ So, he had no choice but to pull along demo, that little teammate who had only just sat down after taking the same elevator as Gun and walking into the restaurant with him. Together, they moved to take a seat over there.


    ¡°Leader,¡± 97 grinned jokingly, ¡°you¡¯re having dinner so late?¡± You sure were held up for a long time. Ha ha ha ha¡­


    Gun could not be bothered to reply, only asking in return, ¡°You¡¯re full?¡±


    ¡°Full! Just waiting for training now.¡±


    ¡°If you¡¯re done eating, then provide chatting service.¡± Gun motioned with his eyes in the direction of the utterly embarrassed Tong Nian. ¡°I thought you know her really well.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± I¡¯m innocent, aaaah¡­ A shudder ran through 97.


    After Gun finished talking, he lowered his head and began to eat in silence. He had always hated when people talked while he was eating, and therefore, he had always eaten alone at his own separate table, never once making an exception to this. Today, though, he had suddenly broken away from his usual practice. 97 and demo were somewhat at a loss and did not know what they should say.


    Besides, you guys are having dinner as a husband-and-wife couple. What can we, this bunch of¡­ outsiders, even chat about?


    97 and demo exchanged a look.


    Alright, let¡¯s start¡­


    ¡°Sister-In-Law¡­¡±


    ¡°Sister-In-Law?¡± Gun cut them off, a frown on his brows.


    ¡°Oh, oh.¡± 97 got the hint. Leader must be worried that Sister-In-Law will feel embarrassed. ¡°We won¡¯t call her that, we won¡¯t call her that. Um, then, Sister-In-Law, your name is¡­?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Tong Nian.¡± Her head bowed, Tong Nian scooped at her cake with a spoon.


    ¡°Oh, oh, Sister-In-Law Tong. Oh, wait, no, Tong Nian¡­ Is it alright if we just address you directly by your name?¡± 97 beamed, ¡°We were just guessing earlier on, are you a cosplayer? These clothes and make-up of yours¡­ It really does look like you are.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°I am a singing diva and do covers of Japanese songs.¡±


    Gun, who had just taken a sip of beer, briefly paused the motion of his hands. He had not understood a single word.


    97 also stared blankly, not understanding as well.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I know about that.¡± demo immediately smiled obsequiously. ¡°I used to have a classmate who was one as well. Sometimes, when I¡¯m practicing, I like to listen to some, too. Sister-In-Law, do you have an online handle? I¡¯ll add you in Weibo?¡±


    ¡°Mm, I do. Fish Playing in Sealed Chambers.¡± She peeked secretly at Gun. He¡­ shouldn¡¯t be turned off by this, right?


    Gun frowned. What was this now?


    97 cried, ¡°Ah, that¡­ I know that. Hunter x Hunter!¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Mm-hmm. It¡¯s Chrollo¡¯s attack[1]¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Gun did not even want to continue listening anymore. Pulling out his mobile phone, he began to clean out his received emails.


    ¡°Sh*t¡­¡± demo exclaimed in alarm.


    Gun¡¯s eyes tossed a flat glance at demo, and only then did the latter clue in that he had just cussed in front of Leader while he was eating. Instantly, he reigned in his excitement, but his eyes still could not refrain from continuously throwing glimpses at Tong Nian. 97, who had no idea what had just happened, asked puzzledly, ¡°What?¡±


    Excitedly, demo held his mobile phone up in front of 97¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Sh*t¡­¡± 97 was also shocked.


    The two looked with burning gazes at Tong Nian.


    What a long description on Baidu Baike[2] [online, collaborative encyclopedia]¡­ Her fan count was second in numbers only to the few celebrity team members of K&K eSports Club. She was a ¡°Big V[3]¡± on Weibo, a goddess in the online cover singing circle, and a well-known singer of anime songs. Holy crap, sure enough, he¡¯s our Leader. He either doesn¡¯t make a move or when he does, the girl he gets is a cutie who¡¯s like a gold-banded treasure¡­ And¡­ she¡¯s also¡­ such a good, docile little girl.


    She¡¯s just eating there across from Leader, not saying even one sentence of useless blather.


    Just there, being a good girl, taking one bite and then stealing a half-glance at Leader; then taking another bite and stealing another half-glance at Leader¡­


    And our Leader¡­


    He¡¯s eating so damn calmly, not even returning her gaze once.


    That¡¯s what you call having a good handle on the wife!!


    The two men nearly wanted to grip onto each other¡¯s hands and stare at one another with starry eyes¡­


    ¡°Um, well, uh, Sister-In-Law.¡±


    ¡­ Gun already could not even be bothered to open his mouth and give them a warning.


    97 completely ignored his Leader. ¡°Um¡­ I read in Baidu that your majors are biological engineering and electronic and information engineering? You¡­ just started university?¡± Tong Nian¡¯s face and features looked simply too young. She must have just¡­ reached the age of majority?


    Just started university? That should be pretty close, right?


    And plus¡­ those two majors were a little too¡­ impressively brainy, you know?


    ¡°The write-up in Baidu is on¡­ my undergrad double degree. My Tieba[4] [online forum for specific topics] administrator hasn¡¯t updated it.¡± Very apprehensively, she peeped at Gun. ¡°I¡¯m now in the first year of my master¡¯s program already.¡±


    ¡°First year of your master¡¯s?¡± 97 did not really dare believe this. ¡°How young did you have to start uni to do this?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen years old.¡±


    Fifteen years old?!


    ¡°Holy dang! How come I¡¯m sixteen and still just in my first year of high school? ¡­¡± demo felt like crying.


    ¡°The university¡­ has a special juvenile class[5] [special class for gifted youth].¡±


    Sh*t¡­ A super student!


    The two who were there simply to provide chatting service instantly started to grow exhilarated. Surrounding Tong Nian, they asked all sorts of questions until, in the end, it became, ¡°Sister-In-Law, I¡¯ve always wanted to hack into a website. Do you know how to take care of that?¡±


    Tong Nian felt awkward at this question and looked helplessly over at Gun. ¡°Technically¡­ it¡¯s not hard, but infiltrating a server is against the law¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    97¡¯s eyes followed her gaze and only then did he discover that Gun was already extremely irritated. Straightaway, he curbed himself. ¡°Then, Sister-In-Law, you must like to game, right? Do you normally play LOL? DotA? Or Tempest of the Sealed Chamber?¡±


    Tong Nian wordlessly kept her head down and ate the last bite of cake. ¡°I don¡¯t really play any of them. I suck especially bad¡­¡±


    Writing code and playing computer games¡­ are two completely different things, you know? Cries¡­


    ¡°Leader hasn¡¯t brought you along to game with him?¡± 97 was shocked.


    He had thought Gun had made use of his career history that was like a thing of legends to conquer Sister-In-Law¡¯s young, girly heart. Could it be that wasn¡¯t the case?!


    ¡°Never.¡± She hastily shook her head to clarify this.


    She absolutely could not say that she had gamed with grunt before.


    Otherwise¡­ the misunderstanding would just grow even bigger.


    And so, after dinner came to an end, a story started to spread within the entire K&K eSports Club: how Gun, in circumstances where he had not used the valuable tool of gaming to woo the girl, by virtue of his own charm and winsomeness (?), had vanquished the heart of this super-student-plus-great-cover-singer-goddess-plus-gaming-idiot, little girlie Sister-In-Law¡­


    After dinner, Gun escorted Tong Nian into one of K&K¡¯s work vehicles. As she sat in the front passenger seat, listening as Gun told the driver to bring her safely back to her hotel, she felt somewhat nervous and uneasy. Was this considered their farewell?


    He¡­ shouldn¡¯t dislike me, right? Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have had dinner with me, right?


    Right there, she asked the questions and then answered them for herself.


    Over on his end, he had already finished giving his instructions to the driver, and straightening up, he gave the car door a light slap, indicating that they could leave now.


    Tong Nian, not wanting to leave, stared longingly out the car window.


    Gun nodded in farewell to her, then turned around, pulled out his mobile phone, and began dialing a number to call into a phone conference.


    ¡°Go now?¡± The driver could tell that this young girl really did not want to leave this place and did not have the heart to drive away directly.


    Crestfallen, Tong Nian nodded her head, gazing after his tall, slender backside.


    Not even¡­ any words of goodbye¡­


    When the car had driven far and she could no longer see any part of the scene in front of the hotel, she finally pulled her gaze back. With her head down, she gently doodled on her knee with her pointer finger. I don¡¯t even know when I¡¯ll be able to see him next¡­


    She returned to the hotel the festival organizer had reserved for her. After sorting out her things, she sat on the bed and stared vacantly, lost in her own thoughts and not even daring to recall in detail the super misunderstanding from this afternoon. Playing through over and over in her mind, though, were images of him ¡ª him eating dinner, him nodding his head in goodbye, him turning around and leaving¡­ So¡­ what was his stance on the fact that she liked him? ¡­


    It seemed¡­ he wasn¡¯t too turned off by it? ¡­


    In silence, Tong Nian sat for a while until, all of a sudden, she started. How could she have forgotten to search?!


    T.T Since that night, her IQ seemed to have fallen until it was nearly in the negatives.


    K&K was so famous. Even if he wasn¡¯t a professional gamer¡­ there should still be some information on him as an individual, right?


    She continued to search up on K&K.


    The webpage opened:


    K&K eSports Club is one of the nation¡¯s well-known eSports organizations. It was founded in 2013, and using only a period of one year, it swiftly rose up to stand alongside SP as one of the two top eSports organizations.


    Its founder and number one investor, Gun (real name unknown) is an inductee of the World eSports Hall of Fame. He was once the only investor, as well as a key player, of Team Solo, which was famous in the world of CS [Counter-Strike]. He has won more than ten international tournaments and has also individually made many world rankings and awards: number 2 as Most Dominant Player, number 1 as Top Shooter, number 4 as Top Player for Opening Kills, twice nominated as MVP¡­ From a world context, he has several million fans as well as a website dedicated to him. He has items christened by fans with his name, including brand-name keyboards, brand-name computer mice, brand-name computer accessories shops, and a chain of Internet caf¨¦s.


    He once, with his gaming accomplishments and glory, changed the public perception towards gaming. At the same time, with his almost-legendary career, he witnessed that decade when professional gaming transformed from bare beginnings to a booming sport.


    And now, as globally, the output value of eSports reaches nearly $50 billion USD and the golden age of eSports has arrived, he, carrying the identity as founder of one of the top eSports organizations, has returned in a low-key fashion¡­


    At the bottom of that full page that introduced the founder¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­ was his photograph.

 CH 12

    July 23, 2016 by hoju 5 Comments


    If someone were to ask you one thing about your knowledge on a famous person, what would you expect them to ask?


    Carrying her computer with her and not bothering to care that she was wearing her completely pink jogging suit, Tong Nian burst straight into Blueberry¡¯s room. Blueberry had been huddled together with her husband on the bed, watching the re-adaptation of Hunter x Hunter, and when she opened the door, she said in surprise, ¡°What a coincidence. We¡¯re just at the part when the Phantom Troupe comes out, and we were dissing the new art style¡­¡±


    ¡°Is this a convenient time for you guys?¡± Tong Nian felt a little apologetic.


    But even though she asked this, her face was clearly already written with the row of words, ¡°Even if it¡¯s not convenient, you will need to make it convenient. Please!¡±¡­


    Blueberry smiled, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Come on in.¡±


    ¡°I want to ask your hubby a few questions about eSports.¡±


    ¡°No way. You¡¯ve honestly started to get hooked on pro gaming?¡± A look of disbelief covered Blueberry¡¯s face. ¡°You, the person who¡¯s practically a cripple in the hands and can¡¯t even play Lianliankan well¡­¡± Blueberry really did not want to cut her down, but Tong Nian was genuinely a huge gaming idiot, ah.


    Tong Nian nodded her head furiously, but very shortly, she switched to continuously shaking her head.


    Where could she even begin explaining?


    She was already feeling slightly in a fluster. Catching sight of Blueberry¡¯s husband, she paused blankly for three seconds before spinning her laptop computer around and setting it down in front of him. ¡°I want¡­ to know, in detail, stuff about this person.¡±


    Since Blueberry¡¯s hubby was a longtime eSports fan, the information he knew would for sure be the most numerous and most comprehensive.


    At first, this grown boy of a man was confused. His gaze fell on the computer screen, though, and half a second later, he freaked out. ¡°Holy sh*t! God Gun! He¡¯s my male god of this lifetime, AAAAH!!!! It¡¯s because of him that I went to watch the tournament today, AH, AH, AH, AH!!!!


    ¡­¡­


    Thump, thump, thump, thump. Her ears were filled with the sound of her heartbeat.


    Her heart, which had already been having difficulty quieting down, once again ignited.


    ¡°Have you seen the photos of him with the Chinese flag draped over his shoulders? Or seen the one where he¡¯s wearing a gold medal and holding up a golden trophy? So awesomely cool that no one can even compare!¡± Blueberry¡¯s husband rolled up his sleeves and leapt off the bed. ¡°If you want me to talk about him, one night absolutely is not enough. Tell me, where to begin? What do you want to listen to first?


    Huh? Where to begin?


    Tong Nian was dazed. From¡­ ten years ago?


    Or¡­


    Ah, right. ¡°From his romantic history!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Blueberry and her husband exchanged a look.


    Uh, this¡­ Pointing at the Baidu Baike page of a person but the first request was to hear the romantic gossip of that person¡­ A bit of a fruitcake, eh.


    Blueberry was the first to recover, and giving a faint sigh, she remarked, ¡°Our Highness is like that¡­ Hubby, you¡¯ve got to understand, the thoughts and mind of a girl who was forced to study biological engineering from the age of fifteen will more or less be a little defective.¡± Blueberry tossed him a look that said, ¡°Please try to understand.¡±


    Blueberry¡¯s husband pulled himself back together and cleared his throat. ¡°I can¡¯t say that this romantic history of his is a hundred percent accurate.


    ¡°In regards to this, we need to first talk about Team Solo from ten years ago. Ten years ago, the situation of the eSports industry within China was very poor. There were not this many competitions, and there also weren¡¯t many professional gaming teams. The earnings of pro gamers were very low. At the time, he was the only investor in Solo and also one of its key players¡­ Ah, all of this can be found on Baidu. I¡¯ll talk about stuff that Baidu doesn¡¯t have.


    ¡°When Team Solo was at the height of its game, it suddenly disbanded. Some people say it was because its captain, Solo, out of nowhere, got an illegitimate daughter, which caused the breakup between him and the team¡¯s sniper, appledog. And because of that, the team dissolved. There¡¯s others that say that Gun was the third party who stuck himself into his captain¡¯s relationship by falling in love with appledog, and that¡¯s what caused the team to disband.¡±


    ¡°Is that rumour true or¡­¡± Tong Nian anxiously looked at Blueberry¡¯s husband.


    The latter spread his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a mystery.¡±


    ¡°So that means, the person he likes possibly is¡±¡ªshe reflected on this for a moment¡ª¡°appledog?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say for sure.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ were they ever together?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Of course not! If they had ever been a couple, then it wouldn¡¯t be a mystery.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± She was somewhat dejected. ¡°Well, is she pretty? ¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah! She is absolutely worthy of being matched with my male god! The most important part is not whether she is pretty or not but her pro gaming history, which absolutely could be classified as goddess level. Go search her up on Baidu Baike. It¡¯s all written there.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡±


    Blueberry¡¯s husband had apparently not noticed that, in front of him, Tong Nian was already beginning to droop into depression. ¡°So that¡¯s why lots of people are saying that Gun established K&K eSports Club to win appledog back.¡±


    ¡°Win her back?¡± Tong Nian¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°Check out Baidu Baike.¡± Blueberry¡¯s husband pointed at the webpage. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it say that K&K and SP are standing together, like equal legs of a ding [vessel][1], as two top eSports organizations? SP¡¯s core members now are basically the key players from Team Solo of the past, minus Gun.¡± He sighed, ¡°My poor male god. He established K&K all alone. All of his former brothers and comrades are in SP and are now his opponents.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian did not really listen to anything that was talked about after.


    She was merely submerged in this: ten years ago, because Gun liked a girl named appledog, his team disbanded, and in the end, he also retired from gaming. Ten years later, it was also because of this girl that he started over and established K&K.


    That was¡­ such a fixated, persistent love.


    The other party blabbered away for a lengthy period until, discovering that the young girl¡¯s mind had wandered away for a long time already, he finally hastily brought the topic to a close. Curiously, he asked, ¡°You went to the tournament today because you wanted to see my male god, too?¡±


    Tong Nian nodded dully. ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°Were you able to get his autograph? I didn¡¯t even get a chance to rush up there.¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± Tong Nian dropped her head. ¡°He doesn¡¯t really like talking to me.¡±


    He didn¡¯t even say goodbye¡­


    ¡°Wha¡ª?¡± That grown boy was shocked. ¡°You talked to my male god at a close distance?! What did you guys say?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­¡± She took a few seconds to recollect. It was not like she could tell them about her mortifyingly huge mess-up. But, during dinner later on, it seemed they hadn¡¯t really communicated. It was actually those players of K&K who had chatted with her¡­ It would seem that the only thing she could mention was the brief moment of interaction inside the elevator. ¡°He said, he was giving me a fruit candy to eat.¡±


    A green one¡­ Apple-flavoured¡­


    ¡°Wha¡ª?!¡± Blueberry and her husband cried out in unison, utterly flabbergasted. Then, in unison again, they asked, ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Maybe¡­¡± she guessed, ¡°because he wanted to comfort me.¡±


    ¡°Why would he comfort you?!¡±


    How was she supposed to tell them this? She couldn¡¯t just say that it was because she had professed her feelings and had been turned down, right?


    Tong Nian struggled inside herself, and then, after falling into a long silence, three words finally popped out from her: ¡°It¡¯s a secret.¡±


    ***************


    Late into the night, in the hotel room.


    With his black headset on, Gun was having a telephone conference with the various team captains of the Nordic branch. Inside and outside the phone were all perfect Nordic accents¡­


    The door, which had not been latched closed, was pushed open. Dt walked in, waving in front of Gun¡¯s eyes the the mobile phone he was holding and which was still in a call.


    Gun frowned, not really wanting to take the call that was on Dt¡¯s phone. Dt shrugged and placed the phone on the windowsill in front of Gun with a look of ¡°whether you take the call or not has nothing to do with me.¡±


    Gun had no choice but to hang up his own work-related call and pick up that mobile phone.


    A bombardment of Chinese drifted through the phone line from the other side of the ocean. He listened, from initially with narrowed eyes to later, after completely losing his patience, with closed eyes, until at last, he hung up and tossed the phone onto the bed. ¡°Next time, don¡¯t be a mouthpiece for someone else.¡±


    Dt glanced at him from beneath the brim of his hat.


    Gun wanted to carry on and dial another number, but suddenly, in a seldom-seen moment, the grown boy behind him spoke a sentence of his own accord. ¡°That girl today, I¡¯ve seen her before.¡±


    ?


    Gun looked at him, lifted his brows, and motioned for him to continue speaking.


    ¡°The ACM contest [ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest]. She was representing one of the Chinese universities in the competition.¡±


    Only now did Gun remember that this younger cousin of his seemed to be in computer science. ¡°What type of competition is this ACM?¡±


    ¡°An international collegiate programming contest. It¡¯s,¡± Dt pondered briefly before carrying on, ¡°the top computer programming competition amongst university students around the world.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Really? You participated in it?¡±


    Dt nodded. ¡°My results were a little better than hers, but¡­ she did pretty good, too.¡±


    Gun was somewhat surprised by this. After all, apart from Dt¡¯s goddess, appledog, this was the first member of the opposite gender that this younger cousin of his had actually commented as being ¡°pretty good.¡± Of course, Gun could also tell from these words that Dt had already deduced that there was nothing between him and that little girl.


    Feeling that there were no other matters here for him, Dt picked up his mobile phone from the bed. But then, he heard Gun ask, ¡°You know that there¡¯s nothing between me and her? Why didn¡¯t you explain for me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t clarify because you didn¡¯t want her to be embarrassed in front of everybody.¡± Contemplating seriously for a moment, Dt said, ¡°If you weren¡¯t going to explain, why should I explain? It has nothing to do with me.¡±


    Gun tilted the corners of his lips upwards. He could not even be bothered to expose him.


    Yeah, the whole world knows that, as long as it has nothing to do with your goddess, appledog, then it has nothing to do with you, Dt.


    [1] ¶¦×ã¶øÁ¢ ¡°ding zu er li.¡± An idiom that literally translates as ¡°standing as legs of a ding.¡± Like the legs of a ding, separate parties each hold their own position, each of them equal to the other.


    A ding, which is a traditional Chinese vessel

 CH 13

    Chapter 13 ¨C Love Rival?


    Blueberry and her husband stared stupidly at one another.


    Her Highness had specifically come running over, holding up his Baidu Baike page, to ask them to tell her in detail about this man. Therefore, it was apparent the two did not know each other.


    What kind of secret, then, would cause a man to give a girl a fruit candy to eat? ¡­


    And it was¡­ to comfort her?


    Were it not for the facts that Tong Nian was already the age of majority, her intelligence was good, and furthermore, right at this moment, she was sitting in front of them, completely intact and unharmed, not looking at all like a weird old uncle guy had harassed her, Blueberry truly would have had an urge to report this to the police.


    ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not that acquainted with him, right?¡¯ Blueberry once again tried to confirm.


    ¡°No, not really acquainted. I¡¯ve only seen him twice.¡± Tong Nian was still immersed in that story of ¡°Gun already has a girl whom he has liked for ten years.¡± Picking up her computer, she said, ¡°I¡¯m leaving now. You guys continue.¡±


    Uh¡­


    Continue with watching anime?


    Obviously, this piece of gossip of yours is much more enticing than anime, ah, ah, ah, aaaah!!!!


    Blueberry¡¯s husband silently grabbed onto Blueberry¡¯s sleeve, a crying expression of ¡°Wifey! You must question her until you get the gossip out for me¡± covering his face. Blueberry rubbed her hand across her own forehead, throwing him a gaze of ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do for you.¡±


    Tong Nian walked toward the door.


    Blueberry¡¯s husband was noiselessly beating his own chest and stamping his feet. All of a sudden, he stopped. Flipping his whole backpack upside down, he pulled out a brochure from the pile of odds and ends. Immediately, with arms respectfully raised high above his head, he presented the brochure to his esteemed wifey.


    By now, Tong Nian had already taken the doorknob into her hand and opened the door¡­


    ¡°Oh!¡± Blueberry instantly grasped the key point of that brochure. ¡°Little Squidie!¡±


    Tong Nian jumped in surprise and turned around.


    ¡°Tomorrow, I think they have some sort of sponsor¡¯s event going on!¡± She snatched the brochure over and waved it excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s going to be in the exhibition centre here. All the well-known eSports organizations and teams will be going. Do you want to go?¡±


    Blueberry¡¯s husband nodded his head like a pestle pounding garlic. ¡°Yes, yes, yes! There¡¯ll be K&K!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Tong Nian did not let herself believe it.


    ¡°Really, really!¡± Blueberry¡¯s husband continued chiming in, ¡°Even though I will be flying back tomorrow morning to go back to work, don¡¯t worry! My Blueberry will keep you company and go with you for sure!¡±


    As a result, that night, Tong Nian instantly respawned with full HP, completely revitalized. Turning her suitcase totally over so that its bottom faced the sky, she found a blue dress that looked cute but was also not overstated. She even faced the mirror and practiced her smiles for a long time.


    They were going to meet again¡­ So nervous¡­ Breathe. Add oil[1]! [Do it!]


    For a brief instant, she wanted to do a search on the name, appledog, but in the end, she still chose to be like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, running away and avoiding this.


    The following day, when she and Blueberry arrived at the exhibition centre, there were already mountains and seas of people. The two rushed out from the bombardment of people surrounding them and haggled for a full twenty minutes with a scalper before they were able to get their hands on some tickets. After going inside, they began straightaway to search for where the pro gamers¡¯ organizations were. Rising up on her tiptoes, Tong Nian searched all around for a long time until finally, she saw that in the northeast corner, there was a sign with the words, ¡°VIP lounge area¡± written on it.


    Must be over there!


    Elatedly, she dragged Blueberry by the arm, pushing aside the crowd and squeezing their way in that direction.


    But in the end, though they squeezed and squeezed, they discovered that they were not able move forward in the slightest.


    It turned out that the swarms of people were already beginning to retreat to two sides. There were security guards holding back all these gamers and gaming enthusiasts to make way for the special guests who had just now dared to step into the venue. Carefully, she made sure she did not fall while also continuously peeling her eyes to observe the clothing of the teams that were walking in.


    It seemed¡­ they were starting to come in now? Through the slivers of openings in the crowd, she saw outlines of figures walking by.


    With all her might, she forced aside the throng, finally pressing her way up until she was by the security guards. Because there were simply too many people, beside her, there constantly were folks being bumped forward into the lane and then stuffed back into the hordes by the security guards¡­ All of a sudden, someone let out a high-pitched squeal. ¡°SP!!¡± Then, there was a massive force from behind her that shoved her and two other girls beside her out into the lane¡­


    A pair of hands grabbed ahold of her arms and supported her.


    She hurriedly steadied herself on her feet, and then, lifting her head, she found herself staring into a face that was smiling brightly. ¡°You okay?¡±


    So¡­ pretty¡­


    Eh? It was a blue and white team jersey? Not red and white? It wasn¡¯t someone from K&K? Just now, it seemed someone had shouted out ¡°SP¡±?


    Wait, this wasn¡¯t good. SP was his enemy.


    Tong Nian hastily clutched her bag securely and took one step back. ¡°I¡¯m okay¡­ Thank you.¡±


    Nearby, the other girls who had been bumped out of the crowd had also been helped up by SP team members and returned to their original spots. The short-haired woman who had supported Tong Nian released her hold as well. Smiling with some of the people around her, she walked together with them into the VIP lounge area¡­ As Tong Nian stared after that woman¡¯s backside, an unexplainable sense of admiration sprouted in her. It was a different feeling from what she had felt when she saw the K&K team captain the other day.


    This woman carried with her an air, a presence. It was¡­ the same air that Gun emitted, that bearing and look in the eyes that one could only possess after having once stood on the very pinnacle of achievement. Moreover, it was evident that the several people who were walking side by side with this short-haired woman all very much revered her.


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    Oh, if only I wasn¡¯t so slow and dense, that would be so nice¡­


    If I could game really well, maybe I would have met him a long time ago.


    While she was thinking this, she was pushed back behind the security line by the security guards.


    Before her feet were even firmly under her, she saw the real K&K members striding in. Eh? Why were they all wearing black jerseys today? ¡­ And Gun, the one walking at the very front of everyone, was the only one not wearing a jersey, dressed instead from head to toe in only black casualwear and with K&K¡¯s badge hanging from his neck. Wordlessly, he walked straight in her direction¡­


    Tong Nian did not even have the chance to flash a smile at him.


    Just like that, he walked directly¡­ past her.


    She was despairingly obstructed by the backsides of two burly security guards and could only watch as, one by one, the team members hurriedly strode past her. They had all recognized her, but as this was a public event, they did not dare open their mouths and call out in greeting. They all merely carried admiringly respectful expressions of ¡°Sister-In-Law is so low-key, always appearing in the most unexpected of places¡­ such as last time¡¯s audience stands and this time¡¯s¡­ horde of fans¡­¡±


    And so things were until the last person disappeared from her line of sight and all the members of K&K had stepped inside.


    There were still several other eSports organizations making their entrances. Her heart slowly, ever so slowly, sank.


    Behind her, Blueberry, who had been jolted and crammed away a few steps, finally jammed her way over to her. Gasping, she patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Why are there so many fans? I thought I accidentally walked into some celebrity¡¯s meet and greet event¡­¡±


    She did not even get to finish her sentence.


    They saw a boy jog out from the VIP entrance.


    By now, all the teams had completed making their entrances, and only that boy was strolling back out alone. With all eyes watching him, he very deferentially headed over toward Tong Nian. ¡°Sister-In-Law.¡±


    Instantaneously, quiet fell all around them.


    He scratched rather sheepishly at the back of his head. ¡°Leader told me to bring you in.¡±


    [1] ¼ÓÓÍ ¡°jia you.¡± This is a very common Chinese phrase of encouragement and literally translates as ¡°add oil.¡± It probably most accurately translates as ¡°keep going,¡± but contains connotations of ¡°be strong,¡± ¡°hang in there,¡± ¡°go for it,¡± ¡°give it your best shot¡± etc. Close English translations that honour the metaphor could be ¡°put the pedal to the metal¡± or ¡°go floor it.¡± It is actually not uncommon to see Chinese netizens type out ¡°add oil¡± in English, and hence, I decided to keep it that way, too.

 CH 14

    July 30, 2016 by hoju 11 Comments


    Oh, hahaha. Can you imagine the shock Blueberry got?


    Blueberry¡¯s eyes widened, first looking at Tong Nian, then looking at that young pup of a lad, then looking back at Tong Nian, then looking back at that young pup of a lad¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s K&K¡¯s demo,¡± someone near them whispered.


    ¡°I really like him. He¡¯s a little male god.¡±


    Buzzing of voices and murmurs. The boisterousness from a moment ago had all but vanished, and all that remained were these looks of envious speculation and jealousy coming from all directions. ¡°He said ¡®Leader.¡¯ That can¡¯t be referring to¡ª ¡±


    ¡°Gun has a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°Impossible! My male god stays away from the charms of women!!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Go¡­ in?¡± With a look of incredulity all over her face, Tong Nian quietly sought confirmation.


    He wanted her to go in?


    Re¡ª¡­ really?


    Pain suddenly came from her shoulder. Blueberry¡¯s claws were fiercely pinching her. ¡°Little Squidie, since when did you become someone¡¯s wife?!!!! Someone¡¯s wife?? God, how come I was so slow in realizing this?!¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t.¡± Those two words were simply too allusive ¡­ Her ears instantly burned. In a low voice, she explained, ¡°He was just randomly making things up¡­¡±


    ¡°Who just randomly makes things up like that?!!!! Your Highness!¡± Tightening the hold of her claws, Blueberry pulled on Tong Nian¡¯s arm with all her might. ¡°Three years! We¡¯ve hung out together for three years! You went and found yourself a¡ª ¡±


    Uh¡­ what did she find herself?


    What was ¡®Leader¡¯?


    Blueberry¡¯s words choked in her throat and eagerly she looked toward that young pup of a lad: What planet did your Leader come from?


    demo was completely overwhelmed by Blueberry, whose dress from head to toe was like that of a domineering woman, and was taken aback for a moment before he forced on an awkward smile. ¡°Sister-In-Law, there are only another five minutes before the event starts.¡± Since there were fans present, the entire time, he maintained a very, very proper expression, but his tone became progressively lower as he said, ¡°Leader¡¯s mood today¡­ isn¡¯t all that good.¡± After stating this, he fixed his gaze anxiously on Tong Nian, waiting for her, this life-saving straw that they could cling onto, to go in with him and stand in front of the muzzle of the gun for them.


    Otherwise, who knew what other cruel ideas Leader would use to torture them?


    Tong Nian felt as if her shoulder was going to snap soon from the grip on them¡­


    She was nervous, but at the same time, intimidated by Blueberry¡¯s tyrannical might, she asked in a tiny voice, ¡°Um, then, may I bring a friend in?¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡± A happy grin immediately broke out across demo¡¯s face. ¡°If it¡¯s Sister-In-Law¡¯s friend, then there¡¯s no problem at all.¡±


    He took a step back.


    Motioning to Tong Nian to step out from behind the security guards, he flashed a perfunctory smile at Blueberry before immediately turning around to lead the way. Here, in this situation, with all eyes centered on them and furthermore, standing within the human wall formed by the security guards, she and Blueberry, two singing divas who were normally accustomed to seeing such grand scenes, actually felt something akin to stage fright. After all, their gatherings were all ones of elation and people declaring their love for them.


    But now¡­


    They were practically the public enemy. It was as if they were treading on thin ice, aaaah.


    However, these were merely Blueberry¡¯s feelings.


    Tong Nian had already long since hugged her little backpack, and shuffling along, she drifted her way forward. Heartbeat, the eyes of the crowd, whatever¡ªshe had forgotten about all those things¡­


    After they stepped inside, their view opened up. The very large lounge was seated full of people.


    Very few women were in this VIP lounge area, in total just a few, so two girls who were cuties suddenly stepping in through the doors truly did, for a moment, draw the gazes of everyone. Tong Nian secretly peered at her surroundings from the corner of her eye. Everywhere, there were boys, ranging in age from teens to early twenties and wearing all types and colours of team jerseys. In comparison, then, that man drinking water far off in the first row¡­


    ¡­ was just tooooo manly.


    All this while, Blueberry had been clutching tightly onto her arm until she saw Gun, and then she finally stammeringly asked, ¡°W-w-w-wait. That guy, isn¡¯t he my hubby¡¯s God Gun?¡±


    If she could get an autograph, it would definitely be one year of not having to do the laundry!


    ¡°Mm¡­¡± Tong Nian hugged her backpack to herself and answered in a small voice, ¡°It¡¯s him.¡±


    ¡°Little Squidie¡±¡ªBlueberry abruptly halted her steps and, using her most sincere look, gazed intently at her¡ª¡°no matter who your man is, you must have him help me get Gun¡¯s autograph, help my hubby get Gun¡¯s autograph. Please, please. Begging you. Okay? Okay?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± How was she going to explain this? ¡­


    ¡°Oh, that.¡± demo thought Tong Nian was hesitating over whether she should or not, and helpfully, he answered for her, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even though Leader never gives autographs¡­ he will definitely give face to Sister-In-Law¡¯s friend.¡± He laughed impishly.


    !!!!


    Blueberry blacked out for a moment. ¡°What did he say¡­?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­¡± Tong Nian felt she was super blameless in all of this. ¡°Ah, just that his leader is Gun.¡±


    !!!!


    ¡°My hubby¡¯s male god is your man?!¡± Blueberry was about to pass out.


    ¡°That¡­¡± Tong Nian felt she was going to be beaten to death, and hurriedly, she begged in a low voice for mercy. ¡°I swear, it¡¯s not that I wasn¡¯t going to tell you. I honestly¡­ have only seen him two times. Today is the third¡­¡±


    !!!!


    ¡°Two times and then he had you?!¡± Blueberry¡¯s entire body seemed to heat up. She was alive again.


    demo felt he had just heard an incredible secret.


    If this was the third time and the last time was the second time, then that meant¡­ it only took one meeting for Leader to snare Sister-In-Law??!! What kind of efficiency was that? The blood in his body also seemed to be boiling. Gossip flooded his brain. He could not wait to go back and share with everyone this secret about Leader and Sister-In-Law that really could not NOT be shared. Immediately, he gave a cough and said, ¡°Well, Sister-In-Law, I¡¯m going to go first now.¡± Once he said this, he dashed away.


    The young pup of a lad ran speedily, and in just a short while, he had thrown himself into the group of K&K members¡­


    ¡­ leaving behind Tong Nian and the already very-apparently-exhilarated-and-acting-rather-abnormally, domineering woman, Blueberry beside her¡­


    Using her for once, slightly clearer awareness to assess the current situation, she explained quietly, ¡°His¡­ temper isn¡¯t very good. In just a sec, you absolutely must not ask any questions. I¡¯ll¡­ go back and explain everything to you, ¡¯kay?¡±


    But, what am I going to explain? T.T


    Forget it. I¡¯ll think about the things that will happen when I go back when I actually do go back.


    Blueberry instantly recovered her vigour. She nodded, then nodded again, but after thinking briefly, she felt something was wrong. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s not right. Little Squidie, are you not able to reign in your man? His temper isn¡¯t very good, so you¡¯re just going to keep letting him do it and spoiling him? That¡¯s not right. That¡¯s not good. Men are the type where the more you spoil them, the worse they get¡ª ¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this when we get back, okay?¡± She was about to cry.


    ¡°Oh, oh. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Making a gesture like holding a zipper, Blueberry slid it across the front of her lips. ¡°I guarantee I¡¯ll play dead all the way to the end and absolutely will not disturb you as you guys whisper sweet nothings to each other.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She had already chosen to give up explaining.


    Slowly, she shuffled over there until she was in front of him, where she stopped. ¡°You¡­ were looking for me?¡±


    Gun was holding a black insulated mug and had just poured a cup of water for himself. He saw her, then threw a glance at the unfamiliar woman behind her, a rather displeased look on his face.


    ¡°This is my friend,¡± Tong Nian explained in a soft voice. ¡°She and I came together.¡±


    ¡°Sit,¡± he instructed simply, his voice incredibly hoarse.


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Tong Nian tugged on Blueberry¡¯s sleeve and circled around to the row behind him.


    The latter had already been influenced long ago by what she had heard, having listened to her husband give numerous descriptions of God Gun, and knew that he was genuinely the proud and aloof type of person. Naturally, then, she did not take to heart that this man had spoken so little and followed Tong Nian to obediently take a seat.


    ¡°Have your friend sit in the row behind. You come over here,¡± Gun added flatly, his back toward them. His voice was already naturally low and throaty to begin with, having a slight husky quality to it. Now, though, he seemed to have a cold, and hence, he sounded even more unapproachable.


    Feeling caught in a tough spot, she looked at Blueberry.


    Blueberry immediately smiled, her eyes brimming with a look of ¡°Do as you wish, do as you wish. Please treat me like I¡¯m just thin air.¡±


    At last, her mind at ease, she tentatively circled her way back again. Glancing down at the seat beside Gun, she deliberated whether he had meant that she should sit down close beside him¡­ or take a seat with one seat between them¡­


    Gun raised his brow, not knowing why she was still staring dazedly.


    Straightaway, she halted her ponderings, and with a slight warmth flushing her cheeks, she sat down close next to him.


    Anyway¡­ it was you who told me to sit¡­


    She silently thought this.


    He carried on drinking his water, feeling a bit of a headache.


    From the instant they stepped in here, that group of punks had not quieted down, the entire time making a fuss and causing a ruckus, saying that they saw Sister-In-Law. They had even had an animated discussion, using different ways to criticize him for being hardhearted and cold, for not knowing how to tenderly treasure the ¡°fragrant, jade-like¡± beauty, and for actually making the lady-boss of K&K stand there in the fan camp¡­


    Throat hurt. He really could not be bothered with wasting time to talk such nonsense with them.


    Based on his observations of the situation, this bunch would not be settling down within the next short while, so he simply sent demo out to tell her to come in and watch the competition together with them.


    Sure enough, this was very effective. Immediately, there was no more ruckus.


    But¡­ he nevertheless needed to give the little lady a reasonable explanation.


    ¡°The members of my team like you very much,¡± he suddenly spoke.


    ¡°Mm?¡± I don¡¯t really know them all that well.


    ¡°That¡¯s why,¡± he began, trying as much as possible to wear a smile and make it seem as if he was speaking the truth, ¡°they want to treat you to watch the competition for free.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Undisguisable disappointment could be seen in her. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He detected it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You don¡¯t want to watch?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± She hastily shook her head. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Then wait ten minutes and walk into the arena with me.¡±


    She nodded, then very obediently clasped her bag to herself, waiting quietly.


    Waiting¡­


    And in passing, sneaking a peek at him.


    Huh? Playing with his mobile phone again?


    Is it really all that fun? ¡­


    He hasn¡¯t noticed?


    Let¡¯s steal another look.


    ¡­¡­


    With his left hand, the person beside her flipped through the new game he had just downloaded. His right hand, as before, held the paper cup, and he took sip after sip of water to soothe his throat. He knew all along that Tong Nian was watching him, and finally¡­


    A little irritated with her glances, he resolutely lifted his eyes and directly seized her peeping gaze with them.


    !!!!


    I¡¯ve been caught¡­

 CH 15

    ¡°What are you wanting to do?¡± He was very clear on the answer, but still he asked.


    Tong Nian grew panicked, her eyes flitting left and right. ¡°I just want¡­ to clarify the misunderstanding with everyone.¡±


    ¡°Misunderstanding?¡±


    ¡°Just to explain that I¡¯m actually not your girlfriend,¡± she quietly reported her idea. ¡°Letting them continue to be mistaken about us is really not good. Even though I¡­¡± She cut herself off, stuck for words.


    ¡°Even though you like me? But you don¡¯t want to cause me any troubles either?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    With his eyes, he motioned in the direction where everyone from K&K was. ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    It¡¯s okay, Tong Nian. Add oil!


    She took a deep breath and cheered herself on.


    Gun suddenly added, ¡°Clear up everything within one minute. Do not affect their competition mindset.¡±


    ¡°One minute?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    How was it possible to clarify everything in one minute? And on top of that, not let them even ask questions or think in the wrong direction at all¡­


    ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, then wait until the competition has ended before you say anything.¡± Gun¡¯s gaze moved back to the screen of his mobile phone to confirm the time. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Stating that, he tossed all the various odds and ends into the backpack by his feet, closed up the zipper, and stood.


    Not only was his throat sore, his shoulders and neck did not feel right either, likely as a result of pulling an all-nighter last night. Consequently, after he stood, he very naturally began to move his neck from side to side and knead his own shoulder. Then, he motioned with a tilt of his head at all the K&K members who were looking at him. The meaning behind that: we¡¯re going into the arena.


    All the team members of K&K immediately pulled out their own mice and keyboards, but after seeing that Sister-In-Law and Sister-In-Law¡¯s girlfriend were keeping close with Leader¡¯s large strides, they wisely first fell far back and then entered the official competition site.


    In that long corridor, he strode at the very front, and hugging her bag, she followed behind his every step.


    Such a nice physique¡­


    As she gazed up silently at his tall and slender back, she even felt that his somewhat indolent way of walking was so very cool¡­ All the while as she watched, she kept her head bowed and could not help clasping her backpack tight to herself.


    It felt like there was a current buzzing and zooming around inside her heart, and she was unable to hold back a silly grin.


    So happy¡­ She was actually going to go with him to watch the competition together¡­


    This was an enclosed stadium.


    The first ten rows in front of the competition stage were reserved for the staff and players from the various eSports organizations and clubs. K&K was the last to enter the arena, and the team members walked in, one at a time, entirely under the gazes of every person in the stadium as well as members of the other eSports organizations. Tong Nian followed behind Gun, her ears completely filled with the electronic music that was being used as the pre-event warm-up. She cast a glance up onto the stage. Two computers sat up there, one on each the right and left sides, and the spaces in front of each them were empty and unmanned.


    Based on her experience from last time, in the next while, the matches would be taking place up there?


    ¡°Your Highness, Your Highness.¡± The person beside her who had been thin air for a long time already¡ªBlueberry¡ªfinally opened her mouth to quietly remind her, ¡°Remember to help me get an autograph, okay?¡± She was very astute and knew that, in a moment, Little Squidie would be sitting beside Gun again. Now was her prime time for whispering any private little messages to her, and if she did not say them now, it would be too late.


    ¡°Huh? No, I can¡¯t.¡± Tong Nian instantly became tense, and acting like a thief, she whispered back, ¡°I¡¯m scared he¡¯ll get mad and kick us out¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? Are you a maso [masochist] or what?!¡± Blueberry was once again about to faint. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with asking your man to give an autograph?!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not¡­ ah.¡± She really could not make herself say the words, ¡°my man,¡± and after being stuck for words for a long while, she secretly and very, very quietly explained the situation. ¡°I like him. He¡­ does not like me.¡±


    ¡°Wha?¡± Blueberry could not make herself believe this. 120 times I can¡¯t believe that, aaaah!!


    Fish Playing in Sealed Chambers was pursuing a man! This was simply¡­ a picture that was not even conceivable.


    From when she first met Little Squidie, she had only ever seen fans professing their love for her. In Tieba, male fans would even write love letters that were tens of thousands of words long and make videos¡­ All the wooing methods that you might see, she had seen already, but this girl, who was always half a beat slow, had showed absolutely no reaction to them. Just now, she had even been musing over what sort of methods her hubby¡¯s male god had used to win her heart in just a couple of times¡­


    But! Turns out! SHE pursued him?!


    AND, the key point was¡­ what did she mean by ¡°not like¡±?! She hadn¡¯t caught him??


    ¡­¡­


    Blueberry stared intently at her expression. The girl had a look of sincerity covering her face, and her ears glowed bright red. Indeed ¡­ she did not seem to be lying¡­


    Blueberry felt as if her brain was not usable and could not process. She needed to digest all this.


    And in this way, she dazedly forgot about her mission of getting an autograph for her hubby. Without any prompting, she took a seat behind those two and began to silently ponder on whether those things Tong Nian had said were the truth¡­


    If this was just a one-sided lovesickness, what was God Gun¡¯s intention right now for doing this?


    Playing hard to get[1]?


    ¡­¡­


    Gun was sitting in a seat affixed with a slip of paper that said ¡°K&K¡± on it. To his left was a one-person-wide aisle. On the other side of the aisle were the people belonging to SP eSports Club. As she sat directly beside him, Tong Nian discovered that, over on the SP side, there were all sorts of burning gazes looking in their direction. In particular¡­ she even noticed that pretty woman with short hair who had kindly extended a hand earlier on to steady her.


    When that other party¡¯s eyes turned toward her, she smiled awkwardly in return to the pretty woman.


    Unexpectedly, the man beside her also tilted his head and looked at her.


    Huh?


    She lifted her head. What was the matter?


    ¡°You know her?¡±


    Her? Oh¡­ ¡°No.¡± She truthfully told him, ¡°Just now, when we were outside, I was jostled past the human wall of security guards by all the people. She helped steady me.¡±


    Was there some sort of problem?


    Why did he seem¡­ very displeased?


    Oh, right. How could she have forgotten? SP and K&K were archrivals, ah. Silently, she repented of her wrong.


    That pair of extremely black eyes was watching the stage. After several seconds, he suddenly asked, ¡°Do you know who she is?¡±


    Huh? She shook her head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know¡­¡±


    ¡°SP¡¯s appledog. Ten years ago, the sniper on the CS [Counter-Strike] championship-winning roster and currently, the team captain of SP¡¯s parent team [lead team, number one line-up].¡± But after he said this, he felt that he had just wasted his breath saying a bunch of useless words. The girl next to him did not know anything about pro gaming at all.


    ??!!


    Oh god. appledog?!


    She suddenly grew anxious.


    This was the girl he had liked for ten years?


    Ten years¡­


    So¡­ he was purposely letting her know¡­


    ¡­ to warn her that he already had someone whom he liked? ¡­


    She lowered her eyes and inspected her own shoes, her heart all of a sudden feeling hollow. Her little feelings of jubilation and excitement had all vanished. She only felt now as if she was sitting on pins and needles and did not know how she should respond¡­ Get up and quietly leave? He had already spoken so straightforwardly. But¡­ the emcee was already beginning to speak. If she just up and left, would it bring about negative attention? ¡­


    The more she thought, the more downcast she became. After struggling inside herself for a long time, she still made her decision. ¡°Should I¡­ leave while things still haven¡¯t officially started?¡±


    This question suddenly popped out from her.


    Gun was somewhat baffled. ¡°Leave?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± She continued staring fixedly at her own shoes. The entire view of her peripheral vision was filled with him. All him. Possibly¡­ this would be the last time she could be so close to him. ¡°If I sit here, I¡¯m worried she might misunderstand.¡±


    ¡°Misunderstand?¡±


    She¡¯ll definitely misunderstand¡­ Tong Nian became ever the more miserable.


    He was increasingly unable to make heads and tails of this. ¡°Misunderstand what?¡±


    ¡°Misunderstand and think that I¡¯m your girlfriend. If she misunderstands, she¡¯ll definitely get mad. Then you¡¯ll have¡­ a problem.¡±


    Then, your purpose of establishing K&K to win her back will be even harder to fulfill¡­


    ¡­¡­


    He finally understood.


    He understood what connotation she was trying to express.


    She thought there was some sort of relationship between him and appledog? Or maybe, she thought he was secretly in love with appledog?


    What kind of joke was that?


    For a moment, he was rather amused. Seriously, even if you¡¯re lying down, you can still be struck by a stray bullet[2][brought into trouble that should have nothing to do with you]. ¡°Whether she gets mad or not has nothing to do with me. But¡ª¡±


    Huh?


    Wait¡­


    Nothing to do with him? He said ¡°nothing to do with him¡±?


    To prevent random people from hearing anything, Gun used a near-whisper by her ear to laughingly mock, ¡°Little girl, the intelligence information you received is far off the mark. Didn¡¯t you say you like me? How could you not even know that I¡¯m single and, moreover, uninterested in women?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± He added, ¡°Not just women. I¡¯m not really interested in men either.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    And hence, the K&K members, who were all sitting in the third row, as well as the people present from the other teams all got a close-up view of a silent show of ¡°flirtingly toying with someone and someone being flirtingly toyed with¡±: how, leaning his head in to whisper only a single sentence in his girlfriend¡¯s ear, K&K¡¯s big boss, Gun, successfully managed, in one second, to cause that ridiculously cutie of a girl to blush furiously from her cheeks to her ears. With both hands covering her mouth, she stared into his eyes for a full ten seconds before suddenly burying her face on her backpack¡­


    This is¡­


    ¡­ the supposed guy who stays away from the female gender?


    You¡¯ve got to be kidding me!


    This is obviously someone who¡¯s a master in the field of flirting and hitting on girls, aaaaah¡­

 CH 16

    August 6, 2016 by hoju Leave a comment


    Blueberry gives advice. And this time, his meaning could not be any plainer, right?


    Chapter 16 ¨C A Master In That Field£¨©Ò©n©Ò£©£¡


    He had simply felt bored and had practiced on her the method of mocking and cutting down people that he used on the members of his own team.


    Soon, the tournament had begun. All expression was absent again from Gun¡¯s face as he resumed his flat, indifferent look to begin observing SP¡¯s match in the eighth-finals.


    ¡­¡­


    The entire venue had grown dim.


    Behind her, someone stealthily poked her in the shoulder.


    She turned her head back. Blueberry signaled at her with her eyes, then mouthed in silence, ¡°Go to the washroom.¡±


    Glancing over at Gun, who was already intently watching the live play on the big screen, she noiselessly set her backpack onto her seat and, bending low at the waist, snuck away into the washroom with Blueberry. But only one foot had managed to step inside before she was immediately seized back out by Blueberry and led to an arbitrary corner in the main lobby. ¡°Little Squidie¡ª¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to get you an autograph¡±¡ªwith a pitiful look on her face, she raised her hands in surrender¡ª¡°okay?¡±


    ¡°We can first set aside that thing about getting an autograph.¡± Narrowing her eyes, Blueberry moved in close, that deep black, large pair of eyes filled only with Tong Nian¡¯s reflection. ¡°Clarify for me, what is going on between you and my man¡¯s male god?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She used ten minutes to explain the things that had happened over the entirety of last week, and then, wordlessly dropping her head, she touched the tips of her index fingers together self-consciously. ¡°It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to tell you. It¡¯s just that I felt that having my confession of feelings rejected is pretty embarrassing¡­¡±


    A finger was stabbing her on the forehead before her sentence had even finished. ¡°Your confession of feelings? Confessing is the biggest no-no when you¡¯re pursuing a guy, don¡¯t you know?! Who would have favourable feelings for a girl who professes her love after seeing you only two times? Huh? Has all your intelligence been eaten by a dog?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I didn¡¯t want to confess my feelings. But if I didn¡¯t explain, he¡¯d get the wrong idea and think that I like that girly man¡­¡±


    ¡°What a waste of your looks that have a score of ninety percent. To date, you¡¯ve never even had a boyfriend with looks that score nine percent. And here you are talking about first love? And secret crush? And confessing feelings? With you being like this, how could you possibly capture my man¡¯s male god?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Blueberry rubbed at her finger that was sore from all the poking. ¡°The stupidest thing to do when you¡¯re pursuing a guy is to rush over and declare, ¡®I like you!¡¯ when the other party hasn¡¯t even discovered any good qualities about you yet. Only an idiot would accept a nutcase like that, ¡¯kay? You need to permeate into his life, show up by his side in various times and situations, and reveal all different sorts special talents and qualities about you¡ªyour most beautiful qualities, your expertises, and even moments where you are most popular with other men. You just cannot verbally admit that you like him. You need to keep him anxious, make him feel like there are a hundred claws grazing his heart, keep him always guessing with different speculations, make him obviously sense that you like him but yet just unable to get an actual answer. Got it?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Mm.¡±


    ¡°Make him be the one who first opens his mouth to ask, first gives a hint, or first makes a confession, got it?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Mm.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    After ten minutes of force-fed teaching, she noiselessly returned back to his side, all the while repeatedly mulling over Blueberry¡¯s words: ¡°It would have been so easy for him to do so, but he still did not clarify the misunderstanding. That shows he¡¯s not turned off by this and maybe even already has favourable feelings toward you.¡±


    He¡­ does?


    Rather nervously, she peeked at him. How come I can¡¯t tell? ¡­


    It was apparent Gun had left once midway through as well and grabbed his insulated mug from the lounge. He carried on with pouring the water from the mug into a paper cup and taking sip after sip to soothe his throat. He could sense that the little girl beside him was starting to restlessly steal glances at him again¡­ Bringing the paper cup to his lips, he discovered that small, faint gaze had once more furtively shifted away.


    ¡­¡­


    The entire competition was very exciting and impressive.


    When K&K won their quarter-final match, the entire place exploded with a huge sound of applause.


    The applause, the excited congratulations from the emcee, and the motions of those five boys when they stood and expressed their thanks were all an unfamiliar scene she had never before witnessed. Never before had she watched this sort of competition from up close. It seemed as if, all of a sudden, those things called ¡°video games¡± had become so classy and sophisticated¡­


    Unable to contain herself, with all the other audience members that filled the venue, she clapped until her palms were red.


    The five people stepped down off the stage and walked by in front of Gun. The corner of Gun¡¯s lips tilted upwards as each nodded to him when they walked past.


    This was a completely unsurprising win. He did not intend on watching SP¡¯s remaining quarter-final match, and rising to his feet, he patted Tong Nian on the back, indicating that she could leave.


    As a result, midway through this tournament, all the members of K&K left.


    ¡­¡­


    As Tong Nian followed behind him, she would every so often feel in her lower back Blueberry¡¯s finger fiercely stabbing it, then stabbing again¡­ At last, when she followed him into the VIP lounge, she managed to force out half a sentence from her lips: ¡°Congrats¡­ You guys won.¡±


    Blueberry fainted. Where was the playing hard to get[1] they had discussed?!


    Gun tossed the thermal mug into his backpack, pulled the zipper closed, and picked up the bag. After throwing it onto his back with the crossbody strap on his shoulder, he turned and, towering over her, looked down at the top of her head.


    Tong Nian instantly grew anxious.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to explain?¡± Because he had spoken too much already, his voice was even more hoarse and hence, seemed to give off an even greater oppressive feeling.


    She paused blankly.


    Oh! Right. Explain. She started back to awareness, asking softly, ¡°It¡¯s okay to do it now?¡±


    The eavesdropping Blueberry¡­


    Don¡¯t explain, aaaaah!! If you explain, you¡¯ll have no chance with him!! Please feel free to misunderstand as you wish. This is the first sign of the earliest buds of a romance, aaaaah!!


    Gun discovered that the unfamiliar girl who had come with Tong Nian was within eavesdropping range, and coldly, he looked toward where the girl was. A cold shiver passed over the latter, and very wisely, without any prompting, she retreated¡ªone step, two steps, three steps¡­


    ¡°It is entirely okay now.¡± Standing in front of Tong Nian with two hands in his pants pockets, Gun bent at the waist so that his eyes were level with hers as he looked into them. ¡°Give me a dry run of it first. How are you planning to explain?¡±


    ¡°D-dry r-run?¡± she stuttered.


    ¡°Let me have a listen to see if you can actually explain it well enough so that it¡¯s clear.¡± He was still staring eye-to-eye with her. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste everyone¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ will say, ¡®Han Shangyan and I¡­¡¯¡±


    Tong Nian had never before gazed into his eyes for so long. Right now, right this moment, right this instant, as she distinctly saw her own reflection in that pair of eyes, she utterly did not know even how to speak.


    All that filled her ears were thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump¡­


    Han Shangyan and I¡­ what? ¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t know how to say it?¡±


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    He had more to say, but then, he watched as the little girl¡¯s complexion changed from white to a foolish-looking red, so red that it was even more severe than appledog of the past, who had been well-known for her blushing¡­ He suddenly felt that he seemed to have crossed the line again? ¡°The little girl just likes you. It¡¯s not some terrible crime. Tone it down a bit. You¡¯re going too far if you treat her like she¡¯s one of the members of your team,¡± he admonished himself silently.


    And so, this person, who had now gathered back a few pieces of his conscience, cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯ll be frank. I have no plans to get a girlfriend.¡± He straightened back up and swept his eyes over to the grown boys who were organizing and gathering their things behind him to get ready to leave this place. ¡°These boys, the youngest is only fifteen years old, but they have placed all of their future, all of their prospects into my hands alone. All that they desire is that one day, the country¡¯s flag will be draped over their shoulders, and they can bring back the World Championship title to prove to their parents that their career choice had not been wrong. So, I do not have time or energy to deal with any person who does not belong to K&K.¡±


    When his words were finished, his gaze lowered again and fell on her. ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian had not expected that what he spoke would be such serious words, and she nodded in spite of herself.


    This was his world¡ªa world strange and unfamiliar to her.


    One that caused people to look up respectfully at it. And one that was worthy of being looked up to respectfully.


    ¡­¡­


    Dt just so happened to be walking up behind him at this moment. Hearing such words, he, in a very rare instance, actually shifted his gaze to the side slightly to look at that poor, little girl whom Gun had fooled with this great, noble fa?ade.


    He could not stand watching this anymore.


    Every time when rejecting someone, Gun would use a different method, but this time was the worst and had stepped way over the line by actually using the club as an excuse.


    Dt genuinely thought that the little lady could absolutely give the affections of her heart to another. Such an innocent, young girl who did not know how to scheme or make underhanded maneuvers. If she ended up being with Gun, it would ruin her¡­ For this reason, he chose to remain silent. Turning around, he left.


    And so, what about all that stuff about liking or not liking someone, getting an autograph or not? All completely inconsequential nothing.


    With hearts and eyes filled with feelings of ¡°we are so shallow and so childish in our antics,¡± Tong Nian and Blueberry watched as Gun led the members of K&K and departed. Nobody knew why little Sister-In-Law was not going with Leader, and though they had speculations, no one really dared to ask. When they were leaving, they merely each nodded respectfully to Tong Nian, with warm, smiling expressions of ¡°Sister-In-Law, see you next time¡± written all over their faces¡­

 CH 17

    Chapter 17 ¨C Having a Blind, Matchmaking Date?


    She was lovelorn¡­


    For three entire days, Tong Nian did not step out from the doors of her house and remained within her own little bedroom, staring at her monitor and watching, one after another, videos of various matches of Tempest of the Sealed Chamber. She began first with all the matches for K&K and SP¡¯s secondary rosters, and when she finally finished all of those, she went to watch the big, famous matches that could be found online. By the third day, which was already the eve of the new lunar year, she had even watched every interview of K&K¡¯s and read through all the available textual information about them¡­


    Gun very rarely gave interviews. There were only two or three, few and far between, and in total, he spoke less than ten sentences.


    And none of them were very proper or serious.


    Truly, they were not very proper or serious. They felt entirely unlike the words he had spoken the other day, as if those had been voiced by a completely different person, and they also did not sound at all like the image of him formed from his Baidu Baike profile page. It seemed his answers could always defuse the reporter¡¯s questions, and then he would toss back a jeer.


    The most important thing was, she at last somewhat understood his background, how back then, Team Solo had dissolved, which had also resulted in Gun completely retiring from gaming at the height of his career. Leaving behind only a short row of words, he had disappeared for ten years.


    Staring at those words that he left at the time of his retirement and departure, she even felt a sense of heartache.


    How sad must he have been at the time when he retired and left¡­


    Currently displayed on her laptop screen was a little screensaver, one she had made herself. On it was a cartoon image of a man alternating through various different facial expressions and speaking to a Loli girl who was sitting astride a big cat. Every three seconds, the words the cartoon man was speaking would change. They were all things he had once said to her, and word for word, she had input them exactly as he had said them.


    For fear that her parents would sneak a look, she had translated everything into Japanese.


    When the mouse touched the image, there would even be a voice that spoke, and that voice had been specially created based on his vocal tone and quality¡­


    ¡­¡­


    She mechanically touched her mouse to that cartoon-drawn man and a sentence rang out: ¡°Little girl, the intelligence information you received is far off the mark. Didn¡¯t you say you like me? How could you not even know that I am single and moreover, uninterested in women?¡± These words that had suddenly popped out caused her to pause in surprise. At once, her face reddened¡­ And then, she immediately also felt even more heartbroken.


    Alright, sure. Even being lovelorn required an adjustment period to get over it¡­


    Otherwise, she would seem too fickle in love.


    Or so she comforted herself.


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    Behind her, the door was noiselessly pushed open, and her mother stepped in. After taking a look at the listless Tong Nian, she smilingly urged, ¡°Get ready, get ready. We¡¯re going out to eat.¡±


    Despondently, Tong Nian turned around. ¡°Is it okay if I eat in my room?¡±


    ¡°That won¡¯t do. How can you have Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner[1] by yourself?¡± Her mother continued to coax her softly, ¡°Come downstairs first to say hello. Your [paternal] aunt[2] and the others are all here.¡±


    ¡­ Alright.


    She moved her arms around a bit and stood, pushing open the door and following the stairs down.


    Eh? So many people¡ª


    !!!!


    Why does that man, the one who¡¯s dressed completely in black casualwear and is sitting there at the end of the sofa, drinking tea with his head down ¡­ look so much like him?! I must have gone silly¡­


    Bowing her head glumly, she gave a fierce kick to the staircase bannister, turned, and¡­ headed back upstairs.


    ¡°Nian Nian?¡± Downstairs, Auntie¡¯s voice immediately rang out. ¡°I was just asking why you¡¯ve been holed up in your room this entire time. You¡¯ve been studying until you¡¯ve gone silly?¡± Auntie greeted her warmly. ¡°Here, come over. Your [elder, female] cousin just got back. The two of you haven¡¯t seen each other for a long time already, right? Two or three years? Why don¡¯t you two have a nice chat?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    The thing she was most afraid of was running into this elder female cousin of hers who was the elite, career-type with outstanding abilities.


    But, it was the Lunar New Year, and there was nothing that could be done about it. She was, after all, a relative.


    Tong Nian could only reluctantly turn around once again. And then, she completely froze. By now, the man who had been drinking tea had lifted his head. It was him. From the expression in his eyes to his sitting posture to that sense of impatience that he emitted¡ªall of it was him¡­


    In this way, she stupidly stood there on the staircase, dressed in her lemon-yellow jogging suit.


    All over her jogging suit, there were even little pictures of Winnie the Pooh¡­


    Gun¡¯s brows lifted slightly, but then, pulling back his gaze, he carried on drinking his tea with lowered head, as if none of the people in this room had much to do with him.


    She had no idea how she got downstairs, nor did she know how she ended up being surrounded by her auntie and mom as they prattled on and on, introducing her and her cousin¡¯s occupations and educational backgrounds and then presenting the both of them to a grandfatherly gentleman.


    ¡°Nineteen is a good age, nineteen is good. I have a grandson[3] [daughter¡¯s son], and there is only a few years age difference between the two of you. He also studied computers. In a little while, the two of you must get to know each other. You will certainly have lots of common things to talk about.¡± The elderly man listened to Tong Nian¡¯s mother give the introductions while he examined the dumbstruck Tong Nian with a warm expression. The more he looked her over, the more he felt that she would make a wonderful match with his youngest grandson, and he could not refrain from turning his head to the side to ask Gun, ¡°Where is Little Bai? What time will he be arriving at the restaurant?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t know,¡± Gun answered, his voice so hoarse it sounded as if he should not be able to speak at all.


    ¡°Call him. The Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner is not something he should arrive late to.¡±


    The grandfatherly man chuckled in a much more easygoing manner than him.


    Very soon, under her mom¡¯s invitation as the hostess, everyone rose and prepared to head to the restaurant that had been reserved for the Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner.


    Tong Nian dazedly slipped on her coat, wrapped her scarf around herself, and followed her mom outside. With more than a dozen people and four vehicles, they had no choice but to split up into groups to be sent off. ¡°Nian Nian.¡± Her mother offhandedly fastened her scarf tighter for her while lowering her voice to instruct, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a task. Your cousin and that big brother over there are having a blind, matchmaking date. You are all young people. You go sit in the same car as the two of them. Listen to what they talk about, and use your own discretion to help if you see any opportunity. Be good.¡±


    Matchmaking date?


    He was having a matchmaking date with her cousin?


    Didn¡¯t he say¡­ he had no plans to get a girlfriend? ¡­


    Lifting her head, Tong Nian saw that not far away, Gun had already opened the front door of a vehicle and, with his back to everyone, tossed the jacket he had been wearing onto the front passenger seat. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sit in his car¡­¡± Her nose tingled, and she bowed her head.


    Idiot, who said he doesn¡¯t intend on getting a girlfriend?


    Clearly¡­ he just didn¡¯t want to be around you, that¡¯s all.


    ¡°Be good.¡± Mom thought it was because she felt awkward. ¡°If you don¡¯t go over there to them, are you going to call a taxi and just go yourself?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Tightly, she gripped the bottom of the sleeves of her coat. ¡°I¡¯ll call a taxi and go there myself¡­¡±


    ¡°Why would you call a taxi?¡± Behind her, someone had already slipped an arm through hers, and then, with a lowered voice, her cousin implored to her, ¡°This is my first time meeting him. Let¡¯s go together. That way, if there¡¯s any awkward silences, we can still talk to each other.¡±


    No¡­ I¡¯d rather die than do it¡­


    She looked down, refusing for the life of her to shift even a single step.


    But, it was only a short two or three minutes before everyone had already divided up and gotten into vehicles, leaving only her and Cousin standing downstairs of her home. The latter, of course, did not know about her internal struggle, and half pushing, half tugging, and with some convincing, Cousin brought her into Gun¡¯s car.


    One car, three people.


    Cousin had originally wanted to sit in the front passenger seat. However, he had tossed his jacket there, and he did not show any intention of removing it, nor did he offer any polite invitation for Cousin to sit there. Of course, then, she had no choice but to rather displeasedly sit with Tong Nian.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had a few blind, matchmaking dates now, but this one takes the cake for lack of chivalry,¡± Cousin whispered in her ear.


    ¡­ Wordlessly, she sat there and gave an arbitrary ¡°mm¡± in response.


    Her entire being felt as if it was hanging from a very fine, steel wire. She dared not move and only prayed silently with all her might, ¡°Get there quickly, get off the car quickly. and finish eating quickly. Then I can go home¡­¡±


    The car drove out from the community compound and headed directly onto a main road.


    Cousin was the first to break the quiet in the vehicle. ¡°We¡¯re all young people. Let me introduce myself first, then. I do marketing in a luxury goods company. How about you?¡±


    ¡°No real proper job.¡± With one hand, Gun held onto the steering wheel while the other pulled out his mobile phone.


    After a short while, a navigation voice was heard coming from the phone. ¡°At three hundred metres ahead, bear right¡­¡±


    The atmosphere was rather weird. Cousin could perceive his aloofness, but still, she politely replied, ¡°Then¡­ you should at least have some sort of profession you¡¯re in. I hear you¡¯re starting your own business.¡±


    ¡°Profession?¡± He sounded rather impatient. ¡°Does playing video games count?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Navigation voice: ¡°Keep right for two hundred metres, then enter the frontage road¡­¡±


    Navigation voice: ¡°Warning, speed camera one hundred metres ahead¡­¡±


    Navigation voice: ¡°Warning¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Cousin was speechless. Leaning in close, she murmured by Tong Nian¡¯s ear, ¡°A second-gen rich kid[4] who doesn¡¯t do any honest work himself.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it,¡± Tong Nian blurted, but straightaway, she dropped her voice again. ¡°Gaming is a serious and proper profession.¡±


    ¡°Serious and proper profession?¡± Her cousin gawked at her like she was staring at a freak.


    ¡°Professional gamers can win championships. eSports is recognized as an official sport by the country.¡± Tong Nian could not hold herself back from explaining for him. ¡°And plus, if they win, their prize money is really big¡­ The main thing, though, isn¡¯t the prize money. It¡¯s the pride and honour. China is a world leader in a lot of the gaming events and has taken a lot of gold medals.¡±


    Cousin looked as if she half-understood, but after some thinking, she still felt that it did not make sense. ¡°Well, they can¡¯t spend their whole lives playing video games, eh?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    The car came to an abrupt halt.


    They had arrived?


    Tong Nian took a look out the window. Huh? Why were they stopped on the side of the road?


    While she was still caught in a foggy state of confusion, the person sitting in the driver¡¯s seat had already turned around and, for the first time, was looking directly at his blind date for the night¡ªTong Nian¡¯s cousin. ¡°There are some words that, if stated from the get-go, will make things easier. I don¡¯t have any interest in you, nor will I ever have any interest in the future. Of course, you definitely are not interested in someone like me, either.¡± Bearing through the pain in his throat, he stated with a hoarse voice, ¡°We are both adults. We¡¯ll cooperate with our elders¡¯ arrangement, we¡¯ll have a dinner, and then it will be done. How about that?¡±


    Cousin¡¯s expression was frozen onto her face. She swore, absolutely never before had she seen a man like this one!


    ¡°Also,¡±¡ªGun¡¯s gaze shifted slightly to land on Tong Nian¡ª¡°you do not need to pretend that you don¡¯t know me.¡±

 CH 18

    Chapter 18 ¨C Having a Blind, Matchmaking Date (¡Ñx¡Ñ)£¡


    ¡­¡­


    Her charade had suddenly been bluntly exposed, and she did not know at all what she should say.


    Her mouth opened slightly, and dazedly, foolishly, she stared at him.


    In a single second, the atmosphere around seemed to drop to the freezing point.


    Cousin looked disbelievingly at Tong Nian, then looked at her blind date that she had only just met for the first time. What was going on? What kind of situation was this? The two of them knew each other?


    But after tossing the pair of cousins into an awkward circumstance, this man, whose words had been blunt and had given no regard to anyone¡¯s feelings, carried on to turn around and release the foot brake. Turning the vehicle into the frontage road and driving on that roadway that was bathed in the light of a row of delicate streetlamps, he easily passed the few vehicles ahead of them and then accelerated towards their destination.


    Cousin did not want to let him hear any more of her dialogue with Tong Nian. Grabbing Tong Nian¡¯s hand, she used only her eyes to ask her question: What¡¯s going on?


    ¡°We,¡± Tong Nian stammered a bit, then quietly answered, ¡°aren¡¯t that acquainted. We just know each other¡­¡±


    Know each other? One had resided outside of the country for years and only just returned to China in December of last year. The other, due to fear of flying, had never gone abroad. Furthermore, there was a ten year age gap between them. How did they even meet?


    Cousin swiftly made her assessment: An online friend?


    Tong Nian hurriedly shook her head. ¡°No, no. We just met each other by chance.¡±


    Cousin looked dubiously at her. She did not appear to be lying, but yet, no matter how you looked, you could tell she was still hiding something. Since young, this little girlie had always been relatively simple, and when she lied, any ordinary person could see through it¡­ much less someone like her cousin, whose emotional intelligence tended to be comparatively higher.


    When their vehicle arrived at the destination and she and Cousin stepped out of the car, the latter was immediately pulled away by Auntie to inquire how things had gone in this first interaction with him. Worried that Auntie and Cousin would interrogate her, Tong Nian made up the excuse that she was going to wait for her mom¡¯s vehicle to arrive and silently stood alone behind the glass door.


    Through the glass, she watched as vehicles continually came to a stop.


    Handing his keys to the valet, Gun stepped in through the huge revolving glass door to discover her there. ¡°Still not heading in?¡±


    Her hands were stuffed in her coat pockets, and she tried as much as possible to make herself feign that nothing at all was the matter. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ waiting for my mom to come.¡±


    In Gun¡¯s eyes, the little girl was completely forcing on expressions of ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± and ¡°I don¡¯t care about you.¡±


    He recalled in his mind that sentence he had said a moment ago in the car. Indeed, an ordinary person would interpret it as having crossed the line a little. ¡°I am not interested in your cousin, so I am trying as much as possible to not allow her to develop any interest in me.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± And why is he telling me this? ¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s why the things you said in the car obviously were just causing more trouble.¡± Gun drew on his patience to explain to her, ¡°I don¡¯t need approval or agreement from an outsider about my occupation, especially from someone I won¡¯t really cross paths with in any way in the future. And even more so, I don¡¯t need to explain myself. Understand?¡±


    Even though he did not feel he needed to explain, this little girl could be considered one of the rare, few girls he had ever in come in contact with in the many years of his life and could also be considered a friend, so he could not leave her feeling too chagrinned. ¡°As for why, in the car, I laid out in the open that we knew each other, it¡¯s because it would otherwise be a lie that¡¯s not sustainable. In just a while, my younger [male] cousin is going to come. He¡¯s going to recognize you and will definitely state the truth, so from the very beginning, there was no need for us to pretend that we are strangers to each other. Understand?¡±


    His younger cousin?


    She processed that for a moment. It wouldn¡¯t be¡­ that particularly tall boy who had worn the cap the whole time, would it?


    ¡°Is your heart feeling better about it now?¡± he asked in conclusion.


    ¡°¡­ Feeling better¡­¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go?¡± He felt that this time, when he returned to Norway, he would most certainly be able to easily take on all the duties of a family nanny. In a few short days, his patience had practically grown geometrically.


    With an ¡°oh,¡± Tong Nian obediently followed him inside.


    The two of them stepped into the private room that had been reserved ahead of time. Due to traffic congestion, only half of the people had arrived for now.


    Auntie was still murmuring away with Cousin. Clearly, the former was simply too pleased with Gun¡¯s family and educational background. However, it was also clear that the latter was too repulsed by his lack of a proper occupation and his arrogance and rudeness. Tong Nian¡¯s foot had just stepped into the room before Auntie was pulling her over and, in a kindly, gentle voice, asking about what kind of person this man was since, after all, the two of them knew each other.


    Remembering what Gun had said to her, Tong Nian did not know whether she should say good things or purposely speak ill about him. Unable to decide, she simply shook her head and said, ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know him all that well. We just met a week ago, and all I know is that he is really good at gaming.¡±


    ¡°What about his character? Is it true that he doesn¡¯t bother to have a proper occupation? Or is he¡­ just faking it?¡± Unresigned, her aunt persisted with her questions to get to the heart of the matter.


    ¡°¡­ You can¡¯t really consider him as not having a proper occupation, I guess¡­¡±


    She was worried they would continue asking her, so pretending that she needed to make a phone call, she pulled out her mobile phone and hid herself away in the farthest corner.


    As she sipped a drink, she tapped at the screen of her phone, randomly going from Changba[1] to YY[2], then Bilibili, Weibo, etc., etc. So long as it was a site that she could pass some time in, she would make her rounds through it.


    Her mom was the last to arrive and walked in together with her dad. Finally, she breathed out in relief. She was about to tell her mom to come sit beside her when she soon noticed, unexpectedly, that young man behind her mom who was wearing a baseball cap and K&K¡¯s team uniform. The young man, without any expression on his face, quietly stepped inside and looked around, left and right. Spotting Gun first, he nodded in what could be considered a greeting.


    Then, he saw Tong Nian.


    In a seldom-seen moment, a slight, peculiar expression actually showed on Dt¡¯s face. After recognizing Tong Nian, he turned once again to look puzzledly at Gun.


    ¡°Little Bai, you¡¯re here?¡± Smiling, the grandfatherly man hurriedly beckoned at Dt for him to go over. ¡°Come, let Granddad have a look to see whether you have grown in these last few months.¡±


    ¡­ Still growing? Tong Nian could not help arching her head up to visually gauge Dt¡¯s height.


    ¡°If he grows any more¡­ he¡¯ll hit the doorframe. And plus, it¡¯s not good to be taller than your big brother[3]¡­¡± she thought silently to herself.


    While her attention slid away to muse on this, she suddenly felt her arm being nudged. Snapping her mind back, she realized that everyone¡¯s eyes were on her.


    Huh?


    Why are they looking at me?


    ¡°Come, Nian Nian. Come here. I¡¯ll introduce you to this grandson of mine.¡± The elderly man was practically itching for them to immediately get to know one another, sit together for the dinner, and then in the end, after discovering that they were so, so right for each other, announce the following day that they intended on getting engaged. ¡°Your parents have seen him twice before, when he was young.¡±


    Tong Nian was once again dazed and out of sorts as she stepped over.


    While she walked, she thought, ¡°This time, I can¡¯t pretend that I don¡¯t know him¡­¡±


    Dt, on the other hand, very distinctly perceived what this grandfather of his was trying to do. His expression shifted once again, and somewhat disbelievingly, he stared at Gun, beginning a silent exchange of information with him through their gazes: What is this?


    Gun had a look of ¡°this matter doesn¡¯t concern me¡± on his face: It¡¯s very obvious.


    Dt¡¯s eyes moved to the side and slid over Tong Nian: What kind of joke is this?


    Gun shrugged, the meaning of that very obvious: It¡¯s your own problem. Solve it yourself.


    Dt was in a very bad mood.


    Gun had already turned his gaze away, and offhandedly picking up a magazine that had been tossed onto the sofa, he began leafing through it.


    Dt shifted his gaze forward again. Tong Nian was already standing dutifully by his grandfather¡¯s side, and the elderly man was holding her hand warmly. He used one-tenth of a second to make an assessment of the situation. Though he had previously hoped that the little lady would give the affections of her heart to another and not end up being ruined by Gun, who was so full of nonsense, it was also apparent that, when weighed against the little girl¡¯s happiness, he even more so did not want to be dragged into this whole thing.


    ¡°Little Bai, this is Nian Nian, your Grandpa Tong¡¯s granddaughter, his youngest granddaughter and also, in the family, the apple of everyone¡¯s eye[4].¡± Grandfather beamed as he looked at Dt.


    Calmly, Dt made a decision. ¡°Oh, I know her.¡±


    ¡°You know her?¡± Everyone was surprised by this.


    Dt nodded slightly. ¡°I think she¡­ is my older brother¡¯s girlfriend.¡±


    In an instant, not a sound was heard in the room¡­


    All around, it fell into a deathly stillness.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Little Bai¡ª¡± Gun threw down his magazine and swiftly stood up from the sofa.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say anything!¡± Grandfather suddenly spoke and cast a surly glance at him. ¡°Since you were young, you¡¯ve never spoken many words of truth. I¡¯m not listening to you. Little Bai, carry on.¡±


    Dt understood when he should continue pressing the issue and when he should drop it, and hence, he did not embellish anything, merely giving an appropriate shake of his head. ¡°I don¡¯t really know anything concrete. The people in our club all call her Sister-In-Law.¡± This could not be considered a lie anyway.


    Tong Nian¡­


    ¡­ had completely frozen in shock already.


    What was going on? ¡­


    ¡°Nian Nian, come here.¡± From behind her, her mom took her by the arm, enclosing her in an embrace as she asked softly, ¡°Is it true?¡± Simply too scary. Why had a boyfriend suddenly popped out from nowhere? If he were to be paired with Tong Nian¡¯s older cousin, then at least there was only a few years age difference and could be considered a suitable match. But if he and Tong Nian were together¡­


    Tong Nian¡¯s mom frowned, glancing quite displeasedly at Gun: too old.


    ¡°No.¡± Tong Nian shook her head, then shook it some more. ¡°Honest, it¡¯s not that.¡±


    ¡°Then what is this about?¡± Mom felt even more that something was amiss. The look on her little daughter¡¯s face was clearly indicating that something was the matter.


    Tong Nian wanted to cry, but this was beyond tears. In a quiet voice, she told her mom, ¡°I¡¯m honestly not his girlfriend.¡±


    In the entire room, besides the four who belonged to a younger generation, the rest were all people who had lived the greater part of a lifetime already.


    How could they not see that the little girl was embarrassed and discomfited?


    And there was Dt¡¯s open, unperturbed expression as well as¡­ the obviously roiling emotions in Gun¡­


    Her cousin and auntie suddenly understood.


    Auntie was somewhat angry but was also somewhat frustratingly helpless to do anything. These kids were thin-skinned and refusing to tell the truth. What could she do about it? Auntie shook her head and, with some regret, looked over this future son-in-law whom she had spent a long time carefully selecting. Honestly, he was not bad at all. How was it that¡­ he liked the very young Tong Nian? Didn¡¯t he feel that the age gap was a bit too much?


    The room was filled with all sorts of different gazes brimming with different expressions, all sorts of instances of people biting their tongues to contain the words on their lips.


    And all sorts of ¡°you get it, I get it, we all get it¡­¡±


    For the first time in his life, Gun tasted the feeling of frustration from falling into a spectacle of a situation. Somewhat awkwardly, he stood by his grandfather¡¯s side. Several times, he attempted to speak, but each time, the elderly man glared at him and caused him to swallow his words. Irate at this feeling of helplessness, he turned a dangerous glare on Dt: You don¡¯t want to live, do you, punk?


    Beneath the brim of his ball cap, Dt¡¯s eyes contained a calmness that was beyond what any normal person would have. It completely carried a candidness in it that said, ¡°Who told you to cross my bottom line and try and make me the bad guy?¡±


    It was evident the elderly man very much liked this little girl, who you could tell in a single glance was very simple. However, it was also evident that the elderly man wanted to match the little girl up with his favourite grandson [eldest grandson born of one¡¯s daughter(s)]. But¡­ oh well. The matters of young people these days were not things you could predict.


    The elderly man finally sighed, ¡°Since Little Bai has already told the truth, you don¡¯t have to explain. Go pay your respects and greetings to your Uncle and Auntie Tong, and you can consider this your first time officially meeting them.¡±


    Ah?!


    Tong Nian gripped her mom¡¯s sleeve tightly and frantically shook her head. ¡°Honest, no. Mom, you need to believe me. I swear, it¡¯s honestly not that¡­¡±


    Her dear mother, however, simply stroked her head, coaxing her in a soft voice and saying somewhat resignedly, ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt when elders are speaking.¡±


    *sigh* Were it not for the fact that he was a member of the Han family, they would turn their noses up at someone so old.


    Mom and Dad exchanged a look, extremely disgruntled about this ¡°boyfriend¡± who had suddenly come out of nowhere.


    ¡­¡­


    With her eyes, Tong Nian appealed to Gun for help.


    The latter swiftly considered possible solutions. He could not allow himself to consider other outside factors anymore. His elderly grandfather was already more than ninety years old. If he truly were to defy and talk back to him, he could not even predict what might happen. And furthermore, it was the Lunar New Year¡¯s celebrations now¡­ Wordlessly, he closed his eyes and made himself calm down. From a trust perspective, in his grandfather¡¯s eyes, the amount he had was absolutely in the negatives and was not even comparable to Dt.


    The elders who were present at this moment all most certainly believed that he had tricked the little girl into being with him and then did not even want to take responsibility for it by admitting to it.


    With the circumstances as they were, explaining was equivalent to making up false excuses.


    Unless Dt, that little punk, admitted that he was lying¡­ But it was obvious that he would absolutely not retract any of what he had said.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Han Shangyan!¡± The elderly man was becoming increasingly displeased, even addressing him by his full, formal name.


    He blew out a long breath. Putting his phone into the pocket of his pants, he walked forward, step by step, and moved toward Tong Nian.


    When he so close he was only one step away from her, he slowly came to a stop.


    And then, using a motion that was very pleasing to the eye, he extended his right hand. ¡°Hello, Auntie, I am Han Shangyan. Nian Nian and I have only just been together for not very long. Without her consent, I did not dare pay a visit to you and Uncle. My apologies.¡±

 CH 19

    Chapter 19 ¨C Countdown to the Breakup?


    Of course, Tong Nian¡¯s mom was not very amiable to talk to.


    At least, she did not shake his hand. She merely gave a ¡°ha ha,¡± then arbitrarily said that she had seen many photographs of Gun from when he was young, that she had met his parents before, and that who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, he was so grown up already.


    Tong Nian¡¯s dad felt that his wife was out of line, and after everyone had taken a seat, he asked her in a low voice why she had not even given face to a junior of a younger generation. Disgruntled, Tong Nian¡¯s mom glanced over at Gun, who sat separated from them with Tong Nian in between. ¡°Kids nowadays are not like us in the past. Being ¡®friends¡¯ is not something that is secure and steady anymore. Who knows? Maybe by tomorrow, they¡¯ll break-up.¡±


    Tong Nian¡¯s dad mulled over this for a moment, then wholeheartedly agreed.


    Gun did not seem to mind at all that he had just received a veiled cold-shoulder treatment, and throughout the entire dinner, he performed very poorly.


    For instance, never once did he pour a drink for Tong Nian, never once did he whisper sweet nothings in her ear to make her happy, never once did he take care of her and get her food from the dishes, never once¡­ In the end, even Auntie was thinking it was lucky her daughter had not been matched with this man who behaved like he was a privileged young master. Otherwise, it would just end up that the girl¡¯s side would be the one on the short end of the stick.


    The entire dinner was nearly over before Tong Nian at last furtively input a row of words into her mobile phone and held it over so it was in front of his eyes: Why¡­ did you need to say something untrue?


    Don¡¯t judge this line of words simply based on how short and simple it was. She had used a full ten minutes to type it and had tried all sorts of different wordings.


    Despite knowing that what he had said was not true, she still held out a teeny bit of hope, even if the chance was one out of ten thousand¡­ Could it be he¡­ felt that she was more of a fit for him than Cousin?


    When he got a clear view of the question, Gun felt a slight headache.


    The answer to this question would be a little bothersome to explain and needed to begin from when Dt returned to China twelve years ago. Clearly, he did not want to use any brainpower tonight and needed, in the fastest way possible, to provide a safe, harmless answer.


    ¡°My little brother has a girl whom he has liked for ten years.¡± Using the closest possible distance between the two of them and the safest volume of voice, he told her, ¡°Before he came, he requested that I please help him get out of this blind date. But it was too thorny of a problem, and I had no choice but to use extreme measures. My apologies. After tonight, you can find any excuse you want to say you¡¯ve broken up with me. Not considerate, not loving and gentle, nothing in common we can talk about, too old¡ªall of these are fine. The reason for breaking up is up to you to decide as you please.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Her eyes dimmed.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± For once, this particular sentence was actually spoken with sincerity.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem¡­ It¡¯s to help him,¡± she murmured softly.


    Her eyes lightly flicked over for a glimpse of that grown boy who was eating his dinner. Presumably because he was eating with elders, he, for once, was not wearing his ball cap and had removed it, setting it on his lap. Without saying a word, he kept his head down and ate.


    A girl whom he has liked for ten years. That¡¯s so nice. Ten years ago, I was only nine years old¡­


    Eh? Wait, no. Ten years ago, wouldn¡¯t he also have only been twelve years old?


    !!!!


    So young!


    At night, when everyone was preparing to leave, his grandfather specifically told him to drive Tong Nian and her parents home.


    The vehicle pulled up beside the building of their home, and the engine was turned off.


    Tong Nian slowly unfastened her seat belt.


    Her mom still wanted to stay in the vehicle to keep an eye on the two of them, but her dad had already nudged her first on the shoulder. The meaning of that was, ¡°Hey you, the elder, no matter what, you¡¯ve got to at least kind of show that you¡¯re giving them a little bit of time to talk.¡±


    And so, grudgingly and reluctantly, Tong Nian¡¯s parents got out of the car.


    Inside the vehicle, a song was playing on the radio. It was Pu Shu¡¯s The Ordinary Road. He had turned the volume up very high, and the lyrics were circulating through the entire interior of the vehicle.


    ¡°I once traversed the mountains and the great seas,


    And once passed through mountains and seas of people,


    I once possessed everything,


    But in a blink, they vanished like the dissipating mist and clouds.


    ¡­¡­


    I once ruined all that I had,


    And wanted only to forever leave.


    I once fell into a boundless darkness,


    And wanted to struggle, but yet was unable to free myself¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°May I ask you a question?¡± Tong Nian asked softly, her eyes glancing toward her dad and mom, who were outside the car.


    Gun¡¯s mind was somewhat preoccupied. It was not certain whether it was because he was paying attention to the lyrics or because the volume of the music truly was too loud but he could only hear that she was speaking and could not clearly catch what exactly she was saying.


    His gaze shifted back from the views outside the car window and landed on her. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you heading back into your home?¡±


    ¡°I want to ask a question first.¡± She raised her hand, reiterating her request.


    Gun arched his brow and motioned for her to continue speaking.


    ¡°When¡­ are we going to break up?¡±


    There should at least be a timeframe, right?


    Gun had not expected that this would be her question.


    In the little girl¡¯s eyes, he saw many different emotions and states of mind: confusion and struggle, disappointment, fluster, speaking things that were contrary to her heart¡­ But beneath all these different emotions, what could not be concealed was that tiny trace of hope that she very much wanted to repress¡­


    Inside the vehicle, it was abnormally quiet.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    One minute later, Tong Nian docilely stepped out of the car.


    Immediately, her mom pulled the front of Tong Nian¡¯s coat, which had not completely done up, tightly closed and asked in a low voice, ¡°What did you talk about? It took so long?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t really talk about anything.¡± Rubbing her cheeks with her hands, she mumbled quietly, ¡°We just¡­ said a few sentences.¡±


    Gun parked his vehicle into the underground garage. Stepping out of the car, he walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the twentieth floor. Fifteen seconds later, the elevator arrived at the first floor. It just so happened that when the door opened, several K&K members  walked in, carrying box little boxes of food for a late-night meal. Seeing Gun, the youngest of them, demo, first took a reflexive step backwards before following closely after the other two team members in front, who had instantly shut their mouths and slipped into the elevator with lowered heads.


    Leader¡­ is eating candy. T.T ¡­ What should we do?


    Captain, oh, Captain Dt, where are you? Grunt, oh, g Shuai, where are you? We can¡¯t handle Leader, ah, ah, ah, AAAAH!


    The door slowly slid shut.


    From behind them, two hands reached forward to simultaneously take hold of the shoulders belonging to demo and one of the other team members. ¡°That¡¯s Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­ Leader.¡± demo¡¯s voice was tight, and he dared not turn around. ¡°We couldn¡¯t buy plane or train tickets, right? So we¡¯re just planning on going home on the second day of the new lunar year¡­ remember? ¡­¡±


    ¡°When you guys are done eating, come to my room. I¡¯ll test your hand reaction time.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    After saying this, he thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°Who else is here? Call them all over. Anyone who doesn¡¯t pass will have to go running in the morning.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Everyone was on the verge of tears.


    Who tests hand reaction time on Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve?! And who has morning runs on Lunar New Year¡¯s Day?!


    Is he even going to let people just have a nice Lunar New Year celebration?!!!! There¡¯s no way we can stay on this team anymore!!!!


    Noticing that there was no sound in response, Gun¡¯s brows creased. In the mirror, his extremely black eyes swept a gaze over the few of them. ¡°Didn¡¯t hear what I said?¡±


    One hour ago, inside the vehicle.


    The song was gradually approaching its end. Gun felt that the temperature inside the car was slightly too high. Shutting off the heat, he unconcernedly returned her question with his own. ¡°When would you like to break up?¡±


    Huh? Me?


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± His tone was flat. ¡°Don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what would be a suitable time, either¡­¡±


    Now? Now didn¡¯t seem to be a suitable time, right? Tomorrow? That seemed a little too soon, too¡­ A week later? Would one week make her seem a little too fickle when it came to relationships 0.0? A month later?


    In her mind, she continually pushed the timeline back later and later¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡± Gun interrupted her aimless time wasting and pressed the unlock button on the centre console. With a click, the front doors of the car were unlocked. ¡°When you think the time is right, let me know.¡±

 CH 20

    Chapter 20 ¨C Breakup Not On Schedule ¡Ñ¨Œ¡Ñ!


    The next day, Dt left the hotel where his grandfather was staying and returned to the club¡¯s gaming house[1]. There, he found a dozen or more boys, all of them dressed in the team¡¯s short-sleeve uniforms, hopping and rubbing at their arms as they did some warm-up exercises on the spot where they stood. When demo caught sight of Dt, his eyes immediately reddened. ¡°Captain!¡± Regardless of whether they were older or younger than him, all of them swarmed toward him, feeling like they had finally found someone who could be their refuge.


    Needless to say, the person inside the room at the very end of the corridor must have been in an extremely bad mood the previous night.


    Wordlessly, Dt nodded.


    Walking directly to the end of the corridor, he pushed open the door.


    There, he discovered the floor of the room littered with a variety of chocolate wrappers, fruit candy wrappers¡­ Anyway, it was simply all sorts of candy¡­ No lights were on. Right at this moment, in his computer, Gun was absolutely dominating over his opponents and torturing them to death. Without even turning his head, he said, ¡°You¡¯re back?¡±


    Obviously, the only one who would dare push open his room door during this time was that person who had dared to sell him out.


    Dt¡¯s eyes once again made a scan around the room, and then, without saying anything, he turned and left.


    A candy was hurled out, whizzing straight past Dt¡¯s ear with a whoosh as it flew and smashed into the door directly across the hall. Outside the doorway, everyone who had followed along to eavesdrop shuddered, and instantly, the entire group jogged away to do their morning run. In contrast, the one who had nearly been smacked by the candy, Dt, showed no superfluous expressions. Even the look in his eyes had not shifted. Pulling Gun¡¯s door shut behind him, he simply pulled out his own room card and, with a swipe, opened that door across the hallway.


    Catch up on some Z¡¯s.


    The man inside the room sat on his chair, his body leaning backwards into the seatback. He once again flipped through the itinerary his assistant had brought him. The primary squad would be assembling on the fifth day of the new lunar year and heading to Sanya. One day after that, the entire K&K troop would also arrive in Sanya, and then he, Dt, and grunt would fly to the United States to participate in a StarCraft II offline tournament.


    The arrangements were very apt.


    After looking over that paper again and again for several times, he at last returned to that first question that had popped into his mind when he saw this itinerary.


    Should he tell the little girl that he would be out of country?


    ¡­¡­


    In these past twenty-nine years, only two promises had ever been made from his lips: the first was, back then, to be Team Solo¡¯s investor, and the second was to allow her to decide when would be the time of their breakup.


    He had given in, perhaps, because she had unconditionally believed his explanation.


    That absolute load of crap of an explanation¡ªthe one where it was only because of Dt¡¯s request that he had told everyone she and he were a couple.


    Apart from fatigue due to a night without sleep and bad mood, written on his gorgeous face were also some irritability and frustration over being unable to control the future. Since last night, he had felt a sense of foreboding, that this one instance of softheartedness and giving in would end up bringing him countless troubles.


    And now¡­ this was the first of those troubles.


    * * * * *


    Like every year, during the first couple of days of the new lunar year, her parents brought her around to pay New Year¡¯s greetings.


    Every now and then, as she took advantage of the times when the adults were all exchanging pleasantries and chatting idly to sit down, she would over and over ponder on what Gun had said. By the evening of the Lunar New Year¡¯s second day, she finally could contain herself no longer and began a quiet discussion with Soy Milk, who had also been dragged out to pay New Year¡¯s greetings.


    Soy Milk listened to her recount her story from beginning to end. It had even more exciting ups and downs than those blockbuster movies that had been released in celebration of the Lunar New Year!


    Terrified in Three Steps and The Taking of Yalong Bay [parodies of two actual movie titles][2], don¡¯t even bother fighting it out to compete. You totally don¡¯t even come close in being worth watching!


    ¡°It means he¡¯s interested in you, of course!¡± By the time Soy Milk listened to the point in the story describing the previous night¡¯s conversation between the two of them, he finally could not restrain himself and shot up onto his feet, drawing the gazes of all the elders in the home¡­ Straightaway, he shirked back again, sitting down and leaning in close to sigh in her ear, ¡°Let me tell you, you really don¡¯t understand men. Really, you don¡¯t understand them. Oh, you, let me, this man who has ¡®watched the many sailboats a-comin¡¯ and a-goin¡¯[3]¡¯[experienced many loves, but none of them was the real one], explain things to you.¡±


    ¡°All you¡¯ve had are secret crushes on seven different girls, you know?¡± She could not help exposing the actual truth.


    Where did he get his so-called ¡°watched the many sailboats¡±?


    ¡°Seven! My blood and tear-stained history, eh! Each one, I used a different way to profess my love, and each one, I was rejected in a different way, ah.¡± Soy Milk looked at her with a pained expression. ¡°Have you heard of the saying, ¡®prolonged illness makes a doctor of a patient¡¯? I¡¯ve had secret crushes for so long that it¡¯s brought about this result.¡±


    Doubtful, she held on to her reservations.


    ¡°Anyway, this is what it is. Him telling you to decide when to break up is actually the exact opposite of what he wants. Men all want face. Here you are pursuing him, so of course he doesn¡¯t want to set aside his pride to tell you, ¡®I don¡¯t want to break up,¡¯ right? So he¡¯s just using this roundabout way to hint it to you.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She still was unwilling to completely believe Soy Milk.


    When she returned home, she called Blueberry to consult this woman who had also done the pursuing of her techie guy.


    ¡°Turning the act into reality! He wants to turn this act you guys are doing into reality.¡±


    ¡­ The person on the other end of the line was even more stoked than she was¡­


    Was it true?


    Hugging a gigantic Winnie the Pooh, Tong Nian sat in front of her computer and fell into deep thought.


    If¡­ he really was just too embarrassed to say it and did actually want to try being together, then, should she still do the breakup?


    She rested her chin on the bear¡¯s shoulder and pulled on its furry paw, feeling unsettled for a long time. Out of the blue, she remembered the song that he had diverted his attention away to listen to that night. The lyrics¡­ were very similar to the rumours that she had found online regarding his retirement from gaming ten years ago. As her thoughts turned to this, she tossed her bear aside and immediately did a search. Following along with the lyrics, she listened to the song several times.


    Several images seemed to be hovering before her eyes, ready to vividly emerge: how, amid the enthusiastic applause of the gamers, he had stood and addressed the crowd with his greetings; how, with his teammates, he had won championship after championship and taken spot after spot on world rankings¡­


    Suddenly, overnight, Team Solo disbanded while still at the peak of its career.


    And this man, who had been called ¡°the one who has reached the pinnacle of individual performance as a professional gamer,¡± one day, simply disappeared and left China.


    ¡­¡­


    She blinked her eyes. Her nose tingled. She felt somewhat down.


    Unconsciously, her fingers slid back and forth over the keyboard.


    She imagined that if she had known him ten years ago, she probably would not have even dared try to get close to him. He had been too dazzling.


    ¡­¡­


    Eh, wait, no.


    Ten years ago, she was only nine years old¡­


    Primary school, third grade¡­


    Still crying like a baby over her poor grades in her English class¡­


    Third grade, huh? A picture of herself popped up in her mind, an enormous schoolbag on her back, crying as she folded her test paper into a tiny little square and hid it in a corner of her bag. And then, after she got home and her mom successfully found it and pulled it out, the first question that came up was ¡°Why did you hide the test paper in your schoolbag? Isn¡¯t that the easiest place to find it? ¡­¡±


    Back then, she did not even know how to hide her test paper away.


    And he was already a world champion.


    Tong Nian felt rather stirred with emotion. Opening up Weibo, for the first time ever, she posted some words that had nothing to do with covers of Japanese songs.


    Ten years ago, what were you all doing? I¡¯m suddenly feel really stirred emotionally. While I was still so silly that I only knew to hide my test paper in my schoolbag, someone was already a world champion.


    Ten seconds later, thirty comments. Twenty seconds later, seventy comments¡­


    She had nothing to do anyway, so one by one, she scrolled through them. The number of comments was increasingly rapidly since, after all, this was a rare, once-in-a-century moment where she was actually interacting with netizens¡­ There were countless replies with all sorts of wonderful and wacky responses. Some fans even sniffed out the mood behind this Weibo post.


    Random person: ^¦Ø^ Ten years ago, huh? Meow. I was doing make-up exams!


    Random person: Fiercely making a mark here first. While I¡¯m at it, I¡¯ll do a love profession. Your Highness, requesting to marry you!


    Random person: Your Royal Highness! Who is ¡°someone¡±?!!!!


    Random person: Same as above poster! Who is ¡°someone¡±? Who who who who whooooo?!


    Random person: I was at the anime expo that took place before the Lunar New Year. Your Highness, Your Highness, I was the one who gave you that love letter, the one with the red envelope! Your Highness¡¯s legs are crazy amazing!


    Random person: Previous poster, give me a break. Are Our Highness¡¯s legs the only things that are crazy amazing?


    Random person: Dada¡¯s so cute. To actually hide a test paper in your schoolbag¡­ Was it because you were trying to give a demonstration on how to be caught on the spot?


    ¡­¡­


    Mobile phone user no. 30230333: I will be out of country the next few days. Mobile no. is 1840090 + your house number. Gn


    ¡­¡­


    Random person: I¡¯ve hidden mine before, too! In the corner of my drawer! It turns out I¡¯m not the dumbest one HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡­


    Random person: Wait! What¡¯s up with the previous post????


    ¡­¡­


    Huh?


    Huh?!


    !!!!


    Tong Nian suddenly stopped breathing, and both her hands pressed against her chest.


    It¡¯s him, it¡¯s him!!!!

 CH 21

    Chapter 21 ¨C Eared Socks?


    In a dark room, Gun closed his eyes and handed his mobile phone to 97. ¡°Delete it for me.¡±


    Huh? What was Leader up to, eh? He had just installed the Weibo app and now he wanted to uninstall it? 97 took the phone from him and, not daring to delay, deleted it straightaway under Gun¡¯s gaze.


    And here he had thought Leader had finally been enlightened and was going to register for a personal Weibo account.


    Who didn¡¯t have a personal Weibo account in this day and age? If news spread that Gun had registered a Weibo account, his followers, overnight, would definitely be equal in numbers to SP¡¯s Solo as well as Dt and grunt. Oh, no, wait. Back then, Gun¡¯s face had obviously been the fairest of them all while his personality had been the most difficult. Regardless of what day and age it was, this sort of cool, aloof guy was always the most attractive to girls, right? His follower count should definitely be even more¡­


    Ah, no wonder.


    By the time 97 handed the mobile phone back to Gun, he already understood Leader¡¯s intentions behind not opening an account of his own: he was scared Sister-In-Law would get jealous.


    In the space of this one thought, 97 felt suddenly that the Great Demon Overlord before him was actually a little like a normal human being?


    ¡°On Weibo, do you all normally communicate through leaving comments?¡± He had not slept for two days, having grabbed two players on the team and played practice matches the entire time. Now, Gun truly was so tired he had a headache.


    ¡°Ah? I guess so.¡± This question was a little weird, eh. When you chatted with people you knew, you normally used WeChat. Who would leave comments in Weibo? The ones who left comments were all fans and followers. ¡°But PMing is relatively more convenient.¡±


    PMing? With difficulty, Gun forced his eyes open and flicked a gaze toward 97.


    Instantly, the latter felt a chill down his neck.


    Forget it. Couldn¡¯t be bothered to care. Once again closing his eyes in exhaustion, Gun fell into his ¡°do not disturb¡± mode.


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    In K&K, there were a few rules and bans regarding Gun. For example, like right now, when he wanted to sleep, it was best to just instantaneously disappear and not say a single extra sentence of bullsh*t.


    97 at once clamped his mouth shut. Very lightly, he stepped out of the room and slowly, ever so slowly, closed the door.


    Whew. Lately, the pressure in this room of Leader¡¯s was a little too suffocating, you know¡­


    He stood in front of the door and, after patting himself on the chest to calm his nerves, immediately pulled out his mobile phone to browse his own Weibo. All of a sudden, his finger paused. Holy dang¡­


    Leader specifically went and registered on Weibo just to¡­ watch Sister-In-Law flaunt her lovey-dovey affections for him?!


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    * * * * *


    Breathe. Breathe. Deep breaths¡­


    Tong Nian tried hard to pull back her awareness. The first things to do were to copy down that phone number, quickly follow his account in Weibo, and then delete that comment. Everything was done swiftly in one smooth go, but it was still discovered by sharp-eyed fans.


    Random person: Did I see wrong?! Her Highness followed an alt account!! A mobile phone user account that has no avatar!!


    Random person: Where where?


    Random person: On my knees to you¡­ Requesting we mutually follow one another, AH!!


    Random person: Sure enough, our Squidie Dada¡¯s taste is different from the ordinary person!


    Random person: I¡¯m going to register an alt account!!!! I want to be followed by Her Highness!!!!


    ¡­¡­


    She was stupefied by the comments flooding the screen. Hurriedly, she went into his Weibo and took a look. Phew. Thank goodness. It was so barren there, not even a random blade of grass growing on that profile page. He wouldn¡¯t be hit on or bothered by people. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. And so, she, the one who had not had a good sleep for two days, smugly hugged that phone number against herself and rolled around on the bed.


    Who cared what sort of chaos had broken out on Weibo? Right now, all her heart and mind cared about was this one thing. Everything else was as substantial to her as floating clouds!


    Under the glow of the bedside lamp, she raised her mobile phone high above her head and stared at that string of numbers¡­


    It was eight o¡¯clock right now. That wasn¡¯t considered late, right?


    Deep breath.


    Don¡¯t be scared.


    Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.


    She pressed the dial button, then gently brought the phone to her ear.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­ Her heartbeat.


    Brrrrt¡­brrrt¡­ brrrt¡­ The phone¡¯s ringback tone.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­ Her heartbeat.


    Brrrrt¡­brrrt¡­ brrrt¡­


    Suddenly, the call was answered¡ª


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    And then, there no sound¡­ no sound at all¡­


    Dazedly, she held onto her phone and gave a tentative ¡°Hello?¡± Still no sound¡­


    She had copied the number down wrong? That couldn¡¯t be. She had checked it several times just now.


    ¡­¡­


    A few seconds later, she sat up from the bed. Right as she was about to hang up the call, his voice was unexpectedly heard from within the phone, sounding only half-awake and¡­ in a bad mood. ¡°Tong Nian?¡±


    ¡°Mm, mm. It¡¯s me¡­¡± She instantly could hear that he had been sleeping. ¡°I was just¡ª ¡±


    What did she want to say? T.T  Why had she forgotten all of it? She was so dumb she could cry¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the U.S. on February 24.¡± Gun¡¯s voice was very, very, very low¡­ as if he was going to fall into a deep slumber at any second. ¡°Back March 19. EK306¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh.¡± She immediately committed this string of information to memory.


    ¡°If there¡¯s anything¡±¡ªhis voice was already rather indistinct, as if he was struggling at the edge of dreamland¡ª¡°we¡¯ll talk about it when I¡¯m back.¡±


    She gave a couple of ¡°uh-huh, uh-huhs,¡± wanting to tell him that she did not really have anything important. However, the person on the other end of the line had already fallen into a pure, peaceful quiet.


    She softly said hello a couple of times again. Very thoughtfully, she did not continue to disturb him and hung up the call of her own accord.


    Then, she stared vacantly at her mobile phone for a full two minutes.


    He needed to go to the U.S., and for so long, too. For a competition? So exhausting. The Lunar New Year¡¯s celebrations weren¡¯t even over yet.


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    And so it was for nearly half a month.


    There was no contact between the two of them. Every time Tong Nian pulled out her phone, wanting to call him, she would remember that he needed to lead his team in training, needed to compete, needed to engage in social activities for networking, needed to¡­ Anyway, he should not be readily disturbed. And then, she would wordlessly put her phone away again.


    On the day of the Lantern Festival[1], she was clasping her mobile phone, staring undecidedly at his phone number while simultaneously pondering over whether she should make a phone call to him on this holiday. Her mom brought out a bowl of yuanxiao[2] [glutinous rice balls] with peanut-sesame filling from the kitchen and passed it into her hands. Probingly, her mom asked the question, ¡°Have you and your boyfriend broken up?¡±


    Yuanxiao (image credit). The filling in this particular picture looks to be black sesame filling.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She paused in blank surprise as she extended a hand to take the bowl.


    ¡°It¡¯s hot. Mom will carry it over there for you.¡± Her dearest mother did not want her to burn her hand. Seeing her dull expression, Mom laughed, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If you¡¯ve broken up, then you¡¯ve broken up. You¡¯re still young. Freedom to love as you want, right? Mom won¡¯t interfere.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t broken up,¡± she murmured lightly as she very displeasedly followed behind her mom. ¡°He¡¯s just busy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, busy.¡± Her dearest mother beamed at her. Things were evident from the chat history in her phone. It had been nearly a full month where they had not even called each other. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, doesn¡¯t matter.¡± After saying this, she set down the bowl that was filled with yuanxiao and, in passing, stroked Tong Nian¡¯s hair. ¡°How about this? If, in the future, you feel like you want to break up but you¡¯re worried that the adults of the two families will overthink the situation, Mom will help you out and say it for you, okay?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to break up¡­¡± Picking up a spoon, she poked at the yuanxiao.


    All of a sudden, she remembered that there eventually would be a day when they would break up.


    Somewhat gloomily, she continued stabbing at the yuanxiao until gradually, one became a squashed mess.


    And then¡­ she continued to stab at the next one¡­


    Without warning, her hand halted. Wait! He specifically told me the flight number. Does that mean he wants me to go to the airport to meet his flight? Hmm, that doesn¡¯t seem very likely¡­ But, as his girlfriend, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem to go meet him there, right?


    No problem, right?


    With those thoughts, she no longer was depressed. Merrily, she slurped down that bowl of yuanxiao that she had stabbed to a mush, then immediately wiped her mouth clean, tossed down her spoon, and bounced upstairs to choose her clothes.


    Even though today was only the fifth of March and there was still another half a month¡­


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    Half a month later, she had finally settled on the outfit that she would be going out in. She was even for once wearing shoes with a slight heel, in hopes that she could measure up to even a little bit of his height. When she was sitting inside the taxi, the driver looked in the rearview mirror at this young girl and could not help asking cheerfully, ¡°Going to the airport to pick up your boyfriend?¡± On such a chilly day, to be dressed so cutely and not care at all about temperature and warmth¡ªit could only be for the boyfriend.


    Especially since it was raining torrentially¡­


    A little embarrassed, she gave an ¡°mm¡± in answer before taking a moist towelette and, with all seriousness, wiping at the rain on her shoes.


    Finding this little girlie to be adorable, the driver purposely drove faster for her. Due to traffic congestion, though, by the time she arrived at the airport, she was still late. The driver deliberately stopped on the cleanest stretch of ground. Repeatedly expressing her thanks, Tong Nian stepped out of the car, held down her little dress hat with her hand, and dashed to the main entrance. People were everywhere, especially at the arrivals door, where they were packed tightly together, and there was simply no place for her to get settled and wait¡­


    She could only thicken her skin and, with all her might, continuously squeeze her way forward and then squeeze some more.


    Then, holding onto the security rope, she steadied herself on her feet.


    Nervously, her eyes watched the travellers that were coming out one after another.


    He wasn¡¯t there.


    That wasn¡¯t him.


    That still wasn¡¯t him¡­


    There were fewer and fewer people coming out. Gradually, she began to grow uneasy. It was clearly displayed on the monitors that the plane had just landed. She shouldn¡¯t have missed him, right? Wait¡­ There! He was simply too eye-catching. She had instantly spotted him once he stepped out from the frosted glass doors. However, he was speaking with two unfamiliar men, who each wore a camera hanging from the neck. Following behind him was grunt, but neither of them looked in her direction. Just like that, in a spot three steps away, they walked straight past her¡­


    ¡°Han¡­¡± she called out, but all of a sudden feeling self-conscious, she very slowly lowered the volume of the remaining word. ¡°Shangyan¡­¡± How come he yet again didn¡¯t see me? ¡­


    In the instant when her eyes dimmed, a hand suddenly waved in front of them.


    ¡°It¡¯s you.¡± The beautiful, short-haired woman smiled and asked her, ¡°You came to wait for Gun?¡±


    ¡°¡­ Mm.¡± It was her¡­


    She was somewhat hesitant, not really bold enough to talk to appledog. After all, Gun had demonstrated all along that he was not very friendly towards her, causing Tong Nian to not know what to do, either.


    ¡°Dt.¡± appledog turned and addressed the young man who had walked out alongside her. ¡°How about you bring her over? I¡¯m going to go first.¡±


    It was also only after appledog caught sight of her that Dt noticed Tong Nian crammed in the masses of people. Originally, he had still been considering whether he should say hello, but now, seeing as the woman before him had said this, he of course needed to treat her words as his task that he needed to complete. ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°See you later.¡± Towing her suitcase with her, appledog waved at Tong Nian. After thinking for a moment, though, she moved over close to her and whispered, ¡°Wishing you guys happiness. Going now.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Tong Nian¡¯s face became completely crimson.


    And so, she watched as, side by side, the beautiful woman and a teenage boy strode outside.


    Without saying any superfluous words, Dt pointed at the main doors of the airport, motioning to Tong Nian that she should go with him. Tong Nian immediately stepped out from the crowd and, following him, walked straight out of the airport. There, she saw that Gun had already sat into a private minivan.


    This person whom she had not seen for one month was right now leaning his head back into the seat and resting. Perhaps because he was worried he would be disturbed, his jacket had been taken off and was being used to cover his face¡­ With one leg crossed over the other, he was as comfortable as he could get and as relaxed as he could be.


    ? 2013-2016 FANATICAL hui3r.wordpress.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r.wordpress.com. If you are not reading this from hui3r.wordpress.com, then this translation has been posted without the permission of the translator.


    ¡°Your girlfriend¡¯s here.¡± Dt suddenly spoke, breaking the silence within the vehicle.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    He did not so much as stir. It was apparent he did not know Dt was talking to him.


    Behind him, grunt bent his pointer finger and shoved up his glasses. With an evil grin, he chimed, ¡°Oh, hey, Sister-In-Law.¡±


    Only then did Gun move his arm, rather slowly pulling down the garment that was covering his face. Because he had been about to fall asleep, he really could not maintain any sort of pleasant face or friendly mood at this moment. In his blurred vision, he saw a girl dressed in a green, plaid suit dress, hugging her black wool coat against herself and even wearing a deep green, little dress hat¡­


    Wasn¡¯t she cold? He moved his arms to loosen them up, then took another glance at that hat. A green hat¡­ What kind of taste was that?[3]


    So, he set down that leg that had been crossed on top of the other one and sat up straight. Resting both his elbows on his knees, he looked down at her where she stood outside the van door. ¡°Something the matter?¡±


    grunt covered his forehead with his hand. What a waste of words. What else could it be?


    ¡°No¡­ nothing. I just came to meet your flight.¡± Her head was down.


    Sure enough, he was not happy about it.


    Dt lowered his head to cast a look at Tong Nian¡¯s calves, which were exposed to the biting wind, and fell deep into contemplation. If they didn¡¯t let the little girl into the van, would it create a situation where tomorrow, she would have a cold, and then by the time she was old, she would be unable to walk due to aching joints? And plus, from the looks of it, ¡°she¡± really seemed to like this little girl¡­ As he thought of this point, he at last did the rare thing of opening his mouth to say a sentence of casual chitchat. ¡°Go ahead and get in the van first. You¡¯ll end up dying from the cold first if you wait for him to tell you to get in.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She dared not move.


    The weight of the threefold gaze coming from the driver plus grunt and Dt caused Gun to finally, from somewhere within his tiredness, find a sliver of the goodness of human nature. He looked down, and after three seconds of forcing his mind to clear even more, he raised his head again. ¡°Get in the van.¡±


    Only then did Tong Nian give an ¡°mm¡± and obediently step into the vehicle.


    Gun shifted inwards from the outside, freeing up a seat for her. And then, after she had sat down, his eyes slowly travelled down and landed on that bare pair of legs. ¡°Not cold?¡±


    ¡°Not cold.¡± She shook her head, somewhat embarrassed that her little notion had been exposed. ¡°Honest, I don¡¯t feel cold.¡±


    Didn¡¯t feel cold, and yet her legs were so chilled they were pale?


    Conjuring up in his mind how his legs had felt during a trip to Antarctica, Gun swept his eyes once again over those slender, snowy-white legs. ¡°Where are those longs socks of yours, with the ears?¡±


    Huh? Socks with the ears?


    Tong Nian paused blankly in surprise. Stammering somewhat, she asked in reply, ¡°You¡­ like me wearing those?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Pffffft!¡± Grunt sprayed out a laugh.


    That question was¡­ just wicked!


    [1] ÔªÏü½Ú ¡°Yuan Xiao Jie.¡± The Lantern Festival or Yuan Xiao Festival takes place on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar year, and marks the end of the Lunar New Year¡¯s celebrations (also known as the Spring Festival) with the first full moon of the year. Traditionally, lanterns are lit and put up as decoration or carried around during the night. So, from a timeline perspective, the ¡°matchmaking dinner¡± took place on Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve, and this scene here is fifteen days later.


    [2] ÔªÏü. Yuanxiao are a ¡°dumpling,¡± usually sweet, and are rolled (not wrapped) into a ball form with glutinous rice flour. A filling is first formed into a sphere and then dropped into glutinous rice flour, where it is shaken and rocked back and forth until it forms a ball covered in the ?flour. Fillings can include peanut, sesame, red bean paste, almond, etc. and are a traditional food of ?the Lantern Festival.


    [3] In Chinese, the expression, ¡°wearing a green hat¡± is used to describe a man whose wife has been unfaithful to him.

 CH 22

    ¡­¡­


    He could not be bothered to say any more. Feeling around in his pocket, he pulled out three mobile phones.


    One at a time, he powered them on.


    Countless message alert tones began ringing out.


    Amid the frenzied noise of text message and voicemail alerts, Tong Nian added in a small voice, ¡°If you like it, I¡¯ll wear it again next time. Is white okay?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    grunt¡¯s expression was already rather misshapen from laughing so hard, and he completely was not portraying the image that he, as a handsome young man, should have. Dt, on the other hand, voluntarily chose to shift back one seat, and then, after thinking briefly, he pulled out his earphones and plugged his ears with them.


    Gun felt that the little girlie¡¯s thought process was not even on the same channel as his. However, due to the fact that grunt and the driver were also inside the van, listening with their ears pricked up, he finally crooked his finger at her.


    Huh? Tong Nian obediently leaned in closer.


    His voice slid into her ear. ¡°Do you know that words like those can cause people to take them the wrong way?¡±


    ¡°Wrong way?¡± She failed to comprehend.


    ¡°Don¡¯t get it?¡±


    She shook her head. Take what the wrong way?


    Those types of socks, basically all the girls who hung out in anime expos liked to wear them. What could you take the wrong way?


    Gun fell into silence.


    After three seconds: ¡°From now on, don¡¯t discuss this type of thing with people, especially men.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± She nodded.


    Couldn¡¯t discuss this? Why? And¡­ especially not with men?


    Who would discuss this with men, ah¡­ Wait!


    !!!!


    She finally understood. Her eyes wide, she stared incredulously at him.


    Oh god, it couldn¡¯t be¡­


    ¡­¡­


    As a result, all of the various conversation topics she had planned out ahead of time were completely wrecked by this eared-socks incident. In the more than one hour that the van spent driving from the airport to the city centre, she did not dare take even a single glance at him. Her mind whirled crazily, like there were ten thousand galloping horses inside, with all sorts of silent cries of ¡°What should I do, what should I do¡­?¡±


    While over here, the little girl¡¯s mental whirring was like the crashing waves of the heavy sea, Gun clearly had already tossed this incident to the back of his mind. His consciousness had already speedily blocked out the existence of this little girl and was beginning to sort out those few matters of late that were relatively thornier to deal with. Only after the vehicle had driven into the underground parking garage did he finally realize that he had forgotten to tell the driver to drop her off at her home first.


    There was no other option now but to go upstairs first. He had a very urgent overseas call he needed to make, and it could not be delayed.


    Dt was surprised by this. He had not expected that Gun would truly take her here to the team headquarters, and for the few seconds when the vehicle had driven into the garage, he had even had some speculations. Could it be that Gun really did have feelings and notions about the little girl? Later, though, when they were all upstairs and Gun instructed someone to bring Tong Nian to the small conference room, he realized that he had read too much into it.


    The great demon overlord had a work call he needed to make and had no other choice.


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian was tossed alone into the small conference room. Through the glass wall, she watched Gun, who was in the large conference room on the other side of the wall, and saw him remove his outer jacket. And there, in the middle of winter, he sat in only a short-sleeved shirt, facing his computer and carrying out his phone conference. She could not hear any sound, but just simply watching him in this way made her heart feel warm and cozy¡­


    So nice. She had waited a month¡­


    So nice to be able to see the real, live person.


    Setting her backpack on the table, she leaned a cheek on top of it and wordlessly watched him.


    The man in her vision did not look at all like he was in this meeting with any seriousness. His right arm rested on the table, propping up his head, while his left hand continuously spun his black mobile phone.


    Hmm¡­


    Should she¡­?


    Should be no big deal, right? ¡­


    He wouldn¡¯t notice anyway¡­


    Steathily, she slipped her mobile phone out from her pocket and, feeling guiltily nervous, opened up the camera app.


    Just something to keep as a memento.


    She raised her phone up in front of her eyes, making a pretense of texting but in reality, adjusting the camera lens.


    If his face would just turn a bit more this way, that¡¯d be so good.


    Don¡¯t spin your phone. It¡¯s blocking your face, ah¡­


    Eh? His face had turned this way?


    Click. A successful snapshot!


    So awesome! She chortled secretly as she tapped open the photo. But before she had the chance to have a good look at it, a WeChat message suddenly popped up.


    Gn: Delete it.


    Tong Nian gaped in astonishment.


    With a ding, another WeChat message jumped out.


    Gn: Be good and listen.


    ¡­¡­


    He. Actually. Knows¡­ that this WeChat account is mine¡­


    He. Actually. Didn¡¯t¡­ block it¡­


    Separated from her by a layer of glass, Gun stood up in front of his computer, walked over to the glass wall, and knocked on it. Tong Nian at last started back to awareness, flusteredly deleting that photograph. Dragging her feet, she shuffled over, her entire brain filled with thoughts of ¡°Oh Lord, he actually guessed that it was me¡­ So that means he must have received all those ads I had sent him in the very beginning. So dumb of me¡­¡±


    He made a motion with his hands, indicating that she should go over.


    She was still struggling with herself in her brain that felt like a gob of glue¡­ and didn¡¯t move.


    He once again motioned to her.


    She still had a look of ¡°Oh Heaven, oh Earth!¡± over her entire face¡­ and didn¡¯t move.


    The glass wall was well soundproofed, and anything he spoke would not be audible to her. But he could not leave the room, either. He had no choice but to grab an arbitrary dry-erase marker from the tray ledge of a whiteboard, and on the glass, he wrote two words: come here.


    And then, he tossed the marker onto the table, sat back down in his previous spot, and pressed the mute button on his phone.


    One minute later, the door was gently pushed open.


    With her head bowed low, Tong Nian stepped into the room.


    The voices echoing out from the phone filled the entire room. ¡°Over here in North American, it¡¯s like RAP has simply gotten rich. Overnight, they bought three top-level players. They poached the solo mid players[1] from last year¡¯s champion and second-place teams over to them¡­¡± The person¡¯s words rattled out in a continuous flood as he spoke about business. ¡°They¡¯ve bought six out of the ten top-ranked players by solo MMR [matchmaking rating] on the Americas division¡¯s leaderboard. That¡¯s just infuriating! That¡¯s purely the behavior of the new-rich! As well, Taiwan¡­¡±


    Against this backdrop of sound, Gun extended his hand to her. Very clearly and simply, he said two words: ¡°Mobile phone.¡±


    She obediently handed it over. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s deleted.¡±


    He had just taken it into his hand and still had not checked the photo album when he saw a WeChat message pop up.


    Seeing the two words, ¡°God Gun¡± he offhandedly tapped it open.


    Blueberry: Your Highness, Your Highness, I can¡¯t take it anymore. Have you and God Gun met up yet? Does he like your outfit today? Those long legs, oh yeah, loooooong legs. Did! He! Get! A! NOSEBLEED?!


    ¡­¡­


    A tinge of a smile seemed to touch Gun¡¯s face. He glanced down at those bare legs below her skirt, not saying anything.


    Nervously, Tong Nian stood perfectly straight.


    Who sent the WeChat message? Oh, please don¡¯t send some weird thing over¡­


    Following closely was yet another message.


    Blueberry: Oh right, oh right. When you were eating earlier, I thought of something. That suit dress of yours doesn¡¯t show off your boobs! It doesn¡¯t highlight your shapely, voluptuous beauty! Our Highness is clearly a girlie with a Loli face and big boobs!!!! How can you not show off your superior assets?!!!!


    ¡­¡­


    Gun snorted out a laugh and set the mobile phone on the table.


    Tong Nian grew even more apprehensive.


    But still, he did not speak.


    In the midst of the brief quietness, only the chatterbox inside the phone carried on with his grumbling. ¡°Leader, should we buy a few players, too? What joke are they trying to make? We¡ªK&K¡ªare the true wealthy big shots, alright?!¡± The person in the phone seemed to realize that it had been a long time since Gun had spoken. ¡°Leader? Leader? Leader? Eh? Leader got disconnected? How come there¡¯s no sound? Leader? ¡­¡±


    It was apparent the cry after cry calling out for him was being ignored.


    His deep black eyes made a sweep towards her. ¡°You talk to your friends often about us?¡±


    Discomfited by her guilty conscience, she answered, ¡°Not extremely often. Occasionally, I¡¯ll say a little bit¡ªjust a teeny, tiny bit.¡±


    ¡°Oh? What do you talk about?¡±


    ¡°Just¡­ I¡¯ll have them tell me the things from your past when you were a pro gamer.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡± The final tone of his words rose up slightly.


    ¡°Mm.¡± Guilty conscience.


    ¡°Just those?¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Continue with guilty conscience.


    The person on the other end of the phone had already successively called out ¡°Leader¡± more than a dozen times.


    He finally turned off the speakerphone function. ¡°You¡¯re the host. Dial into the conference call number first and chair the meeting.¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh. I forgot about that.¡±


    When Gun finished saying this, he hung up this call. Opening up an email on his computer, he memorized that string of numbers that was a free, long distance calling number, dialed it, and switched straight into his English, phone-conference mode. ¡°Hello everyone, this is Gn.¡±


    ¡°Hi Gn!¡± There was a woman¡¯s voice, and it sounded very happy.


    In his peripheral vision, he saw Tong Nian constantly flicking her eyes over to glance at that mobile phone on the table but not daring to so much as twitch. Remembering her cruddy excuse for a fib just now, he could not hold back the corner of his lips from turning upwards.


    Nudging the mobile phone over, he watched her rather interestedly, waiting for her reaction that was about to follow.


    Tong Nian had not detected that she was being amusedly observed. Breathing in relief, she happily took her mobile phone back.


    Thank goodness, thank goodness.


    Huh?


    Blueberry?


    The WeChat messages were sent by her?


    What was up?


    ¡­¡­


    !!!!

 CH 23

    August 31, 2016 by hoju 3 Comments


    The K&K boys are getting another scare. This time, it¡¯s coming from¡­


    Chapter 23 ¨C Little Software Maestro?


    The phone conference came to an end.


    As he had just finished a long-haul flight, Gun¡¯s back and waist felt somewhat tired and sore, and he did not have much of an appetite. However, after glancing beside him at the little girl, who had already sat in mortification for ten minutes, he decided to temporarily abandon the plan of going back to his room to sleep and punched the button for an internal line. ¡°Anyone there?¡±


    ¡°Leader.¡± Immediately, his assistant cried animatedly, ¡°You¡¯re done your meeting?¡±


    ¡°Have 97 and the others come in, and order me two takeout boxed dinners.¡±


    ¡°No problem!¡±


    Three minutes later, all the team members, each holding their half-eaten dinners, filed in.


    When they saw Tong Nian, their eyes brightened, and they all wore excited expressions of ¡°Sister-In-Law, we meet again.¡± And then, they instantly noticed the two words, ¡°come here,¡± written on the glass and began to look at one another, silently exchanging meaningful glances.


    This¡­ is Leader¡¯s new way of getting his romantic kicks?


    How come we can¡¯t imagine how they were playing?


    ¡­¡­


    Gun was sitting in the single chair at the end of the conference table while Tong Nian sat by a window off to the very side and close beside him. By the time the seventeen or eighteen grown boys had all taken their seats, the table was completely covered with all sorts of boxed dinners, McDonald¡¯s, KFC, ma la tang[1] [a numbingly spicy broth with various ingredients]¡­


    Two male assistants carried in an entire bin filled with beverages and set it on the table.


    The atmosphere in the room instantly lit up.


    This was the first time Leader brought Sister-In-Law to have dinner with everyone in the club¡¯s gaming house. It was completely different from last time, when they had met her halfway through the competition and then went to a restaurant. This place here was K&K, their lair.


    Gun took in everyone¡¯s fiendish expressions. With a smile that went only skin-deep, he pulled out a fistful of fruit candies from his pocket.


    He set them down on the table.


    Instantaneously, there was no more noise whatsoever.


    Tong Nian was still clutching her mobile phone with a death grip. Racing nonstop through her mind were the wordings of ¡°looooong legs,¡± ¡°nosebleed,¡± and ¡°Loli face and big boobs,¡± and her fingers were white from the tight grip¡­


    Honest. Never before had she felt like she had made such a fool of herself¡­


    And in front of him, too¡­


    Someone rapped on the glass tabletop in front of her with a mobile phone, waking her from her thoughts.


    Lifting her head, Tong Nian saw Gun, from within the pile of candy, find a green one, and bending his finger, he flicked it toward her. The fruit candy slid across the surface of the table noiselessly, slowly coming to a rest before her.


    Gun raised his brows, motioning that she should have the candy.


    ¡°Mm¡­¡±


    Tong Nian sluggishly set down her phone, picked up the candy obediently, unwrapped it, and put it into her mouth.


    The entire group gawked at this, deeply stunned by this scene¡­


    This¡­ This¡­ This¡­


    This was Leader¡­ being sweet to try to make Sister-In-Law happy?!


    Detecting everybody¡¯s rather uncurbed onlooking, Gun ran his eyes over each person, finally landing his gaze on demo. ¡°I remember, before I left, your results from the reaction time testing were third from the bottom of the pile.¡±


    ¡°That¡­¡± demo felt his good days had utterly come to an end. ¡°Leader, I¡¯ve actually been working on my reaction time this month¡­¡±


    Aren¡¯t there two others who are second from the bottom and absolute bottom of the pile? Why do you have to choose me to be the one to get chewed out? ¡­


    ¡°Really?¡± Gun also chose a purple one for himself. Leisurely unwrapping it, he put it between his teeth, bit down, and held it there¡­


    ¡°Honest! Leader! I¡¯ve use that software to test my reaction time now. 201!¡±


    Everyone winced inwardly and looked ruefully at demo.


    And he had even dared announce the number. Captain¡¯s test result was 106.


    ¡°Oh? Why do I recall that Dt¡¯s is 106?¡± Sure enough, Gun pulled out Dt¡¯s score.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± demo banged his head against the table. ¡°Leader, I¡¯m in the wrong¡­¡±


    Gun was not in a rush to say anything. Crushing the candy between his teeth, he relished in the taste.


    Each person gripped his chopsticks, drinking straw, spoon, or fork and quietly waited¡ªwaited to see who would be the next to fall into bad luck and have his name ¡°specially¡¯ called out¡­


    All of a sudden, in the spot closest to that great demon overlord, a very well-behaved hand was raised.


    ¡°May I ask a question? Tong Nian asked in a small voice.


    Gun¡¯s gaze shifted to the side to look at her. ¡°Say it.¡±


    Tears sprung into everyone¡¯s eyes.


    Sister-In-Law was indeed their dearest Sister-In-Law¡­ Instantly saved them in their time of need T.T¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s a reaction time testing software?¡±


    Feeling that explaining this would be too much trouble, Gun arbitrarily found someone from that circle of people. ¡°97, explain.¡±


    ¡°Oh, oh, okay.¡± 97 straightened his glasses. ¡°It¡¯s actually just something we use to test the speed in which we can react. This specific software is extremely simple, and we just play it for fun, Sister-In-Law. So you open up the software, and then when you hear a ding in your headset, you immediately click your mouse to test how fast you react.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Tong Nian thought for a moment. ¡°So then, 106, that¡¯s in milliseconds?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, milliseconds.¡±


    1 second = 1000 milliseconds.


    201 wasn¡¯t a bad result, ah¡­ She was amazed by this speed.


    And then, she recalled Dt¡¯s speed and felt even more that it was inconceivable.


    ¡°So, why do you need to listen for a sound? Can¡¯t you change the way you do it? When you guys game, it¡¯s not like you control based on sound?¡± Over the Lunar New Year period, she had watched many gaming competition videos and knew that, for these types of competitions, there was one thing that was very important: hand-eye reaction speed.


    Of course, knowing was one thing¡­ When she actually played, she still sucked T.T¡­


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± 97 smiled wryly, ¡°That¡¯s why we just normally use it to fool around on. Don¡¯t know who uploaded it onto a website. It¡¯s just a little software that we all share to torture and compete with one another.¡±


    And while they were at it, it was used by the demon overlord to torture everyone¡­


    ¡°Well, then¡­ you can create a software program that only challenges hand-eye reaction speed. For instance, when the program starts up, the entire screen will be green, and then it will gradually change to blue¡­¡± She drew up the concept in her mind. ¡°The rules will be, the instant the colour starts to change, you need to click the mouse. Isn¡¯t that an even more direct way to do the testing?¡±


    Everybody froze in terror.


    Oh sh*t¡­


    Sister-In-Law, what¡­ are you¡­ trying to do¡­?


    Make a tool for Leader to torture us? It sounds so sick and twisted, AAAAAH!!!!


    On the other hand, this attracted Gun¡¯s attention¡­


    ¡°It exists already.¡± Dt, who was sitting in a corner, suddenly spoke up. ¡°The Koreans use it often. It¡¯s a really small software program.¡±


    ¡°Oh? There is one?¡± Gun questioned him in reply. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you ever brought it out to show us?¡±


    Bring it out to do what? Torment everyone? Dt did not reply. Calmly, he lowered his eyes and carried on eating his hamburger.


    ¡°Well,¡± Tong Nian continued her mulling, ¡°then we can make an enhanced version. Let¡¯s say, switching between one hundred different colours? Because the time required for one color change is just too short. You can¡¯t really test anything out of that.¡±


    Gun, in contrast to everyone, felt this was all rather pleasurable. ¡°One hundred? So you¡¯re continuously stimulating and challenging the brain?¡±


    ¡°You fix your eyes intently on the computer screen, and each time the colour changes, you quickly click the mouse. The reaction times are recorded, and an average is taken from the one hundred recorded times. Isn¡¯t that even more fun?¡± Tong Nian did not know whether he was interested or not.


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Gun tapped his temple lightly with his finger. The more he thought about it, the more it amused him. ¡°It can be given a try.¡±


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Immediately, she was thrilled. ¡°Well then, when I go back tonight, I¡¯ll start writing it for you. It¡¯ll be done by tomorrow!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    NOOOOOO, DOOOOON¡¯T!!!! Sister-In-Law!!!!


    Everyone could already imagine this: in the future, when Gun wanted to torment someone, they, the bunch of pitiful, single dudes that the were, would have to sit in front of that brutal little program, staring round-eyed at it and trembling in fear while they incessantly tapped their mice.


    And then, there would be all kinds of physical punishment, physical punishment, physical punishment¡­


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± She asked quietly, ¡°Do you need a top scores board? You could refresh it everyday on the network. It would be really easy to look at it.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Gun was increasingly finding this idea to be quite nice. From his chair, he rose and strolled leisurely over until he was beside Tong Nian. Bending at the waist, he set his elbow on her right shoulder. ¡°So clever.¡±


    He¡¯s¡­ praising me?


    The warmth that was on shoulder¡­ instantly burned away all her thinking.


    Her whole attention was focused on one point, that spot where his elbow and her shoulder were connected.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    So close¡­


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    They were so close to one another¡­


    His eyelashes were so long¡­ So gorgeous¡­


    ¡°Anything else?¡± He lowered his voice and guided her. ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± A rosy red tinge adorned her cheeks, and her eyes involuntarily looked down. Tugging continually at the candy wrapper in her hand, she said, ¡°As long¡­ as you have ideas, we can make a variety of versions. Change it up with some different things, so that all of you¡­ won¡¯t get bored and not have fun anymore ¡­¡±


    Sister-In-Law!!!!


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    We don¡¯t fricking have fun!!!! We are someone else¡¯s idea of fun that he can toy with, AAAAH!!!!


    Every person simultaneously looked toward Dt. Captain!! We¡¯re going to die!!!!

 CH 24

    As a result, everyone ate this dinner as if it was the Feast at Hong Gate[1] [a banquet that is a trap, where the aim is to murder the guest].


    There was absolutely no more of the enthusiastic display from the beginning, when they had first heard that Sister-In-Law had come¡­ Receiving the answer he wanted, with great satisfaction, Gun straightened back up and looked at everyone. ¡°Don¡¯t want to eat?¡± He raised his wrist to look at his watch. ¡°Evening training is in ten minutes. If you don¡¯t want to eat, go start preparing for it ahead of time.¡±


    !!!!


    Sh*t! Hurry up and eat!


    The future could be talked about in the future. Surviving this night and coming out alive was the real worry!


    Therefore, by the time the takeout Gun ordered had arrived, only he and Tong Nian remained in the room.


    An elderly cleaning lady came in and began to tidy up the takeout boxes and beverage bottles that were scattered over the table. As she walked by Tong Nian, she glanced her over curiously but then gave a friendly smile and nod. This girl here was the only young girl who had ever made an appearance in this place¡­ Such an extremely rare sight¡­


    Tong Nian returned her gaze and smiled a little sheepishly, thinking that this person was being disapproving of her because she was eating too slowly¡­


    The boxed dinner was a simple, standard, business set meal: one type of meat, one type of vegetarian food, two green, leafy vegetables on top as a garnish, and that was it. While Tong Nian scooped her food into her mouth and ate, she would constantly steal peeks at Gun.


    He ate particularly fast, unlike the boys around her that she knew, who would chat while they were eating.


    Furthermore, he did not seem to care what sort of food he was eating and whether it suited his liking. The impression he gave people was that, to him, eating was merely a necessary procedure to fill the belly, and he would finish it rapidly so that he could hurry to do proper business.


    If you were to compare, then that night, when they had the Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner, his performance had actually been quite good.


    He had even taken into account how fast all the elders were eating, occasionally taking a couple of bites, then stopping for a while.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste good?¡± When Gun set down his chopsticks, he noticed that she had not taken more than a couple of bites.


    ¡°No.¡± She shook her head, not daring to tell him that she had always been a slowpoke whenever she ate. She could only set down her chopsticks and go along with his pace. ¡°I¡¯m not hungry.¡±


    ¡°Not hungry?¡± Lifting his wrist, he took a glance at his watch. It was seven o¡¯clock already.


    ¡°¡­ Nope, I¡¯m not. I¡¯m honestly not. Before I came, I ate a lot of cake, so I¡¯m not hungry.¡± She began to ramble out some nonsense.


    He did not question further.


    From the seatback of his chair, he picked up his jacket, then motioned for her to leave the conference room with him.


    Hurriedly, she grabbed her backpack and followed after him, walking out of the conference room and through a semi open-style computer room. Those boys who had greeted her and been joking around just earlier on were now all wearing black headsets, their left hands each on a keyboard and right hands each on a mouse, and staring absorbedly at the computer screens in front of them.


    ¡°Come on, gather players, gather players!¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s going to play using Talisman King?¡±


    ¡°I will, I will.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to play mid or support?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Kill! Kill like mad. Hoping to rush the tower in just a bit.¡±


    ¡°The other side still hasn¡¯t selected their characters.¡±


    ¡°Holy sh*t! How are you supposed to play against a Bat who has 2.7k MMR?¡±


    ¡°Holy sh*t, the other side is really stacked.¡±


    ¡°Half an hour only, then we take ¡¯em down in one rush and done.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Did not understand any of that at all.


    It seemed as if everyone was no longer concerned with the world outside of the game.


    That was, of course, besides Dt¡¯s team, which was still sitting around a white, round table and holding a meeting. That team was K&K¡¯s best of the best, and they were about to head into the China division¡¯s 2015 qualifying tournament forTempest of the Sealed Chamber. Their team captain had just flown back from the United States tonight to rejoin the team, and they were now conducting their pre-battle meeting¡­


    Curious, she cast a few extra glimpses in that direction, all of a sudden getting a bizarre feeling, as if she had stepped into another dimension.


    Sensing that her footsteps had halted, Gun glanced at her and saw that those shining eyes were filled with curiosity, like a child. He suddenly had a feeling like he was looking at one of the little sisters or little female cousins in his family.


    Extending a hand, he turned her head back to face the direction they were headed. ¡°We¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She blurted, ¡°So early?¡±


    But once she finished saying this, she was embarrassed and mumbled in explanation, ¡°We¡­ can keep discussing stuff about that software program¡­¡± We can do whatever, and it¡¯ll be okay, so long as I can stay a bit longer. I haven¡¯t seen you for a month¡­


    Dt¡¯s table of team members were all distracted, their ears pricked up, trying to listen in on the conversation here.


    Gun flicked a look in that direction. Those several boys all instantly sat up straight and proper, pretending that they had not heard.


    Ever since he was little, he had been someone who did not like being surrounded by girls. However, it was evident that all his past accomplishments had already decided for him that he would have an abundance of experience in being pursued and being the subject of all sorts of romantic gossip and rumours. Those girls had each had their own assets and advantages and also had their own methods and techniques. And, it was also evident that this kid in front of him right now had no technique whatsoever¡­


    He could clearly see the hope written on her face.


    It was hopeful expectation¡­ that she could stay a little longer in this place.


    ¡°How long do you want to stay?¡± He finally relented slightly.


    ¡°An hour?¡± At once, she was happy. ¡°8:00. 8:00 isn¡¯t too late. When I arrive home, it¡¯ll still only be 8:30.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but I don¡¯t have any time to keep you company,¡± he said.


    ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± she answered.


    As long as I can stay by your side, then it¡¯ll be good, she silently thought.


    Gun contemplated for several seconds.


    Settling her in the office area obviously would not work. She would only be subject to the scrutinizing eyes of those team members who would take turns to visit. It was better, and would save trouble, to just take her directly to the apartment wing where there would be no one before ten o¡¯clock.


    Such thoughts could be considered his unspoken consent. Bringing her along, he left the office area.


    Tong Nian elatedly followed behind, continuing to peer this way and that and incessantly taking in this eSports club that belonged to him. After passing through the training area, there were two conference rooms, a few offices, as well as a very large leisure and recreation area. And then, it was the trophy room.


    On the other side of the glass door, a variety of medals and trophies could be seen.


    Those words on Baidu Baike used to describe him were now truly all in full display before her eyes. Simply gazing upon those honours like this stirred up indescribable emotions and excitement in her.Without even being aware of it, she had walked over into the other side of this tall building.


    Such a very long corridor. It seemed they had walked from the office area into the apartment wing now? Secretly, she peeked at the row of doors on each side of the hallway until the man in front of her ceased his steps at the second last door on the left.


    He pulled out a key card, unlocked the door with a swipe, and pushed it open. One smooth, continuous motion.


    ¡°This is the guest room.¡± He briefly described, ¡°There are three computers. No password needed. Feel free to use them. In an hour, I¡¯ll come get you.¡±


    Huh?


    Tong Nian halted in blank surprise. Staring at that dark room before her, she asked, ¡°May I¡­ stay with you?¡±


    I don¡¯t want¡­ to play on the computer, ah T.T¡­


    ¡°I won¡¯t bother you.¡± She continued to add, ¡°Honest. I can just do anything. I can stay by your side and amuse myself on my phone. I don¡¯t need a computer.¡± Upon saying this, she rather woundedly raised her head to gaze at this man, who, right then, with his back toward the light of the corridor, was watching her.


    Slightly amused, Gun confirmed with her in a low tone, ¡°You¡¯re saying¡­ you want to go to my room?¡±

 CH 25

    Tong Nian paused blankly.


    Go to his room?


    His¡­ room?


    ¡°My plan was to use ten minutes to take a shower, then, while I was at it, sleep for fifty minutes.¡± His tone was relaxed. ¡°Do you still want to go?¡±


    Shower?!


    Sleep?!


    She hastily shook her head. ¡°No, I won¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really not going?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I¡¯ll just stay here by myself and¡­ play on the computer and wait for you¡­¡±


    Once she said this, she immediately strode into the room and stretched out a hand to feel for the light switch. But after fumbling around, feeling out the wall for several rounds and still not finding it, a hand reached in and, with a click, flipped the switch above her head.


    She tilted her head up.


    Did even¡­ the light switch have to be installed so high?


    The person who had turned on the light for her left.


    She heard a series of sounds: a key card being swiped, the door opening, and then, the door closing. Hugging her bag against herself, she stood in that empty guest room. Suddenly, from the bottommost part of her heart, something began to float and float, until up floated a slight feeling of regret for her choice¡­


    And so, she truly did remain alone in this guest room that was decorated in a clean-cut style, staring at three computers for an entire hour. Almost exactly when the clock at the bottom of the computer screen jumped to 8:10 p.m., the door was pushed open. That man, who had changed into a track jacket and had an expression of ¡°I¡¯m not awake yet; I¡¯m not too happy¡± inscribed across his face, languidly strolled in.


    Tong Nian had originally been propping her chin up on her hand, and when she saw him enter, she instantly sprang gleefully to her feet. ¡°I finished it!¡±


    With difficulty, those eyes managed to focus and give a questioning look at her from high above.


    ¡°But, it¡¯s not a hundred different ones. I made one first that layers ten different colours. Come test it out and see how it is!¡±


    ¡°Oh? That fast?¡± He was surprised. Lazily pulling out a chair, he sat down. Tong Nian at once clicked open for him the little program she had just made and, as if presenting a treasure, explained, ¡°Just now, I took a look at that little software program Little Bai had mentioned, and I basically modeled it after that¡­¡±


    He clicked it open but did not begin playing, only glancing at it.


    And immediately, he found it very entertaining.


    A little window first popped up with a top scores board. There was only one score on it: Little Squidie, 1009.


    1.009 seconds?


    That really was the worst score he had ever seen.


    ¡°Do¡­ you like it? Uneasily, Tong Nian asked this in a small voice.


    She was not aware that the results of her trial play were being evaluated by him and only anxiously stared at him, trying to determine whether he liked this little software program.


    Do you like it?


    This really was a unique way of asking. Gun took a look at her. It seemed, besides that mother of his at home, whom he could not really manage, no one had ever asked him this question before.


    The corners of his lips tilted up slightly.


    Clicking on the mouse to close the top scores board, he started a new game.


    Ten data samples, an average score of 102.


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian gaped at this score. 0.102 seconds¡­ What kind of speed was that? ¡­


    Not noticing the gaze of the person behind him, Gun opened up the game again and tried it one more time. This time it was 101. The next several times that followed all maintained this performance level. A hint of pleasure flashed across his gorgeous face. Standing and walking over to a small refrigerator, he pulled out two bottles of cold beer, opened them, and took a swig from one.


    Then, observing that look on her face of not having drunk any water this entire time, he asked offhandedly, ¡°Thirsty?¡±


    Alcohol?


    Tong Nian stared blankly. She had never drank that before¡­


    Nothing really¡­ would happen, right?


    She bowed her head, silently cheering herself on for three seconds before raising it again. ¡°I¡¯ll drink it¡­¡± After stating this, she stepped over, picked up between her two hands the other bottle of beer that Gun had opened, and took a large gulp.


    So bitter¡­


    Gun was taken aback but did not try to stop her.


    His original intention had been to have her drink some of the orange juice or mineral water that was in the refrigerator, but seeing that the kid was so unhesitant, there was no need to say any useless drivel. This place normally kept more beer than any other beverage anyway, and everyone was used to using that to moisten the throat and relax.


    Just a beer with a few percent ABV[1] [alcohol by volume].


    Thinking this, in a few gulps, he finished off his and, in passing, set the bottle down on the windowsill. Seeing him completely down his beer in two or three swigs, Tong Nian was worried that he would spurn her for being useless. In a burst of drummed up courage, she continuously gulped mouthful after mouthful of beer, truly just guzzling it all straight down.


    It feels a little¡­


    ¡­ hot.


    She deliberately set her bottle down beside his empty one and arranged them¡ªuntil they were arranged into a pair.


    And then, she let out a silly giggle.


    Whew, whew. So hot, so hot. With all her might, she fanned herself with her hand.


    Why is it so hot?


    Helplessly, she looked around at her surroundings, then looked at him¡­


    ¡°Hot?¡± Perceiving her unusual behaviour, Gun walked up beside the wall and adjusted the control panel for the heating.


    The temperature was dropped from 24oC to 20oC.


    That should be about right. He brought his hand down. From behind, a small pair of hands unexpectedly circled around his lower back and embraced him¡­ His entire back stiffened. Slowly, he turned his head around and saw the little girl, whose cheeks were already flushed a deep crimson colour, gazing straight up at him.


    Drunk?


    ¡°Do¡­ you like it?¡± In a soft voice, she asked him this, her face pressed against his back. ¡°Do you like it? The thing I made?¡±


    She really was drunk?


    Using the fastest speed possible, he pulled her hands off and spun around. ¡°What did you say?¡±


    ¡°I worked on it for an hour, and you¡¯re not even going to say one sentence, that you like it?¡± Discovering that he was pushing her away, she felt rather wounded. ¡°It was raining so heavily, and I still went to the airport to meet you¡­ But you just made me stay all alone in the guest room¡­ I wrote a program, and you won¡¯t even say that you like it¡­¡±


    She really was drunk¡­


    He drew that conclusion.


    If the person in front of him was a K&K member, he would have long ago grabbed her by the collar and tossed her out. Why even wait for her mad, drunken antics? But what if she was a little girl? And on top of that, a little girl who did not even know what she was doing ¡­


    He admitted that he had no experience in this.


    In that space while he was thinking, Tong Nian once again stretched out her arms to enfold them around him¡­


    Beyond laughter or tears, Gun grasped ahold of her hands.


    In her palms, there was softness and warmth as well as persistence and love. The attachment and unwillingness to part from him, both physically and mentally, that she was conveying¡­ in this moment, caused a man¡¯s indecent desire to bud in him.


    ¡­¡­


    Gun lightly exhaled a breath. Keep your head.


    Breathing, normal.


    Heart rate, also very normal.


    Very good. It¡¯s just a little girl. Getting those types of ideas is dirty and despicable.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t¡­ like it?¡± Tong Nian could feel the scorching heat of his palm, and her awareness was becoming fuzzier and fuzzier. ¡°That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve worked so hard on something. Can¡¯t you just say you like it?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I like it.¡± Once again, he blew out a breath.


    ¡°Really?¡± Her eyes sparkled.


    ¡°Really.¡± He was very obliging.


    Dealing with a drunkard was not difficult.


    The difficult part was what came next: how was he going to get her home safely, and furthermore, escape unscathed from that place where the elders of her family resided? ¡­


    Using only a few seconds, Gun was able to imagine the consequences that would follow. He was considering the severity of this situation and possible solutions for it, but the little girl in front of him did not notice in the least.


    Instantly, simply because of his ¡°I like it,¡± a silly little grin very cutely, very giddily climbed onto her face.


    And as she grinned and grinned, she could not refrain from trying to slide herself into his arms again¡­


    Gun inhaled deeply, putting up a strong resistance.


    In his palms, that tiny pair of hands was twisting and moving about, struggling to break free and wanting to do things that were even more shocking and outrageous¡­ Trying to move closer to him, closer to him. Embrace him. Inhale his scent. Encircle his waist¡­


    Sh*t.


    He was going to go insane.


    The best plan was to find a safe, reliable woman to watch her for him first, and then he could think about other things. It didn¡¯t matter who it was. At any rate, he could not stay here alone with her. Thinking this, he released his hold on her hands. But before he could even pull away, she had thrown herself at him and, fulfilling her wish, wrapped her arms around his waist.


    Sh*t!


    He truly did go insane!


    Especially since the little girl was rubbing her cheek against his chest.


    His jacket was almost pulled open¡­


    And the most crucial point was, in order to save trouble, he basically had not put on any unnecessary garments underneath his track jacket¡­


    Oh wait, no¡­


    It already was pulled open¡­


    He tried hard to not allow himself to touch her in the slightest. With both his arms raised high, he skirted himself away from her diminutive and soft body as well as all those curves belonging specifically to the female gender that were trying to snug themselves up against him¡­


    The fricking most frustrating part was, outside the door, the sounds of footsteps and laughter arose, closing in on them one step at a time.


    Nearer and nearer.


    Nearer and nearer¡­


    ¡°Tong Nian,¡±¡ªhe rapidly made a decision¡ª¡°I¡¯ll tell you a secret¡­¡±


    This had to be resolved as soon as possible. In particular, he could not continue to let her wiggle up against his chest with all her might¡­


    Sweetly, she gave an ¡°mm,¡± all the while continuing to clasp her arms around him and breathe in deeply.


    The fresh scent from just getting out of the shower. So clean, so refreshing, and so manly. Actually, he¡¯s not the least bit old. Just now, when he was testing out the program, he was soooooo hot¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    He fell into utter despair.


    The brief moment of quiet in the room served to clearly highlight 97 and grunt¡¯s conversation on the other side of the door as well as the knocking on the door that soon followed. He could not allow her to hold him like this anymore, and at last, pulling her away from him once more, he bent his tall figure over to look her in the eye. ¡°I brought a gift back for you, from the U.S.¡±


    To ensure that she would believe him, he leaned in close and, beside her cheek, deliberately lowered his voice until it was slightly husky and seductive. ¡°You will like it for sure.¡±


    Vacantly, she stared at him, staring and staring until she felt she did not have the boldness to stare anymore¡­


    The sky and the ground seemed to be spinning¡­


    Her entire gaze was filled with all those things that were now exposed beneath the neckline of that track jacket¡­


    The hollow of his neck¡­


    Collarbones¡­


    Chest¡­


    Abs¡­


    And beneath those abs, the waistband of his jeans that had not been done up¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­

 CH 26

    Chapter 26 ¨C Gift (? . ?)£¡


    The sound of door knocking.


    And still, the sound of door knocking.


    Gun continued to utter softly, ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to see your gift?¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Her entire body felt as if it was ablaze. She was uncertain whether it was because she was feeling too shy, but her hands gripped his track jacket tightly and she dared not move in the slightest.


    Besides hugging him¡­ was there¡­ something else she wanted to do? ¡­


    Her head started to spin again.


    Gun had already picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Pulling two key cards directly out of the pocket of his jeans, he quickly identified each of them, strode up to a side door that was locked, swiped a card, stepped in, and pushed the door closed behind him.


    In an instant, they had walked into darkness.


    There was no light whatsoever. It was his bedroom.


    The kid on his shoulder slid back down to the ground. Swiftly, like an octopus, she slipped her arms around his waist.


    Gun gently blew out a breath. He felt her hairs slide into his clothing¡­ His throat felt somewhat dry. Luckily, this little octopus for the moment was not rubbing and shifting herself around and bumping into places that she should not bump.


    Next door, someone had already stepped inside.


    The guest room had an audio monitoring system installed. When he was sleeping earlier on, he had purposely turned it on in case the little girl needed something or there was something wrong while she was alone in the other room and could not find him¡­ Now¡­


    As it turned out, it had not been turned off yet, so anything that was said in the room next door could clearly be heard in here.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Leader? Didn¡¯t he call and tell us to come here to give a report on our thoughts?¡± 97 asked in a puzzled tone.


    ¡°Who knows? Maybe he¡¯s having a three hundred-round ¡®tussle¡¯ somewhere?¡± grunt replied with suggestive undertones.


    With a ¡°pffft,¡± 97 sprayed, ¡° True. It has been a whole month where they haven¡¯t seen each other.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s that age where men are like wolves and tigers, you know. An old dude whose nearly thirty.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    The back and forth jokes and mocking of those two grown boys echoed in that empty room. He could not stand listening to them any longer. Extending an arm, he found the power switch for the monitor and¡ª


    Right when his fingers contacted the switch, he felt something warm brush over his collarbone¡­


    ¡°Gift, gift.¡± Her voice was pouty and came from a spot by his collarbone.


    Then that meant¡­


    The thing that was right there against his skin was¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get your gift for you.¡± His voice was somewhat edgy. ¡°Let go first.¡±


    The kid did not stir, only rubbing her face against his skin to express her refusal.


    ¡°Let go.¡± To his surprise, he very sensitively detected the scent from her body, one that smelled the same as fruit candies, intensely sweet.


    Sh*t!


    He shut his eyes.


    He was so vexed he wanted to take this clinging kid who was pressed to his body and toss her outside, yet he could not make himself actually do it.


    ¡°Tong Nian.¡± He lowered his head, and there was an obvious sense that he was beginning to waver¡­ ¡°Be good. Let go.¡±


    In the darkness, he wanted to pull away those arms that encircled his waist. But then, he sensed that warmth that had been on his collarbone slide down to his chest¡­


    His arms stiffened slightly.


    ¡°Gift, gift.¡± Hazily, she continued her mumbling.


    His heart was beating stiflingly, getting slower and slower.


    Finally, after a long period of silence, he brought his head down close to her face.


    ¡°Are you enjoying ¡®eating your tofu[1]¡¯ [taking advantage of someone, in a physical, intimate manner]?¡± His voice was muted and deep¡­


    She buried her face against his chest, her heart feeling as if it was burning with restlessness.


    She only held him tighter, and tighter some more.


    ¡°What gift¡­¡±¡ªhis voice became even lower, almost a near-whisper¡ª¡°do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want¡­¡± Fuzzily, she thought, ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who said you had a gift for me?¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want¡­¡±


    Want¡­


    ¡­ And just like that, that little face moved and pressed itself up to his.


    Burning hot was her face as well as those soft lips, which slid shyly, tenderly from his ear. With no experience in this and, in addition, in this state of drunkenness, she muddledly could not really find the place she was searching for.


    He detected her anxious frustration and turned his face to accommodate and oblige this impatient little girl¡¯s actions.


    ¡­¡­


    Sh*t!


    He abruptly started back to his senses. Twisting his head away, he rammed it hard against the wall.


    After the dull thud sounded out, his head at last seemed a little clearer. The next second, he picked the little lady up and threw her directly onto the bed. Swiftly yanking up the zipper of his track jacket, he turned his back to her and buttoned up his jeans.


    Then, he strode with large steps over to his luggage, pulled out a black, wooden box from inside, turned around, and tossed the box onto the bed as well.


    Tong Nian was seeing stars from being thrown, and while she was still wobbly and befuddled, a wooden box thumped into her stomach.


    Sitting up on the bed, Tong Nian picked up the box and inspected it for three seconds. Her lips pouted out in disappointment, and falling back down onto his bed with a plop, she completely passed out¡­


    As a result, when she awoke the next day and sat up in her own bed, dressed in her Winnie the Pooh pajamas that she normally wore at home, she even had a mistaken moment that it was all a figment of her imagination. A dream? Why had she had such a¡­ sensual dream?


    Cover my face, cover my face¡­


    Soooooo embarrassing¡­


    How come I was the one forcing myself onto him? ¡­


    She threw her hands over her face, which, along with her ears, was scarlet for a full ten minutes. When she rolled out of bed to put on her slippers, she at last noticed that, on the table, there was a black, wooden box¡­


    Oh God!!!!


    Yesterday couldn¡¯t have been real, right?!


    Seized with utter panic, she circled about.


    To her left, the clothing and bag that she had worn to the airport were tossed on the sofa. To her right, her mobile phone held down a note:


    Hey dearie, you must give me a call when you wake up!!


    ¡ªBlueberry


    She yanked out that note and picked up her mobile phone. Her fingers were trembling, and she had to try several times before she correctly pressed the button to pull up the call history. In it, she discovered that the last phone call made the previous night had been one from herself to Blueberry. Dial.


    Three seconds later, the call was picked up. Before she even emitted a sound, the other party was already about to faint from exhilaration. ¡°Holy crap! I knew you¡¯d sleep all the way to the afternoon! Let me tell you, let me tell you, my hubby¡¯s gone crazy already. Last night, he saw his male god and even shook his hand and took a picture with him, ah ah ah AAAAH!!!! And it¡¯s all thanks to you! He told me to tell you that you MUST be good to his idol and absolutely mustn¡¯t be a player or cheat on him!!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Let me tell you, let me tell you. Absolutely make sure the account you give jibes with mine. Just say that you accidentally drank too much while you were with us!! My hubby and I brought you home, got it?! Oh, and while I¡¯m at it, Your Highness, you¡¯re a disgrace. Just 330 mL and then you were so drunk you passed out?! And, while I¡¯m at it again¡­ before you passed out, did you do anything?¡± Blueberry¡¯s voice suddenly dropped, and hints of mirth were heard in it. ¡°Give me an honest account.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She did not utter a single word.


    Dazedly, she hung up the phone.


    Oh no.


    Did I really¡­


    ¡­ paw him? ¡­


    Not only did I force my hugs on him¡­ I even kissed him on his face¡­


    She threw herself onto the bed, feeling as if all of her was tumbling into a deep, deep, deep ravine. She remembered everything too clearly. Didn¡¯t people say that when you were drunk, your consciousness became fuzzy? But she even remembered that, at the very end, he had chucked her onto the bed in disgust¡­ And the gift box he had tossed over. And how he had slammed the door and stormed away. Oh God¡­ How could I have been like that, aaaaah? ¡­


    Tong Nian clutched her blanket tightly, so upset that tears were rolling down ceaselessly.


    It¡¯s all your fault. You just had to try to prove yourself. You just had to go drink alcohol.


    You¡¯ve completely disgraced yourself¡­


    There¡¯s no chance with him now¡­


    He must hate you!


    The more she thought, the more distraught she became. Lying on her stomach on the bed, she cried for a full twenty minutes before finally, still choked with sobs, she felt for her mobile phone. With swollen eyes, she found his phone number¡­ After hesitating for a long time, she was still unable to muster her courage to press ¡°dial,¡± so she had no choice but to find her way over to WeChat, where she opened up a window labeled with the name, ¡°Gn.¡± Slowly, she typed in a single line of words: I¡¯m sorry about yesterday. Truly, I¡¯m so sorry. I won¡¯t be pestering you anymore¡­


    Send.


    A dozen or so seconds later, it was still quiet.


    Biting down on her lip, she added another line: Let¡¯s break up. I¡¯m sorry. So sorry.


    Still, it was quiet.


    There was no response whatsoever.


    Flinging her phone away, she ran into the bathroom and, turning on the hot water, splashed her face.


    The more she thought about it, the more she sobbed, and the more she sobbed, the more mortified she felt at herself. By the time she emerged from the bathroom again, there was finally a reply in the WeChat on her phone.


    Gn: You¡¯ve thought it through?


    Or what? Still keep hounding him?


    Last night, she had already¡­ And she had been thrown in disgust onto the bed.


    With reddened eyes, she forced herself to let go of any hopes that she might have.


    To Gn: Mm.


    Gn: OK.

 CH 27

    Gun leaned back in his chair, his legs kicked up on the edge of the desk and his face surly as he leafed through page after page of their reports¡­ The office was crammed full with the several dozen people, some standing, some crouching, some leaning against the wall, and all waiting for their leader¡¯s instructions.


    With a loud rustle, the stack of papers was tossed onto the bed. ¡°First thing tomorrow, we¡¯re flying to Guangzhou.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Long live Leader!


    This group, who had managed to dodge a bullet, did not delay for even half a second, and all of them immediately jumped up, wedging themselves against one another  another to try to get out of this office first.


    The one who managed to slip himself out first, 97, grabbed grunt by the arm. ¡°Eh? Eh? Leader has an injury on his head.¡±


    grunt gave a wicked smirk. ¡°Didn¡¯t we all hear it last night? He was exerting himself too hard. Smacked into it.¡±


    Everyone¡­


    Only demo did not understand, and tugging on Dt¡¯s arm, he asked, ¡°Huh, what was that? Captain? What did Leader smack into?¡±


    Dt¡¯s eyes glanced calmly at him, and he gave a factual answer. ¡°The wall.¡±


    ¡°He hit the wall?¡± demo seemed to feel an unexplainable pain in his forehead as well, and he gave it a rub. ¡°What for?¡±


    ¡°To feel good,¡± grunt snickered, and then, with quick steps, he darted out of there¡­


    The man still in the office grabbed the folder that was on the desk, and with a whoosh, hurled it out the room.


    Several seconds passed.


    Folder in hand, Dt strolled back in leisurely and tossed it onto the sofa for him. ¡°I forgot to tell you just now. You didn¡¯t answer your phone yesterday, so Auntie called me. She wants you to bring that antique necklace that you helped her bid on back to Granddad. The money for it will be transferred into your account next month.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Gun did not say a single word. With the back of his hand facing outward, he gave a wave.


    Dt turned around and left.


    * * * * *


    Lovelorn again¡­


    When Tong Nian, her eyes swollen, came down from upstairs, her dearest mother covertly pulled her over to the side. ¡°Nian Nian?¡±


    ¡°Mm?¡± She lifted her head forlornly.


    ¡°Why were you crying just now? You guys broke up?¡± Her dearest mother made a reasonable conjecture.


    ¡°Mm¡­ Broke up.¡± As she mumbled this reply, her nose began to tingle and two teardrops tumbled down.


    A warm embrace encircled her protectively. Stirred by this demonstration of familial love, Tong Nian fell into another state of extreme misery, so she did not notice her dearest mother, beaming in delight, give a wink and raise her brows at her dearest father, who coincidentally was walking by and saw this scene. The message: See? I told you so. They really did break up.


    Her parents exchanged expressions of relief.


    This week was the first week of the start of a new school term.


    Gathering her things, she returned to school. An hour in the administrative building got all of the registration procedures for starting a new term out of the way. When she stepped out, she happened to bump into the teacher in the university who was in charge of the ACM-ICPC, and seeing her, he immediately beckoned to her. ¡°Last night, I called you several times, but your phone was shut off every time. I was afraid you¡¯d forgotten about today¡¯s exam.¡±


    Exam? She was bewildered.


    Aaaah!


    She¡¯d forgotten!


    It was the school-wide recruitment examination to select the university¡¯s ACM-ICPC team.


    Each year, the university would send one team to participate in this particular competition, and the team would consist of three people who would collaborate together. Although it was called an international collegiate programming contest, the contestants did not necessarily major in computer science. For example, she, herself did not. Nor did they even necessarily belong to the Faculty of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, such as one of her teammates from the previous year¡¯s contest, who had been from the Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering.


    As a result, the team was formed after a tryout in the form of a standardized examination, and there were no limitations on a candidate¡¯s field of study.


    And the monitors of the examination were the teacher who led the team and also all the former key team members who had once participated in an ACM-ICPC.


    But she had actually¡­ forgotten all about this¡­


    Still holding her student identity card, which had just been revalidated a moment ago, she followed the teacher into a lecture theatre in Teaching Building No. 1. The examination had already begun. Most of the candidates were first or second year students, and as they stared at the three problems on the examination paper, they basically all had the same expression on their faces: stumped.


    Hence, some of the boys who were unable to answer the problems simply sprawled themselves on their desks, playing with their pencils while also studying these senior schoolmates of theirs who had competed last year and the year before. Then, gradually, the attention of all these exam candidates converged to rest on the one and only girl who was present¡ªTong Nian. This was especially so since this female, senior schoolmate also looked as if she had just cried through the entire night and was especially dejected.


    With her chin propped on her hand, she sat behind the podium, her eyes watching the students below¡­


    Her entire mind, however, was still filled with what happened last night and the dialogue with him this morning.


    ¡°Tong Nian?¡± Beside her, there was a voice, gently calling her. ¡°Would you be able to step out for a bit?¡±


    She turned around. It was her team captain, Zheng Hui. ¡°Captain? Is there something the matter?¡±


    The grown boy cast a glance at her swollen eyes, frowning slightly as he nodded. ¡°Mm. There¡¯s something.¡±


    She replied with an ¡°oh, okay,¡± stood up from her chair, and followed him outside. Zheng Hui walked out of the lecture theatre, and then shoving his hands into his pants pockets, he lowered his head to talk to her. ¡°What¡­ did you do over the winter break?


    ¡°Huh? Winter break?¡± She paused vacantly. What really could she have done? She had spent it all waiting for him to come back from the United States. ¡°Oh, I just ate and drank a lot.¡±


    ¡°That day¡­ I passed by the community compound where your home is.¡± Beneath the boy¡¯s black-framed glasses, those eyes gazed straight at her. ¡°I had actually originally wanted to go see you¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh? Which day?¡± she asked.


    The person across from her cleared his throat. ¡°It should have been February 14¡­ or maybe the fifteenth.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She earnestly searched through her mind. ¡°So before the Spring Festival[1] [Lunar New Year period]? Good thing you didn¡¯t go looking for me. At the time, I was in another city participating in an anime expo.¡± And I was with him¡­ At that time, I was still with him¡­


    Her gaze was drifting and drifting around, and her eyes could not help reddening.


    The boy in front of her was truly taken aback, and he swallowed all the things he had wanted to say. But thinking about it, he found he was not willing to give up. Graduation was approaching quickly¡­ When he truly left the school, there would be even less excuses for him to interact with her. He needed to seize this opportunity!


    Unspeaking, she stood at the entrance of the teaching building and stared out at the students who were coming and going on their bicycles or on foot, as well as the occasional car that would drive by. This boy, the team captain who had led a team to take second runner-up in the ACM-ICPC world finals and also the idol of all the computer science students in the university, was standing before her, unable to form what he really wanted to say into words.


    What is he doing right now?


    Will he¡­ be forced to go on a blind date with some person again? ¡­


    Thinking this, her eyes grew even more red.


    Her nose was tingling, and lowering her head, she forcefully pressed her fingers to it. Don¡¯t you cry, Tong Nian.


    In her blurry gaze, even the red ground looked somewhat as if it was swaying. She could only look down and dig in her bag with all her might for some tissue. Where¡¯d it go? Hurry up and appear, hurry up and appear¡­


    A pair of black skate shoes was drawing nearer and nearer¡­ until it stopped in front of her.


    ?


    Unconsciously, she lifted her head.


    In that instant, it was as if the entire sky had lit up brilliantly.


    And so, in this way, she suddenly seemed to tumble into that pair of slightly narrowed, extremely displeased, extremely irritated, extremely impatient, and also extremely¡­ gorgeous eyes. Especially after he saw her tears, he seemed even more cross. He swept a look over that boy standing beside her, whose hands were behind his back and even seemed to be grasping something, before bringing his gaze back to her. ¡°What are you crying about?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Was she dreaming?


    She answered densely, ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ crying about anything¡­¡±


    He grew even more riled. Pulling off one side of his headphones, he glanced at that boy who was half a head shorter than him. ¡°You messed with her?¡±


    ¡°N-no,¡± the boy stammered. Who was this? One of her relatives? Or her older brother? Or¡­ Question marks filled the boy¡¯s mind, and he was somewhat flustered. ¡°You¡¯re mistaken¡ª¡±


    A cold indifferent glance. Simply too penetrating.


    The boy almost bit his own tongue. ¡°I¡¯m, I¡¯m her schoolmate. We were in a programming contest together.¡±


    With his height advantage, Gun could clearly see that the thing the boy was holding in his hand was a very small gift box. Unexpectedly, his lips curved up. ¡°Oh? ACM?¡± Wasn¡¯t that the programming contest or whatever that Dt once mentioned?


    ¡°Yes, yes, the ACM-ICPC.¡± Confidence immediately flooded the boy, and he was about to officially introduce himself.


    ¡°Were you competing against that guy?¡± Gun lifted his chin slightly to point at a person who was standing by the car parked at the teaching building¡¯s entrance. At the base of those steps not far away, Dt stood, exceedingly bored, for all the girls who were coming and going to peek at¡­


    ¡­¡­


    That was¡ª


    ¡°The world champion from two years ago? ¡­¡±


    The boy could not believe his own eyes. Th-that year, that year, the team captain for the championship-winning team had indeed looked like an ethnic Chinese. He had been with two blonde-haired boys. But, the entire time, he had spoken English, and he was of Norwegian nationality¡­


    Champion? For the first time, Gun felt that Little Bai was quite commendable.


    ¡°Lost to him? No big deal.¡± With a half-smile, he gave a firm pat on the boy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Kids need to know how to be good losers.¡±


    The boy stood unmoving, dumbstruck. That pat left him feeling like a leaf in the wind: in a state of chaos.


    Paying no more attention to this miscellaneous person, he bent at the waist and asked the girl who was in front and still staring foolishly at him, ¡°Do you still have classes?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡± With a blank look, she shook her head.


    There was something going thump, thump, pounding away with all its might.


    It was in her chest.


    ¡°Since you have no classes, then come out and hang out with us.¡± As he spoke, he slid his hands into his pants pocket and began to languidly amble away from the teaching building. ¡°You¡¯ll be back before nine.¡± Moving opposite to the flow of the crowd, he brushed his way through the students who were streaming into the building, about to head to class.


    So tall was his build. So eye-catching.


    Tong Nian remained stupefied in that same spot until he halted and looked back at her.


    Immediately, she snapped awake and slowly, ever so slowly, followed after him with a blush colouring her cheeks.

 CH 28

    In the end, when they were on the road, he did not show any of that demeanour he had displayed at her school and merely drove quietly the entire time.


    Sitting in the front passenger seat, Tong Nian snuck frequent glimpses at him.


    So¡­ where were they going?


    But that friend in the backseat, Little Bai, was practically like a unit installed specifically to create tension and caused her to not even dare ask anything. Plus¡­ Little Bai was once an ACM-ICPC world champion? She¡­ had absolutely no recollection of this¡­


    T.T What is it I even do every day? Ugh¡­


    Before the car was about to pull into a gas station, Dt¡¯s mobile phone vibrated. ¡°I have a call. Just let me off on the side of the road.¡± Raising his phone in his hand, he got out of the car first. The car came to a stop, waiting in line.


    Only now did Tong Nian steal a peek at his forehead.


    Gun detected it. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Right there,¡±¡ªTong Nian pointed at the bruise on his forehead¡ª¡°how is it?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± She continued, in a very small voice, to offer her concern.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    With a self-mocking grin, he turned so he was looking at her.


    Huh?


    All of a sudden, there was a blur in front of her eyes. ¡°Ow!¡±


    Tong Nian abruptly covered her forehead with her hand. That hurt so bad!


    Why¡¯d he flick me in the forehead? ¡­


    ¡°Does it hurt?¡± he even deliberately asked.


    She was grimacing from the pain, and tears spun in her eyes, bullied to the point where she was tongue-tied and unable to produce any words for the moment.


    At last satisfied, he gave her an offhanded pat on the head. ¡°Just teasing you. What¡¯s there to cry about?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Consequently, after Dt stepped back into the car at the exit of the gas station, he discovered that the forehead of the little girl sitting in the front seat was red, and so were her eyes. Somewhat perplexedly, he glanced at that man who had resumed driving nonchalantly.


    A new way of getting their kicks? Dt mused puzzledly on this.


    The vehicle left the gas station and sped along the entire way. When it turned into a frontage road and entered a residential community, Tong Nian finally could not contain herself and asked in a quiet voice, ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°My home.¡± He turned his steering wheel and rapidly circled through a roundabout.


    Stepping down on the accelerator, he flew down the road and headed directly to a villa district in the northernmost part of the community.


    Ah? She looked around.


    His home?


    The car had soon driven into the parking garage. Dt was the first to open his door, and hopping out, he headed straight into the elevator.


    Gun at last explained, ¡°The elder of my family wants to see you. Help me out and stay to have a meal with us.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She nodded, feeling slightly downcast.


    So this was to cover up for the lie.


    He undid his seatbelt.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually no big deal. He¡¯s considered an elder whom you know, right, Tong Nian?¡± she silently comforted herself. Still, she could not help feeling disappointed, and hence, she remembered only to unfasten her seatbelt but forgot to actually step out of the vehicle.


    Seeing that she had not moved and that her entire face was covered with feelings of ¡°so dejected¡± and ¡°so that¡¯s what this is,¡± Gun crooked his finger at her.


    Huh? She leaned in toward him.


    His lips tilted into a slight smile. ¡°Just this one time. It won¡¯t happen again. You got to touch, and you got to kiss. Just a suitable bit of compensation now?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She instantly bristled, and with a whoosh, sat up straight.


    Stay calm, stay calm¡­


    It¡¯s just a little thing, just a little thing¡­ Don¡¯t blush. Tong Nian, don¡¯t blush, aaaah¡­


    But she could not help it. It was as if his one sentence had once again thrown her back to that night¡­


    Arms wrapped in an embrace¡­


    Skin that was felt burning hot¡­


    Legs pressed tightly against one another¡­


    And also¡­ her lips as they slid over his collarbone¡­ and chin¡­ and earlobe¡­ and face¡­ and nose¡­


    Her brain was buzzing. She clutched her bag tightly, her entire mind filled with¡ª


    ¡°What gift do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm? What do you want?¡±


    ¡°I want¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She did not know when he stepped out of the car. Only when a knock sounded out on the window beside her did she finally snap out of her daze. Seeing, through the car window, his hand motion that indicated she should get out of the vehicle, she immediately flushed and opened the door.


    She dared not even lift her head as she followed after him.


    Step into the elevator. Step out of the elevator. Open the door. Change into slippers.


    The elderly man sitting on the living room sofa, a thick, hardcover book on his knees, noticed the two of them walk in one after the other, and at once, removing his reading glasses, he smiled, ¡°Nian Nian, come, come.¡±


    Her brain was still in the same state as a glob of glue. Obediently, she walked over.


    ¡°And here Han Shangyan was saying that you weren¡¯t free, but look, aren¡¯t you here now? You¡¯ve finished attending classes today?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm. All finished.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong here? It¡¯s all red.¡± The elderly man saw the red mark on her forehead.


    ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nothing.¡± She touched that spot on herself.


    ¡°I will be leaving to go back home next week. I am guessing it won¡¯t be very likely that I¡¯ll make such a long trip, flying back and forth, to come to China again.¡± Grandfather smilingly patted her head and asked, ¡°I heard your parents mention you¡¯ve had a fear of flying since you were young? Is that still the case?¡±


    Fear of flying? Gun tossed a dubious glance at her.


    ¡°Ah¡­ Mm-hmm. I¡¯m a little scared of flying.¡± She thickened her skin and forced herself to say this.


    In fact, it was not any fear of flying. Her parents merely did not want her to step out of their zone of influence and control, for fear that she would not know how to take care of herself. Therefore, they had simply told friends and relatives that she was scared of flying, and this averted many people¡¯s ideas of taking her out of country for leisure travel.


    With a single glance, Gun could see that she was fibbing. However, he had no interest in exposing it.


    ¡°Oh¡­ Then that will be a bit troublesome.¡± Grandfather¡¯s brows creased in a slight frown. ¡°The wedding will need to be held here in China, then?¡±


    Marriage?! She stammered over this. How was she going to make something up for this¡­?


    ¡°We never said anything about getting married,¡± Gun nonchalantly stepped in and answered.


    These words had just left his lips and then a hardcover book, with a whoosh, was flying past Tong Nian¡¯s eyes and heading toward him.


    Gun raised a hand and blocked it, narrowly avoiding having it crash into his face.


    ¡°Told you to find someone whose age was suitable, but you just had to go con a little girl into being with you instead. Alright, you¡¯ve conned her, but now you won¡¯t get married. What is it you want to do, then?!¡± Grandfather was so enraged he began to pound his cane against the floor. ¡°Pick up that book for me!¡±


    He shrugged. Moving around the arm that had been struck, he determined that there should be no broken bones¡­ Very quickly, he bent over, picked up the book, and brought it back over, setting it down.


    Tong Nian was stunned by this display.


    ¡°You, stand still!¡± Grandfather shouted at the man who was about to leave. ¡°Where are you going?¡±


    ¡°Upstairs for a meeting. I¡¯m flying to Guangzhou tomorrow. For dinner, just have the two of them keep you company and eat with you.¡± Saying this, he gave a wave of his hand, his back to the two people who were sitting there in the living room.


    ¡°You get back here right now!¡±


    This sentence echoed out hollowly. There was no response.


    The man had already gone upstairs¡­


    Livid, Grandfather banged the tip of his cane against the floor. ¡°Video games again! Video games! From since he was a teenager, all he knows is video games!¡± The elderly man coughed a couple of times. Then, taking Tong Nian by the hand, he pulled her down to take a seat. ¡°Nian Nian, I¡¯m sorry. This truly is so unfair to you. This grandson of mine is so disappointing. All he knows is video games¡­ He isn¡¯t young anymore,¡±¡ªhe heaved a sigh¡ª¡°yet he still doesn¡¯t think to do any decent, proper work.¡±


    He¡¯s really quite¡­ good.


    She silently thought this. After holding herself back for a while, however, she still could not refrain from defending him. ¡°I haven¡¯t been unfairly treated. I quite like that he games.¡±


    The elderly man paused in surprise, then sighed. Sure enough, she was conned purely by that brat¡¯s looks.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Tong Nian found that Grandfather did not believe her, so with earnestness, she explained, ¡°Even though I¡¯m not good at playing video games, I know that for him, he is not just playing. It¡¯s a sport, an official sport recognized by the country. Ten years ago, when he first started out, it was a very difficult and challenging environment. There were no coaches, no eSports organizations, no highly-experienced, senior players. But their team was still able to break out and cause the entire gaming world to know that there was a team from China called Team Solo, that there was a person from China named Gun. That¡¯s so amazing¡­¡± Softly, she said, ¡°In particular, when I read his final declaration when he retired, my heart especially ached, and I could especially understand his passion and love for eSports.¡±


    ¡°Final declaration when he retired?¡± Clearly, the elderly man did not know what this was.


    Final declaration when he retired from professional play.


    Those words he had left behind back when he, at the peak of his career, had disappeared overnight.


    Words once used by many fans as their signature line.


    To date, it was still recorded down in hundreds of forums, personal homepages, and official websites:


    ¡°In these past two years and three months, I have won, and I have lost; I have laughed, and I have cried; I have been called into question; I have been the subject of rumours; I have been criticized; and I have been falsely accused. Never have I defended myself. There is no need to defend myself. Tonight, the glorious banquet has at last come to its end. Achievements and fame are but follies in my eyes.¡±


    She recited this.


    Word for word, she recited all of it.


    These were words the elderly man had never before heard.


    But it was evident that he was not truly against eSports, for, after all, in the family, his two grandsons whom he was most pleased with had both entered this profession. As a result, he had more or less been subject to some brainwashing on it. It was simply that, he surmised that when the future in-laws learned that this eldest grandson¡¯s heart truly was set only on video games, there would¡­ be some mutters of discontent and criticism.


    However, from the looks of things, the little lady genuinely worshiped and, furthermore, understood him.


    The elderly man¡¯s mind was slightly set to rest.


    She kept him company in this way and chatted with him for an hour. The elderly man was clearly showing signs of fatigue.


    Taking hold of him, she supported the elder into his bedroom on the second level, then retreated back out the room door, gently blowing out a breath.


    When she turned around, though, she saw Gun, who at some unknown time had appeared at the top of the staircase, one hand in his pants pocket and the other holding a black glass. From high above, he stared down at her while drinking the water in his glass.

 CH 29

    ¡°Come up with me.¡± There was something peculiar about his voice.


    She could not say what exactly was the feeling she got from it. It felt cold, yet at the same time warm. It seemed to sound edgy, yet also seemed brimming with emotion.


    Puzzled, she answered with an ¡°oh¡± and ran up the stairs.


    She did not know whether or not it was because of his tall height and long legs, but the stair steps from the second level to the third were obviously quite a bit taller than the ones leading from the first level to the second and were quite strenuous for her to take¡­ Holding the handrail, she climbed up. When she reached that top level, her view opened up.


    There was no layout to be spoken of at all.


    Unlike the second level, which had individual bedrooms and a small living room, the third level had an open concept: a gigantic king-size bed, a black bookcase, several black computers that were all connected, a deep blue sofa, and a shaggy rug in the same color scheme¡­


    All the window curtains were drawn shut¡­


    Besides dark blue, there was only black. This was¡­ his room.


    She was constantly looking around, her eyes taking in all sorts of bizarre objects, and many of them, she did not even know what they were. It felt as if she had stepped into another dimension.


    No lights were turned on¡­ There was only the light emitted from those several computers.


    She could not even differentiate whether it was day or night.


    Arbitrarily setting his glass down on the computer desk, with his hand, he turned the swivel chair around toward himself so that its back was to the glow of the computers. Taking a seat in it, he faced her, then beckoned to her with his hand.


    One hour ago, he had sat right in this place, listening in the audio monitoring system as this kid delivered that long string of words.


    That era¡­ the one that had once embodied his youth and his passions, that he had invested one hundred percent of his sentiment and love into¡ªnever had anyone dared mention it in front of him before. None of those so-called official sites or personal websites were sanctioned, nor had he ever visited them. The past was the past. It did not matter who still remembered the name, Gun.


    When his own individual heroism had transformed to become his club¡¯s glory and honor¡­


    He had, in fact, already ceased being the him of the past.


    However, who would have known¡ªeven he, himself, had not known¡ªthat those sentiments that were still coursing in his blood would be drawn up again because of those words she had spoken? This was¡­ the first time, in all these years, that he had used an entire sixty minutes to recall the details of his past.


    The little girl in front of him dawdled her way over. All those little thoughts, little hesitations she carried as well as the uncertainty and undisguisable happiness she was feeling¡ªhis eyes took them all in. She came to a halt in a spot one step away from him.


    For the first time, his eyes looked at her in seriousness, like he was treating her as a peer. ¡°Aside from knowing that my name is Han Shangyan, what else do you know?¡±


    She was taken aback. What else did she know?


    Actually, it was all just little bits and pieces.


    The information on him was simply too sparse¡­


    In reality, once she knew his real name and nationality, there were always ways to find out more, but all this time, she had dared not do so. Last time, he had already been very displeased that she had peeked at his identity card in the Internet caf¨¦, so she very clearly knew where to draw the line and had only searched online for information regarding ¡°Gun.¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­¡± she truthfully confessed. ¡°I¡¯ve only looked at your interviews that were made public and competition videos.¡±


    He fell silent for three seconds.


    Then, he opened his mouth and spoke again.


    ¡°Han Shangyan. Born February 14, 1986 in Norway. In 2004, my nationality was changed to Chinese. A former professional gamer. All my rankings and achievements can be found online. Retired from professional play in 2005. Studied a few years in a university. Major was in industrial design. After graduating, I founded K&K eSports Club in the United States. I am its number one investor and also one of the owners of the organization. In 2013, after K&K China was established, I changed to permanently reside in China.¡±


    Such a detailed introduction of him. Even Baidu Baike would not have this information.


    And in this way, one sentence at a time, they were spoken from his mouth¡ªto tell her.


    It was as if he was saying, ¡°Welcome to my world, Tong Nian.¡±


    After saying all this, he unhurriedly unwrapped a candy, popped it in his mouth, and with words that were somewhat indistinct, summarized, ¡°This can be considered my official self-introduction to you. Don¡¯t view me as some hero that¡¯s written about on the Internet. I¡¯m not, understand?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± She nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re a hundred times better than what¡¯s written on the Internet,¡± she thought.


    This was the first time he had ever had such patience to say so much to someone of the opposite gender.


    But clearly, he was starting to lose that patience.


    Especially since, up to this point, the kid still did not understand what he was trying to say, even though she¡­ really was listening focusedly¡­


    ¡°Nor am I some perfect, noble gentleman. I¡¯m not the least bit chivalrous, I don¡¯t like being romantic, and I don¡¯t even have time to go out on dates. My entire life is K&K, it¡¯s all the members of my team¡ªvery monotonous, no pastimes, no time for taking trips, no vacation time. Even more so, I dislike social niceties and interactions. I don¡¯t even have rest days, holidays, or yearly vacation leave.¡±


    ¡°Poor him¡­¡± she thought.


    And then, all around, it grew quiet.


    It seemed he had finished saying all that he wanted to say.


    She was still caught in a stupor.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ll give you another chance. Do you still want to break up?¡±


    0.0?


    Huh?!


    Her eyes widened.


    She utterly did not know even how to speak.


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    Thump, thump, thump¡­


    Her heart was beating faster and faster. All of her was caught in this huge, wonderful surprise, and she was frozen in astonishment.


    ¡°So do you want to? Or not?¡± He once again opened his mouth to ask.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t thought of how to answer?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Still need to think it over some more?¡±


    She wrung her fingers furiously behind her back, so hard it was painful.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to¡­¡± Worried that he had not heard, she repeated the sentence again in a small voice. ¡°I don¡¯t want to.¡±


    This was the first time since she was a child that she had spent so much time and effort to learn about and understand a person, to try to catch up to his footsteps, even if all she received in exchange was a single glance back at her.


    She did not want to break up with him¡­


    Nor did she want to never be able to see him again after today.


    Gun carried on with eating his candy, not saying any more.


    That entire space once again fell into a bizarre quiet.


    She seemed to be waiting for a final answer, her two hands joined tightly behind her back, twisting until they hurt. And it remained as such until she felt a warmth along the bridge of her nose. He had stretched out a hand and brushed a finger down her nose. ¡°Then let¡¯s not break up.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    So that meant¡­


    They really didn¡¯t need to break up anymore?


    Somewhat uncertainly, she tilted her face upwards, trying to get a clear view of his eyes.


    Unfortunately, he had already swiveled the chair around. Facing the computers, he opened his inbox and pulled up an email, reading the telephone number on the screen as he dialled into the phone conference.


    Following a series of greetings, he tossed out a sentence. ¡°You guys continue. I¡¯m listening.¡±


    Everyone threw back several replies of ¡°okay¡± and then began discussions on the expected situation for competition registration amongst the four major servers around the world. ¡°The American eSports alliance that previously had focused on StarCraft II has announced that it will be transitioning its focus to Tempest of the Sealed Chamber¡­¡±


    He turned back again and continued to look at her, seeming as if he wanted to carry on with the topic from earlier on.


    However, he did not say anything.


    Tong Nian was blushing from his gaze, and softly, she mumbled, ¡°Um, well¡­ you have your meeting. I¡¯m going downstairs¡­¡±


    Extending his arm, he drew her toward himself. While she was overwhelmed and flustered, he pulled her down so that she was seated on his right leg.


    In that moment, when his hand cupped the back of her head, he could even feel that there was a slight tremble in her body.


    ¡°Should I¡­ give you some alcohol to drink?¡± His voice was like a phantom, pressing itself close against her ear.


    The little girl did not move, her entire body rigid.


    It was still the scent of fruit candy on her body. It should be a type of perfume. Such a saccharinely sweet smell. Somewhere deep within him, the memories of that night were slowly roused, those¡­


    Feelings of rashness, desire¡­


    Feelings of wanting to do what had never been tried before¡­


    The room was dim.


    The background noise coming from the phone was very exhilarated, the people inside speaking about the upcoming global qualifying tournament.


    He, on the other hand, had closed his eyes. The tip of his nose slid down from her forehead, wordlessly, noiselessly grazing over the bridge of her nose and tracing a path downwards the entire way until he found that spot¡­


    ¡°Tong Nian.¡± His voice was husky.


    She gave a tiny ¡°mm¡± in answer.


    ¡°Do you want¡­ to kiss?¡±

 CH 30

    Silence.


    With the tip of his nose, he nuzzled her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t want to?¡±


    She clutched her skirt, her eyes tightly shut, so anxious she did not even dare breathe.


    He chuckled, calmly, soundlessly allowing the tip of his nose to continue gliding downwards, following that sweet smell to brush over her tiny chin and then her neck.


    Sliding further downwards, it was her slender neck. And then¡­


    Her petite, beautifully-curved¡­


    ¡­ collarbone.


    At last, he lowered his lips onto that spot. Searing hot was her skin. So soft. Slowly, he caressed it¡­ Then slowly, he moved up until he was directly beneath her long hair, behind her ear. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± he murmured gently. ¡°It smells the nicest here¡­¡±


    The little girl in his embrace was soft and supple, and like a doll, he held her in his arms.


    Not even a single movement did she dare make.


    Not even a single sound did she dare emit¡­


    ¡°The negotiations between the two major gaming alliances were successful, and they¡¯ve merged now. But poor EFK. It dissolved immediately, simply because it was unable to negotiate a cooperation agreement¡­¡± Inside the phone, Navi¡¯s voice sounded rather peculiar, as if he had detected something.


    ¡°The strong will prey on the weak. It¡¯s survival of the fittest. There¡¯s nothing deserving of pity.¡± Gun did not care at alL about any of this, and in English, he responded to the phone conference discussion.


    ¡°Leader¡­ I understand Chinese, you know, aaaah¡­¡± In the phone, the head of the Taiwan branch of the organization who had called in was breaking down, and his tone carried sobs. ¡°But Leader, trust me. I didn¡¯t hear anything. Ah, ah, breaking up! Connection¡¯s cutting off!¡±


    Beep, beep, beep¡­ One person had left the call.


    Those people in the European and Americas regions who had been fully immersed in the discussion were all somewhat perplexed and asked in English, who had gotten disconnected? Who had withdrawn from the call? Wasn¡¯t that person worried that Leader would straight up tell him to fly over to see him for physical punishment? ¡­


    In the end, even Navi could hold himself back no longer, and speaking in Chinese, he griped, ¡°Goddamn it, Han Shangyan, don¡¯t forget that I understand Chinese, too! Show some restraint!¡±


    He gave a snort of laughter. Releasing Tong Nian, he stretched his arms and, in an indolent tone, said in English, ¡°Sorry, everyone, it¡¯s my problem. My girlfriend is having a little outburst here. I¡¯ll soothe her first. We¡¯ll continue the meeting in half an hour.¡±


    The entire group was stunned. But before they had a chance to congratulate their big boss on the happy news that he had a girlfriend, the phone was hung up.


    Quiet was once again restored in the room.


    Tong Nian was utterly dazed, unable to believe that he had¡­ not muted the phone¡­


    She was still in his arms as they seemed to spin a half a circle around. Then, she felt his arms loosen their hold on her and heard the sound of typing on the keyboard.


    Huh?


    No more¡­ kissing?


    Peeking open her eyes secretly, she saw his face, which was so near as he looked over her and stared at the computer screen. He looked quite proper and seriousness as he¡­? She turned her head and found that, sure enough, row upon row of English words was appearing on the screen.


    Responding to emails?


    ¡°Let me reply to an email first,¡± he told her.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Done.


    He typed ¡°Gn,¡± then clicked ¡°send.¡±


    Gun brought his gaze back onto her face again. Seeing her lashes quivering slightly, he suddenly was amused and touched them with his fingertip. ¡°Your lashes are pretty long, hmm?¡±


    ¡­ Following along her eyelashes, his fingers grazed down until they touched her face. ¡°What were we talking about earlier?¡±


    When were we actually talking?¡­


    We were just ¡°doing¡±¡­


    Tong Nian¡¯s face was bright red. Shifting her body slightly, she rubbed against his thigh. She did not even know what she might have already inadvertently touched. ¡°We weren¡¯t¡­ talking about anything.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± His laughter was suppressed in his throat. ¡°But I now remember. So what should we do about it?¡±


    ¡­ His joke had come from such a close distance that when he spoke, even his breath fell upon her face. They had returned to that topic once more. She even lowered her eyes again, waiting¡ªwaiting for him to pull her into his embrace and press his kiss onto her. One second, two seconds¡­ Little after little, time elapsed. No sort of movement at all?


    Were they¡­ not going to kiss anymore?


    Furtively, she lifted her eyes and glanced at him.


    In that dim room, only those eyes shone brilliantly, and they were looking at her. Yes, they truly were looking only at her, as if they were gazing upon something fresh and new, something that had suddenly appeared in his life¡ªso uncertain, so unfamiliar, and so unaccustomed to it.


    Was he regretting his decision?


    The feelings of weeping from yesterday were still present. It was as if, with a single sentence from him that he suddenly wanted to take back what he had said, she would never again be able to see him. She was uncertain, insecure. Everything seemed to have suddenly fallen into her lap¡­


    She gripped the hem of his short-sleeve shirt.


    Drawing upon all of her greatest courage, she brought her face up close to his. In that instant when she made contact, he suddenly moved away and evaded her. Tong Nian froze. Her eyes instantly reddened, as if she had confirmed the suspicion she feared most. He really did regret his decision?


    Don¡¯t cry. Don¡¯t cry. Go back. Tears, go back¡­ His face all of a sudden leaned in close to hers. And then, he kissed her.


    She was shocked. Her eyes fluttered as they blinked and blinked some more. Then, slowly, docilely, she closed them.


    ¡­¡­


    He was inhaling the breath that the little lady exhaled. He felt her body quivering slightly against his body. With all her might, she was gripping his clothes. Everything was so very real. The stimulation on his senses of touch and smell, the feel of her beneath his palm¡ªall so very real¡­


    Previously, she had still been so unfamiliar to him, to the point that, after knowing the kid¡¯s name, how old she was, and what school she was in, he had not really concerned himself with her. ¡°Being together¡± with her was only because that night, he had gone too far, so he wanted to try to take responsibility, to see whether he really was suited to have a girlfriend¡­ But her lips were right here, against his, and her little tongue was submissively allowing him to probe and taste¡­


    That strange, unfamiliar sensation made him unable to stop¡­


    So¡­ what was love? ¡­


    Was it this?


    He wanted to make all of her become all of his, to use all possible ways to do so¡­


    He shut his eyes, and at the same time, released his hold on her.


    The little girl was gasping heavily. As she leaned against his shoulder, the breaths that she blew out all permeated into his skin. Moist. Hot. Lowering his head, he brushed a kiss onto her ear with his lips and squeezed her in a firm hug. ¡°Go out first¡­¡±


    Her breathing ragged, Tong Nian looked at him with unfocused eyes¡­


    She felt a pat on her back.


    Only then did she start back to awareness. With ears that were glowing scarlet, not daring to say anything at all, she darted downstairs. The stair steps were just too tall, however, so she could not run fast. Stumbling, she arrived at the second level, where she immediately leaned herself against the wall and covered her face with her hands.


    Oh God¡­


    Oh God¡­


    Her lips were still numb.


    Tong Nian could not help biting down on her lip, trying to repress that feeling, but instead, she at once tasted the sweetness of candy.


    With a whoosh, her entire body seemed to burn up.


    And so, when Dt strolled upstairs to tell everyone it was time for dinner, he saw Tong Nian, standing in the spot where the stairs turned a corner and, with all her might, stomping her feet and covering her face with her hands. The instant she raised her head and saw him, though, it was as if she had seen a ghost. Crying ¡°Ah!¡± she immediately darted off to the first level again, tripping and running her way there. Mystified over what might be the reason for this, Dt tilted his head up to glance at the third floor.

 CH 31

    Chapter 31 ¨C Singing Diva?


    Dinner was finished before Gun finally came down from upstairs, and there he saw Tong Nian, sitting by Grandfather¡¯s side, holding a knife, and paring an apple. Have you ever seen a live version of the first time someone learns how to pare an apple? It would be just like this now: skin with apple flesh still attached to it; the knife constantly moving to, time after time, start a new cut; and a very ugly-looking end result.


    Utterly bored, Dt watched the Huangmei opera[1] film that was on the television to pass the time.


    Since the elderly one came to visit, this entire house seemed to have reverted back to that era of smoke and flames of the Republican period[2], and every day, the television would rotate through all kinds of Chinese opera. He got headaches from listening to them.


    Gun walked over and sat down in a brash, nonchalant manner. Propping one leg on the other knee, he motioned for her to hand him the fruit knife.


    Then, picking up a new apple, he briskly pared a single, long spiral of peel off of it, sliced it into eight wedges, and cut out the core, not once touching the flesh of the apple with his fingers during the entire process. Just like that, he tossed the wedges onto a plate and pushed it over to that pair of one elderly, one young.


    So attractive¡­


    Swiftly, Tong Nian grabbed a toothpick, stabbed it into a wedge, and held it up to the elderly man.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t even wash your hands. Eat it yourself.¡± The elderly man looked at him disdainfully.


    Without saying a word, he truly did pick up a wedge with his fingers and toss it into his mouth.


    Tong Nian followed suit and began to eat one as well with a manner of ¡°I don¡¯t mind. I absolutely, firmly do not mind.¡±


    While she was eating away, she heard Grandfather ask, ¡°Nian Nian, that day I heard your parents mention that you like to sing, and you are very famous online with lots of fans?¡±


    Self-consciously, she glanced at Gun. ¡°Not really a lot¡­¡±


    ¡°Look at your wife.¡± Grandfather once again glanced scornfully at Gun. ¡°Her interest is so cultured and cultivates the mind. All you know how to do is play video games.¡± Rolling his eyes, Gun carried on with eating his apple. It was apparent the elderly man had already chosen to selectively ignore that his favourite grandson [eldest grandson born of a daughter] was also a gamer and, furthermore, a professional gamer who had many times been ranked as number one in the world.


    Grandfather smilingly turned his eyes back to Tong Nian. ¡°What do you sing?¡±


    ¡°I sing¡­ mainly songs from anime as well as a variety of Japanese songs.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Japanese songs. Those aren¡¯t nice to listen to,¡± Grandfather sighed. ¡°Do you know Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy[3]?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± She shook her head sheepishly.


    ¡°Your [paternal] grandpa used to love listening to The Legend of the Red Lantern[4]. Have you heard it before?¡±


    ¡°I have! I¡¯ve heard it many times.¡± Phew. Good thing she had. Finally, she had found a common topic with him to talk about. ¡°When Grandpa was still alive, he would always play it in our house. Back then, our house was just like this. Every day, as long as you were awake, there¡¯d be opera playing.¡±


    Grandfather was even happier with this, feeling that Han Shangyan had not really done any good things in his life and the only thing he could bring out to flaunt in front of people was that he had found himself such a lovely, well-behaved little wife. And so, the old man laughingly waved his hand and instructed, ¡°Sing a little segment for Grandfather right now.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Gun and Dt simultaneously lifted their heads.


    Together, they turned their gazes to this cutie little girl who had just dug a pit for herself¡­


    £ª £ª £ª £ª £ª


    For the entire half hour drive back to her home, Tong Nian, in a state where she did not even dare speak half a word, hugged her bag to herself and bit down tightly on her lower lip. Who could understand what it felt like for this ¡°healing-type girl[5]¡± [sweet girl whose presence comforts and ¡°heals¡± the heart], who, for the first-ever time singing in front of the person she liked, had had to sing scenes from The Legend of the Red Lantern?¡­ Especially since, midway through her singing, Dt had simply broken out in laughter and left the room, and Gun had shown all sorts of rich and colourful expressions on his face as well.


    Hence, the direct result of this was, from when she finished singing to the present¡ªthis present moment where they were about to arrive at the front door of her home¡ªshe still was in a state where she did not dare say a single word to him.


    Turning the steering wheel, Gun drove into her community compound. In a shadowy parking spot fifty metres from her apartment building, he parked the vehicle.


    Here, it could be guaranteed that they would not have any spectators looking in on them, nor would the circumstance arise where her parents would happen to come outside and see them, yet he could still watch her safely step into the building stairwell. It was a good spot.


    He cut the engine.


    Momentary silence.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back next weekend.¡± Though he was not used to reporting his schedule and plans to anyone, for simple tasks such as this, if he could do it, then he would.


    ¡°Oh,¡± she answered briefly.


    ¡°I won¡¯t tell you the flight number. You don¡¯t need to come meet my flight.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She carried on with nodding her head.


    But she simply would not look at him, still submerged, instead, in her The Legend of the Red Lantern incident as her agonized heart silently dripped blood¡­ She felt her wrist being taken into a grasp that pulled her over. The centre console armrest lay between them, so he had not yanked forcefully, only enough to convey that he wanted her to move close to him.


    Huh? She saw him adjust his seat to slide it backwards.


    This particular parking spot was on the very periphery of the compound, and he had parked so that the front of the car was facing inward. Therefore, only the back of the vehicle had a view of the headlights that were driving by in the distance.


    Her head bowed, she crawled lightly over the armrest and, with his arm holding her waist, sat herself at an angle on his lap. One-tenth of a second later, her lip was already caught between his teeth, but she was still pondering whether Blueberry and her husband would also so frequently¡­ kiss¡­


    Of course, her pondering ceased within a few seconds.


    Waves of tingling numbness travelled down her back. Her knees were tensed tightly, and her leg was pressed against the car door as she shifted slightly a couple of times. As it turned out, his palm happened to be resting on her leg, and rather displeasedly, he left her lips for the moment. ¡°It¡¯s cold out. Why are you wearing a skirt?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not cold¡­¡± she murmured in a low voice.


    ¡°Not cold?¡± He pushed open the car door. A biting wind rushed in.


    She gave an abrupt shiver.


    With a bang, the car door was shut.


    Phew. Warm again.


    ¡°Still not cold?¡±


    ¡°Cold¡­¡± She was honest this time.


    Needless to say, he could see straight through the girly thinking she had tried to keep concealed in her heart, and with no mercy, he exposed it. ¡°Clothes are meant to keep out the cold. If you want other results, it¡¯d be better just to not wear anything.¡±


    Ah?! Colour rushed into her cheeks.


    She squirmed bashfully¡­


    Gun always spoke bluntly and to the point. He never felt that words like these needed to beat around the bush, especially when they were spoken to the one who had already been conferred the title of ¡°girlfriend.¡± Of course, they did not delve deeper in discussion on this topic because when he began his second round of ¡°reasonable demands a boyfriend could make,¡± he discovered that¡­ skirts were actually pretty nice.


    However, this particular skirt-length was still a bit dangerous.


    Consequently, the original plan to watch her walk into the building stairwell was changed to become him personally accompanying her into the stairwell. Standing in that spot where the dark of the night intersected with the glow of the lights, he watched her repeatedly turn her head back at every step to bid farewell to him.


    That sense of belonging from being needed, being desired, as well as being entrusted by someone¡ªit had only once existed for him between the teammates of that squad from his distant past. The more intense these feelings were, the more painful the feeling of loss that followed was. He had no profound experience in regards to love and romance, but he had amply experienced the connections and relationships that occur between people¡­


    Turning around, he stepped out of that brightly-lit place and into the cloak of night.


    From behind him, a petite pair of arms suddenly stretched out and circled around his waist. ¡°Did I give you a scare?¡± There was a smile in the little girl¡¯s voice, and she secretly felt a teeny bit of delight. She had stealthily, one step at a time, slipped back. Fortunately, he had not discovered her. ¡°Come back soon.¡±


    He looked down at her tiny hands. Without any lust in his action, he caressed them a couple times as his way of answering her.


    ¡°I¡­ will miss you,¡± she told him softly.


    [1] »Æ÷Ϸ. Huangmei opera originated in approximately the 18th century as ¡°tea-picking songs.¡± It is sometimes referred to as a ¡°folk opera¡± as it combines folks songs with narration and dance, with plain language and a natural and simple style.


    [2] Ãñ¹ú ¡°Minguo.¡± The Republic of China (1912-1949), sometimes referred to as the Minguo period, in Mainland China is an era after the fall of the Qing dynasty but prior to the establishment of the People¡¯s Republic of China (PRC). It was a period in China showing the Western influence but also still containing many traditional aspects.


    [3]¡¶ÖÇÈ¡Íþ»¢É½¡· Taking of Tiger Mountain by Strategy is a Peking opera. It is one of the original eight Ñù°åÏ· model operas, which were officially formed during the Cultural Revolution and, to inspire the people, contained themes of heroes and models who rose up from the commoner ranks (peasant, soldier, worker, etc.). The story of Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy, set in 1946, is based on the true story of a soldier, Yang Zirong, who went undercover, infiltrating and successfully taking down a gang of bandits. It was adapted to screen in 1970 and then again, recently, in 2014 in Tsui Hark¡¯s The Taking of Tiger Mountain.


    1970 Poster for Taking of Tiger Mountain by Strategy(image credit)


    [4]¡¶ºìµÆ¼Ç¡· The Legend of the Red Lantern (or sometimes in English, simply The Red Lantern) is one of the eight model operas (see footnote[3]) of the Chinese Cultural Revolution created in the 1960s. The story is set in the anti-Japanese war period in which an orphan girl learns that her parents were communist party members who sacrificed their lives for the revolutionary cause and social change. She, too, goes to give her life to the revolutionary work.


    The Legend of the Red Lantern (image credit)


    [5]ÖÎÓúϵÃÃ×Ó. The concept of ÖÎÓúϵ, which literally means ¡°healing type¡± was actually introduced in Japan and describes something (e.g. story, anime, person, etc.) that makes people feel warm, relaxed, happy, etc. It has an ability to warm, comfort, and ¡°heal¡± the heart and mind, by making you feel better mentally and emotionally, especially when you are sad or discouraged. A ÖÎÓúϵÃÃ×Ó ¡°healing type girl¡± is one whose presence or beauty has the ability to comfort and warm the heart. Adjectives for such a girl often include cute, gentle, pure, innocent, sweet, etc.

 CH 32

    Chapter 32 ¨C Singing Diva ¡Ñ¦Ø¡Ñ£¡


    The next afternoon, one of the four great cutie-girls of the Japanese cover-singing circle and singer who had a crazy-large number of diehard fanboys and fangirls¡ªFish Playing in Sealed Chambers¡ªunexpectedly released a new song. Seeing the song title, her entire fan base exploded into pandemonium.


    Ren¡¯ai Circulation [Love Circulation]!!!!


    Three years ago, during Dada¡¯s interview when she turned sweet sixteen and her fans had cried out over and over to her to sing a cover of this song, she had personally answered, ¡°I¡¯ve never been in love so no feelings for this song, never been in love so no feelings for this song. Only after I¡¯m in love will I cover it, only after I¡¯m in love will I cover it, ah ah ah aaaah!¡±


    Within ten seconds of this release, her Weibo was overtaken by frenzied fans¡­


    [Goodbye] Completely unprepared for this. My little cutie-girl has been married off just like that.


    [Goodbye][Goodbye][Goodbye][Goodbye] Nothing worth living for anymore.


    [Goodbye] Those of us in Shanghai, see you all on Jin Mao Tower[1].


    [Goodbye] Those in Taipei, let¡¯s just head directly to TAIPEI 101[2]. Remember to do the countdown together before we all jump off.


    Which guy did it?! Show yourself! I¡¯m going to beat the hell out of you!!!! Frick!! I¡¯ll wait, wait for you guys to break up!!!!


    [Goodbye] The goddess I loved since primary school is now in love.


    [Soap] FRACK FRICK FRICKIN¡¯ F*CK.


    Tonight, we¡¯ve all lost our love¡­


    [Furious] Little Squidie is mine mine mine MIIIIINE!!!!


    [Cries] Hey, that guy, you must have saved the entire Milky Way galaxy in your previous life¡­


    [Goodbye] Hey, guy, show yourself. I promise I won¡¯t bite you to death!


    ¡­¡­


    While waiting at the airport for their flight, 97 held his mobile phone and sputtered out in guffaws. All the team members in the waiting lounge had been leaning back, every one half-dead from exhaustion and using various positions to lie in his chair. Now, though, hearing this sound, they immediately sniffed out that there was something peculiar, and all of them leapt up and flocked around 97. ¡°What¡¯s going on, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Leader¡¯s being bashed really badly on Little Sister-In-Law¡¯s Weibo.¡± 97 was grinning widely, rejoicing in his leader¡¯s misfortune.


    ¡°The name of the song is pretty good, eh? What does it mean?¡± demo was bewildered.


    Taking the mobile phone, grunt ran a quick glance over it, then tossed it back. ¡°PDA [public display of affection]. Didn¡¯t Leader head home last night? I¡¯m guessing he got to third base yesterday and got to ¡®experience¡¯ the ¡®true essence¡¯ of love, eh?¡±


    Light bulbs went off in everyone¡¯s heads.


    Dang it! Jeaaloooous!!!!


    The bunch of poor, single dudes wallowed in their states of dying anguish¡­


    With a cup of coffee in hand, Gun, his head lowered and playing Texas Hold¡¯em on his phone, was walking in their direction. The burning gazes of the group that were filled with reverence caused him to detect that their eyes were on him. When he raised his lids, they all immediately returned to their own respective spots.


    What the heck was going on?


    His gaze roved once around the entire group and then locked on demo. ¡°Say it.¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± An expression of dismay covered demo¡¯s face. Damnit, how come I get picked every time? I came to K&K to win gold medals. Don¡¯t tell me I¡¯m going to die young first before I¡¯ve taken a single gold medal, am I? ¡°Just¡­ Little Sister-In-Law just did a little PDA, and we were all just happy and having some fun about it.¡±


    Oh sh*t¡ª


    Everyone bowed their heads reverently¡­ and offered up a moment of silence in tribute to little demo.


    * * * * *


    Today she did not need to go to the university.


    However, she realized after the fact that she had disappeared yesterday while she was supposed to be monitoring an exam. Feeling ashamed, she called her teacher, but to her surprise, her teacher replied directly, ¡°I heard that your brother or maybe your uncle from your family came to find you? Said there was something urgent and picked you up to take you away? No worries. You¡¯ve already been working so hard, and you still helped me out with setting the exam questions.¡±


    She felt terribly abashed and apologized repeatedly.


    After this call came to an end, she held her mobile phone between her little paws and, lowering her head, sent off a WeChat text message to him: Meow. Have you arrived yet?


    Gn: Yes.


    Her: *raises paw* May I put in the request to video chat with you tonight?


    Gn: ¡­¡­


    Her: *poking fingers together* Just¡­ to watch and look at you for little bit, please?


    Gn: ¡­¡­


    Her: Video calling in WeChat will do, as long as you have good reception¡­ If your reception is poor, how about QQ[3]? Do you have QQ?


    Gn: We¡¯ll talk about it at night.


    Her: Mm~ I¡¯ll wait for you.


    Tong Nian was practically in max-HP mode. She passed the entire daytime immersed in her feelings of bashfulness from her first-ever public display of affection. It was past ten o¡¯clock at night when she finally logged into Weibo using her alternate account to read the comments that had been left under her official, main account. She felt as if every part of her was submerged in a honey jar, sweetness infusing her. How she wished she could tell everyone how wonderful he was, how great he was! He¡­ Anyhow, he¡¯s the most unequalled, awesome and handsome man in the whole, wide world! Covering my face with my hands!!


    Completely disregarding that great, monstrous army of commenters that was online or the thousands of people who were occupying the top level of Jin Mao Tower, she pulled out her pen and, sprawling on her desk, began to quietly write in her journal. Sketching all sorts of little chibi characters, she wrote down, sentence after sentence, what the two of them had said or done together. When¡­ she had drawn a cartoon car with two little chibi people inside, caught in each other¡¯s embrace, she at last thunked her head against the desk.


    Too¡­


    She could not refrain from leaping up and stamping her feet. Plopping down in her seat once again, she offhandedly refreshed the Weibo page of her alternate account.


    To her surprise, the people she was following with this alternate account had all flooded the screen with posts.


    These people were all ones she had followed in order to help her understand Gun¡¯s professional and social circle and setting: various famous pro gamers, various eSports magazines, official Weibos accounts of various video games, etc. There were more than one hundred different accounts that she followed¡­


    And they were all¡­ spamming the screen?


    97: @Gun, Leader said he was opening a Weibo account¡­


    grunt: @Gun, once one of the first-generation Bonjwas[4] of CS. K&K Global¡¯s boss makes his appearance.


    demo: @Gun, Leader, welcoming you on bended knees.


    Dt: @Gun


    Solo: @Gun, welcome back.


    appledog: @Gun, awesome! Con Man is back!


    inin: @Gun, = = the Great Demon Overlord. Me scared¡­


    ¡­¡­


    In the very beginning, it was all K&K people, but gradually, everyone within the eSports circle started to notice. All the god-status figures of the various events and video games, including CS [Counter-Strike], StarCraft, WoW [World of Warcraft], CrossFire, Need for Speed, DotA [Defense of the Ancients], FIFA, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, LOL [League of Legends], etc., etc., were all fired up and began forwarding the post.


    The guy was an ancient legend in the professional gaming circle, you know?!! Many of the current pro gaming gods were all God Gun¡¯s diehard fans, you know?!!!!


    The official eSports Weibo account.


    The official Weibo accounts of all the various major video games.


    The official Weibo accounts of all the various competitions and tournaments.


    ¡­¡­


    The entire eSports circle was boiling over in excitement.


    This was too exhilarating.


    It had been ten years, oh, ten years. This man who had forged a new way to open up the world of professional gaming was finally willing to publicly announce his return.


    While many people knew that he was the boss of K&K, this was different. So long as he did not openly and publicly declare his identity, everyone would voluntarily remain quiet, silently watching and standing guard over this former ¡°God Gun.¡± Now, though, he was willing to have a personal Weibo account and make it publicly known on the Internet. This was super exciting, you know?! They had to support him, ¡¯kay?! How many people were there for whom he was the one who awakened them to gaming? How many people for were there whom he was their beacon of guiding light? How many people were there for whom he was their idol in their youth?!


    Tong Nian was completely stunned by what she saw.


    Here, as she stared at her computer screen, it was as if she was watching a wild party taking place in another world.


    Although Baidu Baike had written things out clearly and she had also read through all those online interviews and forum posts, the feeling right now was totally different. Right at this second, she finally became aware of¡­ what sort of person this man¡ªthe one whom she had fallen in love with at first sight¡ªreally was.


    What was his purpose for opening a Weibo account?


    As promotion and publicity for the club? To attract and recruit people onto the team?


    Speculating, she clicked on @Gun.


    His entire Weibo homepage popped up. There was only one post.


    Gun: [Link]


    She clicked on the [Link]. It was K&K¡¯s official website.


    Indeed, for promotion purposes. But this was being a little too flippant about his work. Shouldn¡¯t he at least say a few words of something?


    Nevertheless, within a few short hours, his number of followers had already broken one million¡­


    That was just too¡­ formidable¡­


    Wordlessly, she glanced at her follower count for her main, official Weibo account¡­ one tenth of his.


    Huh?


    Wait¡­


    0.0?


    Why were there more than 30000 comments under her latest post where she had released her song? ¡­ Same thing for forwards¡­ Was Sina [service provider for Sina Weibo] acting up and just going crazy?!


    Disbelievingly, she clicked on the post. At once, the comment area beneath it scrolled open.


    Random person: Part of the group checking out the sights.


    Random person: Gathering around to check out God Gun¡¯s one and only follow.


    Random person: Male god¡¯s only follow.


    Random person: Part of the group checking out the sights.


    Random person: Male god¡¯s only follow.


    Random person: Male god¡¯s only follow.


    Random person: [Brokenhearted] Don¡¯t want to say anything. I hope that you will treat my man well.


    Random person: Gathering around to check out K&K¡¯s lady-boss


    Fan: WTF?!! What the heck is going on???????? Has my dada been hacked???? @SinaCustomerService

 CH 33

    She bowed her head and threw her face into her hands, covering it. Frantically and with all her might, she tried to restrain that feeling of happiness that was billowing up in her.


    And so, this carried on until, behind her, her dearest mother pushed open the door. ¡°Would you like to have a late night snack?¡±


    She shook her head forcefully. Her entire being felt giddy, and returning her mom¡¯s gaze, she mumbled, ¡°Not hungry, not hungry, not hungry, not hungry¡­¡±


    Her dearest mother looked at her suspiciously.


    Before she could ask any questions, however, Tong Nian had jumped up and was pushing her out the bedroom. ¡°I need to help someone out with a big school assignment. Good night, good night.¡± She shut the door. But, still not assured, she turned the lock a couple of circles until the door was secured. Hugging her phone to herself, she hopped onto her bed.


    Oh gosh, this won¡¯t do. Still so fired up. What should I do, what should I do?


    Holding her mobile phone high, she stared foolishly for a long time at the comments on her and his Weibos.


    ¡­¡­


    Eh? 22:23?


    Wait, no! Where was the video call they had agreed to?!


    She snatched up her phone.


    WeChat message sent at lightning speed.


    Her: doki doki


    Gn: ¡­¡­


    Her: *poking fingers together* Ready to video call yet?


    Gn: ¡­¡­


    Her: *looking at you with puppy dog eyes*


    Gn: Do you know how to talk normally?


    Her: Hmm. Well then, Han Shangyan, can we officially begin using video calling to bond emotionally?


    Gn: ¡­¡­


    Her: *looking at you very normally*


    Gn: QQ. Yours.


    Her: 678709XX.


    Gn: Wait.


    Immediately, she rolled off the bed. Her room, her room! She needed to tidy her room. Oh, and change her clothes, change her clothes¡­ Not enough time, not enough time! She simply grabbed a pink dress from her wardrobe, threw it over herself, and then raced back to her computer.


    Inside her QQ, a friend request was already waiting. She opened it up:


    Gn has requested to add you as a contact.


    Approved. Added.


    Not bothering with even a single useless word, he sent a video chat invitation straight over to her.


    Feeling a little shy, she smoothed her hair with both her hands.


    Accept.


    The video call began. On the other end, it was surprisingly dark.


    This angle felt as if¡­ his computer was on the bed?


    Soon, the image on the screen brightened. All she could see was his jean-clothed legs walking toward her. A hand picked up the computer and set it on a table. The next second, Gun, completely bare from waist up, was leaning himself on his two hands that were resting on the table and looking at the image of her, which was frozen in shock in the camera lens. ¡°Can you see?¡±


    ¡°I-I can see.¡±


    And¡­ very clearly, too¡­


    His upper body unclothed, the ends of his hairs still dripping water, his belt once again not done up¡­


    Cover my face!! Why doesn¡¯t he ever do up his belt?!!!!


    ¡°Angle okay?¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Why was he asking about angle?


    And then, as if nothing was going on, he¡­ walked away?


    Huh?


    He wouldn¡¯t be thinking that having the video call was¡­ purely to satisfy her viewing desires, would he? Even though there was technically nothing wrong with this, how come it felt¡­ kind of weird? Inside the picture on her screen, his back was to her as he pulled out a long-sleeved shirt from his wide-open suitcase and pulled it on.


    His movements as he put on his clothes were also so¡­ enticing¡­


    She gnawed on her lip.


    They fell completely into a Han Shangyan-style of video calling.


    That was, he did his own thing, minimizing the video chat window, muting the speakers, and not concerning himself remotely with what she was doing on the other end of the video call. And she, well-behaved and quiet, merely rested her chin on her hand and watched him.


    Simply observing him in this way, more than twenty minutes slipped by.


    And still, she did not find it boring at all.


    During that entire period, he had merely gotten dressed, talked on the phone, and turned on another computer and typed. Hearing the sound of the game he was playing coming from the computer behind him, he had even detected that the volume of his video game was too loud and had completely muted it.


    Playing games? So nice


    If she could just keep watching him like this, it would be nice.


    Who cared if there was sound or not?


    She began to muse that in another half an hour, she needed to turn her computer monitor around to face the bed. That way, she could watch him game while she went to sleep.


    All of a sudden, the he inside the monitor¡¯s picture raised his eyes irately and looked at something off the screen. Shoving aside his mouse, he got up and disappeared out of the picture.


    He went out?


    Uh¡­ Would he be coming back? Should she wait?


    At a bit of a loss, she crestfallenly picked up her phone, planning to use WeChat to ask him when he would be returning. In the image on the screen, without any warning, a woman appeared, smiling and sitting¡­ on his bed?!


    ¡°Han Shangyan?¡± she called out to him incredulously.


    No one responded.


    The two clearly were talking, but she could not hear what they were saying.


    Wait, no! The volume had long been muted!!


    Grabbing her phone at the speed of light, she called him. In the picture, she watched him pull out his mobile phone and take a glance before tossing it back into his pants pocket. Then, with quick strides, he walked over toward her, stretched out a hand¡ª


    The picture abruptly went black.


    * * * * *


    Out in the hallway, fourteen boys from both the primary and secondary squads, key players and subs alike, were casually approaching, studying the numbers on the doors and looking for Leader¡¯s room.


    ¡°What was the number?¡± demo was earnestly searching for the room number.


    ¡°1708,¡± 97 answered. ¡°Our results today weren¡¯t very good. Wonder how Leader¡¯s going to flip out on us.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯d be so good if Sister-In-Law was here¡­¡± demo sighed, murmuring under his breath.


    ¡°Even if she was here, it wouldn¡¯t necessarily be good. What if, by chance, it happened to be those certain days of the month where they weren¡¯t able to ¡®enrich¡¯ their husband and wife relationship? The ones who¡¯d end up suffering would still be us.¡± Sliding his gaze over the room number, grunt discovered they were already at 1705. ¡°Eh? We¡¯re nearly there?¡±


    demo¡¯s brain was filled with question marks. ¡°Huh? Wha? What are the ¡®certain days of the month where they aren¡¯t able to enrich their husband and wife relationship¡¯?


    Everyone¡­


    Suddenly, the door of room 1708 was flung open. Several of the people who had been walking at the front of the group were startled and jumped back several steps.


    Accompanied by an extremely high-pitched shriek, they saw a large, white bundle of something being thrown out the door. Everyone retreated another two steps. A certain beautiful, female commentator who was very popular of late was, right then, very flusteredly crawling out from the white quilt. Holding down her skirt, with the stares of everybody fixed on her and her eyes reddened, she darted in the direction of the other end of the hallway¡­


    Looks were exchanged between everyone in the group.


    Why was it, every time there was a competition, the ones who got harassed were always Leader and Captain? ¡­


    grunt was more than glad to watch the excitement and gave demo a swift kick in his rear end. So, the latter was forced to cringingly lead the way and probe, ¡°L-L-Leader, did you get sexually harassed again?¡±


    Everyone¡­


    demo, the day you learn to watch what you say is the day pigs will fly[1].


    * * * * *


    Tong Nian felt unsettled, and incessantly, she dialed his number. It seemed as if he was never going to pick up.


    Unexpectedly, she received a WeChat message that came from Gn.


    Her heart was pounding madly. Feeling somewhat wounded, somewhat apprehensive, she did not dare read to find out what had happened. But still, unable to restrain herself, she tapped it open.


    ??


    Gn: Identity card #.


    Her: 310110XXXX032070XX


    ??


    One minute later.


    Gn: Dear Miss Tong, your scheduled flight number is CA51XX, the departure time¡­


    Her: 0.0


    Gn: If you have nothing to do this weekend, come here.


    Her: 0.0 That woman just now¡­


    Gn: A nutcase I ran into.


    Her: Oh. 0.0


    Gn: Video call.


    Her: Oh. 0.0


    ¡­¡­


    Very soon, he had sent her a video chat invitation, and dazedly, she accepted it.


    As before, the volume was muted. The room that only a few minutes ago had been empty was now crammed full with people, all K&K members. She reckoned that the video call window on his end had been minimized, and no one had noticed that Gun had started a video call.


    ¡­¡­


    Early Saturday morning, she dashed to the airport with luggage in hand, along the way making a phone call to Blueberry to collude their stories to say that she was going away for a commercial singing performance. On the other end of the line, Blueberry exploded as she informed her, ¡°Did you know we¡¯re all going crazy? My hubby¡¯s gone crazy, too. He spent the whole night scrolling through forums and showing me all sorts of buzz and gossip from the fans¡­¡±


    Who cared about gossip and stuff? Her whole brain was stuffed full with thoughts of ¡°I¡¯m going to Guangzhou, I¡¯m going to Guangzhou!¡±


    After the plane had landed and the taxi had raced to his hotel, it was lunchtime. Gun had told her on the phone to wait in the downstairs main lobby, and very shortly, he was turning the corner and stepping out of the elevator corridor. Following behind him in a group were his team members, all with large duffel bags slung across their backs. Something subtle flashed across everyone¡¯s faces in that instant when they saw Tong Nian.


    Because¡­ Everybody turned and looked back.


    Close behind the K&K members were several male and female eSports commentators.


    The expression on the face of one, in particular, darkened slightly when she saw Gun in the main lobby. Still, the woman calmly looked in that direction, glancing at the young girl not far from him who wore a cute pair of shorts and had a small suitcase beside her¡­


    At that same moment, the little girl also turned and noticed her.


    Their two gazes locked.


    Gun was about to tell Su Cheng, who was standing behind him, that he would likely need to go alone to take the kid to have lunch. He had just turned his head, however, and had not even had the time to explain when he discovered the kid suddenly throwing herself onto him.


    In that moment when her arms hooked around his neck, he reflexively extended his own arms to hug her legs.


    The direct result of this particular position was that both his hands were resting on her¡­


    Consequently, every single person waiting in the hotel lobby to head out¡ªall the players of the seven different teams, the other members of those teams who were not pro gamers, as well as the tournament¡¯s commentators, judges, etc., etc,. etc.¡ªgot to be onlookers and saw¡­


    ¡­ how, completely out in the view of the public, K&K¡¯s big boss held his little girlfriend like a koala bear against his chest.


    Held her against his chest¡­


    That position¡­ Really. Was. So. Sinful¡­


    [1] ĸÖíÒ²ÄÜÉÏÊ÷. A literal translation of this slang saying is ¡°a sow will be able to climb a tree.¡± It has the same connotation as ¡°pig can fly,¡± that there is no chance of that happening.

 CH 34

    October 8, 2016 by hoju 4 Comments


    Tong Nian learns more about Gun but this time, not from the web. Her reaction¡­?


    Oh gawd T.T ¡­


    It was just that, she saw that nutcase woman and then, in a moment of rashness, she had wanted to spring up onto him and throw her arms around him. She had not expected that her jump would land too high and more so, had not expected that he would react so swiftly and forcefully, holding her up so that her legs were off the ground.


    Out of reflex, her long, slender legs had clamped tight around his waist¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Gun had not expected this.


    Wholly, genuinely had not expected this.


    Her entire body, including that obvious softness in her chest area, was pressed up against him, and her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck. This was a scene he had never imagined in his lifetime. Behind closed doors, no matter how cozy and intimate they were, it was still something that was only between the two of them. This sort of ¡°pose¡± that they were displaying out in public, however, gave off a sense of flippancy.


    ¡°Oh no. I didn¡¯t do it on purpose. I jumped a little too high¡­¡± she murmured, her palms breaking out in a sweat.


    Gun drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to not pay attention to that obvious part of her that was rising up and down with each of her breaths. ¡°Get down now!¡± Although he was berating her in a low tone, he did not dare loosen his hold. With truly no experience in this, he was worried that he would drop and hurt her.


    ¡­¡­


    The person clinging onto him made a tiny sound in answer and noiselessly slid down from him.


    He moved his arms about to loosen them. Then waving a hotel employee over, he stated a room number and instructed the other party to bring the luggage up to his room. Since Leader was so unperturbed, all the K&K members, of course, instantaneously recovered their composure as well. Wearing looks of ¡°our leader is just so friggin¡¯ I-don¡¯t-give-a-damn-about-anyone-else type of cool,¡± they continued walking out with their own luggage on their backs.


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian followed after Gun, but before she had taken two steps, she saw the person in front of her halt his footsteps.


    Oh no, she was going to be scolded¡­


    ¡°Your shoelace.¡± His voice was very detached.


    Huh?


    She lowered her gaze.


    Eh? It was undone.


    She wanted to bend over at the waist but her arm was grabbed.


    Huh?


    Gun¡¯s eyes swept over her shorts. With that sort of length, even standing completely upright showed too much already, let alone bending at the waist. ¡°Come with me.¡± Saying this, he hauled her into the stairwell beside the elevators. He had originally intended on telling her to tie her own shoe but unexpectedly discovered that this place was where hotel staff chatted and gossiped.


    Seeing two guests suddenly walking in, everyone stopped talking.


    His face was dark with a scowl. After taking in their surroundings, he wordlessly set one foot on the third step of the stairs and motioned for her to extend her leg over.


    Tong Nian gave an ¡°oh¡± in reply and dazedly raised her leg. Couldn¡¯t reach it¡­


    So, she ran up two steps and stretched out her foot.


    With her hand on the wall, in that instant when his hand grasped her ankle, a tingly, numbing sensation shot up from the top of her foot and jolted her until she felt lightheaded.


    A very small, light pink Nike platform sneaker was set diagonally across his thigh. Gun lowered his head, his fingers feeling rather unaccustomed as they wrapped the white shoelace around them. Very skillfully, he tied the lace so that the knot was hidden within the shoe. This was completely his own personal habit.


    Her fingers nervously gripped the wall. Casting her eyes down, she docilely pulled her foot back. ¡°Thank you¡­¡±


    Gun rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡±


    ¡°Just now, I didn¡¯t meant to do that¡­¡± She quietly explained, ¡°I was just feeling a little bit jealous, and then I wanted to hold you. And then¡­¡±


    ¡°Jealous about what?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Oh, just about that¡ª¡±


    It had been two days since they had seen each other, but the kid was still the same. At the drop of a hat, her brain would not be able to keep up with her desire to speak, and she would get stuck for words. And while he was at it, she still would not listen and loved to wear those miniskirts and shorts that left her long legs bare and showing¡­


    But for some reason, seeing her like this made him suddenly feel much more at ease and relaxed.


    From physically to psychologically, he felt very relaxed.


    Unconsciously, the desire to tease her rose up in him, and moving in close beside her face, he gave a light laugh. ¡°Tell me. That nutcase¡¯s face isn¡¯t as Loli as yours, legs aren¡¯t as long as yours, chest isn¡¯t as big as yours, and brain isn¡¯t as smart as yours. What exactly is there that¡¯s worth you getting jealous over?¡±


    Huh?


    !!!!


    Those hotel staff, who were being treated as if they were thin air, could not hear what Gun was saying. They only saw the little girlie leap up and then trip. Right as it looked as if she was going to fall¡­


    The handsome hunk promptly stretched out his hand and grabbed her by her backpack¡­


    He¡¯s got her in his arms, in his arms!


    Kiss, come on, kiss¡­


    The wolf¡¯s blood in everyone seemed to be boiling in excitement. Who would have thought? The handsome hunk was so calm and cool, pushing open the door and¡­ going¡­ out¡­


    On the K&K bus, the entire group, with their own eyes, saw Leader bring Sister-In-Law onto the bus. And then, one of them noticed that the shoelaces on each of Little Sister-In-Law¡¯s feet were tied differently. It was very evident that her left foot was tied with a bow, like young girls tend to do, while her right was tied in the style that Leader normally used¡­ Hence, the whole way, these hot-blooded, twentyish-year old grown boys were all whispering amongst one another and discussing one question: what exactly did Leader do just now?


    For this Guangzhou district competition, K&K was the main, highlight participant while its longtime rival, SP, was merely a spectator.


    As a result, regarding that match yesterday in which the most powerful opponent had been absent from the gaming battlefield, the outcome¡ªa draw¡ªhad been far outside of everyone¡¯s expectations. Once they were in the team lounge, Gun handed Tong Nian a staff badge, patted her on her back, and told her to go have fun as she pleased for a little while. He needed to hold a meeting to rally the team members prior to battle. Obediently, she took it from him and lowered her head to look at the name badge: K&K eSports Club, Tong Nian.


    Somewhat overcome with emotion at this, she pulled out its blue string and hung it around her neck, all the while continually looking down at the name badge in front of her chest as she walked out. This was¡­ a K&K name badge that belonged to her.


    This eSports organization was no longer unfamiliar to her.


    Here, there were many of the finest professional gamers. Worldwide, it had more than ten different branches and possessed the title of champion in all the various events.


    During that period when he was in the United States, she had followed gaming forums and news of the tournament. Little Bai had been the one who took the championship title in the finals of that competition. Reportedly, the day of the finals match, there had been more than twenty thousand live spectators, and the number of people watching online had exceeded sixty million.


    Despite not really understanding, she had still conscientiously watched all the videos from that competition.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Hey.¡± A pair of hands waved in front of her face. Grinning, appledog looked down at her name badge. ¡°Eh? It doesn¡¯t say what your title is.¡±


    There was a blank look on Tong Nian¡¯s face, and then she smiled and also lowered her head to look at her own badge. ¡°What title?¡±


    appledog raised the name badge around her own neck for her to see.


    Organization: SP


    Title: MS Team Captain


    Name: appledog


    Oh, right. She had not even noticed that spot beside ¡°Title¡± was empty.


    ¡°It should say ¡®family¡¯ there.¡± appledog put on a pretense of seriousness. ¡°Go back and tell Han Shangyan, if he doesn¡¯t fill it in with ¡®family,¡¯ you won¡¯t travel with the team next time.¡± Hearing her say the words, ¡°travel with the team,¡± Tong Nian immediately felt shyly embarrassed.


    Every time Tong Nian saw her, this woman always seemed to be trying to help her. Naturally, then, Tong Nian felt a sense of closeness toward her. The two chatted and laughed for a long while. She felt that the people of SP did not seem like what was written on the Internet, that they were hostile toward K&K. Toward the end, appledog rather helpfully recounted for her many, many things of his past.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Hmm, what else is there? ¡­ He has a lot of fans. We don¡¯t even know how many girls he¡¯s given a tongue-lashing to for chasing after him to his competitions and not going to class. Oh, right. Also, in the past, we had a cat, and he was the one who took care of it. Later, when the cat died, he could not even stand it when people mentioned it. That¡¯s why Solo and I were guessing that he must have a particularly strong ¡®first love complex[1].''¡±


    Huh?


    All of a sudden, appledog lifted her wrist and glanced at her watch. ¡°The competition is going to begin. Let¡¯s go in.¡±


    Tong Nian nodded, following her to the players¡¯ lounge area. Just as they were about to step in through the main doors, the woman turned sideways toward her and with one arm, gave her a firm embrace. ¡°Back at the time, he did not have the support of his family. He drifted alone around the country for the sole purpose of winning gold medals in China. He didn¡¯t have a girlfriend, didn¡¯t have family. He only wanted to win. To keep winning. To win, as a Chinese national, and bring home the Grand Slam. I was worried that no one would be able to stand his terrible temper and his stubborn passion for eSports. Thank you. It¡¯s so good now. Everything is going to get better and better.¡±


    She was somewhat dumbstruck.


    When they parted and she returned back to his side and sat down, her mind was still on those last words.


    Slowly, she began to relate to some of the sadness as well as powerlessness.


    So¡­ this was the reason why his grandfather would spurn him every time? He was so successful in his career, had taken so many championship titles, had endured so many hardships, but the people in his family still did not understand and appreciate him?


    Gun could perceive that her mood was very downcast and surmised that his overly harsh behavior this morning when they first met up had brought this about. Although he felt that he had not done anything wrong, it was also clear that the little girl¡¯s actions had not been very wrong, either. It was merely a difference in viewpoints.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡± In a hard-to-come-by moment, he actually opened his mouth and spoke to try to lighten the atmosphere.


    ¡°Huh?¡± She looked slowly toward him.


    ¡­¡­


    That look in her eyes¡­


    Just too weird.


    Clearing his throat, he explained in a low voice, ¡°I have no objections to any type of intimacy that is done behind closed doors. However, out in public, we should exercise appropriate restraint. Being overly showy and flaunting is not good. People will just treat it as if they¡¯re watching a big joke. They¡¯ll also think that you, as the girl, have no self-respect and dignity and that you are very frivolous.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She nodded docilely. It doesn¡¯t matter. I will always stand by you.


    He was creeped out by her stares. ¡°I¡¯m a man. I won¡¯t lose out on anything. In the end, the one who stands to lose is you.¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm¡­¡± She continued nodding obediently. It doesn¡¯t matter. You have me now.


    He discovered that she was not even really listening. That lone bit of patience he had was about to be exhausted¡ª


    Out of the blue, her little hand slowly extended toward him and very resolutely covered the back of his, holding it tightly.I absolutely will never leave you.


    He sunk into utter despair, telling himself incessantly, ¡°Do not get angry. Stay calm.¡±


    Stay calm.


    Frick! What the heck was going on? He¡¯d just let the kid go out to play for twenty minutes. How come she was like this after she got back?


    [1]³õÁµÇé½á ¡°chu lian qing jie.¡± A term used to describe those who cannot really get over or let go of their first love. That first love holds a very special place in the heart and one that may be reflected on often. ¡°First love is the deepest.¡± Now, just to remind you all, Tong Nian is Gun¡¯s first love.

 CH 35

    Today was the qualifying match for K&K¡¯s secondary Tempest of the Sealed Chamber roster.


    Yesterday, the primary squad¡¯s match had ended in a surprising draw, and they had qualified for the second round based on points. This had left Gun feeling very peeved. When the competition began, Gun pulled his mind back into focus and fixed his eyes raptly on the situation on the battlefield.


    Tong Nian was also striving hard to learn how to watch these games. There was a light tap on her shoulder.


    She turned around. The woman she had seen following him earlier on in the hotel was bent over at the waist, and she whispered, ¡°The boxed lunches have arrived. Come eat with us.¡± Tong Nian was taken aback and glanced toward Gun. The woman smiled lightly and explained, ¡°It was Leader who said to order one for you.¡±


    Oh.


    Submissively, she stood, and not daring to disturb him, she crouched over at the waist and slipped out of the lounge area.


    The members of K&K¡¯s primary squad as well as its few subs were each, with lowered heads, cupping a paper takeout box in one hand and wolfing down the food in it. This particular venue was relatively small and did not specially provide a meeting room for them. Therefore, everyone simply sat on a chair and held onto his own food as he ate. The woman looked around, then asked for the duffel bag of one of the players and brought it over. ¡°Sit on here to eat and use a chair as a table. Let me get you a poster to spread on top of the chair.¡±


    She opened the lunch box. The food inside looked pretty good.


    The woman also brought her a can of beverage, opened it, and set it beside the boxed lunch.


    In that short period of time, several team members around her had already finished eating. All of them smiled at her but did not really dare say much to this little sister-in-law with whom they were not very acquainted. After yanking out some napkins and arbitrarily wiping their mouths, they each grabbed the drink they wanted from K&K¡¯s own box of beverages and then, one after another, left the room to enter the main venue and watch the competition.


    As a result, eventually, only she was left, sitting there alone, eating and eating, eating and eating¡­


    So much food. Could she leave leftovers if she couldn¡¯t finish it all? ¡­


    Last time, she¡¯d had leftovers remaining¡­


    Would she be shunned for being wasteful? T.T ¡­


    While her mind was stuck in this dilemma, someone came and sat down in the seat beside her. Raising her head, Tong Nian saw Gun holding a paper takeout box in his left hand and opening it. He glanced inside, then turned his eyes to her box. ¡°Is there enough to eat?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    It was obvious that the quantities of the main dish and sides were so small you could not even bear to look at them. If it were him, he could finish it all in a few mouthfuls. Gun frowned. He did not like wasting food, and each time, the number of boxed meals was ordered according to the number of people there were. Hence, there simply were no extra boxes of lunch he could pull food out of to add to her meal. Without further thought, he took all the food items in his own boxed lunch and swept them into hers.


    Tong Nian was dumbfounded. ¡°You¡¯re not going to eat your entree and sides? Just rice?¡±


    Since when were men so dainty and weak? They ate until they were full, and that was enough.


    ¡°The food isn¡¯t to my liking.¡± He randomly made up some nonsense of an excuse. With the chopsticks he was holding, he rapped the edge of her takeout box. ¡°Try to finish everything. Don¡¯t leave any leftovers.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± She carried on, head bowed and eating, with tears spinning in her eyes.


    Gun bent his head down. Swiftly and efficiently, he devoured all his plain, white rice until the box was clean, then closed it up and tossed the box into the trash bag that was in a corner. The entire process did not exceed five minutes before he was returning to the VIP viewing area.


    Alone, Tong Nian huffed and puffed away, eating from the beginning of the competition until its second round. Finally, when the entire troop came back to gather their things, she wearily closed up the top of her takeout box¡­


    So full she was going to burst¡­


    The secondary squad lost its match and took seventh in the group standings, advancing into the next round as the second-last place team.


    The performance of these two consecutive days had been a huge surprise to everyone.


    The entire trip back, the atmosphere inside the bus was heavy, and it remained as such when they were back in the hotel. He had reserved a room for her, but she did not go there. Hanging out on the sofa in the bedroom section of his suite, she played on her computer while listening to him as he exploded at everyone in the living room. Her own mood was gloomy as well. Dinner was ordered from the hotel restaurant and delivered directly up to the room. Everybody made do and ate there, then continued with the meeting.


    This meeting carried on until nine o¡¯clock. During a brief break, he stepped from the living room into the bedroom, where he saw her, hugging her computer, her legs curled up under her as she dozed off on the sofa. She appeared to be in a half-awake, half-asleep state. As her little head nodded back and forth, she would frequently startle awake, but without even opening her eyes, she would adjust her position, tilt her head to the side, and continue sleeping.


    While he gazed upon her, his thoughts wandered somewhat.


    How did grunt and the others normally even manage to interact with their girlfriends? With this sort of lifestyle¡ªhigh intensity training, competitions¡ªthe time allocated to a girl, to connect and be with her, was practically nothing.


    So, Tong Nian, what do you think you can get from being with me?


    Whether it had been that time picking him up at the airport or coming here to travel with the team in competition, they had eaten meals from takeout boxes. There was no recreational time, and an otherwise perfectly fine weekend was spent like this. Was it not frustrating? This was what was normal for him. There would be one day when a player would retire from professional gaming, but for him, unless he retired completely from this profession, there was no opportunity for him to relax and take things easy.


    He walked over, bent at the waist, and took away the computer she had been holding in her arms.


    This action caused her to start awake, and hazily, she asked, ¡°Done your meeting?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he answered softly. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you over to the bed to lie down.¡±


    With an ¡°oh,¡± she wrapped her arms around his neck.


    Those little arms softly encircled their way around and caused him to quiet down inside. The action of picking her up that he had said he would do did not happen. Instead, he went along with her motions and, closing his eyes, rested his forehead against hers. Rest for just a while.


    There was no door on the entryway between the bedroom and living room of this hotel suite, so it was impossible for them to do anything. Simply leaning up against her and resting with his eyes closed was already very contenting.


    Something brushed up close to his lips.


    He knew what it was. He had just not expected that it would come in this moment.


    Searing hot.


    Her palm pressed itself to his nape. She took his lower lip between her teeth, then arched her head up to him. After struggling for one tenth of a second, he silently returned the kiss she was asking for.


    The angle was not comfortable. He decided to simply lower himself into a half-kneel.


    If a man did not even know what he wanted, then all this would purely be something that was insincere and superficial. From the first time they kissed, it had been very clear to him¡ªit could not be any clearer to him¡ªthat he wanted her.


    It does not matter that our social circles are different, nor do we need to have common interests to talk about. What I do, you do not need to work so hard to try to understand. Neither do you need my approval for what you do.


    You need only to be clear about one thing, and that will be enough.


    How much you want me is how much I want you.


    Apart from you, no one else will do.


    Inside the living room, someone had turned on the television, hopping between all sorts of different programs. These professional gaming players, who had been high-strung for an entire day, were now chortling and making fun of things, from this face on the TV to that line in the script, seeming utterly as if they were beholding another world¡¯s bizarre scene. At this moment, they were all just big kids, boys, ranging in age from their teens to early twenties, who were youthful and ardent and liked to bust out swear words.


    Of course, they clearly knew¡­


    A light had not even been turned on in the bedroom, yet no one dared take a step in that direction.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he chuckled, pulling back out her little hand that had reached into his clothes.


    She was in a daze, her breath coming out in light gasps¡­


    She had not known at all where her hand had extended to.


    ¡°This thing, how do you do it up?¡± His hand that was on her back touched that.


    Pretty troublesome.


    Oh gawd¡­


    Tong Nian perceived that something had come undone.


    I didn¡¯t hear that¡­


    I didn¡¯t hear anything!


    I don¡¯t know¡­


    I don¡¯t know anything!


    He patted her on the back, but she did not so much as budge. With no other alternative, he could only rely on himself. From his back pants pocket, he pulled out his mobile phone, and in that pitch-dark room, the phone¡¯s light illuminated her fair back.


    His throat felt a little dry, and he was somewhat unwilling to shift his gaze away. Shutting his eyes, he made himself calm down for a moment. Only then did he put his mobile phone between his teeth and, under the glow of the screen¡¯s light, help her fasten those little hooks using the fastest speed possible.


    Then he tugged her outer garment back down.


    Even when this series of actions was completed, she still stubbornly hung onto him.


    ¡°I¡¯m going out now.¡± His voice huskily told her this.


    She did not utter a sound.


    ¡°Tong Nian?¡±


    She still provided no response.


    Shy?


    Alright, then¡­


    But he still needed to go back out. There were still many matters that had not yet been taken care of. He invested too much of his energy into the China branch, and only that stretch of time in the middle of night could be left for the other major regions. Navi and the people in the Taiwan branch of the club were already complaining.


    However, it was apparent the little girl did not want to let go anymore.


    After a long moment of pondering, he at last took action.


    Disregarding whether she was still hanging from him, his hands took ahold of his own waist, and neatly and decisively, he undid his belt buckle. Huh? She gaped in shock and, in a stunned state, withdrew backwards. She watched as he pulled off his belt, tossed it onto the ground, and¡­ then lifted up the hem of his shirt.


    ??!!


    She quickly grabbed his shirt. ¡°Out-outside, there are a lot of people¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll have them leave.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll sleep here tonight?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not okay?¡± Obvious desire could already be heard in his voice.


    ¡°¡­ Your work is important¡­¡±


    Her fingers were twisting tight into his shirt.


    Oh, please, don¡¯t¡­


    Still not mentally prepared yet, aaaah¡ª


    At last, she heard what she most wanted to hear¡ªhis concession.


    ¡°Okay.¡± With a low chuckle, he touched his forehead against the little tip of her nose. ¡°So, I¡¯m going out now?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.¡± She hurriedly nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. Honest. I can just amuse myself, and when I¡¯m tired, I¡¯ll go back and sleep.¡±


    Very good.


    Motive accomplished, he thought.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Several minutes later, those poor devils¡ªthe ones who had been jokingly dissing at the TV while, at the same time, praying that the certain someone indulging in pleasure with his beautiful maiden in the bedroom would not emerge again¡ªsaw their Leader suddenly appear. It was completely too late for them to turn off the television.


    Gun arched his brow. ¡°You¡¯re all watching quite happily?¡±


    ¡°No, no. We¡¯re just having an intermission, right?¡± 97 speedily began to search for the remote control. Frick! Where did it go? Hey bros, all of you get up, man! Let¡¯s all look for it! Are you all waiting to die? The group sprung to their feet, and everyone was bounding up and down, searching frenetically.


    ¡°We just watched for twenty minutes,¡± demo mumbled.


    ¡°Twenty minutes? You¡¯re complaining that¡¯s not enough?¡± Walking into the bathroom, he turned on the faucet and swiftly splashed a palmful of cold water on his face before adding, ¡°Times fifty. That¡¯s your training duration every day for all of next week.¡±


    Everyone¡­


    Leader T.T ¡­ We were wrong!


    We shouldn¡¯t have spoiled the atmosphere by watching that ¡°ripping apart the Japanese devils with bare hands[1]¡± drama while you were being lovey-dovey and snuggling with Sister-In-Law¡­


    [1]ÊÖ˺¹í×Ó ¡°shou si gui zi.¡± Literally, ¡°ripping apart the devil with bare hands.¡± This is referring to the 2011 drama¡¶¿¹ÈÕÆæÏÀ¡· ¡°Kang Ri Qi Xia,¡± which translates roughly as ¡°The Amazing Anti-Japanese Knights.¡° It is set in the Second Sino-Japanese War. In this period in China¡¯s history when anti-Japanese sentiments were very strong, Japanese were often referred to as ÈÕ±¾¹í×Ó or ¡°Japanese devils.¡± In this drama, one particular scene caused a stir in Chinese social media. A Chinese soldier, with his bare hands, ripped a Japanese man in half. Due to this scene, the drama has been called ¡°Ripping Apart the Japanese Devils With Bare Hands¡± by Chinese netizens.

 CH 36

    Almost one in the morning.


    She finally left his room and returned to her own.


    Actually, it was on the same floor as his and was also an executive suite with separate living area and bedroom. All alone, she washed up and, in her pajamas, slipped under the covers, feeling that the room was extremely cold and cheerless. Tossing and turning until past three o¡¯clock but still unable to fall asleep, she piteously pulled out her mobile phone and sent him a WeChat message.


    Her: Meow.


    Gun: ¡­¡­


    Her: I miss you.


    Gun: Come over if you want.


    Really?!


    So awesome!


    Hopping out of bed, she picked up her room key card and raced out, not even bringing her phone along. By the time she dashed up to his doorway, she discovered that the door was already open. The room inside, however, was dark, without any lights turned on. Somewhat uncertain, she moved in closer and peeked inside. Only the dim moonlight glowed in the living room. A tall figure stepped out, tossed his mobile phone onto the sofa, and happened to see her.


    Within the darkness, he gestured to her to come.


    Happily, she ran in, and when she saw him stretch out his open arms as if indicating she should do something, she immediately understood. With a whoosh, she leapt up onto him.


    A pair of strong arms held her up, supported her.


    In the lobby during the daytime, the position had left people feeling awkward and embarrassed, but now in this moment, this same sort of embrace¡­ Self-consciously, she hugged his neck and breathed lightly, feeling her earlobe being nibbled on.


    ¡°Be good. You take the lead.¡±


    His voice was intentionally lowered, guiding her subtly.


    ¡­¡­


    Wordlessly, she closed her eyes.


    Amid the deafening sound of her beating heart, she slowly began to search, trailing across his face, then chin, before moving back up slightly higher.


    Finally, she brushed against it.


    With her enfolded in his arms, Gun intermittently responded to these kisses of hers, which could not be considered very skillful, while, in passing, walking to the door and shutting it with his foot. Then, in the black of the night, he pressed her up tightly against the wall¡­


    Before the sky lightened, he set her down on the bed. Stretching his somewhat sore arms, he lay down as well and leaned against the headboard.


    Wanting to be close and cuddly with him, the kid crawled up and snuggled herself tight against him. ¡°You¡¯re not sleepy?¡±


    Unconcernedly, he answered, ¡°Once it¡¯s past three, I won¡¯t be able to fall sleep and need to make up my sleep during the day.¡±


    Such a strange habit.


    He offhandedly opened up his Texam Hold¡¯Em and started a game. ¡°Your birthday was on the twentieth?¡±


    Not understanding the intention behind his question, she merely looked at him.


    ¡°Still haven¡¯t eaten enough tofu? Why do you keep looking at me?¡± he asked indolently.


    It was obvious you were the one who was doing all the eating¡­


    She mumbled in a small voice, ¡°That was the day we broke up¡­ so I wasn¡¯t really in the mood and didn¡¯t celebrate it.¡±


    ¡°Oh, broke up.¡± The computer dealt out the cards. He glanced at his hand. Not bad. He probably was going to win. ¡°Do you have any birthday wishes?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± She was surprised. ¡°It passed already, but I can still ask for something?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Anything you want.¡± In the darkness, he let out a rather wickedly evocative laugh. ¡°Even for the person and his body.¡±


    Why was he always being naughty and suggestive? ¡­


    Blushing, she contemplated for a lengthy while. On hands and knees, she crawled over onto his lap, sprawling herself on him to speak softly into his ear. ¡°I want¡­ to never break up. Is that okay?¡± In just the short period where he had come here to Guangzhou, she had missed him to the point that her heart ached. The thought of the two words, ¡°break up,¡± would cause her to feel as if piece after her piece of her heart was sinking downwards. Simply thinking about it brought her pain.


    Gun had thought she would ask him to take some time off to spend with her. He completely did not expect that it would be such an answer.


    The balcony door was wide open to air out the smells of cigarette smoke, food, and other various odours. Noticing that her hands felt chilled, he pulled the track jacket he had tossed on the bedside table over and with it, covered up her pajamas, which had come undone. He did not provide any answer.


    These feelings of not wanting to part from someone, he had also experienced before. It was as if you wanted to freeze all time and halt everything in this second. There was no past, and the future was unseen. To forever remain here, in the present, when the relationship and all feelings were the most firm and stable, in this period where they were most healthily dependent on one another.


    In the deep hours of such a night, only two people were in this room that had a breeze wafting through it.


    And unexplainably, there was a sense of closeness from being dependent upon one another.


    Tong Nian waited and waited until gradually, she became a little fearful.


    Why wasn¡¯t he saying anything?


    After a long silence, he hesitated. ¡°It¡¯s a little too fast.¡±


    Huh?


    0.0?


    What was too fast?


    ¡°You¡¯re very anxious?¡± He began to raise the bets in his game, and several players around the table chose to fold.


    Huh?


    Anxious about what?


    ¡°It¡¯s only the¡±¡ªhe glanced at the date on his mobile phone¡ª¡°third day since our relationship was made official?¡±


    Huh? From Saturday to Monday? That seemed right¡­


    ¡°Mm-hmm¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll discuss that later.¡± He pondered. It seemed nineteen years old was not within China¡¯s legal age of marriage[1]. Just three day and then he was paying a visit to her home to request that the little girl change her nationality and marry him? There was a one hundred percent chance her parents would hack him to death. ¡°Think of another wish.¡±


    At minimum¡­ how long should he wait?


    The concept of this particular duration gave Gun a slight headache. Deciding to just call an ¡°all-in,¡± he tossed all the chips he had into the pot.


    He lost¡­


    Tong Nian clung to his arm in a daze, her brain all the while unable to process, and that teeny bit of mood she had worked herself up to was also cancelled out by bewilderment. She did not know at all that her first ever ¡°marriage proposal (?)¡± had, just like that, been postponed for later discussion¡­


    * * * * *


    The following morning.


    The K&K team members were having breakfast buffet on the tenth floor. Dt returned with only a glass of orange juice and a plate of vegetable salad. The group occupied an entire table, and right then, 97 was spreading jam on his slice of bread while sighing, ¡°Given how fit Leader is physically, I¡¯m guessing he was like a machine gun.¡± His last two words, ¡°machine gun¡± were said in English.


    Some instantly understood, others still stared blankly.


    What¡¯d that mean?


    grunt wore a wicked smirk. ¡°Do you know what game Leader used to play? For the rest, go ask Captain.¡±


    ¡°CS¡­¡± The few young boys who had not comprehended turned and looked together at Dt. ¡°What is ¡®machine gun¡¯?¡± they asked, repeating those English words. ¡°Captain?¡±


    Void of any expression on his face, Dt cast a glance at them and stated the Chinese term for machine gun. ¡°The type of gun that can fire a hundred bullets in succession without needing to reload.¡±


    97 grinningly added, ¡°In CS, this weapon has the longest continuous attack. It¡¯s not like other guns that will be out of ammo after ten or twenty rounds and then you have to stop and reload before you can continue again.¡±


    Oh¡­ a little popular science lesson.


    Those several young boys carried on, burying their heads and eating their breakfast.


    They ate and ate and ate and ate¡­ Suddenly, one by one, their heads snapped back up. I get it!

 CH 37

    She jumped out of bed and, barefoot, walked out the bedroom. The living room was empty. Bags of snack foods littered the entire tabletop. Computers and discarded papers were strewn all about. Still, no one could be found. The balcony door, however, was open.


    Stepping outside, she saw him lying on the low lounge chair, his arms folded across his chest and his jacket covering him.


    Sleeping?


    Slowly, she treaded over, then crouched down and gazed happily upon him. She looked and looked, and then, she climbed up¡­ He had slept for only ten minutes, and now, still in a half-asleep, half-awake state, he felt something soft snug itself on top of him. Too lazy to even open his eyes, he flipped over and reversed their positions. ¡°Don¡¯t do this type of thing in the morning.¡±


    0.0


    ¡°Why?¡± And on top of that, it had something to do with morning versus night?


    Gun rested his chin on her shoulder and offhandedly answered, ¡°There will be a reaction.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    A single sentence successfully caused the kid to struggle out from beneath him and sprint away.


    Succeeding in his plot, Gun maintained this prone position and within seconds, was asleep again.


    Before he had fallen into a sound slumber, though, the kid jogged back again with light feet and poked him in his back. Groggily, he made a noise in response and heard her ask whether she could take one of his articles of clothing away with her. He could not be bothered to think at this moment and gave an arbitrary reply. It seemed he had said something to her along the lines of ¡°Go find one in the suitcase yourself¡­¡±


    On Monday, the competitions here had come to an end. That evening, they would be flying direct to Sanya to participate in a commercial event. The flight he had reserved for her took off roughly half an hour before theirs, so it worked out perfectly that they could go to the airport together.


    Coincidentally, their two departure gates were adjacent to one another.


    As a result, prior to boarding the plane, the K&K crew were able to amply satisfy their curiosity regarding what it looked like and how Leader actually dated someone and behaved in his romantic (?) relationship.


    Gun was feeling somewhat fatigued and mentally drained. Throwing his jacket over his head, he openly and unconcernedly lay down on the chairs to catch up on some shut-eye. Since leaving the room this morning, Tong Nian had been holding her computer and engrossed with working on something. It was not known what she was working on, but it was apparent that she had reached the point of neglecting everything else, sleep and food included, and was completely ignoring the fact that her departure gate had long started to check boarding passes.


    ¡°Done!¡± She patted her keyboard cheerily.


    The person beside her did not even twitch.


    Quietly, she lifted up the jacket that was covering his face and slipped under it¡­


    Everyone¡­


    Dang! Why cover everything up?!


    Just a normal dating relationship! Not even letting us watch! So not cool!


    Gun yanked down his jacket and sat up straight, wearing a look that absolutely declared he had just been woken up. Her cheeks glowing rosily, Tong Nian held up her little pink computer and leaned in to let him see. ¡°It¡¯s this software program.¡±


    ¡°How do you use it?¡± He cast his eyes down at the screen.


    Everybody¡¯s ears pricked up.


    ¡°There¡¯s fifty-two cards in total.¡± Softly, she explained, ¡°When the first deal is done, after you subtract the two cards in your hand, there are still another fifty cards. So, the next round, the probability of each card is¡­¡±


    Everyone was baffled. What was Little Sister-In-Law talking about?


    Only Gun, Dt, and 97 could understand what she was saying. This was a calculation of odds for various hands and probability of a winning hand. But after five minutes, 97 was already starting to get lost with what he was hearing.


    ¡°When the opponent bets all-in at the flop, you continue to call bets¡­¡± At this point, Dt did not understand what he was hearing anymore. He did not play Texas Hold¡¯em.


    ¡°The method the program uses to calculate¡­ And you also need to include your own probability of a straight or a flush¡­¡± At this point, it was also completely over 97¡¯s head.


    In the end, there was only the little girlie talking absorbedly while Gun listened with increasing interest.


    The end of the entire explanation was reached.


    Tong Nian did not know at all that behind her, as she solemnly explained everything, everybody was already looking worshipfully at her backside, eyes filled with cries of ¡°Holy crap! What in the world is Sister-In-Law talking about?!¡±


    ¡°Since when did you learn this game?¡± gun asked quizzically.


    Red flushed Tong Nian¡¯s cheeks as she shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to actually play, and I don¡¯t play very well, even now. This is purely a theoretical calculation¡­ It¡¯s just, um, the second time we met, you were playing this, so that made me curious. When I went back, I bought a few books: No Limit Hold¡¯em: Theory and Practice, The Laws Governing Poker Hands, and Those Years of Poker and Me¡ª¡±


    In reality, all I did is write a little probability calculation software program, hoping that it would make you happy. Covering my face shyly¡­


    ¡°Do you like it?¡± Her index fingers poking together against her chin, she put on a cute look that requested praise.


    Gun raised his brows, then, in the nature of a reward, patted her little cheek.


    Immediately, she began wagging her tail!


    Even though the brains of true professional players of this game already possessed a probability calculator that had come about from years of accumulated practice and experience and was far more practical than these software programs, still¡­ He threw a glance at the group behind him. To occasionally have everyone participate in some competitions or something during some spare time was not a bad idea. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten a little sick of rock-climbing lately. We¡¯ll arrange to hold a few Texas Hold¡¯em tournaments amongst ourselves.¡± With his arm resting on the seatback, he turned and instructed the several team captains and team leads, ¡°If we can play well, K&K can also invest some money to organize an annual professional tournament.¡±


    Everyone: What in the world is going on?!


    He glanced at Tong Nian. ¡°Right here, a little software program was just written, so that¡¯s perfect. We can train and improve all of you in your ability to calculate probabilities.¡±


    Everyone: ¡­ What in the world are probabilities? Never learned that in high school¡­


    All of them abruptly twisted their heads around. Captain!!


    Dt was silent.


    This group really was not suitable for using their brains in such a way. Moreover, many amongst this bunch had entered the gaming circle direct from high school. If he truly were to make them try to understand probability¡­ the person who would end up suffering was himself.


    Hence, Dt finally took some action. Tilting his chin, he pointed with it at the departure gate. ¡°Flight¡¯s about to take off.¡±


    Huh?


    Tong Nian turned around.


    The monitor was displaying that¡­ there were only another five minutes?! In a flurry, she jammed her computer into her backpack, leapt to her feet, and began to dash toward the departure gate. But after taking only a few steps, she swiftly doubled-back.


    Gun was still mulling over the idea of investing in a league tournament when he saw her run back and stand bashfully in front of him.


    Right this moment, all the particulars in his mind about video games unexpectedly dispersed.


    ¡°I¡¯m going back now¡­¡± she quietly reported.


    He gave a faint sound in response.


    Stretching out his arm, he touched her face, then slid his hand down to her tiny chin, giving it a little squeeze between his fingers.


    ¡°You still haven¡¯t said¡­ that you like it,¡± she reminded him in a small voice.


    ¡°Like it?¡± He purposely pretended that he did not understand. ¡°Like what? Last night? Or this morning?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    She stood there self-consciously, both her hands clutching her backpack straps.


    ¡°Go now. Hurry.¡± Releasing his hold, he smiled and patted her head.


    If she did not leave now, they were going to start announcing her name through the entire place.


    He watched the kid reluctantly, with a backwards glance every three steps, hand over her boarding pass and step past the glass wall. Then, it was the long boarding corridor, where her diminutive figure gradually disappeared from view. Five minutes later, her plane started to move¡­ Behind him, a long line was beginning to form at their departure gate. Amid the beep beep sounds of boarding passes being scanned, each team member picked up his own backpack and waited for Leader and Captain to go first.


    Pulling back his gaze, Gun grabbed his jacket from the seat and, without saying a word, led everyone to board their flight.


    * * * * *


    That night, Tong Nian headed directly back to the school and had dinner with Soy Milk.


    Once she returned to her double dorm room, she tossed her suitcase into a corner and flopped herself onto her bed.


    As she rolled back and forth on it, her mind was filled completely with him, only him. She spent a long time in this way, missing him to the point that it was as if her soul had drifted off somewhere on the outer edges of heaven. Then, once again springing to her feet, from her suitcase, she pulled out a black, long-sleeved shirt with a silver K&K logo on it¡ªhis team shirt.


    She rubbed her face against it. The soft texture of pure cotton, as well as his scent.


    For some reason, she suddenly remembered the scene she saw in the webcam that day¡­ She wondered whether, when he arrived in Sanya, would¡­


    Somewhat worried, she sent him a WeChat message.


    Her: At night¡­ be very careful. Don¡¯t let people that you again.


    He did not reply.


    Behind her, her dormmate, Du Yaya, who had just finished a shower, was looking at her while rubbing at her hair with a towel. ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± Tong Nian gave an ¡°mm.¡± Her dormmate instantly detected that something was not right, and round-eyed, she pointed at the garment in Tong Nian¡¯s hands. ¡°Wait! That¡¯s a man¡¯s!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Embarrassed, Tong Nian folded it and placed it back into the suitcase, mumbling in a low voice, ¡°It¡¯s my boyfriend¡¯s.¡±


    Earthshaking, thunderclap type of shock.


    Yaya gripped her towel in a state of numb astonishment¡­ How did this kid, who forever had been the type who just didn¡¯t ¡°get it,¡± all of a sudden have a boyfriend? Hey, something wasn¡¯t right. Wait! What was that behind her little neck¡ª Holy crap! Who did it?!


    ¡°Come here, come here.¡± Yaya grabbed her by the arm and carefully inspected it. Immediately, her mind began filling in ten thousand words worth of details¡­ How could this person, whom she had seen midway through the winter break and absolutely had not had a boyfriend then, all of a sudden be like this?


    Yaya, this girl who loved StarCraft and all other similar games and who had never shown any interest in romance, went completely berserk.


    She could not figure it out. Why was Yaya staring at her back?


    Tong Nian even reached a hand to touch that spot. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    Coughing, Yaya skirted the issue and said instead, ¡°Come, come. Give your big sister a report. Your boyfriend¡­ how old is he?¡±


    Tong Nian thought for a moment. ¡°Twenty-nine. Nearly thirty.¡±


    Holy crap!! ¡°Where¡¯d you guys meet?¡±


    ¡°A cybercaf¨¦.¡±


    The gathering place of unemployed bums. The expression on Yaya¡¯s face slowly began to change. ¡°How long have you known each other? ¡­¡±


    Tong Nian had never felt before that Yaya was as nosy as she was now, but Tong Nian¡¯s heart was also bursting with the desire to share her happiness. Like a good girl, she came clean. ¡°Around the Lunar New Year, I saw him, but we didn¡¯t get acquainted. Later, I ran into him again when I was out of town, and that¡¯s when we really met¡­ And then, somehow, in some kinda muddled, unclear way, we ended up being together. Oh, that¡¯s not right, either. It wasn¡¯t unclear. It was after I got drunk and a little incident happened that we ended up together. I just got back from Guangzhou. I was with him there.¡± Blushing, Tong Nian reached out and hugged Yaya around the neck. ¡°Yaya, I especially, especially, especially like him. Honest¡­¡±


    While Tong Nian shook and rocked her, Yaya¡¯s heart felt as if it was about to shatter. ¡°How long have you two been together? ¡­¡±


    ¡°Three days. Today is the third day. After twelve o¡¯clock, it¡¯ll be four days.¡±


    Three days and she was already like this? ¡­


    After getting drunk¡­


    And immediately going to Guangzhou and staying together in the same room¡­


    ¡°What does he do?¡± Yaya shut her eyes in agony. ¡°Anything will be fine. Just don¡¯t tell me he plays video games¡­¡± They met in an Internet caf¨¦. Oh man, do NOT be one of those men who don¡¯t have a real job and only know to waste their life away by playing video games all the time¡­


    ¡°Exactly! He plays video games!¡± Releasing her embrace on Yaya, she stuck out her tongue impishly and made a face. ¡°He games better than you.¡±


    Saying that, she cheerily grabbed some clothes and slipped into the bathroom to take a shower.


    Roiling in a mental state of turmoil, Yaya remained standing in that same spot, envisioning a thirty-year old, middle-aged man sitting in a cybercaf¨¦, a cigarette between his fingers and his teeth yellowed as he smirkingly pulled Tong Nian into his arms¡­ Oh man, the sky was falling! Back then, the two of them had gone through all their studies together, from undergraduate to now, although technically, she had been part of the ordinary class in Computer Science while Tong Nian had been in Electronic and Electrical Engineering¡¯s gifted juvenile class.


    But Tong Nian had been the one who had singlehandedly rescued so many of her big assignments and allowed this homebody-couch-potato girl who was addicted to gaming to successfully get into postgraduate studies by recommendation and without even needing to take the exam¡­


    No way, no way!


    She could not just stand by and watch as some old uncle dude from a cybercaf¨¦ took advantage of her.


    Thirty seconds later, Yaya made a decision. Although she did not really like that so-called ACM team captain, he was still better than some old uncle dude. In any case, at least he was a physically and mentally healthy, young scholar. Tomorrow! She would arrange a date for the two of them for tomorrow. As for that old dude, just judging from Tong Nian¡¯s face that was glowing with bliss, she could tell that Tong Nian had fallen hard for the guy and playing hardball would not work on her¡­ She needed to use strategy, to use a normal type of romantic relationship to divert Tong Nian¡¯s attention. Then, while she was at it, she would feel out all the details about the man¡¯s background¡ªand then break them up!


    After decisively drawing up her battle plans, Yaya immediately left.


    When Tong Nian had finished showering and discovered that Yaya was gone, she was somewhat puzzled.


    Gn: Worried that I¡¯m going to cheat on you?


    Her: ¡­ No, not at all. *poking fingers together* ¡­


    Gn: Nine o¡¯clock tonight, Tempest of the Sealed Chamber, District 13. Your ID is ¡°Lolicat.¡± Password is ¡°hanshangyan.¡±

 CH 38

    Tong Nian stared at that password, and after piecing it together more than ten times and confirming that it indeed was his name written out in pinyin, she excitedly hugged her phone to herself. She did not know how she should reply to this WeChat message, but yet, she really wanted to reply with something. Until¡ª


    Gn: Starting training now. Don¡¯t reply.


    Oh, right. This time of night was K&K¡¯s training time.


    Like a good girl, she put away her phone.


    Yaya soon returned to see Tong Nian fiddling with her computer and downloading the new shooter game, Tempest of the Sealed Chamber. Shooter game?! Yaya nearly fainted. Why was this kid, who did not even know how to play Lianliankan, suddenly starting to play shooter games? Needless to say, it definitely had something to do with that middle-aged uncle dude. Her heart and mind ached with grief and bitterness, but still, she maintained her calm as she walked over. ¡°Let¡¯s go have ice cream?¡±


    Required download time was seven to eight hours. Obviously, she wouldn¡¯t have enough time, right?


    A speed-up plug-in?


    Yes, a speed-up plug-in.


    Tong Nian was completely immersed in her own world, trying various methods to increase the download speed, and did not even know that the person behind her was inviting her to go out. Even when Yaya had brought her coat and hat over to her, pulled her up from the chair, and helped her put them on before dragging her out of the dormitory, her mind was still in a fog. ¡°Where are we going?¡±


    ¡°To have ice cream.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Who ate ice cream in March?


    Muddledly, she followed her out and was led to a shopping centre not far away, into a little shop that sold handmade ice cream.


    Out of the two or three people in the shop, there was one person she knew: the captain of her ACM-ICPC team. ¡°What a coincidence.¡±


    The boy hurriedly stood up from his chair. ¡°Yeah, such a coincidence. What do you guys want to eat?¡±


    Yaya¡¯s gaze scanned around. ¡°I¡¯m easy. Oh, right. Tong Nian, my mouse is broken. I¡¯m going upstairs to buy one.¡±


    Tong Nian gave an ¡°oh, okay¡± in response.


    It was only after Yaya had left that she realized something was not right. Their dormitory room had lots of mice, won from the various little competitions she had participated in or randomly given to her by the Students¡¯ Union and teachers in Administration. There were so many that they would not be able to even use them all.


    Why did she need to buy a new one?


    However, she quickly gave up on pondering on this bizarre question and turned her mind to repeatedly muse over whether those several speed-up plug-ins would be able to finish downloading the game on time. So, for this entire hour of ice cream-eating, the boy in front of her had tried to find a variety of topics to chat with her about, but she still ended up bringing the conversation over to the question of increasing download speeds¡­


    By the time Yaya returned with a mouse in hand, she saw that those two were enthusiastically discussing away. Standing outside the glass door, she could not hold back a gratified smile. The lad was actually not bad. From the looks of it, he had a chance.


    When they returned to their dorm room, Yaya began to carry out another strategy¡ªfish for information to assess the situation. ¡°Oh right, why did you suddenly want to play Tempest of the Sealed Chamber?¡±


    Tong Nian delightedly discovered that the download had completed! So awesome! There were still another twenty minutes to register an account and read the walkthrough[1]. ¡°My boyfriend plays this game.¡± She was so elated it was as if she had found a gold bar on the ground. ¡°He said he¡¯d play with me.¡±


    ¡­ Sure enough.


    Yaya put on a nonchalant look. ¡°Since I¡¯ve gotten bored of all the other games these days anyway and I heard this one is a huge hit, I¡¯ll play with you.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± This was great! Someone there to help her out. In any case, Yaya definitely would not get annoyed with her for being a drag on her!


    ¡°Of course really. Back then, you were the one who helped me out on so many big assignments. Don¡¯t worry. Inside the game, you can entrust your body and mind to me.¡± Yaya heaved a long sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t have the heart to see you getting killed, you know. Who knows whether your boyfriend really is an expert in gaming?¡±


    0.0? ¡°It¡¯s true. He honestly plays really well.¡± She immediately set Gun¡¯s reputation straight for him.


    Yaya broke out in a grin. ¡°How well?¡±


    How well? She remembered what grunt had said in his comment the day she posted her Weibo. ¡°Bonjwa level.¡±


    Sh*t¡­


    Yaya nearly flew into a rampage.


    Hey, uncle dude, you sure have the nerve to ridiculously exaggerate. In the entire gaming circle, the number of people who can actually be called a Bonjwa does not exceed twenty, you know?! ¡°Um¡­ Tong Nian, ¡®Bonjwa level¡¯ is usually used to refer to certain pro gamers. They have to lead the tide of the entire video game, influence and change the destiny of eSports and games, and leave behind countless game strategies before they can be called that¡­¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm. I know. He¡¯s always been really amazing.¡± The sense of pride that surged upwards in her heart from hearing her roommate say this gave her a great feeling of satisfaction, so satisfied that she knew only to smile, and that smile was especially dazzling.


    Sh*t¡­


    No, not that uncle dude of yours. That dude is just full of it and making things up!


    Yaya tried hard to maintain her cool. ¡°Every single Bonjwa has gone down into eSports history. Take, for example, Korea¡¯s StarCraft scene and, beginning with BoxeR, its seven or eight Bonjwas. Over a period of a dozen or so years, only seven or eight of these influencers of an era were produced.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± She was listening carefully, remembering each word. ¡°What about CS?¡±


    ¡°CS¡­ that game is a little farther back in time. It could be considered the first eSports game that became crazily popular on a worldwide level. Back at that time, Europe was quite strong, but we had a good team as well. It was awesome, an especially awesome team. Most importantly, their contribution was not just to the individual game of CS but that, within the country, they raised the atmosphere of eSports as a whole to a new level. They can be considered the people at the forefront who paved the way for eSports.¡±


    ¡°Team¡­ Solo?¡± The more Tong Nian listened, the more excited she became, and she even did not quite dare confirm whether the team Yaya was describing was in fact Team Solo.


    The comments she had read online were quite consistent with what Yaya was saying, but to hear these words spoken from her good friend¡¯s lips still gave her a feeling that it was all a little unreal.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Yaya was also rather excited. ¡°Many people on that team were my idols when I was young! Gun, Solo, appledog, All, Xiao Mi¡­¡± The always imposing and in control Yaya could not really restrain herself and felt that she was too stirred up right now. Pressing a hand against her chest, she blew out a long breath. ¡°Some time in my lifetime, I must see them. Absolutely must! They were the team that ignited the gaming dream within me!¡±


    0.0¡­


    Feeling slightly bashful, but also slightly proud, Tong Nian told her, ¡°My boyfriend is Gun.¡±


    ?


    ??


    ??!!


    Sh*t!


    Yaya truly went crazy now¡­


    Hey, uncle dude! If you¡¯re going to make up a load of crap, at least choose someone who¡¯s easy to pass yourself off as, ¡¯kay?! You know, if you¡¯re going to con a little girl who doesn¡¯t even game, just randomly saying that you play really well and that you¡¯re a pro gamer will already be really swanky. Don¡¯t go trying to pass yourself off as this person who deserves the true credits for forging the way for the sport, ¡¯kay?! You¡¯re pretending to be him just so that you can take his Baidu Baike page to flaunt around and get some kicks, right?


    Yaya jumped to her feet, then immediately sat back down.


    Calm down, calm down. This kid has always been slow. Aside from school and studying, she¡¯s slow in everything else. Can¡¯t blame her.


    No! Just can¡¯t friggin¡¯ hold it in! Why would the big boss of K&K show up in a little streetside cybercaf¨¦?! Why would that ridiculously cool and haughty, ridiculously bad-tempered man recklessly go and, in just three days, completely have his raunchy way with this innocent little girl?


    She beat her own chest and stamped her feet in anguish. But seeing the contented look on Tong Nian¡¯s face, she silently swallowed the mouthful of blood that had surged up into her throat.


    The moment of truth will come tonight! Imposter!


    Yaya updated her Tempest of the Sealed Chamber at light speed.


    Seeing Tong Nian¡¯s ID, she once again vomited a mouthful of blood. Uncle dude, you are just too sleazy. Come on. Lolicat?


    No problem. Once we¡¯re in the game, we¡¯ll find out anyway.


    When this particular game was on its global exhibition tour, the IDs had already been internally registered and given to all the professional gamers. You want to pass yourself off as Gun? You go and get yourself his ID, eh? Try and get it!


    Yaya, who had been logging into the game while all the while continuing with her silent dissing, was sitting side by side with Tong Nian. She could already imagine how, after that middle-aged uncle dude logged into the game, he would use the excuse of ¡°It¡¯s not very appropriate for me to use my main, official account since I¡¯m a Bonjwa-status player.¡±


    Logging in.


    Connecting.


    Waiting for chat room to set up.


    Tong Nian soon received an invitation, and after accepting it, she entered that little chat room. Quickly, she did as Yaya had taught her and sent off an invitation as well to the person beside her. Yaya¡¯s mind was clouded by rage, and sitting on her chair, she glared at her screen for a long time but still did not see an invitation icon in the upper right corner. ¡°Yaya.¡± Tong Nian nudged her arm. ¡°I sent an invitation to you.¡±


    Oh, invitation.


    Alright, I¡¯m coming.


    Yaya breathed and breathed and breathed some more, making herself keep her mind clear so that she could successfully complete her difficult mission¡ªto, without showing any hints of what she intended to do, unmask this old dude¡¯s fa?ade.


    The picture on the screen changed.


    Inside the chat room, the right side of the screen showed five users online.


    Yaya glanced at the list.


    ?


    ?!


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Gun, grunt, 97, demo¡­ Gun, grunt, 97, demo¡­ Gun, grunt, 97, demo¡­


    ¡­¡­


    A ferocious heartbeat pounded against her chest. Was this¡­ a dream¡­?


    Lolicat: My roomie wants to play. Is that ok?


    grunt: No problem. demo, you¡¯ve been liberated.


    Demo: OK! Waves to Sister-In-Law. demo is a round ball that rolls away. *rumble rumble*


    System: demo is now offline.


    97: Let¡¯s just use voice chat. Sister-In-Law, I¡¯m opening up the team channel. Later on, when the game starts, it¡¯ll be inconvenient to type.


    Tong Nian understood his meaning and took down the little white headset that had been hanging on her monitor, slipping it on. In passing, she threw a puzzled look at Yaya. Why was she just sitting blankly? ¡­ Hadn¡¯t she been looking forward to this just a moment ago? And she had even been praising Team Solo the whole time. How come, now that she actually saw them, she wasn¡¯t saying anything?


    Lolicat: ¡°I read the strategy guide and walkthrough just now. I don¡¯t really know how to play, so, you guys, please don¡¯t get frustrated with me. But my roomie plays really well. Honest. Don¡¯t judge based on the fact that she¡¯s a girl. She¡¯s played video games since she was in middle school. She¡¯s way better than me, 100 times better.¡±


    Yaya¡­ On my knees, begging you to stop praising me. Compared to pro players¡­ and especially compared with the top eSports organization that K&K is, I¡¯m the uncontested, suckiest gamer in all of history¡­ aaaah¡­ aaaah¡­


    grunt could not stifle himself and with a ¡°pffft,¡± burst out laughing. ¡°No worries, Sister-In-Law. Good or not, this is just completely casual. Casual. Completely for fun.¡±


    97 chimed in, ¡°Yup. Sister-In-Law, don¡¯t worry. Leader is with us. Definitely, absolutely, not a single female living creature has harassed him.¡±


    Yaya at last heard her own voice ask, ¡°¡­ You guys¡­ are¡­ all¡­ K&K¡­?¡±


    grunt yawned. ¡°For now we are. Who knows? Maybe if SP pays more next year, we¡¯ll jump ship and go there.¡±


    97 chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Hi, Sister-In-Law¡¯s classmate¡­ Ah, Leader, Sister-In-Law is online now and brought a classmate along, too.¡±


    He¡¯s here? Tong Nian instantly broke into a smile.


    Leader?! It really is Gun? Yaya thought she was going to faint¡­


    Her mouse in her hand, Tong Nian held her breath and waited for his voice to speak. They had only been apart for half a day, but still, her heart and mind were filled only with him: how his finger had slid down her nose and, with a smile, he had said, ¡°Then let¡¯s not break up¡±; how, in the lobby of the hotel, he had held her up securely but also somewhat crossly said, ¡°Get down now¡±; the side view of his face when, after climbing up a few steps and setting her foot on his lap, he had lowered his head to tie her shoelace; and how, in the darkness, he had leaned his forehead against hers, wanting to have just a moment of rest¡­


    And also¡­


    How, that night, he had pressed her seamlessly against the wall, his voice suppressed into the deepest part of his throat as it said, ¡°Continue?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Inside the headset, she seemed to hear that Gun was eating candy. Muffledly, he tossed out a sentence. ¡°Who told you to turn on your mics?¡±


    Familiar, husky, manly, not very patient¡ªhis tone of voice.


    And it took over the entire team channel.


    [1] Strategy guide on the story of a video game and how to play it, so named as it walks you through the game and the story while you follow along.

 CH 39

    October 26, 2016 by hoju 10 Comments


    Tong Nian is going to game with Gun. How do you think things will go for our gaming idiot?


    His tone sounded extremely displeased.


    97¡¯s voice began to stammer. ¡°Sister-In-Law¡­ said she was going to introduce me a girlfriend. That¡¯s why we turned on the mics, so we could chat first¡ª¡±


    Before he had finished, the channel went completely silent.


    ?


    Tong Nian was a little dazed. I said I was going to introduce him a girlfriend?


    Of course, her mind that had drifted away was quickly yanked back. The system was already beginning to assign the players on the opposing team. In the little chat room, the people who had been assigned by the system into the room were all in the same state as Yaya¡­


    ImAGodYouKnow: Oh my mommy¡­


    BrainDeadNumero7: Oh my dearest mommy¡­


    KillLalala: ¡­ K&K?? All the gods have descended down to the mortal world?????


    DieLalala: Gun???????


    TheLittleMatchstickThatSellsGirls[1]: God Gun, please accept all the MMR I have accumulated for you over this last decade as well as my groveling bow on bended knees!!!!


    ¡­¡­


    While the feelings of the crowd were pumping excitedly, the two were actually busily having a private chat.


    Lolicat: What type of gun should I select 0.0?


    Gun: Whatever.


    Lolicat: What will match and work well with you?


    Gun: ¡­¡­


    Lolicat: 0.0?


    Gun: Dagger.


    Lolicat: Oh, oh! OK!


    ¡­¡­


    Yay, so awesome! Turned out the weapon most suitable for her was a dagger. Elatedly, she bought a dagger. Over in the all-chat, their opponents were still spamming the screen. Sitting beside her, Yaya finally recovered a tiny portion of her senses and tugged on her arm. ¡°Gun really is your boyfriend?¡±


    Tong Nian nodded and beamed at her. ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you. He¡¯s great at playing video games.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Could ¡°great¡± even be used to describe Gun?


    That word, when used on him, was ridiculously pathetic, you know?!


    Yaya¡¯s tears were threatening to stream down her face. Back in the days of Team Solo, the captain, Solo, and the top sniper, appledog, had been together. In game, they stood shoulder to shoulder, a match made by Heaven itself. Everyone had contrived that the ultimate reason for the dissolution of the team was because no woman could meet Gun¡¯s standards, and he had eyes for only the gaming goddess, appledog¡­ Now, however, from the looks of it, that was all a load of crap. God Gun did not care at all whether his girlfriend was a gaming master or not¡­


    Let¡¯s not even mention being a master¡­


    She knew very well from experience what Tong Nian¡¯s gaming skill level was¡ª


    Yaya pulled herself back together and focused. Her hands trembling slightly, she slid her eyes over the weapons that everyone had chosen. Though she could not see their other secondary items, she still had a general idea what role and strategy each was taking¡ªbesides Tong Nian. Yaya was baffled. ¡°All you bought is a dagger?¡±


    Tong Nian nodded in dead earnest. ¡°Mm-hmm. I asked specifically. He said just buy this one.¡±


    What¡­ way of playing was this?


    There was no time to dwell on this though. The system had begun the countdown to game-start and had automatically loaded the London city map.


    The image on the screen switched.


    Very soon, a picture appeared before Tong Nian¡¯s eyes of post-war London, utterly destroyed, with ruins of buildings everywhere. As she gazed upon the several people inside the scene, she suddenly felt as if her blood was roiling. It¡¯s time to game! Clench fists! Must focus and play well!


    97: Sister-In-Law¡¯s classmate, come. I¡¯ll take you along.


    grunt: 97, you take southeast, I¡¯ll take northwest. Sweep it clean. Don¡¯t make trouble for me.


    97: Screw you, punk. It¡¯s you who shouldn¡¯t make trouble for me. You¡¯ve never been higher than me on the leaderboard, yet still so cocky.


    grunt: Whooooa. With a girl around, you¡¯re acting tough now, you, the forever little bachelor.


    ¡­¡­


    Yaya had a feeling like she was utterly going to faint.


    This sort of situation, where she was on the same team as professional gamers and was watching them as they took jabs at one another, was like¡­ she had abruptly joined a professional gaming team and a professional eSports organization, that she was suddenly one step closer to that world. As a longtime eSports fan, she soon slipped into form, forcing herself to remove herself from those feelings of exhilaration and try her best to keep up with 97.


    They had all left already?


    Tong Nian tilted her head to the side to glance at the scene in Yaya¡¯s screen. She had already run to the roof of a building?


    Lolicat: Where are we going?


    Gun: Open a separate voice chat.


    Lolicat: Oh, oh, okay.


    She accepted Gun¡¯s invitation for a private voice chat.


    In her headset, she heard the sound of typing, or that was what it seemed? He was using more than one computer? Working?


    Lightly, Tong Nian asked, ¡°Can you hear me?¡±


    He gave a faint answer, then told her, ¡°Follow my instructions. Move and control your character.¡±


    Tong Nian immediately straightened her sitting position. ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°See those ruins of that church on your left?¡±


    ¡°Yup, see it.¡±


    ¡°Walk over. Let me know when you get there.¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    She was still not very proficient at using the keyboard to control her character to walk, so she used her mouse instead. Hop after hop, she moved the character over and soon arrived at that place. ¡°Alright.¡±


    From within the headset, he seemed to hear that she was using her mouse. ¡°Still don¡¯t know how to use the keyboard?¡±


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m still not very good at it¡­ Seems the mouse is easier, right?¡± Why did she have to use the keyboard?


    In the headset, after a long moment of silence, he realized that his task was actually onerous and extremely challenging. Of course, what was being challenged was his patience¡­ ¡°In front of you, there¡¯s a flight of twenty-nine stairs. W is to move forward, space bar is to jump. Pressing both will let you jump forward. One step at a time, jump up the stairs.¡±


    0.0? This was different from what she had played last time, ah¡­


    So¡­


    Even when the game had come to an end¡­


    Those opponents did not get to even see what corner the true God Gun was in and what he was doing.


    On the southeast side, 97, with Yaya in tow, had encountered three enemies and a fight to the death had broken out. On the northwest side, grunt had easily finished off two opposing players, like he was cutting two blades of grass. Gun¡¯s character, having nothing to do, sat on the steps with sniper rifle in hand, constantly adjusting his visual field and angle to see if there were unnecessary persons nearby while, at the same time, directing the kid beside him in learning¡­


    ¡­ how to hop up a set of stairs¡­


    [1] ÂôÅ®º¢µÄС»ð²ñ. In Guo Jingming¡¯s novel, ¡¶ÃÎÀﻨÂäÖª¶àÉÙ¡·Never-Flowers in Never-Dream, there is a woman whose name in Chinese translates literally as ¡°Little Matchstick.¡± She traffics women and girls and would often say she was ¡°the little matchstick that sells girls.¡± That saying is actually a play on the title¡¶Âô»ð²ñµÄСŮº¢¡·, which literally translates as ¡°The Little Girl who Sells Matches¡± and is the Chinese title of Hans Christian Andersen¡¯s Little Match Girl. The saying more often now is used in a joking context.

 CH 40

    Within twenty minutes, the match had come to an end.


    Inside the small chat room, the gamers that had been ruthlessly defeated were still boiling with exhilaration and spamming the chat screen¡­


    ImAGodYouKnow: Begging not to be kicked out¡­


    BrainDeadNumero7: Begging for another match¡­


    KillLalala: ¡­ Is God Gun really online? Or just AFK [away from keyboard]? Why didn¡¯t I see him just now?


    DieLalala: Gun??????? Begging for another match!!!!


    TheLittleMatchstickThatSellsGirls: I think God Gun was AFK¡­


    KillLalala: Still happy, even if he was AFK. Just being able to run into g Shuai and 97 is RP[1] [good karma] erupting off the charts, you know!


    BrainDeadNumero7: Ya¡­ Being beaten and battered to the point it feels awesome is also a form of blessing¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Tong Nian was gnawing on her fingernails, deep in pondering. Why had they won just like that? Oh, and while she was at it, she continued to be stuck on the question of why you had to use your keyboard to move your character around¡­ Although, she had already learned how to use the keyboard to move forward, backward, left, and right as well as jump, throw things, do front flips, do back flips¡­


    ¡°Yaya.¡± She addressed the person beside her.


    ¡°Uh-huh, uh-huh?¡± With Yaya¡¯s state of euphoria, the only thing she was missing was a giant tail behind her that she could wag to and fro.


    ¡°Why do you need to use the keyboard to move in this game?¡± She did not really dare ask Gun. ¡°Before, when I played God with¡­ with my cousin, we used the mouse to move around. Isn¡¯t that really convenient?¡±


    She had finally gotten accustomed to how to move around, how to use a skill¡­ and had thought that she was at least practiced in the trade now.


    Who would have thought that once she switched over to Tempest of the Sealed Chamber, everything would be completely different?


    And she did not dare ask Gun, either¡­


    He would certainly then ask her what she had played initially and with whom had she played.


    And then, that would let the cat out of the bag, right? Getting the wrong guy and chasing after grunt to game with him was just too humiliating!


    Plus, she felt a strange sense of guilt, as if she had been unfaithful to him behind his back T.T¡­


    With an ¡°uh,¡± Yaya contemplated over how she could clearly explain the answer to this question to a gaming idiot. ¡°Usually, DotA-like games, ones like League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, God, etc. all use the mouse to move the character around, but for Sealed Chamber, you generally use the keyboard to move.¡±


    She was bewildered. ¡°But you can move with the mouse, too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can, but those who really play all use the keyboard. Only noobs and people who are just wasting away their time will use the mouse. Sealed Chamber is a simulation game, with all sorts of little, detailed actions like jumps, front flips, etc. and they are all controlled with the keyboard. A mouse is simply not able to handle so many actions.¡±


    Tong Nian 0.0¡­


    ¡°And when you go over to the StarCraft, Warcraft type games, the way the mouse is used is different again¡­¡±


    Tong Nian carried on with 0.0¡­


    Yaya silently put away her desire to lecture. ¡°One sentence summary: they are just different types of video games.¡±


    ¡°Ooooh.¡± Tong Nian nodded with great seriousness. ¡°Well, if one moment you¡¯re playing DotA, another moment you¡¯re playing StarCraft, and then another moment you¡¯re playing Sealed Chamber, won¡¯t you get mixed up?¡±


    Yaya¡­


    How can someone who has gamed for ten-plus years get mixed up?


    The ones who get mixed up are the types like you, those little girlies who can¡¯t even differentiate between the different types of games¡­ I guess¡­


    Soon, the second match began.


    On Gun¡¯s end, he seemed to have started a telephone conference and reminded her to turn off her voice chat.


    He typed out a string of words on the computer to her, instructing her to begin practicing how to switch from gun to dagger, then dagger back to gun; how to load, aim, and fire; how to throw grenades¡­


    Her head spun from reading this, and quietly, she sent off a message in a private chat window to him.


    Lolicat: *raising hand* May I first ask a question?


    Gun: Go ahead.


    Lolicat: Will you look down on me if I learn really slow?¡±


    Gun: No.


    She was feeling a little touched, and there was a tingly feeling in the bottom of her heart. She had never discovered before that he could be so patient. But very shortly, Gun followed up with another statement.


    Gun: I never held out any hope that you would be able to learn this.


    Lolicat: ¡­ Then¡­ why are you taking it so seriously to teach me?


    Gun: To pass the time.


    ¡­¡­


    In her vision, Yaya and 97 were already working very well together. Despite not really understanding what she was seeing, from watching them do all sorts of running, climbing up stairs, somersaulting, and, every so often, shooting and other stuff like that, she felt enflamed with excitement¡­ Yet as she watched, she began to feel a little deflated. The motivation she had felt while happily jumping up stair steps just a moment ago had completely disappeared. Propping up her chin, she simply stared at the computer screen, waiting for his conference call to end.


    After some time, Gun seemed to also notice that there was no activity from her whatsoever.


    Gun: Why aren¡¯t you moving?


    Lolicat: Waiting for you¡­


    Gun: Don¡¯t like gunplay? You like adding HP?


    ??


    !! That was not possible.


    She stared foolishly at the computer.


    He could not possibly know. Back then, it had been grunt whom she had played with. Besides, the entire time, she had used someone else¡¯s ID. Stay calm, stay calm. He must have just asked that arbitrarily. Just like Yaya said, video games only have those few types. He just asked that arbitrarily¡­


    So, she made the decision to play dumb.


    Lolicat: Huh? ¡­ What do you mean by add HP 0.0?


    Gun was silent.


    After several seconds, he tossed over a line of words:


    (>^¦Ø^<) Meow. This is Little Squidie. Thanks, everyone, for watching out for me.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    She banged her head fiercely on her desk.


    Even the emoticon was exactly the same¡­


    Yaya jumped in alarm. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Got chewed out by God Gun? Get used to it and you¡¯ll be fine. Just get used to it, and you¡¯ll be just fine. Supposedly, back in the day, out of the teammates who played with him¡­ aside from his team captain, Solo, there was not a single one who didn¡¯t get chewed out.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t get chewed out¡­¡±


    After a lengthy while, she glumly lifted her head back up from the desk. grunt must have found out about her Fish Playing in Sealed Chambers account, linked it up with everything that happened later¡­ and then told him¡­


    And so, she once again made a decision, this time, to not play dumb and voluntarily admit her mistake.


    Lolicat: I only played three times¡­ with grunt. I thought he was you¡­


    Gun did not reply.


    Lolicat: I was wrong¡­


    Gun still did not reply.


    Lolicat: The first time playing with him, he hacked me to death¡­ The second time, he told me to hide in the brush¡­ The third time, I helped him add HP¡­ But no inappropriate words were said! Never! I swear!


    Lolicat: Don¡¯t be mad¡­


    Still no reply¡­


    * * * * *


    Gun had long brought his laptop back into his hotel suite and left grunt and 97 in the training room. Just now, he had stepped out momentarily to grab a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator. He had not expected that when he returned, he would see so many messages sent from her¡­ How slow was the kid? Hadn¡¯t she noticed that the ID, ¡°Lolicat,¡± had been chosen based on that character she liked, that Loli who rode around on a big cat?


    Standing in front of the desk, he set his bottle of water down beside his hand and, with his fingers on the keyboard, sent over an invitation for a one-on-one voice call.


    When he discovered that the kid had not even figured out that it was he, using grunt¡¯s account, who had led her around and gamed with her back then, he immediately felt that this very simple matter had become much more fun and interesting.


    Hence¡ª


    Call connected.


    His first sentences were ¡°What was that? You¡¯ve gamed with grunt before, too?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t read too much into that. Please, please don¡¯t be mad. It was honestly nothing.¡±


    He grinned, deliberately not answering her as he offhandedly loosened the tie around his neck. Things had been too rushed when he hurried back, having a meeting as well as watching her game, and only now did he realize that he was being constrained by his clothing. Very uncomfortable.


    ¡°I was wrong¡­¡± she mumbled softly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay to make a mistake.¡± He guided her in a low voice, ¡°Knowing how to make amends for your mistake is the important thing.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    After a lengthy silence¡­


    ¡°Say it.¡± She quietly conceded, ¡°As long as¡­ I can do it, I will.¡±


    * * * * *


    In the blink of an eye, Saturday arrived.


    For five entire nights, Tong Nian spent the deepest hours of those nights tossing and turning, unable to sleep because¡­ he would be returning on Saturday¡­


    In a large-scale gaming and anime expo, as she sat at the special guest booth in the northeast corner with a pen clutched in hand and her head down, working away, her mind was still filled with thoughts of ¡°he¡¯s coming back, he¡¯s coming back¡­¡±


    Every part of her was so excited it was as if she was going to soar off into the air¡­


    However, once she remembered what she had promised him that night, her face immediately reddened, and she became a little nervous about his return.


    The end of that long line-up of people waiting for autographs could not even be seen. The event host was very puzzled as to why so many people had all of a sudden showed up this time. Later, she discovered that¡­ half the people were holding stuff like K&K jerseys or K&K brochures to stand in line. Unable to resist, she asked in a low tone, ¡°You¡¯re standing in the wrong line, eh? ¡­ The one giving autographs belongs to the cover singing circle¡­¡±


    ¡°Not wrong, not wrong.¡± A young boy laughed and scratched his own head. ¡°I want to ask K&K¡¯s lady-boss for an autograph¡­¡±


    The girl who was representing the event organizer went 0.0¡­


    While she did not really know much about the gaming circle, she had heard that recently, the hottest gossip seemed to be that this extremely famous Fish Playing in Sealed Chambers Dada had found herself a man who was even more famous¡­ As for exactly how famous, she genuinely did not know anything about those people who played video games. But from continually reading through the gossip on the forums and all sorts of news, this seemed to be especially exhilarating, in a blood-roiling kind of way?


    He had taken a world title before? And not just once? And also won some sort of individual MVP award? And was the big boss of a top eSports club?


    ¡­¡­


    Too incredible.


    The girl turned around to do a head count, all the while considering whether she should stop the line at a certain number of people so that anyone who came after would be turned away from getting an autograph. Otherwise¡­ she reckoned that by the time the expo concluded, this oh-so-crazily popular special guest¡¯s hand would end up snapping from all the signing¡­


    Tong Nian was still head down and plugging away. On the table as well as all around her chair, all sorts of cute, little gifts were piled up.


    Sign, sign, sign, sign, sign, sign¡­


    All of a sudden, a huge bouquet of flowers was set down in front of her.


    Confused, she lifted her head. Didn¡¯t know him.


    ¡°My goddess¡­¡± The boy coughed, then undid his coat to reveal the front chest area of his button-up shirt. ¡°Would it be okay to sign here?¡±


    ¡°Ah?¡± She gaped at him.


    So many people were watching¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ve been listening to your songs since middle school through to now. I¡¯m definitely your hardcore fan¡­¡± The boy used all sorts of ways to beg. Not knowing how to refuse, in the end, she could only stand up and wordlessly and rapidly sign her name on his chest.


    Then hurriedly taking her seat again, she continued to bury her head and sign, sign, sign, sign, sign, sign¡­


    Hand out a CD, take a CD, hand out a CD, take a CD¡ª


    A man had stretched out a hand.


    The fingers were slender and the outline of their bone structure clearly defined as they casually rested on the edge of the table.


    ?


    Out of reflex, she lifted her head and¡ª


    From the hands, to the arms, to the waist and up, there was a black, cotton, long-sleeved T-shirt¡­ He was emitting a rather languorous, apathetic air with his very large duffel bag slung cross-body on his back and his jacket lying on top of that bag, and he leaned in close, his right hand in his pants pocket and the other arm resting on top of the table. Using a voice that was a near whisper, he said, ¡°Little girl, you¡¯re quite popular. Didn¡¯t you say you like me? How could you so easily agree to sign someone¡¯s chest, then?


    ¡­¡­


    She opened her mouth slightly, dazed with shock.


    Didn¡¯t he say he wouldn¡¯t be back until the evening? ¡­


    In a single second, silence fell over all the staff in front of the autographing table as well as that long line that stretched behind him with no end in sight.


    What the heck?! ¡­ What was this¡­?


    [1] ÈËÆ·±¬±í ¡°ren pin bao biao.¡± This is a Chinese online saying and literally means ¡°moral character has erupted until off the chart.¡± The first two characters, ÈËÆ· mean ¡°moral character¡± and in pinyin, are written as ¡°ren pin.¡± As a result, they are sometimes abbreviated as RP by Chinese netizens. With the belief that good moral character will eventually bring good to you (i.e. you reap what you sow) when netizens say their RP has erupted, they are saying something extremely lucky has happened to them because their good moral character has ¡°erupted¡± to bring good karma upon them. The presence of these K&K players is beyond ¡°extremely lucky,¡± to the point it¡¯s as if their RP erupted off the charts.

 CH 41

    ¡°How¡­ did you get in here?¡± she uttered woodenly, not quite daring to believe this was true.


    If he wanted to get in, it was very simple, wasn¡¯t it?


    Most of the video game developers in this gaming and anime expo were well acquainted with him. He had only needed to go with them, and with just two or three sentences from them, the staff members of the expo had let him through. And if he wanted to cut in line, it didn¡¯t seem like it would be a difficult either, eh? Of course straight out telling this to the kid would be no fun.


    He directly ignored this question, his fingers brushing over the back of her hand as he said, ¡°You carry on. I¡¯ll just walk around.¡±


    A wave of tingling ran over the back of her hand, and she nearly lost her hold on her pen.


    He straightened, acting as if nothing had happened.


    And walked away¡­


    Behind him, the marketing directors of several different video games followed close and came up beside him to discuss future commercial endorsement events as well as some marketing campaigns where they needed the support of K&K eSports Club¡­ Within the line, several young girls pulled out their mobile phones to try to surreptitiously take a photograph, but they were all stopped by staff members. The signing events of this dada always prohibited the taking and distribution of unauthorized photographs, so the staff members naturally assumed that photos of this dada¡¯s ¡°loved one¡± (?) must not be allowed as well.


    And over at the autographing table, she was still sitting there in a daze¡­


    ¡°Your Highness.¡± Beside her, the little leader of her fan club was so excited her face was flushed, so excited she was tugging on Tong Nian¡¯s sleeve and crying, ¡°Your Highness, so handsome! Your man is sooooooo handsome!¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm¡­¡± she agreed shamelessly.


    Honestly, so handsome.


    And then, she dropped her head back down and began to crazily sign, sign, sign, sign, sign, sign¡­


    Hurry and finish autographing, hurry and finish autographing.


    ¡­¡­


    On the other side of the exhibition hall, many gamers had already realized that K&K eSports Club¡¯s boss had made an appearance at the expo. After all, he normally very rarely even showed his presence with the rest of the team at any of the commercial events, and hence, everyone was now looking on enthusiastically. However, any requests for photographs with him were turned down, so people could only pull out their phones and secretly snap a few.


    In the end, he grew bored of the aimless wandering. Sitting down in the Tempest of the Sealed Chamber work area, he played on his mobile phone with lowered head while, at the same time, listening to the various marketing directors of other video games blabber on about their future plans.


    ¡°Oh!¡± Something suddenly flashed across the mind of the director for Tempest of the Sealed Chamber. ¡°I was saying, how come I kept having this feeling that your girlfriend looked really familiar? I think someone recommended her to be one of the official cosplay models.¡±


    Gun¡¯s finger paused. ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Just, we will be producing official cosplays of the game characters, you know, for promotional purposes.¡± The marketing director pulled out his mobile phone and flipped through some of the audition photos to show him. ¡°Like these¡ª¡± Video game cosplays such as this all took the direction of flaunting long legs and big breasts, especially shooter games, where the cosplays of female game characters were practically synonymous with the word, sexy.


    That person was flipping and flipping through when he discovered¡ª


    Uh-oh¡­


    The person hastily put away his phone.


    Gun¡¯s face was extremely surly, and he did not bother to provide a response. He did not want even to give a single word of opinion. What the heck was all this? Normally, he did not pay attention to things like these, so now that he actually took a look, why were they all so revealing? He frowned. He did not know when the kid had gotten hooked on this whole thing of dressing up as a character, but once he mentally associated it with those socks as well as tops with the big bows that she liked to wear¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m good now!¡± Gasping for breath, the kid was hugging her bag as she ran over. ¡°Do you still have things you need to discuss?¡±


    He picked up his duffel bag and threw it on his shoulder, across his back. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± She obediently followed after him.


    And while she was at it, peeped furtively at him.


    What was the matter?


    As a result, all those fans who had not so long ago managed to successfully get the autograph of the oh-oh-so-popular Fish Playing in Sealed Chambers now all watched helplessly as their dada, with her head down, followed after that ridiculously super hot guy in front of her in a half-jog to keep up with his pace. Eh? Dada is reaching out her hand to take his! Grab it! Come on, grab it! She couldn¡¯t grab it?


    Dammit! Why is he treating our dada like that?!


    Eh? He¡¯s stopping, he¡¯s stopping. Woohoo! He¡¯s grabbed her wrist now!


    Eh? ¡­


    Dada is too short¡­


    She normally doesn¡¯t seem so short¡­


    Why does it feel like she¡¯s being picked up and hauled away? ¡­


    After Tong Nian had been hauled (?) into the car and was sitting in the front passenger seat, she still rubbed at her own wrist. The main reason for this was that she had been wearing something on it, so when it pressed into her wrist, it had been too painful. She stole a few glances at Gun, but there was not much expression on his face.


    He tossed his car keys somewhere beside him. Unlock ignition. Start engine.


    Release hand brake.


    And, with a stomp on the accelerator, out of there.


    This quiet was maintained until the two had returned to K&K¡¯s China head office. Stepping through the door, she followed him all the way, passing through the meeting and training areas and heading straight into the living quarters, to the first room at the very end of the hall¡­ His room? With her eyes going blink-blink and her ears burning hot, she rather slowly walked in after him¡­


    The first time she came in here, the lights had been off, and moreover¡­


    The two of them had been ¡°cuddling¡± up against the wall, although, in the end, she had been thrown onto the bed and then very quickly passed out in sleep.


    She did not know at all what his apartment in K&K actually looked like.


    Her eyes swept a circle around the room.


    The main colour scheme was still dark blue and black, but this room was much simpler than the bedroom in his home. Against one wall was a single-size bed with lots of clothing tossed on it in a mess, while beside the wall directly across were four computers lined up in a row. There was no rug, no decorations. There were, however, many game consoles, controllers, and magazines.


    Arbitrarily tossing his duffel bag into a corner, Gun pulled the swivel chair over, sat down, and patted his leg at her.


    Tong Nian nibbled on her lip as she set her backpack in front of the monitors on the computer desk and walked over to him. Right when she was in a position where she was about to sit, he set his hands on her shoulders and firmly pressed down.


    ¡­¡­


    She wriggled slightly, trying to find a comfortable angle.


    But this type of movement¡ª


    Gun¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. Something instinctive was being revived in him. The desire to get close to her, to be intimate with her was awakening. His hands tightened around her waist, and his face moved in closer. ¡°Go ahead, say it.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Did she really have to say it?


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep count for you,¡± he added.


    The kid on his lap continued to squirm, trying to ease her anxiousness. He leaned back, his entire body relaxing into the chair as he lay against it, pulling her waist into his embrace as well. Close the eyes for a rest.


    Warmth of breath very soon appeared in that spot at his collarbone¡­


    ¡°I¡­¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡±


    ¡°¡­ like you.¡± Her face burned up.


    ¡°Keep going.¡± His hand slipped down her back, and with one arm, he lifted her body a little higher.


    ¡°I like you, Han Shangyan¡­¡±


    Tong Nian¡¯s body felt a little hot, a little restless, and also a little weak. ¡°I like you¡­¡±


    ¡°Mm.¡± Applying a slight force to his legs, he slid the chair backwards and, reaching behind, drew the curtains shut with a swoosh.


    The room fell dim.


    These last several days, his mood had been quite edgy, and he was on the threshold of erupting.


    The laidback air and teasing he had shown at the exhibition hall when he saw her had been a mask, merely a superficial display.


    Lifting her up into his arms and striding over to the bed, he bent over, set her down, and then chucked the few articles of clothing that had previously been randomly thrown on top into a corner. ¡°Carry on.¡± When Tong Nian lay down, she sank into the bed slightly. Anxiously, she stiffened her back, having long forgotten that she still had another ninety-seven times of repeating¡­ ¡°I like you.¡±


    ¡°What are you nervous about?¡± His hand slid underneath her back, pulled out a black, short-sleeved shirt, and tossed it to the foot of the bed.


    Okay, all tidy now.


    A single-size bed. Very cramped.


    He took her into his arms beneath himself and lowered himself on top of her. Cramped was actually quite nice.


    Underneath him, the kid¡¯s entire body was stiff, and she wore the expression of someone heroically going to her death but standing firm for the cause¡­ He could not hold back a low laugh. ¡°What are you thinking? I was just tired from sitting, so I¡¯m lying down for a bit.¡±


    That¡¯s not true. Your hands are obviously being improper¡­


    He chuckled, leaning his head into the curve of her neck. In this way, treating her like a pillow, he lay there. Quiet. Motionless.


    Jumpily, she waited for a long time. Waiting and waiting. And then, she sensed that the sound of his breathing had become slow and soft.


    Asleep?


    ¡­¡­


    No way 0.0? She wanted to have a look at him, but his face was on her shoulder and not visible.


    ¡°Not asleep.¡± His voice was rather deep.


    ¡°Are you¡­ unhappy about something?¡± she asked gently.


    He did not answer.


    Reaching her hand out, she stroked his cheek. ¡°Han Shangyan?¡±


    Still, he did not utter a sound.


    She rolled over, not perceiving at all where she had placed her leg. ¡°And here you just said you hadn¡¯t fallen asleep¡­¡±


    Her voice cut off abruptly.


    He had suddenly slipped his hand inside.


    ¡­¡­


    In Sanya, he had gotten into a huge quarrel with those friends from the past. Yes, with this return, he had wanted to find everyone from their former team, had wanted to give them a reliable and secure future. If, back then, on that day when the team disbanded, he had not acted impulsively on his emotions and left China, even with only him alone, he still could have slowly led and brought forth a new team¡­


    To continuously compete. To achieve glory and honour. To allow all the names of his fellow teammates to be inscribed onto the trophy.


    Having his own name go down in history or whatever, that was something he did not care at all about. Whether anyone in the world remembered the name, Gun, did not matter. It was not that he had not known how much hopeful expectation had been held in the hearts of those kids, whom back then he had given tongue-lashings to every day. It was precisely because he knew, and that was why every day, he would berate, berate, and berate, wishing that every person could be better than him¡­


    But¡ª


    He bit down. The kid let out a slight whimper.


    If SP could not take good care of them, why couldn¡¯t that responsibility be given to K&K?


    Unable to hold back. Desiring. Wanting¡­


    He grabbed those two slender wrists and held them down above her head, gripping them tightly. Every part of him was still and quiet as he gazed down at her. Her top had long since been pulled open by him and now lay disheveled. The sights that could be seen, all of them¡­ He tried hard to calm his breathing¡ª


    Suddenly, releasing his hold, he rolled off of her and threw himself heavily onto the wooden floor.


    Face up, he lay staring at the giant K&K logo on the ceiling, his bare back directly against the cold floor. For half a minute, he breathed heavily before jumping to his feet, not daring to even look at the scene upon his bed.


    Grabbing his own top, he flung open the door and left.

 CH 42

    There is one thing that Tong Nian should always stay away from¡­


    Before the door had slammed shut, the only thing the person on the bed could do was play dead.


    0.0¡­


    She gasped incessantly for air, her mind filled with only blank whiteness, blank whiteness¡­ white blankness.


    With a bam, the room was thrown back into silence.


    At last, she slowly reached her hand down, noiselessly tugging on the bed sheet beneath her, and with a roll of her body, she wrapped her entire self into the sheet. Where was it, where was it? Oh, right, hanging on her arms¡­ The bed sheet covered her face. Deep breaths, deep breaths. But her fingers still felt weak, with no strength in them.


    When she was completely dressed again, she finally poked her head out from the sheet¡ª


    Eh? He really did leave?


    He wouldn¡¯t be mad, would he? Just now, she had kicked him a few times, and her knee seemed to have, um¡­ Would that hurt?


    That part seemed to be very fragile¡­ right?


    Tong Nian exhaled a lengthy breath. With a sense of defeat, she sat on the bed, wavering on what to do.


    T.T What should I do? ¡­


    I said I would stay with him forever¡­


    She touched her hand to her chest, wanting to curb her heart that was beating overly rapidly, when an image suddenly popped up in her mind. He had actually used his teeth! She threw herself down onto the pillow, her entire body like a boiled shrimp, emitting heat from inside to out¡­


    * * * * *


    Gun strode out of the room, still holding his t-shirt as remorse came over him.


    You are such a ****ing good-for-nothing, Han Shangyan!


    Irately, he stormed away while pulling on his shirt. After taking a dozen or so steps, he could not hold himself back and gave a fierce kick to the wall.


    The several young, grinning team members who were coming toward him and had been about to call out in greeting each froze in shock, not daring at all to move. Pretend to be dead, pretend to be air, pretend to be anything! Even pretending to be that wall that was kicked is fine. Just do not let Leader notice us¡­


    Gun had not even remotely noticed these few kids and brushed right past them. Without saying a word, he left the K&K headquarters.


    He went into the underground parking garage and then drove the car out, heading straight to the shopping mall in the city centre.


    Striding to the first basement level, he began to look at display counter after display counter and to buy item after item¡ªprofiteroles, macarons, puddings, strawberry cake. In the end, when he had a stack of itemized bills and had brought them over to pay with his credit card, even the girl at the cash register thought that this super hot guy was going to hold a party for preschoolers in his home.


    According to the pitiful, little experience he had in raising pets, when you made a cat mad, buying its favourite food of fish guts for it was a good plan. He truly did not have much for experience in sweet-talking and coaxing girls, but it seemed, before, whenever Solo had money, he had liked to buy all sorts of weird but expensive snacks for appledog¡­ So when he put these two pieces of experience together, he had made this decision.


    It required some effort to get the things into his car and even more effort to get them upstairs to the gaming house.


    This was mainly because it was hard to get a good handle on balancing everything, for fear that the cakes and goodies inside the boxes would flip over.


    Half an hour later, he was once again standing in front of the door to his room in the living quarters area. Suddenly, he thought of a question. What if the kid had run off? What should he do then? Go to her school to look for her? That would be a little simpler. If she had run back home, though¡­ He recalled the actions he had once taken to deliberately cause her parents to loathe him. It seemed a little like¡­ his hands were bound and there was nothing he could do?


    To think, he would actually be in a situation where he was powerless, with nothing he could do.


    The sudden popping up in his mind of this idea, which was one that was rare to him, caused a self-mocking smile to appear on his lips.


    Pulling out his key card, he swiped the door open.


    The instant he pushed open his room door, he saw the kid, her chin idly resting on one palm, toying around on his computer. The clothes that had been tossed at the foot of the bed were now all folded into a pile.


    Very good. From the looks of it¡­ she was in a very good state.


    He gave a brief glance at the computer screen, but noticing it was only a webpage, he did not look closer.


    ¡°You¡¯re back?¡± She turned her head, smiling adorably and very bashfully.


    Very good. From the looks of it, her mood was pretty good, too.


    On the sill of the hung window, he set down that pile of boxes made up of different shades of pinks, reds, soft greens¡­ as well as various other colours that you could tell with one glance were ones that young girls would like. Wordlessly, he walked over, bent at the waist, and, slipping one arm around her back and the other under her legs, lifted her up.


    And then, he switched their positions so that he was sitting on the chair.


    The moment she was placed onto his lap, her arms immediately snaked around his neck¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m not in a very good mood. In Sanya, I got in an argument with some friends from the past, and we nearly came to blows.¡±


    ¡°Mm¡­¡± Feeling that this position was not very convenient, she adjusted herself to sit straddled across his thighs.


    His brows creased together. This type of position¡­ ¡°At the expo, I heard someone say you wanted to be a video game cosplay model, and I wasn¡¯t too cool about that, either.¡± After all, those cosplay costumes were just too revealing, and her figure was too good. It simply was not appropriate for her to be that kind of spokesperson.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Her eyes twinkled. ¡°You¡¯re jealous.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    He felt something wasn¡¯t quite right.


    This feeling¡­


    Swiftly, he searched around the room for something that could confirm his suspicion. And then, he successfully found, in the wastebasket, two cans¡ªbeer. That little body had already seamlessly snugged itself tight up against him. He wanted to move back to evade her, but there was no room to move¡­


    Stay calm, Han Shangyan.


    Stay calm.


    Very good. Stay away from her chest. As much as possible, stay away from it.


    Soft, inexperienced were her lips as well as those small hands that were lightly caressing his neck and collarbones while she, in passing, murmured, ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t really know how. I searched up a bit on the Internet¡­¡±


    Gun used a few seconds to completely, clearly understand the meaning behind those words. Once more, he swept his eyes over the computer screen.


    Sh*t!


    He closed his eyes.


    The next second, he felt a warmth press against his tightly shut eyelids.


    A peck was placed on each the left and right sides. Then, it was the bridge of his nose¡­


    He stayed completely motionless, trying as best as he could to not allow himself to feel too much. He could not even dodge too much. The kid¡¯s heart was too much like glass, too sensitive¡­ But this time, he absolutely could not let himself do something rash and improper. At least, he needed to wait until things were truly official and blessed, or maybe¡­ they would just altogether get engaged. Then, afterwards, they could talk about that.


    ¡°Han Shangyan, is it your, your first time?¡±


    ¡­ He truly did not want to talk to her.


    But considering that she was someone who would clearly remember things that had happened, even after she sobered up, it was better if he answered her.


    So, he had no choice but to give a very low ¡°mm-hmm.¡±


    Because of this one word, a silly giggle came from her. Muah! She kissed him on his lips. ¡°Mine.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Done with her silly grinning, she quickly began to follow the strategy guide, trying to strip him of his top.


    Gun inhaled deeply. With his elbows, he held his shirt down, not letting her take it off. The result, however, was that the hem was pulled up, and her little hand moved in directly to begin feeling, kneading, fondling. ¡°Does that feel good?¡±


    Sh*t.


    He was going to go berserk.


    Can¡¯t throw her. If he threw her, she would cry again. He needed to hurry and think up a plan, one that could pull away her attention. He opened his eyes, intending to swiftly seek out a way to counter this, make a decision, and then escape from this predicament. He had not expected, though, that the moment his eyes opened, he would see her, head lowered in a well-behaved manner, intently untying the bow that was at the chest of her blouse. Next, she began undoing the buttons.


    Practically simultaneously, he seized her hands and, in a raspy voice, stopped her. ¡°Alright, stop playing around now.¡±


    In that instant that he grabbed her hands, the tips of his fingers also touched that place that should not be touched. He held his silence and suppressed himself, forcing himself to not look at this enchanting trap Tong Nian had set. Yet, the latter was still somewhat bemused as hazily, she contemplated, was the problem because the sequence of actions had been wrong?


    Oh, right. Some of the strategy guides online didn¡¯t involve taking off the clothes¡­


    She nodded, her face completely crimson. Once again, she encircled her arms around his waist and, with slight apprehension, consulted him, ¡°Is doing that kind of like¡­ spraining an ankle? Or maybe as painful as breaking a bone?


    ¡­¡­


    This question that was spoken aloud wafted lightly into air.


    ¡­¡­


    The scent of her body was too seductive. He wanted to bury his face deep into her long hair at the back of her slight neck, that place that was most fragrant, most soft, and that most caused a person to want to leave something behind there. Thinking this, he truly did draw himself close to that place that belonged to him.


    And, in passing, he also reminded himself silently, ¡°Stop right here. It can only go as far as this¡­¡±


    The pounding of his heart was becoming increasingly intense and heavy, so stiflingly forceful it was somewhat painful.


    ¡°Han Shangyan,¡±¡ªshe raised her head, his kisses tickling her slightly¡ª¡°I like you.¡±


    I like you so much I wish that there were twenty-five hours in a day to be with you.


    To stay close to you. To be able to see you when you¡¯re angry, see you when you smile, see you when you lose your temper, see you when you¡¯re intently at work¡­


    Inhaling her scent¡ªthis scent that belonged to him¡ªhe answered her in a voice so soft it was practically inaudible. ¡°I heard you.¡±


    I am yours. Sooner or later, I will be. Do not feel anxious and the need to rush¡­ You¡¯re still young.


    These words, however, were curbed and kept in his heart. He could not say them out. Such words were ones he would never in his lifetime be able to say aloud.


    But, he had already thought them many times. Those several nights in Sanya, late in the night. Some moments, when he had been watching the kids doing their training. Some moments, when he had been bored while participating in those commercial events. And even when he had been having breakfast; or on the road, rushing to the airport; or at the exhibition centre, standing far off and watching her for half an hour as she signed away, occasionally rotating her wrist before continuing to bury her head in her tiring work of autographing¡­


    ¡°Oh, right¡­¡± The kid¡¯s hands were still, with all seriousness, following the strategy guide, feeling about inside his clothes. Rather shyly, and very considerately, she asked, ¡°Do you need to take a look at the strategy guide first?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°¡­ No need.¡±

 CH 43

    Chapter 43 ¨C The Great Con Artist?


    He felt there was a need to pass on a piece of common knowledge to the kid: most men figured this sort of thing out without any teaching.


    Especially adult men.


    The tip of his tongue drew a circle as it traveled over her ear. He bit down. The little cartilage was very soft and slid back and forth between his teeth.


    A current shot through her entire body until the very tips of her toes were tingly.


    ¡°This is by instinct, understand?¡± His voice was like a knife on sandpaper.


    Blunt. Time after time, rubbing across it.


    Rubbing across¡­


    Her legs squeezed his hips as she repeatedly adjusted the position where she was sitting. Move close. Pull away. She could not say whether she felt good or not. That feeling where her bones seemed so limp they could snap off¡­


    Ah! ¡­ Oh gosh, sat on that spot (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­


    She was stupefied¡­


    Instantly, his muscles completely tensed. His chin hooked onto the back of her shoulder, and scooping her under her legs, he lifted up her entire body.


    ¡­¡­


    Alcohol made her anxious and impatient, and when she was impatient, she wanted everything. However, she was not truly clear on what exactly she had requested and gotten.


    Those physical acts between two people that occurred in moments of intense love and tenderness as they pleasured one another were not merely the simple pictures that were described in written language¡­


    She was picked up and flung onto the bed¡­


    ¡°Go to sleep now.¡±


    (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m not mad and won¡¯t break up, understand? Now sleep!¡±


    The quilt enclosed her from head to foot. Even her face was covered.


    She continued to (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­


    And so, the K&K members who had gone to Sanya to participate in the commercial event and only now just arrived back saw their leader storm out from the dormitory in a frenzied rage, fiercely slamming the door shut. Everyone was 0.0¡­ Seeing Leader with his shirt covered in all sorts of wrinkles and even the waistband of his pants loosened¡­


    Gosh, even the love-filled bang bang bang from Sister-In-Law could not soothe the defeat that Leader had felt in Sanya?


    * * * * *


    When she awoke again, the sky was already completely dark.


    On the bed, Tong Nian felt all around, trying to find her mobile phone to check the time and, while she was at it, recall why she was sleeping here. And then¡­ She sat up in alarm. The quilt was still draped over her, but she wanted to escape from there.


    Alas, just as this idea arose in her mind, she saw that, right there in the darkness, he was leaning back in the chair beside the bed and resting.


    ¡­¡­


    She did not dare make a peep.


    Speedily, she fastened up the buttons of her blouse and tied the bow.


    Then, she crawled down lightly, searching for the longest time in bare feet for her shoes.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡± Without even opening his eyes, he tossed out this sentence.


    ¡°Mm¡­¡± She dared not speak even one extraneous word.


    Too scary¡­


    Just¡­


    Even without doing it, it was already so scary¡­


    Too scary¡­


    Gun let out a long breath. ¡°Your mother called forty-seven times.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Her brain had not caught up to speed.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t pick up.¡± He would be hacked to death if he had answered.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± She nodded woodenly.


    ¡°But you picked up.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡ª?¡±


    Gun handed her phone to her, meaning she should try to recall what she had said that had led to the forty-seven missed calls immediately following. After being in a drunken state, she normally was still able to remember things, but if that drunken state was followed by a deep sleep¡­ She thought for a long time until finally, she recovered a tiny bit of her awareness. It seemed¡­ ¡°I said I was sleeping here at your place¡­¡±


    The word choice¡­ was very chaste¡­


    He knew it¡ª


    Gun lifted his chin to motion in the direction of the bathroom. ¡°Go wash your face. I¡¯ll take you home.¡±


    Tong Nian gave an ¡°oh, okay,¡± then got off the bed, put on some slippers, and obediently slipped into the bathroom. Flipping on the light, Gun turned in a circle where he stood and selected a few relatively more proper-looking pieces of clothing¡ªa casual button-up shirt, a blazer, trousers¡­


    Swiftly, he began to change from bottom up.


    When Tong Nian stepped back out, she saw him, his back to her, looking out the window as he slipped on a shirt. The buttons had not been done up yet¡­ Eh? He had already changed into a whole new set of clothes?


    Turning his head, he glanced at the kid.


    Wearing a flat expression on his face, he began to fasten up his buttons one by one.


    Tong Nian gnawed on her lip.


    So his habit was to button from the bottom up¡­ Wouldn¡¯t he button them to the wrong hole?


    Um¡­ well, probably not.


    When he had fastened up to the second one from the top, he stopped and did not button the top one.


    Then, it was the cuffs¡­


    Her cheeks flushed a little from watching. Lowering her head, she found her shoes at the foot of the bed, slipped them on, and pulled her backpack onto her back. Red-faced, she stood in one spot with her eyes cast downward, but still, she could not help peeping at him¡­ This was the first time she had seen him wearing a button-up shirt.


    Black. So handsome.


    He picked up his jacket, grabbed his car keys and mobile phone, and walked over to her. Tousling her hair slightly with his hand, he asked, ¡°Isn¡¯t this a necklace? Why are you wearing it on your arm?¡± Since bringing her back here, all sorts of chaos had ensued, so he had not noticed this thing circling her wrist.


    Huh? Allowing her thoughts to follow his words, she remembered the necklace she had wrapped around her wrist. ¡°This? It¡¯s too long and doesn¡¯t look good worn around the neck. Wrapped around the wrist, though, it¡¯s quite nice. Exactly four times around.¡± This was the very first gift he had given her.


    In order to wear it for him to see, she had purposely gone home before the anime expo to retrieve it.


    He gave an ¡°oh¡± and asked, ¡°Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.¡± Even though it was a little long¡­


    Gun had originally forgotten about it, but seeing this necklace caused him to finally remember the huge loss he had suffered this year.


    Basically, an antique necklace once worn by who-knows-who had resulted in the evaporation of his last two years¡¯ worth of savings, all of it transferred into Auntie¡¯s[1] [stepmom¡¯s] bank account. In the first place, these last two years, K&K China was just getting its foot off the ground and was still losing money. Fortunately, globally, K&K was making a profit; otherwise, he really would have had to pawn even his pants¡­


    It was this necklace that had caused him to taste again that feeling he had once experienced back when he had been making his own way, drifting around in China, and the relationship with his family had been severed. That feeling of¡­


    ¡­ having to tighten his belt in order to get through the days.


    But from the look on the kid¡¯s face, she was not lying. He supposed that girls just naturally liked these sparkly types of things?


    He did not concern himself anymore with this necklace. Bringing her out of the K&K headquarters, he drove directly to her home.


    Along the way, he had Tong Nian make a phone call to her parents to say that he would be going back with her to explain everything. Tong Nian did as he instructed. After hanging up the phone, she felt a little apprehensive¡­


    It seemed Dad and Mom were both very displeased. Was he¡­ really so bad?


    Why did they keep asking questions on the phone along the lines of, hadn¡¯t they already broken up? Why had they not broken up yet? ¡­


    Soon, they arrived at their destination.


    Park the car. Grab the car keys. Get out of the car.


    The two of them walked the entire way until they arrived at the front door of her home. Gun took out his mobile phone and set it to silent. Then, in that empty corridor, he told her, ¡°Later on, no matter what I say, it is all true, got it?¡±


    She was bewildered.


    Mulling over the fact that her fibbing skills truly were sorely lacking, he rubbed her hair and instructed, ¡°Don¡¯t say anything. Don¡¯t disagree with what I say. You can only nod.¡±


    She gave an ¡°oh, okay,¡± his words making her more and more nervous.


    Pulling out her keys, she opened the door.


    Inside the living room, her dad and mom both stood. Mom very quickly strode over and pulled Tong Nian, who had not even had the chance to change into slippers, over to her, questioning in low tones, ¡°You make people worry too much. Didn¡¯t you say you guys had broken up already? How come all of a sudden¡­¡±


    Dad gave a cough. ¡°Nian Nian, go upstairs.¡±


    Huh?


    No¡­


    She lowered her head, unwilling to budge.


    What if, when I go upstairs, you guys give him a hard time?


    In his own home, he¡¯s already always alienated (?), not really welcome, and always picked on (?). He doesn¡¯t even have any friends (?). If even our family bullies (?) him¡­


    In a small voice, she countered, ¡°Whatever you guys talk about, I¡¯ll just listen and won¡¯t say anything.¡±


    This was her matter, after all, so when her parents saw in her expression that she was insistent on listening to everything, they silently conceded.


    ¡°Little Han.¡± Dad¡¯s tone could still be considered amiable. ¡°You don¡¯t have to change shoes. Just come straight over and have a seat. Let¡¯s have a good talk.¡±


    Stuffing his car keys into his pants pocket, he walked over with a solemn look. ¡°My sincere apologies, Uncle, Auntie. I had better be the one to speak first. The two of you, please, have a seat.¡±


    That was actually fine that he was speaking first.


    Her parents exchanged a look. They would have to go through this step of the procedure anyway.


    They would feel out the situation first, then see what both their stances were. In any case, they had not been together for long yet. The things that they each did, their lives and social circles, as well as their ages were all vastly different, so their relationship would not last long anyway. Still, it was best if they, the parents, expressed their position on this tonight, that they did not support¡ªadamantly did not support¡ªthem being together. They had just met not long ago but were already sleeping together¡­ This eldest son of the Han family really was too frivolous and irresponsible.


    He watched the two elders take their seats first before he followed suit and sat down on the sofa.


    The place he was sitting was just right so that he could look directly at them.


    Silence. After a dozen or so seconds of silence, he folded his hands together and set them on his lap. His entire sitting posture emitted a sense of heaviness, that when you looked at him, he appeared to have matters troubling his heart and many things he wanted to say.


    This particular state caused the atmosphere of the living room to freeze over in tension.


    ¡°The relationship between Nian Nian and me may be a little different from what the two of you are thinking.¡± His voice was steady and calm. ¡°It was around¡­ two years ago. I had just returned to China to found K&K eSports Club, and I saw her at an exposition. It was just a single encounter with her, and then I never forgot her.¡±


    Tong Nian¡­


    Didn¡¯t we meet right before the Spring Festival? And I was the one who pursued you¡­


    ¡°Alas, in the vast sea of people, it would be difficult to ever see her again.¡± A wry smile appeared at the corner of his lips. ¡°Fortunately, this year, when I led my team to Hangzhou for a competition, she happened to be participating in an anime expo, and I really did get a chance to meet her. To be honest, at the time, I was truly very excited and overcome with emotion. You may be thinking that I¡¯m exaggerating a bit with what I¡¯m saying. How could a man who¡¯s nearly thirty behave like a young, immature boy? But please, trust me. It¡¯s true.¡±


    Tong Nian¡­


    I was the one who was all excited. You didn¡¯t even pay attention to me¡­


    ¡°Nian Nian, she¡­ in the beginning, was not really able to accept that I¡¯m ten years older than her. That¡¯s why the whole situation at the Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner occurred. In regards to keeping all this secret from you, I¡¯ve felt very guilty this whole time. At the time¡­ Nian Nian did not really want to acknowledge my existence, so I also didn¡¯t dare come pay a visit to you here at your home.¡±


    When he finished speaking, the room fell into an even deeper silence.


    Tong Nian (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­


    Her parents were rather quiet. All along, they had heard that the eldest son of the Han family was unwilling to get married, and they had thought that he had been spoiled by his family, to the point that pursuing only fun and pleasure had become part of his nature. Who would have thought¡­ he had never been in a love relationship before? This was actually quite surprising.


    Mom stroked Tong Nian¡¯s hair.


    Actually, thinking about it again, aside from being a little old, there were not any major issues with this child of the Han family.


    His voice became even lower, and his manner became increasingly more sincere. ¡°In the past, truly, the only thing that was important in my eyes was career. No successful career, no marriage for me. But since I met Nian Nian, nothing matters anymore.¡±


    She continued to (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­


    ¡°This time, when I brought the team to Guangzhou for a tournament, she suddenly said again that she wanted to break up. I basically broke down at that and deliberately rushed back. And that¡¯s why¡­ there was today¡¯s incident. The reason I brought her back to the club was to tell her, if she really cannot accept how busy I am, I¡¯m willing to transfer out all my shares in the club and completely change professions. For her, I am willing to give up the K&K that I founded with my own hands.¡±


    She was completely (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­ What was he saying? ¡­


    At these words, he at last had the courage (?) to raise those deep black eyes to look at her parents. ¡°She¡¯s still young. To her, I may be just a romance, but to me, she is already a part of my life. So, I brought her back today and took the liberty to pay you this visit and say all these words, merely because I want a chance. If she wants to break up, I will not say a single thing and will immediately disappear. If she can accept me again, then, Uncle, Auntie, please rest assured and place her care into my hands. I will use a lifetime to shoulder the responsibility of caring for her.¡±


    [1] Gun addresses his stepmom as °¢ÒÌ ¡°Auntie.¡±

 CH 44

    Chapter 44 ¨C The Great Con Artist (£þ(¥¨)£þ)£¡


    All that was to be said had been said.


    He stood, his manner sincere and earnest and his expression solemn and respectful as he looked at Tong Nian¡¯s parents.


    He seemed as if he was waiting for the final verdict to be passed on him.


    Tong Nian¡¯s mom could not refrain from glancing at the still utterly dumbstruck Tong Nian.


    ¡°This child of the Han family truly is someone who is devoted to his love,¡± she sighed silently.


    Tong Nian¡¯s dad gave a cough. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t really understand how video games can be made into an occupation¡­ I have heard that you¡¯re doing quite well in it? It¡¯s still an emerging industry. The time and energy you need to invest into it will need to be a little bit more.¡± As a man himself, Tong Nian¡¯s father felt that, while he had been moved that this person was willing to give up a career for his daughter, without a career, how could a man even talk about being able to provide security or having self-confidence?


    This boy did in fact have a charisma about him.


    Of course, this was from a man¡¯s viewpoint. Tong Nian¡¯s dad coughed again. ¡°But, I would like to ask, where primarily are your future plans to develop your business? I heard your company¡¯s head office is in the United States?¡±


    ¡°China.¡± Gun¡¯s answer came quickly and without hesitation. ¡°Please be assured of that. I will always be based here in the country.¡±


    That was good, then.


    A look passed between Tong Nian¡¯s parents.


    Tong Nian¡¯s mother heaved a slow sigh. ¡°Nian Nian¡¯s still young. The two of you just date first. And don¡¯t talk about stuff like ¡®together for a lifetime.¡¯ When kids are in a relationship, they shouldn¡¯t have so much pressure on them. In regards to the future¡­ do as you two see fit. Freedom to love as you choose, right?¡±


    Tong Nian (¡Ño¡Ñ)¡­ What just happened? ¡­


    The atmosphere in the living room lightened up.


    She still sat there stupidly, remembering only that Gun had told her not to speak and only allowed her to nod. Hence, while her dearest father was learning about the gaming industry from him and her dearest mother had risen to pour some tea, she could only sit on the sofa, her big eyes blinking and blinking¡­


    Ten minutes later, the meaning of her parent¡¯s suggestion was that the two of them could go upstairs and have a discussion alone.


    The rest, they would not interfere with.


    Tong Nian nodded, still not saying anything. Woodenly, she led him upstairs.


    Gun followed behind her, walking one step at a time up the stairs, and after waiting for her to push open that white door, he stepped inside the room with her. The first thing he did once he had closed the door behind him was to unbutton the collar of his shirt.


    His blazer came off. Then, his eyes circled the room.


    He could not help arching his brow.


    Just like those boxes that held the goodies he had bought this morning, the furniture items and decorations in the room were all in those colours that young girls tended to prefer. If you stayed for long in this sort of place¡­ wouldn¡¯t your eyes hurt?


    ¡°Your parents¡­ do they especially dote on you?¡± he asked offhandedly.


    ¡°Mm-hmm.¡± She felt a little embarrassed¡­ and moved the huge dolls that were on the sofa all onto the bed. ¡°My mom was thirty-six before she got pregnant with me, and apparently, the birth was particularly difficult¡­¡±


    This was the first time they had ever talked about this kind of topic?


    Gun was silent.


    He was now nothing at all like the person who, earlier on downstairs, had spoken with confidence and conviction.


    She was a little hesitant. ¡°May I ask questions now?¡±


    ¡°Go ahead, say them.¡± He tossed his blazer onto the sofa and sat down.


    ¡°You really saw me two years ago?¡±


    ¡°No, that was made up.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ in Guangzhou¡­¡±


    ¡°That was made up.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±¡ªTong Nian pressed her lips together briefly¡ª¡°during the Lunar New Year¡¯s Eve dinner, you said it was because of Little Bai that you wanted me to go along with everything and act as your girlfriend¡­¡±


    ¡°Also made up.¡± To her, he was completely honest. ¡°The situation that night was special.¡±


    If he had not admitted that they were together, based on Little Bai¡¯s words, it could very well have evolved into a piece of gossip where a grown man had toyed with a young girl¡¯s feelings and moreover, had left her after he had finished dallying with her but was not even willing to admit to it¡­


    Tong Nian was mystified. What kind of situation had it been?


    Shrugging, Gun gave up trying to explain.


    ¡°Then¡­¡± She seemed to have no questions left to ask.


    Her eyes drifted and drifted around, and her mind was in an utter mess.


    Why did it feel like¡­ everything was fake? ¡­


    Seeing that the kid¡¯s eyes were beginning to float away evasively, he assessed that she was already starting to read too much into things. Wordlessly, he beckoned to her with a wave. Tong Nian dragged her feet over¡­ In fact, she only had one key thing, one sentence she wanted to ask: just now, out of all those words he had spoken, was the very last sentence¡ªthe one about shouldering responsibility¡ªtrue? All the other stuff, she didn¡¯t care about at all¡­


    Grasping ahold of her, he tugged. Forcefully.


    He wrapped the person who had fallen against his chest into his embrace, his hands folded together behind her back, holding her tight.


    It doesn¡¯t matter how much of a celebrity halo there seems to be about me¡ªthat¡¯s not what¡¯s real.


    Besides you, this man named Han Shangyan has nothing. He¡¯s empty-handed and alone.


    That is the truth.


    She could feel his breath at her collarbone.


    A little tickly.


    Based on her gut feeling, Tong Nian kept having a sense that today, from the anime expo to the club gaming house to now, there was something about his mood that was¡­ not quite right. Her ability to discern in this regard had never been strong or sensitive, and consequently, during high school and university, she had always been the target of alienation by her classmates¡­


    As she thought of this, she crouched down and docilely laid her head on his lap. Turning her head so she looked up into his eyes, she told him, ¡°Han Shangyan¡­ I¡¯m not very good with words. I used to always somehow offend my friends and classmates¡­¡±


    He gazed directly at her, indicating that she should carry on with what she was saying.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be because of me that you¡¯re unhappy, would it?¡±


    What kind of crazy nonsense was she thinking?


    He chuckled.


    Phew. That was good. If he could laugh, then things were okay.


    ¡°If you really aren¡¯t happy about it, I won¡¯t hold autograph signing events anymore.¡±


    Autograph signing? He had completely forgotten about that whole thing.


    ¡°I know that some of the comments on Weibo¡­ Those homebody-type guys really cross the line with some of the things they say¡­¡± Things like ¡°hawt, loooooong legs¡± ¡°ride the squidie¡± and so on¡­ Every time she saw one, she would blacklist that person, but it was still quite possible he had seen some.


    Oh?


    He had actually never looked at any of the comments on her Weibo. Were they really over the line?


    With the thing that Weibo was, he had only used it once, then logged off straightaway and never logged on since.


    Now that they had mentioned it, he did find it rather weird. With that sort of thing, the people on there were all people that you didn¡¯t know. What was even the point of browsing around and refreshing away on it every day? You would post a message, but those other people didn¡¯t know you and you didn¡¯t know those people who left comments. What was there to talk about?


    And plus, there were a lot who would post ads in the comments?


    And there were a lot of comments like ¡°Lonely young woman sleepless late into the night. Click here and let¡¯s chat¡± ¡­


    Such a foul atmosphere on there.


    However, although he had a bit (?) of a machismo attitude, fortunately, he was someone who respected each person¡¯s little uncommon hobbies. Since she was a singing diva (?), she had to use Weibo to release her songs or other stuff(?), so he was fine with it.


    ¡°With comments, you can¡¯t decline them?¡± He thought of this so offhandedly asked the question.


    ¡°You can disable them.¡± Finally hearing his feedback, she immediately began to wag her tail. ¡°I¡¯ll disable them.¡±


    Disabling them was a pretty good idea.


    He could be considered to have accepted this proposal.


    Gun cast a glance at the Winnie the Pooh clock on the wall and felt that it was about time. It was his first time here, and it would be inappropriate if he stayed too long in her bedroom. He still needed to consider proper etiquette.


    ¡°You need to go now?¡± She murmured the question.


    He turned his gaze back.


    Those little lips were red, pouting slightly and looking a little¡­ disappointed.


    Seeing into her little thoughts, he asked in a low voice, ¡°Can¡¯t bear to see me go?¡±


    She gave a practically inaudible ¡°mm.¡±


    ¡°What should we do then?¡± He pinched her chin between his fingers, lifted it, leaned in close¡­ and gently took those little lips between his teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. When I get back, I¡¯ll give you a video call.¡±


    Her entire body had heated up from his biting as she continued to ¡°mm¡± in answer.


    ¡°But I need to shower first. What should we do?¡± He caressed his tongue over her lips. ¡°Would you like to watch me shower?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°I could wear some necessary items if¡­ you really want to watch.¡±

 CH 45

    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    He was being¡­ naughty and suggestive again¡­


    A cry of ¡°Ah!¡± suddenly came from her, and she covered her forehead with her hand, tears springing from her eyes.


    Why did he flick my forehead again? T.T ¡­


    ¡°You really do want to watch?¡± While he was at it, he tweaked her nose as well. ¡°Going now.¡±


    That hurt¡­


    As a result, when the two went back downstairs, Tong Nian¡¯s reddened eyes and reddened tip of her nose, in her parent¡¯s eyes, became¡­


    She was so touched that they¡¯re¡­ not breaking up?


    She walked him to the door.


    She wanted to change her shoes and walk out with him, but he stopped her.


    Earlier, before they stepped into the home, he had noticed that this community compound was overly quiet, and there was also a good portion of green space, which was good for hiding evildoers. Not safe. Very obediently, she stood at the door and gazed lingeringly after him as his backside disappeared from sight at the building entrance. Just like that, he¡¯s¡­ left? When will we see each other again? Alright, alright, Tong Nian, don¡¯t be so clingy. He needs to work.


    Letting her mind fill in the responses for her and consoling herself, Tong Nian walked sluggishly upstairs as if with a drooping tail.


    * * * * *


    On Sunday, the two only exchanged a few, brief WeChat messages.


    Packing up her bags, she returned to her dormitory, where she discovered that Yaya had not come back. So, she idled around the dorm, all alone. On Monday, she had a common, compulsory English class. Riding her little bicycle, she drank the hot soy milk she had bought from the university dining hall while, at the same time, texting Yaya with her head down.


    Hey, hey, don¡¯t you go skipping class. Today is English class. Attendance counts towards your grade!


    Yaya did not reply.


    Seriously, so ridiculously lazy.


    Glumly, she drank her soy milk in a few gulps and then tossed the cup into a garbage can. She wanted to stuff her own bicycle into a row of parked ones, but unfortunately, there was no more room. She had no choice but to set her bicycle off to the side first. While she was one by one shifting the other bikes, she heard someone say behind her, ¡°Why the heck is this bike here? People are already in a hurry to get to class, and here you still are blocking the road.¡±


    Tong Nian turned around. The persons happened to be her former dormmates from undergraduate studies. Immediately, she lowered her head and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m just making some room. I¡¯ll move it right away¡­¡± Those two girls did not bother responding to her and simply left.


    Blowing out a lengthy breath, she stuck out her tongue, then continued to move the bicycles with buried head.


    Unexpectedly, from behind her, a boy riding a bicycle hurtled over and accidentally bumped into her waist, causing her to stumble forward.


    Crash¡­


    An entire row of bicycles¡­ all¡­ toppled¡­ over¡­


    Oh no T.T¡­


    Standing there blankly, she stared at this row of bicycles. The boy behind her was also frozen in shock. ¡°So, uh¡­ sorry. This class I have right now calls attendance. If I don¡¯t go, it¡¯s a guaranteed fail¡ª¡± Before his words were finished, a man had already extended a hand from behind Tong Nian and picked up a bicycle by its rear frame.


    She hastily turned around. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    In that instant when she saw the person¡¯s face, her mouth fell open slightly. She even thought that she still had not woken up yet¡ª


    Han Shangyan?!!


    The person behind her lacked any expression on his face, simply too lazy to even bother reproaching her.


    Just now, watching her from a spot not far away, he had originally wanted to enjoy that scene of her scrambling and jumping about to move the bicycles. He had not expected that it would be all sorts of unpleasantness. He had to say, even if that young punk had not exacerbated the situation, this row of bikes would, without a doubt, still have fallen over.


    ¡°Thanks, bro.¡± The boy arbitrarily stuffed his bicycle into the aisle and then ran off.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Why¡­ are you here?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not welcome?¡± With two at a time in each hand, in just several dozen seconds, he had lifted all the bicycles in the entire row back upright, neatly lined them up, and, in passing, tossed her white one into the line-up, too.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not it¡­¡± She gazed unblinkingly at him.


    Her face was hot.


    Her head was light¡­


    She was super touched, super surprised, super¡­ flustered that she did not even know where to put her hands and feet.


    And so, she dazedly followed him all the way into the teaching building and up the stairs. Eventually, because she was walking too slowly, he took her by the wrist and pulled her straight to the fourth floor, hurrying to make it into the classroom before the bell rang.


    He was just sitting in on the class to begin with, so it would truly be inappropriate if he stepped in when the teacher was already there.


    Prior to entering the classroom, he loosened his hold on her wrist.


    In bewilderment, Tong Nian glanced into the room. He actually¡­ knew that this was where she attended her class?


    Quiet suddenly fell over the classroom. The various girls, ones who had been eating breakfast while chatting as well as other ones who had been exchanging gossip, all fixed their eyes on the man who had followed Tong Nian into the room, utterly stunned. Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! Which faculty was that guy from? Why was he over here in Electronic and Electrical Engg¡¯s English class? Sitting in on the class? Or was he a teaching assistant? Wait, no, definitely not a TA! He was too hot! If he really was a TA, the news would have spread through the entire faculty by now, you know!


    Eh, eh?


    He was with the girl from the gifted juvenile class¡ª


    All the boys broke into uproar.


    Last night, two boys from some dorm room had still been howling her name¡­


    This, this, this bro, where¡¯d he pop out from?


    Only Yaya, who was sitting in the very last row and had poked her head out from behind her book that had been stood upright on the desk, grinningly looked in from the faraway sidelines on this delighting scene. While she was at it, she tucked away the K&K brochure that Gun had autographed.


    Gee, honestly, just all sorts of jealousy, envy, and hate. To have God Gun go with you to English class or whatever¡­ Such a dang girly dream come true.


    ¡°Only¡­ the first row is still free,¡± she reported quietly.


    Gun did not really care.


    During his university days, he had often sat in the front row anyway. It was a convenient spot for arriving late and also handy for leaving straightaway once class was done.


    Taking a seat with her, he watched as she took out her textbook and notebook as well as a small pencil pouch.


    He had originally wanted to grab his mobile phone and read work emails on it¡­ Thinking briefly, however, he pulled out a notebook from her schoolbag, spread it open, and set his phone in the middle of it. This could be considered his way of at least putting on the proper show.


    Uh¡­


    The old professor for this particular course¡­ had the worst temper. Would he throw Gun out? ¡­


    Nervously, she clutched at her skirt.


    All of a sudden, there was a warmth on the back of her hand. He caught her hand in his and set it down on his thigh. Then, maintaining this position of getting his tofu eaten by her (?), he fell into his email-reading mode.


    Tong Nian¡¯s hand rested softly on his thigh¡­


    Not anxious, not anxious¡­


    It was underneath the table. No one could see, no one could see, no one could see, no one could see¡­


    Eh? He was wearing jeans?


    This was probably the only pair of pants in his wardrobe that wasn¡¯t black?


    The last time she saw it was during the video call?


    It seemed the waist was a little loose. If he didn¡¯t do up his belt¡­


    Stop, stop! Attend class now, attend class!


    It seemed he was sitting rather uncomfortably, and he adjusted his position.


    Crimson stained her cheeks as she went along with his movements, accommodating herself to his seating position¡­and not daring to move that petite hand of hers that was laying on his thigh¡­


    Still, she could not hold up under this, and her face alternated between first red, then white.


    With one hand, she opened her book, but she did not know which page she should even flip to.

 CH 46

    Behind them, several students who were gaming enthusiasts had a nagging feeling that Gun¡¯s face looked familiar.


    But, after they mentally associated it with something, they felt that¡­ it wasn¡¯t very likely, right? The gaming circle was small to begin with, and the professional gaming circle was like a subset of an already small minority. Occasionally seeing appearances on the news or stuff like that would be more like it. To actually make an appearance in their classroom? Those several students who had had some suspicions now all dismissed that idea and continued instead to hold up their books, trying with all their might to hide their faces so that they would at least not get called out by the old professor and given a lecture plus dressing down.


    Soon, an elderly gentleman in his fifties, wearing a stern expression on his face and carrying books under his arm, stepped into the room as the class bell sounded. His gaze very quickly landed on Gun¡­


    Very few students sat in the front row to begin with, and they all preferred to sit spaced out with empty seats between them.


    This served even more to emphasize the two people who were sitting together, side by side.


    Very gingerly, Tong Nian nudged her class notebook so that it was in front of him. Written on it was a line of words:


    This lesson is on movie and film appreciation. The homework the teacher gave was that everyone had to write a film review in English. Whoever gets called on in class has to read the homework out loud.


    His eyes slid over that line of words. There was no particular expression on his face.


    Tong Nian pulled her notebook back over toward herself and swiftly wrote another line:


    How about you just say that you walked into the wrong class? Hurry and leave now¡­


    Gun arched a brow.


    While she was still doing these little actions, the old professor had already strolled over to stand in front of the two of them. Curving his fingers, he rapped the desktop in front of Gun. ¡°This student here, you don¡¯t look to be a student from this faculty?¡±


    Gun switched to another attractive sitting posture. ¡°Long have I admired your repute and have come a great distance to sit in on Professor¡¯s class.¡±


    The old professor raised his eyebrows and looked Gun over. ¡°Oh? Since it is out of admiration for my repute that you¡¯re sitting in on this lecture, you must know, then, that this particular class is on appreciation of film and television works?¡±


    Gun returned a smile to him. ¡°Of course.¡±


    From the moment the dialogue between the two started, they had switched over into an English channel.


    Apprehensively, Tong Nian gripped her pen, extremely thankful that he had absolutely no troubles with English.


    Luckily, oh luckily, this was an English class. At least it wouldn¡¯t pose a problem for him¡­


    ¡°Well, then, we won¡¯t waste time on saying useless words. Here, tell us, what movie have you watched recently?¡± The old professor¡¯s tone was mocking as he set down his stack of lesson plans in front of Gun.


    The classroom was so quiet it was as if there was not a single person in it.


    They had fallen in to the normal state of this English class.


    In this professor¡¯s class, the best thing to do was to treat yourself as if you were thin air. Making it through one class meant one class was done and behind you¡­


    ¡°Recently?¡± Gun was very cooperative and recalled for one-tenth of a second. ¡°It¡¯s been years since I watched a movie.¡±


    Everyone fell over and could not get back up again¡­


    Those male students who had had their ears up, trying to listen in to see what was so special about this man who had managed to snag the cutie-girl of Electronic and Electrical Engg, now all inwardly prostrated themselves at this.


    Hey bro, your life sure is monotonous enough¡­


    That¡¯s all you¡¯ve got? And you still snatched one of ours?


    ¡°Oh?¡± With a lift of his brow, the old professor looked at Tong Nian. ¡°Your girlfriend hasn¡¯t ever complained? Doesn¡¯t she find it boring to date you?¡±


    ¡°Complain? No, she hasn¡¯t.¡± His eyes swept a glance over the kid, who was squeezing her pen cap until it was about to shatter. ¡°She¡¯s a very good girl.¡±


    The old professor set his palms on the desk, leaning his weight on them as he and Gun stared directly at one another.


    Utter silence.


    Noiselessly, the girls sitting randomly in the dozen or so rows behind broke out in cold sweat on behalf of this handsome guy whose future was uncertain.


    Poor little Tong Nian¡­ Her first time bringing her boyfriend to sit in on a class with her and she just had to have a prof like this. Would that hot guy be mentally scarred from this so that afterward, a barrier of some sort would form between them and they¡¯d break up or something?


    Unlike the boys of the class, the girls were all silently praying: It¡¯s better to tear down ten temples than destroy a single marriage, eh¡­ Professor!


    Aside from her studies, Tong Nian, that kid, was dense in everything. It was her first time bringing a man here. What if things went south between them? ¡­


    She¡¯d cry to death.


    Tong Nian anxiously clenched her pen cap in her hand, scared that the professor would flip out at them.


    Out of all the classes he could choose, why did he have to pick one that was taught by a professor from another faculty to sit in on? T.T¡­ If he had sat in on any other random one from her own faculty, the teacher would not have said anything about it.


    Slowly, the fifty-plus year old elderly gentleman straightened back up, his eyes forming slight crescents as he chuckled, ¡°You¡¯re still just the same as you were before, you.¡±


    Everyone 0.0¡­


    ¡°Senior Brother[1] [a senior, male classmate], you¡¯re just the same as you were before, too.¡± Unruffled, Gun smiled, ¡°Still love to joke around.¡±


    A broad smile covered the old professor¡¯s face. ¡°Haven¡¯t played around for a long time now. Since I came back to China, the people around me are all so boring.¡±


    Everyone continued to 0.0¡­


    ¡°Here, let me make the introductions for all the students here. This person, here, can be considered my junior brother.¡± With a laugh, the old professor said, ¡°Remember, during my self-introduction in the very first class, I said that in the first half of my life, I studied and learned many different skills? One of those happens to be industrial design. This person, here, is my junior classmate¡ªmy junior brother[2]¡ªfrom that period. He was very well-known, a big shot.¡±


    It was evident the professor held this junior schoolmate in very high regard, and briefly, he introduced him. Back then, when the professor was studying for his masters degree, this schoolmate was still in undergraduate studies. He was extremely gifted in the field, but it was a pity, for his ambitions had lain elsewhere and after graduation, he had left¡­


    ¡­¡­


    All the students who were present suddenly understood and were enlightened.


    Holy crud! It turns out our little beauty¡¯s boyfriend is the Old Demon King¡¯s junior schoolmate. What¡¯s this wickedly awesome feeling we all of a sudden have, as if the meridians in our bodies have been opened up and completely connected?! That one of our own is covering our backs, and this semester, we don¡¯t need to be scared of the Old Demon King anymore?!


    ¡°It¡¯s been¡­ five or six years since we¡¯ve seen each other?¡±


    Gun answered, ¡°About that.¡±


    ¡°You specifically came to find me?¡±


    ¡°Just a coincidence. I only found out yesterday that Senior Brother, you are my girlfriend¡¯s English teacher.¡±


    The old professor smiled, once again glancing approvingly at Tong Nian. The little girl truly had a discerning eye, a very discerning eye. ¡°You¡¯ve returned to China this time for¡­?¡±


    Gun replied, ¡°Work.¡±


    ¡°I hear you started your own business? And in an emerging sector?¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Electronic sports. I started up a team.¡±


    At the back, those several male students who were familiar with the eSports scene together all sat up straight, their faces completely covered with astonishment.


    It really was him?!


    ¡­¡­


    The old professor had already recovered his composure and switched back into the topic of this class.


    He flipped open his attendance sheet and began slowly, one at a time, to call out the names. Amid the cries of ¡°Present!¡± ¡°Right here,¡± and ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Tong Nian took her pen and lightly poked the back of his hand. When Gun looked over, she immediately lowered her head, pretending to read her book.


    Actually, she did not know what to ask.


    Just a moment ago, what the two had said had already been very clear, that they were fellow classmates from when they were studying abroad in university¡­


    Flip through the book. Flip. She flipped through a dozen or so pages.


    Continue to flip. Continue to flip.


    ¡°Where¡¯s your hand?¡± Sliding his finger over his phone¡¯s screen, he kept reading through his emails.


    Oh¡­


    Wordlessly, Tong Nian extended her hand.


    ¡­ And set it on his thigh¡­


    ¡°What are electronic sports?¡± In the last row, the girl beside Yaya asked this.


    Yaya gave a wide grin. ¡°A super dashing profession. You play video games at a level where you can win World Championships and gold medals, and the prize money is easily in the hundreds of thousands. Oh right, and that¡¯s all in American dollars.¡±


    0.0¡­ Straightaway, the girl grabbed the people around her and began murmuring.


    And in this way, the word spread, from mouth to mouth.


    The last row became utterly fired up¡­


    Those who had the advantage of location all pulled out their mobile phones and, concealing them with their textbooks, madly took photos of that attractive-looking guy¡¯s back and side views.


    ¡°Is he hot or not? Hot or not? Our old prof¡¯s junior brother!¡±


    ¡°Apparently he¡¯s part of the eSports scene! Anyone know him? Anyone involved in eSports?¡±


    ¡°My brothers, no need to howl tearlessly in the middle of the night anymore. The most delicate flower of our faculty has wed the junior schoolmate of our prof¡­ Who can tell me, what kind of seniority does that give her? The wife of our teacher¡¯s junior brother¡ªour Little Aunt[3], huh huh huh huh? ¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey bros, it¡¯s already rare enough that we¡¯re up early for class¡­ And now God Gun has descended from Heaven. Do you guys believe it? ¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Only two girls in a corner, the same two girls who, earlier, had deliberately made things difficult for Tong Nian when she was arranging the bicycles, had ugly expressions on their faces.


    What kind of dumb luck was that? ¡­


    ¡°Oh right, that person¡¯s self-introduction was just too modest.¡± Yaya continued maintaining an air of mystery as she educated the people around her. ¡°He¡¯s an ancient legend of the gaming circle. Bonjwa level.¡±


    The people surrounding her all gave cries of ¡°oh, oh, oh!¡± and looked as if their eyes had taken on the shape of stars. ¡°What¡¯s Bonjwa level? ¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Yaya was not without sighs as she answered, ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m not going to say any more. In our faculty, people who actually dabble in eSports are as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns[4]. Go do a search. G-U-N. The name, Gun, has a Baidu Baike page for it.¡±


    And so¡­


    Ten minutes later¡­


    Everyone in the entire classroom was unable to sit still¡­


    Although the vast majority of the people did not understand at all what they had read, simply looking at the paragraph after paragraph of text that introduced him was enough to cause their blood pressures to soar. They utterly could not control the boiling excitement that they were feeling. The ones with quicker fingers went directly to Weibo and did a search, and when they saw the Weibo account with only a single status post but several hundred thousand comments, they even more so felt that¡­ this was unfathomable, you know? Clearly, they did not know what eSports even was, but they still felt such fiery fervor in them it seemed as if they were going to explode, you know¡­


    This dude!


    His life was one that completely, utterly crushed and dominated, you know?! ¡­


    [1] ʦÐÖ ¡°shi xiong.¡± This is how one would address a senior, male fellow classmate (former or current).


    [2] ʦµÜ ¡°shi di.¡± This is how one would address a junior, male fellow classmate (former or current).


    [3] СʦÉô ¡°xiao shi shen.¡± Gun is the professor¡¯s junior, male schoolmate, i.e. junior brother, so he is the professor¡¯s students¡¯ ʦÊå ¡°shi shu,¡± which, in this context, can be thought of as their ¡°uncle, from an academic perspective¡± (for lack of better words). Therefore, his ¡°wife¡± would be these students¡¯ ʦÉô ¡°shi shen¡± or ¡°aunt, from an academic perspective.¡± The С ¡°little¡± in front of this address is to acknowledge Tong Nian¡¯s young age. To make the reading less clunky, I have simplified the address to ¡°Little Aunt¡± in the main body of the translation.


    [4]·ïë÷ë½Ç ¡°feng mao lin jiao.¡± Literally, this means ¡°phoenix¡¯s feather, qilin¡¯s horn¡± and is used as a saying to describe something extremely precious and rare or unobtainable. The phoenix and qilin are both mythical creatures of Chinese legend. There are variations in how the æë÷ë qilin (sometimes called ¡°kylin¡± or ¡°kirin¡± in English) is described, but generally, it is a creature with a dragon¡¯s head, horns or antlers, a deer¡¯s (or sometimes a horse¡¯s or an ox¡¯s) body that may or may not be covered in scales, and hooves.

 CH 47

    Chapter 47 ¨C The Ancient Legend ?£¡


    Some time past ten in the morning was the time when sunlight was at its best.


    At the end of class, all the students, of their own initiative, set their movie review written in English on the desk at the front of the classroom. Each person who walked by the front row to set down his or her stack of A4 papers tossed looks of ¡°Oh yeah, you did good,¡± ¡°Add oil!¡± and ¡°Little Tong Nian, you have so made such a good showing¡±¡­


    Against that growing stack of papers as a background, Tong Nian carried on ever so slowly drawing little circles on her notebook, then drawing some more circles¡­


    Until¡­ Yaya quietly approached her and leaned in close to ask whisperingly by her ear, ¡°So, did it feel awesome? Did you have a feeling like you were the female lead of something?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Her face flushed with warmth, she responded quietly, ¡°You were the one who told him?¡±


    ¡°Yup. I gave him our whole class timetable as well as all the profs¡¯ names.¡± Yaya broke out into a grin and, while she was at it, grabbed onto Tong Nian¡¯s wrist, hissing excitedly, ¡°If I had known, I would have started playing around on Weibo earlier. I just saw that God Gun actually opened up his own Weibo account! And you¡¯re the only one he follows on it!!¡±


    Tong Nian gave an ¡°mm,¡± feeling as if she were floating.


    ¡°Not gonna disturb you guys anymore. I¡¯m heading out of here.¡± Yaya gave her wrist a squeeze.


    Why was she feeling a sense of melancholy, like she was marrying her daughter off? ¡­ Sigh.


    Soon, all the students had cleared out of this amphitheatre-style classroom, leaving only her to keep Gun and the old professor company.


    The old professor longed to chat more, but patting Gun on the shoulder, he told him that he still needed to hurry to his next class. After the professor also left, it truly was only she and he remaining in the classroom.


    Han Shangyan looked at her, clasping her books to herself with a distracted look on her face, like she was about to drift away.


    He knew he would be getting busier and busier, so he had told 97 to ask Yaya for Tong Nian¡¯s class schedule. He had wanted to choose a morning or afternoon to simply keep her company and pass the time like any other normal campus sweethearts.


    Yesterday, when he was reading her WeChat messages, he could sense that she wanted to talk more with him, but reluctant to disturb him, she was trying very hard to suppress the desire.


    He reckoned, those sweet moments that campus sweethearts enjoyed were things that she would not have the opportunity to ever experience.


    Thinking of it this way, he did owe her quite a lot.


    ¡°Your classmates all treat you quite well?¡± He finally closed the notebook he had been using for appearances and shoved it into her schoolbag. When those kids walked by them earlier on, they had all waggled their brows and winked at her, which plainly showed she had a good relationship with them.


    ¡°Mm-hmm. A lot of them were my classmates in undergrad.¡±


    ¡°I remember you once said, ¡®I¡¯m not very good with words. I used to always somehow offend my friends and classmates¡¯?¡±


    Such a good memory 0.0¡­


    ¡°During third year of undergrad, there was a period when¡­ everyone didn¡¯t really like talking to me.¡±


    He nodded.


    He remembered Yaya¡¯s words:


    ¡°She said she always offended people? She¡¯s overthinking things. It was just during third year, when the juvenile class students were integrated back in and assigned to the various faculties. When you suddenly switch into a new class, you always get that type of treatment. Back when I changed high schools, it was the same thing.


    ¡°Everyone from our year of undergrad knows the saying, ¡®There are three treasures in the faculty: Tong Nian, the intranet, and the school team.¡¯


    ¡°Do you know why? The intranet is a wealth of resources. Any movie you want, you can find on there, and things are uploaded onto it way faster than any webpage out there. The school basketball team has national-level athletes on it, so it¡¯s the gathering spot for hot guys all year round. The last is our little Tong Nian. When it comes to our specialized courses or any major assignments, she will never refuse any request or plea for help from her classmates.¡±


    Gun rubbed her little head.


    Tong Nian did not know what had happened. ¡°Let¡¯s go now? There are still classes that will be going on in this room.¡±


    His intention was to keep her company anyway, so it did not matter to him one way or the other. He stood.


    The seats were too small, and he had sat for two full periods of lectures where he had been unable to stretch his legs out at all.


    Now, he felt as if he had been liberated. Moving his shoulders about, he watched as she efficiently gathered up her books and pens. Out of the blue, he thought, what had he done during his student days? He had absolutely no impression of them. Sure enough, there were huge differences in the focus of every person¡¯s life.


    The two stepped out of the amphitheatre-style classroom, and walking against the flow of the stream of people who were hurrying to class, they went downstairs and picked up her bicycle.


    Pushing her little white bike, she strolled beside him, continually pointing things out to him. That over there was the undergrad dorms. That was the grad students¡¯ dorms. Over there was the Campus Activity Centre. That was the physics building and the chemistry building as well as the laboratory that she worked in that was built in the middle of the lake. Gun had never experienced the feel and atmosphere of universities in China. With both his hands in his pants pockets, he ambled slowly with her.


    They passed by the building for the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies.


    ¡°How did you get on such friendly terms with this professor?¡± At last, unable to contain her curiosity, she asked him this.


    ¡°He¡¯s a pretty nice guy.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The title he¡¯s been given in our faculty is the ¡®Old Demon King.¡¯ He¡¯s failed the most number of people¡­¡±


    Gun gave an ¡°oh?¡± and then told her, ¡°He¡¯s quite an interesting guy. He¡¯d spent his whole time teaching English, all the way into his forties, and then he suddenly decided he would give himself a long break. So, just like that, he left, studied, and got himself a master¡¯s degree in industrial design.¡±


    ¡°And then he came back to continue teaching English? He studied up to a master¡¯s level¡­¡± What was the point?


    ¡°It was only for fun, to pass the time anyway.¡± Gun caught sight of the library. ¡°Some people¡¯s pastime is travelling, some people¡¯s is studying. Mine is gaming. If everything you did needed to have an ultimate goal to it, your life would be too boring.¡±


    He was very interested in the library.


    Locking up her bicycle downstairs, she brought him in.


    The second level contained books that were for leisure and entertainment. He did not pause there and headed directly up with her to the section with professional and technical books.


    All around, it was quiet.


    The students sitting in the reading and study area were all head down, busily taking notes. She followed him, walking all the way to that area where there seemed to be no end to the row upon row of bookshelves. Every so often they would see someone searching for a book, someone looking down and texting, some young girls looking at the book list their professor had given and discussing in whispered tones, as well as¡­ sweethearts holding hands or touching one another¡¯s arm¡­


    Gun came to a stop.


    Following suit, she also stopped.


    She tilted her head up for a look. They were all books on design. They were related to his field of study?


    Pulling out a book at random, he leafed through it.


    She leaned in close and also glanced over it, asking in a soft voice, ¡°Are you really good at freehand drawing?


    He made no remark in answer.


    So nice. She really admired people who were good at sketching by hand.


    ¡°Then¡­ how come you¡¯ve never drawn anything?¡±


    ¡°Draw what?¡± Gun raised his brows.


    ¡°Draw¡­ people?¡±


    Clearly, the kid had no idea at all what people did in industrial design. Shutting the book, he set one of its corners against her forehead and slid it down along the length of her little nose until it reached the tip. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you think industrial design is the same as body painting.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± I never said it was body painting, ah¡­


    So, when someone came near that particular bookshelf and recognized that very well-known cutie-girl who had placed in the ACM-ICPC World Finals, that person also got to witness how she, with ears and face burning brightly, dashed away from there as if she was fleeing. The man behind her, on the other hand, looked laidback as he unhurriedly set a book back into its original location. For some reason, there was a sense that romantic pink bubbles were floating everywhere, you know?


    The little girlie¡¯s face was so red¡­ Could it be¡­ there had been a love profession? Or a stolen kiss?


    This¡­


    Aw, seriously, are you kidding? ¡­ This is the library, ¡¯kay?


    Hey, friend!


    Requesting a playback, requesting a replay, requesting you do it one more time¡­


    * * * * *


    Before long, the national finals for Tempest of the Sealed Chamber had begun in Beijing.


    On the condition that she would not take any time off for the three months that followed, Tong Nian was able to negotiate a short, one-week break with her academic supervisor. She used it to go with Gun to attend the Tempest of the Sealed Chamber national finals. There happened to be all sorts of meetings and conferences, big and small, going on this week and hotel availability was tight, so he reserved a two-bed executive suite.


    After the two stepped in the door, he went first to take a shower. ¡°We¡¯re having dinner with a friend tonight.¡±


    She answered in agreement. Sitting down on a bed, she surfed aimlessly through programs on the television.


    Not long after, she heard the sound of the bathroom door opening.


    Immediately, she jumped off the bed. ¡°You¡¯re good?¡± The instant she ran into the bathroom, she was stupefied¡­


    Just a towel around the waist¡­


    In a split second, she had spun herself around, but from behind, he lifted her into his arms. The ground and the ceiling seemed to spin before her eyes.


    She was set down on the marble bathroom countertop.


    Grabbing her legs by the ankles, he locked them behind his waist. ¡°What are you doing running off?¡±


    She squirmed restlessly, trying to avoid him. This position¡­


    ¡°I kind of miss the times when you¡¯ve had a drink,¡± he teased her, resting his chin against her forehead and pulling her against his body. His eyes looked into the mirror. ¡°Before we head out, I¡¯ll tell you a story.¡±


    Story?


    She could feel his hands starting to get naughty, and her heart felt fidgety.


    ¡°My parents are both gone,¡± he told her simply. ¡°I have an Auntie, my stepmom, who married in after my mother passed away. Later, my father passed away, too. It turns out the time I¡¯ve spent with her has actually been even longer than with my own birth parents. When I was young, I really disliked her. She didn¡¯t let me get into pro gaming, so I came back to China by myself.¡± And that¡¯s why¡­ when he was an adult, he ended up choosing to take the Chinese nationality?


    She lifted her head, trying to look at him.


    He stopped her.


    ¡°Later, when I returned here to China, I met a gaming master named Solo.¡±


    SP China¡¯s big boss?


    ¡°At the time, he had a little girlfriend named appledog. In the very beginning, it was just the three of us, and we wanted to start up a team. Later, there were more and more people, and we really were able to form one. We didn¡¯t lack people back then, just money. So I ran back to Norway and by trickery, got out some of the inheritance my dad had left me.¡±


    No wonder his grandfather always yelled at him and rebuked him.


    Tong Nian did not know how she could comfort him, so she simply hugged his back tightly.


    She was not conscious in the least of what kind of an effect such an action would have on a normal man while her legs were wrapped around his waist. Gun narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice dropping even lower. ¡°We took a lot of championships, but then, at the height of everything, when the buzz about us was going the strongest, for certain reasons, appledog left. At the time, Solo asked whether I wanted to take over as captain. I declined.¡±


    ¡°Why did you decline?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a very stubborn person. I used to have a cat, but after it died, I didn¡¯t want to go near or have anything to do with cats.¡± He explained, ¡°It was the same with the team. When the people changed, it wasn¡¯t the same team anymore. At the time, I tossed all the responsibilities to Solo and returned to Norway.¡±


    Very lightly, she gave an ¡°oh.¡±


    This story about raising a cat, appledog had told her before.


    However, she for once was wise and treated it as if she was hearing it for the first time.


    ¡°Later, I founded K&K. Although, when it was first established, I didn¡¯t want to admit it, my purpose had actually been very simple. I wanted to redeem my past decision¡ªto find my former teammates again and take care of them, give them a strong, capable organization and team, and start anew.


    Her eyes blinked, then gently lowered.


    She was a little sad from listening to this.


    ¡°K&K established its China branch in 2013. I didn¡¯t come back to China until the end of 2014. The first time I made an appearance at an exhibition tournament for Tempest of the Sealed Chamber, it was in Korea. That was¡­ the first time I saw Solo and appledog, ten years later. They were both in SP. All my teammates from the past, they were in SP as well.¡± Only he, all alone, had become the leader of K&K.


    Gun did not carry on speaking.


    Why did he suddenly feel such a need to confide?


    Possibly because of the ¡°national finals,¡± which were such a large-scale competition.


    Ten years¡­


    She was still waiting for the remainder of the story when suddenly, he was taking her breath away.


    This kiss was unrelenting. Perhaps he, Han Shangyan, had never before thought that one day, he would do this to a young girl. Holding her lips between his teeth, repeatedly tormenting her. Pressing her diminutive body against his chest. Using actions to remind her exactly what the relationship was between the two of them.


    ¡°Come,¡± he requested in a low voice, ¡°sit closer.¡±


    Dazedly, she adjusted her seating position and slowly moved closer to him.


    Until¡­ she was sitting at the very edge of the counter. When she felt a certain something, she instinctively flinched backwards. He remained motionless, with no unnecessary movements, only gazing at her.


    ¡­¡­


    After the exhibition matches in Korea had ended, he had been unable to sleep the entire night.


    That night, he had left the K&K headquarters with the intention of driving back home, but last minute, he had changed his mind. Stepping out of the building, with a very heavy duffel bag slung diagonally across his back, he had walked for three or four hours before picking, at whim, an Internet caf¨¦ with an especially tacky name and going inside. There had been nothing special to him about that night. Or at least, at the time, he had not known that the kid trying to sell a late-night snack to him had other thoughts about him in mind.


    Why¡ª


    Her eyelashes fluttered slightly. Tilting her head back, she bit down lightly on his lower lip, rather shyly using her actions to express to him, ¡°Han Shangyan, I love you.¡±


    What, to you, is worth liking in someone like me?


    Closing his right hand into a fist, he leaned it against the mirror behind her that was covered in condensation. From top to bottom, streaks of water drew paths as they continually slid down.


    His bare back rose and fell with his fierce breathing. Water still dripped from his short hairs¡­


    Don¡¯t leave me.


    Those were words he had, in his lifetime, many times wanted to utter but had never been able to say aloud.


    ¡°Nian Nian.¡± His voice was husky.


    She made a sound in response. Sweat had long since dampened her bangs.


    ¡°Are you scared?¡±

 CH 48

    Thus, when SP¡¯s Greater China and Europe divisions¡¯ big boss, Solo, saw Gun¡¯s girlfriend for the first time, he felt as if he was sitting across from a cooked shrimp¡­


    Solo¡¯s exact thoughts were:


    ¡°Sure enough, after straying and wandering in circles for all these years, in the end, what you love the most is still one who wishes there were twenty-five hours in a day to cling to you; who sticks to you, docilely obeys you, and occasionally paws you to get a little smile and love; and is¡­ a tiny-sized¡­ cat or person.¡±


    Tong Nian¡¯s entire head was still flooded with¡ª


    How could he be like that?


    How could he¡­


    Her mind was still in a state of tumult, filled with image after image of the scenes from before they had left the hotel room¡­ Her fingers anxiously gripped the seat as she sat in a state of disbelief.


    You¡¯re so bad, Han Shangyan. Such a ruffian¡­


    Perceiving that she was still feeling all sorts of after-the-fact embarrassment and bashfulness, Gun gave a lift of his brows, then poured himself a full glass to drink.


    This particular restaurant was very small.


    Yeah, it was clean, but truly, it was very small.


    It did not belong to the off-the-beaten-path-but-good-food type of restaurant, either. It was simply a random eatery in an alley just off the street. At first, when the dishes were being served, Tong Nian had thought that the food in this place must be quite good, but after taking a couple of bites, she found there was nothing special about it.


    She could not help stealing an extra glimpse at Solo.


    She had sat in on a few of the matches Gun¡¯s team had participated in but had never seen this boss of SP before.


    Solo. His friend from ten years ago.


    Such a gentle man. Although he was not very conversational, when his eyes looked at people, they were warm and kind. He was not as tall as Gun, nor did he emit that sharp aura that Gun carried, but it was still evident that he was once the captain of a team. He belonged to that type of person who¡­ so long as he was sitting there, even if beyond the window the heavens were falling and the earth was cracking, you would not be afraid because he was present.


    Hmm¡­


    If Yaya was here, she would probably go crazy again.


    For this dinner, on that side was Solo and on this side was Gun.


    It was just¡­ Could people die drinking the way they were?


    Her eyes brushed over the empty bottles on the table.


    Beer. Two, four, six¡­ seven bottles. Baijiu[1] [traditional Chinese alcoholic drink]. Another one, two¡­ two and a half bottles¡­


    Tong Nian began to plan ahead. In the future, before he went to meet-up with Solo, she would first need to buy some King Drink[2].


    While she was at it, she also began to do a Baidu search: how to persuade men not to drink¡­


    A sound of ding rang out.


    Yaya¡¯s WeChat message popped up: Hey, hey! You promised you¡¯d give me live updates.


    Her: I saw Solo. 0.0


    Yaya: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!


    Her: ¡­¡­


    Yaya: The ancient legend. My ancient legend¡­ T.T¡­ Dang you! You must have saved the entire galaxy in your previous life¡­


    Two hours later, she and Gun called a taxi and brought Solo back to his place first. After returning to their own hotel, they first made a stop at a convenience store to buy some beverages.


    As Tong Nian, with her bag on her back, stood in front of the cooler and browsed over each item, she realized that she still did not know what he liked to drink. Gun¡¯s head was lowered and pulling out the three mobile phones from his pocket, he powered each one on. The succinct alert tones from the countless messages and emails that were coming in flooded their ears. She cast a glance at him.


    He made a gesture to indicate that he was stepping out first to make a phone call.


    She nodded. After doing a full sweep from the cooler to the shelves in the snack aisles, she stepped back outside with a large bag of stuff dangling from her hand.


    With a ding dong, the glass door opened.


    He was standing in front of the entrance, head down as he unhurriedly unwrapped a green fruit candy and put it in his mouth. Seeing the things she was carrying, he stretched out his right arm.


    Obediently, she hung the bag onto it. ¡°Han Shangyan?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± He crushed the candy between his teeth as he gave a muffled response.


    It was not clear from where, but in a solemn manner, she pulled out a card and, with both hands, handed it to him.


    His deep black eyes slid over it. What was that? A bank card?


    ¡°This is all my savings from since I was little. All sorts of lucky money[3] from various New Year¡¯s, plus the money earned from going to expos and signing events and from selling albums, plus what I earned doing any commercial-type performances, plus scholarship money¡­¡± she explained a little self-consciously. ¡°76,973 RMB.¡±


    Not a small amount at all.


    Gun thought, the kid needed to dress herself up prettily each day, so to still be able to save up so much money was really not an easy thing. While giving his silent approval for her money-saving abilities, he wadded the candy wrapper in his hand into a ball.


    Calculating based on length, for that chain wrapped around her wrist, her funds would be able to buy¡­ two or three millimetres of it?


    ¡°I¡¯m giving it to you.¡± With all seriousness, she handed over every last bit of her wealth.


    Grandfather doesn¡¯t support you. Auntie doesn¡¯t support you. It doesn¡¯t matter. You still have me.


    Gun had not at all guessed that the scene would play out like this.


    Even when she had reported her total savings amount to him, he still had not guessed that it was for this purpose.


    This time of night as well as his brain, which was already in a medium state of drunkenness, were both not suited for dealing with such a situation. She, her words, and even her pink bank card with a Hello Kitty picture on it all gave this feeling¡ªthat they were especially not suited for such sappy sentimentalism in this time, this moment. This type of act, one of handing over all of your heart and soul, he had done before as well. Talking about doing such a thing was quite simple, but very few people could actually carry through with it.


    To maintain a sliver of a gap from one another, that was the safe distance between people, be it in friendship or love.


    A person who rushed to offer up everything after only knowing someone for a few months was, to put it undiplomatically, an idiot.


    ¡­¡­


    Without uttering a word, he continued to feel around in his pants pocket, trying to find something that could stave those emotions that were on the verge of spiraling out of control.


    Couldn¡¯t find anything.


    Nearby, several young boys were laughing as they walked past. Spotting Tong Nian standing in front of the convenience store, they could not help throwing a couple extra looks in her direction. However, intimidated by the person beside the little girlie, they curled their lips into a pout and, after a ding dong rang out, walked in through the glass doors.


    Inside, it was filled with the merry laughter of young people.


    She never did pay attention at all to other people, nor was she sensitive enough to be able to detect how many people were interested in her.


    And this was the she that Gun liked. Offhandedly squeezing her little ear between his fingers, he told her, ¡°You can forget the cash. Just give me your entire person.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re not scared anymore, just give me a little hint.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Big lecher! You¡¯ve clearly already¡­


    ¡°I shall be respectfully awaiting you at any time.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± She was about to snap the card from grasping it so tightly.


    From the corner of his eye, Gun noticed that the boys in the convenience store were still ogling her through the glass. Rather irked, he slid the white plastic bag off his arm and held it in his left hand while his right hand slipped into the pocket of his jacket. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±


    Huh? Oh, okay.


    He stepped away first. Following behind, Tong Nian reached a hand out and tugged on the end of his sleeve.


    Gun turned his head to the side.


    He watched as she, her cheeks glowing rosily, let her hand glide down from the edge of his sleeve into the side pocket of his track jacket. He could feel when her hand contacted his. Then, tucking her fingers in, she stuffed her fist into his palm.


    This moment¡­


    There were taxicabs and busses passing by them.


    The raucous sounds of honking horns, the noise of driving vehicles as well as people on bicycles, all sped past beside them¡­ He stood noiselessly, waiting for her to successfully nestle her little fist into his palm. And then, he gave a faint, almost indiscernible smile.


    Still on his face was an indifferent expression, one that stated he could not be bothered with dealing with anything. But, firmly, he took that little hand into his secure grasp.


    Off in the distance, those grown boys inside the convenience store¡­


    ¡°Whoa, the cutie little girlie is making the first move? Dang it, is there any justice in that?¡±


    ¡°Such a pretentious jerk. If you¡¯re going to hold hands, then so be it. Hiding it in the coat pocket and all¡ªcan you be any more obvious, huh?!!¡±


    ¡°Damn you! Think you¡¯re so awesome with your long legs? Slow down a bit. The cutie can¡¯t keep up¡­¡±


    ¡°Darn! ¡®All the good cabbage has been wasted on the pigs[4]¡¯ [all the hotties have been wasted on the jerks, idiots, and uglies].¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t even love and dote on his wifey at all¡­¡±


    [1] °×¾Æ ¡°bai jiu.¡± Baijiu literally means ¡°white alcohol.¡± This traditional Chinese alcoholic beverage is technically classified as a spirit and is made from sorghum and other grains. Those who did not grow up exposed to baijiu will often, on their first taste of it, describe it with adjectives such as ¡°strong,¡± ¡°fiery,¡± ¡°harsh,¡± ¡°biting,¡± etc. It has a high alcohol by volume (ABV), typically in the range of 40-60%. (For comparison, a typical wine is ~9-15%, vodka is 40%.)


    [2] º£Íõ½ðé× ¡°Hai Wang Jin Zun.¡± Hai Wang Jin Zun, which has the English name, King Drink, is a pre-packaged Chinese health product that allegedly can prevent alcohol poisoning and cure hangovers.


    King Drink (image credit: jd.com)


    [3]ѹËêÇ® ¡°ya sui qian.¡± During the Lunar New Year period, money, called ¡°ya sui qian,¡± is given in red envelopes by elders to young people . It represents blessing and well wishes for the year. It is referred to as ¡°lucky money¡± in English.


    [4] ºÃ°×²Ë¶¼±»Öí¹°ÁË. This saying literally means ¡°the good veggies have been wasted and given to the pigs to nudge around with their snouts.¡± It describes a situation where something good has been wasted. In the context of relationships, it is saying a good girl has been wasted on a guy who isn¡¯t worthy of her, with the veiled jeer that the man is like a pig.

 Epilogue

    Updated (Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. Beijing time): I¡¯m sorry for any confusion or if you read what got posted before the actual post time. Please, absolutely re-read it now in this post. Trust me. Here is the true, proper conclusion of the story now, at the right time.


    I should explain the early posting, which was not at all my usual strictness regarding posting time. My apologies for my wilfulness. My translations are done without monetary gain in any form or fashion, and all have author permission. For the last while, I could only watch as they were copied and used by others for profit without my authorization. While I have not withdrawn postings as the ones who would truly lose out would be the readers, nor have I publicly said anything about it until now, to say I have not been upset is far, far from the truth. Yesterday¡¯s early, truncated post was out of a moment of wilfulness, my attempt at protesting. Unfortunately, it was for naught. (It seems the one who does the copying doesn¡¯t get nearly as excited about the postings as you guys do and actually very carefully read when the true posting time would be.) Again, to my readers, I am sorry for any inconvenience. Thank you for continuing to support the translations here on Fanatical.


    *switch back into mode of strict, responsible translator*


    As usual, at the back end of this post, I have a few closing comments to conclude a project, including info regarding drama adaptation. This story translation has been a terribly fun ride. Thank you all for joining me on it, whether it was from the very beginning or if you¡¯re just hopping in now, and in particular, thank you to all who left comments. Now, let¡¯s bid goodbye to Tong Nian and Gun.


    This is just the beginning of the rest of their lifetime¡­ (Leave it to Tong Nian to remember that detail about her first time. LOL)


    Final Chapter ¨C A Lifetime is So Long


    On the day of the finals, Gun gave her an official staff badge as well as a K&K team uniform.


    The meaning was very clear: ¡°Do not wear clothes that are too Loli to sit in the players lounge.¡± She was thrilled that she finally owned a piece of his team¡¯s apparel. And he was thinking, miniskirts were just too eye-catching. Just looking at them put him in a bad mood. Not suitable for wearing out in public, especially since¡­ she had misunderstood that he liked those ear socks or whatever they were and had deliberately brought along a dozen or so pairs¡­


    The two of them were the last to arrive at the stadium.


    All the K&K players were in their rest area, some drinking water, some chatting casually, and some even quipping and joking with the event commentators. When they saw Tong Nian dressed in the team uniform, their eyes all lit up.


    Dang! That was the difference between a pretty girl and a nobody[1].


    How come when Little Sister-In-Law wore a jersey and tracksuit, she still looked so cute. Was Leader bringing a team mascot to the tournament with her like this? ¡­


    Gun surveyed the tournament site and saw that not far away in the SP rest area, the various leaders and executives of their China division had all made an appearance.


    These were the national finals.


    And that good friend and bro of his who had been drunk last night was now sitting in the front row on the far right.


    Without uttering a word, he ambled indolently over and took a seat in the front row on the far left of K&K¡¯s resting area.


    His manner was unlike the deadpan properness of SP¡¯s executives.


    Once he sat down, he propped one leg up on the other knee, tugged the badge off his neck, and, wrapping the string around in a few loops, set it on his leg.


    On the giant screen, the emcee was introducing the participating teams and players of this competition.


    The camera was continually panning across each face, which brought about varying degrees of applause and excited exchanges between fans. The stadium was very large, and all the fans were in the back rows, relying on the broadcasts of these camera pans onto the big screen to identify their own idols and favourite players. Alas, the director very much knew how to keep people in anxious waiting and saved SP¡¯s and K&K¡¯s introductions for the very last.


    Save the best for last.


    Tong Nian followed him in and sat down.


    It was not as if she had never watched a competition with him before, but this grand scene as well as the number of people in the audience all caused her to feel a little self-conscious.


    Wearing K&K¡¯s team jersey, sitting beside Gun¡ªeven just thinking about it felt inconceivable.


    On their first meeting, behind the counter of that little cybercaf¨¦, she had been dozing while rather idly, with nothing to do, tapping away on the keyboard with one hand.


    She, as someone who did not like video games, truly had not been able to muster up any interest for those little icons that were on the computer desktop.


    Until a man had extended his hand forward.


    Fingers, slender and well-defined, had casually rested on the counter.


    Instinctively, she had lifted her head¡ª


    From that hand to its arm, and then continuing upward, it was the neckline of a black, cotton, short-sleeved t-shirt. In a somewhat sour mood, this man with a very large, black duffle bag slung diagonally across his back had leaned one arm on the glass top of the counter. ¡°Overnights? Do you do them here?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Countless times she had recalled that night in her mind.


    And every time, it still felt unreal.


    ¡°Han Shangyan.¡± She spoke his name in a soft voice.


    ¡°Mm.¡± He answered her but did not turn his eyes to her, continuing only to watch the big screen.


    ¡°I¡­ want to get married.¡±


    Last night, he had asked her whether she wanted to.


    At the time, she had been a little dazed, and as a result, she had ended up tossing and turning during the latter half of the night, unable to sleep and regretting why she had not told him ¡°I want to.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    The emcee was ecstatically introducing all the accomplishments and honours K&K had achieved since its establishment¡­


    Wordlessly, Gun returned her gaze and crooked a finger at her.


    Huh? Tong Nian obediently leaned in closer.


    His voice slid into her ear. ¡°Look at the big screen.¡±


    The big screen?


    She abruptly twisted her head around.


    Right this moment, the big screen was showing a close-up of K&K, a close-up of Gun and her¡­


    Her back stiffened, and she dared not say much more as motionlessly, she sat there¡ªbeside him.


    Gun straightened in his seat, giving an acknowledging nod to the camera, which could be considered his greeting to the audience members who were present at the site. His, Solo¡¯s, appledog¡¯s, as well as many of Team Solo¡¯s other players¡¯ fans from the past had come many miles to this place, and when the camera turned here in his direction, they all screamed with exhilaration.


    Right now, right here, right this moment, he was not just her Han Shangyan.


    Rather¡­


    He belonged to everyone.


    ¡°No problem.¡± He smiled at the camera, a shallow dimple even showing on his face. ¡°After the tournament, we¡¯ll get married.¡±


    Apart from her, no one knew what he was saying.


    They only knew that he was speaking to the young girl beside him.


    He, Han Shangyan, had never been one who wore his heart on his sleeve. His feelings were held in his heart. Being romantic or whatever was not required, not necessary.


    A lifetime is so long, and I give it all to you.


    Tong Nian.


    [0:44] Many times have I faced cold glares and ridicule, yet never have I abandoned the hopes and ideals in my heart. In a dazed moment, I feel as if something is lost, missing. Imperceptibly, the love within my heart has faded away. Who understands me?


    [1:09] Forgive me for, all my life, being unruly and indulging my passion for freedom. I, too, have fears that one day I will fall. To abandon one¡¯s hopes and ideals is something anyone can do. I will not fear, even if one day there is only you and I.


    ¡ªfrom Boundless Seas and Vast Skies


    Epilogue ¨C Booze x Booze


    Today was Valentine¡¯s Day¡ªa certain someone¡¯s birthday.


    K&K eSports Club was holding a small, internal cocktail and wine party. Leader had not known about it ahead of time. Why didn¡¯t he know? Because everyone wanted to give him a nice surprise. Therefore, when Gun, after braving the cold to rush back from the airport, was riding the elevator up with a black bag slung crossbody on his back and wearing a black down jacket, his entire mind was occupied with thoughts of the training plans that would be taking place shortly.


    And while he was at it, he schemed about taking attendance. That way, anyone who wanted to go out to celebrate Valentine¡¯s Day would end up feeling sheepish about the idea.


    The elevator doors slid open before Gun¡¯s eyes. Chewing gum, he step by step walked out of the elevator. His down jacket had already been shed, and with his right hand, he tossed it onto the chair at the reception desk.


    Nobody there?


    Turning a corner, he followed the corridor and walked in. Inside the training room, the sounds of assault rifles and explosions seemed to rock the sky. The instant he poked his head in through the door, he was greeted by demo waving a deep green liquor bottle and crying, ¡°Leader! Sister-In-Law is waiting for you!¡±


    As if something had exploded, he paused in shock.


    An entire room of wine and liquor bottles. Not a single sober person.


    The next second, the doorway was once again empty. grunt was still sprawled on the windowsill, talking in low tones with Ai Jing, and clicking his tongue reproachfully, he sighed, ¡°Dt, that punk, is just too low and underhanded. Just so he could go have a date with his girlfriend, he went and got Han Shangyan¡¯s wife drunk.¡±


    At the end of the corridor, on the left side¡ªHan Shangyan¡¯s room.


    When his hand contacted the cold, metal door handle, he even thought with furrowed brows, what would happen in just a moment? After rehearsing through some rough scenarios in his mind, he pushed down on the handle and stepped inside.


    Utter darkness. He wanted to feel for the light switch.


    Instead, his hand came in contact with the back of a soft, little hand. Very soon, a feeling he knew all too well came at him¡­


    ¡°Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday.¡± The octopus clasped his waist and began rubbing back and forth against him, from his face to his body. ¡°Hurry up and say that you¡¯re really happy¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m happy.¡±


    He still had questions he wanted to ask, but she had bit down lightly on his lower lip, and a little tongue had slipped into his mouth.


    Well, he could taste them: beer, baijiu, plum wine, red wine¡­


    He shut his eyes.


    Don¡¯t blow up.


    Sh*t! Who the f*ck boozed her up?


    A hot, little palm mimicked what he normally did, feeling its way to the nape of his neck. Pulling him in close to her, she kissed him, and quite merrily as well. Gun had no other option but to lift up her legs and hold them around his waist. In the blackness, he used his feet to grope around, trying unsuccessfully to find a chair.


    No choice then. There was only the windowsill.


    Once he was seated, Tong Nian delightedly pounced herself onto him.


    Before he had a chance to react, the back of his head slammed into the glass.


    Sh*t¡­


    Ziiiiiip. His zipper had nimbly been pulled open¡­


    ¡°Tong Nian.¡± Gun forced his voice to remain steady. ¡°There¡¯s only 1 month until the wedding. 1 month. 30 days. 720 hours. 43200 minutes. Just hang in there a bit more¡­¡±


    The right shoulder of his track jacket was being pulled down as if her life depended on it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll do it¡­¡± There was still a match tomorrow. He couldn¡¯t let things end up looking too ugly or else that bunch of little bastards would be able to tell that something had been amiss.


    Fumblingly, Gun tugged the zipper all the way down, leaned forward slightly, and, with both his arms behind his back, removed his track jacket. Before he had even tossed it onto the floor, Tong Nian was already pulling at his belt¡­


    Warm lips pressed against the bridge of his nose, his eyelids.


    He tried as much as possible to make himself think about relatively innocent things. For instance, for the match against SP tomorrow, he could change out that entire group of little bastards who were outside right now and replace them with the secondary team that was becoming increasingly formidable¡­


    In the darkness, the kid paused for several beats. Her gaze glimmered with expectation as she moved in closer and bashfully asked, ¡°How come you¡¯re not moving?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    His large, broad palm caught the back of her neck, and with a slight huskiness in his voice, he replied, ¡°My first time¡­ Don¡¯t know what to do. What now?¡±


    ¡­¡­


    Eh? Didn¡¯t he say men could figure it out without any teaching?


    ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± She did not hesitate, and in a muddled state, she very neatly and effectively unbuckled his belt, yanked it out, and threw it aside. Then with much difficulty, she scrambled down. Her head feeling as if it was swirling, she began to tear at his jeans.


    Gun was leaning back against the glass, at the breaking point from her teasing. Reaching his hands out to take her under the arms, he pulled the kid back up and set her on his thighs.


    In that stillness, his hands grabbed the bottom of his short-sleeved shirt and pulled it up and off.


    The kid¡¯s eyes seemed to gleam even more.


    Gun had a feeling of being viewed, and the sight was being enjoyed¡­


    And so, he set her down on the floor. Feet bare, he hopped down as well, and with upper body unclothed, he bent down to look her in the eyes. ¡°You really want to do it?¡±


    She made a sound in answer. The more she thought about this, the happier she became, and in a quiet voice, she told him, ¡°Your birthday gift. And it¡¯s also Valentine¡¯s Day.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    He still had a feeling as if he was being bestowed the favour of sharing the emperor¡¯s bed.


    Suppressing a smile that wanted to form, he eyed her over. ¡°Don¡¯t cry in a little bit.¡±


    She paused in surprise. ¡°Huh? ¡­¡± A little nervous, she asked, ¡°¡­ Do you have any cold medicine here? Nighttime tablets? I just need to take one and then I¡¯ll fall right asleep.¡± She reckoned, that way, it wouldn¡¯t be too painful?


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright. If I really start crying because it hurts, you just need to coax and comfort me and then I¡¯ll be good. I¡¯m really easy to comfort.¡± She first convinced herself.


    And then, she decisively walked over and wrapped her arms around his bare waist.


    He truly had not expected that he would celebrate his birthday in this way, where the instant he stepped in the door, he would be stripped of his clothes by his little girlfriend. Now there was no way to back out. Continue? It would not be easy to explain himself to her parents¡­ The wedding was so soon.


    Not continue? Obviously, the sweat on his palms was reminding him that there was no running this time.


    Bending at the waist, he scooped Tong Nian up into his arms, focusing his efforts on, from this moment onwards, making everything become dreamy and wonderful. The kid did not lose her memories after getting drunk. He could not let her suffer any sort of unhappiness.


    ¡­¡­


    However, the following morning, when Tong Nian, feeling as if her mind was stuffed with glue and her heart was bursting with happiness, hugged the quilt against herself and tried with all her might to recall the memory, only a few fragments were particularly clear. For example, he had kneaded her chest like he was kneading dough¡­


    Meanwhile¡­


    Gun sat on the steps downstairs of the building in the cold, blowing wind. Biting down and crushing the fruit candy in his mouth, he looked down at his stopwatch.


    Off in the distance, all the K&K members were dashing back madly with all their might.


    One after another, they collapsed in a spot by him. Tears had sprung from demo¡¯s eyes from the running, and clutching at Gun¡¯s leg, he bawled over and over, ¡°Leader, I really can¡¯t run anymore. We honestly weren¡¯t the ones who did it¡­¡±


    [1]ŒÅË¿ ¡°diao si.¡± This slang term actually literally means ¡°penis hair.¡± At the outset, this term, with its vulgar insinuation, was only meant to be derogatory and hence, is most commonly translated as ¡°loser.¡± However, the use of the term has gradually evolved. More and more, it is used in a joking fashion, or even to refer to oneself, as a way to describe a person who is a ¡°nobody¡± based on social conditions and not necessarily because of faults of his own (for example, a person born into a humble social class, unable to aquire any assets to his name because his normal, respectable job is barely enough to cover the high cost of living). Here, in this context, it¡¯s not describing monetary assets but rather, that the average-looking ¡°nobody¡± cannot compare with Tong Nian¡¯s exceptional physical assets, i.e. her good looks.


    Additional Comments:


    The trilogy, consisting of ¡¶ÉñÖ®×óÊÖ¡·God¡¯s Left Hand, ¡¶ÃÜÊÒÀ§ÓÎô~¡·Playing Fish Trapped in the Sealed Chamber, and Stewed Squid with Honey, was conceived quite early in Mo Bao Fei Bao¡¯s writing career. God¡¯s Left Hand, the prequel of everything, began in 2011 and was one of the longest standing pits (unfinished stories) of her line-up until she wrote the remaining two in 2014/15. Left Hand and Sealed Chamber would be the main plot line, a story about the pursuit of dreams, passions, and fervour of youth, and tells the story of Team Solo, Gun, appledog, Solo, grunt (and his love interest, Ai Jing), and Dt (and his love story with appledog). I still remember MBFB saying that she needed to hurry and finish the story while she still could remember those intense feelings of being young and passionate. Squid, on the other hand, was written as a side story to give Gun a happy ending and is much more light-hearted.


    Hence, Beyond¡¯s song, ¡¶º£À«Ìì¿Õ¡·Boundless Seas and Vast Skies, a song about pursuing one¡¯s passions against the odds is an appropriately chosen conclusion to the story by the author. Translation of the lyrics is at the end of my ramblings.


    I have mentioned before that Mo Bao Fei Bao is a screenwriter (and was one of the co-screenwriters of My Sunshine). However, to date, none of her novels have been adapted onto screen because she has always stuck to one condition: she must be sole screenwriter of any adaptations of her novels. This year, she finally sold the rights to adapt the trilogy to the company that produced Boss and Me, My Sunshine, and Love O2O, and she will be the sole screenwriter. Since Squid is my little baby, I will try to let you know of any news I hear, but don¡¯t expect the drama to be very soon coming because she still has a couple other projects on hand right now before she even really gets going on this one.


    Thank you to everyone who has come along this story with me.  It was a much-needed, light-hearted time in my translating because when I started it, I was actually hovering on the edge of burnout. It¡¯s brought us moments of secondhand embarrassment for Tong Nian, excitement for her pursuit of her love, drooling for Gun, tingles down our spine from the sweetness, nosebleeds for some, and most importantly¡­ smiles. I hope this little story managed to brighten your days like it did mine.


    People have been asking about my next project. Yes, I will be taking on another one, but first, I¡¯m going to take a little break. It¡¯s been almost 2.5 years of posting every single week. (Wow, time flies when you¡¯re having fun.) Longtime readers may know that my Decembers are usually crazy, so with Squid finishing up right at the end of November, it will be good to have one less thing on my plate during the Christmas season. I have a shortlist for what I may want to translate next and actually am almost certain which will be the one. Once permissions have been finalized, I will make an announcement on the blog and include the official start date of the project. Likely, it will be some time in February when you see me posting regularly again.


    You may see me popping up in Don¡¯t Be So Proud, but if you don¡¯t visit there (why don¡¯t you?!), let me take this opportunity to wish you an early, but still very sincere, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Blessings to you and your loved ones.


    See you in 2017! (I promise to come back, so promise me you¡¯ll be back, too!)


    ¡¶º£À«Ìì¿Õ¡·Boundless Seas and Vast Skies


    [0:19] ½ñÌìÎÒ¡¡º®Ò¹Àï¿´Ñ©Æ®¹ý


    I watch in this chilly night as snow drifts by


    »³×ÅÀäÈ´Á˵ÄÐÄÎÑƯԶ·½


    And with a heart that has also chilled, I drift and wander to far off places


    ·çÓêÀï×·¸Ï


    In the wind and rain, I give pursuit


    ÎíÀï·Ö²»ÇåÓ°×Ù


    Unable to make out any traces amid the fog


    Ìì¿Õº£À«ÄãÓëÎÒ


    Between these vast skies and boundless seas, you and I


    ¿É»á±ä(˭ûÔÚ±ä)


    Will we change? (Who is not changing?)


    [0:44] ¶àÉٴΡ¡Ó­ÖøÀäÑÛÓ볰Ц


    Many times have I faced cold glares and ridicule


    [1:09] Ô­ÁÂÎÒÕâÒ»Éú²»î¿·Å×Ý°®×ÔÓÉ


    Forgive me for, all my life, being unruly and indulging my passion for freedom


    Ò²»áÅÂÓÐÒ»Ìì»áµøµ¹


    I, too, have fears that one day I will fall


    ±³ÆúÁËÀíÏë¡¡Ë­È˶¼¿ÉÒÔ


    To abandon one¡¯s hopes and ideals is something anyone can do


    ÄÄ»áÅÂÓÐÒ»ÌìÖ»Äã¹²ÎÒ


    I will not fear, even if one day there is only you and I


    [1:43] ½ñÌìÎÒ¡¡º®Ò¹Àï¿´Ñ©Æ®¹ý


    I watch in this chilly night as snow drifts by


    »³×ÅÀäÈ´Á˵ÄÐÄÎÑƯԶ·½


    And with a heart that has also chilled, I drift and wander to far off places


    ·çÓêÀï×·¸Ï


    In the wind and rain, I give pursuit


    ÎíÀï·Ö²»ÇåÓ°×Ù


    Unable to make out any traces amid the fog


    Ìì¿Õº£À«ÄãÓëÎÒ


    Between these vast skies and boundless seas, you and I


    ¿É»á±ä(˭ûÔÚ±ä)


    Will we change? (Who is not changing?)


    [2:08] Ô­ÁÂÎÒÕâÒ»Éú²»î¿·Å×Ý°®×ÔÓÉ


    Forgive me for, all my life, being unruly and indulging my passion for freedom


    Ò²»áÅÂÓÐÒ»Ìì»áµøµ¹


    I, too, have fears that one day I will fall


    ±³ÆúÁËÀíÏë¡¡Ë­È˶¼¿ÉÒÔ


    To abandon one¡¯s hopes and ideals is something anyone can do


    ÄÄ»áÅÂÓÐÒ»ÌìÖ»Äã¹²ÎÒ


    I will not fear, even if one day there is only you and I


    [3:09] ÈÔÈ»×ÔÓÉ×ÔÎÒ


    Still I am free and independent


    ÓÀÔ¶¸ß³ªÎÒ¸è ×ß±éǧÀï


    Forever loudly singing my songs as I travel over thousands of miles


    [3:20] Ô­ÁÂÎÒÕâÒ»Éú²»î¿·Å×Ý°®×ÔÓÉ


    Forgive me for, all my life, being unruly and indulging my passion for freedom


    Ò²»áÅÂÓÐÒ»Ìì»áµøµ¹


    I, too, have fears that one day I will fall


    ±³ÆúÁËÀíÏë¡¡Ë­È˶¼¿ÉÒÔ


    To abandon one¡¯s hopes and ideals is something anyone can do


    ÄÄ»áÅÂÓÐÒ»ÌìÖ»Äã¹²ÎÒ


    I will not fear, even if one day there is only you and I


    [3:46] ±³ÆúÁËÀíÏë¡¡Ë­È˶¼¿ÉÒÔ


    To abandon one¡¯s hopes and ideals is something anyone can do


    ÄÄ»áÅÂÓÐÒ»ÌìÖ»Äã¹²ÎÒ


    I will not fear, even if one day there is only you and me


    [3:58] Ô­ÁÂÎÒÕâÒ»Éú²»î¿·Å×Ý°®×ÔÓÉ


    Forgive me for, all my life, being unruly and indulging my passion for freedom


    Ò²»áÅÂÓÐÒ»Ìì»áµøµ¹


    I, too, have fears that one day I will fall


    ±³ÆúÁËÀíÏë¡¡Ë­È˶¼¿ÉÒÔ


    To abandon one¡¯s hopes and ideals is something anyone can do


    ÄÄ»áÅÂÓÐÒ»ÌìÖ»Äã¹²ÎÒ


    I will not fear, even if one day there is only you and I