AVRL 7

A person can be as adept as they are in their own field of expertise as they are powerless in areas they don’t understand.

But Meng Chi didn’t stay down for long. When he heard the names Xuanhe Painting Manual and Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, his furrowed brow eased somewhat. And when he heard “poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seals,” a spark of inspiration hit him, and he spoke up: “The first person to combine poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seals was Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji.”

Song Min looked at him with some surprise, seemingly taken aback that he knew anything about painting and calligraphy. Yu Tingzhi also turned his gaze toward him, but there was no surprise in his eyes—only a faint, barely perceptible hint of knowing amusement.

“Correct,” Yu Tingzhi said. “It was him.”

Meng Chi suddenly felt a little pleased, inexplicably, as if he and Yu Tingzhi were on the same wavelength again.

“Brother Meng, do you also study Chinese art history?” Song Min asked.

Meng Chi shook his head. “I’ve only read Emperor Huizong’s Treatise on Tea, and then I looked into him a bit more. He’s a very interesting emperor.”

“Emperor Huizong was probably the most talented emperor in Chinese history—he invented the ‘Slender Gold’ script, after all,” Song Min said with considerable agreement, glancing sideways at Yu Tingzhi. However, Yu Tingzhi’s gaze remained fixed on Meng Chi.

“If in statecraft he could be called a fatuous ruler, then in the arts, he could be called a genius,” Meng Chi said. “He played a significant role in the development of Song Dynasty ‘whisked tea’ culture.”

Meng Chi briefly talked about the differences between Song Dynasty whisked tea and modern tea ceremony, as well as some interesting points. Song Min seemed somewhat disinterested, his eyes drifting. Yu Tingzhi, on the other hand, listened intently, his gaze remaining glued to Meng Chi’s face.

Before long, a phone call interrupted their friendly exchange.

Yu Tingzhi took out his phone, glanced at it, and stepped a couple of paces to the side to answer.

He held the phone in his right hand, the screen angled toward Meng Chi, so with a slight glance, Meng Chi caught a glimpse of the character “Shan” on the screen.

Yu Tingzhi was taking the call right next to them, so Meng Chi and Song Min naturally fell silent, each pulling out their own phones.

The place was far from the crowds, quiet and serene, so even though Meng Chi hadn’t intended to eavesdrop on Yu Tingzhi’s call, he caught a fair bit of it anyway.

The caller was male, with a somewhat deep but young voice. He first asked if Yu Tingzhi had returned to Zewu. After receiving an affirmative answer, he said he’d be coming to Zewu soon and expected Yu Tingzhi to host him well.

Yu Tingzhi naturally agreed to everything, telling the caller to call him before coming so he could pick him up at the airport.

From his WeChat moments to trending hashtags on Weibo, Meng Chi tapped through every little red dot. Nothing interesting caught his eye, so he opened League of Legends: Wild Rift, ready to check in and claim some small rewards.

After clicking through all the little yellow dots, he looked up and saw Song Min frowning blankly at his phone.

“What’s wrong?” Meng Chi asked in a low voice.

“There’s a minor issue with my group project—nothing serious, but I have to redo the calculations. It’s annoying,” Song Min said with a pout.

Meng Chi laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Let me carry you to rank up.”

Since they still had a bit of time to kill and no energy left for more treasure hunting, they might as well unwind with a game. Song Min didn’t refuse and opened the game to log in.

The two had just formed a team when Yu Tingzhi finished his call and walked back over.

“What are you doing?” Yu Tingzhi asked.

“Playing a game,” Song Min said, looking at Yu Tingzhi. “Brother Tingzhi, want to join?”

Meng Chi looked up at Yu Tingzhi.

To be honest, he didn’t think Yu Tingzhi looked like the type to game with friends—more like someone who’d sit in the sun with a book in his spare time.

He was an artist, after all.

And then he saw Yu Tingzhi nod. “Sure.”

Yu Tingzhi really didn’t play. He didn’t even have the app installed. After a bit of setup, he created a new account and logged in.

With Yu Tingzhi joining, they had to switch from ranked to normal matchmaking. Meng Chi’s plan to take Song Min to the duo lane also fell through.

To prevent the duo lane from becoming a love nest for his rival and his crush, Meng Chi had no choice but to sacrifice himself and take the duo lane with Yu Tingzhi, the newbie.

“Pick Yuumi.① She’s an easy champion,” Meng Chi said.

“Yuumi?” Yu Tingzhi repeated the somewhat cutesy name, scrolling through the champion list in search of the cat.

Meng Chi knew he wouldn’t find it. Before Song Min could reach over, he leaned in first, reaching out to scroll through Yu Tingzhi’s phone screen and selecting a little blue cat.

“Alright. Once you’re in, learn your third skill first, then your second, and attach to me.” Before the last syllable of “attach to me” had even landed, Meng Chi noticed Yu Tingzhi’s slender finger tapping the first skill instead.

Meng Chi: “…”

Noticing his slightly reproachful look, Yu Tingzhi apologized crisply: “Sorry, it’s my first time playing.”

Meng Chi smiled. “No problem. Just passing the time—play however you like.”

“Once you attach, don’t get off. Just stay on me and give me heals.”

Yu Tingzhi raised an eyebrow. “Heals?”

Song Min: “Means healing.”

Yu Tingzhi nodded and turned his attention back to his screen.

Although Meng Chi told him to stay attached the whole time, Yu Tingzhi didn’t obediently comply.

He was a fast learner. After a quick read of the skill descriptions, he’d already grasped the game’s mechanics. When Meng Chi charged into the fray, he would detach to help him attack the enemies.

With a newbie like Yu Tingzhi on the team, both allies and opponents they matched with weren’t particularly skilled. Meng Chi performed well—he hadn’t died once and had already pushed to the enemy’s nexus.

But just as victory was in sight, Yu Tingzhi’s Yuumi got crowd-controlled by the enemy. Meng Chi immediately flashed over to heal him, shouting at the same time: “Get on me! Get on me, quick!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the crowd-control effect on Yuumi wore off, and the cat regained its mobility—but it stood there motionless.

A moment later, Yu Tingzhi’s screen went gray.

Two or three seconds after that, so did Meng Chi’s.

“Don’t worry, I can finish it,” Song Min said, and right then, the enemy’s nexus exploded.

Meng Chi tapped at his screen. In his peripheral vision, Yu Tingzhi still seemed to be looking at him. He glanced sideways and met Yu Tingzhi’s rather heavy gaze. Belatedly, he recalled that what he’d just said might have sounded a bit off?

After all, just an hour ago, they’d openly acknowledged their sexual orientations, and Meng Chi had confidently declared he was a top.

And now he was shouting for Yu Tingzhi to get on him.

Tsk…

For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, Meng Chi looked away uncomfortably, saying, “Time’s about up. Let’s stop here,” as he stood up, ready to leave.

But he’d been crouched too long. Rising abruptly, his vision went black, a cramp seized his leg, and he stumbled to the right.

The expected pain never came—only a dull, heavy grunt. It took a few dazed seconds for Meng Chi to realize that what was beneath him wasn’t the hard floor, but a body that was soft yet firm.

When he fell, Yu Tingzhi, standing not far away, had caught him squarely.

Meng Chi felt something hard pressing against him under his rear. A faint oceanic scent wafted from behind, and his entire body froze like a statue.

Just then, Yu Tingzhi’s low, deep voice suddenly sounded: “So this is how you’re ‘on top’?”