Chapter 5: In Short

“Uh… just a little,” Jian Yanzhi said with a light cough. “Your team is just really famous.”

 

“Just a little?” He Yuan turned to glare at Hang Wenjie, his voice dripping with disdain and resignation. “See? Even someone who barely knows anything about us knows you suck at Akali. Why are you still clinging to that?”

 

Hang Wenjie slumped, utterly defeated. “Hey, that’s just plain mean!”

 

“Ooh, ooh! Do you know which champion I play best?” Lin Mao asked Jian Yanzhi eagerly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

 

“You have a pretty broad champion pool, right? You’re good with quite a few,” Jian Yanzhi replied thoughtfully. “But I’ve noticed you’ve been playing Orianna really well lately.”

 

Lin Mao gasped dramatically. “You’ve actually been watching my games?!”

 

Jian Yanzhi blushed slightly. *Well, it’s hard not to when you and Shen Yuan are always duoing,* she thought.

 

“How about this? Let’s play a game together!” Lin Mao puffed out his chest. “I’ll carry you!”

 

Jian Yanzhi’s eyes lit up, and she instinctively glanced at He Yuan.

 

He Yuan, oblivious to her gaze, snorted derisively. “Mao Mao, is this really the time to try and hit on her?”

 

“You don’t have to treat me like a girl right now!” Jian Yanzhi blurted out. “Seriously!”

 

“……”

 

Jian Yanzhi turned to He Yuan. “Shen Yuan, wanna play together?”

 

“Of course! Let’s do it!” Lin Mao, unwilling to see his goddess rejected, unhesitatingly pushed He Yuan back into his seat. “Eldest, start the game!”

 

“No thanks, I’m afraid I’ll drag you down,” He Yuan said calmly, completely unfazed by Lin Mao’s murderous glare.

 

“Drag us down? Even a pro like you?” Jian Yanzhi blinked in surprise. “You’re so good, you could carry even a noob like me!”

 

An awkward silence fell over the group.

 

Lin Mao scoffed. “Miss Jian, I could carry you through the whole match myself!”

 

Seeing He Yuan’s lack of reaction, Jian Yanzhi said to Lin Mao with a hint of disappointment, “No need to call me Miss Jian. It’s too formal. Just call me by my name.”

 

“Really?!” Lin Mao’s resentful expression vanished instantly, replaced by an overly eager, fawning grin. “Then… can I call you Xiao Yanzhi? Ah… I’m so happy! My goddess actually plays games, and I get to play a match with her!”

 

“Xiao Yanzhi?” Jian Yanzhi choked slightly, finding the sudden intimacy a bit much.

 

“I’m logged in now. I’ll invite you…” Lin Mao said, his enthusiasm bubbling over.

 

“Pull me in,” He Yuan suddenly said nonchalantly.

 

Lin Mao froze, turning to stare at him. “Huh?”

 

“Pull me in,” He Yuan repeated, tapping his finger impatiently on the table. “Are you deaf? Are we queuing or not?”

 

“But you said you didn’t want to queue!” Lin Mao looked utterly bewildered.

 

He Yuan shot him a cold glare.

 

“Queue, queue, queue!” Jian Yanzhi exclaimed excitedly, patting Lin Mao’s shoulder. “Hurry up and invite him!”

 

“Ah? Oh!” Flustered by the goddess’s touch, the Jian Family’s young man’s heart pounded wildly. He didn’t have time to question He Yuan’s sudden change of heart. With a click of the mouse, he sent the invitation.

 

Hang Wenjie, watching the exchange between He Yuan and Jian Yanzhi, shook his head with a tsk. Miss Jian’s flattery was perfectly timed, as always.

 

Jian Boyi was busy eating, so Jian Yanzhi simply logged into her own account on his computer.

 

“Xiao Yanzhi, are you using Ninth Brother’s account to play?”

 

“No, mine’s fine.”

 

“Really? You’re such a high rank! I’ll add you then—what’s your username?” Lin Mao asked eagerly.

 

“It’s…” Jian Yanzhi trailed off, hesitating.

 

“What is it?”

 

Jian Yanzhi didn’t answer. She stared at her own username, instantly regretting her choice.

 

*Damn it! Why didn’t I choose a cute and cuddly name back then?*

 

“Hmm?” Lin Mao, noticing the lack of response, leaned closer to peer at her screen.

 

Jian Yanzhi didn’t have time to stop him. Lin Mao read her username aloud, pausing between each syllable: “Your Dad’s Watching?”

 

Silence descended.

 

“Great, great name,” Lin Mao declared, lying through his teeth. “Just like mine—high-end, sophisticated, and classy!”

 

Jian Yanzhi: “……”

 

He Yuan, standing beside them, calmly remarked, “So cringy.”

 

Jian Yanzhi glanced at him sideways. *If that’s cringy, what about his username, “The Living Game Bug”? Isn’t he just subtly bragging about how good he is?*

 

*Whatever. He’s my gaming idol after all. If he wants to be cringy, let him.*

 

The game began. Lin Mao secured the mid-lane position, He Yuan took ADC, and Jian Yanzhi bounced around as his support.

 

*Swish, swish, swish!* The trio and two strangers loaded into the game interface. Jian Yanzhi followed He Yuan to the bottom lane.

 

Everything went smoothly at first. But around ten minutes into the match, their mid-laner, Lin Mao, started repeatedly running down to the bottom lane…

 

He Yuan gritted out, “I’m not dead yet. Stop trying to speedrun my respawn.”

 

“Eldest, they outnumber us! You have to protect Xiao Yanzhi!”

 

“Get back here!”

 

“……”

 

A moment later, as He Yuan forcefully suppressed the enemy while Jian Yanzhi diligently healed him, their mid-laner, Lin Mao, bounced down the lane again. “Xiao Yanzhi, don’t worry! I’m here to save you!”

 

But just then, the enemy Lee Sin leaped from the bush. Timing his attack perfectly, he pinned the lovestruck Lin Mao to the ground and beat him mercilessly. Jian Yanzhi rushed to help him.

 

The moment she left He Yuan’s side, the enemy launched a counterattack, cutting down the lone warrior on the cold ground.

 

“……”

 

With He Yuan “dead,” the scene quickly deteriorated. Lin Mao was swarmed and killed, while Jian Yanzhi barely escaped back to the tower with a sliver of health.

 

“Ah… good thing you didn’t die,” Lin Mao said idiotically.

 

He Yuan bit back his frustration before finally telling Jian Yanzhi, “You didn’t need to save him. You should have stayed by my side.”

 

Jian Yanzhi paused, her hand hovering over the mouse. “…Oh.”

 

Lin Mao whined, “Why didn’t you come save me? She’s got such a big heart! You can’t just hog her like that.”

 

He Yuan glared at him as if he were an idiot. “She’s my support. Mine. Got it?”

 

Jian Yanzhi choked on her own saliva at He Yuan’s possessive emphasis on “mine.”

 

Objectively, Jian Yanzhi’s skills were far below those of professional players like He Yuan. But she wasn’t bad, especially compared to Lin Mao’s disastrous performance that day.

 

He Yuan had noticed how well Jian Yanzhi coordinated as support. So, after the match, he tacitly started another game with her.

 

This time, He Yuan took the jungle role, Jian Yanzhi remained as support, and Lin Mao… desperate to lane with her, forcibly claimed the ADC position.

 

“Now the support’s all mine! I can finally hog her, right?” Lin Mao declared gleefully.

 

Jian Yanzhi didn’t reply, too overwhelmed with excitement to speak. She had finally fulfilled her dream of playing a game with her idol.

 

He Yuan remained silent, simply too lazy to acknowledge Lin Mao.

 

The second game reached its final stages.

 

“Hey, hey, hey! Xiao Yanzhi, save me!” Lin Mao cried out. “Ah!”

 

Lin Mao’s ADC was slain.

 

Jian Yanzhi acted as if she hadn’t heard. With a swift motion, she healed He Yuan. He Yuan surged forward, unleashing a series of flashy maneuvers as he attacked. Jian Yanzhi trailed closely behind, simultaneously healing him and helping him pummel the enemy.

 

“Triple Kill!”

 

He Yuan and Jian Yanzhi had wiped out three opponents, leaving the remaining two battered and near death as they retreated.

 

Lin Mao stared in disbelief. “My support… my support…”

 

Lao Yao and Jian Boyi, already satisfied with their meal, stood behind the trio. Jian Boyi smirked maliciously. “With an ADC like you, even I’d be disgusted to play support.”

 

Lao Yao’s gaze held deeper meaning. “Looks like our support sister’s glued to Eldest here. Why does she only heal him?”

 

Jian Yanzhi’s heart tightened. “I didn’t mean to,” she stammered hastily. “I just saw I couldn’t save Lin Mao in time, so I…”

 

“No need to explain,” He Yuan said, in a surprisingly good mood. “You played well.”

 

His regular ranked teammates exchanged astonished glances. *Did he just compliment someone? The Eldest is actually praising someone?* They, as professional players, had never received such praise from him before!

 

“You really did play great,” Lao Yao chimed in. “Let’s add each other as friends so we can queue up together later.”

 

“Of course! I’d love to!” Jian Yanzhi replied, thrilled at the prospect.

 

“Enough, you guys are trying to go behind my back,” Jian Boyi interjected. “If Mom finds out I’m playing games with her again, she’ll kill me.”

 

Jian Yanzhi protested, “I haven’t taken on any work recently, and it’s winter break. I have plenty of time.”

 

Jian Boyi ignored her. After the match ended, he patted her head and physically lifted her from her seat. “Alright, alright, time to go home.”

 

Out of sight of the others, Jian Yanzhi pinched Jian Boyi hard. He hissed, “Ouch! Be gentle!”

 

Feigning innocence, Jian Yanzhi glanced at him before nodding to the group. “I’ll head back now. We’re neighbors, so feel free to ask if you need anything.”

 

“Great! Great!” Lin Mao agreed enthusiastically.

 

Jian Yanzhi glanced at He Yuan, who yawned lazily while scrolling through the backend data.

 

“I’ll head out now,” Jian Yanzhi said her goodbyes and left.

 

“Damn it! You really know how to keep secrets,” Lao Yao grumbled, punching Jian Boyi again after Jian Yanzhi was gone. “You’ve been hiding such a beautiful girl from us! If she hadn’t accidentally moved in across the hall, would you have ever told us?”

 

“Exactly!” Lin Mao chimed in. “You didn’t even tell me she’s my goddess! You could have helped me get closer to her.”

 

“Help you get closer?” Jian Boyi rolled his eyes so hard they nearly disappeared into the back of his head. “You’re only a year younger than Xiao Yanzhi. Don’t get any ideas, kid.”

 

“She’s nineteen!” Lao Yao grinned. “I’m older than her. I’ll take care of it.”

 

“Take care of what? Snake skin?” Jian Boyi scoffed. “Your head’s full of dirty jokes. You’re disqualified.”

 

“Disqualified? That’s ageist!” Lao Yao protested.

 

“Get lost!” Jian Boyi sighed. “If you were even half as reliable as Eldest, I might grudgingly consider it.”

 

“Eldest?” Lao Yao cursed under his breath. “He’s got his fair share of dirty jokes too!”

 

No sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt a light, almost teasing gaze fix on him. Lao Yao coughed awkwardly and quietly returned to his seat. “You’re just shallow, you know,” he muttered.

 

Jian Boyi replied nonchalantly, “Oh, I definitely am.”