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Chapter Text

PROLOGUE

“How much longer?”

Ye Xiu didn’t look away from the monitor, but replied in a dull voice, “I don’t know.” Smoke drifted from the cigarette hanging precariously from between his lips.

Su Mucheng let out a breath and collapsed back onto Ye Xiu’s bed. She stared at the ceiling for several moments before speaking again. “You must have some idea.”

“Well,” he said with a hint of dryness, “I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t last the season.”

A lump formed in Su Mucheng’s throat. She swallowed audibly, an almost tangible pain taking hold of her insides as if a hand were squeezing her guts.

“Ye Xiu…” His name emerged as a strange, choked whisper.

Other than the rapid tapping of the keyboard and the slightly sharper sound of the mouse clicking, silence reigned. Smoke marked his every exhale.

“Ye Xiu.”

“Hmm?”

“What are we going to do?”

Amazingly, Ye Xiu laughed. “You mean, what am I going to do?”

Su Mucheng was sitting up again in a second. “No! I mean, what are we going to do? As in both of us. Together.”

Ye Xiu finally abandoned Glory long enough to swivel around in his chair and look at her. He plucked the cigarette from his mouth and held it between his middle and ring fingers.

Their eyes met for a long, solemn moment.

“Su Mucheng, this doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

She objected to that. Greatly. “If it has to do with you, it has to do with me.”

“That’s not how this works.”

“That’s how it’s always worked, Ye Xiu.”

Ye Xiu shook his head, exasperated and somber. “Not anymore.”

Su Mucheng couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her anger was such that she didn’t even have the words to express it, her thoughts blurring past the forefront of her mind at alarming speeds, her heart pounding wildly and her hands shaking. She felt like she could break down crying at any moment—or maybe erupt into a furious tirade, aimed right at Ye Xiu.

At her speechlessness, Ye Xiu turned back to the monitor, his back facing her once again, cigarette returned to its rightful place. She saw him minimize the game window and scroll through what looked to be the Glory forums.

Su Mucheng let her head drop into her hands and took a few deep breaths. She had to calm down. There was nothing like a good rational argument to persuade Ye Xiu, and she couldn’t allow herself to get too caught up in her emotions.

Then again, if Ye Xiu were being rational, then the situation wouldn’t have devolved to such a degree. Ye Xiu wouldn’t be willing to suffer through what was essentially ostracization, and at the hands of his own team, his own club, no less.

No, none of this made any kind of rational sense. And if Su Mucheng were being honest, most of Ye Xiu’s life decisions had never been rational in the least.

How could she convince him to take the reasonable option for once? How could she help him?

She didn’t think she could. Ye Xiu had always been the one helping her. Such was the nature of their relationship: her, the little sister, the less experienced, and all but helpless; him, the elder brother, the jaded, the powerful (untouchable). Underneath his umbrella, she had been allowed to slowly bloom and grow into herself the way she couldn’t have in the glaring light of the sun.

Ye Xiu had done so much for her. So why, when it mattered most, was Su Mucheng unable to do anything for him?

* * *

This, naturally, couldn’t stand. Su Mucheng wouldn’t let it.

So she did something: She asked for help.

And because she was Su Mucheng, she asked it from the unlikeliest of quarters.

            Dancing Rain: Hi hi! Are you there???

It took a few minutes for a reply to appear, but when it did, her spine immediately straightened.

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Desert Dust: What

Trepidation gripped her heart. After a moment, she typed her reply, steadfast and resolute.

            Dancing Rain: I need to know something

            Dancing Rain: You and Ye Qiu, you’re good friends right?

There was another pause, though it didn’t even last a minute. Not even half a minute.

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Desert Dust: Why

            Dancing Rain: What if I said he needed help?

            Desert Dust: …

And so it begins, Su Mucheng thought, and finally let herself hope. 

CHAPTER ONE

Club Excellent Era was quiet when Ye Xiu woke up, despite it being well past the normal time for activity to commence. He lay in his bed for quite a while, blinking hazily at his dark room. The angle of the sunlight that just barely filtered through the blinds and curtains gave away the late hour.

He tipped his head to one side, pushing the thin blanket away from his neck. His eyes landed on his alarm clock. 11:26.

Ye Xiu sighed and slowly, tiredly, dragged himself out of bed. He slunk into the bathroom he shared with Su Mucheng and went about his business.

When he was dressed in an only somewhat wrinkled shirt and dark blue jeans, he left. There was nobody in the hallways and only a few voices carried through the doors. The rooms where Excellent Dynasty was run were the most boisterous, the research labs close behind.

Summer was always so boring. But at least it was peaceful.

Most of Excellent Era’s team members had long since disappeared to visit family or vacation elsewhere in the country. Ye Xiu didn’t precisely miss them, but he sure hoped they were at least making time to train. He didn’t want the upcoming season to be as disappointing as this last one.

(He strongly suspected it would actually be worse.)

As long as they were out of his hair, though, he could relax. Just a bit.

The kitchens were empty of food, as expected; breakfast had ended long ago. Ye Xiu didn’t want to wait for lunch, so he grabbed a few snacks and a drink from a vending machine and retreated to his room once more.

He was about to boot up the computer when somebody knocked on his door. He recognized the gentle yet unhesitating sound.

“Come in,” he said loudly.

Su Mucheng poked her head inside, a smile on her face. “Good morning! Do you want to go out with me today?”

“Good morning.” Ye Xiu eyed her suspiciously. “Go out where?”

“Anywhere. Have you had breakfast yet?”

Ye Xiu’s gaze drifted to the snacks he’d dropped onto his neatly made bed.

Su Mucheng’s smile became knowing. “Come on. I’ll pay for you, just this once.”

“It’s a little late for breakfast,” Ye Xiu protested, but he was already getting out of his chair.

What could he say? Free food and good company were hard to refuse.

They sneaked out of the building through one of the back doors, Su Mucheng outfitted in a loose, lightweight jacket that was large enough to hide her figure. Huge sunglasses and a colorful cap, under which all her long, lustrous hair had been shoved, completed the look.

Ye Xiu hadn’t bothered changing. This was perfect t-shirt-and-jeans weather.

To his total lack of surprise, there wasn’t a single place still selling breakfast. The two wandered around a bit before entering a coffeehouse and sitting down with some random baked goods and cups of coffee. Neither of them drank coffee often—tea was more their style—but why not switch things up for a day?

Su Mucheng chattered about the latest TV drama she was watching and tried to cajole Ye Xiu into going shopping with her. He resisted for as long as he could, but he knew he’d have to choose between listening to her describe some truly ridiculous plot lines and buying clothes.

He chose the clothes.

“What do you want to buy? Where do you think we should go first?” Su Mucheng asked with frightening eagerness.

Ye Xiu concealed a yawn behind his hand. Su Mucheng had forked over the money for their bill, but they were still reluctant to get up. It was a lazy afternoon. “Aren’t you the one looking for things to wear?”

“I already have plenty of things to wear. You, on the other hand—”

“I have what I need. Men are sensible.”

“Right.” He could tell she was squinting at him from behind her sunglasses even as she pasted on the same warm smile as always. “We’re going to buy you some outfits. Nice ones.”

Ye Xiu sighed and lit up a cigarette. This sounded like it called for nicotine.

In the end, there was no stopping her. They spent three or four hours shopping around, shedding money like cats shed fur. Ye Xiu trailed helplessly behind Su Mucheng every time something in a display window caught her eye and suffered in silence as she picked out clothes for him to try on (and sometimes for herself).

The stores’ employee assumed they were a couple, for whatever reason, and seemed inexplicably amused at Ye Xiu’s predicament. He couldn’t understand why women were so sadistic. Was it a genetic thing?

By the time they headed back to Club Excellent Era, the day was shading into late afternoon and shopping bags were all but dripping off their arms. Ye Xiu wanted to feel scammed, but unfortunately, he’d known exactly what he was getting into.

Strangely, Su Mucheng didn’t leave him to his own devices and instead pulled up one of his spare chairs to watch him play Glory in his room. They munched on some of the snacks he’d procured earlier like they were determined to earn back the calories they’d burned.

“You’re using a Striker account?” Su Mucheng asked with some interest as she lazily nibbled a sunflower seed.

Ye Xiu hummed in confirmation.

“Why this class in particular?”

He shrugged. “I can’t really remember the last time I played as one, which is as good a sign as any that I should practice.”

They carried on in relative silence for a few more minutes before Su Mucheng piped up again. “Are you emulating Han Wenqing’s style?”

“A bit.” Ye Xiu was prepared to say a couple of things about said style, but Su Mucheng suddenly changed the topic.

“How about we go out to dinner?”

Ye Xiu pulled his eyes from the monitor and turned to give her a dull look.

“What?” she demanded.

“That’s what I should be saying,” he said. “You want to go out again? Are you a little kid or something? Where do you get all this energy?”

Su Mucheng smiled pleasantly, popping another sunflower seed into her mouth. “Not all of us are as boring as you. Come on, I’ll pay.”

Ye Xiu squinted at her. “Blatant bribery, and twice in one day. Have you no shame?”

“It’s a really nice restaurant. I even made a reservation in a private room so we can relax and you can smoke. You wouldn’t want that to go to waste, would you?”

This was a losing battle if he ever saw one. Beleaguered, Ye Xiu sighed heavily. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to seduce me.”

Su Mucheng burst out laughing. Her guffaws were such that he even leaned away.

Once she’d calmed herself down, Su Mucheng grinned impishly and told him, “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that from me. Although…”

“Although…?”

She coughed a bit. “Never mind. Here, I’ll help you out.”

Su Mucheng instantly leaped to her feet and started to dig through the bags full of Ye Xiu’s new clothes.

Ye Xiu watched on for a single speechless moment, then slowly swiveled his chair back around. He wasn’t going to think about it.

Su Mucheng had chosen almost every single thing Ye Xiu had purchased that day. She’d kept an eye out for some slightly more eye-catching clothes—nothing too far outside of Ye Xiu’s usual style, but noticeably less casual. Or perhaps "casual chic."

The truth was, tonight’s dinner excursion wasn’t going to be nearly as relaxing as she’d advertised. Su Mucheng, despite Ye Xiu’s comment, did feel shame, and she was a bit sorry for this. But only a bit. More than that, she was apprehensive.

She wasn’t sure that this would go well. Even so, she was determined to try.

Since Ye Xiu was quite busy ignoring her, he didn’t notice Su Mucheng’s preoccupation and continued playing peacefully. His Striker character was all decked out in Orange equipment he’d grabbed from Excellent Dynasty’s storage which allowed him to play quite boldly. It wasn’t nearly as good as Silver equipment, obviously, but it was good enough.

In reality, this account actually belonged to the guild, though it had belonged to him first. He’d bought it a few years ago and, after leveling it up through intermittent casual play, had passed it onto Excellent Dynasty. It was particularly suited to his own style of Striker gameplay due to the skill-point distribution.

For the team captain, even a disgraced one such as himself, it was a small enough matter to temporarily reacquire it. After gathering a party of random players, he’d entered a five-player dungeon and started dishing out attacks. The more he played, the more into it he became, matching his rhythm to the other players’. They were over halfway finished.

This impromptu practice session was going well. As always when he played Glory, Ye Xiu felt his troubles melt away.

Behind him, Su Mucheng said, “All right, come and see what I’ve picked out for you.”

And there went his peace.

Ye Xiu didn’t move. “Ten minutes.”

He felt more than saw her walking up to stand at his shoulder. She was undoubtedly examining his progress.

“Do you really need that long?” she finally asked. “I think you can do it in less.”

He scoffed slightly. “The point isn’t speed.”

“Well, it should be, or else we might be late. Pick up the pace, please.”

Ye Xiu just barely managed to hold back a sigh and did as he was told. The other players struggled to keep up, but Ye Xiu made up for it by switching their strategy of attack to a more efficient one. Naturally, he had to spearhead it in order for it to work, as the average player couldn’t hope to achieve this sort of thing on their own.

As he was in the middle of tossing out commands, Su Mucheng briefly popped into her own room to change clothes and freshen up. Since she wasn’t the star of this particular show, she went with a pair of stylish, ankle-length khaki pants and a simple white blouse that showed off her smooth arms. Elegant, but not earth-shattering.

After that, all she had to do was touch up her makeup and hair, grab her purse, and return to Ye Xiu’s room.

Ye Xiu had already finished the dungeon. The monitor was dark and he was standing in front of the window, peeking outside as if to check the weather.

Su Mucheng plopped down on his bed. “Hurry up, will you?”

Ye Xiu’s gaze met hers, inscrutable. “Somebody is impatient.”

She harrumphed.

He smirked faintly and ambled over to take a look at the outfit she’d chosen. Like her own, it wasn’t earth-shattering, but it certainly captured one’s attention. Dark, high-quality jeans that actually fit him properly and a deep red button-up shirt with black buttons. They’d both looked great on him when he had tried them on, in Su Mucheng’s humble opinion.

Ye Xiu just grabbed the clothes after a moment and headed to the bathroom to change. It wasn’t like he could object to wearing anything he himself had bought, and Su Mucheng was definitely the fashionista between the two of them.

When he came out, Su Mucheng nodded her approval and reached up to rearrange his hair. He ducked a little under her hands, but all she said was, “Stop that, I’m turning this disaster into a happy accident.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means there’s a difference between stylishly messy and plain old messy.” She smiled brightly.

Ye Xiu’s expression was carefully bland.

When she was satisfied, Su Mucheng took a few steps back and gave him another once-over. Ye Xiu patiently awaited her final verdict.

“Acceptable,” she announced. “Quite acceptable. You’re really handsome when you try, you know.”

Ye Xiu rolled his eyes. “Why would I, when I have you to do all the work for me?”

Su Mucheng huffed.

He smirked at her. “Come on, I have to return this account card to the guild. We’ll leave after.”

“If we’re late…” Su Mucheng muttered threateningly as she followed him out of the room.

“So what if we’re a little late? It’s not like they’re going to hand over our reservation to someone else just like that, right?” Ye Xiu couldn’t understand why she was insisting on such perfect punctuality.

Su Mucheng didn’t reply.

Like any other well-established club guild, Excellent Dynasty never slept. Their high-ranking experts often took shifts to watch each other’s backs and keep an eye on in-game affairs. There was always work to be done: a dungeon to run, a boss to kill, a player to recruit. Even though Excellent Dynasty had suffered with Excellent Era’s decline, the guild still had many assets to look after.

Ye Xiu ambled his way into the guild’s main base of operations, a room with about ten computers and cabinets lining one of the walls. Posters, notice boards, and random print-outs covered another wall, while a desk was shoved up against a third.

Behind it sat Excellent Dynasty’s guild leader, Chen Yehui.

Although not all the computers were occupied, the employees present seemed to freeze as soon as Ye Xiu walked in. They watched him with veiled eyes as he walked over to Chen Yehui.

“Thanks for the card, Little Chen,” Ye Xiu said in a friendly manner as he dropped the card on Chen Yehui’s desk. He ignored all the attention without a second thought.

Chen Yehui gazed at him with indefinable coldness for a split second before a distant, polite smile stretched his lips. His words were blatantly insincere, pointedly venomous. “You’re welcome, Captain. Feel free to ask me for anything you might need.”

“Little Chen works hard.” Ye Xiu winked as he turned away. “You’ve made some progress these past few years. I’m relieved to see it. Later!”

Chen Yehui’s jaw visibly clenched, but he couldn’t formulate a reply before Ye Xiu was gone.

Su Mucheng, who had been standing to one side of the doorway and listening in, couldn’t restrain a smile. “That guy… He’s almost as bad as Liu Hao.”

Ye Xiu threw an arm around her shoulders and urged her down the hall. His smile was humorless. “Don’t trouble yourself with them. They want to make a fool out of me, but they’re a hundred years too early.”

Su Mucheng shook her head and let the matter go. Truth be told, she was as used to these power plays as Ye Xiu by this point. All she wanted was for those fools to disappear, but that would probably be asking too much. If he could live with them, so could she.

They left the club through the back yet again. The weather had cooled down a bit as evening rolled in, clouds obscuring the sky. The establishments all around them were lit up and the cars and buses had their headlights switched on. Pedestrians still bustled about, flocking to the brightest stores and restaurants like moths to flames.

Ye Xiu absently brought a cigarette to his lips.

Su Mucheng hailed a cab in record time, undoubtedly attracting the guileless cab driver with her ridiculously good looks. Once they were seated inside, she rattled off the name of a restaurant Ye Xiu was unfamiliar with.

The drive was uneventful. Su Mucheng made polite conversation with the driver while Ye Xiu stared out the cracked-open window, elbow propped against the door and chin in hand. This part of Hangzhou was fairly lively in the evenings, and watching people stream past them on the sidewalks, he felt a strange sense of misplacement, as if he were an anomaly in this grand picture.

Su Mucheng eventually nudged him, snapping him out of his reverie. “We’ve almost arrived. Driver, you don’t have to let us off right at the entrance. Over there is fine.”

The cab driver obliged her and stopped where she indicated. “Have a good night, miss. Sir,” he added belatedly.

Ye Xiu smiled and nodded. He climbed out of the cab first, holding the door open for Su Mucheng. As the cab drove off, they walked briskly toward their destination.

The restaurant was called, rather straightforwardly, The Empress. It was written in Roman letters over the top of the building with the Chinese characters underneath. All of the letters and characters were illuminated by soft red light, nearly pink, which complemented their gold coloring rather well.

Customers had the option to sit outdoors on a raised wooden platform. The wood was dark and glossy while the tables were black and covered in off-white tablecloths. Just about all of them were occupied by people who looked to be enjoying large, delicious meals. Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng had to walk through the middle of them to get inside the building proper, which meant they were exposed to some truly tantalizing smells.

“Everything looks fantastic,” Su Mucheng murmured to him.

Ye Xiu nodded. He had never been one to eat much, but damn if he couldn’t indulge now and then.

The inside of The Empress was much like the outside: the same flooring, the same tables, and similarly crowded. There was a lot of gold and red featured in their color scheme, but though the decoration was lofty and a bit luxurious, it wasn’t especially presumptuous. Classy yet tasteful. With a name like The Empress, Ye Xiu had kind of been expecting something more over the top.

Maybe he should reconsider the merits of letting Su Mucheng choose their dinner destinations. He would never have picked this place in a million years. The thought of what the bill might be made his heart ache.

After Su Mucheng had a chat with one of the managers, they were led down a short, wide hallway and right to a door. The manager graciously held it open for them, his somewhat starstruck gaze stuck on Su Mucheng.

Su Mucheng smiled prettily and stepped past him. Ye Xiu was close at her heels, but the moment he saw someone waiting inside, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Han Wenqing stood up from where he sat at the table, expression cold as ever. “You’re finally here. Su Mucheng…Ye Qiu. It’s been a while.”

Chapter Text

Ye Xiu stared at his long-time rival for exactly four seconds.

What the fuck was Han Wenqing doing here?

Even as his mind raced, he put one foot in front of the other until he was in front of Han Wenqing. A smile automatically found its way onto his face, calibrated to inflict maximum damage.

“Hey, Old Han. It hasn’t been that long.” He held out a hand.

Han Wenqing’s dark gray eyes met his, fiercely direct. He grabbed Ye Xiu’s hand and abruptly pulled him forward into a manly half-hug.

Ye Xiu stumbled forward, his shoulder smacking against Han Wenqing’s. Quite stumped, he remained frozen for a moment before meekly patting the back of his shoulder. “Wow, you must have really missed me these past few months. I’m touched.”

Han Wenqing released him abruptly and took a step back. He assessed Ye Xiu with baffling intensity, then moved back to his seat and sat down. “Help yourselves.”

Ye Xiu stuffed his hand back in his pocket and took a seat as well. Before him was the usual tableware as well as a pitcher of iced water, placed at the center of the table, and a folded cloth napkin; bowls of peanuts and seeds were apparently their free appetizers. The table itself was round and fairly large. He was across from Han Wenqing while Su Mucheng situated herself beside them—between them? It was a bit ambiguous. And uncomfortable. In fact, this entire setup was profoundly disturbing.

Even as Ye Xiu picked up the menu in front of him, he gave Su Mucheng a look over the top of it, which she studiously ignored.

The manager cleared his throat. “Fresh tea will be served soon. Now that everyone is here, would you like to peruse the menu? I will happily assist you.”

“We’ll decide. Return in ten minutes or so,” Han Wenqing ordered. “Thank you.”

Su Mucheng had definitely planned this, but Ye Xiu was completely lost as to why. Had she and Han Wenqing decided to start dating while he wasn’t paying attention? Were they here to ask for his blessing or some nonsense like that?

The manager’s face twitched in dismay and he bowed his head toward Han Wenqing, backing out of the room with haste. “Very well, sir. Sirs, madam, please feel free to call for service at any time.”

With that, they were left alone.

Eager to indulge in mischief, Ye Xiu said, “You’ve really gone the extra mile to win Mucheng’s heart, Old Han, but can I just say that it would have been a lot more efficient to buy her a designer purse? She’d sell her soul for those things.”

Su Mucheng set down the glass of water she had just poured with a clatter. “Ye…Ye Qiu!” Mortification colored her cheeks a deep pink.

Han Wenqing glared at him from across the table. “Quit your babbling. I’m not here for her.”

Ye Xiu’s eyebrow arched. He smiled languidly and lowered the menu, tapping his chin with the index finger of his other hand. “Then, you’re here for me,” he ventured.

Han Wenqing nodded sharply.

Ye Xiu immediately discarded about a dozen random scenarios out of the many his mind had (in paranoia-induced over-imagination) supplied.

Time to probe a bit more. Ye Xiu’s fingers delicately traced the laminated edges of the menu.

“Hmm. Well, in that case, it would have been more efficient to send me a message over QQ. This little plot you two cooked up is too much. Luring me to a restaurant just to meet Old Han? Really?” He gave Su Mucheng another look, the smile on his face as pure as fresh snow. “You trying to trick your big bro into a date, Mucheng? Do you find my love life that tragic?”

“You don’t have a love life,” Su Mucheng said gloomily as she picked her glass back up. “And this has nothing to do with romance, so stop joking around. Captain Han is here to talk business.”

Ye Xiu flicked his eyes to Han Wenqing. “Business? What business do you have with me?”

Han Wenqing leaned back in his chair. He hadn’t once allowed his gaze to wander from Ye Xiu’s since they’d sat.

Although he looked composed on the outside—or as composed as he ever got—Han Wenqing was just as apprehensive as Su Mucheng. He’d had a fair amount of confidence when he’d proposed this idea and hadn’t wavered even a fraction as he’d mulled it over on his way to Hangzhou. However, now that it was unfolding in front of him…

The man everyone hailed as Great God Ye Qiu honestly didn’t seem any different from his own version of normal. Tired, yes, but that was as expected. Vaguely amused, maybe, judging by the upward tilt at the corners of his lips. His eyes, closer to gray than gold in the muted lighting, were piercing, searching. To those who knew him well, it was obvious that his brain hadn’t once slowed down since he’d walked into the room.

Han Wenqing couldn’t imagine what kinds of possibilities he was taking into account, but he knew for sure that none of them approached the truth.

“‘Business’ probably isn’t the right word for it,” Han Wenqing said. “Su Mucheng told me about your situation.”

Ye Qiu’s expression didn’t falter, but his eyes narrowed a fraction.

“Did she?” he said at last, flicking a glance at her. Su Mucheng was apparently doing her level best to pretend she was invisible, innocence plastered all over her face. “And what situation is that?”

Now he was just playing dumb. Han Wenqing crossed his arms and stared.

“All right.” Ye Qiu gazed down at his menu again, scanning the pages leisurely. Han Wenqing couldn’t help but study the elegant, pale hands that held it. “What of it?”

“Have you considered your options?” Han Wenqing asked, refocusing.

“I’ll probably go with retirement.”

At that, Su Mucheng looked up. She was visibly concerned. Han Wenqing felt something inside of him stutter and nearly grind to a halt before his temper kicked in.

“Are you insane?” he demanded coldly. “You’re twenty-five.”

Ye Qiu shrugged casually, a small smile alighting on his face. It wasn’t happy or even bitter. It was just…a smile, meant to placate and distract. Disguise.

The worst part was that it worked. Han Wenqing couldn’t read him. He had no idea what he was thinking.

“You could insist on a transfer,” he said.

“Would they agree to that? They’re determined to drive me out and neutralize the threat I present.”

“And you can’t afford to terminate your own contract, either.” It wasn’t a question. Su Mucheng had already outlined the basics for him. Han Wenqing knew Ye Qiu didn’t have the funds to pay his way out.

Ye Qiu nodded, his gaze still lowered.

“So you intend to waste a year of your career doing…what? And then you’re going to join another team?”

Ye Qiu shifted in his seat. “I’ll rest for a year. I think I deserve that, no? As for joining another team…” An unreadable emotion flashed across his face. “I can’t leave Mucheng behind.”

Su Mucheng slumped a bit, her eyes sad. Han Wenqing glanced between them.

“What’s your plan, then?” By now, frustration had made his usual forceful tone even harsher, turning his words sharp.

“Right now? Endure.”

Absurdly enough, out of the three people present, the calmest was the one whose future and livelihood were at stake. This calm wasn’t effected, either. Ye Xiu knew the outlook was far from ideal, but it wasn’t worth panicking over. He had always been good at rolling with the punches. True, this was more of a beating than a bruise, but he could take it.

Ye Xiu knew Han Wenqing would never approve of shrugging this off. No matter how bull-headed he was on the battlefield, Han Wenqing was conscientious in all other matters. Maybe not cautious, exactly, but certainly not careless like Ye Xiu. According to reason, he should be condemning Ye Xiu right about now. He should disdain him, look down on him.

Ye Xiu was prepared for this. He wasn’t prepared for…concern and outrage on his behalf. Frankly, he wasn’t prepared for this conversation as a whole.

“Don’t worry about me, Old Han,” he said in a somewhat awkward attempt at reassurance. What could he say? Comforting his rival was a novel experience. “I’ve been in worse situations. I won’t just vanish, either. I’ll definitely make a comeback.”

This he could promise. Ye Xiu could accept a lot of things, but he’d never allow himself to fade quietly into obscurity. He had tasted glory before and he was going to taste it again, one way or another. If that meant retreating, starting all over, creating a whole new path to the top, then so be it.

He met Han Wenqing’s stare straight-on, letting him see the sincerity of his promise.

(Ye Xiu wouldn’t admit it, but this promise was for himself as well. It was for a friend from long ago, unseen and unknown. It was for Su Mucheng, who he couldn’t bear to disappoint.

This dream was one he had been building for years. Su Muqiu had helped him lay down the foundation, Su Mucheng had given him the strength to keep going in the wake of tragedy, but it belonged to Ye Xiu now. It was one of the few things he had to remember his best friend by, and it would not be destroyed so easily or so soon.)

Han Wenqing returned his stare steadily, the skin of his brow creased, lips compressed, jaw tightened.

“I’m going to help you,” he finally said, in a manner that brooked no argument.

Ye Xiu’s eyebrows rose fractionally.

“You’re going to let me,” Han Wenqing continued. “And we are going to resolve this.”

“This is my problem.” Ye Xiu regarded both Han Wenqing and Su Mucheng with as much seriousness as he could muster. “Neither of you need to involve yourselves. Honestly, Old Han, I still don’t understand what you’re doing here. Do you want to go glare Excellent Era into submission? I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until everyone returns from vacation.”

“How much would it take to terminate your contract?”

“What?”

“How much?” Han Wenqing demanded again.

Ye Xiu stared at him speechlessly for uncountable seconds. “Old Han…”

“Never mind,” Han Wenqing said dismissively, turning his eyes to the table in a way that might have been casual if not for his invariably stubborn, scowling expression. “I’ll just give you a couple million.”

Ye Xiu nearly dropped his menu.

Su Mucheng was staring at Han Wenqing with wide eyes. “You—what?”

Han Wenqing glanced at her. “My salary is public knowledge. We talked about this.”

“Fuck me,” Ye Xiu said, very deliberately setting the menu on the table. “You two talked about this?”

“Did you really think I was just going to go along with—with this bullshit?” Su Mucheng snapped at him.

Ye Xiu blinked. If he hadn’t already reached his maximum capacity for shock and surprise, he would have been blown away.

Han Wenqing also regarded Su Mucheng with faint alarm. But then his face reverted back to its natural state of perpetually cold and low-key pissed off. He leaned forward, staring severely at Ye Xiu and resting his arms on the table.

Ye Xiu felt inexplicably helpless. He couldn’t manage a single word.

“You won’t owe me anything,” Han Wenqing said clearly. “I know how you’ve been wasting your money. Think of this as…recompense.”

Ye Xiu finally remembered he could talk. “Recompense? I’ve never lent you a single yuan.”

“Fine, then I’m paying it forward, or whatever it’s called.”

“I don’t think that’s how paying it forward works.”

“I don’t care. Take my money.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Take it.”

“I refuse.”

“Ye Qiu…” Han Wenqing said threateningly.

“Yes?” Ye Xiu tilted his head.

Han Wenqing gritted his teeth, but still managed to say, “Fucking take my money.”

Su Mucheng reached out and gripped Ye Xiu’s arm, drawing his attention. She gazed at him earnestly. “Why are you arguing? Just take his money.”

Ye Xiu was absolutely aghast. “I can’t just take his money. Why is that so difficult to understand?”

“This is a really bad time to develop a sense of shame,” Su Mucheng said with no small amount of exasperation.

“It’s not about shame.” Ye Xiu turned to Han Wenqing. “It’s about taking responsibility. I let things get this far—”

Su Mucheng smacked both hands against the table, half-rising. Her chair made an unpleasant sound as it slid back slightly. “Don’t you dare imply this is your doing! We both know it’s that greedy, immoral—”

“Mucheng—”

“Both of you shut up,” Han Wenqing growled.

They shut up. Su Mucheng slowly sank back down into her seat, her expression mutinous. Ye Xiu barely resisted the urge to smoke.

Silence reigned.

Han Wenqing let loose a harsh breath and crossed his arms, tilting his head to glare at the ceiling. “You’re making this harder than it has to be.”

“I disagree,” Ye Xiu said mildly. “You’re just being unreasonable.”

“Oh?” This single word was cold enough to put Antarctica to shame. “I’m offering my help.”

“Your offer is appreciated, but I’m turning it down.”

“That’s not an option.”

“Oh?” Ye Xiu returned with equal iciness. “Am I suddenly not allowed to make my own decisions? Fuck off, Han Wenqing.”

“Hey…” Su Mucheng broke in, going from angry to hesitant and worried. “Don’t get mad. He really is just trying to help. I’d pay to terminate your contract myself, but I knew you’d never accept that, so…”

“So you thought I’d accept it if Han Wenqing paid instead?”

“I won’t miss the money,” Han Wenqing said, “and my relationship with you is different. We thought you’d at least consider it.”

“Well, I’ve considered it.” Ye Xiu’s voice was flat. “My answer is no. Thank you, but no. Whatever happens, I’ll deal with it.”

“Why can’t you just—” Su Mucheng started hotly, her eyes suspiciously wet, but a knock on the door interrupted her.

All three of them paused and, as one, suddenly seemed to remember where they were.

The door opened and a couple of waiters walked in. They both carried platters, one with teacups and a pot, the other with a number of bowls.

The teacups were placed in front of the three of them while the teapot occupied the center of the table, between the bowls. The peanuts and seeds were removed in favor of pickled vegetables and cuts of meat.

The waiter that wasn’t organizing the dishes took their orders. Ye Xiu just read something random off the menu, uncaring of how expensive it might be. He wasn’t particularly hungry anymore, but it would be impolite to simply watch his companions eat, not to mention that he’d never pass up an opportunity for free food.

They picked at the appetizers mutely, almost as if some kind of treaty had taken effect as soon as food was introduced. Han Wenqing used the momentary peace to reassess his strategy.

Of course he had expected a fight, so while he was…irritated, he wasn’t discouraged. He had to approach this from some other angle. The problem was, no matter how clever he tried to be, Ye Qiu could outsmart him any day of the week.

Across from him, Ye Qiu sipped his tea, eyes downcast and expression blank. Su Mucheng stared into space as she chewed mechanically. She looked far away, the shallow and affable facade gone. Han Wenqing had never seen her stripped so bare, had never even considered overmuch what she was like past that first superficial layer, and couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking about.

In a way, she and Ye Qiu were a lot alike. They were too good at concealing things they didn’t want others to know. Frankly, he was astounded Su Mucheng had come to him with this at all.

“Ye Qiu.”

Pale eyes rose to his, as impenetrable as a moonless sky.

“Explain to me why you’re objecting to this so strongly.”

Ye Qiu gently replaced his teacup. “Haven’t I been clear enough?”

“No. I want to know why, exactly,” he stressed, “this is such an affront to you.”

“Like I said, it’s about taking responsibility,” Ye Qiu replied with utmost serenity. “I can imagine what Mucheng’s told you, but in the end, none of this is unexpected. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve been refusing public appearances since the start of my career, turned down countless advertisement deals and sponsorship offers, and now the team is falling apart. Last season was barely passable. I don’t look forward to improvements in the next.” He shrugged one shoulder. “As the captain, I’m naturally to blame. The management will have more than enough justification to get rid of me and they’ll do so in the most thorough way possible. A sad, moving announcement of my retirement, a few sympathetic comments and apologies to the fans, and they’ll wash their hands of me. It’ll be like removing a thorn in their side.”

The way he spoke, it was as if it didn’t have anything to do with him at all. Like he was an idle observer and not the victim. It was infuriating and saddening in equal measures.

Han Wenqing steepled his fingers beneath his chin. “You’re not willing to make concessions for any sponsors?”

“No,” Ye Qiu said decisively.

“Why not?”

“It’s complicated. I have my reasons.”

Han Wenqing gave up that line of questioning. Ye Qiu hadn’t budged on this in all the years since the Alliance began. “And there’s nothing you can offer the club to secure your position?”

“Even if there was, they wouldn’t accept it. They’ve been plotting this for years and they’re on the verge of success. How can they turn back now?” His voice was bitter.

“They’ve basically ruined their own records in an effort to drive you out, haven’t they? What if you reversed the situation?”

“How would I? If the others don’t get their act together, nothing will change. My authority is meaningless to them; the management has made it perfectly transparent that they don’t want me around. Why would the team respect me? Because I’m strong? If they wait for me to single-handedly deliver Excellent Era to another championship, they’ll be waiting forever. No matter how skilled I am, I can’t do it alone. My performance, if examined on its own, is perfectly fine, but that obviously hasn’t impressed them, has it?”

Ye Qiu shook his head, that humorless smile Han Wenqing was growing to despise spreading across his face. “In the end, I’m just a problem to be solved, not anyone of value—and not worth keeping.”

“You’ve won three championships in a row,” Su Mucheng protested. “Nobody else can say the same. You’re the strongest Battle Mage in the Alliance; you earned One Autumn Leaf the title of Battle God. You’re one of the Four Master Tacticians. You’re the Glory Textbook. How can you be without value?!”

“Because I don’t bring in money,” Ye Qiu said bluntly, “and now I don’t even bring in wins. You know this already, so why do I have to say it over and over again?” He looked at Han Wenqing. “You understand, don’t you?”

Han Wenqing nodded, not bothering to hide the stiffness of the gesture, the displeasure that rained down on him like a storm.

“Well, that’s that.” Ye Qiu sighed tiredly and poured himself more tea. “I don’t have that much time left, that’s true, but I’ll get by. It’s not the end of the world.”

“Just the end of an era?” Han Wenqing asked a little sarcastically.

Surprisingly, this earned a laugh from Ye Qiu. For a moment, his eyes lit up. “Oh, my era ended a while back; I think you’re as aware of this as I am. But that’s fine. A new one will begin.”

“So you do have a plan,” Han Wenqing observed.

“Not in so many words,” Ye Qiu said, still smiling—a real smile this time, not that empty one. “You know me, though: I always have something up my sleeve.”

Su Mucheng had perked up and was staring at Ye Qiu with silent wonder. Ye Qiu noticed and turned that smile on her. His too-still features became soft and pliant, a mask slipped off ever so slightly to reveal the flesh beneath.

“Mucheng,” he said, gentle and kind, “you know there’s too much I can’t leave behind. No matter what, I won’t let go of our dreams. There’s still a lot I can do.”

“I… You…” Su Mucheng somehow looked both blindingly joyous and inconsolably sad for just a moment. Then her expression crumpled and she burst into tears.

Han Wenqing stared at her with complete and utter disbelief. His head snapped toward Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu seemed to be at a loss. His hand hovered over his teacup for a split second before he got up from his chair and knelt down beside Su Mucheng.

Pulling her hands from her face, he said, “Mucheng…Mucheng, what’s this? C’mon, why are you crying? I’m not sad, so why are you? Everything is okay. Everything is going to be fine.”

“What…what would he think… I-I can’t even—” She let out a sob and buried her face in her hands again, nothing short of miserable.

Han Wenqing began to feel very awkward. He shouldn’t be watching this, should he? This was a private moment, wasn’t it? That was what it seemed like.

Ye Qiu appeared to have temporarily forgotten his existence. “Mucheng, what are you talking about?” His fingers wrapped around her wrists, stroking the skin there. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s—what’s wrong?” she choked out, dropping her hands slightly so her amber eyes, red-rimmed and shining, were visible. “You’re going to be alone, and I—can’t do—anything. Why do you have to—to take on e-everything by yourself? Back then, I wanted…to s-support you, the way you supported me, and now—” Su Mucheng covered her mouth to muffle her gasps.

“Mucheng…” Ye Qiu tried helplessly to pull her forward, perhaps to embrace her, but she remained stiff and unyielding. Her eyes were tightly shut.

“Gege,” she whispered roughly, “just…for once…don’t shoulder this burden on your own. If you won’t let me help you, let someone. Please. Please.”

Han Wenqing studied Ye Qiu’s face, taking in the growing despair, the devastation. He couldn’t imagine there was a more debilitating blow for Ye Qiu than this, and it had come from Su Mucheng, likely the only one capable of delivering it.

He watched, still and silent, as Ye Qiu ducked his head and rested it against Su Mucheng’s thigh. He figured there wasn’t going to be a better chance than this.

“To be honest,” Han Wenqing mused aloud, “I actually don’t understand. I can grasp the politics, the power struggle, the motivation. But I asked you why it was so unthinkable for you to accept my help and you didn’t give me a clear answer. In the end, I think the only answer…is that you’re just too self-sacrificing.”

Ye Qiu slowly lifted his head.

“Wait. No. That makes you seem a lot nobler than you really are. You’re not sacrificing yourself: you’re punishing yourself.”

Ye Qiu met his eyes, naked and vulnerable and, suddenly, incredibly, no longer untouchable.

And Su Mucheng… Su Mucheng listened quietly to this one-sided exchange, her face blotchy and damp. She didn’t agree with Han Wenqing, but she didn’t defend Ye Qiu, either.

Han Wenqing knew victory when he saw it.

“You don’t have to prove anything to Excellent Era. I came here because I needed to know you wouldn’t back down no matter what. And I know that you won’t. You’re willing to lose the battle, but not the war, am I right?”

Ye Qiu’s lips parted. No words came from him, but he nodded.

Han Wenqing clenched his fists. “But if you’re going to let them get away with this, if you’re just going to let them hurt you even when you have a way out—then you’re not only stupid, you’re a fucking coward.”

The dullness faded from his gaze, drained away with every syllable Han Wenqing spoke. Ye Qiu’s eyes turned to liquid gold, molten and alive and livid.

“No more of these half-measures,” Han Wenqing continued, a matching fury rising within him. “No more enduring. Watching you pretend to be meek is downright revolting. Frankly, Ye Qiu, if you’re going to win the war, then win it.”

* * *

“The Silver weapon is unique,” Ye Xiu said. “It’s what makes the unspecialized viable. When the new server opens in December, I’ll sweep as many dungeons and wild bosses as possible for materials.”

“You’re going to stir up a storm,” Han Wenqing pointed out, examining the plates of fruit before them.

Su Mucheng picked out a slice of orange. She bit into it with a sniffle, then said, “Will you have time?”

“I’ll make time.”

“All-nighters? You’re just giving them an excuse to kick you out early, aren’t you.” Han Wenqing’s tone and expression were so precisely flat it couldn’t be anything but intentional.

“It’s going to happen no matter what I do,” Ye Xiu said, far too exhausted to put up an argument. “At this late hour, what does it matter?”

Han Wenqing snorted softly and asked a question of his own: “What will you do once you’ve leveled and this weapon is complete?”

“I’ll figure it out when I get there.”

“You can join a team,” Su Mucheng offered, her voice still scratchy but no less determined. “I’ll find a way to follow you. There have to be openings somewhere.”

“Only the powerhouses could afford you and Dancing Rain. They’re all pretty solid,” said Ye Xiu, turning his teacup this way and that, watching the light play off the surface.

“There’s Hundred Blossoms.”

Ye Xiu glanced at her. “They’d rather look for a better player for their ace character than bring in new people and destabilize the team even more. At this point in time, Hundred Blossoms is the least likely to take chances.” He paused, then conceded, “Well, maybe they’d be willing to take a chance on me or on you, but both of us? Not so much.”

“Tiny Herb is in a good position. They’d probably be willing to take you,” Han Wenqing said.

Ye Xiu pursed his lips. “It’s possible. Yet, would they be willing to mess with their current arrangement? They’ve got two championships already. Why fix what isn’t broken?”

They threw ideas back and forth.

“Blue Rain?”

“They’re picky about their selection. Also, Huang Shaotian.”

“Wind Howl?”

“Wind Howl doesn’t need more old men.”

“Misty Rain could work.”

“I can’t deal with both Mucheng and Chu Yunxiu.”

“Samsara is ambitious.”

Ye Xiu hesitated. “Samsara…and Cloud Piercer. Maybe if I had One Autumn Leaf, that would work out better, but as things are, I have my doubts. Also, that Zhou Zekai is just too…”

“Yes, I know.” Han Wenqing grimaced a bit.

Ye Xiu said nothing more. Even when he was “pretending to be meek,” as Han Wenqing had so wonderfully put it, Ye Xiu knew his own personality. He was all too willing to take control as soon as the need arose, and often when it didn’t. Put together with somebody as quiet and submissive as Zhou Zekai, Ye Xiu would undoubtedly become too domineering, supplanting the captain’s authority. He could avoid this by correcting his habits and suppressing his instincts, but that sounded like a lot of work just to fit into a team.

Truthfully, he didn’t need to be captain of any team. Ye Xiu had molded himself into a leader, a role he’d always had the potential for, but his true talent was his adaptability. He was flexible enough to work with anyone competent and willing to put up with him: a tall order, certainly, but not unrealistic.

What mattered to him at the end of the day was mutual success. It wasn’t like he had a choice. He couldn’t exactly compete on his own, could he?

At the same time, he’d promised Su Mucheng he wasn’t going to make things harder on himself than they had to be. In this case, Ye Xiu was more than willing to take the easy route, regardless of Su Mucheng’s intervention. All he needed was a decent fit. It didn’t have to be perfect, it just had to be workable. It had to be worth it. And, preferably, not too damn difficult.

“Honestly,” Ye Xiu said, playing with the pack of cigarettes in his pocket, “I’m on the verge of admitting defeat and joining Tyranny. Don’t you think you and I would be a match made in heaven, Old Han?” He laughed.

Han Wenqing rolled his shoulders. “It’s good you brought that up.”

Ye Xiu blinked as he returned to reality. He eyed Han Wenqing curiously and was suddenly beset by a hair-raising sense of foreboding.

“I’d be willing to talk to the boss,” Han Wenqing said, “and see if I can get both of you a place in Tyranny.”

Su Mucheng choked on her tea.

“That’s a funny joke,” Ye Xiu said, rapidly concealing his alarm with amusement. The fingers of the hand not in his pocket tapped a brief rhythm on the table before he forced himself to stop. “I didn’t realize you were capable of it.”

“You know I’m not joking. Think about it,” Han Wenqing urged, gray eyes narrowed. “We know each other well. Zhang Xinjie knows you well. The club has money to spend and the resources needed to finish off that Silver weapon of yours. It could work out.”

“That’s… This—no. No, it most definitely won’t work out.” Ye Xiu turned to Su Mucheng, his hands folding together in his lap so Han Wenqing couldn’t see how tightly his fingers clenched. “Don’t tell me you talked to Old Han about joining Tyranny, too.”

“I didn’t,” Su Mucheng said, eyes wide. “It was just about the money. But—” She furrowed her brow in Han Wenqing’s direction. “Were you considering this then?”

“It crossed my mind,” Han Wenqing said evenly. He had apparently given up on eating or drinking anymore and now patiently watched them.

“Well, you can uncross it from your mind,” Ye Xiu said.

“What do you object to this time?”

Ye Xiu shook his head incredulously. “What if our situations were reversed? Would you just join Excellent Era?”

“If this is about our reputations—” Han Wenqing began.

“I really don’t care about my reputation,” Ye Xiu broke in. “But yours? Tyranny’s? How would you sell it to the fans? How would you sell it to the boss? Fuck, you don’t even need me with Zhang Xinjie there.”

Su Mucheng chose this moment to speak up. “Zhang Xinjie has a passive role as a Cleric. You’re an attacker, you have a different perspective. And…I don’t think it’d be so bad. I mean, you won’t have One Autumn Leaf.”

“And without One Autumn Leaf,” Han Wenqing added, “it might not be such a shock that we’re on the same side.”

“It might not be such a shock?” Ye Xiu muttered, peering down into his teacup. “How the fuck is it not a shock? I’m shocked. How could you think this is a good idea?”

“Whatever the fans think, we’d deal with it,” Han Wenqing said decisively. The lines of his face were stony and austere, like he was about to charge into battle and had no intention of taking prisoners.

“You should think about it.” Su Mucheng leaned forward, her usually soft, honey-colored eyes gone fire-bright. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea, but it’s not a bad one.”

“I need a fucking smoke,” Ye Xiu growled, digging around in his pocket. He deftly pulled out a cigarette and lit it up with the lighter he hadn’t even realized he held.

Han Wenqing looked annoyed, almost offended, but didn’t deny him his small earthly comforts. Su Mucheng grinned helplessly.

They didn’t say anything for a while, instead watching as a thin tendril of smoke rose from the end of the cigarette in Ye Xiu’s mouth. Ye Xiu felt no more settled for it, but he could at least pretend he wasn’t quite so deep in the twilight zone anymore. Earthly comforts indeed. Thank fuck for nicotine.

“We could transfer you in this summer, maybe,” Han Wenqing commented.

Ye Xiu raised his hand wearily. “No. No, I need to think about this. And Mucheng… I’m not doing this to her, all right? Transferring both of us at the same time would cost too much and Excellent Era would draw out the negotiations until the transfer window closed anyway. It’s not gonna happen.”

Han Wenqing stared him down. “Then what,” he said, “do you want to do?”

“I’m going to see this through to the end,” Ye Xiu said, breathing out smoke. “My time is running out, but it’s not gone yet.”

“At least you won’t have to retire,” Su Mucheng muttered.

“At least,” Ye Xiu repeated humorlessly.

Su Mucheng kicked him under the table.

Ye Xiu’s eyebrow twitched, but he regarded Han Wenqing solemnly anyway. “Are you sure you wanna go through with this? It’s a lot of money, and I can’t promise I’ll be able to pay you back. If you expect me to join Tyranny—”

“I don’t need you to pay me back or to join Tyranny,” Han Wenqing interrupted, voice dark.

“Okay, okay, fine.” Ye Xiu exhaled softly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, you idiot.”

* * *

“Did I do the right thing?” Su Mucheng quietly asked two hours later. They were lying on Ye Xiu’s bed—well, he was, anyway, his head pillowed in her lap as she stared at her phone’s screen and failed to register a single thing she saw.

Ye Xiu patted her leg absently, but didn’t reply. Instead, he asked a question of his own: “Why Han Wenqing?”

Su Mucheng blinked once, then let one of her hands rest on Ye Xiu’s hair. She smirked down at him.

“Because he cares,” was all she said.

Ye Xiu gazed fixedly at the ceiling. It had never really occurred to him that somebody other than Su Mucheng might care that much. Even with the evidence before him, it was hard to believe. But…

“I guess so.”

Maybe he’d come to believe it.

Chapter Text

When Sun Xiang arrived, Su Mucheng didn’t feel ready.

In the previous months, she’d come to terms with the fact that Ye Xiu would be leaving. She’d reassured herself over and over that everything would turn out fine. Ye Xiu himself didn’t say much about it, preferring to avoid the topic in favor of more practical matters—he always had been that kind of person. But he nonetheless found time to spend with her, and every minute in each other’s company seemed like a silent promise: We’re still together no matter what.

Maybe she should have been ready by now. All she felt, however, was bitter. The only reason she could sleep comfortably at night was that she knew the club couldn’t corner Ye Xiu anymore.

He had an ace up his sleeve, after all.

Underneath all the bitterness, Su Mucheng was also tired. Season 8, so far, was an unmitigated disaster. She hadn’t expected any less, but at the same time, it shocked her as much as it shocked Excellent Era’s die-hard fans, the media, even the other clubs and teams. Whether their ignorance of what was going on behind the scenes was a blessing or a curse, she didn’t know. Sometimes she wished she could erase it from her mind, unsee the injustice unfolding right before her eyes.

The club’s treatment of Ye Xiu only grew worse and worse. Every passing day, there was a new humiliation, another stab of disrespect, another sign of their disregard. The team didn’t care for him; Liu Hao was openly mocking, his smugness unfailingly ramping up Su Mucheng’s desire to push him out the training room’s window. No matter what he or the other assholes following his lead did, the management overlooked it.

At first, she’d tried to smooth things over here and there; she had good relations with just about everyone, after all. But when it came to the people who really mattered, Su Mucheng was more ornamental than anything. They didn’t take her seriously and turned her away with pampering promises, laughing off her subtle comments and blatant complaints alike.

Cui Li, in particular… That asshole loved to play the oblivious bystander. Su Mucheng had a list and his name was near the top, right under Tao Xuan’s.

As for the lower echelons, they didn’t have much of a clue as to the nature of this farce. If Ye Xiu seemed more distant recently, it barely made a difference: he’d always been distant. How many people here really knew him? Only the ones he was required to interact with, plus a few special cases like Qiu Fei.

Speaking of, what the hell was going to happen to him? The club had really done him dirty in their efforts to throw out Ye Xiu. Now that Sun Xiang was transferring in, what hope did a rookie trainee like Qiu Fei have of inheriting One Autumn Leaf?

Not only had they done their best to devastate Ye Xiu, they completely ignored the innocents surrounding him.

Su Mucheng was furious at this whole affair. Going to Han Wenqing had been the right choice, she firmly believed that, but the more she thought about why it’d been necessary, the more unforgivable Excellent Era became. Even when she and Ye Xiu were long gone, she wouldn’t forget what had happened here. Even if everything really did turn out fine, she still wouldn’t let them off easy.

That was a goddamn promise.

In her agitation, Su Mucheng didn’t knock on Ye Xiu’s door. She pulled a key seemingly from thin air and stuck it into the lock, turning the knob.

There was no one inside. Su Mucheng walked in to have a better look, but Ye Xiu was nowhere to be found. He wasn’t in the bathroom, either, or she would have heard him rummaging around from her room on the other side of it.

With a sigh, she left, locking the door behind her again. She had a backpack slung over her shoulder, one that she’d prepared the second they heard about Sun Xiang. Figured that Ye Xiu would make her lug it around as she scrambled to find him.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to search for very long. There was a limited number of places where he might be, and if she narrowed it down to the ones that had computers, there were even less. Walking down one of the main corridors, she saw a blue glow seeping out from under the door of a small practice room.

Su Mucheng opened it without fanfare. The door banged against the wall ruthlessly.

Perhaps she had used a little too much force.

Ye Xiu didn’t look away from the monitor, though his fingers had frozen over the keyboard. Smoke rose from the cigarette in his mouth; the entire room reeked of it.

It was weird, but she’d miss this as much as anything else.

“He’s here?” he asked simply.

Su Mucheng sucked in a fortifying breath. “He is.”

“Then let’s go!” The cigarette, already on the verge of burning out, was smoothly extinguished. Ye Xiu got his account card and pulled on the jacket he’d spread over the back of his chair. Su Mucheng moved aside to let him through the doorway and fell into step slightly behind him.

At the end of this particular corridor was one of Excellent Era’s main conference rooms. This room mostly served the team, and another one on the floor below served for staff meetings. They were more or less the same size, but this conference room was outfitted with all kinds of digital displays and even housed the trophies and awards Excellent Era accumulated over the years.

A number of people were inside, most of them wearing the glaringly red Excellent Era team jackets. They congregated around a figure sitting on the left side of the massive table, chatting and laughing like old friends.

Sun Xiang was long and lean with somewhat spindly limbs, as if he hadn’t quite finished growing into himself yet. His smile was a blaze of white, his hair an eye-catching shade of blond. His eyes flicked to her and Ye Xiu when they entered, but by the time the door had swung shut behind them, he was already pretending they weren’t even there.

He wasn’t the only one, either. Everyone was very much aware of what was about to happen; they were just quietly anticipating the show while putting on airs of indifference.

Well, they’d be getting a show, all right.

Cui Li, leaning against the table near Sun Xiang, straightened. He was an almost portly man with paper-white skin and strangely sallow cheeks who liked to dress in carefully fitted suits that nonetheless failed to flatter him. He had been managing Excellent Era for years now.

He regarded Ye Xiu coldly. “Ye Qiu, the club has already decided that Sun Xiang here will take over your position as captain. He’ll also play on One Autumn Leaf from now on.”

Without so much as a greeting… Heavens above, did Su Mucheng despise this guy. She wished Tao Xuan himself was here so he could witness the biggest mistake of his life with his own two eyes, but no, he had to have this lackey do the dirty work for him.

Unable to hold back anymore, she opened her mouth to deliver a scathing remark, but Ye Xiu’s hand wrapping around her sleeve stopped her. When she looked at him, he was smiling wryly.

She shut her mouth. Fine. Okay. None of this mattered anyway, right?

An arrogant voice suddenly rose above the conversation of the team members. “Sorry, Brother Ye. I just got here and I already took your position.”

It was said like a throwaway comment, but it was calculated to cause damage. Sun Xiang didn’t so much as glance over as he spoke, although everything indicated that he was paying attention to them.

Su Mucheng wanted to go over and smack him upside the head. What was this kid acting all high and mighty for? He’d already won.

The others present all leaped at this opportunity to heap praises on Sun Xiang while slandering Ye Xiu. In their eyes, it was like hitting two birds with one stone: get in the good graces of their new team captain and kick the old one while he was down. The club was about to shed him off like dead skin—there was no need for restraint now.

Sun Xiang was visibly delighted. No doubt it was a boost to his ego, to be considered superior to an ancient and famed god of Glory like Ye Qiu.

“Ye Qiu, hand over your account card to Sun Xiang,” Cui Li ordered, crossing his arms. Hints of ridicule showed through his smugly vindictive “professional” mask.

Su Mucheng glanced at Ye Xiu’s face. After that wry smile, his expression had melted back into impassivity. Anyone would think he was unaffected by what was being done to him. She, however, could see the hints of strain around his eyes, the way he was altogether duller and subdued.

Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver-white account card. Silent as the grave, he walked to where Sun Xiang sat like a king in the captain’s chair and held it out for him to take.

Sun Xiang looked like Christmas had come early. With a face-splitting grin, he exclaimed, “Yes!” triumphantly and reached out.

Sun Xiang was a prodigy, Su Mucheng had to admit—certainly above her own skill—but he hadn’t done anything to deserve this. It sat sourly in her stomach that someone so undeserving could benefit from Ye Xiu’s misfortune.

Ye Xiu’s hand was trembling. Su Mucheng couldn’t stand to watch anymore and just stared out the window.

As for Ye Xiu, there was no way he could tear his eyes from this scene. He was living it, after all. He had always imagined passing on One Autumn Leaf to a player he personally raised, someone worthy of succeeding everything the Battle God represented and everything Ye Xiu stood for.

After ten years of blood, sweat, and tears, after creating a dynasty and making Glory history, the account card that had made it all possible was going to be handed off to this arrogant teenager. It was not only infuriating, but profoundly disappointing.

But he’d made peace with it months ago. Such an outcome was no less than what he’d expected.

It didn’t mean he didn’t feel robbed.

Seeing the unsteadiness of Ye Qiu’s hand, Sun Xiang was immediately disdainful. Being so new to the scene, he’d never met Ye Qiu personally, even if he’d gone up against him in matches. He’d experienced firsthand One Autumn Leaf’s tyrannical strength, yet the account’s player…left something to be desired.

Sun Xiang had sauntered in here, assumed his place, been given his account card, and Ye Qiu, this so-called great god, just let it happen?

There really was nothing outstanding—nothing amazing—about him. He wasn’t even capable of fighting back. How could he have led a team for so long? How could he have won three championships? Sun Xiang could hardly believe it.

It was just as well that he was here to take Ye Qiu’s place.

However, Ye Qiu…wasn’t letting go of the account card.

“Let go, Brother Ye,” Sun Xiang said with a mocking laugh, a vicious edge to his smile. “Your hands are even shaking. Honestly, I’m almost speechless; can you really go on like this? I’ll use the Battle God from now on, and by the end of this season, everyone will know his might! As for you… You can just retire!”

Ye Qiu’s stare bore into him. He was completely emotionless except for a spark of…of something in his eyes.

Sun Xiang furrowed his brow.

As if there had been a shift in the atmosphere, the light suddenly hit Ye Qiu’s face in a way that made him seem sharper, harder.

His hand was absolutely still and steady.

“Do you like this game?”

Sun Xiang’s brain ground to a halt. “Huh?”

“If you like it, then treat everything you gain as glory won, not matters to boast about.”

“What did you just say?” Sun Xiang was incandescent with fury. His hold on the account card nearly slipped as he got his feet under him like he was about to stand up. “Mind your own damn business!”

“Put it away.” Before Sun Xiang could completely lose his mind, Ye Qiu unclenched his fingers and turned away. His back was impossibly broad in that moment, his presence oppressive.

Sun Xiang wanted to say something cutting, something lofty, but he drew a blank. One of his hands closed around One Autumn Leaf’s account card while the other compulsively squeezed the chair’s armrest.

“Ye Qiu,” Cui Li called, expression stern. He didn’t seem happy with what had just occurred. “The club—”

Ye Xiu had already reached the limits of his endurance. He didn’t wait for Cui Li to say whatever disparaging thing he had come up with. Now that they’d come this far, why not just cross the finish line and be done with it?

“I want to cancel my contract,” he announced.

Cui Li’s brow furrowed. He appeared deep in thought, but his gaze was as calculating as ever. “Cancel the contract?”

“Yes.”

There was a lull in the others’ half-hearted chatter. Not only Sun Xiang, but everyone was watching Ye Xiu and the manager face off. Even Su Mucheng had torn her eyes from the window to observe.

Here was the show they’d been waiting for.

Rather than angry or disappointed, Cui Li was completely at ease. Of course this was all going according to plan from his point of view. He had everything well in hand, what was wrong with playing around a little? Especially with this audience. The more thoroughly he crushed Ye Xiu now, the more confident the team would be.

Having worked with him for quite a while, Ye Xiu knew how this manager operated. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and stood there casually, expectantly.

“Very good, this is the fearless Ye Qiu I recognize,” he said, clearly implying that Ye Qiu had been a coward up till now.

Su Mucheng was indignant. Did they leave him room to do anything but helplessly comply?

Ye Xiu, as typical, was much calmer. One side of his mouth was pulled up in a sardonic half-smile.

Because his comment garnered no reaction, Cui Li was forced to grit his teeth and continue. “Then, first, let’s talk about the penalty fee! Honestly speaking, you’ve been with us for so many years and achieved so much so we won’t push it. If you want to leave, we can all sit down and discuss the details. How about it?”

Only a dumbass wouldn’t realize the club had no intention of being flexible and amiably discussing the matter.

“Tell it to me straight,” Ye Xiu said resignedly, just to play along. “What are the conditions?”

“Fine, fine. Our condition is simple: announce your retirement.”

Su Mucheng made a disgusted sound, but remained silent. The observers were faintly impressed. Looked like the club had really cornered their former captain this time, huh?

Cui Li was very smug and doing a terrible job of hiding it. Ye Xiu gazed at him steadily like he was giving this serious thought. Cui Li was very clear on the conditions of Ye Xiu’s finances. He didn’t believe there was a way for Ye Xiu to wriggle out of this condition.

Sadly for them, they hadn’t been prepared for Han Wenqing. Few people ever were, honestly.

“I think I’ll pass. Monetary compensation works, too, right? How much?”

Cui Li’s eyes bulged.

Ye Xiu waited patiently.

“That… This…isn’t an option. Retirement is the condition we’ve set,” Cui Li said at last, ever so righteous.

Ye Xiu tilted his head to one side. “That’s not how this works. I’m very clear on the terms of my contract. I have half a year left, so I guess I owe you around a million yuan? I’ll pay it.”

“Where did you come up with this amount? How can you just pay it?”

“Aren’t you the one who hands out our paychecks, Manager Cui?” Ye Xiu said carelessly. “Think about it yourself. As for the amount, why, am I wrong?”

“You…”

“Don’t worry, we can all sit down and discuss the details.” Ye Xiu dug around in his jacket’s pockets for a moment before pulling out several crumpled pieces of paper. As he smoothed them out, everyone realized they were stapled together and carefully formatted.

Cui Li gaped. “That’s—!”

“A copy of the contract, yes. I think you’ll find that most of us usually have copies.” Ye Xiu flipped through the contract leisurely. “Oh, look, I didn’t get the amount wrong. There doesn’t appear to be much to discuss after all.”

“Ye Qiu!” Cui Li nearly shrieked. “The condition is—”

“We’re not haggling at a market. If I want to go, you can’t make me stay, and if I don’t want to retire, you can’t refuse my money. Maybe these aren’t the conditions you’re looking for, but they’re the conditions the club agreed to when this”—Ye Xiu shook the papers gently—“was signed. Now you have to abide by them.”

“We weren’t going to cause trouble for you,” Cui Li gritted out, hastily digging around in a briefcase on the table. He pulled out his own papers and shoved them at Ye Xiu. “But I’m warning you now, if you refuse to agree, we’ll—”

“I don’t care what you do. Shouldn’t you be more concerned about what I’ll do? Need I remind you this is a binding contract?” Ye Xiu’s tone was bored. He’d already put the contract away and completely ignored the papers in Cui Li’s hands. “If you think I won’t take legal action, you’re mistaken. It would make for some interesting headlines, wouldn’t it? ‘Former Excellent Era Captain Takes Club To Court, What Went Wrong?’ or something like that. Don’t think I’d hide the truth from a court of law.”

“Everything would be confidential!”

“But for how long? You know how news tends to leak, just ask the PR Department. Besides, trying so hard to keep everything under wraps, wouldn’t people become suspicious? Consider your next move carefully, Manager Cui.”

Cui Li was pale as a sheet. The team members who’d been so carefree before stared blatantly, their mouths hanging open. Even Sun Xiang appeared shocked.

Su Mucheng, on the other hand, was smiling. Like him, she knew this was all a bluff. Ye Xiu didn’t dare drag this out into a legal battle; it would put his identity at risk and get him into trouble—big trouble.

The club didn’t have to know that, though.

“C-can you even afford to pay a lawyer?!” Cui Li demanded scornfully, like this single question was enough to dispel the threat of Ye Xiu’s words.

Ye Xiu searched his pockets again. Cui Li held his breath, afraid the man would pull out yet another piece of evidence, maybe even a contract proving he’d hired a lawyer already, but Ye Xiu just grabbed a lighter and a cigarette.

In the ensuing silence, he lit up and brought the cigarette to his mouth. A long plume of smoke snaked out into the room as he exhaled.

“No smoking,” one of the bystanders, Wang Ze, said weakly.

“Don’t worry, I’m on my way out.” Ye Xiu gently pushed Cui Li’s papers back toward him, smiling in a friendly way. “I’ll have the money for you within three days, but it’s about time I get going. Wouldn’t want to interrupt the new recruit’s warm welcome.”

“Ye Qiu—!”

Without another word, Ye Xiu turned around and left, Su Mucheng close at his heels. She threw a cheerful wave over her shoulder, and then they were gone.

* * *

“The looks on their faces!” Su Mucheng said with relish, grinning despite the cold.

She and Ye Xiu stood at the entrance to Excellent Era. This late at night, there wasn’t too much activity, so they were comfortable loitering in the open. Su Mucheng also had a scarf wrapped carefully around the lower half of her face, not to mention the coat she wore which dwarfed her.

Ye Xiu appeared as serene as ever. Once he finished smoking his cigarette, he held out his hand.

Su Mucheng passed the backpack to him. He weighed it for a moment, then said, “Thanks, Mucheng.”

“You’re welcome. I didn’t do much, though.”

Ye Xiu huffed and took another drag of his cigarette. “Don’t remind me. I have no idea how I’m going to pay that guy back for this one.”

“He said you didn’t have to, remember?”

“It’s not as simple as just not paying him back.”

Su Mucheng rolled her eyes. “Why not?”

Ye Xiu merely shook his head and hefted the backpack onto his shoulder. He glanced around. “I’ll be heading off. Have a good night, all right?”

“Wait!” Su Mucheng snatched his arm as he turned away.

Ye Xiu looked back at her, baffled. “What?”

“Do you want to use my phone to call Captain Han?”

“Uh…no need. I’ll call him soon.”

“Where are you headed? You’re not going to sleep under a bridge or something, are you?” Su Mucheng asked suspiciously.

“I’m not suicidal, thanks. I have a place in mind. Just wait for me to contact you.”

Su Mucheng narrowed her eyes. “You won’t forget?”

“Mucheng, seriously…”

“Okay, okay, fine.” Su Mucheng released him reluctantly, wrapping her arms around herself. “Let me know if you need anything. I’ll move your stuff over to my room.”

Ye Xiu nodded dully; he was sure he’d heard this before. Why did it feel like his and Su Mucheng’s roles had been reversed? Usually he was the one fussing over her, though he admittedly hadn’t done that in a while. She had grown up a lot.

Maybe it was natural. Ye Xiu decided not to think on it too much and instead ruffled Su Mucheng’s hair like she was twelve. Not to reassure himself or anything, of course. Just to annoy her.

“Hey!”

“Don’t worry so much about me. Really. Just focus on yourself for a while, okay?” Su Mucheng had possibly been even more stressed than he was for the past half-year or so.

“Yeah,” Su Mucheng said grudgingly. “I’ll do that.”

“And…check in on Qiu Fei for me, if you have time.”

Su Mucheng’s expression softened. Her gloved hands rubbed her upper arms. “I will, I promise.” She giggled suddenly. “Maybe I’ll even have a few matches with him. Keep him on his toes, right?”

Ye Xiu raised an eyebrow at her faux-innocent tone. “By ‘check in,’ I don’t mean ‘scar for life.’ Just to be clear.”

“I’ll take good care of him.”

“Uh huh.”

A harsh breeze blew right at them, ruffling their hair and sending chills down their spines. All at once, Ye Xiu realized they’d been stalling long enough and his apparel wasn’t the most suitable for this weather. He didn’t even have gloves on.

“I’m going to go. See you.” Ye Xiu gave Su Mucheng one last, easy smile.

“See you.” Su Mucheng’s answering smile was sad and wistful, but her gaze was nothing but warm. If he’d retired, maybe she would have been dejected, but as it was, she could face him steadily, confidently. She had nothing to be afraid of.

Ye Xiu had no doubt that she would make do in his absence. There wasn’t any shortage of people who thought of her as a fragile flower completely reliant on him, but he knew better.

His only regret was that they’d be apart for the time being. If he could, he’d always be at her side, but the world didn’t work that way. Even if not for these circumstances, they’d eventually have to separate.

At least she’d be okay. But he was aware that, without Han Wenqing, they’d be in a completely different situation right now.

Fuck, but Ye Xiu seriously owed him. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Waving to each other, Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng finally parted ways. He didn’t glance back at her lonely figure silhouetted against the bright lights of Excellent Era, though she stared after him for several seconds before letting out a gusty sigh and heading back inside.

With his backpack, cigarettes, and a single precious account card tucked inside his jeans pocket, Ye Xiu trudged along the snowy sidewalk. A snowflake fell on his reddening nose, which he promptly wiped.

It was then that his eyes landed on a familiar Internet café directly across from Excellent Era. He had never been inside, but he’d looked it up not long ago.

Without a second thought, Ye Xiu crossed the street.

* * *

Chen Guo slammed her hand against the keyboard furiously, shouting, “Dammit!”

How many fucking times had she lost to the same player now? Why couldn’t she win?! She wasn’t some noob, her character had good equipment… Her skill wasn’t the best, true, but it was adequate! Had she encountered an expert? Was that it?!

That must be it. Chen Guo snarled at the monitor.

The customers sitting around her subconsciously leaned away.

Suddenly, she noticed a figure standing out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and saw it was a man of average height, dressed in a long, dark green coat and black jeans. A black backpack hung from his arm like he was about to set it on the floor. He was looking at her a little strangely.

Chen Guo stood, oozing aggression, and growled, “Computer?”

The man nodded.

“Then sit down!” she snapped, striding away ferociously.

Over fifty times… She had dueled against that player over fifty times, yet had lost every single round. Chen Guo was not only angry, but depressed as well. She kept telling herself he was an expert and way out of her league, but was it possible to be that outside of somebody’s league? She’d almost mistake him for a god!

“Hey, Boss, didn’t you log out? Why’s that guy playing on your account?”

Chen Guo paused. Bewilderment filled her as she turned to face the person who’d spoken, a regular customer she knew fairly well. However, he wasn’t looking at her, but at the spot she’d just vacated.

Comprehension dawned. Her eyes widened and she sprinted back immediately.

Ye Xiu lazily finished the match he’d been greeted with as soon as he sat down. Whoever that lady had been, she’d forgotten to log out in her frustration. It wasn’t really his problem, though, so he just logged out for her and stretched in his chair. Surprisingly comfortable, these chairs.

No sooner had he relaxed did he feel a presence looming behind him. Slowly, Ye Xiu turned.

The angry lady was staring at him in shock.

He stared blankly back for a second before realizing the issue.

He rushed to defend himself. “You hadn’t logged out yet and when I sat down, the fight had already started. Don’t worry, I helped you win!” Ye Xiu made sure he sounded as earnest as humanly possible.

The lady’s expression grew complicated. “How long did it take?” she demanded.

“Forty seconds! Though…my hands were frozen stiff or else thirty seconds would have been enough.” It was kind of embarrassing, but what could he do.

Now the lady became even more shocked. He might have called her disbelieving, but she’d seen it for herself.

Then, to his surprise, she darted away without another word. Ye Xiu stared after her in confusion. Women, honestly…

Not two minutes later, Ye Xiu had already made himself comfortable, backpack kicked under the table and keyboard and mouse arranged exactly the way he liked them. He was on the verge of logging into QQ to assure Su Mucheng that yes, he was completely fine and everything was dandy, when the lady reappeared.

“You forgot your ID card,” she said grumpily, passing it over to him.

“Oh.” Ye Xiu took it ruefully. He’d left it with the receptionist on his way in? Maybe he was a little too agitated right now. “Thanks. Do you work here?”

“Yeah, I’m the boss,” the lady announced with a surprising amount of indifference.

Ye Xiu blinked and examined her more closely. High ponytail, trendy clothes that were nice but not flashy, confident (if still rather dark) aura. She was very pretty, a veritable beauty, but she still managed to seem a bit imposing.

He supposed she looked the part of an Internet café’s owner.

“Oh? The boss, that’s good. I just saw on your homepage that you’re hiring?”

The boss was visibly caught off guard. “Ah…yes…”

“I had a look and I feel I match all of the requirements. The hours and pay aren’t a problem. How about it? Would you consider hiring me?”

Calculation flashed across her face. “Well, you first have to beat me in a duel in Glory.”

“What? There’s this condition?” Ye Xiu prepared to open up the homepage again to check.

“You don’t need to look for it, I added it just now,” she said loftily.

Ye Xiu was at a loss. He knew what she was playing at, but… “I can’t beat you,” he told her, chuckling helplessly.

This apparently wasn’t the answer the boss was expecting. “Why?” she asked.

“I don’t have an account good enough.”

“Uh…what level is it? What do you have equipped?”

“No levels or equipment,” he could only explain. He knew he was just scrambling her brain around more, but all he had on him was the unspecialized, which hadn’t been touched for who knew how long.

Ye Xiu hoped she wasn’t serious about hiring him only if he beat her. He supposed he could borrow an account—there were countless Glory players around them, surely there’d be at least one willing to lend him their character—but judging by how spectacularly she’d lost her temper when she was beaten before, winning a duel could only equate to losing this job opportunity.

It wasn’t like he’d pinned all his dreams and aspirations on this particular Internet café, but it’d be mighty inconvenient to search elsewhere.

“How?”

Ye Xiu was pulled from his thoughts and replied succinctly, “I gave away my original account.”

“Oh, I get it. How generous.” The boss sighed.

Ye Xiu nearly sighed himself. Losing One Autumn Leaf was a blow, but at least he hadn’t been completely beaten. “Yeah, way too generous.”

“Then, are you getting ready to play in the new server?”

Ye Xiu couldn’t be clearer about what day it was. He had been planning for this ever since that surreal dinner with Han Wenqing. “Yep!”

Silently, he whipped out the card in his pocket and showed it her. Her eyes widened in astonishment.

“Is that—a first-edition card?”

“It is.” He grinned.

The boss gripped the table next to her as if fighting to remain upright. Ye Xiu wondered how many shocks she’d received tonight. Maybe he was the one who needed to chill out.

“How long have you been playing Glory?!”

“Ten years tomorrow!” he told her proudly. “I’m going to transfer this account to the tenth server, one sec.”

While he was busy with that, Chen Guo got herself together. This guy appeared ordinary, but he was definitely the opposite. Sure, he wasn’t Ye Qiu covertly visiting like she’d assumed, but he was still some kind of expert and a rare first server veteran at that. For some reason, she really wanted to keep him around.

Sadly, she was pretty sure he’d only come here seeking a job. She’d never seen him come in to use a computer before, so if she wanted to see more of him, she’d probably have to hire him.

The problem was, there weren’t any staff openings…

“Done,” Ye Xiu declared. Sure enough, the text on the screen read Server Transfer Successful in large bold characters.

Chen Guo didn’t take long to decide. She straightforwardly asked, “You said you wanna work here?”

“Yes.”

“Which position are you interested in?”

“Night shift manager.”

“Oh.” How unexpected. “You’re okay with that?” Agreeing to work from 23:00 to 7:00 wasn’t done lightly. The night shift was the most unappealing, even if the pay was superior.

Ye Xiu gave her a smile. He had a pale, almost sickly complexion, clear skin, and dark, messy hair. However, he was clean-shaven and wore reasonably decent clothes. He obviously wasn’t some kind of hooligan who only wanted to run wild and cause trouble.

Even though Chen Guo had just met him, she felt he was sincere. Sure, he looked just as listless and lazy as the average college student, but he wasn’t anything like those brainless youths who often asked her for work, believing she’d pay them to sit around and do nothing while they browsed the Internet.

Resolute, she clapped her hands. “You’re hired!”

Ye Xiu’s dull eyes gained some life. They were actually a very pretty gold, not light gray like she’d thought. “Thanks so much, Boss!”

Chen Guo stared at him for a second too long before shaking herself. “Make sure to study the contract carefully. Everything will be done according to those terms.”

Ye Xiu, fortunately, had plenty of experience memorizing contracts. “No problem,” he said.

“Good, come with me!”

While he was ordered around, Ye Xiu got to know the Internet café a little better. Named Happy, it didn’t really inspire feelings of grandeur, but it was still fairly high-class. There were well over a thousand computers available, VIP areas, private rooms, the works. The boss made enough money to comfortably provide her employees with living quarters and regular meals. He was of the impression that she was a hard-working, honest person who’d treat him well; that was why this place had been his first pick for a job.

The location was just a bonus.

Once they’d gotten some work done, Ye Xiu was led into a charming apartment. He was extremely impressed…at least until the boss showed him where he’d be sleeping: a small, disorganized storage room with a bare bed and a tiny window.

“To be honest, I’m not lacking people. The recruitment fliers you saw are kind of old,” the boss explained sheepishly. “You’ll have to put up with it until something better is available.”

Ye Xiu accepted this with flawless equanimity. Frankly, he’d slept in worse places. The fact that he’d get to use the computers for free was more than worth it.

“I’ll treat you to a midnight snack,” the boss said after they’d drifted back to the living room. Freed of the burden of his backpack, as well as a dozen other worries, Ye Xiu took a minute to stretch, lifting his arms above his head.

“So? Are you hungry?” the boss prodded.

“Actually, I was wondering if you have a phone I could use,” Ye Xiu said, letting his arms fall back to his waist.

“A phone? Sure, do you want mine or—?”

“Anything would be fine.” Ye Xiu doubted having this particular number immortalized in her personal call history would be a good idea.

“Right.” The boss picked up a house phone lying on the coffee table. “Here you go!”

She tossed it at him somewhat haphazardly, but Ye Xiu caught it with ease. “Thanks.”

“Come downstairs to get your food!”

As soon as the boss left, Ye Xiu dialed a number into the phone. He had memorized this number a while back, though he’d never called it before.

Someone picked up on the fifth ring. “Hello?” a rough voice answered.

“Did I wake you?”

“Ye Qiu.” Han Wenqing said it like a statement rather than a question, as if there was no doubt of who was calling him at this late hour.

Ye Xiu was vaguely impressed. “Yes, it’s me.”

“Why are you calling me?” he asked bluntly.

“Sorry it’s late. I just wanted to let you know I’ve left Excellent Era.”

A beat of silence. “When?”

“An hour or so ago.” It was closer to two hours, but semantics.

“Where are you now?”

“At an Internet café across the street.”

A longer silence. “You just crossed the street? Couldn’t you put more effort into it?”

“Why should I? Anyway, I’m working here now. Got a bed to sleep in and everything.”

“Good.”

“Yeah. I wanted to…thank you again. Things would have ended differently tonight if I couldn’t pay the termination fee.”

“So everything went well?”

“Pretty much. I don’t know if Su Mucheng told you, but they transferred in Sun Xiang. The Best Rookie from Conquering Clouds?”

“She told me last week.”

“Oh.” Was it just him or were these two becoming uncomfortably close? Like they were in cahoots or something. “Well, he’ll be taking over One Autumn Leaf.”

Han Wenqing grunted. He didn’t sound impressed.

Ye Xiu stood there awkwardly, unsure of what else to say.

“All right, you can go back to sleep. I just thought you’d want to know. Sorry for waking you.”

“It’s fine, I do want to know.” Han Wenqing seemed to be shifting around. “Will you be calling me from this number again?”

“I’ll probably just use QQ,” Ye Xiu said, amused.

“Hmph. You still don’t have a cell phone?”

“I don’t like them. Besides, if I had one, I’d never get any peace.” Not to mention his many acquaintances in the professional circle, his family would probably have his number inside of a week and he’d have to deal with them constantly.

“That’s what the silent function is for.”

“People already complain that I ignore them, I’d rather not give them more ammunition.”

“I didn’t realize you cared.”

“I don’t, except when one of those people is Huang Shaotian.”

“…That’s fair.”

Something occurred to Ye Xiu. “Say, Old Han…”

“What.”

“I’ll be sending you the rest of your money back soon. When I pay off Excellent Era. I’ll do it tomorrow or something, maybe the day after.”

Han Wenqing huffed. “What’s your salary at this Internet café?”

“Uh…”

“Just keep the money for now. I don’t care. You can return it the day you return to the Alliance.”

Ye Xiu’s eyes widened and his grip on the phone tightened. “Old Han, that’s really not—”

“Keep it,” Han Wenqing growled.

“Why are you like this?” Ye Xiu was so incredibly exasperated.

“Maybe use it to buy a cell phone.”

“Old Han.”

Han Wenqing sounded indifferent. “Or maybe eat a nice dinner.”

“It’s way past dinnertime.”

A pause. “Did you even have dinner?” he asked suspiciously.

“Er…” Ye Xiu, who’d begun pacing back and forth, actually froze. “No?”

He listened as Han Wenqing exhaled heavily.

“Go eat something. There’s still a half-hour until the new server opens. I guess you’re going to stay up all night?”

“I have the night shift, it’s my job to stay up all night,” Ye Xiu said smugly.

Han Wenqing made a disgusted noise.

The door to the apartment opened. Ye Xiu turned, surprised, but it was just the boss.

She looked irritated. “Are you going to eat or not?!”

“Who’s that?” Han Wenqing asked.

“My new boss,” Ye Xiu replied. “I’ll catch you later. Good night!”

“Good night,” Han Wenqing grumbled back. Ye Xiu hung up and tossed the phone onto the couch.

He and the boss headed downstairs. She’d ordered food from a nearby restaurant, it seemed, and all the employees were digging in. Ye Xiu sat down in a random seat and snatched a bowl for himself, suddenly feeling immensely hungry. It wasn’t that he starved himself intentionally, he just tended to forget to eat when he was otherwise occupied.

“Who were you talking to? Your girlfriend?” His boss, who he’d just learned was named Chen Guo, was watching him with narrowed eyes. She had been hovering nearby the entire time as if unwilling to let him leave her line of sight.

Ye Xiu nearly sweat-dropped. What did she think he was going to do, make a break for it? One second she was perfectly friendly and personable, the next she was some belligerent goddess. “No… I was just chatting with a friend. He was expecting a call.”

“Hmph.” Chen Guo fiddled around on her phone for a bit, studied the increasingly cramped café, and then looked at him again. “Well?”

“…Well what?”

“What are you waiting for? The new server will be up in, like, five minutes!”

Was this it? She just wanted to watch him play Glory?

“No rush,” Ye Xiu said. He calmly shoved some more rice in his mouth. After almost ten years, if he got all excited every time a server opened, wouldn’t he already have had a heart attack or something by now?

Seeing the murderous expression on Chen Guo’s face, though, Ye Xiu wisely decided to go get started. He put his bowl down with some reluctance and found a computer to use. Chen Guo sat at the computer next to him like a diligent student. Or a watchdog.

Ye Xiu eyed her uneasily for a moment, but ultimately decided to ignore her. When he checked the time, he saw it was still two minutes to midnight.

Leisurely, he started browsing around for some beginner guides to refresh his memory. He also logged into his QQ to send Su Mucheng a brief message. She probably wouldn’t see it until morning, but when he recalled her sorrowful smile, he knew he couldn’t delay without feeling guilty. Besides, it’d be nice if she woke up to good news, right?

When QQ finished loading, Ye Xiu saw he had a new message.

            Desert Dust: Good luck

While Ye Xiu stared blankly at the screen, the clock struck midnight.

Chapter Text

When Ye Xiu woke up, he felt different.

He cracked his eyes open and, after a few stuttering seconds, his brain caught on.

Right. He wasn’t in Excellent Era anymore. This was…Happy Internet Café. He was an employee here. It was December 3rd. Or it should be, still. No sunlight streamed in through the tiny window of the storage room so he supposed it must be evening. Was it time for his shift yet?

Slowly, he sat up, the blanket pooling in his lap. He reached for the cigarette pack he’d set aside nearby and smoked for a little while, thoughtful.

It had been an eventful night. Two first kills, one first clear, a good start on the materials he needed—not bad. Not bad at all. Ye Xiu exhaled deeply, smoke wafting in front of his face. If he could keep this up, he’d be all set.

But he wasn’t that optimistic. His achievements would draw attention, wanted and unwanted alike. First, people would try to rope him in and win his favor. Then, when they realized he wouldn’t take any side but his own, they’d try to suppress him.

In Ye Xiu’s experience, this was how it always went down. It didn’t bother him, though. As long as the pros minded their own business, there was nothing in the tenth server he couldn’t handle. In fact, the attention of…certain parties…could prove immensely beneficial.

Ye Xiu smirked.

It didn’t take long for him to finish smoking. After getting dressed and taking care of business in the bathroom, he left his new room in a lightweight beige sweater over a white button-down, coat thrown over one arm. With his dark blue jeans, black shoes, and somewhat combed hair, he looked downright presentable.

Su Mucheng would be proud.

Ye Xiu (or rather, Ye Xiu’s empty stomach) looked forward to a late-night snack, but as he descended the stairs, he noticed that the atmosphere was a little strange. Even though he had only been working here for a night, he was familiar with Internet cafés. Shouldn’t it be livelier at this hour? It was already past 21:00.

The VIP area was mostly empty, dare he say eerily empty. Ye Xiu peeked into some private rooms as he passed and saw that, while the lights were on and the computers were running, they were unoccupied. The chairs were scattered in a way that indicated the customers had all left in a rush.

When he descended the stairs to the ground floor, the lights dimmed a little. At the same time, hundreds of agitated voices replaced the silence, making for a stark transition.

Ye Xiu had just been thinking it wasn’t lively enough, but wasn’t this too much?

Somewhat alarmed, he proceeded with caution, one hand on the rail.

Then he saw all the people gathered, the projector turned on and streaming what looked like a newscast, and had a premonition.

On the screen were three familiar people. Ye Xiu remained on the stairs so he could watch over the crowd’s heads. He was pretty sure those were eSports commentators—specifically, Glory commentators.

“—but since noon, there haven’t been any new reports.”

“Ye Qiu has always been mysterious. Even Excellent Era is unable to say for sure where he’s gone to.”

As soon as Ye Qiu was mentioned, everyone quieted down.

Ah. So they were talking about him.

“Is it possible that he will join another team, or do you think he’s left for good?”

“Anything is possible. The fact that Ye Qiu’s retirement wasn’t announced indicates that he will surely return.” This was said with a startling amount of confidence.

“According to Excellent Era’s manager, the legalities haven’t all been finalized. It might be a few days yet before we receive any updates.”

Ye Xiu rolled his eyes. Were they trying to tell him something? His signature on the contract that stated he had to pay reparations should he terminate wasn’t good enough? Did he have to sign his name in blood to prove he was serious?

“Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say I look forward to hearing more about Ye Qiu’s situation, whereabouts, and plans for the future. Not that I believe we’ll get to learn all the details—”

“Definitely not!” One of the other commentator laughed. “This is such a shocking turn of events. All I want to know is what led to this, but I don’t think Excellent Era will be so eager to share.”

“It would come as no surprise if this is just a result of Excellent Era’s declining performance. Last season we saw a downward spiral, and now the team seems to have hit rock bottom.”

“That’s not very accurate. Last season’s Best Rookie was just transferred in, and specifically to replace Ye Qiu. With Sun Xiang—”

“Do you believe this young player will be able to lead Excellent Era to a new age?”

“I don’t believe he’s incapable of it. Sun Xiang shows a lot of promise, it’s just a question of experience. With a team like Conquering Clouds, it was easy to show off his ability and tip the scales in the right direction, but an old powerhouse like Excellent Era… It’s not the same. How can the two be compared?”

“You sound skeptical!”

“There’s plenty of reason for it. Excellent Era is currently ranked at nineteenth place and we’re already about halfway through the season. It’s going to take a massive amount of effort to pull them out of this ditch.”

“Nonetheless, if they perform extremely well for the rest of the regular season, they can still make it to the playoffs, no?”

“Of course, but…what are the odds of that?”

“We’ll just have to wait and see!”

“I don’t know if the fans will be able to contain themselves.”

“Ha, I can hardly contain myself!”

“You and me both, but there’s nothing to be done for it. We’ll be held in suspense until then. For now, we should move on to our next topic.”

“That’s right, we…”

The murmur of conversation in the café once again rose to a dull roar as everyone started dissecting the commentators’ discussion word by word.

Ye Xiu hid a yawn behind his hand and finally stepped off the stairs. He wove between the throngs of people—honestly, why had they even come in if they weren’t going to use the computers?—in search of a familiar face.

Finally, he found one standing next to the reception desk, looking a combination of extremely pissed off and absolutely heartbroken.

“Hey, boss,” Ye Xiu greeted casually.

Chen Guo turned a tearful glare on him. “You! You’re finally awake.”

“I went to bed late…”

“I know that! I was there! Who told you to go to bed so late, huh?” She sniffled, then hurriedly grabbed a paper napkin from the girl sitting behind the desk to wipe her nose.

Helpless, Ye Xiu stuffed his hands in his pockets. “It was my shift. So, did I do well?”

To be honest, he didn’t feel like Chen Guo had the right to decide if he’d done well or not. She’d fallen asleep well before he had, even if it had only been for a short while. But she was the boss, so he could only rely on her benevolence.

Chen Guo waved a hand at him. “You did fine and you know it. I’ll be trusting you with the night shift from now on. Why don’t you go and eat something? You didn’t eat before bed, did you?”

“No,” Ye Xiu agreed, relieved. “I’ll go now. You’re okay, right, boss?”

Her status as an Excellent Era fan and her devotion to Ye Qiu (and Su Mucheng) were widely known. Ye Xiu wasn’t the only person who had asked her this throughout the course of the day, so while she was still emotional, she was still able to answer decisively. “I’m fine. I’m sure everything will be explained soon.”

Ye Xiu wouldn’t count on it. Still, he nodded and smiled like it was a given. “Then, I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time,” Chen Guo said, “your shift doesn’t start for another couple of hours.” Then she gave him a somewhat judgmental once-over. “But I doubt that will keep you away, huh? You’re obsessed.”

Ye Xiu laughed. “Right, right. See you in a bit!”

He left the Internet café while shrugging on his coat, intending to head straight for the McDonald’s nearby. Relatively cheap fast food was something he didn’t indulge in too often, but he had a craving.

Outside, it was bitterly cold, but not yet snowing. Ye Xiu glanced up at the dark, overcast sky and paused for just a moment, gloveless hands tucked inside of his sleeves.

Across the street, the merry lights of Excellent Era seemed to mock him.

Ye Xiu did his best to ignore it and started walking.

When he stepped into the significantly warmer McDonald’s, Ye Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. It only took about a minute to order, so he soon found a place to sit. Smoking wasn’t allowed inside; all he could do to pass the time was fiddle with his lighter in the corner and hope nobody mistook him for a pyromaniac.

Bored, he lifted his eyes and glanced around idly. The restaurant was largely deserted due to the late hour, but there were some people who looked very much like overworked college students chowing down blissfully, plus a few isolated couples and individuals huddled in wall-side booths, all but hidden.

One of those individuals caught Ye Xiu’s attention. His gaze snagged on them for whatever reason and he continued to covertly stare even as he got up to retrieve his tray at the counter.

While he was showing the McDonald’s employee his receipt for verification, the person turned slightly. He caught a glimpse of a very familiar profile and a shadowed amber eye. Everything else was covered with a knit cap and a wide scarf.

Mouth twitching, Ye Xiu carried his tray over to the booth and set it down on the table. A startled gaze met his.

“Ye Xiu!” Su Mucheng hissed in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” he asked as he sat. “Aren’t you on a diet?”

Su Mucheng furrowed her brow. “What? No.”

“Oh? I thought girls were always on diets.” Ye Xiu bit into his burger.

“You don’t know anything about girls. Anyway, I just had a craving.”

He laughed. “Me, too.”

Su Mucheng was nearly finished with her meal; all that was left were the fries and the soda. As he watched, she drank leisurely from her straw, then let out a very quiet burp.

Ye Xiu snorted. “So, how was your day?”

“Terrible,” Su Mucheng said gloomily. “I can’t stand Sun Xiang.”

“He can’t be that bad.”

“Are you kidding me? You met him.”

“First impressions aren’t always very reliable. It’s not like he can be in a gloating mood twenty-four-seven, right?”

Su Mucheng laughed. “That’s what you think. I’m pretty that guy is convinced he came straight down from heaven to grace us with his presence.”

“Well, he is from Conquering Clouds…”

“Ha ha.” Su Mucheng gave him a flat look. “Please stop trying to be funny. I think the worst part is that everyone is constantly fawning over him.”

“That’s natural.”

“No, no, they’re not just welcoming him, they’re treating him like he’s their savior.” She angrily ate a fry. “Do you really believe he can take Excellent Era to the play-offs?”

Ye Xiu noted how she spoke of the club and the team like she wasn’t a part of them and smiled sadly. “Probably not, but he can bump them up in the rankings.”

“…Yeah, I can see that. Maybe those slackers will start working harder now. But I can already tell the team fights will be a disaster,” Su Mucheng added.

“Hmm? Why’s that?”

“We didn’t do much today except celebrate Sun Xiang’s arrival, but there was a short practice session. I don’t know, he just seems way too self-absorbed.”

“Is that so?”

Su Mucheng nodded. “He’s a talented player on his own, but I’m not convinced he can work in a team if he’s the captain. He needs an authority figure to look after him.”

“Pfft.” Ye Xiu chuckled, gulping down a mouthful of soda. “You sound like a disapproving aunt, you know that?”

“Oh, be quiet. I’m just saying.”

“Mmm.” Ye Xiu didn’t think too much of it. Only time would tell if Sun Xiang could hold the team together. There would likely be a lot of hiccups in the beginning, but if he got the hang of leadership, he could surely make up for some of Excellent Era’s losses.

Of course, if he didn’t get the hang of leadership, then he would have no choice but to try and brute-force Excellent Era’s way up the rankings. This wouldn’t result in anything unless the rest of the team tried to do the same. They would be working out of sync, but at least they’d be working toward one goal.

Play-offs were a faraway dream at this point, so Ye Xiu discarded that possibility. As long as the team didn’t completely give up hope, they’d manage a mediocre performance. It would hardly live up to their usual standards, but all things considered, just surviving was good enough for Excellent Era; they shouldn’t ask for more.

Of course they would, though. Ye Xiu understood Tao Xuan’s intentions. That man wouldn’t settle for less than the best and he’d never stop expecting it, either.

Well, it was his loss. Ye Xiu had problems of his own now and they had little to do with Excellent Era.

(He missed it, he really did, but he missed the ideal of it far more than the reality. The reality had been harsh and unforgiving and left him all but bereft. If not for the generosity of an old friend, the team he had worked so hard to raise to the heights of Glory in the past would have stomped him into the dirt by now.

So no, Ye Xiu had no qualms about leaving them to their uncertain fate. He wouldn’t hinder them, but he wouldn’t help them, either. He had spent more than enough of his time trying to help. It was no longer his responsibility.)

“How are things going in the tenth server?” Su Mucheng asked. “What level are you?”

“Level seventeen. I got a lot done last night.”

Su Mucheng smiled wistfully, resting her chin in her hand. “I still can’t believe you’re using Lord Grim. I had almost forgotten.”

“I have a lot of old stuff on me,” Ye Xiu said, shrugging. He nibbled on a French fry. “I guess I can be sentimental, too.”

“Maybe. So, now that you’re a free man, are you finally going to get yourself a girlfriend?”

Ye Xiu blinked at her. “I did get a job, you know. Didn’t you read my message?”

“Yup. Captain Han told me your new boss is a woman. Is she pretty?”

“Just how often do you chat with Old Han?” Ye Xiu demanded, fear curdling in his gut. If they teamed up against him…

“Oh, not that often,” Su Mucheng dismissed, waving her hand airily. “I just asked him if you gave him a call—”

“What are you, my mother?” Ye Xiu mumbled.

“—and he said you did, and that he heard you talking to your boss, who sounded like a woman. Anyway, don’t change the subject. Is she pretty or isn’t she?”

“She’s very pretty.”

“Ask her out!”

“That would be inappropriate. Also, she’s…not my type.”

“Who is your type, then?”

Ye Xiu hurriedly finished off his burger. “Who knows, I don’t give it much thought. My shift starts soon so I should be heading back—”

Su Mucheng had to use her hand to stifle her laughter.

Ye Xiu glared at her. “Why do I put up with you?”

“I could ask you the same thing!” Su Mucheng gasped out. Then she descended into giggles once more.

“Ugh.” Ye Xiu rolled his eyes, but in the end, he still waited for her.

They left McDonald’s together. Su Mucheng wrapped her arm around his once they stepped out into the cold. She adjusted her disguise with her other hand, subtly scanning their surroundings for anyone who might have recognized her.

“You’re safe,” he said dryly. “Are you going to go to bed now?”

“Hmm, I guess so.” She glanced up at him. “Once things settle down, I’ll be able to join you in the game.”

“No rush. Just take care of yourself.”

“Okay.” A tiny smile tugged at her lips. “I already miss having you around, you know.”

“Just wait. When I’m back, you won’t even remember what you were missing.”

Both of them chuckled quietly. In some of their better moments, they had gotten into the habit of joking about how the other pros would miss Ye Xiu terribly while he was gone, only to desperately wish he never returned the second they had to deal with him again.

Su Mucheng hugged him briefly before backing off and striding in the direction of Excellent Era. “Have fun! Impress your new boss!”

“Good night!” he called after her.

Ye Xiu stood in the light of the McDonald’s for a little while longer, watching Su Mucheng disappear. Then he breathed on his hands to warm them up; he had such a bad habit of forgetting his gloves. He hurried back to Happy before his fingers could fall off.

The mood at the Internet café was still electric with the latest news. People chatted excitedly, irritatedly, passionately. He heard several mentions of Ye Qiu, One Autumn Leaf, and Sun Xiang. A few spoke of Su Mucheng, too, wondering what would become of her now that the partner she had won so many awards with had left.

After so many years on the scene and under the radar, Ye Xiu had become numb to these kinds of conversations. He passed by the debaters without reaction, automatically filtering them out.

He leaned against the reception desk and exchanged pleasantries with the girl currently behind it. He asked a bit about Happy and her experience working there, adding it to what he already knew of the place. Like the other employees he’d met, she was friendly enough and more than willing to catch him up on the latest gossip.

Ye Xiu didn’t care for gossip, of course, but he did like being informed. Thus far, nobody had anything bad to say—unless he counted a few well-meaning warnings about the boss’s temper. The staff got along fairly well and there weren’t any serious problem customers.

From a business perspective, Happy was flourishing. The fact they were right across from Excellent Era’s headquarters helped with that. A lot of fans frequented this café above any other, especially since Chen Guo was willing to cater to them. On match days, she’d always have the projector on to stream Excellent Era’s matches. Over the years, she managed to build a loyal following this way.

Ye Xiu huffed in amusement. It figured he’d choose the Internet café that was all but overflowing with the fans of the very same team he’d cut ties with. Never had he been gladder for his anonymity.

Without meaning them to, Ye Xiu’s thoughts drifted to Han Wenqing—or more specifically, his offer.

If he joined Tyranny…

Ye Xiu shook his head. It was too soon to consider it. First, he had to focus on Lord Grim and the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Guo going down the stairs. He perked up when she approached.

Sighing heavily, she leaned against the desk next to him and said, “You’re back.”

“Mhmm. Do you have anything for me to do?”

“Lemme explain some things to you.” Chen Guo pointed at the desk. “When you’re on your shift, you sit there and keep watch. You can play Glory if you want, just look after the café and do what the customers ask.”

“All right. Can I smoke?”

Chen Guo’s eye twitched, but when he gave her his best pitiful expression, she merely sighed again. “Fine, whatever. But clean up after yourself!”

“Of course, of course. Anything else?”

He got a run-down on everything he needed to know as well as the usual protocols for certain situations. Ye Xiu nodded along to Chen Guo’s careful instructions and, when she was done, she drifted away to snatch her own computer.

From a distance, Ye Xiu watched her play a few passionate matches in the Arena, but as the time drew nearer to 23:00, he became impatient. He turned to his fellow employee expectantly, a smile on his face.

She smiled back at him, a hint of pink on her cheeks. “Brother Ye, you wanna start now?”

“Yeah, yeah! You go on. See you tomorrow.”

“See you!” Not only her, but all the other employees getting off at 23:00 left as well, calling farewells to him and Chen Guo.

After seeing them off, Chen Guo headed back upstairs. “You’re officially on duty!” she reminded him right before she vanished.

Ye Xiu was speechless. She wasn’t even going to supervise him for a bit before leaving him to the wolves?

“Hmm.” Ye Xiu glanced around; the café was at maybe one-third of its full capacity. As the only person working the night shift, should he feel intimidated?

After draping his coat over the back of the chair, he settled down in front of one of the reception’s computers and started up Glory. While he waited for it to load, he logged into his QQ to see if Su Mucheng had left him any messages.

What he saw was an explosion of mentions. Ye Xiu clenched the mouse a bit tighter than necessary before he opened up the pro player group chat.

Naturally, all the people who pinged him had done so here…and more than a few had DMed him. He ignored those for the time being and scanned the chat logs from earlier in the day, singling out the messages concerning him.

            Troubling Rain: @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf

            Troubling Rain: @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf

            Troubling Rain: come out come out come out! answer me!! i need to ask you some questions you shitty old man!!!

            Troubling Rain: [flip_table.gif]

Ye Xiu sighed. It was too early to deal with Huang Shaotian. No matter the time, it was always too early.

He scrolled down further.

            Feather Mark: who can see if @One Autumn Leaf is online???

            Dancing Rain: He’s not here right now

            Dancing Rain: Don’t bother tagging guys…

            Windy Rain: What just happened??

            Windy Rain: Did Old Ye really leave

            Crying Devil: do you know where he went @Dancing Rain

            Life Extinguisher: She probably does, but can she say? Don’t make this awkward.

            Troubling Rain: who the hell cares it’s already awkward

            Troubling Rain: it’s super fucking awkward the we don’t know where the hell a single old man went!!!

            Troubling Rain: how could he just disappear like this!!!!!

            Troubling Rain: @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf @One Autumn Leaf

            Troubling Rain: @Dancing Rain @Dancing Rain @Dancing Rain

            Troubling Rain: fess up right now this instant this fucking second

            Swoksaar: Huang Shaotian…

            Receding Tides: Huang Shao…

            Dancing Rain: no :)

            Troubling Rain: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! D:<

            Swoksaar: Huang Shaotian.

            Troubling Rain: WHATWHATWHAT

            Swoksaar: ^_^;

            Troubling Rain: …………

            Windy Rain: Lmao Mumu

Then Sun Xiang came online and things became a bit confused.

            One Autumn Leaf: Why do you keep tagging me?????

            Troubling Rain: YE QIU YOU BASTARD

            Troubling Rain: YOU’RE FINALLY HERE FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY

            Troubling Rain: UGHHH I HATE YOU SO MUCH YOU KNOW THAT OH MY GOD I PINGED YOU SO MANY TIMES

            Dancing Rain: ……………

            Swoksaar: Wait.

            Dancing Rain: That’s not him lol

            Troubling Rain: ………………………………………

            Troubling Rain: wtf man you’ve had the account card for less than a day and you’ve already changed your display name wtf is wrong with you

            Troubling Rain: overeager much ಠ_ಠ

            Windy Rain: ಠ_ಠ

            Doubtful Demon: ಠ_ಠ

            Demon Subduer: ಠ_ಠ

            Cloud Piercer: …

            Cloud Piercer: ಠ_ಠ

            One Autumn Leaf: …………………

            Empty Waves: Captain o.o

            Empty Waves: oops I mean

            Empty Waves: ಠ_ಠ

Shaking his head, Ye Xiu kept scrolling.

There were literally dozens of people speculating over his whereabouts and the purpose of his sudden departure from Excellent Era. The theories ranged from wildly out of this world to surprisingly close to the truth. Everybody seemed to have something to add, some piece of insight to contribute. Even now the messages were piling up. Had these so-called professionals forgotten their bedtimes?

However…there was one person who kept completely quiet throughout the entire day and only replied when pinged. Since not even the members of Excellent Era managed to keep their mouths shut, this person really stood out.

            Doubtful Demon: what about you @Desert Dust

            Doubtful Demon: are you missing your dear rival yet? ;)

            Desert Dust: What’s there to miss

            Desert Dust: He’ll be back anyway

            Desert Dust: Enjoy the peace while it lasts

            Windy Rain: Omg

            Doubtful Demon: whoa wait HOLD ON

            Doubtful Demon: do you know something we don’t…?

            Immovable Rock: …

            Desert Dust: [stony_stare.jpg]

Ye Xiu couldn’t help but chuckle; Han Wenqing’s blasé attitude was a dead giveaway. At the same time, he would be one of the few who were completely unconvinced by Ye Xiu’s so-called departure.

The more he thought about it, the more weirdly in-character Han Wenqing’s confidence in his return appeared. Something in Ye Xiu warmed as a result.

But then he saw a series of messages that sent chills down his spine all over again.

            Dancing Rain: @Desert Dust how are you?

            Desert Dust: Good

            Desert Dust: And you?

            Dancing Rain: Peachy! I’m gonna go out for food soon, have you eaten yet?

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Desert Dust: I’m playing right now

            Dancing Rain: Oh oh oh! Planning a surprise??

            Desert Dust: Maybe

            Doubtful Demon: …

            Doubtful Demon: wtf is this conversation

            Windy Rain: o_o

            Vaccaria: …o_o

            Doubtful Demon: lol don’t you mean o_0

            Flying Sword: omfg get out

            Flying Sword: but also wtf???

            Troubling Rain: could it be could it be??? in old ye’s absence miss su has finally found herself another man?

            Windy Rain: O_O

            Dancing Rain: no get out

            Windy Rain: Mumu!!! Captain Han isn’t your type right??? Tell me the truth

            Dancing Rain: Wow even you?????

            Dancing Rain: No offense @Desert Dust you’re just really not my type ^^

            Desert Dust: Lol

            Immovable Rock: …

            Doubtful Demon: …

            Cloud Piercer: …

            Vaccaria: …

            Demon Subduer: …

            Empty Waves: …

            Swoksaar: …

            Troubling Rain: did

            Troubling Rain: did he just fucking lol

            Doubtful Demon: [uncomfortable.jpg]

On one hand, this was hilarious, but on the other, Ye Xiu would feel so much better if Su Mucheng and Han Wenqing never spoke to each other ever again. Ever.

Well, he’d already wasted enough of his time looking at this chat. Resolutely, he changed his profile picture to the default one and his display name to Ye Qiu.

            Ye Qiu: yo

            Ye Qiu: i’m on vacation

            Ye Qiu: be back next season :)

After he pressed enter, Ye Xiu hastily closed QQ. Let them chew on that for a while.

He took another look at the customers—all was peaceful—then opened up the fully-loaded Glory. He slid his account card into the card reader, logged in, and got down to business.

As soon as he was assuredly online, a number of message notifications popped up around his inbox’s icon. Ye Xiu checked them one by one. Sunset Clouds, Drifting Water, and Seven Fields, the players he’d partied with last night, had all respectfully passed on their greetings. Sleeping Moon, the last member of their five-man party, was notably absent. Ye Xiu inquired after him.

            Lord Grim: is he being difficult again? lol

            Seven Fields: He was here a little while ago but he was too worried about the news to focus

            Lord Grim: news?

            Seven Fields: Didn’t God Ye Qiu leave EE and disappear?

            Lord Grim: oh right

            Seven Fields: Yeah he’s a big fan of God Ye Qiu’s

            Seven Fields: It messed him up so he gave up on playing and went to bed

            Seven Fields: Or maybe he’s obsessively browsing the forums and news for more info lol

            Lord Grim: lol

Ye Xiu briefly massaged his temple. The same Sleeping Moon who had shamelessly tried to con him and then publicly slandered him when he failed—that guy was his fan? What kind of irony was this?

Eh. He supposed it didn’t matter.

            Lord Grim: well

            Lord Grim: if we’re missing a person, spider cave’s hidden bosses won’t be easy to kill

            Seven Fields: Just randomly add someone?

            Lord Grim: why don’t we go to skeleton graveyard for now?

            Seven Fields: Sure sure!! That works too

While he was on his way to meet up with the others, yet another notification popped up. Exasperated, Ye Xiu clicked on it, only to find that it was a friend request and not a message.

            Roaring Tiger wishes to add you as a friend!

“Who?” Ye Xiu muttered to himself. He quickly checked the player’s profile: Level 16, male, nothing particularly identifying.

Hmm…

On a whim, Ye Xiu accepted the friend request. Roaring Tiger’s status was set to invisible, but Ye Xiu typed up a message anyway. It’d still be a minute or two before Lord Grim arrived at Skeleton Graveyard, he had time to chat.

            Lord Grim: hi?

He didn’t really expect a reply—not everyone could play games this late at night—but he received one inside of a few seconds.

            Roaring Tiger: Hey

            Roaring Tiger: Where are you

Ye Xiu blinked. Something occurred to him.

            Lord Grim: …old han??

            Lord Grim: is that you???

            Roaring Tiger: Who else would it be

            Lord Grim: what are you doing…

            Roaring Tiger: Leveling up

This had to be karma.

            Lord Grim: no i mean

            Lord Grim: what are you doing on this server ._.

            Roaring Tiger: Playing

            Lord Grim: do you have time to play casually like this???

            Roaring Tiger: If I didn’t would I be here

            Roaring Tiger: Anyway

            Roaring Tiger: Where are you

Ye Xiu stared flabbergasted at his monitor. What the hell had gotten into this man? Something was not right.

            Lord Grim: you have responsibilities captain han

            Lord Grim: go to sleep

            Roaring Tiger: You first

            Lord Grim: …lol

            Lord Grim: unlike you i’m working rn

            Lord Grim: i’m not allowed to go to sleep

            Roaring Tiger: Whatever

            Roaring Tiger: Let’s just meet somewhere

            Lord Grim: okay fine

            Lord Grim: i give up

            Lord Grim: i’m heading to skeleton graveyard to meet up with my party

            Lord Grim: luckily for you we have a spot open

            Lord Grim: meet me there

            Roaring Tiger: Omw

He decided not to think about it. Maybe he should have seen this coming, but in the end, it wasn’t his business what Han Wenqing chose to do with his own time. Just like it apparently wasn’t his business what he chose to do with his ridiculous amounts of money.

He found the others easily enough, recognizing the trio from a ways away. They were waiting patiently for him and accepted his join-party request in an instant.

When Ye Xiu got within hearing range, he said, “Hey, everyone, it turns out we’ll have a full party after all.”

“Hey, Brother Expert! What do you mean? You invited a friend?” Drifting Water asked.

“He invited himself,” Ye Xiu grumbled. “I think he’ll be here soon.”

“Is he skilled? What class is he?” That was Sunset Clouds. "Or, uh, what class is he going for?"

“He usually plays as a Striker, and he’s very skilled,” Ye Xiu explained. Then he smirked a bit and said, “Not much worse than me.”

“Who are you talking about?” asked a dark, familiar voice from somewhere behind Lord Grim.

Ye Xiu turned Lord Grim around to face Han Wenqing’s avatar. Roaring Tiger was decked out in some of the best equipment currently available, making for an intimidating sight. His aura wasn’t much different from Desert Dust’s and seemed to repel everyone nearby.

“Hello, kitty,” Ye Xiu said sweetly.

He could almost feel Han Wenqing’s glare through the screen.

“Uh…” Not only Seven Fields, but Drifting Water and Sunset Clouds were also having a hard time lingering in Roaring Tiger’s presence. An avatar’s expression was always more or less blank, but just judging by the way the three stood so motionlessly, they were struggling not to create some distance between themselves and Roaring Tiger.

Ye Xiu laughed it off carelessly. “Guys, this is my friend. He’ll be joining us today.”

“Nice to meet you,” Seven Fields said weakly. The others echoed him with varying degrees of pitifulness.

“Nice to meet you, too.” Despite how polite the words themselves were, the tone was just slightly off.

Seven Fields, all but dripping desperation, sent Ye Xiu a private message.

            Seven Fields: Where did you meet this guy?!?!?!?!

            Lord Grim: we’re old friends

            Lord Grim: don’t worry, he’s not that bad

            Seven Fields: ………

Ye Xiu was admittedly not being very truthful. He was used to Han Wenqing, but these guys would probably find his presence a little difficult to adjust to. It might even hamper their performance.

A bit worried, Ye Xiu decided to send a message of his own.

            Lord Grim: don’t scare them okay

            Lord Grim: just leave the directions to me

            Lord Grim: they’re already used to me leading

            Roaring Tiger: Fine

            Lord Grim: you’ll be nice?

            Roaring Tiger: If I said yes you wouldn’t believe me

            Lord Grim: you’re right lol

            Lord Grim: i don’t think you’re capable of it

            Roaring Tiger: Is that so

            Lord Grim: um

            Lord Grim: what i mean is

            Lord Grim: of course you’re a stellar human being old han!

            Lord Grim: just

            Lord Grim: dial back the mob boss attitude please

            Roaring Tiger: …

            Roaring Tiger: What fucking mob boss attitude

“Er.” Ye Xiu cleared his throat and exited out of the chat. “Let’s get going, ha ha! No time to waste.”

Han Wenqing audibly harrumphed.

The others were more than willing to follow Ye Xiu’s lead, however, and eagerly trailed him into the dungeon.

Chapter Text

Skeleton Graveyard wasn’t much different from how Ye Xiu remembered it. With every update, there would be some slight tweaks to the maps to make them more realistic or detailed, but Glory hadn’t had any major updates in three years. The patches they sent out were mainly small fixes, largely superficial and occasionally too structural for anyone to really notice anything except, like, Hey, isn’t the recording function running kinda smoother?

“Oh, uh—Brother Expert, is there anything you want here?” Seven Fields asked belatedly.

“Just the Skeleton Warrior’s Saber.”

“Isn’t that ornamental?”

“Yep.”

Even though Seven Fields and the others were confused, they said nothing more on the topic. Han Wenqing also remained silent and positioned himself at the back of the group.

Ye Xiu figured that Han Wenqing wanted to guard the rear while he took point. With decidedly average players such as Seven Fields, Drifting Water, and Sunset Clouds in their party, that came as no surprise.

Lord Grim paved the way forward, battle lance at the ready. The light, drizzling rain of Skeleton Graveyard was unintentionally soothing compared to the rest of the place; the green glow of will-o’-wisps and the faraway moaning of ghosts, while not enough to truly scare someone, were quite the opposite of soothing. It was obvious the designers had been trying to achieve a certain atmosphere, but in Ye Xiu’s opinion, they had tried way too hard.

But the rain was admittedly pretty nice.

“I hope we run into a hidden boss,” somebody muttered. The others, minus Han Wenqing, made agreeing sounds.

Ye Xiu chuckled. “Are you guys becoming addicted to killing hidden bosses?”

The three seemed to come alive, regaining the enthusiasm Ye Xiu now expected of them. The little laughing emojis they sent in the party chat were kind of a relief. Maybe they’d gotten over Han Wenqing.

For the time being, anyway. Just wait until the guy actually started talking.

As they continued their steady advance, slaughtering monsters all the while, Ye Xiu felt that something was a bit odd. He heard wind, but a different sort from the eerie whistling breeze typical of this dungeon.

More than a little perturbed, he glanced away from the screen for a split second to look in the direction the sound was coming from.

A ghastly white face with a pair of unblinking, gleaming eyes stared back at him.

Ye Xiu instinctively flinched away, slamming his left hand on the keyboard in the process. In the game, Lord Grim performed a series of truly inexplicable actions, his body contorting.

“Uh, Brother Expert? …Bro, you there?”

As Ye Xiu regained his composure and hurriedly righted Lord Grim, he saw that Han Wenqing had sent something to the party chat.

            Roaring Tiger: …

            Lord Grim: [sweating emoji]

“Are you staying up late to fight crime in the dead of night like some superhero, Boss?” Ye Xiu asked, more than a bit miffed.

“I can’t sleep so I came down for a bit,” Chen Guo explained as she peeled off her mask.

Ye Xiu watched her dubiously out of the corner of his eye, but decided to keep quiet. Women and their nighttime rituals… Su Mucheng would say skincare routines, but it all sounded vaguely mystical to him.

Without prompting, Chen Guo said, “I was thinking about why Ye Qiu might have left.”

“Oh?” was his noncommittal response.

Seeing how unconcerned he acted, Chen Guo suspected he wasn’t interested in the topic. However, as she had nobody else to share her thoughts with, she continued.

“I think Ye Qiu got tired of taking on all the burdens of the team. As the captain, whenever something went wrong, he got the blame for it, and a lot has been going wrong lately. Excellent Era has been struggling since last season and they’re barely staying afloat now.”

“Mmm.”

“And…watching all of Excellent Era’s battles, my impression is that Ye Qiu really isn’t as strong as he was back in the day. One Autumn Leaf also isn’t as outstanding anymore.”

Chen Guo studied Ye Xiu’s profile for any reaction, but all she saw was the same tranquil expression. He appeared completely focused on the game.

“There are so many amazing accounts now—the Great Gunner, the Sword Saint, the King of Fighting, the Magician—and the players who operate them don’t lose out to Ye Qiu and his One Autumn Leaf in any way. All of the gods of today are pretty evenly matched, unlike back then.”

Ye Xiu still didn’t reply. Was he even paying attention? Chen Guo furrowed her brow.

“You can’t rely on one person to carry the team anymore, but people still hope that Ye Qiu can come out on top just like he did in his glory days. The way he dominated the pro scene for three straight years… I don’t know, it seems like a lot to live up to. He was younger back then; so much has changed since. The gap between him and others has closed, yet fans expect him to pull off the same miracles. Because the fans expect it, maybe the club expected it, too, but their demands—”

“Sunset Clouds, you and Drifting Water stand together. Seven Fields, you’re too ahead of us—Roaring Tiger, take my side so I can go help Seven Fields. Thanks.”

Chen Guo smacked the desk with the side of her fist and stood up. “What the fuck! Are you listening to me?! Are you?!” Snarling furiously, she wrapped her hands around Ye Xiu’s neck and shook him violently.

The customers nearby ducked down behind their monitors as if to protect themselves from Chen Guo’s murderous aura.

Ye Xiu somehow managed not to lose control of Lord Grim again, but he was rapidly running out of oxygen. Desperate, he typed out a couple of quick messages to Han Wenqing, the only person he knew who was even more imposing than Chen Guo.

            Lord Grim: help

            Lord Grim: my boss is trying to kill me

            Roaring Tiger: ………

            Lord Grim: kitty pls

            Roaring Tiger: Die

Just as he was on the verge of passing out, Chen Guo released him. Ye Xiu coughed pitifully and replaced his fallen headphones with one hand.

“Who is that you’re talking to?” Chen Guo asked, scrutinizing the private chat.

Ye Xiu was eternally grateful for the fact that not all of his and Han Wenqing’s conversation history was visible. “A friend of mine. Are you just going to ignore the part where you tried to kill me?”

“Yes.” Chen Guo’s reply was breezy as she sat back down.

Ye Xiu shrugged it off and focused on the dungeon. They’d finally reached the boss.

Chen Guo observed their progress with a gloomy expression. This guy didn’t care at all about anything besides Glory, did he? The more time she spent in his presence, the more she was tempted to murder him for real.

In an effort to calm herself down, she counted down slowly from ten to one and decided on a neutral topic—something about him this time. It probably would have been wiser to go back upstairs and sleep, but she just wasn’t tired enough yet.

“Do you have a lot of friends in the game?” she asked.

Ye Xiu took a while to reply, but said, “Not on this server.”

“Well, it’s brand new. Why not invite your friends to come play with you?”

“They’re busy.” The sound of his typing abruptly sped up for a few seconds, then slowed back down. “Drifting Water, keep up!”

“Then what about this Roaring Tiger person?”

Weirdly enough, that garnered an instant reaction. Ye Xiu snorted and said, “He just has no sense. All right, let’s hurry this up. Roaring Tiger, you ready?”

Chen Guo leaned forward to get a better look. On the screen, Ye Xiu’s party had Skeleton Graveyard’s boss surrounded. A mob was gathered at the fringes, trying to attack their formation. As she watched, the three players she recognized from last night moved to push the mob back. At the same time, Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger—a badass-looking fellow—rushed at the boss.

To her eyes, the way they fought was extremely coordinated. Not only did they work seamlessly together, not even needing to communicate, they still created chances for the others to join in and contribute damage. It was less a battle and more a beautifully choreographed dance.

“That guy is really good!” Chen Guo exclaimed approvingly.

“Did you hear that, kitty?” Ye Xiu called into his mic. “My boss says you’re really good!” For some reason, he laughed.

Chen Guo smacked his shoulder. “What the hell’s so funny?”

Ye Xiu leaned away from her, a small smile on his face. “Nothing, nothing. Just a joke between friends. Okay, let’s wrap this up.”

It was obvious that with Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger at the helm, the boss would quickly fall beneath the party’s unceasing onslaught. Chen Guo watched right up until the boss hit 4% health, then scooted off to play on her tenth server account. No matter how infuriating Ye Xiu was, she really wanted to dungeon with him sometime… She just had to level up first.

As soon as they defeated the boss, Seven Fields, Drifting Water, and Sunset Clouds started raining praises on Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing.

“Roaring Tiger, your moves are amazing!”

“Yeah, really fierce, really inspiring!”

“Brother Expert was great at leading as usual, ha ha.”

“Brother Expert, you and Roaring Tiger work so well together. I almost feel like we were slowing you two down!”

“Yeah…we’re sorry for burdening you…”

Ye Xiu shook his head. While it was true these guys weren’t even close to his and Han Wenqing’s level, to call them a hindrance would be inaccurate. Sure, they’d slipped up in a few places and had trouble reacting to the sudden appearances of monsters while traversing the dungeon, but their willingness to cooperate made up for their shortcomings.

“You guys are fine,” he said simply. “Don’t worry about it too much. Right, Roaring Tiger?”

“You just need to train your awareness and reaction speed,” Han Wenqing told them coldly.

“Ah, yeah… Yes, you’re right,” Drifting Water replied shakily, clearly embarrassed.

“I saw some beginner-level mistakes,” Han Wenqing continued.

The three remained quiet, far too ashamed to even begin to defend themselves.

Ye Xiu was exasperated. “Don’t mind him, this sort of strict person is really hard to please. Roaring Tiger, don’t be so demanding.”

“H-how can we improve, though?” Sunset Clouds asked timidly.

“Practice,” Han Wenqing said.

“Pretty much,” Ye Xiu admitted. “It’s just that you guys have been playing this game for a while, right?”

“Right.”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, there probably isn’t that much room for improvement.”

“Aww, Brother Expert…!”

“I said it before, didn’t I? There is such a thing as talent in this cruel world. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make the most of what you have!”

“Work hard and learn more,” was Han Wenqing’s decisive addition. “And stop making such ridiculous mistakes.”

Ye Xiu sighed. And he’d thought this conversation was going well. “All right, let’s just try again.”

The second run actually did yield better results in terms of performance. Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing still kept a watchful eye on the others, but they didn’t have to rescue them as much. Ye Xiu could tell they were putting in a lot of effort in order to lift the so-called burden off  the experts’ shoulders.

            Lord Grim: look, they really are doing better

            Roaring Tiger: If they weren’t we’d need another party

            Lord Grim: don’t be like that old han~

            Lord Grim: these guys are willing to give me the materials i need

            Roaring Tiger: I see

            Lord Grim: sure, they’re super average, but they also work well together

            Roaring Tiger: You can’t rely on them forever though

            Lord Grim: yeah, that’s true…

            Lord Grim: good thing i have you right? ;)

            Roaring Tiger: …

Though their second run produced no hidden bosses, Ye Xiu remained patient. He made sure to commend the others on their improvements and then proceeded with attempt number three.

            Lord Grim: btw

            Lord Grim: how did you know it was me??

            Roaring Tiger: ?

            Lord Grim: how did you know lord grim was me

            Roaring Tiger: Only you would have the entire server gossiping about you inside of a day

            Lord Grim: …

            Roaring Tiger: Also I checked the dungeon records

            Lord Grim: lol

            Roaring Tiger: You’re not subtle

            Lord Grim: :’)

            Lord Grim: i’m not doing it on purpose…

            Roaring Tiger: Okay

            Lord Grim: ………why don’t you sound like you believe me

On their third run, it finally happened. Though their three companions were oblivious, both Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing noticed when one of the gravestones began to tremble.

“Pay attention,” Han Wenqing rumbled.

“Back up!” Ye Xiu called.

Everybody else retreated to put distance between themselves and the gravestone; Ye Xiu, however, directed Lord Grim forward to meet the incoming boss head-on. Roaring Tiger took up a position between him and the rest of the party.

“Dodge!”

The gravestone flew out of the ground even as Ye Xiu spoke. Thanks to his timely warning, nobody was hit. The system announcement arrived a second later.

            You have entered the Skeleton Warrior’s place of eternal rest.

“Finally,” Ye Xiu muttered to himself.

The Skeleton Warrior was heaving himself out of his grave, slinging mud everywhere in the process. Once he had enough leverage (Glory’s physics were seriously realistic when they wanted to be), he leaped out entirely, flipping in midair before he crashed to the ground.

They all held their breaths.

The rain washed the dirt from his exposed bones and left them a pure, shining white. His damaged old sword, as large as the average avatar, was pointed right at them.

“All right, what’s the plan?” Drifting Water asked.

“Hmm…actually…”

“Huh?” Sunset Clouds said, trying to split his attention evenly between the boss and their boss.

“My bad,” Ye Xiu said laughingly.

“What’s wrong?” Seven Fields asked, worried.

“I forgot to look at a guide.”

“You what?!” three voices chorused at once.

There was a pause as everybody absorbed that.

The Skeleton Warrior didn’t give them a chance to ponder over it. He leaped toward them again, and though the entire party retreated, his thunderous landing caused a minor earthquake. The shock wave sent clouds of debris flying every which way.

“Should I look for one?” Sunset Clouds cried right before the wave reached them.

Drifting Water was the only one who failed to dodge it. He was hit full-force and immediately fell flat on his face.

“No need, I already looked it up,” Han Wenqing said.

“Seriously?” Ye Xiu demanded. “Quick, how can I get a one-hundred-percent drop rate for the Saber?”

“You have to hit the Saber’s buckle twenty-four times.” While he was still speaking, he sent Ye Xiu a message.

            Roaring Tiger: Why didn’t you look this up

            Lord Grim: i forgot!!!

            Roaring Tiger: Getting the Saber was the entire point of coming here

            Lord Grim: [crying emoji]

            Roaring Tiger: You’re so annoying

            Roaring Tiger: I hope you’re grateful

            Lord Grim: i’m very grateful <3

            Roaring Tiger: >>

            Roaring Tiger: Focus

Ye Xiu cleared his throat and said, “I’ll get the Saber, you guys follow Roaring Tiger’s directions.”

“Wait! Can you really solo a hidden boss?” Seven Fields demanded, sounding rather alarmed.

“Sure I can. Don’t worry about me, just do what you’re told.” With that, Lord Grim lunged forward to cut off the Skeleton Warrior’s advance.

Seven Fields and the rest were both awestruck and gloomy. It felt like they were a bunch of children who’d been handed off by one parent to another so the first could go kick ass or something.

Worse still, this Roaring Tiger fellow was so harsh! The way he scolded them, one would think they really were children…

The three brothers quietly and dramatically bemoaned their fate in their own private group chat.

They didn’t forget to keep an eye on Lord Grim’s battle with the Skeleton Warrior, though.

            Drifting Water: brother expert is too amazing

            Sunset Clouds: Way too amazing!!!!

            Sunset Clouds: Do you guys think he can really do it??

            Drifting Water: what, solo the boss?

            Sunset Clouds: Ya

            Seven Fields: Even if he can’t there’s still Roaring Tiger

            Sunset Clouds: Oh tru

            Drifting Water: roaring tiger is also way too amazing

            Drifting Water: he’s different from brother expert but still

            Drifting Water: i can’t stop watching him ;-; he kicks so much ass

            Seven Fields: I just wish he wouldn’t snap so much [crying emoji]

            Sunset Clouds: +1

            Drifting Water: +2

“Come over here,” Roaring Tiger commanded suddenly. The trio scrambled to comply, terrified that he’d somehow sensed them talking about him.

In reality, Ye Xiu was finishing up with the hidden boss, so he just wanted a bit of support to make sure everything went smoothly. Between him and Han Wenqing, they were able to guide their less experienced party members into a cohesive attack strategy.

“It dropped,” Han Wenqing observed.

Sure enough, the buckle had been struck twenty-four times and the Skeleton Warrior’s Saber was lying on the ground, waiting to be picked up. The Skeleton Warrior himself was at about half health after the rest of the party’s distracting attacks.

Said attacks had been orchestrated to maneuver the Skeleton Warrior into position so that Ye Xiu could easily hit the buckle, but they also served the purpose of speeding up this boss fight. Once the Saber dropped, Ye Xiu had no interest in letting the battle go on any longer. It was like hitting two birds with one stone.

“Thanks, I love it when people state the obvious,” Ye Xiu announced cheerfully. “Okay, everyone, focus and we can be done with this guy inside five minutes.”

“Oh, you found the boss?”

Ye Xiu almost jumped right out of his seat. With a muttered curse, he grumbled, “Boss, do you have to hover behind me like that? Yes, we found him.”

“Pfft. I’m heading off to bed, will you be all right on your own?” Chen Guo asked, one hand on the chair’s back.

“Of course I will, you go sleep.”

Chen Guo patted his shoulder. “Okay, good night.”

“Night.” A thought struck him a second later. “Oh, wait—do you want me to level you up?”

Chen Guo had left her latest-edition account card lying between the reception desk’s two seats. As the boss, she treated the Internet café like an extension of her own home, so she hadn’t forgotten it there, she just trusted that no one would steal it.

Since he had taken the occasional peek at Chen Guo’s screen while running Skeleton Graveyard, Ye Xiu knew that the tenth server Chasing Haze still had a lot of catching up to do.

Yawning, Chen Guo waved her hand and dragged herself toward the stairs. “Do whatever. See you in the morning.”

Once she was gone, Ye Xiu quickly lit a cigarette. He’d been repressing the desire to smoke for Chen Guo’s sake, but now that it was only him at the desk, he had free rein.

            Lord Grim: yo

            Lord Grim: are you going to bed after this

            Roaring Tiger: Why do you ask

            Lord Grim: wanted to know if you’d come with me to farm green forest for a bit

            Roaring Tiger: Midnight Phantom Cat?

            Lord Grim: yup

            Roaring Tiger: Fine

After the Skeleton Warrior finally went down—within five minutes, as promised—they briefly discussed the distribution of the drops. In what was becoming habit, Ye Xiu persistently refused to take anything besides what he needed for the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella.

Han Wenqing also turned down the offers to split profits and the like. Ye Xiu thought he might accept them as his due, but it didn’t surprise him that he didn’t. In any case, it wasn’t any of his concern.

“Should we go for more runs?” Drifting Water asked once they exited the dungeon.

“Sure. Roaring Tiger and I will stick with you until we hit twenty; after that, you guys can do your own thing.”

“You’re going to level up another account?” While nothing had been very distinct and they’d been in the heat of battle, everyone had still gotten the gist of Ye Xiu’s comments to Chen Guo.

“Mhmm.”

“You don’t want help?”

“No need, we got it.”

And so they continued dungeoning. And dungeoning. And dungeoning.

And more dungeoning.

After countless clears of Skeleton Graveyard, everyone was finally at Level 20. They’d had two more hidden boss encounters, but the results were only so-so when taking into account how much time they’d spent.

At least it wasn’t a complete waste. More valuable materials dropped, and Ye Xiu always welcomed those into his inventory.

Han Wenqing eventually agreed to share in the future profits that selling the leftovers, so to speak, would garner. Ye Xiu suspected it was just to get the others to stop pestering him about it. Normally he’d just tell off anyone who annoyed him (and by “tell off,” Ye Xiu meant “terrify into submission”), but he was evidently restraining himself for these guys’ sakes.

He had to be commended for his self-control. Maybe he was finally taking Ye Xiu’s request for him to be nice to heart.

“Okay, I’ll be off first,” Ye Xiu said, drawing Lord Grim away from the party.

“You’re not going to pick a class?”

Ye Xiu smiled. “Roaring Tiger will, but I’ll pass for now. I guess he’ll be accompanying you guys to the village?” He turned Lord Grim toward the other avatar as he spoke.

“Yeah,” Han Wenqing said. “I’ll meet you there.”

“See you soon!”

* * *

“So how are things going? Prepared for the upcoming match?”

“Obviously.”

Ye Xiu chuckled around his cigarette as he landed another hit on Midnight Phantom Cat. “Of course, of course. You’re always prepared.”

“Hmph. What was with that little stunt you pulled on QQ earlier?”

“What stunt?”

Han Wenqing maneuvered Roaring Tiger to block Midnight Phantom Cat’s retreat, sending it back toward Lord Grim with a Front Kick. “The vacation thing.”

“Oh, I just thought I’d clarify.”

“Nothing has been clarified.”

Ye Xiu laughed.

“I checked the chat. Do you know what you did?”

“I sure do.”

Han Wenqing sighed audibly and used a Whirlwind Kick. On the screen, Lord Grim followed up with Lunge to knock Midnight Phantom Cat back toward Roaring Tiger. They might as well have been playing ping pong.

“How is Su Mucheng?”

Ye Xiu’s eye twitched. “Since when are you and Mucheng friends, huh?”

“Is it a problem if we’re friends?”

“Yes. It’s a huge problem. And you probably know exactly how she is, seeing as you talked to her a few hours ago at most.”

“Stalking the chat, were you?”

“Obviously,” Ye Xiu echoed mockingly. Midnight Phantom Cat fell for the sixth time.

Ye Xiu checked the drops and hummed happily, temporarily forgetting his prior grievance. “Well, our luck is good tonight. I have everything I need already.”

Han Wenqing grunted. “Then let’s leave.”

Ye Xiu guided both Lord Grim and the leeching Chasing Haze out of Green Forest. The two avatars huddled together with Roaring Tiger at the dungeon’s exit.

“Do you…” Ye Xiu began, but was quickly distracted by an incoming system notification.

            Blue River wishes to add you as a friend!

Who the hell was Blue River? Ye Xiu had Lord Grim turn around to study the other players nearby, but he didn’t spot anybody with that username.

“Do I what?”

“Uh…I forgot.” Ye Xiu shrugged it off and ignored the friend request.

“You forgot?”

“Somebody sent me a friend request just now and I lost my train of thought.”

Han Wenqing sounded unimpressed. “Your attention span is truly amazing.”

“Ha ha,” Ye Xiu returned flatly. “You don’t complain about my attention span when we’re—”

Another friend request notification. Ye Xiu ignored it again.

“What is it now?”

“The same person keeps trying to add me…”

“Who is it?”

“Blue River.”

There was a pause. Roaring Tiger seemed to be looking around. “I don’t see any Blue River.”

“Yeah, me neither…” Even as they spoke, more and more friend request notifications poured in. “Whoever it is, they’re really persistent.”

“Just accept and see what they want,” Han Wenqing commanded.

“Pfft, fine.”

Ye Xiu clicked accept on the next notification, already preparing himself for it to be some noob begging for a carry.

Therefore, he was surprised when he received a very polite message instead.

            Blue River: Hi, let me introduce myself.

            Blue River: I’m Blue River from Blue Brook Guild, my main account is Blue Bridge Spring Snow in the Heavenly Domain.

            Lord Grim: hi

“Hmm. You know, for a second, I thought because of the class and level and the flood of requests that maybe Huang Shaotian somehow tracked me down to this server, but it’s just some guy from Blue Brook Guild.”

“Some guy? What did he say?”

“He introduced himself. I think he wants something from me.”

“Such as?”

“Hold on.”

            Blue River: What are you doing, Brother?

            Lord Grim: nothing at the moment

            Blue River: Oh? Where are you?

            Lord Grim: outside green forest

            Blue River: Were you dungeoning?

            Lord Grim: yeah, carrying a friend

            Blue River: Well, we’re missing a party member for a Frost Forest run. Are you interested in joining, Brother?

“He’s so respectful but also kind of straightforward…” Ye Xiu leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Did he say what he wants?” Han Wenqing asked impatiently.

“Looks like he wants me to party with him and his group for Frost Forest.”

            Lord Grim: why me?

            Blue River: To be quite honest, we’re preparing to break the Frost Forest clear record. We could really use a peak-level expert like you in our party. If we manage to break it, we’ll give you the Purple equipment, we only want the record.

            Blue River: What do you think?

“Yep, they want me to help them clear the record.”

Han Wenqing was quiet for a moment, then said, “They must have researched you a lot to send you an invitation outright.”

Ye Xiu nodded absently, exhaling smoke. “Probably.”

“I suppose you’re going to take advantage of this gracious offer?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

            Lord Grim: i don’t need the purple equipment, but if possible i want something else

            Blue River: What’s that?

            Lord Grim: materials

            Blue River: Haha, you’re pretty sharp, Brother.

            Lord Grim: 72 strong spider silks

            Blue River: No problem.

            Lord Grim: 1 white witch’s mithril pendant

            Blue River: I can get those for you now.

            Lord Grim: great!

            Lord Grim: also

            Lord Grim: 8 white wolf’s sharp fangs

            Blue River: …

            Lord Grim: :)

            Blue River: Brother, isn’t this a bit too much?

            Lord Grim: well, if that’s what you think

            Lord Grim: then no mithril pendant

            Lord Grim: good??

            Blue River: That’s the least of it. The issue here is the Strong Spider Silks and the White Wolf’s Sharp Fangs.

            Lord Grim: then what do you suggest?

            Blue River: Pick one or the other.

“Say, Old Han, would you pick Strong Spider Silks or White Wolf’s Sharp Fangs?”

Han Wenqing made an annoyed sound. Roaring Tiger was standing patiently beside Lord Grim and Chasing Haze as they loitered near Green Forest’s exit, which made Ye Xiu feel a little bad. Surely he had better ways to spend his time.

Suddenly, he had an idea.

            Lord Grim: what if i bring a friend

            Blue River: A friend?

            Lord Grim: yes, an expert like me

            Lord Grim: would this amount be acceptable then?

            Blue River: Is this friend really at your level?

            Lord Grim: yep

            Blue River: I suppose it would be.

            Blue River: In any case, you only get the materials if we break the record.

            Lord Grim: i got it

            Lord Grim: but if we do break the record

            Lord Grim: i want 100 strong spider silks

            Lord Grim: 12 white wolf’s sharp fangs

            Lord Grim: and 3 mithril pendants

            Lord Grim: as a gesture of goodwill

            Lord Grim: :)

            Blue River: [coughing blood emoji]

            Blue River: Brother…

            Lord Grim: look, it’s a two in one deal

            Lord Grim: i didn’t even double all the values, aren’t i generous?

            Blue River: No?!

            Lord Grim: oh come on

            Lord Grim: 90 strong spider silks

            Blue River: Uh…

            Lord Grim: 80

            Blue River: ;-;

            Lord Grim: okay back down to 72

            Lord Grim: that’s fine right?

            Blue River: …

            Lord Grim: sigh…70

            Blue River: ………

            Lord Grim: :)?

            Blue River: Fine! [crying emoji]

            Blue River: Fine, 70 Strong Spider Silks, 12 White Wolf’s Sharp Fangs, 3 Mithril Pendants

            Blue River: Do we have a deal?

            Lord Grim: yep :D

“Did you chuckle just now?” Han Wenqing asked suspiciously.

Ye Xiu smiled. “I don’t know, did I? Come on, let’s go set a dungeon record.” He logged Chasing Haze out and sent Lord Grim in the direction of Frost Forest.

“What?” Han Wenqing’s voice emerged from behind him.

“We’re going to go earn us some materials!” Ye Xiu announced airily.

Roaring Tiger caught up with Lord Grim. “You… Are you dragging me along to do your work for you?”

“Of course not, I’m dragging you along to do my work with me,” Ye Xiu said kindly.

Han Wenqing all but snarled.

* * *

“So how’d it go?” Bound Boat asked.

“He’ll be here soon,” Xu Boyuan said somewhat gloomily.

He had no idea how it’d come to this. His intentions when inviting Lord Grim to join their record-breaking party were relatively pure. He wanted to establish friendly relations with an outstanding expert, that was all. Maybe pull him into the guild if he turned out to be as amazing as suspected, but that was just hypothetical.

It wasn’t supposed to be some kind of business transaction. Rather than going on an ambitious dungeon run with the guy, Xu Boyuan had ended up paying him to help Blue Brook break Frost Forest’s record. Instead of a goal to bring them together, the record became the point and the materials the reward.

How could this be called a friendly relation? Xu Boyuan felt like bashing his head against the wall. His eyes were already streaming with tears.

“Oh, and he’ll be bringing a friend,” Xu Boyuan added belatedly.

Bound Boat sounded confused. “A friend? Why?”

“He said his friend is also an expert. On his level, even.” Xu Boyuan didn’t say that he’d brought his friend along to be able to earn more materials.

“Huh,” Bound Boat said. “Well, I guess we’ll have to make room for two.”

“Yeah… Hey, everyone, which two of you are going to give up your positions?”

It didn’t take long to rearrange the party; Xu Boyuan had only brought the most easygoing and steady people with him to  pioneer in the tenth server. Nobody was going to argue over something like this, especially since they didn’t expect to break the dungeon record anyway.

Xu Boyuan hadn’t expected to, either, but now he wasn’t so sure. Lord Grim had been so serious about haggling and even recruited a partner.

He had a chilling premonition that Blue Brook Guild would be getting poorer tonight.

            Lord Grim: we’re here

            Lord Grim: your coordinates?

“He’ll be arriving soon,” Xu Boyuan informed the others as he typed a reply. The area surrounding Frost Forest was abundant in players, so it wouldn’t surprise him if Lord Grim took a while to single out Blue River and the others from Blue Brook Guild. Besides Blue River, Bound Boat, and Flower Lantern, several other curious onlookers from their guild hovered nearby as well.

But in fact, Lord Grim appeared to have no trouble navigating because he soon appeared at the edges of the crowd.

His arrival was very…eye-catching.

“What is he doing?” somebody asked in a vaguely horrified tone.

The brightly-colored mass of clashing equipment approached them straightforwardly. Xu Boyuan’s mind was so blank he almost didn’t notice Lord Grim was being trailed by another avatar: a Striker with the name Roaring Tiger floating above his head. And this Striker was certainly, er, striking.

Xu Boyuan had no idea who to pay more attention to. Lord Grim won out for sheer shock value, but Roaring Tiger’s equipment was too terrifying for Level 20, no? And why was his default expression, which was often bland on other avatars, so fierce?

“Hello, hello?” Lord Grim tried, evidently testing out his mic.

“I can hear you,” Xu Boyuan said weakly.

“Oh, good. Hi, everyone,” he greeted.

The others offered their own muddled greetings.

Xu Boyuan massaged his temple and said, “Let me introduce you…” For some reason, his thoughts wandered halfway through and he couldn’t even remember which two of his original party he was bringing into the dungeon with them anymore.

What was at the forefront of his mind was: I’m paying this guy to break a dungeon record?

            Bound Boat: You okay bro?…

            Blue River: [sweating emoji]

“I also need to introduce you! This is my friend, Roaring Tiger,” Lord Grim said when Xu Boyuan drifted off. Probably to avoid the awkward silence.

Roaring Tiger stepped forward and said in an imposing tone, “Hey.”

Xu Boyuan stared at the avatar on his screen. Maybe if Lord Grim’s friend had been warm and welcoming, it would be easier to break the ice, but instead, Roaring Tiger just made the ice thicker.

The two’s combined presence left everyone at a loss for words. They even forgot to insult Lord Grim’s shitty fashion sense behind his back.

“Um, how about we go start?” Xu Boyuan said desperately. He suddenly wanted to get this over with.

“Actually, could you give me a minute? Sorry about this,” Lord Grim said, though he didn’t sound particularly regretful.

Xu Boyuan was rendered speechless once again. Lord Grim was completely motionless, so his gaze inevitably fell on Roaring Tiger.

The Striker stood close beside Lord Grim and occasionally turned his head from one side to the other as if he expected trouble. Or maybe he was daring somebody to come over and make trouble so he could show them the real meaning of the word.

Nobody said anything. Even the guild chat was uncommonly quiet, not to mention the party chat.

Bound Boat coughed. “So, Roaring Tiger, how long have you been playing Glory?”

There was a long, intimidating pause. Xu Boyuan held his breath.

“A while,” Roaring Tiger replied finally.

Bound Boat floundered for a bit, obviously searching for another topic.

“Did you and Lord Grim meet in the game?”

A shorter pause this time. “Yes.”

“In this server?”

“No.”

“Oh. Um… Are you good friends?”

“I guess.”

“Do you know why he hasn’t picked a class yet?”

“Do you ever stop asking questions?” Roaring Tiger returned frigidly.

Bound Boat shut up. He and the rest of their  group, including Blue River, took a collective step back. Just a tiny one. Barely noticeable.

Suddenly, Lord Grim flipped his battle lance around, startling everyone except Roaring Tiger, who remained as unmoving as a mountain.

Xu Boyuan was relieved. “Brother, you’re back?”

“Yup.”

“Would you and Roaring Tiger mind joining our guild? So the clear record will be under our guild’s name.”

“That’s fine.”

Both Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger readily accepted his invitations. A small piece of Xu Boyuan’s hope was restored.

Maybe this would all work out.

“Okay, are we ready to begin?” Xu Boyuan asked.

“Hold on…” Lord Grim spoke up.

Xu Boyuan paused. What now?

“Brother?” Bound Boat, clearly the most resilient of them all, questioned.

“If we want to break the record, then I suggest we switch up the classes a bit.”

“Switch up how?” Xu Boyuan asked cautiously.

“We don’t need a Cleric!”

What hope had been restored immediately died a gory death.

Xu Boyuan was prepared to argue, as were his companions judging by the indignant sounds they made, but then Roaring Tiger decided to contribute.

“Add a DPS class,” he commanded in a no-nonsense tone.

Xu Boyuan hesitated. Just who was in charge around here?

He finally managed to remember some words and how to string them into sentences. “Without a healer, the MT—”

“We don’t need an MT, either! We need more DPS.”

Flower Lantern and Bound Boat were the MT and healer Xu Boyuan had chosen for this run. They were exceptional players who not only performed well, but also performed consistently.

Xu Boyuan was proud to say that Blue Brook Guild had many such experts. In this case, though, Lord Grim wasn’t disregarding them based on their skill levels, but on their classes.

It was hard to refute him. If he didn’t want to listen to common sense, then what else could be said?

“Fuck!” Flower Lantern suddenly burst out. He’d been uncharacteristically quiet since their guests arrived, probably just as dumbstruck and cowed as the other spectators, but it seemed he couldn’t contain himself anymore.

“No MT?” he snarled. “That’s fine against the mobs, but what about the boss? Who’s gonna control the aggro? You?”

“Yup,” Lord Grim said cheerfully.

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?!”

“I’m going to control the aggro.”

Before Flower Lantern could retort, Roaring Tiger broke in, apparently impatient. “Are you done? Quit wasting time and go find some DPS classes for us.”

“An all-DPS team can’t finish the dungeon!” Xu Boyuan exclaimed.

“Says who? Just let me lead,” Lord Grim said.

“Y-You—” Xu Boyuan spluttered helplessly. Why did he suddenly feel so weak? How much more of this could he take?

            Blue River: I swear my life is flashing before my eyes.

            Bound Boat: :/

“Fuck it, fine! Let’s see if you’re as good as you claim. Bound Boat, you an’ me switch out,” Flower Lantern said harshly.

In the guild chat, he directly called out for any DPS classes to come and help them beat Frost Forest’s record. His belligerent attitude caused quite a stir.

Xu Boyuan sweat-dropped. Before things could escalate out of control, he singled out a volunteer and recalled one of his previous party members.

Returning Cloud, an Elementalist, and Lunar Grace, a Witch, detached themselves from the mass of Blue Brook Guild’s players.

“O great god, are these two suitable?” Flower Lantern said sarcastically.

The only reason he could be so brave was because he ignored Roaring Tiger. Unfortunately for him, Roaring Tiger chose right then to make himself impossible to ignore.

“Why are you still here again?” he growled. The Striker took a step toward the Knight.

Flower Lantern faltered. Everybody watching fell deathly quiet.

“Scram,” Roaring Tiger snapped.

Flower Lantern scrammed.

Returning Cloud and Lunar Grace stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do. They were no longer able to tell if being chosen for this particular task was an honor or not.

Thankfully, Lord Grim stepped in and diffused the situation. He asked Lunar Grace, “What path?”

“Dark Style.”

“Have you added points to Doll Shururu?”

“I have it on auto.”

“Oh, great. We can get started, then.”

“Er—okay, let’s start. You lead,” Xu Boyuan said quickly.

“Thanks!”

Without another word, Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger headed toward Frost Forest’s entrance.

“Whoa, wait!” Xu Boyuan rushed Blue River to run after them. Returning Cloud and Lunar Grace helplessly followed.

Seeing how the three of them were like a bunch of headless chickens, Xu Boyuan felt they were already off to a terrible start.

            Bound Boat: Good luck!!

            Blue River: At this point, I’ll just be grateful if this doesn’t end in death and disaster.

            Bound Boat: Has anyone ever told you you’re really dramatic…

            Blue River: No?

            Bound Boat: [side-eying emoji]

A minute passed.

            Blue River: Wtf.

            Bound Boat: ?

            Blue River: They want to use One-Wave Rush.

            Bound Boat: …

            Blue River: holy shit it’s z-shake

            Bound Boat: o.o

Another few minutes.

            Blue River: Lord Grim just gathered a mob

            Blue River: Like 20 goblins

            Bound Boat: …

            Blue River: I have no idea what’s happening anymore

A few more…

            Blue River: HOW???

            Blue River: How is this Striker so badass? Am I watching Han Wenqing right now??

            Bound Boat: ……

            Blue River: Lord Grim just

            Blue River: flew

            Bound Boat: ???

            Blue River: oh god we’re attacking

            Blue River: one sec

            Bound Boat: Just concentrate…

And a few more after that.

            Blue River: How many AoE attacks does he even have????

            Blue River: And what is that weapon gdi???????

            Bound Boat: How is it going?

            Blue River: my friend we are rolling this dungeon so hard rn

            Blue River: I am in the presence of actual gods.

            Bound Boat: For real?

            Blue River: Just wait till we

            Blue River: get on tv

            Blue River: Lol rhyme

            Bound Boat: [sweating emoji]

Their record soon came out, as promised.

            Congratulations to Blue Brook Guild’s players: Blue River, Lord Grim, Roaring Tiger, Lunar Grace, Returning Cloud for breaking Frost Forest’s clear record. Time: 18:48:31.

The previous record by Herb Garden was, what, twenty-six minutes and a dozen seconds? To beat it by such a large margin was truly no small feat. Xu Boyuan was ecstatic. Those breathtaking numbers were engraved in his heart.

            Plantago Seed: hey hey

            Plantago Seed: No fair, did you rope in an amazing expert or something?

            Blue River: Hahahaha you mad? You mad?? Can you beat that when you’re lvl25???

            Plantago Seed: o_e

            Blue River: [smug emoji]

When Xu Boyuan’s party exited the dungeon, they were welcomed by the other gathered guild members like how idols were received by their fans.

“I was wrong, you really are a god. I bow down, I bow down,” Flower Lantern told Lord Grim humbly. He didn’t dare to even glance at Roaring Tiger.

“Yes, amazing! Seriously amazing, both of you,” Xu Boyuan enthusiastically agreed.

“Brother…” Lord Grim prompted.

“Yes, yes?”

“The items, please.”

“What—oh. Oh, ha ha, look at me, I’m so excited I forgot.” Xu Boyuan chuckled awkwardly and immediately made way for Bound Boat.

Bound Boat had gone and retrieved the materials as soon as Xu Boyuan confirmed they’d break the record. Because of how truly astounding this record was, Xu Boyuan had given permission for him to gather the amount Lord Grim had originally asked for.

So when Lord Grim received his items, he was understandably confused. “What’s this? This is more than we agreed on.”

Xu Boyuan said happily, “Brother, you have no idea how much trouble you’ve saved us with that record. We won’t have to worry about this server’s Frost Forest ever again.” He paused. “The trouble you and Roaring Tiger saved us, I mean.”

He studied Roaring Tiger uneasily, but the Striker displayed no visible reaction.

Lord Grim laughed. “All right, then. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, ha ha.”

The atmosphere was full of camaraderie and friendliness. Blue Brook Guild’s members were feeling especially celebratory and actively worshiped the two gods who’d graced them. Xu Boyuan figured he wouldn’t get a better chance than this.

“Brother, look—” he began.

            Lord Grim has left the guild.

            Roaring Tiger has left the guild.

These two system notification appeared in rapid succession. Xu Boyuan stared dumbly.

“Hmm? Were you saying something?” Lord Grim asked blithely.

Xu Boyuan slumped down and smacked his forehead against his desk a couple of times.

He should have seen this coming. He had seen this coming. But he’d hoped that, with Lord Grim’s easygoing disposition, he could convince him to stick around a little longer and get to know him better.

Xu Boyuan also wouldn’t have minded roping in Roaring Tiger, but he had no idea how to go about it; his temperament was completely different from Lord Grim’s. As far as he could tell, he just followed in Lord Grim’s footsteps, letting him take the lead although not exactly acting the way  a support or helper would.

Their relationship was slightly unfathomable, but it was safe to assume that if he got Lord Grim, he might also get Roaring Tiger. But whether he could pull that off or not, Xu Boyuan at least wanted a chance with Lord Grim!

“I was saying…if there are any other dungeons you want to run, we can all go together,” Xu Boyuan said halfheartedly.

“Oh, no need. We’ll be leaving first.”

“All right,” Xu Boyuan said, tears streaming down his cheeks. “Let’s talk later. Bye…”

“Bye! See you,” Lord Grim called cheerily as he strode off.

“Bye,” Roaring Tiger grumbled. Both of them disappeared into the crowd.

There was a beat of silence. The liveliness from before had already drained away like a balloon deflating.

“What just happened?” Returning Cloud asked.

Xu Boyuan face-palmed.

* * *

Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing guided their avatars to Bulls, a nearby town. While Ye Xiu was putting away the materials he’d later use for upgrades, he also tried to convince Han Wenqing to take the extras.

“Look, I don’t need nearly this many Strong Spider Silks,” Ye Xiu told him. “Even the White Wolf’s Sharp Fangs and Mithril Pendants are a little too much. Give them to Tyrannical Ambition; think of it as fair payment for your help today.”

“I didn’t ask for payment.”

What Han Wenqing couldn’t seem to understand was that there was a difference between casually dungeoning with friends to gather materials and actively earning them by breaking records for club guilds.

“Well, you should get some. It’s only fair, right? You shouldn’t be spending your time here with nothing to show for it.”

Han Wenqing huffed. “I don’t need rewards.”

“Old Han, are you seriously just going to follow me around and help me out without asking for anything in return?” Ye Xiu was growing exasperated. For some reason, Han Wenqing constantly made him exasperated these days.

“Helping you gather materials is the point,” Han Wenqing said flatly.

“I was only teasing you earlier, you don’t actually need to stick around. I’ll make my own way.”

“It’s no trouble.”

“How is it no trouble? Have you seen the time? You can’t stay up like this every night.”

“I love it when people state the obvious,” Han Wenqing mocked. “I know that, thanks. I don’t plan to.”

Ye Xiu rubbed his forehead briefly and said, “Fine, do what you want, just take these damn materials.”

“Hmph. How does it feel to have someone constantly refusing to take what you offer them?”

Ye Xiu opened his mouth, then closed it. Was this guy serious…? “Is this your revenge or some shit? Teaching me a lesson?”

Han Wenqing sighed. “No… Just give me the materials, I’m tired of arguing. I want to sleep.”

Ye Xiu silently sent them over. As soon as their transaction concluded, Han Wenqing logged off with a curt “Good night.”

“Night…” Ye Xiu said, but Roaring Tiger had already vanished.

“What is with him?” Ye Xiu muttered to himself. He took a minute to stretch and look around the café, but there was nothing of note. He just felt inexplicably exhausted.

Still, Lord Grim was well on his way to Level 21, so he might as well play a while longer. He had nothing better to do during his shift anyway.

When he finished stretching and doing some wrist, hand, and shoulder exercises, Ye Xiu refocused on Glory. He’d only been idle for a few minutes, but already he’d received a message.

            Seven Fields: Congratulations Brother Expert!!

            Seven Fields: We were clearing Frost Forest too when we saw you and Brother Tiger on TV

            Seven Fields: Amazing record

            Lord Grim: haha it was nothing

            Seven Fields: Have you two joined BBG?

            Lord Grim: no, we just helped them set a new record

            Lord Grim: we joined temporarily but left after

            Seven Fields: Seriously???

            Lord Grim: how many times have you run frost forest?

            Seven Fields: 2

            Lord Grim: are you missing a person? i can still run it three more times

            Seven Fields: Of course! Come on over

            Lord Grim: omw

When Ye Xiu found his old party hanging around Frost Forest (thankfully far from Blue River and his pals), he was immediately beset by a black and silver whirlwind.

“You’re Lord Grim? It’s an honor to meet you! I’m Endless Night, an expert from Tyrannical Ambition,” the whirlwind introduced himself.

Tyrannical Ambition?

Both amused and wary, Ye Xiu said, “Hi. Friend of yours?” he asked the others.

“Right, these brothers and I all became good friends dungeoning together,” Endless Night quickly broke in.

Seven Fields nearly had an aneurysm on the spot. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Brother, don’t be like that!”

Seven Fields made a disgusted sound—he’d probably learned it from Han Wenqing—and sent Ye Xiu a party invitation even as he dismissed Endless Night. “We’ll be going, so mind your own business.”

“Bring me with you!”

“There’s no space,” Drifting Water said resolutely. He and Sunset Clouds stood with a female avatar between them. The name hovering about her head read Immersed Jade. An Assassin, it looked like. “We’ll be taking this inexperienced sister.”

“Why her? Sister, would you give me your spot?” Endless Night asked, scurrying over to her.

“Um…” In true noob fashion, Immersed Jade was completely lost.

“No way, we have to take care of her! She’s still too green,” insisted Sunset Clouds.

As entertaining as this was, Ye Xiu decided it was about time to interrupt them. It wouldn’t do for such a little disagreement to get out of hand; Tyrannical Ambition couldn’t do anything to him, but to the average player? They could do a lot.

“Are you a Cleric?” he asked casually.

“Yep, and I’m pretty good, too,” Endless Night said, his pride in himself obvious. He even brought out his cross, showing it off.

Ye Xiu glanced at it. “Crystal Cross, an Orange weapon!”

“Good eye! You really are an expert. So, why don’t you bring me with you?”

“We don’t need a Cleric,” Ye Xiu said laughingly.

Endless Night froze.

Seeing the opportunity for what it was, Seven Fields urged everyone, including Immersed Jade, to hurry into the dungeon. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

“Going!” Drifting Clouds yelled delightedly.

Endless Night merely watched Ye Xiu and his party enter the dungeon, stiff as a statue. It was as if Ye Xiu’s words had turned him to ice.

Ye Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. He at least wouldn’t have to deal with Tyrannical Ambition for a while longer. That would just be awkward.

They cleared the dungeon a couple of times, instructing the noob Immersed Jade all the while. Ye Xiu didn’t notice anything outstanding about her—in fact, she was worse than average—but he still patiently guided her. It wasn’t any skin off his back; he was mainly here for the experience points anyway.

When they exited out of their second run, though, they found that Endless Night was still there and fully recovered. He bounced up to them like an overexcited puppy.

“No more entries left?” he asked gleefully.

This was one persistent kid. “I have one more,” Ye Xiu admitted, just to see how he’d react.

“What a coincidence!” Endless Night exclaimed with surprise. Well, “surprise.” “I also have one more!”

The brothers gathered behind Lord Grim were visibly unimpressed; they didn’t even have to say anything. They’d definitely learned that from Han Wenqing.

Immersed Jade just seemed uncomfortable.

“Is that so?” Ye Xiu said idly.

“Even more coincidentally, I have three friends with one entry each, too! Isn’t that such a big coincidence?”

“It really is,” Ye Xiu agreed.

“Since it’s such a big coincidence, why don’t we all run it together?” Endless Night asked.

Playing along, Ye Xiu said, “Why don’t we all set a new record?”

“Why not!” Endless Night was practically vibrating where he stood.

“First things first, I charge a fee.”

“No problem, no problem!”

“And…”

“Yes yes yes?”

“We don’t need a Cleric.”

Endless Night’s mental faculties came to a screeching halt. Seven Fields, Drifting Water, and Sunset Clouds all burst into laughter.

Endless Night was speechless for a while, but he at least recovered quicker than before. “W-what classes do you need, then?”

“Well, it’s not really worth discussing right now. My partner isn’t here,” Ye Xiu said.

“P-partner?”

“Yes, my partner,” Ye Xiu said. “I have to ask his opinion, but he’s offline.”

“You… Is it that Roaring Tiger?” Endless Night had evidently done his research.

“That’s the one.”

“You only work with him?”

“Not necessarily, but I have to give him a chance, don’t I? I’d be a terrible friend otherwise.”

“I see…” Endless Night said, though he really didn’t. “When will he be online?”

“Tomorrow night!”

Endless Night was instantly dealt another blow. He’d have to wait until tomorrow night for confirmation?

“Brother—”

“I’ll contact you later,” Ye Xiu interrupted breezily, sending Endless Night a friend request. “For now, I’m going to keep dungeoning! Later!”

Endless Night was left in the dust, figuratively slack-jawed.

The rest of the night proceeded peacefully as Ye Xiu led his party to level elsewhere, far away from noisy Clerics.

Once Lord Grim hit Level 21, Ye Xiu wished everyone a good night and decisively logged off. He was more than pleased with what he’d accomplished that night. The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella was coming along quite nicely and he was already on his way to preparing a stockpile of materials.

Ye Xiu got up and walked around the Internet café a bit to stretch his legs. When he returned to the desk, he spent an hour or so just looking through the Glory forums, scanning for any interesting topics.

There were way too many threads about Ye Qiu, naturally. Ye Xiu was a little perplexed as he looked them over. When people had no clues to go off of, they really invented the most unlikely things, didn’t they?

When it was nearing 7:00, he checked QQ. He had no interest in replying to the many DMs he’d received; he just gave Su Mucheng a status check (she was becoming such a hoverer) and, after some thought, sent Han Wenqing a message as well.

            Ye Qiu: there’s something i need to talk to you about

It was right then, however, that he received yet another DM.

            Tao Xuan: Please meet me at Blanc Coffee tomorrow at 7:30. There are some things I wish to discuss with you.

Ye Xiu stared at the screen like he’d just seen a snake. Had this guy messaged him as soon as he woke up, or did he just assume that Ye Xiu was pulling an all-nighter?

He absently put out his latest cigarette. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Tao Xuan might wish to discuss. Perhaps it was better to just get this over with.

            Ye Qiu: no need to wait, i’ll meet you there now

He returned to the conversation with Han Wenqing and saw he’d received a reply there as well.

            Desert Dust: What is it

            Ye Qiu: how about i call you later? something came up

            Desert Dust: Fine

            Desert Dust: As long as it’s before 9

            Ye Qiu: k

As for Tao Xuan, he’d agreed to meet as soon as possible, so when the other employees arrived to relieve him, Ye Xiu headed upstairs to wash his face and tidy his clothes. Even though he'd barely moved, he was coming to find that the night shift had a way of messing him up.

The TV was on in the living room, which puzzled him at first—until he saw Chen Guo sprawled out on the couch.

He crept over to her and, realizing that she was truly asleep, shook his head.

Prodding her shoulder, he said, “Boss, come on, go to your room.”

Chen Guo grumbled but didn’t wake.

“Boss!” He lightly patted her cheek.

Her expression twisted sleepily and she flipped over to get away from him.

Ye Xiu sighed and trudged to her bedroom. After grabbing a blanket off her bed, he headed back to the living room and threw it over her.

Five minutes later, he was back downstairs and heading out the door. The coffeehouse Tao Xuan chose was the same one he’d visited with Su Mucheng the day she and Han Wenqing had sprung that lovely surprise dinner on him. It wasn’t right next to Club Excellent Era and Happy Internet Café, but it was well within walking distance.

At least Ye Xiu would be getting breakfast out of this.

When he arrived, Tao Xuan was nowhere to be seen, so he chose a table and ordered a small coffee and a freshly baked muffin. The coffeehouse wasn’t too active at the moment, so his order was served within five minutes.

Ye Xiu had already finished off the coffee and was halfway done with the muffin when Tao Xuan walked in through the door. He had on a long, dark coat, black gloves, and a steel gray scarf that draped down his front.

He studied the interior of the coffeehouse leisurely, peeling off his gloves. Then his eyes landed on Ye Xiu, sitting all alone near one of the walls.

With a small smile, he came over.

“Good morning,” he greeted with utmost politeness.

“Good morning,” Ye Xiu said, then took another bite of his muffin.

Tao Xuan paused, almost like he expected more, but eventually he sat down. He folded his hands on the table and gazed steadily at Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu kept eating his muffin.

One of the waiters materialized at their side. He bowed to Tao Xuan. “Sir, may I get you anything?”

“Just a medium coffee, please.”

“Right away.” The man darted back in the direction of the counter.

Ye Xiu finished his muffin. Brushing the crumbs off his fingers, he said, “So. What do you want?”

Tao Xuan was quiet for a moment. “About your contract—”

“There’s nothing left for me to sign,” Ye Xiu said. “I read the terms. I’ll fork over the cash later tonight or tomorrow morning, don’t you worry your greedy little heart over it.”

Tao Xuan’s eyes flashed. “My greedy little heart? It seems you really never respected me to begin with.”

“Oh, I did,” Ye Xiu said conversationally. “You were the idealistic boss we all wanted, and you gave Mucheng and I the support we needed to get back on our feet after Muqiu died. But don’t think that’s enough to absolve you.”

“What would I need absolving from?”

Ye Xiu laughed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms loosely over his chest. “You tell me. I’m not dumb, you know, I knew exactly what you were doing. But I wonder… Do you know exactly what you’re doing now?”

“Of course I do,” Tao Xuan sneered. “If you’re going to try to give me business advice, Ye Qiu, save it. You don’t know anything about business.”

“I know enough to accept that I’m not valuable to you anymore. I’m fine with that, but I’m not fine with you trying to bar me from the pro scene for a year.”

The man who’d taken Tao Xuan’s order returned with a cup of black coffee slightly larger than Ye Xiu’s. He set it down in front of Tao Xuan and quietly withdrew.

Tao Xuan tapped the side of the cup as if to test the heat. He grabbed a packet of sugar from the table’s centerpiece and poured it in, stirring with a tiny straw.

“The Alliance makes the rules. You retire, you either stay away or come back in a year. It’s fair.”

“Sure it is, but I didn’t retire.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Tao Xuan asked.

Ye Xiu saw the apprehension in his eyes, the caution and calculation. He wanted to know when and how to suppress him next. Ye Xiu paying the termination fee must not have ever occurred to him.

“Caught with your pants down, Tao Xuan?” Ye Xiu chuckled. “No need to panic. I’ll only be back next season.”

Tao Xuan studied him. It was obvious he didn’t quite trust what Ye Xiu said. Dishonest people would always suspect others of lying.

Ye Xiu didn’t have any intention of proving his sincerity or reassuring Tao Xuan. Whether the other man believed him or not was no concern of his.

“You could have just asked me this over QQ,” Ye Xiu said. “Why meet me? What do you really want?”

“I wanted to see if you’d sign some documents for me…but I doubt I’ll be able to convince you.”

“You’re probably right.” Ye Xiu smiled. “Maybe you do know me.”

“What about Su Mucheng?” Tao Xuan asked abruptly.

Ye Xiu tilted his head. “What about her?”

“Have you thought about her future?”

“She can think about her own future. She’s a grown woman, you know.”

“Mmm,” Tao Xuan agreed. “But, well, life might be difficult for her nowadays…and in the days to come. Her big brother is out running wild; nobody knows where he’s gone or what he’s up to. And nobody in the club is very close to her. Who can she turn to?”

Ye Xiu’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m just saying,” Tao Xuan told him carelessly, gaze bold and direct, “you may want to reconsider terminating your contract.”

“Oh?” Ye Xiu asked, voice positively freezing.

“Mhmm. As long as the club doesn’t receive your money, we can assume the contract is still in effect. Nothing has been decided yet. You can still peacefully retire and Su Mucheng will be all the better for it. Why not put her mind at ease?”

Ye Qiu stared at Tao Xuan for several long, endless seconds. Tao Xuan was perfectly composed; he’d faced down sponsors and business partners and Alliance officials far more intimidating than one pro player.

However, several seconds stretched into thirty, thirty into forty, then a whole minute, and Ye Qiu never stopped staring at him. In the washed-out glow of early morning, in this gently illuminated coffeehouse, his eyes were the dark gold of a predator.

A bead of sweat slid down the back of Tao Xuan’s neck.

Then, finally, Ye Qiu moved. He slid his seat back, the chair producing a sharp, high-pitched sound not unlike a squeal as its feet scraped against the floor, then stood up.

He glowered down at Tao Xuan. “Don’t push your fucking luck,” he spat. “I could ruin you with one call to eSports Home. I’ve stayed quiet up until now, but if you even think about doing anything to my sister, I’ll pay you back a hundred times over.

“You’ll get your fucking money tonight and you’ll be grateful.”

Ye Qiu stalked out of the coffeehouse. Tao Xuan watched him go, lips parted in shock, wordless and unmoving.

The walk back to the Internet café was a blur. Ye Xiu didn’t remember seeing anyone or even going through the front door. Fury surged beneath his skin like magma bubbling inside an active volcano, ready to erupt.

But he didn’t have anyone to erupt at besides Tao Xuan, and he didn’t want to see that motherfucker’s face ever again if he could help it.

In Chen Guo’s apartment, he quickly showered, brushed his teeth, and changed into sleeping clothes. She was still laid out on the couch, snoring beneath her thick blanket. Ye Xiu swiped the house phone off the coffee table and retreated to his room, shutting the door gently behind him.

He threw himself onto the bed as he dialed. On the phone’s screen, the time read 8:16.

After a few rings, a familiar voice washed over him.

“Hey,” Han Wenqing said.

Ye Xiu closed his eyes. “Hi.”

“We’re warming up right now. What did you want to talk to me about?”

Ye Xiu took a few deep breaths. “Hmm…”

Han Wenqing was silent on the other end.

“Tyrannical Ambition. How do you want me to deal with them?”

Han Wenqing instantly understood. “Did they send you an invitation?”

“Mhmm.”

There was a pause as he mulled it over. Ye Xiu could hear the sounds of several pairs of hands typing. He could imagine Han Wenqing circling around Tyranny’s training room, watching everyone do their warm-ups, a stern expression his face.

His rage subsided.

“Do whatever you want,” Han Wenqing finally said. “I might not be able to get involved, though.”

Ye Xiu smiled fondly at the ceiling. “Yeah… You’re too you.”

“Hmph. I don’t care to pretend.”

“I know.”

There was another pause. Ye Xiu was now sure Han Wenqing was making his rounds, so to speak.

“Is something wrong?”

“No.”

“You’re lying,” Han Wenqing immediately said.

Ye Xiu took the phone from his ear for a moment and stared at it blankly. After a second, he replaced it and said, “How do you know?”

“I can tell. Are you going to share?”

He thought about it. On one hand, he was finally calming down, but on the other…he wasn’t very calm at all. Ye Xiu rarely got angry like this. It felt almost painful to keep it under wraps, to control himself and maintain his usual cool.

It was more effort than it was worth, really.

“I met Tao Xuan just now,” Ye Xiu began resolutely, voice flat and wiped clean of all emotion.

Han Wenqing didn’t say anything.

“He wanted me to announce retirement or he’d make things difficult for Mucheng.”

“Did he?” Han Wenqing said coldly.

“Mmm. And I told him, if he did that, I’d air all of Excellent Era’s dirty laundry to the media.”

To Ye Xiu’s stunned amazement, Han Wenqing actually laughed.

The sound of typing in the background stopped for a moment.

“What did he say?”

“Nothing. I left.”

Han Wenqing still sounded amused. “She doesn’t really need you to defend her like that, you know.”

“I know.”

“And you’d be exposing yourself alongside them.”

“I don’t care. I’d do it for her,” Ye Xiu said frankly.

“I don’t doubt it,” Han Wenqing replied without hesitation.

Ye Xiu grinned. He suddenly felt a whole lot better, like some unnamed tension had vacated his body. “Okay, I should be going to sleep. Sorry to bother you.”

“No bother. Sleep well.”

“Try not to nod off in training,” he teased.

Han Wenqing snorted. “I won’t. Oh, and…”

“Yeah?”

“Good morning.”

The way he said it… It was so different from the way Tao Xuan had. Different from the way Ye Xiu was used to hearing it from anyone else but Su Mucheng. Actually, it wasn’t quite like that, either. It was, inexplicably…

Exactly what he needed.

Ye Xiu exhaled, quiet and soft.

“Good morning.”

Chapter Text

“Sis Su, you aren’t coming?”

Su Mucheng smiled blithely at He Ming and said, “I’m just going back to my room to get something.”

Everyone on the team knew that was a bald-faced lie, but none of them were willing to call Su Mucheng out on it when she was smiling like that—not even Sun Xiang. In the end, they left for the cafeteria without further questions, chatting amongst themselves, while Su Mucheng went up to her room.

Once the door was safely closed behind her, she let out a deep sigh and collapsed onto her bed. She only had one hour for lunch, but she was going to make the most of it.

In the days since Ye Xiu had left, Su Mucheng sought every possible opportunity to get away from the team. There was no way to divorce herself completely when she was living in the club, but her room, at least, was still a safe haven. She had recently gotten the brilliant idea to buy lunch or a bunch of snacks and store them in her mini fridge for the next day rather than eat in the cafeteria. She’d sit in front of her computer and munch away while watching TV dramas or browsing blogs.

It was escapism at its finest.

In short, Su Mucheng was dealing with Ye Xiu’s absence as best she could. She’d never been particularly close to anyone else in Excellent Era, neither team members nor employees, so it wasn’t like she was cutting personal ties. Everything between them had always been professional; it only became more so now that she had no reason to act friendly.

Su Mucheng was a friendly person…right up until she wasn’t. And no, she didn’t feel any guilt over giving the entirety of Excellent Era the cold shoulder.

She was only just starting to unwrap her lunch when her phone rang with a message notification. After a mild internal debate—was she more hungry or more curious?—she picked it up to check.

            Desert Dust: You should talk to Ye Qiu when you get the chance

She blinked. Why was Han Wenqing…?

Wait. Something was wrong with Ye Xiu?

            Dancing Rain: Why?? What happened???

Su Mucheng was practically on the edge of her seat as she waited for a reply. Her lunch sat forgotten on her desk.

            Desert Dust: He called me this morning

            Desert Dust: Sounded upset

            Dancing Rain: Upset about what????

            Desert Dust: Ask him

She smacked a hand against her forehead. Why was it so hard to get any information around here? Why couldn’t people just say things clearly? She didn’t usually have this problem with Han Wenqing!

Moreover, Ye Xiu had chosen Han Wenqing of all people to share his troubles with? He’d picked up an actual, physical phone and called him? Because he was upset?

What world was she living in? Su Mucheng knew they were on decent terms, friendly terms even, but…

She better approach this from another angle.

            Dancing Rain: Okay…

            Dancing Rain: Did you guys play last night?

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Dancing Rain: Did you have fun?

            Desert Dust: It wasn’t bad

Wow. Talking to Han Wenqing was surprisingly frustrating. It was almost like talking to Zhou Zekai, except she actually got some answers. They were just extremely unhelpful answers.

Well, it was unlikely that anything in Glory could have made Ye Xiu upset. Whatever the game dished out, he could handle it, and normal players, including those labeled as experts, didn’t stand a chance against him.

Ye Xiu was a professional gamer and a professional troll. He was the one who made others upset, not the one who got upset himself.

It had to be something outside of Glory…but probably related to it. Ye Xiu never concerned himself over things he didn’t care about, and he absolutely loved Glory.

            Dancing Rain: Has Ye Qiu said anything about his job?

This was the only other variable Su Mucheng could think of. Ye Xiu was working a new job under a new boss at an Internet café, and while he’d certainly feel comfortable in that environment, it didn’t mean the transition would go perfectly smoothly.

            Desert Dest: Not really

Ugh. Another dead end, huh? Su Mucheng didn’t know whether she was feeling helpless or angry. Maybe helplessly angry, or angrily helpless. Something like that.

It was time to be direct. Han Wenqing appreciated directness, right?

            Dancing Rain: So you have no idea what could have made him upset?

            Desert Dust: I know what made him upset

            Desert Dust: I just don’t think I should be the one to tell you

Now, what the hell did that mean…

            Dancing Rain: So it has to do with me??

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Dancing Rain: Well, is it something I should take care of?

            Desert Dust: It’s already taken care of

            Desert Dust: According to Ye Qiu anyway

            Desert Dust: Look

            Desert Dust: Just go tell him you’re okay or something

            Dancing Rain: …

Was all this just because Ye Xiu was worried about her? Was that it?

            Dancing Rain: Captain Han, this conversation would have been so much easier if you’d said that from the start [weary emoji]

            Dancing Rain: You’re only like this about matters concerning Ye Qiu you know

            Desert Dust: …

            Desert Dust: I have to eat

            Desert Dust: Good luck with your match today

            Dancing Rain: You too :)

Ah, sweet revenge. Su Mucheng smirked down at her phone. Would Ye Xiu believe her if she told him a tactful mention of his name (well, his borrowed name) could send Han Wenqing running?

These two were honestly her greatest and latest source of entertainment. She couldn’t wait to get onto the tenth server. She had a mighty need to see what the hell they were up to and why they were suddenly so close.

Soon, she told herself. But first…

What had happened to make Ye Xiu worried about her?

* * *

When Ye Xiu dragged himself out of his room, head still fuzzy from sleep, he was immediately beset by an overexcited Chen Guo.

“You’re up! Here, I got you some food,” she said eagerly, pointing at a couple of take-out containers sitting on the coffee table.

Ye Xiu glanced at them, mostly uncomprehending but getting there, and that was when he saw the other woman standing beside the couch.

She had short hair and striking eyes, their shade an indescribable color somewhere between light blue and deep violet. Her smile was polite yet adequately warm, her clothes stylish yet not overly eye-catching. Everything about her was spotless and impenetrable, immediately sparking Ye Xiu’s interest.

“This is Tang Rou,” Chen Guo introduced, all smiles. “She works the morning shift and lives here in the spare room.”

“Oh, Tang Rou,” Ye Xiu said, nodding. He’d heard about this girl from the other employees. The males in particular spoke of her reverently. The thing was, she was a lot more remarkable than he had expected—in appearance, anyway. “Hi.”

Feeling more awake already, Ye Xiu walked over; Tang Rou met him halfway and they shook hands nonchalantly.

“Hello. I hope we didn’t wake you,” Tang Rou said, her voice smooth.

“Hmm? No, don’t worry about it,” Ye Xiu said. He took a step back and eyed Chen Guo distrustfully. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to the bathroom. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise. And by all means…” Tang Rou gallantly stepped aside to make way for him. Ye Xiu slunk into the bathroom and shut the door.

Chen Guo watched him go a little helplessly; somehow she had expected a more…momentous meeting than this. She turned her gaze on Tang Rou, who had just sat back down on the couch. Her expression was pleasant, but placid.

Chen Guo more or less threw herself down next to her and asked, “So? What do you think?”

Tang Rou smiled, a hint of teasing in her eyes. “Why does it sound like you’re trying to set me up with him?”

“Oh my g—no! That’s not what I’m asking,” Chen Guo exclaimed, both amused and disbelieving. “You’re way too good for him.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tang Rou replied, outright mischievous. “He’s not bad-looking, even with his face unwashed.”

Chen Guo leaned her cheek into her hand jokingly, as if she were feeling faint. “Oh, no. No way. Rourou has fallen in love at first sight? Whatever shall I do?”

They were still giggling and ribbing each other when Ye Xiu exited the bathroom, looking far more aware but still rather messy. The messiness, Chen Guo was beginning to understand, was an inherit character trait. Or a character flaw, more like.

He sat down between the two ladies, since that was the only space available and Chen Guo seemed to want him to. She even handed a carton and chopsticks over to him, her expression as pure as an angel’s.

“Thanks,” he said as evenly as he could. He didn’t trust this abnormal boss of his for a hot second.

“It’s nothing. You woke up a bit later today, so the food might not be so warm.”

Ye Xiu looked around for the nearest clock and saw that, sure enough, it was a bit past 16:00.

“I just had some things to do after my shift,” he said, already tucking into the food. “Oh, not bad.”

Apparently sensing that eating alone was rather uncomfortable for Ye Xiu, Tang Rou also grabbed one of the cartons and had a few bites. Chen Guo followed her lead after some hesitation. It wasn’t time for dinner yet, but Ye Xiu and Tang Rou wouldn’t get on if the atmosphere was too awkward, no?

Even Chen Guo didn’t know why she was trying so hard right now. She just wanted to watch them duke it out in Glory and see who was better (Tang Rou, certainly), not make them into best friends. But it was true that Ye Xiu would be living with them for the foreseeable future…and it was always better when her employees got along…

In the end, she was just too soft-hearted. She also wasn’t so single-minded that she couldn’t tell when she was coming off too strongly.

So she backed off and ate quietly, listening to Tang Rou and Ye Xiu make small talk.

“How long have you been working here?”

“Two years,” Tang Rou replied. “You arrived a couple of days ago, right?”

“Right.”

“Are you enjoying it so far?”

“No complaints,” Ye Xiu said.

“That’s good. Where did you work before?”

“I was a professional gamer.”

This answer gave Tang Rou pause. She tilted her head, chewing slowly. Then she said, “A professional gamer? What’s that like?”

The corners of Ye Xiu’s lips lifted a bit. “Very exciting.”

“I don’t know much about that line of work. Are there a lot of professional gamers? Do you guys compete?”

“It varies; some play for the entertainment of others, some do so competitively. How many of us there are depends on the game, the fans, things like that, but we’re not exactly uncommon. The competitive scene is smaller because the standards are higher and there’s a lot of coming and going. Newcomers arrive, veterans retire…”

“Ye Xiu is retired,” Chen Guo said, “right?”

“Well, sort of.” Ye Xiu’s faint smile became a tad crooked. “I think I might have mentioned it to you, but I intend to return eventually. I’m just taking a break.”

Chen Guo looked at him a little doubtfully. “Do you really think you can make it?”

“Do you?”

She had to think about it. She didn’t know Ye Xiu’s story, only what small fragments he had deemed fit to give her. But she got the impression that he’d been struggling for a long time and ultimately ended up here after suffering some great misfortune. How was that supposed to inspire faith in her? An Internet café job was a temporary one, not the sort of thing people made careers out of (even if the Internet café was as nice as hers), yet Ye Xiu had jumped at the offer of work like it was his last hope in this world.

But she really didn’t know his story, his motives, his dreams. Maybe Ye Xiu really intended to work here temporarily before moving on to bigger and better things. Who was she to say whether he’d succeed or not?

Finally, Chen Guo shrugged and said, “As long as you work hard, there’s always a chance.”

Ye Xiu seemed a bit surprised, but eventually he nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ll have my chance.”

His confidence came as something of a shock in the sense that Chen Guo found herself believing him against all odds. Suddenly, she hoped that he really would be able to get that chance, and more than that—seize it.

“So…” Tang Rou appeared to have arrived at some conclusion. “You played Glory professionally?”

The strange moment was broken by this question. Ye Xiu moved his rice around with his chopsticks, expression amused as he turned to Tang Rou.

“Ha ha, how’d you guess?”

“It’s the most popular game I know, and Guoguo mentioned you’re good at it.” Tang Rou smiled prettily as she set her half-finished food aside.

“Yeah, I played Glory competitively.”

Taking Tang Rou’s cue, Chen Guo and Ye Xiu also stopped eating. Chen Guo and Tang Rou hadn’t been especially hungry to begin with, so it was expected that they’d leave some scraps, but Ye Xiu hadn’t finished all his food, either.

“Are you not hungry?” she asked, on the verge of miffed.

“Oh, uh…” Ye Xiu glanced at the coffee table and its many offerings. “I don’t eat that much, sorry. I’ll have the rest later!”

“Don’t worry about it,” Tang Rou said graciously. “There should be enough for dinner.”

“Yeah, looks like it.” Ye Xiu raised his eyebrows at Chen Guo. “You bought a lot for us, Boss! Thank you.”

Somehow they had turned it around on her… Chen Guo suddenly began to doubt that introducing these two was in any way a good idea.

“Oh!” She remembered all at once the whole reason for this. “You guys, fight a round!”

They both stared at her for a second. “Fight?” Ye Xiu asked.

“In Glory!”

He looked at Tang Rou. “You play Glory?”

“No, not really.”

Chen Guo reached across Ye Xiu to lightly smack Tang Rou’s shoulder. “Don’t listen to her! She doesn’t play regularly, but she’s still really good when she does!”

Ye Xiu examined Tang Rou more closely. It wasn’t as if he could judge someone’s skill just from looking at them, but he could tell that she was serious about not really playing Glory. Tang Rou didn’t strike him as someone who’d underplay her own abilities or fake modesty.

“Do you think you’re good?” he asked, partially to delay Chen Guo, mostly to test his understanding of Tang Rou’s character thus far. And, of course, because he actually wanted to know.

Tang Rou blinked. “Well, that’s hard to say,” she replied after a few seconds of thought. “I think it’s pretty easy, but I doubt I’m the best.”

Ye Xiu grinned. “I wasn’t asking if you’re the best; you’re definitely not. But you find it easy?”

Tang Rou nodded.

“Then you really don’t understand the game.”

Chen Guo shot to her feet. “Hey!”

Ye Xiu leaned back against the couch, raising his hands innocently. “I’m just saying, nobody who understands Glory would call it easy. There are elements of it that are simple if you have the ability,” he continued, glancing between Chen Guo and Tang Rou, “but developing that ability takes a while.”

“Well, Rourou must be a natural talent,” Chen Guo said huffily as she crossed her arms. She was staring Ye Xiu down like she was barely holding back from shoving his words back into his mouth.

Ye Xiu smiled up at her. “Talent can’t overcome every obstacle. To say you’re good at something… You have to work for that, or else they’re just empty words.”

Chen Guo glanced at Tang Rou, anger and bewilderment mingling in her heart. Right now it felt like the two of them were being lectured by a professor on a topic they couldn’t know less about. It was both baffling and insulting.

But Tang Rou didn’t look baffled or insulted. She was staring at Ye Xiu with concentration, almost, as if his so-called wisdom was actually worth listening to.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” she admitted.

Ye Xiu chuckled, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. His eyes sparked gold at that moment, unknowable and mysterious, as if he were hiding some great secret. “Well, tell you what. I’ll play a round or two with you and you’ll see what I’m talking about—if you buy me a pack of cigarettes.”

“Deal,” Tang Rou said instantly, already standing.

Ye Xiu leisurely rose to his feet and stretched. He wasn’t especially tall for a guy, but Chen Guo felt his ego was big enough to make up for it. It would probably spill right out of this apartment if they stayed any longer, so it was good that they were leaving.

The three of them headed down the stairs to the main floor. Chen Guo took charge then and selected two unoccupied computers for them to use. Tang Rou and Ye Xiu sat down opposite from each other.

“Here.” Chen Guo passed her account card to Tang Rou and logged her in. This was her Level 70 Chasing Haze who currently resided in the Heavenly Domain (thanks to Tang Rou), so her equipment was top-notch.

Chen Guo circled around to check on Ye Xiu and saw he was still using the same Lord Grim…and this account was only at Level 21! It wasn’t even specialized!

“What the hell.” Chen Guo couldn’t express her thoughts any more eloquently than that.

“Hmm? Something wrong?” Ye Xiu asked, though he surely had to know exactly what was wrong. Even as he spoke, he was quickly distributing unspent skill points in the most unscientific manner Chen Guo had ever witnessed.

“You want to go up against my Chasing Haze like this?”

Tang Rou peeked at them from around her monitor. “Is there a problem?”

“None whatsoever,” Ye Xiu replied casually. To Chen Guo he said, “As long as we play Fixed Field, it’ll be fine.”

Chen Guo was speechless. How would it be fine? Even if it was Fixed Field, Chasing Haze had a ton more skills than Lord Grim.

“How about I just borrow an account from someone and you use that?” she finally said once she remembered how to use words.

“Oops, I’ve already made a room,” Ye Xiu said.

“What!” Chen Guo leaned over his shoulder and squinted at the screen. Ye Xiu had finished allocating Lord Grim’s skill points in record time, but from what she could see, there was no rhyme or reason to it. “Dammit, okay. Tang Rou, you should receive an invitation from a Lord Grim!”

“All right,” Tang Rou called.

Since Ye Xiu seemed to know what he was doing—in theory—Chen Guo returned to Tang Rou’s side. She said, “Okay, Ye Xiu’s character isn’t specialized yet, so he has a wide variety of skills to choose from, but they’re all low-level. You can tell what sorts of skills he’ll use by looking at his weapon. Every class uses specific weapons, remember?”

“Mhmm,” Tang Rou said, “then what’s that weapon he’s got?”

In the game, Chasing Haze and Lord Grim had already manifested inside the arena. Ye Xiu had chosen a very small, very simple map—there was nothing particularly strategic about it. It just looked kinda nice.

Across from Chasing Haze, a distance away, Lord Grim stood. He carried a strange weapon, one Chen Guo had never seen before. It looked like…an umbrella?

But there wasn’t any weapon like that, was there? It had to be a broom or something.

“What weapon is that?” Chen Guo called to Ye Xiu.

“How shameless!” Ye Xiu returned laughingly. “You have to ask?”

“It looks like an umbrella,” Tang Rou said, echoing her thoughts.

Chen Guo was about to say it was a broom (probably), but then she remembered the way Ye Xiu distributed those skill points a minute ago. It wasn’t like she was an expert on Witches or anything, but she was pretty sure he wasn’t aiming to make Lord Grim into a Witch.

What the hell was he doing, then?

“Okay, enough chit-chat, let’s get started.” Before he even finished speaking, Ye Xiu had Lord Grim charge forward.

The battle that ensued could barely be called a battle.

Chen Guo watched, wide-eyed, as Chasing Haze was outdone at every turn. Tang Rou could more or less keep up when it came down to simple mechanics and reaction speed, but in all other senses…

She didn’t really stand a chance. Not only was Ye Xiu’s skill truly at another level, that innocuous umbrella was actually a transforming weapon! Lord Grim’s unspecialized status wasn’t any kind of disadvantage in this case; in fact, the way he strung together all those different skills was downright dizzying.

Their duel ended quietly, neither of them saying a word from start to finish. Chen Guo could only stare at the screen as the Glory logo flashed. Even in Tang Rou’s agile hands, her Chasing Haze had been defeated by an unspecialized Level 21 character. She didn’t know what to say.

In reality, Chen Guo’s reason for wanting them to duel had been more or less exactly this: She wanted to find an expert Tang Rou couldn’t defeat to pique her interest in the game. Regardless of how little she actually played, Tang Rou was really too good at beating up random players in the Arena. Her impression of Glory was so shallow because she hadn’t yet met with a challenge she couldn’t overcome. The Heavenly Domain quests had posed some difficulty, but once those quests were done…

Tang Rou was someone who could only enjoy what didn’t come easy. Nothing about Glory so far convinced her it was complex enough to warrant her time and dedication. Dungeons? Quests? PK? They meant nothing to her.

Yet, now that Chen Guo had more or less achieved her goal, it somehow rankled her that the expert she’d been waiting for all this time turned out to be Ye Xiu. He may have been a professional once, but he was just too full of himself. Chen Guo had found herself rooting for Tang Rou, not only because she was her friend and she had faith in her ability, but also because she had wanted someone, anyone, to teach Ye Xiu some humility.

Well, that was pretty much a lost cause now.

It was too much to ask Ye Xiu to be humble, but would it have killed him to be a little less cruel? He might not have galvanized Tang Rou’s fighting spirit, but instead crushed it completely.

Chen Guo was now almost certain that this was all a very bad idea.

Across from her and Tang Rou, she saw Ye Xiu lean back in his chair with a creak. “So, do you understand now?” His tone was light for the most part, but there was something challenging, almost mocking, that underscored it.

She glared at Ye Xiu, then studied Tang Rou’s expression. She looked like she was thinking hard about something, her eyes fixed on the screen but not really seeing it.

Ye Xiu smirked. “I’m owed a cigarette pack, I believe.”

Tang Rou finally snapped out of it. She stood up, nodding. “I’ll get you your pack. But…”

“Hmm?”

“If you keep on fighting me, I’ll get you one pack for every round you win.”

Chen Guo’s eyes widened.

Ye Xiu’s expression didn’t change, but his gaze seemed to grow a little sharper. “What’s the point? Do you think you’re going to wear me down or adapt to my play style? That you’re going to suddenly be enlightened halfway through our third round and beat me?”

“Could you shut the fuck up?” Chen Guo said, aghast.

Ye Xiu smiled, eyes crinkling. “No. Don’t waste your time, Miss Tang.”

“I don’t see it as a waste of time,” Tang Rou argued, “I just want to try again. Six rounds, six packs. What do you think?”

“Three.”

“Five.”

“Four.”

“Five,” she repeated.

“You guys…” Chen Guo glanced between them.

Ye Xiu waved a hand carelessly. “All right, five.” He scooted his chair closer to the table again and Tang Rou sat back down. “Then you’ll understand the difference between us.”

They started a new match. Chen Guo watched anxiously over Tang Rou’s shoulder. Was it possible that Tang Rou could turn things around and pull off a win?

No. If anything, Ye Xiu’s methods became even deadlier. Before, he had been taking the measure of Tang Rou’s skill, but now he was being straightforward.

He never liked to draw things out. In his eyes, the quicker and cleaner the victory, the better. After all, more time just meant more chances to slip up and make mistakes. Ye Xiu wasn’t being cruel, just practical.

Truth be told, he also wanted to stop fighting Tang Rou as soon as possible. It wasn’t any fun for him to pick on someone who only had a rudimentary grasp of what they were doing. He felt like a bully, not a professional, and he actually had a good impression of Tang Rou. The cigarette packs might not be worth the potential fallout of antagonizing her. They had to live together, after all.

Chen Guo, this meddlesome boss, had really put him in an awkward position.

The next four rounds took less than four minutes. On their monitors, Lord Grim dispatched Chasing Haze in four different ways. They weren’t exactly creative—he wasn’t trying to impress anyone—but they were something.

A few customers who walked past Tang Rou would glance at her computer screen and hiss in sympathy. Some of them tried to get a better look, but Chen Guo warned them off with a nasty glare. As for Ye Xiu, Lord Grim’s viewpoint was mostly a blur and too hard for normal players to follow.

In the end, their duels were silent and peaceful affairs. The brutality of Lord Grim’s in-game actions and the intensity of Chasing Haze’s suffering contrasted sharply with the calm, civilized atmosphere of their flesh-and-blood controllers.

Ye Xiu didn’t say anything after their last round. These five consecutive victories were nothing to gloat about.

“What am I doing wrong?” Tang Rou finally said, barely audible over the din of the crowd.

Hmm…how to explain? Ye Xiu stood up and walked over to lean against the side of her station. “You just don’t have enough experience, in Glory and in gaming in general. The coordination between your hands is off, which affects your speed. When your view changes, you become confused and lose all sense of direction. Your understanding of the skills, their effects, and their costs isn’t enough. I’d say you probably don’t understand equipment, either. Because you don’t duel frequently or comprehend class abilities, you also have no tactics to rely on or ways to counter them.”

Ye Xiu crossed his arms, slumping a bit. “In short, if you wanna beat me, then you’d better come back in a hundred years.”

Chen Guo nearly choked on her outrage. “Ye Xiu!” She made as if to push him over. He was skinny, she was strong, it was perfectly doable.

“No, it’s okay,” Tang Rou said quickly, putting a hand on Chen Guo’s arm. “He’s right.”

“Rourou… You can’t feel good about this, can you?” Chen Guo bore a helpless expression. “If you’re angry, then just be angry. This jerk can take it, and he deserves it, too.”

“I feel…” Complicated, Tang Rou thought. She had always imagined Glory as a simple game. There wasn’t much to it once you figured out how to work quickly. As long as you had nimble fingers and a basic understanding of what to do and what keys to press, it was a walk in the park.

But Ye Xiu beat her like it was nothing. And he had done it five times in a row. She could tell just from his playing that he was hardly putting in any effort, if it all. She couldn’t help wondering, was this what other players felt when they went up against her?

It wasn’t a very good feeling. However, where those others may have felt discouraged or angry, she was just more determined to win.

Ye Xiu made too many good points, though: Her experience really wasn’t enough. She believed she knew it all, or at least everything that really mattered, yet with the way he spoke, it seemed that there was so much more to Glory than she ever realized or cared to learn.

“I feel like there’s a lot I never considered.”

She took a look at Ye Xiu’s expression, but it didn’t reveal anything. The set of his face was neutral and uninterested, his posture sloppy. He appeared completely bored.

She sighed and stood up again. “It seems that really was a waste of time—for you, anyway.”

Ye Xiu raised an eyebrow at her. “Oh? Then I guess you learned something.”

Chen Guo muttered, “Do you have to be so condescending?” but they both ignored her.

“I did. And…I think I should learn more. I want to understand. The difference between you and I, is it really that huge?”

“Right now? Yes. In the future? Maybe not.” A corner of Ye Xiu’s mouth kicked up. “It depends on what you want to do about it.”

“I just thought I was already pretty good.” Tang Rou shook her head ruefully, her eyes alighting on the still logged-in Chasing Haze.

“You can’t win with just hand speed, I’m afraid,” Ye Xiu said laughingly. “Though that does help.”

Tang Rou nodded firmly. “I know that now. I’ll go buy you your cigarettes.”

“I’ll leave with you.” Ye Xiu straightened. “I have something to take care of. Want me to grab a coat or something?”

“Yeah, it should be on the couch. Thanks.”

“No problem.” Ye Xiu slunk back to the apartment to get their coats.

Tang Rou watched his back vanish up the stairs, then turned to Chen Guo. “Guoguo, what do you think? Am I really that bad compared to him?”

“Um…” Chen Guo’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s hard for me to say…”

“Why?”

“Must you embarrass me like this? Because he’s way better than me! That’s all I can really tell. I mean, even you’re better than me, so how would I be able to figure him out?”

“I see,” Tang Rou said a little apologetically. She hadn’t meant to upset Chen Guo. However, if Chen Guo couldn’t help her, then she really only had herself and Ye Xiu to rely on.

Ye Xiu soon came back down. After bidding Chen Guo a quick goodbye, he and Tang Rou left the Internet café, fully armed against the cold.

“Hey,” Tang Rou said to him suddenly, “do you know One Autumn Leaf?”

Ye Xiu barely managed to stop himself from twitching at the mention of his original account. “Of course.”

“Guoguo talks about him all the time; she’s a big fan. What class is he, though?”

“Battle Mage. Why?”

“I think I want to play as a Battle Mage, then. I also want to become a—what did she call it?—a Battle God.”

Ye Xiu had to laugh. His breath came out in white puffs. “Well, if that’s the case, I can teach you.”

“Really?”

They had stopped a short ways away from the Internet café, about to cross the street. Ye Xiu faced Tang Rou. “If you’re willing to learn. I do know a lot about Battle Mages.”

Tang Rou smiled. Her eyes looked especially beautiful in the low light of the late afternoon. “Then I accept. Thank you.”

“Mmm.”

They parted ways shortly thereafter, Tang Rou to a convenience store to pick up some things they needed at home as well as five cigarette packs and a Glory account card, and Ye Xiu to the bank.

Personally, Ye Xiu felt like this whole shebang had turned out quite all right. He just hoped Su Mucheng wouldn’t interrogate him too harshly when she found out he had met another pretty girl. Or tease him. Or try to set them up.

…Eh, who was he kidding? He couldn’t imagine Su Mucheng any other way.

* * *

            Dancing Rain: Hey bro ^^

            Dancing Rain: Wanted to let you know, everything is going okay

            Dancing Rain: I mean I wanna punch Sun Xiang in the face but just assume I always do

            Dancing Rain: Everyone is the same as usual, which is to say they suck

            Dancing Rain: I really miss you!! Hugs and kisses~

            Ye Qiu: …

            Ye Qiu: wow

            Ye Qiu: someone sounds salty

            Dancing Rain: I sound salty because I am salty :)

            Ye Qiu: don’t do that face, it’s scary coming from you

            Dancing Rain: Lol

            Dancing Rain: How are you?

            Ye Qiu: fine

            Ye Qiu: things are getting kinda interesting lol

            Dancing Rain: Interesting?

            Dancing Rain: Wdym?

            Ye Qiu: idk

            Ye Qiu: but let’s see how it goes :)

            Dancing Rain: …

            Dancing Rain: Oh so you can use the smiley but I can’t? Gtfo

            Ye Qiu: fight me mucheng

            Dancing Rain: I know where you live

            Ye Qiu: oh boy

            Ye Qiu: i dare you to walk into this crowded internet café full of excellent era fans

            Ye Qiu: come on, i’m waiting

            Dancing Rain: ………

            Ye Qiu: didn’t think so

            Ye Qiu: :)

            Dancing Rain: >:c

            Desert Dust: Did you talk to him

            Dancing Rain: Yeah :)

            Dancing Rain: I think he’s just fine

            Desert Dust: Good

            Dancing Rain: Actually Captain Han

            Dancing Rain: I was wondering…what do you and Ye Qiu talk about on the phone?

            Dancing Rain: You know, during those late night calls

            Desert Dust: …

            Dancing Rain: Just curious

            Dancing Rain: ;)

            Desert Dust: ………

            Desert Dust: First of all

            Desert Dust: It was early morning

            Desert Dust: Second

            Desert Dust: Gtfo

            Ye Qiu: yo

            Ye Qiu: spoke with your team guild

            Ye Qiu: they just want me to help them with the goblin merchant first kill

            Ye Qiu: also frost forest level 25 clear

            Ye Qiu: nbd lol

            Ye Qiu: anyway

            Ye Qiu: don’t come online tonight

            Ye Qiu: you should be well-rested for your match tomorrow

            Desert Dust: Do I need you to tell me this

            Ye Qiu: lolol

            Ye Qiu: well then, i’ll just tell you

            Ye Qiu: good luck

* * *

            Congratulations to Excellent Dynasty’s players: Gray Black, Sea Breeze, Inherit, Nowhere to Run, Purse for breaking Frost Forest’s clear record. Time: 13:24:21.

This system announcement resulted in nothing less than complete chaos. Ye Xiu, for his part, was perfectly calm.

He had been expecting something like this. Once Excellent Era kicked him out, they’d be looking to overhaul all of their departments. This obviously meant they expected their guild to be at peak performance in order to draw in new members and gather more materials. They wanted to capitalize on the new beginning Ye Xiu’s departure and Sun Xiang’s arrival represented to capture the players’ attention.

This sort of record, though… It wasn’t something ordinary players could achieve. There had to be a few pro players mixed in there, hidden behind unfamiliar usernames. Ye Xiu was surprised anyone on that team actually bothered.

But how surprised he was didn’t matter. Now that this problem had cropped up, he had to deal with it.

“First find info on those five players from Excellent Dynasty,” Ye Xiu instructed Cold Night. “After that, I’ll determine exactly how many pro-level players are among them.”

“All right. Tell me what classes you need equipment for, I’ll begin preparing,” Cold Night replied.

“Then…a Battle Mage, a Brawler, a Striker, and…a Launcher.”

Cold Night sounded a bit surprised. “You want to throw together an entire party? Where exactly are you going to find all these people?” He obviously knew the Striker had to be that Roaring Tiger he’d heard about from Endless Night, but who were the rest?

Ye Xiu merely chuckled. “Let me worry about that.”

Something else occurred to Cold Night. “If you’re making a full party, nobody from our guild will be able to accompany you…”

“Is that a problem?”

Cold Night sighed. As Tyrannical Ambition’s guild leader, it was his duty to push the guild to the very top of any and all leaderboards available. They needed visibility to grow and they needed materials to support the club. In that respect, his motivation was always simple: He wanted to win over the other club guilds by any means necessary.

However, some means were truly too shameful to contemplate seriously. Relying on five outsiders, an entire party of people who weren’t even a part of the guild, to break a record in Tyrannical Ambition’s name—wasn’t this going too far?

Then again, Excellent Dynasty had gotten pro players to break a simple Level 25 dungeon record for them, if Lord Grim could be believed. They had already gone too far.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. This was a principle everyone was familiar with, including Cold Night.

“It’s not a problem.” Cold Night was clearly resigned to his fate. Whoever he had to rely on, he’d rely on, simply because he had little choice in the matter. Pride was important, but as long as their image of integrity was maintained, all was well. Club guilds never hesitated to play dirty if they could get away with it. Competition was competition, after all, and the competition was only growing fiercer as the Alliance developed.

Nobody understood that better than Ye Xiu. He smiled slightly. “Then you guys feel free to go about your business. Once everyone on my side has leveled up, we’ll break this record for you.”

“Can you really do it?” Cold Night asked bluntly.

“Ha ha, leave it to me.”

“Then…I’ll be in touch.”

Cold Night, trailed by an uncommonly silent Endless Night, hurried away.

Ye Xiu watched them go contemplatively. Then he headed out to level, contacting Steamed Bun Invasion at the same time.

This guy was essentially a noob, one he had only met tonight. Still, he had left an impression on Ye Xiu when they killed Blood Gunner Yagg and escaped the ire of the three top guilds, and after dungeoning with him for some time, Ye Xiu arrived at the conclusion that he had a lot of potential. He was just new to Glory was all.

With a little—well, a lot of direction, and more practice, he would be a fine addition to any record-breaking party.

Ye Xiu met with his customary dungeon party at Frost Forest’s exit. They took a lot longer to finish the dungeon than he did with Tyrannical Ambition, but waiting didn’t bother him.

Besides Seven Fields, Drifting Water, Sunset Clouds, and Steamed Bun Invasion, there was also a random party member the four had picked up to accompany them, a Cleric. He broke off from the party as soon as everyone was out of the dungeon, so Lord Grim replaced him. He wondered when dear Little Moon Moon would show his face.

“Brother Expert…” everyone greeted, as was their habit.

“Hi. I don’t think I need to tell you, but the Frost Forest situation has changed. In order to break the record, I need a party with some skill,” he said straightforwardly.

“That’s definitely not us,” Seven Fields said with some regret.

“What do you think of Steamed Bun’s skill level?”

“Steamed Bun?” A number of expressive emojis appeared in the party chat.

“He doesn’t really know how to play,” Sunset Clouds said.

“True, but his hand speed is up to par.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, my hands are pretty quick,” Steamed Bun said, sounding amazed. “How did you know, God?”

Ye Xiu laughed. “I can just tell.” For someone with his experience, gauging hand speed was simple enough. It was hard to be completely accurate, but nobody needed perfect accuracy in this case. What was important was that Steamed Bun’s hand speed was above average.

“They’re quick, but…” Steamed Bun trailed off uncertainly.

“You don’t feel like you can put that quickness to use.”

“Right, right!”

“Come with me to clear monsters and I’ll teach you.”

He could almost feel Steamed Bun’s enthusiasm. “Okay, okay! Let’s go!”

“Brother Expert, teach us, too!” Drifting Water blurted.

Lord Grim turned in the direction of the three brothers’ avatars. “Do you guys need me to teach you? You’re experienced players. All you need is to improve your hand speed, coordination, timing, things like that. Mindless practice, really.”

“We’ve been practicing the entire time!” Sunset Clouds exclaimed. “Just like you and Brother Tiger told us to!”

“Then keep practicing…” Ye Xiu told them helplessly.

“It’s taking a long time to improve,” Drifting Water said gloomily.

“What exactly do you expect me to do about it?”

Seven Fields wanted to kick his friends. “Yeah, if it takes long then it takes long. Brother Expert and Brother Tiger can’t speed up the process. Quit whining.”

Ye Xiu’s lips twitched. These guys were too amusing sometimes. “We can all go clear monsters together. I’ll give you pointers as long as you work hard.”

“Yes!” Drifting Water and Sunset Clouds said. Seven Fields just sighed. He liked his friends, naturally, but he wished they wouldn’t embarrass themselves like this. Were they adults or weren’t they? What was with this weird parental influence Brother Expert and Brother Tiger had on them?

No matter what he thought, though, he also trailed behind Brother Expert like an obedient duckling. He was no better than his ridiculous friends and they didn’t even have the excuse of being noobs like Steamed Bun Invasion.

As Ye Xiu led his party to Boneyard, he wondered what Han Wenqing would think of Steamed Bun and Tang Rou. He couldn’t wait to introduce them; it was sure to be entertaining.

Though, him and Su Mucheng in the same party… Ye Xiu began to sweat just thinking about it.

Maybe he had miscalculated.

* * *

The 5th of December was a Saturday, a match day. Specifically, the 20th match of Season 8. For Ye Xiu, this would normally mean an early start, lots of warm-ups, lots of strategic evaluation, lots of team bonding (ha), and a little relaxation and downtime to put the mind at ease.

However, his life had drastically changed in the past week, no matter that he kept most of his same habits. Ye Xiu got out of bed at around 20:00, which was when the matches were supposed to start.

It was kind of liberating in a way, but kind of torturous in another. It was yet another reminder of his difference in status. Ye Xiu felt…bereft, like he should be doing something but no longer knew what that something was.

He came downstairs to find the Internet café in darkness. The projector was on and already streaming the pre-game commentary. When Ye Xiu asked, he learned, to absolutely no surprise, that they’d be streaming Excellent Era’s match.

Excellent Era was up against 301 Degrees. It wasn’t a top-tier team; in the past, Excellent Era would have been almost guaranteed to win. But they’d spent the first third of this season getting wrecked and the season before hadn’t been pretty, either. Except for Excellent Era’s fans and those who still vividly remembered the team’s dominating victories from years ago, most people didn’t have much faith in them.

It was hard to believe in a team whose performance just kept steadily declining. Even Ye Xiu found it difficult to imagine Excellent Era turning their situation around.

However…he looked forward to that happening. He had been treated cruelly and had nothing but disdain for most of the club and their way of doing things, but he still wanted them to hang on and succeed. This was a team he had raised with his own efforts. To watch them fall…

Maybe Sun Xiang could do something for them. Maybe not. If he couldn’t, then Ye Xiu couldn’t fathom what else might save Excellent Era. He certainly wasn’t going to.

The first round had 301 Degrees’s Gao Jie up against Su Mucheng. Gao Jie played Stellar Sword, a Blade Master. A rather uncreative name for a Blade Master, Ye Xiu thought.

“WOOOOO! SU MUCHENG!” Chen Guo screamed from next to him, along with just about every other spectator in the café.

Ye Xiu almost fell off his chair at the racket. What kind of fans did Su Mucheng have, honestly…

“That was intense,” he drolly commented to cover up the fact he had nearly face-planted on the floor.

“She’s the number one female pro!” Chen Guo replied proudly.

Baffled, Ye Xiu asked, “Number one? Who said that?”

“That’s what everyone says.”

“That’s just hype!” Ye Xiu kind of wanted to laugh. Sure enough, Su Mucheng had some truly devoted fans. They’d even make something like that up. Though it was probably more the club’s fault for leading them to believe it.

Su Mucheng was a good player, but she wasn’t outstanding; she had gotten to where she was after years of hard work, grinding it out in the game and perfecting her mechanics. It hadn’t been easy for her like it had been for Ye Xiu, who always found most games to be well within his ability to master.

That she had actually made it to pro level was no small feat. Ye Xiu believed anyone could do it if they had the drive and energy, but even so, most of them would fail to outshine the real talents. There could only be around two hundred pro players at a time, making for a very competitive scene. It was hard to settle in and flourish if you were just mediocre.

But Su Mucheng had a few advantages that allowed her to persist: her good looks, for one, and her ability to cooperate seamlessly with Ye Xiu. Just these two factors increased her popularity as a player tenfold. With almost unmatched commercial value and a strong, iconic partnership, she had become irreplaceable.

Ye Xiu was proud of her for establishing such a successful career. However, he knew better than anyone just how skilled Su Mucheng was.

“If not her, who else?” Chen Guo demanded.

“In terms of skill, the best female pro would be Chu Yunxiu.”

“Misty Rain’s captain?”

“Yup.”

Chu Yunxiu was someone Ye Xiu knew fairly well, mostly because of Su Mucheng. The female pros all got along for the most part—much better than the males, at least. It was just a result of their smaller numbers. Not every team had a girl on their roster, and those that did usually had them listed as reserve players. Ye Xiu couldn’t tell if it was sexism at work or if women were just less interested in competition or what.

…Probably sexism. As Su Mucheng liked to tell him, it was always sexism.

The match started a minute later, to the cheers and whistles of the spectators. Ye Xiu hoped desperately that he would not go deaf as he made himself comfortable. He hadn’t gotten to watch a regular-season match live since…ever, actually.

Su Mucheng won the first round of the individuals, which was hardly unexpected. The next two rounds went to 301 Degrees, which wasn’t unexpected, either. The Internet café’s mood nosedived, though.

No matter the team’s records, true fans would always long for victory.

The group challenge came next, and when One Autumn Leaf took his customary place as the first contestant, everyone immediately perked back up. This famed newcomer represented the hope of many fans; the spotlight was on him tonight.

But his opponent wasn’t an easy person to deal with. He was up against 301 Degrees’s captain and best player, Yang Cong.

Ye Xiu knew Yang Cong to be a fairly cunning player. He wasn’t at Master Tactician level, but he was experienced and cautious. As a captain, he took his responsibility to his team seriously. He wouldn’t dare face Sun Xiang without a plan.

Ye Xiu had no doubt he had something in store for Sun Xiang and Excellent Era. He didn’t react when Yang Cong’s Assassin Scene Killer fell to Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf, not even as the fans around him cheered and rejoiced.

Sun Xiang easily defeated the next player; One Autumn Leaf still had three-fourths of his health. The café’s atmosphere was positively vibrating with excitement.

Ye Xiu waited.

Xu Bin was Sun Xiang’s third and final opponent. He played as a Knight and was nicknamed the Grind King. He possessed a truly admirable ability to draw out duels, frustrating just about everyone who had to fight him.

He, too, lost in the end, though he didn’t go down easy. Sun Xiang’s beautiful 1v3 had the fans almost passing out with joy. Everyone, even the commentators, viewed Xu Bin’s performance with mockery.

But Ye Xiu knew there was more to it than that. And when the team match started, he was proven right: Yang Cong did have something in store all along.

Sun Xiang… Su Mucheng had been right about him. He didn’t know anything about teamwork.

How was Excellent Era going to overcome this?

Ye Xiu sighed. He almost wanted to get up and watch another match; maybe Tyranny’s. Then he might have some material to tease Han Wenqing with tomorrow night. Anything would be preferable over watching his former team get their asses handed to them.

Before he could decide, however, everything went black.

Because the power went out.

Amazing.

* * *

“So, what did you think of the match?”

Once the repairman finished up and things returned to normal, the Internet café was eerily empty. Because of this rare peace, Ye Xiu had Tang Rou watch the recordings of Excellent Era’s match against 301 Degrees while she leveled.

“You say they baited him into losing control in the team match…” Tang Rou murmured. “I can kind of see it. This is the one who inherited One Autumn Leaf from Ye Qiu? Sun Xiang?”

“Mhmm.”

“What happened to Ye Qiu?”

Ye Xiu exhaled a breath full of smoke. “Who knows. I heard he’s on vacation.”

Tang Rou furrowed her brow. “Vacation? What will he do when he comes back? Someone has his account, right? Is this Sun Xiang just going to return it?”

He laughed. “No way. Ye Qiu will just have to join another team and play on another account.”

Tang Rou didn’t say anything, but quietly continued to level as Ye Xiu caught up with the goings-on in-game.

Steamed Bun was in the Arena PKing. Drifting Water and Sunset Clouds were offline, leaving only Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon to play with. Tang Rou’s Soft Mist was almost at Level 19; she was sure to hit Level 20 before the night was out.

Ye Xiu guided Lord Grim to Boneyard and leveled alongside Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon. It was pretty monotonous work and there was nothing much to discuss on Ye Xiu’s end, so he just listened to Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon chat.

“That team match was so embarrassing,” Sleeping Moon groaned. “I was so hopeful for a while there…”

“Sorry, man,” Seven Fields said sympathetically. “But Excellent Era can only get better from here on out. Sun Xiang is just new and the rest of the team is getting used to him.”

“I guess. It’s just so frustrating watching them lose almost every game.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“They’re a lot better than that, I just can’t understand why things have been so shitty lately.”

“Seriously, they’ll get better.”

“I wonder what happened to Ye Qiu,” Sleeping Moon said suddenly.

Seven Fields laughed. “Yeah, everyone does. There’s nothing new, right?”

“Nothing. Some of the other pros were joking about how he was taking an early vacation.”

“Ha ha, for real?”

“For real.”

Ye Xiu smirked as he killed off another monster. He was taking an early vacation. Sort of.

Suddenly, in the relative quiet, he heard footsteps. He lifted his head and looked at the Internet café’s entrance. Beside him, sitting at the server computer, Tang Rou also paused.

“Brother Hao, this café is empty!”

Four people gathered at the doors, looking around. The first one walked quickly to the reception and into the light. Since Ye Xiu and Tang Rou were the only ones here, they’d switched everything off except for the bulb above their heads.

Ye Xiu immediately switched on some of the others, brightening the reception area considerably. “How many people?”

He swept his gaze over the four. With a jolt, he realized he knew them.

Excellent Dynasty’s guild leader, Chen Yehui, was at the front of the pack. Behind him were Liu Hao, Wang Ze, and Fang Fengran, all members of Excellent Era. Their faces were flushed and their stances a little off, like they were unsteady on their feet.

Ye Xiu’s eyebrow rose a fraction before his expression smoothed out. Were they drunk?

They hadn’t yet recognized Ye Xiu because of the angle at which his computer was positioned. Tang Rou, however, was clearly visible. They more or less gathered at the desk before her, Liu Hao going so far as to lean against it like a playboy or something.

“Sister, you play Glory?” he asked pleasantly.

Tang Rou gave him a polite smile. “Yes.” This was apparently all the attention she was willing to spare him, though, because her eyes returned to her monitor a second later.

Liu Hao coughed a little awkwardly. “You play pretty well!”

“Thanks.” This was accompanied by another polite smile, but again, Tang Rou didn’t pay Liu Hao much mind.

Liu Hao looked hilariously disgruntled. If Ye Xiu were any more inclined to engage Liu Hao in conversation, he would have mocked him mercilessly over this.

As it was, he still had to talk to the guy. Customers were customers, after all.

Wang Ze finally noticed him. His eyes widened and he almost tipped over into Fang Fengran, who swayed together with him.

“What?” Fang Fengran hissed, steadying them both.

“Look…”

They stared at Ye Xiu. Chen Yehui looked over, too, and instantly froze.

Liu Hao was evidently still debating over how next to capture Tang Rou’s attention. But when a few pairs of hands tugged at his coat and jabbed the back of his shoulder, he swung around. “The hell?”

Their eyes were stuck on Ye Xiu. Liu Hao followed their gazes.

Ye Xiu met his blank stare.

There was a beat of silence.

“Are you going to use the computers?” he asked.

Liu Hao twitched as if the question startled him. A few more seconds of dumb surprise later, he finally recovered.

A scornful grin adorned his face. “What a coincidence. It’s actually Brother Ye. Uh, Brother, you’re here as…an employee?”

“Yup!” Ye Xiu replied with a casual chuckle.

“Oh, wow, how is it? Is it hard? What’s the salary like?”

“Hmm, not bad.”

“Really?” Liu Hao acted as if he couldn’t believe it. “This kind of job can’t pay too well. Do you have enough money to buy cigarettes? If not, don’t be polite, Brother, just come ask us. We’re not that far, right across the street still.”

“Sure,” Ye Xiu said as if it were a serious offer and not a mockery.

Tang Rou leaned toward him a bit and asked, “Friends of yours?”

Ye Xiu opened his mouth to answer (“Ha ha, no”), but Liu Hao broke in before he could. “No way! We couldn’t possibly be friends with Brother Ye, we’re not worthy. We’re just his underlings.”

Ye Xiu looked directly at Liu Hao.

Liu Hao took a hasty step back. He was mostly joking, but Ye Qiu’s stare really did have an effect on him. He hated it when those penetrating eyes locked onto him, judging and deconstructing. No matter how much he resented Ye Qiu, the way he always seemed so disappointed, so underwhelmed by Liu Hao sent needles piercing straight through his insides.

He hated this feeling, this feeling of being weighed and found wanting.

“Whoa! It’s that look! It’s that look again!” Liu Hao said, glad his childish desperation didn’t bleed into his voice. “Do you guys know? When Brother Ye looks at me like that, it means he’s gonna teach me a lesson! Oh no, oh no, oh no.”

Wang Ze and Fang Fengran hesitated to react, but Chen Yehui immediately stepped up to keep things going, his eyes dark with vindictive satisfaction. “Brother Hao, he can’t teach you any more lessons, can he?”

“He sure can’t,” Liu Hao said, expression falsely sympathetic. He met Ye Qiu’s gold-gray eyes as best he could. “How could I forget; you’re no longer the team captain. Oh damn, what are you going to do now? I’m sure you have some things to say to me, right? It’s just too bad I don’t have to listen to you anymore. Ha ha!”

“Mister, did you drink too much?” the girl asked, her tone disapproving.

“Don’t worry about it, beautiful,” Liu Hao said, sneering. “This is personal.”

But Ye Qiu merely laughed. Throughout Liu Hao’s entire speech, he remained unmoved. Now, he put out his cigarette and slowly stood up out of his chair. His full height was not too impressive, yet the shadow he seemed to cast was far taller.

Liu Hao braced himself.

“I didn’t cut you any slack because you made too many mistakes. You wanted me to let you be, but you never gave me the option, did you?”

Bracing himself…really didn’t help.

“I never gave you the option?” Liu Hao demanded, gripping the edge of the counter. He leaned forward as if he could get across the barrier separating him from Ye Qiu through sheer force of will. “Or did you never give me the option? From the day I joined the team, you always beat me down and never gave me the chance to show my ability. I always knew you were scared of me, scared that once I stepped into the spotlight, I’d steal your position. But did you really think you could hold me back forever? How about now? The one who stayed is me, and the one who was kicked out is you! I’m the vice-captain and you’re just an employee at an Internet café! This is goddamn karma! Ha ha ha!”

Ye Xiu merely watched him laugh, his heart heavy. Liu Hao… He really hadn’t ever been trying to hold Liu Hao back; he held himself back. He didn’t work hard enough, he didn’t appreciate his team members, he didn’t respect his opponents’ skill. He didn’t even respect his own captain. Could somebody like this be trusted with the team’s future? Could Ye Xiu just let him run wild and do whatever he wanted?

No matter how many times Ye Xiu told him, he never listened. Rather than acknowledge his own flaws, Liu Hao would always rather point his finger toward others. He hated the power Ye Xiu had over him and the constraints of his position. With Ye Xiu gone, however, there would be no one to keep a leash on him.

Excellent Era was in for some hard times.

Ye Xiu sighed softly and waved a hand. He could lecture them, but he’d rather just leave them be since that was what they wanted. Regardless of his own feelings, his future didn’t lie with Excellent Era.

“Go on, go to bed or whatever. Congratulations on your new position, Vice-Captain. I have to admit, you really are capable to have climbed up the ladder just like that. Since things are the way they are, do your job properly. Being second-in-command in a team like Excellent Era is no joke. But don’t worry, your old Brother Ye believes in you.”

Liu Hao gaped. “Fuck, you little—”

“Off you go!” Ye Xiu made shooing motions.

“What are you on about?” he demanded. “We’re here to use the computers, give us four stations!”

Ye Xiu silently walked over to a plaque on the wall. It was still too dark to see it clearly, so Ye Xiu nodded at Tang Rou. “Mind turning on the light?”

“Mmm!” Tang Rou agreed readily. A second later, the plaque was properly illuminated.

Ye Xiu tapped it with a knuckle. “See? This Internet café has the right to refuse service to any drunk people. So sorry, guys.”

“You…!”

“Don’t make such a fuss. You’re public figures. If you start a scene here, it won’t look good for you,” Ye Xiu reminded them dully.

While Liu Hao and Chen Yehui struggled to come up with some kind of counterattack and Wang Ze and Fang Fengrun looked conflicted, Ye Xiu pulled out a cigarette and lighted it. He took a drag and released a long trail of smoke, leaning against the wall.

Liu Hao suddenly spun around, presenting Ye Xiu with his back. “We’re leaving!”

“I won’t send you off,” Ye Xiu replied. He watched them go, their shoulders hunched and heads lowered. Like a bunch of dogs with their tails between their legs. Ha.

He didn’t know why people still tried to best him in a war of words. He had enough wit for a hundred Liu Haos.

Ye Xiu shook his head and returned to his seat. He felt Tang Rou’s eyes on him, but decided to ignore her.

However, she spoke up. “Who were they?”

“Former colleagues,” Ye Xiu said neutrally enough.

“From the Glory pro scene?”

“Yeah.”

“Are they famous?”

“Yup. When you didn’t recognize them, they probably felt kind of insulted, did you know?” He grinned.

“Well, I can’t do anything about that. I only know Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng because Guoguo talks about them all the time.”

Ye Xiu laughed. “She really is such a fangirl.”

“She is. I think she even has posters of Su Mucheng in her room.”

“Oh, she does.”

Tang Rou’s eyes widened. “You’ve been in her room?”

Ye Xiu mentally kicked himself. “When I went to get a blanket for her.”

“Oh.” Tang Rou smiled a bit. “She fell asleep on the couch?”

“Yeah, is she always like that?” Ye Xiu asked, eager to move past that embarrassing slip. Damn, if it was Su Mucheng, he’d be screwed.

“Pretty much. She’s probably sleeping on the couch right now.”

“Shouldn’t you go check on her, then?”

“You’re okay?”

“Me?” He tilted his head. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

“Those guys…” Tang Rou didn’t quite know what to say. She was concerned on one hand, but had a lot of respect for everyone’s boundaries on the other. Ye Xiu was a very easygoing person, true, but she hadn’t quite figured out where his lines lay.

“Ha, that was nothing. I can deal with much worse.”

His expression was confident and somewhat comforting. Tang Rou studied him for a moment more, then stood up. “All right, good.”

As she headed upstairs, she thought to herself that Ye Xiu really wasn’t an ordinary person.

In Tang Rou’s absence, Ye Xiu casually logged into QQ.

            Ye Qiu: hey, are you still awake?

It took about a minute to get an answer, but an answer he got.

            Dancing Rain: Yeah

            Dancing Rain: What’s up?

            Ye Qiu: buy a new account card in the morning and start leveling to 25

            Ye Qiu: i have something i need your help with :)

            Dancing Rain: Oh…

            Dancing Rain: Okay sure :)

            Ye Qiu: and some people i need to introduce you to

            Dancing Rain: Oh??

            Dancing Rain: Your and Captain Han’s new friends?

            Ye Qiu: them too lol

            Dancing Rain: Can’t wait haha

            Dancing Rain: Did you see the match?

            Ye Qiu: most of it

            Ye Qiu: you did well

            Dancing Rain: Thanks

            Ye Qiu: wish i could say the same for the others

            Dancing Rain: Forget them :/

            Dancing Rain: They’re hopeless

            Dancing Rain: I think a few of them even went out and got drunk earlier…

            Ye Qiu: shameful

            Dancing Rain: What’s a shame is that they didn’t collapse in the street somewhere and get caught by their fans, publicly humiliated, and kicked from the team ^^

            Ye Qiu: …

            Dancing Rain: Anyway, gonna go to bed

            Dancing Rain: See you later!

            Ye Qiu: sleep well [sweating emoji]

Tang Rou returned then and took her seat. Ye Xiu looked at her expectantly.

Tang Rou just shook her head in exasperation. “I was right, she passed out on the couch.”

Ye Xiu tsked. He selected another name on his contacts list as Tang Rou resumed leveling.

            Ye Qiu: you gonna be online tomorrow?

            Desert Dust: Yes

Han Wenqing’s reply came far quicker than Su Mucheng’s. Ye Xiu couldn’t help the upward tilt of his lips. It was like he was waiting for a message or something.

            Ye Qiu: okay, level to 25

            Ye Qiu: we have a frost forest record to break

            Desert Dust: For whom

            Ye Qiu: tyrannical ambition

            Desert Dust: …

            Ye Qiu: don’t worry, i have a party set up

            Ye Qiu: no one from the guild will be joining us

            Desert Dust: You don’t mean to set a decent record with that bunch do you

            Ye Qiu: no lol

            Ye Qiu: let’s just say i met some people

            Desert Dust: What exactly do you get up to when I’m not around

            Ye Qiu: :)

            Ye Qiu: once everyone is level 25 and we get our equipment, we’ll get started

            Ye Qiu: can i count on you?

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Ye Qiu: okay ^^

            Ye Qiu: go to bed then

            Desert Dust: How is the umbrella

            Ye Qiu: it’s progressing!

            Ye Qiu: you’ll see lol

            Desert Dust: Hmm

            Desert Dust: We’ll talk more later

            Desert Dust: Good night

            Ye Qiu: night

* * *

            Congratulations to Tyrannical Ambition’s players: Lord Grim, Roaring Tiger, Soft Mist, Cleansing Mist, Steamed Bun Invasion for breaking Frost Forest’s clear record. Time: 12:01:32.

This record prompted a new torrent of comments in the tenth server’s global channel. Everyone was discussing it and the players responsible, as well as Tyrannical Ambition. Cold Night was over the moon with joy.

Ye Xiu’s group, however, went about business as usual. As the hours ticked away and their record remained untouched, Ye Xiu began to relax.

It was around then that a Level 24 Berserker called Hateful Sword sent him a wave of friend requests. He had flashbacks to the night he met Blue River and wondered if this was someone else looking to do business with him.

After accepting the latest friend request, Ye Xiu immediately received a DM:

            Hateful Sword: Hi God

            Lord Grim: hi, you are?

            Hateful Sword: Do you have an open spot in your party?

            Lord Grim: party?

            Hateful Sword: You’re always setting dungeon records so I thought you had a set party

            Lord Grim: not really lol

            Hateful Sword: Oh

            Hateful Sword: Then can you bring me along next time? I’m pretty good

Ye Xiu shook his head regretfully. He didn’t believe he could rely on the same four people to break records with him all the time, no, but he also didn’t want to make it look like he was hiring or whatever. The last thing he needed was more people to keep track of.

            Lord Grim: if it comes up, i’ll let you know

He managed to hand the player off to Steamed Bun to entertain and went back to grinding.

Hateful Sword still joined them later, though. He didn’t seem very happy about being ridiculed by Steamed Bun, but then again, who would. Ye Xiu took pity on him and let him come over.

“Hello,” Tang Rou greeted.

“Hi.”

“Hey, God,” Hateful Sword said, ignoring Soft Mist as he hurried toward them.

Ye Xiu watched the avatar on the screen and shook his head. He sent a party invite.

Their grinding continued peacefully. Tang Rou’s energy and concentration didn’t flag, though Hateful Sword’s did. As the morning drew ever nearer, Ye Xiu reached a somewhat obvious conclusion.

Hateful Sword was someone he knew. And judging by his play style, class choice, and hyper-focus on Ye Xiu, it was probably Liu Hao.

Why was he not surprised? Ye Xiu had already left Excellent Era, what more could he want? Some people were just impossible to satisfy.

When Han Wenqing came online the next night, Ye Xiu was quick to inform him of this new development. He could take responsibility for the others, but if Han Wenqing didn’t get a heads-up now, he’d probably have words for Ye Xiu later.

            Lord Grim: we have a stalker

            Roaring Tiger: ?

            Lord Grim: liu hao, hateful sword, berserker

            Roaring Tiger: Oh him

            Roaring Tiger: What does he think he can do

            Lord Grim: infiltrate our party, such as it is

            Lord Grim: probably sabotage and spy on us

            Lord Grim: i’m tempted to let him try lol

            Roaring Tiger: Hmph

Well, Han Wenqing apparently wasn’t tempted to do the same. Liu Hao got another opportunity to join their mindless grinding soon enough. Accompanied by Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon, Ye Xiu, Tang Rou, Su Mucheng, and Han Wenqing were all rushing to Level 27 so they could break the Boneyard record. Steamed Bun was already well on his way and still spent most of his time in the Arena, presumably where Liu Hao had been.

Ye Xiu could just imagine how well those two got along.

As soon as Hateful Sword entered Roaring Tiger’s circle of awareness, Han Wenqing addressed him. “You.”

“Uh—me?” Liu Hao said, his voice purposefully distorted.

“Why are you here.”

“Um, God invited me over…”

“Consider yourself uninvited,” Han Wenqing said coldly. Roaring Tiger promptly attacked Hateful Sword.

Roaring Tiger had an edge in terms of level and equipment, not to mention this was Han Wenqing. Liu Hao was evidently too dumbfounded to put up much of a fight; all he managed was a shocked protest. Everyone else was too dumbfounded to even consider helping him.

In the end, they just watched Hateful Sword get wrecked inside of a minute, completely silent. Even the monsters had fallen quiet.

Roaring Tiger turned his back on Hateful Sword’s limp body and went back to clearing monsters. Ye Xiu stared at him blankly.

Su Mucheng asked, mystified, “Um…why…?”

Ye Xiu couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He guffawed.

He could feel Tang Rou and everyone else in the Internet café who happened to be close by staring at him. He didn’t care; he was actually tearing up.

“Oh my god,” he said, wiping his eyes and chuckling. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

A snort came from Roaring Tiger. “Why not? Problem solved.”

Ye Xiu was overcome by another wave of laughter.

Problem solved, huh?

He guessed so.

Chapter Text

If the first week following the tenth server’s opening was a sign of things to come, then it wasn’t a strong enough sign.

Despite knowing how unlikely it was, Xu Boyuan kept hoping he would wake up to find this was all an elaborate nightmare. Then he thought, Maybe I’m in a coma. I just have to be patient. They could still cut off my life support.

But no. No matter how patient he was, the world still did not return to normal, the tenth server was still a mess, and he was still being driven to the limits of his sanity. There was no beautiful awakening, nor the sweet release of death. Just endless headaches.

It began with all those first kills and clears. Then the damned Frost Forest record. And now, Boneyard. Fucking Boneyard.

15:11:13. What kind of time was that? What kind of fucking time?

Don’t get him wrong—he was very grateful that such an amazing record was under Blue Brook Guild’s name. It was just…15:11:13.

And in theory, that record could belong to any guild if they paid enough!

Xu Boyuan didn’t know if he’d rather hysterically cry himself into an early grave or find Lord Grim’s player and brutally murder him. He’d be sent to prison directly afterward, but that was okay. Surely his brothers and sisters on the tenth server would cherish his willing sacrifice.

In reality, what he wanted most of all was to go back in time and refuse the offer to pioneer in the tenth server. He knew Liang Yichun was just giving him a way out of dealing with Poplar Beach, but damn if Xu Boyuan didn’t prefer ten Poplar Beaches over a single Lord Grim.

It wouldn’t be so bad if it was just Lord Grim, honestly, but the guy came in a package with equally upsetting players. Soft Mist, Steamed Bun Invasion… By all accounts, they were noobs, yet they were so terrifying that Xu Boyuan didn’t dare imagine what they’d be like a year from now.

Cleansing Mist was harder to pin down, but she was clearly experienced. Nothing fazed her; she quietly followed directions like a good little soldier and happily covered for the less experienced players in the party.

Roaring Tiger, on the other hand… Xu Boyuan would rather not think about him. He’d had one actual encounter with the guy and that was one too many.

One thing was certain, though: Even if Lord Grim decided to take a night off, Roaring Tiger would assume leadership of their party. Xu Boyuan had heard it said they were partners, and that appeared to be true enough. Lord Grim was the one calling the shots, yet Roaring Tiger was the one who most readily backed him up. They had some sort of dual-core-captain-vice-captain vibe going on.

As a result, Lord Grim and everyone causing headaches together with him didn’t leave a single opening for others to exploit. Xu Boyuan still wanted to poach them all somehow, but it was looking more and more impossible by the hour. The only weak links were those painfully average players from Full Moon Guild who trailed Lord Grim while they leveled, but Xu Boyuan didn’t see the point of messing with them. It wasn’t like he could threaten to never let them have any peace unless Lord Grim and company stood down. That would be too pitiful, no?

It was ironic in retrospect. Xu Boyuan had been excited at the prospect of a new expert in the game and quite pleased with the results of Lord Grim’s cooperation. Yet it turned out he was not a gift, but a problem. A problem that kept on problem-ing.

No one told him what to do with this problem, either; not even Liang Yichun. Xu Boyuan didn’t think Liang Yichun took the threat of Lord Grim seriously, which was downright hilarious in a deeply worrying way when Excellent Dynasty sure took him seriously. Enough to possibly call out a few pros just to fight with him over low-level dungeons like Frost Forest and fucking Bone—

Wait, no. Xu Boyuan wasn’t going there. He had to keep it together. He had a duty, a responsibility—

…God, who was he kidding. If leading Blue Brook Guild on the tenth server hadn’t yet shortened his lifespan, it surely would. Xu Boyuan knew it, Bound Boat knew it, all the other guild leaders and the plebs they called subordinates knew it.

His only comfort was that he wasn’t the only one Lord Grim was going to be the death of. He’d received news that Tyrannical Ambition’s Cold Night had been unwell recently.

Besides the obvious, though, there was still something bothering Xu Boyuan:

Why hadn’t Plantago Seed approached Lord Grim yet?

* * *

“You’ve got a message.”

“Message?” Herb Garden’s tenth server guild leader was startled. He quickly checked, but what came up was just random chit-chat, completely unimportant. Wang Jiexi had already scanned the contents before it was hastily closed.

He refocused on the four characters on-screen, clearly visible from Plantago Seed’s out-of-the-way position. Lord Grim, Roaring Tiger, Soft Mist, Steamed Bun Invasion.

The more Wang Jiexi watched, the more unsettled he became.

“Their combat styles…” he said, more to himself than anything, “they’re very familiar.”

“Familiar?”

“That Lord Grim and the Battle Mage remind me of One Autumn Leaf. Roaring Tiger resembles Desert Dust.”

It was an uncanny resemblance, actually. The four of them were just casually leveling, throwing monsters around in a constant but controlled grind, yet he could tell they weren’t as simple as most ordinary players.

“Lord Grim isn’t a Battle Mage, though…”

“No,” Wang Jiexi agreed, though he wasn’t sure why this guy felt the need to state the obvious. He could clearly see that Lord Grim was unspecialized—which, at Level 27, was an interesting choice unto itself.

“Is there anything special about One Autumn Leaf’s combat style?”

Wang Jiexi had to repress the urge to snort. “No. It’s the crudest style there is.”

That wasn’t to say it was ineffective. In its least evolved form, that combat style had helped win Excellent Era three consecutive championships. But Ye Qiu was a first generation player, and if there was anything Wang Jiexi had noticed about those, few though they were, it was their combat styles.

Simple. Direct. Economic. The point was always to take down opponents quickly and brutally. Many would say it was a clean victory, but in Wang Jiexi’s eyes, there was nothing clean about it. It was quick and punctual when they managed to win, sure, yet there was no flair or finesse to their execution.

Therefore, among today’s professional Battle Mages, One Autumn Leaf’s style was unique. Ye Qiu had a very distinct preference for combat, one that Wang Jiexi had striven to understand during his rookie days.

In short, Ye Qiu wanted to get the job done, but he didn’t do it beautifully: The beauty lay in the results.

“No matter how strategically inclined Ye Qiu is, he’s relatively straightforward,” Wang Jiexi explained. “Look at the skills Lord Grim and Soft Mist are using, or rather, the skills they’re not using. Their goal is to output the most damage with the least amount of mana consumption. Roaring Tiger is mostly the same, except his pathing isn’t as deliberate.

“In simple terms, they want to get the most bang for their buck.”

There was likely no point in sharing this, but Wang Jiexi was trying to organize his thoughts. He was a bit shaken at the notion of an unspecialized character and a Striker who matched One Autumn Leaf and Desert Dust so well, and working together.

It was just extremely unnatural.

The Battle Mage was a different story. Wang Jiexi could tell her combat style wasn’t so much a match to One Autumn Leaf’s as it was inspired by it. There were kinks in her sequence like she was still trying to figure out what worked for her.

“Oh,” his company said in an enlightened tone. “Then what about the Brawler?”

Wang Jiexi hesitated. “This Brawler…” It wasn’t like he didn’t have things to say; it was just hard to find the right words.

Eventually, he decided that short and sweet was the right way to go. “To put it nicely, he’s just doing what he wants. To put it bluntly, he’s a complete mess.”

“But all their mechanics are pretty good, right?”

“Yeah.” They certainly weren’t bad. “But we’re only watching them fight against monsters, so there’s not much to be seen.”

“Then what should we do?”

There was only one way to test his terrifying theory. “Lend me your account for a bit. I’m going to go say hello to them.”

In short order, Wang Jiexi was in control of Plantago Seed. He found it vaguely depressing that the keyboard settings here were the exact same as his, but chose not to point out how foolish that was. Instead, he charged directly at the four players he’d been observing, ignoring the two others who accompanied them.

The most significant ones, the ones he absolutely had to figure out, were Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger.

Yet the battle did not play out the way he expected it to. Soft Mist and Steamed Bun Invasion were easy enough to deal with—apart from that ridiculous Brawler calling his Disperse Powder a laxative of all things—but Lord Grim countered him soundly.

And Wang Jiexi couldn’t tell if it was really Ye Qiu or not.

“Fighting against an unspecialized at Level 27 really is difficult!” he lamented, shaking his head. In the game, Plantago Seed was on his broom and making a quick escape.

Wang Jiexi wasn’t bitter about having to turn tail and run, but he was upset that he hadn’t been able to reach a conclusion about Lord Grim’s or Roaring Tiger’s identities. Roaring Tiger hadn’t even fought.

…Wait.

He saw the two he’d disregarded, Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon, appear in front of him, clearly intending to cut him off. Wang Jiexi instinctively forced Plantago Seed into a hasty swerve. He wasn’t threatened by them, but he had a feeling—

Something knocked him off-balance. Plantago Seed fell off his broom and tumbled to the ground. He only just managed a Quick Recover.

Adjusting his viewpoint angle, Wang Jiexi immediately clapped eyes on the imposing figure of Roaring Tiger. Even though it was just a game, Wang Jiexi couldn’t feel entirely calm with that Striker approaching him, decked out in eye-catching equipment and radiating a fierce aura.

It must have been a Whirlwind Kick that had sent him to the ground. Wang Jiexi had no idea how Roaring Tiger managed to get within range. It must have been planned out.

That meant…whoever was in charge here knew him well. And if his sources were correct, the one in charge was Lord Grim.

Roaring Tiger swiftly closed the distance between them, those two players flanking him. Wang Jiexi, in his shock, blurted, “Senior?”

But Roaring Tiger didn’t halt. Wang Jiexi prepared to either defend himself or get the hell out of Dodge, but before their two sides could collide, another figure materialized between them.

“Hey, hey, we can’t bully our juniors like this.”

Lord Grim stood tall and proud before Plantago Seed. His confidence was incongruous with the frankly laughable mess of clashing colors and mismatched equipment he wore. He didn’t look so much like a hero as he did a high and mighty fool.

“He attacked us first,” someone who had to be Roaring Tiger growled.

“Maybe he just wanted to say hello.”

Wang Jiexi felt his stomach swoop the way it might if he were flying on an actual broom in real life. With a strangely steady hand, he checked to make sure he had headphones on. He had to make sure, so he couldn’t convince himself he’d misheard later on. Then, without turning to face Plantago Seed’s owner, he said, “Leave for a moment, please.”

“Hmm?” Lord Grim—Ye Qiu—asked.

“Not you, the one in the room with me.”

“Oh, uh. Yes, Captain.” Wang Jiexi heard the door open and shut with admirable speed.

Wang Jiexi relaxed. Marginally.

There were a couple seconds of awkward silence.

“Hey, how about you come with me and the kitty to level over there?” Ye Qiu said cheerfully. “The rest of you, just carry on with what you were doing. We’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” a female voice said from a few units behind Plantago Seed. Wang Jiexi listened to Soft Mist’s and Steamed Bun Invasion’s footsteps grow fainter. Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon also walked past his avatar after them, if reluctantly.

Only once they were more or less alone did Wang Jiexi ask, very faintly, “Kitty?”

Ye Qiu snorted. Han Wenqing said, coldly and with utmost calm, “If you even think about calling me that, you will regret it.”

“Yes, Senior,” Wang Jiexi agreed immediately. He followed the two of them as they moved even further away from the other four.

Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger resumed grinding. They aggro’d a few monsters each and mercilessly tore into them, neither saying another word. Helpless, Wang Jiexi could only follow their example.

How had it turned out like this? He’d been expecting to just check out a few troublesome players the club guild was complaining about, maybe offer a little advice about how to deal with them, then continue his night. He’d even delayed coming here specifically because he wanted to see this Roaring Tiger, who apparently only showed up in the evenings. He hadn’t intended to be dragged into whatever this was!

What the hell were these old men up to, running around in the tenth server?

Wang Jiexi had a premonition. A bad one.

He decided not to think about it.

“Big-Eyed Wang, I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight,” Ye Qiu said finally.

Wang Jiexi stared stonily at the monitor. Of course there was no way for even Ye Qiu to predict Wang Jiexi would come investigate the tyrants of the tenth server himself, but he couldn’t quite believe he didn’t expect someone to. “You’ve caught the club guilds’ attention.”

“Tell me something I don’t know. And you—you’re just cautious enough to personally check out the commotion, aren’t you?”

“I’ve always been cautious.”

Ye Qiu laughed lightly. Lord Grim struck another monster down. “Right. So now that you know it’s us stirring things up here, what are you going to do about it?”

Wang Jiexi had decided not to think about it, yet was forced to anyway. He could already feel the impending headache.

“Do about it?” Wang Jiexi said carefully. “I don’t believe there’s anything I can do about it.”

“You’re correct,” Han Wenqing said, harrumphing.

Ye Qiu laughed again. “Yeah, he’s always been a smart one, eh? But, Wang Jiexi…”

Wang Jiexi tensed.

“Don’t tell anyone about this, okay?” Even as he spoke, Ye Qiu typed out a smiley face. It hovered above Lord Grim’s head in a decisively threatening manner.

“I won’t.” Outwardly, Wang Jiexi remained stoic, but inwardly, he was sweating.

Movement at the corner of his screen drew his attention. Wang Jiexi adjusted his view, preparing to slap away another monster, but it was just another player, a female Launcher.

Wang Jiexi dismissed her once he identified her as a non-threat, but he still kept Plantago Seed’s eyes trained in her direction as he got rid of the monsters on that side. Thus, he saw her join Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing’s companions several units away.

Good lord.

“Su Mucheng, too?” he asked. “You three seem to be having a lot of fun here…”

“Ha ha, we sure are,” Ye Qiu said good-naturedly. “Why, you wanna join in? I’m afraid we don’t have any openings at the moment, but we’ll let you know.”

Wang Jiexi was about to give that the scathing reply it deserved, but he stopped short. “Join in…?”

Lord Grim’s movements seemed to lag for just a moment before smoothing out again. “I was kidding, Big-Eyed Wang, don’t get all eager.”

“I’m told you’re working for materials,” Wang Jiexi said.

“Yes?”

“I imagine it must be boring, setting dungeon records.”

“Not really.”

Wang Jiexi smiled. “Seniors, I don’t intend to tell anyone about this, but do consider fighting a few rounds with my Tiny Herb team members in the future. I’m sure we can arrive at an agreement, something mutually beneficial.”

Roaring Tiger turned toward him. “Is that a threat?”

Time to hastily backtrack. “Of course not,” he replied with calm he did not feel. “Think of it as an offer. A business deal, if you will.”

Ye Qiu hummed, barely loud enough to be heard over the cries of the monsters. “A business deal? You have some nerve, Big-Eyed Wang.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“No,” Han Wenqing said flatly.

Wang Jiexi began to really sweat right then. “It’s fine if you refuse. I really don’t intend to say anything.”

“You’re giving up your advantage awfully quick. Don’t you have any backbone?” Ye Qiu demanded, sounding perplexed. Lord Grim seemed to steal a glance at Roaring Tiger. “Or is it this guy? You can’t even see his face yet he scares you this much?”

“What about my face?” Han Wenqing asked, a warning in his tone.

Wang Jiexi could almost feel Ye Qiu rolling his eyes. “Calm down, kitty. Say, Big-Eyed Wang, I wouldn’t mind if we came to—how did you put it?—a mutually beneficial agreement.”

Wang Jiexi perked up in an instant. “Oh?”

“Mhmm. Let’s talk about materials later. For now, why don’t you send in some of your players to fight us? A team of five would do. The weakest five you’ve got.”

A team of five composed of his team’s weakest members? Wang Jiexi felt himself nodding slowly even though neither Ye Qiu nor Han Wenqing could see it. He stopped and shook his head. It was foolish to agree without speaking of terms and conditions first. “What’s the catch?”

“No catch,” Ye Qiu said. “Like I said, we can discuss payment later. I just want…three rounds with this team of yours. Not in the Arena, have them surprise us anywhere you like. They’ll get to train with three experienced pros and we’ll get to have some fun. It’s even.”

Wang Jiexi didn’t trust for a second that Ye Qiu was doing this for fun. “You say it’s even, yet you still talk about payment?”

“Heh…this is a trial run. If it goes well, we’ll see what other fun things we can do.”

“Things that involve you winning materials?” Wang Jiexi asked dryly.

“Of course.”

“Why the weakest members?” Wang Jiexi decided to switch angles.

“Don’t worry about it,” Han Wenqing said.

So they were up to something. Worse, they were both in on it. Was Su Mucheng in on it, too, or was she just providing a helping hand? Would Huang Shaotian pop out of the woodwork and join in on the “fun,” as well? Maybe that kid Ye Qiu was rumored to be training as his successor? Some old retired pro nobody even remembered anymore?

Ye Qiu had a lot of friends, unfortunately. More than enough to permanently scar everyone on this server for life. Hell, Ye Qiu alone was perfectly capable of having the entirety of the Glory scene eating out of his hand or begging for mercy—whichever he was in the mood for.

Plenty of people, pros included, liked to underestimate the older seniors like Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing. Wang Jiexi didn’t dare.

Because he knew to be wary, he wasn’t fond of the idea of embroiling himself in their plans, unfathomable as they were, but an opportunity was an opportunity. Wang Jiexi wanted to give his team a chance against these gods without the pressure attached to a match, to prove to them that they couldn’t rely on him exclusively. Gao Yingjie could definitely stand a challenge, and the other subs could use the experience. Even Wang Jiexi himself could learn something here.

Although, it was likely that “something” was to avoid Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing at all costs. Especially when they decided to work together. Frankly, Wang Jiexi found it hard to believe, even as he saw it with his own two eyes.

If he spent some time with them, however, perhaps he’d learn the purpose for their cooperation. That premonition from earlier…

Well. He’d sleep a lot better if he could eliminate certain possibilities, was all.

“Fine,” he said. “We have a deal. Expect them tomorrow night.”

“Aw, it would have been more exciting if you didn’t warn us,” Ye Qiu complained.

“Shut up, Ye Qiu,” Han Wenqing said. “And you, we’re done here, so get lost.”

Wang Jiexi had never been gladder to log off.

* * *

It was not yet eight in the morning and Su Mucheng sat in one of Excellent Era’s conference rooms, the same one where she and Ye Xiu met Sun Xiang on that fateful night. It was hard to believe that had been less than two weeks ago.

But just like then, the atmosphere was underlaid with tension now.

“The team’s performance hasn’t been satisfactory lately,” Cui Li was saying. “Our sponsors have been asking us about it. The media isn’t getting tired of the topic. The other clubs are probably laughing behind our backs. What do you all have to say for yourselves?” His gaze seemed to focus on Liu Hao more than anyone else.

Liu Hao was slumped in his seat, head resting against his open palm. There were dark circles under his eyes and his skin was unhealthily pale. He looked wrung out.

To be honest, he wasn’t the only one. Calling a meeting before anyone could even head downstairs for breakfast was never a good move. The entire team was bleary and half-awake, their expressions blank with incomprehension. Cui Li might as well have been speaking a foreign language.

Su Mucheng sighed as her stomach gave another angry gurgle. She rubbed her eye harshly before remembering that was bad for her skin.

These people were going to give her wrinkles.

Out of all the team members, Sun Xiang appeared the most disgruntled. He was staring at Cui Li like he was an especially annoying fly and couldn’t quite figure out why he had to buzz around so close to his face. His light hair was messy, pale blue eyes drowsy and darker than usual. For once, he did not seem happy about sitting in the captain’s chair.

Su Mucheng waited for someone to say something for themselves. No one uttered a word.

Cui Li stopped circling around them in a poor imitation of a vulture and lightly slapped a hand on the table. Despite the fact he didn’t use much force, the sound was loud enough to make at least half of them flinch.

Liu Hao and the others eyed Cui Li warily, suddenly more awake. Sun Xiang just glared. Su Mucheng’s stomach rumbled again.

“Who’s hungry?” Cui Li demanded, irritated.

“Me,” Su Mucheng said readily.

Everyone looked at her.

“Couldn’t this have waited until after breakfast?” Su Mucheng asked, plaintive. She didn’t care if she sounded like a brat. They couldn’t do anything to her, glorified money tree she was, and their opinions hardly mattered.

Cui Li was annoyed enough that he physically struggled to repress the urge to yell. Su Mucheng had always been meek and docile before, but nowadays she was as willful and childish as a twelve-year-old. The only reason he didn’t reprimand her was because she continued to train diligently and quietly everyday.

Ye Qiu had ruined this girl, but at least she was professional.

Still, he could do without her comments. It’d be nice if she could stay quiet outside of training, too, but that was apparently too much to ask.

“No, it can’t wait,” Cui Li said through gritted teeth. “Do you understand the pressure we’re all under?”

Still, nobody said anything. The younger members looked like they were wilting, and the older ones were just too tired to care.

“Answer me!”

This time, all of them flinched. Sun Xiang’s chair let out a strange squeak.

“We understand, Manager Cui,” Liu Hao said cautiously. He didn’t know how to placate the man, but it couldn’t hurt to test the waters.

However, Cui Li seemed to be triggered by the very sound of Liu Hao’s voice. He pointed a finger at Excellent Era’s lauded vice-captain. “You’re the one who messed up the worst last match.”

Liu Hao was visibly pained at the reminder. Anger colored his tone when he replied, “I know. I did mess up, but I was having a bad day. It happens to all of us.”

“By all accounts, every single one of you has been having a bad day during every match since last season—exempting the newcomers, of course,” Cui Li added hastily as if to avoid offending Sun Xiang too thoroughly.

Sun Xiang was nonetheless offended. “Manager, it’s not that bad.”

“I’d like to think so, Sun Xiang, but—”

“It would be even better,” Su Mucheng interrupted, “if we could go have some breakfast and then carry on with training. On schedule. Like we’re supposed to. Could you stop wasting our valuable training time, Manager? We’ll never improve at this rate.”

Cui Li slowly turned his head to face Su Mucheng. A vein throbbed in his forehead as he beheld her nonchalant appearance. “Su Mucheng…”

“Rather than complaining about our performance, it’d be best if you allowed us to directly fix the issue, no?”

“Hey,” Sun Xiang protested, “just who is captain here? Don’t make decisions for the team.”

Su Mucheng spared him a glance. “Captain, I wasn’t aware we needed your permission to train. I believe it’s our contractual obligation.”

Sun Xiang shut his mouth before he could start sputtering. His cheeks flooded with red, though it was hard to tell whether he was embarrassed or angry.

The others shifted their stares between Sun Xiang and Su Mucheng, shocked to numbness. Even Liu Hao didn’t have anything smart to say in the wake of such a powerful shutdown.

Cui Li was more convinced than ever that Ye Qiu really had ruined this girl.

However, she had a point. And if he didn’t acknowledge it, he had a feeling she’d continue mocking his intelligence until he gave into the urge to strangle her. Worse yet, she was clearly willing to target anyone present, and the team was already dissonant enough without her aggravating every single member.

“All right!” Cui Li snapped, turning his back on them. “Go to breakfast. Train hard. We’re all expecting better results next match, though, so get yourselves together.”

There were numerous murmurs and grunts of assent as chairs creaked and clothing rustled. One by one, the members of Team Excellent Era filed out of the room. Cui Li covertly watched them with a heavy look on his face.

He didn’t want to be so harsh, but the pressure really was great. The boss, the sponsors, the media… They were descending on the club like hounds out of hell, nipping at their heels and never allowing them a moment’s respite. There were always people willing to make excuses for Excellent Era’s poor performance, but as time went on and nothing changed, the number of those people slowly dwindled.

Cui Li had a feeling that if they didn’t make a comeback this season, they would never recover. And if that should happen, he was done for.

In the cafeteria, Su Mucheng was the first to get her breakfast. She scanned the empty seats even as the rest of the team sat down in their customary places, gathering together and chowing down like a grumpy pack of hyenas.

It was only when she saw a familiar figure that she moved to take a seat.

Smiling, she set down her tray and said, “Good morning, Little Qiu. I thought you’d be in class today.”

Qiu Fei looked up at her, his somewhat mournful eyes far more alert than any she’d seen so far. “I skip some days. I can make up my lessons at the end of the week.” Belatedly, he added, “Good morning, Sis Mu.”

“Isn’t that tiring?” Su Mucheng sat and started digging in, her chopsticks practically a blur.

“It’s okay.”

Su Mucheng smiled wistfully. She could only regret that Qiu Fei had been left to more or less fend for himself around here. With Sun Xiang in the picture and Ye Xiu decisively out of it, she wondered if this kid, so full of potential, even had a place in the club.

For a while, she entertained thoughts of inviting him to the tenth server to play with their ragtag group. But she didn’t think Ye Xiu would approve of such a thing. Though Qiu Fei had been kicked to the figurative curb, the club still invested in him like they did all their trainees. He had the resources here to continue improving his skills just fine.

And, well, Su Mucheng hadn’t exactly planned for this—she wasn’t that crafty—but Han Wenqing really did exert a powerful influence on Ye Xiu. Where before Ye Xiu might have continued to harbor some sort of fondness for Excellent Era, he was learning to let go. Not that Su Mucheng feared he wouldn’t, but she hadn’t expected him to distance himself so soon.

It wasn’t something that many people would notice, she knew. Even she had a hard time telling what he was thinking. Ye Xiu was a master at hiding his true emotions behind ambiguous words and actions, or better yet, a smooth expression or a casual grin. He wouldn’t, for example, favor Excellent Dynasty in the game or deconstruct commentators’ and critics’ scathing remarks and reviews with fanatic glee.

But he’d be hurt at every blow to the team, especially the ones he himself was responsible for.

Su Mucheng wanted nothing less than to see Ye Xiu hurt. It was just lucky for her that Han Wenqing didn’t appear to care for that, either.

Qiu Fei was already a part of Ye Xiu’s past, a reminder of everything he’d lost the day he walked out of this club’s door. Whether he would come to be a part of Ye Xiu’s future wasn’t for Su Mucheng to decide. She could only do her best to keep Qiu Fei from getting too hurt as well, and let Han Wenqing continue to help Ye Xiu move on.

As they were finishing their quiet breakfast, Su Mucheng asked, “Little Qiu, how about you and I warm up together?”

Qiu Fei glanced up from his nearly empty bowl. “Warm up together…?”

Su Mucheng had to suppress a giggle at the faint redness of his ears. “Don’t think too much, kid. You may be cute, but you’re still too young.”

Qiu Fei almost choked on his food.

“Ha ha, I’m kidding. I know you’re not that type of man.” She winked at him. “I’ll just let our dear captain know and we can be on our way. What do you think?”

Qiu Fei nodded a little hesitantly and cleared his throat. “Um, good idea. Thank you.”

“Great.” Su Mucheng gave him the warmest smile in her arsenal—a real smile. “Are you done?”

They returned their dishes to the kitchen staff and Su Mucheng exchanged a few words with Sun Xiang. Sun Xiang eyed the two of them suspiciously while Qiu Fei merely endured everyone’s measuring gazes, stiff and silent.

In the end, Sun Xiang didn’t bother trying to stop Su Mucheng. He’d learned early on that it was less trouble to just let her do as she wished. She wouldn’t slack off anyway.

(And it was really too hard to win in a battle of wits with her, as much as he hated to admit it. Su Mucheng either ignored his invocations of authority or outright humiliated him for them. The way he saw it, his morning had been shitty enough without her blatant fuckery on top of it.)

“See?” Su Mucheng whispered to Qiu Fei as they headed up the stairs. “That guy’s a pushover.”

Qiu Fei studied her warily. How such a beautiful girl could be so effortlessly frightening was beyond him; however, he had no doubt that she reigned this freely not because Sun Xiang was a pushover, but because she was anything but.

Su Mucheng led them to one of the management offices. “Wait here, I’ll go get a key.”

Qiu Fei nodded and stood right outside the threshold, watching Su Mucheng walk up to the main desk.

A woman with her hair tied up in a bun looked up. “Ah, Sis Su?”

“Good morning,” Su Mucheng said smilingly. “Could I have a key to one of the training rooms? The small ones, I mean.”

The woman stared in blank surprise for a second. Then a veil seemed to fall over her face and she said with far too much regret, “I’m sorry, Sis Su, but you need the captain’s permission to access the other training rooms.”

“Since when?” Su Mucheng demanded, obviously startled. “And I did talk to Sun Xiang.”

Qiu Fei was a little lost, too. He’d never gotten the impression that the club was stingy about handing off training rooms. Then again, the only other person he’d ever seen grab a key from here was Ye Qiu, and he’d been the captain.

“The captain has to let the manager know. It’s a recent change… We were notified of the new rules not long ago. I’m really sorry.”

Qiu Fei watched uneasily as the two women stared each other down. Su Mucheng appeared pleasant and at ease, but he could read the signs of tension in her broadened shoulders, her stiffening spine.

“Now, Sister, I won’t fault you for upholding the rules,” Su Mucheng began sweetly, “but can’t you accommodate me this once? After all, I didn’t receive any such notification, and I’ve been planning a training session with that trainee over there for quite some time.”

“I’m afraid not.”

Su Mucheng continued smiling. “All right, I can ask the manager directly.”

“He’ll tell you the same thing,” the woman said quickly.

“Then maybe I’ll just have to ask Captain Sun up to talk him. Awfully inconvenient for all of us, but that’s fine, I guess,” Su Mucheng replied, making to turn around. But then she suddenly turned back to the woman, wide-eyed. “Say, Sister…”

“Yes?”

“How is your boyfriend these days?”

It was asked in such a conversational tone that the woman answered automatically. “Oh, he proposed, actually. Um,” she said, as if realizing she maybe shouldn’t have said anything.

Too late for that, though.

Su Mucheng’s smile widened. “Oh, wow! That’s amazing. I’m so happy for you two.”

“Thank you, Sis—”

“It would be unfortunate if he found out about that little scandal from earlier in the year, right?” Su Mucheng subtly nodded at another woman sitting at a smaller desk in the corner.

The second woman, who was following the conversation closely, nearly knocked over her drink as her whole body jerked. The one with the bun froze, her face paling.

Qiu Fei barely stopped his jaw from dropping. Was Su Mucheng implying what he thought she was implying?

The other witnesses in the room had gone perfectly still. Most of them watched Su Mucheng the way a bunch of gazelles might watch a lioness. Qiu Fei swore he saw a few twisting to face the door as if preparing to bolt.

“I—I—yes, that would be, um, unfortunate,” the first woman sputtered.

“I understand it’s a very difficult thing to share,” Su Mucheng said gently. “You know what’s easy, though?”

“Um…what?” This poor lady looked like she could burst into tears at any moment.

Su Mucheng’s face became a touch serious. “Giving me a key to a training room.”

Suffice to say, they got their key not long after that.

Later, Qiu Fei asked, “Sis Mu, is the staff giving you trouble because of…?”

Su Mucheng didn’t look away from her screen as she threw Dancing Rain at him. Her movements were unusually direct and ferocious, her attacks unceasing. It was the most intense warm-up Qiu Fei had ever had.

“Sis Mu?”

She finally met his eyes, probably because he was beginning to sound desperate. Dancing Rain backed off a tiny bit, and the pace of their battle eased. “Qiu Fei, if anyone gives you crap, you tell me, all right?”

Qiu Fei stared at her for a few seconds; her gaze reminded him far too much of Ye Qiu’s. With a gulp, he dropped his eyes.

“…All right.”

* * *

Ye Xiu placed a mug of freshly brewed green tea next to his keyboard, on the opposite side of his mouse. With a faint sigh, he sat down, stretching his arms above his head.

Next to him, Tang Rou raised an eyebrow. “Tired?”

Ye Xiu let his arms fall and grinned at her. “Nope. What about you?”

She smirked back. “I’m good.”

“Great.” Ye Xiu knew she’d be singing a different tune before the night was out. “Let’s get back to work.”

Now Tang Rou’s expression dimmed a bit. “More grinding?”

Ye Xiu’s lips twitched at the term. Tang Rou was already beginning to adopt the typical gaming vocabulary. “Afraid so.”

Tang Rou didn’t complain, just silently slipped her account card into the reader. Ye Xiu echoed her movements and swiftly logged into Glory.

There wasn’t much on their agenda for the time being except grind, grind, dungeon, and grind some more. At least, as far as Tang Rou and Steamed Bun knew. Ye Xiu had already told Su Mucheng to expect a little surprise tonight if she came online.

Ye Xiu predicted she would. For some reason, she was playing with them a lot more often than he’d expected. The same went for Han Wenqing. Han Wenqing had already more or less worked out a schedule for himself and stayed for only three to four hours during the night, preferring to do the majority of his leveling during the day alongside his training. Su Mucheng, as far as he could tell, leveled during the day as well, but her schedule was a lot more random. She had played through the whole night a couple of times.

Though Ye Xiu worried about her, he trusted her to know her own limits. He meant what he’d said to Tao Xuan: She was a grown woman. He just hoped she wouldn’t overwork herself.

Ye Xiu and Tang Rou joined their other friends at Desolate Lands. Steamed Bun was already there with Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon, spewing his usual nonsense. He seemed to be discussing the lore surrounding Desolate Lands; apparently he was very excited to fight all the hoodlums and outlaws in the dungeon.

Ye Xiu began to steadily kill off monsters—bandits in this case—studying the contents of his inbox all the while. The guild leaders were putting pressure on him to decide what he wanted to do in the future.

To be honest, Ye Xiu wasn’t entirely sure. He liked the way things were going; it was stable and convenient. But he wasn’t naive enough to think he could keep it up forever. Him and his party were in the spotlight, stealing the glory away from the guilds who usually owned the leaderboards. Even though they set every dungeon record under a guild name, the masses had begun to understand that Lord Grim’s whole crew were little more than mercenaries.

It put the club guilds in a tough spot. To show off their might, they had to perform every feat with their own strength or else it was meaningless. Getting help from one or two outsiders was acceptable, especially if it was done sparingly. But relying on a whole team of unattached experts for every clear record… That was too much.

There were other areas in which Ye Xiu could offer his services, such as the art of snatching wild bosses. However, the chances of underhandedness on such occasions were a lot higher than in a dungeon. Ye Xiu could make off with countless material drops right before the club guilds’ eyes. He wouldn’t (probably), but who would take his word for it?

In the end, he was left with only a few options unless he wanted to farm for all the necessary materials himself. Ye Xiu definitely wasn’t shameless enough to make Han Wenqing and Su Mucheng waste their time on such a thing, so he’d just have to consider said options more seriously.

He hated when he had to consider the unappealing options seriously. That was life, though.

There was a possibility he could purchase materials with Han Wenqing’s leftover money, but that was nearly inconceivable. Ye Xiu felt unsettled at the very thought and had to fight the urge to smoke just to comfort himself. He took a sip of his tea instead.

As if summoned, he received a notification that Roaring Tiger was online. Ye Xiu checked the time. It wasn’t even 21:00.

Shaking his head, he typed a message.

            Lord Grim: how was training today?

            Roaring Tiger: Fine

            Roaring Tiger: Why

            Lord Grim: you just got on pretty early

            Lord Grim: are you that bored

            Roaring Tiger: I don’t have hobbies outside Glory

            Roaring Tiger: Much like you

            Lord Grim: doesn’t working out count?

            Roaring Tiger: No

            Roaring Tiger: It’s just good for my mood

            Lord Grim: …really?

            Roaring Tiger: Yes

            Roaring Tiger: It’s common knowledge that exercise improves your mood

            Lord Grim: oh i know

            Lord Grim: it’s just that i’ve never noticed any improvement to your mood

            Roaring Tiger: [knife emoji]

            Lord Grim: my point exactly

Roaring Tiger joined them within a few minutes. Lord Grim sent him a party invitation.

“Brother Tiger, hi,” Seven Fields said carefully. He had stopped being outright terrified of the guy, but he was still wary.

“Hi,” Han Wenqing said.

“Hello, Brother,” Tang Rou said. “How are you?”

“Fine, and you?” Never let it be said that Han Wenqing didn’t have manners.

“A bit bored,” she admitted.

Han Wenqing made a neutral sound and positioned Roaring Tiger between Lord Grim and Soft Mist. “Just keep leveling.”

Steamed Bun greeted Han Wenqing a bit late, but made up for it with sheer enthusiasm. “Hey hey, Tiger Bro! What’s up? Senior said you have the look of a criminal, does it feel weird to be killing off these bandits? If it’s too hard, you can sit back and we’ll do it for you!”

“Who said what?” Han Wenqing demanded dangerously. Then he seemed to realize who he was talking to and said, “Shut up,” which was his default reply whenever Steamed Bun spoke to him.

Sleeping Moon kept to himself, merely watching the proceedings with a resigned air. His first meeting with Han Wenqing had been unpleasant and their relationship didn’t improve since. Han Wenqing wasn’t very tolerant of troublemakers like Sleeping Moon, and he’d known about Sleeping Moon’s smear campaign against Ye Xiu from day one.

Of course, Ye Xiu didn’t know how the guy could tolerate him if he couldn’t even put up with Sleeping Moon, but alas. Ye Xiu could at least claim to be an honest and hardworking troublemaker. Sleeping Moon was admittedly lacking in comparison.

Han Wenqing obviously only withstood Steamed Bun’s presence because he wasn’t totally useless (and Ye Xiu insisted on keeping him around), but he did seem to like Tang Rou…as much as he ever liked anyone. It probably had to do with how they were similarly fierce and loved to slaughter at whim.

Must be an Aries thing.

“Say, kitty,” Ye Xiu said, “have you heard anything from our mutual friend?”

“No. And stop calling me that.”

Ye Xiu ignored that last part. “Hmm. And what about Cleansing Mist?”

“No.”

“Hmm.”

“What ‘hmm’?” Tang Rou asked.

“Oh, I’m just thinking,” Ye Xiu said.

Han Wenqing snorted. “Think quietly.”

“‘Hmm’ is quiet. You can’t get much quieter than ‘hmm.’”

“Ha ha, he has a point,” Seven Fields broke in.

Ye Xiu grinned. “See?”

Roaring Tiger absently tossed a Collapsing Fist in Lord Grim’s direction. Lord Grim didn’t make to dodge. Since they were in the same party, the skill had no effect on Lord Grim and instead blew away all the monsters surrounding him.

“Thanks,” Ye Xiu said cheekily.

“You’re so annoying,” Han Wenqing responded, but it was rote by now.

From beside Ye Xiu, Tang Rou smiled a little. She didn’t understand these two’s relationship too well; they were clearly friends, but sometimes they seemed like more. It was hard to tell if they were flirting on purpose or if what they did even counted as flirting. Mumu seemed to believe there was something there, yet to Tang Rou, their interactions were too natural to be romantic.

Then again, all of Tang Rou’s experience with romance was awkward. Maybe her perspective was skewed and this was how people were supposed to act when they were interested in each other.

She sneaked a glance at Ye Xiu. She couldn’t see all of his face, but the corner of his lip was turned up. Considering how expressionless he often was, this was rather significant emoting from him.

Pulling her mic away from her mouth, she said, “Ye Xiu?”

Ye Xiu’s eyelashes fluttered as he blinked. Then he turned toward her, a bit confused. He covered his mic as well. “Yeah?”

“You and Brother Tiger…”

Ye Xiu waited.

“…Nevermind.” Tang Rou abruptly remembered it was none of her business. “You guys are just funny when you tease each other.”

Ye Xiu grinned. He dropped his hand and refocused on his monitor. “Kitty, Soft Mist says you’re funny.”

“I did not say that,” Tang Rou muttered, readjusting her mic.

Time passed slowly.

In the game, Ye Xiu made sure to pay attention to Lord Grim’s surroundings. Wang Jiexi had said tonight, but in keeping with Ye Xiu’s desire for a surprise, he hadn’t specified when. Still, pro players went to bed early. Ye Xiu doubted they’d have to wait much longer.

Their group continued to grind in relative silence, an easy (or uneasy, in the case of certain people) camaraderie enveloping them. Other players came and went, messily slaying monsters at their peripheries, but their little bubble was impenetrable, untouchable.

Ye Xiu wasn’t even doing it on purpose. He just automatically positioned Lord Grim to take up an advantageous position at the rear of the group while Roaring Tiger took point. The weaker players like Sleeping Moon and Seven Fields stayed closer to the center, and Steamed Bun and Soft Mist took the sides, well within range of Lord Grim or Roaring Tiger or both.

It was too easy to fall into a team mentality with these people. Ye Xiu was suspicious that Han Wenqing actually was doing it on purpose. It was difficult to decide whether to be pleased the guy wasn’t being his usual standoffish self, or worried that he had some weird ulterior motive.

On second thought, that wasn’t difficult to decide at all. Of course Han Wenqing had a motive: He wanted Ye Xiu to join Tyranny.

For whatever reason. Ye Xiu still couldn’t quite believe it. He grabbed his tea, but the mug was empty.

He had only just lit a cigarette when he spotted an Assassin out of the corner of the screen. Ye Xiu’s hands moved on autopilot.

A Shining Cut. How unimaginative.

Lord Grim put up a Guard and, when the Assassin hastily fell back, chased after him with a Sword Draw. It was a good thing he’d upgraded the Umbrella’s sword form to Level 25 already.

Behind him, his party came to attention and instantly moved to provide backup. They didn’t create a formation so much as repurpose the old one. This orderliness was probably just a happy accident, though.

“Don’t lose your heads,” Han Wenqing warned.

“Soft Mist, Steamed Bun,” Ye Xiu said.

Their formation was broken as the two rushed to counterattack. The Assassin, named Ashen Moon, had only just dodged the Sword Draw when he was beset by Steamed Bun.

“Who are you?! You’re looking to die!” In typical Steamed Bun fashion, a Brick was already at hand and making straight for Ashen Moon’s face.

Though Ashen Moon avoided the Brick well enough, Soft Mist didn’t give him any breathing room. Her battle lance struck out at Ashen Moon’s other side, swift and deadly.

No matter how little experience she had, Tang Rou was not one to hesitate.

Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon joined in on the assault as well. Skill after skill was spammed, far less deliberate than Soft Mist’s attacks and not nearly as brutal as Steamed Bun’s. But they were doing a wonderful job of putting pressure on that Assassin.

Ye Xiu didn’t join in for the time being. He saw Roaring Tiger stop next to Lord Grim, watchful.

“He’s losing control,” Han Wenqing noted.

“Mmm.”

Han Wenqing was right; Ashen Moon clearly hadn’t expected to go up against such strong opposition. An Assassin wasn’t supposed to be a main attacker anyway, yet he had been the first to charge toward them. Was it arrogance on the part of Tiny Herb’s members or just plain stupidity?

Probably arrogance. Knowing Wang Jiexi, he had likely just told his underlings to track Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger down and take them out.

“Big-Eyed Wang is really too cruel,” Ye Xiu said.

A second later, another player entered the scene: a Battle Mage.

Ye Xiu perked up. Perhaps this fellow would be a good opponent for Tang Rou.

But the Battle Mage bypassed the struggling Ashen Moon and went straight for Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger. Chasers spun around him in a dizzying whirlwind of color. He was still a good ways away when a Dragon Tooth was activated.

Not a bad choice to start with, Ye Xiu thought as he moved Lord Grim out of the way, careful not to block Roaring Tiger. The Myriad Manifestations Umbrella shifted to lance form. Ye Xiu figured he’d humor the guy just once and also attacked with a Dragon Tooth.

The Battle Mage, Cloudy Heavens, dodged easily. But as he activated another skill—Sky Strike, predictably—Roaring Tiger used Collapsing Fist to intercept him.

Collapsing Fist wasn’t long-ranged, but it did have a wide reach. Cloudy Heavens forcibly canceled the Sky Strike, but couldn’t dart away in time.

He was knocked straight into the fray.

Watching Soft Mist spin around to welcome this new target, Ye Xiu could only chuckle. “This should be entertaining.”

“Hmph.”

Ye Xiu shifted his viewpoint to get a better look at Roaring Tiger. Of course he couldn’t tell anything just by looking at the avatar’s blank face.

“You want to jump in, too?” Ye Xiu prodded.

Han Wenqing was silent for a moment. “Better if I don’t.”

“Yeah, you’ll probably scare our new friends away.”

He didn’t argue the point. “The Assassin is escaping.”

Ye Xiu studied the battle. “Good for him. I was kind of surprised that Battle Mage ignored him.”

“Terrible teamwork.”

“I hope Big-Eyed Wang didn’t make this into a competition for them,” Ye Xiu said, agreeing.

“He’s not stupid.”

Ashen Moon managed to more or less disentangle himself from the clutches of countless skills. Unlike before, when he hadn’t even been able to fight back, he was now releasing skills of his own and making a concerted effort to do damage. Perhaps seeing his teammate in danger had galvanized him.

Ye Xiu still felt he was being too conservative. His mechanics were fine for a pro, but he obviously had a weak mentality and faltered easily in chaotic situations.

And again, him attacking first had been extremely ill-advised. Ye Xiu seriously contemplated having some words with Wang Jiexi.

“Incoming,” Han Wenqing said.

“Eh? Oh. If it’s a Witch, maybe it’s that kid?”

“Probably.”

The Witch, Weeping Crow, had immediately flown over to provide cover for the Assassin while also trying to get the Battle Mage free. With three people on their side and four on Ye Xiu’s, the fight had instantly tipped in their favor. The difference between trained professionals and ordinary players, even ones as talented as Tang Rou and Steamed Bun, was too great.

“Let’s go in,” Ye Xiu said.

Han Wenqing didn’t need to be told twice. The two of them charged forward, closing the distance rapidly and already preparing their skills.

Sadly, the addition of Weeping Crow was enough to break the encirclement. Working together with Ashen Moon, they rescued the clearly confused and frustrated Cloudy Heavens and made a run for it. Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger didn’t rush after them, but they did leave them with a few parting gifts just so they wouldn’t be tempted to double back.

Ye Xiu didn’t want to fight against such a disorganized and underprepared team. He’d give them a chance to regroup and get their shit together before coming after them.

Soft Mist turned toward him. “What was that?”

Ye Xiu laughed. “It looks like some people want a little friendly competition.”

Sleeping Moon snorted. “You call that friendly?”

“What should we do?” Seven Fields asked.

“Why did they run away?” Steamed Bun mourned. “I was having fun!”

“Settle down, we’ll find them,” Han Wenqing said.

Ye Xiu cleared his throat. “Yes… Remember to ration your stamina, everyone. And be ready—those three might not be all of them.”

Ye Xiu tracked the Tiny Herb members to Boneyard. It wasn’t too difficult to find places to hide there. Whether behind withering old trees, random coffins, or crumbling gravestones, there were options when it came to cover. It was the kind of environment that a Gunner class, for example, would enjoy. Plenty of obstacles to dart between, yet spacious enough to allow for tactical maneuvering.

For other classes, though, it could be a bit of a bother. After all, the cover was enough to conceal a character temporarily, but without any large buildings or even a convenient boulder, there were no opportunities for a clean escape. If somebody wanted to back out of a battle here, they’d need either overwhelming strength or insane speed.

For Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing, such a map could hardly be labeled troublesome. They had strength and speed on their side as well as experience. The pros they were up against were likely well-versed in how to use terrain to their advantage as well.

That meant Ye Xiu had to school his party properly.

“All right, this is a real team battle. There are five people squirreled away here. All of you watch out.”

“How do you know there are five?” Tang Rou asked, confused.

“I saw them. You didn’t notice their movements when we were arriving?”

“No…”

Seven Fields was also lost. “How did you notice that, Brother Expert?”

“Someone still needs to work on their observational skills,” Han Wenqing said pointedly.

Seven Fields immediately descended into a coughing fit, clumsily sliding out of the conversation. He hated Brother Tiger’s weaponized disapproval.

“Senior and Tiger Bro are too amazing,” Steamed Bun praised.

Ye Xiu sighed. “Here, look where I’m pointing.” He jabbed his Umbrella in five different directions. “Remember those positions well. Now, Cross Formation.”

“Uh?” Sleeping Moon said.

“Steamed Bun at the front, Seven Fields on the left, Little Moon Moon in the middle. Soft Mist will take the back and I’ll take the right. Kitty, would you rather stick with Steamed Bun or Soft Mist?”

“Stop calling me kitty,” Han Wenqing growled.

“And stop calling me Little Moon Moon!” Sleeping Moon echoed. “For shit’s sake!”

“No,” Ye Xiu said kindly. “Positions, everyone.”

They all moved into their assigned positions. Roaring Tiger, exuding irritation, went to join Soft Mist at the back. Ye Xiu laughed to himself and sent him a message:

            Lord Grim: you should give up, you know

            Lord Grim: kitty is going to stick

            Roaring Tiger: Goddammit

            Roaring Tiger: I’ll kill you

            Lord Grim: no you won’t

            Lord Grim: ;)

            Roaring Tiger: [disgusted emoji]

            Lord Grim: for serious though

            Lord Grim: they’re using a cover strategy

            Roaring Tiger: And that’s an issue how

            Lord Grim: well

            Lord Grim: true

            Lord Grim: just don’t let anyone die

            Lord Grim: you all set?

            Roaring Tiger: Always

Han Wenqing was as good as his word: He was well beyond ready. Nobody died on their side.

And no, the cover strategy wasn’t an issue.

* * *

Almost an hour later, after a very drawn-out battle, Ye Xiu prepared himself some more tea. Tang Rou got herself a cup, too, looking a little weary.

Ye Xiu hid his smile behind his mug as he leaned against the reception desk. “Tired?”

Tang Rou studied her hand. She flexed her fingers a few times, formed a fist, and then let it drop. “That was…intense.”

“Yeah, but was it fun?” he asked with a lilt to his tone.

Tang Rou met his eyes. “Did you know those people?”

He blinked. “No, never met ‘em.” He didn’t believe so, anyway.

“Are you sure?” she pressed. “Because that all seemed…a bit too deliberate.”

“I’m sure I don’t know them. But!”

“But?”

“I do know who sent them.”

Tang Rou stared at him. “Who?”

“A former colleague of mine. Opponent? Meh, doesn’t matter. Let’s just say he and I made a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“A mutually beneficial one.” Ye Xiu smirked. “Just tell me, did you have fun?”

She thought about it. It had been fun to go up against such challenging opponents, but the battle itself hadn’t really been too suspenseful. In a way, she already knew that as long as Ye Xiu was around, things would turn out fine. She hadn’t yet seen this guy meet a situation he couldn’t twist in his favor.

Brother Tiger, too, would be there if Ye Xiu wasn’t. He’d been close at hand the entire time, dropping some strongly worded tips when it suited him and outright swatting their opponents away when it didn’t. She had done everything under her own power, yet it still felt like she was being guided and watched over.

It was kind of comforting. However, Tang Rou wanted to be at a level where no one had to babysit her. She wanted to be vicious like Brother Tiger and crafty like Ye Xiu.

She wanted to be strong.

“I…wouldn’t mind doing that again,” she admitted. “Maybe not for so long, though.” Her hands didn’t hurt, exactly, but she’d been rather stiff when she finally got up from her chair to take a little break once their opponents were defeated.

“All right, that’s fair. You’re not in pain, are you?”

“No.” Tang Rou looked Ye Xiu up and down. There wasn’t even a hint of fatigue shading his features. “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” He looked into his mug.

“Really?”

His eyes lifted. He smiled slightly at her disbelief and said, “What you’re feeling is mostly mental exhaustion. We were fighting pretty hard, but the pace wasn’t that quick. It was a bit like a particularly exciting game of cat and mouse, right? It’s not easy for new players like you, or even ones like Seven Fields and Sleeping Moon, to stay focused for so long.”

That…made a surprising amount of sense. Even with Brother Tiger giving her reminders, Tang Rou had found her attention splitting now and then. It wasn’t that it wavered; more like there were too many things to keep an eye on. She had felt almost overwhelmed.

“I see. How do I avoid this?”

“Practice,” Ye Xiu said promptly. “Lots of practice. To be honest, I slowed us down on purpose. I wanted you guys to get the most out of our new friends’ little visit.”

Tang Rou made a pfft sound as she struggled to withhold laughter. She actually had to set her mug down and cover her mouth.

Ye Xiu just chuckled.

“Our poor friends,” she said in a faintly strangled tone. “I think you traumatized them.”

“Hey, if they can’t stand even that much, they should probably do something else for a living.”

“Ah.” The pieces fell into place. “They were…pros?”

“Yep. Not very high-level ones, though.”

“Hmm. Is Brother Tiger also a pro?”

Ye Xiu’s face seemed to do this weird, contained flinching. He stared at her. “He is—though don’t tell anyone that. I’ll get in trouble for dragging him away from his work.”

“Will you, really?”

“Well, no, but he might if anyone felt he was slacking off.” Ye Xiu sipped his tea. “He’s spending a lot of time in the game.”

Tang Rou didn’t understand. She sat down in her chair, wrapping her hands around her mug again to warm them. “What do you mean? I’d think a professional gamer should game a lot.”

“Professionals do a lot of intensive training everyday. Drills, scrimmages, analysis, review… It’s not the same as playing the game casually like what we’re doing.”

Tang Rou didn’t feel there was anything casual about her approach to Glory. She had a working mentality, which was why she didn’t whine over boring tasks like grinding or studying guides. She certainly let Ye Xiu know her opinion on those (not that she thought he didn’t notice), but she didn’t protest them, either. She knew they were necessary to deepen her understanding of the game, and normally Ye Xiu or Brother Tiger would suggest some sort of contest between her and Steamed Bun Invasion to make matters more interesting.

If the daily life of a professional gamer was supposedly filled with such tedious tasks, then Tang Rou felt they were quite deserving of respect. That so many people criticized their line of work and dared to call them slackers with no future seemed unbearably ignorant.

She glanced at Ye Xiu through her eyelashes. He was wearing jeans like usual, simple black shoes, and a turtleneck sweater over what she knew to be a long-sleeved T-shirt, as he’d nearly spilled some food on it during dinner when Chen Guo elbowed him over some smartass comment. His hair was a vaguely controlled mess and the skin around his eyes was a little red, probably due to a history of bad sleeping habits. His hands were graceful, his posture relaxed, his expression as serene as Buddha’s.

He didn’t look like a slacker with no future: just an ordinary young man living his life.

Brother Tiger didn’t come across as a slacker, either. She didn’t think she’d have the guts to even suggest such a thing to his face if she ever met him.

“What about Mumu?” she asked.

Cleansing Mist hadn’t yet come online that night, and Tang Rou was beginning to doubt she would. Normally she would appear fairly early and then stay until around midnight like Brother Tiger. Otherwise, she’d log in at midnight and leave in the wee hours of the morning after they’d used up their dungeon runs.

“Yeah, she’s a pro,” Ye Xiu said, an undefinable emotion sweeping across his eyes. “We usually work together.”

“Are you two related?”

“What? No.” He scratched the back of his head. “But I met her when I was, what, fifteen? She’s like a little sister.”

Tang Rou smiled. No wonder they were so close.

“How long have you known Brother Tiger?”

“We also met when I was fifteen, in Glory’s first server. He’s a bit older than me, though.”

“Wow. That’s a lot of history.”

Ye Xiu laughed. He put his mug on the desk and sat. “You have no idea.”

They each logged back into Glory and returned to their business. Han Wenqing had already said his goodbyes and was probably off in dreamland by now. Ye Xiu watched over his exhausted party with a weather eye on one side of the screen, and on the other he opened up QQ.

As usual, he ignored all the many mentions and DMs waiting for him and went straight to his person of interest.

            Ye Qiu: you awake?

            Vaccaria: Yes.

The reply was nearly instant. Wang Jiexi was probably using the phone app.

            Ye Qiu: we enjoyed that tussle with your kids

            Ye Qiu: how about we do a rotation

            Vaccaria: Rotation?

            Ye Qiu: tomorrow we’ll go to the arena and they can fight me one by one

            Ye Qiu: everyone in tiny herb, even

            Vaccaria: Your price?

            Ye Qiu: a gamble, really

            Ye Qiu: i win, i get certain materials

            Vaccaria: …

            Vaccaria: You have a list?

            Ye Qiu: haha, naturally

Ye Xiu promptly forwarded the list he’d compiled earlier that night. He wasn’t polite, but he wasn’t unreasonable, either. Wang Jiexi should find no faults with it.

            Vaccaria: Okay, this is acceptable.

            Ye Qiu: i still have more conditions

            Vaccaria: Name them.

            Ye Qiu: before they fight me, they have to duel against two buddies of mine

            Ye Qiu: it won’t be too much trouble, these two are new to the game

            Vaccaria: Soft Mist and Steamed Bun Invasion.

            Ye Qiu: right

            Vaccaria: You believe they have potential.

            Ye Qiu: haha

            Ye Qiu: they had a lot of fun tonight

            Vaccaria: Well, I don’t see why not. I agree.

            Vaccaria: But what did you mean about a rotation?

            Ye Qiu: i wouldn’t mind being ambushed again every once in a while

            Vaccaria: Oh, you want to alternate? That’s fine.

            Vaccaria: We can’t do this before or during match day, though.

            Ye Qiu: of course

            Vaccaria: And how is Captain Han involved in this?

Ah, here was where things became a little complicated… If Ye Xiu couldn’t trust Wang Jiexi to keep certain information to himself, Han Wenqing would be in an awkward position. And truthfully, the last thing they both needed was for Wang Jiexi to look too deeply into why they were working together.

Ye Xiu didn’t think anything good could arise from him and Han Wenqing being regarded by the pro scene as a package deal.

            Ye Qiu: he’s not involved

            Ye Qiu: besides, you’ll tell them who i am, and then it won’t be hard to figure out old han

            Vaccaria: I understand. Plausible deniability?

            Ye Qiu: yep

            Vaccaria: Thoughtful of you.

            Vaccaria: Why are you two running around in the 10th server anyway? Is “retirement” not to your taste?

            Ye Qiu: vacation!!!

            Ye Qiu: and you know me, i love some excitement

            Vaccaria: And Han Wenqing? I find it hard to believe he might be bored.

            Ye Qiu: he missed me too much ;)

            Ye Qiu: can’t stay away

            Vaccaria: lol

            Ye Qiu: so we have our terms?

            Vaccaria: We do. See you tomorrow.

            Ye Qiu: see you

Ye Xiu breathed a sigh of relief. He’d been joking just now, but Wang Jiexi did know him. If there was something Ye Xiu didn’t want to share, then nothing short of imminent death would make him share it, and maybe not even that. He was glad Wang Jiexi didn’t push.

“Ah, a customer…” Tang Rou spoke up with a strange voice.

Ye Xiu glanced at the entrance. Someone wearing a thick coat with the hood pulled up and a scarf wrapped around most of their face had just walked in and was making their way to the reception desk.

He eyed them warily. Was it really that cold outside?

Then the person met his eyes and said, “Computer, please?” The words were barely comprehensible.

Ye Xiu stared blankly. “Wow.”

The person laughed.

“You win,” he said with a sigh. “You’ve finally dressed in a way that even I find unrecognizable.”

“Who’s this?” Tang Rou said, rather surprised.

“Mumu.”

Su Mucheng lowered the scarf, revealing a grin. “That sounds disgusting coming from you. Hi!” She faced Tang Rou. “Soft Mist? Rourou?”

Tang Rou’s expression lit up with realization. “It’s you!” She stood up to reach over the desk and take Su Mucheng’s hand in that clingy handshake girls liked to do. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why are you dressed like that?”

“So nobody recognizes me!” Su Mucheng whispered dramatically.

Ye Xiu muffled his laughter. “She’s a bit too popular.”

“Oh…you do seem familiar.” Tang Rou studied what she could see of Su Mucheng, but wasn’t able to put a name to the face. However, she’d just learned Su Mucheng was a pro player, and the only female pro she really knew of was…

“Er, Su Mucheng?” Tang Rou guessed, careful to say it quietly.

“You two don’t have to be so careful, there’s barely anyone here,” Ye Xiu pointed out, exasperated.

Tang Rou looked a bit embarrassed. Su Mucheng just smiled. To Tang Rou, she said, “Hey, wanna sit down together and play?”

“Sure, I can get us a couple of computers.” Tang Rou glanced at Ye Xiu. “You’ll be fine on your own, right?”

“Of course,” he said, waving his hand.

Su Mucheng made a disapproving sound. “Why do you have to move? Make him move,” she said jokingly.

“I work here,” Ye Xiu said. “It’s my shift so I’m in charge. You guys move.”

“Pfft.”

Tang Rou stood up, her smile warm. “Let’s just leave Ye Xiu here to his cigarettes.”

“My cigarettes and I will be very happy together,” Ye Xiu said to their backs.

Chatting quietly between themselves, the two girls found computers to sit at. Ye Xiu watched them for a few minutes before he turned back to his monitor.

There had been no need to worry about Su Mucheng.

* * *

            Wu Xuefeng: Hey bro

            Wu Xuefeng: Heard you retired??

            Wu Xuefeng: Is something up?

            Wu Xuefeng: You’re still young, you can keep going…

            Wu Xuefeng: Or did you decide to move on? I can’t really picture it lmao

            Wu Xuefeng: Just let me know so I can stop worrying

            For the 293801st time, where’s Ye Qiu ;-;

[ Wavering Song - 19 Dec 2022 - #1 ]

 It’s been so long, has anyone heard anything about Ye Qiu?

[ Falling Dark - 19 Dec 2022 - #2 ]

nope just wild fan speculation…………tho i’d pay for someone to tell me where the guy is

[ Beautiful From Every Angle - 19 Dec 2022 - #3 ]

heard he made an alt and is rampaging in server 10 lol

[ The One True Bro - 19 Dec 2022 - #4 ]

Lmfao. Who would believe that?

[ Vision of Disaster - 19 Dec 2022 - #5]

IKR!!! Stop messing around people…I want SERIOUS news, VALID information

[ Beautiful From Every Angle - 19 Dec 2022 - #6 ]

@Vision of Disaster then go ask him yourself lolol

oh right-

NO ONE KNOWS WHERE HE IS OR WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE

GLORY’S HOTTEST TOPICS

            For the 293801st time, where’s Ye Qiu ;-;

            Excellent Era sinking faster than Titanic

            Will Tiny Herb Win A Third Championship?

            Who is Lord Grim

            10th server records…

            Choosing the right class for YOU @10thservernoobs

            Ye Qiu Status

            Heavenly Domain Wild Boss Tracker

            Guide to Professional Alliance

            Zhou Zekai’s face makes me cry, it’s too perf!!!

            Ye Qiu: Why is your display name my name???????

            Ye Qiu: Could you stop???

* * *

Liang Yichun knocked on the doorframe of Team Blue Rain’s training room, his expression forcibly tranquil. Everyone inside raised their heads from their computers.

In the corner, Yu Wenzhou stood up. “Oh, is there something you need, Senior?”

“Captain, could I have a word? Sorry to interrupt.”

“No, no, we were just warming up.” Yu Wenzhou walked to the door and leaned against the frame casually, his back to the rest of the room to ensure some semblance of privacy.

With Yu Wenzhou gazing at him expectantly, Liang Yichen said, “Captain, I was hoping I could ask for your advice on something…”

“Of course you can, Senior Chun,” Yu Wenzhou said, a bit confused. “What is it?”

He had to ease into the topic. “As I’m sure you’re aware, the guild has been pioneering in the tenth server and working hard since early December.”

“Yes, we appreciate your hard work. But you’re not personally in charge of it, right?” Yu Wenzhou chuckled softly. Of course he was aware of how the club guilds operated, and especially Blue Brook.

“That’s right, but something is different this time.”

“Different?”

“The tenth server is full of experts. They came from nowhere, and believe me, we’ve tried tracing their origins.” Liang Yichun sounded a bit distraught. “The low-level dungeon clear records are basically owned by them and the times they set beat out all the other servers. It honestly looks like the work of pros.”

Yu Wenzhou blinked at him. Then he tilted his head to the side. “Pros?”

“Yes, Captain. I’ve been meaning to bring this up, but…I didn’t think it was that serious, so I thought it could wait. But last night they set another record.” Liang Yichun said this in a whisper. In reality, they had done a lot more than that—they’d practically run Blue Brook Guild’s reputation into the ground the second they left that dungeon and Roaring Tiger nearly killed off Poplar Beach.

But Liang Yichun would rather not share that.

“I see, I see. Listen, Senior Chun, I’ll look into it and get back to you, all right?” Yu Wenzhou smiled comfortingly, patting Liang Yichun on the shoulder.

Liang Yichun didn’t really feel comforted, but he at least felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He nodded back and said, “Thanks, Captain. I just need to know what we’re dealing with here.”

“I understand, Senior Chun.” Yu Wenzhou continued smiling. “Expect a message from me tonight. I’ll be investigating personally.”

Liang Yichun gladly left and Yu Wenzhou returned to his seat. Next to him, Huang Shaotian leaned over and into his space, asking lowly, “What’s up? Did something happen? What did Senior Chun want?”

Yu Wenzhou studied Huang Shaotian silently. In a somewhat abrupt fashion, he said, “Shaotian, do you have any plans for tonight?”

“No? Hmm…I’m pretty sure I don’t, I don’t think I do. No, no plans.”

“Well, I’m going to want your opinion on something, so don’t leave too soon.”

Huang Shaotian was visibly confused. His chatter had drawn a few glances from the other members of the team, but they were well used to it. Yu Wenzhou sent a smile at the room in general and they all went back to work diligently.

“What does that mean? You want my opinion? My opinion on what? Why not just ask me now and I’ll tell you my opinion? Why do I have to stay behind, huh?” Huang Shaotian demanded.

Yu Wenzhou laughed. “Just humor me.”

Huang Shaotian scowled back. With a hmph, he faced his monitor. “Fine fine fine… You owe me, Captain.”

“Okay, Shaotian.”

Chapter Text

“Why does everyone just outright assume I retired?”

Han Wenqing snorted. “It might have something to do with how you disappeared without a word and haven’t said anything since.”

“So?”

“So naturally, some people believe you won’t come back.” Han Wenqing had no doubt that Ye Qiu understood this point perfectly. It was hard to tell if this was his version of venting or if he was being obtuse on purpose. It was hard to tell most things with Ye Qiu, actually.

Ye Qiu made a vaguely disbelieving sound on the other end of the line. “And what about what I said in the group chat?”

Han Wenqing thought back to that incident and couldn’t stop from scowling. The way the chat had exploded almost immediately following Ye Qiu’s little announcement made his head hurt just thinking about it. It was absolutely one of the most ridiculous things he’d ever seen.

However, that might be attributed to the fact that Han Wenqing was in the know, while everyone else minus Su Mucheng was decidedly not.

People said ignorance was bliss, but in this case, he’d disagree. If he weren’t in the know and laid eyes on that stupid message…

“That doesn’t count, you idiot,” he bit out.

In a tone that somehow managed to come across as both uncaring and offended, Ye Qiu said, “How does it not count? Where else should I say it?”

“In public.”

“Good one. You know I don’t do anything with the word ‘public’ involved.”

Han Wenqing barely resisted the urge to facepalm. “Do you or do you not have a Weibo?”

There was a long pause; Han Wenqing counted about six seconds of silence. Then Ye Qiu said, “Huh. Forgot about that.”

Han Wenqing stopped resisting.

“What was that noise?”

“That was future me slapping future you,” he growled irritably, letting his hand fall.

“How uncalled for. What do I do in the future to deserve that?”

Han Wenqing was tiredly incredulous. “What don’t you do? Do you understand concepts like boundaries and common courtesy and shame?”

“Hmm… They strike me as vaguely familiar.”

“I doubt that.”

Ye Qiu laughed. “Look at you and your smartass comments. I’m such a bad influence.”

He probably was, but Han Wenqing decided not to say that. It wasn’t like he really minded anyway.

“What are you doing right now?” he asked instead.

“Hmm. Waiting for my shift to start.”

Han Wenqing grunted. “I can hear you typing.”

“Yeah, I’m just looking up some information on these materials I got to pass the time.” Ye Qiu sighed gustily. “Lemme tell you, Old Han, making a Silver weapon from scratch is not easy.”

“Don’t you have the blueprints?”

“Yes, but remember, they only cover up until level fifty, which was the max at that time,” Ye Qiu explained absently, as if he’d forgotten that Han Wenqing had also been present at “that” time.

Nonetheless, Han Wenqing understood. “You’re researching how to upgrade past fifty? There’s no point in doing that now, unless Wang Jiexi actually gave you Heavenly Domain materials on the sly.”

“Oh, I wish,” Ye Qiu said. “No, I just want to know if any of this stuff will come in handy later. There will be some leftovers.”

Ye Qiu’s habit of haggling always made him demand more than he really needed to start with. Wang Jiexi, who was the opposite of a haggler, wouldn’t call him out on it. Like the dumbass he was, he just handed over the requested materials without a second thought.

Han Wenqing had always respected Wang Jiexi, but his lack of basic street savvy was downright shameful. Anyone who possessed a lick of sense would read the fine print where Ye Qiu was involved.

Han Wenqing didn’t know how Ye Qiu turned so many people stupid just by existing in their immediate vicinity, virtually or otherwise. It had to be some kind of skill, or maybe an inborn talent. A gift from the devil?

“Maybe I’ll just give those to you,” Ye Qiu eventually said, dragging Han Wenqing from his thoughts.

He squinted at the ceiling of his room. “What, the materials?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve already paid me or whatever. I don’t need more materials.”

“Think of them as a gift,” Ye Qiu said. “To express my sincere gratitude for your help.”

“Your sincerity disgusts me,” Han Wenqing told him flatly. “I think I prefer you sly and underhanded.”

…Wait.

“Wow, really?”

What had he just said? Did those words come out of his very own mouth?

After a few seconds of silence, Han Wenqing commanded, “Forget I said that.”

Ye Qiu guffawed. Han Wenqing heard the sound of fingers tapping keys pause as the owner of those fingers apparently lost his shit.

Han Wenqing furiously endured.

“Old Han,” Ye Qiu wheezed at length, “you are something else. I honestly didn’t think it’d be this fun having you around, but boy was I wrong.”

“I’m glad I can entertain you.” Han Wenqing’s tone made it clear he was anything but.

“I am, too, trust me.” Ye Qiu was still chuckling, out of breath and far too pleased with himself.

Most people stared into space; Han Wenqing glared into it. “Are you done.”

“Nope.” Sure enough, there was still some laughter Ye Qiu just had to work out of his system.

Han Wenqing grumpily adjusted the pillows under his head as he waited. The foot hanging off the bed jiggled faster and faster as his patience was put to the test.

Ye Qiu was such a trial. Why did he torment himself this way?

Oh, right. Sentimentality.

Han Wenqing low-key hated having feelings. Especially feelings concerning Ye Qiu. This man was a threat to his mental health.

When Ye Qiu finally began to quiet down, Han Wenqing seized the chance to change the subject. “Speaking of, I still don’t understand why you called that Ghostblade over.”

Surprisingly, this sobered Ye Qiu up immediately. “Oh? What do you think of him?”

“He’s nothing special.”

Ye Qiu hummed. The sound of typing emerged again, rhythmic and somewhat soothing.

“Well?” Han Wenqing prodded after some time.

“Ah, I just pointed out to him that an Assassin doesn’t suit him well and he should try playing a Phantom Demon. Then he showed up asking for some guidance, and, well.”

“You couldn’t turn him down?”

Ye Qiu’s answer would be called awkward had it come from anyone else. “I don’t really mind it. Besides, it was brave of him to make the choice, even if he’s still hanging on to his Assassin.”

Han Wenqing felt as if he had missed something. “Brave?”

“Right, you probably didn’t notice. This kid, Qiao Yifan, he doesn’t seem to have a place in Tiny Herb. The one who’s supposed to be Wang Jiexi’s successor, I think he’s pretty much taken up everyone’s attention. The team treats Little Qiao like a bothersome stray.” Ye Qiu tsked.

Unfortunate, but… “What does this have to do with us?”

“Nothing,” Ye Qiu admitted ruefully. “But having another helper around won’t hurt us any. He’s just here to learn. And at least this way you won’t have to work too hard.”

“I’m not working too hard,” Han Wenqing insisted. He didn’t know how many times he’d said this, nor why Ye Qiu apparently refused to believe him. He was capable of managing his time and taking care of himself, which was more than Ye Qiu could boast.

Seriously. To be lectured about overworking by Ye Qiu. The universe had a questionable taste for irony.

“And have you thought about how Wang Jiexi will react when he discovers that not only are you scamming him out of as many materials as humanly possible, but you also poached one of his team members?”

Ye Qiu didn’t even have the shame to pretend indignity. “We made a deal. He chose to gamble and he keeps losing. It’s his problem, not mine.”

“At some point, he’s going to realize the gains don’t outweigh the losses. What will you do then?” Han Wenqing demanded.

“What do you mean? I’ll just do what I’ve been doing up until now.”

Han Wenqing was not impressed. “You can’t set records forever. At one point the guilds will stop feeling amazed and start feeling embarrassed.”

“There are other options.”

Han Wenqing didn’t doubt it, but the question was, would they have time for other options? Things already seemed to be snowballing out of control and it hadn’t even been a month. The whole business with Wang Jiexi was just a convenient break. They’d have to face the music eventually, and Han Wenqing had no doubt that the guilds were aching to teach them a lesson.

Not that they would be able to, naturally, but it just seemed like a lot of unnecessary trouble.

Then again…if they could make it so that they were the ones teaching the guilds a lesson, well, that would be awfully convenient. Ideal, in fact.

Personally, Han Wenqing liked teaching people lessons.

Still, it wasn’t really his call. Ye Qiu was the one in charge of this operation, so to speak; Han Wenqing was just here to help, no matter what Su Mucheng said.

Naturally, his brain chose right then to remind him of Su Mucheng’s favorite topic: late-night phone calls.

“I notice you didn’t deny you’re poaching that kid,” Han Wenqing said, more to distract himself than anything else.

“How the hell could I poach him? What would I poach him for? Slave labor?” Ye Qiu said with exasperation. Then he made a small, disbelieving noise. “Are you just messing with me right now?”

“Yes,” Han Wenqing admitted. He turned onto his side lazily, eyes landing on the desk in the corner. He ought to get up soon and get online.

“You’re ridiculous,” Ye Qiu declared. “And apparently even more bored than I suspected. I think you do need a hobby that isn’t Glory.”

Han Wenqing could groan just thinking about it, but manfully resisted. “I don’t have time for hobbies.”

It was the plain truth. It wasn’t like pro players didn’t do things besides train and compete, but Han Wenqing was the captain of his team. There was always something to keep him busy. The amount of spare time he had varied from day to day, but it was never more than a few hours. He’d just spend it on social media, working out, or relaxing. And “relaxing” mostly consisted of lying in bed and typing on his phone things he should do the next day.

All told, Han Wenqing did not have much of a life.

But since he’d started playing on Glory’s tenth server with Ye Qiu, his life had suddenly become fuller. Full to bursting, actually, except in an inexplicably good way.

He was more tired, but less stressed. More preoccupied, but less worried. More irritated, but less angry.

It was…complex. Han Wenqing wasn’t sure how to explain it. If someone asked him, maybe he’d just call it the Ye Qiu Effect and be done with it.

The end result of all this—whatever it was, he didn’t think he’d have any regrets.

“Kitty?”

“I’m here,” Han Wenqing replied automatically. Then he said, “Stop calling me that.”

“But it suits you so well. Maybe I should call you that all the time from now on. Just imagine, say…Huang Shaotian’s reaction,” Ye Qiu added slyly.

Han Wenqing did a full-body twitch. That was the last thing he wanted to imagine. Wang Jiexi’s reaction (or lack thereof) had been bad enough.

“If you ever call me that in public again—” he began darkly.

“Oh? You mean I can call you that in private? Is that the kind of thing that gets you going…kitty?” Ye Qiu’s tone suddenly became flirtatious.

Ye Qiu. Flirtatious. Somehow it was as infuriating as everything else he did. No, more.

He twitched again, harder this time, and said, “No, that does not ‘get me going.’ Though I would love to strangle you.”

“Kinky.”

“To death, I mean.”

“Oh. Harsh.”

“Hmph.”

“Hey,” Ye Qiu said abruptly. “I found some weird guides. Idiot’s Guides? They’re written by someone from the tenth server.”

Han Wenqing snorted disdainfully. “You’re the one who looks at guides, not me. I don’t care.”

“That’s not true, you look up guides, too. And they’re kind of amusing. You know this guy is trying to analyze our record-breaking strategy?”

“Oh? What did he come up with?”

“He thinks we all use the best Orange weapons available. Exclusively.”

Han Wenqing snorted again. In their party, only he used the best, most complete set of Orange equipment on the market. He had bought a decent weapon for Soft Mist and Ye Qiu for Steamed Bun, just to help them out a bit, but their efficiency when it came to dungeon clear records didn’t rely on equipment. Equipment made a difference, but it was their skill and teamwork that made them stand out.

That, and Ye Qiu’s unspecialized Lord Grim.

Han Wenqing had never really thought too much about what a viable unspecialized character could do. There had been a lot of them before the first real update hit Glory, and they could be formidable, but usually they were too slow to impress him. Switching between weapons took far too much time—time that Han Wenqing made use of to best them.

If they were no threat, then they weren’t worth his attention. He preferred to occupy himself with defeating real opponents.

But the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella was a game changer. With that thing, Lord Grim rose to Swiss-army-knife status: You just couldn’t know what the hell he’d pull out next. The fact that Ye Qiu was the one behind him was just the universe being cruel.

Ye Qiu had always been a very real, very threatening, very attention-grabbing opponent. Han Wenqing had gotten used to One Autumn Leaf (as much as anyone could), but Lord Grim? The thought of fighting against him was both invigorating and exhausting.

Fighting with him, however, was amazing. As long as Ye Qiu took the reins, anyway. Han Wenqing found it too hard to predict Lord Grim’s moves otherwise, a fact that still affected their teamwork, however slightly.

Ye Qiu’s leadership was absolutely another factor in their party’s dungeon records, Han Wenqing had to admit.

“Are his guides any good?” Han Wenqing asked absently.

“Not really. I’ll send you a link; you’ll understand. By the way, are you going to get online soon?”

Experimentally, Han Wenqing rolled his shoulders. He wasn’t feeling particularly stiff. Maybe he’d just walk around a bit more and get a bite to eat. It had been a long day of training and he wasn’t quite ready to sit down for more Glory.

“Twenty minutes,” Han Wenqing decided. “I’ll see you then.”

“Okay, we’ll meet at either Congee City or Line Canyon,” Ye Qiu said. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

Han Wenqing gently tossed his phone elsewhere on the bed. He lay there for a couple of minutes more before getting up.

The building’s biggest rec room, exclusive to Team Tyranny, was thankfully on the same floor as the dorm rooms. It also had a kitchenette stocked with snacks and drinks. Han Wenqing ate dinner not too long ago, but he was often peckish at night and knew he’d feel pretty hungry again in a few hours.

Before he arrived at his destination, however, he ran into someone in the hallway.

“Captain,” Zhang Xinjie greeted simply. They had almost literally ran into each other, as Zhang Xinjie was heading toward his room, in the opposite direction. Han Wenqing, who had been about to steady him, let his hand drop.

“Sorry,” he grunted. He made to walk forward again, expecting Zhang Xinjie to step aside to give him room, but he didn’t.

Han Wenqing almost paused, but then just walked around to his other side. He was used to people moving out of his way, not the other way around; it wasn’t anything to throw a tantrum over, though. He was distracted enough not to care.

Zhang Xinjie slid in front of him.

Han Wenqing had to pause then. His eyes met Zhang Xinjie’s, perplexed and a little annoyed. “Yes?” he said impatiently.

“Are you going to be playing on the tenth server tonight, Captain?”

This question… Han Wenqing’s eyes narrowed. It didn’t surprise him that Zhang Xinjie knew; he was observant and Han Wenqing wasn’t trying to hide it. He sometimes commandeered two computers just to level up while training. If that wasn’t obvious, what was?

It did surprise him that Zhang Xinjie was choosing now to confront him about it when he’d stayed quiet this entire time.

“I will. Why?”

“Perhaps you should reconsider,” Zhang Xinjie said softly. He kept his head raised and shoulders back: a purposely challenging stance.

Han Wenqing wasn’t sure whether he was more confused or irritated. “Should I.”

“Yes.”

“I am allowed to play this game casually, you realize.”

“Of course,” Zhang Xinjie said, “but is it really casual? You’re getting yourself involved with Ye Qiu.”

Han Wenqing could tell where this was going. “What about Ye Qiu?”

“I don’t know his situation, but I doubt it’s simple. I don’t know if you have anything to do with it. If you do, however, it will come out sooner or later.”

“What are you trying to say?” Han Wenqing snorted and crossed his arms. “What exactly do you think is going on here? We’re playing a game, not plotting a conspiracy.”

Zhang Xinjie stared him. “No matter your actions, your motives will be scrutinized.”

“Scrutinized for what?” Han Wenqing demanded. “Stop being ridiculous, Zhang Xinjie. The most anyone can do is accuse me of dividing my attention. As long as my performance remains steady, what’s the issue?”

“The issue is that you’re Han Wenqing and he is Ye Qiu. It won’t look good to our fans and it won’t look good when Ye Qiu returns. There is too much history between you two, and…” Here Zhang Xinjie frowned. “He’s always drawn too much attention.”

“You’re worried about bad publicity,” Han Wenqing said flatly. He almost couldn’t believe it.

“Why wouldn’t I be? This is our career. This is our team. Captain, don’t do anything reckless.”

Han Wenqing remembered Ye Qiu saying, “It’s his problem, not mine,” and told Zhang Xinjie, “If people really think we hate each other, or that we should, then that’s their problem, not ours. We’re professionals.” He paused. “And we’re friends.”

Zhang Xinjie gazed at him wordlessly. His glasses were beginning to slip down his nose, but he didn’t push them up.

Han Wenqing uncrossed his arms and walked past Zhang Xinjie.

“Captain,” Zhang Xinjie called after him. Han Wenqing stopped, but didn’t turn. “You can’t keep this under wraps forever.”

“Who said I wanted to,” Han Wenqing stated, his voice layered with ice. He continued toward the rec room.

Behind him, standing alone in the corridor, Zhang Xinjie sighed and muttered, “That could have gone better.”

* * *

It was already well into the evening by the time Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian sat down in a private training room to investigate those mysterious records on the tenth server.

Huang Shaotian was in a good mood. Of course, Yu Wenzhou figured he would be if they waited until after dinner. A full stomach always made Huang Shaotian more amenable. He had considered making dinner the reward for this little task, but even Yu Wenzhou had his limits, and a hungry Huang Shaotian was one of them.

The first thing Yu Wenzhou did was check out the forum. As it was, there were dozens of threads that all revolved around the tenth server’s abnormal situation.

Yu Wenzhou opened them up in several different tabs and calmly scrolled through them. The times sent his eyebrows almost flying up his forehead, but it was a particular word that captured his attention the most thoroughly.

Unspecialized.

An unspecialized character called Lord Grim was present in all of the announcements, evidently the leader of this record-breaking party. He and another character, a Striker by the name of Roaring Tiger, appeared most frequently in the comments. The other members of their party seemed to include a Battle Mage, a Brawler, and a Launcher. They were apparently seen with other players, too, although those were less noteworthy. Recently a Ghostblade was accompanying them.

The latest news was that an expert by the name of Poplar Beach had come from the Heavenly Domain to challenge Lord Grim. His alt had nearly been killed as a result.

Yu Wenzhou read through several accounts and concluded that this Poplar Beach had just been arrogant. Lord Grim’s team attacked him, but only after he made the first move. Lord Grim had also been happy to ignore his provocations before then.

One thing all the posters seemed to agree on was that Roaring Tiger had been the one to really beat Poplar Beach’s face in. It had apparently been a beautiful scene: Everybody liked to see justice delivered to a braggart.

The biggest problem, naturally, was that Poplar Beach was a member of Blue Brook Guild. Worse, he had been with an elite party specifically put together to fight Lord Grim for the records. That party had been the only reason he didn’t die at Roaring Tiger’s hands, but Yu Wenzhou almost wished he had. It would have been a good lesson, though it might not have helped Blue Brook’s reputation any.

Yu Wenzhou glanced at Huang Shaotian beside him. He was being uncharacteristically quiet, his expression intent as he stared at his own screen. His eyes seemed to dart all over the monitor, his hand moving the mouse swiftly and precisely.

It was a bit unnerving.

“Shaotian?” Yu Wenzhou asked tentatively.

Huang Shaotian didn’t seem to hear him. His eyes, more hazel than amber in this lighting, were dangerously narrowed.

“What do you think?” he prodded. “Discovered anything useful?”

Huang Shaotian’s hands suddenly stilled. He seemed to be thinking hard about something, gaze fixated on an invisible, faraway point only he could see.

Yu Wenzhou was growing concerned. He reached out and gently poked Huang Shaotian’s shoulder.

A hand immediately snapped out and grabbed his. Yu Wenzhou startled a bit, jerking back in his seat. But Huang Shaotian merely took his other hand as well and stared at Yu Wenzhou with wide eyes.

“Captain,” Huang Shaotian said urgently. “I need a tenth server account card.”

Yu Wenzhou blinked, not bothering to pull free. “What for?”

“I have to see for myself. Those are pros, they really are—well, at least two of them are, from what I can tell; it’s kind of obvious. But c’mon, Captain, lemme just make sure. It won’t take long, I swear it won’t.”

“Ah, two? Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger, I presume.” Unsurprisingly, Huang Shaotian had reached the same conclusion as he. That first record with Blue Brook Guild made it pretty clear who was the driving force behind this whole…this.

“I wanna check them out, I have a weird feeling about this. Can I go get an account card? Can I, can I, can I?”

“Hold on, Shaotian.” Yu Wenzhou gently tugged his hands free and wrapped them around Huang Shaotian’s wrists instead. Huang Shaotian barely seemed to notice. “What’s the rush?”

“I told you, I told you, I have a weird feeling. I dunno, I just need to make sure. It won’t take long! I’m really fast, super fast, extremely fast—I’ll just find them and test their—”

Yu Wenzhou waited patiently for the chatter to run its course. He didn’t mind Huang Shaotian’s agitated rambling, not even on the worst of days. There was something almost comforting about it, once you acclimated yourself.

Or maybe Yu Wenzhou was just a masochist.

“—Silver weapon, there’s definitely a good chance that it’s someone with a lot of experience in the pro scene. I would say it might be some researcher trying to test a weapon, but what kind of researcher would be that over the top, right? They’re so mild and mousy usually. This is professional work, no doubt—”

“A Silver weapon?” Yu Wenzhou interrupted, thoughts racing.

“Yeah, a transforming weapon in the form of an umbrella, that’s how this unspecialized can actually get around and get shit done, yanno? It’s pretty wild, huh? Definitely a Silver weapon, there are no weapons like that in the game. Man, I didn’t ever think there would be a real unspecial—”

There hadn’t been any mention of Silver weapons in the threads Yu Wenzhou read; Liang Yichun hadn’t mentioned anything of the kind, either. Huang Shaotian must have been digging deep into those discussion threads.

Huang Shaotian was actually very patient, at the end of the day: all real opportunists were. Yu Wenzhou wasn’t sure why he was in such a hurry now.

But he had an idea. And it was an awful idea.

Because an unspecialized with a Silver weapon and a Striker with a short temper…

Perhaps it would be possible to write off one or the other, but both? And with everything going on recently, it couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

Yu Wenzhou loosened his grip on Huang Shaotian’s wrists and leaned back in his chair. He stared blankly at the wall over Huang Shaotian’s shoulder, painted the softest of blues and decorated with a couple of Team Blue Rain posters.

Did Huang Shaotian even realize? Or was he just curious? Yu Wenzhou thought he must have some idea, too.

“If you want,” Yu Wenzhou said, breaking into Huang Shaotian’s ongoing tirade, “then go ahead. I don’t think Senior Chun is still here, though.”

Huang Shaotian barely paused. “All right, all right, all right… Nah, I won’t borrow from the guild, I don’t think, what if someone saw me? That’d be too embarrassing. No way, I’ll just go buy an account card real quick and then never use it again.”

Yu Wenzhou had to try hard not to laugh. “How would it be embarrassing? You’re not going online to bully new players. Those are most likely pros.”

“But something embarrassing could happen later! I gotta cover my bases, isn’t that what you’re always telling me, Captain? Hmmmmm?” Huang Shaotian raised his eyebrows, a mildly taunting glint appearing in his eyes.

Yu Wenzhou smiled at him. “True.” Huang Shaotian’s hands were still resting on his knees. Silently, Yu Wenzhou entwined their fingers, leaning forward.

He met Huang Shaotian’s eyes. “Don’t do anything careless. And watch out for that Silver weapon.”

Huang Shaotian tilted his head to one side. “You don’t wanna come with me? It could be fun, you should come. All work and no play makes for…a boring day. Heh, yeah, a boring day, I can’t believe I just came up with that. Actually, I can, I’m amazing.”

“Nice rhyme,” Yu Wenzhou told him dryly. Then he released Huang Shaotian’s hands and stood up. “No, I think I’ll stay out of this one. You…enjoy yourself.”

Yu Wenzhou had his doubts about how much Huang Shaotian would actually enjoy himself, but since he was determined to get on the tenth server, he wasn’t going to stop him. It at least saved him the trouble of further investigation, and Liang Yichun shouldn’t mind receiving the news in the morning, whatever it might be.

“Oh, and if you happen to see a Blade Master with a Blue Brook Guild tag trying to attack Lord Grim’s party, please stop them,” Yu Wenzhou added.

Huang Shaotian gave him a strange look. “Yeah, sure, okay. You go to bed, then, Captain, good night. I’m gonna order a leveled account from one of those, eh, what do you call them again—”

Before Huang Shaotian could turn back to the computer, Yu Wenzhou gently slid his fingers through his light hair, tipping his head back.

Huang Shaotian blinked up at him. He tugged his head free a moment later, a small pout forming. “Hey, what? What do you want? What is with all this touching?”

Now it was Yu Wenzhou’s turn to blink. “Sorry, do you not like it?”

Huang Shaotian considered him, a tiny furrow between his eyebrows. Did he not like it? He sure didn’t dislike it, but…it was a change.

“Meh, whatever, I don’t mind.” He dismissed Yu Wenzhou once and for all, hoping he wasn’t blushing. With his back faced to him, he couldn’t tell what Yu Wenzhou’s expression was.

The silence, though, made him wonder if he had been maybe a little too—harsh? Abrupt? How was he supposed to put these things into words? He’d never struggled with words before, but man, this relationship business was hard.

Then he heard a small chuckle. Yu Wenzhou casually ruffled his hair from behind and, next thing Huang Shaotian knew, his breath was right up against the side of his face. His eyes widened.

Yu Wenzhou dropped a kiss on his cheek. “Okay,” he said simply as he distanced himself again. When Huang Shaotian unfroze himself and spun around, he was already at the door, smiling. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Shaotian. Try not to sleep too late.”

A second later, Yu Wenzhou was gone, and Huang Shaotian was left staring at the closed door like an idiot.

One of his hands touched his cheek hesitantly. His skin felt hot. Damn, was he seriously blushing? Over something like that?

This was some bullshit right here. Yu Wenzhou just wasn’t fair. Like, his existence wasn’t fair. Huang Shaotian couldn’t decide whether it pissed him off or not.

Well, there were other things to take care of now. Huang Shaotian ignored the squirmy feeling in his gut and started looking for an account card to purchase.

At least when it came to Glory, he knew what he was doing.

* * *

Ye Xiu smiled. “Hey, Old Han, since when do we have an entourage?”

Han Wenqing snorted. Beside Lord Grim, Roaring Tiger came to a sudden halt. Lord Grim also stopped half a second later.

The players around them, supposedly on their way to Line Canyon, echoed their movements. It almost looked synchronized.

Han Wenqing didn’t hesitate and neither did Ye Xiu. The two of them directed their avatars to attack, and this crowded road quickly became the scene of a potential tragedy.

Of course, neither Ye Xiu or Han Wenqing were fazed by this. They broke free of the yet incomplete encirclement with a few well-placed skills, casual as could be. Nobody even died, which with Han Wenqing around was truly a marvel.

The bystanders were speechless. What had just happened?

“Anticlimactic,” Ye Xiu said laughingly as Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger made a run for it. Behind them, their pursuers cursed, yelled, and doggedly took chase.

Ye Xiu turned the camera to look back at them. Their formation was…orderly.

“What about the others?”

Ye Xiu dutifully messaged the other members of their so-called party. He had been about to do that anyway.

A few minutes later, he learned that Drifting Water and his brothers were already at Line Canyon and doing fine. Tang Rou’s Soft Mist, however, had died again, probably due to her Critically Ill state from that time in the afternoon. Everyone else was much in the same situation as he and Han Wenqing.

“It’s not looking very good for us,” Ye Xiu said, his voice a little too tight to be casual.

“Not very good” was something of an understatement, but Ye Xiu was given to those. According to Su Mucheng as well as Ye Xiu’s own searches of the names of the ones who’d just tried to assassinate him, all these characters were Level 33 or thereabouts.

One guild couldn’t have so many Level 33 characters.

“Who’s in the worst situation?”

“Little Tang has to break out of Congee City somehow and Steamed Bun is alone and being chased. Su Mucheng is with Little Qiao in Desolate Lands.”

Han Wenqing was silent for a moment. They wove between obstacles with ease, putting more and more distance between themselves and the angry mob.

“So, Steamed Bun.”

Ye Xiu chuckled a bit. “Yep, Steamed Bun.”

Right then, he received a message.

            Steamed Bun Invasion: boss where should i go?

            Lord Grim: where are you now?

            Steamed Bun Invasion: hades village

            Lord Grim: still? you haven’t escaped yet?

            Steamed Bun Invasion: not yet

            Lord Grim: how many pursuers are there?

            Steamed Bun Invasion: UH………

            Steamed Bun Invasion: let me ask

Ye Xiu stared in bewilderment. Ask? Ask whom? But Steamed Bun quickly got back to him.

            Steamed Bun Invasion: about a dozen

            Lord Grim: and how’d you find out?

            Steamed Bun Invasion: i met a bro at the bottom of a well

            Steamed Bun Invasion: and he told me

            Lord Grim: …

            Steamed Bun Invasion: ?

            Lord Grim: ??????????????

            Steamed Bun Invasion: what?

“What,” Ye Xiu said aloud.

“What?”

“Do you ever get the impression that Steamed Bun is an alien?” he asked dazedly.

“Every time he opens his mouth, yes.”

Ye Xiu shook himself. “Well, I’m telling him to meet us at Congee Forest.”

Roaring Tiger edged closer to Lord Grim, though not close enough to hinder him. “You have a plan?”

“Yeah.”

“What is it?”

“Group up somewhere and kill them all.”

“Oh. I like that plan.”

Ye Xiu grinned. “Thought you might.”

* * *

It was slightly after midnight when Huang Shaotian finally came online. He was using a Level 30 Blade Master called Flowing Tree, which was the best he could procure on such short notice. The equipment wasn’t bad, though there wasn’t a spot of Orange on him.

Huang Shaotian was a little salty, truth be told, but he’d deal. It wasn’t like he had to be higher leveled than someone to beat their ass.

Now, here he was, in…Congee City. Not bad. He pointed his camera all around and wondered where he should begin. Maybe a friend request? Some innocent inquiries in the global chat?

Huang Shaotian checked the global chat first, more out of habit than anything else—there was always some interesting information on there if anyone cared to look—and promptly did a double take.

            Feathered Death: lol there are some losers chasing after lord grim

            Doombringer: Haha high-leveled losers from what I hear

            Wasted Love: ANYONE SELLING LEVEL 28 ORANGE EQUIPMENT?!?!?!?!?!

            Salty Saltwater: seems like a lot of battles are going on, everyone be careful

            Sugar With Cream: I think the club guilds are targeting Lord Grim and his group.

            Coffee Beats Tea: They tagged? Just another conspiracy theory otherwise, club guilds dont do that kind of thing

            Completely Wasted: Club guilds absolutely do that kind of thing????? What world do you live in lmao

            Falling Star: lookin for LVL30 CLERIC FOR LINE CANYON pls someone

            Doombringer: Confirmed: lots of high-leveled characters running around, minor battles everywhere, watch out noobs

            Sugar With Cream: Well, I did say.

            Raging Flames: guilds vs lord grim, cant wait to see how this turns out

Huang Shaotian scrolled through the chat for a moment longer before deciding to hell with it. He sent a friend request to Lord Grim.

He didn’t get any confirmation.

Huang Shaotian kept sending friend requests, not even stopping to see if Lord Grim accepted. He paused after a dozen and waited to see if he’d get a confirmation then.

Naturally, he didn’t. He wasn’t even being rejected, just ignored.

With an inarticulate sound of barely suppressed rage, Huang Shaotian halved the game window and pulled up QQ on the split-screen view.

            Troubling Rain: YOU ACCEPT MY FRIEND REQUEST RIGHT NOW YOU SHITTY OLD MAN

            Troubling Rain: I KNOW IT’S YOU AND YOU’RE ONLINE STOP FUCKING PLAYING DEAD

            Troubling Rain: I’M GONNA KEEP SENDING THEM UNTIL YOU ACCEPT SO YOU BETTER FUCKING ACCEPT I DIDN’T WASTE MY TIME GETTING A 10TH SERVER ACCOUNT CARD FOR NOTHING DO YOU HEAR ME

            Ye Qiu: wtf

            Troubling Rain: THAT’S MY FUCKING LINE!!! WTF IS YOUR PROBLEM????? HUH HUH HUH HUH??????????

            Ye Qiu: [middle finger emoji]

            Troubling Rain: OH DOES THE SHITTY OLD MAN WANNA DIE??? BECAUSE IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU’RE BEGGING FOR DEATH

            Ye Qiu: i’m busy here

            Troubling Rain: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO KILL SOME NORMAL PLAYERS ARE YOU A PRO OR AREN’T YOU

            Troubling Rain: IF I WERE THERE I’D WIPE THE FLOOR WITH THEM IN A FUCKING INSTANT

            Troubling Rain: YOU ARE A GODDAMN EMBARRASSMENT AND I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU’VE IGNORED ME UNTIL NOW SO YOU BEST TELL ME WHY THE HELL YOU’RE ON “VACATION” OR I WILL FIND YOU AND PERSONALLY WRING YOUR NECK

            Ye Qiu: you’d wipe the floor with them in an instant, you say?

            Troubling Rain: YES THAT’S WHAT I LITERALLY JUST SAID I WROTE IT RIGHT THERE CAN YOUR OLD MAN EYES NO LONGER READ

            Ye Qiu: then come to congee forest

            Troubling Rain: WHY SHOULD I

            Ye Qiu: i’ll tell you all about my vacation

            Ye Qiu: oh and pk

            Troubling Rain: accept my friend request i’m coming

Huang Shaotian put Glory back on full screen and promptly charged out of Congee City. A notification let him know that Lord Grim had finally added him as a friend.

            Flowing Tree: coordinates???

            Lord Grim: oh you’re really coming

            Flowing Tree: I JUST SAID THAT GODDAMMIT GIVE ME YOUR COORDINATES

            Lord Grim: someone is in a bad mood

            Flowing Tree: well SOMEONE thought it was okay to just LEAVE without a SINGLE WORD to anyone about it and left all his friends HANGING, i wonder who????

            Lord Grim: …

            Flowing Tree: give me the fucking coordinates you dumbass ugh you piss me off

Ye Qiu gave him the coordinates. Huang Shaotian moved Flowing Tree in that direction.

He was greeted with a clusterfuck of epic proportions.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Huang Shaotian squeezed out past gritted teeth.

“Oh, it’s you,” said a familiar female voice from close behind him. Flowing Tree swung around to face a female Launcher.

“Oh, for shit’s sake! Su Mucheng? He dragged you here, too? What the hell? What is this? What the hell is this?”

Lord Grim fired a few shots into the distance, disrupting the cast of a Warlock. Huang Shaotian had Flowing Tree move over to block an incoming Berserker. He knocked him clean off the wide tree branch they had chosen to launch their counterattack from.

Huang Shaotian used the opportunity to sidle up to Lord Grim. “Hey hey hey, don’t think this is enough to distract me, you owe me an explanation!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ye Qiu agreed dismissively. His rifle suddenly transformed into a battle lance and he charged at a Blade Master who was sliding down another branch toward them.

The Blade Master just barely dodged Lord Grim’s attack and swerved in the direction of another player: Roaring Tiger.

Huang Shaotian’s Flowing Tree had arrived not long ago; the battle had scarcely begun. Right now they were working on not getting surrounded, which required them to be in formation. It wasn’t too difficult to maintain since most of the enemies were coming from only two sides.

As a result, however, Flowing Tree had been positioned a ways away from Roaring Tiger, who was the other person Huang Shaotian was technically supposed to be investigating. The other likely pro.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure he even wanted to know who that was. But it looked like he wouldn’t have a choice.

Huang Shaotian kept one eye on the enemies and one eye on Roaring Tiger. Thus, he saw Roaring Tiger flawlessly fend off the Blade Master’s attack.

He also heard the Blade Master’s vengeful shrieking.

“You’re going to pay for humiliating me! One-vee-one, I dare you!”

“Get out of my face,” Roaring Tiger growled, and promptly punched the Blade Master right off the tree branch.

…Well. At least the guy wasn’t wearing the Blue Brook Guild tag. How did Yu Wenzhou even know this would happen?

No matter. More importantly, was that actually Han fucking Wenqing?

He knew he would have been better off not knowing.

A summoned beast nearly ran into him. Flowing Tree nimbly leaped to one side. “Hey, who the hell!” he yelled.

Huang Shaotian spun Flowing Tree’s view around until he spotted the Summoner. He first wondered, How did an enemy get into our formation and why is he so pathetic? Then he berated himself: “Our”? There was no “our,” this was none of his business and he wasn’t even supposed to be here!

He rushed at the Summoner, giant speech bubbles hovering over him, and prepared to use a Sword Draw.

A Brawler got in his way. Steamed Bun Invasion, one of Ye Qiu’s new buddies. Huang Shaotian curled his lip.

“Bro, move your ass, there’s an enemy right there! An enemy! How am I the only one who noticed?!” Huang Shaotian exclaimed, trying to move around Steamed Bun Invasion.

Steamed Bun Invasion blocked his advance in a way that almost looked accidental. His brick raised and he turned to look in the direction Flowing Tree was pointing his sword at. “What enemy? That’s just the bro from the bottom of the well!”

Huang Shaotian paused. The…the bro from the bottom of the well? What?

“What?” he demanded.

“Don’t mind him!” he heard Ye Qiu yell. “That Summoner is with us for now!”

“He fucking sucks!” Huang Shaotian yelled back.

“He’s a noob!”

“Aren’t all of these people noobs?! What’s his excuse to suck so bad?!”

“Hey,” Su Mucheng said from off to the side, sounding a bit offended.

“Soft Mist, over there,” Ye Qiu suddenly called. That female Battle Mage ran over to cover for the clumsy Summoner together with Steamed Bun Invasion. “Concealed Light, stop summoning so many creatures…”

The situation was growing more chaotic by the second. Roaring Tiger charged over to join the Ghostblade, One Inch Ash, as a wave of attacks came from that side, long-ranged skills flying in their direction.

“Hey, that Ghostblade is pretty good! A Phantom Demon? Oh, yep, nice Boundary right there, you have good judgment. Well, maybe not, considering who you keep company with,” Huang Shaotian said as he, too, ran over to help.

“Shut up,” Han Wenqing told him.

One Inch Ash’s voice came, hesitant but grateful. “Ah, t-thank you, Senior…”

“Don’t encourage him,” Han Wenqing snapped.

“Oh! Um—”

Huang Shaotian tried not to panic. “Senior? What senior? Who do you think I am? I’m nobody, okay, I’m just an innocent victim in all this, I have nothing to do with these people.”

Han Wenqing made a disgusted sound. One Inch Ash muttered what might have been an apology and didn’t dare say anything more.

Su Mucheng’s Launcher, Cleansing Mist, came out of nowhere and fired into the distance, knocking back a number of long-ranged attackers. One Inch Ash scooted back and activated several Ghost Boundaries to fend off the close-ranged attackers who were coming for them.

Throughout the heated battle, Huang Shaotian couldn’t help but wonder what he did to deserve this.

Oh, he didn’t doubt what Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing and Su Mucheng had done to deserve this. The better question would be, what hadn’t they done? But he, Huang Shaotian, who just wanted some answers—

“Fuck!” he screamed, and unleashed a flurry of skills on the next asshole who dared to pick a fight with him. “Watch my sword! Upward Slash! Triple Slash! Lunge! Die already, you piece of trash!”

So he was taking out his anger on normal players. So what. They were all from club guilds, they should know what they were in for.

In his fury, Huang Shaotian ranted to the only person he knew would listen to him.

            Troubling Rain: you won’t fucking believe this bullshit

            Troubling Rain: fucking ye qiu and HAN WENQING are setting records in the 10th server and they have su mucheng with them plus a bunch of abnormally good noobs and I DON’T FUCKING GET IT

            Troubling Rain: wenzhou you knew this would happen didn’t you? DIDN’T YOU????

            Troubling Rain: how could you let me suffer like this alone??? wake up and help me omg i’m gonna die

            Troubling Rain: wake up

            Troubling Rain: WAKE UP

            Troubling Rain: WAKE UPPPP

            Troubling Rain: YU WENZHOUUUUU

            Troubling Rain: I WILL KEEP SPAMMING AND MAKING YOUR PHONE VIBRATE UNTIL YOU ANSWER ME

            Swoksaar: …

            Troubling Rain: oh there you are

            Troubling Rain: oh oh oh no i don’t mean anybody here can kill me lol i’m a goddamn pro, i mean some important vein might burst and i’ll bleed out on the training room floor

            Troubling Rain: that’s a really pathetic death and i can’t go out like that k?

            Troubling Rain: but in case i do go out like i just want you to know it’s becAUSE OF THESE SHITTY OLD MEN

            Troubling Rain: I’M SO FUCKING MAD DO YOU THINK WE COULD PUT OUT A HIT ON OLD HAN

            Troubling Rain: I’LL GO TO HANGZHOU AND KILL OLD YE MYSELF DON’T WORRY

            Swoksaar: Shaotian…let me sleep………

“Lord Grim! Just give up, we’ve surrounded you!”

Ye Qiu snorted disbelievingly. “This is surrounding? Are you sure? You should give up, Chen Yehui.”

“Who the fuck is Chen Yehui?” Huang Shaotian demanded, turning his attention back to the game.

Su Mucheng helpfully piped up. “A dick.”

“We should kill him,” said Soft Mist. “It sounds like he’s in charge?”

“You don’t get it, do you, lady?” Huang Shaotian said. “This is a guild alliance! There are a bunch of guilds here and a bunch of people all working together! There can’t be any one person in charge. That fucking idiot over there has done this with all his stupid records. Who the fuck does that, anyway, like what did he think would happen? Old—Roaring Tiger, did you actually let him do this?”

“Let him?” Han Wenqing asked. “There is no ‘letting,’ I’m not the boss of him.”

“What are you even doing here, then? Did he blackmail you or some shit?”

“Do you think I’m you? There’s nothing to blackmail me with.”

“The hell do you mean? There’s nothing to blackmail me with, either! Absolutely nothing! What the hell!”

“Then why are you here, dumbass?” Han Wenqing demanded bluntly.

“You—It’s because of that fucker! I was tricked, fooled, baited, lured! I just wanted to talk, dammit!”

“You always talk,” Su Mucheng said. “You should learn to be quiet.”

“Fuck off!”

“Hey, are they really going to give up?” Steamed Bun Invasion asked, squeezing into their conversation. “Did we scare them too badly? I don’t want them to run yet! I can still get more kills!”

“Steamed Bun, shut up,” Han Wenqing said.

“Do you ever say anything besides ‘shut up’? Do you have a vocabulary? Learn some more fucking words.”

Soft Mist pointed her battle lance at Flowing Tree. “Who is this, anyway?”

“A noisy, inconsequential person. Just ignore him,” Su Mucheng told her.

“You’re very good,” Concealed Light said, standing at the edge of their group while Ye Qiu and that other guy exchanged insults. “Though…all that chattering reminds me of the Sword Saint…” There was clearly a grimace in his voice.

One Inch Ash coughed delicately. Su Mucheng snickered.

“He chose a poor role model,” Han Wenqing said flatly.

Flowing Tree lifted the blade in his hands. “Who are you calling a poor role model? Who, who, who? Say that to my face!”

“I just did.”

“What are you guys doing?” Ye Qiu broke in, almost hissing. “They’re coming!”

“Let them come!” Steamed Bun declared. “Taste my brick, you plebs! You should have surrendered!” He directly charged out to meet the dozen or so players that were all the enemy side had left.

“We’re outnumbered, why is he so excited?” One Inch Ash asked, bewildered.

“Don’t question it, Yifan,” Su Mucheng said. Cleansing Mist hefted her canon. “That’s the last of this bunch. We’ll get away before the reinforcements arrive.”

“Okay…” One Inch Ash said.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Concealed Light said. “Thank you. I’m so tired.”

“You’ve barely done anything,” Han Wenqing snapped. “Stay back and don’t get in the way.”

Concealed Light silently fell back, his aura a bit sullen.

Huang Shaotian snorted softly and Flowing Tree charged after Steamed Bun along with a rather overeager Soft Mist. Lord Grim was already smacking down two players ahead of them and Cleansing Mist had launched several missiles. Even as Flowing Tree initiated a 2v1, Ghost Boundaries surged to life around him and his opponents.

Huang Shaotian noticed Roaring Tiger going to support Lord Grim. They somehow managed to turn a relatively tame 2v1 into a 5v2.

He had so many questions. But instead of asking them, he just typed “KILL” several times in the biggest, boldest font available, displaying an intimidating speech bubble above his avatar.

The power of speech bubbles was not to be underestimated. His enemies were cowering before him. Definitely.

Flowing Tree somehow ended up fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with Steamed Bun and Soft Mist while Cleansing Mist supported them from a distance. One Inch Ash had switched his focus to Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger, who were systematically taking out opponent after opponent.

“What the hell is up with this Battle Mage? Who pissed you off, lady? You are going after these idiots with a vengeance, I’m almost scared,” Huang Shaotian wondered aloud, watching Soft Mist rampage around and mow over everyone in her path. At this point, he and Steamed Bun were her glorified sidekicks.

This scene kind of reminded him of Ye Qiu and Excellent Era back in the day, actually.

Soft Mist didn’t reply, but Steamed Bun helpfully informed him: “Ha ha, they took her out twice today! This is payback! Payback! Restore Sis’s honor!” He flung sand into someone’s eyes and then effortlessly bricked another one in the face.

Where did Ye Qiu find these people? Or should he say, where did Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing find these people?

Huang Shaotian couldn’t help but shudder. Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing. There was an apocalyptic combination if he ever saw one. And he had thought them fighting against each other was ugly…

Barely ten minutes had gone by when the last opponent hit the ground.

Huang Shaotian flexed his hands and turned his view around, scanning the trees for more enemies. He was prepared for some sneak attack, but nothing happened. It seemed the other side really had run out of people.

“Come on, let’s go. Quickly, quickly,” Ye Qiu urged, rounding everyone up like a mother duck with her ducklings.

With no idea of what else to do, Huang Shaotian had Flowing Tree follow them. They took an obscure route through Congee Forest, avoiding any and all contact.

“How many do you think we killed?” Steamed Bun wondered as they ran.

“Eight,” Soft Mist answered promptly.

“I managed six,” Cleansing Mist said

“Six,” One Inch Ash said.

“Oh, I only got seven,” said Steamed Bun, almost visibly drooping.

Concealed Light almost bounced with excitement. “I got one!”

Steamed Bun openly laughed at him. “Just one? Why are you so proud? Even with Senior guiding you…”

Before Steamed Bun could say more, Han Wenqing said, “Ten.”

“Ha ha, I killed eleven. I won,” Ye Qiu announced.

“Screw you both! I got nine,” Huang Shaotian said.

“Third place, congratulations,” Su Mucheng told him. “Why are you even here, anyway?”

Huang Shaotian almost exploded. “How many times do I have to say it! How many, how many, how many! I want to talk to that guy! Speaking of, get over here, you shitty old man!” Flowing Tree sped up to catch up to Lord Grim.

“Don’t talk to Senior that way!” Steamed Bun said threateningly, brandishing his claws.

“Grown-ups can talk however they want,” Huang Shaotian retorted.

Lord Grim visibly slowed down to let Flowing Tree draw level with him. “Okay, okay, can the rest of you hang back while I chat with our new friend here? Somebody make sure Concealed Light doesn’t waste all his stamina.”

Everybody gave the two of them some space, creating a small gap in their group. Lord Grim and Flowing Tree took the lead, running side by side.

“All right, what do you want to talk about?” Ye Qiu asked.

Huang Shaotian sucked in a breath.

“What the hell are you doing here? What are you doing in general? Why did you suddenly leave Excellent Era? Are you really on vacation, or did you retire? Are you going to rejoin Excellent Era? Where did you get that Silver weapon? Han Wenqing?”

There was a long silence. “That’s a lot of questions.”

“Yeah, well, what exactly do you think you’ve shared up until now? I hate you and your stupid mysteriousness, just come out and say shit, goddammit.”

“Ah…”

Huang Shaotian ground his teeth together. “Don’t ‘ah’ me! Answer the questions.”

“Fine, fine… Chill, Shaotian. This Silver weapon is an old thing my friend made back in the day when you were still kill-stealing. I’m here to level it up. Conveniently, I work at an Internet café now so I can be online often.”

Huang Shaotian nearly choked on his spit. Had he heard correctly? “An Internet café? You’re working at an Internet café? You? What the fuck, why?”

“I’m on vacation!”

“How the fuck is that a vacation? Do you know what ‘vacation’ means?!”

Ye Qiu was annoyingly calm. “Of course. Anyway, I just needed a little break from the pro scene, not to tour the countryside.”

“Why take a break? What happened? Why did you leave Excellent Era? What about Su Mucheng?” Huang Shaotian couldn’t accept such a blasé explanation, especially not after all the trouble he went through just to arrive at this conversation.

“Nothing happened. I’m old, I need to slow down and take it easy. That Sun Xiang is on the rise, so Excellent Era brought him in to replace me.”

Huang Shaotian now felt a stirring of pity inside him. “Dammit, you’re not that old, and Sun Xiang is a rookie still! How could he compare to you? How, huh? Tell me. Your skills haven’t dropped any, there’s no need to slow down.”

“That’s what you think,” Ye Qiu said dryly. “None of us can overcome time.”

That was…true. But if Ye Qiu felt it applied to him at this point, then why didn’t he just retire? “Come on, that can’t possibly be the whole story. You want to come back, right, so you don’t plan to slow down that much. Who needs to take it easy? Why didn’t you just find a new team to join if Excellent Era replaced you? You could still do that, actually, the transfer window hasn’t closed yet. Hurry up and come back.”

“Su Mucheng is still at Excellent Era. Besides, I’m in no rush. These things require deliberation.”

“Deliberation my ass.” Huang Shaotian snorted. “Okay, so what about Old Han? The hell is up with him? Since when are you two so buddy-buddy? Did you seriously not blackmail him?”

“What would I blackmail him with, he’s not you.”

“Fuck you,” Huang Shaotian spat. “Fuck you, and fuck him, too! Fuck you both.”

“Ha ha. Don’t think too much, he’s just bored and came here to have fun with me.”

Huang Shaotian eyed Lord Grim on the screen critically. “You intend to return to the pro scene with this unspecialized character? Is that why you’re working so hard to level up this extra-as-fuck umbrella? Why the hell would Old Han help with that?”

“Why are you asking me?”

Huang Shaotian turned his view around and yelled, “Old—Roaring Tiger!”

He heard Ye Qiu sigh.

“What?” a grouchy voice called back.

“Come here, come here! Hurry up!”

Roaring Tiger caught up with them. Lord Grim moved over a couple of units to make room. Roaring Tiger squeezed in between Lord Grim and Flowing Tree.

“Why’d you follow this useless guy here? What are you doing? What’s it to you?” Huang Shaotian demanded.

“None of your business,” Han Wenqing said tonelessly.

“What do you want? Maybe you want to drag him over to Tyranny? Ha ha, what a joke! That shit ain’t allowed, so what’s the point? You guys dating? Or is Old Han really going out with Su Mucheng? Or maybe all three of you are having some kind of sordid love affair?” Huang Shaotian threw out more and more unlikely scenarios to see if he’d get a reaction out of them.

Mostly, he just got silence. Then Ye Qiu said, dangerously, warningly, “Huang Shaotian…”

“Hmm? None of the above? How about I just keep guessing, then? I’m sure I have to get it right eventually, what do you think? It’s not even one in the morning yet, we got plenty of time.”

“Stop spewing nonsense,” Han Wenqing ordered. Both of them seemed to be radiating a unique sort of menace.

Huang Shaotian was low-key intimidated, but like hell was he giving up now. Again, he did not endure almost sixty attackers just to walk away once he finally got his chance. He’d literally had to go up against an army to talk to one guy.

“Why should I, huh? Just tell me what I wanna know. If you don’t tell me what I wanna know, then you’ll have to kill me to get rid of me,” Huang Shaotian told them seriously.

“Well, okay,” Ye Qiu said. Lord Grim’s umbrella promptly turned into a battle lance.

But at least Lord Grim was on the far side of their little line-up. Roaring Tiger was right next to him.

Flowing Tree barely moved out of the way of the first attack in time. The second attack was avoided as well. But not the third—he was caught in between them.

“You assholes!” he screamed. “I’m totally gonna get you for this! How dare you! We’re not friends!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ye Qiu said dismissively. Lord Grim grabbed him with a Strangle while Roaring Tiger initiated a combo that sent Flowing Tree’s health plummeting.

When Flowing Tree broke out of their hold, he was already almost half-dead. And right behind him were five other players who either didn’t know him or knew him far too well.

In short, Flowing Tree didn’t last long.

When his screen went gray, Huang Shaotian smacked his hand against the desk and sent several paragraphs’ of verbal abuse to both Ye Qiu and Han Wenqing on QQ. Predictably, they ignored him.

So he poured his woes on the one person who wouldn’t ignore him.

            Troubling Rain: WENZHOU WENZHOU WENZHOU

            Troubling Rain: THEY KILLED ME THEY FUCKING KILLED ME

            Troubling Rain: I HELPED THEM TAKE DOWN A FUCKING ARMY AND THEY STILL KILLED ME

            Troubling Rain: i am never speaking to them again do you understand???

            Troubling Rain: please let me hire assassins to kill them both

            Troubling Rain: well at least old han, who knows where the fuck old ye is, i mean he said he’s working at an internet cafe but what fucking internet cafe

            Troubling Rain: and tbh, what the f u c k is he doing at an internet cafe, i don’t get it

            Troubling Rain: UGH YU WENZHOU ANSWER ME

            Troubling Rain: I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF BLUE BROOK WAS INVOLVED IN THIS CRAZY GUILD ALLIANCE BUT IF THEY WERE THEN THEY’RE SCREWED

            Swoksaar: Guild alliance?

            Troubling Rain: yes yes yes, a bunch of guilds got together to hunt down those old men and their band of rookies and basically they got themselves wiped out

            Troubling Rain: i kinda helped but it was a battle for survival ok, i was looking at the bigger picture

            Troubling Rain: of course those assholes still didn’t give me the answers i wanted

            Troubling Rain: but old ye really does have a transforming silver weapon and lemme tell you, shit’s wild

            Troubling Rain: like right now the guilds have to deal with him but once next season comes around and he’s leveled up that thing he’ll return with an unspecialized char and we’ll be screwed instead

            Troubling Rain: fuck i got a headache just thinking about it

            Troubling Rain: it has so many forms wenzhou, you don’t even know the combos he’s capable of

            Troubling Rain: don’t even get me started on his minions

            Troubling Rain: …captain, i think we might be in some deep shit

            Swoksaar: …

            Swoksaar: I’ll deal with it in the morning. Don’t say anything to anyone else.

            Troubling Rain: CAPTAIN

            Troubling Rain: CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN NOOOOOOOOO DON’T GO BACK TO SLEEP I NEED SOMEBODY TO LISTEN TO ME

            Swoksaar: Good night, Shaotian.

            Swoksaar: Please stop disturbing me. ^_^

            Troubling Rain: ……………but but but WENZHOU

            Swoksaar: ^_^;

            Troubling Rain: [sobbing emoji]

* * *

The next morning, Yu Wenzhou woke up more tired than usual and considerably more stressed. He didn’t know how to use this new information without incurring the wrath of both of his…respected seniors, and he didn’t really have that much information in the first place. Just their names, which he didn’t dare toss around, and a vague notion of what Ye Qiu planned to do.

A vague notion was just that, though. His only option was to wait and see what would come of this, whatever it was.

After breakfast, the first thing he did was go see Liang Yichun.

“Don’t concern yourself with Lord Grim and his people. They’re out of your league. Don’t get in their way, it will only be a waste of time.”

Liang Yichun’s expression turned a little guilty at that. “Oh…last night…”

“You sent people after them?” Yu Wenzhou recalled what Huang Shaotian had said about a guild alliance.

“No, but we were considering launching our own ambush after the other guilds picked some of them off.”

Yu Wenzhou quickly shook his head. “Don’t do that, they’ll be on high alert and your ambush will fail. And I mean it: They’re out of your league. It’s unlikely you can pick any of them off.” Not with three experienced professionals to guide them.

“What do we do, then?” Liang Yichun asked helplessly.

“Let the other guilds dig their own graves,” Ye Wenzhou said bluntly. “You just carry on with business as usual, Senior.” He put a hand on Liang Yichun’s shoulder and tried to smile a comforting smile. He wasn’t sure it worked, because Liang Yichun didn’t look the least bit comforted.

Yu Wenzhou let his hand drop and gave him, as well as the others guild employees in the room, a wave. “Goodbye, everyone. Work hard.”

Liang Yichun stared after him like a man lost in the desert who’d just found out the lake in the distance was a mirage after all.

As Yu Wenzhou guiltily escaped back to Blue Rain’s training room, he wondered how exactly to endure Huang Shaotian’s foul mood for the rest of the day. And tomorrow. And the day after that.

* * *

            Ye Qiu: hey guess what

            Desert Dust: What

            Ye Qiu: i’m going to all-stars

            Desert Dust: What

            Desert Dust: Why

            Ye Qiu: lmao

            Ye Qiu: my boss bought me and little tang tickets [tearful emoji]

            Ye Qiu: i thought i’d escaped but no, still gotta deal with this bullshit

            Desert Dust: Well

            Desert Dust: At least you won’t have to do anything but watch

            Ye Qiu: true

            Ye Qiu: and i get to see mucheng

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Ye Qiu: and you :)

            Desert Dust: …

            Ye Qiu: …

            Ye Qiu: what

            Desert Dust: I didn’t know you wanted to meet

            Ye Qiu: well why not

            Ye Qiu: then you can meet little tang too

            Desert Dust: Does she know who I am? Who you are?

            Ye Qiu: pretty sure she knows who i am because mucheng has come over before

            Ye Qiu: i wasn’t trying to hide anything, but i didn’t tell her about you

            Desert Dust: Oh

            Desert Dust: Then I guess I’ll see you in Shanghai

            Ye Qiu: heh

Ye Qiu V

23 December 2022 00:51

Yo, stop telling everyone I retired. I’m 25, not dead. This is just my late vacation. [tearfully laughing emoji]

bookmark          930915 shares          603216 comments        1103748 likes

Su Mucheng V: Oh…so you do know how to use Weibo

            Ye Qiu V: it’s not hard??? lol

            Su Mucheng V: Well the way you avoid it one would think you just didn’t know

            Ye Qiu V: i just forgot i had one

            Su Mucheng V: ……………bro

Wang Jiexi V: Glad to hear it.

Huang Shaotian V: >:(

nightmaresandnostalgia: congrats on your first weibo post god ye! Wishing you the best, hope you’re doing well and those rumors about health issues aren’t true

            Ye Qiu V: lol they’re not

            nightmaresandnostalgia: HOLY SHIT GOD YE SPOKE TO ME I AM BLESSED hello!!!!!!!!!!!!

            Ye Qiu V: ‘sup

            Crying [YQ ily]: @nightmaresandnostalgia can i be you

Stirfryyy: THIS MAN ACTUALLY REMEMBERED HE HAS A WEIBO ACCOUNT

            Nobody’s Gift: I KNOW I’M SO SHOOK

Adrift: I told y’all he’d be back, y’all didn’t believe me, well what do you have to say now

Fading Winter: ye qiu!!! will you come back to ee!!!

            Realasrealgets: w/ sun xiang there? lol keep dreaming

Eating-Buns: THE GOD HAS SPOKEN THE END IS NIGH BUT I’M GLAD I WITNESSED THIS BEFORE I DIED

            Shameless Drunk: +1 lmfao

            Crying [YQ ily]: +2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [heart emoji]x2930129

Vision of Disaster: GOD WHERE ARE YOUUU!!!!

            Beautifulfromeveryangle: oh no it’s you

            Christmas Event Madness in Server 10???

[ Meandering Shadows - 25 Dec 2022 #1 ]

Is it just me or have the guilds teamed up with lord grim and his crew

[ The One True Bro - 25 Dec 2022 #2 ]

You know, sometimes I’m tempted to buy a 10th server account card just to see all these shenanigans unfold.

[ Love Being in Love - 25 Dec 2022 #3 ]

@The One True Bro lol nobody’s stopping you! come over pal :D

@Meandering Shadows it really does seem that way, they’re getting so much stuff v.v

merry chrismas btw!

[ Unforgiveness - 25 Dec 2022 #4 ]

When will Lord Grim and Roaring Tiger and the rest leave for HD?? I’m so tired of them making me question my sanity. [sobbing emoji]

GLORY’S HOTTEST TOPICS

            Ye Qiu posts on Weibo!!! Omg

            All-Stars Event!

            Who is Lord Grim…

            Choosing the right class for YOU @10thservernoobs

            Ye Qiu Status

            Predictions for All-Stars

            Heavenly Domain Wild Boss Tracker

            All About the Christmas Event! (Merry Christmas!)

            Excellent Era’s declining performance (playoffs or nah?)

            Ye Qiu to rejoin pro scene in s9?

Chapter Text

With only about five hours of sleep under his belt, Ye Xiu woke up early in the afternoon to eat, shower, and get on a plane to attend an event he considered largely pointless.

The All-Stars had been the bane of his existence for several years, and it appeared that the one time he wasn’t required to go, he was going to be dragged along anyway. Whether this was karma or merely fate was unclear, but either way, Chen Guo appeared to be the instrument through which his divine punishment would be carried out.

She meant well, Ye Xiu knew she did, but why was it that even her generosity was dangerous?

Tang Rou, already perfectly put together and ready to go, gave him a worried look as he slunk to the bathroom.

Chen Guo snorted, her eyes following his figure pitilessly. “You’d think we were escorting that guy to prison or something.” She was busy arranging their quick lunch on the breakfast table. Airplane food was a cruelty no one should be subjected to, not even Ye Xiu.

After dragging her suitcase from her room and setting it near the door beside Chen Guo’s, Tang Rou sedately went over to help. Between the two of them, they made quick work of the dishes—it helped that Chen Guo hadn’t gone overboard with the takeout this time. They sat, prepared to wait patiently for Ye Xiu to come out, but it had hardly been fifteen minutes since he went in and he was already emerging.

Chen Guo’s gaze swept over his wet hair and thrown-on clothes incredulously. “Don’t tell me that was enough time for you to take a shower?” she said.

Ye Xiu pulled out a chair and joined them, appearing scarcely more awake than when he’d walked out of his room. “Of course it was. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“He always takes quick showers,” Tang Rou said, popping some rice in her mouth. “Though this might be a new record.”

“If we want to get there in time, we better eat quickly and go, because airports are troublesome,” Ye Xiu advised them dully.

“Been to a lot of airports?” Chen Guo asked, curious.

“Yeah, I had to travel a lot for work,” Ye Xiu said, tone dismissive. He devoured his food at a truly frightening speed, but somehow managed to look as if he was taking his time; he ate very neatly.

“Oh, to compete?” Tang Rou asked.

“Right.”

Chen Guo perked up. “Does that mean you’ve been to Shanghai? To Samsara’s stadium?”

“Yup.”

“Fantastic!” Chen Guo smacked the table excitedly, startling her companions. “Then that means you can be our guide, yeah?”

Ye Xiu shrugged. “Sure. It’s not like I was going to let us get lost…”

Chen Guo narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You know, I wouldn’t have thought you would, but now that you mention it—”

“Oh, please,” Ye Xiu muttered at his food. “I’m not going to prolong this any more than necessary.”

“Would it kill you to be a little more enthusiastic?”

Tang Rou coughed into her napkin.

Chen Guo checked her watch instinctively and decided she had better shut up and eat. Ye Xiu and his attitude could be addressed later.

The rest of their short lunch passed by in relative silence, and while Ye Xiu went to go fetch his things and call them a taxi, Chen Guo and Tang Rou quickly washed and put away the used dishes.

“I really don’t want to come home to dirty dishes in three days,” Chen Guo muttered, wiping down the counter. “Do you think the leftovers can last until we get back? Damn, I’m pretty sure birds eat more than Ye Xiu.”

Tang Rou hummed. Ye Xiu really did eat too little, and it always resulted in leftovers. If she were the type of woman who concerned herself with these things, she would have been embarrassed at how her appetite seemed larger than his. “You could just leave it for the employees.”

“Meh…” Chen Guo just stuffed the leftovers in the fridge; she couldn’t be bothered to deliver the containers to the employee lounge.

The three eventually convened in the doorway, luggage in hand. Chen Guo gazed at their shared apartment one last time and, apparently satisfied, marched out and down the stairs resolutely. Tang Rou followed without hesitation, while Ye Xiu only sighed and locked the door properly behind them.

“Oh, Ye Xiu, lock the door!” Chen Guo’s voice echoed from the staircase.

Ye Xiu sighed again. He was glad he had Su Mucheng and Han Wenqing’s company to look forward to, because otherwise these three days could very well become the longest of his life.

* * *

The flight to Shanghai was like pretty much every other flight Ye Xiu had ever taken. The only one among them who seemed less familiar with aerial travel was Chen Guo, who plastered herself to the window for the flight’s duration.

Within an hour of landing, they were in yet another taxi and on their way to Samsara’s stadium.

Of course, the closer they got, the worse the traffic became, and the more impatient Chen Guo grew. Sitting between Ye Xiu and Tang Rou in the back of the car, she was almost bouncing in her seat.

“Calm down a bit, Guoguo…” Tang Rou said helplessly, eyeing Chen Guo like she was a bomb bound to explode at any moment.

“I’m perfectly calm,” Chen Guo denied, squinting anxiously out the windows. “Are we there?”

“Almost,” Ye Xiu said. He leaned forward to give some instructions to their driver.

Chen Guo subtly turned to Tang Rou and murmured, “Wow, he really is familiar with this place.”

“Did you think he was lying?” Tang Rou asked, equally quiet.

“Well, no, but I didn’t he’d be in a position where he could travel to cities like this.”

Tang Rou blinked slowly and didn’t reply. She studied Ye Xiu’s elegant profile as he spoke to the driver, then turned her gaze elsewhere.

Evening had stolen over Shanghai long ago, but the illumination was more than enough to see the streams of people flowing down the sidewalks, moving almost entirely as a whole. They seemed to be carrying signs and things of the kind, and some were outfitted in strange, vibrantly colored clothes that peaked out from beneath their coats. Men and women alike were mixed in the crowd, the majority ranging from teenagers to middle-aged adults.

Tang Rou was fascinated by the sight. She had been to all kinds of events throughout her life, but never one quite like this.

Suddenly, Ye Xiu said, “Okay, would you mind if we hopped out here? This traffic is too much.”

Hearing that, Chen Guo clapped her hands together. “Yeah, we don’t want to be late! Here…” She paid the driver hastily and, with some words of thanks, the three of them exited the taxi and joined the river of Glory fans.

The tide took them directly to the stadium, which wasn’t at all far from where they’d stepped out of the car. It was lit up with piercing white and yellow lights that slowly roamed over the building’s surface in randomized patterns. A few pierced the dark sky like beacons, seeming to draw the attention of the entire city.

It was Chen Guo’s first All-Star event and she could hardly believe she had waited so long to participate in one. Just standing outside was enough to send her heart beating almost out of control.

She threw her arm around Tang Rou’s shoulders. “Rourou, I’m so glad you came with me!”

Tang Rou patted her reassuringly. “Thanks for inviting me.”

Standing slightly behind them, Ye Xiu’s eyebrow twitched. If Chen Guo was just going to forget about him, why invite him in the first place…

Inside, the atmosphere was energetic and anticipatory, the chatter of thousands of people drowning out their individual voices. Cameras zipped back and forth high above the teeming crowd, but the stage was vast and empty.

Ye Xiu actually paused for a moment when he saw it, a strange expression flashing across his face. “Heh.”

Amazingly enough…he didn’t think he’d ever been on this side of the equation. He was closer to the stage than he’d been in a month, yet never had it appeared so distant.

Should he feel bitter or grateful?

They eventually found their way to their seats: Area C, Row 19. Chen Guo chose to sit between Ye Xiu and Tang Rou; she felt it was only fair for both of them to be subject to her inevitable fangirling.

Maybe she should have been more apologetic about that, but she wasn’t.

“Fifteen minutes!” she exclaimed excitedly, staring at the time displayed on one of the screens. The other screens showed various things, from player interviews that had been held as the pros were arriving, to the highlights of the season up to this point.

The highlights were definitely focused on Samsara’s matches in particular, but as the hosts, that was to be expected. Whatever team hosted this event always leaped at the chance to show off. It had become a defining trait of the All-Stars, like the way Ye Qiu always hid backstage.

“If you wanna go get water or snacks or something, you should do that now,” Ye Xiu suggested idly, more or less collapsed in his seat.

“Hmm…” Chen Guo thought about it. She was a little bit hungry, and she often did get peckish when she watched TV, so maybe that could apply here? After all, the event would go on for hours.

“Okay, do you guys want anything?” she asked, already standing.

“I’ll have some chips and a soda,” Tang Rou said. “Any kind is fine.”

“I’ll take a water bottle,” Ye Xiu added.

Chen Guo nodded cheerfully and made her way back toward the entrance, where the stadium offered various food and beverages. She figured they must all be ludicrously overpriced, but buying overpriced things was part of the experience.

In Chen Guo’s absence, Tang Rou scooted over to sit in her seat, right next to Ye Xiu. Ye Xiu raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, expression bored.

Tang Rou smiled a bit. “Are we going to meet Mumu and Brother Tiger here?”

Ye Xiu blinked. “Probably… Why?”

“I just wanted to know if you guys have made any plans,” she said, “and if Guoguo is included in them.”

“Dunno what to tell you,” Ye Xiu said, shrugging. “It depends on when they can get away to come see us. As for the boss, I don’t see why not to include her.”

That was kind of a lie. Ye Xiu could see all kinds of reasons why not, her probable heart attack at the sight of Su Mucheng up close foremost among them. But hey, maybe she’d give him a raise if he introduced her to her idol.

Except she’d likely deduct his pay right afterward for bringing her face-to-face with Han Wenqing. It was a not-so-mysterious mystery of science, the way Han Wenqing’s face always led to the immediate loss of somebody’s money.

Tang Rou was giving him a strange look. “You don’t mind if she learns your secret?”

“My secret?” he asked blankly.

“That you’re Ye Qiu,” she clarified, instinctively lowering her voice.

Ye Xiu merely stared at her. “…Huh. How long did it take you to figure that out?”

“Not long,” Tang Rou said with a sly smile. “Mumu coming over really made me wonder, and the evidence only piled up.”

Ye Xiu chuckled.

“You don’t seem to mind that I know,” Tang Rou observed. “You weren’t trying to hide, either. I don’t understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Why you’ve been concealing yourself so diligently for all these years if getting found out doesn’t matter to you. Why even have two names?”

Ye Xiu shook his head in bemusement. He reached automatically for a cigarette, but then remembered he wasn’t allowed to smoke here. “I can’t tell you that.”

Tang Rou paused, but ultimately accepted this. “All right. But can I tell Chen Guo? Do you want to…surprise her?”

“It’s up to you,” Ye Xiu said, still bemused. “It doesn’t make much of a difference to me.” Unless it pissed her off, he supposed, but chose not to say.

Tang Rou grinned. “I can already see her reaction.”

He laughed quietly. “It’s a good thing Su Mucheng is so accommodating of her fans.”

“What about you? She’ll fangirl over you, too, you know.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure about that. She might just be disappointed.”

“Ah.” Tang Rou thought about it, studying Ye Xiu. It couldn’t be said that he and Chen Guo got along splendidly, but their interactions weren’t unfriendly. As much as Ye Xiu infuriated Chen Guo and as much as Chen Guo exhausted Ye Xiu, she would nonetheless call their relationship a good one. They’d been living together for a month now and still hadn’t killed each other, after all.

However, it was true that Ye Xiu wasn’t as glorious a figure as many of his fans might expect. Tang Rou had researched Ye Qiu and his lauded accomplishments once she’d uncovered the truth, obvious as it was, and it was admittedly mind-boggling that the Ye Xiu she knew could do so many things before he even hit twenty.

The Ye Xiu she knew was dry and a little jaded and very, very shameless. He was also friendly and approachable and strangely open even as he revealed next to nothing about himself. He had an incredibly sharp wit and an intimidating mind; Tang Rou often felt that, if he hadn’t chosen to dedicate himself to gaming, he could have done just about anything and been successful at it. But he made his choices and was pretty unapologetic about them, and while that unwavering confidence inspired a little doubt, the dedication and drive behind it was inspirational.

In short, no matter how Tang Rou thought about it, Ye Xiu didn’t fit the image of Ye Qiu. She would have expected someone overwhelmingly arrogant, or perhaps a shut-in who didn’t know anything about the world outside of Glory. But Ye Xiu wasn’t so simple: He was a person like any other, complex and replete with unknowable stories and motivations. He could be made into anything by his fans, but he would always remain himself.

“I don’t think she would be unreasonable, though,” Tang Rou replied eventually, returning to the present. “You don’t have any obligation to be who your fans want you to be.”

“Clearly not,” Ye Xiu said dryly, “but do my fans know that?”

“Would you change for them?”

“Nope,” he answered promptly. “I always just wanted to play Glory. Fans, publicity, money, none of that really factored into it.”

Tang Rou nodded slowly. “I believe…Guoguo could understand that.”

Ye Xiu was silent. He knew Chen Guo could understand that—that her image of her idol might not match with the reality of who he was—but the rest of it… It would be hard for many people to understand. He checked the forums occasionally and all the discussions on there; he knew what people thought of his sudden departure. That it was irresponsible, unprofessional, heartless. It was still only a minority, since there was too little information to fuel their speculation, but even so…

Ye Xiu had never spared much consideration for the opinions of fans and still didn’t, but he knew how important those opinions could be.

“You guys!”

Ye Xiu and Tang Rou looked up. Chen Guo had returned, but rather than drinks and snacks, all she bore was a frustrated expression.

“What happened?” Tang Rou asked as she moved back to her seat.

Chen Guo collapsed in the chair, her frustration turning to distress. “You have no idea how long the lines are. I think there were literally brawls going on here and there. Somebody shoved me!”

“Did you punch them?” Ye Xiu asked, half-curious and half-afraid.

“No, but I wanted to,” Chen Guo replied, crossing her arms beneath her chest with a disgusted sound. “Anyway, we’re starting soon and I didn’t wanna miss anything, so I came running back. Sorry I couldn’t get what you wanted.”

Ye Xiu waved his hands dismissively. Tang Rou only smiled, patting Chen Guo’s shoulder in comfort. “It’s fine, we’ll live,” she told her.

Suddenly, the lights began to dim one by one and the screens faded to black. An impersonal voice echoed throughout the stadium: “The event will be starting in five minutes. Please take your seats.”

* * *

“Without further ado, let’s greet our first challenger! Dai Yanqi from Thunderclap, please come onto the stage!”

The seats closest to the stage were reserved for the pro players. They were separated from the rest of the stadium’s occupants by a comfortable amount of space, which was filled with security guards and cameramen. Despite this being a celebration of Glory’s most popular twenty-four players, as voted by the fans, every team and their components were required to attend, barring extreme circumstances. That meant all of Glory’s two hundred or so pro players were gathered in a single place, something that only happened once a year.

Dai Yanqi was just another distant figure among a whole lot of them. It was only when she stood up and stepped onstage that everyone could see her clearly.

She wasn’t a shy rookie, this Dai Yanqi, and waved her hands at the crowd as she approached the host. Even though nobody considered her an outstanding player by any means, she was still a female pro: a rarity in Glory’s competitive scene. She received a fair deal of attention.

After greeting her, the host passed her the microphone. Unhesitatingly, Dai Yanqi announced the name of the player she wanted to challenge.

“Oh, Chu Yunxiu!” Chen Guo exclaimed excitedly. She said to Tang Rou, “Chu Yunxiu is the only female captain in the Alliance, did you know that? She’s great.”

Tang Rou nodded. Chu Yunxiu had also caught her eye when she’d been researching the pro scene, and Su Mucheng had spoken of her quite a bit. She’d promised she’d introduce them someday; Tang Rou rather looked forward to it.

Nobody could turn down a challenge, so Chu Yunxiu followed Dai Yanqi onstage. Her interactions with Dai Yanqi were warm; it was obvious she was used to being held up as an idol for girl gamers.

The following match didn’t really stir the crowd up, as it was just a perfunctory junior-senior exchange. Dai Yanqi lost, predictably, but it was obvious she didn’t care either way. She beamed at Chu Yunxiu when they left the player booths and even received a hug from her idol. The host only had some flowery and ultimately meaningless things to say in relation to this challenge.

What did stir the crowd up was the fact that the new projection technology had come into play yet again—and it had even been used to display a live match!

Chen Guo was wide-eyed with amazement. “What a great time to be alive, huh?”

Ye Xiu chuckled. Tang Rou said, “I wonder if they’ll be able to integrate this with the season’s competitive matches?”

Chen Guo could hardly stand to think about it. Her hand rose to her chest, eyes distant as she imagined what spectating a match live might be like. “Holy shit… Wait, who’s next? I wasn’t listening.”

The next challenger received even more attention than Dai Yanqi, and this time it was for a more genuine reason. Gao Yingjie had been lauded as Tiny Herb’s pride and joy since the beginning of the season, and now he was going onstage for the first time.

Chen Guo turned to Ye Xiu. “Is he any good, do you think?”

Ye Xiu knew Gao Yingjie was quite a talented rookie; he’d dueled with him plenty of times by now. But he couldn’t really come out and say that, so he only shrugged and said, “Watch and see.”

The applause was thunderous when Gao Yingjie stepped up, loud enough to drown out his soft voice even with the microphone.

“Ah, Little Gao, please say that again, louder this time!” the host said as gently as possible.

“I want to challenge my team’s captain, Wang Jiexi, because I…” His words practically faded into the distance, overtaken by the stadium’s noisiness yet again.

Ye Xiu shook his head in exasperation. This kid hadn’t gained an ounce of confidence even after all the practice they did together. He was sure he had commended Gao Yingjie on his skill before.

Chen Guo found the whole display rather endearing. What an adorable kid, honestly.

“Let’s see how much you’ve improved, Little Gao,” Wang Jiexi said to his junior upon reaching the stage, his expression serious but his voice reassuring.

Gao Yingjie offered a tremulous smile. The cameras had all zoomed in on his face, and his anxiety was clear to see.

Poor little guy, Chen Guo thought. “I hope Wang Jiexi goes easy on him.”

In reality, everyone expected matches like Dai Yanqi and Chu Yunxiu’s; this kind of respectful junior-senior interaction was pretty much the whole point of the Rookie Challenge. Of course every Glory fan wanted to see an exciting battle, but the Rookie Challenge wasn’t a real competitive match, with all the stakes that involved. There was no need to go all out; most players didn’t even use their professional accounts.

Yet Gao Yingjie and Wang Jiexi went all out and then some.

While everyone watched, stunned at the unanticipated ferocity of the battle, Ye Xiu could only sigh. He had noticed that Wang Jiexi hadn’t added in all of his substitute account’s skill points, which meant…he was planning to lose in order to give Gao Yingjie a much-needed confidence boost.

Unlike most professionals of his age and skill, this kid was incredibly modest. He didn’t recognize that he had real talent, the kind of talent that would earn him godlike renown in the future, so he found it difficult to cope with the fans’ expectations of him. If Ye Xiu, who had only fought some matches with him in the Arena, realized this, then surely Wang Jiexi did, too.

Wang Jiexi had had an interesting start to his pro career. Fresh out of training camp, he was introduced not only as Tiny Herb’s ace player, but also its captain. Such a debut was unprecedented and so far unmatched, especially considering that Wang Jiexi had been an extremely successful rookie.

He and Gao Yingjie were very different people. Perhaps everyone wanted Gao Yingjie to be just as amazing as Wang Jiexi, but Wang Jiexi merely wanted him to be prepared. To pave his successor a smoother road, he was even willing to lose to him here.

Ye Xiu couldn’t say if he’d do the same. He thought wistfully of Qiu Fei and what might have happened if he had been allowed to continue as he was in Excellent Era.

However, Wang Jiexi’s actions weren’t purely for Gao Yingjie’s sake—he was looking out for the future of Tiny Herb. Maybe Ye Xiu had trouble putting himself in Wang Jiexi’s place because he had long ago accepted that his future and Excellent Era’s were no longer one and the same.

The match ended, to the shock of almost everyone present, with Gao Yingjie’s victory. When he and his captain met at the center of the stage once again, his expression was one of disbelief and faint horror and perhaps the tiniest bit of joy.

The host didn’t know what to do except to compliment their performance. “An amazing battle…”

Judging by the roar of the crowd, he wasn’t the only one thinking this. Though most had expected Wang Jiexi to win, it had still been an incredible match. Even the pros were wildly applauding.

Chen Guo, naturally, was no exception. To think she had even asked if Gao Yingjie was as good as he was hyped up to be—hell, he was even better! She clapped without restraint, a grin on her face.

But then she noticed that a certain someone had decided to give a standing ovation.

“Sit down, sit down!” Chen Guo urged, tugging on Ye Xiu’s arm. They were drawing strange looks for the umpteenth time tonight.

Ye Xiu remained standing for a while nonetheless, but he did sit down once Wang Jiexi and his protege walked off the stage. Gao Yingjie’s expression on the screens was bright; the recognition of his captain in this moment was likely everything he could have asked for.

Ye Xiu was happy for the kid.

But then the host introduced the next challenger.

“Let’s welcome another rookie from Tiny Herb, Qiao Yifan!”

He had a bad feeling about this.

Ye Xiu had never actually seen Qiao Yifan, but the teenager who strode onto the stage looked…pretty much exactly how he’d imagined. He had a meek yet earnest expression and big blue eyes stuck permanently at the “help me” setting. The Tiny Herb team jacket he wore seemed too big on him, making him appear even smaller than he was.

Nobody recognized him. Like Gao Yingjie, Qiao Yifan had never appeared in an official match, but unlike Gao Yingjie, he’d never really been mentioned by his club. His name was on the team members list and that was about it.

Chen Guo was visibly confused. “Has he ever been onstage before…? Who is this? What class does he play?”

Tang Rou also had a feeling of sorts and looked to Ye Xiu. However, his expression gave nothing away; he stared steadily at the stage and ignored all else.

She had known the One Inch Ash they played with was called Qiao Yifan for a while now; nobody in their in-game party really made a secret of it. She had been surprised to learn that One Inch Ash was apparently a pro player as well, since that would mean he wouldn’t want his name bandied about, but now she understood: He wasn’t well known enough for it to make a difference.

In fact, he was practically invisible.

She really wanted to ask Ye Xiu what was going on, but with Chen Guo between them, there was no good way to do so. She turned back to the stage.

“The senior I want to challenge is Li Xuan.”

If Ye Xiu had been any other person, he would have sunk back into his seat and covered his eyes. As it was, he merely sighed, helpless to do anything for this student of his.

Well, if Qiao Yifan was brave enough to challenge Li Xuan and even expect something good to come of it, then Ye Xiu could bear witness.

Needless to say, the outcome of the match did not surprise him.

Even as Li Xuan and Qiao Yifan left the stage, the latter obviously despondent, Ye Xiu stood up and said, “I’m going to the bathroom.”

Chen Guo blinked at this sudden announcement. “Eh? Why didn’t you go before?”

Ye Xiu didn’t reply and instead quietly slipped away, disappearing into the back of the stadium.

Chen Guo craned her neck to stare after him. “That guy is acting a bit strange.”

Tang Rou managed a smile. “He usually is…” She had noticed that Qiao Yifan hadn’t actually sat back down, but vanished somewhere on his own. It didn’t take a genius to guess where Ye Xiu was going.

She wished him luck.

* * *

Far away from any bathrooms, Ye Xiu navigated the passageways of the outermost ring of the stadium, avoiding any staff members. The dim hallways were more familiar to him than they had any right to be, but years avoiding the spotlight resulted in his knowledge of these shadows.

He found Qiao Yifan close to one of the exits, standing in a circle of brightness and leaning against a frail-looking metal rail. His gaze was faraway; he was completely oblivious to Ye Xiu’s near-silent approach.

As Ye Xiu drew nearer, he saw the tears gleaming on Qiao Yifan’s cheeks.

He took a breath, stopped just short of where the light reached, and said, “You were too hasty.”

His words were heavy against the silence: a stone tossed into a still pond, sending ripples across its flawless surface. Qiao Yifan jolted slightly and lifted his head to glance around, confused, but he only saw his company when he stepped out of the blackness.

He was even more puzzled when he realized he didn’t recognize this man. “Are you…talking to me?”

“Who else?” the man asked. He walked over to Qiao Yifan and leaned against the railing casually, pale eyes turned in the direction of the exit. “Were you planning to leave?”

“No,” Qiao Yifan answered honestly. Why was he humoring a stranger? He had no clue, but it was hardly the stupidest thing he’d done today. “I just got lost. I, um.”

The man faced him, raising an eyebrow. “You what?”

“I…made a mistake. I wanted to be alone.” Qiao Yifan said this a bit pointedly.

The man smiled humorlessly. He looked like he was in his twenties, even though his face was washed out and his overall appearance was a bit ruffled.

“We all make mistakes. Like I said, you were too hasty this time. I know what you were trying to do—you wanted to use this stage to show off your ability as a Phantom Demon. But you went too far with your opponent, no? You actually chose Li Xuan. What were you thinking?”

For some reason, Qiao Yifan flushed. At a loss, he explained, “I want to play as a Phantom Demon, so…”

“If you wanted to learn from and greet your senior, then choosing Li Xuan would have obviously been a fine choice. But if you wanted to prove yourself as a skilled Phantom Demon, then Li Xuan was the one person you should have left alone.”

Qiao Yifan opened his mouth, then closed it again. His mind was strangely blank, his eyes unblinking as he stared at this oddly familiar stranger.

“In the entirety of the Professional Alliance, no one is more familiar with Phantom Demons than Li Xuan. Of course you’d be overpowered—you’re displaying your slight skill in front of a master. How could you even show a tenth of your strength?”

“I…” Qiao Yifan wanted to say something, but there was nothing he could say. The man was absolutely right.

“Besides that, Phantom Demons are most valuable in a team. It’s difficult to showcase your team awareness and mechanics in a PVP like the Rookie Challenge. Additionally, you still have very little experience. Not even a month of practice and you want to challenge Li Xuan already?”

Something clicked. “God Ye Qiu?” Qiao Yifan asked disbelievingly.

Ye Xiu was somewhat startled; he’d been speaking to the kid so frankly this whole time and Qiao Yifan had thought he was just some random guy? But he nodded nonetheless.

Qiao Yifan’s expression was suddenly on the verge of crumpling. His eyes were brimming with emotion, shame foremost among them. “Senior… I’m sorry I disappointed you. You’ve been teaching me and I still—”

“Stop,” Ye Xiu ordered. He put a hand on Qiao Yifan’s shoulder, squeezing gently. “I’m not disappointed. I meant it when I said we all make mistakes. Learn from this and move on,” he said firmly.

Qiao Yifan wiped at his eyes and nodded hesitantly. He couldn’t quite meet Ye Xiu’s gaze.

Ye Xiu sighed and didn’t let go of his shoulder. “Look, you don’t need to doubt your ability…but don’t think that you’ll be able to catch anyone’s attention right now. There are quite a lot of talented people out there, but if you want to be noticed by a pro team, then you first need to have, at the very least, some substance. You’re still very far from being an expert at playing a Phantom Demon.

“However, you’re still young, Little Qiao. You still have time to continue practicing, so keep waiting for an opportunity to come. It’s been a month and you want to challenge the number one Phantom Demon? Glory isn’t as simple as you think.”

Now Qiao Yifan just looked embarrassed.

Ye Xiu’s lips quirked and he lifted his hand to pat Qiao Yifan’s head. “Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Yes, I—I understand now. I really was too hasty… I should have thought more about this.” Qiao Yifan ducked his head a little.

Ye Xiu nodded. “You should have, but now you know better. What are you going to do?”

“I’m…going to focus on practicing,” Qiao Yifan said. His tone was a little uncertain at first, but then it grew firmer. “I’m not going to worry about the rest. Just practicing…just working hard is enough.”

“Good. You can do it, Little Qiao.” Ye Xiu patted him one last time and took a step back. “Now, we should return before we’re missed.”

“Are you here with someone, Senior?” Qiao Yifan asked.

“Yeah, a couple of people. Including Soft Mist.”

“Oh… Tell her I said hi. Maybe—well, probably not.”

“Hmm?”

Qiao Yifan smiled sheepishly. “I was going to say that maybe we’ll have time to meet up, but I don’t think so.”

“Who knows, it could happen.” Ye Xiu smiled back. “Now go back to your team. I’m sure your friend is worried.

“Er, right. Thank you, Senior!”

Ye Xiu watched Qiao Yifan disappear into the darkness of the hallways and hoped he wouldn’t get lost again.

He stood where he was for a minute, wondering if he should take this chance to sneak a smoke, but decided it ultimately wasn’t worth it. He straightened up and headed back in the direction he came from.

However, a figure stepped in his way before he could retreat into the shadows. Ye Xiu halted, hands stuffed in his pockets and an excuse on the tip of his tongue.

But the face that greeted him wasn’t that of a stranger.

“I see you found him before I could,” Han Wenqing said, arms crossed over his broad chest.

Ye Xiu stared at him for a moment, his thoughts gone still. Then he blinked and said, “Well, good thing I did. I doubt the kid could have survived one of your lectures.”

“He’s survived them before.”

“Not in person, though.”

Han Wenqing hummed dismissively. His expression was always cold and remote, but his gray eyes were…not as harsh as expected. “Will he be okay?”

Ye Xiu waved a hand. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. You should go back. How did you even get here from that direction, anyway?”

“Sneakily.”

Ye Xiu huffed in amusement. “Have you learned something from me after all these years?”

“It’s possible.”

The two of them walked side by side, avoiding the well-lit corridors. They didn’t say anything, and when it was time for Han Wenqing to make a turn back to the player seats, his parting words were, “Stay out of trouble.”

“Like I’d ever get into any,” Ye Xiu called after him. “I’m too good for that.”

Han Wenqing’s snort echoed down the hallway.

When Ye Xiu sat back down next to Chen Guo, there was still a faint smirk on his face.

“What’s with you?” Chen Guo demanded. “What took you so long? And what’s with that weird smile?” His behavior wasn’t just “a bit” strange, it was entirely strange.

Ye Xiu smoothed out his expression. “There was a line.”

Chen Guo eyed him dubiously, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to question this guy. Better to forget it.

Besides, there were many more interesting things to talk about.

“That Tang Hao from Hundred Blossoms challenged Lin Jingyan. You won’t believe what he said!”

“What’d he say?” Ye Xiu asked obligingly.

“‘The junior succeeds the senior.’ He was damn rude, but he’s kind of kicking Lin Jingyan’s ass right now…”

Ye Xiu regarded the projection as well as the screens and saw that, indeed, Tang Hao was giving Lin Jingyan a run for his money—and that was putting it nicely. They were using their professional accounts; Ye Xiu had no doubt that it was by Tang Hao’s request.

He shook his head. Youths these days…they were all too hasty.

However, it was likely that this time, the junior really would succeed the senior.

Tang Hao’s style reminded Ye Xiu of Han Wenqing’s. Although they played different classes, their direct and ferocious approach to battle was just about the definition of aggressiveness. Ye Xiu himself was an extremely aggressive player, but Battle Mages were different from Brawlers and Strikers. Their style was more restrained, unlike the up-close and personal flair of the Fighter classes.

Lin Jingyan was also aggressive, as a rule, but he was getting on in years while Tang Hao was in the prime of his youth. From his debut last season to the present day, Tang Hao had improved tremendously, such that many wondered if Hundred Blossoms would come to rely on him as their ace player in the absence of Zhang Jiale. Considering the lack of any other outstanding players, including Dazzling Hundred Blossoms’ current controller, Zou Yuan, it was a strong possibility.

The other was that Tang Hao would transfer out, maybe even to take Lin Jingyan’s place.

But that was just speculation. Ye Xiu wasn’t sure which was the likelier outcome, but it could be said that this match might tip the precarious balance Lin Jingyan had been maintaining for a couple of years now, and probably not in his favor.

Tang Hao truly was an incredible rookie—he wouldn’t lose out to Gao Yingjie or Sun Xiang. More than that, he could only continue to improve.

Lin Jingyan could only continue to decline.

In the end, Tang Hao’s vigorous and relentless offense, as well as a few sound tactical decisions here and there, led to his victory. Lin Jingyan put up a good fight, but it just wasn’t enough. Talent, skill, courage, stamina, speed, judgment—Tang Hao had it all.

Ye Xiu sighed softly as the projection faded away and the two met with the host. He felt like he was doing a lot of sighing tonight.

It was just…a little tragic. The older players like Lin Jingyan would soon be gone—Zhang Jiale had already left after yet another loss. How much longer did, say, Han Wenqing have left?

How much longer did Ye Xiu have left?

He had always known this dream of his had an expiration date. He couldn’t keep it up forever, not only because he wouldn’t remain young, but because he had other responsibilities to take into consideration. It made him treasure his time all the more, yet almost a whole season had been taken from him.

Whatever happened, Ye Xiu knew he had to return. He wouldn’t get many more chances to win glory.

“You played well,” Lin Jingyan said to Tang Hao, his expression somewhat strained.

Tang Hao shook his hand, replying, “The junior succeeds the senior.” Then he turned around and left, only pausing to wave to the audience.

The host, who had been holding the microphone between them to capture their words, suddenly felt bad for doing so. He glanced at Lin Jingyan with pity clearly visible in his eyes.

But Lin Jingyan merely smiled, emotions perfectly under control, and stepped off the stage as well. To most of the spectators, he looked ancient, a god defeated. To Ye Xiu, he just looked tired and perhaps a bit lonely.

He wondered how all his old friends were doing. Were they living well? Did they have regrets? Did they long to return to the stage, or had they moved on?

Chen Guo noticed Ye Xiu’s solemn face out of the corner of her eye as she applauded. She leaned closer to him and asked, “Are you a fan of Lin Jingyan’s?”

Ye Xiu smiled at her faintly. “Not exactly.”

Chen Guo had no clue what that meant, but before she could puzzle over it, the host called up the next challenger: Sun Xiang.

Chen Guo rose to her feet and cheered wildly. Ye Xiu and Tang Rou both leaned away from her as their trio once again drew the eyes of almost everyone in their immediate vicinity.

Admittedly, Chen Guo wasn’t the only one freaking out. Most of the stadium’s occupants were more or less losing their minds by the time Sun Xiang announced his intentions.

“I want to challenge Senior Han Wenqing. His Desert Dust against my One Autumn Leaf—for Excellent Era and Tyranny, I want to settle this old grudge,” he said into the microphone, his smile showing far too many teeth.

Ye Xiu’s first thought was, Hoo boy.

* * *

Sun Xiang, Han Wenqing decided, was an uppity, naive little dolt. It wasn’t like he’d ever doubted that, really, especially with the way Su Mucheng complained about his antics in Excellent Era, but dealing with him personally was even more annoying than he’d expected.

The worst part was that Sun Xiang was actually quite skilled. He used One Autumn Leaf very well, keeping up a quick pace that didn’t allow Han Wenqing even a single moment of respite. His attacks were not only aggressive, but well-executed. He could do the kinds of things some pros could only dream of, even after twice as many years of experience. Sun Xiang was undeniably a prodigy.

But he was no Ye Qiu.

With Han Wenqing and Ye Qiu, fighting came as easily as breathing. But it was never easy; there were always twists and turns, new surprises and new takes on the same combos, the same strategies, the same skills. They didn’t have many more ways to improve, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make progress.

In short, fighting Ye Qiu was an experience. Fighting Sun Xiang was a chore.

Then again, that might just be because Han Wenqing didn’t appreciate his desire to “settle this old grudge” between their teams. As if Sun Xiang could even begin to understand the intricacies of that so-called grudge. As if he had a stake in a history that had nothing to do with him.

It was beyond arrogant. And after that cocky display from Tang Hao earlier, Han Wenqing hadn’t been feeling generous to begin with.

The match dragged on. Their characters’ health bars dwindled. Han Wenqing looked for an opportunity, Desert Dust dodging One Autumn Leaf’s brazen attacks even as he pumped out skills of his own.

Then Sun Xiang decided to recklessly throw a Rising Dragon at him. It was over quickly after that.

Han Wenqing leaned back in his chair tiredly for a moment, gaze fixed on the monitor. He was glad he’d won, especially with Ye Qiu himself watching, but even if he’d lost, it would hardly be the end.

That was why Sun Xiang was naive: for thinking that a single victory in the Rookie Challenge could really prove anything.

Well, maybe it had proved something—just not what he’d wanted it to.

Han Wenqing pulled his account card free of the reader and tucked it in his pocket as he left the player booth. Only the host waited on the stage; Sun Xiang was nowhere to be seen.

Hiding? How pathetic.

The host watched him a little fearfully, a forced smile on his face. Han Wenqing only crossed his arms and listened to the screams of the crowd, his gaze flicking between the replays on the screens and the other player booth.

Sun Xiang appeared at last, almost dragging his feet as he approached them. His body language screamed reluctance, but he still managed to paste on a smile for Han Wenqing.

Han Wenqing merely stared at him coldly. If it had been someone else spouting arrogant words, just beating them would be enough for him. But this kid had taken things much too far.

He turned his gaze onto the host, who was looking nearly as awkward as Sun Xiang. The man handed the microphone over without a word.

Han Wenqing brought it to his lips. “Ha ha.”

Sun Xiang’s light blue eyes widened almost comically.

“The children want a change in dynasties, but they’re still too green,” he said.

The stadium exploded with noise once again, but Han Wenqing ignored it all. His stare was fixed on Sun Xiang.

“You played quite well. Accurately hitting out a Sky Strike from behind is something that few people can do. Amazing.”

Now Sun Xiang looked surprised. Even the host perked up a bit, undoubtedly hoping the atmosphere would become a little warmer with these words, despite how frigidly Han Wenqing delivered them.

The host’s hopes were soon dashed.

“But if it were Ye Qiu, then at the very least, he wouldn’t have missed that Rising Dragon.”

Han Wenqing handed the microphone back and stepped off the stage. He felt the eyes on him, and wondered what Ye Qiu had been thinking as he watched Desert Dust strike One Autumn Leaf down.

Around him, Sun Xiang’s voice emerged again. “I lost today and there’s nothing I can say about it. But tomorrow, that might not be the case!”

Han Wenqing snorted softly as he sat down next to Zhang Xinjie. His vice-captain was peering at him with slightly raised eyebrows.

“What?” he asked.

Zhang Xinjie merely shook his head. The stiffness that permeated the stadium lasted until the conclusion of the event’s first day.

No, Han Wenqing wasn’t even a little sorry.

The pro players soon filed out of their seating area and went down a private passageway reserved especially for them. There were many lounges to accommodate them; two or three teams could fit inside a single one, though most people lingered in the wide hallway, chatting amongst themselves and with their managers as they worked out how and when they would leave, who would be interviewed, who would field reporters’ questions, etcetera.

Su Mucheng drifted away from Excellent Era, as was her habit, and found her way to Chu Yunxiu. Truthfully, she had many friends and acquaintances within the Alliance, and nobody would turn down a chance to chat with her. But Chu Yunxiu was one of those people she considered herself especially close to, and since they would be stuck in the stadium for a while, they might as well make the most of it.

Chu Yunxiu was actually in a conversation with the rookie who’d challenged her, Dai Yanqi. She was quite a few centimeters shorter than the both of them, her smile bright and sweet, and her eyes lit up further when Su Mucheng stepped into her line of sight.

Chu Yunxiu turned around to see what Dai Yanqi was looking at. “Mumu! Hey, have you two met?”

“No.” Su Mucheng smiled and held out her hand. “Hi! You played well today.”

“Thank you…” Dai Yanqi said, apparently at a loss for words. She hastily ducked her head and took Su Mucheng’s hand.

“Call me Sis Mu if you want,” Su Mucheng said with good humor.

Chu Yunxiu laughed and threw an arm around Su Mucheng’s shoulder. “So, how’s it going? Did you or did you not laugh gleefully inside when Sun Xiang got his ass handed to him?”

Dai Yanqi tilted her head. “Oh, do we not like Sun Xiang?”

“Well, we don’t,” Chu Yunxiu told her, “but that’s mostly because he makes poor Mumu’s life very difficult.”

Su Mucheng nodded sagely. “It’s true, he does.”

“You should go thank Han Wenqing or something,” Chu Yunxiu said, snickering. “Maybe buy him a thank-you gift. Or at least a card. ‘Hey, thanks for kicking ass! Love, your number one admirer Mucheng.’”

“Good lord, no.” Su Mucheng shoved at her playfully. “Besides, he already knows I’m grateful.”

“Man, what kinds of things do you two talk about? Got any good gossip for us?” Chu Yunxiu let go of Su Mucheng and wrapped an arm around Dai Yanqi instead. “C’mon, let’s give Mumu the puppy eyes. Maybe she’ll share.”

“I will not,” Su Mucheng said with great dignity. “I’ll have you know—”

“Su Mucheng!” a familiar voice called.

Su Mucheng turned to see Liu Hao stomping over, his expression set into an ugly scowl. “We’ll be leaving soon, let’s go!” He stopped right in front of her and crossed his arms imperiously.

Su Mucheng checked her cell phone. “What are you talking about? There’s still fifteen minutes before—”

“Hurry up, Su Mucheng.”

She frowned at him. “What for? If you guys wanna leave early, go ahead; I’ll catch up.”

Liu Hao stared her down. “Stop dawdling, it’s unbecoming of you.”

“Hey, she said she’ll catch up later,” Chu Yunxiu broke in. “Nothing unbecoming about it. Run along now, we’re not finished complaining about our periods.”

Liu Hao’s face twisted in disgust. Dai Yanqi had to cough to conceal her laughter.

“You’re an embarrassment,” he hissed, leaning closer to Su Mucheng’s face. “How long do you think the club is going to tolerate you if you keep acting this way? Without Ye Qiu around to protect you, you’re just—”

“What the hell,” Chu Yunxiu said as she stepped up beside Su Mucheng. “What’s the matter with you?”

Su Mucheng was still frowning. “This really isn’t the place, Liu Hao.”

He pointed his finger in her face. “You don’t get to tell me what to do! I’m the vice-captain. Hurry up and let’s go!”

By now, a number of the other pro players nearby had been alerted to the scene. Their gazes switched between the ladies and Liu Hao, confused and a bit wary.

It was far too public a location. But if Liu Hao insisted on airing dirty laundry…

Su Mucheng was preparing a scathing retort when someone else inserted themselves into the argument.

“What’s going on here?” Han Wenqing demanded coldly.

Oh dear, Su Mucheng thought.

Liu Hao automatically stepped back when he heard that voice, spinning around to face Han Wenqing. A step behind him was Zhang Xinjie, and all around them were the judging gazes of dozens of their colleagues.

Liu Hao suddenly realized that he had messed up.

Han Wenqing glared at him expectantly, obviously waiting for an explanation. But Liu Hao couldn’t think of anything to say besides, “It’s none of your concern, Captain Han.”

Even that was almost too much for him to manage. People didn’t just say those kinds of things to Han Wenqing, as evidenced by the shiver of fear running down all the spectators’ spines.

Han Wenqing’s eyes narrowed. They were supposed to be gray, but right then they looked almost black. “When you start yelling for everyone to hear, it becomes other peoples’ business.”

Liu Hao’s lips twitched as he struggled to formulate a comeback.

“Anyway, you have no business bullying anyone here, vice-captain or not. Who do you think you are, exactly? Do you think you would have that position if Ye Qiu hadn’t left? Even a rookie beat you to captain,” Han Wenqing went on. “You have nothing to brag about.”

Chu Yunxiu’s jaw dropped. Su Mucheng’s and Dai Yanqi’s eyes had gone wide. Liu Hao looked like he was choking on something invisible. Zhang Xinjie just stood there and watched the show along with everyone else, emotionless.

Finally, Liu Hao seemed to regain enough control of himself to grit out, “Do what you want,” to Su Mucheng, and then shoved past the crowd.

Su Mucheng watched him leave blankly. Liu Hao sure knew how to start things, but as for finishing them… Would he ever change? First Ye Xiu, now her.

Her gaze eventually turned to Han Wenqing. He was also staring after Liu Hao’s retreating back.

“What the fuck just happened? What’s his problem?” a sharp voice asked. Huang Shaotian shouldered his way into the bubble surrounding the ladies, Han Wenqing, and Zhang Xinjie.

Han Wenqing turned his glare back on. “Go away.”

Huang Shaotian completely ignored him and planted himself firmly in front of Su Mucheng. “Okay, you jerk, all crazy drama aside, tell me if Ye Qiu came here today. He did, didn’t he? Or maybe he didn’t? Just spit it out, c’mon, I need to know.”

Su Mucheng blinked. What was this now?

“Go away,” she said.

“No! No no no! Answer my question! If you wanna get rid of me, you’ll have to kill me, aaand,” he said hastily, spinning to give Han Wenqing the stink eye, “that’s illegal in real life, in case you didn’t know. I’m just reminding you, or informing you in case you really didn’t know, which would be both hilarious and alarming. Though with a face like that, I’d think killing an innocent person would be right up your alley—”

“Go away,” Chu Yunxiu interrupted exasperatedly. “Can’t you see when death is staring you in the face?” She jerked her chin at Han Wenqing.

Han Wenqing, who was looking particularly murderous, had his sights set firmly on Huang Shaotian. “Scram,” he said.

Huang Shaotian, rather than back down, bristled. “You—”

Yu Wenzhou appeared out of nowhere, smiling politely at everyone as he quickly took Huang Shaotian by the shoulders and turned him around. “Hello, sorry about him. Let’s go, Shaotian, our ride is here.”

“Hey, no, wait! I’m not done! I asked her if—”

“How about tomorrow? Quickly, quickly…”

Once the two of them were gone, the crowd that had gathered also dispersed a bit, looking baffled and uncertain as they did. A particular look from Han Wenqing made them move faster.

“I’ll go see if anything happened with Vice-Captain Liu,” Zhang Xinjie murmured to Han Wenqing before slipping away.

An awkward silence engulfed those remaining. Chu Yunxiu glanced between Su Mucheng and Han Wenqing, then linked her arm through Dai Yanqi’s and abruptly led her away to leave them (relatively) alone.

Su Mucheng took a look around and saw that the closest people were well outside of hearing range. “I’ll say, Captain Han, you sure know how to empty a corridor…”

Han Wenqing didn’t deign to respond. He leaned against the wall near Su Mucheng and said, “Has he been giving you problems?”

“Liu Hao? Not really.”

Han Wenqing gazed at her steadily.

She smiled. “I’m serious. Everything is fine. He’s just irritated because of what happened with you and Sun Xiang.”

“Is he.”

“When Sun Xiang loses face, so does Excellent Era,” Su Mucheng said, still smiling. “I don’t think Sun Xiang is what he was expecting. He must be disappointed that his plans aren’t working out the way he hoped.”

“Hmph.”

Su Mucheng patted his arm reassuringly, not even hesitating where others would have balked. “Thank you for helping out, though. That was all pretty embarrassing.”

“It was embarrassing to watch.”

“Ha ha. So, are you free tomorrow night after the event?”

Han Wenqing paused. “I guess so.”

She nodded. “Well, I don’t know if it will be better to wait until after tomorrow, but let’s do what we can!”

He was staring at her strangely. “What are you talking about.”

“Don’t you want to meet with Ye Qiu and Rourou? Or at least Ye Qiu.”

“Oh.” Another pause. “All right. Let me know.”

“I will!”

They drifted apart soon after that, Han Wenqing presumably going to find his team and Su Mucheng going to find Chu Yunxiu to say a quick goodbye. She’d have to leave with the rest of Excellent Era back to their hotel soon.

Chu Yunxiu was in one of the lounges, sitting sideways in an armchair and tapping away at her phone. Su Mucheng bent to give her a hug.

“Mumu?” Chu Yunxiu said, sitting up properly.

“Yep! I’m about to go, just wanted to say bye. I’ll message you later, okay?”

“Hold on.” Chu Yunxiu grabbed her hand before she could turn around. “Is everything all right? What did you and Han Wenqing talk about?”

Su Mucheng blinked. “Yeah, no problem. I just thanked Han Wenqing for his gentlemanly intervention.”

Chu Yunxiu appeared perplexed. “…Are you sure there’s nothing between you two?”

Su Mucheng was aghast. “Of course not… How many times do I have to say it…”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just a bit weird. You guys became friends out of nowhere.” She stopped to think for a moment. “To be honest, I didn’t think anyone could be friends with Han Wenqing.”

“Of course they can,” Su Mucheng said, a little offended on the poor man’s behalf. “They just have to be…not stupid, preferably? Actually, I don’t know.”

Chu Yunxiu laughed disbelievingly. “You two…”

“Okay, okay, I really have to go.”

“Fine, whatever, good night. Hey, can I call you Tamer of the Beast now?”

“Please don’t. At least not where Han Wenqing can hear you.”

“…Sage advice.”

* * *

            Troubling Rain: SU MUCHENG SU MUCHENG SU MUCHENG

            Troubling Rain: TELL ME IF OLD YE CAME OR NOT I NEED TO KNOW

            Dancing Rain: Why

            Troubling Rain: don’t question it just tell me and i’ll leave you alone i swear, i just need to have a few words with him

            Dancing Rain: You can have a few words with him anytime

            Troubling Rain: HE WON’T REPLY TO ME HE JUST IGNORES ME BECAUSE HE’S A SHITTY PERSON

            Dancing Rain: …

            Dancing Rain: What are you, a little kid? Is senpai not paying attention to you???

            Dancing Rain: Stop being so noisy [weary emoji]

            Troubling Rain: ………………

            Troubling Rain: su mucheng you abSOLUTE FUCKER ANSWER THE QUESTION

            Desert Dust: Don’t worry about tonight

            Demon Subduer: ah…

            Demon Subduer: this is to be expected

            Desert Dust: You’re not obsolete or whatever they’re saying

            Demon Subduer: I think I might be…

            Demon Subduer: I’m considering retiring after this season

            Demon Subduer: might be for the best

            Desert Dust: Don’t be too hasty

            Demon Subduer: thanks for your concern Old Han, but it’s inevitable

            Demon Subduer: our time here has always been limited

            Desert Dust: That’s no reason to give up so soon

            Desert Dust: There’s still a lot you can do

            Demon Subduer: like what?

            Desert Dust: Do you happen to have a spare account lying around

            Desert Dust: Is everything really okay

            Dancing Rain: ??

            Dancing Rain: Yes, I told you

            Dancing Rain: It’s all good

            Desert Dust: …

            Desert Dust: If you say so

            Dancing Rain: I do say so. See you tomorrow, Captain Han sir!

* * *

Su Mucheng lifted her binoculars and scanned the crowd for two familiar faces. It seemed rather unintuitive considering the sheer number of people crammed into the stadium, but she had faith in herself and nothing better to do.

Only a few minutes later, she spotted someone who was also using binoculars—and staring in her direction. She focused the lens carefully to make their face clearer and, strangely enough, it was actually Ye Xiu.

Puzzled, Su Mucheng waved her hand. Tang Rou was sitting to one side of him, and another lady—Chen Guo, she supposed—was between them. At the moment she was leaning close to Ye Xiu, speaking into his ear.

Ye Xiu lowered the binoculars and passed them to his boss. She used them instead and, like Ye Xiu, looked in Su Mucheng’s direction.

Su Mucheng waved again. Chen Guo seemed to jolt with surprise, temporarily pulling the binoculars away to freak out at her companions. Su Mucheng could see the long-suffering in Ye Xiu’s expression even from here. Tang Rou just looked resigned.

Chuckling to herself, Su Mucheng stuffed her binoculars back into her bag and sat properly, her eyes going to the stage.

The second All-Stars event day was the day the audience got to interact with the pros. For that reason, this event day tended to be the most valued by the fans, even if the third event day was the flashiest thanks to the All-Star Competition.

In reality, though, it was a pretty boring affair from the pros’ perspective. Relaxing, but not especially challenging. It was clearly just the Alliance trying to provide some fanservice.

The first competition, Hurdles, had Zhou Zekai as the winner, but that was hardly unexpected. Afterward, the host gave questioning Zhou Zekai a try. “Zhou Zekai, you won this competition. How are you feeling right now?”

“I feel very happy,” Zhou Zekai answered immediately. He even smiled.

Su Mucheng tried not to laugh. Such a pretty face, yet so bad at communication… She felt bad for anyone who tried to seriously woo him.

When the host began introducing the next competition, High Jumps, Su Mucheng prepared herself to go onstage. Just as Zhou Zekai was the main attraction of Hurdles, she was the main attraction of High Jumps.

“Next up is a pro player from Excellent Era. She’s someone we all know and love…Su Mucheng!”

To the thunderous applause and raucous cheering of seemingly the whole stadium, Su Mucheng made her way up to where the host awaited, a practiced smile already on her face.

The host was also all smiles at the sight of her. She didn’t blame him; she was vastly preferable to Zhou Zekai, and also way prettier.

“Mucheng, how do you plan on choosing the four audience members?”

“Let’s do it randomly for now!” she said.

Did she have a plan? She sure did.

The first two audience members were chosen in this manner, a couple of guys who were inevitably dazzled to be near her. Once the second one had come up, Su Mucheng said, “Next, I’m going to switch methods!”

“Oh? What’s your new method, Mucheng? We can…”

She smiled brightly. “Oh, I don’t have a new one. Can I just randomly call out two seats?”

The host was caught off guard. Su Mucheng very happily took advantage of this.

“Hmm… Let’s see. Area C… Row eighteen… Number twenty-one!”

It was Chen Guo’s seat. Su Mucheng had been very careful to study where her pals were sitting—she really couldn’t pass up an opportunity to make Ye Xiu sweat.

“Now, I have an idea,” she continued. “I want to choose one of this person’s neighboring seats. I think it’ll be very fun if we invite people who know each other to come up.”

The host had long ago recovered from the shock of Su Mucheng going off-script and happily played along. “Hmm, Mucheng, that sounds like a great idea. Which seat will you pick? Number nineteen or twenty-three?”

Su Mucheng beamed.

Just to make Ye Xiu sweat some more, she pretended to hesitate over her choice. “Nineteen or twenty-three?” she mumbled, tapping her chin.

“We only have these two choices. Do you want to flip a coin?”

“No need, I’ve already decided.”

“Oh? Which one?”

“I choose…” Su Mucheng drew it out as long as reasonably possible. She was sure the gig must be up by now—Ye Xiu wasn’t that easy to fool, sadly—but she could have fun with it nonetheless. “Number twenty-three!”

This meant Tang Rou would come up as well. Su Mucheng liked playing with her, and this was a good way to introduce her to the stage, even for something so minor.

“Our last two guests have arrived,” the host was saying. The cameras focused on Tang Rou and Chen Guo, their figures on the screen for all to see. “Two very beautiful ladies. Let’s all get to know them!”

Su Mucheng applauded along with everyone else.

The host waved them over. “May I ask your names?”

“Chen Guo!”

“Tang Rou.”

“It seems that you two are exactly what Mucheng wanted,” the host said smilingly. “Did you come here together?”

“Yup, we’re good friends,” Chen Guo replied happily.

More questions were asked, the host milking their beauty for all it was worth. Chen Guo did most of the talking, while Tang Rou just stood beside her and looked gorgeous.

Su Mucheng managed to catch her eye after a minute, and the two exchanged smiles.

“Who’s your favorite pro player?” the host was asking.

“Su Mucheng, of course!” Chen Guo said.

“Oh, is that so? Then how lucky… Mucheng, do you have anything to say to your fan?” The host gestured at Su Mucheng.

Su Mucheng approached readily enough, smiling genuinely at Chen Guo. She held out her hand and Chen Guo hastily took it, beaming.

“I’m so happy to meet you!” she exclaimed.

“I’m happy to meet you, too. How long have you been playing Glory?”

“Five years now. I play as a Launcher, just like you.”

Su Mucheng smiled wider. “Wow, that’s great. Did that choice have anything to do with me?”

Chen Guo laughed, gentle and good-humored. “Oh, it had everything to do with you!”

Even after the host had drifted away to interview the other audience members and the three pros who’d been selected to compete with them, Chen Guo and Su Mucheng continued chatting. Tang Rou also scooted closer to them, her expression as pleasantly placid as ever.

“My friend Tang Rou here is new to Glory; she plays the Battle Mage because of Ye Qiu!”

Su Mucheng greeted Tang Rou like a stranger might. “Aha, so you two are like a duo, huh?”

Chen Guo chuckled a bit. “Oh, well, I hope we might be someday, when she reaches the Heavenly Domain. We haven’t really played together yet…”

“I’m sure you’ll get the chance to. Do you like Glory so far, Tang Rou?”

“I’m enjoying it,” Tang Rou replied warmly.

“I’m glad! Glory is the most fun with friends beside you.”

They didn’t have time to discuss any further. The host called for everyone to take their places and, without further ado, they went.

Tang Rou and Su Mucheng exchanged one last look before parting ways.

Have fun, Su Mucheng mouthed.

You, too.

* * *

Tang Rou left the stage in a bit of a daze, Chen Guo beside her. She wasn’t feeling silly or anything like that, just…lost in thought.

When she and Chen Guo returned to their seats, Ye Xiu was there to greet them. “That must have been fun!” he said laughingly.

“It was very fun,” Chen Guo confirmed, eyes bright and smile wide.

“And comrade Little Tang?” Ye Xiu, pretending to hold a microphone, leaned toward Tang Rou as if to interview her.

She smiled at him automatically. “It really was.”

She wasn’t lying; it had been incredibly fun. More fun than she had imagined. It wasn’t like the battle with that disgraced Sharpshooter had been particular difficult or eye-opening, but working alongside Chen Guo to achieve a victory of sorts, being cheered on by the crowd…

Tang Rou wasn’t the sort of person who sought attention, though she was well used to it what with her background. It was just that the experience onstage had been even more exhilarating than hashing things out in front of the computer at Happy Internet Café’s reception desk. Whether it was because of all the eyes on her or because it meant more when so many people supported her, she didn’t know. She just knew that it had sent her heart pounding.

She wanted to go onstage again.

The next competition, Targets, only caught her attention insofar as Huang Shaotian did—he seemed strangely familiar. After that, she drifted back into her own mind, pondering over her experience.

Truthfully, ever since that fellow Wang Jiexi had offered her a place in Tiny Herb’s training camp, she had been thinking about the possible ramifications of training to become a pro player. Ye Xiu’s experience with the scene, as well as his guidance, had also made her wonder: What was it about this game, this stage, that made for such dedicated individuals?

Ye Xiu, she knew, was single-minded in his approach to Glory. It wasn’t like he didn’t acknowledge the reality of life, but what he did in Glory, he did with intent. To say that he played just for fun would be a mistake of epic proportions.

But his reason… Tang Rou had yet to figure it out. She did enjoy Glory, just as she had told Su Mucheng and Chen Guo, and she thought she could come to enjoy it even more in the future as she discovered new things and climbed to new heights. Still, there had to be some point when there was nothing left to achieve, right?

Would she lose interest then?

Ye Xiu certainly hadn’t, and he could be said to be at the summit of Glory. What title, what award had he not won? Was there anyone above him? Certainly not in China, and maybe not even in the entire world.

The Targets competition drew to a close. A break in programming was announced, so Chen Guo took the chance for a bathroom break. Watching her go, Tang Rou repeated what she’d done yesterday and sat in her seat to speak to Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu blinked at her. “What’s up?”

“Why do you still play Glory after all these years?” she asked promptly.

Ye Xiu blinked again. Rather than brushing off her question or offering some noncommittal answer, he seemed to be really thinking about it.

Tang Rou waited patiently.

Eventually, he said, “I started gaming when I was pretty young. My family had big plans for me, but I didn’t care about any of them. When I learned there were people who gamed professionally, I started thinking about what I could do to begin a career in gaming, but arrived at no easy answer. So…I made some questionable decisions and met other people who had the same goals as me, more or less. It wasn’t easy, but I still felt like I was making progress.

“Then Glory came out, and I thought this could be the game that would change everything for me. And it was.

“I don’t know how to tell you why I still play Glory,” Ye Xiu continued. “At this point, I can’t really imagine doing anything else. I built a dream on this game and made some promises I fully intend to keep. For me, there are many memories and meanings attached to it. I’m sentimental, I suppose. And I love to win,” he added with a sly grin.

Tang Rou mulled that over. It was the most Ye Xiu had ever shared about himself, and while it was so vague as to hardly reveal anything at all, she could understand what he was trying to convey.

That desire to feel something—to feel inspired, to feel accomplished, to feel like you were going somewhere—that was ultimately what drove Ye Xiu. For him, Glory represented these feelings. For others, it might be art, science, charity… Everyone just wanted to do something that made them happy. A professional merely took it to the next level.

Tang Rou remembered when she thought music was it for her. But while she was good at playing instruments, it didn’t make her feel good—it didn’t make her feel much of anything. That she could awe people with her skill seemed like a twisted joke. They would say her performances were so captivating, so moving, not knowing that she herself remained completely unmoved from start to finish.

She felt like the worst fraud when she played music.

But playing Glory… Before Ye Xiu came along, she hadn’t acknowledged people’s compliments of her playing, nor her so-called expert status. She knew she was just winning duels with her hand speed and her basic understanding of how stats and skills worked. It didn’t matter to her, though; it was just a game, and not especially challenging, considering she could win with so little effort.

But then she had all her preconceptions about Glory torn down. Ye Xiu had taught her what real skill was, and it lit a fire within her. At the time, it was barely more than a single candle, but now it had grown into something far wilder, far more brilliant.

Glory, she realized, did make her feel good. Not the technicalities of it, not the dungeons or the maps or the monsters. But the sensation of fighting side-by-side with her friends, working toward a common goal, striving to become better and better everyday, not for the sake of a performance but just to prove her ability to herself—that was something she wasn’t sure she’d get tired of.

“Thank you…I think I understand now. But there’s something else I want to ask you.”

Ye Xiu waved his hand grandly. “Ask away.”

“You’ve already achieved so much, so…why do you still want to come back?”

“There’s no highest, only higher,” Ye Xiu told her. “More championships to win, more players to beat, more records to set. Glory isn’t a static game, either; there are updates, which bring new skills, new strategies, new combos. There is change and innovation. It doesn’t just stop somewhere.”

Tang Rou stared at him. She had never thought of it that way.

Ye Xiu teasingly raised his eyebrows at her. “But don’t worry, Little Tang, you still have a long way to go. You’re not in danger of getting bored any time soon.”

She smiled. “You’re probably right.”

Tang Rou moved back to her own seat even though Chen Guo hadn’t returned yet. But with or without her, the show would go on, as indicated by the gradual dimming of the lights a few minutes later. The audience eagerly watched as the host reappeared.

“Welcome back, everyone! With all the fun we had with the competitions so far, are you excited for the next event?” the host asked.

The stadium responded with whoops and cheers.

“Like the Rookie Challenge, this is a traditional event we’ve held since the very first All-Stars. Are we all familiar with it?”

After observing the crowd’s reactions, the host grinned and said, “I see we are! If you didn’t get the chance to come onstage during the earlier competitions, don’t be too disappointed; you might still win the opportunity to participate in the Player Versus Pro Battles! Who knows if you’ll get lucky? All right, here’s how it works…”

Tang Rou perked up. She had gone up against pro players plenty of times by now—Team Tiny Herb was well-accustomed to kicking her ass—but she never really got tired of it. And she had just been longing for another shot at the stage…

“The instant the electronic screen gives the signal, press on the answering device. Our system can read responses with an accuracy of one-thousandth of a second to determine who pressed it first. Everyone pay attention to the screens, okay? Get ready…!”

Tang Rou focused.

Ding!

She pressed the answering device as quickly as she could, one among thousands. The crowd murmured excitedly as they waited for the result to appear on the screens.

“Area C, row eighteen, number twenty-three!” the host announced once the result was out.

“Congratulations! You have the chance to challenge Du Ming to a one-vee-one.”

“Impressive,” Ye Xiu said. He himself hadn’t pressed the answering device. As someone who’d never gone onstage, he wouldn’t start now.

“I guess it’s luck?” Tang Rou hadn’t really expected to be the first, either.

“Maybe. Good luck up there,” Ye Xiu said.

“Thanks,” she replied, standing. Once again she made her way to the stage, noting the surprised faces of the other audience members.

The host’s face also lit up with recognition as she approached. “Ha ha, who would’ve thought that our winner would be an old friend! But we’ll be going on as planned. You still have to introduce yourself, even though everyone already knows you.”

When he raised the microphone to her, Tang Rou obligingly said, “My name is Tang Rou and I play as a Battle Mage.”

“She has only played Glory for a month and she’s already gotten the chance to play with pros up on stage. Not only that, but she’s about to get another! Miss Tang, your luck is unmatched!”

Tang Rou just smiled. If only he knew… “I’m very honored.”

“Du Ming will be your opponent. Du Ming, do you have anything to say to this challenger?”

Du Ming grinned in a practiced manner and shook Tang Rou’s hand. “Play well and good luck,” he said. Though his expression didn’t give anything away, his eyes were shining a little; even he couldn’t help but be dazzled by Tang Rou’s beauty.

Tang Rou, well used to it, only nodded politely. “Thank you. Let’s have a good match.”

“Let’s see how you’ll do, Miss Tang!” the host said, taking back the mic. “Oh, right, do you still need an account card?”

“I do, yes.”

“Is the one you used previously okay?”

“That’s fine!”

Tang Rou took the offered account card and then went to the player booth assigned to her. Du Ming gave her a last, lingering look before he walked away to his own booth.

In short order, their match began.

* * *

“Do you know that girl?”

Han Wenqing only nodded, not moving his eyes from the screens. The projection was lovely, but for a professional, it was easier to judge a battle from the perspective of the player.

Zhang Xinjie leaned forward a bit, his gaze also pointed toward the screens. The movements of the avatars were reflected in his glasses, hiding his expression. He was the kind of person whose tells all had to do with his eyes. “She has potential, but she’s still too new to this.”

“How far do you think she could go?” Han Wenqing asked absently.

“With more training and experience, quite far. Even though she’s up against a professional, she’s not hesitating to attack. She has a fierce mentality…not unlike you, I suppose.”

Han Wenqing huffed, amused. “Not unlike him”? It wasn’t the first time someone had compared him and Tang Rou. Even though he knew they were very different people, he had to admit they were right about them having similar mentalities.

“She’s a quick learner,” Han Wenqing confided, “and Ye Qiu is personally teaching her.”

Zhang Xinjie considered that for a moment, then nodded. “Ye Qiu is the best person to teach her. He’s also a very aggressive player, but he can teach her to be thoughtful, as well. She’s really too reckless.”

“Too courageous,” Han Wenqing corrected him. “She understands the difference between herself and pros. She just doesn’t let it stop her.”

“Does she want to be a pro, then?”

“That, I don’t know.”

They sat quietly as the rest of the pros exploded with chatter, all of them lamenting Du Ming’s inevitable loss and admiring Tang Rou’s amazing hand speed. Han Wenqing wasn’t too sure this loss was inevitable; he rather hoped Du Ming would turn it around, for his own sake if nothing else, but he also looked forward to Tang Rou’s victory, even if that victory was mostly a result of her nimble fingers rather than her own skill.

But in the end, Tang Rou emerged as the unlikely winner, shocking the audience.

“Du Ming really dropped the ball,” Han Wenqing growled, disgusted. “She’s good, but not that good.”

“She was determined to win,” Zhang Xinjie pointed out. “Amazing things happen when one is determined.”

Han Wenqing grunted, looking around at his team. Bai Yanfei and Yu Tian were the only ones who’d stuck around; the others had dispersed to gossip with the other surrounding players. This whole section of seats was turning into a huge mess. He just wished they’d all calm down and shut up.

“They’re fighting another round.”

“What?” Han Wenqing whipped his head back around to face the stage. “Again? Is that allowed?”

“I don’t know, but Du Ming doesn’t seem willing to let this defeat go so easily.”

That fool… Han Wenqing really had no words. He had never had a strong impression of Du Ming as a person—his Blade Master was memorable because of his fighting style, but otherwise, he was just an ordinary guy. Now, though, Han Wenqing was looking down on him. Way, way down.

Du Ming won the second round. Han Wenqing shook his head a bit, casting a very judgmental stare in Samsara’s direction. He would have liked to say that Du Ming had won back some dignity for himself and his team, but he really doubted it.

And then they just had to play a third round. Han Wenqing could no longer help himself and closed his eyes.

“Is something wrong?” Zhang Xinjie asked, sounding both curious and concerned.

“The stupidity tonight is overwhelming,” Han Wenqing replied flatly. But he nonetheless opened his eyes to watch.

Tang Rou won yet again.

“Xinjie, is he actually stupid?”

“I don’t know, Captain.”

Han Wenqing stared coldly at the stage, waiting for either the players to come down or for a fourth round to start—he wouldn’t put anything past them at this point. The host had apparently lost all control of the event; Han Wenqing couldn’t even spot him anywhere. The stage was admittedly quite dark, but…

Nothing happened for a few minutes. Han Wenqing thought he saw some movement around Tang Rou’s player booth and allowed himself to feel some relief. Was she finally giving up? Surely she couldn’t think she’d keep on winning, right? She wasn’t that foolish.

Then he heard a very familiar voice.

“How about I give it a try?”

Han Wenqing’s first thought was, Oh boy.

* * *

            DRAGON RAISES ITS $%#@!&* HEAD???????

[ Randompanda - 7 Jan 2023 #1 ]

DID YOU GUYS SEE THAT?????????????????

DID YOU SEEEEEEEEEEEE

[ Unforgiveness - 7 Jan 2023 #2 ]

YE QIU SERIOUSLY CAME TO ALL-STARS LOLOL

IT’S LIKE HE READS THESE THREADS

[ Unforgiveness - 7 Jan 2023 #3 ]

Wait crap what if he really does read these threads

[ Beautiful From Every Angle - 7 Jan 2023 #4 ]

that wouldn’t even be surprising imo

he seems like a chill dude judging by that weibo post? and he’s posted in this forum before? his guides and stuff

obviously he can browse it if he feels like it…plenty of the pros do

[ Falling Dark - 7 Jan 2023 #5 ]

@Beautiful From Every Angle could you PLEASE not say such terrifying and logical things

i don’t even want to think about it!! i’d immediately delete all my posts!!! [sobbing emoji]

Adrift

7 January 2023 21:36

Y’allllllll

Our boi Ye Qiu up in here showing off just how not-dead he is [hysterically laughing huang shaotian.gif]

#AllStars #YeQiu #GodOfGlory #DragonRaisingItsHead

bookmark          2261 shares              83 comments              6529 likes

Su Mucheng V:  [wink emoji][wink emoji][wink emoji]

            Adrift: …holy

            Stirfryyy: How did she even reply so fast???? Anyway watch this explode in like five minutes

            I’m (not) a Believer: GODDESS!!!!

* * *

Ye Xiu studied the outside of the stadium, hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat. Everything was brightly lit, and yet that only made the few surviving shadows so much darker. He blended into them with the same ease as he had when he confronted Qiao Yifan. Now, however, he was running away, and for nobody’s sake but his own.

It was tiring to have to hide all the time. The more Ye Xiu hid, the more he understood that it was ultimately pointless. Perhaps a few years ago he could have believed that he’d always be Ye Qiu, a faceless god in the eyes of the world, but now it was looking less and less likely that’d be the case.

The day he’d have to expose himself would arrive eventually. He had known that when he walked away from Excellent Era, and wasn’t sure what to do with the knowledge. This helpless feeling was what he disliked the most, probably.

Nonetheless, old habits died hard, and until it became impossible to do so, he’d carry on as he always had. Decisively, Ye Xiu turned away.

“Hey, you!”

Ye Xiu stared in vague disbelief at the young woman sitting on the railing near the street, a pair of binoculars in one hand and the other waving leisurely at him. Her bright hair fluttered in the breeze, a scarf wrapped around the lower third of her face and a knit cap pulled over her head.

Slowly, he covered his face with one hand.

Su Mucheng just laughed.

Without hesitation, he strolled over to meet her, slouching as always. “Amazing. You were even faster than me.”

“Heh.” Su Mucheng slid off the railing spryly and pulled the scarf, as well as the face mask beneath it, down around her chin. Her lips curved up in a charming smile. “Wanna grab some ice cream?”

“Is there anywhere still open?” he asked, raising his eyebrows fractionally.

“There is!” Su Mucheng pointed across the small street. “Check it out.”

Ye Xiu took the binoculars offered to him—and wow, what was it with women and binoculars tonight—and had a look. Sure enough, there was a small ice cream shop with its lights on over there.

“It’s winter, though. And did you even have dinner?”

Su Mucheng replaced her face mask and scarf. “I’m not you, of course I had dinner. Anyway, winter is the best time to have ice cream. It won’t melt as quickly, so you can take your time.”

Ye Xiu couldn’t argue with that logic. “All right, let’s go.”

Su Mucheng casually threw her legs over the railing and crossed over to the other side.

“Could you be more civilized…” Ye Xiu muttered, but he echoed her actions, his movements slow and careful. It would be just great if he managed to fall on his face or something while doing something this simple.

At the ice cream shop, Su Mucheng placed her order. She and Ye Xiu sat together at one of the small tables, Ye Xiu casually smoking. The middle-aged man who ran the shop more or less ignored them; they might as well have been alone.

Even so, they didn’t chat much until Su Mucheng was finished, and she was hardly in a hurry.

Since the shopkeeper wasn’t kicking them out, Su Mucheng leaned back in her chair, mask lowered and scarf unwrapped, and said, “I miss hanging out.”

“We hang out in the game,” Ye Xiu replied, staring out the window.

“It’s not the same.” Her tone was wistful. “Hmm, do you remember when we were kids? We were always trying to find the cheapest places to eat at.”

Ye Xiu’s lips twitched. “Of course.”

“And there was an old ice cream shop we visited, a little like this one, but maybe bigger? We went in summer, and since there was no air conditioning, our ice cream melted almost before we sat down.”

“Heh. You were so disappointed at first, but then you just sipped the ice cream out of the bowl like it was soup.”

Su Mucheng wheezed. “And you and Muqiu were laughing at me because I had ice cream all over my face.”

“You looked ridiculous.” Ye Xiu smirked. “You were a weird kid.”

“Hey, I was adorable.”

“That too, but mostly weird.”

Su Mucheng pointedly turned away from him, prim and prideful. But her eyes landed on the stadium, the same place Ye Xiu had been staring at earlier.

A beat of silence. Then Su Mucheng said, “That was a bold move.”

Ye Xiu shrugged and studied the scars and scuff marks on the table, exhaling a breath full of smoke. “I just wanted to help out Little Tang.”

“Are you sure you didn’t want to teach Du Ming a lesson?” Su Mucheng asked dryly. “Because I think you scarred him for life.”

“Please, he’ll be fine.”

“No, you didn’t see everyone’s faces. It was like they’d seen a ghost.”

Ye Xiu brought his eyes up to meet hers and grinned slyly. “Well, didn’t they? They keep treating me like I’m dead, this is what they get.”

Su Mucheng rolled her eyes almost painfully hard. “Who’s pretending you’re dead? You’re all anyone talks about.”

“And now they have something to actually talk about.”

“How thoughtful of you.” Su Mucheng slow-clapped. Ye Xiu ducked his head in a mock bow.

She propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “But really, what were you thinking? What happened up there? You could have been caught.”

“Do you think so little of me?” Ye Xiu asked mildly, blowing a stream of smoke at her face.

Su Mucheng just waved it away with her free hand. “Tell me.”

He echoed her position, letting his eyes fall shut as he did so. “The host asked Chen Guo and me to convince Little Tang to come down so they could get the program back on track, but when I got her to give up, Du Ming decided to taunt her a bit. She was ready to go back and fight another round, so I just took her place before she could.”

Su Mucheng seemed to take a few moments to absorb that. “I see… How gentlemanly of you. Downright heroic, really. Do you like Rourou?”

Ye Xiu fought the urge to put his head down on the table. “Yes, I do.”

“Then—”

“Platonically.”

“…Oh. Too bad,” Su Mucheng said, but not like she really meant it. Her eyes had a curve to them that could only mean she was repressing a smile.

Ye Xiu gazed at her suspiciously. But all she did was pull out her phone and rapidly type on the screen, straightening slightly as she did so. “Who are you talking to?” he asked.

“Rourou. I’m telling her to come meet us here,” Su Mucheng replied without looking up from the screen. “Apparently she and Chen Guo are looking for you. They’ve just left the stadium.”

Ye Xiu was a little surprised, and very nearly regretful. “They can go back and enjoy the rest of the night…”

Su Mucheng did look up at him then, one eyebrow raised. “Nothing is going to top that Dragon Raises Its Head and you know it. Also, did you think about how you being associated with them would cause them trouble if they stayed? Just imagine Rourou getting mobbed as she comes down from the stage.”

“She didn’t get mobbed,” Ye Xiu said with utmost certainty. The area surrounding the stage was crawling with security guards, and besides: Tang Rou was just Tang Rou. In the eyes of the audience, her connection to him was tenuous at best.

“Okay, so she didn’t get mobbed—but who knows what could happen. Anyway, they’ll be here in a few minutes, so what are you going to tell your boss?”

He shrugged, taking another drag of his cigarette. “The truth. S’not like I really tried to hide it from her. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before, but she didn’t believe me.”

Su Mucheng rolled her eyes. “Of course she didn’t. I bet your delivery was super lacking.”

“Delivery? You think I’d concern myself with something like that?”

Before they could descend into good-natured bickering, two people entered the ice cream shop—or barged in, in Chen Guo’s case. She stood in the doorway, posture somewhat combative and eyes a little wild, her expression intense. Tang Rou was just behind her, peeking over her shoulder.

Their eyes landed on Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng almost at the same time. Relief flashed across Tang Rou’s face, and shock across Chen Guo’s.

Ye Xiu lifted his hand and waved at them half-heartedly. Su Mucheng was a little more enthusiastic. “Hello!”

Since Chen Guo appeared to be frozen, Tang Rou slipped past her and inside. She paused beside their table, glancing between them. “Everything all right?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Ye Xiu asked idly.

Tang Rou shrugged. “You just disappeared really suddenly. Guoguo was getting impatient. Guoguo, come over here.”

The three of them looked at Chen Guo. She stared blankly back at them before approaching, her steps slow and expression unreadable in its complexity. A conflict raged behind her eyes.

“You…” she said to Ye Xiu, raising a hand to point at him. Her finger shook visibly. “You! And…” She turned to Su Mucheng. “And… What the hell? Honestly, what the hell.”

Tang Rou scooted a little further away; Ye Xiu simply braced himself. Su Mucheng, who didn’t know any better, just watched interestedly as the drama unfolded.

When it didn’t seem like Chen Guo was going to continue, Ye Xiu eventually asked, “What about me?” He knew it wasn’t the right thing to say, but he said it anyway.

He was a glutton for punishment.

Predictably, Chen Guo exploded. Fury won out over whatever else she was feeling and she launched herself at Ye Xiu like she was intent on strangling him for real this time.

Ye Xiu ducked before she could wrap her hands around his neck, the chair’s feet scraping harshly against the floor as he shoved himself away.

“Hey hey hey, no need for all this,” Su Mucheng said, now a bit alarmed. She half-rose out of her seat, brow furrowed with concern as she looked at them.

Tang Rou darted forward to grab Chen Guo’s arm, stopping her from swiping at Ye Xiu. Chen Guo brought up her other arm, but Tang Rou caught that one, too.

Ye Xiu, for his part, casually exhaled another breath of smoke, looking for all the world like this was just another night out with friends.

The owner of the shop poked his head out from what was probably the kitchen. “What’s all this noise?”

“Sorry, Uncle,” Tang Rou called, bowing a little. “My friend just tripped.”

The man grunted. His eyes swept over the new arrivals. “Anyone want ice cream?”

It was truly a surreal question to ask in this situation. Even Chen Guo floundered for a moment as she thought about it.

“No, thank you,” they replied once their brains caught on.

Another grunt, and then the man disappeared again.

Silence reigned.

“Nice to see you again, Chen Guo.” Su Mucheng was the first to break the ice, offering a greeting in her typical warm manner.

“Um—yes! Nice to see you…” Chen Guo’s downward spiral was temporarily waylaid. She seemed confused about what to do with her idol here, and about what to do in general.

“I’m sorry about Ye Xiu, he’s…well. You know.” Su Mucheng waved a hand.

“He’s really Ye Qiu?”

“Yup.”

“Why don’t you just ask me directly?” Ye Xiu broke in, somewhat at a loss.

Chen Guo glared at him. “Would you really give me an answer after all this time?!”

“Of course,” he immediately said.

“Would you tell the truth?”

“I would.”

Tang Rou spoke up. “Guoguo, he wasn’t intentionally keeping secrets…”

“How is this not intentional?” Chen Guo demanded. “He could have told me at any time and he didn’t! And you knew, Rourou!”

Ye Xiu raised his hands then, palms out, as if to placate her. “Hey, I did tell you. I said it very directly: ‘I’m Ye Qiu.’”

“That counts?!”

“Then how do I make it count?”

Chen Guo’s teeth clicked together as her mouth fell shut. That was…a fair point. He had told her before, the night they first met—she remembered how ridiculous it had seemed at the time. So ridiculous it couldn’t have been anything more than a tasteless joke.

He had told her without hesitation, and she hadn’t believed him.

In her defense, though, who would have believed that?

“I don’t get it,” she said. “So you told me, but then you just—let me assume it was all a joke? And you barely even knew me back then! Why did you tell me?”

Now it was Ye Xiu’s turn to be stumped. He continued to smoke calmly as he mulled it over: Why had he told her? Even though what he said was the truth, he had just been playing around back then, too…

“No real reason,” he admitted eventually. “I just felt like telling you.”

Chen Guo scowled. “If it’s so easy to tell someone who’s effectively a stranger your secret identity, why is it even a secret?”

“It’s complicated.”

Chen Guo looked to Su Mucheng. Su Mucheng shrugged and smiled blandly.

It reminded Chen Guo of something. “So Su Mucheng knows, too? Is this, like, restricted information? Only the pros know? Maybe the Alliance in general?”

“Ah…” Ye Xiu could tell she was fishing, but this particular fish had no intention to bite. So he just said, “No, it’s a personal secret of sorts. Su Mucheng knows because we go way back, and Little Tang figured it out on her own after all the time we spent playing.”

Chen Guo gave Tang Rou a betrayed look.

Tang Rou looked helplessly back. “It’s his business,” she defended.

Chen Guo turned her attention to Ye Xiu. “Why do you have two names? If I had to bet…I’d say Ye Xiu is your real name, but how do you pull off this Ye Qiu business so smoothly? Which is your real identity?”

“Is it okay if I don’t tell you?” Ye Xiu asked almost plaintively.

Tang Rou had released Chen Guo as soon as Su Mucheng exercised her power as an idol, which left Chen Guo free to attack again—and she sure looked like she was about to, going by the murderous cast to her expression when she stared at Ye Xiu.

For once, Ye Xiu’s self-preservation instincts made themselves useful, and he quickly said, “Okay, okay, I’m Ye Xiu. Are you happy now?”

Chen Guo backed off fractionally. “I’ll be happy when you tell me the whole story.”

Ye Xiu fought the urge to face-palm. He’d known Chen Guo wouldn’t let all this go so easily. She wasn’t like Tang Rou, who could restrain herself with ease even when she wanted something.

He wasn’t upset with her, though, and the more he considered it, the more he realized there was no point in being mysterious now. Hadn’t he been thinking before about how he’d eventually have to expose himself to the public anyway? There was information he’d do his damnedest to keep to himself—about his family, for example—but there were plenty of other things he could stand to let go of, especially if it was a friend asking.

“When I was fifteen, I…ran away from home,” he began hesitantly, his eyes once again drawn to the window. “I didn’t want my family to find me, so I registered with the Alliance under another name—my brother’s name—and refused to make any appearances.”

Since Ye Xiu wasn’t looking at them, he couldn’t see anyone’s expression, but he felt the silence like a weight pushing down on his shoulders.

“Your…brother?” Chen Guo asked.

“Yeah, we’re twins. I borrowed his ID.”

Su Mucheng coughed delicately. Ye Xiu ignored her, but he did turn his head to gauge Chen Guo’s reaction.

“Twins… Twins?” Chen Guo was the picture of disbelief. She lifted a hand to her forehead like she couldn’t quite process what she was hearing. “This sounds like something straight out of a novel.”

Ye Xiu didn’t deny it; his life was kind of weird. “Well, there’s the story. Anything else?”

Chen Guo’s hand immediately dropped. She glared at him, incensed. “Anything else? What about everything else?” She paused. “Why did you run away?”

Ye Xiu just shrugged. “You can guess why.”

Her brow furrowed. “It wasn’t just to play games, was it?”

He didn’t answer. This was definitely one of the more embarrassing topics she could have touched upon. Even Tang Rou was watching him strangely, as if she couldn’t quite believe he’d done something so reckless.

Well, Ye Xiu couldn’t quite believe he’d done it, either. But no matter how clever and thoughtful people thought he was, he had dreams, too, and he had always been willing to do anything to achieve them. He wouldn’t half-ass it, even if it was safer to do so.

“I…” Chen Guo was at a loss for words. Looking at Ye Xiu now, and then the neutral-faced Su Mucheng and Tang Rou, she couldn’t find it within herself to condemn him for his choice. He was Ye Qiu. No matter how risky it was for a fifteen-year-old kid to run away from home, she couldn’t deny that his gamble had paid off.

In the end, it was just a difference of perspective. Chen Guo herself had made many sacrifices in order to keep Happy Internet Café running after her father died. She had given up on university and set aside thoughts of romantic relationships, even neglecting her friends as she focused all her energy on her business. Her relatives hardly paid her any mind once they realized what she was doing, thinking her a foolish girl with more ambition than brains.

But she was still standing, even after all the struggles and hardships of those first few years. Watching the Internet café thrive nowadays, Chen Guo could safely say she had no regrets concerning her decisions back then.

No, it wouldn’t be fair for her to judge Ye Xiu.

Still…

“And—and Excellent Era? Why are you working at an Internet café of all places?” Chen Guo asked, finally gathering her thoughts. “Why did you leave?”

There was a long, heavy pause. Chen Guo saw Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng exchange a glance. She looked at Tang Rou for help, but Tang Rou was watching Ye Xiu and Su Mucheng as well, no hints of comprehension on her face.

“The thing is, Excellent Era wanted Ye Xiu to retire,” Su Mucheng eventually said, her usually sweet voice flatter than Chen Guo expected it to be.

“What?” Chen Guo gaped. “Retire? Him?” She pointed at Ye Xiu, in case anyone mistook who she was speaking of.

Su Mucheng nodded, a regretful smile tugging at her lips. “To get rid of him and neutralize a threat in one go… Retirement was their ideal option. But Ye Xiu just canceled the contract, so he doesn’t have to wait a year to return to the pro scene.”

Right, Ye Qiu… Ye Xiu was turning twenty-six in May. While this wasn’t exactly retirement age, it was close enough to count. The supposed drop in his abilities was a constantly recurring topic; even commentators had brought it up.

“Then, you are coming back?” Tang Rou suddenly said.

Ye Xiu squinted in her direction, absently putting out his cigarette. “Naturally. Why else do you think I have Lord Grim and the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella?”

“Right!” Chen Guo perked up. “You plan to return with an unspecialized account—and that crazy Silver weapon. But…which team will you join?”

It was an awkward question for Chen Guo. She was still having a hard time believing that the team she had cheered on for the past five years could do something like this to their ace player, the same person who built the dynasty they stood on. But she had no reason to doubt Su Mucheng or even Ye Xiu, and the more she tried to see it from the club’s perspective, the more she could understand their reasoning.

Ye Xiu refused to show himself to the public, turning down sponsorship deals and never appearing in any ads. He only ever turned up for matches and All-Stars; his presence in the team was almost nonexistent. Even though he dominated the battlefield, leaving behind all kinds of amazing achievements, sponsors couldn’t make use of that.

And once Excellent Era began to drop in the rankings…well.

Ye Xiu gave her a suspicious glance. “Which team? If I say it, are you going to hit me?”

Chen Guo crossed her arms resolutely. “I won’t! I get it, okay? It’s difficult for me, but we’ve been living together for a month now, and if even Su Mucheng… Anyway, I’m just concerned.”

This seemed to surprise him. “Concerned? About me?”

“Yes,” Chen Guo forced out through gritted teeth. “Not that you make it easy, you dick.”

Su Mucheng giggled into her palm. “How much have you tormented your poor boss?”

“I haven’t!”

Su Mucheng looked to Tang Rou as if to ask for confirmation. Tang Rou casually averted her eyes, a small smile alighting on her face.

Ye Xiu gasped in mock offense. “Little Tang, even you?”

“I didn’t say anything,” Tang Rou told him calmly.

“Pfft… Well, I don’t know.”

Chen Guo blinked. “What don’t you know?”

Ye Xiu sighed. “Which team I’ll join. I’m still thinking about it.”

For some reason, that was a relief. All of tonight’s shocking revelations were taking their toll on Chen Guo’s emotions and mentality; she wasn’t sure she could deal with any more.

“All right,” she said.

“All right?” Ye Xiu echoed, confused.

It was Chen Guo’s turn to sigh. “All right, I’m satisfied. And I promise I’ll be okay with whatever you decide.”

Ye Xiu blinked, but said, “Thanks, Boss.”

“We are friends, you know. You could have told me before this. Maybe I would have needed a little more than just your word, but if Su Mucheng or someone showed up, of course I’d believe you.”

“…You wouldn’t even care about me then, would you? You’d just fawn over your idol.”

Tang Rou and Su Mucheng both laughed.

Chen Guo barely managed to hold back from smacking Ye Xiu. “Shut up! My idol is way more important than you.”

“You can call me Mumu,” Su Mucheng offered, grinning brightly.

Chen Guo instantly turned into a warm and gentle older sister. “Then you can call me Guoguo! And Rourou…you two seem to know each other?”

“We do,” Tang Rou said, nodding. “We party up all the time.”

Chen Guo huffed at her. “You’ve met two pro players—my favorite pro players, even—and didn’t say anything. How did you manage to keep this to yourself?”

“Well—”

“Actually, she’s met more pro players besides us two,” Ye Xiu interrupted.

“Eh?” Chen Guo said.

Su Mucheng nodded eagerly. “Yup! We’ve had some…interesting encounters in the tenth server.”

Ye Xiu smirked.

“Interesting encounters?”

“Yes, very interesting,” Ye Xiu drawled.

“We party up with a couple of other guys. Qiao Yifan—that Phantom Demon rookie from yesterday—and Brother Tiger,” Tang Rou quickly explained before Chen Guo could become impatient.

Chen Guo furrowed her brow. “Brother Tiger? Um…a Striker, right? I think I’ve seen you guys playing with him.”

“Mmm, that’s the one,” Su Mucheng said. “Roaring Tiger.”

“Okay, so which pros play as Strikers…” Chen Guo muttered to herself, tapping a finger against her chin. After a moment, she frowned and admitted, “The only ones coming to mind right now are Shen Jian and Han Wenqing. But I guess you wouldn’t be caught dead with either of them at this point, right? Unless maybe you’re friends with Shen Jian? Is it him?”

“It’s actually Han Wenqing,” Ye Xiu said.

“Ha ha.” Chen Guo rolled her eyes. “Seriously, who is it?”

“It’s really Han Wenqing,” Su Mucheng said.

“You guys…”

“They’re telling the truth. It really is Han Wenqing.” When Ye Xiu glanced at her questioningly, Tang Rou said, “I recognized his voice.”

Chen Guo stared at them all speechlessly. Ye Xiu braced himself.

“Han Wenqing?!”

* * *

The next day was, predictably, a no-go for Ye Xiu. He stayed holed up in his hotel room, happily playing Glory. Nothing dramatic happened, either, unless one counted Chen Guo and Tang Rou getting hounded by reporters.

Perhaps he would have been worried about Chen Guo’s temper on another day, but with Tang Rou there to guide her, everything went as smoothly as could be expected. Chen Guo even seemed to be in a good mood despite all the unwelcome attention; Su Mucheng had truly worked a miracle on her.

Ye Xiu shook his head a bit as he watched the live broadcast on TV. Maybe Chen Guo and Tang Rou were keeping their mouths shut, but Su Mucheng sure wasn’t.

“Hi! Are you watching?” she asked during her interview, looking directly into the camera and waving cheekily. “I hope you have fun tonight.”

“Are you trying to send someone a message?” the interviewer said.

“Yup!”

“Who?”

Su Mucheng grinned. “You already know.”

“Ye Qiu?”

“That’s right.”

The interviewer’s eyes sharpened. “Does your message mean he’ll be attending our event tonight? Can we expect another appearance?”

“Oh, definitely not,” was the immediate reply. The interviewer instantly deflated.

Ye Xiu sighed and slid his chair back toward the desk. This girl really liked messing with people, possibly as much as he did.

But as the hours wore on and the All-Stars drew to a close, Ye Xiu received a DM on QQ.

            Desert Dust: Meet you at your hotel lobby in an hour

            Desert Dust: I have some interviews to deal with before I can get away

            Ye Qiu: you’re coming over here???

            Desert Dust: That’s what I just said

            Ye Qiu: with a disguise i hope

            Desert Dust: Obviously

            Ye Qiu: what do you plan on doing…

            Desert Dust: What do you want to do

            Ye Qiu: nothing in particular

            Desert Dust: Do you mean there’s nothing specifically you want to do

            Desert Dust: Or that you want to do nothing

            Ye Qiu: well normally i would want to do nothing

            Ye Qiu: except play glory of course

            Ye Qiu: but since we’re in the same city we might as well do something

            Desert Dust: Right

            Desert Dust: So decide what you want to do

            Ye Qiu: why don’t you decide??

            Desert Dust: I don’t have any preference

            Ye Qiu: …

            Ye Qiu: eh whatever, let’s just eat

Time passed quickly, and Ye Xiu was soon dressed and heading downstairs. He passed Chen Guo and Tang Rou on his way.

“Hey!” Chen Guo greeted. “Were you watching?”

Ye Xiu paused in the hallway to chat with them. “Mhmm. Was it fun?”

“Yup. I’m sad it’s over.”

Tang Rou smiled at Chen Guo. “Maybe we’ll have the chance to come next year.”

“Nothing can top this year, though,” Chen Guo lamented. Her gaze darted to Ye Xiu. “Unless this guy decides to do shameless things again.”

“What shameless things?” Ye Xiu asked, for once not having to fake innocence. Him going up on stage the way he did couldn’t count as shameless, could it? He’d done it for Tang Rou’s sake!

“Pfft,” was Chen Guo’s reply. Then she said, “Where are you going?”

“To meet a friend.”

She jolted. “Mumu?”

“No,” Ye Xiu said exasperatedly. “Han Wenqing.”

“…Oh.”

Tang Rou tilted her head at him. “I managed to chat with him while we were leaving the stadium; he mentioned you.”

Ye Xiu turned to her, somewhat alarmed. “While you were leaving the stadium? What do you mean?”

“We just kind of ended up near where he was signing autographs and stuff, so I went to get his autograph. We talked.”

Ye Xiu looked at Chen Guo. “All three of you?”

“No way,” Chen Guo quickly said. She took a step back as if the very idea repelled her. “I know you guys are friends and all—and doesn’t that sound damn strange—but he still looks like a mob boss, and I’m too used to treating him as the enemy.”

“Your fan mentality is still strong, I see,” Ye Xiu said, lips twitching.

She hit him lightly on the shoulder. “I’m working on it! Maybe introduce us later…just warn me first. I need to prepare myself.”

Ye Xiu rolled his eyes, while Tang Rou hid a smile. She said, “He’s really not as frightening as he looks. A bit stern, maybe.”

“‘A bit,’ she says,” Chen Guo muttered.

“You get used to him,” Ye Xiu said, “or he gets used to you. But anyway, I should go; dunno if he’s waiting for me already.”

Tang Rou stepped aside to let him pass, waving a hand. “Go on. You two have fun.”

“Thanks. See you guys.”

When Ye Xiu arrived at the hotel lobby, he didn’t see anyone who could be Han Wenqing, so he sat down somewhere out of the way to wait. The small couch he chose happened to be situated near a tall, beautiful aquarium, so he absently watched the fish inside swim to and fro, their unhurried movements soothing to witness.

It was such a shame he couldn’t smoke here.

Ye Xiu waited for at least twenty minutes before Han Wenqing arrived. He’d turned his body sideways on the couch to view the fish, his arm propped up on the back of it and his head pillowed on the inside of his bent elbow. It was a comfortable position, and he didn’t notice that someone had approached and was standing beside him until he saw their reflection on the aquarium.

Blinking slowly, he lifted his head to peer at them.

Han Wenqing was wearing a thick coat, black jeans, and a black mask over his mouth. He had on a dark red knit cap and big black boots that boosted his not-inconsiderable height. His usually frosty gaze was toned down to merely chilly, and what could be seen of his face seemed to have a neutral set to it, almost as if he were relaxed.

Ye Xiu got to his feet and stretched slightly. “Hey, Old Han. You’re late.”

“Sorry,” said Han Wenqing. “I was delayed. Let’s go.”

They left the hotel silently, Ye Xiu pulling up a mask of his own once they stepped outside. Like Han Wenqing, he was wearing black jeans, but their similarities ended there. His coat was long and somewhat thin, a dark green with fur lining the hood and collar. A stark white sweater showed through his unbuttoned coat, complimented by a tan and white patterned scarf that looped loosely around his neck and hung down his front.

Since they weren’t very far from Samsara’s stadium, not to mention the shopping district, the streets were fairly crowded. Ye Xiu and Han Wenqing stuck close to each other, weaving around the people in their path.

After a few more minutes of this aimless wandering, Han Wenqing became annoyed with the silence and gruffly asked, “What did you do today?”

“Play Glory.”

“Anything else?”

“Nope.”

Han Wenqing gave Ye Qiu a sideways glance. Was it just him, or was something off about Ye Qiu tonight? The atmosphere was exceptionally awkward. He couldn’t think of what to say, even though there were plenty of topics readily available: the All-Stars, the tenth server, Tang Rou’s performance last night…

He didn’t bring up any of them; they didn’t seem quite right.

Eventually, they singled out a small restaurant that specialized in noodles. Ye Qiu’s steps actually sped up as they entered. Did he really like noodles…?

After receiving their bowls, they sat in a corner, away from other patrons and the windows, and lowered their masks. Ye Qiu ate single-mindedly; Han Wenqing took his time, occasionally casting wary glances at the rest of the restaurant. Nobody seemed to pay them undue attention.

“You played well.”

Han Wenqing looked up from his bowl. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, these words were almost too sudden. “It wasn’t even a real match.”

Ye Qiu smiled a bit, his eyes turned down. “Yes, but you always charge into the fray so wholeheartedly. I can’t decide whether it’s dumb or impressive.”

Han Wenqing scowled.

“My favorite part was probably when Mucheng and Chu Yunxiu kicked Wang Jiexi’s ass, though,” Ye Qiu added.

“Heh,” Han Wenqing said, unable to help it. “Su Mucheng’s play style has really changed.”

“Yeah. She’s doing her best.”

“She still takes on a support role in the game with us, though. Most of the time.”

Ye Qiu laughed. “Having to babysit Steamed Bun and Little Tang will do that to a person. Sometimes even I feel like a support.”

“In that case, you play support very well. Maybe you should do that forever.”

“Hey, aiming to steal my spotlight, Old Han? I’m the definition of a main attacker. If you want to get rid of me, you’ll just have to try harder.”

Han Wenqing narrowed his eyes. “And what would trying harder entail?”

Ye Qiu slurped his noodles, the corners of his lips tilted upward. “I don’t know. Maybe you can be more aggressive.”

“More aggressive?” Han Wenqing leaned forward. “Am I not aggressive enough for you?”

Ye Qiu smoothly pushed his empty bowl aside. He also leaned forward, arms resting on the table and head tilted. “Well…you’re fine, I guess.”

“So you do think I’m impressive.”

“I did not say that,” Ye Qiu quickly refuted, golden eyes narrowing playfully.

“Not in so many words, no.”

“Shut up, kitty. I’m trying to be supportive here. Don’t ignore my advice; they say I’m a god, you know.”

Han Wenqing just snorted disdainfully and ate his noodles, glaring at Ye Qiu’s very obvious, very obnoxious smirk.

The awkwardness between them had been thoroughly eliminated, and they spent the time it took for Han Wenqing to finish his bowl talking casually about the All-Star players. Han Wenqing pointedly didn’t ask whether or not Ye Qiu had thought more about joining Tyranny.

When they left the restaurant, they continued to chat as they ambled along the streets side by side, peering into storefronts and occasionally sampling foods. At one point, Han Wenqing bought them small milkshakes for dessert, which they finished in record time—much to their regret.

Ye Xiu massaged his temples, squinting into the distance. “God dammit…I can’t remember the last time I had a brain freeze.”

“Me neither,” Han Wenqing grumbled, throwing their cups away. “It’ll pass in a few minutes.”

“I think those people over there are staring at you,” Ye Xiu said abruptly. He had only just noticed a small group of young men—little more than teenagers—standing near the entrance to a store and watching the two of them with uncalled for intensity.

Han Wenqing didn’t even turn around to look; he just stepped closer to Ye Xiu and nudged him in the opposite direction, natural as could be.

“Smooth,” Ye Xiu dryly said as they moved away. He paused as if to look at something interestedly, taking another glance at the group out of the corner of his eye. “They’re still staring. Actually, they’re moving closer.”

It was easy to read Han Wenqing’s irritation even with his mask up. His eyebrows were lowered, a small furrow between them, and his glare was especially fierce.

“What should we do?” Ye Xiu asked. He, for one, was ready to abandon Han Wenqing to his fate as soon as their stalkers became bolder. He had a secret to protect, after all, and while his ID was a trump card of sorts, he didn’t want to have to answer any questions about it later.

He wasn’t ready for Han Wenqing to know.

“Just play along.” Rather than elaborating, Han Wenqing merely raised his arm and laid it across Ye Xiu’s shoulders, pulling him close against his side.

Ye Xiu stared at the side of his face speechlessly. “Are you serious right now?”

“Do you want to get caught?”

Oh, for shit’s sake… Ye Xiu wrapped his own arm low around Han Wenqing’s solid waist, leaning agreeably against him. “Does this actually work outside of movies and cheesy TV dramas?”

“We’re about to find out.”

A few minutes passed. They walked slowly so as not to stumble, as well as to make their little act more believable. Ye Xiu sneaked a few more glances in whenever he could, so he noticed the group gradually lose interest and move along.

“Well. I must commend you on your quick thinking, Old Han,” Ye Xiu said. “It really worked.”

“Hmph. Who told you to doubt me?”

Ye Xiu laughed and dropped his arm; Han Wenqing did the same. He felt a little chilly after being practically glued to Han Wenqing’s warm side and absently rubbed his arms.

“Cold?” Han Wenqing asked, watching him.

“Nah,” Ye Xiu said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, feeling around for his cigarette pack, but not pulling it out yet. “What do you want to do now?”

Han Wenqing stared at him for a second. “Let’s take a selfie.”

“What?”

“A selfie. Let’s take one.”

Never had Ye Xiu imagined the word “selfie” would come out of Han Wenqing’s mouth. “I heard you, but why? And my face…”

“We’ll just crop it out or something.”

Ye Xiu was still confused and slightly alarmed. “Are you going to post it, then?”

“If we can get a good shot, sure.”

“Uh…okay, I guess.” Although he was reluctant, Ye Xiu knew he could just ask Han Wenqing not to post anything and he would comply.

They looked around for somewhere with slightly better lighting and which wasn’t too crowded. Ye Xiu actually wanted to just get it over with, but Han Wenqing, surprisingly enough, seemed to be putting some effort into this. Ye Xiu hadn’t known the guy even liked taking photos. Maybe he should check out his Weibo when he returned to the hotel.

“Here,” Han Wenqing eventually announced. He waved his hand at Ye Xiu in an expectant, almost imperious manner.

Resigned, Ye Xiu walked over to stand beside him, leaning way too far into his personal space for the second time tonight. Han Wenqing didn’t protest, though; instead he grabbed his phone from within the depths of his thick coat and fiddled with the settings for a second before raising it slightly above their heads.

About four or five clicks later, Han Wenqing flipped through the photos with Ye Xiu.

“Hey, not bad,” Ye Xiu said, somewhat impressed. “Though Mucheng’s are better.”

Han Wenqing chose to ignore that. “I’ll keep these two. Your stupid face looks okay in them.” They had pulled down their masks to take these, and the angle made it difficult to do any cropping, so Han Wenqing obviously couldn’t post them.

“You call it stupid, yet you still want to save it to your phone,” Ye Xiu pointed out. He wasn’t one to care about looks, but just to be a shit, he said, “I’m still better-looking than you. Look at my cheekbones. Superior genes right there.”

Han Wenqing tilted the photos this way and that. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re just pale and soulless.”

“Excuse you. Can’t you recognize true beauty when you see it? Zhou Zekai’s got nothing on me.”

With a snort, Han Wenqing said, “Shut up, let’s take one for Weibo. Walk with me.”

“Hey…” Ye Xiu protested as Han Wenqing once again wrapped an arm around his shoulders. With his free hand, Han Wenqing angled his phone, holding it as far away from them as he could manage, and took a series of pictures while they walked forward a little clumsily.

Ye Xiu took a few steps back and ran a hand through his hair when Han Wenqing released him. “You almost tripped me, you ass.”

“These turned out nice,” Han Wenqing said, completely ignoring him. He brandished his phone at Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu squinted at the picture, sliding his finger across the screen to see the others. “Huh. Yeah, I guess. You could probably crop these.”

Han Wenqing pulled his phone back and ran through the photos again. “Probably. Oh, you actually had an expression in some of them.”

Ye Xiu huffed. “I always have expressions.”

“No, most of the time you have a non-expression.”

“And the rest of the time?”

“You just smirk. If you could work on that, people would probably want to hurt you a little less.”

“Who would ever want to hurt poor, defenseless me?” Ye Xiu asked drolly.

Han Wenqing gave him a look and didn’t answer.

“So I was smirking in those? I didn’t really notice.”

“It was slight enough not to be completely infuriating,” Han Wenqing grumbled. He put his phone away, saying, “Like you were trying not to laugh.”

“It probably had to do with how you were dragging me around and nearly made me fall on my face.”

“That’s something to laugh about?”

“I was contemplating tripping you over instead and the mental image was very amusing,” Ye Xiu said.

“You wouldn’t be laughing for long,” Han Wenqing said, “since I’d kill you right afterward.”

Ye Xiu winked at him slyly. “Nah, you like me too much to kill me.”

Han Wenqing avoided his eyes, staring distractedly down the street. Puzzled, Ye Xiu followed his gaze, but didn’t see anything besides more people and more stores.

Eventually, Han Wenqing muttered, “Don’t count on it.”

Ye Xiu only laughed.

* * *

Han Wenqing V

7 January 2023 23:03

[photo: Han Wenqing staring into the camera intently, but for once not glaring; a man standing on his other side, most of his face cropped due to the angle, but the faint smirk on his lips perfectly visible]

Ran into this useless person @Ye Qiu

Asked him why Dragon Raises Its Head and he said “For fun”

#AllStars

bookmark          1908746 shares        712965 comments      3034729 likes

Ye Qiu V: is “for fun” not a valid reason?

            Han Wenqing V: No

            Ye Qiu V: is “i felt like it” better?

            Han Wenqing V: No

            Ye Qiu V: you are so difficult to please

Su Mucheng V: Wow, nice!!! Your selfie skills are truly admirable, Captain Han

            Han Wenqing V: Thanks

            Su Mucheng V: Did you guys eat anything?

            Han Wenqing V: Noodles mostly

            Su Mucheng V: …what a surprise @Ye Qiu is your diet just noodles??

            Ye Qiu V: you’re one to talk

Chu Yunxiu V: What is going on here???

Yu Wenzhou V: Great angle and lighting… How did you get him to agree to this?

            Ye Qiu V: he fed me

            Yu Wenzhou V: Ah. Makes sense.

Huang Shaotian V: could you two be any more shameless?? i don’t even have words and i ALWAYS have words

            Han Wenqing V: Could you be any more annoying

Cooling Mist: God Han…………you’re friends with YE QIU????

            normalcyisboring: i totes thought they hated each other

            Han Wenqing V: @Cooling Mist yes @normalcyisboring we don’t

Meaningful24: yOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE FRIENDS WITH YE FUCKIN QIU

            Han Wenqing V: You don’t make the rules

nightmaresandnostalgia: is nobody going to mention that THAT. Is. A photo. Of Ye FUCKING QIU? GUYS???

            Nobody knows (like I do): bro don’t even, I can’t believe my eyes

            Distant regrets: and he seems so handsome too!!! dat smirk yall

            Faulty: Best part is how stoic Han Wenqing looks. Wonder what they talk about when they hang.

            GreaterGooder: I’m still over here absorbing the fact that they hang AT ALL, don’t put these images in my head! It’s too much!

Tyrannical Tier: god han and that fucker ye qiu are taking selfies together the world is officially insane goodbye

            Faulty: The door is that way.

            Distant regrets: u wont be missed

            Tyrannical Tier: fuck off

* * *

In what was becoming fairly common practice for him, Ye Xiu stretched out on his bed with a phone in hand—a cell phone this time, borrowed from Tang Rou.

He logged out of her QQ and onto his own, immediately selecting one of his contacts and starting a call. It was early morning here, so it should be late afternoon or evening over there.

“Hello? Ye Qiu?” a surprised voice asked. “You’re actually calling me?”

“Do you have to sound so shocked?” Ye Xiu asked, both amused and relieved.

“You never call me. What’s up? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Wu Xuefeng, the eternally worried older brother figure… Ye Xiu thought, very ruefully, that things might as well have never changed. He could have been a teenager all over again. “There’s nothing much going on.”

“Please be serious. Why did you suddenly leave Excellent Era? What happened?”

“It’s a long story. Tao Xuan and I had a disagreement. Actually, I had a disagreement with all of the management.”

“…What.”

Ye Xiu turned over, pulling his blanket further up his body. “They wanted me gone, so I just left. Like I said, nothing much.”

“You call that ‘nothing much’?” Wu Xuefeng seemed to be taking deep breaths on the other end of the connection. “Okay, okay. This is about money, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Damn.”

“…Yeah.”

“Okay. What are you doing now?”

“Leveling up a new account on the tenth server,” Ye Xiu answered promptly. “An unspecialized account, with a unique Silver weapon. I think I might have mentioned it to you before.”

There was a long pause. “Yeah,” Wu Xuefeng eventually replied. “You and Muqiu both. You…kept that for all this time?”

“Of course I did.”

“How is Mucheng?”

That kind of threw Ye Xiu off. “She’s fine.”

“Just making sure. You’re going to join another team next season? Is she coming along?”

“Well, that’s the idea.”

“Do you have any idea which team?”

Now it was Ye Xiu’s turn to pause. This was the entire reason he had called Wu Xuefeng: because he had to get out of his own head, and he needed a preferably neutral party to confide in. Not that Wu Xuefeng was exactly neutral—Ye Xiu knew he’d always be in his corner, supporting him and wishing him well—but he at least wasn’t directly involved. Maybe his perspective could offer some insight.

“I think I have some idea,” Ye Xiu finally admitted. “But…it might be a stupid idea.”

“You’re not really the kind to do stupid things. You were always a smart kid.”

Ye Xiu had to roll his eyes. “Thanks, I know.”

“Well, out with it.”

“Tyranny.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m thinking about joining Tyranny.”

Something about Wu Xuefeng’s silence was intensely uncomfortable.

“Bro…I have to admit, that is kind of stupid. Or crazy, more like. Absolutely insane. What made you consider Tyranny, of all things?”

“Han Wenqing. He, um, lent me some money. So I could break off the contract.”

“He’s—he’s extorting you or something? Coercing you? Is that what’s going on? Holy—”

“No! Don’t jump to conclusions, idiot.” Ye Xiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “He’s not demanding anything, he was just being a—a friend, I guess. But he did offer to let Mucheng and me join Tyranny, said he could probably swing it with his boss. I don’t know if that’s true, it’s just an option.”

“An option you’re putting a lot of thought into, apparently.”

“Look, he’s helping me out. He plays with us on the tenth server and we talk almost everyday. It’s hard not to think about it.”

Wu Xuefeng laughed disbelievingly. “It sounds less like you’re considering joining his team and more like you’re debating whether or not to enter a serious relationship with him.”

“Now who’s not being serious?” Ye Xiu muttered. “Focus, bro. I need to make a decision.”

“I don’t think I can help you with that. You know your situation better than I do.”

“Are you just useless, then?”

“Don’t be so damn rude. I’m just saying, I’m sure you’ve already weighed the pros and cons. Do you have any better options?”

Ye Xiu sighed. “I have easier options. But a team willing to take in both Mucheng and me—I can’t think of any. If Old Han wasn’t so confident, I wouldn’t have thought of Tyranny, either.”

“That guy… Well, fine. If you’re prepared to put up with all the shit you might get for this—if Mucheng and Old Han and Tyranny are willing to put up with it—then maybe you can give it a try.”

Ye Xiu scoffed, staring at the wall opposite him as he held the phone close to his ear. “Give it a try? It’s not that simple.”

“Why not? If it doesn’t work out, transfer. Hell, you can transfer out of the country. The world has a lot to offer.”

“You…”

“Bro, you’re allowed to make mistakes. In fact, you’ve made plenty of them.”

“I’m aware, thank you. What’s your point?” Ye Xiu demanded, exasperated.

“My point is, you don’t have to get everything right. Excellent Era and Tao Xuan—you couldn’t have predicted that, and maybe you couldn’t have stopped it without giving into them and betraying yourself. You made a decision then, didn’t you? To refuse to concede or compromise, regardless of the consequences?”

“It sounds dumb of me when you put it like that,” Ye Xiu muttered.

Wu Xuefeng laughed. “Maybe some people would call it dumb, but you’ve always known what you wanted. If you don’t want money or fame, then…that’s that, I guess.”

“I just want to keep playing Glory. I want to win. Everything else is meaningless to me. It’s not hard to figure out.”

Wu Xuefeng sounded like he was smiling. “Then it really is simple, right? Just choose what lets you keep playing, and keep winning.”

Ye Xiu remained awake long after they said their goodbyes. As he rearranged the pillows for the umpteenth time, Wu Xuefeng’s words drifted across the forefront of his mind.

Perhaps…it really was that simple.

Chapter Text

 The trip back to Qingdao was livelier than it had any right to be. They were on the bus en route to Tyranny’s headquarters, and certain people were still raving about Han Wenqing’s Weibo post.

“Captain,” said Bai Yanfei, a hint of horror coloring his tone, “did you seriously post this?”

“Did you seriously go out with Ye Qiu?” Zheng Chengfeng demanded.

Han Wenqing stared out the window of their bus with his arms crossed. He wasn’t in the habit of answering obvious questions.

“Was it like a date?” And Wang Chixuan just couldn’t seem to leave well enough alone. To be fair, he sounded more curious than condemning.

Yu Tian was the calmest of the lot, not saying much of anything outside of the occasional reprimand. His chiding looks were more than enough to silence some on the team, but not others. Currently, he sat beside Zhou Guangyi and was busy fiddling with his phone.

“Could you give that back now?” Zhou Guangyi said, irritated.

“Not until you stop feeding the trolls,” Yu Tian said. He seemed to be scrolling down a page or something, his expression faintly disconcerted.

“What did he do?” Han Wenqing asked, now eyeing the pair suspiciously. Zhou Guangyi especially.

“I didn’t do anything!”

Yu Tian sighed and tossed the phone to Han Wenqing. Zhou Guangyi yelped and tried to snatch it from the air, but Han Wenqing caught it before he could.

Giving Zhou Guangyi a warning look, he began to scan the contents.

Said contents should not have surprised him.

“Zhou Guangyi,” Han Wenqing said dangerously, not looking away from the poisonous Weibo comments, “you are going to be running simulations for a month.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Zhou Guangyi whined. “It’s not like they weren’t already talking shit.”

“You don’t have to encourage them, you imbecile.”

Now Zhang Xinjie, on Han Wenqing’s left, was also leaning over to look at the comments. Han Wenqing helpfully held the phone up closer to his face.

“Hmm,” was all he said. He turned an expressionless face on Zhou Guangyi.

After a moment, Han Wenqing said, “Xinjie, you decide which ones he should do.”

“Captain!” Now Zhou Guangyi looked suitably terrified.

Yu Tian tsked. “You should know better.”

Zhou Guangyi glared at him. “Could you not be a stick in the mud for once in your life?”

“Yu Tian is just more sensible than you,” Zhang Xinjie said indifferently, resuming his former position. “You could learn something from him. Or from all the simulations you’re about to do, starting tomorrow.”

Zhou Guangyi made a sound like a dying horse.

Han Wenqing completely ignored him, skimming past a few dozen more comments. Not all of them were bad, but a majority… well, a majority were just downright toxic.

It wasn’t as if Han Wenqing had never dealt with hate before, but this was a lot even by his standards. Worse still, it was about something they had no right to even criticize. So what if he hung out with Ye Qiu? So what if they were supposed to be mortal enemies or something? What kind of reality did these people live in?

Before he could be annoyed any further, he lowered the phone and took a deep breath. Then he handed it to Zhang Xinjie. “You’ll get this back in the morning, Guangyi. And if I see you making more of a mess…” he threatened.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Zhou Guangyi assured him sulkily.

“You better not.”

“Sorry, Captain,” Yu Tian said.

Han Wenqing scoffed and leaned his head back against the headrest to stretch his neck a bit. “You’re not the one at fault here.”

Yu Tian didn’t say anything to that, just sighed softly and settled into his own seat. Zhou Guangyi’s glare might have burned a couple of holes through someone else, but Yu Tian seemed completely unaffected.

There was silence for a few blessed minutes, and Han Wenqing thought that maybe he could even steal a few winks of sleep.

Then Wang Chixuan said, “But was it a date?”

“Chixuan,” Yu Tian said, so obviously exasperated.

“It was not a date,” Han Wenqing said icily.

“Did you want it be?” Wang Chixuan asked, eyes wide.

“Chixuan.”

Bai Yanfei had a hand clapped over his mouth. “Captain…”

“Okay, let’s not get carried away,” Zheng Chengfeng said hastily, probably sensing the danger in this line of questioning. Not like it was subtle, the danger. Han Wenqing personally felt like he should be radiating malice right about now.

Too bad his team had built up a slight immunity. That, or they had lost all sense.

“Captain Han is not a dating kind of guy,” Zheng Chengfeng continued.

Right, at least someone here was still in possession of his faculties.

Wait. “I’m not?” Han Wenqing demanded, turning around to stare at Zheng Chengfeng.

Zheng Chengfeng blinked. “Uh.”

“I have dated before, you know.”

“Uh…huh.” Zheng Chengfeng was now cringing back into his seat. “My bad? I—just—okay.”

Bai Yanfei seemed to be choking on air. Han Wenqing looked at him next and he abruptly regained control of his airways.

“Can I at least ask why you posted that picture?” Bai Yanfei said as soon as he composed himself, his brow furrowed.

Han Wenqing paused. Why…? “Why not?”

“…Is that a serious question?”

Zhang Xinjie’s mouth twitched.

“Captain Han, I mean—it’s not like we hate the guy or anything… Well, okay, I can only speak for myself: I don’t hate Ye Qiu, though I fully support kicking his ass. It’s just, this is going to invite a lot of questions, you know. Uncomfortable questions,” Bai Yanfei stressed.

“Yeah, what are we going to tell the press?” Zheng Chengfeng said despairingly, flinging a hand over his eyes. “We are going to be hounded to hell and back for the rest of the season, I swear.”

Han Wenqing sighed. Yeah, all right, he had to admit it was likely. “I’m sorry about that, but there’s no need to look too deeply into it. It was just a…friendly outing.”

“You mean a date?”

“Chixuan, I will throw you out this bus,” Yu Tian said, expression tranquil. “The man said it wasn’t a date, so it wasn’t a date. His personal life is none of our business anyway. Don’t you kids know not to pry?”

“Don’t you know not to nag like an old woman?” Zhou Guangyi grumbled.

“All right, stop bickering. This topic is closed,” Han Wenqing said. He could already feel the beginnings of a headache forming behind his eyes.

“But—”

“Captain—”

“Unless you three would like to join Guangyi.”

They shut up after that. Zhang Xinjie subtly raised an eyebrow at him.

Han Wenqing just closed his eyes. He looked forward to wreaking a little havoc with Ye Qiu in the tenth server later. Somehow, that was always relaxing.

* * *

Though Liang Yichun had long ago told Xu Boyuan to keep his distance wherever Lord Grim and his group were involved, that didn’t precisely make Xu Boyuan’s life easier. It made it a bit more entertaining, maybe, but not easier.

The fact was, he still had to work around Lord Grim. Managing a whole guild meant he had to take the members’ actions into consideration, too. One little slip-up and he’d be plunged right into hell along with all his brave brothers and sisters.

But since he had orders from his superior—and his superior apparently had a very heartfelt recommendation from the captain of Blue Rain himself—Xu Boyuan had a good excuse to skedaddle when the other guilds made trouble with Lord Grim.

That meant Blue Brook Guild escaped relatively unscathed from the whole fiasco at Thousand Waves Lake. Actually, the lake was where things became entertaining, because watching Lord Grim, Roaring Tiger, and all their trigger-happy friends slaughter enemy guilds’ teams one by one was simply…liberating.

What could he say? Xu Boyuan hated all the pettiness he had to endure at the hands of the other guild leaders. Not to mention, the metaphorical knife that had been poised over his throat for what felt like a minor eternity was now not-so-metaphorically gutting his competitors.

He couldn’t have asked for a better outcome, really.

Sure, Lord Grim would probably continue to give him headaches, and Roaring Tiger would continue to give him nightmares, but Xu Boyuan could live with that. He could even live with paying Lord Grim just to leave the dungeon records alone—hell, to not kill his record-setting teams. He could live with it, as long as he didn’t have to watch his brothers and sisters be hunted down like animals.

Xu Boyuan pitied those guys in Misty Castle. Were they really careless, or was it just their own bad luck they kept getting slaughtered?

“Things in the tenth server are…well, not good, exactly, but improving,” Xu Boyuan reported at his next unofficial meeting with Liang Yichun and the other normal server guild leaders. “We’re experiencing a shortage of materials, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t seem to be making much of a difference…?”

“That’s true,” someone said. Over the video feed, their voice was crackly and their face cast mostly in shadow. Xu Boyuan didn’t know why they bothered to leave the camera on when no one could make them out anyway.

“Has recruiting gotten any easier?” Liang Yichun asked.

“Yeah, a bit. Maybe people will forget about what happened with Poplar Beach.” Xu Boyuan doubted it, but one could hope.

 “Maybe,” another person agreed dryly.

“Any problems elsewhere, lately?”

Everybody replied with a negative. It appeared that only Xu Boyuan was suffering in his position. He always did draw the short straw.

But since Liang Yichun was asking… “There’s something I’ve been thinking about.”

“Oh?”

“We can’t do anything about Lord Grim now, but…in the future. In the Heavenly Domain, that might change, right?”

“The Heavenly Domain?”

“Aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself, Old Blue?”

“The tenth server hasn’t been open for that long,” Liang Yichun said. “It should still be another month or so before anyone hits level seventy. Is it worth discussing what we can or can’t do about those people in the Heavenly Domain right now?”

“Well, the thing is…” How to explain? “I don’t think Lord Grim and those guys are going to wait until then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean they might try the Heavenly Domain Challenge sooner.”

Dead silence.

“Old Blue, what the hell makes you think that? Is that even possible?”

“How soon can anyone even do the challenges?”

“Level fifty, I think?”

“Entering the Heavenly Domain at level fifty—that’s never been done before. Even when the level cap was raised to fifty-five and the Heavenly Domain was just introduced, it wasn’t done.”

Xu Boyuan was beginning to regret saying anything. “Look, this is just a feeling I get. I’ve chatted with Lord Grim a lot, even Roaring Tiger and Cleansing Mist now and then, and my impression is that they’re in a rush to level up. Besides, it was always my assumption that they hoard materials because Lord Grim is constantly upgrading his Silver weapon. Won’t there come a time when the tenth server will cease to meet his needs?

“Not only that, but past level fifty, an unspecialized character like Lord Grim will stagnate…unless he goes to the Heavenly Domain.”

This seemed to confound the others. No one said anything for a while as they puzzled over it themselves.

Xu Boyuan didn’t mind the wait. He leaned back in his chair and let out a soft sigh, wrapping his chilled hands around his most recent mug of tea. If they could follow his reasoning, that meant it had some merit. And it meant this brief peace that existed between Lord Grim and Blue Brook wouldn’t last.

Perhaps it was cowardly of him, but he really didn’t want it to end so soon. He’d been traumatized enough, thanks.

However, there was still a good chance that their guild’s sheer numbers in the Heavenly Domain could overwhelm Lord Grim, Roaring Tiger, and all the rest. They were less than ten people, and Blue Brook Guild could call upon tens of thousands.

Somehow, though, Xu Boyuan didn’t feel too confident. He felt that by the time Lord Grim arrived in the Heavenly Domain, it might already be too late to stop him. But they weren’t exactly capable of stopping him in the tenth server, either.

Maybe all they could do was wait him out. Maybe once he got what he was really after—once he finished that Silver weapon or reached Level 70 or both—he would be out of their hair. Maybe he’d even get scouted by a club and upgrade from bothering normal players to bothering professional ones.

Oh, that would be a good time. For Xu Boyuan, anyway. Not the pros.

But this seemed almost too optimistic. After all, Lord Grim was the ringleader, by all accounts, but he was maybe only half the problem. The other half of the problem was Roaring Tiger, who easily took the lead when Lord Grim was absent.

God, the more Xu Boyuan thought about it, the more depressed he became. He was just going to operate under the assumption that once that group fucked off to the Heavenly Domain, they would become Liang Yichun’s responsibility.

Liang Yichun appeared to arrive at the same conclusion, because he said, quite gloomily, “You know what? We’ll just cross that bridge when we come to it.”

It was karma, Xu Boyuan decided. Whatever they’d done in a past life, they were paying for it now.

* * *

“Wow, and Excellent Era starts off with Su Mucheng! Not exactly an unusual choice, right, Coach Li, but don’t you think she’s been performing exceptionally since All-Stars?” Pan Lin said.

“I have to agree.”

“Do you suppose it has anything to do with Ye Qiu’s shocking appearance and the significance of that Dragon Raises Its Head?”

At Happy Internet Café’s reception desk, Ye Xiu and Chen Guo quietly observed the match, sequestered from the customers who had clustered near the screen. When Pan Lin made mention of Ye Qiu, Chen Guo turned to Ye Xiu with both eyebrows raised meaningfully.

Ye Xiu sipped his tea.

“It could, but it would be only that: a supposition,” Li Yibo said with perfect calm. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that Su Mucheng has avoided answering these kinds of questions in all of her recent interviews.”

“More self-restraint than I’d ever bother to show,” Chen Guo muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

Ye Xiu huffed out a laugh. “Well, good thing Mucheng is nothing like you, or I’d be in trouble.”

Chen Guo curled her lip at him. “Do you have to compliment her and insult me all at once? What am I supposed to do with that, huh?”

“It’s true that Su Mucheng has never been particularly forthcoming where Ye Qiu is involved,” Pan Lin agreed. “In fact, none of the professional players really are.”

As a retired pro player, Li Yibo could definitely contribute something to this conversation, and he gladly did: “It’s always been a common courtesy the other players extend to Ye Qiu. Besides, he’s mysterious even to the pros. Personally I can say that, while we chatted quite a bit, we only ever met face-to-face during matches.”

Ye Xiu squinted at the projection. “I don’t think I’ve ever said more than a dozen words to the guy, if that.”

Chen Guo laughed, then concealed it with a cough. “So haughty,” she mocked, mouth twitching with amusement. “Was the amazing Coach Li not worth your time?”

Ye Xiu rolled his eyes and didn’t bother to reply. He’d never considered himself above his colleagues; better than them at Glory, maybe, but not above them. As a result, he got along with most everyone, but there were some people even he couldn’t be bothered to befriend, and Li Yibo was one of them.

He idly wondered if Han Wenqing was friends with him. Taking into consideration that Li Yibo had retired from Tyranny’s roster, it was more than possible. He didn’t know whether he’d find that hilarious or vaguely disappointing. Either way, Ye Xiu wouldn’t be able to resist judging Han Wenqing just a little.

“Would you put stock in the rumors that Ye Qiu is preparing to create his own team, then?”

Li Yibo paused, as if considering it. “Well, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he did. If we assume he wants to resume his partnership with Su Mucheng—and really, why wouldn’t he?—then the earliest he could rejoin the Alliance would be Season 10, following the expiration of Su Mucheng’s contract. That would leave him plenty of time to put together a new team.”

“Another team could buy her contract, though,” Pan Lin pointed out.

“True, but getting both Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng on the same team sooner than Season 10—it would cost a lot of money. I’m not so sure there are any teams that can afford them, all things considered. Maybe if they just signed on the players and leveled up new accounts for them in-house.”

“That would be a bit of a tragedy, wouldn’t it. Not just Ye Qiu and Su Mucheng, but One Autumn Leaf and Dancing Rain… Name a more iconic duo,” Pan Lin said. “A lot of this pair’s value is in their brand, not just their skill.”

“Of course you’re right, but from a practical point of view, the players themselves are more important to the team’s functionality than their accounts, I be—ah, the match is beginning! Su Mucheng is approaching fearlessly, but not recklessly…”

“Hmm, she really has adopted a more aggressive play style since All-Stars, hasn’t she? I must say, I’m happy to see this new side of Su Mucheng. Dancing Rain’s pathing here is flawless. Will Cold Seasons even have the opportunity to execute an ambush?”

“With the situation as it is, it’s unlikely. But I think that, in line with the boldness she’s shown so far, Su Mucheng might just bait him into giving it a try,” Li Yibo answered.

Chen Guo thought it should be obvious that a character capable of inflicting a whole lot of damage in a short amount of time would have an advantage over a measly Assassin, who relied primarily on the element of surprise, but the battle that followed was more complex than she imagined. It reminded her of when Yang Cong’s Scene Killer had gone up against Sun Xiang’s One Autumn Leaf, but this time, the one being led around by the nose was the Assassin.

Watching the projection intently, Chen Guo said, “Are they right?”

“Hmm?”

“They’re saying that Mumu’s style has changed.”

“Oh.” Ye Xiu didn’t look at her; his eyes were also on the projection. “Yeah, they’re right.”

“How has it changed?”

“She’s improved as an individual.”

Chen Guo almost clapped her hands excitedly, but she managed to restrain herself. It was easy to forget who she was sitting next to, but not that easy. “Then, do you think she’ll win?”

Ye Xiu merely shrugged, taking another sip of tea. “If she keeps this up, yes. But anything can happen between now and the end.”

A somewhat mysterious answer. However, Chen Guo was coming to realize—gloomily and with much irritation, she might add—that this was the norm for Ye Xiu.

“Though, if she does win,” Ye Xiu said suddenly, “it won’t really be because of the change in her style.”

“What? What do you mean?” Chen Guo asked after a moment.

“What do you think Mucheng’s greatest strength is?”

The answer was on the tip of Chen Guo’s tongue, but as she was about to give voice to it, she paused. Her answer wasn’t really in line with the question: She could list all kinds of qualities of Su Mucheng’s that she considered strengths, but as for which was the greatest…

She was just a normal player, not even particularly skilled, and up until Ye Xiu’s arrival, she had always relied on other people’s arguments and analysis to organize her thoughts. Perhaps it would be wiser to regurgitate whatever those fans considered Su Mucheng’s greatest strength—her character, her cooperation ability, or her situational awareness in most cases—yet before Ye Xiu, none of those answers seemed good enough.

“Okay, just tell me,” Chen Guo said after a long, puzzled silence. “I personally think it might be her ability to work in a team.”

Ye Xiu smiled, his eyes catching the light as he turned to her. “That’s part of it, but a little too expansive. Most of the more successful pros are very good at teamwork. Mucheng’s particular strength is her attitude.”

“Her attitude?”

“Yup. She approaches every match with calm. She obviously wants to win, but if she loses, it’s not too big of a deal to her. She doesn’t have a lot of personal pride at stake here; she just wants to contribute to the team—which, yeah, lends itself to teamwork pretty well.”

“Um…wouldn’t that just mean losing would result in even more pressure? Since it’s the opposite of a contribution.”

“A player’s contribution to the team can’t be judged based on the results of a single match,” Ye Xiu replied as his eyes drifted back toward the projection. “And especially not an individual match.”

Chen Guo followed his gaze as if she understood, but after turning it over in her mind, she was still confused. “I know how important it is to remain calm during competition, but I’m not seeing how Mumu’s attitude is more significant than her play style,” she admitted.

Ye Xiu faced her again, lifting an eyebrow in a manner that was annoyingly close to judgmental. “Isn’t it obvious? She takes her time and applies her own strategies. That she’s playing more aggressively now just means she’ll incorporate new strategies.”

Chen Guo blinked. She kind of wanted to smack him—a real shocker—but what he said made a lot of sense. Well, now that he’d worded it so that her simple mortal brain could understand, she thought wryly.

“Okay, okay, I see.” She drummed her fingers against the counter as renewed excitement washed over her.

“Do you,” Ye Xiu replied idly, but not like he wanted an answer, so they both reverted into silent spectators.

Chen Guo couldn’t resist joining in the raucous applause and cheering when Su Mucheng won, though. “Beautiful! Amazing!”

Ye Xiu noticeably leaned away from her. Chen Guo grabbed onto his arm to force him closer.

“Come on, clap or something!” she commanded.

“Beautiful…amazing…”

Chen Guo really did smack him this time. “Don’t just repeat what I say! Can’t you think of a genuine compliment? I’ll tell Mumu about this!”

“Oh, save it.” Ye Xiu rolled his eyes. “Your reaction is the inadequate one here.”

“It’s supposed to be fun! If people don’t react like this, what’s the point?”

“Well, that’s why I belong onstage and you belong in the audience,” Ye Xiu said bluntly.

Chen Guo had to take a second to process that. She erupted shortly thereafter.

“Goddammit, Ye Xiu—!”

“Ow—Boss—”

Ye Xiu managed to escape Chen Guo’s clutches only when it was time to send off all the customers who’d come in to watch the match. The Internet café gradually emptied out from that point forward, until there wasn’t a single person left besides them.

At around midnight, Chen Guo decisively closed up shop and sat herself down to play some Glory.

“Not going to sleep?” Ye Xiu asked, though he already knew the answer.

“Nope!”

Ever since the All-Stars, Chen Guo had been happy to spend time in-game with Ye Xiu’s ragtag—and now somewhat bloated—group. Or, more accurately, she’d been happy to spend time with Su Mucheng and Tang Rou. So far, Han Wenqing had appeared fleetingly and only when she was busy with the café or dead to the world, so it remained to be seen whether he would be a strong enough deterrent to put Chen Guo off the tenth server.

Just as Ye Xiu amusedly pondered how that particular meeting might go, he received a notification that Roaring Tiger was online.

“Ah, your worst nightmare has come to pass,” Ye Xiu said to Chen Guo.

“Eh?”

“Old Han is here.”

“Eh?!”

Ye Xiu laughed in her face.

“Ye Xiu! What the hell do I do? I didn’t think he’d show up after a match! I don’t think even Mumu is going to be here!”

“Relax, relax, he won’t bite.” Not necessarily true—Han Wenqing could tear out someone’s entire spine with just a look. But Chen Guo didn’t need to hear that.

            Lord Grim: hey

            Lord Grim: my boss is with me tonight

            Roaring Tiger: Okay

            Roaring Tiger: Location

Ye Xiu sent their coordinates. He was hanging out in a Level 45-50 area, methodically slaughtering every monster that drew his eye. Chen Guo’s tenth-server version of Chasing Haze accompanied him, though she was of a significantly lower level. Her intention was to help Lord Grim reach Level 50, but due to the disparity between their characters and skill, it seemed more like Lord Grim was carrying Chasing Haze.

Nonetheless, Ye Xiu couldn’t think of any good reason for Chen Guo not to accompany him, especially since everyone else was absent, and it was only the two of them in the café anyway. She was the one who’d wanted to stay up late, and if he tried to send her away, she’d probably just be more determined to stay.

Helplessly, he fired another message at Roaring Tiger.

            Lord Grim: she’s highkey afraid of you so be chill

            Roaring Tiger: When am I ever not chill

            Lord Grim: lol i won’t answer that but only because i need you to be chill

            Roaring Tiger: I’m perfectly chill

            Lord Grim: uh huh

            Lord Grim: can we stop saying chill

            Roaring Tiger: You said it first

            Lord Grim: where are you exactly

            Roaring Tiger: I was in the closest town, I’ll be there in a minute

            Lord Grim: okay

            Lord Grim: btw that was a good match

            Lord Grim: zhang xinjie’s tactics are as sharp as ever

            Roaring Tiger: Of course

            Lord Grim: and you were as fierce as ever

            Roaring Tiger: Of course

            Lord Grim: don’t you know how to thank someone

            Roaring Tiger: Why would I thank you for stating the obvious

            Roaring Tiger: Come up with a more genuine compliment

            Roaring Tiger: Then maybe I’ll be flattered

            Lord Grim: …you and boss might get along after all

            Lord Grim: why must you both question my sincerity

            Roaring Tiger: Because it lacks effort

            Lord Grim: i’m never gonna say anything nice about you ever again

            Roaring Tiger: Since when do you say nice things about me

            Lord Grim: i say nice things about you all the time!! and i always have

            Roaring Tiger: Right

            Lord Grim: believe me!!!

“You don’t want to, you know, flee in terror?” Ye Xiu asked Chen Guo.

Chen Guo glared at him. “No! I’m not leaving just because of him. I said I’d help so I’m helping.”

“Well, if that’s what you want. Just don’t panic in my direction or whatever.”

“Why the hell would I?” Chen Guo huffed, and she really did seem calmer than two minutes ago. “You’re the opposite of comforting.”

“You think I’m scary?”

“I think you’re absolutely infuriating.”

“Hey,” said a new voice, and both of their heads snapped toward their screens. Ye Xiu pulled his headphones up from around his neck.

“Old Han,” Ye Xiu greeted casually, sending a monster his way with a well-timed attack. “Here, your prize.”

“Prize for what?” Han Wenqing asked even as he dispatched the monster in short order.

“Winning the match!”

Han Wenqing snorted derisively. “Like I need a prize from you.”

In the midst of the banter, Ye Xiu sneaked a sideways glance at Chen Guo. Her hand was moving a little erratically over the keyboard and her grip around the mouse was a hair too tight, but her scowl wasn’t as bad as it could be. Maybe she’d be fine.

Really, as hilarious as it might be to watch Han Wenqing intimidate her the way he did most everyone, Ye Xiu seriously worried she might deduct his pay if her lifespan was shortened after this.

Ah, well. After playing alongside Han Wenqing so often, he really should be used to being the buffer.

“Old Han, this is my boss here at the Internet café, Chen Guo.”

“I’m Han Wenqing,” he introduced himself, though it was entirely unnecessary.

“Yes, I know,” Chen Guo managed after a moment of strained silence. “Nice to…meet you.” Even in the game, her voice sounded rather weak.

“Likewise.”

Without another word, Han Wenqing began grinding alongside them. Roaring Tiger was almost two levels behind Lord Grim due to his fuller schedule. He still tended to log on during training to play catch-up, but it wasn’t enough compared to Ye Xiu’s recent determination to reach Level 50.

“Anything special planned for this week?” Ye Xiu asked Han Wenqing.

“Besides the usual training, not really.”

“In that case, you can spend some more time leveling with us, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you two going to complete the Heavenly Domain Challenge at the same time?” Chen Guo suddenly asked.

Ye Xiu blinked, but didn’t turn to look at her. “Well, I don’t plan to drag this out. I guess if Old Han hurries up, he can start not long after me.”

“Are you calling me slow?”

“You are slow,” Ye Xiu told him, “but don’t worry, I forgive you.”

“Once you get to the Heavenly Domain, what then?” Chen Guo was still straightforwardly flinging questions at them, her voice unreadable. Ye Xiu at last turned to look at her, but besides what might have been a small furrow between her eyebrows, there was nothing in her expression.

“We keep leveling up Lord Grim and the Myriad Manifestations Umbrella,” Han Wenqing replied just as straightforwardly.

“Oh.” For some reason, that answer appeared to stump Chen Guo. “But… Wait, so Ye—Ye Qiu really will be joining Tyranny?”

“When did I say that?” Ye Xiu was alarmed. A mixture of uncertainty and guilt twisted through his insides, so powerful that his hands nearly froze. But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone again.

“Well, I just assumed, since…since Captain Han is doing all this—” Chen Guo sounded frustrated. “If he’s doing all this, why wouldn’t you join Tyranny?”

Now it was Ye Xiu’s turn to be stumped. He’d always gotten the impression that Chen Guo, in all her fangirling glory, would be adamantly against him joining Tyranny, despite what she’d said in that little ice cream parlor. Yet she sounded as if she couldn’t imagine any other outcome at this point.

“It’s…not like that,” Ye Xiu said with a trace of awkwardness. To be honest, he couldn’t even blame her. If there was anything less than his and Su Mucheng’s futures at stake, then Ye Xiu definitely would’ve agreed to join Tyranny just to repay this massive debt he owed Han Wenqing.

But that wasn’t what Han Wenqing wanted. Ye Xiu felt that, after everything they’d done together, this was one thing he could say he knew for certain.

Han Wenqing wouldn’t want him to join Tyranny for any other reason than because Ye Xiu wanted to.

“I’m helping him as his friend,” Han Wenqing said, strangely grave. “I don’t expect him to join my team in return.”

That painful twist of emotion returned briefly, but now it was mingled with a strange sort of relief, of gratitude. Though, maybe that just made it more painful.

Han Wenqing had been generous from the start, giving Ye Xiu his money and his time and never demanding anything in return, and he knew Han Wenqing. He knew this man wouldn’t betray him like Tao Xuan had. And still, he couldn’t help but doubt him, doubt all of this.

Perhaps Ye Xiu had stopped believing that good things could come for free a long time ago. Perhaps he’d gotten too used to paying the price for his dream.

Perhaps, after making so many sacrifices, he just couldn’t accept that someone else would sacrifice for him.

(He remembered lying on his bed with his head in Su Mucheng’s lap, asking, “Why Han Wenqing?” and her patient reply: “Because he cares.” It had seemed so groundbreaking then, a concept he never would have imagined on his own, yet when the time came for Han Wenqing to prove himself, he had done that and more. He had gone above and beyond the help he’d promised to give.

Ye Xiu had no choice but to believe—the evidence was right in front of him, wasn’t it? But it was just so fragile, this newfound faith, a flavor as fleeting as the rain and liable to slip through his fingers. He couldn’t get a grip on it, couldn’t own it the way he was sure he was supposed to, and it was such a terrible, terrible feeling.

It felt like betrayal.)

“Then you’re a really good friend,” came Chen Guo’s voice, sweeping into his thoughts.

He was a really good friend. A better one than Ye Xiu truly deserved, no doubt.

“It’s not a big deal,” was Han Wenqing’s even reply.

Ye Xiu could no longer hold himself back. “It is, though.”

“No,” Han Wenqing told him, and it seemed as if he was right there rather than in another city, far away and untouchable. “It’s really not.”

“I don’t understand you,” Ye Xiu said, and that was the crux of the issue, wasn’t it? He didn’t understand why. Why go to such lengths? Because he cared? So many people cared, even when he didn’t want them to, but none of them were like…this.

Ye Xiu never really could trust what he didn’t understand.

Han Wenqing snorted, not disparaging, but amused. “And I don’t understand you, but I’m still here. I’ll be here as long as you want me to be.”

Goddammit, Ye Xiu thought. Just…goddammit.

“I need a smoke,” he said numbly, to no one in particular.

For once, Chen Guo didn’t even try to stop him.

* * *

The next few weeks passed in a blur. Chen Guo eventually got used to playing with Han Wenqing. While their first meeting had been a little…emotionally charged, to say the least, she soon arrived at the conclusion that Han Wenqing didn’t actually care to make her life difficult. Aside from some pointed comments on how she should improve her gameplay, he left her alone.

It helped that Su Mucheng spent a few nights with them, too. Tang Rou had extended her vacation to spend more time with family, so for a while, Chen Guo lived alone with Ye Xiu. When Su Mucheng came over and Chen Guo got to see her in person, even sleep in the same apartment as her, she nearly burst into joyful tears.

She could endure far worse than Han Wenqing for her idol and new friend.

Probably the most entertaining aspect of it all was the three’s retelling of their misadventures on the tenth server. Following the All-Stars, things had been too exciting for Chen Guo to keep up with, so she had only watched over Ye Xiu’s shoulder occasionally as he and his gang waged war against the club guilds. She couldn’t help but find it immensely amusing, the way three renown pros, one rookie, two noobs, and an assortment of random ordinary players somehow managed to best the club guilds’ elites.

“This is what you call tactics,” Ye Xiu had said when Chen Guo expressed her mingled delight and disbelief.

“It’s playing dirty,” Han Wenqing clarified.

“Same difference.”

Then, before she knew it, it was time for Ye Xiu to take on the Heavenly Domain Challenge.

It shouldn’t have surprised her, the ease with which he sped through the challenges, but somehow it did. Chen Guo also decided to be generous and cut back on his responsibilities a little bit so he could focus on matters concerning Lord Grim—not that he had too many to begin with, especially since he was sharing the night shift with Tang Rou, but it was her way of expressing her support.

As a result, Ye Xiu completed the Heavenly Domain Challenge in record time—though not without causing a huge stir, as was his way.

“Are you always like this?” Chen Guo despaired. She was browsing through forum threads about Lord Grim and, well. The people’s comments were something, to be sure.

“What do you mean?”

“So damn flashy. That Dragon Raises Its Head was one thing, but now you’ve got the whole of Glory’s player base on your ass. And they don’t even know you’re Ye Qiu! What the hell?”

Ye Xiu shrugged helplessly. Chen Guo couldn’t believe the audacity. Like it was an accident that he’d drawn so much attention.

“Are you really not doing this intentionally?” she demanded.

“No. I just needed to get my Arena wins as quickly as possible.”

Chen Guo had to put her head down on the table. Was it awe-inspiring to see a god-level player crush multitudes of opponents like ants? Yes, of course. Was it irksome how Ye Xiu seemed to not give a single damn about anything besides getting to the Heavenly Domain? Oh, hell yes.

She didn’t know what to do with this man. She rather looked forward to the day he’d be out of her hair.

Tang Rou, who was sitting on her other side, patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Deep breaths, Guoguo.”

While Chen Guo was busy trying to accept reality, Ye Xiu finally entered the Heavenly Domain.

It wasn’t a special moment for him; he had come and gone from the Heavenly Domain countless times over the years. Most of the alts he practiced on were also parked somewhere in this expansive server. In short, it was a familiar sight to him, and he didn’t pay any mind to the chaos that erupted in the global chat when the system announced his arrival.

It was kind of inconvenient when all those friend requests temporarily froze the system, though. Ye Xiu finally acknowledged that maybe Chen Guo was right and he really did draw too much attention.

Not that he would ever tell her that, naturally.

All right, now that he was here, the first order of business was to level up. Lord Grim’s fame meant the guilds wouldn’t openly make a move against him, but there were other ways to hinder him from the shadows. Until Han Wenqing and the others could join him, he would have to stay on the downlow.

Chen Guo had her Level 70 Chasing Haze come over to kill monsters with him in one of the Level 50-55 areas. The excitement of the last few days had tempered her a bit, and it could even be said that she’d gotten used to Ye Xiu’s way of doing things. No matter how much she complained about him, she still wanted to be of assistance, and so assist she would.

After all, speaking with Su Mucheng and Han Wenqing had made it clear just how few people Ye Xiu could rely on.

They immersed themselves in leveling and had been at it for a good hour when their peace was interrupted.

“Someone is coming,” Ye Xiu said, not bothering to adjust his mic.

Chen Guo temporarily looked up from her screen to study his. He had pointed Lord Grim in the direction of their uninvited guests, but they were still a ways away. It took a few seconds of Chen Guo squinting for her to spot the movement of…four?—no, five characters. They were far, far in the distance.

“C’mon, you’re a god,” she said, returning her attention to Chasing Haze. “This should be no problem for you.”

Ye Xiu rolled his eyes. By themselves, such a paltry number of players truly weren’t a problem; the problem was whichever guild stood behind them.

He didn’t think he needed to explain this to Chen Guo. She just liked being obtuse to annoy him.

The group came closer and closer; Lord Grim and Chasing Haze continued to tear through monsters almost lazily. Ye Xiu made sure his view encompassed the unknown players and his surroundings in general.

“Oh, they’re from Heavenly Justice,” Chen Guo stated with some surprise.

“Heavenly Justice?” Ye Xiu was fairly certain there was no such club guild.

“They’re just a normal guild. I hear their leader, Loulan Slash, is a rich boy who loves to spend money on the game. His guild is actually pretty powerful.”

“Ah.” Ye Xiu really wished he had that kind of money. Technically he did, but he was still reluctant to use it. The last thing he wanted was to owe Han Wenqing even more. “So they shouldn’t have anything to do with the clubs.”

“Right.”

The Loulan Slash Chen Guo spoke of was in the lead, he noticed, and he carried Swordpoint. His companions also had amazing equipment and weapons—the kind of equipment a weaker club wouldn’t dare scoff at. Ye Xiu couldn’t help but regard them with some favor. Unlike a lot of people, he actually respected those who were willing to use their money for Glory: It at least meant they were dedicated to it.

Before they could come within hearing range, Ye Xiu said, “So this is Heavenly Justice’s core group?”

“Well, I guess. The only one I know of is Loulan Slash. But the others look impressive, too.”

Ye Xiu nodded and settled his headphones into place, adjusting his mic. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Guo doing the same. Beyond her, Tang Rou was absorbed in her own tasks.

He and Chen Guo exchanged one final glance, and then Lord Grim and Chasing Haze broke away from the monsters to cautiously greet the new arrivals.

They met at some nebulous halfway point and paused to evaluate each other. A speech bubble soon appeared above Loulan Slash’s head.

            Loulan Slash: Hi!

            Loulan Slash: Nice to meet you. :)

            Lord Grim: nice to meet you too :)

            Chasing Haze: Hi ^^

            Thousand Falling Leaves: Hi.

            Homeward Bound: heya!

            Ocean Ahead: Hey

            Night Tide: what’s up :]

All these friendly greetings were enough to make most people impatient, but Ye Xiu was very much aware of how the game was supposed to go. Chen Guo also seemed to approve of the group’s etiquette.

“Brother Lord Grim, it’s really an honor! I’ve never met anyone who could complete the Heavenly Domain Challenge at your level,” Loulan Slash said.

Now that he’d spoken up, Ye Xiu did as well. Smiling, he said, “I’m the one who’s honored.”

Yes, he’d literally just learned of Loulan Slash’s existence, but manners were manners.

“No, no, you’re really the amazing one here. I can’t help but wonder which server you used to play on. Maybe we’ve met before?”

“I used to play on the first server, but I haven’t been back there in a long time,” Ye Xiu replied.

That obviously stunned them. Chen Guo made a sound like she was suppressing laughter.

            Chasing Haze: You should tell them who you are!! Then they’ll really be amazed

            Lord Grim: lolol

“Brother…do you have an account in the Heavenly Domain already?” Loulan Slash asked cautiously.

“I did, but it’s not mine anymore.”

“What was its name?”

Ye Xiu knew what he was after, and could only smile softly, sadly. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve actually played on a bunch of accounts. You could say I’ve been everywhere.”

“I see… I just thought it was odd you’ve never been noticed before.”

“Oh, I’ve been noticed, but I usually keep a low profile.”

“I see,” Loulan Slash repeated.

An awkward silence followed.

Someone cleared their throat. It seemed to snap Loulan Slash out of his thoughts. “Ah! So, Brother, I was just wondering—I plan to make my own professional team and enter the Alliance next season. Good players are really hard to come by, but you just appeared out of nowhere a few days ago… Well, what do you think? Are you interested?”

Ye Xiu blinked. He had imagined this conversation going a whole bunch of different directions, but this was one he hadn’t considered. Seriously, when was the last time someone had tried to recruit him to their team? When Tao Xuan started talking about Excellent Era? Or maybe when Han Wenqing suggested he join Tyranny? Did that even count?

Ye Xiu shook himself. “Sorry, I have my own plans.”

He wasn’t sure what made him say it. In all honesty, a brand new team that had yet to debut was a good option for both himself and Su Mucheng. If Chen Guo’s word could be trusted, then Loulan Slash should shed money like cats shed fur; he could definitely make their lives easier in that regard.

But this…somehow didn’t feel like what he was waiting for.

“That’s a shame,” said Loulan Slash, and by his tone, he really meant it. “But if you change your mind…”

“Yeah, sure,” Ye Xiu said. “I won’t forget.”

“Then how about we add each other as friends? In case we can help each other in the future.”

Help each other, huh? Ye Xiu smirked. “All right. I’ll send you a request, I’m not accepting any right now.”

“How come?” It was the first time someone from the other side besides Loulan Slash had spoken. Ye Xiu couldn’t quite tell who it was, since the five of them were standing fairly close together, but he didn’t much care to know, either.

“I got a flood of them when I first showed up here,” he explained idly. “I seriously thought the game was going to crash.”

“Yeah, it was downright surreal,” Chen Guo agreed.

Loulan Slash laughed. “You’re just too popular, Brother. Okay, I’ve accepted, so let’s chat later. It looked like you two were leveling?”

“Yup.”

“Then we’ll leave you to it!”

And just like that, Loulan Slash and his group left.

Chen Guo waited a few moments, watching them go. Then she said, puzzled, “That’s it?” Her voice was no longer distorted; she had turned off her mic.

“That’s it,” Ye Xiu said, turning off his own mic and once again lowering his headphones. “What were you expecting?”

“I thought they would try harder to recruit you.”

Ye Xiu decisively had Lord Grim make his way back to the monsters. “They know better than to push. A guy like me who has so much experience—they figure I have my reasons. That Loulan Slash is probably going to take the chance to invite me over sometime, get to know me and my motivations better.”

“Do you plan to accept this hypothetical invitation?”

“Oh, definitely. If Heavenly Justice is as powerful as you say…” Ye Xiu chuckled. “Cooperating with them could only prove to be beneficial.”

Chen Guo eyed him oddly. Sometimes, it really felt like Ye Xiu was some moustache-twirling villain straight out of a novel.

“And Han Wenqing? The others?”

Ye Xiu still had that evil gleam in his eyes. “Ah, you’ve reminded me… I really hope they get here soon. Then it’ll be a real party.”

Chen Guo decided she had better light a candle for Loulan Slash later.

* * *

            Windy Rain: Okay wow

            Windy Rain: Could you guys be any more obvious with your smurfs

            Dark Forest: ???

            Sound Dust: what

            Successive Strike: what +1

            Doubtful Demon: what +2

            Windy Rain: Look at hottest topics

            Windy Rain: [screenshot.jpg]

            Troubling Rain: …………………

            Troubling Rain: PFFFFFT

            Rota: who tf are lord grim and roaring tiger??

            Demon Subduer: oh…

            Vaccaria: That really is rather obvious of them.

            Troubling Rain: obvious???? this is shameless absolutely shameless don’t they feel ashamed

            Troubling Rain: i think the owners of those accounts should step out now and confess :)))

            Immovable Rock: Why.

            Troubling Rain: oho do you not want to know who they are?? because i sure do, i think all of us do in fact

            Troubling Rain: they’re clearly more than shameless enough so they should just come out and reveal themselves, not like they have any dignity left anyway am i right

            Troubling Rain: come on no need to be shy, we’re all friends here aren’t we :)))))

            Life Extinguisher: what kind of logic is that… [tearfully laughing emoji]

            Swoksaar: Let’s not meddle in others’ affairs…

            Dancing Rain: Yeah

            Troubling Rain: your opinion doesn’t count!!! shut up you worthless human being

            Swoksaar: ………

            Eight Notes: [alarmed emoji]

            Troubling Rain: ………………

            Troubling Rain: i meant su mucheng

            Dancing Rain: Lol

            Windy Rain: Stop bullying Mucheng you scum

            Troubling Rain: OH I’M THE SCUM?? I’M THE SCUM???? THAT GIRL IS THE DEFINITION OF SCUM

            Swoksaar: Shaotian.

            Ye Qiu: so noisy

            Troubling Rain: YOU!!!!!!!!!

            Troubling Rain: YOU YOU YOU

            Emotionless Magic: …

            Ye Qiu: oh hello he ming

            Emotionless Magic: …hi…

            Troubling Rain: OLD YE YOU’VE FINALLY APPEARED YOU DARE TO SHOW YOUR FACE

            Ye Qiu: why are you calling mucheng names

            Doubtful Demon: o.o

            Troubling Rain: obviously because she deserves it, she 100% deserves it and no one can convince me otherwise

            Ye Qiu: i know where you live

            Troubling Rain: i dare you to come over here and pk me irl!!! let me punch you right in the face

            Ye Qiu: lol

            Desert Dust: Lol

            Desert Dust: How about I punch you in the face

            Immovable Rock: …

            Doubtful Demon: O.O

            Angelica: [sweating emoji]

            Tide: [sweating emoji]

            Swoksaar: Ah.

            Vaccaria: [facepalm.jpg]

            Vaccaria: Can’t you put a muzzle on him or something? @Swoksaar

            Swoksaar: Oh I wish.

            Windy Rain: That escalated quickly

            Windy Rain: But you know what, I’ll also go over and pk you Huang Shaotian :)

            Dancing Rain: :) [heart][heart][heart]

            Troubling Rain: i hate all of you

            Level 50s in HD: A Summary

[ Frantic Beat - 15 Feb 2023 #1 ]

What we know so far:

Three players from the 10th server arrived in HD over the last few days, all of them in the level 50-55 range. Lord Grim, a very infamous fellow or so I hear, was the first of them, and then his partner in crime Roaring Tiger came next (level 50 like Lord Grim), followed by One Inch Ash, someone we see with them pretty often.

These three players so far have been seen to be cooperating with Heavenly Justice (there are already plenty of topics about this guild, so look them up yourself). They’re going on wild boss hunts with them and the whole shebang. Also seem to have some others hanging around them, including a launcher.

* Some people are saying this launcher is the same as the one they hang out with in the 10th, Cleansing Mist, but Cleansing Mist is still shown to be relatively active in the 10th so I don’t really know. Maybe, maybe not.

—

Anyway, that’s all that can be confirmed on that front. Speculation about Lord Grim is flying all over the place thanks to that chain of Arena wins. For those in the back who still think he’s hacking: the company has already said he’s not. That umbrella is a silver weapon.

Roaring Tiger also bulldozed through the HD challenge but he’s a little more mysterious than Lord Grim. His best moment was probably when he nearly killed that BBG elite back in the 10th lol. As for One Inch Ash…yeah, dunno what to say about him. Probably should avoid pissing off the three of them, and look out for these names: Cleansing Mist, Soft Mist, Steamed Bun Invasion.

tl;dr: Shit’s wild you guys.

[ Black Doll - 15 Feb 2023 #2 ]

thank you so much!! man the gossip these days is hella good, can’t remember the last time we had so much excitement in game.

quick question: what are the odds that these guys are pro players?

[ Frantic Beat - 16 Feb 2023 #3 ]

@Black Doll you’re welcome.

In regards to them being pros, I think it’s unlikely. Recently I’ve been reading all the other threads about these guys and from what I can tell, they are online way too often to be pro players, especially Lord Grim. I guess the others?? Maybe they could be, who knows, but I don’t see why pros would hang out with a normal player so often even if he is really damn good.

[ Rice n’ Beans - 16 Feb 2023 #4 ]

Heard that lord grim might be some retired pro player……………wonder who it could be

[ Mincemeat - 16 Feb 2023 #5 ]

i think it’s a lot more likely that lord grim is just a young player who’s looking to build a reputation for himself and get into a club

he’s got the skills and all so it shouldn’t be hard, maybe we’ll hear about him signing on with a team soon

same could be said for the others ofc…personally I think roaring tiger vs desert dust would be awesome lolol

@Rice n’ Beans i feel like i know what you’re implying but ye qiu isn’t actually retired

[ Gentle Stream - 21 Feb 2023 #6 ]

@Frantic Beat thanks, friend~

if I may throw in my two cents—I think it’s possible they are all (or majority) pro players experimenting in-game. Lord Grim’s silver weapon is unique to say the least, so maybe they’re just trying to develop it. tbh the whole idea of playing unspecialized was considered by pretty much everyone to be inviable so…this could be like one elaborate training regime for them.

that said, I’ve heard that Soft Mist and Steamed Bun Invasion are actually noobs. a friend in one of the club guilds told me the higher-ups wanted to bring them into the fold but it didn’t work out. the same friend also told me they hang out with ordinary players too and recently they’ve been seen playing with a really shitty summoner.

I can’t imagine how all these pieces fit tbh. in line with my theory, maybe the pros in the gang are trying to raise new talents??

…you know, the more I think about it the more outlandish my theory seems…

[ Descendant - 26 Feb 2023 #7 ]

@Gentle Stream it really is outlandish like cmon, a bunch of pros coming to the game to build a silver weapon and train noobs?? what are you smoking and can i have some???

Su Mucheng V

18 February 2023 17:29

Thank you to everyone for your kind wishes! Getting older always feels weird but the passage of time only brings us more gifts… There is a lot to be happy about!! Thank you again for making this a beautiful birthday!!! [sparkling heart]

bookmark       1192012 shares           29011 comments        2274523 likes

Ye Qiu V: did you eat cake

            Su Mucheng V: I sure did

            Ye Qiu V: and you didn’t share??

            Su Mucheng V: Come over and get some :)))

            Ye Qiu V: :(

            Gaga-lada: can’t tell if flirting or taunting

            Chu Yunxiu V: @Gaga-lada definitely taunting

            Ye Qiu V: ^^^^^

Chu Yunxiu V: Mumu!! I hope you’ve had a great day [confetti emoji] Did you get my gift? Did you like it??

            Su Mucheng V: Yes!!! Tysm <3

            Chu Yunxiu V: <3

Han Wenqing V: Happy birthday

            Su Mucheng V: Aww thank you Captain Han!

I’m (not) a Believer: Praise be to my goddess, I hope she has the happiest birthday of all~!! [sparkling heart][birthday cake emoji][confetti emoji]

            Su Mucheng V: [happy emoji]

            Adrift: @I’m (not) a Believer your goddess has finally noticed you

Dai Yanqi V: Have a great day senior <3

            Su Mucheng V: Aww thanks <3

Stirfryyy: First of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEST GIRL but tell me I’m not the only one who saw Han Wenqing wishing best girl a happy birthday

            DevonD: you aren’t

            Stirfryyy: Oh good for a second I thought I was hallucinating…

            Rumors of Lin Jingyan leaving Wind Howl?

[ Resting in Pieces - 3 Mar 2023 #1 ]

Sorry for the clickbait title lol but people in high places have been leaking these rumors for the past week or so, can anyone confirm or deny? Not sure who to believe.

[ Beginning Madness - 3 Mar 2023 #2 ]

please don’t make posts like this if you’re just going to mislead people :/

[ Frantic Beat - 3 Mar 2023 #3 ]

I’m glad you brought this up OP, I’ve also noted the same rumors drifting around these forums and it would be nice if we could know one way or another. But I don’t think anyone is going to outright say it, especially because we haven’t even reached play-offs yet and the transfer window is far off. We’re probably going to have to wait a while to get answers.

[ In Retaliation - 4 Mar 2023 #4 ]

This year has been pretty crazy in terms of rumors so I wouldn’t count on LJY leaving, it’s probably just somebody’s attempt to redirect attention away from YQ and all that business

[ Quietly Abide - 4 Mar 2023 #5 ]

@In Retaliation redirect attention away from ee you mean…ever since god ye started becoming a little more visible on weibo and stuff and not to mention allstars…ee has been acting really suspiciously…totally shut down whenever god ye is mentioned…wonder why that is ???

[ Frantic Beat - 4 Mar 2023 #6 ]

@Quietly Abide

Very off-topic but I have to agree with you lol.

But I don’t see how rumors of Lin Jingyan leaving Wind Howl would put pressure off Excellent Era. If anything people are expecting Lin Jingyan to retire after this season, so him leaving wouldn’t necessarily be news.

[ Resting in Pieces - 4 Mar 2023 #7 ]

@Frantic Beat - you make a good point but what if he transfers elsewhere?

[ In Retaliation - 5 Mar 2023 #8 ]

Lol who would take him

            Ye Qiu: [sunglasses emoji]

            Desert Dust: What do you want

            Ye Qiu: do you know what day it is

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Ye Qiu: it’s march 31st

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Ye Qiu: it’s your birthday!

            Desert Dust: Yes

            Ye Qiu: congratulations!! you’re older now :)))

            Desert Dust: Thanks I know

            Ye Qiu: as a birthday gift i’ll just give you a bunch of materials, how does that sound??

            Desert Dust: Passable

            Ye Qiu: wow rude

            Ye Qiu: where is the gratitude

            Desert Dust: I have plans so I won’t be online tonight

            Ye Qiu: it’s fine, it’s fine

            Ye Qiu: you go and celebrate

            Ye Qiu: have fun and all that, you old man you

            Desert Dust: Oh I’m sure you’ll have fun without me

            Ye Qiu: i’ll raise hell in your name ;)

            Desert Dust: Like you need an excuse to raise hell

            Ye Qiu: it’s still nice to have one

            Desert Dust: I’m sure

* * *

“Lin Jingyan?”

“Mhmm.”

“Why him?”

“He needs somewhere to go.”

“A regular do-gooder, aren’t you?” Ye Qiu’s voice was wry.

Han Wenqing grunted as he adjusted himself. His behind was quickly becoming numb from sitting so long. He usually didn’t play for hours at a time without taking any breaks to walk around and stretch, but…it was easy to get absorbed, these days.

Providing he spent those days with Ye Qiu.

“What, are you objecting?”

“What would I object to?” Ye Qiu returned airily. “It’s not exactly my business who you invite to your team… Though, I must say, are you trying to bring up Tyranny’s average age?”

Han Wenqing didn’t dignify that with a response. “Yifan,” he said to the only other player nearby, “if you’re tired, you should just go to sleep.”

“Ah? No, I’m all right, Senior…” came Qiao Yifan’s meek voice.

Lord Grim shuffled over to help Qiao Yifan’s One Inch Ash fend off some monsters. “You’re lagging a bit.”

“I’m all right,” Qiao Yifan insisted.

Even though neither of them could see him, Han Wenqing rolled his eyes. He didn’t know what it was about these kids he and Ye Qiu had gathered, but they were the sort of people who couldn’t listen to common sense even if it screamed at them. The only one who was even vaguely reasonable about matters such as these was Concealed Light, and Concealed Light was…well. Not exactly up to par. And not here at the moment.

“Well, you do you, kid,” Ye Qiu said easily enough, returning to his original position. Their three characters formed a somewhat wobbly triangle; they moved in tandem, maintaining a relatively even distance from each other.

Leveling up was taking a while. Han Wenqing had expected it to, and realistically, he didn’t need to worry about leveling up Roaring Tiger—the important one here was Lord Grim. However, if he wanted to be able to help properly, he had to keep up with Ye Qiu’s pace. It was more of a feat than he had imagined, even with Qiao Yifan’s help.

Qiao Yifan… He had to admit, he wasn’t entirely sure what Qiao Yifan was getting from all this. It wasn’t likely he’d remain in Tiny Herb, that was true, but spending so much of his time here with them—was it really just to learn? Or was it to get away? Had he grown too distant from his team and too attached to them? Was he really pinning all his hopes on this Phantom Demon he had personally raised from scratch?

Thinking about Qiao Yifan’s future was enough to summon a headache from the depths of his skull. As illogical as it was, Han Wenqing felt at least partially responsible for the kid. Like Lin Jingyan, maybe he would also have nowhere to go after this season.

It was a sobering possibility.

These kids, they all had so much potential. Su Mucheng did, too. Ye Qiu, Lin Jingyan, they still had so much to give. He wanted all of them to have their chances.

But there was only so much Han Wenqing could do, and only so many opportunities available. That was the nature of the Glory Professional Alliance—of competition.

Han Wenqing didn’t know long they could go on like this before Ye Qiu made his decision. Would the past few months become meaningless once that happened? Perhaps it depended on what Ye Qiu chose, but it made Han Wenqing uneasy to think of Qiao Yifan, Tang Rou, and even that Steamed Bun—hell, even Concealed Light—just…fading out of his life.

What would happen to them? Was it even something he should be concerning himself with?

            Lord Grim: is something wrong?

            Roaring Tiger: No

            Roaring Tiger: I’m thinking

            Roaring Tiger: Why

            Lord Grim: you just seem so quiet tonight

            Lord Grim: what exactly are you thinking about?

            Roaring Tiger: Do you ever wonder what everyone will do once you’ve finished here

            Lord Grim: what do you mean…

            Roaring Tiger: When Lord Grim is leveled up and the umbrella is complete

            Roaring Tiger: Do you think about what they will do

            Lord Grim: whatever they want to, i suppose

            Roaring Tiger: …

            Lord Grim: look, old han

            Lord Grim: we can’t make anyone’s decisions for them

            Lord Grim: i personally think our little qiao has a lot of potential