CHAPTER 11:  WE’RE GOING ON A DATE

Author’s Note: Babies! Sorry to disappoint, this isn’t an update hahahah.

I need to stockpile some chapters the next few days, because I’m afraid exam week will break the update streak. Also… it looks like I’m about to sign a contract…

T T So let’s meet again in a few days. For now, just forget me hahahha.
I do have one chapter saved, and it’s super sweet, but I can’t release it yet orz. Once I stockpile enough, we’ll update daily =3!!!
Mwah mwah mwah!

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After a few rounds of games, Shu Jia was completely exhausted.

Playing with a group of top players, she had to worry about holding the team back, while also fending off everyone’s teasing.

She was utterly drained.

Listening to Jiang Yuyu and the others say goodbye to fans on YY, Shu Jia stayed quiet. She just typed a goodbye in the chat and logged off.

After exiting the game, she sat in her chair for a long time, unable to recover, her brain dull and sluggish. She picked up her phone out of habit to check the time—only to realize it was already nearly 2 a.m.

She dazed out for a moment, then padded barefoot in her slippers to the kitchen to pour herself some water.

She had barely taken a sip when her phone, still in her hand, rang.

Still drinking, Shu Jia lifted the phone to look at the caller ID. It was a local number she didn’t recognize.

Could it be a prank call in the middle of the night?

She swallowed, answered, and asked curiously, “Hello?”

Silence.

She pulled the phone away to check the screen again, then repeated, “Hello? Anyone there?”

“Shu Jia.” The voice came through, low and hoarse.

Her heart gave a jolt, her fingers tightening around the phone.

It took her a long moment before she hesitantly spoke. “Zhou… Zhou Dang?”

“Mm.”

She clenched the glass in her hand, and with difficulty asked, “Is something wrong?”

There was about two seconds of silence.

“Your earring is still with me.”

“I know.”

A faint click of a lighter came from the other end.

“Are you free tomorrow?” His voice was slightly muffled, like he had a cigarette between his lips.

Shu Jia’s breathing quickened.

She forced herself to calm down before answering in as steady a voice as she could, “Yes.”

It wasn’t clear if he heard, but after a pause, Zhou Dang’s lazy voice drifted over: “Mm, I’ll come find you tomorrow.”

…

Shu Jia dashed from the kitchen, across the living room, and back to her bedroom.

Her heart was pounding wildly, completely out of sync with the stillness of the early morning.

She flopped onto the bed, pressing a hand to her chest as she stared at the ceiling.

She wanted to scream with joy.

So tomorrow… she was going to see him alone…?

He was always so busy, either in training or competing. Other than catching a distant glimpse of him onstage, or scrolling through updates from his fans on Weibo, she couldn’t think of any way to get close to him.

Sometimes, it made her really downhearted—clearly wanting to move closer, yet feeling like there was no way in.

But this time, thanks to her earring of all things…

Happiness had fallen from the sky so suddenly, it almost knocked her out.

…..

The next day.

The moment Shu Jia woke up, she jumped out of bed.

She yanked open the curtains. Outside, rain was pouring down, a foggy curtain that blurred everything from view.

She quickly turned on her phone to check the weather.

No way… seriously?

Not believing it, she checked two more apps. Both said heavy rain today and tomorrow.

Was their date really about to be ruined like this… what the hell.

Yesterday the weather had been fine—early it didn’t rain, late it didn’t rain, but now it decided to… She had even planned for ages about how to find an excuse to drag him around shopping, even looked up movie times on WeChat…

She was crushed, sitting back on the bed, wondering what to do.

After thinking forever with no solution, Shu Jia finally picked up her phone and sent him a message.

Shufu Jia: Are you there…

It didn’t take long for Zhou Dang to reply.

W:

Shufu Jia: Today… it looks like it’s raining…

W: Saw that.

Shufu Jia: Will you still come find me…?

W: Mm.

Zhou Dang seemed impatient with the hassle of texting and directly called her instead.

Flustered, Shu Jia picked up. “Hello.”

“When are you free?” he asked bluntly.

“I’m free whenever,” Shu Jia hesitated, then asked, “But with it raining this hard… is it convenient for you?”

He responded with a faint “Mm.”

As they talked, an idea suddenly struck her.

“How about this,” Shu Jia suggested, “Do you know the little alley next to the overpass on West Street?”

“No.”

Shu Jia faltered. “Then do you know the overpass? It’s really close to where you play your matches.”

He seemed to think for a moment.

She hurried to explain, “When you come out of the sports center, turn left and keep going. You’ll see a traffic light, then turn right…”

He cut her off. “Got it.”

Shu Jia’s face flushed.

The two of them… it really felt like a young couple carefully planning their first date.

She took a breath. “I opened a dessert shop in that area. Come by this afternoon, I’ll treat you to something sweet, okay?”

Afraid he’d refuse, she awkwardly added, “It’s just to thank you for keeping my earring safe all this time…”

The moment she said it, even she felt how flimsy that excuse was.

He didn’t say anything.

She held her breath, waiting for his reply. For a moment, there was only silence.

Then finally, she heard his voice from the other side:

—“Okay.”

Shu Jia immediately bounced on the bed in her floral cotton nightdress.

She spun around the room in excitement.

Pressing her palms against her burning cheeks, she calmed herself down just enough to start fretting over what to wear.

She flung open her wardrobe and flipped through clothes…

Mature style, girly style, loli style, sexy style… She had no idea what he liked…

One outfit after another, she tried them on in front of the mirror, but nothing felt right.

After half an hour of fussing, she gave up and went straight online to search:

WR’s ADC Wan likes what type of girls

The results popped up, making her laugh and cry at the same time.

The very first headline, bold and clear:

Shocking! WR’s WAN admits he has no ideal type!

A genius in esports, a prodigy who rose young—he had poured nearly all of his passion into the professional path, and so naturally wouldn’t spend much energy on romance…

That was how many in the circle saw him.

As for the general public, their impression of him was:

A stunning face, WR’s formidable captain, blazing like firewood catching flame.

A hoarse voice. Arrogant. Cold.

Shu Jia stared for a while, and suddenly… she lost all confidence.

He was so good. So many girls liked him, and plenty of them were far prettier than her.

She didn’t think there was anything special about herself that could possibly attract him.

Even if he played games with her, even if he kept her earrings safe for her — things that, to outsiders, might already look ambiguous — she still feared she was just imagining things on her own.

She didn’t dare to guess whether Zhou Dang… might actually like her, even just a little.

She knew very well just how stubborn he was.

She still remembered the first time she went out to eat with their whole group, when they happened to run into a few fangirls taking pictures at the restaurant.

Everyone else more or less cooperated, but Zhou Dang was the only one who impatiently yanked up the collar of his team jacket to block his face.

For things he didn’t like, he rejected them directly.

For a guy like that to actually agree to go on a “date” she suggested… she should’ve been over the moon.

But…

Maybe it was because she was naturally soft-hearted, or maybe it was just a girl’s fragile, overthinking tendencies when it came to relationships. Every bit of happiness she felt was always laced with a faint, inexplicable sense of foreboding.

Shu Jia hugged her knees as she sat on the floor, feeling a little sad, and completely lost the mood to pick clothes.