Little Lame Donkey 12:34:19: I’m preparing to participate in the school’s “Battle Royale” autumn tournament for university students.

Little Lame Donkey 15:28:23: Yuan Xiu?

Little Lame Donkey 19:01:00: Are you busy? �� ����

In the shooting room of X Base Club, the sunlight slanted from the west through the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the room with a warm glow.

The rows of targets in front had been shot at until they were almost bare. The team members, wearing soft light goggles, were practicing their shooting.

Yuan Xiu, carrying a towel to wipe the sweat from his temples, walked to the chair and picked up his phone.

As he looked down at the messages, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Ren Xiang squinted at him and said, “Smiling like a dead dog, there’s something fishy.”

Gu Zhefeng, hitting the bullseye with three shots, said nonchalantly, “Lately, he’s been smiling at his phone like an idiot, looking really sleazy.”

Ah Heng sighed, “A young man who isn’t showy is wasting his youth.”

Yuan Xiu put on a black vest, picked up his phone, and quickly typed out a message.

….

In the dorm room.

Lu Manman sat in front of the computer, browsing the school forum for the registration requirements for the school’s “Battle Royale” autumn tournament. The phone on the edge of the desk buzzed.

[Yuan Xiu 19:15:03: Are you very familiar with him?]

Uh…

To say familiar, well, not really. Not like the ironclad friendship she had with Akko. But Lu Manman thought Yuan Xiu was pretty good, and she wanted to develop a good friendship with him. So, like with Ake, she would sometimes exchange messages and chat about trivial matters to build their relationship.

Was it offensive?

He was too direct.

But, but… Lu Manman opened Weibo and searched for Yuan Xiu’s homepage. The number of followers: 9.1 million.

By today’s standards, he was a popular rising star, even called the “national husband” of the esports community by fans.

She wasn’t a “w” now, but an ordinary university student who wanted to enter the Chinese esports professional scene.

The popularity disparity made it hard to be friends! Sending messages to a national husband like him felt like trying to ride on his coattails; no wonder he hadn’t replied.

Little Lame Donkey 19:20:12: Then… I’ll go to sleep now! Good night!

I shouldn’t message him anymore! So awkward!

Yuan Xiu 19:20:20: Sleep? Pig?

Little Lame Donkey 19:24:01: …

Yuan Xiu 19:24:18: My fans all call me “brother.”

Little Lame Donkey 19:30:01: Huh?

Yuan Xiu 19:30:13: Is it so hard to call me “brother” like everyone else?

Little Lame Donkey 19:33:23: I need… to get used to it.

Yuan Xiu 19:33:30: ……

Earlier, he ignored her, but now his replies came instantly, leaving Lu Manman feeling a bit flustered and unable to keep up.

Yuan Xiu wanted her to call him “brother.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t say it; it just felt… strange, but she couldn’t pinpoint why.

She searched for X’s fan club on Baidu and found videos of the X team at various events. In the footage, enthusiastic female fans waved banners and shouted in unison, “Brother, go for it! Brother, you’re awesome! Brother, I love you!”

Actually, it didn’t seem that hard.

Lu Manman scratched her head, feeling like a mess; she just couldn’t say it!

Xia Tian looked up from her textbook and glanced at her disheveled hair, slowly saying, “You… your hair is oily.”

“……”

Xia Tian continued, “If you don’t want to wash your hair tonight, then stop scratching it.”

“……”

Headache. Forget it.

….

Lu Manman noted down the email of the student council organizer, filled out the form, and submitted her registration for the competition.

The university’s autumn esports tournament would first hold internal selections to choose outstanding players to represent the school at provincial and national levels.

The internal competition consisted of several rounds: solo, duo, and team events. Since Lu Manman hadn’t found a teammate yet, she registered for the solo event.

Whether solo or team, the competition followed an elimination format. The top ten scorers from each match and the last players standing would advance to the next round.

With each advancement, the number of competitors gradually decreased, ultimately identifying the top players to represent the school at the provincial and national competitions.

This autumn tournament was led by B University’s student council, attracting numerous participants. However, for Lu Manman, defeating these amateur players was a piece of cake.

In the entertainment section of the campus forum:

“Breaking News: A dark horse emerges in the solo competition, racking up kills with an M4! Total kills have exceeded a hundred!”

“Five consecutive matches with insane kills & the highest scores! Unprecedented! Students are dubbing her the ‘Kill Collector’ and ‘M4 Murder Queen!'”

“OMG, I encountered the legendary M4 in the competition! Turns out she’s a girl!”

“M4 is really a girl, totally blew my mind.”

“I also faced M4; I can’t even think about it, it was a nightmare.”

…

During the autumn tournament, the campus forum’s chicken-eating section was filled with numerous similar posts, prominently displayed on the homepage.

The legendary dark horse player M4 became the hot topic of discussion on the forum, quickly capturing everyone’s attention. Whether on or off campus, even in the fried chicken shop near the school’s back gate, students were talking about her.

“Wow, that M4 is incredible! She’s definitely taking the solo championship this time, maybe even both the score and ranking titles!”

“Why do they call her M4?”

“Because she always uses an M4 rifle during matches.”

“I’ve never heard of her before; she really is a dark horse.”

“Esports is full of talent, and it’s easy to become famous overnight, so it’s not surprising.”

“I’m curious, if she faces last year’s finals champion Chen Jingming, who would win?”

“Chen Jingming also won both the score and ranking titles last year, but he’s joined the school’s Battle Royale esports club this time and is registering for the duo competition, so we probably won’t see a showdown between him and M4.”

“What a shame.”

…

The fried chicken shop was bustling with business, filled with people.

The air was thick with greasy scents, and the sizzling sound of chicken frying filled the room.

Lu Manman and her two roommates sat at a small table by the window, sharing a small bag of salty crispy chicken.

Cheng Yu glanced sideways at Lu Manman and let out a light “Hmph.”

“Eat some chicken,” Lu Manman pushed the crispy chicken pieces toward Cheng Yu with a sweet smile.

“Looks like you’re destined for pro play. It’s obvious you’ve got the skills. My solo competition prize money is probably out of reach now,” Cheng Yu said, skewering a piece of chicken with a toothpick, biting into it with a satisfying crunch.

Lu Manman shrugged it off, “I can give you the prize money; it’s no big deal.”

“Absolutely not,” Cheng Yu quickly replied. “A person of ambition doesn’t drink from stolen wells, and a righteous person doesn’t accept food offered out of pity. The prize money is yours; it wouldn’t mean anything if I took it.”

Lu Manman shrugged, “Then I’ll treat you to fried chicken.”

“That works,” Cheng Yu sighed, “to comfort my wounded soul.”

She then added, “I never realized you were this good. With that M4, you could sweep through everyone. I bet even Chen Jingming wouldn’t be your match.”

“Who’s Chen Jingming?”

Cheng Yu explained, “He was the provincial champion in last spring’s live competition and is now a seed player in the school’s Battle Royale club. I heard several professional clubs are interested in him.”

“But he hasn’t joined a pro team yet; he’s probably waiting for a better offer, wanting to rack up more achievements to raise his market value. He performed well in the duo competition this time, so he’s likely to win the championship and make it to the provincial competition, maybe even the national one.”

Lu Manman said, “That sounds promising.”

Cheng Yu confidently said, “In the past two weeks, Manman, your kill count has already surpassed last year’s Chen Jingming’s record. Even if you face him, I don’t think you’d be at a disadvantage.”

Lu Manman smiled slightly but didn’t respond.

She didn’t consider someone like Chen Jingming, an amateur provincial champion, to be a threat at all.

Five minutes later, Xia Tian walked over with a box of chicken popcorn, her cheeks flushed.

“Why is your face so red?”

“I… I’m fine.”

Lu Manman glanced toward the queue for fried chicken and spotted a handsome guy in a white shirt holding a guitar case.

She stared at her phone, waiting for the fried chicken.

Xia Tian’s gaze flickered, her face almost glowing.

“Looks like our little shy one has a thing for the charming type,” Cheng Yu said with a knowing smile.

“No, no!” Xia Tian hurriedly explained, “I just tripped earlier, and he helped me up.”

“Helping you up, and you’re already smitten? Tsk.”

Xia Tian’s face turned a deep shade of red. “I’m not! Really!”

“Why be shy? It’s normal. That guitar guy is pretty handsome.”

Lu Manman chimed in, “Oh, his chicken is ready.”

Sure enough, the server called his number and skillfully bagged his fried chicken. “Welcome to come again.”

“Time to go,” Lu Manman stretched out her words. “In this vast sea of people, who knows when we’ll meet again?”

Xia Tian felt a bit anxious but didn’t know what to do, so she just lowered her head and muttered, “It’s… it’s fine. If he leaves, then…”

“Just a little accidental love at first sight,” Cheng Yu said, shaking her head. “Look at you, so shy. It’s up to you, Missy.”

“What are you doing?!”

Xia Tian reached out to tug at Lu Manman’s sleeve, but Cheng Yu had already walked over to the handsome guy with the guitar.

She started chatting with him casually, glancing back at Xia Tian from time to time.

Xia Tian buried her face in the table, feeling completely overwhelmed. “Ahhh!”

Lu Manman, sipping from her soda bottle, bit the straw and said, “Oh! They exchanged WeChat.”

Xia Tian suddenly looked up to see the guitar guy pulling out his WeChat QR code, while Cheng Yu snapped a photo of it with her phone.

The guy turned back just as Xia Tian’s panicked gaze met his.

He smiled at her, like the gentle sunlight melting snow in spring, causing even Lu Manman’s heart to flutter.

So warm.

Looking back at Xia Tian, she seemed completely out of it, her face flushed beyond description, breathing heavily like a bull ready to roar.

The guy picked up his bag of fried chicken and walked out of the shop with his guitar.

Xia Tian couldn’t tear her gaze away from his retreating figure until Cheng Yu handed her the photo of the WeChat QR code. “Scan it and add him.”

Xia Tian held Cheng Yu’s phone, staring at the QR code, which featured an electric guitar under a blue sky.

Her mind was still reeling, and she murmured, “I’ve never done something this thrilling before.”

Lu Manman couldn’t help but tease, “The real thrill is what Cheng Yu did; you’re just sitting here hyping yourself up.”

Xia Tian quickly turned to Cheng Yu, asking, “What did you say? Did you mention me?”

“Don’t worry,” Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow. “I told him that the girl in glasses over here wanted to add him on WeChat, and that she’s super sweet and great at everything.”

The girl in glasses quickly pulled out her phone, using the reflective screen to check her face, then sighed, “My dark circles are so bad today.”

Lu Manman let out a soda burp, “It’s because you’re a battle-hardened scholar who stays up until one or two every night; those bags are your badge of honor.”

“Right, right!” Xia Tian turned back to Cheng Yu, “Did you tell him my grades? I got 95 in every subject, a 600 in Level 6, and I was the science top scorer in the college entrance exam, and also…”

Cheng Yu interrupted, “With achievements like that, you should probably tell him yourself.”

….

That night.

Little Lame Donkey: AAAAHHH!

When a new WeChat message popped up on the screen, Yuan Xiu was playing a mobile game with his teammates.

“Ah, Captain! I’ve been hit! Come save me!” Ah Heng exclaimed.

“I’ll reply to a message,” Yuan Xiu said, exiting the game to send a text—

“Quit shouting.”

He re-entered the game, rushing to Ah Heng, who was down to low health, and crouched to revive him.

Little Lame Donkey: I’m a bit nervous about the solo finals the day after tomorrow.

Yuan Xiu raised an eyebrow; it was surprising that someone like “W” would feel nervous about such a competition.

“Captain, why did you stop again?” Ah Heng called out.

“Replying to a message; I’ll be right back to save you.”

Ah Heng: …

“You don’t need to come anymore; the enemy just came upstairs and smashed me with a pot lid.”

“Oh, perfect.”

“And they took you out too.”

As Yuan Xiu typed his response, he called out to Gu Zhefeng on the opposite sofa, “Red scarf boy, come avenge us.”

***

Lu Manman dangled her legs from the top bunk, her feet spread out as she texted Yuan Xiu.

On the bottom bunk, a rare sight unfolded: Xia Tian was not studying but instead squatting on her chair like a monkey, holding an A4 sheet of paper.

She was daydreaming.

Cheng Yu walked into the dorm carrying a basin. “Xia Tian, what are you holding?”

Xia Tian remained lost in thought.

Lu Manman casually chimed in, “She printed out his WeChat QR code to use as a poster, planning to worship it with incense every night before bed.”

Cheng Yu was speechless. “So, did you add him or not?”

Xia Tian buried her face in the A4 paper, letting out a couple of frustrated sounds.

Lu Manman continued, “I bet five cents that she has the heart but lacks the guts.”

“You’re something else,” Cheng Yu rolled her eyes. “Hand me your phone.”

Xia Tian quickly opened the WeChat scanner and handed her phone to Cheng Yu, holding the A4 paper above her head.

She blinked, looking pitiful and helpless.

Cheng Yu was both amused and exasperated as she scanned the handsome guy’s code with Xia Tian’s phone and then typed a verification message—

“I’m Xia Tian, nice to meet you, brother. “

Xia Tian’s face turned bright red, curling up in excitement. “Ah, oh my gosh! What did you send?!”

“Just call him brother.”

Lu Manman was curious. “So, that’s it? What does it mean?”

Cheng Yu looked up. “You don’t get it? Hearing a girl he liked call him ‘brother’ can really get some guys excited.”

Lu Manman: ????

Instinctively, she glanced at her phone screen, scrolling up to her chat with Yuan Xiu.

“Fans all call me “brother”.”

“Is it really hard to call me ‘brother’?”

Lu Manman: ….