Chapter 11

At some point, this review meeting had turned into a personal solo between Bian Yan and Pei Yun Chang. The two of them were discussing so intensely that they got everyone else involved.

The morning training ended quickly.

“That’s it for today’s training. Everyone, eat early and don’t be late for the afternoon session,” Qin Yu Xuan said as he pulled out the USB drive and packed up his things to leave. Just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something and turned back.

“Oh, right, Xiao Pei just came to me…”

Bian Yan, who was passionately discussing lunch plans with Lu Chang Kong, froze in his tracks upon hearing Qin Yu Xuan’s sudden words.

Damn, he almost forgot about this.

Bian Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously as he looked at Qin Yu Xuan, his mind racing to come up with an explanation.

From a distance, Pei Yun Chang noticed a certain someone standing there dazed, a playful smile flickering in his eyes.

“Since Xu Ke isn’t around these days, if anyone needs to buy anything, just let me know, and I’ll pass it on when she returns. Xiao Pei mentioned that his room’s kettle accidentally broke, and I’ve noted it down. Does anyone else have anything to report?” Qin Yu Xuan asked, opening his phone’s memo app and looking around at everyone.

Everyone shook their heads, and after a few more words, he left the room.

The kettle broke? Not reporting him?

Bian Yan was a bit surprised and couldn’t help but glance at Pei Yun Chang, meeting his teasing gaze.

Who knows what he’s thinking, but as long as nothing happened, Bian Yan quickly convinced himself.

[Dormitory]

Lu Chang Kong ate too much at lunch and collapsed onto the bed as soon as he entered the room, staring at the ceiling to digest.

Bian Yan, having used his brain too much in the morning, wasn’t sleepy and started tidying up his clothes.

“Hey, Lu, have you seen my white scarf?” Bian Yan asked, hanging his jacket on the rack and looking up at Lu Chang Kong. “I remember wearing it a couple of days ago.”

“Haven’t seen… your what?” Lu Chang Kong sat up, a sudden realization hitting him.

Wasn’t there someone who visited last night with a scarf draped over their arm?

“It’s my scarf, not my underwear,” Bian Yan said, exasperated. “Why are you suddenly grinning so slyly?”

“Haven’t seen it!” Lu Chang Kong quickly wiped the grin off his face and nodded vigorously. “Right! I have no recollection!”

Bian Yan’s mouth twitched slightly, and he replied helplessly, “Alright then.”

Where could it have gone?

After searching his suitcase and the clothes rack for the nth time without success, Bian Yan finally gave up.

[Training Room]

This afternoon’s training was still about solo duels, so as long as the partners arrived, they could start training without waiting for everyone.

Lu Chang Kong immediately went to find Xiao Zi, and Pan Shi found PP. Everyone was lively and started training, creating a great atmosphere in the training room.

Only Pei Yun Chang was left alone, waiting.

He glanced at his watch. Fifteen minutes had passed since training started, and Bian Yan still hadn’t shown up.

Pan Shi and Lu Chang Kong were in the middle of an intense match, so interrupting them to call Bian Yan was clearly not an option.

“Love-struck guy, rule-breaker, latecomer,” Pei Yun Chang muttered, not too loudly or softly.

[Dormitory]

—If you can’t do it, don’t blame the road for being uneven.

—Why are you shouting when you’re so bad at playing AD?

In his mind, Pei Yun Chang’s mocking voice echoed like thunder, the tail end repeating over and over.

Bian Yan’s face turned red with anger, his eyes wide like copper bells, wishing he could immediately shout back.

But it felt like something was stuck in his throat, and no matter how hard he tried, he could only make a few indistinct sounds.

Pei Yun Chang’s mocking voice continued, and Bian Yan, veins bulging on his forehead, could only raise his hands in frustration and flip him off with both middle fingers.

Pei Yun Chang was unfazed by the gesture, his lips still curled in that mocking smile, head slightly tilted, eyes full of disdain.

That smile was blinding.

Bian Yan rubbed his eyes, leaned in closer, and tried to read his lips—

He was saying—

Practice more if you’re bad.

Damn it!!!

Bian Yan shouted, waking up in a cold sweat, gasping for air, his head pounding.

Why was he dreaming about Pei Yun Chang?

And if he was dreaming, why wasn’t it a satisfying scenario where he was beating Pei Yun Chang? In reality, he was mocked by him, and even in his dreams, he couldn’t escape.

Bian Yan was speechless with himself.

He took a deep breath, fumbling around the bed for his phone—

2:40!?

Oh no, oh no, he’s late! And today’s afternoon training is a solo duel with Pei Yun Chang.

At that moment, Bian Yan felt like dying, the breath he had just calmed down rising again.

[Hallway]

Pei Yun Chang, with one hand in his pocket and the other playing with his phone, leisurely walked upstairs towards dorm 305.

Just as he reached the door and was about to knock, the door swung open on its own.

Bian Yan’s shout exploded in his ear, causing Pei Yun Chang to take a few steps back from the shock.

“What are you yelling about?” Pei Yun Chang asked, his face dark.

“I’m late!” Bian Yan didn’t even notice who he bumped into, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and running down the stairs, muttering, “Heavenly spirits, curse Pei Yun Chang to oversleep too…”

“Not everyone is like you,” Pei Yun Chang said, following leisurely behind him, adding with a smile.

It was only then that Bian Yan realized the person he was cursing was right behind him.

…

What rotten luck.

Bian Yan rubbed his temples, holding back for a moment before retorting, “It’s training time, why are you here?”

Pei Yun Chang smirked, trying to suppress his impolite smile, leaning against the wall, and pointed at Bian Yan’s dorm door.

“To wake up someone who’s both in love and stays out all night, and is also late.”

“Thanks, huh~” Bian Yan forced a smile.

“Is that so, good teammate? How about a little token of appreciation?” Pei Yun Chang replied without missing a beat.

Bian Yan’s eyebrow twitched.

This guy was mimicking his words. How much did he hear in the bathroom that day?

Knowing he couldn’t avoid it, Bian Yan took out his phone to send him a red envelope, only to realize he hadn’t even added him on WeChat.

What a great teammate.

Pei Yun Chang stood there, unmoving, with a faint smile, showing no intention of opening a QR code.

Bian Yan took a deep breath, opened the WIN youth training group, found a certain someone, and reluctantly sent a friend request.

Pei Yun Chang was satisfied, finally standing up straight, and the two headed to the training room one after the other.

Qin Yu Xuan was having a tactical analysis meeting with Shen Chuan this afternoon, so the two of them managed to avoid a disaster.

Pei Yun Chang sat down, opened the game, and while waiting for it to load, took out his phone to accept Bian Yan’s friend request.

As he opened WeChat, his expression turned quite interesting at whatever he saw.

On the other side, Bian Yan noticed his movements and couldn’t help but laugh, finally getting some satisfaction.

On Pei Yun Chang’s friend request page, there was a glaring message—

[Changzi, open the door, I’m your sugar daddy]

Pei Yun Chang’s finger hovered for a moment before he accepted, which delighted Bian Yan. He immediately sent him 520 yuan with a panda wink emoji.

[Y: If it’s not enough, ask daddy for more.]

Pei Yun Chang snorted, not replying a single word, and quickly accepted the payment.

Never say no to money.

The two of them opened a room and entered the game.

For the first match, Bian Yan chose Light. After his in-depth research last night, he had fully grasped the essence of the magic penetration flow Light, and today he was determined to test his skills.

Pei Yun Chang initially wanted to pick the Flower God Bow, but after lingering on the hero selection screen for a moment, he chose Hunter instead.

The game began.

Bian Yan meticulously mimicked Pei Yun Chang’s playstyle, not leaving the tower, buying a bunch of magic items, and Pei Yun Chang couldn’t even touch his clothes.

It wasn’t until Bian Yan unleashed a burst of damage and solo-killed Pei Yun Chang that he realized how satisfying Pei Yun Chang’s playstyle was!

What kind of miserable days had he been living before!

Perhaps because he had just teased Pei Yun Chang and was in a good mood, Bian Yan performed exceptionally well in this match, crushing Pei Yun Chang’s crystal.

After losing thirty-one times, it was the first time Bian Yan tasted victory against Pei Yun Chang.

Bian Yan pressed his lips together, trying hard to suppress the uncontrollable upward curve of his mouth, sneaking a glance at Pei Yun Chang to make sure he wasn’t looking before secretly pressing the Win and PrintScreen keys.

Click—

The sound of a screenshot echoed, audible throughout the training room.

Then came Pei Yun Chang’s soft laughter.

Bian Yan covered his eyes, feeling utterly defeated.

The two of them played a few more matches afterward. Although Pei Yun Chang still won more, Bian Yan didn’t lose too badly.

Because the screenshot of the victory was so embarrassing, as soon as training ended, Bian Yan didn’t even stay to review his performance and quickly slipped away with his bag.

Pei Yun Chang watched his retreating back, amused, a smile lingering on his lips. Leaning back in his chair, he opened Bian Yan’s WeChat chat and sent him a red envelope.

[Pyc: [Transfer-666]]

[Pyc: Congratulations]

A real killer move.

As expected, Bian Yan didn’t accept it.

Ever since being zeroed out, Bian Yan had been sneaking out to the internet cafe every night for extra practice, returning at 7:30 the next morning.

Two hours of ranked matches, two hours of review, plus an hour of vision training, Bian Yan was training one and a half times more than a regular person in a day.

Pan Shi and Lu Chang Kong even called him the king of hard work.

“He trains during regular hours, and when others are sleeping, he’s still training. He comes early in the morning, half an hour early at noon, and even watches operation highlights during dinner. He’s a monster.”

Though it was exhausting, after nearly a week of relentless extra practice, Bian Yan went from being zeroed out by Pei Yun Chang to being able to go three-seven or even four-six in solo duels against him, which was the happiest thing for him.

In a certain album named “Sanction PYC” in someone’s gallery, the victory screenshots were increasing, and Bian Yan would often take a look at them.

But what surprised Bian Yan the most during this time was that Pei Yun Chang had long known about his nightly escapades and never mentioned it to anyone, let alone reported him.

When Qin Yu Xuan emphasized discipline, he would even cover for him a bit.

Bian Yan assumed it was his transfer that worked.

Once he mastered it, he would definitely go easy on Pei Yun Chang.

At least he wouldn’t zero him out.

That night, Bian Yan slipped out as usual at ten and was seated in the internet cafe by ten-thirty.

This time, he was smart about it, always eating before coming, and catching up on sleep whenever he could, so he was in great shape and practiced until four in the morning without checking his phone.

Bian Yan stretched his wrist, opened his phone with one hand, and finally saw a message from Pei Yun Chang sent at eleven-something.

[Pyc: Did you sneak out again tonight?]

Too tired to type, Bian Yan sent Pei Yun Chang a two-second voice message and fell asleep before getting a reply.

Pei Yun Chang had his notification sound on max, waking up immediately when his phone buzzed.

He sat up and played the voice message, Bian Yan’s lazy voice filling the room—

“Yeah~”

Pei Yun Chang was both amused and exasperated, sending several messages, but there was no reply.

When Bian Yan opened his eyes again, it was already 7:05.

He rubbed his eyes, still lying on the table, and opened his phone to see Pei Yun Chang’s messages flooding the screen.

—4:23 AM

[Y: [Voice-2s]]

[Pyc: You should head back now]

[Pyc: Sister Xu Ke is back from her trip, Coach Qin is picking her up, they’ll be at the base by 7:30]

—5:00 AM

[Pyc: Where are you? I’ve turned on the lobby lights for you]

—5:11 AM

[Pyc: Did you fall asleep? (smile)]

—6:01 AM

[Pyc: When will you wake up?]

[Pyc: (Goodbye)(Goodbye)]

The most recent message was sent ten minutes ago.

[Pyc: Sister Xu Ke has landed and met up with Coach Qin, they’re heading to the base]

[Pyc: Don’t come back, just wait for your doom]

Bian Yan: …

No need to wait, he’s already doomed.