CHAPTER 4: A FEMALE FAN’S LITTLE SECRET 

Wearing her headphones, Shu Jia sat frozen in front of the computer screen, holding her breath.

That sudden, unexpected surprise hit her like a tidal wave, and her heart thumped wildly.

She stared blankly at the monitor for a long while before finally remembering to move her mouse and click “Accept.”

She could even recall that moment—the instant she saw the notification, time seemed to stop for a split second. Then, click.

It felt like fireworks exploded right in front of her, flooding her chest with happiness.

Shu Jia fell back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was so happy her breathing turned unsteady, too afraid to even glance back at the game.

Through the slats of the blinds, the faint glow of the streetlights slipped into the room.

She closed her eyes, and her mind involuntarily drifted back to that night—
The moment Zhou Dang leaned over to take her pen, his soft, dark hair brushing against her shoulder.

….

The next day, her cousin texted her, asking Shu Jia to accompany her to take their puppy to the vet that afternoon.

Wangwang was the little puppy her cousin’s family had just adopted, a Malinois they got from a friend. It was barely a month or two old.

Shu Jia hesitated for a while. The thing was, at 1:30 p.m., she’d wanted to stay home and watch the WR match…

Sighing, she called her cousin. “You don’t have classes this afternoon?”

Cousin: “It’s Friday! Come pick me up at my school later. I’m staying at your place this weekend, and I’ll bring Wangwang with me.”

Shu Jia: “What about your mom?”

Cousin: “She and Dad went to Beijing to climb the Great Wall.”

Shu Jia sighed helplessly. “Alright, fine.”

Around noon, she rode her little e-scooter to wait outside her cousin’s university gate. She waited so long the flowers practically wilted before she finally saw her cousin come running out, backpack bouncing behind her.

“Jie… Jie!” Her cousin was panting heavily. “I’m here, I’m here, let’s go.”

Shu Jia took her bag. “Slow down, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I didn’t want to make you wait.”

Her cousin wrapped an arm around her waist. “Come on, come on, let’s go pick up Wangwang first.”

On the way, her cousin sat behind her, rambling endlessly about random daily gossip. Shu Jia kept quiet, just listening.

“Jie,” her cousin suddenly called from behind.

“Mm?”

“Did anyone recognize you today and ask for an autograph?” Her cousin scooted closer, leaning forward a little. “My classmates don’t even know I have a web-celebrity cousin. Hahaha, I didn’t tell anyone!”

Shu Jia gave her a look. “You think I’m Wu Yanzu or something? People just stop me on the street asking for signatures?”

“Well, you’re not that popular. Washed-up streamer.” Her cousin said matter-of-factly. “You’ve got no future.”

Shu Jia ignored her.

After picking up the puppy from her cousin’s place, they headed to the vet. It was already pretty crowded when they arrived. Her cousin hugged Wangwang and went to the reception desk to check in.

Shu Jia waited on the side, holding both their bags.

Turns out the puppy was sick and needed shots. Her cousin handed Shu Jia her phone and said, “Jie, wait outside for me. I’ll take Wangwang to see the vet.”

The hallway smelled strongly of disinfectant, making Shu Jia feel a little dizzy.

She checked her phone—already 1:30.

The WR group stage match had already started…

Anxious, she ran over to the receptionist and asked for the Wi-Fi password.

The young woman looked confused. “Sorry, miss, we don’t have Wi-Fi here.”

Shu Jia sighed. “Thanks anyway.”

She found a random bench, sat down, and opened the LoL companion app, deciding to use mobile data to watch the livestream.

As soon as the stream loaded, it was WR versus YLD, Game 1. They were still in the ban/pick phase.

YLD had locked in Ashe, Janna, Viktor, Jayce, and finally, Tahm Kench.

WR’s jungler and ADC picks were still open. Shu Jia frowned slightly; YLD’s comp looked strong and stable for late-game scaling.

Suddenly, the camera cut to WR’s players, and Zhou Dang’s face filled her screen without warning.

Through her earphones, she could hear the crowd going wild.

One of the commentators teased, “Tsk, Wan’s popularity is insane. I think some of his female fans are about to faint.”

The other chuckled knowingly. “That’s our Wan for you—calm on the outside, fiery on the inside.”

“Eh, Wan locked in Jhin? Wait, hold on, Jhin’s locked! And… huh? He’s taking Ignite on Alistar??”

“Hahaha, looks like WR’s planning to camp YLD’s bot lane hard this game.”

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, with faint screams bleeding through the broadcast.

Zhou Dang sat there in WR’s team jersey, his profile lit by the stage lights. The coach leaned in close, murmuring something to him. Zhou Dang adjusted his headset mic with one hand and made a quick gesture with the other.

His slender, well-defined fingers were pale, the knuckles clean and elegant.

Shu Jia thought she finally understood why so many girls liked him.

His features carried a blend of softness and youthfulness that was hard to resist.

Despite his insane skills, he rarely spoke during streams or interviews, his silence making him seem distant and untouchable. The dark circles under his eyes looked heavy, his lips pale—he probably hadn’t been sleeping well for days.

Shu Jia’s chest tightened with an odd pang of sympathy.

“Jie?” Her cousin’s voice pulled her back to reality. She looked up to see her standing there, Wangwang in her arms, peering down at her. “You’re using mobile data to watch this? Since when are you so into League of Legends?”

Shu Jia forced her expression to remain neutral, turned off her phone, and stood up. “Don’t sneak up on me like that, alright?”

Her cousin blinked innocently. “I’ve been standing here for ages. Who knew you’d be so absorbed?”

Shu Jia handed her the backpack. “Why’d the shots finish so quickly?”

“Cut the line, hehe.” Her cousin grinned, then looped back to her earlier topic. “I swear, you’re just like my roommate now. She’s obsessed with esports too, always on Weibo checking gossip. Total fangirl.”

Shu Jia didn’t reply. “Let’s go eat.”

She rented an apartment near the university, and the nearby street was lined with small restaurants packed with students.

They wandered from shop to shop before finally picking a cozy Japanese restaurant.

Just as they sat down, someone called out her name.

Shu Jia looked up and spotted an old friend waving enthusiastically from a table diagonally across.

It was Li Li, a cosplayer she’d met at a comic convention ages ago. Today, she looked surprisingly normal—jet-black short hair framing a doll-like pale face, dressed in a short skirt, white socks, and student-style black leather shoes.

“What are you doing here?” Shu Jia brought her cousin over, then noticed the support sign propped behind Li Li’s chair. It had “YG” printed on it—along with an illustration Shu Jia had drawn just a few days ago. She raised a brow.

“Jie, are we eating with your friend?” her cousin asked from the side.

Li Li beamed and waved them over. “Of course, sit down, sit down.”

“You’re going to watch the match later?” Shu Jia asked.

Li Li was flipping through the menu and nodded without looking up. “Yep, YG’s got a game tonight at six. I’m going to cheer them on.”

Shu Jia nodded, leaning back against the wall, half-sitting, half-slouching, and didn’t ask further.

“Dandan, do you have any favorite esports players?” Li Li asked as she placed her order, confirming dishes with her friend before handing the menu to the waiter.

“Me?” Shu Jia thought for a moment, then straightened slightly. “It’s all fine.”

“What about YG? The one you drew a few days ago—who do you like?” Li Li pressed curiously.

She couldn’t really remember, so she casually picked one she had some impression of. “OP, I guess.”

She hadn’t expected that answer would make Li Li so excited, as if she’d found a soulmate. “I love OP too! Do you want to come with me to the match later? I can take you right in.”

Shu Jia shook her head, hesitated for a second, then decided to be honest. “Actually, I like WR more.”

Li Li pursed her lips. “WR’s fans especially love to fight with our team’s fans.”

Just then, the pudding and matcha dessert arrived. Shu Jia stirred the baked rice in front of her with a spoon and ate quietly, one bite at a time.

Li Li kept chatting idly across from her, and Shu Jia listened attentively. After a while, Li Li looked at her closely and suddenly asked, “Xiao Dan, have you ever thought about doing cosplay? I think you’d be perfect for it.”

Her long, soft black hair, her small pale face. She looked slender and quiet, not showy at all, with a clean, gentle aura.

Her cousin joined in, fanning the flames. “Yeah, sis, if you keep being so lukewarm, no one’s gonna watch your streams anymore. You’ll be completely washed up.”

Shu Jia was stunned for a second, then laughed. “I’ve never thought about it.”

She was planning to open a cake shop now, and spent all her spare time on streaming and drawing. Her Weibo already had over a hundred thousand followers. She had neither the time nor the interest.

Li Li smiled. “I think you’re really good. Calm. It feels like people who draw always have such refined temperaments.”

Shu Jia gave a small smile, but didn’t reply.

Not long after, more people trickled in—most of them YG fans, judging by the matching support outfits.

Across the room, two guys and a girl were chatting enthusiastically, their conversation never straying from the summer LOL tournament. Their voices drifted over to her ears.

“Feels like YLD is going to get wrecked tonight. WR’s just too strong this season, they can’t keep up.”

“Not necessarily. Their new jungler’s really good, man.”

“You think Wan has more male fans or female fans?”

“Wan’s temper is too weird, I don’t like him. I like warm guys, like ggbond, Spider-Man, hahaha.”

“You girls are so shallow. We only look at skill, okay? Teacher Cang will forever be my ADC king.”

Across the table, Li Li was busy on WeChat, probably contacting someone. Shu Jia kept her head down, eating quietly. She didn’t join in, just listened in silence.

When she was about done, she said goodbye to Li Li, paid the bill, and left with her cousin.

“Where do you want to go?” Shu Jia asked softly.

Her cousin pouted. “Go home and sleep.”

“Cousin.” The girl poked her in the back. “I kinda want to try cosplay too. What do you think?”

Shu Jia didn’t answer, just gave her a sidelong glance.

“Well?”

“As long as it makes you happy.”

They biked back home.

Shu Jia opened the door, bent to change into slippers, and let her cousin in before closing the door.

She reminded her cousin, “No getting into bed before you shower.”

Her cousin rolled her eyes, flopped onto the sofa with the little dog in her arms, and said, “Got it, got it. Go do your thing, don’t worry about me.”

Shu Jia stopped fussing over her and went to her room to find a charger. She plugged her phone in, and as soon as she turned it on, a WeChat message popped up from Jiang Yuyu.

She opened it—it was a screenshot from Moments.

The name was FLY, and the post had two pictures attached.

The caption read:

The first picture was a dice app. The second: Wan kept losing tonight, and the girl next to him was drinking for him 【doge】

Shu Jia zoomed in.

It was from the night out with Jiang Yuyu.

In the photo, her eyes were curved in a smile, her forehead and neck glistening with sweat, her cheeks flushed as she tilted her head back, drinking.

And the man she was drinking for leaned back on the sofa, head resting against the wall, quietly watching her.

It was Zhou Dang.

Shu Jia’s face went up in flames.

---

Author’s Note:
T T Aiya, single-player games aren’t fun. Tell me, is anyone actually reading this? (cries in frustration)

Quick explanation: “港软” is Shanghainese slang for cursing, 0.0

See you tomorrow, babies~ kiss kiss.