Professional competitions are not like the casual game “Magic Realm,” which is just child’s play.

They not only require individual skill but also teamwork.

After returning to their country, they downloaded the game. Ning Qiuxiu had almost zero experience with games, but “Magic Realm” gave her a sense of superiority.

So she excitedly rubbed her hands together, thinking that under Zhan Qingyue’s leadership, she would surely carry the team.

But when she started the game, she cried.

“Summoner’s Call” is not like “Magic Realm.”

There are six professions with simple skills, and often it’s more about equipment. “Summoner’s Call” has a total of 78 professions, or heroes.

Although each hero has only four simple skills, there are so many heroes that it’s hard to remember them all if you don’t play regularly.

“And,” Zhan Qingyue said, “you can’t just know one hero.

This is a ban-pick game. The opponents can ban five of your heroes, and you can ban five of theirs.

Each game has a total of 10 heroes that can’t be selected.

If you only know one or two heroes, you’ll be targeted heavily.

So, you need to be proficient with several heroes, adapting to different heroes for different games to win with your team.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

If you can crush others with money, why rely on skill!

Ning Qiuxiu looked at the row of unfamiliar heroes and said, “I’m having second thoughts. What should I do now?”

“You think professional gaming is easy? Having a diverse hero pool is just the basic requirement. Your individual skills, reaction time, and teamwork also affect the outcome of the game.”

“Forget it,” Ning Qiuxiu threw her phone aside, “I think I’ll just play casual matches. The difficulty is too high.”

Seeing that Ning Qiuxiu hadn’t even started and was already giving up, Zhan Qingyue picked up her phone, took her hand, and put it back.

“Just give it a try. You have more than two months. As long as you’re not completely talentless in games, playing a few practice matches should be fine.”

Ning Qiuxiu’s confidence was somewhat restored: “Really?”

Zhan Qingyue bent down and kissed her forehead: “Giving you strength.”

“Ooh!” Ning Qiuxiu leaned in, “I want double portions!”

Zhan Qingyue flicked her forehead: “Only if you win.”

“???” What kind of talk is that?

Seeing him about to sit back down, Ning Qiuxiu suddenly stood up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a peck on the lips, making a “smack” sound when she let go. She chuckled, “I’ll handle it myself.”

Zhan Qingyue: “…….”

Both of them couldn’t help but laugh at each other’s childish behavior, feeling much more relaxed.

Ning Qiuxiu re-entered the game, chose a support role as instructed by Zhan Qingyue, and played a match against AI to get a feel for the game.

At first, Ning Qiuxiu didn’t even know how to navigate the map. It was so large, and although there were in-game hints, she was still confused.

Fortunately, although Zhan Qingyue hadn’t played this exact game, he said he had played a similar one before, except it was on a computer rather than a phone.

So he applied what he knew from that game to this one, and it worked perfectly. With his guidance, Ning Qiuxiu completed a match against AI but still felt completely lost.

“It’s okay. Just get used to how the game works. Now let’s try a 1v1 match.”

When playing “Magic Realm,” Zhan Qingyue taught her 1v1 and she was heavily beaten.

Ning Qiuxiu had a strong feeling she was in for a tough time and would be badly beaten.

But she also knew that this was the fastest way to familiarize herself with the skills.

Once she got through the initial discomfort, things would become clear.

The two of them played until 11 p.m. Ning Qiuxiu finally started to understand the game a bit better.

Especially since Zhan Qingyue had her play a few team matches, and they managed to win easily, with Zhan Qingyue even getting an MVP.

Ning Qiuxiu was instantly pumped up: “Ah, I feel like I’m a gaming genius!”

“The Bronze level is mostly filled with beginners like you who don’t know much,” Zhan Qingyue harshly critiqued her, “You see, many people can’t even find their own path. After playing all night, you’re already ahead of them.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be the starting line?” Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t discouraged by his critique. “Teacher Zhan, you’re so strict, not even giving me any praise. How can I have confidence?”

“……” Zhan Qingyue smiled, “I’ll praise you.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

Could you be a little less perfunctory?

But Ning Qiuxiu clearly underestimated Zhan Qingyue’s cunning.

Since they both had work the next day, after finishing the game, they both took a shower and went to bed.

Ning Qiuxiu was a bit slower and only got into bed after Zhan Qingyue had been lying there for a while.

As soon as she got in bed, Zhan Qingyue turned over and held her in his arms, his eyes showing the emotions he was feeling at that moment.

“Tomorrow is a workday,” Ning Qiuxiu weakly protested.

“Just this once, for pleasure.”

“……” What kind of reasoning is that?

But Ning Qiuxiu had little willpower and, after a few weak protests, gave in.

When the appetizer was over and they started the main course, Zhan Qingyue slowly moved in.

Ning Qiuxiu always felt very nervous at this time, only relaxing when he had completely entered.

Seeing her finally relax with a big sigh, Zhan Qingyue leaned in and kissed her: “Qiuxiu is amazing, Teacher Zhan praises you.”

Ning Qiuxiu’s brain, filled with mush, responded with: “???”

If she weren’t afraid of him ruining things, she would have kicked him off the bed—this dog of a man!

Thus began Ning Qiuxiu’s harsh “training,” and soon it was June 8th.

With the end of the college entrance exams, the drama “Wandering” was strongly launched.

“Wandering” was a project invested in by Zhan Qingyuan to promote Ji Weiliang, putting in a lot of effort.

In the novel, Ji Weiliang gained fame through this drama, becoming truly popular with “one drama.”

Although the second female lead had changed, the rest of the cast and script remained the same as in the novel.

The new actress for the second female lead had even better acting skills and more current popularity.

So, just a few days after the drama aired, it received recognition and attention from all walks of life.

Almost everyone was watching it.

The hottest topics, aside from the still popular male lead Fang Jinran, were Ning Qiuxiu, even slightly overshadowing Ji Weiliang’s popularity.

The reason, aside from Ning Qiuxiu’s well-executed promotion, was that her acting skills were far superior.

Many people were even puzzled as to why Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t cast as the female lead. Given her background and current status, she seemed more suited for the lead role.

It didn’t make sense!

As a result, many people began discussing on Weibo why Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t the female lead.

However, the topic was quickly suppressed by the PR team, who had anticipated this issue.

Not being cast as the lead this time wasn’t a problem; she could always play the lead in the future.

There was no need to use this opportunity to undermine Ji Weiliang’s popularity.

With the popularity of “Wandering,” the most distressed person was Zhan Qingyuan.

It was clear that the female lead had a strong presence.

Even though this foolish younger brother had been stuck in his rut for so long, he seemed unwilling to be alone and kept coming back to the big house.

He also developed a deep friendship with the single dog, Miao Miao.

Miao Miao had deeply attracted to Zhan Qingyuan’s aura. It followed him around every day, more excited to see him than its own parents.

Moreover, Miao Miao had a spring-like personality; it was afraid of Zhan Qingyue and acted dumb and obedient around him.

This also meant that Ning Qiuxiu received similar submissive treatment from Miao Miao.

When Miao Miao saw that Zhan Qingyuan wasn’t harsh with it, its courage grew.

Even when Zhan Qingyuan woke up late every morning, Miao Miao would scratch his door to wake him up, getting increasingly inflated.

Unfortunately, it happened to be the weekend, when Zhan Qingyuan was planning to sleep in.

Miao Miao, furious, failed to wake him up and, in a fit of rage, chewed up his pillow. If Zhan Qingyuan hadn’t woken up in time, the entire bed would have been destroyed.

To make matters worse, this incident reached Zhan Qingyue’s ears.

Miao Miao was punished to sit with its head on a pillow in the living room for half an hour, with an additional ten minutes added every time it fell off.

Miao Miao looked utterly aggrieved, sending out a pleading look.

Unable to resist its pitiful gaze, Zhan Qingyuan pleaded for it: “Brother, don’t punish it. It’s just a pillow. We can buy another one. We’re not short on money.”

“Absolutely not,” Zhan Qingyue said coldly. “Without punishment, it won’t learn its lesson. Tomorrow, it might tear the house apart.”

“…… It’s not that serious. Hey, brother, I really like Miao Miao. How about you just give it to me? I promise to take good care of it.”

“Not a chance,” Ning Qiuxiu interjected from the side. “It’s my child. If you like it, have your own.”

Zhan Qingyuan: “……”

Show me how you’re going to give birth to a Husky!

“Then could you lend it to me for a few days?” Zhan Qingyuan tried a roundabout approach. “I’ll come back after a while. I live alone and feel lonely, needing a companion.”

Zhan Qingyue was about to invite Ning Qiuxiu for a match but paused when he heard Zhan Qingyuan’s request.

He looked at Zhan Qingyue with a serious expression.

Zhan Qingyuan instantly straightened up like a student caught doing something wrong: “Brother, w-what’s the matter?”

“It’s been five months,” Zhan Qingyue said flatly.

“……” Zhan Qingyuan knew what he was referring to. It had been five months since he and Ji Weiliang broke up.

Zhan Qingyuan lowered his head, waiting to be scolded.

However, Zhan Qingyue didn’t scold him. Instead, he asked, “Do you remember Zhong Baolai?”

Zhong Baolai’s family was similar to Ning Qiuxiu’s family in relation to them—both were prominent families who had known each other since childhood.

They were neither close nor distant, but Zhong Baolai’s family was of lower status and often tried to curry favor with them.

Later, when Zhan’s father passed away, Zhan Qingyue took over the family affairs, while Zhan Qingyuan was left to squander the family wealth.

At a dinner party, Zhong Baolai, trying to flatter Zhan Qingyue, took the opportunity to belittle Zhan Qingyuan.

He said that Zhan Qingyuan was like mud that couldn’t be molded, and that he was being held back by Zhan Qingyue.

This made Zhan Qingyue extremely angry.

At that time, Zhan Qingyue was still young and not as composed as he is now.

He harshly scolded Zhong Baolai in public and even cut off all contact between the two families.

Zhan Qingyuan didn’t remember all the details but recalled Zhan Qingyue saying one thing: “Qingyuan’s abilities are not inferior to anyone’s. His failures are only because I protected him. If you don’t understand, just keep quiet.”

It turned out that Zhan Qingyue was right.

When he had an accident, Zhan Qingyuan stepped up and proved he was just as capable, if not more so, in handling the situation.

But now, for a woman named Ji Weiliang, Zhan Qingyuan had handed everything back to Zhan Qingyue.

“If you’re still not motivated after half a year because of a woman, I’ll regret ever protecting you,” Zhan Qingyue said, patting his shoulder. “Don’t let me down, Qingyuan. Zhuosen’s future still depends on you.”

“Okay…” Zhan Qingyuan lowered his eyes but replied firmly, “I understand. I’ll work hard, brother.”

Zhan Qingyue nodded and said to Ning Qiuxiu, “Qiuxiu, let’s go to the study.”

He stood up and walked towards the study.

“Alright,” Ning Qiuxiu hurriedly followed.

After closing the door, Ning Qiuxiu gave Zhan Qingyue a thumbs-up: “Teacher Zhan, your teaching skills are top-notch.”

Zhan Qingyue raised an eyebrow and said, “I’m embarrassed. I just used it as an excuse to pass Zhuosen onto him.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “…”

After being scolded, Zhan Qingyuan felt heavy-hearted and went out with his car keys, wanting to clear his mind by driving around.

Miaomiao, who was being punished and sitting with a pillow on her head: “Did you guys forget something?”