In the end, Zhan Qingyuan didn’t get to go.

However, in this round, Zhan Qingyuan was restricted by Zhan Qingyue and couldn’t go, thinking that Zhan Qingyue wouldn’t let him.

Disheartened, he played while reflecting on a lot of things.

His feelings for Ji Weiliang had become more about obsession than mere affection.

He had heard about Ji Weiliang’s relationship with the executive from Yixing before it was publicly revealed.

Although he was still disappointed, he had managed to adopt an attitude of moving on.

However, the drama “Wandering” was shot during the period of his intense romance with Ji Weiliang.

He had accompanied her in studying the script and rehearsing, often spending entire days together in a pleasant environment while he worked and she read the script.

Thus, the broadcast of “Wandering” was a big impact on him—too many memories.

But memories aside, after the conversation with his brother last time, Zhan Qingyuan had thoroughly come to terms with the nature of love.

Love is like that—people can live without it. Losing love and then losing one’s career is the real loss among losers.

But he didn’t expect today’s situation.

He had watched Ji Weiliao rise from the bottom, and people with backgrounds like Ning Qiuxiu’s had to work so hard.

Ji Weiliang was once the girl he liked so much.

Although there was no chance for them anymore, he didn’t want to see her fall into despair, so he wanted to help her.

However, Zhan Qingyue had seen through his thoughts and didn’t give him the opportunity.

During the game, Zhan Qingyuan found various reasons to persuade himself, and… successfully convinced himself.

As a result, when Zhan Qingyue actually let him go, he hesitated.

Meanwhile, Miaomiao, who was chewing on its favorite rabbit toy in its own corner, saw the big bad Zhan Qingyue leave.

It barked, jumped onto the sofa where Zhan Qingyuan was sitting, and nudged him to show its excitement.

Miaomiao’s need for attention was so strong that Zhan Qingyuan laughed as he reached out to hold it.

Miaomiao, unhappy with the restricted freedom, tried to wiggle away, but ended up pressing its head into Zhan Qingyuan’s lap and stared at him with fierce eyes.

Zhan Qingyuan found it amusing and rubbed its head with his other hand: “I wish I could be as carefree as you.”

With no worries other than eating and playing.

Miaomiao, feeling restrained, suddenly pretended to bite him.

Zhan Qingyuan, caught off guard, was startled and loosened his grip immediately.

Miaomiao seized the opportunity to escape from his arms and ran a few steps away, showing off as if to say, “Stupid human.”

Zhan Qingyuan: “…”

He had spoiled it for nothing.

Raising a dog should be like how Zhan Qingyue does it—being overly indulgent might lead to arrogance.

If Miaomiao dared to act like this towards Zhan Qingyue, it would surely end up in a hotpot.

This theory felt eerily similar to his current situation.

Ning Qiuxiu had been living a comfortable life, alternating between work and gaming.

But this state was soon shattered by a terrifying event.

Since “Wandering” was aired on TV and had once dominated the ratings, Lemon TV’s annual gala invited Ning Qiuxiu to sing a song.

Fang Jinran didn’t have a schedule.

Originally, Lemon TV had invited her and Ji Weiliang to sing the theme song of “Wandering” together, but with Ji Weiliang’s sudden downfall, their performance was canceled and became Ning Qiuxiu’s solo performance.

The show’s director was a creative genius.

Somehow, he learned that Ning Qiuxiu had posted a Grade 10 piano certificate on Weibo and knew she was skilled at the piano.

He thought that solo singing would be too dull, so he wanted Ning Qiuxiu to sing while playing the piano.

San Tiao (Ning Qiuxiu’s manager) didn’t know that Ning Qiuxiu couldn’t actually play the piano now.

She knew Ning Qiuxiu’s singing wasn’t great and figured that solo singing would be even worse, so she agreed.

When Ning Qiuxiu heard this, she was shocked.

She admitted, “I only know the basics of playing the piano.”

San Tiao: “!!!”

“But you used to post about having a Grade 10 certificate.”

“…… Can you believe I bought it?” Ning Qiuxiu asked.

San Tiao: “……”

She didn’t want to believe it.

“However,” Ning Qiuxiu continued, “with some practice, I should be able to manage.”

Since the original owner’s memories and muscle memory were intact, with a bit of practice, Ning Qiuxiu could handle a performance, though not perfectly.

It might not be a Grade 10 level, but she could get by.

Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t confident in her solo performance, but playing and singing might help her stand out and cover up any flaws with her multitasking.

San Tiao said, “Then you should practice a bit. If it doesn’t work, I’ll talk to the director.”

So, Ning Qiuxiu had to practice the piano while still focusing on her gaming, making her life as an actress quite challenging.

During the day, she practiced the piano, and in the evening, she practiced her skills with Zhan Qingyue. Her life was quite tough (and miserable).

When Zhan Qingyue’s car entered the yard, he could faintly hear the sound of the piano from the third floor.

He parked the car, went inside, handed his briefcase to the butler, and went up to the third floor.

To help Ning Qiuxiu “rehabilitate,” they had hired a piano teacher.

Unfortunately, Ning Qiuxiu was wasting the teacher’s skills with her halting performance, which made people want to vomit in frustration.

Zhan Qingyue leaned at the door, listening to her painful playing.

He waited until she finished a piece before clapping and walking in.

Ning Qiuxiu saw him applauding and grinned, saying, “Do you think I play well?”

Zhan Qingyue gave a polite nod to the piano teacher and answered her, “I think it’s quite brave of you to take on this challenge with your current skill level. It’s worth applauding.”

Ning Qiuxiu: “……”

She was annoyed.

“However,” Zhan Qingyue saw Ning Qiuxiu getting frustrated and added, “You’re much better than when I learned.”

Ning Qiuxiu was intrigued and asked, “You learned too?”

“It’s a necessary skill for every wealthy child,” Zhan Qingyue said with a smile, “I was born without a musical talent. After a month of lessons, I couldn’t even play ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ smoothly.”

— In reality, he wasn’t completely untalented.

Zhan Qingyue just didn’t like this refined activity and intentionally didn’t study hard, leading the Zhan family to give up on his training in this skill.

Indeed… it really showed a lack of talent.

Even someone as versatile as Zhan Qingyue finally encountered a field he couldn’t conquer.

Ning Qiuxiu felt a bit more balanced mentally and said, “Even though you mocked me, I play smoothly now.”

“Having such an unmodest student is quite exhausting,” Zhan Qingyue said this to the piano teacher.

Ning Qiuxiu: “…..”

Fortunately, the piano teacher was quite courteous to Ning Qiuxiu and smiled, “As a beginner, Qiuxiu is already very impressive.”

Ning Qiuxiu’s spirits immediately lifted; she gave him a thumbs-up and then tossed her head proudly with a smug “hmph.”

“……” Zhan Qingyue chuckled.

This person…

When Zhan Qingyue came back, the piano teacher had already finished work.

Ning Qiuxiu had finished her day of training, had dinner, and began her second round of training.

Compared to playing the piano, gaming was a relaxation.

After more than a month, Ning Qiuxiu had solo-ranked her secondary account up to Diamond 1 and was quickly approaching Master.

When playing ranked games with Zhan Qingyue, her bottom lane was almost always able to carry throughout.

This time, Ning Qiuxiu didn’t become arrogant.

The higher she climbed, the more she felt her own inadequacies when facing some top players, especially when they duoed up to Master and frequently encountered professional players.

She found that professional players’ awareness, skills, and overall game sense were far beyond what amateur players like her could compare to.

Especially with prediction, Ning Qiuxiu, as a support, had a strong sense of it.

When she played champions with crowd control abilities, professional players could often predict her next skill and dodge it, which was quite frustrating.

Zhan Qingyue said that prediction comes from experience, and since Ning Qiuxiu had only been playing for a little over a month, it was understandable that she lacked it.

Ning Qiuxiu understood the reasoning, but in the competitive scene, they were facing professional players.

Missing an ultimate or other skill could significantly impact the outcome of the game.

“Are all the opponents professional players?” Zhan Qingyue asked.

“Probably not,” Ning Qiuxiu said, “There should be some viewers or celebrities.”

Zhan Qingyue laughed, “That’s right. If you miss skills or get your movements predicted, non-professional players also have similar issues.”

“……” That logic seemed sound.

Ning Qiuxiu instantly revived and said, “Let’s go again.”

They queued up again.

When they were ten minutes into the game, the mid-lane called for help.

Seeing that there was no pressure on their lane, Ning Qiuxiu proactively said she would go and headed towards the mid-lane.

Halfway there, she received a phone call from San Tiao.

It was not the time to take a call, so Ning Qiupin hung up.

But San Tiao called again.

If it wasn’t urgent, one call would suffice. San Tiao wouldn’t call back a second time. Ning Qiuxiu asked Zhan Qingyue to go towards the mid-lane while she stepped outside to take the call, so as not to affect Zhan Qingyue’s game.

“Yesterday you said someone came to pick you up, not the company car. Who’s car did you end up getting into?” San Tiao asked as soon as the call connected.

“My dad’s. His company is nearby,” Ning Qiuxiu wondered, “What’s up, Sister Tiao?”

“Nothing. Some people without a brain want to stir things up. I’m just checking who it is. Did I interrupt your game? Go back to playing.”

Ning Qiuxiu wasn’t stupid and quickly realized, “Do they think my dad is…?”

“It’s just their own twisted thinking. Don’t let it affect your mood,” San Tiao comforted her.

Ning Qiuxiu’s father liked to show off.

To make his daughter look good, he drove their flashy car to pick her up yesterday.

Since an older man driving such a car can seem like he’s flaunting a mistress, it gave people space to imagine and gossip.

Ning Qiuxiu was frustrated by the entertainment industry’s dirty mindset.

She wondered if any future interactions with male friends would lead to more gossip.

Feeling down, Ning Qiuxiu returned to the game, only to find that things were chaotic.

The trouble started because Ning Qiuxiu didn’t go to the middle lane in time; she got distracted by a phone call and didn’t move.

Zhan Qingyue, unable to teleport, couldn’t get there in time to help, and their mid-laner was killed.

The mid-laner, known for his bad temper, began to angrily blame the support and called them names.

This upset Zhan Qingyue, but he wasn’t one to lash out.

Since the players were anonymous and couldn’t be recognized, he had to endure the insults and try to focus on the game.

However, the opponent didn’t want to listen.

They idled in the fountain, continued to insult, and challenged the team to play a four-man game if they were so bad.

Zhan Qingyue, frustrated by the random rage, said over the mic, “If we win this game, you should just disappear.”

“Pfft, with your level of play, if you win, I’ll call you all ‘turtle grandsons,’” the opponent spat, continuing to insult them and criticize them for having a girl in the team.

“……” Such timeless jealousy.

“Thanks, but my turtle grandsons have better manners,” Zhan Qingyue responded.

The opponent was speechless.

In a high-level game like this, playing with one less player usually means almost no chance of winning.

But after Zhan Qingyue and Ning Qiuxiu played around, they ambushed the opponent’s team in a blind spot.

Ning Qiuxiu used her ultimate to stun all five opponents at once, and with the help of the jungle and top laner, Zhan Qingyue’s well-farmed ADC finished off the enemies from the back.

They managed to win a 5v4 fight, losing only Ning Qiuxiu who went in first, while the rest survived and wiped out the enemy team.

With the Baron respawning, the three remaining players quickly defeated it.

With the Baron buff, Zhan Qingyue’s fed champion, and sharp positioning, they managed to win the game.

As the enemy’s crystal fell, the mid-laner left the game.

Damn it, Ning Qiuxiu said, “I thought he might actually do what he threatened. If he had the guts, he wouldn’t back down and would face us without worrying about losing rank. What a jerk!”

“People like that are usually unhappy in their lives,” Zhan Qingyue comforted her. “Just report him.”

“Hey, even though he didn’t turn into a turtle, you were amazing, Dad. You totally showed him!” Ning Qiuxiu praised.

Zhan Qingyue smiled, downplaying his achievement and calmly said, “If I weren’t impressive, how could I be your dad?”

“But my dad isn’t impressive.”

Zhan Qingyue: “……”

Such a peculiar logic.