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During his livestreams, Chi Yan disliked teaming up with others. Once the stream was over, he logged into another game. He had only recently started playing this game, and though he wasn’t as skilled as in the other one, he wasn’t dragging anyone down.

The game mainly involved combat and teaming up to clear levels. As soon as he logged in, a familiar teammate sent him a message. The speed of the message made it clear the person had been waiting for him.

Chi Yan recalled asking before, and the teammate had said they set a special alert for Chi Yan’s account. This teammate rarely used voice chat, and Chi Yan had never heard them speak. The reason given was that their throat had been injured, making it inconvenient to talk. However, they were a fast typist, often sending messages before Chi Yan even finished speaking.

Since the teammate didn’t want to talk, Chi Yan didn’t pry into their privacy. They sent a brief message, and Chi Yan responded, mentioning he had just finished a livestream.

“Making money, huh?” Chi Yan typed with a smile.

“How much?” the teammate asked.

“Five to six thousand,” Chi Yan replied. That was about what he earned from livestreaming each month, though sometimes it was more. He didn’t mention that his family had multiple rental properties, bringing his income to over ten thousand.

The teammate’s icon remained visible but suddenly stopped responding. Chi Yan waited for a moment before focusing back on the game.

As he clicked on some items, a message popped up on the game screen. Someone had gifted him a set of gear.

“This gear is worth 60,000. If you don’t want it, you can sell it,” the message read.

It was longer than most of the messages Chi Yan usually received, and it came from the same account that had gifted him the equipment. Chi Yan’s own gear was fairly standard, and he’d always assumed this teammate was on the same level as him, not a wealthy player. Now, it seemed he had misunderstood.

“Thanks!” Chi Yan sent a message of gratitude.

The teammate replied: “No problem.”

But after a moment’s thought, Chi Yan returned the gear. “It’s easy to get used to luxury but hard to go back. Thanks for the kind offer, but I can’t accept this gear.” Chi Yan enjoyed playing with his current setup and didn’t need top-tier equipment to have fun.

“Sorry,” the teammate sent back after a long silence.

Chi Yan could almost imagine the expression on their face. “It’s fine. I know you meant well. Isn’t the whole point of playing games the experience? Otherwise, why haven’t you upgraded your gear?”

“Yeah,” the teammate agreed.

“Where are you now?” Chi Yan asked, switching back to the game screen to meet up with the teammate.

The teammate sent him coordinates, and they teamed up. As the countdown to the next round began, both fell silent, focusing on the game.

When the countdown hit zero, they sprinted forward together. This teammate, known as “CM,” was someone Chi Yan had randomly matched with before. They had a good synergy, and after playing once, they had added each other as friends.

Since then, whenever Chi Yan played this game and needed a team, he always paired up with CM. Even though Chi Yan wasn’t as familiar with the game, often making mistakes and getting knocked out, CM’s skill level was so high it was like playing with a pro. Many times, Chi Yan found himself “winning while lying down.”

“Honestly, if it were anyone else, they’d be clinging to you and calling you ‘daddy’ after all these easy wins,” Chi Yan joked after one game while collecting loot.

“No need to call me ‘daddy,'” the teammate replied, unusually serious.

“How about ‘C-bro’?” Chi Yan quickly typed back.

“No, just CM.”

CM seemed really attached to the name. Chi Yan remembered asking before why they chose those letters. The teammate had replied that the initials were from someone they liked.

Chi Yan was surprised. “My name also starts with ‘C.’ Are you secretly in love with me?” he teased, but this joke was met with silence.

Chi Yan didn’t think much of it, assuming CM just didn’t like the joke. He quickly changed the topic and didn’t bring it up again, including this time when CM suddenly gifted him such expensive gear. For a moment, Chi Yan had wondered if CM was trying to court him but stopped himself from asking.

After collecting the loot, Chi Yan messaged CM, saying he would be busy the next few days and might not be online. CM’s reply was a simple “Okay,” typical of his concise style.

Despite the short reply, Chi Yan felt oddly good about it. He logged out, shut off his monitor, and stretched after sitting at the computer for several hours.

The day after tomorrow was Mid-Autumn Festival, and his mom had already called, asking him to visit. Chi Yan had already bought a ticket for tomorrow afternoon.

In the morning, he planned to do another livestream and then inform his fans about his break.

As the temperature dropped sharply that night, Chi Yan added an extra jacket before heading out. He slipped on his sneakers, grabbed his phone and keys, and left the house.

These days, he rarely carried cash, opting to use mobile payments instead. There was a small vegetable market near his neighborhood, but since it didn’t have much variety, Chi Yan walked to a larger supermarket nearby. There, he bought pork bones, corn, lotus root, and yam, planning to make bone broth with the pressure cooker to replenish his energy.

He had spent too much energy the day before and needed some good nourishment.

At checkout, Chi Yan noticed an ice cream freezer near the register. Even though it was autumn and the weather was cool, it didn’t stop him from grabbing a basket and picking out a dozen ice creams.