Chapter 10

“No thanks, I prefer playing alone, and I don’t play that much anyway,” Song Zhen said.  

Joking aside, she specifically created a smurf account to play games because she didn’t want anyone to know her username—after all, “Mengmeng Little Cutie” didn’t exactly match her image.  

“Alright.” Pei Jiyin sighed, slightly disappointed.  

Song Zhen glanced at Pei Jiyin. “Besides, I’m really bad. Playing with me only means losing rank, not gaining.”  

“But I’m actually really good.” Pei Jiyin almost blurted out that she was a National Server Rank player and a streamer, but not many people at school knew about it, and she wasn’t ready to reveal her otaku identity just yet.  

Song Zhen nodded. “Mm, I know. You’re really good.”  

Pei Jiyin: “…”  

Though Song Zhen’s expression was serious, Pei Jiyin could still sense the dismissiveness in her tone, as if she were humoring a child.  

The two went to the counter to get their food and sat facing each other.  

Not far away, a few guys walked over, and Pei Jiyin noticed them deliberately making their way toward them.  

“Hey, senior, what a coincidence,” one of them said casually.  

Song Zhen smiled. “Yeah.”  

“Hi, junior,” he added, glancing at Pei Jiyin.  

Pei Jiyin also smiled politely, then shot a look at Song Zhen. The atmosphere turned awkward for a moment—she wondered why people who tried to strike up conversations never came up with better topics.  

“Senior, mind if we join you?” another guy asked.  

“No space, sorry. Plus, it’s pretty hot today,” Song Zhen replied with a smile, turning them down.  

“Alright… Junior, can I get your WeChat?”  

“My WeChat is full. Can’t add anyone,” Pei Jiyin said.  

“Huh? WeChat can be full?” The guy was stunned.  

Pei Jiyin nodded earnestly. “Yeah, I added too many people before. Didn’t want to reject anyone, you know?”  

“Okay…” The guy sighed.  

With nowhere to sit and no reason to linger, they eventually left.  

Song Zhen chuckled. “Really full?”  

“Nope.” Pei Jiyin took a sip of soup. “I only add people who are necessary.”  

“I might use that excuse next time,” Song Zhen said.  

“Senior, you’re really popular.”  

Song Zhen smiled. “Not really. Just joined two clubs, so I know more people. More greetings, that’s all.”  

Pei Jiyin wanted to change the subject but couldn’t think of anything else to talk about.  

It suddenly dawned on her that her flirting skills weren’t much better than those guys’. Well, maybe slightly—at least she got to eat with her senior instead of standing around awkwardly.  

After dinner, Pei Jiyin walked Song Zhen back to her bike.  

“You live off-campus?” Song Zhen asked, noticing Pei Jiyin wasn’t heading toward the dorms.  

“Yeah,” Pei Jiyin replied.  

Song Zhen sighed. “Housing near campus isn’t cheap. Are you sharing?”  

“I rented a single apartment by myself.” Pei Jiyin smiled. “I value my personal space. Dorms are too crowded.”  

Song Zhen nodded. “That sounds nice.”  

“Well, senior, I’ll head off now. See you tomorrow.”  

“Sure.” Song Zhen waved.  

Once home, Pei Jiyin immediately started streaming.  

“Sorry, everyone, I’m a bit late today. Went to the library,” she said.  

[You actually studied?]  

“Not gonna lie, my grades are pretty good.”

[“I believed it.”]

[“Which city is the streamer in?”]

“Still playing Peak Matches today.”

[“What about that girl from before?”]

“That girl is about to drop to Platinum Rank, so I’m giving her some time to climb on her own,” Pei Jiyin said.

[“Killing the heart after the kill.”]

[“You’re not gonna carry her?”]

“I’d love to, but she doesn’t believe me when I say I’m National Server Rank, and she won’t let me play Jungler either,” Pei Jiyin laughed.

“Plus, when we queue together in Ranked Matches, our luck is terrible—we barely get any decent teammates,” Pei Jiyin sighed. “Oh, and next week’s streaming schedule will change too. I joined a club at school, so I have Club Activities.”

[“???”]

[“A streamer who barely streams anyway says she’s reducing streaming time. Great.”]

“Cut me some slack, guys. Freshman year classes are packed,” Pei Jiyin said. “Unless you want me to stream lectures for you?”

[“Sure.”]

[“Just padding stream time.”]

[“Sing us a song, and we’ll forgive you.”]

“My singing is lethal. I’m afraid if I sing, you’ll all Unfollow me,” Pei Jiyin replied as her game started. She didn’t get Mirror—it was banned by the enemy—so she took the ADC role.

“Chat Moderators, ban anyone who says I’m using a stand-in, alright? Both my hands are right here, and they still accuse me of it. Ridiculous,” Pei Jiyin grumbled. “You can see my screen, right?”

“No Voice Changer here. Thinking a female streamer can’t be good without cheating is just sexist. What if I’m just good?”

[“Don’t be mad, streamer. Sending you a plane.”]

[“Sis, ignore the trolls.”]

[“Hey, there’s an Esports Talent Show Audition coming up. Are you going?”]

“That means showing my face, right? Not interested, and I’m really busy,” Pei Jiyin sighed. “I’ll show my face when it’s time, but not now.”

[“After the plastic surgery, got it.”]

[“But the actual recording is next summer. No time even then?”]

“Why are you so interested in a Technical Streamer’s face? Fine, if my followers hit 5 million before the auditions, I’ll go. Otherwise, showing up with no one knowing me would be embarrassing,” Pei Jiyin said. “Imagine standing on stage with everyone cheering—except for me.”

[“Got it. I’ll get all my aunts and uncles to follow you.”]

[“Now there’s something to look forward to. Hope I won’t Unfollow after seeing your face.”]

[“Other streamers have accounts on multiple platforms, but not you. So lazy.”]

“Editing is exhausting. I’ll hire someone when I have the money—just wait,” Pei Jiyin said, sighing as the Nexus exploded. “How did we lose? Guess I shouldn’t talk to you guys.”

On the other side, Song Zhen went back to the rooftop after showering. Seeing Pei Jiyin wasn’t there, she happily started a Solo Queue session, enjoying the breeze. But her heart grew cold—six matches later, she’d won three and lost three.

Is this life?

Descending the stairs, she felt a bit dazed.

After ending her stream, Pei Jiyin checked WeChat and saw Song Zhen had posted a moment—just a candle, no caption. Many had already asked what was wrong, but Song Zhen only replied with “nothing” before deleting it soon after.

[Pei Jiyin: Senior, feeling down?]

[Song Zhen: It’s nothing. Just stubbed my toe while walking…]

Pei Jiyin couldn’t help but laugh, suddenly finding the senior quite adorable.

[Pei Jiyin: That must have hurt quite a bit.]

Song Zhen sent a crying cat emoji.