Chapter 14

Zhi Zhi was a girl, and Pei Jiyin generally preferred playing with girls. If she ever teamed up with male streamers, it was usually because the company arranged it.  

Some male streamers would appear respectful on the surface, but their words still carried an underlying condescension—an ingrained sense of superiority they didn’t even realize. They thought nothing of it, but she couldn’t stand it.  

“Last time I saw you streaming with girls,” Zhi Zhi remarked.  

“Girls are adorable, why wouldn’t I play with them?” Pei Jiyin laughed.  

Zhi Zhi chuckled. “Though that girl didn’t seem too interested in you.”  

“Who said that? She’s the one asking me to play now,” Pei Jiyin countered.  

The two chatted idly.  

“Then why aren’t you playing with her today?” Zhi Zhi asked.  

“Gotta give my main account some love. If I don’t interact with you all, you might forget about me,” Pei Jiyin teased.  

“As if we’d forget you,” Zhi Zhi sighed. “You mentioned before that you were in some place—I have an event there. Wanna meet up?”  

“Could work, but I might not have time. My schedule’s pretty packed,” Pei Jiyin mused. “Which district? What kind of event?”  

“An anime convention in Jianghe District,” Zhi Zhi said. “I’m cosplaying Yu Ji.”  

“Oh, that one.” Pei Jiyin nodded.  

“Did they invite you too?” Zhi Zhi asked.  

“Yeah,” Pei Jiyin replied. “But I’m not really keen on showing my face yet.”  

[Why not go?]  

[If you went, who would you cosplay? Mirror?]  

[Your hands look decent, but I still…]  

“If I’m free, we can meet up. How long are you staying?”  

“Three days,” Zhi Zhi said. “Arriving Friday morning, leaving Sunday night. I only need to be there Saturday.”  

“Then I’ll see if I’m free Sunday,” Pei Jiyin said.  

“Sure.”  

[Not considering an outdoor stream?]  

“If I’m out having fun, why bother streaming? That’s no fun,” Pei Jiyin scoffed.  

The ranked match went smoothly—Pei Jiyin was already at 99 stars.  

“Once I hit 100, I’m done. The queues are getting too long,” Pei Jiyin said, taking a sip of water. She felt like playing with Little Cutie.  

“Fine by me,” Zhi Zhi had no objections.  

After a long wait, the game finally started. Pei Jiyin exhaled deeply.  

Logging out of her main account, she switched to her smurf. Unfortunately, Little Cutie wasn’t online. She wondered if she should ask for her contact info.  

Pei Jiyin left a message for Song Zhen in Kings of Glory—after all, in-game messages could be seen on QQ now.  

[Don’t Run Away, Little Cutie: Wanna play?]  

Song Zhen had just finished showering and was leaning back in her chair, spacing out, when Pei Jiyin’s message popped up.  

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: Sure, but I can’t voice chat.]  

She couldn’t be bothered to go up to the rooftop.  

[Don’t Run Away, Little Cutie: No problem.]  

Pei Jiyin waited for Song Zhen to log in. The moment her avatar lit up, she immediately invited her.  

“Ah, what a shame. Not hearing your voice is breaking my heart,” Pei Jiyin lamented.  

[Here we go again! This woman!]  

Song Zhen’s lips twitched.  

“Feels like something’s missing. Is this what it’s like to grow attached to someone?”  

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: You’re so cringe, honestly.]

“It’s alright.” Pei Jiyin chuckled. “Shouldn’t you be touched, little sister?”

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: To be honest, my heart is made of stone, so I don’t feel touched at all.]

“Fine then.” Pei Jiyin started the game.

Upon entering, she froze for a moment at the hero selection screen.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: !!!]

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: It’s actually a Ranked Match!”Are you disgusted by me now?” Never playing Ranked with me again?” Pei Jiyin sighed. “I keep getting MVP on the losing team. What did I do wrong?”

Song Zhen bit her lip, wondering if her behavior had indeed been too harsh.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: That’s not it. I just feel… well, when the two of us team up, our luck turns terrible.]

“I’m actually pretty good,” Pei Jiyin said as she banned a hero.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: I know you’re good.]

[Bright Moon: So what roles are you playing? Can I go mid?]

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: I’ll play support.]

Song Zhen picked Zhang Fei, a hero known for reassuring teammates.

[Don’t Run Cutie: Can fill any role.]

That left only the jungler position for Pei Jiyin. She rubbed her chin and selected Mirror.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: !!!]

“So you still don’t trust me,” Pei Jiyin sighed.

Song Zhen’s barrage of question marks made the other teammates nervous too.

[Foodie Soul: Don’t pick heroes you can’t play.]

Pei Jiyin silently shared her win rate—69 matches with a 100% victory rate.

Song Zhen: ???

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: ???]

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: ???]

[Bright Moon: Wow! A pro! Can you carry us? If I’d known, I would’ve picked Yao.]

[Penglai Boat: Is this a Smurf Account? Though maintaining 100% at this rank isn’t that hard.]

Once in the game, Pei Jiyin stopped holding back. She farmed minion waves as she passed by, killed enemies on sight, secured two penta kills, and dominated the pace.

By the time the match ended in just six minutes, Song Zhen was still in a daze, muttering “holy crap” under her breath.

With a perfect 15.0 rating, Song Zhen was at a loss for words even after exiting the match—she hadn’t managed to type anything during the game either.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: Unreal. You’re actually this good?]

“Yep, yep,” Pei Jiyin replied.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: Then why were you looking for a Gaming Partner before?]

“For fun,” Pei Jiyin said offhandedly. “Just wanted someone to chat with casually. Tsk, I’ve always said I’m pretty good, but little sister here never believed me. Wouldn’t even let me jungle.”

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: And that’s all my fault?]

“Mhm, I think it’s your fault,” Pei Jiyin said.

Song Zhen suddenly didn’t know how to respond. She’d encountered skilled players before in her gaming career, but never someone this dominant.

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: You’re amazing.”So does little sister still dislike me?”” Pei Jiyin asked.

Song Zhen: …

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: Whether you’re good or not has nothing to do with whether I dislike you or not.]

[Mengmeng Little Cutie: I’m not the type to bow down for stars, you know.]

“I get it, I get it.” Pei Jiyin laughed. “Little sister definitely isn’t that kind of person, so next round I’ll play a hero more suited for this rank. Otherwise, the opponents won’t have any gaming experience.”

[I’m dying of laughter, Sister Yin just can’t do it.]

[Too bad this little sister can’t turn on her mic right now, I’m really curious what else she’d say.]

[Not giving Sister Yin any face at all?]