O Ruo nodded, a hint of warmth in her expression. “Mm, ‘Lan’ from the sky-blue color. He’s a game streamer now.” As she said this, her face darkened slightly, touched with sorrow. “He’s only eighteen, the age when he should be in school, but because of my illness…”

It clicked! Eighteen, a game streamer—this was the same person she had seen on O Lan’s live stream when she sent gifts. Fans had mentioned that he was earning money for his sister’s chemotherapy. What a coincidence. She had first met O Lan through gaming, then through the competition, she got to know Chu Xiao Yin, and eventually, O Ruo. Because of her sympathy, she wanted to save the younger brother who had been cyberbullied and had committed suicide in her past life. And O Lan was O Ruo’s brother.

Mu Wan felt like everything was a twist of fate. She was somewhat glad that she had stepped in. Otherwise, one day in the future, when she wondered why the avatar in her friend list no longer lit up, and the truth was revealed, she would regret it deeply.

Step, step— Footsteps sounded outside the room. The familiar voice she’d heard through her headphones just a while ago echoed in Mu Wan’s ears.

“Hey, Jie, Xiao Yin-jie, ah, who is this…?” Mu Wan looked up, and sure enough, the young face she had seen on the live stream was right there. O Lan was wearing a Prussian blue sweatshirt and denim jeans. His skin was a little pale from his long hours of streaming. He looked at Mu Wan with some confusion.

Chu Xiao Yin quickly introduced, “O Lan, this is Mu Wan, a friend of mine and the senior. She’s here to visit the senior.”

O Lan nodded and greeted her. “Thank you for coming to see my sister.”

Mu Wan composed herself and smiled just right. “It’s nothing. I’m also thankful that Ruo Ruo told me about the competition rules.”

O Lan looked at her in surprise. The voice… the name “Wan” in her name. Could it be… such a coincidence? He hesitated before asking, “Mu Wan, do you play games? Like, Hero World or something?”

Mu Wan looked confused. “Huh?”

O Ruo, clearly annoyed, gave her brother a nudge. “What, do you think everyone’s a game fan like you? Show some manners and apologize!”

O Lan explained with grievance, “No, I just thought her voice sounded familiar…”

Mu Wan smiled gently. “It’s fine. Many people say my voice sounds familiar.”

Chu Xiao Yin, sensing the smell of food O Lan brought, also felt a bit hungry. She said her goodbyes to O Ruo. “Since O Lan’s here, we’ll take our leave now. Senior, bye!”

“Okay!”

Mu Wan walked out with Chu Xiao Yin. On their way out, she glanced back. O Lan was opening the food he had brought, looking at his sister’s frail body with nothing but concern in his eyes, without a trace of impatience about her illness or the burden it might cause.

I will save you. She thought to herself.

After leaving the hospital room, Mu Wan took out her phone and sent a message to O Lan on WeChat:

[Climbing the rank. Jpeg!]

O Lan immediately realized that he had overthought things earlier. Mu Wan had just left the hospital room—when would she have time to play games?

[Mu Wan: 2 PM this afternoon, is that okay? I have something to do right now and can’t fit it in.]
[O Lan: Okay!]

At 2 PM, O Lan started his live stream at home on time. Before long, a group of loyal fans entered the chat.

[Fan 1: I would call this streamer the workhorse of the streaming world, streaming every day except for meals.]
[Fan 2: Are we going up the ranks today, or doing something fun?]

“Doing something fun” means not playing the game, but singing, chatting, or showing off some cool tricks in the game. Sometimes, it draws more viewers than actually playing the game.

Ou Lan: Today, Wan and I are duoing, we still have three spots left.
[Fan 3: Me, me, me, I’m Joe, super cool.]
[Fan 4: You already played with Wan last time, with Wild God too. It’s my turn this time.]
[Fan 5: I want to join, but my rank is too low, sob sob, I need a Wild God to carry me.]
[Fan 6: Wan, in O Lan’s live stream, is like the Chang’e, and O Lan is the Hou Yi. Use Chang’e, and you’ll randomly get a Hou Yi.^[1]In Chinese mythology, Chang’e and Hou Yi are a married couple whose story is central to the Mid-Autumn Festival]
[Fan 7: Then what’s O Lan?]
[Fan 8: Chang’e and Hou Yi Summoner.]

O Lan: “…” What the hell is a “Chang’e and Hou Yi Summoner”?

Quickly moving past the confusion, O Lan selected a few fans through screenshots, clicked “Match,” picked his heroes, and when the loading page appeared, he was shocked to find that the enemy team had two professional player accounts.

The live chat exploded.

[Fan 9: It’s WF’s mid-laner Wei Hong and jungler Yu Tai, what’s going on, aren’t they in a competition?]
[Fan 10: I checked their match schedule, they don’t have a game these days, and since it’s the end of the month, you know how it is.]
[Fan 11: I found their live stream!]

Esports teams usually have contracts with streaming platforms—getting paid and gaining some exposure to help sell merchandise. To avoid disrupting training or revealing strategies, the contract usually limits their streaming time. However, since human nature is inherently lazy, many professional players end up streaming at the end of the month. Sometimes, they even stream while eating or sleeping, resulting in some embarrassing moments.

[Fan 12: The HW fans’ wild day is coming.]
[Fan 13: Too bad Wild God isn’t streaming, otherwise I’d lick the screen clean just to see that handsome face.]
[Fan 14: Jie, the internet is not a lawless zone, control yourself!]
[Fan 15: If Wild God was willing to stream, I’d eat noodles while standing on my head just to see that face and those hands. The competition streams are the only chance to catch a glimpse, you can’t get enough.]

Mu Wan, who had created a small account just to peek into O Lan’s live stream, watched quietly.

“…What should I do if my fiancé is too popular?”