Chapter 28 – “Custom-made version, member price: 13,145.2.”
It was around noon.
Jiang Jiang yawned as he pushed the door open, dark circles clearly visible under his eyes.
Normally, drinking a little beer was no big deal for him, but last night they had gotten way too carried away at the hotpot restaurant. After coming back, he and Ink A-Kai had secretly continued drinking heavily in their room behind Rong Qing’s back, so by the end, he had been completely drunk and dazed.
At first, Jiang Jiang had even gone to knock on Pei Ming’s door, but no one answered. In the end, it turned into “a crime committed by three people.”
But when Jiang Jiang walked downstairs, he immediately noticed that something felt off. The training room was still completely empty at this hour.
Strange. Obviously, only the three of them had stayed up late yesterday, yet Pei Ming and Qi Qiao were somehow still not awake either.
Jiang Jiang didn’t think much of it, simply assuming everyone had silently agreed not to wake up early. After glancing around, he headed straight for the refrigerator in the dining area.
Knowing they would all wake up late today, Rong Qing had told the housekeeper not to cook. If anyone got up early and felt hungry, they could just order takeout instead. Jiang Jiang had just finished placing an order on his phone and was about to grab some of his personal stash of snacks from the fridge to fill his stomach in the meantime.
Still groggy, Jiang Jiang made his way to the dining area when he suddenly heard footsteps coming down the stairs behind him. He turned around and saw that it was Qi Qiao.
Qi Qiao looked like he had casually thrown on a jacket. His hair was messy, and he had come downstairs wearing slippers. His pale little face was completely devoid of color, making him look especially drained.
“Hey, Qi Qiao, didn’t sleep well last night either?” Jiang Jiang asked with another yawn.
Qi Qiao glanced at him but said nothing.
After what had happened last night, how could he possibly have slept well?
Still clueless, Jiang Jiang continued, “Sheesh… don’t tell me it’s because I talked too much yesterday about Captain and his younger brother, and it reminded you of your own brother? My bad, my bad.”
As he said this, he pressed his palms together and made an ‘Amitabha’ prayer gesture.
Qi Qiao: “……”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything. I’m just sleepy, that’s all,” Qi Qiao said speechlessly. “So are you actually going to grab something from the fridge or not?”
Although Jiang Jiang didn’t really believe him, seeing that Qi Qiao clearly had no intention of discussing anything related to ‘brothers’ any further, he quickly reached for the refrigerator door.
“Alright, alright, I’ll go first. I’ll share some of my snacks with you!”
The refrigerator door swung open. Jiang Jiang turned his head and reached toward the large bag of snacks he treasured so much, but the moment he saw what was inside the fridge, he froze on the spot.
Qi Qiao rubbed his eyes and stood behind him, watching.
For some reason, he had a feeling something was off about Jiang Jiang.
Sure enough, less than a second later, a deafening shout exploded from the other side.
“Holy shit!”
Jiang Jiang’s incredulous voice rang out like thunder from a clear sky, blasting right beside Qi Qiao’s ear.
Startled by the sudden yell, Qi Qiao frowned and looked at him.
“What happened?”
“Wait, I-I-I-I…” Jiang Jiang sucked in a sharp breath and pointed at the fridge. “Did someone break into the base last night or something?! Why the hell is there suddenly a cake in here?!”
Qi Qiao: “……”
Would a thief break into the base just to leave you a cake?
Before Qi Qiao could say anything, Jiang Jiang had already pulled out the cake he had placed in the fridge the night before, plastic bag and all, and held it up in front of his face for closer inspection.
The words “Genesis Custom Order” were prominently printed on the label.
Jiang Jiang let out another “Holy shit,” then muttered under his breath, “If this was a thief, they’re way too generous.”
Qi Qiao couldn’t stand listening anymore. He had only come down to grab something to eat himself, so he said, “Have you ever seen a thief break into someone’s house just to deliver cake?”
Jiang Jiang shook his head. “No.”
“Exactly.” After saying that, Qi Qiao walked over and took the cake from his hands.
Jiang Jiang stood there blankly as he watched Qi Qiao walk over to the dining table, sit down, open the box, and casually start cutting the cake.
“Th-This… this cake is yours?”
Qi Qiao cut himself a small slice and ate it in small spoonfuls. Hearing the question, he simply hummed in response.
Seeing Jiang Jiang still standing there staring blankly, Qi Qiao frowned and asked, “Do you want some?”
Jiang Jiang: “?”
Qi Qiao had already taken out another plate to cut Jiang Jiang a slice when he suddenly heard Jiang Jiang speak again, his voice trembling at the end.
“Brother… don’t you eat instant noodles every day?”
Qi Qiao: “?”
Jiang Jiang slowly walked over, looking utterly dazed.
“Brother… weren’t you so broke you couldn’t even afford tomatoes for tomato-and-egg stir fry?”
Qi Qiao had no idea why Jiang Jiang had suddenly started bringing up all this random nonsense. Frowning, he replied, “Oh, I was just messing with the viewers in my livestream. You actually believed that?”
Jiang Jiang lowered his head to stare at the cake on the table, then slowly looked back up at Qi Qiao. His entire face radiated heartbreak.
“Fine, whether or not you were lying to your viewers, why the hell would you casually buy a cake that costs 13,145.2?!”
Qi Qiao scooped up another spoonful of cake.
“Oh, I bought it, so I bought it—”
“!”
The spoon that had already been lifted to his lips froze instantly. Qi Qiao slowly raised his head.
“How much did you say?”
Jiang Jiang let out a long breath.
“Custom-made version. Member price. 13,145.2.”
Qi Qiao: “???”
What the hell had he just eaten?
Seeing Qi Qiao’s spoon frozen midair, Jiang Jiang suddenly looked like he had reached enlightenment.
“Ohhh, I get it now. Someone else gave you this cake, didn’t they?” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Your girlfriend?”
As he spoke, Jiang Jiang looked the cake up and down again.
“Damn… this incredibly realistic Ultraman design. I’ve gotta say, your girlfriend really put a lot of thought into this.”
Qi Qiao: “……”
The hell do you mean girlfriend?
Qi Qiao’s face darkened. He was just about to put the cake down and explain when suddenly, a voice came from behind—
“Whose girlfriend?”
Qi Qiao’s movements paused slightly.
The moment Jiang Jiang saw Pei Ming walking over, he immediately lit up with excitement.
“Brother! Come here, quick! Look at this custom Genesis cake Qi Qiao’s girlfriend sent him!”
Qi Qiao: “……”
He had assumed Pei Ming would clear up the misunderstanding, but instead, Pei Ming simply walked over, glanced at the cake in front of him, and asked, “You have a girlfriend?”
Qi Qiao hadn’t expected him to ask that. He froze for a second, then shook his head.
Jiang Jiang raised an eyebrow. “Huh? If it’s not your girlfr—”
“Then who sent it?”
Jiang Jiang glanced at Pei Ming, surprised he had suddenly interrupted, but still chimed in.
“Yeah, exactly! Who’s generous enough to do that? Wink?”
Jiang Jiang suddenly noticed that Qi Qiao wasn’t even looking at him. His gaze was fixed entirely on their captain.
For a moment, Jiang Jiang had the strange feeling that while talking to these two… he had somehow been completely shut out.
After a long pause, Qi Qiao finally spoke a single word.
“You.”
Jiang Jiang was just about to ask ‘You what?’ when he saw Qi Qiao staring directly at Pei Ming, without blinking.
And in that instant, he understood.
Damn it… so when talking to these two, I really am being completely excluded!
Qi Qiao himself didn’t know what had gotten into him. When Pei Ming asked, he had simply answered without thinking, not even caring whether someone else beside them might hear.
But hearing that… shouldn’t really matter, right?
“Does it taste good?” Pei Ming suddenly asked.
Qi Qiao froze slightly, then nodded.
Pei Ming let out a quiet “Mm.” Casually, he pulled a napkin from the table and handed it over, while pointing at the corner of his own lips with his other hand.
“You’ve got something there.”
Qi Qiao reached out to take it.
“Okay.”
For some reason, he suddenly felt his heartbeat speeding up.
…
“Who even knows? I seriously couldn’t get a single word in while those two were talking. Damn it, why did it feel like Qi Qiao was the one who’d been fighting alongside Captain for years instead of me?!” Jiang Jiang said rapidly while casting a shield on Ink, recounting what had happened at lunch.
Ink had just finished controlling his character and killing the enemy AD carry. He nodded.
“And then?”
Jiang Jiang said, “And then? Then Captain asked him if it tasted good. I swear, I got goosebumps just listening to it!”
“Oh, right, right, and afterward Captain even handed Qi Qiao a napkin because he had cream on his mouth. Unreal.”
Ink laughed.
“Captain was just looking out for the new teammate.”
Jiang Jiang rolled his eyes.
“The hell do you mean new teammate? I know Genesis really well. Before, when it was the birthday of the goddess I had a crush on, I wanted to buy her a Genesis birthday cake too… but after checking the price, I realized I couldn’t afford it at all.”
Ink gave a small nod.
“Wait… you have a goddess?”
Jiang Jiang nodded.
“Yeah. It was back before you transferred here — when we were still first-years.”
Ink said, “No wonder you never managed to win her over.”
Jiang Jiang immediately got annoyed.
“Zou Moxing, what the hell do you mean by that? Believe it or not, if I can’t find a girlfriend in the future, I’ll cling to you for the rest of my life.”
Ink immediately scooted closer toward A-Kai.
“No thanks. In that case, I sincerely wish you success in getting a partner soon.”
Jiang Jiang clicked his tongue.
“Whatever, forget about me. Back to Captain and them. When I was looking into Genesis before, they said for custom cakes, it’s best if customers personally go to the store to check things over. That way, if they’re unhappy with any part of the process, changes can be made immediately. Plus, you have to book it several days in advance.”
“I’m telling you, Captain definitely planned this ahead of time. Remember the day Brother Rong and I went to pick up Qi Qiao so he could come sign the contract? Captain wasn’t there that day, right?”
“And also, last night he left early. I’m betting he went to check on the cake too.”
Jiang Jiang kept rambling on before clicking his tongue again.
“I seriously don’t know whether this is just caring for a new teammate or—”
“Or what?”
Qi Qiao’s cold voice came clearly through the headset, every word landing directly in Jiang Jiang’s ears.
Startled, Jiang Jiang panicked and accidentally Flashed straight into the enemy tower with a loud snap.
“Uh… of course it’s just caring for a new teammate!” Jiang Jiang quickly laughed awkwardly. “You’re still so young. It’s totally normal for Captain to look after a new teammate more.”
Qi Qiao only shot him a cold glance before sitting down in front of the computer.
Trying to change the subject, Jiang Jiang asked, “Oh right, what did Brother Rong talk to you about? Why are you back so fast?”
The reason Jiang Jiang had dared talk about what happened at lunch in the training room earlier was because Qi Qiao had been called away by Rong Qing. He’d assumed they would be talking for quite a while, but unexpectedly, Qi Qiao had been let go after barely more than ten minutes.
Qi Qiao opened ACR on the computer, his eyes fixed on the screen.
“We have a scrim tonight.”
The moment Jiang Jiang heard the words scrim match, he looked confused.
“What scrim?”
Qi Qiao replied, “A scrim against the Temple Team.”
…
A Few Minutes Earlier:
“Xiao Qiao, tonight we’re having a scrim against the Temple Team. I wanted to let you know in advance.” Rong Qing pulled out a chair in the office and motioned for him to sit down.
Since the roster for this season had already been submitted to the league, in the esports circle, starting lineups among teams with good relationships were basically no secret to each other. Scheduling practice matches ahead of time to regain their feel for the game was a pretty common occurrence.
Qi Qiao asked, “A scrim? But I don’t think I’ve really practiced coordinating with the team yet.”
Rong Qing poured him a glass of water. “Exactly. It’s because you haven’t had much time to coordinate with everyone that I wanted to tell you beforehand. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Whether you play well or not, treat it as practice — and also as your first time building synergy with the team.”
Qi Qiao accepted the glass and nodded.
Seeing that he had taken a drink and his emotions didn’t seem too affected, Rong Qing finally continued, “Well… this season, Temple Team’s starting jungler has a fairly serious hand injury, so the substitute jungler they promoted from their youth training squad might be playing.”
“Substitute jungler?” Qi Qiao repeated.
Rong Qing nodded. “His ID is Specter. During your livestreams before… didn’t you know him?”
Qi Qiao froze slightly. After a long pause, he finally nodded.
Rong Qing looked at him cautiously. “Did he… ever do anything inappropriate to you?”
Qi Qiao’s movement paused halfway as he drank his water. He looked at Rong Qing but said nothing.
Rong Qing continued, “If that’s the case, then if he’s playing tonight, you don’t have to go on stage.”
Qi Qiao lowered his head and stared at the water in his cup. After more than ten seconds, he finally looked up. “It’s fine. It wasn’t anything too serious. I can play.”
Rong Qing still looked worried, but seeing that Qi Qiao’s expression had returned to normal, he ultimately swallowed back the words he wanted to say.
After giving a few more instructions about tonight’s scrim, Rong Qing felt there wasn’t much else left to say, so he let him leave.
“Alright. But tonight, if Specter ends up playing and you really feel uncomfortable, tell me beforehand.” Before Qi Qiao stepped out the door, Rong Qing added one last sentence.
Qi Qiao nodded and pushed open the door to leave Rong Qing’s office.
He took a deep breath and lowered his eyes.
Specter—
He remembered that ID.
And he also remembered what had happened in the livestream several months ago.
Author’s Note:
Here I am~ jumps over and hugs you all!
Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!