---

Chapter 38 – Extra: IF Esports

---

It wasn’t just Manager Chu and the other team members whose jaws almost dropped in shock—even Lin Ran was momentarily stunned by the unexpected question.

Manager Chu quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. “I know you’re here to stir things up, but don’t go straight for our Captain Lin right off the bat.”

“Put your luggage down first. Let’s go do a test.”

After speaking, Manager Chu began shooing the others away. “You all go back to training. What are you doing watching drama so early in the morning?”

Shi Cha followed behind Manager Chu, but still couldn’t resist glancing back at Lin Ran.

And from that glance, Lin Ran saw unmistakable determination. He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a slight smile.

Who would’ve thought? A little wolf cub, huh?

When they returned to the training room and resumed solo practice, Chen Lu kept sneaking glances at Lin Ran, who was expressionless the whole time.

He hadn’t expected someone to be so bold—daring to say, to his face, that he wanted to be Lin Ran’s boyfriend.

Wasn’t he afraid Lin Ran would block him from joining the team? Or if he did get in, wasn’t he worried Lin Ran would make things hard for him?

Lin Ran had long noticed Chen Lu’s sneaky glances but didn’t even spare him a look. “Feeling like you’re not training enough? Want me to add more to your schedule?”

Startled, Chen Lu immediately sat up straight. “No, no. I’ll get started right now.”

Just then, Song Rong came in from outside and called Lin Ran out.

Officially, Song Rong was still LL’s jungler, and also the mentor of their substitute jungler, Su Xiaochen.

Glancing through the glass door at Su Xiaochen still training inside, he asked Lin Ran, “Is the new jungler you’re trying out supposed to be Su Xiaochen’s substitute?”

He had just returned from shooting his retirement video, which was scheduled a few days later, and immediately heard the team was testing a new jungler. So he came straight to Lin Ran to ask about it.

“I barely played this season. Xiaochen is already basically a full-time member.”

Song Rong still worried the team might mistreat the disciple he had personally mentored.

Lin Ran patted him on the shoulder. “The team’s reached out to Xiaochen several times, but he still hasn’t renewed his contract.”

Song Rong froze, stunned. Lin Ran’s meaning was clear—Su Xiaochen was probably planning to move to another team.

“This way is better for everyone.”

After speaking, Lin Ran returned to the training room. Before sitting down, he looked at Su Xiaochen’s back as the latter trained diligently.

Ever since he learned there was a new jungler coming to try out, Su Xiaochen hadn’t shown any emotion—not displeased, not happy. He knew himself that it was only a matter of time before the team brought in a new jungler.

Shi Cha’s trial and assessment ended quickly.

The manager had originally planned to continue showing Shi Cha around and help him settle in. However, he got a call at the last minute and had to leave the base, so he temporarily left Shi Cha in the care of the team captain, Lin Ran.

Manager Chu’s inner thoughts: Lin Ran is cold and ruthless on the inside—surely even a kid with a little crush shouldn’t be too much for him to handle.

When it came to assigning rooms, none of the others wanted to stay next to the captain, whose aura was notoriously intimidating. So, the only room left vacant was the one next to Lin Ran’s.

Shi Cha stood in the hallway, glancing left and right, then asked, “Which one’s your room?”

Without pausing as he unlocked the door, Lin Ran replied, “Right next to yours.”

Shi Cha’s eyes instantly lit up. He followed behind, peeking curiously around. “So that means—you agree to be my boyfriend?”

Lin Ran had no idea how the other arrived at that conclusion. He placed Shi Cha’s suitcase against the wall, then turned and stared directly at him.

“I’m not planning on getting a boyfriend.”

“Wait—do you like girls?” Shi Cha frowned, even his silvery-grey hair seeming to droop a little.

Looking at the suddenly deflated figure in front of him, Lin Ran, for some reason, felt compelled to explain. “I don’t like girls.”

The moment he heard that, Shi Cha immediately perked up, his energy fully restored.

He shoved Lin Ran—who was already standing close to the wall—against it, bracing one arm forcefully beside Lin Ran’s head.

“Since you don’t like girls, then you have to like me.”

“It’s fine if you don’t want a boyfriend right now. Just wait until I win the championship—then you can say yes.”

Lin Ran, experiencing his very first wall slam in this lifetime: “…”

He looked down into the pair of eyes brimming with determination—and suddenly, he really wanted to laugh.

And he actually did laugh.

Shi Cha froze for a moment, confused.

“I just confessed to you—why are you laughing?”

Was he laughing because I’m short?

There was over a ten-centimeter height difference between them. Shi Cha couldn’t help but feel that he did seem a bit lacking in presence.

He stood on tiptoe to make himself look taller and lifted his chin slightly.

“I’ll prove to you that Lin Ran’s boyfriend will absolutely be the strongest!”

Lin Ran suddenly thought this kid was kind of cute. He nodded.

“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”

Shi Cha automatically translated that to: Alright, once you win the championship, I’ll be your boyfriend.

Satisfied, Shi Cha pulled back his arm from the wall and dropped back down from his toes.

He felt this trip hadn’t been in vain—he’d easily secured himself a boyfriend.

…

When Shi Cha—with his wild, striking white hair—appeared in LL’s promotional image, teams across the league were stunned.

That sharp-tongued, arrogant kid actually got recruited by LL?

Then they quickly came to feel the consequences. That cocky kid wasn’t just trash-talking before and after games—on the battlefield, he was a madman. Like a tank in overdrive, anything he rammed into would collapse.

Every player who had faced him developed a psychological shadow. They started feeling like this little lunatic was everywhere, even getting paranoid during matches.

Shi Cha’s unique style won him a massive following. Of course, he also attracted just as many haters. But he continued doing things his way, undeterred.

And when he finally stood with Lin Ran on the world championship podium, all those haters who once mocked him were silenced.

You can, you up. No can, no BB.

Now that Shi Cha had really “upped,” they had no choice but to shut up—for now.

As the LL team lifted the championship trophy together under a rain of confetti, Shi Cha quietly held his MVP trophy and turned to Lin Ran.

“Is your boyfriend the best or what?”

Lin Ran reached out, lifting the MVP trophy in Shi Cha’s hands, and kissed the same spot where Shi Cha had kissed it earlier.

“Yes—you’re my MVP.”

---

Author’s Note:

This is where little Shi Cha and Lin Ran say goodbye to everyone.

Lin Shi, not temporary: “May you all become the MVP of your own life.”

---

ry’s note: The Socially Anxious Streamer Only Talks Online is finished~ (*/ω＼)

I hope you enjoy reading it. ♡

See you in the next translation~ (〜^∇^)〜

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Chapter 37 Extra – If E-sports

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The Pinnacle Spring Playoffs had already begun. According to the tournament schedule, the first match of each day would start at 5 p.m. At the same time, all major live streaming platforms would begin their broadcasts on schedule.

In addition to the official live streams, various platforms also featured streamers who would follow the matches in real time and offer live commentary.

6 p.m., on the Yuyu streaming platform, in the Pinnacle game section.

In this section, the most-watched stream wasn’t the official tournament broadcast, but a personal livestream by someone called “Shi the Jungler.”

It was the break between matches, and Shi Cha—sporting silver-gray hair—was replaying footage from the previous match.

In contrast to his flamboyant and striking appearance, the voice coming from the stream was rough and gruff. Without pulling any punches, he began analyzing the red team’s failure in their final team fight.

“This wasn’t just a mistake from the red team’s jungler—it was pure cowardice. Afraid of being blamed early on, he spent the game loitering around the jungle, doing nothing. He’s just like the LL team’s jungler. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two of them swapped notes in private. To put it nicely, this kind of jungler is playing it safe. To put it bluntly? He’s just scared to fight…”

“Yesterday, the LL team’s jungler didn’t accomplish anything either. They only won because Lin Ran carried. Today, the red team’s jungler chickened out in the backline, leaving their carry exposed and picked off up front. That caused the whole team to collapse…”

[“Brother Shi didn’t just roast SG team—he threw LL’s jungler under the bus too. Truly the most savage mouth in the streaming world.”]

Because “Shi Jungler” sounded like “Shi-ye” (Uncle Shi), and because of Shi Cha’s rugged middle-aged voice, viewers in the stream affectionately—or mockingly—called him “Shi-ye.”

Shi Cha had been streaming for three months, and he frequently dissed players from various pro teams during his streams. Naturally, this drew fans of those teams into his stream to mock or flame him.

As soon as his harsh commentary aired, hate comments began pouring in:

[“Just because you’re reckless, you think every jungler should play like you? Who do you think you are? Playing safe is wrong now? How many games have been lost because of over-aggressive junglers? Shi-ye? More like trash who relies on running his mouth to get views!”]

[“Clown chasing clout with a foul mouth! Not watching anymore—waste of time!”]

Shi Cha glanced at the barrage of comments on screen but didn’t tell the moderators to mute anyone. Instead, he calmly finished analyzing the replay.

Then, he took a sip of water and started clapping back at the haters.

“A jungler who just strolls around the jungle and doesn’t make plays—why is he even playing jungle? He should go hang out at the senior activity center.”

“So nowadays telling the truth means you’ve got a bad mouth? What, if I praise him, he’s suddenly going to win games?”

Just as Shi Cha finished speaking, two new comments floated across the screen:

[“Streamer, have you ever criticized Lin Ran? I want to hear your take on the LL team.”]

[“LL is at the bottom of the standings this season. They’re probably going to get knocked out in the first round of playoffs. Who would’ve thought the former world champions would fall to a third-rate domestic team in just three years? Does Lin Ran even deserve to be called “Ran Shen” anymore? If it weren’t for the other four carrying him back then, he wouldn’t have gotten that world title handed to him on a silver platter.”]

Although Shi Cha’s stream was very popular, it was a mixed crowd—loyal fans of various teams, along with plenty of haters.

Once someone stirred the pot with Lin Ran’s name, the entire comment section suddenly shifted. Some viewers began bashing Lin Ran, saying he was an unworthy captain and that his championship win was undeserved. Naturally, fans of LL and Lin Ran jumped in to defend him.

In an instant, the chat was flooded with back-and-forth arguments.

Shi Cha, who usually ignored the comments, frowned slightly and took action—muting every viewer who bashed Lin Ran.

The chat quieted down for a moment, but soon enough, new troll accounts jumped in:

[“Why did you mute us? Just because we criticized Lin Ran? You really are one of his brain-dead stans.”]

[“Old as you are and still a delusional fanboy—don’t be surprised if you end up with Parkinson’s.”]

[…]

Shi Cha tapped a few keys and muted every user who insulted Lin Ran. But the ones who insulted him personally? He let them stay.

“LL’s poor performance isn’t just one person’s fault—it’s on all five players. If you think one person alone is to blame, do you even understand how to play Pinnacle?”

“After LL won the championship, aside from Lin Ran, the rest of the roster either transferred or retired. The new players obviously need time to build synergy. Do I really need to explain this to you?”

[“Yeah yeah, at the end of the day, you’re still defending Lin Ran. And you say you’re not his fanboy?”]

Shi Cha raised an eyebrow and replied calmly,

“Lin Ran is still ranked the world’s number one mid-laner—that’s just a fact. What’s wrong with me admiring someone like that?”

“Besides, even though LL’s ranking isn’t high right now, it’s clear that the new bot lane duo has been showing better and better synergy this season. If they just swap out their jungler, winning the championship isn’t out of the question.”

…

At the same time, over at the LL team base…

Lin Ran was sitting in front of his computer, watching Shi Cha’s livestream. The team manager had dragged over a chair and was sitting beside him.

Hearing the rugged middle-aged voice coming from the stream, Lin Ran turned his head and asked, “This is the jungler you mentioned?”

The manager quickly explained, “Don’t be fooled by the rough voice—it makes him sound much older. I specifically asked someone to check with the platform. According to his registered information, he’s only 19. Just the right age—prime time for an esports player.”

Since Shi Cha had signed a contract with the platform, his real identity had been recorded.

“Plus, his skills have been acknowledged by a lot of pro players. Because of his trash talk, he’s mocked quite a few of them. Some of those players even secretly created alt accounts to either duel him or team up with him. There’s no doubt about his level. I had the coaching staff review a bunch of his videos—his jungle pathing and decision-making are very clear. His ideas can be a bit unorthodox and aggressive, but paired with you, it might be a perfect fit.”

Seeing Lin Ran silently watching the screen, the manager continued, “A few teams have already tried approaching him, but he rejected them all outright. I get the feeling he’s your fan, so I thought maybe you should be the one to reach out.”

Lin Ran nodded.

This streamer had a sharp and accurate take on the situation. LL’s current state was indeed just as he had described. Their previous jungler had been benched this season due to injuries, and the current one was originally a substitute.

Probably because LL had once been world champions, everyone on the team was afraid to make mistakes, afraid of getting flamed by fans. The jungler in particular played overly cautiously. No matter how many times the coaching staff or Lin Ran, as captain, talked to him, the problem remained unchanged.

On top of that, the jungler’s contract was about to expire, and he’d been dragging his feet on renewing it—clearly thinking about jumping ship. LL urgently needed a new jungler—someone with fire and initiative.

“Alright, I’ll talk to him.”

Lin Ran pulled his chair closer and started typing, opening the game client and sending a friend request to “Mr. Shi.”

Since the next match hadn’t started yet, Shi Cha had nothing to do and his game client was already open.

Suddenly, he heard the ding-ding-ding notification sounds.

At the same time, a mocking comment popped up in chat alongside the friend request.

[“Oh please—like swapping you in would get the team a championship? You can you up! No can no BB! You probably can’t even get through LL’s front door!”]

And then came the message:

[Hi, I’m Lin Ran from LL. Can we chat?]

Lin Ran was using his official LL team account—easy to verify and impossible to fake. There was no way this was a scam.

The moment that message appeared, the chat exploded with question marks:

[“????????”]

Someone had just finished saying Shi Cha would never even get close to LL’s front door, and now LL had reached out to him directly.

That slap in the face came fast, didn’t it?

When Shi Cha saw the message, his heart skipped a beat.

If it had been any other team or any other player reaching out, he would’ve turned them down without hesitation.

But this was Lin Ran.

So Shi Cha simply said to his viewers, “That’s it for today’s stream.”

Then he immediately shut off the stream, giving the audience no time to react.

As the screen went black, viewers were left full of confusion.

[“He’s not seriously going to join LL, is he?”]

[“Is LL really planning to make a comeback and go for the championship again?”]

[“Talk is cheap. Anyone can brag.”]

Shi Cha ignored the ongoing chatter in the livestream chat. He cleared his throat and carefully typed out a message: [Hi, I’m Shi Cha. Happy to chat. Open to anything. Free of charge.]

Sincere—yet just a little cheeky.

Lin Ran: “…”

[We’ve watched a lot of your videos and think your skills are solid. Would you be willing to come try out for LL?]

The team manager was a little nervous. As far as he knew, this streamer Shi Cha had already turned down offers from eight teams—including second-tier teams. He wasn’t sure if Lin Ran’s name would actually make a difference.

Soon, a message came back from Shi Cha: [Sure. But first, can I ask—does your team forbid dating?]

Lin Ran and the manager both froze.

They hadn’t expected his first question to be about relationships.

Did he already have someone?

After a brief pause, Lin Ran started typing his reply.

[Relationships are allowed. Our team is pretty flexible—as long as it doesn’t interfere with training or matches.]

Shi Cha replied almost instantly:

[Perfect. So, when’s the tryout? Tomorrow? I’ll just bring my luggage and head over. If I pass, I can move in right away—saves me from running back and forth.”

The manager sighed, “He’s really confident—like he already knows he’ll pass the tryout.”

Lin Ran, however, remained calm.

“You’re all satisfied with him, and a few other teams are fighting over him. He knows exactly what he’s worth. The tryout is just a formality at this point. Alright, get ready to pick him up tomorrow morning.”

With that, Lin Ran pushed back his chair and headed to the equipment room for some training.

…

The next morning at 9 a.m., Shi Cha arrived at LL’s training base right on time.

Manager Chu personally came out to greet him.

Lin Ran hadn’t planned on coming out to meet him, but the rest of the team—who had been dragged out of bed early for morning training—saw the chance to avoid it and all insisted on going to “check out the new guy.”

So besides Manager Chu, the other five team members were all waiting in the lobby.

When Manager Chu walked in with Shi Cha—sporting his signature silver-gray hair and a confident, striking appearance—everyone was stunned.

“Wait… wasn’t he supposed to be a burly guy with a full beard? Chen Lu, your intel was way off!”

Shi Cha didn’t seem nervous at all. He casually waved and greeted the group,

“Hey there.”

Some esports players were chatterboxes—like Chen Lu, their top-laner—but quite a few weren’t very talkative.

Faced with Shi Cha’s enthusiasm, the team looked a bit overwhelmed.

“Uh… hi.”

If you didn’t know better, you’d think Shi Cha was the one hosting them.

After greeting the others, Shi Cha walked straight over to Lin Ran.

He looked up at him with a bright smile.

“Lin Ran, since LL doesn’t forbid players from dating… then may I ask—”

He paused on purpose, then grinned even wider.

“Can I be your boyfriend?”

---

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Chapter 36 – A Sky Full of Stars (END)

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When everyone saw Shi Cha’s name, they simply couldn’t believe it.

Although Shi Cha had shown a glimpse of his skills on a variety show and was a top student from A University, they still found it hard to imagine that someone so unknown—someone who, just a month ago, was virtually non-existent in the entertainment industry—could actually receive a nomination for such a prestigious award.

He voiced an entire animated film—a film that now had a high chance of winning an international award!

Was he even human?

This disbelief wasn’t limited to netizens; even Shi Cha’s former classmates were stunned.

Their class group chat exploded once again.

[When did this even happen? There wasn’t a single hint about it!]

[The film is only getting nominated now, but that means it must’ve been completed and submitted at least a month or two ago. If we count backward, it must’ve been during our senior year.]

[Shi Cha was always so introverted—when did he even get involved in such a big production?]

[Senior year, huh? Now that you mention it, I remember Shi Cha once spent a period of time using one of the school’s dubbing studios alone. Word was, during that time, only he was allowed to use it.]

[So it was back then? In that case, I know this—Shi Cha got the job thanks to Du Yan. @DuYan, was the project you gave Shi Cha the Divine Dragon film?]

[@DuYan @DuYan]

Everyone knew that tagging @ShiCha was pointless—he never replied—so they went all-in and began bombarding Du Yan instead.

Du Yan had chatted with Lin Ran for a long time the night before. By the time he got home, it was already 1 or 2 a.m., and now he was deep in sleep.

His phone kept buzzing with WeChat notifications from the group chat, but glancing at them, he figured it wasn’t anything urgent. If it were serious, he thought, they’d just call me directly. So he simply powered off his phone and went back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Lin Ran—newly crowned “model boyfriend of the year”—had gotten up early and was in the kitchen following a recipe to make porridge.

At the exact moment Shi Cha’s alarm went off, he also received a voice message from Lin Ran.

“Time to get up, my little sleepyhead. Your boyfriend is here to bring you breakfast.”

The soft, teasing voice in his ear made Shi Cha hug his pillow and roll around on the bed a few times, savoring the moment. Only after that did he finally climb out of bed in his pajamas and demurely open the door for Lin Ran.

Even after they finished breakfast, Shi Cha still had no idea that the internet was buzzing with the news of his award nomination.

It was Lin Ran who asked him, “I’m going to France in three days. Do you have time to come with me?”

Shi Cha thought for a moment. It seemed he didn’t have any pressing plans lately.

Streaming had always been something he did on a whim, and besides, he had taken a week off just a few days ago—it hadn’t even ended yet.

So he nodded. “I’m free. Do you need me to be your translator?”

Lin Ran smiled and pinched his cheek. “Mr. Shi, do I need to pay you for your services?”

Just as Shi Cha was about to shake his head and say no, Lin Ran leaned down and kissed him deeply.

When the kiss ended, Lin Ran’s husky voice came low in his ear, “Is that payment satisfactory, Mr. Shi?”

Shi Cha licked his lips and gave a small nod. At the same time, one phrase popped into his mind, completely unbidden: Blinded by lust!

Seeing Shi Cha look so obedient, Lin Ran lowered his head slightly and rubbed noses with him, chuckling. “I was kidding. You’re not coming as a translator—you’re coming with me to attend the animation film festival in France.”

Only then did Shi Cha realize: as a nominee for Best Voice Acting, he had also been invited to attend the Cannes International Animation Film Festival.

But since he hadn’t left any personal contact information at the time, the festival organizers had no choice but to go through the film’s production team.

After hearing Lin Ran’s explanation, Shi Cha suddenly understood. “So the animation project Du Yan helped me get back then—that was your film?”

He finally realized why, during the voice-over sessions, some of the scenes in the movie had felt so familiar.

Years ago, he and Lin Ran had been rescued by the police from human traffickers. But due to the trauma—and the influence of Xiao Pang—Shi Cha’s autism had worsened, making it even harder for him to interact normally with other children.

At that time, the only person he could tolerate being close to was Lin Ran.

And during that period, Lin Ran had adapted myths from Huaguo (China) and told them to Shi Cha as bedtime stories. One of those stories had been about the Divine Dragon.

Of course, after all these years, those stories had evolved far from their original versions.

Seeing Shi Cha lost in thought, Lin Ran continued, “I’ve been preparing this film for a long time. I had already assembled the whole creative team—the only thing missing was a voice actor. And the first person I thought of was you.”

Shi Cha had been his first audience. Lin Ran had wanted him to be part of the credits too.

After hearing that, Shi Cha pursed his lips and muttered in a small voice, “Then why didn’t you come to me directly?”

Lin Ran laughed and lightly tapped his nose.

“I did. You were the one who didn’t give me the chance.”

After hearing Lin Ran’s explanation, Shi Cha finally understood that Lin Ran had actually come to the university to look for him.

But at the time, Shi Cha had fallen into a period of confusion after Lin Ran’s sudden retirement. He had lost his sense of purpose and shut himself off completely, slipping back into the same autistic state he’d experienced as a child.

Du Yan, as Shi Cha’s close friend—and his only link to the outside world—had turned down Lin Ran’s invitation on his behalf.

Lin Ran hadn’t known what Shi Cha was going through. He had only heard from Du Yan that Shi Cha never accepted any projects. In the end, he had no choice but to entrust Du Yan as the middleman, hoping he could persuade Shi Cha to agree.

Du Yan had indeed succeeded in convincing Shi Cha in the end, and even helped secure the best terms for him—on the condition that all communication go through Du Yan.

And so, Lin Ran and Shi Cha missed each other by a narrow margin.

Shi Cha looked down with a conflicted expression. Du Yan had blocked countless potential suitors for him during their university years. That time, he must have mistaken Lin Ran for just another admirer and blocked him too.

With this kind of “indiscriminate defense,” Shi Cha wasn’t sure whether to thank him or blame him.

…

Elsewhere, Du Yan sneezed for no reason. He rubbed his nose and muttered under his breath, “Who’s thinking about me in broad daylight?”

Then, finally free, he picked up his phone, which had been buzzing non-stop, only to see a flood of @ mentions in the group chat.

What?

Shi Cha had been nominated for an international award?

And it was for Lin Ran’s animated film?

Du Yan immediately called Shi Cha. “Hey, I think Lin Ran owes me a big fancy dinner! If it weren’t for me, how would you have ended up voicing that film? You both better thank your amazing middleman here!”

But to Du Yan’s surprise, when the call connected, there was no promise of a fancy dinner.

Just a quiet, “Thank you.”

Yet the more Du Yan thought about it after hanging up, the more that “thank you” didn’t sound like gratitude.

Even though Shi Cha knew he shouldn’t blame Du Yan, he still felt a little bitter. If he’d known the film’s director was Lin Ran, maybe the two of them would have…

Well, then again, back then, Brother Lin Ran might not have liked him yet anyway.

Lin Ran looked at Shi Cha, who sat there first sighing, then frowning, clearly lost in thought, and couldn’t help but chuckle.

He reached out to gently touch Shi Cha’s earlobe. “What are you thinking about?”

Shi Cha hesitated for a while before finally asking the question that couples ask most often:

“When… when did you start liking me?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the tips of his ears turned red. His eyes darted everywhere, avoiding Lin Ran’s gaze.

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected his little one to ask that.

He gently twirled a lock of Shi Cha’s soft hair around his finger. “If I said it was when you were still underage, would you think I’m a pervert?”

Shi Cha looked down, revealing his slender neck. His fingers fidgeted nervously as he whispered, “No… I liked you when I was underage too.”

After that, Shi Cha suddenly looked up at Lin Ran. Then his eyes lowered slightly again, as if he had made up his mind.

Before Lin Ran could react, Shi Cha stood up, straddled Lin Ran’s lap, and sat down facing him.

He looked Lin Ran straight in the eyes, his tone serious and firm.

“But I’m an adult now.”

And then—

…

Three days later, at the Cannes International Animation Film Festival, photos of Divine Dragon winning five out of its eight nominations were sent back to China.

In the photo, Lin Ran and Shi Cha looked at each other and smiled.

One held the trophies for Best Director and Best Screenwriter, the other held the trophy for Best Voice Actor.

Behind them stood the rest of the Divine Dragon creative team.

[My husband’s husband is still my husband!]

Press releases flooded the internet.

The top trending search came with a bold red “Explosive” label next to it.

This was the first time a Chinese animated film had received such prestigious international recognition. It wasn’t just about the trophies—it marked a historic moment where Chinese animation had officially stepped onto the global stage.

From that moment on, no one could mock Chinese animation as third-rate.

[First time shipping a CP, and my heart feels not just sweet, but proud!]

…

On the awards stage, Shi Cha held his trophy in one hand, and with his pinky, hooked the pinky of Lin Ran’s free hand.

He tilted his head slightly to look up at Lin Ran, who was gazing down at him.

Both wore gentle smiles, their eyes reflecting each other’s figures—backlit by a sky full of dazzling light.

[At last, I can stand beside you, on the same award stage.]

---

Author’s note:

Little Shi Cha’s original wish was to one day win an award on the esports stage alongside Lin Ran. In the end, that wish still came true—just in a different form.

---

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Chapter 35 – Trending at Number One

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Du Yan truly lived up to his reputation as a social butterfly—within minutes, he had already become familiar with Lin Ran.

It was late at night, so he couldn’t ask Shi Cha to cook for him. Instead, he ordered a massive spread of takeout and had it delivered.

By the time they were full and satisfied, it was already close to eleven o’clock.

After the meal, Shi Cha got up to help clean up the messy table, but Lin Ran stopped him.

Ever since they confirmed their relationship, Lin Ran hadn’t let Shi Cha lift a finger to do anything.

Du Yan watched as Lin Ran bagged up the trash and stepped out to throw it away, then leaned in closer to Shi Cha.

“Your boyfriend… he’s not bad, I guess.”

For someone who was taking his precious cabbage, “not bad” was already generous.

Shi Cha: “…”

His voice wasn’t loud, but he firmly retorted, “He’s great!”

Du Yan: “…”

“You’ve only been together for a few hours, and you’re already this protective?”

Du Yan dramatically sighed, “As the saying goes, ‘Sons grow up and can’t be kept by your side forever. Try to keep them, and you’ll end up enemies.’ Looks like our little Shi Cha is ready to get married. Sigh.”

Teased like that, Shi Cha immediately clammed up like an oyster, refusing to respond to Du Yan again.

But Du Yan didn’t care at all about his silence. He casually munched on a bag of chips while seriously analyzing Lin Ran.

Even though he had only run into Lin Ran and Shi Cha by chance, he felt that, as Shi Cha’s close friend, it was his duty to do a proper evaluation.

So Du Yan started dissecting Lin Ran from every angle, judging whether or not he was worthy of Shi Cha.

Finally, he reluctantly reached a conclusion: “He barely passes. But hey, you like him, so what can I do?”

Shi Cha turned his head slightly to look at Du Yan sprawled out on the couch and suddenly felt a warm sensation in his heart.

Although he had claimed not to care about the harsh online comments saying he wasn’t good enough, his excellent memory made those painful remarks resurface again and again.

Only Du Yan would say something like, “He barely passes—for you.”

Du Yan continued eating and drinking, making no move to leave. As it approached midnight, he was still lounging there.

Lin Ran was waiting to send Du Yan off so he could spend some alone time with Shi Cha.

Meanwhile, Du Yan was also waiting—waiting for Lin Ran to leave, making sure he wouldn’t stay the night.

Just got together and already thinking about staying over?

No way!

On the surface, the two of them chatted and laughed, but in reality, they were both stalling—until Shi Cha finally said, “It’s getting late, Du Yan, you should head home.”

Inwardly cursing, ‘This kid always sides with outsiders,’ Du Yan still put on a show and glanced at his watch.

“Oh wow, it is getting pretty late. Brother Lin, let’s head out together. I’ll hitch a ride with you.”

Lin Ran began tidying up the table, looking very much like he was ready to usher guests out.

“I didn’t drive—I live next door.”

Du Yan, who was hoping to get rid of Lin Ran at the same time: “…”

It was already past Shi Cha’s usual bedtime. Seeing how drowsy Shi Cha looked, Du Yan quickly chimed in, “He’s sleepy—he needs to rest early. Lin-ge, you must be tired too after flying all day. Come on, time to head home and rest.”

Without waiting for Lin Ran’s reply, Du Yan grabbed his things and half-pushed him toward the door.

After shoving Lin Ran out, Du Yan turned back at the doorway and reminded Shi Cha, “Make sure you lock all the windows and bolt the door tonight. Don’t go opening the door for strangers.”

As he spoke, he shot Shi Cha a meaningful look.

Of course no one would willingly open the door to a thief—Du Yan was clearly insinuating something.

Shi Cha glanced at Lin Ran standing behind Du Yan and nodded. “You should get some rest too.”

He paused, then added, “And… thank you.”

Du Yan was momentarily stunned before realizing Shi Cha was referring to how he’d rushed back just to see him today. He waved it off casually. “No need to thank me. What are friends for? Alright, get back inside—I’m leaving now.”

And with that, he shut the door right in front of Lin Ran, not allowing him to step back inside.

“Brother Lin, I’ve been to Shi Cha’s place so many times, but I’ve never seen your home. I’m feeling a bit bloated after dinner—how about a cup of tea?”

Lin Ran understood Du Yan wanted to talk privately, so he nodded. “Sure.”

…

After Lin Ran’s surprise announcement of their relationship, the previous accusations claiming Shi Cha was a heartless player who deceived others vanished completely.

However, none of the people who had made those accusations came forward to apologize.

The ones most thrilled by the announcement were the two major CP fandoms. No longer at odds with one another, they instead began sharing content and “sugar” (sweet moments) from each other’s sides.

Thanks to Lin Ran publicly standing by Shi Cha, the few fans Shi Cha had finally found the courage to speak up and support their idol.

Overnight, Shi Cha’s Weibo—previously at zero followers—skyrocketed, gaining over a million fans. Among them were Shi Cha’s new fans, both CP fandoms, and even some of Lin Ran’s devoted supporters.

To Lin Ran’s die-hard fans, if this was the person their “big brother” had chosen, then of course they would give their blessing.

Under the post where Shi Cha announced he had a boyfriend, tens of thousands of comments poured in within just a few hours.

Even in this situation, there were still some people who jumped out to criticize Shi Cha, claiming he must have used some underhanded methods—after all, how could someone so unknown and insignificant become the boyfriend of someone as top-tier as Lin Ran?

Some even began to slander Lin Ran, saying that ever since his retirement, he hadn’t produced any noteworthy work, and this relationship was just a publicity stunt to regain attention before he faded into obscurity.

It looked like another round of internet drama was about to erupt.

But early the next morning, a piece of news hit the top of the entertainment headlines:

#Domestic animated film Divine Dragon nominated for Cannes International Animation Film Festival#

The Cannes International Animation Film Festival, organized by the International Animated Film Association, is the largest and most prestigious animation film festival in the world—an event of major significance in the animation industry.

Until now, no Chinese animated film had ever been nominated at this festival, let alone won an award.

This lack of nominations had long been a source of embarrassment, leading Chinese animation to be mocked by international filmmakers.

Now, with Divine Dragon receiving multiple nominations at the festival, it was like a fire had been lit in the hearts of the Chinese public.

If—just if—it could win an award, Chinese animated films would finally gain the recognition they deserved on the international stage!

The news rocketed to the top of the trending search list.

Just as everyone was eagerly trying to find out who was behind the film and what nominations it had received, Huashi—China’s official media outlet—posted on Weibo, publicly praising the core creative team of Divine Dragon. The post also listed the eight nominations the film had earned at the festival.

Unlike regular films, animated films don’t have categories for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress, so naturally, there are fewer awards overall.

Even so, Divine Dragon’s eight nominations covered half of all the award categories at the festival.

Netizens were ecstatic. This wasn’t just about restoring dignity—this meant Chinese animation was on the verge of claiming a place on the world stage.

While the nation celebrated, some people were hit hard with reality.

First in line were those who had mocked Lin Ran, saying he had no representative work and was just a pretty face occupying a top spot in the industry without real talent.

Because the director, producer, and screenwriter of Divine Dragon…

…were all the same person—Lin Ran.

And Lin Ran himself had been nominated for multiple awards, including Best Director and Best Screenwriter.

Who would dare say now that Lin Ran had no accomplishments besides his esports championship—that he was just a pretty face?

The things said last night were proven wrong by morning. Those who had bashed Lin Ran online were now desperate to time-travel back to yesterday and slap themselves in the face. “Serves you right for talking nonsense!”

Within a short time, people were scrambling to delete their inappropriate comments. For posts that couldn’t be deleted, they quickly reposted new ones to clarify their stance.

The second group to get publicly embarrassed? The haters who claimed Shi Cha was just a pretty face and completely unworthy of Lin Ran.

Animated films differ from live-action ones in another key aspect: all the characters need to be voiced by professional voice actors. Because of that, animation film festivals often include a category for Best Voice Acting—a category not typically found in traditional film festivals.

Divine Dragon had also received a nomination for Best Voice Acting.

Usually, this award is listed under the film’s title, and the prize is given to the voice acting team, since no one person can voice an entire film.

But Divine Dragon was an exception.

Its credits were long—but after every character name, there was only one name listed.

That name was: Shi Cha.

So the official nomination for Best Voice Acting at the Cannes International Animation Film Festival was:

—Divine Dragon, Shi Cha.

---

---

Chapter 34 – Something’s Fishy

---

About ten minutes later, Shi Cha finally walked out of the room.

Just at that moment, Lin Ran was placing two bowls of noodles on the dining table. He wiped his hands and said, “I’m not very good at cooking. I could only make something simple like noodles. Just make do for now to fill your stomach—later we’ll go out and get something better.”

The room was brightly lit now. Shi Cha kept avoiding eye contact, clearly too embarrassed to look at Lin Ran. He was flustered and helpless as Lin Ran pressed him down into a chair and stuffed a pair of chopsticks into his hands.

“There’s plenty of food in the fridge, but I don’t know how to cook any of it. Starting tomorrow, I’m going to learn how to cook properly—so I can feed my boyfriend well.”

Lin Ran had said “boyfriend” so many times today. Even though Shi Cha was happy every time he heard it, his face still flushed bright red each time.

Seeing Shi Cha remain silent, Lin Ran glanced up at him and couldn’t help but laugh again.

Shi Cha had just picked up his chopsticks, ready to eat, but when Lin Ran laughed, he put them back down. He touched his own face and asked, “Is something wrong with me?”

Lin Ran shook his head. “No. Next time, I’ll be gentler.”

Shi Cha suddenly had a flash of realization. He finally understood what Lin Ran was talking about. He touched his lips—they did feel a little swollen.

That discovery made his face burn even more, as if it could bleed.

Blushing furiously, Shi Cha barked, “You’re not allowed to laugh at me! Or else next time I’ll kiss you so hard your lips swell too!”

Unexpectedly, that only made Lin Ran laugh even harder.

“Why wait until next time? You can do it now.”

As he said that, he leaned his head toward Shi Cha, clearly signaling that if he wanted a kiss, he could go ahead any time.

Shi Cha froze. “…”

Why did it feel like Lin Ran had become a completely different person ever since he confessed?

Shi Cha pressed his lips together. This version of Lin Ran was getting harder and harder to handle.

His skin was thin—kissing now would be too much, but not kissing also felt wrong.

Lin Ran was just teasing his little boyfriend. Seeing that Shi Cha stayed silent, he stopped pushing.

“Eat quickly, or the noodles will turn soggy.”

Hearing that, Shi Cha immediately lowered his head and started eating, not daring to look up at Lin Ran again.

After they finished eating, Lin Ran cleared the table with practiced ease, moving like a proper man of the house.

Shi Cha didn’t find anything unusual about it. In fact, he thought it felt really nice.

He sat on the sofa, cradling a fruit tea Lin Ran had made for him, sipping it slowly. His eyes followed Lin Ran’s every move as he peeled an apple with those beautiful fingers. The fruit plate beside him was already full of freshly cut fruit.

While peeling the apple, Lin Ran asked Shi Cha, “Do you have Weibo?”

The moment Shi Cha heard that, his heart skipped a beat. He immediately thought of the post he had made half an hour ago—showing off his boyfriend. Before he could even figure out how to respond, Lin Ran continued.

“You mentioned browsing the trending topics, so you must have one. Give me your Weibo account later—I’m going to tag you in a post.”

Shi Cha was stunned. “W-Why?”

Lin Ran popped a slice of freshly cut apple into Shi Cha’s mouth and gave his cheek a playful pinch.

“To make it official, of course, you little dummy.”

Lin Ran had seen all the hate comments online directed at Shi Cha. Although he’d already asked someone to take care of it, as long as he didn’t speak up himself, there would always be people attacking Shi Cha.

He couldn’t bear to see his kid constantly judged and criticized.

When he heard “make it official,” Shi Cha had to admit—his heart fluttered.

He looked up at Lin Ran, who was sitting right in front of him, and bit his lip.

“Aren’t you afraid your fans will unfollow you?”

Lin Ran kept feeding him fruit, completely unfazed by the question.

“If they really like me, they’ll respect my choices. I want the whole world to know that Shi Cha is my boyfriend. If I were to hide our relationship just because I’m scared of losing fans, how could I claim to truly like you?”

In that moment, all the chaos and drama from the internet suddenly felt insignificant to Shi Cha. Brother Lin Ran would protect him—just like he did when they were little.

Shi Cha opened his Weibo account and handed it to Lin Ran.

The first thing Lin Ran saw was the post Shi Cha had just made: the one showing off his “boyfriend.”

With a smile on his face, Lin Ran looked at this kid—outwardly reserved but inwardly bursting with excitement—and found him utterly irresistible.

Then he logged into his main Weibo account.

Fans who had been keeping an eye on Lin Ran suddenly noticed that he had come online.

Shortly after, they saw that Lin Ran’s Weibo account had, within a minute, followed an account named “SC.”

Two minutes later, Lin Ran reposted one of “SC’s” recent Weibo posts:

[LR Lin Ran: So lucky—I have a boyfriend too! 🎉 //@SC: So happy—I have a boyfriend! 🎉]

Whether it was Lin Ran’s solo fans or his CP fans, everyone exploded.

Was this Lin Ran suddenly making his relationship public?

Who exactly was this “SC”?

Could it be that the recent flood of rumors about Shi Cha had forced Lin Ran to come out and protect his real boyfriend?

Under Lin Ran’s post, comments poured in by the thousands within seconds. The same happened on Shi Cha’s Weibo account, which was now under a flood of attention.

Lin Ran didn’t reply to a single comment, but his actions spoke louder than words.

He immediately followed the topics “LinShi CP” and “LinYao CP,” making his stance perfectly clear.

Finally, he posted a separate Weibo update:

It was a photo of two hands tightly clasped.

[LR Lin Ran: Thank you, everyone. We’re together. “Lin Shi” is not “temporary.” @SC Shi Cha]

Only then did people realize—the Weibo user “SC” had changed his display name.

So he was Shi Cha!

Now that Lin Ran himself had officially confirmed the relationship, all the previous rumors accusing Shi Cha of being a heartless player fell apart instantly.

[He was just using two identities as a bit of harmless fun, but you all insisted on exposing him!]

[No matter what, I support brother’s choice. Wishing you both the best~]

[Congratulations Brother~]

[…]

After Lin Ran posted the final Weibo update, he tossed his phone aside. But the left hand that had been holding Shi Cha’s for the photo—he never let go.

Shi Cha secretly tried to tug his hand free—but didn’t manage to pull away.

Lin Ran leaned close to Shi Cha’s ear and gave his earlobe a small bite.

“I’m not letting go. A little lamb ends up in the big bad wolf’s hands and still wants to run away?”

Shi Cha blushed easily, and with Lin Ran so close, his face started burning again.

He began to stammer,
“Bro-brother L-Lin Ran, d-don’t do that, I…”

“Don’t like it?”

Did he not like it? That wasn’t true at all.

Shi Cha did like Lin Ran’s closeness—he just never knew what to do whenever Lin Ran leaned in like this.

“N-no, I like it.”

Even though he was incredibly shy, Shi Cha still told the truth. That made him seem even softer, more endearing.

Just as Lin Ran was about to give in to the urge to kiss him, there was a sudden loud banging on the door, followed by a booming voice.

“Shi Cha! Shi Cha! Are you in there? Open up! Shi Cha—!”

Lin Ran looked at him.

“Your friend?”

Shi Cha nodded. “Du Yan, my college classmate.”

“I’ll get the door.”

Fortunately, the soundproofing here was good, and Du Yan clearly wasn’t concerned about disturbing the neighbors late at night. As soon as he heard the door open, he started shouting again—before even seeing who answered.

“What’s going on with you? I’ve been calling you all afternoon and you didn’t pick up! I was so worried I wrapped things up over there and rushed back overnight—You—”

Du Yan’s voice cut off abruptly the moment he saw Lin Ran.

He gave Lin Ran a once-over, sizing him up.

“Lin Ran? What are you doing here?”

Du Yan had just driven two hours straight from City G and hadn’t had time to check Weibo. Naturally, he didn’t know that these two had suddenly gone public.

He brushed past Lin Ran and walked into the living room, where he saw Shi Cha sitting obediently on the sofa, looking back at him.

Du Yan glanced suspiciously between the two—then back again. It was already past 9 p.m., and this man was still in Shi Cha’s home.

Something was definitely going on.

He frowned. “What’s your relationship?”

Before Shi Cha could say a word, Lin Ran immediately answered with four words: “We’re in a relationship.”

Under Du Yan’s intense stare, Lin Ran added, “Just like you’re thinking—I’m Shi Cha’s boyfriend.”

Du Yan immediately turned to look at the still docile Shi Cha, his eyes wide like copper bells.

“He’s telling the truth?”

Shi Cha hugged a pillow, looking soft and sweet, and under Du Yan’s piercing gaze, he gave a small nod.

Du Yan rushed over and plopped down beside him, lowering his voice—at least he thought he was being discreet, though Lin Ran clearly heard every word—and asked, “When did this happen? You’ve been together this whole time? And he still let you get flamed online like that?”

Shi Cha shook his head.

“No, it’s recent. We just made it official on Weibo.”

“Weibo? Official announcement?”

Du Yan immediately pulled out his phone. He didn’t know Shi Cha’s handle, but Lin Ran’s was way too easy to find.

Right away, he saw the pinned post—an obvious show of affection. And that hand in the photo? It was clearly Shi Cha’s.

Seeing the two of them chatting, Lin Ran took the initiative to head to the kitchen to prepare some snacks to welcome Du Yan.

After all, Du Yan was now Shi Cha’s guest—and he was the host.

Once Lin Ran left, Du Yan grumpily stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

“How did you end up liking him?”

Du Yan couldn’t help but feel like his precious cabbage had been eaten by a pig—though, admittedly, a very good-looking pig.

Shi Cha rested his chin on the pillow, his expression earnest.

“I’ve liked him for years.”

Du Yan: “…”

Although Shi Cha rarely showed strong emotions, Du Yan could still clearly sense how happy he was.

His little cabbage had truly fallen for that pig.

Sigh, forget it, forget it. A grown son doesn’t listen to his mother.

Then he suddenly remembered some of the conversations they’d had in the group chat.

“So that streamer named ‘Cun Yao’… that’s really you?”

Seeing Shi Cha nod, Du Yan found it even stranger. He had stumbled across Cun Yao’s livestreams once or twice, and he never would’ve guessed it was actually Shi Cha—the ultimate social anxiety case.

People really could have two completely different faces online. Even a little genius like Shi Cha wasn’t immune to that.

“‘Cun Yao’… Shi Cha… Lin Ran… Shi and Lin…” Du Yan’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Wait—your streamer name, don’t tell me it’s made from both of your surnames?”

Once you knew their real identities, it wasn’t hard to connect the dots. The name Cun Yao didn’t exactly scream hidden meaning, after all.

“‘Lin’ is two trees, ‘Shi’ is sun and inch. Put them together—‘Cun’ from tree + inch, and ‘Yao’ from tree + sun. You really used your brain for this, huh?”

Shi Cha didn’t respond after being exposed like that.

But did Du Yan need him to? A chatterbox like Du Yan didn’t need a reply to keep talking.

He was used to Shi Cha’s quiet nature anyway.

He thought about it for a second longer, then stared at Shi Cha’s still slightly swollen lips with a strange expression and said, “Actually, your name shouldn’t be Cun Yao. It should be Cun Guo.” (lit. “village fruit”)

Shi Cha was briefly stunned.

Then, realizing it was a dirty joke, his face instantly turned bright red. Without hesitation, he grabbed an unwashed apple off the table and shoved it straight into Du Yan’s mouth.

When Lin Ran came out with a bowl of freshly washed fruit, what he saw was Shi Cha looking flushed and flustered. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the two of them in surprise.

“What happened here?”

Thankfully, Du Yan wasn’t completely unreliable and didn’t embarrass Shi Cha.

“Nothing. I was hungry, so Shi Cha gave me an apple to tide me over.”

---

---

Chapter 33 – Boyfriend

---

Lin Ran’s chest ached with sour, swelling emotion. He lifted his arm and, after a brief struggle, let it fall gently onto Shi Cha’s head. Just like when they were kids, he ruffled Shi Cha’s hair.

People always said Shi Cha was aloof and proud, but only Lin Ran knew how sensitive and soft he truly was.

“That won’t happen. Didn’t you say, Brother Lin Ran, that you’d be my best friend? A best friend will always stay by your side.”

Perhaps the darkness had given Shi Cha a courage he normally didn’t possess. Still hugging his knees, he mumbled in a low voice, “But I don’t want to be your best friend.”

“They were right about me. I’m despicable. I’m just a scumbag. I lied to you. I don’t want to be your best friend, or your little brother.”

Lin Ran’s hand froze in the middle of stroking Shi Cha’s hair.

Shi Cha had spent the whole afternoon thinking. Since things had come this far, why shouldn’t he just speak the truth? If Lin Ran ultimately chose to stay away from him, he would accept it calmly.

Shi Cha looked up at Lin Ran’s blurred face.

“I’m Shi Cha, but I’m also Cun Yao. I’ve read all the CP discussions online about the two of us, and they made me really happy. I trained so hard in ‘Pinnacle’ because I wanted to one day stand on the podium beside you. The name ‘Cun Yao’ is actually a combination of both our surnames.”

“So, Brother Lin Ran, actually, a long time ago, I…”

But just as Shi Cha finally summoned the courage to speak his heart, his mouth was suddenly covered by someone’s hand.

“I… Mmph—”

Lin Ran had been stunned by Shi Cha’s words at first, but once he came to his senses and understood what Shi Cha was trying to say, he instinctively stopped him from saying anything more.

“I know what you’re about to say—but wait a moment.”

Lin Ran’s eyes were filled with laughter, and even in the dim light, Shi Cha could still see the sparkle in them, like countless stars scattered across the night sky.

“I know you’re Cun Yao. I also know about the CP people are shipping online. In fact, I even followed it with a small alt account.”

“I had planned to wait until you grew a little older, to slowly let you come to accept me. But now, just as you used to say, I guess I’ve been ‘too slow.’”

As he spoke, Lin Ran knelt down on one knee, one hand bracing his knee, the other holding Shi Cha’s hand.

“Xiao Shi, I like you.”

“I…”

Shi Cha froze on the spot. He had never imagined that one day, Lin Ran would confess to him—especially not after he had just admitted to deceiving him.

His heart thudded wildly in his chest. His mind felt like it was exploding with fireworks—vivid and dazzling—yet he suddenly seemed to have lost the ability to speak altogether.

“Xiao Shi, would you be willing to accept me?”

It took a while for Shi Cha to gather himself enough to find his voice again.

His voice trembled slightly, laced with a hint of happiness.

“Brother Lin Ran, I… I like you too.”

Even though he had just been preparing to confess himself, now that Lin Ran had beaten him to it, he suddenly felt flustered and shy.

But Lin Ran didn’t seem to notice his shyness at all.

“May I ask, Mr. Shi Cha, would you be willing to be Mr. Lin Ran’s boyfriend?”

Shi Cha lowered his head, blushing from the tips of his ears down to the base of his neck. Fortunately, the darkness helped to hide it.

He gave a small nod and quietly murmured, “I’m willing.”

But Lin Ran wasn’t finished. With a smile still on his face, he asked another question.

“May I ask, Mr. Shi Cha, can Mr. Lin Ran kiss his boyfriend now?”

Shi Cha was practically turning into a boiled shrimp, too flustered to know whether he should agree or not.

But Lin Ran’s question was just for formality.

He stood up, bent down, lifted Shi Cha’s chin with one hand, and kissed him—leaving no room for refusal.

As their lips touched, Shi Cha’s eyes flew wide open.

His heart pounded like a war drum.

If his mind had been filled with fireworks a moment ago, then now it was bursting with golden light behind his eyes.

Lin Ran leaned back slightly but still kept his lips close to Shi Cha’s, chuckling softly.

“Silly boy, if you don’t breathe soon, you’re going to pass out.”

Shi Cha, usually quick-witted, finally realized what was happening. The golden light flashing before his eyes was actually from a lack of oxygen—because he’d been holding his breath.

Embarrassed, he tried to lower his head, but Lin Ran firmly held his chin in place.

“It’s not over yet. Why are you thinking of running away?”

The soft press of Lin Ran’s lips made Shi Cha’s heart race wildly.

Then a slick “little fish” suddenly slid into his mouth, sending him into even greater panic.

“Silly boy, you have to open your mouth when you kiss.”

Shi Cha had always been a good student. Dutifully, he followed Teacher Lin’s instructions and parted his lips slightly.

And just like that, the little fish slipped in completely, playfully seeking out its partner.

“Silly boy, close your eyes.”

The words came through in a hushed, muffled voice, lips brushing lips.

Shi Cha obediently closed his eyes.

…

No one knew how much time had passed before Lin Ran finally let go of the dazed and dizzy Shi Cha.

The moment he was released, Shi Cha almost couldn’t sit upright. Partly because the kiss had left him light-headed, weak in the arms and legs—and partly because he’d been sitting too long and his body had gone numb.

Seeing his discomfort, Lin Ran slipped one arm under Shi Cha’s knees and the other behind his back, lifting him up into a bridal carry.

Shi Cha was startled and instinctively wrapped his arms around Lin Ran’s neck.

Carried like a princess, Shi Cha was gently laid down on the large bed by Lin Ran.

With Lin Ran leaning over him, their faces were barely half a foot apart. Their eyes met—and Shi Cha instantly grew flustered, his gaze darting everywhere but at the man so close to him.

Seeing Shi Cha all shy and adorable, Lin Ran couldn’t help but chuckle again.

“Boyfriend—starting now, whenever your boyfriend wants to kiss you, he’s not going to ask anymore.”

“Huh?” Shi Cha looked back at him, not quite catching what Lin Ran meant.

The next second, Lin Ran made his meaning very clear—with action.

A soft, fleeting kiss landed gently on Shi Cha’s lips, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of water.

Just a brief touch—then he pulled away.

“You get some rest. I’ll go make you something to eat.”

As he spoke, he reached out to turn on the bedside lamp—but Shi Cha stopped him.

“Wait.”

Clutching the blanket tightly, Shi Cha’s voice trembled a little.

“Don’t turn on the light. Y-You go out first. I’ll be fine in a bit.”

Lin Ran instantly understood what he meant.

The kid was embarrassed—too shy to face him right now.

“Okay.”

Just when Shi Cha thought Lin Ran was about to leave, the man suddenly leaned down close to his ear and whispered softly, “Can’t let my boyfriend go hungry, can I?”

It wasn’t until Lin Ran left that Shi Cha finally pulled the blanket over his face.

“Aaaaah! Lin Ran confessed to me!”

“Aaaaah! Lin Ran is my boyfriend now!”

He was so happy he wanted to roll around on the bed. But the moment he moved, a wave of soreness and numbness surged through his whole body, forcing him to stop immediately.

Still, the flowers blooming in his heart couldn’t be held back. He wanted to show them off to the whole world.

After leaving, Lin Ran brought Shi Cha’s phone—which had shut off from running out of battery and been left in the living room—back to him.

As soon as the phone was plugged in and powered back on, Shi Cha opened it immediately and logged into that main Weibo account with only three followers.

He posted his very first original Weibo post:

[SC: I’m so happy! I have a boyfriend now! 🎉]

---

---

Chapter 32 – Unlock Successful

---

Third Brother was daydreaming about the ten million yuan that was about to fall into their hands.

This time, he figured he’d get at least five million for himself. The remaining five million could be split between First Brother and Second Brother—he considered himself generous.

After all, if it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t have had a chance to make this ten million in the first place.

They had chosen a very remote unfinished building. First Brother and Second Brother had only returned after eating at a restaurant and packing some food to bring back, which took them over an hour.

When they came in carrying the takeout boxes, Third Brother was sitting cross-legged, humming a tune while scrolling through his phone.

Fortunately, Shi Cha and Lin Ran were still obediently tied up. This stopped First Brother, who had wanted to scold Third Brother, from saying anything.

He handed one of the food boxes to Second Brother and told him to feed the tied-up Shi Cha and Lin Ran.

Then he placed the remaining takeout in front of Third Brother and pulled some newspapers out of the bag to spread on the floor.

“Eat quickly. After we’re done eating, we’ll just make do with sleeping here tonight. At five in the morning, we set off—no one will be checking vehicles at that hour.”

Third Brother opened his takeout box and began devouring the food. As he chewed, he mumbled, “No rush. Let me finish eating first—then we’ll go collect the money.”

Second Brother, who was feeding Lin Ran, turned his head and looked at Third Brother. “Collect what money?”

Third Brother grinned proudly, his face beaming with joy. “I really pulled off a big one this time. You guys have no idea—these two brats come from really rich families.”

“How do you know that?”

Third Brother picked up a beer nearby and took a couple of gulps. “I just called their families and told them to prepare five million. They’ll be picking it up in an hour. First Brother, Second Brother, that’s a total of ten million! We’re about to hit it big! Haha—”

Before he could finish laughing, First Brother kicked him hard, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Idiot! Who told you to act on your own?! The phone—how did you even call them?!”

Third Brother lay there, stunned, staring at the furious First Brother in confusion. He couldn’t understand why he was getting yelled at again.

“I used my own phone, obviously. What other phone would I use?”

First Brother quickly reached into Third Brother’s pocket and pulled out his phone.

The last call had been made 40 minutes ago.

“You son of a—did you seriously leave your phone on this whole time?!”

Third Brother still didn’t get it. “Yeah, why? What’s wrong?”

Second Brother smacked the food box in his hand right onto Third Brother’s head. “No wonder First Brother says you’ve got pig brains. You really do have pig brains!”

The two of them didn’t waste time explaining anything further to Third Brother.

Each of them grabbed either Lin Ran or Shi Cha and started dragging them toward the van parked downstairs.

Third Brother climbed up from the ground and followed behind, calling out, “Why are you all leaving? I haven’t finished eating yet. Oh right, in just twenty minutes we can go pick up the money…”

But as they reached the stairwell, First Brother, who had already gone down to the second floor, suddenly turned back with the others and returned to the third floor.

Third Brother was confused. “Huh? First Brother, why did you come back? Did you change your mind and decide to come get the money with me?”

First Brother couldn’t even be bothered to respond to him and instead turned to Second Brother.

“Something’s not right.”

Second Brother, who was dragging Lin Ran along, looked down at the pitch-dark grass below.

The area surrounding the abandoned building was already overgrown with weeds—some of them nearly waist-high. In the darkness, it was impossible to make anything out clearly.

But their instincts were telling them—someone might be down there.

Second Brother didn’t stop to think whether he was just being paranoid or if someone really was lying in wait.

He gritted his teeth, pulled a folding knife out of his pocket, and pressed it against Lin Ran’s neck, then shoved him toward the edge of the third floor.

He shouted down below, “Let us go, or both of these brats die!”

Unlike the dim-witted Third Brother, Second Brother had a murder charge on his record. So when things went wrong, he was the one who could truly go all the way.

If First Brother and Third Brother got caught, they’d be looking at a few years behind bars at most. But him? He’d be facing the firing squad.

Third Brother, still oblivious, sneered from behind, “Second Brother, are you losing it? There’s no one down there.”

But just as he finished speaking, a group of police officers suddenly rose from the tall grass, flashlights blazing. Several beams of light instantly landed on Lin Ran, who was being held hostage.

In the back seat of a police car, Lin Ran’s mother saw her son being held at knifepoint and her legs nearly gave out from fear.

The police began shouting from below, ordering them to release the hostages and surrender.

Sweat began to bead on Third Brother’s forehead. He turned to the grim-faced First Brother and asked, “First Brother, what do we do now?”

There were quite a few officers below, and it looked like they were completely surrounded.

First Brother shot Third Brother a venomous glare. “You’re all talk and no help! Ruined everything!”

Realizing how serious the situation was, Third Brother finally understood he’d screwed up. But he still had no idea how the police had found them.

He hunched his shoulders and muttered to himself that he hadn’t done anything—that it wasn’t his fault. But he didn’t dare let the other two hear it.

After thinking for a moment, First Brother shoved Shi Cha into Third Brother’s arms. “You hold onto him.”

Then he told Second Brother to keep negotiating with the police, while he said he’d head down to the van to grab some weapons—and that Little Fatty was still down there too.

Second Brother and Third Brother nodded quickly, continuing to hold their ground against the police below. But they had learned their lesson: after exposing Lin Ran, they both hid behind the pillars, making sure not to let their bodies show in the police’s line of sight.

The two sides were locked in a standoff for a while. Second Brother grew increasingly agitated as the police downstairs remained unmoved, continuing their meaningless attempts at negotiation.

What made him even more on edge was that First Brother, who had gone down to retrieve something, still hadn’t returned.

Even with a knife pressed to his neck, Lin Ran remained calm. Shi Cha, who was being held carelessly by Third Brother, was also composed.

But even so, neither of them dared to speak, afraid of provoking these desperate criminals.

Not long after, First Brother returned. Just as Second and Third Brother were about to call out to him in relief, several fully armed SWAT officers followed in behind him.

It turned out that as soon as First Brother reached the ground floor, he was caught by the special ops team lying in wait. He immediately raised his hands and surrendered, claiming the kidnapping had nothing to do with him.

“Big Brother?”

“We’re surrounded, Second Brother, Third Brother. Let’s give up and hope for a lighter sentence.”

Third Brother had already lost his nerve. Seeing even First Brother surrendering, he immediately released Shi Cha and raised his hands as well.

First Brother continued trying to persuade Second Brother, even bringing up his wife and child back in their hometown. In the end, Second Brother also lowered his knife.

Just when everyone thought the crisis was over, Third Brother suddenly seemed to have an epiphany as he stared at Lin Ran.

“You were the one who brought the police, weren’t you, kid? No wonder you were so eager to get me to call your family for ransom! You wanted to trap us all!”

Second Brother, who had originally thought the whole kidnapping scheme was just Third Brother being stupid, was stunned to realize it had been orchestrated by this boy all along!

The knife was still in his hand. Fueled by rage, he tightened his grip on the handle and lunged at Lin Ran, who was walking toward the police with his back turned.

Shi Cha wasn’t far from them. Seeing what was happening, he immediately pushed Lin Ran out of the way, his small body shielding Lin Ran’s back.

The blade sliced across Shi Cha’s arm, which was still tied behind him, leaving a deep gash.

Everything happened in an instant. The moment the police saw Second Brother lash out, they opened fire and brought him down.

…

After the two boys were rescued, Lin Ran kept his promise and became a good friend to Shi Cha.

Although Shi Cha still seemed distant, he went from saying five words a day total to saying five words just to Lin Ran.

This made Shi Jian feel a bit jealous, complaining that he seemed invisible to Shi Cha, and that Lin Ran was now Shi Cha’s real big brother.

When Lin Ran heard this, he teased Shi Cha constantly, urging him to call him “Brother Lin Ran” a few more times. But back then, Shi Cha stubbornly refused to say it out loud.

By the time he actually wanted to call him that, Lin Ran had already gone off to college.

And because Shi Jian had gone abroad, Lin Ran had no more reason to regularly visit their home. Both Lin Ran and Shi Jian had grown up. Even when Shi Jian returned to the country and they hung out together, they met outside the house.

That was how, over the next few years, Shi Cha completely lost contact with Lin Ran.

It was during that time Shi Cha began to reflect: had he been too closed off? Had he made Lin Ran think he never really saw him as a true friend?

…

When Lin Ran was in Kyoto attending a conference, the news about Shi Cha and Cun Yao continued to spread online. His manager, Li Xin’an, was the one who showed it to him after it had already gone viral.

The moment Lin Ran saw the news, he immediately tried calling Shi Cha. But no matter how many times he called, no one answered.

Li Xin’an said, “Fans are all saying that Shi Cha deceived your feelings by using two identities. You—”

“I knew it was him,” Lin Ran replied without even lifting his head, still staring down at his phone.

Then he stood up and tucked the phone into his pocket. “I’ve booked the earliest flight back to A City. Shi Cha won’t answer his phone, and I’m worried.”

Li Xin’an was shocked and quickly tried to stop him. “But what about things here? I don’t understand all the film reporting procedures!”

Lin Ran patted his shoulder. “I’ve already prepared everything. Xiao Zhou has all the documents. Let him handle it, and you help supervise. Also, tell the fans not to slander Shi Cha. I’ll explain things later on Weibo. That’s it. I’m heading out.”

“You… I…”

Li Xin’an couldn’t stop him and could only watch helplessly as Lin Ran walked away without looking back.

With a sigh, he muttered to himself, “Even the smartest people turn into fools when they fall in love.”

The assistant beside him didn’t quite catch that. “What?”

“Nothing. Contact the fan club now…”

…

When Lin Ran’s plane landed, it was already past 7 p.m. The first thing he did after disembarking was try calling Shi Cha again, but this time the phone was powered off.

He rushed home without pause. However, no matter how long he knocked on Shi Cha’s door, no one answered.

Shi Cha had changed the locks before, and even if he went to find Shi Jian, Shi Jian didn’t have the key.

Just as he was about to call someone to forcibly open the door, he suddenly remembered something: when he had renovated the place, he’d found using keys annoying and had installed a keypad lock instead. He wasn’t sure if Shi Cha or Shi Jian had changed the code since then.

But right now, he could only try it—better than doing nothing.

“052013.”

Five hours, twenty minutes, and thirteen seconds—that was the time it took him and Shi Cha to solve a seventeen-level Rubik’s Cube one afternoon.

“Unlock successful!”

Lin Ran gently pressed down on the handle, and the door opened.

The room was completely dark, with only a faint glow coming in through the glass, just enough to make out the furniture inside.

“Shi Cha? Are you here?”

But there was no response.

Lin Ran switched on the living room lights—no one.

Knowing Shi Cha’s personality, he wouldn’t just wander off. That only left the bedroom.

He gently opened the bedroom door, and standing in the doorway under the light, Lin Ran immediately saw a figure curled up on the windowsill.

The figure was hunched over, arms wrapped around their knees, completely enveloped in darkness.

Alone. Desolate.

In that moment, Lin Ran’s heart ached more than he ever thought possible. He never imagined Shi Cha would be hurt like this—because of him.

“Xiao Shi?”

His voice was soft, but strained.

After staying motionless for several hours, Shi Cha finally moved.

He turned his head and looked at Lin Ran, who was illuminated clearly under the light, and for a moment, his eyes were filled with disbelief.

“Brother Lin Ran?”

Lin Ran didn’t turn on the bedroom light. He slowly walked to the window and stopped in front of him.

Shi Cha rested his chin back on his knees and quietly murmured:

“I thought you’d never talk to me again.”

---

---

Chapter 31 – Once and for All

---

Shi Cha shook his head, throwing off the chin that had been resting on top of it, and then looked up at Lin Ran without saying a word.

Just when Lin Ran thought the little brat was about to mock him again, he saw Shi Cha lower his head and let out a soft “Mm.”

Third Brother drank his beer. Although he could hear the conversation between the two kids, he didn’t say anything. After all, after tomorrow, the two of them would never see each other again.

For a while, aside from the occasional croak of frogs from the wilderness outside the unfinished building, no one said a word.

Bored, Third Brother unlocked his phone. He drank while mindlessly scrolling through videos.

“Want to make money? Download XXX on your phone right now, and you can earn XX yuan a day. Soon, you’ll be making tens of thousands per month. What are you waiting for, friends…”

“People these days think it’s harder and harder to make money, but they don’t realize that opportunities are right in front of them! Call the number below, and we’ll teach you step-by-step how to get rich…”

“…”

After watching five or six ads about how to make money, Third Brother spat hard on the ground.

“Bullsh*t! It’s all a scam!”

He took a long swig of beer and went back to scrolling through more videos on startups and investments.

Lin Ran glanced up and down at Third Brother, who was clutching his phone. This guy seemed impatient—his nerves weren’t great when the police stopped their car earlier, and now he was acting like he was desperate to get rich quick.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked: “Big brother, how much are you going to make selling me to that guy, Ah Cheng or whatever?”

Third Brother looked up at Lin Ran, his tone a little fierce. “Why do you want to know?”

But Lin Ran wasn’t intimidated at all and kept smiling. “It’s not like I can run away. Telling me doesn’t cost you anything. Besides, since I’m being sold, I should at least know how much I’m worth, right?”

Third Brother didn’t expect the kid to be this strange. At a time like this, instead of crying or being scared, he was concerned about his own price.

But since he was bored anyway, he figured he might as well answer.

“You? You’re already pretty old, so you’re not worth much if we sell you to some remote village. Those people don’t like kids your age. Only Brother Cheng might take you. Not much—maybe five or six thousand yuan.”

Lin Ran raised his eyebrows slightly, keeping a straight face. “That’s really not much. Oh right—what about my little brother? Where are you planning to send him?”

Third Brother assumed he was trying to find out where Shi Cha would be taken so he could go looking for him later.

“Where he’s going is none of your business. But your little brother’s worth a lot more than you. At first, we thought he was mute, so we could only get around 100,000 yuan. Now that we know he’s not, the price will double.”

Even though Third Brother didn’t say exactly where Shi Cha was being taken, he couldn’t help boasting about how much money he’d be making.

Their kind of trafficking operation made far more than ordinary human traffickers.

When Lin Ran heard the price, he realized this wasn’t an ordinary human trafficking operation. Typical traffickers would sell children to remote areas, but very few people would pay 200,000 yuan for a child already over seven years old.

However, Lin Ran didn’t let it show. Instead, he curiously asked another question.

“Then how much do you guys make in a year?”

Third Brother wasn’t particularly cautious around two kids. Usually, he couldn’t brag to anyone about how he made his money or how much he earned.

Now that he suddenly had an audience, he couldn’t help but start showing off.

“I get over 200,000 yuan a year. That’s way better than farming back in my hometown. I’ve even gotten married now, and my wife’s pregnant with a boy. Heh, I’m about to be a dad.”

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and started flipping through photos, showing them to Lin Ran and Shi Cha.

It was a 4D ultrasound image, showing the baby sleeping with his eyes closed.

Lin Ran nodded and praised, “Very good-looking.”

Third Brother beamed as he put his phone away. “Of course! Takes after my wife.”

Lin Ran continued, “Then you’ve really got to start making more money. Your son will need to attend the best schools, get into the best university. And after he graduates, you’ll have to buy him an apartment in the city so he can get married. Housing in the city isn’t cheap, you know. I heard that over by the lake, even an average apartment costs several million yuan. The nicer ones go for over ten million.”

Third Brother suddenly felt that making just 200,000 yuan a year wasn’t nearly enough.

He frowned and reached for his phone again to scroll through more money-making videos.

Lin Ran probed, “Third Brother, are you thinking about switching to something that pays even better?”

Third Brother gave him a suspicious look. “How did you know?”

Lin Ran grinned. “I saw you watching all those money-making videos and figured you might be considering it. And little brother here might just have a method—would you be interested?”

Third Brother didn’t believe Lin Ran, but that didn’t stop him from wanting to hear what kind of nonsense the kid was about to say.

“Go on, let’s hear it.”

Seeing that he’d taken the bait, Lin Ran began to lay out the situation.

“There’s something you probably don’t know. The kid you guys grabbed—he’s not actually my little brother. He’s my friend’s brother. And their family? They’re loaded. Since you’ve already taken him, what’s the point of selling him off for just 200,000 yuan? That’s nothing. Ask his parents for ten times that amount—they won’t even blink before giving it to you.”

“Really? Two million, and they won’t even blink?” Third Brother had never dealt with wealthy people before, but that number made his heart race.

One job could be worth ten years of work! What they were doing was already illegal, so in the grand scheme of things, this didn’t seem any worse.

“Of course it’s true!”

Hearing Lin Ran speak with such confidence, Shi Cha turned to look at him, staring directly and intently at his face.

Lin Ran pretended not to notice and continued to coax the already-interested Third Brother.

“Since you’ve already taken him, you might as well make it count. One big job, and you’re set for life, right?”

Third Brother’s head buzzed from the excitement. If he pulled this off, he could spend the rest of his life at home with his wife and child, never having to risk anything again.

But then a thought crossed his mind, and he began to calm down.

“Why are you planning all this out for me?”

Lin Ran gave an embarrassed laugh.

“It’s not all for you. I’m mainly thinking about myself. I don’t want to be sold off to that Ah Cheng for a few thousand yuan and end up suffering for the rest of my life. Besides, I think it’s only fair for parents to pay to get their kids back, don’t you?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not just his parents who’ll give you two million. If you call my parents, they’ll give you another two million, too.”

When Third Brother heard that there was a chance to get another two million, his mind went blank with disbelief.

“Your family’s that rich?”

Lin Ran tried to wave his hand dismissively, but since his hands were tied behind his back, he could only shrug his shoulders instead.

“It’s not that they’re super rich,” Lin Ran said, “but if it’s to get me back, they’d probably be willing to pay two million.”

When Third Brother heard there was a chance to make four million, he completely ignored everything else—didn’t even consider whether he should consult the eldest and second brother.

Given how cautious the two of them usually were, they’d definitely say no.

But since he was already in this line of work, he figured he might as well be bold and skillful.

In this world, it’s always the timid who starve and the daring who feast.

Without hesitation, he pulled out his phone and handed it to Lin Ran.

“Call your parents first.”

Seeing that he’d finally taken out his phone, Lin Ran immediately gave him his mother’s number.

It had already been over two hours since he made that call to Shi Jian earlier. By now, his parents and Shi Jian’s parents should have been notified.

Whether it was his shattered phone, his school bag, or even Shi Cha’s watch that was thrown out of the car—each of those items had a GPS tracker.

Once their parents found them, they’d definitely realize the kids had been kidnapped.

…

At that moment, Lin Ran’s parents were sitting with Shi Cha’s parents and Shi Jian at Shi Cha’s family villa.

As soon as Shi Jian got Lin Ran’s call, he told both sets of parents. They had then used the GPS tracking system to locate the alleyway where Lin Ran had been abducted.

The scattered belongings in the alley made it clear—Shi Cha and Lin Ran had been taken.

They immediately reported it to the police. With enough evidence to confirm the boys’ disappearance, the authorities began taking the case seriously right away.

Suddenly, Lin Ran’s mother’s phone rang. Seeing an unfamiliar number, her first instinct was to hang up. She was already overwhelmed with worry and in no mood to deal with unimportant calls.

But a minute after the first call ended, the same number rang again.

Just as she was about to hang up once more, the police—who had just set up a phone tap—stopped her.

“Pick it up. What if it’s the kidnappers calling?”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Kidnappers?”

Yes, their children had most likely been kidnapped.

Hands trembling, she picked up the call.

“Hello?”

To her surprise, it was Lin Ran’s voice on the other end.

“Mom.”

As soon as Lin Ran’s voice came through, tears rolled down his mother’s cheeks.

“You little rascal, where on earth have you been? You scared me half to death!”

Hearing her emotional reaction, the police nearby assumed it wasn’t a call from a kidnapper, so they didn’t immediately activate the surveillance equipment.

However, Lin Ran’s next words shattered that assumption.

“Mom, there’s no time to explain right now. Go prepare two million yuan—we’re being held for ransom.”

Lin Ran’s mother was stunned by his words.

“You’ve really been kidnapped?”

Shi Cha’s mother quickly rushed over to the phone and leaned in.

“‘We’? Who else is with you—Shi Cha? Shi Cha, say something so Mommy knows you’re okay!”

The two mothers were both crying now, while on the other end, Third Brother was growing impatient. Suddenly, he started thinking that two million per person didn’t sound like that much—especially if the eldest and second brother came back and demanded a share. He wouldn’t be left with much.

So he snapped at the phone, voice fierce:

“The price just went up. Five million per person. That’s it. You have one hour to get the money together. I’ll call again.”

And with that, before anyone could respond, Third Brother hung up.

Shi Cha’s mother clutched Lin Ran’s mother’s hand tightly, her voice full of panic.

“I didn’t hear Shi Cha’s voice—he was there, right?”

Lin Ran’s mother patted her hand to comfort her.

“They’re definitely together. The guy said five million per person, right? That means there are two of them.”

“Yes, yes, you’re right. It has to be that.”

Shi Cha’s father quickly turned to the police.

“Did you locate their position?”

The police had managed to activate a tracking system during the ransom part of the call, but it was too short to pinpoint an exact location. All they knew was that the signal had come from somewhere within A City.

Fortunately, Third Brother hadn’t turned the phone off after hanging up.

Using the active number, the police quickly identified the registered owner of the SIM card.

Half an hour later, patrol cars were on the move.

---

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Chapter 30 – Not Sad

---

Shi Cha’s parents were usually very busy with work, and his older brother had already moved on to middle school, so it was the family driver who usually picked Shi Cha up.

After school, Shi Cha would always go alone to play in the sandbox at the park, while the driver watched him from not far away.

Shi Cha didn’t talk much. The other kids who often played there thought he was mute, so no one wanted to play with him. But there was one chubby boy, about the same age as Shi Cha, who often came up and talked to him.

For almost a month, the two of them played together nearly every day.

Even if Shi Cha didn’t respond, the chubby boy would still chatter away as if they were already close.

They built sandcastles together in the sandbox, or the chubby boy would watch Shi Cha draw pictures in the sand.

Though Shi Cha had never said a single word to him, he already considered the boy his friend in his heart.

Because of his quiet personality, Shi Cha didn’t have many friends at school. The other kids didn’t really want to play with him. So the chubby boy he met at the park became his one and only friend.

Then one day after school, the driver didn’t show up at the usual time because Shi Cha’s father had called him away for something else.

Shi Cha waited inside the school grounds along with the other children, watching for whoever was supposed to pick him up.

He looked out toward the school gate. Though he didn’t see the driver, he did see his friend, the chubby boy, waving at him.

There were a lot of parents gathered outside picking up their children. A teacher saw Shi Cha heading for the gate and stopped him, asking, “Has your guardian arrived?”

Shi Cha didn’t talk much in class either, and he didn’t explain anything now—he just nodded, indicating that he recognized someone.

The teacher had to keep an eye on the other students, so she let him go.

As soon as Shi Cha stepped outside the school gates, he was swallowed up by the crowd of parents.

The chubby boy squeezed over to him, took his hand, and said, “Come on, let’s go play at the park.”

Shi Cha glanced at the man standing next to the boy—the one the boy had once called “Dad“—and nodded in agreement.

He thought he’d call the driver later to tell him he was waiting at the park.

But as soon as he got into the van with the chubby boy’s dad, he realized something was wrong.

Inside the van, besides the chubby boy and his “dad,” there were two other men.

As soon as the door closed, one of the men turned to the one driving—the chubby boy’s so-called dad—and asked: “Boss, is this kid really mute? But a mute kid won’t sell for a good price.”

The man referred to as “Boss”—the chubby boy’s father—glanced in the rearview mirror at Shi Cha, who was clutching his backpack straps tightly and sitting silently in the back seat, his expression unreadable for the moment.

“It’s been a month and I haven’t heard him say a single word. He’s probably mute. But it doesn’t matter—look at that delicate skin, that pretty face. He’ll definitely fetch a better price than the other kids we’ve had. There might be someone who’s into this kind.”

“That’s true. I heard that school he came from has a lot of rich kids. Judging by his clothes, he doesn’t look like he comes from a poor family either.”

“Third Brother, don’t get any funny ideas. We’ve never done that kind of thing before—if you slip up, we’ll all be in trouble.”

“Alright, alright, I get it, Second Brother.”

“……”

Shi Cha had felt something was wrong the moment he got into the van. Now, after hearing their unfiltered conversation, he was certain.

He had been kidnapped by human traffickers. And the “friend” he had trusted all along turned out to be one of them.

Shi Cha pressed his lips into a tight line, his palm-sized face filled with seriousness.

He secretly reached for his wristwatch. It had a GPS tracker, and it could send messages and make calls.

But just as he was about to send a message, the man sitting beside him—Second Brother—suddenly frowned.

“This kid’s reaction is off. Even if he’s mute, he should be freaking out after realizing he’s been taken. But he’s just sitting there, not making a sound?”

Right after speaking, he noticed Shi Cha slipping one hand into his other sleeve, clearly doing something.

He immediately grabbed Shi Cha’s wrist and yanked up his sleeve—there it was, the watch, blinking with light.

“You little brat, trying to send out a message!”

He reached to yank the watch off Shi Cha’s wrist.

Seeing this, Shi Cha finally began to struggle violently. But he was just a child—no match for an adult man.

The watch was ripped off, and the driver—the so-called Boss—immediately barked an order, “These things usually have a tracking system, and they’re hard to destroy. Just toss it. We’ll switch locations tonight.”

Second Brother quickly rolled down the window and threw the watch out.

At that very moment, a shadow flickered past the open window outside. Shi Cha struggled and managed to thrust his head out.

“Brother Lin Ran!”

That was the first time Shi Cha had ever called out Lin Ran’s name.

Lin Ran, who had been taking a shortcut through an alley with his backpack, suddenly looked up in shock when he heard the cry.

He saw a shabby van up ahead, with someone sticking their head out of the window—it was Shi Jian’s little brother, Shi Cha.

Shi Cha’s face only appeared for a second before he was yanked back inside.

In a flash, Lin Ran realized what was happening—Shi Cha was being kidnapped. After all, there was no way the Shi family’s driver would show up in a van like that!

He flung off his backpack and sprinted after the vehicle.

In the narrow alley, the van wasn’t moving particularly fast—but it was still faster than Lin Ran’s two legs could keep up with.

He quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the van, focusing on the license plate. At least I’ve got that!

But just as he finished taking the photo and was about to call Shi Jian, the van suddenly came to a stop.

It turned out that after pulling Shi Cha back in through the window, Second Brother had seen Lin Ran photographing the license plate through the rearview mirror.

“Boss, what do we do? He got a picture of us.”

The boss hit the brakes without hesitation. “We can’t switch cars right now. We can’t let him call the cops. Go grab him too.”

Just as Lin Ran’s call to Shi Jian connected, Second Brother and Third Brother were already charging toward him.

Lin Ran shouted into the phone, “Your brother’s been kidnapped! Hurry—help him!”

But before he could say another word, one of the men snatched his phone and slammed it to the ground. It shattered instantly, the call abruptly cut off.

Second and Third Brother were experienced at this sort of thing—they’d done plenty of abductions before. As soon as they reached Lin Ran, they overpowered him in an instant.

And this was a remote alley, where no one was around to notice anything.

The van quickly reversed and rolled back toward them. Lin Ran, now bound at the wrists, was shoved into the vehicle.

Seeing Lin Ran get dragged onto the van, Shi Cha was overwhelmed with guilt.

He felt utterly stupid.

Because he had trusted the wrong person—he had mistaken a human trafficker for a friend—and in the end, not only had he brought trouble on himself, but he had dragged Lin Ran into danger too.

Since Shi Cha had previously tried to resist, his hands were now tied as well. At this point, he and Lin Ran were both thrown into the back seat of the van.

“I’m sorry.”

Shi Cha kept his head down, not daring to look at Lin Ran, who had been dragged into this mess because of him.

But Lin Ran didn’t seem the least bit afraid. He nudged Shi Cha’s face with his arm and teased with a grin, “Not looking down on me anymore, huh?”

Shi Cha, filled with guilt, looked up at Lin Ran in frustration when he heard that. He didn’t understand—was his brother’s friend not right in the head? How could he still be joking at a time like this?

When Lin Ran saw the child’s reddened eyes brimming with unshed tears, he quickly tried to comfort him. “Don’t be scared. Big brother Lin Ran will protect you.”

Shi Cha didn’t respond.

It was Third Brother, sitting in front of them, who turned around and glanced at the two before sneering, “Trying to act like a hero, huh?”

Then he turned back to ask the driver, “Boss, what do we do with the older one? He’s too big—hard to sell.”

The boss glanced at Lin Ran through the rearview mirror and said in a low voice, “We’ll send him to A-Cheng later.”

Hearing that, Third Brother slapped his thigh and grinned, “Right! This kid looks decent too. Break his legs, dump him at an intersection, and I bet plenty of people will donate just because of his face.”

Lin Ran didn’t know the full context, but he was starting to piece things together.

They were planning to sell him to an organized begging ring.

These kinds of operations often worked with human traffickers, taking kidnapped children, breaking their legs or making them deaf or mute, then dragging them across the country to beg on the streets.

From what the boss had said, it sounded like selling him was a backup plan. That must mean their original target was Shi Cha.

Though he had managed to call Shi Jian, his phone had been destroyed by the traffickers, and now there was no telling when—or if—help would come.

No matter what, they had to rely on themselves to escape.

Lin Ran didn’t show any fear or struggle to escape. Instead, he leaned against Shi Cha, closed his eyes, and appeared to rest, as if he hadn’t understood a word of the traffickers’ conversation.

The van continued heading out of the city, about to merge onto the highway, when it suddenly came to a stop. Up ahead, there was a long line of cars. Traffic police were blocking the road, stopping vehicles one by one for inspection.

Third Brother clutched the back of the seat, watching the scene ahead nervously.

“Boss, do you think the cops are here for us?”

“Probably not,” the boss replied, though his eyes flashed with a hint of menace. He immediately spun the wheel and turned the van around.

Even though that kid had made a phone call earlier, even if the person on the other end had reported it right away, there was no way the police could have responded this quickly—

Let alone set up a full roadblock.

However, given the scene inside their van, anyone who saw it would instantly know something was wrong—there was no way they could risk being inspected.

But no matter which route they took out of the city, they kept running into police checkpoints. By now, night had already fallen, yet the traffic officers and police were still on duty.

The boss made a quick decision: they would lay low for the night.

None of them were locals, and they didn’t have a place to stay nearby. So, they drove the van to an abandoned, unfinished building.

Shi Cha and Lin Ran were dragged out of the vehicle and thrown into a flat room on the third floor. Their ropes were re-tied, this time with their hands bound behind their backs, so they couldn’t try to untie themselves using their teeth.

The boss retrieved two rechargeable lamps from the car and tossed them to Third Bro.

“You stay here and watch them. Old Second and I will go buy something to eat,” he said, glancing at the two kids sitting quietly on the floor.

“Can’t have the little one starving—he won’t sell for a good price if he looks weak.”

Third Brother took the lamps and quickly nodded, assuring the boss he’d keep watch.

That chubby boy, the one called “Little Fatty,” was still tagging along, and now he was getting ready to head back to the van with his so-called dad.

Shi Cha, who had been silent all this time, suddenly called out to him.

“Little Fatty.”

The boy flinched and turned his head, but didn’t dare meet Shi Cha’s eyes.

His gaze darted away, and after a moment, he muttered, “I’m not called Little Fatty. And you’re not a mute. We both lied to each other, so we’re not friends.”

With that, he turned away without looking back and followed the man who was supposedly his “dad” waiting at the stairs.

Shi Cha understood what he meant.

“We’re not friends”—so he could betray him without guilt.

Shi Cha opened his mouth slightly, but no words came out.

Lin Ran turned to look at Shi Cha, who sat with his head down and a dark cloud hanging over him. He nudged the boy’s shoulder.

“That Little Fatty… he was your friend?”

At that question, Shi Cha couldn’t hold it in any longer. His tears fell, big and heavy, one after another.

That had been the only kid his age who ever showed him kindness. Even though he’d never spoken a word to him, Shi Cha had truly believed he’d finally made a real friend.

Third Brother, sitting cross-legged nearby and drinking from a bottle, scoffed when he heard the two kids talking.

“Friend, my ass. That chubby brat’s already lured in seven or eight kids just like you.”

Shi Cha still kept his head down, but the tears had stopped.

Lin Ran’s hands were tied behind his back, so he couldn’t reach out to pat Shi Cha’s head. Instead, he leaned closer and gently rubbed his chin against the boy’s soft hair.

In a low voice, he comforted him, “Don’t be sad. From now on, big brother Lin Ran will be your best friend.”

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Chapter 29 – A Long Time Ago

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When Shi Cha woke up and checked Weibo, seeing that post felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head — it chilled him to the bone.

The whole situation began when the LinShi CP and Linyao CP started arguing online. Neither side was willing to back down, and both began digging into details to prove that their CP was the real one.

Fortunately, the argument was contained within the two super topics and didn’t attract much annoyance from other netizens.

Among the fans of both CPs, people began listing the strengths of Cun Yao and Shi Cha, and arguing over who was more compatible with Lin Ran.

Even though it wasn’t up to them to decide who was a better match, that didn’t stop them from wanting to outshine the opposing CP by using every advantage they could find.

At this point, things were already starting to get out of hand.

Then something even more absurd happened.

A particularly sharp-eyed fan happened to ship both CPs.

Unlike other fans who attacked either Shi Cha or Cun Yao, this person compiled a list of similarities between the two.

Two items stood out: first, both Shi Cha and Cun Yao could play jungle, and neither was weak at it.

Although Shi Cha used a Bronze-level account on the variety show, anyone who watched it could guess that it was a smurf account.

What’s more, this fan even consulted a professional esports coach to analyze the jungle heroes used by Shi Cha and Cun Yao.

From play style, starting routes, to overall game control — in every aspect — the two showed a remarkable degree of similarity.

If one of them were a professional player, you might think the other was copying them. But neither of them was well-known, and Cun Yao had only streamed for three months. It seemed impossible for Shi Cha to have watched those few months of livestreams and learned to mimic him so closely.

Aside from gaming, another common trait was their vocal ability.

Shi Cha had graduated from A University’s voice acting program and even dubbed ten different characters in French during the show.

Cun Yao’s academic background couldn’t be found online, but judging from his livestreams, although he never dubbed in foreign languages like Shi Cha did, according to data-savvy fans who went through all of Cun Yao’s stream recordings, he had used over 20 distinct voice styles.

Cun Yao was just a relatively unknown voice streamer, and before meeting Lin Ran, he didn’t have much popularity. But even so, one had to admit that his level of skill was not something the average voice actor could match.

His voice had clearly undergone formal learning and training.

If the two of them were actually the same person, that would explain everything.

However, some people did question the conclusions of this sharp-eyed fan.

Shi Cha and Cun Yao sounded quite different in everyday speech. One had a cold and clear voice, while the other had the bright, cheerful tone of a lively young man.

But this sharp-eyed fan lived up to his reputation. He pointed out that since both Shi Cha and Cun Yao were capable of disguising their voices, then the voices everyone heard and assumed were their real ones—were they really?

He then went on to extract the ten voice clips Shi Cha had dubbed on the show, and matched them with similar-sounding clips from Cun Yao’s recorded livestreams, conducting a professional comparison between them.

This analysis covered pronunciation habits, pausing patterns, frequency, and various other factors. Using the latest voice identification technology, he produced an incredibly thorough evaluation.

To prevent anyone from questioning his credibility, he even presented an official professional voice identification report.

The result: a 90% similarity between their voices!

This revelation shocked the entire online crowd.

Even the CP fans who had been arguing fiercely were dumbfounded.

The first question that came to everyone’s mind was: both Shi Cha and Cun Yao had contact with Lin Ran—so did Lin Ran know that these two were actually the same person?

While the CP fans were still in shock, Lin Ran’s fanbase completely exploded.

One after another, they came forward to accuse Shi Cha of being a scumbag who toyed with Lin Ran’s feelings.

People couldn’t find Shi Cha’s Weibo, and streamer Cun Yao didn’t have a Weibo account at all. So everyone rushed en masse to Shi Cha’s livestream room to demand answers.

But since Shi Cha wasn’t live at the time, they redirected their fury to the comment sections under his uploaded videos.

They demanded that he come out and explain himself.

Some even went so far as to post on A University’s student forum, calling for Shi Cha to publicly apologize.

A tidal wave of messages hit Shi Cha like a sledgehammer, leaving him completely stunned.

New messages kept popping up nonstop in the class WeChat group:

[Is that streamer called Cun Yao really Xiao Shi? I feel like they give off totally different vibes. Everyone knows Xiao Shi is cold and introverted. Outside of class, he barely talks to anyone. I’ve spoken to him maybe five times in our four years of college.]

[Exactly! Their styles are completely different. I just watched some of Cun Yao’s old streams — he’s this adorable, outgoing guy with major social butterfly energy. How could he possibly be Xiao Shi?]

[You clearly didn’t watch the full voice comparison video. Honestly, I didn’t believe it at first either, but now it seems almost certain — Shi Cha is Cun Yao.]

[@Du Yan, you’re close with Shi Cha, right? You must know the truth. Say something!]

[…]

Most people in the class weren’t particularly close to Shi Cha, but Du Yan, known as the class’s “social butterfly,” had always been well-connected. So everyone started tagging him in the group chat, hoping he would speak up and explain what was really going on.

Why did Shi Cha have to be so secretive about becoming a streamer?

And now, he was even being labeled as a scumbag who played with someone’s feelings.

At this moment, Du Yan wasn’t in City A either. Because of a project, he had traveled to City G.

Naturally, he’d heard the news as well. But no matter how many times he called, Shi Cha didn’t respond at all.

…

Right now, Shi Cha was sitting on the windowsill, hugging his knees, his chin resting against them as he stared out at the scenery.

The glow of the setting sun shone through the glass window, casting light across his face, but it wasn’t enough to make out his expression.

Outside, the streetlights had already turned on early, and he could see pedestrians hurrying by.

His brows were lowered, eyes downcast. He didn’t move an inch. It was as if he were deep in thought—or maybe not thinking of anything at all.

He had once thought about what would happen if his identity as an online streamer was ever exposed.

Would he be so embarrassed that he’d want to crawl into a hole and disappear?

But now that it had really happened, he realized… he didn’t care that much about other people’s words or their stares.

He wasn’t a public figure. All he had to do was end his stream, and in the real world, hardly anyone would be able to find him. He could still shut himself in and live his life the way he always had.

Whether it was curiosity or malice, those people’s comments didn’t truly affect him. He didn’t care.

But what he did have to face was the possibility that Lin Ran, upon finding all this out, might resent him—might feel like he’d been made a fool of.

The version of himself that had secretly shipped their own CP… was downright shameful.

Guilt and unease enveloped Shi Cha, drowning him in his own thoughts.

From noon until nightfall, he stayed in the exact same position, as if this posture alone could give him some sense of safety.

His phone, tossed aside in the living room, vibrated again and again. Whether it was Du Yan calling, or Lin Ran—it went unseen.

He didn’t dare imagine whether Lin Ran might be calling him. He didn’t even have the courage to check if there were any messages.

He didn’t know how to face Lin Ran, or how to explain things to him.

Surrounded by darkness, Shi Cha found his mind drifting, recalling memories from over a decade ago.

Back then, Shi Cha was only seven years old. Lin Ran, who had just become friends with Shi Jian (Shi Cha’s older brother), was brought home by Shi Jian to hang out.

It was a weekend, and the three of them were holed up in the study doing homework. Lin Ran finished his work quickly, but Shi Jian still had quite a bit left. Out of boredom, Lin Ran turned to little Shi Cha, who was playing with a Rubik’s cube off to the side.

At the time, Shi Cha was withdrawn and didn’t like to talk. He hardly said more than five sentences a day.

Lin Ran tried to chat with him for a long time, but Shi Cha ignored him completely—until Lin Ran said, “I bet I can solve it faster than you.”

Only then did Shi Cha look up, his dark, bright eyes staring at Lin Ran for a long moment before silently handing over his 7×7 Rubik’s cube.

He didn’t say a word, but the meaning was clear: Go ahead, try.

Lin Ran wasn’t bluffing—he really was fast at solving scrambled cubes, and he did manage to solve it slightly faster than Shi Cha.

Shi Cha’s little face was deadly serious. He rummaged through his toy box and pulled out a 17×17 Rubik’s cube.

Lin Ran was stunned as he took it. He turned to Shi Jian, who was still buried in his homework, and asked, “Your little brother’s already playing with this level of difficulty?”

Shi Jian briefly glanced up at the two of them, then lowered his head to continue working.

“That’s easy for him. My dad just had a 33×33 cube custom-made for him—it just hasn’t arrived yet.”

Shi Cha tugged on Lin Ran’s sleeve and pointed at the cube in his hands, urging him to hurry up.

Lin Ran did know how to solve Rubik’s cubes and had played with high-level ones before, but it had been a while since he’d touched anything as advanced as a 17×17.

Still, he had already made a bold claim. As a thirteen-year-old “adult,” there was no way he could let a seven-year-old kid look down on him.

So the two of them, heads practically pressed together, spent the entire afternoon working on that 17×17 cube. In the end, they managed to solve it.

It’s true they worked on it together, but it was mostly Lin Ran doing the actual solving. However, whenever he hit a roadblock, Shi Cha would silently point things out to help—even though he didn’t say a single word the entire time.

When the cube was finally complete, Lin Ran stretched with a groan, rubbing his sore neck and shoulders.

Shi Cha picked up his Rubik’s cube, looked at Lin Ran, and said his very first words to him:

“So slow.”

Then, without paying any attention to the suddenly stunned Lin Ran, Shi Cha ran off to his room with a thump-thump-thump of footsteps.

He left behind a thoroughly snubbed Lin Ran, and Shi Jian, who was lounging on the couch watching a movie and snacking on fruit.

Lin Ran: “Did I just get looked down on by a first grader?”

Shi Jian, completely unconcerned about whether his new friend had a fragile little heart, replied gleefully, “At least he talked to you. He hasn’t said a word to me all day.”

Lin Ran: “…”

That was the first time Shi Cha and Lin Ran met. Back then, one was a bright, sunny teenager, and the other a silent little boy.

And their second meeting came just a few weeks later.

That time, little Lin Ran saved little Shi Cha’s life.

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