Chapter 17 – The Person I Fell For at First Sight.
After closing the livestream, Sang Ye slid bonelessly onto his bed.
The milky white hair that covered his eyes fragmented his view, and the boy’s mood was cold and damp.
Sang Ye had never played a four-man queue with a professional team before, but after this match, his confidence began to waver.
He couldn’t help but ask himself:
‘Am I really suited for playing professionally?’
Maybe what he thought was “good” was far from enough when compared to a professional team.
— “Unbeatable in close combat…”
— “Deadly accurate from over 100 meters away with a single shot…”
— “Near-perfect recoil control…”
The man’s deep, magnetic voice echoed in his mind. What had once felt encouraging now only left him feeling guilty and heartbroken.
Sang Ye lay on his side, curling into himself. As he thought about it, his eyes reddened again. He quietly rubbed his face against the corner of his blanket, feeling deeply hurt, and let out a faint sob.
He had performed so poorly in the master rank match, Talk must be incredibly disappointed in him.
…
Meanwhile, in the WLG training room…
Tan Mo closed the livestream, exited the team, and sent a friend request to Sang Ye’s ID on Steam.
But Sang Ye had already logged off, and it didn’t seem like he would accept anytime soon.
At that moment, Tan Mo noticed a notification on his phone, a message from his lawyer:
[Court date is set for this Thursday.]
Tan Mo paused for a moment and temporarily set aside what he was doing.
Xiao Pai was still wondering why “White Hair” suddenly logged off when he heard movement behind him. He turned around and asked, “Brother, you’re done playing?”
Tan Mo grabbed his jacket. “Got something to take care of, I’m heading out.”
“Oh, okay,” Xiao Pai replied. “Then I’ll keep playing with Hu Fu.”
But just as Tan Mo took a few steps, he turned back.
Under Xiao Pai’s confused gaze, Tan Mo folded back his sleeves and pinched the back of Xiao Pai’s neck—controlled but firm, leaving no room for resistance.
Xiao Pai let out a short “Ah!” like a little chick, raising his head and shrinking his shoulders in surrender. “Brother? Brother! What’s wrong?”
Tan Mo pressed Xiao Pai’s neck down, making his face roll across the keyboard, and softly scolded, “Don’t talk about him like that again.”
“……”
Xiao Pai could only feel the chaotic clattering of the keyboard under his face.
To make matters worse, the livestream was still running, and fans watching saw Xiao Pai being “tormented” and collectively turned into screaming chickens.
[“Ahhhhhhhhhh the protective boyfriend mode is ON!!!”]
…
The next morning, as soon as Sang Ye opened his computer, a Steam friend request popped up.
Staring at that familiar ID he’d silently recited countless times, Sang Ye froze for a long moment. His fingers curled unconsciously, and he pressed [Accept].
And just like that, there was a new friend in his list with a grayed-out avatar: [wlg_Talk].
Sang Ye propped his face up with his hands, staring at the ID for a full ten minutes before finally letting out a soft sigh.
Although Talk’s friend request brought a glimmer of light to his gloomy mood, he still felt that, with his current skills, he didn’t deserve a spot in Talk’s friend list.
Feeling both discouraged and a bit defiant, Sang Ye rubbed his face, determined to stop overthinking. He opened the game and jumped into ranked matches.
Once he started playing, he didn’t stop until evening. Other than a quick break to grab his takeout, he barely left the room.
Around 8 p.m., the guild’s system notification reminded him.
—It was the same as the one he’d received yesterday, stating that since half the month had passed, he’d face a fine if he didn’t start streaming soon.
While waiting for a new match, Sang Ye casually opened his livestream.
His fans, worried about his condition, had been eagerly awaiting his return.
When the screen lit up, they saw the young streamer looking calm as usual, except for the slight redness around his eyes.
[“You did great with that quad kill last night, really amazing!”]
[“Cheer up, one game doesn’t define you. We all know how skilled you are.”]
[“Don’t be sad, Talk already gave Xiao Pai a good scolding for you.”]
Sang Ye was confused. What did they mean by Talk scolding Xiao Pai for him?
And what happened with Xiao Pai?
He wasn’t so fragile that he’d log off just because Xiao Pai made a few snide remarks. Last night, he was simply too frustrated and didn’t bother to snap back.
Just as Sang Ye was about to mention this, the sound of the game’s match notification echoed in his headset, signaling that the team had been found.
Sang Ye said, [Ranked match, not reading messages] then turned off the chat and returned to the game screen.
But the moment he saw his teammates, his heart skipped a beat.
There were already three people in the lobby besides him.
The ID of the leading player: [iam31415926].
“…”
Sang Ye began to feel nervous. He quickly glanced at the other two players and frowned slightly.
It was Hu Fu and Shine.
Once he realized Talk wasn’t part of the lineup, his heart calmed down.
Meanwhile, in the WLG training room.
Xiao Pai saw Sang Ye and was so embarrassed that he couldn’t speak for a while.
“Yo, Song! What a coincidence,” Hu Fu broke the silence with a cheerful smile. “What’s up? Playing a couple of rounds? We just happen to need one more.”
Sang Ye suppressed the urge to ask where Talk was, responded coolly with a “yeah,” and unhesitatingly pressed the ready button.
Unlike his usual lively self, Xiao Pai was completely silent, not saying a word as he quietly clicked [Start].
With Talk absent, Shine, the team’s assault player, naturally took over the role of team leader.
Shine selected the Lumberyard as the jump point on the map.
Knowing that Bai Mao’s1 performance in squad matches was unstable, Xiao Pai hesitated for a moment before saying, “Hey… Number 4, just follow Shine and back him up with shots.”
Number 4 was the designation assigned to Sang Ye in the team.
The next second:
“No need,” the young voice was indifferent, “Just worry about yourself.”
“You!”
Xiao Pai was furious at having his good intentions dismissed, but the thought of his face rolling across the keyboard earlier made him reconsider. He huffed angrily but kept quiet.
‘Fine, Bai Mao! Don’t come begging me for help later!!!’
The Lumberyard had scattered loot spots, so the four of them split up to scavenge.
After a while, Xiao Pai heard the sound of a vehicle in the woods. He rushed forward to investigate and called out, “There are two guys to the south of the hill! We can take them down, I need backup—”
Before he could finish, the sound of heavy machine-gun fire rang out.
Xiao Pai watched as the vehicle below the valley swerved and crashed into a tree, and two players jumped out.
One of them didn’t even hit the ground before his head exploded in a splatter of green.
The other player tried to use the car as cover but was instantly headshot as soon as they peeked out.
Xiao Pai stood there, stunned by the precise marksmanship. He had planned to call for a teammate to fight a 2v2, but one person had wiped them both out in seconds.
Behind him, the crisp sound of reloading echoed as Sang Ye, holding his gun, ran past him.
Hu Fu noticed the kill notification and exclaimed, “Nice, Song! First kill of the match!”
Sang Ye was busy looting the bodies. Seeing Xiao Pai still standing there, he said coldly, “What are you spacing out for? Gonna be a sitting duck?”
“…”
Xiao Pai’s face flushed red, and he quickly crouched by the loot boxes to avoid being spotted by any passing enemies.
But then, he suddenly let out a “Hiss—” as if something wasn’t right.
‘Bai Mao’s words sound strangely familiar?’
After the quick battle at the logging camp, the team headed north to attack P City. Just as they arrived at the village entrance, the locals demanded a toll.
Xiao Pai was unfortunately shot and downed during the team fight.
Sang Ye ended the skirmish with three kills and one assist. As he passed by Xiao Pai, he casually tossed a few rolls of bandages: “If you throw that grenade any further, it could circle the globe and come back. Maybe you should hit the training grounds for a few more rounds.”
“!!!”
Xiao Pai angrily scratched his desk, finally realizing that Bai Mao was throwing his own words from yesterday back at him. The worst part was, he didn’t even dare to talk back.
Ten minutes in, Xiao Pai was downed for the second time, while Sang Yan accumulated nine kills.
Fifteen minutes in, Hu Fu was eliminated, and Sang Yan took over the sniper position, securing Longji Mountain.
Twenty minutes in, Xiao Pai was downed for the third time and couldn’t be revived.
Sang Yan finished off the last enemy with his M762, standing by Xiao Pai’s corpse, and sighed softly: “Even if you’re bad, at least try harder. Don’t just give up.”
[“Hahahahaha! I absolutely love Song’s sense of revenge!”]
[“Xiao Pai’s expression: utterly humiliated to death.”]
[“How does he manage to be both cute and arrogant, beautiful and cool at the same time?”]
Xiao Pai couldn’t take it anymore, so he muted his mic, opened WeChat on his computer, and started complaining to Tan Mo.
He typed out dozens of lines, over a thousand words, each one filled with anguish, detailing how Bai Mao, the streamer, had humiliated him.
Tan Mo didn’t reply to a single one.
“Maybe he’s busy,” Xiao Pai said, blowing his nose into a tissue and explaining to the livestream audience.
He took two deep breaths and then looked back at the game.
Bai Mao was already playing solo, advancing into the final circle. Lying prone in the grass at the edge of the zone, his back looked seriously cool.
Xiao Pai calmed down a bit and sent another message to Tan Mo.
3.1415926: [I have to admit, when he gets serious, he’s insanely strong. So strong it’s terrifying.]
Just as he was about to close WeChat, the other side replied instantly.
T.: [Of course.]
T.: [The Person I Fell For at First Sight.]
The audience could see the chat between the two as clear as day.
Suddenly, Xiao Pai’s computer started to lag. After it finally stopped, his livestream was flooded with a wave of explosive comments.
Author’s Note:
Xiao Pai: Ignores my sadness but responds immediately to praise his ‘wife.’
Note :
- “Bai Mao” (白毛) literally means “white hair” in Chinese. ↩︎