Chapter 6 – Duo Queue
When Tan Mo found the private room, the sponsor had already left, and only Yu Haotian was sprawled on the sofa, playing on his phone.
“Are you alright?” Tan Mo asked, concerned. “Do you want to rest a bit more?”
Yu Haotian, who was always determined, replied, “I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Once outside in the corridor, Yu Haotian took a few steps, leaned against the wall, and weakly said, “A-Mo, A-Mo, I feel like I’m going to throw up…”
“…”
Tan Mo had no choice but to stop and get him into the restroom.
While Yu Haotian was in the stall, Tan Mo stood by the hand dryer outside, waiting.
Time passed, but he couldn’t tell how long.
The restroom door was pushed open.
Tan Mo instinctively looked over.
A slender young man walked in, his head drooping, white hair sticking up in a few stray tufts. He swayed unsteadily as he closed the door.
Tan Mo watched the newcomer, remaining still for what felt like ten seconds, before gradually straightening up.
The young man had reached the sink and swayed again before steadying himself.
He had his back to Tan Mo, but Tan Mo could clearly see him through the mirror.
The young man’s face was flushed, his eyes half-closed and bleary, clearly drunk.
With his white hair, dark eyes, and red lips, his features were clean and distinct. His skin, so translucent it looked almost newborn, made him appear even younger than he did in the livestream. Struggling to turn on the faucet, he showed a clumsy, childish side that contrasted sharply with his usually cold and harsh appearance during broadcasts.
Tan Mo studied him for a moment, then looked away. He lifted a hand to touch the edge of his mask, instinctively aligning the gap next to his well-defined nose.
He almost immediately recognized him as Song, but Tan Mo had no intention of approaching him or being recognized himself.
The young man had shown qualities Tan Mo admired, but he had also done something Tan Mo despised—cheating in a game.
The conflicting feelings left Tan Mo at a loss when faced with the young man.
However, his indifferent attitude only lasted for two seconds.
Tan Mo bit his lower lip, unable to control himself as he glanced at the mirror again.
Sang Ye finally turned on the faucet, but three streams of water came out.
He cupped his hands, tried reaching to the left, missed, then tried the right side, missed again, and tilted his head in confusion.
Seeing this, Tan Mo straightened up, hesitated for a moment, and then leaned back against the wall.
Sang Ye continued to struggle with the three streams of water, bending lower and lower, almost falling into the sink.
—“I’ll help you.”
Sang Ye looked up to see a tall man standing next to him, his face obscured by sunglasses and a mask. His voice was low and husky with a pronounced nasal tone.
Sang Ye mumbled, “N-No need…”
But the man had already grabbed his sleeve and pulled him under the faucet.
Sang Ye felt the cool, clear water sliding past his fingertips. Looking down, he saw the man’s hand.
The bones were well-defined, the fingers long and elegant, with skin that was pale and translucent, almost like jade.
This hand was very similar to someone else’s that Sang Ye had seen… so similar that even the mole on the middle knuckle of the right hand was identical.
Tan Mo was about to step back when suddenly, two wet hands grabbed his own.
“?”
Sang Ye held the man’s hand up to his face, examining it closely. He pursed his lips, licked them, and found his thinking slightly dulled by the alcohol.
The hand was indeed beautiful, but…
“Y-Your hand isn’t as good-looking as Talk’s.” Sang Ye looked up at the man, his expression barely concealing his pride. “Talk’s hand is the most beautiful in the world!”
“…”
Tan Mo experienced the true meaning of “fan filter” for the first time.
He looked at the person in front of him—his eyes were slightly red at the corners, his dark pupils half-drunk, revealing the whites of his lower eyes.
…Both dejected and sweet.
Because they were so close, when Sang Ye looked up, he could vaguely see the outline of the man’s eyebrows and eyes through the dark lenses.
The air seemed to freeze inexplicably.
Two seconds later.
Sang Ye unexpectedly reached up and touched the sunglasses.
Tan Mo quickly straightened up and leaned back.
Sang Ye reacted even faster, disregarding everything as he pushed Tan Mo against the marble wall and swiftly took off the sunglasses.
“…”
At the moment Tan Mo was exposed to the light, he slightly squinted, his long lashes fluttering twice. The bright light cast a shadow under his pale lower eyelid.
Sang Ye stared at him intently, first with confusion, then doubt, and finally his pupils scattered, becoming blank. He couldn’t help but move a bit closer.
The young man seemed unaware of personal space, nearly pressing into Tan Mo’s chest. Tan Mo felt the hot breath on his neck, his skin flushing, and his muscles tensing slightly.
At that moment, Sang Ye took things further, hooking his fingers around the edge of the man’s mask.
“Smack!”
Tan Mo held his wrist with one hand.
Sang Ye licked his lips anxiously, stood on tiptoe, and his voice became smaller: “Let me see…”
The cat-like sound was like a spoiled child, and the words were soft and sticky in the mouth, making people’s ears itch.
Tan Mo’s sharp Adam’s apple moved up and down, and he cursed “F*ck!” in his heart and let go of his hand.
At the same time.
With a “bang!” the door was slammed open from the outside.
A young man covered in gold chains burst in. Seeing Sang Ye, he cried out, “Ancestor!” and rushed over to grab him.
“I searched everywhere for a girl and thought you were lost! The car is waiting outside; come on, come on, hurry up!” Jiang Bobai turned to Tan Mo with an apologetic smile. “My friend is drunk. Sorry, sorry for the trouble.”
Sang Ye, looking confused, frowned and only slightly resisted when he reached the door. “Jiang Bobai, wait a minute, I still haven’t…”
Jiang Bobai cut him off, “Stop talking! Come with me!”
The two of them left, tugging each other along.
The restroom returned to silence.
Tan Mo lowered his eyes to the water spots remaining on his hand and stood there for a while, lost in thought.
When Yu Haotian cautiously peeked out from the stall, Tan Mo was at the sink, washing his hands.
Yu Haotian, using a tissue to wipe his nose, asked, “Where are your sunglasses?”
Tan Mo paused, instinctively raising a hand to touch his face while looking into the mirror.
The mask was intact.
The sunglasses were nowhere to be found.
…
After Sang Ye woke up, he couldn’t remember what happened last night, but the sunglasses on the bedside table reminded him that there might have been a victim at the KTV.
The sunglasses were of very good quality, slate gray, and by PRADA.
Sang Ye was carefully examining them in his hands, checking for any damage, while the WeChat icon on his computer was blinking.
Benbo Erba: [The KTV manager is reviewing the surveillance footage and has issued a lost-and-found notice. Just drop off the sunglasses with the manager when you have time.]
Song Ye thought for a moment and replied.
S.: [Let me know when you find the person. I’ll return them in person.]
Taking someone else’s sunglasses and not apologizing in person seemed quite inappropriate to him.
Benbo Erba: [I took a look at the guy before I left. It was hard to say with the mask on, but he was tall, had long legs, and a great presence. He’s probably a big charmer.]
S.: [What did he look like at the time?]
Benbo Erba: [He looked pretty good.]
Benbo Erba: [But you, on the other hand, seemed like you wanted to forcefully take advantage of him, very desperate.]
S.: [Alright, stop talking.]
As for him, he needed to consider moving to another planet.
In the evening, it was Song Ye’s first broadcast since his unblocking.
He thought he’d be banned for a month, but he was let out after just a week.
As soon as the livestream started, a flood of bullet comments poured in.
Sang Ye glanced at them casually.
[“??? Where’s the cross-dressing?”]
[“Is this it? Where’s my black stockings?”]
[“You’re not planning to shirk responsibility, are you?”]
Within less than a second of the comments starting, Song Ye quickly closed them.
He opened the game icon with an indifferent expression: “Today’s double queue. No comments.”
The fans were also calm:
[“Fu Gui, there’s always tomorrow.”]
In the WLG base, first team training room.
Tan Mo was leaning back in his chair, one hand resting on his lower lip and the other on the arrow keys of his laptop. Every few seconds, he would scroll back a bit, a repetitive motion that was becoming almost numbing.
Since Song defeated Lu Qikai in a 1v1 match, many technical analysis posts and videos online had suggested that Song was using a cheat. They claimed he not only had auto-aim and wallhacks but also eliminated weapon recoil.
Tan Mo had reviewed the screen recordings repeatedly and was able to refute the possibility of wallhacks.
However, in the last round, where Song chased Lu Qikai and used a sniper rifle, he left a nearly straight line of bullet holes along the edge of a stone pillar. The spacing between the bullet holes was even, like the marks left by a timing device on a paper tape.
—A gun with recoil cannot produce such perfect bullet trails; even the steadiest hand would have some deviation.
Tan Mo had simulated it in the training field hundreds of times and still could not provide evidence to prove it was not a cheat.
“Live stream, live stream!” Xiao Pai burst in after spending the day out, smelling strongly of hot pot.
Tan Mo quickly raised his hand and closed the laptop with a “snap.”
Xiao Pai glanced at him suspiciously. “What’s up, brother?”
Tan Mo remained calm. “Nothing much.”
“Closed so quickly?” Xiao Pai gave a mischievous look. “Were you watching that? Hmm? That thing?”
“Yes.”
“…Hmph, boring.”
Tonight, Xiao Pai was going to play on his alternate account and take some girls along. When he opened the livestream, the camera accidentally framed Tan Mo in the background.
The bullet comments surged instantly.
“D*mn, are you all being so dramatic?” Xiao Pai logged into the game. “If he’s not streaming, what can I do? Yelling my throat out won’t help… What? Play a game? Show his face, maybe, but this is getting ridiculous… Alright, alright, I’ll ask. You win.”
Tan Mo was packing up, preparing to leave.
Xiao Pai turned around, his eyes sparkling. “Dear Tan Shen, the fans want you to play a game with us.”
Tan Mo didn’t even look back. “The computer’s off.”
His desktop computer was indeed turned off.
“Use my account!” Xiao Pai enthusiastically invited. “You can play on my account!”
Tan Mo remained unmoved. “Why should I join your livestream?”
“I’m waiting for someone, and it’ll be a while before we start. It’s perfect timing for you to play a game… Don’t go, brother!” Xiao Pai almost slid to his knees, honestly admitting, “A fan gave me ten warships and specifically asked for you to come on. Please, bro, you’re my only bro.”
Given the situation, it would be a bit unkind not to agree.
Tan Mo sat down in front of Xiao Pai’s computer, put on the headphones, and rolled up his sleeves. “Fine, just one game.”
The number of viewers in the livestream instantly surged to six million, and the fans went wild with excitement.
[“Ahhhh! Tan Shen! You finally showed up! We’ve missed you so much!”]
[“Alright, alright, one game is better than none.”]
[“Is Tan Shen sick? His voice is hoarse; it sounds painful. Take care of yourself.”]
[“Guys, we have material for our dreams tonight.”]
Xiao Pai, always a sycophant, patted Tan Mo on the shoulder. “I’ll get you some water right away.”
The water dispenser in the training room was empty, so Xiao Pai grabbed Tan Mo’s cup and ran to the water room outside.
At the fans’ request, Tan Mo queued for a duo match.
A few seconds later, he was placed in a team.
As Tan Mo was about to click “Ready,” he saw the teammate’s ID and stopped.
[“Ahhh! Song! It’s that handsome guy who’s a fan of Tan Shen!”]
[“Wow, what a coincidence! Song is officially recognized as Tan Shen’s fan!”]
[“PUBG, a major idol fan meetup event.”]
However, Tan Mo remained motionless under the camera, clearly silent.
After a few seconds.
He suddenly reached out and turned off the camera.
The streamer window disappeared.
Audience: [“?”]
Tan Mo slumped back into his chair, frowning, his irritation evident.
—The guild he’s in, as far as I know, nine out of ten game streamers are cheaters…
—…Please don’t publicize the ban reason, just make it quick, don’t delay Song’s stream.
Tan Mo clenched his jaw and recalled those bright, passionate eyes.
Why not cherish his reputation?
He moved the mouse to [Exit Team], unable to continue the game knowing that the other party was cheating.
Just at this moment——
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
Tan Mo’s hand trembled, and the mouse pointer bounced off.
Sang Ye adjusted the headset, and seeing that his teammate was not ready and did not turn on the microphone, he said: “Are you there? Get ready to play, I’ll lead the team.”
No movement.
Maybe not.
Sang Ye waited for a while, and was about to exit and rematch.
The small speaker next to the teammate flickered.
“Yes.”
As soon as he opened his mouth, it was an absolute bass cannon.
Sang Ye’s ears itched uncontrollably, and he raised one shoulder to rub the headset, always feeling that this sound seemed to have been heard somewhere before.
“Then lie down.” Sang Ye said without thinking, “I’m starting.”
Confident and almost arrogant.
Tan Mo laughed, and at the same time raised his hand to rub his eyebrows with a little pain, and finally gave up struggling.
“With a lie?” Tan Mo sat up, pressed the ready button, and lowered his voice a few degrees, “Can I trust you?”
Since there was no evidence to convince himself, he wanted to bet that Song was the only one who didn’t cheat.
The other end of the headset replied almost immediately, with a rising tone, and a sense of arrogance that did not allow anyone to question:
“Of course!”