Side Story (4) : Pei Shinian x Jing Si (1)
September 25th, midnight.
Pei Shinian lay on the bed, fixed on the time. With a tap of his thumb, he sent the prepared 200-character birthday greeting card to his elder brother.
Pei Shinian is someone deeply emotional, with a bit of an attachment to his elder brother.
Mu Ye, as a senior figure within their circle, has always been his most admired elder brother. Even though his brother now has a partner, it doesn’t hinder Pei Shinian from cherishing their brotherly bond.
However, evidently, his brother doesn’t see it the same way.
He waited in the game for two hours, taking the halftime break. Pei Shinian grabbed a can of soda for gamers and checked his phone.
Despite the heartfelt, lengthy birthday wishes, the screen remained blank.
Pei Shinian: “…D*rn it.”
Pei Shinian switched to the chat with Bai Xingyu, his closest brother from now on, to vent his frustrations.
[Pei Shinian: Brother Xing, let me tell you, Brother Ye has changed!]
[Pei Shinian: He forgot about his little brother as soon as he got into a relationship. How long has he known Jianchu? How long has he known me? Just because he has a partner, he ignores his younger brother? Is this fair?]
Another “close brother” replied after twenty minutes.
[Bai Xingyu: …]
[Bai Xingyu : [sweating]]
[Bai Xingyu: Have you no shame? Mind your own business. Still a virgin at this age, you’re embarrassing yourself, not just me [sweating]]
While still in the game, Pei Shinian glanced at the reply from the current “close brother.” As he entered the final circle, he didn’t have time to respond. He looked at the game screen and said through the mic to his teammate, “Old Qin, drop me some meds… Wait, when did you die? You useless piece of trash.”
Qin Fang was sniped a few seconds ago and turned into a box, yawning while cursing, “D*mn, I was half-asleep just now, accidentally exposed myself. I’m done playing, go on without me.”
Pei Shinian, tears in his eyes, lay on the window, licking the box, and muttered, “It’s only this late; when did you start living like an old man?”
“My girlfriend doesn’t allow me to stay up late,” Qin Fang chuckled smugly, “I’m going to voice chat with her even while sleeping.”
Voice chat while sleeping? Listen to each other snore?
Tch, these people in relationships are all the same, disgustingly sweet…
Expressionless, Pei Shinian emptied his teammate’s loot box and muttered, “Fine, whatever.”
As an addicted gaming idol, it’s inconvenient to team up with strangers using his game account. Normally, he can only play with friends within his circle.
Without teammates, Pei Shinian charged into the final circle alone with an AKM. Eventually, he got perforated by a full squad of skilled players and peacefully exited.
“…D*rn.”
Pei Shinian grabbed a gulp of cola from the cup, feeling momentarily relieved with the tingling sensation on his tongue. But soon, he returned to his inexplicable gloominess.
Resting his legs on the snack-laden computer desk, he leaned back and grabbed his phone, replying to the mocking messages from the next “close brother.”
[Pei Shinian: What’s wrong with being a virgin? Who did a virgin harm? This day and age, responsible for oneself and still ridiculed?]
[Pei Shinian: I’ll stop pretending; I confess, I just like being a virgin [smile emoji]]
[Bai Xingyu: [rolling eyes]]
Pei Shinian raised an eyebrow, typing rapidly in the chat box: [You’ve all forgotten one fact – being a virgin at thirty means you can still become a wizard. Get into a relationship, and you’re just a Muggle with a partner for life–]
Just as he hit send, a red exclamation mark popped up.
The next “close brother” blocked him.
“…”
Pei Shinian remained silent for two seconds, then switched to Lu Shen to complain: [Brother Lu, you’re my only hope now! Brother Xing actually blocked me–]
Another red exclamation mark appeared.
“…”
He must have lost his mind to forget that this pair was the most shameless.
With a dark expression, Pei Shinian shut down his computer, sighed, and flung himself onto the bed with his phone. It’s a rare day off, and not staying up until dawn would be a waste. He opened the mobile version of the Battle Royale game, planning to check his friends’ list to see if anyone was online for a game.
Just as he entered the game, a team invitation popped up.
[J1111 invites you to team up]
Who’s this person?
Pei Shinian stared at the unfamiliar nickname for a moment, unable to recall. Who cares?
Anyone who can send an invitation must be someone within the circle. Having someone to play with in the dead of night is good enough. Plus, this person’s rank is quite high.
Pei Shinian accepted, turned over, leaned against three piled-up pillows, and lazily opened the mic, “Hey buddy, duo queue?”
After waiting for a while, there was no response from the other side.
Pei Shinian thought for a moment. It’s so late; perhaps someone beside the person is asleep, making it inconvenient to use the mic. After all, it seems like he’s the only singleton living alone in the whole world recently.
He lowered his voice, “Inconvenient to use the mic? Then just play directly, let’s have a couple of rounds however.”
He readied up, and the other person switched to duo queue mode, starting the game.
Pei Shinian tends to talk a lot during games; it feels uncomfortable if he doesn’t chatter.
“Brother J.” Pei Shinian took a lollipop, pressed the screen to parachute, and casually said, “If you’re a man, would you land with me at the airport right from the start?”
Brother J still didn’t speak, but followed the command.
Pei Shinian mumbled through his lollipop, “Impressive, Brother J is indeed a real man.”
The airport is a battleground on the game map, where high-level players engage in fierce combat. A bad landing spot could turn one into a box in minutes.
Both of them landed on the airport rooftop, swiftly gathering supplies without wasting time parachuting.
As soon as they landed, they split up to collect items. Gunfire erupted nearby, bullets occasionally hitting their side.
Brother J sent a voice message. A powerful female voice sounded, “Danger ahead!”
“Saw it.” Pei Shinian picked up a mini14 sniper rifle and a 4x scope on the rooftop, then ran for cover while holding the lollipop in his cheek. “Two on the opposite rooftop, and one hiding behind the window on the third floor. I’ve got a sniper, Brother J, cover me—”
Before he finished, a clear and precise gunshot rang out, showing a kill banner in the game.
[Your teammate J1111 used a 98K sniper rifle to knock down “Tender-hearted Sister Tenderness Brother”]
“Brother J is awesome,” Pei Shinian said.
Pei Shinian opened his scope, heading towards the player his teammate was trying to assist.
Before he could shoot, there was another shot from the nearby cover.
[Your teammate J1111 used a 98K sniper rifle to eliminate “I Only Feel Pain for Big Brother”]
A green light appeared above the tiny figure on the opposite rooftop, and the figure fell.
It turned out to be a pair of lovers.
Pei Shinian raised an eyebrow.
Appreciation between men is straightforward; strength is the cornerstone of friendship. Witnessing this impressive sniper move, Pei Shinian’s admiration for his silent teammate soared.
Pei Shinian wiggled his toes, shifting his position while making a straight-faced, casual joke in a very ‘brother’ way, “Brother J, are you lacking a bromance? Little brother seems interested.”
Brother J remained silent and aloof, finishing off the enemy with his sniper before shouldering the rifle and descending the stairs, leaving behind a sharp and agile figure in a black windbreaker.
Not one to be outdone, Pei Shinian jumped into the building, aimed, and took out the player hiding in the building opposite who had been sneakily firing shots.
While the enemy’s teammate hadn’t come to assist, Pei Shinian jumped out of the window, rushed to the third floor of the opposite building, eliminated the person, and found the teammate hiding in another room, engaging in a showdown.
He cleared a few people inside the building, while Brother J took care of a few outside.
All enemies at the airport were wiped out, and the scene returned to tranquility.
Teaming up with a matched skill-level player in duos was enjoyable. Pei Shinian thought that if Qin Fang didn’t have time, he could play with this person more often.
As the danger zone shrunk outside the airport, Pei Shinian wasn’t in a rush. He casually licked his lollipop, saying, “Brother J, don’t worry, relying on strength, brother won’t drag you down. What’s the point of falling in love? It makes one seem unwanted. Mortals are shallow; these days, being single is the way to go. Having a partner only slows down my shooting.”
Since he didn’t know who this was, Pei Shinian had received too much unwanted romantic talk from everywhere recently and couldn’t help but vent a few complaints to himself.
After venting, he pushed aside the slight loneliness in his heart and went out of the airport to find a vehicle.
Suddenly, the team’s voice chat rang with a powerful female voice, “Nice play!”
Pei Shinian found a two-person motorcycle, glanced at the indifferent nickname, and found it amusing paired with the female voice package. Pei Shinian chuckled, “Love sweet-talking brothers like you. Hop on; if you’re a brother, let’s win together!”
Pei Shinian and Brother J played duos until sunrise, winning several chicken dinners together.
Pei Shinian had debuted after high school. It had been a while since he had this much fun. Despite staying up all night, he was still wide awake and not a bit tired, sitting on the bed spiritedly.
Brother J hardly sent any voice messages later on, maybe he was already too sleepy but didn’t want to bail out, thinking Pei Shinian was having so much fun.
Pei Shinian also didn’t want to continue keeping someone up. They agreed to play together another time and, reminiscing about the excitement of the game, he exited.
Having just finished filming a movie, his agent hadn’t arranged any shoots for him these days.
As a heavy mobile phone user, Pei Shinian never parted with his phone even when washing his face and brushing his teeth. He wore loose sleeping pants and checked WeChat while doing so.
Muye had responded to his birthday wishes.
[MY: Thanks, I’ll invite them both to dinner tonight.]
After a night of enjoyable gaming, the faint sadness of not being responded to instantly was completely cured.
Pei Shinian forgave his elder brother’s short memory and replied instantly: [OKKK, a few days ago, I got a friend to help me with some good wine. I’ll bring it over tonight.]
Bai Xingyu, who usually wakes up early, also replied: [Wrong chat. You’re right, it’s not your fault for not finding a partner. As an older brother, I also have a responsibility.]
Can you be blocked just for a mistaken message?
Pei Shinian laughed.
But being soothed by Bai Xingyu for a couple of sentences showed that he, Pei Shinian, was also someone of importance.
Pei Shinian chose to forgive.
[Pei Shinian: Being on my own is quite fine. Brother, don’t worry about it. Brother Ye said to come over for drinks tonight; are you guys free?]
[Bai Xinyu: I’m free today. I need to take Brother Lu to the hospital in the daytime.]
[Pei Shinian: Brother Lu is sick?]
[Bai Xingyu: Just a minor scrape.]
[Pei Shinian: …Did you hit him again?]
[Bai Xingyu: Just a gentle kick last night, and this morning the guy started claiming injuries!]
[Pei Shinian: …]
That gentle kick of yours, could it snap a utility pole?
[Pei Shinian: …Hurry and take him; don’t delay [sweating emoji]]
After receiving replies from his brothers, suddenly, even the sunlight outside seemed brighter.
Thinking about the evening’s gathering, Pei Shinian rinsed his mouth, wiped his face, lay back in bed, and hugged a cute sister anime-themed pillow, scrolling through social media to help himself fall asleep.
Goddess Kun Yu’an updated her moments: [Brother made breakfast for me ❤️]
Brother? Where did the goddess get a brother from?
Pei Shinian stared blankly at his phone, the faintly upturned corner of his mouth gradually straightened from the earlier joy.
Dang, even his goddess is off the market now…
He only added her on WeChat, hasn’t even got the goddess’s phone number… Who did that shameless move so quickly?
Pei Shinian unwillingly clicked on the photo.
The man’s back looked somewhat familiar, with sharp jawlines and a side profile emitting an unapproachable coldness. He was wearing gray home clothes, frying eggs at the kitchen counter. Although his face wasn’t visible, judging by his body shape and demeanor, he was surely good-looking, seemed a bit taller than him, and had well-trained arms and chest muscles.
Does the goddess like this type?
Pei Shinian regretfully touched his own chest muscles. If only he had worked out a bit more…
As a faithful but hidden fan of the male goddess, Pei Shinian felt a bit sour. His gaze shifted, landing unintentionally on the back of the hand leaning on the marble kitchen counter in the photo.
The next moment, he abruptly sat up from the bed.
“D*rn!”
That guy surnamed Jing actually got together with his goddess?!
Always sporting a sour face and mocking others, what right did he have?!
Pei Shinian took a deep breath, a strong feeling of jealousy rising within him.
Pei Shinian was extremely unwilling and unusually heartbroken.
He had never experienced this feeling in his life, as if he had seen a delicate flower trampled by a donkey.
The goddess must have been deceived by this guy’s facade!
What’s good about this kind of cold, heartless sarcastic man? Pei Shinian had seen Jing scold a young actress to tears on set several times, nearly reducing even a grown man like him to tears.
His hero complex made Pei Shinian’s blood boil. He decisively picked up his phone, entered Kun Yuan’an’s WeChat, and bravely initiated their first conversation after adding each other on WeChat.
[Pei Shinian: Hi Yuan’an, good morning.]
[Kun Yuan’an: Morning, Brother!]
Straightforward and clueless about beating around the bush, Pei Shinian asked directly: [I heard you’re in a relationship?]
After asking, Pei Shinian nervously stared at his phone.
[Kun Yuan’an: Haha, yes.]
Pei Shinian: “…………………….”
…
That night, at Mu Ye’s birthday party, the five friends gathered.
Song Jianchu noticed that Pei Shinian seemed downcast, no longer smiling, just drinking quietly.
“Are you okay?” Song Jianchu asked, concerned, as he sat down next to him.
Pei Shinian sighed, shook his head, and took another sip of his drink.
Bai Xingyu glanced over. “What’s wrong? Did you get banned from the game or something?”
Pei Shinian said, “No.”
Bai Xingyu said, “Then why the long face?”
Mu Ye took Pei Shinian’s cup away and poured him a drink, thinking for a moment. “Is it because of me being born?”
Pei Shinian said, “…No. I just suddenly felt a bit sad.”
Lu Shen, rarely showing concern, asked, “What’s making you sad?”
Pei Shinian waved his hand in melancholy. “Don’t mind me, go on with your fun.”
Mu Ye looked at him worriedly, speaking gently, “Don’t be too upset.”
Pei Shinian forced out a smile. “I’m really okay.”
Mu Ye nodded.
“Chu Chu, come here,” Mu Ye patted the chair beside him, calling Song Jianchu back.
Song Jianchu hesitated for a moment before getting up. “Oh.”
Everyone continued drinking and chatting, and no one bothered him anymore.
Pei Shinian: “…………”
Seriously, man.
Pei Shinian, feeling lonely, sat in a corner holding a bottle of alcohol, looking at the two pairs of lovers in front of him. When he lowered his head, the mint actually sneaked a piece of shrimp from his plate.
Pei Shinian: “…………….”
At that moment, Pei Shinian suddenly felt like the loneliest single guy in the world.
After drinking a few bottles, Pei Shinian drunkenly lay on the table, still unable to figure it out.
What’s good about that guy surnamed Jing? What did the goddess see in him?
Did she like his sour expression? Liked that he couldn’t speak properly?
Apart from being slightly taller and having a slightly better physique, what was better about that guy compared to him?
Pei Shinian left the party feeling disheartened. Muye and Song Jianchu were about to rest, while Bai Xingyu walked with his arm around him, turning his head to look at him suspiciously. “Hey, you okay? Need to crash at my place?”
Lu Shen with a hint of disdain in his tone, said, “Not worth the trouble.”
“Brother…” Pei Shinian hung his head.
Bai Xingyu casually responded.
“I’ve just broken up.” Pei Shinian muttered softly, sniffing sadly.
“What?” Bai Xingyu didn’t hear properly. “Say that again?”
“Lost a love,” Lu Shen translated.
“This silly kid.” Bai Xingyu didn’t take it seriously. “Just talking nonsense when drunk.”
“I want…” Pei Shinian squinted, unwillingly saying, “I want to stop being single!”
Lu Shen sneered.
“I want to interfere in someone else’s relationship!” Pei Shinian finally made up his mind. He absolutely couldn’t let his goddess fall into the hands of a bad guy! His goddess needed his rescue!
“Fine, interfere.” Bai Xingyu lazily replied to the drunken Pei Shinian, “But uninstall the game first.”
Pei Shinian was somewhat reluctant, “Do I really have to uninstall it?”
“What decent girl can tolerate her boyfriend being addicted to games all the time?” Bai Xingyu said, “Choose between the game and your girlfriend.”
If it were any other girl, Pei Shinian would definitely choose the game. How could any girl be more fun than a game?
But she was the goddess of a homebody.
Pei Shinian hesitated all the way, escorted home by Bai Xingyu, still contemplating as he lay on the bed.
A bit sobered up by the breeze, Pei Shinian lay on his pillow, his face flushed with alcohol. He lazily picked up his phone, habitually opened the game, intending to consider things while playing. Perhaps these were the last few rounds he could play freely.
Struggling with his blurry consciousness, he scrolled through his game friends list and noticed that J, the divine teammate he had just met last night, was currently idle.
Thinking about just finding a soulmate in the game and having to bid farewell to it, Pei Shinian felt even worse.
Just as he sent a team invitation, J joined the team instantly.
“Good evening, J.” Pei Shinian lay on the pillow and greeted in a hoarse voice.
J still didn’t turn on the mic, replying via text: “Good evening.”
Pei Shinian breathed heavily and lazily said, “J, I’ve had a bit to drink, so I might not be stable.”
J: “Mm.”
Having witnessed J’s amazing gameplay in the game, even though J was aloof, there was an aura of a powerful person about him that was completely different from those who just showed off on the surface.
Did girls all like guys who showed off?
Looking at the silent yet reliable new gaming companion on the game interface, Pei Shinian became depressed once again.
If only the goddess also liked playing games.
He didn’t have much experience in reality in picking up girls; he might not be able to deceive Jing in particular.
But with the gaming skills he had honed over the years, pretending in the game would be a piece of cake, wouldn’t it?
Feeling heavy from the alcohol, Pei Shinian couldn’t be bothered to skydive and selected ‘follow’: “Lead the way, J. I’ll rely on you tonight, buddy, let me chill.”
The dark-clothed man silently guided his character to parachute down. Taking care of him now that he was useless, he didn’t drop him into the fiery zone where there were many people, but aimed for a remote area where they could hide.
Pei Shinian lay with his face against the pillow, his mind fuzzy. “J, why can’t you turn on your mic?”
“Yesterday, I forgot to ask, who are you?”
“Do you know who I am? The most handsome guy in the Milky Way, Pei Shinian. Have you heard of me?”
“Why aren’t you speaking? Don’t be shy, brother.”
“Don’t worry, I’m straight. I was joking with you yesterday, I’m not into that stuff.”
The teammate’s voice remained silent for a while.
People who drank too much had dumb minds. Pei Shinian was just following along parachuting, not even controlling his character. Thinking there might be a problem with their communication method, Pei Shinian began spamming voice messages, trying to communicate equally with J using the same method.
A dignified female voice began looping in the team’s voice chat.
“Please open your microphone for communication!”
“Please open your microphone for communication!”
“Please open your microphone for communication!”
In the midst of this series of idiotic and silly “Please open your microphone for communication,” J’s figure in mid-air seemed to shake like it was caught in a gust of wind.
Finally, the drunken lunatic successfully landed safely with his tipsy teammate.
Pei Shinian found it amusing and continued to chat nonsense on the mic.
Drunks just found things fun, entertaining themselves, and didn’t actually force others to turn on their mics.
After landing, there was suddenly a bit of background noise in the team’s voice chat.
“…Brother, did you see a blue envelope?”
Pei Shinian had just entered a deserted house in the wilderness, determined despite his wounds, picking up resources with his brain that felt like paste, molded by years of gaming.
Hearing the faint voice, he froze at the door.
“???”
Wait a minute, that voice just now… Brother J was a girl?
Before he could finish doubting his ears, the in-game voice chat became clearer: “…Ah, never mind, mom found it.”
“!!!!!!”
Fully understanding the familiar sweet voice, Pei Shinian’s game character stood at the door of the desolate little house, feeling thunderstruck.
Brother J…
Was the goddess?!!
With this realization, Pei Shinian slowly turned around, watching his comrade running towards him from not far away, wearing an assertive level-three black helmet, looking weary and dusty.
His hand shook, and instantly, he was half sober from the alcohol.
Pei Shinian, in a near-death state of shock, sat up abruptly, grabbing his hair and starting to recall.
D*mn. Crap… Holy hell!
Wait a minute…
What the heck did he blabber just now?