Chapter 16 – A Pro Player Who Can’t Fix Computers Is Not a Good Boyfriend
Knock, knock—
“Unique, can I come in?”
Hearing it was Xu Shaoqiu at the door, Ji Wei gathered himself and replied, “Sure.”
Xu Shaoqiu opened the door and, seeing the boy’s face, was stunned for a moment. “Why are your eyes so red?”
Ji Wei said, “Um… I’ve been looking at the computer for too long.”
“Huh?” Xu Shaoqiu, ever easygoing, said, “How about taking the day off?”
Ji Wei quickly shook his head. “No, no, I’ll just put some eye drops in.”
Satisfied he wouldn’t have to take time off, Xu Shaoqiu said, “I’ll ask Mi Li later. His brother is studying in Japan, and last time he brought him a few bottles of good medicine—eye drops.”
Ji Wei nodded. “Okay, thank you, Brother Qiu. What can I do for you?”
Xu Shaoqiu said, “I just discussed this with the staff. Actually, our second team has never done live streaming before, and the members rarely stream since not many people know them.
“But your situation is special. You’re already a well-known streamer, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to hold you back. It just so happens that your contract with Maoyu has expired, and the team plans to negotiate a better streaming deal with a platform. We’ve been working with Aurora TV for a long time, so we’ll need to switch platforms. Do you think that’s feasible?”
Ji Wei hadn’t expected to be able to livestream after just trying out. He’d even told his fans he’d found a job.
“Sure. Are there any requirements for stream length or content?”
“The Aurora platform only sets a minimum length for first releases. After that, you can stream at your own pace, but we’ll negotiate a percentage of bonuses with them. As for content, the team’s internal rule is that you can only stream PUBG.”
Of course, this rule had long been ignored, so he added, “But Da Shu occasionally streams other things. Don’t pick up his bad habits.”
Ji Wei asked curiously, “What does Da Shu stream?”
Xu Shaoqiu replied expressionlessly, “Eating, drinking, defecating, and watching TV shows. He once secretly filmed Solve eating to gain traffic, and Solve let him live in-game for a week.”
Ji Wei covered his mouth and laughed for a long time.
Xu Shaoqiu continued, “The team will secure you a better contract. There’s a small utility room on the second floor of Team One’s base. I’ll have someone clear it out and turn it into your streaming studio. Otherwise, the training room background will easily let people know you’ve joined AVG.”
Ji Wei was a little apprehensive. “Don’t bother. I can stream anywhere—it doesn’t matter if others find out.”
Xu Shaoqiu waved his hand. “Da Shu also wanted a streaming studio. He said turning on the lights and beauty filters would help him gain followers, so we’ll get him one too. We can’t announce your joining the team yet. We’re not sure what the public opinion risk will be. We have a large fan base, and some people might criticize you.”
Besides, AVG had to reveal such significant news themselves. Why would they give up that overwhelming traffic to someone else?
After saying that, he said goodbye and left, seemingly with other matters to attend to.
Alone in his room, Ji Wei reflected on the conversation, a sour taste in his mouth.
Although the PCL is a constantly competitive world, and winning the championship is several times more difficult than getting the top spot on an exam, he hadn’t felt that suffocating, oppressive atmosphere in a long time.
…
In July, Hai City officially entered summer. The temperature this year seemed even higher than in previous years, and the constant chirping of cicadas outside the window made him feel irritable.
In recent weeks, Xu Shaoqiu had noticed something remarkable.
He had expected Wolf’s departure from the second team and Ji Wei’s addition to the lineup to create an awkward atmosphere. After all, esports geeks tend to be introverted, and the newcomer was a former streamer—not someone they had trained with since childhood—so it was natural to think everyone might feel a little uncomfortable at first.
Unexpectedly, everyone really liked the new guy. Ji Wei seemed to have an irresistible affability and got along well with the other members of the second team.
“Four of the five scrimmages this week were at the P City roll point. The assault team’s survival rate is extremely low!” Jerry, the current captain of the AVG second team, said solemnly as he looked at the replay panel.
Jerry switched the video to 0.5x speed. “On the third round from the end, Ban, when you came up the southeast slope, why didn’t you use your ** to clear the reverse slope?”
Ban explained guiltily, “I only had two medkits left. I needed to save them for self-defense.”
Jerry looked at the supply panel. “The team had five smoke bombs and three grenades. How could that not be enough for you to defend yourself? And Dragon, you’ve got a problem too. If you don’t use supplies in one game, you’ll end up picking up fewer in the next. This needs to be corrected. Do you remember the fixed projectile ratios the coach talked about? Every game is different. As for Unique…”
Ji Wei opened his notebook and prepared to take notes.
“Ahem.” Jerry cleared his throat. “You’re fine. It’s just that I didn’t coordinate with you well on a few plays. I’ve marked them down. I’ll practice more when I get back.”
Ji Wei: (0.0)?
Ban patted Ji Wei on the shoulder. “Your KD is the highest on the team, so Jerry has no right to criticize you. Hahahaha!”
Jerry: “Can you get out of here?”
Xu Shaoqiu, standing by, couldn’t stand it any longer. “We agreed to have a review meeting tonight. Why are you analyzing it by yourself first?”
Jerry scratched his head. “Hey, I played really badly. I just wanted to take some time to reflect.”
Xu Shaoqiu: “You know I played badly too! You’ve gotten too comfortable these past few days, haven’t you? You think you can just give up just because you’re starting and putting up results? I won’t allow it! Everyone, get in the review meeting with me!”
After the review, everyone’s expression turned bitter—except Ji Wei’s.
It wasn’t that Ji Wei hadn’t been criticized. In one finals round, he had exposed too much of his body during a wall-to-wall shootout, resulting in a headshot. Xu Shaoqiu even printed out a screenshot of the game and taped it to his computer as a warning.
But Ji Wei relished the feeling of exposing his flaws.
Three years ago, Yin Sijue would review games with him, and whenever he spotted a mistake, Ji Wei would practice and correct it relentlessly. This was the most tangible way for him to feel his progress.
“Unique, we’re ordering spicy bullfrog. Want to join? We’ve also got barbecue and milk tea…”
Ban was the youngest member of Team Two—only fifteen, chubby, and fair-skinned.
After two hours of reviewing the game with Xu Shaoqiu, the boy’s mind was blank and his stomach was rumbling, desperately needing food for energy.
Ji Wei was hungry too. His stomach growled as he read the menu. “I want some! Make my bullfrog extra spicy.”
Ban: “Wow, you can handle spice that well? Don’t worry, this place will make you cry.”
…
Half an hour later, several people gathered around the training room table, unpacking takeout, their mouths watering from the aroma.
Ji Wei thought the table seemed a little small and asked, “Why don’t we just go to the restaurant?”
Jerry answered honestly, “We want to watch TV.”
The training room had a large screen for reviewing games, which could also project directly from a phone or computer.
Dragon adjusted his glasses seriously. “But Brother Qiu won’t let us, so we usually eat in secret.”
The three of them looked at Ji Wei. “Remember to keep it a secret.”
Ji Wei nodded solemnly, went outside to get two discarded newspapers, spread them on the table, and stacked a few empty boxes. He then placed the unpacked takeout on top and said:
“Remember to open the window for ventilation later.”
“Yeah!” the group cheered happily, sitting down to eat heartily.
Ban: “I want to watch my goddess’s new drama. Can I?”
Jerry: “Sure, go ahead and cast it.”
Ban quickly ran to his computer and did a quick search. “F**k… this subject matter’s a bit sensitive. It doesn’t look like it’s available on the platform.”
Dragon: “What’s the genre? Try looking for a website to watch it online.”
Ban: “It seems to have a lesbian plot… I’ll look for it.”
Ban frantically searched online for keywords, glancing back every now and then, worried that the bullfrogs would be devoured by those hungry wolves while he was still searching for the source.
“Found it!” He fumbled around until he finally landed on a website that could stream it. Without even looking, he clicked on the screencast function and ran back to eat.
When he returned, he found two plump bullfrog legs in his bowl.
Dragon squinted at him. “Unique picked them up for you. You looked so anxious.”
Ban, moved, cupped his fists toward Ji Wei. “Thank you!”
Jerry, glued to the TV, suddenly felt something was off.
“Ah… why are those two girls hugging each other so tightly?”
“Fu*k! Fu*k! Are they kissing?”
“?” Ban thought this guy was probably crazy. “Didn’t I tell you it was a lesbian theme?”
The straight man Jerry was completely baffled.
“Huh? Is that what you mean by lesbian? Isn’t it about lace babydoll dresses? I thought it was about seeing beautiful women wearing pretty outfits.”
Ban was speechless at this caveman. It seemed not only was his English bad, but he also lacked basic common sense.
“Just tell me if she’s beautiful.”
Jerry looked at the seductive actress on the screen and nodded. “She’s indeed beautiful, but this…”
Dragon asked, “Are you discriminating against homosexuals?”
Ji Wei stiffly put down his chopsticks, an inexplicable sense of guilt rising in his chest as he looked at Jerry.
Jerry noticed the looks from the other three and quickly denied it.
“What? It’s a different era now—of course not! It’s just my first time watching this, and it’s a bit shocking!”
Ban nodded with satisfaction. “Okay, brother, I’ll show you the door to a new world.”
Jerry immediately jumped up. “How old are you? Call me idi*t brother!”
Ban: “Okay, idi*t brother, turn around and watch it now! We’re getting into the suspenseful main storyline!”
The TV show was indeed great, with a gripping, thrilling plot. The group finished one episode and still felt unsatisfied.
Seeing that everyone was almost done eating, Jerry, as team leader, called a halt and told them to pack up and get back to training.
Ban sternly reminded them, “No one is allowed to sneak ahead. We’ll watch it together next time we have dinner.”
Everyone hurriedly packed up and threw away their trash, then opened the windows for some fresh air. The “traces of the crime” in the training room had been almost completely cleared.
Ding ding ding—
Ji Wei’s phone suddenly rang.
Glancing at the caller ID, Ji Wei said to Jerry, “I’ll go take this call, okay? I’ll be right back.”
Jerry replied, “There’s no practice tonight, but the coach might drop by soon. Be quick and come back right away.”
He picked up the phone, and the furious roar from the other end nearly scared him to death.
“Ji Wei! Where have you been these past few days?! You didn’t reply to my WeChat messages! You stopped livestreaming! You haven’t posted a single Weibo update!”
Ji Wei replied weakly, “Didn’t I send you a message a while ago to let you know I was safe…”
“Get lost! You sent me a fu*king—what? ‘I recently found a job, I’m taking a break from livestreaming. I’m still alive, don’t miss me.’ That’s exactly the same as your Weibo post! And then it disappeared without a trace after you posted it! Do you know how much that looks like you got tricked into going abroad for fraud? What was the name of that movie I saw a while ago… I almost called the police!”
“Who took you in when you fell like a broken dog? We were together for so long, and now you’re keeping little secrets from me? So I was wronged after all!”
Ji Wei cut off the man’s dramatic tirade. “I only lived with you for a little over three months before I moved out.”
“Three months and you’re done with your feelings?”
The person who called Ji Wei was his great-uncle’s grandson, a distant cousin named Ji Lin—one of the few relatives Ji Wei still kept in touch with.
Ji Lin had also been addicted to games since childhood, especially League of Legends. He scraped by with a degree after the college entrance exam and now worked as a programmer at a game company in Beijing.
“Three months!” Ji Lin cried on the other end of the line. “I worked overtime every day, risking baldness, and then I had to take care of a half-grown child like you when I got home. Now you’re successful, and you don’t even call me!”
Ji Wei thought for a moment and decided to defend himself. “It’s only been the last two weeks…”
Besides, he was the one doing the housework at Ji Lin’s place anyway!
“Ahem.” Ji Lin realized he’d gone overboard and quickly tried to return to normal.
“I saw your birthday’s coming up next month, and it’s your eighteenth, so I wanted to check on you. By the way, could you send me your current address so I can mail you a birthday present?”
Ji Wei was a little confused. “Don’t worry, brother. You’ve never given me one before.”
Ji Lin, who just wanted to find out what Ji Wei was up to, said: “…”
“Okay, fine. As long as I know you’re safe. Just be careful not to get scammed. And remember to call me if anything happens… though I probably won’t be able to help.”
Ji Wei hung up, feeling both amused and annoyed. He sat on his bed for two minutes before deciding to message Ji Lin and confess.
Weiwei Dounan: [I’ve signed a youth training contract with a PUBG club. The conditions are pretty good, don’t worry ^＿^]
Ji Lin (urgent): [??? ??? ???]
Ji Lin (urgent): [Aren’t you too old for youth training at your age?]
Ji Wei: ?
Not wanting to waste time with the troublemaker, he ignored the flood of questions. He simply locked the screen, pushed open the door, and headed out for training.
In the training room, a group of people were gathered around Ban’s camera.
Xu Shaoqiu had already arrived, clicking aimlessly on the computer with his mouse.
Ji Wei, remembering Jerry’s earlier request to come back early for training, felt a little guilty.
“Coach, I just went to make a phone call…”
Bang!
Xu Shaoqiu dropped his mouse.
Ji Wei nearly collapsed in shock, but Xu Shaoqiu wasn’t coming for him. Instead, he grabbed Ban by the ear and yelled:
“Didn’t I tell you not to open weird websites on the training room computers?! Didn’t I?! Now the computers are infected, and the games won’t even run. The base’s only IT guy went home on annual leave two days ago. What are you going to do about this?”
Ban wailed, “I was wrong, Coach. I swear, I was just watching a TV show. I didn’t do anything shady.”
Jerry defended him. “Really, Coach, he was just watching a TV show, not some weird site.”
“Great! So you watched it too. And you guys are eating takeout in the training room again, aren’t you? Unique just got here and you’re already leading him astray!”
Xu Shaoqiu sniffed the air, then went over to check the projector’s temperature. “They’ve gotten smarter this time. No smell left, but the heat hasn’t dropped! Your methods are as crude as your gameplay!”
Ji Wei quickly stepped forward to calm him down. “Coach, don’t be angry. We won’t do it again.”
Seeing Ji Wei’s innocent expression, Xu Shaoqiu didn’t want to stay mad either. He sighed, looking worried. “What should we do with this computer? The backup machine at the base hasn’t been turned on in years. I don’t even know if it still works. I’ve scheduled a practice match for tomorrow—what if we get a ban?”
He scratched his head anxiously. “I’ll check Baidu first. No, forget it… I’ll just video chat with IT—”
Ji Wei stepped forward and stopped him from reaching for his phone. “Let me try.”