Chapter 13 – LinShi CP
After Shi Cha went to the kitchen, Lin Ran also stood up.
“I’ll go help Shi Cha in the kitchen.”
When the others saw that not only had the winner brought the ingredients, but he was also going to cook, they immediately felt they couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.
Zhong Jiarong quickly said, “I’ll go rinse the rice and start the cooking!”
Wu Heze and the others also chimed in, saying they’d go help with preparing the vegetables.
The four of them swarmed into the kitchen all at once.
The kitchen, which had been fairly spacious, suddenly felt crowded with six grown men packed inside.
As Shi Cha turned around to grab something, he nearly bumped into Zhou Caizhe.
While Lin Ran was peeling potatoes, he was jostled by Wu Heze.
Even Zhong Jiarong, who had just finished rinsing the rice and was about to pour it into the pot, almost collided with Lu Lecheng—who, frankly, didn’t seem to know what he was doing there.
Lin Ran looked around at the increasingly chaotic kitchen and finally couldn’t hold back from shooing people out.
“You all should leave. Just Shi Cha and I are enough to handle the cooking.”
Zhong Jiarong had just started the rice and was wiping his hands when he heard that. He laughed and said, “To those who know, it looks like we’re helping. But to outsiders, it probably looks like we’re causing chaos. Alright, we’ll go. Let’s think about what else we can prepare to eat or drink.”
With the senior taking the lead, the others also realized they were just getting in the way, so they all filed out of the kitchen.
They began discussing what other snacks or drinks they could find.
In no time, only Shi Cha and Lin Ran were left in the kitchen.
Shi Cha was focused on preparing the beef when someone suddenly moved close to him, startling him.
Lin Ran was right beside him, holding a peeled potato and asking, “Xiao Shi, is this okay?”
Shi Cha glanced down at the potato in Lin Ran’s palm and nodded. At the same time, he noticed something.
When other people were around, Lin Ran called him “Shi Cha,” but when they were alone, he called him “Xiao Shi.”
Realizing this, Shi Cha’s earlobes couldn’t help but start to burn again.
He turned to the other side of the prep table, with his back to Lin Ran, and said softly, “I can handle this by myself. You should go out with the others.”
But Lin Ran didn’t answer. Instead, he asked when Shi Cha had learned to cook.
Shi Cha never avoided talking when it came to Lin Ran, so he continued slicing ginger as he replied.
“When I was sixteen. I rented a place off-campus back then. I wasn’t used to eating out, and I didn’t like hiring someone to cook, so I just gradually learned to do it myself.”
Lin Ran continued guiding the conversation, leading Shi Cha to talk more.
So, the audience watching the livestream saw a guy who, though clearly introverted and homebound, was disciplined, clean, and liked to tend to plants or draw when he was bored.
“What do you usually draw?”
“A bit of everything.”
“Can I visit and take a look sometime?”
“Huh?”
Shi Cha was caught off guard by the sudden question. He looked at Lin Ran, completely at a loss for how to respond.
He didn’t like people visiting him. Even his brother Shi Jian was only allowed to stay for five minutes at most. So far, only Du Yan had ever stayed a bit longer.
[“Xiao Shi Cha might look quiet and aloof, but look closely—he’s actually super soft and cute! Xiao Shi Cha, big sis wants to visit too!”]
[“Hmm, this is weird. Why do I feel like Lin Ran has ulterior motives?”]
[“Stop slandering our Ran Shen! He’s just looking after his little bro. Besides, they already know each other. Meeting up in private isn’t weird at all!”]
Whether Lin Ran had ulterior motives or not—only he knew.
Seeing Shi Cha’s conflicted expression, Lin Ran suddenly felt like laughing. He took a step forward, closing the distance between them.
He cornered Shi Cha between himself and the kitchen counter.
“Xiao Shi Cha, are you saying Brother Lin Ran isn’t welcome?”
“N-no,”
His heart thumped again. Shi Cha thought he might need to go to the hospital after work tomorrow—maybe there was something wrong with his heart.
Of course he wouldn’t say Lin Ran wasn’t welcome. After hesitating for a moment, he bit his lip and decided to overcome his discomfort.
“Of course you’re welcome.”
They were standing very close. The camera was filming from behind Lin Ran, so it didn’t catch Shi Cha’s expression.
Which meant the subtle lip-biting gesture was seen only by Lin Ran.
His heart skipped a beat. His gaze darkened slightly as he stared at Shi Cha’s lips.
Luckily, Shi Cha was looking down and didn’t notice the change in his expression.
A second later, Lin Ran stepped back like nothing had happened, speaking in a relaxed and casual tone:
“Then let’s add each other on WeChat.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Shi Cha finally began to recover from his earlier fluster. He wiped his damp hands and pulled his phone from his pocket.
Just as he was about to open WeChat, he suddenly remembered—he’d been using a burner WeChat account for the past couple of days.
Trying to act calm, he turned away to avoid Lin Ran’s gaze.
With his back to him, he quickly switched accounts.
Then he turned back around, brought up the QR code, and held it out to Lin Ran.
Lin Ran had noticed everything—every movement, even the so-called “calm” fluster. But he didn’t say anything.
The two scanned each other’s codes, accepted the request, and added each other as contacts.
After adding Lin Ran on WeChat, Shi Cha immediately checked the profile.
Sure enough—it was the same “LR” account he had suspected.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he pressed them together.
Lin Ran didn’t use a burner account to brush off my alt.
Lin Ran, too, checked the profile after adding Shi Cha.
Lin Ran: ‘As expected, it’s not the same alt account he added me with before.‘
[“Ahhh! Why didn’t they show the QR code? Is there something we’re not allowed to see? I want to add Xiao Shi Cha on WeChat too!”]
[“555 (sobbing sounds), I’m so jealous of Shi Cha. I want Ran Shen as a WeChat contact!”]
Shi Cha turned back to continue cooking. While Lin Ran wasn’t looking, he quickly opened WeChat’s dual-app feature, logged into the alt account—the one with just a single friend on the list—and carefully hid the icon deep in a discreet folder.
He was absolutely determined not to let anyone find out his secret.
Once everything was set, he sneaked a glance at Lin Ran, who was still focused on chopping vegetables and hadn’t noticed anything.
Relieved, Shi Cha let out a quiet sigh.
But the moment Shi Cha looked at him, Lin Ran did notice—he just pretended not to. He kept chopping, acting natural.
Only after Shi Cha turned back around did Lin Ran glance sideways at him.
Clearly he was up to something. And clearly he didn’t want me to notice.
Lin Ran turned his gaze back to the vegetables, a subtle smile playing at the corners of his lips as he continued chopping without pause.
The two of them made four main meat dishes and, using the extra vegetables, also cooked up four vegetarian sides.
By the time they finished, the others had returned.
Even before they stepped through the door, Zhong Jiarong’s voice carried into the kitchen.
“Guess what we found? Lemons and mint—ha! We’re making lemon mint tea!”
Zhou Caizhe added, “Brother Ze and I were almost mistaken for thieves. Seriously. We owe it all to Xiao Lu—he danced for the locals and saved our butts. Managed to trade for the lemons and mint too.”
Zhong Jiarong laughed with schadenfreude, “I told you not to go in there aggressively! You insisted on picking someone else’s mint.”
Wu Heze looked exasperated, “I didn’t know it was someone’s garden—I thought it was wild. Honestly, we really owe Xiao Lu. We would’ve been so embarrassed if he hadn’t stepped in.”
Lu Lecheng, still slightly flushed from the earlier dancing, was now getting praised by everyone. He quickly waved it off.
“No, no. I’m just happy I could help.”
Just then, Shi Cha walked out of the kitchen carrying a dish.
Zhong Jiarong caught a whiff of the food and immediately rushed to the dining table—completely unbothered by being over fifty.
“Is dinner ready? Just in time! I always say—it’s not about coming early, it’s about showing up at the perfect moment!”
The rest of the group followed him into the kitchen to help bring out the dishes and rice.
Lu Lecheng, momentarily left behind, felt a bit left out, but quickly pulled himself together and joined in the effort.
After a long day, the meal was thoroughly satisfying.
After dinner, Zhong Jiarong patted his belly and said:
“Sigh, I probably gained two more pounds from that meal. Xiao Shi Cha, your cooking is even better than my wife’s. Whoever ends up with you is in for a real treat.”
Wu Heze teased from the side, “Aren’t you afraid your wife will hear that and make you cook for yourself from now on?”
Zhong Jiarong immediately turned to the director and asked, “This is live, right? Can we cut that part out?”
When the director shook his head, Zhong Jiarong instantly regretted his words.
The whole room burst into laughter.
Everyone sat around with their freshly made lemon mint tea, chatting and sipping as they relaxed. Once the group had rested enough, Director Qi suggested they play a game to get moving a little.
Zhong Jiarong was the first to protest, “No way. I’m too old for that. Respect the elderly and care for the young—I need to rest.”
Director Qi laughed and said, “You’re not that old.”
Zhong Jiarong immediately changed his tune, “Then I’m one of the young ones!”
That set everyone off laughing again.
But Director Qi didn’t push it further, “Actually, this activity might really not be suitable for Brother Rong.”
The game he suggested was a five-player team competition—in simple terms, a Peak five-stack.
Peak was the competitive game that Lin Ran had won a championship in, and it had become an Olympic esports event five years ago.
In the first Olympic appearance, China just missed the championship and came in second. In the second Olympics—where Lin Ran competed—he led Team LL to victory, earning China the gold medal.
The moment the group heard they’d be playing Peak with Lin Ran, everyone except Shi Cha cheered in excitement. Even though Zhong Jiarong didn’t play, he still loved to watch.
Zhou Caizhe and Lu Lecheng were both in their twenties. While not as skilled as Lin Ran, they played Peak from time to time in their free hours.
Wu Heze, though already 33, was a huge esports fan. He’d been playing Peak since its release over a decade ago. Although his skills hadn’t improved much over the years, his passion hadn’t dimmed.
In contrast to everyone’s excitement, Shi Cha’s reaction was rather indifferent.
Seeing this cold attitude, some viewers in the livestream couldn’t help themselves and started posting critical comments:
[“Ran Shen treats him so kindly, and this is how he reacts? That’s way too cold.”]
[“Maybe he just doesn’t know how to play. That’d explain why he looks so unenthusiastic.”]
[“Our Chengcheng is already ranked at King level, and I heard Zhou Caizhe’s rank isn’t low either. Not sure about Wu Heze. Are they seriously going to carry a Bronze with a team of Champions and Kings?”]
[“No worries—our Chengcheng has strong legs for him to cling to!”]
But at that moment, what Shi Cha was really thinking was—
I absolutely cannot log in using my livestream account [LR Is The Best]!
He did not want to expose himself in front of everyone.
The production team quickly set up five computers.
Everyone started taking their places.
Lin Ran was, without question, the team’s mid-laner.
Lu Lecheng’s face flushed with excitement as he eagerly claimed the marksman role without hesitation.
Zhou Caizhe chose the top lane.
Wu Heze glanced at the remaining roles—jungler and support. Honestly speaking, with his current skill level, he couldn’t handle jungling at all. But playing a soft support wouldn’t be a problem.
So he turned to Shi Cha and asked, “Xiao Shi, can you play jungle?”
Shi Cha hadn’t picked a role yet. He hadn’t expected that the last one left would actually be his favorite—jungler.
He nodded in response, signaling his agreement.
Wu Heze, now reassured, happily took the support position.
The team even sat down in the same order as an official match lineup.
As Wu Heze put it, “We’re playing with a champion, so even if it’s just a casual game, we’ve got to treat it like the real deal—world championship standards!”
The livestream chat exploded with waves of viewers spamming: [“The mindset!”]
Once they were seated, Shi Cha ended up sitting right next to Lin Ran.
Everyone began logging into the game. Shi Cha logged in using a side account.
This account had originally been created when Du Yan saw him playing Peak and asked him to carry him. But Du Yan only played for two months before quitting. Since then, the account had remained in Shi Cha’s hands.
As for its rank?
Naturally, it was at the low-tier—Bronze.
After logging in, the group immediately formed a team.
When Shi Cha saw Lin Ran’s account was named [Cha Buduo], his heart skipped a beat.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw Lin Ran open his friend list and scroll down to an avatar named [LR Is The Best], pausing on it for a moment.
The avatar was grayed out, meaning the account was offline.
Lin Ran lingered for a few seconds before closing the friend list.
In the livestream chat:
[“What was Ran shen just looking at in his friend list?”]
[“Huh, I’ve never seen this alt of his before, but why does it feel so familiar?”]
[“Same! It looks really familiar!”]
[“[LR Is The Best] is that voice streamer called “Cun Yao,” right? And didn’t [LR Is The Best] and [Cha Buduo] duo together before?”]
[“I can confirm—[LR Is The Best] is Cun Yao! I just didn’t expect [Cha Buduo] to be Ran-Shen. I’m tearing up—they were secretly duoing while I didn’t even know they knew each other! I’m going to go watch old VODs and dig for crumbs now!”]
[“To the girl who ships LinYao (Lin Ran × Cun Yao), hold up! Come join our CP cult first!”]
[“No, I will proudly raise the flag of “LinShi CP”!”]
Author’s Note:
Shi Cha: You all don’t have to be this emotionally invested. I’m scared!