Chapter 29
Pei Zhi’s expression went through several dramatic changes in an instant. It was as if all the blood in his body had rushed straight to his face, turning his handsome features so red it was almost shocking. There was none of his usual cool, composed aloofness left.
He stood there as if stunned, opening and closing his mouth several times, but in the end, not a single word came out.
He really had been thinking about some rather inappropriate things just now. For example, how pretty Xie Ning looked leaning there, and how especially alluring he looked with the eye mask on. But he definitely had not thought that far…
Well, actually, he couldn’t guarantee that.
Pei Zhi had been spacing out just now, and too many thoughts had flashed through his mind at once. Even he himself couldn’t be sure what exactly he had been thinking. His thoughts had come and gone like fragments, like snow melting the instant it touched water, impossible to trace.
“I was joking.”
Xie Ning lifted the corner of his lips slightly and placed a hand lightly over the back of Pei Zhi’s hand. Pei Zhi instinctively turned his hand and held his palm. With his other hand, Xie Ning pulled the eye mask back over his face and leaned against the seat again. “Go ahead and hold my hand. I’m going to sleep.”
The drowsiness from motion sickness made Xie Ning unwilling to say any more. This road was under construction year-round, and no matter how stable the vehicle was, it still bumped and swayed. Even though the driver was skilled, there was no way to avoid the rocking.
Xie Ning felt a little uncomfortable, but fortunately, the car didn’t smell bad. There was even a faint clean scent in the air. If it had been a bus with that kind of smell, plus too many people and too much noise… he really might not have been able to stand it.
As for keeping some distance from Pei Zhi, Xie Ning realized that the way he had handled it earlier had been a little too abrupt. It seemed to have triggered a kind of stress response in Pei Zhi. He should have done it gradually instead, slowly reducing the physical contact between them until they eased back into a more normal social range.
In the quiet of the car, Pei Zhi’s heartbeat sounded even louder. He parted his lips as if wanting to say something, but after hesitating for a moment, closed them again.
Just as Pei Zhi finally gathered the courage to speak, Xie Ning seemed to sense it first. His pale, slender fingers pressed lightly to his lips. Xie Ning said, “Don’t be noisy. Be good.”
As though receiving an order, Pei Zhi immediately fell silent. He only kept staring at Xie Ning with an intensely heated gaze.
The force of that gaze was so strong that even through the eye mask, Xie Ning could clearly feel it. He sighed soundlessly, then removed the eye mask again. “Did you want to say something?”
Pei Zhi looked a little eager, though perhaps some ingrained sense of restraint kept him from blurting it out directly. Instead, he asked with unusual carefulness, “Then… can I?”
Earlier, Xie Ning had only been teasing him. He had gotten exactly what he wanted too—Pei Zhi had looked thoroughly frightened. Scaring people wasn’t exactly a good thing, but being the one doing the frightening really was rather enjoyable.
But now, the one startled had become Xie Ning. He looked at Pei Zhi in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
Xie Ning looked at him very earnestly. “Pei Zhi, that’s not something a straight man would do.”
“But starting today, I’m not straight anymore.” Pei Zhi said, “I’m gay.”
Xie Ning replied, “That joke isn’t funny.”
Pei Zhi said, “Alright.”
The car was very quiet, but Pei Zhi’s heartbeat was still in utter disarray.
Then Pei Zhi suddenly realized that Xie Ning seemed… able to accept it if he were gay?
But then again… maybe not.
A lot of guys joked around about things like sword-crossing and so on. To them, those kinds of jokes meant nothing. Nothing actually happened. It was just verbal teasing. Like calling someone dad and begging them to bring food back. What did one “dad” count for? As long as there was food, who cared? Calling someone dad didn’t mean they actually became your father.
Just like, if Pei Zhi called Xie Ning “wife,” did that really make Xie Ning his wife?
Pei Zhi’s gaze stilled, then slowly drifted toward Xie Ning’s face.
…Why couldn’t it?
…
The KTV room was huge. There was an area for singing, but also spaces for board games and billiards. It felt more like a combined entertainment venue than a normal karaoke place. Off to the side was even a dedicated smoking room, which was the thing Xie Ning liked most about it.
Someone had just come out of the smoking room ahead of them, still carrying the sharp smell of cigarette smoke on their clothes. Xie Ning had a sensitive nose. He had only just turned his head slightly when a broad jacket dropped over his head, instantly blocking out all the unpleasant smell.
What Xie Ning could smell now was only Pei Zhi’s scent.
Once they had walked far enough away and the smoke smell had dispersed, Pei Zhi removed the jacket. Bending slightly, he used a hand to smooth Xie Ning’s slightly disheveled hair. “Did it bother you?”
Xie Ning shook his head. “No.”
Pei Zhi had acted just in time. Xie Ning had only barely begun to register the cigarette smell before it was replaced by something much nicer.
“Did you have rhinitis?” Pei Zhi remembered that when Xie Ning had first moved into the dorm, he often took medicine for it. “Have you always had it?”
“When I was little, we moved house and I got caught in the rain. That’s when it started. But it’s gone now.”
“So it’s cured.”
“Mm. It’s cured.”
Gu Nian and Chen Xi had been dead asleep in the car, but the moment they got out, they were energized again. Looking around at the stylish décor, they kept exclaiming in awe.
Gu Nian said, “Hey! Fang Ke asked me to go play games. You two coming? They’re doing 5v5 teams, and right now they’ve only got six people.”
He pointed at himself, then at Xie Ning and the others. “If we add us, that makes ten exactly.”
Pei Zhi didn’t have a problem with it. He turned to look at Xie Ning.
Xie Ning hesitated. “I don’t know how to play games.”
Chen Xi said, “Who cares if you don’t know how? I’m not great either, but it’s fine. Brother Pei is really good.”
Then he clasped his hands together dramatically. “Please, you have to come. If you don’t, then Brother Pei definitely won’t come either. Then we’ll be missing one god-tier player, and if that happens, we’re definitely going to lose miserably…”
Chen Xi wasn’t being modest. His gaming skills really were pretty average. He was the type who could only hold the middle. At that level, there was no way he could carry the game. If they ran into weaker teammates or a stronger enemy team, they’d have no chance of winning.
Xie Ning glanced at Pei Zhi. Even though Pei Zhi hadn’t said a word, everyone seemed convinced that if Xie Ning came, then Pei Zhi definitely would too.
But he really didn’t like the idea of dragging others down. If he played badly and became dead weight, that didn’t seem very good either.
Seeing all the hopeful faces turned toward him, he could only say, “Alright. But I really don’t know how to play…”
“It’s fine.” Pei Zhi curled a finger and lightly brushed the side of Xie Ning’s face. “As long as I know how.”
Gu Nian and Chen Xi chose to go into the gaming room and sit face-to-face with the others to play. Pei Zhi was worried it would be too noisy, or too chaotic. He also worried that since it was Xie Ning’s first time, he might get nervous.
Pei Zhi would have preferred to be alone in a separate room with Xie Ning while they played.
But Gu Nian and Chen Xi were so enthusiastic in dragging them along that Xie Ning agreed to go, and although Pei Zhi was unhappy about it, he still followed at Xie Ning’s side.
There weren’t too many people in the gaming room, maybe fifteen or sixteen in total including them. Another group was playing computer games at the PCs, while they sat near the windows on the couches and played mobile games.
Chen Xi said, “Do you have an account? My roommate’s new and doesn’t have one. Which of you has a spare account?”
Gu Nian added, “Yeah, and one with lots of skins. If the skins are nice, the heroes feel smoother to play, which’ll make it easier for you to get started.”
“Wait, let me ask around—” someone said. “I think I do, but most of the heroes on it are assassins. Would that work?” They looked toward Xie Ning and immediately froze.
The young man in front of them had snow-white skin and black hair, with a cold, elegant air that singlehandedly raised the prestige level of the whole gaming room, as though he belonged at an international tournament. The speaker instantly got nervous. “You’re new, right? If you’re just starting, assassins are too hard. Let me go ask if anyone has a support or mage account with all the skins unlocked. I’ll definitely get one for you…”
A cool male voice cut in. “No need. I have one.”
Xie Ning had been about to say that it didn’t need to be such a bother. He didn’t know how to play anyway, so whether there were lots of skins or not didn’t really matter to someone as clueless as him.
But since Pei Zhi had already said he had one, Xie Ning couldn’t very well refuse.
Pei Zhi said, “I’ll send you the account and password… actually, forget it. I’ll log in for you myself.”
Xie Ning handed over his phone. When Pei Zhi took it, his fingers accidentally brushed against Xie Ning’s knuckles. It tickled, and Xie Ning instinctively drew his hand back a little.
At that moment, Pei Zhi suddenly leaned closer, his shadow falling over him. In a corner where no one else was paying attention, he lowered his voice and said, “The password is the same as the one to my house.”
Xie Ning lifted his eyes.
Under the dim lighting, those deep black eyes looked especially focused. Pei Zhi took the phone and continued in an even softer voice, “But you definitely don’t remember it.”
And Xie Ning really didn’t.
He had always believed that being given the house password had been a beautiful misunderstanding. He’d assumed that afterward, Pei Zhi would change the password.
But apparently he hadn’t.
Pei Zhi was still using that same password now.
Watching him log in and enter the password, Xie Ning suddenly asked, “Does that password have some special meaning?”
Pei Zhi deliberately kept the suspense. “You’ll know later.”
[Not telling wife.]
[If wife finds out, he’ll definitely think I’m a freak.]
That only made Xie Ning even more curious about the hidden meaning behind the password.
The password was xbnnc030. Xie Ning tried typing it out phonetically in his head, but got nowhere. By then, Pei Zhi had already finished logging him in and handed the phone back.
The moment Xie Ning saw the username in the corner, he froze.
“Brother Pei, I invited you already! Pull in Beauty Xie!” Gu Nian urged. Once Pei Zhi pulled Xie Ning into the team, Gu Nian blurted out, “Holy shit, since when did you have this account?”
The account Pei Zhi logged into was called Ning God, and the one he gave Xie Ning was called Baby Ning. Anyone who saw those two IDs together would start overthinking.
Even the unfamiliar teammates nearby shot over covertly complex and meaningful looks.
Xie Ning asked in surprise, “Did you register this recently?”
Chen Xi explained, “Game IDs are unique. IDs like that are called premium IDs. Usually they’re in the hands of ID resellers, and you have to buy them.”
Xie Ning was even more surprised. “Did you buy them recently?”
“No. I bought them a long time ago. They weren’t that expensive.”
He knew what Xie Ning wanted to ask.
“Those IDs are actually really expensive…” someone nearby muttered. “One famous esports player even has Ning in his name, so a lot of players compete for IDs like that. Just this one, Ning God, was already going for five figures two years ago. And from what I remember, it hasn’t changed owners since then. Have these accounts really been yours the whole time?”
Pei Zhi said, “Mm.”
Xie Ning suddenly understood.
So the character Ning was also part of some famous esports player’s name. He had almost misunderstood.
Then again, of course. He had only recently moved into the dorm. He and Pei Zhi weren’t even in the same school or major.
Before that, they had no connection at all. There was no way Pei Zhi could have bought these accounts so long ago because of him.
To avoid people screen-watching, the two teams split into separate rooms. Naturally, Xie Ning stayed by Pei Zhi’s side. He didn’t know how to play, so Pei Zhi really did teach him in person, step by step.
“This is the attack button. You can play support later—this support is simple and easy to learn. You don’t really need to do much, just stay attached to me.” When he noticed Xie Ning looking at him, he corrected himself. “Well, not nothing. The shield you give me is really useful. Without you, I definitely wouldn’t dare roam into the enemy jungle so freely.”
“Oh.”
“And don’t get mad, I’m not saying you’re bad.” Pei Zhi added, “You can play something else too if you want. It doesn’t matter. It’s just a game, we’re just playing for fun.”
“Anyway, I definitely won’t let you lose.”
Chen Xi nudged Gu Nian’s arm. Gu Nian let out a long sigh. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen Brother Pei say this many words.”
Chen Xi said gloomily, “Beauty Xie really does get different treatment. Personal coaching, hand-in-hand. One time I dragged the team down and cost Brother Pei a match, and he just quit and said he was going to sleep. Then when I checked his status, he’d already been in another match for five minutes.”
“This is what people mean by double standards, huh?”
“My fault for not being as charming as Beauty Xie. No way I can steal Brother Pei’s soul.”
As the person involved, Xie Ning felt slightly embarrassed. Pei Zhi said, “Don’t listen to them.”
After a pause, he added, “I didn’t say I was going to sleep. I only said I wasn’t playing anymore. Later I wanted to turn on invisible mode, but I forgot.”
Or maybe he simply hadn’t cared.
Pei Zhi didn’t really care about socializing, and he was too lazy to maintain relationships. And Gu Nian and Chen Xi weren’t the kind of people who minded small things like that, which was why they could all keep hanging out together.
If it had been someone a little more sensitive, Pei Zhi’s behavior probably would have hurt them or caused a fight.
Pei Zhi truly disliked explaining himself. He was too lazy to tell others what he really thought. It felt like a waste of time.
But Xie Ning was different.
In some ways, Xie Ning was similar to that kind of sensitive person. But he also didn’t need explanations. He took many things lightly and didn’t care much about details like this. Still, Pei Zhi liked explaining himself to Xie Ning. He liked telling Xie Ning what he really meant. He was afraid that Xie Ning would misunderstand him.
Even if the chance was only one in ten thousand, he still didn’t want Xie Ning to misunderstand him.
Even if Xie Ning probably didn’t care.
The match started.
Pei Zhi really was very good. Not long after the opening, when both teams still had barely any items or gold, he had already taken a double kill.
The whole time, Xie Ning just followed behind Pei Zhi like a tail and had no idea what he was doing. Basically, whenever a skill button lit up, he pressed it.
“So amazing,” Pei Zhi said. “Thank you, Baby Ning, for the heal.”
[Hehe, wife healed me. One little heal, confetti confetti!]
[Wife is incredible. My wife is such a genius. The timing on that heal was insane and so cool.]
[If my wife doesn’t go pro, that’s a loss for esports itself.]
[Protect wife, protect wife. So cute, so cute. The way he moves is kind of clumsy. Kiss kiss.]
[Fucked, fucked.]
Xie Ning pressed his lips together.
Pei Zhi was praising him way too much… He knew very well what his own level was.
Xie Ning was smart. Even though it was his first time playing, he picked up the rhythm and basic mechanics quickly. His timing on abilities was very accurate, and his crowd control landed at good moments.
But his positioning was still average.
In one accidental moment, he died.
Luckily, just before dying, he managed to land one last normal attack. The tower finished the enemy off with the last bit of damage, and Xie Ning got his first kill.
Pei Zhi’s face darkened immediately.
[Where’s my wife? My whole entire wife was just here, where did he go?]
[Just now my wife was strolling in front of me. How is it that now I have to wait for him to respawn? No. If my wife’s gone, then I don’t want to live either.]
[Without wife, I have no fighting spirit at all!]
At first, Xie Ning thought Pei Zhi was just joking, or simply talking big.
Only when Pei Zhi charged straight under the enemy tower and one-versus-fived them did Xie Ning realize that he wasn’t joking at all.
Even on low health, diving the tower one against five, Pei Zhi still took two heads before escaping. He really was absurdly good.
Getting his first kill made Xie Ning a little nervous.
His palms were damp with sweat.
While he was waiting to respawn, he was about to reach for a tissue, but Pei Zhi got there first. Under the table, he took Xie Ning’s hand and carefully wiped his fingers for him.
“Holy shit?! You’re both down? The enemy is trying to rush our base while you’re dead…” Chen Xi’s eyes widened. “Hold them off, everyone! Our towers are still mostly up. They can’t break through. Just wait for Brother Pei and Beauty Xie to respawn. The dawn of victory is right in front of us!”
Pei Zhi acted like he didn’t hear any of it. He only lowered his head and carefully wiped the sweat from Xie Ning’s palm.
Soft fingers, rounded healthy nails, fingertips tinged faintly pink. The hand was soft, and even the palm lines looked beautiful.
“Were you scared?” Pei Zhi asked. “When you got the kill just now?”
Xie Ning said, “Should I be scared about killing someone in a game?”
“You never know.” Pei Zhi added, “But I’m a little scared.”
Xie Ning: “?”
“I’m dead and waiting to respawn. You’ve got twenty seconds left too.” Xie Ning didn’t understand and looked over at him. Pei Zhi swallowed, then under Xie Ning’s gaze, spoke softly. “While we’re waiting, can we hold hands?”
Then he added, “I’m scared.”
He still didn’t say what exactly he was scared of.
The respawn timer was counting down. Around them, the room was loud and chaotic, filled with teammates shouting and the game’s exciting sound effects.
Xie Ning looked at his eyes. “If we hold hands, you won’t be scared anymore?”
“Yes. If we hold hands, I won’t be scared anymore.”
“There are only fifteen seconds left. You still want to hold hands?”
“I do.” Pei Zhi said, “Even if it’s only one second, I still do.”
A soft touch landed over the back of his hand. Pei Zhi quickly turned his hand over and clasped Xie Ning’s. His larger palm wrapped around Xie Ning’s smaller hand.
Under the endless clatter of keyboards, his clearly defined fingers slowly worked themselves into the spaces between Xie Ning’s. Their fingers interlocked tightly, as though he couldn’t bear to let go.
“Are you still scared now?” Xie Ning asked.
Amid the chaos and noise, Xie Ning’s voice was very light, but Pei Zhi still caught it instantly.
“I’m not.” Pei Zhi said. “But I’m a little fired up now. I’ve got a lot of aggression. The other team is going to be unlucky.”
Xie Ning tugged faintly at the corner of his lips, light glinting in his eyes beneath his lashes. “Then what do I need to do?”
“Lie down.”
Xie Ning: “?”
Only then did Pei Zhi realize that Xie Ning didn’t understand gaming jargon. He pinched Xie Ning’s finger lightly, his cold voice full of obvious delight and barely concealed coaxing. “Just wait to win.”
The fifteen-second respawn timer ended, and both of them came back to life one after the other. Their hands immediately separated, and they returned to the game as if the hand-holding in the unnoticed corner had only been an illusion.
No matter how clever Xie Ning was, some things still couldn’t be learned instantly. He got caught alone again and was killed a second time.
At the same time, the enemy sent out a taunting emote.
Pei Zhi’s expression darkened little by little.
He said nothing. His brows drew together, and his lips flattened into a tight line. Anyone looking at him could tell he was in a very bad mood.
Xie Ning heard him say quietly, “Wait.”
The voice was so soft that he wasn’t sure whether it had been real or just his imagination.
Then Pei Zhi started hunting the enemy team nonstop.
For the next stretch of the match, it was as if Pei Zhi had singled them out for personal revenge—especially the player who had killed Xie Ning. He killed that person over and over again. Every time he got the kill, he sent the same taunt emote and typed in all-chat:
So that’s it? So that’s it?
[You’re this trash and you still dared touch my wife?]
[You hit my wife, huh? You hit my wife?]
[This slash is for hitting my wife. This one is for using an emote on my wife. This extra attack is my reward to myself for looking so damn cool. Alright, now you can die.]
Soon the entire enemy team grouped up to focus Pei Zhi.
He went in on low health and came out alive.
Double kill. Triple kill. Pentakill.
Again, Pei Zhi sent a taunt emote and typed:
So that’s it? So that’s it?
[All chat] Enemy player – So Handsome I Could Do a Handstand and Shit: Godfather, Ning God, I’m begging you. Please let us have some kind of gaming experience.
[All chat] Enemy player – So Handsome I Could Do a Handstand and Shit: I was wrong. I shouldn’t have touched Baby Ning. I’m kowtowing to Baby Ning right now, bang bang bang. Please stop target-killing me!
[All chat] Our player – Ning God: Asking me is useless. I listen to Baby Ning.
[All chat] Enemy player – So Handsome I Could Do a Handstand and Shit: Baby Ning, can we talk? Daddy Ning, I’m begging you. If he keeps solo-killing me like this, my reputation is gone.
Pei Zhi looked over at Xie Ning. “What do you say?”
Xie Ning said, “Then… don’t kill him anymore? He seems kind of pitiful.”
“You’re the one who decides.”
[All chat] Our player – Ning God: Baby Ning says okay. I listen to him.
The way Pei Zhi obeyed him so readily made Xie Ning’s face heat up a little.
He lowered his head and continued controlling his character, revealing an ear that had gone completely red.
Pei Zhi secretly glanced at it and thought Xie Ning might be too warm, so he reached out and adjusted Xie Ning’s collar.
Before pulling his hand back, he lightly hooked a finger under the tip of Xie Ning’s chin, then withdrew at once as if nothing had happened.
“Baby Ning, come here.”
“Ah? Oh.” Xie Ning went over.
At that moment, only the two of them were alive on the map. All of their teammates were waiting to respawn, but it no longer mattered. They had already pushed all the way into the enemy fountain, and victory was just one step away.
Pei Zhi stood beside Xie Ning. “Auto attack.”
Xie Ning auto attacked Pei Zhi.
Pei Zhi looked briefly stunned, then the corner of his mouth lifted in a very slight arc, almost too faint to notice. Leaning down close, he said, “I meant hit the crystal, not me.”
“Oh…” Xie Ning felt embarrassed. “I thought you wanted me to hit you.”
[So cute.]
[My silly wife, absolutely fucked.]
Xie Ning felt strange.
He couldn’t quite describe the feeling, only that it seemed like things were moving in a direction he no longer fully controlled.
He guided his character to hit the crystal, and the victory message appeared.
[Congratulations! “Baby Ning” has destroyed the enemy crystal!]
[Victory!]
Across the room, Gu Nian and Chen Xi were so excited they were practically climbing all over the couches. “Too strong, Ning God!”
One of the strangers nearby chimed in, “Carry me another round too, Ning God.”
Pei Zhi looked at Xie Ning and said, “That’s not possible. I belong to Baby Ning.”
A whole group of people burst into laughter.
Even Xie Ning couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh.
That faint smile on his cool, elegant face made his already beautiful features seem as if they’d been lit by a soft-focus filter. Anyone who saw it would be stunned.
Pei Zhi poured him a cup of warm water. “That guy used an emote to taunt you. Don’t be mad. I already got revenge for you.”
Xie Ning accepted the cup and took a slow sip. The game really had been intense. His palms had been sweating the whole time.
“I’m not mad. If anything, you’re the one who seemed upset. Why were you targeting him so hard?”
“He killed you twice and taunted you.” Pei Zhi said, “I only took his head six times. That’s not excessive, right?”
Xie Ning’s cool reflection swayed in the surface of the glass as the water rippled gently. His fingers slowly brushed the outside of the cup. “So petty?”
“I am petty.” Pei Zhi said, “No one gets to bully you.”
Bully? It wasn’t even close to bullying. It was just a game, and Xie Ning hadn’t taken it seriously at all.
He was just about to say so when a sudden inner voice made him freeze.
I don’t want anyone to bully you.
Not even as a joke.
…
Not far away, several people sat at the bar, each with a drink in hand.
They were all dressed in streetwear, and their eyes were fixed on the people on the couches not far away who were playing games.
The distance wasn’t far, but not close either. It was enough to hear the conversation clearly, and if the angle was right, even small movements could be seen perfectly.
One of them said in surprise, “Are you serious? Is Pei Zhi actually straight or not? He really went and?? held another guy’s hand?”
“But Xie Ning really does look… very tempting.”
“Such a cold, stunning, larger-than-life face… I usually think of myself as a bottom, but I swear I could top for him.”
“Is Xie Ning gay too? Then I might go after him.”
Su Nan drank irritably. “You can give up on that idea. Xie Ning is definitely straight. Look at him. His gaze is too upright. There’s no way he’s bent. On the other hand, Pei Zhi is absolutely some scheming gay. I always thought he was straight, but turns out he’s one of those gays who pretends to be straight.”
“What?! Pei Zhi is gay?! No way!”
Su Nan shot him a glare. “How is that impossible? I’ve seen it with my own eyes so many times! Every time, Pei Zhi’s the one fussing over Xie Ning and taking care of him. Meanwhile Xie Ning stays cool and distant. It’s obvious he only sees Pei Zhi as a friend. Pei Zhi is so good at pretending. I’m probably the only one who’s seen through him. Judging by how he acts around Xie Ning now, he’s obviously trying to secretly bend him…”
Su Nan despised that type of person the most. He had once suffered on the hands of exactly that kind of “straight man.” Just remembering it was enough to make him lose his appetite.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated and disgusted he felt.
“Just wait.” Su Nan said, “You’ll see how I deal with him in a bit.”
