Chapter 71
—It looks good even if you don’t wear it.
Ji Wei didn’t know where he had summoned the courage from.
With his back to Lu Shenxing, he turned sideways, took off his suit jacket, and hung it on the coat rack to the right of the entrance, wanting to show off his shirt.
“It’s a little hot.”
He clenched his hands again, the end of his sentence trembling slightly.
Sigh, I’m getting more and more nervous.
The back of his white shirt was soaked with sweat, sticking to his body. He felt like a fish stranded under the scorching sun, gasping for air and burning up.
Lu Shenxing just watched him without saying a word.
This seems too deliberate.
Ji Wei began to regret taking off his jacket. He let out a slow breath and walked toward the study.
He walked slowly, step by step, trying to minimize his presence. As he reached the sofa, his arm was suddenly yanked!
The next second, he was pushed onto the sofa. The man leaned over him, one hand lifting his chin while the other undid the buttons on his shirt.
The tip of the man’s nose gently brushed against his before a passionate kiss descended.
It belatedly occurred to Ji Wei that his idol’s leg must be almost healed.
Sensing his distraction, the man forcefully pried open his lips, enveloping his tongue to suck and repeatedly lick and grind, not missing a single corner of his mouth before moving down.
The aggression was hidden beneath a gentle caress. At some point, the newly bought shirt had fallen to the floor in a crumpled mess.
A shiver ran from his tailbone to his head. Feeling as if he were drowning, he could only follow Lu Shenxing’s rhythm, pressing close to the man’s body.
But inevitably—
The scorching heat spread to his face, growing hotter and hotter until his mind went blank and he couldn’t even breathe steadily.
He blurted out, “Are we… going to do it?”
He didn’t want Lu Shenxing to be uncomfortable.
Hearing his words, the man buried in his neck paused and slowly looked up. His usually distant eyes were now tinged with obvious desire. He closed them for a moment, as if restraining something.
In the end, all Ji Wei heard was, “Wait until you’re a little older.”
Then, the man bit down hard on his neck, leaving a distinct hickey, like a mark that had imprinted Lu Shenxing’s name.
“Ow.”
Ji Wei couldn’t help but cry out.
“This hurts you.” The man kissed his eyes and brows soothingly, seeming to let out a sigh. “What will we do in the future?”
In the future…
Ji Wei’s face instantly turned red.
I wish I could hide.
But if he hid, he wouldn’t be able to see Lu Shenxing.
He covered his eyes with the back of his hand.
***
That evening, the guest list for the warm-up charity match of the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds All-Star Game was announced. In addition to influencer celebrities like Zhao Yue, there were also members from the B-teams of top domestic professional teams.
What surprised everyone the most was that Ji Wei also appeared on the guest list, specially invited by FOX, the champion team of the last world championship.
He was also the only game streamer from the country to be invited.
The Weibo comments exploded.
[Did Captain Shen Act Up Today] I knew the domestic teams probably wouldn’t recommend Ji Wei, but I never expected FOX to recommend him. That 32-kill video was just too phenomenal.
[Cat Mario] The lineup for this charity match is pretty big; they even invited influencers. The organizers are truly brilliant. Is watching celebrities play even going to be entertaining?
[Pick Me for Online Dating, I’m Huge] Aren’t there a few B-team members too? It’s just a charity match, don’t be so demanding. Isn’t it great to watch the pros stomp some noobs?
[Eternal Bronze] I heard the groups are decided by a random draw. If they put all the pros together, the match will have zero suspense.
The next day, Ji Wei woke up early to catch his flight.
Worried that he wouldn’t be used to the organizer’s catering, Huang Bo packed his suitcase with lots of snacks like dried plums, preserved fruits, and peach crisps. Seeing the pile grow larger and larger, Ji Wei quickly said, “That’s enough.”
“You got a cold last time because you didn’t eat enough. I eat three bowls of rice per meal and never have to go to the hospital all year round,” Huang Bo said, still stuffing snacks into the suitcase.
Ji Wei was speechless.
He finally understood. Huang Bo’s way of raising a child was to feed them more!
There was no problem that couldn’t be solved by eating more.
He lowered his head and his eyes caught something inside the suitcase. “Uncle Huang…”
“Don’t you believe me,” Huang Bo continued packing. “Back then, there was a famine in our village, and we could only eat tree bark and Guanyin clay. My older brothers and sisters couldn’t stomach it and starved to death. I was the only one who survived. Eating more is never wrong.”
A famine?
Given Huang Bo’s age, he shouldn’t have encountered any such disasters. He couldn’t help but ask, “Was it a village in the north?”
“Cambodia,” Huang Bo replied.
Ji Wei was stunned. Huang Bo spoke Chinese so fluently that he had never doubted his nationality. Looking closely, Huang Bo’s features didn’t quite resemble a Chinese person’s; his heavy brow ridge made him look more like he was of mixed heritage.
He wanted to ask more, but the car was already waiting downstairs. He had to suppress his many questions and said to Huang Bo, “But Uncle Huang…”
“I’m almost done packing,” Huang Bo interrupted him again.
Ji Wei said helplessly, “Your glasses fell into the suitcase.”
Huang Bo touched his empty nose bridge and finally realized something was amiss. He embarrassedly took his glasses out of the suitcase. “I’m getting old, my memory’s not what it used to be.”
Ji Wei smiled at him, zipped up the suitcase, and was lifting it to the door when Lu Shenxing approached in his wheelchair. The man lowered his gaze.
Looking at the man’s clear, dark eyes, Ji Wei’s heart skipped a beat. He softly said, “Goodbye,” and dragged his suitcase into the elevator.
However, Lu Shenxing also entered.
“You don’t have to see me off. The car is just downstairs,” he said quickly.
But the man showed no intention of leaving.
Ji Wei had no choice but to press the close button and go downstairs with Lu Shenxing.
Today, the elevator seemed to descend with unusual slowness.
He suddenly remembered what Chen Yan had said yesterday—that no one dislikes a thoughtful gift. He wanted to say, “You can look forward to the gift I bring back for you.”
But when the words reached his lips, his tongue felt tied, and a very tacky phrase came out instead: “I’m going to Shanghai. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“No need,” the man replied quickly.
He really wasn’t good at making conversation.
Ji Wei felt a little sad.
Ding—
The elevator arrived.
The moment Ji Wei stepped out with his suitcase, the man behind him said calmly, “Just come back early.”
Ji Wei stopped in his tracks and turned around.
But the elevator doors had already closed, and he could only watch as the man’s face quickly disappeared from view.
Ji Wei couldn’t help but touch his neck. Under his shirt was a red hickey that still seemed to retain the man’s warmth, a sensation that felt even more real now.
He walked out of the building and got into the car.
He looked down at his phone. If he had looked up and out the window, he would have seen the man in his wheelchair, quietly watching him depart from the fifth-floor picture window.
***
Upon arriving in Shanghai, the organizers sent a car to pick him up and take him to the hotel. Wilson and the five professional players had all arrived, but none of the other celebrities were there yet.
“The match doesn’t start until the afternoon. Let’s go have some fun somewhere else,” Wilson said, giving him an enthusiastic hug.
Ji Wei also wanted to buy some gifts for Lu Shenxing, so he nodded in agreement.
By the time the afternoon match began, he had already bought butterfly pastries, Gaoqiao pine cakes, and begonia cakes.
He had bought so much that his suitcase couldn’t hold it all, so he had to stuff everything into his backpack, which was now packed to the brim.
At two o’clock, most of the guests had arrived. As he sat in the audience, a commotion erupted at the entrance. He looked up and saw it was Zhao Yue.
Zhao Yue saw him too and walked over to sit beside him.
As the most famous guest in the entire competition, Zhao Yue was the center of attention. Ji Wei couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you come to this competition?”
He still remembered how Zhao Yue had been beaten so badly last time that he almost smashed his keyboard.
“I heard you were coming,” Zhao Yue said instinctively. Realizing his words lacked impact, he added, “I wanted to compete with you.”
“That might be a bit difficult,” Ji Wei commented honestly.
Zhao Yue was speechless.
Behind them, the voices of several professional players could be heard. They thought they were speaking quietly, but in the enclosed space, their words were crystal clear.
“Why did they invite those celebrities? They’re so effeminate and can’t do anything. We’d be better off getting in a few more training matches at the base.”
“I could beat them with my eyes closed.”
“Why hasn’t it started yet? So boring.”
Ji Wei glanced at Zhao Yue, who seemed not to have heard a thing. The expression on his face remained unchanged. He was probably used to it, so he didn’t care.
Otherwise, with his acting skills… he wouldn’t be able to fake it.
“Could you please be a little quieter?” Ji Wei suddenly said.
Hearing his words, the players behind them exchanged glances, looking as if they were surprised to be overheard. They then stood up and moved to seats further back.
Zhao Yue glanced at Ji Wei. “I’ve heard worse.”
“I know,” Ji Wei said.
Zhao Yue fell silent. After a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: “Don’t think I’m going to thank you.”
Ji Wei gave a faint smile. “I won’t.”
Zhao Yue’s ears turned a suspicious shade of red.
At two-thirty, the recording of the match officially began, with a simultaneous live broadcast on multiple platforms, including Douyu and Huya.
First was the draw to determine the teams.
Ji Wei drew the Blue Team.
His teammates were Wilson, Zhao Yue, and a professional player named Deng Mao.
However, all eyes were not on them, but on the Red Team.
[Holy crap! The Red Team is all pro players. Never mind stomping noobs, this is going to be a massacre.]
[What luck. I was looking forward to watching the match, but do I even need to watch now?]
[Hey, you can place bets before the stream starts. Anyone want to bet?]
[Is there even a need to bet? It’s obviously the Red Team. But Wilson and Ji Wei are pretty strong too.]
[Strong is strong, but just look at the bettors. Everyone is betting on the Red Team.]
Deng Mao walked onto the stage with his unfamiliar teammates. After sitting down, he sighed and put on his headphones.
Why did I have to be separated from them?
It wasn’t that he was arrogant, but there was a real wall between casual players and professionals, both in terms of mechanics and game sense.
He had heard of Ji Wei’s name. A 32-kill record might seem amazing to the general public, but in his eyes, it was just decent.
Their team captain was extremely strict and couldn’t tolerate failure. He had no idea what kind of scolding he would get when he returned this time.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was a game that actually lacked spectator appeal. Due to the large map and scattered teams, it heavily tested the skill of the broadcast director.
However, most of the bullet comments were clamoring to watch the Red Team.
[Switch to the Red Team! I want to see how they stomp the noobs.]
[Hahahahahahaha, for real.]
[Here for my brother Zhao Yue.]
[Go, Cub Wei!]
The director complied with everyone’s wishes and switched the camera to the Red Team. Unlike the other teams’ cautious approach, the Red Team profoundly demonstrated what it meant to be willful when you have skill.
The four players dropped at the military base, a location with rich resources and, more importantly… lots of people.
They killed nearly twenty people, upgrading to Level 2 Helmets and Level 2 Armor. Two of them even had full Level 3 gear. They then swaggered out of the military base.
[It’s only been ten minutes since the game started! And they’ve already killed eighteen people. That’s insane!]
[They’re pros, after all.]
[A bit worried for Weiwei and Wilson’s team. Why isn’t the director giving them any screen time?]
New viewers continuously poured into the stream. Because participating in the betting could win physical prizes, the number of bettors quickly surpassed 800,000, with 600,000 of them betting on a Red Team victory.
[I’m a fan of Zhao Yue, but the Red Team’s lineup is just too OP. There’s no suspense at all. I want to win a keyboard, ahhhhhh!]
[Hahahahahaha, can I say me too?]
[The organizers are too honest. They said it’s a random draw, and they really did a random draw, not considering the match’s entertainment value at all.]
[What’s wrong with the entertainment value? I think it’s great. Isn’t it nice to watch the masters teach the newbies a lesson? (runs)]
At that moment, Ji Wei was lying prone in the shadow of a tree, watching the four people walk out of the military base in search of a vehicle.
He adjusted his 4x Scope, loaded his bullets, and narrowed his eyes, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to his target.